A/N: I'm fully aware that it's been a while. Bite me. October is a very busy month at my house. Get over it. That, and having to write half-a-jillion things makes me get Writer's Block, okay? So, don't kill me if this sucks ass, alrighty? Okay, what do I see here? Characterization up the ass, random scenes, technical crap, magical crap, technical and magical crap all at the same time, you know, the usual. So, hold on tight and get ready to go and read the shit I'm spitting out in my catatonic state. (Slight Ruri OOC-ness, but remember, she starting to relax herself since the Jump, so calm down. Oh, and Ryoko's not going to have much of a happy life in this chapter. Ew, and random vomiting too. Just a few warnings.)

~*~

Uribatake looked up from his work on one of the Y-Unit's PT engines to give the girl a confused look. "He what?" Ruri glanced down to the floor, feeling ashamed for coming to the Head Mechanic about this when he was obviously busy. "He believes that he is in love with me."

Uribatake nodded, then turned back to the intricate wires and panels on the engine. A regular mechanic would have to concentrate on working on something so complex and nothing else. Uribatake was no regular mechanic. "I figured that's what you said. Had to make sure. So what's the problem, then, Ruri-chan?"

A slight look of confusion brushed Ruri's face. "Uribatake-san, he is not human." Uribatake chuckled softly. "His body isn't, but I sure as hell know that his being is." Ruri shook her head. "No. Omoikane was programmed by Akino Rekoku to be the best war computer created, allowing the user to discover the best choices in a battle and carry them out."

"But he's gone beyond that Ruri, and you know it." A pause thickened the air, causing the silver-haired princess to cut it with a sharp grunt. "Huh?" Uribatake yanked a hand back and shook it; he had been shocked. He stuck his finger in his mouth.

"All the time he's spent with you has caused him to learn in ways no other computer has. Not only can he deduce the best choices, he can pick from them and carry them out, without even consulting the user for confirmation. In other words, Ruri, his mind and personality is as human as anyone else on this ship. He can learn, think, and feel for himself. I would have thought that you, of all people, would know that best."

Ruri was silent. She examined the markings on her hands, different from everyone else's symbols. "How do you know all of this?" Uribatake shrugged, facing her again. "Funny how you kids always come to me for your problems. Genji hates my damn guts, yet I have the smartest girl in the Earth Alliance asking for help with her best friend's romantic advances. Not to mention your brother is becoming something like me when I was his age, had I been on a warship at the time."

Ruri's pale lips turned upward. "God forbid. I'd hate to see the reaction of Okasama to what poor Ariko-chan has turned into now." Uribatake smirked at the teenager. "Do I sense some humor in your voice?"

"Maybe." Uribatake started to guffaw loudly. "And since when do you refer to your blood mom as 'Okasama'?" Ruri shrugged. "I have been speaking with Ariko-chan lately, when I wasn't avoiding Omoikane-chan and learning my magic. I just see the name attached to her now."

Uribatake stood up from his crouch. "And Ariko's been spending lots of time on the bridge, ne?" Ruri blinked, but Uribatake continued. "It's because of Yukina you know. And the fact that if he gets in good with Minato, maybe he can get to her there."

"Yukina is my age."

"He's aware of that, but does that turn him away? He's just too damn shy." Ruri nodded and started to turn to leave. "It's because you seem like a father-type."

Uribatake's face turned from amused to lost. "What?"

"Why we all can talk to you. And why I can talk to Kanchou. You're both like parental figures that care. I can say I'm much more willing to call you my father than Otosama." Uribatake raised an eyebrow. "That's ever-so-slightly disturbing. You ARE aware that half of my crew would die to have you talk to them one-on-one, ne?"

Ruri truly smiled at that. "Considering who is their boss, I'm not surprised." Uribatake scowled. "And now you're making fun of me. Why should I put up with this?" Ruri put a finger to her lips. "Because I'm your hypothetical daughter. Is that good enough for you?"

Uribatake shook his head and pinched one of her pale cheeks. "And of course my hypothetical daughter has many men chasing after her, including her best friend." Ruri glared at him. "Touché."

~*~

Yurika took a deep breath, concentrating on the master key that now rested in her hands instead of in the ignition of the Nadesico. One level below, Omoikane's electric eyes darted all around as he scanned the systems with his inner eyes. "Everything is now off, Kanchou!" reported the robot in his cheery tone. Yurika nodded, taking in yet another deep breath, as if preparing to do something very taxing. "Inserting master key!" she announced, immediately pushing the key back into its slot and locking it in place. The crew didn't have much warning before the ship started to come back online.

"Y-Unit connected, PT engines coming back online!" Ruri's eyes darted in another direction, shining with the electric quality of Omoikane's. "Distortion field generator normal, preparing to create field."

Minato nodded quickly. "PT engines online and started up, Kanchou! All systems nominal!" Yurika nodded. This was it. They could now leave, and pretend that all the revelations about magic had never happened.

On the lowest level, Hikaru wrapped her arms around herself. She was disappointed that they'd be leaving so soon. She was enjoying magic lessons. She liked not having to worry about going and piloting, killing others. She had finally found something she was good at that mattered. Piloting didn't matter. Writing didn't matter. Drawing didn't matter. Magic did.

Yurika was ready to get the hell off Ninlan. Going into people's minds and forcing them to do her will, POSSESSING them, was just so wrong. To know she had been given the gift was enough to make her want to leave, immediately. She didn't want to learn how to do it. She smiled serenely at the thought of going back to a peaceful Earth. Too bad that they had to leave the computer on the foreign planet. The thought of various Jumps, using Chulip Crystals of course, from Ninlan to Earth made her feel queasy. But, it was nothing to staying on the medieval planet. Closing her green eyes in rapture, she gave the final order. "All right, Ruri. Let's blow this Popsicle stand." Ruri nodded, the lights dancing in her amber eyes. "All engines, upward thrust."

It was when the last word left her lips that the ship rumbled, lifting itself from the forest floor slowly. Sighs of mixed emotions echoed throughout the bridge. Yurika was grinning like a madman. "Well, let's get out of here already!" Minato's eyebrows knit. 'She seems a bit too excited to leave, I think.' Nevertheless, she took the controls and started to define the initial settings for leaving the atmosphere that was so much like Earth's.

That was when the trouble began. The lights blanked out so suddenly, some of the startled bridge crew, namely Jun and Megumi, actually screamed. Yurika's green eyes blinked several times to get used to the low light. "Status, Omoikane!"

"PT engines shutting down, Distortion field unstable!" quivered the robot. Ruri's eyes darted in ever direction, trying to find the cause of the malfunction. Minato turned full in her chair. "Kanchou, the Nadesico is grounding itself!"

Yurika's mind flew to the first priority in all her knowledge: the safety of my crew. Grasping the controls in front of her, she yanked out the master key. "Brace yourselves!"

A mere second later the Nadesico rumbled for a much different reason. Yurika fell against the controls before her, because the Nadesico had crashed once again on the green, magical planet, and for another reason. A tear tracked down her face. 'No. No no no no. We were so close. So close. Are we stuck here forever? I… I want to go home. I want to go back to Earth…'

~*~

No one really noticed how quiet Ryoko was. Not until after the magic lesson that followed their attempts to go home. All they had worked on was controlling it, again. Rumiko had kept repeating that they couldn't do any real magic until they could control what had already been breaking out. Hikaru had seemed quite bored with the same old thing, but she was obviously the best of them at it.

No, no one really noticed there was something wrong with Ryoko until Izumi carried her book into the recreation hall for some peace while reading. Ryoko beating on a punching bag, nearly twice her size kept distracting the blue-haired pilot. She watched her green-haired friend through punches and kicks at the solid bag like there was no tomorrow, throwing her limbs in near-impossible directions to hurt the bag in any way possible.

The bag didn't move much, just swayed slightly. In her anger, Ryoko took some large steps back, then charged light-footed at the bag, bringing the suspended punching bag to the floor with her body. Landing on the solid heavily, Ryoko laid on it, breathing heavily. Her breathing hitched and her gloved hand connecting with the bag once more before Izumi realized that the tomboy she knew for so long, the kindergarten girl that beat the shit out of a third grader, the girl that only cried with her mother's death, was sobbing into the cloth of the thick bag.

Setting her book down, she padded slowly to where both Ryoko and the bag lay, tentatively reached a hand out to pat the poor girl's back, as the tomboy had done so many times whenever she had found Izumi sobbing due to her fiancée's deaths. Ryoko looked up at one of her two best friends, and Izumi's expression melted at seeing the distressed tears in her stormy, clouded blue eyes. Ryoko sat up and gripped Izumi's back, sobbing into her shoulder. Izumi rubbed her back, making soft, consoling noises and rubbing her head on Ryoko's, like a cat. 'The last time I've seen her this bad, Mom died. And she was fucking attached to her piano then. Hey…' Izumi pulled Ryoko off her a bit. "Ryoko, want to go see Itsuki? Maybe she'll let you use her keyboard for a while." Ryoko sniffed and nodded slowly. Izumi stood, helping Ryoko to her feet. The tomboy wrapped her arms around herself. Izumi smiled at her friend and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her out of the recreation hall.

It was when Ryoko's crying had slowed that Izumi started to probe for answers. "So, what happened, Ryoko? If you agreed to go see Itsuki, it must not be her." Ryoko shook her head. "I… I'm…" Her black eyebrows snapped together as the sentence left her lips at warp speed. "I'm fucking jealous of Hikaru!"

Izumi had to blink a couple of times. 'Ryoko is jealous of Hikaru?' "The fuck? How come? I mean, Jesus, you have a rich, genius, beautiful woman in love with you, you get lesbian sex on a regular basis, you're the best pilot we've ever seen, you're beautiful, you have a perfect body, and you're musically talented! What the hell more do you want?"

Ryoko stared at the floor. "You may not have noticed this, but Hikaru was always better than me at piloting. Maybe not at face value, or at strategies, but she's always had more control. Piloting… and now magic." Izumi was ready to do a facevault. "You're kidding me, right? You're jealous of Hikaru's magic?"

"Well… not so much her MAGIC as her TALENT." Izumi slapped her forehead. "My god, Ryoko, am I hearing this correctly? You're jealous of Hikaru's magical strength. Jesus fucking Christ. Do you realize how stupid this sounds?" Ryoko growled low in her throat, and Izumi realized she had wandered into dangerous territory.

"Look, Izumi, if you fucking don't want to listen, don't ask, all right?" Ryoko's confession and outburst made Izumi forget where they were going, and when the tomboy yanked herself out of Izumi's embrace, Izumi didn't know why she did, until she saw the room number. '104, Itsuki's. Shit. Now Itsuki's going to jump on my ass for being a bitch to her sextoy. Dammit. Just what I need.' She sighed. 'Well, maybe I could go complain to Inez and get my mind off it somehow.' She crossed her arms and headed towards the infirmary.

~*~

Rumiko hadn't even noticed the Megumi was sleeping in his chair again, for a second night in a row. He hadn't noticed his Book of Holy Words cradled in her arms, instead of on it's rightful alter. He barely even noticed it was night until he had glanced out his window, alarmed at how dark it was. He got up to close his curtains, to hide the moonlight, and to light a candle, but his legs felt wobbly. He stumbled over an unseen object, and his sight jumped to Megumi, scared that he had awakened her. She just pulled herself more into a ball. After lighting the single candle on the table, he pulled a blanket from his bed and laid it on the younger girl. All of this he did without much thought. It was Hikaru's demonstration of trying to mess up the other mages-in-training that had gotten the former apprentice priest to think back to the day, nearly twenty years ago, when his twin sister was executed.

"Fuck…" Rumiko immediately covered his mouth at his language. Apparently his students were making an affect on him. He shook his head, despite his original shock. "Why now? I have more things to worry about than-"

"-the past…" finished Megumi, rolling over in her sleep. Rumiko glanced at the Communications Officer. 'I have a feeling that she's in sync with me. I may have to ask Lady Ai about this.'

Megumi's blue eyes lazily opened and adjusted quickly to the dim light. Sitting up in the chair she was slowly beginning to claim as her bed, she rubbing her shoulders. "Why was it so noisy?" Rumiko chuckled. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" Megumi leaned back to crack her back, but not before Rumiko caught her at it and glared at her. "Don't do that. You'll just make it worse. Sit on my bed." Megumi, too sleepy to wonder what he was going to do, sat on the bed as told. Rumiko pulled his body behind hers and began to gently push her shoulder muscles into releasing their tension. "Just things from when I was younger. Nothing for you to worry about."

Megumi pulled her braid fro behind her to over her shoulder, giving him more access to her back. "Well, I'm awake now, so feel free to rant. You are kind of doing a good job." She blushed a bit at just how good a job he was doing. Rumiko thought nothing of her comment, however, and nodded, rubbing with somewhat inexperienced hands on her orange-clad back.

"I don't know what it was, but something today sparked me to think about my sister." Megumi smiled. "You have a sister? Where does she live? I have to meet her now." Rumiko's amber eyes clouded to golden. "She's dead."

Megumi's jaw dropped. "Oh Jesus. Christ, Rumiko, I'm sorry." Rumiko shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's been almost twenty years since she was executed."

Megumi froze and turned her head to make sure she heard right. "She was executed? Why?" Rumiko stopped rubbing her back, and looked into the distance. "When children turn three, they're mature enough to go through magical testing, usually done by the Head Priest at the Temple of Magus. Igadosu was still an apprentice then." Rumiko's breathing hitched a bit, but he willed himself to be as stoic about this subject as possible. "My twin sister, Galway, and I were old enough, and we had signs of magic. The priest, his name escapes me, found that yes, both my twin sister and I were mages. My parents were ecstatic, until they heard the bad news, that is. See, I wasn't kidding when I said they executed healers and Elemental mages on sight." Megumi's jaw went slack. "My god… and your sister-"

"-was Aer's Calm, a wind mage, an Elemental. They beheaded her." Megumi's hands, trembling, covered her mouth. She gagged a bit and Rumiko stood instantly, rushing to get her a cup of water. He didn't quite make it. Megumi ran out the door, vomiting outside with such a force, you'd think she had stomach flu. Rumiko carried the cup outside and held her hair back as she coughed and gagged again, more vomit spilling onto the ground.

An hour later, Rumiko and Megumi sat in her chair, the mage stroking the girl's hair. "Does your stomach feel better now?" he asked, whispering. Megumi nodded slowly. "Are you going to be quiet now?" she responded. Rumiko laughed throatily. "I suppose so," he answered, a yawn drawing the last word out. Megumi smiled and snuggled against him. "Good…" she mumbled, drifting off to sleep. Rumiko couldn't move if he wanted to. He was drifting off to sleep in this spot as well. 'Well, it doesn't really matter. Let my students talk. Magus knows they have nothing better to do with their lives.' His amber eyes fluttered closed as sleep swallowed him.

~*~

How amusing. My own minion, pining for his traitorous sister. And no, his students don't have anything else better to do. I mean, look, Ai-chan had to practically drag them all the way out here, and most of them don't care about their abilities. Just as well. Amusing as they are, I need to get them out of the picture soon. The more they learn, the stronger they get. I feel it. I just dread getting rid of them. They are so entertaining. I don't believe I've had so much fun in at least five millennia. Well, it must be done, and with planning of course. What, do you see Me stupid enough to take on eight of Their Messengers, three of My own, and a Healer without a plan of attack? How rude. Hmm, it seems I may have to take that one out as well. Pity. He was trained to be one of My followers, too. Oh well. Such is My work.

~*~

"I don't think I quite understand. Why would Ryoko be jealous of Hikaru?" Inez absently eyed some of the powders they had. She was almost sure that if you mixed a few of them, you could make a very satisfying explosion.

"Well, you know how Hikaru's stronger than everyone else, and for some reason Ryoko got this weird idea that she's a better pilot, and just general things like that. I don't get it either." Izumi just stood with her arms crossed, making sure the blue-haired girl at the counter didn't start giving them weird looks for their conversation, clothes, or relation.

"I know quite well how Hikaru's a better mage then Ryoko. Ryoko just does have the knack that Hikaru does. None of us do. And Hikaru has been quite the pilot, but Ryoko has always been the boss of you all, ne?" Izumi shrugged. "It's always been that way. Hikaru has talent, and doesn't care. Ryoko's got talent too, but she actually cares, and flings it around, shaking it in people's face. Hikaru barely ever got the spotlight at Pilot's training; it was always 'Subaru-this' and 'Subaru-that'. And Hikaru's finally happy with one of her talents, and Ryoko gets jealous because she's not as good, and not the center of attention regardless." Izumi ran a hand through her bangs, pushing them back a bit and frowning when they felt back into place.

"Seems that Ryoko just needs praise for being who she is. Low self esteem." Inez stood with her choice, a small packet of crushed cobalt blue crystals. Izumi nodded. "Sounds about right. Ryoko never has had much thought about herself. Apart from dying her hair green." Inez started to leave the store without Izumi, and the girl furrowed her brow before following. "What, trying to leave without me?"

"Maybe." Izumi glared at the doctor. "You're such a bitch sometimes."

Inez smiled. "I know."

~*~

Yurika smiled across the cafeteria to her new boyfriend. He smiled back. Minato rolled her eyes. "Kanchou, I mean no disrespect, but why are you being stupid? I mean, dating Akatsuki? Where's your self-respect, woman?" Yurika shook her head at the helmswoman. "I'm not quite sure why I'm dating him. Or what suddenly turned me to him for some reason. But… Magus, you have to admit he's easy on the eyes, charming, and all those things that can make a girl feel special."

"Not to mention sleazy, perverted, and a womanizer. Oh yeah. Great catch, there, Kanchou." Yurika narrowed her green eyes at Minato. "Excuse me, but I whipped all that shit out of him, if you don't mind." The abrupt, absurdity of Yurika's statement made Minato collapse in laughter. "Nice, Kanchou. Nice." Yurika smiled, proud of herself. "Besides, I told him if I caught him trying to get into another girl's pants, I'd stab him to death with a spork." Minato continued to snicker. "I can see you doing that, seriously."

"Good, because I would." Yurika picked up her spork and made stabbing motions towards Akatsuki. He held his hands up and made a face: 'What did I do?'

Yurika smiled: 'Nothing… yet.' Minato looked to the sky. "Whatever Gods we're supposed to follow now, help me from the BDSM couple. Please. I'll pay you." Yurika shrieked with laughter and attempted to kick the helmswoman. "Minato, you're really cool, you know that?"

Minato breathed on her fingernails and rubbed them on her uniform. "I'm just perfect in every way like that, you know?" Yurika giggled.

~*~

Ryoko frowned as Itsuki pulled the violin from under her chin. The violet-haired pilot looked at the Quakist expectantly. "Well?" Ryoko sighed, sure that this was going to go in a bad direction. Music always seemed to do that between her and Itsuki nowadays.

"Personally, I always thought 'Regret' sounded better on piano. But… I guess it's okay on violin too. I just like it on piano better."

Itsuki put her violin in her case and started talking as if she didn't hear Ryoko's comment. "On the piano it sounds desperate, and violin is much sadder. That's the point, right?" Ryoko sighed once more, this time with the predictable boiling anger in her rising. 'Great. Fight #177 commences… now.' She gritted her teeth, willing herself to stay stoic, to not yell. "The POINT is for ME express the sadness and 'REGRET' after Okachan died."

Itsuki sighed and rolled her dark brown eyes. "Are we back on that again? I told you before, Ryoko. It takes more than one person to make music." Ryoko crossed her arms and distanced her gaze. "Oh, what do you know, Itsuki." Itsuki glared at her lover, fisting her hands on her hips. "More than you, obviously."

Ryoko focused her clouded blue eyes to a glare at the musician again. "Just because you went to a music school doesn't mean-"

"You forget also that I supposedly have Music magic," interrupted Itsuki. The tomboy stood and curled her hands into fists. "Which is the ability to influence with music," shouted she, sarcastically. "I know, Itsuki!"

Itsuki set her jaw. "Which means I know more about how someone can interpret a song."

"I don't care how they interpret it! Dammit, Itsuki, I wrote it to blow off my steam and to stop bawling and ripping up things, not to influence people!" screamed the tomboy, her face taking on a rather nasty red hue.

Itsuki somehow kept her tone calm. "I can't talk to you when you're shouting like this." Ryoko stamped a foot. "And I WON'T talk to you when you've got COTTON in your ears!"

Itsuki's expression darkened. "I do not have cotton in my ears. I'm hearing you quite well. You're very loud, Ryoko."

"You're HEARING me, but you don't seem to be LISTENING!"

"I am listening. You're just wrong and you can't accept it!" Itsuki voice raised an octave as she finished her sentence. Ryoko stormed out, shouting, "I am NOT!"

Itsuki sighed and sat down on her bed, rubbing her temples. Sometimes she just couldn't control her little love.

Ryoko ran down the hallway, not caring who she literally ran into. When she came to the first intersection she threw her body against the wall. Sinking to the floor, she watched her hands tremble in anger. She could have sworn she felt the Nadesico tremble as well, but she wasn't very sure. Not that she cared.

~*~

TBC…

~*~

A/N: …um, yeah. Stuff. I'm aware that I ended that crappily. Leave me alone. Yeah. What do I see for next time? Hmm, good question. Characterization up the ass, some bonding, and let's not forget something to do with Hikaru-chan. I kinda didn't follow her at all, but that's okay. I followed Ryoko, and we haven't done that in a while. It was a good change. So, just how crappy was it? Eh? As usual, R&R. SHADOW!!! Please come online again someday. ;_; Can we say desperate need for a beta?