Ep 10 – Arrival

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real 
attempt at a fanfiction.  It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi 
TV) and the OVA so most of the main characters you've seen from 
there will appear here as well.  It also crosses a bit with Dragonball 
Z with the existence of Dragonballs and immensely powerful 
warriors.  Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to be together, and 
Aeka is still living at the house for now.  You'll see when it 
happens.  Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right 
to the story.  Enjoy!  Send all hate mail / fan mail to 
russael@mediaone.net.

*Note: the Detroit Theater Organ Society's organ can be seen here 
- http://theatreorgans.com/mi/dtos/

**Note: Ryoko's Japanese VA, Ai Orikasa, also does Quatre from 
Gundam Wing (If you didn't know that already), so once you get 
to the point where Russ asks her to sing it, you'll understand why.

***Note: New website going up for the Tenchi fans!  Visit it at
http://russael.cjb.net  The fanfic will be posted there too.  There
is a forum there and a guestbook.  Stop by and say hello!


	Tenchi sat in his seat aboard Ryo-Ohki, transfixed on the 
massive starship just outside the window.  He had only seen these 
vessels in science fiction films, and had never, in a hundred million 
years, expected to see one in real life.  And now, this thing was 
sitting only a few hundred meters away, and it sent a wave of 
excitement through him, mixed with worry, since the people who 
had used these ships were evil.  Admiring the arrow shaped hull of 
the ship, up to the bridge which had two golf-ball like globes on 
top, all the way down to the underside of the vessel where the 
hanger bay became visible, it was the most awesome sight he ever 
beheld, except when he saw Aeka's ship descend to Earth when 
she arrived to rescue Mihoshi.  But, this thing was so much larger.
	Washu continued to type frantically at her keyboard, 
gathering as many readouts as she could through the cabbit's 
sensors, and everybody else more or less just stared at the craft, 
regarding its massive bulk and its very geometric shape.  Russ 
stood in the middle of Ryo-Ohki, with an amused smirk creasing 
his lips.
	"Is that thing for real?" asked Tenchi from his seat, 
glancing over to Russ.
	He raised an eyebrow and his smile grew.  "Sure is.  I bet 
you know what kind of ship this is, don't you?"
	"Yes.  I've seen them in Starwars before.  What are they 
called again?  It's been a long time since I've seen those movies."  
He scratched his head a moment when he felt Ryo-Ohki shudder 
slightly.  The cabbit meowed a frantic warning that something had 
grabbed her and was pulling her in.
	"Don't worry," Russ assured her.  "Those are just the 
tractor beams I was telling you about.  He'll guide us into the bay, 
rather than have us try to navigate our way inside.  Just let him do 
the work."  He turned back toward Tenchi.  "You were saying?" he 
asked, resuming his grin.
	"Yes.  I remember now.  Isn't that thing an Imperial Star 
Destroyer out of Starwars?"  Everybody turned to look at him, 
wondering what he was talking about, except for Russ, who was 
beaming with pride.
	"Bingo!  We have a winner," he said, walking over and 
patting Tenchi on the back.  "Yes, this is an Imperial Star 
Destroyer.  The 'Gray Wolf' is its name.  Back when I lived here 
on Earth, my parents and the captain were good friends, and so was 
I.  We used to watch a lot of movies together, among other things.  
One of the movies we saw was Starwars, somewhere around 1990.  
He saw those ships and decided he HAD to have one.  So he took a 
large sum of his money and paid an army of workers to construct 
one.  It's authentic, right down to its turbolasers.  Armor, shields, 
the propulsion system, and the power system are all identical to the 
movie's counterparts.  It took nearly ten years to construct this 
working prototype."
	"Incredible.  But why can it cloak?  I don't remember 
these things being able to do that in the movies," he inquired.
	"No, but they eventually get the technology to do that in 
the novels.  Except he improved on the cloak a little, which allows 
him to see outside his cloaking shield.  In the novels, the shield 
blocked everything.  Light, sound, radio.  Nothing could penetrate 
the shield.  Nothing got in, nothing got out.  So, he took my advice 
and now uses a variety of tiny little camera sensor-like things that 
poke themselves out just beyond the shield perimeter, which 
allows him to gather data outside the cloaking field.  They are 
physically attached to the ship, since radio waves cannot penetrate 
the cloak.  But anyway, he can see where everything is.  The 
sensors themselves are so small that they just appear as space dust.  
He can see us, but we can't see him, until he decides to show 
himself.  It's really a nifty piece of work."
	Washu was eagerly listening to all the techno babble Russ 
was laying on Tenchi, taking notes where appropriate.  "Do you 
think he'll let me study some of this stuff?" she asked.
	Russ turned toward her.  "That's up to him, but frankly, I 
don't think he will.  This ship is VERY advanced.  I wouldn't 
doubt that it is the most advanced vessel in existence right now.  
It's very powerful, and therefore, the technology is closely 
guarded."
	Washu nodded.  "Yeah, I can understand that.  Maybe 
he'd be willing to trade secrets or technology with me.  I'm sure I 
could think of something to improve his ship with," she replied, as 
she resumed typing on her computer.
	Russ shrugged his shoulders in response.  "Maybe.  He 
really doesn't need anything new, but there still are some rough 
spots that he's still struggling to deal with on the ship.  But 
anyway, the thing is self-sustaining, meaning it can exist in space 
indefinitely, without ever needing a re-supply.  It's one of the most 
fantastic pieces of work he's ever accomplished.  He's very proud 
of it.  And I love it too, because I'm also a Starwars nut," Russ 
said, snickering.
	Ryo-Ohki was now being pulled up into the hangar, and 
the interior of the ship was now visible.  Red warning lights 
flashed in the waiting hangar bay, where Ryo-Ohki was to be 
parked.  Several men were running around, checking to make sure 
everything was proceeding normally, and a few other people were 
waving small lights around, guiding the tractor beam controllers.  
Another shudder rumbled the cabbit as all of the tractor beams 
except one shut down.  The last active one slowly pulled her into 
the bay, and she passed through a forcefield, which crackled with 
energy as she went through, letting her in and keeping the air 
inside the bay.  A moment later, Ryo-Ohki shuddered one last time 
as she was gently set down on the floor, and the beam disengaged 
from it.  Several smaller support tractor beams engaged 
themselves, intending to keep the ship in an upright position.  The 
red warning lights and the blaring siren stopped a moment later.  
They had arrived safely onboard the most advanced starship ever 
conceived in this galaxy.
	"We're heeeeerrrreeee," Russ announced, sounding like 
the little girl from poltergeist.  He looked out the window and 
noticed a contingent of guards standing outside the ship, lined up 
perfectly.
	"At least they're not dressed in stormtrooper outfits," 
Tenchi said, sighing in relief.
	Russ laughed in response.  "No stormtroopers here.  Most 
everybody on this ship is very friendly and helpful, in sharp 
contrast to the imperial guard that used to run these ships in the 
movies.  I think you'll like it."  He moved toward the middle of 
Ryo-Ohki again.  "Well, shall we disembark?  I'd hate to keep 
them waiting."
	A rustle of chairs and fabric greeted his ears as everybody 
who wasn't sitting stood up and moved next to Russ.  A moment 
later, they were teleported outside of the cabbit-ship, onto the steel 
deck of the hanger bay.  Several of the guards raised their 
eyebrows in suspicion, regarding the new arrivals.  Living a life 
onboard the star destroyer was fulfilling, but didn't have much 
outside communication.  They mostly just stayed in orbit around 
the captain's home world, always re-building and fixing the many 
existing bugs throughout the ship.
	Ryo-Ohki meowed a few times, and then transformed 
herself back into a little furry cabbit.  She bounded up on top of 
Sasami's head, which was her favorite place to be, but causing all 
the guards to facefault when they saw that.  Everybody in the 
group perspired lightly, but recovered shortly thereafter.  The 
tractor beams that were supporting her automatically tried to 
require the target, but it was gone, and a warning klaxon sounded.  
One of the operators nearby disengaged the alarm, and it fell silent.  
A mountain of luggage now sat where the spaceship did a moment 
earlier.
	The captain of the ship entered the hangar bay, causing all 
of the men to stand at attention.  He was scowling, and didn't look 
at all happy.  His uniform was white, which resembled the imperial 
guard uniforms out of Starwars, but had some minor alterations, 
mainly to allow for his muscular frame.  Slowly making his way 
over to the new arrivals, his footsteps echoing throughout the bay 
in a steady rhythm, his gaze fixated on one spiky haired individual 
standing at the front of the group.  He stopped about a foot away 
from him, staring directly into his eyes, not flinching or showing 
any emotion.  Everyone in the group looked on him with concern 
and worry, as they all began to fidget with various articles of 
clothing, or conform to their own little, nervous habits.
	Russ returned the cold, hard stare, gazing down into the 
captain's hazel eyes, also not showing any emotion.  Suddenly, the 
captain made a move like he was going to slug him in the face, and 
then grabbed him in a crushing hug, laughing heartily.  A 
collective sigh of relief emanated from the group.
	"Russ!  How's it going, buddy?  Long time, no see!" he 
yelled, grinning from ear to ear and crushing Russ in another bear 
hug.
	"Hey, Tom!  Darn right, long time no see.  We have to get 
together more often!"
	"No kidding!"
	"Well, how are things?  The ship looks to be in great 
shape!  I guess nobody wants to challenge a warship out of 
Starwars, eh?"  Russ started laughing.
	"Everything has been running smoothly, more or less," he 
said, backing off a bit, just now noticing his contingent of 
passengers.  "Well, you bum, aren't you going to introduce me to 
your friends?"
	"Duh," he taunted, turning toward his entourage.  
"Everyone, this is Captain Thomas Franklin, the owner and captain 
of this vessel."  Everybody gave a small bow or nod in his 
direction.  "Now," he said, moving over to Tenchi.  "This is Tenchi 
Masaki."
	"How do you do, sir," Tenchi said while extending his 
hand, which Tom grabbed and shook, nearly crushing it.
	"I'm doing great.  Nice to meet you," he answered, 
looking into his brown eyes and judging his character by his 
appearance.  He smiled and nodded his head when he was 
satisfied.
	"Next," Russ said, moving over to the space pirate.  "This 
is Ryoko, Tenchi's girlfriend."
	She smiled at Tom, extending her hand.  "Hello," she 
said, unsure of what to think of all of this.
	Tom, on the other hand, drank in her beauty, trying to 
swallow the large amount of saliva that was pooling in his mouth.  
"Daaaaaamn," he muttered under his breath.  Regaining his 
composure, he gently took her hand in his and shook it.  "It's a 
pleasure to make your acquaintance."  He looked back at Tenchi, 
who had an amused smirk on his face.  "You're sure lucky to have 
a beautiful woman like her as your girlfriend.  Whew."
	"Thanks," he answered, putting his arm around her, as if 
to emphasize that she was his, and nobody else's.
	Russ nudged Tom in the side.  "Don't even think about it.  
She's incredibly strong.  You make a move on her and she'll kick 
your butt all over this Star Destroyer.  Get me?"
	Tom nodded in resignation, and then looked at the next 
lady in line.  "And who's this pretty young lady?"
	"This is Princess Aeka, of Jurai," Russ responded, 
introducing her.
	Tom's eyes bulged a moment, and then offered his hand.  
"It's my honor to have you aboard my ship, Princess."
	Aeka glared at Russ for a moment, angry that he used her 
title as Princess, but her gaze softened and she placed her hand in 
Tom's, which he gently shook.  "Thank you.  You do me too much 
credit."
	He shook his head.  "Nonsense.  Princesses deserve to be 
treated as royalty."
	She frowned.  "I haven't been home in over a year, and I 
could care less about my title.  Frankly, I like living as a normal 
person, rather than have the burden of being a Princess."
	"I see.  Well anyway, here, you'll be treated very well.  
Most everybody is very friendly and will do their best to make 
your stay and everybody else's stay," he said, casually gesturing to 
the others, "a pleasurable one."
	"Thank you very much.  I appreciate it."
	Russ grumbled something under his breath and bumped 
Tom.  "Enough, you old smoothie.  Next to Aeka, is the pretty 
Princess Sasami, Aeka's younger sister," he said, gesturing to the 
little blue haired girl.
	"Hi!  Nice to meet you," she said, giving a little bow.
	"Well!  Aren't you so cute and polite!" he grinned, giving 
his own little bow.  "There are a few other children onboard.  
Maybe later I can show you to the game room and you can have 
some fun!"
	Her eyes widened in excitement.  "Oh wow, you mean it?  
You have a game room on the ship?"
	Tom's grin grew to enormous proportions.  "Yeah, you 
bet.  We have a huge arcade here to keep the crew occupied, and 
we also have something similar to Startrek's holodeck."
	"Cool!" she beamed, smiling in her utterly overwhelming 
cuteness.
	Tom chuckled lightly, then turned toward Russ.  "Remind 
me later that I have something to give you, alright?  You know 
how bad my memory is so don't forget."
	Russ raised an eyebrow in curiosity.  "Something to give 
me, eh?  Well, I'll try to remember, but as YOU know, my 
memory is about as bad as yours."  He chuckled.  "Well anyway, 
the little animal on top of Sasami's head is Ryo-Ohki, their 
spaceship."
	Tom looked at Russ, then back behind the group, and 
noticed the ship they arrived in was nowhere in sight.  Looking 
back at the cabbit, a bead of perspiration formed on his head.  "So, 
is this that cute little spaceship you told me about?"
	"Sure is.  Say hi, Ryo-Ohki."
	In response, the cabbit meowed a couple of times, 
bobbing her tail back and forth.  Tom reached over and petted her 
head, causing her to start purring lightly and meow contented little 
noises.  He laughed in response.  "Yeah, she definitely is cute.  
Amazing that she can transform into a spaceship.  I've never seen 
anything like her before."
	"Yeah, well, you don't get out much," he said, slapping 
Tom on the back.  "You've spent so many years building this ship 
of yours that you've more or less become a hermit."
	"I am not a hermit!  I was just very excited about getting 
this thing put together and finished.  And I still haven't worked all 
the bugs out of this contraption."
	"I'm sure you will eventually.  Anyway, next, introducing 
the resident galaxy police officers, Kiyone and Mihoshi."
	Kiyone stepped forward and offered her hand.  "Hello.  
My name is Kiyone, and this is my partner, Mihoshi," she said, 
gesturing to the blonde woman standing next to her.
	Tom grasped her hand and shook it heartily.  Trying to 
keep his hormones under control from staring at both beautiful 
ladies, he took in a deep breath and relaxed a bit.  "It's a pleasure 
to meet you two lovely ladies."
	Mihoshi giggled.  "Oh my, so flattering!  Thank you."  
She offered her hand as well, which Tom grasped a little more 
gently than Kiyone's, and shook it.
	"You're welcome."
	Russ shook his head and allowed an annoyed smirk to 
creep onto his expression.  "MOVING ON," he growled, annoyed.  
"This is Little Washu, the resident scientific genius of the house."
	"Ahem."
	Russ looked at her, as her green eyes stared back at him, a 
little grin on her lips.  Realization crashed through his head a 
moment later.  "Uh, let me rephrase that.  This is Little Washu, the 
Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe!"
	Washu's smile increased and she nodded her head in 
approval.  She then offered her hand to Tom.  "Pleased to meet 
you."
	The captain looked back at Russ, who shrugged his 
shoulders, grinning.  "Nice to meet you, Little Washu," he said, 
looking back to the red-haired scientist and taking her hand, 
shaking it casually.
	"And this is Azaka and Kamidake, Aeka's guardians," he 
announced, gesturing to the two logs.
	"How do you do, sir," Azaka said, his eye flashing blue as 
he spoke.
	"We're pleased to make your acquaintance," Kamidake 
added, his red eye blinking with his voice.
	Tom looked at both of them in interest, and then gave a 
bow to both of them.  "It's a pleasure."
	"This is Katsuhito," Russ said, gesturing to the white-
robed, wizened man.
	Tom extended his hand toward him, which was accepted 
graciously.  "Welcome aboard."
	"Thank you," he replied, nodding his head.
	"And lastly, this is Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki," Russ said, 
introducing the last of his group.
	"Hi," he said, smiling warmly and extending his hand. 
	Tom accepted it quickly and shook it.  "It's nice to have 
you and your son come aboard."
	"I appreciate you taking the trouble to take us to Jurai.  
We're in debited to you."
	Tom put his hand up in front of Nobuyuki's face.  
"Nonsense.  You guys don't owe me anything.  I too have wanted 
to go to Jurai, but I never had a reason to.  And it isn't often that I 
take my ship away from my home planet.  So don't worry.  Just 
enjoy yourself."  He smiled and nodded his head.
	"Thank you very much."
	"Not a problem."  Tom walked back toward the middle of 
the group and stood next to Russ.  "Any friend of Russ' is a friend 
of mine.  Feel free to go anywhere you want onboard this ship, 
except where the restricted areas are marked."
	A chorus of  "Thank you," and other various forms of 
gratitude were said from the group.
	Tom smiled.  "Well, for our first stop on our tour, let's go 
to the bridge and get ourselves underway, shall we?" he asked, 
gesturing for everybody to follow.
	"Wait, what about our luggage?" Aeka said, looking 
mildly distressed.
	"Don't worry about that.  I'll have my men take your 
luggage to Russ' quarters.  Your rooms will be right next to his, 
and you can sort your baggage later."
	"Ahhh, I see you saved my favorite room for me.  Thanks 
a lot."
	"No problem!  I always knew you'd come back onboard a 
few times in the future, so I decided to keep your room ready for 
you.  I was using it for storage until you called me up a week and a 
half ago.  But all of that stuff is gone, and your room is just as you 
left it."
	"Awesome.  Thanks a bundle."
	Tom began to walk toward the hangar doors, and 
everybody turned to follow in a single file line.  The huge, meter 
thick, solid steel door slid back into the wall, and everybody exited 
the hangar bay into a large corridor, which was lined with 
computer readouts and bustling with alien activity.  Humanoids of 
all kinds were making their way around, carrying various pieces of 
equipment, and others were at the computer consoles.  Several of 
the aliens weren't even humanoid at all.  One resembled a wild 
boar, but was nearly four feet high.  It carried a heavy steel pipe in 
its jaw, and it grunted to Tom as it walked past.  He nodded in its 
direction, and then continued on his way to the lift and the end of 
the hall.  The group couldn't help but admire the activity inside the 
corridor, but even more so the aliens that were running the ship.  
Most of them turned around, giving their own version of a smile 
and a friendly hello, which everybody returned warmly.
	Tenchi looked all around him, almost feeling like he was 
in a dream world.  The realization that he was currently walking 
through an alien society and technology was very overwhelming.  
Sure, he had been living with alien girls, but they were so close to 
being human that it was easy to forget their origins.  Aeka, Sasami, 
Ryoko, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Washu were all different in their 
own way, and it was easy to get attached to them, simply by looks.  
They didn't LOOK alien, except for the interesting hairstyles and 
eyes.
	A blue skinned individual walked by and nodded his head 
toward Tenchi, a smile on his face.  Tenchi returned it happily, 
trying to keep from staring at him.  Ryoko, who was walking 
behind him, giggled lightly as she watched Tenchi's expression 
continually change from awe to wonder and back again.  However, 
she too had never seen most of these aliens.  She had heard about 
some of them during her time as a space pirate, but now to actually 
see them was amazing.  Now that she thought about it, she really 
never fought with very many alien cultures that weren't 
humanoids.  So few, in fact, that she could count them on one 
hand.  But there were many more than that wandering these 
hallways, and all of them seemed to be very happy, as they toiled 
away at their jobs.  She wondered what they got paid.
	Washu, even though very hard to impress, couldn't help 
but marvel at the interior design of this ship.  Most of the other 
vessels she had been aboard were near computer-less.  Jurai ships 
didn't have any computers at all, and relied only on the Royal Tree 
for information and ship functions.  Galaxy Police ships didn't 
have computers anywhere except on the bridge, where the 
functions were needed most.  However, this ship was lined with 
computer consoles all along the walls, and in various other areas.
	Each computer had near full functionality that could 
control nearly everything throughout the ship.  They could alter 
anything from the temperature to the tractor beam emitters outside 
the hanger bay.  Only thing this ship was lacking in were 
transporters.  But, that could be easily remedied, as Washu thought 
that would be a good trade for some of his technology.  Of course, 
if he refused, she could always either steal it or invent her own 
version of whatever interested her, but make it better.  It all 
depended on the complexity of the items she would become 
attracted to.
	Kiyone and Mihoshi followed everybody else, watching 
the activity around them.  It was so much like Galaxy Police 
Headquarters with all the people walking through the corridor.  It 
made her feel right at home, until Mihoshi stopped at a computer 
console and started pressing buttons.  Fortunately, nothing 
apparently happened, and she eventually moved on, being dragged 
by the arm courtesy of Kiyone.
	Everybody filed onboard the lift and the doors closed 
behind him or her.  It was surprisingly large and roomy, and was 
very quiet.

	A few short moments later, the lift doors re-opened onto 
the Star Destroyer's bridge.  Consoles were lined up along most of 
the walls, and there must've been at least three-dozen people 
seated in various places around the room.  The front wall was 
nothing but a huge window, which provided a grand view of the 
front hull of the starship and a huge section of space.  Despite 
everything being steel and gray, the bridge was surprisingly 
comfortable.  The chairs were plush and soft, and there were many 
other items throughout the bridge, which resembled a meeting hall 
rather than a warship's command structure.  Everybody stood at 
attention when Tom made his entry.
	"Captain on the bridge!" a young girl announced as Tom 
and his group exited the lift.
	"As you were," he responded, as everybody once again 
took their respective seats and resumed their duties.  Nobody 
seemed to be nervous or intimidated by Tom's presence or his 
group of visitors.
	"As you can tell," Tom began, gesturing to the area 
around him.  "This is the command structure, or the bridge of my 
ship.  This is where I spend most of my time, unless someone 
requires my assistance with something.  Doesn't happen too often 
though."
	"I still love this.  Fortunately you didn't build a Victory 
Star Destroyer or the bridge would be really cramped.  At least, 
that's what I hear," Russ mentioned as he scanned the crew.
	Tom scratched the back of his head and put on an out of 
the ordinary smirk.  Russ watched him in interest, and then 
realized something.
	"I know that look," he warned.  "What are you up to 
now?"
	Tom's only response was an increase in the size of his 
grin.
	"Don't tell me you're building one of those Star 
Destroyers."
	"Well, no.  Not exactly."
	Russ' eyes widened a little.  "Okay, so now I know you're 
building something else.  What is it?"
	"You'd shit a brick of I showed you," he chuckled, 
watching Russ' expression grow more and more astonished.
	"Hey, watch the language," Russ hissed.  "There are 
children present."  He jerked his head over to Sasami, who was 
giggling quietly.  "You have to show me what you're building or 
I'll go insane.  I hate it when you tease me like this."
	"I know.  That's why I love doing it."  He walked over to 
the captain's chair and sat down, withdrawing a pad from one of 
the small shelves that were attached to the arms.  He handed it over 
to Russ and sat back, waiting.
	Russ accepted the pad and began thumbing through it, as 
everybody else looked on in curiosity.  Suddenly, his eyes looked 
like they were going to bulge right out of his head as he nearly 
dropped the pad, his legs wobbling and his face a mask of horror 
and amazement.  His gaze shot over to Tom, who had the biggest, 
goofy grin he could muster on his face.  His eyebrows moved up 
and down as he steepled his fingers together.
	"YOU'RE INSANE!!" Russ shouted, taking a look at the 
pad again and causing almost the whole bridge crew to start 
chuckling or stare at him in amusement.  "You don't even have 
this ship running at a hundred percent yet!  What are you going to 
do with a ship that's ELEVEN TIMES BIGGER than this one?!"  
The entire group except for Katsuhito facefaulted to the floor, and 
recovered a moment later.
	"I have my ways.  This ship is a little small for the 
amount of people and technicians I have onboard, so they all 
cooperated with me and agreed to build a second ship.  And yes, 
that is an Executor class Super Star Destroyer.  It's already being 
built.  In fact, construction has been taking place over the last two 
years.  You and your group are the only outsiders that know about 
it presently.  Please keep it that way.  It's predicted to take only 
five years to finish."  Tom paused a moment to let that sink in.  
"Ever since the completion of this ship, I've had a landslide of 
requests from people to come live onboard because they've heard 
from their families how very enjoyable it is here.  No money, no 
funds, no worries.  You work when you want, and we have 
unlimited supplies.  It's almost paradise, despite this vessel being a 
warship."
	Ryoko nearly had a heart attack and died when she heard 
there was no money onboard, and Aeka had a similar reaction.  
Tenchi and the rest of the gang took it in stride, accepting it easily.
	Russ shook his head.  "I still say you're insane, but it's 
your money."
	"I didn't spend a dime on this new vessel."
	Now it was Russ' turn to facefault.  "You're joking."
	"Nope.  This new supership's construction is taking place 
via the combined effort of people who want to live in peace and 
travel the stars.  Materials and labor are all being donated to the 
completion of this thing.  If all goes well, there may eventually be 
a fleet of Starwars style starships drifting the cosmos."
	"Amazing.  I always said you were a smooth talker," Russ 
chuckled.  "Any other ships on the assembly line?"
	"As a matter of fact, yes.  Work is proceeding on some 
smaller escort ships, like the Nebulon B Frigate, Corellian 
Corvette, and a few other vessels.  I want to do an interdictor 
cruiser, but we haven't figured out how to generate the gravity well 
yet.  But we really don't need a ship like that for now.  And yes, 
we're also doing a Victory Star Destroyer, despite what I said 
earlier."
	"Interesting."
	"Yeah."  Tom cleared his throat.  "Shall we get going 
then?  It should take us about twelve hours to get to Jurai from 
here."
	"Yes!  To Jurai," everybody shouted, excitedly.
	"Alright then!  Sakuya?"
	A pale, green-eyed girl turned from her position at the 
helm.  "Yes sir?"
	"Take us out of the system and set a course for Jurai."
	"Aye, captain."  She glanced at the group for a moment 
and her gaze landed on Tenchi.  She hesitated, staring at him a few 
moments, and then turned back toward the console, hitting a few 
buttons.
	A light rumble vibrated the deck and resonated in 
everybody's ears as the ship pulled out of orbit from planet Earth 
and began to quickly make its way out of the Solar System.  Upon 
reaching Pluto, another smaller vessel became visible.  It quickly 
made it's way over to the starship and pulled up alongside it.
	"Ahhh, our temporary replacements have arrived," 
Kiyone said, looking at a different version of a Yagami class patrol 
ship.  "It's about time, too.  Oh well, at least they only have to be 
here a week or so."
	Tom turned toward her.  "So that's a GP cruiser?  
Interesting."
	A furry individual across from the helm spoke up.  
"Excuse me, Captain, but that other ship is hailing us."
	"Okay, put them through."
	"Yes sir."  He hit a few buttons on the con and an image 
of a red haired woman popped up, just in front of the window.
	"This is the Galaxy Police ship Oragami.  Identify…" She 
stopped herself as her eyes widened.  "Kiyone?!"
	"Mitzuki?  What are you doing here?"  Kiyone asked, 
hiding her amusement.
	"I'm here to act as your replacement while you're away.  
What are you doing onboard THAT ship?  I thought you'd take 
Ryo-Ohki?"
	"No.  Ryo-Ohki would take a week to get there.  This ship 
is much faster."
	"I see."
	"So, why are you our replacement?  What happened at 
Headquarters?" Kiyone asked, trying to hide a smirk, but not doing 
very well.
	Mitzuki growled something incoherent under her breath.  
"I've been demoted to patrol duty again.  It's just my luck that I 
landed this temporary one out in the middle of nowhere."
	"Well, don't worry.  You'll have a lot of time to kick back 
and relax," she stated, no longer hiding her amusement, 
remembering those same exact words that Mitzuki spoke to her 
when she had returned to GP headquarters and insulted her 
position.
	Mitzuki ground her teeth.
	"Well, we must be going.  Take it easy, Mitzuki!"
	Her expression went livid as she cut the comm. channel.  
Kiyone exploded laughing in response to her temper.
	"That's not very nice to tease her like that, Kiyone," 
Mihoshi said, looking at her partner's glee.
	"I know, but it was worth it.  I finally got a little payback 
for all those little insults of hers."
	Tom shook his head as the two girls conversed back and 
forth.  "Sakuya, are we set to go to hyperspace yet?"
	"Just about, sir.  The computer is plotting the final 
trajectory now.  Never mind, it just finished.  Ready to initiate 
hyperspace on your mark."
	"Go ahead.  Let's make tracks," he said, sitting back in 
his chair.
	Sakuya hit the button to engage the hyperdrive, but a loud 
whining sound echoed throughout the ship, winding down to 
almost nothing, when the ship shuddered violently as it sat in 
place, like an immovable boulder.
	Tom furrowed his eyebrows together as Russ looked over 
at him, his expression mixed with amusement and annoyance.  
Tom began grinding his teeth, infuriated that this just had to 
happen with everybody watching.
	"This is NOT the Millennium Falcon!" Russ said, loudly, 
and drawing a chuckle from Tenchi.  "What went wrong?"
	"Dammit!  Something happened with the hyperdrive!  
They told me they had this problem licked!  Open a comm. 
channel to the engine room!"
	"Yes sir."
	An infuriated roar of a wookie blared through the 
intercom, causing Tenchi and Russ to collapse to the floor and 
everyone else to break out in sweat drops.  The sound of a man in 
the background could be heard shouting orders to the personnel 
and the wookie.
	"Hand me the hydrospanner!"
	The wookie roared a response as it apparently tossed him 
the said part.
	"No!  This is a thetaspanner!  Give me the hydrospanner!"
	The sound of a hundred parts crashed through the 
intercom system.
	"OWWWWW!  You bonehead!"
	Another roar from the wookie intoned that the guy should 
know better.  A moment later the chief engineer got on the 
intercom.
	"I'm sorry, sir.  The hyperdrive motivator is shot.  It'll 
take us about two hours to repair or replace the thing.  We're 
working as quickly as we can."
	Tom groaned loudly.  "How did that happen?  We had 
that thing working smoothly for an entire year!"
	"I know sir, but some weird commands were entered on a 
console near the hanger bay.  Apparently it caused an overload 
when we went to initiate the hyperdrive."
	Mihoshi put on her guilty look as Kiyone stared at her in 
barely controlled fury.  "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, 
MIHOSHI!" she screamed, grabbing her shirt and violently 
shaking her back and forth, ready to kill her partner.
	"I'm sorry!  I thought it was a computer game or 
something," she whined.
	"Can't you keep your hands off of ANYTHING!?  You 
even blew up Yagami's engines more than once when Washu was 
trying to fix them!  Now you blew up this thing's engine!"
	"I'm sorry," she said again, starting to cry.
	Kiyone ground her teeth, but allowed some of her anger 
to subside.  "I'm sorry, Tom, for my partner's actions.  If you 
want, we'll go to the engine room and try to help fix it."
	Tom looked on both of them in mild amusement, allowing 
his frustration to dissolve into nothing.  "Don't worry about it.  
We'll have it fixed in two hours.  I'll just have all the computer 
consoles ignore any commands given by her, so something like 
this won't happen again."
	"Thank you, sir, for being so forgiving," Kiyone said, 
giving a small bow in appreciation.
	Tom looked at Kiyone's partner, who resembled a small 
child who was in trouble.  "Come here, Mihoshi."
	"Yes sir," she answered quietly, as she slowly made her 
way over and stood in front of Tom.
	"Okay.  Computer, ignore all commands given by 
Mihoshi on all computer consoles."
	"Affirmative," it answered, in Russ' voice.
	Russ arched an eyebrow and grinned.  "Since when did 
you do that?"
	Tom smiled.  "I like your voice for the computer.  But I 
can change it to anything I please, if it bothers you."  He turned 
back toward Mihoshi.  "It's all done.  You can go stand with your 
partner again."
	"It doesn't bother me at all," Russ replied, as Mihoshi 
resumed her position next to Kiyone.  "But why pick my voice?  I 
thought you'd use Startrek's computer voice if anything."
	"Nah, that one was too annoying.  Well anyway," he 
muttered, glancing around the bridge.  "Sakuya, when the 
hyperdrive gets repaired, call me back up here."
	"Yes sir," she said, turning toward him, but locking her 
gaze on Tenchi again.
	Tom turned toward the group.  "When we enter 
hyperspace, it's really neat to see.  I'll bring you guys back up here 
once we're ready to go."
	"Alright, sounds good," Tenchi responded.  "Can you 
show us to our quarters so we can get our stuff put away?"
	"Of course!  Russ?  Would you do the honors?"
	"No problem.  I assume you want to oversee the repairs to 
the engines?"
	"Yeah.  I have to make sure that man didn't get killed by 
the wookie," he chuckled.  
	"Okay, then I'll see you in a little bit."  Russ turned 
toward everyone.  "Okay, follow me!"  He moved back over to the 
lift and everybody filed onto it.  The doors slid shut and they were 
whisked away to the living quarters.
	Tom watched them leave, and then sat back in his seat, 
rubbing his head in his hands.  He opened an eye and noticed 
Sakuya was still staring at the lift.
	"What's wrong with you?" he asked, concerned.
	Suddenly realizing she wasn't paying attention to her job, 
she blushed slightly.  "I'm sorry sir.  I just think Tenchi is cute."
	"Don't even think about it.  The blue haired woman is his 
girlfriend, and I don't think she'd take kindly to any interference," 
he said, causing her happy mood to dissolve.  "I'm sorry, but I'm 
only telling you this for your own good.  From what Russ told me, 
she could kick MY butt all over this ship."
	"I understand, sir.  I'm sorry for neglecting my duties."
	He waved a hand.  "Think nothing of it.  I must go to the 
engine room now and see what's going on.  Call me if something 
else blows up or whatever."
	"Aye, sir," she said, feeling a little better and resuming 
her data analysis on the computer console.

	Russ and his party entered the area where their living 
quarters were located.  Leading them into the hallway, and then to 
his room, he keyed the command to open the door and it slid into 
the wall, revealing a very large suite, complete with a king size 
bed, a hot tub, and many other high-class amenities.  In the middle 
of his room, a mountain of luggage was piled neatly, awaiting its 
owners.
	Entering his quarters, Russ gestured for everybody to 
follow.  Once they entered, he closed the door behind them and 
then turned toward the group.  "Okay, so, how are we going to 
handle the sleeping arrangements if you guys want to rest a while 
before we arrive at Jurai?  I know Ryoko and Tenchi want to be 
together, Aeka and Sasami would probably want to be together, 
along with Azaka and Kamidake, Kiyone and Mihoshi will be 
together, but what about the rest of you?"
	"Nobuyuki and I will take a room, if that's okay," 
Katsuhito informed Russ.
	"Aw, but dad, I wanted to join Ryoko and Tenchi in their 
room."
	"DAAAAD!!" Tenchi growled, angrily.
	"What?"
	"Come on!  Give me a break!" he argued, turning red.  
Ryoko giggled lightly, taking it in good humor.  Aeka couldn't 
help but giggle as well.  Russ stood there with his forehead 
beading with sweat.
	"Nobuyuki and I will take our own room.  Got it?" 
Katsuhito announced again, glaring at his son in law.
	He sighed in resignation.  "I guess so."
	"I'll just have my own room.  I have some work I need to 
get done before we get to Jurai," Washu informed Russ.
	"Okay, no problem."
	"Thanks."
	"Well, since that is settled, grab your luggage and just 
pick a room along the hallway on this side."  He thought a 
moment, and then counted the number of groups again.  "Oh crud.  
He didn't give us enough rooms.  We're one short.  Well, there are 
a couple of options.  I can buzz Tom and have him set us up with 
another room, or if one of you guys don't mind, you can share my 
room with me."  He looked at the group who glanced at each other.  
"It's up to you guys what you want to do."
	Aeka looked at Sasami, then back at Russ.  "We'd be 
willing to share a room with you, if you'll have us, Russ."
	His gaze went from mild surprise, to a warm smile.  He 
nodded in agreement.  "Sure.  I can set you guys up here in the 
living room."
	"Great," she answered, smiling at Sasami.  Everybody 
else looked at each other and exchanged a knowing glance, smiling 
slightly.
	"Okay, that's settled then.  Grab your bags and take them 
to your rooms.  Let's get rid of this pile of luggage!"
	Everybody complied and picked up his or her bags, then 
preceded to occupy their temporary quarters.  They weren't as 
extravagant as Russ' were, but they were nice and comfortable, 
especially only for a twelve hour trip.  Futons were laid out, beds 
were made, and everybody got familiar with the available items in 
their rooms, including the food replicators.

	Making sure everybody was settled into his or her new 
quarters, and demonstrating the replicator's use, Russ returned to 
his own quarters, where Aeka and Sasami both began to lay out 
futons in the living room.  However, he had other ideas.
	"No need for that.  You two can take the bed.  I'll either 
sleep on the couch or something."
	"That isn't necessary.  You got us this transportation to 
get us to Jurai very quickly, and I simply won't hear of you not 
getting to sleep in your own bed."
	Russ growled to himself.  "And the Princess of Jurai 
should sleep like a princess, instead of like a big, dumb barbarian 
like myself," he said, snickering.	
	She blushed slightly.  "I'm sorry about calling you that.  It 
was rude of me."
	He shook his head and waved it off.  "I was insulting you 
too, Aeka.  Don't worry about it, and I'm sorry too."
	She smiled and nodded her head.  "Apology accepted."
	Sasami looked at the two of them when her stomach 
croaked lightly.  "Oh no!  I never made or ate any lunch!  What are 
we going to do about food?"
	"That's no problem here, Sasami.  Watch this," Russ said, 
making his way over to a hole in the wall, surrounded by 
pushbuttons.  "What would you like to eat?"
	She thought a moment, and decided on something simple.  
"I want just plain old pickles and miso soup."
	"Anything to drink?"
	"Tea, I guess."
	"Okay."  He hit a few buttons on the wall, and then spoke.  
"Pickles, miso soup, and tea."
	The air inside the hole shimmered for a few moments, 
then two bowls appeared, one with pickled rice and the other filled 
with a random flavor of miso soup.  A cup of tea sat next to those 
two items, and a pair of chopsticks laid across the rice bowl.  
Everything sat on a large, plastic tray, complete with a paper 
napkin.
	Russ carefully lifted the meal and brought it over to 
Sasami, smiling with pride.  "Enjoy your lunch!"
	She gasped in surprise.  "Wow!  That was so cool!  How 
did it do that?" she asked, excitedly.
	"Uhhh, frankly, it would be quite difficult to explain.  
Washu would probably be the only one to understand it."
	"Oh," she answered, taking a seat at the table near the 
middle of the room.  She dug in to her rice and ate a few bites, then 
washed it down with some of the soup.  "Mmmm," she said, 
licking her lips.  "This is pretty good."
	"Probably not as good as a real meal, but it does the job 
decently.  What about you, Aeka?  Are you hungry?"
	"Not really.  I'm just thirsty.  Some tea would be nice."
	"Coming right up."  He made his way back over to the 
replicator and ordered a cup of tea.  After it materialized, he 
removed it from the hole.  "Give me a Mountain Dew," he 
demanded, as the replicator produced a tall glass of green liquid, 
which was fizzing slightly.  Several ice cubes floated in the 
concoction as well.
	Handing Aeka her tea, he took a long drink of his soda, 
letting out a satisfied, "Ahhh."  She looked at him curiously, then 
at his drink.
	"What's that?"
	"Mountain Dew, the beverage of gods and hyperactive 
individuals who love a sugar rush," he said, laughing.  "I haven't 
drank one of these in a long time, and I had to have one."
	She raised an eyebrow, growing more curious by the 
minute.  Looking back at her tea, then back at Russ' drink, she 
decided she wanted to try a Mountain Dew as well.  "Can you put 
this back and give me one of those?" she asked, pointing at his 
drink.
	"I don't know if you'll like it or not.  But you can try it, I 
guess."  He took her tea back to the replicator and it dissolved from 
view.  Ordering another soda, it appeared a moment later, and he 
handed it off to Aeka, who accepted it happily.
	"Thank you."  She raised the glass to her lips, but the fizz 
from the soda hit her in the nose, causing her to scrunch her face 
slightly, and she started giggling.  Trying again, she took a drink of 
the stuff, feeling the bubbles on her tongue, and then swallowing.  
She looked back up at Russ and smiled, and took another drink.  
"This is really weird, but it tastes very good.  It's sweet."
	"That's what I love about it.  Good stuff.  This is actually 
an Earth beverage.  When I was living with you guys, I kept 
raiding the fridge, hoping to find some soda or pop that I used to 
drink when I lived in America.  Unfortunately, seems only healthy 
stuff made its way into the cooler."
	"That's Sasami's doing.  She always worries about 
everybody eating healthy."
	"That's considerate of her.  But this pop isn't really 
healthy at all.  It's full of sugar, which is why it's so sweet, and it 
has really no nutritional value.  But that's why it tastes so good!" 
he said, bouncing lightly on his heels.
	"Hmmm, well, it is good.  I like sweet stuff from time to 
time."
	"Yeah?  You like candy and sweets?" he asked, making 
his way over to a large, black leather sofa and taking a seat, 
making the couch produce a "foosh" sound.
	She followed, taking a seat next to him.  "Yeah.  
Although it drives Sasami crazy when I eat it.  She always warns 
me about it rotting my teeth or making me fat."
	Russ chuckled lightly, and Sasami glared at her sister for 
a moment, before returning to her lunch.  "It won't make you fat if 
you eat it in moderation.  A few sweets a day would never hurt 
anybody."
	"That's my favorite excuse," she giggled.
	Russ sat back and let out a sigh, and a moment later, he 
chuckled lightly.  Aeka looked at him in mild amusement.
	"What's so funny?"
	He turned toward her and grinned.  "I was just thinking 
about the Star Destroyer's engines blowing up.  It isn't the first 
time something like this happened.  You should've seen this thing 
when he first finished it.  Half the time we thought it was going to 
blow itself to smithereens from the roughness of the power source 
and the engines."  Closing his eyes, he continued.  "The first time 
we took this thing into hyperspace was really scary.  It nearly 
shook itself to pieces from the incredible stresses of traveling so 
fast.  But the funny part was that Tom never put up the stupid 
navigation shields to protect us.  He turned this ship upside down 
while trying to find the problem, only to find out it could've been 
solved with the push of a button.  But anyway, he did find some 
other trouble spots that he smoothed over during his scrutiny."  He 
opened his eyes and sat up to a more comfortable position.  
"However, he did finally get this ship running in tip-top shape, and 
it made it here without a hitch.  Too bad about Mihoshi though," 
he snickered, shaking his head.
	Aeka smiled sweetly.  "She's always been like that, being 
so carefree.  Sometimes I wonder why Kiyone hasn't killed her 
yet."
	"They are a comical pair, that's for sure.  Order and 
chaos, all rolled into one package."
	"Yeah.  So," she began, changing the subject.  "What is 
there to do on this ship?"
	Russ grinned.  "Just about whatever you want.  There are 
many things to keep us occupied.  There's a game room, which has 
all kinds of entertainment items to keep us busy, such as arcade 
machines, video games, virtual reality simulators, and other items 
of interest.  The holodeck is a very advanced piece of technology 
that can simulate any kind of environment.  In a way, it's like… 
well… um… what's a good way to describe it."  He scratched his 
head, pondering over a simple explanation, but not really coming 
up with a clear example.  "Well, in a way, it's similar to a virtual 
reality videogame, but with real locations and stuff.  For instance, 
if you wanted to walk along the beach of a fantasy planet, such as 
Risa, we could call that program up in the computer, and we can 
actually walk through it.  Even though its all computer generated, 
it appears real.  The sand at your feet, the waves crashing into the 
shore, and the sights and sounds of the beach fill each and every 
physical sense, even though all of it isn't real.  If walking along a 
beach isn't your fancy, there are others to choose from.  You can 
race a car around a track, going nearly two hundred miles an hour, 
or you can fly a spaceship and battle against evil aliens, or you can 
even attend a concert, if you want.  It's really a neat thing to mess 
with."
	"I think I get it.  You're saying that we can, in a way, go 
to those places, but we never leave the room?"
	"Sort of like that, yes.  Maybe later we can check it out.  
Or, we can take a walk now, and I can give you sort of an 
abbreviated tour of the ship.  Sasami can come along too, if she 
wants," he offered, turning to look at her, who smiled and nodded 
her head.
	Sasami finished her dinner and she made her way over to 
a large, black leather chair, similar to a lazy-boy recliner that sat at 
an angle, facing the stars outside the ship.  There wasn't much else 
to see, since they were so far away from Earth, and no other 
planets were nearby.  She turned toward the couple on the couch.  
"I'd like that.  Can we go see the game room first?"
	Nodding, Russ stood up from the couch, offering his hand 
to Aeka, which she graciously accepted, as he gently pulled her to 
her feet.  Ryo-Ohki bounded up to Sasami, meowing quietly, then 
jumping on her shoulder to come along.
	"Why not transform yourself into your human form?  You 
can play the games with Sasami.  There should be other kids there, 
as well as adults, playing the games," Russ suggested to the cabbit.
	In response, she transformed into her child form with an 
audible 'pop.' She was dressed in a long, blue t-shirt, with a carrot 
logo on the front, as usual.
	"Well, let's go.  I'll ask the others if they'd want to come 
along… or better, I'll just tell them that they can go off on their 
own and explore the ship.  And they won't need to worry about 
getting lost.  The computer knows where everybody's quarters are.  
All of you have been entered into the computer, and all you'd have 
to do is ask the computer where the quarters are, and it'll guide you 
right back to here."
	"That sounds good.  It would be real easy to get lost on a 
ship this size, especially with all the hallways."
	"There are multiple decks too.  Plus there are some ten 
thousand, if not more individuals onboard this vessel.  But anyway, 
enough babble.  Let's go," he said, and quickly returned the lunch 
tray and the empty glasses of tea and pop into the replicator, and it 
dissolved from view.
	Russ, Ryo-Ohki, Aeka, and Sasami all exited his quarters, 
and the door sealed itself when they left.  He knocked on Tenchi's 
door, and it slid open, revealing him standing there with Ryoko 
languidly draped over his neck.
	"I just wanted to tell you guys that you can go anywhere 
you want onboard the ship.  If you get lost, you can ask the 
computer where your quarters are, or how to get to another part of 
the ship.  There are game rooms, places to eat, if you don't want to 
eat here in your room, and other various things.  I think there is 
even a tour mode for the computer, which will guide you around 
the entire ship.  The four of us are going to the game room, so 
enjoy yourselves."
	"Thanks a lot, Russ.  I do appreciate you and your friend 
for taking us to Jurai.  And I'm sorry Mihoshi blew up the 
engines."
	"Yeah, yeah.  I've heard enough apologies about that.  
Don't worry.  It has happened before.  Now, go enjoy yourselves 
or I'll lock you in here," he said, grinning.
	They nodded and retreated back into their room, debating 
on where to go.  Russ went to everybody else's door and told them 
the same thing, before proceeding on his way to the game room.

	Two hours passed by very quickly, and Tom paged Russ 
and his party over the intercom, asking them to head up to the 
bridge.  Since everyone was in a different part of the ship, they all 
arrived separately, but in good time.  They all approached the 
captain, who was sitting in his chair, and he smiled when they 
came up to him.
	"The engines are repaired and we're ready to go.  I just 
wanted you to see this."  He looked toward the helmsman.  
"Sakuya, take us to Jurai, normal cruising speed."
	"Aye, captain," she said, hitting a few keys on the console 
and then engaging the hyperdrive.
	The ship shuddered slightly, then began moving forward 
very rapidly.  A force of inertia was felt, even through the inertial 
dampeners.  The visible stars in the window blurred and streaked 
past the window, and then everything faded into starlines, looking 
like a tunnel of rainbow colors that swirled around the ship in a 
corkscrew fashion.  Gasps came from the passengers from looking 
at the sight, awed by the beauty and almost hypnotic colors of 
hyperspace.  Russ and Tom both grinned, satisfied with their 
reaction.
	"We should arrive at Jurai in a little less than twelve 
hours.  Feel free to do whatever you please.  Go to the game room, 
or take a walk through one of the many cafeterias, or do whatever 
else you may find of interest.  Take a nap if you feel like it.  My 
ship is your ship.  Just don't try to blow anything up again," he 
said, winking at Mihoshi, who blushed and looked away shyly.
	Everybody bowed in appreciation, and then proceeded to 
the lift.  Russ elbowed Tom in the arm lightly.  "Thanks a lot, for 
taking all of us to Jurai.  I really do appreciate it.  And I'm sorry 
about Mihoshi's clumsiness."
	"Bah, don't worry about it.  I told you that before.  Shit 
happens."  He shrugged his shoulders.
	"Yeah, I guess you're right."
	"Well, go join your girlfriend and show her around or 
something," Tom recommended, nudging Russ in the ribs.
	Nearly having a heart attack, he blushed fiercely and 
glared at the captain.  "She is NOT my girlfriend.  None of them 
are."
	"Bullshit.  You mean to tell me that purple haired woman 
isn't your girlfriend?  Look how she's staring at you right now," he 
said, glancing over Russ' shoulder.
	Russ carefully peeked back toward the lift, and sure 
enough, Aeka was watching him with a smile on her lips.  She 
casually folded her hands in front of her and shyly looked down to 
the floor.  "She's not my girlfriend.  However, she is attracted to 
me, or so the others say.  But I don't want a girlfriend right now.  
I've got far more important things to worry about."
	"Like what?  There's a gorgeous girl over there that 
seems to want you, and you're just going to walk on by?  I can't 
stand it when you DO this.  Every girl who has ever held an 
attraction to you, you just become friends and nothing more!  
Why?!" he growled, flustered.
	Tom was getting really irritated over Russ' constant 
dodging of relationships.  Having been in a relationship only once, 
he knew what Russ was missing, and it drove him bananas.  Why 
on earth would a man not want a mate for himself?  Why keep 
dodging the cupid's arrow?  Tom couldn't understand it, although 
he has tried many times.  Many women have held attraction to 
Russ before, but the only thing he allowed himself to do was 
become friends.  Several more aggressive women have tried to 
pressure him into a relationship, but he brushed it off, or avoided 
that person from that moment on.
	Tom had asked Russ on multiple occasions as to why he 
never wanted to get involved.  However, he always wound up with 
a non-definite answer.  He'd dodge the question, or out of dumb 
luck, would get an interruption that would save his rear. 
	Watching Russ, he could see that he was nervous and was 
again looking to dodge the question.  And by the changing look on 
his face, he just found one.
	"I'll argue about this with you another day.  They're 
waiting for me," said Russ, turning toward the group and making a 
hasty retreat.
	"You're damn right we're going to discuss this later.  I 
still have that present to give you too, so we'll discuss it then," 
Tom called after him as Russ got on the lift and the door closed 
behind him.

	"What was that all about?" asked Aeka, after Russ 
jumped on the lift and let out an exasperated sigh.
	"He's just being an a…" he stopped himself and tried to 
think of an insult that wasn't as offensive.  "He's being an idiot.  
He does this kind of thing to me all the time.  Drives me crazy."
	"Sorry about that."  Then more quietly, she spoke again.  
"He was arguing about me, wasn't he?"
	Russ froze for a moment and hesitated.  "Nothing you 
need to worry about," he said, in an unconvincing voice.  He 
turned toward her and looked upon her with sad eyes.  "Please, just 
drop it," he begged.
	"Okay.  I'm sorry."  Her complexion turned slightly 
depressed as she looked away from him.
	Russ shook his head and let out another sigh.  "I need to 
take my mind off of those troubles.  You guys can go wherever 
you want.  I'm going to the holodeck to load up the music program 
of mine."
	"What's that?" 
	"Basically a concert hall type deal with an ultra huge 
organ on the stage.  Instead of synthesized instruments, it uses real 
ones.  And I can enter songs into it by thought transfer.  I'm just 
going to go over there and play for a while."
	"Would you mind if I joined you?  I like listening to your 
music, and you haven't played any music for a while."  Aeka 
smiled up at him.
	"If you want."
	"Would you mind if the rest of us joined you as well?  
Aeka's not the only one who likes listening to your stuff," Washu 
asked from behind Russ.
	He nodded.  "If you would like to.  It's been a little while 
since I've played it last.  I can't wait to do it again."  Now smiling, 
he continued.  "It's real easy to compose music onto that thing 
because of the thought transfer feature.  I can basically play a song 
in my head, and I can install it on the organ, then I can play it.  It's 
way faster than using the organ back at your place."
	Aeka raised an eyebrow at his statement of 'Your place.'  
Didn't he think that their home was his home?  Strange.  However 
undaunted, she smiled and nodded as the lift came to a stop, right 
next to the said holodeck.
	Russ and company exited the lift and entered the room, 
which only resembled an area with black squares divided by 
yellow lines in a checkerboard configuration.
	"This is your holodeck?  I thought this was going to be a 
concert hall?" asked Sasami, who was standing next to him in 
confusion.
	"Wait a moment."  He turned his attention to a computer 
console and hit a few buttons.  "Computer, load up 'Russ Organ.'"  
The air inside the room shimmered a moment, and then they were 
instantly on stage of the theater.
	"Oh my…  That's really amazing," Aeka exclaimed, 
admiring the view of the place.
	A massive organ, even larger than the Detroit Theater 
Organ Society's Wurlitzer, sat on the stage in the center.  Six long 
keyboards, a set of foot pedals for the organ, and another set for 
the piano, and six separate volume pedals presented themselves on 
the instrument.  Hundreds of little levers and switches were laid 
out in a semi-circle around the entire console.  It was truly a sight 
to behold.
	"You're going to play that thing?"
	"Yup.  I've done it before."  He made his way over to the 
organ and switched it on.  The sound of rushing air made it to 
everybody's ears.
	Washu summoned her computer and typed in a few 
things, analyzing the holographic technology.  "Russ?  Everything 
in here is real," she announced, looking at him over her screen.
	"No it isn't.  Everything in here is computer generated.  
They use something similar to holographic technology, but it's 
actually called particle synthesis, which can even fool the most 
advanced sensors.  We just call it a holodeck because it's easy to 
remember, and we were trekkies as well.  We just liked Starwars a 
whole lot more," he said, winking.
	"Impressive.  Really.  This is the first time I've actually 
run into technology that I haven't seen or invented before."
	"Then this must be quite a learning experience for you."
	"Yup."
	"Well anyway, why don't you guys take a seat down in 
one of the rows, and I'll play for a while," he suggested, gesturing 
with his hand to the hundreds of rows of chairs.
	"Thank you," Aeka said, as she and the group made their 
way offstage and took a seat in the first row.  Russ sat down on the 
bench and hit a few keys, and the sound of trumpets sang their 
notes quite loudly, but not uncomfortably loud.
	"This will be fun," Russ said to himself as she brought up 
the first song he wanted to play.  "I haven't done this one in a 
while.  Nice and long too."  He pressed a few buttons and many 
sounds and sound effects rumbled out of nowhere, almost startling 
the audience.  Quickly typing on a nearby computer keyboard, he 
entered the song title, and a variety of huge screens behind the 
organ appeared, showing different camera angles and scrolling the 
song title.  'Babylon 5 – Variations on a Theme' moved across the 
bottom of the screen as Russ began to play a variety of 
instruments.  His hands flew across two of the keyboards as his left 
foot pressed the foot pedals in perfect time, and his right foot 
adjusted two of the volume pedals simultaneously, as the other 
instruments continued to play automatically.
	Everyone's silence from the audience told him they were 
definitely impressed with the dramatic improvement of the sound 
quality.  The chairs vibrated slightly with the bass notes and 
drumbeats, adding an awesome thrill to feel the sound as well as 
hear it.  They all listened eagerly for a few minutes, and then the 
holodeck door slid open again as several other aliens poked their 
head in, unnoticed by everybody else, since the door was at the 
very back of the theater.  They entered and took seats throughout 
various parts of the hall, listening to his music.
	It wasn't long before the hall began to fill up at a more 
rapid pace.  Aeka just happened to sense something odd and she 
looked behind her, seeing nearly a hundred people seated in the 
chairs, and more coming in.  The others noticed and looked too, 
and smiled in satisfaction.
	Over thirteen minutes later since the beginning of the 
song, Russ finally wound it down and finished it, and a roar of 
applause from behind him rang in his ears.  Taking a deep breath, 
he stood and bowed, as the audience continued to applaud.  
Surprising to Tenchi and his family, Russ smiled and sat back 
down, and typed in another song onto the keyboard.  'Theme to 
Armageddon' began to scroll across the bottom of the screen as he 
loaded up the said song and began to play.
	The audience continued to grow in size, becoming larger 
and larger.  Soon, nearly a thousand people sat in the seats, and 
still more were filing in, all enjoying the music.
	Russ played numerous different pieces.  Titles he played 
included the theme to Air Force One, An American Symphony, 
which was from Mr. Holland's Opus, and The Last Starfighter.  
Other songs he played included several tracks from the Kull the 
Conqueror soundtrack, covering the 'Ship Brawl' scene and 
'Kull's Escape.'  He really enjoyed doing those because it sounded 
like a normal orchestra, and then it started kicking with electric 
guitars and other various instruments that you'd never expect to 
hear.  'Ship Brawl' was his favorite though.  He had a smile on his 
face the entire time he played that title, especially once it got 
rolling with the 'extra' instruments.
	After while, he switched gears from orchestrated only 
songs to something a little more interesting, so he began to play 
songs from Robert Miles.  Songs such as Children, the original and 
dreamland versions, Landscape, and Red Zone, all graced the 
audience, including others.
	An hour and a half later, he finally stopped and stood up, 
the roar of applause almost deafening.  He bowed graciously and 
then spoke, and surprisingly, his voice carried over everybody 
quite loudly from the intercom system.
	"Thank you very much.  I need a quick break.  We'll take 
a fifteen minute intermission or whatever, and then I'll play a little 
more."
	The murmuring of the audience increased in volume as 
hundreds of people got up from their seats and made their way to 
the concession stand, which was also a part of Russ' program.  
Popcorn, drinks, and other snack foods were served to the people, 
as they all idly chattered with each other.
	Russ jumped down off the stage and landed with a heavy 
thud on the floor in front of his group.  "So, have you been 
enjoying the performance?" he asked, grinning, and knowing full 
well what the answer was going to be.
	"I knew you were good, but I had no idea you were THIS 
good," Aeka said, smiling widely.  "You're fantastic.  Even though 
some of the songs were quite… interesting, you made them all 
sound great."
	"I agree.  You are really good at this.  It even makes me 
want to try it sometime," Tenchi added, grinning.  Nobuyuki 
smiled at hearing that, as did Katsuhito.
	"How come you're not panicked from being in front of so 
many people, yet, you were so paranoid in front of just us?" Aeka 
asked.
	"I really don't know.  Performing in front of huge groups 
of people doesn't really bother me a whole lot.  Performing in front 
of individuals, on occasion, makes me nervous."
	"But why?" she persisted.
	Russ shrugged his shoulders.  "I guess it's because I can 
be ridiculed so much more easily.  Not that you guys specifically 
would do that, but I've done stuff in front of other small groups, 
and it's real easy to hear one of them start bashing me.  That's 
where my nervousness comes from."
	"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.  But anyway, you've done a 
fantastic job with the music you've played so far."
	"Yes, I think we'd all agree to that," Ryoko added.
	"Thanks a lot guys.  Now, I had some… other ideas."  He 
turned toward Sasami.  "How would you like to get up on stage 
and sing, 'I'm a Pioneer' in front of everybody?  I'm sure they'd 
love to hear it."
	"Really?  You think they would?  But… I'm a little 
scared about doing that in front of so many people," she said, 
worriedly, but excited at the prospect of doing a live performance.
	"Don't worry about anything like that.  Everybody here 
won't care if you accidentally make a mistake.  Even I make 
mistakes from time to time, and nobody says anything about it.  
They're very polite here."
	She smiled and contemplated it for a few moments, then 
nodded her head in agreement.  "Okay!  I'll sing it on stage for 
you."
	Russ chuckled.  "Alright."  He turned toward the rest of 
the group.  "Would you guys like to come on stage and sing as 
well?  You can do the songs I wrote for you."  He snapped his 
fingers, and six microphones appeared onstage.  Small, dark, 
phantom computer screens phased in just behind the microphones, 
resembling Washu's computer in appearance.  A mic. also 
appeared on the organ.  "We'll do only the songs you've done 
before, so you'll be more comfortable with it."
	Ryoko, Aeka, Tenchi, Washu, and Mihoshi all looked at 
each other, worried expressions crossing their faces.  "Um… I 
don't think I'm ready to perform in public yet," Aeka said, 
nervously.  
	"The same goes for me too," Mihoshi added.
	"Ditto," Washu said.
	"Aw, come on!  It'll be fun!  I won't have you do it right 
this minute, since I'm going to do a few other songs I composed 
for you guys.  But once I finish, you're welcome to come up on 
stage and sing."
	"I don't think so, Russ.  I'm sorry."  Aeka didn't meet his 
gaze.
	"Aww, spoiled sport.  Oh well.  At least Sasami isn't 
chicken," Russ teased.  
	Aeka glared at him.  "I am not chicken!  I just don't want 
to."
	Russ' grin expanded a little.  "Yeah right.  Well anyway, 
Sasami, you can do your song.  Do you want to do it right after 
intermission, or do you want to do it after I do a few others?"
	"After you do your songs," she said, smiling excitedly.
	"Okay.  I'll be right back.  I got to use the restroom."  
Russ leaped back on the stage with ease and walked behind a 
curtain.  He returned a few minutes later and checked the time, 
noticing that most people were back in their seats, and the rest of 
them were still filing down the aisles.  Stepping toward the middle 
of the stage in front of the organ, he waited for everybody to get 
seated.  He bowed, and a polite applause reverberated the hall as he 
took a seat at the bench again.  Placing his left hand against the 
panel that accepted music via thought, he transferred the first song 
he wanted to perform.  It took about ten seconds, and then he 
turned toward the standard computer keyboard and entered the 
song title.  'Sad Aeka (Aeka Bojo)' scrolled across the bottom of 
the screens.  Just under that, in smaller print, said, 'Debut.'
	Aeka looked at the title and raised her eyebrows in 
surprise, as did Sasami and Tenchi.  The rest of them turned to 
look at the princess, and she shrugged her shoulders in response.  
She turned her attention back to Russ as he began to play.
	Sounds of sad piano notes filled the auditorium, and were 
eventually joined by other instruments.  The camera that displayed 
Russ' face showed that he wasn't smiling at all, but wasn't really 
concentrating either.  He actually looked sad, despite his lips 
twitching themselves into a grin from time to time.
	The princess watched him and how carefully he tapped 
each key in sequence, and realized that must be the song he 
thought of when he saw her on the first day.  She also thought 
about the day she was supposed to leave with Sasami, and how 
unhappy she felt as she stood near the lake and quietly sobbed to 
herself while thinking about Tenchi.  Strangely enough, Ryoko, 
Tenchi, Sasami, Nobuyuki, Katsuhito, and Mihoshi all thought 
about that day as well, and how Aeka must've felt.
	Russ continued to play, and an uncharacteristic silence 
fell over the audience, as they watched his expression on the 
screen.  They knew that he felt the emotion of the song, but was 
trying to hide it.  He almost looked a little misty as he drew the 
song to a close.
	Polite applause greeted his ears as everybody 
congratulated his new masterpiece.  He stood and bowed.
	"Thank you," he said, after the applause died down.  
"That was for one of my new friends that I met just recently.  I 
hope she liked it," he said, glancing at Aeka, who smiled and 
nodded in return.  He let out a sigh of relief.
	"I have a few more that I'm going to do, then we'll have 
some fun!"  He sat back down on the bench and again placed his 
hand on the pad, transferring another song.  He again turned 
toward the other computer keyboard and entered the song title, 
'Ryoko's Theme.'  And under that, remained the 'Debut' word.
	It was now Ryoko's turn to smile as she held Tenchi's 
hand and watched Russ begin playing.  Surprisingly, the song was 
a stark contrast to the previous song he had played.  It was 
considerably happier and faster paced.  The first thing that ran 
though her mind was the first time she tried to seduce Tenchi in the 
cave.  It was quite amusing, especially the trek just to get to where 
Washu was imprisoned.  It fit the mood perfectly.
	Tenchi chuckled lightly as he squeezed Ryoko's hand and 
also thought about that time.  Too bad he couldn't go back and 
redo that entire episode again.  He would've been far more willing 
if he could.
	Russ finished the song and immediately jumped into a 
different mix of the same thing, without missing a beat.  And after 
he finished that one, he remixed it again and did the same song a 
third time.  Once he finished, more applause emanated from the 
audience in appreciation.  He placed his hand on the transfer pad 
once again for a few moments.
	Turning around once again, Russ bowed.  "Thanks a lot, 
everyone.  But now, I'd like to introduce one of my friends, who 
I'd like to bring up here to sing for you guys!  Please give a warm 
welcome for Sasami Jurai!"
	The audience began clapping as Russ began to play 
'Happy Sasami' on the organ.  The little princess stood up and 
skipped over to the stairway and came up on stage, and waved at 
everybody.  They applauded a little louder and with a lot of 
enthusiasm, and Sasami smiled, reveling in the acceptance.  She 
approached one of the microphones and it automatically lowered 
itself to her level.  Russ faded out her theme and stopped.
	"Are you ready?"
	"Yes!" she said, full of excitement.
	Turning back toward the organ, he transferred the song 
and began to play, and Sasami began to sing as the audience fell 
quiet.  She sang loud and clear, and her voice carried to the far 
reaches of the concert hall.  The screen behind the microphone 
displayed the lyrics, just in case she forgot them, and the larger 
screens behind the organ changed part of their focus to Sasami, 
displaying her from various angles as the lyrics scrolled across the 
bottom of each screen, and the title, 'I'm a Pioneer' remained on 
the thing as well.
	A deafening roar of appreciation exploded from the 
audience when she finished, nearly causing her to jump out of her 
skin.  A standing ovation ensued, and people where whistling 
loudly and cheering at the top of their voice, as well as applauding.  
It was unlike any sensation she had ever felt before, and she never 
felt so good as she did at that moment.  Russ stood up and moved 
next to Sasami and waved his hands, drawing a loud cheer, and 
then he pointed both his hands at Sasami, drawing a mind-blowing 
roar of shouts from the audience.  He bent down, giving her a hug, 
thanking her, and then she and Russ bowed to the audience.  Russ 
allowed her to take a seat up on stage, materializing a chair with 
the snap of a finger.  Aeka smiled at her sister and congratulated 
her, as did everybody else, even though she could barely hear him 
or her over the still approving audience.
	"Up next, I'd like to invite a few more friends up here on 
stage to sing as well.  Little Washu!  Come on up here!" he 
announced, waving her up on stage and drawing a polite applause 
from the audience.
	Washu looked at him with horror written all over her face 
as she shook her head rapidly, and mouthed the words, "No way," 
refusing to get up.
	Russ smirked.  "She needs a little more encouragement, 
audience!"
	In response, the applause nearly doubled in volume and 
others started cheering.  Finally becoming flustered and knowing 
that Russ was as stubborn as a mule, she tossed her hands up in the 
air and smiled, waving to the audience as she came up on stage.  
Moving over to Russ, she whispered in his hear.  "I'm going to 
turn you into a water sprite once we're done here."  An evil gleam 
twinkled in her eye.   Russ just chuckled.
	"We'll do your favorite karaoke song.  I like that one."
	"Fine.  Doesn't look like I'm getting out of this," she said, 
allowing an annoyed grin to cross her face.  Sasami giggled and 
applauded Washu.
	Russ took a seat at the organ and transferred another song 
to it, then entered the title on the keyboard.  'Photon, Proton, 
Synchrotron' appeared on the screen as he started playing.
	Soon after they finished that piece, Russ invited Aeka up 
on stage, encouraging her to sing that title she handed him about a 
week before.  Of course, she was shy as well, and required a little 
extra incentive to get her on stage, but she eventually complied.  
Russ entered the song into the computer and then typed out the 
song title.  'Ojosama to Obi' appeared on the screen.
	Once she was finished with that, Russ brought up Ryoko, 
and invited her to sing a song from Gundam Wing, which she 
learned just a few days before.  The song was already entered into 
the system, so he just inputted the title.  'Brave Eyes' appeared on 
the screen.
	Ryoko finished her song, and then Russ invited Tenchi 
and Mihoshi to the stage.  Entering his last song into the system 
and typing out the title that read, 'Talent for Love.'
	Russ began singing the song, and soon after, everybody 
joined in who was on stage.  Ryoko, Aeka, Sasami, Tenchi, and 
Mihoshi all joined him, and the audience clapped along with them.  
It was a lot of fun for that title.
	They finished a few minutes later, and the audience 
erupted in applause and cheers.  Russ stood up and moved next to 
everybody, joining hands, and all of them took a bow at the same 
time as the audience continued to cheer loudly.  Russ allowed them 
all to step off the stage and take their seats again, and he got rid of 
the microphones and chairs by snapping his fingers.
	Out of nowhere, Tom tapped Russ on the shoulder and 
grinned one of his little sadistic smiles.
	"What's up?" he yelled.
	"I want to play as well," he yelled back, entering 
something on a phantom console that appeared in front of him.  A 
large drum set appeared on the right side of the stage.  "It's time 
we have some fun!  You got almost a fifth of my crew in here, so I 
want to entertain as well.  And yes, I can play those drums over 
there."
	"Okay, cool!  What shall we do first?"  The audience 
began to quiet down and look on in interest.
	"Let's do a few numbers from Yanni.  Let's start with 
Swept Away.  I don't want to play too long.  I still need to drag 
your butt to a particular part of the ship where your present awaits.  
And I still need to chew your ass out for pulling the girlfriend thing 
again."
	"Sure.  Did you reconfigure the system to remove the 
drums?" he asked, pointedly ignoring the rest of his statement.
	"Yeah.  Everything is all set to go."  He turned and 
walked over to the drums and sat down, facing the crowd.  Russ 
returned to the organ and typed a few things into the keyboard.  
'Swept Away' appeared on the screen.
	Russ started to play, and a few moments later, Tom began 
to play the drumbeat.  The audience sat back and listened, 
enthralled that the captain was up on stage with Russ, showing him 
what he could do.
	They finished a few minutes later, drawing a round of 
applause for the both of them.  Both participants stood up and 
bowed, then conversed a few moments later.  Russ grinned when 
Tom whispered the next song in his ear, and he nodded in 
approval.  They both returned to their seats and again, Russ keyed 
the song title into the system, changing the title to 'Marching 
Season – Live Version' on the screen.
	Russ began to play, the sound of piano once again filling 
the hall, and Tom began to tap the hi-hat from the drums.  A few 
moments later, they both got rolling and they played for a few 
minutes, when Russ stopped, but Tom continued.  Beating the 
drums in various rhythms, then changing it to something else a 
moment later, he was able to get the audience clapping with him.  
Russ watched in amusement, applauding along with the crowd.  He 
changed rhythms again and made it sound like a railroad steam 
engine was chugging down the track, and in response, Russ hit a 
few keys on the organ, resembling the whistle.  Again, the 
audience clapped along with it, and when he finished that one, a 
loud cheer came from the listeners.  Resuming the original rhythm 
he started out with, Russ resumed playing the piano and other 
instruments that he could handle, and allowed the computer system 
to play the rest.  Once they finished, they drew a standing ovation 
from the spectators and deafening roar of applause and cheers.  
Standing up and bowing to the audience, they both shook each 
other's hands.
	Russ turned toward the audience.  "Okay, I've done 
enough for one day.  Whew.  Thank you so much for listening to 
me play, and allowing my friends to sing, and on top of that, 
listening to your captain play the drums."
	The audience applauded and stood up, as most of them 
began shouting, "Encore!"  Both Russ and Tom looked at each 
other, then back at the audience, which increased the volume of 
their cheering, encouraging them to continue.
	Russ smiled and looked at Tom, then nodded.  They both 
returned to their seats and began to play Flight of Fantasy.  Once 
they finished that, they moved on to Days of Summer, Desire, 
Renegade, Nightingale, and a couple others.  They finally finished 
about an hour later.  Once again, the audience gave them a huge 
round of applause and cheers, and after that, began to disperse 
back to their duties onboard the ship.
	"Whew!  That was great!" Russ exclaimed as he hopped 
off the stage in front of his group.
	"Yeah.  I haven't done that in a while.  I'm glad a lot of 
people onboard this ship love music."  Tom followed Russ and 
jumped off the stage onto the floor.
	Aeka turned toward them.  "You both were great!  That 
was fantastic music.  I'm glad I came here to listen to you play."
	"We all are," Tenchi added, and the entire group nodded 
in appreciation, and then gave them both their own round of 
applause.
	"Thanks a lot guys.  Well, I'm going to go see what Tom 
wants to give me, and then I'll be heading back to my quarters to 
nap for a while.  I want to be a little more rested once we get to 
Jurai."
	"That sounds good.  I think I'll go back to our quarters as 
well," Aeka added, drawing a nod from Sasami.
	"Tom, where's your chief engineer?  I'd like to talk with 
him for a while," Washu asked.
	"What for?"
	"I'd like to see some of the technology that makes this 
ship run.  I may even be able to think of ways to improve your 
existing equipment.  After all, I am the Number One Genius 
Scientist in the Universe," she cackled.
	A bead of sweat appeared on Tom's head.  "I suppose.  
He should be in engineering, but let me check.  Computer, locate 
Buu George."
	"Buu George is in main engineering," the computer 
responded.
	"There you go.  I'll let him know you're coming.  You're 
Washu, right?"
	She raised an eyebrow in response, glaring at him.
	Russ nudged Tom gently and whispered something in his 
ear.  "Oh, yeah.  You're Little Washu, right?"
	"That's correct," she smiled.  "And thank you."
	"No problem.  Come on Russ," he said, taking him by the 
arm and almost dragging him out of the holodeck.  "Time to have 
ourselves a little discussion about women."
	Russ just growled something incoherent but reluctantly 
followed.  "Why does everybody need to play matchmaker around 
me?" he muttered to himself.

	Walking back toward the hanger bay, Russ began to guess 
at what this wonderful gift could be.  Tom seemed to be really 
excited about giving it to him as well.  Continually coming up with 
blanks, especially after walking past the hanger, he finally lost his 
patience.
	"Okay, what is it you're giving me?"
	"Patience.  It's in the fighter bay," Tom said, giving him a 
grin.
	"Ahhh, so you've also been building fighters too?"
	"Yes.  And at present moment, yours is the only type of 
fighter in existence right now.  It's just as unique as this Star 
Destroyer."
	"Cool.  Can't wait to see it," he said, as they rounded the 
corner and the bay doors opened themselves.
	Rows and rows of various fighters lined the massive hold.  
All types were here, except they were all imperial craft.  Tie 
Fighters, Tie Interceptors, Tie Bombers, and a few Tie Advanced 
were visible from his current vantage point.  All of them were 
equipped with shields Russ saw, noticing the small out-of-place 
generators on the fighters.  A couple assault transports sat on the 
floor, and the fighters were suspended from docking clamps from 
the ceiling.  All except one, which was sitting on the floor on 
landing struts.  Tom made a beeline directly for it and Russ 
grinned widely.
	"You know what this is, right?" Tom asked, presenting 
him with his new space fighter.
	"Of course.  It's a Tie Defender.  It's fully functional?" 
Russ asked, examining the thing from top to bottom, checking out 
the four laser cannons and the dual ion cannons on top.
	"You bet.  It has a hyperdrive, super heavy shields, 
enhanced thrusters, enhanced engine, and many other things that 
would make it impossible for a normal man to pilot the thing.  I 
knew how strong you were, so I modified this thing accordingly. It 
can pull turns like you wouldn't believe, and it exerts g-forces that 
would almost crush a normal man.  I think the estimation came out 
between twenty and thirty g's.  Trust me, this ship is the most 
advanced starfighter in existence.  The only thing it doesn't have 
right now is a beam weapon.  I didn't want to install that without 
asking you first.  You can have a tractor beam, a jamming beam, or 
a decoy beam.  It's up to you."
	"I'll take the jamming beam.  Just make sure that it can 
stop any kind of ship from firing, including capital ships.  There 
may be times I want to keep it from firing on me, but I don't want 
to destroy the thing, but just prevent it from firing."
	"That's what the ion cannons are for, silly."  Tom 
laughed, slapping Russ on the back.
	Russ looked at him in annoyance.  "I don't want to blow 
every electrical system on the enemy.  I just want to keep them 
from firing."
	"Whatever.  I'll have that installed in about a half hour, 
and then it'll be yours to take home.  You won't have to travel in 
that stupid little spacepod anymore."
	Russ smiled with pride.  "Thanks a lot man.  I really 
appreciate it."
	"You can thank me by not pulling that girlfriend crap with 
Aeka," Tom started.
	Russ closed his eyes and prepared for a heated argument.  
He took in a breath, counted to ten, and began his long discussion 
with the captain.

	Walking into his quarters, Russ saw Aeka and Sasami 
both on the couch, drinking a cup of tea.  He looked quite stressed 
out and tired, but he managed a smile and a warm greeting.
	"What did you guys talk about?" Sasami asked, 
innocently.
	"That's between him and Tom.  Don't be so nosy," Aeka 
chided her sister, resting her hand on her shoulder.
	He sighed, trudging over to the chair and plopping into it.  
"Thanks, Aeka."
	She smiled kindly in response.
	"We should arrive at Jurai in about seven hours.  I'm 
going to catch a few winks.  You can do whatever you want.  
Catch a few winks, go back to the game room, or take a walk 
around the ship, but it's up to you."
	"I think we're going to stay here and sleep ourselves.  It'll 
be early evening on the particular part of the planet we'll need to 
land at, and I want to be rested enough to greet my parents and my 
friends."
	"I see.  You need to keep up your regal appearance.  Well, 
okay.  Go ahead and take the bed.  I'll just doze off here in the 
chair."
	"I don't think so.  You take the bed.  Sasami and I will 
sleep on the futons that are over there in the corner," she 
admonished, pointing to the beds that were near the windows.  The 
colors of hyperspace still swirled past outside.
	Russ growled.  "Why must you be so difficult?  You're 
going home, and you're the princess of the planet we're going to.  
Take the darn bed and sleep like a princess."
	"And I wouldn't be going home if it weren't for you and 
your friend.  I don't mind sleeping on the futon," she retorted.
	"Humph.  If you're sleeping on the floor, then I will too.  
There's no way I'm going to take a nice comfortable bed while the 
Princess of Jurai sleeps on my floor!"
	"You're being ridiculous!"
	"Am I?  You're the one refusing to take the darn bed!"
	"Because I don't want to!"
	"Well I don't want to either!"
	They both fell silent and glared at each other.  But Russ' 
gaze softened a few moments later.  "Please, just take the bed."
	"No."
	"Sasami, you take the bed," Russ ordered, looking at her.
	She hesitated, and before she could answer, Aeka piped 
in.  "No, she'll sleep on the futon next to me."
	"I wasn't asking YOU, your highness," Russ growled.
	"I don't CARE.  We're sleeping on the futons, and that's 
FINAL!" she shot back, not giving up any ground.
	Russ' temper was about to explode, but he allowed it to 
dissolve in a few moments.  "I don't get it.  I try to be nice and it 
always gets shoved back in my face.  It's almost as if nobody 
wants me to be nice or offer them things."  He scratched his head.  
"If you don't want to take the bed, then I guess that's okay," he 
sighed in defeat.
	Aeka's aggressive attitude melted away and she looked at 
the floor, embarrassed.  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten angry 
with you.  But you've been so nice and charitable to both Sasami 
and myself, and I haven't really reciprocated it."
	"I never said you had to.  I make these little gestures 
because I want to, and it makes me feel good when I make 
someone happy," he answered, looking out the window.  "When 
someone is happy, I'm happy.  And the way I make other people 
happy is by doing things or giving things to them."
	She stared at him for a few moments, and then smiled.  
"Thank you.  Your gestures do not go unappreciated, although 
some of them were unnecessary."
	"So you say.  It would've made me happy if you took the 
bed."
	She sighed in exasperation.  "Would you STOP that?" she 
giggled.  "You're making me feel guilty!"
	Russ cracked a small grin, not meeting her gaze.  "Then 
take the bed."
	Aeka shook her head and started laughing.  "You just 
don't give up, do you?"
	"Nope.  And by the sound of it, neither do you," he said, 
turning toward her and looking her in the face.
	She nodded.  "Very observant."
	"So you're not going to take the bed?  Please?" Russ 
begged.
	"For the last time, no."
	"Fine.  Be that way."  Russ stood up and went to his room 
to retrieve a blanket, while Aeka and Sasami went to their futons.  
They returned the two cups of tea to the replicator before lying 
down.  Russ returned and flopped into his chair and converted it to 
reclining mode.
	He looked over to Aeka and Sasami, and they were now 
dressed in their sleeping clothes.  Russ noticed something else too.
	"Hey Aeka?"
	She turned around and looked at him.  "Yes?" 
	"Where'd you get the necklace?  I just noticed it.  It looks 
very pretty on you."
	She smiled and placed her hand over the pendant.  
"Tenchi and Ryoko gave it to me a little less than two weeks ago.  
They said that they knew about how depressed I was, and they 
wanted to get me something nice."
	"They sure do have good taste in jewelry, in that case."
	She smiled and nodded.  Sasami and her both laid down 
on their futons, and pulled up their blankets.  However, the little 
princess looked a little nervous.
	"Russ?" she timidly asked.
	"Yeah?"
	"You aren't going to pull any more pranks on me this 
time, are you?"
	Russ started laughing.  "Thanks for reminding me.  I had 
forgotten all about it."
	Her face flushed with fear as she looked at her sister.
	"What pranks is he talking about?" Aeka asked, turning 
toward her little sister.
	"Well, remember that day I woke him up with the 
whipped cream?  Well he's been pulling pranks on me too."
	"Like what?"
	"Every day, for a week straight, I woke up in a different 
place."
	Aeka sat up and looked at her.  "What do you mean?"
	"Well, the first day, I woke up on the couch.  The second 
day, I woke up on the kitchen counter.  The third day I woke up in 
the shed.  Then the next day I woke up in the hallway outside our 
room.  The day after that, I woke up outside under Ryu-Oh.  On 
the sixth day I woke up on the shrine steps, and on the last day I 
woke up on the roof!"
	Aeka glared furiously at Russ, who lay in his chair, 
quaking with glee and barely restrained laughter.  "Don't you dare 
do anything that would scare her like that again!"
	"A prank is a prank.  She wanted a prank war, and 
unfortunately for her, she challenged the prank master," he 
snickered.  "But I promise I won't do anything tonight or while 
we're on Jurai.  Is that okay?"
	"No, I want you to promise that you won't pull another 
prank on Sasami again!" she demanded.
	"Sorry Princess, but that's asking too much," he laughed.  
	She fumed silently at her bed for a few moments, when 
Sasami nodded her head.  "It's okay.  I'm sure this isn't the last 
prank I'm going to pull on him," said the little princess, winking.
	"Then we have a deal?  No pranks until we get back 
home?" Russ asked, looking over at her.
	She nodded.  "We have a deal."
	"Alright then.  At least you're more reasonable than your 
sister is," Russ snickered, causing Aeka to redden and shake with 
barely controlled anger.  "Well, time for bed, if that's okay with 
you ladies."
	"FINE," Aeka growled, laying back on her futon and 
snuggling in her bed.
	Pulling the blanket over his head, Russ began to drift off 
to sleep.  "Computer, dim the lights and block out the windows."  
The computer did as it was told.  "Now, play the sound of waves 
crashing into the shore, quietly."  A second later, the sound of 
water lapping a shoreline was heard, at just the right volume level 
to not be disturbing, but be perfectly relaxing.  Everybody drifted 
off to sleep very quickly, and Azaka with Kamidake remained at 
the door, doing their ever-vigilant guard duty.  Ryo-Ohki dozed off 
on top of Sasami, purring contentedly.

	"Russ?"
	No answer.
	"Hey Russ!"
	No answer.
	Tom started getting flustered at not getting any response 
from him over the comm. system.  Assuming he must've been 
sleeping, an old videogame wake-up routine popped into his head.
	"Wake up….  Wake up…  WAKE UP!!!!!" Tom shouted 
into the intercom.  A moment later, the sound of three groaning 
people gave him the response he was looking for.
	"What the hell do you want?" Russ asked, irritably, still 
drowsy with sleep.
	"We're going to be at Jurai in twenty minutes, 
sleepyhead.  Get your butts up here to the bridge on the double."
	"Yes master," Russ retorted, sounding like an ogre from 
Warcraft II.  Tom chuckled in response.  "Did you already wake 
everybody else up, if they were sleeping?"
	"Yeah.  Washu is already up here, Kiyone and Mihoshi 
are on their way, and the others were taking naps like you guys 
were, but they're all on their way now."
	"Alright.  We'll be there in a few minutes," Russ said, 
yawning loudly.  Tom laughed then turned off the intercom.
	"Saiyans sleep like logs," Tom explained to Washu, who 
watched the event with amusement.
	"So it seems."
	"Well," Tom began, sitting back in his chair, getting more 
comfortable.  "What did you and my chief engineer talk about?"
	"Quite a few things.  He gave me a tour of engineering, 
and showed me a lot of new stuff.  What really impressed me is 
this ship's power source."
	"You like that, eh?"  Tom's smile of satisfaction grew.
	"Yeah.  Except I think it's a bad idea, especially if this 
ship should happen to explode or if something goes wrong with the 
singularity."
	"Well, it's very small, but it produces an enormous 
amount of power.  It took quite a while to get the technology to the 
point to make the singularity stable, and to be able to draw power 
from it."
	"I can see that.  But anyway, I also showed him how to 
improve some items on your ship that were rather inefficient.  I 
also gave him the technology necessary to integrate transporters 
into this ship."
	"Hopefully it is something different than what we've tried 
already."
	Washu's eyebrow raised a nanometer.  "What do you 
mean?"
	"We had tried to duplicate the transporters that we had 
seen on Star Trek.  We did get them working, but they refused to 
work correctly through the armor on this ship."
	"Oh?  What is this armor made out of, anyway?"
	Tom smiled slightly.  "Sorry, but I can't reveal that.  I'll 
just say that it is extremely strong against energy and kinetic 
weapons, and blocks, thus far, all known forms of transportation.  
It's almost the perfect armor," he said, smiling in glee.
	"I'm pretty sure my stuff will work.  The transporters I 
invented are unlike most others."
	"We'll give anything a try.  It does get irritating to have to 
take a transport to leave the ship," he said, scratching his chin.  
Something then started nagging at his conscience.  "What do you 
expect as payment for services rendered?"
	She waved her hand.  "Think nothing of it.  Just seeing 
this ship, and you giving us transportation to Jurai, is more than 
enough for me."
	"You're very welcome."
	The lift door slid open, revealing Kiyone and Mihoshi.
	"Ahhh, the galaxy police.  We should be there very 
shortly."  Tom said, greeting them with a smile.
	"You do realize that you've basically broken every speed 
limit the GP have a law for, don't you?"  Kiyone smirked.
	"You have speed limits in space?  Why?" Tom asked, 
amused.
	"For safety, of course.  There are other spacecraft out 
here, you know."
	"Yes, I know that.  This hyperdrive is far more advanced 
than you think.  It takes the computer several minutes to calculate a 
safe course to enter hyperspace.  It checks everything between 
point A and point B.  And then lets us know when it's safe to go."
	"Still, you should obey speed laws."
	"Whatever.  I'll have to exit hyperspace anyway when I 
pull into a planetary system.  Hyperdrive won't work due to the 
gravity of the planets."
	Kiyone sighed, seeing as how he missed the point.  "Well, 
I'm certain nobody saw us.  We're moving way too fast for them to 
even detect this ship."
	"Yeah.  I love it.  Plus I could always cloak us," Tom 
said, grinning.
	A few minutes of silence passed and once again the lift 
door opened, this time revealing the rest of the group.  Katsuhito, 
Tenchi, Nobuyuki, Russ, Aeka, Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, Azaka, 
Kamidake, and Ryoko all filed out of the lift and approached the 
captain.
	"Welcome back to the bridge.  You all look well rested."  
Tom grinned, especially at seeing Russ' annoyance, probably from 
the rude awakening.
	"Yes, we slept very well.  When shall we reach Jurai?" 
Aeka asked.
	"Sakuya?  How much longer?"
	"I'm about to disengage the hyperdrive, sir.  It'll just be a 
few seconds," she answered, without turning around.
	"Excellent."  He turned toward the group.  "Exiting 
hyperspace looks sort of interesting, especially when we do it near 
a planetary system.  Everything starts off real tiny, but in the span 
of two seconds, it gets huge."
	As if on cue, Sakuya deactivated the hyperdrive and the 
multitude of colors that was hyperspace faded back into a bright 
starfield, and a planet rapidly appeared in front of them.  They 
decelerated to normal impulse speed, and approached Jurai.

	Drinking a cup of tea and watching the radar screen, a 
young Jurian cadet drummed his fingers on the console in front of 
him.  He had been on duty for the last four hours, and not one blip 
showed up on the monitor.  Not even an asteroid.  No ships, no 
shuttles, no fighters, no nothing.  It was boring him to death, but it 
was his duty to just sit and stare at that screen for the next three 
hours.  It was just boring.  Boring, boring, boring.  And tomorrow 
promised more of the same thing.
	Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, then adjusting his long 
white robes while brushing a stray hair out of his face, he took 
another drink of tea and looked over at the guy next to him.
	"Hey Asussa?"
	"Yeah?" came the gruff answer.
	"Want to go to the pub after work tonight?  I hear they're 
supposed to have some smooth samisen music there this evening."
	"Are you buying?  Because I'm broke," he responded, 
hitting a few keys on his console and bringing up a computerized 
card game.  He also shifted positions and fidgeted with his robes.  
"Why'd they make us wear these ridiculous clothes?" he muttered 
to himself, just loudly enough for his friend to hear.
	"I have no idea," he whispered back.  "Why are you 
broke?  I thought you had a mountain of money stashed in the bank 
or something?"
	"Rouyu!  What on Jurai ever gave you that idea?  I make 
as much money as you do, and we regularly blow our cash!"
	"Hey you two!  Be quiet down there and pay attention to 
your jobs!" The commander growled.  He wasn't in the mood for 
any arguments today.
	"Yes sir.  Sorry," Rouyu responded.  Then, more quietly, 
he turned back to his friend.  "I'm sorry about that.  I thought you 
were rich or something.  You're always so clean and you always 
have new clothes and stuff."
	"Doesn't mean a thing.  I just spend my money differently 
than you do."
	Suddenly, a huge blip appeared on radar, very close to 
Jurai.
	"Sir!  Incoming… something!  It's extremely large," 
Rouyu barked.
	"Well?  Is it a ship or what, cadet?"
	"I think it's a ship, sir.  Unknown configuration.  It 
definitely isn't in our database."
	"Can you bring it up on the monitor?"
	"Yes sir.  It is in visual range."  He keyed a few 
commands and an image of a section of Jurian space appeared on a 
large screen.  In the middle of the screen a huge, arrowhead shaped 
vessel cruised toward the planet.
	"Hmmm…  What the hell kind of ship is that?  Open up 
communications channels with that vessel."
	"Yes sir.  Channel open."
	"Attention unknown starship.  This is Jurian space traffic 
controller Ubey in charge of this sector of space.  Identify 
yourselves."
	It took a few seconds, but the cadet finally spoke.  "We're 
picking up an acknowledgement and are receiving a transmission."
	"Put it on screen."
	"Yes sir."
	The screen that showed the ship faded and changed to 
show the interior of the bridge.  A muscular, white uniformed man 
sat in a chair in the middle of the screen.
	"This is Captain Thomas Franklin of the Imperial Star 
Destroyer Gray Wolf.  We have some passengers who would like 
to make a visit to your planet."
	Everybody in the room fell silent at hearing what class of 
ship it was.  The name, 'Star Destroyer,' sent shivers down a 
couple people's spines, and a few others snickered at the title.
	"Halt your ship at once and we will send out an escort 
momentarily.  If you do not comply, we will use force," the 
commander responded, glaring at Tom.
	A woman, wearing a blue, green, and purple kimono, 
appeared on the screen and stood next to the captain.  Her purple 
hair was tied in one long ponytail behind her back, and her 
amethyst eyes bored into the commander.  Recognition smashed 
through his head as his face pulled into utter surprise.
	"Princess Aeka?!" he stuttered.
	"You will grant us passage to Jurai at once."
	Still in shock, he only stared at the screen with his mouth 
gaping open.
	"Is there a problem?" she asked, sternly.
	He snapped out of his trance a moment later.  "No, your 
highness.  No problem at all.  We will have an escort to show you 
to your landing pad shortly."
	Tom raised an eyebrow and sighed.  "Sorry, but this ship 
cannot make planet falls.  It must remain in orbit.  Can you find me 
a place above the palace where I can pull into a synchronous 
orbit?"
	"I'm sorry sir, but we cannot allow that."
	"You WILL allow it," Aeka snapped, clearly not in the 
mood to argue with some dumb lackey.  "I am the First Princess of 
Jurai, and you will obey my orders."
	"Yes ma'am.  Sorry for the misunderstanding."  He 
quickly killed the comlink to the ship.
	"Rouyu!  Inform the Emperor that his daughter has 
arrived, and prepare to receive them at once!"
	"Yes sir!" came the response as the cadet speedily 
punched in a bunch of keys on his console, and contacted the 
Emperor.
	"And get those escorts out there to them!" he barked.

	"Now that's how to get things done!" Tom said, grinning 
at Aeka.
	She blushed slightly and smiled.  "Sorry about that.  I've 
known him for a while.  He's known for giving people a hard time, 
and I wasn't in the mood for it today."
	Two Jurian warships came into view and sped toward the 
Star Destroyer, taking up escort positions on either side of the 
starship.  They looked like tugboats, since they were only about a 
third the length of the vessel.  Both of them looked so small and 
frail next to the ship, since they were composed of wood and the 
Star Destroyer of steel.  The captains of both vessels admired the 
size of the starship, and tried to judge the new ship's firepower, in 
case it became hostile.  But all things considered, they didn't want 
to get into a brawl with a ship so much larger.
	"Well, our… escorts are here," Tom snickered.  "Are 
those things made of wood?"
	"Yes.  However, that wood is considerably stronger than 
you'd think.  Plus our ships are shielded," explained Aeka, looking 
at the two vessels, which at one point, tried to destroy her and the 
Yagami.
	"I guess they'd have to be to survive out here," the 
captain replied.  "We've never come under attack, but we've had 
to navigate through an asteroid field once.  We went into one 
intentionally to test the endurance of this ship and the weapons.  
We emerged without a scratch."
	"When did you do this?"  Russ asked.
	"Quite some time ago.  You had left to go somewhere or 
meet someone, and we had finished the shields and weapon 
systems, and I wanted to go test them."
	"You should've had me come with you, just in case 
something went wrong.  I would've turned around and came back 
if I had known you were just about to finish those particular 
systems and were going to such drastic measures to test them," 
Russ said.
	The Gray Wolf entered synchronous orbit above the 
palace, still flanked by both warships.
	"Well, everything turned out okay in the end.  Well 
anyway, we're here, so I'll have one of my pilots take you guys 
down in one of my escort transports.  When you guys were on your 
way up here I ordered a few men to take all of your baggage to 
one, so there is no need to use your spaceship.  I won't be 
accompanying you right away, but I'll be available at a moment's 
notice if you need me."  Tom smiled at everybody.  "Welcome to 
Jurai!  Prepare to disembark!"  He turned toward the spiky haired 
one.  "Russ!  Take them to the transport.  I'm sure they're already 
waiting for your arrival."
	Russ smirked at him and headed toward the lift, followed 
by his entourage.

	The trip down to the surface of Jurai was uneventful to 
say the least.  The transport that Tom allowed them to use was 
extremely large, and was also heavily defended by the many 
turbolaser turrets positioned around the outside of the ship.  Escort 
transports were supposed to be used for starbase construction due 
to their extraordinarily large cargo capacity, but they could also be 
used as troop transports as well.  Needless to say, everybody had 
plenty of room to sit down or stand, but the vessel didn't have 
many windows to look out of.  Everybody stood or sat near the 
cockpit, watching the planet come into view as they sped toward 
the landing pad outside of the palace.
	Two fighters escorted them down to Jurai's surface.  Russ 
couldn't wait to take his Tie Defender for a spin, so he took that, 
and another veteran pilot took a Tie Advanced.  They both flanked 
the escort transport on either side, keeping in near perfect 
formation.  However, Russ started doing weird things with his 
fighter, but still keeping perfect position.  He slowly spun the craft, 
until he was upside down, and he flew like that for a few moments, 
and then started spinning like a lathe.  He eventually stopped, but 
he wasn't flying straight as an arrow anymore, but instead, was 
slightly wandering around his flight path, almost as if he was a 
drunk driver.
	They passed through the atmosphere and approached the 
landing site, and the roar of the ion engines of the fighters and the 
rumble of the escort transport became audible.  It wasn't long 
before two of the three vessels landed on their designated pad.  The 
Tie Advanced circled once, then headed back to the Star Destroyer.
	With a loud hiss, the transport's ramp and door opened, 
allowing the light of the setting sun to grace everybody's vision, 
and the sweet smell of Jurai's warm air flooded the cabin, 
replacing the sterile, recycled oxygen.  The colors of the outside 
were bright and vivid, and it caused quite a thrill for Aeka, Sasami, 
and even Katsuhito, to finally be home once again.
	Two white-robed Jurian knights approached the landing 
pad as everybody filed out of the steel gray transport, and Russ 
stumbled out of his fighter, still dazed from spinning.  He shook 
his head, clearing out some of the cobwebs that swam through his 
brain, and he resisted the urge to throw up.  Fortunately nobody 
noticed him.  He tried to regain his composure as he waddled over 
to the group.
	Everybody conversed with each other, not yet noticing the 
two knights that stood a dozen feet away.  However, Sasami turned 
toward them a moment later, and recognition spread across her 
face as she ran over to the one with the blue buttons.
	"Azaka!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around him as 
he knelt to receive her, returning her hug warmly.  "It's so good to 
see you again!"  She let go of him and gave the knight in red 
buttons a hug.  "You too, Kamidake!"  Her face beamed with pride 
and happiness.
	"Hello, Princess.  Welcome back to Jurai!  I must say it is 
a pleasant surprise to have you come back home, even though it 
was unannounced.  We sorry that we didn't have time to properly 
receive you," Azaka said, standing up and patting Sasami on her 
head.
	Aeka smiled at the two Jurian knights and shook her head.  
"Don't be concerned about that.  I'm just happy to be back home 
again."  The Crown Princess of Jurai walked over to the human 
Azaka and Kamidake, and gave them both a warm hug.  "It's good 
to see you two again."
	"Likewise, Princess.  You seem to have brought a large 
group with you this time.  Lord Yosho also came with you, I see," 
commented Kamidake.  "And I see a new face as well… is he 
alright?" he asked, looking at the Saiyan, who was still trying to 
stand up straight.  He had a green tinge about his face too.
	Aeka looked back at him and started giggling.  "He was 
doing stunts with his fighter.  It's no wonder he's sick."
	Russ took in a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly, 
and his skin complexion returned to normal.  "I won't be doing 
that again anytime soon," he groaned to himself.  Suddenly feeling 
he was the center of attention, he blushed lightly and chuckled to 
himself.  Not wanting to be rude, he made his way over to Azaka 
and Kamidake and introduced himself.  "Hi!  I'm Russ.  How are 
you guys doing?"
	"We are well.  Thank you, Russ.  It's nice to meet you."  
Azaka extended his hand, which Russ took, but an overwhelming 
sensation slammed through Azaka's mind.  He trembled slightly at 
the knees and looked into Russ' face with almost complete shock.
	Upon grasping Russ' hand, he felt an awesome rush of 
raw power emanating from the newcomer.  This power was 
incredible, and unlike anything he had felt before, except when he 
fought the dark knight, who was under the rule of Kagato.  
However, this power was different from theirs.  It wasn't bound to 
anything, for one.  Not like his power, which relied on Jurai, or the 
Jurai Power.  Russ' energy was similar, but not exact.  And even 
though Russ was holding back and letting out a very mere portion 
of energy, it was still overwhelming to him.
	Noticing his compatriot's face, Kamidake moved over to 
his side, concerned for his friend.  Russ also bore a look of 
concern, wondering what happened.  He quickly released his hand 
and Azaka staggered slightly, and then recovered, shaking his head 
in disbelief.
	"Are you alright, Azaka?" Kamidake asked.
	"Yes."  He looked into Russ' face, still feeling blown 
away by the energy he sensed.  "That is some incredible power you 
have there.  Almost overwhelming, as a matter of fact."  Azaka 
stood on his own now, no longer being supported by his 
companion.
	"I'm sorry about that.  I thought I was holding back 
enough power.  I'll bring it down to that of a normal human."  
Azaka watched as Russ concentrated a moment, then smiled.  
"Kamidake?"  He extended his hand toward the other knight, who 
looked on him skeptically.  "I'm sorry about that.  I didn't mean 
any harm."  Russ kept his arm outstretched.
	Kamidake carefully took his hand, and didn't feel 
anything out of the ordinary.  "No harm was done.  It's a pleasure 
to make your acquaintance."  They shook hands, and then 
withdrew.
	Everybody else greeted the two knights warmly, as a 
variety of hugs and handshakes took place.  They conversed for a 
few more minutes, and then the two knights led them inside the 
palace to see the two Empresses and the King of Jurai.
	Slowly making their way down the aisle of the throne 
room, they stopped about a dozen feet away from the steps to the 
throne.  Most everybody knelt, except for Aeka, Sasami, and 
Yosho.
	A stern faced man sat on the throne, glaring down at all of 
the arrivals, clothed in ornate robes, his purple hair and beard 
hanging in three perfectly vertical lines.  A blue haired woman 
stood to his right, who almost looked like Sasami's clone, and a 
dark haired woman stood to his left, both of them radiating their 
extreme happiness.
	Misaki couldn't contain herself anymore and she made 
her way down the steps, and crushed Sasami in one of her famous 
hugs.  "Sasami!!"
	"Mommy!"  Sasami hugged her mother in return, as both 
of them shed tears of joy.
	After a moment, Misaki returned to her feet and looked at 
Sasami's sister.  "Ahhh, little Aeka!"
	Aeka shuffled her feet slightly and drummed her fingers 
together, trying to avoid what she knew would probably be 
coming.  "It's been such a long time since I've seen you last, 
mother.  I'm very glad to see you doing well."
	Misaki's happiness melted away and her eyes narrowed 
viciously, promising a gruesome fate to her daughter.
	Aeka perspired heavily, then glanced over her shoulder.  
Ryoko was snickering lightly, and everybody else just looked on in 
amusement.  She sighed in defeat and drew in a deep breath.  "My 
Mommy!"
	Everybody in earshot facefaulted, except for Yosho and 
Sasami.
	Instantly going from a look of death to a look of near-
bliss, she crushed her daughter in a hug.  "Aeka!  It's so wonderful 
to see you again!"
	"Oh Mommy!" she cried, holding her with tears of 
happiness streaming down her cheeks.  "It's so good to see you 
again!  I've missed you!"  She continued to sob into her mother's 
shoulder as Misaki held her daughter tightly.  Funaho made her 
way down the steps and gave Sasami a hug.
	"Auntie Funaho!"
	"Sasami!"
	They both gave each other a warm, comforting squeeze, 
both very happy to see each other again.
	The pleasantries continued for a few more moments as 
Misaki's super hugs crushed everybody, and then got a pleasant 
handshake from Funaho.  Except for Yosho, who she hugged 
warmly, then glared at menacingly, ready to give him a harsh 
tongue lashing for not coming to see his poor mother in so long.
	Eventually the two Empresses set their sights on Russ, 
who was standing a few feet behind everybody, his hands folded in 
front of him, as he looked at the floor.
	"Who is this?" Misaki asked, giving him a good looking 
over and nearly drooling at his muscular physique.
	"Mother, this is Russ.  He is the one who made it possible 
for us to come home so quickly," Aeka explained, introducing him.
	Her eyes lit up like the sun back on Earth.  She grabbed 
him in a bear hug, trying to crush him like she did with everybody 
else.  "Thank you for being so kind to Aeka and Sasami, and 
bringing them home to us!  I don't know how to thank you!"
	Russ looked down at the top of her head with his own 
head beading with perspiration.  "It's okay.  It was no trouble at 
all."
	Funaho made her way over to him and bowed 
appreciatively.  "Really.  We appreciate all the trouble you went to, 
to bring our daughters and son home."
	Russ shook his head and gave up.  "You're welcome.  It 
was my pleasure.  My friend is still in orbit.  Will it be ok if he and 
some of his crew come on down to see the Startica festival?  That 
is why we all came."
	"That will be no problem at all.  Your friend is welcome 
to come down here with as much of his crew as he wants," Funaho 
said, smiling.  Azusa, however, glared at the newcomer, and 
remained silent.
	"Thank you.  I'm sure he'll appreciate a vacation.  His 
whole crew won't come down at once, but probably about half will 
at a time.  Maybe less, depending on how many people want to 
go."  Russ noticed the hard stare from Azusa, and he returned it 
with his own emotionless look.
	Misaki finally let go of him and stepped back, smiling, 
until she noticed what direction Russ was looking off to.  She 
turned around and saw her husband continuing to rudely stare at 
him, not having said a word the entire time everybody came inside 
the throne room.
	"Honey, what's wrong?  Stop being so rude and introduce 
yourself to this handsome young man!" Misaki demanded.  Funaho 
nodded beside her, also frowning at her husband.
	A quiet growl was released from the king, but he rose to 
his feet and came down the steps.  Turning his attention away from 
Russ, he bent down and gave Sasami a warm hug, and then he 
nodded toward Aeka, proceeding to give her a hug.  He glared at 
Tenchi, but nodded, and continued through the group in much the 
same fashion, until he got to Russ.  Continuing to give him a hard, 
cold, emotionless stare, he still didn't say anything, not even a tiny 
greeting or acknowledgement.  He simply turned around and 
walked back to the front of the group.  Russ stared after him, 
immediately not liking him in the very least.  He clenched a fist at 
his side and resisted an urge to tell the king off, but thought better 
of it and remained silent.
	Misaki and Funaho watched the little scene play out 
before them, not understanding what their husband had against the 
newcomer.  Deciding to ask him about it later, they remained silent 
as well.
	"Welcome home, Aeka, Sasami, and Yosho.  We will do 
our best to make your stay a most pleasant one," the king 
announced, maintaining his scowl.  "My servants will show you to 
your rooms.  Your luggage should already be in several of them.  If 
you'll excuse me, I have some urgent matters that require my 
attention."  He turned and went back to his throne as everybody 
filed out of the hall.  Misaki and Funaho tagged along, with Misaki 
walking next to Aeka and Sasami, and Funaho walking between 
Aeka and Yosho.
	Azaka and Kamidake followed just behind the group.  
However, Azaka's eyes never left Russ for very long.  He still 
couldn't believe the incredible amount of power coming from him.  
And he said he wasn't releasing that much either.  Hoping that 
Russ would give him a demonstration later, he decided to ask him.
	"Excuse me, Russ, but I have a question I'd like to ask 
you," he started.
	Russ slowed down a little and walked next to the knight.  
"What can I do for you?" he asked, smiling.
	"Could you show me your full power later today?  What I 
felt from you when I shook your hand was extremely high.  I'm 
just curious to see how much power you really have."
	Misaki heard the conversation from behind them.  "Russ 
can summon energy too?"
	The Saiyan turned back toward her and nodded.  "Yes I 
can.  But I don't want to reveal my full potential.  There is no need 
for me to, for one thing."
	Upon hearing this, Misaki's look of surprise turned to a 
frown.  "I want you to show me your full power," she decreed, 
regally.  "I want to see what has Azaka so concerned or 
impressed."
	"I'm afraid that's a bad idea," Russ said, nervously.
	Misaki's glare became more intense.  "I said I want to see 
your full potential."
	Aeka turned around and looked at him.  "You better do as 
she says," she whispered to him.  "She's not one to gives up at all."
	Russ shook his head.  "No.  I'm sorry."
	Misaki looked about ready to explode, but Russ just 
looked at her with his poker face, not revealing the nervousness he 
felt from seeing her fury.  She clenched her fists at her sides and 
gave him her most disapproving stare, one that brought sweat 
drops to everybody's head that was watching and listening to the 
exchange.	The Empress stopped and got right in Russ face 
and demanded once more that he reveal his power to her, which 
was again pointedly and politely refused.  Everybody else stopped 
walking down the hallway as well, wondering what was going to 
happen.
	On impulse, she reached out in an attempt to snatch him 
by the ear and drag him to the training room, but she grabbed 
nothing but air.  Russ was now standing next to Kamidake as he 
watched Misaki's expression go from a frown to one of pure 
surprise.  She looked to the right, and then to the left, where her 
gaze landed on Russ again.  Azaka and Kamidake both shared 
Misaki's bewildered expression.
	"How…" she started, then she resumed her glare and 
made her way over to Russ again.  "You're coming with me, 
young man, to the training room.  Now."
	"I'm not revealing my full power.  And no amount of 
threats will change my mind, either," Russ grumbled out, still 
looking at her with a poker face.
	Suddenly, her gaze softened and she smiled.  "I've never 
known anyone to be brave enough to defy anybody in the Jurai 
Empire.  If I ask nicely, will you show me your potential?"
	Russ looked at Aeka, who's expression told him to stop 
being so thickheaded and stubborn.  He sighed, and shook his 
head.  "I'm sorry, but revealing that much power is not a good 
idea.  I only do it when I do extreme training or when I have to 
fight."
	Misaki's eyebrow arched dangerously as she continued to 
scrutinize his last statement.  "If I show you mine, will you show 
me yours?"
	"You just don't give up, do you?"  Russ grinned and 
shook his head.
	"No.  Never.  I always get what I want, from anybody I 
want."
	"There is a first for everything.  Unfortunately, I'm sorry 
to have be the one whom you do not get what you want."
	She finally sighed and shook her head.  "You're stubborn, 
just like Aeka."
	"Almost as stubborn," he grinned, drawing a glare from 
Aeka.  "I've had the honor of staying in the same house with 
Tenchi and his family for about two weeks," Russ revealed.  "I'm 
only there at planet Earth to defend it against a very powerful 
enemy, but I don't want to get into that right now.  We're here to 
enjoy ourselves, and I always wanted to visit Jurai and see the 
Startica festival."
	"The festival begins the day after tomorrow," Funaho 
explained.  "Why did you come so early?"
	"I wanted to tour the planet and take in as many sights as 
I could.  Plus I figured a family reunion could be in order if we 
arrived early."  Russ smiled meekly.
	Misaki's eyes lit up once again as she smiled.  "You are 
so thoughtful!" she cried, grabbing him in another hug.  Russ 
resisted the temptation to zanzoken away, wondering if she was 
going to try to drag him to the training room again.  He decided 
that he might go there later, but only to exercise, and maybe spar 
with some of the Jurians.  Russ and the group resumed walking 
toward their rooms.
	"Have you guys eaten?" Funaho asked, hearing a couple 
stomachs croaking in the group.
	"No.  We slept most of the trip and we've only been 
awake for about forty-five minutes.  We didn't have time to grab 
ourselves something to eat," Sasami explained.
	"Then I must insist that you attend dinner with us."  
Misaki turned toward Russ.  "I'm sure I won't get an objection 
from you for THAT demand, now will I?"  She elbowed him in the 
stomach and laughed.
	"Nope.  No objection here."  He smiled in return.
	"Excellent!  Dinner is being prepared as we speak.  We'll 
call for you once it's ready."  Misaki stopped walking.  "Here are 
your accommodations.  Aeka, Sasami, we saved your rooms.  
They're just as you left them."
	"Thank you, mommy!" Sasami said, smiling up into her 
mother's joyous face.
	Everybody filed into his or her own separate rooms, 
which were simple, but comfortable.  They all contained a large, 
soft bed, and each room had dressers, chests, a mirror, and mostly 
standard bedroom amenities.  Every room had a large window that 
provided a grand view of the surrounding area, and let in plenty of 
outdoor illumination.

	Only a mere fifteen minutes after everybody got 
themselves settled in and took a quick shower, a servant came to 
everybody's door and informed them that dinner was going to be 
served shortly, and that every person was invited to attend.  Of 
course, the invitation was accepted immediately and they all 
followed the servant to the royal dining room.
	It was extravagant.  A white marble table, some fifty feet 
long and ten feet wide, if not larger, sat in the middle of the room, 
surrounded by a huge number of gorgeous Jurian wood chairs.  
Wood pillars made from the most skilled craftsman on Jurai lined 
both sides of the room, stretching up to the extraordinarily high 
ceiling.  Windows with beautiful colored glass were spaced evenly 
throughout the rectangular room, letting in a stunning array of 
colored light, and the trees outside caused the light to dance around 
the floor.  The floor itself was made of beautiful wood tiles that 
were laid out in an overwhelmingly complex, but amazing and 
wonderful patterns.  It was a dining hall fit for kings and his 
guests.
	Aeka, Sasami, and Yosho all entered, already knowing 
what to expect, but everybody else stopped and gawked at the 
room, overwhelmed by the sight of it.  Not even Russ couldn't stop 
staring at the sheer magnitude of the place.
	Emperor Azusa sat in his huge throne-like chair at the 
head of the table, flanked on either side by two smaller chairs, 
which were for his two wives.  Filing inside and taking seats near 
the king, he greeted them with nothing more than a nod.  On the 
right side of the table, Aeka took a seat closest to her father and her 
Aunt Funaho, and then Yosho, Tenchi, Ryoko, Washu, and 
Kamidake.  On the opposite side, Sasami sat nearest to her mother, 
and next to her sat Ryo-Ohki, and then Nobuyuki, Kiyone, 
Mihoshi, Russ, and lastly, Azaka.  Aeka's two guardians, Azaka 
and Kamidake, flanked both sides of the entrance, guarding the 
entrance to the room.
	The servants had already laid out the necessary utensils 
for eating the upcoming meal.  A pair of chopsticks for each 
person, a cloth napkin, a plate with a bowl sat on top of a beautiful, 
light gray, cloth placemat.  Six forks and five spoons sat on either 
side of the plate, made of gleaming silver metal, and a crystal wine 
glass sat behind the plate and bowl.
	Russ sat down and perspired lightly, as did everybody 
else who weren't used to eating high class.  Sasami and Aeka 
giggled across the table, watching everyone's changing 
expressions.
	Russ turned toward Azaka.  "Is this all for me?" he 
whispered over to him.
	"Yeah," he answered quietly.  "Just start from the outside 
and work your way in.  They serve multi-course meals here, which 
is why you have so many utensils."
	"Okay.  What's for dinner, anyway?" Russ asked, not 
trying to be discrete anymore.
	"I'm not sure.  We'll have to wait and see," Azaka 
replied.
	Azusa straightened up a little and leaned forward slightly.  
"So Aeka, why did you decide to come back home, unannounced?"
	The princess blushed slightly and shrugged her shoulders.  
"It was kind of sudden, and I didn't think about contacting you 
when we made plans to come to the Startica festival.  I thought it 
would be a nice surprise for you and mother."
	"I see," he answered, gruffly.  "How long did it take you 
to get here?"
	"A little less than twelve hours, once we got underway."
	Azusa's eyes widened considerably as did Azaka's, 
Kamidake's, and both empresses.  "Only twelve hours?  No ship 
can travel that fast," Azusa's surprise turned into a frown of 
disbelief.
	Aeka looked over at Russ, who was also frowning at him, 
mainly for doubting the truthfulness of his own daughter.  She 
turned back toward her father.  "It's true.  We came from Earth to 
here in a little less than twelve hours.  The ship we used to come 
here is currently in orbit above the palace."
	"I'll have to see this vessel after dinner.  Anyway," his 
gaze softened ever so slightly.  "How have things been with you?"
	"Great!  All things considered, I've been doing very 
well."  Aeka smiled widely and sweetly, causing the Emperor's 
usually tough features to soften a little further.
	"Have you and Tenchi been getting along well?" he 
asked, eyeing the young Jurai prince with contempt.
	"We're… not in love, if that's what you're asking.  We're 
only friends.  Ryoko is his...." she trailed off, wondering how she 
should describe the relationship between the two.
	Azusa almost let out a sigh of relief.  Almost.  However, 
he did smile.  "I'm happy to hear that you're happy.  Sasami?  
How about you?  Have you enjoyed living on Earth?"
	"Oh yes," she answered happily.  "Everything has been 
just perfect back home."  The Emperor's eyebrow rose at hearing 
her call the Earth her 'home.'  He wasn't happy about that at all.
	"You are home, Sasami.  Jurai is your home, not Earth," 
he told her, sternly.
	"But, I've lived there for almost a year and a half!  It's 
been my home for all that time," she answered him, wondering 
why he was being so mean.  "And I want to go back home once the 
Startica festival is over with."
	The Emperor furrowed his eyebrows together and allowed 
his temper to almost get the best of him, until Misaki put a hand on 
his shoulder.  "She is right.  The Earth has been her home for all 
that time, so technically, it is her home.  But let's talk about 
something else," she said, preparing to change the subject.  "So 
Ryoko and Tenchi are lovers now, is that it?"
	Tenchi and Ryoko blushed slightly at being called that, 
but they both nodded a yes.  They continued to smile shyly as they 
looked at each other, filled with love.
	"Aww.  Aren't they cute together?" she said, clasping her 
hands.  
	After a few more moments of embarrassing the two, the 
first course of their meal was brought to the table.  To start, they 
began with a light, green salad, and a variety of dressings to choose 
from.  Sasami and Aeka both chose a traditional Jurian dressing, 
but everybody else struggled with the variety, especially Russ.
	There was a bowl of each dressing brought out for 
everybody, and you were able to pick the one you wanted.  Russ 
took his fork and carefully dunked it into each dressing, tasting it 
to see if it suited him, and cleaned off his fork after each test.  He 
eventually came upon one that tasted very similar to the Bleu 
Cheese dressing he loved so much back on Earth, so he picked that 
and drizzled it over his salad.  Everybody else followed Russ' 
example, and dunked their forks in each variety of dressing, tasting 
it to see if it suited their fancy.
	The salads disappeared after a few minutes, except for 
Russ', which vanished in about two seconds, his plate scraped 
clean.  Both Azaka and Kamidake stared at him with mixed 
motions, and having various phrases run through their minds.  
Ones like, "Did he even taste it?" or "Geez, he must've been really 
hungry," ran through each mind.
	Russ laid his fork down in its original place, folded his 
hands over his lap, and patiently waited for the next course in the 
meal.  He remained quiet and self-conscious, until Misaki noticed 
he didn't have any food in front of him.
	"Didn't they give you a salad, Russ?" she asked, watching 
him with eyes that matched Aeka's eye color.
	"Yes.  It was very good.  Thank you," he answered 
quietly, looking down toward the middle of the table in front of 
him.
	"Would you like more?  We have plenty," she offered.
	"No thank you.  I'll just wait for the next course."
	Several servants came around with bottles of wine, and 
poured each person a glass.  Upon reaching Russ and asking for his 
glass, he politely refused and asked if they had anything non-
alcoholic.  The waiter looked at him strangely, and then offered 
him sparkling red grape juice, which he accepted with gratitude.
	Aeka couldn't help but giggle at his morals, which she 
figured were just a little high strung.  Even though she was mostly 
a casual drinker, she didn't see a problem with having one or two 
drinks at dinner, even if a person didn't consume alcohol regularly.  
Tenchi was about to object as well, but Ryoko silenced him before 
he spoke.
	The next course of dinner was brought out promptly after 
the last person finished his or her salad.  Three varieties of miso 
soup were brought out to the table, and three clean bowls for each 
person.  Everybody helped themselves to the soups, and consumed 
it speedily.  Compliments went around the table and idle 
conversation ensued, but again, Russ remained silent, since nobody 
was really talking directly to him.  Azaka and Kamidake noticed it, 
and decided to try to break the ice with him.
	Azaka went first.  "So, what race are you?"
	Russ turned toward him.  "I'm known as a Saiyan, or 
Saiya-jin.  We're a very rare people because of a catastrophe 
almost ten centuries ago."
	"I see."  Kamidake nodded his head.  "I've never heard of 
that race before.  But from what Azaka told me, you are a very 
powerful individual.  Tell me, how do you control the amount of 
power you use?  That's something we really don't have much 
control over."
	"It's a learned ability.  It takes a little concentration, but I 
can use as much or as little energy I need to get a job done.  It also 
makes it useful to be stealthy around individuals who can sense a 
power level, like myself."
	"You can sense energy coming from people without a 
device?"  Azaka asked.
	"Yes.  I can sense your energy, Kamidake's energy, the 
Empresses, the King, and the others around the table who possess 
the Jurai Power," Russ told them.  "A couple people here can do 
that too.  Can't you guys?"
	"Yes, but we're surprised someone else, who isn't a 
Jurian, can.  Have you been in many fights?"  Kamidake asked.
	"Unfortunately, yes.  I've had my fair share of battles.  
None of them were pleasant.  I've always tried to fight the good 
fight, but it hasn't been easy."  Russ thought a moment.  "Hey, 
how come you guys are named Azaka and Kamidake, and Aeka's 
two guardians is also named that?"
	"It's a long story."  Azaka said, looking down at his 
empty soup bowl.  "It wasn't very pleasant, either."
	"I'm taking that it had something to do with the Kagato 
who took over the throne of Jurai?" Russ mussed, looking across 
the table at Kamidake, who fretted slightly.
	"Yeah.  It was a grueling battle that we nearly lost, but all 
of us came out on top in the end," Azaka said, proudly.  
	Russ smiled.  "Then it was a good battle.  Hard fought 
victories are always the best and most satisfying."  He sighed and 
looked toward the cook's door, which had just swung open, and a 
bunch of servants exited, each holding a try of food.  "Here comes 
course three," Russ said, his mouth salivating in anticipation.

	An hour later, everybody finished their meals and idly 
chatted with each other.  Russ mainly conversed with the two 
knights, but that suited him just fine.  He wasn't much of a 
conversationalist, so it satisfied him and also made the two knights 
happy, since they really didn't have many people to talk to who 
knew about battles and fighting like they did.  Azusa even 
lightened up a little once he got a little liquor inside of him.  Ryoko 
overdid it again, as usual, and her face was flushed red from an 
overabundance of booze in her system.  Aeka was also flushed red, 
but nowhere near as bad as Ryoko.  Tenchi looked slightly pale, 
mainly since he wasn't a drinker at all, almost like Russ.  Sasami 
didn't have any wine, but instead, chose the same sparkling red 
grape juice that Russ drank.  Nobuyuki and Yosho were also 
slightly red from the delicious wine, as was Washu.  The two 
Empresses weren't flushed at all, since they could handle that style 
of wine much better than everybody else.
	The room had started to get dark a little while ago, so the 
indoor illumination kicked in, keeping the remaining light in the 
dining hall constant.  It wasn't long before the night insects started 
singing their songs outside of the windows.
	The Emperor finally stood up and smiled.  "Thank you for 
coming to dinner," he said, swaying slightly from side to side, 
trying to keep his balance, however, his speech remained clear and 
commanding.  "I hope you find your accommodations adequate for 
your stay.  Tomorrow, you all can do as you please.  The day after 
is when Startica begins, and you're all welcome to attend that."
	A chorus of gratitude came from everybody who was 
seated at the table.  "Now," Azusa began, placing a hand on the 
table to steady himself.  "I must go to bed.  I have an early start 
tomorrow, and I'm going to have one heck of a hangover."  
Everybody laughed in good humor, and he stumbled his way back 
to his bedchambers, letting out a hiccup before he tried fumbling 
for the door handle.  Everybody else stood up and said their 
goodnights, and proceeded back to their own rooms for a night of 
restful slumber.  All except for Russ, who walked outside the 
palace and stood in the warm, moist air.  Walking down the steps 
and making his way over to a nearby garden, he took a seat on a 
bench and looked up at the night sky, admiring the two moons that 
were eclipsing each other.  The sky was filled with stars, and he 
could even see a beautiful red and violet nebula.  He continued to 
sit there, taking in his surroundings, and he didn't notice Misaki 
walk up to him.
	"Hello, Russ," she greeted him, quietly.
	He jumped slightly from being startled, but he calmed 
down and smiled up at her.  "Hi.  Is there something I can do for 
you?"
	Surprised at his assumption that she wanted something, 
she shook her head and laughed.  "No.  I just happened to see you 
come outside and sit down here on the bench.  You looked lost in 
thought."
	"No.  I was just enjoying the scenery and air of your 
planet.  It's the first time I've been here, and I didn't want to miss 
anything."  He looked back toward the sky and inhaled another 
deep breath, releasing it slowly, through his nose.  Surprisingly, his 
allergies didn't bother him at all so far.
	Misaki smiled warmly.  "Do you mind if I sit down?"
	"No, go right ahead."  He scooted over a little and she 
took a seat next to him.  They both sat in silence for a few 
moments.  "It's a beautiful night."
	"Yes it is.  I like to come out here at times and sit here on 
the bench, and just think.  It's quiet and very relaxing.  It's a good 
thinking spot."  She gazed up at the nebula that Russ looked at a 
few moments ago.  "Russ?"
	"Yeah?" he answered, turning toward her.
	She looked directly into his black eyes.  "What do you 
think of Aeka?"
	Russ nearly fell out of his seat at her directness.  "W… 
What do you mean?" he stuttered.
	"Do you like her?"
	Russ sighed.  "Only as a friend.  Nothing more."
	Misaki looked slightly hurt.  "Do you think there is a 
possibility of anything more growing from your friendship?"
	Russ looked down at the soft, green grass just in front of 
his feet.  "I don't know.  I've never been in a relationship before.  
I've avoided all attempts at a relationship with anyone."
	"How come?"
	"I don't know.  I guess I'm afraid of rejection or 
something.  I really don't know how to explain it."  Russ shook his 
head, not meeting her soft gaze.  "I've seen a lot of relationships 
go sour and the heartache it causes.  Some say that it is better to 
have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.  I don't think I 
agree with that."
	Misaki became thoughtful.  "That's an interesting piece of 
philosophy."  She scooted a little closer to the Saiyan and she 
lowered her voice a notch.  "Aeka seems to like you, you know."
	Russ nodded.  "I thought she was becoming a little 
attracted to me.  But I don't want that.  I just want to be friends.  
That's all I ever want."
	"Aeka isn't like other girls.  She's special, in her own 
way."  Misaki sighed and continued.  "She told me a little bit about 
you and why you came to Earth.  I must say that you're very brave 
and very heroic for always fighting for good.  Knowing you could 
die and sticking to the fight is the sign of a true hero."  She looked 
over at Russ, who was looking in the opposite direction.  She 
began to wonder if he was paying attention, so she poked him in 
the arm.  He turned toward her and met her gaze.  "I want to thank 
you for protecting my daughters and everybody else in the 
universe.  If this Zorpheus became immortal, he would be 
unstoppable.  It seems the only person who is in his way, that 
could make a difference, is you.  I want you to know that if you 
need any help, any help at all, you let me know, okay?" she said, 
firmly.
	"Thank you for the gesture, but there is nothing you can 
do.  I must do this alone.  And I cannot let myself become 
sidetracked with a relationship until this trial is over.  I'm sorry.  I 
don't mean to hurt Aeka if I have already, but I just can't.  And I 
won't let myself, either."  His face became downcast.  "I'm 
actually a very cold person emotionally.  Usually I'll tell a person 
straight out what I mean or want.  I'm very clear-cut about such 
things, and unfortunately, even if something comes along that 
would hurt someone else's feelings, I still will tell them whatever it 
was.  I don't beat around the bush and I'm blunt at times, 
depending on the situation and how I feel at the time.  I've hurt 
people in the past, and I will not do that to Aeka or any of her 
friends.  I try to stay away from them as much as possible, so I 
don't disrupt their lives, and I bury myself in my training."
	Misaki listened to him explain all of this, and nodded her 
head.  "I do see what you mean.  But Aeka tells me differently.  
She says you're very warm and caring, compassionate, and fun to 
be around.  Not only that, but she thinks you're handsome.  That's 
quite a compliment coming from her.  It's rare she finds someone 
that she really likes, and she likes you.  You're a very lucky guy.  I 
sincerely hope you don't pass up someone like her.  I don't think 
you'll find another."
	"That may be, but she may find happiness in someone 
else who is more suited for her.  If Ryoko didn't become fully 
involved with Tenchi, she would have.  He's also warm, caring, 
compassionate, and never looks to hurt anybody, either 
intentionally or accidentally.  Tenchi doesn't seem to be shy 
around women either, where I am a little."  He stopped and let out 
a yawn.  "I don't like groups of people, even when they're close 
family.  I'm a loner.  Always have been, and probably always will 
be.  I've never considered the prospect of having a companion 
along the way.  And I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet."  Russ 
fumbled with his t-shirt that he wore from Earth.
	"I also want to thank you again for bringing my daughters 
home for Startica.  We've missed them tremendously.  We did visit 
last year, but it was a very short one.  The King had brought Aeka 
a suitor, which Tenchi defeated rather easily.  They never even 
traded blows."  She chuckled, remembering that pink haired, 
arrogant fop go flying into the water as a result from a tidal wave 
from Mihoshi's shuttle.  "Still, thank you."
	Russ shook his head.  "Don't worry about it.  It was 
nothing.  I did it because I like to be generous at times.  If I make 
someone happy, I feel happy."
	Misaki brightened up considerably.  "Do you want to 
make Aeka happy?"
	Russ groaned, realizing what was coming next.  "I'm 
sorry, but I can't.  Not now.  I don't want to become attached to 
her and her me, and then get defeated in the upcoming battle.  
She'd never live it down and she'd probably try to save me.  She 
would get killed as well, and I WILL NOT allow that.  Not now.  
Not ever," Russ decreed, sternly.  "I refuse to risk her life for 
something that I need to carry out.  It's not fair to her."
	"It's her choice to make, you know," she said, calmly.  
"And you're right.  She would be by your side every step of the 
way, even if it meant mortal danger.  She's done it with Tenchi and 
Ryoko before, and I know she'd do the same for you."
	"She was able to make a difference with Tenchi.  She'd 
just get herself killed if she got involved with one of my issues."
	"We're pretty powerful too.  I don't think you're giving 
her or us much credit," she accused, her eyes narrowing slightly.
	"I know.  I've sensed your power, and I've sensed Aeka's 
as well.  However, in comparison, I'm far more powerful than 
you'd imagine."  He looked away, embarrassed that he started to 
brag about his power again.
	"How powerful?"
	"Very powerful," he said, quietly, and looking at a bush 
that was a dozen feet away in front of him.  "Almost godlike in 
comparison."
	Misaki's eyes widened considerably, and then she 
relaxed.  "I see.  I wonder exactly how much power you'd consider 
godlike."
	"Well, I have no idea how powerful your gods are 
supposed to be, so I guess it's a bad analogy.  Sorry about that."  
He let out another soft sigh and brought his hands together to rest 
on his lap.  "I'm still sorry that I cannot be with Aeka.  I never 
wanted to hurt her feelings, and now it seems that I may."
	"You should be more accepting.  Give it a try.  What's to 
lose?"  She smiled at him as a light breeze ruffled her bangs, and 
the bright moonlight with the lights from a nearby path brought out 
her facial features a lot clearer.
	"There is a lot to lose.  Besides, I get the impression that 
the Emperor does not like me."  Another breeze stirred his spiky 
hair.
	Misaki frowned.  "He's always looking for a suitor who 
would best benefit the Jurai Empire.  He really doesn't care for 
Aeka's feelings.  However, I do.  Her happiness means the world 
to me, and that is far more important, to me, to have her smile and 
be happy than to merge another kingdom or fleet of ships in with 
Jurai."  Her frown intensified slightly.  "He can be very rude at 
times, but he can be a caring father as well.  He just doesn't show 
it often."
	"I think I understand now.  Did he figure that I was going 
to start dating Aeka, and that is why he already doesn't like me?  
Because I have nothing to offer Jurai?"
	"Probably.  I haven't talked with him about it yet.  That's 
something that we'll discuss later.  He's too drunk to make any 
sense right now, anyway," she giggled.  "I'm glad he enjoyed 
himself at the table today.  It isn't often that we see him smile and 
laugh."
	Russ smiled.  "He just never looked my way is all.  But 
that's fine.  I enjoyed talking with Azaka and Kamidake.  They 
told me a bit about that fiasco with Kagato.  I'm glad Tenchi and 
they were able to make a difference.  I'd hate to think of what 
would've happened if Kagato won."  He shuddered.
	"Aeka would probably be dead, as would Yosho, Tenchi, 
Ryoko, and the rest of everyone who came with you today.  He 
was merciless and a monster."  Misaki started to become enraged 
at herself for not trying to stop him.
	"I'm sorry for bringing that up.  Well anyway," he said, 
standing up.  "I'm going to go back to my friend's starship that's in 
orbit and let him know everything would be okay for him to bring 
his crew down for a vacation."
	Misaki stood up with him and looked at his muscular 
frame.  "You really are handsome.  I can see why Aeka likes you.  
I sincerely hope you consider pursuing a relationship with her.  It 
would make Funaho, Aeka, Sasami, and me very happy if you did.  
I think it would make everybody really happy to see her in love."
	Russ smiled and shook his head.  "Do you have any idea 
how many people have tried to get me to go on a date or get 
involved with her already?"
	"I'm certain that I won't be the last.  Everybody wants to 
see you two happy and together."
	"There are better people out there for her in comparison to 
me," Russ said, hanging his head.  "I'm not good enough for a 
princess."
	Misaki got right in Russ' face.  "That's enough of that.  
Whoever my daughter falls in love with is good enough for her and 
me.  She's falling in love with you, and you think that you're not 
good enough for her?" she snarled, quaking with anger.  "You're 
full of it.  You're the type of man that most women would want to 
become involved with, not because you're a warrior, but because 
you CARE about other people, even more than yourself.  And 
Aeka brings a smile to your face whenever you're near her.  I 
could see that at the table.  Whenever she looked at you, you two 
smiled at each other.  I don't understand how you could possibly 
think that!"
	"Because I'm a monster!" Russ nearly shouted.  "I've 
killed so many people and my hands are stained with blood from 
every life that I took.  You want your daughter to become involved 
with a man who kills on a whim!?"
	Misaki's gaze softened.  "You did what you had to do.  
What's done is done.  And you wouldn't kill anybody without a 
cause or justification for good.  I can see that.  You protect the 
innocent, and that's what is important."
	Russ took in a deep breath and held it for a moment, then 
released it slowly, calming himself down a little.  "I'm sorry, but I 
don't think I'm suited to take her hand in a relationship, much less 
consider making it permanent.  I'm sorry for causing so much 
trouble.  I'll go now.  Good night, ma'am."  Russ started to lift off 
into the air to head back to his fighter but Misaki grabbed his 
ankle.
	"There are no apologies necessary, Russ.  I want to let 
you know that you have my blessing if you decide to pursue it 
further.  I sincerely hope you do."  She released his ankle and he 
continued to float there.
	"Thank you.  You do me too much honor.  I'm going back 
to my friend's starship to tell him about tomorrow and Startica, and 
then I'll be back.  I also need some time to think about all of this.  
Good night, and sleep well, your highness."
	"You too, Russ."  She looked after him as he took off to 
the sky and casually flew back to the landing pad where his fighter 
waited.

	After a short visit with Tom, Russ cruised around in space 
above the planet, thinking about his previous conversation with 
Misaki.  The thing that weighed most on his mind was her 
persistence in getting him involved with Aeka.  Everybody seemed 
to be doing that ever since he landed on Earth.  It was creepy.  And 
in truth, he was attracted to her, even though he didn't show it.  
The thought of rejection or refusal was too much to consider, and it 
was the last thing he ever wanted.  Unfortunately, he decided the 
risk was too great, and he began heavily debating with himself 
whether or not to maybe move to a different part of the planet, 
rather than stay with Tenchi and his family.
	He rounded one of the moons in orbit around Jurai and 
continued debating with himself.  So what if everybody thought he 
should hook up with Aeka.  In the end, the choice was his, and his 
alone.  However, the last thing he wanted to do was make people 
feel bad, no matter what the circumstance.  But sometimes, it was 
necessary.
	Why did Misaki come out to him and immediately start 
talking about her daughter?  Did Aeka ask her mother to do that, or 
did she do that of her own free will?  Russ shook his head in mild 
amusement.  What mothers won't do for their children.  It was 
touching, to say the least.  She wants her daughter to be happy, but 
why choose him?  Why choose a man who was as violent as they 
come, and who fought for almost his entire life, and on top of that, 
wasn't the same race as her?  Even Tenchi was part Jurian, as he 
learned a bit earlier in the day.
	Russ flew his fighter over top of the Star Destroyer in 
front of the bridge, doing a wing-wave as he soared by.  The two 
warships had gone off somewhere else, so it was now alone.  
Didn't matter anyway, since it was far more powerful than those 
other vessels.
	Thinking about what would happen if he did become 
involved was very appealing.  He thought about what would be his 
first kiss and the first time he would make love with such a 
beautiful woman.  Quickly shoving those thoughts into the back of 
his mind, he shook his head.  It was time to get his mind out of the 
gutter.  But still, wouldn't it be nice to have her by his side, 
smiling that gorgeous smile of hers, with her sister at his side as 
well?  Having her touch and sweet voice lull him to sleep at night?  
And possibly having her comfort him when he was feeling down?  
All of it was tantalizing and appealing, but he figured that it just 
wouldn't work.  Aeka was royalty; Russ was a barbarian of sorts.  
It just wouldn't work.  Or if it did work, the relationship would just 
be too rocky, he thought to himself.  They were too different to be 
compatible with each other.
	Tenchi and Ryoko both entered his mind.  Those two are 
different like night and day.  Tenchi was raised as a normal 
earthling, going to school and doing his chores like everybody else.  
Ryoko, on the other hand, was a most wanted space pirate at one 
time.  She was violent and had killed many, but Tenchi had never 
harmed a fly in his entire life.  How in the world did they become 
so attached to each other?  It didn't seem possible.  Those two 
seemed to be made for each other, but what about him and Aeka?  
Could the same type of relationship work between them?
	Russ shook his head and turned his fighter around, and 
made another pass near the Star Destroyer, just a few dozen meters 
away from the hull.  He circled around and flew past the docking 
bay, and came around on top once more.  A small flashing light on 
one of the consoles caught his attention.  He had an incoming 
transmission.
	"Russ!  What are you doing?" came Tom's voice.  "Quit 
buzzing us, okay?  You're making a couple people nervous."
	"Oh, boo hoo.  Come on out here and make me," Russ 
challenged with a snicker.
	"Hmmm, so you think you're a good fighter jock now, is 
that it?  I think I'll have to come out there and teach you a lesson, 
rookie."  Russ heard Tom give a few orders to a couple of his 
crewmembers, and the starship began to pull itself out of orbit.  
The ship moved out between the moons and the planet and came to 
a stop.  "I'll be out there in a few minutes," he informed Russ.
	"Okay.  See you then," Russ said, buzzing the bridge once 
more.  He laughed when he did, enjoying himself.
	A green turbolaser blast lit up the cockpit, startling Russ 
and causing him to veer off his current course.  He wasn't hit and 
his shields were at two hundred percent, so it must've been a 
warning shot.  "Oh, so you want to go up against the best starship 
killer in the quadrant, is that it?" Russ said to himself, setting his 
lasers and ion cannons to practice mode, which lowered their 
output to almost nil.  Swinging his fighter around, he opened fire 
on the Star Destroyer's hull and darted away, as a hail of low 
powered turbolaser bolts lit up the sky all around him.  All of them 
except for two missed, which rocked his fighter around a bit.  His 
shields were down to one hundred seventy three percent, and he 
quickly shunted his laser energy back to the shields, and setting his 
laser recharge rate to maximum.  Of course, his shields were 
actually at two hundred percent the whole time, but the computer 
extrapolated what his actual percentage would've been if this had 
been real combat.
	Quickly dodging from side to side and avoiding the 
barrage of green plasma, he turned around and charged the starship 
again, and opened fire as soon as his laser cannons got within 
range.  Several plasma bolts slammed into Russ' fighter, causing it 
to shudder violently.  Still making a beeline directly for the 
starship, he continued to fire and dodge, avoiding the lasers 
wherever possible.  Aiming directly at the bridge, Russ fired a 
salvo of lasers directly in the middle of it, where the captain 
normally would have been.  Speedily and skillfully maneuvering 
his fighter to the side, he flew under the bridge but over the hull, 
keeping on a few meters away from the support structure that held 
the bridge, with an enormous amount of lasers following his path.
	An additional red blip appeared on his radar a few 
moments later.  "Ahhh, Tom's out here now.  Let's see what he's 
flying."  Russ continued to dodge the laser bolts, which were now 
becoming sporadic, and then stopped altogether.  Flying under the 
Star Destroyer unimpeded, he approached Tom and his fighter.  "A 
Tie Advanced.  How quaint," Russ taunted over the 
communications equipment.
	"Shut up.  I'm going to fry your ass.  Get ready," came 
the response.
	Russ reset his combat computer to keep score and flew off 
a ways.  He came to a stop and faced Tom, who remained under 
his Star Destroyer, facing Russ.
	Finally losing patience, Russ slammed his throttle to full 
as his fighter threw him back into the seat, accelerating at several 
g's.  Tom did the same with his fighter, and they both met a little 
less than halfway.  Just before getting in range, Russ opened fire 
with his laser cannons, scoring a few hits on Tom's fighter as he 
veered away.  He quickly snapped his fighter back toward Russ 
and opened fire with his own laser cannons, scoring a couple hits, 
but being pegged a few more times when his opponent acquired 
another target lock.  They finally got so close together that they 
had to veer off a little to avoid a collision, and they roared past 
each other.
	The Jurian air traffic controller noticed the two fighters 
engaged in a firefight, and saw the starship taking potshots at one 
of the fighters.  However, they noticed none of the ships were 
acquiring any damage, but they sent out the same two warships 
that escorted them in earlier to make sure nothing would go wrong.
	The two warships approached the battling trio and came 
to a stop several kilometers away, watching their battle tactics and 
estimating their firepower, which was substantially lower than they 
originally expected, but much higher than their own practice mode.  
They couldn't figure out whether this was their full power or not.
	Continuing to watch, several more fighters launched from 
the capital ship and joined in the fray, and they eventually divided 
into two teams.  They watched the fighters zoom all over the place, 
pulling twists and turns that seemed almost inhuman, trying to 
avoid laser fire or attempting to get the enemy ship in the 
crosshairs.
	It wasn't long before nearly every fighter onboard the Star 
Destroyer was launched and a massive furball ensued.  Green laser 
fire lit up the sky around them, and a few spots of blue ion cannon 
fire was also detected.  The crowd, who was watching the group 
practice, also increased in size.  Five Jurian warships, multiple 
cruisers, and even multiple galaxy police ships watched the fray in 
amazement.  A small fleet of Jurian fighters appeared a few 
moments later.  Finally, a communications channel was opened 
from the Jurians to the Star Destroyer, inviting them to a contest to 
see who was better.  Of course, it was readily accepted, as all 
three-dozen imperial fighters regrouped and prepared to take on 
the new challengers.  The Star Destroyer turned toward their 
opponents as well and prepared to do battle.
	A Galaxy Police cruiser signaled for the match to begin, 
and a massive firefight between the Jurian military, and Tom's 
Imperial forces, began.  It was almost immediately decided who 
would be the winner just within the first barrage.  Tom's fighters 
were too small, too fast, and too powerful to be countered with the 
larger, slower, but agile fighters of Jurai.  The capital ships 
couldn't acquire a target lock on the fighters either, and they began 
to get pelted under a hailstorm of green laser fire.  It wasn't long 
before the computer calculated that the first ship to bite the dust 
was Kinto-oh, falling in just under two minutes.  No losses for 
Tom's team, and most of the fighters were still over a hundred 
percent in shield strength.  The Star Destroyer remained off in the 
distance a little ways, not engaging in the fray yet.
	Several Jurai fighters bit the dust at the same time as 
another capital ship went down, and then was counted out of the 
match.  Still no losses tallied for the Imperial fighters as they 
continued their vicious onslaught, shunting laser energy to the 
shields or allowing them to regenerate on their own as they 
prepared for another assault.

	Only a mere half hour after the battle began, the 
challenging Jurai fleet laid in mock smoking ruins.  They were 
royally trashed, and the Star Destroyer put the two Galaxy Police 
cruisers that joined in the fray that aided the Jurians, to mock rest.  
Zero losses for Tom and his group.
	"I'm very proud of you, men!" Tom announced over the 
comm. system.  "That was some awesome fighting.  We need to 
practice more often like that instead of the holodeck.  Live fire 
exercises are very good for training.  And thanks to the Jurians for 
playing," Tom added, trying to hide his humor.
	The large group of ships dispersed, and the thirty-six 
imperial fighters began making their way back to the hanger bay.
	"Thanks, Tom.  I enjoyed that.  Just like old times, 
almost.  Except this is far more fun than playing it on a computer," 
Russ told Tom, as he flanked the Tie Advanced.
	"You're right.  Well anyway, I'm going to head on off to 
bed.  Thanks for clearing up everything with Jurai's emperor.  I 
appreciate that."
	"Not a problem.  See you tomorrow."
	"Be sure to say hi to your girlfriend for me, okay?"  Tom 
chuckled, poking fun at Russ again.
	A loud groan answered him and his fighter shook when 
Russ planted a laser blast into Tom's shields.  "I've already had 
enough about that for one day.  You and Aeka's mother are both 
trying to play matchmaker.  Enough, already."
	Tom laughed.  "Okay, okay.  You win.  Talk to you 
tomorrow."
	"Yeah.  See you later."  Russ banked off and returned to 
Jurai, landing on the pad where they originally disembarked.  The 
escort transport was gone, recalled back to the Star Destroyer.  
Russ hopped out of his fighter and locked it down, and turned to go 
back into the palace, but someone was standing at the edge of the 
pad.  "Oh no, now what?" Russ quietly mumbled to himself.  
Putting on a smile, he walked over to the figure, which gradually 
became clearer as he got closer to it.
	"Hi.  Did you have fun?" Aeka asked.
	"What are you doing out here, Princess?  Shouldn't you 
be in bed?" Russ asked.
	"I wasn't really that tired.  I saw that your fighter was 
gone and I got worried," she said, concerned.  "After I saw that, I 
talked to the air traffic controller and he said there was a massive 
fight involving your friend's ship and a bunch of fighters."
	"We were practicing.  I haven't done that in a long time.  
It was a lot of fun."  Russ smiled and began walking down the 
steps to the ground.
	"Isn't that dangerous?"
	"No.  Well, a little.  We had our ships configured for 
practice mode.  The laser bolts we fire aren't even strong enough 
to phase the shields.  We just keep score of how many hits we 
make in comparison with how many shots we take.  Plus the 
computer can extrapolate how much damage we would've had."
	"Did you get destroyed at all?"
	"Nope.  Trashed everybody who challenged me.  Tom 
was the most difficult target though.  Even though he had the 
inferior craft, he is a very skilled pilot.  I still took him down, 
though," Russ said triumphantly.  "But anyway, I'm going to go to 
bed now.  Thank you for being so concerned about me."
	If it were light enough to see her face clearly, Russ 
would've seen her blush.  "It's okay.  I almost thought you ran off 
after talking to my mother or something."
	"Why would I do that?" Russ asked, knowing full well 
why he would have.  He only asked to see what she thought.
	"Well, mother told me that you avoided all attempts at 
relationships and things like that.  Or ran away from them.  I hope 
you don't run away from me," she said, tears starting to well up in 
her eyes.  One of them trickled down her cheek.  "As you know, 
everybody I have given my heart to has thrown it away or rejected 
it.  And now, you've almost captured my heart."
	"Aeka, please.  I'm not the man you think I am.  I may be 
kind and caring, but there is another side of me which I haven't 
told you about."
	"I know.  Mother told me about that too.  I don't care 
about that."
	"You should.  I hurt people, and I hate myself for that 
which I must do."
	"It's the cause that I care about.  I could care less if you 
destroyed a whole planet if it was evil."  She looked up into his 
eyes with nothing but sincerity.
	"You should, though.  It's a part of me that you need to 
see and realize."
	"I do, though.  I just really hope that you eventually come 
to like me as I have with you."  She carefully grasped his arm and 
held it, walking by his side, slowly.
	Russ had an urge to pull away, but he restrained himself 
and let out a deep sigh.  "I don't know.  I just don't know right 
now.  I have no idea what love feels like.  Some say it hits you like 
a ton of bricks, others say you never know it until you lose the 
person you care about.  I just don't know."
	Aeka looked into his eyes and saw a war of emotions 
swirling in them.  "I do wish you would come to terms with 
yourself and take a chance with me.  It would mean a lot to both of 
us if you did."
	"I know.  I just… need more time to think about it.  But 
right now, it's too soon."
	She giggled quietly.  "I didn't mean you had to decide 
NOW.  Just think about it for the future."
	"I have always thought about it.  I've been thinking about 
it since the first girl who had an attraction to me tried to get me on 
a date."  He shuddered.  "But as of right now, I need to focus on 
the upcoming task with Zorpheus."
	"I understand."  They walked in silence for a few 
moments.  "Are you afraid of what my dad is going to think?"
	"No.  He can think whatever he wants.  He'll never 
change my mind.  And I won't let him control your future either," 
he said, looking into her eyes.  She gasped slightly and returned his 
gaze.  "Everybody has a right to do as they please.  I won't let 
someone else dictate another person's future.  That's one thing that 
I absolutely cannot stand."
	She continued to smile at him.  "Thank you… for 
everything.  It has been a wonderful two weeks with you, and I 
hope to spend a lot more time with you as well."
	Russ raised an eyebrow for a moment.  "What are you 
saying?"
	"I'm just telling you how nice it has been since you came 
to live with us.  You've been so good and kind to Sasami and 
myself, and everybody else.  In a way, you're very much like 
Tenchi.  But you're so different too.  But your qualities are just as 
attractive to me as Tenchi's were."
	Russ blushed.  "Thank you, Princess."
	Aeka shook her head.  "Stop calling me that.  To you, my 
name is Aeka," she said, firmly.
	"Yes ma'am," Russ said, grinning.
	"Aeka!  My name is Aeka!  Not Princess, not Your 
Highness, and not Ma'am!  Okay?" she said, frowning up at him.
	"Okay, okay.  I was only kidding."  Russ grinned down at 
her.
	They reached the palace entrance and went inside, 
walking to their rooms.
	"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Aeka.  Sleep well, okay?" 
Russ said, nodding his head toward her and pushing his door open.
	"You too, Russ.  Good night."  She watched him close the 
door and she sighed to herself, proceeding to her own room.  She 
pushed open her door and stepped inside, and Sasami with Ryo-
Ohki were lying on the extra bed, both sound asleep.  She quickly 
undressed and put on her nightclothes, then slid into bed, thinking 
about what her mother told her.

	"Don't worry too much, Aeka.  I think he's attracted to 
you as well.  Just don't pressure him, and he will come around in 
time," Misaki told her.
	"I know mom, but when?"
	"Wait until his major concern is over with.  That was the 
main reason he said he was going to hold off on a relationship.  
Once that is over, he will make a choice.  I'm confident that he 
will."
	"I guess you're right, mom," Aeka said, her face 
downcast.  "I just hope I can wait that long."
	"You have before!  Look at how long you waited for 
Tenchi!  If you truly love someone, you should be willing to wait 
forever," she argued.  "I will be waiting with you, Aeka.  I want to 
see you happy.  Your happiness means more to me than the entire 
empire itself."  Misaki sighed.  "Just be patient.  He's one in a 
million, that's for sure."
	"Okay, mom.  Thank you."  Aeka embraced her mom, 
letting out all of her pent up stress.

	Aeka smiled to herself as she allowed sleep to take her 
mind and body into a night of blissful slumber.