Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters, places, or events from 
the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OAV's or Manatsu No Eve. These are the property of AIC 
and Pioneer. I do own all new events, characters, and places that have occurred 
during and after Tenchi Muyo! Will of the Goddesses.


Tenchi Muyo! Shadows of a Forgotten Sin


"No Need for a Festival"


	Sasami hummed happily to herself while going about her business in the 
kitchen. A timer went off somewhere, and the princess side stepped over to the 
oven, slid on a pair of green and white oven mitts, and pulled out two loaves of 
fresh bread. She kicked the oven door closed with the back of her right foot and 
walked over to the counter and a cutting board. The kitchen itself was of decent 
size being located in the rear of Irea's bakery. One side of the kitchen was 
filled by several large baking ovens. The other side was a wall of counter space 
filled with ingredients and cooking utensils. Sasami was about to remove the 
breads from their pans, when Irea called to her from the storefront. 

	"Sammy! Could you please come up here for a moment?"

	"Okay," replied the princess. She removed the white apron she had been 
wearing over her sleeveless red kimono with only a simple black waistband. 

	She entered the business part of the bakery to see Irea mulling over a 
data pad. The old woman looked up and smiled. "Oh, good. There you are. I've 
been checking the ingredient supply for all the baking we'll need to do for the 
festival tonight."

	"Are we short on a few things?" asked Sasami.

	Irea cocked her head slightly. "That's exactly what I was going to say. I 
need you to take a ride over to the supply house and get the things on this 
list." She handed her the pad just as a customer entered. "Now hurry along, 
deary. The Festival is tonight, and we don't have a lot of time." The older 
woman turned to the customer.

	Sasami took the pad in her left hand and headed back through the kitchen 
out behind the bakery. Parked next to the rear of the building was a small hover 
cart with a flat bed for transporting items. The princess powered up the cart 
and steered it around the building and onto the road. It didn't take her very 
long to drive down to the supply house. The tiny village of Cireel was soon 
behind her, and the local farms were surrounding her on all sides. Soon the cart 
turned down the path of one farm in particular. Sasami drove down the small, 
dirt road with cow like quadrupeds littering the green fields all around her. It 
was not long before a tall, steel house could be seen at the end of the road.

	The supply house was at least a hundred yards long and rising fifty feet 
into the air. The entire front of the building was open, revealing the rows of 
supplies being housed inside. She also noticed a pair of figures moving about 
just within. The closer Sasami came to the supply house, the more of their 
features she was able to make out. The first was just one of the many Juraian 
males who worked on the farms doing various odd jobs. The second, however, was a 
very familiar face.

	Riley, dressed in only a pair of brown slacks and a matching vest, was 
busily piling boxes in rows. His brown hair was being held back by a red 
bandanna, making him look like some sort of comical pirate. Sasami pulled up to 
the front of the building and powered down the hover cart. The unknown Juraian 
nodded at her once as he walked by and out around the left side. She smiled back 
and waited until he was out of sight before getting off the cart. At this point, 
Riley was still completely unawares of her arrival.

	Sasami suddenly found herself just standing at the entrance staring at the 
detective. She simply watched as he piled box after box next to one another. One 
after another, box after box for who knew how long. His every movement just 
seemed to captivate her. The princess was now leaning slightly up against some 
of the boxes. Riley finally stopped his work, removed the bandanna from his 
head, and began to wipe his brow. A small smile unknowingly crept onto Sasami's 
face while she watched this. She leaned a little bit more on the boxes. It took 
a moment for her to realize that she was continuing to lean even though she had 
told herself to stop seconds before.

	With a loud outcry, Sasami lost her balance and fell to the right causing 
boxes to go everywhere. "Who's there?" came Riley's voice from outside the pile 
of boxes.

	Sasami quickly, and not by any means gracefully, scrambled back up. 
Teetering slightly on her feet she straightened to her full height in an attempt 
to salvage what dignity she could. "H...hi," she managed to stammer.  

	The look of surprise on Riley's face was immediately replaced by a large 
smile. "Why hello there, princess. What brings you all the way out here?"

	"Well...I was...just," Sasami started to say, but stopped as soon as she 
realized there was a piece of hair now wrapped around the index finger of her 
right hand. The princess quickly put her hand at her side and cleared her 
throat. "I...just came here to get some things for Irea."

	The detective's smile remained as he folded his hands behind his head. 
"What do you need? I can get it for you."

	Sasami fumbled for a moment while she retrieved the data pad. She finally 
got a hold of the item and thrust it out quickly to him. "It's all there. Just 
load it on to the cart out front." Riley took and looked the pad over.

	"I can get all this," he told her seconds later. "It'll just take a few 
minutes since I'm the only one here right now."

	"Fine," she replied quickly. "I'll be waiting outside." The princess spun 
around on her heels and walked out.

	It was nearly twenty minutes before Riley carried all the requested 
supplies out and began to load them on to the back of the cart. "Do you think 
you could go any slower?" asked Sasami. "If one of my employees in my restaurant 
moved this slow, the kitchen would never be ready before the doors opened for 
the evening."

	Riley flashed her a look as he dropped a box on to the cart. "Well excuse 
me, highness, if I am not up to your standards. I'm just a working man after 
all."

	Sasami huffed. "I could moved faster than you," she boasted. 

	The detective stopped just before lifting one of the last boxes. "Oh 
really?" He stepped back and gestured to the box with both hands. "Then by all 
means, my lady, show me."

	Sasami slid out from behind the cart's controls and stomped over to him. 
"Move," she ordered while pushing him aside. She hiked up the hem of her kimono, 
bent her knees, took a firm grip on the box, and lifted.

	At first everything seemed to go as planned. She stood with the box held 
firmly between her arms and pressed, if not uncomfortably, up against her chest. 
Then, suddenly, she started to teeter backwards. Determined to accomplish this 
task, Sasami threw all her weight forward thus causing her to now teeter in the 
opposite direction. In response to this she leaned back again, in turn causing 
her to once more start falling backwards. Finally, her feet couldn't take the 
constant weight shifts, and they buckled.

	"Whaaaaa!" she cried out.

	Her eyes were clamped shut in anticipation of hitting the ground. To 
Sasami's surprise, though, her descent was stopped by a strong pair of arms. She 
opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to see Riley holding her up from 
behind. She stared up at him for a moment before clearing her throat to speak.

	"You can push me back on to my feet at any time," she told him quietly. 
Riley pushed her forward carefully. Once her feet were firmly planted on terra 
firma, Sasami dropped the box and quickly removed herself from Riley's hands. 

	"What? No thank you?" he asked with a smirk.

	"You made your point," she snapped. "Just finish putting the last boxes on 
the cart. Irea's waiting."

	Riley grabbed the nearest box and tossed it on the cart bed. "Hey, I just 
wanted to prove that this stuff is not as easy as it looks. That's no reason for 
you to get all pissy, princess."

	Sasami spun around to face him. For some reason her anger was rushing to 
be released. "You've already embarrassed me, Riley! You don't need to rub it 
in!"

	Confusion was evident on his face. "Em...embarassed? Sasami, what the hell 
are you talking about? You're the one who wanted to pick up the box."

	She glowered at him before jumping into the driver's seat of the hover 
cart. "Sasami! Sasami, wait a minute! I haven't finished loading everything on!"

	"We'll manage!" she shouted back. The hover cart's repulsar pads came to 
life, and the princess gunned it away from the warehouse. As she drove away, 
Riley's voice could be heard in the distance.

	Sasami's mind was blank on her ride back to the village. Even when she 
pulled up behind the bakery, not a single coherent thought formed in her mind. 
The aqua haired woman simply went straight back to work in the kitchen. At least 
another two hours passed before she paused both physically and mentally. Sasami 
looked down at her flour covered hands and inhaled a long, deep breath.

	"What am I doing?" she asked herself. "I'm acting like a confused 
teenager."

	*Why?*

	"Because..."	

	*Accept what you are feeling.*

	Sasami shook her head. "I can't. There are more important things I have to 
focus on right now. I don't have time for this."

	*Is there ever a time for this?*

	She grabbed a towel and started dusting off her hands. "What about the 
last time? I don't want to be burned like that again."

	*Yes, I was hurt, but that is always the chance one takes. Can't always be 
practical in these matters.*

	"But I don't have time for this. Gabriel is out there, and he has to be 
stopped. There just isn't time to be distracted like this."

	*Oh, stop bull shitting yourself girl and making excuses. Just face it.*

	Sasami folded her arms under her breasts and groaned. A small smile, 
however, crept out. "Dammit," she whispered. 

_____ 

	It was just after dusk around Cireel. All the local Juraians were 
gathering in the open fields outside the village for the local festival. Men 
wore their finest robes, and women donned their most elaborate kimonos and 
dresses. Riley felt somewhat awkward as he exited the bakery wearing his 
borrowed robes. Beneath a white outer robe, he wore a waist length white tunic 
tied with a white sash and a pair of loose, dark blue pants. Villagers nodded 
and greeted him as he made his way through the field towards the center of the 
celebration.

	Juraians were spread all around the landscape do an assortment of things. 
The very center of the field had been sectioned off for dancing. A band was set 
up off to the side playing a hearty tune, and many people were already dancing 
happily to the beat. A short distance away from the dancing was a line of tables 
stretching fifty yards and bearing assorted foods from around the village. The 
remainder of the field was taken up by scattered groups simply enjoying the 
festive atmosphere.

	Riley followed his nose and made his way over to the massive buffet line. 
It didn't take him long to find Irea's table of baked goods. The elderly Juraian 
woman wore a pink and white kimono as she served out hunks of fluffy white 
bread. Her face lit up when Riley appeared.

	"Rilienus, where have you been hiding yourself?" she demanded with a 
smile.

	"Well, would you really want me coming out here smelling from working all 
day in the warehouse and fields?" he answered jovially. He absently began to 
straighten his clothes. "Irea, have you seen Sammy around?"

	"I believe I saw her heading towards the dancing," she replied while 
handing out another piece of bread.

	Riley's head turned towards the dancing. "Thanks, Irea." Without another 
word the detective turned and walked off towards the dance area.

	As he neared the dancers, the music suddenly changed to something akin to 
a fast paced gypsy tune that could be heard on Earth. All the children and men 
who had been dancing walked off the designated dance floor, leaving a small 
assembly of young women. Each one of them began to spin and weave in and out of 
intricate dance maneuvers. After a few minutes the majority of them moved off to 
the sides to stand around a single dancer. Riley swallowed hard when he saw that 
the single dancer was none other than Sasami.

	The princess wore a sleeveless purple dress that V'd slightly above her 
chest and billowed out around her ankles. She held a blue shawl in her hands 
that she weaved around her body as she danced. Her hair snapped from left to 
right as she stepped from side to side. She spun around to the right, weaving 
the shawl over and then around her head. The spin halted, and Sasami's shoulders 
swayed from side to side to the rhythm of the music. The beat soon picked up 
again, and the rest of the women rejoined her in dancing. It was not much longer 
before the piece ended, and a chorus of clapping erupted from the gathered 
spectators. 

	Riley, too, found himself clapping loudly at the performance he had just 
witnessed. The band started to play a slower tune, and other Juraians started 
returning to the dance floor. A small group parted to suddenly reveal Sasami. 
Riley's clapping ceased when his eyes locked with hers. She said a few words to 
the women near her before walking over to him.

	"Hi, Riley," she greeted along with a broad smile.

	He smiled back. "Hi. You were great out there," he said with a gesture 
towards where she had been. 

	Sasami wrapped the shawl around her shoulders. "Thanks. I've picked up a 
few steps over the years." There was a small pause after her last word.

	Seeing an awkward moment developing, Riley said the first thing that came 
to his mind. "Want to dance?" He extended his right hand to her.

	She lightly took it and walked them out among the dancers. Once out there, 
Riley took her right hand in his left and placed his right on her waist. Sasami 
draped her left arm around his shoulder as they began to blend their movements 
with the music. 

	"Riley," she said after a few moments.

	He looked into her pink eyes. "Yeah?"

	"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier today," she said. "I was out of 
sorts, and I didn't have the right to take it out on you."

	Riley blinked and looked to the side for a second. "Well, I shouldn't have 
let you try and pick up that box."

	She gave him a half smile. "Are you saying that I'm helpless?"

	He laughed lightly in response. "No. I think I'm trying to say that we 
both were responsible for egging the other on." 

	Sasami laughed back while staring at him intently. "You're right, but I 
think it was more me than anything else. I had to come to grips with something, 
and at the time I wasn't ready to."

	Riley waited a moment before speaking. "Did you come to any conclusions?"

	The princess stopped their swaying to the music. "I decided to stop hiding 
from my emotions and making excuses." Before Riley could even think on what she 
had said, Sasami had already leaned forward and kissed him. 

	When the kiss ended, Riley pulled his head back slightly. "What does this 
mean?" he asked her quietly.

	Sasami placed her hands on the sides of his face. "It means that I care 
about you, you stupid lug," she said with a smile. She followed up quickly by 
kissing him again. Riley responded this time by wrapping his arms around and 
pulling the beautiful woman closer to him. The pair continued to kiss as the 
Juraians danced and a display of fireworks exploded overhead.

_____ 

	Dawn peeked over the horizon, ushering in a new day. As the first of the 
local sun's rays traced the surrounding landscape, Sasami's eyes slowly opened. 
She tensed for a moment at discovering a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, 
but soon relaxed as the memories of the previous night's events emerged. The 
princess soon found herself smiling contentedly. She carefully pulled her left 
arm out from beneath the sheets. Next she raised her head up off of her lover's 
chest and gazed down at him. Oblivious to the world around him, Riley was still 
sound asleep. 

	Sasami began to absently trace the lines of his cheek with her left index 
finger. The detective was starting to stir now, and it wasn't much longer before 
his eyes fluttered open. The moment he focused on Sasami, he smiled. 

	"Good morning, princess."

	She smiled back down at him. "Good morning to you." Despite the joy Sasami 
was feeling at the moment, there was a small cloud of dread hovering behind her 
happiness. And what was so dreadful about this cloud?

	The fact that it was the bearer of truth.

	Along with her decision to express her feelings towards Riley, Sasami had 
also realized that she was going to have to be completely up front with him 
about everything. Everything being the truth behind the Goddess War, and what 
was currently going on within the Empire.

	"What's the matter?" he asked. "You look like you want to tell me 
something."

	Sasami swallowed. "Riley, there are some things that I have to explain to 
you."

	He blinked at her. "Like what?"

	"The whole truth." She slowly moved away from him and got off of the bed. 
She walked over to her closet and threw on a white, silk robe. "How much do you 
really know about the war that happened twenty years ago?"

	The detective moved around in the bed until his back was resting up 
against the wall. "I know that you and other members of the Royal Family were 
directly involved in it. The Empire was, for a time, ruled by some madman named 
Ziasha Coradune, and that he was defeated by a combined fleet of Juraians and 
their allies."

	Sasami was nodding. "That's only the surface." She took a deep breath 
before completely committing to what she was about to do. "How religious are 
you, Riley?"

	He shrugged. "Do you mean if I believe in Tsunami and the Tree of Light?" 
She nodded again. "Well, I was told all the stories when I was a kid about the 
mother of all the space trees and our race. Why?"

	"Riley," she began, "I am Tsunami."

	The detective looked at her for a moment. Then he burst out laughing. 
"That's a good one, Sasami." He continued to laugh until he realized that she 
was serious. "You're not kidding are you?"

	The princess shook her head. "Over seven hundred years ago, when the space 
pirate Ryoko attacked Jurai while under the power of the mad scientist Kagato, I 
became bonded with the Tree of Light and Tsunami."

	Riley leaned forward. "You mean to tell me that you are the matron goddess 
of our people?"

	"Yes," she replied with a small smile. 

	"Well, that explains a couple of things," he said while leaning back and 
rubbing his chin. "At least I know why you were able to control that battleship 
back at Ni-Trita."

	"That's not all," she added quickly.

	"You mean there's more?"

	"Uh huh." Sasami walked back over to the bed and sat down on the edge. "I 
am one of three sister goddesses from another dimension. We were the reason for 
the war twenty years ago. I'll explain it in more detail later. It's just, since 
we are..." she blushed slightly, "involved now, I wanted you to know exactly 
what you were getting yourself into."

	He was quiet for a moment after she finished. "You know what's going on 
behind the civil war then, don't you?" he asked finally. 

	Sasami nodded. "Yes. I am sorry to say that once again my sisters and I 
are responsible for the current state of events. If you want, I'm giving you a 
chance to get out of this right now before my enemies know of your role in any 
of this."

	Relief flooded her senses when Riley reached out and took her left hand in 
his. "I've been trying to protect you since I was a kid." He gave her a smirk. 
"What makes you think I'm going to stop now?"

	"Oh, Riley!" she cried. Sasami lunged forward and threw her arms around 
his neck. "Thank you."

	They shared a kiss before Riley started to ask more questions. "So, is the 
Empress one of you sister goddesses?"

	"No, she's just part of my regular family, unlike Washu who is really my 
sister goddess on a spiritual level, but just my friend in reality."

	Riley's eyes crossed for a moment. "I think you're going to have to go 
slowly when you explain the differences within your family." They shared a laugh 
before he leaned forward to initiate another kiss.

_____ 

	The sun was already high in the sky when Sasami finally finished 
explaining the details of her family tree. When it was all over, Riley's eyes 
were wide with awe. "Wow," he said. "That's really something. So Captain Segrey 
knows all about this?"

	"Oh yeah," replied Sasami. "Kiyone's been there since nearly the 
beginning."

	The detective laughed. "Man, she knew exactly what she was getting me into 
when she put me on this assignment."

	Sasami leaned up and poked him in the chest. "What? Are you saying that 
I'm not worth it?"

	Riley quickly wrapped her in his arms and pulled her back to him. "You're 
worth everything and more." He leaned forward, and they shared a long, deep 
kiss. He was the first to end the kiss by pulling back. "Now that you've given 
me a history lesson, will you please enlighten me to what exactly is going on 
out there?"

	Sasami gave him a pained looked. "I can't really tell you everything, yet. 
But one thing is for sure, we can't stay here, Riley. I have to go and help my 
family and friends. What's going on out there is partially my fault, and I'm 
tired of others fighting my battles for me."

	"I know that Kiyone told you to keep me out of it, but she doesn't know 
the whole story, either." Sasami's look became pleading. "I have to leave here, 
Riley."

	He reached out and brushed some of her aqua locks behind her right ear. 
"When do we leave?"

_____ 

	One day later found Sasami and Riley reentering the city of Yurat. Each 
one was wearing the clothes that they had arrived in. As Riley pulled the hover 
car up to the entrance of the spaceport, Sasami lowered her sunglasses slightly 
and looked around. The street was not very crowded, and she knew why. Just that 
morning the princess had collapsed suddenly. Most everyone thought that it might 
have been from exhaustion, but that was far from the truth. The civil war had 
started, and Sasami could feel the space trees across the Empire crying out. 

	She looked over at Riley, who was checking his guns. He reached into the 
back seat and pulled out one similar to an Earth shotgun. She couldn't help but 
swallow hard at the sight of the weapon. "Duragan Plasma Blaster," he told her. 
"Fires a condensed blast of plasma energy at ten times the force of all other 
plasma guns." He slid the blaster into his right leg harness. 

	Next he fished around in his bag until he pulled out his Galaxy Police 
badge. "I'll check everything out first. Then I'll come back and get you," he 
explained.

	Sasami nodded. "Okay. Be careful." He leaned forward and kissed her 
briefly before getting out of the car. The princess watched him until he entered 
the spaceport itself.

	She loosed a small, but happy sigh, and slid over to the driver's side. 
Left with nothing else to do, Sasami turned on the radio in hopes of getting an 
accurate report of the current state of the war.

_____ 

	The doors opened, and Ashra, followed by a dozen soldiers, marched into 
the halls of the Yurat spaceport. The few Juraians that were present quickly 
moved to get out of the way of the small force. The silver haired man smiled 
thinly at the scent of their fear. He raised his hand to signal a halt when they 
reached an intersection. Gabriel's minion closed his eyes and stretched out with 
his senses. His thin smiled broadened almost immediately. 

	"She's still here," he told his men. "Weapons hot, but remember we need 
the princess alive."

_____ 

	Riley slowly walked through the registration area of the spaceport, noting 
the movements of every person there. A security guard stopped him for a moment, 
but a quick flash of his badge moved the man aside. Satisfied for the moment, 
Riley made his way over to the teller's booth to unlock the docking clamps 
around the Phoenix Star. It was unfortunate that just as he turned to speak with 
the female teller, that Ashra and his men walked right past him.

_____ 

	Sasami was fiddling with the radio dial when it hit her. Her head snapped 
to her right so quickly that the cap flew off, releasing her aqua hair. From 
behind the sunglasses her pink eyes immediately locked with the eyes of the wiry 
man standing fifteen yards away in front of the spaceport. There was no doubt 
that this man was radiating Light Hawk Wings. He flashed her a thin smile and 
snapped the fingers of his right hand. At that signal, twelve Juraian soldiers 
lowered their weapons and started marching towards the hover car. 

	Without thinking Sasami hit the power switch, threw the car into gear, and 
floored it. She couldn't hold back a small scream as it was rocked by blaster 
fire. 

	"Riley!" she called out.

_____ 

	Ashra tapped the communicator on his belt. Seconds later ten Juraian 
soldiers on hover bikes zoomed past the spaceport in pursuit of the princess. 
The wiry man turned to the twelve men around him. "I want this place shut down, 
immediately. Then send a message to the Emperor that I will soon have the 
Princess Sasami." 

	There was a small gust of wind as he flew off to join the pursuit.

_____

"Riley!"

	Sasami's cry echoed in his ears just as he heard the sounds of blaster 
fire outside. The detective spun around with a blaster in each hand. Through the 
glass doors of the entrance he counted twelve Juraian soldiers firing at an 
escaping hover car. A thirteenth figure then lifted off to follow after what had 
to be at least a dozen hover cycles in pursuit of the car.

	"Sasami," he said quietly to himself. With no other thought in his mind 
than her, the detective thinned his eyes and burst through the entrance to the 
spaceport firing. 

	His opening round of blasts dropped five soldiers instantly. Two more fell 
before the Juraians knew what was happening. Riley stopped to pistol whip one 
across the face and kick another in the gut. Next he dropped to one knee as the 
last three opened fire on him. The blue blasts flew right over his head, and the 
detective responded by hitting each in the chest with a well aimed shot. 

	A quick scan confirmed all targets neutralized. Seeing no other choice, 
Riley holstered his guns and ran for a silver, topless hover car that had just 
pulled up. He leapt into the front seats, grabbed the middle aged driver, and 
tossed him out on to the road. "Sorry, sir," he apologized. "Police business." 
Then he flew away with the cries of the Juraian man echoing behind him.

	Riley quickly pulled out his control cube and stuck it to the dashboard. 
"Track locater beacon," he told the cube while hoping that the item in his bag 
had not been damaged somehow. "I'm coming, Sasami."

_____ 

	Another blast his the car, and Sasami pulled on the controls hard in order 
to keep from swerving out of control. A hover bike pulled up along her right 
side. The rider pulled his blaster and aimed it right at her head. Without 
hesitation Sasami slammed the car right into the bike, sending it crashing into 
a building. The next series of blasts rocked the car, shattering the rear 
window. Sasami tried bringing what bit of her powers she could use to bear, but 
she was too nervous to hold a single thought in her mind let alone concentrate. 

	The princess pulled back on the controls, which shot the hover car into 
the sky. All the hover bikes swooped up to follow. A collection of high rises 
appeared to the left, and Sasami turned towards them. The first tower came up 
quickly.

	"Time for some of that divine luck to kick in," she whispered to herself. 

Sasami banked left and juked back right and then up at the last second. Two of 
the bikes that were closest to her couldn't follow her moves and succeeded in 
exploding against the side of the building. Sasami felt the blood rush to her 
face as she pulled the car into a loop. Midway through the loop a fresh rain of 
blaster fire hit. She cried out as the hover car went out of control and dropped 
into a spiral. The hover car spun around and around faster and faster towards 
the ground below. Sasami cried out again as she pulled the controls with all her 
might. At the very last moment, the vehicle leveled out over the ground. 

	Breathing heavily, Sasami pushed the accelerator just before more blasts 
rained down from above. Yet another blast rocked the car, and the princess 
cursed loudly. "Sometimes, I hate my life."

_____ 

	Riley watched in awe as the hover car somehow maneuvered around the front 
of a building, causing two of the pursuing hover bikes to crash. He almost 
choked on his breath when Sasami's car began to plummet towards the ground. All 
the remaining bikes, and what looked like a flying man, chased the falling car 
while firing all the way. Riley quickly drew a gun with his right hand and 
loosed a few bolts at the Juraian bikers. Two of his shots managed to connect, 
sending two more of the Juraians to hell. The flying man looked in his direction 
and signaled for the other bikers to break off and deal with the detective while 
he continued to chase after Sasami, who had leveled her car out and was now high 
tailing it away.

	Riley breathed a sigh of relief and aimed his car right at the up coming 
bikers. Blue bolts of energy were now zipping past him as the Juraians opened 
fire. The detective smiled darkly while setting a direct course that would take 
him into a head on collision with one of the bikers. 

	"Time for some chicken, boys," he announced.

	The "targeted" biker fired several blasts at Riley's car in an attempt to 
derail the obviously insane cop. Riley only laughed and put more power to the 
accelerator. Not wanting to die, the biker pulled up and flew right over Riley, 
who had been hoping for just that action. The detective snatched his control 
cube and made a quick grab that was somehow able to take hold of the underside 
of the hover bike. Without waiting he reached out, grabbed the Juraian's ankle, 
and pulled the man out of the bike's seat. The Juraian soldier screamed in fear 
as he, along with the bike, was pulled to the left and off the bike. 

	Riley rode the bike for the full spin. Then he preformed an amazing feet 
of dexterity by slipping around to the business side of the bike, which was now 
upside down, and taking control. He quickly righted the bike and threw it into a 
series of evasive maneuvers to avoid the remaining four bikers, who were now 
shooting at him. Riley flew the bike right between two of the bikers, side 
swiping one as he passed, which succeeded in dislodging the rider. 

	"Three left," muttered Riley as he aimed the bike in the direction Sasami 
had escaped. "Now I just have to lose 'em."

_____

	For a moment Sasami had thought she lost her pursuers. Then the wiry man 
appeared in her rear view mirror. He raised his right hand and released several 
lances of dark red energy. The princess did the best she could in order to dodge 
the attack, but there was only so much room on the street. That was besides the 
point that her attacker was anything but a normal man. Sasami could literally 
taste the Light Hawk Wings emanating from him. It was only a matter of time 
before he would bring that to bear on her. And in her current state, Sasami had 
no chance of winning, let alone surviving a confrontation with this man. 

	A lance struck the underside of the car, and the vehicle started to 
sputter and slow. "Oh no!" gasped Sasami.

_____ 

	Riley skimmed the ceiling of an over pass, just missing it by inches. 
Unfortunately his final pursuer did not miss it by that much. With the last of 
the Juraian soldiers taken care of, the detective pulled out his control cube 
and had it lock in on Sasami. The cube's surface relayed the fastest route to 
the princess, and Riley was off like a man possessed.

_____ 

	Ashra smiled to himself as the princess's car came to a complete stop up 
ahead. The wiry man glided over to the now motionless hover car and set down 
next to the driver's side just as the door was opening. He easily kicked it 
closed, eliciting a small scream from within. A dark red energy sword came to 
life in his right hand.

	"Going somewhere, Princess Sasami?" he asked pleasantly.

	With a flick of his wrist, Ashra sliced the roof of the car off, revealing 
the prize within. The aqua haired princess was backing away from him in complete 
fear. Ashra's smile grew. "My, aren't you a pretty little thing," he said with a 
chuckle. "I can tell already that the ride back to Jurai will not be a boring 
one...at least for me."

	His sword vanished, and Gabriel's minion ripped the car door off so that 
he could reach the princess. "Please...struggle," he told her.

	"Hey, asshole," said someone from behind. 

	Ashra stopped and turned around only to find the barrel of a deadly 
looking plasma gun staring him in the face. The owner of the voice and gun, a 
brown haired Juraian, smiled wickedly from behind the gun.

	"You looked," he said half a second later before firing the gun.

_____ 

	The strange man screamed in pain as the plasma blast exploded in his face 
and sent him flying over the car and into the side of a steal building. Riley 
holstered the Duragon Blaster and looked down at Sasami.

	"Hey there, pretty lady," he said with a charming smile. "Need a lift?"

	Sasami literally jumped out of the totaled car and on to the back of the 
bike. "Damn straight, stud. Let's ride!" 

	Once her arms were securely wrapped around his waist, Riley revved the 
bike. "You don't have to tell me twice." The hover bike took off into the air 
with a resounding hum.

	"Where are we going?" Sasami yelled over the wind.

	"We need to get off the planet!" Riley said over his shoulder. "Problem is 
that the spaceport is probably swarming with troops by now!"

	Sasami was silent for a moment. Finally, he felt her lean close to speak 
into his ear. "Brace yourself!" she warned.

	Before Riley could respond, he felt his very being shifted through time 
and space. When the molecules that made up Riley Keshera were finally pulled 
back together, he found himself on what could only be the bridge of a tree ship. 

	The detective got of the bike to get a good look at his surroundings. It 
sort of looked like the bridge of a Juraian battleship, but there were some 
distinct differences. Where there should have been command stations, there were 
only space trees floating with their roots winding down into small pools of 
water. That, and the room was lit by a strange silverish blue glow.

	"Where are we?" he breathed.

	"We're on myself," replied Sasami. "Well, to be more specific we're on the 
battleship Tsunami."

	Riley turned to look at her. "You mean you *are* the ship?" She nodded. He 
folded his hands behind his head and laughed. "Well I'll be damned."

	A long, rectangular view screen opened up in front of Sasami. The screen 
showed a picture of the space above Caralo. At least a thousand Juraian 
battleships were moving into attack formation ahead of them. 

	Sasami frowned. "They're Touched," she said sadly. "At this time there's 
nothing I can do for them."

	Riley was immediately confused. It was as if Sasami wasn't really speaking 
to him. "Sasami? What are you talking about?"

	"Hold on," she told him without even acknowledging his question. "We're 
going to have to fight our way out of here. We can come back another time to 
pick up the Phoenix Star." Suddenly, the powerful batteries of Tsunami opened up 
on the Juraian flotilla. 

	Tree ships vanished within gouts of smoke and fire as the radiant blue 
blasts lanced out into space. Sasami's head tilted ever so slightly. "There's a 
hole. Going to hyperspace." The ship was surrounded by star lines and rocketed 
off into a hyperspace tunnel.

	Sasami seemed to slump slightly as soon as they were away. "We should be 
safe now," she told Riley without turning around. 

	Riley slowly walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her torso. 
"You okay?" he asked quietly. 

	The princess leaned back into him and let out a long breath. "Well 
enough."

	"So," he asked after a moment of silence. "Where are you taking us?"

	Sasami lowered her head until her chin was touching his folded arms. "Into 
the maelstrom."


To be continued...


Notes- how was that for some romance and action? Yes, I did hook Sasami up with 
someone. She's a grown woman now, so why the hell not? I just hope this wasn't 
too predictable, although I think it was. Also, I find the the song "I Need A 
Hero" fits the chase scene almost perfectly.

All comments please go to Roas1@hotmail.com