Chapter Text
...Ten Lunar SigilRippers will await you at Bryzantiz, Tyrrhena, on the seventeenth of Soray. From there, they will teleport you and your armies to Mare Cognitum for tactical discussion and staging.
The Lunar Kingdom has agreed to your tribute, graciously given upon this grave threat being no more.
Queen Serenity.
The raven haired woman looked up from the carefully penned letter, the ink not yet completely set. If not handled properly, it would smear and all the hard work presented would be for naught. There was no flowery titles or claims; simple words with simple implications. All it required was just to be folded and sealed with the Queen’s mark, before it could be dispatched. If they retained the favor of the Graces, it would soon be in the hands of the Premier of Mars. With the Queen’s agreement… she swallowed, looking to the woman who wrote away their lives.
She looked tired, unfocused gaze at the surface of the desk rather than than anything else within the room. The flicker from the lit candles played shadows and tricks, casting visages of things that perhaps were not truly there but the imagination said they would be. Earth had long since set, and she knew the hour was late. The Queen had been working at this for hours, if the collection of half written papers were any indication on the floor. A few still lingered on the desk and without looking she knew what they all said. Please help us, but you cannot plunder those of the Alliance as payment.
Mars would never agree to that. Not from the Premier, and not from her father. There really wasn’t any other choice in the matter. If they wanted to have assistance, they would have to pay for it.
“Ten SigilRippers?” There wasn’t anything safe to talk about, much less ask about, but still she had to say something. Anything. It would provide some sort of comfort to the fact that… She swallowed again.
The reply came back quickly; an unfocused gaze or not she was still rather alert. “I know, it’s most of our forces. I cannot afford to lose any of her armies to the Darkness however, and I cannot allow the Premier to think us existing only on our reserves. She’ll find that out soon enough, but by then there won’t be any turning back. There is far too much at stake, and I am relying on their sense of prospective conquest to stay.”
“Most of them have barely earned the title, much less possess the skill to get all of her armies here.”
“It must be done Luna. There is no other way.” The Queen sat back, looking now to the ceiling. Shadows could not be blamed on the dark circles under her eyes, and she was not entirely sure if the gaunt features were a trick of the light or the reality. “We need her too much that it is a risk we have to take that nothing goes wrong on the teleportations between now and at the end. She will not have the title of Imperator, however.”
“...You mean?” She couldn’t help the rising inflection of hope to her voice.
“I’ve dispatched a letter to Uranus before I started on the one to the Premier. They’ve done all that they could for her sake, so it will have to be enough. This isn’t a battle for the sake of a battle; it is one we fight in desire for it to end. That alone is why Imperator will not be hers. She’ll be here though, and the greed will keep her here. While she will rail against the leadership she will be serving under… if she put up with Haruka for over a decade, the Premier won’t be an issue.”
So very many things depend upon each other, from the work Haruka and Michiru did, to Artemis scouring the tropical hellscape that was Venus, to getting the Premier to agree to anything, to having Minako be able to lead. “What is your plan for Jupiter? Are you still going to try to gain those Ruin Terramancers?”
“It’s my hope that with the Premier on our side that they can be swayed.” The Queen rose, slow graceful steps carrying her to the window where she was already standing. “We cannot do this alone, and her Crystal will be vital just as the others are.”
Nothing was said. With hope Artemis would find Venus’ as without it, Minako could not draw on its power. It also had a direct impact on the Queen’s own Silver Crystal that was dimming. Finding it would help towards the recovery. In the now though, it meant the Venusian heir was going to be direly outmatched in comparison to everyone else. That she expressed it aloud…
“I know Luna. If anyone though can teach her to fight no matter what it is Haruka, and perhaps there is no one better than Michiru to get her confidence back beyond the scars. We must be thankful to whatever Graces were swayed for her being shuttled away in the first place.” A sigh followed, a hand pressing to the glass. “All we can do is hope and fight to protect those we love, as we always have. It will be enough.” A wane smile was given, “I am going to go to bed, though I am sure a small Serenity is already there and hopefully asleep, instead of being awake and upset I did not read her a story.”
She bid the Queen a goodnight after the letter was folded and sealed, promising to see it to a trustworthy SigilRipper that could take it to Mars with urgency. The other nine; in reality five, would need to be briefed of their impending assignment. Typically tactical maneuvers like these were Artemis’ department, but with his absence it became part of her duties.
All we can do is hope and fight to protect those we love, as we always have. It will be enough. But what if it wasn’t? What if a piece fell out of place? What if they found success, and the Premier decided to raze them all at the end? Would it all be for nothing? Would it have been better to die to the Darkness or exist as a slave to the Premier’s war machine? It certainly would not be living, because she could not fathom wanting to live like that.
The hour was far too late for such pessimism.
Taking a moment to recollect her thoughts and pay some mind to her appearance, she gathered the letters that did not make the cut to be sent as they would have invited armies to finish decimating their existence. To the fire they went, watching as the flames curled and licked at hours of work like it was nothing, leaving ash in its wake. It was far too easy to get lost in the implications, banking the coals instead. Collecting the finished product, she closed the door behind her, making her way down the otherwise quiet halls.
Most of the guards had died earlier, leaving behind a skeleton crew that likely wasn’t necessary. More often than not the occasional one that she saw she told to get some rest. They deserved to have some warmth before they died, one last creature comfort. The Palace promoted pessimism and it simply wouldn’t do, shaking her head she hurried in her steps.
Once upon a time certainly the Palace had been beautiful, but that was quite some time ago. It was shortly after Artemis and herself had arrived that the Darkness came, and more than once she wondered if it had followed in their wake. No one went so far as to actually vocalize it, but it didn’t mean that they were not outside of their presence. The Queen said nothing, yet it did not bring her much comfort.
She really needed to get out of here.
The Palace gave way to steps, leading to where the remainder of the Lunar forces had camped. She would have to break the news to them that they would need to meet up at Mare Cognitum so they could be assimilated into the Premier’s army. Something that could be done in the morning; they wouldn’t have far to go.
For the most part, the Moon was free of the Darkness save for the occasional new spit-up that was found. The price paid was more than could be said without a hard swallow; over eighty percent of Lunar residents had perished, and Earth was hardly much better. Their Alliance had been long standing, the Moon a deployment point that later grew to the sovereignty of ruling. Numerous supplies and personnel came from Earth, and like it’s crown jewel, much of its population was no more.
It left Earth a lawless mass with a few pockets of survivors. Great cities had been reduced to but mere villages, bleak despair coloring much of what they did. Forces that could be spared, even though it crippled the Moon, were always sent to offer what aid possible. Even if was for nothing more than showing they would stand united to death, it meant something.
Sometimes they could get a shuttle to the Moon, laden with what could be produced with limited people and their manufacturing capabilities. From there it was quickly disseminated among the people and army, for a newly forged sword meant another could fight with a battle worn one. Supply drops like these were less and less frequent; a once thrice weekly event now every four months if they were lucky. The last one had been five months ago.
Orderly tents, once as far as the eye could see, were pitched in rows. No more than fifty, but she refused to acknowledge her mental count. White against the dried grass, a few campfires were still being tended, pots of tea that drew the few soldiers that were still awake. They paid her no mind, following with their eyes for a few steps before returning back to their cups. Maybe she should be surprised that they were not drinking something harder but all alcohol was under control of the medics and healers for sterilization.
She stopped at one tent, really no different than any of the others if it was not for the small pennant that hung from the side. Depicting a hand bearing a gauntlet, it seemed to be ripping the fabric of space. It was expertly done, back when supplies were far more numerous on each planet. The sign of a SigilRipper; she was about to announce her presence when the heavy fabric that served as a door was pushed back.
Deep, dark purple hair cut into a wild mohawk, complete with vivid red lines painted across his face, SigilRipper Bors could intimidate anyone who looked upon him. If she wasn’t prepared he would often times cause her to take a step back just by his mere presence. But behind the feral appearance was a kind-hearted man, their senior SigilRipper who had successfully completed missions beyond count. Missions that often took the lives of his fellow teleporters and those being whisked from one place to the next. Bright green eyes were always alert, no matter the hour, and she had to wonder if he actually slept at all.
“Lady Luna,” a rumble like far away thunder, “what brings you here at this hour?”
“S-SigilRipper Bors. I have a letter for you, from the Queen. She needs it delivered-”
“To Mars, lemme guess.” He answered for her, drawing no attention to her earlier stutter. “Whole camp’s been talking about it, can’t get a thought in otherwise without someone throwing around Mars this or Mars that.”
“Ah, yes. To the Premier of Mars, actually. Can you take it there?”
For a moment, the man considered her. A native Saturian, he had lived on the Moon ever since he completed his training. “The Premier of Mars. So it’s true then.” He didn’t give her a chance to confirm or deny just what he was talking about, nodding instead to turn back into his tent for a moment, returning with a packed bag. “Where do the other ones need to be at and when?”
It was better to just simply tell him. The man was trustworthy to the Crown, he had been for years. “Bryzantiz, Tyrrhena, on the fourteenth of next month.”
A low whistle was her reply, and his gaze left to peer down the row of tents. Worry was etched there among the striking red, nodding to himself a few times before his attention went back to her. “Alright. Tell Tallagaliel that she’ll be in charge of getting everyone there. Uzfang needs to stay behind; boy still hasn’t recovered yet. Don’t care what the medics say, ain’t that easy to act like missing an arm is that easy to heal from.”
It took considerable effort, but she gave no outward sign of the injuries she knew they all bore. Instead, she offered the letter bearing the Queen’s seal. “Be safe, please Bors.” Nothing was said in return, the man merely tucked the letter carefully into a pouch at his belt before nodding, robes swishing away.
Hopefully the Darkness would not take him, and equally as important, hopefully the Premier was in a gracious enough mood to accept that they agreed to her conditions without piling on more.