Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ The Senior Year ❯ Great Father Ataru Stage Three: Rededication ( Chapter 56 )

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

For the first time in his life, Yethis Seq knew fear.

Not the fear found in combat, when alone with your opponent, pitting
skills and machine against each other. Not the fear found in politics, where
returning home with only a half-loaf of bread was considered being ahead of
the game. Not the fear of being discovered as the leader of the Imperialist
counter-revolutionaries trying to restore the old Empire. No. This emotion
was primal.

Fear for his very life.

Until now, he felt contempt for Ataru Moroboshi and his friends. Sure,
the Terran was remarkably lucky. Shielded by Zephyrus' vast power, as well as
powerful friends like Dakejinzou Shogai and Nassur. Even his becoming the
leader of Sagussa was inconsequential. Sagussa was thousands of light years
from Earth. They could not always watch over their new allies. With the
right impetus, Earth would fall under the Empire's sway. All he needed was
time...if Ataru would let him have it!

Yethis watches the spy satellite's view of Phentax Two. A contemptible
but capable race, it was a pity they never considered manipulating the
Niphentaxians into becoming workers for Uru. Their blind devotion to Lum made
them perfect candidates...

There!

He is spellbound as a burst of light emits from Lumukyou, encompassing
the planet. As that wave rolls outward, cities disintegrate, industries are
wrecked, fields devastated...

And three billion people die.

No one had ANY idea how Ataru pulled it off. Yethis knew that Ataru had
arranged it despite his ambassador's words. The heart of the Church of Lum
was gutted in the blink of an eye, transformed from a powerful nuisance to a
shadow of its former glory. Presently, non-Lum affiliated Niphentaxians were
screaming for Oogi's head, for the destruction of the church which had dragged
their society into ruin.

Magnificent...and foreboding. Yethis knew that Ataru was not the sex-
crazed moron most still considered him. It would not take the *daimon'cha*
long before he discovered who was responsible for Lum's sufferings. Once that
was known, the tide of annihilation which had wrecked the Church of Lum would
visit Uru.

Most of the leaders in the local cluster realized that Ataru would no
longer be pushed. He had had enough. The Ipraedies, the Spirit War, Elle,
the Hustari, the Mikado. Now the Niphentaxians and probably soon, Yethis and
his allies. Ataru was pushing back. And with that frightening power under
his command, he could destroy the Urusian Empire.

Given that, Yethis had more than enough reasons to be concerned...

* * *

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

WRITER'S NOTES:

1) You should know what "BEM" stands for by now!

2) This story wraps up the plot first presented in the side story "Shinobu:
Futures Imperfect" and continued in "Tripwire." Makes you really wonder what
would happen if we did meet aliens, eh?

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

Ayesha's eyes open. "Oooh...finally," she moans, reaching for her
forehead.

Lupica's face appears before her. "How do you feel?"

Automatically, Ayesha's hand reaches to the back of her head. When she
was one of Koibito Otaku's living mannequins, a move like this would have been
stopped. A quick mental reprogram later would prevent Noa's adopted sister
from touching the cyberlink point and freeing herself of Koibito's clutches.
Rubbing the back of her skull, she feels a fine mat of hair over an intact
skull. "Now, I'm free," she smiles.

"It wasn't difficult," Sagussa's surgeon-general smiles, helping Ayesha
up. "The regeneration matrix closed the wound immediately. Sorry about
putting you through *tre'cha,* but your mind wouldn't've survived the matrix
unshielded. We're working on new artificial mind-shields, but it'll be a
while."

"I don't mind," Ayesha stretches herself, then blinks as new memories
come to her. "Wh-what's g-going o-on...?" she moans, vertigo taking over.
"What's all this in my head...?"

"That's the information you gained from Noa's companion android," Lupica
reports. "Give yourself some time, Ayesha. Your two psyches need time to
mesh together. In fact, I'm ordering you on three days' forced rest once
you're out of here."

"Could you make that shorter?" a strange voice wonders.

Ayesha blinks as Sakura steps into the medical station. "Madame Prime
Councillor," she inclines her head in greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"Other than to welcome you and all your friends to Sagussa, I have a
personal request for you," Sakura smiles. "Ayesha, I realize you might be
having problems adjusting to your new situation, but we have need of you."

"How may I serve?" Ayesha straightens herself.

"Until you decide what you want to do with yourself, I'm making you
Ataru's acting Executive Assistant," the Prime Councillor smiles. "Noa's busy
keeping Lum safe, so Ataru needs someone to help him be our head-of-state.
Until Noa comes back, I want you to fill that role."

"But even with the memories, I need help!" Ayesha protests. "Madame
Prime Councillor, couldn't someone else do it...?"

"Someone is not you, Ayesha," Sakura warns. "Please. We need you."

She pauses. How could she refuse? These people had just given Ayesha
her life back, out of the kindness of their hearts. She could refuse. There
would be no disgrace...but Ayesha's conscience would not let her. She and Noa
were blood-sisters. No Seishin-Urusian worth her salt would ever betray kin-
by-blood, just like no Oni would betray those who had tagged her horns in a
legitimate proposal for marriage.

"Of course," Ayesha nods...

* * *

"It'll be nice having everyone back, eh, Dear?" Ayanba beams, wiping the
table in front of her husband. "Those Niphentaxian trench-waves are such
lunatics! We never had anything like that back in my day!"

"Unfortunately, sometimes people need a swift kick in the behind to open
their eyes to what is around them," Onsen hums, glancing through his paper.
"Well, if Ataru could do it to folks here, let him do it there. He knows what
to do."

Ayanba hums, her hand absently rubbing her tummy. Onsen watches her.
His wife had been doing that for some time now, since about a month after
Lum's kidnapping by the Mikado. Remembering Benten, the vice-principal knew
that Ayanba's condition meant that they would not be alone in this apartment
four months from now. He smiles. The former Most Perfect obviously wanted to
keep it a surprise. He would play along.

"Oh, dear!" Ayanba sighs, searching through the cupboards. "We need
some more soap flakes. Dear, I'm going to see Shapiro-san."

"Certainly," Onsen nodded. Upon discovering Ayanba's need for soap
flakes, Onsen guided her to Abraham Shapiro to learn what Earth foods would
not be toxic to Vosians. Despite the ice cream vendor's shady past, Ayanba
needed to talk with her own kind, to get in touch with events back home. "Be
careful out there. Watch out for cars."

"I will," Ayanba takes her purse, then slides open the door...

"Hi!!"

Ayanba screams, falling on her backside as an imposing shadow falls over
her. Onsen spins around to see a young lady in a dark blue trimmed black
Sagussan jumpsuit standing at the doorway. The Vosian scrambles back as the
woman steps inside, revealing a square-jawed countenance framed by brown hair
tied in a pony-tail by a chain. Dagger earrings drape from Fukunokami
earlobes. Despite the stern demeanor, a friendly smile cuts across her face.
"Hello, Onsen-san," she bows to the vice-principal. "I hope I'm not
intruding. Can I speak to you for a moment?"

Onsen blinks. "I-I h-hate th-these p-people..." Ayanba stammers...

* * *

Noa rises and stretches. "Oh, it's morning," the minister moans as she
does some body twists, then knee bends. Looking behind her, she smiles.
"Lum, get up."

The Oni's eyes open as she rises. "Good morning, Noa."

Watching Lum moved soundlessly reinforced her imposed mental condition
to her bond-mate. Tears to spring in the minister's eyes. Since leaving
everyone on Koibito's starship, Noa probed into Lum's mind, trying to draw her
*mei'na* from her shell. While the Oni's autonomic controls allowed the
minister the chance to draw Lum out of her coma, the fact that Lum stipulated
that she would not emerge until bot Noa and Ataru were present threw a monkey
wrench in that plan.

Both were staying on Shingetsu. The wrecked colony had remained
unsettled in the wake of the Lannarkites' attack. Skeletons of ruined cities
and scorched fields stretched as far as the eye could see. Being here, on an
abandoned world, seemed the prudent course once it was confirmed that Lum's
unseen enemies were not finished with them. Fortunately, Lum's scout had been
retrofitted by Patty to standards more acceptable to a Sagussan. It was
rough, but not barbaric. "How do you feel?" Noa steps into the bathroom.

Lum walks into the shower. "I am alright," she announces. "I realize
my present condition may disturb you. I will try to alleviate your pain in
whatever way I can."

Noa sighs. "Some honeymoon," she mutters, brushing her teeth.

Yes, Sagussans had that term to mark the vacation period right after a
bonding. Given the nine months since their bonding, Noa had hoped for a
chance to be alone with her bond-mate. Take a ship and cruise the local
cluster, perhaps visit some other galaxies. Andromeda was a month's travel
away, M-32 a month and a half. Noa wanted Lum to see what lay beyond the
shield of the Barrier, experience the universe as only a Sagussan could.

So what were they doing? Running from a pack of animals who wanted to
warp Lum to their own design, for some incomprehensible purpose. Definitely
not an auspicious start to a relationship.

"Noa," Lum leans out of the shower.

"What is it?" Noa stares at her.

"Join me," the Oni seductively smiles.

Psi-probes playfully jab Noa's shields. The minister jolts as her
libido fires into overdrive, then she growls. "Move over!"

They giggle as Noa slips in beside Lum...

* * *

"YOU WANT **ME** TO CONTRIBUTE?!?!?!" Onsen exclaims.

The vice-principal and Ayanba stare at their visitor. The Sagussan, an
internal security officer known only as Birth Mother #32205, ignores the
shocked looks on their faces. "That's right," she nods. "We have a need for
fresh genetic stock to ensure our new race does not suffer from inbreeding
problems. Ataru can't do the job by himself, you know. When I asked him who
he would recommend to help us, your name was mentioned."

"Wait a minute!" Onsen slams his fists on the table. "I'm a happily
married man!! What makes you think I'd two-time my wife just to help you?!"

The Sagussan lightly smiles. "Mark, as you're probably well aware, our
concepts of love and sex are considerably different from yours or Ayanba's.
You've been on our short list of *daite'cha* candidates since we began looking
for one to fulfill our needs to comprehend emotions."

"He has?!" Ayanba blinks.

"Yes. He was number three," the Sagussan smiles. "Ataru was number
one. Koosei Ryooki number two."

"Then ask Koosei!!" Onsen suggests stonily.

"We will," his visitor smiles. "We'll also go after Ataru's other male
acquaintances. Mendou, the guards, Nagisa, Tobimaro, Chie, Nassur..."

"Don't you understand?!" Ayanba cuts in. "Dear and I are married!"

"How does that have to matter when we're dealing with helping people
have children?" the Sagussan blinks. "In all honesty, Ayanba, I could've
spoken of this matter to Mark without involving you. Where I come from, that
which you call 'recognition' is addressed as 'involuntary genetic slavery.'
We don't allow our genetics to bond us to our child-mates."

Ayanba smokes with rage. To her, recognition was a sacred process.
"Wait, wait!!" Onsen cuts in. "Surely, you have volunteers wanting to move to
Sagussa..."

"Live on a world were females run the whole show?" the Sagussan muses.
"I don't think so. We have a hundred males, those we seized when Noa found
Koibito Otaku. But even that's not enough."

"Then go to them!!" Onsen insists.

"Mark, we want the ratio of *daimon'cha* to *daishi'cha* to be at least
one-to-one hundred to ensure that inbreeding doesn't plague us in the future.
Right now, we're at one-to-one thousand. And you don't need to have sex with
any of us to contribute. Artificial sperm extraction and insemination is just
as acceptable."

Silence falls over the small apartment. "Well..." Onsen scratches his
chin. "I must admit to being flattered that you'd consider someone like me to
help out..."

"Dear!" Ayanba growls.

"Aya-chan," he turns to her, gently grasping her hand. "Ataru is, for
all intents and purposes, married to Lum. Yet, he's there right now,
willingly helping out. She approves. Just because Shikuramenko looks
Fukunokami, she's from a different race with different moral standards."

Ayanba blinks. "Who's Shikuramenko?"

"Her," Onsen indicates their visitor.

The Sagussan in question jolts. "Wh-why did you g-give me a name?!" she
stammers.

Onsen blinks, then shrugs. "Well, when I saw you, I remembered this
girl from high school," he chuckles. "I forgot her name, but I remembered she
grew cyclamen plants. Every time I remember, I think 'shikuramenko.'"

The newly-named Shikuramenko blushes. "Th-thank you," she shudders,
then regains control of herself. "So, will you help?"

Ayanba shudders. "I still don't like it!" she hisses.

"You're not the one being asked," Shikuramenko glares at her, then faces
her husband. "Mark?"

"I..." Onsen hums, then nods. "Yes."

* * *

Earth serenely rotates under the Gatherer's hull, unmindful of the
protective shield the Sagussan Navy has established over their allies' world.
Ataru stares at his homeworld, awed by her beauty. Sagussa was like this
once. One day soon, she would be that way again. Creating a society,
building a planet...THAT was world's better than destroying a planet! That
thought causes him to shudder. Three billion people were dead on Phentax Two.
It seemed as if the specter of Entropy was following Ataru, destroying those
who had displeased him. Blaming Oogi for it was a ready excuse. In truth, as
Lum would say it, they all were to blame.

It did not make things easier.

The door to his private stateroom opens, revealing Oryuu. "Ataru, the
reporters are here," the fleet shipmistress reports. "They're on the bridge."

"Thanks," Ataru sighs, straightening himself as he follows Oryuu.

On the bridge, poking around several stations, were a large flock of men
and women, representing the major news organizations from across Earth. They
had been selected so that information regarding Sagussa could be disseminated
unfiltered to as many people as possible. All the major world religions, both
main power blocks, a large representation from the Third World, even the so-
called rogue states; they were all here. Remembering the problems of seven
months before, Ataru realized that for the Earth-Sagussa treaty to work, truth
had to be known. The fourth estate would make that possible.

"Hello, everyone," he smiles, then notions to the pen-like device on his
jersey. "Does everyone have universal translators, plus the translator
modifications to your camcorders and tape recorders?"

Confirming nods answer. "Great!" he nods. "Well, you all know who I
am...I hope," he smiles, eliciting a laugh. "Welcome aboard the Gatherer.
You are present today because in a few hours, you will all have the privilege
of disclosing to your readers and viewers a universe far more complex than any
rumours and innuendo leaking from my old hometown. What I hope to happen is
that you'll have the chance to really understand, make those you serve as
members of the fourth estate understand, what Earth will encounter over the
next couple of centuries as she takes her first steps out there," he indicates
the vast cosmos.

"Many of you represent very...constricted, if I may...views about humans
and their place in the scheme of things," he continues. "Believe me, I once
believed like a lot of you; that humans were the most advanced species on
Earth and that, given time and opportunity, we would advance to the stars
unopposed. Three years ago, I was brutally shown the lie that idea was. I've
learned that on many planets, we're seen as no more advanced than our monkeys,
just one step away from swinging in the trees. On some planets, WE'RE seen as
demons, devils and BEMs, holding faith which puts our belief in the underworld
to shame. And then...there are those planets who see us a lot like themselves
a few centuries ago; staring into space, wondering who is out there...and
anxious to go out and learn what is there."

Reporters scribble away. "Yesterday, three billion people were killed
by a tragic collision of circumstances which had grown so out of control, it
boggles the mind," Ataru sighs. "You might consider that a tragedy. You
might call it genocide. You might say it was the divine judgement of whatever
deity you worship. Personally, I can't support nor deny your views. You see,
I have watched as an entire race nearly died of a terrible plague. I killed a
group of child-slavers who see those born of lower castes as a quick way to
make a few million uniCredits. I had a hand in the slaughter of an entire
planet whose colonists were sucked of their very life-forces by a curse meant
to make my fiancee's life hell. I've killed regiments of stormtroopers Hitler
would've loved to have under his command.

"Simply, I can't cushion the truth. I can't make it easier for you to
digest, to manipulate for the benefit of those who depend on your words, your
viewpoints. The reason I wanted you to come here today is that you're needed
to ensure that those on Earth understand what lies in store for them beyond
this solar system. All I ask...is that you report what you see, that you be
honest to those you serve...and most of all, be honest with yourselves."

The reporters nod. "Personally speaking for myself and many of my
colleagues, Mr. Moroboshi," a British newspaper reporter speaks up, "...the
true journalist only reports facts. I assure you that we will be honest in
reporting what we see. As to how our readers and viewers interpret that news,
well, that is a realm even we cannot influence."

"I understand," Ataru nods. "Let me tell you something. Seven months
ago, I met with Japan's prime minister and the vice president of the United
States concerning aliens living on Earth. They told me things that frightened
me. There are interests on Earth...commercial interests, that is," he smiles,
hearing jovial chuckles, "...who smelled financial opportunity by exploiting
alien resources which could, if they fell into the wrong hands, bring misery
to millions. There are also many fanatics, political and religious, who could
use that technology to impose their views on those they wish to control and
conquer...or those who simply have another point of view. All these people
want a say in what happens to Earth. All these people can influence the
decisions governments make...without realizing what we actually face out
there. And that is why you're here.

"Now," he indicates Oryuu, "...Fleet Shipmistress Oryuu will divide you
into teams. Some of you, those who volunteer, will have the chance to fly
with our Gladiator pilots in combat. Others will be permitted to remain on
the defence monitors, the 'Hasei'cha' and the 'Lyna'cha' in the upcoming
battle. Please do not interfere in the business of these people; your lives
will depend on that."

"May I ask who you're fighting?" an American wonders.

"The Niphentaxian Navy," Ataru's eyes roll.

"They are the infidels who believe your fiancee is a living goddess?" an
Egyptian asks.

"Yes," Ataru nods. "The three billion people who died yesterday were
Niphentaxians, hard-core members of the Church of Lum. Without those members,
Oogi, the church's founder and Phentax Two's present head-of-state, has no
political support on his homeworld, little in the colonies. As we speak, a
provisional government is forming on Phentax Two, composed of non-Church of
Lum citizens determined to bring the Church down and restore their planet to
normalcy. If I was Oogi, I'd be more concerned about losing my moral support
base instead of trying to destroy Earth for rejecting Lum's 'holy gospel.'
However," he points at the starfield beyond the Gatherer, "...he is now three
hours away."

Disbelieving gasps respond. "So, if you don't mind, we'll send you all
on your way," Ataru smiles. "Please be careful."

* * *

Rashad al-Shiraz makes his way through the throng of reporters to a sign
marked R.S.S. HASEI'CHA. A reporter from Iran's state news agency, he was one
of a large representation of Middle East correspondents getting a chance none
would have dreamt of three years ago. Standing by the sign marking the
gathering place for the warpsloop's new guests, three other reporters wait.
Noting the national flags stitched on photo equipment and backpacks, the
slender Iranian sighs. Two were males, an American and a Russian. The third
was a Canadian woman. They smile as he approaches. "You must be Rashad," the
woman, a olive-skinned middle aged businesswoman-type who would not be out of
place in the Tehran of the shahs, offers her hand. "I'm Esther Palance,
'Globe and Mail.' This is Jasper Stone of the 'New York Times' and Sasha
Kuybuyshev of 'Pravda.'"

"Hello," Rashad nods, shaking hands. Nervous being on a ship from a
planet whose moral and social principles his faith would be hard pressed to
accept, he feels the old antagonisms to his fellow Terrans fade. "I never
dreamt I would ever get an opportunity like this."

"Neither did we," Jasper, a thick fireplug of a man, snorts. "Do you
think any of us'd be candidates for the space program?"

"Iran doesn't have a space program," Rashad notes.

"True," Sasha, a paler, fair-haired version of the Iranian, snorts.
"Now, we get to learn the truth of these people. Have you heard that they've
been in contact with the United Nations for over a decade?"

"Yeah," Jasper nods. "Jeez!! After observing how people freaked out
when the Urusians first arrived, the Sagussans' subtle approach is actually
refreshing!"

"Not to mention the way other aliens have treated the rest of us,"
Rashad shudders, remembering a time when the world's oil deposits were stolen
by a space taxi company to pay for an abortive trip to Uru. The chaos that
produced in Iran, fresh from the Islamic Revolution, was sobering. "I for one
am glad these people do not look down on us, but look AT us."

"Makes us think about the way we look at each other," Sasha muses.

"Amen to that," Jasper nods. "Any news about this ship we're going on?"

"They hosted a U.N. delegation sometime ago," Esther muses. "It was
probably a show-and-tell thing. You know, spice things up for the treaty."

"I heard that during that time, this ship fought two alien fleets to a
standstill because of an interracial couple," Sasha adds. "It was the time of
all that chaos in Vladivostok and elsewhere."

"Oh, yeah!" Jasper sneers. "Two girls, from this ship I'll bet, beat up
a bunch of 'em in Macy's."

"I heard of that," Esther laughs.

"And I was one of them," a voice cuts in.

The four see Shildy standing there. The first officer introduces
herself, then escorts the four to a transporter pad for the trip to the
warpsloop. "Beam us up, Scotty," Jasper muses as they disappear from the
Gatherer...

* * *

...to appear on the bridge of the "Hasei'cha." "Welcome aboard," Eluza
smiles as she introduces herself and the crew.

After handshakes have been exchanged, Eluza allows the reporters the
chance to look around. Rashad was stunned by the racial differences. The
tanned and muscular Lufy and Makoto, both possessing steely demeanors which
would frighten the Imam himself. Rabby, a woman with GOLD skin. Tapered ears
on Amy. Pony, a dark-skinned woman with tapered ears AND lavender hair.
Green-tinted hair on Rumy, a mere child! Golden-eyed, lavender-haired Catty.
Not to mention a winged beast they called Starleaf, treating him as a pet.
Most of all, everyone seemed unconcerned about the differences!

Being from an isolated society like Iran, Rashad only heard snippets
about aliens. All of them were infidels, the mullahs stated. Perhaps here to
form alliances with the Great Satan to destroy the revolution. Yet Sagussans,
so different from even the normal run of aliens, had as their most sacrosanct
commandment a law which forbade ANY interference in Terran affairs unless
Earth was threatened. No Sagussan priestess would visit Iran to spread her
holy gospel. To the mullahs' surprise, they did not even HAVE a religion! No
Sagussan technological magic would be given to anyone, regardless of nation or
faith. In a Sagussan's eyes, ALL Terrans were alike. It was overwhelming.

"Hey, you okay?" a voice wonders.

He turns to see Mie Seikou staring concernedly at him. "I am...fine,"
he hesitantly smiles. "Thank you."

"Finding it a little hard to absorb this, huh?" Mie smiles knowingly.
"Relax, Mr. al-Shiraz. Here, we don't care about your politics or your fight
with the Great Satan."

Rashad blinks. "You seem to...know things, Chief Mie."

"If you haven't heard, I was the one who was marooned in Japan for
twelve years," Mie smiles.

"Ah!!" he nods, remembering reading a snippet on Mie from Reuters.
"Does being back among your people...overwhelm you?"

"Not really," Mie sighs. "You'll have to stay with us for a bit before
you can understand what we do to protect our minds from premature accidents.
In the meantime, you've been assigned to fly with me when we mix it up with
Oogi's goon squads. Let's get you a flight suit."

Rashad blinks, surprised at the chance he had been given. "Of course,"
he nods, following Mie off the bridge...

* * *

In an hour, the Sagussans go to red alert. Gladiators muster on the
monitors' flight decks, fuelled and armed. Pathfinders, augmented by police
teams from Internal Security, go to Earth to help Terran forces counter any
infiltration attempts, as well as rounding up the remaining Niphentaxian spies
lurking around Tomobiki and Oshika. The Warsuits and the hovercycles form a
last barrier of defence near Earth. As soon as the Gladiators are clear of
their motherships, the capital ships would sweep in, destroy whatever Planet
Destroyers had come with Oogi's fleet, then finish off the Niphentaxian
warships long before they came close to Earth.

Below, Earth braced for the Niphentaxians. At Ataru's suggestion,
everyone had begun recalling airliners, grounding civilian air travel to
ensure no one could fall prey to a stray fighter. The world's armed forces
were at war alert. Nuclear arsenals were unlimbered, missiles reprogrammed to
intercept moving targets, shielded from Niphentaxian ECM jamming.

Aboard the "Hasei'cha," Jasper and Esther were elected to fly with Lufy
and Rabby. Sasha would remain on the warpsloop's bridge, reporting the action
from the base ship's viewpoint. The four reporters agreed to collaborate on
notes when this was over so that everyone could provide a balanced story to
their editors. Rashad was in the back seat of Mie's Gladiator, looking over
the simple controls as Mie did her pre-flight check. "You set back there?"
Mie stares at the reporter.

"Can I admit I'm scared?"

"Relax," Mie smiles. "You're pretty safe in a Gladiator. Besides,
there's an emergency transporter built into the cockpit. If hull integrity's
compromised, we'd be back on the 'Hasei'cha' before we knew it."

"I hope it works."

"So do I," Mie grimaces. She had not got the chance to mix it up with
the Niphentaxians in their first attack on Earth and had faced little
opposition when the Sagussans hit Phentax Two. She was just as raw as the
reporter...and she had to do all the flying!

The hatch leading to the Gladiator's cockpit opens, revealing Shinobu.
Mie blinks on seeing her former classmate. "What the hell are you doing
here?! Shouldn't you be down on Earth?!"

"I...I asked Eluza if I could come see you before you went out," Shinobu
nervously smiles.

Mie sighs. "Gods, you are so sentimental, Shinobu. It's going to get
you killed one of these days, you know that?"

"I know," Shinobu looks down. "But...look, I know we haven't had much
of a chance to get to know each other. We...all of us in the class...lost
track of you when you got back together with Makoto. I know you never really
liked many of us...but...I want you to know that you're a part of us, Mie.
You're a friend. That'll never change even if you do live on Sagussa."

Mie blinks, her eyes softening. Behind her, Rashad remains silent,
making mental notes. He felt awed, being in the presence of these two women,
who had endured so much together. The mullahs would be very hard pressed to
respect people like Mie Seikou or Shinobu Miyaki.

"Oh, Shinobu," she reaches out to grasp her classmate's hand. "You know
I've never cared much about you people. I don't expect you to care much for
me. I never asked for it."

"I know you didn't," Shinobu smiles. "But your standing up to all of us
made us realize how short-sighted we were. You affected us pretty deeply, you
know, in ways even Noa couldn't. Many of the girls...really respect you, Mie.
We'll miss you."

Mie shudders, fighting back her tears. "I hate it when you get mushy,"
she rises, allowing Shinobu to embrace her. "Now get out of here, Shinobu.
This isn't your place anymore."

"Be careful," Shinobu sniffs.

Mie lowers herself in the cockpit as the hatch closes. Rashad stares at
the pilot. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?!" Mie blinks, then wiping her eyes, smiles as she commences
powering up her Gladiator. "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just...well, another
path not travelled. Ever read that poem?"

The reporter nods understandingly...

* * *

Shinobu walks up to the bridge. Already, stations were hued in dark red
as people took their places, bracing themselves. Eluza stares at her. "You
want to head back down, Shinobu? Things're going to heat up pretty soon."

Shinobu blinks, surprised by Eluza's offer. She had tried to not get
involved. Tried to put it all behind her, innocently believing she could
shield herself from this. She could not; that lesson had been rammed into her
again and again over a six month period, even more. Her four future-selves,
Ataru's transformation, Lum's near-death and evolution, the Mikado, Nassur's
past, Junba. Innocence lost. She was involved. She had no choice but to be
involved. Ataru never ran from those who tried to hurt him. Why should she?

"Shipmistress, request permission to remain aboard," Shinobu straightens
herself, then adds, "I'll try not to get in the way."

Eluza smiles. "Granted. Help Makoto direct traffic."

Shinobu nods, proceeding to the flight control post. Makoto hands her a
head-set as Shinobu takes a chair. "We're ready, Eluza," Makoto smiles.

"Stand by," the shipmistress assumes her chair.

Makoto stares at Shinobu. "I'm glad you're here."

"You are?" Shinobu blinks.

"Yeah," Makoto smiles. "Shinobu, you may not know this, but a lot of us
like you. Sylia thinks the world of you. Priss and Lufy would train you in
an instant, teach you things your friends from Nerima could never imagine.
If...if you feel you're up to it...you can come to Sagussa. Even if you don't
want to fight, put those skills to real good use...you'll always be welcome
there. Sylia would sponsor you in an instant. So would I."

Shinobu blinks. Once, she just wanted these people to leave, leave
Earth and get out of her life. They wanted Ataru and Lum and did not care how
many people they had to squash to get them. Yet, circumstances made them the
only race willing to forge a wall between Earth and the real threats. Willing
to fight monsters like Oogi to the death so that people like her could enjoy a
peaceful life. Once, they thought her as trash. She once thought of them as
the most selfish creatures in the universe. No more.

"Thanks," Shinobu grips Makoto's hand. "I'll...keep it in mind."

"I hope you do."

Shinobu smiles, then feels a question surge. "But, Makoto-chan...why
would you offer me the chance in the first place, after all I did to Ataru-kun
and Lum?"

The watchmistress smiles. "It'll be dishonourable for us not to."

Shinobu blinks. "Incoming message!!" Rumy barks. "It's Oryuu! First
enemy fighter elements are now passing Pluto's orbit!! Launch Gladiators!!"

"Right!!" Eluza nods. "Patty, release the trapezes!!"

Patty keys a control. "Gladiators away!!!"

"Hasei'cha" shudders as her three trapped fighters are freed, racing off
into the night. "Shields up, arm all weapons!!" Shildy barks. "Flank speed
ahead!! Stand by for ship-to-ship engagement!!"

"Aye-aye!" Spea and Amy key controls.

The Gladiators race off into the night, the capital ships following...

* * *

Space dogfight!

Between Jupiter and Saturn, six hundred Gladiators confront twenty times
their number in Niphentaxian fighters. With fire support from the "Hasei'cha"
and two monitors...the others racing off to intercept Oogi's battleships...the
transformable combat mecha divide into pairs and triplets as they slash into
the massed formations of tiger-striped craft. In minutes, space becomes a
free-fire zone as a classic dogfight, similar to thousands of engagements
fought in Earth's skies over the last century, breaks out.

There are differences, Rashad notices as he dizzily watches Mie blast
through one formation. Outside the gravity wells of the solar system's
resident giants, G-forces did not exist. Tight high-speed turns which would
squash someone into paste over Earth go unnoticed here. There was no horizon,
either. No up, down, left or right. Total combat freedom.

That did not mention the technological advantage Earth's new allies
held. Gladiators came with a concussion missile launcher, particle chain gun,
quantum torpedoes and magnetic beam cannons. Further, they possessed unique
combat manoeuvering abilities. The Guardian mode could fly backwards. In
Battledroid mode, it could manoeuvre like Ultraman to intercept incoming
threats from any direction. The standard Niphentaxian fighter had laser
cannons and missiles only. Defensively, Niphentaxian weapons could barely
scar a Gladiator's armour. The Sagussans ravage their opponents at will.

In other words, no contest.

Rashad blinks as another quartet disintegrates under Mie's methodical
fire. "Can't they see they're beaten?!" he wonders.

"They're even worse than your government's friends in Lebanon!" the
pilot switches to B-mode to drop another flight on her six. "Think about it!
Islam is a religion which teaches peace, brotherhood and forgiveness even to
non-believers. And it's been doing it for thirteen centuries! All they care
about is that people who've never met an alien, who've never cared about
aliens until today, can't accept the 'divine wisdom' Lum-chan, who hasn't a
spiritual bone in her body, can teach you and that they will FORCE on you!!"

The Iranian shudders. "Allah have mercy on us all!"

"And Lyna, too!!" Esther calls from Rabby's fighter.

"Lyna?!"

"That's their guardian spirit," the Canadian explains.

"Ah!!" Rashad nods. "Yes, Lyna too!"

The Sagussans laugh. "Wait!!" Shinobu's voice cuts over the line.
"There's a flight breaking free! They're making a run for Earth!!"

"I see them!" Lufy growls. "Tally-ho!!"

Mie banks her machine to bear on the half-squadron of enemy ships trying
to press on to their goal. "Bombers!" she grits her teeth on seeing the heavy
loads. "Scan for what they're carrying, Rumy!"

"Biological agent!" Rumy yips. "It's the type they used on Lecashuto!!"

Lufy fires a spread of quantum torpedoes. The bombers fly apart, their
deadly poison frozen in the near-vacuum. "Correction!" the *pirpirsiw'r*
snorts. "It WAS a biological agent!!"

"Thank Christ!!" Jasper yells from behind Lufy.

"Thank ALL the gods!" Rashad breathes out in relief.

The "Hasei'cha's" three fighters swing back into the fray. By now,
space around the fight is scattered with debris and glowing bits of fuel and
detonating weapons. Rashad stares left to see two Gladiators twist and weave
their way through a half-dozen Niphentaxian fighter squadrons, blasting them
apart. "Who are they?!" he yells at Mie.

Mie looks. "Tita and Satomi of DEFRON One," she smiles. "They're the
two best fighter jocks in the Fourth Fleet! Aren't they something?!"

"They are!!" Rashad raises his camcorder to tape the one-sided fight.
Wait until everyone in Qom saw this!

Eluza's face appears on Mie's flight screen. "Situation update," the
shipmistress reports. "Several transports are pressing through the asteroid
belt! Form up with us, you three. We're going to stop them!"

"Hai!!" the Gladiator pilots bark in response.

The "Hasei'cha" and her attendant fighters bank away from the battle,
toward the bright light of Jupiter. Mie cuts in auto-pilot, then yawns as she
stretches herself. Rashad is too spell-bound by the beautiful gas giant to
notice. It is humbling, he knows. One small man in the vast domain of
Allah's heavens, an alien woman and a magical machine protecting him from
cold, airless death. Filming Jupiter as the Sagussan ships slingshot around
it to increase speed to intercept their new targets, he stares at the pilot.
"Can I ask you something, Mie?"

"What is it?"

"Do...you believe in God?"

Mie blinks. "I believe in the divine force of Existence, the life
energy in all living things. In Sagussan, we call it *te'a*: That Which Is
Above mortal understanding. I don't believe in an anthropomorphic version of
that divine force as you see It. I don't believe in associating personal
philosophy or ethics to That which I believe to be Divine." She smiles
apologetically. "You might say that no one on Sagussa could ever bring
herself to accept all of what Mohammed ever taught...or Moses, or Abraham, or
Jesus, or the rest of them."

"But you can accept some," he notes.

"I can accept respect for other people's beliefs," she sighs. "I can
accept respect for oneself and one's space. I can accept peace between all
peoples. That's universal in all faiths, I think. What I can't accept, what
no Sagussan would ever accept, is the 'my way or the highway' routine most
religions demand of their followers. My faith, my belief in what is around
me, is my business and mine alone. I don't force it on others. I can never
bring myself to try to convince you that I'M right and YOU'RE wrong. At the
same time, I don't like it when others try to force it on me. To do that is
to enhance Entropy, which sickens me. That is my faith, Rashad...and that is
something no one can ever take from me."

He blinks. "That is what fascinates us about you...and frightens us.
You...are so strong, so willing to accept your place in this world, this
galaxy. No one can shake you from it. That alone marks you different from
other aliens I've heard of, especially these ones you're fighting. That
scares many people. Yet, here you are, fighting so that we can continue to
interpret our universe in our way. And there is the fascination. We're...not
sure as to how to interpret you."

"Why interpret? Just accept. We accept you."

Rashad nods. "It appears you're already affecting us. By showing us
how to accept each other, you make us think of other ways, show us something
we could never have considered before."

"Yeah," Mie muses. "And that...could be seen as wrong. Against the
spirit and probably the letter of the Non-Interference Directive. But, unlike
Oogi and his ilk, we don't force you to accept our ways, our views of you.
That decision is still yours to make."

An emergency alarm sounds off. "Heads up!!" Shinobu barks. "We're
almost on them!"

"Right!" Mie takes her machine off auto-pilot, then braces herself.
"Ready back there?!"

"Ready," Rashad picks up his camcorder...

* * *

One ship not involved in the battle is Warpshuttle 101, seemingly in a
calm area of space over Japan. Borrowed by Shikuramenko and her many friends
so they could elicit genetic samples from Mark Onsen, it remains at yellow
alert. Those women, from Intelligence and Internal Security with a smattering
of other personnel, take shifts on the bridge monitoring the fight. Ayanba
has been invited aboard to stay close to her husband. She stares at her
adopted home planet, trying not to think about whatever was going on between
her husband and Shikuramenko's friends.

The bridge doors part, revealing the internal security officer. "Hi,
Ayanba!" Shikuramenko beams. "How are you doing? Want something to eat?"

"Huh?!" Ayanba jolts, surprised by the Sagussan's sudden appearance.
"Oh, no thanks," she waves, lightly smiling. "I'm not hungry."

"Ayanba, you have to eat," Shikuramenko sits beside her, handing her a
calorie drink. "After all, you're feeding for two, you know."

The Vosian jerks. "You know?!!"

"Hard not to sense it," the Sagussan smiles. "Congratulations. Don't
worry; we won't tell him."

"What are you doing to him?"

"The doctors're giving him a drug which allows him to produce more
sperm. Once his body produces enough, we then extract it for cloning, genetic
modification and distribution. We repeat the process for as long as he can
tolerate it. It's all very simple, really. Once there's enough material,
some will be passed to us right away while other samples are preserved for
those back on Sagussa."

"Are you...?"

"Yep," Shikuramenko smiles.

Ayanba blinks. "It seems so...impersonal."

"I know it is," Shikuramenko sighs. "But it's keeping both sides safe.
Mark won't get into too much trouble with you or his peers. We're protecting
ourselves from any unwanted influence. Until we get enough males in our
society who're willing to think as we do, accept the society we want to
construct, this...will be commonplace."

"That's too bad. You'd think the people who started this would've
thought of providing mates for you."

"Well, that's something that didn't occur. The whys of it can't be
answered. We press on."

Ayanba nods, then finds herself staring at the stars. "What is it?"
Shikuramenko wonders.

"I'm surprised," the Vosian muses. "Here we sit talking about you
having kids and all your friends are out there fighting the Niphentaxians.
Aren't you worried?"

"Not really," the Sagussan shakes her head. "As long as we don't get
cocky, nothing really bad'll happen. We'll be safe. Oh, by the way...how'd
you give some of us names?"

"Huh?!" Ayanba blinks. What was this about?

"Another...reason we came to see Mark is that none of us have names,"
Shikuramenko wryly smiles. "Ataru's imagination only goes so far, you know.
All of us want names, but maybe one-in-one thousand have them right now. We
need some...help changing that."

"I guess so," Ayanba muses. "Has Dear been...?"

"Oh, yes!" Shikuramenko counts off names. "Momoko, Niwako, Himawari,
Endoomame..."

"I get the idea," Ayanba laughs. "Okay, who could I name?"

Shikuramenko whistles. The bridge doors part, revealing three Vosian-
born women. One is a stocky brunette, number 7766, an internal security
officer. The second, number 7767, is a tall brown-haired girl, a hydrographic
sciences apprentice. The third, number 7768, is twin to the second, an
architect technician. "You asked for us, Shikuramenko?" the first wonders.

Hearing that voice, Ayanba's head snaps around, her eyes widening in
disbelief as memories of her lost life on Vos return to her. "I thought you'd
like to see them," Shikuramenko smiles.

Hesitantly rising, Ayanba stumbles toward them, confirming with her eyes
that these were, although she could now not sense their brainwave patterns,
the same people she knew two millennia before. "Hisonba..." she stammers.
"Sekinba...Kyuunba. Is it...really you?"

The three exchange looks. "We were hoping you would tell us," Sekinba
lightly smiles. "But...it does appear that we...are your sisters."

Ayanba faints!

* * *

"Sayonara, bastard!!!" Mie howls as quantum torpedoes fire.

The transport explodes in a fury of detonating gasses. "Die, you mad
infidel dogs!!" Rashad cheers. "Your goddess won't save you!!"

"Hasei'cha" sweeps in behind the Gladiators, her weapons incinerating
the remaining transports as Mars looms in the near distance. "That's it!"
Lufy breathes out in relief. "Boy, saving a planet's tough work! Where to
now, boss?!"

On the warpsloop's bridge, Eluza turns to Rumy. "Request a sitrep from
Oryuu. Do they need us back near Saturn?"

"Aye, ma'am," the science chief makes the call.

The tension fades as Shinobu relaxes in her chair. Fielding calls from
dozens of Gladiator pilots seemed simple. It had been...until the sheer
number of Niphentaxians came close to overwhelming the Sagussans. However,
much of the enemy's fight had been sapped when the Gatherer and his sister
warships destroyed the remaining squadron of Planet Destroyers, then turned
their giant anti-proton cannons on the sea of Niphentaxian warships. In a
minute, an entire race's navy was pulverized.

However, the Sagussans were gracious to their foes. The water tanker
"Lyme'cha"...at twenty-two kilometres long, the largest ship in the Republic's
inventory...had been in Saturnian orbit. Equipped with emergency evacuation
transporters in one of her giant tanks, the "Lyme'cha's" temporary crew of
Internal Security officers beamed out the surviving Niphentaxians. They were
placed in cryostasis pens until they would be repatriated, sometime after the
new provisional government had taken power and the Church of Lum dismantled.
Knowing that made experiencing this battle easier for Shinobu to endure.

"You okay?" Makoto wonders.

"I'll be fine," Shinobu lightly smiles. "That's what I like. A clean
fight, little physical damage, then ship the enemy home and be done with
it...until the next time."

"Yeah," the watchmistress snorts. "It's hard for us to remember that
those ships were filled with people, all having dreams and ambitions no
different from ours."

"It's the leaders who're at fault," Shinobu muses. "I wonder if they've
caught Oogi yet."

"No one's said anything," Makoto hums. "I know Intelligence wants to
get their hands on him. We still have to find out if he knows about what
happened to Lum."

Shinobu blinks. In the confusion, she had forgot about the Oni. "Where
is Lum, anyway?"

"Shingetsu," Makoto smiles. "I don't know. I'm not too crazy about Noa
using Lum as bait to lure whoever was after Ataru. Why not substitute an
android, then allow Lum the chance to go home?"

"Don't forget, this area of space is pretty heavily travelled," Amy
muses from her station. "If we send ships into the Dead Zone, whoever's
behind this is bound to notice...and if they're high up in the defence
hierarchy as everyone thinks, it means war."

"Better for Lum to go to Sagussa unhindered," Shinobu muses. "By your
standards, she is a Sagussan citizen."

"What if the Urusians contest that?" Amy wonders. "They haven't made
any comment since Kimaenowakai made that announcement."

"That is odd," Makoto exhales. "They should've said something..."

An emergency alarm sounds off. "This is R.S.S. 'Hasei'cha,'" Rumy
presses the reply. "Go ahead, Shuttle One-oh-one."

A blonde-haired Terran in First Fleet uniform appears on the forward
viewscreen. "This is Watchmistress Nasuko," the newly-named Daishi'cha #52447
reports. "Sensors indicate a squadron of Niphentaxian battlewagons inside
lunar orbit, approaching Earth. Warsuit and hovercycle units are moving to
intercept. Assistance is required."

"Acknowledged, Nasuko," Eluza straightens herself. "Take command of
Shuttle One-oh-one. We're on our way."

"Aye-aye, ma'am," Nasuko salutes.

"Here we go again," Shinobu grits her teeth as "Hasei'cha" rockets
toward Earth, her Gladiators in her wake.

* * *

Five minutes later, the "Hasei'cha" races at a small pack of six tiger-
striped warships, moving to form a bombardment circle over Japan. One was
engaged by Warpshuttle 101. In an interesting irony, the Sagussan ship, the
same size as the Niphentaxian, was proving ineffectual; the Type 78 shuttles
were speedy couriers, possessing little in the way of offensive armament.
Warsuits and hovercycles strafed the hangar bays, pinning the majority of the
squadron's fighter contingent on the hangar decks. Others were engaged in a
dogfight with those few fighters who had launched. "Are they beaming down
troops?!" Eluza wonders.

"Shuttle 101 is pumping a jamming field around the enemy craft," Rumy
reports. "No chances of Niphentaxian ground forces beaming down to augment
intelligence units."

"Intelligence units?!" Shinobu blinks.

"The spies Oogi had throughout Japan," Spea explains. "Mostly in the
Tokyo and Sendai areas. Internal Security teams and Japanese police are
rounding them up."

"Oh, thank the gods!" Shinobu breathes out.

"Signal Oryuu," Eluza turns to Rumy. "We'll need Gladiators here PDQ to
help us put these people down."

"Aye aye, ma'am," the science chief makes her call.

As soon as "Hasei'cha" swings into range, two of the battlewagons open
up. The enemy's shot bounces off the warpsloop's shields as she narrows the
range. The Gladiators, Warsuits and hovercycles pepper the hulls of the other
ships while Warpshuttle 101 imposes herself in the path of the lead enemy
craft, ensuring that if anything is launched at Tokyo, the Sagussan's shields
will catch it long before innocents are harmed. "Could Oogi be on one of
those ships?!" Shinobu wonders.

"Let's find out," Eluza muses. "Signal the lead ship, Rumy. Demand
they surrender."

The signal is dispatched. A moment later, a defiant captain glares at
Eluza from the bridge of the "Tamashii no Lum." "We will never surrender!!"
he snarls.

"Where is your president...excuse me, EX-president?" Eluza smiles
mockingly. "We have news of a new provisional government being formed at
home. Oogi no longer has diplomatic immunity."

"Lies!!" the Niphentaxian barks. "As soon as we're done with you, we'll
put those pagan infidels back in their place!"

Shinobu shakes her head, unable to believe that these people, the last
remnants of a once-mighty navy, would fight on to the death. Talk about
devotion to a lost cause! "Will you give up?!!" she barks, bolting to her
feet. "You've lost!!! It's over!! Ataru-kun will NEVER allow you to
threaten Earth or any other planet again!!! Lay down your arms and you can go
home!!"

The captain stares at her. "We do this for you, my lady!"

The screen goes blank. "Idiot!!" Eluza snaps.

"Orders?" Shildy stares at the shipmistress.

"Destroy them," Eluza sighs.

Shildy nods to Spea. The "Hasei'cha's" guns open up, smashing through
the enemy ships' shields like tissue paper, wrecking the engineering sections
and weapons dynamos! In an instant, this small fleet is rendered helpless.
"Target their life support systems," Eluza orders. "That should get them to
abandon ship..."

Suddenly, the "Tamashii no Lum" turns on the "Hasei'cha," charging the
warpsloop like a wounded bull facing the matador's red cape. "Collision
course!!!" Amy cries.

"All power to SIF!!!" Eluza barks. "Ramming speed!!!"

Shinobu turns away as the Sagussan ship races at the Niphentaxian, the
ship's structural integrity field hardening her hull to the density of solid
neutronium. Smashing into the bow of the "Tamashii no Lum," the "Hasei'cha"
crushes the battlewagon's forward hull, prying her in half!! What is left
detonates as power conduits sever, the energy barely scarring the sloop's hull
as the flagship of the Niphentaxian navy is transformed into a sea of junk.

Everyone on the bridge rides out the explosion with a faint jostle as
the "Hasei'cha" clears the wreckage, plumes of energy trailing her hull as
shields firm up, weapons charge and bear on the remaining enemy craft. "Now,
transmit them the surrender order," Eluza repeats.

"We're not dead?!" Shinobu cries.

"Yeah," Makoto smiles, then notices Patty moaning about the repairs and
new paint job ahead of her upon their return to home base. "Although Patty
may think otherwise," she thumbs the crying engineer chief...

* * *

In the wreckage of the "Tamashii no Lum," an intact escape pod drifts
free of the jamming field Warpshuttle 101 projects, allowing its vital cargo
to beam directly to Tomobiki...

* * *

Sometime later, the "Lyme'cha" comes to retrieve the surrendered
Niphentaxian battlewagon crews and the rounded-up spies captured in Japan. A
small group of fighter pilots were shot down over Japan, but it is believed
they will be rounded up within days. Without intelligence support, they would
be totally alone on a hostile planet. Sooner or later, they would either be
eliminated or forced to reveal themselves and surrender to Terran authorities.

The Niphentaxian Navy is gone. Over 80,000 officers and enlisted
personnel were captured, including many Avalonian slaves who had not the
chance to escape to New Avalon before now. Subjecting everyone to hypnosis,
psychologists move to deter the Niphentaxians from ever thinking of Lum in any
way which could allow the Church of Lum to restore itself.

Oogi remains at large.

The work done, the "Hasei'cha" retrieves her Gladiators. Rashad, Sasha,
Jasper and Esther move into the lounge to exchange notes and commentary for
their editors. As the crew relax, Shinobu heads to the cafeteria to join Mie
and Makoto in a small victory meal. "Well, another one bites the dust!" the
watchmistress smiles, toasting her life-mate and friend. "Now all we have to
do is find out who hurt Lum, THEN things can go right for a change!"

"I hope so," the pilot sighs. "Brother, all I want to do now is go to
my cabin have a nice hot ath and sleep for a day."

"In my arms, I hope," Makoto blows Mie a kiss.

Everyone chuckles. At that moment, Spea runs into the room. "Shinobu."

"What is it?" Shinobu turns to the combat officer.

Worry is etched on Spea's face. "There's an incident in Tomobiki," she
reports. "A small group of spies and Oogi have taken Sil and the guards'
girlfriends hostage."

"What?!!" Shinobu bolts to her feet. "Where are they?!!"

"Tomobiki High School clock tower," Spea reports. "Our hostage rescue
team is already there. You want to go down and see what's going on?"

"Damn right I do!!" Shinobu nods.

The two race out of the room. "Day's not over yet," Mie moans...

* * *

Tomobiki High School stands surrounded by a regiment of Leopard IIs, the
guns aimed at the clock tower. A brigade of Mendou Clan infantry augmented by
Moroboshi Clan paratroop infantry are stacked between the tanks. Beyond the
perimeter stand the riot police and a mob of angry students. Standing in the
clock tower belfry are a half-dozen Niphentaxian men, including their
president, holding five frightened young women at gunpoint. "C'mon, Oogi!!"
Mendou bellows through a megaphone from his command tank. "It's over!!! Let
them go and we'll let you go home!!"

"Never!!!" the Niphentaxian leader retorts, holding a gun to Sil's head.
"If the Great Evil doesn't show up within the hour, the five little slaves he
used to seduce you away from Lum-sama will die!!!"

Mendou snarls. "That son-of-a-bitch!!!" Megane growls, standing nearby,
ready for a brawl. "If a hair on Tan-chan's head is touched, I'll have that
bastard tickle-tortured!!!"

"We already called Sedoyama-kun!!" Chibi reports. "He's all set! He
even brought two Sagussan interrogation specialists!!"

"Good!!!" Megane sneers. "Now, what do we do about those people?!" he
glares at the spies with Oogi.

"One false move and Sil-chan and the others suffer," Mendou stares at
them through binoculars. "We have to get their guns away from their heads!"

"Already taken care of," a prim voice announces.

Everyone sees a bespeckled Tritonian-born woman, her lavender hair tied
in a bun, approach. An internal security officer, she has inspector's rank on
her collars. "Who are you?!" Sakura wonders.

"Makinoshoo, Internal Security HRT commander. You can call me Maki,"
the woman smiles, then calls into her communicator. "Status, Maya?"

"In place," a Yehisrite-accented voice reports. "A clear shot. Now?!"

Maki smiles understandingly. "Relax. You know the drill. The hostages
need to be cleared."

"Aw, you're no fun!!" Maya moans. "If I don't get to kill something
soon, I'm transferring to Pathfinder Troop Six!"

The Terrans sweat. "She...seems to like her job," Sakura muses.

"She comes in hand every once in a while," Maki admits, then calls out,
"Rio? Lilicia? Ready?!"

"Willing and waiting!" an excited, young Ellsian-accented voice reports.
"Rio's just having a problem with her towel."

"I can't help it if the damn wind keeps picking up!!" an older Ellsian-
accented voice snaps. "It's not like a uniform, you know!"

"Hey, Rio, what're you doing up there?!" Maya wonders.

Everyone looks up to see a hovercycle floating over the school. Two
women, barely visible, are riding it. "Relax, Maya!" Rio sighs. "I'm just
gonna give those tangos a little thrill!!"

"'Thrill'...?" Megane wonders.

"***WHAT?!?!?!***" Maya howls all the way from her perch on the roof of
Toranoseishin Finances, the sonic boom making Tomobiki quake. "***WHAT ARE
YOU DOING NEARLY STARKERS UP THERE, RIO?!?!?!***"

"I'm just going to try a new Terran sport," Rio giggles. "Here I go!!"

Everyone on ground level stares as Rio, a very well-endowed woman with
her blonde hair in a ponytail, skydives from the hovercycle, a bungee line
secured to one leg. She is sheathed only in a towel, which she flings off
just as she comes to the level of the clock tower belfry. "HEY, BOYS, CHECK
THIS OUT!!!!!!" she yodels.

Naturally, despite Oogi barking at them to shoot, the spies gape, their
eyes swimming lasciviously over Rio's well-defined body. As Maki hoped, their
shifting attention makes their weapons fall away from the hostages. Seeing
this through her sniper's scope, Maya, a green-haired woman with crossed
daggers on her cheek, emits a jealous howl of rage as her rifle trains on
one's head. "STARE AT **MY** RIO-CHAN, YOU LECHEROUS SLIME?!?! DIE!!!!!!"

Her weapon thunders. The spies drop in rapid succession as Oogi
screams, racing into the tower as fast as his legs can move him. "You got
them, Maya!!" Rio barks over her wrist-communicator. "Other tangos down!!!
Lili, get me close so I can check the hostages!!"

"Right!!!" Lilicia swings the hovercycle in.

Rio flips herself up, unclasping her leg from the bungee cord as she
drops to the belfry. "You folks alright?!" she calls out.

The five shiver fearfully as they look up, understandably surprised to
see a nude woman with a pistol standing beside them. "A-are th-they g-
gone...?" Tanoshii stammers.

"All except Oogi!" Rio glares into the tower. "I'm going after him!!"

"Hey, get dressed!!" Lilicia, a girl with red hair in side pigtails
Rumy's age, calls out. "You know how Maya is when you do that, Rio!"

"Eh?!" the hostage rescue team's master chief stares at herself. "Oh,
gee! Forgot about that!"

Lilicia passes Rio her duty uniform as the hostages emit tired sighs.
At ground lever, everyone stares at Maki. "You actually exposed your senior
warrant officer just to get rid of some terrorists?!!" Sakura cries.

"Well, you know a man's libido is his greatest weakness," Maki muses.

Everyone moans. Meanwhile, downstairs, Oogi scrambles down a hallway to
the back door, hoping to get away from the school and the monsters hounding
his every step. "Moroboshi, you'll never get away with this!!!" he howls as
he makes it to the door. "Somehow, you'll pay...!!!"

He rams into Shinobu's waiting fist! The president drops to the floor
as she stands triumphantly over him. "Not with MY friends, you don't!!!"

"You'll...pay..." Oogi moans before passing out...

* * *

"Well, well, well," Ataru snorts as Oogi's eyes flutter open. "Look
what the cat dragged in."

Derisive laughter echoes from the other people in the clock tower as the
president looks around. Now chained to the guardrail beside the tower bell,
Oogi finds himself facing Sedoyama. Behind the torture specialist was Ayaka,
a red-haired Ellsian-born intelligence officer, and her bond-mate Angel, a
brunette Yehisrite-born inspector with a mace-and-knife tattoo on her cheek.
Also present are Mendou, the guards and Shinobu. "You slime!!!" Oogi spins on
Ataru. "How dare you defy Lum-sama's wishes?!! You shall pay for this, you
devil!!! Mark my words...!!"

"COMMENCE THE TORTURE!!!!!!" Megane barks.

Oogi howls as Sedoyama gives him his Number One. The president jerks as
the tickle specialist goes to work on his feet. Everyone remains silent until
Megane waves Sedoyama to stop. "Now, Oogi-kun," the guards' leader kneels
beside the trapped Niphentaxian. "I don't think we're asking too much, are
we? Lum-san has been kidnapped, brainwashed...and we think you know something
about it. Start talking!"

Oogi shakes his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about!" he
rages. "I would never have anything to do with corrupting Lum-sama's mind,
even if it was to save her from this creature...!!"

"CONTINUE THE TORTURE!!!!!!" Megane snarls.

Oogi yowls as Sedoyama returns to work. "P-p-please...he-he-ha-ha-
ha...I d-d-don't...he-he-he-he...kn-know a th-th-thing...ha-ha-ha-ha!!" he
stammers, trying to squirm his way out of the torture specialist's grasp.

Megane waves Sedoyama down, then turns to Ataru. "It seems our normal
interrogation procedures aren't working, Ataru," he adjusts his glasses. "Any
suggestions?"

Ataru turns to Ayaka. "Aya-chan, why don't you have a go at him?"

"My pleasure," the intelligence officer stands up, then kneels beside
the Niphentaxian. "Now, Oogi-san...you're not getting out of this place until
you start talking. And I have many ways," she breathes on his ear, "...to
make you sing."

He spits in her face. "Bitch!!! You'll never get me to talk!!"

Ayaka blinks, then calmly wipes the spittle from her cheek. "You
slime!!!" Megane grabs Oogi by his jacket lapels. "How dare you spit on this
woman?!! Now talk or it'll just get worse for you!!"

"Never!!!" Oogi snarls.

Sniffing, Ayaka wails, falling into Angel's embrace. "Oh, Angel, that
meanie spat at me!!" she moans.

"Is that a fact?!!" the former *pirpirsiw'r* snickers as she kisses
Ayaka's forehead, then kneeling beside the trapped president, grabs his leg.
"Time to teach this boy some manners!!"

With a twist of her hand, she snaps his ankle. Oogi howls as Angel
continues to work on his leg. Shinobu shudders as she looks away. "Are you
alright, Shinobu-san?" Mendou walks up to her. "You don't have to stay, you
know."

Shinobu stares at Mendou. "After what his friends on Phentax Twelve did
to me, do I have any choice?"

Mendou nods. By that time, Angel has wrecked the whole of Oogi's leg.
"There are over two hundred bones in the average human body, Oogi," the
inspector icily smiles. "I can keep this up all day, you know."

"Witch!!" Oogi vainly kicks at her with his good leg. "You'll pay for
this!!"

Angel grabs the leg, then goes to work. Ataru stares out the window at
another peaceful day in Tomobiki. Megane calmly cleans his glasses. The
guards look bored. Mendou wipes his katana blade with a cloth. Shinobu
flutters between pity for the trapped Niphentaxian and sheer disgust at his
mad devotion to Lum. In a minute, Oogi is reduced to a pile of whimpering
flesh, his legs shattered. Ayaka kneels beside him, touching his face.
"Hmmm...his psi-guards are almost down," she muses. "Keep going, Angel."

"Right," Angel unlocks one of Oogi's arms, then begins to flex the
fingers.

Shinobu walks up to Ataru. "Why are they doing this?" she wonders.

"When Ayaka mind-scanned him after you decked him, she found out that he
had undergone some psi-shielding exercises to better protect his mind from a
casual mind-probe," the *daimon'cha* sighs. "We have to overload his pain
centres, distract his brain from protecting itself, then go at it."

"Surely there're easier ways," Shinobu shudders.

"If there were, you know we'd use them," Ataru muses, embracing her.

By that time, Oogi has fainted. "Hmpth!!" Angel snorts as she drops his
arm. "No stamina at all, this one! Yhey just don't make dictators like they
used to!"

"Good!!" Ayaka moves his face up, then begins the mind-probe.

"Watch yourself," Sedoyama warns. "Who knows what this jerk has in that
cesspool he calls a mind!"

"Why, Keizoo-kun," Angel kneels beside him. "I never knew you cared."

"H-hey!" he laughs. "We torture specialists've got to stick together."

"'Keizoo-kun?!'" Chibi wonders.

"That's my name," Sedoyama nods. "Keizoo Sedoyama."

"Learn something new every day," Mendou hums.

By that time, Ayaka's hands pull away from Oogi's face. "Well?" Ataru
stares expectantly at her.

"He doesn't know exactly who's responsible," the intelligence officer
sighs, "...but he does suspect someone."

"Who?!" Megane growls.

"The same person who tried to help him in his first attack on Earth,"
Ayaka stares at him. "Yethis Seq."

The Terrans exchange looks...

* * *

"Yethis no Midorinokaminoke-oni, alias Yethis Seq," Makinoshoo scans her
controls. "Age thirty-six. Lieutenant-general in the Urusian Defence Force.
Current position: chief of staff to President Lana, also serves as commander
of UDF home defence forces. Single, no children, one older sister Yedris,
nephew Rei, niece Sugoi."

A holographic image of the Urusian leader appears before the crowd in
room 337. Along with Ataru, Shinobu, Mendou, Sil, the bodyguards and their
girlfriends, the remainder of Maki's Hostage Rescue Team, Pathfinder Troop Six
and the "Hasei'cha's" crew are present. "Cute...for a slime!" Rio snarls.

Suddenly, a bolt of energy rips through the hologram's head, exploding
harmlessly against the blackboard! "Priss!!!" everyone screams.

"Sorry," the coxswain of Pathfinder Troop Six snarls, blowing at the
imaginary smoke on the end of her pistol. "Just practicing!"

The Sagussans laugh. "What else do we know about this character?"
Megane crosses his arms.

"Mostly rumours, I'm afraid," Maki sighs as she calls up data. "Nothing
which has ever been validated with hard evidence." She stares at the readout.
"He's rumoured to be the leader of a secret cabal of nominal heads of the old
Imperial Houses. It could simply be an old boy's club for Imperial wanna-bes,
but the positions the other cabal members hold makes me suspicious."

"Like who?" Mendou wonders.

Images of other Urusian men appear. "Vel Pochik," Maki indicates one.
"Elder of the Pochik House. Retired admiral in the UDF, former Minister of
Defence and commander of UDF expeditionary forces, now CEO of Uru's largest
computer systems manufacturer." Another is marked. "Des Azu. Elder of the
Azu House. Retired navy captain in the UDF, now chief of the Urusian Defence
Intelligence Directorate." A third. "Cal Tenwan. Next-in-line in the Tenwan
House. Major-general in the UDF Marines, governor of Toshitto colony." A
fourth. "Retah Uio. Elder of the Uio House. Lieutenant-General, commandant
of the UDF Marine Corps, present Minister of Defence." A fifth. "Sayan
Renning. Now elder of the Renning House thanks to Priss. Vice-admiral in the
UDF, commander of UDF expeditionary forces." A sixth. "Jayan Aruka. Elder
of the Aruka House. Major-general in the UDF, Minister of the Interior and
commandant of the Urusian Interior Forces." She stops, looking back. "There
are rumoured to be about thirty in this organization, but these seven are the
ones causing greatest concern."

"How did you learn all this?!!" Sil bolts to her feet. "Prying into the
lives of individual Urusians is outlawed!! If anyone from the Interior Forces
did that, they'd be court-martialled!!"

"We have rover units performing SIGINT, TECHINT and PSYINT, Sil," Maki
smiles. "Granted, it leaves a gap in our intelligence estimates since we have
no HUMINT assets on the ground, but it did enough."

"Oh," Sil blinks, then returns to her seat.

"So we have suspects," Maya growls. "What about motive?"

Maki draws up several charts. "A recent survey was carried out among
voting age Urusians," the inspector sighs. "They were asked who they would
support when the Democratic Alliance launched its campaign of reform. Here
are the results when the basic question was asked."

Three bar graphs appear. Imperials get 32% support. Unionists get 33%
support. Democrats get 35% support. "Almost neck-and-neck," Eluza muses.

"True," Maki nods. "Now, let's augment the question. What would happen
if Lum gave support to the Democrats?"

The graph changes. Imperials 7%, Unionists 11%, Democrats 82%. "Holy
shit!!" Megane exclaims. "You were right, Sil! That IS a landslide!!"

"Now the Imperial odds if Lum supports them," Maki changes the graph.

Imperials 54%, Unionists 18%, Democrats 28%. "They'd just squeak past,"
Mendou shudders.

"In other words," Ataru sighs, "...if Lum was seen as supporting the
Imperials, the Union Revolution would be undone."

"Or worse, it could provoke a new civil war as the Unionists and
Democrats banded forces to overthrow the Imperials," Maki nods.

"So we have motive!!" Maya growls. "Let's go pop this perp!!"

"We can't do that, Maya," Maki sighs.

"Why not?!!"

"It's called 'being out of jurisdiction,' Maya," the inspector smiles
sympathetically. "We have not exchanged ambassadors, much less signed an
extradition treaty. Further, Yethis is a major government official. If we
touch him, WE'RE the guilty party!"

"What if we get evidence on him?!" Lilicia wonders. "I mean, we have
enough to consider him suspect."

"That's a good point," Maki turns to Ataru. "There is enough here to
warrant a continued investigation."

"But Internal Security isn't trained for this," the *daimon'cha* then
turns to Sylia. "It's in your park, Sylia."

"Yes, sir," the commander nods.

"Oh, goody!" Linna cackles. "Fresh air, a new place to visit...and
loads and loads of tangos to kill!!"

"There's no life like it!" Nene smiles...

* * *

Uru.

A hoverlimo stops before a beautiful mansion some distance from
Onishuto. Stepping out of the vehicle, Yethis proceeds inside. He ignores
the guards saluting him as he enters the foyer. An aide approaches.
"General, everyone is waiting for you in the conference room," she bows.

"Thank you," Yethis nods. "I'll see them now."

He proceeds into the conference room, a small briefing room. No one was
actually present; their images were transmitted by holovision from their homes
and offices. Facing the thirty people in his conspiracy, the general sits.
"You heard what happened to the Niphentaxians," he clasps his hands under his
chin.

"We did," Des Azu growls. "It appears Moroboshi is hell bent on
honouring his treaty obligations."

"Any sign of Lum?" the elderly Vel Pochik wonders.

"No," Yethis sighs. "The security system on Otaku's ship was destroyed
when his sister and friends evacuated to Sagussa. For all we know, Lum and
that witch Noa went to Sagussa."

Jayan Aruka jolts. "Are we sure that the Noa from Sagussa is the same
as the Maiden Noa?" he crosses his arms. "I don't like the idea of killing a
heroine of Uru, especially with this mysterious bond with Lum."

"Relax, Jayan," Yethis' eyes narrow. "I recognize Noa's value to your
House. I've no intention of killing her if it can be avoided. If we could
brainwash her into killing Moroboshi, all the better."

"Why are we targeting Moroboshi?!" Retah Uio growls. "The man is death
to anyone who challenges him! If he wants to protect his pitiful planet, let
him!! Our business is here!!!"

"Is it, Retah?!" Des wonders. "You know how much our people look to the
Terrans! That link has to be destroyed...OR manipulated to our favour if our
people are to get anywhere!!"

Yethis sighs. "That is a problem, isn't it?"

Earth. The weak link in Urusian society, though no Terran knew the full
extent of how their society influenced Uru. Before the Revolution, Earth was
viewed with awe. The only planet outside Elle which escaped the Dominion's
wrath, spared, it was assumed, because it was too primitive to consider
conquering. Watching Earth as the variety of cultures volleyed for world
control was a favourite pastime among most Imperials. Nations like Britain,
France and Spain were seen as no different from the Redets, Seqs and the other
Houses. Whatever seemed logical among Terrans was accepted among Urusians.
The works of Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Voltaire, even the wisdom of the
Bible and the Koran...Urusian scholars knew all them by heart.

Then the American Revolution came, followed by the French Revolution and
the Napoleonic Wars. Urusians watched with morbid fascination as hereditary
patriarchal governments were wrecked, vanquished as the common people claimed
power once welded by a select few. Mob rule, elected government, the rights
of the individual; all this was absorbed by Urusian intellectuals who, in
turn, began to QUESTION the existence of the Houses and their domination over
Uru. One, Syl Aruka, marching in the footsteps of Luther and Jefferson,
demanded that the Empire reform, allow democratic representation for ALL
Urusians. Naturally, she was declared an heretic and assassinated.

That act unleashed a firestorm!!

Since the Union Revolution, most Urusians still looked to Earth. They
continued to seek spiritual fulfillment as Terrans struggled with their
identities. Many Urusians would have felt at home in New York, London, Paris
or Tokyo. Coming to Earth's aid under the threat of Ipraedies invasion was,
simply, the natural thing to do. Even now, with Earth asserting its
independence, finding protection behind Sagussa's shield, many Urusians felt
in their hearts that as long as Earth was safe, Uru was safe.

That is...MOST Urusians felt this way.

For Yethis, Earth had become a monster. Uru had become TOO attached to
the less-developed world. When peoples across Europe and America threw off
their hereditary masters, Urusians believed they had the right to do the same.
The Union Revolution resulted. The Houses were destroyed, the Empire
shattered, reborn as the Urusian Union. While in practice, political and
economic power still resided in a structured hierarchy, the promises Syl made
possible hung in the air. Her martyrdom brought into strong focus that ALL
were equal before the law and the state. NONE had the right to rule another.
ALL races could work together in harmony to seek a common destiny.

Anyone with Imperial blood was sickened by such beliefs. Even if they
were shoved aside, their power stripped before their eyes, they knew the true
order of things. They yearned for the restoration of the Empire, the return
of the Houses. But for two centuries, few had the vision to challenge the
Union, to tear that rotting house down and restore the castle which was
Imperial Uru. Few...until Yethis Seq and his friends.

But now...now the Imperials had competition. Another movement had
emerged, striving to finish the work Syl started. The Democratic Alliance of
Uru. Hearing the name made Yethis' blood boil. To add horrible insult to
injury, it was led by Yethis' sister, supported by prominent intellectuals and
leaders who knew the Union was flawed. If they succeeded, the Imperials would
lose, the Empire consigned to its grave. The Alliance had to be stopped...and
Fate had handed a weapon Yethis could use against Yedris and her friends.

Until Ataru Moroboshi and Sagussa took Lum away.

Yethis feels bile surge up to his throat. "Sayan, get search ships out
to locate Lum and her friend," he grits his teeth. "Don't report to me until
you've found them! Bring Noa back alive!"

Sayan Renning nods. "Right away, General."

* * *

The Onishuto city market bustles with noon shopping as Pathfinder Troop
Six wander through the kiosks. Keeping themselves separated, the six warriors
were dressed in garments reflecting their ancestral homeworlds. To disguise
her origins, Priss wears makeup to cover her tattoo. All had their sequential
tattoos lasered off their legs since Sylia, Asuka, Linna and Nene would wear
bikinis. Of course, parading around in such prudish clothing never sat well
with any Sagussan. <<I look like a cheap whore!!>> Nene wails as she glances
at herself in a floor-length mirror, trying out scarves. <<Can't Ellsians
wear something *decent?!*>>

<<Or Fukunokami for that matter!>> Linna chafes, shifting the sash chain
over her battle bikini. <<Geez, how could Benten tramp around in this thing
all the time?!>>

<<Enough,>> Rei sighs, dressed in a standard white kimono. <<If you
fidget, you'll attract attention. We're supposed to blend in, remember?>>

<<Easy for you to say, Rei!!>> Asuka growls, nibbling on some umeboshi.
<<You at least look respectable!>>

Sylia sighs. All their training aside, this was their first deep-cover
mission. Given the advanced development of Sagussan psionics, keeping tabs on
the other was child's play. Still, the others had to accustom themselves to
not parading around in battle uniforms, especially when their presence had to
be kept secret. <<Discipline, girls!>> she insists.

<<Yes, Mother...>> the three chief petty officers chorus.

Sylia steps out of the market, her eyes falling on a kiosk at a corner.
Slogans proclaiming POWER TO THE PEOPLE, DEMOCRACY NOW! and FULL RIGHTS TO ALL
URUSIANS!! blare from the kiosk as a young college student proclaims the
platform for the Democratic Alliance. "Has the Union served you?!!" he calls
out to the crowd. "Have you been able to exercise the rights promised to you
in the Revolution?!! Is THIS the Uru you wanted?!! Support the Alliance and
get the freedoms that are yours!!!"

Sylia stops, staring at the scene before her. Priss walks up. "Old
home week, huh?" the coxswain wonders.

The commander nods, her mind going back in time...

* * *

Onishuto. Imperial year 690. On Earth, the year 1798.

The capital of the Empire was dirtier then. The streets were lost under
coats of dirt and excrement, dotted with blood and other less noble bodily
fluids. Most of the people living here were peasants, overtaxed, overworked
and with little hope for the future. The castle of the Emperor rose above
this morass, looming over its surroundings like the Houses dominated their
subjects. Most of the people shuffled from place to place, their faces etched
with the hardships of every day Urusian life.

However, in one market square, a large gathering had formed around a
speaker on a platform. Here, Noukiite slaves were auctioned to farmers
looking for extra workers. Many of the spectators were peasants with a small
group of liberal intellectuals. Their eyes are locked on the speaker, a
raven-haired firebrand Seishin woman dressed plainly, having shed the finery
of the Aruka House when she witnessed the storming of the Bastille nine years
before on an intelligence mission to Paris.

Syl Aruka.

"Is this the life you wanted for yourselves?!!" she demanded over
loudspeakers. "Is this the be-all and end-all of your existence?!! Have you
lost your dreams of the time when you don't have to serve those fat fools in
the castles?!!" she indicated the Emperor's keep.

"NO!!!!!!" the crowd chanted.

"Why do the Houses believe they're superior to us?!!" Syl demanded.
"Nine hundred years ago, my ancestors gave their lives willingly to free us
from the Dominion's chains!!! And what did we do?!! We created our own
Dominion, controlled by TRAITORS who still pay lip-service to an alien regime
we supposedly rejected, a regime which states that only a FEW deserve to live
free while the MANY remain in chains!!! Do you want this?!!"

"NO!!!!!!"

Syl indicated a scene from Paris' Revolution Square, marked with the
dark scaffold of the guillotine. "Look there!!!" she demanded as the sharp
blade slammed down on its latest victim. One of the revolutionaries hoisted
the condemned man's severed head for the roaring crowd's pleasure. "You just
saw the execution of the King of France!!! Executed for failing to protect
and serve his people!!! Executed for bowing to the few while letting the many
suffer!!! Why can't we do the same?!! Why can't we execute those who allow
the many to suffer?!! Where is OUR control over our lives?!! Shouldn't we
have it?!!"

"YES!!!!!!"

A shot rang out! Syl jerked as a bolt of energy lanced through her
chest!! The crowd screamed as she collapsed to the wooden deck, her blood
staining the ground below her. A company of troops appeared. "Disperse the
crowd!!" their leader barked. "Get that traitor!!!"

Soldiers surged toward the fallen Syl. The crowds were pushed aside as
several burly troopers seized the fatally wounded intellectual. "We'll hack
her head off and put it on a pike for the lessers to see!!" the officer
laughed. "That should show these peasants who truly rules Uru!!!"

The crowd stared as Syl was unceremoniously dumped on the ground. Many
tremble, caught in a torment. Then, the mood changed. Suddenly, a farmer
used his hoe to bash it across the officer's face, knocking him to the dirt!
The soldiers cried out in shock as others, taking a cue from the farmer,
hurled anything they could get their hands on at those taking Syl away. The
soldiers paniced, firing shots into the air to disperse the crowd. But unlike
other peasant uprisings, the crowd did not flee...but surged at the symbols of
oppression. Hoes, shovels, scythes, pitchforks were the weapons of the day as
soldiers are brutally bashed down, disarmed, then executed. Others drag Syl
out of the muck to the stand as the captain is thrown onto the stage. "Syl-
san!!" a farmer bowed to the dying woman. "What is your judgement for those
who hurt the people?!"

Syl, caught in the throes of a delirium, pointed to the images of Paris.
"Remember...what...they did..." she hoarsely intoned.

A cry went out for an axe. The captain was slammed to the deck, his
head hanging over the edge. A burly woodsman approached, then with one sweep,
the officer's head was sliced off. Then, echoing the scene on Earth, the
captain's head was held in the air for all to see. "Let this be the
Emperor!!!" the woodsman cried.

"Down with the Redets!!!" a farmer screamed.

"Down with the Seqs!!!" another bellowed.

"Down with the Empire!!!" a peasant cheered.

The words were electric. "***DOWN WITH THE EMPIRE!!!!!!***" the crowd
screamed, weapons thrust into the air.

Suddenly, a distant rumble was heard. Heads turned to see a tan
colossus approach Onishuto. A transporter beam was heard. Gasps escaped many
as a chestnut-haired Seishin woman in an alien gold-trimmed black uniform
appeared beside the fallen Syl. "It's Noa-sama!!!" a peasant screamed.

Eyes shied away from *daishi'cha* #19282 as she knelt, gently lifting
the dying Syl Aruka in her arms. "No..." she hoarsely pleaded. "No...I have
to stay...don't take me, Noa-sama...please..."

"Your time in this existence, on this world, is done," the Seishin-
turned-Sagussan neutrally intoned. "You will come with me. From this day
forth, you are *daishi'cha* #76073 of the Grand Design of Sagussa."

Syl blinked, then her eyes closed. The woman who was once, and one day
would by again, Noa, turned to leave. "Noa-sama, wait!!" the woodsman gasped.

The Sagussan stopped, to look back. "Is there a problem?"

"What will you have us do?!" he pleaded. "Have you come to save us?!!"

"Negative," she blinked. "My interaction with this world ceased nine
centuries ago, as has this one's presently," she nodded to Syl. "If you wish
to change, you must do it yourself. It is within your capability if you seize
the initiative. That is none of my concern. I cannot interfere."

She disappeared in another transporter beam. The crowd stared at the
place where their planet's greatest legend stood. "You heard her!!!" the
woodsman faced the crowd. "She said if we wanted freedom, we can have it!!!"

"Yes!!!" a peasant chanted. "Freedom!!!"

"The Maidens themselves support it!!!" a farmer cried.

"Freedom!!!" the woodsman held aloft his bloody axe. "Freedom!!!"

"Freedom!!! Freedom!!! Freedom!!!" the crowds chanted...

* * *

...as Sylia returns to the modern age. "Yes," she sighs, staring at
Priss. "Old home week."

"C'mon," the coxswain nods down the street. "We have work to do."

Sylia sighs as she turns away, periodically staring at those continuing
her work...

* * *

"The Niphentaxians have been returned home, Ataru," Oryuu reports.

Ataru nods, relaxing in his rebuilt bedroom in Oshika. "Any problems?"
he wonders.

"None," the fleet shipmistress shakes her head, then remembers. "Oh.
Onsen-san wants to see you."

"Ah!" he stands.

Onsen sits in the living room, enjoying a cup of tea as Ataru walks up.
"So," the *daimon'cha* smiles. "How was your time with Shikuramenko and the
others?"

The vice-principal stares at him. "It was...okay, if you didn't mind
fending off the advances of fifty very demanding women!" he grumbles. "What
in Buddha's name made you consider choosing me to help you with those people,
anyway?!"

"Well, I remembered what you told me about the bad luck you had with
women before Ayanba recognized you," Ataru shrugs. "I felt you deserved the
chance to be with other women. Sagussans, after all, frown on the whole idea
of marriage; they see it as an illogical restriction on people's duty to the
progression of the species."

"I never thought of it that way," Onsen muses.

"Speaking of which, where's Ayanba?"

"She's with her sisters right now," Onsen smiles. "You know, you really
scored points with her when you found Hisonba, Sekinba and Kyuunba. Aya-
chan's always felt...lonely for her own kind."

"Survivor's syndrome," Ataru sighs. "Why did I survive while my friends
didn't? Besides, the chances were there that the Gatherer never went after
any of Ayanba's relatives, that none of them died young, within the optimal
time targeted for *daishi'cha* candidates. Besides, after you pass on, Ayanba
might still have three or more centuries to live. She might as well live it
with relatives. That, of course, is up to her."

Onsen blinks. "You really are thinking ahead, aren't you? Gods, you're
so different from the way you were before the Spirit War."

"You know what woke me up," Ataru fixes him with a stare.

"Unfortunately," Onsen nods understandingly.

The door opens, revealing Ayanba. "Oh, Dear, there you are!" she
smiles, embracing her husband.

"Hi, Aya-chan," he kisses her. "So, how're your sisters?"

"Well, they're all pregnant now...with your children after Jagaimo-chan
completed the genetic modifications," Ayanba smiles. "They want to know what
you'd like to name them."

"Now I have to figure out names for the kids!" Onsen moans. "It's bad
enough that I have to worry about naming our baby..."

Ayanba screams. "You know?!!"

He jolts, then looks repentant. "Sorry. I...kinda guessed."

"Oh, you're horrible!!" she starts to vent crocodile tears. "I wanted
to make it a surprise!!"

"There, there, Ayanba," Ataru pats her shoulder. "Relax! He didn't
mean to hurt you! He's happy he's going to have a baby with you!"

Ayanba sniffs away her tears as she sinks into her husband's embrace.
"In the meantime," Ataru straightens himself, then taps his communicator.
"Ataru to Shikuramenko."

"Sir?!" the internal security officer responds.

"Please come to my house. Dress uniform."

"On my way!" Shikuramenko cuts off the line.

"Ataru to Hikaru."

"Yes, sir?" the Master-at-Arms responds.

"Bring the jacket, please."

"Yes, sir."

Hikaru and Shikuramenko beam down separately a moment later. "Hi, Aya-
chan, Mark!" the latter blows the Onsens a kiss. "So, he knows, I take it!"

"He spoiled the surprise, Shiku-chan!" Ayanba pouts.

Hikaru brings up a black jacket with dark blue trim and rank insignia.
"Here's the jacket," she smiles.

"Eh?!" Shikuramenko blinks, then faces Ataru. "S-sir...?"

Ataru stares at her. "Shikuramenko," he formally announces. "By the
majority choice of a secret ballot held sometime ago, you are elected to
become Governor of Sen'sha Seven Colony. Do you accept their nomination?"

Shikuramenko jolts. "I...but, sir, you still haven't elected a
commissioner for Internal Security! I would gladly serve there...!"

"You also took colonial government training," Ataru cuts in. "Further,
you are a member of SISF Force Two, which has as its core responsibility the
protection of all installations on Sen'sha Seven. The people there want you
to be their governor."

"I...see," Shikuramenko hums.

Ataru stares at her. "If you refuse, there will be no dishonour, but
how do you expect people to nominate you for any position if you shy away from
jobs offered to you?"

Shikuramenko blinks, then nods. "I accept."

Ataru smiles as Hikaru removes Shikuramenko's rankless jacket, then
replaces it with the jacket bearing the three wreath-of-laurel stripes and
blue four-point star indicating her position. "Congratulations, Governor," he
embraces her. "I know you'll do a good job."

"Thanks," she bows.

Ayanba and Onsen stand to embrace their friend. "Oh, congratulations!!"
the former beams. "It's not everyone who gets to be promoted from a police
officer to colony governor!"

"You'll do a fine job, Shiku-chan," the latter smiles.

"I hope I will," the newly-promoted governor sighs. "In the meantime,
could I talk to you...alone?"

"Sure," Onsen nods. "C'mon down to the apartment."

The three depart. "Do you think Shikuramenko will succeed?" Hikaru
stares at Ataru.

"Depends how open Ayanba is to new ideas," Ataru muses...

* * *

Sometime later, the Onsens and Shikuramenko walk into their apartment in
Tomobiki. "Please, make yourself comfortable," the vice-principal waves the
newly-promoted governor to the living room.

"Thanks," Shikuramenko nods, then places herself by the kotatsu.

Ayanba sits beside her as Onsen heads to the bathroom. "Thank you,
Shiku-chan," the Vosian smiles. "For telling me about my sisters."

"You don't seem upset because they have no memories of their previous
lives," the Sagussan muses.

"Well, after hearing about the regeneration matrix and what it does to
people, I can understand," Ayanba shrugs. "Besides, becoming a Maiden in my
day was seen as a blessed fate. And...after the nuns decided to leave Vos, I
never had the chance to say good-bye to them, to any of my family for that
matter. It's...nice to know I'm not alone anymore."

"That's good," Shikuramenko smiles. "Actually, that's the reason I
wanted to see you two before I went back."

By that time, Onsen has returned. "What reason is that, Shikuramenko-
chan?" the vice-principal sits before the governor.

"Well," the Sagussan sighs. "Mark, presently, you're forty years old.
You have some time left in this existence...but in comparison to Aya-chan,
you'll be gone before she reaches early middle age. Aya-chan has at least
four centuries left to go before she dies. Now, coming from a long-lived race
myself, I can easily conceive of what she'll go through when you pass on."

"I've...thought of that, a lot," the Terran admits. "In fact, it
weighed heavily on my mind when Aya-chan and I first met. In fact, if Ataru
hadn't come after me like he did, I might've refused Aya-chan."

"Understandable," Shikuramenko nods. "However, Aya-chan doesn't have to
be alone for the rest of her life."

"What would you propose?" Ayanba wonders.

The Sagussan faces the Vosian. "Ayanba," Shikuramenko bows respectfully
to the former Most Perfect, "...I am currently unbonded. I have no interest
in anyone on Sagussa. In fact, I was willing to remain single...until I met
you and Mark. I was struck by your innocence, your feelings of isolation and
separation vis-a-vis your surroundings. In a sense, you're no different from
us. Further, I find you very aesthetically and emotionally pleasing."

Ayanba jolts, feeling her cheeks redden. "Shiku-chan...!"

"Therefore," Shikuramenko stares at her. "Would you be my bond-mate?"

The Vosian blinks, then twittles her fingers. "Shiku-chan, I...I'm not
your type of girl, you know..."

The Sagussan chuckles. "Aya-chan, whether or not you're 'my' type
doesn't matter. *Marei'cha* is much deeper, more complex, than just sex.
When Mark dies, who's going to be there for you? You're not guaranteed
another mate through recognition, you know. Your sisters will be there, of
course. They would want both of you to live on Sagussa after Mark retires. I
can certainly make arrangements for both of you to come. And," her eyes
soften, "...I will be there for you."

Ayanba blinks, then stares at her husband. "Dear...?"

"Aya-chan," he takes her hands. "Remember...Shikuramenko-chan and her
friends see things differently from us. They have no marriage, remember?
They don't bond with their mates. And since they've not been with men since
they were re-born, they're used to the idea of seeking another woman as a
bond-mate."

"But what about you?!" Ayanba pleads.

"I'll be fine," Onsen smiles. "I've always worried about what will
happen to you when I die and you have so much time ahead of you. I would hope
that the next person you meet would treat you with respect and love. That's
not guaranteed, even on Sagussa. But, if I understand the whole *marei'cha*
process correctly after seeing Lum with Noa and Mie Seikou with Makoto, if
Shikuramenko-chan gives you her heart, you can be pretty sure that you'll be
treated with respect and love. And that's something I'll always want for you,
even when I am in Nirvana. I love you, Aya-chan...and even if I'm not with
you, I'll always love you."

Ayanba blinks, then embraces him. "Oh, Dear, you're wonderful!!" she
kisses him. "I love you so much."

They remain locked in their embrace for a moment, then Ayanba faces
Shikuramenko. "I'm ready."

Smiling, the governor reaches out to touch Ayanba's face...

* * *

"Why have we come here, Noa?" Lum wonders.

The Oni and her bond-mate wander through the ruined capital city of
Shingetsu. Noa has an Urban Assault Cannon with her. "Consider this a little
bit of improvised shopping," the *ashi'cha* muses. "If we're staying in
Urusian space over the next while, we'll have to be able to blend in with the
crowd. I don't have much in the way of Urusian-type civilians, you know."
She stops, then smiles. "Ah, here we are!"

The two proceed into a wrecked clothing store. While one wall has been
blasted apart, most of the items inside remain intact. "Did they not evacuate
their personal belongings when they moved out?" Lum wonders.

"They might've been killed in the attack," Noa hums, then starts to pick
her way through the blouses.

Lum remains in place, unquestioning in her faith in Noa's judgement.
She then blinks as shuffling noises are heard. "We are not alone!" she spins
around.

Noa's head snaps around just as something bursts free from a pile of
fallen debris. "Hold it!!" she levels the Urban Assault Cannon and fires.

Several bolts lance over the person's head. A child's scream pierces
the air as Noa and Lum race up. "It's a boy!" Lum announces.

On the ground, cowering from the energy bolts, is a black-haired Seishin
boy Ten-chan's age. Surprised, Noa slings her weapon, then kneels before him.
"Hi, there," she projects her most friendly smile. "What's your name?"

He cautiously stares at her. "Naga..."

"Hi," Noa smiles. "I'm Noa. This is Lum," she nods to her bond-mate.
"What're you doing here, Naga-chan?"

"I live here," he sniffs.

"Where are your parents?" Lum wonders.

"Dead. Insects got 'em."

Killed in the Lannarkite attack, Noa realizes. "C'mon," she offers her
hand. "We have food on our ship. Wanna eat?"

"What about my friends?" Naga wonders, nodding to a relatively intact
suburb of the colony's capital.

"How many are there?" Noa wonders.

"A dozen, maybe more," Naga shrugs.

Noa and Lum exchange looks. "We have enough," the former turns back to
the child. "Let's go meet them."

Naga blinks, then nods...

* * *

In orbit over Shingetsu at that time, an automated Urusian Defence Force
probe makes a sensor sweep of the devastated world. Due to the colony's
proximity to Ipraedies space, it was under nearly constant surveillance by
Uru's intelligence agencies. The probe, very primitive in comparison to a
Sagussan rover unit, was not programmed to scan for life, but energy
discharges which could indicate weapons or advanced electronics equipment.

The probe's sensors immediately detect the faint discharges of a
particle proton-type weapon in the ruins of the old capital. Taking a
measurement of the readings, the probe compares them to its database of known
Ipraedies weapons. Finding no match, it then decides that the weapon used may
be of a new model. It dispatches a message to its control unit on Sakusei...

* * *

Night falls on Uru.

After their foray into Onishuto, Pathfinder Troop Six make their way to
Yethis' mansion to scout the terrain. Disguised as tourists, the six warriors
examine the grounds around the estate, discreetly scanning for early warning
and intruder alarm systems around the perimeter. Yethis' estate is an open
plain, rolling fields of grass sparsely dotted with trees. However, as the
evening hours approach, Sylia and Priss locate a possible route of entry to be
exploited.

Past midnight, six ominous shadows sneak through a depression in the
fence line, then individually dart from tree to tree as they close in on the
estate. In night combat uniforms with a light weapons load, the Pathfinders
time their movements to the regular automatic sensory sweep of the grounds.
Further, their uniforms are treated with electromagnetic radiation-absorbent
materials which render them nearly invisible to infrared and ultraviolet
scanners. The only thing which could catch the Pathfinders unawares were
roving patrols and security cameras.

After an hour or so, the warriors make the final dash to the gardens
against the mansion's south wall. <<Thank Lyna it's a moonless night,>> Priss
muses, scanning for pursuit. <<Where to now?>>

<<Downstairs,>> Sylia nods to a basement window. <<We'll hit them from
below.>>

Nene moves in, passing a sensor over the window. Nothing. She then
draws out a portable tractor array, using it to unlock the window. Pulling it
open, she allows Linna and the others slip in. Nene does another pass of the
room, then nods. <<Clear.>>

<<Let's go,>> Sylia waves them to a door.

The Pathfinders move into a hallway, noting a stairwell leading to the
floor above. Priss flies to the stairwell, her weapon pointed upstairs. The
others scout the other rooms. Storerooms, furnace and laundry room. Linna
lays a bauximite flash-bomb under the furnace. Once the lower floor is
cleared, the Pathfinders head upstairs. <<Whoa!!>> Priss gasps on reaching
the upper landing. <<Check this place out!!>>

The main floor is divided between several large dining halls, a smoke
room, trophy room, conference lounge and kitchen, plus reception lounge and
main foyer. <<Odd,>> Rei looks around. <<Where are all the guards?>>

Sylia concentrates, using her powers to detect the more intensive
psionic patterns Urusians produce. <<None on this floor I can sense. Scout
the area. Expedite.>>

The others nod, splitting into teams to scour the rooms. The dining
halls, lounge, smoke room and trophy room are decorated with paintings and
other art depicting the Seq House's long history on Uru: battle scenes,
exploration missions, conquests, even a brief time as the First Imperial House
in the century prior to the Union Revolution. <<Lyna's Soul, this creep
doesn't waste time showing what he wants, eh?>> Asuka wonders.

<<Got that right,>> Rei nods.

Nene enters the conference lounge. <<Great!!>> she smiles, sitting at
the head of the room, pulling out her labtop. <<Time to see what messages the
good general received over the last while!>>

<<Don't dawdle, Nene,>> Sylia warns.

<<No problem!>> Nene smiles. <<I'll just mass-dump the files into the
computer, then we can check them out later.>>

<<I'm going to check upstairs,>> Priss heads to the stairwell to the
upper floor. <<Someone come with me.>>

<<Right behind you,>> Sylia races over to join the coxswain.

The two hesitantly rise upstairs. The upper floor contained the master
bedroom, guest bedrooms, bathrooms, sauna and exercise room. <<Nothing
here,>> Priss stares up and down the hallway. <<Can't sense anyone. No one's
home outside the guards.>>

<<Odd,>> Sylia tenses. <<Someone should be inside to keep watch on
things. The art in this place alone costs a fortune!>>

Priss and Sylia stare at each other. <<You don't think...?>> the former
wonders.

<<Could be,>> the latter grimly nods.

Both quickly descend to the main floor. <<Nene, dump what you can, then
get off that computer!!>> Sylia orders. <<We could've waltzed into a trap!>>

<<On it, on it!>> Nene types commands on her labtop. <<This can't be
done faster than this unit operates, you know!!>>

* * *

Departing Onishuto for the suburbs, Yethis' aide Toge Azu relaxes in the
back seat of the general's personal hoverlimo. "How long will the general
take with the Tribal Council?" the driver wonders.

The Oni captain shakes her head. "Some time. They're still debating
the Sagussans' declaration that Lum is one of them. Invader's trying to stall
the other councillors."

"You don't suspect the captain knows what's happened to his child?" the
driver...in truth, an informant for Des Azu...glances at his clanswoman.

"He probably does," Toge grits her teeth. "Worse, if he smells trouble,
all he has to do is call Moroboshi and..."

An emergency alarm sounds off. "What the...?!" the driver blinks.

"What is it?!" Toge tenses.

"Relay alarm from the mansion," the driver reports, staring at the on-
board computer readout. "Someone's tapping into the general's holophone
files, trying to get at his last messages."

"The last one was the conference call!!" Toge gasps. "Damn!! Erase the
files!!! Alert the guards on the estate!!"

"Right!!!" he taps a command into the computer, then picks up the
cellular phone...

* * *

"*Ki!!*" Nene exclaims.

"What is it?!" Linna runs up.

"I've been found!!" the computer specialist's fingers fly over the
keyboard. "They're trying to erase the files!"

"Override them!!" her bond-mate insists.

"Don't tell me my job!!!" Nene snaps, tapping commands into the labtop.
"There!!" she breathes out in relief. "Just shut down his modem!! Dumping
the files now!!!"

Linna nods, then runs into the hallway. "Sylia, we've been found!!!"

"Nene, get off there!!" Sylia barks. "Let's go!! Weapons on heavy
stun!! Move out!!!"

"Give me a moment!!!" Nene yells.

"We don't have a moment!!" Priss warns.

The Sagussans tense as outraged shouts and hard boots pounding on marble
echo from outside. Training takes over as weapons sweep to the doors and
windows. They explode as the mansion's security force, all Interior Force
troops, crash in. They waltz right into a firestorm as the Pathfinders open
up! "Nene!!!" Linna screams. "When?!!"

Nene dumps the files, then disconnects her machine. "Done!!"

"Let's go!!" Sylia insists.

Priss' photon grenade launcher fires, scattering the security force's
troops at the front door!! The Pathfinders begin a staged withdrawal as they
remove themselves from the mansion's confines. "Get the 'Kiboo'cha' down
here!!" Sylia orders. "Expedite!!!"

"Right!!" Asuka taps commands on her wrist-computer.

The Sagussans, once clear of the mansion, move onto the front lawn,
ducking behind a fleet of hovercars as they await their pickup. The security
force, less than half still on their feet, are pinned down by the entrances.
A starship is heard. Heads snap up as the dark shape of the "Kiboo'cha" races
at them. "Let's go!!!" Sylia barks.

Asuka taps in commands, allowing the warpsloop to come to a low hover on
the front lawn. The Sagussans increase fire as they prepare to make a break.
"Don't let them get away!!" the security force's commander roars.

"Go!!!" Sylia barks.

Linna and Nene break for the boarding ramp, firing all the way. The
Urusians duck as the Sagussans make it to safety, shielded by the warpsloop's
defense fields. Linna scrambles to the bridge to key the "Kiboo'cha's"
weapons on target, thus providing extra cover as her troopmates withdrew.
"Let's go!!" she calls out over the loudspeakers.

The ship's weapons open up on the mansion as Asuka and Rei break for the
"Kiboo'cha." The Urusians cry out in shock as they dive for cover. Asuka and
Rei make it aboard, then wave Sylia and Priss to follow. "Go, Sylia!!" the
coxswain barks. "I'll be right behind you!!"

"Cover me!!!" Sylia yells as she sprints for the boarding ramp.

Unaffected by the "Kiboo'cha's" weapons, Toge's limo pulls up to the
entrance. The captain leaps out of the vehicle, aghast on seeing her
superior's home a smoking wreck and an alien starship blasting the mansion's
security force to pieces. "Damn!!" she reaches inside, finds a grenade
launcher, spots the last Pathfinder on the ground, aims and fires.

The shell smashes into the car behind Priss, detonating on impact! The
explosion knocks the coxswain against the vehicle before her, then she
collapses on the ground. "PRISS!!!!!!" Rei cries, moving to rescue her.

"No!!!" Sylia grabs her first officer, then punches the intercom. "Get
us out of here, Linna!!"

"Hang on!!!" Linna snaps.

The "Kiboo'cha" rises from the mansion, then tilting on her fantail,
blasts off for the heavens. The Urusians pour fire after her, but the shots
go wide. Silence falls on the scene as the dazed security force emerges,
hesitantly approaching the spot where Priss fell. One kneels before the
stunned Sagussan, feeling her pulse. "She's alive!!" he reports.

Toge flies up. "Take her inside!" she orders. "The general'll want to
see her...not to mention other people!!"

The guards nod, moving to drag Priss away...

* * *

"Why?!!" Rei demands, icily eyeing Sylia as the "Kiboo'cha" cloaks
herself, resuming high orbit over Uru. "Why did you make us leave her?!!"

"We couldn't stay longer!!" Sylia insists. "If the ship remained
visible for too long, the home defence forces would've spotted us and made our
escape attempt impossible! Besides, once she recovers, Priss'll tear her way
out of that place herself!!"

"If they don't execute her," Asuka warns.

"Don't bet on it," Sylia sits by the communications station, then opens
a secure channel. "Silky Doll to Replicant," she smiles. "Come in."

The small viewscreen before her reveals Yedris. "Silky Doll, this is
Replicant," the Seq matriarch coyly smiles. "Syl-chan, it's been a while
since you last called. Why haven't you come to seduce me?"

"Sorry, love, but right now, I have a big problem and I need help,"
Sylia looks contrite.

"This have something to do with the ruckus that just occurred on my
brother's estate?" Yedris' eyebrow rises knowingly.

"You can say that," Sylia nods...

* * *

"Wake up!!!" an irate voice barks.

Priss jolts as a fist slams into her cheek. The coxswain's eyes flutter
open as she finds herself in the basement of Yethis' mansion, tied against the
wall with heavy rope. Before her are Toge and a phalanx of irate guards.
Priss tenses as she stares at Yethis' aide. "I'm awake!!" she growls.

"That's better," the captain snarls as she aims Priss' pistol at the
Sagussan's forehead. "Now, why don't you tell me what a Sagussan strike force
was doing on Uru?!"

"What's Sagussa?" Priss innocently blinks.

That earns her another blow to the cheeks. "Don't play stupid with
me!!" Toge snarls. "Now, answer my question!!"

"We came to check the place out," Priss wryly smiles. "Heard you boss
had terrible taste in architecture...and politics, too! He should learn not
to stick his nose in other people's business, especially Ataru's and Lum's!!"

The captain laughs. "Such fools!!" she sneers. "Do you think you
Maidens can actually stop us from achieving our goals, much less your pathetic
leader?! We'll show you!"

"I can't wait," Priss' eyes never waver from Toge's. "We can use the
exercise...and Uru can use the clean-up. You jokers put out such a stench,
you know. Should learn to be more discreet when you talk to your buddies. We
can eavesdrop on everything you say."

Toge's eyes flash with rage, but before she could lash out anew at the
coxswain, a signalman runs up. "Captain, message from Sakusei," he salutes
her. "An observation unit over Shingetsu has reported monitoring a particle
photon weapon discharge in the capital city. It matches known Sagussan
weapons. Should we report it to the general?"

Toge stares at him, then smiles. "So that's where Lum's hiding!!" she
cackles. "Signal Captain Kakaru! Have her go to Shingetsu and pick up Lum
and her friend!! Bring them here ASAP, unharmed!! I'll inform the general!"

The signalman salutes, then runs off.

Toge returns to Priss. "See?!" she gloats. "The mighty Maidens of the
Eternal Voyager aren't as omnipotent as they'd like to think!!"

"Don't bet on it," Priss' eyes narrow...then her body slumps!

The Urusians jolt in surprise. "What happened?!!" Toge demands.

"Get a medic!!" a soldier barks...

* * *

In the heart of Onishuto at that moment, an angelic single-horned Oni
teenager dressed in a tiger-striped leotard and blue jeans is window-shopping.
Sugoi smiles as she sees the lovely necklaces and pendants on display. "Oh,
now what would Priss-chan like?" she muses.

Suddenly, an ill-feeling crosses her heart as she finds herself staring
in the direction of her uncle's mansion. "Priss..." she gasps...

* * *

Light-years away on Shingetsu's scorched surface, Noa and Lum relax in
an encampment inside a relatively intact apartment building. Sharing the warm
fire with the two young adults are a dozen Urusian children, all orphaned and
abandoned thanks to the Lannarkite attack. Despite the their ten months of
isolation on this desolate world, Nagi and his friends are really not the
worse for wear. Presently, they are feasting on a sampling of Sagussan
cooking. "This is really good!" Nagi smiles as he swallows a bowl of yanbe-
chagh. "Did you really make this, Noa-san?!"

"Yep!" Noa smiles. "Want some...eh?!"

She jolts as a voice whispers, <<Noa...get off that planet...>> Priss
warns her. <<Company's...coming...>>

"Priss..." the *ashi'cha* whispers.

"What is it?" Lum tenses.

Noa shakes her head, then stares at her bond-mate. "They found us!!"
she grits her teeth. "We have to leave!"

"Where to?!" Lum wonders.

"Anywhere but here," Noa stands, facing their hosts. "Listen, kids.
How would you like to come to a place where you can have all the food you can
eat, where you won't have to worry about freezing at nights...and where people
will take care of you like your parents did?!"

"Yeah!!!" the kids howl with delight.

"Then let's go!" Noa smiles, waving them out of the apartment. "We'll
leave on Lum's ship!"

The kids cheer as they follow Noa and Lum out of the room...

* * *

"Can't you wake her?!!" Toge demands.

"Trying!!" the medic grunts as he prepares a stimulant. "Her body's
immune system's eating this stuff up like candy!! I'm not dealing with a
pure-blood Yehisrite here, you know!!"

Priss' eyes flutter open. "Hey, you idiots mind?!" she grumbles. "I
hate it when people pump me full of shit!"

The Urusians scream as they back away from the recovering Sagussan.
"What the hell happened?!" Toge demands.

"Oh, just talked to a friend," Priss shrugs.

"Who?!"

"Noa," the coxswain yawns.

Incensed, the captain lashes out, bashing Priss across the cheek.
"Don't play games with me, you zombie!!" Toge growls. "It'll make matters
worse for you!!"

Priss stares at her, unfazed by Toge's anger. "You are so pathetic,"
she sneers. "Just like all the other bullies Ataru's taken on! You face real
power and you panic, scream 'Mommy, Mommy, they're hurting me,' then plead
your innocence!! You heard what Kimaenowakai said! We're not going to let
you get away with this!!"

"We'll see about that!" Toge growls as she storms off, most of the
guards following her.

Priss snorts as she straightens herself, flexing her arms to get the
circulation pumping in her hands. The two remaining guards glare at her, a
mix of emotions flashing in their eyes. Hatred, devotion to duty, fear. The
coxswain stares at them, the contempt in her eyes mixed with her kind's
inherent terrifying aura driving up the fear meter in her guards. "What're
you idiots staring at?!" she growls.

The guards shudder as they put some distance between themselves and the
Sagussan. Priss snorts as she calms herself, taking in several deep breaths.
All she had to do was calm herself down enough, make herself fully aware of
her surroundings, then she could plot her next move...or else hope for Sylia
to locate her and beam her out of the mansion via the "Kiboo'cha." Priss then
slumps, realizing that was doubtful. The warpsloop's transporters were
second-hand, scheduled for upgrading in a short while. Terrific!

Suddenly, her inner senses come alive. Someone she knew very well was
close by. Priss blinks as her eyes fall on the darkened corner of the room.

Two green eyes appear in the darkness. Priss shakes her head in shock,
then looks again. Now, those eyes were attached to a cherubic face framed
with green hair atop a very mature body suggestively draped in a tiger-striped
leotard and tight-fitting jeans. The Sagussan blinks as Sugoi comes out of
shadow, then with a squeal, leaps over to embrace her bond-mate. "Priss-
chan!!!" Sugoi overwhelms her with a kiss.

The guards jolt in shock as they spin on their leader's niece. "L-l-
lady Sugoi!!" one stammers. "How'd you get here?!!"

"Idiot!!" Sugoi growls. "I teleported in!! Don't interrupt me!!"

She returns to reacquainting her lips with Priss'. The guards blink,
understandably shocked on seeing Sugoi being passionate with another woman.
"L-l-lady, y-you know th-this w-w-woman?!" the other shudders.

"Sure!!" Sugoi smiles, a hidden razor now slicing at the coxswain's
binds. "Priss-chan is my lover!!"

The guards faint! "'LOVER?!?!?!'"

"Yeah!!" Priss growls. "Now, if you don't mind, Sugoi-chan and I want
to be left alone!!!"

The guard to her right gets his face caved in by the Pathfinder's fist!
Before the other could react, Sugoi drops him with a roundhouse kick. "Let's
go!!" the Oni-Avalonian insists.

"Wait!!" the Sagussan frees herself, then picking up a discarded rifle,
runs into the hallway.

"Priss!!" Sugoi flies after her.

Once in the hallway, Priss drops the guards by the basement stairwell
with several shots, then dives into the furnace room. Sure enough, Linna's
bauximite flash-bomb was still there. "Glad Linna leaves these things lying
around!!" Priss grunts as she keys the arming sequence, setting it for one
minute. "Can you get me out of here?!"

"Hang on!" Sugoi grabs her bond-mate...

* * *

...then before Priss could understand what was happening, she finds
herself in the grove of trees beyond the gates of Yethis' estate. "What in
Lyna's name...?!" she blinks, looking around, then notices the estate. "How'd
you do that?!" she turns back to Sugoi.

The two place themselves behind a large tree. "It's my special power,"
Sugoi smiles. "My brother is a metamorph. I can teleport...a gift I received
from my mother."

"Oh, sure!" Priss takes in several deep breaths, then blinks,
remembering something. "Down!!"

She and Sugoi duck...just as the bauximite flash-bomb in the basement of
Yethis' mansion explodes!! A vapourizing wave of energy lashes out,
transforming the beautiful home and everything to a twenty-metre radius of it
into a perfectly-excavated bomb crater. As the energy dissipates into a
miasmic cloud of ashes drifting in the wind, Sugoi sits up, staring in
disbelief at the damage. "Wow!!!" she gapes. "How'd you do that?!"

"Bauximite flash-bomb!" Priss winks. "Same thing Lufy used on the
Mikado's dopes in Lecashuto!!"

Sugoi whistles. "Uncle's gonna be PISSED when he sees that!!"

"Tough luck!!" Priss growls. "The place was a rathole, anyway!! C'mon,
let's go!"

"Right," Sugoi nods as the two head off...

* * *

"I just registered a detonation at Yethis' estate," Linna looks up from
her scanners. "It's the bomb I left there!"

Sylia looks up, then smiles. "Good!" she stretches herself. "These
Imperialists are pathetic!! They're so eager to please their superiors, they
forget to pass the word along to others about their actions!"

"Arrogant," Rei muses, then stares at Nene. "Did you get the chance to
de-scramble the message sent from the mansion before it was destroyed?"

"Almost...there!" Nene smiles, then reads the message. "'From Captain
Toge Azu to Captain Kakaru Azu,'" she reads. "'Princess Lum and her captor
are on Shingetsu. Retrieve at once, alive and unharmed.'"

"Shit!!" Linna snaps. "Noa has nothing to protect herself from that
witch!!"

"Don't bet on that," Sylia hums. "Send a signal to Eluza. Tell her
that Noa and Lum need some protection."

"Right."

* * *

In a beautiful townhouse north of Onishuto, Yedris relaxes beside her
pool, reading the morning news on her portable labtop. The attack on her
brother's estate was the fifth story, only two paragraphs long. Scant details
were available since the Interior Forces were still investigating. "And he
wonders why people don't care about his problems?" the matriarch snorts as she
drinks her coffee. "Ordinary people have other things on their mind than
worrying about mausoleums!"

For the former leader of the Democratic Alliance, seeing what Ataru
Moroboshi was capable of doing in the name of galactic peace brought cheer to
her heart. Yethis and his friends had slowly built up their forces, bending
every law imaginable to ensure that when they moved, none could be in a
position to stop them. They purposefully kept the masses ignorant of their
real plans, believing that once the Empire was restored, the masses would have
no chance to express their discontent.

To counter that, the Democratic Alliance tried to blow open every secret
the Imperials had to give the masses, not to mention the Tribal Council, the
necessary information to counter any threats to Urusian stability. Sylia had
told her bond-mate that Nene had obtained several months' worth of personal
communiques to and from Yethis' home. Once decoded, those communiques would
expose the Imperials' plans for all too see.

The Alliance's plan at present was to hand that information to President
Lana, then demand the resignation of the guilty parties, as well as an
immediate referendum on changing Uru's constitution. Even without Lum's
direct support, the information Nene found could easily sway soft Imperials to
the Alliance's cause. With Lum's support, depending on how soon Noa and Ataru
could help her recover, the Imperials' final defeat was assured...or so Yedris
hoped.

Kanari, one of Sugoi's friends now forced to be biodroids thanks to an
assassination attempt some years before, walks up, a pitcher in hand. "More
coffee, Lady Yedris?"

"Oh, thank you, Kanari-chan," Yedris holds out her cup.

Kanari refills it, then remains in place. Yedris takes a sip, then
stares questioningly at her. "What is it, child?"

"Ma'am...could you ask Sugoi to reprogram me to be Manju-kun's lover?"
Kanari wonders.

Yedris blinks, surprised at the question. "Why?"

"I desire to be with Manju-kun," Kanari feels her face heat.

"You can do it yourself, you know," Yedris smiles. "Don't run to Sugoi
or myself every time you want to do something. If you're to recover from what
happened to you, Kanari-chan, you'll have to learn how to make your own
decisions."

"I...but what if Sugoi disapproves?" Kanari wonders.

"Sugoi-chan's mind is too full of Priss to really be of concern...eh?!"
Yedris blinks as her inner senses come alive.

Suddenly, Sugoi and Priss appear beside the former's mother. "We're
here!!" the Oni-Avalonian breathes out, then smiles. "Hi, Mom!"

"Sugoi-chan!!" Yedris breathes out in relief, then rises to embrace
Priss. "Are you alright, Priss?"

"I just need to lay down somewhere," the coxswain pants, feeling the
strength in her legs go. "Can I crash here for a bit?"

"Of course you can!" Sugoi smiles as she drags her bond-mate to the
house. "C'mon!!"

"Hey, let me have my arm back!!" Priss gasps.

"Um...Sugoi?" Kanari faces her friend.

Sugoi stops. "What is it, Kanari?"

"Um...ah, never mind," the biodroid smiles.

Sugoi blinks, then shrugs. "C'mon, lover!!" she hoists Priss into the
house. "The bed's this way!"

Priss shrugs as she waves at Sugoi's mother, then is yanked into the
house. Yedris sighs, then returns to her news. Kanari stares at the
matriarch, then placing the pitcher down, flies up to Manju's room. The male
biodroid is watching television. "What is it, Kanari-chan?" he stares
quizzically at his friend.

Kanari stares at him, then reaches over to tag his horns. "Tag!" she
declares. "You are now my fiance!"

Manju blinks, then nods. "I understand."

They drift into an embrace. Outside, Yedris blinks as she senses
something, then stares at the window to Manju's room. "Another problem
averted," she muses, returning to her morning news...

* * *

"They're here," Lum blinks.

They are on the bridge having left the lounge where Nagi and his friends
now slept. Noa stares at the image of an Urusian battlewagon assuming orbit
over Shingetsu. Lum's now-cloaked scout drifts in orbit over the wrecked
colony's lone moon, all propulsion systems deactivated to ensure that the
battlewagon could not detect them. Among many of Patty's improvements built
into the scout was an advanced electronic sensory suite with ECM and
communications eavesdropping units. Sitting at the station, Noa taps into the
battlewagon's command frequencies. "...anything?!" a familiar woman's voice
demands to a landing party in the capital.

"Nothing, Captain," the landing party commander responds over the wails
of several children. "No one here's seen either Lum or her friend. They
reported seeing a scout land here, but it took off sometime ago."

"They're lying!!" Kakaru growls. "Beat it out of them!"

Noa tenses as the sounds of rifle butts smacking into skulls are heard.
"That bitch!!!" she snarls, fangs splayed. "How dare she...?!"

A transporter beam is heard. "Relax," a voice calls out. "It's being
taken care of!"

Lum turns. "Lufy!" she blinks with surprise.

Noa turns to see Catty, Honey and Hunba. "Nice to see you guys!!" the
*ashi'cha* smiles. "Where's Eluza and the others?!"

"Watch," Hunba nods to the viewscreen.

Noa stares. Space behind Kakaru's battlewagon melts into the tan bulk
of the "Hasei'cha." With her shields down, the Urusian ship is caught off
guard as the Sagussan's concussion missile launchers discharge their deadly
loads. Three quick volleys later, all that remains of Kakaru Azu's command is
a spreading field of debris! "Nice!!" Noa whistles, keying controls.

Lum's scout decloaks, moving to rendezvous with the "Hasei'cha"...

* * *

"I still don't like this!" Eluza sighs.

Once Kakaru's ship was eliminated, a landing party beamed down from the
"Hasei'cha" to eliminate the Urusian landing party threatening the other small
bands of children marooned on Shingetsu. With that problem gone, Catty and
Pony proceeded to work on healing the abandoned, injured and malnourished
children. On the warpsloop's bridge, everyone else is in conference. "I
don't like it either, but right now, Ataru is busy keeping Earth safe," Noa
sighs. "If we proceed to Earth, Yethis or his friends could use that as
instigation for a war. They could accuse us of kidnapping Lum and sour
people's opinion of us. If what Maki learned about the Imperials' chances of
reforming the Empire are true, they're going to get desperate sooner or
later."

"And if they get desperate, they'll make mistakes," Spea smiles. "And
we'll be waiting for them."

"Allowing a sick woman to continue to suffer like this is inexcusable!"
Shildy snaps, pointing at Lum. "She should return to Sagussa, have her mind
repaired, then let her come back to help us flush out Yethis' playmates!!"

"Let's call Ataru and find out what he wants us to do," Amy proposes.

"He'll want us to bring Lum-chan back to him!!" Mie growls. "Let's stop
dicking around, get Lum-chan fixed up, THEN worry about everyone else!"

"Agreed," Eluza nods.

At that moment, Catty returns to the bridge. "How are they, Catty?"
Rabby wonders.

The doctor triumphantly smiles. "No serious injuries or anything like
that," she breathes out. "So...who wants to adopt a child?!"

Hands instantly go up. Hunba blinks, then turns to Honey. "Are they
always like this?!" she wonders.

"Hey, we have our priorities, too!" the physical education teacher
smiles, holding up her hand...

* * *

Yethis stares at the crater where his mansion once stood, rage trembling
throughout him as the inspector makes his reports. Bauximite flash-bomb,
wrecking the house and killing everyone inside. His personal aide and over
fifty soldiers, dead. Not a single clue as to who carried out the attack,
much less a motive. The general remains silent, his thoughts storming. He
knew who was responsible for this.

Ataru Moroboshi.

His hands clench and unclench, his eyes never swerving from the scene
where Toge Azu, not just his personal aide but his lover, had been murdered.
So the *daimon'cha* of Sagussa was making this personal, was he? Fine.

Yethis could respond in kind...

* * *

"Well, that's all for now," Shikuramenko smiles as she embraces Onsen.
"Thank you so much, Mark. All of Sagussa will appreciate what you did."

"I hope so," the vice-principal feels his cheeks redden. "So, when can
the others expect visitors?"

"Sometime soon," the governor smiles. Both now stood on the bridge of
Warpshuttle 101, preparing to depart from Earth. "Ataru wants to make sure
that Earth's safe from any surviving fragments of Oogi's navy before returning
his attention to Sagussa. Plus, I think he's still worried about Lum."

Onsen's eyes narrow. "You tell him to make Lum-san better!!" he wags a
finger at Shikuramenko. "That should be his first priority, not worrying
about us! We can take care of ourselves, you know!!"

The bridge doors open, revealing Ayanba with...Ayanba! Shikuramenko and
Onsen spin around, surprised to see TWO former Most Perfects, one in Terran
clothing, the other in the beautiful clothes Ayanba had worn in her two
millennia of cryogenic suspension, approach. "I'm seeing double!!!" Onsen
exclaims, jumping back.

The Ayanba in Terran clothing walks up to embrace him. "Relax, Dear!"
she kisses her husband. "I'm just giving Shiku-chan a going-away present!!"
She then faces her twin. "Now, you make sure you do everything Shiku-chan
asks you to do, okay?! Don't give her the wrong impression about me!"

"I won't," the other Ayanba smiles, then embraces Shikuramenko. "How
may I serve you, Shikuramenko-chan?"

The governor blinks, then breathes out in relief. "Oh, you're just a
companion android!" she laughs, then blows Ayanba a kiss. "Thanks, Aya-chan!"

"Thank Nanvel for making her!" Ayanba embraces her bond-mate. "Take
care, Shiku-chan!!"

"You, too, both of you," Shikuramenko embraces the Onsens, then nods to
Nasuko.

They are transported off the warpshuttle's bridge. Shikuramenko then
sits in the shipmistress' chair. "Set course for home, Nasuko," she allows
Ayanba's android double to relax in her lap. "We have a lot of impatient
women waiting for us."

"Aye-aye, Governor," Nasuko keys the controls.

Warpshuttle 101 turns her prow away from Earth. Shikuramenko hums, then
stares at Ayanba's double. "Now, how close are you to the real Ayanba?" the
governor muses.

"I guess I'll have to show you," the android smiles as they kiss.

Once clear of Earth's gravity, Warpshuttle 101 then accelerates to warp
speed as she returns to Sagussa...just as a small scout, dark green and shaped
like a hawk, appears over Japan...

*** To Be Continued ***