This got screwed up somehow last time I sent it. Hopefully it'll work out
this time.

 Insertion

 Part 29

 Mercury

++++++++++++++

 A long, long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away...

    Insertion

    Episode 29

    Mercury

 Princess Serena is returning to the planet Mercury in an attempt to
rescue her friend Hanna from the clutches of the Senshi of Mercury.

 Little does she know that the entire Imperial Armada is combing the
solar system for them, diverting much needed manpower from the defense of
vital planets from the grip of the evil Galactic Federation.

 Dark Valdis, the leader of the federation now begins his plans to bring
the Moon Kingdom to its knees, by destroying Serenity and her entire Moon
along with her...

++++++++++++++

 A space shuttle blast through space, moving towards the damaged flagship
of the Federation as the crew works to repair it.

 The captain of the small shuttle flips a small switch over his head and
began speaking. "Command station, this is ST Three-twenty-one. Code
Clearance Blue. We're starting our approach. Deactivate the security
shield."

+++++++++++++

 Inside the ship a soldier sitting behind a large console nodded and
replied. "The security deflector shield will be activated when we have
confirmation of your code transmission. Stand by. You are clear to
proceed."

 "We're starting our approach," said the shuttle captain over the comm.
system.

 "Inform the commander that Lord Valdis's ship has arrived," said a
nearby officer.

 "Yes sir," replied the console operator as he turned and started to work
again.

++++++++++++++

 Rows of soldiers stood in ranks as the ship slowly landed inside the
docking bay. They all moved to attention as the Admiral of the ship
walked confidently through the path that led to the shuttle's opening
ramp. As soon as the ramp touched the ground, the massive armored figure
of Valdis strolled down it, looking around at the soldiers for a moment.

 "Lord Valdis! I take it your plans went well?"

 "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander. I'm here to put you
back on schedule," replied the man coldly.

 "I assure you, Lord Valdis, my men are working as fast as they can,"
replied the smaller man.

 "Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them," said Valdis.

 "I tell you, the ship will be completely operational as planned," said
the officer.

 "She does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation," replied
Valdis.

 "But she asks the impossible. I need more men," replied the man
nervously.

 "Then Perhaps you can tell her that when she arrives," said Valdis.

 The man's eyes went wide and he staggered back. "She's coming here?"

 "That is correct, Commander, and she is most displeased with your
apparent lack of progress," said Valdis calmly.

 "We shall double our efforts!" exclaimed the officer.

 "I hope so, Commander, for your sake. She is not as forgiving as I am,"
replied Valdis as he started to walk away.

 The man swallowed and pulled at his collar for a moment before turning
towards the troops.

++++++++++++++

 "Mistress Mercury. Someone to see you," said a female attendant who
stood in the doorway to the Senshi of Mercury's throne.

 The woman was sitting silently, brooding on a long couch like bed.
Several muscular men stood around her, all chained to the walls and
bedposts. Various dignitaries and others milled around the room while
soft music played in the background.

 "I cannot be bothered," replied the Senshi coldly.

 "But, he just barged in and..." stammered the woman. She was shoved
aside rudely as a figure strolled into the room. He was holding a long
staff and was dressed in dirty brown clothing. One of his arms was a dull
metal arm with sharp looking claws instead of fingers. A rather unusual
looking helmet covered his head with a red crystal slit for his eyes.

 "Who are you?" asked Mercury calmly as her security force surrounded the
man. She sipped at a cup of wine lazily and gave him a passing glance.

 "I'm a bounty hunter," replied the man with a small snort. "I've come
for the reward on these two."

 Serena and Endimyon walked into the room behind her with nervous looking
smiles on their faces. They both waved to the woman and hung their heads.

 "What?" muttered Mercury as she looked at them for a moment dumbly. She
dropped her glass and stared at the stranger. "How did you get your hands
on these two, scum?"

 "It's my business," replied the man stonily.

 She looked him up and down for a moment, suspicion filling her head for
a moment. "Very well, come join us for a time. You shall have your reward
shortly. Take those two to a room, watch them closely." 

 The man merely nodded his head and looked around the room for a moment.
The dignitaries were easy to find, but hidden among them were several
other fighters of considerable skill. A few of the men and women were
battle hardened and bore the scars to prove it. "So. I'm not the only one
who has heard of this reward."

 "I haven't yet announced it to the public. How did you learn of it?"
asked Mercury as she stood up and looked him up and down.

 "I have good sources. Information like this is mostly useless once it
becomes public knowledge," replied the man calmly.

 Mercury nodded, it made sense. The information wasn't well guarded, and
had been planned for some time. Serenity had tried to keep her missing
daughter a secret up until this point, but her desperation had
overwhelmed her. She had given in and consented to allow contractors
outside the military in on the hunt.

 "What of those who captured these two?" said Mercury as she turned away
from him.

 "Still alive. I couldn't kill him," replied the man calmly.

 "I see," said Mercury with a short nod. She left him alone and walked
back to her couch. One of the chained men was dancing in front of her
within a moment. "I suppose these others still have work."

 The hunter moved over to a quiet corner and watched the crowd. After a
moment, he noticed something in the corner of the room. A slab of
carbonite hung from one wall like a trophy. Hanna's figure was frozen
inside, still frozen in the act of flipping off Ranma with a snarl on her
lips.

+++++++++++++++

 Late that evening, Mercury stood in front of a holographic image of the
Queen.

 "You have her?" said the image quietly.

 "Delivered by a bounty hunter earlier, she does not possess the Silver
Imperium Crystal," said the senshi with a short nod.

 "Damn," muttered the Queen. "Valdis has grown strong. It may be the edge
we need."

 "There is nothing we can do. I only hope that he has not gotten his
hands on it," said Mercury coldly.

 "Very well, I shall come and retrieve my daughter, personally," said
Serenity as her image faded.

 "At last, we can focus on the enemy," said Mercury with a slightly
relieved frown.

+++++++++++++++

 The room was silent, and empty. That is accept for the bounty hunter. He
stood in the middle of the room and looked around nervously. He knew that
Mercury probably knew who he really was, but that didn't matter. He'd
managed to rid himself of the two unwanted royalty, and now he knew where
Hanna was. If this thing went as planned, he'd be out of here with her
after a somewhat climactic battle with the woman. 

 "Okay, we should be able to free her before she shows herself," said
Carrot as he eyed the frozen woman for a moment.

 "I wonder if she's still pissed at us?" commented Dan as he noticed the
look on Hanna's face and the finger she had pointed at them.

 "Probably," muttered Ranma. "You sure we're gonna get caught?"

 "Pretty sure, this whole adventure has been pretty predictable," said
Carrot with a small shrug.

 "We still owe you an ass kicking for that whole arm episode, Carrot,"
said Dan irritably.

 "I didn't see any of you pointing it out," snapped Carrot in retort. "If
any of you knew that would happen, you should have said something!"

 "He's got a point," agreed Pissant.

 "Stay the hell out of this whiny boy!" said Dan.

 "Come on, let's get this over with," grumbled Ranma as he moved them
over to the side of the frozen Hanna. He flicked a switch on the wall and
the statue slid out of the wall and onto the ground on a mechanical arm.
It wasn't quiet, but it was the only way to get to the controls on the
side short of ripping a hole in the wall.

 "Let's see. How did Washuu tell us to do this?" muttered Carrot as he
began to work the controls on the side.

 They stepped away as the carbonite around Hanna's face began to melt
away.

++++++++++

 The woman slumped to the ground looking quite dead after she had peeled
away from inside the block of carbonite. Ranma bent down, peering at her
for a moment through the visor of his helmet.

 The woman suddenly woke up with a start, taking in a quick gasp of
breath. Ranma grabbed her and steadied her in her arms. "Just relax,
you're free of the carbonite." His disguise distorted his voice. Hanna
reached up and touched him in his face, her hands obscured by the helmet.
"Shhh. You have hibernation sickness."

 "I can't see," said the woman dumbly.

 "Open your eye fool," replied Ranma curtly.

 Hanna blushed as she did so and looked at him. "Where am I?"

 "Mercury."

 "Who are you?" she muttered in confusion.

 "Someone you hate," said Ranma with a smirk on his face as he removed
his helmet.

 "You!" she gasped in shock.

 "Come on, we're getting out of here. I'm gonna have to help you walk,"
he said as he hefted her arm over his shoulder and helped her to her
feet. He paused.

 "What's wrong?" muttered Hanna dumbly.

 "Nothing. It's just that...something should happen here. I know it."

 "Like what?" she asked in confusion.

 "It's nothing, come on," he replied as he pulled her out of the room
without incident.

++++++++++++++

 Ranma moved silently through the halls, dodging guard patrols on
occasion as he helped Hanna limp back towards the exit.

 He paused suddenly while walking on a balcony like hall. It was just
over a large room where a meeting was taking place. He dove down to the
ground, pulling the woman down with him.

 "Ouch! What is it?" whispered Hanna harshly.

 Ranma moved over to the ledge and peered down into the room. There were
three fuku-clad women sitting around a table, talking amongst themselves.
"Senshi. I hate these chicks."

 Hanna whapped him on the back of his head. "Pig."

 "Come on, quietly," he muttered as he began to crawl away. He paused
when their voices floated up to him.

 "The princess is in her room, under guard," said Mercury calmly as she
looked at her two companions, Uranus and Neptune.

 "What of that boy?" asked the aqua haired senshi coldly.

 "The man who brought her to me said he was unable to defeat him,"
replied Mercury.

 "I want him," said Uranus coldly.

 "We all do, but we have more pressing matters. Valdis is planning
something," said Neptune as she pointed down at a star chart that was
sitting in the middle of the table. "He's gathering his fleet together,
and ours is still spread across the galaxy."

 "Serenity was a fool to do this. Even if it was her daughter that was
missing. An heir can be replaced," said Uranus.

 "It's a moot point now. What is he doing? He's not fool enough to attack
the Moon directly. That fleet won't be enough. Ours is twice that size,
we have a match for it waiting for him around the moon."

 Ranma started crawling foreword again, leaving them behind. "They don't
know about it yet," he commented.

 "Know about what?" said Hanna.
 
 "Valdis's flagship has a laser on it strong enough to destroy a planet,"
said Ranma as he stood up after crawling out of sight of the women.

 "What?" gasped Hanna.

 "Serena should be able to tell them," said the boy as he strolled
foreword calmly. Hanna had regained enough of her balance that she could
walk without help. They were still forced to move slowly because of her
weakness though.

 "So what are we going to do?" muttered the woman as she followed closely
behind him.

 "Get the hell out of here," said Ranma as he turned.

 "Sounds like a good idea," said Serena cheerfully from directly in front
of him.

 Hanna had to grab his mouth to keep him from screaming. He calmed down
after a few seconds and glared at her. "What the hell are you doing
here?" he whispered harshly.

 "Going with you!" said the girl with a frown forming on her face.

 "No! You're staying here!" he snapped. "I'm sure your mother is sending
someone to pick you up!"

 "The kingdom is in danger! I can't just stop now! I've got to save it!"

 "So save it! Tell your mother what he's planning!" snapped the boy as he
glared at her. "You're not going anywhere!"

 "I have to do more! We have to stop him!" cried the girl angrily.

 Ranma put his hand over her mouth and made a frustrated face as he tried
to restrain himself from decking her for a moment. "Look. I'm not going
to try and fight an armada of starships in a stupid little freighter! You
need an entire fleet. You know, like the one your MOTHER HAS!" he
whispered harshly as he shook his fist at her.

 "No way am I staying here with those women!" said Serena as she glared
at him for a moment. "You can take me with you, or I'll scream that
you've come to kidnap me again."

 Ranma narrowed his eyes at her. "You wouldn't."

 The girl sucked in a breath and he put his hand over her mouth again.
"You can't come with me! Look, I promised to take you to Mercury, and
you're here now. Leave me alone! Please?" he pleaded.

 "Serena. Why did you hit me over the head again?" said Endimyon as he
staggered into the hallway rubbing a huge lump on his head. He paused and
noticed Ranma standing beside Hanna and Serena. "Oh no. Not again! Can't
we just stay here?" said the boy with a defeated look on his face.

 "Yes!" replied Ranma and Hanna.

 "No!" grumbled Serena with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

 "Are you done arguing yet? They know you're here," said Washuu as she
appeared out of a doorway that materialized in thin air just in front of
them.

 "Huh?" said Ranma as he looked at her for a moment.

 An alarm sounded, the hallways of the building suddenly began to flash
with a red light as the footsteps of guards filled the hallways.

 A group of them rounded the corner and pointed at them. "There they
are!"

 "Shit!" cried Ranma as he dove into the doorway Washuu had created. The
redhead stepped aside and smirked.

 Serena dove in after him with a triumphant smile on her face. "Wheeee!"

 "No!" wailed Endimyon as he was forced to follow.

 Hanna staggered through the door last and it closed and vanished.

++++++++++++

 In an instant they were inside the ship and rushing to their places.
"Who's this?" said Hanna as she jerked her thumb at Washuu and sat down
to rest behind a table.
 

 "I'm the greatest scientific genius in the universe," replied the woman
as a holographic keyboard appeared in front of her.

 "When did you get that?" said Ranma as he noticed it on his way to the
cockpit. 

 "I've always had it. It's a part of me. Why do you think they had my
hands bound that way when they had me captured?" replied the redhead
calmly as she continued to work. "By the way, there's a large vessel
approaching. We might want to leave."

 "Right," replied Ranma as he rushed into the cockpit.

 After a moment, the ship rose into the air and blasted into the sky.

 Serena sat down beside Ranma and smiled cheerfully. 

 Hanna staggered in behind them and leaned against the back wall. She
noticed the metal arm on Ranma's stump and blinked. "That's new."

 "Washuu made it for me, it's temporary," he replied calmly as the sea of
stars appeared in front of them. "Oh hell. That's the Imperial flagship,"
grumbled the boy as he noticed the gigantic starship in front of them. It
had just come out of lightspeed.

 Serena stood up from her seat and stared at it for a moment. "My
mother's on that ship."

 "What? That's crazy. Why would the queen come here..." said the boy as
he turned to face the girl. 

 Serena pointed at herself and grinned.

 "Oh." 

 "We're being hailed," said Hanna as she pointed at the communications
switch. It was blinking.

 "Sure, we'll just tell the queen that we're taking her daughter for a
while. I'm sure they wouldn't blast us into submission," countered Ranma
angrily. "Damn it! Why the hell couldn't you just stay behind!?"

+++++++++++++++

 Serenity looked out the window of the flagship from the bridge. She was
standing above the bridge crew on an observation deck. After a moment of
watching the tiny ship she paused. "Serena."

+++++++++++++++

 On board the smaller ship, Serena paused and looked off into the
distance. "Mother?"

 Inside her head she heard the woman's voice. "Serena, come back to me."

 "No mother. There's something I have to do. Please don't come after me."

 "Serena," said the woman's voice again.

 "Who's she talking too?" muttered Hanna with a bewildered look on her
face.

 "The queen," replied Ranma as he buzzed the side of the gigantic
starship and turned away sharply.

 "Mother. I can't come back yet. I've got to get the crystals back first!
Valdis has them!" said the girl with tears forming in her eyes.

 "Serena?" said the woman's voice in confusion. "Come back here this
instant young lady! I won't allow..."

 "Sorry mother," said Serena as she jumped foreword and shoved the
lightspeed controls foreword.

 "What the?" muttered Hanna as she looked up from the navigation console.
"Hey! I haven't finished ye..." 

 The woman was cut off as they blasted foreword into the stars.

+++++++++++++++++

 "You lost my daughter," said Serenity as she looked down at the three
senshi kneeling before her.

 "She attacked the men guarding her and took them by surprise," said
Mercury placidly.

 Serenity slapped her across her face and then continued to pace back and
fourth in front of them. "You've failed me. Anyone else in your position
would be put to death."

 The senshi all hung their heads a bit lower, not daring to speak.

 "My daughter has informed me that Valdis possesses the Silver Imperium
Crystal. He will probably assault the moon directly."

 "What?" gasped Neptune in shock. "Highness, that's foolish. He wouldn't
stand a chance against..."

 "With the Silver Imperium Crystal, he has the power to wipe us out!"
snapped the woman angrily as she glared down at her. "You had better hope
he has not yet learned to harness its power."

 The senshi looked one another in horror.

 "My daughter believes it is her duty to retrieve them," said the woman
as she looked at the trio for a moment.

 "What? But she was kidnapped!" said Mercury dumbly.

 "Perhaps she was," said Serenity coldly. "We cannot worry about that
now. I do not believe whoever she is with intends to harm her. She did
not sound distressed," said the Queen icily. "Endimyon is with her as
well."

 The trio bowed their heads in shame again. 

 "Now. We must call the armada together, they intend to attack us, of
that much I am certain."

++++++++++++++

 Washuu sat with Ranma inside her personal lab, a subspace dimensional
gateway that she had created within the ship led to it.

 "So, how's the new arm coming?" he asked as he sat down next to the
woman and looked inside a glass tube that held the new appendage. 

 "It's finished," replied the scientist cheerfully. "I'll put it on now
if you like. It will change with you."

 "Thanks," said the boy as he gave her an appreciative nod.

 "While you're here, I'd like to get a few samples as well," said the
woman with a sly looking grin.

 "What kind of samples?" said Ranma as he arched his eyebrow at her.

 "We'll worry about that later," said the woman with a small wave of her
hand. 

 "Right," said Ranma as he looked away and glanced around the room.

 Washuu started to work, pulling the arm out of its tube and removing the
one he currently had on. "So now where are we going?"

 "Valdis is going to Earth, I figure we should be far away from the
fighting. There isn't much we can do to help. I'll return the princess
after the fighting is over."

 Washuu looked up at him for a moment and smiled. "You're wrong. There is
something we can do."

 "What's that?" said Ranma as he looked at her in confusion.

 "I made a few modifications to the ship of course. But that's not what I
mean," said the woman. She reared her head back and cackled.

 "So. What do you mean?" asked Ranma as he narrowed his eyes at her.

 "I know the weakness of that weapon. If we don't help, he'll only need
one shot to destroy the moon."

 "So, that means we're the only hope," said Ranma with a disgusted look
forming on his face. "Great. Just frickin great."

 "You got it," said Washuu cheerfully.

 "I would have been upset with myself if I'd missed the fighting anyway,"
said the boy with a casual shrug.

 Washuu nodded cheerfully. "I figured you for the type."

 "Whatever," grumbled Ranma as he looked away from her with a blush on
his face.

++++++++++++++++

 About an hour later, Ranma had his new arm, and Washuu had decided to
collect.

 "Is all this really necessary?" grumbled Ranma as he found himself
suspended above the ground by several metallic arms. He had an odd
looking device on his head as well.

 "Well, I need to get energy readings. But the get up is just fun for
me," replied the woman with a small shrug. She jammed a needle into his
arm and took a blood sample as well.

 "Ouch!" snapped Ranma in surprise. "Are you done yet?"

 She looked up at him and the arms lowered him to the ground and released
him. He stumbled foreword and removed the ridiculous looking headpiece.

 "Great. Can I go now? We should be coming up on Mars soon," he said as
he looked around for the door.

 "Not for at least three hours," she replied calmly. "Besides, there's
still one more sample I'd like to get."

 Ranma turned to face her again. "What is it now?" He jumped back and
almost fell over one of the lab tables.

 Washuu was standing in a very revealing teddy, and holding a plastic jar
in her hand. "Don't worry, this one doesn't hurt a bit."

 Ranma looked her up and down and relaxed a bit. He looked at the jar and
then at her again. "I don't have to fill that up do I?"

 She blinked in surprise and then looked at the jar for a moment. After a
moment, she just smiled and grabbed him by the front of his shorts.

++++++++++++++++

 "Um. I wonder what's taking him so long. The old arm didn't take this
long," grumbled Serena as she looked at the door to the lab. She'd tried
several times, and it still led to the bathroom.

 "Well, it is special," said Endimyon with a small shrug as he sat beside
her. "Maybe since it's custom, it takes longer?"

 "I suppose so," said the princess as she hung her head.

 "Man, I've got a splitting headache," grumbled Hanna as she stumbled by
them and grabbed a bottle of pills from a first aid box. She took a few
and sat down with them at the table, the scowl on her face deepened as
she glared at Endimyon.

 "What?" he muttered.

 "Prince of Earth, huh?" she muttered.

 "Um yeah," he said nervously.

 "What's the penalty for kidnapping you?" said the woman with a slight
twitch in her eye.

 "Um. Death I think," he replied, obviously not really understanding what
she was asking.

 "Figures," she said as she stood up and walked back into the cockpit
again. "Man I hate him."

 "What was that about?" said the boy as he looked at Serena in confusion.

 "Got me," said the princess with a shrug.

++++++++++++++++

 Stood on the deck of the Galactic Federation's flagship. The men stood
in military fashion around him, all at full attention as the ramp lowered
on the shuttle in front of him.

 He bowed deeply with the several officers behind him. 

 A shadowy figure strolled out of the small ship and looked down at him.
She was wearing a heavy cloak that hid her features away. "Rise my
friend."

 "The repairs will be completed on schedule," said Valdis as he walked in
stride with his master.

 "You have done well, Lord Valdis," said the woman.

 "Thank you, my master," replied the man with a slight nod.

 "Soon we will crush the pathetic Empire, and the galaxy will belong to
me," said the woman with a small chuckle as she continued to walk.

 "Will you be remaining with us, master?" asked Valdis.

 "No. I shall return. It is too soon to reveal our plans just yet," said
the woman coldly. 

 "As you wish," replied Valdis placidly.

 The woman turned down a corridor on the ship with several of the high
ranking officers to inspect what they had done, leaving the armored man
standing alone.

 He watched her walk away and turned away. "Witch. Soon I shall rule all,
and you will be nothing more than a memory." He opened his palm and the
two small shards of crystal he held began to glow. "I am now more
powerful than you could possibly imagine." He chuckled to himself and
strolled away.

+++++++++++++

 TBC...

 Next time: The End of the World!?
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