Season 1: Return of the Akuneko
Episode 8: No Need for Command
The Jurai Frontier, a Jurai battleship
"Sir, what are we doing out here?" the first
officer asked his admiral. "Are we actually going to
fight a war over a space pirate?"
"If weren't for that space pirate we would all be
under Kagato's thumb right now," the admiral answered.
"I thought that it was Lord Tenchi that defeated
him," the man sounded confused.
"And how do you think he made it past our defenses
to the palace?" the admiral asked. "Ryoko is a hero of
the Jurai, and will be treated as such. It is a moot
point anyway, wars are fought over resources not
causes. They would be coming anyway."
"Sir! We have readings beyond the frontier!"
Someone called from one of the consoles.
"Give me a visual," the first officer ordered. As
was usual for the Jurai, the admiral watched the
proceedings silently. A holographic screen hung in
front of him, relating all the pertinent data.
A large holograph appeared in front of the bowl
shaped bridge revealing a starfield with a collection
of green dots indicating ship readings. There were
nearly forty ships out there.
"Lieutenant," the admiral said calmly. "Report this
to Jurai, the Akuneko have appeared."
"Yes, sir."
"Give me an ETA."
"Maybe a day, maybe a week, it's hard to tell
through dead space." The admiral nodded, sensors could
detect things at a vastly exaggerated distance through
dead space. There was nothing out there to interfere
with the signals. Unfortunately this meant that they
had no idea of their sensor capabilities in dead
space. "We have thirty battleships on the way."
"Thirty? How much are we leaving for the sol
system?"
"There are two battleships within easy reach," the
answer came. "Five more can get there within the
week."
"Hmm, any word on the GP?"
"They're coming sir, but with the Caine incident
they're having problems organizing a force. I have
just received word that twelve full special units have
been alerted to our situation and will be here within
eight hours."
Time Passes
"Good they're here, perhaps they're coming for
Jurai after all," the first officer noted, once all
their forces had been collected.
"Reports coming in from other ships in the picket,"
someone shouted. "Another hundred signals detected
heading for the Sol system!"
"You were saying? Alert Jurai and the Yagami, the
information is accurate. The Akuneko are targeting
Earth."
"Sir, the battleship Tamashii is in the Sol
system."
"The Sol system is GP jurisdiction, that puts
Makibi in command."
"A mere 1st class detective? But doesn't the
presence of Lord Tenchi and the..."
"Kiyone Makibi not only bears the official right of
command, but she is also the best in the region
qualified for that command. Given her actions in the
Kagato mess she could strategize rings around me, much
less Koretsu. That will be all."
"Yes, sir."
Dead Space, Akuneko carrier, Earth vector
"Lord Ryoi," the peasant went to his knees before
the Kuroi warrior. "We've detected artificial signals.
We suspect that they are some sort of sensor trace."
"How long before we'll be able to pierce the
galaxy's signature?"
"A day, two at most, and we'll be able to read past
the frontier."
"Go then and report when you have more."
"Milord," the peasant backed away to his station.
"It would seem that your brother has betrayed us,"
a battle-suited woman suggested. "We will find the
Jurai across the border."
"There is nothing we can do about him now," Lord
Ryoi answered. "He is already dead."
"What a pity."
Earth, the woods outside the shrine
"What are we doing out here, Kiyone?" Mihoshi
asked.
"We're making sure no one else will get hurt,"
Kiyone answered while sighting down the three-foot
gadget she had invented. The early tests had proved
promising, and at least it wouldn't blow up in her
hands. At least she thought it wouldn't, "Okay, back
up Mihoshi." Mihoshi took a step back and watched her
hero nervously.
Kiyone sighted again and pulled the trigger. Lasers
produced a beam that continued on until the power was
denied. This weapon produced a lance-like yellow bolt
of energy laced with blue veins. The force of the shot
forced Kiyone's hands up, another aspect that the
laser lacked. The bolt laced outward and struck a
boulder, tunnelling an even hole through the middle of
it and exploding out the other side. The attack
culminated in a small explosion about fifty feet out
of the rock.
"Whoa," Mihoshi gaped out the display. Kiyone
smiled, the kickback was a little much, and she'd have
to adapt to the lower rate of fire. Still it should be
useful against the Akuneko force fields.
"Let's go find Ryoko and Rikyu," the teal-haired
detective suggested. Everyone had intensified their
training after they had felt Kagato meddling in their
lives again. They waited for Rei's return in the
shadows of the war.
Mihoshi nodded happily immediately turning towards
the cave shrine the Akuneko had been training in.
Their beepers started flashing then. "Damn, this
better be important." It took only a few minutes to
arrive on the Yagami and arrive at the bridge.
"This is the Galaxy Police cruiser Yagami, 1st
class detective Kiyone Makibi speaking," she was
surprised to be facing a Jurai communications officer.
"Battleship Hito, on the frontier," the man
reported. "Our picket has detected at least a hundred
unidentified ships on your vector heading in from dead
space. The main attack will take place near Earth."
"Thank you, for the report, we'll be ready," Kiyone
responded. The Jurai soldier saluted her and the
communication blinked out. Another communication came
in on top of it, this time it was the familiar face of
the sergeant of detectives, paired with that of a
Jurai admiral."
"1st class detective Kiyone Makibi?" the Admiral
asked.
"Yes, sir," Kiyone answered surprised.
"Boy we're getting a lot of calls today," Mihoshi
noted, she yawned and pulled out her storage cube to
look for some coffee.
"Makibi," the sergeant began. "The Jurai have
requested that you be given command of the Sol system
defense, and we have agreed. For the moment you have
the rank of Captain Kiyone Makibi, is that
understood." His voice indicated that it was a
reluctant agreement, Mihoshi did come with Kiyone
after all.
"Me?" Kiyone asked stunned. "In command? Thank you
sir. I shall try not to disappoint you."
"I don't believe you will," the admiral noted. "Is
there anything you would like to discuss?"
"The people of Earth, sir," Kiyone noted. "Should
we alert them?"
"Why? They don't have the technology to help us,"
the admiral answered. "Either we stop the Akuneko or
we don't, alerting Earth won't change that."
"Sir, three Jurai transports could evacuate Earth
in a little less than a day," Kiyone noted. "We are on
the edge of the galaxy here, sir. They'll hit us
fairly quickly if the first battle is a defeat."
"We'll send two transports on stand bye, as a back
up," the admiral noted. "In case it appears that we
are losing, but hold off alerting Earth officials
until the last moment."
"Yes sir," Kiyone said. "But I'd also like to
point out that if the first battle goes bad then I
won't be around to alert them."
"Point taken, the transport captains will have
appropriate orders Jurai out."
"GP out."
"Captain Makibi," Kiyone repeated to herself.
"Well, Captain," Nagi was standing behind her. It
had been a week since their prisoner had "escaped" and
the bounty hunter was in much better shape. "What do
you want us to do?"
"Time to gather everybody up, I'm going to make
some calls," Kiyone said, in control again.
"Uh...where's Mihoshi?" Nagi pointed at a shapeless
pile of objects ranging from stuffed animals and
magazines to GP equipment.
"I just want some coffee," the heap said in a
muffled voice on the edge of tears.
Later in the Makibi house living room
"Lord Tenchi should have the command here," the
Jurai captain, Koretsu, was complaining. "Not this
policewoman." Sasami and Mihoshi were playing a video
game in the back room. Nobuyuki was at work, probably
flirting with his secretary.
"Now is not the time to squabble over command,"
Kamidake lectured. The log-like guardians that shared
the knights' names hovered in the background near one
of the doors.
"Captain Makibi has been given the command," Azaka
agreed. "And she is well deserving of it."
"We don't have the time for this," Ayeka snapped.
The knights and soldier instantly ceased their chatter
at her command. Ayeka turned to Kiyone, and demurely
continued. "Please, Kiyone, continue."
"Okay," Kiyone began, she looked to Washu. A
hologram appeared over the living room table. It
showed scenes from what had to be the first Akuneko
wars. "According to Koretsu and Washu, the Akuneko
basically fight using swarms of small fighter type
craft. These are carried to the battle by other ships
about the size of the Tamashii. On their own the
carriers are not much of a difficult target, but
things may have changed over the last two thousand
years, it is the fighters that are the problem."
"We know all this already," Koretsu snapped. "How
does that solve our problem, we are still greatly
outnumbered and a long way from reinforcements."
"Yeah, Kiyone," Ryoko agreed. The Jurai captain
stared at her in annoyance, he didn't like the
criminal siding with him. "We have the Yagami, two
cabbits and," she paused and looked at the Jurai
captain. "Three battleships? Close enough to get to
the frontier, they have a hundred ships, probably all
carriers with several of those fighters." Kiyone
smiled and looked at Washu.
"This is where the fleet is coming," Washu noted as
the hologram changed. The screen showed an unpopulated
system and then focused on one of the planets and its
three moons. "I plan to set up a little station on
this moon here." The hologram indicated the habitable,
but still barren sphere. "A little idea I picked up
from one of the Americans' films." The scientist
snickered a little as she thought of what she was
going to put there. "We have reinforcements on the
way, but they will probably arrive too late."
"I've already commanded the other battleships to
cease active scanning and hold position within the
main planet's signature," Kiyone informed them. "We
should be gone and heading to join them in the next
two hours. At top speed we'll be there within two
days, we travel with out active sensors or
communication, Ryoko or Rikyu can teleport across
ships if information is needed."
"I am not quite as skilled a teleporter as...my
mother," Rikyu informed them. Ryoko said nothing. She
disliked being used as a messenger, but she wasn't
about to give that Jurai more ammunition against
Kiyone. "But I'll help if it is needed."
"Thank you Rikyu-san," Kiyone responded, relieved.
Then she continued, her voice hard and commanding
again. "The cabbits will not travel in ship form, I
don't want them out until the battle starts." Ryoko
and Nagi nodded, understanding the strategy. "When we
get there, the Tamashii and the Yagami will join the
Gyanburu and the Kagekiha in the planet signature."
"Kiyone, what are we supposed to do in this?"
Tenchi asked, referring to himself and Ayeka. "It
doesn't sound like you need us."
"I'll need you two, the guardians and the knights
to run security at Washu's post," Kiyone told them.
"She'll get visitors eventually."
"What about the Yagami," guardian-Azaka asked.
"You'll be piloting, who'll make sure you're not
boarded." Kiyone and Washu looked at each other and
started laughing, none of the rest of the crew wanted
to know what that meant.
"Between Mihoshi, me and Rikyu," Kiyone said,
recovering. "We should be able to handle it. Any
battle on the Yagami is my favor anyway."
"You're going to let that blonde do something,"
Korestsu was appalled.
"She took down Ryo-Ohki in a patroller," Kiyone
informed him, Ryoko mumbled something about a
"hangover" but that was it. Kiyone then completed
detailing her plan. "When the Akuneko fleet is about
us, we'll break atmosphere and begin the attack. By
all accounts of the war and Washu's conclusions from
studying the fighter, each Jurai battleship should be
worth at least five of their carriers, Ken-Ohki should
be able to take ten no problem and Ryo-Ohki eight.
Mihoshi and I should be able to take five or six. Data
on Washu's weapon is..." Kiyone looked over at Washu
who merely snickered. Everybody shifted uncomfortably.
"....inconclusive, but we should be able to do a great
amount of damage within the first moments of battle.
We have to, because the fighter's mobility and numbers
will be difficult to overcome."
"It sounds good on paper," Koretsu agreed,
reluctantly. "But we'll see if it works, and if they
find us first we'll have to deal with the fighters."
"You'll just have to make sure they don't find
you," Lord Yosho noted, calmly. He was staying on
Earth with Sasami and Nobuyuki as a last line of
defense. Kiyone nodded a thanks to him.
"If everything is understood," Kiyone wasn't
asking. "Then we should be on our way. Now."
"Excuse me," Ryoko stood up. "I just have to...."
She mumbled something.
"What did you say?" Kiyone asked.
"I have to call my boss and tell him I'm quitting,
okay," she yelled. "It'll just take a minute." The
space pirate stomped away red-faced.
"I was wondering when she was going to admit that,"
Kiyone said to herself. The Jurai captain glared at
her.
"She'll be right behind us," Tenchi said, standing
up. "Let's go on ahead."
"Yes, Lord Tenchi," came a chorus of Jurai voices,
eliciting a downtrodden look from the young prince. A
series of ship powered teleports followed taking
everyone to their respective ships. Ayeka remained
behind, using a little Jurai power to hold off the
teleport. She walked into the hallway and intercepted
Ryoko who was about to teleport.
"Lady Shinku," Ryoko winced. The ever formal Ayeka
had taken to calling her that as her family history
came out. Considering that Ryoko connected the title
to fifteen separate assassination attempts from five
different people, it wasn't particularly thoughtful.
"Ayeka, we need to be gone," Ryoko told her. "Can
we fight later?"
"I don't want to fight anymore," Ayeka said. Ryoko
stared at her confused. A holograph communication
screen appeared before them.
"Hurry up you two," Kiyone yelled. "We need to go."
"Go ahead a get me aboard, Kiyone," Ayeka answered.
The irate police detective vanished just before Ayeka
began to teleport. "This doesn't mean I'm giving up on
Lord Tenchi!"
"Of course not!" Ryoko yelled. "That would be too
easy!" Then she teleported herself.
The Akuneko carrier
"Lord Ryoi," the surveillance officer was again
kneeling before the Kuroi warrior. "The artificial
signals have ceased."
"Were you able to identify their source?"
"No sir, but reports indicate a region of extreme
electro-magnetic activity near the planned beachhead,
at this range it may have confused our sensors."
"I see, so you think that our feint has been
effective?"
"I do, milord."
"It is on your head then." The soldier nodded and
tried to avoid sweating.
"Yes, milord."
=====
"Caffeinated Kender? What's that, a berserk spell?" -
Tribble, Kender Warrior of the Celestial Kingdom
Signed
He of Too Many Names (Thrythlind/Thryth/Luke/Hyperbole/Pika/Pooka)
http://members.aol.com/thrythlind/snake.html
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