First nothing for almost three months, then two chapters in as many 
days.  Don't you feel special?  Author's note at the end.

Previous chapters are at http://templar.anifics.com/

Disclaimer: The characters within belong to Pioneer and Harmony Gold.
No profit was made from this work of fiction

No Need For Protoculture
by Andrew Wilson

Chapter 16: Too High a Price

"Contact," Na'tok's sensor officer called. "Two ships emerging from hyper."

"Identify," Commander Forsythe ordered. "Ready mecha for launch in case 
they aren't who we're waiting for."

"Active emissions from both.  No targeting scanners," the officer 
called. "Large contact is a medium freighter.  Smaller one 
is...confirmed, one Juraian battleship.  Transponder says it's Fearless, 
sir.  Incoming transmissions"

Forsythe glanced at the communications display near his right wrist. 
The text of the transmissions filled half the screen, and Commander 
Masaki's face dominated the other half. "You get that, Commander?"

Tenchi nodded. "Hurricane flight is coming back to the barn.  I guess we 
should get the shuttles prepped."

Forsythe shook his head. "Stay out there for a while yet."

*******

Tenchi glanced at the face on his Vindicator's screen. "Excuse me?"

"Fearless has requested your presence" Forsythe explained. "Just you, by 
the way, so your pilots can land when they're ready.  We'll handle the 
cargo transfer."

"Sounds like a plan, Commander," Montoya's cheerful voice exclaimed. 
"Have fun with the Juraians."

"Knock it off, Lieutenant," Zaria ordered. "We're heading back to 
Na'tok, Sir."

Tenchi nodded and watched the other two Vindicators peel away and 
accelerate back to the frigate.  He lined his own fighter up with the 
battleship and brought the main drive up.  A few minutes later, just as 
he started decelerating, his radio signaled an incoming transmission 
from the battleship.

"This is Fearless, Commander Masaki," a familiar voice stated. "Come to 
within one hundred kilometers and we'll take it from there."

"Thank you, Fearless," Tenchi replied. "It'll be good to see you again, 
Captain Honorra."

"And you, Commander," Honorra replied.  Tenchi detected a hint of strain 
in her tone during the transmission.  He resolved to ask her about that. 
  At the same time he asked her about his grandfather, who had departed 
from Earth aboard Fearless two years before.

*******

It was only Tenchi's second time aboard a Juraian vessel, and his first 
aboard a warship.  He didn't dock with the ship so much as his 
Vindicator was sucked through the skin of the hull.  The hanger was 
simply a large cargo bay with facilities for servicing small craft. 
There were three people waiting for him when he popped the canopy.  One 
was Captain Honorra herself.  The other two were in civilian robes, and 
Tenchi's heart almost stopped when he saw their faces.

"I think he's glad to see us, Sis." Queen Misaki gave a restrained 
smile. "After all, why would someone just drop to the deck like that 
instead of using the ladder if he wasn't so eager to be here."

Funaho shook her head. "He won't be happy to see us in a few minutes."

"Huh?" Tenchi groaned. "What's this about?"

"Not as polite as you used to be," Funaho said. "But that's 
understandable with what you've been through.  Come on, there's someone 
else here to see you."

Tenchi picked himself up off the deck and followed the three women out 
of the bay.  No one spoke as they let him through a long stretch of 
corridors.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," Honorra whispered as they entered a lift.

"That what had to be this way?" Tenchi asked.

Honorra didn't reply, but led the way after the lift stopped.  She led 
the way to an otherwise normal door guarded by two soldiers.  The 
soldier's manner and the fact that they were the first armed personnel 
Tenchi had seen so far instantly labeled them as Marines.  Both men 
nodded at Honorra and stepped away from the door.

Honorra nodded to the door. "He wants to see you, Tenchi."

Tenchi glanced at the Captain, and quickly turned away at the bleak 
expression on her face.  He hesitated a moment, then stepped through 
into a darkened room.  As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw that it 
was a stateroom.  Through an archway was a small bedroom, with a single 
figure on the bed.

"Hello, Tenchi," came a voice from the bed. "Come in, Son, it's been too 
long since I saw you."

Tenchi stepped forward slowly.  The voice was his grandfather's, but it 
was the voice he had when he was in his elderly disguise, not his true 
voice. "Grandpa?"

"Yes, it's me.  Turn on the light, the switch is right by the door."

Tenchi felt around and found a small depression that triggered the 
lights to rise softly.  As illumination filled the room, he gasped at 
his grandfather's form.

Yosho, First Prince of Jurai, looked even older than the seeming he once 
sported.  His hair was pure white, and his face had the look of wrinkled 
leather.

"Yes," he whispered, "it is me, Tenchi.  And this is no illusion."

"What happened?" Tenchi asked as he knelt by the bed.

"My tree was destroyed," Yosho replied. "It is as simple as that.  The 
years I had cheated through bonding caught up with me, and brought 
friends with them.  I don't have much time left, so I hitched a ride."

Tenchi was silent for a moment. "Is there anything I can do?"

Yosho shook his head. "No, not even Tsunami, had she all her power 
again, would be able to save me.  I've cheated time long enough, Tenchi."

Tenchi nodded slowly and tried to ignore the burning in his eyes from 
unshed tears.

"There is one thing I need done, but I cannot ask it."

"What is it?" Tenchi asked.

"Ask Honorra about Alexander," Yosho replied. "I need sleep, Tenchi. 
Come see me again before you leave."

"I will, Grandpa," Tenchi said.

Yosho relaxed against his pillow and closed his eyes.  Tenchi relaxed 
slightly when he saw his grandfather was simply sleeping.  He stayed 
there for a few moments before quietly leaving the room.

*******

"He won't survive the return to Jurai," Funaho stated a few minutes 
later.  The four had retired to the two queens' stateroom, where Honorra 
had pressed a glass of something powerful into Tenchi's hand.  He had 
gulped half of it down before he even realized that it was probably the 
Juraian equivalent of vodka.

"He wanted to see me again," Tenchi whispered.

"Yes," Misaki said. "He said that he would never see Earth again, and 
that in its current state, he didn't want to."

"So this is why I was sent along?" Tenchi asked. "I was requested to be 
here by you?"

"Yes," Funaho replied. "Of course, we also asked Admiral Gloval not to 
tell you that you were requested, or which group was making the trade."

"Of course." Tenchi turned to Honorra. "Who's Alexander?"

The dark-haired officer paused. "My son...Yosho's and mine.  Yosho 
wanted to send him to Earth, to his youngest sister."

Tenchi nodded.  Somehow the idea of his grandfather having another child 
didn't shock him as much as it would have a few years previous. "He 
wants Sasami to take care of his son?"

Honorra nodded. "I'm needed in the fleet.  There are rumblings of 
trouble coming from the borders, and Fearless is needed in the home 
fleet while there lighter ships are out patrolling the frontier."

"Rumblings?" Tenchi took another sip of his drink.

Funaho nodded. "You've opened up a hornet's nest on Earth.  The 
remaining Zentradi forces aren't satisfied with staying behind their own 
borders, and there are at least two other races that are lined up behind 
them."

"The Masters," Tenchi noted. "And probably the Invid that Breetai and 
Exedore have mentioned."

"Probably," Honorra said as she contemplated her own glass. "In any 
case, with the fleet stretched thin, some of the members of the ruling 
council feel the need to keep our more powerful units back home.  Jurai 
is more vulnerable now than it has ever been."

"Vulnerable?" Tenchi asked. "I thought Jurai had a more powerful fleet 
than anyone else in the Galactic Union."

"We do," Funaho stated. "If within our own system.  But the same power 
which makes our ships so powerful also limits their range."

Tenchi put his glass down and stood. "So you had to spread your fleet 
out because of the Zentradi threat.  And that makes you more vulnerable 
at home?"

Misaki smiled slightly. "No worries.  Even with the limits on energy, 
especially in recent times, we're not as vulnerable as you might think."

Tenchi and Funaho shared a look.  Though Funaho was the second wife of 
the Juraian Emperor, she was born and raised on Earth.  Neither of them 
had any inherent sense of Juraian superiority that most natives 
possessed.  But this wasn't the time to deal with that.

"Alexander?" Tenchi asked.

"I sent for him a few minutes ago," Honorra replied.  A moment later, 
the door to the stateroom opened as a steward entered carrying a large 
bundle.  He handed the bundle to Honorra, who cradled it in her arms. "I 
present to you Alexander Masaki."

Tenchi looked at the child with a sense of wonder.  He looked like a 
normal child just past his first birthday, but there was also a sense of 
power within him.  Tenchi could see a bit of his own power reflected in 
the boy's very being.

"Tell Sasami to take care of him," Honorra whispered.

A look passed between them, and Tenchi nodded in understanding. "I will."

Further conversation was interrupted by the door bursting open and an 
aid rushing in. "Captain!" she gasped.

"Calm down, Vena," Honorra advised. "What is it."

"He's gone, Captain," the aid replied. "The medical teams rushed in when 
his vitals started falling, but there was nothing they could do."

Silence filled the room.  Funaho fell back into her chair like a 
marionette with cut strings.  Misaki simply nodded, and wiped away the 
tears from her own eyes.  Honorra and Tenchi shared a long look of 
mutual grief.

"The first Prince of Jurai is dead," Honorra said sadly.

*******

A somber Tenchi Masaki flew back to Na'tok an hour later.  The cargo 
transfer had proceeded quicker than expected, so Na'tok and the Juraian 
ships were putting some distance between themselves before engaging 
their FTL drives.  Tenchi himself was returning with his Vindicator's 
small cargo area filled with a set of specific items, all to support the 
tiny vac-suited bundle in his lap.

Alexander gurgled happily from his position.  Tenchi had to fly 
carefully, or since his uncle (*that* was going to take some getting 
used to) was in the perfect position to mess up several flight controls 
just by shifting position.  Luckily, he was distracted by the stars 
visible through the canopy to do much else.

He had a feeling that life was going to get that much more interesting 
from now on.

Tenchi keyed his radio. "Na'tok, this is Hurricane lead.  Requesting 
permission to land."

"Permission granted, lead.  Telemetry indicates you're running a little 
heavy.  Do you need assistance unloading?"

"You could say that," Tenchi replied.

End Chapter 16

I guess you could call this filler.  I prefer to call it setting up for 
two future story arcs.  I think one is pretty obvious, but the other 
might be difficult to spot.  This is good.

Until next time.


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