Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ The Senior Year ❯ Endings and Beginnings: Dakejinzou's Story ( Chapter 45 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Darkness.

A computer screen activates, its light reflecting the face of a
Terran woman. She taps commands, then runs the program. The screen
flashes the image of Ataru Moroboshi. Notations in an alien language
run alongside his picture. The viewer's eyes widen in surprise. "God,
so *he's* the lucky devil!" she exclaims, then sighs in resignation.
"Well, better get a copy of this..."

She extracts a solid from the computer, then deactivates the
machine. As darkness falls, a tear glistens. "Forgive me..."

* * *

Urusei Yatsura - Endings and Beginnings: "Dakejinzou's Story"
by Fred Herriot
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Thirty-sixth of a series based on "Urusei Yatsura" created by Rumiko
Takahashi
**** **** ****

WRITER'S NOTES:

1) This and the next three constitute the turning point in our
series, hence the title change to "Endings and Beginnings." Please file
this story along with the UY-TSY stories.

2) The Hustari are inspired by the situation in Melissa Scott's
"Shadow Man." FYI, here are the genders indigenous to Hustaros and how
they're addressed (read gender; subjective pronoun; possessive pronoun;
objective pronoun; mode of addressing). Go to the UY-TSY race listing
to get a general description of each gender:

man (he, his, him, himself, ser)
woman (she, her, her, herself, sera)
herm (zh'e, zh'er, zh'im, zh'imself, serray)
mem (fh'e, fh'is, fh'im, fh'imself, serrem)
fem (t'he, t'her, t'her, t'herself, serram)

And a quick pronunciation guide:

zh' - The "s" in deciSion
fh' - The "ph" in PHilosopher
t'h - The "th" in THis

3) FYI, the sexual preferences on Hustaros:

bi - Intimate with persons of the same and one of the two opposite
genders
demi - Intimate with persons of the same and one of the two like genders
di - Intimate with persons of either of the two opposite genders
gay - Intimate with only the same gender
hemi - Intimate with persons of the same and both like genders
omni - Intimate with all genders
straight - Intimate with persons only of the two opposite genders
tri - Intimate with persons of the same and both opposite genders
uni - Intimate with one of the like genders

I assume "like" genders would be grouped men/fems and women/mems, split
depending on the type of chromosomes. Herms would fit in both XY and XX
chromosome categories. For Seisuru, a fem, t'he is classified an omni.

**** **** ****

"Darling, is that you?!" Lum questions.

Ataru closes the door. "It's me!" he smiles, placing the
groceries on the table. "Has Reiko-chan come back from school?"

"Not yet," Lum walks out of the kitchen, embracing her boyfriend.
"What did you get?"

Ataru turns to unpack. Despite their obvious racial differences,
they project the image of a loving couple, like countless other couples
throughout the local cluster and beyond. But this couple has attracted
attention an alien starship cuts through the atmosphere, homing
unerringly at the beautiful home on the Ojika-hantou.

On the bridge, the infrared image of the living room projects from
the main viewscreen. The ship's captain glares at the image, zh'er eyes
narrowing as the unmistakable features of their target are recognized.
"That's him!" zh'e smiles. "Send the retrieval team."

"Serray Suki, he's not alone."

"I can see that, serrem," Suki nods. "The other must be his
lover. Inform the team that if she interferes, eliminate her. We
cannot afford delay. Too much is at stake."

"It shall be done, serray," fh'e nods.

* * *

On ground level, Ataru and Lum finish stacking the groceries in
the cupboards when they detect the sound of airbike engines. "Is Benten
coming by?" the former wonders, walking to the living room windows.

"She didn't call to say she was coming," the latter hums. "I
wonder what's up..."

Lum's words are overwhelmed by a burst of machine gun fire. Ataru
slams her from harm's path as the window shatters, flipping around to
snare the *qu'f-piaqu'r* from its wall mounts. Before he could swing
the musket to bear, the door blasts open, belting him in the face.
Ataru collapses as Lum bolts to her feet, her powers forming a blazing
aura. "What's the meaning of this?!!" she demands, then her eyes widen
on recognizing from what race the attackers hail. "You're...?!"

Machine pistols level on her. "We've no time!" the team leader
growls. "We've need of the Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager!!"

"Why do you want Darling?!" Lum snaps.

"That is not your concern!" t'he snaps.

"It's my concern when...!!"

Weapons thunder!

* * *

At that moment, Noa ambles through the Oshika market, selecting
vegetables for that evening's dinner. "Now, where did they put the bean
sprouts?" she hums.

A psychic bolt lances through her mind! Numbing agony slams
through Noa's defenses as if they were tissue paper. No power on Earth
could hurt her. Either it was an alien intelligence her people were
unaware of, or...

"Lum...!!!" she gasps, her mind's eye seeing nothing but blood.

* * *

"I'm home!!" Reiko walks through the back door. "Is dinner ready
yet?!"

The Noukiite slows down as silence and smoke answer her. Her
conditioning takes control as she approaches the scene, then turns to
stare. "Daddy? Lum?"

She reaches the top of the stairs...then stops, eyes widening in
horror on seeing Lum, her chest a gory mess. "L-l-lum...!" her voice
catches as bile rushes from her stomach, then she turns away to vomit.

A hovercycle is heard. "Lum!!!" Noa's voice echoes from outside.

Reiko turns to see the Sagussan scramble to her bond-mate's side,
ripping off her shirt to vainly cover the Oni's wounds. Honey is behind
her, tapping her wrist-communicator. "Honey to Catty, emergency!!
Lum's been shot!! Get everyone up here, stat!!!"

"On my way," the doctor replies.

Summoning what courage she has left, Reiko rises, slowly walking
down to stare at her future mother. Lum's face is unmarked save for
splattered blood. Her eyes weakly open as she detects Noa's hand on her
cheek. "Noa..." she weakly rasps. "Darling..."

"Rest!" Noa orders. "Catty's coming!"

Transporters are heard. Catty races in, accompanied by Setsuna
and Hotaru. Pathfinder Troop Six, Lufy, Mie and Makoto are also there,
weapons out. The doctor scans the downed Oni, shaking her head in
disbelief. "All this and she's still alive?!" she exclaims.

"What the fuck happened?!" Lufy snaps.

Noa stares at Catty, fingers never far from Lum. Grimly, the
doctor closes her tricorder, then turns to the nurses. "Have the regen
tank ready, stat! Get a litter!!"

"Hai, I'sagh!" they double out.

Priss enters with a litter. Catty turns to Noa, nodding. The
*ashi'cha* faces her bond-mate. "She can't operate. Ready?"

"I'm afraid..." Lum weakly admits.

"Don't be," Noa's fingers make contact...

PAIN!!!!

Noa shrieks as the agony of seared nerves and shattered tissue
storms through her. Her mind's eye focuses on the faint glow before
her. Lum's *mei'na,* battered, drained...but hanging on, her bonds to
Ataru and Noa keeping her in this plane of existence. Noa summons her
power to draw the Oni toward her. "Come to me, Lum!!" the Sagussan
drops her shields. "It's your only hope!!"

The light fades, then draws closer as Noa pulls Lum toward her,
exerting her strength to prevent the Oni from embracing the *te'a,* Its
infinite glow always apparent to those who perceived Its presence. A
yank jerks Noa's concentration. "Stop fighting me!!!" the Sagussan
gasps. "Your bond with Ataru will remain!! If you resist, I can't pull
you out!!!"

<<But...Darling...>> Lum gasps.

"We'll worry about him!! Come to me!!!"

The Oni allows herself to flow into Noa. In the physical realm,
Lum's eyes flutter close as her body loses its tension. Suddenly, a
gasp emits from Noa as she breaks physical contact, sagging into Honey's
arms. Catty spins to Priss and Lufy. "Go!!!"

* * *

"Hey, you okay?" Benten wonders.

Nassur shudders as he stares at his wife. Both relax in a bar in
Gomiana's capital city, having finished their mission. "I...don't
know," the Vosian shakes his head. "I just felt something happen to
Lum."

"What?" the Fukunokami tenses.

"I'm not sure..." Nassur concentrates. "For a moment, it seems as
if Lum...faded."

Benten pales. The only time *pe'cha* could be shattered was
death. "I think we better get to Earth as soon as we can."

* * *

Lum's eyes open. "Wh-where...?"

The Oni sits up, finding herself in a miasmic grey mist. However,
unlike her brief time in Ataru's mind, this mental field is permeated
with bright light shining from every direction. Lum squints as she
tries to perceive her surroundings, her mind replaying the events
leading to this point.

The attackers were Hustari, a reclusive race of humanoids living
beyond Zephyrite space. Lum recognizes them since they are the only
known pentagender race in the local cluster. She hadn't realized they
resembled the unknown race in whose image Dakejinzou Shogai was
constructed. They had wanted Ataru. When Lum demanded to know why, she
was turned into Swiss cheese. Ataru had tried to save her, but two of
the aliens dragged him off. His fading screams were the last thing she
clearly perceived before her pain overwhelmed her. "Where am I?!" she
rises, shading her eyes from the light. "Noa?! Where are you?!"

<<Hey, keep it down, Lum!>>

"Mie?!" Lum blinks. "Where's Noa?!"

<<In meditation, silly,>> Mie sighs. <<Your fighting her nearly
dragged both of you into the *te'a's* embrace, you know.>>

"What's going on? What's this light?! Is this the inside of
Noa's mind?!"

<<'Fraid so. Hang on a sec...>>

The light fades. Lum relaxes. "Can I see what's going on at
least?"

<<Your body's in the 'Kiboo'cha's' regen tank now,>> Mie informs
her, revulsion seeping in her voice. <<Ugh!! You're a mess!>>

"Guess I don't want to see myself, huh?"

<<Guess not,>> Mie chuckles. <<Your going over what happened
gives us a clue. Problem is, we don't have any ships available to go
after them. Sylia's trying to get rover units to pursue that ship, but
it's a fair bet they're going to Hustaros.>>

"But why would they want Darling?" Lum sits. "Unless it's Sagussa
they're after. But...why would they want Sagussa?"

<<That's what we're going to find out.>>

* * *

"Thank you," Dakejinzou smiles.

Her customers wave as the hunter walks out of the Chowei farmer's
market, another mission successfully completed. Dakejinzou sighs,
glancing at her chrono. Three days back to Fukunokami to visit her
parents, then to Earth to visit Ataru and Lum, then to Home Base to
tutor the hybrids. Visiting the fringe worlds of the Holy Republic was
fun, but the action lay in the Federation worlds. Hopefully, Nassur's
latest job would be done.

She blinks as her earrings flash. "What is it, ship?" she taps
it.

"*A call for you, Dakejinzou-san,*" the "Goddess's" computer
replies. "*Emergency priority from Earth. Shall I beam you over?*"

"Yes," she nods.

A teleport beam ride later, she enters the bridge of her compact
frigate, relaxing in the command chair. Tapping controls, she blinks in
surprise on recognizing her caller. "Lufy?! What's wrong?! Are Ataru-
chan and Lum-chan okay?!"

The Sagussan sighs. "Not really..."

She describes the situation. Dakejinzou shudders as the extent of
Lum's injuries become known, then blinks on hearing Ataru's fate. "We
have some idea as to what could be happening on Hustaros," Lufy admits.
"And how that'd relate to why they want Ataru."

"The kokushibyou's returned," Dakejinzou grimly nods. "Any sign
of Henry?"

"Nada. Lyna only knows where he is!" Lufy snorts. "And none of
our other ships are equipped to handle what the Hustari might want.
Since you're close by, could you...?"

"I can be there in two days," Dakejinzou calls up her starmaps.
"Could you send a ship to pick up Ataru-chan at least? That could help
in Lum's recovery."

"Not with what she's about to undergo," the Sagussan shakes her
head. "He won't be needed right away. Besides, if they're that
desperate, I don't think they'll be too keen on the idea of releasing
him."

"Good point," the alien crosses her arms. "Well, scrap another
visit home. I'll head out. By the way, who do I charge it to?"

"Us!" Lufy laughs. "Nagaiwakai'll blame it all on Lum. Why give
her the chance?"

"True," Dakejinzou chuckles...

* * *

"That's not good news," Koosei sighs.

A scrambled conference call between Oshika, Triton and Tomobiki is
being headed by Catty. "We got to her in time," the doctor sighs. "At
present, she's out of danger, although she'll be in regen for the next
day. But while she's recovering, I will insist that NO ONE outside my
people, the Nendo-kata or immediate family can visit Lum."

"May I enquire why?" Oyuki sniffles. "Having friends visit would
bring her cheer, especially with Ataru gone."

Catty fixes her with a stare. "Oyuki, that is why you have a
telephone. Besides, Ataru's gone through enough trouble to wean
everyone from Tomobiki from depending on her. If they learned of Lum's
misfortune..."

"You don't need to remind us," Koosei interrupts. "Mum's the
word."

"Thank you," Catty nods. "I'll send a message to Lum's parents,
but outside them and Nassur, all communications from Oshika will cease.
Lum is about to undergo a radical transformation and she doesn't need
the presence of unshielded minds to hamper her."

Oyuki blinks. "Understandable," Koosei smiles, glancing at his
girlfriend. "We'll keep an eye on things here. Thank you."

The link to Oshika is cut. "Koosei-kun, what did she mean by
that?" Oyuki wonders.

Koosei sighs. "Like it or not, Oyuki-chan, Lum is about to become
a Sagussan."

The Tritonian blinks...

* * *

"Wh-where am I?" Ataru moans.

His eyes open, detecting an unfamiliar room. Tapestries hang on
all walls, including draping the windows. He finds himself wearing a
tunic and pants of alien design. Sitting up, he stretches himself, then
standing, proceeds to the window to stare outside. "What is this
place?!" he exclaims.

The city beyond this building is unlike anything he could imagine.
Arcologies are widely spaced, separated by townhouses and wide swaths of
parkland. People proceed on their business. Staring at them, Ataru is
quick to notice the similarities between them and Dakejinzou. "Are
these Dake-chan's people?" he muses, then tenses as the door opens.

Suki strides in. "Oh, you're up!" zh'e smiles. "How do you
feel?"

"Why have I been kidnapped?!" he demands, glaring at zh'im. "And
why was my girlfriend shot?! Where is this place?!"

"Peace, please," zh'e projects a friendly smile. "You're on the
planet Hustaros. My name is Suki. I'm the one who brought you here.
As to why, well, you are the Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager, aren't
you?"

"What's the Chosen One?"

A smile twitches zh'er lips. "Please don't do that. You've been
in contact with the Maidens of the Voyager, whatever they call
themselves, for the last month, maybe more."

Ataru crosses his arms. "You haven't answered why you kidnapped
me. Just because I've a connection to Sagussa doesn't cut it."

"True," zh'e nods, pulling up a chair to relax. "What do you know
of my people?"

He blinks as his mysterious sixth sense relays information.
"Hustaros is a world coreward of Zephyrus. Populated by an indigenous
humanoid race possessing feline and elfin features, which is also the
only known pentagender race in the cluster. Isolationist but not
xenophobic, certainly not possessing the many isms other races have."

"Nicely done," zh'e muses. "There is something else, which leads
to the reason we've sought you. Five hundred years ago, a terrible
plague struck our world. We know it as the kokushibyou. It's effects
are similar to your bubonic plague. It nearly decimated our people
before help came from beyond."

"Henry," Ataru blinks in realization.

"'Henry?'" Suki blinks confusedly.

"The Gatherer...what you know as the Voyager. His CPU is Henry.
Go on."

"Well," zh'e sadly sighs. "The reason you're here today is that
the kokushibyou has returned. We need the Voyager's help in stopping
the disease before it destroys us."

Ataru shudders. "I wish I could help you. But...Henry's
independently minded. We've no idea where he is, to be honest. If we
did, would you expect me to be on Earth?"

"I...see," Suki stands. "I'll have to inform my superiors about
this. Excuse me."

Zh'e steps out. Ataru watches zh'im go, then shakes his head.
"I've got to get my head examined," he mutters. "I'm too old for this!
What am I still doing being dragged off to every corner of the cosmos?!"

He relaxes. Lum was alive, that much he knew. He would have
sensed it if she expired. Noa got to her. No worries. The Sagussans
would protect her. Besides, while the Hustari were forceful, they were
also desperate. But...how do you stop a plague? Ataru was no doctor.

"This'll be interesting," he mutters.

* * *

"Whaddayamean they won't allow us to visit?!" Benten growls
indignantly.

The "Renegade" now hovers in orbit over Triton. Oyuki's image is
on the viewscreen. "Those are Catty-sensei's orders, Benten," the
Tritonian sympathetically repeats. "And may I remind you she has the
means to enforce them."

"Named Lufy and Priss," Nassur muses. "How is Lum, anyway?"

"She is still in regen," Oyuki sighs. "Koosei-kun explained it to
me. Lum-chan's wounds were so severe, Catty-sensei had no recourse but
to employ the regeneration matrix. She will emerge in a day."

"We could send Naosu," Benten proposes.

Oyuki shakes her head. "Benten, when a Sagussan doctor says 'no
one,' she means NO ONE. Lum does not need unshielded minds to influence
her during her time of recovery."

The crew blink. "'Unshielded minds?!'" Tella wonders. "What does
that mean?"

"It means, Tella-chan, that Lum is now a Sagussan," Oyuki
explains. "Nassur, you know of Yedris Seq, do you?"

"I've worked with her," Nassur muses. "The strangest Urusian I've
ever met. Never was able to sense her brainwave pattern..."

"Because she is an Avalonian," Oyuki completes. "Avalonians and
Sagussans possess the same level of psionic powers. Yedris-san had to
isolate herself to protect her mind. Lan-chan explained this to me.
Now Lum-chan is about to experience the same thing."

"Uh-oh," Benten shudders.

"Has anyone seen to Ataru?" Nassur asks.

"We did detect a tight-beam transmission from Oshika to Chowei..."
Oyuki explains.

"Dakejinzou," Nassur readily nods.

* * *

"Excuse me?" a voice tickles Ataru's ear.

Ataru's eyes flutter open, finding himself staring at an angular
face framed with wavy raven hair, pierced by inquisitive brown eyes.
"Who are you?" he blinks, rising.

The woman (?) before him smiles. "My name is Seisuru," t'he
sighs. "I...hope you don't mind my visiting you, ser. It's not
everyday that one meets a galactic legend."

Ataru moans. His reputation proceeding him. "I'm not that way
anymore, you know."

"Oh, not that!" t'he laughs. "I mean, you're the Chosen One of
the Eternal Voyager. All male-types dream of going to the Great Palace
to be with them. So, what's it like?"

He blinks as he absorbs t'her words. "All male-types like us."
Seisuru was a fem. He relaxes. "Well, I don't exactly remember my
first time," he admits. "I was just a kid when Noa brought me to
Sagussa to meet the others and...circumstances made me forget that. I
know a lot now. They're...okay, I guess. They're people."

Seisuru leans at him. "You've done it with any of them yet?"

"What business is that of yours?"

"Well, c'mon!" t'he laughs, a masculine tenor creeping into t'her
voice. "Your other reputation is known to us, ser Ataru."

"I don't do that now! Besides, serram, I've got a girlfriend who
was shot up by your friend Suki, which doesn't endear me to you!"

Seisuru blinks. "You even understand the way we address
ourselves...not to mention recognized what I am," t'he muses. "That's
not bad for a bigender on his first visit."

The door opens, permitting a healer to enter. "Serram Seisuru,
there you are!!"

"What is it?" t'he faces her.

Sadness creeps into the woman's face. "It's your mate. It's
time."

Ataru blinks as Seisuru's jovial demeanour crashes, anguish
welling from t'her soul as strength drains from t'her. "Yakuri...!"

The healer guides t'her from the room. Instinctively, Ataru
follows them. The three proceed down a hall to a medical station.
Within, a still form lays on a diagnostic table. Isolation fields
protect visitors from the dying mem. Ataru notices the sickening
discolouration on Yakuri's face, arms and legs, fh'is body modestly
protected by a blanket. "Yakuri," Seisuru whispers, leaning against the
field to gaze on t'her lover.

Yakuri's eyes open, fh'e painfully staring at fh'is mate.
"Seisuru," fh'e weakly smiles, fh'is hand reaching for t'her.

The isolation field shields them from direct contact. "I'm here."

"I love you," fh'e smiles, then gasps.

Seisuru screams as Yakuri collapses, all fh'is vital signs
redlining. The healers move to stabilize fh'im, but their leader shakes
her head. "Fh'e's gone. I'm sorry, serram."

Seisuru wails, spinning around to sink into Ataru's embrace. The
Terran hesitates, then sympathy takes over as he holds t'her...

* * *

"If he cannot summon the Voyager to aid us, we're finished!"
Sendoosha exclaims.

"Sera, if Ataru Moroboshi cannot summon the Voyager, we'll have to
find some other way to obtain what we need," Suki sighs. "Our world has
been quarantined and colonists have been ordered to stay away until this
comes under control. Our options are limited."

"Agreed. But what options are there."

Both notice Seisuru approach, leaning against Ataru. "Seisuru?"
Sendoosha wonders, rushing to her child's side. "What's wrong?"

T'he blinks, then sinks into Sendoosha's embrace. "Yakuri..."
t'he mutters.

Suki shakes zh'er head as zh'e turns to a window. Zh'e blinks.
"There's a ship arriving at the spaceport!"

Ataru runs to the window. "Not just any ship! That's the
'Goddess of Luck!'"

The Hustari blink in surprise, then spin on hearing a teleport
beam. Dakejinzou appears. "Where's Ataru Moroboshi?!" she demands,
then blinks. "Ataru-chan?!"

"Sera Shogai!" Suki exclaims. "What are you doing here?!"

Dakejinzou faces zh'er. "Serray, you ran an enormous risk
kidnapping him and bringing him here," she indicates Ataru. "If you
know he's the *daimon'cha* of Sagussa, you should also know his
grandmother's affiliation to the Protestant Reformist Church of
Zephyrus. And that doesn't count what Lum's father will do when he
learns what you did to his daughter."

"Surely, you recognize our need, sera," Suki crosses zh'er arms.
"My child's mate just died," zh'e indicates Seisuru. "How many more'll
perish before matters can be resolved? We've no time to explain
ourselves."

"I understand," Dakejinzou sighs.

"You know the Maidens," Sendoosha hums. "Couldn't you ask them
for help?"

"They know of the situation, but they don't have any ships
available to obtain the herb. Henry's heaven knows where; they're
trying to get in contact with him now."

"What herb?" Ataru wonders.

"It's the herb Henry found five centuries ago for them,"
Dakejinzou turns to him. "It's native to Nekotengu Four, a world some
two weeks from here. But...don't you have samples of that herb around?"
she looks at Suki.

"We don't know. The herb was so good in eliminating the
kokushibyou, we forgot about it when the disease was eliminated."

"Can this herb do the job?" Ataru asks. "What if the disease's
mutated this time?"

"It's the same as the first plague," Suki confirms. "We did
biopsies of remains from plague victims. It's the same."

"We've quarantined ourselves to prevent it from spreading to the
colonies," Sendoosha sighs. "Sera Shogai, can you help us?"

"I can," Dakejinzou nods. "The 'Goddess' is equipped with cargo
bays. I just had her engines retrofitted. I could obtain several tons
of the herb. You could clone enough from that to cover the whole
planet."

"We could, but speed is of the essence," Suki then turns to Ataru.
"It seems your assistance is not required, ser Ataru. We can transport
you back to Earth if you want."

"I wouldn't mind that," Ataru sighs, then turns to Dakejinzou.
"By the way, how's Lum?"

"In regen right now," the synthezoid smiles. "Looks like she'll
become a Sagussan before you. Actually, Catty-sensei would like it if
as few people as possible see Lum. The adjustment's going to be harsh."

Ataru nods resignedly. "Then it looks like you've got a passenger
for this trip."

"Make that two," Seisuru volunteers.

"Seisuru?!" Sendoosha and Suki blink.

"Sera, serray, please," t'he smiles. "I can't help Yakuri now,
but I can help others. Besides, the more people helping sera Shogai
obtain the herb, the faster it'll be done and the sooner we'll be back."

T'her parents stare at each other, then nod. "Make yourselves
ready."

* * *

Later, Ataru and Dakejinzou meet by the "Goddess." "Where's
Seisuru?!" Ataru wonders.

"I'm here!" the Hustari's voice echoes.

T'he runs up, an overnight bag around t'her shoulder. "Ready?"
Dakejinzou wonders.

"Ready!" Ataru and Seisuru nod.

The three board the "Goddess." A minute later, it launches from
Hustaros, plunging into the dark unknown. Watching from their castle,
Sendoosha and Suki relax. "Will they be in time?" the latter wonders.

The former gasps, collapsing into her mate's arms. "Sendoosha!!!"
Suki screams as zh'e catches zh'er mate, gently lowering her to the
floor. Seeing the discolouration on her arms, Suki turns to the distant
speck of Dakejinzou's frigate. "Hurry!"

* * *

"Lum, wake up!"

The Oni's eyes open and she perceives Noa over her. "*Tcha*..."
she moans, reaching for her forehead. "What happened...?"

"You're back in your body," the Sagussan breathes out in relief.
"How do you feel?"

"Strange," Lum mutters as pain lances through her mind. "Where's
Darling...?"

"On his way to Nekotengu Four with Dakejinzou," Noa reports.

"What?!!" Lum bolts up, then vertigo fells her. "Oooh...that
wasn't smart...!"

"*De'ne!*" Noa groans. "Your mind still has to adjust. Don't
push yourself!"

"Sorry..." a sibilant whistle escapes Lum's lips. She reaches
over to draw Noa closer. "I'm cold, Noa-chan. Warm me up."

Noa purrs. "I have an idea how to do that," she draws the covers
over them...

* * *

"Lum..."

Ataru sits in the aft observation gallery on the "Goddess of
Luck," watching Hustaros vanish in a wave of hyperspace energies. She
was alright. Noa was there for her. Besides, she was about to undergo
an incredible change of self-perception. Better to let the experts
handle it. He had other problems.

Seisuru enters. "We're on our way," t'he announces. "ETA
Nekotengu Four twelve days."

"Mm...that's nice," Ataru hums.

"Worried about your mate?"

"Yeah. But I know she'll be alright."

"How?"

"It's...hard to explain. I'm going forward to talk to Dake-chan.
See you later."

He moves to leave. "Ataru?"

"What?"

T'he hugs t'herself. "Um...nothing."

Ataru blinks, then kicks himself. Seisuru had just lost t'her
mate. T'he needed some companionship to help t'her overcome the pain.
He kneels, gently embracing t'her. "It's okay," his voice lowers to a
whisper. "You've got to cry sooner or later."

"I...the shock's there," t'he tearfully admits, t'her hand tracing
his beard. "But Yakuri would want me to go on. Fh'e would scream at me
to get off my ass and do something to help others instead of moping."

"If you loved fh'im, you have to mourn," he warns. "That's the
problem when death comes so suddenly. People feel they don't have the
time to mourn their loss. If they don't, they're hurting themselves.
If you don't, you'll hurt yourself. And I don't think Yakuri would want
that."

T'he stares at him. "Thank you," t'he kisses him. "You're very
wise, Ataru."

"No, I'm not wise," he chuckles, warmly embracing t'her. "I'm
just lucky to have learned from wise people."

T'he laughs as Ataru heads to the bridge. There, Dakejinzou
relaxes, programming control information into the ship's computer.
"How's it going?" he wonders.

"Everything's set," she smiles. "Course 270, speed Warp Four-
point-three." Sighing, she stares at him. "Actually, you don't know
how much I appreciate you and Seisuru being here."

"Seisuru needs time to mourn," Ataru hums. "Personally, I'd
prefer to be back on Earth. Why does Catty want Lum isolated?"

"Truthfully, I don't understand," she admits. "Sagussan-style
psionics have never been my bag. I suspect the people in who's image I
was constructed felt the same way."

Ataru blinks. Ever since Dakejinzou learned the truth of herself
thanks to Nicole McTavish and her crystal palace's sensors, she rarely
speculated about the people who created her. Created her! Staring at
this statuesque vision scantily draped in a battle bikini, chains, boots
and arm guards, it was difficult to believe someone *built* this alien
Galatea. Who constructed her? Why was she constructed? "Have you ever
wondered about them?"

"Who?"

"The people who built you?"

Dakejinzou considers the point. "Always. But the only people
similar to myself are breakers and controllers the Dominion employs on
their slave and colony worlds. From the few I've met, we assume we were
constructed by the same race...but neither they or I remember anything
about them."

"That's sad. Have you ever dated them?"

"The ones in the Dominion?" Dakejinzou hums. "No. We're not
compatible, I think. Besides, the Dominion is so dependent on them,
they'll be loath to let even *one* go."

"I'll bet," Ataru smiles. "I'm getting something to eat. Want
anything?"

"I'll have something later," she sighs.

Ataru steps off the bridge. Dakejinzou smiles, then gazes at the
passing starfield...

* * *

Ataru and Seisuru relax in the galley, nibbling on fruit and
bread. "For a machine, sera Shogai does have eclectic tastes."

"Do you think your people are related to hers?" he wonders.

"Maybe," Seisuru shrugs. "I mean, the only difference is the
tail. Perhaps they were an earlier version of ourselves?"

Ataru shrugs. "Possibly."

There was the second point. Dakejinzou admitted that she had been
cryofrozen for FIVE MILLION years. In the Miocene and Pliocene epochs,
Terrans were in the Australopithecine stage of development. If there
was any trace of Dakejinzou's race, it would be fossilized in deep rock.
And that didn't come close to explaining which planet in which galaxy
she hailed. "I remember looking through Noa's photo album. She's the
Sagussan who found me. There were a lot of Hustari *daishi'cha,* as
well as those of Dake-chan's type. But I know they're organic, not
synthetic."

"Umanoshippo," Seisuru supplies.

Ataru blinks. "That's what people call her race," t'he explains.

"Makes sense," he hums.

Dakejinzou steps in. "And what are you two talking about?" she
hums.

"You, of course," Seisuru smiles.

Ataru snorts. Dakejinzou sits beside him, then starts to eat.
"It's hard," she muses. "Being such a curiosity."

"I'm surprised they never realized what you were when they found
you," Ataru muses.

"Genetic technology was less advanced," she hums. "Seventy years
is a long time."

"You haven't changed?" Seisuru wonders.

"I've aged," Dakejinzou admits. "Age Days similar to what the
Vosians undergo. But they're spaced twenty years apart, not five."

"Grandma and Great-grandma experience them," Ataru hums.

"I doubt Nagaiwakai and Kimaenowakai undergo what I experience,"
she chortles. "On those days, my sex drive fires through the roof. And
I'm not picky about who I grab."

"You're omni, like me," Seisuru blinks.

"I guess so," she shrugs. "It may be a clue as to what my people
were like. Then again, it may be unique to me. I don't know.
Still...I do dream of a time when I had a mate and a family. When...I'm
not alone anymore."

She brushes a tear from her eye. And there was the third point,
Ataru realizes. Dakejinzou's isolation. The only one of her kind. If
she had been cryofrozen, one would think her creator would think of
providing a partner. Or were Dakejinzou's people an all-female race
like the Nendo-kata? Were male Umanoshippo treated like females on
Earth?

"So," Seisuru's words cut through his thoughts. "Where do we
sleep?"

"Well, I have my cabin," Dakejinzou hums. "I don't have spare
rooms here, so we might have to convert the lounge into a bedroom."

"I can take the couch," Ataru offers.

"Isn't he gallant?" Seisuru chuckles.

Dakejinzou smiles, privately grateful they would be together for a
maximum of 26 days. Ataru, thought quite open minded, was visibly
uncomfortable around Seisuru, unable to comprehend how to accept t'her.
And Seisuru was looking for companionship, something to help t'her
release t'her grief over Yakuri. Being omni, Seisuru could turn to
anyone, which added to Ataru's discomfort. Well, that was Ataru's
bridge to cross, the hunter muses. Overcoming that would aid him in
better accepting Sagussan social mores. Maybe this voyage was needed
after all...

* * *

Lum opens the door, stepping out of the bedroom. Mal stands
there. "Sister, are you well?" the Nendo-kata reaches for her.

The Oni winces as Mal's skin makes contact, her mind reaching out
to probe Mal's thoughts. Her concern, love, flows through Lum's body
like a gentle tide. Lum reaches up to push Mal's hand away. "I'll be
fine."

"Sister..." Mal watches her.

Lum stops by the kitchen. In the living room, Reiko, Belle,
Nokoko, the other Nendo-kata, Nicole, Mujanba, Jason and Muzainba relax.
Catty stands in front of them. "Physical contact is to be avoided at
all costs," the doctor ordains. "Lum will sense EVERYTHING you think
and feel. She can't take that. Wait until we train her how to shield
herself, then things will return to normal."

"What will Lum-chan feel?" Tatsuko asks.

"Sagussans have several abilities," Catty sighs. "Our telepathic
and empathic powers. Lum won't need much training there; she possessed
telepathic powers beforehand. Mind-shielding herself will be very
important, especially when her perceptions expand. I therefore have to
insist that your Vosians be kept away. As Lum's perceptions increase,
her brainwave pattern will change, magnify in intensity a million fold.
It won't be safe for anyone, especially sensitive trackers like Nassur."

"I better warn Clarisse to keep Pamanba away then," Nokoko sighs.

"That's good," Catty nods. "Noa, Honey, Lufy and I will divide
the tasks to train Lum in the disciplines she'll need to survive. We
might need help. We'll ask when necessary."

Lum proceeds to the bedroom. Gentle snores flutter from Noa.
Smiling, the Oni lays beside her bond-mate. The next while was going to
be interesting to say the least...

* * *

"'Morning!" Ataru yawns, stepping into the wash station to brush
his teeth.

"'Morning," Seisuru's voice echoes from the shower. "Sleep well?"

"It was okay. Dake-chan up?"

"On the bridge," t'he replies, shutting off the water. "Lucky
thing this ship can pilot itself or we'd be in a world of hurt."

"Yeah," he nods.

Seisuru opens the door, reaching for a towel. Ataru ducks,
turning so as to not stare at t'her. T'he laughs. "You can look at me,
you know. I'm not bashful."

"Sorry," he blushes, keeping his eyes away. "But I am."

"Typical bigenders," t'he wraps a towel around t'herself before
stepping out.

Dakejinzou walks in. "I take it you still find t'her hard to
take."

"Somewhat," Ataru admits.

The hunter chuckles. "Ataru-chan, sooner or later, you're going
to have to get over that if you're to accept living on Sagussa. You
accept your sister and her friends. You accept the *daishi'cha's*
bisexuality. You certainly accept Lum-chan's relationship with Noa.
Why can't you be a little daring?"

"It's hard," he shrugs. "I've never had a guy take interest in
me. In fact, I've had very few people take intimate interest in me, and
they've been all women."

"Who says anything about intimacy?" she smiles. "I would believe
you to be incredibly curious about Seisuru. A woman thrust into a man's
position when it comes to reproduction. Never being able to experience
the pains and pleasures of giving new life, bearing it."

"Neither have you," Ataru warns.

"True," she nods. "But I am empathic to women. Can't you be a
little more empathic to Seisuru? T'he definitely needs a friend."

He stops, staring at the reflection in the mirror. "Maybe I'm not
as open as I believed myself to be."

She nods. "That's a start."

* * *

The three relax in the galley. Ataru sits beside Seisuru. "So
what did you and your mate do prior to all this?"

"We were students in what you'd call high school," t'he smiles.
"I met fh'im there. It was love at first sight."

"How do you tell each other apart?"

"Well, for me, it doesn't matter," t'he admits. "Yakuri was the
most beautiful person I'd ever met. Fh'e was di, preferring either
males or fems, so fh'e didn't mind dating me." A blank look crosses
t'her face. "We were thinking of having a child. I...specialized in
genetic research. Fh'e wanted to be a shuttle pilot. Guess that won't
happen..."

T'he turns away. Ataru stares at t'her, then draws Seisuru into a
gentle embrace. "Just because people die doesn't mean dreams die," he
smiles. "Yakuri wouldn't want that."

"I try to tell myself that," t'he sniffs. "But every time I do,
it hits me! We were going to forge a life. Now what do I do...?"

Ataru prepares to answer, then falls silent, allowing Seisuru to
grasp his hand. Dakejinzou remains quiet. *Good for you, Ataru-chan,*
the hunter muses. *One step at a time. T'he's no monster. T'he's just
a scared young person looking for something to help t'her make sense of
t'her life.*

Her eyes turn to the passing starfield, her thoughts drifting back
seventy years...

* * *

*Space separating Uru and Fukunokami is never peaceful*, Katsudou
Shogai repeats the wayfarer's saying as he stands on the bridge of his
destroyer. The tall, broad-shouldered, raven-haired captain knew that
since first contact between the antebellum Urusian Empire and the
Fukunokami Union, skirmish raids and several major battles had spilt
blood on both sides between Ipraedies space and Noukiios.

With the recent sacrifice of an Urusian destroyer, the "Kashin,"
the strange thing called peace had been given a chance. Negotiators
shuttled between Onishuto and Bensaikyou forging trade agreements,
defence pacts, customs procedures and the million other necessities to
permit two races to deal with the other using tools other than a gun.
Rumour was now rampant that the two Unions were exploring the
possibility of joining the growing Galactic Federation. Triton and
Gomiana had just joined. Noukiios, Elle and Tengu were considering the
idea.

Then came this.

"Any sign of Urusian border patrols?" he turns to his first
officer.

"Nothing," Kanzen Shigaten shakes his head. Built like a
fireplug, the future vice-commandant already bore the many scars which
would earn him respect in the High Council. "Surprising to say the
least of it. It did drift past several Urusian colonies."

Shogai hums, rubbing his chin stubble as he stares at the alien
object drifting alongside his ship. "Well, let's get on with it. Have
tractor beams lock on. We'll tow it to a space station. Any sign of
life?"

"Unable to ascertain," a sensor officer shakes her head. "But..."

"But what?"

"Commander, if the carbon-dating is right, that ship is five
million years old."

Disbelief drops with the speed of a guillotine blade as those
words echo. "Five million?" Shogai stares at the alien craft. "And
it's still intact after all this time?!"

"Yes, sir," she nods. "Structural integrity hasn't been
compromised. There's even an atmosphere, quite breathable although I
guess it'll be quite stale."

"I'll say," Shigaten grumbles.

"We'll, let's get her to someplace where we can examine what's
inside," Shogai muses.

The crew leaps to action, securing tractor arrays on the alien
craft as warp sails turn the ship toward home...

* * *

A day later, the alien craft is frozen by tractor beams in the
middle of a spacedock at the edge of the Fukunokami home system.
Engineers scour the hull, emitting words of awe and disbelief at the
superb construction. Shogai and Shigaten stand nearby, watching the
crew continue their examination. "Any idea as to what sort of beings
could've built this thing?" the commander wonders.

"Can't say," the first officer shakes his head. "Near as the
science boys could figure, they were human. What type, no one can say."

Both jolt on hearing a *thump!* of metal hitting something. They
notice that a crew had finished cutting a man-sized hole in the side.
"We're in!" the chief articifer smiles.

Shogai walks over, peering into the darkness. "Get me a lamp!"

"We don't know if there're contaminants inside..." a technician
moves to stop him.

Shigaten hands him a lamp. The commander gestures the technician
away, then heads in. "Air seems okay, I guess," he muses.

The inside of the craft is barren, plain. Gentle curves influence
the architecture, almost as fragile as porcelain. Feeling the wall,
Shigaten expects the protrusion to break. It is as solid as reinforced
duranium. "Bensaiten's Grave," he mutters. "I've never seen anything
like this..."

His words catch in his throat as he steps into the main chamber of
the small craft. Lying in the middle is a raised table, a cryogenic
suspension chamber atop it. It is occupied. "Get medics in here!!" he
barks outside, then slowly approaches the chamber.

The being soon to be called Dakejinzou Shogai sleeps, arms
crossed. Her fit form is draped in an opaque sleeveless dress. Staring
at the delicate features, all that escapes Katsudou Shogai's lips is,
"Beautiful..."

A medical team enters lead by Shigaten. "What in Bensaiten's
name...?!" the first officer exclaims on seeing the alien.

"Get someone in here to figure out this chamber," Shogai orders.

A technician soon arrives. "What is it?"

"Look at this and find the deactivation switch," he indicates the
cryochamber. "Let's see if we can wake her."

"Aye-aye, sir."

He goes to work. Others move in more lighting. The technician
soon locates a white button. Checking his scanner, he turns to Shogai.
"This must be it," he warns. "Some sort of emergency opening
circuit...I think. Sir, I can't guarantee this'll work..."

"Go!" Shogai nods.

He presses the button. Ancient gears turn over. The chamber
opens, releasing spent cryogenic gasses into the stale air. Everyone
moves to gaze on the unmoving alien.

And gazes.

And gazes.

After a minute, Shogai reaches for her neck pulse, checking his
watch. "Shit, she's not more than five a minute!!" he exclaims, the
discovery overcoming the startling realization that this being has been
alive for many times longer than the Fukunokami race. He turns to the
medics. "Try to wake her!"

"Do you want to examine her here?!" Shigaten wonders. "Why don't
we move her to the station's sick bay and look at her there?"

The commander nods. "Do it!"

A litter is brought up. Shogai reaches over to gently lift the
alien off the table. His hand brushes her skull where the occipital
bone dips in at the top of the spinal column, touching the atlas
vertebrae. Her eyes snap open. Everyone gasps, backing away as she
sits up, staring at the no-tails about her. Shogai moves to face her.
"Who...are you?"

The alien robotically blinks, then she takes the commander by the
hand, drawing him into an embrace, eliciting a storm of shocked stares
from Shogai's companions. He tenses as if to resist, but he changes his
mind and relaxes against this gorgeous creature. Releasing him, she
cants her head, her lips forming words. "Who...are...you...?"

Silence as everyone overcomes the shock of her lilting voice.
"I'm Commander Katsudou Shogai of Fukunokami. Who are you?"

The alien stares at herself, then shakes her head.
"I...apologize," she turns to him. "I seem...not to know...who I am."

Everyone turns to each other...

* * *

Sometime later, the alien reclines on an examination table in the
middle of the station sick bay. A doctor and several nurses examine her
as Shogai and Shigaten wait outside, staring inside through windows.
"The Onis won't be pleased," the first officer muses.

"What do you mean?" he wonders.

"They found out about our find just as we were towing her ship
here," Shigaten shakes his head. "They want to send a team here to look
at what we found."

"According to the current armistice, any refugee or immigrant are
permitted the choice to move to either union." Shogai sighs. "Besides,
we're the first people to find her. How will she react when she meets
them?"

"True," Shigaten hums.

Finally, the alien is permitted to dress in a lab coat, hastily
tailored for her tail. The nurses gaze enviously at their patient as
the doctor meets Shogai and Shigaten. "Well?"

"It's unbelievable," the doctor shakes his head. "Her physiology
is the same as ours...save the tail and ears, of course."

"What about her head?" Shigaten hums.

"Being cryofrozen for that length of time has affected her mind.
She's no recollection whatsoever as to who she is, where she comes from
or why she wound up frozen for so long. She has no name, no
identity...or anything else. And that's not to mention her confusion
over how to properly express herself."

"What do you mean?" Shogai blinks.

"I suspect her native language is not fully verbal like ours," the
doctor crosses his arms. "Her body emits an unbelievable amount of
pheromones which I suspect others of her race would perceive. The tail,
other facial and body gestures, even pupil dilation, would aid in
communication. Her body kinesics are going to have to adapt to ours."

"The Onis are interested...and if they find out about her..."
Shigaten warns.

"No!!" the doctor shakes his head. "She's not ready to meet other
types of humanoids! I don't think she'll be able to handle that just
yet." He turns to Shogai. "She is curious about us. She also stated
to me that she would not mind living with us. And Commander...she's
been asking for you."

"Me?!" Shogai squeaks.

"Yes," a smile cuts across his face. "She said she never forgets
a strong body."

Shigaten falls over laughing as Shogai flushes. Shogai steps into
the room. Mutters from the nurses about the alien's beauty tickle his
ears as he approaches. Her ears twitch, her tail gently swaying as she
turns, smiling. "Hello, Commander."

He blinks, drinking in her features, her unabashed sensuality.
Lucky thing he was married; this woman could steal anyone's heart. "I
heard you wanted to speak with me."

"Yes," she nods.

Shogai is surprised at the fluidity of her movements. As if the
more time she spent with other people, the more comfortable she became.
Was she mimicking their actions? Gently, he leans on the table beside
her. "Do you have any idea where you come from? What your race's name
is? What your name is?"

"No, Commander," she shakes her head.

"Well, you've flown into something of a hornet's nest here," he
warns. "We're neighbours with a race called the Urusians. There've
been hostilities between us for some time. They know of the ship which
brought you to us. And they want to see that ship...and chances are
there that they'll learn of you."

"Urusians?!" she blinks confusedly.

Shogai produces a picture, showing a troop of Onis. Staring at
them, a smile twitches her lips. "Baby ears," she hums.

"What?" he blinks.

She indicates the extremities, then her own. "Baby ears." She
notices his ears. "Yours grow upside down," she tugs the lower lobe,
nearly yanking off his earring.

"Hey, cut it out!!" he yelps.

The alien turns to the picture, then sets it aside. "You are the
ones who found me, Commander. Why should I go with them?"

"Why should you?"

She responds with silence. He stares at her. "How old are you?"

"I don't know," she shakes her head.

He smiles. She was becoming used to contractions. "Well, you
look young enough to be a child...maybe in your twenties..."

"Commander?"

"Yes?"

"Could I live with you?"

Shogai blinks. The idea of adopting a child had been bounced
between himself and his wife for some time. "With me?" he hums.

"Yes," she nods.

He smiles. "Of course you can."

A smile responds as she embraces him...

* * *

"Shinpai-chan! We're home!!"

He and the alien step into a townhouse located in a village
outside Bensaikyou. It had been a month. Fukunokami authorities had
deflected an Urusian science team by the alien ship, eradicating any
evidence that it had been occupied when found. During that time, the
alien had been subjected to every conceivable medical test. None, as
Dakejinzou would learn decades later, were proficient enough to detect
the subtle difference between herself and other hominoids. Now,
certified safe to mingle with other Fukunokami, the alien, dressed in a
simple battle bikini without the black chains identifying her future
parents' clan, was coming home.

A woman in her thirties steps out of the kitchen. "Welcome home,
Katsudou-kun...eh?!" she stops on seeing the alien. "Oh, my," her hand
drifts to her mouth. "Is this the one?"

"This is her," Shogai beams. "She wants to live with us.
She's...lost in this place."

"I don't blame her," Shinpai smiles, gently grasping the alien's
hand. "Hello, dear. I'm Shinpai, the commander's wife."

"Hello," the alien smiles. "Er...the commander has told me I'll
be...'adopted'..." her tail droops in confusion, "...by you as honourary
offspring."

"Oh, heavens, no!" Shinpai chortles. "It's not honourary!!"

Shogai places a reassuring hand on the alien's shoulder. "By all
our laws, you'll be recognized as our child," he explains. "It's as if
you were our natural child."

"I see. Therefore, I'll endeavour to be the best child I can. Do
I get a name?"

"WHAT?!?!" Shinpai yelps, then spins on her husband. "Didn't you
give her a name?!!"

Shogai chuckles, sweating. "Well, I was hoping you'd think of a
name!"

"Oh!" Shinpai ponders before turning to the alien. "I name you
Dakejinzou."

Dakejinzou blinks as her mind interprets the name. "Tiger-eyes"
in Fukunokami. "Then Dakejinzou I shall be."

* * *

"Dake-chan!!" Ataru's voice cuts through.

"Eh?!!" the synthezoid jerks. "Did you say something, Ataru-
chan?!"

Ataru and Seisuru relax. "Boy, you really scared us," t'he
breathes out. "What were you doing?! Daydreaming?!"

"No," she shrugs. "Just remembering..."

* * *

"Hey, wake up, stupid!!"

Lum groans as she opens her eyes to see Lufy leaning over her. To
the Oni's surprise, Noa, Honey and Catty are also up. The four are
dressed in Sagussan martial arts uniforms, stylized sleeveless jumpsuits
with baggy legs. A black-and-gold jumpsuit is tossed into her face.
"Get dressed!" the chief petty officer orders. "It's time to exercise."

"Exercise...?" Lum looks outside to see that it is just past dawn.
"What time is it?"

"It's time for you to get up!" Lufy yanks Lum out of bed. "You
don't learn how to become one of us by lying in bed! Move!!!"

Lum groans, reaching for the jumpsuit. "I don't recall this being
in the deal, Noa," she glares at her bond-mate.

"While I love to tweak her cheeks, I don't do it often," Noa
winks. "See you outside."

Lum sighs...

* * *

Moments later, the five stand on the island leeward of Nicole's
palace. "There are five disciplines in which all *daishi'cha* were
immersed after rebirth. *Mei'sha,* the art of mind and body. *Te'cha,*
the sense of the infinite. *Mei'lagh,* the mental disciplines, mind-
melding and that. *Sho'cha,* the sense of the finite, perceiving nature
and those within it. And *ko'na,* the arts of eternity," Lufy begins.
"Now, you've been picking up *mei'sha* from Noa and Ataru. Noa will
also teach you *mei'lagh.* Honey and I'll work on *sho'cha* and
*te'cha.* Catty will teach you *ko'na.* Any questions?"

"Is there a quick way?" Lum quips.

Everyone laughs. "Relax, Lum. It comes with time," Catty pats
the Oni's shoulder. "Let's do some meditating."

The women form a close circle, then drop to lotus position. Hands
are raised, palms turned inward to the self. Eyes close as they
concentrate, focusing their *mei'na* on themselves. <<Noa?>> Lum psi-
links.

<<What is it, love?>> Noa breathes in.

<<What's this light?>> Lum frowns, her mind seeing a light, Its
warmth filling her.

<<Ignore it for now, Lum,>> Lufy warns. <<You'll understand
later.>>

The Oni swoons as the light drifts into her mind. <<But it's so
warm...>> she sighs.

The others tense. <<Lum, be careful!!>> Noa gasps, spinning
around to see her bond-mate topple. "Lum!!!"

* * *

Lum gasps as she stares at the blinding light, brighter than any
sun. Shielding her face from Its energy, she squints. Was it her
imagination...or was there someone standing there? "Hello?!" she calls.
"Who's there?!"

<<Lum, come back!!>> Noa's panicked voice distantly echoes.
<<Don't go closer!>>

"What is it, Noa?!" Lum wonders.

Before her, energy melts into a human form. Blinking, Lum stares
as the form approaching her, more features becoming clearer. The Oni's
eyes widen as recognition dawns. "Ch-ch-chigaiko...?!" she stammers.

That who was once Chigaiko Inu dismisses her with a wave. ***It
is not time for you to come Here, Lum-chan,*** her voice booms...

* * *

...as Lum's eyes snap open. "Chigaiko!!"

The Sagussans gasp in relief. Noa helps her sit up. Disbelief is
etched in the Oni's face as she tries to interpret what happened.
"*Tcha!*" she breathes. "What happened?!"

"That was a near-fatal mistake," Catty sighs. "You slipped into
the *te'a!*"

Lum jolts, eyes wide. "You mean...this light...THAT'S the
*te'a?!!*"

The others nod. "All Sagussans possess that," Noa explains.
"*Te'cha* is designed to allow us to comprehend those feelings, to
better understand what the presence of the *te'a* does to us. If you
would have allowed us to teach you, that wouldn't've happened."

"Sorry. I guess I goofed."

"Some goof," Honey chuckles...

* * *

Ataru relaxes in the observation gallery, his eyes focused in the
general direction of Earth. He had felt Lum fade for a moment, then
return, understanding what was happening. He was lucky. Perceiving the
might of the *te'a* was the province of the Cyborg, not him. "At least
I'll have Lum to help me understand that when it's my turn," he muses.

"What was that, Ataru-chan?"

Ataru smiles as Dakejinzou sits beside him. "Lum bumped into the
*te'a*. Lucky for her Chigaiko-chan was there to stop her."

"Ah!" Dakejinzou shudders. "That's the biggest step Lum-chan has
to take in becoming a Sagussan. Learning to live day in and out with
the *te'a* looming over your shoulders."

He stares at her. "You seem to know a lot about Sagussa. I know
you've bumped into Henry on occasion, but this sounds..."

"Personal?"

He nods. "Understandable," she chuckles. "A childhood friend
became a *daishi'cha.*"

He blinks surprisedly as she explains...

* * *

Fifty-four years ago. Yehisril.

The Shogai family lived in Hysos City, capital of a small
principality which had forged trade alliances with the Fukunokami Union
over the previous decades. Now a commandant-adjutant, Katsudou was
ambassador to the *laqu'r* of Hysos, Saneko. Along with the other
offworlder children, Dakejinzou formed a jumpball club, popularizing a
up-and-coming sport in the Federation.

At first, the Yehisrites found the competition too mild for their
tastes. Understandable for a race used to death-duels and war to settle
disputes. However, the thirst for competition was universal, so over
time, children of the local nobles joined in. One was Saneko's daughter
and heir, Gilnira. Dakejinzou's first non-Fukunokami friend.

The teams face off, Dakejinzou's holding the ball. "Go!!" the
referee barks.

The ball sails into the air, intercepted by an Ellsian. He tosses
it to a Gomianite teammate, but it is intercepted by Gilnira, a tall,
spry woman presently dressed in nobility under-tunic, pants and
breeches, a duelling knife to one side. "Dakejinzou!"

The alien catches it with her tail, then sends it into the goal.
Her team whoops as the players return to their sides. "That's not
fair!!" the other captain snarls, pointing at the alien. "She's got
three hands!"

Everyone laughs. People constantly made that joke about
Dakejinzou's tail. "Ignore him," Gilnira smiles. "The fools can't
accept warriors must use everything in battle."

"I know that!" Dakejinzou snorts.

The game ends, Dakejinzou's team winning. Later, the two wind
their way from the field into the city. Passers-by stare at the tailed
alien, then proceed on their business. "Does that not bother you?"
Gilnira wonders.

"It never had. I know I'm different. People in Bensaikyou were
the same way."

"Amazing that you became a successful hunter. You're the most
unique individual I've ever seen!"

"Well, thank you," Dakejinzou laughs...

* * *

"She was the nicest, sweetest person I'd ever met to that time,"
Dakejinzou admits. "Yehisril is mostly a closed society, but they have
ways of allowing outsiders to fit in, feel they belong. After tearing
through the streets of Bensaikyou for so long, it didn't take me long to
fit elsewhere."

"Why?" Ataru muses.

"Why what?"

"Why hunting? You always struck me as something more than a
bounty hunter."

"Curiosity, I guess. Being as unique as I am, many people were
hesitant on meeting me. With young people, that spells ostracization.
For five years, I never talked to anyone."

"The 'who the hell are you' syndrome," Ataru snorts. "After
Icarus, I finally noticed how people looked at me that way. Thing is, I
decided I wasn't going to take that anymore, so I shoved it back into
their faces."

"And you enjoyed it," she chuckles.

They laugh. "Well, I never tried to pick fights," she hums. "My
parents taught me how to defend myself, use the chain, ride a bike.
Before long, I was shoving things into other people's faces. Strange as
it sounds, many decided that after I 'proved' myself, they found it
within their hearts to accept me."

"So why bounty hunting?"

She shrugs. "I have a keen sense of smell, an eidetic memory, I'm
strong and can take a lot of punishment. Besides, on Fukunokami, people
are pushed into starting early. It was minor things at first: bike
theft and hacking, drug dealers, numbers running. As time progressed, I
expanded. Then my parents were sent to Yehisril. And it was there that
I really got my break..."

* * *

Yehisril.

Farmers move through the fields of sunflowers as Dakejinzou and
Gilnira observe from a rise. The former chews on a blade of grass while
the latter sharpens her sword. "This is beautiful," Dakejinzou admits.

"Why, thank you," Gilnira smiles. "This land is maintained by my
family...eh?"

"What is it, Gilnira?!"

She is answered by Gilnira flying into her, knocking her into a
bush. Before the Yehisrite could reach cover, an arrow slams into her
back, piercing through her ribs! She gasps, falling to her side.
Dakejinzou leaps up, eyes wide. "Gilnira!!!"

Summoning her dwindling strength, Gilnira yanks Dakejinzou down.
Just in time; more arrows streak over their heads. Dakejinzou covers
her friend, canting her head to listen. Silence responds. Hesitantly,
the alien rises, staring over the canopy of sunflowers. She faintly
detects several warriors fleeing. "Gone," she sneers, kneeling to lift
Gilnira into a sitting position. "Gilnira-chan!!"

A glazed look responds, the strength fading from her body. "N-
no," she coughs up blood. "The wound...is mortal..."

She shudders. Death she understood, having seen it on the streets
of Bensaikyou. But not the death of a friend. "No..."

Gilnira manages a smile. "Life must...go on,
Dakejinzou...remember..."

Her voice fades as her eyes close, her body slumping. "No..."
Dakejinzou gasps, shaking her head, then she screams...

* * *

"I couldn't muster the tears for her," Dakejinzou sighs. "But
several of the farmers nearby complimented me for giving her a beautiful
*his'r-fig'z.*"

"Hi...su...ru...?"

"*His'r-fig'z,* Ataru-chan," the hunter smiles. "The Death
Chant."

"I see," he looks down. "I'm sorry for your loss...even it it's
54 years later."

"Thank you," she nods, tears brimming.

Automatically, he reaches over to embrace her, allowing Dakejinzou
the chance to vent her grief for her long-lost friend...

* * *

Yehisril.

A hill looms over Hysos City. Its plateau is a carved stage.
There, Gilnira lies, dressed in full battle armour, her hands grasping
her sword. Standing at the head is her father, a scarred middle-aged
man garbed in the beautiful royal blue of his principality. Dakejinzou,
in ceremonial battle armour with chains, arm braces and loin guards,
stands with him. She stares at the still form before her, still not
believing that Gilnira was gone. "Lord Saneko, what can I do?" she
turns to the *laqu'r.*

"There is nothing that can be done for Gilnira, Dakejinzou
Shogai," he shakes his head. "Nothing we can do. But...there is
another," he turns to gaze on the heavens.

Dakejinzou ignores his words, staring at her friend. "Why?!"

"A warning. A message from Sheko."

"The *laqu'r* of Kyotos?" Dakejinzou blinks confusedly. "Why
would he attack you? Hysos has no direct affiliation with Varakos."

"No," he shakes his head. "But as more principalities trade with
other worlds, our wealth and influence increases. Dameko, at least,
understands this. Sheko does not."

"But if you try to avenge her death, it's war," Dakejinzou
mutters.

"Yes," he nods. "But that is for another day. We've other
business this day."

"What sort of...?" Dakejinzou wonders.

Her words are drowned out by thunder. The two spin left to see
darkness appear in the clouds over Hysos City. The darkness melts into
a floating colossus of tan metal pierced by kilometre-wide anti-proton
cannons divided by a sensory suite. A superstructure a kilometre high
is just seen over a main hull stretching ten kilometres from stem to
stern. And all this, six trillion tons of Sagussan superdreadnought,
sails over the Yehisrite countryside like a schooner on a calm sea.
"What is that?!!" Dakejinzou screams over the thunder of the Gatherer's
engines.

The giant ship barely breaks as a transporter beam is heard.
Dakejinzou and Saneko watch as Gilnira's body is taken away. "Gilnira-
chan!!!" the alien screams, vainly reaching to save her friend.

Her hands seize air. Both gaze as the Gatherer tilts his prow
away, increasing speed as he vanishes into a cloudbank. "Wh-what...
why?" she blankly turns to Saneko.

The *laqu'r* shakes his head. "We call that the Soultaker. No
one knows where it comes from or who built it...but its mission in life
seems to be to retrieve the bodies of slain women and transport them to
its base."

"But...why *dead* women?!!"

"No one knows, Dakejinzou Shogai," he forlornly sighs. "No one
has ever dared challenge the power of the Soultaker."

They turn to the empty slab. Dakejinzou walks up, placing her
hand where Gilnira's head had lain. *I swear to you, Gilnira-chan,* she
closes her eyes. *I will hunt down the scum who did this to you and
make him pay for your death!! I swear it!*

* * *

Sometime later, in a smoke-filled pub in Kyotos City, Dakejinzou
parts the doors, her tail twitching in anticipation as her eyes pierce
the haze. In a corner of the room, a burly man relaxes, nursing his
ale. A curly knife, the blade of an assassin, is strapped to his waist.
Her face an impassioned mask, Dakejinzou approaches him. "You!!"

He looks, eyes narrowing in calculation as he takes her measure.
"Go away, alien!" he sneers. "You've no place here!!"

"Not until you answer for the death of Gilnira of Hysos," she
snarls.

Hearing the name, he spits out his drink, turning to her in shock.
She indicates her nose. "I caught your scent from the arrow that killed
her," she sneers. "Not to mention the poison you used to ensure she
died! Now...do we settle this easy or hard?!"

Uttering a choice oath, he leaps to his feet, drawing his blade.
"DIE!!!!"

Dakejinzou's chains leap off her shoulder, knocking the knife
away. Patrons scatter, eyes never wavering from the pending duel. Both
combatants tense as they size the other up. "Stupid girl," he laughs.
"I know not what race you come from, but a challenge on this world is to
the death!!"

"Fine by me," she snarls.

He snares a broadsword, quickly parried by her own. The two cut
at each other for ten minutes, neither missing a beat. The patrons
watch in morbid fascination as the alien keeps up with the more
experienced assassin. Then experience factors in as Dakejinzou is
disarmed with a circle-sweep, then is lanced in the side! "Done!!!" he
gasps.

Dakejinzou drops, the brownish-red liquid serving as her blood
staining her sides. The man draws back, saluting her with his bloodied
blade. "You sought justice for your friend this day," admiration
touches his voice. "You've done more justice for Gilnira than even you
could've hoped for! *Hisri'hilm!* I pray the Three-Faced One welcomes
you to the Afterworld with open arms!"

Dakejinzou collapses on her face. The man draws a cloth to clean
his blade, then retrieving his knife, turns to leave...just as her weak
voice utters, "Wait...!"

Cries of shock rise as the alien stands. Many stare as the wound,
having ceased to bleed, mends. The assassin spins around, dropping his
blade in shock as Dakejinzou pushes away from the bar, her foot scooping
her sword up. Taking a ready stance, she freezes him with a stare.
"I'm not dead!!"

His hesitation is fatal. Dakejinzou charges, plunging the blade
into his chest before he could raise his in defense! "Now **you'll** go
to Heaven and face Gilnira-chan there!!!" she exclaims.

The assassin is flung against the wall by the force of her thrust,
dropping to the floor, his head bouncing off the wall with a hollow
thud! Dakejinzou falls back, wiping her forehead, ignoring the stares
from the crowd. The silence is then broken by laughter and clapping
hands. "Well done, child! Well done!! A competent kill if I ever saw
one!!!"

Dakejinzou spins around to see a young red-haired Executioner
emerge from the shadows. "Who are you?!!"

He steps up, his smile apparent under his bushy moustache.
"*Hisri'hilm,* Dakejinzou Shogai of Fukunokami," he gracefully bows. "I
am Varanko of Kyotos, Lord High Executioner of the Royal Kingdoms of
Yehisril."

* * *

They emerge from the pub. Dakejinzou warily eyes the Yehisrite.
"Lord Varanko, will I be charged?" she points behind them.

"Oh, no," he shakes his head. "You came here on a revenge-quest.
Besides, assassins are usually declared *sirmir'mhifif*...disinherited
from their families...so their fates don't bother anyone."

"I see. I'd've preferred not to kill."

"Understandable," he chuckles. "*Real* revenge would've been to
take that fool back to Hysos and have him tried for murder. Once in his
cage, his spirit would've been destroyed once and for all."

"I see. Despite this experience, I don't know much about this
line of work."

He stops. "That's easily corrected."

"What do you mean?" she gazes at him.

"How'd you like to come to Cademus and train as an executioner?"

"B-but I'm not Yehisrite..."

"Who says you have to be one?" he snorts. "Working as *pizm'vwil-
sizgiziz* is accepted."

She blinks. "A mercenary, eh?" Bounty hunters were mercenaries
of a sort: they hunted criminals for pay. Dakejinzou had amassed a
considerable fortune in the ten years she worked the streets of
Bensaikyou. "I'll have to think about it, then," she admits. "I'm the
only child of the family and I need to confer with my family."

"Understandable," he nods. "Family is of great importance here,
too. When you feel ready, come to Cademus. I'll be waiting..."

* * *

Ataru lowers Dakejinzou into her bed. Seisuru draws covers. "How
is she?"

"Mourning a friend," he sighs. "I seem to be the only happy
person on this ship."

Both step out of her cabin, walking to the lounge. "Have you ever
experienced death?" t'he stares at Ataru. "Real death?"

"No," he sits down, staring at the stars. "I mean, I've been to
some funerals, but they weren't people for whom I had any caring. My
mother's parents, Cinba...strangers to be honest with you. You can say
all you want, but until you experience it yourself, words don't have
much effect."

"Your words do," t'he sits beside him, leaning t'her head against
his shoulder. "You don't realize how powerful you really are."

"I'm not powerful," he sighs. "I'm sitting here on a ship
speeding to some planet to locate a herb to save another planet. My
girlfriend is having her whole life turned inside-out. A close friend,
the loneliest person I've ever met, is still trying to come to grips
with herself. And I'm still trying to decide whether to accept you or
run away."

Seisuru stares at him. "Thank you."

He jolts. "What for?!"

"For your honesty," t'he wanly smiles. "Most bigenders I've met
always say 'she' or 'her' when referring to me, even if they understand
I'm not a woman. And when they do, they try to hide it, mask themselves
behind respectability while keeping their feelings to themselves. There
are so many misconceptions about my race, many of them deliberate. Is
it any wonder that we prefer to be by ourselves?"

"Too many isms on other worlds."

"True!" t'he laughs, then stares at him.

He blushes. "What is it?"

"You're very attractive, you know that."

His breath catches. "Well, that makes you number one hundred
thousand and five."

"'One hundred thousand and five?!'"

"Lum-chan, Elle, Windy-chan, Yukio-chan, the *daishi'cha* and
you!"

"Well, it is an illustrious line-up!!"

Both howl with merriment as they return to staring at the stars...

* * *

"Darling?" Lum gazes at the night sky.

After her encounter with the *te'a*, the Oni directed her
concentration on Lufy's exercise. By lunch, she had come to a better
understanding of the nuances a Sagussan's mind exhibited. Afternoon had
been spent with Noa learning the tricks of mind-melding. Unlike psi-
linking, which she had done with Ataru since the Spirit War, the
touching of minds required a level of power demonstrated only by a few
races. Of course, being bond-mates meant that Noa's lesson drifted into
more intimate realms than Lum would have tolerated from anyone else
other than Ataru.

With night descending, she relaxes in the living room, gazing at
the Moon and the stars beyond. Ataru was safe. She would have sensed
otherwise. He seemed happy, although she would gladly wish to speak to
him. Being separated by hundreds of light years and the shortcomings of
subspace sucked at times.

"Hey, you coming to bed?" Noa wonders.

Lum smiles as Alphonse walks up with his pet, licking the Oni.
"No, I'm just thinking about Darling," she strokes the sandpanther's
fur, then turns once more to the night sky.

"He's alright," Noa muses. "Dakejinzou has years of experience.
There's little to worry about."

"I can tell," Lum sighs, allowing Alphonse to lean his head
against her side. "Before, it was bits and pieces. I had to
concentrate to feel Darling, try to see if he was okay. Now...it's
automatic."

"You know how I feel," Noa smiles.

Lum gazes at her. "Noa...you've never allowed yourself to be
intimate with Darling as you have with me. Why?"

"Until we get more males to contribute to the Grand Design...even
better, come live on Sagussa...if I forge a bond with him, I'll have
99,999 jealous women on MY back."

"Noa, you're a horrible liar."

The Sagussan flushes. "Yeah. Truth is...I was the one who
brought you together. And until you are comfortable being with each
other, my presence would be an imposition."

"But we are comfortable..."

"No, you tolerate each other," Noa shakes her head. "You're used
to things like the Cyborg and the *saikoo jinseijitsu.* But that
doesn't mean you're comfortable around Ataru. Don't lie to yourself!"

Lum nods. "And even still, he's not comfortable around you," Noa
gazes at the stars. "Things still happen when he desires a peaceful,
quiet life with the woman he loves. Until he feels he's come to that
point, there'll always be tension between you."

"How can we make ourselves comfortable?" Lum wonders. "I'm
comfortable with you. I want that with him...and he wants it with me."

Noa stares at her. "Then, I think it's time for Ataru to
experience the Dreamscape."

Lum blinks, then nods...

* * *

Ataru and Seisuru enter their improvised sleeping quarters.
Without invitation, the Hustari undresses, slipping into t'her futon.
The Terran turns away, this time keeping his emotions under control.
Undressing, he slips into his futon. "Dim," Seisuru orders.

The lights dim, allowing them to still perceive the other. "I
hope your dreams are nice ones, Seisuru," he smiles.

"And yours," t'he reaches out.

They squeeze the other's hands, then turn in. "Out," Ataru
orders.

Darkness falls. Ataru yawns, then relaxes. In a minute, gentle
snores flutter from Seisuru's lips. He sighs, then blinks.

<<Darling...>>

*Lum?!* he jolts, looking around.

<<Darling...>>

Ataru feels a tug deep in his mind. His eyes close as his mind
drifts away...

* * *

...then he sits up, finding himself nude in a mysterious
cloudscape. "What the...?!!" he exclaims. "Where am I?!!"

His eyes fall on a familiar rock. "The Dreamscape?!" he exclaims,
scratching his head. "Since when have I been able to come here?! Lum?!
Noa?! Where are you?!!"

A holoscreen appears: PRESS DAISHI'CHA SEQUENCE NUMBER TO ACCESS
SITE.

"Oh, that's rich!!!" Ataru bolts to his feet. "Lum's not a
*daishi'cha!!* I don't even think she has a site!!!"

HEY, I JUST WORK HERE, PAL!

Ataru moans, then slaps his forehead. "Gods, look at me!! I'm
talking to a dream rock in the middle of nowhere!!" he sighs, then
thinks. "Wait a minute! If Lum's here, she'll most likely be in Noa's
site!"

With that, he presses 1-9-2-8-2...and finds himself on the beach
in Oshika! "Hey, I'm home!!!" he exclaims, then notices he is dressed
in his normal civilians.

"Darling!!" Lum flies into his arms, overwhelming him with a kiss.

"Hi, love!" he embraces her. "What's a nice lady like you doing
here?"

"Waiting for you, silly!" Lum bats his nose, then escorts him into
the house. There, Noa relaxes in the living room. "Well, he made it!"
the Oni announces.

"Welcome to the Dreamscape, Ataru," Noa embraces him, walking him
to a chair. "How's it feel to be in comfortable surroundings?"

"Well, if Reiko-chan and Nokoko-chan could come here, things'll be
fine," he sighs, sinking into Lum's lap. "So, how's things?"

"We're getting on," Noa sighs. "Lum had a near-encounter with
Chigaiko Inu in the *te'a*, but I think she's adjusting."

"That's good," Ataru smiles. "Hey, Lum, I'll need your notes so I
can understand what's going on when this happens to me."

"Let's hope it isn't rushed," Lum sighs.

"Famous last words," Noa warns.

The three then tense as Lufy's voice filters in. "Can I come in?"

"C'mon in, Lufy," Noa calls out.

The chief petty officer appears beside the bureaucrat. "Hey,
stranger, there you are!" she pats Ataru's leg, then relaxes.

Everyone notices the forlorn look on her face. "You okay?" Lum
asks.

"No. I tried to ask Catty out."

"She turned you down?" Ataru wonders.

The pilot nods. "Maybe you had better consider someone else as
your bond-mate, Lufy," Noa proposes. "Rabby, maybe...?"

"NO!!!!" Lufy screams. "I will NOT consider Rabby!!! I won't
consider anyone BUT Catty!!! Why can't people understand that?!!"

The three jolt, tense at the pilot's rage. "Okay, okay, we won't
say anything more!!" Ataru calms her down. "Look, how exactly have you
been coming at her?!"

Lufy considers the point. "Just...well, calm, you know. Ask her
out, be there when she needs help, things like that," she shrugs.
"Nothing really spectacular."

"Then maybe, Catty's the type who wants something spectacular,"
Ataru muses.

"But if I do that, I'll make her think I've got my brains in my
glands!"

"Not that type of spectacular," Ataru waves his finger. "There's
another type of spectacular which'll get your point across just as
fast...as Asuka and Sugoi can attest."

Lufy jolts. "You mean...?!"

Ataru nods. She considers that. "I..."

"It may be your only option," Noa muses.

"It's worth a try," Lum adds.

Lufy considers the point. "I'll do it!"

In her dreamsite, Catty sneezes...

* * *

The stillness of space over Earth is shattered when a small
warpsloop emerges from hyperspace. On her bridge, Shanba stares
concernedly at her partner. "We're here."

Fanba nods, standing from the science station. The young hunters,
barely fourteen, look as if they should be in school, not tracking
people for the Mikado. "Nervous?"

The brunette nods. Earth had an ill reputation among the Special
Hunter Corps. Pamanba's defection, Bujosur's betrayal, the
disappearance of a dozen hunters in the last five months alone. This
place was a black hole for Vosians serving the Mikado. Still, a mission
had been assigned. "According to the latest reports," Shanba stares at
a datapadd, "...which are two months old, I might add...Lum was planning
to move to a village named Oshika, located here," she indicates the
target on a map of Japan.

"It's out of the way. What's there?"

"Unknown," Shanba admits. "According to the observer assigned
here, we're to approach Oshika with extreme caution. Some of the
sentients living there were reported to have annihilated a company of
Marines and Captain Mujanba on Sakusei Station sometime ago."

Fanba sighs. Mujanba was the best hunter in the Corps' history.
Her death affected morale in the ranks regardless of their superior's
feelings. "Let's go," she sighs.

Both step off the bridge...

* * *

"Hello, what have we here?" Priss wonders as she relaxes on the
"Kiboo'cha's" bridge. The cloaked warpsloop was several hundred
kilometres aft of Fanba's craft. Calling up sensory controls, the
coxswain stares at the readings. "Two Vosians," she smirks. "Lyna's
Soul, hasn't the Mikado got the message yet?!"

Dialling up weapons controls, she targets the corvette, then
thumbs the firing toggle. Two concussion missiles rocket from the
"Kiboo'cha," slamming into the Vosian sloop! Aboard, Fanba and Shanba
scream as they burst into the teleporter room, their ship exploding
around them. "Emergency transport!!!" the former screams as she primes
the controls.

Both leap to the pad, disappearing scant seconds before the
sloop's warp core explodes! "Ooops!!" Priss mockingly gasps as the
image of the explosion projects on the "Kiboo'cha's" bridge. "Silly me!
My finger slipped!!"

Sylia's image appears. "Priss, what's going on?! Why are you
firing weapons?!"

"Just cleaning out some garbage, boss. Nothing to concern
ourselves with."

"I hope not," the commander muses...

* * *

"Our ship's gone!" Shanba growls.

"Any idea who fired on us?!" Fanba pants, relaxing against a wall.
They were now in the outskirts of Sendai.

"No ship detected," Shanba shakes her head. "But there's a load
of tachytron radiation forming a ring around Earth."

"Tachytron radiation?!" the crimson-haired hunter blinks. "Since
when do the Terrans have the ability to control that?!"

Shanba shrugs. Too many unknowns. Still, their target was
nearby. "Let's go," she waves her friend down the street.

"Are you sure we can parade around like this?" Fanba stares at
herself.

Both wear the current model hunter's uniform. "Good point!"
Shanba pulls out her wallet. "I've got some Terran currency. Let's see
if we can use it and get some clothes."

She thumbs a wad of Soviet rubles...

* * *

"Another day, another yen," Ataru gets up. "Boy, that was fun
last night!"

"What was?" Seisuru wonders.

Ataru turns...then gags, noting the Hustari's undressed state. He
moves to turn away, then blinks as details become apparent. Ignoring
t'her bosom, Seisuru could be easily mistaken for a slim man. Nagisa's
type. He blinks, realizing that there was no reason to be afraid. "S-
sorry," he quietly exclaims.

"It's alright," t'he smiles. "As you notice, I'm not a monster."

"Gods, I've been a total ass, haven't I?"

"Not really," t'he slips on t'her clothes. "I assume fems, mems
and herms are very rare on your world."

"Very. And we call them 'transsexuals.'"

Seisuru makes a face. "We haven't used that archaic term in
millennia," t'he sighs as t'he dresses. "Most other bigender worlds are
the same. And many offer surgery to 'correct' the 'deformities.' And
when they do, there's no guarantee the 'saved' transsexual can bear
offspring, take joy in bringing life to this world. Disgusting, if you
ask me."

"I guess," Ataru hums. "I'm not sure if Sagussa had problems like
that. Without marriage, genetic lines weren't stratified. Diversity
was maintained. And Sagussa had the benefit of not having organized
religion. There were no 'haves' and 'have nots.'"

"Yes, we noticed that of most bigenders," t'he frowns. "Yet...it
strikes me odd that the Voyager would seek females from bigender worlds
to repopulate Sagussa."

"Was that the way on Hustaros?"

"No, there were mems, I believe," Seisuru shakes t'her head.
"Besides, the Voyager saved us once. We have every obligation to
respect it and its mission."

"So do the Tritonians and the Tengu, I believe," Ataru muses.

Silence falls as they relax, then t'he stares at Ataru. "Tell me
something? What is your purpose on Sagussa?"

"You're not going to believe it."

"I can try."

He tells t'her. Disbelief crosses t'her face. "I don't believe
it!!"

"Believe it," he snorts. "I find it hard to take. I mean, one
man on a planet of 100,000 women. That's too much for anyone!"

"And the women run everything, I assume."

"Oh, that, I don't mind," he admits. "The women I've
known...Grandma, Shinobu, Lum, Windy, Yukio, especially the *daishi'cha*
as a whole...they are strong, not willing to bend to pressure, to
conform to proscribed roles. But they were humane. There are a number
of reasons men are afraid of women having equal rights. Men assume
power is quantitative: only so much of it to go around. So if women
decide to have power, then it means men have less and they're not ready
to share. They're also afraid women'll try to dominate them like
they've dominated women. Because of that, many male-types would feel
vulnerable on Sagussa. The sexual pleasure is there, but that's it.
Even if the male-type becomes *daite'cha,* he isn't guaranteed that his
way goes. Most males, on my planet, would try to seize all social
controls."

"Make it a real harem, you mean."

"Yep," he sighs. "Another thing the *saikoo jinseijitsu*
perverted in me. It made me a 'typical' male...one with a very
overactive sex drive, mind you. All I ever saw of women were candidates
for my dream harem. Even Lum couldn't change that."

"But something did change?" t'he muses. "This *saikoo
jinseijitsu?*"

Ataru explains his tortured history with the ninjitsu database.
"It's still there," he points to his head. "But with the other parts of
my mind gaining strength, it's losing control. Eventually, with help,
it'll return to the way it was before it mutated."

"Good," Seisuru hums. "It must be a nightmare living with that
thing."

"It is," he admits. "Few people realize why I'm afraid of being
around them. I've been to an alternate quantum reality where the
*saikoo jinseijitsu* butchered thousands. Lum understands since we're
bonded."

"And others?"

Ataru shakes his head. "I've explained it to them on many
occasions. But because everything's happened so fast, they're still
trying to adjust. And because the *saikoo jinseijitsu* influenced me
for so long, it's taking them longer to adjust. Cherry says to everyone
who asks that I'm a 'paranoid sex-crazed idiot.' Everyone says 'come on
back.' How can I as long as this thing's here?"

T'he nods. Dakejinzou walks into the lounge. "And how are you
two, today?"

"We're okay, sera," Seisuru smiles. "Ataru was sharing more about
himself."

"That's good," Dakejinzou sits. "Well, I've contacted the Abbey
of Night on Parasan. They're the first to have contacted the Nekotengu.
They're gathering all information and will transmit it to me in a few
days. We can spend time preparing ourselves."

"That's good," Seisuru stands. "Sera Shogai, can I contact my
parents?"

"Phone's on the bridge."

"Thank you," t'he walks out.

"So, how're you doing?"

"T'he's not so bad," he admits.

"That's good," she smiles, crossing her arms. "Speaking of
parents, I should've contacted mine to tell them what's happening."

"You still stay in contact with them?"

"Of course I do!" she admits. "Then again, I am their only
child."

"Lucky you," he smirks, then blinks. "Where've you worked from,
anyway?"

"Fukunokami," she shrugs. "Most of the time, I've been aboard the
'Goddess.' I had her built after I finished on Cademus."

"That would be around the time Nassur and Cinba were there," he
hums, having heard of the Vosians' time with Varanko from Lum.

"I came before Natsu-chan," Dakejinzou smiles. "He was on Cademus
thirty-five years ago, right after the start of the Vosian Civil War. I
was there the previous decade."

"When did you meet him? You must know him well if you refer to
him as 'Natsu-chan.'"

"It's was a month after Cinba's death..."

* * *

Seven years ago. Gomiana.

The capital of this crime-plagued world, Niouto, is a city on two
levels separated by an escarpment, similar to Hamilton, Ontario in
Canada. The lower level of the city is not only lower in geography, but
socially as well. Dark streets mask repulsive horrors.

Now, they mask a wounded Nassur.

Gripping a bleeding shoulder, the Vosian slips into an alley, his
gun drawn and ready. His powers activate as distant voices whisper.
"He's this way...go in slow!"

Nassur steadies himself as a dozen Vosian hunters block the
entrance, weapons ready. Their leader, a major, aims. "Surrender,
renegade!! It'll go easier on you!!!"

Nearby residents shut their windows. "Try to take me," Nassur
spits out blood.

"As you wish."

Before the hunters advance, a flesh-red-and-black blur drops
between Nassur and his attackers. The blur becomes Dakejinzou, weapon
drawn. "Not a step further!!!"

They pause. "Who in Lecasur's name are you?!!" the major demands.

Dakejinzou blows his head off! "There's your answer!!" she spins
on the others.

Before they could react, they are also slain! As the last falls,
she hears the noise of someone falling to the ground. Turning, she
notices Nassur in a pool of his own blood. Holstering her weapon, she
kneels beside him. "By the looks of it, you've had a rough day."

Effortlessly, she gently lifts him...

* * *

Nassur's eyes open. "Wha...?!!"

Finding himself in the "Goddess of Luck's" bedroom, he bolts to a
sitting position, sending a lance of pain through his shoulder.
"Oww...!!"

Dakejinzou walks in, first aid kit and tea in hand. "How are
you?"

Nassur jolts, his powers having not detected his saviour's
presence. "Wh-who are you...?" his eyes vainly search for a weapon.

"I'm Dakejinzou Shogai," she places the first aid kit by the
nightstand, handing him the tea. "You're aboard my ship."

The Vosian blinks. He knew of her. A hunter for over fifty
years. Claiming a kill record no Vosian hunter has equalled. The
hunter who had destroyed the S'haren pirates single handedly. The one
who moderated peaceful relations between Kamahana and Sakarahaven.
Destroyer of a dozen Lannarkite hives throughout known space.
Discoverer of a dozen M-class planets fit for colonization. The one who
helped end starwhale poaching by destroying the poachers. Gegranko's
most indefatigable foe. Eliminator of the Korza and Barazal gangs.
"I'm honoured," he lightly smiles. "Thanks for bailing me out."

"You're welcome," she sits. "I can't believe the Mikado's still
after you."

"He's never understood the meaning of the word 'quit,'" he moans.

"So I see," she hums. "He's also taking liberties by sending his
Marines and hunters outside Vosian space to pursue you and other
renegades. Many governments in the Federation are getting upset."

"I hope they're not blaming me."

"No," she shakes her head. "As far as my father's concerned,
you're a refugee from the Mikado. You're entitled to protection. In
the meantime, stay here and heal. Your ship's alongside mine, but I'll
feel better if you stay here until you're ready to move."

"If you insist," he sighs, relaxing...

* * *

Days later, Nassur and Dakejinzou are called to Niouto's Upper
Town, location of the planet's parliament. Both relax in the
president's office beside several officials. Along with President
Kitsui, a slight blonde woman with white makeup covering her tanned
face, is an oafish Vosian bearing ambassador's sigils. The Gomianites
frown disgustedly as the man continues his tirade. "This man is a
wanted criminal on Vos," he snarls. "I can't believe the good people of
Gomiana would allow this renegade free run of this world! President
Kitsui, we demand the return of this criminal to our custody at once!!"

"'We?!'" Kitsui's eyebrow rises, facing him. Her stern
countenance radiates through her makeup, reflecting an iron will that
sends tremors down the Vosian's back. "Dosur-san, I'll say this once!
We do NOT recognize that **criminal** you serve as the *official* head
of the Confederation of Vos!" She indicates Nassur. "If it wasn't for
this 'renegade' as you call him, my planet would've been overrun by
criminal elements the galaxy over!!"

She then threateningly points at Dosur. "Since you are not the
official representative of the Rebel Alliance Army, you're to vacate
this planet, never to return! If you disobey, you'll be arrested for
inciting criminal terrorist activity and any other charges I can
consider!! And before you 'demonstrate' your superiority, remember
Jiyuu and Magairu are several hours away!! I recall that Gomiana is
within Zephyrite realms of influence when it comes to relations between
the Republic and the Confederation!" She turns away. "Get this trash
out of my sight!!"

"You'll regret this!!!" Dosur sputters.

He is dragged off. Kitsui sighs, then activates her intercom.
"Planetary Defence Command, contact Magairu. Request they dispatch a
battleship to Gomiana to escort a Vosian Mikado destroyer out of our
space."

"At once, Madame President," the chief of staff replies. "The ETA
of the first available vessel is in seven hours."

"Thank you," Kitsui signs off, then turns to Nassur. "Are you
okay?"

"I'm healing, if that's what you mean, Kitsui," he nods, standing.
"Thanks."

"My pleasure," she pats his arm, then turns to Dakejinzou. "Like
it or not, Dakejinzou, you've just made another enemy."

"If Dosur lives long enough to make his report," Dakejinzou muses.
"From what I've heard, the Mikado doesn't tolerate failure."

"He doesn't," Nassur grimly notes. "In the meantime, Kitsui, I'm
going back to Home Base to convalesce. If there's anything important,
you know where to contact me."

"You rest now," Kitsui urges. "Let's let the other hunters earn
their pay."

Both smile as they depart...

* * *

Later, the "Renegade"-B and the "Goddess of Luck" rocket away from
Gomiana. Aboard his ship, Nassur presses a communications toggle.
"Would you mind coming to Home Base?"

"Me?" she nods. "Okay! Let's go!!"

Both turn their vessels toward Urusian space when a sensor alarm
flashes a warning. "Eh?!" Dakejinzou blinks.

"What is it?" Nassur tenses.

"Sensors just detected a Vosian ship!!"

Both hunters tense as a Vosian destroyer emblazoned with the
Mikado's black cygnet emerges from behind an asteroid. "Shields are up,
weapons on-line!!" Dakejinzou reports.

"I don't believe it!!" Nassur gasps. "This is the sovereign space
of Gomiana! Even the Mikado wouldn't...!!"

His words are cut off by the destroyer's weapons array lashing at
the "Renegade!" The small frigates shield themselves as they manoeuvre
away from the larger ship's tractor beams. "I hate to say it, Nassur,
but I don't think Dosur cares!!" Dakejinzou grimly notes.

Gomianite Defence Force units race at the destroyer, weapons
firing. The destroyer ignores them as she continues after "Renegade."
Noting this, Dakejinzou banks her ship toward the attacker.
"Dakejinzou, what are you doing?!!" Nassur gasps.

"Run for it!!" Dakejinzou barks. "I'll see you at Home Base!!!"

Nassur watches in disbelief as the "Goddess's" weapons lash out,
peppering the destroyer. Banking port, the wounded hunter sets course
for Home Base. "Watch yourself," he sighs, sending his ship into warp.

Torpedoes ram into the destroyer's shields, easily wrecking them.
On the bridge, a panicked Dosur raves at the image of the oncoming
frigate. "Destroy that bitch!!!"

Vosian weapons lance at the "Goddess." Shields and armour absorb
the blows as Dakejinzou aims at the destroyer's bridge. "Sayonara,
sucker!!!"

Torpedoes incinerate the bridge as the enemy ship fires another
fusillade. Those which strike the "Goddess" shatter the shields,
scarring the port thruster nacelle. As the destroyer slows down,
Dakejinzou banks her wounded frigate away. However, one turret crew
swings their mount at the departing ship. "Get her!!!" the crew
commander barks.

Before the weapon could bear, the sky lights up like a supernova
as the destroyer disintegrates!! The Gomianite ships scatter as the
wave of compressed energy rocks the "Goddess." Dakejinzou howls as she
is tossed about her bridge, saving herself from a concussion. As the
ship's inertia fields restore themselves, she staggers to her chair.
"How...who did that...?" she moans.

Suddenly, an English-accented voice echoes all around her. "*I
did.*"

Dakejinzou yowls in shock, drawing her weapon. "WHO SAID
THAT?!?!?!"

"*I did. Look to your port side.*"

The hunter turns...to see a tan colossus slide alongside the
frigate. Her eyes widen on seeing the superdreadnought for the first
time in five decades. "Th-the S-soultaker!"

"*Actually, the name 'Soultaker' was bestowed on me by the
Yehisrites and the Ipraedies, Dakejinzou Shogai,*" the voice explains.
"*My official designation is 'Gatherer.' I am of the planet Sagussa.*"

"Then...?!" she sinks into her chair.

"*That destroyer's crew was taking too many liberties in attacking
Nassur inside the sovereign territory of another planet, even one as
morally corrupt as Gomiana,*" Henry explains. "*The Mikado will never
hear of this destroyer or its attempt to capture Nassur. They...will
have disappeared into space.*"

Dakejinzou blinks. "Why d'you save me?"

"*You interest me.*"

"Who **are** you, anyway?!"

"*The voice you hear is the central command computer of this
ship,*" the voice explains. "*If you desire, you may address me by the
nickname the *daimon'cha*-elect of Sagussa gave me: Henry.*"

"'*Daimon'cha?!*'" Dakejinzou wonders. "You mean the Chosen
One?!"

"*Yes,*" Henry responds. "*Would you like to come aboard and
effect repairs on your vessel before meeting Nassur?*"

"Er...sure!" she nods. "Thank you!"

* * *

Moments later, Dakejinzou disembarks, finding herself in a
carnivorous hangar bay on the Gatherer's port side. Awed at the immense
dimensions surrounding her, the only thing which escapes her is, "This
place is huge!"

"*Naturally,*" Henry's voice echoes. "*I was constructed in this
manner.*"

Dakejinzou jolts, overwhelmed by the technological difference
between her ship and the one she presently stands on. "Er...you
remember the first time I saw you?" she tries small talk. "Back on
Yehisril?"

"*Indeed I do,*" a smile creeps into his voice. "*My memory
encompasses 10,000 years of operation. I've experienced a lot. Oh, by
the way, there's someone here to see you.*"

"There is...?!" Dakejinzou blinks as a transporter beam is heard.

"Yes, Dake-chan," a familiar voice hums.

The hunter freezes, then haltingly turns to face Gilnira, who
projects a serene smile. Dakejinzou gags, shaking her head in shock.
"G-g-gilnira-chan...?!" she stammers.

"Hey!!" the Yehisrite-turned-Sagussan maintenance engineer moves
to steady her. "It's me! Relax!!"

The alien moves to pat arms, body, face. "B-b-but how?!!"
Dakejinzou exclaims. "How is this possible?!" her voice lowers to a
hush.

"It's hard to explain," Gilnira chuckles, her eyes flashing with
the same warmth Dakejinzou remembered. Escorting her to the "Goddess'"
boarding ramp, the engineer sits. "I did die...but enough of my
*mei'na*...my spirit...remained in my body after the regeneration matrix
restored my body, to aid in the construction of my new self."

"New self?!" Dakejinzou blinks.

Gilnira indicates the Sagussan numbers on her arms. "On Sagussa,
my designation is *daishi'cha*...First Mother...Ninety-nine thousand,
nine-ninety-nine. I'm the second to last. I was selected because I was
of an iron-based humanoid race within optimal child-rearing years who
died and was sufficiently intact to be regenerated. I was mentally
programmed to serve the Grand Design, then cryofrozen until such time as
*daimon'cha,* first fathers, could be brought to Sagussa."

The alien quickly interprets what her friend has said. "You mean
you were brought back to life just to have kids?!!"

Gilnira laughs. "It's more than that, Dake-chan," she embraces
her friend. "Oh, it is much more than that..."

* * *

"...and that was the day Gilnira told me things which would shake
up my universe," she sighs, "until the day I learned what I was."

Ataru stares at her. "I find it strange that Henry didn't tell
you what you were then. He doesn't strike me as one who'd withhold
information, especially of that nature."

"Maybe he felt I didn't need it," she muses. "I haven't seen
Henry since. After all, there're a couple thousand Umanoshippo
*daishi'cha* involved. He found them all on wrecked ships like mine."

"Maybe there're male synthezoids."

"Oh, wouldn't that be nice," she sighs...

* * *

"Hey, stranger!" Benten smiles as she stares at Lum's image.
"You're looking good! I thought you were shot!!"

The Oni's eyes roll. "Funny, Benten," she sighs, checking the
encryption gear to ensure Lan wasn't eavesdropping. "Try to have
yourself shot and see how you like it?"

"So, how're they treating you?"

Trust was something which came to her friend with difficulty.
"Benten, if they mistreated me, they know Darling'll stop having
anything to do with them. Can't you just let things be the way they
are?!"

"Hey, when some uppity sawbones tells me I can't visit my friend
for reasons I don't understand, I get pissed!!" the Fukunokami growls.
"You should see Oyuki! Everyone'd think Koosei just dropped her!!"

"That bad?" Lum sighs. "Benten, relax. Becoming a Sagussan isn't
fun, you know."

"Noa and the others found it easy."

"Because their minds were wiped clean by the regeneration matrix
and they had to be programmed from scratch," Lum explains. "It's harder
when there's a mind already in here," she points to her head.

Benten projects a "that's not good enough" look. "It'll only be a
couple more weeks," Lum assures her. "Relax."

"Alright!" Benten sighs. "Oh, Oyuki's defence people picked up a
Vosian scout over Earth sometime ago. That's why I'm calling."

"Mikado?" Lum tenses.

The hunter nods. "However, it got blown out of the sky right
after it arrived."

"Probably Priss taking target practice. *Tcha,* the Mikado is
thick, isn't he?!"

"Dummy can't help it," she snorts. "But in case Priss missed,
keep an eye out, hear?"

"We'll be fine. If they even come close to Oshika, we'll know.
Thanks for calling."

"Yeah!" Benten waves.

Lum sighs, then walks out of the bedroom. Honey is preparing
dinner. "Who was that?" the physical education instructor wonders.

"Benten," the Oni sighs. "We've got Mikado hunters on the loose."

"Again?! Persistent bugger, isn't he?"

"Everyone knows that," Lum growls, then blinks. "What's going
on?"

Both stare into the living room. Catty is reading a book. Lufy
sits beside her, warily eyeing the doctor. Setsuna and Hotaru relax
across from them, taking pleasure in the other's company. Finally,
Catty sighs, bolting to her feet and heading outside. "Catty, wait!!"
Lufy pursues her.

Lum shakes her head. "She sure doesn't take advice, does she?"

"Her worst trait," Honey notes.

Lum flies outside, watching Lufy approach Catty. The doctor spins
on the pilot. "No!"

"Why not?!" Lufy demands.

"Because I don't want you!" Catty snaps.

"Who in Lyna's name do you want?!" Lufy wonders. "Noa?! She's
taken, remember?!"

"I don't need to be reminded of that!"

"I'm not reminding you of that!" Lufy snarls. "You're doing a
good enough job! Here you are moping over someone you can't have when
someone you can have is throwing herself all over you!!"

"You?!!" Catty exclaims. "And what makes you think I'd want
anything to do with you?!"

Lufy looks ready to explode, then smiles. "You said it yourself
twelve years ago!"

"Wha...?!" Catty turns...as the pilot's psi-shields drop!

Lum gasps as her eyes perceive Lufy as a glowing point of bright
light, her *mei'na* exposed for all to see. Catty gasps as her psi-
shields flicker, barely able to resist the allure of who stands before
her. "Lufy..."

"Remember, Catty?" Lufy smiles...

* * *

Twelve years ago. The darkness of the great dome of Tere'na-
korgh, near the entrance the *daishi'cha* used to access Lyna's grave.
Lufy and Catty escort Ataru out of the dome. In homage to the billions
of slain clones the dome once housed, the three are draped only in a
blue shawl. Stopping by the entrance, the three watch the bright orb of
Sen'a descend past the dunes which once were draped by the waters of the
Sogh'haeng, the Western Ocean. Observing the sunset, the three remain
still, allowing their bodies to warm after exposure to the cooler air
trapped in the dome. Finally warmed, they proceed to dress.

Catty pauses, watching Lufy don her pants, then her tunic. Her
eyes never waver from the pilot's body. The latter pauses, turning to
gaze at the doctor. "Is there something amiss, Oioae-oi'iiui?"

Catty jolts, startled by her compatriot's question. "N-negative.
Nothing is amiss."

"Then why do you stare?"

The doctor's cheeks colour. "I...was merely observing."

"Observing what?"

Catty concentrates. Why WAS she staring at Lufy? She then
iterates the first thing that comes to her. "I merely was noting your
aesthetically pleasing musculature."

The pilot blinks, staring at herself. She never considered
herself attractive. She turns to Ataru. "Do I possess aesthetically
pleasing musculature, Ataru?"

The young boy shrugs...

* * *

"All this...because of THAT?!?!"

To Lum's disbelief, the doctor's shields were erect, although
weakening from the pilot's incessant bombardment. "Yeah," Lufy smiles,
her hands raising to receive Catty.

Catty remains in place, her deteriorating psi-shields permitting
her thoughts and feelings to emerge. Their shared memories flash in
Lum's mind. Catty's joining the "Hasei'cha" crew. Her first meeting
with Lufy. The doctor trying to comprehend her growing closeness to the
pilot. Before Ataru, it was always Catty who came to Lufy, not the
other way around. But there were other attractions which distracted the
doctor. Noa, for instance.

Then Ataru came. As they evolved, Lufy developed the lethal
brashness which evolved her into the ultimate terror everyone knew well.
Catty was revolted; like Reinoevan to Asukanoevan, she found the pre-
Ataru Lufy more desirable. But things had changed. Lufy found herself
incapable of always projecting the image of the gung-ho trooper. She
wanted a place to release herself, feel human.

And remembering the trip to the Forge, she found herself returning
the attraction Catty once felt for her. Unfortunately, Catty was vainly
pining after Noa. Worse, Rabby had locked her sights on her wingmate.
But still, Lufy remained locked on her goal, leaving Catty confused.
She did not know whether to return Lufy's feelings or ignore her...

Catty blinks, her eyes stinging. Lufy lowers herself to her
kneels, bowing her head in surrender, her shields gone. Seeing this,
Catty cries out as she runs over, collapsing to her knees as she
embraces Lufy. Watching this, Lum turns back to the house.

* * *

"Nekotengu Four is populated by a hominoid race descent from
felinoids," Dakejinzou briefs Ataru and Seisuru two days prior to
landfall. "The most prominent feature is a tail, pointed ears on the
temple and fur. The society is Earth Stone Age equivalent, patriarchal
in format. Females are not given names, typically treated as either
housekeepers or birthing stock. Contact with the Nekotengu has been
limited to tribes in equatorial regions. Our target area is in the
norther hemisphere some distance from known tribal migration routes."

"So what do we do?" Seisuru wonders.

"Well, we can just hover in orbit, beam up the plants from the
surface, store them in the cargo bays, then head back to Hustaros,"
Dakejinzou sips her mineral water. "Should take no less than several
hours."

"You hope," Ataru muses. "Personally, I want to get back home as
soon as I can."

"Problems?" Dakejinzou wonders.

"Ah, a Mikado ship appeared over Earth," Ataru shakes his head.
"Priss shot it down."

"Even we've heard of him," Seisuru notes. "Why the Vosians
permitted him to seize power, I'll never understand."

"Yeah," the hunter muses. "But it makes one wonder. Why is he
suddenly concentrating his attention on Earth? All of you may be Natsu-
chan's friends, but none of you are important to the Civil War."

"That's the problem with madmen," he sighs. "You can never
predict their actions."

"True," Dakejinzou muses. "But if I were you, I'd tell Lum and
the others to be on guard. Mikado hunters are wily little slugs. I've
had to track down a few myself."

"Why?! Did they try to hunt you?"

"They tried," she smiles. "Other than times they attacked Natsu-
chan and I together, they've pursued other renegades and deserters
seeking shelter in the Federation. I've been hired on dozens of
occasions to protect them from hunters. His Stupiditiness has never
learned that he's wasting time sending his trackers outside the
Confederation when he needs them to help protect what he has left."

Ataru and Seisuru laugh...

* * *

In Oshika, Fanba and Shanba pass through the village market. Both
wear second-hand clothing they were barely able to purchase with what
money they brought from Vos. Camping in forests and groves, they have
been able to keep themselves whole and healthy, but barely; they were
unable to bring much survival gear before escaping their doomed sloop.
To disguise themselves, they have draped their hair over their ears.

Seeing the quantity and quality of the food, both hunters feel
their stomachs. "Terrans have a lot of stuff," Fanba muses. "I don't
think these people understand what it's like living through a war."

"They do," Shanba warns. "These islands were on the losing side
of their last global conflict. Most of what you see here was built up
in the last four decades."

"Wow!" Fanba then blinks. "What the?!"

Both see Mujanba and Nicole haggling over some fresh salmon.
Seeing the legendary captain, the teen hunters scramble behind a ramen
shop. "That's Captain Mujanba!" Shanba gasps. "But she's supposed to
be dead!"

"Does she look dead?!" Fanba hisses.

"But what's she doing here?!"

They watch. Finally, the vendor gives in, selling the McTavishes
six salmon. They pay, then head away from the market. "Where do you
suppose she's going?!" Shanba wonders. "And who's that with her?!"

"Where'd she get the jewels?" Fanba asks.

"Let's follow her!"

Fanba nods. They scramble after them. The kiosk manager observes
this. "First Tomobiki, now here!" he throws up his hands in surrender.
"What did we do to deserve this?!"

* * *

Sometime later, the McTavishes enter the Tiger Cub cafe. "Here's
some salmon," Nicole hands the bunch to Nokoko.

"Thanks, Cole," Nokoko passes them to Tatsuko. "Seems you picked
up some friends."

Nicole glances outside. Sitting across the street, Fanba and
Shanba peek around a newspaper at the cafe. "I think they're two of
your friends, love," she turns to Mujanba.

Mujanba's eyes glow. "Oh, no!"

"Recognize them?" Mal wonders.

"They were in the hunter's school when I was last on Vos," Mujanba
nurses her coffee. "If they're being sent out at that age, the Mikado's
scraping the bottom of the barrel."

Kanba, one of the hunters from Bujosur's team, blinks. "I
recognize them. Fanba and Shanba. They just graduated when I left
Vos."

"What do we do?" Mal wonders. "It's easy to tell they're here
because of my sister."

"Unleashing Lufy would be overkill," Nokoko muses, scratching her
chin.

As they discusses them, the two hunters relax. "What's she
doing?" Shanba wonders. "Could she be spying on Lum's friends?"

"Maybe," Fanba hums. "We should help."

"What are you two doing here?"

Both yelp, spinning around to see Reiko and Belle there, having
come from school. "Who are you?!!" Fanba and Shanba demand.

"Mikado hunters," Belle notes.

"What a bunch of dummies," Reiko's eyes roll. "You mean you came
all the way here from Vos and you don't know who I am?!"

"Hey, wait a minute," Shanba snaps her fingers. "I know you!
You're the slave child Ataru Moroboshi adopted."

"Give her a chichi bear," Belle sighs.

"Well," Fanba smiles. "Since you know who we are, you can guess
why we're here?"

Reiko leans up to her. "You mean you're here to get rid of that
Oni?!"

"You want us to get rid of that Oni?!"

"Uh-huh!" Reiko nods, projecting a droopy-eyed stare. "You see,
ever since she came here, all she's been doing is ruining Daddy's life!
And she claims she's doing it for love!!" She leans close, lowering her
voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I think she's doing it to get
Great-grandma to lean on the Holy Father to support the rebels!"

"What?!" Fanba growls. "That a fact?!"

"Don't worry!" Shanba smirks. "We're trained to handle any of
Nassur's friends! We'll take care of her!! Where is she?!"

"C'mon!!" Reiko waves them with her.

Fanba and Shanba follow. Belle shakes her head. *Boy, how
gullible can you get?!*

Observing this, everyone sighs. "Looks like Reiko-chan's handling
the problem right now," Nicole muses...

* * *

Several moments later, the four sneak onto the property, making
their way to the back door. "I sense one person inside!" Shanba
reports. "It's got to be that Oni!!"

"In the room there!" Fanba points toward Lum's bedroom. She turns
to Reiko and Belle. "You two stay here!!"

"Go get her!!" Reiko cheers.

They burst into the house, charging into Lum's bedroom.
"FREEZE!!!!!!"

Fanba and Shanba freeze as they see a half-dozen Urban Assault
Cannons pointed at them. Lum relaxes between Noa and Honey. "Don't you
Vosians know other races knock before entering a house?" the Oni
wonders.

Both jolt as Priss and Lufy swing into view behind them. "Hate to
say it, Priss, but your aim's off!" the latter muses.

"We can correct it right now!" the former points her weapon at
Shanba's nose.

They turn to see Reiko and Belle standing at the door. "Now, now,
Priss!" the latter wags her finger at the Sagussan. "You know you're
supposed to be kind to dumb animals!"

"And dumb Mikado supporters," Reiko adds.

They march off. Fanba and Shanba sink to their knees.
"Mother...!" both teens moan...

* * *

Mujanba arrives. "Hi, everyone!"

She turns to see Fanba and Shanba on the living room sofa,
Alphonse sitting on the coffee table, hungrily eyeing the hunters.
Sitting behind the sandpanther are Lum, Honey and Noa, Priss and Lufy
hovering nearby. "Captain!" the hunters yelp in relief.

Mujanba faces them, crossing her arms. "Alright, what are you two
doing here?!"

"What do you think?!" Fanba snorts. "We're here to take that
crook back to Vos!" she indicates Lum.

Alphonse roars. Fanba backs away from the sandpanther. "N-n-nice
k-k-kitty..." she stammers. "N-n-nice k-k-kitty..."

"I'm to be taken?" Lum stands. "Why?!"

"We aren't talking!" Shanba snorts.

"Oh, is that a fact?" Lum gently strokes Alphonse's hair.
"Alphonse, persuade them!"

The sandpanther growls, raising his paw to strike, claws extended.
Fanba and Shanba brace themselves. "Wait!!" Noa barks.

Alphonse growls as Noa sits in front of them. "If you talk, we'll
make sure you get to somewhere safe. What's the harm in that? As far
as your superiors know, you're dead."

"Wanna bet?" Fanba sneers.

"Oh, you do know something?" Noa crosses her legs. "Mind telling
me what it is?"

"You can't make us sing!" Shanba vows.

Noa turns to Lum. "They're keeping a secret from you, love," she
hums. "I think you'll have to dig to get it."

"I guess so," Lum stands.

"We know about your lightning," Fanba snorts. "That won't hurt
us!"

"We took nanites before coming here!" Shanba adds. "They'll eat
that lightning up like it was nothing!!"

The Oni freezes them with a stare. "Who says I was going to zap
you?"

Her fingers touch Shanba's face. The Vosian yowls with mind-
numbing pain as Lum forces mind-probes through Shanba's shields, darting
through every corner of the hunter's brain. Fanba moves to shove Lum
away, but is forced back by Noa. "Leave her be!!"

Finally, Lum's hands pull away. Shanba collapses, all the energy
gone from her body as she falls to the floor. "Shanba!!!" Fanba leaps
to her side, helping her friend up.

The Sagussans stare expectantly at Lum. "She doesn't know," the
Oni reports. "They overheard the Mikado speaking about a proposed
mission he's planning to force Nassur-chan on...and how the Mikado
wanted me as a hostage to get Nassur-chan to do his bidding."

"Is that a fact?!" Lufy cocks her pistol, moving toward the
hunters. "Then, maybe, we should reprogram them to target the Mikado
and get him out of our hair once and for all!"

Fanba shivers, pulling the dazed Shanba away from the angry pilot.
"Relax, Lufy," Noa stands. "Without a ship or any means of
communication, they have no way to talk to their superiors. They're
marooned here."

"Wanna bet?!" Fanba sneers.

"You must mean Abraham Shapiro," Noa hums. "We silenced him a
long time ago."

The Vosians gasp, the realization of how the Mikado's plans have
been fouled dawning. "Mujanba here is bonded with a local girl," Noa
waves to the former hunter. "Pamanba is also bonded with a local girl.
The other hunters, those from Bujosur's team, are being rehabilitated
for their drug addiction. The only hunter who could *possibly* help you
two is Thanba...and if she does, she dies," her voice lowers to a dirge.
"And we have ways of making that happen," she leans at Fanba, "ways what
don't leave a mark!"

"I've seen them do it," Mujanba warns. "One thing you shouldn't
do is piss these people off, kids."

Fanba blinks. "Lufy?" Noa leans back.

"Yo?"

"Why don't we leave them with you and Priss," Noa smiles. "I'm
sure with you two, they'll learn the error of their ways."

The pilot cackles, crackling her knuckles. "My pleasure!"

Fanba and Shanba scream as Lufy drags them out of the house, Priss
following them. "That was overkill," Mujanba warns.

"Hey!" Catty snorts. "Lufy knows nice!"

The doctor follows her. The others hum. "Crazy what love can do,
eh?" Mujanba muses.

"Got that right," Lum sighs...

* * *

"Report, ship," Dakejinzou orders.

The "Goddess of Luck" has dropped out of warp over a planet criss-
crossed by tall mountains separated by plains and jungles. On the
bridge, Dakejinzou, Ataru and Seisuru await the computer's report.
"*Nekotengu Four is a Class M world with a native hominoid population of
twenty million. The planet is temperate at the poles to tropic in
equatorial regions. Average mean temperature 20 degrees Centigrade.
Little tilt in planetary axis, hence little alteration of climate.*"

"What about the herb?" Seisuru wonders.

"*The target herb is native to the northern hemisphere near the
largest mountain range. Climate conditions over target area seem calm.
Little habitation noted.*"

"It looks good," Dakejinzou smiles.

"Let's do it," Ataru nods.

Dakejinzou alters controls. The frigate descends into the
atmosphere. As the ship breaks, shields throw off the heat of
atmospheric friction. The "Goddess" shudders lightly as she parts
through the first bank of clouds. "I hope this goes well," Ataru gulps.

"So do I," Dakejinzou nods.

Clouds darken. "*Dakejinzou-san, there's a storm developing,*"
the computer reports.

"I see it," she looks. "Shields up!"

"*Shields up,*" the computer repeats.

Before screens come up, a freak bolt of lightning slams into the
starboard thruster nacelle! Suddenly, a controlled approach turns into
an uncontrolled fall as the "Goddess" plummets toward the surface. The
three are thrown against a bulkhead as inertia dampeners fail.
Dakejinzou quickly takes controls as she fights to keep the frigate on
an even keel. "Ship, damage report!!!"

"*Starboard...*" the computer transmits, "*...thruster down.
Airfoils...damaged, control lost. Altitude control...gone...*"

"Emergency thrusters!!!"

"*Thrusters...on*"

The frigate's retrothrusters fire, bringing her to an even keel.
They still have no effect in halting descent. "Dake-chan, we're still
going down!!!" Ataru screams.

"No choice!!!" she barks. "Hang on!!!"

The ship parts through the lowermost bank of clouds. A clear
field appears before the descending frigate. Dakejinzou pulls the
control stick back, aiming the bow at the centre of the prairie. As the
ground races up, she fires retrothrusters at full power, bringing the
landing gear down. However, speed is still too fast.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!!!!!!"

The "Goddess of Luck" hits the earth at 50 kilometres per hour!!
The landing gear cracks, but do not break as the ship's weight sinks the
hull into the soft soil below. The keel hits the earth, the mass of the
ship stopping downward motion as the frigate careens to a jarring halt.
The jolt slams Dakejinzou into the front console as Ataru and Seisuru
are tossed into a bulkhead. Lights fail as shorted circuits spark...

* * *

"Darling!!!" Lum gasps.

She bolts up, eyes wide with shock as she looks around the room.
Noa sleeps beside her. Standing, Lum walks to the window, staring at
the starry night. "Darling..."

* * *

Silence hangs over the darkened bridge of the "Goddess."
Emergency lights activate as Ataru's eyes open. Groaning, he looks
around. "What a party..." he feels his head, then stares at Seisuru.
"Hey, you okay?!"

"I wanna go home, sera..." t'he moans, then slowly rises.
"What...happened?!"

"We're alive," he pants, embracing t'her, then glances forward.
"Dake-chan!!!"

Dakejinzou is unconscious at the command console, blood trickling
from her mouth. Rising, Ataru gently lifts the hunter into a sitting
position. He gags on seeing a metal tube thrust into her lung! "Dake-
chan!!!" he cries, automatically feeling her pulse.

Her eyes flutter open. Painfully, she stares at him, then coughs.
"A-ataru...?"

"Are you okay?!" he leans close.

"No. Busted...up inside..."

"How bad?!! Can I move you?!!"

"Ribs...cracked," she then indicates the tube. "And...that...!"
She indicates the deckhead. "Move me...out..."

Ataru nods, lifting the synthezoid from the chair. "Where?!!"
Seisuru looks around. "The boarding hatch is buried!!"

"Escape...hatch...up top!"

They look up to see an escape hatch built into the deckhead.
Ataru waits as Seisuru presses the controls to blow the hatch. An
explosion later, the Hustari scrambles into the clear. "Lift her up!!"
t'he yells.

Ataru boosts Dakejinzou into Seisuru's arms, then follows the
synthezoid out of the ship. They find themselves surrounded by distant
mist-shrouded mountains and seemingly endless prairie. Tall grass
covers the field right up to the "Goddess'" sides. "I think this is a
good place!" Seisuru notes.

"Yeah," Ataru nods.

He scrambles along the superstructure, making his way aft to the
fantail. An access ladder leads to the keel, now at ground level.
Turning forward, he yells, "Bring her over!!!"

Seisuru lifts Dakejinzou aft. "Do you have a tent stored
inside?!" t'he wonders.

"Cargo hatch..." Dakejinzou gasps, "...starboard side forward..."

Ataru scrambles to ground level, climbing out of the rut to find
the emergency equipment locker. Transforming into the Cyborg, he rips
away the hatch, then finds a box marked EMERGENCY SURVIVAL TENT.
Dragging it aft, he places it at the edge of the rut. Opening it, he
notices a single button. Taking the tent out, he presses it, then backs
away.

A pop is heard. A moment later, the tent inflates to the size of
a normal camping tent. Ataru yells up. "**Bring her to the right
side!! We'll lower her down that way!**"

"Okay!!!" Seisuru responds.

Dakejinzou is brought to the starboard side. Ten metres separate
her from ground. "How do we get her down?!" t'he wonders.

The Cyborg leaps up, then gingerly lifts the hunter into his arms.
A moment later, Dakejinzou is at ground level. "Ask a silly question,"
Seisuru heads to the access ladder.

On ground level, Ataru lays Dakejinzou on the tent floor. From
the box, stakes are quickly driven into the ground. Locating air
mattresses and sleeping bags, he sets them up, then lays Dakejinzou on
one. "Where's the first aid kit?!" he transforms back.

"Another...box..." Dakejinzou coughs.

"Got it!!" Seisuru walks in, first aid kit in hand, then begins to
set up.

"I wish I knew how to heal this," Ataru mutters, staring at the
tube.

"It's okay, Ataru-chan," she smiles. "I heal...a little
differently...than others." She coughs. "First...you have to...pull
this...out..." she indicates the tube.

"What about bleeding?!!" Seisuru blinks.

"Fortunately..." the hunter sighs. "I...can control...my blood
flow..."

Ataru and Seisuru glance at the other, then the former reaches
over to gently extract the tube. Some blood leaks from the wound, but
to their surprise, the lungs and surface tissue automatically commence
mending. "Now, get a...dressing," Dakejinzou coughs.

Seisuru places a field dressing over the wound. Ataru gently
removes the battle bikini top, then fetches a bandage. Gently lifting
the hunter to a sitting position, the two wrap the bandage around her
bust. Ataru ties it over the dressing. Dakejinzou is then laid down.
"Now what?!" Ataru wonders.

"Nothing," Dakejinzou gasps. "You know nothing about ship
avionics and...I'm in no shape to...effect repairs. We're stuck...here
for a while."

Seisuru blinks, tears in t'her eyes. "No...we can't stop now!!"
t'he gasps. "My mother...she's sick...we've got to help her!!"

The Hustari shrieks as the helplessness of the situation hits.
"Seisuru!!!" Ataru leaps to t'her side, shaking t'her. "Seisuru, calm
down!!! We can't do anything now!!!"

"My mother's dying!!!" Seisuru screams.

"Seisuru!!! Dake-chan's down!!! I can't do this alone!! Get a
hold of yourself!!!"

T'he collapses into his embrace, crying. Dakejinzou grasps t'her
hand. "Seisuru...go to the bridge...the emergency distress beacon's
there. "Also...the emergency repair...circuits. Get them going...and
that should take care of...most of our problems."

"Sei-chan?" Ataru stares at t'her.

Seisuru sniffs tears away, then nods. As t'he walks out, Ataru
turns to Dakejinzou. "Any other tricks up your sleeve?"

"Other than that, no..." she coughs. "Even when my...lungs heal,
my ribs...will take longer...to mend."

"We probably banged you around a bit, moving you like that," he
warns.

"It's okay. There is...one thing."

"What?"

She coughs. "Deactivate...me."

Ataru drops back. "WHAT?!?!?!"

"My healing...factor...works better when my conscious mind...is
down."

"I'd prefer not to do that."

"I understand. But I'll heal...better."

Staring at her, he feels tears. "Where?"

"Back of my skull," she coughs. "Right where...the spine starts."

He nods, then reaches over. Dakejinzou shifts her head to expose
her neck. He stops, then leans over her. "Dake-chan?"

She looks quizzically at him. He kisses her. "Pleasant dreams."

"Thanks..." she smiles, looking away.

Ataru's finger traces her skull to the axis bone. He feels
something give way...or was that his imagination? Dakejinzou jolts as
her eyes pale, her voice slurring. "Ataru-chan...I...love...yoooooo..."

Silence falls as her breathing slows to the point where Ataru
could barely perceive any movement. Horror surging from his soul, Ataru
falls back, tears stinging his eyes...

* * *

The next day dawns. Before night fell, Ataru and Seisuru were
able to extract rations and other provisions from the "Goddess'" galley.
Examining the nacelle, the Hustari reported that it required a major
shipyard to effect proper repairs. However, t'he was able to locate the
ship's emergency distress beacon. There is little hope; Nekotengu Four
is far from any major shipping lane. Further, Seisuru was able to
activate the ship's emergency repair systems. With hull integrity
confirmed, all that was required to move the crippled frigate was to
repair the shattered power conduits. When the "Goddess" could be lifted
from its rut, more effective repairs could be executed on the landing
gear.

During the night, Ataru and Seisuru took shifts watching over
Dakejinzou. Now as the planet's bright primary rises over the hills,
Ataru sits beside the synthezoid, holding her hand. Every once in a
while, he wipes his eyes. *I never wanted to see you as a synthezoid,
Dake-chan,* he sniffs. *Not as a living doll built for someone's
pleasure. But if you've got to be this way to heal faster, I'll keep
the faith.* He stares at the sky. *Lum-chan, where are you...?!*

Movement distracts him. He bolts around, perceiving a female form
rifling through the food packs piled outside. Incensed, he bolts to the
door. "Hey, get out of there!!!"

The woman screams as she tries to make a break. A tail whips past
Ataru as he turns to pursue. Before she could make ten paces, he
tackles her, slamming her back-first into the soil. Pressing down on
her arms, he glares at her. "Now, what the hell are you...LUM?!?!?!"

The woman is a pretty seventeen year old with green hair, a double
of the Oni...if you ignored certain key facts. The body covered with
tiger-striped golden fur. The toes and fingers ending in claws. The
thin tail emitting from the base of her spine. The felinoid ears,
tufted like a serval's. The cat-slitted green eyes. The puffy cheeks,
whiskers and stubby nose. Barefoot, she is dressed in a bikini of
animal skins.

Staring at this curious vision, Ataru could be forgiven his
mistake. But as details come to him, he blinks, not believing what he
has confronted. "I...I'm sorry!" he blushes, rising. "I didn't mean to
do that!!"

The woman stares quizzically at him, then sits up. Her lips, more
human than the rest of her face, twitches in a smile. "You didn't have
to run into me so hard, you know!!"

Ataru faints! "You can talk?!!"

"Yes," she nods. "When we made contact, I learned your language."

He blinks, interpreting her words, then he notices the spilt food
packs beside her legs. "Oh, you must've been hungry."

"Yes," she nods. "We saw your sky-canoe crashing, so I came to
investigate. Are you from that place of no-tails called Zephyrus?"

"You know about the Zephyrites?!!"

"Yes," she smiles. "Those no-tails come every once in a while to
make sure other no-tails don't bother us. Are you...?"

"No," he shakes his head. "However, they did give my friends and
I permission to come. We came to get a herb to help another planet of
no-tails...it's called Hustaros...before they all die from a bad
sickness."

"Oh!" she nods, staring at the "Goddess." "And your sky-
canoe...is it broken?!"

"Yeah. And my friend's badly hurt."

"May I...?!" she gestures.

Ataru thinks, then shrugs. By that time, Seisuru has awakened,
moving to step out of the tent. "Ataru, what's going...eh?!" t'he
blinks on seeing the Nekotengu. "Who's she?!"

"She...um...well...!" Ataru stammers.

The woman steps into the tent, staring at Dakejinzou. Ataru had
closed her eyes. Noting the differences and the similarities, the woman
then turns to Ataru. "She has a tail...but it's so bushy...and her ears
are so weird! Why isn't she moving?!"

"One of her lungs was punctured," Seisuru squats beside her.
"Several ribs are broken. We had to put her to sleep to help her heal."

"You a medicine man?" the woman wonders.

"No, I'm not. I wish I was!"

The Nekotengu considers the point. "There's a healer in my
village," she announces. "She could heal your friend!"

Ataru feels a scream surging from inside him, stunned at the
similarity between this woman and Lum. "Can she?!!" Seisuru gasps.
"Can you take us to her?!!"

"Yes!" the woman stands. "Wait here! I'll fetch my friend and
we'll take her to my village! It's not far!!"

She runs out of the tent. Ataru watches her go. "Lum-chan..."

Moments later, the woman returns, another following her. Despite
the usual Nekotengu features and silver fur, she resembles someone else
Ataru knows well. *Benten, too?!!*

The first turns to her friend, speaking in a purring alien tongue.
The second approaches Dakejinzou, nose twitching and tail waving in
curiosity. Ataru rises, moving to gently grip her hand. The woman
blinks as her nervous system absorbs his tongue, then she smiles. "It's
okay. We'll help you."

"Thanks," he sighs. "We appreciate it."

The Nekotengu jabber away as they prepare to move Dakejinzou.
Ataru turns to Seisuru. "Talk about help from the strangest places."

"Can we trust them?" Seisuru lowers t'her voice. "They're women.
They're not supposed to be independent of a man's control."

"Oh?! Since when did you become a male-type chauvinist?" he
muses.

The Hustari makes a face...

* * *

Moments later, Dakejinzou is lifted onto a litter, a blanket
draped over her. Ataru and Seisuru join the Nekotengu women...whom
Ataru named "Lumuneko" and "Benten'neko" so as to not always say "hey,
you!"...in carrying the still hunter to their village. As the four make
their way across the prairie, the Nekotengu chatter in their native
tongue. "<<Isn't he cute?>>" Lumuneko muses. "<<I never thought we'd
encounter a no-tail out here...especially a no-tail boy!!>>"

"<<They both are,>>" Benten'neko notes Seisuru, then grins.
"<<It's a good thing, too. If mating time comes...>>"

Lumuneko shudders as that dire warning floats in the air. "<<I
hear you,>>" she hums. "<<Maybe if they're willing, we won't have to
worry about that scavenger who comes by every once in a while!>>"

"<<Yeah,>>" Benten'neko snorts, staring at Ataru. "<<Still, don't
you think Ataru looks like that scavenger? Weird, huh?>>"

"<<I didn't notice,>>" Lumuneko muses.

Ataru sneezes...

* * *

Ataru, Seisuru, Lumuneko and Benten'neko carry Dakejinzou into a
small encampment of five small thatched huts and a larger commune hut
secluded in a dense grove. Looking around, Ataru does not detect any
sign of life. "Hey, where is everyone?!" he wonders.

"They're here," Lumuneko's nose twitches.

She and Benten'neko yowl. Emerging from the commune are four
women. Seeing them, Ataru feels his strength drain. "No way!"

"You know them?!" Seisuru wonders.

"Un...!" the Terran stammers.

The leader of the group is a white-furred Sakura. Beside her is a
golden Shinobu. Behind them is a dark golden Lan and a platinum Oyuki.
The four are dressed in animal skins, Oyukineko bearing beads and a
pouch reminiscent of a shaman. Dakejinzou is lowered to the ground as
Lumuneko explains what has happened to her tribe. The group confer,
then Lumuneko turns to Ataru. "We'll allow you to remain here."
Indicating Oyukineko, she adds, "She is our healer."

"Okay," he nods. "I'll tell her."

After she learns Japanese, Oyukineko is briefed on Dakejinzou's
injuries. Staring at the synthezoid, the Nekotengu shaman's nose
twitches. "Her scent is so odd. I'll try..."

She places her hands on Dakejinzou's shoulders. An ethereal glow
inundates the synthezoid as the shaman concentrates. Ataru and Seisuru
watch, awestruck. "What's she doing?!" he turns to Lumuneko.

"She has 'healer's touch,'" she explains. "She is able to heal
most wounds by it."

"Some sort of empathy?" Seisuru wonders.

T'her thoughts are interrupted by Oyukineko's cry. The shaman
falls away from Dakejinzou. "What is it?!!" Ataru panics.

"She's so different!" she gasps. "Her body...part of it's made
out of rock...!!"

"Rock?!" Ataru blinks in confusion, then nods understandingly.
"Oh, the trisilicon compounds in her system!!" Panic fills him. "Don't
tell me you can't do anything...?!"

"I was able to help her," she admits. "Her muscles and other
fleshy parts are normal. I cured them...but her ribs are rock...and I
can't do anything about them." She shrugs resignedly. "Sorry..."

"Hey, that helped. Thank you."

Sakuraneko's hand falls on his shoulder. Realizing that
unfiltered communication was necessary, Ataru quickly introduces
himself. He also gives the Nekotengu names so that he needn't resort to
"hey, you." The curiosity on their faces is rampant. "Since you're
here, mind telling us why you've come, Ataru?" Sakuraneko wonders.

"Let me check my friend," Ataru kneels, pressing the back of
Dakejinzou's skull.

The synthezoid wakes. "Huh?!" she jolts. "Where am I...Ataru-
chan...?"

"It's okay, Dake-chan," he places a hand on her shoulder. "How do
you feel?"

Slowly, she rises, feeling herself. "My lung's healed...but my
ribs are still broken," she grits her teeth. "Who did this...?" Her
vision detects the sextet of Nekotengu women staring at her. "What in
Bensaiten's name?!"

Ataru does the introductions, then indicates Oyukineko. "She's
the local shaman. She's the one who mended your lungs. But the ribs
can't be touched..."

"...because they're silicon," she nods. "A healing empath, eh?
My thanks," she bows.

"You're welcome," the shaman kneels beside her. "Er...what are
you?!"

"What do you mean?!"

"Well, all things in Creation are either flesh or rock," she
waves. "You're made of both?" she gestures at Dakejinzou. "Why?!"

"I can't answer that. I don't know why I was created or why I'm
this way."

"Can you tell us why you came here?" Sakuraneko wonders. "We
rarely see sky-canoes in this part of the world."

"Yes," Shinobuneko nods. "Whenever no-tails come, they go to the
larger villages south of here. Why did you come to us?"

As the group shifts into the commune hut, Dakejinzou, Ataru and
Seisuru explain their predicament. "Once we have the herb," t'he
concludes, "we can return to Hustaros and prevent many from dying of the
kokushibyou."

The Nekotengu exchange looks. "We'll help you," Sakuraneko nods.
"The flowers you seek are several days walk from here."

"Enough to fill this hut?" Dakejinzou wonders. "All of us
together couldn't bring that amount from the mountains."

"You need your sky-canoe," Lan'neko hums.

"Exactly," the synthezoid shifts herself. "I should get back to
the ship..."

Ataru and Seisuru keep her still. "Your ribs are broken,
remember?!!" he snaps.

"I can still walk!!" she protests.

"Oh, really?!" t'he jabs her side.

The hunter yowls, folding on herself. "Nothing doing!!" Ataru
snaps. "Nassur tried that shit and nearly killed himself! No one's
around to help you heal, so stay put!!"

"But what about the ship...?"

"The ship's repair circuits will restore power!" Seisuru
announces. "Once we can move the ship, we'll concentrate on the hull
and the thruster unit! But you have to rest!!"

"I will not...!"

"ENOUGH!!!!" Ataru barks sharply. "You are wounded, Dakejinzou!!!
I will **not** allow you to pull these bone-headed stunts you hunters do
all the time!!! I care for you too much to allow that to happen!!!"

Surprised, Dakejinzou's mouth twitches. "It was a foolish thing,
wasn't it?"

"Damn right it is!!" he nods. "Now, you'll stay here until
Oyukineko says you're okay!!! When you are, we'll go fix the ship and
get after those flowers!!" As the adrenaline drains, he sighs. "Like
it or not, Fate's not working for us this time!"

Dakejinzou nods, laying back. Muttering, Ataru storms out of the
hut. Everyone watches him depart. "Ataru...?" Seisuru muses.

"He's so hurt," Sakuraneko twitches.

"He gives us names and makes us feel wanted!!" Benten'neko snarls.
"Why?!"

"What makes me curious is why're you here without any males!"
Dakejinzou blinks. "Don't you know the risk if mating time comes?!"

"We do," Sakuraneko nods. "We come from a large village to the
south. All of us are from different litters...but we share a desire to
get away from society and live on our own."

"We heard there're nomads to the north who accept females better
than in the villages," Lumuneko adds. "So one day, we got together and
left our village to find them."

"But we haven't found any males so we can have litters,"
Shinobuneko flecks a whisker. "For some of us, our time is coming
short."

"We've marked every grove within a day's walk with our scents,"
Lan'neko muses.

"And the only thing we got is that scavenger!" Oyukineko snorts.

The others forlornly nod. Dakejinzou shudders. Nekotengu females
operate on a terminal biological clock. If they did not bear offspring
before a certain age, usually in the five year period after the onset of
puberty, their reproductive system would cease to function. In the
patriarchal society Sakuraneko and her friends hailed, such rendered
them "runts," outcasts from their birth litters. Even the nomads would
have little use of them should that be their fate.

What made matters interesting was that two males had just walked
into their village: Ataru and Seisuru. Were this a year ago, Ataru
might've been receptive, especially with Lum nowhere in sight. Doubtful
now. Worse, Seisuru was still in mourning over t'her mate. Would t'he
be receptive to the advances of six strange women, especially if t'he
could not transplant them to Hustaros?

If the Nekotengu's clocks were on final countdown, things would
become interesting...

* * *

Ataru relaxes under a ginkgo tree near the village, nibbling on
some grass. Seisuru approaches him. "You okay?" t'he wonders.

"No," he leans against t'her shoulder. "I just wish ONCE, things
would go right!"

"Relax," t'he pats his cheek. "That's the way Fate works,
remember?"

"Thanks for reminding me," he sighs.

They stare at the other, then without invitation, drift into a
tender kiss. Blinking surprisedly, their lips renew contact as their
passions begin to surface. As they tumble into the bush, Ataru fixes
t'her with a stare. "Are you sure you want this?"

"I want it," t'he sighs. "You?"

Ataru blinks, staring at this warm person before him. Person.
Not man. Not fem. Not transsexual. Person. One trying to overcome
t'her loss, not to mention the numbing agony of not knowing what was
happening back home. One who wanted Ataru to help t'her overcome
Yakuri's passing. "C'mon," he smiles. "Let's go find someplace more
private."

He boosts t'her into his arms as they move to a bush...just as
Seisuru's ear twitches. "Wait!" t'her head snaps around.

"What?!" he tenses.

"Company," t'he growls.

Ataru detects it; a rustling in a nearby bush. Glancing around,
his eye glows as the Cyborg's senses seek out the intruder. "**There!
One male near their food dump!**"

"I see him," Seisuru lowers t'herself. "Must be that poacher
Lumuneko spoke of."

They move behind trees to keep themselves hidden from the
intruder's view. <<Can you psi-link?>> Ataru psionically wonders.

<<I can hear you,>> Seisuru replies.

<<Stay upwind. He won't smell you.>>

<<Gotcha.>>

Lum's voice then cuts in. <<Darling, what's going on?!>> the Oni
impatiently demands. <<What's happening to you...?!>>

<<Later!>> Ataru snaps, waving his girlfriend out of his mind.
<<I'm busy!!>>

<<No need to snap...>> her voice fades.

Ataru and Seisuru close in. The intruder stares at the small
mounds of camp-baked grain bread and strips of dried meat, then stuffing
an armful into a tanned skin pouch, he moves to withdraw. "**Hold
it!!!**" Ataru barks.

Yowling, the Nekotengu bolts from the pile, racing for an opening
in the grove. Ataru and Seisuru give chase, the former fully
transforming. Despite the machine-man's unparalleled strength, the
Nekotengu is as agile as a minx, evading his hands. "**Slow down,
you...!**" he growls, ready to drop the poacher with a blast of his eye-
laser.

<<Wait!>> Seisuru barks. <<Let him go!>>

Ataru stops, staring at t'her. Feeling lucky, the Nekotengu makes
a break. "Why?!!" he demands, reverting to normal. "That's their food,
remember?!"

"Yeah," t'he whispers. "You got infra-red scanners, don't you?!"

"I think I do," he muses...

* * *

A half-hour later, Manari slips into a shabby tent in a grove some
distance from the "Goddess of Luck." His eyes narrow as he hears the
subtle breathing of his co-habitant. "<<Sis? You here?>>"

A gasp emits from the frail woman laying in a pile of furs, warmed
by a fire. "<<Did you...?>>" her hand feebly rises to greet him.

He licks her. "<<Here's some food,>>" he hands her a loaf of
bread. "<<Eat.>>"

"<<No...>>" she tries to force it away.

"<<You have to eat,>>" he insists.

"<<I can't drag you down,>>" she turns away. "<<Go. Let me
die.>>"

"<<No!!>>" he hisses, laying beside her to provide additional
warmth. "<<I won't let you die, Sis! You're too important to me!>>"

The woman's eyes squeeze shut, shamed tears trickling down her
cheeks. Manari was a runt, not maturing into the hulking monsters that
were normal male Nekotengu. She begged her mother to let him stay with
the litter. All that resulted in was their exile from the village. For
weeks, the two, lacking any decent hunting skills, had wandered north.
It was by sheer luck that they had stumbled onto Lumuneko's village; by
that time, Manari's sister had succumbed to a serious infection.

At first hoping to barter for food, Manari was rejected. Even
those strange women living alone wanted nothing to do with a male runt.
He had to resort to theft to keep her alive. But now, with strange no-
tails in the village, who knows what could happen. "<<You will not
die,>>" he coos a mantra in her ear.

Suddenly, a strange light shines in their eyes. The outcasts yowl
as they spin around to see Ataru glaring at them, his sensor-eye telling
him what he needed to know. "**So that explains it,**" he muses.

* * *

"She is very ill," Oyukineko gasps, staring at Manari. "It's a
miracle you've kept her alive for this amount of time."

The other Nekotengu fidget. Still angry over the runt's thievery,
their emotions are mollified by the revelations of his sister's illness.
They sit around Manari, waiting for the shaman to finish. Given her
tomboyish demeanour and other apparent details, Ataru originated the
golden-furred woman's name: Ryuuneko. "Can you help her?" Ataru
wonders.

Oyukineko extracts some dried herbs from her pouch, then inserts
it into Ryuuneko's mouth, giving her water to drink. "Relax," the
shaman strokes the sickly woman's forehead as she marshals her strength.

Touching Ryuuneko's shoulders, Oyukineko floods her with her
power. The sick woman gasps as her dull golden tresses gain new life,
restored to a healthy metallic shade. After a moment, the glow fades as
Ryuuneko feels her strength return. Slowly, she shifts to a sitting
position, then smiles. "Thank you, Healer," she grasps Oyukineko's paw,
lifting it to her lips. Ataru blinks as Ryuuneko delivers a bite to
Oyukineko's hand. "I am now yours, Healer."

Oyukineko returns that. "And I yours."

"What did she do?" Ataru whispers.

"It must be some sort of enslavement ritual," Dakejinzou muses.

"No," Oyukineko smiles. "Because she was banished from her
litter, Ryuu has no family to call her own. Village males would have
nothing to do with her. By the sharing of our blood, we are now of one
litter. The nomad males would find her more acceptable."

"I'm worried that nomads may not find you acceptable," Seisuru
muses. "As far as they could be concerned, you're runts or diseased."

Lan'neko turns to Ataru. "Ataru, I'm not diseased, am I?!" she
leaps into his lap, rubbing her cheek against his.

"Aren't you supposed to be independent?!" he wonders, trying to
shove her off.

Sakuraneko stares at Manari. "Since Oyuki has accepted Ryuu as
part of her litter, then we've no choice but to accept you as well," she
muses. "That you were helping your sister is well enough, but do not
expect for a moment that your thievery won't be forgotten."

Manari gulps, feeling their anger. "Well, now that's settled,
what say we relax and wait for Dake-chan to heal before we get to work
on finding that herb?" Ataru sighs.

The others nod...

* * *

"You crashed?!!" Lum gasps. "Darling, you're not hurt, are
you?!!"

"I'm fine," Ataru sighs. Both relax in Noa's dream site,
approximating their bedroom. Noa is with Honey in hers. "So's Seisuru,
by the way. Now that's an interesting person!"

"Interesting?" Lum blinks, noting the twinkle in his eyes.
"Something tells me you find t'her more than 'interesting.'"

"We almost did it," he admits.

Lum faints! "You're kidding?!!"

"No," he shakes his head, then explains what happened. "I mean,
there t'he is. T'he just lost t'her lover. T'her mother's now sick.
With the 'Goddess' down, we've no way of communicating back to Hustaros.
That can get to a person, you know."

"Like what happened to Nassur and I when we were in the past," she
lays beside him. "You know, that would be something to see."

"Do you want me to?" he stares at her.

Lum blinks as she considers his question. By the moral standards
of Uru and Earth, in addition to her relationship with Ataru, she was
enjoying an affair with another woman. In a curious twist, Lum was two-
timing Ataru. That judgement was expected given the rigid moral codes
demanded of Urusians and Terrans.

However, Sagussans didn't tie sex to love. Recognizing that a
person's sex drive was not regulated by set mating seasons, the old
Sagussans chose to concentrate that which they addressed as "love" to
the sharing of a household and the rearing of children. Sex in its
recreational format was seen as a natural act, a need everyone had and
an unquestionable right to experience as long as they did not force
themselves on their partner.

"If it goes that far, I won't stop you," she sighs. "I'm not
there all the time, you know. And Seisuru needs companionship, a
shoulder to cry on, someone to tell t'her things are going to be fine.
If things do progress that far...well..." she shrugs.

He sighs, sensing her discomfort. As the first *surei'cha* couple
on Sagussa, they had the obligation to show by example that the classic
ways were the ways the *daishi'cha* had to pass to the next generation.
Difficult when they were still influenced by the ways of their parent
societies. Ataru realized how the House of Windsor felt at times.
"Maybe we should've been plunged into the matrix when they chose us to
come to Sagussa," he muses.

"Maybe," she laughs...

* * *

"She's not home?" Tabitha Lee wonders.

Shinpai Shogai shakes her head. "She was called off on a job, or
so Nassur explained," the Fukunokami matriarch sighs. "There's a plague
on the loose on Hustaros. Further, her friend Ataru Moroboshi was
kidnapped. She should be back in a couple of weeks, Tabitha."

The Terran muses, relaxing in her chair. Along with Koosei Ryooki
and a host of others, she had been kidnapped during the 1970s by the
Ipraedies prior to their planned invasion. Originally from San
Francisco, her features reflect her Chinese-American heritage. "Well, I
hope she's okay," Tabitha sighs. "Thanks anyway, Mrs. Shogai. I'll
call again."

"Nice to hear from you," Shinpai smiles.

"'Bye," Tabitha nods. "Professor Ninko isn't going to like this,"
she muses.

Her hands fly over the controls. Her small frigate banks away
from Fukunokami, warping towards Noukiios...

* * *

Morning dawns on Nekotengu Four as Ataru's eyes flutter open.
"Oooh, what a good morning," he yawns, stretching himself. He then
nudges his companion. "You okay?"

Seisuru's eyes flutter open, then t'he stifles a yawn. "What did
you expect?" t'he stretches, then embraces him. "Thank you."

"I do aim to please," he kisses t'her.

After they had found Manari and Ryuuneko, Ataru and Seisuru had
gone to check on the "Goddess of Luck." Returning to the commune hut,
they were warned by Dakejinzou that both would be sought by the
Nekotengu sooner or later as potential breeding stock. Not wanting to
be gang-raped by their hosts, Ataru and Seisuru shared the same bed.
Naturally, their close proximity overwhelmed their inhibitions, allowing
them to express their sexuality in ways Ataru soon realized were not so
different from the many times he had been passionate with Lum. A very
enjoyable night.

As the two proceed to dress, a tail sticks through the doorway.
"Is anyone here?" Ryuuneko's voice echoes from outside.

"C'mon in," Seisuru calls out.

Ryuuneko and Oyukineko step in. The shaman looks in on the dozing
Dakejinzou while her adopted sister turns to the no-tails. "Oyuki and
I're going out to collect herbs and berries. Want to come with us?"

"I am a little hungry," the Hustari muses, then turns to t'her
friend. "Ataru?"

He shakes his head. "No thanks," he hums. "I'm going to look at
the 'Goddess.'"

<<Thanks a lot!>> Seisuru psi-links as t'he follows the two women
out of the hut.

He sighs as he steps outside. His eyes drift to see Manari and
Shinobuneko collecting firewood. Ataru blinks as he notices the
attention the runt is trying to bestow on the village cook. His sixth
sense comes on line as he interprets the subtle body signals the
Nekotengu woman was transmitting. Shinobuneko could consider Manari as
a mate IF he could prove he was a strong enough person who could help
bear healthy offspring. Until he did that, she and her village mates
would look elsewhere. Ataru shakes his head. The same as mating
rituals on a dozen other worlds.

Time to change the rules...

* * *

Later, Sakuraneko heads out of the village to forage for
groundhogs, a staple of the Nekotengu diet. Manari follows, carrying
several spears for the village chief. Unseen by either of them, Ataru
follows, ensuring neither Nekotengu would detect his scent. In an hour,
they wander into another grove. The soil is marked with small holes.
Taking a spear, Sakuraneko begins to sniff the holes.

Manari remains close, unable to keep his eyes off the alluring
woman beside him. Unlike other males, who were aggressive when it came
to seeking mates, Manari would be what Terrans call "fumble-fingered."
Atop his physical features, Manari had never developed the conquering
streak other males used to subdue potential mates. The idea of forcing
a woman down, treating her like trash, made no sense to him.
"Anything?" he wonders.

Sakuraneko frowns, straightening. "No. This litter seems to be
away from the nest. C'mon...we'll find some more."

They proceed out. Manari falls in beside Sakuraneko, his hand
reaching for hers, in replication of what Ataru and Seisuru did to show
their closeness. The chief blinks, but finds no reason to pull her hand
away. Behind them, Ataru smiles. So far, so good.

They enter a grove. "Ah!" Sakuraneko's nose twitches. "We've
found them!"

The two poise themselves over the holes. As soon as the scents
become strong, they jab their spears into the holes. The groundhogs'
dying squeals echo from the pits as the two Nekotengu draw them out. In
minutes, a dozen of the critters are impaled on the spears. "That
should be enough for Shinobu," Sakuraneko muses. "Let's head back."

"Okay," Manari smiles, then stops.

"What is it?" the village chief tenses, then her nose twitches.
"Eh?!"

Before the two could react, a large, muscular form crashes to the
ground in front of them. Nearby, Ataru blinks, awestruck at the size
difference between Manari and what is a typical male Nekotengu. "Talk
about David and Goliath!" he mutters under his breath.

Understatement of the century. The intruder rises to full height,
towering several heads over the tall Sakuraneko. His grey fur tenses as
he hungrily stares at the village chief. "<<You are the one?!>>" he
throatily growls, lunging at her.

Sakuraneko tries to scramble clear, but is too slow. She is
rammed against a tree, his claws ripping away her bikini. "<<Such a
nice girl,>>" he lecherously licks his lips, pressing himself against
her.

The village chief lashes out with her claws, trying to drive him
away. Laughing, he slaps her across the cheeks to quell her energy.
"<<Stay put! Once you're tamed, I'll tame the others in your
village!!>>"

A log slams his head. "<<Let her go!>>" Manari snaps. "<<She's
not yours!>>"

Twitching, the intruder spins around, slamming Sakuraneko's would-
be white knight away with one arm. "<<Go away, runt!!>>"

"Manari!!!" Sakuraneko screams.

Rolling, Manari slams against a tree. Shaking his head clear, he
stares horrified as Sakuraneko continues her feeble attempts at freeing
herself. Looking around, the runt detects an even larger trunk.
Grabbing it, he leaps to his feet, slamming it into the intruder's
skull. He jolts, then turns once more. "<<You seem not to listen,
runt!>>" he snarls, his fists rising to pound Manari into pulp.
"<<These women are mine!!>>"

Ataru feels his adrenaline surge. One transformation would do it.
The brutish Nekotengu wouldn't stand a chance. Suddenly, a haunting
voice whispers in his mind.

***Leave them be.***

Ataru pauses. Sakuraneko drops to her knees, her hand reaching
for her most prized possession, hidden in her hunting bag...a Bowie-type
knife a Zephyrite woodsman left in her village when she was a kitten.
She had taken it when others showed no interest in the gleaming steel
blade. Drawing it, she pounces, driving it into his spine! He howls in
pain as nerve connections to his legs are cut, dropping to his face as
Sakuraneko yanks the blade out, twisting him around to get at his neck.
"<<We belong to no one!!>>"

The blade parts his jugular veins and carotid arteries. The
intruder shudders as blood drains. Sakuraneko steps away, watching as
his twitching ceases. As soon as life drains, she turns to Manari.
"You alright?"

He stares at the blade, then dropping the log, reaches for her
bikini. "Here."

Smiling, she lowers the blade, then dresses. Slipping her bag
over her shoulder, she sheathes the knife, then turns to Manari. "Let's
go back. We've got enough for today."

"What about him?" he points.

Her ears flatten. "Leave him. He's only good for the scavengers
now. Besides, other males might find him...and realize that while we'll
have mates, we WON'T have masters!"

He falls in beside her as they proceed to the village, holding
hands. Watching this, Ataru smiles as he makes his way back...

* * *

Sometime later, Manari's tail pokes into Sakuraneko's hut. "You
wanted to see me?"

"Come in," she summons.

Manari shuffles in. Sakuraneko relaxes in a throne-like pile of
furs and artifacts expectant of a village leader. She is modestly
draped in very rich furs reminiscent of a panda's pelt. The runt sits
before her. "Is there a problem?" he inquires.

Sakuraneko notices the nervousness in his demeanour. "You can
relax, Manari. I wanted to thank you for saving my life."

"I didn't save your life," he protests, shuddering with
humiliation. "I wasn't strong enough to protect you from that refuse!
I've never been strong enough to take them..."

"Enough!" the chief waves her hand. "Self-recrimination serves no
purpose, Manari. Yes, you weren't strong enough to face that male down.
But you still distracted him enough to give me the chance to kill him."

Manari blinks. "The reason we've been able to survive for this
amount of time is not because of our strength," she adds. "We survive
by using our minds as well as our bodies. You did the same thing with
Ryuu. You certainly belong with us, Manari...and I want you to know
that regardless of how the others feel, I want you to stay."

"Thanks," he perks up.

She gently shifts the blankets away, revealing herself to him.
"Would you care to stay with me tonight?" she hums.

"Um...do you really want that?" he muses, feeling his pulse
accelerate.

"Yes. But remember what I said before. We'll accept mates...but
not masters."

He finds himself laughing as Sakuraneko guides him to her. Unseen
by either of them, Ataru relaxes behind a tree, having overheard their
conversation. "They'll get it sooner or later," he muses, then rises,
heading to the communal hut to look in on Dakejinzou...

* * *

"You are sad," Ryuuneko muses.

Seisuru tenses, staring quizzically at the Nekotengu. The sounds
of Manari's and Sakuraneko's lovemaking flutter from their hut. The
Hustari blinks, feeling the sting of tears. "I-I'm not sad," t'he
stammers.

"Are you sure?" she wonders.

Seisuru sighs, realizing the Nekotengu's curiosity would not abate
until she was given answers that were satisfactory. "I...I was just
remembering my mate," t'he announces.

"Mate?" Ryuuneko blinks. "Where is she?"

"Fh'e," t'he amends. "Like me, Yakuri wasn't female. We call
fh'is type 'mem.'"

"'Was?'" she wonders, then her tail droops understandingly. "Oh."

"At least your brother has been accepted and can have children,"
t'he sniffs. "Yakuri and I were planning to start our own family."

"But sh...fh'e died before that could happen," Ryuuneko concludes.
"Seisuru...if you and I had kittens, would they be normal?"

Seisuru jolts, then blinks, surprised that Ryuuneko's unspoken
offer was tempting her. "Well, what you call 'normal' is worlds apart
from what I label as 'normal.'"

"Does it matter?" she wonders.

They stare at each other. Over the last two weeks, Seisuru had
slowly vented t'her grief at Yakuri's loss, finally coming to a point
where the pain of fh'is death was now a dull ache somewhere in t'her
heart. Seisuru would never forget nor fully recover from Yakuri. Each
love, a poet said, was as unique as each planet, each system, in a
galaxy. The loss of that, regardless of reasons, always left a mark.
And here was the one girl in the encampment who could not, for
understandable reasons, have kittens through the nearest available male.
Was this the first encounter with that new star, that new world?

"No," t'he sighs as they kiss...

* * *

Days pass. By the fifth day of their forced stay on Nekotengu
Four, Dakejinzou is recovered enough to head to the "Goddess" and survey
the damage. Fortunately, save for the cargo hatch Ataru had to break
into, hull integrity isn't compromised. Further, with judicious use of
impulse drive, the loss of the starboard thruster is rendered
negligible. After test runs, Dakejinzou declares the ship ready for the
return trip to Hustaros.

Manari and Ryuuneko become fully accepted parts of the village.
After Sakuraneko's time with the runt, the other women warm up to
Manari, finding themselves capable of answering the call of Nature
through him. Oyukineko and Ryuuneko, however, turn to Seisuru as the
father of their future kittens.

News from Earth filters in through the Dreamscape. Atop the
recent commissioning of the "Hasei'cha," fresh from modifications, Lum's
lessons in learning how to better manipulate her new abilities proceed
with breakneck speed. After trial mind-melds with her teachers, Lum
even performed a beautiful *mavan'shagh* which had Noa all over her!
Now, there was one step left: the Awakening, when Lum's perceptions of
the *te'a* would finally coalesce into giving her a personal
understanding of how the Universe worked.

Problem was, the Awakening varied from person to person. Lum's
time of isolation was now critical; having unshielded minds touch hers
would confuse her sense of What Is. The need for her to be alone was
now adversely affecting many of her friendships in Tomobiki, given what
was happening to Shinobu. Such is the topic of discussion in the
Dreamscape one day. "She's with her cousins?" Ataru wonders.

"Uh-huh," Lum nods. Both recline in the living room. "She went
to Nerima, staying with her cousins, working as a chiropractor's
assistant. But she got caught in an earthquake. Everyone went down to
help."

"So...what's the problem?" Ataru blinks, noting the depressed look
on the Oni's face.

"Well, because of what's happening to me, Catty ordered me to
remain in Oshika," Lum sighs. "Fine and fair. However, Catty arranged
with Koosei and Mie-chan to keep a lid on what's going on. Noa and the
others tried to stall when everyone wanted to know where we were.
They...weren't convincing."

"So what?! Gods, there are times when I think they haven't
changed at all! Don't they have their own lives to worry about?!"

"Well, they still expected us to help."

He groans. He agreed to the idea of keeping Lum's problem quiet
from everyone in Tomobiki, fearing regression from the progress of the
last several months. Once again, Fate slammed a curve ball into a
simple plan. "So, I take it things are decidedly cool between you and
everyone down there," he muses.

"'Cool' is not the term I'd use."

"It's good. The less they look to you, the more they'll turn to
new things. That's the whole idea of this exercise."

"I don't want them to think we're so callous, we wouldn't come
help," she protests.

"Look, when I come back to Earth, we'll tell them the truth," he
sits up. "If they listen and understand, fine. If they don't, to hell
with them. I think we've long earned the right to decide on our own
what we're going to do with ourselves...and we've certainly earned the
right to keep stuff to ourselves, especially from all of them."

"Still..." she winces.

"Lum-chan, when people grow up, they drift apart to find their own
destinies," Ataru kisses her forehead. "Shinobu's doing that right now
with her travelling around, trying to discover what she wants. The
others are doing the same thing. We'll still be friends, but we decide
what's important. For you and I, what's important is being together,
charting our own course. If people in Tomobiki still consider being
close to you a priority, then something's really wrong."

Lum sighs, relaxing in his embrace. "You're right. But, I still
feel unsure."

"That's normal," he nods. "You were closer to them than I was.
Nothing wrong with that. If you want to give some time to them, that's
your decision. But they've got to realize they can't DEMAND your time
anymore. Overtly or covertly, it doesn't matter. YOU are master of
your destiny, Lum, not them!"

"Maybe you should've been a priest," Lum smiles, kissing him...

* * *

"Hey, it's time to get up!!" Seisuru shouts in his ear.
"Ataru!!!"

He blinks, quizzically staring at t'her. "What's wrong, Seisuru?!
Something happen?!"

His ears then detect the rumble of starship engines. Bolting out
of bed, he runs outside to see the "Goddess of Luck" floating over the
village. Dakejinzou stands beneath her frigate. "C'mon, Ataru-chan!!"
the hunter waves. "We're set to move! Let's go!!"

"Right!" he jogs into the hut, picking up a bag of personal items
he brought ashore. Running out of the hut, he stops, noticing Seisuru
beside Ryuuneko. He approaches t'her. "You're staying, aren't you?"

"Yeah," t'he grips his hands. "There's nothing for me back
home...and I found something here," t'he smiles at Ryuuneko.

The Nekotengu's tail wraps around t'her waist. "There's so much I
want to say," Ataru grips t'her shoulders. "Thank you for helping me
discover a little more about myself."

"Take care," t'he embraces him.

Ataru nods, then waving at the others, runs to Dakejinzou...

* * *

Sometime later, her cargo bays full, the "Goddess of Luck" races
away from Nekotengu Four for Hustaros. "I've signalled Suki,"
Dakejinzou relaxes on the jury-rigged bridge. "The plague's killing
people left, right and centre. We might make it in time."

"And if we don't?" Ataru gulps.

"Then people on Hustaros' colonies might have to consider moving
back home."

He tenses as her words sink in. "Right."

What were problems like Shinobu's in comparison to the demise of
an entire race? Even Lum's transformation seemed irrelevant when
confronting the death of six billion sentients. Trembling, he walks
into the lounge, sinking into a chair.

The frustrations and uncertainties suddenly burst forth. Tears
flowing down his cheeks, he cries as images fill his mind. So many
nameless people...but people with faces, with dreams and hopes,
destinies which once seemed certain...were dying. The only cure lay in
the "Goddess'" cargo bays. That had kept him from flying in a brute
rage when the impact of what Suki did to Lum hit him.

More frustrations as well. The Gatherer, off to who knows where.
The one power in the galaxy which could have solved the Hustari's
problem in an instant. The superdreadnought's speed was incalculable,
his storage capacity virtually limitless. That very fact was what drew
Suki to find Ataru, nearly killing Lum along the way. Yet Henry was
nowhere to be found, forcing the Hustari to accept the stopgap solution
of dispatching Dakejinzou. And that nearly killed her, not to mention
threatening to maroon them on a backward world with little chance of
rescue.

And then, there was Lum. Now having her life torn apart in ways
which surpassed even his awakening before the Spirit War. Even with
friends defending her, she felt alone. Who knows what Lum would be like
if she hadn't thought of giving Ataru access to the Dreamscape. Atop
that, her forced isolation was offending everyone in Tomobiki, for whom
Lum still cared. Ataru wanted to be there, help defend her, shield her
from the myriad problems her new life was forcing on her.

Sleep overcomes him. Dakejinzou finds him dozing on the couch
later. She draws a blanket over him, then returns to the bridge.

* * *

While Ataru fretfully sleeps, Ninko of Vos Colony 90 works
diligently on his master genetic computer. In his mid-fifties, the
frail *azhis'f* scientist seems hypnotized by the information reflecting
off his glasses. Cyberjacks are affixed to his temples and the back of
his hands, pouring additional information from side computers. He
absently runs a hand through his white hair as his reality shrinks to
the readouts before him.

Unwanted reality intrudes in the form of a large Zeiwanite man
dressed impeccably in a tuxedo, a tray bearing a bottle of 195-proof
Hysos cognac in his hands. "Ah, Professor, there you are," he softly
announces.

Ninko jerks, confusing readouts emanating from his computer. The
pause is temporary. "Josha, you dolt, how many times must I tell you
not to interrupt me when I'm working?!!"

"But, Professor, you must have something to eat," he notes. "You
have been at it for the last 42 hours without rest..."

"DAMNATION!!!!!!" Ninko screams.

Josha takes a step back. In front of the haggard professor is a
blank screen. "Another failed simulation, sir?" the valet ventures.

"Yes," Ninko moans, sinking into his chair. "Another bloody
failed simulation!!!"

He rises, yanking out the modems from his computers. They cascade
in an unseemly mess around his face as he sinks into another chair.
"Why is this happening to me?!" he wonders. "I make the most
revolutionary leap in genetic studies over thirty years ago and to this
day, I have *not* been able to repeat the glory of that early
experiment!!"

"Well sir, you know the Defence Force and the Rebel Alliance Army
will not support your requests for trisilicon hydroxide..."

"I don't care about politics anymore, you hear me?!!" Ninko bolts
to his feet, glasses glowing. "I don't care!!! The whole Vosian Civil
War can go to HELL for all I care...even if they don't believe in
Hell!!!" Moaning, he returns to his computer. "Ninko, old boy, you're
losing it," he rubs his hair.

"This should calm you down, sir," Josha pours a glass. "A bottle
of 195-proof Hysos cognac, bottled in AV 1210. Very good year."

He hands the snifter to Ninko, who drowns it in one shot. "What
would I do without you, Josha?" the professor wonders.

"Respectfully, sir, you could have easily misplaced your head."

The scientist utters a startled bark. A communications beeper
sounds. "Damnation, who could that be?!!" Ninko wonders.

"I'll get it, sir," Josha walks over.

A screen comes on line, revealing Tabitha Lee. "Professor," the
Terran smiles.

"What do you want, Tabitha?" Ninko sighs.

"Another failed experiment?"

"Yes!!" Ninko nods. "Get on with it!"

"Well, I've got good news, then," she beams. "Dakejinzou Shogai's
on her way back from Nekotengu Four."

"Oh, please, in the name of Pizalna-sama, don't bother me with
such useless social babble, Tabitha, my dear...wha...?!" It hits him.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?!?!"

Tabitha backs away from the screen. "Chill out, man!! I said
Dake-chan's making her way back from Nekotengu Four! She'll be over
Hustaros in a little over a week!!"

The surprise on the professor's face then melts to sheer delight,
his glasses flashing. "She...is...?" he gasps. "Wonderful!! Simply
wonderful!!! You and your partner will *invite* her to join us as soon
as her business on Hustaros is done! Understood?!"

"No problemo, Prof. See ya later!!"

The screen darkens. Ninko holds out his snifter. "Another one,
my good man! This day, success has come back to my door!!"

"Very good, sir," Josha nods.

Ninko's laughter echoes throughout the two kilometre long mobile
science station which has served as his home for a decade. Elsewhere
aboard the giant craft, in a secluded chamber, many sleeping forms stir.
One rises, staring out the door. Elfin ears and a bushy tail are barely
perceptible.

"Father...happy?"

* * *

A week later, as the "Goddess of Luck" races for Hustaros, the
Republic of Sagussa Starship "Hasei'cha" assumes orbit over Home Base.
In the hangar bay, near the "Renegade" and the incomplete
"Perseverance," Nassur and Benten await as Lum, Noa and Catty beam over.
"How are you doing, Lum?" the Vosian smiles as he embraces his former
student.

"Much better," Lum smiles. Touching Nassur didn't affect her
despite his own powerful mind. The *mei'lagh* lessons had worked. "I
was just getting so stir-crazy staying in Oshika, I had to get out. I
was able to persuade Catty to go along with it."

"Well, I suppose we could let her loose as long as proper
precautions are taken," the doctor notes. "When the Awakening comes..."

"I know, I know," Lum sighs, then turns to Benten. "Doctors may
be God on Sagussa, but they're also a bunch of nags!!"

Everyone laughs. "Lum-sensei!" Hazel runs out to embrace her
former teacher, then blinks. "When did you get the new uniform?"

Lum smiles, twirling around to show everyone. A standard cut
Sagussan duty jumpsuit, it was orange with tiger-stripes trimmed in
black. "Noa gave it to me," the Oni announces. "Like it?!"

"Well, for Sagussan uniforms..."

"Hazel!" Benten glares at the hybrid, then grasps Lum's hand.
"Hey, as long as I can visit you again, that's fair enough! Let's get
some chow!"

Everyone heads to the cafeteria. "Say, Noa, Eluza didn't find any
trouble with that couple I sent to Earth, did she?" Nassur asks.

"Not really," Noa shrugs. "They're on their way to Zephyrus right
now."

"And you're still spending all that gold you won in that bet over
what their child'd be like," Lum muses knowingly.

"That's right!" Noa spreads her hands in surrender. "Blame me for
my larcenous nature when it's MY money that's keeping you and Ataru
independent from Nagaiwakai!!"

Everyone laughs as food is dialled up, then they sit around a
table. "Couldn't help but notice the ship," Nassur muses. "As powerful
as five Ellsian patrol monitors and you people call it a warpsloop?!"

"Blame Clone Wars architecture," Noa hums. "Everything was done
in grandiose style. The Gatherer was constructed prior to the war.
Everything's scaled around that."

"Too bad," Benten notes. "We could fit the Gladiators, but not
the whole damn ship."

"Don't they want to come?" Hazel wonders.

"They're still testing things," Catty shrugs. "Besides, Shildy's
concentrating on making her attraction to Rabby mutual, Spea and Amy
have to test the weapons, Patty's grumbling about some of the
modifications Mie wants for her Gladiator, Makoto's biting at the bit to
get off the ship so she can get her own command, Lufy wants to blow up
things..."

"We get the idea," Benten groans. "It'd be nice if Lufy or Priss
would come by to help train the hybrids."

"They might get the chance," Lum notes. "The U.N. and various
national governments are starting to get antsy over the Sagussans now."

"Why?!" Benten blinks.

"The usual garbage," Lum waves it aside. "Japan's right-wingers
are smelling a chance at world domination. Industrialists want to tap
into non-Terran technology to make them richer. National governments
are complaining that aliens aren't respecting local laws."

"The concerns which led to the proposals for Resolution 444, you
mean," Nassur hums.

"Yeah!" Lum growls, shuddering. "They even rigged that
legislation to shaft Darling and Grandma, believe it or not!"

"No shit!!" Benten gasps.

"What's their problem?" Lum asks. "Noa-chan and her friends are
far better behaved than the Niphentaxians or the Ipraedies! Lyna's
Soul, the way things're going right now, Earth'll NEED the Sagussans!!"

"She's definitely becoming a Sagussan," Hazel smiles knowingly.

"I'll say," Benten muses, staring at Lum. "So, what sort of
powers do you have now?"

"Nothing much," Lum shrugs. "It's just a redefinition of what I
used to have. You remember when we were training."

"Uh-huh!" Benten muses, disbelief flashing in her eyes. "Then why
is it Catty here ordered everyone to stay away, to the point where those
dorks in Tomobiki now think you and Ataru don't give a damn anymore!"
she points at her friend. "Lan told me that one!"

"That's Lan's problem," Lum's eyes roll. "When did whatever she
felt bother you?"

"It never has," Benten shakes her head. "But I know that you
still care for some of those people down there."

"I know," the Oni sighs. "But if we told them 'oh, by the way,
Lum nearly got shot to pieces and Ataru was kidnapped,' what would've
happened? Everything Darling's done for the past five months would've
been wrecked!"

"If you had told them the story, they might've accepted that,"
Nassur warns.

"Nassur, leopards don't change their spots overnight," Lum notes.

"Ataru did."

"True, but he had help," the Oni amends.

"So did everyone in Tomobiki," the Vosian smiles. "Ataru helped
them, remember? I think a little of Ataru's mistrust of them is rubbing
off on you."

"Possibly," Lum sighs. "Then again, I don't think Darling'll be
in a good mood when he comes back. The thought of all those people on
Hustaros dying while they were stuck on Nekotengu Four is getting to
him."

"At least he has you and Dakejinzou," Benten notes, rising to
order a new salad.

"True," Lum sighs.

Conversation picks up as recent events are discussed. Lum relaxes
as she watches Benten return to the table, a salad bowl in hand. The
Oni blinks as the Fukunokami picks up a shaker, sprinkling soap
flakes...

Soap flakes?

Lum stares. Fukunokami and Vosians were genetically related
thanks to migration during Lecasur's age. But Fukunokami couldn't
intake soap flakes. Had she acquired a taste for it, living with
Vosians? Did she realize what she was putting on there? What was going
on?

The Oni's foot touches the Fukunokami's boot. A psi-probe plunges
into Benten's nervous system, darting instantaneously up the leg to the
brain. Odd. A subliminal message had told Benten's digestive centre
that soap flakes were needed. Why?

The psi probe plunges down the spinal column, tracking the flow of
digestive enzymes out of the small intestine. Blood flow seemed to be
delivering those specific enzymes to her lower abdomen...to her
reproductive organs...?

Reproductive organs?!

Lum jolts as her boot pulls away. The Oni is speechless as her
friend munches on her salad, listening to Catty and Noa. Totally
unaware of what was happening in her own body. The final step in the
fulfilment of Benten's dream had been taken! Would she be surprised.

Lum sighs as her inner senses bask in the *te'a's* light.
Creation had occurred. New life was dawning. The cycle was beginning.
As her personal guards lessen in power, more of the *te'a's* energy
flows into Lum's body, her *mei'na* strengthening with that cosmic
boost. Her inner senses then present a different picture of what lay
around her.

Instead of the physical forms which her visual sight perceived,
each of the entities around here were hominoid shapes of energy. Noa
and Catty were shielded, veiled. Strands of energy connected Lum to
Noa, Lum to Ataru billions of kilometres away, Lum to Nassur (although
that was minor compared to her Sagussan bondings), Benten to Nassur,
Hazel to both her guardians, even Catty to Lufy aboard the "Hasei'cha"
in the near distance.

Nassur, Benten and Hazel were unshielded. Their *mei'na* was
different. Not fully in sync with the *te'a.* Understandable. Each
perceived Existence in her own way. Sagussans were better tuned to the
*te'a's* infinite power; after all, they could see It as clearly as they
could see a tree, a sandpanther, even the windswept sands which covered
Sagussa.

Lum blinks as energy coalesces around Benten, gently flowing into
her like running water. Why was Benten in need of energy...? *Of
course!!* the Oni chastises herself. Benten was now in the task of
bringing new life into the mortal plain of existence.

The Oni jolts as Noa's thoughts drift into her. <<You sense it
too, don't you?>>

<<Noa-chan...!>> Lum blinks, trying to prevent herself from
crying. <<Benten's...>>

<<We know,>> her bond-mate assures her...

* * *

Sometime later, Lum and Noa relax in the "Hasei'cha's" meditation
room, overlooking the warpsloop's engine assembly. Here, in the privacy
of pastoral scenes from a Sagussa long dead and dust, the ship's crew
and visitors can come to rest, meditate on whatever topic which may be
plaguing them. Staring at the beautiful glass mural of Lyna's Ascension
over their heads, Lum relaxes in her bond-mate's lap. "Noa...what did I
see?"

"You tell me," Noa smiles.

"The *te'a's* energy flowed into Benten."

"You know why," the *ashi'cha* muses.

"She's pregnant," Lum sighs, then turns to Noa. "Is that the way
with everyone?"

Noa nods. "When a person is born in this plane, the *te'a*
bestows on her the necessary energy to be one with the mortal plane.
When it comes time to die, her energy returns to the *te'a.*
Equilibrium is maintained."

"But, more people are being born every day!" Lum sits up, staring
at her bond-mate. "Noa, the *te'a's* gonna be sucked dry...!!"

"Is it?"

Lum stops. "I...no."

Noa nods. "Why?"

"I...I don't know."

"Try harder."

Lum sighs. "Wait," she holds up a hand. "The energy which passes
from the *te'a,* that goes back when we die."

"Yes."

"But...there has to be a limit!" Lum exclaims. "Even that energy
must have a place where it says 'enough!!'"

"Does it?"

Lum shakes her head. "I don't know," she stares pleadingly at
Noa.

In answer, Noa shakes her head. "You don't know, either," the Oni
gasps.

"That's right," Noa nods. "NONE of us knows the truth. Why do
you think we call That which we sense '*te'a?!*'"

Lum blinks, translating the term. "'That Which Is...ABOVE mortal
understanding,'" she exclaims, eyes widening in understanding.

"That's right," Noa smiles. "Our people are a rationally-based
race, Lum-chan. Even the Fourth Republic was like that long before
Gisan'cha. We like things in countable lots. Yet, we have this sense
of Something which can't be counted, which can't be managed. And that
Something is with us from the day we draw first breath to the day of our
last."

"But...how do you stand not knowing?!!"

"You do it. Many of the old Republic tried to understand what the
*te'a* was. They failed. Even those who created things like the
*haijo-ju* didn't understand what That was! They couldn't; how could
you understand Infinity?! It's THERE, Lum! We can't do anything about
it, so you have two choices! You either accept the *te'a*...or run
away."

The Oni looks down. "I guess I can't undergo the Awakening
now..."

"Did I say that?" the Sagussan wonders.

Lum blinks. "You mean...?!"

Noa nods. "What you do with the *te'a* is your business, Lum.
Not mine, not Ataru's, not anyone else's. YOUR business, Lum. How you
perceive, how you accept or reject It, is your decision. And that is
something NO ONE can take away from you. If he does, however improbable
that may be...then you'll never be at peace with yourself or those you
love."

Lum smiles, tears trickling down her cheeks. It was very simple.
The *te'a* was there. What It did was none of Lum's concern. Lum was
mortal. Lum was born of the *te'a*. Lum would return to the *te'a*
when she died. Everyone was like that. That was Life. Everyone around
her was mortal. Everyone would return to the *te'a*. How she returned,
when she returned, where she returned...all that was inconsequential.
That was Fate. What mattered, the Sagussans knew, was how one lived
when within the parameters of the mortal plain. Eternity was always
looking over your shoulder. Accept that fact and go on.

Perhaps that concept, in millennia past, was what led to
Gisan'cha, the Clone Rights War. People could not accept the *te'a.*
Perhaps they feared it, dreading the presence of Eternity. They wanted
to flee it, prolong their stay in this realm, stay away from the Fate
which awaited all. And they paid for that fear. Five centuries. Ten
billion lives. A scorched world.

"I have to be there."

"Where?" Noa wonders.

"Darling!" the Oni pales. "He won't understand!! Oh, he's going
back to Hustaros with all those people dying...!"

"He can't see, yet," Noa assures her. "Besides, if you're that
close, you'll see it. Do you really think you're ready for that?!"

Lum stops, blinking. The Awakening didn't bestow her a shield
against the entropic nature of the *te'a.* Going to Hustaros could
swamp her unless she blinded herself to the *te'a's* presence. Would
that do her any good? For Ataru, especially since he would be soon
undergoing the same trial? "No," she shakes her head. "Can't blind
myself when I just learned how to really see, can't I?!"

Noa beams as they embrace...

* * *

"Are we in time...?" Ataru gulps.

Twelve days after departing Nekotengu Four, the "Goddess of Luck"
slides into orbit over Hustaros. Space seems unnaturally quiet as he
and Dakejinzou stand on the frigate's bridge. "I don't know," the
hunter sighs.

"*Dakejinzou-san,*" the computer warns. "*Planetary life-scan is
complete.*"

"Report."

"*Number of surviving Hustari: 22,671.*"

Horror crosses their faces. "That's not enough for a small
city!!!" Ataru exclaims.

"Population prior to departure for Nekotengu Four?" Dakejinzou
shudders.

"*Number of Hustari at time of departure: 6,641,628,306,*" the
computer announces.

Silence falls over the frigate's bridge. Ataru's body shakes,
disbelief and horror etched on his face. Dakejinzou remains still, her
teary eyes betraying her. "Dead," he gasps. "The whole
race...dead...!"

Sobs shake him as Dakejinzou rises, embracing him. "Dead..." he
moans, shaking his head. "They all died...!"

"No, no, Ataru-chan...it's okay," she soothes. "There still are
survivors! And that number doesn't count the colonies the Hustari have,
not to mention those abroad."

"How...how can you be so upbeat about this...?!" he hoarsely
demands.

"Simple," she lightly smiles. "I'm a race of *one,* remember?"

He blinks, then numbly nods...

* * *

Six billion dead.

Ataru and Dakejinzou stand on the landing pad overlooking the
capital. A pall hangs over the scene, smoke from hundreds, thousands of
funeral pyres. To prevent contamination, the survivors were forced to
resort to a simplistic form of cremation to destroy the virus which had
slaughtered so many.

Six billion dead.

Not as many as the Clone Rights War. But the time scale was
hideously different. Sagussa's apocalypse was spread over five
centuries. Hustaros' took a little over three weeks. Ataru winces as
the statistics flash through his mind again and again. Twenty-two
thousand survivors. Out of over six billion when he and Dakejinzou left
weeks before.

Six billion dead.

Ataru feels tears flow down his face as the sheer horror of it all
relentlessly slams into him. He jolts on feeling Dakejinzou's arm. She
nods to the cargo bays. Numbly nodding, he proceeds to help her unload.

In a short while, the cargo bays are emptied. Their cargo had
been bushels of a wheat-like grain native to the northern mountains of
Nekotengu Four. Given the rarefied air and a fresh supply of melting
snow, it created a beautiful bloom. The herb needed to counter the
kokushibyou was ground from the flower. "Do you think the survivors
will come to use these things?" he muses.

"They will," she grimly sighs. "I'll leave them a note telling
them what happened. Suki would want to know what happened to Seisuru.
They should understand."

"I hope so," he sighs.

"What is it, Ataru-chan?"

"Why...?!" he shakes his head. "Why me?! Why did they think I
could help them?!"

She pauses to consider her answer. "When you're drowning...does
it matter whose hand you grasp? Besides, few people understand the
truth of the Gatherer, of Sagussa. You're still trying to understand.
All Suki's people know was that five centuries ago, a great ship saved
their race from extinction. When people become desperate, they grasp at
whatever straws within their reach."

Both tense as a small party steps onto the landing pad. A haggard
Suki leads them. "You're back!" zh'e smiles. "What took you so long?!
Where's Seisuru?!"

Dakejinzou smiles, explaining what happened as the Hustari's
companions scan the flowers. Finally, one stares at zh'er. "Serray
Suki, these are the flowers we need!" he smiles, then frowns, "But..."

"But what?!" zh'e blinks.

"If these readings are right," he shakes his head, "...they match
a flower growing in the mountains of the north continent!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" Suki exclaims.

Ataru feels hysterical laughter bubbling up from his lungs.
"Don't you get it?!" he exclaims, shaking his head. "The damn herb you
wanted was here all along!! You didn't have to come to Earth to get
me!!"

The Hustari blink, not believing that the solution of their
problem was within their grasp all along. Ataru sinks to the ground,
his body quaking with enraged laughter. "I can't believe you people!!!"
he snickers. "You went to all that trouble, tried to find the
Gatherer...and all along, the cure was right under your noses!!! C'mon,
Dake-chan," he waves to the synthezoid. "Let's get the hell out of here
before I get mad!!"

They board the "Goddess," ignoring the shocked stares from Suki's
party...

* * *

Later, the frigate clears Hustaros, bound for Earth. On the
bridge, Ataru sits beside Dakejinzou, his head buried in his hands. "I
can't believe I did that," he shakes his head.

"You have to admit, the situation was pretty ridiculous," she
muses, rubbing his shoulders. "All the trouble they went through...all
the trouble they put us through...and the answer was right at their
fingertips."

"How stupid...!" he sighs. "Arrogant! They believed a legend
would save them! They believed that legend was the only thing that
COULD save them!! And because of that...!"

His voice fades as tears flow, the horror of what happened
revisiting him. Dakejinzou kneels beside him, offering the warmth of
her embrace. Unseen by either, a mysterious craft falls in behind the
"Goddess of Luck"...

* * *

"Darling should be leaving Hustaros," Lum relaxes in her bedroom.
"Maybe I should try to talk to him over the Dreamscape..."

Her space videophone rings. Surprised, the Oni sits up, activates
the scrambler, then picks up the phone. "Darling?!"

"Hi," his haggard image appears.

"You don't look so good."

"Try twenty-two thousand survivors out of six billion, Lum-chan."

The Oni jolts. "That's all that's left?" she gasps, covering her
mouth in horror.

"That's all that's left," he nods. "Want to know the worst
part?!"

"What?!"

He tells her. "You mean to tell me that they had the damn herb
all along?!!" she exclaims, bolting to her feet.

"Yeah," he nods. "I've heard of arrogant supposition, but THIS is
ridiculous!!"

Lum sinks to the bed. "I can't believe them! They kidnap you,
nearly kill me, put you and Dakejinzou through hell...and the cure was
right there?!! How dare they?!!"

"Lum-chan, let's not talk about that," he sighs. "All I care
about is getting home and sleeping for a week...preferably with you in
my arms," a twinkle flashes in his eyes.

"I love you, too, Darling," she meows. "Save that gorgeous body
for when you get back! I'm going all out on you this time!!"

"You calm down!" he waves her down. "But make sure that you have
that teddy I got for you when I get there...and **nothing else!!**"

"You bet!" she sighs. "I love you."

"I love you, sweetie...wait for me."

"Always," she kisses him.

The connection is cut. Lum sighs, placing the phone down. A
chill feeling them rushes through her body. "Why do I have this
horrible feeling something's about to happen?"

* * *

"Where am I...?"

Dakejinzou's hands are in manacles over her head. Looking down,
she sees her unclothed body hanging several metres above a deck.
Shaking her head, she looks around. Last thing she remembered was a
general power outage in the "Goddess of Luck's" impulse drive. She was
about to check on it when she felt someone tap the back of her
head...then she woke up here, wherever here was.

She is surrounded by an array of sensors. From one unit, a metal
arm extends a needle towards her. The needle jabs into her side,
extracting some of her blood. Once done, the needle is withdrawn to a
nearby work bubble. Staring at it, Dakejinzou then notices Ninko
diligently working at his master computer. "Hey!!!" she snaps. "Who
are you?!!"

The scientist jerks, his glasses flashing with confusion and
irritation. "Do you mind, Shogai-san?!! I've work to do!!!"

"Idiot, what are you doing with me?!! Where's Ataru-chan?!!
What's the meaning of this?!! This is kidnapping, you know!!!"

He sighs. "I never knew you were so uppity about these things!"
he mutters.

"Synthezoid I may be, buster, but **I** control my life!!!" she
growls, the threat in her voice all too apparent. "You got that?!!"

"Oh, very well then," he sighs. "If you must know, I'm trying to
give you children!"

Her anger instantly melts, shock replacing it. "You're...what?!"

"Do you think I was going to dissect you to discover what makes
you tick, Shogai-san?!" he smiles. "Don't be ridiculous! Why would I
ruin such a work of art as yourself?!"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"Permit me to explain," he presses a control, lowering Dakejinzou
to the deck. Ninko's work bubble descends as the hunter's manacles are
released. He steps out of his work bubble, ignoring the cyberlinks
which fly out of the computer, cascading in a mess around his face and
hands. "You might say that I'm the first person to discover the
unbelievable truth of your being, Shogai-san."

"And?" she rubs her arms.

"Tell me," he crosses his arms. "Do you remember chasing a group
of bandits on Fukunokami about thirty years ago?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember being shot up?!"

"Yes," she nods. "What of it?!"

"Well, with all that blood you lost, you should've died," he
chuckles. "However, you survived. Even in the Confederation in the
early stages of the Civil War, your reputation had spread, Shogai-san,
including tales of your invincibility. That intrigued a group of
scientists such as myself, then working for the Rebel Alliance. One of
my people took samples of your blood and brought it to me."

"What?!!" she exclaims. "If you knew what I was then, why didn't
you tell me?!!"

"Please. I was involved in serious war work at that time, Shogai-
san! Anyhow, it took me twenty years, but I managed to at last clone
ten bodies I created from your blood!"

Dakejinzou pales. "You mean...you made...others like me?!"

"Yes," he sadly nods. "But the Mikado got wind of it. Even then,
before you formed your partnership with Nassur, he was afraid of you.
The greatest student Varanko has taught to date. Slayer of two dozen of
Osur's and Furusur's best hunters. Suddenly confronting the possibility
of facing an army of Dakejinzou Shogais, he had my base on Colony 90
destroyed." A forlorn sigh escapes his lips. "All the prototypes were
lost."

Dakejinzou blinks as that information sinks in. "Colony Ninety,"
she blinks. "You're Ninko, aren't you?"

"At your service," he inclines his head.

She takes a moment to absorb that. "So why am I here now?! Still
trying to create warriors for the rebel forces?!"

"Oh, no," he shakes his head. "You see, it took me twenty years
to try to comprehend the complex DNA and RNA patterns in your system.
You not only have DNA and RNA which give you your particular features
and abilities, but you also have what you call a 'ghost' DNA/RNA strand
which acts as a base point for your very existence."

"What?!!" she blinks. "You mean to say I was...different?!
Before I became this?!"

"Exactly," he nods.

Ignoring her nudity, the hunter walks over to the work pod,
sitting. "Well, that's interesting. But you still haven't told me why
I've been brought here now."

"Easy enough," he relaxes beside her. "You see, I've never been
much interested in the politics of the Civil War. When I first learned
of you, I asked 'Who in Pizalna-sama's name could've made someone like
that?!' So since there were no others like you, I felt you were a lost
treasure of the race which constructed you. To that end, I decided...to
duplicate what had been done. My work for the rebel forces was just the
chance to do that."

"But...they were destroyed."

"Yes, lost," he shudders. "All of them!! However, I was able to
save my notes on your DNA and RNA structures, both the 'ghost' strands
and your regular chromosome makeup; your templated strands, if you
will." He stares at her. "From that point, I tried to birth other
synthezoids from scratch. They...haven't turned out as I hoped."

"How many did you create?" she wonders.

"Twenty-two," he sighs.

Dakejinzou blinks, then looks away. "I'm not alone, now. May I
see them?!"

"If you want," he sighs. "But don't be surprised at their mental
state."

After allowing her the chance to dress, Ninko leads Dakejinzou
along a moving hallway to a chamber. "Where are we?" she wonders.

"Not too far from Hustaros," he hums. "We intercepted you just as
you and your friend were about to enter warp for Earth."

"Ataru-chan's okay?!" she blinks.

"My daughter Virna is looking after him."

"How did you know I was on Hustaros?"

"A friend of yours has kept track of you over the years for me.
Tabitha Lee."

Dakejinzou jolts. "Tabitha?!! I thought she managed to return to
Earth!!"

"Well, she wanted to," he chuckles. "But she met a *Dowe'on* and
they fell in love."

"Oh," she breathes, then jolts. "Wait a minute!!! Did Tabitha
break into my computer files before Ataru-chan was kidnapped?!!"

"Yes."

"Why?!!"

"Because the Hustari needed to know who the Chosen One of the
Eternal Voyager was to save them from the kokushibyou, Shogai-san," he
crosses his arms. "At the same time, friends of mine in the rebel
intelligence forces told me that the Mikado was taking a...**more** than
passing interest in you."

"That idiot wants me?! What for?!"

"He knows what you are, Shogai-san," he chuckles. "He hopes to
kidnap and reprogram you in an attempt to kill your friend Nassur."

She laughs. "That asshole!! I've killed every hunter he's sent
after me!! Does the Mikado actually think he could twist my mind
against those I care for?!!"

"It's impossible!!" he snorts. "I've had a group of high-ranking
Aimaiyite *ehn* priests and Toukonokouen *ibqu'b* grand magi look you
over for the past two days!! Even stunned unconscious, your mind's
integrity is as solid as pure neutronium!! The Mikado could *never*
hope to control you!!"

"That's good!" she grimly nods. "No one plays with my mind!!"

They arrive at the end of the hallway. On the arch over the
hatchway before them is emblazoned ABANDON ALL HOPE, ALL YE WHO ENTER
HERE. Ninko programs a security code. "Physically, they're as perfect
as you," he sighs as the door opens, "...but mentally, they leave much
to be desired."

Dakejinzou's night vision comes on line. In the darkened chamber,
the size of the average domestic home, reclining on simple diagnostic
beds, are sixteen boys and six girls. All Umanoshippo, with tapered
elf-like ears and bushy tails as long as their legs. The men are draped
in sleeveless T-shirts and shorts, the women in halter tops and skirts.
All are in late teenage years. Their eyes are open, staring blankly
into space. The noise of entry does not disturb them. Dakejinzou is
stunned to see the variations Ninko was able to produce just using
computer data. "Bensaiten's Grave...!!" she gasps.

"Wonderful, isn't it?! From the same base DNA strand, we get such
variety!!"

Dakejinzou steps into the midst of her countrywomen, drinking in
additional detail. Hair colour ranges from blonde to bright orange,
red, chestnut, brown, black...even blue, purple and green! Eyes have
the same range of colour, even a couple odd-eyed people! No visible
body fat. Some of the males are lanky, track-runner types. Others are
muscular, body-builder types. The females are a wide variety of shapes:
slim and petite; shapely; even one who is quite well endowed. As she
stares at each of them, Dakejinzou quickly notices their lack of
attention. "They're so...dead!"

"Sadly," he nods. "I was able to build perfect bodies...but for
their minds, I missed out on something! I don't understand what!!"

She stares at him. "So you decided to go back to first base," she
concludes. "Me."

"Exactly," he nods. "After all this, I still have trisilicon
hydroxide left. Enough for two. **This** time, it's my intention to
construct those new synthezoids based on your blood. They'll literally
be your children."

Dakejinzou stares at the woman before her. Purple haired and
eyes, the only well-endowed of the sextet of female synthezoids, she
blankly gazes at Dakejinzou. The hunter leans over, smoothing the hair
of her countrywoman, smiling. "These are all my kin," she announces,
then turns back to Ninko. "Alright, then. What do you want me to do?"

"You've already done it," he announces. "The blood, I mean.
Leave the rest to me."

She nods...

* * *

Sometime later, Dakejinzou walks up to a door, delivering a knock.
"Just a minute, please," a female voice hails from inside.

The door opens, revealing an *azhis'f* girl of sixteen. Her
turquoise eyes widen on recognizing her visitor. "Shogai-san!!" she
gasps. "*Hisri'hilm!* Come in, come in!!"

They walk into the room. "Where's Ataru-chan?" Dakejinzou looks
around.

"Right here," Ataru's voice echoes from the bathroom. The two see
him step out of the shower, a towel wrapped around him. Seeing his
friend, he embraces her. "Vi-chan's told me about what her father wants
to do, Dake-chan," Ataru smiles. "Any hope for success?"

"There's always hope, Ataru-chan," Dakejinzou sighs, then turns to
Virna. "Thanks for keeping an eye on him, Virna-san."

"It's okay, ma'am. Sempai's so nice!"

She departs. Ataru and Dakejinzou sigh, then relax on the bed.
"Did Ninko tell you how long this will take?" he wonders.

"About a week at the most," she muses.

"I'd better call Lum and tell here where I am, just in case," he
moans.

"Something wrong?" she wonders.

"Yeah," he nods. "It's Virna."

"What of her?"

"You think she's one of the synthezoids Ninko created on Colony
Ninety?!"

Dakejinzou faints! "What in Bensaiten's name made you say
that?!!"

"The fact that she's a very beautiful sixteen year old...who
believes she's a lesbian, by the way," Ataru sighs, "and I don't react
one bit to her presence."

Dakejinzou blinks. "Maybe you're more in control of yourself than
you believe, Ataru-chan. Besides, for the past four weeks, save for
Lumuneko and her friends plus Seisuru, you've been with no one else
other than me."

"Well, I'm not interested in going after other girls," he readily
nods, "but at the same time, I'm asking myself why I'm not reacting to
her. Then I heard what her dad was doing and...well..."

"Interesting. Even if she is or isn't, that doesn't matter.
Virna has her own life to worry about. Besides," she slaps his thigh,
"...I'm going to do some work on the 'Goddess.' Want to call Lum?!"

"Might as well," he yawns...

* * *

"Where is he?!!" Lum paces her bedroom. "Darling should've been
back by now!!!"

Noa and Honey recline on the bed. "Lum, sit down and relax," the
former sighs. "You're making me dizzy with your pacing. If Ataru's in
trouble, he'll call us..."

And speak of the devil, the phone rings. Lum leaps over, picking
it up. Ataru appears on the screen. "Hey, there you are, sexy!!"

"Darling, where are you?!!" Lum demands.

"We got delayed...yet again!" his eyes roll. "Seems there's this
scientist who's been interested in Dake-chan for the longest time! Put
simply, we're having loads of **maternal** problems here!!"

Lum faints! "***WHAT?!?!?! YOU MADE DAKEJINZOU
PREGNANT?!?!?!***"

Ataru faints! "Dummy, don't you know by now that I'm not
attracted to her?!!" he demands, then coughs. "Anyhow, this guy...his
name's Ninko...he's been trying to create new synthezoids like Dake-
chan. You know...give her a family and all that! And now, she's
volunteered to help him!"

Lum sighs. "Oh, Lyna, it's one thing after the next on this trip,
isn't it?!"

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, do you want to come over here?! We're still
near Hustaros."

"We'll be right over!!!" she nods.

"Oh, by the way," he interrupts. "Bring those hunters who tried
to kill Pamanba and those two new ones! We'll need 'em!!"

Lum blinks...

* * *

A day later, the "Hasei'cha" and the "Kiboo'cha" pull alongside
Ninko's laboratory. In the main docking bay of the wedge-shaped craft,
beside the "Goddess of Luck," Tabitha waits. Beside her is a sultry
black-haired, green-eyed Ipraedies woman bearing the *Dowe'on* raven
tattoos. Both are dressed in form fitting leather pants, tank-top
shirts and studded leather jackets. As a transporter brings into
existence Lum, Noa, Lufy and Catty, the Terran walks up. "Hello, Lum,"
she has her hand out. "It's nice to meet you. I'm the professor's
assistant, Tabitha Lee."

Lum blinks. "You're from Earth!!"

"That's right," she nods. "We have a mutual friend: Koosei
Ryooki."

"What a surprise this is!" she blushes. "I assume you were taken
by the Ipraedies."

"Yeah," she nods. "But unlike him, I got away early with the help
of my partner here," she indicates the Ipraedies.

She bows. "My name's Kumiaika, Lum-san," she shakes the Oni's
hands. "The *ehn's* blessings on you. I assume your friends are
several of the Maidens of the Soultaker."

Lum introduces her bond-mate and friends. "Since you're here, can
you bring in those Vosians Ataru promised?" Tabitha wonders.

"Sure," Lum taps her wrist communicator. "Lum to 'Hasei'cha.'
Beam them over."

"They're on their way," Spea reports.

A transport beam brings in Fanba, Shanba, Hinanba and the other
hunters from Bujosur's strike team. Guarding them are Priss and Makoto,
weapons out and ready. Looking around, the women turn to Lum. "So why
are we here?" Kanba demands, walking up to the Oni.

"You're here to help Darling," Lum sighs. "As for what, you have
to ask him."

"This way, please," Tabitha gestures.

The group proceeds off the hangar deck onto a walkway. Moments
later, they arrive at the chamber holding Ninko's other creations.
"He's in there," Kumiaika points.

Lum opens the door. Ataru's voice echoes from inside. "No,
no...not that way!"

She flies in, stopping to see the purple-haired girl who had
attracted Dakejinzou's attention embracing one of the males, a raven-
haired muscular lad with brown eyes. The other synthezoids sit around
Ataru as he guides the two. Everyone blinks as Lum flies up to him.
"Darling, what are you doing?!!"

Jolting in surprise, Ataru spins around to fiercely embrace the
Oni. "Lum, baby, c'mere!!!" he growls, overwhelming her with a kiss.
"Sweetie, I missed you!!!"

The hapless (?) Lum is understandably overcome by his greeting.
"N-nice to s-see you t-too, Darling..." she deliriously gasps.

"Get the guest bedroom ready," Lufy hums.

Catty snickers. Seeing this, the raven-haired Umanoshippo turns
to his would-be mate. "Sweetie, I missed you!!!" he declares, then
devours her lips with a throaty kiss.

Everyone blinks as the two remain frozen. "Er...what's going on
here?!" Lum turns to Ataru. "What are these people?!"

"They're the synthezoids the professor made over the years from
readings he obtained from Dake-chan's DNA and RNA," Ataru smiles. "But
while they may be perfect in body, upstairs," he taps his forehead,
"they're as smart as Ten juiced on pickled plums."

"I remember!!" Hinanba snaps her fingers. "Ninko was a rebel
scientist trying to construct an army of super soldiers for the Rebel
Alliance Army! The Mikado had his operation shut down ten years ago!!"

"That's right," Ataru nods. "But while he may have destroyed the
prototypes, all the professor's notes and technical data was saved.
He's been using it ever since to try to recreate what he lost...and
they're all here," he waves around him. "Right now, he's got enough
trisilicon to make two more synthezoids...but this time, they'll be
directly based on Dake-chan's DNA and RNA."

"She'll finally be a mother," Lufy muses.

"The Mikado will try to stop him," Fanba warns. "You don't
understand. The Mikado may be afraid of people like Nassur, but he's
petrified of someone like Dakejinzou Shogai."

"That's right," Shanba nods. "Ever since the first time Shogai-
san killed one of Osur's hunters 40 years ago...someone with Nassur's
level of skill and training, one of his old classmates, I think...the
Mikado's pulled all the stops to either kill her or capture her for
study! If he finds out all of them exist," she indicates the other
synthezoids, "...this'll be the pretext for war!!"

"Good," Lufy smiles at Priss. "We can use the target practice!"

The Pathfinder laughs. "Besides, who's business is it of the
Mikado's to interfere in the affairs of another species?" Ataru wonders.
"Doesn't he have a version of the Non-Interference Directive he has to
obey?"

"Has he EVER?!?!" Hinanba hums. "If he did, none of us would've
come to Earth!!"

"My point exactly," Ataru smiles. "I'm going to tell Ninko to
head to Fukunokami. After all, Dake-chan hasn't seen her parents in a
while...and I'm sure they'll want to be the first to know about their
grandchildren. And if the Mikado butts in...well, it's HIS fault that
he provoked a war against a world of the Galactic Federation."

"And while he's busy defending his reputation," Lum adds,
"Dakejinzou-chan and all her friends will be safe."

"Right," Ataru drawls the word out.

"So why are we here?!" Fanba wonders.

"Well," he places a hand on her shoulder. "First, you can help
them," he indicates the synthezoids, "come to a better understanding of
what they are. Second, you," he taps her nose, smiling, "can call His
Buffoonishness and tell him about Ninko's plans."

Fanba blinks. "Will he believe me?"

"If you make yourself convincing enough," Lufy leans up to her,
all humour draining from her face. "And you BETTER be convincing!!"

Fanba shudders, quickly conceiving the "or else." "N-n-no
problem," she stammers.

"What about the rest of us?" Kanba muses.

"As for the rest of you," he smiles, waving to the other
synthezoids. "As they say in stepdancing, pick your partner."

"Darling, wait," Lum cuts in. "They can't do a thing while
they're like this."

"What can you do?" Kanba wonders.

Lum turns to Noa. "I think we can do something," she smiles.

"Definitely," the *ashi'cha* muses.

"What?!" Hinanba demands.

The Sagussans form a circle around Lum. "Oh, I get it now," Ataru
muses, then stares at the Vosians. "Bring everyone close in."

Confused, they shift the synthezoids into a tight circle around
the Sagussans. Ataru gestures the Vosians, Tabitha and Kumiaika away
from the circle. "Ready?" Lum wonders.

"Ready," Noa nods.

Fingertips touch. Eyes close as they forge a general mind-meld,
then reach out into the *te'a.* Ataru's left eye glows as he watches
his girlfriend and her companions draw in energy from the cosmic force
which inhabits all living things. With That Power behind them, their
minds reach out, touching the unmoulded minds around them. The
synthezoids jerk as that cosmic force inundates them.

Hinanba's eyes glow. "Wow!!" she gasps.

Obviously Vosians were more in tune with the *te'a* than Lum
thought.

After what seems an eternity, the circle parts into its segments.
The synthezoids blink, staring confusedly at each other, then at those
whose minds touched theirs. "There," Lum smiles. "Now, they can be
taught."

With that, the hunters come forth to take charge of Ninko's
creations. Lum watches them, a light smile tugging at her lips. "The
*te'a* gives," she muses...then her smile fades. "And soon, it will
take away."

* * *

Several days pass. As the small convoy of mobile science station
and two warpsloops makes its way toward the Fukunokami Union, Ninko
continues work on his latest creations. Dakejinzou remains with him,
overseeing the design and construction of her children.

It is quickly decided that both would be female, to bear the names
Koiko and Aiko. When asked, Dakejinzou explained she always knew that
among her people, females came first. And given the potential pairing
of male synthezoids with female synthezoids and Vosian hunters, two
males were left unbonded.

In the meantime, the synthezoids display a stunning ability to
adapt and learn from their volunteer teachers. Given the males'
combined carbon-silicon nature, recognition was impossible by any of the
hunters. Dakejinzou later notes that another feeling she believes was
native to her race was a distinct aversion to ANY form of permanent
bonding. "Your people're more omni than Seisuru!!" Ataru exclaimed on
hearing that.

Fanba, technically a "prisoner" of the Galactic Federation for
venturing to a world under the Federation's purview to commit acts of
terrorism, managed to "escape" her captors. Barely able to signal Vos
before she was "recaptured," she frantically informed the Mikado's
government of Ninko's experiments. With that tidbit now in the open,
all the Sagussans had to do was wait.

* * *

As the morning shift dawns, Ataru and Lum share a bed. However,
something strange has happened: a bandage has appeared on his arm.
Both gaze at it. "Are you sure you don't know who did that to you,
Darling?" she wonders.

"I'm positive. All the kids're in their room and I don't think
anyone's been around!"

Pulling off the bandage, he notices a red mark. "Someone's taken
a sample of my blood!"

"B-but...why?!" she stammers.

Before they could answer, the ecstatic shout of "EUREKA!!!!!!"
echoes! Bolting out of bed, the couple run to the door. Staring
outside, they see Ninko charge to his lab, draped in his housecoat. "I
DID IT, I DID IT, I DID IT, I DID IT!!!!!!" the scientist yips.

"*Tcha!* What's going on?!" Lum wonders.

"Let's go see!" Ataru urges.

Both race to the laboratory. Already present are Dakejinzou,
Tabitha, Kumiaika, Catty and Pony. Josha had departed sometime before
with Virna for Reiner's Five. Ninko works passionately at his board.
Before them are two man-sized cylindrical chambers, dark metal barely
containing violent energy inside. "What's going on?!" Lufy runs in.

"Quiet!!!" Ninko barks. "I must have quiet here!! This is
critical!!!"

He manipulates controls. Two small vials filled with Dakejinzou's
blood are inserted into receptacles over each chamber. Ninko slams a
sensory control. They are bombarded with brilliant energy, then the
blood drains into the chambers. The energy within the birthing chambers
glows bright white, making everyone turn away. "God said 'let there be
light!'" Tabitha gasps.

The glow fades. Pony and Catty scan the chambers. Everyone
blinks as their vision returns, then stare at the birthing chambers.
"What happened?!" Lum wonders.

"I...I don't know," Ninko blinks.

The doctors stare at their readings, then smiling, unlock the
chambers. "Simple," Catty sighs. "God said 'let there be light.'"

"And light, there was," Pony completes.

The chambers open. Dakejinzou leaps from the work bubble,
hesitantly approaching them, Silence falls over the scene as the new
mother approaches her children. "Something's moving..." Kumiaika gasps.

An arm rises. Dakejinzou halts, unsure if she should approach or
back away. Lufy marches up, shoving her to them. Dakejinzou reaches
over, gently grasping the hand. "Come on," she intones. "Don't be
afraid."

Rising from the chamber is a slim girl. Possessing shoulder
length brown hair framing a cherubic face which would outdo Lan, she
stares at her surroundings in confusion, brown eyes blinking. Her eyes
then fall on the one whose blood aided in her creation. Dakejinzou and
Catty help her to her feet. Lufy comes up with a housecoat. Everyone
else is awestruck. "Lyna's Soul," Lum gasps. "She's an angel..."

The younger synthezoid hesitantly steps out, then leans into her
mother, permitting Dakejinzou to embrace her. A smile crosses her face,
then she speaks. "Mother..."

There is not a dry eye in the house. "Dake-chan, she's divine!!"
Tabitha gasps.

"The *ehn* has truly blessed this day!" Kumiaika intones.

"I did it...I did it!" Ninko babbles.

"Darling, Dake-chan's a mother!!!" Lum leaps into Ataru's embrace.

"T-tell me s-something I d-don't know," he laughs as they kiss.

Silence falls as Dakejinzou faces her child. "Do you know who you
are?"

"Yes, Mother. I am Koiko Shogai."

Catty moves about the girl, administering the blessings of her own
faith. Meanwhile, Dakejinzou and Pony proceed to aid Aiko from her
birthing chamber. As people lay eyes on Koiko's sister, compliments
fly. "She's so beautiful!" Lum exclaims.

Aiko, like her sister, is brown haired and eyed. However, while
Koiko is the essence of "kawaii," Aiko is a statuesque beauty,
possessing a model's grace. Her hair is tapered, a roguish curl over
her forehead. As she becomes aware of her surroundings, she sinks into
Dakejinzou's embrace. "Mommy..."

Silence falls as Dakejinzou stares at her. "Do you know who you
are?"

"I'm Aiko Shogai," Aiko beams.

Catty approaches, Koiko beside her. They gaze upon the other.
"Aiko..." Koiko smiles.

"Koiko," Aiko smiles.

Their hands raise up, touching the other's face, then they sink
into an embrace. With that, everyone cheers...

* * *

After dressing them and subjecting them to a battery of
psychological tests, Ninko makes his report on Koiko and Aiko to
everyone else. "I'm more than pleased to report that Koiko and Aiko
have inherited their mother's vast intelligence...not to mention certain
other attributes which exist in the other synthezoids but seem to have
avoided their mother. Fortunately, they possess a pronounced sense of
self, something I was unable to produce in the others."

"But we eliminated that," Noa notes.

"True. I guess that's something my level of science may never
understand."

"Well, now that we have them, what do we do with them?!" Honey
wonders.

"What do you mean?" Ataru wonders.

"You remember everyone's warning," Honey objects. "Just because
we're about to give the Mikado a rough reception now doesn't mean that
someone might not try something later."

"Everyone takes chances," Lufy warns.

"True, but given Dakejinzou's choice of career, her chances may
not be pleasant," the physical education instructor warns.

"They can stay with my parents on Fukunokami," Dakejinzou shrugs.

"Dakejinzou, your parents are pushing three figures already," Lufy
turns to the hunter. "They aren't going to be long for this world, you
know. What happens then?"

"Home Base?" Lum proposes.

Dakejinzou shakes her head. "I don't want to impose myself on
Natsu-chan more than I have to. Besides, can his hybrids tolerate being
around people like Koiko and Aiko?"

"Much less those hunters?" Noa adds.

"I've an idea," Catty looks up.

"What is it, love?" Lufy stares at her.

"Well, it's obvious Dakejinzou needs a base of her own from which
to operate," the doctor smiles. "We owe her for keeping silent about
Ataru's connection to us over the years. So why don't we give her one?"

"We don't have any!" Lufy objects.

"Not a military-style base like Sen'sha Seven or the MOSS," Catty
shakes her head. "But what about the old observation units? We've got
a few of those hanging around."

"What's it like?" Dakejinzou wonders.

"Prior to Gisan'cha, they were used to observe primitive races
without resorting to the need of sending landing parties," Catty
explains. "They fell out of favour when people started to manipulate
other races' genes. Most of them are floating around Sen'sha Seven,
totally useless now."

"The 'Hasei'cha' could tow one out here," Priss turns to Lufy.

Everyone turns to Ataru. "How soon can you get one?" he stares at
Noa.

"Two days. But where would we put it?"

"Fukunotaiin," Dakejinzou sighs.

"Your moon?!" Honey hums. "It's a Class D hunk of rock no bigger
than Earth's moon!"

"That's right," Dakejinzou smiles. "Everyone would have to
approach via ship or by teleporter. Sagussan systems are advanced
enough to deflect teleport beams, which guarantees privacy and
security."

"The central computer could be made to answer just to you," Lufy
muses. "Atop that, weapons could be added to make it a fortress."

She considers the option, then Dakejinzou nods. "So," she stares
at Ataru, hand out. "Do you have a satellite you can spare me?"

Everyone laughs...

* * *

A day later, the convoy enters Fukunokami home space. A coded
message is sent to Bensaikyou, promising Dakejinzou's parents a surprise
as soon as Ninko's laboratory achieves orbit. For safety's sake, the
"Kiboo'cha," the less armed of the two Sagussan ships, is dispatched to
Sen'sha Seven to obtain an observation satellite. The "Hasei'cha" is
now at yellow alert.

In the observation gallery, Ataru and Lum watch the stars lazily
pass. "So Dake-chan becomes a mother," he sighs. "I bet she'll be a
good mother to those kids."

"She will be," she smiles, hugging his arm. "Fukunokami may be
strict parents, but they frown on child abuse just like everyone else.
Besides, once Hinanba and her friends accept working with Dakejinzou,
she'll be able to spare time for her children."

"A pity we can't discover some way to make them fully organic,
like the Umanoshippo *daishi'cha* on Sagussa."

"Maybe someday in the future," she sighs. "Or perhaps, Dake-chan
and her kids would want to remain synthezoids. Would she lose some of
her abilities if she became fully organic?"

"Her ability to absorb punishment," he muses. "Good point."

They gaze upon the other, then drift into a tender kiss. "What do
you want, Darling?" she smiles. "Boy or girl?"

He pales. "You're not...?!"

"Not yet. But that can change."

"True," he chuckles. "If it's a boy, I want his name to be
Kokeru, after Grandpa."

"And if she's a girl?"

"Koishii."

"'Koishii?!'"

"That's right," he winks. "After all, she'll be **our** Darling!"

Lum blinks, then laughs as she embraces him. Just as their lips
are about to make contact, the whole ship shakes from a violent
explosion!! "***WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!***" they exclaim, slamming to the
deck.

Lum recovers first, staring out the viewport to see multiple
blasts surrounding the science ship. There is no sign of the
"Hasei'cha." "What is it?!!" Ataru gets to his feet. "Who's out
there?!!"

"I think the Mikado's people're here!!"

Ataru blinks. "And he's attacking in Fukunokami home space?!!
Gods, this jerk's even crazier than **I** imagined!!!"

The door opens, revealing Tabitha. "Both of you, get moving!!"
she barks.

"What is it?!!" Ataru demands as they follow Ninko's assistant out
of the lounge.

"There's a Mikado Marines ship out there trying to board us!!"
Tabitha reports.

"In Fukunokami space?!!" Lum gasps as they follow her out. "He IS
desperate!!!"

They race to the bridge, several levels above Ninko's
laboratories. Staring out the viewport, Ataru notices a silver cigar-
shaped craft emblazoned with a black cygnet insignia looming in the near
distance. No sign of the "Hasei'cha." The professor himself faces a
crimson-haired woman on the main viewscreen, she dressed in a black
uniform similar to Nassur's blue outfit. "Who are you and what's the
meaning of this attack?!!" Ninko demands.

"Professor Ninko, I'm Colonel Nathanba of the Fifth Marines.
You've been identified as a traitor to the Mikado through your illegal
experiments in creating biogenetic warriors against the Mikado's
rightful rule!! Heave that scow to and prepare to be boarded!!!"

"Ridiculous!!" Ninko snarls. "I've no affiliation to the Rebel
Alliance Army or the Defence Forces...and that idiot you serve knows
that!!! Further, you're in the sovereign space of the Fukunokami
Union!! As far as I recall, that places me in the general purview of
the Holy Republic according to the applicable treaties!!! YOU'RE the
one who's in violation of a lot of things, Colonel!!! Go away and I
might not report this to the proper authorities!!!"

"Come now, Professor," she chortles. "Do you think we'd allow you
to get away with out searching your ship for contraband?!"

"Do you think I'd allow you to do that?!" he snarls. "We're in
free space and this is an act of open piracy!!"

"I don't think so," she throws her head back. "The Mikado has
given us orders to search and seize any Vosian ship inside or outside
the boundaries of the Confederation!"

"Then you, madame, are in contradiction of intergalactic law," he
accuses her. "I know what you're really after: the bioroids I've just
created!! And they're NOT yours!!"

"I wouldn't say that, my dear professor," she smiles. "They're
**not** recognized as sentient beings by the Science Council and since
the trisilicon was mined on Vos, that **makes** them the Mikado's
property!!"

Ataru's eyes roll. "Are these dorks for real?!" he turns to Lum.

"More than real," the Oni sighs.

"Ah!" Nathanba turns to face them. "I heard the apprentice of the
renegade Nassur was aboard!! There's a pretty price for your head, Lum!
You've got some things to answer for when we take you to Lecashuto!!"

"Who says I'm going to Lecashuto?!" Lum calmly crosses her arms.
"And who says you're going to make it back to Lecashuto, you goose-
stepping oaf?! Didn't that ass you serve realize that we *allowed*
Fanba to make that signal?! Nice way to totally destroy what little
respect he has left!"

"Well, what did you expect, Lum?!" Ataru gazes at her. "Dictators
are all alike, remember?! They're arrogant, swaggering, tin-plated
morons with delusions of grandeur!! Atop that, they're hopelessly
stupid!"

Nathanba shudders with barely contained rage. Dakejinzou steps
onto the bridge at that time. "What's your problem, Colonel?!" she
faces the Marine officer. "Why are you interfering with this ship's
voyage?!"

"Well, well, well," a smile cuts across Nathanba's face. "Another
one who has to answer for crimes against the Mikado!"

"Oh?!" Dakejinzou wonders. "What did I do to offend His
Oafishness THIS time?!!"

"Other than insulting him, you cheap excuse for an android, you
have to answer for the deaths of many hunters and Marines sent to
apprehend the renegade Nassur and other renegades!!" Nathanba growls.

"Oh, really?!" Dakejinzou blinks. "Well, I don't recall killing
His Buffoonishness' agents in Vosian space. As a matter of fact, I
don't seem to recall ever *visiting* Vosian space," she taps her lips in
thought. "The only time I've ever killed His Idiotness' agents was when
they purposefully infringed on the sovereign power of other planets!"

"So what?!!" Nathanba demands.

"By the way, Colonel...your jamming is the pits! I've already
sent messages to the Urusian and Fukunokami Defence Forces about your
*illegal* presence in Fukunokami home space. You've got ten minutes to
clear out of here or else YOU'LL be landshark bait!"

Nathanba sputters. "Good day, Colonel," Ninko reaches for the
cut-off switch. "I actually hope the Defence Forces blow you into atoms
before you get back to Vos!"

"Say hello to His Stupiditiness for me!!" Dakejinzou taunts,
waving.

The line is cut before Nathanba could reply. Everyone sighs.
"Did you actually send a signal to Daddy?!" Lum asks.

"Sure. I bounced it off the carrier wave of the Marines' ship in
piggy-back mode."

Everyone stares at the looming Mikado craft. "So where's Eluza?!"
Ataru scans around for the missing "Hasei'cha."

Lum concentrates. "They're cloaked. They don't want to move lest
Nathanba's sensors pick up the tachytron radiation which Sagussans ships
emit, even when cloaked."

"What do we do?" Ninko wonders. "I assume you gave them an under-
exaggeration."

"We've got 25 minutes before the cavalry comes," Dakejinzou turns
to Ataru. "Unless you want to go public about Sagussa now."

"Not yet," he sighs. "Still too many assholes in this galaxy to
contend with."

"And if any one of those Marines sees Lufy or Makoto, it won't
take the Mikado long to guess what's really going on," Lum advises. "He
may be nuts, but he's not stupid."

Ninko sighs, sitting in his command chair. "Again, again and
again, they always try to stop me!!!" he moans. "Why?!! What did I
ever do to deserve this?!!"

"Don't worry," Dakejinzou assures him. "I'm used to getting
people out of jams!"

A thoughtful look crossing his face, Ataru stares at the Mikado
ship. "Hey, Lum, what if we keep Colonel Red-britches' playmates busy
while everyone gets away with the goods?!" he stares at his girlfriend.

Lum turns, paling as the implication of Ataru's words hit. "You
mean?!"

"Yes," Ataru smiles as his left eye glows. "**I want to play.**"

* * *

Moments later, Nathanba calls back, demanding again that Ninko
haul his ship to for inspection. This time, she stipulates that the
Vos-Zephyrus Treaty does not protect him or his creations since Ninko is
a Vosian citizen. The professor, realizing the hopelessness of his
situation, gives in. However, by that time, a boarding crew from the
"Hasei'cha" have come aboard, dressed in civilians to disguise their
true nature. Lufy and Makoto wear bandages over their tattoos to mask
they were once *pirpirsiw'r.* With Hinanba's team of hunters armed and
ready for a hot reception, Dakejinzou, Ataru and Lum proceed to the
forward docking area.

The Marines' ship docks using an universal docking cradle. Once
the locks are secured, the hatch opens and a platoon of the brutish
warriors storms onto the deck. Leading them is a young woman with
captain's bars. Weapons instantly level on the three. "Hold it right
there, you!!" the captain barks. "I'm Captain Janba of the Fifth
Marines!! You're all prisoners of the Mikado! Turn your weapons over
to the sergeant, now!!"

Dakejinzou calmly removes her pistol belt, handing it to the
sergeant beside her. Another Marine slips a power dampener around Lum's
neck. "I recognize you two, but who's this third one?!" Janba nods at
Ataru.

His eye glows. "**Your death!**"

Ataru's fingers slam into Janba's throat, crushing her trachea.
Dakejinzou's foot trips the sergeant as her fist crushes his nose.
"**Lum, *mavan'shagh!!!***" Ataru barks.

Lum's psi-shields drop, exposing the *te'a's* radiance to every
Vosian around her. Howls of numbing pain echo as the Marines' tracking
powers overload. Fatal strokes setting in, they collapse as Ataru
completes his transformation, charging for the hatch. "**Get everyone
to the 'Hasei'cha!!**'" he barks. "**I'll take care of these
jerks!!!**"

Lufy and Makoto charge after Ataru. "Wait for us!!!" the former
yells.

"Lum!!" Eluza's voice echoes from nowhere. "Marines are boarding
near the chamber where Hinanba and her friends are!! Get over there to
help!!!"

"Right!!!" Lum yanks off the collar, flying out with Dakejinzou in
her wake.

On the Marines' ship, Ataru, Lufy and Makoto find themselves in a
sea of black-clad warriors. "A thousand to three," Lufy loads her Urban
Assault Cannon. "I can dig it!"

"**So can I!!!**" Ataru cracks his knuckles. "**LET'S
RUMBLE!!!!!!**"

Multiple explosions rock the ship!!

* * *

Shildy works on freeing the jammed door leading to the
synthezoids' chamber. The remainder of the "Hasei'cha's" boarding party
stand guard. "Can't you do anything to that thing?!" Spea demands.

"It's stuck!" the first officer grunts.

Mie cocks her photon shotgun, then takes aim. Shildy gets clear.
The weapon fires, disintegrating the door! "There, it's unstuck!!!" the
Gladiator pilot snarls.

Hinanba staggers out of the shadows, blackened with cordite.
"What do you guys use for door bells?! Atomic bombs?!!"

"Never mind!!" Shildy barks. "Let's go!! Patty, take them to the
beam-down point!!"

"Right," the engineer nods as the hunters and synthezoids follow.

"Incoming!!!" Amy warns.

Weapons chatter as a platoon of Marines waltz into the Sagussans'
reception party! The Vosians drunkenly dance as they are shot, the
surprise on their faces understandable since no one sensed what awaited
them. A second later, what few who are still alive are blasted down by
attackers hitting them from behind. "It's Lum!!!" Spea gasps.

She and Dakejinzou race over the bodies to join them. "Is
everyone okay?!" Lum asks.

"We got them out!" Shildy nods. "Where're Ataru, Lufy and
Makoto?!"

The group sees more explosions tear apart the Marines' ship.
"Need you ask?!"

An intercom signal sounds off. "Ninko to Dakejinzou Shogai," the
professor's voice echoes. "I'm on my way to your ship!"

"Understood, Professor!" she replies.

"I also set the auto-destruct sequence to destroy the ship in five
minutes!!"

"***YOU DID WHAT?!?!?!***"

"It's the only way that *yizpiz* will ever understand that I want
to be left alone, Shogai-san!" the professor explains. "The explosion
will destroy a whole regiment of his precious Marines...and that's one
less regiment for the rebels to contend with!!"

Dakejinzou blinks, then nods. "Okay!!"

Shildy taps her communicator. "Shildy to Eluza!! The professor's
ship is set to self-destruct! We've got to get off now!!!"

"Hang on a moment!" the shipmistress exclaims. "We still have to
recalibrate our transporters to get the synthezoids off!!"

"We don't HAVE a moment!!"

"*I do!*"

"Henry!!!" Lum screams out in relief. "Where have you been?!!"

"*Don't yell at me!*" the Gatherer's central computer sniffs. "*I
can't help it if no one bothers to tell me what's going on!!*"

"Never mind!!!" Lum gasps. "Get Dake-chan's children out of
here!!!"

"*Very well, then,*" Henry replies.

* * *

A very hectic moment later, the "Goddess of Luck" slips out of the
main hangar bay, falling away from the doomed laboratory ship. The
cloaked "Hasei'cha" follows. However, aboard the wrecked Marines' ship,
a wounded Nathanba struggles to open a communications channel to Vos.
"Home base," she spits up blood. "Mikado-sama...do you see me?!"

The screen activates, revealing the hazy image of a Vosian man.
"Yes, Colonel?" his voice crackles over the line. "Did you get hold of
those synthezoids and Shogai?!"

"N-negative. We were ambushed..." she coughs. "Shogai and
Lum...they tricked us..."

More explosions shake the battleship as the aft door to the bridge
explodes! Nathanba gasps as Lufy emerges from the smoke, a pistol drawn
and ready. "Uh-uh!!" the Sagussan cackles. "No calling Daddy!!"

Nathanba is stitched up as Ataru walks onto the bridge. "Henry,
where are you?"

"*Standing by,*" the Gatherer's computer reports. "*Thirty
seconds.*"

He looks around, then breathes in relief as Makoto arrives. "You
okay?!"

"That was fun!" the watchmistress wipes her cheek, absently
pulling off the bandage covering her tattoo. "How many did you get?!"

"Lost count at two hundred. Go, Henry!"

A transporter beam seizes them. Twenty seconds later, the main
drive of Ninko's laboratory detonates. The explosion rips apart the two
kilometre craft, pulverizing Nathanba's battleship along the way!!

Unseen by anyone, a ten kilometre long superdreadnought slips
away...

* * *

Vos.

The Mikado reclines in his chair, staring at the frozen image of
Ataru, Lufy and Makoto standing triumphantly on the bridge of Nathanba's
ship, quite calm and collected after slaughtering a regiment of well-
trained soldiers. His eyes remain fixed on one point: Makoto's tattoo.
But his thoughts are affixed on the man beside the *pirpirsiw'r.*

The dictator had heard of Lum's Darling. Intelligence's files
were well-maintained. His antics prior to his torture on Icarus. The
torture and the bombshell effect that had on his life. The slaughter of
child-slavers on Noukiios. His willingness to sacrifice his
relationship with Lum to keep his planet safe. His grandmother's
connections to Zephyrus and how she used that to bring the Federation to
heel. His sister and her friends, believed to have slaughtered a
company of Mikado Marines on Sakusei Station sometime ago. His
participation in the destruction of Phentax Twelve, the liberation of
the Avalonians.

Yet until now, the Mikado had no real interest in Ataru Moroboshi,
no plans to include him in Project: Twinkiller. According to reports
from Abraham Shapiro and Thanba, Ataru did not take well to Nassur when
the renegade first visited Earth. Understandable: the existence of
Nassur's hybrid apprentice Hazel indirectly resulted in Ataru's torture
on Icarus. Besides, Ataru trusted Dakejinzou more; she helped him in
saving his child. Since that time, Ataru had always kept contact with
the renegade to a minimum, only receiving him whenever Nassur wanted to
visit his former student Lum.

Until now...

The Mikado stares at the evidence. Few would draw the conclusions
he had just made. Yet, there was Ataru, standing on the bridge of
Nathanba's ship, with two *pirpirsiw'r!* That dread cult of Yehisrite
Amazons had died out ages ago. Most normal people would conclude that
the Most Dangerous Ones wanted outsiders to believe that. The Mikado
knew differently...for he knew that not all the *pirpirsiw'r* had died.
Many of them had been taken by a ship whose existence had baffled
everyone for ages. The Eternal Voyager.

Ataru was the Chosen One.

Standing, the dictator shuts off the monitor. There was work to
be done...

* * *

Fukunotaiin, two days later.

Sitting in a crater facing its mother planet, Dakejinzou Shogai's
new base glows in spotlights. The observation satellite, a crucifix-
shaped craft two kilometres long by one wide, was built on a main hull
now buried deep in Fukunotaiin's rocky surface. The control centre is
several hundred-metre towers in the centre of the crucifix. Sensory
apparatus cover all four wings. Presently, its new master takes the
nickel tour thanks to Patty. Behind her, Koiko and Aiko remain beside
Ataru, Lum and Noa. "Won't you stay here, Uncle Ataru?" Dakejinzou's
elder daughter wonders, grasping Ataru's arm.

"No, Koiko-chan," he pats her arm. "Lum and I will visit you now
and again, but we have our lives and family to get back to."

"We'll return in a short while," Lum assures her. "Meanwhile, you
two need to learn what it means to live as Fukunokami."

"Any news about the Mikado?" Noa wonders.

"Well, His Stupiditiness' lapdogs lodged a formal complaint to the
High Council," her tail sways with delight. "Father naturally declared
the Union would no longer recognize the Mikado's government. We're
already receiving delegations from Hunba's army."

"Wonderful!" Lum beams. "With that, the Mikado doesn't have much
to stand on anymore."

"I dunno," Ataru muses. "Something tells me this jerk's as bad as
Oogi or Schwartz."

"True, but he has enough problems facing him back home,"
Dakejinzou advises. "If he wants to stay in power, he'll need to
concentrate on defeating Hunba, rather than chase after Natsu-chan."

The Vosian in question walks up beside his wife, having been given
their own tour by Rumy. "Can you believe this place?!" Benten exclaims.
"You can house an army in here!"

"Or at least you can keep one out," Noa smiles, staring at Patty.
"All the weapons emplacements complete?!"

"The last ones were fitted just before the 'Kiboo'cha' towed her
out of Sen'sha Seven," the engineer confirms. "We'll come by later to
make sure everything's shipshape."

"Thanks, Patty," Dakejinzou smiles.

* * *

Later, the "Hasei'cha" takes Ataru and Lum to Earth. Dakejinzou
and Nassur remain by themselves in the observation lounge. "This is as
good as Home Base," he smiles. "Some places, even better. I envy you."

"Well, what did you expect?" she stares at him. "For so long,
I've operated alone. It'll be strange working with partners...not to
mention raising two children. Have you ever told Benten about Akisur?"

"She knows," he nods, embracing her. "Anyhow, I've got to get
back. Can't leave the hybrids alone for any length of time before they
tear the place to pieces."

"Yeah," she kisses him. "Be careful out there. If the Mikado's
getting desperate, he'll pull something sooner or later."

"I 'm afraid you're right. See you."

Dakejinzou waves as Nassur heads off to the "Renegade." Sighing,
she takes the lift to the central tower, housing her quarters. Already
there, Koiko and Aiko are arranging things, unpacking boxes bearing
Dakejinzou's possessions from home. Both blink as their mother steps
inside. "Mom!" Aiko walks up to her. "You okay? You're sad."

"Not really," she slips an arm around her children. "I guess I'm
still feeling a little overwhelmed. For so long, I've been alone,
taking on the galaxy without anything to fall back on. It'll be strange
having something other than an empty ship and a small apartment in
Bensaikyou to come to after a mission."

The three move to the bedroom, laying down on the heart-shaped bed
Sagussan engineers had thoughtfully provided. "Mom, can you tell us
anything about our people?" Koiko stares at Dakejinzou. "Anything?"

"No, not much," Dakejinzou shakes her head. "I wish I could say
why I was brought into existence. Then again, does it matter?"

"Of course it matters," Aiko blinks. "Everything must have a
purpose."

"Okay, what's your purpose?"

She blinks. "I don't know."

"That's right," Dakejinzou smiles. "The difference between us and
ordinary machines is that machines have a purpose. It's defined, set
down in code, and most of all, it can be changed. I never had a
purpose, not since the day I was first awakened. I had to find my
purpose, my place in life. So will you."

"How will we know when we found what we were meant to do?" Koiko
muses.

"You don't know that, either," Dakejinzou chuckles. "If you
believe that you can be only ONE thing, you're restricting yourself.
The Universe is more varied. Experience as much as you can. Each
experience adds to you, gives you more information than you had, allows
you to explore more opportunities. I found that being a bounty hunter.
If that's what you want, then be that. If you want something else, be
something else."

Koiko and Aiko stare at each other. "I know what I want to be,"
the latter announces.

"So do I," the former smiles.

"Already?" their mother tenses. "What?!"

Her children respond with warm hugs. "We want to be your
children," Aiko smiles.

"And we want to love you with everything we have," Koiko beams.

Dakejinzou laughs...

* * *

Sometime later, Dakejinzou closes the door on her daughters' room.
The younger Umanoshippo are fast asleep as she proceeds to the living
room. A strange but wonderfully familiar voice catches her short. "I
resent being called an 'ordinary' machine!"

Dakejinzou spins to see a gentleman in an English tweed suit and
bowler hat sitting on her couch. "Henry!!!" she exclaims, glancing out
of the corner of her eye to confirm the Gatherer's presence some
distance away. "Where've you been?!! You want to know how angry I was
at you disappearing like that!!"

"Well, I can't help it if James doesn't bother contacting me!" the
holographic projection of the superdreadnought's central conscience
shrugs. "Besides, the Hustari had the herb they needed all the time.
With a little intelligence, they should've been able to create the
vaccine. If they didn't, how was I supposed to help?!"

"I would've at least told them the herb was still there,"
Dakejinzou sits beside him.

"And I would have...were I not so busy being midwife to a pregnant
starwhale."

The hunter moans. "There are days I wish this was real, so I
could hit you!"

"Now, now, Dakejinzou," he chides her. "How are people supposed
to learn when you're around nursemaiding them? You noticed how Ataru
and Lum have left their companions in Tomobiki alone since they moved to
Oshika. They've learned. Why can't the Hustari?"

"True," she sighs. "What happens now?"

"Well, everyone's preparing for Ataru's coming to Sagussa," he
rises. "I suspect they'll be there in a week. After that, well, that's
for Fate to decide."

"True. So, what brings you here?"

He shrugs. "Can't I join a friend in the celebration of her
becoming a mother?"

Dakejinzou blinks, then smiles, sinking into his embrace.
Fortunately, Henry's holographic image projector is advanced enough to
project the "feel" of a real person. "By the way," he gestures to a
nearby computer terminal. "Gilnira left you a message."

"I'll get to that later," she sighs. "Right now, I want to be
with my friend."

Henry smiles...

*** The Beginning ***