Chapter 15
   Mihoshi's Home Sick

     Mihoshi had picked out her favorite ship, the Yukamojo.  She had never 
driven it before, but had read that the highly advanced artificial 
intelligence on it made it almost completely automatic, the perfect ship 
for her.  It had its own living quarters and it had a spacious kitchen and 
the artificial intelligence provided company on long trips.
     When she left the Galaxy Police office, few noticed her leave, and she 
suspected that her section chief might become a little mad at her.
     "Hey, Yukamojo," Mihoshi called out to the ship.
     An electronic head lowered itself from a compartment on the ceiling 
and blinked its electronic eyes and whirred its electronic whirs.  "Yes, 
Mihoshi?" the voice component answered.
     "Could you send a message back to central?  I don't think they know I 
left."
     "Certainly, Mihoshi," the android head said, returning back to its 
compartment in the ceiling.
     "That was easy," Mihoshi marveled.  She was worried she would have to 
deal with all that technical mumbo jumbo like on the Yagami, but this was 
far more high tech.  She eased back in her pilot's chair and relaxed.  "Oh, 
by the way," Mihoshi said.  "What's our destination?"
     "Destination is earth, Mihoshi," the voice component said as the head 
lowered itself again.
     "Earth?!  How come?"
     "Captain Mihoshi gave me the order.  Memory tape rewind."  Suddenly, 
the voice components sounded off Mihoshi's voice.
     "Where should we start to go?"
     "Question invalid, captain," Yukamojo said.  "You are supposed to 
give me the order, Captain."
     "Call me Mihoshi," Mihoshi heard her voice played back on the tape.  
"And I guess we should start at, um, . . . Earth!!"
     "Planting course for Earth in sector fourteen.  Affirmative.  Course 
plotted and destination is under way."
     "Great."
     Mihoshi could hear the whir as the memory finished playing the tape.  
"Oh," the real Mihoshi said.  "I guess I forgot."  She giggled.
     "Yes, well, the course is plotted."  Yukamojo lifted back up to its 
compartment.
     "One more thing."
     "Yes, Mihoshi?"
     "How long til we get there?"
     "Course should be reached in exactly sixty-two Universal hours, which 
equals thirty-three Earth minutes."
     "Wow.  That's fast."
     "Comment invalid, and thus negated."
     "That's not very nice."
     "Comment invalid, and thus negated."
     "Stop saying that!"
     "Order accepted and confirmed."
     "That's better."
     "Indeed."
     "Hey, Yukamojo.  Do you have any emotions?"
     "Question incomprehensive.  Please elaborate."
     "I was just wondering if you could feel hate or love or something.  
You know.  Emotions."
     "Question comprehended.  Answer is no.  Any other questions, Mihoshi?"
     "Can you develop emotions, or, like, learn them or something?"
     "Emotion program doesn't exist.  Any other questions?"
     "No more.  You can go back to your hole now."
     "Thank you, Mihoshi."  The android head lifted itself and rested in 
the compartment.
     "Stupid thing."  Mihoshi settled back and dozed off.


     Mihoshi awoke to the blaring of an alarm.  "Wha?  What is it?!"
     "Mihoshi, landing pad not sensed.  Our decent is coming rapidly.  
Please give coordinates to landing pad."
     "There is no landing pad," Mihoshi said plainly.  "Why did you expect 
Earth to have one?"
     "A landing pad and exact coordinates are needed to make decent, 
Mihoshi.  Please give coordinates."
     "There, um, there is no landing pad.  Can we land without one?"
     "Affirmative, but it will result in a crash."
     "Jeez!  For such a high tech piece of junk, you sure didn't see this 
coming."
     "Comment negated."
     "Don't talk back to me!  Now land this thing somewhere."
     "Yukamojo is thinking. . .  Plan: land in lake to break decent impact. 
Does this confer with pilot?"
     "But I'll get wet!"
     "You'll have less than .000000000000000001% chance to survive if 
option is not taken."
     "Uh, fine then." Mihoshi could see the Earth coming towards them at 
break neck speed, and she started to get scared.  She saw as one of the 
engines burst into flames, and she started to scream.  She saw as one of 
the wings disintegrated, and she really screamed.
     After that, she fainted.

     Yukamojo was not programmed for any emotion.  He had a main frame 
instead of a personality, and a computer mother board instead of a brain.  
His entire existence was controlled by billions upon billions of little 
switches turning on and off.  This is why he did not panic when he first 
detected trouble.  This is why he did not loose his cool when his very self 
started disintegrating in the atmosphere.  This is why he was able to land 
in the lake just beside a small, Earthling house, and break the fall.  His 
other wing was entirely gone and his engines were fried.  The only thing 
left of the ship was the mother board, the main frame, the android head, 
and the pilot.
     It doubted in its logical system of bleeps and blurps that this new 
pilot knew diddly smack about flying such a sophisticated sky flying 
machine such as himself.
     So he shut down, leaving only life support systems on for the pilot.  
She could get her own self out of this mess.  As for him, he was going to 
take a rest, letting his mechanisms unwind and his switches get in order.
     Mihoshi was still lying unconscious when the lights flickered out.  
He had to keep her alive.  That was in his program, but switching up again 
was solely up to him.
     "Goodnight, Mihoshi," the android head said to the unconscious pilot.  
I'll be awaking in a few days, so don't bother trying to wake me.  The life 
support systems should be running out in about a day and a half at the most.
Goodnight, Mihoshi.
	She never heard a word.