Heavens: A Tenchi Muyo Fanfic 
     by Achariyth

Standard disclaimers apply.

Oh, and this is only half of part 3.  The only reason why I am sending it out
know is that the last section is crucial, and needs to be well written.
C&C is much desired and appreciated.  Sorry about any formatting problems.

For the first half of this fic, go to 
www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Temple/9467/fanfic.html

Part 3

	Slinking through the mud in the middle of the night was not Mihai 
Tamarov's idea of fun.  Add the coolness of night and the likelihood of 
pain to the equation, then you understand why Mihai wished he was 
elsewhere, preferably at dinner with a certain green-haired beauty.  
However, having regular meals and money vastly outweighs living on 
the streets of Romania, so Mihai found himself sneaking through the 
woods around the Masaki shrine along with the 13 other soldiers of 
Echo Squad.
	Armed with tasers and other weapons designed to immobilize 
their targets, Echo Squad would surround the Masaki house from 
two directions, sneak in, and kidnap the alphas before anyone got hurt.
Or, at least that was the plan by the textbook.  However, no matter 
how many times a college professor says otherwise, things almost 
never go according to the textbook.  Because of this simple, yet 
frustrating, fact of war, each one of Echo Squad's troopers had 
memorized contingency plans for any foreseeable mishaps.  
	However, no single person in Echo Squad, Mihai included, 
was able to foresee _Ryo-ohki_, _Yagami_, and _Yukinojo_ 
loudly departing for deep space as the team prepared to infiltrate 
the Masaki shrine grounds.  Fourteen voices swore simultaneously 
in about as many languages.  Then Echo Leader called for a quick 
planning meeting.
	Mihai blessed the inventor of the radio as he was glad he did not 
have to hike three kilometers to reach the other members of his team.
"Now what?"
	Echo Six's voice was heard via radio.  "The way I see it, we have 
two choices.  The first is to continue our mission, and hope that we 
find an alpha.  The second would be to abort an wait until we are 
certain that all known alphas are present."
	"We're out.  Lets continue, get paid, go home, and get drunk."  
That would be Echo Eight and his one-track mind speaking.  While 
Mihai did not mind a beer or two, Eight scared him.  No one else on 
the team felt the need to order beer by the keg whenever they went on 
leave.
	"What if no one's there?"  Seven asked.
	"Then we did our jobs.  We'll come back another day."
	"What if someone's there?"  Mihai asked.  Why did he always 
have to go head to head with Eight?
	"We snatch 'em."
	Mihai growled.  Some people have more guts than brains.  "If we 
'snatch 'em', wouldn't that tip off whoever comes back?"  Mihai 
responded condescendingly.  One of these days....
	"Better than quitting."  Now that was an intelligent answer, Mihai 
thought.  How long did they take to brainwash that into you, Eight?  
All of six seconds?
	"Shut up!"  Both Mihai and Eight complied with Echo Leader's 
orders.  "We'll probe the target area in preparation for another raid 
sometime this week.  If there is an alpha nearby, snatch it.  Have I 
made myself clear?"
	"Yes, sir."
	Mihai looked to the stars to see if they would inform him exactly 
why his team never erred on the side of caution.  Receiving no reply, 
he readied himself to complete the night's mission.  Maybe, just 
maybe, he would not have a long tern stay in a hospital awaiting him
after this assignment.  And maybe, just maybe, Mihai could put Eight 
in the hospital for being such a jerk.

    			*	*	*

	Tenchi Masaki stood on _Ryo-ohki's_ bridge, nervously looking out 
towards where Kiyone had located the battle site.  It would take 
_Ryo-ohki_, _Yagami_, and _Yukinojo_ at least an hour to arrive at the 
point in space where the battle raged.  It was Tenchi's understanding 
that Ryoko had a way of increasing _Ryo-ohki's_ speed.  However, Kiyone
had ruled that out lest _Ryo-ohki_ be overwhelmed before the Galaxy 
Police ships arrived.  Besides, Ryo-ohki had probably jettisoned all of 
Ryoko's chili sauce before the semi-reformed space pirate could use it.  
The young prince sighed.
	"Here we go again," he mumbled.  At least this time, he and his 
friends were not off to rescue Ryoko again.  Not that he minded the first 
two times, but at least she was free to help out this time.
	"What was that, Tenchi?"  Ayeka asked.  Ryoko glared at Ayeka 
somewhat.
	Again, Tenchi sighed.  He would have rather spent this journey on 
_Yagami_, away from Ryoko and Ayeka.  However, Kiyone specifically 
asked for Washu to be her co-pilot, so Tenchi had no choice but to stay 
on _Ryo-ohki_.  
	"I wonder what Sakuya's doing now," he thought, taking great care 
not to vocalize his thought as he gazed into deep space.  He was grateful 
for the mental distraction from that which was to come.  "She's probably 
sleeping peacefully, at home.  I envy her."  For all the joy and friendship
that Ryoko, Ayeka, and the rest had given to Tenchi, it came at a high price. 
The incessant bickering was starting to take its toll, but the adventures 
were what bothered him the most.  All Tenchi asked for was a semi-
normal life.  Chasing Kagato and Dr. Clay, plus entertaining intergalactic 
royalty, did not fall under Tenchi's description of "a normal life."  However,
if Ryoko, Ayeka, or any of the other girls were in trouble, he would do his 
best to help, which led to more adventures, especially when one stops to 
consider how much trouble loves the Masaki shrine.  He just hated the 
fact that one of these days, he could loose a friend, or even his own life.  
Maybe even today.
	Parrt of the reason he was so attracted to Sakuya Kumashiro was 
that she was so normal.  Around her, he did not have to worry about 
deranged mad scientists trying to kidnap her and whatnot.  Ever since 
Ryoko had been resurrected, Tenchi had longed for a normal life.  The 
other reason why he was infatuated with Sakuya had to do something 
with the fact that she seemed to have been designed just for him.  She 
reminded him somewhat of his mother Achika.  Tenchi promised himself 
that he would do his best to come back from this latest adventure.  He 
was anticipating the chance to get to know Sakuya better.  He just was
not looking forward to sneaking behind Ryoko and Ayeka's backs on a 
regular basis just to meet with Sakuya.

					*	*	*
<<big gapin plot>>

	Ayeka Masaki Jurai, in full battle dress, patrolled _Starchaser's_ 
third disk, in the hopes of finding any survivors.  She had been searching 
for ten minutes since the group split up to search the ship, and already, 
the princess began to despair.  Sometimes being alone with just your 
thoughts can work against you.  Ayeka had not shared this with anyone, 
but the damage done to _Starchaser_ looked all too familiar.  Washu had 
told Ayeka that she could not understand why there were no sharp edges 
to the metal around the many hull breaches.  Reinforcing Ayeka's feelings 
of dread were old Juraian space stories.  One all-but-forgotten one Ayeka 
had stumbled across mentioned an enemy so powerful, that Tsunami had 
to turn herself and the Jurai Royal Trees into ships to combat.*  Even then, 
losses were high because the attackers used a weapon that ate through 
the hull of any ship it come in contact with.  Or at least, that's what the 
old story said.  Ayeka showed the text containing that particular story
to her father, the Emperor, and to her brother Yosho.  Both had dismissed 
it as space fiction, admonishing Ayeka to forget what she had read.  
Now, Ayeka desperately prayed that what she had read was only fiction.  
However, the short clip of the earlier battle that Kiyone had shown everyone 
hinted otherwise.
	As it was, Ayeka wished she was elsewhere.  There is nothing like 
moving through a derelict ship.  The ominous silence, dissonant when 
compared to a properly maintained craft, was unnerving.  Red emergency 
lighting threw strange shadows across the bulkhead.  The entire area was
unbearably cold, since the hull breaches had vented all the ships air into
space.  Ayeka thanked her Juraian Deity that her battle suit offered some 
insulation against the cold.  It almost was a relief to move into one of the 
corridors.  Even then, Ayeka had to be cautious.  If the hatch she opened 
lead to a room that was still pressurized, she could be violently thrown into 
deep space when the bulkhead depressurized.
	Ayeka opened a bulkhead hatch.  Fortunately for her, the section of the 
ship it led to was open to space.  In fact, there was not much of a 
compartment left, since the majority of the bulkheads were missing.  A 
portion of red spacecraft could be readily seen.
	"Ayeka, have you found anything yet?"  Kiyone called from _Yagami_.
	Ayeka sighed.  "No, not yet, although I've got a great view of _Yagami_ 
from here."  Another sigh.  "I can't wait to leave here."  Tenchi echoed
Ayeka's sentiment on the comlink.
	"Washu?"
	"I found the ship's bridge.  I've accessed the computer...  This is 
interesting," the diminutive scientist replied.  "I'm going to try to bring up
the ship's drive.  Hopefully, that will power some of the ship's other systems
as well."
	"Are you sure?"  Kiyone asked.  Her mind was currently entertaining 
visions of Washu accidentally triggering anti-personnel defenses, main 
weaponry, or other nasty surprises.
	"Pretty sure.  Although if you want, you could join me on the bridge 
and help translate this language."
	"Okay, okay.  Sorry I asked,"  Kiyone replied.  The comm channel 
went silent afterwards.
	Ayeka tried to ignore the nearly electric feeling of impending peril as 
she moved to the next hatch.  She opened it slowly.  As she did, the lights 
came on with a surge of power, revealing three ravenesque corpses 
disfigured by depressurization and suffocation.  Ayeka hurriedly closed the 
hatch behind her, then slid to the floor and retched.  A few minutes later,
when her stomach had emptied and the dry heaves ceased, Ayeka battled 
the urge to run back to _Ryo-ohki_ and order Ryoko to leave for Earth.  
Restraining the urge to flee, only because she knew that Kiyone would not 
let her leave just yet, she ventured down the corridor again, trying to banish
the horrors she saw moments earlier.  It was not working.
	As a princess, Ayeka had been sheltered from the uglier side of life.  
Even when Ryoko had attacked Jurai, Ayeka had not seen death.  Emperor 
Azusa had quickly ordered his wives and daughters to the Royal family's 
shelter.  Ayeka had seen the destruction that Ryoko had caused 700 years 
ago, but whenever she toured the ruins, any trace of death mysteriously 
vanished before she could see it.  The only real death due to battle that she 
had seen was Kagato's, and he did not leave a corpse when he passed away.  
The true horrors of war were unknown to Ayeka.  The three crebain corpses 
she had found frightened her.  Especially since she knew that she had the 
power to cause such death on a wide scale.  It might not be as personal as
Ryoko's immense destructive potential, but deadly none the less were the 
armies and navies of a Princess of Jurai.
	Still shaking from the shock of Death's handiwork, the eldest princess 
of Jurai continued with her responsibilities.  She mechanically searched 
three more sections of the ship as quickly as she could.  Some corner of 
her mind heard Kiyone's gasp on the comm channel, but Ayeka was too 
numb to pay attention.  All Ayeka was thinking of was how many more
sections she had to search before she could leave.
	Another hatch was opened, another section of the ship revealed.  This 
was one of the largest compartments Ayeka had seen.  She would have no 
choice but to enter the compartment.  She strode between hydroponics 
banks, searching for something.  She vaguely remembered Washu telling 
her to look for something, but she could not remember what.  Ayeka turned 
around to leave, not even halfway into the hydroponics compartment. 
Something flickered in her peripheral vision.  Ayeka turned.
	There, in the ruins of the hydroponic station, in front of the hole in the
hull, stood something most peculiar.  It was somewhat translucent, but colors 
flowed around the surface.  As for shape and size, it was around Ayeka's 
height, and had no form familiar to most known races in the galaxy.  It was 
legless, and globs of matter flowed on its surface.  It moved around by
flowing 
from one area to another.**
	Ayeka whimpered.
	Behind this unusual creature, something flickered into existance outside
_Starchaser's_ hull.  It was immense, almost half as large as _Starchaser_.  
Its basic appearance was that of an overgrown but very deadly goldfish.  
Rough-surfaced globs projected from the sides of the multi-colored surface.** 
It was a monstrousity, fit only for horror stories or stories of times past.  
Jurai's past.  A past only Tsunami and Ayeka even acknowledged.
	Ayeka screamed the scream of those condemned to live out their personal
nightmares.

* (Reference to Sister's Tears.)
**  These descriptions are paraphrased from David Feintuch's _Midshipman's
Hope_.  I felt that his, the original, description of the fish and the
outrigger 
would be the best.  These are not my words, and I have no claim to them.
Go read the Seafort series if you can.  Its an excellent series.

End Part 3