The Wanderer: Wandering Moons: Construction Notes Type: Author insertion... Sort of... Period: Sailor Moon R, between the departure of Ann/Allan and the arrival of the Dark Moon family. I.E. No outer senshi, no Reni/Chibi-Usa, Although Pluto will make a brief Cameo in prologue. Why then? Because this is intended to be a self contained story arc, and I've only seen the DIC episodes, which limits my options. I didn't dare place it anywhere else, because I wouldn't be familiar with the character development to that point, (especially concerning the Outer Senshi)and the only other place where there is a break in the story is between Day of Destiny and Ann/Alan's Arrival. And how could you write a story in that period without majorly disrupting the timeline since the girls don't remember a thing? We are talking a massive application of Jason McKesson's Stupid Card(tm) to make a story work in that time frame. New Allies: Micheal "Muck" Thunders, AKA Star Ranger F.R.E.D. New Enemies: Cabelite The Tinkerer Character Bios: Allies Micheal "Muck" Thunders, AKA "Star Ranger" Apparent age: Mid Twenties Physical Age: high Thirties Hair: Red Ht: 5'8" Eyes: Green Wt: 150# Complexion: Caucasian Birthdate:04/28/65 Astrological Sign: Taurus Historical Notes: American by Birth, Los Angeles CA. Accepted into Cal Tech, attended on Air Force ROTC Scholarship. Awarded BS in Computer Sciences. Served six years in U.S.A.F. as a pilot of A-10 II Thunderbolts, used call-sign "Muck." Left active service with rank of Captain (O-3). Returned to Cal Tech and earned an MS in Physics and a Ph.D. in Theoretical Mathematics. Landed a research grant into the study of teleportation. Pressured to prove his theories or loose funding, he demonstrated the technology on himself, teleporting into a lab where his supervisor was working on a robotic interplanetary probe. Micheal was merged with the robotic probe in an explosion that destroyed the lab and forced his resignation. Although normally dormant, in times of stress or when summoned, his body becomes that of the robotic probe. This form bears great (O.K., TOTAL) resemblance to the humanoid form of a Veritech fighter from the MACROSS series (VF-1S Super, for those familiar with that series). Sought out by a former instructor, he harnesses his destiny and, for the next year lives the life of a super-hero, and adopts the name "Star Ranger" as his super-hero identity. Tracking a mad scientist known as the Tinkerer to his lair, Muck discovers the Tinkerer's master plan; to take over the world by using a teleportation device to replace world leaders with robotic duplicates. In the battle with the Tinkerer, the controls to the teleportation device were damaged, causing the teleporter to self distruct, creating a dimensional breach through which Micheal and the Tinkerer both were drawn. Now adrift in space and time, he hops from dimension to dimension, his only traveling companion an artificial intelligence, hoping the next jump will be the one that takes him Home. Personality: Outwardly quiet and pensive, beneath his facade burns the soul of a hero. He has made many friends in his travels, yet prefers not to let them know how close they are, for in the end he must leave them behind when he jumps again. Powers: As Muck, A high intelligence and tremendous willpower. As Star Ranger: Armored body impervious to hand held weapons. Environmentally independent, from the cold of space to the boiling point of water. Heightened strength and agility. Star Shield: Capable of reflecting any attack Offensive capabilities: Chain Gun: Hand-held multi barreled rapid fire laser. Shockwave launcher: Left forearm pod, fires a telekinetic pulse capable of hurling a person through a wall. Pulse Cannon: Right Forearm pod, fires electro-magnetic pulses capable of disrupting any unshielded electronic circuit Star Sword: A magical sword that can cut through anything F.R.E.D. -- "Fantastically Ridiculous Electronic Device" An artificial intelligence created by Muck, Fred is Mucks traveling companion and assistant. Built into the refurbished body of a HMWWV, FRED is equipped with the sensors that tell him where they are in their travels. FRED also controls the portal generator that moves the pair between dimensions. Although armored against most man portable weapons, by no stretch of the imagination is FRED comparable to K.I.T.T. of Knight Rider fame. (No blasting through walls, weapons, etc...) ENEMIES: The Tinkerer: AKA James Doe Apparent age: Mid Thirties Hair: Brn Ht: 5'11" Eyes; Brn WT: 225# Complexion: Mediterranean Birthrate: Unknown A scientist from Muck's home universe, bent on global domination. When the controls to his teleportation device are destroyed, he too is hurled through the dimensional rift. Badly hurt by the blast, he arrives in SM's Tokyo, where first his energies are focused on survival. As he gathers what he needs to begin again, he becomes aware of the battle between SM and the Negaverse. When Sailor Mood defeats Beryl, Tinkerer realizes that SM will be a major threat to his plans, and he will require help. Remembering how his first teleportaion device became a dimensional portal, he builds a new type, specifically designed as a dimensional portal. Using this portal, he is able to bring Cabelite and his warriors from the past to the present. Cabelite: The first general during the negaverse's attack on earth at the end of the silver millennium, Cabelite was to report to Beryl concerning his slow progress against the earth, and it was generally believed that he was to be "demoted," when the Tinkerer opened the portal he created. Seeing a chance to avoid his fate, Cabelite agreed and brought the remains of his army through the portal to the present time. Authors Notes: These notes contain information that I thought might need clearing up. A lot of it could be spoilers, if you think about it, so I wouldn't read any farther until you've at least read the episode in question. Prologue: The scene between Pluto and Q is based on material put forward in Bill Harris' Sailor Trek FanFics, specifically, that they know each other, and that Pluto was one of the people who insisted that Q needed to learn some self control and humility. The characters mentioned in the scene of Muck's first planned jump are all from John De Chance's Castle Perilous books. Not exactly earth shaking reading, but I like them. Episode ONE: That's not really FRED on that desktop. The computer on the desktop is a standard computer Muck bought to provide FRED an interface with the Internet of SM's dimension. Consider it sort of a 'Remote Terminal'. Everything that makes FRED, well, FRED is still tucked safely away in the HMWWV body, he just uses that unit to give him access to a phone line and to keep track of what is going on in Muck's Apt. And he didn't say anything about the coffeepot because he thought Muck had already converted it to the right voltages. Or maybe someone just played the Stupid Card(tm) on the poor thing. Episode Two: If your wondering who the heck it was that Muck is conversing with, it's the CPU of the robot probe he merged with. And why did he pass out in the tunnel, only to awaken when the probe took over? As Muck, he is 99% human, and would be susceptible to the energy drain. As Star Ranger, he is 99% machine, and therefore was unaffected. Strange thing, magic, eh? What seems to work on creatures of flesh doesn't seem to work on 'Inanimate' objects. Episode Three: Why didn't the scout's powers work on those 'things' Tinkerer sent? Their robotic. See my notes from episode two for more detail. Basically, they were designed to be immune to the scouts' powers. Ergo, that's why Muck was 'conscripted' by Q, because his abilities were needed to neutralize Tinkerer's advantage. That's also why Star Rangers laser didn't hurt those Youma that much. Then why is Cabelite there? Because Tinkerer wasn't sure at first that his machines could beat the scouts. He also wanted a fall guy to do his dirty work while he conserved his strength. And why wouldn't Muck remind Lita of her Sempai? Everyone else does! Names: I kept the NA first names because they are easier to remember for me in plotting. I used the Japanese family names because it's the only one that has a complete set of last names. And Yes, I know that I should be putting the family names first, but I *AM* American... it makes it easier for me. If you don't like it, you didn't have to read it. Thanks: To all the fellow writers on the SMFFHQ mailing list. Reading your stories has helped me improve my own. And Jason McKesson, (member of said mailing list) for introducing me to the idea of the Stupid Card(tm) and showing how its use tends to disrupt an otherwise good storyline!!! Andrea Hui and 'Tuxedo Will' Wolfshohl, for their excellent archives of Sailor Moon fanfiction. Their archives provided not only the inspiration for starting into SM fan fiction, but also a lot of worthwhile insights into the characters. All the Authors who contributed to said two archives; but a special Emphasis on Wolfbyte, Chris Davies, Jendra, and Doug Helm, who I feel are shining examples of the best this genre has to offer. A Musical thanks to Albert Yao, who converted several pieces of Sailor Moon music into Real Audio format. In general, if I was spending time on this project, I was playing one of his conversions. And to the artists, whoever they were, who recorded those songs in the first place. And while last, by no means least, Naoko Takeuchi, for creating Sailor Moon in the first place.