Sailor Moon and related characters are property of Naoko Takeuchi, while Ean, Johansen, Midra and the others are property of me. "Just one heartache at a time" is the property of Brooks and Dunn and Arista Records. Please write and let me know what you think.

Warlords: Part 2

by

Eric Metcalf

The light streaming in through the window woke Ean, and for a moment he thought he was back in the barracks and that the crazy events of last night had been a weird dream. Come on, part of his mind said, a girl that shoots beams of light from her hands, giants that can take ten nine-mil slugs and still be coming, a girl with naturally blue hair, it was all so crazy. Then his cramped shoulder started complaining, and he saw he was lying on a couch. Reaching down under the couch, he found his holster rig, right where he dimly remembered hiding it when he took it off, right next to the detector and cellular phone. Sliding the gun out of the holster, he brought it up, locked the slide open, then leaned over and looked down the barrel. He could see carbon fouling, the gunk that bullets left behind when fired, and he knew that he never shot the gun without cleaning it if he was at base. So it really had happened, last night, the fight, everything. He shook his head. He couldn't go to Midra and Takahara with this; it was too fantastic. Heck, he didn't really believe it himself. He would have to wait, see if he could figure out what had really happened and see if he could run into that girl again. Hearing somebody moving around, he quickly unlocked the slide on the gun and put it back into the holster, and slid it back under the couch. He had just rolled back up when Mamoru walked in, looking fresh as a daisy.

"Morning, Ean, sleep well last night?"

"Yes, I did, thank you. That's actually a pretty comfortable couch."

Mamoru smiled as he noticed Ean popping his shoulders, neck, and knees. "The way you're carrying on, you might have been better off on the floor."

"No, actually I do this every morning, even if I sleep in a bed. Some hard use of the old body catching up with me."

Mamoru laughed. "Yeah, likely story. I've got breakfast going, if you're hungry."

Ean's stomach caught a whiff of something good from the kitchen, and started rumbling. "Yeah, that sounds good." A beeping from under the couch caught Mamoru's attention.

Ean grinned sheepishly as he reached under the couch. "Pocket phone. I put it under there because it would be too painful to keep it in my pocket." Mamoru nodded, then went into the kitchen.

When he had left, Ean opened the phone and answered the call. "Hoffman here."

A frightened female voice was on the line. "Lieutenant Hoffman, you have orders to return to base immediately. An emergency has been declared, and all personnel are required as soon as possible." Ean's mind raced. An emergency meant something was happening, something very bad. He thought he heard something in the background over the line, but he wasn't sure.

"Can you tell me the nature of the emergency?"

The voice was more frightened now. "Jesus Christ, Lieutenant, we're under attack! They came out of nowhere, we can't stop them. We need everybody back here, now."

Can't stop them? Ean felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Roger that. Hoffman is inbound, will be using a commandeered vehicle, over and out." Clicking off the phone, he stood up.

Mamoru walked back in, and started when he caught Ean's grim expression. "What's up?"

"Mamoru, I need you to drive me somewhere."

"Sure, where?"

"Camp MacArthur."

Mamoru looked surprised. "The Army base? Are you sure?"

Ean pulled out his wallet and opened it, showing Mamoru the military ID inside. Normally, he didn't like flashing the badge, but it would cut down on the explaining. "Yes, I'm sure. Something's going down, and I need to get up there now."

"Uh, right. If you'll giver me a minute, I'd like to turn off the stuff in here, so that nothing catches fire or something like that."

Ean nodded, then used the opportunity to buckle his holster back on. He was about to grab the detector when Mamoru came back in. "Okay, let's go."

He looked nervous, like he didn't trust Ean now. "Relax. If you like, you can let me out near the gate, then just come back. Besides, since this is an emergency, you can, as long as I'm in the car, ignore any traffic rules you like."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. We were concerned about having to pull troops back in a hurry, so officially commandeered vehicles can ignore traffic laws in an emergency. So, for that purpose, you're commandeered."

Mamoru frowned. "You could have just said that, and I wouldn't have had a choice."

Ean shook his head. "Not my style. You've been nice to me; I'm not going to repay that by being a twit when I can ask nice and get the same result. I don't do power trips."

Mamoru nodded as he started the jeep. "Is that why you didn't tell us you were a soldier?"

"Partly, and I thought you'd figured it out. I mean, nobody asked me what I did, and these haircuts aren't terribly common outside of that group." Mamoru began driving, speeding as fast as he could, driving like a maniac. Ean just smiled and gripped the door. Once, a Japanese cop tried to stop them. Ean flashed his ID at him, and he nodded and left them alone.

"Man, I thought you were bluffing, till I saw the look in his eyes when he saw that ID."

Ean laughed. "Yeah, he probably never thought he'd actually see one, and it probably just then hit him what that signal he received about leaving American servicemen alone means. Well, he played along." Mamoru kept driving wildly, slinging around curves and running lights if no one was actually in the intersection. While Ean knew they were making good time, he still felt helpless, sitting in the passenger side of a civilian jeep while his friends were in combat, fighting and maybe dying.

After what seemed like an interminable wait, Ean began hearing the sounds of battle. The quick rattle of M16s, the throatier bark of the M60 machine guns, the thump of grenades, and the cacophony of voices. There were other sounds, the roar of flames, and some voices that were distinctly inhuman in timbre. Ean felt his adrenaline began to flow, and he began stoking his rage for battle. He resisted the urge to draw his gun; no need to alarm Mamoru more than he probably was, since he too could hear the sounds, but didn't seem as nervous as Ean would have thought for a college boy driving up to a battle.

Chalk one up for guts, but we'll reserve judgement on the sense, he thought. "Pull over up here, this's close enough." Ean said. Mamoru nodded, hitting the brakes and bringing the speeding jeep to a stop on the shoulder.

Ean jumped out, then looked back when Mamoru didn't pull away. "Go on, get out of here. You hear that up ahead."

Mamoru nodded. "Yeah, I do. But you may need a ride back into town, maybe quickly."

"Mamoru, get the heck out of here. Those are my friends in there; I won't be running. I won't have you in danger." Ean's eyes hardened into steel.

Mamoru nodded. "Call me when it's over." Then he turned and drove back down the road. Ean walked slowly forward, waiting until Mamoru had turned down a bend to draw the gun. Changing the clip with the backup, Ean walked quickly around the bend, then crouched and looked around. The front gate was open, and the guard post vacant. He saw some soldiers crouching by one of the nearby buildings, rifles ready, but he didn't see anything amiss at the moment. Running crouched over, he was almost behind them before they heard him over the noise from deeper in the compound.

One swung around to face him. "Halt! Who are you?"

"Lieutenant Hoffman, Intel. What's the situation?" There were three of them, the gate detachment probably. All of them had M16s, and one had a walkie-talkie. The radio was blabbing incoherent pieces of conversations, all of them fearful. Too often, Ean heard screams of pain both in the air and over the radio.

A female voice cut through the chatter. "Keep this channel clear, over!" Ean grinned. At least Captain Midra was keeping her head.

Ean took the radio. "Midra, this is Hoffman. I am at the front gate. Request sit-rep and instructions, over."

Ean could hear relief in her voice. "Hoffman, this is Midra. We have multiple hostiles inside the perimeter, exact number unknown, operating in small groups with high firepower. Groups have engaged and destroyed units up to squad strength quickly. We have lost the command bunker and Intel shack, and I believe hostiles are moving towards the Comm and Elint buildings. We have no forces in position to intercept, over."

Ean looked around at the men around him. Time to go. "Roger that, Midra. I have three men with me. Am moving to intercept, over and out." He looked each man in the eyes, trying to match his determination to their fear.

"Come on, if we don't move, those people will be killed at their posts." They still looked unsteady. Leadership by example time, he thought. Bringing his gun up to his eyes, he glanced back at them.

"Follow me, we've got to get over there." Moving forward, Ean slipped to the side of a nearby building and looked around the side. Feeling movement behind him, he glanced back and saw that all three of them were following him, looking at him and gripping their rifles for assurance. Ean grinned back at them for a moment then turned and started jogging forward, staying low just in case, moving to a pair of Hum-vees that provided the next available cover. When he was about halfway there, a roaring explosion nearby made him drop prone. Glancing up, he saw a soldier, his uniform burning, running from behind one of the nearby buildings. He fell to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain, just on the far side of the vehicle. The impact threw his rifle, which he had somehow held onto until now, over the Hum-vee. Ean ran forward, intent on rescuing the soldier, when the man's pursuer came into view. It looked like a man, wearing a dark gray uniform of the same sort as the huge man last night, but he was wearing a black cloak that swirled around his back, seemingly whirled by a gusting wind. He raised his hand, palm out and fingers pointed forward. A ball of red and orange energy formed inside his fingers, then leapt forward into a ball seemingly made of solid fire. Ean dove behind the vehicle as the ball burst into a raging inferno for an instant, destroying the soldier's body and sending a wave of intense heat pouring over the area. Ean gritted his teeth as he recovered the rifle. To his surprise, he saw that it had a grenade launcher latched under the barrel. Someone must have gotten into the armory for these to be around, he thought. Cracking open the action, he saw that the somebody had loaded a white phosphorus grenade inside.

He heard a deep, strange voice speaking in perfect Japanese. "Where is the murderer of our brother? If he shows himself, we will leave the rest of you alone." Murderer of our brother, Ean thought, then he got a sinking feeling in his stomach.

One of the MPs came up behind him. "Lieutenant..."

"Get out of here. They're after me." The man kept trying to get Ean's attention, but Ean was already up and moving.

Darting out into the open, Ean fired a short burst to get the thing's attention, then began yelling at it in Japanese. "Hey, you, you in the cape! I'm the one you're looking for, the one who blew your big, ugly buddy's brains in last night!"

The thing appeared to concentrate for a moment, then its face contorted in rage. "You, how did you kill one of us?" Ean saw his hand form into the same shape again, and he dove to his right, rolling over and over. The fireball burst where Ean had been, flaring over the concrete. Ean rolled over onto his stomach, brought the M16 up, and fired a short burst at the creature. The burst barely staggered it.

It readied for another fireball, then wheeled as it heard another voice call out in Japanese. "I, too, killed the youma last night. If you fight with that man, fight with me!" Glancing over, Ean saw the same young woman from last night, except now he could see her more clearly. He remembered her blonde hair, and short, white outfit. Now he could more clearly see the blue and red trim, and the large bow in front. Behind her, Ean could see four others, one blonde with two long ponytails, one brunette, one with black hair, and one in back with blue hair. All of their suits appeared to be variations on a single design, with only the color schemes differing. The MPs looked like they had tried to keep the girls from approaching and had lost the argument.

The creature turned to the girl, looked surprised for a moment, then smiled. "Very well, Sailor Senshi, I will fight you." He fired another fireball, one which all the girls dodged, but it spilt them, sending the one flying next to Ean and the others sheltering behind the buildings. Ean snapped two quick bursts at the thing, sure he was hitting it, but it seemed to do no damage.

The girl stood up, and shouted. "Crescent Beam!" A brilliant beam of light flew from her outstretched hand to impact against the creature. This time, it staggered it. Ean was surprised somewhat, considering that he had seen her in action. Still, there was no need for her to be risking her life here.

He fired another burst, then ducked down and turned to her. "What are you doing here? Get out of here, now!"

She smiled. "And I thought you missed me."

"Listen, you nearly got your pretty tail crushed the other night, and this one looks even nastier than that lug, so get the heck out of here and let the professionals handle this."

She stood up, fired one of her beams, then ducked back down. "Listen yourself. I owe you from last night, but that doesn't mean I have to listen to your bull. If you're such professionals, then why the blazes are these things still here? When it comes to dealing with these youma, we're the professionals, so sit back and relax."

One of the others yelled over. "Venus, quit gossiping and help us out." Two of them, the one with brown hair in a white and green uniform and the one with black hair in the white and red uniform had moved out, and were bombarding the creature with blasts of fire and lightning. Ean could see their lips moving, but he couldn't hear what they were shouting over the noise of the battle. Then Ean saw a rose fly down and slash across the creature's shoulder. Glancing up, Ean saw a man in a black tuxedo, cape and top hat and white domino mask leaning over the edge of one of the low buildings.

"Whose that?" he asked Venus.

"Tuxedo Kamen, a friend."

"Cute outfit. What does he wear to formal dinners, battle armor?"

The creature was backing up, looking weak, and rarely firing back. Then Ean saw motion behind the creature, two more forms charging up. They appeared to be made of smoke, and Ean didn't see anything that looked like a rifle, so he guessed. "Here come two more," he yelled, but only Venus heard him.

"Where?"

Ean motioned as he brought his rifle up to his shoulder. "Behind this one." He fired another burst then he saw the two forms boil through the smoke. They were a man and a woman, both wearing the same dark gray suits. Venus fired a beam at the man, who seemed to step into the blast, and looked unhurt.

Venus's eyes got wider as he absorbed a fire blast without so much as a singe. "What is that? I've never seen anything do that before."

Ean snapped off a burst at the man, but the bullets didn't do any better. "I don't know, you're supposed to be the prof...oh, sweet Jesus." One of the door on the buildings opening into the square where they were battling opened, and a man looked out, gaped, and stood there watching. Ean recognized the man, and felt his stomach drop.

Clipping off a burst, he yelled at the man. "Johansen! Get back inside, get out of here." The man looked, saw Ean, and then began running towards him. Ean motioned, tried to get him away, then brought his rifle back up and began clipping off bursts, trying to distract them. He felt as if time slowed down, the bursts pounding into his shoulder, three rounds, pull the trigger again, three more rounds. Johansen was running, eyes wide, legs pumping. The man who absorbed energy blasts looked over, saw Johansen and turned. The man reached back with his right arm, and made an underhand tossing motion. At the end of the motion, a bolt of light, shaped like a dagger emerged from his hand and streaked toward Johansen. The dagger struck Johansen squarely in the back. He staggered once, blood trickling from his mouth then he fell forward onto his knees and toppled forward, a burn in the shape of a knife stab in the middle of his back.

"No!" Ean yelled, then ducked when the man threw another light dagger at him. Ean looked up as the woman, who had been just looking around, focused on the girl in red for a second then the girl grabbed her head and started screaming.

"Mars!" Ean snapped off a burst at the woman. She actually reacted to the burst, staggering as if stung, and the girl ceased screaming and dropped to her knees. The girl with blue hair ran over to her, and appeared to be checking her over. Ean rapidly saw that the situation was turning into a stalemate: the one man could absorb the girls' attacks, and they could dodge his. Judging by the scowl on Venus's face, she had figured out the same thing. Ean kept firing, knowing that he didn't have another clip for the rifle.

An explosion behind the three creatures staggered them, and lifted Ean's spirits. That looked like a Mk-19 heavy grenade launcher. Another explosion rocked the trio. The man who threw fireballs straightened and began making hand motions. Ean kept firing then heard the all-to-familiar clack of the M16's bolt locking on empty. Cursing, he remembered the grenade launcher. A standing field of black energy formed out of thin air, and the man who threw the daggers and the woman entered the field. Ean sighted and fired the grenade launcher. The white phosphorus grenade exploded at the man's feet. He stiffened and roared in pain as the fragments of burning phosphorus spattered over him. He lurched toward the black portal for a moment, then he pitched backwards, white smoke pouring off of his body. Ean could see the body start to dissolve beneath the smoke screen.

Venus turned to him. "Thanks. You saved one of my friends."

"No, thank you. You probably saved many more of mine. Listen, you'd better get out of here. If you don't, I'll have to find out who you really are, and I'm not sure you want them to know that." She nodded, then started running away, running faster than Ean thought possible. The other girls were already running, also speeding away faster than he could follow. Ean took a deep breath, and choked on the smoke, both from the white phosphorus and from fires. He leaned back against the Humm-vee and allowed himself to relax, willing himself to calm down. He clenched his hands into fists to stop them from shaking. After a minute, he started looking around. Fire-fighting crews were out, as were the medics, cleaning up the aftermath of the battle. He saw a familiar, dark face in battle gear walking towards him. He stood as straight as he could manage and saluted sharply. "Lieutenant Hoffman, reporting as ordered, sir."

Captain Midra chuckled. "At ease, Lt. I know the difference between an office and a battle zone. Just tell me, do you know what the hell just hit us?"

Ean shrugged. "I've got some ideas, but most of them sound like something out of 'the X-files' or some other sci-fi. All I've got for proof right now is my own two eyes, and not much else."

"Well, give me what you've got. After what I saw today, science fiction just might have found a new fan."

Ean chuckled, then looked around. "Say, Cap. Do you know if the security cameras are still operational?"

Midra shrugged. "No, but that would be useful evidence if they were. Lieutenant, get over to the barracks and get in a uniform. We may have press all over this place soon and a civilian carrying a piece is not going to go over well, even if he is really one of ours. Next, get that camera film and find out what's on it. Once you've done that, report to me. Also, I hope you didn't high-roll too much last night, because you're going back on the town. This time, I want you to find out what those things were, and where they are. I'm going to push for some heavy heat to come on site, and I hope to have it available within the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. When they get here, I want them to have a target. Did you understand all of that?" Ean nodded, mind already running possibilities. "Good. Dismissed." Ean saluted and started off, deep in thought.

Midra stopped him. "Lieutenant, the BOQ is that way." Ean nodded sheepishly, then set off for the bachelor officers' quarters, his home on the base.

* * *

Ean sat at his desk, staring at the computer screen. The word processor stared back at him, black letters on a white field.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Johansen,

While I was not your son's superior officer, I worked closely with him on numerous occasions, and thus felt compelled to write you as well. Your son was a fine individual, a good technician and a good friend. I am sure you have been notified of how he died, so I will not reiterate such painful words. Instead, let me complement you on raising such a fine son, and say that he will be sorely missed both by his unit and by me personally. While I can not honestly say that my grief is as deep as yours is, please know that I too grieve for your son. If there is anything I can say or do to make this time easier on you; please do not hesitate to ask.

The words seemed so empty, so routine, unable to express the loss he felt and he knew the parents would feel. He wasn't an only child, thankfully for them, but he knew that losing any child, especially like this, was very hard. He shook his head. This is why they pay officers the big bucks, he thought. Sergeants don't have to write these cursed letters. A beep from the computer startled him then he remembered that he had another program running, under the word processor. Knowing that he would need hard copy anyway, he told the other program to print out its reports. The printer beeped, than began printing. Ean stared at the letter, trying to think of something else to say, until he heard the printer eject the first sheet. Reaching down, he picked it up and looked it over. At the top was the face of the girl with the ponytails. He had noticed that she seemed to be important to the others, so he had run her first. Besides, that hairstyle should be distinctive. Glancing down, he saw only one match. Glancing at the name, he drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He knew it was right, despite what his mind tried to tell him. Looking down, he saw that the second one was almost finished.

Then the phone rang. Leaning over, he picked it up. "Hoffman."

"Hey, Lt, this is Kowalski, at the main gate." Ean remembered; Kowalski had been one of the MPs he had led into battle earlier. "I've got a couple of civvies up here, say they know you. One's a blonde, says her name is Minako Aeeno, the other one's a guy, name of Namoru, or something like that. You wanna come pick 'em up?" With the base still on alert, no civilians were allowed to wander around unescorted.

"Yeah, Corporal, I'll be by in a few minutes. Be nice, they're friends of mine." Ean tapped a command to print out the letter as well, then picked up his helmet and rifle. With the base on alert, all personnel who had to move around were ordered to do so in combat gear. He was still wearing his web gear; it was easier than taking that off all the time. Slinging the rifle and donning the helmet, he started out of his quarters. With the intelligence building smashed, he worked out of his quarters, and would be for a while.

After a bit of a walk, he arrived at the gate. He saw Mamoru chatting about something with Kowalski, while Minako stood by and looked scared. When she saw him coming, she squinted, as if she wasn't sure that it was him under all of the gear.

Then, she decided that it was him, and started running towards him. "Ean! Ean!" She ran up to him and hugged him fiercely.

He patted her on the back. "Good to see you, too, Minako."

She looked up at him, and he could see some redness near her eyes, as if she had been crying. "Oh, Ean, I was so worried at you. Mamoru told me that he had to drive you up here, and he heard fighting and screams, and then that man over there tells us there's been a terrorist attack, and that's why everybody's walking around like there's a war on. I was so scared, I thought you might have been hurt."

He chuckled. "It takes more than a few half-wit terrorists to get me. Still," he sobered, "we did lose a lot of good people today."

Mamoru walked up. "Sorry to interrupt, but it sure is good to see that you're all right."

Ean nodded. "Yeah, but it was a pretty near thing at times, and I'm sore from a few hard falls. Come on, I was actually just about to call you, Mamoru, and see if I could hitch a ride back into town, so it's funny that you two show up." He started leading them back to the barracks. Both were looking around, looking shocked at the damage and all of the soldiers.

"Wowee," Minako said quietly, "it must have been real bad here."

Ean nodded. "Yeah, whoever it was that hit us was good, and well armed. They did a lot of damage."

"I thought you guys were supposed to be prepared for this kind of stuff." Mamoru said.

Ean chuckled. "Yeah, well, we got taken. I'm intel, so I'm supposed to be up on things like this, but I didn't have a real clue. This has been a safe post for so long, I guess we got complacent and paid for it. That's one of the reasons I'm coming back into town, to see if I can find out anything about the people that hit us. Here it is, in here." They walked into the BOQ, Ean saluting the superiors that he saw.

"Wowee," Minako said, "you sure have to salute a lot. I thought you were an officer."

Ean chuckled. "Yeah, I am, but so is almost everyone else who lives here. Also, I have to salute everybody, it's just a question who salutes first. Here's my quarters." Ean unlocked the door and ushered them in.

"There's not much space in here," Mamoru said looking around.

"What did you expect, the Ritz? I mean, this is government housing."

"Hey, Ean, you never said you played music." Minako was looking over the guitar and stereo setup.

"Well, it's just something I do to relax, or when I need to step back from a problem. I'm not much of a songwriter, so I mostly play stuff I hear on the radio and on CDs." He picked up the shirt and jeans he had set out. "Let me change, it'll only take a minute. Then we can go." He went into the bathroom and changed clothes, putting the pistol holster back on.

When he came out, Mamoru was laughing at Minako, who had an over-large black cowboy hat on. "Hey, Ean, look at the cowgirl over there."

Ean frowned. "Geez, you two are nosy. Minako, take that off."

"Hey, it wasn't my idea, she's the one who started nosing around in your closet," Mamoru protested.

"Hey, Ean, what do you call this thing?"

"A Stetson, that's the brand name. Depending on who I'm talking to, the generic term is either 'hat' or 'lid'."

They laughed at the terms. "Hey, I wonder if I can fit into these boots."

Ean laughed. "Fit, probably, depending on how wide your feet are. Mine are really narrow, so the boots are to. Walking's a different matter, considering that they're probably a good bit too long. Now, would you please quit playing and let's go?"

Minako smiled as she took off the hat. "On one condition: you play the song that you were humming in the arcade. Remember the one I'm talking about?"

Ean thought a moment, then chuckled. "Yeah, I remember. Let's just say it's not a love song. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes, I do." Ean shrugged, then walked over to the stack of CDs and found the Brooks and Dun CD Borderline. He powered up the stereo, dropped in the blank CD, and picked up the guitar.

"Hey, how come there are two CDs in every case, and one's blank like that?"

"Very observant, Mamoru. I had a friend go over the original CDs and edit out the lead vocal and lead guitar tracks, which I learned, so that you get the full effect of all the instruments without me duplicating any of them." He looked over at the stereo display, fast-forwarding to track number nine. As the intro started up, he began playing the guitar and singing in a drawling voice.

"Just sittin' here, minding my own broken heart

still hurting like the night she went away

here you come,

a double shot of trouble in your eyes

Heaven knows, there'll be hell to pay.

I can't take but just one heartache at a time.

I've got to wait till I've had a chance

to drink her off my mind.

I'll save some tears

and meet you here somewhere down the line.

I can't take but just one heartache at a time.

I'd be lying, lying in your loving arms

and tempted as I am, I can't pretend

Just my luck

You picked tonight to set your sights on me

Darling can't you see the shape I'm in?

I can't take but just one heartache at a time.

I've got to wait till I've had a chance to drink her off my mind.

I'll save some tears and meet you here

somewhere down the line.

I can't take but just one heartache at a time."

Ean hit the stop button on the CD player, looking at Minako's downcast eyes. Mamoru was looking like he wanted to laugh, but didn't out of respect.

"You asked." Ean said, and Minako nodded, then laughed.

"You're right, and you were right with the song. I was just looking for a little fun the first time I saw you. I've just never had anyone tell me that I was being a tease like that." Then she looked more solemnly at Ean. "Was the part about the other woman true?"

Ean nodded quickly. "Yeah, it was. I had just gotten a letter from her yesterday, telling me it was over. I spent, geez, it must have been hours, just sitting here, playing heartache songs. It helped for a while, but I needed to burn off some frustration, and that was why I was in the arcade. Well, enough of that, I'm sure we're all depressed enough. Come on, let's go." Ean grabbed a big, hard-side suitcase and leaned over and picked the paper up out of the printer.

"What's that stuff?"

"Some leads, maybe. It's classified stuff, though."

Minako pouted, and Mamoru laughed at her, as Ean folded the pages and put them in his pocket. "Don't worry, Ean, she gets like that whenever anyone denies her anything or tells her no. She's almost as bad as Usagi, my girlfriend. You met her last night, I believe."

Ean nodded. "Yeah, I can imagine she'd probably have that look down to an art, the way she was carrying on last night." They were still laughing as they got into the jeep and drove back into town.

* * *

Minako looked up at Ean. For the last hour or so, they'd been walking around Tokyo, talking and joking. Mamoru had dropped them off, taking Ean's suitcase back to his apartment, and said he had to get to work. Minako thought Ean's mood was darkening, little by little. Probably thinking about that guy that I saw get killed today, she thought. "Hey, cheer up, will you?"

Ean looked up. "What, what?"

She laughed. "You, Ean-san. You're just walking along, not really looking at anything."

"Sorry. Just brooding, I guess."

She looked over, across the mall, and smiled. "Hey, I see someplace that that should help you get over that."

She pointed, and Ean laughed when he saw where her finger was pointing. "The arcade. Well, it worked once, might as well try it again. Doubt I can get as lucky, though." She looked up at him, knowing she was being set up.

He smiled down at her. "I already met you."

She laughed. "How did I know something like that was coming?"

He shrugged. "My delivery stinks."

"No, silly. I'm not as dumb as Usagi, you know." As they walked into the arcade, Ean saw a distinctive blonde hairdo standing over one of the machines, beside a girl with brown hair and another with black.

"Speak of the devil," Ean said to Minako.

Minako looked up at him, then yelled at her friends. "Usagi! Makoto! Rei!"

Usagi looked up, and waved at Minako. "Hey, Minako! Ean-san, it is good to see you!" The game beeped, and Usagi looked down, then slapped the side of the machine. "Oooh, stupid game! That was as far as I had ever gotten, and I don't have another token."

Ean dug into his right pocket. "Here, I think I have one left over from the other night."

Usagi smiled. "You're so nice, Ean-san. Say, two can play at once, do you want to play, too?"

Ean started to refuse, but then Minako looked up at him, grinning. "Come on, Ean, let's see if you're really as good as you were the other night."

Ean looked down at her, cocking one eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe." Usagi was looking up at him, with a slightly pleading look in her eyes. Ean looked at those baby-blues and shook his head. Why can I never resist blue eyes, he thought.

"Sure, Usagi, I'd love to. I'll warn you, I'm not too good at these adventure games." He looked up at the title and translated quickly. "The Adventures of Sailor V, eh?"

"You've never heard of Sailor V? She was a real superheroine who showed up several years ago, fighting evil, and she still pops up from time to time." Ean could see the star-struck way Usagi was talking about this Sailor V, and he also noticed Minako blush a little bit. Something to keep in mind, he thought. He put in his token and started playing. Soon Minako could tell he was absorbed in the game, eyes locked on the screen as he manipulated his character.

Minako tapped Makoto on the shoulder, and motioned for her to walk a little bit away from the others. "Is Mamoru over at your place yet?"

Makoto looked down at her watch, then nodded. "Yeah, he should be. Why?"

"I've got a little favor to ask of him and Setsuna. I think you and Rei need to see a side of Ean I saw today. You might just like him more afterwards."

Makoto shrugged. "Well, I really don't like soldiers, and Rei says she keeps getting weird vibes from him, but I'd be willing to change my mind."

"Good. If he asks about me in the next few minutes, tell him I went to the lady's room or something. I don't think he will, if you let him play. He's got some things to work out, and he says playing games helps him."

Makoto shrugged. "Whatever. Considering what we saw, I imagine he does." Minako slipped into the bathroom, and Makoto went back to Ean and the others. Minako rejoined them in a few minutes, smiling broadly behind Ean's back as he and Usagi chewed their way through the Sailor V game.

* * *

"Wow, Ean, you're really good at that game." Usagi said, walking along at Ean's left side, while Minako walked at his right. Rei and Makoto trailed behind.

"First time I played. I must be on a lucky streak. If this keeps up, I may have to book a flight to Vegas and try my luck there."

"Vegas? Where's that, in America?" Usagi looked. Ean looked at her, then groaned when he realized that these girls had probably never heard of Las Vegas.

Oh well, he thought, me and my big mouth. "Yes. It's a city in America where there are a lot of casinos, gambling houses."

"Casinos?"

Where has this girl been, he thought. "Yes, where you gamble, play games like poker, roulette, blackjack, craps, stuff like that." He could see none of this was registering with Usagi or Rei, but Makoto nodded, a dark look in her eyes.

Evidently, places like that dabble in other things over here, he thought. "Forget it, I'm corrupting you poor girls."

"You are not, I asked." Usagi said defensively.

Makoto decided to change the subject. "Ean-san, forgive me if I'm being rude, but I keep noticing an accent in your Japanese, and it's not the normal American accent."

Ean laughed. "It's my Texan drawl showing through. I sound a lot like this when I'm speaking English as well. Where I come from, it's typical, and most people are a lot worse."

Minako nodded. "Sometimes I can hardly understand him myself when we're talking in English."

"That's because you learned yours in Britain. Sometimes I can hardly understand you, and I speak English native." A piece of paper fluttered out of Ean's left pocket.

Before he noticed, Usagi picked it up, and started to open it. "Ean, you dropped..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes got wide.

Ean grimaced, and Minako gaped. "Usagi, don't look at that. It's a secret."

Usagi still gaped. "It's me, and a picture of Sailor Moon."

Ean nodded. "So it is."

"What is this, some sort of joke?" Rei was hot.

Just like her sign, he thought. "No, Rei, or should I say, Sailor Mars, it's not a joke. Just some security camera footage from the base, and a computer that can cut still off of video images and a program that can then match those stills against anyone in the Japanese public archives. That's what I was working on before Minako showed up."

Makoto was also steamed. "When were you planning on telling us this? At your own damn convenience?"

"I didn't know how to tell you, to be honest. I was planning on it, but I just wasn't sure how to break it to you. Usually, in my business, when we do something like this, I get to tell the person I tracked down what happened at gunpoint, which sort of settles things. I don't like looking into people who have been friends to me, and who have saved my life, but I was long on problems and short on choices."

Rei and Makoto didn't seem too pleased with the explanation, but Usagi jumped to his defense. "Hey, I'm sure Ean wouldn't have done it if he didn't need to. Have you told anyone, Ean-san?"

The look in her eyes was pleading again, and Ean was glad he didn't have to try to lie to those eyes. "No. I knew you girls wanted it a secret, so I'm the only one that knows who you are. The work is on my personal computer at the base, not even my boss has access to it."

Usagi smiled. "See, if he wanted to hurt us, he could have splashed the news all over the papers. He didn't, so he's not going to, right?"

"Right." He smiled at her. "Thanks, Usagi."

Rei didn't look too convinced. "So why did you do it?"

Ean sighed. "Let's wait until we get to Makoto's place, shall we? It's a long story, and I'd like to only have to tell it once." Rei and Makoto nodded, and were quiet the rest of the way back, while Usagi and Minako just chattered brightly, like nothing had happened.

* * *

Ami walked in from what Ean guessed was the bedroom as Ean and the girls came through the door.

She looked relatively cheerful, but her expression changed when she saw the look on Makoto's face. "Hi, guys. Hi, Ean. Hey, what's wrong, Makoto?"

"He knows about the Senshi, Ami. He's got photos of us, and he put us together with the Senshi."

Ami nodded. "How?"

Ean shrugged. "You girls were kind enough to show up on the security cameras. I took stills from that video of your faces, digitized them into my computer, than ran a little, okay a big, program I have that takes those pictures and matches them against a given database. In this case, the database was the records division of the Japanese government. For most of you, the matches were relatively quick: the program can pick out hair and eye color, and use that as a preliminary screening. The only one who took a real long time was Rei, since her hair color matches with the vast majority of the Japanese population. The rest of you came back fairly quickly. The only one I missed was the guy in the tux; he never looked at a camera. Once I had the rest of you, however, putting Tuxedo Kamen and Mamoru together wasn't hard."

Ami nodded, and, noting that Makoto had closed the door, pulled out her transformation wand. "Well, since you know that, I can do this the easy way. MERCURY STAR POWER, MAKE UP!" A shimmering field of blue energy surrounded her, and transformed her usual clothes into the uniform of Sailor Mercury. Ean tried not to gape. How in the blazes did she just do that, he thought?

This is way beyond what I had thought, and that was getting pretty far out there. "Nice trick," he said simply, trying to keep his jaw from dropping. The others looked at her strangely as she pulled on one of her earrings and a shimmering blue visor formed over her eyes. Now, what the heck is this, Ean thought.

"Thanks. Now, take off your weapons."

Usagi's jaw dropped. "Ami, how can you suggest.."

Ean cut her off, reaching back under his shirt. "No, she's right. How do you think I saved Minako's pretty little neck the other night, with my bare hands?" He pulled out the pistol and, holding it so that the side faced Mercury, ejected the clip and worked the slide to eject the round in the chamber. He then placed the pistol on its side. Seeing Mercury didn't flinch, he reached up under his left pants leg and removed his boot knife, sheath and all, and laid it by the pistol.

"You've been walking around with all that, all day?" Minako was shocked.

Ean just nodded. "All yesterday too. I'll have to apologize to Mamoru; if the police had come in last night, I would have had to pull some tricks I don't like doing."

"Apology accepted," Mamoru said as he came in from the bedroom. "I wondered what you were doing this morning, charging in there unarmed. I guess you weren't."

Ean smirked. "No, but very close. Considering that nothing short of grenades had any effect on those things, a pistol wasn't much more than a confidence builder." Mercury had powered down, and Ami moved to find a seat. Ean noticed two cats, one black and one white, had also walked in from the back, the black one padding over to Usagi and the white one to Minako.

Usagi picked up the black cat, and held the cat in her lap. "Oh, hi you two. I guess I need to introduce you. Ean, this is Luna and Artemis."

Ean decided to be nice and walked over to Usagi and petted the black cat's head. "Hello, Luna."

"Ooh, I can see why Minako likes you, Ean; you know how to greet a girl."

Ean's eyes popped open at the cat's voice. Talking cats, he thought? "Talking cats?"

"Yes," Artemis said, "talking cats. Man, Minako said you were smart. That's the kind of question I'd expect from Usagi."

"No way am I putting this in my report. They'd section eight me for sure."

"Section eight you, what's that mean?" Minako asked.

Ean snickered. "Section eight means that you are unfit for duty due to mental problems: delusions, insanity, stuff like that. Talking cats definitely qualifies someone as a section eight, at least as far as the military's concerned. I'm not so sure they're wrong myself."

Usagi laughed. "That's about what we thought when we first heard them ourselves, if I understand you. We thought we were crazy. But no, Luna and Artemis really can talk, and they're our counselors." Ean nodded, and found a place to sit.

Rei looked at him. "Last night wasn't the first time you've used your weapons, is it?"

Ean glared at her. "If you have a point to make, Ms. Hino, I'd appreciate it if you made it. I'm not sure I like where you're heading."

Usagi looked like she was going to jump in, to try and defuse the brewing confrontation, but Rei didn't give her the chance. "You've killed before, haven't you? I'm a very spiritual person, I can get feelings, vibes if you want to call it that, from a person, and learn a lot about them."

Ean took a deep breath, then let it out slowly and stood up. "Very well. You've forced my hand in this. Yes, I have killed before." Minako and Usagi gasped, Makoto just nodded. "A little explanation is in order, and most of it is classified top secret. When I graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, I wasn't an intelligence officer. I was Special Forces, the green berets. I was assigned to a unit that conducted 'black ops,' top secret operations that nobody knew about except the President and our commanding officers. On these missions, it was a matter of kill or be killed. Questions of morality are fine sitting around a room over a glass of beer or wine or sake or whatever, but in a firefight, especially one you didn't start, you either fight or die, and I fought better than most. The reason I'm an intelligence officer now is that I got shot on one mission, shot through the right knee. If that visor of yours, Mercury, is half as good as I think it is, you probably saw the piece of surgical steel that masquerades as my right kneecap. The only reason I'm walking today is that the Army employs many of the world's best trauma surgeons, and occasionally sends them to support missions like the one I was on. After the surgery, they thought that I wouldn't regain my speed or endurance again, so they gave me a choice: injured discharge or transfer to a non-combat branch. I took the transfer, so here I am." He had paced around while telling the story, and now he stopped and looked at Rei.

She nodded, and smiled a little. "Thanks for telling us the truth." Man, he thought, that smile could light up a room if she just let herself go a little.

Makoto looked at him now, questioningly. "So why the deal with the computer search? Curiosity?"

Ean snorted. "Hardly. No, I need your help. I've been ordered to find those, those things that hit the base today. You're my best hope for doing so."

"What makes you think we know where they are?"

"Nothing, just that you're the only lead I've got. Without you, I've got nothing."

Rei nodded. "If I wasn't so drained, I'd do a fire reading right now. As it is, I don't think I've got the energy, or won't until I get a good night's rest. We were fighting the rest of those youma while you were helping Minako, Ean."

"Youma?" Ean asked.

Luna spoke up. "Creatures from another dimension, a world of darkness. They come here to steal life energy or to cause destruction."

"No, these creatures are not youma." Ean turned to look at the bedroom door. A woman with long, dark green hair was standing there, wearing a T-shirt and jeans and leaning on a white staff with a green jewel at the top.

"I can't say I've had the pleasure," Ean said, trying to be polite.

"I am Setsuna Meiou, otherwise known as Sailor Pluto, warrior."

Ami looked at her reprovingly. "Setsuna-san, you should be resting."

Setsuna shook her head. "My injuries are healing, and you need what I know here and now." She walked over to the group, which was roughly arranged in a circle, and tried to sit down next to Mamoru.

She stumbled a little, and he caught her and helped her down. "Thank you, Endymion," she said, and the staff disappeared. Ean looked at Mamoru questioningly, and Mamoru gave him an "its a long story" look.

"I fought the creatures early on the same day that you encountered them for the first time. I and two of my fellow Outer Senshi were badly injured in the fight. I know that these creatures were not youma, though. Youma are intelligent beasts; they can speak, but they fight without a thought of tactics. These were creatures, from the Dark Kingdom no doubt, but who had intelligence, and fought as a group, coordinated like no group of youma I have ever seen."

Ean nodded, and Luna turned to Setsuna. "So, Pluto, what were these creatures, if not youma?"

"I believe they were Dark Kingdom agents, once human who were corrupted. Unlike youma, they retain their intelligence, only the soul is changed. They are very like the generals. They are rare, I believe, so that is why mostly youma have been sent against us in the past. Now, however, I have seen great danger."

Ean perked up a bit. "Seen?"

Setsuna nodded. "I am Guardian of the Gate of Time. Through it, I can see long areas of the time stream, and visit those of my choosing. I have seen great disruptions upcoming in this time, and felt the need to come."

Usagi looked troubled. "What disruptions, Setsuna-san?"

"What would be will not, unless things change again."

Makoto laughed angrily. "Another riddle, Setsuna? When will you give us a straight answer, or has that telepath's attack still addled your brain?"

Setsuna stayed calm. "It is not for me to tell you the future, not now."

Ean looked grim. "So, what I'm hearing is that what we're dealing with is a group of highly intelligent, very powerful aliens from another dimension and we don't really know why they're here yet, but we can bet it's not good. Is that accurate?" A lot of long looks and slow nods answered him. Ean took a deep breath. "Right. I at least have some work to do, and I'm sure we're all tired, so if it's just the same to everybody, I'd like to go over to Mamoru's."

Mamoru looked a little sheepish, and Minako smiled. "Uh, Ean, you're stuff's not at Mamoru's; it's here. I had Mamoru bring it over, and pick up some other stuff, with Setsuna's help." Ean looked around, to where Minako was pointing.

There was his suitcase all right, but there also were his guitars, stereo, CDs, and his hat. "How in the world did you get that stuff? I know you didn't carry it out of the barracks."

Minako just smiled. "Setsuna can get places where most of us can't. Come on, Ean, play us some of your music."

"Wow, I didn't know you could play music, Ean. Please play us some." Looking back, Ean saw two pairs of blue eyes pleading with him.

Sighing, Ean walked over, put on his hat, and began tuning his acoustic guitar. "Anything in particular you'd like to hear?"

Usagi spoke up, excited. "Do you know any love songs? I like love songs."

Ean nodded. "Okay, you've got it."

"Oooh, goody, I love sweet songs." Usagi scrambled over closer to him, nearly spilling Luna out of her lap, and the others followed her over, more sedately.

"I'll warn you. I can't translate fast enough to keep up with the music, so I'll be singing in English, and most of the words are in a bit of a dialect, so you might have a little trouble understanding it. Consider it a free English lesson." Ean picked out a CD, put it in, fast forwarded to one of the love songs, and started up.

Ean played for a long time, mixing in some up-tempo songs with the love ballads and a few of the heartache songs. Usagi listened intently, along with Minako and Mamoru and Ami. Rei and Makoto were less intent, but they picked up on the up-tempo songs. Ean was often unaware of what was going on, caught up in the songs. Other times, especially on the love songs, he'd wink at Minako or Usagi and Mamoru.

After a couple of hours, Ean took off his guitar, and popped his wrist, and grimaced. "Ow. Well, that's all folks. I don't think I could pick another note." Usagi yawned widely, and some of the others also looked sleepy.

Makoto spoke up. "Okay. The girls can sleep in the bedroom, the guys can bed down in here." They all nodded, and began splitting up. Ean opened his suitcase, reached into one compartment, and pulled out a laptop computer. Finding a comfortable seat on the couch, he turned it on.

"What kind of computer is that?" Ami asked, looking it over.

"IBM, with parallel 200-megahertz processors and a load of memory."

Mamoru's eyes popped open. "Wow, Ami, I don't think your is that fast."

She shook her head. "It's not. How much did that cost?"

Ean smiled. "Uncle Sam picked up the tab. Every once in a while we do get something good."

Usagi looked confused. "Wow, your uncle must be rich, but why did you say they?"

Ean laughed, and Mamoru tried to keep from laughing. "Sorry, Usagi, I should have told you. Uncle Sam is a slang expression for the US government. It comes from an old recruiting poster."

Usagi looked embarrassed. "Oops, sorry. Guess I better get some sleep. See you in the morning." Ean nodded, then started pulling up some files.

Ami yawned. "Oh, man, I'd better get to sleep too, before I fall over." The rest of the girls, except Setsuna said their goodnights. Mamoru went to take a shower, leaving Ean alone with the computer, Setsuna, and the cats.

Artemis climbed up into his lap. The screen was showing a map of Tokyo with lots of lines and a few dots on it. "What are you looking at?"

Ean sat back and idly stroked Artemis's head. "I'm not sure, Artemis. Well, this is a map showing where we've been picking up weird energy signals, that I think correspond to either the Senshi or these Dark Kingdom characters. What I'm not sure of is just what it means." Setsuna sat beside him, and leaned over to get a better look. Ean started to get a little uncomfortable. Man, he thought, how can Mamoru stand it around all these good-looking girls? I really like Minako, but this temptation is starting to be a little much.

Setsuna didn't seem to notice his distress, and pointed at the screen. "Why are some dots and some lines?"

"We originally only had one detector that could pick up the signals, so all we would get is the bearing of the signal from the detector, not the range. That's how it works when you're just listening, and not sending any signal out. In the past couple of days, we brought a second detector on line, so now we can move the detectors apart and, taking the different bearings they send back, figure out roughly what the range is. Actually, it's relatively inexact, which is why these dots are so big."

"Are these dots here near the train station? If so, one of them could be me arriving, and another is probably the fight with the agents."

Ean shrugged. "I don't know, let me pull up," he stopped, with a look on his face like he had just realized something. "Man, I really must be tired if I didn't think of this." He began tapping furiously.

A series of yellow dots appeared against the red dots and lines. "This is not good. Okay, what I did is to pull up all of the major sites in Tokyo and around it: train stations, airports, seaports, and government building, anything big and important. I also told it to eliminate any dots or lines more than a certain distance from any of these sites."

"But nothing disappeared," Artemis said, "that means..." Artemis looked up at Ean, who had stopped petting him.

"It means that every time something's happened, it's been close to a major site. This is not good."

Ean sat back, holding his chin. "What am I looking at here?" he muttered, in English.

"What did you say? I didn't understand you," Artemis said.

Ean shook his head, and replied in Japanese. "Oh, nothing Artemis, just talking to myself. This is a puzzle of some sort, and I'm looking for the picture it forms. Why are they here and what are they up to?" He started lazily patting Artemis with his left hand while still rubbing his chin with his right.

"Who am I up against here?" Artemis looked up at him, with a look that said "you're doing it again."

"Sorry. It can help to visualize my opponent, what he wants. I'm not talking about the guy we've run into; he's just the field boss. I'm talking about the big guy, the leader. Who is he, and what does he want?"

Ean kept looking at the screen. "They hit and run, don't usually do any damage, or there'd be more police reports. Setsuna, you said that they just were looking around?"

"Yes, until they saw us, they appeared to be just looking around, not attacking at all." Ean squinted for a second, then snapped his fingers.

His expression, however, was even more grim. "I've got it. This is a reconnaissance mission, a blasted recon mission."

Artemis looked concerned, but Setsuna just looked puzzled. "I am not familiar with this term, 'recon'. Perhaps you could explain."

Ean nodded quickly. "Yes. Reconnaissance means basically taking a look around; finding out information about your enemy is a more conventional definition. The information they're looking for here is tactical information: building layouts, defense forces, if any, emergency response times, maybe, maybe even precise locations and nearby structures." Setsuna nodded, also looking grim. Ean continued. "I don't like this one bit. If I were preparing for an invasion, this is the kind of information I'd want. If I'm right, then we may be looking at a potential invasion, and happening soon."

"How soon?" Artemis asked.

Ean shrugged. "Hard to tell. It could be anywhere from tomorrow to next month, or six months down the road. The problem is that information like this can change relatively rapidly, so we're not looking at something happening years down the road. Six months is a probable maximum. Also, we've got another problem. Looking at this, there aren't any really noticeable places that they've missed. If this team is still around, then they may well be about to change missions. If I had an experienced team in position, I know that I'd use them to start making trouble, sabotaging important buildings, stuff like that. They may just lie low, but now they know that they're probably blown, with the Senshi intervening today like they did. If they can't lie low, they'll either leave or start making trouble. We need to find these creatures, and take them down."

Setsuna nodded, then rose. "You are quite talented, warrior. If you are interested in balancing accounts, it is we who now owe you. In any case, I believe you and the Senshi will need each other in the upcoming days. Rest well, warrior." She smiled and left, walking without her staff and not stumbling.

Ean yawned, then shut off the computer. "Lights out, big guy. I don't know about you, but I've got to get some sleep."

"I think I'll go see if Luna's up for a midnight snack. Some nice crickets, maybe, or maybe some juicy field mice."

Ean laughed. "Have fun." Artemis hopped down. Ean pulled off his boots and lay down. Two nights, two different couches, Ean thought. If this keeps up, I might actually get used to this. Ean's mind kept working over the situation, but soon his bodily exhaustion took over and he fell asleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------