Sailor Moon: Invasion by: CMoon
PROLOGUE: LAUNCH
"Lunar Frontier Project Alpha Zulu, space exploration vessel ready for launch" The man sitting at the control desk said. He was messing with the control panels. He was young, about 20 or so. He had black hair and a mysterious look about him. He usually wears sunglasses, but not during launch sequences. He came to the International Space Exploration for NASA and Solar Energy, or INSENSE, about five months ago. He is an apprentice for Dr. Egmond Eisenhower, or Dr. E. E. as he likes to be called. He studied space exploration in collage, but couldn't pay the full tuition, and was kicked out a year ago. Dr. E. E. felt sorry for him and signed him on, so he could still get an education. He has covered numerous launches before this one, but this one was different. For the first time, he would be alone at that control desk. Usually, Dr. E. E. sits with him, but the poor doc is sick with some kind of flu.
And now he sits here, all alone at his control desk, preparing to cue in the numbered sequence code for launch. "Hey Darien, don't mess this one up!" Carl said from the control panel behind him. Carl was a smart-ass rich kid, about 25, and had signed on to INSENSE after Dr. Mark West, head of operations, mysteriously found a lot of money in his desk and Carl was hired immediately after. Carl was short, but his fancy suit and expensive jewelry kind of complimented it. He always wore a suit on the job, even when they were having a party for a successful mission.
What an asshole, Darien thought to himself, as he broke open the case for the codes. "Okay, 6546223-ALPHA-59623." He read aloud, and then typed it into the computer. The computer screen read: PROCESSING… CODE ACCEPTED, BEGINNING LAUNCH SEQUENCE
"We got it. Prepare for launch." Darien said over the microphone to the astronauts. "Alright control, preparing for launch." One of the astronauts replied. "Nicely done!" Carl said sarcastically. Darien flicked him off and went back to the computer screen. It read:
SYSTEMS CHECK…
FUELING SYSTEM TANK ONE-CHECK
FUELING SYSTEM TANK TWO-CHECK
FUELING SYSTEM MAIN TANK-CHECK
AUTO NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEMS-CHECK
BACKUP SYSTEMS-CHECK
COMPUTER SYSTEMS MAIN-CHECK
COMPUTER SYSTEMS SATELLITE-CHECK
ALL SYSTEMS-100%
PREPARE FOR COUNTDOWN
"Prepare for countdown" Darien said. "Preparing for countdown. Starting at 30" Someone said from across the room. "Starting countdown sequence. Set at 30. Start" Darien said as he started the auto-clock on the computer.
30…29…28…27…26…25…
"Starting engines 1 and 2"
22…21…20…19…18…17…
"Turning on auto pilot, and backup systems for launch."
14…13…12…11…10…9…
"WARNING WARNING! MALFUNCTION IN MAIN FUELING SYSTEM! EXPOSURE TO OUTSIDE SOURCE AND HEAT LEVELS CRITICAL!" The computer screeched. Someone screamed, "Stop the countdown! Now! Darien!" Carl looked at Darien furiously punching buttons on the keypad. "IT WON'T STOP!!!" He screamed still hitting the keypads. "ABORT NOT WORKING! DO SOMETHING!!!"
5…4…3
"What's going on? I got short-outs all over. WHY AREN'T YOU ABORTING?!?" The astronaut said. "CONTROL, WHY AREN'T YOU ABORTING???"
…2…1…LAUNCHING SEQUENCE INITIATED!
They all ran to the window to look out at the shuttle. All except Darien, who was beating the hell out of the control panel, "STOP GOD DAMN IT, STOP!" The shuttle's engines fired and it started to go up. "NO!!!!" It was rising fast from the launch pad. "They might make it without…" Carl was interrupted by a loud squealing sound followed by beeps. They all looked at the rocket. They saw the shuttle's emergency doors open, and the pilot jump out. The pilot was immediately incinerated by the flames, and him burning body fell out of sight. "My god!" Someone screamed from beneath the squealing beeping high pitched noise, and the sound of the engines roaring. "Someone…in…help…e…only…ne alive…no…esus chr…ahhh…" They heard over the radio. Just then, sparks flew out of the top of the rocket's engine. There was a brilliant flash of light as fire soared up the rocket and covered it. Fire surrounded the whole rocket and it exploded into a ball of flaming clouds.
Parts of the rocket soon followed. Parts of the ship flew in every direction at immense speed. Some going towards space, others falling toward the earth. Then from the smoke came a flaming ball, headed right for the INSENSE Control Center. Carl screamed, "Get down!" It charged the building, going over 200 MPH and gaining speed by the second. Darien ducked under his control desk as everyone else fled. Carl tripped over a wire and fell in front of Darien. Carl screamed like a girl. Darien grabbed him by his collar and pulled him under the desk. Carl was panicking, "What the hell are you doing, we got to get out of here! Let me go!" "No, stay under here, it's reinforced steel!" Darien shouted. "NO, let me go! Are you out of your fucking mind?" Carl hit Darien's arm away and jumped towards the door. His foot got caught on that same wire. Carl screamed, "NO! LET ME GO!"
The ball of fire crashed through window and plowed through the whole building. Darien watched flames surround the desk and then Carl. He could no longer see anything through the thick wall of flames. His desk came off it's pad and flew forward, dragging him along the hot glass covered floor. He screamed in pain as it slammed him into the wall and through the next room. It was Dr. E. E.'s office. He could see the picture of them burning on the floor. The walls collapsed and fell on the control desk. Darien was suffocating under the desk, with smoke seeping in through cracks. He jumped back further under the desk and felt something with his hand. He looked down, it was a human eye. Then he saw half of a head sticking out under the desk. It's skull was mashed under the desk, and the eye had popped out.
Carl? Darien thought, getting a bit queasy. He accidentally touched the desk wall and burned his hand and noticed the helmet lodge in the desk on the outside of it. No, this wasn't Carl, it was an astronaut. Darien threw up, and passed out. The desk flew upward with the force of a second explosion, and it flew Darien's lifeless body through the wall, and outside.