Okay, time for the standard disclaimer.  Tenchi Muyo is the
property of AIC and Pioneer LDC.  I own only the writing.  This
fic is based on the OAV/MnE universe.

The Last Avatar- Part 3
The Day Hope Died


	"Commander, I am detecting a anomalous reading two meters
to your right."
	Carvin Kenzaki looked down at the tiny hologram emitting from
his wristwatch, his Personal Field Assistant, Kaeya.  "Specify," he
ordered.
	The two inch girl looked to her right, as if reading something
out of sight.  "It appears, Sir," she began, "That the wall is
hollow."
	He looked to his right and saw the stone brick wall Kaeya
was talking about.  It appeared old and worn with age.  He ran his
palm light over it, searching for cracks that would suggest a
hidden door.  "Are you sure, Kaeya?"  he asked.
	The girl nodded.  "Definitely.  Something behind it is emitting
a low level thoron field, which might explain why other scans may
have missed it.  To my knowledge, military PFA's are the only
portable scanners capable of seeing through a thoron field."
	He turned his light to the Mallin guide he had brought with
him.  "Help me here," he ordered quickly.
	"Yes, Sir, Sir," the guide replied and walked up beside him.
	Finally a lead.  He had been searching this temple for almost
six hours with nothing to show for it.  He had come here hoping that
he would find some clue, no matter how minute, that would help him
get a handle on how the Order of Tokimi worked.
	So far nothing.
	<Let's hope that changes,>  he thought.  He and the Mallin
threw their shoulders against the wall.  After four good hits, the
wall collapsed revealing a narrow tunnel.  He flashed his light down
the tunnel and started down it.  The Mallin followed.
	The tunnel opened up into a small chamber filled with the
charred remains of several, small chests.  His light fell upon a
small, mostly intact chest in one corner of the room.  "Kaeya?"  he
asked.
	"The chest appears to be the source of the thoron field," she
replied.
	"Is it safe to open?"  he asked.
	"One moment, Sir,"  she told him.  She scanned the trunk
intently.  "I'm reading some bomb elements, Sir, the remnants of a
booby trap, apparently.  However, my scans indicate that it has been
inactive for quite some time."
	Carvin carefully reached out and undid the latch on the chest.
"You're sure, right?"  he asked.
	"Yes, Sir,"  Kaeya told him.
	He opened the chest and braced himself to jump clear, just in
case.  The lid opened with a creak, but that was all.  Carvin looked
inside to find several scrolls.  He took one out and blinked in shock
as it disintegrated in his hands.  They must have been thousands of
years old.  He bit his lip anxiously.  In order to read the scroll
you had to unravel it, but in order to keep it from disintegrating
you had to *not* unravel it.
	"Kaeya," he said.  "Can you scan the scrolls in this chest and
make a copy of what's written on them?"
	Kaeya blinked and conducted a scan.  "The ink used seems to be
based on an organic substance, possibly blood.  I believe I can scan
them and form separate characters, but it will require time."
	"How much time?"
	"Ten minutes, perhaps."
	"Get started," he ordered.
	"Yes, Sir.  If you could point me in the right direction, Sir.
I need to use the organic bio scanners to do this properly."
	Carvin removed the PFA from his wrist and pointed it at the
chest.  A beam of light shot from the watch and struck the first
scroll as Kaeya scanned it.
	That's when he heard the scream.
	His head shot around, back from where they came.  His hand went
to the PP70 blaster pistol in its holster on his right hip.  He
gestured to the Mallin and waited for him to approach.  He handed
the PFA to the alien and pointed at  the chest.  "Keep her pointed
at the chest until she tells you she's finished," he told him.
	The Mallin guide nodded.  "Yes, Sir, Sir," it told him.  It
pointed Kaeya in the right direction and watched as Carvin pulled
the blaster and started down the hall.

	Ayeka spooned up some soup and took a taste.  It had a spicy
flavor to it, but thought it quite good.  She nodded in approval
and took another sip.  Sitting at the other end of the dining room
table, Prince Vazner looked up.  "You approve, I hope," he said.
	She nodded.  "Yes, quite good."
	Vazner took a breath and spoke again.  "This problem with
Danitan," he began, "May I ask your impressions?"
	Ayeka gave it honest thought.  "Truthfully I don't know," she
finally said.  The others at the table, Vazner's family, General
Redara and his aides, and her Jurain guards looked at her in
disappointment.
	"Another war, Milady?"  Redara asked.
	"I hope not," she told him.
	"If there is to be another war,"  one of Redara's aides, a
young Lieutenant named, "Azin," spoke up, "We will make sure it is
a short one."
	Redara shook his head.  "Don't be too anxious, Azin.  War is
not something you look forward to.  Anyone who has fought in the
last one knows this."
	Mina nodded in agreement.  "I know what you mean, General.
That's part of the reason I'm in this job.  To make sure that wars
like that never happen again."
	"You were in the war, Ms. Todara?"  Azin asked.  She nodded.
"Were you in a MASH or administrative?"
	Mina arched an amused eyebrow.  Redara smiled apologetically.
"Please forgive my aide, Major," he begged.  "He's fresh out of the
Academy and does not have much foreign experience.  In the Mollidoni
services, women are relegated to medical or rear echelon positions.
We don't put our women into front line combat."
	Azin blinked.  "Combat?"
	Mina smiled.  "Yes, combat.  I served with the Fifteenth King's
Carbineers at Zazras Six."
	"*You* were at Zazras?"
	She nodded.  "That's right.  Right after that the Service
began a recruiting drive for young women with combat experience,
and I was drafted into Military Intelligence.  I spent the rest of
the war on Danitan, taking holographs of the orbital shipyards."
	Azin looked at her with about ten times more respect than he
had before.  Ayeka smiled.  The Mollidoni's view towards women was
something that bothered her.  They were a very chivalrous people,
but often at the expense of the rights of women.  She was glad to
see Mina put the young soldier in his place.
	"Well then, Major,"  Vazner began, "What is your take on the
situation with the Danitan?"
	Mina thought for a moment.  "There's something else going on.
It makes no sense for them to attack now."
	"Since when has war made sense?"  Redara pointed out.
	"Or the Danitans, for that matter?"  Vazner's younger brother,
Davner, threw in.
	Mina didn't back down.  "All I'm saying is that in *this* case,
I would definitely investigate further before doing something drastic.
It's hard to stop a war once it gets going.  The trick is to keep
it from starting at all."
	"Keep an eye on this one,"  Davner told Ayeka.  "I get the
feeling the good General here would steal her away if he could."
He grinned.
	"Admittedly,"  Redara conceded, "Intelligence gathering has
not been our strongest area."  He eyed Mina critically.   "Perhaps
the Major *would* consider coming to work for us."
	"I'm sure something could be arranged,"  Ayeka said before
Mina could utter a word.  "In the name of strengthening the bonds
between Jurai and Mollidon."
	Vazner smiled at this and stood up.  The rest of the Mollidoni
quickly stood with him.  "Your Majesty, would you care to take a
walk in the garden with me?"
	Ayeka blushed slightly and nodded.  "I think I'd like that."

	Carvin held the blaster up as he turned the corner.  Up ahead
was another turn that lead to the arena he had found earlier.  He
could hear someone panting and the sound of a woman's voice.
	"I just had a...a vision,"  he heard her say.  "I think it was
from Tsunami.  I saw a tree, a black tree.  There were people here,
and there was a duel..."  The voice paused.  "He was here," the
voice finally continued.  Carvin inched along the wall as he
listened and raised the blaster to a firing position.  "The man who
killed Tenchi.  I...I saw a bonding...I...I can't remember anthing
else...I..."
	Carvin stepped out from around the corner and leveled the
blaster at the source of the voice.  A blue haired woman stood
there, a hand-held voice recorder at her lips.  Carvin took a moment
to admire her lithe frame.  She was wearing a simple shirt and
khaki shorts that showed off a good bit of her legs.  Carvin didn't
mind that at all.  Her blue hair was long, her exposed skin was
coated in sweat, and she was trembling slightly.
	Suddenly, she gasped and turned!  Her hand flew to something
at her belt, and before Carvin knew it, a three foot shaft of blue
light was in her hands.  He raised the gun.
	"Drop the sword!"  he ordered.
	"Drop the gun!"  she countered.
	"The sword!"
	"The gun!"
	They faced off for another minute.  Carvin studied her face.
She was familiar somehow, but he couldn't place the face right then.
Her breathing was shallow.  She was frightened.
	Extremely frightened.
	He got the feeling that *he* wasn't the one who had frightened
her.  He held his hand up, palm outward and clicked on the safety
on his blaster.  "Okay," he said gently.  "Just relax."  The woman
pointed her sword at him fearfully as she tried to get ahold of
herself.  Carvin slowly put the blaster back in its holster.  "It's
okay," he repeated.  "Just douse the sword, all right?"
	The woman swallowed nervously and took a deep breath.  "Who
are you?"  she demanded.
	Before he could reply, he heard something behind him and
turned.  His Mallin guide stood there, holding his PFA.  "Mr. Kenzaki,
zaki," he said, echoing himself, "It is finished, finished..."
Suddenly, his four eyes went wide and he gasped.  Something reached
out from behind him and plucked the PFA from his hand.  The Mallin
fell forward, a wicked looking knife handle protruding from his
back!
	Another Mallin stood over the body.  It gave them a quick
glance before rushing down the tunnel from which he had come.
Carvin, shocked for a moment, recovered and drew his blaster again,
raking the corridor with fire.
	"Dammit!"  he cried and took off in pursuit, leaving the
woman behind.  He had to get Kaeya back.  She had the only clue he
had found!  He turned the corner and leveled the blaster, but found
the corridor empty.  He saw a flash of movement head up a flight
of stone steps at the end of the corridor and ran after it.

	Sasami watched the man run off and was about to chase after
him when she heard something.
	An explosion.
	It sounded like it came from outside.  She started back down
the main corridor until the light of day hit her.  She winced and
waited for her eyes to adjust to the light.  Stepping outside, she
turned and saw that her speeder was in flames!  She ran forward and
stopped when she realized it would be futile to try to put the fire
out.  The speeder was already little more than a charred hulk, and
she had nothing to put the flames out with anyway.
	She tensed suddenly.
	There was something wrong.
	She felt cold.
	Her hand wrapped around her lightsword hilt.  She had
deactivated it before coming outside.  The cold wouldn't leave.
She was standing only a few meters away from a burning wreck in
the middle of a sweltering jungle, yet she was freezing.  The canyon
she had discovered was not far away, neither was the other speeder.
	The cold was strange, but familiar.  She tried to remember
where she had felt this way before.  She closed her eyes and took
a deep breath.  It was on the very tip of her mind.  A face flashed
before her mind's eye, and she suddenly remembered where and when
she had felt this way last.  She turned quickly and ignited her
sword as she cried the name that belonged to the face she had seen.
	"TENCHI!"
	It wasn't a moment too soon.  She brought her sword up just
in time to deflect a blow from another lightsword, a blood red
sword that burnt brightly in the hands of a dark haired woman....
	Arrayed in coal-black Jurain war paint and clothing.

	Carvin entered a chamber he had not been inside before.  He
paused and raised the blaster a hair.  The chamber was large, light
poured in from the skylight several meters above.  There was a hole
in the floor almost six meters in diameter.  Carvin could just make
out the arena almost thirty meters below.
	He walked forward cautiously, stretching out with his senses,
hoping to find the Mallin.
	He was just walking through the entranceway when a hand came
down on his wrist from his left.  Carvin yelped in pain, his blaster
flew from his hand!  Reacting quickly, he grabbed the arm and
twisted, but the Mallin was ready and lashed out with a booted foot,
catching Carvin in the stomach.  Carvin fell back and hit the
ground with a thud, gasping for breath.
	He looked up and saw the Mallin draw a knife from his belt.
He started forward and raised it over his head, preparing to bring
it down on Carvin.  The SIS agent raised his legs and planted his
feet on the Mallin's chest, then pushed out with all his strength.
The Mallin stumbled backwards.  Carvin jumped to his feet and
rushed forward.  He didn't waste time looking for his blaster.  He
had to take advantage of the opportunity at hand.
	The Mallin recovered faster than Carvin had hoped and raised
the knife threateningly.  Carvin stopped on a dime and readjusted
his plan of attack, searching the room for his fallen blaster.
The Mallin took two wide swipes at him.  Carvin managed to avoid
the swipes, and as the Mallin made a third, rushed forward and
grabbed the alien's wrist.  Carvin brought the wrist down on his
knee three times before he heard the metallic clack that told him
the knife had hit the ground.  He let go of the Mallin's wrist and
brought his fist up and into the alien's face.
	The Mallin stumbled backwards toward the hole.  Carvin raced
forward and grabbed the alien by the front of the shirt just as he
was falling backwards into the hole.  The Mallin cried out in fear
and shock, but Carvin held him there.  The alien's feet were half
over the edge, and his body was leaning too far back to stop himself
from falling if Carvin let go of his shirt.
	"Give me the watch,"  Carvin ordered quietly.  The Mallin
looked at him.  "Give me the watch,"  he repeated.  "I won't ask
again,"  the agent told him seriously.
	The Mallin nodded fearfully and slowly reached into his pocket.
Carvin didn't budge, keeping the alien in an iron grip.  The alien
removed Kaeya from his pocket and held the watch out to Carvin.
Carvin took the watch and examined it quickly.
	He turned back to the Mallin...
	And let him go.
	The Mallin screamed as it fell thirty meters to the arena
floor below.  Carvin looked down through the hole, his face a mask
of anger.  He put the watch back on, adjusted his shirt, and turned
away from the sight of the murderer's body below.

	Sasami blocked two more slashes and continued to move
backwards.  The dark-haired woman continued her relentless attack,
slashing at the princess without pause.  Sasami could barely keep
up.  She hadn't been able to go on the offensive once.
	The woman screamed at her in rage and attacked again.  Sasami
ducked under a slash and slipped, hitting the ground with a grunt.
She gasped out and rolled right as the woman stabbed at her, the
tip of her lightsword striking the ground right where Sasami's head
had been only a second before.  Sasami quickly climbed to her feet
and gritted her teeth.  This woman was dressed exactly as the
assassin had been.  There was a connection.
	She raised her sword and charged.  The woman leapt up and
somersaulted over Sasami's head, landing nimbly on her feet behind
her.  Sasami managed to turn in time to block the woman's attack
and, this time, even managed to make a few attacks of her own.
	The woman leapt back several meters, landing between two
tall, ancient trees.  She grinned at Sasami and lashed out with her
light blade.  The two trees creaked and groaned...
	And fell right towards the princess.
	Sasami cried out and dived out of the way.  The trees hit the
ground with a crash, a cloud of dust rose from the impact.  Sasami
coughed and tried to blink the dust out of her eyes.  Through her
watering eyes she could see a shadow leap towards her.  She raised
the blue lightsword and just barely managed to block the next attack.
She countered without thinking and managed to drive the woman back
a few paces.  One thing was for sure; she couldn't keep this up
forever.
	Glaring at her opponent over crossed blades, she saw the
canyon over the woman's shoulder.  A plan formed.  Sasami cried out
in desperate rage and lashed out with her sword.  This was it, her
last hope.  If this didn't work, it was over.  She couldn't keep
up with her assailant, but if she could herd her to that ravine...
	She continued to attack.  Her arms ached from the effort,
but she didn't dare slow down, didn't dare slacken in her attak.
She knew if she did, the dark-haired woman would begin to
counterattack...
	And Sasami would lose.
	And then she would die.
	She gritted her teeth and lashed out twice more, driving the
woman back two more steps.  She was almost there.  Suddenly, the
woman brought her knee up into Sasami's stomach!  Sasami gasped for
breath and doubled over.  She felt the woman's fist strike the side
of her head!  The princess fell to the ground again, coughing and
gasping for breath.  The woman stood over her, looking down at her
with hate in her eyes.
	The woman shook her head.  "Why does Her Holiness live in
such fear of you, I wonder?"  she whispered before raising her sword.
	Sasami was going to die unless she acted, and act she did.
She lashed out with her foot, catching the woman in the pit of the
stomach.  The woman gasped and fell back a pace.  Sasami climbed
to her feet and screamed, rushing forward and knocking into the
woman with her shoulder at full force.
	The woman stumbled back.  Suddenly, her right foot hit nothing
but air.  She tried to regain her balance, but fell backwards into
the ravine.  She screamed in surprise.  Sasami heard the sound of
wood snapping.
	She took a breath and walked to the edge of the ravine.
Looking down, she saw that the woman had landed on the dead tree
and impaled herself on one of its thick branches.  Sasami took
another breath and deactivated her sword.
	She blinked as something amazing happened.  The woman's body
was *disintegrating*!   Before long, there was nothing but filthy
dust where the woman's body  had been.  Dust...and something else.
	She squinted and could just barely make out a bit of light
reflecting off something down there.  She hung her sword hilt on
her belt and looked for a handhold in the edge of the ravine.
Cautiously, she climbed down to the floor of the canyon and made
her way to the dead tree.  The branch the woman had landed on
was coated in dust, all that remained of her.  Sasami knelt down
next to the tree and found what she had seen earlier.
	A black lightsword.
	She reached out and touched it carefully.  When nothing
happened, she picked it up and examined it.  It had the same kind
of engravings as the piece she had in her knapsack.  She heard
something moving above her and turned.  The man she had seen
earlier was staring down at her.
	"What are you doing down there?"  he asked gamely.
	Sasami quickly hid the sword hilt in her pocket.  "Nothing,"
she shouted.  "How's your friend?"  she asked.
	"Dead," he told her.  "Stay there.  I'll find a rope."

	Carvin turned from the ravine and started for his speeder.
Before he had made it two steps, however, he heard the sound of
another speeder revving.  He drew his blaster and ran forward, only
to find it racing away down the road.
	<Damn!> he thought.  <They'll bring back reinforcements.>
He sighed.  There was nothing he could do about it now.  He made
his way to his own speeder and grimaced when he got the door open.
The controls had been smashed.  Someone hadn't wanted them to leave.
He searched the back seat and found a rope.  He ran back to the
ravine and lowered one end down to the blue-haired woman.  He knew
there must be a connection between her and his attacker.  After
all, someone had cut down those trees near the flaming speeder,
and what was that about a "bonding?"
	Answers would require that he stay close to this woman.
She grabbed hold of the rope and started to climb while Carvin
pulled her up.  Looking down at the woman, he got another good
look at her and decided he wouldn't mind staying close to her.
	The woman climbed over the edge and stood up, looking at
Carvin rather warily.  "Who are you?"  she asked.
	Carvin smiled.  "You're welcome," he said.
	The woman's expression took on that of amused regret.  "Thank
you," she said, finally.  "Now who are you?"
	"Kenzaki," he told her.  "Carvin Kenzaki.  And you?"
	The woman stared at him for a moment.  "Sammy," she said.
"Sammy Kawai."
	He arched an eyebrow.  "Jurain?"  he asked.  He pointed at
her sword.
	"Edellian, actually," she replied.  She wasn't about to tell
this man anything until she knew more about him.  For all she knew,
he was one of *them*.  "What are you doing here?"
	"I'm a treasure hunter," he told her.  <Now we're both liars,>
he thought to himself.  "Any idea who those people were?"
	She shook her head.  "I assumed they were with you," she
lied.
	"Well, one of them got away," he informed her.  "And they
made sure to trash my speeder before they left.  That effectively
strands us here unless you have some..."  He pointed at her burning
speeder, "Some alternate form of transportation."  She shook her
head.  "Then I suggest we get out of here."
	"I'm not done yet," she told him casually.
	"Miss Kawai," he said, "One of them got away.  That tells me
they'll be back...in numbers."  Sasami swallowed nervously as she
thought about being forced to fight *another* of those dark
warriors.  He held  up his blaster.  "Between us we have seventeen
rounds and your sword.  I don't like those odds.  Now I suggest
we gather up what we can and start back towards town."
	She sighed and nodded reluctantly.  "It's thirty miles from
here," she pointed out.
	"By road," he told her.  "I'm willing to bet twenty straight
through."
	"The jungle?!"  she asked incredulously.  "It might be a
shorter route, but it'll take us twice as long!"
	He nodded.  "Yes, but they won't be coming from that direction
either," he pointed out.  He gestured to the road, the same road
down which the speeder had made its escape.
	Sasami took a breath and nodded.  "Okay," she said.  "You
lead the way."

	A tree screamed.
	The dark priest turned at the feeling of anguish emanating
from the tree.  It's leaves were glowing a bright purple as bands
of dark light struck the pool of blood below it.  His hands went to
his ears as he tried to drown out the mental echoes reverberating
in his skull.  When the screams subsided, he growled in annoyance
and turned to the other three dark warriors assembled there.  They
too  had felt the scream, and were still recovering.
	"Nis has failed," he told them.  The three nodded.  "Perhaps
the princess is a more formidable adversary than we first thought."
	"I'll take care of it," a woman told him.  He turned.  Zara
stood before him.  Her long, golden hair fell back between her
shoulder blades.  The war paint on her face was in a Danitan design,
not the Jurain that Tokimi preferred they use.  The crown on her
head was black like the rest of her clothing, but fashioned as a
dark parody of the crown of Queen Ayeka.  Her black eyes flashed
with bitter hatred, a hatred the priest had learned to harness.
	"No," he told her.  "Your task still awaits you."  He turned
to another warrior.  "Kayzin."  A tall warrior with a long, black
queue looked up with eyes devoid of pupil or color.  "You will
handle this.  Take Deelin with you."  The warrior, Kazyin, nodded.
"We are running out of time," the priest muttered.
	"I thought that was the idea,"  Zara commented seriously.
	He threw her a glare.  "We must move faster," he said.  "Be
ready to move against the Queen."
	"We can't,"  Zara told him.  "She's still within the palace
on Mollidon.  Until she comes out, we can't touch her."
	The priest smiled.  "I think it's time we created a political
crisis."  His grin intensified.  "And urge Jurai to war at the
same time."
	Zara's eyes narrowed.  "You'll expose yourself.  I don't
like it."
	"What you like does not concern me, Captain,"  he replied
acidly.  "A few words, and Ayeka will come running back to Jurai.
When she does, you take her.  Understand?"
	"You will not succeed,"  Zara told him pointedly.  "The Jurai
are not like the Danitans.  They are not a warlike people.  It is
not in their nature to resort to action so quickly."
	"I will make it their nature,"  the priest bit out.  He
smiled at her.  "Never underestimate the power of Tsunami's divine
grace."  He laughed.  Zara frowned at the priest's utterance of
*her* name in this holy place.  "Just be ready to move quickly."
With that, he stepped away and closed his eyes.  "Jurai," he
commanded.  In a flash of purple light, he was gone.
	Zara growled and turned to the tree that used to belong to
her Executive Officer, a woman she had known for twenty years.
"What are you looking at?"  she asked  bitterly.  The tree responded
with a weak flash of light from its leaves.  "We'll find a new host
for you,"  she said in disgust.  "When we have time."
	She frowned at herself for that last phrase.  Time.  They
didn't have it.  They needed it.
	But they didn't want it.

	Ayeka took a deep breath and allowed the flower's fragrance
to fill her nostrils.  The blue Mollidoni roses had a unique
fragrance not unlike that of the red roses she had known on Earth.
She heard flowing water nearby and looked up at the small fountain
not far away.
	"Your garden is lovely, Your Grace,"  she said, turning to
Vazner.
	"Your Majesty," he drawled, "I wonder if you would not
consider calling me 'Vazner.'"
	She smiled.  "Very well...Vazner.  Then I insist that you
call me, 'Ayeka.'"  The prince returned her smile.  Ayeka felt
herself blushing slightly.  She had to admit that this marriage
meeting was going far better than she had thought it would.  She
fought down a flash of pain-filled guilt when Tenchi's face appeared
before her.
	Tenchi was dead.  It was time to move on, and so far Vazner
had proved himself to be a very charming, kind, warm-hearted man.
Marriage meetings, if they went well, were like the noble version
of dates.  This was her first so she supposed it was normal to
feel a little light on her feet.
	"I love this garden,"  he told her, taking a step forward.
"I used to play here as a boy.  I can still remember, running
through this place with a toy sword, hacking at plants as if they
were monsters, and old Wellis, our gardener, having coniption fits
whenever he saw me doing it."
	Ayeka giggled.  "It sounds as if you were quite the
hellraiser."
	He grinned.  "Well, I was.  I feel bad about it now, though.
I know Wellis works hard here to keep it so beautiful.  All I did
back then was destroy what he had created.  Something beautiful."
	"Boys will be boys,"  Ayeka told him.  "How does he feel
about it now?"
	His grin returned in full force.  "Now, my nieces do the same
thing."
	She laughed out loud.  "I've heard of painters suffering for
their art, but gardeners have it far worse, it would seem!"
	He looked down at her.  "May I ask you a dreadfully personal
question, Ayeka?"
	She nodded.
	"Why is it you never married?"
	She took a breath and turned from him.  "When I was very
young," she began quietly, reaching out to touch one of the blue
roses nearby, "I was betrothed to my brother, Yosho.  I...loved
him...or at least thought I did.  He left to pursue a space pirate
and never returned, so when I was old enough, I went in search of
him."  She let her fingers gently graze the rose's soft petals.
"I ended up crashlanding on a small planet and met a young man
there."  She smiled sadly.  "I even found my brother, but by the
time I did, he was an old man, and he didn't want to leave Earth,
but that was all right.  By then I had...fallen in love with the
young man, his grandson.  Once again, I thought I had found love.
I thought it was only a matter of time..."
	Vazner listened as she trailed off.
	"And then he was taken from me," she choked out sadly.
"Killed.  Just like that, he was gone, and...and I never told him..."
She shut her eyes and allowed a tear to fall.
	"Ayeka,"  Vazner whispered.  "You don't have..."
	She held up a hand and stopped him.  "You should know," she
told him.  "Because he's a part of me."  He nodded slowly.
"Afterwards," she continued, "I...I couldn't even look at anyone
else in the same way.  I shut myself away and told myself that...I
was a princess, a queen.  I couldn't...I couldn't just chase after
my heart like I did before.  I had responsibilites."  She laughed.
"If it were not for my 'duties'...I wouldn't be here now.  I would
still be in my palace on Jurai...alone."  She wiped a tear away and
turned to him.  "That's why I never married.  He became...so much a
part of me...that I felt as if I were incomplete without him.  I
still feel that way.  But I'm willing to...try.  Even so," she
whispered, "I won't blame you if you want to end this meeting now
because of it."
	Vazner looked at her and stepped forward.  He reached out
and plucked one of the roses from its planter and placed it in the
Queen's hair, right above her left ear.  "Do you dance?"  he asked.
	Ayeka blinked.  "What?"
	"Do you dance?"  he asked again quietly.
	She couldn't keep from smiling.  "Not for a long time," she
told him.
	"Computer," he called out.  "Play, Vassa's 'Crown Majestic.'"
The palace computer acknowledged with a ping, and a soothing piano
tune began to play in the garden.  He offered her his hand, and she
took it.  "I do hope you'll pardon my clumsiness," he drawled out.
"But I haven't done this is in a *very* long time."
	"Neither have I," she told him, offering him her other hand.
	The two began to dance.

	Sasami climbed over the ridge and looked down.  Her eyes
widened in surprise at what she saw below her.  The rumble of the
waterfall had made itself known almost fifteen minutes before.
Sasami knew  they must be at the Kaidai River.  That meant they
had traveled almost ten miles.
	And without a break.
	The jungle's humidity caused her clothes to cling to  her
body.  She slapped at another mosquito and once again wished that
she hadn't left her bug spray  in the speeder to be burned.  She
looked down at the base of the falls and found several pools of
water.  It was like something out of a vacation brochure.  After a
ten mile forced march over rough terrain, the water looked *very*
inviting.
	"Find something?"  her companion asked, climbing up beside her.
	She nodded and pointed at the falls.
	"Good," he said quietly.  "About halfway home."  He checked
his watch.  "It's getting late.  We should keep moving."
	"Not without a break,"  Sasami told him.  He arched an eyebrow.
"Look," she said, "I'm not sure how far you can march without a
break, but I'm beat.  I say we take an hour and rest."  He appeared
unconvinced.  "We're not going to make it all the way to town
before nightfall anyway," she went on.
	He finally nodded.  "All right."
	"Great," she said.  "I'm going down there."  She pointed at
the pools below.
	"What for?" he asked.
	"A bath."
	He smiled.  "Not a bad idea.  Why don't I come with yo..."
	She threw him a look.  "Better idea," she said sweetly.  "Why
don't you stay here and watch for snakes or something?"
	He gave it some thought and nodded.  "I have no problem
with that."  He removed a tiny set of binoculars from his pack and
began looking for someplace where he could get a good view of the
pools.
	Sasami sighed.  "Okay, new plan.  Come with me."

	The new plan was actually better than the original.  It
allowed Sasami some privacy, but at the same time let her keep tabs
on Kenzaki.  She lowered herself into the pool and sighed as she
felt the cool water surround her.  She rested her back against a
the rock wall and looked up, calling out to Kenzaki.
	"How are you doing over there?"
	Kenzaki, resting on the jungle floor with his back against
the other side of this rock, called back.  "All right, I suppose.
I'm next when you're done, though."
	Sasami just smiled and shook her head.  She had no idea who
this man was or what his connection to *them* was, but until she
figured it out he wasn't leaving her sight.
	Well...her sight, maybe, but she was definitely going to
keep up with his movements.  She reached over to her pack and
removed the lightsword hilt she had recovered from her attacker.
She examined it closely.  The same ancient characters from the
other hilt were on this one, but she couldn't read them.  She
needed her translation book for that.  She had left it at the hotel.
On impulse, she reached out and tried to activate the sword, but
nothing happened.  She put the hilt down and closed her eyes.
She knew she was in trouble.  They had been after *her*.
	She blinked suddenly, smiled evilly, and picked up a scoop of
mud from nearby.  She casually flung the mud over her shouder and
over the rock she was leaning against...

	Carvin checked the load on his blaster.  He hadn't been
expecting trouble, so had only brought one extra magazine with him.
He had about five shots left in the blaster, and the extra magazine
held another twelve.  That wouldn't be much if those Mallin found
them in force.
	There was something else.  That woman.  Sammy Kawai.  He knew
her from somewhere, but still couldn't place the face.  He searched
his memory for the I.D.'s of other agents, Jurain and other
governments, militaries, but came up with nothing.
	Her words, the words he had heard her speak back at the
temple.  There was a connection between her and the Order of Tokimi.
He knew it.  Until he knew what that connection was, he was going
to keep an eye on her.
	He raised his watch over his head and checked the time.
Reflected in the glass of his PFA, he could just make out part of
the woman's image.  He arched an eyebrow.
	Suddenly, a glob of mud struck his PFA, splattering on his
clothes and face.
	"What did I tell you about that?"  the woman asked with a hint
of amusement mixed with her angry tone.
	"Just checking the time," he called back.
	"Uh huh."
	"So...Sammy," he began, calling out over the rock.  "What
exactly were you doing at that temple?"
	"Research,"  Sasami answered simply.  "I'm an archaeologist.
I'm here studying the Order of Tokimi."
	This made Carvin pause.  She was familiar before, but now it
was downright bothering him.  He *knew* this woman, he was sure.
He searched his memory again.  The only historians or archaeologists
he knew were the ones that worked for the SIS.  He had met a few
in the Internal Security Service as well, but they had all been
male.
	Something clicked in his mind.  His eyes went wide.
	"No way," he whispered to himself.
	The Second Princess of Jurai?
	"Problem?"  she called out.
	"None at all,"  he called back.  "Did you find anything of
interest during your research?"  he asked, knowing the answer
already.
	As he expected, she paused.  "No.  I didn't have time."
	<Okay, so she's a princess *and* a liar,>  he thought.
	"What about you?"  she called back.
	"Treasure hunter," he lied.  <One good lie deserves another,>
he thought to himself.  "I heard about the old Order, thought they
might have left some interesting bits of technology behind."  He
told her his cover story without hesitation, having rehearsed it
several times before landing on Mallistair.
	"Uh huh," she said.  There was the sound of some splashes and
drips.  Sammy/Sasami was getting out of the water.  He heard the
rustling of clothes as she dressed.  "Okay, it's all yours."
	He stood up and turned to find her buttoning the last button
on her shirt.  "Thanks," he said.
	She nodded.  "I'm going to go up to that ridge," she told
him, pointing to a rock outcropping not far away.  "Take a look
around."
	"Don't wander off,"  he warned her.
	She gave him an amused smile.  "Thanks, but I can take care
of myself."
	Carvin arched an eyebrow.  "I don't doubt it."
	She started for the ridge.  Carvin smiled and removed his
shirt.  "Kaeya, any luck on reading what you found in the temple?"
	The holographic girl appeared on his wrist as he lowered
himself into the water.  She saw his state of undress and demurely
looked away as her modesty protocol demanded.  "No, Sir," she told
him.  "The language is unknown to me.  It's possible that the
computers on Jurai may have a translation program."
	Carvin nodded.  "All right, Kaeya.  Store it for now.  We'll
translate it when we get back to Jurai."
	"Yes, Sir."
	Kaeya disappeared.  Carvin waded into a deeper part of the
pool and began to swim.

	Kayzin picked up a piece of the burnt speeder and arched an
eyebrow as he heard the hissing of his burning hand as the
superheated metal began to burn into it.  He tossed the piece away
and looked around him.  Nothing but wreckage.  Had it not been for
the tree's behavior, he might think that Nis had succeeded in
killing the Princess.
	"Lord Kazyin,"  another warrior called.  Kayzin turned and
approached the gorge  from where the voice had come.  He looked
down and found Deelin standing at the bottom near a fallen tree.
"I have found Commander Nis' remains," she said, holding up a
handful of brown dust as evidence.
	Kayzin growled and turned as another Danitan warrior
approached.  "I found two dead Mallins inside."  Another Mallin,
their guide walked up to them.  Kayzin's eyes narrowed.
	"You say you watched for them?"  he asked the alien.
	The Mallin nodded.  "Yes, yes.  After my escape, myself and
two others waited down the road for them to reappear, pear.  They
did not, not."
	Kayzin stepped forward and grabbed the alien by the throat
with one hand.  He lifted the Mallin guide a foot off the ground.
The alien hissed in surprise and struggled to breathe.
	"Then where are they?"  Kayzin asked harshly.
	"I...do...do....not know...ow..."  the alien gasped.
	Kayzin growled in frustration and squeezed, the sound of
delicate neck bones snapping brought him *some* satisfaction.  He
tossed the dead alien aside.
	He turned to Deelin and the other Danitan.  "Find them," he
ordered.  "Kill them."

	Sasami was panting by the time she reached the top of the
ridge.  She stood there, taking a few deep breaths as she pulled
her canteen from her pack.  She took a long drink and looked out
over the expanse of wilderness around her.  It seemed to stretch
out forever.
	She removed her binoculars from her pack and began to scan
the surrounding terrain, searching for something, anything to
suggest that there was civilized life out there.
	Her scans brought something into view she hadn't been looking
for, the pools below her.  She saw the man, Carvin, swimming there,
completely unclothed.  She blinked.  He was fairly muscular and
in good shape.  She saw several scars crisscrossing his back...
	She realized what she was doing and turned away, blushing
slightly as she did.  "Noboyuki was a bad influence on me," she
muttered.  She sighed.  She missed Noboyuki.  He had been a hentai,
yes, but he had also been a good man and a good father to Tenchi.
He had always treated her kindly and respectfully.
	Tenchi.
	<I'm so close,> she thought.  <I can feel it.  If only I had
had more time to investigate.>
	Her thoughts went back to Carvin.  <What is he hiding?
Treasure hunter, my ass,>  she thought.  The temple must have
been ransacked a thousand times since it was attacked ten thousand
years ago.  What could he have possibly hoped to find there?
	Her?
	Her eyes went wide at that thought.  Could he be one of them?
Could he be leading her into a trap?  He was the one to choose this
route, after all.
	But if he was with them, why didn't he try to kill her back
at the temple?  Why not try now?
	She couldn't take the chance.  No matter what he was planning.
She looked down through the binoculars again.  He was still swimming.
She found his clothes near the rock she had been sitting near
earlier.  It was a good bet his blaster was there among them.  If
she hurried she could go down there, get his blaster, and force him
to tell her who he really was.
	Another option hit her.  She could just leave.  Take off and
head back to town herself.  It would certainly be safer, but if she
did that, she'd never know who he really was.
	She made up her mind and started down towards the pools again.

	Ayeka was holding the rose in her hand as she walked through
the palace corridors.  She had to admit it to herself, she was
enjoying her stay here.  Vazner...she just couldn't describe it.
She felt giddy and just a little light-headed.  Was this what it
felt like during a courtship?  She had no basis for comparison.
She had loved Tenchi, of course, but he had never danced with her,
or shared a moment with her in a romantic garden, or reached out
and took her hand the way Vazner had.
	Maybe this was the first step.
	Or maybe she was moving too fast.
	That made her pause.  She gave the idea some thought, some
*honest* thought.
	<Could I be so starved for affection that I would feel this
way about any man who showed even the slightest interest in me?>
	She shook her head.  This wasn't a fling she was talking
about.  Vazner was courting her with the intent to marry her.
Why shouldn't he show her affection, and why shouldn't she accept
it and feel good about it?
	Tenchi.
	That's why.
	Tenchi.
	She sighed.  Tenchi was dead.  She couldn't bring him back.
Why couldn't she just let it go?
	"Your Majesty!"  She looked up and found Mina trotting up to
her.  "You'd better come see this."

	When she entered the sitting room, she found Vazner and
General Redara, as well as a few others, watching a largescreen
vid monitor situated above the fireplace.  The white tree that
served as Jurai's emblem appeared on the screen.  The emblem was
replaced a moment later by an elderly man in a light blue robe
standing at a podium.  Ayeka recognized him immediately as Archsennas
Hoshi Natara of the Tsunamic Church.
	"Please rise in homage," the clergyman asked, "For the
Patriarch of Jurai, and Tsunami's voice in life, the Patriarch
Kimio Akagi."  The audience before the podium stood as another
elderly man, his wrinkled face and short white beard hinting that
he was, himself, ancient, limped up and stood unsteadily before
them.
	"Children of Tsunami," the old man began.  "A time of crisis
looms before us."  There were several murmurs of surprise from
the crowd.  "Five years ago, the destructive war with the Danitans
ended, and we all believed that Tsunami's grace had delivered us
peace at last.  We have learned that this is not so."  There were
several more murmurs.  Ayeka watched in shock.  "I have learned
that the Danitans have embarked on a new, warlike path, and have
begun with the heinous act of murder."
	"Awwwwwwwww.....SHIT!"  Mina swore.  She could already see
where this was going.  "Excuse me, Your Majesty," she apologized
a second later.
	Ayeka wasn't listening.  She was staring at the screen.
	"Only a few days ago," Akagi continued, pausing to collect
himself, "Warships from Danitan, on orders from their Queen,
attacked a Jurain warship patrolling an area of intergalactic space.
The ship, crewed by brave sons and daughters of Jurai, was disabled
and the crew were forced to abandon ship.  At such time, the
Danitans *fired* on the unarmed escape pods, murdering two thousand,
sixty two Jurain sailors..."

	Lord Akita grit his teeth and pounded the com switch on his
desk.  The face of his secretary, Ms. Kanesento, appeared.  "Yes,
Sir?"
	"Get me Lady Katsuragi," he growled.  "Now."
	"Yes, Sir."
	Akita turned back to the speech on his screen and listened
bitterly.
	"It has become apparent," the religious leader of the
entire Jurain Empire went on, "That the peace we have fought so
hard for was only an illusion set before us by the forces of
darkness.  The Danitans have taken every mercy we've given them
and have spat upon them."  He paused for breath.  Meanwhile, the
crowd before the podium was beginning to grumble.
	"Lady Katsuragi on channel three, Sir,"  Kanesento's voice
informed him.  Akita switched his com to channel three, all the
time keeping his eyes on the vidscreen.
	The aging, but beautiful face of Lady Mika Katsuragi, Director
of the Internal Security Service appeared.  Akita didn't waste time
with pleasantries.  "Did you leak this to him?"  he demanded.
	"I was about to ask you the same thing,"  Katsuragi replied.
"Word of the Invincible wasn't supposed to be released for another
week, after we've had time to prepare the people, and it certainly
wasn't supposed to be released until Her Majesty was back on Jurai
to comment on it."  Akita growled again.  "It wasn't one of my
people,"  Katsuragi told him.  "I'm certain of it."
	Akita glared at her.  "Well, *someone* told them."

	"We must unite together as Tsunami's children,"  Akagi
continued.  "To fight this menace again."  Ayeka couldn't believe
what she was hearing.  The Tsunamic Church *advocating* a violent
response?  "And we must unite behind...our good and gentle Queen...
who is, even now, making the most difficult choices she has ever
had to make."
	"Damn,"  Vazner breathed.  Redara was already ordering an aide
to take a message to the com room, ordering their military forces
to a heightened state of readiness.  "The old fool is going to bring
the Danitan screaming down on us."
	Ayeka looked at him in a combination of guilt and dawning
horror upon realizing he was right.  The Patriarch was starting a
war with this speech.
	"The darkness the Dantian represent must be dealt with in
the harshest manner!"  the Patriarch continued.  "They have laughed
at the mercy shown to them five years ago!"  The audience cried out
in agreement.  "They spit upon our world, our Queen, our very
faith!"  The crowd cried out again in anger.  "We must stand behind
our good and gentle Queen and unite behind her to drive the Danitan
heathens from Tsunami's light!"
	"That *idiot*!"  Mina cried out angrily.  "Is he *trying*
to alienate us!?"  She knew that that last remark, referring to
the Danitans as 'heathens' would not only anger the Danitan beyond
belief, but most of the other worlds in the galaxy, including those
allied to Jurai.  Mina threw a look to the Mollidoni in the room.
They didn't seem insulted by the remark.  Then again, the Mollidoni
had always been rather casual with their religious beliefs.
	Akagi continued, the religious wrath flowing through his
frail body.  "I implore each of you to pray tonight...Pray that
our good and gentle Queen will find the courage and wisdom to do
what is right...and banish the Danitans to darkness fovever more!"
	The audience stood up and applauded as Akagi left the podium.
Several shouts of "Tsunami with you," could be heard cried from
the audience.  The volume lowered as a Jurain newscaster began to
speak.  "You see here His Holiness leaving the podium after a
rather passionate speech concerning an apparent attack on Jurain
forces..."
	"Turn in off,"  Vazner whispered.  He turned to Ayeka, who
was shaking her head in disbelief.
	"I have to leave," she said simply.
	He nodded.
	She turned to Mina.  "Major, have my shuttle prepped and
inform Ryu-Oh that we are leaving."
	Mina paused.  "Your Majesty...the escort ships haven't
arrived yet.  The Indomitable is still six hours away, and the
Courageous another two after that."
	"I don't care," she said.  "We no longer have time to wait.
We're counting minutes now.  I have to go back and diffuse this
situation now, before it gets any worse."
	Mina took a breath and nodded, realizing that protests wouldn't
work against Ayeka.  "Yes, Ma'am."
	Ayeka turned back to Vazner.  "I'm sorry we have to cut this
meeting short," she told him, and she meant it.
	"Don't be," he told her.  "I enjoyed the time we spent
together, and I look forward to doing it again."
	"As do I."
	Vazner smiled, but that smile turned serious a second later.
"While you are on Jurai, I'll try to rally support from the other
worlds.  I hope it's not necessary, but I'm not sure war can be
stopped any longer."
	"I hope you're wrong," she told him.  "I do hope you're
wrong."

	Sasami peeked over the edge of the rock and found Carvin's
folded clothes only a few feet away.  There was no sign of him.
She bit her lip and reached out.  She didn't see the blaster, but
assumed it had to be in that pile.
	A hand reached out and snagged her wrist.  "Can I help you?"
he asked.
	Sasami turned red and turned to find that Carvin had surfaced
right beneath her.  "Just...looking for something," she said
sheepishly.
	"This?"  he asked, holding up the blaster in his other hand.
	"Shit," she muttered under her breath.  He smiled.  He was
up to his chest in water.  She could see that the scars she had
seen on his back earlier had cousins across his chest.  "Okay, let's
talk," she said.  He arched an amused eyebrow.  "You're lying to
me,"  she told him flat out.
	"And you're lying to me," he replied.
	She stared at him.  "There's nothing of value in those ruins.
Either you're not what you seem or you suck as a treasure hunter."
	"And you found something," he told her.  "Something that
scared you."
	"Who are you?" she asked.  "I don't think it's that unfair a
question."
	He stared back at her, her wrist still locked in his hand as
she knelt next to the pool.  He weighed the options and decided that
her cooperation would be more valuable than her resistance.
	"I work for the Jurain government,"  he told her.
	She looked into his eyes and nodded.  This was the truth.
She could see it.  She didn't know how or why, but he was sincere.
	"And you're a Jurain Princess," he continued, "So I guess
that means I work for you."
	Sasami blinked in shock.  "How did..."
	"I realize you've made an effort to live a private life, but
men in my position make it a point to memorize certain faces."
	She said nothing.
	"Now what did you see?"  he asked.
	She took a breath.  "I'll need my hand back," she told him.
He released her, and she took a step back.  "First tell me why
you're here."  She sat on a nearby rock.  Her hand rested casually
on her lightsword.
	"Is it all right if I dress first?"  he asked.
	Sasami blinked and realized for the first time that he was
nude.  She turned beet red and looked away.  "Um...sure."
	She heard him move forward enough to reach out and take his
clothes from where he had placed them.  He walked to the other side
of the pool and got out.  After a few moments, she heard, "All
clear."  She turned and found him buttoning his tan shirt.
	"Okay, why would a government agent be out here?"  she asked.
	"You heard about the assassination, I trust,"  he commented.
A blank look was her only reply.  "An Archsennas was killed by a
religious terrorist.  He shouted the words, 'Tokimi's will be
done,' right before the bomb went off."  Sasami blinked in shock.
He nodded back in the direction of the temple.  "We believe there
may be a connection."
	Sasami took a breath and reached into her pack, removing the
black lightsword she had recovered from the gorge.  With a smooth
throw, she tossed it to him.  He caught it with one hand and
examined it.  "A lightsword," he commented.
	"Not like any I've ever seen," she said, "Except once."  She
produced the hilt piece she had brought with her from Earth and
held it up.  "The markings are the same.  This piece we found after
an assassin killed Tenchi...the crown prince...fifteen years ago.
The piece you're holding I fished out of a gorge back at the
temple...today."
	"The markings are the same," he commented dryly.
	She nodded.  "The people who attacked us today are they same
people who killed Tenchi.  And the only reason they would've
attacked you is if they were afraid you found something."
	He held up his PFA.  "Some documents," he told her.  "But
Kaeya can't translate them.  Think you could?"
	She bit her lip and shook her head.  "I have a translation
book, but it's back at my hotel.  I had intended bring back, or
make rubbings of whatever I found.  I wasn't planning on translating
everything there."
	He nodded.  "Then we need to get back to town."
	Sasami looked up at the sky, at the setting sun.  "It's
getting too late to continue now.  We'll have to camp here."
	Carvin took a breath and watched with a feeling of dread as
the last slivers of sunlight disappeared over the distant mountains.

	"I take it all is prepared,"  the dark priest said as he
stepped onto the bridge of his ship and hurriedly discarded his
blue robe in favor of the black one.
	"Yes, Your Eminence,"  one of the dark warriors told him.
"All is prepared for phase two.  The Invincible and two of our
older ships are standing by for your order."
	The youthful features on the priest's face hardened.  "Remind
me to rename that ship," he told her.  "Its old name stinks of
Tsunami's hypocrisy."
	"Yes, Your Eminence," the warrior told him.  He smiled.  The
Danitans made excellent soldiers for Tokimi.  They were fierce
fighters, obeyed their masters without question, and were one
hundred percent loyal thanks to the trees.
	"What of Zara?"
	The warrior woman smiled.  "As you predicted, the Queen made
preparations to leave upon hearing the Patriarch's speech, and the
Captain moved instantly.  She should strike within the hour."
	"Excellent," he said.  "Now, contact the..."  he paused and
smiled.  "Contact the Wrathful and tell them they may proceed."
	The woman arched an eyebrow, but caught the meaning.  She
toggled a com switch.  "Invincible, this is the Darkfall.  Change
your callsign to 'Wrathful,' and proceed as planned."
	"Understood, Darkfall.  Moving out."  The woman's voice on
the other end was crisp and professional.
	"Order them to record the battle," the priest told her.  "I'm
sure Her Holiness will wish to see it."

	Tech Sergeant Ila Nasta'lal took another drink of coffee
before turning back to her console on the small sentry station
orbiting the Danitan colony of Freesas.  She yawned as she watched
the blips on her screen move lazily from one end to the other,
mimicking the movements of tiny shuttles and cargo transports.
	She yawned and stretched out in her chair.  She liked her job,
but ever since the war ended there wasn't much for her to do.  Not
that she approved of war exactly, not like she used to.  But with
a husband and baby daughter on the planet below her, she'd just as
soon not see any more of it.
	"Long shift?"  her friend and supervisor, Gunnery Sergeant
Yvesse Haratal asked.
	Ila nodded.  "Pulling a double shift for Tia.  She's out
with the flu."
	"Ah."
	"Look alive, Sarge,"  one of the younger techs, Corporal
Raya Tira, called out.  "I heard we've been put on war footing."
	"That's bullshit," Yvesse told her, trying to put her at ease.
	"Not what I hear, Sarge,"  Raya continued.  "I heard we lost
a base at Tessas."
	"I heard that was pirates,"  Ila commented.
	"It was pirates,"  Yvesse assured them.  She sat in her chair
in front of the window and faced them.  "You haven't been in that
long, Raya, so let me tell you something about the Jurains.  They're
not like us.  They don't see war the same way we do.  They go
through all kinds of hell to avoid it when it would be *easier* just
to fight one and end it."  Raya looked confused.  "Which isn't to
say they're not good at it, but for some reason, they think the
price in warriors is too high.  They bay like branded calves when
the subject comes up.  Trust me, there won't be another war with
Jurai unless *we* start it, and from the way things have been
looking, Highest Honored Above All Koriya has no wish to."
	"I hope you're right,"  Ila told her.  "I have some time off
coming to me.  Barris has been nagging me to build a nursery for
the baby, and I..."  she broke off as her console began to beep.
"Jump point forming in Sector Two!"  she cried.
	Yvesse turned to the window and saw space begin to warp
around one particular area.  "Check the board," she ordered calmly.
"We have anything scheduled for Sector Two?"
	"Negative, Sarge,"  Raya told her.  "Board is clear."
	Yvesse activated her com.  "Command this is Sentry Three, we
have an unauthorized jump in Sector Two.  Recommend Alert One.
Recommend Alert One."
	Suddenly, in a flash of light, space folded in on itself.
The three Danitan techs gasped as a Jurain cruiser popped out of
jumpspace.
	"Blessed Goddess,"  Ila swore under her breath.
	Yvesse activated the com again.  "Jurain warship," she began,
"You are in Danitan space in violation of the Treaty of Ardel.
State your inten..."
	There was a flash of light from the Jurain ship and a massive
explosion from Sentry Three, reducing it to free floating dust.
	The Wrathful had stated its intentions.

	The three hover limos left the Mollidoni palace right on time,
cruising out of the gate and down the street toward the spaceport.
Seated in the back seat of the center limo, Ayeka looked out the
window and took a breath.
	"Are you all right, Your Majesty?"  Mina asked from her place
in the seat next to the Queen.
	"Yes, I'm fine,"  Ayeka told her.  "Major," she began, "May I
call you, 'Mina?'"
	Mina nodded.  "Of course, Your Majesty."
	"Mina,"  Ayeka started again, "What did you think of him?"
	"His Grace?"  She asked.  Ayeka nodded.  "He seems like a nice
man.  Kind.  Compassionate....Handsome," she finished with a smile.
Ayeka only smiled.
	"He was nice."
	"Will you return once this business with the Danitan is over?"
Mina asked as the motorcade turned down a side street.
	Ayeka nodded.  "I think I will.  This meeting was too short.
I'd would like to..."  She paused and blinked as the limo came to a
stop.  "What's going on?"
	Mina brought her PFA to her lips.  "Report."
	The voice of one of the Mollidoni guards in the first limo
came over the communicator.  "Sorry, Your Majesty, there's a woman
standing in the road."
	Ayeka blinked.  "A woman?"

	The Mollidoni soldier got out of the limo, followed by another
two soldiers, and approached the woman.  Their small repeating
blaster carbines were slung since they saw the woman's presence as
more of an annoyance than a threat.
	The first soldier began to wave at her to get her attention.
"Sorry, darl'n, you'll have to move ya'self."  The blonde, dressed
all in black, her head bowed low, didn't move.  "Didn't ya hear me?"
the soldier asked in annoyance.  "I sayed you have to move ya'self!"
The woman looked up slowly, the black Danitan warpaint conspicuous
on her face.  The soldier stopped dead in his  tracks and blinked.
"What in Gods' names?"
	The woman's hand shot out from side, a black lightsword hilt
clutched in the fingers.
	"Gods dammit!"  the soldier cried as he tried to bring his
carbine up.
	With a *snap-hiss* the yellow blade of the lightsword came
to life.  The woman darted forward and swung out just as the young
soldier was bringing his weapon up.  With three unnerving "thwocks"
the sword went through the soldier's left arm, the rifle, then the
right arm.  The armless soldier began screaming and fell to his
knees as his arms and weapon fell to the ground next to him.
	The woman didn't waste time.  She dived forward and rammed
the blade through the second soldier's face, then swung the sword
around to decapitate the last man.
	It was over in three seconds.
	More soldiers were climbing out of the first limo.  The woman
waved her sword in the air three times.
	In answer to this signal, something fell from the sky, tossed
from one of the store rooves.  It hit the hood of the limousine
with a loud clang and came to rest there.  The soldiers in the car
gasped and rushed out as they recognized the object as a Danitan
pulse grenade.  The grenade went off, and the limo exploded,
tossing bits of flaming debris into the sky...

	"GO!  GO!  GO!"  Mina shouted at the driver as the limo in
front of them blew up.  The driver threw the limo into reverse and
started to back up.  The limo behind them had taken the hint and
started racing backwards down the street.  Ayeka braced herself in
her seat and watched as Mina directed the driver, her PP90 blaster
pistol already in her hand.
	Before they could make it twenty meters, a photon bolt fired
from one of the store windows struck the limo behind them, blowing
it into the air.  The driver slammed on the brakes, and the three
of them watched as the limo landed just behind them, in flames.
	Mina looked up and saw another photon launcher being aimed at
them.
	"OUT!"
	She turned to grab the Queen to pull her out of the car, but
saw that she was already exiting through her door.  Mina dived out
of the car just as the woman fired.  She hit the ground and put her
hands behind her head.  The limo's explosion rocked the ground
beneath her.

	Ayeka slowly got to her feet and reached out to steady
herself against a nearby wall.  She looked up and found a blonde
woman with a lightsword cutting into a Mollidoni soldier.  The
woman looked up...
	Right at her.
	"Azaka!  Kamidake!"  She called, summoning her guardians to
her.
	Nothing.  She blinked for a moment.  Her guardians were nowhere
in sight!  The woman grinned at her.
	Ayeka growled and concentrated, summoning her power logs to
herself.  She'd deal with the woman herself, then.  The blonde
woman started forward at a full dash.  Ayeka raised her forcefield
and reached out with her  hand, aiming at the woman.  With a cry,
she let loose a powerblast.
	The blonde jumped over the blast and landed in a dive,
rolling right up to Ayeka and stopping only three feet from her in
a crouch.  She shot to her feet, and in one deft move, she swung
her sword up.  Ayeka gasped in shock as the sword went *right through
her forcefied* and dispelled it.
	Before the Queen could react, the blonde swung out again,
this time in a horizontal slash.  Ayeka gasped again, this time at
feeling the heat of the blade as it slashed through her chest...

	Mina rose to her feet and turned.
	Just in time to see Ayeka fall to her knees, the front of her
kimono soaked with blood.  She could just hear the Queen's dying
breath over the flames around her.
	"Ten...chi..."
	Ayeka fell forward, her head striking the ground at the
blonde woman's feet.
	"MAJESTY!!"  Mina screamed.  The blonde turned as Mina brought
her weapon up and fired.
	The blonde jumped up and back flipped several feet, landing
next to a shop door.  She threw the door open and rushed inside.
Mina continued to fire.
	By now, those soldiers not killed by the woman had recovered
from the shock and were pouring shot after shot into the store.
The window shattered, pieces of the brick wall collapsed as plasma
rounds tore straight through the wall and into the building.
	Mina didn't hear the "click" signifying an empty weapon
until the third time.  She threw her gun aside and dashed towards
Ayeka's prone body.  She crouched next to the Queen and turned her
over.  Mina saw the still eyes and knew she was dead.
	"MEDIC!"  she screamed as loud as she  could.
	She began to give the dead monarch CPR, hoping against hope
that there was still time to bring her back.  The sound of gunfire
still roared in her ears.  She looked up as a soldier slung his
weapon over his shoulder as he knelt down, removing a med scanner
from his belt.
	"CEASE FIRE!"  she heard someone call out.  The firing
continued.  "I SAID HOLD YOUR GODS DAMNED FIRE!"  Finally, the
shooting stopped.  The target building groaned and collapsed in
front of them with a roar.  Mina didn't care.  She continued to
administer CPR while the medic scanned Ayeka.  She heard bootsteps
as three soldiers dashed forward to check the rubble for the blonde
woman.
	She continued to press on Ayeka's chest.  She pretended not
to hear the steady ping from the medic's scanner.  She knew what
it meant and didn't care.  "Come on, come on,"  she growled as she
pounded away on the Queen's ribcage.
	She felt the medic's hand close around her wrist.  She stopped
and looked up at him.
	"I'm sorry, Ma'am,"  he whispered.  "She's gone."
	Mina looked at him in shock.  She turned as a soldier trotted
up to her, obviously upset.
	"Nothing!" he spat.  "No blood!  No body!  Nothing!  We hit
*nothing*!"
	Mina shook her head in disbelief.  They were gone.  The Queen
was dead, and the assassin had been allowed to escape.  A sob
escaped her throat as she tried to fight back tears.  In the end,
it was a losing battle.  Mina lowered her head, burying her face in
the Queen's chest.
	Softly, she began to cry.


Author's Notes:

Please C&C to Thomas "009" Doscher
doscher009@hotmail.com