Disclaimer: I still don't own Tenchi, but my therapist has helped me to see
past that.
Author's Note: See? I promised there was more. Now that I have delved into
Ryoko and Hotsuma's relationship, I have to put them back into the Shin
storyline. Otherwise, we I couldn't call it an AU Shin story. ;)
**************************************************************
Hours later the supernova was in full swing, and they were forced to lower the
dampers to block out the blinding light, which seemed to pour like mist though
even the smallest opening. Ryoko lay cuddled against Hotsuma's chest, as she
fiddled contentedly with his flowing hair. "You know what I'm thinking?" he
asked calmly.
"What?" she replied with a laugh, expecting this to lead to yet another
seduction.
"I was thinking that we could use a bigger place. Maybe it's time to start a
gang together," Hotsuma yawned, pulling her against him. "Unless you think it's
too soon for such a big commitment," he drawled raising his eyebrows and looking
up at the ceiling.
Ryoko laughed in surprise. "Hmm. You mean a base to call our own? Maybe with
a white picket fence?" She wondered if he'd been on earth long enough to get
the joke. The deep chuckle rumbling through his chest assured her that he had.
"Something like that," he agreed easily. Ryoko seemed quite receptive to the
idea, and it would create yet another tie that bound her to him. Everything was
going exactly the way he'd wanted from the beginning. Ryoko was happy to stay
with him. Yugi was free, and with the Masaki's split apart, the child was safe
from the only group strong enough to return her to her prison. That left
Hotsuma free to seek the path of blood and glory. He had the promise of
excitement and challenge, and a partner who was capable of standing beside him.
Life was pretty much perfect.
"Okay, but I get to pick the neighborhood," Ryoko demanded with a toothy grin.
She poked him in the ribs for emphasis.
"Of course, Princess," he replied smoothly. He could see that triumphant gleam
light up her bright features, and he fell upon her tickling her mercilessly.
Days later, when the supernova had dissipated, they left behind the crest of the
colorful firestorm, and its rapidly expanding, boiling gasses. In the place of
the Olmeck's sun, a pulsar resonated its song of electromagnetic waves from the
heart of the new nebula. The space pirates had researched many possible
locations for their base, in the hours between trysts. Ryoko had even found
enough time to finish learning the control systems for Gaiyan, and Hotsuma had
programmed the ship to accept her orders as surely as it accepted his.
They planned to shoot a straight path though some of the more densely populated
systems on their way to investigate the base locations. Of course, the route
freed them to knock over several nearby banks. Ryoko took the opportunity to
fly, enjoying the freedom of it. After hitting the Federated Nobel Bank for the
third time, she even got to pilot through a decent chase.
Twenty-eight GXP ships came to the rescue of the now rather impoverished
financial institution, and Ryoko howled gleefully as she slammed the right
thrusters and spun to face them while Hotsuma fired the forward lasers. "All-
right, kiddies," Ryoko yelled towards the view-screen, as two of the ships near
the center were knocked out by their attack. "You obviously don't know how
outmatched you are! Time for your lesson," she grinned wildly. She knew that
her transmission was being picked up by the police ships. Robots and remote
controls accounted for probably half the ships pursuing them, but the other half
would be quite nervous right about now. As they should be.
Ryoko hit the afterburners, rocketing them through the opening in the police
ship's formation. The police ships, realizing that she was now headed the
opposite direction, turned to follow and understood too late that their
configuration was too tightly packed to allow for the movement. Several pairs
of ships careened into their companion vessels, leaving them crippled and
useless.
"Ouch! If those weren't the robots, the GXP's standards have gone way down!"
Ryoko laughed elatedly. Ryoko pushed Gaiyan's speed to the limit for traveling
inside a solar system. One of the GXP Cruisers loomed in the rear projection
screen, and Ryoko begrudgingly gave the pilot credit for having balls. She shot
a look at the quiet blonde man at the console to her right. "Hotsuma, match our
shield frequency to theirs and prepare to lock on their weapons and engines!
Fire on my order!" she commanded.
"I'm on it," he acknowledged with a nod. His fingers flew over the lighted
touchpad, as he accessed the ship's shield controls and targeting mechanism.
Two more ships came up to flank the first, and he narrowed his eyes as he
adjusted his calculations accordingly.
In the next instant, she ordered Gaiyan to perform a backward spin over the top
of the cruiser, which would take them inside the larger ship's shields. "Fire!"
she yelled, and Hotsuma deployed Gaiyan's main gun in two bursts. The first
burst targeted the powerful laser cannons mounted on the top of the ship's
wings, rather than it's top forward guns. The blast created two large fireballs
that shot out to either side of the center ship and hit the inner wings of its
flanking ships. The second burst struck the rear engines causing the large ship
to lurch violently as its forward propulsion came to a sudden stop, and it spun
sickly under the force of its own momentum. It sideswiped its entourage causing
a series of small explosions, as the three ships drifted helplessly.
Ryoko flew away on a path perpendicular to the drifting police ships. Two more
cruisers were closing in on her from the right. "These boys just never learn,"
she snickered.
Ryoko and Hotsuma were both in high spirits by the time they reached their
destination. "Section zero point two. It's perfect," Ryoko thought as they
reached a desolate cave-ridden planet with a fiery sky. The colors reminded her
of the blazing skies which she had watched with Hotsuma and the colors of the
nebula which had been created afterwards. "This is the place," she announced
planting her hands upon her hips. "So how do you like it, lover?" she queried.
Hotsuma had quickly grown accustomed to her new private nickname for him. And
he would be the first to admit, that now when he called her 'partner' it had a
new undercurrent. He too saw the sky's resemblance to their supernova, and even
the desolate planet's surface reminded him of their little adventure on Olmeck.
Besides that the location was perfect--in a desolate belt of waste planets, but
easily near several of the richest sectors in the galaxy. Of course the base
would be subterranean to shield it from easy detection. Hotsuma smiled coldly
as he scanned a large nearby cavern system. He found drinkable water, and more
than sufficient space to house a large band of thieves. "It's perfect," he
purred.
Hotsuma pulled out a heavy black case full of equipment. He began unpacking and
assembling an unfamiliar portable control. He unfurled a nest of long power and
data transfer cords, which he had Ryoko plug into a series of concealed ports on
Gaiyan's exterior. Meanwhile he connected the console to an extra synthesizing
generator. By using the information stored inside Gaiyan's memory banks, he
could quickly transform energy and raw materials from the planet into the
essentials for the hideout.
"As soon as we're up and running here, I'll contact Zeltris and instruct him to
start using his connections to find possible recruits for us," he told Ryoko, as
he hammered off a new series of keystrokes, and began filling the main bedroom
with furniture for them.
It was like watching Washu at work in her lab under the stairs. He moved
quickly, efficiently, and assuredly as he entered line after line of keystrokes.
Ryoko wished that Washu was there with them; crazy things were happening to her
one after another, but she didn't have any of her friends there to confide in.
Sure she was creating a new home for herself, but so far she only had one person
to share it with. And since he was the biggest change in her life right now,
she couldn't very well surprise him with the news of her "new partner". She
wanted desperately to tell someone who'd be surprised. Well, even if she
couldn't have her friends with her, she could have something to remind her of
what it meant to have people to call family.
Ryoko floated cross-legged in the air, drifting directly in front of the
distracted blonde pirate. "Hey, lover," Ryoko cooed. "Do you think you could
make a special room for me to relax in?" she asked sweetly. She tried her best
innocent look.
"Just tell me what you need in it," he responded without looking up. Ryoko
wasn't sure if she was pleased at his willingness to give her whatever she
wanted, or miffed at the fact that he hadn't even broken away from typing long
enough to look at her. She let go of the thought as she began rattling off
exact specifications for the room. She floated back and forth as though pacing
as she spoke, and at the end of her list she looked up to meet Hotsuma staring
at her with a strange expression.
"Well, you certainly know what you want, Princess," he said, glancing at the sky
briefly before locking his gaze with hers. "I didn't expect you to be quite so
detailed," he admitted. He turned away from the machine, crossed his arms over
his chest, and studied her silently for a moment.
"Does that mean you can't do it?" she asked, trying to hide how crestfallen she
felt at the prospect.
"No...." he replied slowly, "I can do it." He could see the enthusiastic glow
immediately lighting her up again. He looked back down at the keyboard and
returned to rapidly punching keys. "I just wasn't expecting you to have it
worked out so explicitly."
"You're the best, partner!" Ryoko exclaimed. She sidled up to him and drew her
index finger along his cheekbone as she spoke, punctuating the sentence with a
quick tap on the tip of his nose. She beamed at him for a moment, before
heading into the caves happily humming to herself.
Hotsuma stared blankly at the screen after she'd departed. The description
she'd given had been far too specific. Not just the furniture and positions,
but exact in the proportions to an eerie degree. She wasn't just creating a
place to relax. She was recreating a Japanese living room, and Hotsuma only
knew of one Japanese living room she would be so conversant with. He quickly
pushed down the thought, just in case Ryoko suddenly teleported back out beside
him, but the emotion that came with it refused to let go of him. He entered in
all of Ryoko's specifications, silently cursing himself as he did it.
Couches, tables, walls and more swirled into existence in one of the more
isolated rooms of the cavern system. If Ryoko wanted somewhere to get away, the
location would serve well. Reluctantly, Hotsuma added the keystrokes for a
surveillance camera hidden along the front wall of the cavern. Something was
gnawing at him, telling him that this was one room in which he didn't want to
follow Ryoko's actions. He finished the final data input and began to repack
the equipment just before Ryoko came back out looking for him.
"It's perfect!" she announced happily. "This base is going to suit us like a
dream." She floated in the air alongside him and grinned playfully. It might
not be like the house she had grown so fond of, but with the addition of her
special room, it was easily the next best thing. "Do you want to take a short
break and have a little sake with me after we get the computer set up?" she
offered impishly. She ran her fingers through one of the long sections of hair
that framed his face. "After all, we do need to find some way of making this
place feel like home, and I did have one or two thoughts about the matter...."
She let her voice trail off.
"I.... uh...." Hotsuma began reluctantly. "I have to contact Zeltris after we
get the computer up," he hurriedly replied as he packed the large black metal
case back in one of Gaiyan's holds. He avoided Ryoko's gaze as he spoke, but he
could feel her eyes watching him.
"Okay, after you contact the perv," Ryoko agreed shrewdly. "Then we can plan
our next job together while we kick back," she continued enticingly. She stood
behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she rested her cheek against
his back. She could hear his heart beat begin to race slightly. "And I was
thinking that Gaiyan must have some great images of the supernova from his
sensors. There may even be some good shots of us, so we could give my locket
its first update after we've settled in."
Something about those words eased Hotsuma's feelings, and he relaxed into her.
"Sounds good, partner," he purred without missing a beat. He turned to face
Ryoko and wrapped his arms loosely about her waist. "Did you check out our room
while you were inside?" he teased.
"That would be the one with the really big bed, right?" Ryoko replied feigning
confusion.
He nodded sagely, "Yes, that would be it. Come on, let's finish the rest of
this quickly, so I can show you around." He promised her, as he placed a soft
kiss on her forehead. After hiding Gaiyan in a makeshift hangar in the largest
cavern, the pair set about making quick work of the computer connections.
Hotsuma transmitted a brief message to Zeltris, offering him a comfortable
commission in exchange for sending them new recruits. He included a date and
set of coordinates for the hopefuls to meet him and Ryoko. Then he followed
Ryoko down to her private retreat, quietly readying himself for his first view
of the Masaki living room. He had a few ideas of ways to make the room more
bearable for him.
Meanwhile, on Kittros IV Zeltris was having a problem with a pair of unwanted
visitors. "So what d'ya think this button does?" asked a bubbly voice, and
Zeltris cringed in fear as those long fingers slid across a robotic welder's
control panel. Her bumbling explorations had already created enough devastation
to cost him a fortune, and the blonde demon still seemed intent on persecuting
him.
"N-No! No! No! Please, don't touch anything else," pleaded the little
greenish man. He looked imploringly, from the walking tornado to the woman who
controlled her. "I'll fix anything you want, just please call her off!" He
jumped as he heard the sound of a welding torch arcing to life, and closed his
beady eyes. As if on cue, a thundering crash nearly deafened him as the welder
cut through the nose of the cargo ship he was outfitting. He was going to be
financially ruined! The worst would be what his seven ex-wives did once the
alimony stopped flowing. He cupped his groin protectively and prayed.
"She's really amazing to watch in action, isn't she?" asked the teal-haired
keeper of the air-headed menace. "I know one scientist who would vouch that
Mihoshi is the ultimate weapon of destruction. Of course, I already knew that."
Kiyone continued calmly as Mihoshi proceeded to hit every button on the console
in a futile attempt to shut down the welder. The welder headed across the metal
floor to cut the supports off a shiny, new hydraulic lift. She was privately
relieved that Yagami was parked in a separate hangar.
"What do I have to do before you'll call her off?" wailed the desperate black
marketeer. He'd just gotten that lift to replace the one Ryoko had blown up on
him the previous week. In desperation, Zeltris stretched his arms out
protectively and threw his body in front of it. "Please!"
The robot stopped as Kiyone pulled the power cord. She stood in front of
Zeltris waving the plug at him. "I'm just interested in a little information,"
she told him, as she wrapped an arm around the shoulders of her bouncy partner.
"Good job, Mihoshi," she congratulated.
"Uh.... Sure.... I.... um.... I guess," Mihoshi replied absently. "You know
this is almost as exciting as going to Washu's!" Her eyes took on a wistful,
misty glow, and Zeltris involuntarily took several steps back in fear.
"What do you need to know about?" he asked cautiously as he adjusted his orange
and purple jumper. He hoped fervently that it would be something easy, but he
reckoned that the two extortionists before him wouldn't have bothered to make
such a show of force if it were.
Before anyone could break the silence, the main computer beeped to announce an
incoming recording. Mihoshi lit up and did a little dance in place. "Oh,
Kiyone! There's an incoming message! I wonder what it is? I love getting
messages," she sighed. "It reminds me of when we were on Earth, and we used to
get all kinds of neat mail. I used love the ones with all the stickers for
magazines! I wonder if I ever won that million dollars...." Mihoshi blathered
cheerfully.
Kiyone took the child-like blonde by the hand to insure that she didn't touch
anything on the computer. "Maybe you should take that call," she suggested to
Zeltris, as her partner continued to babble about their days on Earth. Kiyone
heard the words "Space Police Policeman" and groaned audibly. At least she'd
finally gotten that promotion she'd always dreamed of, even if she was still
forever tied to her luck-vampire partner.
Afraid that he might not have a computer left to take the message later, Zeltris
did as instructed. He hit the yellow button to receive and a large recording of
Hotsuma was projected on the wall-sized screen above him. "Zeltris, the new
heat shield performs beautifully, indeed as good as your word. As I said
before, we wish to employ you and your many talents again. So I am offering you
a little business proposition." The pirate smiled coldly. "Ryoko and I are
looking for new associates to work under our command. I'm sure you know the
type--tough, follows orders to the letter, not bright enough to work on their
own. I'm sending you a location and time for all candidates to meet with us.
Just spread the information in the right circles and I'm willing to give you ten
percent of each pirate's share in the loot. Think of it as a finder's fee."
Zeltris brightened as he watched the message play. He sighed in relief.
However crazy and dangerous those two pirates were, they were also very
lucrative business. He was saved! Saved from the jaws of financial
destitution. Saved from the vengeance of his multitude of ex-wives.
Kiyone perked up at the mention of Ryoko's name. She'd been hoping to gather
some information on her former roommate here, but she'd never dreamed of
learning anything this valuable. Once she brought in Ryoko, she was assured of
a promotion straight to HQ. "The coordinates," she said evenly. Zeltris looked
up at her like a rabbit seeing a semi-trailer from an altogether too personal
view. "Give me the coordinates and my friend and I will go." She gestured as
though she were about to release Mihoshi again, and the little man jumped
visibly.
"I'm doomed," Zeltris groaned miserably.
past that.
Author's Note: See? I promised there was more. Now that I have delved into
Ryoko and Hotsuma's relationship, I have to put them back into the Shin
storyline. Otherwise, we I couldn't call it an AU Shin story. ;)
**************************************************************
Hours later the supernova was in full swing, and they were forced to lower the
dampers to block out the blinding light, which seemed to pour like mist though
even the smallest opening. Ryoko lay cuddled against Hotsuma's chest, as she
fiddled contentedly with his flowing hair. "You know what I'm thinking?" he
asked calmly.
"What?" she replied with a laugh, expecting this to lead to yet another
seduction.
"I was thinking that we could use a bigger place. Maybe it's time to start a
gang together," Hotsuma yawned, pulling her against him. "Unless you think it's
too soon for such a big commitment," he drawled raising his eyebrows and looking
up at the ceiling.
Ryoko laughed in surprise. "Hmm. You mean a base to call our own? Maybe with
a white picket fence?" She wondered if he'd been on earth long enough to get
the joke. The deep chuckle rumbling through his chest assured her that he had.
"Something like that," he agreed easily. Ryoko seemed quite receptive to the
idea, and it would create yet another tie that bound her to him. Everything was
going exactly the way he'd wanted from the beginning. Ryoko was happy to stay
with him. Yugi was free, and with the Masaki's split apart, the child was safe
from the only group strong enough to return her to her prison. That left
Hotsuma free to seek the path of blood and glory. He had the promise of
excitement and challenge, and a partner who was capable of standing beside him.
Life was pretty much perfect.
"Okay, but I get to pick the neighborhood," Ryoko demanded with a toothy grin.
She poked him in the ribs for emphasis.
"Of course, Princess," he replied smoothly. He could see that triumphant gleam
light up her bright features, and he fell upon her tickling her mercilessly.
Days later, when the supernova had dissipated, they left behind the crest of the
colorful firestorm, and its rapidly expanding, boiling gasses. In the place of
the Olmeck's sun, a pulsar resonated its song of electromagnetic waves from the
heart of the new nebula. The space pirates had researched many possible
locations for their base, in the hours between trysts. Ryoko had even found
enough time to finish learning the control systems for Gaiyan, and Hotsuma had
programmed the ship to accept her orders as surely as it accepted his.
They planned to shoot a straight path though some of the more densely populated
systems on their way to investigate the base locations. Of course, the route
freed them to knock over several nearby banks. Ryoko took the opportunity to
fly, enjoying the freedom of it. After hitting the Federated Nobel Bank for the
third time, she even got to pilot through a decent chase.
Twenty-eight GXP ships came to the rescue of the now rather impoverished
financial institution, and Ryoko howled gleefully as she slammed the right
thrusters and spun to face them while Hotsuma fired the forward lasers. "All-
right, kiddies," Ryoko yelled towards the view-screen, as two of the ships near
the center were knocked out by their attack. "You obviously don't know how
outmatched you are! Time for your lesson," she grinned wildly. She knew that
her transmission was being picked up by the police ships. Robots and remote
controls accounted for probably half the ships pursuing them, but the other half
would be quite nervous right about now. As they should be.
Ryoko hit the afterburners, rocketing them through the opening in the police
ship's formation. The police ships, realizing that she was now headed the
opposite direction, turned to follow and understood too late that their
configuration was too tightly packed to allow for the movement. Several pairs
of ships careened into their companion vessels, leaving them crippled and
useless.
"Ouch! If those weren't the robots, the GXP's standards have gone way down!"
Ryoko laughed elatedly. Ryoko pushed Gaiyan's speed to the limit for traveling
inside a solar system. One of the GXP Cruisers loomed in the rear projection
screen, and Ryoko begrudgingly gave the pilot credit for having balls. She shot
a look at the quiet blonde man at the console to her right. "Hotsuma, match our
shield frequency to theirs and prepare to lock on their weapons and engines!
Fire on my order!" she commanded.
"I'm on it," he acknowledged with a nod. His fingers flew over the lighted
touchpad, as he accessed the ship's shield controls and targeting mechanism.
Two more ships came up to flank the first, and he narrowed his eyes as he
adjusted his calculations accordingly.
In the next instant, she ordered Gaiyan to perform a backward spin over the top
of the cruiser, which would take them inside the larger ship's shields. "Fire!"
she yelled, and Hotsuma deployed Gaiyan's main gun in two bursts. The first
burst targeted the powerful laser cannons mounted on the top of the ship's
wings, rather than it's top forward guns. The blast created two large fireballs
that shot out to either side of the center ship and hit the inner wings of its
flanking ships. The second burst struck the rear engines causing the large ship
to lurch violently as its forward propulsion came to a sudden stop, and it spun
sickly under the force of its own momentum. It sideswiped its entourage causing
a series of small explosions, as the three ships drifted helplessly.
Ryoko flew away on a path perpendicular to the drifting police ships. Two more
cruisers were closing in on her from the right. "These boys just never learn,"
she snickered.
Ryoko and Hotsuma were both in high spirits by the time they reached their
destination. "Section zero point two. It's perfect," Ryoko thought as they
reached a desolate cave-ridden planet with a fiery sky. The colors reminded her
of the blazing skies which she had watched with Hotsuma and the colors of the
nebula which had been created afterwards. "This is the place," she announced
planting her hands upon her hips. "So how do you like it, lover?" she queried.
Hotsuma had quickly grown accustomed to her new private nickname for him. And
he would be the first to admit, that now when he called her 'partner' it had a
new undercurrent. He too saw the sky's resemblance to their supernova, and even
the desolate planet's surface reminded him of their little adventure on Olmeck.
Besides that the location was perfect--in a desolate belt of waste planets, but
easily near several of the richest sectors in the galaxy. Of course the base
would be subterranean to shield it from easy detection. Hotsuma smiled coldly
as he scanned a large nearby cavern system. He found drinkable water, and more
than sufficient space to house a large band of thieves. "It's perfect," he
purred.
Hotsuma pulled out a heavy black case full of equipment. He began unpacking and
assembling an unfamiliar portable control. He unfurled a nest of long power and
data transfer cords, which he had Ryoko plug into a series of concealed ports on
Gaiyan's exterior. Meanwhile he connected the console to an extra synthesizing
generator. By using the information stored inside Gaiyan's memory banks, he
could quickly transform energy and raw materials from the planet into the
essentials for the hideout.
"As soon as we're up and running here, I'll contact Zeltris and instruct him to
start using his connections to find possible recruits for us," he told Ryoko, as
he hammered off a new series of keystrokes, and began filling the main bedroom
with furniture for them.
It was like watching Washu at work in her lab under the stairs. He moved
quickly, efficiently, and assuredly as he entered line after line of keystrokes.
Ryoko wished that Washu was there with them; crazy things were happening to her
one after another, but she didn't have any of her friends there to confide in.
Sure she was creating a new home for herself, but so far she only had one person
to share it with. And since he was the biggest change in her life right now,
she couldn't very well surprise him with the news of her "new partner". She
wanted desperately to tell someone who'd be surprised. Well, even if she
couldn't have her friends with her, she could have something to remind her of
what it meant to have people to call family.
Ryoko floated cross-legged in the air, drifting directly in front of the
distracted blonde pirate. "Hey, lover," Ryoko cooed. "Do you think you could
make a special room for me to relax in?" she asked sweetly. She tried her best
innocent look.
"Just tell me what you need in it," he responded without looking up. Ryoko
wasn't sure if she was pleased at his willingness to give her whatever she
wanted, or miffed at the fact that he hadn't even broken away from typing long
enough to look at her. She let go of the thought as she began rattling off
exact specifications for the room. She floated back and forth as though pacing
as she spoke, and at the end of her list she looked up to meet Hotsuma staring
at her with a strange expression.
"Well, you certainly know what you want, Princess," he said, glancing at the sky
briefly before locking his gaze with hers. "I didn't expect you to be quite so
detailed," he admitted. He turned away from the machine, crossed his arms over
his chest, and studied her silently for a moment.
"Does that mean you can't do it?" she asked, trying to hide how crestfallen she
felt at the prospect.
"No...." he replied slowly, "I can do it." He could see the enthusiastic glow
immediately lighting her up again. He looked back down at the keyboard and
returned to rapidly punching keys. "I just wasn't expecting you to have it
worked out so explicitly."
"You're the best, partner!" Ryoko exclaimed. She sidled up to him and drew her
index finger along his cheekbone as she spoke, punctuating the sentence with a
quick tap on the tip of his nose. She beamed at him for a moment, before
heading into the caves happily humming to herself.
Hotsuma stared blankly at the screen after she'd departed. The description
she'd given had been far too specific. Not just the furniture and positions,
but exact in the proportions to an eerie degree. She wasn't just creating a
place to relax. She was recreating a Japanese living room, and Hotsuma only
knew of one Japanese living room she would be so conversant with. He quickly
pushed down the thought, just in case Ryoko suddenly teleported back out beside
him, but the emotion that came with it refused to let go of him. He entered in
all of Ryoko's specifications, silently cursing himself as he did it.
Couches, tables, walls and more swirled into existence in one of the more
isolated rooms of the cavern system. If Ryoko wanted somewhere to get away, the
location would serve well. Reluctantly, Hotsuma added the keystrokes for a
surveillance camera hidden along the front wall of the cavern. Something was
gnawing at him, telling him that this was one room in which he didn't want to
follow Ryoko's actions. He finished the final data input and began to repack
the equipment just before Ryoko came back out looking for him.
"It's perfect!" she announced happily. "This base is going to suit us like a
dream." She floated in the air alongside him and grinned playfully. It might
not be like the house she had grown so fond of, but with the addition of her
special room, it was easily the next best thing. "Do you want to take a short
break and have a little sake with me after we get the computer set up?" she
offered impishly. She ran her fingers through one of the long sections of hair
that framed his face. "After all, we do need to find some way of making this
place feel like home, and I did have one or two thoughts about the matter...."
She let her voice trail off.
"I.... uh...." Hotsuma began reluctantly. "I have to contact Zeltris after we
get the computer up," he hurriedly replied as he packed the large black metal
case back in one of Gaiyan's holds. He avoided Ryoko's gaze as he spoke, but he
could feel her eyes watching him.
"Okay, after you contact the perv," Ryoko agreed shrewdly. "Then we can plan
our next job together while we kick back," she continued enticingly. She stood
behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she rested her cheek against
his back. She could hear his heart beat begin to race slightly. "And I was
thinking that Gaiyan must have some great images of the supernova from his
sensors. There may even be some good shots of us, so we could give my locket
its first update after we've settled in."
Something about those words eased Hotsuma's feelings, and he relaxed into her.
"Sounds good, partner," he purred without missing a beat. He turned to face
Ryoko and wrapped his arms loosely about her waist. "Did you check out our room
while you were inside?" he teased.
"That would be the one with the really big bed, right?" Ryoko replied feigning
confusion.
He nodded sagely, "Yes, that would be it. Come on, let's finish the rest of
this quickly, so I can show you around." He promised her, as he placed a soft
kiss on her forehead. After hiding Gaiyan in a makeshift hangar in the largest
cavern, the pair set about making quick work of the computer connections.
Hotsuma transmitted a brief message to Zeltris, offering him a comfortable
commission in exchange for sending them new recruits. He included a date and
set of coordinates for the hopefuls to meet him and Ryoko. Then he followed
Ryoko down to her private retreat, quietly readying himself for his first view
of the Masaki living room. He had a few ideas of ways to make the room more
bearable for him.
Meanwhile, on Kittros IV Zeltris was having a problem with a pair of unwanted
visitors. "So what d'ya think this button does?" asked a bubbly voice, and
Zeltris cringed in fear as those long fingers slid across a robotic welder's
control panel. Her bumbling explorations had already created enough devastation
to cost him a fortune, and the blonde demon still seemed intent on persecuting
him.
"N-No! No! No! Please, don't touch anything else," pleaded the little
greenish man. He looked imploringly, from the walking tornado to the woman who
controlled her. "I'll fix anything you want, just please call her off!" He
jumped as he heard the sound of a welding torch arcing to life, and closed his
beady eyes. As if on cue, a thundering crash nearly deafened him as the welder
cut through the nose of the cargo ship he was outfitting. He was going to be
financially ruined! The worst would be what his seven ex-wives did once the
alimony stopped flowing. He cupped his groin protectively and prayed.
"She's really amazing to watch in action, isn't she?" asked the teal-haired
keeper of the air-headed menace. "I know one scientist who would vouch that
Mihoshi is the ultimate weapon of destruction. Of course, I already knew that."
Kiyone continued calmly as Mihoshi proceeded to hit every button on the console
in a futile attempt to shut down the welder. The welder headed across the metal
floor to cut the supports off a shiny, new hydraulic lift. She was privately
relieved that Yagami was parked in a separate hangar.
"What do I have to do before you'll call her off?" wailed the desperate black
marketeer. He'd just gotten that lift to replace the one Ryoko had blown up on
him the previous week. In desperation, Zeltris stretched his arms out
protectively and threw his body in front of it. "Please!"
The robot stopped as Kiyone pulled the power cord. She stood in front of
Zeltris waving the plug at him. "I'm just interested in a little information,"
she told him, as she wrapped an arm around the shoulders of her bouncy partner.
"Good job, Mihoshi," she congratulated.
"Uh.... Sure.... I.... um.... I guess," Mihoshi replied absently. "You know
this is almost as exciting as going to Washu's!" Her eyes took on a wistful,
misty glow, and Zeltris involuntarily took several steps back in fear.
"What do you need to know about?" he asked cautiously as he adjusted his orange
and purple jumper. He hoped fervently that it would be something easy, but he
reckoned that the two extortionists before him wouldn't have bothered to make
such a show of force if it were.
Before anyone could break the silence, the main computer beeped to announce an
incoming recording. Mihoshi lit up and did a little dance in place. "Oh,
Kiyone! There's an incoming message! I wonder what it is? I love getting
messages," she sighed. "It reminds me of when we were on Earth, and we used to
get all kinds of neat mail. I used love the ones with all the stickers for
magazines! I wonder if I ever won that million dollars...." Mihoshi blathered
cheerfully.
Kiyone took the child-like blonde by the hand to insure that she didn't touch
anything on the computer. "Maybe you should take that call," she suggested to
Zeltris, as her partner continued to babble about their days on Earth. Kiyone
heard the words "Space Police Policeman" and groaned audibly. At least she'd
finally gotten that promotion she'd always dreamed of, even if she was still
forever tied to her luck-vampire partner.
Afraid that he might not have a computer left to take the message later, Zeltris
did as instructed. He hit the yellow button to receive and a large recording of
Hotsuma was projected on the wall-sized screen above him. "Zeltris, the new
heat shield performs beautifully, indeed as good as your word. As I said
before, we wish to employ you and your many talents again. So I am offering you
a little business proposition." The pirate smiled coldly. "Ryoko and I are
looking for new associates to work under our command. I'm sure you know the
type--tough, follows orders to the letter, not bright enough to work on their
own. I'm sending you a location and time for all candidates to meet with us.
Just spread the information in the right circles and I'm willing to give you ten
percent of each pirate's share in the loot. Think of it as a finder's fee."
Zeltris brightened as he watched the message play. He sighed in relief.
However crazy and dangerous those two pirates were, they were also very
lucrative business. He was saved! Saved from the jaws of financial
destitution. Saved from the vengeance of his multitude of ex-wives.
Kiyone perked up at the mention of Ryoko's name. She'd been hoping to gather
some information on her former roommate here, but she'd never dreamed of
learning anything this valuable. Once she brought in Ryoko, she was assured of
a promotion straight to HQ. "The coordinates," she said evenly. Zeltris looked
up at her like a rabbit seeing a semi-trailer from an altogether too personal
view. "Give me the coordinates and my friend and I will go." She gestured as
though she were about to release Mihoshi again, and the little man jumped
visibly.
"I'm doomed," Zeltris groaned miserably.