Looking back on how large the last one was, I think this
will be all I will post for a while.  I know it's gonna take ya awhile
to read it.  --Presuming you are--

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

NOTE: All characters original to the Tenchi-Muyo!
TV1 series portrayed in this story are the sole property
of AIC and Pioneer Animation. Any appearance of them in
actual life is purely coincidental. Tenchi-Muyo!
material and paraphernalia listed within is Copyright
Pioneer Animation 1997 (c). Kyoto Minamoto, Muriyaki
Kushiragi, Chisako, Chi-Ohki, and all other related
characters are the sole property of R&C Books and appear
through permission from R&C Books. If you would like to use
any of these characters in your work, please contact the
licensing department at RCBooks@hotmail.com
or visit our website at www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/1375.







Questions? Comments? Even ideas for future episodes?
Want to write the authors? You can contact us at
Muriyaki@hotmail.com, and at keiichi_dono@hotmail.com.
We look forward to receiving your responses!





                                 Episode #5

                          No Need For A Surprise!









After having fled the system where Akiko was located,
Chisako has stopped in a deserted system to install the
newly recovered parts for the fold drive. About a week has
passed, for Kyoto and Washu want to make the installations
perfect--after all, it�s not like they can just go back to
Akiko for more after the damage they caused on their exit!
Finally, around one A.M., ship�s time, on the ninth day,
Washu completes the final connection. Clicking on the
comlink from the engine room to the command deck, she
yells, "All done, Kyoto! We can fold at any time!"

"Good job, Washu," compliments Kyoto�s voice over the comm
channel. "I don�t think anyone wants to be awakened for
this, so we�ll just do it now and let everyone wake up on
Earth. You wanna come up and watch the show?"

Kyoto doesn�t hear a response, but one of Washu�s patented
short-range portals opens on the bridge, and Washu steps
through. "Well, let�s see what one of these looks like when
things aren�t frantic."

Kyoto nods in agreement. "Hold on to your hair," he grins,
making light of the fact that the scientist�s recently,
violently shorn hair is taking its time growing back. Washu
glares at him, then points at the floating holoterminal.
"Do it!"

"All right, all right, hang on...." The space pirate feeds
in a five-digit sequence, and then hits a large, glowing
green touchpad marked "TSCD ENG." The five outer saucers
orbiting the hub begin to spin, at first slowly, but
gradually faster and faster until they are well nigh
invisible. Crackling rainbow light begins to play across
the hull and the spinning disk that the saucers have
become. A counter on the displays shows the velocity
approaching, then exceeding, light, and then moving into
the superluminal and hyperluminal range. At their current
listed speed they should be moving through the galaxy about
as fast as time right now....and yet the sensors report
that their position has not changed in the slightest.
Washu is dumbfounded. "What is going on here? Why aren't
we moving?"

"In a fold, dear Washu, a ship does not move per se.
Instead, the energies that are normally channeled into
normal FTL travel are collected around the generating
point, misaligning space-time�s axis at that point. This
allows the generating ship to 'slip through the cracks'
in space-time. The shortest distance between two points
is a straight line. The folding process warps the space
between the ship and its destination into as compact an
area to traverse as possible."

Washu is awestruck for a moment, until she remembers
where she's heard that explanation before. "Hey, you stole
that from my book!"

"Obviously. Convergence: The Theory of Folding Space for
More Efficient Translight Travel was always an enjoyable
read. I think that was one of your most popular texts at
the Academy. But I'm not the only one who's been
plagiarizing. Remember, I didn't build this ship, I found
it. I only know the theory, not the method of
implementation. The way this ship works is still way over
my head."

Washu looks out the viewport. Around Chisako, a
cat's-cradle of bluish-white and purple-white energies
are beginning to block out normal space. She can see a
translucent sphere of violet energy forming around the
outside of station.

"Why's it doing that?" asks the diminutive scientist,
pressing her face firmly against the cool surface of the
forward viewport.

"That's simple enough. A large pocket of energy is required
to punch through the barrier separating alternate
dimensions. When that bubble out there reaches a certain
voltage level, it will explode and shatter the barrier
between the two set dimensions, allowing us to travel
through to the other side. The hole is only temporary
and usually closes within seconds of our passage. Or at
least that's what the book says...."

"You mean you don't know if we're damaging the fabric of
space or not?!"

Kyoto shakes his head and laughs. "Node. I don't have the
damnedest clue!" He is about to say more when the voltage
counter on the console begins to beep. "Here it comes.
You might want to close your eyes."

Washu clamps her hands over her eyes a split second before
the sphere detonates. Even so, she can still see the
violent brilliance of the explosion through her fingers.
She can hear Kyoto saying, "Damn! That hurts!" Then, a
moment later, in a tentative voice, "Wait... Something's
wrong... It's never been like this, not even when we
crossed over her--" Without warning, he collapses to his
knees and starts screaming.



* * *



In their bed, in the Masaki house, Kiyone and Tenchi are
asleep, Tenchi on his back and Kiyone lying half-atop
him. While both agree on waiting awhile before taking their
physical relationship all the way, neither sees anything
wrong with just sleeping in the same bed....

Tenchi is in the middle of a delicious dream concerning
Kiyone and warmed *sak� when they feel the room jolted
violently. The jolt sends Tenchi rolling over on top of
Kiyone. She is giggling, enjoying the sensation of his face
being pressed up against her chest. "Tenchi....I
didn�t know you were awake...." She starts to play with the
buttons on her nightshirt--for pajamas, she usually wears
shorts and an old shirt of his, and he knows quite well
that the only thing on under those articles of clothing
is a skimpy pair of cotton panties. "You want me to be your
pillow tonight, Tenchi?"

Tenchi is about to respond in the affirmative when he feels
a strange sensation wash over his body. It feels like all
his limbs have fallen asleep. He tries to tell Kiyone,
but his mouth seems to be ignoring his mind. Kiyone is also
laying very still, more than likely afflicted with the same
thing. While she can�t move her lips either, he can see her
crying and see her eyes, barely discernible in the dark,
pleading up at him to rescue her from this, and oh how he
wants to, how he wants to take her up in his arms and hold
her until the tears subside....

His concern for his beloved is such that it takes him a few
moments to register what he�s hearing in his head. When it
finally hits him, he wishes he were mentally deaf, for he�s
listening to what must be hell.

A million cries of anguish ricochet through Tenchi�s
mind, growing horribly louder and clearer with each passing
moment. A thousand thousand screams of terror and
heartbreak and despair and suffering, a million voices
crying out in death--and for death--echo inside his head,
and he pleads with whatever god exists to give him a few
minutes of control so that he can tear his mind out--Before
he can complete the thought, something slams into his mind,
his soul, with the force of a guided missile smashing
into a house of cards. Abruptly the voices in his head snap
off, as if never there, and he finds himself with control
over his body again. He hears Kiyone weeping underneath
him, feels the sobs racking her body, and he immediately
rolls off of her and gathers her up in his arms. As he does
he can hear her almost sobbing in relief .

Oh, Tenchi, my Tenchi, thank God that�s over, I was so
afraid that that horrible, horrible thing would last
forever and that I would never see you again.... She draws
herself into his lap, clutching him as tightly as she can,
still sobbing into his shoulder. Please don�t let me go,
Tenchi, please don�t ever, ever let me go again....

Whispering soothing words, Tenchi gently kisses Kiyone�s
forehead. Sssh, darling, it�s all right now, no one�s gonna
hurt you now, I�m not gonna let you go, ever.... He finds
himself almost close to tears as he pulls her tightly
against him. My poor Kiyone, he thinks. She�s a strong
girl, but this is almost more than she can bear, and the
image of a porcelain China doll, looking exactly like her,
floats into Tenchi�s mind. Underneath the strength,
she is as fragile as a China doll....

Yes, Tenchi, I am as fragile as a China doll. She looks
up at him, the tears subsiding. She smiles slightly,
then leans up and kisses him. I know you�ll take good care
of me, Tenchi. You always have. Oh, I love you, Tenchi....

I love you too, Kiyone. I just want to hold you
like--Tenchi suddenly realizes something. He opens his
mouth and speaks. "Kiyone, how did you know I was thinking
that?"

She looks up at him quizzically. "What d'ya mean, Tenchi?
You said that out loud. I heard you quite clearly."
Her face takes on a look of worry. "Tenchi, are you feeling
all right?"

"I think so. But I didn't say that out loud. I was think--"
Shivers run up and down his spine as he realizes what must
have happened. "Kiyone, can you hear me?" he asks.

"Yes, I can, Tenchi. What's going on?" The worried
expression is deepening.

"Just give me a minute...." He closes his mouth and thinks,
Can you hear me, Kiyone?

Kiyone's eyes widen. "Tenchi, how did you do that? You
didn't say anything, but I heard you just like I could--"
The revelation hits her, and she gasps. "--just like I
could....read your mind, like I could hear you thinking."
She snaps her mouth shut, and closes her eyes. Can you hear
me, Tenchi? Can you hear my thoughts?

Tenchi nods, then replies. Loud and clear, my avenging
angel of space. He smiles at her. Does this scare you,
love?

Kiyone nods. A little bit, I guess. But actually, more than
anything else right now, I feel....well,I feel closer to
you than I've ever felt before. Maybe this is a good
thing....tiger. She laughs at his shocked expression.
Betcha didn't think I knew that you privately wanted me to
call you that, did you, Tenchi?

I....thought it was better hidden than that.... He chuckles
and looks at her fondly. "Maybe we should see what's
happening on the command deck." He pushes himself off of
the bed and offers a hand to Kiyone. "Shall we go?"

"Oh, I don't know, Tenchi." She pats the bed invitingly.
"It�s nice and warm here..."

He sighs and grabs her left hand, pulling her to a standing
position. "Let's go...."

She feigns a resigned air. "Oh, very well...." She lets him
lead her out of the bedroom.



* * *



When they get to the command deck, they find pretty much
everyone else there. In the center of the deck, Kyoto is
lying on the floor, moaning faintly in pain. Washu is
sitting cross-legged next to him, her holo-laptop
floating above his chest. Finally, she clicks it off and
smirks. "No permanent or serious damage. He ought to be up
and moving in about an hour."

"What happened?" asks Sasami. As is everyone else in the
room--with the exception of Kyoto and Washu--she is in her
nightclothes, and she has Ryo-ohki atop her head and
Kiyo-ohki in her arms. Around her feet are another couple
of Ohkis, meowing in confusion.

"We fixed the fold drive and we....well, we folded,"
explains Washu. "But Kyoto commented about how this was
different than any other fold he�s ever made, and then he
started screaming for about five minutes straight, and then
finally just collapsed on the floor."

"So does that mean we�re home?" asks Mihoshi, still rubbing
sleep out of her eyes while stretching and yawning.

"Well, we�re not in that universe anymore," responds
Washu. "While we were fixing this thing, he explained
to me that, for each dimension, there is a different
�wavelength�, for lack of a better term, on this display."
She motions over to the leftmost of the three floating
holoterminals. On the "screen", a small window shows a trio
of horizontal lines. The bottom two are immobile, but the
top one is bouncing and jolting, as if on a trampoline.
"If we were still in that universe, all three lines would
be gently rising and falling, like waves on a shore on a
calm day. He never told me what the code for our universe
was, but I don�t think this is it."

"Well, Washu, can you at least tell us our location in
space?" asks Ayeka.

"Let me check...." Washu feeds the query into the
holoterminal, and whistles as she sees the result.
"Well....if the astrogation charts haven�t changed from
universe to universe....we�re in the Jurai system."

There is a stunned silence in the room. Finally, Kiyone
makes her way over to the holoterminals. She calls up a
holo of the system map. It appears overhead and the group
can clearly see that their new location is, indeed, the
Jurai system. "We�re about a billion kilometers out from
an L4 orbit around Jurai."

Ayeka is excited. "Jurai! We must get in contact with
someone down on the surface. Perhaps someone there can help
us!"

Kiyone is about to open a communications channel when she
notices something on the scanners. "Hold it, everyone.
There�s something....different here, something feels
wrong...." She increases the scanners to max
intensity/range, and blinks as she sees the aberrance.
"Oh my....I�m putting this up on the main holo, everyone."
She does so, and everyone is shocked to see the Jurai
system strewn with the wreckage of spacecraft, space
stations, and satellites. The entire system seems to have
become a graveyard of dead spacecraft.

"Sargasso," whispers Kiyone. As the Juraian moon which had
been blocking them from a direct view of the planet orbits
out of their path, new data floods into the scanner
terminal. It beeps, and Kiyone turns back to it. "What
the....According to this, the Fujisaki* output on the
planet is almost five times that of the Jurai we know. It�s
like someone has been raining nuclear warheads on the
planet."

"That�s impossible!" cries out Ayeka . "Jurai hasn�t used
nuclear power or weapons for millennia. This cannot be!"

"That�s what the display says, Ayeka," Tenchi reminds
her. "Kiyone�s just reporting what she�s seeing."

The princess shoots a mild glare at him. "You would agree
with whatever she says, wouldn�t you, Lord Tenchi?"

Before Tenchi can respond, Ryoko does. "Ayeka, can you read
a Fujisaki radiation level counter display?"

"Well," admits the princess sheepishly, "no...."

"And don�t you think that Kiyone�s training in the Galaxy
Police would have taught her how to read one?" throws in
Washu.

"Well, yes...."

"So why won�t you believe what she�s reporting?" completes
Tenchi.

Ayeka opens and shuts her mouth several times before
deciding to just be quiet. Tenchi walks over to Kiyone
and places a hand on her shoulder. "Kiyone, can you give
us a surface visual?"

Kiyone smiles brightly at Tenchi and leans back to her
work. "I�ll try, Tenchi...." Her fingers fly across the
keypad, and she pulls them away after a few minutes,
looking pleased with herself. "Okay, I�ve patched us into
what I think is an old observation satellite that�s still
more or less intact....the picture should be coming up
about....now."

Another holo appears next to the first one, and the static
clears to reveal....the wreckage of a world. The satellite
seems to be floating over the remains of the capital city,
and they are getting a very good shot of the shattered
downtown area. Sasami cries out in horror as the camera
focuses on the ruins of the Royal Palace and the charred
pit of refuse that was once the Royal Garden. "Oh no! My
garden!" She bursts into tears. Mihoshi, who is the closest
to her, moves to her and hugs her.

Azaka and Kamidake, shocked to the core, make the Juraian
equivalent of the Sign of the Cross. Ayeka has collapsed
into a chair which hadn�t been there a moment ago.
"But....how....why...."

Tenchi gulps. "My lord, what�s happened here?" He squeezes
Kiyone�s shoulder gently. "Can you....talk to anyone on the
surface?"

"Let me see...." Grabbing a headset from a nearby rack,
Kiyone activates the commo network and opens the system
to include all channels. "Come in, planet Jurai. This is
the space cruiser Chisako, holding position at--" She
rechecks the astromap coordinates. "--four-seven-one
by eight-oh-niner, just beyond the outer moon. Is there
anyone there? Over."

No answer.

Kiyone repeats the transmission, with the same results.
After the fifth repeat, she sighs. "This is getting us
nowhere. That planet must be dead. If no one will--"

"Try scanning for radio signals." She turns in shock to see
Kyoto slowly rising to his feet. He looks like he�s been
hit repeatedly by a wrecking ball, but he�s standing
more or less steady. "Maybe you can pick up some radio
signals."

"All right...." Kiyone switches from modern tach-comm
signals to old-style radio. "I�m not rea--wait, I�m reading
something...." She pushes the headphones closer against
her ears. "It sounds like....�White Rose, deploy three and
four to Point Gamma. Red Heart, five and eight to Base Six.
T-minus twenty days.� What the hell is this?"

"May I?" Kiyone doffs the headset and hands it to Kyoto,
then moves to Tenchi and snuggles into his embrace.

Kyoto listens for a few moments, then taps a code into the
left holoterminal. "Now where did I leave--oh, there it
is....�Fighter wing seven, deploy squadrons three and four
to auxiliary staging area. Infantry corps five, deploy
fifth and eighth brigades to staging area six. Twenty days
to....�....to something."

Everyone is staring at him in shock, and he gives them a
lopsided grin. "It pays to have a Jurai Defense Force
high-level code book in your database. Sounds like someone
down there is preparing for war."

"How did you get your hands on a Jurai Defense Force code
book?" demands Ayeka. "Only the admirals and generals
of the Defense Force have access to those!"

"Yes, that�s right," agrees Kyoto. "Only we admirals
and generals have access to those. Do you remember an
�Admiral Kikuchi�, Princess?"

Ayeka, looking shocked and angry, starts to speak, but is
interrupted by Washu. "That�s not important right now,
Ayeka. Kyoto, can you read any large groups of people or
energy sources?"

Kyoto plays with his console for a few minutes, then nods.
"Looks like the largest concentration on-planet is right
in the capital....or what�s left of it." He�s about to add
something when Muriyaki walks onto the command deck, still
clad in her skin-clinging jumpsuit. As she yawns, she
thrusts her breasts out, earning a stare from Nobuyuki,
which earns him a jab in the ribs from Katsuhito. "Kyoto,
what�s happening?"

Kyoto turns to his long-time companion. "Oh, damn! Sorry,
Muriyaki, I should have informed you. We folded, but we�re
not in our home dimension. In this place....well,
look at Jurai." He gestures at the screen.

Muriyaki gasps at the sight. "My lord! It looks like
someone used the planet as a punching bag!"

"It does at that," concurs Kyoto. "Okay, now that we know
where the action must be, let�s go to bed. I don�t think
it�s gonna move much in ten hours or so." He bestows a
playful look upon both Ryoko and Muriyaki. "Either of you
coming? Or, hopefully, both?"

Ryoko smirks and disappears from the room. Muriyaki
chuckles. Since their reconciliation, physical contact
has become more playful flirting than anything else. "No
thanks. You always take all the sheets. G�night, everyone."
She walks back through the door.

At least you never take all the sheets, Tenchi....
Tenchi hears Kiyone�s voice say in his mind. Let�s go back
to bed, Tenchi.

You tired? he inquires dryly.

Actually, yes, but I just want to curl up in your arms,
Tenchi.... He is satisfied by her response, so he sweeps
her up in his arms and carries her back to the Masaki
house.



* * *



Around ten-thirty a.m, ship's time, the group trickles
back onto the command deck, including Muriyaki. Kyoto looks
around, and then, satisfied, speaks aloud. "Chisako,
engage landing sequence delta-r-1. Set descent speed for
900 kilometers per second. Activate emergency turbulence
protocol. Mark."

Chisako floats into Jurai orbit slowly and gracefully,
like a luxury liner coming into port. She then begins to
pierce through the atmosphere and starts her descent.

"External hull temperature 325 Kelvin. Holding steady at
descent speed. Passing through stratosphere, reenter comp--
Warning! Warning! Ventral intake valve manifold
malfunction! Ventral intake valve manifold malfunction!
Gyroscopic regulation imbalance! Control loss to descent
control systems!"

Kyoto grimaces and grabs the track ball-like controls.
"Chisako, transfer manual control to the command deck!
Switch all landing engines to emergency afterburn!"
He murmurs a Juraian curse under his breath, drawing a
vicious glare from Ayeka. ".... Cha'chik Tyo ryu! Hjidy--
Err, sorry, where are my manners?" He tries to wrench back
on the control balls, but to no avail.

"Will we collide?" asks Nobuyuki, worriedly.

"Yes, we will collide," intones Katsuhito.

"Shut up! We've got an engine fire! You two, Tenchi,
Kiyone, and anyone else you can get ahold of, get down to
the engine room and break out the extinguishers.
If those flames reach the reactor coolant tanks, we've had
it!"

"I don't wanna die!" cries Sasami, who is echoed in full
by Ryo-ohki perched atop her head, and Kiyo-ohki in her
arms. Mihoshi is clinging to Sasami and bawling as well.
"We're all gonna die!!"

"Shut up!" yells Washu, only to be backhanded by Kyoto.

"Shut up, Washu! We don't need your whining! Get down to
the engine room, save what you can!" After pouting for a
few minutes, Washu turns on her heel and follows Kiyone
off the command deck.

Kyoto's form begins to shimmer with a white light, and a
ghost-like duplicate separates from the Kyoto standing
at the controls. Upon separation the duplicate solidifies,
and goes over to Sasami and Mihoshi. He then enfolds the
two sobbing girls in his arms and holds them tightly
against him, letting them cry their tears into his shoulder
and chest. After a few minutes, "Kyoto" gently leads the
two girls, along with Ayeka, down to the arboretum deck to
wait out the impact.

Chi-ohki, now clad in a minister's outfit, is preaching
the Ohki gospel of the afterlife to a large congregation
of Ohkis seated on the command deck. For all intents and
purposes he sounds like a television preacher. "... And
then, on the third day, according to the Holy Book of the
Carrot, the Great Ohki created carrots, and it was good.
On the fourth day...." The congregation looks like
something out of an old movie where the pews are filled
with the excited faithful. They are meowing in the Ohki
version of "Hallelujah!"

Down in the engine room, Tenchi and Kiyone have just put
out one engine fire, only to have another one spark into
flame. "Dad, Grandpa! Put out that fire!" he yells. Tenchi
slaps a grubby fist against the com switch to the command
deck and a second later, Kyoto's harried voice responds.
"What is it?! I'm a little busy up here!"

"Kyoto, another engine's on fire! We're putting it out
right now, but judging by the amount of smoke coming off
number seven, there'll be another one real soon!"

Kyoto grits his teeth. "What is going on? I don't get
this!? I checked those engines just two weeks ago and they
were fine! Now, they're going out as if the vents were
glued shut.... the vents shut.... Oh my God!" He instantly
runs his hands over a keypad and a second later a view of
one of the intake vents appears on screen. It's sealed
shut. "Oh, crap!... " He comes to a quick decision.
"Everyone, hit the deck! I'm killing the engines!"

"You're doing what?!" cries out Washu's voice over the
intercom in alarm. "Are you crazy?! We'll drop like a
rock!"

"It's the only way to keep us from going up like a
marshmallow covered in kerosene!" Kyoto gently caresses
the thruster control key, and then presses it.

In the engine room, the flames, now robbed of fuel, sputter
out and die. Kiyone throws her arms around Tenchi's neck
and gives him a long, suffocating kiss. "You did it, my
darling!"

Tenchi doesn't respond, instead, he gathers her up under
his arm and dashes for an acceleration chair. He throws
her into it and buckles her up, then, undoing his belt,
pulls it from it's loops. He then runs it underneath
the straps of the chair and then recinches it around his
waist. He is now effectively pinned on her lap. She
giggles. "I think I like being in your lap, Ten-chi."

"Quickly, Nobuyuki! Follow me!" Katsuhito leads his
son-in-law over to a work table and grabs up two pulley
belts. He then yanks him over to a set of pipes and wraps
the strap around the pipe and then himself. "Do the same,
Nobuyuki!"

"Okay..." Nobuyuki repeats the process that his
father-in-law had demonstrated.

Kyoto is hunched over the holoterminal, whispering
a prayer. Muriyaki comes up to him and places a hand on his
shoulder. "Do you want me and my girls to get out and try
to slow the descent?"

Kyoto smiles and shakes his head. "Thank you, love, but I
don't want you or your daughters to strain yourselves.
Chisako's mass is far too great for you to have any
significant effect." Unnoticed by either of them, Ryoko
excuses herself from the command deck and heads for the
engine room, to see if she can be of any assistance
there.

Kyoto turns away from the console and sighs. "Well, soon
we'll see if this sucker's regenerative hull works as it's
supposed to." He smiles sadly at Muriyaki. "And if not...
then I'll guess we'll see if there is a God or not."

Muriyaki looks up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Just in case.... Will you give me a kiss goodbye?"

Kyoto pauses, a response neglecting to come to his lips,
then enfolds her in his arms. He can feel her body shake
with each sob until all her tears are cried. She smiles
up at him. "That's the first time... in a long time....
that's felt good. Kiss me again, Kyoto." He turns her chin
upward and kisses her again, longer, and more drawn out.
It seems an eternity that their lips do not separate
from this embrace. They know that they may never meet again
in this existence. They slowly, painstakingly,
draw away from each other, their lips longing for the
warmth of the connection. Muriyaki rests her head on
Kyoto's shoulder, her eyes shut, trying to hold onto that
last moment of bliss and contentment. Her arms are tight
around his chest clinging tightly to him, as if their
embrace will keep them together even after the inevitable
separation. "Hold me Kyoto, hold me till the world ends."

Chisako strikes the ground like a dumptruck of bricks being
dropped from the top of the World Trade Center. The first
thing that Kyoto realizes is that neither he nor Muriyaki
are dead. However, Chisako is sliding down the steep side
of a mountain, moving like a Twiggy on skies. Kyoto is
getting a very good view of this on the monitor hooked
up to the external cameras. "Oh, my God!" he screams.
"We're doing the Luge!" Chisako's saucers are still
spinning as the ship hurtles down the mountain. As it
reaches the bottom it strikes a curved ledge and is sent
sailing through the air. It strikes the ground again and
continues sliding. Kyoto can see exactly where they're
headed... straight into the center of a metropolis.
Chisako's slowly rotating saucers slowly level skyscrapers
as they cut a swath of powderized cement and metal through
the medium-sized city. Chisako skids to a stop about eight
hundred kilometers from where it first hit ground. It is
seated flat on the ground.

Kyoto is sprawled up against a bulkhead, his legs in the
air above him like a hung turkey. "Ohhhh.... my aching....
everything..."

Muriyaki is sprawled on the floor, unconscious. Her left
cheek has a large, bloody gash across it and she is lying
in a small pool of her own blood. She coughs weakly each
time she inhales, adding more blood to the pool. Finally,
her eyes slowly flutter open to find Kyoto looking down at
her worriedly.

"My God, Muriyaki, what happened to you?!" He takes her
head up in his arms and holds her close to his chest.
Muriyaki looks up at him, through blood stained eyes.

"K-k-k-Kyoto?... I hurt all over... make the pain go
away...."

Kyoto strokes her hair with his hand. "Don't worry,
Muriyaki, I'll make it all better. Just... just sit still
and it'll be alright. Don't worry, it'll be all better
soon." Kyoto runs a hand over her eyes, closing them. He
then sets her down on the floor and takes up a cross-legged
position next to her. Closing his eyes and putting his
hands together in a praying fashion he begins to
concentrate.

Ayeka and Sasami, the only two people of the entire group
to avoid injury, other than Mihoshi who is out like a
light, are seated in the giant groves of Jurai trees. It is
at this moment that these trees start to glow.

Ayeka is dumbfounded. "It is--"

"It's the power of the trees!" exclaims Sasami, pointing
a finger at the numerous glowing trees. The entire command
deck has become infused with a pulsating, psychedelic
jade-green light. This light is funnelling down into
Muriyaki's body and she is glowing a brilliant shade of
white. Kyoto, too, is infused with this light and is
encompassed with an aura that would make him look angelic.
There is a cosmic-sounding chord echoing in the background
which is increasing in volume with each passing second.
After what seems like an eternity, the light and sound
fades away and the command deck returns to normal. Kyoto
is still sitting cross-legged next to Muriyaki, who looks
as if nothing had ever happened. She slowly sits up and
gives Kyoto a wide, beaming smile.

"You finally did it. After all these years you've managed
to control the trees' powers!" She wraps her arms around
him, and he promptly falls on his back, exhausted.

She kneels beside him and strokes his head. "You'll feel
better in a little while, now just get some sleep." With
that, she runs her hands over his eyes and closes them,
then rests his head in her lap.

Down in the engine room, Kiyone and Tenchi, their
acceleration chair somehow having stayed in place, are
helping Ryoko out from under Nobuyuki, who is protesting
that he really doesn't mind having her under him. Washu
is sitting on top of Nobuyuki's back, with her hololaptop
out. She is running a damage-control survey of the ship.
"Hmmmmmmm.... internal damage seems to only be minor, level
three's bulkhead is a little overstressed, externally,
the primary engine intake......" She gasps. "Oh, my
goodness! Someone must have sent a missile up our
tailpipe!"



* * *



The young radar operator bangs his screen. "What the
hell.... I'm not reading anything anymore!"

The lieutenant in charge of the missile battery, a paunchy
man with a sagging waistline and a balding scalp, peers
down at the screen himself. In spite of his appearance,
he is quite a competent battery commander. "Well, son, the
damned *SPU got away from us again. I'm pretty sure that
you nailed that sucker. There ain't much that can take a
hit from a Buzzbomber 231." He taps the screen himself.
"Damn, that was a huge sucker. I didn't think the Reich
could build SPUs that big. I better get on the horn to
Central Command. Big K's not gonna like this....."



Kyoto has a look of horror as he surveys the damage in
Chisako's engine room. "My baby!" he cries out as he rushes
to the currently inert translight drive core. He hugs it
and starts whispering to it. "Don't worry, baby, we're
going to fix you up as good as new, I promise....
"

"What the hell are you doing?!" demands Washu.

"I'm hugging my baby, what does it look like?! I spent six
thousand years getting this thing to work just right!"
He kisses it. "It's every bit as much my child as.... well,
never mind. Can you fix it?"

"I'm a scientist, not a mechanic. Now, if you'll excuse
me I have some research to do, so.... " Washu heads for the
door, but finds it blocked by Kiyone and Tenchi. She finds
herself suddenly lifted into the air and she screams as she
feels Kyoto carry back to the engine core and set her down
in front of it. "Washu, please fix it! Oh please, oh
please, oh please! Fix it and make it all better!"

Mihoshi looks at Kyoto. "If that's your baby, who's the
mother?"

A collective groan is issued by the group. Kiyone gently
guides her friend and partner away towards the door. "Never
mind, Mihoshi, we'll explain it all to you later..."

Mihoshi looks at Kiyone innocently. "Are you going to have
a baby soon, Kiyone?" Kiyone tries to get angry, but finds
that she cannot. In fact, the idea sounds appealing.
Don't you agree, Tenchi? she sends to him.

Let's get married first.

Tenchi, are you proposing? she responds, teasingly.

Not quite yet, but keep your eyes open, you never know
when. His mental voice is full of amusement and affection,
and this makes Kiyone feel all warm and giggly. She feels
even more so a moment later and wraps his arms around her
waist. "Oh, Tenchi," she moans as he gently kisses up and
down the nape of her neck.

"You still haven't answered my question, Kiyone!" presses
Mihoshi, oblivious to what Tenchi and Kiyone are doing
right in front of her. "Am I going to be an aunt or a
godmother soon?"

"Not yet..." coos Kiyone, her body tingling with pleasure.
Tenchi is continuing to kiss up and down her neck in an
increasing rate of speed. By now she's turned around in his
arms, and he has one hand sliding down her back.... Sasami
walks past, sticks out her tongue, and then continues
on by. "Stop being naughty! I want to be a teenager before
I become an aunt!"

"Such a nuisance. All of this snow and ice makes for cold
travel," comments Katsuhito. "Or," he adds, "A giant snow
cone."

"A snow cone? You want one too? 'Cause you know, I'm
starving!" cries out Mihoshi, her thoughts of Kiyone
becoming a mother now forgotten.

"A snow cone does sound good," comments Sasami, having
returned to the engine room. Tenchi had just swept Kiyone
up in his arms, and is right now carrying her up to their
room. "I think someone should dump a giant snow cone on
Tenchi and Kiyone!"

Muriyaki walks into the room, a tray of cold drinks for
everyone. Mihoshi rushes up to her. "Muriyaki, Kyoto says
that the engine is his baby. Are you its mother?"

Muriyaki has an expression of surprise on her face, one she
quickly covers up. "Uh, yes, Mihoshi, I am its mother."

"Oh, I see. Do you have any pictures of it when it was
little?" gushes Mihoshi.

Muriyaki quickly shakes her head and heads over to join
Kyoto. He is still agonizing over it. "Look at this dent!"
he sobs.

Muriyaki regards the drive core, intact but currently
nonoperational. "It's all right, Kyoto. It'll just take
Washu a little while to fix it."

Up in Tenchi's room (actually Tenchi and Kiyone's room
now), the resident couple is changing out of their smoke-
and fire-stained clothing. Tenchi watches appreciatively
as his beloved wriggles out of her khakis and white
button-down shirt, exposing the skimpy undergarments.
She is about to unhook her bra when she notices Tenchi's
eyes on her. Her face mildly red, she turns her back as she
unhooks the bra. Crossing an arm over her now-naked
chest, she drops the bra on the floor. Tenchi is now trying
not to watch, without much success. He is staring,
wide-eyed, as she drops her bikini panties to the floor.
Tenchi now has to force himself to turn around, or risk
losing control. He fixes his eyes on the picture of the two
of them on his desk. In it, she is sitting in his lap,
looking so cute in her usual shorts and shrine wraparound
tunic, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, her arms around
her neck and her lips pressed against his cheek. The loving
tranquility of the picture helps to calm him somewhat.
Suddenly, he feels someone pressing against his back. A
pair of warm, loving arms are wrapping around his neck,
and a pair of warm lips are nibbling on his left ear.

"Ten-chi.... Let's do it, Tenchi."

"Kiyone! I'm shocked! This is really kinda fast." At least,
that's what he starts to say. Kiyone has pulled him down
onto the bed, and she's pushing his jeans down. When she
starts to tug at the waistband of his shorts, Tenchi
forcefully pushes Kiyone off of him.

"Kiyone, this is much too fast. We're not even ready!
We...." He can't say anything. All she's wearing is a
T-shirt of his, and, now that she is straddling him again,
he is all too aware of the absence of undergarments.
Her lips are back on his, and he feels her tongue tracing
over his lips. Self-control is failing rapidly, and he
nears the brink as he rolls on top of her. She's tugging
at his waistband. Ten-chi....don't you want me, Ten-chi?

Slowly and reluctantly, he drags himself off of her. She's
looking up at him in shock. "Tenchi, what's wrong?" She
curls up into a ball next to him. "Is it me, Tenchi? Is
there something wrong with me?"

Tenchi draws her into his arms, trying not to become
reexcited. "No, darling, there's nothing wrong with you."

"Then why won't you...." She doesn't finish the sentence.

He leans down, retrieves her panties, and helps her back
into them. "I just don't feel comfortable with it yet,
that's all. It's nothing to do with you, my Kiyone."

She looks up at him, longing in her eyes, a longing she
shares. "Don't you want me, Tenchi?"

Tenchi smiles and kisses her gently on the lips. "Oh, my
darling, more than life itself. But not yet. I want our
first time together to be special. Our wedding night."
He hesitates. "Angel, if you really want to...."

Kiyone slips into mental link mode. I'm sorry, Tenchi.
I didn't think it meant that much to you. If that's what
you want, I'll wait until it's time. A sudden thought
occurs to the future Mrs. Tenchi Masaki. Tenchi, we can
hear each other's thoughts, right?

Of course we can, darling, his mind answers reassuringly.

Can we... share thoughts, Tenchi?

His brow furrows. What did you have in mind?

Well, I know that we both have fantasies about each other,
so.... why not share one? She looks up at him, hopefully.

Tenchi smiles back. Let's try....



The two of them have been hiking in a forest for about an
hour. They're looking for a place to stop, both to get some
rest and to enjoy each other's company. Finally, they break
out of the trees to find themselves on the shore of a lake.
Kiyone cheers and stretches. "Look, Tenchi, a lake!" She
looks at him hungrily. "Wanna go for a swim, Ten-chi?"
"I'd love to, but I forgot my suit," he responds playfully.
"That's okay, I don't have mine either," she says, lying
only a little. She peels off her t-shirt, revealing
the fact that she had forgotten to put on a bra that
morning. Tenchi smiles. "They're as beautiful as ever."
"Thank you, Tenchi." She undoes the fly of her shorts and
drops them to the ground. Underneath is the skimpiest
pair of panties that he has ever seen and he gulps several
times before regaining his composure. She giggles. "You
like them, Tenchi?" He nods, almost desperately.
She kicks off her thongs and walks over to Tenchi. "You
want me to help you get undressed?" Before he can say
anything, she pushes off his shirt and yanks down his
shorts. All self-control has been lost by this point and
Tenchi, not caring anymore, tears the remainder of his
clothing off and pushes the two of them into the water.
Kiyone wriggles out of her now-soaked panties and chucks
them onto the shore. They dive under the water-- which is
surprisingly warm-- and resurface under a waterfall.
Cascading down over them is bubbly water, and they find a
smooth rock wall. Tenchi gently pushes Kiyone up against
the rock wall, spreads her legs, and slides himself in
between. She moans as the connection is made, achieving
climax almost as he enters her. "Oh, Tenchi! Oh, Tenchi!"

Finally, hours later, their desire sated for the moment,
Tenchi holds Kiyone close under the waterfall, feeling
delightfully drowsy. Kiyone is curled up in his lap, more
than half-asleep. "Tenchi?" she murmurs, as if in a dream

"Yes, Kiyone?" he asks.

"Please, don�t ever let me go, Tenchi, please don�t ever
leave me...."

"Never."



The two of them lie on the bed, feeling every bit as
satisfied and exhausted as if they actually had made love
under the waterfall. Kiyone�s head is resting on Tenchi�s
chest. Both of them are being very careful not to move,
afraid that the slightest shifting might retrigger their
desire. After a long moment, Tenchi reaches a hand up and
gently strokes the back of Kiyone�s neck. "Can you live
with this till our wedding night?" he asks.

She smiles and snuggles closer into him. "That was
wonderful, Tenchi. Yes, I think this will do just fine
until our wedding night." She giggles. "Tenchi, I have
another fantasy...."

He grins down at her. "What�s your hurry? We�ve got plenty
of time. But we�d better get up to the command deck, or
they�ll becoming in here with pregnancy tests."



* * *



On the command deck, Kyoto is checking all the onboard
systems. Muriyaki has a checklist, and she�s reading off
items for him to check. "Okay, Kyoto, next is the financial
database. Ready?"

Kyoto grunts. "I�m almost afraid to. But....here goes...."
He calls up the financial database, and is surprised
as the printer function kicks in. "What the heck...."
He tears off the sheet of hardcopy and reads it. "�Jurai
Express Card statement�....I owe....what the--how the--"

"What happened?" asks Muriyaki. She leans over to look at
the credit card statement and winces as she sees the amount
owed. "They maxed your card out?!"

Kyoto is holding the piece of paper with shaky hands. "It�s
for--oh my g--a....
a....half....million....Jurai....a....half....million....Jurai....how
can you spend half a million Jurai...." He reads the rest
of it. "Signed by....Washu! Washu did this!" He starts
to head back for the rack of firearms on the far wall, but
Muriyaki holds him back. "Now....Kyoto....control
yourself....you can�t kill her....not now....she�s
the only one who can repair the drives, remember?"

After a moment, he relents. "As always, Muriyaki, you are
my voice of reason." He sighs. "I�m gonna get her for this,
though, you know...."

"I know, I know," soothes Muriyaki. "Now, the next item on
the list is...."



Once again, the entire group has gathered on the command
deck. Washu and Kyoto are giving the damage report.

"....Basically, most everything is intact," explains
Washu. "The problem is that the surface-to-space
boosters are shot."

"Permanently?" ask Kiyone, cuddled close to Tenchi as if
for warmth.

"Most are salvageable," continues Kyoto, "but enough are
write-offs to make making orbit risky. It wouldn�t be so
bad if the exhaust vents hadn�t been welded shut by the
descent. As things stand, though, I�m loath to attempt
a lift-off and run the chance of becoming fireworks."

"Can you get the vents open?" asks Katsuhito.

"Not now. Not only did the passage through the atmosphere
fry them, but the current exterior climate is in the
process of freezing them in that position. I suppose we
could try to blow them open permanently, but that would
just present a whole new problem. What we need are some
thermal heating packs to thaw them out enough to repair
or replace, and I don�t happen to have any on hand."

Tenchi is about to ask where he intends to get some when
the realization hits him. "We have to go outside."

Kyoto nods, as if a teacher pleased with a prize pupil�s
answer. "Exactly. According to the uplink, we�re only--"
he rechecks the computer, confirming that it still has a
link to the observation satellite in orbit, and checks
comparative positions. "--about twenty-five kilometers
from the capital, the place with the highest concentration
of people and heat, and I�m certain we�ll be able to find
what we need there."

"But what about the radiation?" asks Ayeka.

"I have land vehicles here, and plenty of antirad serum
on hand," says Kyoto reassuringly. "And if you�re worried
about money, I can�t think of anyplace that won�t take
gold." He looks around the group. "Safety in numbers,
so I think most of us should go--excusing you and your
daughters, Muriyaki. Just hang tight and relax here. We
probably should also leave a couple others here...."

Kiyone and Tenchi start to volunteer, but Kyoto cuts them
off with an amused look. "You wish. I don�t need any
children being born. I�ll leave the Guardians, you guys
don�t get enough rest as is...." He looks at Washu.
"Professor, I don�t think you�ll be able to contribute
much out there, but I need you to continue working on the
engines. And Sasami, you probably should--"

"No!" insists Sasami. "I want to come along. I don�t wanna
be cooped up in here anymore!"

Kyoto looks at Ayeka. "You�ll watch after her?"

Ayeka nods. "Of course. She is my sister."

"All right, let�s get dressed. It�s gonna be cold out
there...."



* * *



The large, van-like personnel carrier pulls to a stop in
the outskirts of the capital city. As expected, Ayeka
starts to complain. "Why can�t we drive the rest of the way
into the city?"

Behind the wheel, Kyoto sighs. "As I�ve told you before,
Ayeka, we can�t risk driving it in. We don�t know what the
response would be. We�re parking it in this old warehouse
to hide it from prying eyes." He rests a hand on the hatch
release. "Everyone roll up your sleeves." He produces
a ballpoint pen-like injector. "Who�s first?"

Tenchi produces his exposed forearm and winces slightly
as the antiradiation serum starts to course through his
veins. "How long is this stuff good for?"

Kyoto sets to reloading the injector. "About twelve hours.
I�ll carry the injector and enough refills to give everyone
another dose. God willing, we won�t be out there that
long." He raises the injector again. "Next!"

Soon the entire group, wrapped in several layers of parkas
and thermal clothing, clambers out of the transport.
Kiyone and Mihoshi, still chilled through their heavy
clothing, are clinging to each other to share warmth until
they see Tenchi, and then they start to cling to him. Ayeka
and Ryoko are also forced to huddle together for warmth.
Katsuhito is walking along calmly, as if the biting cold
is beneath his notice. Nobuyuki is obviously freezing--they
can hear his teeth chattering. Sasami is riding atop
Kyoto�s shoulders, making sure that he doesn�t do anything
naughty. For once, she is unaccompanied by an Ohki, all of
them having remained behind aboard Chisako.

Everyone--except, of course, for Sasami-- is packing a
weapon in one fashion or another. Tenchi has his sword
resting inside his jacket�s outside pocket, within easy
reach. Kiyone and Mihoshi have their GP-issue laser pistols
similarly situated on their bodies. Ryoko and Ayeka�s
defense systems are always at the ready, and Katsuhito
is carrying his battered but durable bokken (wooden sword).
Everyone has agreed that the only weapon Nobuyuki is
capable of using effectively is a blunted wooden war club,
and he�s swinging it around, as if to ward off enemies.

They have walked about ten blocks, and found the city to be
largely deserted. Kyoto, bringing up the rear, is about
to suggest that they take a right turn at the next
intersection when he feels something pressing into his
back. Not knowing what it is, he reaches behind him to
brush it away, only to hear an unmistakable click. Almost
simultaneously he hears a young, female voice say, "Drop
your weapon, and stand still."

Kyoto has no choice. He slowly reaches into the folds of
his cloak and draws his dai-katana (samurai longsword)
out of its sheath, and then drops it on the ground. He
repeats the action a moment later with the Heckler & Koch
9mm USP under his left armpit.

Hearing the sound of his weapons hitting the pavement,
Ryoko and Ayeka turn to see what the hell he�s doing, only
to be stopped themselves by a pair of rifle-wielding
urchins. Within minutes everyone in the group has been
captured. Their captors are about a dozen teenagers
(the youngest looks about twelve, the oldest barely
nineteen) wrapped in heavy windbreakers and scarves.
While looking very young, they all seem disturbingly
comfortable with their weapons, a collection of Galaxy
Police-issue laser guns and vicious-looking automatic
rifles. The group�s weapons are gathered in a small pile
at the youngest robber�s feet.

Kyoto is cursing himself for not being better prepared.
Dammit dammit dammit! I should have anticipated this! I
should have--wait. He realizes that Sasami is still sitting
on his shoulders, and that the scarf is obscuring his face,
leaving a sliver of visibility for his eyes. The germ of a
plan starts to form in his head, totally dependent on
Sasami....

The group of youth immediately quiets down. A female
figure, wrapped in a large white parka with the fur-lined
hood pulled up to keep the face out of the cold--or to hide
it--walks up to the group, the Juraian equivalent of an
M-16 slung over one shoulder. She has an air of quiet
authority about her, one that is not lost on the armed
delinquents, who snap to attention with preciseness
that could give any honor guard outfit a run for its money.
The figure "at eases" the kids, and then walks over to
inspect the group of captives. All of them are wearing
heavy parkas with the hoods pulled up to protect the faces
from wind or rain, so her cursory examination doesn�t
reveal much. She then walks up to the apparent leader of
the group, an almost unnaturally tall woman with a very
masculine figure and--quite literally--the head and face
of a young girl. "Hmm....all right, take them back to your
base. If you don�t find anything amiss, release them. We�re
not in the business of killing innocents."

Tenchi immediately recognizes her voice, but manages to
hide his surprise.

The woman is looking up at the leader. Sasami, from her
vantage point as the "head," starts to get a feeling about
this woman, a feeling of something familiar. Unexpectedly
she hears a voice in her head, one she immediately
recognizes as Kyoto�s. Sasami, when I start to shift
around, jump! This is the only way we�ll be able to get out
of this. Please, Sasami, if not for my sake, then for the
sake of everyone else. Abruptly, Kyoto starts to roll his
shoulders, and Sasami fulfills his wish.

The woman is about to gently guide the "girl" forward
to join her friends when her head and abnormally large neck
and shoulders disappear. They are replaced by a man�s head,
with long green hair and brass-colored eyes. Before she can
react, he lunges forward and grabs her arms, pinning them
behind her back. Holding them back with one hand, he
reaches for her rifle. Grabbing the handgrip, he clacks
off the safety and pushes the muzzle up under her chin.
"Now put your guns down like good little boys and girls,
or mommy gets it."

The kids hesitate for a moment, then drop their weapons.
Kyoto throws the rifle away, and then releases the woman�s
arms. Turning her around gently, he says, "We won�t hurt
you if you won�t hurt us. All we�re looking for are some
thermal heating packs." He notes that her hood is still
up. "I prefer to see who I�m dealing with." He reaches
up to push it back, and she catches his hand. He smiles
gently. "It�s okay. We have no intention of hurting you.
But I would like to see your face."

She stands there for a long moment, not moving, then
finally sighs and pushes back the hood, to reveal....

Kiyone.

But not the Kiyone they know. There�s a difference.
Maybe it�s the air of hopelessness and despondency
about her. Maybe it�s the way she keeps fingering her
weapon, as if fighting off the urge to stick the muzzle
into her mouth and pull the trigger. Or maybe it�s just the
crude scar in a rude likeness of Jurai stitched into her
left cheek.

This Kiyone (for purposes of distinction, we will be
referring to her as Kiyone(b)) looks up at Kyoto with a
look of disbelief and....can that be....love? "Kyoto!"
She hurls herself forward into his arms. Holding tightly
to him, she looks up at him almost dreamily. "Oh, darling,
I was so afraid we�d lost you, I was so afraid you were
dead, but you�re back now and...." She sees him looking
down at her, looking down at the scarring on her cheek,
and she turns her gaze down. "I�m sorry about this."

Kyoto is rocked to the core by what has just happened,
and before he quite knows what he�s doing, he has wrapped
his arms around this Kiyone and pulled her close. "Ssshhh,
Kiyone, it�s all right." He smiles down at her. "Should
that make a difference?"

Instead of responding with words, she jumps up, throws
her arms around his neck, and starts to kiss him. Her lips
taste sweet and tangy, and his arms have locked around
her instinctively. A shocking realization hits him. Yes,
he�s enjoying this, but not merely sexually. Something
about this Kiyone has triggered a....nurturing
impulse inside of him. He only feels this when he....when
he�s fallen in love, when he�s met a woman that he knows
he�s going to marry. Kyoto has been married a number of
times over the millennia, and he has loved and cherished
each wife as if she were the only woman in the
universe--and meant it. The greatest tragedies in his life
have been when he has been forced to watch his wives be
interred during a funeral, knowing that he would be denied
even the comfort of death so he join could them.
Immortality can be a curse....

She has dropped back to her feet and is now snuggling
into his embrace. "Thank God. Thank God you�ve finally
come back to me, my sweet Kyoto. I just know everything�s
going to--" She looks up at him again, and gasps. "My God!
Kyoto, what happened to you?" She is tracing a finger over
the center of his forehead. "What did they do to your
forehead marking? When we rescued Ayeka and Sasami, they
said nothing about this kind of torture for members of the
Royal Family...."

While Tenchi and company still have their hoods pulled
up, there is an air of shock floating over them.

Kiyone(b) motions to the now-unarmed kids. "It�s all right.
He�s a....friend. Go on back to your base."

The apparent leader of the group starts to protest. "But,
Lieutenant Commander, what about--" He cuts himself off at
a look from her, but gestures at Kyoto�s group.

Kiyone(b) looks at Kyoto. "They�re friends," he says
simply.

Kiyone(b) turns back to the leader. "They�re friends.
Now, go on." Still looking somewhat mystified, the group
of armed urchins turns and heads down the street, aiming
for the wreckage of a large skyscraper. Kiyone(b) snuggles
back up to Kyoto and holds up her left hand. When she pulls
off the glove, everyone can see a 20K gold ring with a
diamond solitaire. "See, Kyoto, I still have our engagement
ring...." She remembers his forehead, and starts to gently
caress it. "My poor Kyoto....they didn�t give you a brand,
but they stole your forehead marking....and there�s not
even a scar....I would have thought they wouldn�t touch
any members of the Royal Family...." She turns to his
friends and smiles. "It�s all right, take off your hoods.
You�re among friends."

After a minute the hoods come off. And Kiyone(b)�s
jaw falls open.

"Oh my....*Director General Tenchi!" She runs up and
embraces Tenchi, and Kiyone(a) finds herself in the strange
position of being jealous....of herself. She winces as
Kiyone(b) gives Tenchi a kiss on the cheek. "When *Prime
Center was destroyed, we thought you were dead, but you�re
here and alive with Kyoto. The princesses will be so
happy!"

She then moves to the young lady next to Tenchi. "Welcome
to Jurai. I--" She suddenly realizes that she�s looking
at....herself. "How....where....why....who
are you?�

Kiyone(a) smiles and offers her hand to her mirror image.
"Hi, Kiyone. I�m....Kiyone."

Kiyone(b) reaches out a tentative hand, and is somewhat
shocked to see that the other Kiyone is real. "Pleased
to meet you, I think...." She looks at Kyoto with a
confused expression. "Just two questions. Number one: Are
you and her...."

Kyoto and Kiyone(a) quickly shake their heads. "N-N-No,"
stammers Kiyone(a). "I�m w-wi-with Tenchi." To punctuate
this, she takes Tenchi�s arms and wraps them around her
waist.

Relieved, Kiyone(b) exhales deeply. "All right....Okay,
question number two: What the hell is going on here?" Her
tone has not changed much, but the words make the entire
group wince.

Kyoto sighs. He had been hoping that he could keep up this
charade for a while, maybe get the two of them all
alone....He pushes that thought aside violently and looks
intently at Kiyone(b). "I�m not sure you want to hear the
answer to that, Kiyone."

She raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh, do tell." She is about
to say more, but her eyes fall on the rest of the
group--specifically, Mihoshi and Nobuyuki. Inexplicably,
she screams in rage and charges toward them, raising her
rifle. She is barely yanked back by Kyoto and Tenchi.

"Lemme go! Lemme go!" she snarls, fighting both her
captors. They don�t until they�ve pulled the rifle from her
grasp. Once free, she spins and rakes her nails across
Kyoto�s face, drawing blood.

"Hey! Don�t do--oww!" Tenchi had started to step in to try
to pull her back, only to receive the same treatment
that Kiyone(b) had given Kyoto. He recoils, reaching
a hand up to feel the blood trickling down his cheek.

"Tenchi!" screams Kiyone(a). She is immediately by his
side, dabbing at the blood with a handkerchief.
He smiles at her and ruffles her hair slightly. "Thanks,
Kiyone."

By now, Kyoto is restraining Kiyone(b) from rushing at
Mihoshi and Nobuyuki, who are cringing in terror. "Calm
down, Kiyone! Why�re you trying to kill them?"

She glares at him in disbelief. "Why the hell are you
protecting them?! Don�t you remember what they did to us,
to Jurai, to the whole fricking galaxy?!"

"What are you talking about?" asks Kyoto blankly.

"�What am I talking about?!� What, you don�t know? I
suppose you�re gonna tell me next that you�re from another
dimension!" She stops speaking triumphantly, and is
nonplused when Kyoto doesn�t speak. Then....she realizes
what he�s saying, be it ever so silently. "You�re
joking...."

Kyoto shakes his head, still holding the slashed cheek.
"No, I�m afraid I�m quite serious. We are from another
dimension." She sees the look on her face, but he cuts her
off. "Before you say anything, could your Kyoto do this?"
He pulls his hand away from his right cheek to reveal an
undamaged cheek. No scars, no blood, nothing.

Kiyone(b), now even more baffled, reaches up to caress
his cheek. She feels nothing but unblemished skin. "But
how....that�s impossible....my Kyoto couldn�t have done
that, but you just did and...." She sighs, then nods
slightly. "Okay, maybe you are, but I need more proof.
May I ask those two--" She indicates Nobuyuki and Mihoshi.
"--a couple of questions?"

"Go right ahead," replies Kyoto.

Kiyone(b) walks over to Nobuyuki and Mihoshi. She smiles
gently at the two of them. "Don�t worry, I�m not gonna hurt
you. I just want to ask you a few questions."

She turns to Nobuyuki first. "All right, Nobuyuki. What are
the security codes to remote-deactivate Jurai�s orbital
defense platforms--back when Jurai had ODPs, that is?"

Nobuyuki stares at her in confusion. "What�s an orbital
defense platform? Why would I have the codes for one?"

Kiyone(b) blinks. "He could be playing dumb, but I somehow
doubt it. All right, then: How many superdreadnoughts
did you commit to the destruction of Prime Center, and how
many surrendered craft did you destroy?"

If anything, Nobuyuki looks more confused. "What are you
talking about? I�ve never been to Prime Center! Say, what
is Prime Center, anyway?"

Kiyone(b) stares at him with wide eyes for a long moment,
then nods shakily. "Okay, I�m almost convinced...."
She faces Mihoshi. "Mihoshi, you
are--were--whatever....anyway,
as DirGen Tenchi�s administrative assistant, you would have
had access to the access codes that controlled Prime
Center�s defenses. What are they?"

Mihoshi has a typically Mihoshi-ish expression on her
face--that is, a completely blank one. "Huh? I don�t have
Prime Center�s codes! Did you lose them, or something,
Kiyone?"

Somehow, Kiyone(b) cannot bring herself not to believe
Mihoshi. "All right, Mihoshi. When was the last time you
and Tenchi had sex?�

Everyone is looking at Kiyone(b) and Mihoshi in utter
shock. Red-faced, Mihoshi manages, "Why would I have sex
with Tenchi? Tenchi�s your boyfriend, Kiyone. You�re
supposed to have sex with him...."

Kiyone(a) blushes and wraps Tenchi�s arms tighter around
her as everyone else chuckles at this.

Kiyone(b) finds herself almost amused at this little
action. "Okay, you�ve sold me." She gestures at the rest
of the group. "I�m sorry, you guys."

Tenchi manages to smile, only wincing slightly as Kiyone(a)
gently wipes his left cheek with a regeneration
gel-moistened rag. "Don�t worry about it." His smile grows
wider as Kiyone(a) finishes wiping and kisses the cheek.
"There. All better."

Kiyone(b) now looks a little disappointed, an expression
she covers up a split-second after Kyoto notes it.
"I....there are so many questions I need to ask you. For
starters, where did you guys come from?"

Kyoto gives her a tender smile, one that she cannot resist
returning. "In our dimension, Jurai is green and fertile
and....undamaged. What happened here?"

Kiyone(b)�s face grows wistful at the sudden reminder
of Jurai�s original state, and abruptly goes hard again.
"Earth happened here."

"Earth?!?!" cries out everyone.

"Yes, Earth," repeats Kiyone(b). She looks around and notes
the collective look of shock. "Why is this such a shock
to you all?"

"Well," explains Tenchi, "where we come from, Earth
is....isolated, a backwater system of little importance.
It doesn�t even have any faster-than-light drives." He
feels slightly chagrined to speak of his homeworld is such
unglowing terms, but he knows his words are truth.

"Oh, I wish that were the case here," laments Kiyone(b).
"In this universe, Jurai fought a long and bloody war with
Earth. They took over the *Galaxy Federation and destroyed
Prime Center, replaced the GF with what they called the
Fourth Reich, corrupted the Galaxy Police and killed the
officers who wouldn�t turn, and rained strontium-clad
nukes down on Jurai." She sighs sadly. "So many dead...."
Automatically, Kyoto places a hand on her shoulder.
She covers it with one of her own.

"Wait a minute," interrupts Kyoto. "You said a �Fourth
Reich.� Who was leading Earth?"

"Adolph Hitler," responds Kiyone(b).

Kyoto and Tenchi exchange shocked looks. "Where we come
from, Adolph Hitler was defeated during our Second World
War."

"Well," responds Kiyone(b) bitterly, "this isn�t were you
came from." She sighs. "I�m sorry, I don�t mean to snap."

Kyoto gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "It�s not your
fault."

Her expression softens. "Next question: how did you get
here? I know you used a ship," she hastily amends, "but how
did you get to this dimension?"

"Our ship�s fold drive malfunctioned," explains Tenchi.

"�Fold drive?�" repeats Kiyone(b). "When I was at the
Galaxy Police Academy, we studied spacefold theory. It was
though that it would be centuries before such a system
would even be feasible, let alone cheap enough for general
use...."

"Evidently someone made it feasible," comments Ryoko dryly.
"By the way, you were in the Galaxy Police?"

Kiyone(b) nods. "I served a term in the GP, got up to
Detective Lieutenant, before deciding to come home to
Jurai. When I got home, I was offered a commission
as a fighter wing commander aboard the royal flagship.
Near the end of the war I was the captain of the flagship,
until the damned Fourth Reich killed our main fleet at the
Battle of *Anopon Prime. I came this close--" She holds
her thumb and another finger about a millimeter apart.
"--to blowing the flagship and taking that damned Nagi with
me before their SS stormed the bridge and--"

"Nagi?!" cries out Ryoko again. "What was Nagi doing
there?"

"Nagi is--was--Hitler�s chief fleet commander," explains
Kiyone(b). "Before he died, he marked her as his
successor." She starts to shiver. "Can we continue this
conversation elsewhere? The cold is starting to get to me,
and my antirads won�t last forever."

"Neither will ours," agrees Kyoto. "Where do you suggest
we go?"

Kiyone(b) points to a nearby skyscraper. "That building�s
power still works. We can wait there for our lift."

"What lift?" asks Kiyone(a).

"This one." Kiyone(b) pulls a cell phone-like radio from
a pocket. "Tango five-deuce-niner, this is Alpha
one-one-deuce. Request pickup at Tower Six in thirty.
Over."

"Roger that, Alpha double-one deuce," calls back a calm
male voice. "Just you, or will you bringing any guests?"

"Roger guests, about--" Kiyone(b) takes a minute to count
the group. "--nine. Bring the limo."

A chuckle on the other end. "Roger that, double-one
deuce. See ya in thirty."

Satisfied, Kiyone(b) replaces the radio and turns back to
the group, smiling. "This way."

Kiyone(b) is half right. The building still has power,
but the power to the elevators cuts out every few floors,
so they end up having to hike half the way up.

"How much farther?" pants Ayeka as they get out of yet
another dead elevator.

Kiyone(b) checks the floor number. "Only ten more to go
till we reach the roof." She motions to a stairwell.
"Let�s go!"

Ayeka is about to flip into the "I am a princess of
Jurai...." routine when Ryoko slaps a hand over her mouth.
"If I carry you up, Ayeka, will you shut up?" Ayeka nods,
and Ryoko throws her over her shoulder and floats towards
the door.

Tenchi is already carrying a tired Sasami on his back, and
he has a tired Kiyone(a) on his arm, so he lets the
relatively untired Mihoshi, Nobuyuki, and Katsuhito
head up the stairs first. Kiyone(a) looks up at him with
a tired smile on her face. "What a gentleman you are,
Tenchi," she coos.

Though exhausted, Sasami has enough strength to admonish
the young couple. "Don�t be naughty now! I�m still on
Tenchi�s back!"

Kyoto and Kiyone(b), who have been bringing up the rear,
laugh at this. "Get on up the stairs, you three," instructs
Kyoto.

Kiyone(a) steps behind Tenchi and pulls Sasami off. "You�ve
been carrying her for a long time now. Let me take over."

Kyoto smiles as the three off them make their way up the
stairs. "Ah, young love...."

"How long have they been going together?" asks Kiyone(b).

Kyoto makes a show of counting on his fingers until his
companion laughs, and then answers with a smile.
"About....a month. Sasami teases them about �being naughty�
all the time. They�re a good match, though. The only
surprising thing, in my opinion, is that she�s not wearing
an engagement ring yet, and I think he�ll take care of that
when we stop in a dimension with a jewelry store. They�ll
end up raising Sasami one of these days...."

Kiyone(b) laughs at this. She then looks at Kyoto, and a
wistful expression drifts over her face. "So," she says,
deliberately keeping her tone light, "which of those girls
are you involved with?"

Kyoto�s eyes widen slightly at the question, and it takes
him a moment to respond. "I�m afraid I�m single. There
hasn�t been a Mrs. Kyoto for quite a long time." He looks
at her intently. "Why do you ask?"

She shakes her head and smiles. "I�ll tell you later. You
remind me so much of my Kyoto, I find it hard to believe
that you�re not....attached." He senses that the last word
was not what she�d meant to say.

He smiles. "Your Kyoto was a very lucky man. Tell me about
him...."





And so she does. This universe�s Kyoto was born the First
Crown Prince of Jurai. When he turned eighteen , he joined
the Galaxy Police, to gain military experience and "see the
galaxy." However, he found that he enjoyed being a GP
detective more than he would have being the Emperor,
and so he abdicated his right to the throne and passed
it to his eldest sister, Ayeka. He rose high in the Galaxy
Police; by the time of the Battle of Jurai (which was
something of a draw; Jurai and the remaining GP had lost
the war, but they made it clear that trying to invade Jurai
would cost Hitler his entire fleet, so he didn�t, choosing
a planetary bombardment instead) he was the Chief of the
Jurai Regional Headquarters. He met Kiyone(b) during his
second term of service. At first they were merely friends,
drawn together by their mutual heritage (Kiyone(b)
was the eldest daughter of a noble family) and homeland,
but it quickly blossomed into more, and they had planned
to marry when the war broke out. During the Battle of
Jurai, the orbital GP station that he and Lord Admiral
Azusa, commander of the Juraian Navy, had been running
the war from was blown up. However, that was after its
defenses had been knocked out and it had been boarded,
so no one was sure if Kyoto or Azusa had been killed or
captured. Many of Jurai�s high-ranking military officers,
including Kiyone(b), had been captured and herded into
concentration camps on Jurai�s arctic-like outer moon, then
dumped back on Jurai after the bombing. And now, they make
up the core of the Resistance�s leadership.





Kyoto shakes his head. "And so that�s why you have that
Jurai tattooed on your left cheek. I had no idea...."

Kiyone(b) shakes her head. "It�s history. Nowadays,
these--" She points at her left cheek. "--they�re a symbol
of why we fight. To keep this from happening again, and to
get vengeance for those who lost their lives along the way.
It�s taken us nearly five years to gather our forces,
but--" She cuts herself with a sharp shake of the head.

This makes Kyoto laugh. "Hey, I�m not gonna run to Earth
and whisper this in Nagi�s ear. If you can help us repair
our ship, we�ll help you fight."

She gives him a wry look. "Thanks, but what good is just
one more ship?"

Kyoto smiles broadly. "You�ve never seen my Chisako...."

Ryoko�s head appears through the ceiling. "Hey, come on,
you guys, our ride�s here." Her head disappears back
through the ceiling.

Kiyone(b) sighs. "Let�s go." She and Kyoto start to walk
up the stairs. As they approach the doorway, he stops her.
"Just one thing. What I said earlier--about your Kyoto
being a lucky guy--I meant it. I wish I was lucky enough
to find a girl like you."

She smiles at him. "Maybe...." She falls silent and pushes
the door open. Sitting on a helipad in the center of the
rooftop is a mid-sized helicopter with stubby wings and jet
engines on either side of the cabin and a pulse-laser
on a rotating turret under the forward cabin. The rest of
the group has already crammed into the cramped passenger
cabin, leaving Kyoto and Kiyone(b) to bring up the rear.

Once inside, they find all but one of the seats taken.
As is, some people are sitting in laps--Kiyone(a)
in Tenchi�s, Sasami in Ayeka�s. Kyoto grins at Kiyone(b).
"Well?"

Kiyone(b) smiles slowly. "My Kyoto would always pull stunts
like this, too." Without warning she pushes him down into
the seat and drops into his lap. She then pulls the
restraint straps tight over the two of them. Finally she
hits a switch on the bulkhead, and the hatch rolls shut
with a definitive-sounding clank. The helicopter�s
rotors start to turn and the aircraft gracefully lifts off
the pad and swings around in a long arc before the jet
engines rumble to life and push everyone back into their
seats.

After a long moment, the internal dampers kick on and they
find the press of acceleration dissipating. Tenchi yawns
loudly, drawing a giggle and a kiss on the cheek from
Kiyone(a). Sasami has curled up against Ayeka and is dozing
softly, while Ayeka gently strokes her hair and whispers
a Juraian lullaby. Mihoshi is also asleep, resting her head
against the window and starting to drool. Nobuyuki and
Katsuhito are talking in hushed tones while Ryoko is
staring out the window. From time to time she shoots subtle
glares at Kyoto and Kiyone(b). She�s sitting in his lap,
and it looks like both of them are enjoying it. Her head
is even resting on his shoulder, and her eyes are closed.
For some reason, Ryoko finds herself not caring one bit for
this situation. Not that Kyoto means anything to her,
but....does he? She quickly pushes that thought away.

Soon the chopper is on final approach to her destination,
a deserted-looking air base some ways away from the capital
(Ironically enough, thinks Kyoto, it�s on the other side
of the town where we crashed). It sets down next to a
dilapidated-looking hangar.

"What are we doing here?" asks Ayeka, using a soft tone so
as not to awaken Sasami.

"You�ll see," answers Kiyone(b). She pulls out her radio
again, and punches in a four-digit code. Abruptly the
ground beneath them starts to shift, and the sleepers
are jolted awake as the chopper starts to sink into the
ground. "What�s happening, Ayeka?" cries a frightened
Sasami, burying her face in her sister�s insubstantial
bosom.

Kiyone(b) places a reassuring hand on Sasami�s shoulder.
"Don�t worry, Sasami. It�s just an elevator. Most of the
base is underground."

After about five minutes of descent, the "elevator"
grinds to a stop. The hatches swing open, and as they climb
out, a loudspeaker announces, "Please remain still for
antirad sweep." Almost simultaneously, a hazy wave of red
light shoots down from the ceiling and washes over everyone
on the platform. Thirty seconds pass, and then the
loudspeaker announces, "Antirad sweep complete. Thank you
for your cooperation."

Kiyone(b) smiles at everyone. "You see, this is the only
completely radiation-free place on Jurai, and we'd really
like to keep it that way." She shoots a quirky grin at the
chopper pilot. "Smooth flying as always, Amarube."

The flyer, a guy in his twenties with several piercings
across his face and a blond mohawk, blushes slightly.
"Thanks, chief. You�d better run, Big K wants to see you,
and I mean now."

One side of the chamber rolls away, and the platform
rumbles forward into a cavernous hangar bay. Inside are
literally hundreds of fighter and bomber craft,
predominantly models built to fly and fight in both
atmosphere and space. There are also various supply and
transport craft, even a few dedicated-space gunships,
and all the aerospacecraft are in various states of
disrepair. Stockpiles of munitions are being loaded onto
the readied craft, while repair techs are working like mad
on the ones that aren't ready. Also present are ground
vehicles--hovertanks, attack jeeps, and the like. Thousands
of people are rushing though the huge chamber on various
errands. Standing on the far side, dressed in khakis and
carrying a large-caliber GP laser pistol in a well-worn
side holster, is....Katsuhito.

There are differences, of course. He has the crude likeness
of Jurai carved into his left cheek, and his right eye is
covered by a patch. The calm air of authority exuded by
Tenchi's grandfather is still present, but it has been
laced with an almost brittle determination, as if the only
thing keeping him sane is the hope--however faint--of
winning the impending battle. He is poring over the planned
deployment of his precious few gunships when he hears a
familiar voice at his side. "Commander?" He turns to see
Kiyone, his trusted second-in-command, standing next to
him. "Oh, Kiyone, what is it? I heard you were bringi--"
His voice trails off as he sees the figures standing
next to her. "Oh my g....It can't be....you can't be...."
He stares at Tenchi and Kyoto for a long moment, then,
almost hesitantly, steps forward and places a hand on
Kyoto's shoulder. "How....?"

Kyoto smiles patiently. "I'm afraid we're not them. I mean,
I am Kyoto Minamoto, and this is Tenchi Masaki, but we're
not the ones you knew. We're from another dimension."

Katsuhito (you guessed it, "B") notes the curious onlookers
starting to gather around. "Not here," he murmurs, leading
Kiyone(b) and her guests into a nearby briefing room. He
locks the door and turns back to them. "Now, you're from
where?!"

"Another dimension," answers Tenchi. "I can appreciate
how strange this must seem for you, but it is quite true."

"Really?" Katsuhito(b) is struggling to keep an open mind,
but he can't keep a slight note of sarcasm from slipping
into his voice. "Forgive me for sounding skeptical,
but I would like some proo--" His eyes suddenly fall on
Nobuyuki and Mihoshi, and his expression hardens. "What
the hell are they doing here?!" he demands, starting
to draw his gun.

"You don't need to do that," responds a calm,
authoritative, familiar voice, and Katsuhito(b) cannot
keep his mouth from dropping open as he finds himself
facing himself. "What the....how the....are you....me?"

Katsuhito(a) chuckles. "In a matter of speaking. But these
two--" He indicates Nobuyuki and Mihoshi, who are clinging
to each other in terror. "--are not the criminals you seek.
We truly are from another dimension."

"It's true," answers Kiyone(b). "I slapped this Kyoto with
my nails, and when he took his hand away, there were no
scars, no blood, no nothing." She motions to Ayeka. "Call
Ayeka in right now. You'll see that--" She suddenly falls
silent, as if just remembering something. "My god, I
forgot." Her voice is now somewhat more timid. "How
is....Sasami?"

Katsuhito(b) sighs, and another decade of time seems to
descend on his shoulders. "No change. Doc Mitsuki has her
stabilized for the moment, but it won't last....and
neither will she. Mitsuki estimates....another
week at best, if we keep her on life support." He looks
again at Tenchi and Kyoto. "If my second in command vouches
for you, I'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt.
But I would still like some proof. May ask them some
questions?" he inquires, indicating the still-cowering
Nobuyuki and Mihoshi.

"Go ahead," replies Tenchi. "Be gentle, though. Being
called homicidal maniacs doesn't do much for their
self-esteem."

Grunting in humor at the aside, Katsuhito(b) steps over to
Nobuyuki and Mihoshi. "I'll make this quick," he announces
briskly. "Nobuyuki. How many strontium-clad nuclear weapons
did you have dropped on Jurai?"

Nobuyuki looks up at him in shock. "Why do you guys keep
asking me this stuff? I didn't drop any bombs on anybody!"

Katsuhito(b) watches him for a moment, then nods "You're
right. The Nobuyuki who dropped the bombs would have been
one to boast about it." He then turns to Mihoshi. "Mihoshi.
Have you ever had sex with Tenchi?"

"No!" wails Mihoshi. "I haven't had sex with Tenchi! He's
Kiyone's boyfriend! She's supposed to have sex with him!"

Kiyone(a) is somewhat red-faced. "Mihoshi, please don't
talk anymore about sex and Tenchi...."

Tenchi is also blushing. "Um, can we please change the
subject?" He suddenly feels something being pressed into
his hand, and finds a foil-wrapped packet laying in his
palm. "What is this?"

A second later, Tenchi feels the heated breath of Kyoto
whispering in his ear. "It's only good for one round. Come
to me if you need more." Tenchi jerks away, an expression
of horror on his face.

"Tenchi, what's that?' asks Kiyone(a). She looks more
curious than embarrassed.

"You don't know?" asks Tenchi, slowly.

"No, I've seen something like that before. Is it one of
those packages of hand wipes?" The tone of her voice and
the expression on her face makes it clear that she is
serious.

Tenchi leans over and whispers in her ear. A second later,
Kiyone(a) pulls away, red-faced, again. "Why would you need
one of those?"

Before Tenchi can open his mouth and save the little face
he has left, Kyoto pipes up. "It's a condom. Guys wear them
on.... you know, so that when they have sex their mate
won't have children. What surprises me is that out of all
people, you would be the one who hasn't seen one."

Before Kiyone(a) can respond, Mihoshi makes her way over.
"Tenchi, why are you holding a condom in your hand?"

Kiyone(a)'s blush has slightly abated. "Tenchi, don't you
have reversible sterilizations on Earth?"

Tenchi shakes his head. And, after staring at the small,
silver packet for a couple of seconds, he turns to Kyoto
and slaps it back into his hand. "I don't think we'll need
this." Tenchi can already feel Kiyone(a) snuggling up
underneath his left arm.

"Tenchi, I'm surprised. I thought you said that you wanted
to wait until we were married to have kids. Do you want
them right now?"

Tenchi smiles, then kisses Kiyone(a) on the top of the
head. "No. I'm still going to wait. So, I really don't have
any need for a condom."

"Moving on," says Katsuhito(b) hurriedly, "I think I'm as
convinced as I'm going to get. Give me a minute, and I'll
get the rest of my command staff together for you guys to
consult with. Tell me, is there any particular kind of
assistance you can offer us-- Not to be rude or anything,
but just so we know?"

"Would a ship that's more powerful than an entire fleet
of Juraian dreadnoughts be of any help?" asks Kyoto
amusedly. Katsuhito(b)'s eyebrows shoot up. "It certainly
would. What's the catch?"

"Not much," replies Kyoto. "We just need you to help us
thaw it out and repair the damage to the ventral intakes.
Somebody shot a missile up the master vent and welded it
shut." He notes the suddenly appearance of a sheepish
expression on Katsuhito(b)'s face. "What's wrong?"

"Ummmm...." Katsuhito(b) looks very embarrassed,
and when he speaks it is very slowly. "I.... think that
that missile........ might'a been........ ours? Sorry!"

Kyoto hangs his head. "I might have known. Forget it. Just
help us fix it!" Kiyone(b) shifts towards the door. "I'm
going to go check on Sasami, if you guys'll excuse me...."

"Wait." Kyoto comes up to her. "May I go with you?" After
a moment, she nods and they walk out of the room together.



* * *



In a private room in the base's medical center, Princess
Ayeka(b) is sitting vigil over her ill younger sister,
Sasami. Unlike her counterpart in our universe, this
Ayeka(b) has no compunction about keeping herself
immaculate, and she's dressed in a khaki uniform similar
to Katsuhito(b)'s. She has long since forsaken the long
twin ponytails, adopting a shoulder-length cut. She's not
moved from her seat for over 72 hours and weariness
is starting to overtake her. She is about to fall asleep
herself when she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder.
And then she hears Doctor Mitsuki's gentle voice say,
"Princess, you've been sitting here for almost three days.
You really should go to bed and get some rest, or you'll
wind up like your sister."

"How is she?" asks the princess, at a tone similar to the
frantic mother who believes that nothing can be done to
save her child.

The resistance's chief medical officer sighs. "Ayeka,
we've been over this a hundred times before. We can't beat
this. If we'd known.... I've been a doctor for over a
decade and I've never seen anything as virulent as this
combination radiation sickness/flu."

"But I thought you said there was a cure?" cries out
Ayeka(b).

"There is a cure, but it's on Earth! All we have is the
vaccine for it. And even if we did have the cure on hand,
she is so far advanced in this that I'm not sure that the
cure would do any good. As things stand, even the regen
tanks can't keep up with this and it would be torture
to leave her in there full time, and that's the only thing
that might even halt this. Right now, life support is the
only thing keeping her alive."

The doctor doesn't say her last thought, and she doesn't
have to. Ayeka(b) knows what her long-time friend would
recommend. While she doesn't want her little sister to
suffer any more, she can't bring herself to....

".....Take her off life support? We can't, Mitsuki, she
still might have a chance if we can get the antidote!"

Mitsuki shakes her head. "Ayeka, everyone knows that what
we're attempting is a long shot at best. Do you really
want to make Sasami suffer for another few weeks? She's
wracked with pain as it is. I can't tell you what's going
on inside her hurting mind, but I can tell you that she
doesn't want to suffer anymore." Her voice softens. "I
don't want to do this either, but does Sasami want us not
to?"

After a long moment, Ayeka(b) nods. She is about to say the
words that will end her sister's life when she hears the
door slide open. She doesn't turn to see who it is until
she hears Mitsuki gasp. At the same time she feels a hand
on her shoulder and a familiar voice say, "Hello.....
sister."

Ayeka(b) shoots out of her chair and spins around. "Kyoto!"
Her right hand comes up in a right arc and slashes across
his cheek, drawing blood for the second time that day.
"Damn you! If you hadn't left Sasami wouldn't be dying!"
She then collapses into tears and wraps her arms around
him, sobbing into his chest. "Welcome home.... big
brother." Her eyes follow up his face and fix on his
forehead, and she suddenly sees something missing. "Kyoto,
where did your forehead marking go?" The brother she knew
would have a forehead marking of two triangles intersecting
at the apex. Yet they're not there, and he would have had
scar tissue in the shape of it, even with regen treatments.
So....

"Ayeka....there's something I have to tell you...."

She pulls away from him. "You're not my brother! Who are
you?" Her eyes dart to his left cheek, where she had
slapped him with her nails, and....there is no blood or
wound. Now terrified, she shrieks, "What are you?!"

He holds up his hand. "It's all right, just calm down, give
me a chance to--" He stumbles forward as a blue lance of
light rips through his chest. He stands motionless
for a moment, and straightens as....as the hole in his
chest starts to close. When it's completely sealed he turns
around to look at Mitsuki, who had shot him with a laser
rifle she keeps handy in a wall-mounted emergency case.
He gives her a wry expression. "Please don't do that. It
stings."

Ayeka(b) has taken up a stance in front of Sasami, arms in
front of her as a shield. "You'll not get past me! Take me,
do whatever you want with me, but leave Sasami and Mitsuki
alone!"

Kyoto looks at her for a long moment, and then hangs his
head, sighing. "Will you please let me finish what I was
saying, now?"

Ayeka(b) stands there, a puzzled look etched into her
countenance. "What....? I don't understand."

"What I was trying to say, before your beautiful doctor
here--oh, by the way, miss, you missed my spinal column
by about a centimeter--tried to use me for target practice,
is that I'm not your brother. I'm his identical counterpart
from another dimension. Are you with me so far?"

Ayeka(b) looks somewhat pale. "I think I need a
drink....ohh...." She collapses back into her chair.

She wakes up to feel cool water being poured into her
mouth. She sits up, coughing faintly, and finds herself
in the arboretum in the heart of the underground base. She
is being leaned up against a tree, and looks around to see
the Kyoto look-alike with a glass of ice water in hand.
He smiles at her. "Oh, you're awake!"

"Wha--" She looks up at him. "What am I doing here?"

"You said you wanted a drink, so...." He smiles, a sheepish
look on his face. "I'm sorry if I frightened you in there,
just seems to be a piece of my job description. Ask
Kiyone."

"Who are you?" she asks slowly.

"I'm just.... I'm who I look like, but I'm not your
brother. I've never worked for the Galaxy Police, and I've
never been engaged to Kiyone, although.... " He abandons
that line of conversation and starts over. "I'm a space...
entrepreneur." He avoids giving her his real job title;
the thought of it might break her heart. "My friends and
I-- who seem to be our universe's equivalents of your group
here, and some of your enemies-- accidentally got flung
into a different dimension, and we've been trying to return
to our home for weeks now." Kyoto looks intently at her,
trying to discern her thoughts. He knows that he could read
them, but he doesn't try, not wanting to know what might
be pent up in her mind. And, unlike his universe's
Ayeka, her thoughts and emotions are not easily observable.
After a long moment, she reaches up and strokes his face,
especially the smooth, unblemished area inbetween his
eyebrows.

"You remind me so much of the handsome brother I once had.
Your face is so much like his, yet it is as foreign as a
stranger on a street corner." Tears are starting to run
down her cheeks once more. He sees this and gently,
lovingly enfolds her in his arms. He holds her, letting
her empty her tears of sorrow into his chest. "Where did
you go.... my dear brother... come back... come back and
rescue us..."

Kyoto holds her for a long while, letting her cry herself
to sleep in his lap until her tears subside and she is
peacefully in slumber. He sets her down against one of the
trees and covers her with a blanket. He then returns to the
medical center and to little Sasami's room. She is moving
and thrashing about in her sleep, crying out in terror
and horror and pain. Her eyes snap open at a particularly
horrific moment to find the last person on Jurai she
expected to see.

"Big brother, you came back!" she exults weakly, bringing
a painful cough from her throat. All at once Kyoto's heart
breaks and he picks the little girl up in his arms. She has
her thin, almost skeleton-like arms wrapped weakly around
his neck and her head resting on his shoulder next to his.
"I knew you'd come back, you promised me you would and you
did!" Kyoto cannot bring himself to tell her the truth so
he plays on with the painful masquerade.

After Sasami has collapsed back into slumber, Kyoto is
talking with Mitsuki and Ayeka(b) in hushed voices. They
are informing him of her grave condition. His heart is
pained more with each syllable that rolls off their lips.
"....What about the power of the trees?" he asks,
desperately.

"All of the trees that didn't die during the confrontation
were destroyed when Hitler rained his sirocco of atomic
death down on the surface of the planet. There are no royal
trees left, Kyoto. None."

".... If we did have the trees, could we cure Sasami?"
he asks.

Mitsuki shuffles her clipboard a couple of agitated times
before finally responding. "Technically, if we had even one
tree we could cure her completely. But, like Ayeka said,
there are no trees left. Besides, I don't think there's
anyone left on the surface of the planet, let alone in the
rest of the universe, who could call upon and wield that
amount of energy safely." She looks at this Kyoto
quizzically. "Why do you ask?"

After a long, hesitant moment, he responds. "I.... have
several Juraian trees aboard my ship that we could use to
heal her. But I don't have any way of getting back to them.
Katsuhito has halted all surface travel because a large
storm front is moving over head. He has promised me that
he will get his best men working on getting my ship out,
but that will take time. I had a vehicle of my own, but we
left it on the outskirts of the capitol. If someone could
get me back to the surface, I'm sure that I could get to
it."

Mitsuki walks over into her office. She returns a moment
later with a rolled bundle of papers. She takes them over
to a table in the center of the waiting area and unrolls
them. "Here, here is a map of the surrounding areas. This
should help you to find your way back to your landing
point. If you just wait a moment, I'll give you an
injection of antirad--"

"I don't need it." He stands up from the table. "Once I'm
out, give me one hour to find my vehicle. If I don't return
to the elevator by then, assume one of two things. I'm
either lost or I've taken shelter in one of the dilapidated
buildings. Either way, don't bother looking for me until
the storms have passed. If I'm.... dead, talk to a young
lady aboard my ship named Muriyaki; she and some of my
people are still aboard. They can tell you what repairs
need to be made and how to run the ship. However, if I do
return, have Sasami ready to move. Judging by her current
state, I don't think she'll live to see the end of the
storms." Without another word, he leaves the medical
center.

He has made his way up to the highest level of the base,
which is 120 levels below the surface. He needs as much
altitude as he can muster to make teleporting through
the thick granite as smooth as possible. Gathering all his
strength, he is about to teleport, when he hears a voice
behind him say, "Take me with you."

He turns to see Kiyone(b) standing behind him, already
wrapped in cold weather gear and carrying a laser rifle
on the shoulder sling. He gives her a hard look. "You know
plenty for not being told what I was going to do."

"I went and talked to Mitsuki-- actually I sort of shook
the truth out of her-- and she told me what you were
planning to do. I want to help, Kyoto. Sasami is like a
little sister to me too. I want her to live as much as you
do. Let me help."

"I... I don't even know if I'll make it. I'm built a lot
stronger than you or anyone else on this base and I....
I don't want you to get hurt. I.... love you, Kiyone.
You mean the world to me, and I don't want my love
following me into certain death." These words have come out
before Kyoto had quite realized what he had said. He feels
somewhat embarrassed for spilling all this out.

Kiyone(b) is speechless for a moment, and then she reaches
up and strokes his cheek. "I....I'm going with you, Kyoto.
I'm not going to let the man I love die again, at least
not without me by his side." She smiles. "Let's make it
work. For Sasami."

"For Sasami," he agrees. "The only way I can do this,
though, is if you....hold onto me."

"I don't mind," she responds, her face lighting up. "It's
been a long time since I've been wrapped around you." With
that she hops up and wraps her arms around his neck. She
then locks her lips to his in a long kiss. Finally breaking
away, she whispers, "You still taste good."

A moment later, they appear on the surface, the bright
light of their arrival lost in the white flurry of snow.
Immediately a panel on Kiyone(b)'s backpack starts beeping
and she curses. "Rad dust! I'd totally forgotten about it!
I forgot my breather unit!"

Kyoto feels his heart start to sink again. Not another
death on hands, and please not her.... For the first time
in years, Ryoko is totally gone from his mind. This Kiyone
has captivated him since their meeting, and he wants more
than anything to keep her safe and happy. Fortunately,
there is a solution. "Kiyone, kiss me."

She looks at him. "Kyoto, this isn't the best of times
to--"

"Kiss me! I don't need to breathe, but I can supply you
with breath, as long as I need to. Wrap yourself around
me and kiss me!" It is an example of the strength of this
young love that she actually complies with his demand.
For the next ninety minutes they somehow stumble through
this blizzard, Kyoto somehow managing to keep his mind off
the girl wrapped around him and on making whatever headway
he can. Abruptly he sees a pair of headlights moving slowly
and steadily towards him. He manages to fumble loose an
emergency flasher from Kiyone(b)'s pack and turn it on,
waving it in front of him. The vehicle slowly rumbles
to a halt in front of him, and he is gratified to see Azaka
and Kamidake in the cabin. He throws the door open and
throws himself and Kiyone(b) in, shutting the door quickly
to keep the radioactive snow from leaking inside the rover.
Kiyone(b) almost reluctantly disentangles herself from him
, and both of them look up to see the two knights looking
at them with shocked expressions on their faces. Kyoto
quickly realizes the reason for their shock and pulls back
Kiyone(b)'s hood and pushes hair out of her face to reveal
the scar that their Lord Tenchi's Kiyone is lacking.
"She's a different Kiyone. She's a friend. Everyone else
is at their base....I assume you came looking for us."

Azaka nods briskly. "When you didn't return after your
antirads were supposed to wear off, we got worried. But
this storm has kept us from going very far."

"Don't worry about it now," states Kyoto. "Kiyone, do you
guys still have a GPS system?"

"Yeah...." answers Kiyone(b) slowly.

"Do you carry a reader for it?"

"Yes," she replies, "but there's only one satellite
left. It only passes over head once a day."

"At what time?" he presses.

"At--whoa, at right about now," she responds in shock.

"Get it out and plug it into that display over there,"
he instructs. She does so, and a 2D screen lights up with
a real-time vidmap. In the center is their position.

"Fix on any large masses of unnatural metal about 180
degrees from current position within 30 kilometer radius."
She does so, and a miniature Chisako appears on the screen.

"Now, fix on the base's position," he instructs.

She feeds it in, and it appears on the screen. When he sees
it, Kyoto cannot keep from laughing. "How 'bout that? We're
almost exactly half-way between the two! And a straight
line too!" He claps Azaka on the shoulder. "Azaka, full
speed, straight ahead. We've got a little girl to save."

A fuming Katsuhito(b) storms into the ground vehicle's
hanger as the decon chamber hatch swings open and an
unfamilar-looking land rover wheels in. "What the hell is
going on here?" he screams. He is then dumbstruck to see
Kyoto and Kiyone(b) climb out of the vehicle. He is even
more surprised to see Kyoto disappear and reappear a moment
later with the sick, little Sasami in his arms. He and
Kiyone climb back into the land rover and roll back into
the decon chamber, whose light goes from green to red as
the chamber hatch closes and the exterior ramp folds down
for the rover to access the

surface.

This time, everyone aboard Chisako is present as Kyoto
works his magic with the trees and restores little
Sasami(b) to full health. As the psychotropic emerald
luminescence fades away, Kyoto looks down lovingly at the
little girl and collapses, exhausted, on the soft grass.
Kiyone(b) covers him with a blanket and curls up next to
him. She opens her eyes to see everyone staring at them.
"What, ya never seen two lovers asleep together? Shoo,
shoo!"

* * *



A couple of days pass while the people at the base and
aboard Chisako wait out the storm. Finally, on the third
day, help arrives in the form of a dozen personnel carriers
full of engineers and repair technicians. Within hours,
they have scattered through out the ship, repairing
whatever parts are damaged. However, some of them don't
take kindly to taking orders from a girl with cotton-candy
pink hair....

"Hey, watch it with that!" screams Washu as she sees a
burly engineer handling one of her delicately-tuned
harmonic sequencers with something less than absolute
care. "That took me months to create!"

The engineer glares at the spike-haired shrimp. "Listen,
little girl, I don't take no orders from no woman,
especially not a woman with pink hair and--" His sentence
suddenly disappears, as does he, when a column of light
washes over him and replaces him with..... a water sprite.
The water sprite immediately runs around and starts bumping
into things. Washu glares around the engine room. "Anyone
else have a problem taking orders from a woman?" The rest
of the engineers shakes their heads and go back to work,
treating their devices with extreme care.



Once Chisako has been thawed out and repaired, Katsuhito(b)
takes a tour of the mobile station--and falls in love with
it very quickly. "This is amazing!" he keeps repeating.
"How much firepower did you say she carries again?"

Kyoto, his arms firmly wrapped around Kiyone(b), responds,
"She can outgun a few dozen Juraian dreadnoughts
with targeted fire. With free fire...." He smiles
menacingly. "Anything within a thousand kilometers
is free game."

Katsuhito(b) blinks, then shakes his head laughing.
"Then....we may actually have a chance."

"Incidentally, Katsuhito, how were you planning to
transport your strike force to Sol?" asks Kyoto. "I haven�t
seen any large space transports."

"Well," explains Katsuhito(b), "we do have several dozen
transports hidden around the world."

"But what about spaceborne firepower?" presses Kyoto.
"Fighters and gunships are all very well and good, but what
about heavy hitting power?"

To his surprise, Katsuhito(b) smiles ferally. "We have
help. You don�t think we�d keep all our resources here,
do you? Let me tell you the plan...."





The telling of the plan takes several long briefing
sessions over the next week. Because of the arrival of
Chisako and her crew, the plan of battle must be rewritten,
and this takes time, which is just fine with Kyoto and
Kiyone(b). After a particularly long session of briefing,
Kiyone(b) and Kyoto head back to her quarters for a drink.
They were already kissing as they came down the hall, and
as they fall through the door, her blouse is already
unbuttoned. He has her pinned on the floor in nothing
but her bra and panties, and is about to undo the hook for
her bra, when she reluctantly pushes him away. "I need a
shower, Kyoto." Her hand goes behind her back, and the bra
literally bounces off. "Care to join me?"

Kyoto has a look of acute pain and longing on his face.
"I better not, I don't think it's big enough for the two of
us."

She starts tracing a finger around the center of his chest
in a circle, slowly working downward. "Please?"

The look on his face is just plain painful now, but he
shakes his head. "I'll wait for you."

She gives him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll be quick...."
As she walks towards her bathroom, she begins to work the
panties downward. They finally puddle around her ankles
as she reaches the door, and she turns half way around
and blows him a kiss before she steps in.

In spite of the "pain," Kyoto manages to stand up and fix
himself and his girl a couple of glasses of vodka. He is
trying to ignore the tantalizing sounds of the hot water
running. He has added ice cube after ice cube to his drink,
and he is just starting to taste it when the water stops
and Kiyone steps out of the bathroom. The only thing she
has wrapped around her is a carnation pink towel, and she
is still somewhat wet. The glass starts to shake in his
hand. She smiles at him and tugs downward on the towel,
dropping it around her ankles and exposing her naked body
to him. The glass falls from his hand and he winces as the
liquor spills all over the carpet. Kiyone is beaming.
"You do like it, Kyoto!" She steps up to him and presses
herself against him, starting to nibble at his neck. "I've
been waiting so long, Kyoto, please, make love to me...."

The last vestiges of Kyoto's concentration disappear,
and so do his clothes. Kiyone looks down and smiles widely.
"Let's go to bed." More than willing to oblige her, Kyoto
picks her up and carries her to the bed. The lights go out
a moment later.

Hours later, both souls have had all the physical
satisfaction their exhausted bodies will allow them to
experience. It had been fast and eager at first, but it
slowly mellowed out into a gentle, loving experience.
Kiyone is curled up against Kyoto and is gingerly sipping
at her lukewarm drink Kyoto had poured for her before this.
She looks lovingly up at him. "Thank you. I haven't felt
this good in all my life."

Kyoto's arms wrap her up tightly, and he gently kisses
the top of her head. "Nor I, my darling peach. In fact...."
He kisses her neck. "Yes, that�s definitely what you taste
like, a peach...."

She giggles and sighs. "I never want you to let me go
again."

"Do you mean that, Kiyone?" he asks earnestly.

"Of course I mean that. I want to spend the rest of my life
with you, Kyoto."

"Then, will you marry me?" he sounds almost nervous.

"Yes, oh yes. Yes, my beloved Kyoto, I will marry you."
She snuggles up closer to him. "Can we get married
tomorrow?"

* * *



".... And, by the power invested in me by the Almighty
God and the Juraian Defense Force, I hereby pronounce
you husband and wife.... You may..." The base chaplain
starts to say "you may kiss the bride," but they've already
started kissing. A collective cheer comes up from the large
assembly of onlookers and well-wishers. Sasami(b) is
cheering and has run up and wrapped her arms around her new
"auntie Kiyone." Ayeka(b) is smiling and wiping tears from
her eyes. Even the Washu puppets are cheering. In fact,
the only one who doesn't really seem happy is ..... Ryoko.
At the large and festive reception afterwards, during which
the newly-weds can hardly keep their hands off one another,
she is seen only hanging on the outskirts of the crowd,
and she retires early.

During the newly-weds� slow dance, during which Kyoto and
Kiyone(b) take the spotlight, Tenchi and Kiyone(a) are also
slow dancing. She is resting her head on his shoulder
and sighing. "Look at them, don't they look so happy,
Tenchi?"

Tenchi turns to watch the newly-weds and nods. "They do
indeed." He pulls her closer against him and kisses her on
the cheek. "Kiyone, this whole thing..... I.... seeing
the two of them there.... I want us to be like that."

"Aren't we like that, Tenchi?" she asks innocently.

"Almost," he responds, pulling one arm away from her and
digging into his jacket pocket. He pulls out a golden ring
with a diamond solitaire on it. "This was the engagement
ring that my dad gave my mom when they... got engaged.
After she died, he gave this to me and made me promise
that I would give it to the woman I knew that would become
his daughter in-law. And he said that he hoped that I would
not lose her like he lost Mom." He slips the ring onto her
finger. "And I do hope that I don't lose you like he lost
Mom. Will you marry me, Kiyone?"

Kiyone give him a long kiss on the lips, and he can see the
answer sparkling in her eyes. "Of course I'll marry you,
Tenchi. I want to be your wife. I don't want to be with
anyone else." They let their lips lock again, as they let
the slow, soft music wash over them.



Being the couple of honor has prompted Kyoto and Kiyone(b)
to retire early, to much cheering and catcalling.
They stumble into her--now their--quarters, kissing each
other hungrily. Finally she disengages herself with a last
kiss and heads for the bathroom. "I�ve got a surprise
for you," she teases.

Kyoto drops onto their bed. He�s wearing nothing but the
bedsheets when his new bride steps out of the bathroom,
her body encased in a form-hugging red lace camisole
and matching G-string. At the wide-eyed look on his face,
she giggles and climbs onto the bed, settling herself
in his lap. "I�ve been saving this for our wedding night,"
she tells him. "You like?"

He nods enthusiastically, and she fakes a pout. "There�s
just one problem, though," she says. "I�ve tried it on
before, and it just won�t stay on." He can already see the
spaghetti strand-thin shoulders straps slipping down. "Is
that okay with you, Kyoto?"

In response, Kyoto pushes the camisole off of her and pulls
her beneath the covers. "Oh, Kyoto!" she cries out
enthusiasically as their bodies begin to intertwine.

In their own quarters on the base, Tenchi and Kiyone(a)
are cuddled together on their bed, making plans for their
wedding and life.

"Now who should we invite?" asks Tenchi. It�s a wonder
he can think right now, because his fiance� is sitting
in his lap in a T-shirt and panties, and is kissing his
neck

"Well....everyone aboard Chisako, of course."

"Of course," agrees Kiyone. "Tenchi, do you think I should
sleep with a bra, or without?"

He grins at her. "We can file that under "honeymoon."
How many kids do you want?" He chuckles softly. "I was
thinking three or fo--" He notices a shadow cross over her
face. "What�s wrong, honey?" He wraps his arms tighter
around her. "We don�t have to decide right now. I was
just...." His voice trails off as she looks up at him, and
the pain in her eyes is astounding. "Are you all right,
Kiyone?"

After a moment, she shakes her head. "No kids."

Tenchi is shocked. "Well, if you�re sure, darling, I--"

"No," she cuts him off. The harshness in her voice
surprises him, and apparently her as well, because remorse
immediately floods her features, and she buries her face
in Tenchi�s chest. "Tenchi, I�m sorry, but I can�t have
children."

She dosen�t look up at him, afraid of what she�ll see,
afraid he�ll ask her to leave, to give back his ring, she
knows she has no reason to expect this but she�s so afraid
that she�s driven away the only man she�s ever loved....And
then she feels his lips gently touch the top of her head,
and his arms tighten around her. "Darling, why are you
sorry?" He gently turns her chin up, and she sees him
smiling at her, and she still sees love in his eyes. "What
happened, love?"

She sighs. "Do you remember when I told you about
reversible sterilizations?"

He nods, and she shakes her head. "The ultimate in birth
control. Anyone can have sex without fear of impregnation,
and if you decide you want to be fertile, just go and see
the doctor." Kiyone smiles bitterly. "Just one catch,
though. One case in a trillion results in irreversible
sterilization. No other damage, but that person will never
father or bear children. Everyone who enters the Academy
takes an RS treatment. I did....and I became number one
trillion." She looks sadly at Tenchi. "I�m sorry, Tenchi,
but I�ll never be able to give you children." Her gaze
drops. "If you�ll keep me, Tenchi, I promise I�ll do
whatever you want, let you do anything you want to me, but
please, my Tenchi, I love you, please don�t push me
away...." Her eyes begin to rain tears, and she starts
sobbing into her hands.

Tenchi hugs her tightly and whispers in her ear, "I love
you, Kiyone. This doesn�t change that." He gently strokes
the back of her neck. "Oh, my love, did you really think
this would change anything?"

She shakes her head between sniffles. "I guess not, I�m
just so scared of losing you that...."

"We can adopt," he suggests. "Maybe Washu can do
something." He turns her face up to his again. "What
matters, darling, is that I love you and that this makes
no difference whatsoever. Maybe I can spoil you instead
of our children...."

Kiyone�s tears are of joy now, and she gives Tenchi a big
kiss. "You mean it?�

Tenchi holds her even tighter. "Always, my Kiyone."

She gives him another kiss. And then another. Her tears
are drying up now. "Tenchi...." Her lips have found his
neck again. "I have another fantasy...."

"Same one as earlier?" he asks, anticipation creeping
into his voice

Kiyone slips into mental link mode. Tenchi, remember
that outfit I showed you?

He does indeed. She had lost the original schoolgirl-style
outfit--a knee-length plaid skirt, white blouse, blue
blazer, a plaid tie, and a pair of sandals--when
they had been forced to crawl through the transit tube
aboard Akiko. After that adventure, Kyoto had let all the
girls use Chisako�s replicators to replace their lost
clothing. The first thing that Kiyone had replaced was that
schoolgirl�s outfit, with a shorter and tighter version.
It did delightful things to her body, and it had taken
Tenchi several minutes to tear his gaze away. Kiyone,
you didn�t bring that outfit, did you?

She giggles. No, I�m saving that for the honeymoon.
My fantasy....well, I�m a young, innocent schoolgirl
who has a big crush on the cute science teacher--that�s
you, Tenchi. Anyway, you really like little high school
girls like me, and one day you ask me to stay after
and....well, Tenchi, let�s just say you turn me into a
naughty little schoolgirl.

Tenchi find himself smiling. Well, Kiyone, what kind of
science am I teaching?

Biology, silly, she giggles. They start to kiss, and then
stretch out on the bed, snuggled up together.



The future Emperor and Empress of Jurai had not closed
their door all the way, and Ryoko, who had been passing
by, had heard every word of their conversation.
She did not have the nerve to look in after the
conversation had given way to heavy, ragged breathing
and whimpering, so she just hurried on. Desire for solitude
had finally given way before hunger, so she floats down to
the cafeteria, which is doubtless deserted by now. Only a
few late-shifters are eating, and she heads over to a food
dispenser and calls up a large beef bowl with extra
pickles, and some tea. As she eats, her tears begin to fall
into the tea. It�s not fair, she thinks. It�s just not
fair. Kiyone has Tenchi, the other Kiyone has Kyoto, and
who do I have?

"Ryoko."

She looks up and sees Kyoto, dressed in pajamas and
carrying a tray of food. She manages a smile. "Oh, Kyoto,
hi." She motions at the empty table. "Care to join me?�

"For a moment," he agrees, seating himself. After a long
moment, he says gently, "I saw you during the ceremony."

"Really," she quips. "I though you only had eyes for
Kiyone."

"I do," he acknowledges. "I saw you in my peripheral
vision. You didn�t look happy. You don�t look happy now."

She tries to get angry or annoyed, but finds herself
nodding. "Do you blame me? Kiyone and Tenchi are....a
couple, and you just married the other Kiyone. Who does
that leave for me?" The acid in her tone is palpable.

Kyoto shakes his head. "No, I suppose I don�t."

Ryoko looks at him with a mixture of irritation and
dejection, and he can see the redness, see that she�s been
crying. "Is that all you can say?"

He throws up his hands in frustration. "What would you have
me say, that I made a mistake and that I�ll divorce her
tomorrow? Hardly. For what it�s worth, Ryoko, I am sorry
that I hurt you. But allow me to point out two things.
One, I gave you plenty of chances, and you turned each one
down--"

"It�s not my fault my mind and heart decided to change
right now!" she protests.

"Granted," he allows, "and it�s not my fault that my heart
and mind changed when I met Kiyone. And the timing of you
changing....are you sure it�s not so much true feelings
as a reflex action to your only other option, however
last-resort I may be, being taken?" He ignores her aghast
expression. "And point number two, you think you�re the
only one that doesn�t have anyone? Nobuyuki and Katsuhito
have been widowers for years. Ayeka�s been looking for
years, ever since....but I�m not supposed to know about
that. Sasami....from now on, all she�ll be able to think
of Tenchi as is a brother or uncle. Mihoshi and Washu have
both been single for a long time. Tenchi and I, we�re the
lucky ones. Ryoko, if I could, I would split myself into
two Kyotos so both of you could have me, but that wouldn�t
be fair to either of you." He looks at his watch. "Oh,
great, this�ll be cold when I get it back to her." He
stands up and starts to head for the door.

"Kyoto, just one thing." He turns to look at a now-standing
Ryoko. "What is it?�

"Do you love her? I mean, do you really, really love her,
the way Tenchi and Kiyone love each other?"

After a stunned moment, Kyoto nods, and is even more
stunned when Ryoko smiles. "That�s good at least." She
raises her cup of tea. "To love?"

Kyoto nod and raises his own cup. "To love."













THE END







 Footnotes:

 *If this episode is not quite up to its usual standards,
we apologize. However, you really must understand our
situations. We are both busy college students that must
cope with classes and the other things that college
students must cope with, and we often only find time to
work on our stories late at night, as is the case tonight.
And since only one of us has a computer..... I'm sure you
can see where that leaves us. Rest assured, however,
that we will what corrections we can before releasing
this episode, and that we will strive to keep you, our
readers, satisfied. Thank you.

*Sak�. A type of wine made from rice. A liquor of choice
in Japan.

*Fujisaki: GP/GF equivalent of the Geiger output.

*SPU: Strategic Platform, Unsupported. A mobile weapons
platform capable of translight travel. Only a few of these
were built by the Fourth Reich, and as such, were used as
the flagships of the Fuhrer's most trusted commanders.
The last of these were destroyed at the lunar dry docks
after the liberation of Earth. These platforms carried
firepower sufficient to render a planet's surface
uninhabitable.

*Director General: The supreme commander of the Galaxy
Police. Holds a permanent place on the Galactic High
Council as the seniormost military officer.

*Prime Center: The central command and administrative
center of the Galaxy Federation (in every dimension
with a GP and GF). Located at the approximate center of the
Milky Way galaxy, Prime Center is a large space station
about the size of Sol and has a permanent population
of at least 100 billion, as well as a half-trillion
in transient populaton and at least fifty million
spacecraft docked at any given time. It is also the most
heavily-armed installation, natural or artificial,
in the known universe, the only weapon capable of
penetrating its defenses being a dimensional cannon.

*Galaxy Federation: The interstellar government in Mugen
Tenchi Muyo! Composed of the vast majority of inhabited
star systems in the Milky Way. Jurai is one of the more
influential members of the GF, and holds a permanent
seat on the Galactic High Council (the Galactic equivalent
of the U.N.'s Security Council, with the head of the GHC
being the Galactic President).

*Anopon Prime: In our characters' home universe, a planet
that serves as a major trading and shipping center, sort
of the Mugen Tenchi Muyo! equivalent of Babylon 5. In other
universes, one of those "throw-around" names for things
(examples: an Anoponese curse; Anopon brandy (also called
Prime brandy); Anopon firesnakes;....basically,
the Star Trek thing). In this universe, the third of three
decisive battles which permanently crippled the combined
Jurai/GP fleet in its fight against the forces of the
Fourth Reich. Approximately 79% of the Jurai/GP ships were
destroyed in this battle. For related entries, see Prime
Center, Battle of or Sargasso, Battle of .





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