Disclaimer:  Tenchi Muyo! is the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC.
I own only the writing and the characters I create.  I'd like to
thank my friends and prereaders who helped make this fic possible,
most especially Cav, Bobert, the Prince of Light, and CJ chan.

The Last Avatar part 4:
The Day the Tables Turned




	"Shara Reese, I'd like you to meet Mihoshi Kuramitsu."
	Kiyone stepped back and allowed her two friends to bow to each
other, then shake hands.  "It's nice to meet you,"  Mihoshi told
the orange-haired woman.
	Shara grinned.  "Any friend of Makibi's is a friend of mine,"
she told Mihoshi.
	"Shara is my Executive Officer,"  Kiyone explained.  Mihoshi
nodded.  She had been introducing Mihoshi to the other GP in her
patrol squadron ever since they landed on the mammoth GP carrier,
the GPS Gavin Stolykios.
	"Where were you before this?"  Shara asked.
	Mihoshi just smiled and said, "Administrative duty at HQ."
	"You ever fly in a squadron?"  Kiyone's EXO asked, probing
for hints at Mihoshi's ability.
	"In a squadron?  Well...No...I transferred to admin right
before the GP started using sqadrons, but I am combat trained and
fully qualified."
	Kiyone nodded.  "I can vouch for her.  Mihoshi here helped
bring down Kagato."
	Shara whistled in awe.  "Well, hell!  Screw Kiyone, why don't
you come fly with me?  We'll kick some ass together, drink, make
fudge...you know...GP chick stuff."
	"Um...thanks, but I think I'd rather stay with Kiyone."
	Shara grinned.  "Suit yourself."  She leaned closer to Mihoshi,
close enough to make the blonde just a tad uncomfortable.  "But if
you ever change your mind," she whispered in Mihoshi's ear, "Just
let me know."
	"Um..."
	Kiyone grinned.  "Okay, Shara, leave her alone.  I have to
get her acquainted with the others."
	Shara grinned, winked, and said, "Later," before heading out
the door of the officer's club.
	Mihoshi just blinked.  "Um...Kiyone?  Was she just..."
	"Hitting on you?  Yep."
	Mihoshi's eyes went wide and she nodded in understanding.
"Oh," she said.
	Kiyone just smiled.  "Come on.  I'll introduce you to the
others."
	"Kiyone, are you sure it's okay?"  Kiyone just blinked.
"Me being here, I mean.  It's been awhile since I've been out in
space, and Shara's right, I've never flown squadron duty...."
	Kiyone sighed.  The GP began forming patrol squadrons during
the war to help keep the conflict from spilling over into neutral
sectors.  One GP patrol ship wasn't much of a deterrant, but twelve
could make any Jurain or Danitan captain think twice about bringing
their war into the GP's back yard.  The change had ruffled some
feathers, and some officers found they just couldn't adapt to the
change.  Kiyone didn't think Mihoshi was one of those, though.
	"Of course.  You're not flying, Mihoshi, you're running the
sensor and navigation systems just like we used to on the Yukinojo.
The only difference is that there are more GP on the radar than
usual.  You leave the rest to me, okay?"
	Mihoshi smiled and nodded.  "Any idea when we're going to
find this Danitan ship?"  she asked, trying to change the subject.
	Kiyone just shook her head.  "According to Mitsuki it'll be
another day or two before we're in the right area.  At least that's
what her source says."
	"Who's the source?"
	Kiyone paused as she searched the club for other members of
their squadron.  "Some Danitan woman who claims she was a sensor
officer on the Kingslayer.  It's all bullshit, Mihoshi, so you might
as well just relax.  The Kingslayer isn't out there."

	"Captain, we're getting another transmission from our woman
on the Stolykios."
	Zara sighed.  She hadn't been back three minutes, and already
there was something else to worry about.  She sat in her command
chair, the blood of Queen Ayeka was still wet on her tunic.  She
had come directly here, to her ship, rather than return to the
Darkfall.  She wanted to sleep in familiar surroundings tonight.
	Now this.
	"Give me the highlights," she ordered as she looked around
her.  Several women, still sporting their Danitan Naval uniforms,
were scattered thoughout the bridge of the Kingslayer.  Despite this
reminder of home, it was impossible to call the Kingslayer a
*Danitan* warship any longer.  Not with *it* standing right behind
her.
	She turned her head slightly and saw the tree, *her* tree,
planted into the bridge, its roots and branches reaching out and
connecting to several of the ship's systems, acting as the main
computer...and her master.  She stifled a weary laugh.
	The tree was not hers, she was the tree's.
	"Our woman reports that the GP task force is moving as
predicted and that we should be prepared to welcome them."
	"How many ships?"  she asked.
	The officer spoke into a headset for several minutes, then,
"One carrier, two frigates, with two extra patrol squadrons pulled
in for support."
	Zara blinked in shock.  "That's far more than expected,"
she commented.  She hadn't counted on anyone in the GP to take the
Danitan plant at her word.  Either this was a great boon or a
disaster waiting to happen.  A carrier the Kingslayer could take.
A carrier, two frigates, and four patrol squadrons would take
some work.
	She growled low in her throat.  She was going to need help.
That meant she was going to have to go begging to her "goddess."
You could bet she wouldn't be happy, but that's just the way it
was.  If she wanted ships, she'd get them, but she was going to
have to help in the grunt work.
	"I'll be on the Darkfall," she told them.  She closed her
eyes.  "Darkfall," she whispered.  She saw the light, felt the
pain that accomapanied this kind of travel.  "The Flow,"  the
goddess had called it.  She squeezed her eyes shut and endured as
a Danitan warrior should.  Eventually, the pain subsided.  She
opened her eyes and found herself on the ship of her masters.
A tech nodded to her in greeting.
	"Is he here?"  she asked.
	"No.  He wanted to stay on Jurai, keep up the pretense,"  the
tech told her.
	"How did the attack go?"  she asked.
	The tech smiled.  "Flawlessly.  The amazons didn't see it
coming."  The tech swallowed nervously as he remembered who he was
talking to.  "I meant no disrespect,"  he said quickly.
	Zara glared.  "Of course you didn't...You're just a sap,
after all," she commented, getting a glimmer of satisfaction at
watching the Jurain man bristle at the racial slur.
	She ignored him and left the command deck.  She had a goddess
to talk to.

	Mayuka lay in bed and stared up at her ceiling.  The dream
she had had the night before was still so vivid in her memory, so
real.  The monster...her mother...had come for her, called for her.
Her mother, Ryoko, had come to her and comforted her, but it hadn't
helped.  Mayuka still couldn't escape what she was.
	A monster in human clothing.
	"Mayuka?"
	She turned her head as her door opened and saw Grandpa Yosho
standing there, two boken in his hands.
	"You're late for practice,"  he noted.
	She sighed and turned from him.  "I'm really not in the mood,
Grandpa,"  she said quietly.
	"Your mood is irrelevant, Mayuka,"  he told her.  "You
agreed when I began your training to make yourself available
whenever I wished."
	Mayuka sighed.  "Why do you even care, Grandpa?"  she asked.
"It's not like I'm your *real* granddaughter..."
	She felt rather than heard the movement behind her and rolled
out of the way just in time.  She  yelped in surprise as a boken
struck the bed where she had just been lying.  She hopped to her
feet in record time and jumped back off the bed, landing in a corner.
Yosho turned to her and raised the boken.
	"Foolish girl!"  he roared.  "How can you sit here and pity
yourself like this?!"
	Tears welled up in Mayuka's eyes.  "Grandpa Yosho, I..."
	"QUIET!"
	Mayuka gasped, but went silent.
	"Don't call me that!"
	Mayuka gasped again, this time in fearful surprise.
"Wha...What?"
	"You've already decided, remember?"  Yosho asked.  "You
don't want to be my granddaughter."
	"That's not true!"
	"Isn't it?"  Yosho stared at her.  "You're a monster,
remember?"
	Mayuka shook her head fearfully.
	"Isn't that what you told your mother?"
	She swallowed back a throatful of regret.  "That doesn't
mean I *want* to..."
	"QUIET!"
	Mayuka closed her mouth and remained silent.
	"I always tried to teach you one thing, Mayuka,"  he said
quietly.  "I always taught you that your life is what you make of it.
Tell me, *monster*, do you *like* being my granddaughter?"
	Mayuka nodded sadly.
	"Do you *like* being Ryoko's daughter?"
	She nodded again.
	"Is that what you *want* to be?"
	For a third time, Mayuka nodded.
	"Then stop sitting up here pitying yourself!"  Yosho told her.
"As far as *everyone* is concerned, except for you apparently, you
are the daughter of Ryoko Hakubi and Tenchi Masaki.  Can you give
me *one* good reason why that should change?"
	Mayuka took a breath.  "Because I'm not," she whispered.
	Yosho stepped forward, and for the first time in her life,
Mayuka stepped away from him in fear, her back striking the corner
of her room.
	"Listen to me, Mayuka," he said gently.  "I knew your mother,
your 'real' mother, if you insist on calling her that."  Mayuka
gasped in shock.  "I met her on Jurai a *long* time ago."  His
voice turned sad.  "And she wasn't a monster...not then.  She
was...my friend."  Mayuka said nothing.  "And I know your *real*
mother.  *I* insist on calling her that.  There was a time when
I would've called Ryoko a monster too.  But then I looked deeper
and found someone there, your mother.  Now you have to make a
choice.  Just ask yourself one question.  Who are you, Mayuka
Masaki?"
	Mayuka didn't answer immediately.  Then she looked up at him.
"I'm Mayuka Masaki," she said,  "Grandpa."
	Yosho smiled.  "That's what I thought.  Now go downstairs.
Your mother made breakfast.  I want to see  you at the training
field in half an hour, or it's double training today!"
	"Yes, Grandpa!"  She quickly ran out the door.  She was still
afraid, still angry, still confused...but at least she felt
*a little* better.
	Yosho took a breath, then turned.  Ryoko had appeared before
him.
	"Thank you," she said.
	He smiled.  "Everyone loses their way at some point, Ryoko."
His expression turned serious.  "Now about Washu..."
	Ryoko sighed.  "I don't want to talk about it.  She insists
on crossing the line at every opportunity."
	"Yes," he said, "But only because you're on the other side
of that line."  Ryoko blinked.  "Ryoko...you are different...from
the other girls.  You chose to face Tenchi's death alone.  Washu,
the other girls, and I...we were always there for you.  But where
the others, Aeka and Sasami, Mihoshi and Kiyone...where they
reached out and found solace in each other, you and Washu turned
away from one another...and I know that hurts her."
	These words seemed to hit something in Ryoko.  "I'll talk to
her," she sighed finally.  "Not now," she amended.  "I think we
both need time to cool down."
	Yosho nodded sagely.  "I'll be leaving for Tokyo tomorrow,"
he said.  "An old friend and colleague is in the hospital, and he
has asked me to look after his shrine.  Will you be okay here alone?"
	She nodded.  "Yeah."  She smiled a moment later.  "I think
this is what we need.  Some time alone...to talk."
	Yosho smiled.  "I think so too."  With that, he walked out the
door, leaving Ryoko to look out the window alone.

	"Rise!  CO on deck!"
	Kiyone and Mihoshi stood up from their seats along with the
other detectives as Mitsuki and another woman, this one in a simple
jumpsuit, walked up to the podium at the front of the briefing room.
	"Sit," the redhead said simply.  "We have a lot of ground to
cover."  She stood at the podium and adjusted her notes.  The other
woman, a stunning brunette with hawk-like features, sat in a chair
behind her.
	Kiyone and Mihoshi retook their seats.  Mihoshi blinked as
she felt someone lightly touch her arm.  She turned her head and
saw Shara smiling slyly at her.  Mihoshi turned red and decided to
focus on the briefing.
	"As I'm sure some of you have heard, we are in pursuit of the
Kingslayer,"  Mitsuki began, not wasting time with oratory.  There
were some surprised whispers as some of the detectives who hadn't
heard this before absorbed this declaration.  "And yes, I am aware
that the ship was *officially* listed as 'destroyed,' however we
have evidence that Zara and her crew are alive and well and living
in Sector Three."
	"What evidence?"  Shara asked.
	Mitsuki glared at the interruption, but addressed the question
anyway.  "This," she said, gesturing to the brunette, "Is Lieutenant
Nessa Danyana'tal.  Until one month ago, she was the Sensor Officer
on board the Kingslayer."
	More surprised whispers.
	"She will be briefing you on tactics and what we can expect
from the Danitans when we encounter them."
	Mihoshi looked over and saw Kiyone jotting something on her
notepad, the Danitan's name.  She was about to ask why when Mitsuki
continued.
	"It is my intent to force Captain Zara to surrender her ship
and her crew."
	This was met by a few laughs, the loudest of which came from
Shara.  "We're not talking about a rogue smuggler, here!  This is
a *Danitan* spacecraft carrier!"
	Mitsuki smiled and stepped aside to make room for Danyana'tal.
The Danitan officer stood up and took her place at the podium.
"Forcing Captain Zara to surrender will not be a difficult task."
Kiyone paid closer attention.  The lights dimmed and a hologram
of the Kingslayer appeared between the podium and the detectives.
Kiyone took a moment to admire the ship.  It was shaped like a pair
of tweezers.  Two prongs containing two flight decks flowed back
toward the rear of the ship where they eventually joined to form
the engineering, crew quarters, and command decks.  Weapons
bristled at several points.  Danitan spacecraft carriers were
designed to be able to function without support or escort ships,
which was probably how the Kingslayer was able to make it this
long...
	Assuming it was really out there.
	"Five years with no support have taken their toll,"  Danyana'tal
continued.  "Two of the ship's three fusion reactors had to be shut
down because we ran out of vital parts to keep them up.  This means
he can only move at about one quarter."
	Mihoshi leaned over and whispered.  "Who's 'he?'  I thought
Danitan soldiers were all women."
	Shara leaned over and answered, whispering right in Mihoshi
ear.  "Danitans refer to their ships as male, the same way we refer
to ours as female," she told her.
	"Of his one hundred and twenty four fighters, *ninety percent*
are nonfunctional,"  the Danitan continued.  "Some from damage
incurred in the last battles in the war.  Some from lack of parts.
Others have been cannibalized to make others spaceworthy.  Some
from lack of weaponry.  There are plenty of spaceworthy fighters
on board, but without weapons, they're worthless."
	"Where did the weapons go?"  Kiyone asked out of the blue.
Heads turned.
	The Danitan paused for a moment.  "Battles with the
saps...er...Jurains.  Most were used in raiding colonies for food
and supplies."
	"So what you're saying,"  Shara said with a hint of skepticism,
"Is that this big, bad carrier is a sitting duck?"
	Danyana'tal smiled.  "Precisely."
	"What's your deal?"  Shara asked.
	"Immunity from prosecution on the war crimes charges," she
answered.  "And asylum."
	Shara didn't look convinced.  Mihoshi saw Kiyone writing more
stuff down in her book.  The words, "colony raids," were underlined
twice.
	"This is the plan of attack,"  Mitsuki said.  "According to
Lieutenant Danyana'tal, the Kingslayer will scramble all of her
remaining fighters as soon as we're detected."  The hologram shifted
to an overhead view of a battlefield.  On one side, red triangles
represented Danitan fighters.  A red rectangle was behind them,
representing the Kingslayer.  On the other side of the field, green
triangles represented GP patrol ships.  "Now GP R and D have come
up with something that's going to make this the shortest dogfight
of all time.  The SpaceGhost missile.  It has a range of forty
kilometers, that's twenty more than whatever missile the Danitan
fighters will have.  We'll give Zara a chance to surrender, but we
doubt she will.  When the ping goes off, you fire.  One barrage with
these new missiles, and the Kingslayer's fighter defense will be
wiped out."
	"Once that's done,"  Mitsuki continued, "We will give Zara the
opportunity to surrender again, this time with the threat of
bombardment to back it up.  Two of our squadrons will be outfitted
with N2 bombs or torpedoes.  If we have to, we'll reduce Kingslayer
to rubble."  Mitsuki smiled.  "I would prefer to tow her back in
one piece, so don't get too eager."  There were a few laughs.
Kiyone was still jotting down notes.
	"What's wrong?"  Mihoshi whispered as Mitsuki continued the
briefing.
	Kiyone leaned over and whispered back.  "Danyana'tal," she told
her.  "She looks far too content with herself for a woman who just
sold out her friends."
	Mihoshi looked up.  The Danitan was sitting quietly in her
chair.
	"Maybe she just didn't have any,"  Mihoshi suggested.
	Kiyone shook her head.  "This doesn't feel right."  She didn't
say another word for the rest of the briefing.

	Mayuka rested in the bath and sighed.  She had been late to
practice, and as promised, Grandpa Yosho had trained her for
twice as long as normal.
	She smiled.  Grandpa Yosho.  That felt natural.  He *was*
her grandpa, and Ryoko was her mother.  Washu would always be
Gramma Washu.  Her family.
	So what if *genetically* she were different?  Ryoko was a
"demon," and it didn't seem to bother her any.  She was making a
big deal over nothing.
	She opened her eyes just in time to see her mother materialize
ten feet above the water, curled up in a ball...
	Right in front of her.
	Mayuka cried out in surprise as her mother fell and hit the
water, enveloping the dark haired Masaki in a tidal wave of
Ryoko-ish proportions.
	"Thanks, Mom,"  Mayuka growled as she sputtered.
	Ryoko surfaced and took a seat next to her daughter.  "Just
thought I'd wake you up, hon.  How was practice?"
	Mayuka moaned.
	"Well, that's what you get for taking a day off from school,"
Ryoko told her with a slight smile.  She regretted saying it.
Mayuka had skipped a day  because of  what had happened the night
before.  Ryoko didn't want to bring it up.
	"Yeah, well, I'll be okay,"  Mayuka told her.  Ryoko smiled
in relief.
	"I hope so,"  Ryoko told her with a grin.  "You still have
that date with Masaru Friday."
	Mayuka groaned.  "I forgot about that!  That's tomorrow night!"
	Ryoko only grinned at her daughter's predicament.
	"Maybe I shouldn't go..."
	"Nonsense!"  Ryoko piped up.
	"Yeah, but..."
	"I have an idea,"  Ryoko told her.  "Why don't you ask Chi
to go with you?"
	Mayuka arched an eyebrow.  "Because then it's not a date."
	"It is if she brings a guy,"  Ryoko told her.  "A double
date!"
	Mayuka blinked.  "I don't know."
	"C'mon, Mayuka,"  Ryoko said, "I think you'd probably have
more fun if you did."
	Mayuka smiled.  "Yeah...And I really don't feel like doing
anything romantic or anything.  Okay.  I'll call Chi."
	"Good girl."  Ryoko sat back in the bath and closed her eyes.
	"Oh, Mom?"
	"Yes, hon?"  Ryoko replied, not opening her eyes.  She
regretted being so lax a moment later when a bucketful of cold water
hit her square in the face.  Ryoko gasped and sputtered.
	"Just waking you up,"  Mayuka said with a grin.

	Zara bowed before the tree.
	"Speak,"  an ethereal voice commanded.  Zara frowned.  The
voice was male, not that of the goddess.
	"I would  speak with Her Holiness."
	"Impossible."  A hologram appeared above the tree.  It was
that of an old man with pupilless eyes.
	Zara frowned.  She wanted to speak directly with her goddess,
not one of her male 'assistants.'  "I require a divine favor, from
a divine source,"  Zara continued.
	The male bristled.  "I speak for Her Holiness.  I can..."
	"It is all right, D3," a new voice, a female voice announced
from nowhere.  Zara looked up.  Above the male's image, another,
larger image towered.  This was Her Holiness.  The Goddess, Tokimi.
"Speak, reverant child,"  Tokimi beckoned.
	"I require your protection, Your Holiness.  If we do not
have it, my...your...great ship, Kingslayer will be lost, and your
plans foiled by the heathen Galaxy Police."
	"I see,"  Tokimi said with a lazy smile.  "You will
be...protected.  Go now, child."
	Zara bowed.  "Tokimi's will be done."  She stood to go.
	"Child,"
	Zara turned.
	"Pass a message to my voice.  Bring my sister to me.  Bring me
Washu."
	Zara bowed again.  "Tokimi's will be done."
	With that she left.

	"Kiyone?"
	Kiyone looked up from the computer terminal, the only source
of light in the darkened computer archive room.  "Mihoshi?  What is
it?"
	Mihoshi yawned.  She was in her pink pajamas and fuzzy
slippers.  A Ryo-Ohki doll was in her hand.  "What are you doing?
It's two o'clock in the morning.  We have a mission tomorrow.  You
need your rest."
	Kiyone shook her head.  "There's something wrong, Mihoshi.
*Very* wrong.  I can feel it."
	"So what are you doing here?"
	Kiyone paused.  "I've been running searches."
	"Searches for what?"
	Kiyone paused long enough to type in a new search command.
"Remember how Danyana'tal said that most of the Kingslayer's
weaponry had been used up raiding colonies?"
	"Yeah, so?"
	"So, I've been doing some checking.  Eighteen colonies have
been raided in the past five years in Sector Three.  Of them all,
there's only been one case where there have been no survivors.
The other colonies that were raided described pirate ships and
known criminal outfits.  Not Danitans."
	"So it was probably  the colony where everyone was killed,"
Mihoshi noted sagely.
	"That's just it,"  Kiyone said in frustration.  "One colony.
*One.*  That's not enough to feed a carrier with a crew of over ten
thousand!"
	Mihoshi blinked.  "But...If it wasn't them...Then who?"
	"Maybe it was them.  It was *probably* them.  Who raided the
colony doesn't concern me.  What concerns me is that even if it was
the Kingslayer, it's not enough.  Not enough food taken, not enough
weaponry used...So that brings up a very important question.  If
Danyana'tal is lying about raiding the colonies, what else is she
lying about?"
	"Hmmm,"  Mihoshi replied.  "I wonder what they've been
eating."
	"Huh?"
	"Well, if they're not eating the colonists' food, then who's
been feeding them?"
	Kiyone looked back at her screen.  Mihoshi was right.  The
Kingslayer had a crew of over ten thousand, and they haven't been
raiding colonies.  They had no support from Danitan.
	Who was feeding them?
	And what were they getting in  return?

	Kiyone ran her palm over the outer hull of the Mahotsukai
and gave it a loving pat.  She checked the fuel lines, tugged at
the SpaceGhost missiles, hanging from their hardpoints, and nodded.
Everything looked okay.  She looked up and saw Shara on the other
side of the flight deck conducting her own preflight of the
Karisuma.  The shared a look and nodded to one another.
	Mihoshi walked up to her and handed her a cup of coffee.
Kiyone took it gratefully.  She was alert enough for battle, but
regretted not getting more sleep.
	"How do you feel?"  Kiyone asked her partner.
	Mihoshi liked her dry lips.  "Scared."
	Kiyone nodded.  "Good.  That's how you're supposed to feel."
	"How many times have you done this?"  Mihoshi asked.  After
transferring to admin, she had lost touch with her partner.
	Kiyone shrugged.  "A few colonial defense missions near
Zehran."  She offered Mihoshi a smile.  "Relax.  Just take a breath
and stay calm."  Mihoshi nodded.  "Did you memorize that data on
the Kingslayer?"  She nodded again.  "Good."  Just then, Kiyone's
watch beeped.  She raised it and activated the comm.
	"We're within range of the Antara Nebula.  That's where she's
hiding.  No activity yet.  We're a go."  Mitsuki's voice was filled
with excitement.
	"She seems optimistic,"  Mihoshi commented.
	"Yeah,"  Kiyone replied.  "Hope it doesn't kill us."

	Ryoko knocked on the closet door.  "Washu?"  She licked her
lips.  "Mom?"  she called again, a little more softly.  "Can I
come in?"
	There was no answer.
	"Well...I just wanted to...let you know that Yosho's not going
to be here the next couple of days...and that...well...I'm making
lunch..."
	Nothing.
	Ryoko sighed.  "Okay...well...I'm running up to the store.
I'll...talk to you later, I guess."

	Inside the lab, wiping a tear away, Washu listened to her
daughter outside.  She wanted to throw open the door and hug her,
needed to in fact.
	But she couldn't do it.
	Her daughter had made it quite obvious that she didn't want
anything to do with her.  Maybe she felt guilty about it now, but
Washu knew that after awhile, Ryoko would go back to feeling
resentment towards her.  And she knew where that resentment came
from.
	<I couldn't save him,>  she thought sadly.  <The one time my
daughter needed me the most, and all I could do was watch the man
she loves die under my hands.>
	That's where the coldness came from.  She had suspected for a
long time.  After Tenchi had died, Aeka and Sasami had turned to one
another for comfort.  Mihoshi had latched onto Kiyone.  But Ryoko...
	Ryoko had reacted by turning even further away from her mother.
	Because she blamed her for his death.
	Even if she would never say it out loud.
	Washu closed her eyes and let the tears flow a little faster.
She had been kidding herself for fifteen years.  She thought Ryoko
would eventually come around, that she would seek out her mother for
comfort.
	She hadn't.
	Instead, she had taken comfort from raising Mayuka for Tenchi.
That made Washu...superfluous.
	Excess baggage.
	It would probably be better if she just left.  Left her daughter
and granddaughter.  They would be happier without her causing so
much grief.
	She sighed and fell to the ground crying.

	The Mahotsukai shuddered slightly from the spacial turbulence
created by the nebula cloud they were flying through.  Kiyone looked
out at the cloud around and took a quick moment to admire its beauty.
This was one of the reasons she had joined the Galaxy Police.  It
was a chance to go out and see galactic wonders like this...and get
paid for it.
	She looked to her left and could make out the shape of Shara's
Karisuma not far away.  All four squadrons were out here, en route
to force the Kingslayer's surrender.  She checked the nav computer.
If Danyana'tal was right...or truthful...then the Kingslayer would
be coming up in less than ten minutes.  She ran a check over the
tactical systems again.  Everything looked okay.
	She looked to her right and found Mihoshi staring dully out
the window.
	"Hey, Mihoshi, are you okay?"  Kiyone asked.
	"Hmmm?"  Mihoshi asked, turning back to her.  "Yeah, Kiyone,
I'm fine," she said woodenly.
	"Are you sure?"  Kiyone asked.
	"Kiyone,"  Mihoshi began, turning back to the window.  "Did I
do the right thing?"  Kiyone blinked in confusion.  "Leaving him, I
mean."
	Kiyone's face contorted in anger, anger at the sniveling,
rat-bastard who had lead Mihoshi around by the nose for the past
three years, only to toss her aside when something else came along.
"You're damn right you did,"  Kiyone told her.  "He's just lucky I
wasn't there, because I would have seriously beaten the shit out of
him for what he did to you."
	Mihoshi sighed.  "It wasn't always like that," she said softly.
"He really did  love me...once..."
	"The hell with him, Mihoshi!"  Kiyone snapped.  "You don't
need someone like that!"
	Mihoshi looked down at her lap, pensive.  "I know.  It's just
that...maybe if I had tried harder to..."
	"To what?"  Kiyone asked sympathetically.  "Keep him from
sleeping with his secretary?"  Mihoshi flinched visibly.  "Mihoshi,
you tried everything you could.  This is his fault, not yours."
	Mihoshi turned as a light on her control board began to beep.
She checked it.  "Five minutes to target," she noted.
	Kiyone bit her lip and turned back to the helm.  "Okay, let's
go."

	Zara sat in her command chair and toggled the com switch on
the armrest.  "Intercept One, this is SkyQueen.  Report status."
	"SkyQueen, Intercept One," the female voice replied over the
speaker.  "We're all tucked neatly in our racks.  Drop us at your
convenience."
	Zara smiled and switched frequencies.  "Foxhound One, SkyQueen,
report."
	"SkyQueen, Foxhound One,"  another female voice replied.
"Holding position.  Z plus sixty kilometers, bearing zero mark
zero-nine-zero."
	"Understood.  Wait until the trap is sprung.  Initiate
electronic jamming and stay on station until you have visual
confirmation."
	"Roger, SkyQueen."
	She quickly checked the status of the other three squadrons
flying tandem with the squadron dubbed, "Foxhound."
	"Come and get me," she whispered.

	There was one more bump, then the Mahotsukai, followed by the
other forty-seven GP patrol ships cleared a nebula cloud.
	"There she is, tucked in nice and neat,"  Kiyone said, just a
little surprised.  They were still seventy kilometers away, and they
could already make out the black warship's fork.
	"That's a big ship,"  Mihoshi whispered in awe.
	"That's a bloody big ship,"  Shara commented over the comm.
	Kiyone toggled the switch that would connect her to the Gavin
Stolykios.  "Home Nest, this is Osprey Three-Zero.  Have visual
contact with the target.  Request permission to arm and fire."
	"Stand by, Osprey Three-Zero.  Communications with the target
have been established."

	Zara smiled as she listened to the GP message.
	"Attention Kingslayer,"  a female voice commanded.  "This
is Captain Mitsuki Murasume of the GPS Gavin Stolykios.  You are
ordered to surrender and prepare to be boarded."
	Zara's smile widened to a grin.  "Launch Intercept One," she
ordered.

	"Kiyone,"  Mihoshi said worriedly.  Her face was transfixed
on the sensor panel.  "They're launching fighters."
	"How many?"  Kiyone asked.
	Mihoshi checked the count.  "Um...Fifteen or sixteen."
	"That's it?"  the teal-haired detective asked in surprise.
	"Yeah.  Nothing else.  They're closing."
	"Home Nest to all patrol ships,"  Mitsuki's voice called out
over the speakers.  "They're not going for it.  You have permission
to arm and fire."
	"'Bout bloody time,"  Shara muttered.
	Kiyone typed the command to connect her with the rest of her
squadron.  "Okay, you heard her.  Target interceptors and fire at
will."
	After the acknowledgements had been made, Kiyone brought up
the targeting scanners.  She heard the beeping turn into a steady
ping as the SpaceGhost missile they were carrying locked on to one
of the interceptors.
	She reached out and pressed the FIRE key.  "Missile away!"
	A white smoke trail flew out from under the Mahotsukai,
followed by almost forty others as the rest of the patrol craft
fired.  Mihoshi watched the sensor screen.  The Danitan fighters
were still flying in formation.  She looked up as a bright, white
light filled the window.
	The missiles had struck their targets.
	The light subsided to be replaced by a dark cloud, a cloud
the GP were heading directly towards.  Mihoshi checked the screen
again, but the cloud generated by so many explosions had rendered
it all but useless.
	"Did we get them?"  she asked.
	Kiyone stared out in front of her.

	Mitsuki pounded the panel before her and grinned victoriously.
The scanners had told her what she was hoping/expecting to see.
	SPACEGHOST MISSILES FIRED-  42
	DIRECT HITS-  42
	KILL PERCENTAGE- 100%
	She turned to the communications officer.  "Comm, contact
the Kingslayer again and repeat out..."
	"Ma'am," she was interrupted from another sensor station.
She turned.
	"What?"  the redhead asked.
	The sensor officer pointed at his screen.  "I'm still reading
bogies."

	Kiyone stared at the cloud.
	"Did we get them?"  Mihoshi asked.
	Suddenly, sixteen, dart-like shapes exploded from the cloud
heading directly toward them!  The Mahotsukai's ping alarm went off.
	"SHIT!"  Kiyone cried and threw the GP craft into a hard right
turn.  Several smoke plumes shot from the Danitan fighters and made
right for the GP patrol craft.
	Mihoshi yelped in surprise as a Danitan missile streaked by,
only a few feet from their canopy.  She saw sixteen green arrows
disappear from the sensors as the missiles found their targets.
	"What..."  Mihoshi started to ask, but was cut off as Shara's
voice came screaming over the communicator.
	"BANDITS!  BANDITS!  BANDITS!"
	Kiyone checked her own scanner and looked up, above them.
Mihoshi followed her gaze.
	Sixty more Danitan fighters were racing down from the nebula
cloud above them.  Mihoshi's eyes widened in fear.
	"Ninety percent down, my ass!"  Kiyone muttered.  She brought
the ship around again, bringing it around behind a Danitan fighter
that was chasing a fellow GP.  Mihoshi held onto her terminal as the
high speed maneuver pushed her to the right.
	Kiyone opened fire on the fighter, watching as blue meson bolts
shot out in search of their target.  Mihoshi gasped at what she saw
next...
	A golden shaft of light appeared behind the fighter and blocked
the meson bolts, turning and twisting to block each successive shot.
	"That's a Light Hawk Wing!"  she gasped.
	This thought just barely registered in Kiyone's mind.  "What?!"
she asked.
	"They're using Light Hawk Wings!"  Mihoshi repeated urgently,
pointed at the fighter in front of them.  Kiyone looked up to see
the fighter's plasma cannon tear into the GP ship it was chasing.
Their sister craft burnt up and exploded.
	"Shit!"  Kiyone cried.
	"Kiyone, they're..."
	"They're not Light Hawk Wings, Mihoshi!"  Kiyone snapped.
"Danitans don't have them, and even if they did, fighters are too
small to carry them!"
	"Tenchi used them!"  Mihoshi countered.
	Kiyone paused.
	"I'm telling you, Kiyone, they're Light Hawk Wings!  I know!
I've seen them up close!"
	Kiyone bit her lip and checked the sensor panel.  Six more
GP ships had been destroyed in the last two minutes...
	But no Danitan fighters.  She looked up again.  If Mihoshi
was right...
	<Oh shit!>
	"Home Nest, this Osprey Three-Zero!"  she shouted into the comm.

	"Captain," the GP comm officer called out.  "Osprey Three-Zero
is requesting permission to  withdraw her squadron."
	Mitsuki turned in shock.  "What?  Kiyone wants to bug out?!
Why?"
	"You're not going to believe this, Ma'am.  She says that the
Danitan fighters have deployed Jurain Light Hawk Wings."  The comm
officer's face was filled with disbelief.
	Mitsuki did a double take.  "Huh?!"
	Danyana'tal approached her.  "An illusion," she assured the GP
captain.  "Created  with holographic projectors and thoron fields.
We have been startled, but we can still pull a victory from this."
	Mitsuki looked up at the tactical board skeptically.
	"I'm telling you,"  Danyana'tal said, "My former comrades have
nothing left!"
	Mitsuki bit her lip and made a command decision.

	"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!?"  Kiyone screamed into the comm and
she threw the Mahotsukai into another high-g turn.  Plasma bolts
shot past their ship, narrowly missing it.
	"You are ordered to regroup and hold your ground, Osprey
Three-Zero,"  the Gavin Stolykios' comm officer repeated.
	She quickly switched frequencies.  <Fuck Mitsuki!>
	"Shara!  Are you there!?"
	"I'm with you, Kiyone!"  Shara's voice came through over some
static.  They heard the orange haired detective grunt as she threw
the Karisuma into another maneuver.  "This party fucking sucks!"
	"We're bugging out,"  Kiyone told her.  "Grab whoever you can
and..."
	Shara screamed.  There was the sound of an explosion, then
static.
	"Shara?!"  Kiyone inquired urgently.  "Karisuma, respond!"
	Mihoshi looked up fearfully.
	"FUCK!"  Kiyone cried.  She hit another communications
frequency.  "Mahotsukai to all remaining ships!  Retreat to fallback
positions!  Enemy is superior!  Repeat!  Enemy *is* superior!"
	Nothing.
	Kiyone readjusted the frequency.
	"KIYONE!"  Mihoshi screamed.
	She looked up just in time to see a Danitan fighter, plasma
cannons blazing, coming right toward them!
	Kiyone threw  the Mahotsukai into a dive, just barely avoiding
the fighter's weapons.  "Mihoshi, check the frequencies!"
	Mihoshi's hands danced across her control board.  The
Mahotsukai's computer gave her an answer.
	"We're being jammed," Mihoshi said quietly.  Kiyone looked at
her in fear as Mihoshi continued.
	"We can't talk to anyone."

	"Get them back!"  Mitsuki screamed at the comm officer.
	"We can't!  Signal is being jammed at the source.  We've lost
communications as well as telemetry!"
	Mitsuki growled.  "Blind, deaf, and dumb," she muttered.
	Danyana'tal put a hand on her shoulder.  "Do not worry.  This
is a typical scare tactic.  The Kingslayer is no doubt attempting to
retreat and doing this so that you will not commit more fighters to
the attack."
	Mitsuki turned to the now darkened screen before her.

	The Kingslayer was doing just about everything *except*
retreating.
	Right now, it was turning its attention to the small GP ship
that was heading right for it.
	"Kiyone!  What are you doing!?"  Mihoshi cried out as she
held onto the control board with every last bit of will in her.
	Kiyone didn't tear  her eyes away from the monstrosity.
"Those fighters are cutting us off.  This is the only way out!"
	"This isn't a way out!"  Mihoshi blubbered.  The Kingslayer
was growing larger before them.  The ship shuddered under them.
Mihoshi checked the sensor.  "We picked four up!"  she cried.
	Kiyone checked her own screens.  Sure enough, four of the
Danitan fighters had broken off from the main group and were chasing
them.  She turned back to the Kingslayer.  "You ever skin-dance,
Mihoshi?"  she asked.
	Mihoshi looked at her in shock.  "Hey!  It was just that one
time, and I used that money to pay for junior college!"
	Kiyone actually had to bite down a laugh.  "You'll see what I
mean in a minute," she said instead.  She aimed the Mahotsukai's
nose toward the double-prong front of the Kingslayer and throttled
up as far as the GP ship would go.  She bit her lip anxiosly and
checked her screen.  With communications being jammed, she couldn't
contact the other GP ships in her squadron.  She couldn't help them,
and she couldn't warn them.  She prayed that they would notice her
retreat and follow suit, but from the looks of things, Mitsuki's last
orders were being followed to the letter.
	The GP were making their stand.
	And losing.
	She grit her teeth and watched the Kingslayer get larger before
her.

	"She's in attack position,"  Zara's acting EXO, Commander
Tarana'val, gasped in shock.
	Zara looked at the viewscreen and smiled.  <A woman with a
Danitan spirit is piloting that ship,>  she thought.  "No," she told
Tarana'val in a whisper of admiration.  She smiled.  "She's going
to ram us."

	Mihoshi closed her eyes and grit her teeth, a small whine
escaping from between her lips as she held onto the board for dear
life.
	Kiyone watched the sensor grid as the distance in kilometers
between the Kingslayer and Mahotsukai closed at an alarming rate.
The Kingslayer wasn't firing yet.  Kiyone wondered why until the ship
bucked beneath them and reminded her of the four Danitan fighters
just behind them.
	Her eyes widened in shock at what happened next.
	Three shafts of yellow light spread out from the front of the
Kingslayer, spread out and equidistant to one another.  Kiyone had
only seen such a phenomenon once, when her squadron had watched a
battle between two Danitan frigates and Jurain cruiser.  Only this
time, it was the Danitan ship that was deploying them.
	Light Hawk Wings.
	A second later, she realized what would happen next.
	"Oh shit!"  she cried.  "Mahotsukai, transfer auxillary and
emergency power to the ion drive!"
	She was pressed back into her seat as the GP ship rushed
forward.  Kiyone could feel the ship shaking under her from the
tremendous stress it was under.  As she predicted, the wings began
to fan out to cover the entire forward area.
	"Come on, come on,"  she muttered, aiming the ship for an area
that the wings did not yet cover.
	She watched the distance meter as it counted down.  Three
kilometers....two kilometers...one kilometer....
	Zero!
	The Mahotsukai shot past the edge of the wings, three Danitan
fighters right on its heels.  The fourth, however, was not so lucky.
It clipped the expanding wing and went spinning out of control,
striking one of the Kingslayer's sensor arrays and exploding on
impact.
	Kiyone wasn't even worried about it.  She was maneuvering the
tiny ship just over two meters from the top of the Kingslayer's hull,
three fighters right behind it.  The Mahotsukai bobbed and weaved
around sensor arrays and gunnery stations as it raced for the stern.
The fighters, their pilots more familiar with the Danitan warship,
had no problem following.
	Suddenly they were out in open space again.  Kiyone checked
the sensors and found the fighters still after them.
	<Shit.>
	"Mihoshi!  Mihoshi!  Wake up!"
	"I'm up!"  Mihoshi squealed, opening one eye, then the other.
"Oh, we made it!"  she cheered.
	The ship lurched beneath them.
	"Oh...My mistake," she amended.
	"Start blowing our flares and chaff!"  Kiyone told her.
"We're the only sensor contact out here!  Those fighters will have
no trouble locking on unless we start confusing them fast!"
	"Right!"  Mihoshi set the chaff and flare dispensers and began
shooting the countermeasures out behind them.
	The ping alarm went off.
	Kiyone and Mihoshi both looked at the flashing red light on
the terminal.  "Oh no,"  Mihoshi breathed.
	Kiyone wasn't listening.  She was checking the sensors.
Three more blips were heading their way.  "Come on, come on, go
for it," she whispered.
	She watched as one by one the blips began to veer away from
them.  The first one disappeared, then another, then the last.
	"They're going for the decoys!"  Mihoshi cheered.
	"There's got to be some way to shake these guys!"  Kiyone cried.
She checked the screen again, double checking something.  "They're
flying Starhornets."  She turned to Mihoshi.  "Mihoshi!"
	Mihoshi replied, citing from memory without even pausing to
think.  "Maximum speed on an F-23 Starhornet is fifteen hundred kps,
two lidar guided missiles, range twenty kilometers!  Four thermal
guided missiles!  Range ten kilometers!  Two forward firing VA-2
plasma cannons, set and fixed."
	"Sensors?"
	"Um..."  Mihoshi's memory began to fail.
	"Come on, Mihoshi,"  Kiyone begged as the GP ship shuddered
from another near miss.
	"Type two lidar!"  Mihoshi announced.  "No doppler!  And their
short range sensors can be confused by multiple targets."
	<Multiple targets, huh?>
	Kiyone began checking for something, anything they could use
against the fighters.  She checked the navigation chart and smiled.
An asteroid field.  That might work.
	All they had to do was get there before their ship was reduced
to a shredded mess.

	"Sensor contact!"  the Gavin Stolykios' sensor officer called
out, excitedly.  Mitsuki looked up hopefully.  "Bearing zero-two-zero
mark zero-four-one!"
	The bridge crew cheered.  Mitsuki smiled in relief.  "Get them
aboard as quickly as possible.  As soon as they're all aboard we'll..."
	The sensor officer turned to her, fear on his face.  "Ma'am....
They're not ours."
	Mitsuki's face fell.  "On screen!"  She turned and gaped in
shock as a black cloud approached the GP ships.  As it got closer,
she could see this wasn't a cloud.
	It was fighters.
	She turned to Danyana'tal.  "What the..."
	Danyana'tal was grinning at her.  "Kingslayer," she whispered.
A second later, she disappeared in flash of purple light.
	Mitsuki, turned back to the screen.  "Mother of God," she
whispered.  The fighters were getting closer.  "Shields!"  she cried.
"SHIELDS!"
	The fighters opened fire, missiles and torpedoes streaked
from beneath the interceptor's hardpoints and struck key areas
along the GP ships' hulls.
	The Gavin Stolykios lurched to one side.  Mitsuki fell forward,
her head striking a control panel.
	The world went dark.

	Mayuka applied just a touch of lipstick and checked herself
in the mirror.  She had made a couple of calls.  The first to Masaru
to reschedule and ask if he would pick her up at the house rather
than meet her after school.  The other call was to Chi to ask her
to come along.  She said sure.  When Mayuka asked if she would be
able to find a date in time, Chi had just laughed and said she'd go
hunting after school.
	Content that she looked okay in her simple, but stylish blue
dress, she started down the stairs.  Her mother was waiting for her,
one of Grandpa Noboyuki's old cameras in her hands.
	"Ack!  No!  Don't you dare!"  Mayuka cried, covering her face.
	Ryoko lowered the camera and glared.  "As your mother I have a
responsibility to record your development in se...er...romance.
Now smile!"   Sitting on top of her head, Ryo-Ohki miya'd in happy
agreement.
	Mayuka sighed as Ryoko took several pictures of her.
	"Now remember,"  Ryoko told her, straightening Mayuka's dress
and fixing her hair.  "If you like him, glomp him.  Guys love that.
And your legs are nice, so show them..."
	"Mom!"  Mayuka cried, turning red.  "Please!  He'll be here
any minute!  You're not going to do this around Masaru and Chi, are
you?!"
	Ryoko sighed.  "It's just that this is your first big date...I'M
SO EXCITED!"
	Mayuka sighed again.  "Mom...I know I you think this is a big
deal, but it's not.  It's just a double date.  It's no big deal."
	The doorbell rang.
	"He's here!"  Ryoko announced excitedly.  "Oh!  Ryo-Ohki,
you'd better disappear!"
	"Miya!"  Ryo-Ohki dashed off to hide somewhere.
	Mayuka growled.  "I'm telling you, it's no big deal!"  She
opened the door to find Masaru Kuno standing there in a tuxedo,
holding a bouquet of roses.  "Oh, jeez..."
	Ryoko aimed her camera.
	"Sweet Mayuka Masaki,"  Masaru began.  "I, Masaru Kuno, am here
to accompany you to your destiny!"
	"Oh, why are all the good ones taken?!"  Masaru blinked and
turned to the owner of the remark.  Chi and a young American boy
were approaching.
	"Hi, Chi!"  Mayuka cried, waving.
	"Er..." was the best Masaru could do.
	"You don't mind if this is a double date, do you, Kuno baby?"
Chi asked.
	"I certainly do..."  he began to say as Mayuka was saying.
	"It would really mean a lot to me."
	"...not!"  Masaru finished, putting on a smile.  "The more, the
merrier, I always say!"
	"Great.  By the way, this is Josh,"  Chi told them, chucking a
thumb at the blonde American.  "He's a foreign exchange student from
Massachussetts."
	Josh waved nervously.  "O-hio."
	The rest of them blinked.  Mayuka pulled Chi aside.  "Does he
speak *any* Japanese?"
	Chi grinned and shook her head.  "Nope.  Just the way I like
them.  Tall, blonde..." she smiled evilly, "And totally dependent on
me!"  She turned to Josh and said something in English, pointing to
Masaru and Mayuka.  The American started to stretch out his hand,
but stopped and bowed instead.  "See?  He's learning,"  Chi told
her friend.  "C'mon!  Let's go!  I'm starved!"
	"Okay, let me grab my purse."  Mayuka ran back inside and
found her purse where she left it, lying on the  couch.  She picked
it up and paused.  It seemed a little heavy.  Oh well.  She dashed
out the door, stopping long enough to give Ryoko a kiss goodbye.
"Bye, Mom!"
	"Have fun, Mayuka,"  Ryoko said with a smile.

	The Mahotsukai lurched to one side!
	"Starboard engine's on fire!"  Mihoshi cried.
	"Shut it down!"  Kiyone cried as she dipped the GP ship under
another asteroid.  So far, the asteroid field idea wasn't panning out.
The fighters seemed to have no problem following them.  The ship
bucked again.  "There goes another hull plate,"  Kiyone muttered.
	At least the fighters couldn't use their missiles.  The
floating debris made them unreliable.  Of course, because of that
floating debris, Kiyone had to fly slower, and that meant the
fighters were now close enough to use their cannons.
	Kiyone put the ship into a hard dive.  She scanned a nearby
asteroid and bit her lip.  It was tricky, but they were running
out of time.  She did a quick proximity scan.  There was a planet
nearby, but that wouldn't do them any good.  Their only hope was
the asteroid.
	She nosed over and made for one of the massive rock's gaping
holes.
	"Um...Kiyone?  What are you doing?"  Mihoshi asked.
	"You *really* don't want to know,"  Kiyone told her.
	Mihoshi saw the cave mouth getting wider as they approached.
"OH MY GOD!  ARE YOU INSANE!?"
	Mihoshi began screaming as the Mahotsukai flew into the cave.
The Danitan fighters were right behind it, blasting away with their
plasma cannons.
	Kiyone was using the instruments to guide her through the
cave.  The Mahotsukai was still a GP craft, which meant it was
equipped with sensors sensitive enough to detect contraband.  Within
seconds, the entire cave network was mapped out.  <Let's hope the
fighters aren't as well equipped,>  she thought.
	Behind them, one Danitan fighter brushed against the cave wall,
but the Light Hawk Wing appeared and protected it.
	Kiyone shook her head at the sensors.  "Dammit!"  she cried in
frustration.  "The exit's coming up and they're still behind us!"
They couldn't continue this forever.  Eventually, they were going to
run out of fuel, or one of the fighters was going to get in a shot
at the port engine.  After that, it was over.
	Mihoshi wasn't listening.  She was looking back and forth
from the sensors to the view out the window.  A second later she
called out.  "Mahotsukai, command authorization, Kuramitsu, Mihoshi!
Arm bomb one!"
	"Mihoshi?!"  Kiyone asked.
	"The exit's coming up, right?!"  Mihoshi asked.  "We drop that
N2 bomb we were saving for the Kingslayer before we leave the cave,
and the cave walls channel the blast into the fighters behind us!"
Kiyone didn't look convinced.  "At the very least it's worth a try,
Kiyone!"  she cried.
	Kiyone thought for a second, then, "Mahotsukai, confirm
command authorization.  Makibi, Kiyone.  Arm bomb one!"
	"Bomb one armed.  N2 warhead, safeties off," the Mahotsukai's
computer informed them.
	"Okay, Mihoshi, I'm a little busy, so you're going to have to
do this."
	"Right!"  Mihoshi began searching the area around her seat,
straining against her safety harness.  Finally, she had to disengage
one of the two straps so that she could reach something next to her
seat.  She sat up again with a stopwatch in her hand.  She swallowed
nervously as she tried to remember the firing procedure.  It came
back to her and she began.  "Mahotsukai," she ordered, "Set for my
voice command.  Twenty megaton ground burst, twenty second fuse.
Release on my hack."  She watched the sensors.  When she felt they
were in the right position, she spoke again.  "Ready...ready...hack!"
	"Bomb away,"  the computer told them.
	Mihoshi engaged the watch.  "Plus five seconds," she counted.
Kiyone watched the sensors nervously.  "Plus ten seconds."
	"C'mon baby, work, dammit,"  Kiyone muttered.
	"Plus fifteen seconds!"
	"There's the exit!"  Kiyone exclaimed.  She could see stars
ahead.
	"Plus eighteen...plus nineteen..."
	The Mahotsukai shot clear of the cave.
	"Plus twenty!"  Mihoshi looked at her screen and watched it
turn white.  "Detonation!"
	"Pursuit!?"  Kiyone demanded.
	Mihoshi checked the screen, which was beginning to clear.  The
cave entrance was gone, the heat from the blast had *melted* it shut.
Even with the Light Hawk Wings, nothing was coming out of there.
"None," she said with relief.
	Kiyone shut her eyes and sighed thankfully.
	They shot open a second later.  <Oh God!>
	"SHOCKWAVE!  BRACE!"  She gripped her armrests and squeezed
tighter into her seat.  Mihoshi did the same.
	The Mahotsukai lurched forward, bucking beneath them worse than
anytime in the battle before.  The lights flickered on and off before
finally going dark.  Kiyone heard Mihoshi scream and the sound of
something hard hitting glass.  Sparks flew from the control panel
in front of Mihoshi.
	"Mihoshi?!  MIHOSHI!?"
	Mihoshi didn't answer. Alarms went off.  Red emergency lights
came on, illuminating the GP in a red glow.  Kiyone looked to her
right and found that Mihoshi's head had struck the sensor panel,
blood trickled down her forehead.
	Kiyone's flight systems  went dead.  The last of the instruments
went dark.  "Mahotsukai, eject log buoy!"  she ordered.  She heard
the dull *THUMP!* as the buoy was ejected.
	The Mahotsukai began to tumble out of control.  Kiyone held on
for dear life.  "Comm!"  she shouted.  She couldn't tell if the
computer had obeyed her and decided she'd just have to hope.  "Mayday!
Mayday!  Mayday!  This is Osprey Three-Zero to GPS Gavin Stolykios!
We are going down!  Repeat!  We are going down!  GPS Mahotsukai to
any GP ship!  We are going..."
	There was an explosion.  Then nothing.

	Mayuka munched on a slice of pizza and took another look
around at the new restauraunt that had only recently opened.  It was
a "pizza bar," a buffet where you choose your own different kinds of
pizza.
	She didn't think it would last.
	She smiled as Chi fed the American pizza.  She jumped suddenly
as she felt Masaru's foot rubbing against her own.  She turned red
and cleared her throat nervously.
	"There you go,"  Chi laughed, wiping Josh's mouth with a napkin.
She leaned over to Mayuka and whispered,  "It's so great when they
don't talk back," she said with a grin.
	She felt something moving around in her lap.
	"HEY!"  she cried out at Masaru, angrily.
	Masaru blinked.  "Is there something wrong, sweet Mayuka?"
	Mayuka brought a fist up and grimaced.  "I should..."  She
looked down as she felt it again.  It wasn't Masaru's foot, it was
her purse.  She blinked down at it.  It was moving on its own.
<What the...>
	"Miya?"
	"Eep!"  She grabbed the purse and jumped up.  "Back in a sec!
Girl stuff!"  She rushed to the bathroom.
	The three teens watched her go.  Josh asked Chi something in
English.
	"No, no," she told him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

	Mayuka entered a stall and locked it behind her.  She opened
her purse.  "Ryo-Ohki!"  she hissed.  "What are you doing here?!"
	"Miya!"  Ryo-Ohki told her with a cabbit grin.
	Mayuka arched an eyebrow.  "Better question, why am I talking
to you as if I can understand you?"
	Ryo-Ohki shrugged her cabbit shoulders.  "Miya."
	Mayuka sighed.  "Okay, look.  You can stay, just stay out of
sight, okay?"
	Ryo-Ohki raised her paw and gave Mayuka a crisp, GP salute.
"Mi-Ya!"
	She sighed again.  "Okay, back in the purse."
	"Mi..."  The other half of the cabbit's reply was muffled as
Mayuka stuffed her into the purse.
	"Shhhh!"  she ordered.  "Let's go."  She walked out of the
stall and out the bathroom door.

	Mitsuki groaned and opened her eyes.  The bridge of the Gavin
Stolykios was in pieces.  Control panels were on fire.  GP officers
were sprawled all over the bridge.  Some had collapsed and hit the
floor.  Others were slung over their control panels.  They were
either unconscious or dead, Mitsuki couldn't be sure.  She felt
something wet on her forehead and reached up tentatively with her
hand.  Looking down at her fingers, she found crimson blood there.
	Before she could attempt to rise to her feet, the lift door
opened.  She looked up and saw several Danitan soldiers in tactical
armor, their meson rifles raised threateningly, storming the bridge.
Mitsuki growled and reached for her sidearm.  She weakly raised the
blaster for a shot, but before she could pull the trigger, a
steel-toed boot kicked her gun hand, shattering her wrist.  She
cried out and collapsed back to the deck.  Her gun went flying
across the bridge.  She looked up and saw several, angry, female
faces glaring down at her from over rifles.
	"Pick her up,"  she heard someone order from behind them.
Two of the soldiers grabbed her by the the shoulders and hauled her
to her feet.  Mitsuki winced as injuries she wasn't aware she had
began to make themselves known.  She looked up as a blonde woman in
black, Jurain war garb stepped before her.  Mitsuki took a moment to
wonder why a Danitan would be wearing a Jurain outfit, but dismissed
it a moment later.  It wasn't really important.
	"You lead this rabble?"  she asked Mitsuki.  Mitsuki nodded.
The blonde woman smiled shook her head.  "Hmmm...I expected better
of a woman."
	"I'm Captain Mitsu..."
	"I don't care who you are,"  the blonde cut her off.  By now,
a few others of the surviving bridge crew were on their feet, covered
by the weapons of Danitan soldiers.  "Give me your access codes."
	Mitsuki shook her head.  "No."
	The blonde arched an eyebrow and turned.  She nodded to one
of the soldiers.  She raised her rifle to the head of the Gavin
Stolykios' sensor officer.
	"WAIT!"
	The meson bolt went right through the man's head, blood and
brain matter struck the wall next to him.  He fell to the ground,
dead.  The blonde turned back to Mitsuki.
	"Access codes."
	Mitsuki swallowed back the lump in her throat.  "No," she said.
She couldn't give them the Gavin Stolykios.  Even if they killed her
and the entire crew one by one, it wasn't a tenth of the damage that
could be done if they took the carrier intact.
	The blonde smiled.  "Perhaps you're a woman, after all.  We'll
do it the hard way."  She turned and motioned two soldiers forward.
The two carried an old wooden box between them.  Mitsuki watched
with fascination and horror as the blonde opened the box and reached
inside, removing a single tree leaf from inside.
	Mitsuki swallowed back fear.  The leaf was black, oily, and
pulsed with purple energy.  The blonde nodded to the soldiers holding
Mitsuki.  They forced the redhead to her knees as she struggled
between them.
	"I think,"  the blonde told her, "It's time to induct a new
novice into Her Holiness' faithful."  She brought the leaf up to
Mitsuki's cheek.  Mitsuki shook her head and tried to pull away from
the leaf.  Another soldier came up behind her and held her head still.
Mitsuki screamed as the plant touched her face.
	It burned!  Oh, God, it burned!  She could hear it searing into
her flesh.  She continued to scream, begging the Danitan to stop.
What were they doing?!  Was this some kind of freak torture the
Danitans were fond of?
	That's when she felt it.  It entered her very being, her mind,
body, and soul.  She felt it as it began to eclipse her spirit.
She screamed again in terror and realization.  The leaf disapeared,
melting into her face.  She screamed for another minute in one last
plea, then stopped.
	Captain Ana Zara smiled.
	Danyana'tal, dressed in a similar outfit as Zara, approached.
"Captain, boarding part reports that the ship is secure.  Team B
reports that they have taken the Wasp.  Unfortunately, the Cavis
Darktower sustained too much damage.  We won't be able to use him."
	"Order Team C to scuttle the Darktower and join us here to
repair this ship."
	"Aye aye, Ma'am."
	"I trust they didn't get a message out,"  Zara told her.
	Danyana'tal looked nervous.
	"What is it?"
	"One of the GP patrol ships made it past the blockade,"
Danyana'tal told her.
	Zara turned slowly back to her, annoyance written all over her
face.  "One?"  she asked.
	"We sent fighters after it, but they haven't reported back yet."
	Zara took a step forward.   Danyana'tal, to her credit, stood
her ground.  "All it takes,"  Zara whispered angrily, "Is *one*.  One
message to GP HQ and this whole plan...is *SHIT*!"
	"I'll dispatch more fighters,"  Danyana'tal told her.
	Zara nodded.  "You do that."  Danyana'tal left the bridge
quickly.  Zara turned back to Mitsuki, who was now standing alone,
unguarded.  "And how is my new little helper?"
	Mitsuki looked at her.  Her wrist seemed fine now.  She didn't
know why.  "I'm...I'm fine...Mistress..."
	"Good,"  Zara said smiling.  "Now get to work relinquishing
control of the ship.  After that, you may begin repairs."
	"Yes, Mistress."
	Zara turned to another soldier, but stopped when she heard *his*
voice in her mind.  <Zara, come.>
	<I'm busy,>  she projected.
	She felt a flash of pain in her mind.  Her eyes clenched shut.
	<I don't care,> he told her.  <Come.>
	She growled.  "Take over here," she ordered the soldier.  She
stepped back and whispered.  "Darkfall."   Once again she endured
the pain of the Flow and found herself on the ship of her masters.
	"When I summon you, you come,"  she heard behind her.
	Zara turned to him and growled.  "I was busy implementing *your*
plan," she growled back.
	He didn't respond to this.  "New orders from Her Holiness.
We're taking Washu."
	"Let Kayzin do it," she told him bitterly.
	"Kayzin is occupied,"  the priest told her.  "*You* are going
to take Washu."
	"And her Avatar?"
	"Don't strain yourself,"  the dark priest told her.
	"Fine," she said.
	"Take some of the Faithful with you."
	"I don't need their hel..."
	"I THINK YOU DO!!"  he snapped.  "NO MORE DEFIANCE!  YOU WILL
CARRY OUT THE WISHES OF HER HOLINESS, OR SO HELP ME, TOKIMI, I WILL
SHOW YOU PAIN THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU HAVE NEVER FELT!"
	Zara fell to her knees and screamed as she felt a taste of his
threat rip into her mind.  After that first scream, she stopped and
gritted her teeth.  She would not show weakness to him.  Finally,
the pain subsided.
	"Go," he told her.
	"Yes...Your Eminence."

	Ryoko clapped twice and rose to her feet in front of the small
shrine to Tenchi she kept in the living room.  She said a prayer
to him every night, wishing that he could be there to see what a
wonderful daughter he had.  She looked up at the shrine and sighed
sadly.
	"Tenchi," she whispered.  "If only you could see her.  You'd
be so prou..." She broke off and blinked as a chill ran up her spine.
Her eyes narrowed.  She turned suddenly, igniting her sword and
bracing for battle.  She gaped in shock at the sight before her.
	Standing in her living room, adorned in black Jurain war garb,
were five men...and one blonde woman...

	Washu closed the last case and prepared to send it through the
dimensional portal.  She looked around her now almost completely
empty lab.  Almost nothing was left.  She had packed it all up.  All
that was left was a few large cases.  In a few minutes, she would be
ready to leave.
	She paused and blinked as she felt something in her mind.
	<Wash...>
	"RYOKO!"
	She ran for the door of her lab and threw it open.  A man in
black stood there.  He ignited a black-hilted lightsword and stepped
forward, recovering from his surprise at seeing her appear there.
Washu slammed the door shut, locked it,  and backed up a few paces.
She needed a plan.
	She went to one of the cases and opened it.  Her head whipped
around in shock when a green light blade came jutting through the
door.
	<They can't do that!>  the logical part of her mind screamed.
<They can't breach a dimensional lock!  They *can't*!>  The blade
began moving up and around the door, cutting its way inside.
	Washu grit her teeth and reached into the case.  She removed
one of her earlier inventions, a phased pulse rifle.  The large weapon
looked almost comical in the hands of the little scientist, but the
look on Washu's face was anything but a funny one.  She stood before
the door and waited, watching as the blade carved a whole through
dimensions.  The blade made a full circle and stopped when it reached
the point it had entered.  The blade receded.  Washu braced herself.
	The door fell open and a black figure rushed inside, his green
sword humming angrily.  Washu aimed and fired off a blast.  An
energy field appeared in front of the figure, apparently a defensive
shield, but Washu's rifle was designed for exactly that kind of
target.  The pulse blast went right through the shield and into
the man's chest.  The man gave a strangled cry of surprise and pain
before falling down, his sword extinguishing as he fell.
	Even as the second figure was coming through the door, the
scientific portion of Washu's mind watched fascinated as the man
she had killed began to degrade into a brownish dust before her.
She brought her attention to the next target, another man in black.
She fired again, watching as the pulse took off the top of his head.
A third figure appeared at the doorway.  Washu aimed....
	And stopped.  The rifle shook ever so slightly in her hands.
	Standing in the doorway was Ryoko.  Her eyes were closed,
and blood flowed freely down her face from a cut above her eye.
Both of her hands had been cut off, the wrists were dripping blood.
At her throat was a yellow lightsword.  A face appeared over her
daughter's shoulder, a face belonging to a blonde woman.
	Washu bit back a sob of defeat.
	"Her Holiness would like a word with you, Ms. Washu,"  the
blonde told her in an almost civilized tone.  The sword didn't move
from its place at Ryoko's neck.  Two more black-clad figures appeared
at the doorway and rushed inside, taking up positions on either side
of the red-headed scientist, their swords burning brightly.
	Washu blinked back tears and lowered the rifle, allowing it to
fall from her fingers and strike the floor with a dead *clack.*
	The blonde smiled.

	Mayuka stood next to Masaru at the pizza bar as she loaded her
plate up.  "I hope you're not disappointed, Masaru,"  Mayuka said
apologetically.  "About bringing Chi and Josh along, I mean.  I was
afraid you might back out when they showed up."
	"Fear not, sweet Mayuka.  My mother always taught me to engage
every opportunity aggressively whether it be in matters of money or
matters of the heart."
	"She sounds like a very..."  Mayuka searched for a good word,
"Nice woman."
	Masaru brightened.  "Yes.  A lot of people think she's a
little heartless, but that's because they don't know her.  If it
wasn't for her business sense, my father's fortune would've been
lost long ago."
	Suddenly, Mayuka's purse began bouncing up and down as it hung
from her shoulder.  Masaru blinked in shock and puzzlement.  Mayuka
tried to grab hold of it but it was jumping around too much.
	"Mayuka?  What's..."  Masaru began to say, but before he could
finish, the purse burst open and Ryo-Ohki came flying out, landing
in the middle of a cheese pizza on the buffet.
	"MIYA!"
	A woman standing right there, and having been splashed with
tomato sauce upon the cabbit's impact with the pizza, screamed.
	This, of course, got everyone's attention.
	"THERE'S A RAT ON THE BUFFET!!!"  someone else screamed.
	This prompted vommitting and angry shouts at the management.
	Ryo-Ohki didn't seem to care.  She was miya'ing frantically,
looking around and trying to find Mayuka.  She caught sight of the
teen and starting running across the buffet toward her, trampling
over several Italian dishes as she went.
	"MIYA!  MIYA!  MIYA!"
	Meanwhile, several buffet patrons were either screaming, or
trying to swat the "rat" with spoons or plastic trays.  Ryo-Ohki,
covered in tomato sauce, kept running towards Mayuka.
	"Stand back, Mayuka!"  Masaru cried, interjecting himself
between Mayuka and what he saw as a ravenous, bloodthirsty rodent.
Ryo-Ohki jumped up, ran right over his head, and jumped, latching
onto Mayuka's chest.
	"Ryo-Ohki!"  Mayuka cried.  "What the hell are you doing?!"
	The cabbit struggled as Mayuka tried to get a hold of her.
"MIYA!  MIYA!"
	"Calm down, Ryo-Ohki!"  Mayuka cried out, trying to get a
firm hold on the slippery cabbit.
	Ryo-Ohki slipped out of Mayuka's hands and ran for the exit
of the restauraunt.
	"Ryo-Ohki!  Come back!"  The blue-haired teen ran off after
her, leaving a very stunned restauraunt behind her.

	It was incredible.  She didn't know cabbits could run this
fast!  "Ryo-Ohki!  Stop!"
	The cabbit did stop.  Right in the middle of the parking lot.
Mayuka sighed in relief and approached.
	"MIIIIIIIIYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"  Mayuka fell back on her
butt in surprise as Ryo-Ohki changed into a ship right in front of
her.  Before she could even think, she felt the familiar, dream like
sensation of Ryo-Ohki transporting her aboard.  She reappeared in
the command seat.
	"Ryo-Ohki!  What the hell are you doing!?"  Mayuka shouted.
	"MIYA!  MIYA!"  Ryo-Ohki replied.  The ship began to move at
full speed back to the house.
	For the first time, Mayuka was beginning to get really scared
about this.  What could have spooked Ryo-Ohki like this?
	It only took a few seconds to get to the house.  Ryo-Ohki
transported her to the ground reappeared beside her again in cabbit
form.  Without wasting a second, she ran forward, miya'ing urgently.
	Mayuka looked up at the house.  The lights were out.  There
was no sign of life.  Something tickled the back of Mayuka's mind.
She didn't like this one bit.  She reached into her purse and
removed the Tenchi-ken.  She took a step forward and paused, taking
a minute to swallow down fear.
	Taking a breath, she walked forward into the house...
	And screamed at what she saw.

Author's Notes:

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

Thanks for reading.  Hope you enjoyed it.  ^_^