[Author's Note: This story is placed in the "No Need for Tenchi" manga universe, an extension of the OAV series. It reflects individuals and events from the first eight mangas.] No Need for Tenchi - Minagi's Adventure Chapter 4: Loss and Hope Sasami drifted in velvety darkness, the only source of light a blazing crystal floating in the distance ahead. Ayeka and the others were flying away from the crystal and towards her. As they drew closer, she saw that Washu was carrying Ryoko, and Tenchi wasn't with them. Suddenly the crystal exploded into a fiery pyre, the flames reaching out towards them. "Look out behind you!" Sasami screamed, as loud as she could, but they didn't seem to notice the terrible blaze about to engulf them. Sasami stirred uneasily in her sleep, her blanket twisting around her. Tears slid down her cheek as she gave a small whimper and huddled into a small ball. Washu's head snapped up from surgery. "That buildup of energy - it couldn't be," she thought. Her voice snapped with authority. "Hinase! Get me communications with Yukinojo and Ryo-Ohki." [Right away, Ms. Washu.] Washu was so distracted that she didn't even correct Hinase's slip. She got right to the point as soon as Ayeka and Mihoshi appeared on the com screens. "Listen up! That ship is going to explode, and it's going to be a big one! We'll have to take shelter behind Jupiter or we'll be incinerated." "But what about Tenchi?" Ayeka cried out. "We can go back -" "There's no time, Ayeka! Listen to me. Tenchi will be fine. We, on the other hand, will not be if we're anywhere nearby when that ship goes up. Follow the Hinase." "How's Ryoko, Washu?" Mihoshi asked. "It's bad. If she hadn't used up so much of her energy in the blast, she'd be fine." Washu thought about asking Mihoshi why she was covered in soot, but decided against it; some things were better left unknown. "Now go!" Washu cut the com screens and took a deep breath. "Hinase, get us around the other side of Jupiter. I want to shelter us from the effects of the blast. And keep tracking that ship as long as you can, I need to know if anything leaves it. Understand?" [Yes, Ms. Washu]. The Hinase leaped forward at top speed, engines pushed to the max. In the operating room, Washu bowed her head. Tears ran down her face as she whispered an apology to Ryoko. "I'm sorry, honey, but I had to leave Tenchi behind. I know it's what he would have wanted." Washu looked down at Ryoko's unconscious face and gently ran a hand down her cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so very sorry." Blinking away her tears, she focused herself and dove back into surgery with frantic energy. Mihoshi sat in the Yukinojo's command chair nervously twisting her hands together. She snuffled a little bit, feeling bad about leaving Tenchi like that to face Rashava. She spoke aloud without even realizing it. "Please come back, Tenchi." Yukinojo interrupted her train of thought. [Mihoshi, my sensors are detecting movement of the unknown vessel.] "Really, where is it going?" [The TurtleDove has moved alongside and is pushing the other ship down into Jupiter's gravity well. Both vessels are accelerating downwards at a significant rate. In addition, I am reading still higher energy levels emanating from the unknown vessel. At this rate it will have the energy equivalent of a small nova.] "Oh, my! Yukinojo, will we be safe on the other side of Jupiter?" Yukinojo calculated all possible outcomes of a high-level energy burst close to a gas giant. His voice was more somber than usual as he read off the most likely outcome. [If the blast occurred in open space, we could stay sheltered behind Jupiter, but the shock wave would be sufficiently powerful to destroy all life on the Earth. With the vessel being pushed into Jupiter, the explosion will be partially absorbed and the shock wave will not be powerful enough to annihilate life on Earth, but we will no longer be shielded and will not be safe from the force of the blast.] Mihoshi's voice was small. "Yukinojo, will Tenchi survive?" [I'm sorry, Mihoshi, but Tenchi's abilities exceed my capacity to compute his chances of survival. We, on the other hand, will be quite dead if we stay where we are.] Mihoshi bit her lip. It would take time to explain everything, and time was something they didn't have. "Listen, everyone! The explosion is going to take place inside Jupiter, not on the other side. We have to move away as fast as possible!" Tears glittered in her eyes; Tenchi would have to take care of himself. Aboard Ryo-Ohki, Ayeka flinched as she heard Mihoshi's report. If it was true, they were going to be in a lot of trouble very soon. She turned to look at Jupiter and wondered what was happening on the other side. She silently prayed for Tenchi's safety. The last two warships of an ancient race sped downwards towards Jupiter. One ship gleamed silvery bright, its once sleek surface shattered in places by Ryo-Ohki's ramming attack, arcs of energy spitting from the damaged areas. Its hull glowed from the terrible energies straining to break free from within it. The second ship was coal black, its own hull marred by countless modifications. The two ships flashed from sight as the TurtleDove's straining engines drove both of them into Jupiter's tumultuous eye. The ships separated as the TurtleDove tried to use its momentum and Jupiter's dense atmosphere to deflect itself back out of the gravity well. Plumes of flame spat upwards as charged gases were rent by the energies generated in Rashava's dying ship. Then a massive explosion reached up, flames licking the TurtleDove's hull before swallowing it whole. That first explosion was just the beginning of terrible changes to Jupiter. The entire gas giant rippled as something deep within it erupted. Imperceptibly at first, then with steadily increasing speed, new changes began to sweep across its surface. Jupiter's eye began swirling tighter, losing its shape and drawing itself inwards, becoming a howling vortex that twisted and sucked the surrounding gases down into it. Jupiter itself began to deform around the sucking maw. Faster yet, more gases were sucked inwards, and in a few short minutes Jupiter was a mere third of its original size. The first bursts of light tore outwards from deep within the center of the vortex. All the closer moons shattered, sending plumes of debris flying through space. Jupiter was a quarter of its original size when the final explosion began. In a fiery annunciation the gas giant burst alight, the force of its birth exploding outwards into space. Jupiter blazed, a newborn star, its diminutive mass fed by energies released from the crystal. A massive shock wave tore outwards, obliterating all in its path and bursting the last remaining moons asunder. Mihoshi watched the events with curiosity. Pointing, she said, "Yukinojo, what's that?" [Mihoshi, that's a powerful energy wave! We're as good as dead. We have exactly two minutes before we're turned into component atoms!] "No, silly, what's that?" She pointed at a shimmering shape that had appeared between them and the approaching wave. Tears streamed down Ayeka's face as she bid Tenchi farewell. The tears were making it hard to see clearly, and Jupiter seemed to be shimmering and blurring. But then Ryo-Ohki gave a confused meow and she realized that the shimmering was caused by something between them and the onrushing energy wave. Ayeka's heart pounded as she recognized Light Hawk Wings appearing one by one, announcing the arrival of Jurai's Ship of the Beginning: Tsunami. Energies sufficient to destroy planets were brushed aside by Tsunami's power. As the three ships fled, Tsunami followed, holding open a path for them to travel in. Ayeka watched in awe and fear as Tsunami covered their retreat. She knew that even Tsunami couldn't weather such a force unmolested. Moments later her fears were confirmed as a light hawk wing flared and died. Hurtling debris and energy ravaged Tsunami's hull, blasting gracefully curved wood into pieces and stabbing bolts of energy deeply into her. When a second wing failed, Ayeka had to look away. The energy wave finally caught up with the fleeing ships. Although only a small tithe of its original power had seeped past Tsunami's defenses, it was enough to inflict serious damage on Ryo-Ohki, Hinase, and Yukinojo, violently tossing the ships around. Eventually the worst of the blast was over, and Ayeka's eyes burned as she saw the marring and scorching on Tsunami's once graceful hull. The two destroyed light hawk wings made her look lopsided. She tried several times before she could speak. "Tsunami, Sasami. I don't know how you knew, but thank you. We all owe our lives to you." She gasped as Tsunami's ghostly human form appeared floating before Ryo-Ohki. Usually Tsunami appeared flawless in her non-corporeal form, but now she looked battered and worn out. A dark stain was spreading over her left forearm. She smiled wearily at Ayeka. "You're welcome, Princess Ayeka. I - we - realized what was happening, and I came as quickly as I could." "Thank you, so very much." Tsunami gave a shy smile. "Sasami would never forgive me, or herself, if I didn't help out." Her image shimmered and began to fade. "My apologies, but I have to go now. The force released in the explosion was... considerable, and I need time to recover." Ayeka watched in silence as Tsunami turned and disappeared. The First Ship of Jurai had once again saved the royal family. She shivered as she thought of the awesome energies Tsunami had withstood to protect them. In fact, Ayeka couldn't remember a time in Jurai history when Tsunami had been so badly damaged. Whispering silent thanks to Tsunami again, she turned back to where Jupiter had once been. Not quite a full-fledged star, Jupiter still shone brightly and showed no signs of dimming. A large field of gas and debris was floating in a wide sphere around the new star, fogging its outline. It was a strangely beautiful sight. Ayeka brushed a tear from her face; the sight of Jupiter as a star was somehow uplifting. "Hey everyone, are you okay?" Ayeka turned towards the com screen to see Minagi's face peering out worriedly. She felt a sudden surge of hope. "Minagi! You're up - is Ryoko okay? Are you okay?" "Ryoko's doing fine, but she's unconscious right now, and will probably be out cold for the next day or so. I'm still a little weak from the surgery; Washu had to take quite a bit of blood and marrow from me." Ayeka sighed in relief. She had been worried about Ryoko. Not that she'd admit it, but it was good to hear that she would be fine. Now all she had to worry about was Tenchi. "Minagi, do we have any information about Lord Tenchi and those ships?" Washu's face flashed up on another com screen. She was still in her nurse's uniform. "I'm reviewing the data from before the explosion right now. It looks like both ships entered Jupiter's upper atmosphere, but only the TurtleDove started back out. Visual scans show a large preliminary explosion and then nothing. But I don't know what kind of debris Avashar's ship would have left if it had been destroyed." Mihoshi's hopeful face appeared on another com screen. "Washu, does that mean Tenchi survived?" she asked, a tinge of worry in her voice. "I feel confident that they survived the first explosion, but the second explosion and that energy wave was pretty powerful." She sounded frustrated. "I just didn't have time to set up the kind of observation we need, so we're going to have to go back and search for them." Ayeka smiled. She would search every square kilometer of the Solar System if need be to find Tenchi. "I'm positive he escaped. Let's begin, shall we?" Determination was on everyone's faces. If Tenchi was out there to be found, they would find him. 40 minutes after the explosion Sasami woke screaming. She sat panting with terror in the darkness, gripping her knees and rocking back and forth. Something terrible had happened - she knew it. Getting up, she dashed downstairs and outside to the pier. Looking up, she scanned the night sky. Katsuhito's voice came from behind her. "Sasami? Are you alright, child?" Relieved that she wasn't alone, Sasami dashed to Katsuhito and buried herself in his arms. Terrible sobs wracked her small body. "Gr- Grandfather, I had a bad dream. I saw everybody, but Tenchi was missing. A huge fire was coming after them, then I was on fire, and everyone was in danger. I'm so scared." "Nonsense, child, I'm sure everyone is fine." Katsuhito's words trailed off as the night sky suddenly brightened. Looking up, he watched a brilliant flash appear where Jupiter should have been. Stranger yet, Jupiter remained blazing in the night sky, and much, much brighter than ever before. Sasami looked up and saw Jupiter's bright glow. Tears trickled down her face. "Please be okay, everyone," she whispered up to the stars. "Please be okay." 12 hours after the explosion Minagi felt exhausted in both body and spirit. The residual radiation from Jupiter's birth was scrambling all the ship's sensors, so they could only search a fraction of the space they usually could. There was a huge amount of debris tumbling through the area; it was often hard to tell a hunk of rock from a spaceship. That required making a visual inspection of each object, which took time and kept everyone up. Her mind shied away from thinking about how much more powerful the blast must have been so much closer to Jupiter. It seemed a forlorn hope that anything could have survived this close to the center. Minagi closed her eyes in thought: "We barely survived, and we had Tsunami protecting us." It was a shame that Tsunami couldn't stay, but the damage inflicted on her hull required rest and repair. It was amazing that she had withstood energies of that magnitude. She scolded herself. The explosion was destructive enough, but Tenchi had once saved himself, Mihoshi, and Princess Ayeka from a black hole. If he hadn't been hurt too badly in combat, he should be floating around somewhere. They just had to find him. Settling her nerves, she looked over at Washu, who was using her own workstation to help scan the area from her workstation. Washu had worked magic on Ryoko, but Minagi couldn't help feeling a little guilty about Ryoko's condition. "It's not your fault, if that's what you're thinking." Minagi flinched. "How did you...? I wasn't thinking that - exactly." Washu sighed. "First, I note that you've been fixed to the command deck and haven't visited Ryoko yet." She counted the points off on her fingers. "Second, during the battle I could tell how you felt about Ryoko. And third, after the surgery you took one look at her and scurried off as fast as you could." "I did not scurry!" "Right, you were still too weak to scurry. But you tried your best to." Washu waggled a finger at Minagi accusingly. Minagi's mouth felt dry and her palms were suddenly sweaty. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest and a sick feeling in her stomach. Washu smiled and sprang off her cushion. "Let's go visit Ryoko!" Grabbing Minagi by the hand, she dragged her protesting down the corridors. Minagi struggled at first but settled down when they reached Ryoko. She couldn't get over how frail Ryoko looked just lying there. A guilty part of her blamed herself for Ryoko's terrible wound, and she thought about how this was the second time Ryoko had sacrificed so much to save her. She reached out and touched Ryoko's hand gingerly, as if she was made of the finest porcelain. Washu looked at her seriously. "Minagi, Ryoko is technically your mother. You may not have known until recently, but it doesn't change the fact you have family now. Sure, Ryoko is a hopeless degenerate with as much common sense as a cabbit, but she means well." Washu grinned lopsidedly down at Ryoko's sleeping form and brushed a lock of hair from her face. "Still, I'm her mother, and I do love my girl." "Minagi, we may not be family in the ordinary sense, and Ryoko isn't exactly the mothering figure you may be looking for. I'd like you to think of me as your Mom and Ryoko as your older, mildly delinquent sister. If that means we get hurt trying to help each other, it's only because we care. Besides, you were only trying to protect me." Minagi smiled back at Washu, feeling a bit better. Something bothered her about the "protecting her" bit, however; she couldn't quite remember the events leading up to Ryoko's injury. She shrugged and figured that if she could help find Tenchi, it might pay back the debt she owed Ryoko. She wished she could remember more about what had happened before the fight, though. "Thanks, Washu. I'm sorry about acting funny." Minagi got up, but paused at the doorway. "Washu, I can't seem to remember what happened before my fight with Rashava. Do you know why?" "Probably just a side effect from being Ryoko's blood and marrow donor. I wouldn't worry about it." Minagi smiled and headed off to the command deck. Washu watched her leave, her eyes serious. She breathed a smile sigh of relief, patted Ryoko on the head, and got up. It appeared that her selective memory swipe device worked perfectly, as she knew it would. There were parts of a mother's past that no daughter should learn about. 30 hours after the explosion "Ayeka, I know you're hurt. You must come aboard the Hinase so I can take a look at you." Washu's tone was one of mounting irritation. "I'm sorry, Washu, but I'm fine. I'm not stopping my search for Tenchi and that is final." Ayeka's voice was firm and resolute. She might regret her words later, but she would sooner die than give up on Tenchi again. "Besides, we need to cover as much space as quickly as possible." Washu looked sourly at Ayeka, muttered something about headstrong youth these days, and then cut the connection. Ayeka sighed in relief. Ayeka shivered and tried to deal with the growing fear that Tenchi was dead. Her wounds ached and she felt chilled and miserable, but she knew that she'd sooner die than give up hope. She had learned a lot from the battle with Yume and the Bizen. She knew that life could triumph even when all hope seemed lost. But so far their search hadn't turned up anything and it seemed like they needed a miracle. Washu sighed again at Ayeka's stubbornness and returned to the playback of the explosion. She had reviewed it countless times but hadn't seen any sign of an escaping ship, even at the last few seconds before the explosion. The radiation buildup before Jupiter's ignition had made it difficult to detect any kind of activity, especially of something headed away from them. All they could do was search and then search some more. It galled her to admit it, but what they needed was a miracle. Ryoko stirred and finally opened her eyes. A dull ache radiated from her side and it seemed hard to draw a deep breath. "On the plus side," she noted wryly, "the ache in my side draws attention from the fact that my body feels like it has been beaten all over." Groaning with effort, she slowly forced herself to sit up. Her head swam for a second before settling down. It took several tries, but she finally clawed her way out of bed and into the hallway. She found it much easier to lean heavily against the wall and shuffle her way towards the bridge. "God, I wish I knew how long I was out..." She finally reached the Hinase's bridge. Washu and Minagi were both intently focused on their work. Both looked exhausted; Washu hadn't changed out of her nurse's uniform, and Minagi was still dressed in a short surgical gown. "Hey, what's going on here?" Ryoko was surprised at how weak her voice sounded. Washu and Minagi slowly turned and faced her; they both seemed surprised to see her up. The haunted look in their faces froze her soul. "Wh-what happened? Where's everyone else?" Her heart started hammering and for some reason a wave of panic was building up within her. The dull look on their faces didn't bode well at all. "Ryoko, everyone's fine," Minagi replied. "Except Tenchi. Rashava's ship exploded and caused Jupiter to explode into a star." She paused, an awkward expression on her face. "We haven't been able to find any sign of Tenchi or Avashar." Her voice was hoarse with exhaustion and grief. Ryoko swayed. Suddenly she felt Washu at her side, supporting her. "You shouldn't be up yet, Ryoko. You were badly hurt and you need time to heal." "Hold on, Washu. How long have you guys been searching for Tenchi? How big an explosion are we talking about, anyway?" "We've been searching for 36 hours straight, Ryoko. Minagi came here right from your surgery and has been at the helm ever since. As for how big an explosion, the dimensional energy released was powerful enough to turn Jupiter into a new star, at least for a little while." Unable to help herself, she began to get technical. "You see, Jupiter is about 40 times smaller than an ordinary star, so it shouldn't be able to sustain such a reaction much longer. Only the release of high-level dimensional energy is keeping it burning." Ryoko didn't say anything; she just slowly slid to her knees and bowed her head. She clenched and unclenched her fists in her lap. Deep shuddering breaths wracked her body. Washu knelt next to her, pulled out a small device, and pressed it against her neck. Ryoko's ragged breathing slowed and she gently slumped over into Washu's arms. "She's not ready for this yet, Minagi. Can you get her back to bed?" Washu's expression was one of total exhaustion. Minagi nodded, unable to say anything. She felt the wave of anguish from Ryoko when she heard the news about Tenchi, and Ryoko's sense of loss tore at her heart. Tears sparkled in her eyes as she tenderly brushed Ryoko's hair before picking her up. Ryoko seemed so light and frail right now. She could feel Ryoko's heart beating rapidly. She finally returned to the bridge and rejoined Washu. She knew that Washu had to be at least as tired as she felt, but she would never suggest that Washu should take a break. She knew there was still a chance of finding Tenchi, but she also knew what they needed was a miracle. 36 hours after the explosion Ryoko slowly woke up, curled tightly in a fetal position. She stretched slowly, forcing her tense muscles to relax a bit. Rolling over on her back, she stared up at the ceiling, her yellow eyes troubled. She still felt weak, but better than she had before. Tenchi. Just thinking about him made her tremble. Forcing him from her thoughts, she focused on just getting out of bed and to the command deck again. She gritted her teeth and dragged herself out of bed. Although she wobbled a bit, she felt a lot steadier on her feet than before. Walking down the corridor was easier and she only needed to brace herself against the wall three times. Minagi and Washu were in the same place that she had last seen them. A large screen floated before them displaying the volume of space that they had already searched, but it was dwarfed by the volume that was still left to be checked. "No Tenchi yet?" Ryoko could feel the strain in her voice, but she kept her despair tightly locked away. In fact, she was forcing all her emotions away, keeping an icy shield wrapped around her. Washu turned and faced her daughter. "No, but we're still searching." "What's taking so long?" Ryoko could feel wild anger battering away at her, but her voice was soft and steady. She had to stay in control. Washu looked at Ryoko oddly before continuing. "Jupiter's birth as a star is causing havoc with our communications and our sensors. Making things worse is the energy released by Rashava's ship and that crystal of his. The higher dimensional energy is messing up my sensors. Half the material and energy radiating from Jupiter is unlike anything I've ever seen before." Frustration filled her voice; she clenched her fists unconsciously. "Our ability to search is reduced to just barely ten percent. Given the volume of space we have to search..." She looked anxiously at Ryoko. "Tsunami, what about her?" There was a edge to Ryoko's voice now. Washu's shoulders tensed; Ryoko's emotions were too controlled, and there was a brittleness there which was dangerous for someone in her condition. Washu made her voice sound as soothing as possible. "Ryoko dear, Tsunami took a considerable amount of damage protecting us from the explosion. She would have searched if she could, but she was too badly hurt." "If Tsunami could barely protect us, how can we expect Tenchi to survive? It must have been much worse so much closer to the blast." Ryoko's voice was starting to shake. She could feel her control slipping. Minagi spoke up, her eyes worried. "Ryoko, Avashar's ship seems pretty durable. I couldn't scratch it with Hinase scoring a direct hit with a full volley. With Tenchi's help they could have survived." "Minagi's right, Ryoko. They should be fine." Washu forced herself to sound as breezy and confident as she didn't feel. Ryoko didn't respond. Outwardly calm, she could feel the last shred of her control beginning to slip away. Nothing they could say would pull her out of her spiraling depression. There was a brief chime and Ayeka's face appeared on screen. "Minagi, Washu. Ryo-Ohki and I have complete our sweep and are moving to the third section. I'll be -" She paused as she noticed Ryoko standing there. "Ryoko." "Ayeka." Ryoko's voice was still flat, but a hint of irritation was there. "You look like hell." "Well, I've been too busy looking for Tenchi to get any rest," Ayeka huffed back. Actually, she did feel like hell, and she was sure she looked like it too. Not that she'd admit it to Ryoko. "You think he's alive?" No preamble, no subtlety - Ryoko was past all of that. "I certainly do!" Ayeka snapped back. "You think he is, don't you?" Ryoko bristled. "Of course I do! I just thought you might try to give up on him or something." "Never! I've been out here searching while you've been lying around." "Lying around!" Ryoko spluttered in indignation. "Maybe you've forgotten that I was skewered not too long ago? " Washu watched in amazement; she could feel the strength flowing back into Ryoko. Biting the inside of her lip to keep from laughing, she watched as Ayeka unknowingly goaded Ryoko away from her depression. It was amazing how those two got along. "Be that as it may, I'm going to be the one to rescue Lord Tenchi." Ayeka's eyes fluttered dreamily as she imagined modestly accepting Tenchi's tender thanks. "Hey! Hey - stop that, I know what's running through your dirty little mind, princess!" Ryoko fumed at the thought of Ayeka finding Tenchi before she did. "Not if I find him first!" "Just how did I end up wrestling for Lord Tenchi's affections with an ex-demon?" Ayeka squeezed her eyes together in dismay. "Ryoko, you're just too much." Ryoko laughed when a fully irritated Ayeka cut the communications. Turning back to face Minagi and Washu, she stopped as she noticed the two of them staring at her. "What?" Minagi grinned helplessly at her and just shrugged her shoulders before turning back to her work. "Nothing," replied Washu carefully. "I was just wondering if you could give me a hand with this bank of sensors." "Sure!" It had felt good to hear Ayeka so confident about Tenchi, not that Ryoko would ever admit it. Now if she could only figure out why Minagi and Washu were acting so funny. Mihoshi gave a mournful wail as she sat amidst cables, circuit boards, and whatnot. Yukinojo tore through space practically blind, devastated by Mihoshi's attempts to tune his sensors. Now she sat sobbing amidst the scattered remnants of her well-meant intentions. "I'm `hic' so sorry, Yukinojo. I only wanted to help find Tenchi faster." [Mihoshi, please promise me you'll never, ever, try this again. My sensor range has been cut to .01% of nominal. We'll be lucky not to hit something at this rate. Please let me get my systems fixed.] Mihoshi wailed again. Now flying blind due to her own efforts, she despaired of ever finding Tenchi. Her increasingly confused and thoughts were eventually interrupted by Yukinojo's ever louder attempts to get her attention. [Mihoshi, we are heading towards an unknown object at high speed. Please brace yourself.] "Can't we evade it?" Mihoshi looked up at Yukinojo with her wide blue eyes. Yukinojo sighed. [Unfortunately, Mihoshi, you have also managed to damage my navigational controls. I'm currently attempting to reduce our forward momentum.] Mihoshi had just started to scream when they impacted. Minagi flinched when Mihoshi's face came up onscreen; she must have been half asleep on her feet. Her eyes widened as she noticed that, behind Mihoshi, her ship looked like a disaster area: smoke and cables everywhere. "Uh - Minagi, Washu, Ayeka. zzzzqtt" Mihoshi's face wobbled, her image constantly breaking up. "I think - bzzzztt - bumped into another - skkktzzz - like the one who helped me -" She seemed to be biting her lip and crying a bit. "Please help!" Minagi turned and looked at Washu and Ryoko in amazement. Washu smiled back and said, "I think we've gotten our miracle." Avashar groaned and pulled himself off the deck. "How the hell could a ship run straight into the TurtleDove?" Even without any active cloaking, the TurtleDove was stealthy enough without any power to avoid nearly all forms of detection. Of course, with the crippling damage from the blast and subsequent system failures, it wasn't like Avashar didn't want to be found. Especially with Tenchi in stasis. Their few remaining ergs were dedicated to keeping the stasis system up and running. Avashar could only sense the incoming ship; he watched helplessly as it headed straight at them. Luckily, it began braking rapidly just before impact; any faster and it would have meant bad news for the diminutive TurtleDove. As it was, the new damage only further mangled the hull. Avashar gritted his teeth as the impact reopened just about every wound on his body. He hoped he wouldn't do anything too rash to his would-be rescuer. Of course, doing anything rash would require power, and the bulk of his energy had been stripped away, shielding the TurtleDove from the explosion. All he could do now was keep his wounds closed, some air and warmth around him, and a trickle of power to Tenchi's stasis field. Mihoshi pulled herself up from the piles of equipment all around and simply said "Oopsie!" She was busy untangling herself from all the cables draped around her when Washu's image snapped up on the com screen. "Uh, Mihoshi, are you OK?" "I'm fine, Washu. Should I go aboard?" Mihoshi asked, eager to help. "Better wait, I think you've helped enough for now," replied Washu, a slight smile on her face. "Damn it, wait a minute!" Ryoko said, brusquely crowding Washu aside. "Mihoshi, get on board and find Tenchi right now!" "Oh, alright Ryoko, I just have to get untangle - whoops." She crashed to the floor. Ryoko stared in amazement at the damage Mihoshi had wrought on her own ship. "Never mind," she muttered. Off screen, she snarled, "How fast can your ship move, Minagi?" Tearing through space at top speed, the Hinase slowed only to meet up with Ryo-Ohki and take both Ayeka and the cabbit on board. The command deck became crowded as Ayeka, Minagi, Ryoko, Ryo-Ohki, and Washu all gathered to get the first look at the collision. Minagi whistled as she took in the damage to both ships. The TurtleDove had fared worse in the collision than the larger Yukinojo; several cloaking nodules were missing, and the entire hull was scarred and torn. Nevertheless, it still appeared to be functional, and she wondered just how durable that ship was. Repair drones were already scuttling across the surface. "I can say this, Avashar's no slouch when it comes to ship design." Washu nodded in agreement. "I wonder how close to the explosion it was. Of course, unlike Tsunami, it didn't have to shield anything but itself." "True, but you're still talking about a lot of power." Ryoko and Ayeka interrupted their conversation. "Who cares? Let's get Tenchi!" They stopped and looked at each other, horrified expressions on their face as they realized they had both said the same thing. Shaking her head in irritation, Ryoko snapped, "Fine, I'm going over there to find him myself." But instead of disappearing, Ryoko stayed right where she was. "Ryoko, what's the matter?" Ayeka looked at her worriedly. "Is that ship shielded like Rashava's?" "No, damn it! I'm too weak, I can't teleport over!" Ryoko's voice was anguished, and tears of frustration ran down her face. Turning quickly, she looked imploringly at Minagi. "Minagi, please tell me you can teleport over." Minagi felt exhausted, but concentrated. "Yes, I should have the strength to get over there." "Are you sure?" Washu looked concerned. "You haven't had a chance to rest at all." Minagi drew a deep breath. "I can do it. I know how much Tenchi means to all of you." She waved a hand, shooing away everyone's concerns. "Listen, I can get over there and back faster than any other means we have. Don't worry, I'll find him." "Thanks, Minagi," chimed Ryoko and Ayeka in concert. Looking at each other in horror, they pointed and cried out, "Stop that!" at the same time. Minagi shook her head ruefully as she teleported away. Avashar rested in the darkness. It appeared that the ship which had been tailing him from earlier had finally arrived. Then he felt a presence appear onboard, and he smiled. Minagi had finally boarded the mysterious ship she had been pursuing for so long. She smiled faintly. She concentrated. /Washu, can you hear me?/ /Yes, loud and clear./ Washu's mental reply was sharp and clear. /Continue forward. My sensors indicate a power source further ahead./ With Washu guiding her, Minagi moved through the TurtleDove, using her sword for illumination. Parts of the ship were in total darkness, while others were lit only by emergency lights. Wreckage and debris was scattered everywhere. Twice she passed small repair units cutting and fixing damaged bulkheads, the powerful glare of their cutters filling the area with a painful white light. They ignored her as she passed by. The inside of the TurtleDove was quite conventional, even austere. Minagi wrinkled her nose; the TurtleDove might be a cleanly designed ship, but it lacked any of the Hinase's warm touches. Then it hit her - the TurtleDove was like a daito katana: functional, deadly, but without any gilt or engraving. Her head jerked as Washu's voice interrupted her thoughts. /You should be close to the energy source, Minagi./ Looking around, she gasped as she saw Tenchi, still clad in Jurai battle armor, floating in a glowing field of energy. Tears sparkled in her eyes as she saw his terrible wounds. Even in the weird light, he looked pale, so very pale. She felt something move nearby. Spinning, she came face to face with Avashar. Her sword blazed before him, yet he stood calmly. She could see that he hadn't escaped unscathed from the battle; in fact he looked as if he was on his last legs. She tensed, realizing that Tenchi's survival was entirely his doing, and yet this man was still responsible for so many of the deaths she witnessed earlier. Finally, she broke the awkward silence. "I need to teleport Tenchi back to my ship." Avashar arched an eyebrow at her blade, still blazing before him. "Are you planning on using that?" Minagi's face blushed. "Right. Sorry about that." Her sword vanished, leaving the two of them with only the pale blue light of the stasis field as illumination. Turning back to Tenchi, she looked at the dark stain down his left side. "What's wrong with him?" "He was badly injured in the combat, and I lack both the ability and equipment to repair his damage. All I could do was place his body in stasis until I could get him repaired." Avashar moved slowly, painfully, to where Tenchi floated. He leaned against the stasis field and extended a hand towards her. "This is going to be a difficult teleport," she thought grimly. "I'm still weak from helping Ryoko." She took his hand. Her eyes widened as a trickle of power flowed into her with a small crackle. Startled, she looked at Avashar, who had slumped over. "There!" Minagi wobbled on her feet as she brought Tenchi and Avashar onto the Hinase. Ryoko was already at the stasis device, tears pouring down her face as she pounded a fist against its surface. Ayeka stood next to the device, one hand lightly touching the surface. Her weary, tear-streaked face made her look far older than her actual age. In the normal light of the Hinase, Tenchi's condition looked even worse than it had on Avashar's ship. Avashar didn't look too good, either; pale faced, he slumped against the stasis field, sweat beading his forehead. Washu stared at Tenchi. A small part of her shriveled up when she saw everyone's gaze turn towards her. She could feel their unabashed belief in her abilities. The hope in their eyes brought a lump to her throat. Yet Tenchi's wounds were significant, far worse than Ryoko's. This situation called for nothing less than the breeziest of attitudes. "Well, we can't leave Lord Tenchi alone for even a few minutes!" she said. Rubbing her hands together, she began snapping out orders. "Let's get him trundled into the medical bay and I'll patch him up in no time." Avashar followed Washu, the stasis field floating alongside him. Washu looked up at him, her eyes narrowing as she evaluated his injuries and aura. He was moving with the careful deliberation of someone in great pain. He noticed her calculating stare. Leaning down, he spoke in a low voice, "You will need my assistance to bring the stasis field down incrementally. It should allow you to work on one injured area at a time without exposing his entire system to shock all at once." Washu nodded, grateful that one of her worries was taken care of. Together they left the rest of the crew behind, slowly followed by the stasis device. Ayeka slowly slumped down, emotional exhaustion and physical injuries finally overcoming her. She felt Ryoko's presence next to her, and then nothing at all. Ryoko didn't say anything, she simply lifted Ayeka up in her arms and carried her off to her room, muttering to herself. Minagi smiled at Ryoko's retreating back. She could tell that Tenchi's condition was a deep shock to her and that helping Ayeka was talking her mind off Tenchi. [Minagi?] "Yes, Hinase?" [Mihoshi is hailing us.] A tearful Mihoshi appeared onscreen. Somehow, she had gotten even more wrapped up in the cables and debris from the collision and only her head and a foot were clear of the mess. She sniffled. "Minagi?" "Yes, Mihoshi?" "Do you," she sniffled again, "think you can come over here and help get me out of this?" Minagi smiled, knowing that at least some things seemed to remain constant in the Universe.