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Episode #309: What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted? 
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Crystal Tokyo
3 April 3035

	"Missile attack incoming," said the talker, now bored with it all.  It 
was the third attack that morning. 
 
	"Right, you know the routine."  Sailor Neptune took a sip of coffee. 
 
	"Yes sir," said the talker.  "Arm anti-missile laser systems. 
Sector twelve reports readiness.  Missiles will intercept SDF-1 in twenty
seconds, mark."
 
	SDF-1.  Serenity Defense Field One, the name that had been hastily
attached to the umbrella of defense Serenity provided.  It had been up
continously for a week, and in that week the number of attacks on the city
had actually tripled.  Serenity had had no chance to stand down, fearful
that as soon as she let down her guard, the final attack would come.  It was
paranoia, she knew that as well as anyone, but it was justified paranoia. 
However, she insisted that she was fine, even over the constant fuss Mercury
and her doctors made over Serenity.  The Neo-Queen was urging Mercury to put
more effort into the troops in the field.  As she said again and again, it
was simply a matter of time before the war was over, and she wanted as few
casulties as possible.
 
	"Very well," said Sailor Neptune, raising her head from her
introspection.  She watched the missile tracks slowly reach the white circle
that marked the extent of the SDF.
 
	"Intercept in five, four, three, two, one, mark."  The tracks
terminated as they met the circle.  "All targets destroyed."
 
	"Another typical day."  She yawned.  Despite the carnage that had
been prevelant so far, it was simply a matter of time until the enemy was
expelled from Japan.  Then, Serenity and her diplomatic team could sue for
peace on their own terms.  Simply a matter of time. 
 
*** 
 
	Sailor Aurigae crept through the forest, leading her two dozen men
and women.  "Okay people, we've got three Allies over that ridge," she said,
pointing at the slight rise that was barely visible in the early morning
fog.  "You two, follow me," she beckoned.  Just a simple clean-up mission.
 
	The trio crept over the underbrush, the two men's boots crunching
through the dead branches and leaves.  Sailor Aurigae's high heels curiously
made no noise at all.  Her fingers twitched; the last time she'd gone out
like this, three under her command hadn't come back.
 
	Behind the ridge, a head popped up, shouted, and then popped back
down.  Aurigae gestured for them to get down.  Then she stood.  "Attention
Allied forces!  This is Sailor Aurigae, and in the name of Neo-Queen
Serenity, I order you to surrender!  Throw down your weapons and come
forward with your hands behind your head.  You have ten seconds!"
 
	Silence, except for the twitter of a bird overhead.  Aurigae peered
at the ridge and saw a muzzle peep out.
 
	"GUN!" she shouted.  She was too late. 
 
	It was the most painful experience she had ever experienced.  It
wasn't like a hard punch in the chest; she'd had those before, and this was
worse.  It wasn't like being stabbed; she'd had those before as well, and
she knew that a stab was above her pain threshold.  Logically it should have
put her into shock, but it didn't.  For the single long second that it
lasted, she felt like her heart was being torn out, and in a way, it was. 
 
	The pain stopped, and then there was nothing.  She could see, but
nothing registered.  She could hear, but it was gibberish.  She could smell
and touch and taste, but something was missing.  She slumped forward, unable
to will herself to do anything else.
 
	Behind her, the two young men who had accompanied her were frozen in
horror.  Just a bare meter from where Sailor Aurigae had once stood, there
was a floating, shimmering, multi-pointed crystal.  "What the hell is that?"
asked one of the men.
 
	Behind the ridge, a second Allied French troop raised a pistol.  It
was fundamentally the same design as those used a thousand years ago, and as
it had just one purpose, that design was adequate.  He pulled the trigger, a
bullet flew out, and Aurigae's heart crystal was shattered into pieces.  The
senshi died instantly.
 
	"Kami-sama!"  Aurigae's companions scrambled to recover her body. 
The older of the two, barely twenty-two, nearly screamed into his
communicator.  "HELP!  Sailor Aurigae's dead, and we're all al-"
 
	"Don't panic!" screamed his companion.  They heard the pistol fire
again and flung themselves on the ground.  "That was stupid of us, being
exposed like that!  C'mon, we've got to get out of here!"
 
	Dodging fire, the duo made their way around the trees and back to
the rest of the platoon.  They looked shocked as they saw their leader lying
motionless on the ground where she'd been placed.  Their pillar of strength,
gone.
 
	"Um . . . what do we do now?" 
 
*** 
 
	Earth headquarters was bedlam.  Everywhere the reports were the
same: senshi dead or dying, units in disarray, retreats becoming the rule
rather than the exception.  Sailor Uranus was finding it harder and harder
to keep track of things, even with a talker to sort things out for her.
 
	"Confirmed report, Sailor Aurigae is dead.  Her body's been
recovered, along with about a dozen others.  Sailor Vindemiatrix is also
confirmed dead by two eyewitnesses.  Body can't be recovered, the entire
town she was defending is now behind enemy lines . . . ."
 
	Sailor Uranus let the droning voice of the talker blend into the
background as she stepped to the rim of the crow's nest.  The situation
screens were almost uniformly bleak: the simple, orderly lines of just a day
ago were dissolving into a mishmash of colors.  The only constant was the
battle line was moving south.  Uranus could stand it no longer.  "Get me
Sailor Jupiter."
 
	"One moment . . . she's on, sir."   A map of the Sapporo area was
replaced with the face of Sailor Jupiter, looking old for the first time in
her life.
 
	"Hello, Uranus.  How are you?" 
 
	"What the hell's going on up there, Jupiter?" 
 
	"They're taking heart crystals." 
 
	If there was a single thing that could have frozen Uranus's insides
and forced them to congeal into an icy ball in her gut, that was it.  "What
did you say?"
 
	"Heart crystals, dammit!  The ones that were being taken from people
back when we first met you!  They're doing it again!"
 
	'Keep your composure,' she thought silently.  "Calm down," Uranus
added aloud.  She bowed her head, and when she raised it her eyes were
filled with something akin to fear.  "We can handle this, right?  We did it
before."
 
	"This is different," said Sailor Jupiter, running a hand through her
hair.  "The only targets they're interested in are senshi, and they aren't
interested in keeping the things, just destroying them.  We've lost a dozen
senshi in a day, Uranus, we can't keep up those kinds of numbers and have
any sort of force left!"
 
	"And what the hell am I supposed to do about it?  Dammit, YOU'RE
deputy commander in chief, you give ME the orders!  If by chance you feel
you can't do that anymore, step down and let someone ELSE try!" She fell
silent, realizing that the entire room had already done so.  For a moment it
was very quiet.  Uranus's eyebrow twitched.  "Right, get back to work."
Everyone went back to their activities.  "Put me on privately to Jupiter,"
she said to the talker, slipping on a headset.
 
	"Yes sir, taken care of." 
 
	"Sailor Jupiter," said Uranus into her microphone, "you have to
understand our position.  Here in Crystal Tokyo we *need* our senshi for
crowd control and civil defense, and depending on how Sailor America handles
the press with this one we may need them more than ever.  We simply can't
spare reinforcements."
 
	"We're dying.  Don't you see that we're dying?  I can't make it an
order I'm almost certain I'd be overridden, but we need help up here."

	The senshi were perhaps the most tightly knit unit in history.  Take
the comraderie of the US Marines in their prime, throw in a bit of the Girl
Scouts, and you had a small inkling of how much it hurt to lose one of their
own.  Not that they didn't care about the others, but in the cold hardness
of the long run, senshi were harder to come by.  In that light, losing a
senshi hurt all the more, in that many more ways.
 
	"I'm sorry, but there's no help anywhere in the Crystal Millenium. 
We've got to face facts.  We prided ourselves on magic . . . and now the
Allies have turned the tables.  Now it's even."
 
*** 
 
	"So, David.  How goes it with Heartbreaker?  Has our fantastic
expense panned out?"
 
	"Better than we could ever have hoped," said President Ronowski to
his Southeast Asian counterpart.  "I assure you, the price will be well
worth it."
 
	"I hope so," said Prathachulthorn sharply.  "My people are becoming
disgruntled with food rationing, and even more upset about inflation.  I've
even got people here talking impeachment!" Clearly he was feeling the heat
of being the only one there who had been democratically elected.
 
	"This latest news should make them happier, then."  Romowski's mood
was a bit deflated now.  He'd nearly run his confederation into the ground
to make Heartbreaker work, it and the other secrets that had been found
years ago.
 
*** 
 
	When the discovery was made, it seemed too good to be true in more
ways than one.  An oceanographic expedition inspecting several deep-sea
Pacific trenches had found a ship.  Not just any ship, but a starship, and
not just any starship, but a Crystal Tokyo starship, and not just any
Crystal Tokyo starship, but a Crystal Tokyo starship that had not been
built.
 
	The ship turned out to be Her Majesty's Ship Ursa Major,
registration number D-334, formerly commanded by Sailor Pollux, or rather to
be commanded by Sailor Pollux.  The nameplate said that it had been launched
in 3010, which came as quite a shock to the explorers.  It was found in
2956, and it was only a series of tricks with time had allowed it to be
there.
 
	The expedition had acted swiftly under the flag of the then North
American Confederation.  Under ruthless security, the wreck was recovered
and brought to Vancouver, then to the base in the Rockies.  There, the
accumulated grime and detrius of centuries had been carefully stipped off. 
A surprising amount of technology had survived.  While the weapons systems
had been largely destroyed, the computers were largely intact, and a bit of
work made their memories accessible to the salvagers.  This included an
impressive wealth of information on military history, the specialty of the
ship's captain, Sailor Pollux.
 
	It was that data which turned out to be crucial.  It had detailed
accounts of the Black Moon invasion, accounts that were ignored by the
higher-ups until the invasion actually came about in 3001.  After that,
closer attention was paid to certain types of weapons that had been
virtually forgotten even by the planet senshi.  A type of weapon that was
called a Heart Buster.
 
	It had taken decades to perfect a model that worked, during which
the entire operation had had to have been concealed under the most secrecy
ever.  The expense . . . well, at this point it was no longer simple
ideology the American Confederation was fighting for.  Now it was fighting
for money.  Without Crystal Tokyo reparations, the Americas faced a long,
cold, hard winter.  A coup d'etat would be a best case scenario.
 
*** 
 
	Now Ronowski watched all the sacrifices pay off.  It was immensely
gratifying, even if it did mean the deaths of all those senshi.  He didn't
consider himself cold-hearted at all.  He was merely a politician, doing the
best he could for his constituency, or so he said.  "Look, I'm telling you. 
The public wants to see dead senshi-"
 
	"-after we told them that they wanted to see dead senshi-" 
 
	"-and," continued Ronowski, unpertrubed by SEAA's interruption,
"after we give them their dead senshi they'll be all for the war.  Nothing
brightens spirits like a winning team.  We simply have to provide them with
one."
 
	"Tell me, just how many people are dying on our winning team, eh? 
My people are making depopulation estimates that are simply frightening, and
this is with us *winning*?" He didn't bother explaining just how *wrong* it
seemed, fundamentally.  He felt that they were simply tampering where they
had no business.
 
	"Losses would be high, we knew that," countered Ronowski.  "Every
man and woman at this table saw the projections, saw the scenarios, had the
opportunity to back out.  We're in this together now.  America delivered on
Heartbreaker, now the rest of you have to pitch in."
 
	"Speaking of America, how is your continent's senshi doing?"
Fayit's voice dripped sarcasm.  "Doesn't it bother you just a bit to have
her on the other side?"
 
	"Pearcy?  We never should have let her leave the country," grumbled
Ronowski.  "But I wasn't about to go on my hands and knees begging her to
come back, either.  If she wants monarchy, she can have it for as long as
Serenity reigns.  And that, thankfully, won't be long."
 
	"Ever the optimist?" 
 
	"Ever." 
 
*** 
 
	"I must, however, repeat that Neo-Queen Serenity and the other
senshi remain optimistic about the war effort." Sailor America was visibly
sweating, but she tried to keep her eyes calm.  She was successful for the
most part. "Despite the latest developments, there is every reason to
believe that victory is secured." She forced herself to smile.  "In fact,
there is every reason to believe that peace negotiations will come to a
conclusion shortly." 'Mainly because *they're* winning,' she thought.  

	The Heart Busters had only been on the line for two days, two
absolutely terrifying days for the senshi.  Twenty-eight of the over two
hundred senshi had died.  That was an inconcievable number for Sailor
America to grasp, and she knew it must be the same for her comrades.
 
	They all died the same way.  First their heart crystals were shot
from their chests, and then a simple pistol shot shattered it.  There was no
coming back from a broken heart crystal, no medical miracles Sailor Mercury
could pull out of the bag, nothing.  It wasn't even certain that the
ginzuishou could revive the victims, not that Serenity would be allowed to
try.  In the long run, who knew if Serenity would try it?  What kind of life
could the victims hope to lead?  More importantly, what life could the
already-weakened Army lead without senshi support?
 
	Sailor America faltered for a moment, then continued with her set
speech.  "Thus, you can see that this is only temporary.  Now, any
questions?  Ah, you there in the blue hat?"
 
	"Yes," said the rather short Torajiro Kobi, "just how many senshi 
are reported dead?" 
 
	"I can't divulge that information, sorry.  Not until the families
are notified and proper arrangements are made for burial.  Next?"
 
	"Sailor America," said the young female reporter Yukari Yamawaki, "I
have here a report from a prominent North American journal.  It relates the
stories of several Crystal Tokyo POWs, and says that our supply situation is
looking very bad.  One is quoted as saying, 'we have a week left at best.'
What do you make of these reports?"
 
	"I'm sorry," replied Sailor America, "but I'm afraid that's a matter
of national securty.  I can't comment on-"
 
	"Liar!"  All heads in the crowd turned to the back.  Yukio Oe, a
camera technician from the city's most popular television station, was a
twenty-two-year-old man who was under enormous pressure to join the army. 
Before leaving for work, his parents had told him in no uncertain terms that
if he didn't sign up for the manpower-hungry military, he didn't need to
bother coming back home.  Now, he'd decided that he had nothing to lose. 
"Liar!" he repeated, stepping away from his camera.  "Government-fed lies!"
 
	Sailor America blinked, and then remembered the first rule of
dealing with a heckler: don't give them the attention they crave.  "-cannot
comment on such a matter," she concluded.  "I'm sure you-"
 
	"Why don't you tell us the truth!?  Afraid we can't handle it
somehow?"
 
	"-you can understand that," finished America.  "Next question,
please?  Ah, Rimiko?"
 
	"Sailor America, is there any truth to the-" 
 
	"We must surrender!"  Yukio's eyes were blazing with defiance now. 
"By the kami, we've got to surrender before it's too late, don't you see? 
If the senshi are dying, and our friends and family in the army are dying in
even larger numbers, how can we *hope* to win?"
 
	America looked at Yukio sadly, and then nodded to the two guards by
the rear exit.  She hated herself for what she was doing now, but at the
same time she could see no alternatives. 'He's being disruptive,' she told
herself.  'If he stays he only causes the unease and panic I'm trying to
prevent.  I *must* remove him!' But a small part of her said that she was
removing a bit of freedom at the same time.
 
	The guards were dragging him out by the arms now.  Sensing that now
was his chance, he shouted all the louder.  "Can't you see?" he cried,
staring right at a camera.  "They don't tolerate dissent!  They don't
tolerate free speech!  They don't tolerate REASON!  THEY'VE GOT TO BE STO-"
 
	The doors slammed on him, and all was quiet except for the tapping
of fingers on handlinks.  At the head of the room, Sailor America could only
sigh.  The damage had been done, and undoubtedly Yukio's face would be all
over the news that afternoon and night.  She got the idea that she wouldn't
be getting much sleep.  "Sorry, Rimiko.  I didn't catch the tail end of your
question."
 
	"Of course.  As I was saying, is there any truth to the rumor that
we are close to signing a seperate peace agreement with the Arab Union?  The
report I have," said the woman, glancing down at her notes, "says that the
terms of the agreement lay out a plan for Neo-Queen Serenity to admit
wrongdoing in overstepping her bounds as a world leader.  It also provides
for Serenity-sama to stay on the throne as a figurehead, and for Crystal
Tokyo to pay the Arab Union's war debt.  Any comment upon that?"
 
	"You must be out of your mind!" was Sailor America's first unstated
response.  There was no way that Serenity would accept those terms, not
unless she had lost control of her faculties.  At the least, not unless
things were more bleak than even America had been told, and she couldn't
imagine things being much worse.  She didn't say that.  Instead: "To my
knowledge, that isn't correct.  While it's true that Sailor Cassiopeia has
been meeting with AU representatives, I don't know of any peace agreements
that have been made or are near completion."
 
	"Then what do you make of the report?" 
 
	"Unfounded speculation," replied America.  Or wishful thinking, she
silently appended.  Anitiwar sentiment was growing with each passing day,
and even Sailor America's near-perpetual optimism didn't seem enough to
defeat it.  How much longer could she keep her optimistic view on life
with a lover hundreds of kilometers away, and a brother who could very well
be far, far closer?
 
	"Next question, please?" 
 
*** 
 
	Sailor Orion knocked gently on the door.  "Come in." 
 
	Stepping into Sailor Jupiter's office, Orion couldn't help but
notice the disarray of things.  Sailor Jupiter had always been neat before,
but now confusion reigned.  "Sorry about the mess," said the brunette,
leaning back in her seat.  "But we barely averted that breakthrough near
Koshino, and I'm still cleaning up after that.  Anyway," she sighed, "what
do you need?"
 
	"You asked about morale earlier?" 
 
	"Yes." 
 
	"It's bad.  Very bad, I'm afraid."  Sailor Orion sat in a battered
chair that was totally at odds with her clean sailor fuku.  "I've been through the
barracks, down to the regional headquarters, everywhere.  It's the same
thing all around: the regulars are scared."
 
	"We all are," replied Jupiter. 
 
	"No, not just scared, terrified.  They think that we're doomed." 
 
	"We're not gods." 
 
	"But we've been acting pretty godlike, you have to admit," pressed
Sailor Orion, frustrated with Jupiter's curt replies.  "We're the most
powerful people on earth, and suddenly we're dying.  That's a huge blow to
our collective egos . . . and . . . ."
 
	"And?" 
 
	Orion took off her glasses and looked at them.  "And to our hearts." 
 
	Jupiter said nothing, but rather looked through some papers. 
"You're going out in the field again.  I need someone to supervise the
defense of Ashoro.  We're getting hammered up there, and . . . it's not
general knowledge, but we've lost five senshi there in the past two hours."
 
	Orion was dumbfounded.  "F-five?" 
 
	"They were all together.  The Allies staged a mini-breakthrough,
found them, and just like that their heart crystals were gone.  I'm writing
up the report for Crystal Tokyo right now . . . but the break has been
averted for the moment.  Anyway, that's your assignment.  Transportation's
been arranged, you have three hours to pack your bags."
 
	The redhead nodded; after the past couple weeks, almost nothing
fazed her anymore.  "I'll be on my way." She got up to leave.
 
	"Oh, and one other thing." 
 
	Sailor Orion paused at the door.  "Yes?" 
 
	"Tell me . . . when was the last time you spoke to your parents?" 
 
	"Last Thursday, I think.  Yeah, we were on the phone for quite
awhile."
 
	"What did you talk about?  If you don't mind me asking, that is." 
 
	"Um . . . everything, really.  But it was mainly about how I was
doing.  I said I was fine, I missed them, stuff like that."
 
	"I see."  Sailor Jupiter leaned back in her chair and rubbed her
temples.  "My parents are dead, you know.  Of course you know, you're a
history Ph. D.  But just what do you know about them, just out of
curiosity?"
 
	"Um, they died when you were young, that's all I've read.  A plane
crash, wasn't it?"
 
	"No, that's what everyone thinks.  It was actually an accident at
the airport.  The brakes on the shuttle bus failed.  My mother died
instantly, my father a day later . . . but the point is that when it hit the
fan around 1999, the other senshi saw a lot less of their parents.  And when
Her . . .  when Usagi got ready to make the announcement, she gave them a
day to say goodbye.
 
	"I'm sorry you only have three hours . . . I used to think you'd
have decades.  But if I were you, I'd talk to them.  You've definitely got
more time than I had." Jupiter swiveled her chair around so she faced away
from Sailor Orion.  "Goodbye, Jennifer Sakachi."
 
	Even though she wouldn't be able to see it, Orion bowed to Jupiter. 
"Goodbye . . . Sailor Jupiter." She turned and walked away.
 
==================================
Begun: 09:53 31 May 1998 
Finished: 22:16 14 June 1998 
Final draft: 21:01 3 July 1998
Final edit: 11:03 24 February 2001
==================================