NOTE: All characters original to the Tenchi-Muyo! TV1 series
portrayed in this story, as well as all those from the
Tenchi-Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA series, 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. Kyoto
Minamoto, Muriyaki Kushiragi, Chisako, Chi-Ohki, and all other
related characters are the sole property of the writers and
appear through permission from the writers.
For C&C purposes, contact the writers at
keiichi-dono@geocities.com or muriyaki@geocities.com.
Episode #21:
No Need for Submarines!
"Lunch is ready!" chirps Mirei as she walks out of the kitchen
with a large platter piled high with sandwiches and drinks.
"Oh, boy, lunch!" Nobuyuki and Kyo lunge towards Mirei, but are
barely held back by Momoko.
"Just let her set the food down first," she reminds them.
"Otherwise, you'll spill it all over the floor and that won't
do you any good."
"But we're so hungry, imoto-chan!" whines Kyo.
Momoko gives her brother the raspberry while tugging down one
eyelid. "Shut it, onii-chan. You two ate just a little while
ago!"
"But we're still hungry!" whines Nobuyuki as he reaches vainly
for the sandwiches.
Mirei giggles and swings the tray out of Nobuyuki's reach. "Wait
till I've set them down, grandpa!"
"Come on, Mirei, let us eat!" Washu is little more patient
than her husband.
"I want more wine!" This comes from Digital Washu, who is
perhaps the first android to be diagnosed as alcoholic.
This is exhibited in the fact that she falls over the banister
while reaching for an imaginary glass of wine.
Everyone cringes as they hear the crash. However, Digital Washu
bounces to her feet after a moment, none the worse for wear
(although the same cannot be said of the giant hole in the
living room floor). "That hurt me."
"Where's Sasami?" asks Mirei as she looks around the group.
"Um.. I think she's still out in saucer five, watching the fish
swim pass the view port." This comes from Tsunami as she bounces
happily down the stairs and over to the table.
"Should I go and get her?" asks Mirei, setting the tray down on
the table and staring off past the group and out the back
sliding glass doors.
"Naw.. She told me she packed herself some lunch. So, don't
worry about it."
"Okay. Lunch is served, everybody!"
No sooner does Mirei say this then she is trampled by the two
men who rush at the food.
"Owiee.." moans Mirei as she lays on the floor dazed.
"Mirei, are you okay?" Momoko helps her friend to her feet while
a small crowd of Ohkis gather around, mi-yaing in concern.
"I thinks so.. my head hurts."
"Mi-ya..." One of the tinier Ohkis climbs into Mirei's lap and
nuzzles her. Mirei smiles and tickles the cabbit under the chin.
"You're a darling, Kaze-Ohki."
"Good food!" Nobuyuki and Kyo call out as they stuff their
faces.
* * *
"I win again!" exclaims Ryoko as her tray fills with coins from
the slot machine. In the past two hours, she's won almost every
game at the casino and is now starting to draw menacing glances
from the staff working the floor.
"Ryoko-chan.. perhaps you should stop playing.. I don't think
you're making the casino's owner very happy.."
Ryoko turns to Kyoto, puppy-dog eyes brimming with tears. "Are
you saying you want me to lose, Kyoto-chan?" she pleads up at
her Kyoto.
"No! That's not what I said! What I said is.. Oh forget it..."
With that, Ryoko turns back to the machine and begins to feed
coins into it once more. Tenchi and his Kiyones have long since
retired to their room, after having seen one of the floor shows
with the scantily-clad dancers.
Kyoto and Ryoko's conversation is cut short when they see...
Katsuhito on stage.. dancing with the showgirls. It's more than
obvious that the old man is drunk and way out of tune with the
current century, for he keeps trying to dance the "Hustle."
"Do the Hustle!" slurs Katsuhito as he dances out of beat with
the music. The dancing girls are too polite to say anything.
Kyoto and Ryoko stare at the stage wide-eyed, for a long moment.
Finally, Kyoto asks timidly, "Where did he learn the Hustle?"
"I think it was in the dance contest back in one of those
universes we traveled to fifteen years ago," suggests Ryoko.
"The one where the young him was a male exotic dancer, and he
worked in a club owned by Ayeka?"
"That's the one."
"Oh dear. Let's get him off the stage before he does anything
else to embarrass himself!"
Katsuhito is about to take off his jacket and throw it to the
people in the audience when he finds himself being carried
off stage by two vaguely familiar people. "Hey, the crowd loves
me!" he slurs.
"Sure they do.."
* * *
The American admiral shifts uneasily under the gaze of Emperor
Kyoto. "T-to what do I owe the pleasure of this call, your
lordship?"
"I have a small piece of information that might gain you your
next promotion," replies Emperor Kyoto coolly.
"Such as?"
"There is a large enemy vessel submerged beneath the Pacific
Ocean. If you're interested, I'll be more than willing to allow
you to destroy it."
"The Pacific Ocean is a large body of water to search for one
craft. Can you give us a more precise are to search in?"
Emperor Kyoto turns to face off screen for a second. A moment
later, his image is replaced with that of a short woman with
hair the color of cotton-candy; the bulk of her hair tucked
under an officer's cap. She is clad in an olive-drab uniform
with a swastika-shaped medal pinned on the left breast of her
jacket.
"I am Colonel Washu Hibiki. I'm head of Lord Kyoto's research
and development department. My instruments have detected a large
concentration of ditridium particles at coordinates
seven-five-three-two, mark one-one-niner. These particles
are not naturally occurring on your planet; my guess would be
that they're leaking from the enemy craft. However, they've
spread over a forty-thousand square kilometer area, so I cannot
trace the exact origin point.
"I am sending a shipment of my new torpedoes down to your fleet.
These will be capable of piercing the enemy ship's armor. These
torpedoes should arrive within the next seven days."
The American nods enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes, thank you, your
excellency. This will help me very much, I'm sure." His face
disappears from the screen.
On the other end of the severed link, Kyoto smirks. "Aho. Still,
he will be useful."
* * *
"Mmph." There are few things in life, reflects Tenchi, as
pleasant as waking up next to the woman you love. One of those
things is waking up between the two women you love.
Indeed, Tenchi has awakened to find himself sandwiched between
both Kiyones. Both women are snuggled up to him and dozing
contentedly, and neither of them is wearing a blessed thing.
For that matter, neither is Tenchi.
Yoni, on his left side, awakens first. She smiles at her husband
with a mixture of drowsiness and mischief. "Morning,
Tenchi-yon."
"Morning, Yoni." Tenchi leans over and kisses her.
"Hey, you're forgetting someone, Daddy." Kiyone-yoni tugs on
Tenchi. "Aren't you gonna kiss me good morning?"
Tenchi shifts over and kisses the original Kiyone. "Sorry,
kimi. Let me make up for that."
There is a knock at the door.
Tenchi breaks off the kiss; his expression is an irked one.
"Yes?"
"Room service."
The Kiyones pull the sheets up around themselves. "We didn't
order any!" calls out Yoni.
"Someone ordered it for you."
Tenchi sighs and rises from the bed. "Just a sec." He pulls on
the previous evening's discarded clothes, and waits until his
wives have done likewise, and finally opens the door.
Kyoto and Ryoko enter the room, carrying an unconscious
Katsuhito between them. The breath escaping from his lips is
tainted with the scent of alcohol, and he is mumbling old disco
songs in his sleep.
".what happened to him?"
Kyoto has the good grace to look sheepish. "He got drunk and was
singing on stage."
"And you brought him here because.?"
Kyoto grins. "We had to put up with him all night in our room!
You think it's easy to get it on when there's a drunk Shinto
priest in the bed next to yours?!"
"."
"On second thought, don't answer that question." They carry
Katsuhito into the room proper and deposit him on the bed. "Now,
come on and let's get breakfast. I would imagine after last
night, you three are starved."
* * *
"Your grandfather did what?!"
Tenchi winces slightly at his father's shrill voice. "Quiet
down, Dad. Like I told you, he got drunk last night and was
singing on stage."
On the Chisako's end of the line, Nobuyuki shook his head. "I
thought he'd gotten past that."
"What do you mean, 'past that?'" Tenchi demands.
"Tenchi. your grandfather has something of a disco bug. While
your mother was pregnant with you, he would be playing
eight-tracks into the wee hours of the night up in his shrine
office. To this day, I can never listen to "The Hustle" without
cringing."
"That's. more than I needed to know, Dad."
"You asked, son."
"I guess I did at that. at least he didn't have any leisure
suits or go clubbing. did he?"
Silence at the other end, then finally: "Son, do you really
want an answer?"
"I guess not."
Katsuhito chooses that moment to walk by, humming the theme from
Shaft.
"."
"Let me guess." Nobuyuki's voice, dry. "The theme from Shaft?"
"I think."
".well, I'll let you get going. You guys are leaving soon?"
"As soon as the girls finish eating. Anything else we need to
pick up?"
"I don't think so. maybe some pickles and ice cream if you get
a chance."
"Mitsuki can't be that far along!"
"No, son. those are for Washu."
"What?! Dad, you're kidding."
"Yeah. I am."
"Grr. okay, see you in a few days."
* * *
"Are you sure you don't know where Auntie Mihoshi is?"
Mirei and Momoko have learned the lessons of being irresistible
well, thinks Ayeka. She says, "I honestly don't know!"
Not specifically anyway.
Both of the younger girls slump their shoulders and walk away.
Ayeka shakes her head. Poor girls. oh, well. Mihoshi will only
have to be in cryo-freeze for a few more days.
Unbeknownst to her, however, the two girls have decided to go
looking for Mihoshi themselves.
"Auntie Mihoshi? Auntie Mihoshi, are you in here?" Mirei is in
the lead, shining a flashlight, while Momoko is right behind
her, carrying a picnic basket.
"Mirei, are you sure she's in this forest?" asks Momoko.
"We've checked everywhere else on the ship!" Indeed, the two
girls have spent the last few days turning Chisako upside-down
looking for the missing member of their "family." The only place
left unchecked is the medium-sized grove of trees a few hundred
meters from the Masaki house.
"If you say so."
And Mirei is right. In the center of that grove is.
.a giant inverted thimble on a cart, big enough for two adult
humans. On the side facing is a person-sized hatch, which is
almost all clearsteel. Through said hatch, both girls can a
frozen Mihoshi. She is frozen in a happy pose, in the process
of popping a chocolate into her mouth.
In spite of themselves, the girls giggle at the sight.
"This certainly explains why we've had so much food the past few
days," muses Momoko.
"Yeah," agrees Mirei. "Grandma Washu probably put her in there
to keep her from eating all the food. C'mon, let's get her out
of there."
"Hai, hai. just let me get these chocks out from under the
wheels." Momoko removes said chocks from said wheels.
The Pacific chooses that very moment to shift a little, giving
Chisako a little love tap.
Naturally, for the ship's occupants, it ain't so little.
In the house, Washu is coming out of her lab when she hears a
"Whaaaaa!" and sees Mirei and Momoko go running past her at
record speed. (If they were going much faster, they would have
disproved Einstein ^^.) "Huh?" she wonders aloud, stroking
her chin in bemusedly.
The answer comes a moment later when the giant cryo-cart
comes rolling through the house, barely missing her--but rolling
over her toes.
"Whaaaaa!" she herself screams.
The Pacific shifts again.
The cart rolls back through, once more crushing Washu's feet
underneath. Momoko and Mirei are hot on its trail.
Washu stands immobile for a long moment, swaying on her bruised
toes, before stumbling back into the lab and locking the door.
She remains in there for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile, the waves outside are beginning to subside, and that
cryo-cart's momentum is wearing down. It finally comes to a stop
by crashing into the lake just beyond the grove of trees.
Momoko and Mirei skid to a stop at the water's edge, horror
on their faces.
The cryo-chamber sinks beneath the surface. A moment later,
a column of bubbles starts to rise from the water's surface,
and a dazed Mihoshi comes up, dog-paddling for shore. (She
doesn't have that far to go. ^^) "Oh, my! What happened?"
"Auntie Mihoshi!" The two girls run up and embrace the older
woman. "We've missed you!"
"I've missed you too! Where've I been?"
The two girls laugh. "Silly Auntie Mihoshi! You've been in
cryo-stasis for almost a week!"
"Oh." Mihoshi's stomach suddenly rumbles. She giggles and
blushes. "My stomach agrees!"
The two younger girls each take a hand. "We'll fix you something
to eat."
".so she's out now?"
"Uh-huh!" Mirei sounds very proud of herself.
"Well, honey. that's good. I guess." Tenchi inwardly sighs.
He hadn't wanted to put Mihoshi in cryo-stasis either, but
without Kiyone aboard to server as a brake, it was inevitable.
"Just keep her from eating too much, okay?"
"Okay! Bye, Daddy! Give my love to the mommies!"
"I will, sweet stuff. G'night." Tenchi hits the PWR button on
the cell phone-like comlink and pockets it, sighing.
"Something wrong, Tenchi-yon?" inquires Yoni, snuggling up to
him. (Kiyone-yoni is asleep on his other side; understandable,
for their car is tooling down Route 69 at about 3 A.M.)
"Oh... they found Mihoshi's cryo-capsule and released her."
"Oh, dear... well, we'll be home soon, anyway. It won't be a
problem."
"Oh no, oh no, oh no." Mitsuki holds her head in her hands.
"She's awake."
Kamidake rubs his wife's back. "It's okay, Tsuki-yoni.
I'll protect you."
Azaka shakes his head. "It's not herself she's worried about,
Kamidake. It's the food supply."
"With good reason," Azaka's guardian namesake concurs. "Many
were the times when she came close to eating Lord Nobuyuki
out of house and home."
"Indeed she did. I remember him complaining about how much he
was spending on food even when Lady Mihoshi and Lady Kiyone
were living in town," Kamidake's guardian counterpart echoes.
Mitsuki sighs. "There's only one thing we can do."
"Wake up, Uncle Nobuyuki!" Kyo gives Nobuyuki a sharp jab in the
ribs.
The older man is swaying on his feet. "I wanna go back to bed!"
he whines, eyeing the microwave clock wearily. It reads 2:49
A.M.
"This was your idea!" Kyo hisses. "This is the only way to make
sure that Aunt Mihoshi doesn't eat all the food while we sleep!"
He waves his bokken in a pathetic attempt at being threatening.
"It wasn't my idea! It was Mitsuki's!"
"Regardless, you agreed to it."
"They got me drunk!"
"Even so."
"What I want to know is why aren't the knights doing this, or
the guardians?"
"They'll do it tomorrow night. Now--" Kyo pokes Nobuyuki in the
ribs with the bokken. "--stay awake!"
"Okay, okay," grumbles Nobuyuki, hefting his own weapon (a
rarely-used five-iron. He hasn't had much time for playing
golf lately ^^).
Come morning, both men are slumped asleep on the floor, back to
back. Fortunately, only half a cabinetful of food is gone.
***
"Any signs on sonar yet?" The submarine fleet captain looks
wearily at his sonar tech.
"Sorry, sir, the sonar is still silent," replies the tech,
squirming uneasily under the gaze of his superior. This
submarine, along with several others have been searching
a forty-thousand kilometer square area of the Pacific Ocean for
the past week with no avail.
"Erg. I hope that the Emperor wasn't doing this just to make me
look foolish! If he was--"
"Captain! We've got major response coming back at us from the
sonar!"
"What?!" The captain dashes over to the sonar operator's
console. On the dimly lit green screen can be seen a large
artificial object. It is obviously a vessel of some sort, but it
dwarfs even the largest carriers in the American Navy.
"Sir." says the executive officer quietly, ".may I recommend
that we retreat!?"
"No! You damned fool! Remember what the Emperor gave us, those
torpedoes! With those he said we would be able to defeat the
enemy ship!"
"Would those be the torpedoes we forgot to load at port,
Captain?" calls out the weapons officer.
The Captain face-faults.
***
"There she is, home sweet home," calls out Kyoto, gesturing
at the holo-monitor. (Although such equipment is hardly standard
issue for a World War II U-Boat, Kyoto has a habit of upgrading
every antique war machine he can get his hands on with "modern"
equipment.)
"Finally," sighs Tenchi. "I'll be glad to sleep in my own bed
again."
"You'd be glad to sleep with your little girls anywhere,"
quips Kyoto, drawing a red face from Tenchi.
On either side of Tenchi, the Kiyones giggle.
"Especially in light of his. condition." Ryoko jerks a thumb
back at Katsuhito, who is asleep, slumped in one of the duty
station chairs. Between snores he is mumbling the lyrics to
"Disco Inferno."
Kyoto rubs his forehead exasperatedly. "Can I please kill him?!
Can I? Can I?!"
"No you can't," insists Tenchi. "We may need him later."
"For what?! To sing karaoke?!"
".Y-M-C-A!! IT'S FUN TO STAY AT THE Y-M-C-A!!!."
Ryoko gags the older man.
Kyoto is about to applaud his wife when a steady ping-ping
sound begins to fill the cramped cabin. "What the hell."
Tenchi places his eyes on the viewing goggles and peers into the
sonar scope. "Kyoto. you better take a look at this. It appears
that Chisako ain't the only thing out there."
Kyoto hands the controls over to his wife and takes a look for
himself. "Chikkusho. There's at least a dozen attack subs on the
other side of Chisako."
Ryoko is unworried. "So, what's the problem? Chisako can outgun
a hundred times that many and they can't have any weapons that
can affect us--"
She is cut short when a school of large, red-nosed projectiles
spew forth from the tips of the submarines, impacting Chisako
in various places.
The group grits their teeth as the mighty ship lurches under
the volley. Across the ship's hull, lights are flickering
on and off.
"Chikkusho! Chikkusho! Chikkusho!."
"Stop cursing, and get us over there, Kyoto!" yells Ryoko. "I
can't understand why they're not firing back."
"Simple. Chisako's weapon systems are plasma based. In most
environments, they function normally. However, given the fact
that we are under water, and the addition of the our need to
conserve battery power to recreate the anomaly, no, they can't
fire back."
"Give us the short version!" snaps Tenchi.
"The guns won't work under water and we're trying to conserve
power! Condensed version: We're fucked!"
"Kyoto, don't curse!" yells Ryoko. "Remember, this is a PG rated
fan fic!"
"Oh, that's right." Kyoto turns in the reader's direction.
"Gomen nasai, minna san! Sometimes we get a little carried
away, I promise we will restrain our language for those of you
under the age of eighteen--"
"Can we get back to the fucking story, now?" quips Ryoko.
"Hypocrite." mutter Kyoto under his breath. Aloud, he says,
"Maybe we should apply for a PG-13 rating?"
"After this chapter is over!" yells Kiyone-yoni. "Back to the
fic!"
(Author's note: Yes, that sound you just heard was the Fourth
Wall breaking.)
"Of course. We're screwed!"
"This is not a time to talk about screwing." moans Ryoko, her
face turning a light shade of red.
"HOW FAR ARE WE AWAY FROM CHISAKO?!" bellows Tenchi, bringing
the cast quickly back into character.
"Um. not more than 500 meters. we'll be docking shortly."
***
"We've damaged over 35% of their exterior hull," reports the
executive officer.
The Captain nods, satisfied. "Very good. It's a lucky thing that
we were able to get that cargo shipped out here with those
torpedoes so quickly."
The executive officer indicates several areas where the enemy
vessel's hull is nearing the point of rupture. "Do you have any
preference, sir?"
"Yes. in fact I do." The Captain's finger lands on one of the
support/access tubes that hold the smaller saucers to the main
hub. "There. We rupture that and we can flood that entire ship."
***
"What the hell is happening?!" yells Tenchi as he and the rest
of the sub's passengers climb out of the airlock.
"Those subs showed up and started bombarding us!" replies
Chi-Ohki, bouncing along side the group. "Those are damned
powerful fish they're hitting us with! No way this planet could
have those already!"
"I'll give you one guess where they came from," Yoni murmurs
under her breath.
Tenchi nods briskly. "So, where is everyone?"
"Everyone's accounted for and in the house except for."
Chi-Ohki's voice trails off. Tenchi is surprised to see the fat,
raunchy Ohki looking.
.guilty?
"Except for who?"
"Except for. Mirei and Momoko."
"Chikkusho!!" snaps Tenchi. "We've got to find them!"
"The last I saw them on internals was about hour ago, I think
they were heading for number five saucer."
"Girls--" Tenchi speaks to his wives "-Get up to the command
deck. Kyoto, we've got some kids to rescue!"
"Right!" agrees Kyoto.
"Careful! Number five is taking on a lot a water!" advises
Chi-Ohki. "I think the main dome is shattered! You better get
some emergency gear before--"
"No time!" The two worried fathers rush off to the rescue.
***
".Come on! I know the perfect place to have lunch, Mirei!"
Momoko drags her friend/cousin behind her at break-neck
speed.
"Slow down, Momoko! I might drop the food!" cautions Mirei,
who barely maintaining her grip on the picnic basket. "Where
are we going?"
"Here!" Momoko stops almost without warning, and unceremoniously
drops Mirei.
Mirei grumbles and rises to her feet (somehow, the picnic basket
has remained intact), brushing off the dust. "Really,
Moko-sha'ya-" using the Juraian word for "beloved friend or
cousin" "-I wish you'd give me a little more." Her rebuke falls
away as she sees where Momoko has led her. "Wow."
The two of them are on the topmost level of the number-five
saucer. This level is a small park-type arboretum, with grass,
trees, and benches. The entire complex is capped over by a
clearsteel dome, and surrounded by clearsteel walls; these
features allow a beautiful view of the ocean around them. Since
it's midday, and they're relatively close to the surface,
the sunlight is trickling down through the water, turning it a
lovely shade of teal. Swimming above and around them are a
hundred different types of fish, some solitary and other's
in groups.
"The water's the color of Mommy's hair!" the second-newest
Masaki daughter exclaims.
"Yeah, it does look like Auntie Kiyone's hair," agrees Momoko.
"Now aren't you glad that I brought you up here?"
"Mm-hmm!" acknowledges Mirei. She pulls the picnic blanket
out from the basket and spreads it out with a flourish. Setting
the basket to one side, she is about to lie down and watch the
fishies swim overhead when Momoko tugs on her wrist. "What is
it?" she asks with some annoyance. "I was about to take a nap!"
"Look!" Momoko points out the wall at a small group of very
large fish. "It's some whales!"
"Where?!" Mirei pushes her face against the glass, looking
out into the teal water. "Where? Where?"
"Right there, silly." Momoko places her right finger on the
glass, pointing at the small school gradually advancing towards
them.
Mirei looks towards them smiling. A few seconds later, her smile
slips away. "Momoko. those aren't whales."
"Then what are they?" Momoko asks, pressing her own face against
the glass.
"Those are submarines."
Momoko blinks, then her eyes grow wide with fear. "Mirei. I
think we should leave."
"Uh-huh.."
".all ships report ready for second salvo, sir."
The lead sub's captain laughs. "Very well. Fire!"
As one, the fourteen attack subs flush their forward tubes,
sending several dozen photon-tipped torpedoes at the battered
spacecraft.
"Aagh!" Mirei and Momoko are hurled to the ground as the second
volley of torpedoes slams into the saucer. The relatively
unshielded clearsteel dome is at once dotted with the spider
webbing of cracks, and water starts pouring in from a thousand
breaches. Within moments, the two of them are drenched with the
salt water.
Tenchi and Kyoto nearly topple over as Chisako rocks to the
latest volley of warheads. Kyoto recovers first. "That hit too
close."
"You don't think they're firing at the." Tenchi's voice trails
off.
"I do think they're firing there." We'd better hurry."
With that, the two fathers resume their mad rush.
"Ungh. where am I." Mirei slowly opens her eyes. "It's so col-"
Her eyes widen as she realizes that she's under the water.
She's upright in a minute, sucking in air and coughing the cold,
salty water out of her lungs. Her throat feels somewhat sore;
she doesn't dare think about what could have happened if she
hadn't woken up.
"Wh-what happened?" Mirei starts to stand but immediately
falls back into the water. Pain is shooting up and down her
lower left leg; while the lights have been long since died, she
thinks that she can see blood pooling around her legs in the
knee-deep water.
Grabbing a fallen stanchion, she begins to slowly hoist herself
up, ignoring the pain in her leg. Finally, she is on her feet
(however unsteady), and she starts to look around, straining
her eyes in the darkness. "Moko-sha'ya? Where are you?"
"Mirei." comes a weak voice.
"Momoko?!" Mirei starts to wade in the direction of her friend's
voice. Each step is a dagger in her left leg, but she keeps
moving. "Where are you?"
"Over here."
After five agonizing minutes, Mirei reaches her friend and looks
down at her; Momoko is sitting in the water (up to mid-chest)
with her back against a pile of what was the dome. "Ohh, there
you are."
"Hi." Momoko smiles weakly. "Took you long enough."
Mirei's eyes sweep over her friend. At first glance, Momoko
seems to be intact.
That is, if one discounts the thick beam sprawled across her
lower legs, just below her knees.
"Oh no." Mirei immediately drops to one knee and starts trying
to lift the beam enough for Momoko to slip her legs out.
If she can, she thinks. Blood is already pooling around her.
Momoko manages a laugh. "It's okay, Mirei. it'll keep till Daddy
or Uncle Tenchi ge-" She gasps. "Mirei, look out!"
Mirei looks up to see another beam, heavier than the one
trapping Momoko, falling toward her. She drops onto her belly,
sinking below the waterline a moment before the large piece of
twisted metal hits her. She stays below the water as long as her
lungs can stand it before returning to the surface.
.on her way back up, she sees what can only be the lower legs
from a fifteen-year-old girl sinking.
When she breaks the surface, to her amazement Momoko is still
alive, albeit with more blood pooling around her. "Mirei."
she gasps. "I can't feel. my legs."
Mirei sighs. "I know."
"Ohmigod." Kyoto stops abruptly.
Tenchi stops a meter ahead of him and turns back. "What is it?"
'M-moko-chan." Kyoto falls to his knees. "Tenchi, she's hurt.
they're both hurt."
Tenchi pulls Kyoto to his feet. "Then we'd better get to them
quickly."
"Ungh..." Under normal circumstances, Mirei would be hard put to
carry Momoko; while she is god-only-knows how much older
chronologically than her de facto cousin, Momoko is physically
several years older than she, and with the requisite advantages
in weight and size.
Under circumstances like these...
"M-mirei..." Momoko moans, sounding more like a sleepy little
girl not wanting to admit her exhaustion than a young lady who
was slowly bleeding to death. "...I'm so tired..."
Mirei sighs, not trusting herself to give a clearer response.
Privately, she is glad that her friend is not more coherent.
At least now, she doesn't have to contend with requests for
painkillers, or, even worse, crying out for her parents. Mirei
would only be able to hold out a little while from succumbing
to that urge if Momoko started.
Carrying Momoko was bad enough.
Carrying a bloody Momoko was worse.
Carrying a bloody Momoko who was sans legs below the knee and
losing blood at a horrifying rate through freezing, chest-deep
salt water was the worst of all. Not being unblemished
herself, Mirei is quickly learning the accuracy of the old
saying "rubbing salt in the wound." Each step is torture,
and the cold water is slowly but surely numbing her.
But she keeps moving in the direction of an open hatch, one of
the last that hasn't been overrun by the torrents of water
pouring in through the cracks in the superstructure.
She doesn't even want to think about how she's going to
negotiate the small hill of debris she must climb to get through
that hatch, let alone to safety.
Gotta keep moving... no choice...
"They're down there." Kyoto points down the long connecting
tube that binds number-five saucer to Chisako's hub. To both
men's surprise, the long structure is more bent then snapped;
there is less leakage than they had feared. At the very end of
the passage is a wide hatch frozen three-quarters of the way
open.
"All right, so now what?" asks Tenchi.
"This." Kyoto directs his next comment at the ship's computer.
"Chisako, I need two hundred fifty meters of high-tensile
rope, five magnetic carabiners, two hover-gurneys, and two
class-four first-aid kits, on the double."
The requested equipment suddenly appears on the floor beside
them. Tenchi grabs one of the carabiners and slaps it against
the wall, then slips one end of the rope through, securing
it tightly. After satisfying himself of its secureness to the
wall, he nods. "This end's good to go. We might want to set
another one up about halfway down, and one more right at the
door."
Kyoto nods and grabs one of the gurneys. "Let's go."
The blood is now flowing freely from Mirei's fingers. Of course,
climbing a mountain of wreckage full of sharp metal edges will
do that.
Attempting to climb this pile of wreckage would still be a
challenge if she wasn't carrying Momoko on her back and
supporting her with one arm; now, the process is even more
painstaking.
At least Momoko's asleep. Poor girl; I wonder if she's quite
realized what's happened to her yet; lord knows I don't have the
gall to tell her this. I guess I'm lucky, at least I still have
my legs.
Sighing, she starts to resume her climb when she sees a figure
blocking some of the light from the doorway. Her heart filling
with hope, she calls out, "Daddy?"
A warm flood of relief hits her as Tenchi calls back, "Yeah,
Rei-cha'ya, it's me. Hang on there, sweetheart; we'll be right
down."
And so he is a moment later, rappelling down the mountain
of debris. In one hand he holds the guideline for a
hover-gurney. After kissing and hugging his own daughter,
the Juraian emperor turns his attention to his de facto
niece--and winces. "My god." He gently pulls her off of Mirei's
back and lays her on the gurney, strapping her in tightly.
"Will she be okay, Daddy?" asks Mirei, now hanging on to her
father's back.
"Yeah, I think she will be." Tenchi squeezes Mirei's hand.
"Sorry we're so late."
"Better late than never." Mirei sighs and snuggles into her
father's back.
"You got them?" calls out Kyoto, waving frantically. In one hand
he holds a remote for the hover-gurney.
"Yeah," Tenchi calls back. "We're coming up now..."
Kiyone-yoni nods and turns to Ryoko and Yoni. "They've got the
girls, and they're on their way back up."
Ryoko sighs in relief. "Thank God." She hesitates. "They...
they're all right... aren't they?"
"Mirei is just a little cut up. Momoko..."
The relief in Ryoko's eyes is replaced by worry. "Momoko...?"
Kiyone-yoni closes her eyes. "She lost both legs below the
knee."
"Oh my god..." gasps Yoni.
"My little Momoko..."Ryoko starts to lose her balance.
Kiyone-yoni steps forward and catches her. "It's okay, Ryoko.
They're rushing her to sick bay right now. She'll be fine."
I hope, she thinks.
"That's right," echoes Yoni, who has taken over supporting
Ryoko by now. "Now, let's concentrate on getting some weapons
going, or at least some shields.
Ryoko looks blank for a moment, then her face clears. "Right!"
She moves over to one of the consoles and starts running a
diagnostics routine.
The two Kiyones share a concerned look, then turn to their own
work.
"You got her here just in time," Washu admonishes as she
manipulates her holo-laptop. Anti-grav impellers lower an
unconscious, hospital gown-clad Momoko into an aquarium-like
vat of regeneration fluid. While she'll be lying in it (and
thus, the fluid level will higher than her mouth or nose), the
fluid is oxygen-rich; she can breathe it as easily as if it were
air.
"But she'll be okay?" asks Kyoto, very much the worried father.
"Didn't I say you got her here in time?" Washu waves an airy
hand. "Relax. I've never lost a patient."
Kyoto raises an eyebrow. "Since when were you a practicing
doctor?"
"Since I got picked up that degree on a bet about fifty years
after you got run off Kotami." Washu turns her attention
to Mirei. "How're you doing, dear?"
Mirei smiles up at her adopted grandmother. Since her injuries
are not as severe as Momoko's, she just took a quick soak in a
bathtub-sized regen vat. Now, she's sitting in a chair, petting
one of several Ohkis that have gathered around her. "I'm fine,
Grandma." She looks over at her father. "Daddy, is it okay if I
stay in here with Momoko?"
Tenchi pats her shoulder. "Sure thing, Rei-cha'ya. We're gonna
go up to the command deck, so just stick around here, okay?"
"Okay!" As the two men leave the room, they see Mirei getting
up and carrying an Ohki over to look at Momoko.
Once outside the sickbay, Tenchi leans against the wall and
sighs. "God, that was close..."
"No kidding," agrees Kyoto. As they had been carrying their
daughters across the connecting tube back to the hub, the subs
had started concentrating torpedo fire on the tube. Weakened
as it already was, it had started shattering immediately.
They had literally been one step ahead of the shattering
structure and the subsequent flood of water. It had been a
miracle that they'd managed to get back into the hub and close
off the wrecked tube before all of Chisako was swamped.
"I tell ya one thing," continues Kyoto. "I'm never telling
Moko-chan just what we had to do to get them out."
"Nor I and Rei-cha'ya." The only good thing about that fiasco
had been that both girls were unconscious.
"You need to what?!"
The two Washus wince at Tenchi's outburst, and then the real one
clears her throat. "We have the nuke now, but we need to cut
main power for ten minutes so we can." Her voice trails off.
"So that you can." Tenchi motions impatiently.
Washu starts to explain when Kyoto quips, "What, cabbit got your
tongue?"
A moment later, he is rubbing his forehead. "What was that
for?!"
"For interrupting us! Listen. We need to cut main power for ten
minutes so that we can safely detonate the nuke inside a
magnetic bottle in the drive core so as to reignite the
time-space anomaly inside the fold drive."
Blank stares meet her.
"So we can get the stupid reactor and fold drive working again!"
Digital Washu screams.
"I think you mean temporal dr-ouch!" Kyoto rubs his forehead.
"What this time?"
"Don't correct us while we're lecturing," chides the real Washu.
"That's all well and good," interjects Kiyone-yoni, "but what
about the subs outside? If they see the power go out."
".nothing will change," muses Yoni. "If they see all the lights
go out, they might think that we're dead and leave us alone."
"Or they might not," Ryoko counters.
"Does it matter whether the power's on or not anyway?"
Katsuhito, now sober, puts in. "We can't defend ourselves
as matters stand right now."
"Exactly," Washu says triumphantly. "So, with your permission."
Kyoto sighs. "Go ahead."
"Sir, something's happening on the enemy ship."
The lead sub's captain turns to look at his sonar officer.
"What is it?"
"Sir, most of the enemy's heat signatures have just died."
"Really? Let me see that." The captain shoulders the younger
man out of the way and checks the display himself. "You're
right."
"Sir, the Missouri and the Annapolis report confirmation,"
calls out the communications officer. "They're saying that all
the lights have gone out."
"Hmm." The captain strokes his chin. "I wonder what this could
mean."
"Sir, I recommend that we continue bombardment," the XO insists.
"It could be a trap."
The captain, however, is one of those men who believes he knows
best in all things. "Normally I would agree, XO, but not this
time. If they could retaliate, they would have done so by now.
I would have."
The executive officer bites his tongue. What you know could be
written on a pinhead. sir.
"At any rate, we'll wait ten minutes before we make our next
move."
"And that next move will be." presses the XO.
"Salvage, of course. Think what the devices in that wreck could
do for the Navy."
The XO turns away, disgusted by the medals he sees in his
superior's eyes.
"Ease it in. take it slowly. slowly. I said slow!. that's it."
"Shut up!" Digital Washu snaps, wiping the sweat from her brow
with the back of her hand. "I can't concentrate with you
yammering like that!" She carefully manipulates the remote
control for the small robot that is arming the bomb inside the
magnetic bottle. Once the bomb is armed, the little automaton
scurries away, as if sensing just how much damage the larger
object will do.
"Is it clear?" hisses the real Washu.
"Yes, it's clear." Digital Washu picks up the detonator.
"Check the bottle one more time."
The real Washu checks the strength of the electromagnetic
shield encasing the nuke, then nods. "We're ready."
"Everything's hooked up here," Kyoto's voice reports from the
comlink on the console.
"Good. and here we go." Digital Washu gives the detonator
a firm quarter-turn.
And then there is light.
"We have power!" Kiyone-yoni yells triumphantly. All over the
ship, lights and terminals are shining and brimming with life
again.
"Weapons hot," Yoni reports. "Any time."
"Now would be just fine, love," Tenchi assures her.
"Glad to hear it." Yoni's eyes dance across the row of green-lit
commit touchpads, each with a red triggerpad underneath.
"Now what should I start with.?"
"Ten minutes are up." The sub captain rubs his hands together
excitedly. "Call in the salvage ships, and have them hold at-"
"Sir, they have power back!"
"What?!!?" The captain whirls on his sonar officer. "What did
you say?!"
"All their heat sources just lit up again, and stronger than
before!" The sonar officer looks again at his board, and
blanches. "C-captain."
"What is it now?!"
The officer points a shaky finger at his radar screen. On it, a
large flurry of small, fast objects are rushing at their sub.
"We have incoming."
The captain has just enough time to wet himself before the
volley of antimatter-tipped torpedoes turn his sub and crew into
free particles.
"Five enemy subs taken out," Yoni reports crisply. "The rest...
are just sitting there."
Tenchi nods in approval. "Nice work, Yoni. Now, why don't you
introduce the survivors to laser and plasma fire?"
"Hai!" Yoni's fingers dance across the fire-control board,
triggering the Chisako's extensive gun batteries. The blue-white
beams cut effortlessly through the water and through the
American subs. What few remain immediately heel around and limp
away, at what speed their tortured screws can provide.
"Okay, try it now," comes Kyoto's voice over the radio.
"All right," Washu replies. The past week has been spent
repairing the damage that the American torpedoes had caused.
The connecting spar had been rebuilt, but it was a jury-rig
job at best; nothing short of a full-bore refit at a spacedock
would really fix the damage. "I'll start the rotation sequence
as soon as everyone is inside."
After a few minutes, Kyoto passes that confirmation along, and
Washu activates the sequence.
The saucers move slowly at first, the depth of the water and
their relative inactivity over the past weeks having made the
mammoth gears slightly unresponsive. Soon, however, they are
spinning at a nominal velocity, and the antigrav system reads
within acceptable limits.
"We ready to go?" asks Tenchi.
"Yes, Tenchi, we most certainly are." Kyoto takes his place at
the helm and takes hold of the yoke, pulling back. Chisako
quickly rises from the ocean's depths, making for space. This
does not go unnoticed by anyone's radar, but after the incident
with the American sub fleet, and after several subsequent
expeditions were beaten back in short order, no one is feeling
lucky enough to mess with the extraterrestrial behemoth.
Soon:
"Geosych achieved," reports Chisako's flight AI. "Ready for
interstellar transit. Course heading, and preferred mode of FTL
travel?"
"Spacefold," replies Kyoto. "Course heading one-one-ni--"
"Warning! Warning! Large warships in close proximity on
intercept course!" the AI suddenly shrieks. "First on course
approximately one hundred eighty degrees astern, the second
on course approximately one hundred eighty degrees ahead.
Recommend full alert status, recommend all batteries and all
shields to full power."
"Red alert!" Kyoto calls out. "All hands to battle stations!"
All around him, everyone on the bridge rushes to their assigned
stations. "Chisako, give me a visual!"
Akiko and Tomoko appear on the holoscreen.
"Oh shit!" Ryoko yells.
"Them again?" Kiyone-yoni yelps.
"No time to argue! Shields to full, guns to full, prep the fold
drive!"
In his throne on Akiko's command deck, the evil Kyoto smiles
as he sips a snifter of his current favorite drink: chilled
espresso with warmed Nekojin blood mixed in. "Heh. I see we made
it just in time."
The evil Washu steps up beside him; since it's battle, the
positions normally occupied by his chained slave girls are
unfilled. "Shall we open up with the main batteries, my lord?"
"No, not today." Kyoto's evil smile grows at he contemplates
what to do with his enemies. "I know. Wouldn't this be a perfect
opportunity to test out that new weapon of yours, the one you
say you've improved on since your Fourth Reich days?"
"Ahh!" Washu's eyes light up. "Excellent idea, my lord!"
"Warning! Warning! Sensors indicate a dimensional weapons
release! Sensors indicate--"
"Is he crazy?!" yells Tenchi. "To use dimensional weapons this
close to a planet..."
"Remember who our opponent is," reminds Kyoto. "Chisako,
move us out of the blast trajecto--"
"Warning! Warning! Sensors indicate a second dimensional
weapons discharge!"
"That one came from the one behind us!" shouts Kiyone-yoni
from a sensor station.
"Oh shit... Chisako, is the fold drive ready?"
"The drive itself is fully operational, but the navicomp module
has not been properly recalibrated, nor a set of coordinates
input..."
"No time! Initiate fold now!"
There is a slight pause, then, "Master Kyoto, may I remind you
of the problems we've had with making uncalibrated folds in
the--"
"Later, Chisako! Fold now!!!!!!!!"
"...yes, sir."
And Chisako folds, at the very moment that the dimensional
blasts hit her shields.
THE END
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