No Need for Command

The Jurai Frontier, a Jurai battleship

"Sir, what are we doing out here?" the first officer asked his admiral. "Are we actually going to fight a war over a space pirate?"

"If weren't for that space pirate we would all be under Kagato's thumb right now," the admiral answered.

"I thought that it was Lord Tenchi that defeated him," the man sounded confused.

"And how do you think he made it past our defenses to the palace?" the admiral asked. "Ryoko is a hero of the Jurai, and will be treated as such. It is a moot point anyway, wars are fought over resources not causes. They would be coming anyway."

"Sir! We have readings beyond the frontier!" Someone called from one of the consoles.

"Give me a visual," the first officer ordered. As was usual for the Jurai, the admiral watched the proceedings silently. A holographic screen hung in front of him, relating all the pertinent data.

A large holograph appeared in front of the bowl shaped bridge revealing a starfield with a collection of green dots indicating ship readings. There were nearly forty ships out there.

"Lieutenant," the admiral said calmly. "Report this to Jurai, the Akuneko have appeared."

"Yes, sir."

"Give me an ETA."

"Maybe a day, maybe a week, it's hard to tell through dead space." The admiral nodded, sensors could detect things at a vastly exaggerated distance through dead space. There was nothing out there to interfere with the signals. Unfortunately this meant that they had no idea of their sensor capabilities in dead space. "We have thirty battleships on the way."

"Thirty? How much are we leaving for the sol system?"

"There are two battleships within easy reach," the answer came. "Five more can get there within the week."

"Hmm, any word on the GP?"

"They're coming sir, but with the Caine incident they're having problems organizing a force. I have just received word that twelve full special units have been alerted to our situation and will be here within eight hours."

"Good they're here, perhaps they're coming for Jurai after all," the first officer noted, once all their forces had been collected.

"Reports coming in from other ships in the picket," someone shouted. "Another hundred signals detected heading for the Sol system!"

"You were saying? Alert Jurai and the Yagami, the information is accurate. The Akuneko are targeting Earth."

"Sir, the battleship Tamashii is in the Sol system."

"The Sol system is GP jurisdiction, that puts Makibi in command."

"A mere 1st class detective? But doesn't the presence of Lord Tenchi and the..."

"Kiyone Makibi not only bears the official right of command, but she is also the best in the region qualified for that command. Given her actions in the Kagato mess she could strategize rings around me, much less Koretsu. That will be all."

"Yes, sir."

Dead Space, Akuneko carrier, Earth vector

"Lord Ryoi," the peasant went to his knees before the Kuroi warrior. "We've detected artificial signals. We suspect that they are some sort of sensor trace."

"How long before we'll be able to pierce the galaxy's signature?"

"A day, two at most, and we'll be able to read past the frontier."

"Go then and report when you have more."

"Milord," the peasant backed away to his station.

"It would seem that your brother has betrayed us," a battle-suited woman suggested. "We will find the Jurai across the border."

"There is nothing we can do about him now," Lord Ryoi answered. "He is already dead."

"What a pity."

Earth, the woods outside the shrine

"What are we doing out here, Kiyone?" Mihoshi asked.

"We're making sure no one else will get hurt," Kiyone answered while sighting down the three-foot gadget she had invented. The early tests had proved promising, and at least it wouldn't blow up in her hands. At least she thought it wouldn't, "Okay, back up Mihoshi." Mihoshi took a step back and watched her hero nervously.

Kiyone sighted again and pulled the trigger. Lasers produced a beam that continued on until the power was denied. This weapon produced a lance-like yellow bolt of energy laced with blue veins. The force of the shot forced Kiyone's hands up, another aspect that the laser lacked. The bolt laced outward and struck a boulder, tunnelling an even hole through the middle of it and exploding out the other side. The attack culminated in a small explosion about fifty feet out of the rock.

"Whoa," Mihoshi gaped out the display. Kiyone smiled, the kickback was a little much, and she'd have to adapt to the lower rate of fire. Still it should be useful against the Akuneko force fields.

"Let's go find Ryoko and Rikyu," the teal-haired detective suggested. Everyone had intensified their training after they had felt Kagato meddling in their lives again. They waited for Rei's return in the shadows of the war.

Mihoshi nodded happily immediately turning towards the cave shrine the Akuneko had been training in. Their beepers started flashing then. "Damn, this better be important." It took only a few minutes to arrive on the Yagami and arrive at the bridge.

"This is the Galaxy Police cruiser Yagami, 1st class detective Kiyone Makibi speaking," she was surprised to be facing a Jurai communications officer.

"Battleship Hito, on the frontier," the man reported. "Our picket has detected at least a hundred unidentified ships on your vector heading in from dead space. The main attack will take place near Earth."

"Thank you, for the report, we'll be ready," Kiyone responded. The Jurai soldier saluted her and the communication blinked out. Another communication came in on top of it, this time it was the familiar face of the sergeant of detectives, paired with that of a Jurai admiral."

"1st class detective Kiyone Makibi?" the Admiral asked.

"Yes, sir," Kiyone answered surprised.

"Boy we're getting a lot of calls today," Mihoshi noted, she yawned and pulled out her storage cube to look for some coffee.

"Makibi," the sergeant began. "The Jurai have requested that you be given command of the Sol system defense, and we have agreed. For the moment you have the rank of Captain Kiyone Makibi, is that understood." His voice indicated that it was a reluctant agreement, Mihoshi did come with Kiyone after all.

"Me?" Kiyone asked stunned. "In command? Thank you sir. I shall try not to disappoint you."

"I don't believe you will," the admiral noted. "Is there anything you would like to discuss?"

"The people of Earth, sir," Kiyone noted. "Should we alert them?"

"Why? They don't have the technology to help us," the admiral answered. "Either we stop the Akuneko or we don't, alerting Earth won't change that."

"Sir, three Jurai transports could evacuate Earth in a little less than a day," Kiyone noted. "We are on the edge of the galaxy here, sir. They'll hit us fairly quickly if the first battle is a defeat."

"We'll send two transports on stand bye, as a back up," the admiral noted. "In case it appears that we are losing, but hold off alerting Earth officials until the last moment."

"Yes sir,"

"Jurai out."

"GP out."

"Captain Makibi," Kiyone repeated to herself.

"Well, Captain," Nagi was standing behind her. It had been a week since their prisoner had "escaped" and the bounty hunter was in much better shape. "What do you want us to do?"

"Time to gather everybody up, I'm going to make some calls," Kiyone said, in control again. "Uh...where's Mihoshi?" Nagi pointed at a shapeless pile of objects ranging from stuffed animals and magazines to GP equipment.

"I just want some coffee," the heap said in a muffled voice on the edge of tears.

Later in the Makibi house living room

"Lord Tenchi should have the command here," the Jurai captain, Koretsu, was complaining. "Not this policewoman." Sasami and Mihoshi were playing a video game in the back room. Nobuyuki was at work, probably flirting with his secretary.

"Now is not the time to squabble over command," Kamidake lectured. The log-like guardians that shared the knights' names hovered in the background near one of the doors.

"Captain Makibi has been given the command," Azaka agreed. "And she is well deserving of it."

"We don't have the time for this," Ayeka snapped. The knights and soldier instantly ceased their chatter at her command. Ayeka turned to Kiyone, and demurely continued. "Please, Kiyone, continue."

"Okay," Kiyone began, she looked to Washu. A hologram appeared over the living room table. It showed scenes from what had to be the first Akuneko wars. "According to Koretsu and Washu, the Akuneko basically fight using swarms of small fighter type craft. These are carried to the battle by other ships about the size of the Tamashii. On their own the carriers are not much of a difficult target, but things may have changed over the last two thousand years, it is the fighters that are the problem."

"We know all this already," Koretsu snapped. "How does that solve our problem, we are still greatly outnumbered and a long way from reinforcements."

"Yeah, Kiyone," Ryoko agreed. The Jurai captain stared at her in annoyance, he didn't like the criminal siding with him. "We have the Yagami, two cabbits and," she paused and looked at the Jurai captain. "Three battleships? Close enough to get to the frontier, they have a hundred ships, probably all carriers with several of those fighters." Kiyone smiled and looked at Washu.

"This is where the fleet is coming," Washu noted as the hologram changed. The screen showed an unpopulated system and then focused on one of the planets and its three moons. "I plan to set up a little station on this moon here." The hologram indicated the habitable, but still barren sphere. "A little idea I picked up from one of the American's films." The scientist snickered a little as she thought of what she was going to put there. "We have reinforcements on the way, but they will probably arrive too late."

"I've already commanded the other battleships to cease active scanning and hold position within the main planet's signature," Kiyone informed them. "We should be gone and heading to join them in the next two hours. At top speed we'll be there within two days, we travel with out active sensors or communication, Ryoko or Rikyu can teleport across ships if information is needed."

"I am not quite as skilled a teleporter as...my mother," Rikyu informed them. Ryoko said nothing. She disliked being used as a messenger, but she wasn't about to give that Jurai more ammunition against Kiyone. "But I'll help if as is needed."

"Thank you Rikyu-san," Kiyone responded, relieved. Then she continued, her voice hard and commanding again. "The cabbits will not travel in ship form, I don't want them out until the battle starts." Ryoko and Nagi nodded, understanding the strategy. "When we get there, the Tamashii and the Yagami will join the Gyanburu and the Kagekiha in the planet signature."

"Kiyone, what are we supposed to do in this?" Tenchi asked, referring to himself and Ayeka. "It doesn't sound like you need us."

"I'll need you two, the guardians and the knights to run security at Washu's post," Kiyone told them. "She'll get visitors eventually."

"What about the Yagami," guardian-Azaka asked. "You'll be piloting, who'll make sure you're not boarded." Kiyone and Washu looked at each other and started laughing, none of the rest of the crew wanted to know what that meant.

"Between Mihoshi, me and Rikyu," Kiyone said, recovering. "We should be able to handle it. Any battle on the Yagami is my favor anyway."

"You're going to let that blonde do something," Korestsu was appalled.

"She took down Ryo-Ohki in a patroller," Kiyone informed him, Ryoko mumbled something about a "hangover" but that was it. Kiyone then completed detailing her plan. "When the Akuneko fleet is about us, we'll break atmosphere and begin the attack. By all accounts of the war and Washu's conclusions from studying the fighter, each Jurai battleship should be worth at least five of their carriers, Ken-Ohki should be able to take ten no problem and Ryo-Ohki eight. Mihoshi and I should be able to take five or six. Data on Washu's weapon is..." Kiyone looked over at Washu who merely snickered. Everybody shifted uncomfortably. "....inconclusive, but we should be able to do a great amount of damage within the first moments of battle. We have to, because the fighter's mobility and numbers will be difficult to overcome."

"It sounds good on paper," Koretsu agreed, reluctantly. "But we'll see if it works, and if they find us first we'll have to deal with the fighters."

"You'll just have to make sure they don't find you," Lord Yosho noted, calmly. He was staying on Earth with Sasami and Nobuyuki as a last line of defense. Kiyone nodded a thanks to him.

"If everything is understood," Kiyone wasn't asking. "Then we should be on our way. Now."

"Excuse me," Ryoko stood up. "I just have to...." She mumbled something.

"What did you say?" Kiyone asked.

"I have to call my boss and tell him I'm quitting, okay," she yelled. "It'll just take a minute." The space pirate stomped away red-faced.

"I was wondering when she was going to admit that," Kiyone said to herself. The Jurai captain glared at her.

"She'll be right behind us," Tenchi said, standing up. "Let's go on ahead."

"Yes, Lord Tenchi," came a chorus of Jurai voices, eliciting a downtrodden look from the young prince. A series of ship powered teleports followed taking everyone to their respective ships. Ayeka remained behind, using a little Jurai power to hold off the teleport. She walked into the hallway and intercepted Ryoko who was about to teleport.

"Lady Shinku," Ryoko winced. The ever formal Ayeka had taken to calling her that as her family history came out. Considering that Ryoko connected the title to fifteen separate assassination attempts from five different people, it wasn't particularly thoughtful.

"Ayeka, we need to be gone," Ryoko told her. "Can we fight later?"

"I don't want to fight anymore," Ayeka said. Ryoko stared at her confused. A holograph communication screen appeared before them.

"Hurry up you two," Kiyone yelled. "We need to go."

"Go ahead a get me aboard, Kiyone," Ayeka answered. The irate police detective vanished just before Ayeka began to teleport. "This doesn't mean I'm giving up on Lord Tenchi!"

"Of course not!" Ryoko yelled. "That would be too easy!" Then she teleported herself.

The Akuneko carrier

"Lord Ryoi," the surveillance officer was again kneeling before the Kuroi warrior. "The artificial signals have ceased."

"Were you able to identify their source?"

"No sir, but reports indicate a region of extreme electro-magnetic activity near the planned beachhead, at this range it may have confused our sensors."

"I see, so you think that our feint has been effective?"

"I do, milord."

"It is on your head then." The soldier nodded and tried to avoid sweating.

"Yes, milord."

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