Yep Yeps. This chapter is a bit late from schedule. I sorta wanted to get a chapter up and in every 2 days but work and school work piled on. I also have positive reviews now, so Im afraid of jacking this all up hahaha. AH well, the show must go on! Or something like that.
Ch.5 - No need for a Plan
Washu busied her self by typing away at her holo-computer, typing in mountains of information which she had 'aquired' from Kiyo. She reviewed space charts and ran simulations as to what may happen in the conflict, but she wasn't sure on what type of ships the Dracadians had. She needed some input from Zack, but he had went out with Mihoshi and Kiyone to get him some clothing. Kiyone only tagged along because she wanted to keep an eye out for Mihoshi, who had at some point in time, aquired a drivers license for the 3rd rock from the sun. She wasn't overly thrilled.
The closet door faded in, and as it opened from what was the middle of the room, the corner of the door hit a little crab shaped chime that made a dull wooden clanking sound.
"Hm. Who is it?" Washu said without even turning around to see who came to visit.
"I just stepped in to say Tea is ready." Tenchi said, half in, half out of the lab door. He feared that Washu may seize him again for another go at getting some samples from him.
"Huh? Oh, right. Ill be right there." Washu said, half distracted at the data in front of her.
(She really must be zoned in to her work), Tenchi thought as he became more bold and daring and decided to come in all the way, closing the door behind him. It faded away with a low humming sound. "What are you looking at, Ms. Washu?"
"Don't call me Ms." Washu said in an annoyed voice. "Anyways, Im just looking at the data I got from cleaning out that assassin's head. It seems Zack was right about her not being who she says she is..."
"I kinda figured that much when she attacked us..." Tenchi murmered.
"Well of coarse. But thats not what I meant." she said half irritated. "Of coarse we knew by then, but she isn't who she said she was."
"Well what do you mean." Tenchi asked. It was obvious he didnt see the data written out on the holo-computer's screen, but Washu didn't take this into account.
(Sometimes...), Washu muttered. " Well for starters, she isn't a high ranking official. Shes just some lowly grunt Assassin. Bottom of the barrel material, ya know? And it seems that the head honcho isnt a fool. Everythings considered classified and on a need to know basis. She was just issued orders and she complied. Pretty good moral if you think about it. That or good incentives, but Im not going to go into that..."
Tenchi looked over at Kiyo. She was in a capsule that was similar to the one Zack was in, but was different as she had a headband like device around her head and she was strapped down and asleep. (Probably drugged, knowing Washu...) He thought.
"I assume that everything over at Jurai is in the military's control. The Holy Council at this point is probably just a figure head incase anyone really gets and second thoughts about the military's control over the situation." Washu continued. " I've been running simulators to see possible outcomes on conflicts between Juraian forces and Dracadian forces. But its all so vague and incomplete. Truth be told, I never got much information about the Dracadian star ships. I never really bothered to look into it. All the info that I would need is stored at the Space Academy, but Im sort of not in the mischievous mood to hack in. Takes a lot of work you know, even for the greatest genius in the universe."
"I see. So then what's going to happen?" Tenchi asked.
"Well, best plan is to go to Jurai I think, but it's not the wisest. With it known that the military is in with the coup, it will be dangerous. Ayeka's ship, the Ryo-Oh would be the only ship that can successfully go to Jurai for the most part with the fewest stops at check points. But that being said, its likely we will get picked up and attacked if we do make the trip through Jurai space. Can't use Ryo-Oh-Ki because of Ryoko's nefarious record as the most evil space pirate around, so its guaranteed we will get stopped. I don't have any ships of my own anymore, (not since the Soja), and that only leaves the Yagami and Zack's Zenith. Best bet is the Yagami I think. Though Im worried about getting drafted."
"Drafted?" Tenchi asked. He really didnt know what was going on really. Only that people were out to hurt Ayeka and Sasami.
"Ayeeee, don't you know anything? Drafted, you know, to serve in the military. GP is with Jurai when it comes to issues like these. If we use the Yagami, most likely they will contact it and tell it to report back to prepare for the oncoming war. If the Yagami refuses, the ship can be seen as AWOL and then we will be in no better of a place then if we use Ryo-Oh-Ki. Im not sure about the Zenith and its capabilities, though."
"It's the most advanced ship in the Dracadian fleet, if thats what your curious about."
Washu turned to face Zack. He had just walked in. He tried to act cool as he stood there in his new clothing, but it was easy to see that he probably just had a heart attack. "Just the Dracadian I wanted to see. Hm. Have a safe trip with Mihoshi?"
"Urk," Zack almost doubled over from the memory. "Safe! I can see what Kiyone always is mad at her. She's about as safe as an Iron Maiden..."
It was apparent that the ride to the city was a precarious one. Mihoshi had the tendency, just like on the Yagami, to make everything go from bad to worse in leaps and bounds at times. Though she isn't always a complete dits. Kiyone had decided it would be best to drive back, even though she did not have a license herself.
"Nice outfit," Washu commented looking him up and down in a voice of sarcasm. He wore long black jeans and a pair of matching black and silver Tennis shoes. A white undershirt with a red long sleeved dress shirt covered his top. Nothing to fancy, but nothing to boring. "I see you have a thing for red and black."
Zack gave her a face. "Now what is it you wanted to know?"
"About your battle ships." Washu said bluntly. " Tell me all about them."
"Hm, well I dunno. Its not to complicated. There are basically 4 types. Phantoms, Sentinels, Wave, and Artillery ships." Zack started off. Washu motioned for him to continue on. " Err well, hm. To sum it up, The phantoms are the main attack force. And they vary for their roles. They have the best jump capabilities, and can, as of late, mimic their outward looks as Juraian ships, as well as mask their energy signatures to be the same way. It helps deceive Juraian ships, but has draw backs as when attacking, blaster energy is still that of Dracadian origin and also that the mimicry takes up quite a bit of power, so a ship cant jump or anything when its mimicking. Sentinels are the wave breakers. They are the slowest moving, but the most powerful and most defended. Their main purpose is to push the front line further and further and break enemy formations, as well as take the blunt of enemy fire providing cover for the Phantoms. Wave ships are simple ships that have are like carriers. They have smaller computerized ships that do their attacking and can perform other functions such as setting up communication links in the middle of battle and resupplying ships as well as repair damaged Sentinels if they have the supply to. Pretty nifty, if you think about it. And lastly, you have the artillery. Just as the name suggests, its mainly the heavy fire support that sits farther back in the fleet and picks up the bigger enemy ships. They have very far range and if fully linked up, frightening fire power." Zack said that last part almost bragging about the Dracadian power. Washu did not look thoroughly impressed though.
"What of your ship. What type is it?" Washu asked, as she sat back down on her floating pillow and began to run information again.
"The Zenith is a phantom. It has the best Jump and fire power capabilities, as its engines and reactors power it better then any other Phantom in the fleet. It's the only ship which can pull a small space jump while mimicked, though the distance is very limited and it can put heavy stress on the ship." Zack said, once again proud of his ship.
"Hm, I see. Ill have to run power diagnostics on it when I get the chance to." Washu said.
"Zack, do you have any idea who may be behind this or how we could get to Jurai?" Tenchi finally said speaking up.
"You want to go to Jurai too?" Zack said.
"Huh? Wait, you were going to go?" Tenchi asked.
"As soon as I could get the chance and get my ship repaired. I need to settle things now before this gets out of hand. War is bad for both our races." Zack said.
"I agree. But we haven't firgured out to get there, without being spotted." Washu said.
"Well I was going to use the Zenith. Just jump in to Jurai space as far as I can then use the mimic and just travel the rest of the way as a small Juraian merchant ship bound for Jurai." Zack said.
"You can mimic merchant ships?" Washu said, half surprised.
"Any Juraian ship, pretty much." Zack said, once again with a hint of bragging in his voice.
"Hm that settles it then. The Zenith will be the decoy while the Yagami is the main transport." Washu said, smiling at her own self indulged brilliance.
"Wait, what?" Zack said confused.
"Your ship is going to be a merchant ship, and it needs to be protected, so we can use the Yagami to escort your ship until we get close enough to Jurai. From which point, we find out what's happening and fix this crisis." Washu said with confidence.
"Bu-bu-bu" Zack begun.
"No buts. This is a perfect plan. Full proof." Washu said with confidence once more. The closet door faded in again and Ayeka stepped in. She was surprised to see Zack there, because she hadn't known he came back from his journey to the city.
"Oh...Hello Zack..." Ayeka began. She seemed mentally occupied with something. " Err, I just came to say that Tea is has been ready for a few minutes now, and we were wondering where Lord Tenchi went."
"Ah, I forgot about that." Washu exclaimed. She proceeded out of her lab through the closet door.
"Sorry about that, Ayeka. I guess I lost track of time talking with Washu and Zack." Tenchi said as he continued through the closet door. Zack began to follow suit, but Ayeka cut him off before he could reach the door.
"Hm?" Zack enquired with a facial expression as to what Ayeka wanted.
"I-I-I wanted to say..." She began to stammer, "...I wanted to say, that Im sorry. For yesterday."
Tenchi checked back through the closet door to see what was talking Zack and Ayeka so long when he heard her apology to Zack. He smiled warmly. He was happy that Ayeka gave Zack an apology, that it was very mature of her. He thought more highly of her from this as a result. He left back out as quietly as he had come without saying anything. (Ill do something nice for her, when I get the chance) he thought.
"Err, its all 'ight." Zack said. "Im sure you were just in a bit of shock and anger when you heard the news and you took it out on me kinda." Zack said. He gave a weak smile and walked out to join the others.
Ayeka stood there for a moment, and smiled to herself and continued through the closet door, back into Tenchi's house. The door shut by itself and the little crab chime clanked again as it did. The lab dimmed and all seemed peaceful. But all was not. The capsule that contained Kiyo was opened slightly and she was gone, though nothing sounded off. No alarms, or sirens. Something was amiss.