Disclaimer
Tenchi and all associated characters are the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC. I don't own any rights to them. Any other characters are property of their respective copyright holders, not me.
*****
Duty Calls
Chapter 3
Training Draws to a Close*****
Ayeka watched on the viewscreen in her cabin as the Jurian treeship, Hur-aj, slid smoothly into orbit above planet Jurai. She sighed with regret at leaving Sasami back on Earth, and not for the first time on this voyage she wondered where Ryoko was and how she was doing on her mission. Although she understood that some of Ryoko's abilities uniquely qualified her for the assignment, the princess still wished that Washu had chosen her to go while Ryoko stayed home with the kids. Next time, she vowed to herself, she would be the one to go. Ayeka hadn't used her powers to any great extent for several years, having been warned by both Washu and Tsunami that her demonic tendencies would become more and more obvious with continued use, but lately she'd been practicing in private and felt that she had everything under control.
A loud noise followed by a screech drew her attention away from the screen and the princess turned to see Keiko literally flying into the room, tears running down her tiny face. "Mommy Ayeka," the little girl wailed. "Juro pulled my hair!"
"Did not," came a shout from beyond the door. "Besides, she kicked me first!"
"That was after he pinched me," sniffed Ryoko's daughter, glomping on to Ayeka's left leg.
The young man in question sauntered through the door, a smug look on his face and Ay-ohki perched atop his head in cabbit form. "She started it," he told his mother. "Ay-ohki was playing with me and she teased him away with a carrot."
Ayeka sighed and unsuccessfully tried to detach Keiko from her lower extremities. "The last time I checked," she told her son, "he was playing quietly with both of you. What happened?"
Juro looked down at his toes. "I wanted him to play with just me. She always gets to play with him or Ryo-ohki." He ran over and grabbed his mother's free leg, glaring at his half-sister who stuck out her tongue at him. The white cabbit hopped from the boy's head up onto his master's shoulder and Ayeka rubbed her cheek against her friend's forehead. She knew how much he missed his mate; she felt the same way about Tenchi and Ryoko.
"Well, well," came Washu's voice from the doorway. "I can't leave you two alone for a minute before you start in on each other. Kinda reminds me of how two other people I know used to be. It was hopeless trying to keep them from each other's throats too."
Ayeka raised her head and smiled at the diminutive scientist. "Indeed. Perhaps if you looked more like an adult people would pay more attention to you."
"Maybe," Washu replied, grinning back. "But don't let the size fool you. Besides, I happen to like staying this size, especially when I'm around the kids. Less threatening you know."
Ayeka felt a tug on her robe. She looked down at Juro trying to get her attention. "What is it dear?" she asked.
"Are we there yet?" came the response. Keiko nodded her head in agreement with her brother.
Ayeka sighed again and turned her attention back to the screen where the planetary shuttles were now lining up to take them and their belongings down to the surface.
*****
"Corporal!" Sergeant Odurona called up the ladder to George's open hatch. "There's someone here to see you!"
Tenchi jerked up from where he'd been buried shoulder deep in one of the vehicle's maintenance panels. The back of his head contacted the open panel with a muted 'clang'; there was a crackle and the sharp smell of ozone as something shorted out. "Ouch," he said under his breath. "Now what?"
"I believe it's time for us to meet our newest crewmember," the vehicle told him. "Oh joy."
"This time I agree with you," Tenchi said, feeling the back of his head for blood, bumps or singed hair. He seemed to be undamaged, for now anyway. "Give me a visual," he told the AI.
"Can't" said George. "In your own unique way, your last encounter with my circuitry seems to have damaged the connection to the external imaging array on that side. You'll either have to fix it or get your ass out there in person."
Tenchi sighed and stood up; brushing off his knees and his bottom he made his way to the hatch. Looking out, he saw the DI and another person standing at the base of the access ladder. "Be right there," he called and started down the ladder.
Reaching the bottom he turned and assumed a position of parade rest. "Yes, Sergeant," he said. "You wished to speak to me?"
Sergeant Odurona harrumphed and wiped his nose with a handkerchief pulled from his pocket. "Yes Masaki, there's a couple of things I need to talk to you about. The first is that your rank is no longer acting. For some reason," he gave Tenchi a sly wink, "the request to make your rank permanent has been approved. And…" he motioned behind him, "they've finally gotten around to assigning you your specialist. Goddess knows why it took them so long, you only have a few days left before you get your orders and ship out; but still, here she is. And according to her records, Specialist Merlaj is one of the top people for her rank."
A tall, dark skinned woman stepped up and held out her hand. Tenchi took it, not letting his emotions show. Why me, he thought. Why is it always a cute female? First Ryoko, Ayeka and Mihoshi, then Ka'dithy and now this. Why can't my close friends and associates ever be male, or at least neutral? He looked the woman over. She was well built, not quite as dark as Mihoshi and almost as tall as he was, her black hair cut short in a military style. Her ears were almost flat against her head and came to delicate points. She reminded him of a Vulcan from that old American TV series. Then she smiled at him, showing a set of delicate fangs. Or maybe not, he thought as his gaze moved from her pointy teeth to her dark purple eyes. Definitely not.
"Pleased to meet you Corporal," Specialist Merlaj said in a husky voice. "Sergeant Odurona has told me so much about you on the walk over here."
"Er, um, not quite everything," the sergeant said turning away. "I'll leave you three to get acquainted." He patted George's armored side. "Good luck."
Merlaj dropped Tenchi's hand and started to walk around the huge vehicle. She looked at the two sets of tracks and at the various weapons ports that were always kept closed while in the depot. Her gaze wandered up to the vehicle's main gun, a 20cm plasma cannon capable of taking out a starship in orbit with a bolt of frozen metallic hydrogen accelerated to .8C by an electromagnetic field. "Quite a machine you've got here Tenchi," she said as the outside tour stopped back at the boarding ladder. "Is it true that you've given it a name?"
"Him," Tenchi said. "And yes." He walked over to George's armored side and tapped it. "George, this is Specialist Merlaj. She's going to be our comm operator."
The glowing circle appeared on the armor. "Place you hand palm down in the circle Specialist, so I can authorize you." The woman grinned and placed her hand in the glow. "Accessing Juraian Military records. Identity verified, comm specialist Merlaj. No other name given." Merlaj started to lift her hand. "Wait," said George. "Accessing Juraian Government records…" Merlaj frowned; she couldn't let that happen. Unnoticed by Tenchi an orange glow leaked out from under the hand against George's armor. "What?" started the AI. "Oh, I understand, never mind then. Welcome Specialist Merlaj. Tenchi, could you bring her up to the command compartment? Maybe she can fix some of the damage you caused earlier."
"Uh, sure," said Tenchi, scratching the back of his head. He gestured toward the ladder. Merlaj gave a shallow bow and started up, followed a moment later by Tenchi. How odd, he thought to himself. George was awfully meek there at the end. And how did she know my name? I've never told her and I don't remember Sergeant Odurona mentioning it either. Oh well, maybe he told her on the way over. Tenchi gave a mental shrug and continued up the ladder to the hatch that Merlaj had disappeared through a moment before. Unseen by anyone, a small area of George's armor gave off a few more almost invisible wisps of smoke before it cooled.
*****
Tenchi awoke to find a pair of eyes glowing at him in the darkness. "Ryoko," he groaned before remembering that his wife was light years and at least a week's travel time away. "Lights!" he called. Ka'dithy was sitting backwards in the room's only chair, wearing nothing but a thin t-shirt and panties. Tenchi sat up and wrapped his sheet around himself. "Gods, Ka'dithy, you scared me!" he said to his friend. "Why are you in here this late? Or maybe I don't want to know. Go back to bed."
"Can't Tenchi," the t'Dnal said with a shake of her cute head. "Not until I get something straight in my mind."
"What is it," asked Tenchi, flopping back on the bed in relief. He should have realized that if Ka'dithy was going to come on to him for real instead of always teasing him she would have done it before now.
Ka'dithy frowned, not sure exactly where to start. "Tenchi, you know I'm not human or Juraian; at least not in the same sense that you are."
"You're an attractive woman Ka'dithy, if that's what's bothering you." Tenchi rolled over and looked at her appraisingly. "Very attractive. But I'm married and you know that."
The t'Dnal gave him a wry smile. "Thanks for the compliment, I think. But that's not what I meant. Or rather it is what I meant, just not that way. See Tenchi, because my species is different, I don't see you as a potential mate. Hopefully you don't see me that way either."
Tenchi smiled, this was amusing and informative but he wasn't sure where she was going with it and he wanted to get back to sleep. Besides, dressed as she was in the skimpy underwear, she was really attractive at the moment; there was something… if not erotic then certainly exotic in the way she was sitting in the chair. And after all, he was a normal human male, and still half asleep to boot. "I don't," he replied after a moment's hesitation to get his thoughts back where they belonged. "But not for that reason. My Ryoko isn't quite human either; she's a biological android, a construct."
Ka'dithy's eyes widened. "Really? I didn't know that. How… unusual for a Terran. But my point is that your new crewmember is human in your sense of the word."
Ah, thought Tenchi. So that's it. He sat back up in bed. "Listen," he said mildly. "No need to worry on my account, if you ever meet either of my wives you'll understand why. There's no one in my life but them so don't let it bother you."
"Then you won't mind if I keep my eye on her, just in case?" Ka'dithy asked.
Maybe those rumors about her are true, Tenchi reflected. "Be my guest," he said expansively. "Give it your best shot."
Ka'dithy blushed at the hidden meaning in his words and given the way she was dressed at the moment, Tenchi could see that the blush covered her whole fuzzy body. "No no," she exclaimed. "It's not like that! Not at all. It's you I'm worried about."
"Then don't be," he told her again. "Now go back to bed." He rolled over until his back was towards her. He heard the chair scrape the floor as she stood up.
"Thanks Tenchi, thanks for talking to me," she said. "I think I'll be able to sleep now."
Tenchi rolled around until he was facing her again. "You're welcome," he said. He looked at her two pairs of breasts pressing against the material of her shirt. "Just next time put on more clothes, ok?"
Ka'dithy giggled. "Why Tenchi, I didn't know you'd noticed." She turned and wiggled her bottom at him, her small, bushy tail plainly visible through the thin fabric of her underwear.
Tenchi sighed in resignation; she'd never change. Of course he'd thought the same about Ryoko once too. "Good night Ka'dithy," he said firmly.
"'Night Tenchi," she replied as the door closed behind her.
"Lights off," mumbled Tenchi. "Image that; Ka'dithy, defender of virtue." He chuckled drowsily and was back asleep in minutes. The next morning he didn't even remember the incident and spent a good part of the day wondering why Ka'dithy kept giving hostile looks to Merlaj whenever their paths crossed.
*****
Washu stalked around the suite assigned to the family, poking her nose into cupboards and closets, making comments about things and generally annoying her daughter-in-law to distraction. The two children thought it was fun though to follow Grandma around and insert their own opinions about the quality of the accommodations. At the end of the tour Washu pronounced the suite habitable, much to the chagrin of Keiko and Juro who were expecting Grandma to insist on other quarters.
Now that everyone was finally satisfied with the rooms, Ayeka shooed the servants out and collapsed onto a chair in the front room. "Oh my," she said in an exhausted tone, "I hope mother and father don't have anything major planned for tonight. I don't think the children can handle much more excitement today." She reached out and nabbed her son as he ran by, headed nowhere in particular at a very rapid clip.
"It's not the kids I'm worried about," huffed Washu as little Keiko zoomed by overhead. "It's us." Her hand darted up and snatched the girl's leg causing the child to screech at the sudden interruption forward motion. "I've said it before, like mother, like daughter. I just wish she'd waited a few more years before she learned to fly. At least she can't teleport yet." The little girl disappeared with a loud pop of displaced air and reappeared several feet away with a smug look on her face. "Damn," muttered Washu.
"I wonder when I'll get to see Tenchi?" Ayeka wondered as she pulled Juro into the chair with her. "I'll bet he looks so handsome in his uniform." She sighed as her imagination took hold and Juro tried to wiggle out of her grip.
Washu materialized her holo terminal while keeping a wary eye on Keiko. The little girl seemed to have exhausted herself teleporting, but Washu knew that with children appearances could be deceiving. She quickly hacked into the Juraian military net and queried the database for any orders pertaining to Tenchi. "Give it a week Ayeka," she told the princess after perusing the screen. "He's due to get his orders in a day or so then he gets a week leave before having to move on to his duty station. Doesn't say where that is though, the security clearance I'm using isn't high enough to read it."
The princess smiled. "A whole week with Tenchi and no Ryoko around to spoil it. Ahhh."
Washu chuckled at Ayeka's comment. "Now, now princess. I thought you were enjoying Ryoko's company while Tenchi's been gone."
Ayeka's head came up and her smile widened. "But I enjoy Tenchi's company more. Don't tell Ryoko though, ok?"
Ryoko's mother turned her attention back to the computer. "I'm sure she feels exactly the same way," she said wryly. "Now, let's see if I can find out what my erstwhile daughter's been up to since we sent her off." She keyed in another query. "Hmmm, now this is interesting…"
*****
Tenchi walked off the shuttle and looked around for his family. He didn't see them anywhere in the concourse, which surprised him. What surprised him even more was when a pair of Royal Guards stepped up to him and politely asked him to accompany them. At first he considered resisting, but he saw the looks the other disembarking passengers were giving him so he meekly followed them to a small room off the main passage.
As the door closed behind him he asked the smaller of the two what this was all about. The larger one answered him with a stony face. "Corporal Masaki, the boss would like to talk to you before you leave, please wait here." With that cryptic remark the two left him alone in the room; he heard the door lock click when they went out.
Boss? he wondered as he took a seat in a hard metal chair, his duffel bag on the floor next to him. The only boss of the Royal Guard that I know is…
"Tennnchiiii!" shouted Misaki as she bounded through the suddenly unlocked door. He stood up just in time to be snatched into one of her infamous hugs. "Oh you look so healthy. Military life must agree with you." She squeezed him tighter.
"Mmmssskkkee! Cccnnnt bbrrrtthh," he squeaked out as she forced the air from his lungs.
"What's that dear boy?" his mother-in-law asked.
"Cccann't Bbbbreatthhe," he gasped again.
"Can't breathe? Oh, sorry." She let him go and he dropped back into the chair, the bluish tint fading from his face as his lungs sucked in the wonderful, sweet air.
"Not that I don't enjoy seeing you Misaki, but why are you here and not Ayeka and Ryoko?" Tenchi asked as he rolled his shoulders trying to pop them back into their sockets.
Misaki chuckled gleefully. "I pulled rank. It's been years since I've seen you; the others can wait a few more minutes. I told them you were tied up in Customs."
"Customs?" Tenchi said. "But it was a local shuttle, there is no Customs inspection for local flights."
The queen grinned. "I know that, you know that, but they…" She was interrupted by the door flying open and a very angry princess stalking into the room. Tenchi jumped up again.
"Mother," Ayeka hissed. "How dare you…" She suddenly spotted Tenchi and came to an abrupt halt, her anger at Misaki all but forgotten. "Oh. … Tennnchiii!" He was glomped onto again, but not as tightly as before.
"Hello Ayeka, I missed you," he told his wife as he bent down to kiss her. She returned the kiss with a passion that belied her royal demeanor.
"I missed you too," she said when they both finally came up for air. Her eyes were sparkling with joy.
"Where are Ryoko and the kids?" he asked, looking at the door. Two small blurs came charging through and each grabbed a leg. "Daddy!" they both cried out. He gathered them up in his arms and squeezed; the kids squealed with joy. He looked back at the door in anticipation only to find Washu leaning idly against the doorframe, the two cabbits Ay-ohki and Mis-ohki perched her shoulders.
"Hi Tenchi," Washu said with a casual wave. "She's not here." Tenchi's expression drooped and Washu chuckled. "Get that hurt puppy look off your face, she's fine. I sent her on an important mission a couple weeks ago and she's not back yet. She sends all her love though."
Ayeka nodded agreement while cuddled against her husband. "Yes dear," the princess said with a wicked grin. "And she told me to tell you that I'm to get her share of your attention as well while she's not here."
I'll just bet she did, was what ran through his mind. What actually escaped his mouth as he rolled his eyes toward the ceiling was "God help me!" To which Washu and Misaki both smiled evilly.
*****
To be continued
*****
Author's Notes.
For those of you that don't remember or maybe haven't read my previous stories, Misaki and Funaho have cabbits now too, due to Misaki's eternal quest for cuteness; she semi-accidentally released them from cold-sleep at the end of "Jurai, Here We Come".
Due to several requests, after the review responses I have attached my ideas on Ka'dithy and the t'Dnal in general. Ka'dithy started out as a minor character, someone for Tenchi to interact with during training since his wives weren't there. She became a bit more than that though and I've fleshed out (so to speak) some background on her and her people. If any other authors want to use the t'Dnal in their stories, be my guest. It doesn't have to tie into my stories or even Tenchi for that matter; in my opinion, the characters are too good to waste. All I ask is that you let me know so I can read your work.
I know that my description of Ka'dithy contradicts some of her words and actions, but bear with me on this and all will become clear (hopefully) at the end if not before.
*****
Review Responses
Dennisud – It doesn't transform and I pulled the reference for George from a series of books. You're probably right as to who the programmer is but you'll have to wait and see about the second crewman.
Knight's Shadow – Thanks for the compliment. I'm going to try to work faster on these but no promises.
Smack54 – I'll let you in on a secret, you're not wrong. Then again, maybe you are. You'll have to wait like the rest and see.
Jon Cook – If I told you that GRG had treads, Durachrome armor and a Hellbore would it mean anything to you? How about Infinite Repeaters? He has all this but I hesitate to call him a Bolo because the General Motors Bolo Division didn't build him.
Wharpt – Keep it up, you're batting 1.000 here. I ought to let you write this since you seem to know what's going to happen before I do. I think I still have a few surprises up my sleeve though.
Blackbird – 7-90? Isn't that the talking robot head from the Lexx? If so, the reference is purely unintentional. Next thing you know Ka'dithy will be half cluster lizard and I'll have a walking dead guy hanging around.
Alighthawk – No, he doesn't actually need any saving, but the others have a tendency to over-exaggerate any problems they think he might encounter. Didn't you know? Embellishing stories is an old military tradition.
Lizzy Hakubi – Naming your vehicle is not uncommon in the military, especially for the larger ones like aircraft and tanks. It's all unofficial though.
I3itterSweet – (Surprised I spelled it that way?) You don't need to know much about the military and I'm not really trying to write military SF here, if you want to read some good military SF try anything by David Drake or David Weber. Tenchi's never tried to hide who he is; it's just that no one believed him when he told them.
Peacekeeperchuck – Thank you, I hope I can maintain the same level in the rest of the chapters. Or improve it.
Ministry Agent – Force-feeding them mothballs? Yech. They did some rotten stuff to us but nothing that would cause any lasting effects. Unless you count psychological effects that is. I'm continually watching over my shoulder for the men in the funny white coats. A description of George eh? Since this seems to be the chapter for descriptions, let's see…
Unit GRG"George" is about 20 meters long and 6 meters high (damn metrics, I'm used to inches and feet.) He displaces about 170 tons (or tonnes, if you're British. We colonists have really screwed up the language, right?) He has two sets of tracks (4 tracks total) running the length of his hull; an inner set and an outer set. This allows him to maneuver even if two tracks are lost. His main gun is a 20 cm plasma weapon, mounted in a rotating turret, that fires a slug of compressed, frozen hydrogen at near lightspeed using an electromagnetic accelerator. The hydrogen is heated and further compressed by the gun's magnetic field so that by the time it emerges it's fusion-hot. The close defense weapons (hell, why not call them Infinite Repeaters?) fire a similar but slower projectile at a much higher rate of fire and for much shorter distances. His AI (artificial intelligence) program is capable of fully independent thought and it's only military paranoia that requires him to have a crew. Ka'dithy's Nimby is a similar vehicle but a bit smaller. Nimby's main weapon is a 10 cm weapon and less accurate over long distances. It could possibly hit a ship in orbit, but it would be more by luck than anything else and would need multiple hits to kill it whereas George could most likely do it in one shot.
*** pause for breath before continuing ***
Ranger – (Who sent me an email review) Yep, that's exactly what he has, a Bolo. I applaud you for picking that up.
*****
The t'Dnal.
Physical Description
The t'Dnal are a humanoid species that differ from Terrans or Juraians in several minor respects. The females (all t'Dnal are females) have two sets of breasts, one above the other with the lower ones being as well formed but usually much smaller than the upper set. They have a short tail, about 2 to 3 inches long that that they normally keep tucked in against their backside but when angry, surprised or otherwise aroused it can stand straight out and fluff up like a cat's.
The t'Dnal tend to be slender and well proportioned; a fat t'Dnal is rare but slightly plump ones are not unusual. They have hair in all the expected places and it runs the gamut of normal humanoid (for anime anyway) colors. Except for the palms of their hands, the soles of their feet and around certain areas of the breasts, their skin is covered with fine, almost invisible fuzz, the racial remnant of fur. From a short distance and in loose clothing they would be indistinguishable from a Human or Juraian.
Their strength and other attributes fall well within the humanoid norm; they are not abnormally strong, can't fly or breathe underwater; no fangs, retractable claws or wings. They can see slightly better in the dark though.
General backgroundThe t'Dnal species evolved on a temperate, forested world with very little climatic change. Basically a peaceful people, the males of the species could be very aggressive toward each other when any sort of conflict arose. The females are more passive but by no means submissive. Over time a genetic defect appeared in the species affecting only the male portion of the population. The best minds on t'Dnal and Planet Jurai tried to solve the problem but nothing worked (this was when Washu was a prisoner on Soja BTW) and so all the males eventually died off. Due to his defect a male t'Dnal born now seldom lives past his fifth year and NEVER to puberty, thus the current t'Dnal society is entirely female.
The t'Dnal are very sexual beings that are biologically compatible with most other humanoids and the t'Dnal genetics are ALWAYS dominant when mixing with other species. The t'Dnal are a long-lived species, the average lifespan being approximately 800 Earth years. They age slowly, not showing any outward aging signs until the last few decades of life, and are fertile throughout most of their long lives.
As a people, the t'Dnal prefer to stay on their home planet, some choosing other females as mates and having children together via genetic manipulation and in vitro fertilization; most however, remaining single and childless. Others, a large minority, choose to leave the homeworld and make their marks in the galaxy at large; often finding male companionship but sometimes not, as finding a mate is not a prime reason for leaving, rather a fringe benefit. Most of those that do find partners off-world eventually bring those mates home because the t'Dnal homeworld is known for it's natural beauty and is a pleasant place to live.
The t'Dnal make fine soldiers and police officers as they are absolutely loyal to family, friends and employers, refuse to do anything that violates their rigid code of ethics and are a highly intelligent people. However, because of the extremely low birthrate (with the t'Dnal ethics, cloning is not an option), the t'Dnal as a species are in a no-win situation. It's been estimated by the greatest scientific minds on both the t'Dnal homeworld and Planet Jurai that there will be no more t'Dnal within the next few millennia.
Ka'dithyKa'dithy is typical of the t'Dnal who choose to venture off-planet; she's restless and has a sharp sense of humor. The youngest of three siblings and still fairly young for a t'Dnal, her age in Earth years is about 40; she looks early to mid twenties though and this will not change significantly for the next 700 or so years. She's of average height and build, with dark red/brown hair that's usually plaited in a loose braid to just below the nape of her neck (think hair like Excel from Excel Saga only shorter.) Her eyes are a dark, almost midnight, blue.
Her family is fairly well-to-do and highly placed in the loose planetary government and her mothers were disappointed that she chose not to follow her sisters into the family political business, but they will support her in whatever she does.
Ka'dithy, feeling uncomfortable in t'Dnal society for reasons even she can't explain, decided that she needed to make a name for herself off-world, so at the first opportunity she enlisted in the Juraian military. This was also something of a disappointment to the family as they offered to buy her a commission but she turned them down flat, wanting to rise through the ranks on her own merits.
Although she likes to play jokes on everyone, she teases Tenchi mercilessly because deep down she knows that he would never take her actions seriously nor try to take advantage of her playful come-ons. She really likes Tenchi and is comfortable around him but does not consider herself in love with him, although she probably wouldn't turn down an opportunity to be with him if it arose; concubines and multiple marriages are allowed by t'Dnal society, but are very uncommon due to the lack of males. However, Tenchi has made it clear to her that he's totally committed to his wives; she respects him for this and because of her loyalty to him (and also to Ayeka and Ryoko by proxy) has to content herself with her teasing until something or someone else comes along.
*****
BobR
11/19/2002