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Disclaimer: the text below is a work of fanfiction.  the characters are
used without permission and are not intended for profit.

No Need for Protoculture
by Andrew Wilson

Chapter 6: Home is Where the Heart is

"The guard's gone," Max stated.

Tenchi breathed a sigh of relief.  When the cart bearing the three REF
officers had entered that briefing room, he had been afraid for their
safety.  Instead, they were being taken back to some kind of holding
area.  It was lightly guarded, mostly because the Zentradi had an
obvious contempt for 'micronians'.

What Tenchi couldn't believe, though, was that Max's disguise actually
worked.

"All right," Tenchi said. "Let's grab them and get out of this place."

"Right, Sarge," Max replied.

Tenchi decided to stay down in the pocket as Max opened the door.  There
was no use in potentially attracting more attention to Max's disguise in
case there was another Zentradi in there.

Silence for a moment, a bit of scuffle, then, "It's me-Max!"

"M-max?" Rick asked tentatively.

"Yeah, I'm hear all right.  Tenchi's with me."

"My God, Max," Commander said, "we thought you were dead."

"Yeah, long story."

"Where'd you get the uniform?" Ben asked.

"No time for that, let's go." Tenchi felt the Veritech kneel down and
pick up something.

"Hang on, Ben, I want you in the other hand," Max said a moment before
Dixon was dumped into Tenchi's pocket. "I don't want you to interrupt
the lovebirds."

"Now wait a minute, Corporal," Hayes protested, "we only did that to
escape."

"Kissing to escape, huh?  I understand."

"Listen Max," Rick growled.

"Save it, Lieutenant.  You have my word that I won't spread it around
Macross City.  Though you had me fooled.  I thought you preferred
younger women."

"MAX!" Rick, Hayes, and Tenchi objected.

"Get down there, we're moving out."

"Oh, hey Sarge!" Ben exclaimed.

"Hi Ben," Tenchi groaned.

"How're you holding up, Tenchi?" Rick called.

"The whole universe is insane," Tenchi replied. "But that's normal."

*******

Tenchi winced as the ship began to fold.  The last two days had been a
hair-raising chase though at least three Zentradi ships.  The discovery
of the cloning chambers and other revelations about the Zentradi as a
people and as a war machine were disturbing at best.

"Are you alright?" Commander Hayes asked.

Tenchi nodded and gulped down a bit of air.  It helped settle his
stomach, anyway. "Yeah.  Folds and I don't get along, that's all."

Rick looked up from the oversized control console of their hijacked
battlepod. "No one likes them.  But you look like we did after the fold
finished."

"What's going on, Sergeant?" Commander Hayes asked.

Tenchi quickly shook his head. "Nothing.  I'm fine."

"You look like you're going to pass out, Tenchi," Rick commented. "We
can't have you sick when we're trying to get home."

"Answer my question," Hayes ordered. "What's going on?"

Tenchi groaned as the ship lurched once and the battlepod interior began
to blur and shift like double-vision. "Last fold took two days.  I guess
this one will take the same."

Rick was looking a little suspicious now. "You haven't answered her,
Tenchi.  Insubordination looks bad enough on my record, you don't have
the flying marks to get out of charges."

Tenchi's eyes shot between his companions.  Hayes wore a look of open
suspicion, while Rick and Ben were looking confused.  Max gave Tenchi a
sympathetic look and shrug behind the Commander's back, but that wasn't
much help.

"It's personal," Tenchi replied. "If you want me to tell, then it
doesn't go beyond us.  No reports, no records, nothing."

"That isn't an option, Sargent," Hayes stated.

"Then you can court martial me," Tenchi shot back.

"Wait," Rick said before Tenchi could continue. "You got it, Tenchi.  We
won't say anything."

"So long as the SDF-1 is not endangered," Hayes conceded.

Tenchi nodded.  He hesitated a moment longer, then spoke in a low tone.
"I'm not human."

"What?" exclaimed three voices.  Max was silent as he watched Tenchi.

"Yeah, imagine my surprise when I found out a few years ago."

"You didn't know?"

Tenchi shook his head. "My grandfather is...I guess the best way to
describe him is that he's an alien prince that was stranded here seven
hundred years ago.  Because of the biology I inherited from him, I'm
able to pull off a few tricks, but we're both vulnerable to fold
energies for some reason."

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Hayes snorted.

Tenchi concentrated for a moment, then with a flick of his wrist he
summoned the Master Key into his hand.  He concentrated again and caused
the blade to flare to life.

"I'd show more, but we want this pod intact for the trip to the SDF-1."

*******

Ryoko smiled as she floated among the wrecks of the latest battle.  The
Zentradi were using a new mecha design that was faster than anything
either side had put into play, and had a monster of a punch.  And that
was exactly what Ryoko was looking for.

The mech that attracted her attention had been disabled by a single
chest shot.  By the burst pattern of the holes on the armor, Ryoko
suspected that Roy Fokker had shot this one down.

"Ryo-ohki!" Ryoko called, both out loud and mentally.  Ryo-ohki
understood what was needed, and floated to the mecha's 'head'.  Together
with Ryoko, the cabbit began to assimilate and reform the mass.

Ryoko expanded her mental link with Ryo-ohki to guide the process.  She
was surprised when she discovered that the mecha was really a suit of
power armor.  That didn't stop the process, though, and in fact the
extra bio-mass of the Zentradi pilot the creation of the command and
control systems.

Slowly, the mecha began to reshape.  Ryoko had spent the past several
months studying Terran aerospace designs and combined a few of those
with her own technical knowledge (not that she would admit that she had
such, not around Washu anyway).  The power armor quickly changed into a
flattened cone.  Forward-swept wings grew as the black form tightened
up.  The engines almost appeared as an afterthought, as they consisted
of a pair of nodes where the afterburners of a conventional jet would
be.  The nodes were in fact projectors of a focused gravitational field
that would propel the ship though space.

Next step was weapons.  The missile launchers were quickly discarded,
due to the fact that Ryoko doubted that she'd be able to find reloads. 
The Zentradi particle beam technology, on the other hand, showed great
promise.  After making a few adjustments to the original design, Ryoko
placed a pair at the base of either wing.  Secondary weapons could wait
until she had tested these.

Ryoko smiled as she and Ryo-ohki disengaged from the new fighter.  It
wasn't transformable like the Terran mecha, but it was also faster, more
maneuverable, and tougher than anything in either side's arsenals.  It
was able to turn on a quark and accelerate at nearly two hundred fifty
Terran gravities.

Ryoko phased into the cockpit and hit the power switch.  A purring humm
filled the small space and brought a greater smile to Ryoko's face.

"Let's see what this baby can do," Ryoko said as Ryo-ohki appeared in
her lap.

"Meow!" Ryo-ohki agreed.

*******

"Captain," Claudia reported, "the enemy fleet is withdrawing."

Gloval nodded. "It may have something to do with that Cruiser that was
destroyed.  Any indications of what caused it to explode?"

"No sir, none of our Veritechs were in the vicinity, so we don't have
any other information." Claudia paused and listened to her ear bug for a
moment. "Commander Fokker reports that there's a single pod left
functional, but it's unarmed and apparently adrift.  He's bringing it in
for examination."

"Good, extend a boarding tube from the hanger deck, they can open the
pod in that without risking damage to the ship."

"Aye, sir."

*******

Across the galaxy, Mihoshi sat nervously as her grandfather argued with
his subordinates.

"We can't afford to get involved," the diplomatic head stated.  He was a
slim humanoid who reminded many observers of a snake, even though his
race was mammalian. "The Union member worlds agreed unanimously two
hundred years ago to leave the Tirolians and Invid alone.  Military
action at this point could provoke an invasion."

"Yes," the investigations head said as she let out a purr that matched
her feline appearance, "but aren't they the ones that provoked the
action.  The Sol system is restricted space, and under joint
jurisdiction between the Galaxy Police and the Jurian Empire."

"What's the heaviest unit in the area?" The Marshal asked quietly.

The operations officer shifted his stone-like bulk in a shrug. "We've
managed to replace the squadron that was destroyed by Kagato.  But
that's mostly a scattered group for sector patrolling and customs.  The
flagship is the heavy cruiser Tel'Pek.  The only other capital ships are
light cruisers.  The rest of the ships are all patrol vessels."

"Under Commodore Kytharra," the Marshal nodded. "How are the new ships
coming along?"

The head of Research and Development was a gangly, blue-skinned being
with six eyes protruding on stalks from it's flattened head. "Very well,
sir.  The first squadron is engaged in a fleet-level exercise outside of
the Yumrazzil system."

"Contact Admiral Makabi," the Marshall ordered. "Inform her that she is
to retun to HeadQuarters at best speed for a new deployment.  Start
putting together linguistic packs from Yukanojo's records and reports. 
Dismissed."

The department heads left the room at varying speeds.  Mihoshi remained
in her seat and the Marshall smiled fondly at his granddaughter as he
rose.

"You're going to have to go back there," the Marshall said. "No one
knows that system better than you, not to mention the Jurian presence
there won't trust anyone but you."  He stopped and placed a hand on her
shoulder. "I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. And..."

The Marshall trailed off as Mihoshi's head slumped forward and her eyes
finally closed.  Her soft snores were quickly drowned out by the
Marshal's booming laugh.

*******

Tenchi wearily plodded down the streets of Macross.  The debriefing had
taken six hours, and the Captain told of a special ceremony that was
already in the works to welcome them home.  Tenchi was just glad that
the conversation in the battle-pod had been left out by all the officers
present.  Of course, given the scepticism shown by the other officers at
the table, his story probably would have been dismissed as pure fiction.

The odd thing was that Tenchi didn't argue with the word 'home' being
associated with the SDF-1.  Then again, it might have been because he
was still in shock over the time differential the squad had
experienced.  While they only experienced a few days, both in and out of
fold, over three months had passed aboard the SDF-1.  It wasn't
surprising, then, that Captain Gloval had immediately ordered the SDF-1
to change course toward Earth.  They were making steady progress, and
should be reaching Earth orbit in a few days.  Apparently, the travel
time could be even less than that, but the new drive isn't totally
stable and could cause gaps in the inertial compensators at high
speeds.  Slamming against the wall at five hundred meters per second per
second didn't sound like a fun way to see if the backup systems worked.

Tenchi slowly pushed open the back door to the restaurant and peeked his
head in.  Everything was shut down, and the grill looked cold.  Tenchi
stepped in and was about to call out when he was hit from behind by a
powerful hug.

"You're back!" Sasami squealed as she wrapped her arms around Tenchi's
waist.

"Tenchi!" Ryoko called as she phased through the wall and wrapped her
arms around Tenchi's neck.  Her progress was halted, though, because
Ayeka was already occupying that area.  So Ryoko wrapped her arms around
Tenchi's chest and not-so-politely elbowed Ayeka to give her more room.

"Can't....Breath!" Tenchi gasped.

Yes, Tenchi thought, it was good to be home.

*******

"So how long have you been back?" Yosho asked as they sat around one of
the diner's tables.

Tenchi took a sip of his soda and checked his watch. "About seven
hours.  Once they confirmed it was us, they dragged us into separate
interview rooms for the run-down of everything, then gathered us all
into a conference room for a brain-storming about what the heck it all
means."

"How long were you gone?" Washu asked.

"Um...I'm not sure I can talk about-" Tenchi cut off his excuse when he
saw Washu holding up an ID badge that proclaimed her to be working in
Doctor Lang's department, as the good doctor's personal assistant,
actually.  According to one of this first (and only) classes on
classification, the clearance rating the badge indicated was shared by a
grand total of three people.  The other two were Doctor Lang himself and
Captain Gloval.

"How did you...never mind.  We were gone for about six days total, for
of which was spent in fold."

Ryoko spit out her sake. "Tenchi, it's been three months!"

Washu nodded. "Space-fold time distortions.  If it was that long...you
were probably a within twenty thousand light years.  Probably in the
direction of the galactic core."

"That within the boarder of Union space," Ayeka commented. "Surely they
wouldn't perform such an invasion.  The only response to it is the
annihilation of their fleet."

"I don't think they cared," Tenchi said. "According to Rick, they
destroyed an entire planet just to prove a point.  I don't think even
the Jurian navy can stand up to that many ships."

"Especially since my original estimates were low," Washu commented.
"This ship alone is more powerful than the Soja *and* Ryo-ohki
combined."

"And the Zentradi?" Tenchi asked nervously.

"Nowhere near that, but rather powerful for a civilization that doesn't
have a few thousand years of history."

Yosho tapped his chin as he leaned back. "But Emil said they found giant
skeletons aboard when the ship first crashed.  So whoever created this
ship was connected to the Zentradi."

Tenchi shook his head. "I don't want to think about that now.  I have to
get back to the barracks.  My pass is only good until mid-night."

"I'll take you," Ryoko said as she put an arm around Tenchi.  They faded
from sight an instant later.

*******

Tenchi sighed as the world came back into focus. "This isn't the
barracks, Ryoko."

"It would look pretty strange if you just reappeared in your bed," the
former space pirate replied. "Besides, I want to talk to you."

"Talk?" Tenchi asked incredulously.

Ryoko signed in frustration as she stepped away from Tenchi. "Do you
think that everything I do is so I can bed you?"

"Yes."

Another sigh. "Okay, I guess I deserved that.  Actually, I wanted to
talk to you about the gems."

Tenchi raised an eyebrow. "You want them back now?  You haven't even
mentioned them for years, and now you're bringing them up?"

Ryoko shrugged. "They just didn't matter.  But, when you were gone, I
kept thinking about what I would do if something happened to you."

"So...you want them back so you don't have to worry about them if I'm
captured or something?" Tenchi groaned.

"Of course not," Ryoko replied as she leaned closer. "I want them so if
anything happens to you I'll have enough power to hunt down anyone who
hurt you."

Tenchi smiled until he saw the utterly serious look in Ryoko's eyes. "I
have to think about it, Ryoko.  I want to, but Grandpa and Washu sem to
think that the gems are part of what's keeping Funaho healthy."

"Where'd you hear that?" Ryoko asked suddenly.

Tenchi shrugged. "I was thinking about giving the gems back after that
time Ayeka got kidnaped and brainwashed by Garyu."

"Oh," was all Ryoko could say.

Tenchi smiled suddenly. "Thanks for the trip back, though."

Ryoko smiled slightly. "It's good to have you back." She leaned over and
kissed Tenchi on the cheek before fading from sight.

The master key was in Tenchi's hand, though he didn't remember summoning
it.  The two red jewels in the pommel stared back at him like a pair of
accusing eyes.

"Now what am I going to do?" he muttered.

*******

Washu smirked as she worked at her computer.

Her *real* computer.  She had finally found a way around the
interference generated by the reflex engines.  Her improvised terminal
was kept, though, so that she wouldn't be caught unprepared again.

"So what is it that you're working on?" Lang inquired.  The scientist
had accepted the holographic terminal without much stuttering, much to
Washu's relief (she really didn't like explaining things as simple as
the terminal).

Washu cracked her knuckles as the computer paused to compute a new set
of data.  Any Terran (or Jurian, or GP, or probably Zentradi) would have
taken hours (or days) to perform the process, but Washu's took less than
a minute.

"Simple," she explained. "The Veritechs you designed are not cut out for
space combat.  And since we don't have the resources for a totally new
fighter class, we have to think of some kind of addition to the current
design."

"Correct," Lang said with a nod. "Is that the booster design?"

Washu nodded. "Yep.  Though there were problems with it.  I mean, you've
got more acceleration potential than a human can take for extended
periods."

"It was meant for short-term boosts," Lang commented.

"Yes, but what if you could make it so they could accelerate at nearly
thirty gravities for up to an hour?"

Lang's eyes widened. "That would kill the pilot!"

Washu shook her head. "Not if you have an acceleration compensator in
the booster packs reducing the gravitational effects on the mecha and
pilot by a factor of five."

Lang smiled. "And the missile payload?"

"Unaffected," Washu said. "The design is actually simple, but adapting
it to the tech base we have to work with is a little more difficult. 
I've got most of the bugs worked out.  We should be ready for a
prototype in a couple weeks, and a working design in a month or two."

Lang nodded. "Perfect.  Too bad there's nothing in that lab of yours
that can help."

Washu shrugged. "Hey, I was specializing in genetics when I designed the
thing.  Haven't quite expanded it for more general science and
engineering yet."

End chapter 6

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