CIRCLES OF TIME: The Great War
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com
http://strands-of-moonlight.my3gb.com
-or- http://strands-of-moonlight.6te.net
Rated: PG-13> Chapter 5 - A Grim Reality <
An automobile pulled up in front of an English manor house several miles outside London. A servant opened the door, and Setsuna stepped out.
It was now May 1, 1915. The land war in Europe had largely settled into stalemate, while Germany's U-boats were exacting a heavy toll on Britain's maritime lifelines to North America and the rest of its far-flung empire.
Entering the house, Setsuna found Peter waiting for her. "Hello, Peter," she greeted him.
"Setsuna. Good to see you," Peter said. "What news from your mission to Cape Town?"
She shook her head. "I think it was a decoy. I found a small magic point there. It clearly was not naturally occurring, but also wasn't doing anything. I did spot two wizards in the area, however."
Peter nodded. "Sounds like a trap, which means it was very fortunate that we sent you down there. Anyone else would probably have alerted the Order."
An older gentleman entered the room. "Hello, Peter... Oh, I beg your pardon. I hope I'm not interrupting."
"Not at all, Edward," Peter said. "Setsuna, this is Edward, our host."
"It is a pleasure to meet you... your grace," Setsuna said, noting the coat of arms on his jacket.
He nodded in acknowledgment. "The pleasure is mine, Setsuna. And we skip the 'your grace' business when among Paladins. Please, just call me Edward."
"Certainly," she said.
Peter led Setsuna down to the basement, where several tables were set up with maps and papers. Samuel stood at one of the tables. "Hello, Setsuna," he called. "Have a good trip?"
"It was a decoy, or a trap," she said.
With a nod, he shuffled through several sheets of paper. Finding the one that dealt with her mission to South Africa, he scribbled a note on it, then placed it in a file tray with other empty leads.
"Any word from Daniel?" she asked.
"He's still in the States," Peter answered. "But I do believe you have messages over on the desk."
"Thank you," she replied.
She walked over to the desk, finding several envelopes with her name on them. Two were notes about energy points for investigation, but the third was from Daniel. With a happy smile, she opened the letter and began to read.
"Dear Setsuna, I hope your mission is going better than mine, which seems to be fast turning into a waste of time. I am looking forward to seeing you soon, and sharing a quiet dinner together. It's not yet clear just when I will be able to return, but just the thought of seeing you again fills me with happiness. At least the monumental tragedy of this war has had one good result, namely bringing us together. I wish for you all the best. With all my love, Daniel."
She tucked the letter into her pocket and walked back toward the tables. In addition to the general positions of the front lines, the map now showed two of the Order's storage centers, which had been identified in the Alps of western Switzerland, and in the mountains of Austria's Obersalzburg.
Samuel read through several more reports. "It seems the Order's stockpiles are filling up quite quickly."
"Do we have any idea yet of their minimum threshold to awaken Metallia?" Peter asked.
"Not yet," Samuel answered. "I'm not even sure I'd want to guess."
"I would guess it to be around six million," Setsuna said.
"Six million?" Peter asked.
"Six million dead," she clarified.
"I see," Peter said, his voice barely a whisper, as he turned back to the table.
Samuel checked some more figures. "These are really rough estimates, but my projection is that the casualty figure currently is somewhere around a million and a half dead."
"I suspect that is a conservative estimate," Setsuna said quietly.
"Entirely possible," Samuel agreed. "And we haven't had a really major attempt by either side to break the stalemate in France. When that does happen, we can expect a jump in the body count."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next morning, Setsuna joined Peter in the dining room for breakfast. Edward entered the room.
"Good morning, Peter. Good morning, Setsuna," he said.
"Good morning, Edward," Peter said. "Will you join us?"
"Awfully sorry," Edward said. "But I'm afraid I must run up to London today on business. Most likely, I'll be staying over until tomorrow. Do make yourselves at home in the meantime."
"Certainly. Have a safe trip," Peter said.
Just then, the butler entered the room.
"Yes, George?" Edward asked.
"I beg your pardon, your grace," George said. "A message for the professor. It was delivered by your special associates."
Setsuna put down her coffee cup. "Thank you, George. I'll read it here."
"Yes, ma'am," George answered, handing her the slip of paper.
She unfolded it, and read the typed message, which was dated the previous morning.
"Setsuna, Sailing today for England in 'Lusitania'. Expect to arrive Liverpool on 8th. Hope to see you soon. Daniel."
Her breath caught in her throat and her heart pounded as her eyes froze on the name 'Lusitania'. She didn't need to consult the shipping schedule to know the great ocean liner had already sailed.
"Is something wrong?" Peter asked.
"No," she said softly. "It's from Daniel. He's returning in 'Lusitania'."
"Good show!" said Edward. "I knew he wouldn't scare easily."
"What do you mean?" Peter asked.
"Oh, you haven't heard? The German embassy in America has been running ads in the New York papers warning about the danger of the war zone around the British Isles, telling neutral citizens that their safety cannot be guaranteed," Edward said.
"The Germans are trying to intimidate people from doing business with Britain," Peter said.
Samuel walked in. "It's a propaganda move," he said. "The Germans are trying to shift blame in advance to the British if one of the big liners should be sunk by a U-boat."
"But passenger ships enjoy the protection of merchant shipping under the rules of war," Edward said.
"True," Samuel conceded. "But it is well known that the Cunard Line built 'Lusitania' and her sister, 'Mauritania', with considerable financial aid from His Majesty's Government, in return for the government's ability to call the ships into service in time of war. When war broke out, both ships were requisitioned and were fitted with deck mounts to which guns could be attached. The British government then decided it didn't have an assignment for 'Lusitania', so they returned her to Cunard to resume passenger service to New York. But... the gun mounts are still there, and the German intelligence network had plenty of time to learn that she had been called up for use as a troopship. That means the Germans probably have her classified not as a liner but an auxiliary cruiser, which is to say... a warship."
"But that's rubbish!" Edward protested. "If the government were actually employing her as a troopship that would be one thing, but why should Cunard want to take such a risk when they're still in the passenger trade?"
"If it was presented to you as serving king and country, would you be likely to refuse?" Samuel countered.
"Hmph... Well, probably not," Edward conceded. "Especially if I thought the ruddy Hun was going to break the rules anyway."
"Exactly," Samuel said. "And the German U-boat skippers and their admirals probably assume that Britain is violating those same rules by arming merchant ships and hiding munitions and other contraband among the cargo."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was the afternoon of May 7th. A communicator unit beeped insistently. With a slight buzz of energy, it formed text on a sheet of paper, then slid it into a tray. Albert picked up the page.
"Samuel, I think you'd better call Peter, and Setsuna," he said.
"What's wrong?" Samuel asked.
"Bad news, I'm afraid," Albert replied.
Minutes later, Peter and Setsuna joined them.
"What is it?" Peter asked.
Albert indicated the sheet of paper. "This report comes from Queenstown, Ireland. A distress call was received from 'Lusitania'. The ship has apparently been struck by a torpedo off Old Kinsale."
"Oh, God," Peter exclaimed. "Do we know anything about the extent of the damage? Is the ship continuing to Liverpool, or putting in at Queenstown?"
The communicator beeped once more. Samuel picked up the paper and read the report. Before he read it to the others, he could already see Setsuna shaking her head.
" 'Lusitania' struck by at least one torpedo," Samuel read aloud. "Ship foundered in less than twenty minutes. Heavy loss of life. Further details pending."
"Daniel was traveling with Bernardo and Thomas," Albert said. "They were using assumed names. We can't be entirely sure which cover identities they were using, and we don't have any basis for making inquiries."
"Setsuna, I'm so sorry," Peter said comfortingly. "I could ask Edward to see what he can find out about the survivors. He does have connections within the government."
"No," she said. "Albert is right, and it would attract unnecessary attention to Edward." Her eyes fell to the floor as she struggled with her emotions. "We have our own war to wage, Peter. I'm sure Daniel wouldn't want us to lose sight of our true purpose because of him."
"Very true," Peter agreed. "Albert, ask our contacts in Liverpool and Queenstown to keep their eyes open for any information on the survivors, but without attracting undue attention to themselves."
"Understood," Albert said, scribbling down Peter's instructions.
Setsuna walked toward the stairs. Samuel moved up behind her.
"Was this one of those events that had to happen?" he asked her quietly.
She turned back and nodded.
He closed his eyes and took a breath. "I don't think I could have done that."
"I think you could," she said. "You know your duty to the Paladins..., just as I know mine to preserve the time stream."
She turned and headed up the stairs. Continuing to her room, she closed the heavy wooden door behind her and bolted it. Only then, with her privacy assured, did she release her iron hold on her emotions. She collapsed on her bed, weeping bitterly and feeling like her heart had just been torn out.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Setsuna appeared at the gateway, still in her civilian dress, her eyes red behind her glasses. With a thought, an image appeared before her of 'Lusitania' steaming along the southeast coast of Ireland. The great liner had slowed as it entered the more confined waters, surrendering the advantage of the great speed for which she was famous. At the same time, 'Lusitania' traveled on a straight course, not zig-zagging as was standard procedure to confound a U-boat skipper's targeting calculations.
Suddenly, Setsuna's sharp eye caught site of a faint trace of foam and bubbles racing across the water, tracing the course of the speeding torpedo beneath. The projectile struck just aft of the bridge, throwing up a tremendous plume of dirty water, reaching higher than the ship's four large, majestic funnels. The torpedo sent only a comparatively minor vibration through the big ship, but moments later, a second explosion, this one a long, slow rumble, rattled up from the ship's bowels. Quickly, 'Lusitania' heeled over to the starboard, rendering her port-side lifeboats useless. Crew and passengers scrambled frantically to load the still usable starboard-side boats even as the ship's list grew steadily more severe.
The image focused in on the decks as Setsuna searched for Daniel. Her heart was pounding as she saw the confusion and fright that prevailed on the doomed ship. Suddenly, this image of the recent past pulled back, allowing her to only watch as the ship heeled over still more. At the same time, she sensed a familiar presence alongside her.
"Onee-san! Now why are you interfering?" Setsuna demanded.
The phantom stood there silently, her gaze lingering on the image of the sinking 'Lusitania'.
"Say something, dammit!" Setsuna said angrily. "You were the one who pushed me to pursue a relationship with him, and now you interfere when I'm trying to learn what has happened to him!"
"It is not yet time," the phantom said quietly, refusing to meet Setsuna's gaze.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means just what it means, Setsuna," the phantom said. "You should know better than most that there are things that cannot be explained."
"You damnable bitch!" Setsuna swore, shedding her civilian guise. "I have had all I can stand of you and your interference!" She swung her time-key, but suddenly found the phantom had vanished.
"You were about to betray your mission," the phantom said, reappearing behind her.
"What?" Setsuna spun back to face her, but now found herself unable to move her arms.
"You were searching across time not for the benefit of your mission, Setsuna, but for your own personal feelings. We both know how critical this period is. You must save the Earth from the Order, and it seems I must save you from yourself," the phantom declared. "If you ask me, I think I have the vastly more difficult task."
"I disagree," Setsuna growled. "I also have to put up with you!"
The phantom shook her head. "In time, you will come to see things differently."
"And what about Daniel? He was one of the leaders among the Paladins. To lose him could seriously harm their efforts!"
The phantom's gaze again drifted away. "I know full well the hurt you are feeling, Setsuna. If it were only my personal wishes that mattered, I would not be here to experience this," she said, her voice little more than a whisper. "But my personal wishes do not matter, nor do yours at this moment." She waved her hand and the image changed, showing Setsuna with Peter and the others in Edward's basement little more than an hour before.
Setsuna's earlier words filled the chamber. "We have our own war to wage, Peter. I'm sure Daniel wouldn't want us to lose sight of our true purpose because of him."
"You spoke very wisely to them, Setsuna," the phantom said. "What has happened to that wisdom since?"
"There is nothing wrong in wanting to know what happened to him," Setsuna replied. "And I am not diverting precious resources as they would have. Daniel said I cannot win this fight on my own, nor can the Paladins. We must work together, but in this situation, they have the better information networks to monitor the Order, since they have been doing just that for almost nine hundred years."
"That is a rationalization," the phantom countered. "Remember that you are now a player in these events, not merely an observer. You must play your role with care, since you have knowledge which they do not. In your own way, you are nearly as great a threat to the proper sequence of events as is the Order."
"That is ridiculous!" Setsuna said.
"Is it? The Order's threat is premeditated, while yours is not, that is true. But the threat you pose comes from your own impatience," the phantom said. "First you wanted to close yourself off, which would have kept you at too much of a distance. Now you would scan time for your own personal benefit, and might well obtain knowledge which, as a player in these events, it is not appropriate that you should have."
"But... I have to know what happened to him," Setsuna insisted.
"The Paladins are the only source from which you can properly learn the answer to that question, Setsuna," the phantom replied. "Now you must go. The Paladins are in danger of making a grave blunder in the near future."
Setsuna blinked, and she found herself back in her room, once more in her 1915-era attire. She could only vaguely recall her exchange with her phantom 'big sister' but felt the lingering sense of frustration that so often seemed to follow their meetings.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next morning, the British papers screamed of the atrocity of a U-boat sinking the unarmed 'Lusitania'.
"This is primarily for American public opinion," Samuel said, glancing over one of the papers, as they sat at the dining room table eating breakfast.
"Any word from Washington?" Peter asked. "Do we know how the Wilson administration plans to respond?"
"It's still early days yet," Albert said. "Given the time difference, we probably won't begin to hear the first statements from public figures for several more hours. I did get a report from one of our contacts in the American State Department, who said President Wilson and Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan are both strongly opposed to intervention. He expects that while this might greatly sour American feelings toward Germany, it is not likely to generate the firestorm of public opinion necessary to push Wilson to ask for, or Congress to grant, a declaration of war."
"So, America stays out," Peter said. "That is for the best. What about the rumors that 'Lusitania' was armed or carrying contraband?"
"Well, the official position of both Cunard and the government is that 'Lusitania' was unarmed and was absolutely not carrying any war materiel," Edward said, with a wry smirk.
"And unofficially?" Peter asked.
Edward sighed and shrugged. "I took a late lunch with an old classmate of mine who is now a senior civil servant at the Admiralty. We were interrupted by an urgent call for him. He promptly excused himself, claiming urgent developments, and hurried away. As near as I can tell, that call couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes after the ship's distress call."
Samuel rubbed his chin. "That could mean almost anything, I'm afraid. Apparently several other ships were sunk in the area, so the Admiralty must have known there was a U-boat operating off the southeast coast of Ireland. It could be just that the Admiralty is trying to cover itself from the embarrassment of having not taken precautions."
"What about our own sources within the Admiralty?" Peter asked.
"Nobody passed along any information on this one, which is not all that unusual, since there is nothing to suggest the Order was involved," Samuel said. "When I did make some inquiries, I was told the subject has essentially been declared taboo, and no one is permitted to say anything beyond the official line."
"I'm actually surprised you haven't run into more of that," Setsuna said. "Since your contacts are facing the necessities of war-time security, leaving them with conflicting loyalties."
"But how could a ship that large have sunk so fast?" Albert asked. "One torpedo couldn't possibly have done that much damage. That does seem to suggest she must have been carrying explosives."
"She was," Samuel answered. "But not necessarily munitions. The torpedo would have struck her side, with the explosion going into the coal bins. The coal dust might have ignited, or the cold sea water pouring in might have caused a boiler to explode. Either event could easily have ripped out a large portion of the ship's side or bottom, and shredded her watertight bulkheads, in which case she would have gone down almost immediately."
"What have we learned about survivors?" Peter asked.
Albert picked up several sheets of paper. "I have the preliminary lists released by Cunard. I'm afraid that none of our team's likely cover identities appear. Nor do we have any additional news from Queenstown. The situation there is very disorganized."
"I have to think we would have heard from them by now, if they had survived," Samuel said quietly.
"I agree," Peter said.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Two weeks later, they were back in Havana. Peter was joined by two of his fellow Council members, Aaron and Jason. Samuel and Albert were checking the center map against the latest reports.
"We have to believe that the death toll will soon begin to rise precipitously," Jason said. "There are some who think we should hit the Order's storage centers right away."
"Do we have any plans for how we would accomplish that?" Peter asked.
"I think a quick strike is our best option," Aaron said. "Send a small team in fast, do the job, then get out. Keep the risk to a minimum."
"Do you agree with him, Jason?" Peter asked.
"I think we need to do something," Jason replied. "But I want to see more details before committing to a specific course of action."
"There is really no sound argument against a quick strike," Aaron insisted.
"Except that it will fail, and needlessly cost lives," Setsuna declared, stepping forward in her uniform as Sailor Pluto.
Everyone fell silent. Even Aaron seemed to lose some of his certainty in the face of the cold stare of the guardian of time.
"It will fail?" Aaron asked weakly.
"Yes," Setsuna replied. "You do not know the layout of their storage centers, nor how well guarded they are. Your plan seems to assume that your team will be able to teleport in to find itself in precisely the right area, where it will then face no significant opposition, and will be able to quickly destroy the storage container. But you have no solid intelligence to support those assumptions. You require everything to work perfectly, and if even one thing goes wrong, your strike team will face disaster."
Aaron started to protest, but Peter cut him off.
"She does not make idle statements, Aaron," Peter said. "If she thinks the plan is unsound, then I will certainly listen to her, and you would do well to do the same."
"Yes," Samuel said. "Setsuna has given us invaluable help, and every time she has given us a warning of this sort, it has proven well founded."
"Can you suggest an alternative?" Jason asked Setsuna.
"Yes," she said. "I would recommend diverting some of the Order's stolen energy."
"Divert it?" Aaron asked.
Setsuna nodded. "That will slow down their collection process, buying some more time. At the same time, you can store that energy to use against the Order when you are ready to move against their storage centers."
"Turn the Order's plan against them. I do like the sound of that," Jason said. "And it does sound greatly preferable to staging an assault without adequate preparation."
"I agree," Peter said. "Aaron?"
Aaron was silent for a moment. "I'll go along with it, Peter. I'm no more anxious to see our people get killed than you are."
"Now, how do we go about diverting the life energy away from the Order?" Jason asked.
"If you will take a look at the map, I should be able to explain," Samuel said, motioning to the table. "Albert, will you highlight the Order's relay points please?"
"Certainly," Albert replied, motioning with his hand low over the table.
The relay points blinked on the map with a dark blue color.
"As you can see, the Order has set up several relay stations," Samuel said. "Most are on the northern slopes of the Alps, in Switzerland and Bavaria. We have one in the Carpathian mountains, south of Krakow, and two in the Balkans. The energy gathered by each of the collection points is transmitted to one of these, and then to one of the storage centers."
"Is this where we would divert the energy?" Jason asked, studying the map intently.
"Yes," Samuel answered. "We can conceal a small energy transmitter beneath each relay station, which will pick up a portion of the collected energy and redirect it to us."
"What will keep the Order from tracking our energy transmissions, as we have tracked theirs?" Aaron asked.
"We would use ground waves, transmitting the energy through the earth rather than through the air," Samuel said. "It is inexplicable that the Order should transmit through the air when it is so much less secure, but we will take advantage of their oversight."
"I am familiar with ground waves," Aaron said. "And as I recall, there are serious difficulties with long range transmissions because of differing rock strata and differing levels of natural energy."
"Ordinarily, that is true," Samuel admitted. "But we have quite recently found a solution to that problem. We've tested it over the past several months, and we can now be confident of its reliability."
"That sounds promising," Jason said. "Where would you store the energy?"
"We were hoping to use the caverns beneath the Pyrenees mountains," Samuel replied.
"Those caverns are set aside only for very special storage," Aaron said. "Why not store the energy here?"
"That would be pushing our luck," Samuel said. "Even with our improvements in ground wave transmission, trying to send that much energy from Europe to Cuba, crossing several surface crust plate boundaries, would be unacceptably risky."
"And if you don't permit those caverns to be used for this, the question of reserving them for some future use may well become academic," Setsuna said.
"Point taken," Jason said. "Peter, I assume you're already up to speed on this?"
"Actually, no," Peter replied. "Setsuna, Samuel, and several others have been doing the planning work for this on their own. But I do think it sounds feasible."
"I agree," said Jason. "But we'll need the concurrence of the full Council for this."
"We'll need two to three weeks to complete the necessary prep work," Samuel said. "If we could have an answer by then..."
Peter nodded, glancing at Aaron and Jason. "We'll have an answer for you."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Richard and Carlos, another mortal Paladin, joined Samuel, Albert, Setsuna, and Esteban, in the Havana center. Richard and Carlos were both reading through a sheaf of papers.
"Any questions on the plan?" Samuel asked.
"No," Richard answered. "Seems straight forward enough."
"Yes, I agree," Carlos said, nodding.
"Good," said Albert. "Now, here are your cover identities, and your contact information." He handed them more papers. "You will arrive in Lisbon by steamer, where you will meet your first set of contacts. Your second meeting will be in Barcelona. You will brief them on what needs to be done, then they will return home to await the final 'go' order."
"I understand," Richard said.
Esteban stepped forward. "I know this is hardly my area of expertise, but I wonder why we're using two mortals for this assignment. Given the risk, wouldn't it be safer to employ at least one wizard?"
"Actually, no," Setsuna answered. "In this particular case, ordinary mortals will be far less conspicuous, since the Order will be looking for wizards."
Samuel nodded. "And Richard and Carlos have extensive experience with assignments like this, so that we have complete confidence in their ability for this task."
"Very well," Esteban said. "And my role?"
"You'll be arranging passage for them from Havana to Lisbon," Albert said.
"I can handle that," Esteban confirmed.
"Anything more we need to know?" Carlos asked.
"Just the usual. Make certain you have nothing on you to indicate our plan," Albert said. "This plan is absolutely vital to our mission, and it would be disastrous if the Order picked up any indication of it."
"Understood," Carlos replied.
"Once you've finished your mission, travel to Madrid," Samuel said. "Our contact there will meet you and provide you with new identities and further instructions. That contact information is in your packages."
Richard nodded, flipping through several pages.
"Any further questions?" Samuel asked.
Richard and Carlos shook their heads.
"Alright. You'll finalize your travel arrangements with Esteban," Samuel said. "Good luck on your mission."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Two weeks later, Peter and Jason joined Samuel, Albert, and Setsuna in the Havana center.
"The Council has approved the request to use the caverns in the Pyrenees," Jason said.
"How are the plans proceeding?" Peter asked.
"Everything seems to be going well," Samuel said. "The briefings in Lisbon were completed successfully. We've received word from our contact there that our agents have begun their journeys home. In Barcelona, Richard and Carlos wrapped up the briefings several days ago. They should be in Madrid by now."
"How long before you'll be ready to put the plan in operation?" Jason asked.
"Probably another week or so," Albert said. "That gives our agents time to return home, and for construction of energy receivers and storage containers in the Pyrenees."
Jason nodded. "That sounds good." He stood there silently, looking over the map table. "Setsuna, do you know who will win this war?"
"Yes," she answered. "If events follow their proper course. But I cannot tell you."
"I told you," Peter said quietly to Jason.
"Why can't you tell us?" Jason asked.
"My duty to protect the proper order of events outweighs my responsibilities here," she said. "Your mission to defeat the plans of the Order does not require you to have foreknowledge of the outcome of this war."
Jason remained at the table, not saying a word.
A young man hurried in from a side chamber and handed a note to Albert.
"Damn," Albert exclaimed softly, the others turning to look at him. "I think we have a problem."
"What's happened?" Peter asked.
"This report comes from Madrid," Albert said. "Richard and Carlos are overdue. Our contact has done some preliminary investigation, and believes they've been captured."
"What makes him think that?" Samuel asked.
"He says he was informed by his counterpart in Barcelona that several wizards were spotted shadowing our men as they were preparing to leave, but Richard and Carlos expressed confidence they could lose them," Albert said.
"I presume there is nothing we can do for them," Jason said softly.
"Not without putting a lot more people at risk, and a considerable portion of our operations," Samuel said, shaking his head.
"What does this mean for our plan?" Peter asked. "Richard and Carlos know the whole thing."
"Every detail," Samuel confirmed.
"Do we cancel?" Jason asked. "We can't take the chance of going ahead if the Order is on to us."
Peter shook his head. "We can't stop now. Too much of it is already in motion. It would be too difficult to try to get word to everyone in time to call them all off."
Samuel glanced at Setsuna, seeing the determined set of her jaw. He then looked over at Albert, who nodded in response. "I say we go forward," he said quietly. "It may sound callous, but I think we can depend on Richard and Carlos to buy us enough time to get things started."
"You mean... write them off?" Jason asked.
"We don't really have much choice, I'm afraid," Albert said. "We all know the risks, and that any day one or more of us could find ourselves captured."
"We know that if they could help it, they wouldn't let themselves be taken alive," Samuel added.
"But we don't know their fate with any sort of certainty," Peter said.
"That's true," Samuel agreed. "And we may never know with certainty, unless we're willing to take some steps that could further compromise our mission."
Peter nodded. "I understand. Setsuna, can you do anything?"
"Not without risk of giving the Order more information," she said. "If we determined where they likely were, I could probably slip in undetected. But if they are alive, and I pulled them out, that would tell the Order that you Paladins have some new ability to bypass their defenses, which would put them still more on their guard."
"I have to agree," Samuel said. "I think we need to keep Setsuna's identity a secret, both for the sake of her mission and ours. And we may need her ability to get in and out undetected later when we strike their storage centers. We can't afford to tip our hand."
"Very true," said Jason. "As much as I hate writing anyone off, it looks like there is nothing we can do."
"Casualties of war," Peter said softly. "We've faced such situations before, but it never gets any easier."
"That's about it, I'm afraid," Setsuna agreed. "And I don't like it any more than you do."< To be continued >
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Always remember, good gentles, that a yarnspinner works from and within existing legends and stories. The characters of "Sailor Moon" belong to others. In spinning my yarns, I do not seek to infringe on their rights of ownership, but merely to join with other fans to spread the legend still further. "The moonlight carries a message of love." Enjoy.-01.25.2001