November 19/97                  Surprises All Around

About now I'm running out of things to say at this section so I'll only
say what's needed: I hope any that is reading this storyline is enjoying
it and any comments or criticisms about it can be sent to me at:
xwing@perf.bc.ca

Also one note, for those of you who have read the last few chapters,
please ignore the last sentence in Chapter six as it does not adher to
the storyline.

Legal Stuff: All characters and cabbits of Tenchi Muyo belong to Pioneer
Inc except for Samantha Jones who belongs to me.
________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 7

As soon as Ryoko had gone through Ryo-oh-ki's spike with Seriyou on her
back, the vigilante jumped back from her opponet, intent upon finding a
way out of the doomed craft before it was destroyed. The mechanical
robot followed her in large jerky steps, the center for it's motor
control no doubt damaged when Silhouette had blown had its head off with
its arm laser.

The arm laser came up and fired a few shots at her, the gun's smaller
barriage and weaker discharge showing her that the droid was on its last
legs. A high pitched whine began to fill the air as the main gun of
Ryo-oh-ki began to build up energy for a massive discharge. Time slowed.
Everything mired into slow motion as Silhouette began a desperate search
of the bridge for an escape route while evading the laser bolts from her
opponet.

A blue disc on the opposite side of where the tree had been caught her
attention and she ran for it. There was no grace in her run, merely a
mad dash for safety as the high pitched whine grew deafeningly loud in
her ears. She didn't know what it did or how it worked, merely that a
voice inside her mind told her to run for it.

As the vigilante stepped onto the blue disc the droid, seeing it's
target about to escape, gathered it's legs under it and activated the
jets. It slammed into her even as the field of energy coalesed about
her, then the droid, and beamed both off the ship. A second later, the
massive energy buildup in Ryo-oh-ki's main gun discharged, destroying
the Magnificient and freeing Ryo-oh-ki.
                                *               *               *
Azusa stared at his daughter and grandson, trying to ponder who this
person 'Samantha' was when a second communication opened up, the screen
remaining blank as it awaited permission from the Emperor to open up.
The Emperor sighed in irritation, wondering who it was from and what the
sender had found so important to interupt him at such an critical time.

"Land and bring Seriyou to me. We shall discuss matters then," he said,
cutting them off before Tenchi and the others could say anything.

He gave permission for the other communication to fully open and fixed
his stern gaze upon the face of the Lord of the house. He had a moment
to study the backdrop of the screen, "Seriyou's mansion?" Azusa thought,
and noted the damaged interior and smoke hanging in the air.

"What is it," he demaneded in a gruff voice.

"My lord, many apologies for intruding upon you in such a manner," the
Lord of the house replied. "But I found it most urgent to report to you
that Seriyou's mansion is under attack!"
                                *               *               *
At first the pain in her body faded from existence for a split second
before slamming back into her, full force. The transport field deposited
her on the floor with the damaged droid on top of her. The vigilante was
slower to regain her wits then the droid was. Silhouette opened her eyes
to see that she was no longer aboard the Magnificient and that the droid
was raising its fist to slam into her.

Her mind was muddled as the effects of the transport wore off, so it
took a second before her mind realized the full extent of the danger was
in. Honed reflexes jerked her head to one side, narrowly avoiding the
black fist as it drove into the floor. The chi came to her body in a
moment of concentration and she placed her legs on its chest, shoving
back with superhuman strenght.

The droid was catapulted a few meters away, landing in a heap on the
floor of what appeared to be the main hall of the building she was in.
Getting to her feet, Silhouette had a few seconds to notice the shocked
and frightened looks of the servants whose daily chores were interupted
by her sudden arrival.

She saw the droid getting back up and shouted at them. "Get out before
you get hurt!"

If her manner of speech did not convince them, the short barriage of
lasers from the droid certainly did. They dropped what they were doing
and ran out of the main hall, yelling for security. Silhouette hoped it
came even as she went into a roll away from the laser bolts and ducked
behind a large, ornately carved chair. It proved to be a good shield.

The barriage suddenly stopped and Silhoutte heard the whine of servos
and joints as the droid stood up and proceeded in its jerky walk to
where she was.

"Looks like its finally running down on juice," she thought, coming out
from behind the chair and casting side glances at the interior of the
main hall even as she prepared herself for another battle with the
droid.

The structure of the main hall was done in a flowing, organic design
that stretched to about the size of a small high school gym. Directly
across from the huge chair was a large open room, the one with the
transporter in it, the blue glowing disc now a pitch black. On the walls
were portraits of what were probably past rulers, with a picture of
Seriyou on the left being the biggest amongst them.

Silhouette suddenly understood where she was: Seriyou's home on Jurai.

She smiled, hoping that she could prolong the battle so that the place
was demolished a bit. A small payment for all the trouble she had gone
through but one that would satisfy her nonetheless.

Silhouette suddenly rushed forward and slammed her right hand into the
damaged head of the droid, rocking it on it's feet. The vigilante jumped
back, rubbing her hand to get some of the pain out of it, and jumped
forward again, aiming a kick at its head. At the last second, the droid
raised a black hand and grabbed onto her ankle with such force that it
was nearly shattered.

She had a moment to realize her predicament before the droid threw her
against the wall to its left. Silhouette slammed into the wall hard
enough to leave the impression of her back in it and slid to the floor,
cursing her overconfidence. Something crunched beneath her when she
slowly stood, and she looked down to see that she was standing on the
portrait of Seriyou.

"How fitting," she thought.

The vigilante slowly got up, preparing her own attack when the front
doors burst in and fifty men, dressed similairly and carrying swords in
their hands, rushed in. The droid, its brain damaged, simply took in the
arrival of the men as more enemies and proceeded to march towards them.

The first step had not even been completed when bursts of brilliant
blue-white light struck it, destroying the droid and leaving nothing but
smoking pieces of metal behind. The fifty men then proceeded to turn
their attention on her.

"Okay. It's your call," she said, forcing her body to relax out of the
fighting stance she had took.

The Imperial Guards of Jurai surronded her, keeping their swords pointed
at her, and took Silhouette out of the ruined hall.
                                *               *               *
Everyone was gathered in the main hall of the castle of Jurai, the
guards still present and keeping their swords pointed at her. They also
refused any of Aeka's orders to leave her alone. Tenchi, Ryoko, Mihoshi,
Washu, and Aeka were overjoyed to see her alive and breathing. That joy
was overclouded by the Guards treating Silhouette as if every terrible
thing that had happened this day was her fault.

"Are you alright," Tenchi first asked.

"I'm fine. Tired, hurt, and angry, but fine," she replied.

"You'll be more then that once Justice prevails today," Seriyou's
obnoxious voice filled the air.

Seriyou stood aside from Emperor Azusa, Queen Misaki and Funaho, a smug
smile on his face. All the expression did for the Canadian was to create
an incredible urge to get ahold of the man and pound his face in. The
vigilante did take some small comfort in the big purple bruise on his
chin. She glanced over at Ryoko and Aeka, finding that it was having the
same effect on them. The only expression on Washu's face was that of
mere disaproval while Tenchi's was barely restrained rage. Mihoshi's
face was a mask of complete seriousness, surprising the vigilante. The
blonde always struck her as being carefree and always joyful.

Emperor Azusa nodded at the guards and they drew back from Silhouette,
allowing her to better greet her friends. The introductions were quickly
cut short when the Emperor adressed them.

"What is to be said here shall never go past these walls. Seriyou,
explain your actions."

"Certainly my lord," Seriyou said, bowing deeply.

Ryoko had a sudden urge to teleport and kick his butt but knew that such
actions would only get her in trouble.

"I took the Magnificient to Earth to rescue Princess Aeka on the basis
that she was being held there against her will."

"In what way?"

"Mind control done by Washu."

"That is not true!" shouted Aeka. "I was not under any-"

"Silence! I will not tolerate such behavior in my Court," Azusa said,
stopping Aeka's speech before it could even gain speed. He motioned for
Seriyou to continue.

"Upon arriving on Earth, I decided to talk with them first, hoping that
they would hand over Aeka for treatment in a civilized manner. Sadly,
they did not."

"What you say is lies and nothing more! You opened fire on us, fought
Tenchi and sent your Android against Samantha and Ryoko. You then
kidnapped me and Samantha!" Aeka interupted. "The only talk we heard was
of your boasting!"

"I will not tell you to be silent a second time Aeka. But if I hear one
more outburst from you, I shall have you removed from the Court," Azusa
boomed.

Aeka reined in her emotions, knowing that even though she was his
daughter, the Emperor would have her removed to retain order in the
court. She took a deep breath and released it, gaining calm from the
simple act.

Again Seriyou continued, describing in exaggerated detail how he had
tried to reason with them but had to resort to violence in order to
'rescue' Aeka and defend himself. The presence of the droid was merely a
precaution he had brought along should violence break out. Kidnapping
Samantha, which he said was intentional, was done so that she would face
the crimes of helping Tenchi. The trip back to Jurai was wrought with
peril as he desperately tried to escape the terrible vengence of
Ryo-oh-ki and the renegade GP Patrol Vessel.

When Azusa asked why he had stayed and fought, Seiryou had pointed out
that Aeka's safety was paramount on his mind to his hurt pride or his
damaged ship. That same reason was used when he was asked about trying
to command the Admiral of the Juraian to attack the Galaxy Police
vessel. Seriyou said that his opening fire on the cruiser was not meant
to destroy, but to deter it from chasing him. After his ship had been
disabled by Mihoshi and Tenchi and the others had boarded it, he had
once again tried to talk to them, to get them to listen to reason but
they would not. In the ensuing fight, Ryoko accidently destroyed the
tree and Silhouette had knocked him out, never giving him the chance to
beam them to safety.

"I need not say more for you already know what happened after the
Magnificient was destroyed," Seriyou concluded.

Samantha and the others, with the sole exception of Washu, were
bristling with anger over the incredible lies that the noble was telling
the Emperor. Ryoko would have killed him right then and there had Tenchi
not intervened. Through all this, the Emperor and his two Queens stood
impassively, listening to the story.

The next big surprise came when Azusa nodded his head once and said,"You
are free to go."

Seriyou smiled and bowed deeply. "Thank you my lord. Once again, your
wisdom has shined down and brought justice to this unfortunate
incident." The noble stood back up and was about to leave when Azusa
stopped him.

"But do not think that you will escape unscath yourself Seiryou. There
are several faults which are yours and no one else's."

"My lord," Seiryou said, obviously confused.

Ryoko smiled and crossed her arms over her chest, glad that the Juraian
noble was not going to get away scott free.

 "First, you left for Earth in the Magnificient without my permission.
The only vessel allowed to enter and exit the Sol System is Mihoshi's.
Second, you left for Earth with the sole intention of 'rescuing' my
daughter without any thought for Sasami and what would happen to her.
Third, you opened fire on a Galaxy Police vessel. Although it was in
defense, that is a diplomatically harmful act considering that the
Galaxy Police is one of our greatest allies. And fourth, you took a
Galaxy Police Attack Droid with you without permission from the Galaxy
Police, thus insulting our allies even further."

"All which was done for the good of Jurai," Seiryou said shakily.

"I do not doubt that, but there are rules to follow and procedures to
abide to. Not doing so means an irresponsibility, an irresponsibility
which any member of the ruling class of Jurai cannot afford. Therefore,
you will be transferred to the mining colony on Omega Prime where you
will supervise the work being done. There you shall remain until such
time as I have seen fit that you have learned respect for the rules."

The shocked look on the noble's face would be one that Tenchi and his
friends would treasure until the day they died. Even despite the fact
that the noble was being handed a very light punishment.

Seiryou stood stock still and his mouth worked for a few moments, but
nothing came out. He struggled with himself to keep any comments or
objections from slipping past his lips, knowing that if any did, his
punishment could be far worse then supervising a mining colony.

He bowed, once, and merely said, "Yes, my Lord."

"Guards, please escort him to the Azaka," Azusa said.

The silence was tense as the noble was lead away from the Courtroom, it
grew even more tense when he stopped in front of Tenchi.

"Heed me barbarian," his voice thick with disdain. "This is not the end
of it. You will pay *dearly* for this insult.

Tenchi matched his malevolent gaze, never letting up or flinching from
it as well. After what seemed an eternity, Seiryou moved on, strolling
as confidently as if he were out for a walk instead of being lead to his
punishment. A few seconds after he had been lead away Aeka exploded.

"FATHER!! HOW COULD YOU HAVE LET HIM GET AWAY WITH WHAT HE DID!?!?"

Azusa watched the display of rage on his daughter's face, the anger from
her washing off him like water off a duck's back.

"He nearly killed Tenchi, kidnapped Samantha, placed ME in a cage, and
all you're going to do is send him to supervise some faraway mining
colony?"

Azusa waited patiently for her to stop before he spoke, his voice nice
and calm. "And I am most fortunate that I was able to punish him that
much. As you well know, his family is both strong and influential,
angering them is as close to risking open rebellion as any ruler could
have gone."

He stopped for a moment, his voice suddenly growing cold and hard.

"Do not forget that you may be the cause of a civil war just because
your feelings for some earth boy are stronger then your sense of duty!"

There was a shocked silence as those words echoed in the air and the
atmosphere grew dark and cold. Misaki stared at her husband, mouth agape
in surprise at such a harsh accusation. Only Funaho appeared to be
unaffected, the only expression on her face a very faint frown. Aeka
could only stare at her father, lip quivering as she thought of an
appropriate come back. She had been living with Ryoko for a while now
and could easily have come up with any number of insults. But she
wouldn't. Aeka loved her father too much to say anything of the like yet
still hated him for his cold heart. There was only one thing she could
think of doing.

She turned her back to him, faced Tenchi and said, "Tenchi, could you
please take me home?"

The young man could say nothing, still paralyzed by what his
great-grandfather had said to her, and merely nodded. Aeka strode out of
the Court room, followed a few seconds by her best friends. Silhouette
was the last to leave, emotions over her current situation with her own
father roiled about in her. She gave the Emperor of Jurai, leader of the
most powerful Empire in the galaxy, a sad sigh and left.
                                *               *               *
The good-byes, for there were some, were short and awkward. They were
all gathered outside the Palace, where Mihoshi had sat her ship down.
They would be making the return trip in the Cruiser since Ryo-oh-ki had
been injured in the explosion. Aeka had immediately entered Mihoshi's
ship without even saying good-bye to Misaki. Samantha knew how she felt
and told the others to leave her alone, saying that she would accept
their comfort when she needed it.

 "I'd just wish that our visit here was on a more pleasent occasion,"
Tenchi said.

"As do I great-grandson," Funaho agreed. "As it is, I am afriad that
this has driven a wedge between Aeka and Azusa, and increased the gap
between you and my husband."

"Do you think he'll get over it? I mean...what he said really must have
hurt her."

Funaho was quiet for a few seconds, and that response alone was more
dreadful then anything she could have said. "I am not sure. I hope so.
It is a great shame indeed when father and daughter are seperated by
their own stubborn pride."

Ryoko went to say something but stopped when Washu glared at her.

Another tense moment passed among the group, stopped when Samantha
stepped forward, slid back her mask, and bowed deeply to both Queens.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, although I wish that I had more time to
get to know you better," she said.

"Who knows," Funaho said. "We might after all."

Misaki stepped forward. "You saved everyone didn't you?"

"Well it was Ryoko who got everyone back aboard Ryo-oh-ki while I kept
the droid busy. And then there was-Ack!"

"Oh thank you for helping to save my little girl," Misaki said, having
grasped the vigilante in a tight bear hug.

"Your welcome," Samantha wheezed.

The humorous scene, although misplaced, was well received by everyone
gathered.

"And thank you too Ryoko," Misaki said, releasing Samantha and hugging
the former space pirate.

The round of thanks and bear hugs was passed amongst everyone,
lightening the dour mode that everyone seem to have, albeit only a
little.

After that, the friends and Samantha were on their way back to Earth.

                                *               *               *
"Gods! I'd never thought that I would see Earth from this view,"
Samantha said, dressed in a spare suit from Ryoko that Washu conviently
had pulled from a subspace portal.

It was the black and red combat suit that Ryoko was currently wearing.
The legs and sleves were short and the suit was a bit tight in places,
but otherwise it fit perfectly.

The feeling of wonder left a few seconds later as concern for Aeka's
well being flooded back in. As soon as she had boarded the ship, the
princess had sealed herself into a small cabin, asking only to be left
alone. Samantha sighed and tapped the window thoughtfully.

"Neither did I until a year ago," Tenchi said, coming up beside her to
stare out the window at the beautiful blue green marble that was their
homeworld.

The rest of the companions were in the front with Mihoshi, giving Aeka
the isolation she wanted. Silence reigned as the two thought of
something to say.

"So how is she doing?" Samantha knew that she was contradicting what she
had said earlier by asking but she, like everyone else, was concerned
about Aeka.

"I tried asking but she doesn't say anything. All I hear is sobbing,"
Tenchi replied.

"I wish that I could tell you to not worry but what kind of friend would
you be then? Just wait a while. She'll come out of her shell when she's
ready...." Samantha choked back the 'I did' that nearly came out, not
wanting to reveal anything about herself...at least not yet.

"I certainly hope so. The last time I saw her so depressed was when
after we had crash landed on Earth and Ryu-oh had been destroyed."

"Uh, I really hate to sound insensitive here or anything, but do you
think you could fill me in on some stuff," Samantha asked. "I really
hate being out of the loop."

Tenchi hesitated for a moment and Samantha thought that she had offended
him by asking at the wrong time.

"It's okay. I know you don't mean to be rude or anything.....Well let's
see, it started about a year ago, when I went into this cave that
grandfather told me to never go into....."
________________________________________________________________________

To any and all with anything to say about my fan fiction, just send
those e-mails to:
xwing@perf.bc.ca