No Need for a Prisoner
Yagami bridge low Earth orbit
"How is that possible?" Tenchi asked, Ryoko teleported to the bridge shortly before a yawning Ryo-Ohki. "Ryoko is, what, twenty…"
"Twenty-hundred seventeen years old, I think" Ryoko corrected. In response to his surprised expression she shrugged. "I did say I was orphaned by the Akuneko." She was avoiding returning Rikyu's inquiring stare.
"And you are," Tenchi gestured at Rikyu.
"Two hundred thirty one," Rikyu said. "Are you related to Katsuhito Masaki?"
"He's my grandfather, why?"
"You look a little like him."
"But how would you know Lord Yosho?"
What followed were simultaneous answers of "Case 348502" and "The demon war."
"Which of us was there?" Rikyu asked.
"Let's deal with this later," Tenchi interrupted. "We should get that psychopath locked up in something, first."
"Sorry Tenchi, your right," Kiyone piloted the ship close to the crippled Akuneko fighter. Hanging there motionless in space it no longer looked so dangerous, just a pathetic broken toy. "That thing's small enough that it'll fit in the cargo bay. Tenchi could you and Ryoko be there to make sure he behaves himself. Washu built me a brig a month ago, check the extra quarters."
"Right, let's go Tenchi," Ryoko agreed immediately, she'd have to talk to Rikyu later, but she wasn't prepared right now. She grabbed Tenchi and half-dragged him down the corridor.
"Hey Ryoko, give me a moment," Tenchi said as he turned about and shrugged off Ryoko's grip. Ayeka was just standing there open mouthed, until she realized that Ryoko and Tenchi were going off somewhere alone.
"Stop and wait for me this instant!" Ayeka snapped, before following the other two.
"Where'd the cabbit ship go," Rikyu asked Kiyone, he was in similar state of shock as Ryoko. Ryo-Ohki hopped up on the counsel and meowed a greeting at Kiyone.
"Hi, Ryo-Ohki," she answered negligently. Kiyone was busy pulling the ship into the Yagami's cargo bay, and watching for any sort of last card on the assassin's part. Rikyu looked down at the cutely smiling cabbit that just happened to have the same name as the cabbit ship. She meowed at him happily. If he could have sat down and discussed his thoughts with Tenchi he would have found a rather sympathetic ear.
The Masaki residence
"What's taking them so long?" Mihoshi asked, arms wrapped around a pained looking Washu. "You don't suppose anything went wrong do you?" Washu's eyes seemed to be bulging and she was biting her lip, which Mihoshi took as a bad sign. "Oh Kiiiiyooooneee, why'd I let you go off alone? Now you're all blown up!! WAAAAHH!!! " At this point Washu's face began turning blue.
"Mihoshi," Sasami began. "It's only been ten minutes since we last talked to them." Mihoshi let go of Washu, who immediately took a large breath and collapsed to the floor.
"Really," Mihoshi asked, then her voice returned to its usual hyper-cheerful tone. "Only ten minutes. Well that's okay then. Kiyone can handle it, no problem. Hey what's wrong with Washu?"
"She's just very relieved," Yosho answered.
Yagami cargo bay
"Two years ago I would have said that this was a huge ship," Tenchi noted.
"What do you mean, Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka asked. "It's a bare hundred feet long."
"Come on out of there asshole!" Ryoko yelled, pounding on the side of the ship. Rei Kuroi appeared in the middle of them all. He was slumped over to the right and his left arm was hanging limp, despite this he still smiled triumphantly. Ayeka backed off while Tenchi and Ryoko flanked him with energy swords glowing.
"So what do you do with me now?" he asked.
"You're lucky Washu thinks it's important to keep you alive." Ryoko growled. "Move."
"I misjudged your resources in our first conflict, Lady Shinku," he bowed respectfully to her, before limping down the corridor ahead of them. They reached the third living quarter and found it an empty room. There was nothing physically obvious, but Tenchi, Ayeka and Ryoko had, like most others in the Masaki crew, developed a sense about all things Washu. Tenchi and the girls glanced at the room apprehensively, trying to weigh threat of a Washu device compared to that of Rei Kuroi.
"Are you that terrified of me alone?" Rei laughed, his ego was deflated a little when they didn't react. If he weren't so drained from his injuries and the feedback of that EMP he'd take the opportunity to break free.
"Why do you think she built it?" Ryoko asked.
"She was probably bored," Ayeka answered. "I'm more concerned with how she built it."
"Yeah who knows what it's designed to do," Tenchi agreed.
"What are you talking about," Rei demanded, angrily. "It's just a bare room!" He arrogantly walked through the doorway. No of the three cared enough to warn him, they also thought that it was as good a test as any. Washu's hand revealed itself as soon as the Akuneko came under the door.
First, Rei was suddenly bombarded from all sides as a sheet of previously invisible energy was revealed. The warrior started producing motions that would make half the breakdancers and contortionists across the galaxy drool with envy. Then the assassin had the misfortune to fall forward into the room, this elicited the sudden appearance of several mechanical arms which latched onto the dazed assassin's arms and legs. These tried to pull him to the walls, discovered that he wouldn't bend that way, dropped him and tried again.
While Rei was discovering why all conflicts were forgotten when faced with a Washu device, a communication screen appeared in front of Tenchi and the girls.
"Guys, I forgot to warn you," Kiyone said. "I think it activates whenever it detects a stranger on board." She noted that Ayeka and Ryoko were staring around the sides of the screen, and Tenchi was peeking over it. All three cringed in time to the various groans and screams coming from off the screen.
"Thanks for the warning, Kiyone," Tenchi answered politely. Ryoko and Ayeka were in their sister modes, when they both forgot that they were supposed to hate each other. They were running a commentary on the proceedings off screen.
"I didn't think that was possible." "Ooo that one hurt." "Do you think he's still alive." "Do you particularly care?" "I think I'm going to be sick."
"Uh yeah, okay," Kiyone decided not to turn the screen about and watch what was happening in the brig. Instead she merely switched it off as the noise finished and there was one final "that……hurt," emanating from off screen.
"Kiyone." The detective turned to face Rikyu. "Do you have any experience with diplomacy?" She looked at the screen he was pointing at and saw a rather small, primitive, unarmed spacecraft. The computer was picking up radio signals from it, but they were in English.
"Well it was happening sooner or later," she thanked her luck that Washu had installed this new communication system though. These hologram screens didn't need the destination to possess similar equipment. The universal translator didn't hurt either.
The hologram showed a very surprised looking American floating in a cramped space with lots of clutter.
"This is the Yagami," Kiyone announced. "If you don't mind, this method comes with a translator and I don't speak English."
"Uh, you're human…" the man said. Kiyone blinked.
"Well, yeah, so is almost forty percent of the galaxy," Kiyone thought it was a bizarre statement.
"Okay, This is the US shuttle Discovery," the man said. He was doing an admirable job of acting like this was a normal contact. "Might I ask what your business here is."
"I'm 1st class detective Kiyone Makibi of the Galaxy Police," Kiyone said. "I and my partner are the officers assigned to this system."
"Would that be the other ship we noticed?"
"No, that was just a friend," Kiyone answered. "Excuse me if I have to cut this short, but we have a dangerous prisoner on hand."
"Did I hear you just call that devil-woman a friend," came another voice off the screen. Apparently the other three were satisfied with Rei's cell and coming back up front.
"Is that your partner?" The man asked while Kiyone tried to ignore the chattering going on around her.
"Kiyone? Is that you?" Kiyone looked back to the screen and realized where she knew the woman. She was a regular at the Karaoke bar Mihoshi and her went to all the time until a few months ago.
"Oh hey, Michelle…uh, what's up? I, uh guess you got your transfer."
"You know her?" The statement was in stereo from Rikyu and the other astronaut.
"She was regular at a Karaoke bar when I was in Japan. This is the dead end assignment you were talking about?"
"Er, I guess it is a matter of perspective isn't it."
"You could say that."
"Just how many aliens are on Earth anyway?" the man asked.
"Two Akuneko, four of the Jurai royal family, me, Mihoshi and Washu. Can we continue this later? I have a prisoner to secure, a report to make, and about thirty minutes to pick up Mihoshi and get to our other job."
"Already taken care of," Kiyone looked off the screen while the two American astronauts watched nervously. "The manager understands that you're doing some business for me."
"Thank you, Rikyu-San," Kiyone breathed a sigh of relief, that was one worry off her back for a moment.
"I do own the place," Rikyu noted. "And I thought that saving me from an extragalatic assassin was worthy of some leniency."
"Oh I see, you routed into a cell phone signal," Kiyone turned back to the communication screen, embarrassed. "Uh, Yagami out." The screen blinked off.
"How do we report this?" the male astronaut asked Michelle.
"I'm not sure, Major," she admitted. "How about stray television signals."
"Sounds good."
Back on the Yagami
Ryo-Ohki vanished and soon reappeared in ship form outside. Kiyone assumed that meant that Ryoko was heading back to the Masaki house, avoiding the situation a little longer. It would be getting close to dawn back in Tokyo.
"Ryoko's heading home," Tenchi's voice called as he came to the bridge. He turned and saw Ayeka half-asleep in one of the spare seats on the bridge. "Oh and Kiyone is there anything else you or Washu have added we should know about?"
"I'll give you a list later," Kiyone said as she started for the Masaki residence.
"Anything as bad as the brig?" He yawned, it was looking to be a comatose day tomorrow.
Masaki residence
"Damn, this has not been a good day," Ryoko said as she teleported in front of the hallway phone. She watched to make sure nobody saw her and then picked up the receiver and dialed a number.
"Hello yes, this is Ryoko. I'm just calling to say that I can't come in today. Yeah I'm feeling a little sick." She sort of mock coughed, not noticing Nobuyuki, Washu, and Mihoshi peeking at her from around the corner at the other end of the corridor. Mihoshi had been asleep, but this moment wouldn't have been embarrassing enough without her, so the fates had arranged to wake her up.
"I wasn't on anyway? Well okay then, thank you." She hung up the phone, grumbled and started into the living room where she usually slept. That's when she saw the other three people staring at her.
"I take it that the Akuneko has been captured," Washu said snidely.
"Oh, Ryoko, do you have a job too," Mihoshi chimed in.
"No, what gave you that idea?"
"Faking illness, calling in, heavy caffeine intake, getting up early in the morning," Nobuyuki ticked off a finger with each item. "All symptoms of employment."
"Oh, just leave me alone," Ryoko shouted. "Tenchi and Ayeka will be back soon enough to tell you what happened, I'm tired." She teleported again, and no one saw where she reappeared.
"I believe that Ryoko needs some time to herself," Yosho called from in the living room. "There's something else here that we don't know about. Also I don't think she's slept in the last two days."
It wasn't much longer after that that Ayeka and Tenchi walked in the door and collapsed on the couches. Sasami was already curled up on the third, near a meditating Yosho.
"Thank goodness it's Friday," Tenchi muttered. Rikyu appeared in the center of the room via teleport, eliciting a startled reaction from Nobuyuki.
"Uh Rikyu-San," Mihoshi said. "How'd you do that?"
"I hope you don't mind me staying for a while," Rikyu said to Tenchi. "I hope to speak to my…to your other friend."
"No problem," Tenchi responded.
"Ah, Rikyu Shirai," Yosho said from where he was meditating. The red haired man stared at him and then blinked in surprise.
"Lord Katsuhito?" he asked. "He said you were his grandfather, but at first I thought it would be more like great grandfather."
"Oh I have a couple of good centuries yet," Yosho noted.
"You know each other?" Nobuyuki asked.
"We had a little run in with some bandits on the run from the GP about a hundred years ago," Rikyu noted.
"You knew about the Galaxy Police?" Mihoshi asked, disbelievingly.
A communication screen appeared in the living room filled with Kiyone's face. It popped from place to place until it found Mihoshi and Washu.
"Oh Kiyone, I was so worried about you," Mihoshi began lecturing. "Especially when that nasty man attacked us here."
"Mihoshi, we need to contact HQ," Kiyone ordered. "Washu, we've got the Akuneko in the brig if you can help me in the interrogation." Washu smirked and snickered.
"We're coming aboard now, Kiyone," Washu summoned a holographic consul, typed a few keys and suddenly she and Mihoshi vanished.
"That's going to be an interesting conversation," Tenchi muttered. He stood up and began to shuffle to the stairs. He paused a moment and turned to pick up Sasami and bring the little princess to her and Ayeka's room.
"Yes, it is," Ayeka agreed, wearily. "I wonder if he even remembers his name." She to began shuffling to her room as Tenchi left it.
"You know what, they're right," Nobuyuki yawned. "It's late. Good night everybody."
"It seems everybody is turning in," Yosho stated. "I think the couch there is free, perhaps you can talk to Ryoko in the morning, or more likely the afternoon." Yosho stood up and prepared to walk up to the shrine.
"What sort of person is Ryoko, sir?" Rikyu asked. Yosho stopped and considered his answer.
"Very proud and very lonely." He saluted the young Akuneko as he walked into the dying night to head for the shrine and his own bed.
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