Subject: [FFML] [Fanfic and Status][Tylor] Tylor's Fury, Chapter 4
From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Date: 9/29/1999, 11:38 PM
To:

Well, it's been a little while since I sent ANYTHING to the FFML.  Well, a
lot of things have happened since I last did... some of you will remember
me saying that my Grandmother was very ill.  A few weeks ago, she passed
away, and I didn't really feel like writing anything I'd already started
(there was a Mononoke fanfic I started that is currently in draft stages-
I'll be posting it to the FFML as soon as I come up with a title for it),
but I'm finally back to some of my old fanfics.  Chapter 2 of my
Edutainment fanfic is 90% complete, but is delayed again for research
purposes (again- don't worry, this time it'll probably take less than a
week.  I just need to find something I misplaced).  I've also started on
Episode 10 of my Patlabor fanfic, and Chapter 2 of my Kenshin fanfic. 
Everything else has not been forgotten, but I haven't really had the
opportunity or the motivation (or both) to work on them ahead of these
other things I've been doing.

Well, that's all for now.  Here's the fanfic- enjoy.

Chapter 4

The mood aboard the Tsunami was subdued as it soared across space to their
rendezvous with the Raalgon.  Two other Earth ships, the destroyers Asimov
and Bonapart of the Aranami class, had joined them and were flying in
formation behind them.  The final ship of the Earth contribution to the
task force, a fast scout ship named the Hitokiri, was supposed to meet them
at the rendezvous.

In the inner recesses of the Tsunami, a small collection of people were
gathering together to discuss a small problem.  The source of that problem
was normal for that crew- the captain, one Justy Ueki Tylor.  The problem
that he gave them, however, was by no means normal.

"This new Tylor," Emi was saying, "Well, see, he..."

"Scares us!" Yumi finished.  

"Right?" the twins said together.

Yamamoto nodded.  "He's certainly not himself.  He stays in the captain's
chair at rigid attention most of the day.  Sometimes he'll notice this
himself, and try to force himself into his usual relaxed attitude, generate
small talk with me, and slouch down in his chair, but soon he runs out of
talk, starts figitting in his seat, and soon returns to attention.  Then,
when he finally DOES leave his chair, he forces himself back into his
relaxed position, and takes off for his cabin.  When he gets there, he
stays only for about an hour before returning to his chair.  I haven't seen
him eat or sleep in the three days since he arrived on board."

"Of course he's not himself!" Anderson, representing the marines, growled. 
"His woman was nearly killed in a blast meant for him- he's probably got a
lot on his mind.  It's how BADLY it's effecting him that worries me.  No
sleep?  No food?  That's bad, but it's also understandable- he probably
doesn't want to sleep for fear of nightmares, and he's probably so worried
about Yuriko his stomach's upset.  But what's worse to me is that he isn't
even able to keep up the pretence of his old self... and we need to do
something about that."

"And do you have any ideas on what to do?" Yamamoto demanded.

Anderson shook his head.  "Not a clue."

Ensign Kojiro shrugged.  "Well, I'm not too good at dealing with women, but
maybe we could get one to help.  Would Yuriko want Tylor to act so... well,
self-destructive?  Maybe we could get her on the comm and ask her for
advice?  I mean, she probably knows him better than anyone else- she's been
living with him for a while, after all."

Yamamoto shook his head.  "I know Yuriko pretty well, and I have a feeling
she'd actually be HAPPY that he's acting this way- he's showing some
responsibility for once, after all."

"Yeah," Luitenant Kim agreed.  "While we girls like our men to have a bit
of a wild side, we also want them to be responsible enough to take us into
consideration as well.  Yuriko might actually be glad of the changes."

There were murmurs of assent from the three other women in attendence. 
"Besides," Harumi said.  "Yuriko's injuries were severe, and it would be a
good thing to worry her about this right now.  We can't involve her in
this."

Suddenly, an alarm sounded.  "All hands to stations- we have reached the
rendezvous," Tylor's voice echoed over the loudspeakers.

Everyone started scrambling around, preparing to go on duty.

"We'll meet again on the next off-duty shift!" Yamamoto cried over the
chaos.  "Until then, do whatever you can think of to try and snap Tylor out
of this funk."

*	*	*	*	*

The Doraeme was late, and Dom was worried.  Sure, Tylor wasn't his usual
self, but there was nothing stopping him from irresponsibly taking what
there was of the assembled task force out without waiting for the flagship
of the Raalgon contribution.  Actually, the changes might make him want to
move all the faster.  Hopefully, Shia Has, who he had sent ahead of him in
the Intrepid, a scout ship, would be able to hold the unpredictable Earth
captain long enough for him to arrive, but there were no guarantees.

"Time to destination," he called.

"Twenty-six minutes, Captain Dom," Azalyn answered.  Apparently, she was
taking her responsibility as first officer seriously, because she'd
actually taken a duty station.  The other members of the crew were a little
astonished at that- it was not the first time Azalyn had travelled with the
Doraeme, but it WAS the first time that she wasn't doing so for
recreational purposes.  "Don't worry," she said comfortingly.  "He'll wait
for us.  He'll want his friends around him right now.  I would."

Dom sighed.  "Perhaps, but there's also the possibility he might not want
any more of his friends hurt by the terrorists."

Azalyn nodded triumphantly.  "See, that's why I figured it would be best
for both of us to work on this- I know what he wants, you know how he
thinks.  He WANTS us there... but he THINKS we should stay away for our own
protection."  Then she frowned.  "So which will be triumphant now- what he
wants or what he thinks?"

Dom thought for a moment.  "Normally, with him, it would be no contest- he
usually just does what he wants- and what he wants usually agrees with what
he thinks.  But right now...."

Azalyn didn't need him to finish.  "Well... we'll find out when we get
there, won't we?"

*	*	*	*	*

"Dom's tardiness is very inconsiderate, you know?" Tylor said, yawning as
he stood up from his chair.  "I'm gonna take a break for an hour... if he
isn't here by then, we'll quit waiting and start our assignment without
him, okay?"

 "Um... yes, sir," Yamamoto replied.  "I'll let the other ships know- if
the Doraeme doesn't arrive in an hour, we'll move out."  He hesitated. 
"Pardon me, sir, but... if Dom doesn't arrive with his intelligence, how
will we know where to go?"

Tylor frowned.  "I have our own intelligence, which is enough to act
without his report, and I know what our orders are.  Don't worry- I'll deal
with it if it becomes important.  Right now, though, I have some...
personal matters to attend to.  You have the con until I return."

"Aye, aye, sir," Yamamoto said.

Tylor walked out, and steadily marched down to his quarters, smiling and
waving at the people he encountered as he went.  After all, he shouldn't
lose sight of himself, right?  And he was always relaxed, always confident,
always able to put a smile on his face, no matter how grim the
circumstances, right?

As the door to his cabin closed behind him, he let his face fall.  It
wasn't always true, actually.  Sometimes, he had to fake being relaxed,
confident, and happy.  He usually was, though, and faking it usually wasn't
much or a strain for him, but right now....

Sighing with fatigue, he collapsed at his desk, opening the drawer.  His
vision blurred slightly.

"Damn, the stim's wearing off faster this time," he cursed.  Pulling open a
desk drawer, he pulled out a hypodermic needle and filled it from a small
container of a yellowish liquid.  With a slight grimmace, he injected
himself full of the drug in the shoulder.  Almost instantly, a warming
sensation started spreading from the injection point, and within a minute
had travelled all over his body, giving him a lot of energy.  For a little
while, he'd be back to his usual self.

Walking over to a console that had been installed in his room, he keyed up
a code sequence and waited.

Yuriko's bandaged face appeared a minute later, smiling faintly.  "Ah,
Tylor!  You decided to call after all.  One might think you were growing a
touch too responsible."

"Who, me?" Tylor joked back, no longer having trouble pretending to be his
old self.  "I'm just as irresponsible as always!  Why, I should probably be
on deck right now, instead of chatting with you!"

"So, how is everything about the Tsunami?"

"Well, let's see..."

*	*	*	*	*

Shia Has frowned.  "Where is Dom?  He only has a few minutes to get here
before Tylor ordered us out."

Her communications officer sighed.  "Well, if you want, I could try to
raise the Tsunami again and see if Tylor will listen to you this time.  He
was 'resting' last time we tried to raise him, but..."

"He probably will still be if we try again.  Obviously, he doesn't want to
talk to us for some reason... but if you can get me his first officer, one
Luitenant Yamamoto, on a private channel, I'll get you a bottle of Earth
Brandy."

He smiled.  "Deal..."

A few moments later, Lt. Yamamoto's face showed up on the monitor by Shia
Has's command chair.  "Yamamoto here...  Ah, Shia Has!  What can I do for
you?"

"As the acting-Commodore of the Raalgon contingent, I'd like to be able to
speak with Tylor about delaying action until Captain Dom gets here.  He
seems to be avoiding me, however."

Yamamoto hesitated.  "Tylor isn't seeing anyone right now.  He's... not his
usual self."

"Yes, we'd heard that Tylor's woman was caught in a bomb blast."

Yamamoto nodded, hesitating.  "Your intel probably knows this already, but
I even if it doesn't I doubt I'll be giving away many state secrets. 
There's also a rumor," he informed her, "That Yuriko was pregnant with
Tylor's child.  Emphasis on WAS."

Shia Has gasped.  If true, the Tylor problem was even worse than expected. 
"It's still just a rumor, right?"

"So far, we've been trying to confirm or deny it as best as we can without
directly confronting Tylor or Yuriko about it.  I took the liberty of
secretly contacting Admiral Mifune, and he informed me Tylor initially
rejected this assignment by saying that Yuriko was pregnant... we haven't
heard anything about SINCE the bombing, however, and the hospital refuses
to release information about patients under their care....  The answer to 
your question is, yes, it is just a rumor- partially confirmed by Tylor
himself, but still just a rumor, since he's not exactly known for always
telling the truth.  But... well, I seriously doubt Tylor would act this way
if it WASN'T a rumor."

Shia Has shook her head.  She'd been hoping that, if Dom didn't arrive in
time, she could deal with Tylor until he caught up.  This information,
though, seemed to ruin that hope.  "Damn.  Now it's even more important
that we keep the fleet here until Dom arrives, because he's carrying the
Empress, and they were planning to keep an eye on Tylor and make sure he
didn't flip out.  Is there any way that you-"

Yamamoto glanced behind him quickly when a sudden jumble of noises erupted.
 "I've got to go.  Tylor just returned on deck..."

"Wait!"  It was too late- the transmission was cut.  Shia Has sighed.

"Ma'am," her communications officer said.  "Message from the Tsunami. 
Await telemetry- orders are being sent.  Move out in five minutes."

Shia Has shook her head.  "Damn again.  Okay, send those orders down to my
cabin for review.  In the meantime, prepare a message buoy, and code it for
the Doraeme.  I have a little bit of intel on the Earth Force that the
Empress will probably be interested in.  Five minutes, huh?  I'll have the
message for you in four."

"Aye, aye, ma'am."

"And remind me to get that bottle of Brandy for you tomorrow."

"Aye, aye, ma'am."

*	*	*	*	*

"He left without us," Azalyn said sadly.

Dom nodded.  "I feared as much."

"Captain Dom, sir," another officer said.  "I'm picking up telemetry from a
message buoy coded for us from the Intrepid.  Should we send a shuttle to
pick it up?"

"Of course- proceed."

"Aye, aye, sir."

"Your protege left a message for us?" Azalyn asked.

"Probably letting us know what her orders were so that we can join them
quickly.  She should be able to handle Tylor until we get there."

"I hope so....  How bad do you think it will be?"

Dom shrugged.  "Well, Yuriko wasn't severely injured, from what we've
heard.  He's probably a little shocked at what happened, but in a short
while he'll probably recover and be his normal self.  How long that will
take, I don't know... and for that time, I suspect he'll demonstrate
symptoms of paranoia, though how those symptoms will manifest themselves I
am unsure."

Azalyn looked at Dom oddly.  "You sound like a psychologist."

"One way to be a good leader knows a little bit of everything.  It allows
him to understand anyone under their command, whatever their specialty, and
it makes him sound more intelligent.  A sign of a bad leader is to only
FAKE knowing what you talks about."  Dom shook his head.  "I am not a
psychologist, but in all modesty I believe myself to be a good leader, so
perhaps I may sound like one if I am in a position where I need to act as
one."

Azalyn frowned.  "Hmm... there's a lot of stuff I don't know.  Am I a good
leader or a bad one?"

Dom hesitated.  "You may not know a little bit of everything, but you do
know how to ask the right questions at the right times, which can be even
better if you ask them to the right people.  You're a little naive, but
outside of that you are a good leader."

"Naive?" Azalyn said, a little bit of her royal indignation rising in her
voice.  "I'm naive?  What do you mean by that?"

"I'm merely thinking of how Wang manipulated you into starting the war with
Earth, my Empress," Dom soothed.  "That was not your best day, by far."

"That, I'll agree with," Azalyn agreed.  "However... there were some good
things that came out of that day."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"What was it that happened to you that day that you remember so fondly?"
Dom asked, smiling.

"Well... that was the day that-"

"Captain Dom, sir, we have finished- oops," a messenger began, not noticing
that Azalyn was even there until after he had begun.  Bowing down, he began
apologizing profusely.  "My Empress, I am terribly sorry for interrupting
your discussion.  Please, continue."

Azalyn shook her head.  "No- ship's business must come before personal
discussions, even if I am the one having that personal discussion.  As it
also comes before protocol- arise, and give us your message."

"Thank you, my Empress," the man said, straightening up slightly but
continuing much more reverently.  "Captain Dom, sir, the message buoy has
been retrieved, and here is the data cube.  You are required to activate
it, however..."

Dom nodded, walking over to a nearby monitor.  "Come, Empress.  This report
may interest you, as well... and if you are to act as the first officer,
you should know our destination."

"Of course, Captain Dom."

Shia Has's face appeared on the screen in front of them, looking a little
haggard.

"I don't have long to record this message- we're supposed to be moving out
in a couple of minutes.  We haven't been given our orders yet, just a new
destination where we're to receive a second set of orders.  Tylor doesn't
appear to trust all the captains in the task force, considering how little
information he gave us with these orders.  Furthermore, he gave us strict
instructions NOT to divulge the co-ordinates that he gave us... for that
reason, you are on your own in trying to find us, for the moment.  I'm also
supposed to maintain radio silence, but this message technically does not
violate that order as it is not generating a radio signal."

"I did not him to order expect that," Dom said under his breath.

"You may be wondering why I'm bothering to leave this message, if I can't
even tell you where to go.  Well, I have some information regarding Tylor's
current motivations.  What I am about to say is rumor, but a portion of it
has been confirmed by Tylor himself to his superior officers."

"Did our intelligence force miss something important?" Azalyn asked.

"I suspect you are listening in, too, Empress.  If you are, you may not
like what the news I am about to give you.  Through somewhat reliable
sources, we have learned that Yuriko Star was pregnant with Tylor's child
at the time of the explosion, and that she may have lost the baby in the
terrorist attack."

"Dear god..." Dom and Azalyn both whispered.

"That is all I have time to report at the moment.  I will do my best to
handle the situation from this end, but the sooner you can find us and
provide support the better."

The screen went blank.  Dom turned to a downcast Azalyn.

"My Empress, if this information is correct, than the situation has just
gotten worse."

Azalyn's hair had fallen to cover her eyes.  "Dom," she said without
looking up.  "I'm afraid.  We have to find Tylor, and find him now.  I need
to talk to him."

Dom nodded.  "I shall start the search immediately, my Empress."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
                     desaix@sysnet.net
    http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872
                           fanfics available at 
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