Iapetus was thoroughly engaged in watching what looked like a column of ants marching across the broken and dusty tile of what had once been a building on her homeworld. This was the first time that she’d seen anything alive up here beyond herself and she was fascinated. And while they acted a bit like the ants she knew on earth, they were slightly bigger. Well, okay. They were a lot bigger than normal black ants and probably closer in size to the army ants that people liked to claim devoured everything in their path. But these were more of a pearlized translucence in appearance. They were pretty.

And since some of them looked like they had a sort of stinger on their butts, she was more than happy to let them be. It wasn’t like they were causing any harm and she had exploring to do anyway. Getting to her feet and dusting off her knees, Iapetus gave the odd little ants a salute before stretching out her back. The coins she’d found had been in this area and she’d wanted to see if she could find anything else. Well, she thought with a grin, I found space ants. That’s not nothing. But seeing Almadel’s museum had awoken something in her. So far, the only real artifacts she had from her own world had come from the Merchant’s extensive collection. And frankly, much as she liked and appreciated Almadel, it rankled a little that she was effectively having to collect her own things from outside sources and bring them back. And of course, she doubted that he had completely looted her world. But it would still make her feel a bit better about things if she could find things here.

Sighing a little and walking, she cast her eyes across the broken ground, trying to build up an image in her head. She was the Senshi of Ruthlessness. Her first trade with Almadel had been for a box of scary sharp (and possibly magical) arrowheads. Her latest talk with the Merchant had conveyed a distinct impression that in the past, Iapetans had enjoyed watching fighters going at each other. Not a lot of clues to go by, but taken all together, she suspected that wars, big and small, had been the bread and butter of this place. What she wanted to find was something that could either confirm or deny her theory. Not that she’d be upset if her past self had been some kind of warrior baddie… Well.

It would just be nice to know for sure.

So much here had been destroyed by time and whatever it was that had happened when the Moon Kingdom had fallen. And she knew herself. She was a fairly indifferent historian. She liked movement and physical activity. Not sitting and trying to take notes or puzzle out riddles. She was no latent Indiana Jones. But for this place and for herself, present and past, she was going to have to try.

Word Count = 502