MASAKI TALES part V - QUEST...
Author: Daferge
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: In trying to get this new portion, of what I'm calling the MASAHI TALES, out as quickly as possible, I find I didn't take enough time to check and recheck both spelling and grammar... As such I've discovered a number of errors in the text and story... Thus I've edited, revised and expander it some... I do hope it is clearer and more enjoyable...
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Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is a copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.
All respective characters are property of their original owners. All original characters and ideas are property of the author.
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Chapter 01... Attack...
( The Planet Jurai... )
It was the middle of the day in the capital of one of the most powerful Empires in the Universe and there was hardly any one on the streets...
Here and there a store was open, but most of them were closed and it wasn't a day of rest...
It also wasn't a day of mourning ether..
Yet...
Most of the population was some where, near a communications screen of some kind, watching the news...
And not just on the Juraian home world...
Across this vast Empire, a good portion of the general population was waiting for the latest word, any word...
It didn't matter if it was just some rumor or it was an official report...
They were waiting...
Members of the Royal Juraian Family had been attacked and possibly injured...
And for the first time in hundreds of years, the common people were finding that they were truly concerned about them...
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( A Darken World... )
On one world, in a darkened room, a number of shadowy figures were also waiting for news...
They were sitting around a thick, cold, stone table, their faces hidden by the shadows...
When one is 'conspiring' it was always best to remain in the shadows...
But they weren't worried by the news, just the opposite, they were very excited...
For they were the ones who were responsible for the attack upon the Juraian Royal family...
An attack, using an untested virus weapon ( for there had been far too little to test ), discovered in an ancient hidden secret laboratory...
A weapon that showed signs of having been designed especially to be used against power users...
And every one knew that some of the most powerful 'power users' in the Galaxy were members of the Juraian Royal family...
A deep, hollow voice spoke up from the end of the table...
" Any word?... "
After a few moments of silence a shaky voice spoke up from the other end of the table...
" None, my Lord... "
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There was another moment of silence before he very quickly continued...
In the past, no news or bad news could end up with a dead body on the cold floor...
" But that, in it's self, IS good news... "
There was more silence...
" Had there been NO one hurt, the Royal family would have surely put out a statement of some kind by now... So, some one WAS effected... "
The silence was still there, just less tense, for now...
" Reports from the palace indicate that the Emperor and Queens are alright, but have canceled a number of meetings... I would say, that, like us, they too are waiting... "
There was a short pause...
" For some reason... "
There was more silence, before the voice spoke again, this time even lower...
" The only question now is WHO it was and how bad... "
The silence deepened, again...
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( The Masaki Home... )
Even thou there were a number of people in the room at the moment, the living room was any thing, BUT lively...
But none were talking or even smiling...
Katsuhito Masaki, also known as Yosho Masaki Jurai, the former Crown Prince of Jurai, had come down from the small shrine that he now spent his days tended...
He was sitting in one of two recliners, sipping fresh tea and watching the dark haired female who was sitting on the couch...
The female was Ayeka Masaki Jurai Masaki, the beloved first princess of Jurai, his oldest sister and now his granddaughter-in-law, due to her recent marriage to his grandson...
Nothing like family to complicate your life...
But he had to admit that she had matured a great deal since their recent accidental reunion and especially since her even more recent marriage...
The old, reserved Ayeka was still there, with her fire-like temper, but she was much calmer now and was even known to laugh, some thing he had seldom seen before...
And all due to the young male, laying on the couch, asleep, his head resting in her lap and who's hair she was now gently running her fingers through...
This was his amazing grandson Tenchi Masaki, the NEW Crown Prince of the Juraian Empire and as such, it's future Emperor...
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His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of giggling, coming from the female sitting on the floor in front of the couch, her head and upper body resting on Tenchi's chest...
She had been like that ever since she had come in from taking a nap outside on the dock...
Founding both Tenchi and Ayeka on the couch, she had decide to join them and was soon sound asleep again...
Katsuhito saw his sister sigh, running her other hand through the yellow hair of her new co-wife and sister, Mihoshi Kuramitsu Masaki, an officer in the Galaxy Police Force...
With her recent marriage to Tenchi as well, Mihoshi had become a Juraian Princess, also, to the surprise of many...
The fact that OFFICER Mihoshi had a reputation, not only in the Galaxy Police, but across the Galaxy for creating and being the cause of many unwanted mass disasters was well known...
From the smile on Mihoshi's face, Katsuhito could easily guess what was on her mind at this moment - her beloved - Tenchi...
Even so, Katsuhito wouldn't change his second daughter-in-law, even if he could, he was far too proud of her...
However, at the moment, it was his third daughter-in-law that he was worried about and from the look on his sister's face, who she was concerned about too...
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Ryoko Hakubi Masaki had once been the most wanted, most feared Space Pirate in the entire Universe, up until 700 years ago...
That was when the THEN Crown Prince of Jurai ( Katsuhito ) had managed to defeat her by capturing the three gem stones which were the source of her great power...
He had expected to found himself standing over a snaring, defiant demon, but instead he stood over a very scared and very confused young girl, nothing more than a child...
SO, instead of killing her, as he had planned, he had imprisoned her in a stasis chamber, where she would sleep and her wounds could slowly heal, even her unseen ones...
She would sleep until the time came when she would be ready to return to the outside unforgiving universe...
As it was, a great deal of time and history would pass - about 700 years...
THEN , just over a year before, that time had finally come, when a young ( and very foolish ) Tenchi had set her free...
But it was a different Ryoko who had emerged and it hadn't been long before the whole universe knew it...
The Galaxy watched in wonder as she was able to show that the vile Demon of legend was now gone and that a powerful avenging Angel had now taken her place...
Together, with her new 'family', she had helped to rid the Universe of that unstoppable plague known as Kagato...
And then she had even come to the aid of the Juraian home world, the world that she had attacked so many years before, in it's hour of need, saving it from a vast Space Pirate Armada...
And although she was still feared and hated by many, throughout the Universe and the Empire, there were many more who now admired her and even praised her...
And it was this Ryoko, Princess Ryoko, that they were ALL concerned about at the moment...
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A noise behind them drew both their attentions to the closet door in the hallway...
Ayeka and Katsuhito watched in silence as it slowly opened...
A small, young, red-haired female, dressed in a white nurse's uniform, stepped out...
Though her face didn't show the signs of fear that had been there when she went into her lab, almost 24 hours before, there was still signs of concern...
There was also signs of fatigue, some thing that she usually didn't let show...
Washu Hakubi might be 'the greatest scientific genius in the universe', but she was also a very concerned mother, Ryoko's...
She slowly made her way into the living room and over to the others...
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Standing there, behind the couch, she looked down at her new family...
Her son-in-law, Tenchi and her new daughter-in-laws, Ayeka and Mihoshi...
She couldn't help but sigh and smile...
It was Katsuhito who broke the silence, speaking ever so softly and calmly...
" Any news?... "
Usually it was hard for any one to read him, but the concern in his voice was there for any one to see...
Dropping into the other recliner, Washu sighed...
" I have placed both Ryoko and Mayuka in stasis and left Ryo-Ohki to watch over them... She wouldn't leave them even if I wanted her too... As it is, so far she has been only mildly effected... But even that might change... "
She paused...
" As I first suspected, it was a virus designed to attack a very specific type of DNA... The problem is I'm unable to identify the DNA matrix that is being targeted... But some how it saw some thing in Mayuka, Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki's DNA to make them targets... Which is why only the three were effected... But I don't know what... "
Katsuhito's eyebrow went up...
If the greatest scientific genius in the universe admitted SHE couldn't identify it, we are in REAL trouble...
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The greatest scientific genius in the universe may have been tired, but she still saw the eyebrow movement...
" I said I was unable to identify the matrix... But I set my system to cross checking every known matrix in not only it's data banks, but also the data banks at the Galaxy Police's Headquarters, the Data banks at the Science Academy, the Data banks at the Juraian Royal Science Academy and even the Airaian home world science banks... "
Both of Katsuhito's eyebrows went up, he was sure he didn't want to know how she had gotten access to all those VERY TOP SECURITY data banks...
Washu giggled...
" You're right... You DON'T want to know... "
She rested her head against the back of the recliner and closed her eyes...
" It will let us know as soon as it find something... Even if it's only a near match... "
It wasn't long before the greatest scientific genius in the universe was asleep...
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( The Juraian Palace... )
The single male in the room hid a smile, as he watch the two females in the room struggled before the room's huge communication screen...
One female, Misaki Masaki Jurai, Supreme Commander of the Royal Bodyguards, the 2nd Queen of Jurai and Ayeka's mother, was trying her best to get to the room's communication screen, so she could make a call...
The other female, Funaho Masaki Jurai, Minister of Intelligence, the 1st Queen of Jurai and Katsuhito's mother, was doing her very best to prevent her...
Only because of her 'enhanced body' was she able to even slow the extremely strong Misaki down...
" You'll only get that crazy answering message of Washu's, just like you did the last 12 times you tried... "
( A pair of red-headed dolls that asked the caller to please leave a message and Washu would get back to them, within the next year... )
With a deep sigh. Misaki collapsed into a cushioned chair and pouted...
" But I just want to know how Ryoko and little Mayuka are doing... "
The male, Azusa Masaki Jurai, the Emperor of Jurai and the Juraian Empire was concerned too...
For as strange as it might seem, he had come around to thinking of the two named females as part of Jurai's future, his future and they tended to made it a brighter one...
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After a while he broke the silence...
" Supreme Commander!... What is the latest word on the attacker?... "
Both Queens caught his use of Misaki's official title, this meant they were now into official Juraian business...
" He is an elderly Juraian lord, who has memory problems and suffers from flashback to the attack 700 years ago... Until now deemed as harmless... "
" And the container?... "
Misaki paused for a moment...
" The container is of a design used during the very early years of the Empire and examination of the glass fragments confirms that it's that old... Any marking were removed and so all the fragment we were able to recover were sealed and sent to Washu... "
Azusa looked at the ceiling...
To be attacked in the palace it's self was unthinkable, at least until now...
" Any word on how he acquired it?... "
The two Queens exchanged looks...
" Minister of Intelligence!... "
It was now Funaho's turn...
She took a deep breath...
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" Due to it's age and makeup, the container did not register on scanners at the entrance... But according to him, he was slipped the container, at the reception, by a voice that suggested he use it to stop the Space Pirate Ryoko and her fellow demons... All he had to do was smash it at her feet, releasing the virus to effect any one nearby... As there was no mention of it's effects on the attacker, we believe he was nothing more than a pawn of those who planned the attack... "
She looked at her fellow queen...
" Due to his condition, he had NOT even been on the list of guest invited to the reception... However, some how, not only did he get an official card, but his name WAS on the list to be allowed entrance... "
She looked her husband in the eye...
" Needless to say, it seems we have a very serious security problem... We're quietly looking into it... "
Azusa looked at Misaki, who nodded her head...
He sighed...
" I guess we'll just have to do what every one else is doing... Wait... Until Washu has some answers for us... "
The two Queens nodded...
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( the Masaki Home... )
There was a "Ding" and the appearance of a keyboard before a sleeping Washu that told every one that something was up...
It took only a moment for Washu to wake and hit some keys on the keyboard, producing a floating screen...
After a few strokes of the keyboard she did some thing that made Katsuhito smile, she mumbled something and hit the keyboard with her hand, causing it and the screen to disappear...
She turned to find both Ayeka and Katsuhito smiling at her, it seem that Ryoko hadn't picked up ALL her bad habits from being around Kagato...
Sighing, she slumped down in the recliner...
" Nothing!... "
Now Katsuhito was really worried...
But a quiet voice broke the silence...
" Have you tried the data base on Avalon?... "
Every one turned, to see a elderly bearded male, in long robes, standing in the kitchen doorway, a cup of tea in his hand...
Sasami, Ayeka's little sister ( and the 2nd princess of Jurai ), was standing next to him...
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( A distant Tavern... )
Olde Sam looked around the room...
There were the usual crowd there, but there was also a good number of others, mostly males, but even a few females, which WAS unusual...
Although most had drinks of some type, it seem that most had hardly been touched...
Every now and then, some one would glance up at the large screen on the wall, hoping to see some thing other than the sky of stars that was being shown there at the moment...
Not that many wouldn't come in here to sit and stare at that starry screen for hours...
For on a world without a night OR day sky, the slowly changing night sky on the screen was a wonder and very relaxing...
The added fact that it was the actual night sky of a world clear across the civilized universe only made it even more wondrous...
A few nights before, a good number of the settlement's children had been brought in to observe something none of them, not even their grandparent, had ever seen before...
A cluster of space rocks was entering a planet's atmosphere and glowing so hot that they could be seen from the ground below, they were some thing the locals called Falling Stars...
And they were able to watch it happen, just as the people on that distant world were watching it...
Sam had even recorded it for those who were unable to make it and also to add it to their growing entertainment base...
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However, for some time now the entire colony had been depressed and he knew the reason...
Some time before, a late breaking report on the VERY late news had reported that rumors were beginning to spread that members of the powerful Juraian Royal Family had been attacked during a reception, within the palace it's self...
However, no word, confirming or denying it, had yet been released from the palace...
Sam had managed to get a troubled Washu on the special communications system only long enough to confirm that the attack had happen and that there were injuries...
She wouldn't say who or how serious, only that he should keep it to himself...
She did manage to smile when he told her that the whole colony's prays were with them...
Since then he only got her answering message and those two little puppets when he called...
In the past, no one on the colony would have cared one way or the other about members of a Royal family...
That is, until a young male and his family showed up in their hour of greatest need and not only saved their lives, but had removed a very powerful Raider fleet that threatened to destroy their world...
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Since that day they had suddenly found themselves, once again a part of the civilized galaxy and no longer just an isolated, forgotten world, cut off from every thing...
Sam had watched as the colony had come to life, it's people beginning to look forward to 'tomorrow' and not dreading it like they had before...
He saw more happiness and far less fear in their eyes...
And for once he was glad that he had managed to live long enough to see this day...
For the tiny, starless world was on the edge of a vast void known as the badlands, an area made up of countless numbers of uncharted black-holes...
A thick cloud hung like a curtain between them and the stars of the rest of the galaxy, preventing ANY light from getting through, leaving them starless in ALL directions...
A world that very few wish to travel to, much less wish to live on...
Thus, in the past, the only visitors that would care to visit were those 'out-side' the law, looking for a secluded place to stay for a while and few or no questions were asked...
That powerful monster, Kagato, had used it as a resupply point, appearing unannounced to strip the colony of just about every drop of water and bite of food...
Only the logical words of his only 'henchman', the space pirate, Ryoko, had allowed ANY drops and bites to be left behind...
" Dead men may tale no tales, but they also don't produce supplies, ether!... "
And thus the colony had been allowed to remain alive...
Even after Ryoko's mysterious disappearance, 700 years ago, Kagato had ALLOWED the colony to exist...
It would have been too much bother to have to find another...
And then, recently, Ryoko had suddenly re-appeared, with a young male and the news that Kagato was indeed truly dead, as rumors had it...
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Sam had thought the Universe had truly gone crazy when Ryoko introduced her NEW traveling companions...
The long missing 1st princess of Jurai and a young boy who was the NEW Crown Prince of Jurai...
Then there was Ryoko's infamous star-ship, as powerful as a Juraian Tree-ship, Ryo-Ohko...
It was now able to transform into a small child or an even smaller pet...
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it...
But, it had been meeting the even more infamous Galaxy Police officer, Mihoshi Kuramitsu, that had been the last straw...
His mind had shut down ( in other words, he had fainted.. )...
Coming too, he discovered it wasn't some weird dream...
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Since then, Ryoko's mother ( another surprise), had been helping to upgrade their tiny colony...
The huge screen in the tavern, not only received channels from across the galaxy, ( even through the cloud that blocked light and other forms of communications ) but also a LIVE broadcast of the night sky of the Crown Princes home world, which didn't happen to be the Jurai home-world...
And a starry sky was some thing that very few members of the colony had ever seen...
A couple of Washu's 'second hand' power generators were even now providing not only enough power for ALL the colony's needs, but could, in case of emergency, power a powerful force-field which could enclose the small world...
Also, there was that new, very secret experimental backup shield, which could, ( according to Washu ) transport the small world into sub-space, for a short time...
The ultimate protection, which only old Sam knew about or could activate...
When he asked her where she had gotten the idea, she had just smiled and told him that he wouldn't believe her...
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While they still had visitors from 'outside' the law, they now also had Galaxy Police officers and Jurian Scouts who would also drop by...
Both would list it as unofficial stops to take a break while patrolling the area, but both would be checking on them and making sure every thing was alright, the directives coming from the very top ( the Emperor and the Grand Marshal )...
It also wasn't unusual for mail and some supplies to get dropped off at the same time...
There was a new automated research station, (created by professor Washu ) studying the black-hole in the nearby void, the data being shared with the Science Academy as well as other interested parties...
Also, with the new Juraian border patrol system, it wasn't unusual to see ex-space pirate crews drinking with a visiting GP officer...
Oh how the universe had changed...
And so it was, that people living on one world were worried about ones on another...
And they weren't the only ones...
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( The Airaian throne room... )
A dark haired female watched as a tall male, with gray in his dark hair paced back and forth across the large room...
Queen Aimi Magma watched her husband, King Akio Magma as he cut a hole in the room's stone floor with his pacing...
In the past, getting word that members of the Juraian Royal family had been attack would have had him dancing around the room, but times change...
Recently it had been brought to his attention that the Juraian and Airaian Royal families were related and not recently ether...
However, due to recent events, within the past 800 years, not only was the newly famed prince Tenchi Masaki the Crown Prince of Jurai, but also the Crown Prince of Airai as well...
Which meant that not only was King Akio related to the Emperor of Jurai Azusa, his arch rival in the Galaxy, but also to the Grand Marshal of the Galaxy Police, as well as to that Mad woman, the greatest scientific genius in the universe, Washu Hakubi...
And now, every time they tried to contact the Crown Prince's home, they got those two little red-headed puppets asking them to leave a message...
But, what got the king, was their reply that Washu would TRY to get back to them within the year...
NO ONE said that to the King of the mighty Airaian Kingdom...
He had almost been ready to send a large battle fleet to deliver his 'message', when the Queen had stepped in...
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One thing that she pointed out was that if they weren't getting through, then chances were that the Juraian Royal family wasn't ether...
She finally convinced him that if Washu put that 'message' on their communications system, then they must be VERY busy and really didn't have time to answer...
But, she was sure that they would let them know any news, good or bad, when they had it...
That was just how the Masaki family, Crown Prince Tenchi's new family, worked...
Unlike other 'Royal Families'...
This had calmed him down, but hadn't stopped him from worrying...
The Queen smiled, this was a very good sign...
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( the Masaki Home... )
Washu stared at the bearded male, her mouth wide open...
Avalon,?... Why didn't I think of that?...
Managing to close her eyes and her mouth, she waved her hand and her keyboard, with screen, re-appeared...
With a flair of flying fingers, she soon had a reply...
Snapping her fingers, the keyboard and screen disappeared again, but this time Washu was smiling...
Getting up, she stepped over to the couch with Ayeka and the two sleepers...
Leaning down, she kissed her son-in-law on the forehead as she applied a stimulant to his neck...
( She'd had to sedate Tenchi earlier, to get him to rest, which he hadn't done in almost 36 hours... )
" Time for the sleeping Prince to awake... "
Standing back up, she found Ayeka staring at her...
" What?... Isn't that how you girls wake him?... "
That had been one of the very few area's in Ryoko's memories that she hadn't been able to access...
And by the way Ayeka's eyes widened and her face turned RED, she was going to have to ask some more questions...
Looking down at her sleeping daughter-in-law, she considered her as a possible source...
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But not with electrical equipment...
She was still cleaning up from Mihoshi's last unexpected visit to her lab, looking for Tenchi...
After discovering that Mihoshi was a distant relative, her only son's oh-so great granddaughter, Washu had refined the security access to her Lab, but it seem that Mihoshi was still waltzing in whenever she wanted...
It had Washu banging her head on the wall...
Perhaps she should try to catch up with Mihoshi's mother, Mitoto Kuramitsu, who also works for the GP, as a cleaner...
But word had it that, with her love of cleaning, she tended to show up just about any where...
Doing the floors of Lady Seto's tree-ship or the walls of space pirate Ryoko Balta's pirate cruiser or even the restroom at Galaxy Police Headquarters...
Perhaps?...
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She shook her head as Tenchi woke...
As he looked up, into her eyes, she tried not to get lost in them and smiled...
"We have good news and we have bad news... "
Tenchi's eye brow went up, just like his grandfather's and father's...
" We have some data about the mysterious DNA used in the virus... The bad news is that we have to head to Avalon to access it... "
She saw the questioned look in his eyes...
" So... I hadn't gotten around to connected with their data base... Besides almost three quarters of it is still on paper... "
She paused...
" For now, both Ryoko and Mayuka are asleep in stasis... "
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A voice from behind them spoke up...
" Lady Washu!... Should I go ahead and arrange to have power diverted to the archives for you?... "
Avalon, a world referred to in scientific circles as a Dyson sphere, was a huge hollow ball using a star at it's center to power the world that was on it's inner shell, created in the ancient past by an unknown mysterious race...
But now it was only being powered by a small white dwarf and that power was having to be strictly regulated...
Washu smiled and looked at the bearded male, Merlin of Avalon...
" Don't worry, I'll just bring along some of my new compact sub-space generators... I was meaning to install some any way, to help until we could come up with a solution to your energy problem... "
She smiled down at Tenchi...
" Which we might be able to get to when this is over... "
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Ayeka had helped Tenchi sit up and Mihoshi's head was now resting in his lap...
And he was now gently running his fingers through her hair...
Which caused Mihoshi to giggle and sigh...
But Ayeka was smiling too, for he had put his other arm around her and she was resting her head was on his shoulder...
Washu shook her head...
Married all this time and still acting like newly-weds...
She couldn't help smiling...
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" As soon as you two are ready, come to my lab... Let sleeping beauty, sleep... We have some things to take with us and I don't need any problems at the moment... "
She turned to Merlin...
" Do you have any one in engineering who can help?... "
Merlin smiled and nodded his head...
" I believe I can get at-least half a dozen... If you need more I'll need to have them report back to control... It could take some time... ?
Washu smiled...
" That should do... I'd rather Avalon remain in the 'need-to-know' area for now... But if need be, we have a number of other worlds to get help from... "
Merlin's eyes widened as he recalled the fantastic sub-space travel route he'd come here through...
It was almost magic, just step through a door and you were on a world in sub-space, step through another door and you're on one of a number of worlds across the galaxy...
It was so easy to forget how powerful these people were some times, they seem just like every one else...
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A smile appeared on his face...
A golden age was returning to Avalon, after countless generations of living in darkness...
He bowed slightly to Washu, who smiled as she walked past him and opened the door to her Lab...
As she openned it, she smiled at Sasami, who was standing in the kitchen door way with Tenchi's grandfather, who had joined her, having refreshed his tea...
" This may take a while, so don't wait up... And do let the others know... "
She saw the concern in Sasami's eyes and smiled...
" We will keep you up-dated as to what we discover as often as we can... "
Sasami smiled and nodded back...
Katsuhito also nodded his head...
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( Under the sea... )
The power supply was raising steadily and it would soon be time...
Only the most important functions were being powered at the moment and those at barest requirements, this should accelerate the recovery process and cut the time needed...
Sensors were still reading that unusual power source...
There was a taste to it, a long forgotten taste...
But there was no energy to spare, yet, to answer such questiona...
When the power was enough, the awaking would begin...
THEN it would have it's answers...
SOON!...
SOON!...
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To be continued...
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Please feel free to comment and review for any errors...
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