All characters presented herein are not of my creation. Dragonball Z and
Sailor Moon are owned by their respective creators and producers.
*********************************
To Protect a Princess
By Tunguska_Boy
Chapter 4
The two of them circled each other warily, one male and one female. The
male was tall and well muscled with light gray skin complemented by a shock
of deep blue hair. His orange eyes were narrowed at his opponent with
eagerness for battle shining through. The female was shorter, but no less
muscular. Her skin was pale blue offset by dark green hair. Her yellow
eyes shined as well, but not with the thrill of battle. Her eyes shone with
a different, decidedly more feminine light. Their movements of their
intertwined bodies seemed more like a dance than a fight. Every turned
aside fist seemed like a pirouette; every low sweeping kick or sharp jab was
executed as gracefully as any ballet. Their bodies were clothed in tight
black body suits with red and yellow stripes twining up their left legs and
spreading out across their chests and down their right arms.
"C'mon Maneko, I know you can do better than that!" Said Bukichi as he
sidestepped her punches.
"You try being a great fighter when you're pregnant." She said as she put a
hand under her protruding belly and leaned heavily against the wall.
Bukichi smiled at her warmly.
"I'm sorry, you're right. No more fighting for you." Bukichi walked over
to Maneko and put his hand over hers. "We can't have little Iana getting
hurt can we?"
"No we certainly can't Buki-chan." She said as she leaned forward and
planted a warm kiss on his ocher lips. She ran her hand along his cheek;
she'd always loved how her pale blue skin complemented his light gray flesh.
He sighed and pulled her too him.
"You went to the doctor today right?" He asked.
"Yeah, this morning."
"Do they know?"
"No not yet."
"How long before Iana is due?"
"About three and a half months, my c-section is scheduled for October 18."
She nuzzled into his chest. "How will they react when they see her?
They're going to know she's not human."
"Well worry about that when the time comes." He said trying to comfort her.
"Until then try to relax, too much stress is bad for the baby."
"I love you, you know that right?" She said as she gazed into his orange
eyes.
"I know, I love you too." He said as he took her hand and led her across
the training room.
********
Yellow police tape marked the scene of the battle. The streets were empty
now, the investigators had come and gone. What was left of that young lady
who met her end that night had been taken to the morgue. Only one figure
walked toward the grim scene. His name was Celwin. He wore a brown trench
coat and had the collar flipped up to hide his sharply pointed ears.
Beneath the coat his skin was colored like a tangerine, only without the
fuzz. His gaze slowly covered the scene. He saw the dark stain on the
concrete where that young woman lost her life. There was also a strange
mark burned into the ground. He walked over to it and knelt so he could
place his hand over the burn mark. His eyes narrowed and his brow betrayed
his confusion. "This looks like an energy burn." He thought to himself as
he studied it. "The scarring looks like a portal pattern. I'll have to
tell the Lieutenant about this." He glanced around and noticed a pile of
ash a few feet away. He walked over to it and scooped up a handful of it.
He brought it to his face and inhaled slowly, careful not to suck in any of
the ash. He considered the aroma for a moment before realization came to
him like a sledgehammer to the forehead. "Lucian..." He muttered softly.
"Lucians dead! I have to tell the Lieutenant." He stood quickly and took a
few steps away before stopping and turning back to the ashes. He went back
and scooped up the rest of the ashes. Not knowing exactly what to do with
them he dumped them into his pocket. With what was left of Lucian settling
to the bottom of his trench coat pocket, he ran off into the night.
*********
"Lieutenant!" Screamed Celwin the moment he crashed through the doors of
his outpost. He ran frantically through the hall, all the time calling for
his Lieutenant. As he ran he spotted Bukichi and Maneko walking out of the
training room. He waved his arms and screamed "Lieutenant Bukichi!"
Bukichi stepped in front of Maneko, instinctively shielding her from any
attackers.
"What is it Private...Celwin is it?" He said.
"Yes sir, Private Celwin sir. I believe I've found Lucian sir." Celwin
panted as he spoke to his superior.
"You mean Private Lucian don't you?" Said Bukichi.
"Yes sir I believe I've found Private Lucian sir." Celwin straightened up
significantly as he began to remember his military formalities.
"I didn't even know he was missing, how long was he gone?" Asked Bukichi
"He failed to report for his watch this evening so Staff Sergeant Archuan
sent me out to find him sir." Explained Celwin.
"So where was he? And where is he now? I'd like to talk to him about his
absence."
"Umm..." Celwin shifted uncomfortably before digging into his pocket and
pulling out Lucians ashes "I think this is him sir." Bukichi leaned forward
and gently sniffed at the fine ash.
"Smells like Private Lucian," said Bukichi, "take it to med-sci and have the
officer on duty take a look at it. Where did you find it?"
"A crime scene. There was a blood stain and an energy burn near where I
found the ashes sir." Said Celwin.
"Energy burn? What kind of burn?" Asked Bukichi.
"It looked to me like a portal burn sir." Replied Celwin.
"A portal burn? I haven't authorized any trans-dimensional movement to or
from this dimension. You might be mistaken Private Celwin, I'll have
someone look into it. Is that all Private?" Bukichi let his desire for
this conversation to be over slip into his voice.
"Yes sir." Said Celwin.
"Good, now get to med-sci and be careful with that stuff," Bukichi pointed
at the pile of ash "we don't want that stuff getting to the ventilation
system." Celwin nodded slightly before turning sharply and heading to
med-sci. Once Celwin was out of sight Bukichi sighed heavily and began
rubbing his temples.
"What's wrong?" Asked Maneko.
"Let's just say your lucky to have never been involved with the military."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just all this responsibility and tension is being heaped
onto me with this colonization probe were doing. Never mind, I don't want
to bother you with it."
"Don't try to dodge issues with me mister. When I married you I became as
much a part of the military as you are."
"Well that's not really true Man-chan, I had to work awfully hard to get
where I am today."
"I know."
"Most people wouldn't have made it through even the basic training."
"Are you implying something?"
"Pardon?"
"Do you not think I would've made it?"
"What makes you think that? You'd have made a great soldier."
"I can kick your ass any day pal." She smiled slyly and narrowed her eyes.
"In a stand up fight? I don't think so." He laughed.
"Well what about energy manipulation, I can use energy better than any
person on this base and you know it."
"I know it, so do they. Why do you think they let you wander around so
freely? You don't have clearance to be in half the areas of the base you
hang out in."
"I just figured it was because I was their Lieutenants wife."
"Nope, you've got them scared."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"Cool. Let's go back to our apartment, I've got the oddest craving."
"For what?"
"You don't want to know, and it'd probably be best if you didn't watch me
eat it."
"You're going to gross me out again aren't you?"
"Not my fault, blame the hormones. Lets go." Maneko took Bukichi by the
arm and led them back to their apartment on the base.
********
Private Celwin stepped into the sterile med-sci section of the base and the
chill of the climate control sent a shiver down his spine. Med-sci was
dark at this time of night apart from the glow of a single computer monitor.
In front of the monitor sat a young woman with an immaculate white lab
coat. Her heart shaped face was bathed in the light of the computer monitor
but her creamy white skin was obviously flawless. Celwin cleared his throat
loudly, hoping to catch her attention. She glanced up, her glasses tinted
green from the monitor and a few loose strands of her red hair fell out of
place. The hairs drooped over her forehead and tickled her nose. She
raised a hand and placed the hairs back in place before addressing Celwin.
"Can I help you?" Her voice was sweet and rich, not unlike audio
cheesecake.
"Umm...yes, I think so. Are you the officer on duty?" Stammered Celwin.
He shifted nervously, he didn't really like being around women, especially
ones as beautiful as the one he was talking too.
"Yes I am the officer on duty, do you have a question?" She asked, turning
her light pink eyes back to the monitor.
"Umm...Lieutenant Bukichi asked me to have you take a look at something."
He thrashed around his mind desperately for some witty comment he could use
to break the military cadence he was trapped in.
"What is it?" She kept her eyes on the monitor and idly typed a few letters
of the report she was working on.
"Umm...here," he reached into his pocket and dug out the ashes, "I think
it's Private Lucian but Lieutenant Bukichi asked me to have you analyze it."
She looked at the ashes for a moment before standing and turning on the
overhead lights. She went to a nearby cabinet and returned with a gleaming
metal tray.
"Here, put the ashes on the tray." She said as she extended the tray to
him. Celwin did as he was told and the med-sci officer took the tray to a
large piece of equipment that looked remarkably like a pizza oven.
"What's your name?" He asked, trying to avoid having his voice give away
his nervousness. He failed miserably. She looked at him with a raised
eyebrow. Her eyes traveled up and down his form once before she spoke.
"My name is Jhessail." She said before turning back to the machine she was
loading the tray into. She pressed a button and the machine buzzed to life.
A few pops and whistles later the machines main screen came to life with a
full diagram of the late Private Lucian along with all the data concerning
his past, his career in the military, and the conditions that rendered him
as a pile of ash.
"What happened to him?" Asked Celwin.
"It appears he was disintegrated." Replied Jhessail as she pointed out the
words 'Cause of death: Disintegration' which were outlined in bright red on
the green screen.
"Oh, sorry." Said Celwin as a crimson mark of embarrassment burned across
his nose. Jhessail gave a quiet laugh.
"It's okay, you're just a grunt. You can't be expected to know how this
stuff works." She said as she gestured to the various pieces of scientific
equipment in the room. As much as he didn't like being called a grunt,
hearing a beautiful woman's laugh was music to his ears.
"So that ash really was Private Lucian?" He asked.
"Yep, that's Lucian all right."
"I've got to go tell the Lieutenant, should I take the ashes or just leave
them here?"
"Leave them hear, as convenient as storing them in your pocket might be it's
really better for me to put them in a sterile remains pouch."
"Okay, thank you very much umm...I'm sorry I don't know your rank so I don't
know how to address you."
"Jhessail would do just fine, but I've yet to learn your name."
"Celwin, nice to meet you." He said and extended his hand. She took his
hand gently and they shook limply, neither knowing how much pressure should
be exerted. "Well, I've got to go now." He said still shaking her hand.
"Then would you mind giving me my hand back?" She said nodding at their
hands.
"Oh, sorry." He let go and began to move to the door. When he was about to
exit he turned and said; "Have a nice shift."
"Thanks, you have a nice night as well." She smiled at him warmly. He
nodded and a smile crept over his lips as he moved out into the hall.
-----------------------------------------------------
Thanks to SailorKnight2 and Dark Lord Calcite for some excellent name
suggestions.
(
geocities.com/tokyo/bridge) (
geocities.com/tokyo)