Aftermath

[Halbarad]

Ami rubs her eyes as she climbs out of her bed - the sheets looking much the worse for wear thanks to her filthy dress. She pads over to the door, hitting the intercom next to the door. "Who is it?"

[Brian]

Of course not, Makoto thinks dryly, wondering just what the noise is all about.

Sighing, and not really able to sleep, yet not motivated enough to rise earlier with everything still going through her mind, she climbs out of bed, still dressed in the nightgown she had changed into prior, and opens the door.  "Yes?" she asks, rubbing at the corner of one eye before catching herself, and remembering to try and assume the dignity proper for her new role.  "May I help you?" she corrects herself before her guest can speak.

[Corwin]

"The Queen has requested your presense, Princess," a male voice answers Ami over the intercom.

-----

Makoto sees a woman in a maid's uniform. Before her guest can reply, though, she is pushed aside by a red-head, who glomps Makoto.

"I told you she'd be up!" Eiko exclaims, smiling at her friend.

[Halbarad]

The young princess yawns. "Very well, I'll be out in a few minutes."

Leaving the door, Ami begins to search the room for a change of clothes and hopefully a bath.

[Brian]

"Oh!  Eiko-chan!"  Makoto enthuses, hugging the redhead back.  "I was wondering where you went!"

[Corwin]

Some fifteen minutes later, after taking a quick shower and getting herself into a set of her ceremonial robes, Ami emerges from her room. She finds her escort still waiting there patiently for her, though a brief flicker of annoyance flashes through his face as he not quite looks down on her. Cutting short on the pleasantries, the cadet leads Ami in the direction of the flag bridge, though they stop before actually getting to it.

"This way," the man escorting the princess says, pointing at a door with an emblem of a silver moon proudly on its center. A pair of priestesses stand guarding it, one on each side of it, and he announces to them, "Princess Ami Hermesia of Mercury to see the Queen."

The priestess to the right glances at Ami curiously, while her colleague presses a jewel on her glove, and speaks into it quietly. Nodding to herself as the answer comes, she bows to Ami, and opens the door. "Her Majesty is expecting you," she says, while the other priestess finally takes her cue and bows as well.

-----

"Oh, I've just stayed onboard the Serenity for a while, that sort of thing," Eiko airily responds. "I mean, what else could I do? Steal a shuttle, fly over to the flagship, board it and beat up lots of guards at the docking bay until I was finally dogpiled, and be pardoned by the Queen, only to discover that it was too late by then to meet you since you've been exhausted and sent to sleep already?" Eiko laughs, and the maid that came with her backs away hesitantly.

[Halbarad]

Ami smiles and nods to the woman before heading inside to see the Queen.

[Corwin]

"Ah, good, you're here," the Queen says, as the door closes behind Ami. The young princess can see that she's alone with Serenity in what appears to be a fairly spartan room, at least for a queen. "I'll cut straight to the chase," she says, directing Ami to a chair with a nod of her head while pacing in front of the only window in the room. "I've received some disturbing reports in the aftermath of the battle, and given you're the most scientifically-inclined of my senshi, I wanted to consult with you first." Serenity suddenly grimaces. "No, that's not completely true. The... experience you've had on Mercury had to do with my choice as well."

[Halbarad]

The young princess gives the queen a curious look, although rather a pale one at the mention of the events on Mercury. "Of course, Your Majesty - what is it?"

[Corwin]

Serenity approaches Ami, and offers her a datapad. On it, Ami can see telemetry data which doesn't make sense at first glance.

"You're looking at what our fleet's sensors registered just before that large explosion," Serenity explains, taking a seat on the edge of the large desk in the room. "We've been very busy at the time, naturally, yet our computers still logged this information, and after hearing the disturbing rumors I mentioned earlier I've had the fleet's analysts go over our recordings in case we found anything just like that."

Ami suddenly realizes that the importance of the data she had been shown is in where it came from -- either Earth of Earth orbit, the best the fleet's computers have been able to deduce with the available sensor data.

[Brian]

"It's good to see you again, Eiko-chan," Makoto repeats, dismissing Eiko's suggestions of the adventure's she's had.  "But you're here now, and I imagine it was a very boring wait until they let you back ... are you tired?  Hungry?"

Makoto pauses, and considers.  Surely the kitchen, even now, would be a haven from her distractions!  "I know!  Why don't we go to the ship's ... galley.  Galley.  They call kitchens galleys on ships.  But if we go there, I can make you something to eat, if you're hungry!

"Or just make cookies or something, if you're not," Makoto says with a shrug, only remembering at the last minute that she needs to put on more than a shift before heading to the kitchen.  "Oh, come in for a moment, Eiko-chan," she adds, hauling the redhead into her room and shutting the door on the maid before changing into something proper for a trip to the kitchen.

[Halbarad]

Ami narrows her eyes as she studies the sensor data. "How strange... and these readings were obtained just before the explosion..." She studies the electronic pad intently for a moment, then looks up at the Queen. "And you believe this is related... to what happened on Mercury?" she adds, unsure of how secure the Queen's chambers are against prying ears.

[Corwin]

Serenity nods. "I find it curious that Miss Beryl had to suddenly leave for Earth while you girls were getting your well-deserved rest. Combined with the readings...."

She shrugs helplessly. "In any case, this matter had been taken out of the fleet's hands. Genkai's trying to decypher the actual bits of conversation we've intercepted, but she isn't optimistic about it. Of course," Serenity continues, smirking, "she's much too straight to try anything but the standard methods of decryption. Her equipment and available software may be light years ahead of anything anyone else has, but the conventional way she's using them...." The Queen trails off, shrugging again. "Perhaps a different approach would have better luck?"

Frowning suddenly, Serenity adds, "Perhaps there are even other clues I've missed. It didn't seem necessary to push for a formal debriefing yesterday, and to call for one today might raise some... concerns. I'd prefer to avoid any rumors on this matter, so soon after we've defended ourselves against an attack that blind-sided us." She looks at Ami levelly. "Would you assume responsibility for this investigation along with the other senshi?"

[Halbarad]

Ami's mouth works silently for a minute. "M-me? B-but I couldn't... I mean, I'm honored, but why me? Surely one of the other princesses would be better at leading? Of course I'll do all I can to analyze the data, I'm just... I don't think I'd make a very good leader."

She tries to picture the reaction if she tried to give direction to the other princesses she's met so far... while Rei is definitely a wonderful friend, she doesn't think she - or any of the others - are going to react well to being led by someone barely half their age.

[Corwin]

"Why not?" Serenity asks curiously. "The other girls could be told about what happened, but you've actually experienced it. Also, it would be a nice test of your abilities. There's more than one way to lead, after all, and I don't believe there'd be a need for you to 'pull rank' in front of the other senshi or order them around."

Sighing, she adds, "Besides, it would be nearly impossible to choose between Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus. Their political standing and qualifications for the job are just about equal, and to pick one over the other.... And then, there's Makoto. I have my reasons not to burden her with organizing this assignment. Outside of the four of you, the other senshi are either not ready or needed elsewhere."