Chapter Ten: No Need for a Chase
Ceal stepped forward. He watched as the Togami began to take off again.
"Night Bird, arm the dragon to fire at close distance - "
"Ceal, you can't do that." Tenchi grabbed his shoulder. Ceal spun around, and slapped Tenchi's hand away, a half-crazed look in his eyes.
"Stop this. That...thing may harm Mihoshi or Lady Washu. Ceal, think. Even if you can stop that ship, what will happen to them?" Ayeka took Ceal's hand in hers.
The madness seemed to fade from his eyes. Ceal's shut his eyes and let out a long, frustrated sigh. His voice sounded tired.
"Ceal? What should I do?" The voice of the Night Bird's computer.
"Disregard that last command. Follow the Togami, but do not interfere with her course or speed."
"Understood."
Then Ryoko's voice filled the control room. "Tenchi, Cael...what's going on over there? Do you want me to transport over?"
"No. In fact, perhaps the two of you should transport over the Ryo-oh-ki and leave, bringing Lady Washu and detective Mihoshi back to me."
"I don't think that would work, Ceal," Tenchi spoke softly.
"It is my fault that Lady Washu is in this trouble. I could have taken her to Lady Tokimi, but I feared what the meeting might have meant for her. Now she is in even greater danger, all because I had to try and warn Lady Washu while trying to fulfill my duty to Lady Tokimi. I have failed both."
"Ceal, stop it. You have served Lady Tokimi faithfully for more than nine hundred years. You have served her well. You did everything she has asked of you and more. You truly have fulfilled your duty to both."
"But - "
"No buts, Ceal. It was your destiny to find Lady Washu. And now destiny decrees that you and your allies save her."
Ceal straightened his shoulders. "Life, limb, and soul."
"What did you say," Ayeka asked.
Cael smiled, a sad smile. "It's a saying of my people. Ryoko, what is the range of the sensors for Ryo-oh-ki?
Ryoko's face showed a confused look for a moment, then she answered. "About ten thousand kilometers without atmosphere. Why?"
"Night Bird's range is 100,000. If it's acceptable, let us lead. We will follow them. You follow us and keep at a distance of thirteen thousand kilometers behind us. I doubt the Togami's sensors are even as good as our, so she won't be able to sense you."
"Sounds like a plan," Ryoko replied.
Sasami appeared on the screen. "Will we be able to stop them before they can take Washu to Lady Tokimi?"
"I believe so. The Togami must refuel and pick up supplies before finishing its journey. This is when we will have our best chance to catch up to them and rescue the Lady Washu."
"How long until the Togami must stop," Ayeka asked.
"Three to five days," Night Bird replied.
"Five days...For now we must pursue them and wait for our chance." Tenchi tried to stifle a yawn.
"Its been a long day, hast it?" Ceal watched Tenchi. "There is an area for you and Ayeka to rest if you wish."
"That would be very nice," Ayeka said.
"Night Bird, continue with the planned course of action."
"Confirmed, Captain Ceal," the ship responded.
Ceal led the way down a dimly lit corridor. Tenchi noticed the ship was cooler than
any other he had been in before. Ayeka must have noticed this as well.
"Excuse me, Ceal, but is your ship always so cold?"
"Cold? I found it quite warm on your world. Night Bird, increase internal temperature to 30 degrees Celsius."
"30 degrees Celsius, Ceal? Confirm, please." The voice of Night Bird's computer echoed through the hall.
"Confirmed," Ceal replied, then spoke to Tenchi and Ayeka. "Forgive me, but I try to keep the lighting and temperature fixed to correspond to my home world. Night Bird, please fix my quarters to 24 degrees Celsius."
"Confirmed," the computer replied.
"There are ten rooms down this hallway. Six of them are unlocked; take any you would like. I must return to the control room for a short time."
"Thank you very much, Ceal," Tenchi said.
"You don't need to thank me. You are now my guests." Ceal smiled. "It would not do to treat you ill when you treated me so well. Now, if you will excuse me."
Ceal gave them a half bow and left Tenchi and Ayeka alone. The two walked down the hall. There were three doors on each side of the hallway that were open. Each room had been set up to quarter three people: there were three dressers, three beds and three small closets. Ayeka looked behind a small screen; there was a small area for washing, and a lavatory.
Tenchi took a room across the hall from Ayeka's. He looked in the closet and found several sets of clothing. Tenchi felt very tired. He lay down and closed his eyes. When he opened them, the ship was quiet. Tenchi got up, washed, and changed into one of the sets of clothes. He stepped out to the hallway. It was brighter than before. Tenchi made his way back to the control room. Ceal sat at the controls, his chin to his chest and his eyes closed.
"He's asleep." The voice of the ship's computer was soft.
"How long did I sleep?" Tenchi asked.
"About five hours."
"NIght Bird, may I contact Ryoko?"
"Yes. Ceal has ordered me to grant you and Princess Ayeka limited access to all ship areas, most of my abilities and systems. Contacting Ryoko."
Ryoko's face appeared on the communication screen. "Hey, Tenchi! I see you've made yourself at home." She smiled as her attention turned to the sleeping Ceal. "What did you do, knock him out again?"
"Ceal just fell asleep a few minutes ago," Night Bird's voice sounded defensive.
"Well, so you don't just do as you're told."
Night Bird's computer laughed. "Ha, ha, ha! I do what I want when I want, and right now talking to you is not one of them."
Ryoko looked shocked. "You've got quite an attitude for a machine. So Tenchi, what did you want?"
"I was making sure you and Sasami are okay."
"We're fine, Tenchi, but I don't like you being over there on Ceal's ship..."
"Ceal's been fine; he's treating us well, so there's no need to worry."
"Ceal's not the problem. It's you being alone with Ayeka! I don't trust her not to try and take advantage of you while I'm not there."
"Ryoko," Ayeka began.
Tenchi rolled his eyes. "Please don't start, you two! I'll be fine."
"If you say so, Tenchi. Ryoko out." Her image faded from the screen.
"Ryoko seems quite fond of you." The computer commented.
"You're very different from any ship I've ever met," Tenchi said.
"Thank you. Do you prefer 'Tenchi' or 'Lord Tenchi'?"
"Ah...just 'Tenchi' will do." Tenchi replied quick. "I was wondering; what kind of a machine are you, Night Bird?"
"Well, to call me simply a machine would be like calling Ryo-oh-ki a machine. Although I can not change into an organic form or change my size, she and I are much alike in that we feel and think for ourselves."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."
"No offense taken, Tenchi. If you are hungry, there are ration packs in the storage area." A wall map lit up with a glowing dot to show the location.
"Thank you. I am hungry...I wonder why?"
"You were in your cabin for five house, thirty-six minutes and forty-one seconds."
Tenchi followed the map and opened a small door leading to the storage area. The room was larger than he expected. It was filled with shelves of tubes, strange fruits and vegetables of all shapes, sizes and colors. Tenchi reached for a tube. It had a label written in a language that Tenchi didn't know. He couldn't even guess the meaning. He broke open the seal and squeezed some of the paste onto his finger to taste it. Not bad, he thought. Tenchi found some wafers that looked like crackers on another shelf. He took some of them and started to look over the fruit. He thought that he would try one that looked similar to a lime, except its rind was bright red.
"I would stay away from any foods you don't recognize," Night Bird's voice came over the speaker.
"Why?"
"Ceal has no sense of taste. If you blindfold him and cover his nose, he could not tell the difference between mud and pudding."
"That is not true." Ceal chimed in. "Mud is grainier, but Night Bird is correct in that I can not taste flavors. Besides, I know that these fruits are harmless to me, but I have no idea how they might affect you."
Ceal came into the storage area and handed two extra tubes to Tenchi. "I got these the last time I was in Juraian space. This one is a vegetable concentrate. It goes well with the protein mixture you tried. The other one is a fruit and calcium supplement. My last target was very fond of this flavor."
"Thank you."
"Perhaps Princess Ayeka can tell you which fruits and vegetables are safe and most flavorful," Night Bird suggested. "And Ceal, you should go to your quarters and get some real sleep."
"With Lady Washu in danger, how can I..."
"And how do you expect to help her if you're exhausted?"
Ceal looked ready to argue, then he shook his head and threw up his hands. "You win, Night Bird."
"Was there any doubt?"
Ceal sighed. "Wake me in four hours. Confirm."
"Confirmed."
"Tenchi, Night Bird can handle the piloting by herself, but if there are any major course changes or anything out of the ordinary about the ship we're following, please have Night Bird wake me up."
"Sure, Ceal." Tenchi watched Ceal leave the storage room and then the control center. Ceal patted the door frame as he left. Tenchi heard Ceal's voice as he went down the corridor, but couldn't make out what Ceal was saying.
"Night Bird," Tenchi asked, "Are there any other crew onboard?"
"Other than Ceal, you mean? No, not at this time. Ceal wanted to find Lady Washu alone."
"I guess that makes sense..."
"Sit down and eat, Tenchi." A chair rose from the floor in the control room. Tenchi left the storage area, sat down and began to eat. Ceal couldn't taste, but Tenchi could. He enjoyed his breakfast. Before he finished the last tube of fruit past, he saw Ayeka come down the hall.
"Good morning, Ayeka." Tenchi greeted her.
Princess Ayeka looked uncomfortable. "Lord Tenchi, have you spoken with Sasami yet?"
"No, Princess, not in a while. Why?"
"I'm afraid that Ryoko is teaching my sister all sorts of bad habits."
"If you would like, I can contact Ryo-oh-ki for you," Night Bird offered.
"Yes, please."
There were several silent seconds before Sasami's face appeared on screen. She looked tired and was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Yes, Ayeka? What do you want?"
"I wanted to make sure you were alright over there on Ryo-oh-ki...that is all."
"I'm fine. How are you and Tenchi doing?"
"We're fine, too."
"That's good! And how is Ceal?"
Ayeka made a small, sour frown at the inquiry. "He's alright too, I suppose."
"I'm glad."
"Is there anything else?" Ayeka yawned. "No? Good. We'll talk to you later."
Everyone said their goodbyes, then the screen went blank before changing back to a view of the Togami. Suddenly, the ship made a sharp turn.
"That's the tenth time the Togami has done that," Night Bird commented.
"Should we wake Ceal?" Tenchi asked.
"No. Captain Ceal needs to rest if he is to be of any help during a rescue attempt. Besides, this is not a major direction change."
"Lord Tenchi, I am hungry. Is there anything for breakfast?"
"Yes, Princess. Right over here." Tenchi showed her to the storage area.
Ayeka looked around. She did not appear to like the selection because she didn't select anything to eat.
"Is there something wrong," Tenchi asked.
"Oh no...it's just that some of these fruits are from Jurai, and it made me a little uncomfortable. It reminded me that I haven't spoken to my parents for some time."
"Maybe you should after we rescue Washu. You can sent them a message." Tenchi offered her a tube of protein concentrate.
"Thank you, Tenchi." Ayeka reached for the offered tube, then picked up one of the fruits from a full shelf. It was similar in size to a small orange, but was blue. "Have you tried one of these, Tenchi?"
Ayeka took another and offered it to Tenchi.
"Not yet, Princess. Ceal said that I should wait for you to show me which fruits were good to eat."
"My, how strange. Why didn't he tell you himself?"
"I don't think he knew which ones are safe."
"I don't like being told what to do by a mere machine," Ayeka said, and picked up another blue fruit.
"Tenchi, Lady Ayeka," Night Bird called, "I think you two should get back here."