Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Ryakudatsu Muyo (No Need for Piracy) ❯ Sekimu Muyou (No Need for Obligations) ( Chapter 1 )

"Oh! Duty is an icy shadow. It will freeze you. It cannot fill the heart's sanctuary."

-- Augusta Evans (1835-1909), American writer.

The sun rose resplendent over the treetops to the east, as it did on any other clear morning, but it brought little refreshment this day to the dark-haired woman watching its rays spill into her room. She had slept poorly, waking earlier than she usually would, and even that had been an hour past. The bright sunbeams playing through her window were met with precious little welcome, for it was a day the woman dreaded. It was the day she was expected to return home.

Expected? Perhaps "obligated" would be a better word, she mused.

Or "bound."

Bound, hand and foot.

She frowned mildly at the light and shook her head, silently chastising herself for following such a childish train of thought. For all her appearance of youth, she was perhaps the fourth oldest person on Earth, and she had too many obligations to carry on entertaining such complaints.

Obligations, she thought. How long have I avoided my obligations that I might stay here? I must stop being so selfish! I am beginning to sound as if that slattern were rubbing off on me!

She shivered in quiet revulsion at the idea and stood from her bedside, organizing her thoughts. She was due to leave in early afternoon, so there was no terrible rush; Ryuu-Ou was already repaired, thanks to the aid of the scientist Washuu, and was ready for the trip; the Guardians Azaka and Kamidake were on the starship's bridge, dutifully awaiting departure. She reminded herself that she was by no means being sent into exile-at full speed, it would be only a little more than two weeks before she returned. The sole concession she had managed to wrangle from her father, the Emperor, was to hold the conference at the nearest civilized world to Earth; the only reasons she won that concession were because of her mother's support and the fact that the world was a relatively popular resort planet near the outer spiral arms among which Earth lay.

Her train of thought derailed at the sound of a knock on the door.

She paused briefly to collect herself before answering. "Ah, yes?"

"Aeka-neesan," called a young girl's voice from the hall, "it's almost time for breakfast! You're okay, right? You're usually up and about, by now..."

Aeka smiled softly to herself at the sound of her dutifully warm-hearted younger sister. "Yes, Sasami, I am quite all right. I have just been thinking about things... I promise I will not be late for breakfast."

"Okay, Aeka-neesan! I'll see you down there!"

Aeka let her mind wander back to her thoughts as the sound of Sasami's eager footfalls died away down the hall and she set about neatening herself up to face the day.

The planet Earth, Aeka knew she would not miss terribly. Although it did have some lovely trees, a few of which reminded her of those on Jurai, when considered on the whole, she could call the world nothing more flattering than "quaint." The place was abhorrently technologically backwards, much of the planet was outright barbaric, and she found that part of her even missed the attention generated from any public appearance of the royal family back in civilized parts of the Empire.

A number of the others there, she knew she would miss more-her long-lost brother Yosho, despite the surprise of his advanced age; Mihoshi's endearingly harebrained antics; the scientist Washuu's creations, which were from time to time both fascinating and practical; but especially her dear Lord Tenchi. Her younger sister would be coming with her, and she worried briefly for how the girl would take to the separation from her new friends, but quickly reassured herself that any upset would be outweighed by the joy of their parents' company. For these things, her temporary departure frustrated her, but she was certain it was nothing she couldn't handle. Something else, however, had been quietly grating at her nerves while the day of her departure drew nearer.

Sixteen days away from Earth was no trouble at all.

Sixteen days without Lord Tenchi, she could tolerate.

Sixteen days spent too distant to keep that licentious hussy Ryoko off of Lord Tenchi, however, was another matter entirely. As sure as Aeka was of Lord Tenchi's moral fiber, she couldn't help but fear what such a woman's wiles could do to him if he were left so unprotected. Thoughts of legends of seductive demons taking the form of beautiful women to lure brave samurai to certain death-or worse yet, enslavement-danced through her mind. Her brother's lack of interference and her sister's fondness for the demoness added to her frustration, but she couldn't bring herself to directly question her brother's wisdom or to begrudge her sister a friend (however mangy) so long as it wasn't too dangerous an association. That left Aeka herself as Lord Tenchi's first and most potent line of defense against Ryoko, the Demon Spoiler of Princes. Even in normal circumstances, she would be reluctant to depart his company even for a matter of days; the thought was made only more abhorrent by the presence of such a malignant beast as the space pirate responsible both for assaulting Jurai and drawing away Yosho. Aeka's half-brother, the greatest knight in the empire's history, had grown old and decrepit in his lengthy sojourn on Earth, all because of Ryoko's rash and destructive actions of centuries past.

No more childish bellyaching, Aeka reminded herself sternly. You are the Crown Princess of the Royal House of Jurai, and you have duties to uphold, which must take precedence over your personal desires. You will just have to trust Lord Tenchi to take care of himself for a little while; perhaps with just a little help from providence and the grace of Lady Tsunami.

She smiled wanly, pausing to offer a silent prayer to Tsunami, the Goddess who gifted the Juraian royal family with the power to rule its empire, and then stepped out into the hall. She had promised not to be late for breakfast, and she looked forward to what time she had left before her imminent departure.

"Morning, Princess," was the first thing Aeka heard after the sough-and-tap of her door closing. Even if she hadn't recognized the voice, the sneering purr with which her title was pronounced would have given away the identity of the one speaking to her. She could hear in the tone of the infamous outlaw's voice her snide smirk , the bestially predatory glint in her eyes, the ungraceful slant of her posture; Aeka fought briefly with herself to maintain her composure and quell the urge to lash out in reaction.

"Good morning to you, Ryoko." Her reply was with carefully measured politeness, as it was not appropriate that she should bring herself down to the same level of disrespect, however much that woman might deserve it. Even so, she couldn't help but frown as she cast her eyes over to see the pirate leaning casually against the frame of her door, her carriage just as indolent expected; she must have been waiting there, lying in wait for the princess to step out of her room, so as not to miss even one moment of opportunity to mock her. The thought was infuriating-had this woman no sense of propriety?! "Must you stand there, looking so self-satisfied?!"

Ryoko laughed with amusement, clasping her hands behind her head and watching Aeka askance as though the princess weren't quite worth the effort of turning her head and disrupting her relaxed position. "Self-satisfied? How could I be self-satisfied, Princess? It's not my fault you're going to be lightyears away for a couple weeks. I just came up here to reassure you that Tenchi's going to be safe; you won't be here, but I promise I'll take reeeally good care of him."

Aeka's skin crawled at the thought, and she glared, forgetting about her intent to keep up a show of civility. "Ryoko! Whatever you may be planning, don't you even dare! I'll... I'll have you brought up on charges of assaulting a member of the royal family, if I find out you've been throwing yourself at Lord Tenchi in my absence!"

"Hahahah!" The pirate clasped her hands fretfully, brow knit in melodramatically tearful distress, and cried out woefully, "Oh, no! Not a felony charge!" She dropped the act again just as quickly, falling back once more against the wall as she broke out into uproarious laughter.

"Bwahahaha... you really crack me up, you know that? I'll miss having you here to keep me laughing; then again, I've got a feeling Tenchi's gonna keep me doing something else..." As she trailed off, she grinned widely with a gratuitous display of sharp, predatory teeth.

Aeka glared a moment longer in indignance, then turned on heel with a huff. "Mark my words, Ryoko: I shall see to it that you bring no harm to Lord Tenchi, either through violence or through whatever diseases you carry!" She disregarded the pirate's enraged growl, although she did allow herself a dainty smile of vindication. "Now, if you will excuse me, I promised Sasami I would not be late for breakfast. Good morning, Ryoko." The princess put on a politely cheerful smile in answer to the outlaw's glare, and stepped past her toward the stairway.

* * * * *

Ryoko watched Aeka step delicately down the stairs, counting off with each step an act of physical violence she should have enacted, until the princess was out of sight. That, at least, was a little bit satisfying, and soothed her frustration. Seven hundred years ago, she wouldn't have even seriously considered letting someone live after that unless there was a hell of a lot of profit involved.

I still wouldn't, she told herself, shaking her head. I'm not losing my edge; that really would be an expensive fight, a serious no-win situation. It's not worth losing Tenchi just to kill that stuck-up bitch. And Sasami'd probably never forgive me, either. She puzzled briefly at her concern over the opinion of a Juraian child, dismissed the thought, and sank through the floor into the kitchen below. Aeka was seating herself in the living room where Yosho-until recently pretending to simply be an Earth-native named Katsuhito-was already sitting with Mihoshi, the table set. Noboyuki had left early to get to work, in a rush to finish his current project as usual.

"Oh, Ryoko!" The pirate glanced down to the voice of the little princess she'd just been contemplating a moment earlier as she continued, "you can help me set out breakfast!"

What am I, a maid?

Ryoko considered talking Mihoshi into doing it, but shook her head knowing Sasami wouldn't stand for it, and tousled the girl's hair lightly.

"Sure thing, Sasami." She grinned and scooped up the serving dishes, hovering out to the living room to set them down on the table.

"Thanks, Ryoko! I'll be out in a second!"

When Ryoko entered the living room, Washuu had joined the gathering, sitting on her own embroidered cushion. The youthful-looking scientist they had freed from the pirate-scientist Kagato a few weeks ago had made herself very much at home. There was even a door which once led to the closet under the stairwell, but now also opened onto a gigantic laboratory (when Washuu wanted it to), and she had a tendency to pop up out of nowhere on occasion. On the bright side, she had installed a similar contraption in the bath so that it opened on an expansive, lush hot spring if opened by a woman, but revealed only the same old bathroom if opened by a man. Ryoko could no longer imagine bathing any other way, especially in a house shared with Tenchi's father; she was far from modest, but she didn't like the idea of being watched without her permission and having nothing she could do about it, short of slicing Tenchi's dad apart-which wouldn't go over well at all with Tenchi, she was sure.

"Oh, hi Ryoko!" Mihoshi smiled up at her from her seat, cheerfully; then her smile grew wider and she clapped eagerly. "Ooh, breakfast!"

"Hey, Mihoshi." Ryoko paused briefly, considering `accidentally' spilling something on Aeka while she had the chance, but decided against sacrificing breakfast for her own amusement, this once. It's not like I won't have another chance, anyways, she thought as she set down the serving dishes about the table.

"So," asked Washuu, glancing toward the old priest sitting at the head of the table, "isn't that grandson of yours coming to breakfast? I can't stay long. I'm in the middle of studying a strange decoupling in natural transverse space-time geometry fluctuations." She spoke casually, as though explaining that she was expecting a call, or that she had to water her plants.

Yosho set down his tea patiently before answering, dignified and making no display of rushing, as always.

"Mm. He should be here shortly," he replied. "He was almost done sweeping, when I came down."

Ryoko smile brightly and chimed in, "I'd better go get him, then! It's a long way down the stairs, after all!" And with that, she vanished, before the startled Aeka could slip in a protest.

* * * * *

It's strange, he mused, how much has changed and how much is just the same. I find out my grandfather's some kind of missing legendary galactic hero, that I'm somehow sort of connected to this Royalty and everything, and I'm already back to spending half my time with homework and a broom. Maybe it's all for the better, though . . . I don't know if I'm really cut out for dealing with space pirates and goddesses and all that.

Tenchi was walking down the stairs from his grandfather's shrine and contemplating these things, when he was struck without warning from the front by something near his size and mass.

Something soft, he noticed as he stumbled a few steps and fell back onto the ground beside the stone steps with a grunt.

Something with cyan hair?

"Ryoko?" He blinked at the space pirate, reddening in gradual degrees as he realized by steps how close they were; the way she was resting on top of him; the way her arms were slung about his neck; the way his own hands rested at her waist from an aborted effort to catch her; the way her chest pressed into his and her face took up most of his field of vision, replacing the world with a demon beauty which threatened at least as much as it enticed.

"Uh... what's going on, Ryoko?" he asked, trying not to think about the compromising position.

"Oh, nothing, Tenchi. I just thought you might want a lift back down to the house." She was smiling cheerfully, which Tenchi wanted to take at face value, but he couldn't help but wonder what sort of devious trick she had in mind.

He shook his head, scolding himself for being so suspicious of her, and smiled back a bit more timidly. "Uh... well, I guess I should get down there quickly. I don't want to miss breakfast, and Aeka is leaving this afternoon..."

"She is, isn't she... you sure you wouldn't rather I take you hostage for a few hours? It's not like she's going away forever, you know, so seeing her off isn't all that important, right?" She giggled playfully, freeing her hands from behind Tenchi's back to rest them on his shoulders with a tender but insistent grip, and leaned in to bring her eyes still nearer to his.

"R-Ryoko!" Tenchi tensed and blushed fiercely, pushing back futilely at her waist with his eyes wide. "No! I can't do that!"

"Awww, why not?" She nuzzled at him, pouting, although the playfulness in her eyes was obvious.

"I said no, Ryoko! I promised I'd be there when Aeka and Sasami took off. And you know it wouldn't be nice to Sasami to duck out on breakfast.

"...and I don't want you taking anybody hostage!" he added, almost an afterthought.

Ryoko couldn't help but smile. Even if he was turning down her offer, he was still so much fun.

"Not even after they're gone?"

"No, Ryoko!"

"Okay, okay," she sighed. "Still want me to bring you down to the house?"

He paused a moment to collect himself and smiled a little. "Yeah, okay. Just take me-"

She interrupted with a mischievous grin, "Ooh, right here on the stairs?"

Tenchi tensed again, blushing deeply. "Ryoko! To the house! Take me to the house!"

She giggled and wrapped her arms around him again. "Well, all right. But next time, how about up here?" She winked playfully, and there was a sudden moment of disorientation before Tenchi found himself in the living room. He remained tense for the time it took him to recognize that she hadn't kidnapped him and brought him someplace private-or just inappropriate, like the time she dragged him into the women's part of the hot springs when they went there for a brief vacation.

Aeka, however, was already on her feet. "Ryoko! I already warned you about.. about manhandling Lord Tenchi!"

Ryoko laughed and squeezed Tenchi tighter against herself. "Manhandling? If you think I'm a man, you can just ask Tenchi. I'm sure he can tell pretty easily that I'm not." She grinned, pressed intimately against him.

"R-Ryoko," cried Tenchi a bit urgently, his face warring between red embarrassment and blue asphyxiation, but with no doubt about panic. "Let go of me already!"

"Release Lord Tenchi at once!" shrieked Aeka, eyes blazing.

Ryoko would have replied as the tension built, but she was distracted by a loud, angry snarl from the breakfast table. All three looked over wide-eyed to see Mihoshi fidgeting unhappily.

"I'm sorry," she said tearfully. "I'm getting really hungry waiting, you know!"

All the others sweatdropped.

Ryoko shook her head and reluctantly let go of Tenchi, a little frustrated at her fun being interrupted. "I guess we should eat before Mihoshi's stomach shakes the house down; and I'm pretty hungry, anyways."

Tenchi had already crawled to the table, calming down and catching his breath. Aeka seated herself as well, glaring a moment longer at Ryoko before regaining her composure and turning to Tenchi.

"Are you all right, Lord Tenchi?"

He smiled a bit and nodded. "Yeah, Miss Aeka, I'm fine. I did ask Ryoko to bring me down here. ...well, sort of."

"I see... well, I suppose it did save you some time, at least." She smiled, then blinked at a sudden cry from Ryoko and a clatter of chopsticks falling to the table.

"Hey! What's the big idea, Shrimp?!" Ryoko was rubbing her hand, and glaring red-blazing daggers at the diminutive scientist across from her. Washuu sat meeting the pirate's gaze coolly with a pair of her own chopsticks neatly poised to strike like an enraged pit viper.

"Tsk. You should know better than to start eating without Sasami. And you should speak more respectfully to your mother. I know I didn't teach you manners like that, Ryoko."

"You didn't teach me any kind of manners, `Mom,'" Ryoko growled, the last word dripping with sarcasm.

"Okay, everything's done!" interrupted Sasami as she stepped into the living room with the last serving dish, and set it down, then seated herself. "Sorry to keep you all waiting!"

* * * * *

The noonday sky shone a deep blue overheard, clear save for a few wispy mare's tails.

"Lord Tenchi?" asked Aeka.

"Huh? What is it, Miss Aeka?" Tenchi looked over to toward her. They were walking near the bank of the lake, toward the place where Ryuu-Ou was awaiting its mistress and ward. Aeka's eyes were cast to the ground before her as she spoke. Tenchi wasn't sure just what to read in her demure posture; partly because the only time he could think of when she didn't have a demure posture was when she and Ryoko were about to kill each other or someone else.

She paused after his reply, taking in the details of the ground at her feet; even the ground here was subtly different from anyplace else she remembered. Was that true of every planet she'd seen? Had she ever noticed before?

"I will miss this place, Lord Tenchi," she answered softly after a moment. "I will miss this place, and I will miss... many of the people here."

Tenchi blinked at her and smiled warmly. "It's okay, Miss Aeka. It's just for a few days, right? We'll miss you, too, but we know you'll be coming back before too long. I think after a couple days of not having Sasami here to cook for us, even Ryoko will be hoping you'll come back soon."

Aeka laughed softly behind her hand and smiled, glancing over to him. "Thank you, Lord Tenchi. You always seem able to raise my spirits."

"Aheheh... well, I'm glad I can do that, at least." He grinned sheepishly, reddening, and rubbed the back of his neck absently.

Yes, Lord Tenchi. That, you can certainly do. Aeka smiled at the blushing, bashful student a moment longer, then resumed her own demurely thoughtful posture, eyes slightly downcast. It isn't very long before I depart... haven't I anything else to say to him? I must seem dreadfully childish, so fretful and preoccupied...

"Miss Aeka?"

The princess blinked away her reverie and looked up at him. "Ah... yes, Lord Tenchi?"

"I hope it doesn't sound too weird, but... well, I've lived here my whole life. I've been on those ships of yours and Ryoko's once or twice, but I was kind of distracted from sightseeing. What's it like, out there? I mean, you've seen a lot of places, haven't you?"

Aeka paused a moment, somewhat surprised by the question.

"In truth, Lord Tenchi, I am not certain how to answer that... there are far more civilized worlds within the expanse of the Empire than there are countries on this planet of yours, and they seem just as different from one another, save that they exist together as one nation. Between them are great expanses of dark, solemn quiet; although there are many lovely sights, reminders of the glory of Lady Tsunami." She glanced up at the bright blue dome of the heavens, glazed with the delicate wisps of cirrus clouds, and smiled to herself. "I suppose I ought to say that all things in nature remind us of Lady Tsunami's glory... but there are things beyond the sky, Lord Tenchi, which proclaim it with an undeniable voice all their own."

Tenchi watched her, listening as she spoke, and smiled a bit. She must be talking about things like Saturn's rings, and those nebulae... I've seen pictures, but I can't even imagine what it must be like to really see it, with your own eyes, and to actually be there. To see other planets, too... even so, I guess I really am content staying here. Maybe for a vacation sometime, though...

"Lady Aeka. Lord Tenchi."

The voice was a relatively deep one, from ahead of them. They both looked forward, and Aeka smiled wanly, nodding to her blue-marked guardian.

"Oh. Yes, Kamidake, I know. It is time. I will be there shortly, I promise."

"Yes, Lady Aeka. Lady Sasami is already waiting beside Ryuu-Ou."

"Thank you, Kamidake. We will be taking off soon."

"Very well, Lady Aeka." With that, the cylindrical servant turned and hovered back toward Ryuu-Ou. Rarely had such a ship taken quite so much punishment in so short a span of time as poor Ryuu-Ou had during the princess' stay on Earth. One of the few exceptions was her brother's ship Funaho, named after his mother, which was now permanently rooted in the Earth's soil. Aeka sighed softly and shook the thoughts from her head as they drew near to Ryuu-Ou.

"Well, Lord Tenchi. Thank you for walking me to my ship. I appreciate that you could take the time out of your day, and thank you for your hospitality for all this time." She smiled reservedly, but warmly. "Please... take care while I am away, Lord Tenchi."

"I'll be okay, Miss Aeka, really!" He smiled back confidently. "And don't worry about it at all, it's not really any trouble. Even if it does get a bit hectic, it's really nice having you and Sasami around. Honestly."

"Thank you, Lord Tenchi. You really are very kind. Now, speaking of Sasami..." Aeka glanced around as they stepped up beside Ryuu-Ou, and spotted Sasami kneeling on the ground and hugging Ryo-Ouki.

"I really will miss you, Ryo-Ouki! But I promise I'll be back before too long!" cried the young princess tearfully.

"Mya! Mya-myaaaaa!"

Aeka sighed softly and shook her head, speaking in a gentle but admonishing tone. "Sasami! Stand up and set down that..." Filthy? Mangy? "...dear... creature. We don't want to meet mother and father with you looking like a mess, and we must be going at once." She made a conscious effort not to eye the cabbit with too much obvious distaste. Even though it was at least as responsible as Ryoko for a number of heinous crimes and the repeated destruction of Ryuu-Ou, she had to grudgingly admit that it was terribly cute, and Sasami was quite fond of it. "And bid farewell to Lord Tenchi, as well."

"Okay, Aeka-neesan." The little princess sniffed once and hopped up, holding Ryo-Ouki. She smiled up at Tenchi for a moment, albino-red eyes still watery... then hugged onto him tearfully, squishing the cabbit between them. "I'll miss you too, Brother Tenchi! I'll miss you a lot!"

Aeka smiled to herself, then stumbled as something latched onto her waist, and looked down in surprise at the pile of shaking blond hair as Mihoshi wiped her face into the princess' robes, bawling.

"Uwaaah! I'll miss you toooo!"

"M-Miss Mihoshi! Let go of me at once!"

Tenchi laughed quietly and petted Sasami's head as Aeka struggled to pry Mihoshi off of her nearby. "Hey. It'll be okay, Sasami. Besides, it's been awhile since you've seen your parents, right? I bet the time will fly right by."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Tenchi-niisan," Sasami sniffled. "You're sure you'll be okay until we get back? I cooked up plenty of things that make good leftovers, but..."

"We did manage to eat before you came, Sasami, but thanks. I promise we'll be okay, if you promise you'll try and enjoy yourself, at least a little."

The princess paused in thought, then smiled a little, and nodded. "Okay, I'll try... and I promise we'll be back quickly, too!"

"All right, Sasami. We'll be looking forward to it." He smiled down at her reassuringly and nodded, as Aeka managed to extricate herself from Mihoshi's grasp.

"Sasami! We must be going, now... Azaka! Kamidake! Prepare to bring us aboard!"

"Yes, Lady Aeka," chorused the pair of guardians, a bluish glow surrounding all four as Sasami reluctantly stepped back from Tenchi to stand beside Aeka.

"Don't hurry too much, Aeka. Wouldn't it be funny if Mihoshi had to give you a speeding ticket?" Ryoko grinned, having just appeared, leaning against Tenchi from the side. Ryo-Ouki nuzzled Sasami's cheek, then leapt to Ryoko's shoulder in pursuit of a carrot offered by the pirate.

Aeka stiffened and turned up her nose. "I will deal with you later, Ryoko. I have responsibilities to attend to. Azaka! Kamidake!"

"Yes, Lady Aeka." The blue aura intensified, the two princesses and two guardians no longer visible as the sphere of radiance about them lifted from the ground.

"Take care, Lord Tenchi!" came Aeka's voice from within the globe of light.

"We'll miss you!" shouted Sasami as the light shimmered and dashed toward Ryuu-Ou, absorbing into the ship as a drop of water vanishing into the ground.

Tenchi watched quietly as the massive ship rumbled and began to lift off the ground, wind whistling about them, then accelerated off into the blue sky.

Ryoko stretched, sighed lightly and smiled, hugging Tenchi's arm to her chest. "Mm, well, now that we're alone..."

Tenchi blushed, then wheezed and sweatdropped as Mihoshi clung onto him, sobbing into his shirt.

"Uwaaah! I miss them already!" she gushed as Ryoko fell over, twitching.

* * * * *

It was later that day, in the evening, when Mihoshi opened the hatch of her patrol ship's command cabin. I promised Lady Aeka that I'd make sure Tenchi was safe... so I guess I'd better find out what the news is, so I can be ready! She nodded to herself, and started the process of activating the auxiliary power and the hyperspace radio to receive a Galaxy Police general status update.

Two hours had passed by the time she finished consulting the manual and turning on the right controls.

Mihoshi was at the verge of tears as the display finally flickered into bright activity, mostly text with some pictures and statistics. She scanned through the chronological listing of events-mostly irrelevancies as far as Earth or Tenchi were concerned. Minor changes to traffic laws, Most Wanted List updates, Arrest On Sight orders posted thousands or tens of thousands of light years away. But then, near the end, she saw something new and terrible, within just a few hundred of lightyears of Earth.

She hesitated, and then brought up more detailed information.

The details were sketchy, but she knew she'd found a real, serious threat; a threat which could spill over to Earth, if someone didn't deal with it. And as an officer of the Galaxy Police, it's my duty to make sure something's done!

She sat back in Yukinojo's command chair, and thought as hard as she could. The deliberate, conscious effort creased her brow, puckered her lips, and nearly crossed her eyes as well, but she got results.

Her ship wasn't really spaceworthy at the moment.

The last time she tried to deal with something like this herself was how her ship got wrecked in the first place.

But then, she realized what she had to do.

Ryoko! Maybe there's not much I can do personally, but this ought to be right up her alley!

Mihoshi leapt to her feet, blue eyes ablaze with determination... and yawned, loudly.

But first, I could really use a nice long nap.