Pirate Cats
Enchantment 101
”Oh Ophelia! You saw my Ogii-san and Obaa-san. I am so thrilled. Mother must learn of this. I want to help you all.” She looked at the other biosynthetic dolls, or at least that’s what they reminded her of, beautiful dolls. She sighed, ”But how? I have no idea how to wake them for you.”
“But I do!”
She spun around, as did the faery girl. Each blinking at the figure of Pan seated Indian style atop the ledge overhang above the darkened console littered with crystal dust far below his impromptu perch.
“Pan! You gave us a fright,” Serenity Dawn exclaimed, shaking her head.
“Pan, you are a Dream Walker?” Ophelia stated as a fact, more than a question.
“You are correct to a point, but I am much more. For now, I am your teacher,” he said, an impish grin on his cherubic face as he pursed his lips and began to play a silver flute. Sere recognized the song as that very same melody played by the Star Locket and her jaw dropped as she continued to listen. When he had finished playing, he stood beside them and hugged Ophelia who warmed to the elf-like young man.
“Pan, what just happened?”
“I am evolving her, “ he said cheerfully, stepping towards the other Synthe still encased in their crystal wrappings. “Awaken, all of you!”
Serenity Dawn stood gob smacked as over 1000 of the biosynthetic doll-like faeries opened their eyes en masse as the shroud of ages dissolved into pale golden sparks that vanished on contact with the ground.
He then spoke to Sere, taking her hand, “Sere, listen carefully. Sit here,” he indicated a pile of soft rugs that had appeared out of nowhere. She did as he asked and shrugged at Ophelia who was fascinated by all of this. “All right. I want you to look into your heart. Close your eyes. Picture the bloom between your eyebrows. A new Crystal shall take shape, focus!” he instructed.
She did as he asked. Soon, the revolving flower set against a velvety midnight void appeared before her. It was pretty and threw off waves of magenta light and then it began to change. The flower assumed the shape of a bird, a raven. “What is it?” she asked, in awe of the glittering object.
“The Kuristaru no Karasu!” he replied, touching her head, the action resulting in a flash of golden stars that had her feeling euphoric and light-headed.
“I understand now, this is the product of my grandparent’s love, the crystal child of the Affinity Weft?”
“Yes, and it is part of you. Until this point, it has been dormant inside your heart. But having said all that, it has protected you from Black Lady, your dream nemesis all this time.”
“Sere, I must explain this to my sisters. Iphigenia is to help me set up the consciousness link. We are dedicated to protecting you. We’re your personal warriors and most important, your friends,” Ophelia said, hugging Serenity Dawn. Soon, the other faery-like warriors were gathering around them.
“Call upon the power of the Kuristaru no Karasu, Sere, this will help with their metamorphosis,” Pan instructed.
She closed her eyes, and the crystal raven was there in her mind’s eye. The bird cried out, its wings unfurled, and it flew over her head. She could here it flying around the room as a harmonic chime announced the next evolution of the warrior dolls in the basement lab of the Toshiba R and D complex.
“It is done. Now, you can open your eyes, Sere,” Pan said, and when she did, she gasped at the magnificent and most unexpected sight. Overwhelmed, she burst into tears. These weren’t tears of pain, rather, tears of joy. Pegasus stood before her, surrounded by the faery-like Senshi, with their magnificent wings aglow.
“My daughter, I think it time we were formally introduced.”
“Introduced? But I don’t understand,” Serenity Dawn murmured, blinking away fresh tears.
“You soon shall!” With these words, Pegasus vanished and Helios appeared, a golden corona enveloping him.
“Father! Oh, but how, I mean, I-“ she flew into his arms and hugged him, sobbing like a child, but she didn’t care at that moment what she looked like. She was just happy to have her father back alive and well. “Father… I am so happy, yet I feel angry at everything that has happened. You were my only comfort as a little girl, my soul mate and best friend. I respect and I love you dearly, and I do understand. But the heart, you know…”
“Indeed, child,” he said, withholding his breath for a moment, a habit of his she noted whenever he was lost deep in thought.
The doll-like guardians encircled them and smiled, their glittering wings moving with grace and throwing off rainbows of vivid color that illuminated the chamber. When she looked up he was smiling, “Oh my darling child, I think we have a lot of talking to do and your next question, yes, your grandparents are alive and well within the Crystal Nexus and will soon return.”
“Oh father!”
“My darling child. I could not tell you why I could not reveal myself to you. For if the dark witch plaguing your dreams had known before you were ready, she could have used this knowledge against you and your mother to destroy you both and the Crystal Kingdom.”
Call to Battle
The Pirate Cats were an elite squad of rebel fighters that had trained over the last couple of years in the art of stealth and guerilla warfare, using the vast fields of the asteroid belt to practice their drills and perfect their strategies. Their fighters and battle cruisers built on Calypso under the guidance of Prince Kantaro’s most skilled scientists and military experts. Now the day had come.
But as the last moment instructions and battle plans were discussed, supplies loaded, and personnel assembled, a glittering girl had appeared within the rebel stronghold. She was naked. They could see right through her. She was beautiful. The silvery-blue light surrounding her told them she was a shining one, a Kami.
She bowed and smiled at the Senshi and Shitennou before addressing them, “My children of the Ginzuishou. I am Princess Aki, daughter of the Oberisku no Shoujo, and bearer of her legacy. As you can see, I am my mother’s daughter in every way. But know this, I will be protecting you all. Brave young people of the Crystal Kingdom. We have need of you. Love will win the day. Trust in the power of love that throbs in the depths of your Star Seeds. Go forward and give your all!”
Smiling, Paris greeted the transparent winged girl, surprised at the soft texture of her clear crystal hands. “I am honored to meet you and yes, I know of your mother through legend and the visions we have all shared.”
“Thank you Paris for your warm greeting, you are one of my bravest warriors and your mother Palla can be well proud of her son. And Paris, protect and cherish Serenity Dawn. She has need of you, as her final battle shall soon be upon her. Then the cycle will move forth to a new epoch. But enough of that, let us feast before you fight, my children.”
~*~
The daughter of the Oberisku no Shoujo the Earth Princess had wished them well and promised to watch over them in battle. They were buoyed by her support. Yet, they'd be leaving nothing to chance, as the Kamis would expect them to give their all, not solely rely on them for winning the fight for them. Janus reasoned they all felt that way as he stepped onto the bridge. He then saw the holographic image of Cassandra seated in her command chair aboard her ship, her long legs crossed. The sight of his beautiful young wife held him spellbound. He smiled at her and she winked, tossing her long tresses over her shoulders.
Janus admired Cassie’s full figure. Loving everything about her, from her stylized pirate hat to her matching silver eye patch. She was the perfect female warrior. Cassandra’s golden locks flowed over her generous curves, the little there was of her silver fuku. He longed to be alone with her celebrating their victory. He found her lovely body a welcome distraction from his anxiety about the upcoming mission. Catching his gaze, she offered her husband a warm smile, blowing him a kiss.
“All right people. I think this will be fun, is everyone ready?” Cassandra asked, as young Mauan Senshi cadets and Shitennou moved to their stations behind her.
“Everything’s set,” Janus replied, winking at Cassie. She loved his uniform. The stylized pirate look suited him right down to the eye patch, boots and of course, his gleaming crystal sword strapped to his hip. “We’re going to distinguish ourselves in battle and fashion prowess, my star fairing comrades!” he said, addressing the holo-images of all twenty-five rebel commanders of their respective warships.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Paris replied with a wicked grin.
Janus chuckled, “Cassie, my love, Paris had better do us proud and bring his butt home safe and sound,” he smirked.
“Janus,” she grinned, “I could say the same for you. Oh, I just have! So, let’s look out for one another’s butts, okay?”
“But of course, my darling Senshi pirate princess, Argh mee’ hearties, there be spoils to be had and villains to vanquish!” he beamed and blew her a kiss. Then bowing, he spun around and barked orders to his bridge crew.
~*~
“I’m ready with the Lancers, let’s kick ass!” Paris exclaimed.
“Lady Mayer?” Lord Kantaro from Calypso prompted, the panther metamorph leading one of two battle cruisers with Princess Miranda piloting the other. She, a dark haired beauty was his consort. “Our ships are in position,” he said, as the klaxon sounded.
“Battle stations guys!” Mayer shouted, as the lights on the bridge dimmed into a dull teal.
Mayer punched some keys on her console, her metallic emerald clad form surrounded by a corona of silvery-blue light as the holo-scanners projected the images along with the obsidian invaders to the center of the bridge, these hovering a few feet off the floor. She sent the signal to the Crystal Alliance ships now taking up their own positions behind the moon and Venus as they began their attack.
~*~
As the sun rose over the rim of the blue pearl of the Earth, the obsidian ships had sent forth a mist of small fighters catching the solar fire of dawn. These resembling a swarm of ebony insects with silvery wasp-like wings moving towards the rebel fleet and Terran strike force with deadly intent.
The Pirate Cats were more than ready for them. They de-cloaked and the battle had begun in earnest and their crystal gliders had the upper hand. Sure, there were residual losses. But the adept Pirate Cats were much too fast, highly skilled and far smarter. The enemy relied on sheer weight of numbers and their technological advantage to pound the Terran fleet into submission. But they’d not been expecting the rebels. Moreover, because they weren’t marked, nor designed by any Crystal Kingdom military standards, the enemy thought them allies from another star system.
Then the Venusian wing of the fleet fired a series of subspace pulse streams, these several miles wide spanning a quarter of a million miles. With pinpoint accuracy, the orange beams destroyed another of the invading mother ships. The Pirate Cats destroyed two others and the last two were in retreat and fading fast behind the asteroid belt.
“Okay, let’s finish them off people, they’ll not be expecting our forces to combine with the Outers!” Cassandra shouted as repair teams worked on damaged consoles, med techs treated superficial burns, and other minor injuries as the fleet pursued the enemy. “We can’t let them get away. Does anyone wish to join me on a boarding party assignment? I want to know who these people are.”
“I have a team of operatives and the Mauans are ready to do their thing,” Paris offered.
“Good, I need you to cloak your ship and join me as we force the slower of the two limping enemy battleships to break off and we’ll board her. Everyone else destroy the lead ship. Let’s rock!”
New Dawn
She would regret the hard training the next morning. She would wake, her body heavy, stiff and sore, and mood sour. Ophelia and Iphigenia were her military advisors and physical trainers also. She was beginning to resent them at that moment as she performed the tasks set by the girls. Pan played the flute as the booming explosions overhead ceased.
“Hey, it’s stopped, for the moment anyway,” Sere, said, watching the hundreds of faery warriors training in the background. She smiled. She wasn’t the only one breaking a sweat this morning, or so she thought. But as she looked at the girls, she frowned.
~They’re not even sweating! They’re biosynthetic! Hybridized, correction~
Interrupting her thoughts, Pan spoke once more, “Yes, the Pirate Cats and your Crystal Kingdom forces have won the day!”
“I hope Paris and the others are all right,” she said, the anxiety clear to Helios and Pan as they in their turn hugged her.
