Previous chapters can be found at: http://templar.anifics.com/

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters.  The mutilation below was
written for entertainment purposes only.  I am not being forced to write
this disclaimer.  The man in the black suit with the gun to my head does
not exist.

No Need For Protoculture
by Andrew Wilson

Chapter 5: Flash of Insight

Emil Lang was master of all he surveyed.  The engineering, research, and
science divisions of the SDF-1 were his kingdom.  Nothing happened in
those spaces without his knowledge and approval.

Nothing, that is, until a fateful day two weeks after the battle of
Mars.  Lang had just returned from a staff meeting where Captain Gloval
informed the department heads that the ship had been ordered to turn
around and head away from Earth.  That little fact was not going to be
taken well among the crew and civilians aboard.

And so Lang retreated to his beloved engine core for more tests to try
and figure out what happened to the fold engines that fateful day eight
months ago.

"My, my, my," a seductive voice cooed. "This is interesting."

Lang spun towards the unfamiliar voice and prepared to shout for
security.  He stopped when he saw a beautiful redhead tapping away at a
large laptop computer that floated in front of her.

"Who are you?" Lang barked.

"Interesting," the woman noted. "These generators are putting out almost
as much power as a core tap." She looked up at Lang. "Is this where the
fold engines were?"

"Who are you?" Lang repeated. "Answer, or I'm calling security."

The woman shrugged, closed her computer, and hooked it to a shoulder
strap that was strung across her body. "My name is Washu," she purred,
"the greatest scientific genius in the universe."

Lang was now thoroughly convinced that the woman was insane. "Madam,
this is a restricted area, I must insist that you leave before-"

Washu held up a hand. "You're fold accident left residual energy effects
all over this ship.  I've been trying to track them down ever since.  I
was originally hoping to find a way to counter the interference, but it
seems that's impossible.  Besides, now that I know the phase shift I can
probably start working around it."

"What kind of residual energy?" Lang asked quietly.

"Nothing dangerous.  Just some stray neutrinos getting tossed around by
a quantum flux in this area.  There's actually more danger of those
fission piles in the 'arms' of the ship leaking than there is of these
doing anything but short out anything with a sub-space link."

Lang paused for a moment before speaking in a very slow voice. "Why are
you here?"

Washu smiled. "I want to help, actually.  I've read about how quickly
you got this ship running after it crashed.  It was very impressive."

*This woman is either what she says she is, or a complete lunatic,* Lang
thought. *Either way...* He pointed to Washu's computer. "Why don't we
start with you explaining that."

"How about we get some tea, first.  Long talks always make me thirsty."

*******

Tenchi sighed as he attacked the next stack on his desk.  While the
SDF-1's fighter compliment was running light on military traditions and
protocol, some things were eternal.

Like paperwork.

Like lots of paperwork.

Like lots of paperwork that was the traditional duty of the XO to take
care of.

Like lots of paperwork that Tenchi was stuck with because it was the
traditional duty of an XO.

Of course, the fact that Rick had skipped out to go to Macross with Ben
and Max hadn't helped.  The fact that Rick was largely going to moon
over Minmei was even worse.

*What do people see in her?* Tenchi asked himself as he filled out the
last form in his pile - a training log, as a matter of fact.  Sure,
Minmei was kind of cute, but so were half the ladies of Macross.  What
Tenchi (and the rest of the extended Masaki household) could not
understand was how popular her music was. *Then again, Dad's stories
about some of the music his generation listened prove there's no
accounting for taste.*

Tenchi's pen paused as his thoughts turned to his father.  He shoved the
memories out of his mind before they could turn into depression and
homesickness.  According to the Captain, they were altering course to
skip past Earth orbit to loop back to the asteroid belt.  It would be
even longer now before they could see blue skies again.

With a sigh, Tenchi returned to the form in front of him. *Why is Rick
so obsessed with her, anyway?* Tenchi asked himself as his thoughts
returned to the singer his squadmates were visiting.  With a tired sigh
he dashed off his signature at the bottom of the last page and left it
in the 'out' box for a yeoman to pick up. *Doesn't he see that she
doesn't care about him?  He's only letting himself be strung along
because she likes the attention and...* Tenchi's train of thought
derailed as a stray thought connected what had been two seperate
concepts.

Tenchi mechanically headed for the tram to Macross.  As he exited the
base, another stray thought came to him.

*I have stared into the abyss, and the abyss stared back.*

*******

The 'Tree was empty as Tenchi entered.  There also wasn't any sign of
his friends around.

"Hello?" Tenchi called.

"Tenchi!" came a familiar bark from the office. "Get back here and fix
some tea for an old man."

The fact that Tenchi didn't rise to that comment was Yosho's first
indication that something was wrong.  The next was how Tenchi staggered
into his office and dropped bonelessly into a chair.

"What's wrong, Tenchi?" Yosho asked.

"So where are the girls?" Tenchi asked in a flat voice.

"Out," Yosho replied. "Tonight's concert drained most of the potential
customers, so we closed early and the girls went to a movie.  Even
Ryoko, though Washu dissappeared this morning."

"What is it with that singer?" Tenchi mused.

Yosho shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Washu said something about
her being a latent psychic, and that if any of us had been fully human
we probably would have been affected." Yosho ignored Tenchi's wince as
he changed the subject. "But that's not what you came here to talk
about, is it?"

Tenchi sat in silence. "I've been stringing them along," he whispered.

Yosho nodded.  There was no need to ask who 'them' refered to. "And the
reason for this epiphany?"

"Rick mooning over Minmei, with Max and Ben in attendance."

"Ah.  So what do you plan to do about it?"

"I just don't know, grandpa," Tenchi burried his head in his hands.
"It's just so frustrating.  How do I know what they feel?"

"Tenchi," Yosho said with a sigh, "I'm going to tell you a story.  The
story is about a little girl.  This little girl never knew her mother,
and her father was very abusive.  He took pleasure in hurting her. 
Eventually, she ran away and was found by another family, who saved
her.  But when they took her in, they also hid her away so that her
father wouldn't find her.  She spend a long time locked up, very
lonely.  One day, she saw a boy playing in the next yard.  She couldn't
go outside, couldn't call out, couldn't do anything but watch.  The boy
became her life, she wished she could go out to play with the boy. 
Eventually, they both grew up and-"

"And when she finally got out of the house, she played rough," Tenchi
finished. "Ryoko was the ghost I saw...I barely even remember that."

Yosho nodded then smiled. "Well, at least you can understand symbolism."

"But what about Ayeka?" Tenchi asked. "For that matter, why was she so
obsessed with marrying you?"

Yosho shrugged. "Among the Jurian court, there is a belief that by
in-breeding, the power of Tsunami will build in subsequent generations. 
This is similar to the belief that a tree's generation, not it's age,
will determine it's power."

"So she went along with the arrangements?"

"I think she was happy about it," Yosho sighed. "I had hoped with me
gone, she'd be able to live her own life.  Instead, she spent the better
part of seven centuries in suspended animation while searching every
system along Funaho's last vector."

Tenchi finally cracked a smile. "It's still hard to believe Sasami is my
great-aunt and not the sister I never had."

"How do you think I felt every time she called me 'grandfather'?"

"How do I tell them?" Tenchi's hands dropped back to his lap and he
stared at Yosho. "What do I say? 'I'm sorry you're in love with me, but
I'm not sure?'"

"Who says we don't know?" a teasing voice asked.

Tenchi spun in his chair to see Ryoko's smirking face.  Behind her,
Ayeka wore a neutral expression while Sasami's gaze shifted between her
sister and Tenchi with a worried look.  Tenchi's gaze spun back to
Yosho, who was sporting an innocent look.

"I guess the movie was shorter than I thought."

Tenchi slowly stood.  His eyes jumped between Ryoko and Ayeka.
"Um...I...uh..." he stammered.

Ryoko cut him off with a raised finger as she strutted over and slid and
arm around his shoulders. "I waited seven hundred years to be free," she
breathed into Tenchi's ear. "I can wait a few more for you to decide."

Ayeka pushed Ryoko asside and moved nose-to-nose with Tenchi.  She
adopted a stern expression and spoke quickly. "So, you think I'm just
transferring a childhood crush to you?  Is that it?"

"Well...I...um...."

Ayeka cut Tenchi's stammering off by grabbing his head between her hands
and pulling into a deep, aggressive kiss.  Sasami gasped, Ryoko growled,
and Yosho simply smiled.

After almost a minute, Ayeka pushed Tenchi back. "Perhaps you don't know
me as well as you think," she said as she turned and left the office. 
Sasami paused a moment, then rushed after her sister.

"That was...unexpected," Yosho commented.

*******

"That was an interesting paper you wrote on temporal fluxuations during
the initial survey of the SDF-1," Washu idly commented over the red
alert sirens.

Lang tore his eyes from his damage control readout to glare over at the
woman sitting at the adjoining station. "This is not the time.  And I'm
not going to ask how you found it."

"Your files," Washu replied. "The encryption took a few hours to break,
but after that it was easy.  And this is the perfect time."

Over the past month and a half, Lang had actually gotten used to the
eccentric scientist.  Together, they had managed to repair the
gravitational drive to a point where they could accelerate the SDF-1 at
almost fifty gravities.  They also had a few new mecha designs in the
works, but those would have to wait until they had access to enough
materials to build the prototypes. "And why is that?  We are under
attack, and we've lost the main sensor array."

"That attack was a fake.  We've taken more damage from micro-meteors
than from that barrage.  And the S-WACS has already done a sweep of the
area and they aren't trying to sneak it like they did back during that
pageant."

"True.  And we at least have a name for the aliens.  So what do you
think these 'Zentradi' are up to?"

"That's easy.  Destroying the radar tower was bait to get the S-WACS and
escorts out there...oh no!"

"Bait," Lang said, then swore. "Commander Hayes and Vermillion
squadron." Lang punched the intercom panel. "Get me the captain!"

*******

"Vermillion leader," the Catseye pilot stated, "we have bogies incoming
at four o'clock relative."

"Should we engage, lead?" Max asked.

"No," Rick replied. "Stick with the Catseye."

"We can take care of ourselves, Vermillion leader," Commander Hayes
snapped. "Engage at will."

"Right.  You heard the lady, boys.  Form up.  Wait.  Tenchi, stay with
the Catseye, just in case they try anything sneaky."

"What did he mean by that?" Hayes asked as the other Veritechs vectored
away.

"A trick that was pulled on us during training," Tenchi replied.

"The ambush scenario," Hayes replied. "Sergeant, we're approaching a
heavy debris field, you might was to get some maneuvering room."

"Yes ma'am," Tenchi replied.  As he shifted a few hundred meters away
from the 'Eye, he could see flashes in the distance as the rest of his
squad engaged the enemy attackers.  For a moment, his view of the S-WACs
ship was blocked by a large planetoid fragment.

"Vermillion three," Commander Hayes' voice interrupted Tenchi's scan.
"We've picked up a strange reading from one of the planetoid fragments. 
We're maneuvering in for a closer l-" Hayes' communication cut off in a
burst of static.

"Oh no," Tenchi breathed as he changed vectors to intercept the
Catseye's last course.  He cleared one of the asteroids in time to see
the shuttle disappear into a huge Zentradi ship.

"Vermillion leader," Tenchi frantically reported, "the Eye is in
trouble.  Heavy damage and possible capture by the alien's flagship."

"I see it, Tenchi," Rick replied. "We're on our way.  Open the door for
us."

"Right," Tenchi said as he armed his missiles.  A cluster of heavy
warheads cut through the hanger doors and allowed the four Veritechs an
easy entry into the Zentradi Dreadnaught.

*******

They quickly located the Catseye and disable the vehicle that was towing
it deeper into the dreadnaught's lower holds.  Tenchi listened to half
an ear to Rick's argument with Commander Hayes as he sprayed the nearby
bulkheads with enough shells from his gunpod to keep the Zentradi from
poking their heads up.  Max and Ben joined him a moment later in laying
down a complex pattern of cover fire while Rick freed Commander Hayes
from the crushed ship.

Rick call of triumph was interrupted by a loud clang as his Veritech was
driven to the battle armored deck by the largest Zentradi anyone
(including the original survey team) had ever seen.

Max wastes no time as he rushed the alien warrior and grabbed him in a
bear hug.

"Ben," he called over the tac net, "blast the wall!  Hurry!"

Ben triggered the requested volley, and Max managed to throw the huge
Zentradi out through the hole into space.  Amazingly enough, the hole
immediately began to close, as though the ship was repairing itself.

"Nice work, Max," Rick complimented. "Guess we won't be seeing that
character again."

"Not unless he can survive in deep space without an extra vehicular
suit," Max replied.

"Now what do we do?" Ben asked.

"Don't count him out," Tenchi commented.

"Max is right, Tenchi," Rick said. "He's gone.  Now let's find a way out
of here."

Tenchi didn't argue as they began to cut through the airlock with their
lasers.  A few minutes later, his unease was proven right as the giant
Zentradi dropped down from a catwalk with a huge roar.  The swung a pipe
in his hands like a samurai's sword and crashed down onto the head of
Ben's Veritech.

Tenchi wasn't sure what happened next.  The flurry of activity
intensified as a group of battle-armored Zentradi rushed into the hold. 
He was pretty sure he saw Commander Hayes and Ben were put in some kind
of sack before Rick's Veritech exploded.  He and Max were sucked out of
the hold through the newly-made hole just like the Zentradi had been.

*******

"Oh no," Washu breathed as she stared at her computer.

"What is it?" Lang asked.

"Someone's about to fold."

*******

"What do we do now, Sarge?" Max asked.  Space around them was beginning
to blur and even in their mecha the two pilots could feel the energy
buildup in the ship.

"Just hang on, Max," Tenchi called back over the radio. "I think the
ship is going to fold.  We should..." Tenchi trailed off as a familiar
surge of energy made itself known.  His gave a start as all his
instruments went blank at the same time that his flight suit was
replaced by his battle armor. *So that's it,* he thought briefly, *my
powers were causing all the shorts.*

Tenchi quickly dug out the emergency kit from below his seat and pulled
out the hand radio.  It didn't have much range, but if he tuned it to
the right frequency...

Max's frantic voice came through loud and clear. "Sarge?  Tenchi? 
What's going on?"

"I'm okay, Max," Tenchi replied. "Whatever you do, stick close to my
Veritech."

"What are you talking about?  You're mecha is a dead weight!  What
happened?"

"Trust me, Max," Tenchi said.  He clicked off the radio without waiting
for a reply and reached within himself for the next stage.  He needed
his timing to be perfect, or he would be knocked out again for days or
weeks.

Tenchi's armor transformed again, this time into the blue armor of
Tsunami's chosen warrior.  His Veritech was obliterated as his light
hawk wings materialized and created a bubble of force around himself and
Max's mecha.

"Tenchi?" Max asked.

Rick smiled and lowered one hand from the Light Hawk Wing's focal point
in order to use the radio. "Yeah Max, it's me.  We should be safe now."

"How?  Wait a minute, how are you able to talk in a vacuum?"

Rick pulled the radio's headset out of the kit and hooked it up.  With
the radio in hands-free mode, he was able to return his concentration to
the sheets of energy protecting he and his wingman from the dangers of
hyperspace. "It has something to do with a bubble of air my armor
generates.  Speaking of air, look around for an airlock or something. 
We don't know how long this trip will last, but I bet it's longer than I
have energy or you have air for."

*******

Washu walked into the restaurant as though in a trance.  Yosho took one
look at her then turned to the patrons.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said in a commanding voice. "I apologize, but
we must close immediately.  On your way out, please pick up a coupon for
a free meal from our cashier."

There were a few grumbles, but everyone picked up a coupon on their way
out.  The diner was empty within minutes.

"It's Tenchi, isn't it?" Ayeka asked.

Washu nodded. "Command lost contact with his patrol in the asteroid
belt.  An hour later, one of the Zentradi ships folded."

They greeted the news differently.  Ayeka's face fell at the news. 
Sasami looked on the verge of crying.  Yosho maintained his usual stoic
expression.  Ryoko, on the other hand, sank to a stool and began to
laugh bitterly.

"This is hardly a laughing matter!" Ayeka shouted.

"Yes it is," Ryoko said between chuckles. "It seems like every time a
new enemy comes by, one of us gets kidnaped, and Tenchi comes to save
us.  This time, they kidnap Tenchi."

Yosho managed a faint smile. "Heaven help them."

*******

"This is a really bad idea, Max," Tenchi commented.

"It's the best we can do," Max replied as he adjusted the green uniform
cap on his battleoid's head. "Besides, you worry too much.  No one will
notice."

"How can nobody notice that your battleoid doesn't look remotely like a
Zentradi?"

Max adjusted the hat and jacket so that very little of the battleoid was
actually visible. "Just trust me.  And while we're searching for the
Lieutenant and Commander Hayes, you can tell me what that light show
was.  Not to mention the disappearing vac-suit."

Tenchi sighed and settled into the uniform pocket Max had dropped him
him.  The battle armor had vanished after they found an airlock, leaving
Tenchi wearing his flight suit.  The flight helmet was shot, but a
portable radio allowed him to keep in contact with Max without using the
battleoid's loudspeakers.

"Max," Tenchi said slowly. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course I can, Tenchi."

"Good, then turn off the flight recorders." Tenchi waited until a slight
click indicated that the command was carried out.  "Well, it started two
and a half years ago, when I got curious about this cave near my
grandfather's shrine."

*******

"What in Tsunami's name is all this?"

Ryoko turned at the sound of Ayeka's voice and smirked. "Well, what does
it look like, princess?"

For once, Ayeka didn't rise to barb.  Instead, she continued in a calm
voice. "It looks like a pile of scrap metal that is taking up valuable
space."

Ryoko shook her head. "Actually, this hold is unused, and unaffected by
the modular shifting.  And it's not just scrap metal."

"No," Ayeka admitted. "It looks more like Zentradi mecha that have been
blasted to pieces."

Ryoko winked. "Got it in one.  Good job."

"Very funny," Ayeka said with a sniff. "So what are you doing with
this?"

"Watch." Ryoko pointed to the cabbit that was munching on a carrot on
the other end of the hold. "Ryo-ohki, assimilate and store."

"Meow!" Ryo-ohki cried as she leapt onto the pile of mecha parts.  The
pile glowed for a few moments, then shrank until only the cabbit was
left in the hold.

"So what are you planning on doing with that?" Ayeka asked. "You could
have made six separate mecha from that pile."

"More like two," Ryoko said with a shrug. "Mostly because of the energy
requirements for transfiguration.  This stuff will do as a base when I
find a template to work off of."

"Templar?  You're actually thinking of designing your own mecha?"

"Yep!" Ryoko said happily.

"What about Ryo-Ohki?"

"It'll be a separate device from Ryo-Ohki, so we can operate in tandem."

"Ah," Ayeka commented. "Very useful.  In any case, I came down here
because the alert is over.  Yosho wants to have the restaurant open
within an hour."

"Right," Ryoko said as the two woman headed for the door.

"It's...hard to believe that over a month has gone by, isn't it?"

Ryoko nodded. "Yeah.  I keep expecting to see Tenchi to walk though the
door with a carefree smile."

"And there hasn't been any word.  What if he is truly dead?"

"Come on," Ryoko said with a friendly nudge. "You don't really believe
that, do you?"

"No, I suppose not."

End Chapter 5

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