Tenchi Trek
By Galaxy1001D
Starring Tenchi Masaki as Captain James Jean-Luc Tenchi
Washu Hakubi as Science Officer Washu
Ayeka Masaki Jurai as Lt. Commander Lydia Ayeka
Sasami Masaki Jurai as Midshipman Sherry Sasami
Mihoshi Kuramitsu as Lt. Barbie Mihoshi
Kiyone Makibi as Tactical Officer Cassandra Kiyone
Katsuhito Masaki as Doctor Katsuhito Yosho
Ryo-oh-ki as Ensign Whiskers
Special Guest Star Ryoko Hakubi as the Space Pirate Ryoko
Tenchi Muyo and all related characters are © AIC/Pioneer. Star Trek and all related material are © Paramount Studios. This story has been written solely for entertainment. The views expressed herein do not necessarily express the opinions of AIC/Pioneer, Paramount Studios, the author, or this website.
Based on "Star Trek" created by Gene Roddenberry
And "Tenchi Muyo" created by Masaski Kajishima
Chapter Seven: Blame it on Rio
In his quarters, Captain James Jean-Luc Tenchi was getting dressed. On his bed were the bulky environmental suit and Ayeka's miniskirt and leggings. He still couldn't believe that Mihoshi had beamed Ayeka and himself back to the ship in each other's uniforms. He had to put on an environmental suit that he pulled out of a locker near the transporter room or the crewmen of the Pioneer would have seen their captain walking the halls in a female option uniform.
Despite the fact that Cadet Sasami had delivered fresh uniforms to sick bay, Tenchi was too embarrassed to take off the environmental suit, even if he was assured privacy. A nurse or medical technician might enter for some reason. So after Doctor Yosho assured him that none of his bodily organs belonged to his first officer, he carried the uniform to his quarters to change.
As he slipped his boxer shorts on he reflected how nice it was to put on underwear designed for his own size and gender. Ayeka's panties were…constraining, so constraining that once in his own room he opted for boxers instead of briefs. He had abandoned Ayeka's boots in the transporter room and put on the utility boots that could be adjusted to fit him when he made the trek to sickbay.
"You don't have to get dressed on my account," a female voice said.
"Yaa!" the young captain nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to the woman lounged comfortably in a chair. "It's you, Rio!"
The golden-eyed woman's presence was a mystery. How had she gotten into his room? He hadn't heard the door open. Had she been hiding in his quarters, waiting for him? It didn't seem possible, but it was the only explanation. Well, either that or she could walk through walls.
She ran a hand through her wild greenish white hair. Her golden cat like eyes focused on the golden female option uniform he had discarded on his bed. Oh no! Had she seen him wearing it?
The woman who called herself 'Rio Oakey' frowned, causing one of her comically large ears to twitch. "So who's the lucky girl?" she asked.
"What?" he blinked, unable to follow the conversation. "What girl?"
"C'mon, Tenchi, you've got a lady stashed in here," Rio insisted. "Boy, and they said Jim Kirk was a womanizer. You really don't take a break, do you?"
"Huh?" He glanced at Ayeka's uniform and back to Rio. His eyes went back to the uniform, and back to Rio.
"How dare you play with my heart!" she growled as she got up and looked around. "C'mon where's she hidin'?" The tall cyan haired woman opened the closet the black strap hanging from the back of the skirt of her kimono twitching like a cat's tail. "Hmm, not in here… the bathroom." She headed for the bathroom door.
"What are you talking about?" Now Tenchi was really confused. If Rio had been hiding in his room all this time, wouldn't she have known that it was he who was wearing the female outfit?
The restroom door hissed open and Rio emerged. "Nope, not even in the shower." Her head did a double take around the room as if she expected a woman to appear out of nowhere. "There must be a very embarrassed woman streaking through the halls right now!" She smiled devilishly.
Tenchi had regained his wits enough to pull on a pair of pants. "Now wait a minute? What are you talking about? How long have you been hiding in my room?"
"I just got here," she said.
"What? I didn't hear the door open." He threw an accusing glance at the door to the corridor outside. Like all of the doors on the starship Pioneer it made a pneumonic hiss every time it opened.
"Oh, you must have really been lost in thought." Rio smiled like the cat that ate the canary. He got the feeling there was something she wasn't telling him. Her eyes returned to the offending uniform. "So what's this? Leftovers from last night?"
"No!" Tenchi insisted. "I'm the captain! I can't afford to get personally involved with a member of my crew!"
Rio picked up the uniform to examine it. "Hmm, lieutenant commander, command gold…Do you have the hots for your first officer?"
"No!" Tenchi replied louder than he intended. "Are you crazy? What gives you that idea?"
"She seemed awfully jealous when we met in sickbay earlier," Rio teased. "I don't think she liked seeing me put my arms around you." To demonstrate, she again embraced him, this time from behind. Her chin was just over his shoulder, and her hands were on his naked chest.
Naked chest! He had forgotten that he wasn't wearing a shirt! "Doh!" He tried to squirm out of her grasp, but Rio seemed to have a preternatural strength that defied her slim, curvy build.
"C'mon," the golden-eyed woman purred as her hands caressed him. "Don't be shy… it's not like I'm a member of your crew…"
"Leggo Miss Rio," he said as he attempted to push her away. The problem was that it was impossible to get any leverage without putting his hands on her chest, something he could never allow himself to do in a teenage body. "This is ridiculous! We just rescued you from the pirates! Shouldn't you be in counseling or something?"
"The counselor said that I needed comforting from a loved one," she cooed. "I thought of you because I really don't know anyone else on this ship." She brought her lips to Tenchi's ear and whispered huskily. "You were so sweet when you rescued me… so brave… no one has ever treated me like that before."
Her grasp relaxed enough for Tenchi to slip away. He looked at her smiling face beaming at him and blushed as he realized that underneath her playful demeanor there was the possibility that this mysterious woman was actually attracted to him.
He couldn't understand it. After the transporter accident last year he had considered his teenage form awkward and effeminate, yet if a woman had a single gene of extraterrestrial DNA there was a good chance that they would be interested in him. Was the galaxy inhabited by seductive pedophiles?
"Um…just doing my duty," he stammered lamely. "I don't mean to be rude Miss Oakey, but I've got a meeting scheduled and I really ought to get dressed before I …"
"Aww," cooed Rio with mock disappointment. "Can't you reschedule it?"
"It's important if we want to find out what happened to the pirates," he said as he pulled on a gold sweater with captain's stripes on the sleeves.
"The who?" asked Rio.
"The space pirates," Tenchi said sternly. "The pirates who kidnapped you. You do remember the space pirates, don't you?"
The large eared woman rolled her eyes at the ceiling and hit the palm of her hand with her fist. "Oh… right… the space pirates… that's right… I remember them…"
"Good," said Tenchi has he pulled on some black regulation boots. "Now, what does Ryoko look like?"
"Who?" Rio seemed to jump at the name.
"Ryoko, the leader of the space pirates," Tenchi repeated. "The pirate who's been terrorizing the space lanes for the last two years."
"Oh… her… I mean him!" the woman's golden eyes flickered left and right as she squirmed uncomfortably. "Yes, him! Oh yeah! He um… has a hook for a right hand and a peg leg."
"A hook and a peg leg?" Tenchi asked skeptically. "In this day and age? Why doesn't he have artificial limbs?"
"Um… nerve damage," Rio pulled at the collar of her high-necked blue gown with green stripes. "I heard that his body rejected biosynthetic limbs."
"Really…" Tenchi tried to look her in the eye, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. Giving up, he combed his hair at his mirror and turned to his quirky visitor. "Do you want to come with me to the meeting? You might be able to fill in some blanks."
"Sure," she gushed with her former bravado. "I'd love to! I've never attended a Starfleet meeting before!"
Tenchi and Ryoko were among the first to arrive. Meeting them was Ayeka and Doctor Yosho.
"Captain, what is that woman doing here?" Ayeka fumed at the sight of Rio.
"I thought she might be able to add to what we know," Tenchi replied. He didn't want to admit that he wanted to keep an eye on this strange woman. He also didn't want to admit that he figured that he wouldn't be able to leave her out of the meeting either.
His purple-haired first officer did not seem to be convinced. "Captain, with all due respect, Miss Oakey is not cleared to be in this meeting. She hasn't been debriefed…"
"I'd like to debrief you, Capo," Rio hissed in Tenchi's ear.
"…and we have not yet determined her relation to the pirates. For all we know, she could be a pirate herself."
"What are you talkin' about?" Rio's fangs were visible and her golden eyes and wild hairstyle made her look like a fierce bird of prey. Suddenly, Rio was all sweetness, and her voice rose an octave. "Do I look like a space pirate?" she asked as she clasped her hands together and batted her eyes coquettishly. Tenchi could almost imagine stars in her eyes.
"I'm afraid she's right, Miss Oakey," Tenchi said gently. "Maybe you should wait in the second conference room."
Once again the mercurial Rio Oakey changed moods. "Hey, who wears the pants here, you or her?" Both Tenchi and Ayeka blushed as that remark hit home. Less than a half hour ago, Ayeka had been wearing the pants, unlike Tenchi, who had been wearing a skirt.
"I'm sorry, Miss Oakey," he repeated. "My first officer is right. I can't let my personal feelings…" his voice stopped as if a switch had been flicked off. Both Rio and Ayeka were staring at him. Rio eyes lit up in ecstasy and Ayeka's eyes widened in horrified shock. "Ahem," Tenchi coughed nervously as he attempted to amend his statement. "I can't let civility get in the way of regulations. You understand."
"No I don't but I think that I'm starting to…" Rio winked as she walked to the door. She paused to turn and blow Tenchi a kiss. Just then the door slid open and a blonde bombshell exploded on Rio.
"I'm late!" Mihoshi squeaked as she dashed into the conference room before she collided with Rio. "Eek!"
"Watch where you're goin'!" Rio yelled with all the femininity of a truck driver. She then looked guiltily up at the captain, first officer and chief surgeon and then cooed in a high-pitched voice, "Oops! Clumsy me! Are you all right?"
"Yes," said the teary-eyed Mihoshi as she dusted herself off. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"
"That's all right," chirped Rio. "Bye-bye!" She smiled as she strode gracefully out the door. Just before the door hissed closed Tenchi could see Rio clutch her back and wince painfully.
"I'm sorry I'm late," said Mihoshi as she bowed repeatedly before her superiors.
"It's okay, Lieutenant," Tenchi assured her. "You're right on time."
Ayeka crossed her arms and shook her head in disgust. "Even if you are an embarrassment to the ship." Rio's appearance had soured her mood.
"Now, now," Tenchi tutted. "No one was hurt. Let's put it behind us."
"Captain, you can't keep sticking your neck out for Lieutenant Mihoshi," Ayeka nagged. "I don't want her to drag you down with her."
Tenchi knew that it was his exchange with Rio that had put his first officer in such a bad humor. "Number One, you know I would stick my neck out for any member of my crew."
"I know," Ayeka sighed, "and that's why I love--" The first officer's eyes grew wide as she tripped over her words. "—er, um, worry about you."
It was as Tenchi feared. He had a feeling that Ayeka was attracted to him before his accident, but he didn't know if she still had those feelings now. Now it was obvious that she was still infatuated, but thankfully her proper sense of decorum prevented her from acting on her emotions.
"Don't worry about me, Ayeka," the captain smiled. "I'm still young." Since the transporter accident last year, that phrase had become somewhat of a running joke. "If Starfleet doesn't work out, I can always grow carrots on the family farm."
The door hissed open and Kiyone and Washu entered the room. Everyone took their seats. Tenchi cleared his throat and his voice assumed a breezy tone. "All right, let's get underway, shall we? Do we want to review the new data or do we want to continue where Washu left off?"
Washu spoke up first. "I think that some background data on our quarry would be prudent in order to make sense of our discoveries, wouldn't you, sir?"
"Agreed," Tenchi nodded. "Continue with your presentation Lieutenant. Let's hope we're not interrupted like last time."
Washu rose from her chair to stand before a screen on the wall that could project three-dimensional objects on its screen. On the screen was an image of a brown spiky object with a red sphere in the center. As the green-eyed redhead began her presentation, other images appeared in windows on the screen to illustrate her points.
"The space pirate known as 'Ryoko' appeared recently on the scene. In the last two years, the pirates' targets have been banks, casinos, and freighters. The starships Yamato and Okinawa tangled with them on Stardate 1996.5 and were disabled, the pirate ship escaping with minimal damages. So far, the pirate known as 'Ryoko' has caused no fatalities, but lots of property damage."
Behind Washu, a picture of a woman appeared on the screen behind her. "Ryoko is a female Burchardian in her late twenties who is easily recognized from a distance by her flamboyant greenish white hair and garish clothing. She has been arrested twice and each time has escaped within twenty-four hours of her arrest…" Washu's voice died as she saw the shocked expressions of her fellow officers. "Wha? What's wrong with all of you?" She turned to look at the sneering image of a woman with a mane of greenish white hair, golden hawk-like eyes, and comically large ears. "What?"
"Rio," Tenchi breathed.
"That horrid woman… it can't be…" Ayeka gasped.
"Omigod, we let her aboard our ship," Kiyone groaned.
"She looks familiar," Mihoshi scratched her head. "Have I seen her before?"
"Mihoshi you idiot!" Ayeka screeched. "You bumped into her when you ran in the door right there!" She pointed to the door to the corridor, but it was already open.
Standing in the door was Rio, an exact match to the image on the screen!
"My arrest record," the cyan haired woman said dryly. "Oh darn."
Next: Run Ryoko Run!
