The capitol building of Colchis was as different from Suabamara's keep as Fiducius could imagine. Whereas the keep was large and open, but sculpted to be comfortable and familiar, the capitol building was more tall and narrow, designed to be impressive and cold, with massive pillars towering up to the ceiling, and larger than life statues placed in strategic positions along the marble halls. "Pretty awesome, huh?" Apsyrtus noted with a smile as he saw Fiducius staring.
"It's...very formal," Fiducius said after a moment.
Apsyrtus laughed at Fiducius's expression. "Not what you were expecting?"
"Sorry. Everything's just new and strange to me," Fiducius replied slowly.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Apsyrtus reassured. "We've been using Colchis as a base of operations since it's central to most of our allies. Tynka!" His expression immediately brightened as he noticed a woman trotting out to greet them.
"Apsy!" she greeted in response, running over and giving him a hug. "I missed you."
"I missed me too," he laughed. "How'd it go?"
"It went wonderfully. Gotho and Gaussia said they were both on board. Strenua's back as well, and he brought Imperatrix and Thais. Isn't it wonderful? So, who's your friend?"
Fiducius took in the woman's appearance. She seemed to be about the same age as Apsyrtus, so a bit older than himself. While she was about as tall as Fiducius, she was more well-built, giving her a more muscled look rather than lean like the Subamaran senshi. Her skin was dark, in contrast to her bright smile, and her hair was in many small black braids. She was dressed in her senshi outfit, which consisted of a standard bodice and skirt that was plated with armor, a metal headband circling her head. "Fiducius, this is Sailor Tynka. Tynka, this is Fiducius, the senshi of Subamara."
"Nice to meet you!" she greeted, holding out a hand, which he accepted. "I've never been to Subamara, what's it like?"
"Um...not like this," Fiducius said after a moment.
Tynka laughed cheerily at that, and Fiducius could see why she and Apsyrtus got along so well. "I like you, Fidu, you're cute. I think we'll get along just fine!"
"Fidu...?" he echoed as Tynka led them both back to the room she had come out of.
Inside were five other senshi, enough that Fiducius felt a little overwhelmed, standing back as Tynka began introducing Apsyrtus to the other newcomers, listening quietly.
The first she introduced was Gotho, a large, heavyset man dressed in tough black clothing, draped in chains. Although he certainly looked like the type Fiducius wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, when he spoke, his words were slow and calm, and Fiducius got the impression that this was a gentle person that preferred not to fight. Without thinking about it, Fiducius drew out a card, holding it up as he looked at Gotho. It was Justice, and Fiducius felt his first impression was correct.
Next was Thais, taller than himself or Apsyrtus, a willowy sort of man dressed in warm robes with a furry hat, whose main weapon seemed to be a paintbrush. While he seemed a little absentminded, and there was something about him that suggested he'd seen unhappy times before, but he seemed hardworking and dedicated. The card Fiducius drew was Judgement reversed, and Fiducius frowned at it, but couldn't seem to get an impression beyond that.
Standing next to him was Imperatrix, also a tall man. He wore tough, slim black armor that matched his hair and eyes. His hair was short like Fiducius's, but he looked older, partially due to his thin face and well-defined cheekbones. The card Fiducius drew was the Chariot, and it seemed to fit. When Imperatrix spoke, there was a sense of power behind it, of the inability to be stopped by anything that impeded his goal. Fiducius felt a little reassured by that.
The next was the only other woman among them, a Sailor Gaussia, and it was her that caught his eye most of all. She was of average height and build, but terribly fair-skinned, with a smattering of freckles. Her eyes were large and green, and she had a shy but engaging smile. Her senshi outfit was also unusual compared to her companions, for it was brightly colored in blues and golds, a wide-sleeved affair that seemed to form one fitted piece, narrowing around the bodice and flaring out again down the legs. They were matched with long boots up past her knees in equal colors and a large hat that let her golden hair cascade down, the ends curling outward a bit at the bottom, halfway down her back. She had a soft voice, like tinkling bells, when she spoke, and Fiducius enjoyed just listening to the sound. He drew a card for her as well, and pulled out the Lovers. He tried not to think about what that might mean as he put it back.
"Fiducius!" Apsyrtus caught his attention, and he jerked slightly, tucking the cards away. "Stop being shy and come over here. Let me introduce you to Strenua."
"Ah?" Fiducius looked at the person Apsyrtus indicated, taking in his appearance. Strenua didn't quite seem to be human, as his skin had a grayish tint and his ears were abnormally long, extending past the back of his head, flicking up and down as Strenua took in conversations. He only had three fingers and a thumb on each hand, and no hair on his head, which made him appear even more unusual. To cover it up, he wore a beret, and his senshi uniform was a military-cut uniform in slate colors not too dissimilar from his skin. "A pleasure," Strenua greeted, his speech tinged by some accent Fiducius couldn't place, almost as if the tones were falling in the wrong places. "You are?"
"Fiducius, of Subamara." The alien extended a hand, and Fiducius shook it slowly.
"I am the senshi of Strenua. You may address me as Strenua if it is convenient for you," the alien said, putting a hand to his chest and bowing slightly.
"Ah, okay...Strenua. You don't have a name?"
"I have a name. My true name is," and he broke off into a series of whistled notes. "However, most people seem to have difficulty with it."
Fiducius blinked, not sure where to begin with an attempt on Strenua's true name. Apsyrtus laughed at his expression. "Just call him Strenua. We all do."
Fiducius nodded slowly. "All right, then, Strenua."
Apsyrtus grinned, looking over at Tynka. "Well, then. Shall we get this nonsense started?"
She grinned back at him in response, and Apsyrtus crossed the room, taking a place on the platform set at the front of the room. "Can everyone lend me their ears, please?" he called out, and the chatter quieted down, everybody turning toward the Colchis senshi. Fiducius somehow found himself between Tynka and Strenua, both looking up at their friend in calm anticipation.
"Thank you all for coming," Apsyrtus greeted, and Fiducius couldn't help but admire the strong but not loud way he spoke, the straight posture of his back and the serious but friendly expression on his face. "I'm very glad that there are this many of us from our sector of space that are committed to protecting our homes together. There's no doubt here that we are greater than the sum of our parts. We are not solitary senshi sniping at the enemy when we can, but a team that will take the battle to them instead. That's the only way we can win, after all. I believe you've all had a little time to get introduced," he paused as the senshi in the room nodded, "so to start, I'd like to tell you a bit about what we're up against. Strenua?"
The alien hopped up onto the platform, going over to a console and turning it on. A three-dimensional map of their quadrant of space appeared, Colchis marked in green and a somewhat distant world marked in red, with three yellow dots over it. "This is the enemy force and their approximate location so far. As you can see, they have currently established a base on the ruined world of Procol Harum."
"Poctol Harum?" Thais echoed. "Surely not them...It's fallen?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Strenua replied. "Their buildings have been razed to the ground and their senshi is presumed dead." He turned back to the display. "From our sensor feeds and reconnaissance, we have established that they have three capital ships," Strenua gestured to the three yellow dots, "a flagship and two smaller ships, which between them have a capacity of about fifty fighters. As for their ground troops, they are significantly less, showing no more than five on a world at a time, although we believe they have more than that overall. Their ground forces are effective because of what they are."
Strenua switched the view, now displaying a two-dimensional image of two women attacking on the streets of a city. There were a couple of gasps from the room, and Gaussia blurted out, "They have sailor collars!"
Strenua nodded. "However, we are not certain that they actually are senshi, or at the least, not any kind we are familiar with. The first point being that they refer to themselves under an odd nomenclature. The two you see here have referred to themselves as Sailor Cobalt Falcon," he gestured to the first, who was rather small overall but bore wings on her back, boots discarded in the favor of showing off clawed feet. She was dressed in a standard sailor suit that was colored the same shade of blue as her name, and her shoulder length hair was the same color.
Strenua next gestured to the other one. "And this one calls herself Sailor Zinc Mantis." This woman, who appeared a little older than Cobalt Falcon, had silvery skin that seemed hard, with an edge on her arms and legs. She too wore no boots, in favor of exposing her own unusual feet: large, clawed, chitinous monstrosities. Her hair was very short, and there was something not quite right about her eyes that Fiducius couldn't place.
Tynka frowned. "Is there a place called Cobalt Falcon and Zinc Mantis?"
"I cannot be completely positive, but there are no known planetary bodies under those names to our knowledge," Strenua told her. "In addition, the first portion of their names consists of a metal, which is rarely found in a celestial body's name. And we are not sure where the second portion of their name comes from. I am having my people look into any potential patterns. As we learn more, we may be able to discover the meanings of their names."
"Is names all you have to go on to suspect they aren't senshi?" Imperatrix asked with a frown.
Strenua shook his head slowly, as if the movement was not a natural gesture for him. "There is also this, if I may direct your attention to the image again," he said, gesturing with one of his hands. "Please note these bracelets, here. They are not a standard feature of any set of uniforms; that is to say, they have not ever appeared on any other senshi, let alone in any sort of pattern. However, every ground warrior under the enemy's command wears these bracelets. We believe there is significance to these pieces, although we have very little theory as to what they actually are."
Imperatrix studied the image again. "But they have abilities that are like a senshi's, correct?"
"That is correct. Sailor Cobalt Falcon has a speed-based ability, whereas Sailor Zinc Mantis has her armored blades. We are not sure if this is a natural feature of her body or solely granted by her power."
"There's a lot of unsures in there," Imperatrix pointed out. "What do we know?"
"They typically appear in pairs, or in groups of three for moderately difficult worlds to destroy. Standard troops have thus far been unable to capture or destroy even one of them. Several senshi have also perished in battle against them." There was a murmur that went through the crowd at that.
"The ships aren't our big concern," Apsyrtus stated. "Conventional forces can take care of them, although if you run into any, by all means, take them out. However, our primary focus is going to be the ground troops, these pseudo-senshi, and rendering them unable to do battle."
"You mean killing them," Imperatrix stated.
"That's what will probably end up happening, yes," Apsyrtus agreed. "If you can negotiate a surrender or capture one alive or destroy their source of power, that's a suitable outcome too. We don't need them dead, just unable to fight."
"How are we going to do that, then?" Gotho spoke up.
"For starters, I'm going to leave us in Strenua's hands," Apsyrtus began. "For those who don't know, the people of Strenua are strategic and analytical geniuses. They've actually taken out one of the capital ships already with a very small force of their own. That's another part of the reason I'm not worried about the ships themselves, though if we can pull more together from our homeworlds, I would heavily encourage it. The best defense is a good offense. I imagine everyone would be pleased by the outcome of destroying them now, away from our homes where they can do damage."
"I will come to speak to each of you in turn," Strenua explained. "I will ask you questions. I do this in order to gain a greater understanding of each of your individual powers. Once I have finished that, I will proceed to develop plans of assault with my people."
"Will eight of us be enough?" Thais spoke up. "We don't even know how many ground troops this enemy has, right?"
"It will be ample." Strenua folded his long arms. "With their current battle pattern, they have not sent more than five to a single world at a time. If they send more, our battle strategy will be altered. I do not believe that we will be at any great disadvantage by being outnumbered, as we will have the superior strategy."
"And there you have it," Apsyrtus said with a nod. "Does that answer your question, Thais?"
"It does, thanks." The artist managed a small smile.
Apsyrtus nodded. "On to other matters, then. We'll be using Colchis as a base of operations due to its central location. We are already receiving support from Tynka and Strenua. For the time being, we will house ourselves here, at the capitol building. Rooms and food have already been prepared. If you have any special dietary or lodging needs, please let me know immediately and I'll direct you to our head stewardess so they can make sure all your needs are met. For now, I'd like to encourage everyone to rest and get settled in; some of you have had long journeys. We'll meet again tomorrow morning at 0800 hours in this same room, so be prepared. Feel free to ask anyone for a timepiece or a check on the time. Are there any questions?"
Something prompted Fiducius to raise his hand, and then he jerked it back, feeling self-conscious. Apsyrtus had already noticed, however, and turned toward him. "Yes, Fiducius?" he encouraged with a smile.
"Well, it's not very important," he mumbled slowly. "It was just something I was wondering."
"Yes?" Apsyrtus encouraged.
"You referred to the enemy as the 'Galaxia menace'," Fiducius said, feeling a chill go down his spine. "Who or what is Galaxia?"
"To be honest, we're not sure," Apsyrtus replied. "All of the enemies we've encountered have referred to themselves as being in 'Galaxia's army'. It's probably the name of their leader. Unfortunately, this person has chosen not to reveal themselves to us yet, so we're not sure what to expect."
"All right. Thank you," he mumbled, letting the words roll through his mind. Galaxia, leader of the pseudo-senshi and a fleet of spaceships.... Fiducius tried not to think too much about it.
"Are there any other questions?" Apsyrtus asked, and was met with nothing but silence and a few head shakes. "Very well then, we're dismissed until tomorrow morning. Until then, I welcome you to enjoy the hospitality of Colchis."
Fiducius would have been content to stay by himself, feeling a bit overwhelmed from the presence of all the other senshi, but Apsyrtus cornered him not long after their meeting, tossing him a piece of fruit which the other senshi caught one-handed. "So what do you think of Colchis, my lovely home? Are we suiting your every need?"
"Yes, thank you." Fiducius noted that Apsyrtus must have taken a moment to talk to his stewardesses about his room arrangements, for the walls had been hung with curtains, the floors placed with the largest pillows they could find, and there was even a fresh pot of flowers on the windowsill. "You've gone to great lengths to make me feel comfortable. You must have put a lot of effort into it."
"Nothing to it," he said with a wave of his hand. "I told them to make sure the others had everything they need. Tynka and Strenua already had rooms here, so it's not like it's a huge burden. I think you can tell a lot about people by what their rooms are like."
"Oh? What can you tell about me?"
Apsyrtus folded his arms, considering the question. "Well, you're used to a welcoming environment. You like comfort, but you aren't lavish. It speaks to your pure personality. You're also considerate of others, ensuring that they would want to be comfortable as well."
"Pure?" Fiducius echoed. "I've never thought of myself that way."
Apsyrtus laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "You are, my friend, pure and innocent." His face turned serious. "That makes me worry for you. This isn't going to be pretty, but we need all the help we can get. Strenua and I both sounded more confident than we feel. We have to protect our homes, even at the cost of your losing your innocence. You may have to kill people, you know. And your power of prediction could end up being very valuable."
"I know that," Fiducius replied, "although I doubt I will truly understand it until I'm on the battlefield, standing over someone with a card of Swords over them. I understand what I'm getting into, Apsyrtus. Why are you worried about me?"
The older man pulled him into a hug. "Because you are pure and innocent, Fiducius. You know of evil in the world, but you've never really experienced it. I hate that I'm the one that has to bring that to you. You have no idea of the horrors that are waiting for you."
"I'll be all right, Apsyrtus," Fiducius said quietly.
He sighed, letting the other man go. "Well, have you spoken to the other senshi yet? You were sort of hanging back when Tynka was introducing me to everyone."
"Tynka. I've been wondering about her."
"Oh? About what?"
"Tynka, is that just her title? Or is it her name, too?"
"It's both," Apsyrtus said with a nod. "I don't really understand it, but Tynka has developed the art of cloning. They put the starseed in a new body whenever they need one."
Fiducius frowned. "I'm not sure I understand that."
"I'm not sure I do either. What I do know is that Tynka is a very valuable ally. She has some impressive power," Apsyrtus told him.
"What is her power?" Fiducius wanted to know.
"Well...let's just say you don't want to make her mad," Fiducius said with a laugh. "Otherwise, things blow up."
Fiducius wasn't sure whether to be reassured or not. "You know her very well," he observed.
Apsyrtus nodded. "She, Strenua and I grew up together. When this is all over, I'm going to ask her to marry me."
"Marry you? That must be nice, feeling that way about someone," Fiducius observed. "Does she feel that way about you?"
"God, I hope so. I'll be very disappointed, otherwise," Apsyrtus laughed. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Oh, come on. I saw the looks you were giving Gaussia. Have you talked to her yet?" Fiducius shook his head silently. "Well, what are you waiting for, a starting flag? Go talk to her!"
"But--" Fiducius protested. "I--I don't know where she is."
"Last I checked, she was in her room. No time like the present!" Apsyrtus encouraged, pushed Fiducius down the hall.
"I don't know what we'd talk about!" Fiducius said in obvious agitation. "And it'd be rude to just show up and enter, and--"
"Look, Fiducius, take a tip from me," Apsyrtus stated. "She's a cute girl. You're a pretty good-looking guy yourself. What have you got to lose, except time? If things go as planned we're all coming back from this, but you never know when something will go bad. Talk to her."
"I--" Apsyrtus stopped in front of Gaussia's door, knocking on it. "I'm coming!" came the soft voice from inside.
Apsyrtus gave the younger man a little kiss on the cheek for good luck before disappearing swiftly. Fiducius felt panic overtake him, but couldn't make himself move before she opened the door. "Oh!" she said in surprise, looking at him. "You're one of my new allies, right?"
"Y-yes. Fiducius, of Subamara," he introduced himself on autopilot, offering her a hand.
"It's lovely to meet you, Fiducius of Subamara," she greeted with a bright smile. "I'm Tsaria of Gaussia. Won't you come in?"
"I would love that," he said, stepping in as she opened the door fully for him, shutting it after he was inside. Remembering Apsyrtus's words about rooms saying things about a person, he took a brief look around.
The room was covered in plants, for starters--flowers, vines, and other things had been brought into the room and tastefully put out all over, covering the room in green. The fabrics in the room were all done in bright colors, and what pillows hadn't been used in his room were thrown on her bed. "Ah...you like plants?" he observed, touching a hand to a leaf.
"I love them," she said with a smile. "They make the air that much nicer, you know? But I love anything that's living, really. I live on a farm on my world, we raise lots of different animals and plants."
"A farm? That's pretty surprising," he noted.
"Won't you have a seat?" she offered. "I'll get you something to drink. Do you mind tea?"
"That would be fine. Ah, don't go to any trouble on my behalf," he protested. "I wouldn't want to be any trouble."
She smiled at him. "It's no trouble at all." She produced a little kettle, setting it on a hot plate to boil. "It'll be just a moment. So what brings you by, Mr. Fiducius?"
"Ah, you don't have to call me 'mister'," he said with a wave of his hands.
"Fiducius, then," she said with a bright smile.
The smile alone was enough to make his heart race, and he struggled for words. "Ah, well...I didn't get to properly introduce myself. So I thought I'd say hello."
"That's very sweet of you," she said with a smile. "You know, you're my first visitor after Mr. Apsyrtus and Miss Tynka. She's the one that brought me here."
"Ah, is she? She seems like a nice person. Apsyrtus is very admirable," he noted. "I don't think we have anything to worry about with him taking charge."
"Yes, he does seem very capable," she agreed cheerily. "So why don't you tell me about yourself, Fiducius?"
"Ah, well... I'm not sure it's terribly interesting."
"Well, how about your family? What kind of place do you live in? I grew up with eighteen siblings. I'm the fifth oldest," she added.
"Eighteen?!" he exclaimed. "How in the world did that happen?"
"My mother and father are the current designated breeders for our world," she explained. "They have the best genetics and health for it. The government will probably pick a new pair in a few years, though," she added.
"I see. But...eighteen? Didn't your mother's health suffer?"
"We're all very hardy," she said with a smile. "I hope I get to have a large family someday, too. What about yourself?"
He shook his head. "I have no siblings. The senshi of Subamara is adopted by the couple that finds him, so I was raised by them," he explained. "And they don't have any other children."
"Didn't you get lonely?" she asked, getting up as the kettle began to whistle.
He shook his head. "It never bothered me. I was more lonely from the fact that I didn't know any other senshi. Subamara has Pribram, but she's not really a senshi, I don't think."
"Pribram? Is she your mother?"
"No, my mother's a florist. Pribram's my mentor," he told the girl as he watched her pour the tea. "She trains me on reading the cards."
"Reading the cards?"
He nodded. "I use the cards to discover things about the past, present, and future. Would you... would you like me to do a reading for you?"
"Oh, that might be fun," she agreed, handing him a cup. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just stay there," he instructed, pulling out the deck of cards. "Here, you cut it. It's more effective that way."
"Cut it how?"
"Oh, sorry. I mean like this," he demonstrated cutting the deck in half, putting the top half on the bottom. "Here, you try."
She did as he had done, handing him the top half back. Fiducius put it on the bottom, then drew out three cards, laying them in a triangle. "Oh, they're so pretty," she observed, then pointed at one. "This is blank, though. Why is that?"
"That's part of the Major Arcana. They've always been blank," he said with a shrug. "Would you like me to tell you what it means?"
"Yes, please!" She picked up her cup in both hands, taking a sip from her cup as she stared at the cards.
"Okay. This," he picked up the bottom left card, "represents your past. It's your background, a past event, where you come from. This card is the Queen of Wands. It means you're very feminine, and fond of your home. You love nature, and you are well-liked by others. Am I wrong?"
"Wow, that's amazing!" she gasped in surprise. "You got all that from one card?"
"Each card has many meanings," he told her. "I have to listen and see which meanings it wants to tell me. And then I have to figure out how it fits into the overall picture. You can use the cards to read information about a situation or event, but they'll only give you facts, and vague ones at that. You have to figure out the picture and the solution yourself. And even then, sometimes I pull a card and can't hear a meaning off of it."
"Still, that's amazing," she said, pointing to the top card. "What's this one mean?"
"This card represents your present. It highlights your current situation. This card is the Two of Cups. This is a very good card," he said after a moment. "It stands for harmony and cooperation. It also highlights new friends and new relationships."
"Well, I'd say that would sum up our current situation," she said with a smile. "There are lots of new friends here to work in cooperation toward a common goal."
Fiducius nodded, smiling slightly. "So what's the blank one?" she asked.
He looked over at it, then frowned. "This card is the Hanged Man. It's not as dire as it sounds," he reassured her hastily. "It's a card that means sacrifice and ordeals, but it also can stand for improvements and rebirth. The fight ahead of us might be tough, but I'm sure we'll win," he reassured her.
She reached out, running a finger along the edge of the card. "That's pretty unspecific. You can't tell further?"
He shook his head. "The future is very hard to read. It's easier to see the past or the present."
"I see. It's pretty amazing," she said with a smile. "To think that you can do all that. What's it like to be able to know the future?"
"I'm not very good at it," he protested quickly. "I don't know much about the future at all, really. Just little tiny bits when I do a reading like this." He looked back over at her as he put the cards back. "Um, can I ask you something? Your name--what does it mean?"
"Ah, my name? It's from the local language of Gaussia," she explained. "It means 'flower bud'. I love my name, it always feels like I'm ready and waiting to blossom, you know?"
He smiled at her, the expression warm, his previous nervousness gone. "It is a beautiful name, and appropriate. Where I come from, it's very important to pick a name that fits a person's fate."
"Then what does yours mean, Fiducius?"
"I don't know. We're not allowed to know," Fiducius said with a shake of his head.
"Then I'll think up one for you!" she exclaimed, sitting back and folding her arms in thought. "Ah, I know. Your name is similar to 'Fadalis', which in our language means 'full of love'. So that's what your name will mean!" she said with a smile.
"'Full of love'?"
"I want you to be able to love, Fiducius," she told him, holding her hands to her chest. "And to be loved in return. It's a very powerful name in our world. We all aspire to love everything. Gaussia is a breath of life, one that expresses joy. I want to love all things. If you could do that as well, I'm sure you would be very happy."
"Thank you," he said softly. "I'll treasure it."
