Ghosts and Avatars, chapter 5
by Aaron Bastin - kakapo101@hotmail.com
synopsis:

Disclaimer:  This stuff is owned by other people, except for the stuff that 
isn't.  If you own the stuff I've used, please do not sue me.  Chances are 
you already have one hell of a lot more money than I do.

Ghosts and Avatars - Chapter 5 (Incidents and Accidents)


	"There she is.  The Wild Card," said Ajina, gesturing to the ship that sat 
docked in bay 94.
	Kevin blinked.  "It's certainly, uh..." he blanked.  "...inconspicuous?"
	In truth, the thing looked like a piece of crap.  It was large for a 
private craft, but what it points it had for size it lost in style - boxy, 
unadorned plating (much of which looked to be on the verge of coming off) 
and scored by innumerable atmospheric entries and close encounters with both 
asteroids and plasma weapons.  At least it seemed to have a fair complement 
of weaponry, but really, the ship looked like a hovering garbage scow.
	Ajina quirked an eyebrow at the silent group.  "I sense disappointment.  
Trust me, she's got it where it counts.  C'mon in."
	He led them up the docking ramp, into a somewhat claustrophobic common 
room.  Nobuyuki set the beer down on the low conference table, about which 
were chairs of varied description,  most of which had seen better days.  
Kevin lit a cigarette as Ajina threw himself onto a huge, overstuffed 
recliner and opened another bottle.
	"Now," he said, in a tone of voice that made it clear that he really didn't 
want to know, "supposing you tell me what's going on."
	"Well..."
	The ship rocked suddenly to one side.
	"Wha - ?"
	Ajina sighed.  "I'm getting a little worried about the Watarimono.  Inertia 
compensators have been cutting out lately.  I think -"
	The ship rocked again, this time accompanied by a low rumbling sound.  
Ajina's eyes widened.  He leapt to his feet.  "That's not -"
	"That's cannon fire!" gasped Mihoshi.
	A speaker, set in the wall, suddenly flared to life.  An acerbic, feminine 
voice began to speak.
	"Hi cap'n, hello guests.  Listen, I don't want to interrupt what I'm sure 
is a deeply meaningful conversation or anything, but as the Watarimono seems 
to be under attack I wonder if you'd mind GETTING YOUR DAMN ASS UP TO THE 
BRIDGE!?"
	Ajina left the room at a run, Kevin on his heels.
	"Who was that?"
	"Partner."
	"Sounds sweet."
	Ajina shrugged as he rounded a corner, nearly losing his balance.  "You 
have to get to know her."
	"Eases up, huh?"
	"Nah, you just stop taking it personal after a while."  He ran down a 
hallway, stabbing at a button.  The bridge door flew open to reveal a very 
angry looking woman.
	"For Tsunami's sake, Aji -" she stopped.
	She stared.
	"Oh," said Mihoshi quietly.
	Her jaw dropped.
	Mihoshi stuttered, "K-Kiyone?"
	Detective First Class Kiyone, retired, squeaked something inaudible.  Then 
her eyes rolled back and she fainted dead away.
	"Oh my," said Mihoshi, and followed suit.
	Kevin and Ajina looked at the prone pair, then at each other.
	"You keep the most unusual company, Kenkyaku.  Wah!" Ajina said, then went 
sprawling into a wall as another volley rumbled through the bulkheads.

	"Ayeka!"
	"Miyaa..." Ryo-Ohki piped worriedly.
	"Whaddya mean the signal's gone dead?" snarled Ryoko.  "Dammit!"
	She turned back to the tactical screens.  The Watarimono's defense grid was 
proving pathetically inadequate against the sudden attack, and the ponderous 
ship had already lost hull integrity in several places.  Rather than 
defending the ailing vessel, the scores of docked pirate ships were bailing 
out of airlocks and jumping to hyperspace as fast as they could.  Without a 
screen of fighters, the Watarimono was being methodically sliced to pieces.
	Ryoko glanced over at the jump point scan.  Blue specks were appearing 
faster than she could count them, rendering an already difficult task 
impossible.
	"Myah!"
	<weapons lock!> sent Washu urgently at the same moment as Ryo-Ohki's 
warning.  Ryoko cursed and gripped the ship's controls, disengaging from the 
Watarimono and hurtling backwards as a blue-white stream of energy seared 
into the port they had been sitting at seconds ago.  A gout of white vapor 
poured from the wounded vessel.
	Ryoko grit her teeth.  She was confused and angry.  Her Tenchi had been 
taken from her, her friends were missing, and now she was being shot at.
	She decided to do what she knew best.
	The Ryo-Ohki accelerated, turning a slow arc and powering away from the 
Watarimono, leaving it to its fate, and continued to speed up.
	<ryoko?  whatcha do'in?>
	Ryoko ignored her.
	The ship arrowed directly towards the nearest cruiser, weapons powering up. 
  Someone took Tenchi.  Someone was taking potshots at her.
	Someone was going to pay.

	Sasami shuddered in her darkened quarters aboard the ship, hugging herself 
as she lay in bed.  Every vibration, every shiver Ryo-Ohki made rippled 
through her body.
	She ran shaky fingers over her arm, feeling the skin.  Feeling the changes.
	Tsunami lied, thought Sasami miserably.  She lied.
	This HURTS.

	"Kiyone!  Kiyone, wake up!"
	The Wild Card accelerated clumsily out of the docking bay, dodging the 
debris clattering to the ground as the ship swiftly went to hell.
	Ajina wrestled with the controls, milking every possible ounce of speed 
from the engines while unhappily eyeing the status screens.  Kevin, hovering 
nervously behind him, looked over his shoulder at Nobuyuki and Mihoshi, who 
were attempting to revive Kiyone, without much success.
	"Oh, nuts," breathed Ajina as the ship blasted into open space.  "Cruisers. 
  Kenkyaku, take weapons, wouldja?"
	"What?" blinked Kevin.  "I don't know how to work those things."
	"Huh?  You don't know how to fly a ship?" gaped Ajina, the Jurians 
momentarily forgotten.
	"Well, I...uh...no," said Kevin lamely, scratching the back of his head.
	"Great, just great," Ajina snarled.  "You two back there - if you don't get 
her awake this is gonna be a real short ride."  The ship rocked suddenly as 
a bolt came too close.  Specks of fighters began to show on the screens, 
making a beeline towards the herd of escaping vessels.  He looked over at 
Ayeka, who sat at the communication station, watching the screen calmly.  
"How 'bout you?  Know anything about starships?"
	"Not one of these," she replied evenly.
	Kiyone woke up.
	She stared into Mihoshi's worried blue eyes for exactly two seconds before 
launching herself off the floor and tackling Mihoshi, bowling her over and 
grabbling a double fistful of her sweater.
	"WHAT.  DID.  YOU.  DO?"  she screamed, punctuating each word by slamming 
Mihoshi into the deck.
	"Um - what?  Nothing!"
	"Bullshit!"  roared Kiyone.  "You were on board three seconds before we got 
attacked!  What's going on?!"
	"I don't know!"  bawled Mihoshi.
	The Wild Card coasted away from the burning wreckage of the pirate 
mothership.  A cloud of Jurian fighters, flitting about the debris and 
picking off stragglers, detached from the main force and followed it.
	"Kiyone!  Weapons!  We got company!" Ajina barked.
	Kiyone dropped Mihoshi to the floor and sprinted to the weapons station, 
powering up the weapons.  "Can we jump?"
	"You kiddin'?  From a cold start?  Gimme half an hour, maybe."
	Kiyone closed her hand over the manual firing controls, flexing her fingers 
and squinting at the tactical display.  "Ten minutes.  Any longer than that 
and they'll turn us into scrap."
	"Give me auxiliary control."
	Kiyone blinked at Mihoshi as she strapped herself into the seat next to 
her.
	"You need all the help you can get," she said simply, as she familiarized 
herself with the controls.
	Kiyone opened her mouth, then simply nodded.
	"Hang on to something," she said over her shoulder.

	<ryoko!  dammit!>
	The Ryo-Ohki nimbly dodged bolts of plasma fire as it closed with the 
cruiser.  Ryoko grit her teeth in a feral grin as the cruiser launched its 
reserve fighters.
	"Give it to 'em, Ryo-Ohki."
	Bolts arced from the Ryo-Ohki, slicing through several of the smaller 
crafts.  They split, coming in on two different angles.
	Good tactic, thought Ryoko.  Against anyone else.
	<we don't have time for this!>
	A few hits rocked the ship, causing negligible damage.  Ryo-Ohki's weapons 
flared again, firing impossibly in several different directions at once, and 
the remaining fighters exploded noiselessly.  Ryoko nudged the craft 
downwards, circling under the larger ship and firing at its exposed 
underbelly.
	They're going to pay.  I'm going to MAKE them pay.

	"Yow!  That was too close..."
	The Wild Card dodged around a huge chunk of twisted metal that was once 
part of the Watarimono's hull, several fighters screaming in hot pursuit.  
The rear guns flared once, twice, but the maneuverable ships the Jurians 
used as fighters scooted out of the path of the beams.  Thus far Kiyone and 
Mihoshi had managed to keep them at a distance, but the gap was closing 
rapidly.  Wild shots were coming closer and closer to hitting the mark.
	"Aji..."
	"I know, I know!  Almost there..."
	The fighters closed on the slower ship, guns blazing.  The Wild Card 
returned fire, destroying two.
	"Got one!" called Mihoshi with grim satisfaction.  The ship lurched as 
plasma fire hammered into the hull, the phalanx screaming past the Wild Card 
and looping around for another pass.
	"Ha!" shouted Ajina and punched a button.
	The engines whined and then, abruptly, shut off.
	Everyone in the cabin looked at Ajina.
	"It's not my fault..." he started.
	The fighters made another assault on the drifting ship.
	"Status!" barked Kiyone.
	"Er...we're okay," said Mihoshi, blinking at the screens before her.
	"Those guys must be lousy shots."
	"Whassat?"
	Kiyone glanced over her shoulder at the screen Kevin was pointing at and 
frowned.  "A fighter going up against a cruiser...?  Who in the galaxy could 
be that insane?"
	"Ryoko," said Kevin, Ayeka, Nobuyuki and Mihoshi simultaneously.
	Ayeka's lips tightened.  "This has gone far enough," she said, and tapped a 
few keys on the console before her.
	"Ahem.  Attention Jurian fleet.  This is First Princess Ayeka of Jurai.  
The Wild Card and the Ryo-Ohki are under my protection.  You will 
immediately cease all attacks upon these vessels and allow us safe dock so 
that we may speak further.  That is all."
	She sat back, looking satisfied.
	Kiyone and Ajina stared at her as though she'd grown a second head.
	"Um," said Kevin, quietly.  "Ayeka, do you think that was a particularly 
good idea?"
	"WHAT-" shrieked Ajina.
	"Not now, Aji."
	"BUT SHE-"
	"Not NOW, dammit!" snarled Kevin.
	"Guys?"
	"I know what I am doing, Walker," Ayeka sighed, infinitely calm.  "This is 
a matter of statecraft.  You forget, those are MY ships out there."
	"Um...guys..."
	"Look, I'm not disputing that, Ayeka, I just think it looks bad for us to 
be in this position..." continued Kevin.
	"Guys!  They've locked us!" shouted Mihoshi.
	"What!?"
	The nearest cruiser began to glow, faintly.  Arcs of energy rippled along 
the hull as the cannon warmed up.
	"Aw, shit," breathed Kevin.
	The cannon fired, scoring a direct hit.

	The room was small, lined with sterile, unadorned stainless steel.  Tenchi 
blinked owlishly, trying to get his eyes to focus.  He was starting to come 
out of it, slowly, but the residual effects of the drugs hurt his head, 
fuzzed his vision.
	He shook his head, forcing himself to think.  How long was I under?  I feel 
awful.  Can't remember a damn thing...
	He looked down at the chair he'd been strapped to, pulling helplessly at 
the restraints.  There was a chair and a low, flat table across from him.
	"Good morning!" piped a cheerful voice.  Tenchi winced and looked up.  
Bustling into the room was a young man, thin, somewhat dandyish.  He placed 
his case on the table, pulling out a small file folder, which he flipped 
open, squinting at it.
	"Now, Mr...ah...Masaki," he said, putting down his papers and folding his 
hands before him.  "As I'm sure you're aware, you are in a great deal of 
trouble."
	"I've done nothing," grated Tenchi.
	"I beg to differ," said the thin man with a slight smile.  He flicked open 
the folder again.  "Kidnapping, treason, plotting to commit treason and 
grand theft.  Not a pretty picture, is it."
	"Treason against whom?" said Tenchi, his head spinning.
	The unctuous smile disappeared.  The man leaned forward, frowning.  "Don't 
play stupid with me, Masaki.  This can be very simple, or quite painful.  
The choice is yours."
	Tenchi shook his head.  "I'm telling you, I don't know what you're talking 
about!  What did I DO?"
	"Fine," the lean man bit out.  He reached forward and tapped at a small 
button on the table.
	Tenchi jerked and arched his back as his blood turned to fire in his veins, 
pain arcing over his body, rolling down his limbs.  His hands clenched and 
unclenched convulsively as he grit his teeth, willing himself not to scream.
	Seconds later - an eternity - it was over.  He opened his eyes warily.  His 
torturer was leaning over him, so close Tenchi could feel his breath.
	"We know it wasn't your fault, Mr. Masaki.  Tenchi.  You were misled.  
You're sick.  We want to help you, but before we can you have to admit to 
what you've done."
	Tenchi sat, silent, a sick feeling lodged in his gut.
	The man leaned even closer.  "All you have to do," he said, softly, almost 
a whisper, "is say yes.  Will you do that, Tenchi?"
	Tenchi looked at him.
	He opened his mouth.
	"I'd sooner roast in hell," he said, and lunged forward, trying to bash his 
forehead into that greasy smile.  The thin man was ready for him, slid out 
of the way smoothly, and looked down at him pityingly.
	"I see," he said, and turned away, walking from the room.  "I'll be back a 
little later to see if you still feel that way."
	He tapped the button on the desk on his way out.
	I won't scream, I won't scream, Tenchi promised himself as the pain 
started.
	The thin man walked through the door.
	As the steel door to the room cycled shut, it cut off Tenchi's inhuman 
shriek as he failed in his promise.
	"Didn't go so well?" said Ono, as Seigan leaned against the door he'd just 
left, seemingly oblivious to the faint cries of pain still coming from 
within.
	Seigan shrugged.  "Not unexpectedly.  He didn't strike me as the type to 
give up THAT easy."  He sighed and looked at his watch.  "Few more minutes, 
that ought to shake him up.  No, this one could take months."
	"We don't have months, Seigan.  I told you -"
	"I know, I know, one month and no more.  Who is this mysterious client of 
ours?"
	Ono just shook his head.
	"Great, one of those," muttered Seigan.  "Look, Ono, you're a capable 
director, but you've never been a breaker."  He jerked his head at the door. 
  "I'm pretty sure this kid's all bravado, but if he's not?  If he's 
actually got some balls we can't rush it, not if you want anything useful 
left over.  Breaking someone all the way is easy.  We could just leave him 
in there with the pain implant on all night, and in the morning he'd be a 
gibbering wreck, provided he doesn't have a heart attack or swallow his 
tongue."
	Ono listened to the sounds of agony leaking through the door, and shivered 
despite himself.
	"Breaking someone just enough, making them malleable, now that's tough.  
It's delicate work, y'know."
	"I don't want excuses," grated Ono.  "I want it done."
	Seigan glared at him, then shrugged.  "Yes...sir," he said pointedly.  He 
glanced at his watch again, thumbed the control to the door, and walked back 
inside.
	"PLEASE!  MAKE IT STOP!  PLEA-"
	The sound was abruptly cut off as the door shut again.
	Ono wiped the sweat from his brow and walked down the corridor.

	Kevin opened his eyes hesitantly, and found himself staring at Aji's round 
face, twisted in an almost comical expression of concern.
	"Am I dead?" he asked in a small voice.
	"No."
	"Ah.  Why not?"
	He sat up slowly, looking around the darkened cabin.  Ayeka was slumped 
against Nobuyuki in a corner, and Mihoshi was holding a small flashlight for 
Kiyone, who had climbed into the drive console up to her waist.
	"Because," came her aggrieved voice, "our daring captain neglected to tell 
us that this ship was carrying enough ablative armor to withstand a 
point-blank blast from a Jurian cruiser.  Always wondered why the damn thing 
handled like an Aldabaran sloth."
	"Can't give away ALL my secrets, Kiyone," Aji said smugly, sitting back on 
his haunches.
	One hand appeared from the recesses of the console, made a very rude 
gesture, and disappeared again.
	"Ablative armor?" asked Kevin weakly, looking out the view screen.  It was 
full of tiny, winking shards of metal, obscuring vision more than a few feet 
away.
	"Yeah," Aji smirked, looking insufferably pleased with himself.  "Hit it 
with enough energy, it shatters, dispersing the blast - creating enough of a 
debris field to make us look like a derelict 'till we can make a clean 
getaway."
	"Oh," Kevin replied.  "So why haven't we?"
	He was gratified to see Ajina's grin vanish abruptly.  Kiyone poked her 
head out of the console and glared daggers at him.
	"I meant to pick it up, honest," he said protestingly.
	She continued to glare.
	"I...ah...well, there was this part we needed...um..."
	"An aligner!  One simple particle aligner!  I told you MONTHS ago our old 
one was giving way, but no, 'I'll get it next time in, Kiyone,' he says, 
'she's got it where it counts, Kiyone'..." her voice faded into inaudible 
muttering as she crawled back underneath the console.
	"Yeah, so, our aligner's on the fritz," said Ajina, trying to sound calm.  
"Can't make the jump 'till we get it sorted out.  But don't worry, Kiyone's 
the best field mechanic this side of Alpha Centauri.  Right, Kiyone?"
	There was a distinct zap from beneath the console, followed by a stream of 
exceptionally inventive and biologically improbable curses.

	Ryoko grinned ferally as she brought the Ryo-Ohki around for another pass.  
The cruiser had started the dogfight overconfident, barely taking the time 
to lob a potshot at them as they flew beneath the hull.
	That was three minutes ago.
	The Jurian ship now had a pronounced list, drifting slightly as it tried to 
disengage, oxygen pumping through numerous holes in the hull as life support 
on the wooden vessel began to give way.
	<ryoko, i'm warning you...>
	Her hands tightened on the crystals that connected her to the ship.  The 
prey was weak, defenseless.  One more shot...she lazily selected her target, 
prepared to fire.
	<fine,> said the annoying voice in the back of her head, a voice that had 
stopped making any sense some time ago.  She was beyond words now - she was 
the huntress, locked in the oldest dance.
	An icy feeling suddenly shot through Ryoko.  Her arms, no longer obeying 
her, lifted from the crystals, making the shot go wide, missing the wounded 
cruiser entirely.  Ryoko looked up, staring into a furious green gaze.
	Washu brought back her hand and slapped Ryoko across the face.
	Ryoko snarled, rearing up and forming an energy blade as she stared down at 
the woman who had dared strike her.  Washu folded her arms and stared up at 
Ryoko defiantly.
	"Gonna take a swipe at me?  Go ahead.  If you really felt like it, you 
could kill just about anyone.  Now you can keep venting your spleen on foot 
soldiers who aren't worth the effort, or you can help me find Tenchi.  
What's it gonna be?"
	Ryoko stared down at her, frozen in place, her sword held above her head.  
After a few moments, she relaxed, slowly, dismissing the sword.
	"Ayeka...the others?"
	"They're smart kids," said Washu stoutly.  "They probably managed to get on 
a ship before the whole thing went up."
	Ryoko looked away, watching blankly as the cruiser fled into hyperspace.
	"Ayeka's communicator..."
	"Don't mean a thing," Washu replied.  "Likely got wrecked in the rush to 
get off the Watarimono.  Look, there's nothing we can do about it now.  The 
important thing is to get to Tenchi."
	"What?  There's no way to track them..."
	"Don't need to."  Washu began tapping at her holotop.  "This place has been 
a burr in Jurai's side for a century.  Why raid it now?  And why just blow 
it up rather than taking prisoners?  Something stinks."
	"Are you seriously suggesting..."
	"Yep.  We're going to Jurai."
	Ryoko stared at Washu for a few moments, then resignedly climbed back into 
the command chair and prepared for the jump.
	Washu looked down at the of her computer, scrutinizing for a moment Ayeka's 
transmission and the record of the Jurian's reaction, before snapping her 
fingers and dispelling it to subspace.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Four thirty in the morning.  Must sleep.  Hope you liked 
it...send criticisms to kakapo101@hotmail.com.  Thank you and goodnight.  
Zzzzzzzzzzz....