holding up a pic of a pale insane looking human.
"Yes, he has been very naughty. His crimes include not putting in a proper
disclaimer yet on any of his fan fics or mentioning Pioneer as being the rightful owners
of Tenchi Muyo." The cute cherub told them.
"But didn't you just do that." Merron pointed out.
"Um..."
"Don't worry Dota, I, Carrot Glace will spite the foul Fan Fic writer and when
I'm done, you want to go out."
"Oh... Carrot your always so funny."
"Darling! Why ever would you say that when you've got me."
"Um... I've got a problem with that."
Note: {words in these brackets represent words in English}
Ever After
Chapter 5: Enter Tenchi Stage Left
"Captain, no response to our hails."
"Damm Command, their trying to get me blown up like the Soyokaze."
He patted
the arm rest softly. "Don't worry girl. We're not going
to take any risks." The tree
behind him rustled her leaves in silent acknowledgement.
The Gilvilyko was still a young space tree fast and sleek.
Which meant that she
got the majority of the courier and grunt work. That didn't exactly
displease Captain
Konaka who loved the freedom that he got from solo duty. But
then on most days he
wasn't patrolling a whole alien fleet with just three sister ships.
Even worse Command
had ordered him to try to peacefully resolve the issue. He laughed
at the thought. And
stared at the enemy picket ships his scanners could detect. Five
hundred plus of the
fighter crafts. *Like they want to talk about anything.*
He hadn't been given permission
to surrender.
"So Tact, what's your analysis of the situation." He said
jokingly to his only crew
member massaging her shoulders. She held both hats as tactical
and comms while he
was stuck with pilot and engineer. Between them and the Gilvilyko
they filled every slot
necessary for a crew.
His wife stared at him, "were in trouble." He had to nod
at the words his
agreement obvious. "If we try to advance any further we won't
be able to turn around
and escape in time. There's no way we can get a scan of Farreach
and they've blown up
all of our probes." Mia told him leaning into the back rub he
was giving her.
"How about you girl you got any suggestions or thoughts from
the other trees."
There was a long pause as the ship accessed the net and knowledge of
thousands of space
trees, both from the living and the dead. He was worried for
her. His ship had seemed to
take the Soyokaze loss as a personal matter even though as far as he
knew they had never
talked or met. But then again they were all connected.
Just like him and his ship. He remembered the tears they had
shed after the battle
with Tokimi. It was a time he did not wish to repeat. But
it looked like that experience
was looming forward once again.
Gilvilyko and Mia both still had scars left from the battle where
they had been
directly hit by an anti-energy weapon of some sort. It had taken
all his strength and
courage to slap the seal on his wife's suit and calm Gilvilyko enough
so that they could
limp out of the line of fire.
He massaged Mia's shoulders harder remembering the physical therapy.
He kept
trying to get her to remove the scar that slashed down one side of
her face. But more and
more she seemed to need that reminder of her own fragility as she tried
one reckless
thing after another.
"No suggestions are available." She sounded so far away
almost like a ships
computer rather then the center of the two Jurians existence.
Wounds had also left scars
where new bark covered over burnt wood. Givliyko was so cautious
now, it had become
even worse since the Soyokaze destruction. Cautiousness had turned
to fear. His ship
had been the fastest ship of them all. When the emperor called
for emergency dispatches
he was sent to the far reaches of the galaxy now she wanted to take
it slow and cautious.
A normal occurrence for the huge older war ships with crews in the
thousands. But
Gilvilyko had only been christened ten years ago. And was
going to be a courier for a
good five hundred years to go until she could grow large enough to
support the crew
necessary to make her a destroyer.
Another hologram appeared this time of a young lady with dark
green hair
dressed in a kimono favored by the royal family of Jurai. Demure
eyes of darkest blue
stared back at him.
It was amazing what you can do when you are bored flying through
space. This
was one of them an image he and his wife had created for their ship
something that she
could communicate with them through on a more personal level.
The whole design was
theirs except for the scar that sloped down the left cheek and onto
the throat a mirror
image of the one on his wife.
"We're to close as it is." She said playing with her hair.
"I'm also picking up
some odd radiation signatures and something seems to be wrong with
my internal
navigation checks. Stars keep appearing and disappearing in the
wrong places."
"Any ideas about what's causing them." He said staring
at the forward navigation
screen to try to confirm her readings. "I don't see anything
right now." He tapped on the
pad again calling up her previous readings of the navigation checks.
He paused, she had
to have been paying very close attention to have picket up such minute
changes it was
probably just a peculiarity of this area something to do with the radiation.
She was just
being to cautious.
The captain of the Gilvilyko sighed he had hoped that this waiting
was over.
***
"Sasami could I use bathroom?" Autumn asked getting up from
the floor she and
the other two girls had been sitting on.
"Sure, its down stairs at the end of the hall." She stood
up as well stretching out
her neck and arms. *Even if today is Friday shouldn't they be
heading home soon.* The
buses stopped running at ten and sooner or later Noboyuki or one of
the resident officers
would come home. And where was Ryo-Ohki?
"Shouldn't you two be heading home soon. If you want to
catch a bus."
"Come. Come now!" Autumn yelled from the landing.
Barely understandable as
her American accent got the better of her. Seconds later both
of her friends had joined
her as they stared down onto the family room where Motashiwa and Mitsuki
stood.
*Why now, I thought they were living in their ship that's in orbit.*
Anyone else she
could have explained as just strangely died hair and as long as they
cooperated there
wouldn't have been a problem but Officer Motashiwa was just cut from
a different mold.
The two aliens stared back at the humans having figured out that
somehow they
had interacted with the native population, a serious offense.
The door behind them
opened and in came Ryo-Ohki kicking off her shoes and sliding a pair
of house slippers
on as she bounded past the two officers. Heading towards the
group with Sasami,
oblivious to the situation. Sasami noticed in a sort of horrified
frame by frame of the
moment that Ryo-Ohki was carrying a large bucket of carrots.
*So she went to the field.
With Tenchi gone of course, Ryo-Ohki would be taking care of them.
What would my
sister do in this type of situation, besides blaming Ryoko. Introduce
everyone and
pretend that nothings wrong.*
"Um.. Autumn, Sakura, I would like you to meet officers Mitsuki
and Motashiwa
from the Galaxy Police." She smiled trying to appear calm and
relaxed. "Officers these
are my friends." Both groups of people stared at each other trying
to think of what the
next logical move would be. Ryo-Ohki finally figured out that
something was wrong and
came to a stop in between the two groups. She slowly put down
the basket of carrots.
"Sasami you live with {aliens}... uh! What word!"
Autumn asked, still close to a
panicked tome of voice.
"{Aliens is correct.}" Sasami replied in perfect English
without even a trace of
an accent. While Sakura tried to figure out what was going on.
"Sasami what is going on here." Motashiwa finally gathered
his nerve and tried
to take charge, just as Mohoshi and Kiyone walked into the house in
their G.P. uniforms.
Mohoshi bent over to remove her shoes and suddenly tripped over the
shoes left by
Ryo-Ohki just moments before and started tumbling forward right into
the other two G.P.
officers. Knocking them both to the ground. Mihoshi
began letting the apologizes fly as
she tried to help the other two officers back onto their feet.
This time she tripped over
her own feet and all three once again fell in a tangled mess on the
floor.
"Mihoshi." Yelled her irate partner trying to smother a
giggle that kept bubbling
up every time she saw Mitsuki. Poor Sasami couldn't help it the
tension she had been
feeling just seconds ago broke and suddenly she was laughing incredibly
hard as tears
came to her eyes.
***
"Tenchi, would you hurry up already. Were already making
Aeka wait." Ryoko
tapped her foot impatiently looking up to the second floor of the boys
dorms. *Damm I
still can't believe that we got stuck with living in the dorms.
Noboyuki is so cheap.*
being mad at Nobuyuki left her mind when Tenchi finally appeared in
his tux. Besides
maturing a little nothing much had changed the prince. He was
still the same old boring
son of a shrine keepers daughter and an architect. So he had
seen a few space battles and
was ecstatically in love with two space aliens. All he had to
do now was relax and have a
normal life. Tsunami had promised him that after the final battle
with Tokemi. He
reflexively flexed his left arm still amazed that it felt so natural.
"Come on slow poke. If we wait much longer that princess
is going to come
looking for us." She held out an umbrella to her love hugging
him at the same time
among whistles given from the crowd of male college students who had
materialized out
of nowhere at the sight of Ryoko. She gave them a smile and then
tugged Tenchi out into
the rain.
"You ready to go home, Ryoko." Tenchi opened his umbrella
shaking it to full
size.
"Yah, its been awhile since we were all together hasn't it."
Her elbow slid inside
of his as they both walked down the sidewalk enjoying the changes that
rain brought to
Tokyo. Waving every so often as they passed fellow students hurrying
in the rain.
"Tomorrows going to be fun it will be good to see everyone again."
Aeka stood on the corner starring at the two of them calming
herself. *This isn't
the old days... Keep calm and go get that other arm.* She thought
hurrying over to
Tenchi and taking her own advice. Tenchi awkwardly tried to hold
onto his umbrella
with a young ladies on each arm. After a few seconds he gave
it up and folded his so that
he could walk underneath there umbrellas. The problem that had
been plaguing him for
so long solved by a random act of fate.
***
"So Sasami, these are your friends." Mihoshi sipped
her tea with great relish
much to the annoyance of both Kiyone and Mitsuki who were sitting on
either side of the
blond. Sakura was trying not to stare at the group of aliens
all calmly sipping tea with
each other, she had adopted a traditional pose trying to keep her head
down, kneeling,
just so she wouldn't look like Autumn who was bouncing off the walls.
"Yep." She poured some more tea for Mitsuki.
"Your all part of this Galaxy Police thing, right?"
Autumn asked.
"I'm not in the Galaxy Police." Sasami chuckled.
"And neither is Ryo-Ohki."
"Meyowww."
"Then your humans?" Sakura turned her head rapidly trying
not to stare at any of
the aliens especially Motashiwa.
"Ryo-Ohki space pirate." The Cabbit told her with dead
pan seriousness that set
almost everyone into tears.
"Ex-space pirate. Is what you mean Ryo-Ohki." Kiyone
told her pointedly
glancing at Mitsuki and Motashiwa. Before giving Ryo-Ohki a carrot
from the bowl in
the center of the table which she made to quickly disappeared.
*Now if only Mihoshi
could be taught that easily.*
Sasami stood with great dignity. "And I am a princess of
Jurai." Then seeing the
surprised look on her friends couldn't help it and began to laugh again
setting everyone
else off. Which just caused her two friends to look even more
confused as they
laughed.
***
Tenchi grabbed Aeka's hand and led her out onto the floor of
the ball room.
Leaving a crowd of disappointed men behind. The disappointed
males all started to head
for Ryoko but were warned off with a growl. It wasn't her turn
anyway. She wasn't
really jealous anymore how could she when even now she *felt* Aeka's
pleasure.
Without noticing it she massaged the blue gem on her right wrist.
To Aeka this was the closest thing next to pure joy she had ever
experienced. She
pulled Tenchi even closer as they slowly danced across the ball room,
not even hearing
the music, but starring into his eyes. To soon the song was over
and he led her back to
the table that was his for the night. The champagne had arrived
finally and Ryoko was
waiting with impatience for Tenchi to open it. With a little
too much of a flourish he
opened the bottle and poured the glasses full.
"A toast to Tsunami for making this possible." Tenchi raised
his glass.
"To Love." Ryoko held up hers.
"To the end of fighting." Aeka said as they all raised
glasses to their lips and
drank the most expensive Champaign they could charge to Washu Express.
***
"Any response from the new listening device that were planted."
He said inhaling
on his cigarette.
One of the men in white coats at the rear of the table stood
up. "Nothing as of yet
sir, but the new broad band receivers will take some time to calibrate.
"Hmm." He blew another cloud of smoke. "Those two
new officers worry me.
Didn't Kiyone say in her deposition that the Jurian emperor had told
the Galaxy Police
that only they were allowed on Earth by special disposition."
"Yes... here it is on the second days interview. According
to Kiyone, they were
forbidden to have any more officers of Earth by the King of Jurai...
Something about it
being inside their territory. It would appear that the two officers
were only allowed on
Earth by special permission of one of the royals."
"Theirs nothing we can do about it the operation will proceed
when we get
permission from the top. Sometime in the next four days.
Be ready for it." He snuffed
out his cigarette and stood. "That is everything people."
The anonymous man walked
out of the conference room buried in a bunker underneath the Diet.
Walking purposely
to his office. He had a report to give as well.
His boss was already sitting behind the anonymous man's desk
showing the
pecking order with out even saying a word. He lit up another
cigarette knowing how
much that irritated his boss.
"The mission will start soon be ready." He took a drag
on the cigarette and blew
it at the alien.
***
"Hello... Tenchi, beloved." A voice next to him rolled his
name in her mouth like
she could make love to it. He was in a bed made of silk that
included the sides of the
bed. A breeze blew through the room making the silk blow in waves.
Tenchi turned his
head and smiled dazedly at Tokimi kissing her. She began to lightly
run her hand across
his bare chest. "You have missed me haven't you, beloved."
Missed her but she was right here all the time. Where she
belonged. Where else
would she be. "You do love me don't you..." Tokemi persisted.
"I will always love you, who else could I love." He kissed
her again the
beginnings of passion in his eyes. But she pulled away.
"My guards are here... stop them my love." She pushed him
away as Ryoko and
Aeka suddenly appeared out of the darkness surrounding the bed each
garbed in their
battle outfits. Both of them grabbed the struggling Tokemi and
forced her out of the bed
and into a void they created the gems on their wrists glowing a bright
blue. Tenchi stared
at the two women trying to figure out where he knew them from.
"Beloved soon we will be together again." Tokimi
called out to Tenchi just
before the void closed in on her.
***
Send all comments to STRIKESTWICE@hotmail.com.
This is Ver2!