OFFICIALLY UNOFFICIAL DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters of Tenchi 
Muyo!. I just added them into my story to add plot. They are owned by Pioneer 
and AIC. I am not looking for a lawsuit, so don't sue me. Thank you. 

	This is my first attempt at a Tenchi fan fic, but I won't whine and say 
don't be harsh. Tell me EXACTLY what you think of it so I can make my next ones 
better. I hope there to be a next one. If anyone has already started reading 
this story, I combined the rest of the chapters, because I didn't want a bunch 
of loose chapters flying about. Just scroll down to wherever you are in the 
story.

This story is set after the OAV's, but before Daughter of Darkness, because I 
haven't seen DoD yet, and I have no idea what Mayuka's character is like. So 
enough with this stuff, time for Tenchi.

And now...

Chapter 1

	The day was cold and blustery when Tenchi left school that day.  The sun 
was closing in on the horizon earlier and earlier everyday as the impending 
winter drew closer.  He hurriedly walked down the stairs of the large brick 
building as the familiar dismissal bells chimed above.  Tenchi shivered as the 
wind blew right through his cotton sweater.
	The walk home was a nice one, for Tenchi was sheltered from the wind by 
the tall trees lining the street.  The colors of fall were out in full force.  
This was one of Tenchi's favorite seasons, he pondered, for the cool air, the 
pungent aromas of the falling leaves, the beautiful blaze of colors the forests 
erupted in.  On these thoughts he reflected on until he reached the gates of the 
Masaki home.  He looked up at the house to have all the good thoughts about the 
autumn shattered.  A frown arched across Tenchi's face.  He sighed then 
remembered that this time of the year marked the three-year anniversary of the 
coming of the Masaki home's unexpected house guests.  Tenchi sighed again before 
stepping into the doorway and seeing what awaited him on the other side.
	To his surprise, the house was quiet.  Tenchi poked his head into the 
living room to see what the muffled conversation he had heard while entering the 
door had been about.  The conversation was in fact a talk show that had been 
left on the television by a snoring Ryoko, who laid sprawled on the futon. No 
doubt it had been left on after the daytime soap opera block both Ryoko and 
Ayeka watched religiously.  Tenchi though about waking Ryoko up, but just then, 
the delicious smell of poultry being cooked sent his stomach growling.  I 
haven't eaten since lunch, he thought to himself; I'm absolutely famished.
	The smell led Tenchi into the kitchen, where he found a busy Sasami and 
Mihoshi, both preparing a gigantic supper.  Mihoshi, who was being coached by 
Sasami on cooking strategies, was the first to notice Tenchi in the doorway.
	"Hi Tenchi!" she said in a loud, cheerful voice, causing Sasami to turn 
around and smile at him.
	"Hi girls, but try to keep it down, Ryoko's asleep,"
	"Oh, she's been asleep almost all day, she needs to be woken up," said 
Sasami in a slightly playful voice.
	"Did she over sleep again?" Tenchi said, little questioning in his voice.
	"She said it's her beauty rest," said Mihoshi, chopping peppers as she 
talked. 
	"She really needs it," said a rather cynical Ayeka from a room over, "Did 
you have a nice time at school today Tenchi?"
	"I heard that," said a groggy voice from the living room.
	"Ryoko, I can't see why you have to constantly sleep.  Lord Tenchi has 
arrived from school, and you lay there like a slug on moss."
	"I'll show you what a slug can do," Ryoko shot back, fire replacing 
fatigue in her eyes.
	Sasami, sensing a growing tension, piped up and said, "Why don't you go 
into town and grab some things for dessert.  This should help you out," and 
handed a slip of paper to Ayeka.
	"Does Lord Tenchi wish to accompany me to the store?"
   	"Ummm," Tenchi thought, "I have a lot of homework I should start, I'd come 
if I could, but it's a lot of work, and..." Tenchi trailed off as Ayeka came 
closer to him.
	"Are you suuurrreee you can't make it?  We could stop at one of those 
cafes and get something to eat, or we could--" Ayeka was interrupted by a pushy 
and demanding Ryoko.
	"Tenchi should stay here with me, we could go to the carrot fields and 
have a picnic--" Now Ryoko was interrupted by a mad and demanding Sasami.
	"Go now, Ayeka!  Tenchi can stay with me and help with dinner."
Both Ryoko and Ayeka exchanged slight growls and stares, but then it was over 
when Sasami whisked Ayeka on her chore and sent Ryoko, alone, to the carrot 
fields to pick some carrots for Ryo-Okie and supper.
	The trip to town was fairly uneventful.  Ayeka had to wear many more 
layers then she's used to, because of the shear cold of the day.  Her look 
reminded her of a picture she had once seen of a woman called a geisha that 
walked the streets of Japan.  The main piece of geisha-like clothing that Ayeka 
wore in her ensemble was a large obie to tie all of her heavy garments together.  
Geisha had been long gone from the streets of rural Japan, so she guessed the 
looks of disbelief were because of her lookalike persona.
	When Ayeka reached the small bake shop, she dug around in her purse for 
the list and retrieved it.  The first thing on the list that was needed was 
three large, plain rice cakes.  Ayeka found these with reasonable ease, for they 
were freshly baked and were advertised all over the small shop.
	The second thing was to get a large container of chocolate frosting, which 
toke a little time to find.  After much snooping, Ayeka gave up trying to look 
for it herself and finally asked the clerk for assistance.  The clerk worked 
quickly to find the frosting, and then offered to find the other supplies on 
Ayeka's list.  She humbly gave him the list and he ran to the back of the store 
without a sound. 
	Ayeka pawed through the little shop, looking at all the little gadgets for 
cooking and cleaning.  All of these separate devices made her appreciate having 
a sister that knew how to use them all.  Before she could start to think about 
how some of these wacky looking devices worked, the clerk was ringing up the 
amount at the front desk.  Ayeka saw the amount for the listed items and paid 
for them out of the money Sasami had handed her as she went out the door.  She 
left with the two small bags and opened the door and left, the door giving a 
friendly jingle as it closed.

	"Wow, I'm getting a huge reading from...," a dark haired man said to a 
blonde woman, "over there," he said, pointing towards the direction of the bake 
shop.
	"What do you think it is?" Asked the woman standing next to him.
	"Well, it almost looks Jurian, the power is through the roof," he said, 
looking into a small screen on a cell phone-sized computer.
	"Let me see that, it must be broken."
	"No, look, it's really high.  Trust me, I don't believe it anymore then 
you do, but I think there might be a Jurian on the planet," the man said in a 
pleading tone.
	"Well, it's worth a look at anyway."
	
	The two found Ayeka walking up the street to a small dirt road.  The man 
nodded to the woman and he darted into the shadows of late afternoon.
	"Hey," the woman called, "Were does this road head?"
	Ayeka turned around and was about to say something, but a hand shot over 
her mouth, hindering her speech. 
	The man in a husky, low down voice said instantly afterwards, "Scream and 
die, girl."
	The woman pulled out a small gun and pointed it to Ayeka's forehead.  
Ayeka's eyes grew huge with fear as tears started to trickle down her face.  She 
saw her life flash before her eyes right before the woman in front of her pulled 
the trigger on the small gun, sending a jolt of white light flowing around her 
head, just below her hairline.  A limp Ayeka then fell into the arms of the dark 
haired man, her mind covered by a deep sleep, almost comatose, as the man slung 
her over his shoulder and began to walk with the woman in the opposite direction 
of the Masaki home. 
 
Chapter 2

	Sasami sat next to the window until she fell asleep there after waiting 
nearly 6 hours for Ayeka's return.  Washu, on the way to the kitchen, saw Sasami 
hunched against the windowsill a little after midnight.  She tried to wake 
Sasami up, but all Washu got in response were a series of mumbled words and 
sighs.  Washu was in the middle of a development, and she did not want to loose 
her current thought, so she decided to leave Sasami there if she wasn't going to 
move.  It didn't take a scientific mind to know if someone wasn't willing to do 
something, that they shouldn't try to push him or her if it wasn't necessary. 
	Sasami woke the next morning to the probing eyes of Ryo-Okie starring back 
at her. She looked outside and realized she was not in her bed. It took her a 
minute to realize where she was, and yet another minute to realize what she was 
doing there. When she put the pieces together, she burst from the windowsill and 
dashed towards Ayeka's room.
	Sasami starred in horror and confusion at Ayeka's perfectly made bed. 
Thoughts raced through her mind.  Where could she be? I doubt she got lost over 
night. Maybe someone else knows...
	Sasami almost tackled Mihoshi as she walked through the hall. 	"Have 
you seen my sister?"
	"Well, I saw her yesterday, and then she left for something, and then, um, 
she, um, and, well, I don't think I've seen her anywhere, but I could be wrong, 
you should try aski-"
	Mihoshi couldn't even finish her thought, which could have taken the 
better part of an hour, before a light went on in Sasami's mind. Tenchi's room. 
Sasami had seen Ayeka asleep in his room a number of times before.
	She darted down two doors to "Lord," as Ayeka called him, Tenchi's room. 
She gazed with the same confusion-laden look she had given Ayeka's room as she 
did Tenchi's. The bed made, Tenchi's school clothes laid out, and no sight of 
her sister. Oh my gosh, she thought, I have to tell someone.
	Sasami almost took flight when she ran head-long down the stairs to the 
living room. The first person she spotted anywhere was Katsuhito, sipping a cup 
of tea.
	"Where's my sister?" she practically babbled.
	"I really don't know, I haven't seen her this morning. Why, is she 
missing?"
	"Yes! She, she left yesterday afternoon and didn't come home last night!"
	"Well, where would she have gone?" asked Nobuyuki from the living room, 
while eating breakfast.	
	"I have no idea! It's not like my sister to just vanish! She must be in 
trouble, or involved in something. I couldn't see her just taking off and not 
letting us know!"
	"Sounds like we have to mount a search party. Sasami, you get everyone 
together, and I'll phone the police."
	Sasami raced around the house to collect all the girls and recruit them as 
volunteers. Everyone in the household, with the exception of Tenchi, who was 
already late for school, Nobuyuki, who was already late for work, and Katsuhito, 
who wasn't late for anything, but just didn't think it was his business or 
problem, was more then willing to help in the search. Even Washu decided to 
join, after a few seconds of tinkering in the lab with a Jurian Power Detect-o-
rama, which she was excited to try.
	The walk into town was rather uneventful, with Sasami being the harbinger 
of the group, scouting every place until they reached to town. Ryoko was rather 
bored and tired, Mihoshi thought it was a load of laughs that Ayeka was gone, 
and Washu just walked and starred at the small screen in her hand that let off a 
beep every four or five seconds. Washu had thought she had figured everything 
out; where she would look, how she would look, and how fast it would take to 
find the lost Ayeka. She thought her calculations were right, but not even the 
greatest scientific mind could have predicted the way things were about to turn.

	"Hey, check this out," said a rather muscular man to his smaller partner, 
"I'm picking up Jurian energy."
	"So, it is true then, there are two Jurians on this planet."
	"Yeah, I guess so, you think we oughta go after them?" said the muscular 
man, in slightly slurred speech.
	"Yes, we shall proceed to capture the Jurian, and then we might be able to 
have a little fun with her and her friends. Nisha and Maylon thought they had 
gotten some status in our organization when they brought the purple-haired 
Jurain in, but we shall show them, when we return with a Jurian and some of her 
friends!" the smaller, obviously smarter man said, as he laughed a painfully 
morbid laugh.

	"Well, let's split up, we will cover more ground," announced Washu when 
the gackle of girls entered into town. "Sasami, and myself in one group, Mihoshi 
and Ryoko will be in the second. Lets go, and we will meet by that clock," Washu 
said, pointing to a large white-faced clock, "at three o'clock. Everyone 
straight? Then lets move out." And with that, the two groups headed in opposite 
directions.

	"Okay, lets surround the group with the Jurian first, take her, and if we 
need the rest, we'll get them later," said the smarter man. "They don't have 
very high power levels, so it will be a snap."

	"Looks like we have the second Jurian in this town, no doubt looking for 
there companion,'' another man said to himself as he was perched on top of a 
two-story merchant's building in the interior of the town. The morning sun hit 
his back, reminding him of how nice it is to be alive. One should never take 
being alive for granted, he thought. "I am a very lucky man to be alive on this 
day," the man said to himself quietly as he typed on his small hand-held 
computer. He spent a minute or two typing at it, mumbling things to himself. He 
collapsed his computer and stashed it in the pocket of his cargo pants. The man, 
his short, blonde hair now covered with a floppy backwards baseball cap, opened 
a door and descended down a flight of stair down to the streets below.

	Washu starred at her holotop as she waited outside a small shop for Sasami 
to finish interrogating the owner to find out if he had seen her sister. My god, 
she thought, I've never seen a power level so high out of an earthling. Oh my, 
it's coming this way! "Ryoko," Washu called telepathically, "could you come here 
and take a look at this for a minute?"
	Ryoko hummed in from her spot on a bench next to a sleeping Mihoshi to see 
what her mother had inquired her assistance about. She looked at Washu, and then 
at the screen on the holotop. "Ryoko, have you ever seen a power level so high? 
It is just a hair lower then 3400. I've never seen someone with such a high 
power reading on this planet. I don't believe they come in peace, either.
	"Neither do I, I'll grab Sasami, and we'll back out of here."
	Just then, a disappointed Sasami moaped out of the store. "No luck," she 
said in a soft, quivering voice.
	"Well, we have a problem, we have some very powerful visitors, and we need 
to get home. NOW," said Washu, her voice slowly rising in seriousness. 
	"But, we haven't eve-," Sasami started, but her protest was cut off by a 
loud, powerful voice.
	"I'm real sorry, we can't let you go home," said the big, muscular man.
	"True, we can not allow that, we have orders to take the Jurian with us," 
said the smaller man from the other side of the girls.
	Acting solely on instinct, Ryoko fired up her saber, the deep orange blade 
extending from her hand. 
	The smaller man rose two fingers towards Ryoko, "I am going to be frank 
with you: any resistance will result in your death. Am I clear on that?" His arm 
tightened, and Ryoko grasped her sword wrist. The saber flickered, and then 
disappeared, as Ryoko fell to her knees, screaming in pain as she held her 
wrist.
	The larger man approached Sasami and Washu. "Here's the Jurian," he said, 
towering in front of little Sasami. "We are going to have a lot of fun 
together," he bellowed as he grabbed Sasami's arm and began to walk away.

Chapter 3

	The blue light cut through the thick neck of the muscular man with little 
effort. The man's body continued to walk for a few steps as his head rolled 
forward from the force of the blast. The burly man fell to the ground as he let 
out a hissing noise and grabbed for his neck. The entire group was completely 
stunned, except for the small man, who was currently working on restraining 
Ryoko from a distance.
	"What the hell?!" he said as he turned toward the shooter. Just as he 
rotated, two more blasts erupted from the dark figure on the street ahead of 
them. The small man put out a hand and the two blasts hit and deflected off a 
purple orb surrounding him. The orb disappeared and the man squinted to see the 
figure a little better.
	The shooter looked at his small, white pistol and dropped it, his hand 
trembling. He took a step back, clearly in fear. A beam of sunlight struck him 
from in between two buildings.
	"Well," said the small man, "you took the shot on my partner but you 
couldn't get up the power to strike me down. Guess you didn't have the guts 
too." The small man began to walk towards the shooter. "That was rather 
unsporting of you to shoot my friend from behind like that. No man would do 
something like that, and surely no man would start a fight and then run away 
when he finds out he's out matched," said the man as he was almost to the 
shooter. The man was close enough to see the attributes of the shooter. 
	The shooter stood there, looking totally stunned. He let out a small 
squeak as the smaller man, who was about equal size, grabbed his collar and 
lifted him off the ground. 
	The small man brought the shooter's face right up to his and spat, "But 
you're only a boy, a boy without courage or pride. A boy that will never become 
a man."
	As the confrontation with the two men was taking place, Sasami finally 
realized what had happened. Seeing the boy that had saved her life and who was 
about to be killed in the hands of a monster, Sasami let out a plea to possibly 
save the boy's life.
	"Please," she screamed, "leave him alone, now!"
	"The little Jurian wishes to speak, does she?" the small man said as he 
turned to face Sasami, still clutching the terrified boy.  "Well, don't worry 
little one, your time will come soon enough, and you will be able to meet this 
boy in the after life."
	"I think you ought to listen to the little one," the boy said from atop 
the small man's fist.
	The small man turned in surprise of the calmness and confidence of the 
boy's voice, not to mention the adultness and maturity. This was a total change 
from the young, scared attitude of a half-second ago. "Oh, you think so? So 
you've found your voice have you? Well, you can say goodbye to that for the time 
being!" said the small man as he brought his glowing fist back and readied it to 
strike.
	Sasami, seeing that his death was immanent, called a desperate "NO!" to 
the boy to maybe stop the fist from going through him.
	The small man let his bright-yellow fist go into the boy's stomach, fury 
in his eyes. Washu was coming to her senses, and Ryoko had blacked out from the 
horrendous pain of her wrist. Everyone who was conscious watched the fist cruise 
into the boy's midsection.
	And it was everyone but the boy who was surprised the fist didn't go 
through the boy's body. The small man had figured he had severely damaged the 
boy's small body, but was extra surprised when he felt a pain cut through the 
arm he used to punch.
	It was Washu that had realized first that the boy had caught the fist and 
now had a good hold on it. Sasami had closed her eyes, expecting a messy scene 
when she opened them.
	The small man hadn't realized his hand was caught until he felt the other 
hand, the one that was firmly placed on the boy's neck, had suddenly left it's 
position on his collar. He looked at the boy, who was still in front of him. The 
small man tried to pull his fist back to attempt a second shot on the boy. He 
tugged but got resistance. He then glanced back that the boy, that had seemed to 
gain adult-like features, and saw him dart behind the man, with his fist still 
in the boy's hand. 
	Washu had a little trouble understanding what was going on, while Sasami 
was totally lost. Just then Mihoshi ran up to catch up with Washu, Ryoko and 
Sasami. Mihoshi raised her blaster and aimed at the two and Washu immediately 
put a hand on the blaster to gesture not to shoot. Mihoshi, with a look of 
bewilderment, lowered the pistol and starred at the two men grappling.
	The small man found the boy behind him, the boy twisting his arm around 
his back. The small man, who was immobilized by the cheap shot, said jokingly, 
"Isn't that a bit of a sissy move?"
	The boy looked at him with a slight grin. "Would a sissy be able to do 
this?" he said as he wound up and drove a glowing right fist into the shoulder 
of the small man in front of him. The small man let out a scream of pain as he 
saw his shoulder-blade be ripped forward, away from his neck. A gruesome crunch 
could be heard as metal hit flesh that was covering more metal. The small man 
went limp after realizing that all feeling had left the severed shoulder.
	The boy recoiled his fist and let go of the arm that led to the broken 
shoulder. The small man seemed to slump on to his feet when the boy left go of 
him. The boy moved his mouth next to the small mans ear and said softly, "You 
know what mistake you made?"
	The boy waited for a moment, and without hearing a response, answered, 
"You called an A-type a sissy."
	The small man, all of a sudden rejuvenated with energy bellowed, "You 
don't think you can con me into thinking you're an A-type?! There are no such 
things. People simply invented that myth so they-"
	The boy whipped the small man around by pushing on the other shoulder, so 
they were face to face. The small man stopped dead in his speech, surprised by 
the boy's quickness. 
"Don't think I am an A-type? Figured I ought to tell you, so you could die 
knowing someone as powerful as you are was defeated by a small, immature boy." 
And with this, the boy swung his fist back, cocked it fast, and drove it into 
the man's stomach, keeling him over. The man's body once again went limp, but 
the boy was sure he wasn't getting up again.
	The man slumped down, not making a sound. The boy released his grip from 
the man's collar and grabbed him by the hair as the man fell. The boy then used 
his other hand to reach to his belt and slipped out a small white pistol and 
brought to the unconscious man's neck. He pushed the cold metal front of the gun 
against the man's neck, stood back a ways, still clutching the man's hair, and 
fired a single shot. The man's head flew back from the impact and the boy 
dropped him to the ground in front of him.
	Washu was just coming to her senses and realized the fight was now over. 
Just about all the others in the group, with the exception of Mihoshi, of 
course, saw this as well. But when the rest of the group was starring at the 
cold-blooded murder they had just witnessed, Washu was focused on the murderer, 
the boy, and his arm. His arm was covered in something like a metallic glove, 
with red bands going down the side of it. She had noticed it was glowing during 
the battle, but hadn't paid much attention to it because of her confusion. Now 
she noticed it was not glowing, and that the boy's power had gone down. The 
boy's power had been so strong, it radiated out from him. Washu hadn't noticed 
this radiation because of her lapse of confusion, but now that the boy's power 
level had gone down, the atmosphere around her didn't feel as it should, since 
she had been accustomed to the power around her during the fight.
	The boy had knelt down and seemed to dig inside of the dead man's throat 
until he found a metallic object and put it in a small, clear test tube-like 
collection veil. The boy then proceeded to walk over to the other, larger dead 
man, and did the same type of collection with the metallic object in the larger 
man's neck. The boy then walked towards the smaller man, and halfway there, bent 
over and picked up the gun he had purposely dropped. 
	All the girls that were still conscious met eyes, and without saying a 
word, they all knew they had to get out of there. Fast. They all starred at each 
other for a second or two more, verifying that they all figured that if they 
didn't leave, they would be next.  
	Then Sasami broke off the stare and said in a hushed tone, "What do we do 
about Ryoko?" The group then starred at Ryoko's limp body. 
	The group, thinking, all symotaniously jumped when they heard the 
unfamiliar voice of the boy say, "I could offer my assistance to bring your 
friend home."
	The group turned in fear and surprise toward the boy.
"Trust me, I saved you, and I will not hurt you. Especially the Jurian," he said 
as he pointed at Sasami. "I am being paid to protect her."

Chapter 4

	"Your name is WHAT?" asked a shrill Sasami as the group walked back to the 
Masaki residence.
	"Seaguar Haphin," the boy replied. "And you must be the one from Jurai." 
He stopped and dug into one of the cargo pockets of his navy blue pants. He then 
raised his hand, revealing a small pop-up computer screen. He typed a few keys 
on the tiny keyboard as the group stopped and waited for him. After spending a 
second or two looking at the computer's glowing screen, he looked up at Sasami 
and said, "You are Ayeka of the Royal Family?"
	Sasami looked puzzled for a moment, as did the rest of the group. After 
being starred at for a moment, Seaguar quickly typed in a few more commands and 
then, as if answering a question said, "Oh, then you are Sasami, Ayeka's little 
sister. I am very sorry, no one gave me pictures of the two Royal Daughters, so 
I took a guess."
	"Wait, do you know where my sister is? If you do you must tell me!" Sasami 
rattled in a quick burst.
	"Yes, and no. I know who has her, and yes, she was kidnapped, but I do not 
know where she is."
	"Well, " chimed in Washu from the back of the group, "you're really 
informed, aren't you?"
	"Trust me, I have orders to retrieve the princess and I already have a 
plan worked out. We need to take it easy for the time being, and I can explain 
how we, since I found the princess's sister, are going to get her back."
	"How can we 'take it easy' at a time like this!" Sasami said in a mocking 
tone. The other group members seemed to agree by nodding or giving a positive 
sigh.
	"I have a lot to explain, so we might need a place to sit down."

	The group made its way home, no one making a sound until they reached the 
front steps of the Masaki home. When inside, Washu took the still out-cold Ryoko 
into her room in the Masaki house and applied a band over her daughter's wrist. 
With the flick of a switch, the band illuminated in a blue glow, covering 
Ryoko's lower arm. Sasami showed the group to the living room were, being the 
hostess she was taught to be, asked everyone if they would like any 
refreshments. Everyone said something, either a drink or a snack. All except 
Seaguar, who lost his appetite when the whole group starred at him from every 
direction. He almost felt claustrophobic.  
 	When Sasami and Washu returned and sat down, the barrage of questions 
began. First to speak was Washu, who asked in a serious tone, "Why did you kill 
those two men back in town?"
	Seaguar thought he was being scolded by a child for saving her and her 
friends. Of course, Seaguar looked no older then 16 years old himself. Of 
course, that was by the Earth calendar.
	"I thought I saved you from them. I mean, they were way too powerful for 
you. They already did a number on the other girl, you want them to do that to 
you too?"
	"Who are 'They'?" asked Washu.
	"'They' are a race of genetically altered human-aliens who have been 
introduced to this planet for the sole purpose of making the perfect solider."
	Washu was the only one who seemed to understand, and understood that it 
sounded like a joke. Both Sasami and Mihoshi looked baffled.
	"Please explain that," Sasami said in her most adult-like voice.
	"Well, ok, here is the story. A race of creatures calling themselves the 
Heshiou were conquered by another, more powerful civilization, who was a direct 
faction of a Jurian colony and that took over and almost destroyed the Heshiou's 
small home planet in their thirst for domination. The main reason the Jurian 
faction wanted to capture the planet was because of the extremely high power 
levels of the Heshiou and harnesses this power and use the people as slaves. The 
Heshiouans knew of their great powers, but because of their bodily limitations, 
they were unable to tap into it."
	"What was wrong with their bodies?" asked Sasami, engrossed in the story.
	"Well, the problem was that the bodies of the Heshiou were very large and 
cumbersome. They had great strength from this power, using the power internally, 
but could not use this power externally, for uses like energy attacks or 
defensive shields. They tried to uncover the mystery behind using external 
energy, but the Jurian dictators captured and enslaved the Heshiou before they 
could do so."
	"Well, these people don't sound like they are very smart, if they can't 
even learn to-" Washu start.
	"Do not get me the slightest bit wrong,'' said Seaguar in a deadly serious 
tone. "These people are fairly advanced. They have the technical ability of a 
type 3 world. These people aren't the smartest of beings, but they are extremely 
vengeful."
	"Well, if they are so smart, then why couldn't they discovery how to use 
external energy?"
	"That was my next point. The Heshiou did find out how to use this energy, 
but it was during their captivity under the Jurian dictators. From my 
understanding, the Heshiou collected their most intelligent scientifically minds 
and put them to work devising a plan to use this energy to free their people 
from a life of slavery. Since all the scientist had never been organized 
together, this kind of work was ground-breaking." Seaguar stopped for a moment 
and looked down towards the table. "I know this might sound kind of strange, but 
this is the story I was told."
	"Please go on, Sir," said Sasami a polite tone.
	"Yes," he started, but was cut off by the front door opening.
	"So," a voice from the front door called, "Did you find Ayek-?" Tenchi 
stopped dead in speech when he walked into the living room. His eyes roamed the 
table, until he asked, "Where's Ayeka? And Ryoko?" He shot a glance at Seaguar. 
"And who are you?"
	"Please, sit down, my name is Seaguar, and you should probably hear this 
if you have heard about the Princess's disappearance.
	Tenchi sighed and sat down next to Washu, who whispered to him a short 
summary of the day's events.
  	Seaguar began his rhetoric once again. "The scientists found the problem 
was on a cellular level, and nothing could be done about it at the time. The 
only way that their work would become a reality was if they could find a certain 
cell type that would conform to the Heshiou's cell type. They had to mutate the 
Heshiou's body structure to combine with this system perfectly. When the 
scientists discovered this, they then had to find a planet that had this perfect 
match of variables. And the body type's criteria fell perfectly with this 
planet's inhabitants."
	"So these 'scientists' breed this super-organism on this planet? Why on 
this planet?" Asked Washu impatiently and slightly mockingly.
	"Well they used this planet for a couple of reasons. One, was that the 
inhabitants of this planet, or humans as they call themselves, are around one 
sixth Jurian. The Jurian cell type is almost perfect for the power to produce 
external energy, which is why they are such skilled fighters."
	Washu looked and nodded at Seaguar, then asked, "Why didn't these people, 
why didn't they just simply use a one percent Jurian body type instead of the 
ones on this planet? I mean, almost all planets are populated with Jurians, of 
some level or form."
	"There are two reasons for this," he stopped for a moment, "This planet is 
extremely remote, and has no contact with Jurai. Therefore, the refugee 
Heshiouan scientists could work without disturbance."
	Seaguar looked at Washu to make sure she understood. She starred back and 
said, as if to reassure him that she was paying attention, "Yeah, go on."
	"The second reason for using this planet is the speeded maturity of the 
humans. If the Heshiou were to use hundred percent Jurians, then it would take 
close to 8000 years for a fighter to mature to the point of being a master. This 
is because Jurian energy is gained through maturity. The older one is to the 
point of full physical maturity, then the more power that one has. The human 
population has an extremely fast growth rate, which means a fighter can be 
matured at around 27 years. This means more fighters over a shorter amount of 
time. This is how the Heshiou have been building their army." 
	"Wow," said Washu, although only mildly impressed.
	Sasami, after poking Mihoshi to wake her up, asked, "What are they going 
to do to my sister?"
	"Tell you the truth, I have no idea. Surely they will not kill her. If 
these Heshiou are like any Heshiou, they will wait and think about what to do. I 
am guessing they will use her as a bargaining tool if they find out she is 
royalty.  If they don't find that out, they will just take her hostage and try 
to get somewhere in the Jurian government."
	Tenchi, after hearing the story, asked sarcastically, "What is the 
difference between a 'bargaining tool' and a hostage?"
	"A hostage," Seaguar started, "Is much less valuable then a person of 
royalty. These people will do anything to try and take apart the Jurian 
government. The Heshiou are breed instinctively to seek out the oppressors of 
their people and either destroy them or make them pay. If they find out she is 
royalty, then they know they can take a considerable chunk out of someone or 
something in the higher ranks. If it is a hostage, the Heshiou must bring more 
attention to the prisoner to make people see and care about what is going on for 
the Heshiou to make any headway. This means putting the hostage in harm's way to 
make a point of her being held. Mistakes could happen this way, leading to the 
hostage's death."
	"So, which is better, a hostage or a bargaining tool?'' questioned Washu. 
	"I'd have to say that a bargaining tool is better, it is worth more to the 
enemy to keep the bargainee alive then to have it dead. A hostage could wind up 
dead by accident, just because of the shear risk involved in a hostage 
situation."
	"Well, looks like neither are very good. Why don't we find Ayeka now 
instead of just sitting around!" asked a charged Tenchi.
	"You see, these people are not easy to find, unless they are looking for 
you. I don't think they will risk losing any more fighters in pursuit of the 
younger Jurian. The Heshiou will send representatives out in ships with the 
older Jurian to bring her to a place were they can connect with the Jurai and 
stage bargaining."
	"Yeah, and what does this have to do with us finding Ayeka?"
	"It will be a lot easier to see a ship moving out of this system then it 
would be to look for the Jurian on ground, yes? We will wait until we get a 
confirmation on a ship leaving this planet's atmosphere, and then follow it. 
This will lead us to where they are holding the Jurian."
	Washu locked eyes to emphasize importance, "I am guessing you have a 
ship?"
	"Of course," Seaguar said nonchalantly, "how do you think I got here? The 
only thing I need is a short car ride and I'm set to leave."

Chapter 5

	Seaguar tended to give bad directions, so what originally was supposed to 
be a half-hour drive turned into an hour long hell ride. Tenchi was behind the 
wheel, while Washu and Seaguar sat in the back seat of the white compact car. 
Seaguar was having a bit of trouble trying to see things in the darkness outside 
the car, and the fact his knees were crushed into the seat in front of him 
didn't help to clear his mind. Seaguar was also being bombarded by the barking 
of an increasingly cranky Tenchi. Seaguar knew Tenchi was probably a little 
tense, and he could see that he had feelings for the Jurian. But Tenchi was a 
little more then tense. He was just below murderous.
	When the car finally pulled up to the small ranch house owned by Seaguar, 
both Seaguar and Washu were more then glad to be out of the car. Without giving 
either of the two escapees a chance to say anything, Tenchi rolled down the 
window on the passenger side and called, "I want you back at my house in 15 
minutes, you hear?! I'm not gonna let you take off without me knowing about it. 
That's why I'm leaving Washu with you, she won't let you get away." And with 
that, he sped off into the night.
	"So, where's your ship?" asked Washu in her 12-year-old voice.
	"Well, your tagging along, aren't you. Come on. This way." 
As Seaguar began walking, Washu didn't move. "You know, I'm not as young as you 
think. I am probably, oh, about 11,000 years older then you. If my calculations 
to your age are right."
Seaguar turned around. "So you mean to tell me you're over 19,000 years old! 
Yeah, sure, hold on a minute kid, I can prove your--"
	"Actually, I'm 20,000 years old, by this planet's calendar. A little bit 
over." Washu put on a fake blush. "I haven't told anyone my real age in a while. 
I look pretty good for my age, don't I!"
	Ugh, Seaguar thought, a kid that thinks she's an adult. This is not going 
to be a fun assignment. Of course, I knew that from the beginning. And with 
that, he called Washu and they made their way to his ship.
	"So, where's your ship?" repeated Washu.
	"Where is the only place I could hide a ship around here?"
	"Probably in that big old barn over there, maybe."
	"That's right, child. Right in that barn. You sure you're not scared?" 
Seaguar teased.
	"If you have a bio-scan on your ship, I can prove my age."
	"That won't be necessary, now, is it Washu?"
	"Well, yes," Washu said as Seaguar opened one of the huge barn doors, 
	"but can you call me Little Washu?" Washu began to giggle.
	"Why would I call you Little Washu when I can just call you Little Child 
instead?" Seaguar said and smiled.
The barn door opened with a loud creak as the hinges gave out cries of old age. 
Seaguar stepped around the opposite door and flicked a switch, showering the 
barn with light.
	"Quite a ship you have."
	"Yes, it's a newer model," Seaguar said, walking up to the white and 
silver cruiser. The ship was fairly long for a small cruiser, with large black 
engines in the rear for atmosphere breaching. The ship, all in all, was around 
120', with a maximum fuselage height of about 25 feet. The ship started in the 
front with a cutoff point and tapered back, the front end looking like a bullet. 
Just behind the front was a triangular vent on each side, each with 5 long 
grates running across them. Just behind the vents, two angled wings jutted down 
and tapered back. Approximately 15 feet from were the wing's back end joined 
with the ship, three sleek, black engines angled back with the same pitch as the 
wings did. All in all, the ship reminded Washu of a large, silver carrot with 
wings. She smiled and dismissed the thought as she walked toward the spot were a 
door hissed to the ground. 
	"Please step aboard, ma'lady," Seaguar said as he bowed and stretched a 
hand toward the door.
	"No thanks, you go first. But your politeness is appreciated."
	"Alright." Seaguar walked towards the hatch and walked up it. He trotted 
up the stairs and stopped at the top and waited for a moment. A beep sounded 
above him as a small metal arm descended from above. The device formed a tiny 
pane of green glass and rested it in front of Seaguar's eye. The green glass 
lighted up and ran a light over his eye. The device retracted back to where it 
had come from as the ship's interior lighted up. Seaguar then continued into the 
ship and into the bridge.
	"Oh, I see," said Washu as she trailed Seaguar into the ship, "you wanted 
me to trigger the security system. I don't even want to know what would have 
happened if I had done that."
	"Yeah, would have given me a laugh." If only anyone knew how much I needed 
one now, Seaguar thought.
	Seaguar continued down into the bridge and plopped down into his chair. 
The front, which looked solid and metallic from the exterior, turned out to be 
almost entirely clear from the interior. Washu clambered in to the bridge, which 
wasn't very big, and peered out the glass at the back of the barn outside.
	Seaguar began typing on a small hand-held computer. With a few quick key 
strokes and a beep, the consoles around the bridge lit up in an array of colors. 
In the middle of the controls, a small holographic image of a woman's face 
appeared on a black cylinder. Although the face looked like a woman's, the voice 
that emitted from the image sounded more masculine, but not too much. A very 
mature woman, maybe, a little seductive, thought Washu as she listened.
	"Tammy, boot up all life support and propulsion systems. Cool down engines 
and prepare them for firing. Check the plasma core and warm up the rods. Get 
everything ready for system breaching. I think that's it. Just run a code 3 on 
the electronic systems too. Just to be safe."
	"Jesus, bark a few more orders at me why don't ya. Looks like your going 
on a trip. Got any passengers?" asked the face.
	"But of course," said Seaguar, "but different one's then you'd expect. We 
have a live cargo this time around."
	"You didn't get one of them alive did you?"
	"No, these are folks we are working for. Just bringing them along. I do 
have the other sorts of passengers though."
	"Oh goodie! I'll take those!" said the hologram excitedly, changing from 
the loud, rich voice to a more giddy girlish voice.
	Seaguar dug in his pocket for a second and pulled out 4 clear veils, each 
filled with a little metallic object. Washu watched this whole scene play out, 
and remembered the veil from the incident in town. 
	Seaguar held them in his hand for a moment and rolled them in his palm. He 
held each up and examined each for a second, and then brought them close to the 
hologram.
	"Look good," said the image.
	"Yeah, this will keep us afloat for a while, money-wise anyway."
	"I'll take them for now, keep 'em on ice." No sooner had the image spoken 
then a small claw-like hand protruded out of the wall beside Seaguar's chair. 
Seaguar held up the veils and the hand took all four of them, all grasped in 
it's two thin, bone-like fingers. The fingers retracted, and Seaguar began to 
stare out the front of the bridge.
	"So, what now?" Asked Washu from behind him.
	"I have no idea."

Hey, Hey, Hey! Looks like you made it through. This is all I have done up until 
now. If you have gotten this far, please take a short, meager 5 minutes of your 
time and tell me what you think. I really do get excited when people like or 
hate my story. I will finish this story, someday, maybe, whenever I can get some 
time away from school. But please, send all comments, criticisms, and ticking 
packages to Fullcircle420@aol.com. Thanks for reading.