Barring any major objections or changes, this is the version that will be put 
up on my online Archive when and if I ever get around to making one. In other 
words, this is probably your last chance to C&C this. I take both public and 
private C&C, by the way.
    Flames, on the other hand, will be fed to the goat-llama.
A few words about historical accuracy in this chapter: Screw history! Space 
cows are cool.

Chapter 3, for the few of you who are curious, is coming soon...right now, 
it's just breathing hard.
    *rimshot*
::crickets chirp::

Disclaimer: Moldiver and Tenchi are the property of Pioneer and as such not 
mine. No money is being made from this and no such intent should be inferred.

-Steve "Komodo" T.
********
"What do you think?"
"Hers are bigger."
-Geobreeders
**************

"I said, stand down your men, Captain," Makabi said, a hint of irritation 
creeping into her voice.

"Not until your friend lowers her gun and our systems come back on-line," 
Jeffords replied.

"If you think I'm going to let a damn ape dictate terms to me," the woman 
snarled. "Mihoshi!"

The brown skinned woman pulled the trigger and there a bright flash of light, 
followed by a metallic crash. Jeffords looked to see Mihoshi sliding out of a 
huge dent in the lockers to slump to the floor. Moldiver turned to look at 
Makabi and Jeffords was startled to see how cold her eyes were behind her 
visor.

'Shit,' Jeffords thought. 'There goes the fan.'

"Sir!" One of the crew barked. Jeffords looked back at the lockers and was 
startled to see Mihoshi get back to her feet without using her arms, 
seemingly flowing into the position as though she was part cat and then she 
started forward.

"Enough!" rang out another woman's voice as a glowing barrier sprang up 
between Mihoshi and Moldiver. "Call off your dog, Captain Makabi. Your 
prejudices have run away with your good sense."

"But-" Makabi started.

"Now!"

"Mihoshi," Makabi snapped and the woman returned to her side.

"Captain Jeffords," the woman's voice said. "On behalf of the Empire of 
Jurai, please accept my apologies for the Captain's actions."

"Sir. We have power to engines and weapons again," one of the techs said.

"A show of good faith, Captain."

Jeffords hesitated before replying. "Thank you," he said carefully. "And 
apologies accepted." With that, he lowered his rifle, the rest of the bridge 
crew following suit a moment later.

"And now, Captain, if you and the one called Moldiver would care to follow 
Captain Makabi, she will bring you to my chamber where I will explain 
everything. Oh, and if possible, could you bring with you a pot of coffee?"

"Sir?" asked his exec.

Jeffords frowned for a moment. "Cancel red alert," he said. "But stay sharp." 
He laid the rifle on the table. "Give us twelve hours to return and if we 
don't, then assume the worst and do as you see fit."

"Aye, sir."

********
Growing up, Jeffords had been a fan of science fiction. His bookshelves had 
groaned under the weight of the works of Asimov, Heinlen, Bova, Clarke, 
Robinson (Both Spider and Kim Stanley), Weber, Brin, Temhaire, Bear, Lackey, 
and Chi Nau, and Oleneyzack, to name but a few.

But none of them, even though many had written about the fabled First 
Contact, had prepared him for the ship he and Moldiver now walked through.

He felt as though he was in an indoor garden. A stream ran along each side of 
the path and vines topped the walls where they met the ceiling, which seemed 
to glow with a soft light. The air smelled sweet, and pure. Before them, 
Makabi and Mihoshi led the way. Beside him on his right, Moldiver walked, her 
wings now draped over her shoulders. From the lower edge of those wings hung 
black fabric making it appear that she had a cape or rather, two capes draped 
about her. Another strip of fabric, which fell from the back of her 
shoulders, completed the illusion. Her helmet cast the visible part of her 
face in shadow, which gave her a slightly supernatural look.

Finally, the hall opened out into a huge garden. A waterfall flowed down the 
right side wall into a stream which flowed across the room and into the 
opposite wall. On the other side of the stream, in the center of the room was 
a raised dais, and upon it was the largest tree Jeffords had ever seen in his 
life, dwarfing even the legendary sequoia redwoods of California. At the base 
of the dais was a small table and standing next to it was a woman dressed in 
a blue and scarlet Japanese kimono. Her blue hair was tied back and a slight 
smile graced her lips. Jeffords felt his stomach clench. She was impossibly 
beautiful.

"Captain Jeffords, Ms Or-excuse me, Moldiver, welcome aboard the Tsunami. 
Please, come join me." The woman's voice was soft and musical, but it was 
most definitely the same one as the one that had rang out on the 
Christopher's bridge. The slip was momentary, perhaps even intentional, and 
Jeffords normally would have caught it. However the Tsunami, and the woman 
greeting them, were a bit overwhelming and that detail slipped into his 
subconscious.

"But how-" Jeffords cut himself off as he realized that clear crystal blocks 
were set in the water, their tops just above the surface. There were enough 
of them that arranged as they were, one could walk across.

Feeling just a bit foolish, he moved forwards and stopped at the table, 
laying the extra large thermos of coffee on the table. "In the name of the 
people of Sol, I greet you in friendship."

The woman laughed. "And how long did your politicians take to come up with 
that greeting?" She picked up the thermos and poured some coffee into a cup. 

"A whole month," Jeffords admitted after a moment.

"Only a month?" She seemed surprised. "For humans, that's very quick." A 
wolflike creature in a blue robe approached the table carrying a tray with a 
pitcher and a bowl in one hand, and two stackable chairs in the other. "Thank 
you, Misai," the woman said. The creature set the tray on the table, placed 
the chairs at the table, bowed and then left the room. "Please, sit." The 
woman poured them each a cup of coffee. "Cream and sugar?"

"Cream? Sugar?" Moldiver asked.

"Yes. Former Emperor Azusa's first wife is a Terran and her dowry included a 
sizable number of cattle. We don't care much for beef, but Terran cream and 
It's side products, such as cheese and butter have become quite the vice 
among the more affluent members of the  galactic community. The sugar is not 
quite sugar, but saffronid, a plant remarkably similar to your sugarcane."

"I see..." Jeffords said as he trailed off.

"Oh. Where are my manners?" She stood up and bowed. "Forgive my rudeness. 
Special Assignment Minister Tsunami, pleased to meet you."

"Tsunami...just like the ship?" Moldiver raised her cup to her lips and 
sipped.

"In a sense. It is complicated. For simplicity's sake, let us say that the 
three of us are one." She turned her attention to Jeffords. "Your presence 
here complicates matters, Captain. Our instructions were to pick up Moldiver."

"But the message-"

"Yes. I took the liberty of scanning your mainframe. I will be honest, 
Captain. There is little you and your men will be able to do against our 
current...problem. 

"How do you know?" Jeffords asked, surging to his feet. "So what if we don't 
have the level of technology you do. Give us a chance to at least try!"

"Calm yourself, Captain. I am not insulting your people's accomplishments or 
level of technology. The simple fact is that I am the most powerful ship in 
the Juraian Navy and I can barely hold my own. In that regard, the most your 
people will be able to do is die, and be better off for it." Jeffords opened 
his mouth to protest further when she raised her hand. "Perhaps if I explain 
our foe." In the center of the table there appeared an image of a white 
bearded man. One eye was covered with a patch and his beard and hair had been 
combed into strips which stuck out from his head like a collar. "Doctor Clay. 
The third most brilliant mind in the known universe." A second image 
appeared, this one of a creature with a catlike face and rabbit ears. "And 
this is Ryo-Oki, she's a Cabbit. For years, the only one of her kind. 
Cabbits, you see, can transform themselves into spaceships many times larger 
then the form you see before you. In that form, they have access to massive 
energy reserves, and powerful weapons."

"You speak as though there's more then one now."

"In a manner of speaking," Tsunami said as the images vanished. "Three years 
ago, as Terrans measure time, Clay obtained a sample of Ryo-Oki's DNA at the 
request of Lord Daroyn on behalf of the King of the Thaniean Empire."

"But for what purpose?"

"Why else? To-" The floor suddenly and violently heaved, sending them flying 
onto their backs.

"What the hell?" Jeffords demanded, his sidearm already drawn and primed.

Tsunami got to her feet, staring at the wall. "Damn! We were followed!" The 
floor lurched again. Then the wall glowed and moments later a man stepped 
into the room. He was tall, with pointed, elflike ears and catlike features. 
His skin was a dull gray and hair covered his shoulders, forearms, upper 
chest, calves and flowed like a mane down his back. A pair of black trunks 
was his only clothing. But it was his eyes that chilled Jefford's blood. They 
were completely void of anything except an odd sort of hunger.

Slowly, he looked around the room, and then leapt at Tsunami, only to come up 
short as Moldiver appeared between them. For a moment he stared and then 
slashed at her chest. His claws had no effect.

Moldiver's smile was ugly. "My turn." With that, she backhanded the creature 
across the room. Snarling, he flowed to his feet without using his hands and 
charged, claws outstretched, howling like a banshee.

Moldiver sidestepped and spun, her claws leaving a diagonal slash across his 
back, sending tufts of hair to the floor. The creature howled again and leapt 
at her, both fighters tumbling to the floor, grappling for leverage.

Without thinking, Jeffords lined up his shot and fired three times. The 
polysteel-ceramic darts covered the ten yards to the creature at 200kps and 
shattered against his hide.

The creature looked up.

And got his attention.

"Shit," Jeffords swore and emptied his entire clip at it's face, picking 
targets at random. The creature howled as one dart found it's eye, popping 
it. Swearing under his breath, Jeffords reached for his spare clip.

Moldiver slammed her claws into the other eye and threw the creature off, 
slamming him into the floor. And then, without letting go, slammed his head 
into the deck plates repeatedly. He fell still after about the twentieth 
time, but Moldiver continued to beat his head against the floor for a good 
two minutes before finally stopping and falling into a sitting position on 
the deck, breathing hard.

"What-" the creature twitched and Jeffords reflexively squeezed off several 
shots at it's head. "What is that?"

"That?" Tsunami asked, moving to stand next to him, one hand pressed to her 
left hip. "That, Captain, is why you and your crew would be better off dying. 
That is that the Thaniens do to their prisoners." Some more of the wolflike 
creatures came in and picking up the body then left. "I believe you Terrans 
have a saying? Something about a fate worse then death?"

"She was one, wasn't she?" Moldiver burst out. "Mihoshi."

"Yes," Tsunami said. "We restored her as best we could, but there are some 
remnants. I was not choosing my words lightly when I ordered Makabi to call 
off her dog." She looked pensive for a moment. "And I have just been left 
with no choice. Return to your ship, Tsunami is damaged and I must rest."

Jeffords and Moldiver exchanged looks.

"But isn't there anything we-" Moldiver started to say and was cut off 
Tsunami's raised hand.

"I must rest. Go." Moldiver started to protest more but stopped when Jeffords 
grabbed her arm and shook his head. So instead she bowed, her wings folding 
about her and the strips of fabric falling back into place as she 
straightened. Turning, they walked back across the room to where a man 
carrying a twisted wooden staff was waiting.

As they left, Jeffords looked back. Tsunami was nowhere to be seen and the 
tree was pulsing softly with a golden inner light.

********
Rather then leading them back to the airlock that they had first entered 
from, their guide instead led them to a hanger bay where the Saint 
Christopher rested on some sort of gridwork. By the ship's hatch, no less 
then ten Marines waited in full armor, rifles in hand. They were nervously 
eyeing the two women who stood next to the nearest wall. Like their guide, 
both held wooden staffs. 

This of course, was a two question problem. Question one; why were they 
there? The answer was simple. The ten Marines were simply a  way to say. 
"You're not gonna get away with any funny business." Such a display was 
countered with an equal display by the other party to say; "Yeah? Well 
neither are you."

The second question was a bit more troubling. Were there only two because 
that's all that could be spared, or worse, because that's all that was needed?

Returning the salutes of the Marines, Jeffords boarded the Christopher and 
called a meeting of the senior officers.

********
"...And then we came here," Jeffords finished. "I'm still not sure how that 
creature got on board. Did we pick up anything?"

"Aye, sir. A radar blip rushed the Tsunami's starboard side. Approximately 
ninety seconds later, we were drawn inside the Tsunami and before the bay 
doors closed, our instruments recorded a massive surge of some kind of 
electromagnetic radiation similar but far more powerful then the radiation 
observed when the Tsunami docked with us. I believe that powerful radiation 
was a sign of the Tsunami's...stardrive activating."

"So we're traveling interstellar right now?" Jeffords asked.

"That would be a reasonable assumption, sir."

"But where are we traveling too?" 

"The Juraian's home system, or as we refer to it, Altais. Apologies were 
offered on behalf of the Empire of Jurai and Misaki's message came from 
Altais. It seems logical that the two are one and the same."

"But hold on. Misaki's message had some sort of battle going on in the 
background. Why would we be heading to a battle zone? Hell, if this ship is 
the only thing in their fleet that can stand up to these things, why is it 
even playing taxi service?"

"Perhaps these Thaniens attack in a certain pattern with so much time between 
attacks. This may be one of those times."

"Or that they need Moldiver so badly that they sent the one ship that could 
bring her back alive, losses or no," Jeffords said. "We need more 
information."

"We can't collect that until we reach the battle zone, sir."

"I know," Jeffords replied.

********
Jeffords was in a foul mood.

According to the Christopher's Chronometer, three days had passed since the 
meeting with Tsunami. Three days and not a peep, despite repeated messages 
sent through the guards for an audience. To keep the chance of violence 
resulting from misunderstandings down, the Marines standing guard at the 
hatch had been reduced to two and were rotated often to prevent boredom from 
sneaking in. Meanwhile, the same two women were still standing by interior 
bay doors. Not once had they been relieved. Either the Juraians had a 
different measurement of time, didn't need to sleep, or the theory that they 
were all that could be spared was true. If that was the case, their 
discipline and endurance was incredible.

Sighing, he threw back the covers and got up. Perhaps some reading would 
help. Picking up his favorite book, he headed down to the rec hall.

As the hatch slid open, he was greeted with darkness. Reaching for the light 
switch, he stopped when he realized that there was a subtle blue glow coming 
from the far side of the room. As his eyes became accustomed to the darkness 
he realized that the blue glow was that of a hologram of Misaki and Moldiver, 
her wings in what he had come to think of as "cape mode" was studying it. A 
moment later, he realized that the hologram was being emitted from her open 
palm.

Softly, he cleared his throat and her head turned slightly in response.

"I'm sorry," Jeffords said quietly. "Am I interrupting?"

"No." She closed her hand, and the hologram vanished, plunging the room into 
complete darkness. "I was simply thinking."

"May I ask what about?" Jeffords asked as he turned on the lights, wincing at 
the sudden brightness.

For a moment, it seemed as though she would say nothing, and then she walked 
across the room to stand before a painting of the Earth rising over the moon. 
"Have you ever loved, Captain? A love so deep, so powerful, that you go 
against everything that you believed in?"

Jeffords gave it some thought. "Haven't had to yet. I'm a sailor, Ms 
Moldiver, my love is the sea, in whatever form she takes. Water or space, I'm 
comfortable in both."

"And I'm a traitor, Captain Jeffords. For the sake of love, I abandoned Tokyo 
and it's people to come with you, and given the chance to change it, I would 
do so again in a heartbeat. But that does not change what I am. Or my 
selfishness."

"It's not selfish to love. But only if Misaki loves you back." Outwardly, 
Jeffords was calm. Inside, he was seething. If Moldiver had forced her way on 
board just to live out some crazy-ass fantasy of being with Earth's first 
Xenonaut, then she was about to learn just why he had been selected to 
command this mission. At the very back of his  mind, something seemed to 
sprout. A sort of glimmer, and just as quickly, a gentle hand seemingly full 
of stars touched it, sending it back to sleep and just as quickly forgotten.

She spun. "How-No...no, it doesn't matter...during the Sakigake's launch, 
when I was engaged in a battle to the death, I got the idea to go inside the 
sun. Over the radio, Misaki pleaded with me not to do it. Not to give up my 
life. He even was willing to give up his dream for me. I went in anyway and 
there, I saw..." she took a deep breath. "Suffice to say, I survived and 
emerged victorious. Misaki got his dream and I returned to Earth to wait. He 
should have been back in three weeks. It's been three years." She whirled to 
face him. Her eyes once again as cold as they had been on the bridge during 
the argument with Makabi. "Three years, Captain Jeffords. Three years and all 
I've had to keep me going is one brief moment in his arms right before the 
Sakigake jumped." She strode forward and was almost to the door when Jeffords 
found his voice.

"Wait. The sun..."

She stopped. "What about it?"

"You were inside it. What did you see?"

She turned and looked at him for a moment before replying. "Eternity."

********
Jeffords signed off on the last of the morning's paperwork and passed it to 
his yeoman before leaning back in his chair. Five days. Five days  inside the 
Tsunami's hold. The crew was starting to get edgy and the Marines had already 
broken up a couple of fights. If they didn't get to wherever the hell they 
were going soon, there was no telling what might happen.

At that moment, there was a soft chime and a holo of Tsunami formed next to 
him.

"Greetings, Captain."

"Minister," Jeffords responded, his words icy cold.

"You have every right to be angry, Captain. My assistant had been keeping 
your requests from me and I only just now found out about it." Her expression 
hardened. "I assure you, the matter has been dealt with."

"I see," Jeffords said, but despite his best effort, his tone was still cold.

Tsunami sighed and then brightened. "I thought you might like to see our 
approach."

"We've arrived?" the Exec asked.

"Yes. We'd have been here sooner, but the...attack damaged one of my 
thrusters. We have, as you would say, limped back home...such as it is." She 
gestured and an image formed at the front of the bridge. There in space was a 
metal triangle, each corner a giant sphere from which bristled tiny 
cylinders. Tiny lights moved over it's surface and other lights surrounded 
it. 

"What is it?" Jeffords asked.

"The Kobayashi Maru," Tsunami replied. "Silly I know, but her builder liked 
the name."

"Oh? Who built her?"

"I did!" exclaimed a high-pitched voice. Jeffords spun. Standing behind him 
was a young girl, no more then twelve. Her bright red hair was tied up in a 
ponytail and she wore some kind of suit/robe. The pupils of her eyes were red 
and literally shining with glee. "Is that a fifteen gigaherz chip in there?" 
She dashed to the operations console.

"Um..." 

"Captain, may I introduce Professor Washu of the Galactic Science Academy-"

"But you can call me Little Washu," the girl called from where she was 
perched on the engineering console, her head inside it. "They called me 
Washu-chan when I was on Earth, that was ni-wow! Silicon! I thought Terrans 
would be using protein silicon mixes by now."

"Do not judge her by appearance, Captain," Tsunami said softly. "Professor 
Washu is the greatest mind in the universe. Her IQ is easily twenty-thousand."

"I suppose it would be too much to expect that she's impressed by the 
Christopher's technology," Jeffords sighed.

"Only Zero degree cooling system? You got this far on that?" Washu shook her 
head. "Just when I hoped you humans might surprise me-Ack!" Washu suddenly 
shot into the air and away from the console. The air blurred and then 
resolved into Moldiver, who had Washu by the collar of her blouse. "Put me 
down, you big bully!" Washu snapped her fingers and Moldiver released her.

"What the?" Moldiver asked, staring at her hand.

"I just sent a fake message to the nerves in your hand, which triggered the 
muscles and caused you to let me go." The diminutive scientist's became 
pugnacious and she took out a small remote. "Of course that was just for 
starters and-"

"Professor Washu, please. They are guests. Tenchi would not be happy with you 
if you turned her into a Kappa."

"But she-"

"I'm sorry," Moldiver said bowing.

Washu appeared to be thinking for a moment. "Oh very well. You're forgiven." 
With that, she did a two-second skip dance and then vanished.

"Again, Captain, my apologies. Professor Washu, as of late, has found it 
amusing to suit her behavior to her outward appearance." Tsunami pinched the 
bridge of her nose, suddenly far older then she appeared, shoulders slumped 
under some immense weight. "It occasionally creates difficulties."

"I would imagine so," Jeffords replied diplomatically, turning his attention 
back to the view screen more to give Tsunami time to recover then out of 
curiosity, and was startled to see that the Maru had seemingly grown in size 
and the lights were now tiny ships.

"I should point out, Captain, that we are still some ten million kilometers 
out. For an idea of scale, each of those spheres is roughly twice the size of 
your planet Jupiter. The cylinder's connecting them are roughly three times 
the diameter of Earth. Many of those lights you see are in fact massive 
battleships and carriers. Quite a few larger then me."

"And that little girl built it?"

"Many things, Captain Jeffords are not what they seem out here. Professor 
Washu, for example, is well over fifteen thousand years old. I will meet you 
when we dock with the Maru in a few hours and escort you directly to the 
Emperor's chambers. He has expressed an interest in meeting you." With that, 
she vanished, leaving a suddenly very weary captain. 

"I'm getting too damn old for this," he muttered.

********
Jeffords took one last look at his party and nodded. After much debate among 
the senior officers, it was decided that the party should consist of himself, 
the science officer, Moldiver and four marines.

All of them, with the exception of Moldiver, were in their dress uniforms. He 
had the uncomfortable feeling that they were wearing loincloths to a 
presidential inauguration, but it couldn't be helped.

"All right," Jeffords huffed. "Remember, we're diplomats here. Think twice 
before you speak and then think again. We don't want to piss anyone off." A 
chorus of "yes, sir's was the response.

Exiting the Christopher, they found that the two guards were gone and Tsunami 
was standing there dressed in series of layered robes, hands tucked into her 
sleeves. There was an almost odd air about her. She seemed almost...jumpy.

"Ah Captain. Very impressive. Shall we?" She turned and led the way through 
the corridors. "You'll excuse my nervousness, Captain," she said after a few 
minutes. "Part of me was left behind  when I went to Sol and I'm not quite 
myself without her. To be this close..."

"I quite understand." Jeffords did not, in fact understand, but he had spent 
much of his Navel career around diplomats and politicians. It was a useful 
phrase when being bored with some overly technical weapons or political 
situation explanation. Or in the case of Tsunami, walking on an emotional 
powder keg. King William's daughter, for example.

A few minutes later, as they approached an archway, Tsunami stopped, turning 
to face them. "I suggest you all brace yourselves. Juraians favor a slightly 
higher gravity then what you're used too. It can be a little disconcerting. 
Also, when you meet the Emperor, you'll be expected to kneel on one knee and 
perform the First Gesture of Respect for the Higher Ranks. 

Fortunately, the Emperor is more cosmopolitan then his court when it comes to 
Terrans and he will be satisfied with a simple bow. When you bow, keep your 
hands at your sides, palms pressed against your thighs and bend at the waist 
at a nintey degree or greater angle. I cannot stress this enough. Without 
even this minuscule gesture of respect, the court will literally tear you to 
shreds right then and there. The Emperor is fanatically respected at the 
moment and those parasites will go to any lengths to impress him with their 
loyalty." She let that sink in for a moment. "As I announce your names, step 
forward and bow as I told you. Make no sudden moves, do not speak, unless 
spoken directly to, and make no eye contact with the Emperor or his wives 
unless I indicate you should do so."

The Terrans nodded and Tsunami led the way into through the archway. The 
shift in gravity was immediately noticeable and the crew staggered a bit 
before managing to adjust and continue walking, albeit with a great deal more 
effort. Glancing over at Moldiver, who was at his side, he noticed that her 
face seemed slightly red with effort. Odd for someone who not only possessed 
super-strength but could defy gravity at...will? He looked down and saw that 
her feet were just over the floor, she was literally walking on air. That 
wasn't effort on her face he realized, but embarrassment that she could fly 
and they couldn't.

For some reason, that made him feel better.

********
The throne room was magnificent. Massive wood doors opened onto a palatial 
room, divided in half by a wide creek bridged with stepping stones. On each 
side, a vast lake half circle shaped lake and directly ahead, another half 
circle dais rising out of the water. Twin waterfalls emptied into channels 
which spilled down the sides of the dais into the lakes. Men and women lined 
their side of the creek in two groups one on each side, each one two rows 
deep. 

On the dais, a woman who, aside from the difference in hairstyle, was 
Tsunami's twin in appearance, though her kimono was a pleasant light blue. 
Behind her an elderly white haired man and much younger man, his long black 
hair tied back, stood side by side. Both were dressed in plain white Shinto 
priest's robes and wore blank expressions. It took Jeffords a moment to 
realized that the younger man was in fact Masaki. A strangled gasp from his 
right proclaimed that Moldiver had realized it to. On the dais, Masaki locked 
eyes with Moldiver, his eyes widened, and then he smiled slightly and 
returned his attention to them all, his expression becoming blank. Moldiver 
let out a happy sigh and then fell silent.

Rising up from the dais, four steps led to a platform. On each side of the 
platform was a throne. Seated in the one to Jefford's right, a young woman 
sat. Her purple hair was tied into twin ponytails and her expression was 
serious, her eyes bright and very alert. Her posture was very formal, 
forearms on the armrests, fingers loosely spread on their surface.

On the left hand throne, another woman lounged, her blue hair standing up in 
large spikes. She had one leg thrown over the a chair arm, one arm rested on 
the other, which in turn held up her head while she munched on some kind of 
fruit. Her expression was bored and she seemed to be paying them only a 
cursory interest. 

Tsunami gestured them to stop and then continued onwards to the very edge of 
their platform. "Special Assignment Minister Tsunami," she said, then, she 
knelt, her arms out at a ninety degree angle, her head bowed. "I have 
completed the task set before me, Your Highness." Then she brought her hands 
together as though praying, the tips of her middle fingers touching her chin. 
Then, keeping her fingertips together, she moved her palms apart until they 
were pointed at the floor and then slowly, moved them back to their starting 
position. Then she rose, lowering her arms to her side, keeping them 
perfectly vertical, timing the movement so perfectly, that she was standing 
straight at the exact same time as her hands stopped their movement.

The white haired man stepped forward. "It is the Emperor's wish that you tell 
us who you have brought before him. To confirm that you completed your task. 
You were instructed to bring back only one, yet we see seven."

"The message was disrupted, Your Highness," Tsunami replied. Only fragments, 
as I explained in my report, were received. The Terrans have sent aid. May I 
present Captain Jeffords of the Sol Alliance Ship Saint Christopher and 
Terran Ambassador." Jeffords stepped forward and bowed as he was instructed. 
"The woman known as Moldiver." Moldiver did the same. "Science Officer Major 
Alexander Tarn, Ph.D. and MD." Another bow. "Master Sergeant Kleppe, First 
Sergeant Yonge, and Corporals Sommer and Oliver."

"No!" One of the courtiers stepped forward. "He has insulted the Emperor," he 
yelled, pointing a finger at one of the Marines. "He bowed at a eighty-nine 
degree angle!"

The Emperor raised an eyebrow and the green haired empress sat up. The 
courtiers all edged away from their fellow.

"Lord Collal, your patriotism is appreciated but it is the Emperor's wi-"

"I will not stand by and watch my Lord be insulted!" The courtier yelled and 
pulled a sword handle. There was a flash of light and then a long glowing 
blade sprouted from the handle. 

"Bloody hell," one of the soldiers exclaimed. "Man's got a friggin 
lightsaber!"

"For the honor of Jurai!" the courtier yelled and then charged.

*************
-Steve "Komodo" T.
Goat and Llama crossbreeding is bad.
Trust me on this.

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