Adam Allgood pianodrums@aol.com I have noticed that other authors post disclaimers before their stories. Here's one. Sailor Moon, and all related characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha, Bandai, Dic, etc. Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry, and all of it's related characters belong to Paramount Pictures. Any other characters were created by me. Star Trek: Sailor Moon Mutual Dilemma Chapter 4 Captain's Log: Earthdate 4-3-1997/9:00. Repairs to the Enterprise are proceeding normally. Our transporters have regained full power, but our weapons systems are still uncharged. This Earth's tracking devices have forced us to proceed with caution. Our main power signature is kept as low as possible, and we are currently avoiding sensor sweeps of the orbiting satellites. Unfortunately, it has been discovered that a Borg sphere has survived. The remains of the Federation Star Fleet in orbit have maintained an orbit parallel to the sphere, so we won't encounter it. It is unknown at this time of their status. However, we have been monitoring all Earth radio and "television" signals, (Deanna Troi is in charge of that operation) and lately, she has been receiving disturbing reports. I suspect the Borg are somehow involved with this sudden uproar planet-side. We have not seen panic like this since our "subtle" arrival. "Captain, look at this" Deanna Troi motioned to Picard, her dark brown eyes registering concern. "I have been monitoring the frequency that identifies itself as 'I.N.N.' (a great way to say 'watching television') I think you should look at this." Picard moved over to the small display in the corner of the bridge. The screen showed a typical Earth news station layout. Two "anchors," as called, sit behind a large desk in front of a large wall that is riddled with decor. "What is the problem, councilor?" Picard folded his arms and watched the screen intently. The "anchor" lifted a paper from his desk, notes and prompts no doubt. He began to speak while the word "Disappearances" appeared on the right-hand side of the screen. Picard had a sneaking suspicion that he knew the purpose of all this. The report began. "In the past few days, ten people have disappeared from Tokyo, four from New York City, and two from Mexico City. We have no evidence at this time to even explain what happened. All of the cases are similar. The person was in transit, all cases by foot, and they disappeared. There appears to be no link between the people. They are random citizens. Witnesses in Tokyo did not see anyone disappear, but several reported hearing loud screams, and found nothing at the apparent location of these screams. These incidents, although frightening are now probably no cause for concern. We have no evidence that they are related to the mysterious flash, observed a week ago. We here at ICC will keep you informed as this story unfolds." Picard eyed Deanna. She nodded. Being a half Betazoid, Troi sometimes knew the persons words before they left the mouth. She was aware, and agreed with Picard's assumptions that the Borg were involved with these disappearances. "Commander Riker," began Picard, moving away from Deanna, and towards the command chair, "I need a special assignment. We need to prepare away teams." *** Serena, Mina, Amy, Lita, Raye, Luna, and Artemis walked the streets of Tokyo. They decided to investigate matters in the Ginza, where most of the disappearances occurred. All of them happened in secluded areas of the shopping center. However, the team needed to keep a firm grip on Serena, who always appeared to "lose" the others when entering the Ginza. Strange that it always happened in front of her favorite store! It just so happened that they were all so intent on retaining the struggling Serena, that they failed to notice the strange gentleman who had the misfortune of crossing their path. With a powerful impact, the lead girls, Serena and Mina, collided with the stranger. "Oh no!" cried Serena. "We're terribly sorry! Are you all right?" The stranger started to mutter as well. "?Lo siento! Yo no te veo. ?Estᠢien? "What?" The girls watched the mysterious man, obviously a foreigner. How could he expect them to understand the Spanish or Portuguese he was speaking. They continued "Do you speak Japanese? Or English?" The stranger offered a bewildered look, then smiled as though he understood everything. He brought his hand up to his head and pounded on his skull. The girls and cats were astonished. This man was strange! They observed him more closely. He was tall, with dark brown hair, and sharp blue eyes. He had a beard that was cleanly trimmed, and a mustache. He was wearing an odd tunic; red and black with shiny boots! Was this man in the military of another country? That would be quite embarrassing! The stranger continued his odd motions, and continued with "Hablan Jap󮥳a. ?No? The seven understood enough of that to realize that the man figured out what language they speak. What language indeed! Didn't he know where he was? The bearded man lowered his head and spoke softly. "Jap󮥳a, Japonese, Japanese." He turned towards the dumbfounded girls. "Can you understand me?" They nodded. How did he do that? He seems to have a mastery of several languages. He continued, "I'm very sorry for the mix-up. I thought for a minute that you were some people I met earlier. They were from Mexico." Serena turned red. "Oh, I'm sorry for bumping into you. Are you unhurt?" She almost forgot that she, rather forcibly, initiated contact with this stranger. The man laughed. "Of course I'm all right! I should ask you the same thing. Are you okay?" The man offered his hand, a custom from the United States. "Yes, I am fine." Serena threw a glance towards the rest of her group, and shook the bearded man's hand. He smiled. "Well, I am sorry for interrupting your little 'Brouhaha.' It has been nice meeting you!" The stranger walked away from the five blushing girls. "Way to go Serena!" came a sarcastic voice. Serena realized that she would have to face her patronizing cat. "Luna, stop it! It was an accident!" Serena snapped at the cat and continued with the group, forgetting about her shopping needs. Raye, who had been most quiet during the past interchanges, suddenly spoke up. "I got strange vibes from that man the whole time he was here!" "What?" All of the focus was on the red clad scout now. Artemis continued, "Are you sure? What did he give off? Evil Vibes? Could the Negaverse have returned?" Raye shook her head. "No, I didn't sense any evil, just strange. He ticked on a different clock. It was like he wasn't from this world, or something." "Yeah!" Lita chimed in. "Did you see the way he hit himself? It was almost as if he was fixing his brain so he could understand us!" Luna continued, "Amy, can you give us your analysis on this man?" The blue scout took out her computer, and scanned the region where the man had stood. "I see no irregularities here," Amy frowned. "That was strange, however. It looked like he was adjusting his speech box somehow." Serena broke in. "I think you all are crazy! There was nothing wrong with that man! He was just startled, and probably slipped back into his native tongue." Raye retorted, "I know what I felt! That man was not like us! Perhaps he is related to the flash last week, and these recent disappearances." "We can't attack a man just because he felt weird!" "I didn't say we were going to attack him!" Raye's voice grew irritated. "Gosh Serena, what's wrong? Do you like this guy or something? "What? What are you talking about! I'm not... I didn't say that... ooooo!" Serena and Raye began to argue like usual. "Girls, Girls!" The two cats saved the day. "Stop being so irresponsible. We are here to find clues on the disappearances. So far, this man is our only lead. We will follow him to see what he is doing, but we will not make ourselves known. Is that clear?" "Yes" "Good! Let's go before we lose him!" The girls turned to look for the strange man. They found him talking to a shop keeper on the other side of the street. The girls observed him from a distance. Amy took out her computer and ran a scan on the bearded man. Her small, blue computer lit up with urgency. "I am detecting some strange energy coming from his head. It seems to be coming from his ears and mouth. Whenever a voice enters his ears, the energy changes the waves. It is the same with his mouth. All outgoing sounds are altered." "Could this be how he switched to our language so easily?" Luna asked "Very possible," Amy continued to scan. The man began to move away, towards the far side of the street. They kept back behind him, which was difficult because the strange, bearded man kept altering his direction. Once he broke loose from the throng of people, he pulled out a small device, and activated it. "Oh my gosh!" Amy exclaimed, watching her computer. "That device is gathering information in a very similar fashion to my own computer." "You are saying that he has technology similar to ours?" Mina brushed back her blonde hair. "Possibly even more advanced," Amy continued to take readings. "That device's scanning range is greater than mine, and it covers a greater part of the electromagnetic spectrum." "He's doing something else!" The girls and cats turned at Mina's shout back towards the man. He pulled a smaller device from his sleeve, and pressed it. "It is transmitting energy signals upward." Amy said. The man began to speak into the device. The girls strained, but couldn't hear him. "It may be some kind of walkie talkie" Amy suggested. "But who was he talking to?" Mina asked "Wait, he is moving away again!" The man put the device back into his sleeve, and continued away from the crowding of the Ginza. From an alley in front of him, another man stepped out. This new man was huge. The bearded man walked over to this new stranger. "Look at their clothes." said Mina. "They are the same, except the bearded guy's is red on top, and the big guy's is gold." "Why does the big guy have a bandanna on his forehead?" asked Serena. "I do not know" said Amy. "I will run a scan on the new man." Her computer gave out some readings. "This is very odd! That gold man's body temperature is way different from normal, and his blood chemistry is different! The dark man in gold turned toward the girl's location. The five scouts cowered. He turned back. "We haven't seen anything like that since Anne and Alan left!" exclaimed Luna. "They may be after more energy!" said Artemis "No, the readings from that man are not the same as Alan and Anne's." Amy reassured the cat. Everyone heard the scream. The five girls whirled towards the alley a block away. "Another disappearance!" shouted Mina. "Let's go!" said Raye. The seven ran from their cover towards the alley. The two strangers were already half-way there. The screaming continued. One of the strangers, the dark, big one shouted something that sounded like "The Bhorg!" Raye turned towards Serena. "I told you that that man was involved!" "you didn't say that, you..." "Girls stop it!" screamed Luna. The team saw the two men round the corner. They did not notice the scouts yet. The girls crossed the street and carefully turned the corner. They saw the two men inside, all alone. "What?" The girls were astonished. Where was the person in trouble? Both men had their computer devices out. They were taking readings everywhere. The big one said something like "Seven life forms, there!" The girls shrank back around the corner. The two evil men might abduct them too! They heard the red man say "They cannot see! Lets beem back to the ship!" The girls didn't understand what he meant. Beem? or Beam? Whatever! Suddenly, a bright humming noise filled the alley. The girls rushed past the corner. The two men were gone! "That explains it!" cried Luna. "Those men are responsible for the disappearances!" Riker cursed. The Borg have abducted another civilian from this Earth, and seven people may have seen the beam out. Worf was also perturbed. Not what they would call a successful outing! Their mission was to find out about this Earth, and stop abductions if they could. Instead, Riker's translator was mis-programmed for Tokyo. One of the officers in Mexico City may have Japanese programmed into his or her translator! The Borg transport a woman for assimilation right under their noses, and they may have violated the Prime Directive! "Captain Picard is not going to be pleased!" said Riker. The Sailor Scouts sat in Raye's temple for an emergency meeting. They all had a huge problem. "I've set my computer to alert me if it detects any of the alien's devices. Unfortunately, the range is limited. I have to be downtown and moving from place to place for it to be effective." "These aliens are probably very advanced. You heard them refer to their "ship." Luna looked fatigued. "Could that be where the walkie talkie transmissions were going?" Mina asked. "Probably." said Amy. "Be careful, Sailor Scouts" said Artemis. "We have little information on our opponents. "Let's go!" said Raye. The scouts left the temple and ran downtown. Amy began her scans of the area. "Stay in your present forms until you encounter your enemy." said Luna. "You don't want them to scan, and prepare for our defenses before battle." "Scan complete, no strange readings." said Amy. "All right, let us proceed to our next area" said Raye. The scouts made their way through Tokyo. "Scan complete, nothing strange." said Amy. The five girls ran towards the edge of the downtown. "Scanning, and...wait! Affirmative readings over there!" Amy pointed towards the next block. "Let's get 'em!" Lita led the pack through the streets of the city. All of the scouts grew apprehensive. It was unknown the dangers that may lurk under this operation. Who knew for sure the power of these aliens that were taking people off the streets. Each girl held her respective power stick ready for immediate use. Finally, Amy said "Over there!" Sure enough, the bearded man was back. However, it was his new partner that drew the girls' attentions. Just like the big man, this new stranger was also wearing gold and black. But what amazed the girls was the fact that the alien's face was also gold. Amy scanned him. "He is quite different from us" she said. "I can't even tell if he is alive or not." "Transform!" said Raye. The five girls transformed into their respective alter-identities; Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter. The flash caught the attentions of the aliens. "Stop right there!" cried Sailor Moon. "We are onto your little scheme, beard boy, and we're here to put a stop to it!" "Who are you?" asked the bearded man. "And what are you talking about?" "I am Sailor Moon, the champion of justice! You have been stealing people off the street, and in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!" Sailor Moon took up a defensive pose. The other scouts joined in behind her. The gold alien tilted his head like a bird, and said "Fascinating!" He reached into a pocket. "Stop! Don't move!" cried Sailor Venus. She raised her hands and her fingers started to glow. "We mean you no harm." The bearded man said, dropping his device. Both aliens raised their hands in capitulation. This was not the way it was supposed to go! These aliens were supposed to put up a fight! The bearded one continued. "What leads you to consider us the cause of these disappearances?" "Don't play dumb with us!" shouted Jupiter. "Who are you? And why are you doing this?" The bearded man kept his empty hands in the air. "My name is Commander William T. Riker. I am here looking for some....... 'people'... that we lost." "With all of those devices?" asked Mars. "Where did you come from?" "We are from the United States." offered the gold alien. "Unlikely!" shouted Sailor Moon. "I heard you speaking Spanish to me earlier....oops!" Sailor Moon realized that she was giving away her identity. "Ah yes," said the beard man, "You're the one who crashed into me earlier." said Riker. "Why do you think that we took those people?" "We saw you disappear along with a screaming woman!" cried Sailor Mars. Riker offered her a bewildered look. "Oh yes, right!" he said. "No, we were trying to save that woman." "But how did you disappear?" Riker's tricorder started to fuss on the ground. The man afforded it a glance, and his eyes widened. "We're sorry that we can't stay and chat, but we really must be going now." Riker beckoned to his gold skinned friend, and they started to back off. "Stay where you are!" The authority in Sailor Moon's voice stopped the retreating men in their tracks, and surely surprised the life out of her friends. "Stay where you are!" "I apologize for your mistaken beliefs about our true motives, but right now it would be helpful to all of us if you would please allow us to continue. Our intent here is to save the missing people." The gold skinned man spoke very politely, almost innocently. "Then tell us where you came from!" said Jupiter "I'm sorry but we can't do that." said Riker. He turned towards the pale alien and murmured something. Both men bolted back. "Stop!" said Sailor Venus. She ran forward and tackled Riker. Both crashed to the ground. The other scouts raised their glowing fingers, and Data stopped. Riker was surprised at the strength of the girl. He squirmed under her body, but couldn't get loose. "The Borg will strike again! We must go now!" cried Riker "We'll let you go if you answer our questions." said Sailor Venus "All right!" said Riker. "I will, but you won't believe us." "Don't worry, we've seen a lot." said Sailor Venus. "But sir, what about the Prime Directive?" said the gold skinned alien. "We don't have a choice, do we Data?" The girls shook their heads in agreement. So, that was the alien's name. Data. Very strange indeed! Riker began his story. "We are from a very different, faraway place. I come from Earth, like you, but it is a very different Earth. We are from a different quantum reality. Now, in our time and space, a very dangerous race of aliens lurk about. They are called the Borg. We fought these creatures so hard, that we opened one of their devices on board their ship. This caused a temporal explosion that pushed us here. Unfortunately, the Borg are here too. Their plans are to conquer this world by turning everyone on it, into one of them. They are here on the planet, taking people. They seem to be operating in secrecy, I don't know why. Right now, they are a few blocks down the street, trying to take someone else, and we need to stop them!" Sailor Venus, who was sitting on top of Riker, stood up. "Okay, we'll let you get these 'Borgs' for us, but we will come with you, and if you try anything funny..." Sailor Venus lifted her fingers and fired off a beam of light. It sheared the 's' right off of a nearby bus stop sign. "We must hurry." Data chimed in. The group of nine raced down the street. Riker and Data drew some kinds of laser guns from their belts. The scouts immediately fell behind the two men. "There is nothing to fear from us!" exclaimed Riker. "You need to trust us!" "We will, after you prove that you are truly on our side!" Sailor Mars eyed the two strange men. Riker smiled. "Okay, that we will!" Riker quickened the pace. As they drew nearer to where the man Riker said the Borgs were, they began to hear screaming. "See?" said Riker. "That's not us." "It could be that big man you were with earlier." said Mars, the skeptic. "Oh, you mean Worf!" Riker said. "He's harmless, unless you get near him!" Riker laughed at his own joke, without smiling. The situation was not too humorous. The screams grew louder and louder. "Right behind this wall!" said Data. The nine humans and cats rounded the corner. The five scouts, and the two cats were shocked at what they saw. Sailor Moon began to cower. Three beings were in the alley. They were dressed in black, but their clothes were mostly hidden under huge pieces of machinery. Wiring was everywhere, even on their faces. Their faces were even more frightening. They were white as death, and encased partially in a big piece of machinery. Each one had a red, circular eyepiece, and a laser pointer that now shined into the scouts' eyes. The three were holding the unconscious forms of innocent people. Data and Riker barged in. "Release those people, now!" shouted Riker. The Borg nearest to him swung up his free arm, that ended in a pair of sharp pinchers, and fired an energy weapon. Riker dodged the blast and fired his own laser (phaser) gun at the Borg. The red beam struck the Borg squarely in the chest, and it went down in a tangle. The scouts marveled. That looked easy! This wouldn't be a hard fight. The other two Borg, ignoring their fallen comrade and the unconscious civilian, promptly disappeared. Before the scouts could react, seven more Borg things appeared. Riker fired his weapon again, and another Borg fell. The other six moved forward. Riker fired at another soldier, but this time, a strange force-field appeared, blocking the blast. Riker cursed. Data fired his own weapon and took the Borg down. He got in another shot before the force-fields appeared. "We must call in the troops!" Data exclaimed "Hey there!" called Sailor Mars. "It looks like you need our help. Let us show you a thing or two about our Earth!" The girl with long, jet black hair put her fingers together. Immediately a large spark appeared before outstretched hands. Data and Commander Riker were shocked at this turn of events. Sailor Mars faced the two Borg nearest to her, and cried out "Fire Soul!" Instantly, the area between her and the two Borg was engulfed in flame. The two Borg disintegrated. Riker, who could barely find his voice, managed to choke out "Nice fire. Is it your pet?" Sailor Mars chuckled. These two wonder-bringers can be impressed! Data stepped forward. "I must caution you, the Borg adapt to our weapons-fire very soon. It may be the same with your weapons." "Thanks for the warning." Mars's fire vaporized the remaining two Borg. At that time, Data called into his walkie talkie device. The device was shaped like a weird symbol. It was backed by a gold parallelogram type shape, and the front consisted of a triangle with a pushed up bottom. It was activated by pressing the triangle. "Data to Enterprise. We need security assistance immediately. Please lock on to my communicator." Data turned toward the alley to greet the security team. Instead, many new Borg appeared. It was difficult to estimate the number. Almost directly after the Borg arrival, a dozen gold-clad troops materialized. The fight begins!