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 Sailormoon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi. All 
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Where Eagles Would Never Dare

A Sailormoon Vignette

Set in the "Dances Set to the Music of Time" Sequence

by Elsa Bibat

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

1943:

 He was a tall man with a mask-like face. His hawkish
profile was evident as he surveyed the entire room.  
Military uniforms dominated the room though some were 
dressed like him, three-piece suits that bespoke of power
and influence. 
 
 "Good evening, gentlemen... and lady." The last
part was addressed to a woman who looked to be out of place.
Her coiffed short hair was darkish in color, though it 
seemed to change its shade when she shifted her position.

 "You must be wondering why I called this meeting.
We are here because I have received a very disturbing 
report from several OSS agents operating in enemy 
territory. Mr. Marquette, would you please turn off the 
lights."

 The room was plunged into darkness, then with a 
click a black and white picture was thrown onto a white
screen. 

 "Several months ago the SS-Ahnenerbe unearthed what 
be one of the most important archeological finds in modern
history. One that could change the course of the war."

 On the screen, was a picture of a room filled with
incomprehensible gadgets. The walls were filled with 
drawings. A large crescent moon was depicted on the far 
wall.

 "This, gentlemen, is a weapons cache from one of 
the several advanced civilizations from before recorded 
history. Everyone here is acquainted with the our 
government's previous encounters with artifacts from 
these ancient times and I believe you all know what this 
usually means. Gentlemen, I'm sorry to say, but it is much 
worse than that."

 A click and a picture of a long cylindrical 
artifact was shown. Runes were etched into the strange
metal and both ends were topped by large crystal 
protrusions.

 "Everyone, this is an Azathoth device. For those 
who recognize the name but do not recognize its 
significance, Azathoth is more than a children's story
character by Mr. Lovecraft. It is an amorphous force 
that is near-catastrophic if ever focused and released
in the manner that these devices do. The last time an
Azathoth device was detonated was in 1908 at Tunguska.
I believe everyone here knows where that is and what 
happened there. The Ahnenerbe found five such devices."

 A commotion in the dark, quickly silenced.

 "Gentlemen, normally I would not be concerned. The 
Nazis could not totally understand the significance of 
the finds, except for one man..."

 Another click and a picture of an evil-looking 
bespectacled man. Heavy-set with white hair pulled back,
dressed in a lab coat he looked like some sort of evil
mad scientist often seen in the movies.

 "People, meet Herr Doktor Keele Lorenz. At the risk 
of sounding overdramatic, this man is a genius of evil. 
This man has both the knowledge and the experience to be 
able to utilize these devices to their full potential. He 
also happens to be a Paranormal rating 10 on the Silence-
Carnacki meter."

 A click and another picture flashed to the screen.
A tall, blond and well-muscled man was shown in a black
and silver SS uniform. He was both an impressive and a
daunting sight. 

 "He is assisted and protected by SS Hauptscharfuhrer 
Hans Scwharzkirk. I believe that the people in this room 
are more familiar with his monicker 'Golden Adonis'. P
rating 3 but a certified genius and a scientifically-trained 
'super-man', he can be expected to counter any of our normal 
sabotage and infiltration operations that we would use for 
this particular situation." 

 Another click and a picture of what looks like 
a facility carved into the mountainside.

 "Schloss Drachenrauche, a castle literally carved 
out of the mountainside. Proof from aerial bombardment 
and guarded by some of the best soldiers the Reich could 
offer, not to mention some individuals who have rather
'special' abilities, with P ratings four and five."

 Silence reigned before a question was put forth from 
the darkness.

 "Won't we be able to use our own 'special' 
individuals?" 

 "Almost everyone is tapped out. Our hands are full 
with Japan's Kasumi Gundan and Unit 732, along with 
Germany's SS-Schwarzritter. Our home agents are preoccupied 
with fifth columnists and infiltrators, plus the South 
American states. But I do have a plan..."

 "What is it, Cranston? We already know the 
situation's bad. What are you going to do about it?"

 The man known as Cranston walked into the projector's
field of light. His hawklike profile was even more 
emphasized.

 "Our resources maybe tapped out. But our allies are 
not. A group consisting of several individuals from Allied
countries chosen for their 'special' attributes and skills 
to be able to infiltrate into Drachenrauche."

 "And who would these 'individuals' be"

 Cranston smiled before he moved out of the line of 
sight, melding into the shadows. A click and a picture of
six men was shown. The most imposing figure and the photo's
seeming centerpiece was a mountain of a man, but so well-
proprotioned that you didn't notice his measurements unless
you compared him to the others in the picture. Square-jawed
and handsome, with his light hair pulled back, he seemed
to be an iron giant.

 "Gentlemen, meet Doctor Alexei Rakhmetov, better known 
in Russia as the Man of Steel. Scientifically trained in the 
same way as Herr Scwarzkirk, they are equals in physical and
mental strength. A most popular person among the Russians, 
which is the only reason why Stalin hasn't sent him and his 
five associates to the Gulag. He is currently helping in the
defense of his country, but I think we can 'convince' Stalin
to let him go."

 "I've heard of him", a voice said in the dark. "He's
a Communist to the bone-"

 "Which is why Stalin doesn't like him. Rakhmetov is 
more Marx than Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky put together. But 
we are not here to look at a person's politics, General. We 
are here to look at what they can do. And I assure you, 
Doctor Rakhmetov is more of a friend to us than you think."

 "Now, let me continue."

 "The Doctor is always accompanied by his five 
associates, friends of his from the Revolution and the Great 
War. Vladimir 'The Monk' Markov, a chemical genius and a 
former monk. He is responsible for most of Stalin's secret
chemical warfare arsenal. Ivan 'Vodka' Kerensky, the 
Doctor's political defender and one of the best tacticians
and strategists the Russians have. He would at least be a 
Brigadier General if not for his association with the Doctor. 
Vassili 'Churki' Churkin, engineer extraordinaire, the man
responsible for most of Russia's Western fortifications.
Andrei 'The Terrible' Ivanova, a skilled archeologist and
linguist, on par with our own Professor Jones. And finally,
Nikolai 'Crash' Krassnov, tank commander and electronic 
genius. These men alone would stand a very good chance of
taking out Drachenrauche."

 "But since we want one hundred percent success and 
the fact that some individuals would balk at asking the 
Russians to handle the thing, the other members of the team
will come from France, England and the United States."

 A click and then a dapper young man was shown on
the screen.

 "From France, or rather from the French, we have 
Arsene Lupin II. I believe most everyone in this room is 
familiar with his father. I assure that the son is twice
as skilled and a lot less irritating than he is. That alone
would qualify him for this mission."

 "The English will contribute two individuals. The 
Spectre is a P rating 8 that operates in the general 
vicinity of London, doing what most of our own 'mystery men'
do. His 'special' abilities and talents will be useful 
during the mission. We don't have an extant photo since 
there never has been a succesful photograph of him. But 
our next mission member does."

 A click and a tall, lithe young man was shown in 
British military uniform.

 "Colonel Thomas Cecil Clayton of the British Special 
Operations. He's quite a success in the African sector and
his family has a reputation for men who have uncanny skills.
His grandfather is the current Lord Greystoke and you all 
know what that man did during the war. Thomas has inherited 
quite a few skills and has a few of his own that would be
quite useful for the mission."

 "Finally, for our contingent-"

 "Er, Cranston, I thought our operatives are tapped
out?"

 "I said most, General. There are several people we can
utilize, like Mr. Richard Wentworth."

 A click and a picture of the aforementioned was shown.

 "Mr. Wentworth is better known to the world as 'The
Spider'. You may have noticed that it seems that there has
been no report of that particular vigilante in recent months.
That is because Mr. Wentworth was contracted by the OSS to 
kill Adolf Hitler."

 "Unfortunately, Hitler once again displayed that damned
luck of his and escaped unscathed what should have been sure
death. Wentworth was injured severely but has managed to 
escape. He is currently coordinating French Resistance in 
Southern France. We can pick him up on the way."

 "The last two members will be my old friend Miss Margo 
Lane and the individual known as 'The Shadow'. Margo's 
qualifications are the simple facts that she has knowledge
of the area and her P 10 rating, making her one of the more
frightening individuals on this planet."

 "The Shadow, though difficult to contact, is simply 
one of the best we've got. I think most of us agree on 
that."

 "If authorized, the mission will be ready to go in a
month."

 Silence reigned after the last statement as the men 
in the room considered the situation. A calm, yet powerful
voice voiced the question on everyone's minds.

 "Is there no other option?" 

 "No."  

 "Then I think I can speak for all of us here. You 
get that team ready, Mr. Cranston. I for one, don't want 
to have what happened at Tunguska happen to one of our 
cities. You get the equipment then you get the people. I
assume you already have a plan."

 "General, I always have a plan." 

 Cranston followed that statement with a short laugh 
that seemed to echo in the darkness.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Author's Afterword:

This isn't exactly a vignette. This is more like a prelude.

"Where Eagle Would Never Dare" is supposed to be one of the
big stories in the Dance sequence. As you may have noticed
we have several big shots in the line-up, from this world's
version of Doc Savage to the Shadow, not to mention Keele
Lorenz from NGE. It has several effects on the history 
not to mention spawning some other stories and vignettes. 

I like Doc Savage a lot, but I think him showing up is 
becoming... too normal. I wanted to be outre and while 
perusing Jess Nevins' Fantastic Victoriana I came upon 
his entry for a Rakhmetov, whom he described as a 
'revolutionary Doc Savage'. So, I plundered Doc's 
coolness and transplanted him into a communist setting. ^_^

The final fate of Doc Rakhmetov and his fabulous five 
will be discovered by Monique Dieudonne, Susan Calvin 
and the Man in Gray (points for which comic book I'm 
ripping off. ^_^) in an upcoming vignette.

The Spectre is my own personal creation, inspired by 
Dark Horse Comics' Ghost.   

I owe a lot to P.J. Farmer and the Wold Newtonians for 
some of the references and some of the research work 
that I've dredged up for the big version of this fic.

There are still a few Easter Eggs so look around. ^_^ 

Anyway, as always, C&C is welcome.







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