Sailor Pluto calmly replied, "As Sailor Pluto one of my duties is to protect the Gates of Time, an ancient device that allows one to travel through time. Among its' powers is the ability to scan the timeline. With it I could - with a few unfortunate exceptions - see what ever goes on at any place on Earth at any point in time within a few hundred-thousand years of the present.
"Of course, I had to actually choose to look at the events in a certain place and time to know what went on at that point, and even living for thousands of years there was a limit to how much I could actually observe. As for why I chose to focus on you long enough to know so much about you, let's just say that in one version of history you became involved in a history-altering event, and I needed to acquaint myself with you to determine the best way to correct the timeline."
Ranma wasn't quite sure what to make of this. "Um... okay..."
"Oh, and by the way, to complete the introductions, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, I go by the name Setsuna Meioh."
Still befuddled by the revelations of Pluto's powers and of her spying, Ranma simply said, "...Right..." Then another thing occurred to him. "Wait... That Time Gate. Couldn't we use it to --?"
Pluto shook her head. "No. As I mentioned earlier, we were sent too far back in time to reach it."
"Oh."
When it became apparent no one else had anything to add, Sailor Moon said, "Okay. If there's nothing else we need to discuss...? We ought to get to exploring, then. With Rei and Mercury busy, that leaves eight of us to explore. We'll be able to cover more ground if we split up, but I don't want anyone going alone.
"Ranma, do you have any survival skills?"
Most of the Senshi were silently watching Moon, astonished as usual by her switch into command mode. Ranma, not knowing her well enough to be astonished, answered, "I spent ten years on the road with my Pops, so yeah."
Moon looked at Pluto. "You must know what to look for, too?"
Pluto nodded. "Of course, Your Highness."
"Good. In that case, we'll split into groups of two. Neptune, Uranus - you work best together, so you might as well go together. Hotaru - " Moon paused and looked at Haruka and Micheru, in case they had anything to add; as it turned out, they did.
Haruka spoke up. "I know Pluto has vouched for him, but we still don't know Ranma very well. I'd prefer if Hotaru didn't go with him."
Moon nodded. "Hotaru, you'll go with Pluto. Ranma --"
This time she was interrupted, as both Minako and Makoto said, "I'll go with him! --Hey!" They both glared at each other.
Moon put her fingers to her forehead for a moment. Composing herself, she said, "I'll go with Ranma."
Minako protested, "But, you already have a boyfriend!"
Moon scowled. "This isn't a date, this is a mission. Mina, Makoto - you two are together. And save your arguing over who gets Ranma until after you're done exploring - that's an order."
Sheepishly, Minako and Makoto both bowed and said, "Right."
Moon looked over everyone again, then said, "Alright. Everyone going exploring, transform, then activate your personal atmospheric shields."
After a pause, Minako, Makoto, Hotaru, Haruka, and Micheru pulled out their transformation wands. "Venus Crystal Power, Make-up!" "Jupiter Crystal Power, Make-up!" "Saturn Crystal Power, Make-up!" "Uranus Crystal Power, Make-up!" "Neptune Crystal Power, Make-up!" The dome was lit with light, as the five were wrapped in light, then their Super Sailor Senshi outfits appeared upon them.
As soon as the transformations were complete, Moon called out, "Moon Power - Personal Atmospheric Shield!" A ball of pink light grew around her, forming a sphere about six feet across. She glanced at Pluto. "I don't suppose I can make it any bigger?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"Hmm. Well, I guess you'll have to stay close, Ranma."
Ranma gulped. He was glad none of his fiancees were here - they wouldn't have taken well to him standing that close to another girl.
Venus complained quietly, "Now I really wish Moon had let me partner with Ranma."
As Moon had already told them to form their shields, the others did that as well. "Venus Power - Personal Atmospheric Shield!" "Jupiter Power - Personal Atmospheric Shield!" "Saturn Power - Personal Atmospheric Shield!" "Uranus Power - Personal Atmospheric Shield!" "Neptune Power - Personal Atmospheric Shield!" "Pluto Power - Personal Atmospheric Shield!" Balls of light appeared around each of the Senshi, in their personal colors.
"What a mouthful," Venus commented.
Moon agreed, "I know - I nearly said it wrong myself." Turning business again, she said, "Okay, there's four teams, so we'll go in the four compass directions. Don't just go in a straight line, though, look around a bit. We're looking for anything we could use as shelter, and any other resources we could use - for instance, if we can find some fresh water we won't have to rely on Mercury all the time for our water.
"Use your communicators to call in if you find anything, and report in with Mercury regularly even if you don't find anything, just so we know you're alright. If we don't find anything in a few hours, we'll come back here. Any questions...? Alright, let's go!"
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(Posted Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:32)
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