Tenchi Muyo! Test of Faith Chapter Two: The Serpent Strikes "I'm sorry it turned out this way, Sasami," said Tsunami into the mind they shared as they were taken to the reversed half of Souja. "You know, that was a very brave thing you just did." "Thank you. And thank you for letting me do it." "You were wrong about yourself, though. It amazes me that you can know so much of me and yet so little of yourself. You are the real Sasami." "You've been saying that for months now. Ever since your tree chose me and I remembered Sasami's death, you've been saying that. Why should I believe you?" "Tell me, Sasami, why did I create you?" "I'm not sure. Maybe you just didn't want people to know Sasami had died. Or maybe you needed someone to merge with." "Think back to that day. Think hard." Tsunami reached inside to help Sasami dredge up her memories. "You walked by the tree room and you felt yourself being pulled in. That was me pulling you. I set you up for the fall you took. Also, I allowed Kagato to learn of the hierarchy of Juraian trees, using myself as bait to get him to attack Jurai. Now why would I go through all the trouble to kill Sasami just to replace her? If it were that simple, I would have just created a new person from scratch like my sister did." "Sister? What sister?" "I have a feeling you will meet her soon." "So... You nearly killed Sasami-" "You." "-to merge with her?" "Correct. It was unprecedented, really. A Megami merging with a being who lives in only three dimensions? I had no idea what to expect. A near death experience was the only thing I could think of." "But why did you need to merge with anyone?" "I had to give away all of the energy that is my life force- what you call Light Hawk energy. To do that I needed to move fully into three dimensions. At that point, I realized that my consciousness would have to inhabit another body. The tree of Tsunami powers all Jurai trees directly, and it needs a master to do so. I have been able to hold enough of my mind in the ship to do so myself, but I knew that after I gave up my power it would only be a matter of time before that road was closed to me." "You couldn't just teach someone else the ability? You had to give it up yourself?" "Exactly. And none of us understand why. Personally, I like to think that it's part of the design of an even greater being, making sure that the power isn't spread around too much and allowed to get out of hand. After our assimilation, you would have become the true master of Tsunami, and I would be subject to your will. There has been no master of Tsunami since the original Juraian tree master. I planted a seed of power in the tree and gave him the ability to use it. After every generation, the blood was diluted, and so no one else has ever been so pure as to control Tsunami. Surely you remember how shocked your parents were when the ship chose you. The holy council was desperate to keep it a secret, since you had just become the Achilles's Heel of Jurai." "Why not just stay as you were, though? Why give away your power at all?" "To plant the second seed." "Second seed?" "It was planted in your brother. He became as powerful as the founder of the Jurai dynasty, yet it had nothing to do with the fact that he was a Juraian. At first, he still had to rely on his tree, but eventually he would have been able to generate Light Hawk Wings completely independent of my aid. Or the ability might have been passed on to his offspring. Unlike the first seed, this one could not be diluted." "So you did all of this..." "To help you defend yourself against a great threat. Yet it seems that I have allowed Kagato to become the great threat." "Why didn't you just explain all of this when I first remembered?" "Maybe I should have. I'm not a perfect paragon of moral integrity, and I don't deny that I make mistakes. I wanted to tell you. It would have made your life much easier. Yet you had a huge burden on your shoulders. Eventually you would have faced hard decisions. I wanted you to see that the people around you- like your sister- loved you no matter what you thought of yourself, and would support you no matter what you had to do. I don't think it's my place to choose what's best for others, but in this case I had to make a decision. I hope I made the right one." "So you just made this decision for me? Do you know how hard it's been for me to deal with this?" "Don't talk to me about things being hard. You're young, so I'll forgive you for considering only yourself. But even an eight year old can at least think of others. Don't you get it, Sasami? Are you so wrapped up in self-pity that you can't see what I've done? You're not the one who's sacrificed, I am. Think about it for a minute. In time, our merger will be complete. But you won't become a goddess; I'll become a mortal. I chose to help you mortals fight, and the only way to do it was to become one myself. I'm dying for you, Sasami. Every day, I feel myself lose a little more of who I am. And in the end... we will be one. I will still exist, but only as a part of you. I will forget everything about who I once was. I wish I could go back. I wish I could keep living, but it's too late. With every breath, I'm more you and less me." Sasami was stunned into silence. "I- I'm sorry, Tsunami. I didn't know." "Don't be sorry. I chose to do this for you. It wasn't easy, but if I had turned my back on what I believed in, then I wouldn't have wanted to keep living." "Is there someone out there?" said a high-pitched voice into their mind. "Who is that?" asked Sasami. In their mind, they saw a short, redheaded woman. "If you must know, my name is Washu, the greatest scientist in the universe. Or at least I was before I got locked up here. But I'm confused about who you are. Aside from my daughter, I've never been able to see or talk to anyone before." "That's because there's never been anyone else trapped as you are." "So Kagato's taken someone else prisoner?" "Yes. Two someones, for now," said Sasami. "Sasami, princess of Jurai, and the goddess Tsunami." "A goddess? You can capture a goddess?" "It all depends on the circumstances," answered Tsunami. "Does that mean Kagato has the ship of the beginning?" "He does." "Do you know who this is, Tsunami?" asked Sasami privately. "She is the sister I told you about." "But- but she didn't say anything about that." "She doesn't remember. She has done what I will do- she has become a mortal. Her memories of being a Megami are still deep within, which is how Kagato was able to learn to control Light Hawk energy, but she has no conscious recollection of them." "Can you make her remember?" "I could. But why should I? She chose to fight as a mortal. It would be meaningless to now reverse her choice." They were all silent for a while. "So what now?" asked Sasami. "Now?" answered Tsunami. "Now we wait. And we pray." "Who do I pray to?" The ship returned to real space as Ayeka likewise forced her mind back to reality. There was no time to sit around weeping. She had to move quickly. "First off, I'd better get rid of this." She removed her tiara, which was in fact the key to Ryu-oh and so under Kagato's control. She shot it out a hatch used for waste dumping. As she looked out, she was surprised to see Azaka and Kamidake floating in the space. "Oh, they must have followed the key. I hope they don't get lost now. "So, where will that pirate go first? To Jurai, no doubt. He'll try to take our empire from the top down. I'd better send them a warning. That means I have to get to a system with a long-range communication station. All the way out here on the edge of the empire, though. I wonder if I can find anything." She pulled herself down to the control panel and looked at the data readouts. "All right. There's a Galaxy Police outpost nearby. A small station in an uninhabited system, but it should suffice." She programmed in the coordinates for the jump and disappeared again. Within an hour, Ayeka was in a new system. There were no planets present, just a blue star and an asteroid belt a couple of AU out. She had popped in near the star that filled half of the front viewscreen. Suddenly all of the data on the screen in front disappeared. Almost all of the systems had shut down. She'd have to get the people at the station to repair it. "Shuttle, please identify yourself," called a female voice. It was deep and cool, sort of like Tsunami's. "This is Princess Ayeka of the Jurai Empire requesting permission to dock. Now transmitting Jurai's clearance code." She typed in a series of letters and numbers. "Code confirmed. Welcome, Princess Ayeka. I'll send you the coordinates of this station." It was located on the far side of the star. Ayeka maneuvered to the other side and followed the coordinates into an asteroid belt. She got to the appropriate area and looked for an asteroid, but was unable to find one. It was funny how dense many people thought asteroid belts were, when in reality the average ship could pass through most of them and never even see an asteroid if not looking for one. Ayeka searched the blackness and saw a speck of light moving quickly. It could be an asteroid reflecting starlight. She turned the ship in that direction and fired the engines. The asteroid grew large in the window. It was a light gray color and about twice the size of the Souja. On top of it, a white, square structure was visible. There was also a red GP cruiser parked next to it. Ayeka pulled her ship up to the asteroid and carefully landed next to the structure. A connecting tunnel stretched out to meet the hatch of the ship. The pressure in the airlock changed to match the ship and the door opened. Ayeka stepped into the airlock and the door behind her closed. There was a hiss and her ears popped as the pressure changed again. Then the airlock opened. "Princess Ayeka," said a teal-haired woman in a Galaxy Police uniform, "welcome to Sirius Station." "Thank you," she said. She was about to bow but noticed the other woman's outstretched hand and shook it instead. The station was dull steel with spartan furnishings. Ayeka could tell that this was not a post one volunteered for. "I'm Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi." "I am pleased to meet you, detective. I'm afraid I have to ask for some help repairing the ship I came in. It seems to have taken some damage. First, though, I need to use a communications station right away. There's an emergency and Jurai is in great danger." "Unfortunately, our communications array is not functional right now. We had a little accident." "Oh, really? What happened?" "Kiyone, is she here yet?" called a high-pitched, perky voice from down the hall. Then they heard a crashing sound. "Ouch." Kiyone sighed and rolled her eyes. "That happened." A tall blond woman walked up to them. "Princess Ayeka, this is my partner Mihoshi Kuramitsu." "How do you do?" "Hi!" "I'm afraid our communications equipment will be down for at least a few days," said Kiyone. "In that case, I should be leaving immediately. Do you think you can help me repair my ship?" "Sure, we'll help ya!" chimed Mihoshi. The three of them climbed onto the shuttle and to the back. There was a thick steel plate that they had to pry off to get access to the engines. "I thought Juraians flew wooden ships?" asked Mihoshi. "It is a long story, and one that I am not at liberty to tell right now." The plate popped off and the three of them fell back as smoke spilled into the room. Mihoshi and Kiyone got up and peeked into the engine chamber, which was full of nothing but shattered parts. "Ouch," said Mihoshi. "Whadyou do to this thing?" "'May have taken some damage?'" asked Kiyone. "This needs a whole new engine." "I don't understand. It was working fine until- it must have been rigged. It was set to destroy the engines once I reentered real space. I hate to ask this, but there's no choice. I need you to escort me to the nearest occupied system or deep space base." The two detectives looked at each other and considered. "Yagami is the only ship we have. We'd be leaving the system unpatrolled." "Yeah, but it is part of our job to answer distress calls." "True. And I don't suppose there's much danger in this system for the time being. All right, you've got a ship." "Thank you so much," she said, bowing deeply. "I'll make sure that you're both rewarded-" "Don't worry about it," said Mihoshi. "We're just doing our job." "Do you want some tea, Princess Ayeka?" asked Kiyone. "Huh? Oh, yes, thank you." Kiyone sat down on the other side of the table. It was a midsize piece of wood with a soft couch on either side. They had been in imaginary space for just over a day now. "So, how did you get assigned to your post?" "Blame it on my partner. My career was going great until we got stuck together." "Is she that bad?" "She can do her job well enough, and we've solved some tough cases together. Also, I swear she has supernatural good luck. Lately, though, she's gotten careless and tends to cause a lot of damage on the way. So they sent us out here to patrol restricted areas where there isn't a lot to destroy." "At least she was able to keep her job," said Ayeka. "Nepotism." "Nepo- Wait, did you say her name was-" "Kuramitsu. She's the Marshal's granddaughter." "I see. So you're stuck together." "For better or worse. It isn't all bad. True, she aggravates me to no end, but we have a close relationship. It's a little hard to imagine living without her." Kiyone sighed wistfully. "Kiyone, we're almost there!" called Mihoshi. "All right." The window behind Ayeka reappeared and the image of a new system filled it. They had come in about six AU from the star. An orbiting space station was on the far side two AU out. Kiyone got up and walked to the bridge. "Station, this is Galaxy Police Space Cruiser Yagami," said Mihoshi. "Requesting permission to dock." "Permission granted, Yagami," answered the voice of the controller. "Please follow the premarked flight path." "Roger, control." The ship started moving in accordance with the directions it had received. Yagami reached its destination shortly. It was a floating spherical space station. A rectangular opening appeared on the side of the station. The ship steered itself into a large hangar. A metal arm in the ceiling reached down to assist in the docking. It grabbed Yagami and suddenly the ship started bucking against the arm. The detectives were thrown around the cockpit wildly. Kiyone grabbed onto the control panel and searched frantically for the shutoff. Finally she found it and hit it just as the docking arm was ripped from the ceiling. The Yagami floated in the air with an arm hanging off it. "Yagami, what happened?" asked the controller worriedly. "Um, sorry, I think we'll land manually, thank you," said Mihoshi sheepishly. "Mihoshi, what did you do?" asked Kiyone, biting her lip. "Um, well, after we got the data from traffic control I turned the ship to autopilot, and you know when you're on autopilot and the ship detects a threat-" "You forgot to turn off the autoevasion command!" Mihoshi just smiled nervously and Kiyone dropped her head into her hand, sighing. "Why me?" The group walked through the corridors of the Galaxy Police station. Ayeka was wearing a hooded cloak. She thought it best that her presence remain unknown for as long as possible, just in case the pirate came after her. Mihoshi knocked on the door to the office of their commanding officer. "Who is it?" asked the voice inside the door. "Detectives First Class Mihoshi Kuramitsu and Kiyone Makibi with urgent news to report." "Come in, then." They walked in the door and saw the chubby faced man sitting at his desk filling out papers. "I'm glad you two are here; I had some news for you. Detective Mihoshi, you've been reassigned." "What?" "You and Detective Kiyone patrol a number of systems," he explained without looking up. "Recently, we've received reports that the formerly wanted criminal Ryoko has appeared in the Sol system. You have been assigned to patrol that system directly in order to keep an eye on her." "You mean we're going to be split up?" asked both Kiyone and Mihoshi, though in two very different tones of voice. "There's no need for that," said Ayeka. "She's not in that system anymore." "Huh?" he asked, looking up for the first time. "Who is this? A civilian?" "I am Princess Ayeka of the Jurai Empire," she said, pulling back her hood to reveal her face. "Princess Ayeka?" he repeated, standing up. "The one who's been missing for seven hundred years? What are you doing out at this corner of your empire?" "Urgent business. I need access to a communications station right away." "All right. Detectives, would you escort the princess to the nearest comm station?" "Yes, sir," they both answered. "And please tell as few people as possible of my presence here." "Very well." The entourage exited the room and headed back down the hall. It wasn't far until they reached a room filled with audiovisual stations. Some were in use and some were vacant. "These are all sound-proofed," explained Kiyone, "so you don't need to worry about privacy." "Are the channels secure?" "If you request it." "Thank you." Ayeka walked into the nearest open terminal and shut the door behind her. She then typed in a sequence of numbers and opened a private channel. "This is Princess Ayeka hailing the planet Jurai." She waited and heard no answer. "Planet Jurai, do you copy? This is Princess Ayeka. Over." Hearing no response, she tried another channel. She went through all seven channels to Jurai but got no answer from any of them. "Am I too late?" Ayeka got up and walked out to the waiting detectives. "The situation is even more dire than I thought. I need to speak to the highest ranking officer on this station." "I think we can do better than that," said Kiyone with a sly smile. "Mihoshi?" "Huh?" asked Mihoshi, who had become enraptured with the latest GP recruiting poster hanging on the wall. "Why don't you give your grandfather a call?" "Oh, that's a good idea. You know, I think I was about to find the secret in that poster." "They don't all have hidden pictures, Mihoshi." The blond detective walked into one of the booths with Ayeka waiting just outside. The door was left open a crack so Ayeka was able to hear inside. Mihoshi opened a channel to the central headquarters of the Galaxy Police and a bored-looking albino woman appeared. "This is Galaxy Police station 000. Please state your business." "Detective First Class Mihoshi Kuramitsu requesting communication with the Marshal." "A first class detective can't simply call the Marshal." "Just put the message through, please." "If you insist. Please hold." The screen went blue and a repetitive song started playing. Mihoshi was humming along with it until the screen came back on. "Mihoshi!" shouted the bearded blond man with a huge grin and eyes lit up. "Oh, it's been ages since I've seen you! How's your mother? And your partner- how are you two getting along?" "Grandfather, please don't treat me like a child," she groaned. "Oh, of course not. So, have you met any nice boys lately? Why I remember one time when you were younger-" "Grandfather!" she shouted, blushing slightly. "We shouldn't be discussing things like that on a Galaxy Police frequency. This is an official business call." "Oh, I'm sorry," he said, clearing his throat. "So, what can a do for you, detective?" he asked, winking. "There's a representative of the Jurai Empire here who says she needs to speak with you urgently." "Very well, let me see her." Mihoshi stepped out of the booth and waved Ayeka in. "Princess Ayeka!" he shouted. "You've been missing for centuries! What are you doing all the way out there?" "I'll explain all of that, but what I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated- at least, no more than absolutely necessary." "I'm listening." "I need your word, sir." "I'm afraid I can't give it. If this is purely a Juraian matter, then you can keep your secrets, but if there's a larger threat, then I have a responsibility to do whatever necessary to protect against it." Ayeka considered for a moment and realized she had no choice. "All right. You know that the source of Jurai's strength is in her space trees..." The Souja floated through space less than half a light year from the Jurai system. Kagato was in deep meditation on its bridge. He had been practicing controlling Tsunami for hours. It had finally gotten to the point where he could see out all of Tsunami's sensors and fire her weapons. He was still working on the Light Hawk Wings. Also, it took serious concentration to use multiple weapons at the same time. Yet he figured it was probably enough. He turned his attention to the Jurai system. There were 112 first- generation and second-generation cruisers in the system. There were four inhabited Terrestrial planets and several occupied moons around the Jovian planets. They were in the pattern that was almost mandatory in life-bearing systems of small rocky planets near the center with the gas giants farther out. Jurai was the second planet from the star. On the rim of the system were seven unmanned long-range communications stations. To Kagato, these were by far the most dangerous things in the system. "All seven stations must be destroyed simultaneously," he reminded himself. "Once those are gone, the Juraians will have no way of calling for help from other systems." "Is all this subtlety really necessary? They can't do anything to stop us, can they?" asked Ryoko. He had taught Ryoko to argue with him. It was always useful to someone to question his plans. "Perhaps it would be easier to simply shut down all Jurai ships and march in claiming victory. It wouldn't require keeping a direct hold on so many ships at once. But I don't want any other parties involved until we can cement our position. Personally, I find that cunning can always beat brute force. Consider the bear. A powerful predator by any standard, to be sure. Yet its attack is slow and it must allow itself to be exposed. Better to follow the model of the snake. It lies in wait until the perfect moment, then strikes quickly and decisively. With one blow, the enemy is defeated before it even realizes that it is in danger. "Prepare yourself. Go to your ship and get ready. It will be about ten minutes." Ryoko floated away and Kagato resumed his focus on the trees. One quick shot is all it would take. Kagato reached out to the ships nearest to the communications stations. He looked through each of them to find the positions of the targets. They would detect his presence as soon as he attacked, and not a moment sooner or later. With one swift mental motion, he seized seven ships' weapons and obliterated the stations. "Yes!" Not taking more than that moment to celebrate, he shut down every Juraian tree ship in the system. Then he began charging a new set of weapons: electromagnetic pulse. Within a minute, he had fired massive bursts of EMP on every inhabited planet, moon, and space station in the system, sending all of Jurai back to the Stone Age. "They're all yours, Ryoko." Ryoko and Ryo-ohki entered the Jurai system. This brought back memories for both of them. Hopefully it would go better this time. Their approach was fairly straightforward. Nothing was able to detect their presence. All the tree ships were shut down, and any other ships in space were part of a tree ship's entourage- easily dealt with if they tried to run. The communications stations normally sent out information about conditions in the system on open channels. This information was necessary for any ship trying to enter or leave, so ships on the ground could not launch without guidance. All this gave it the appearance of a ghost system. Ryo-ohki approached the planet carefully. It was difficult without the guidance systems operational, but she managed well enough. The planet filled her window and blocked the view of the star and the planet's moon. It was after sunset and before moonrise at the Jurai palace. She descended to the planet quietly and under cover of darkness. No one had seen so many stars from Jurai in thousands of years. Yet it was still the darkest day any could recall. It was no trouble for the single ship to descend to the palace unnoticed. While still a fair distance above, she left her ship and hovered all the way down. There were a number of soldiers patrolling the roof. She saw a spot that was unobserved every time one soldier passed it. She waited for that moment and teleported down to the blind spot, then phased through the roof into the palace. Ryoko hugged the high ceiling as a guard marched past below her carrying a candle for light. It is a well-known principle amongst those who wish to avoid being seen that people never look up. This guard was no exception. She stopped breathing and waited for him to pass. After all, the time limit was much more generous this time, so there was no sense attracting unnecessary attention. She floated along the ceiling, carefully avoiding sentries below, and made her way to the throne room, then phased through the huge oaken double doors. The throne room was long and thin. There was a balcony on either side supported by wooden pillars. Each pillar had a candle, which had been hastily attached to it. The dim light reflected off the polished wood. There were dozens of guards within, both under the balcony and atop it. They spotted Ryoko instantly. "Hold it right there!" said the nearest one, and they all trained their weapons on her without hesitation. At the far end of the room was a raised platform with three thrones on it. Azusa was in the center, with Funaho on his right and Misaki on his left. "Her?" whispered Funaho. "I thought Ayeka said she'd been captured, and now she's attacking us again?" "Not for long," said Azusa calmly. "Guards: Open fire!" Every one of the guards in the room fired on the intruder. In that instant, a strange sensation came over Ryoko. She had planned to teleport to avoid these blasts, but she decided instead to let them hit. The barrage of laser fire could rip through the hull of a ship. So it was with even greater surprise that the room's occupants saw the enemy still floating above the door unharmed. It took a moment for them to recognize the swirling light in front of her. "Light Hawk Wings!" gasped Azusa. "Impossible!" The Wings enveloped her and formed into a red and black suit across her whole body. Three circles appeared on her forehead. "Drop your weapons if you want to live." The soldiers stood still in a moment of indecision. Ryoko raised her hand towards the nearest guard and shot a bolt through his neck, slicing his head clean off. The other guards didn't wait any longer to obey her command. "Good. We have no desire to harm any of you if it can be avoided. Just don't do anything stupid, like trying to run away, and you'll all get through this alive." She floated forward to the royal family who were pressed back against their seats. "I hope you three will be so cooperative." Misaki pushed herself out of the chair and threw a bone-crushing punch. Ryoko raised her hand and caught the blow effortlessly. "That's not what I had in mind," she said, pushing the queen back into her seat. "The situation is under control," said Ryoko aloud. "Open portal when ready." A glowing green circle appeared in the throne room. "Let's go." The three of them did not move. "Get up or I'll pick you up myself." They were still another moment. Then Azusa got up and slowly walked forward. He looked up at the soldiers around the room. "Stay strong, all of you." Then he stepped through. Misaki stood up next. She didn't try to conceal the tears flowing down her face. "May Tsunami bless you all." Then she as well disappeared. Funaho finally stood. Her face was unflinching and her eyes were locked with Ryoko. "I just want to know one thing. Did you kill my son?" "I did." "I thought so." Then she also stepped through, the portal closing behind her. Kagato had been watching all of the proceedings through Ryoko's eyes and was literally floating on the bridge of his ship. "I knew it would pay off! I knew if I put Ryoko's life in danger, she'd gain access to the Light Hawk Wings! Beautiful!" The three royals appeared on the bridge of Souja. "Good evening, all of you," he said, bowing. "My name is Kagato, and I'm pleased to meet you in person." "What do you want with us?" asked Azusa. "Oh, just one quick thing, or maybe two. I promise, though that I won't keep you long." There were three floating gurneys in the room. He gestured for each of them to lie down. They did, and restrain came out of the sides to hold them down. He waved to a group of floating head-shaped robots and whispered to them. "Take these three and drain their memories, and then dispose of them. We can't afford to have any legitimate claimants to the throne running around. Make it as quick and painless as possible." The eyes of the drone flashed green in the affirmative. Kagato turned his attention out the window to the planet that had grown large in it. "Soon it will all be mine." "What do you mean 'no proof!'" shouted Ayeka. "Just what I said," answered the marshal. "Unless you can offer proof of this nameless threat, I'm afraid we cannot act." "What reason would I have to lie?" "There are any number of reasons why your empire might want to deceive the Galaxy Police. Perhaps Jurai has a military operation underway that you don't want us to find out about." "You can't just turn your back on us. Ten percent of your members come from Jurai-" "None of our members have any national loyalties. That would defeat our purpose as a neutral organization>" "Please... our families have always had a close relationship. You have to help us." "I sympathize with your plight, princess. If it's any consolation, I believe you. But it isn't up to me alone. You're asking for a massive commitment of forces, and that requires the approval of many people. I'm just saying what they'll say." Ayeka sat quiet for a moment. "All right," she said finally. "You'll get your proof. Just hope it isn't too late when you do." "I am sorry about this, princess. I wish there was more I could do for you. If you like, I can have an officer go with you wherever you are going." "What about your granddaughter? I'd rather not tell anyone who doesn't already know about by whereabouts." "Mihoshi? I... don't really like that idea. She's not really suited for espionage." "Very well, then. I will go myself. Goodbye." "Goodbye, princess. And, again, my apologies." The screen went blank. Ayeka put her hood back on and stepped out where Mihoshi was waiting for her. "So, how did it go, your highness?" "Quiet! Don't call me that out here!" "Oh, sorry." "Remember, I don't want you telling anyone that you saw me." "No problem. After all, there won't really be anyone else in Sol to tell." "Sol? You're going to the Sol system?" "Well, yeah. They said that I have to go and keep an eye on Ryoko. It'll be hard, though. I haven't really been away from Kiyone in years." Mihoshi looked like she was about to start crying. "But, Mihoshi, didn't you hear what I said? Ryoko has left the Sol system. She has gone to Jurai." "Huh? Oh, yeah, I forgot. So then I don't have to go to Sol... does that mean that I go back with Kiyone to Sirius?" "Your mission was to watch over Ryoko, wasn't it?" "Oh, you're right! In that case, I guess I should go to Jurai." "Really, what a coincidence. That's the same place that I'm going." "Wow, what a surprise! Maybe we should go together." "That's not a bad idea, Mihoshi. I'm glad you thought of it." "Okay, then let's head back to Yagami and get moving." Ayeka and Mihoshi returned to the ship where Kiyone was waiting. "Mihoshi, let's get a move on. We don't have a lot of time." "Oh, sorry Kiyone. I forgot, you have to go back to Sirius, but Ayeka and I need to get to Jurai." "What? Who told you to go there?" "Well, my mission was to watch Ryoko, and Ayeka says she's gone to Jurai. Say, why don't you come with us?" "I don't think I can do that. I have to get back to my post." "You're right," said Ayeka. "We have separate paths. Mihoshi and I have to go find proof of a deadly pirate's threat to the universe, and you have to go back and patrol the restricted areas. I guess that's just the way-" "Wait a minute. Did you say a threat to the universe?" "Yes, it is rather serious. If we get there and back quickly, we might be able to prevent a great loss of life." "I see. You know, maybe I should go with you. Just to make sure Mihoshi doesn't get in the way." "Really? Yay, Kiyone's coming!" yelled Mihoshi, hugging her partner. "Well, if you insist, then I guess you can come to," said Ayeka. She smiled inwardly, remembering the favorite maxim of one of her teachers: Diplomacy is making other people want to do what you want them to do. The darkness lasts for hours. It seems like it will never end. Then, in a flash, it does. All of the electronics in the system turn back on. Across the entire planet, the first thing that people see is his face. "People of Jurai," he says. His voice is rough but friendly, like the teacher you had whose class was hard but who made sure you learned. "My name is Kagato, and I am here to announce the beginning of a new world. The old Juraian dynasty is at an end. For millennia, you have been ruled by whoever it was who had the power of the trees behind them. That day is at an end. Juraian trees are no longer an issue. I have removed them from their masters." The viewers of this spectacle all start speculating with each other about what this means. "I will tell you what this means. It means that no longer shall people be able to rely on power that they did not earn. The field is now level. Any people who are willing to take control of their own lives will shape their own destiny. Those who rely on others will be left behind. Join me. Let us work together. It will be hard at first. Sacrifices will have to be made. But together we can make this an even better world than before. We will band together, and all those who are willing to be strong will survive. We will survive!" Then the screens all go blank and the people are left to wonder about what will happen next. "Brilliant, isn't it?" asked Kagato. "Those already in power think when I talk about leaving behind those who rely on others that I mean the poor who do not work. Those who are already poor think I mean those who use Juraian trees. Both groups think that I'm offering to help them." "Do you think that they'll fall for it?" asked Ryoko. "Some will, and some will not. We have nothing to lose by making the offer. Now, I have to send out my drones to make sure no one leaves or enters the system." "What should I do?" "Stay here for now. I may need you later. Leave me alone, though. I need time to think." "Yes, sir." "That's right," said the heavy set Juraian. "He says his name is Kagato and he claims to have control of all Juraian trees. Recent events would seem to corroborate that claim." "I see," answered D3. The translucent head was hanging in the large military office. "This could have serious consequences. Report back if there are any developments." "Yes, sir." The head vanished. D3 came back into being in the heart of Lady Tokimi's temple. "So Tsunami is out of the picture, I see," said Tokimi. "And Washu as well. First Washu's child is taken, then Tsunami's champion killed, and now her trees are lost to her. And all of these done by the same person, interestingly enough. There may not be as many obstacles to our plan as I feared." "What about Kagato? He has more power than we do now." "Tell me, D3. Whom would you bet on: An unarmed yet experienced warrior, or a child who found his father's gun. Kagato is no concern. He is an amusing diversion at best. Let the megalomaniac play at wargames for now. He is in over his head and is bound to fall on his face sooner or later." "Very well, milady." "Have you anything else to report?" "The search for Washu does not go well. Evidence seems to support our conjecture that Kagato killed her 5,000 years ago." "That is the most likely scenario, I will admit. If she lives, though, then I want to find her and get her out of the way. I do not wish her to become a casualty of this war, and with a bit of luck I may yet be able to bring her to our side. Still, do not give the assignment to anyone too important unless you find confirmation of her life." "Agreed. It is a shame about Tsunami, though." "Yes, she is a prisoner of the jester now. I suppose it cannot be helped, though." Suddenly Tokimi felt something akin to a jolt of electricity run through her. "Did you feel that?" asked D3. "It's Zebulon. Calling me, that's a strange move." A projection of Zebulon appeared in the temple. "What is it you need, my friend?" "Yeh can drop the 'friend' bit. We both know what ya thinka me." "And you of me. Yes, ours is but a marriage of convenience." "Right now, ah'm thinkin' a divorce would be more convenient." "What? Do you mean to say that you want to end our relationship?" "'Fraid so. Ah know yer jus' usin' me fer yer own plans. Ah'm gettin' a bit tired of bein' yer pawn, and ah don't really care about yer morality." "So, my little one wants to spread his wings and fly on his own. Prove that he can stand on his own to feet. You know, they say that when a man is that desperate to prove himself it means he is compensating for a deficiency elsewhere." Zebulon barked out a laugh. "Y'always were good fer a laugh, babe, even to the end. Thass one thing ah'll miss about ya. But yer plan's jus' too risky." "So you are afraid now? You plan to run with your tail between you legs?" "yeh have ta understand somethin'. Ah'm a gambler." "I thought a gambler was one who takes risks." "It's much more'n that. A gambler is someone who weighs the risks agains' the rewards and chooses the best possible chance. And ah think ah can get the same payoff from someone else with a lot less risk." "Someone else? You don't mean- Kagato?" "Yep. Ah couldn't help but overhear that last message ya got." "What makes you think that he will be willing to share his power?" "Because ah can give him what he needs. Ah'll make sure to be too valuable fer him to turn his back on me." "I see. It sounds foolish to me, but if that's what you have planned, then I suppose there's nothing I can do to stop you." "Really. Ah was afraid you'd try an' kill me." "And why would I do that? On the contrary, I wish you luck. Better to have someone like that in control than no one at all." "A'right, then. See ya 'round." His image vanished. "Are we really going to allow this, milady?" "We are. Alone, Kagato's quest was hopeless, but with Zebulon on his side, things are very different. Kagato's success would be good for the universe as a whole. It is better than allowing it to destroy itself, anyway. Our role in this is over. Let us hope that this will work out for the best." Kagato sat in front of his organ playing a complex piece. He was trying to clear his mind so that he could figure out what to do next. He had to move carefully and he had to move fast. It would be only a matter of time before a large force came investigating the communications blackout. He had to decide on his next move before that. Kagato ended his performance and heard clapping from behind him. He spun around and saw a stranger walking across the catwalk towards him. "Bravo, bravo. Beautiful piece. Though ah think you shoulda slowed down a bit near the end." Kagato teleported forward and put an energy sword to the intruder's neck. "You've got two seconds to tell me who you are and how and why you're here." "Ma name's Zebulon Alvers, president an' founder of Alvatech Unlimited. An' since we've only jus' met, ah'd prefer ta keep some space between us." Kagato was thrown backwards by an invisible force and five glowing rectangles of light appeared in front of Zebulon. Kagato's eyes widened but he recovered quickly. "Light Hawk Wings. I see. You must be Tokimi's puppet." "Former puppet. We had a bit of a... fallin' out. How d'you know about- oh, right, yeh have Tsunami." "As well as Washu." "Washu? We'd all assumed ya killed her." "No, I wouldn't do that. Mr. Alvers, I hope you know you're trespassing. I'm going to have to drain your Light Hawk Wings now. You understand that I need a lot of energy for what I have planned." "Ya need a lot more'n energy, but ya won't be able ta drain my Wings." "Of course I can. This ship can manipulate any energy." Then after a moment he noticed that the intruder was not bluffing. "Ya see. Yer used ta energy that's created by objects, which you can intercept before it gets to a person. But ah'm creatin' this maself, so there's no chance of ya takin' it." "Very interesting." Suddenly Zebulon was tackled from behind. He was pinned facedown on the ground with Ryoko pressing on his wrists and ankles. "An ability like that could make you a possible threat, wouldn't you say?" "Ya know, normally ah'd like havin' a beautiful woman on top of me, but right now ah think it might not be such a good idea." "And what are you going to do about it? My Ryoko has ten Wings to your five. I don't know for sure how the Wings work, but I think it's safe to bet on her." "Ah think you'll get more from listenin' ta what ah have ta say then from killin' me." "Oh, you wish to bargain? Well, then, make it quick." "What d'you plan on doin' next?" asked Zebulon, still pinned unceremoniously to the floor. "Ya've got the Jurai ships under yer control, but ya don't have anyone to pilot them. Only Juraians can use 'em, and there aren't many, if any, Juraians who'd be willin' ta help ya." "And you have a solution to this problem?" "If the current batch won't work for ya, make some new ones." "What are you talking about? Breeding Juraians? That could take years." "Better than breedin'. Copyin'. Clonin'." "Cloning? I should have her kill you right now for wasting my time. Haven't you ever heard of the Xerox rule? No copy is ever as good as the original. People have been cloning for thousands of years, but no one has ever been able to produce a clone as strong as a live birth. Certainly not well enough to master an ability as subtle as use of Light Hawk energy." "No one ye've ever hearda. Ye'd be amazed, though, at how Light Hawk Wings change yer view of the world." Kagato didn't say a word. It sounded too good to be true. "What do you want?" "A part in rulin' the world along with ya. We don' have time ta discuss specifics, though. We need ta get this empire under control before they come after us. Tell me, how many ships do ya have now?" "There are 112 capital ships in this system." "If ya have the genetic material, ah can get ya one hunnerd perfect clones by tomorra." "All right, Ryoko. Let him up." She teleported off of Zebulon and he stood up, brushing dust off of his suit. "I hope that you can deliver on your promise, Mr. Alvers." He extended his hand. Zebulon took it and the two shook. "If what you say is true, then with my ships, and your manpower, there will be nothing to stop us." Down below, in the reversed level of Souja, Tsunami, Sasami, and Washu watched the goings-on above. They watched, and in their own ways, each of them prayed. Jurgan