Disclaimer : Tenchi Muyo! and all the characters thereof are the
property of Pioneer/AIC and such. Star Trek : The Next Generation and
all characters thereof are property of Paramount. None of the characters
in this fanfic are being paid for their appearance here, nor is the
author getting any profit from this work of fiction (as if!).

Futher, if you wish to archive this fanfic on a publicly-accessibly site
(be it Web, FTP, or whatever), I have no objections to that as long as
such does not bring any profit to anyone (if I don't make money off of
it, no one will make money off of it). All I ask is that you contact me
and let me know where the archive location is so I can check it out.

That said, on with the show...





                            THE MIHOSHI INCIDENT

                         Chapter 5 - Complications

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Picard let his eyes wander across the command officers seated before
him. He allowed each of them time to collect their thoughts before
speaking. "So what do we know about our guests?"

Geordi spoke first. "Well, Captain, we've thoroughly scanned their ship.
There doesn't seem to be any major structural damage, and their on-board
systems can repair most of the sub-systems that were damaged."

"Most of them?" Riker asked.

"Yes, sir." Geordi rose and walked over to the wall display. He called
up a schematic of the ship's drive systems. "Their engines were badly
damaged. Repairing them will be quite a challence, since the materials
used in the construction of their drive system are rather unique."

"Can't we replicate the required materials?" Picard asked.

"We can replicate many of the needed materials, sir." Data answered.
"But several key components are composed of high-density alloys unlike
anything known to Federation science. Replication of these materials
would require source material that we do not have ready access to, and
replicating the materials from base matter would require inordinate
amounts of energy to be diverted from the warp core to the replicators.
Further, for the replicated components to function properly we need to
duplicate the quantum energy levels of the originals, which do not match
up with the quantum levels of our supplies."

"I thought that the quantum levels of all materials is the same. What
would cause such a shift?" Riker enquired. "The reversed neutrino field
you detected earlier?"

"The reversed neutrino field was a symptom, not the cause." Data
explained. "We believe that the ship has passed through a dimensional
warp recently. That would account for the disturbance our sensors picked
up earlier, as well as explain the different quantum energy levels."

"So they're not of this dimension?" Worf grumbled. "That would explain
many things."

"Still sore, Lieutenant?" Riker dead-panned. He turned to Councillor
Troi. "Deanna, have you sensed anything more from them?"

"I don't sense any deception from them." Deanna replied. "Nothing to
indicate that they mean us any harm. If anything, they're as confused
about all of this as we are. Miss Mihoshi moreso than the other two."

"Captain." Worf interrupted. "Our sensors haven't picked up any sign of
Romulan activity yet, but it would be foolish to assume that they didn't
detect the same space-time disturbance that we did."

"Indeed." Picard muttered. "Mister LaForge, could we engage a tractor
beam and tow that ship out of the Neutral Zone?"

"Possibly, sir." Geordi answered. "The ship is enveloped in a reversed
neutrino field, which would weaken the beam considerably. We'll need to
adjust the tractor beam frequency to counter the effects of the field.."

"How long?" Picard asked.

"Ten minutes, maybe more."

"Get to work on it immediately." Picard ordered. "Mister Data, assist
Mister LaForge with the modifications."

"Yes, sir." Data rose from his seat and followed Geordi out the door.

Picard turned to Riker. "What were your impressions, Commander?"

Riker smiled. "Hard to describe, sir." He looked at Worf. "A ditzy
blonde, a young girl, and a small fuzzy animal. Hardly what I would call
a professional crew."

"Agreed." Worf hissed through his teeth. "Especially that.... that
'Policewoman.'" He looked at Picard. "If she is a typical example of a
law enforcement officer, then I would hate to see what the criminals are
like."

Picard nodded slowly. "Perhaps, but it would be premature to judge an
entire culture on the actions of one individual." He rose to his feet.
"Picard to Doctor Crusher."

"Crusher here, Captain." There was a muffled crash in the background,
and an unidentified woman shouted "Oh, my!"

Picard exchanged baffled looks with Riker. "Is everything alright,
Doctor?"

"Perfectly, Jean-Luc." came the reply. "We've just had a small accident
down here. Nothing we can't take care of." Another crash. "I think."

---

Beverly sighed and shook her head slowly. "There's no need to apolgize,
Mihoshi. That med table was old and in need of replacing anyway."

"Are you sure?" Mihoshi asked, staring at the bits of optical conduit
and electronic components poking out of the remains of the demolished
med table. "I mean, all I did was push that red button, and..."

"I said that it was okay." Beverly said. "Honestly, it is."

"Well, if you say so..." Mihoshi replied slowly.

Turning away from the mess, Beverly motioned to one of the med techs.
"Run a micro-cellular scan on her, please." Almost as an afterthought,
she added, "Be sure to check her neural patterns for signs of
abnormality, too."

"Yes, ma'am." the male technician replied somewhat nervously.

Beverly turned to where Sasami was sitting on one of the beds, Ryo-Ohki
sitting quietly beside her. Beverly smiled and pulled out her tricorder.
"Everything all right over here?"

Sasami nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"Mrrow." Ryo-ohki mewled plaintively, blinking large eyes at Beverly.

"She's hungry." Sasami explained.

"Oh?" Beverly tapped the tricorder against her palm, then leaned down to
eye level with Ryo-Ohki. "And what are you hungry for?"

"Carrots, of course!" Sasami giggled. "Ryo-Ohki loves carrots."

"Carrots? You mean Earth-type carrots?"

"Of course." Sasami replied. "What other kind of carrots are there?"

"Never mind." To Ryo-Ohki she said, "Let's see if I can get you some
carrots." Beverly walked over to the replicator. "Computer, I'd like
three Earth-native carrots." There was a brief pause, then the
replicator hummed and three perfectly formed carrots appeared in the
opening. "Ah, here we are, just li-"

In a blur of motion, Ryo-Ohki leapt up to the replicator, grabbed the
carrots, and ran back to her position beside Sasami, where she began
munching happily on her catch. Glancing up at Beverly, she mewed happily
and took another bite.

"Ah... right. Okay," Beverly flipped the tricorder open, "Let's start
with you then, Ryo-Ohki." Before she could start, however, she was
interrupted by a piercing shriek from the opposite end of sick bay.
"What is it now?" Beverly turned to see the med tech who had been
running the scan on Mihoshi dashing across the room.

Mihoshi had leapt to her feet and was spinning in a flailing circle. "Oh
no! Where is it! I just had it, where could it have gone?!" Her voice
was increasing in pitch with each revolution. "I can't have lost it, I
just *CAN'T*!" She began patting her pockets. "Where is it?"

Sasami jumped up. "Mihoshi! What's wrong?"

Beverly positioned herself for a flying tackle, then thought better of
it. "Miss Mihoshi! Please *CALM DOWN*!" she shouted. "If you'll tell us
what's wrong, I'm sure we can help you."

"Wrong? What's wrong? EVERYTHING's wrong!" Mihoshi cried. "First Ryoko
blows up the bathroom in the middle of my show, then we get stuck in an
alternate dimension, and my chest gets exposed to half the galaxy..."

"There were six people, Mihoshi." Sasami pointed out.

Mihoshi ignored her, continuing to spin around. "... and now I've lost
my control cube! I can't believe that it's gone!"

"Control cube?" Beverly asked. "What does it look like? Perhaps we can
find it."

Mihoshi's gyrations came to an abrupt stop. "You think so? Oh, that's so
nice of you! How can I ever-" She paused, her eyes crossing. "How
can.... I.... how...."

"Mihoshi?" Sasami asked, stepping up beside her. "What is it?"

"I... feel dizzy." Mihoshi muttered, and promptly fell over backwards.

"Is she *always* like this?" Beverly muttered, opening up her tricorder.

Sasami looked at her and nodded. "Uh-huh."

---

"You want permission to beam back over to your ship so that you can look
for this 'control cube' of yours?" Riker asked.

Mihoshi nodded shyly. "Uh-huh."

Picard looked around the bridge, thinking. "What function does this
'cube' of yours perform, that you need it so badly?"

Mihoshi shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Well, it's a standard
control cube... you use it to transport from place to place, to summon
important items, to... um...." she scratched her head, "to... well, it
makes some excellent coffee, by the way. Did I mention that?"

Picard leaned to the side. "Councillor?"

"I sense no deception from her, Captain." Troi answered quietly. "She
*is* desperate to get this cube of hers back, but there's no malice in
her desire for it." Troi concentrated for a moment. "If anything, I
think the device is more of a security blanket for her." she added
quietly.

Riker, who had been listening carefully, nodded. "It might be worth it
to get this cube for her," he glanced at Mihoshi, who was still listing
uses for her control cube, "if it will serve to calm her down."

"Good point, Number One." Picard agreed. "Considering the damage done to
sick bay, it might be-"

"Captain," Worf interrupted, "We're being hailed."

Riker jumped to his feet. "Romulans?"

"Negative, sir." Worf frowned. "The signal is coming from her ship." He
indicated Mihoshi with a curt nod.

"...hot chocolate, although I haven't quite figured out how to get it to
add those teeny marshmallows..."

"I thought there wasn't anyone else aboard." Picard turned to face Worf.
"Did our scans miss something?"

"Scans still show no life signs aboard that vessel." Data replied.

"It could be an automated system." Riker offered. "Some sort of computer
or remote relay?"

"There's one way to find out." Picard rose to his feet and tugged the
hem of his shirt. "Mister Worf, on screen."

The view of Mihoshi's ship winked out and was replaced by the face of
Yukinojo. "Mihoshi! I thought I'd never locate you!"

"...and it's great at emptying out the trash containers on the ship,"
Mihoshi grimmaced, "they get so yucky sometimes. It's also good for
getting those little dust rabbits out from under the-"

"Mihoshi?" Yukinojo repeated, his face enlarging to fill the screen.
"What's the matter?"

Uttering a strangled cry, Mihoshi leapt three feet in the air and
performed a half-twist, coming to rest facing the screen. "Wha...
Yukinojo! You scared me! Umm... how'd you get over here?" She stepped
back from the screen. "And how did you get so big?"

"Mihoshi." Picard stepped up to her. "Who is that?"

"Oh, that's just Yukinojo." She smiled. "My ship's computer. Why?"

"A computer." Riker sighed wearily, leaning against his seat. "I'm glad
I was right." He glanced over at Troi, who was trying to stifle a smile.
"What?"

"Mihoshi, you disappeared from this ship over an hour ago. The sensors
tracked you to that ship." Yukinojo pulled back from the video pick-up.
"It has taken me this long to repair the communications system so that I
could contact you." He paused. "Are you alright? And where is Princess
Sasami?"

Picard raised an eyebrow. "Princess?"

Mihoshi smiled, nodding. "She's down in sick bay with Ryo-Ohki, of
course. Ryo-Ohki wanted some more carrots." She scratched her head. "By
the way, have you seen my control cube?"

"Yes, Mihoshi." Yukinojo replied. "You left it here when you...
departed... so abruptly."

She sighed in relief. "I did? That's great! Well, I mean, it's *not*
great, but it's great that you know where it is. I thought I had lost it
forever and I..."

Picard shook his head slowly and returned to his seat. He thumbed a
button on his seat. "Transporter room three, stand by to beam Miss
Mihoshi directly from the bridge to her ship."

"Standing by, sir."

"Mihoshi?" Picard said, trying to interrupt her. "Miss Mihoshi?"

"...really bad if you ever lose one of them, and..." She realized that
she was being spoken to. "Yes? What is it, Captain?"

"We're ready to beam you over to your ship so that you can retrieve your
cube."

"You are? Thank you! Thank you very much." She straightened, trying to
look professional. "Ready to go."

Picard sighed. "Transporter room three? Energize."

"Perhaps we could leave her over there." Worf wondered aloud after the
transported field had faded.

Riker laughed. "Why, Mister Worf, she's our guest. It would be rude not
to bring her back."

"Perhaps, Commander, but it would also be safer." Worf's attention was
drawn to a warning tone. "Captain! Romulan warbird decloaking!"

"Red alert!" Picard commanded. "Mister Worf, don't raise the shields.
We're here on a rescue mission, and I don't want to provoke the Romulans
any more than we already have."

"But Captain!" Worf argued.

"That's an order, Lieutenant." Picard retorted. "On screen." The main
viewscreen shimmered, changing to reveal a Romulan warship decloaking
directly opposite Mihoshi's ship.

"Captain, their weapons are armed and locking on us!" Worf reported.

"Transporter room three, get Mihoshi back here!" Riker ordered.

"I've lost the lock on her, sir." the transporter tech replied. "I can't
re-establish it!"

"Is it the Romulans?" Picard asked.

Data checked his console. "Negative, Captain. The transporter is being
blocked by a localized positron field. The field is not being generated
by the Romulan ship."

"Then who?" Picard inquired.

Data paused. "The interference is being generated by something on board
Mihoshi's vessel."

Riker looked at Picard. "What the hell's going on here?"

Picard keyed the commlink. "Picard to Engineering. Mister LaForge, can
you figure out a way to penetrate the field that is blocking the
transporter?"

"I think so, Captain." came the reply. "If we direct a broad-spectrum
random-frequency tractor beam at the ship, it should destabilize the
field enough for us to use the transporter. We'll have to keep the yield
low to prevent causing damage to her ship, though."

"How long will it take you to set up?" Picard asked.

"No time at all, Captain. It's part of the modifications we made to
fight the Borg. The beam emmitters already incorporate all the needed
circuitry. I was adjusting the system to enable us to tow her ship - the
emitters are already configured."

"Good." Picard said. "Mr Worf, lock onto Mihoshi's ship."

"Aye, sir." Worf activated the controls. "Tractor beam ready."

"Transporter room three, stand by to beam Mihoshi directly to the
bridge." Picard rose to his feet. "Mr Worf, engage tractor beam."

"Engaging tractor beam." Worf reported. "Captain, we're being hailed by
the Romulan vessel."

"Stall them." Picard ordered. "Transporter room?"

"I've re-established the lock, Captain." the technician answered.
"Energizing now."

The familiar cascade of glimmering light appeared in front of the main
screen and began to coalesce. Suddenly, the transporter's glow flickered
wildly. The transporter tech's voice rang out. "Captain, something's-"

There was a static-filled *POP*, and the transporter field winked out.
In its place a fist-sized pink cube hung suspended in mid-air for a
moment before tumbling to the floor. The transporter tech's voice filled
the bridge. "We've lost her, Captain."

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------


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