==================================== Episode #107: Pomp and Circumstance Reel 1 ==================================== BRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGG! In a darkened room, slowly and stealthily, a hand reached out from under the covers and slapped the pestilent alarm. Suddenly, the head of the owner of the hand popped out from its warm cocoon. A smile creased her face, at both the love of the thirty-first century for such archaic devices, and one other thing which never ceased to please her. "Right on time," said the contralto. Jennifer Allison Sakachi, age seventeen (and 363 days) rolled leisurely out of bed, flipping on the light in a long- practiced motion. Eileen responded to the action as she had for a year, automatically grumbling about certain lovers who woke up too early. In keeping with tradition, Jen tossed a pillow at Eileen and told her that she was a lazy good-for-nothing. Eileen's usual retort was something to the effect that the Japanese were too obsessed with time. The two then generally managed to stumble to the shower, where they began the sentient day. Well, just Eileen. Jen was thinking quite lucidly the moment the alarm went off. After a shower, the two walked out of the bathroom. While dressing, Eileen noticed the date, and pointed it out to Jen. It took a minute or two for it to register. "WE'RE GOING TO GRADUATE!" *** As things turned out, this wasn't necessarily true. The calendar said that on 21 May 3029, at approximately 16:00, commencement exercises would be carried out at the Carver Amphitheater, yet another one of those buildings that only got pulled out of the pocket when it was needed. Carver seated between two thousand and eight billion, depending on your interpretation, and the open-air venue provided a nice atmosphere for the graduates. The rub was that there were very few graduates. Attrition at the school never exceeded a hundred, since there were rarely more than a hundred students, but the fact remained that the last time more than five students had become senshi at one time had been in 3005, when Serenity was desperately seeking anyone with four operating limbs, a pulse, and a pair of x chromosomes to become sailor senshi. This year had been especially tough. In fact, no-one knew *who* would graduate: the final GPAs had come to within five decimal places for failing, well within the margin of error. Therefore, a panel of teachers and senshi was, even as Jen and Eileen dressed, reviewing the records of the half-dozen who had made it through the past two months. The announcement, when made, would surprise quite a few people. *** Two of the two thousand who were physically there happened to be Jen's parents. Her mother and father sat in the fourth row of the grandstand. As it happened, Isao had been on Earth just four hours since Pleiades returned from having engine maintenance and installation on Mars. This was the chief reason he was downing his fourth cup of coffee. They were extremely nervous, more so than Jen, in fact, and part of it was due to who she was sitting next to. "Now, you said that you wouldn't make a scene, dear, so let's be supportive, okay?" "Supportive?" retorted his wife. "With that slut of a girlfriend? I mean, being homosexual is fine, but with . . . her?" "Is it just that our daughter's too good for an American?" "That's not what I mean-" Isao stood as another couple of parents filed to their seats. "Now, I think that they're a pretty good match. I could wish for nothing more than their becoming senshi and getting the same ship together, and-" He was interrupted by a dozen trumpets. *** About three hundred of the eight billion in the liberal crowd estimate were gathered in the center of Annville, Pennsylvania, uncaring of the colossal time difference between Tokyo and the East Coast. The entire population of the town had come out to watch the graduation ceremonies on the big screen in what passed for downtown, and hopefully to see their own get the fuku. No matter what the differences in government, the fact remained that the senshi had repelled the only alien invasion of Earth to date. Therefore, in spite of what they represented, the senshi were often lionized, and the graduation was always watched by a significant portion of the world population. Cameras at the amphitheater were broadcasting the event to eight billion out of 9.3 billion people on Earth, with a slight delay to the Moon and Mars, and recordings being sent to the various interstellar colonies. And the fact also remained that not a single North American had ever become a senshi. Only 132 had ever taken the Exam, and Eileen, in whose honor they were gathered, was only the fifteenth North American to pass. Indeed, only five non-Japanese had ever become senshi: two from Wales and three from the political morass that was Central Africa. If Eileen could pull it off, there would be a lot of celebration, led by her parents and her several siblings. And the first cheers came with the trumpets. *** "So Jen, when does it start?" To cover her tension, Eileen had been far more affectionate towards Jen lately, and Jen was currently occupied with having her let go before she strangled. She looked at a doorway at stage left. "Right about now." *** The trumpets blared out a three part harmony that would have made Mahler proud. After this the herald walked out. In a booming voice, he announced the words that would get everything started. "All hail her grace, Her Serene Highness, Serenity, the Second of her Name, born unto this Earth as Tsukino Usagi, the First of that Name, Princess of the Moon Kingdom of the Silver Millennium, Sailor Senshi of the Moon, Defender of Love and Justice, and Neo-Queen of the City of Crystal Tokyo of the Crystal Millennium!" Everyone stood. And then the Queen walked in. Flanked by Sailors Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune, she walked to the scaled-down throne that sat at the center of the stage. She stood before it, facing the audience, with Mars and Mercury to her right, and Venus and Jupiter to her left. Then came Sailor Neptune, in a rare appearance without Uranus. She stood directly behind the throne, facing away from its occupant. For security reasons, all eight planet senshi were never at the same place at the same time. Uranus was at Fleet Headquarters on the Moon, Saturn was doing a PR job at the Jovian shipyards, and Pluto was in parts unknown. Which, of course, was pretty much par for her. As for those who were there, they wore mixed faces of apprehension at potential threats, and joy at preparing to welcome up to six young women into their sisterhood. Serenity's face was wholly rapturous. This was, without a doubt, the most fun she ever got to have in public, and she intended to enjoy it. She regarded the assemblage for a moment, seeming to peer through the cameras to the eight billion people in their living rooms, and then sat. At this signal, everyone else did as well. Sailor Mercury strode to the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen, the results." She made a beckoning motion with her finger, and a flunky immediately raced from offstage to hand her an envelope. She thanked him and walked to Serenity, handing over both the envelope and a gold letter opener. Her official duty in this matter complete, Mercury returned to her place beside Serenity. Neo-Queen Serenity, the most powerful woman (or person) in the world, in the solar system, and in all space explored by humans, slit open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper. The tension was palpable; no-one even breathed. Except, of course, for Eileen, who yawned and put an arm over Jen's shoulder in a blatant show of bravado. Serenity looked at the writing on the paper, and without a word stood. She walked to the podium, gestured for everyone who had stood up when she stood to sit, and wordlessly regarded the finalists in the front row. Not a flicker of understanding or communication crossed her face; it was like looking into a stone wall. She looked up to the audience at large, and began. "It is my solemn duty to inform you that Jennifer Allison Sakachi and Eileen A Pearcy have been examined by the Tsukino State College, and have been found as possessing all the necessary qualities to become sailor senshi. I hereby welcome them into the ranks of the senshi, and ask that they come forward." And then it became a bit hard to hear for awhile. *** The North American Confederation, comprising all of what was once Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico, erupted. Everyone had been hoping against hope for this to happen, and now it had. Confetti flew, horns tooted, and everyone began shouting and singing all at once. For the first time ever, North America had a Senshi it could call its own. *** The Carver Amphitheater was just a bit less loud. There was the polite applause from the senshi and the parents of those who hadn't graduated, the cheers from Jen's parents, the roar from the others in the audience, and the soft giggling from Jen herself. For her part, Eileen was busily shouting in Jen's ear. "I TOLD YOU WE'D MAKE IT!" "WHAT?" "I SAID I TOLD YOU WE'D MAKE IT!" "I'M A STERLING MEPHITIC?" "NEVER MIND!" After this scintillating conversation, they accepted the polite handshakes from the other finalists and made their way to the podium. Now that they could clearly be seen by all present, the roar got even louder. The hug and peck on the cheek that Jen gave Eileen certainly didn't help the decibel levels. They stood at the top of the steps to the stage. "DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD GO TO HER?" asked Eileen, pointing to Serenity. "Um . . . " She was cut short by Serenity's voice. Despite the noise, they could hear her perfectly. The eight intervening meters seemed to have no effect. "Right this way, please." They did as she said, and they were soon next to the Queen. "And how are you today?" "FINE . . . fine, thank you." Jen found that the noise of the crowd was now muted, as if at a long distance. Undoubtedly the power of the Ginzuishou. "Same here," said Eileen in a voice that sounded braver than she felt. "How's it goin' at the palace?" she asked in a deliberately rustic tone. "Fine, actually." She waved her arm at the crowd. "You have an appointment, you know. You must not keep them waiting." She looked off to the side and nodded. A black cat emerged. "Luna-san!" Jen breathed. The rarely seen advisor to Serenity, Luna occasionally emerged in human form. Today, however, she was a feline, and therefore had to do one of the more acrobatic acts in history. She came near to Serenity, did the best feline approximation of a bow, and then did a double back-flip, producing two golden rods about as long as a ball-point pen, but quite thicker. Both had rather elaborate looking golden metalwork at their apexes, and were colored . . . that was the problem. It wavered; one moment it was red, then blue, then into a range of indescribable colors. It was as if it was trying to make up its mind. "Ah, I see you have noticed the henshin sticks. And the colors? They will not be finalized until you decide what your Sailor name will be." "What? When *we* decide?" "Yes. After the Ginzuishou gives you the power, it is up to you to determine your powers. I have no say." "Really?" asked Eileen. "Really." "Well," she said, rolling up her sleeves, "let's get on with it, eh?" "Very well. Before I start, are you certain that you want to go through with this?" "Yes!" "You bet!" "Excellent." She pulled a breathtaking crystal from nowhere. "Now this may sting a little." She concentrated. And for Jen and Eileen, the world stayed exactly the same. *** In Annville and almost every other city in the Americas, the crowds were still celebrating too loudly to hear the commentators' voices as the events in Crystal Tokyo played themselves out. If they could hear, they would have learned that Jen and Eileen had just been given the "Ginzuishou Special," as it went by in the states, and were now receiving their transformation sticks. They now had all the power of a sailor senshi, and lacked only identities. And five little words would change that. *** "What now?" queried Eileen in a stage whisper. Serenity shrugged. "Do what comes naturally." What comes naturally. Okay, thought Eileen, just empty your head and let things happen, let things . . . ah ha! Jen looked over at her. "You feel it too?" "Yep." "Well, let's not leave our public waiting, shall we?" And then, ignoring the eyes of the world that were on them, they shouted out simultaneously. "Orion Star Power, Make-Up!" "America Star Power, Make-Up!" And for Jen and Eileen, the world changed unimaginably. *** Light. Lots of light swirling around. That was the main impression she got. The crowd had disappeared, Serenity had disappeared, all there was was a singing in her ears. A song that she knew by heart, yet had never heard before. One that screamed at her, and yet was barely perceptible. And the light. Red, while, blue, coruscating about and around her, wrapping her in a cold warmth. She found that her clothes were gone, but the light provided enough insulation. And then, she was dressed by the light, dressed in what she felt, rather than saw, was a tight fitting white bodice, a red skirt with a white and blue stripe at the hem, a blue bow at front and back, a red choker with a golden eagle at the gorge, white gloves with red, white, and blue stripes at the elbow, and sparkling blue high heels. All too soon, she found, the light was fading away, and as it dimmed, it was replaced with a crowd and a Queen and a brand new world. *** Dark. Total blackness, with just a couple pinpoints of light in barely recognizable patterns. Constellations, she realized. And she could just see one drawing nearer, in a pose familiar to her since the first time her father had taken her out to a farm, far from the city lights, to see the stars in all their glory. It had caught her eye first, out of all the constellations. Two stars widely spaced, and three in a row beneath them. It had always been harder to pick out the other details, but now she saw them clearly, belt and club and arms and legs. Orion the Hunter stood before her, heeding neither Jen's nudity nor the colossal difference in size between them. He bowed slightly, and Jen bowed in return, unheeding of the fact that he was just a few stars defining the shape of a man. "Greetings, Orion." "And greetings to you, Jennifer Allison Sakachi. I have been waiting for this for a very long time, you know. And so has she." He gestured with his club to a small, pink-haired child who bore more than a passing resemblance to the only two pink-haired girls who Jen knew existed. "My blessings upon you, my champion!" *Her* again. "But who is she? Why does she-" A beam of blinding light came from the club, and suddenly she was back on stage. *** "Jen! Jen!" "What?" "It's me! Sailor America!" This woke her up more than the crowd's fever-pitched cheering, which was getting through the silence bubble that surrounded them and Serenity. "Sailor America?" "The one and only!" she twirled around, letting her see her fuku. "And the first *not* to be named after an astronomical body!" The skirt flared, then settled back down. "And . . . oh my." Jen looked around. The world seemed different, more . . . *real*, for lack of a better term. The colors seemed sharper and more defined, her sense of smell was far better, she could hear more indistinct sounds. All five senses were enhanced to a degree she wouldn't have thought possible. "I see what you mean. The whole world seems more alive, somehow." "That's not quite what I meant." "Then what?" Sailor America merely pointed at Jen's fuku. At her questioning look, Sailor Neptune sprung from her position and produced a mirror out of nowhere. Jen had been taught about the applications of pockets, but it still took some getting used to. She peered in the proffered mirror. The face that looked back at her seemed relatively unchanged, except for the golden tiara that sat upon her brow. That was to be expected. She looked down. Typical Sailor Senshi garb: a green color to the skirt and boots that was quite stunning when contrasted with her red hair. Her glasses were still there, but they were now blue-rimmed instead of black, a shade of cerulean blue that matched her bows. For a moment, what with the mixture of red hair, green skirt, and blue bows, she might call herself Sailor Baryon or Sailor Quark. Then she happened to look at the choker in the mirror. It was glowing. The miniature gold representation of the Orion constellation was glowing with a pale white light. Needless to say, this was not something that happened very often. She just looked at the reflection for awhile. "So," began Sailor America, "exactly what kind of batteries does that thing run on?" "Eileen!" "America. Call me Sailor America." Orion seemed to notice this for the first time, which she was. "What? America? What's that, you named yourself after some manga character?" It was now America's turn to be confused. "Manga?" "Well, twentieth century US comic, but what's the difference?" "If you two don't mind," interrupted Serenity, "I'm sure you could have this discussion at some later date, but . . . " "Ah. I see," said Orion. "The formalities." And so they went up the line, receiving a warm hug from the assembled Senshi. There was no speech; that tradition had died about fifty years ago, when one senshi's speech ran fifteen minutes. After that, the trademark speech that senshi made upon transformation was skipped, much to the relief of persons like Luna, who had never liked the time such announcements took. Perhaps now the senshi could utilize the concept of 'surprise attack.' At Sailor Mars, America paused. "Did you have to break tradition?" asked Mars. "Did you *have* to be named after a continent?" "Why not?" Over by the end of the line, Neptune and Orion were exchanging words. During this, Orion looked up and saw her parents in the slowly quieting crowd. With her improved vision, she also saw their eyes following something. Tracing back along their path, she saw another flunky carrying another message to Serenity. Serenity read the message, folded it, and then it disappeared. Clearing her throat, she made a motion for silence. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have received a communique from the Moon." Orion looked at Serenity, trying to figure out what was up. "It informs me that our newest ship, H.M.S. Pleiades, is now ready to depart for an expeditionary voyage. She will leave within a week. I have been asked to make a recommendation as to her first commander, and I could not be happier to say that it is . . . " She looked at Orion and America, who were now standing together. "Okay," whispered America, "remember that no matter which of us gets her, the other could still be first officer." "Right," replied Orion. She fidgeted. "Never realized that these skirts were so damned short, though." "Shh!" " . . . Sailor Orion!" "Congratulations, Orion!" "Thanks," she said, the one word summing up all the joy she felt at being told that she would be going into space. The mushiness of the hug that followed will not be chronicled here.