MASAKI TALES Vol. V - QUEST...
Author: Daferge
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Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is a copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd...
All respective characters are property of their original owners...
All original characters and ideas are property of the author...
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Chapter 06... Bonding...
( Aboard the Mikagami... )
Lady Seto sat at her desk, going over a number of reports dealing with Raider attack in the recent days...
Unlike Pirates, Raiders tended to attack at random and for reasons known only to themselves...
Making it harder to estimate where they might strike next...
And since most of the times they left no survivors it was difficult to know where they HAD attacked and when...
Some times they were discovered by chance, long afterwards...
There were lots that may never be known...
That was why there were a number of GP and Juraian Task Forces patrolling at random...
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The addition of the Deep Space Patrols, using Ex-Space pirates was showing promise...
When officer Mihoshi had first suggested it, she'd had a good laugh, but when Ryoko also thought it was a good idea, she had second thoughts...
In the end it was a study and report done by Professor Washu Hakubi that had convinced not only her, but Emperor Azusa and his Queens, as well as the GP's Grand Marshal...
The report, not widely circulated, pointed out the a large number of those called Space Pirates were low class thieves, etc, just applying their skills to outer space, where it was a lot more dangerous...
With the advances in technology, more space ships had smaller crews, even the large liners only needed a few true 'spacers' to fly them, most of the 'crew' were the same type of people you'd find at any high class hotel...
The was a difference between operating on a planet and moving star ship...
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The recent attack on the Star-liner Morning Star was a good example...
A number of experienced Space pirates crews, working together, boarded the unescorted Star-cruise liner with no resistance and were in the process of robbing the well-to-do passengers when officer Mihoshi ( also a passenger ) happen in and spoiled things...
Little was said, as the liner company didn't wish to advertise how easily they had been boarded..
The pirate didn't want it known that they'd turn tail and run at the sight of one GP officer, even if it was the infamous Mihoshi Kuramitsu...
Since then, many thought of Mihoshi as Lady Seto's rival as a space pirate hunter...
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As it was there were a good number of experienced space ship crews out of work...
Most of those going pirating found that violence was more trouble than it was worth, damaged cargo was worth far less than cargo captured intact...
And passengers taken for ransom were only of value if alive...
It hadn't been a healthy or enriching profession, but it could and did put some bread on the table back home, with luck...
What the report suggested was that, IF given another form of work, most would likely take it...
And, as most GP officers and Juraian space fleet crews didn't like Deep Space duty - where there was nothing to do for weeks on end, but travel through empty space, keeping an eye out for any thing - there were very few volunteers, usually newbies fresh from the academy...
And usually one or two trips and they were asking for transfers also...
A long, dull, boring and some what dangerous duty assignment with very few takers...
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The report had only one suggestion...
So why not 'hire' or 'recruit' crews that were already experienced in doing just that...
Any experienced 'space pirate' would tell you that 99% of the time was spent looking for some thing or some one worth while...
Cause only if they did found some thing did they get 'paid'...
Why not get them to do what they had been doing before, even have them patrol areas that they had roamed before and knew quite well...
This time without the need to find something so they would get paid...
The 'job' would get done and in the long run, the crews would have a greater chance of surviving...
Most pirate crews didn't have a doctor, were often short on supplies and were usually on their own, from liftoff to landing...
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Lady Seto had recently seen the report of one crew that seem to prove that Mihoshi and Ryoko were right...
It seem that an ex-pirate crew had come upon a number of Raiders preparing to hit a very secluded settlement...
In an attempt to draw off the Raiders, the small craft had made a quick hit and run attack...
As it was, chance was with them and they caught the Raiders off guard, with their shields down...
Their fire caused damage to one of the Raiders, causing it to ram another Raider next to it, destroyed both ships...
The small ship had then managed to make to another nearby system and hide in it's asteroid field, chased by the two surviving, very angry Raiders...
Beginning a game of cat-and-mouse which lasted long enough for their back-up to arrive and take out the last Raiders...
Final score, Jurai DSP- 4, Raiders- 0 and a defenceless settlement still intact...
Next time she was out that way she'd have to meet this Captain Touda...
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( Aboard the Yukinojo... )
GP officer Kiyone Makibi had just finished running a systems check when the screen before her lite up and her fellow officer Kiyone Tanaka looked back at her...
After every one disappeared earlier, she'd been running around in circles, until they gave her a call and told her where they were...
Aboard a Juraian Tree-ship, one that, it seems was now Lady Tanaka's Tree-ship...
THAT had caused Kiyone's jaw to drop...
Princess Sasami had requested she standby, as they would be running a full system scan to see what condition 10 years under water had done...
They had to be sure before committing the Amelia to any thing...
From the smile on her face it would appear every thing had gone alright...
Thank goodness Mihoshi wasn't here...
Kiyone noticed princess Sasami standing behind Lady Tanaka...
There was a bit of concern in her eyes...
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( Washu's Lab... )
Katsuhito Masaki was sitting at Washu's desk, having just finished a call to Tokyo to check on some things...
He looked over at the large glass tube which held his grand-daughter-in-law Ryoko Hakubi Masaki...
In the tube next to it was his first, great grand child, the tiny Mayuka Masaki...
Asleep on the bed next to the tubes were his other two grand-daughter-in-laws, Ayeka Masaki Jurai Masaki and Mihoshi Kuramitsu Masaki...
He couldn't help smiling...
They both looked so sweet when they were sound asleep...
Between them was a large stuffed teddy bear...
Earlier only Mihoshi had been cuddling up to it, but a while back Ayeka had been getting a bit restless...
So as small drones appeared to sedate her, Mihoshi had pressed the bear against Ayeka and whispered...
" Some one misses you... "
And Ayeka had cuddled up to it also, sighing...
" Thank you, Mihoshi... "
Since then the two had been sleeping quietly..
Except for some giggles, a few moans and a soft " Oh my... " every now and then...
He'd taken a picture for Tenchi and Washu...
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A light on the desk started blinking and he hit the switch next to it...
And a large screen appeared before the desk and a sound field appeared around the bed...
Washu had set it up that way so the two wouldn't be disturbed...
On the split screen were officer Kiyone Makibi on one side and his little sister Sasami on the other...
Kiyone was about to say some thing, but she looked past him and smiled...
He noted that Sasami was also looking behind him and smiling...
It was Kiyone who broke the silence...
" How are our sleeping beauties?... "
He looked at the large tubes to his right before smiling...
" All four are sleeping quietly... "
This got a nod and smile from both of them...
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Both started to speak, but stopped...
After a moment of silence he spoke up...
" I'd love to just sit here and enjoy your lovely faces, but long distance rates have gone up and you know how Washu is about running up her bills... "
Both girls giggled at that...
Finally Sasami sighed before speaking...
" I need you to connect us to some one... "
No problem, he'd done it earlier...
" You need to talk to Washu again?... "
He noted that she got kind of shy...
" No... I need to talk to grandmother... "
Now both his eyebrows were up...
Sasami needed to talk to Lady Seto?...
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( A distant world... )
Being a world along one of the major routes between Jurai and Airia, there was a major Juraian military presence...
After several thousand years of fighting, most of the planet was now covered with military installations...
Most being underground, with over 50% housing long range cannons capable of taking out not only orbiting attacking star ships, but approaching ones at quite a distance...
A couple of centuries before the world had fallen to Airia when the orbiting defence stations were breached...
The orbiting stations couldn't produce enough energy to handle such heavy weapons, as well as the shields and engines needed to remain in orbit...
However, there was a 'local' population, made up of not only Juraians but Airians too, as well as others...
At the North pole, an area difficult to reach from space, was the planetary spaceport and local settlement...
To land, ships had to approach over the military installations and had any of a number of weapons locked on them, from orbit to landing...
Ships just passing through the system docked at the large station located on the edge of the star system for inspection of cargo
and passengers entering or leaving Juraian space...
This station not only had a Juraian presence, but a number of consulates for Airia, Seniwa, the Renza Federation and others...
And, of course, a small Galaxy Police outpost...
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At a tavern at the planetary spaceport, a number of people were enjoying a local dish, created from Airian and Juraian dishes...
The three females all agreed that the dish was excellent, but that they'd tasted better...
The three males all knew better that to offer their opinions...
All six were dressed in common Juraian wear of the middle class...
While the others enjoyed their meal, the three males were paying a great deal of attention to their surroundings...
The older and youngest were well aware of the two Juraian military officers that had been watching them since they had come in...
The third male was watching a couple of locals, also eyeing them...
None of them said any thing, not wanting to upset the females...
As they finished, half a dozen more Juraians entered the tavern, one joining the earlier two while the rest remained near the entrance...
Getting up, the third male walked to the bar and spoke to the man behind it...
" How much... "
He noted the male look at the three Juraians at the end of the bar...
" 60 Jurai... "
The third male smiled as he dropped a 100 Jurai note on the bar...
" Didn't know this was such an expensive resort... Keep the change... "
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The male behind the bar stared at the note, then at the male across from him, for some reason he was beginning to sweat...
The Juraians at the end of the bar and near the door had started to approach, but stopped when the note hit the bar...
The third male smiled as he recalled something a good friend had one said...
" It is a good day to die... "
At that the Juraians went for something in their pockets...
The smiling male was quicker, pulling out two heavy hand blasters and pointed each at a different group, freezing them...
It was then that they noticed several things...
First, the two males at the table were now pointing blasters at them...
Second, the two younger females were also pointing blasters, while the third, older female continued to eat...
And third, the jacket of the male at the bar had opened, revealing a seal on his shirt...
The seal of the Juraian Royal Guard, giving the wearer Royal permission to KILL if need be, no questions asked...
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( Aboard the Mikagami... )
Lady Seto was sipping tea as one of her assistants approached her...
" Yes?... "
The assistant had one of those, 'I'm confused' looks...
" We've received a call which seems to be a 'patch through', but-... "
Lady Seto tilted her head slightly...
" But?... "
Looking down, the assistant continued...
" But we're having difficulty tracking it back to it's point of origin... "
The tracking programing was the best in the galaxy, it could back track a call, back and forth across the known universe several times without trouble...
Some how one name seem to come to mind - Washu...
" Put them on... "
To her surprise, the face that appeared didn't have red hair, but light blue and she smiled...
" Sasami... This is an unexpected surprise... "
Some how the look on her face didn't indicate GOOD news...
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( A large room on Avalon... )
Her screen had appeared and informed her that another call had been placed using her interstellar communications unit...
It seem that Sasami had called some one else...
She at first thought it might be Jurai and the palace, but it was the wrong code...
She smiled as she recognized the code...
And she wondered what Sasami would need from Lady Seto...
After a quick check, she noted that Lady Seto was further away than she was...
She hoped she got her answer...
Closing the screen, she returned to the business at hand...
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Looking around she saw the first group of 'revives', people removed from their lifepods to help Washu's search of the huge Avalon library...
Merlin had thought ahead and had a small group going through the records file of the countless millions of people in lifepods...
They were in a special storage system in case of an emergency...
Now they were being scanned for any one with research experience...
If they were going to revive people, better it was those who could help now...
It would save time having to train them, as the written data system was some what complex...
Also knowing how to read the language and scrypt helped...
Then there were a few 'special' revives, those who had asked to be awaken among the first, when the time came...
It was time...
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( A very quiet tavern... )
A number of Juraian military personnel were standing frozen, their hands on their heads...
Slowly and carefully, each had placed a military stun pistol on the bar, which were being examined by the older female...
The only one armed at the moment was the older male and the third male...
The younger male was at the table enjoying some dessert with the two younger females...
After a while, the older female spoke up...
" Here!... "
She then tossed a stun pistol to each Juraian...
As they caught them, they discovered the charge cartridges were gone, the weapon was now useless...
Putting the pistols in their pockets, they returned their hands to their heads...
No one payed attention the the few local in the room who chuckled...
All faces did turn to the entrance when a number of armed Juraian military entered...
At the head was a young officer who seem to be very upset...
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" What in the name of the Emperor is going on here?... "
Noting the seal on the male at the bar he faced him...
" And just who are you?... "
The male smiled as he spoke, having put up his blaster...
" Lord Byran, Juraian Royal Guard... "
The officer's eyebrow went up, the Guard didn't leave Jurai without a reason...
" I'm on escort duty... "
As the officer started to speak, Lord Byran continued...
" My I introduce his lordship Keiichi Tanaka, with lady Haruko Natan and lady Mayu Rygen... "
Lord Byran smiled as he continued...
" Who are traveling with her ladyship, Tennyo Masaki, Crown Prince Tenchi Masaki's little sister... "
Ex-space pirate Fragga, smiled too, it wasn't often you got to see a Juraian military officer have a stroke...
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( On the tree-ship Amelia... )
Sasami smiled as she recalled her grandmother's face when she told her where she was calling from and how it had been done...
The mumble of 'Knew Washu was involved' had caused both her, Nagi and Kiyone to smile...
The experiment with the sub-space door had caught her attention...
She had even raised an eyebrow at the mention of the Raiders, but knew there was nothing she could do...
However, it had been the news about the tree-ship Amelia that got the biggest reaction, both eyes widened for a moment...
It had been quite a while since she'd heard that name...
So that was where it's been...
As it was, Sasami had a question and if any one would know the answer, it would be her grandmother...
She smiled as Sasami asked the question she'd call across the galaxy about...
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Sasami signed and smiled as the connection closed and the screen disappeared...
While Nagi had been close enough the hear what was going on, Kiyone had been at a desk, with keyboard and screen that the ship had created for her...
Using it, she'd been running a complete system's check to be sure the Amelia was in peak condition...
For the coming battle, she'd had the ship create a command station similar to that on the Yukinojo so that she could use the ship at it's best and this was how she had been trained...
Seeing Sasami standing over to the side, she got up and approached her to see how her call had gone...
" So... Get your answer?... "
Sasami smiled and nodded her head...
Taking a deep breath, she spoke out a bit louder and firmer...
" Amelia?... "
Sasami took a moment to calm herself, she was so happy...
" I, Sasami Masaki Jurai... Daughter of Azusa Masaki Jurai... The Emperor of Jurai and the Juraian Empire... And daughter of Misaki Masaki Jurai... The 2nd Queen of Jurai and the Juraian Empire... Give our blessing to the bonding between Lady Kiyone Tanaka and the tree known as Amelia aboard the tree-ship of the same name... Lady Tsunami the mother of all the trees also gives her blessing... Live long and prosper... "
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( Another Dimension... )
The goddess Tsunami watched as princess Sasami gave the Amelia, both their blessing...
She smiled, it had taken quite a while...
She heard chuckling behind her, but didn't turn...
" It seems things are about to get interesting... "
Tsunami picked up a small bowl and held it out to her visitor...
It would seem that her sister Tokimi had come to join her...
Reaching over, she took a hand full of white puffy bits, then popped one into her mouth, her eyes never leaving the screen...
Setting the bowl back down, Tsunami acquired a white puffy bit and popped it into her mouth...
Interesting indeed...
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To be continued...
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Please feel free to comment and review for any errors...
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