Tenchi Muyo 	-	Alliance 	-	Chapter Nine
Author: Rann Aridorn
Comments: This chapter is very much a beta version, and I'm releasing it 
while I know there's still some bits in it that really should be ironed out 
further. However, having no one who's currently really up-to-date on this 
series who's available as a beta reader, and considering how long it's been 
since part eight, I decided to go ahead and release this in "unpolished" 
form. I hope to have this somewhat refined by the time I secure webspace on 
which to begin housing my fanfiction again.
Legal stuff: The characters of Tenchi Muyo are property of their creators 
and/or the companies holding the rights to their use and distribution. 
Characters not seen in any Tenchi series are original, and the property of 
Rann Aridorn.



	The bridge of the joined twin treeships was dim, flooded with low, 
slowly-strobing red lights, the raised platform where two captain's chairs 
resided flooded with holographic information screens, a shallow flight of 
stairs leading down to a large, open area with several access stations. 
Doors at the side of the bridge swept open to admit the Juraian empresses 
Misaki and Funaho, both of them looking serious and slightly grim, though 
Misaki's expression was more troubled than that of her co-wife.
	Quickly mounting the stairs, both Juraians settled into the chairs, Funaho 
on the right and Misaki on the left. As soon as they were sitting, a large 
projection appeared above and behind the chairs, of a larger-than-life 
Juraian woman, naked but smooth, lacking in the distinguishing features 
that would have indicated her as fully female and instead bearing only the 
curvature of form and shape of face and body. Her long hair billowed in a 
phantom breeze, the color split perfectly down the middle, blue-tinted 
purple on the right, purple-tinted blue on the left, her left eye blue with 
purple flecks, her right purple with blue flecks, her legs fading out just 
before they met the deck.
	The combined projection of Mizuho and Karin moved her hands together, bent 
at the elbows, hands bending with palms facing one another, forming a rough 
diamond in front of her chest. Speaking in two voices as one, the sound 
emanating from all corners of the bridge, she said, "The attack wing is 
pulling around for another strafing run."
	"Main projection," Funaho ordered smoothly, eyes narrowing slightly.
	Along the front wall of the bridge, a new holographic screen appeared, 
curving around the rounded wall and taking on the appearance of a viewport, 
showing a number of small, brownish-metallic wedge-shaped fighters curving 
through the stars in a loose triangle formation.
	"There's only about ten of them," Misaki said with a surprised expression 
on her face, trading glances with her co-wife. "Karin, are those the only 
fighters of that type in the area?"
	"No," the projection said with a single voice, talking out of the left 
side of her mouth. "Mizuho is scanning for others."
	"I have them," the projection continued, the sound changing slightly, 
talking out of the right side of her mouth. "Twelve are engaging the 
Hyurodan defensive perimeter, and another seventeen are hanging just out of 
the short-range sensors' easy scanning distance, flying patterns keeping 
them spread out."
	The empresses changed another look, this time of greater concern.
	"They know we have only the main cannon," Funaho murmured, eyes narrowing. 
"And are flying in a manner keeping us from using it to take out the entire 
battle group with it."
	"That's... a little scary," Misaki breathed, eyes wide and startled.
	The entry door hissed open again, discharging a pile of Juraians and 
Hyurodan, some who must have been quite literally pressed against the door 
of the lift, as they spilled right out onto the floor.
	"You did that on purpose, you wicked pervert!" Ayeka shrieked, 
absentmindedly stepping over Kiyone on her way out of the lift, keeping her 
piercing glare leveled at her fiancee.
	"Yeah, right, like copping a feel of you is worth the noise," Ryoko 
growled back, clamping her hands over her longish, squared-off ears and 
giving a little float-hop over Kallista, both of them continuing around 
towards the front of the bridge.
	Kallista sighed, propping herself up on one elbow, remaining on the floor 
for the moment as she looked at Kiyone. "At least we have the battle to 
drown out those two."
	"Don't be so glib," Kiyone muttered in chastisement as she pushed herself 
up to her feet, Kallista following her example.
	"What are all of you doing up here?!" Funaho demanded, sounding a little 
cross.
	"Assessing the situation," Washu replied calmly, stepping out of the lift 
now that Kiyone and Kallista had cleared the way, followed closely by 
Sasami, Ryo-Ohki perched atop the young princess' head. "Besides, everyone 
knows the bridge of a treeship is the safest place."
	"Resistance fighters," Ryoko snarled, having turned her attention from 
Ayeka to the main projection, though she tossed a very curious look at 
Mizuho/Karin's projection. "Pretty tough little suckers," She reached 
forward to clutch at one of the workstations as the ship shook under 
another battery of blasts from the sweep of the fighter wing. "Not much on 
weapons, though, so let's load up some blasters and take the little f-" She 
glanced aside at Sasami. "...reaks out."
	"That's not possible," Funaho replied, lips thinning.
	"Huh?"
	"Er, Ryo-chan..." Kallista cleared her throat from where she'd moved to 
one of the other stations. "I'm at Tactical, here, and there's just 
shields, armor enhancements, and a main cannon that we'd have to move the 
ship to target."
	"... You're kidding me," the Hyurodan princess groaned.
	Washu moved to stand at a third station. "Our own forces are tied up with 
a skirmish at the defense perimeter. They're mobilizing from the surface, 
but it will take fifteen minutes to get here... even at low firepower, 
those fighters will be able to take us out by then."
	The door hissed open again, admitting Riyata and Mihoshi, the Hyurodan 
guard dripping from her long, thick spiky black hair, the blonde Juraian's 
white kimono soaked against her skin. Everyone turned to stare in unison, 
then, in equal synch, turned their gazes back to the main projection, by 
silent consensus deciding not to ask.
	"What's the situation?" Riyata said under her breath as she came to stand 
beside Kallista.
	"... Your loincloth's gone transparent," Kallista replied in the same 
quiet tone.
	"Crap."
	The ship rocked again as another volley rocked against the treeship's 
shields. The Mizuho/Karin projection spoke up part of a second before the 
change registered on the bridge's workstation. "A second wing has broken 
off from the distant attack group and is moving to form a strafing run."
	"Hm, fine. I'll take care of this." Ryoko turned and walked to where 
Sasami was standing and staring with wide pink eyes at the main projection. 
The cyan-haired woman reached out to pluck Ryo-Ohki up from Sasami's back 
by the scruff of the neck. "'Scuse me, squirt, I gotta borrow the furball 
back from ya."
	"Mya!" Ryo-Ohki protested, kicking and flailing her legs in the air, 
mostly to show she was Not Pleased(tm) at being picked up by the scruff.
	"Um, sure," Sasami agreed with a confused blink.
	Tossing the cabbit onto her shoulder, Ryoko strode to the lift, turning to 
face the doors once she was inside, and holding up a hand as Riyata and 
Kallista moved to follow her. "You two stay here. I can handle this on my own."



	The leader of the secondary attack wing was a Hyurodan named Shekra. She'd 
fought in the Terran-Hyurodan war, had even served in the heart-wrenching 
Battle of Neptune, and watched her wife of five centuries die when the 
Terrans had come in from both sides, surviving only by taking the ship's 
single escape pod. And how had they repaid her? There had been the benefits 
package, the land grant, the ceremonies, but Washu and her brat had become 
the rulers of their people. Where was HER position in government? Where was 
her castle, her scantily-clad guards, her vast treasury?
	Shekra ran a hand in a long-habitual stroke over her buzzcut white hair, 
then adjusted the earpiece for the comm. "We're coming up on the Juraian 
ship... I want Truth Three and Truth Four to begin their strafing 
immediately and stretch it along the length of the ship. Truth Five through 
Eight will concentrate on the drive fins, Nine and Ten focus your fire when 
we first come in at the very tip of the ship, that's where intel says the 
main cannon fires from. Truth Two, you and I focus on the midsection... 
you'll see a little dip between the fore hull and where the aft hull begins 
spreading out, that's the location of the bridge."
	She rested her hands on the controls, tilting the ship in, nodding faintly 
in approval as the mishmash of Hyurodan and aliens guided their own 
fighters in perfect imitation. 'I'll teach you to forget us, QUEEN Washu, 
you and your Juraian toys.' They swept in, bolts of light bursting from the 
wings of the fighters, coming along the length of the fore hull...
	And then it emerged from the underside shadow of the treeship, long, 
upswept black spikes arranged in a ring, centered around a large ruby 
half-sphere, a longer, hexagonal spike diving down below from the center, 
ringed by shorter spikes, looking like some gigantic, terrifying energy 
sword hilt as bright crimson beams burst from the upper spikes, sending 
Truth Four and Truth Nine to their fate of bright red explosions expanding 
out from the impact point, only to abruptly snuff out in the emptiness of 
space.
	Shekra watched with wide, terrified eyes, before scrabbling at the 
controls, screaming into the comm, "PULL BACK! Abandon the attack! It's a 
cabbit! IT'S RYO-OHK-"
	The traitor Hyurodan was never allowed to finish shouting the name of her 
killer, another ruby beam spearing from the upper ring of the cabbit-ship's 
spikes and slicing through her ship like a scalpel through air, sending it 
to its own fiery fate.

	Ryoko practically sprawled in the single, thronelike command chair of 
Ryo-Ohki's bridge, lips pressed into a thin scowl, amber cat's-eyes narrow 
and hard. She'd picked up the radio transmission from the wing leader. The 
thought of those bolts of deadly light smashing into the bridge that 
contained her mother... her two best friends... sweet little Sasami... the 
noble and brave Funaho, her energetic and friendly cowife Misaki... ... ... 
Ayeka...
	The Hyurodan princess shoved herself to her feet, glaring at the fading 
explosion that had been Shekra's ship. "Burn in Hell, bitch. But don't 
worry... you'll have all the rest of your buddies here for company. Ryo-Ohki!"
	"MYA!" bellowed the cabbit's voice from all around her. Ryo-Ohki sounded 
ticked, too.
	"Target and terminate all enemy fighters. Go for the throat."
	"MYA!"
	The cabbit-ship spun as it moved along the length of Mizuho and Karin, 
carefully aiming shots from its top-mounted beams to pierce through the 
enemy fighters, sometimes leaving them to hang motionless in space for long 
seconds before bursting out in expanding balls of fire.
	"Mya! Ma-mya mya!" A secondary holoscreen popped up, of the remaining 
ships joining together into a nice little clump, preparing to open a warp 
rift and escape.
	Smirking, Ryoko settled back into the command chair. "Main cannon, Ryo-Ohki."
	Outside, the intimidating ship rolled sideways, its long lower point 
aiming itself squarely at the clump of retreating ship. Large balls of blue 
light formed at the point of each upper spike, generating long arcs of 
lightning that flew down to dance over the red dome at the center. In 
moments, a larger sphere of blue energy had formed at the long point.
	"Burn 'em."
	"MYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The sphere of energy exploded outwards in a huge 
pillar of light, racing through the midnight of space, washing over the 
fighters, rocking them like boats on a shuddering sea, before fading away 
and dissipating in the wash of energy as if they'd never existed.
	"You think you can commit yourselves to an attack and then just run away 
when you please?" Ryoko snorted at the empty space where the fighters had 
been, eyes hard with contempt. "When you challenge someone, lives are at 
stake... and you don't always beat the house."

	"I do not understand this," Washu said, voice full of vexation as she 
stalked back and forth across the bridge. "Never before have the rebels 
shown this level of antagonism. They've NEVER attacked ships in the heart 
of the system like this before! Even a possible alliance with the Jurai 
wouldn't drive them to this."
	"It is very disturbing," Funaho allowed, sitting a little more easily in 
her command seat now, her fingers steepled lightly. "But I do not blame 
you, Washu, nor does any of my family. We have dealt with attacks before, 
they are part of being royalty."
	"I'll just keep pace with Ryo-Ohki, all the same," Ryoko said easily from 
where she was putting in her appearance via the main viewscreen, sprawled 
to one side in her own thronelike captain's chair. "Just in case. Are the 
sweet little princesses alright?" The Hyurodan woman smirked lightly, 
letting a fang show at one side of her mouth. "The delicate porcelain one 
didn't crack or lose her head or anything?"
	"You come back to this ship and say that!" Ayeka cried at the viewscreen, 
raising a fist and shaking it.
	"Oh, no, I'm WAY too scared now," Ryoko snorted. "Ryo-Ohki out."
	With a brief "Mya!", the viewscreen disappeared.
	"That womaaaaan," came the growl from Ayeka, her fists flexing, and teeth 
grinding audibly.
	After everyone had spent a few moments just looking at Ayeka, Washu shook 
her head and looked up at the Juraian empresses. "Still, I must offer my 
apologies. There is a deeper agency at work here, I fear. And I'm going to 
find out what it is."
	"I would encourage it, my friend, not only for our sake, but that of your 
own people as well." Funaho shook her head. "If we are to be allies, our 
peoples will share both benefits and hardships. What threatens one will 
threaten the other, what aids one will aid the other."
	"Nice words," Washu replied, suddenly sounding tired. After a moment, she 
waved a hand. "Kallista, Riyata, accompany the princesses back to their 
rooms, please? Just to make sure."
	"That is not necessary," Ayeka began, then silenced herself as she noticed 
Funaho's gaze on her. "... But thank you."
	The Hyurodan guards both bowed their heads briefly, before turning and 
walking towards the lift. By unspoken signal, Sasami and Ayeka fell into 
step behind them, Kiyone and Mihoshi sandwiching them in from the other 
side. At the lift, they broke up into groups to avoid the press that had 
caused the earlier spill.
	As the door closed after the last of the girls, Washu raised a hand to 
pinch the bridge of her nose. "Politics aside, looking strong for the girls 
aside, what do you two make of this?"
	"It was scary," Misaki let out in a rush, bowing her head and placing a 
hand across her eyes.
	"I haven't seen small fighters like that in my entire life," Funaho added, 
still calm and steady, though she leaned back a little more heavily in her 
seat. "I didn't think they were even used in any part of the galaxy anymore."
	"The Terrans used them," Washu answered after a moment, sliding into one 
of the chairs around the bridge. "We had to, too, at some points. Towards 
the height of the war, we were churning them out pretty quickly, since we 
had no time to build larger ships or breed more cabbits. Those looked like 
Hyurodan fighters, but heavily modified. They'd have to be... at least 
ninety percent were completely decommissioned and disassembled. The rest 
are patrolling this system or in the defenses of various government 
installations. All were accounted for this morning when I finished 
examining the defenses prior to leaving the system."
	"Could the rebels have regained the parts of the fighters and reassembled 
them?"
	"Well, it's obvious they DID," Washu replied, waving a hand towards the 
wall to indicate the space behind them where the fighter wreckage would 
still be floating. "The question is how they did so without the news coming 
to my knowledge. I don't trust anyone too far, even the people I trust, and 
I keep plenty of tabs on everyone at every level. No one knew about this, 
no one helped."
	�Perhaps there is more to this than we are seeing,� Funaho murmured, 
steepling her fingers and gazing across them. �Washu, my friend� is it your 
intention to investigate these matters yourself?�
	�It�s a complication of our alliance. It�s my responsibility, isn�t it?� 
Washu said with a good-natured snort, tossing her head and sending tremors 
through the pink spikes of her hair.
	�It gratifies me to hear that� and whatever resources we of the Juraian 
empire can lend to you, we shall do so.� Funaho looked a little to one 
side, then back to Washu. �Could you excuse us, please? I believe it wise 
that we chart a completely new path back to Jurai.�
	�Certainly,� Washu replied rather absently, moving over to the lift with 
the air of someone already thinking far ahead in a large task.
	Almost before the door had slid closed behind Washu, Misaki was out of her 
seat, rushing to Funaho and pressing her face to the other woman�s lap, 
shuddering and trying to muffle soft sobs. Shushing her gently, Funaho drew 
her co-wife up and wrapped her arms around her, kissing her tear-drenched 
cheeks. �Ssshhh� ssshhh, it�s alright, darling� it�s done with, and 
everyone�s fine� ssshhh��
	Silently, the large conjoined hologram behind the captain�s chairs faded 
out, and Mizuho and Karin both manifested their single forms, draping 
weightless, ethereal arms around their mistresses.

	�I�ll take care of things here,� Kallista said as the princesses stepped 
into their room. �Why don�t you two go and get yourselves some dry clothes, 
hm?�
	�If you�re sure,� Riyata muttered, not sounding particularly convincing 
about it, and almost immediately turning and making her way back towards 
the guest quarters. Mihoshi giggled nervously, before heading off in the 
other direction to change in her own chambers.
	Kallista settled herself in to stand on one side of the Princess�s door, 
holding her spear straight up with her hands gripping it lightly. Kiyone 
stood a little more casually on the other side, her hands tucked into her 
sleeves. The corridor was silent for minutes that stretched on 
interminably. Finally, the Hyurodan woman cleared her throat lightly.
	�You okay?�
	�Fine,� Kiyone answered shortly, not looking away from the opposite wall 
of the hallway.
	�� Woulda figured you�d go in with 
�em� you usually do that, right?�
	�The princesses want to be alone right now.�
	�� Heh. S�pretty good, you being able to pick up on their moods like 
that.� Kallista looked over at Kiyone briefly, but saw that the other woman 
was still unmoved. ��� She cleared her throat lightly. �Half the time I 
don�t know what the hell Ryoko�s thinking or feeling. Kinda wish I could be 
over there with her, or something.�
	���
	�� Dammit, say SOMEthing.�
	�� You�re not very good at this, are you?�
	Kallista blinked. �Good at what? Standing guard? Of course I am!�
	�Small talk.�
	�� Oh, that.� Kallista sighed, leaning back against the wall and letting 
her spear slant. �No, that, I suck at. I think you�ll find it�s a pretty 
common trait among Hyurodan, from what I�ve seen. I mean, I haven�t met 
tons and tons of people from other species, at least not many worth talkin� 
to. But most of 
�em seemed to like small talk, and��
	She trailed off, sighing quietly again. After a few moments, Kiyone gave 
into her curiosity and prompted quietly, �And�?�
	�And, Hyurodan don�t. I mean, not ALL don�t� or, whatever. I mean, I�ve 
met some who do the whole small talk thing, but just� not most. For the 
most part� we�re a lot more direct. We express ourselves physically more� 
what we say, we usually say roughly, and right to the point. About the 
closest most of us get to subtlety is teasing.
	�Most, anyway. I mean�� Kallista trailed off some, looking up. �Ada wasn�t 
like that. Ada was the guard that died in the attack, remember�?�
	�I remember,� Kiyone said quietly, bowing her head a little.
	�She was Riyata�s lover. She was� different. I mean, hell, I used to 
wonder what the hell she was doing being a guard, and why it was she was 
with Riyata. Riyata�s even rougher, quieter than most� and Ada was just 
this really gentle spirit. You ever met one like that? The ones that have 
this� tenderness to 
�em. Great fighter� she DESERVED to be a guard. But it 
amazes me she ever picked up a spear.
	�She�d put bugs outside instead of stepping on 
�em. Y�know, the kind of 
person that does things like that? And she�d cry if the other guards teased 
her. And when she�d cry, Riyata would hold her, and not say anything. Ada 
liked to talk to people� Riyata, me, even the ones that teased her. Not 
like they disliked her� I think everyone liked her. Because when she 
talked, it wasn�t like you really had to talk back. She�d just talk, and it 
was� good to be there with her.�
	Kallista paused, lowering her head, and pressing her thumb along the sides 
of her nose. �Heh. It�s weird� I�ve been so worried about Riyata taking it 
hard� I just realized, I really miss Ada too. A lot.�
	She didn�t look up as Kiyone�s arms slipped around her and the Juraian 
woman�s head rested on her shoulder. Kallista just slid one arm around 
Kiyone�s middle, and rested her head against the other woman�s.
	�Good friends don�t come along every day.�
	�I know.�

	Ayeka ran her hand over Sasami�s hair softly, the younger princess sitting 
in her lap and cuddled close.
	�That was scary, Ayeka.�
	�It is alright,� Ayeka whispered back, kissing her sister�s forehead. �You 
shouldn�t doubt like that� we�re in a strong treeship, we�ll be just fine.�
	�It was Ryoko that protected us though.�
	�That she did,� Ayeka said, unable to help smiling a little. �It seems 
she�s good for that, at least.�
	Sasami sniffled a little bit, pressing her face against Ayeka�s shoulder. 
�How come people hate us?�
	�Oh, no no no no no,� Ayeka cooed, starting to rock her little sister, 
shaking her head. �No one hates you, Sasami, no one.� She bit her lower 
lip. �Some people� just have problems with things that aren�t your fault at 
all. And they� they�re angry, and they try to hurt other people because 
they think that will make things better.�
	Sasami sniffled again, looking up at her sister. �I don�t understand.�
	�Because it doesn�t make sense,� Ayeka replied softly, kissing Sasami on 
the little marks on her forehead again. �I�m sorry I don�t have better 
answers.� This seemed a time when pretending to know everything just didn�t 
seem appropriate, and Ayeka looked down at the younger girl sadly, before 
gently pressing Sasami�s head to her shoulder. After a few moments of 
silence, she began singing very quietly, a favorite lullaby.
	�Up above the trees, the sky is clear and blue� the sky Is looking down at 
you� the trees will hold you, hold you high� and with the trees, you can 
surely fly� the clouds are waiting for your flight� so visit them in your 
dreams tonight��
	As Ayeka continued the gentle song, Sasami slowly relaxed in her lap, 
settling into sleep. But even after, Ayeka sang on and rocked her little 
sister, thinking of days long ago when the girl in her lap had been much 
longer, and she had sung this song to her, and everything had been a lot 
happier and simpler.

	Ryoko slumped in the command chair, her chin propped up on one fist. 
Ryo-Ohki wasn�t showing her anything other than the space outside rushing 
past at amazing speed, turned into stretched and widened stars with bursts 
and streaks of color.
	�Whatcha think they�re doing over there, Ryo-Ohki?�
	�Mya?�
	�Yeah, probably just relaxing and trying to forget that stuff.�
	�Mya,� came the soft response, Ryo-Ohki�s voice pitched in a comforting tone.
	�Nah, I�m not lonely. I�ve got you, don�t I?� Ryoko smiled a little bit, 
then shook her head. �� Honestly, y�think she�s okay?�
	�Mya,� came the confident response.
	�Yeah, she�s pretty tough. Kinda mean, too.� Ryoko snorted a little, 
closing her eyes. �You suck for talking about this with.�
	�Mya!� Ryo-Ohki protested indignantly.
	�Oh, come on, you DO. You�re a cabbit, you just don�t know what all this 
is about. Your biggest thought is on if you�ll get a carrot and whether 
Sasami�ll let you sleep on her bed.�
	�� Mya,� the cabbit acknowledged after a moment.
	�You know who I wish I could talk to right now? Kallista, Riyata, and Ada. 
I mean� it just doesn�t seem the same without all three. Kallista would say 
something to make me feel better about it all, and Riyata would just sort 
of nod along and give me this look like a big sister, and then Ada would 
smile and start saying what she thought� hell, half the time it pissed me 
off, but��
	Ryoko trailed off, and chewed her lower lip. Then, she let out a long 
sigh. �It�s never gonna be like that again, is it, Ryo-Ohki?�
	�Mya,� came the sad, soft reply.
	�I thought the dying was over with, maybe� that I�d seen enough friends 
buried. � Tell me there�s not going to be any more days like that, Ryo-Ohki.�
	The bridge was very silent, the faint hum of hyperspace the only thing 
filling the void.
	�Yeah,� Ryoko whispered, closing her eyes. �That�s what I thought, too.�

	Riyata lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, hands behind her head. She 
wondered in the back of her mind when she�d ever get used to the lack of 
warmth against her side, the arm draped across her stomach, the gentle 
weight of a head on her shoulder. It felt like she�d lost a limb� and if 
she closed her eyes, she could almost feel that warmth and weight.
	But it wasn�t there, and it wasn�t coming back. Riyata turned on her side 
and pulled the sheets up a bit more around her naked body. Someday, she�d 
turn an eye towards getting used to being alone in bed again, to moving on. 
But for just a little while� she needed to keep waiting for Ada�s voice in 
her ear, telling her she didn�t have time for a nap now, time to get up�

	Mihoshi walked quietly down the corridor, still trying to tame a few 
unruly locks of her hair with her fingers. She found Kallista and Kiyone 
standing a few feet apart, and smiled, chirping, �I�ll take over, if you 
guys want to get some rest!�
	Kallista looked over at Kiyone rather questioningly, and, after a moment, 
the Juraian nodded, turning and walking down the hallway. Kallista glanced 
at Mihoshi, before simply turning and following after Kiyone.
	Mihoshi watched them go, smiling brightly, before turning and walking into 
the princess� quarters. She blinked a little at the princesses asleep in a 
chair, before smiling again. Slipping out of her sandals and walking in 
stocking feet across the carpet, Mihoshi gently disengaged Sasami from 
Ayeka�s arms and carried the younger princess over to the bed, tucking her 
in carefully. She moved back over to Ayeka, unfolding a quilt from where it 
was sitting on a nearby chest and gently draping it around the sleeping woman.
	Her charge was tucked into bed and sleeping peacefully, Ayeka was asleep 
and thus not yelling at her, and her best friend seemed happy with the 
Hyurodan guard she�d met. The universe was a bright, happy, wonderful 
place, and Mihoshi felt quite privileged to live in it.



	Riyata shifted a little in bed, sliding easily up through the layers of 
sleep to that place just below full consciousness, enough to recognize the 
presence that had joined her. She declined to come the rest of the way 
around as a warm, nude form came to rest gently against her back.
	�I could get used to her scent on you,� she murmured, raising one arm to 
let the other woman�s arm drape over her side.
	�Was your hair always this long?� Kallista muttered absently, making a bit 
of a face. �I seem to remember it as being manageable the times I was on top.�
	�My turn up�?�
	�Mm-hm. Four hours 
�til we enter the Jurai system. Wake me then, huh?�
	Riyata nodded a little, just relaxing in her friend�s presence, inhaling 
slowly and deeply, taking in the smell of Kiyone on Kallista�s skin, and 
the subtler, fainter aroma that was contentment. Then, with a little grunt, 
she shoved herself up and out of bed, stretching. �Sure. See you in four.� 
Without further comment, she pulled on her breastplate and loincloth, slid 
into a chair to pull on her boots, then picked up the foot-long collapsed 
cylinder of her spear, snapping it to full extension before walking out of 
the room.
	She found Washu still in the main room of their quarters, scribbling away 
with a laser stylus on sheets of paper. The Hyurodan queen made a quiet 
sound to acknowledge Riyata�s presence, but otherwise didn�t look up, the 
small, square lenses of her glasses wavering on their precarious perch on 
the tip of her nose.
	Leaving her queen to her writing, Riyata walked out into the corridors of 
the ship. She paused as she noticed a glossier section of wall, and turned 
towards it. �� This a screen?�
	There was a faint *blip*, the glossy area turning dark black. Taking that 
for an affirmative, Riyata continued, feeling a little less silly about 
talking to the ship. �Status of ship�s systems�?� She perused the 
information as it scrolled by, then nodded and walked off. �Thanks� imps.� 
She didn�t catch the bright yellow circle with black dots for eyes that 
appeared on the screen, sticking out its tongue at her.
	She passed Kiyone in the hall, giving the other woman a distant nod and 
receiving same in turn. No, definitely not time to talk to that one, yet� 
Riyata had seen Kallista go through several relationships where there was a 
tacit �Don�t mention it� agreement for those who knew about them. She just 
hoped this one worked out a little better than the last few of those had.
	A few more moments� walk brought Riyata to the doors to the Juraian 
princesses� quarters, and she took up position to one side of it. Her 
nostrils flared lightly� Mihoshi had been here several hours ago� maybe 
five� and gone inside. Didn�t seem to have come out yet. The blonde was a 
bit of a puzzle. Or maybe more like a coin, with a ditzy, cheerful bimbo on 
one side, but a fierce warrior and woman of depth on the other. It seemed 
like every time she�d figured out which side Mihoshi was showing, someone 
flipped the coin on her.
	It was a little unsettling. Riyata was used to having a fairly good handle 
on people, and Mihoshi was confusing to say the least.
	
�Still, one thing�s for sure. With her in there, me being out here is 
purely a formality.�

	Ayeka sighed quietly, the loosed silk of her long purple hair swaying 
through the water like some sort of odd sea plants, her perfect, creamy 
skin glistening lightly with dampness, little clumps of bubbles clinging to 
her here and there, small rainbows running over their delicate surfaces in 
the gentle ambient lights of the bathchamber. A bit distant from where 
Ayeka leaned back against the side of the tub, her arms resting on the side 
as well, Sasami splashed more enthusiastically in the bath, giggling and 
laughing as Mihoshi squealed and ran-waded through the water in an attempt 
to escape.
	The Juraian princess watched her younger sister and the dark-skinned 
maidservant frolic, a very small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. 
She almost jumped as a hand rested on her shoulder, and relaxed as she 
looked over her shoulder to find the nude form of her own attendant.
	"Forgive me, my lady," Kiyone said as she set down the tray with Ayeka's 
bath-things on them, and knelt on the floor just outside the tub. "I was 
more tired than I had anticipated." Kiyone's manner was comforting as 
always, neither overly obsequious nor overly familiar, but a sort of easy 
professionalism.
	"It is alright," Ayeka acknowledged quietly, closing her eyes as Kiyone 
removed a small, ornately-cast silver scoop and dipped it into the water, 
raising it to tilt at the proper angle to wet Ayeka's hair without 
splashing the princess unduly.
	The familiarity of old habits was comforting as well. Ayeka could remember 
Kiyone's mother doing much the same when the princess had been very small, 
the elegant older woman with her serene and affectionate smile, never 
treating her merely as a child, but as a princess. Ayeka could almost 
remember her voice, soft and even as she explained each part of the process 
to her daughter.
	The memory tugged at Ayeka's mind somehow, and she frowned very slightly 
as she tried to determine why. Something not merely about the bath, but 
those days long ago... of laughter and games with another child, 
bright-eyed and merry, who never seemed to stop talking. But they were 
memories from when she had been younger than Sasami, and none of what she 
remembered of that child fit with what she knew of Kiyone.
	Dismissing the tangent, Ayeka waited for a few moments more, letting 
Kiyone gently rinse the shampoo that had been worked into the princess' 
hair while she had been reminiscing, before opening her eyes and turning 
her head to look at the other Juraian.
	"We have known one another for quite some time, have we not, Kiyone?" 
Ayeka murmured, smiling fondly at her servant.
	"Indeed, my lady," Kiyone answered, and though her smile was more 
restrained, her eyes seemed to light up from within, and Ayeka wondered if 
it was indeed possible that somewhere within was the happy, laughing 
playmate of her childhood.

	The subtle hum and feel of the ship shifted as it dropped out of 
hyperspace just outside the Jurai system, Ryo-Ohki dropping out of 
faster-than-light travel nearby, and immediately beginning to draw close to 
the conjoined treeships, matching speed and heading perfectly, until it 
drew close enough to touch their hulls. After only a moment, the fearsome 
lines of the cabbit-ship shimmered, and abruptly, it was gone, leaving only 
an airlock door to close in its wake.
	Immediately, three other treeships, smaller and sleeker, but with an 
almost thorny look to them, like a tree that had developed harsh bark to 
defend itself from predators. A brief flurry of communications took place, 
both between the humans aboard each ship's bridge, and in the ethereal, 
space-silent language that was just between the trees, murmurs of 
contention at the attack shared, as well as a starlit glimmer of laughter 
at a prank.
	But in all, both humans and treeships of the system guard conveyed one 
message above all, feeling it in their hearts as much as speaking it to one 
another:
	'Welcome home.'

	Ryoko stood in front of the mirror, scowling darkly as she fidgeted with 
the folds and accoutrements of her outfit. She'd chosen a black dress with 
a kimono-style top and wide sleeves, the ends of the sleeves and the fold 
across her chest trimmed in scarlet shot with thin threads of gold. The 
bottom half of the dress was like a loose sheath coming down to just above 
her ankles, and slit all the way up to her hip on one side, a brim of red 
shot through with more gold bordering the hem of the skirt and following 
the slit at the side up on either side. A crimson sash was cinched around 
her middle, this cloth bearing web-like threads of silver and emerald, the 
long tails of it tipped in platinum cloth and hanging down on the same side 
as the slip of leg bared by the skirt.
	"That's dressier than I've seen you get in awhile," Washu commented as she 
moved up to stand beside her daughter at the mirror, running her hands over 
her own, much simpler, pants suit done in shades of tan and purple.
	"I'm not a complete tomboy," Ryoko muttered, running her hands along the 
cyan sweep of her hair, then sliding one hand beneath the fall of it and 
touching her fingertips on the three smooth, round bumps on the back of her 
neck. The Hyurodan princess made a slight face as she willed two of the 
power gems to separate themselves from her flesh, feeling... lessened... as 
they left her to settle easily in her palm.
	"True enough, I suppose," Washu chuckled, looking up at her daughter 
approvingly. "This is it, Ryoko. This is what we've always imagined."
	"A marriage to a prudish little brat?" Ryoko murmured without taking her 
eyes from her reflection, touching a stone to one of her elongated, 
squared-off ears and allowing it to affix itself like an earring, moving 
her hands over to the other side of her head to repeat the process.
	"A life of luxury, wealth, and security," Washu corrected wryly, turning 
and walking towards the door, Ryoko following a little after her, Kallista 
and Riyata falling into step on either side of their royals.
	"Or, a life of responsibility, difficulty, and stress," the younger woman 
countered, not without humor. The four of them entered a lift that would 
take them to the ship's disembarking area, turning to face the lift doors 
as they closed and the chamber hummed to life.
	"Those too," Washu allowed cheerfully, clasping her hands in front of herself.
	The ride was short, and the lift's doors were soon opening to show the 
Juraians already gathered, their own clothes as specially-chosen as they 
had been the first day they had arrived to begin negotiations with the 
Hyurodan. Ryoko couldn't help but give Ayeka a long look, taking in the 
sight of the other woman in her kimono, before turning her head towards the 
viewport in pointed fashion, letting it seem as if she were unimpressed. 
She heard Ayeka give a little snort of aggravation, and the other princess 
whipped her head toward the view of the planet below as well.
	Ryoko watched the green hemisphere below them roll by, her eyes fixed on 
the very large patch of white that was coming into view, and becoming 
larger by the moment as the ship descended. Taking a deep breath, Ryoko 
murmured, in a voice pitched too softly for the Juraians to hear, "Mom... 
dunno if I'm gonna be able to handle this..."
	Washu raised her head, turning an appraising look on her daughter, before 
grinning rather wickedly. "Don't worry," she responded in the same quiet 
tone. "After all... it's only the first day of the rest of your life."

~End Part Nine


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