Chapter 10 - "That's my name..."
"Really," Tenchi said. "I feel fine now. Just a little tired." Tenchi lay in a bed in Takebe's house. They had taken him there after he had collapsed; he had just woken up. The group surrounded the bed, Sasami holding his hand and Washu examining him with various devices.
"You don't have to make a fuss over me," Tenchi repeated. "Oww!" he said, as Washu pulled a small suction cup off his chest. Tenchi looked down and noticed that it had left a neat, round hickey. "Washu!"
"Tenchi, hush," Sasami said. "Let Washu make sure you're okay."
Tenchi sighed. "All right, but did she have to put on the nurse's outfit?"
"Yes!" Washu said, smiling. "You people are disgustingly healthy, so I don't get to wear it very often." Washu stepped back, putting her hands on her hips and striking a pose. "I think it really highlights my figure, don't you Tenchi?"
Tenchi sighed again.
"Humph. After all the effort I put into my bedside manner," she said. "Well, I think I have everything I need for now. I'm going to sit and analyze these results. I should know something before long. In the meantime, rest." Washu patted Tenchi on the cheek, then turned and left the room.
"Well, since the doctor's orders are to rest," Pakma said.
"She's not a doctor," Tenchi interjected.
"I heard that!" Washu's voice floated in from the hall.
Pakma smiled. "I'll see you later, Tenchi."
"Thanks, Latel," Tenchi said, yawning. Sasami patted the hand she was holding, smiling. Tenchi glanced at her and sighed again.
"Uh, Sasami," Ayeka said. "Why not make Tenchi some soup to make him feel better."
"Oh, what a good idea!" Sasami replied brightly. "Would you like that, Tenchi?"
"That would be great, Sasami," Tenchi replied. "Thank you."
"Mihoshi, was that your stomach rumbling?" Ayeka said.
"Oh! Was it? In all the excitement I didn't notice," Mihoshi said. "Come to think of it, a snack would be nice." She put one hand on her stomach and licked her lips.
"Come on, Mihoshi, I'll make us something while I'm getting Tenchi's soup ready," Sasami said.
"Oh, that's great, Sasami; thanks! Are you coming, Ayeka?"
"I'll be there in a minute," Ayeka said as Sasami and Mihoshi left.
"Thanks Ayeka," Tenchi said.
When they door had shut, Ayeka sat on the edge of the bed. "Tenchi, we must talk," she said.
"Sasami," he replied.
Ayeka nodded. "I have watched her since we all got back for this last summer together and there is no doubt: she is very taken with you."
Tenchi looked slightly panicked. "I was hoping it was my imagination," he said.
"Why 'hoping'," Ayeka asked. "I know you are fond of Sasami."
"Yes, fond; we're all fond of Sasami. But I never wanted her to be interested in me."
"You should have expect it," Ayeka smiled. "Everyone loves you, Tenchi. You know that."
"Yes, but Sasami?"
"Would that be so terrible?" Ayeka asked softly. "To be loved by Sasami; to have a family with Sasami?"
"That's not what I meant, Ayeka, and you know it," Tenchi said, slightly annoyed. "Sasami is great; you know how much I like her and care about her. But, I'm sorry to sound like a broken record, but I've just never thought about Sasami that way."
"Well, Tenchi," Ayeka said firmly, "you'd better start."
Tenchi looked down at his hands, his expression unhappy.
"Damn it, Tenchi!" Ayeka barked. Tenchi's eyes widened in surprise at Ayeka's language. "Tenchi, I spent several years pining for you, fighting over you, waiting for you-"
"I never asked you to wait for me," Tenchi interjected defensively.
"Let me finish," Ayeka said. "Waiting for you to make a decision and to let me know what it was! That is all I ever wanted; to know if you might someday consider me to be someone you could love or to tell me honestly that you and I would never be together so that I could put you out of my dreams.
"Now, I feel Sasami might be going down the same path that I walked and I fear for her; but I also fear for you. Do not underestimate Sasami, Tenchi. She is more determined than either Ryoko or me; and you do not want to make her angry."
"Sasami, angry?" Tenchi retorted.
Ayeka sighed. "You foolish man. You underestimate how angry she can get because so far you have only seen her upset about little things. This is no little thing. Sasami will not put up with your indecisiveness as I did and as Ryoko does."
"Don't bring Ryoko into this."
"I have to, Tenchi. She is my friend and I will not have her hurt any more than she has been."
Tenchi put a hand to his head, feeling dizzy with the conversation. "Ayeka, I..." He looked at her, she waited expectantly. "Ayeka, I'm not good at this. I can't just think about my feelings, weigh them. Feelings aren't like numbers that add up. Ryoko and Sasami aren't two sides of a scale where one will outweigh the other. None of you are! You're people and it's more than just what I want, it's what you want as well!
"Do you think I don't know how you all feel? Do you think I don't feel that pulling at me, tearing me into pieces? I just can't stand thinking about how much it will hurt any of you if I was to push you aside. It just kills me!"
Ayeka took his hand. "Tenchi, you are an adult. We are all adults. We all take responsibility for our own feelings and the pain they cause us. Nobody can fully control their feelings, but one can work through them and live through them.
"Mihoshi and I worked through our feelings for you. Ryoko or Sasami - or both, if you fall in love with someone else, will live through them. Nobody - not even Ryoko - can pine forever.
"Sasami is young and has a long life ahead of her. She also has the merge with Tsunami in her near future. She will very quickly bounce back and move on after losing you.
"Ryoko has lived thousands of years and suffered unspeakably for most of them; yet she has remained the person she is. She has known you for less than three decades and thanks to Washu's abilities, her life span is practically unlimited. She will get over losing you and someday you will only be a small regret in a long life.
"Tenchi, I am sorry to sound cruel, but you are basically being selfish and conceited. You think you can not handle the results of your decision and want to spare yourself that pain or you want to us waiting until you make up your mind. Unacceptably selfish.
"Your conceit is in thinking that only you can handle the pain of knowing what it is that you want; that you assume that Ryoko or Sasami - or any of us - would wither and die without the great Tenchi Masaki by our side. You have some wonderful qualities, Tenchi, but the universe does not revolve around you."
Ayeka stood, looking down at him. "I have had my say, Tenchi. It is up to you what you do; but I think it is high time you did something. Do you understand me?"
Tenchi gazed at her and nodded, looking very unhappy. Ayeka nodded at him, turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Washu sat in the room she had been given, perched on her pillow with her terminal in front of her, keying furiously. She wished she had her entire lab, but there was enough power in the equipment she had brought to do some primary analysis. If there was anything more needed, they could return to Okayama where she had access to every instrument known to science, and a good many that were only known to her.
"Let's see," Washu said to herself, almost mumbling. She began working through pages of displays at dizzying speed, her mind able to grasp nuance and detail even as the information streamed by. She sat this way for many minutes, not moving; barely even blinking.
Then, her eyes widened and her hand stabbed at the keyboard and the display froze.
"Oh no," she said quietly.
The planet was nondescript and out-of-the-way. Normal space lanes went nowhere near the place and there was nothing valuable about the planet itself, the other planets in the system or the boring yellow sun they orbited.
The trail led here.
Ryo-Ohki cruised through the system using the beacon-marked approach lanes. As they drew near the planet, Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki scanned through spaceport beacons, Ryo-Ohki comparing the information and images with what her senses were telling her about the ship they were seeking. An hour out from the planet, she picked one as their quarry's destination.
"Trans-Space Sales, Service, Wrecking and Salvage: Leeto Rowth Proprietor," Ryoko read. "You sure, Ryo-Ohki?"
"Miya!"
"All right, if you're sure, then let's check it out. I'll find something nearby." A quick search showed that there were several other ports in the area. Ryoko picked the seediest looking one and called them, voice only.
"Vogas'. What?"
"I need a bay," Ryoko said.
"How big, how long?" the voice asked.
"Your smallest. A week will do." Ryoko replied.
The man quoted an exorbitant figure: one that would lease a decent- sized bay for a year on most worlds. "Are you joking?" Ryoko asked.
The man laughed lowly. "No. Take it or leave it. But keep in mind that I don't give a damn who you are and I don't ask questions. You're using voice channel only, which tells me that who you are matters."
Ryoko growled. "Done," she said. "Give me a beacon. We'll be down in fifteen minutes."
"Nice doing business with you."
Fifteen minutes later, Ryo-Ohki hovered in the air over their designated bay. Ryoko appeared on the sand of the bay in a transfer beam from Ryo-Ohki and a moment later, Ryo-Ohki herself plopped awkwardly to the ground in front of Ryoko. She scrambled to her feet and miya'd indignantly.
"That was a smooth landing," Ryoko smirked. "Let me change and we'll get going." In a moment, Ryoko phased into her red and black battle suit and a hooded black cloak that covered all of her, even leaving her face in shadow. "Let's go."
They left the bay and stopped at the port office. It was small and dirty, as was the man behind the counter. "I'm bay 27," Ryoko said, handing over a pouch. "Here's your fee."
"That was a neat trick, getting into such a tiny bay. What happened to your ship?" the man asked, peering at Ryoko and glancing at Ryo-Ohki.
"What happened to 'no questions'?" Ryoko responded.
The man shrugged. "Just asking..."
"Don't," Ryoko said, lowly. The man held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Have a taxi sent over. I need to go somewhere," Ryoko said. Then she turned and went out the door. A few moments later, a ground taxi stopped in front of the port office. Ryoko decided it might was possibly the dirtiest thing she had ever seen.
"Trans-Space yard," Ryoko said to the driver, tossing payment into the front seat. The driver grunted, they got in and the taxi set off.
They arrived in front of a place that looked a lot like the one they had just left. Ryoko got out of the taxi and said, "Don't wait," and shut the door. The taxi immediately drove away.
Ryoko walked into the large gate under a sign with the yard's name on it. Just inside was a small building which obviously housed the office. The large, open yard was dominated by a mountain of scrap that towered over one side. On the other side of the yard were various small and medium-sized ships that seemed to be for sale. Judging by first looks, they could also be ready for scrapping. "Not much to look at," Ryoko said to Ryo-Ohki.
The door to the office opened and a voice said, "What?"
Ryoko turned to find a fat, hairy man standing in the door. His arms were as big around as her legs and he looked as if he could have moved most of the ships in the yard by hand.
"I'm looking for a ship," Ryoko replied levelly.
"What kind of ship?" he asked.
"I'll let you know when I find it. Mind if I look around?"
The man waved his hand in the general direction of the ships, saying nothing, then crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. He was a picture of indifference, but Ryoko could tell his eyes never left her. Ryoko reached down and picked up Ryo-Ohki and began walking through the ships.
The ships were lined up next to each other in rows. While they weren't large ships, they weren't small. Their size would make checking them all a long, involved process. Ryoko walked around the first one and, once out of sight of the office, picked up Ryo-Ohki and flew rapidly from ship to ship.
They approached a small deep-space tug and Ryo-Ohki miya'd excitedly and leaped out of her arms. She bounded over to the ship and toward the ground hatch. She bounced off the bottom of the hatch with an annoyed sound and phased through on her second try.
"This must be the one," Ryoko said, looking it over. Many of the hull plates were scorched and some were buckled. Most of the protruding antennae and sensors were burned or broken off at the base. It looked as if it had barely made it to the yard. "Wow," Ryoko said. She walked to the ground hatch and noticed that an access hatch cover next to it was missing. She phased through into the ship, following Ryo-Ohki.
Inside only emergency lighting was on. Ryoko worked through the ship's passages, moving to the bridge. Along the way was more evidence that it had barely avoided being destroyed: jammed cabin doors, opened access panels with bundles of cables exposed, fallen ceiling panels and, in one or two places, splashes of blood.
On the bridge, she found Ryo-Ohki sitting in the captain's chair miya'ing. "Good job, Ryo-Ohki," Ryoko told her. The cabbit made a happy noise and leaped back into her arms.
Ryoko moved around the small bridge, looking for anything that would give her clues about the last master of the ship. She didn't even bother to check the ship's computers: the storage cores would have been the first things removed. The bridge revealed nothing, and neither did the captain's cabin or the galley. They were all but stripped of the paint on the walls.
She began a rapid search through the remaining spaces of the ship, phasing through walls as she went. In a few more moments, she was done and she and Ryo-Ohki were standing outside where they'd started looking up at the tug.
"Well, that's that," Ryoko said. "I guess we'd better go talk to the man in charge."
When Ryoko came back into sight of the office, the fat man was still leaning against the door. "Find anything?" he asked.
"Well, yes and no," Ryoko replied. "Can we go inside?"
The man looked her up and down, taking special care to peer at her face, shadowed under the hood of the cloak. "Sure," he shrugged. He led her into the building and sat down at a desk. He gestured at a chair in front of it. "I only deal in cash or trades," he said.
"You're Rowth?" Ryoko asked.
"Yeah, like it says on the sign."
"There's a deep space tug in the yard, 'Doughty'."
"You have a good eye," Rowth said. "He's taken a beating, but his heart's still strong. Make me an offer."
"Okay," Ryoko said, smiling. She threw a pouch onto Rowth's desk. "Tell me who brought her in and that's yours. Don't tell me and I won't be happy."
Rowth visibly bristled. "I'm not telling you a damn thing, missy. Get the hell out of my yard before I throw you out."
"That was a mistake," Ryoko said. She reached a hand up and slowly pulled back the hood. It fell onto her shoulders, exposing her features for the first time. The fat man gasped, the color draining from his face.
"Ryoko!" he said in a hoarse voice.
"Ryoko, that's my name." Ryoko stood and grabbed the corner of Rowth's desk, hurling it aside. She stepped forward, reached out and wrapped her left hand into his shirt, hoisting him into the air. Her right arm was drawn back, her force sword humming in her hand. "And if you want to walk out of this room you're going to tell me what I want to know."
"He'll... He'll kill me!" the man said in a choked voice.
"Such a difficult choice. You can tell me what I want to know, take the money and run away; or you can die right now. What to do, what to do..."
"I don't ask questions," Rowth said. "I don't know who it was."
The sword flashed and hummed and Rowth felt his trousers fall to the floor. "Nice underwear," Ryoko said. "Amazing, really, that I didn't cut them off when I sliced off your belt. Not to mention what might be underneath it." Rowth gagged in fear and Ryoko smiled. "It's really important to me to get that name," she said.
"Fleer!" Rowth choked out. "His name is Fleer." Ryoko dropped Rowth and he fell to the floor. "That's all I know. I never saw him before and I never expect to see him again." He rubbed his neck, glaring at Ryoko.
"Thanks," Ryoko said. "Let's go, Ryo-Ohki."
Ryoko turned and started to walk away. There was a sudden sound from Rowth and, without turning, she struck behind her with her sword. Fleer's head separated from his shoulders in a spray of blood. His body toppled forward, a blaster still clutched in his hand.
Ryoko left without looking back, Ryo-Ohki hopping at her heels.
They'd only walked a little way into the yard, heading back toward the gate when Ryo-Ohki began crying and leaping into the air. "What?" Ryoko asked her. "What is it Ryo-Ohki?" Then, Ryoko felt what she could only describe as a tickle in a seldom-used part of her mind; something like a telephone ringing.
Washu wanted to open their link.
Which meant something was very, very wrong.
'Washu! What is it?'
'Ryoko!" Washu was faint; the distances were taxing the link. This would be a short message, Ryoko knew. "It's Tenchi. We're on Ryuten, come quickly.'
Washu entered Tenchi's room to find everyone waiting there, as she'd asked. They looked at her as she came in, the concern clear on their faces.
"Hi everybody," she said. "I've made a few tests and it's worse than just being run down. We need to return to Okayama so that I can get Tenchi into my lab. I've called Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki. They'll be here as soon as they can."
"What is it, Washu?" several of them asked together.
Washu looked around and held each of them with her eyes for a moment. "Now, remember, these are preliminary results based on incomplete data and initial analysis with substandard tools," she said.
"But I think Tenchi may be dying."
"Really," Tenchi said. "I feel fine now. Just a little tired." Tenchi lay in a bed in Takebe's house. They had taken him there after he had collapsed; he had just woken up. The group surrounded the bed, Sasami holding his hand and Washu examining him with various devices.
"You don't have to make a fuss over me," Tenchi repeated. "Oww!" he said, as Washu pulled a small suction cup off his chest. Tenchi looked down and noticed that it had left a neat, round hickey. "Washu!"
"Tenchi, hush," Sasami said. "Let Washu make sure you're okay."
Tenchi sighed. "All right, but did she have to put on the nurse's outfit?"
"Yes!" Washu said, smiling. "You people are disgustingly healthy, so I don't get to wear it very often." Washu stepped back, putting her hands on her hips and striking a pose. "I think it really highlights my figure, don't you Tenchi?"
Tenchi sighed again.
"Humph. After all the effort I put into my bedside manner," she said. "Well, I think I have everything I need for now. I'm going to sit and analyze these results. I should know something before long. In the meantime, rest." Washu patted Tenchi on the cheek, then turned and left the room.
"Well, since the doctor's orders are to rest," Pakma said.
"She's not a doctor," Tenchi interjected.
"I heard that!" Washu's voice floated in from the hall.
Pakma smiled. "I'll see you later, Tenchi."
"Thanks, Latel," Tenchi said, yawning. Sasami patted the hand she was holding, smiling. Tenchi glanced at her and sighed again.
"Uh, Sasami," Ayeka said. "Why not make Tenchi some soup to make him feel better."
"Oh, what a good idea!" Sasami replied brightly. "Would you like that, Tenchi?"
"That would be great, Sasami," Tenchi replied. "Thank you."
"Mihoshi, was that your stomach rumbling?" Ayeka said.
"Oh! Was it? In all the excitement I didn't notice," Mihoshi said. "Come to think of it, a snack would be nice." She put one hand on her stomach and licked her lips.
"Come on, Mihoshi, I'll make us something while I'm getting Tenchi's soup ready," Sasami said.
"Oh, that's great, Sasami; thanks! Are you coming, Ayeka?"
"I'll be there in a minute," Ayeka said as Sasami and Mihoshi left.
"Thanks Ayeka," Tenchi said.
When they door had shut, Ayeka sat on the edge of the bed. "Tenchi, we must talk," she said.
"Sasami," he replied.
Ayeka nodded. "I have watched her since we all got back for this last summer together and there is no doubt: she is very taken with you."
Tenchi looked slightly panicked. "I was hoping it was my imagination," he said.
"Why 'hoping'," Ayeka asked. "I know you are fond of Sasami."
"Yes, fond; we're all fond of Sasami. But I never wanted her to be interested in me."
"You should have expect it," Ayeka smiled. "Everyone loves you, Tenchi. You know that."
"Yes, but Sasami?"
"Would that be so terrible?" Ayeka asked softly. "To be loved by Sasami; to have a family with Sasami?"
"That's not what I meant, Ayeka, and you know it," Tenchi said, slightly annoyed. "Sasami is great; you know how much I like her and care about her. But, I'm sorry to sound like a broken record, but I've just never thought about Sasami that way."
"Well, Tenchi," Ayeka said firmly, "you'd better start."
Tenchi looked down at his hands, his expression unhappy.
"Damn it, Tenchi!" Ayeka barked. Tenchi's eyes widened in surprise at Ayeka's language. "Tenchi, I spent several years pining for you, fighting over you, waiting for you-"
"I never asked you to wait for me," Tenchi interjected defensively.
"Let me finish," Ayeka said. "Waiting for you to make a decision and to let me know what it was! That is all I ever wanted; to know if you might someday consider me to be someone you could love or to tell me honestly that you and I would never be together so that I could put you out of my dreams.
"Now, I feel Sasami might be going down the same path that I walked and I fear for her; but I also fear for you. Do not underestimate Sasami, Tenchi. She is more determined than either Ryoko or me; and you do not want to make her angry."
"Sasami, angry?" Tenchi retorted.
Ayeka sighed. "You foolish man. You underestimate how angry she can get because so far you have only seen her upset about little things. This is no little thing. Sasami will not put up with your indecisiveness as I did and as Ryoko does."
"Don't bring Ryoko into this."
"I have to, Tenchi. She is my friend and I will not have her hurt any more than she has been."
Tenchi put a hand to his head, feeling dizzy with the conversation. "Ayeka, I..." He looked at her, she waited expectantly. "Ayeka, I'm not good at this. I can't just think about my feelings, weigh them. Feelings aren't like numbers that add up. Ryoko and Sasami aren't two sides of a scale where one will outweigh the other. None of you are! You're people and it's more than just what I want, it's what you want as well!
"Do you think I don't know how you all feel? Do you think I don't feel that pulling at me, tearing me into pieces? I just can't stand thinking about how much it will hurt any of you if I was to push you aside. It just kills me!"
Ayeka took his hand. "Tenchi, you are an adult. We are all adults. We all take responsibility for our own feelings and the pain they cause us. Nobody can fully control their feelings, but one can work through them and live through them.
"Mihoshi and I worked through our feelings for you. Ryoko or Sasami - or both, if you fall in love with someone else, will live through them. Nobody - not even Ryoko - can pine forever.
"Sasami is young and has a long life ahead of her. She also has the merge with Tsunami in her near future. She will very quickly bounce back and move on after losing you.
"Ryoko has lived thousands of years and suffered unspeakably for most of them; yet she has remained the person she is. She has known you for less than three decades and thanks to Washu's abilities, her life span is practically unlimited. She will get over losing you and someday you will only be a small regret in a long life.
"Tenchi, I am sorry to sound cruel, but you are basically being selfish and conceited. You think you can not handle the results of your decision and want to spare yourself that pain or you want to us waiting until you make up your mind. Unacceptably selfish.
"Your conceit is in thinking that only you can handle the pain of knowing what it is that you want; that you assume that Ryoko or Sasami - or any of us - would wither and die without the great Tenchi Masaki by our side. You have some wonderful qualities, Tenchi, but the universe does not revolve around you."
Ayeka stood, looking down at him. "I have had my say, Tenchi. It is up to you what you do; but I think it is high time you did something. Do you understand me?"
Tenchi gazed at her and nodded, looking very unhappy. Ayeka nodded at him, turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Washu sat in the room she had been given, perched on her pillow with her terminal in front of her, keying furiously. She wished she had her entire lab, but there was enough power in the equipment she had brought to do some primary analysis. If there was anything more needed, they could return to Okayama where she had access to every instrument known to science, and a good many that were only known to her.
"Let's see," Washu said to herself, almost mumbling. She began working through pages of displays at dizzying speed, her mind able to grasp nuance and detail even as the information streamed by. She sat this way for many minutes, not moving; barely even blinking.
Then, her eyes widened and her hand stabbed at the keyboard and the display froze.
"Oh no," she said quietly.
The planet was nondescript and out-of-the-way. Normal space lanes went nowhere near the place and there was nothing valuable about the planet itself, the other planets in the system or the boring yellow sun they orbited.
The trail led here.
Ryo-Ohki cruised through the system using the beacon-marked approach lanes. As they drew near the planet, Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki scanned through spaceport beacons, Ryo-Ohki comparing the information and images with what her senses were telling her about the ship they were seeking. An hour out from the planet, she picked one as their quarry's destination.
"Trans-Space Sales, Service, Wrecking and Salvage: Leeto Rowth Proprietor," Ryoko read. "You sure, Ryo-Ohki?"
"Miya!"
"All right, if you're sure, then let's check it out. I'll find something nearby." A quick search showed that there were several other ports in the area. Ryoko picked the seediest looking one and called them, voice only.
"Vogas'. What?"
"I need a bay," Ryoko said.
"How big, how long?" the voice asked.
"Your smallest. A week will do." Ryoko replied.
The man quoted an exorbitant figure: one that would lease a decent- sized bay for a year on most worlds. "Are you joking?" Ryoko asked.
The man laughed lowly. "No. Take it or leave it. But keep in mind that I don't give a damn who you are and I don't ask questions. You're using voice channel only, which tells me that who you are matters."
Ryoko growled. "Done," she said. "Give me a beacon. We'll be down in fifteen minutes."
"Nice doing business with you."
Fifteen minutes later, Ryo-Ohki hovered in the air over their designated bay. Ryoko appeared on the sand of the bay in a transfer beam from Ryo-Ohki and a moment later, Ryo-Ohki herself plopped awkwardly to the ground in front of Ryoko. She scrambled to her feet and miya'd indignantly.
"That was a smooth landing," Ryoko smirked. "Let me change and we'll get going." In a moment, Ryoko phased into her red and black battle suit and a hooded black cloak that covered all of her, even leaving her face in shadow. "Let's go."
They left the bay and stopped at the port office. It was small and dirty, as was the man behind the counter. "I'm bay 27," Ryoko said, handing over a pouch. "Here's your fee."
"That was a neat trick, getting into such a tiny bay. What happened to your ship?" the man asked, peering at Ryoko and glancing at Ryo-Ohki.
"What happened to 'no questions'?" Ryoko responded.
The man shrugged. "Just asking..."
"Don't," Ryoko said, lowly. The man held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Have a taxi sent over. I need to go somewhere," Ryoko said. Then she turned and went out the door. A few moments later, a ground taxi stopped in front of the port office. Ryoko decided it might was possibly the dirtiest thing she had ever seen.
"Trans-Space yard," Ryoko said to the driver, tossing payment into the front seat. The driver grunted, they got in and the taxi set off.
They arrived in front of a place that looked a lot like the one they had just left. Ryoko got out of the taxi and said, "Don't wait," and shut the door. The taxi immediately drove away.
Ryoko walked into the large gate under a sign with the yard's name on it. Just inside was a small building which obviously housed the office. The large, open yard was dominated by a mountain of scrap that towered over one side. On the other side of the yard were various small and medium-sized ships that seemed to be for sale. Judging by first looks, they could also be ready for scrapping. "Not much to look at," Ryoko said to Ryo-Ohki.
The door to the office opened and a voice said, "What?"
Ryoko turned to find a fat, hairy man standing in the door. His arms were as big around as her legs and he looked as if he could have moved most of the ships in the yard by hand.
"I'm looking for a ship," Ryoko replied levelly.
"What kind of ship?" he asked.
"I'll let you know when I find it. Mind if I look around?"
The man waved his hand in the general direction of the ships, saying nothing, then crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. He was a picture of indifference, but Ryoko could tell his eyes never left her. Ryoko reached down and picked up Ryo-Ohki and began walking through the ships.
The ships were lined up next to each other in rows. While they weren't large ships, they weren't small. Their size would make checking them all a long, involved process. Ryoko walked around the first one and, once out of sight of the office, picked up Ryo-Ohki and flew rapidly from ship to ship.
They approached a small deep-space tug and Ryo-Ohki miya'd excitedly and leaped out of her arms. She bounded over to the ship and toward the ground hatch. She bounced off the bottom of the hatch with an annoyed sound and phased through on her second try.
"This must be the one," Ryoko said, looking it over. Many of the hull plates were scorched and some were buckled. Most of the protruding antennae and sensors were burned or broken off at the base. It looked as if it had barely made it to the yard. "Wow," Ryoko said. She walked to the ground hatch and noticed that an access hatch cover next to it was missing. She phased through into the ship, following Ryo-Ohki.
Inside only emergency lighting was on. Ryoko worked through the ship's passages, moving to the bridge. Along the way was more evidence that it had barely avoided being destroyed: jammed cabin doors, opened access panels with bundles of cables exposed, fallen ceiling panels and, in one or two places, splashes of blood.
On the bridge, she found Ryo-Ohki sitting in the captain's chair miya'ing. "Good job, Ryo-Ohki," Ryoko told her. The cabbit made a happy noise and leaped back into her arms.
Ryoko moved around the small bridge, looking for anything that would give her clues about the last master of the ship. She didn't even bother to check the ship's computers: the storage cores would have been the first things removed. The bridge revealed nothing, and neither did the captain's cabin or the galley. They were all but stripped of the paint on the walls.
She began a rapid search through the remaining spaces of the ship, phasing through walls as she went. In a few more moments, she was done and she and Ryo-Ohki were standing outside where they'd started looking up at the tug.
"Well, that's that," Ryoko said. "I guess we'd better go talk to the man in charge."
When Ryoko came back into sight of the office, the fat man was still leaning against the door. "Find anything?" he asked.
"Well, yes and no," Ryoko replied. "Can we go inside?"
The man looked her up and down, taking special care to peer at her face, shadowed under the hood of the cloak. "Sure," he shrugged. He led her into the building and sat down at a desk. He gestured at a chair in front of it. "I only deal in cash or trades," he said.
"You're Rowth?" Ryoko asked.
"Yeah, like it says on the sign."
"There's a deep space tug in the yard, 'Doughty'."
"You have a good eye," Rowth said. "He's taken a beating, but his heart's still strong. Make me an offer."
"Okay," Ryoko said, smiling. She threw a pouch onto Rowth's desk. "Tell me who brought her in and that's yours. Don't tell me and I won't be happy."
Rowth visibly bristled. "I'm not telling you a damn thing, missy. Get the hell out of my yard before I throw you out."
"That was a mistake," Ryoko said. She reached a hand up and slowly pulled back the hood. It fell onto her shoulders, exposing her features for the first time. The fat man gasped, the color draining from his face.
"Ryoko!" he said in a hoarse voice.
"Ryoko, that's my name." Ryoko stood and grabbed the corner of Rowth's desk, hurling it aside. She stepped forward, reached out and wrapped her left hand into his shirt, hoisting him into the air. Her right arm was drawn back, her force sword humming in her hand. "And if you want to walk out of this room you're going to tell me what I want to know."
"He'll... He'll kill me!" the man said in a choked voice.
"Such a difficult choice. You can tell me what I want to know, take the money and run away; or you can die right now. What to do, what to do..."
"I don't ask questions," Rowth said. "I don't know who it was."
The sword flashed and hummed and Rowth felt his trousers fall to the floor. "Nice underwear," Ryoko said. "Amazing, really, that I didn't cut them off when I sliced off your belt. Not to mention what might be underneath it." Rowth gagged in fear and Ryoko smiled. "It's really important to me to get that name," she said.
"Fleer!" Rowth choked out. "His name is Fleer." Ryoko dropped Rowth and he fell to the floor. "That's all I know. I never saw him before and I never expect to see him again." He rubbed his neck, glaring at Ryoko.
"Thanks," Ryoko said. "Let's go, Ryo-Ohki."
Ryoko turned and started to walk away. There was a sudden sound from Rowth and, without turning, she struck behind her with her sword. Fleer's head separated from his shoulders in a spray of blood. His body toppled forward, a blaster still clutched in his hand.
Ryoko left without looking back, Ryo-Ohki hopping at her heels.
They'd only walked a little way into the yard, heading back toward the gate when Ryo-Ohki began crying and leaping into the air. "What?" Ryoko asked her. "What is it Ryo-Ohki?" Then, Ryoko felt what she could only describe as a tickle in a seldom-used part of her mind; something like a telephone ringing.
Washu wanted to open their link.
Which meant something was very, very wrong.
'Washu! What is it?'
'Ryoko!" Washu was faint; the distances were taxing the link. This would be a short message, Ryoko knew. "It's Tenchi. We're on Ryuten, come quickly.'
Washu entered Tenchi's room to find everyone waiting there, as she'd asked. They looked at her as she came in, the concern clear on their faces.
"Hi everybody," she said. "I've made a few tests and it's worse than just being run down. We need to return to Okayama so that I can get Tenchi into my lab. I've called Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki. They'll be here as soon as they can."
"What is it, Washu?" several of them asked together.
Washu looked around and held each of them with her eyes for a moment. "Now, remember, these are preliminary results based on incomplete data and initial analysis with substandard tools," she said.
"But I think Tenchi may be dying."