Disclaimer- All original characters and previous events in the world of Tenchi 
Muyo are not mine. They are the property of AIC and Pioneer. The following story 
and any new characters are mine and mine alone. This story has been written 
because I love this series and felt that if Pioneer is not going to be prompt 
with a 3rd OAV then I might as well throw my hat in the ring. This story is just 
for fun, and I hope that anyone who reads this enjoys it. The following events 
will take place in the OAV timeline and one year after MNE. Well that's all for 
my opening rant. I hope you enjoy the show.


Tenchi Muyo!- Will of the Goddesses


"Conversations Within Dreams"


	Tenchi watched his opponent warily. He drifted smoothly into a defensive 
posture with Tenchi-ken raised before him. The white haired Somar raised his own 
energy sword and charged Tenchi. Tenchi held his ground and parried each of 
Somar's slashes. Somar sidestepped to the left and lunged at Tenchi's legs. The 
Juraian prince tensed and back flipped away from the attack. The white jump suit 
he wore allowed Tenchi to move much faster than his old training gui. He landed 
and advanced on Somar with lightning speed. The other man easily batted away 
each of Tenchi's thrusts. Somar slashed at Tenchi's neck. Instincts flared, and 
Tenchi dropped to his knees and rolled past Somar. He vaulted to his feet, spun 
around, and leveled Tenchi-ken's blue blade at Somar's neck.

	Somar clicked off his white blade and dropped the bronze colored hilt. 
"Okay, I give."

	Tenchi smiled and deactivated his sword. Both men loosened the collars of 
their white jump suits and walked over to the benches on the sides of the 
training room. Tenchi figured that the room was the size of a basketball court 
back at home. It was empty except for the padded sparring mat, benches along 
side the blue walls, and some water dispensers next to each bench. The two men 
sat down on a bench and picked up some towels on the floor.

	Tenchi wiped his face off and placed Tenchi-ken down next to him. "You 
almost got me with that neck attack," he told Somar.

	The white haired man smiled and shrugged. "Well, you surprised me with 
that flip. That was the first time you've done that move."

	Tenchi laughed. "Heh. I usually don't go for moves like that, but for some 
reason I knew that I could pull it off this time."

	Tenchi and Ryoko had arrived at Ukarit's home several days before. Since 
then, they had been lying low and just resting at the pink gangster's place. The 
house itself looked something like a movie star's mansion on Earth. It was 
located on a beach on some small planet that Ukarit said he won in a card game. 
Tenchi found the house quite nice and very well furnished. It was obvious that 
Ukarit was no stranger to houseguests. Tenchi watched as Somar rose to get them 
some water. He and the white haired man had become fast friends over the past 
week. Somar had proved to be a warm and attentive individual. Tenchi found it 
was very easy to talk to the other man. The spiky haired youth had rediscovered 
how nice it was to have another guy to talk to instead of six crazy women. 

	Somar handed Tenchi a cup of water and sat down again. "So, is Ryoko 
talking to you yet?" Tenchi had already explained the hell that was his love 
life to Somar.

	Tenchi sipped his water and shook his head. "She's still avoiding me. I 
only see her at meal time, and even then she only says a couple of things to 
me."

	There was silence for a minute. "Maybe you should go and talk to her," 
suggested Somar. "Perhaps it is time to see if you do have feelings for her?"

	Tenchi was shaking his head. "I told you, Somar. I can't let myself fall 
in love with either Ryoko or Ayeka. If I did, either way, someone I care about 
deeply will be hurt." He scowled. "Besides, I'm not really the best at 
confrontation when it comes to emotions."

	Somar's face was pensive. "And what about yourself?" he countered. "Don't 
your feelings count for anything?"
													
	Tenchi downed the rest of his water and tossed the cup over his shoulder. 
"I can handle the pain," he muttered.

	Somar raised one of his white eyebrows. "So you admit it hurts?"

	Tenchi glared at his new friend. "Of course it hurts!" he snapped. "I'm 
just as human as they are, but..."

	"But what?" challenged Somar. "Think of it from another point of view, 
Tenchi. Yes, if you chose between the two of them, there will be pain. But there 
is another pain I think you are not aware of. Have you ever thought how much it 
must hurt these two women to constantly wonder where your heart lies?"

	Tenchi was shocked by that question. "I...I never thought of that."

	"Think about it," continued Somar. "From what you've described, these 
women have built their lives around you for the past several years. How much do 
you think it hurts them to have you pull them along day after day without any 
sign of affection?"

	This new train of thought was causing chaos in Tenchi's mind. "But I've 
never meant to lead them along," explained Tenchi. "I've always tried to treat 
them equally, and just keep things the way they have always been." He looked 
down at the floor. "It never occurred to me that I would be causing just as much 
pain by not choosing."

	"That's understandable," said Somar with a nod. "But now that you can see 
this from all angles, can you keep going along pretending everything will always 
be the same? One day, Ryoko and Ayeka might just get tired of waiting and 
actually leave." 

	Tenchi rested his chin in his hands. "What should I do?"

	Somar rose to leave. "I don't think you really want me to answer that, 
Tenchi," he responded. "You already know that the only answer is in your heart." 
He patted Tenchi on the back. "I'll see you at dinner and back here for 
tomorrow's match." Tenchi watched as his new friend left the training room.

	Alone with his thoughts, Tenchi just sat on the bench. No matter how he 
looked at it, Tenchi knew that Somar was right. The white haired man had been 
straight with him, which was something that Tenchi was not totally used to. 
Usually when he asked his dad or grandfather for advice, he got either his 
Noboyuki's over the top suggestions or Grandpa's cryptic advice. 

	"But how do I choose?" he asked the empty room. "How do I know which one 
is in my heart?" He knew that love for either girl was only a step away, but 
there was the very important question of which way was the true path? Also, how 
true were their feelings for him? Did they really love him, or were the girls' 
emotions just crushes?

	Tenchi was still sitting there when a view screen appeared over his head 
with Ukarit's visage. "Oh good, you're still there." 

	He looked up and gave Ukarit a weak smile. "What's up?"

	Ukarit's look was odd. "I just received the strangest message, Tenchi. 
Every time I tried to open it, a holographic crab appeared and said it would 
only open for you."

	Tenchi's smile was very large as he rose from the bench and grabbed 
Tenchi-ken. "Don't worry about it, Ukarit," he assured the pink man. "I know who 
it's from. I'll be right there." He left the training room and walked down the 
halls of the mansion.

	The halls were pearl white with wall to wall red carpet. Paintings, 
sculptures, and many forms of antiques could be found along the halls of the 
home. Tenchi arrived in the main hall and scaled the stairs that led up to the 
third floor. He walked up to a large wooden door and knocked.

	"Come in," came Ukarit's voice from within.

	Tenchi pushed open the door and walked inside Ukarit's office. The office 
was the size of the living room in the Masaki home. Ukarit sat behind a large, 
circular steel desk. The desk held several keyboards and data pads. Red carpet 
also went wall to wall in the office. Couches and chairs flanked both sides of 
Ukarit's desk. There was no art of any kind to be found in this room. Ukarit had 
told Tenchi that he did not need any distraction in the place where he conducted 
business. Behind the desk was a large window that over looked the beach.

	Ukarit motioned for Tenchi to join him behind the steel desk. Tenchi 
walked over and stood behind Ukarit's high backed chair. The pink man punched a 
couple of keys and a view screen popped up. "Open Me" blinked in the center of 
the screen. Ukarit looked back at Tenchi. "Well?"

	Tenchi swallowed. "Um. Open?"

	A holographic crab appeared in front of the screen and waved at Tenchi. 
The crab disappeared, and text started to roll across the screen. Tenchi read 
it:

	>Hi Tenchi. I don't have a lot of time so for once I'm going to keep it 
simple so that you can understand. Ziasha has a Souja class battleship. Ayeka's 
fleet has the manpower, but is lacking in ships. I've attached coordinates to 
the base where Ayeka is running the war from to this message. Sasami, Kiyone, 
Mihoshi, and your grandfather are already there. Only you and Ryoko are missing. 
You two be careful and get back to us as soon as possible. Oh, and bring some 
help if you can. I'm sure that Ukarit will have some good ideas.

					The Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe,

										Washu

	PS- Don't go running into anymore traps!<

													
	Ukarit whistled. "Damn. Even I didn't know about another Souja. This 
complicates things." He turned in his chair to face Tenchi. "Looks like your 
princess has a lot of troubles." He looked over the message again. "How in the 
hell did Washu know where to find you?"

	Tenchi smiled and walked over to one of the other chairs in the office. 
"I've learned over the years not to think about how Washu does anything." He 
dropped into the chair and the smile faded. "Do you have any ideas?"

	Ukarit laughed and threw his legs up on the desk. "You need a massive 
fleet to wage an interstellar war, and you're asking me how to get it?" Tenchi 
nodded. "Geez, kid, you don't sugar coat things do ya?" Ukarit leaned forward 
and started to type on the keyboards. 

	"Hmm." He continued typing and started to speak. "Okay, Tenchi. I can 
promise you all the ships that I have. I'm already knee deep in this thing, so I 
might as well go for neck deep." He scanned a screen and looked over at the 
prince. "I've got about fifty cruisers I can give you."

	"What can we do about getting more ships?" asked Tenchi. "I doubt the new 
Souja is all Ziasha has."

	Ukarit tapped his teeth with a finger. "I've got an idea, but it's pretty 
risky. That fact that you are Juraian royalty is a big notch in our belt. Using 
that, I may be able to convince some of my associates that it will be worth it 
to help the Juraian Royal family."

	"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Tenchi.

	"Naah," answered the gangster with a shake of his head. "They most likely 
already know you are legit. Just go and relax, and I'll contact you when I've 
got something."

	"Okay," said Tenchi. He had been hoping to be given something to do so 
that he would not have to face his personal problems. He got up and left 
Ukarit's office.

	Tenchi walked down to the second floor and started for the room he had 
been given. He stopped in front of a door with golden engraving. Behind that 
door was Ryoko. Tenchi could feel her in the back of his mind. It was something 
he had started to get used to. Even though Ryoko had blocked off her end of 
their new empathic connection, Tenchi was still able to feel when she was 
nearby. Perhaps now was the perfect time to start trying to see where his 
feelings really lay.

	He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "Okay, Tenchi. If she won't 
talk to you, then you gotta talk to her." Not being good at confronting the 
women in his life, Tenchi's hand was frozen in the air in front of the door. 
Finally, he knocked on Ryoko's door.

	No answer.

	Tenchi knocked again and got the same result. He knew she was in there. 
The man who had defeated the evil Kagato, slayed the demon Yazuha, and gone toe 
to toe with Ziasha was at a loss what to do next. After a quick inner skirmish 
of emotions, Tenchi turned the knob and entered the room. 

	The room was exactly like his own. There was a large bed, a couch, chairs, 
a small kitchenette, and a bathroom in the rear of the room. The only noticeable 
difference were the empty liquor bottles scattered all over the room. Lying in 
the middle of the floor was Ryoko. Her V top was white in the middle with purple 
sleeves and an orange neckline. She was also wearing a pair of loose white pants 
with a black belt. The demoness was laying there, spread eagle, and snoring away 
in an alcohol induced slumber.

	Tenchi sighed and placed Tenchi-ken down on the coffee table. He carefully 
made his way across the desert of bottles to Ryoko. As he picked the cyan haired 
pirate off the ground, Tenchi knew that the root of Ryoko's binge was him. He 
carried her in his arms to the bed. While making the short trip to the bed, 
Ryoko began to stir in his arms. Her golden eyes opened, and she gave him a 
bloodshot, bleary eyed look. "Tenssshiii?"

	"It's me, Ryoko," he assured the drunk woman. 

	Her eyes tried to focus on his face. "Why're you in my rhoom?"

	Something tingled in the back of his mind. "It can wait," he told her with 
a smile. "Let's just get you into bed."

	Suddenly, the inner wall keeping Ryoko's emotions in vanished. The first 
few emotions started to trickle into his mind as Tenchi placed Ryoko on the bed. 
Her eyes opened again, and the pirate smiled up at him. "I love you sho mush, 
Tenshi."

	Tenchi had heard her say she loved him many times during fights with 
Ayeka, and he might have attributed this latest statement to the influence of 
the alcohol if not for one thing. He could feel her love coming across the link.

	Ryoko fell back into sleep and rolled farther into the bed, while Tenchi 
just stood there with his mouth open. Every part of Tenchi was frozen in shock. 
She really did love him! There had been certain times when Tenchi had believed 
that Ryoko's feelings were not that strong or just misplaced, but this changed 
everything. Ryoko's emotions had ceased to cross over as soon as she had fallen 
asleep again. Tenchi staggered over to the couch and sat down. Things were 
definitely different now. The time for him to choose between the two rivals for 
his affections was coming ever closer. 

	Tenchi laid his head back on the couch and closed his eyes. Sleep 
successfully snuck up on him and took over. Tenchi's last few conscious thoughts 
were split between Ryoko and Ayeka.

_____

	There was only darkness. Tenchi knew that he was no longer awake just by 
the feeling of his body. It was as if he was walking through water. Tenchi 
looked down and found himself still wearing his white jump suit. The prince's 
senses flared, and he spun around. The darkness seemed to peel apart as Ziasha 
walked out.

	"Hello, Tenchi Masaki," greeted the green haired man.

	Tenchi grabbed for his sword only to find it was not there. "We are in 
what your people call the dream world," revealed Ziasha. "It is simply a thin 
dimension where communication can take place."

	Tenchi tried to summon his Light Hawk Wings, but that damned inner wall 
held firm. Ziasha smiled and walked towards him. "Oh, I'm not here to fight you, 
Masaki. I just want to talk. Even if we did fight, the worst damage I could do 
to you would be a bad head ache." He chuckled.

	"How are you doing this?" asked Tenchi through clenched teeth. 

	Ziasha began to circle Tenchi. "The power of our Light Hawk Wings bonds us 
in many ways, boy." 

	Tenchi's stance relaxed, but his muscles were still tensed for action. 
"Why are you doing all of this?"

	"It is the Will, Masaki," he replied. Tenchi gave him a puzzled look. "I 
forgot. Tsunami cannot tell you anything." The dark man smiled again. "I think 
it is enough for you to know that there is nothing you can do to stop me."

	"I don't care anything about this 'Will'," snarled Tenchi. "But I do know 
that I will find a way to defeat you, Ziasha."

	Ziasha stopped and loomed over Tenchi. "And how do you propose to do that? 
With those Light Hawk Wings you cannot even summon at will?" Tenchi paled. "Yes, 
I know that you cannot use the Wings whenever you desire, boy."

	"That doesn't matter," countered Tenchi. "I'll still find a way to stop 
you."

	"Do you even know why you fight, Masaki?" asked Ziasha. 

	"I fight to stop psychopathic monsters like you who kill innocent people," 
stated Tenchi confidently.

	"Ha," was the dark warrior's response. "Then you know nothing." Ziasha 
reached out and grabbed for Tenchi's neck.

	Tenchi saw it coming and dodged. "What about just talking?" he asked. 

	Ziasha answered by lunging with his knee. Tenchi sidestepped and threw a 
punch at the dark man's face. The green haired man blocked it with a forearm. 
Both of the men looked into each other's eyes. "I've decided to show you just 
how futile your efforts are, Masaki." Ziasha attacked again, and both warriors 
began to dance back and forth with combinations of kicks and punches.

_____

	Ryoko opened her eyes and groaned. Her head ached, and her temples were 
throbbing. She carefully eased herself up and looked around the room. "How did I 
get on the bed?" she wondered out loud. The pirate looked out the window to see 
the planet's moon high in the night sky.

	The demoness slowly turned her head to scan the room. The memories came 
back as she saw the empty bottles all over the floor. She had decided to get 
blasted because she couldn't bring herself to go and talk to Tenchi. Pissed and 
sad, Ryoko had decided to simply drown her worries in liquor. Her breath caught 
in her throat when she saw Tenchi sleeping on the couch. Despite the lack of 
light, Ryoko could still easily see him. He was sitting up right with his head 
tilted back. Tenchi's face was contorted as if he were in pain. That was when 
Ryoko noticed the fear and anger coming across their link. 

	A shiver ran down her spine. Suddenly feeling very cold and lonely, Ryoko 
threw out all hesitation. She grabbed the blanket off of the bed and staggered 
over to the sleeping Tenchi. Finally making it to the couch, Ryoko sat down next 
to the prince, threw the blanket over their bodies, and curled up next to him. 
Suffering from her hangover and acting on emotion alone, Ryoko had not even 
noticed that her own psychic shield was not up. The cyan haired woman laid her 
head on Tenchi's chest and draped her left arm across his stomach. As she did 
this, Ryoko felt Tenchi's tense muscles relax dramatically. Due to her current 
condition, returning to sleep was no problem for Ryoko.

_____

	Tenchi was not fairing very well. He was blocking all of Ziasha's attacks, 
but the green haired man was showing no signs of tiring at all. Tenchi, on the 
other hand, was starting to slow in his attacks. Ziasha pressed him, and the 
darkness seemed to grow even blacker. Tenchi dodged a knee thrust and crossed 
his arms to block a punch to his face. He caught Ziasha's hand right between his 
wrists and tried to hold the dark warrior. Ziasha smiled and pushed against 
Tenchi's defenses. Tenchi's knees began to weaken under the stress of his 
opponent's strength.

	"You are pathetic, Masaki," hissed Ziasha. "You never even stood a 
chance."

	There was a sudden change that both men noticed. The blackness shimmered 
and brightened for a second. A new spring of strength began to flow inside 
Tenchi. He pushed Ziasha back and pressed him. The dark warrior blocked every 
attack, but Tenchi could tell that Ziasha was starting to waver. Ziasha batted 
away a series of punches and leapt back. The blackness was definitely starting 
to change. Now it seemed to shine with an aura of red. 

	Ziasha grimaced. "Time for this meeting to end, boy." He lowered his 
hands, and a portal appeared behind him. "I'll be waiting for you, Tenchi." He 
smiled confidently. "After all, the Will demands that we battle. It is destiny." 
He stepped into the portal and vanished.

	Tenchi relaxed and breathed deeply. "Did that really just happen?" he 
asked himself. The prince started to analyze what had just happened, when he 
felt himself become lighter. "I'm starting to wake up," echoed his voice. Oh 
well, better to go over this when awake. Tenchi closed his eyes and willed 
himself to wake up.

_____

	Ukarit groaned as he watched his computer try to locate its target. The 
gangster had been up most of the night trying to get a hold of some of his 
associates. He scratched the sleep out of his yellow eyes and turned his chair 
to look out the window. "Sun's coming up," he muttered. 

	The computer monitor started beeping. Ukarit spun around and watched the 
view screen. It blinked once, and a humanoid male appeared. He was bald except 
for a topknot of green hair. He was middle aged with deep brown eyes. He smiled 
at Ukarit and spoke. "Why hello there, Ukarit. It's been a while. The other 
bosses and myself were beginning to think that you had retired."

	Ukarit plastered on his smoothest smile. "Nice to see you too, Kiltar. And 
where have you been? I've been trying to contact you all night."

	"I'm around," replied the other gangster. "So, what is it that you want?"

	Ukarit leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. "I've got a business 
proposition for you. If things turn out right, there could be a lot of money 
involved."

	"This wouldn't have anything to do with that Juraian prince you're 
sheltering, would it?" asked Kiltar with a smile. 

	Ukarit cursed mentally. He was getting sloppy if Kiltar actually knew that 
he had Tenchi with him. He kept his smile on, however. "Maybe. Do you want to 
hear the deal or just banter for a while?"

	Kiltar waved a hand in front of the screen. "Time is money. Let's get down 
to business."

	"Good," said Ukarit. He began tapping his fingers together. "I'll be 
blunt. I need ships. Lots of 'em."

	"Really," replied Kiltar with a raised eyebrow. "You aren't going to be 
foolish enough to get personally involved with the Juraian mess going on in the 
core systems?" Ukarit gave him a thin smile. Kiltar's eyes widened. "You're 
serious!" cried the other gangster. He started laughing. "You're still a mad 
man, Ukarit."

	"So, you in?" questioned Ukarit. "If we win, there's going to be a lot of 
business opportunities thrown our way." A small red light began flashing at the 
corner of his desk. Ukarit separated his hands and rested them on the arms of 
his chair. He tapped his right index finger twice turning on the communicator in 
his right ear.

	"I've just picked up some hyperspace signatures at the edge of out 
interdictor field," said Somar's voice in his ear.

	"What kind of opportunities?" asked Kiltar. "If I'm even going to consider 
this lunacy, I want to make sure that it is worth it."

	"There are a few different ones," answered Ukarit without pause. Something 
wasn't right. "Why don't we meet in person and talk about it?" Kiltar did not 
speak for a second. Ukarit leaned forward and started to type on his keyboard. 
"Let me check my schedule and see when I am free."

	His fingers moved quickly. Another screen appeared next to Kiltar's image, 
but it was not a schedule. Ukarit began tracking where Kiltar's communication 
was coming from. The pink man's advanced systems easily dismissed false readings 
and quickly found the source of the transmission. 

	Ukarit's eyes went wide, and his hands balled into fists. Another screen 
appeared showing a scan of the hyperspace signatures. Ten heavy cruisers with 
weapons charged were heading straight for his home. He cut off Kiltar before he 
could say anything else. "You, bastard!" shouted Ukarit. "What the hell do you 
think you're doing!?"

	Kiltar's face was grim now. "I'm sorry, Ukarit. The price on the space 
pirate Ryoko's head is just too big to pass up. Plus, a Juraian prince will 
bring a good price from anyone. Maybe I can even trade him to the new rulers of 
Jurai for some real business."

	"Rot in hell!" snarled Ukarit, and he banished the other man's visage. 
"Somar! Sound the alarm! We're getting out of here!" Ukarit opened a draw and 
pulled out a blaster. He aimed the blaster and destroyed every piece of 
equipment on his desk. With his computer destroyed, the gangster holstered the 
gun and headed for the hanger bay.

_____

	Tenchi opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for several moments. As 
his senses started to catch up to his current state, Tenchi noticed something 
warm and soft lying across his body. Despite the cramp in his neck, he eased his 
head forward and found Ryoko lying in his lap. She was on her back with her face 
turned towards his stomach. Her breathing was even and slow. She seemed so 
peaceful like this. Tenchi suddenly realized that he was smiling. "What am I 
going to do with you?" he asked the sleeping pirate.

	Somar's words from the previous evening echoed in his mind. Perhaps it was 
time to finally see where his feelings truly lay? Ever so slowly, with some 
obvious hesitation, Tenchi lifted his left hand over Ryoko's face. Before his 
inner demons could stop him, Tenchi lightly brushed his hand across her right 
cheek. Her skin was smooth and soft. His hand continued to move, and he ran his 
fingers through her hair. It was soft to the touch and felt like silk running 
between his fingers. 

	The prince's hand stopped as Ryoko moaned and turned her head up. Her 
eyelids fluttered for a second, and then her golden eyes were looking into his 
brown	ones. Neither one of them spoke. Tenchi's left hand was still in her hair 
pressed against the side of her head. Tenchi was not sure what to do. He just 
sat there with his hand in her hair staring into her eyes. Ryoko, too, was 
frozen. There was a tingling in the back of Tenchi's mind, and he noticed 
Ryoko's emotions coming across the link. She was slightly surprised, but amazed 
at the same time. There was also the undeniable sense of love behind the other 
feelings. Tenchi stopped and looked at what he was feeling. He was enjoying the 
feeling of their closeness. Was he feeling anything else, though? Perhaps he may 
have found an answer if the alarm hadn't started blaring.		

	Ryoko jumped and floated into the air above the couch. "Ow, my head," she 
groaned. 

	Tenchi quickly stood up and grabbed Tenchi-ken from the table. A view 
screen popped up with Somar's face in it. "Tenchi, get to the hanger 
immediately."

	"What's going on, Somar?" asked Tenchi.

	"We've got some unwanted guests heading this way," replied the pale 
skinned man. "Ukarit says we're packing up and leaving, now."

	Tenchi grimaced and nodded. He wanted to know who was attacking, but 
figured he could ask later once they were all safe. "We'll be right there." 
Somar nodded and the screen vanished.

	Tenchi looked around and found Ryoko back on the ground and holding her 
head with both hands. He walked over to her and gently took her wrists. "Ryoko? 
Can you hear me?"

	"Of course I can hear you!" she snapped. "That's the whole problem! I can 
hear too much! Damn hangover," she muttered.

	"Ryoko, we have to get to the hanger bay quickly," he told her. "Can you 
teleport us there?"

	She looked back at him with a half smile. "Hold on, Tenchi." The pirate 
threw her arms around his neck. Tenchi stiffened as he felt his very being 
pulled from one place to another.

	Tenchi blinked twice and looked around the hanger bay. Somar had just 
entered the hanger and was running towards the Loaded Dice. He stopped and 
looked at Tenchi and Ryoko for a moment before running up the ramp of the large 
oval shaped, green hulled ship. The Twins came running in next. One was holding 
a steel box, and the other was trying to keep a hold of a very jumpy Ryo-ohki. 
The cabbit saw her mistress and Tenchi and with a final surge broke free and 
scampered over to them. She jumped into Ryoko's arms and meowed happily. 

	Ukarit came down the Dice's ramp and spotted Tenchi. "Get your asses in 
here!" he shouted. "We gotta get the hell outta here!"

	Tenchi grabbed Ryoko's hand and ran for the Loaded Dice. They ran up the 
ramp past Ukarit. The gangster called for the Twins to get on board before 
moving back up the ramp and into the ship. Once the Twins were inside, Ukarit 
raised the ramp and told Somar over the intercom to power up the engines. The 
gangster turned and headed for the bridge with Tenchi and Ryoko following 
behind. 
	
	"Twins!" he bellowed. "Get to the back and man the rear guns."

	"Sure, boss," they said in unison and ran off. 

	When they all arrived on the bridge, Somar was already in the copilot's 
chair powering up the engines. The bridge came to life with a low humming noise. 
Ukarit dropped into the pilot's chair and grabbed the steering controls. He 
pulled back, and the Loaded Dice lurched. Tenchi and Ryoko quickly strapped into 
chairs in front of the navigator's station. Ukarit shifted the accelerator and 
the ship started to move forward.

	"Uh, boss," warned Somar. "The hanger doors aren't open yet."

	"No time," replied the pink man. "We're never coming back here anyway." He 
hit the firing control, and two green blasts of energy erupted from the Dice's 
forward weapons. There was an explosion, and everyone could see the beach 
through the smoke. 

	The Loaded Dice's engines flared, and the ship flew out into the open. It 
only took seconds for the cruiser to clear the planet's atmosphere. There was a 
beeping noise from the navigator's station. Tenchi saw a button flashing red and 
pushed it. A view screen appeared showing ten cruisers heading for the planet. 

	"Kiltar's force is still heading for the planet," said Somar. "I don't 
think they've noticed us yet."

	"Give 'em a second," said Ryoko. 

	Tenchi watched the screen as seven of the cruisers changed direction and 
followed after the Loaded Dice. "Here they come," warned Tenchi. 

	Ukarit smiled over his shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. The Dice'll get us out 
of here. She's faster than all of those hunks a tin. They're attack ships, so 
they aren't built for pursuit."

	Tenchi continued to watch the screen. As Ukarit predicted, the seven ships 
soon started to lag behind. Eventually, they vanished from sight. Tenchi sighed 
with relief and turned off the screen. He turned his chair and looked at Ukarit. 
"What was that all about?"

	Ukarit turned the controls over to Somar and spun around his own chair to 
meet Tenchi's gaze. "Well, let's just say that we won't be getting any help from 
my associates." He released a deep breath and put his hands behind his head. "It 
seems that the price on your heads is more tempting than possible rewards for 
helping you instead."

	Tenchi's face sank as he slumped in the chair. "Guess we'll have to think 
of something else."

	"So, where to now?" asked Ryoko.

	Ukarit got up and walked over to the console in front of Tenchi. 
"Fortunately, my personal fleet was stationed elsewhere," he said as he started 
typing in coordinates to the nav computer. "I've already given them the 
coordinates for the Juraian base Washu told us about. The fleet should already 
be on its way there."

	"Fleet? Washu?" Ryoko stood up and gave them both quizzical looks. "What 
are you talking about?"

	"I'll tell you later," assured Tenchi. He turned back to Ukarit. "So, 
where are you sending us?"

	Ukarit finished typing and walked back to the pilot's seat. "I've got 
detailed star charts, so we're taking the fastest route possible to the outer 
Juraian colonies." He pulled back on a lever, and the Loaded Dice jumped into 
hyperspace. "We should reach the first of the colonies in about a week."

	Tenchi got up and stretched. "Well, that's one more week to try and figure 
out where to get more ships for Ayeka's fleet."

	Ryoko sighed and dropped back into her chair. "Ayeka's fleet? Man, now I'm 
really confused." Ryo-ohki meowed and tried to comfort her.

_____ 

	Ryoko sat on the couch in her room on the Loaded Dice staring out the 
window at hyperspace. Ryo-ohki was asleep next to her dreaming of carrots, as 
usual. The pirate had changed to her favorite green and orange sleeved traveling 
dress. She brought her knees up and rested her chin on them. The moments before 
the alarm went off in the mansion were continually replaying in her mind. 

	She remembered waking up to Tenchi caressing the side of her face. His 
warm, strong hand running through her hair. Her eyes opened, and he was smiling 
down at her. Ryoko had been surprised by all this, and thus had been paralyzed 
by her emotions. When their eyes had locked, Tenchi had stopped caressing her, 
but he had not removed his hand. She had just started to sense his emotions, 
when the alarm had gone off.

	The demoness sighed and continued to stare out the window. After they had 
left the bridge, Tenchi had explained what exactly was going on, but he hadn't 
said a word about what had happened in her room at the mansion. Ryoko gave the 
barrier around her emotions a once over to make sure that it was still in place. 
She'd been very upset at finding that it had slipped away during the night. 
Hopefully, she hadn't invaded Tenchi's mind by accident. 

	Then a new thought hit her. What if her emotions had crossed over the link 
without her knowing? Could that be an explanation for Tenchi's actions? Tenchi 
was not known for such forwardness unless he was very sure of himself (which was 
almost never when it came to the girls). She began to play with the new bracelet 
on her right wrist. Ryoko sighed again, but smiled this time as well. Tenchi had 
shown some affection towards her instead of telling her to "get off" or "go 
away." Maybe there was some hope for her yet?


To be continued...

Notes- Um, not much to say once again. I hope that readers are still enjoying 
this. Please send any comments to Roas1@hotmail.com.