Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ The Senior Year ❯ Great Father Ataru Stage One: Renewal ( Chapter 54 )

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

A dark room.

Four men sit in a circle. Their racial origins are obvious despite the
absence of revealing light. Their discussions are cryptic, but the events
they set in motion this day will have ramifications for years to come. Across
a dozen star systems, beyond the boundaries of the Union they are presently
trying to destroy, revert to its previous form. Between them, a spotlight
shines on a sigil emblazoned on the floor. The sigil, a tiger-striped globe
surrounded by smaller sigils, represents their ultimate goal.

The coat-of-arms of the old Urusian Empire.

Its symbolism is profound. The smaller sigils, each representing the
twenty Imperial Houses, were part of the Empire, yet powers unto themselves.
United when facing outside aggression, yet fighting among themselves to assume
the ascendant position of First House, symbolically emblazoned over Uru's
north pole. Further, the Houses reigned over their subjects and slaves like
gods imposing their laws on frightened mortals.

Yet there is one dichotomy to this sigil.

Uru and her ruling Houses are embraced by the sweeping wings of a golden
bird. This is the symbol of the great ship who ensure the Empire's creation
by driving the hordes of the Seifukusu Dominion off Uru nine centuries ago.
The phoenix, symbol of the ship legends called the Eternal Voyager.

We know it as the Gatherer.

Little did those founding Imperial Urusians realize that those working
to revive their dreams nine centuries later, two centuries after their work
was transformed by the Union Revolution, would face the phoenix again. And
this time, it will not be as savior...

...but destroyer.

* * *

Urusei Yatsura - Great Father Ataru: "Stage One: Renewal"
by Fred Herriot
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Fortieth of a series of fan-fiction stories based on "Urusei Yatsura" created
by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****

WRITER'S NOTES:

1) And so, after forty stories, we come to the final phase of our Yatsura
fanfic series. About time; I'm tired and I've got other things to consider!
Anyhow, all stories are still to be filed in the UY-TSY ftp sites and all
applicable websites.

2) The Sagussans, as a whole, are the product of my first Yatsura fanfic
effort, written back in 1992 shortly after Mike introduced me to the series.
The basic question I asked back then is "What would happen if Ataru actually
got his harem?" Well, the eleven stories of UY-GFA, after a million and one
revisions, are the answer I hope everyone can be satisfied with.

3) Please refer to the *Daishi'cha* List and the *Daishi'cha* Information
on Amendments and Additions, currently at all websites, to obtain further
information on the *daishi'cha* introduced in these stories. Biographies of
the important characters will be written. The "-chan" endings will be dropped
for the namesakes of UY characters when the Sagussan is separated from her
spirit-sister.

4) Some *daishi'cha's* names are inspired because Ataru does not know the
names of their look-alikes. Thus we have Lumunookaa and Ten'nookaa, named in
tribute of Lum's and Ten-chan's mothers. The Project *Daishi'cha* (named in
honour of the protagonists in "Project A-ko") spell their names phonetically
(Eiko, Biiko, Shiko) instead of alphabetically (A-ko, B-ko, C-ko).

5) Junba's nickname, "Aiotoga," comes from the classic Japanese phrase
"love song."

6) All elements of this series concerning the old Urusian Empire are
inspired by Lew Burton and his alternate reality fanfic "Just a Dream" and
"Still Dreaming." As always, a nod of thanks to Lew for his efforts and work.

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

"Wh-where am I...?!" Benten mutters.

Her eyes flutter open. The hunter blinks as the lavish contours of a
high-priced bedroom appear around her. Her fingers locate another person
beside her. Looking left, she sees Nassur, still asleep. Taking note of a
large picture window behind tapestry-sized drapes, she rises. Her motion is
unsteady, the nauseous feeling of some sort of drug seizing her. Reaching the
window without vomiting, she throws open the drapes. The scene beyond sends
another bout of nausea through her body. "Phentax Two?" she mutters.
"Terrific!"

Stretching herself, she looks around, then glances outside to determine
her location. They were in the presidential mansion...naturally, a replica of
the Mendou mansion in Tomobiki. Noting that no weapons or other personal
belongings have been taken, Benten proceeds to awaken her husband. "Hey,
Nassur, get up!" she barks.

"What...?!" he jolts, immediately sitting up. "What the?! Where in
Lecasur's name are we?!"

"On Oogi's planet of morons, where else?!" she jibes.

Nassur shakes his head. The last thing either remember was hosting a
private party on the "Renegade" with their friends, celebrating their survival
from the Planet of Shadows mission and the birth of their child...

"Junba-chan?!" he suddenly bolts to his feet, eyes flashing. "Where's
the baby?!!"

Hearing that, Benten pales. Could Oogi actually...?

Before she could articulate another thought, the door opens, revealing
their host. "Ah, you're up!" Oogi smiles, respectfully bowing. "We're
pleased you're both alright, Nassur-sama, Benten-sama. I trust the sedative
has worn off?"

The incensed Fukunokami grabs the Niphentaxian president by his collar,
slamming him against the wall. "Look, you!!! You have five seconds to tell
us what we're doing here, why we're here, where're the others and WHERE'S MY
BABY?!?!"

Oogi shudders. "Benten-sama, before you consider that we had anything
to do with that base attack on your persons after your victory over the
heretic Mikado...?!"

Benten decks him! "Spare me the religious mumbo-junbo, asshole!!!
Where's my daughter?!!"

"She's safe," Oogi announces. "So are the others of Lum-sama's Holy
Company and their friends...except Lum-sam Herself!"

"What?!" Nassur walks up. "What's going on?!"

Oogi stands, straightening himself. "A patrol ship found your vessel
adrift in the Dead Zone, quite close to the Neutral Zone with the Ipraedies
Empire," he sighs. "It was fortunate; if we had not come, you would've been
surely destroyed!"

"Thank you for the rescue," the Vosian sighs. "Now, the rest of it."

"When my crews boarded, we found you sedated and Lum-sama removed from
your presence," Oogi reports. "I have my fleet dispersed attempting to locate
Her now. Be assured, we shall not leave a stone unturned until Lum-sama is
returned to the bosom of Her Holy Company!"

Nassur and Benten try not to laugh. Still, Niphentaxian help was better
than no help at all. "Thanks," the former nods. "Now, if you don't mind, can
we see our baby?"

A pained look crosses the president's face. "I'm afraid to say that I
cannot allow that to happen," he quickly raises his hand to ward the flash of
anger in their eyes. "It is not because I wish to deny you the chance to be
with your beautiful child; far from it. Any marriage between members of Lum-
sama's Holy Company should be seen as a blessed event. However, there are
many on this world who would see your child as a threat to our race."

Nassur and Benten blink. "Why?!!" both demand.

"There is...a legend, a prophecy, among my people," Oogi sighs. "Few of
the leaders in Lum-sama's Holy Church ever speak of it. But it has been
passed from generation to generation, from one Great Awakening to another. It
states that if there ever should come a major change among those Holy Persons
who inspire the Great Awakening which unites my world...the birth of children,
the departure from the code of ethics by which you govern yourself and your
veneration of Lum-sama...then a holocaust of epic proportions will befall my
people. It is...a deeply ingrained part of our culture. Of course, it is
just a legend..."

"But people sometime need legends to help them live their lives, achieve
their goals," Nassur sighs, remembering the Mikado's fixation with the Sceptre
of Lecasur. "Thank you for telling us this, Oogi, although I'd wish you'd've
mentioned it before. That goes far in explaining your actions against Ataru."

The president's mouth twists. "Please, Nassur-sama. Do not mention
that devil's name in front of me. I know not how he was able to see to it
that Lum-sama would reject Her Holy Company, much less leave the Holy City.
However, eliminating him will have to wait. I want to know who destroyed my
agents on Earth and the fleet I dispatched to ensure Lum-sama's rights were
not abused."

Which meant that Oogi still had no clear idea about the Sagussans,
Nassur realized. If Ataru pressed the matter, he had the clear advantage of
surprise. "Well, that's goes with being a president, Oogi," he smiles. "Now,
where is my daughter?"

"She is in the care of priests I personally selected for their loyalty
in the Great Lum Church," Oogi nods toward the centre of Lumukyou. "They are
of the sects personally venerating you and Benten-sama. Without a doubt, they
will never allow Junba-sama to come to harm."

"Thanks," Benten nods. "If you don't mind, I'll head there now."

"Of course," he bows, allowing the Fukunokami to depart.

"And if you don't mind," Nassur's eyes flash, "...I just detected the
others in the lounge below. Maybe I can find out what's going on with Lum."

"Of course," Oogi bows. "Oh, Nassur-sama."

"Yes?"

"I heard...with great distress, about the tragic death of your mother."
Genuine sympathy shines in the president's eyes. "I extend my deepest
condolences at Hunba-sama's loss and the death of the clone of your blessed
first wife. I pray Lum-sama will guide them to their just rewards."

"Thanks," Nassur muses, heading out of the room, surprised to see that
Oogi, beyond the bluster of being the leader of the most ill-inspired church
in galactic history, was a man with genuine compassion. He would have to re-
think a lot of his personal opinions about the Niphentaxian head-of-state.

Entering the lounge, he performs a quick head-count. Everyone save Lum
was present and in decent shape. Of course, Niphentaxians dressed like their
icons were tending to them, even the ones who had not been given a place in
Phentax Two's pantheon of "gods." Typical. "Everyone okay?" he inquires.

The Niphentaxians bow to the hunter. "We're fine," Koosei stretches
himself. "Just one question: what happened?"

"I was hoping one of you might have the answer," Nassur rubs his skull.
"Oogi has his fleet trying to locate Lum now. I just hope she's okay."

"What about flight recorders?" Ryuunosuke wonders. "Does 'Renegade'
have them?"

"Yes," Nassur nods. "Oogi didn't say anything about getting his hands
on them. Given the modifications yours and Nagisa's spirit-sister threw into
her before we took off for the Planet of Shadows, I don't think Oogi's techs
have any idea how to get at them. I'll look in on them later."

A woman dressed like Ryuunosuke faces her divine inspiration, eyes wide
with wonder. "Ryuunosuke-sama, you mean to say you have a spirit for a
sister?"

The tomboy jerks. "Um...it's hard to explain." She herself had just
met Ryuunosuke-chan, believed the most likely candidate to become Engineer
Commander, leader of Sagussa's sixty-thousand strong engineer corps, on the
voyage to Colony Seventy-one.

"What about you-know-who?" Shinobu frets. "Our new friend?"

"She's fine," Nassur detects the subtle hints through their *pe'cha*
bond. "Benten's gone to check on her."

"What new friend, Nassur-sama?" a man resembling Chibi wonders.

"An orphan who was born shortly after Lecashuto fell," Nassur replies
straight-faced. "Benten and I are caring for her."

"Oh, Lum's Blessings on her, then!" Ryuunosuke's double claps her hand.
"What better way to enter life than to be blessed by one of Her Holy Company?"

The looks on Nagisa's, Tsubame's, Sil's and the guards' girlfriends
faces says it all: "Don't these people have anything better to do than
prostrate themselves over Lum?"

"In the meantime," Nassur smiles, "...could you please leave us alone
for a while? We want to discuss things in private."

"Of course," the woman bows and everyone departs.

Koosei walks to the door after them, securing it. Sakura and Cherry
secure the other entrances. "Listening devices?" the Shinto priestess mouths
soundlessly.

"Not in here," Nassur shakes his head. "This is Oogi's private suite.
He never receives anyone sensitive here."

"You mean we have to trust that brainless moron?!" Lan wonders.

"Relax, Lan," Nassur projects a sympathetic smile. "Like it or not,
Oogi did us a great favour. Now, what we have to discover is who took Lum."

"Much less why," Sil tenses. "If Ataru finds out, he'll go ballistic."

"Not to mention what Noa might do," Shinobu shudders. "Between them,
they could wreck a planet."

The others grimly nod, having seen that not more than two days before.
"So, what do we do?" Aijooa wonders. "I don't know about you guys, but the
idea of intelligent people treating my boyfriend like a god doesn't make me
feel comfortable."

"Aijooa, these people are everything BUT intelligent!" Lan sarcastically
notes.

"They're intelligent in their own ways, Lan," Nassur cuts in. "Consider
this: Oogi expressed real sympathy over the 'death' of my mother, not to
mention genuine concern over Junba-chan. It's fascinating what one learns
about other races."

"Despite that, we have to contact Earth and tell Ataru and Noa about
Lum," Koosei cuts in. "Both will move heaven and earth to find her if she's
in any danger. And they have the firepower to back it up."

"Agreed," Nassur nods. "As soon as we've recovered, we'll take you all
back to Earth. In the meantime, relax...and please don't take advantage of
these people. Let's make a good impression."

"We don't need to make an impression with these morons!" Lan cuts in.

* * *

Ataru yawns as he sits up, stretching himself. "'Morning," he muses,
then glances to his left. "Well, Minister, how was it?"

"Wonderful," Noa purrs, setting aside a device similar to a miniature
glue gun, then slips over to draw Ataru into an embrace. "I knew you were
well skilled, Mr. Moroboshi, but even that took me by surprise." A pouting
look then crosses her face. "Do it again?"

"Sex maniac," Ataru grumbles, slipping out of her arms. "Much that I
would be tempted, but there would be 99,980 jealous women demanding to know
why you're hogging my attention."

"True," Noa begins to dress. "Any idea when Lum-chan and the others
will be back?"

"Should be today," Ataru slips on his clothes, sensing the tense look on
the *ashi'cha's* face. "You okay?"

"I don't know," Noa shakes her head. "I had a strange dream last night.
Lum was calling out to me, begging me to come help her. Weird."

He tenses. Dreams like that should never be ignored, especially given
the powerful bond of love, trust and friendship between his fiancee and
Sagussa's elder mother. "Well, let's get someone on the horn to call Nassur
to see if Lum's okay," he muses.

She nods as they head out of the bedroom. Oshika is presently a beehive
of activity as people collapse the spare bungalows the "Hasei'cha's" crew
erected while they were watching over Benten and Reiko. Some personal items
had already been transferred to the warpsloop for the move to Sagussa. Other
crews on that desert world were preparing the Moroboshis' private suite in the
Chamber of Eternity for Ataru's stay. No one had any idea how long Ataru and
Lum would remain. Best guess from Misato was five months. After a period
where the *daishi'cha* would become used to directing their own affairs, Ataru
and Lum would probably return. But this time, they would be living in a home
on the slopes of the Esanta'cha for the rest of their lives.

Even now, it frightened Ataru, the power Fate had presented him. A
serious case of cultural contamination twelve years before bound the destiny
of one hundred thousand vastly intelligent young women to him. He was now at
the apex of a vast machine completely loyal to him. That was certainly NOT
the way Yura and the planners of the Grand Design intended the *daishi'cha* to
evolve. True, Sagussa presently required a hierarchical structure, although
that would not apply to the *seirei'cha,* the first generation of native-born
Sagussans the *daishi'cha* would parent. Once Sagussa's ecological health was
fully restored, the hierarchy would melt into the matriarchy which once
dominated pre-Gisan'cha Sagussa.

However, twelve years ago, something went wrong. The planners of the
Grand Design envisioned that the *daishi'cha* would be informal in seeking
*daimon'cha* to aid in parenting children. Find them, obtain genetic samples,
then allow them to return to their lives. However, the gross lack of emotions
inflicting all of Noa's people had to be redressed before anyone could have a
child. That precipitated the search which culminated in Ataru Moroboshi
becoming not only first *daimon'cha* but the first *daite'cha.*

But with the forging of that bond to their first *daimon'cha,* the
Sagussans became emotionally TOO dependant on Ataru. They would literally die
for Ataru, make war in his name, defend Earth if he asked it. That was NOT
what the Grand Design was about. So Ataru had to go back. Demonstrate that
life was not centred around Ataru Moroboshi. Ataru suppresses a shudder,
wondering if he was really up to repeating what he had to do to save Tomobiki
from Lum's influence.

*Get back home soon, Lum-chan,* he stares at the midday sky. *If I ever
needed you to be at my side, love, I need you now.*

* * *

"What's the analysis?" the chief technician wonders.

"Unknown," a scanner officer sighs. "Two small craft are docked by the
target area. First one ID's as the ship which chased Kakaru Azu's fleet from
this mudball sometime ago. Second one is totally unknown. Too many witnesses
around the target to guarantee a perfect first strike."

"Fine, then," the chief growls. "We wait. Sooner he's out of the way,
the sooner these monkeys learn who their true masters are."

The others grimly nod...

* * *

Within the hour, the bungalows are dismantled and loaded aboard the
"Hasei'cha." By that time, Reiko is packed. "I'm all set, Daddy!" the
Noukiite announces.

"Good!" he kneels, embracing her. "You sure you're ready for this?"

"I guess so," she nods. "When's Lum coming back?"

"Soon, I hope," he muses. "Noa's trying to contact her now. Once she's
here, we're on our way."

"Great!" Reiko beams. "Daddy, when I get to Sagussa, will I have
someone to play with?"

"Are you kidding?!" Lufy comments from nearby. "Every child service
officer is bashing down Kurama's door to be your personal nanny! You'll have
to beat them off with a cane!"

"I hope not," Reiko blushes.

Lufy waves as she returns to her ship. Ataru shudders again, feeling
butterflies the Gatherer's size in his stomach. Pre-departure jitters. Part
of him wanted to stay. Part urged him to his destiny. Further, the situation
was different from previous times. This was the first time he would go into
space willingly, under his command. One word could end it. His destiny was
his and no one else's, not even Lum's. That was the type of power Ataru had
always sought. Actually having it was wonderful. It scared him, too.

"You okay?" a soft voice tickles his ear.

He turns to see Hunba standing beside him. Newest member to Sagussa's
family, the former rebel commander was resplendent in her External Affairs
duty uniform. He had seen pictures of her before regeneration, when her face
was marred by a missing eye and the other scars of war. The miracles of the
regeneration matrix, Catty said afterward, complimenting Honey on the bond-
mate that Fate literally dropped into the aide-de-camp's lap. Ataru found
himself envying Honey, believing Hunba one of the most attractive women he
ever encountered. Then again, what did one expect of Nassur's mother?

"Just nervous about actually going to Sagussa," he admits. "Previous
times, I was kidnapped by everyone and his dog for a host of reasons...or else
my libido was out of control. I can say 'I want to stay'...and this time,
they'll listen to me."

"And you'll break their hearts if you do," she growls, squeezing his
arm. "And if you did, I'd kill you."

"I'd let you," he feels another shudder in his bones. "Hunba..."

"C'mon," she smiles. "You might as well write '100001' on my sleeves,
the way things are now," she indicates the solid stripe on her upper arm,
where on others, a sequential notation would appear.

"You still have to adjust to being a Sagussan," he warns. "Besides, you
never had the chance to go to Sabaku to do a *nicha* for your husband. That's
still a part of you even if you are in all sense a *daishi'cha.* And...atop
that, you are the mother of a friend."

"True, I guess," she muses. "But my life on Vos ended when I took that
bullet for Natsu-chan. I have a new life. Right now, I am a Sagussan, not a
Vosian. Besides, isn't it considered rude to be *surei'cha* for one person
but not one's bond-mate?"

Ataru winces. Hunba was correct; traditionally, that WAS considered a
gross insult on Sagussa. He wondered what would happen when he had to deal
with Rei's mother and sister, bond-mates to Sylia and Priss.

"I'll think about it," he sighs.

"Don't keep me waiting," she kisses him, then walks to the "Hasei'cha."

He shudders, wondering how Nassur's mother meant by that. Major clash
of cultural mores here. He hoped it would not wind up swamping him. Sighing,
he turns to head inside...

* * *

"The house is empty!" the chief technician snaps. "Send her down!"

"Yes, sir," the teleport controller nods...

* * *

Ataru turns the corner to his room...then stops. "Lum!"

"Hello, Darling," the Oni smiles, reclining on his bed. "Where have you
been?"

"Outside," he moves to embrace her. "We're almost ready. When did you
get in?"

"Just now," she evenly answers, allowing him to draw her into his arms.
"Darling, you're so tense," her hands trace the bare spot on his spine.
"Here, let me give you a massage..."

He sighs, his body shivering from the ticklish feeling of her fingers on
his spinal column. Suddenly, the familiar smell of ozone hits his nostrils.
"Lum...?"

His body detects her tensing, her grip tightening into a bear hug...just
as the flashes of lightning start dancing on her skin. Without a second's
hesitation, he drops out of her embrace, catches her legs between his, then
trips her onto the bed! Before he could recover, blasts of energy race at
him. "DIE!!!!!!" the Oni howls.

Ataru somersaults out of harm's path each time, dodging each blast with
a level of experience only the *saikoo jinseijitsu's* knowledge could bestow.
"Lum!!!" he cries out. "What's wrong?!! Why are you doing this?!!"

"What do you think, lesser?!!" the Oni spins on him, a frightening look
on her face. "Your interference has delayed us enough!!! Now this little
world will be ours!!!"

Her energy blast disintegrates the wall between their bedroom and the
dining room! Ataru flips out of danger's path, then sails into the living
room and the *qu'f-piaqu'r,* still hung on its pegs by the door. Right now,
he had to subdue Lum, then find out what was wrong. Another blast of energy
disintegrates the door. "Oh, no, you don't!!!" Lum snarls. "You won't do to
me what you've done to my friends, you two-timing traitor!!!"

Ataru's boot kicks the musket out of its pegs just as the sound of the
exploding door attracts a crowd. "Hey, is that Lum?!" Lufy calls from
outside. "What's going on?!!"

Lum's eyes glance at the picture window, immediately seeing a dangerous
crowd approach. Noting her distraction, Ataru rolls out of sight, the *qu'f-
piaqu'r* in hand. Lufy comes to the doorway. "Lum?!!" the pilot demands.
"What in Lyna's name are you doing...?!"

"Shut up!!!" Lum sends a lighting blast her way.

Lufy dodges, yanking Catty clear as Ataru bolts to his feet, musket
locked on her stomach. "Lights out!!!" he fires.

Lum is slammed against the wall by the bolt of energy! She collapses to
the floor as Ataru sprints to her side. Given the decreasing threat from
Tomobiki and elsewhere, Ataru had decided to stop using the deadly solid ball
case shot rounds the musket normally used, substituting a riot-suppression
round Asukanoevan had perfected. Lum would have a hell of a bruise in her
stomach but no other damage. Ataru blinks as he realizes that Lum is now in a
tiger-striped bikini, clothes she had last worn before their pre-nuptial
agreement, clothes Windy had urged her to stop wearing.

Something was not right!

Catty kneels beside the fallen Oni, scanning her with a tricorder. "No
sign of any physical damage other than what you did," the doctor reports.
"But there is signs of mental tampering. She's been hypnotized!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" Ataru exclaims. "Someone hypnotized my fiancee into
attacking me?!! Who?!!"

"I don't know," Catty shakes her head. "Let's move her into the bedroom
so I can do a psi-exam. Lufy, find Noa and get her here, now!"

"Right!!" the pilot runs to the "Hasei'cha."

Ataru and Catty lift the unconscious Lum into the bedroom. As Priss
ties the Oni to the bed with some heavy manila rope, Ataru digs into his
nightstand to draw two yellow ribbons. "Always kept these around just in
case," he proceeds to tie them on his fiancee's horns. "That should keep her
lightning in check."

"We need to sedate her," Catty draws a hypo from her medical bag, then
injects the sedative into Lum's neck. "There! Now all we have to do is wait
for Noa..."

And speak of the devil, Noa arrives. "What's going on?!" the *ashi'cha*
haggardly demands, her face ashen. "Lum!!!"

Staggering to her knees, Noa presses her fingers against her bond-mate's
face. Psi-probes plunge into her mind as the Sagussan tries to ascertain what
is happening. A moment later, she pulls herself away. "Well?!" Ataru gulps.

"Lyna's Soul," Noa gasps, tears in her eyes. "They mind-raped her!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" everyone exclaims.

"They...they put her into a sensory depravation tank...made her believe
everyone she knew...was her enemy..." Noa feels her breath go as the horror of
what Lum has endured comes to her. "She...she fought it...but it was too
much...she's still too vulnerable...not strong enough to...oh, Eternal
Sands...!"

With that, she collapses into Ataru's embrace. "I wish I still had the
power to use a psychic knife," Hunba shudders. "That would knock her back to
her senses in an instant."

"We have something better," Pony smiles. "A massive mind-mend. The
power of all our minds combined would erase the contagious mental data and
allow Lum the chance to return to normal."

"Agreed," Catty nods, kneeling beside Noa. "Noa, did you hear...?"

"I heard," Noa nods, feeling her strength return. "Ataru and I'll lead.
Rest of you follow."

Everyone nods, mentally preparing themselves...

* * *

"Can they do that?!!" the chief technician demands.

"Sir, we have no idea what their psionic powers are like!!" a hypnotic
specialist reports. "That's the damn problem, here!!! Everything about this
race is still a mystery!!"

The chief watches as Ataru and Noa face each other, one hand rising to
touch the other's face. Known threats were no problem. Killing Ataru would
set into motion a chain of events which would see the old order restored. But
the Terran's mysterious allies were unknown. Further, they have proved more
than willing to stop ANY race who threatened those they cared for. And Ataru
Moroboshi was atop that list!

"Get her out!!" he snaps. "Extract her, now!!! Send something down to
distract them!!"

"Right!!!" the teleport operator keys controls...

* * *

"Ready?" Noa's voice seems far away.

"Ready," Ataru nods.

Hands still on the other's face, they move to slide onto their bed,
allowing their free hands to touch the one they love. "Lum!!!" Lufy screams,
jolting them both from their concentration.

The two spin around just as a teleport beam takes Lum and the bed away!
Lufy and Priss spring at the bed to rescue the Oni...but miss, falling atop a
box-like device emitting an ominous tick.

"BOMB!!!!" Hunba screams.

Everyone dives into the living room, seeking the cover of the dining
room overhang as the bomb explodes!! A quarter of Ataru's house disintegrates
as everyone lands in a pile on the living room sofa. Watching this from
outside, others sprint to the house to render aid.

And with no one manning the "Hasei'cha's" sensory controls, a cloaked
ship slips out of Earth orbit, bound for Urusian space...

* * *

"Lum's been kidnapped?!!" Nokoko exclaims. "What's going on?!!"

The Nendo-kata return from work to find their matriarch's home wrecked,
Lum missing and Ataru and Noa in a state of shock. "We don't know," Catty
sighs. "All we do know is that someone has programmed Lum to kill Ataru."

"Oh, wonderful!" Nokoko shakes her head. "So who could it be?"

"We weren't able to find out before they took her," the doctor sighs.
"But whoever is responsible for this, they're no amateurs."

"Which narrows the list of possible suspects down considerably," Nokoko
sighs. "Any idea who?"

"Who would want me dead?" Ataru moans. "Outside of everyone in the
known galaxy..."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Nokoko pats his back. "Now, you stop! Losing your
cool at a time like this isn't going to help anyone, least of all Lum-chan!
Besides, you have the best military force in the galaxy backing you up.
Instead of standing here, why don't you put it to use?"

"We need a hunter for this," Ataru asserts. "Despite their skills,
everyone here's too inexperienced to carry out an investigation. We've no
idea where Nassur and the others are, so what options are left?"

"Lum's dad is one," Noa muses.

"Dakejinzou's another," Priss adds.

"Good," Ataru sighs. "Call and tell them what's going on. Any other
suggestions?"

"Yes," Sylia walks up. "It's time for you to come home."

Ataru jolts, staring at her. "We could've had you and Lum on Sagussa
four months ago had we believed the Mikado would target you," the commander of
Pathfinder Troop Six explains. "Right now, we can't deny facts. Someone is
out to kill you, Ataru...and that someone has Lum under his control. That
makes this plan doubly dangerous. Your guard will be lowered because it is
Lum. You judgement makes you vulnerable, Ataru. And because of that, the
only safe place in the galaxy right now is Sagussa."

The other *daishi'cha* readily nod. Ataru grimaces, then absently nods.
"O-okay," he sighs. "I'll go..."

The Sagussans emit a faint-hearted cheer. "In the meantime, I'd better
call Captain Invader and tell him the bad news," Noa rises. "I'll call
Dakejinzou right after that."

"Don't forget, she has a family now," Ataru warns her. "That comes
first."

"I know," Noa nods, heading outside...

* * *

"The first strike nearly succeeded, sir," the chief technician reports,
a churlish smile twisting his lips. "Although it seems yet again that the
lesser Moroboshi has a few more surprises up his sleeve."

"That is not why I hired you to get Lum to kill him," the hazy image on
the viewscreen responds. The technician's small craft is hovering at the edge
of Earth's solar system. "I expect success, not near successes."

"Sir, we have underestimated the strength of this bond between Lum and
Moroboshi," the technician warns. "She hesitated before she went in for the
kill. Understandable given the depth of their relationship. And that
hesitance, teamed with the arsenal Moroboshi has at his command, is what makes
this difficult. There is another complication. There's this additional bond
she has...the one with the mystery woman, Noa. No matter what we do, there's
no way we can make Lum even THINK of hurting her."

"That woman is a stranger!" the image protests. "She should be the
simplest target of all."

"That's not true in this case, sir," the technician sighs. "The only
thing I can conclude from this is that Noa and Lum have been close friends for
a decade, maybe more!"

"Then do something about it!" the image growls. "Don't call again
unless Ataru Moroboshi is dead!!"

The image fades. "Jackass!" the technician snarls. "Altering someone's
mind isn't that easy!"

Sighing, he steps off the courier's bridge, proceeding to a large room
one deck below. Solid black all around, its only piece of furniture is a
device similar to an electric chair. Lum, her head covered by a helmet with
dozens of wires strung to a computer behind her, is strapped to it. Staring
at the beautiful Oni draped in a bikini, he represses the lust her nubile body
arouses within him. Whatever persuaded her to wear those gawky dresses?

Cautiously, he unstraps the helmet, drawing it off Lum. The blank look
that filled her eyes while attached to the chair is replaced with blazing
anger. Her rage is unreal. "You bastard!!" she hoarsely spits at him. "How
dare you make me attack Darling?!! I swear, you're going to pay for
this...!!"

"Shut up!!" he barks, leaning at her. "Like it or not, Princess, you
have a role to fulfil back home! And that's to become Empress, ushering in
the new Imperial Age!! My employers want results, so like it or not, you
better forego this cute fascination for that lesser Moroboshi and accept the
role Fate gave you!!!"

"Never!!" she barks. "When Darling gets his hands on you, I hope he
rips you apart with his bare hands!! I'll be watching!!"

He laughs. "You think so highly about that monkey, don't you?! I can't
for a moment believe you actually allowed him to humiliate you, dominate you,
control you for the last three years!! And then you let his grandmother
railroad you into the ground!! Maybe I should program you to go after that
bitch instead of her worthless grandson!! That'll be one less headache to
worry about when the time comes!"

"Grandma's ninja would kill me AND YOU in the blink of an eye!" Lum
warns. "And Grandma herself could fight Nassur to a standstill!! Besides,
the Inquisition will tear this galaxy apart to learn what happened to Grandma
if you hurt her!! They're not idiots; they'll sniff you out no matter where
you hide!!"

"Well, we'll just have to keep that in mind," he icily smiles. "In the
meantime, care to tell me who this is?" he holds up a picture.

Noa. Lum's eyes soften. At least this bastard's tricks had not made
the Oni think ill of her bond-mate. "She's a friend."

"'Friend?'" the man muses. "I don't think so. I think she's much more
than that! You two...seem to have known each other for a long time."

"Some years," she shrugs, keeping her guard up. "What of it?"

"Well, like it or not, she is a nuisance," the man sighs. "We'll
program you to kill her."

"Good luck!" she snorts.

Her mutiny enrages him and he loses control. He slaps her across the
face, then yanks her hair to force her to gaze into his blazing eyes. "You
listen to me, you bitch!! You are not leaving this place until you start
cooperating! Your initial resistance to our programming was amusing at first,
but my patience is finite!! Sooner or later, you WILL accept the inevitable
and your friend Noa will pay the penalty for sticking her nose where it
doesn't belong!! Understood?!!"

The fanatic glimmer in his eyes causes Lum to harden. She spits in his
face. "Go to hell!"

He slowly wipes the spittle from his face. Then slowly, inexorably, he
lowers his mouth over hers and forces a kiss. She screams as he pulls away,
trying to fight her way out of her binds. Wordlessly, he shoves the helmet on
her head, strapping it in place, then departs. "Prepare the next procedure!"
he orders before the doors close.

In her black prison, Lum quakes. She knew who was behind this. She
also knew that he would not stop until he achieved his goal. He also had no
compunction about violently disposing of those who displeased him. Nothing
anyone could take to the authorities, but the rumours were enough. He was
making his move...and he planned to be successful.

Lum wanted to cry. In the time she lived on Earth, she never wanted
things between her two home planets to come to this! And with Sagussa now
involved? Start counting casualties at a billion, then expect them to grow
geometrically. When angered, the *daishi'cha* were capable of anything.

The Oni draws in a deep breath.

There was only one thing to do.

Her captors used devices which tapped into all her memories, then
carefully reworked them to make her feel as if all those she knew were her
enemies. Hypnotism was then used to funnel her charged emotions away from
accessing rational thought, rendering her memories, the foundation of her true
feelings and beliefs, useless.

However, it had not worked when she was made to target Ataru or Noa.
Due to the strong nature of their psi-bonds, Lum's mind was constantly
refreshened by psi-flashes of their true nature, dispelling the artificial
feelings forced by her hypnosis. Now she knew how Ataru felt, always fighting
off the *saikoo jinseijitsu's* influence.

Unfortunately, her captors were dedicated...and with Yethis Seq as their
employer, they had no choice but to carry out his commands. The chief
technician was right; he would NOT stop until Lum subscribed to his control.
And sooner or later, he might strike on the idea of blocking the Oni's links
to Ataru and Noa. If that happened, Lum would become really vulnerable.

Unless...

Lum felt confident that her captors were not clear as to how much she
had changed over the last half-year. Despite their prowess in hypnosis and
mind-bending techniques, they treated her as if she was completely Oni.
Unfortunately for them, Lum was as much a Sagussan as Noa. That meant that
they could not expect the unique mental disciplines her adopted race took for
granted. Like *mei'manuni.*

Making herself calm, Lum pulls out her secret weapon. She focuses her
mind's energy, drawing her *mei'na* from the realm of the conscious into the
realm of the unconscious...

* * *

"Are we ready?" the chief technician demands on returning to the bridge.

"All systems programmed," the hypnosis technician reports. "We're set."

"Good! Time to show the galaxy what Urusians are capable of," he
smiles. "Begin the new procedure!"

"Sir!!" the medical technician yelps. "Her brain patterns redlined!!!"

"What?!!" the chief barks. "What's going on?!!"

"All conscious thought just...stopped!!" the technician shakes his head.
"It's as if...she just slipped into a coma!"

"Get her out of it!!" the chief barks.

"I'm trying!!!" the technician frantically manipulates the controls...

* * *

Before Lum places the last part of her soul into that deep sleep, a
mental image of Noa appears in the autonomic control centre in her mind.
*Mei'manuni*..."silencing of the mind"...was where the *mei'na* would enter a
psychic cocoon, unreachable by all forms of mind-melding outside of those
performed by one's bond-mates. A deep coma indeed.

But to ensure that the body did not fail in this state, the autonomic
control centre was kept active. The best way to do this was to give it basic
mental commands and memories to work on, then let it go to work. This
way...given Lum's current predicament...she could make herself return to her
loved ones without anyone trying to hypnotize her into doing something else.

<<Find Noa,>> her mental voice speaks. <<Noa is your lover. Find her.
Destroy all those who try to stop you from finding Noa. Noa will take you to
Darling...>> a mental picture of Ataru then appears. <<When you are with
both, help them free me. No other person can interfere. No one.>>

Then darkness...

* * *

"Lum!!!" Noa cries out.

The *ashi'cha* feels sweaty hands fall on her arms. Shivering, she
turns to stare at a panicked Ataru. "Wh-what happened...?" he demands, eyes
wide with fear and confusion. "Something happened to Lum..."

Noa blinks, allowing Ataru to embrace her. Both were presently in the
guest quarters on "Hasei'cha's" fantail, the ship now proceeding at maximum
warp for Sagussa. "Yes," she nods. "It felt as if..."

"She shut her mind off!" Ataru gags. "Oh, no, she killed herself!!"

"No!!" Noa shakes her head. "It's a special discipline she's using!
*Mei'manuni!* She did it to protect herself!! She's still safe!"

Ataru blinks, his mind allowing her words to sink in. "She...what are
they doing to her...?"

"I don't know," Noa shakes her head. "But...she gave her body a mental
command..." Concentrating, she tries to understand what Lum had said. "'Find
Noa,'" her voice takes on a touch of Lum's accent. "'Noa is your lover. Find
her. Destroy all those who try to stop you from finding Noa. Noa will take
you to Darling. When you are with both, help them free me. No other person
can interfere. No one.'"

"She should've at least told herself to tell us where she is!" Ataru
moans. Still new to these mental powers Lum and Noa took for granted, he felt
lost at sea.

"She probably couldn't," Noa shakes her head, "...becasue she didn't
know herself. Right now, I have to get out there and find her."

"Hey!" he holds her. "Relax. Maybe these animals made her do it so
that you'd come out into the open! You're the more dangerous threat to
whatever they have in mind, Noa!"

"But we can't abandon Lum!!" she pleads.

"We aren't!" he snaps. "But we haven't the foggiest idea of what we're
up against! Not even all the rover units could tell us what's going on!
We're amateurs at this game, Noa! And Lum loves and cares for both of us too
much to allow us to stumble into harm's way without making sure it's safe!"

The *ashi'cha* feels tears sting her eyes. All she wanted after that
nerve-grating three months following "Renegade" was to help Ataru constitute
Sagussa's government, find a niche in that government so she could serve her
people to the best of her ability, have her first baby, then spend days and
weeks being with the two beings who were more important to her than Honey and
Alphonse. "I...I feel so helpless..." she sobs, sinking into his embrace.
"All the power we have and we can't do a thing..."

"Please don't cry, Noa..." tears flow down his cheeks. "I need someone
to help me be strong..."

Both sink into the covers, allowing their grief and uncertainty to flow
from their systems. There, Honey finds them sometime later. Seeing the damp
faces, she gently draws covers over them, then silently leaves the room...

* * *

"What happened?!!" the chief technician roars.

"She...she had some sort of mental command!" the hypnosis technician
shakes his head, sweat pouring down his face as he stares at the readouts.
"It allowed her to bottle her very self into some impenetrable mind-bubble!"

"Then break her out of it!!"

"I can't!" the technician gasps. "The mental shielding is unlike
anything I've ever seen!! There is no way I can break into that to get her
out! I doubt even her own people could do it!!"

"What do you mean 'her own people?!'" the chief blinks. "We ARE her
people!"

The medical technician shakes his head, holding a datapadd. "Not
anymore. Look at this."

"What?!" the chief glares at the report.

"I did a biopsy scan of her," the medic sighs. "Her entire DNA and RNA
structure has been radically altered in ways I can't begin to imagine! You
see it, don't you?!" he points at the padd.

The chief reads. "'Lifespan extended to 800-1000 year range,'" he
blinks, his eyes moving on their own accord. "'Advanced pain resistance and
body recuperative abilities. Increased mental and mental defense abilities
never before encountered...?'" He stares at the medic in disbelief. "Did you
make this up?!"

"No!!" he shakes his head. "That is what she is! She is NO LONGER an
Urusian! I can't even begin to tell WHAT she is!!"

The chief lowers the padd. "I can't believe this," the hypnosis
technician shakes his head. "Are you saying her DNA's been rewritten?! I
thought that was impossible!"

"To us, yes!" the medic nods. "But to whomever did this, it was child's
play! It's as if that was the way she was born!! Whoever these people are,
they're masters at genetic engineering!!"

"But we have Lum's DNA files," the chief muses. "They're with her
personal doctor and the Urusian Defence Force."

"Yes," the medic nods. "I gained access to a copy! Comparing the two
scans, it's as if she's become a different person!! The only thing that
remains the same are the memories!"

"So this is Lum," the hypnosis technician sighs.

"And it isn't!" the chief hums, then turns to the helm. "Set course for
Earth!"

"Aye-aye," the helm keys controls.

The others stare quizzically at their leader. "We're going to Earth and
we're going to obtain one of these...'Sagussans,'" he sighs. "I want to
compare that person's DNA with Lum's. The General will want proof; it might
allow his own staff to ferret out a weakness. Besides, if they care so much
about Lum, our new guest might bring her out of her coma. In the meantime,
what in our future Empress' mind ARE we dealing with?"

"It's just basic autonomic controls," the hypnosis technician reports.
"Running breathing, cardiovascular system, nervous system. It's as if she's
become nothing more than an android."

"An android?" the chief muses. "Good. Maybe we can program her into
doing what we want."

"What if we can't recover her conscious mind?!" the medic wonders.

"That should please the General all the more," the chief hums. "An
Empress the Houses could totally control. In the meantime, what say we get
back to work?" He turns to helm. "Tell me when we reach Earth."

"Yes, sir," the helmsman nods.

The chief steps off the bridge. A moment later, he steps into the
chamber holding Lum. She seems unnaturally still as he removes the helmet.
Kneeling before her, he shudders on seeing the most far away look he had ever
encountered on a person's face. As if nothing around Lum mattered anymore.
"Lum," he gently prods, touching her nose. "Are you in there?"

Her head turns robotically. "You are not Noa," she announces with all
the grace of a computer.

"Noa?!" he muses. Post-hypnotic suggestion, then. "Now...why would you
want to find Noa?"

Lum turns away. "I must locate Noa. Noa is my lover."

He jolts, eyes widening in surprise. Lover?! This was a twist. "Noa
is not here," he announces, then leans toward her. "In fact, Noa is NOT your
lover! Noa is your enemy."

She stares at him. "Your analysis is incorrect. Noa is my lover. Noa
is the one who matters. I must locate Noa."

He sighs. What did he expect? Lum was known to be insufferably
stubborn. "Pity," he sighs, moving to replace the helmet on her head. "I
can't allow that to happen. You see, Noa stands in the way of many people's
dreams. She must die...and you will kill her."

Lum blinks. The other sentient did not understand. Noa was Lum's
lover. Therefore, she could not be Lum's enemy. Lum had to find Noa, who
would then take her to Darling. All who tried to stop her had to die. Logic
dictated that Noa must be alive for Lum to locate, hence Lum had to stop all
those who would attempt to kill Noa.

"No," she announces. "You must die."

Before he could react, her body glows with her powers. Electricity
destroys her bonds as she rises, turning on the shocked chief. Her fingers
lash out, punching his eyeballs into his skull as her other forearm smashes
into his trachea, crushing it! As he drops, Lum turns to the door. Her
*mei'na* had left her the necessary data to deduce where she was, what her
general situation was, determine efficient routes of escape, as well as all
the necessary methodology in communicating with those around her.

Therefore, she had to leave.

Those who stood in her way would die.

Logical.

Pressing the door controls, she heads into the corridor, looking around.
Urusian Defence Force Class XVI small warpscout. Turning forward, she
proceeds to the bridge, causing the whole crew to leap out of their seats in
shock. "She's free!!!" the hypnosis technician cries.

The others leap at her, stun batons and other weapons emerging. Using
the training Nassur and Lufy drilled into her, Lum methodically, robotically
kills them. As the last dropped lifeless to the deck, she sits at the helm,
staring at the status board. The scout was approaching Earth. Cloaking
device was on. Lum quickly deactivates it, realizing that Noa could not find
her if she was invisible. Setting course for Oshika, she moves to the scanner
station.

It was already programmed to spy on Ataru's home. Lum stares at the
image, her mind analyzing the incoming data. "Hasei'cha" was not on the
ground. "Kiboo'cha" was not there. No other Sagussan vessel was present.
Calling up lifescans, she detects that no one was in the house. Noa was not
present. That state did not bother the Oni.

Lum simply had to look elsewhere.

She relaxes in her chair, considering her options. She knew she had
been kidnapped from the starship "Renegade" 27.6 hours after departure from
Colony Seventy-one. The others aboard the ship had not been harmed; simply
drugged to ensure they did not interfere in the extraction. Nassur was a
friend. He would help Lum find Noa. Logic dictated that Lum had to locate
Nassur.

Where?

Return to the scene of the extraction, go from there.

Lum programs a new course, guiding the sloop away from Earth into the
Dead Zone...

* * *

"Lum-chan's missing?!!" Ten-chan exclaims.

Invader sadly nods. "Sadly, yes. Someone hypnotized Lum into attacking
Mr. Groom at his home. Before he and Ms. Groom could find out what happened,
they took her away. Ms. Groom and her friends took him to Sagussa just now.
And no one has any idea where Nassur and the others are!"

Ten-chan nods, remembering that once his uncle and aunt came to grips
with Lum's bond with Noa, Invader bestowed the nickname "Ms. Groom" to the
*ashi'cha.* Calling her by name would be perceived as blasphemous among most
Urusians. No one used the names "Noa" and "Honey" for their children out of
respect for the Maidens...and although Noa was Sagussan, she still physically
resembled a Seishin. "At least Ataru and Reiko-chan are safe," he sighs.

"That's good!" Minami stares at her classmate. The two students had
elected to take the young Oni's personal scout back to Earth. Not wanting to
be with grown-ups, at the same time, they wanted some time to themselves.
Since Ten-chan's ship was far slower than "Renegade," only now were they
approaching Minami's home star system. "Oji-chan, who could've hurt Lum-
sempai like that?"

"I don't know, child!" Invader sighs, smiling at his nephew's friend.
"All I do know is that once Mr. Groom and Ms. Groom gather their wits, they'll
tear this galaxy apart to find Lum. In the meantime, I want you two to be on
your guard. Who knows what could happen next."

"Right," both nod.

The screen goes blank, revealing the image of an Urusian Defence Force
scout approaching from Earth. "Hey, who's that?!" Minami points.

"I dunno," Ten-chan presses a control. "Hey!! Who's out there?!"

The image melts into Lum's face. "Jariten," she blinks.

"Lum-chan!!!" relief flows from Ten-chan. "Are you okay?!! What's
going on?!! You're still not trying to kill Ataru, are ya?!!"

"Negative," she evenly responds. "Those who attempted to coerce me into
slaying Noa and Darling have been terminated. I must locate Noa."

Ten-chan shudders. "Um...how come you're talking like a computer?"

"My *mei'na* performed *mei'manuni* to defend herself against forced
hypnosis," she explains. "The sentience presently controlling my body is an
autonomic control system designed to permit me to return unmolested to Noa and
Darling. Once in their company, they will free my *mei'na* from stasis and
restore me to proper function."

Ten-chan blinks, surprised at what happened. "I never knew Noa-san's
people were like that!" Minami gasps.

"Wow!" he wonders. "S-so...I guess I can't talk you into going to see
your parents, huh?"

"Negative," Lum shakes her head. "My orders are to locate Noa, who will
take me to Darling. All who interfere in the completion of that task will be
terminated."

The young Oni shudders at that dire pronouncement. Given the training
Lufy gave his cousin, Lum COULD kill all those who stood in her way of finding
Noa and Ataru. "So...whatcha going to do now?" Ten-chan hesitantly inquires.
"I mean, you can't take that ship to Sagussa. Sagussa's on the other side of
the Galactic Barrier, remember?"

"I am aware of that fact," Lum nods. "I must locate Nassur. Have you
seen him?"

"No," Ten-chan shakes his head. "No one's seen Nassur-chan or the
others since they left Colony Seventy-one!"

Suddenly, sensory alarms sound off on both ships. "What's that?!"
Minami wonders.

Ten-chan blinks, then beams. "Hey!!! It's the hybrids' ship!!"

Approaching the two craft is a bulky frigate-class ship bearing the
pennant code NFI-444. The symbol of Nassur's hunting group is on the lone
rudder as the "Perseverance" comes to a halt alongside Lum's ship. A three-
way conference call is initiated, revealing Hazel. "Lum-sensei!!!" she gasps.
"Are you okay?!! What's going on here?!"

Lum quickly recaps the events surrounding her capture and torture.
Hazel nods as she comprehends why her former teacher has now become so cold.
"Well, if you're looking for Sensei and his friends, they're on Phentax Two
right now. A Niphentaxian patrol craft found them before they could drift
into the Ipraedies Neutral Zone."

"Phentax Two," Lum nods. "Understood."

"Phentax Two?!" Ten-chan moans, slapping his forehead. "Figures Oogi'd
get involved!!"

"That is not relevant, Jariten," Lum announces. "Nassur will aid me in
contacting Noa. I will proceed to Phentax Two."

"Lum-sensei, wait!!" Hazel calls out. "You can't go out there all by
yourself!!! If the creeps who did this to you are still around, they could
try to hurt you again!!"

"They will fail," Lum warns. "All who prevent me from contacting Noa
will be terminated. Even those who are Lum's friends."

The hybrids jolt, shivering at the Oni's emotionless gaze. "Sempai,
wouldn't it be easier if we helped you restore your mind to normal?" Naosu
cuts in.

"Vosian psionic powers are insufficient to the proper restoration of my
mind," Lum explains. "A psychic knife will simply deflect off my psi-shields.
Further, your minds are unshielded from the presence of the *te'a* common to a
Sagussan's mind. If you expose yourself to such conditions, you will self-
terminate. Only Noa and Darling can restore me, Naosu."

Everyone exchanges looks. "Well, if you say so," Hazel shudders. "Just
be careful, okay?"

"I will be fine," Lum nods, then faces Ten-chan. "Ten-chan," a touch of
warmth enters her voice. "You take Minami-chan home and protect her.
Understood?"

"R-right," Ten-chan nods.

With that, the Urusian sloop turns away from the "Perseverance" and Ten-
chan's ship. Everyone watches it go. "Be careful, Lum-sensei," Hazel
shudders...

* * *

"She's going to Phentax Two!" an aide whispers into Yethis' ear.

The general, a handsome yet stoic man in his mid-forties possessing a
Lincolnesque beard sans moustache, blinks, his glasses reflecting surrounding
light. They were presently in a meeting of the Tribal Council. "Send a ship
after her, bring her back," Yethis orders.

"At once, sir," the aide bows, then departs...

* * *

Sometime later, "Hasei'cha" emerges from warp, ten thousand parsecs and
three hours after departing Earth. On the bridge, everyone stares at the
bleak vision before them as Ataru and Noa arrive. "Are we there?" he wonders.

"We're just coming in," Shildy glances over her shoulder.

Ataru gazes. Sen'a burned white fire in the distance as a scarred world
loomed before the warpscout. The triangular mass of Tere'na, one of the three
continent-provinces which composed Sagussa's viable landmass before the Clone
Rights War, was still visible although the vast oceans separating her from
Kyre'sha and Ly'sha are nreduced to small seas no larger than the Great Lakes.
Some mountain ranges still possessed tiny caps of glaciers, where high
altitudes alleviated Sen'a's scorching heat.

At the southern tip of the continent, there seemed a great pimple wedged
between the mountains. Tere'na-korgh, the Forge of Tere'na, birthplace of the
Fourth Republic. Dotting the blasted landscape were small oases, places where
temperature and limited water supplies permitted some life to survive now,
many millennia after the last act of the Clone Rights War: the detonation of
Sen'a's red dwarf sister Eisen'a. That act caused Sen'a, its internal fuel
augmented by Eisen'a's shattered mass, to expand to the size of a white giant,
burning the two inner worlds to a cinder and wrecking Sagussa's ecosystem.
Repairing that was the primary task presently before the *daishi'cha.*

Also dotting Tere'na's barren surface were the skeletons of great
cities. Tere'na-chi, Tere'na City, Sagussa's world capital, was at the west
end of the continent. Once housing twenty billion people, all that was left
of the vast metropolis was a great crater surrounded by shattered suburbs now
surrendering to Nature's housecleaning. That was the site of an annihilation
weapon blast detonated by Tarun-Chong in reprisal of Lyna's death, the opening
act of the War of Clone Rights. Other beautiful cities and communes dot the
landscape as "Hasei'cha" makes her approach. They would be torn down,
replaced by forest and fields once a water supply was secured. Sagussa simply
did not possess the population base to permit those towns to exist.

Soaring over the bed of the old Western Ocean, Ataru stares heavenward.
There, a red crescent looms over Sagussa, its rocks tinted by the boiling
mineral-genetic soup in its mantle which gave the *daishi'cha* new life.
Sagurei, surviving witness to her mother planet's apocalypse...and hopefully,
her re-genesis. Staring down, Ataru watches as the old shoreline passes. In
the plains to the west of the old Tere'na City, the capital's Fifth Republic
incarnation was beginning to rise. Amy guides the sloop in a figure eight
over the site of the Republic Hall of Assembly, the arcology which would house
Sagussa's central government. Below, *daishi'cha* sheathed in engineering
red-and-gold shout and wave, well aware of the special cargo the "Hasei'cha"
bears.

Staring at those anxious faces, Ataru feels tears sting his cheeks.
They were there for him, supporting him. They loved him as if he was one of
their own. He WAS one of them, had been for a decade and more. He could not
run away, not now. They had still so far to go. HE had still so far to go.
What made it worse was that Lum was not here to share in his homecoming.
Unable to say anything more, he turns away, finding himself in Noa's embrace.
The "Hasei'cha's" crew remains respectfully quiet as Ataru is escorted back to
his cabin.

"Some homecoming, huh?" Mie sadly shakes her head, sinking into Makoto's
embrace...

* * *

"Welcome home, Ataru!!!" Sakura smiles.

After the "Hasei'cha" made her flypast of Tere'na City, the warpsloop
lands on a solemn plateau east of Sagussa's future capital. There, buried
under a kilometre of sandstone and limestone, lies the embryo of the Fifth
Republic of Sagussa, the Chamber of Eternity. When the sloop is on the
ground, Ataru is escorted down an escalator to the Chamber's main level, where
a sea of women await him.

Staring at Sakura...*daishi'cha* #7728...Ataru feels a conflict of
emotions. A touch of typical lust for such an attractive woman. Fear that
this Sakura would be the same as Tomobiki's Sakura. Curiosity about the
differences between the government minister and the school nurse. Being
central government...Sakura was seen as one of the logical choices as Prime
Councillor, Sagussa's head of government...it was natural that she lead the
reception. Smiling, he allows her to embrace him. "Thanks, Sakura!" he
kisses her cheek, taking the bouquet of flowers. "I appreciate it."

A hush falls over the crowd as everyone stares at him. Ataru feels
himself freeze. After Icarus, he developed a fear of public speaking
rivalling Shinobu's. However, the warm gazes melt that fear away. Clearing
his throat, he begins. "I...as you all know, I still don't remember...the
last time I was here. I hope you can help me recover those memories so I can
better serve you."

He sees confusion flash on some faces. Best to get that fact straight.
"You bestow on me an honour others would gladly take advantage of," he adds.
"In a sense, temptation is there. I want you to remember that this is YOUR
planet, YOUR society first and foremost. Until I can adjust myself to be an
equal part of this society, I'm YOUR servant. Just because you want me to
become your head-of-state doesn't mean that everything I say is law. YOUR
planet. YOUR society. Disagree with me. Argue with me. Say you don't like
what I tell you. There's nothing wrong with it."

The confusion melts from many people. At least they understood the idea
of not blindly following orders. He hoped. "I come from a society which is
so rigid, so structured, so conscious about toeing the line that those who do
not are automatically ostracized, banished from the group. I know what it's
like to be hazed, to be spat on because I didn't follow the norm. Don't allow
Sagussa to develop that way. Just by your very nature...people who hail from
two dozen races, maybe more...diversity is the rule, not the exception. You
have a unique opportunity here to get it right the first time. Nothing mortal
is ever perfect. Those who launched Gisan'cha believed they could make it
perfect. We're stuck repairing the damage that belief unleashed. Remember
that."

Nods of understanding answer. Ataru sighs, feeling tears in his eyes.
"As you also know...I only came with Reiko-chan today," he looks down. "I
wanted so much for Lum to be here with me, to share in the fulfillment of the
dream Yura had. However, there are those who fear my union with Lum, the
acceptance that two different races could live together in peace. I intend to
go public with who and what we are, finally unveil the mystery of the Maidens
of the Eternal Voyager. We have an opportunity to show the galaxy there IS
another way. That the diplomacy of the gun is NOT the only way to deal
between races. You look at each other as people...not just as women, not as
Oni or Terran or Vosian or whatever. Sagussans. ONE people. You care for
each other, love each other, work with each other as people. ANYONE can
become a Sagussan. That is the greatest lesson the Grand Design teaches.
Please remember that, pass it on to the future generations...or else, I
sincerely believe, the Fifth Republic will face the same fate as the Fourth.
Thanks."

With that, Noa and Honey fall beside him as the crowd emits a thunderous
cheer echoing through the Chamber of Eternity. Many reach out, touching him.
Some even embrace him, whispering their support, sympathy, love. Ataru nods,
smiling, his senses intoxicated with the outpouring of emotions flowing his
way. Maybe he could learn to like this.

In minutes, the crowd reaches one end of the Chamber's main level,
location of the master bedroom the engineers constructed for him twelve years
ago. As the doors close, Ataru sighs as Reiko runs up to him. "Daddy, can
you believe how many people are out there?!" the Noukiite wonders, allowing
Ataru to boost her into his arms.

"Yeah," he sighs. "My dreams were never THAT prolific!"

The master bedroom is a circular chamber fifteen metres wide. The roof
is a screen-sensitive glass dome projecting above the plateau's sloping
surface, allowing filtered sunlight to gleam through. The windows allow Ataru
a view of the old river valley which flowed into the Western Ocean at Tere'na
City. On the other side, the Himalayan peaks of the Esanta'cha cut into the
heavens, taller than Everest, more massive than Mars' Olympus Mons. Staring
at the bleak surface which once teamed with life, he shakes his head. "How
can we ever get life to return to this place?"

"It's possible," Noa walks up beside him. "Once Sen'a burns off the
access energy of Eisen'a, she'll revert to a normal G-class star not so
different from Sol."

"That could take millions of years!" Ataru protests.

"Not really," Noa shakes her head. "The way the stellar physicists put
it, Sen'a is still your typical G-class star. However, it now has a layer
over its photosphere of burning gasses and debris. That's what's left of
Eisen'a. They have ideas about how to draw off that access energy, but to
build the machines necessary for it will take time...plus we need the
construction yards for it."

"And there are no construction yards available," Ataru concludes.
"Wonderful. Once the yards are there, how long can it take for these machines
to be built?"

"Ten years," Noa shrugs.

"Priority has to go to the engineers to locate the old construction
yards then," Ataru nods. "Tell Intelligence that the rover units are to be
redeployed to locate the old fleet. Try to haul up whatever data we have on
other Sagussan bases outside Zephyrus and Kurakoa. I don't think Elle would
apply in this case. Not that I'd want to deal with their idiot queen if I
could help it. What else has to happen?"

"Other than that, we need water...tons of it," Honey sighs. "We have a
single water tanker drawing off the ice from the outer worlds, plus there's
the water which evaporated when Eisen'a exploded...but what we could really
use is a waterlogged planet at the beginning stages of its evolution."

"Or try to obtain water from inhabited worlds," Noa muses. "Most worlds
work on a precious metals system for monetary value. Sagussa has enough
precious metals to more than compensate their loss."

"Earth is starting to succumb to global warming," Honey adds. "There
are fears that once the sea level rises, cities like Tokyo and New York would
be inundated. We could get it from Greenland or Antarctica."

"How can we ship it?" Ataru wonders. "Is the tanker big enough?"

"It's eight times the Gatherer's size," Honey blinks. "It could move
360,000,000,000 tons of water in one voyage."

"The only problem is collecting three hundred and sixty cubic kilometres
of water in one trip," Noa adds.

"Well, that task belongs to External Affairs," Ataru nods. "The
ceremony. Let's have it in two days. I want the final lists of whomever
should fall into what position. Any position still blank?"

"Commissioner of Internal Security and the chief's post, plus Governor
of Sen'sha Seven," Noa muses. "We could get them later."

"Okay," Ataru nods. "Now, who should we invite? We need an INN crew
there. Milan Domo's crew should be fine. What about dignitaries from other
planets?"

"Definitely Karasutengu," Honey muses. "We rescued many of their people
from some alien calling herself the Celestial Toymaker. They've always been
friendly to our cause...not to mention keeping their mouths shut."

Ataru grimaces. "Find Kurama. I want to see the look on her face when
she learns its me. Vos?"

"It would be prudent," Noa hums. "But what about Hunba?"

"We'll ask her, then," Ataru nods. "And we should have someone there
representing Earth. Once we have External Affairs working, that's our first
point of diplomacy. Zephyrus should also be kept in mind. No one else."

The two nod, then head out to relay information. Ataru sighs, then
walks over to the bed. Reiko is already there. "You okay, Daddy?" the young
Noukiite wonders.

"No," he sinks into his bed. "Gods, I hate this job!"

* * *

"Morning, Nassur," Shinobu smiles as she emerges from her guest bedroom.
"How are you today?"

"I'm fine," the Vosian nods as they proceed to the dining hall of Oogi's
mansion. "I just wish Oogi would stop mothering us and allow us to leave."

"Aren't you worried about Lum?" the Terran wonders.

"Of course," Nassur nods. "But I would feel loads better if we were off
this planet and back to our lives. The idea of keeping my daughter on a
planet full of people who believe her existence to be a danger frightens me."

"Me, too," Shinobu sighs. "But why is Oogi keeping us here? Why can't
we just walk to the 'Renegade,' get aboard, then head home?"

"He is concerned about our safety, remember?" he muses. "Even though we
find the Church of Lum annoying, they do care for us. But, then again..." his
voice trails off.

"What is it?"

"Oogi knows something...or at least suspects it," his eyes narrow. "It
may have something to do with their attempt to attack Earth sometime ago. I
saw Feb's after-battle report. It was too well planned for it to be a solely
Niphentaxian operation."

"Yes, they had help," she remembers those hectic several hours before
graduation. "Rei's uncle was there with his fleet. It looked as if they were
going to sweep in and invade on the pretense of persuading the Niphentaxians
to leave. Feb had Eluza and Sylia turn their System Destroyer to fire on
Yethis' ships to make Rei's uncle turn against Oogi."

"She did?!" Nassur blinks. "Whoa! That must've been something."

Both fall silent as they enter the dining hall. Oogi is there waiting
for them. "Good morning, both of you," he respectfully bows. "Nassur-sama,
may I confer with you?"

"What is it?" Nassur stops, allowing Shinobu to take her seat.

The president leans up to him. "Sir, could you do something about
them?" he points.

Nassur turns to watch the guards and Mendou fawning over their lovers.
The presence of Sil, Tanoshii, Aijooa, Kenmei and Yasashii is enough to deter
the five "holy apostles" from bemoaning Lum's disappearance...not that Nassur
suspected they would regress. "What's wrong with that?" Nassur wonders.

"Nassur-sama, they're the Holy Apostles, remember?!" Oogi hisses.
"Their primary task is to venerate Lum-sama!"

"Their primary task right now is to get AWAY from venerating Lum,"
Nassur barbs, enjoying the sight of Oogi's discomfort. "Their lives are not
yours to command, Oogi, just as Lum's isn't. Sooner or later, your people are
going to have to find some other place to bestow their good wishes. If you
don't, you're dooming yourselves."

"May I remind you of the prophecy..."

"I'm aware of that!" Nassur's voice turns to brittle ice. "I'm also
aware that there are some among your people who find it easy to break away
from your annoying habit of worshipping every icon which catches your eye.
They're living on New Avalon beside your former slaves. Maybe it's time for
you to start learning from them or else doom WILL come to your people. My
people had to learn that about the Mikado. Yours will have to do the same
with Lum."

Oogi shudders as Nassur proceeds to his place. Sakura notices the
insulted look on the president's face. "What did you tell him?" the priestess
wonders.

Nassur sits. "I told him to get a life," he smiles.

"Everyone's been telling him that for the last ten years," Lan mutters
from nearby. "Do you think he'll listen to you?"

"He'd better listen to someone before Ataru comes along and teaches it
to him...at the end of the Gatherer's proton cannons," the Vosian warns.

"No great loss," the Seishin teen snickers, returning to feeding Rei.

Suddenly, the door opens, revealing one of Oogi's Kuromegane. "Mister
President!!" he gasps. "There's an emergency at the Great Lum Church!!!"

"What?!!" Oogi demands.

"The child you asked the priests to protect!!" the Kuromegane gasps.
"She's been kidnapped!!!"

Horror sweeps across everyone's faces...

* * *

"All systems shutting down?" Lum blinks.

The Urusian warpsloop bearing her to Phentax Two had decelerated from
hyperspace, still some distance from her goal. The Oni quickly draws up
computer readouts to determine what is going on. Before the main computer
shuts down, she notes one thing. "Computer virus?"

Lum relaxes, considering her situation. Someone was again interfering
with her search for Noa. Who could be responsible? Since she was aboard a
Defence Force ship, she concludes that those who had kidnapped her had finally
caught up. No matter; she would kill them and continue on her way.

Suddenly, a communications signal is heard...just as the hulking mass of
a very large starship, larger than anything the Urusian Union had in its
possession, pulls alongside the crippled sloop. Lum blinks, then presses the
controls for two-way visual. "Who are you?" she inquires.

The front viewscreen melts into the image of a plump, gregarious
hominoid male of indeterminable race dressed in a not so convincing facsimile
of a prince's uniform. His chubby face is covered by a bushy Van Dyke beard
and sideburns. He stares, then a too-friendly smile crosses his face. "Good
afternoon, my dear," he lecherously purrs. "You seem to be having a spot of
trouble with your ship? May I be of assistance?"

Lum blinks. He seemed not to be the one responsible for this present
delay. If the Defence Force was after her, placing herself in another's ship
was the prudent evasive tactic. "You may," she nods. "My craft has been
disabled by a computer virus. I am proceeding to Phentax Two to locate
Nassur."

"Well, I can take you there, my dear!" he claps his hand, his eyes
mentally undressing her. "My name is Koibito Otaku. Come aboard and we'll be
on our way."

"Acknowledged," Lum nods, standing. "Commence transport."

A teleport beam takes her away...

* * *

Some moments later, Koibito's nine kilometre long craft soars away from
the stalled warpsloop. In the endless hallways of the ship, Lum and her
gregarious host proceed to the main bridge. The Oni's expression remains
neutral, barely acknowledging Koibito's explanation of his ship's
capabilities. None of this was relevant to Lum. Finding Noa was. If Koibito
aided her, fine. If he interfered, he would die.

Finally, the two arrive in a small ante-chamber. "We'll be a couple of
days to Phentax Two," Koibito smiles, guiding Lum inside. "You can stay here.
Please, make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you," the Oni nods, then stops, noticing a forcefield before the
closed curtains blocking her view into the ante-chamber. "What is this?"

"Ah, I have precious collectibles within this chamber," Koibito sighs.
"That is a cleansing field which removes all the unwanted bacteria from a
person's body before entry. My clothes are already cleansed since I come here
almost every day. You'll have to disrobe before going in. Don't worry, my
dear; there are clothes inside."

"Of course," Lum flicks off her bikini, then proceeds through the field.

Koibito's eyes lasciviously swim over her contours as Lum parts the
curtains, revealing a small lounge the size of her old classroom. Lining the
walls are very realistic statues of nude women, all in very suggestive poses.
Folded on tables beside each are well knit clothing. Lum glances around,
noting the differences of race...then her eyes locate a strawberry blonde
Seishin woman bearing a striking resemblance to...

"Noa!"

The Oni runs up to the frozen statue, her eyes detecting the differences
between this woman and her bond-mate. "Oh," she blinks, stepping back. "This
is not Noa."

"No," Koibito walks up to her side. "Beautiful, isn't she?"

"Irrelevant," Lum turns, proceeding to sit herself on a couch. "I will
remain here. Inform me when we arrive on Phentax Two."

"Of course, my dear," a devilish smile crosses his face as he keys a
wall control.

Lum jolts as her body suddenly stiffens. Before she could comprehend
what is going on, all physical movement stops. Koibito quickly moves to shift
the Oni's stilled body into a more provocative pose. "Silly girl!" he laughs.
"That was no cleansing field you walked through! That field was a special
paralysis field coating you with a fine resin that permits me to control your
every motion. I collect beautiful women as you can see...and you've just
become the latest addition to my collection. Isn't that nice?"

The Oni, unable to move anything, is still aware of what her eyes and
ears can detect. "You can hear me, but don't worry," Koibito's voice echoes
in her ear. "You will soon enter a very deep sleep. I think whoever was
waiting for you on Phentax Two will be waiting for a long time. But be
assured, you will not be totally alone. All around you are women just like
you, alone and vulnerable in an unforgiving galaxy. I obtained them just like
I obtained you. That doesn't matter anymore, I guess."

With that, he rises, lifting the stilled Lum into a display location
beside the unmoving Seishin woman. "Here you go," he kisses her. "Since you
took a liking to her right away, I'll leave you with Ayesha. Have a nice
day."

Sensing unconsciousness coming, Lum quickly considers her options. That
Koibito Otaku would die was understood. Still, Lum was stopped from finding
Noa. However, there was one final answer: the Dreamscape. The Oni knew how
paralysis systems worked. This system would shut down both her conscious and
unconscious minds, keeping her body perfectly preserved. It was used in early
space travel by a dozen races before warp drive and inertia dampeners made
faster-than-light travel between systems possible. In this state, Lum knew,
she could not access the mental web the Sagussans used to maintain contact
with each other over their years in cryogenic suspension.

Quickly probing into Noa's site, she transmits a message. <<Noa. I am
trapped aboard Koibito Otaku's ship. Danger. Assistance is required.>>

A pause, then, <<Tell Darling...I love him...I love you both...>>

Darkness...

* * *

"Lum!!!" Noa gasps, bolting out of bed.

Now that the others were moving to obtain personal service from their
*daimon'cha,* Noa had relocated to her permanent quarters deep in the
Chamber's accommodations section. These were temporary quarters, meant to
last the short time before apartments and homes could be built in Tere'na,
Kyre'sha and Ly'sha. With construction engineers working round the clock to
build them, Noa expected to live in the Chamber for a year.

Blinking, the *ashi'cha* quickly dons a robe, then concentrates,
replaying Lum's distress call in her mind. Koibito Otaku? *Oh, him!* Noa
sneers, her eyes rolling. A self-styled "galactic Casanova," he wandered
known space with his sister on their junkheap of a starship, collecting (read:
kidnapping) innocent people and turning them into living mannequins for their
private amusement. And with Lum's mind in its present state, she was more
than vulnerable to Koibito's moves.

Noa quickly slips on jeans and a shirt. Staying here was wrong when her
bond-mate was in danger. She also knew that when the investiture ceremony
would begin, she was required as Elder Mother to officiate. But there were
ways to get around that. All she needed was her companion android.

While most of the bio-mechanical doubles of the *daishi'cha* were used
to allow others to "date" them in private, some used the androids as personal
aides, acting as the *daishi'cha's* conscience whenever required. Noa was one
who had converted her droid to that purpose, long before her bonding to Lum.
It was a great way of keeping Catty at arm's length.

Heading to the level where each of the androids were stored, Noa passes
the small chambers. "Love hotels," Lufy called them once...and they were that
in many cases. Many of the rooms would not be out of place in a love hotel in
Japan like the House of Aphrodite, the place Kakugari and Kenmei visited on
their first date. Each *daishi'cha* decorated the chambers to their personal
tastes, to better replicate the mood of their personal lives.

Even though Noa did not allow her double to date others, she had also
fallen into the habit of dressing up her android's storage room. Noa's double
was presently in a replica of a living room, sitting deactivated on a couch.
She is dressed in an autumn-pattern kimono, resembling a typical Japanese
teenager celebrating Girl's Day. Sitting beside her double, Noa whispers in
her ear, "Wake up."

The android blinks, then smiles. "What are you doing here, Onee-chan?
Is there something wrong? James told me Ataru-sama was here. Is he okay?"

"No," Noa sighs. "Listen...I need a big favour."

* * *

"What happened here?!!" Nassur screams.

A room of the Great Lum Church, converted to be a private worshipping
chamber for those who venerated Nassur and Benten, was now a warzone. Benten
is being treated by several nurses as Oogi's troops pick through the wreckage,
trying to determine what happened. "Dunno," Benten moans, tears of shame
flowing down her face. She yelps as the nurse presses a compress on the cut
on her forehead. "I was busy feeding Aiotoga when these things came charging
into the room! They snatched her, killed all the priests, then took off
before I could stop them!!"

"Sir, we have the security tapes," a Kuromegane walks in.

"Play it," Oogi orders.

The bodyguard slips a CD into the player. Everyone gathers around the
screen as a calm scene inside the intact chamber from an hour before replays.
Suddenly, black barely hominoid shapes blast through the window, slaughtering
the helpless priests before they could raise the alarm. One seizes Junba,
bashing Benten aside before she could save her daughter. The beings
disappear, leaving the unconscious hunter on the floor. "Gods!!" Shinobu
pales, horrified at the sight of a dozen innocent clerics slaughtered because
of Nassur's child. "What WERE those things?!"

"I don't know," Nassur sighs. "But we're going to find out."

The door opens, revealing Koosei with a tricorder. "Got it."

"Thanks," the Vosian takes the device and begins sweeping the room.

Oogi notices the device's complex nature, not to mention the block-like
symbols of Sagussa's alphabet. "What type of device is that?" he wonders.
"I've never seen a tricorder like that before!"

"It's a present from a friend," Nassur responds, then gets a reading.
"Ah-hah!! Found their trail!"

"Great!!" Koosei claps his hands. "Let's get after them!!"

The others roar their approval. "Uh-oh," Nassur interrupts.

Everyone shivers. "Wh-what?" Shinobu gulps.

Nassur shows the readings to Koosei. Four symbols combined in one glyph
flash red. "'*Te'a,*'" the teacher reads, then gulps. "Oh, shit!"

* * *

The next morning seems anticlimactic to Ataru. With the final list of
appointees made, he just had to reveal to Sakura the news she had partially
dreaded for some time. "I'm going to be Prime Councillor?" she gulps.

"Yes," Ataru nods as the two relax in a cafeteria near his bedroom,
having tea. "Of the three of you, you have all the organizational skills
necessary to not only run a government, but enhance it to the point where it
can run itself. Lumunookaa is better trained in relations between the
Republic and the provincial staffs. That should be her task as Deputy Prime
Councillor. And Madoka is a conciliator, a negotiator, at heart. That's why
she's perfect as Speaker of the House of Assembly. It's a wonder she didn't
go into External Affairs. Besides, Hikaru is a shoe-in for the Master-at-Arms
position. She and Madoka are bond-mates. It's a proven fact that bond-mates
work better together."

"True," Sakura sighs, then a wry smile twists her lips. "I was just
remembering Horan's words when he became Head Scientist before the Clone
Rights War. 'There is reality and there is Eternity, but there is no reality
quite like the one I now find myself in, the reality of the lonely throne I
now occupy.' I hope that doesn't happen to me."

"Now you know how I feel," he quips, then notices Honey approach. "What
is it, Honey? You don't look so good."

"No," the aide-de-camp snarls. "That *de'ne* sister or mine decided to
take off last night to find Lum!"

"What?!" Sakura exclaims. "She can't do that! As Elder Mother, she has
to be here to call the assembly to order!!"

"Well, she decided that since Ataru wants it transmitted live, her
companion android will take her place," Honey sighs. "She believed it would
make it look as if she was there instead of tracking Lum down."

"Any idea where she's going?" Ataru wonders.

"After some pervert named Koibito Otaku," Honey sneers. "She'll go to
Earth, get Lum's scout, then put herself in a position where he can't ignore
her, then allow herself to be captured. Once she's there, she breaks Lum out,
kills Otaku and brings her back to Sagussa."

"That sounds like a plan," Ataru sighs, sipping the rest of his tea.
"Have Eluza and her crew standby for the pickup once that happens. I'm sure
Noa will get in contact with us when she's ready. In the meantime," he leans
back, "...I'm going to the Forge."

Sakura and Honey tense. "Are you sure you're ready to go there?" the
former wonders.

"I'll be fine," Ataru assures her...

* * *

An hour later finds Ataru in the entrance to the great dome of Tere'na-
korgh. Staring at the great mass before him, the *daimon'cha* suppresses a
gulp, his mind replaying the statistics of this place. Fifty kilometres wide.
Ten kilometres high at its apex. The largest enclosed space in the known
galaxy. Its shell is a kilometre-thick mixture of carbon-neutronium and other
dense elements sunk right into the bedrock. Suspended by the surrounding
mountains, the whole thrust up by the pressure of the planet's mantle. The
Forge had seen it all, unscathed by the worst Nature and Man threw at it. An
archaeological oddity to say the least, it was also the scene of the darkest
acts of the Age of Gisan'cha. Today, it serves as a memorial to that dark age
and the one whose existence made it happen.

Given that the thirty billion clones the Forge housed at any one time
before the War of Clone Rights were nude when stored in their gestation matrix
chambers, all who worship at Lyna's grave did so unclothed. The dome was its
own environment, noticeably cooler than the blazing heat of Sagussa's
equatorial region. However, to prevent the shock of environmental change,
pilgrims were permitted to wrap themselves in a blue sheet, which doubled as a
prayer mat when at Lyna's last resting place. Stripping from his jumpsuit and
covering himself, Ataru makes his way onto the glowing pathway which would
take him to the dome's centre.

Others were present, wending their way back from their time alone with
Lyna. Ataru recognizes several: Usagi and Aminobishoojo, Asuka and Ryooko,
Ranma and Akane, Kyooko and Kozue, Tsuyoko and Hazel. As they passed, each
couple offers to accompany him to Lyna's grave. He politely declines. He
remembers Lum telling him that Lyna's grave was also a romantic hot spot,
where couples consummated their bondings in Lyna's presence. Given all the
problems falling on him, Ataru was certainly not in the mood in case those
also in the dome had other things in mind beside meditation.

Finally, several hours after entering the dome, Ataru climbs a small
mound to a raised platform. An eerie glow emitted from a rectangular hole in
the platform. Arriving at the edge, he pulls off the shawl, then folds it
into the size of a floor pad. Sitting in lotus position, he then allows
himself to gaze upon Lyna.

The idol singer-turned-civil rights activist, deceased for over thirteen
thousand years, had been carefully preserved by Tarun-Chong to ensure that
future generations would not forget the person whose life had cleansed the
Fourth Republic of its innumerable sins. Encased in a cubicle of frozen
cryogenic gasses, Lyna's body seems alive. Her arms are crossed over her
stomach, the wavy strands of waist-length red hair forming a halo around her
finely sculptured face. Noting her celestial beauty, the glow of innocence
which seemed to shroud her, Ataru could understand an entire planet falling in
love with Lyna.

As his mind contemplates what lies before him, his conscience fades...

* * *

Suddenly, Ataru is elsewhere. An endless prairie, like the plains of
North America. Or is it an endless sea; the Pacific, perhaps? Or the black
sea of space? Regardless, Ataru seems uncaring that he was alone. Or was he?

"Hello, Ataru," a voice tickles his ears.

He blinks, finding Lyna standing before him. "Lyna," he smiles.

The idol singer moves up to him. "It's been a long time since you last
came to visit me," she sighs. "You've grown. How are you?"

"I...I'm fine," he stammers. "I just wish I could remember that time."

"Why?"

"Why?" he blinks. "Because...well, how could I remember what people
here expect of me if I don't remember what I did when I first came?!"

"But you want to find your Other," she notes.

"I..." his voice fades. Of course he wanted to find Lum! His fiancee
was in dire danger, had been used like a puppet in an attempt to kill him.
"Yes, I want to find Lum...but how could I abandon Noa and her friends?!" he
shudders. "I...I need to choose! I need to know what's important! Is it Lum
or is it Sagussa?!"

"Why can't it be Lum AND Sagussa?" Lyna wonders.

Ataru stops. Lyna smiles conspiratorially, then turns away. "There's
your problem, Ataru. You're not used to sitting back and considering all your
options. The *saikoo jinseijitsu* prevented you from learning how to do that.
When you gained the Cyborg's power, you allowed him to handle all your
difficult problems. Now that they're gone, you're the one who has to do it
all. You can do it, Ataru. I know you can. Noa knows. So does Lum. Can't
you believe it of yourself?"

He blinks. Smiling, she turns, bestowing a gentle kiss. "There," she
sighs. "A little present. Come back soon..."

* * *

Ataru's eyes snap open.

He blinks as the dark surroundings of Tere'na-korgh come to his senses.
He then notices that his body is now sheathed in his uniform, now bestowed
with the proper rank insignia, the arm and leg stripes replaced by wreath of
laurel. How did he get into this? He left his uniform back at the entrance!
Staring at Lyna's unmoving face, he blinks. No answers there.

Standing, he dusts off the blanket, then stops as memories flow to him.
His meeting Noa in Tomobiki town park. Their voyage to Sagussa. Ataru
meeting the other *daishi'cha.* Catty's comments to Lufy when they took Ataru
on his first visit to the Forge. Usagi's laughter after Ataru called her
"dumpling head," then explaining the joke. Amy's tears after Spea berated her
for forgetting a book Ataru wanted to read. Ataru causing Spea to cry after
he called her a meanie for hurting Amy's feelings. Everyone's anger and
anguish after Noa announced that Ataru would go back to Earth. Mie's promise
to stay with him and protect him...

He remembered!

Caught in the euphoria of his restored memories, Ataru's eye catches a
glow emanating from the rocks some distance from the grave. Curious, he walks
up, noticing that whatever it was, it was buried under some fallen debris,
probably the skeleton of a clone's gestation chamber. Reaching in, he finds a
handle, then yanks out a staff bearing a glowing ruby sphere!

The *haijo-ju!*

The actual weapon Horan created ages before, not one of the dozens of
prototypes other scientists constructed, then were scattered as Sagussa came
apart. Its location had been forgotten after the outbreak of the Clone Rights
War. Perhaps Horan put it here after the clones were taken to Zephyrus and
Kurakoa, hoping neither the government or Tarun-Chong would locate it, then
unleash this monster on a defenseless galaxy.

Staring at the well-crafted mace-like device, Ataru concentrates. The
*te'a* itself had left a message. Others had obtained a working prototype,
the Staff of Gihan. They were now about to use it to destroy all Ataru had
done for his classmates. Little Junba's life was in mortal danger. Seeing
the image of the frightened baby crying for her mother sends a shiver of rage
through his body. Whoever was going to hurt that defenseless child just
signed their death warrants!

Ataru heads back to the path to return him to the world outside. He had
work to do...

* * *

"I can't believe you actually allowed him to go to the Forge alone!!"
Catty snaps. "He's not ready to confront Lyna!!!"

"Hey, if he wants to go to the Forge, let him!" Honey retorts, keeping
her hovercycle level. "That place isn't closed off, remember?!"

"Never mind!" Noa's android double insists from behind the aide-de-camp.
"Let's just get there and see if he's fine!"

"Hey, who gave you the right to give orders?!" Lufy demands, keeping the
machine she drove alongside Honey's.

"My sister did!" the android snaps. "Have you a problem with that?"

"You want to keep functioning?!" the chief petty officer growls.

The two machines land before the dome. The four run into the entrance,
Lufy moving to undress herself. "I'll go in and check on him."

"Don't bother," a voice replies.

Everyone stops, eyes wide with disbelief as Ataru walks into the light,
the *haijo-ju* in one hand. "Ataru?!!" Catty gasps, then blinks. "What are
you doing dressed?! You know you're supposed to undress before...!"

Ataru sweeps the doctor into his arms, overwhelming her with a kiss.
"Tell me, Doctor," he laughs. "Do you still think Lufy's musculature is
aesthetically pleasing?"

"Wh-what...?" Catty gasps, then her eyes widen understandingly. "You
remember!!"

"That's right!" Ataru lets her go, then notices the others. "Well, what
are you standing there gawking at me for?! We have a planet to rebuild!! Get
to it!!!"

Surprised, the four snap to attention. "Aye-aye, sir!!!" they jauntily
salute, then race off for their machines...

*** To Be Continued ***