March 17 1998 Surprises all Around I should be able to end this series in about another five chapters or so. Thanks to a friend, I am loaded with ideas and now I simply have to try them. LEGAL STUFF: All the characters and cabbit of Tenchi Muyo belongs to Pioneer Inc. Don't sue me for I am merely borrowing your characters and not making any claim on them. Samantha Jones is a character of my own creation and thus, belongs to me. Now, on to the story! ________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER 11 First Class Detective Lokeda Torson pushed the throttle forward and the cruiser shot away from the Galaxy Police Headquarters. His destination and new station were one and the same: Patrol of the Sol System alongside his new partner First class Detective Mihoshi. Having been briefed on the latest fiasco concerning the blonde detective, the detective had to wonder just how she had survived her run in with a Juraian ship. Having read her file, Lokeda knew that she had been involved in neutralizing Kagato, a notorious villain who had brushed off many attempts at arrest by both the Galaxy Police and the Juraian Royal Navy, and had brought in Dr. Clay, not as dangerous as Kagato, but dangerous enough. And now she had been essential in rescuing Princess Aeka and an Earthling who had been kidnapped by Seriyou. Yawning, he rose from the chair and stretched his five foot, ten inch frame as far as it could. "Except for what has happened lately, the Sol System has been fairly quiet. It's the perfect reassignment after that whole ordeal with..." Lokeda stopped that train of thought and sat back down, rechecking the computer to make sure that he had the course to Earth properly programmed in. Setting the ship to autopilot, the detective leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. Within a few seconds, he had drifted off to sleep. * * * Samantha opened her eyes and shut them almost immediately. The light stabbing into them was far too bright and her eyes too sensitive to handle it. There was a slight headache pounding its way along her brain and her entire body felt like an old dish rag. She shook her head in an effort to clear it, but stopped when a wave of dizziness passed over her. "*groan* Now I remember why I don't do a lot of drinking," she thought, tossing the blankets aside and sitting up, being very careful not to open her eyes. Something came through the hangover she was feeling, a fragment of memory from the night before. She studied it for a moment. "Dad," she softly said. Tears almost sprang to her eyes, but she pushed them back and focused more on clearing her mind and body of the hangover. Taking a deep breath, she connected to the chi in her soul and felt it wash through her body. Focusing the power, she used it to scrub her body free of any bad side effects. Opening her eyes, she sighed in relief and released her hold on the chi, feeling extremely better. A few minutes later Samantha, dressed in fresh clothes, came downstairs and saw that the table was empty. "Hi Samantha," Sasami said, coming out of the kitchen. "Did you sleep well?" "Like a rock. What time is it?" "It's nearly eleven." "Eleven?! I slept that long," Samantha said, totally shocked. "Yes. I wanted to wake you earlier, but Ryoko said that it would be best for you to have as much rest as possible," Sasami replied. "Remind me to thank her later on. There any breakfast left?" "Oh yes. I saved some for you." "Thanks." As Samantha followed the young girl into the kitchen, a loud shriek sounded through the house. Samantha quickly realized that it had come from Mihoshi's room and ran full tilt towards it, Sasami close behind her. "What! What is it," Samantha shouted, nearly tearing the door off its hinges. "I'm getting a new partner," Mihoshi shrieked happily. Samantha sighed and Sasami giggled. Sometimes it seemed as if Mihoshi would never change. "Oh! He'll be here in two or three days! I've got to get ready," the detective shouted, running around her small room and trying to clean up the mess that it was in. "Mihoshi, calm down! You've got three days before he arrives," Sasami said. "Why don't you go out there and meet him halfway while I take care of the room?" "You would do that for me?" "Of course, Mihoshi! Now you had better get ready if you're going to meet him halfway!" The blonde nodded rushed outside, tapping her wrist communicator once and rapidly talking into it. "A trip into space," Samantha thought. "Hey, Mihoshi! Wait up!" "Yeah, what is it?" "Do you think that I could come with you? I've never really seen the Solar System and the last time we went out into space, it was not for fun." "Why, sure you can come with me! I don't see anything wrong with that," Mihoshi replied. "Thanks, Mihoshi. Just give me a few minutes to change into some clean clothes." Twenty minutes later, Samantha and Mihoshi were in the detective's cruiser and shooting out of Earth's atmosphere. * * * Aeka, sitting on the front porch of the Masaki home, stared up at the receding dot and wished that she had a ship of her own to leave on. But it would be many more months before Ryo-oh would be fully grown and her parents would be on Earth in one day. She knew that he was coming not of his own accord, but probably due to the persistent bugging from her Masaki and Funaho. She could ask Ryoko for the use of Ryo-oh-ki and leave Earth to patrol alongside Mihoshi. That would guarantee that she would never see her father. "Oh! How can I think such things," she said aloud. "I can not possibly run from my father, no matter what he said to me. Oh, this hurts so much! Why can't he see that I want to stay on Earth and with Tenchi?" "Maybe it's because he's a father and is worried about you," said a voice from behind her. Aeka turned around to see Washu standing a few feet away, a concerned look on her face. "Oh, good morning Little Washu. How are you today?" "At the risk of sounding rude, I would say a bit better then you are doing," Washu replied. "And I would have no other answer, but to agree with you." "Anything you want to talk about," Washu asked. Aeka hesitated. Over the course of the months that they had lived together, Washu had grown to become a good and valuable friend. She did not think of her as a mother figure or something like that, but it would be good to talk to someone. She had not even told Tenchi everything, and he was the only person with whom she would talk about her feelings. "Yes. There *is* something I would like to talk about." "I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's about your father. Right?" "As always, little Washu." "Now you're just kissing up," Washu replied, taking a seat beside her. "Not that I don't mind, but we're here to talk about you. So: talk." "I..." The words stuck in Aeka's throat, as if she had eaten a jar full of peanut butter. She tried it again, but couldn't say anything. "I see. You're extremely nervous about him coming to Earth, right," Washu asked. Aeka nodded. "And you are also mad with what he said to you and vice versa." Again the princess nodded. "But now he's coming to talk to you about the whole incident. How does this make you feel?" Aeka thought about that for a moment, gathering her thoughts before giving her answer. "I feel angry. Angry because when he comes to Earth and we talk, all he'll have to say to me is how my loyalty should be to Jurai and not to my feelings. I hold loyalty to Jurai as well as to my family, but what about me? Am I selfish in wanting what every normal person wants: someone to love and the chance for a family?" "No, you are not selfish," Washu replied. "Your situation is just different because of the position your family is in. But what you have to realize is that your situation is not unique. You don't have to be a genius scientist to realize that Royalty anywhere will not be happy with anyone outside of the bloodline or whom they conisder to be unfit." "But Tenchi is not outside of my bloodline nor is he of a lowly station. Why does father have to be so... jealous of him," Aeka replied. "Because he is your father." Silence reigned between the two as they stared into the beautiful morning sky. * * * "Hey Tenchi, do you need any help with that," Ryoko asked as she appeared behind the young man. Tenchi pulled out another carrot and tossed it into the large basket. Fortunately, the fields had not been too badly affected by the blizzard and there were still plenty of ripe carrots to be picked. "Yes I do. It would be much appreciated," he replied. "Say, have you heard," Ryoko asked as she began to pull up carrots. "Heard about what," Tenchi asked, looking at her curiously. Ryoko tossed Ryo-oh-ki a carrot before continuing. "Azusa, Misaki, and Funaho are coming to Earth in a day." Tenchi grimaced at that. The last time that they had come to Earth, they had brought Seriyou with them. What if they brought another suitor for Aeka that he would have to fight? "What do you think they're coming here for," he asked. "I'm not sure. Washu didn't tell me much beyond the fact that they were coming to Earth," Ryoko replied. Tenchi was silent and the two continued to pull up carrots, tossing an occasional one to Ryo-oh-ki who meowed happily and ate them with all speed. "Ryoko," Tenchi said. "Yes?" "I just wanted to say, thank you for looking after me." Ryoko blushed a little bit. "Oh, but I didn't keep an eye on you. I know how you hate it when I do that." "But I know you did. Who else would take Mihoshi's place? Aeka was asleep and Sasami was looking after her. Washu was working in her lab all night and Samantha was sleeping." "It... It was no problem Tenchi. I was worried about you and just wanted to make sure that you were all right." The rest of the morning went quickly after that, lost under the working of the fields and packing of the carrots in the shed. "Here, I'll get it," Ryoko offered. "It's okay. I got it," Tenchi replied, easily lifting the basket. Tenchi wobbled back and forth under the weight of the carrots and Ryoko went to help him. Unfortunately, Ryo-oh-ki got underfoot and Ryoko tripped, accidentally bringing Tenchi down with her. Tenchi landed on her, bringing their faces within an inch of each other. Both froze like a deer in a headlight, unsure of what to do next. Then, Ryoko levitated and stood Tenchi up. "Maybe you could give me a hand with this basket," Tenchi said. "Your welcome," Ryoko said as she took one handle and Tenchi took the other. The air was silent as the two went back to the house. * * * "Oh wow! I never knew just how beautiful the stars looked from here," Samantha said, starring out through the forward view. "Yes, they do," Mihoshi agreed. "On really long and boring patrols with my old partner, Kiyone, I would take the chance to just sit and stare at them. It brought such a sense of peace." The Galaxy Police Cruiser was now a few hours from Earth and moving fast. At this rate, the two would meet the GP Shuttle carrying Mihoshi's new partner on time. With Yukinojo operating the vessel, there was nothing for the two women to do but talk. Seated in the bridge of the ship, Samantha was leaning back in her chair while Mihoshi was reading a book. "What book you got there," Samantha asked. "A romance novel..." Mihosi replied, cheeks blushing. It was silent for a few minutes until... "So, you and Noboyuki," Mihoshi started, looking up form her book. "What about me and Noboyuki," Samantha asked. "You know what I mean, silly!" "No, I don't know what you mean." "Huh? What do you mean you don't know what I mean? I thought you knew." "No, I don't know. What is this all about, Mihoshi?" "But aren't you and him... you know, going out and stuff," she asked, blushing. "No, we are not going out," Samantha replied, feeling her cheeks start to heat up a bit. "Whatever gave you that idea?" "When I saw you two... I mean, you know, uh right?" The redhead looked at her friend, who was trying to get out the words and was blushing immensely now. Something about this bugged her, yet she couldn't place her finger on it. "Spit it out, Mihoshi." "I saw you two sleeping together!" It hit her harder then a blow to the head, and she nearly fell out of the chair. Her and Noboyuki? Sleeping together? The idea was just so ridiculous. She had no interest in him, especially considering the age difference between them. "Is everything all right, Samantha?" "You saw us sleeping together? When was this," Samantha asked, ignoring the blonde's question. "Last night, after you had gotten home with Ryoko and Washu from visiting that bar." Samantha's mind went blank. She had passed out from the bar from drinking too much sake. She barely remembered being brought home, but she did remember a weird dream that her father, who had spurned her because of what she did, had been with her. The memories were still foggy and had to clear, but it didn't take her long to realize the possibility that she may have mistaken Noboyuki for her father. "You don't remember? He was sleeping beside your bed and holding your hand." Samantha sighed, grateful that he had been sleeping beside her and not with her. As she thought about it more, the fog continued to cloud her mind and it would be a while yet before she could clearly remember what had happened that night. "I guess he must have played out the part for me, since I was drunk and all, and then stayed with me throughout the night," Samantha thought. "It was... nothing, Mihoshi," the redhead stammered. "He just, I mean, I just thought he was my father and all. I was... really wasted and that..." "Oh, what a shame. You two would make such a good couple," Mihoshi replied. Samantha felt her cheeks go as red as her hair. "Mihoshi!" "Sorry." The blonde giggled. * * * The young man walked into the newly refurbished main hall of his father's hall and knelt before the throne settled at the end of it. The white and blue Jurian robes that he wore covered his muscular build, but did not hide his head, allowing people to see his light red hair and bright blue eyes "I am here, my father," he announced. "You may stand," the young man's father commanded. The father was a striking figure, the age of his many years of life barely showing on his face. His long pink hair was carefully braided behind him and his perfect blue eyes looked over his son with authority and love. "You have heard of Seriyou's disgrace." It was not a question. "Yes, I have, father." "Then you know what must be done to restore honor to the family." "Yes, father." "Good. In four days hence, with the Emperor's permission, you shall travel to Earth via the subspace gate and speak with the crown-prince, offering apologies from the House of Sirochi. I have already given apologies for my son's behavior and actions to the Emperor, but it will be awhile before he forgives us, and my Seriyou." "Honor shall be restored, father." For the first time since the two started speaking, the Head of the House of Sirochi smiled. "Yes, Hirochi, I have faith that you will restore our honor." * * * Aeka tried to calm her movement as she took the steps up to Yousho's shrine. The message she had gotten from her father the night before disturbed her immensely and she needed someone to talk to. Although Tenchi had been her first choice, she admitted she needed her brother's long years of wisdom more then she needed a shoulder to cry on. Reaching the top of the steps, she saw her brother going through a Juraian practice techniques, keeping his reflexes and skills honed to a razor sharp edge. She waited until he was done before she came to him with her problems. "What is it, sister," he asked, finishing the last of his practice. "Father, mother, and Aunt will be coming in tomorrow morning, and I am uncertain as to how to speak with father," Aeka explained. "Hmmm... Tenchi mentioned this to me only briefly during one of our practice sessions. Perhaps if you told me everything, I would be better prepared to help you out." Aeka smiled. Yousho had waited for her to come to him for help instead of digging around and trying to find out what had happened. She just hoped that his many years of wisdom would help her out in her time of need. ________________________________________________________________________ This chapter was basically a setup for allot of stuff next chapter.