
Subj : On The Edge Of Yesterday!
To   : All
From : Daniel Harrison #1
Date : Mon Jun 16 1997 22:02:23 AST

                          Chapter Five: Rescue!

     Artemis made his way through the compartments with the dazed men following
him. He could hear shouts up ahead and the sound of someone transforming!!!
     *What is going on?* he thought to himself and moved more quickly. He
entered the compartment and saw everyone watching Sailor Venus as she stood
there and used her "crescent beam" to weld the door shut. 
     "SAILOR VENUS..NO!!!!"
     Sailor Venus turned and stared at Artemis. "What...?"
     "LUNA IS TRAPPED IN THERE!!!" Artemis shouted.
     Everyone gasped and, Artemis moved forward past the stunned looks of
crewmembers. Lt. Akano was dazed. He watched Artemis as he stood by the door.
"I've got to see if I can reach her!" He opened his mind, *Luna! Luna can you
hear me? Luna!*
     To his relief, Luna answered. *Artemis! I'm alright. But, the water is
rising very fast! There's another man here too! We have to stop it!*
     Artemis turned to Lt. Akano who's eyes were wide as saucers. "We have to
get this door open! Can you blow air into the forward hatches to force out the
water?"
     Lt. Akano looked at Ensign Bell who was also in shock. "I...I don't
believe this."
     "CAN YOU??" Artemis insisted more forcefully.
     "I..yes, we can if damage control systems are still intact." Lt. Akano
turned to Chief Graham the man behind Artemis. "Chief, have damage control
teams force air into all forward sections! We have to get this fish upstairs."
     "I heard the command over the intercom and blew tanks.." Graham began.."
     "I will explain all this later!" Artemis said hotly. "Right now, we have
to get that door open to save Luna and the men trapped in there!"
     Sailor Venus looked sheepish realizing what she had done. "I'm..I'm sorry.
I'll have to undo what I did." She began to point her finger..
     No!" Artemis said. "We have to wait until the water is pumped out! Chief
get on that now!"
     Lt. Akano stared at Artemis. Taken by surprise by a cat talking let alone
giving orders, he nodded. "Blow air into all forward sections now!"
     Chief Graham moved to obey. It was then that Lt. Akano and several men
stared at Sailor Venus..
     "Who...who are you people?" Akano asked.
     Artemis nodded. "I'm sorry to have been so abrupt. But, the situation
called for fast action. Your Captain is incapacitated right now so, I assume
you are in charge?"
     Akano nodded dumbly. 
     Artemis continued. "I apologize for all this. But, if what I suspect is
true, we're all in very serious trouble. I noticed that your torpedo tubes are
still full. May I ask what your mission is?"
     Lt. Akano looked defensive and, Ensign Bell shifted nervously. "I'm afraid
that's classified information. I don't even know who the hell you people are
and.." he shook his head. "I'm talking to a damn cat! I must be going crazy!"
     "No you're not." He smiled at the girls and Darien. Sailor Venus looked
nervous. "This is rather a long story but...I think seeing what's going on
here...we're from your future."
     "Excuse me?" Akano said.
     "What?" Ensign Bell echoed.
     "Yes...I didn't think you'd believe me." Artemis sighed. "Once we've
rescued Luna..."
     "Luna?" Akano said questioningly.
     "The other cat."
     Akano nodded. "Uh huh." He turned to Darien. "And you people...who are
you?"
      "Well...it's not easy to explain." Darien fumbled for the words.
     "I'll bet." Akano looked at Bell. "See if Seaman Martin can raise Pacific
Command. Tell him to try anyone!"
     "Yes Sir!" Bell smiled at Raye then left the compartment.
     Artemis jerked as a message sounded in his head. *Artemis! The water is
going down now but, it's still coming in slowly. If it doesn't stop..*
     *Understood.* Artemis turned to Sailor Mercury. "Amy, you need to
transform. We'll need your Mercury ice bubbles to freeze those welds that are
leaking shut when we open the door."
     Everyone stood back as Sailor Mercury raised her wand. The men watched in
wonder as she shouted... "MERCURY..STAR...POWER!!!!"
     With a flash of light and bubbles, she transformed into Sailor Mercury.
Then, Artemis turned to Venus. "Okay...open the door Venus!"
     Sailor Venus looked at the door. "VENUS...CRESCENT...BEAM...SMASH!!!"
     Slowly she began to burn off the welds she had created. When they were
gone, Artemis nodded to Lita. "Open the door."
     Lita moved forward and with great strength unlocked the compartment
hatchway and opened it. Water flowed into the compartment but, the air that had
been forced in had done it's job.
     Artemis saw Luna standing on a table that was floating in the middle of
the compartment. Somehow, she had dragged the man onto the table so his face
was clear of the water.
     "Now Sailor Mercury!!" he said.
     "MERCURY...ICE STORM...FREEZE!!!" Sailor Mercury shouted.
     The ice storm came forth and slowly the damaged welds were sealed shut.
The water trickled to a halt. Lita moved into the compartment and picked up
Luna followed by two men who grabbed the other one. As they did so, other men
moved quickly forward to check for other survivors...
     After the compartment was sealed, Artemis smiled at Luna. *I'm glad you're
alright. I was afraid that you were dead.*
     *I'm fine.* Luna nodded. *Now we have to help her. We're going to have to
trust these men. I see from your mind they're from the past*
     Artemis nodded and turned to Lt. Akano. "Lieutenant, please listen to me.
We're from your future. I'm Artemis and this other cat is Luna. And these
people are the Sailor Scouts...protectors of peace and freedom."
     Lt. Akano stared at him. "I...I think I need a drink."
     Ensign Bell returned. "Sir, the radio is very strange. Seaman Martin is
scanning all frequencies but, none of them seem to make any sense. A lot of our
old channels no longer have anything! We can't raise Command or anyone!"
     Artemis nodded. "Something has happened to time as we know it. And, we
have to figure it out. I need to know what your mission was...please."
     Lt. Akano swallowed. "This..this is all too much. I can't believe any of
this. I can't give out any information without authorization from the Captain.
But, I don't know his condition."
     Artemis looked at Luna. *We have to do something to help the Captain. He
was responsible for saving our lives when we were attacked. We owe it to him.*
     *I agree.* Luna responded. *But first, we need to do something to help
this unknown Sailor Scout. We need to find out who she is and what happened to
her!*
     Artemis sighed. *Okay. I think from what we encountered trying to reach
her, she has some kind of mind block. We'll have to find a way to get rid of
it. Only then will we know.*
     Luna turned to Lt. Akano and spoke for the first time. "The young woman
there. Please handle her with special care. Could we have a place for her to
lie down so we can help her? I promise there will be no more attacks."
     "Attacks!" Lt. Akano stared at her. "You talk too! What the hell is this??
We can't do that until we have a place. The bunks and infirmary are still
flooded.
     "Lt. Akano, please listen to us." Sailor Mercury said.
     Everyone turned to her.
     Sailor Mercury smiled. "We just want to help you. And ourselves."
     Artemis looked at her. *Sailor Mercury...when you get some time, look in
your computer. See if you can find a history on this sub..what it's mission
might have been.*
     Sailor Mercury nodded and moved slightly back as the men all continued to
stare at them....

     Artemis and Luna watched as the unknown Sailor Scout was laid down on the
floor. He nodded to Luna and, together they prodded her mind.
     The woman awakened and stared at them! "What...?"
     *Please...remember me?* Artemis sent to her. *Trust me. I'm trying to help
you. I think someone did something to your mind and, in order to help you, I
need to enter it. Will you allow this?*
     The woman stared suspiciously at the men nearby. "Don't let them touch
me!" she said audibly. The men blinked confused.
     *I won't* Artemis smiled at Luna and they merged minds. *I'm going to be
very slow and careful okay? Please trust me. Here I go.* Artemis moved into her
mind. Slowly supported by Luna, he began to try to move around the mental block
that was keeping her from remembering. *Who are you?* he said. *Where are you
from?*
      The woman didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on Serena who stood looking
at her along with the others. Her eyes went wide....
     "Queen...Serenity!!!" she gasped....


                         
