Tenchi Muyo! Exile
<Sarnd's Arrival/Trakal's Hair>

Everyone here was created by K. Masaki and Pioneer-AIC.
Don't sue me! Kain ate my wallet!


	Sarnd drove on, trying to formulate 
a plan of action. He knew that it was the law 
that Trakal would have to leave Earth. But he 
didn't want to destroy the Draalthi's newly 
found happiness. It seemed unfair to him, but 
there was nothing he could do, short of breaking 
the law. "It's not fair." He told himself.

	***

	Trakal said exactly the same thing when 
he woke up in the ice bath. He was freezing, naked 
and drenched. Washu dumped another bucket of 
icewater on his head. He winced as the ice cubes 
hit his muzzle, and growled in displeasure.
	Washu picked up another bucket of ice and 
dumped it on him.
	"CUT THAT OUT!" Trakal shouted angrily at
her.
	Trakal got out of the bath and grabbed a 
towel which he quickly wrapped around himself.
	"If that's how you look after being in an
ice bath for half an hour, Tanaka's going to be in
trouble on your wedding night." Washu told him,
sounding rather impressed.
	"Don't be cute." Trakal retorted, sounding
angry to hide his embarrassment. "You know full 
well that cold temperatures don't affect Draalthi
anatomy the same way they affect humans. We retain
body heat far longer than humans do."
	"So that's why you came down with heat 
sickness." Washu mused.
	Trakal nodded.

	
	Mihoshi ran in. "Trakal! You have a visitor!"
	"Detective! Do you mind?!"
	Mihoshi blushed. "Oops. Sorry."
	"*I* mind." Sarnd growled. "Trakal, what do 
you think you're doing taking up with this human?"
	"I'm not a human!" Washu screamed at him. "I
am Washu! I'm the greatest genius scientist in all
the Universe."
	"Mihoshi said you were human."
	"What?" Washu asked.
	"Excuse me, sir," Trakal told Sarnd. "I'm not
marrying her. She was merely taking care of me."
	"Oh." Sarnd nodded. "Well anyhow, get your 
uniform on. You're coming home with me."
	Trakal blinked. "With all respect, sir, I 
have a life here now. Tanaka and I are going to be 
married soon."
	"No." 
	"'No'? What do you mean 'No'?"
	"I mean you're not going to stay here and you
are not going to marry a human. Do you understand?"
	"No, I don't understand. What I understand is
that I love Tanaka and she loves me."
	"Trakal," Sarnd told him. "A Draalthi on Earth
would be damaging to the course of future history."
	"You don't know that." Trakal replied.
	"Well, I don't want to take chances." Sarnd
replied. 
	"What if he was human?" Washu offered.
	Sarnd and Trakal both turned.

	"Human?" Sarnd asked.
	Washu nodded. "I took a DNA sample when 
you were out." She told Trakal.
	"You what?!" Trakal demanded.
	"Well, naturally being the greatest genius
in the universe, I anticipated this, and I know you're
afraid of hospitals."
	"I am not!"
	Sarnd raised an eyebrow. "So, that's why you
never made it to your annual physical."
	"I was on assignment!" Trakal wailed.
	"Mmm hmm." Sarnd nodded.
	"Ahem!" Washu cleared her throat. "Now, as I was
saying, I can use your Juraian DNA as a database for your
human alter-ego."
	"Juraian DNA?" Sarnd asked, eyeing Trakal.
	"Right." Washu didn't explain. "I can take that, and
I can increase it gradually from five percent to one hundred
percent over a period of five hours. If all goes well, he 
will appear as a male Juraian, and he will look perfectly human
as long as he doesn't get upset."
	"Well, I think you should tell Tanaka first." Trakal 
told Washu.
	"Whatever you say." Washu nodded and Tanaka tumbled out
of a subspace fold, landing near the towel-clad Draalthi.
	Trakal blushed furiously.
	Tanaka also blushed.
	"Trakal, what's going on?"
	Trakal pointed at Washu
	"Tanaka," Washu explained, "if Trakal remains a Draalthi 
he will have to return to the Galaxy Police. He'll probably have 
to stand trial for contaminating the time-line. He could be
sentenced to life-imprisonment."
	"So, what can we do."
	"Well, Trakal's half-Juraian." Washu explained. "I'm 
going to raise his Juraian DNA level and lower his Draalthi DNA 
level until he becomes human. Or at least Juraian. I'll also alter 
his memory." Washu saw the panic in Tanaka's eyes. "He will remember 
you." She reassured the girl. "He'll just forget he was a Draalthi 
and that he worked for the Galaxy Police."
	"Trakal," Sarnd asked, "you'll be giving up everything. Are 
you sure that's what you want?"
	Without a word, Trakal took Sarnd's laser from its holster.
	Trakal moved the gun behind his head and discharged it 
before anyone could stop him. 
	"Trakal?!" Sarnd cried out, believing that Trakal had just 
shot himself.
	But his panic was unfounded. Trakal remained standing, his 
head hadn't been splattered all over. Sarnd blinked in confusion, 
then looked down. The majority of Trakal's ponytail lie there, a 
scattered mass of hair.
	"Pretty sure." Trakal replied, removing the hairband from the
remnants of his ponytail and handing it to Sarnd. 
	"Trakal...?" Sarnd asked.
	"You'll need proof." Trakal smiled. "No one is *ever* going
to believe this."
	Sarnd smiled back. He gave Trakal a quick fatherly hug, 
having been the Draalthi's mentor since his arrival at the Galaxy 
Police, and having been more like a father to Trakal than anyone. 
"I'll need more proof than that." He said. He picked up the remains 
of the ponytail and using the band to tie them together.
	Then he went outside, got in his car, and drove off.