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However, the spunky girl had no intentions of doing anything but winning. “Sabacc!” she said, scraping in her winnings.
“How can you be so lucky?” one of the other players lamented. “This is not fair!”
Asteroid shrugged. She looked toward the door and saw her father coming. “Great game, but I have to go.”
The other players had their heads down in mourning. Aster grinned and left as quickly as possible.
“Win?” the blonde asked innocently. After the harsh look her father gave, she backed down a muttered a sum. Not the full amount, in case he was going to take it. It wouldn’t have made that much of a dent in her overall winning if he did.
“If you lie as well as you play sabacc,” he smiled, “don’t play me.”
Aster and her father laughed. The girl was glad that she hadn’t gotten in trouble, but felt that there was something her father wasn’t telling her. Hoping it was nothing too serious, Aster enjoyed the brief moment of rapture with her father.
Aster’s cold tone told what she thought of the mater. “Aster! You’re only 15!” her twin cried.
“Nonetheless,” her tone was formal. “Father has decided to cement an alliance by giving me to Prince Nara.”
Coru wrinkled her nose. Aster hated the prince of the Hoth Asteroids. And the way she said “Father!” It was like space-cold acid.
“The wedding will take place later than Father thinks.”
The redhead’s eyes twinkled.
“I will countact you.”
Aster’s younger twin smiled again. Her sister had just told her that she was running away. From the accent Aster had put on “contact,” Coru guessed it was to Coruscant. She wished her twin luck…
“Pity. It looks simply ravishing on you,” an arrogant male voice said.
Asteroid looked over her should, glared at him, and finished her sentence. “But not as much as I hate you.”
The dark-haired and dark-skinned man attempted to look down his nose at the princesses. Considering she was about three inches taller than he was, it was difficult. “Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your future husband?”
“Excuse me?!”
Nara’s smug smile made Asteroid want to rip it off his face. “Oh?” he faked concern. “Did no one tell you of the impending alliance between the Hoth and Yavin asteroids?” His smile grew. “Of course, it will be consummated in the traditional way…”
“DADDY!” Aster yelled.
When she found her father, the longhaired blonde’s worst fears were realized. He had agreed to marry her off.
As her father announced it, Nara reached for the asteroid princess’s hand. She leaned over and whispered, “If you touch me, I’ll shove your hand so far down your throat it’ll come out the other end.”
“Daddy,” Asteroid confronted Sejou later. “You cannot be serious.”
The Prince looked confused. “Why not? It’s best for the kingdom.”
If it was best for the kingdom, Aster wasn’t sure she wanted to be the princess anymore.
He looked around the floor for a few minutes before realizing that she must have gone up to her room. Sejou sighed as he walked up the stairs. She seemed so upset over something so small.
The prince listened at his blonde daughter’s door before going in. Oh no—she was crying. Had it been that important to her? He steeled himself and walked in.
Sejou saw Asteroid by the foot of her bed looking out an open window through billowing curtains. It was dark in the room; not ever Aster’s favorite candles were burning which made it hard for him to see. The Prince watched his feet as he walked over. He laid a hand on her shoulder. Surprised, he felt his hands go right through the figure. A hologram! “ASTEROID PRIIRE SEIJOUTAI!”
The dark haired man across from her smiled. Being a Jedi, he knew the “Priire” wasn’t the girl’s real name. He also didn’t particularly care. “Call me Kousotsu.”
“All right,” the blonde agreed. “Coruscant. I’ve never been here before.” Kousotsu gestured out the window. “Like it says in the guidebooks, this whole entire planet is a city. No one knows where it starts or where it ends. If it ends, really.”
Priire’s green eyes scanned the planet. She wrinkled her nose. “I always seem to get into more trouble in the city.”
Laughing, Kousotsu put a hand on her shoulder. “Come with me, then.” “Why not?” she shrugged. “I’m sure I can make enough trouble for two.”
Of course, she didn’t know what she’d do next week.
“Come in!” she called, rolling over on her belly as the doorchime sounded. “Kousotsu!”
The handsome man sat down on the bed and leaned against the wall. Seeming to pick up on her earlier thoughts he mentioned, “Priire, you’ve been here about a week and already you’ve broken more minor laws than I knew existed!”
“Isn’t it great?”
He leaned over and kissed her, making the blonde smile. “You know, I think I love you.”
Priire’s eyes sparkled. “I know I love you.”
“This is going to sound crazy…”
“Crazier than a Jedi in a barfight?”
“…No!” He had to stop and laugh at the mental picture. “I mean…I want…will you…marry me?”
Her eyes sparkled like sunlight on seawater as she held the ring he’d given her. It was white gold, with a large hematite in the middle. On each side of the main stone were set two silver stars. Perfect! “Yes…wait, maybe you don’t want to marry me.”
Kousotsu looked at her like she was crazy. “Would I have asked if I didn’t want to marry you??” he asked, confused.
Priire looked up into his eyes. “My name’s not really Priire, it’s…”
“Princess Asteroid Priire Seijoutai.”
Turning away from Kousotsu, Priire saw the person she least wanted to see. “Daddy?” she whimpered. “What are you doing here?”
Another person came out from behind Prince Sejou and moved toward Priire. Because it was Nara, she moved away from him and closer to Kousotsu. Her father did not look pleased.
“Aster, darling.” Nara said, holding out his hands. “Why did you run away?”
Considering Priire’s earlier thoughts on the prince, it was surprising that she did not just shoot him where he stood. Instead, she and Kousotsu disappeared.
“The truth…” Priire sighed. “Ok, here goes nothing. I’m the Princess of the Yavin Asteroids, like my father said. And the other” she snorted, “person with him was Prince Nara of the Hoth Asteroids. My father arranged for me to be married to him in order to secure an alliance.”
Kousotsu frowned. “So you’re already engaged?”
She shook her head violently. “Never. Not to him at least. Nara is the most aggravating jerk…” Priire paused a moment to fume. While she did, a comm call came in. It was very scratchy, but at the end the blonde was crying. “Kousotsu, she’s dead!”
He let her cry on his shoulder for a long time. He could feel her pain and loss with every tear that fell down her cheek, making him wish he could kiss it all away. “Shah, it’ll be ok.”
Priire looked right at him. “Let’s go avenge my sister.”
The black haired man rolled the ship over to avoid a turbolaser battery. Priire destroyed it with her own lasers. Kousotsu added more power to the shield when he sensed that Priire had paused in her firing for a moment. As soon as she reached for the controls again, he fed power to the weapons. They worked together like dancers who had been together for years. They knew they couldn’t win. It was a fight the pair went into to knowing this. The size of the organization was plain from their blatant attack on three of the most influential kingdoms in the galaxy. Neither knew if they’d survive, but it was doubtful.
Priire nodded. “That’s…that’s logical.”
The Black Fire Princess was caught in powerful tractor beams and surrounded by at least a dozen enemy ships. Silently, they looked at each other and a decision was made. “Goodbye,” Priire whispered to her ship. Kousotsu held her tightly as the ship counted down to its self-destruction…
“Aster?”
“Coru! I thought you were dead!”
Her redheaded sister shook her head. “I think I am. And you are too.”
The blonde Princess looked around. “Kirin? Annika? Did we all die?”
Kirin raised an eyebrow at her friend. “At least someone died happy.”
Blushing, the girl turned back to the man beside her. “Everyone, this is Kousotsu. We’re engaged!” She paused. “Or, we were until we died.”
Coru laughed. “For real this time, Aster?” she teased. The girl looked at her sister’s beau. “I like him. Ok, you can keep him.”
Kousotsu shook his head. “You’re crazy. Like sister…like sister.” Then he laughed.
Suddenly, they all heard a new voice. It was different from anything they’d ever heard.
"I am Queen Amidala. My galaxy is in dire need of your help. Each one of you is a special kind of hero. To save the galaxy, you must travel back in time to protect its future. Please, help us!"
“How?” Priire said, ready to help.
"Because you are dead in this time, you are free to go back to the time where you are most need. Two of you will be sent to another galaxy to prepare for your destinies, while the others will be here, in a different time. You must be willing to serve, and you must help us!"
Annika’s eyes were wide. “Where will we be sent?” she asked, almost afraid. Another galaxy sounded scary.
"Kousotsu and Kirin will be sent to earth. Annika, Courusca, and Asteroid will be left here."
Priire held up a hand. “Wait, we won’t be in the same galaxy?” she said, looking at her beloved. “But…”
He put a finger to her lips. “It’ll be ok, Priire. Trust me.”
"You will see each other again. Now go!"
The blonde half shrugged with tear caressed eyes. “To Fate, then,” she said as if toasting something.
“I don’t believe in Fate,” he replied. “I believe in you.”
About the Senshi in this story:
Priire/Aster/Sailor Asteroid
Corusca/Coru/Sailor Yavin
Kousotsu/Tuxedo Jedi
Kirin/Sailor Hoth
Annika/Sailor Bakura
