===================================================
Unnumbered Episode #210: My Heart is a Kaleidoscope
===================================================


	The bright light faded away.  Jennifer Sakachi sat up in her bed,
still a bit shocked by what had just occurred.  Behind her, Eileen lost
interest and went back to sleep.

	Jen's round blue eyes widened as the room lights went back down, an
automatic reflex to admit more light to the retina.  It was early in the
morning, too early for even Jen to get ready for classes at the School.

	Her father's phone call still rang in her mind.  He hadn't seemed
terribly upset, just surprised.  Sometimes she thought the only thing that
could upset her father was if someone called him a lazy worker . . . but the
sight of his daughter naked in bed with another woman hadn't seemed to
disgust him at all.

	She rested her chin on her left fist and peered into the darkness,
not sure what she was looking for.

	'Well,' she thought to herself, 'you've just had sex for the first 
time.  How do you feel?

	'Weird.  Like that one time I went on the roller coaster, and 
afterwards I felt all tingly, but also sort of drained at the same time.'

	She wondered if it would feel this way every time.  Then she 
wondered if there would even be a next time.

	"What have I done?" she whispered softly.  "I just met her a couple
of weeks ago, and already I'm doing something like *this*?" Eileen shifted
beneath the covers, and Jen stopped talking, fearful of waking her up.  She
wanted to be able to say the perfect thing when her new lover awoke, and she
didn't have it yet.

	Eileen's new position left most of her back uncovered, and to Jen,
in the pale light of the half moon that shone through the window, it was one
of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen.  For a moment she simply
took in the way it sloped down towards the small of the back, her spine a
small protrusion running down the center, a couple freckles here and there. 
To anyone else it wouldn't have suggested much to itself, but anyone else
wouldn't have spent the night with the brunette.

	The night.

	Sex was, she realized, a totally natural part of life.  She had
heard all the stories before, but for most of her high school career, she
simply hadn't given it any consideration.  After all, no-one had ever shown
any real interest in dating her, and rarely even talking to her.  If not for
the yearbook staff and Kanomi, she would have been a complete outcast.  Even
then, she hadn't thought before that having sex was anything of which one
should be ashamed.  Until now.

	She sighed and looked back at her roommate.  Eileen was still
sleeping peacefully, seemingly without the slightest bit of worries
concerning the previous night.  Jen wanted so much to just go back under the
covers with her and just stay there forever, without ever having to get up
and face the real world.  But she knew that couldn't do that, not any more
than she could turn around to go back home and forget all about the School.

	Okay, I can't just put this off, she thought.  I've got to say
something, while I've still got the nerve to do it.  She reached over and
shook Eileen awake.

	"Yeah?" came the muffled reply.  "Whaddya want?"

	"Um, I've got something I need to say to you."

	"Yes?"

	Jen's carefully crafted speech promptly drained from her mind.

+++***

	Sailor Mars acted more quickly than she had acted in a long time. 
She snapped around, and without even saying the words unleashed a chain of
fire at their attackers.  Ignoring their screams of agony as they were
burned alive, she picked up Sailor Orion with hardly a thought as to the
larger senshi's size.  Mars spared a quick glance back to make sure they
weren't being followed, and quickly ran down the hall to a small, almost
wizened-looking door.  She kicked it in, swung around, slammed it, and
gently laid the redhead upon the gray floor of what turned out to be some
sort of storage room.

	The entire process, from Orion's being shot to Mars putting her down
on the floor, had taken fifteen seconds.

	Sailor Mars bent down to the immobile Orion.  Orion's eyes were
closed, but a quick check showed that she was still breathing.  Frowning,
the black-haired senshi turned Sailor Orion over to check where she'd been
hit.  As soon as she saw it, she breathed in sharply.

	She knew that senshi uniforms were anything but ornamental.  They
could take a hell of a lot of punishment, and the techs in R and D said that
they could even take a hand-carried laser blast, provided it was of
low-enough power.  This seemed to give lie to that, however.  A section of
Orion's back collar measuring about six centimeters in diameter had been
blackened, and the center of it was even worse.  She didn't look at it long.

	The shock of the blast must also have done something to her central
nervous system.  The redhead hadn't moved on her own or said anything for
some time.  On a hunch, the senshi of fire crouched down beside her and did
an impromptu reading on her soul.

	She frowned.

	Sailor Mars had a very clear sense of duty, and ranked her duties in
strict priority.  First and foremost was Neo-Queen Serenity, and with her
the royal family.  Next were the two hundred senshi she fought alongside, in
spirit if not in body.  She knew that any one of them would die for her, and
she felt that she owed at least that much to them.

	So when she realized just how serious Orion's injury was to her
soul, she did the only thing she could conscionably do.  She took out a
communicator, a very old one that had been given to her by a black cat some
thousand-odd years ago.  It only linked her with the other planet senshi,
but in this case it was good enough.  Orion was injured, and for that, the
terrorists would have to pay a price.

	In place of Mars, she would punish them.

***

	Jupiter looked up from her preparations.  *The* communicator was
ringing.  She hesitated only a moment before taking it out.

	"Mars?"

	"Good guess," came the scratchy reply.  "You can guess that I'm in
the Palace-"

	"What's going on in-"

	"PLEASE don't interrupt, Sailor Jupiter.  This is important.  Now,
I've got Sailor Orion with me.  She's hurt, and she needs medical attention,
fast.  We're in room . . . 74055.  I know this communication's going to be
tracked down, so listen carefully.  I can defend this room indefinitely, of
that I'm quite sure.  So I *really* think that you should send a full force
into the Palace and clean the place up, regardless of the cost."

	"WHAT?"

	"You're DepCinc, so I can't force you to do it.  But I can strongly
recommend.  Now, just tell your people to avoid that room, and you can-"

	"Is there anyone else in there?  Any hostages?"

	"I doubt it.  As far as I can tell, they're all either dead, or
terrorists themselves." Sailor Mars sighed.  "This whole thing was a setup,
right from the beginning.  I don't know *how* long they had this planned,
but once I find out I think I'm going to feel pretty stupid."

	"It's okay," reassured Jupiter.  'You won't be the only one,' she
thought.  "But you're certain that you'll be all right if I send in the
guards?  You *know* that the fighting is going to be vicious once it
starts."

	"I don't care at this point.  They've injured a senshi.  They can 
all die for all I care."

	Jupiter knew better than to argue with Sailor Mars once she started
using that tone of voice.  She nodded twice.  "I understand.  I can probably
begin the operation in thirty minutes, perhaps more if I have trouble
getting permission from Her Majesty.  But they'll be there, don't worry
about that."

	"Good.  Oh, and Jupiter?"

	"Yes?"

	"Do *not* underestimate them.  They may just have laser pistols, but
they're crack shots, and they've already incapacitated one senshi.  I'd
rather they didn't get another one."

	"I see.  Anything else?"

	"Medical attention, fast.  Perhaps Sailor Mercury, but that's at
your discretion.  I think Sailor Orion may have some damage to her spinal
cord, and she's definitely having trouble with her soul." Mars groped for
the right words to say; it was not a situation that lent itself to medical
terminology.  "It's . . . there's something big bothering her, and until
she's settled it with herself, all the doctors in the world aren't going to
be able to help her."

	"Okay.  Well . . . see you soon."

	"Right.  Bye."  The connection clicked off.

	Jupiter slumped back in her padded seat and sighed.  So, for the
first time in her term as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, she was going to order
her troops into combat.  She'd already been through the simulations, so she
knew who would be going.  Three dozen senshi, as many Royal Marine regulars,
and a dozen each of army infantry and Palace guards, all armed to the teeth. 
She was taking no chances.

	She knew it would be enough.  But could they win convincingly?

***

	"Your Majesty," began Sailor Jupiter, "I've got news."  She and her 
monarch were in the private quarters that had been hastily arranged for 
her.  Thankfully, Jupiter had managed to persuade her against coming any 
closer to the action.  "We've confirmed that Sailor Mars is inside the 
Palace with Sailor Orion.  Orion is injured, and Mars feels that the best 
course of action is to launch a full assault on the occupied floors.  
She's guaranteed the safety of herself and Orion, but urges that we act 
with the utmost speed."

	Serenity didn't change her expression; she continued to stare off
into space, seemingly in the same silent contemplation she had been in when
Jupiter had entered.  "And you wish for me to give you permission for this
action?"

	"Yes, Your Majesty."

	"Even given the disdain you know I feel for any sort of military 
force?"

	"Your Majesty, we cannot allow the actions of Crystal Tokyo to be
dictated by any madmen with inside connections and weapons.  We've got to
send a strong message, and *now*.  Otherwise, we invite anyone and everyone
to besiege the Palace every time you make an unpopular decision."

	Serenity sighed.  "I am not sure I agree with your reasoning.  But
there is another reason, is there not?"

	"Sailor Orion.  We owe her.  She's had a rather remarkable record
over the past few years.  One almost as good as ours was."

	"Almost," said Serenity with the slightest twinkle in her eyes. 
"My, we did have some fun times back then, did we not?"

	"If I remember correctly," said Jupiter, "we also had some bad 
times."

	"But the good always outnumbers the bad.  Remember that, please."
She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them the crescent moon
on her forehead glowed just a bit brighter.  "Go ahead.  But I would like
for Sailor Mercury to see to Sailor Orion's needs personally."

	"Of course.  With your leave," she concluded, bowing and starting to
leave the chamber.

	"Oh, and Sailor Jupiter?"  The brunette stood stock-still.  "I shall
be accompanying you."

	Jupiter blinked, unsure that she'd heard what she thought she heard.  
"What?" she asked, turning around.

	There was a flash of feathers, and suddenly Eternal Sailor Moon
stood before her.  "I'm going with you.  I'm a sailor senshi, aren't I?"

	"Your . . . Sailor Moon, you . . . I will *not* allow you to do
this!"

	"*Will* not?" asked Moon, arching a blonde eyebrow.  "Just who do
you think is the commander in chief?"

	Jupiter bowed her head, but stood her ground.  "You are, Sailor
Moon, but . . . if anything happened to you . . . what would I . . . what
would *all* of us do?" She looked up, eyes shining.

	Eternal Sailor Moon's shoulders slumped.  "So it's this argument 
again."

	"Yes," said Jupiter, feeling sick at even the thought of anything
happening to her Queen.  "Sailor Moon, it's entirely possible they could
have some sort of bomb planted in the Palace, just waiting for us senshi to
walk it.  For all we know, it could even be nuclear." A slight exaggeration,
but there was the possibility that the radiation counters could be in error. 
"I really want you as far away from the Palace as you can get, but if you
were to stay here, that would be just as well."

	Eternal Sailor Moon looked into Jupiter's green eyes for a long
moment, and then nodded.  "I understand.  But you must . . . ." She trailed
off and turned around, resting her hands upon the desk for a moment.  She
chuckled.  "It's been a long time since I've gotten to fight, and every once
in awhile . . . ."

	Jupiter nodded, smiling.  She was simply glad that Moon had gotten
that crazy idea out of her head.  "I see.  If you ever want a sparring
partner . . . you know how to reach me."

	"Um-hm."  There was a soft glow that quickly enveloped everything,
and then Neo-Queen Serenity stood before her.  "Go now, and bring everyone
back safely."

	"I will, Your Majesty.  I'll do my best."

	Serenity smiled in reply, and watched Jupiter as she briskly walked
out the door.  She then sighed, and went back to trying to figure out just
how her tour in America should go.

***

	Sailor Jupiter returned to the conference room.  She took one look
at the faces of the planet senshi that surrounded it and wondered if she
looked as tired as they did.  "People, we're moving.  You've probably heard
the news by now.  But I want Sailor Mercury down here to aid Sailor Orion."
The senshi nodded.  "Uranus, you're taking Mercury's place.  Get on the
fastest shuttle you can and relieve her, okay?"

	America had walked in on the last bit of this conversation.  She had
been busy preparing for the press conference she had scheduled for an hour
later, and had popped in to grab any last minute information.  "What about
Sailor Orion?" she asked, as Uranus made her way out the door.

	"She's been injured," said Jupiter shortly.  "I'm ordering Sailor
Mercury down to-oomph!"

	America was clutching the collar of Jupiter's fuku.  "Let me go in
the assault group!"

	Jupiter's voice was steely as she responded.  "I can't."

	"Dammit, Jen's in there in-"

	"Sailor America, get hold of yourself or I'll find someone who will! 
Kami-sama, don't you think I'm trying to save her?  Haven't you noticed that
I'm sending dozens of men and women in there at this very moment?  Some of
them may very well *die*!  Die for *your* Jen!  So do *not* come in here
with your bullshit about how I don't give a damn about her, because heaven
knows I'm doing the same for her I'd do for *any* senshi, EVEN YOU!"

	She let go, and a deep blush spread over her face.  "Sailor Jupiter,
I-"

	"No.  You're not going.  You don't have nearly enough experience;
you'd simply get in the way.  Now, as soon as it's all over, and it *will*
be over quite shortly, you'll report to the public on what's happened, and
*not before*, understand?  You leak a byte of information and you'll be 
out on the hinterlands of the galaxy so fast your tiara will be spinning, 
okay?  Bye!"

	The senshi of lightning stalked out of the room, leaving the other
senshi to begin making preparations.  America simply stood with a forlorn
expression, wanting to hit something, anything, just to take out her
frustrations.  She nearly jumped through the ceiling when she felt a strong
hand on her shoulder.

	"Sailor America."  It was Sailor Venus.  "You want to see Sailor 
Orion?"

	America nodded silently.

	"I may be able to help."  She flashed a V-sign.

***

	"Forward Post One here."

	"This is Sailor Jupiter.  Sailor Mars and Sailor Orion are in room
74055.  The battle plan is Tango Alpha India Three Four.  Move!"

***

	Sailor Mercury fairly ran off the shuttle while it was still rolling
to a stop outside Crystal Tokyo.  She leapt from there into a waiting
transport, which immediately raced off to the Palace as night fell over the
city.

	She turned around to the back seat, where the five assistants that
would accompany her to Sailor Orion's location were sitting.  The first one,
in a lab coat and with blonde hair that almost looked to be a wig, bowed
slightly from her sitting position.  "Elena Perth, M.D." she said, smiling.

***

	Three floors below Sailor Mars and Orion, the assault team was
assembling.  They had been given their orders: first, to secure the area
around Mars and Orion.  Second, to eliminate all terrorist opposition. 
Damage to the Palace was to be kept to a minimum, and any last ditch suicide
attacks by the terrorists were to be prevented at all costs.

	At a signal, they attacked.  The fighting was furious at times, but
at others was baffling.  The terrorists were in many cases disheartened, and
threw down their weapons at the sight of the attack group.  Others fought on
until they saw the sailor senshi.  And a few even fought on then, killing
themselves rather than allowing themselves to be captured.

	As it turned out, almost all of those who committed suicide were the
leaders.  It would be a long time before anyone knew who was truly behind it
all, and by the time Crystal Tokyo knew of it, it would be too late.

***+++

	"Um . . . I need to talk to you.  Um, about last night, you 
see . . . ."

	Eileen lay a reassuring hand upon her shoulder.  "No need to
explain, Jennifer.  It was your first time, it was my first time too. 
You're not having second thoughts about it, are you?"

	Jen swallowed.  "Well, yes.  Eileen, I always thought that I was 
going to wait until I got married to try anything like this-"

	"So you want us to get married?" asked Eileen, smiling slightly.

	"Eileen, I'm serious about this!"

	"So am I.  So, you wanna get married?"

	"No!  I just . . . just . . . I don't want this to be about sex.  I
want it to . . . to be about . . . I don't know how . . . ."

	Eileen sat silently, giving Jen some time to think things out.

	"I want it to be about . . . about . . . love.  Because I love you."
There.  She'd said it.  It wasn't about the tremendous high that came from
physical contact with Eileen, it wasn't about how great Eileen looked, it
was because Eileen evoked in Jen a dozen different emotions, half of which
she couldn't even name, all of which she lumped into that woefully overused
and misunderstood word called love.

	Eileen blinked.  "You . . . you love me?"

	Now that she'd said it, it was so much easier for her to say it
again.  "Yes.  Yes yes yesyesyesyes.  Forever."

	Eileen smiled in spite of herself, in spite of the tears of joy that
fell down her face.  "Forever is a long time, Jennifer Sakachi."

	"Yes it is, Eileen Pearcy.  But I figure that I might as well spend
it with the woman I love." Jen acted spontaneously, leaping and giving
Eileen the biggest hug she could, unwilling to ever let her go again. 
"Dammit, I thought that I'd lost you there," said Jen, nearly crying.

	"Lose me?  But you just got me," said Eileen, smiling.

	The universe blinked, and she was on a balcony of the Palace
overlooking Tokyo Bay, the sun rising from the Pacific Ocean.  For whatever
reason, she was in her sailor fuku.  In fact, she realized, it was slightly
different.  The pendant of her bow was now heart shaped, and a star had
replaced the owl on her choker.  Translucent pads were now at her shoulders,
and her back bow was quite a bit longer.  She was, she realized, Super
Sailor Orion.

	The impossibility of that fact fell away when she saw Sailor America
standing a few meters away.

	"You don't have me, Sailor Orion."

	Orion blinked rapidly.  "What do you mean?"

	"You do not have me," said the cold voice in reply.

	Orion gasped.

+++***

	Sailor Mercury and her medics rushed into the room to see Mars in a
fighting position.  As Mars saw who it was, she immediately relaxed and
moved out of the way.  Mercury was the first at Orion's side, followed
closely by "Doctor Perth."

	"Any change in condition?" asked Mercury automatically, already
checking the fallen senshi with her visor.

	"Physically, no.  But mentally . . . I don't know.  If she wants to
come out of this, she's going to have to do it by herself."

	Mercury nodded, yielding to Mars in such a spiritual matter.  Then
the practical side of her took over.  "Well, let's make sure she has a
physical body to come back to, then." She never noticed Doctor Perth
standing over her, fighting back tears.

	"Don't die . . . ."

***+++

	"But . . . we've been through so much together . . . it's like
we're-"

	"DON'T SAY IT!"  The fury of Sailor America's voice seemed to make
the sun rethink its plans for rising that morning.  It almost appeared to
sink a bit into the sea.  "We aren't destined.  We never were.  There's one
couple in history that was *meant* to be, and no more.  This isn't some
Serenity and Endymion fairy tale."

	"I know that, don't you think I know that?"

	"Then why are you trying to keep us together?  All things come to an
end, Sailor Orion, and this is one of them."

	'Not yet it doesn't,' said a small part of Orion's mind.  Aloud she
said, "I don't understand.  That first morning together, you said I had you. 
I said I loved you . . . and I still do . . . but now . . . why *now*, of
all times?"

	America shrugged.  "Why not?  We're obviously not compatible."

	"But . . . ."

	"We've fought, Sailor Orion.  Do I have to make it any clear? 
Couples do not fight."

	"Yes, they do!  But they make up afterwards, don't you see?  We can
still be together again, if only-"

	"No," said America, turning her back on the sunrise.  Her face was
hidden in the shadow now, and seemed colder than ever.

	Sailor Orion very nearly gave up.  But she recalled something . . . 
something at the edge of her memory . . . something else that had been said
on this balcony . . . .

+++

	"Eileen A Pearcy, you are the most beautiful, most lovable, most
important person in the world to me, and nothing that anyone could ever
write will change that.  Understand?

	"Has anyone else have the greatest kind of love in the world? 

	"They don't, Eileen, and you do.  That has more impact than a
million yearbooks, than a million insults.  Because you've got me, and I've
got you."

+++***

	"It's getting worse," said Mars quietly.  She looked up at Mercury
grimly.  The soldier of ice had apparently reached the same conclusion. 
"We're going to lose her." There was no talk of bringing her to Serenity. 
The Neo-Queen would obviously give her own life to save Orion's, and as
Serenity's guardians that was something that they simply could not allow.

	Mercury nodded, and looked up at one of the medics.  "I'm sorry,
Eileen.  We've done everything we can, but . . . ."

	Eileen showed no surprise at being found out, but Mars did.  "What?"

	The brunette ignored her.  "There's nothing else you can do, then?"

	"No," said Mercury, with the bitterness that only losing a patient
can bring on.  It had happened countless times before, but it never stung
any less than it had the first time.  "If you'd like some time alone-"

	"No.  That . . . that won't be necessary.  Thank you."  She bent
over next to Orion and stroked her cheeks softly.  Taking the redhead's
gloved hand in her own, she wept silently.  "I'm . . . I'm so sorry,
Jennifer.  I never . . . I never got the chance to say it one more time.  I
. . . I love you."

***+++

	Orion shook with the memory, at the words she had said when she was
most vulnerable, when she was trying to bring Eileen back from the brink.

	"Eileen.  Please."

	"No."

	"I love you."

	Time seemed to stop for a moment.  For several long seconds, nothing
moved: no birds flew in the sky, no sea breeze caressed their bodies.  Even
the sun seemed to pause, its limb clinging to the edge of the sea, almost
unwilling to let go.

	"That's it?  No flowery words of praise?  No eloquence to rival
Shakespeare and Sappho and Takeuchi?  Just three little sincere words?"

	Orion stood her ground.  "They say everything."

	A single peregrine flew high, high above, towards the sun.  A gust
of wind picked up, and began to blow across the balcony, waving bows and
hair and skirt alike.  There was a sigh, and Super Sailor America turned
around, with the biggest grin on her face that Orion had ever seen.

	"It says everything I need to hear," she said.  And then they ran 
towards each other, and as they met . . . .

+++***

	Sailor Mars's eyes widened in shock at what she saw next.  Sailor
Orion's eyelids began to flutter.  "Mercury . . . ."

	The blue haired senshi had seen the same thing.  "I'm on it," she 
said, sending her aides into motion around the woman.

	Slowly, Orion opened her eyes.  Several people were around her,
poking and prodding with medical instruments.  She saw two brown eyes
looking back at her.  Fighting a scratchy throat and a hell of a pain in her
back, she coughed once, twice, and then spoke.

	"Eileen?"

	"Jennifer!"

	Orion started to get up gingerly, but was forced back down by
America's bear hug as she fell on top of her.  And then they were hugging,
laughing, smiling, and reveling in being with each other once again.  It
didn't matter what had happened in the past; that would be sorted out later,
and Orion would have plenty of time to recover.  And it didn't matter what
happened in the future; that was for another time.  All that mattered was
the present.

***

	In a dozen rooms around the world, a dozen men and women looked at
monitors, and growled.  It was time for other plans to be put into motion.

***

	"Final report?"

	"Your Majesty, all the terrorists were apparently members of the
Palace staff.  We're going through records now; we suspect they may have
been forged in ways we previously thought impossible.  Best we can determine
is that they were plants from the day they began working here." She sighed;
finding out the the leader of the whole thing had apparently been Sailor
Venus's personal secretary had been a terrible shock.  What kinds of
information might he have gotten?  "I think it's obvious that we'll have to
overhaul our pre-employment background checks.

	"We've run into a brick wall with tracing their weapons.  They can't
have made them by themselves, but missing equipment reports from the armory
aren't enough to account for them all.  We know that they had to have had
help from other confederations, but we cannot confirm this, and all the
diplomats we've spoken to vigorously deny everything.  We can't press them
too much, not with another round of environmental negotiations due.

	"They didn't take your chambers, but the two sentries who were
guarding them died in the defense of it.  They closed the doors, and when
they did they had no way out.  They'll be getting the Crystal Crescent for
their efforts, though.

	"Final casualties: thirty-two terrorists dead, two hostages, three
of our assault team.  The hostages were apparently random people picked from
those who weren't in on the conspiracy."

	"Can this happen again?"

	"Your Majesty, we're going through all employee records with a fine
tooth comb, right down to our personal secretaries.  If it happens again,
you can bet it was because of magical interference."

	"Very well.  I look forward to your full report.  You may go."

	"Yes, Your Majesty."

	The door closed.


===========================
LeVar Bouyer
Edited: 21 January 2001