Previous chapters are availible at http://templar.anifics.com/  comments
are welcome.

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 8: Reality Check

Kiyone Makabi was not in a good mood.  So many things would indicate 
that she should be happy, most notably the fact that she was a Fleet 
Admiral before the age of fifty was saying something, especially given 
that life spans for most galactic civilizations was on the order of five 
centuries.

She was also the commander of the most powerful military force in the 
Galactic Union outside of the Juraian home fleet.  But since they were 
looking at a battle with one of the most powerful fleets in the entire 
galaxy, things weren't looking up.

She had a wonderful staff and her flagship, the Justicar, was the finest 
vessel anywhere (if she did say so herself).  The only flaw was one 
small addition to her staff at the last minute.

"This is a really cool ship you have, Kiyone," Mihoshi bubbled.

"I'm sure," Kiyone ground out.  The prospect of spending three months in 
the same sector as Mihoshi, much less on the same ship, was almost 
enough to make her want to resign her commission. "But it's not my ship, 
it's Captain Kajique's."

Mihoshi nodded absently. "Oh yeah.  But you're still in charge of the 
fleet, so I guess all the ships are yours."

Kiyone sighed. "Yes, Mihoshi, they are."

In fact, eleven other ships identical to Justicar were the core of the 
fleet.  They were a new class, designed shortly after Kagato's rampaged 
three years before.  The idea behind a special task force within the GP 
to handle matters beyond the scope of normal law enforcement and 
peacekeeping had been bounced around among the higher-ups for centuries. 
  The plans would have stayed in some forgotten database for another 
millennium if the Ruins Destroyer hadn't annihilated a response force 
sent to apprehend him.  Kiyone still wondered how she was able to 
survive when every other ship had been lost with all hands.  Even her 
beloved Yagami had been reduced to floating scrap by the time she was 
able to limb back to HQ.

But even as her patrol ship was sent to the scrappers, Kiyone was 
dusting off the old plans for a Special Weapons And Tactics division and 
ramming it down her superiors' throats.  They approved it, and the R&D 
department had set new records in updating the ship designs and getting 
the first frames built.  But the Marshall and his staff got his revenge. 
  Kiyone was immediately promoted from Detective 1st (the equivalent of 
a Navel Commander) to Rear Admiral and given responsibility for 
overseeing the organization of the new SWAT division.  As though a jump 
of three grades in one shot wasn't enough, Kiyone received an additional 
three promotions in the past two years as the fleet's size increased 
from six heavy ships to well over a hundred vessels of various classes.

And she was willing to throw all of it away just to get away from Mihoshi.

Kiyone shook away that thought and brought her mind back to the present. 
"I've had a chance to look over the recordings Yukinojo made of the 
Zentradi fleet.  Is there anything you can add to that?"

Mihoshi shook her head. "No, we didn't intercept any transmissions, but 
we were also pretty far above the system ecliptic.  Though most of them 
seemed to be tailing a single ship which matches the unknown vessel that 
was sighted moving through Union space twenty years ago."

"And the Zentradi ships match the fleet that was pursuing that ship.  I 
guess we might be seeing what these 'Super-Dreadnaughts' can do."

Mihoshi nodded. "It'll be just like old times, Kiyone.  We show up and 
the bad guys run in fear of the law!"

Kiyone's left eyebrow developed a tic as Mihoshi started giggling. 
*Hopefully it won't be like old times,* she grumbled mentally. *I've 
come too far to have you spoil it again.*

*******

Tenchi shook his head sadly.  He had always wanted to see Los Angeles, 
if nothing else than to see if it really was the pit of insanity his 
grandfather described to him.  He couldn't really tell if those stories 
were true, since he was seeing the city from close to a mile up.  The 
officer's mess contained two huge observation balconies that provided a 
spectacular view of the surrounding area.

*Who would have thought I would be an officer?* Tenchi thought to 
himself.  Old ideas like 'time in grade' had fallen by the wayside 
during the long trek back to Earth.  Rick had been promoted to Captain, 
Tenchi was wearing 1st lieutenant bars, and both Max and Ben made 2nd 
lieutenant.  It was also rumored that Captain Gloval was going to give 
Rick command of Skull Squadron, following the deaths of Commander Fokker 
and Captain Kramer.

And that was a source of confusion as well.  Many of the personnel on 
the ship had ranks that were roughly analogous with navy counterparts. 
Others, including most of the Veritech pilots and the Destroid corps, 
used a ranking system much like the American Army or Air Force.  As it 
turned out, the anomalies like Commander Fokker were from a separate 
service branch before being transferred to the RDF.  For personnel like 
him, they retained their old rank classification in the new 
organization.  It was confusing, though.

Tenchi shook his head and tried to concentrate on the view.  Over a year 
in space, and close to two months with only featureless ocean to see 
gave him an appreciation for the sight of land, and of civilization.  On 
the other balcony, Lisa had joined Rick in admiring the sunset.  Each of 
the pair was attempting to make small talk, and failing.  The pair of 
them sent Tenchi's thoughts off on another tangent, this time regarding 
the two women that figured so prominently in his life.

*No, I can't think about that right now.  The captain is going to get 
the people off the fortress and then...*

Then what?  Tenchi hadn't thought that far ahead.  His term of 
enlistment with the REF was open ended.  Which meant that unless he was 
disabled or killed, he was stuck.  That didn't really bother him as much 
as it once might have.  It wasn't that he liked the idea of fighting. 
Far from it, his stomach still rebelled after every battle.  But there 
was a sense of rightness about what he was doing, watching his friends 
backs and keeping his friends, his family, and the entire planet safe 
from the Zentradi.

Tenchi sighed and turned away from the windows.  Lieutenant Commander 
Grant was sitting at the table closest to the windows, so Tenchi looked 
for the next one.  There was an open chair at the table which Tenchi 
dropped into with a sigh.

"Something wrong, lieutenant?"

Tenchi looked up at the other occupant of the table where he sat.  The 
other was a tall, burly man in a black RDF uniform.  He had a stiff, 
white collar instead of the standard turtleneck most officers wore. And 
the insignia of a lieutenant commander graced his sleeve along with a 
cross-shaped patch on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't see you sitting there." Tenchi managed not to 
stammer as he rose.

"Hold it," the man said. "What's bothering you, son?"

"It's...personal, sir."

The officer smiled. "Lieutenant Misaki, right?  Well, I guess you could 
say 'personal' problems are what I'm on this ship for."

"Sir?"

The other man chuckled and indicated the seat Tenchi had just vacated. 
"Have a seat.  William Gunn, head chaplain and assistance psychologist, 
at your service."

"I...didn't know the SDF-1 had a chaplain, sir."

"No 'sir', Tenchi," Gunn replied. "Those stripes are just there so the 
desk jockeys know where to put me on a ship.  You look worse than those 
three," Gunn waved a hand at Grant, Hayes, and Rick. "And considering 
what they've been through, that's saying something."

"It's just something I have to work out on my own," Tenchi replied.

Gunn nodded. "I respect that.  But my office is open whenever you need 
to talk."

"Thank you," Tenchi said as he rose.

*******

"Hey Rick, whatcha doing?" Max asked

Rick looked up as his three friends walked across the hanger deck. "Hi 
guys, just doing some maintenance."

"Yeah," Max replied. "I wasn't that surprised when Lisa Hayes told us 
you were down here."

Ben glanced at the Veritech. "Hey, this is Commander Fokker's Skull 1, 
isn't it?  Are you going to be flying it?"

"Yeah," Rick reluctantly replied, "I was really lucky to get it as my 
aircraft assignment.  It's ironic, really.  Roy was proud of the fact 
that he'd never been shot down, and they're giving his plane to me, the 
guy who keeps getting shot down."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Rick," Ben said, "you haven't gotten shot 
down as often as Tenchi."

"Thanks a lot, Ben," Tenchi grumbled.

"By the way," Max interjected. "Did you hear the news?  Soon the 
civilians are going to be leaving!"

"That's terrific." Rick replied

"Who's taking them in?" Tenchi asked.  Somehow he missed that little tidbit.

"Ontario," Max replied.

"How about one last night on the town," Ben suggested. "To celebrate 
Rick's new command."

"Sure," Rick replied with a smile. "In fact, it'll be my treat."

*******

Of course, it didn't last.  In fact, Ben was just starting into his 
steak when the alarm sounded.  Within minutes, Skull squadron was 
airborne under it's new commander.

"Skull leader to Skull Wing, I have bogies on my screen at twelve 
o'clock and about fifteen second to contact, you guys ready?"

Ben and Max gave their replied, but Tenchi just clicked his microphone 
as the fighter pods rushed in.  He plowed through the first wave of 
missiles and wove through the web of energy beams as his wing mates 
targeted the distracted pods.  The in-flight chatter washed over 
Tenchi's consciousness, heard but ignored.  The universe fell away as 
Tenchi's mind focused on the task at hand.

If asked about his style, Tenchi would simply reply with a blank look 
that he didn't have one.  His grandfather was responsible for this.  The 
Jurian style was one of reaction and adaptation.  There were no forms 
(aside from a few dueling ceremonies), no kata, no patterns.  It was a 
purely reactionary style, but given the speed which a trained swordsman 
responded with, he often reacted before his opponent was halfway through 
an action.  Tenchi's mind was like a combat computer, instantly 
evaluating the entire situation and striking at just the right place for 
maximum effect.

The only real weakness of the style was that a practitioner would have 
to become very good, very quickly, or even a novice from any other style 
could defeat him.  Tenchi almost met that fate against his early 
opponents, but battle after battle, even before encountering the 
Zentradi, stripped him of hesitation.  Unlike other pilots, he wasn't 
pushing the envelope.  Instead, he was the keen edge of a katana, forged 
in the fires of battle.

"Skull 2, watch yourself!"

Tenchi ignored the buzz from his com as he threw his Veritech into a 
turn that had the airframe screaming in protest while throwing the 
switch to switch to Guardian.  A quick burst of thrusters slowed his 
speed while he brought his gunpod around and blasted his three pursuers 
as they passed.

"Form up, Skulls," Rick said. "Control wants us to check out the source 
of the radar jamming south of here.  The Raiders and Spartans have the 
situation in hand from the SDF-1."

"Acknowledged, lead," Tenchi replied.  He quickly shifted back to Jet 
and formed up with his three companions.

"Looks like we're going to do some turret hunting," Max commented as the 
enemy battle cruisers appeared on the horizon.

"No kidding," Rick replied. "Alright, let get to it!"

"Right," Tenchi acknowledged.  His afterburners screamed as Skull 
squadron dove toward the enemy ships.  There were no battlepods this 
time, and the turrets concentrated their fire on the SDF-1.  Until this 
point he had been hoarding his missiles.  Now, he launched them in a 
spread that eliminated the turrets near the bow.  He immediately 
switched to battleoid and his gunpod.  Three more turrets were shattered 
before Commander Hayes' frantic voice drifted over the com.

"Skull squadron, emergency!  Evacuate the area, immediately!"

"Evacuate?" Rick asked. "Why?"

"The barrier system is about to chain react, you've got to get away from 
here quick!"

"Skull squadron," Rick shouted, "clear out now!"

Behind them, the shield around the SDF-1 turned an angry pink and began 
to expand.  The remaining mecha assaulting the shield were disintegrate 
by the onrushing energy,  The skull Veritechs immediately went to 
guardian and then to Jet as the wall of energy eliminated everything in 
its path.  Tenchi threw the throtle wide open and engaged his 
afterburners and was releived to see the others do the same.

All but one.

"Ben," Rick shouted, "hit your afterburner now.  Do you copy!"

"It's too late, Rick," Ben's frantic voice said. "I can't-AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Ben's voice dissolved into screams, and then silence.  Moments later, 
the energy field vanished, leaving a barren crater where there was once 
a small city.

"The energy absorbed by the barrier chain reacted," a haggard Lisa Hayes 
reported as the remaining Skull pilots came in for a landing. "The 
explosion destroyed the surface out to a radius of twenty-five miles. 
And the Ontario Quadrant sub-command has refused to allow us to land."

"Lisa," Rick said slowly. "Tell Captain Gloval we've lost Ben Dixon."

"Rick, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks Lisa.  We're coming in."

*******

They didn't feel like eating, but their bodies needed the food after the 
stress of battle had worn off.  The surviving pilots of Skull squadron 
were scattered among three tables at the Tree, and at each table there 
was at least one empty place.  Tenchi watched with a detached air as a 
patron attempted to sit at one of the two empty spots at the third 
wing's table.

"That spot's reserved," Colin Horn, Skull 9, whispered.

The patron looked like he was going to object, but one look at Horn's 
face convinced him to find a spot at the counter.

"It was never us," Tenchi said quietly.

"What?" Rick looked up from his burger and stared at Tenchi. "What was 
that?"

"It was never us," Tenchi said. "Whenever something happened, it was to 
someone else.  Even Commander Fokker wasn't part of our circle.  We were 
invincible."

Max nodded. "All the times you two got shot up or shot down and still 
survived.  But now Ben..."

All three looked at the empty place at the table. "Did you write the 
letter to Ben's family?" Max asked.

Rick nodded. "Ben...and three other people I didn't even know, but since 
they were in Skull, I was their superior." He sighed and rose. "I need 
to get some fresh air."

"I'll join you," Max said. "What about you, Tenchi?"

Tenchi shook his head. "No, that's okay.  I have some things I have to 
do here."

Rick nodded. "See you in the morning, then."

*******

It was almost an entire month later before the endless stream of supply 
ships began to taper off.  With the last wave came new orders for 
Captain Gloval.  The announcement everyone on the SDF-1 feared was 
broadcast a few hours before launch, and gave the residents a chance to 
see the sky one land time before being banished again to the cold, dark 
void.

Of course, some weren't watching the skies for its beauty.

"What?" Washu exclaimed as her terminal coldly reported it's findings.

"What is it?" Lang asked.  While the redhead was still a bit of mystery 
to the engineering crew, Lang knew enough that when she looked 
flustered, there was trouble coming.

"The probes we dropped in Lunar orbit are reporting gravitational 
disturbances."

Lang raised an eyebrow. "Folds?"

"Over a million," Washu growled. "How can anyone built that many ships? 
  It would take an industrial complex hundreds of times..." Washu 
trailed off and rubbed her forehead. "We're in trouble."

"You're just figuring that out?" Lang asked in a dry voice.  He shook 
his head as though to clear it. "Have you finished your analysis on the 
barrier system?"

Washu smirked. "Of course, I *am* the greatest scientist in the 
universe." A small portal appeared above her head and a small cylinder 
dropped into her waiting hand. "You need a better surge dampener.  I'll 
have three more of those the day after tomorrow.  With those in there, 
the barrier should be enough to let you skate around the corona of a star."

Lang nodded. "And the new Veritech designs?"

Washu shrugged. "All in the hands of your factories."

*******

Tenchi sighed as he switched off the monitor in his quarters.

"So that's it?" Ryoko asked as the deck rumbled. "They're just all these 
people off the planet?"

"Politics," Tenchi formed the word like a curse. "I can understand why 
Grandpa wanted to get away from Jurai.  If this kind of backstabbing is 
accepted and encouraged, then I wouldn't want anything to do with it, 
either."

Ryoko nodded. "Ayeka seems calm about it."

Tenchi shook his head. "She was raised on politics.  Just like you were 
raised on combat."

"Is that why you've been avoiding her?" Ryoko's eyes hardened. "She 
thinks you're trying to snub her."

Tenchi sighed. "I...I'm not avoiding her.  I'm avoiding Sasami."

"Oh this I gotta hear," Ryoko smirked. "She's a little young for you, 
isn't she?"

"It's not like that!" Tenchi insisted.

Ryoko's smile only made Tenchi blush worse. "I know.  You're too easy. 
Really, why?"

Tenchi leaned back in his chair and said nothing for a few minutes. "My 
hands have too much blood on them.  Every night, over and over, I see 
faces.  Some look human, others don't.  They're all the beings I've 
killed.  There are already hundreds, yet there is plenty of room for 
more.  Thousands more...millions.  And I know that I'll continue to fill 
that space with more and more dead."

Ryoko gave a sober nod. "My hands aren't any cleaner, Tenchi."

"That wasn't your fault, you were being-"

"Don't say I was being controlled by Kagato," Ryoko hissed. "Because 
when I was doing it, I wasn't a mindless machine.  I knew exactly what I 
was doing and I loved it."

Tenchi nodded. "But you proved who you really where after I freed you 
from that prison."

Ryoko smiled sadly as she phased through the floor. "I hope so, Tenchi."

End chapter 8

notes:
I would like to say that yes, I know I'm off on the ranks.  Technically, 
Rick should still be a 1st Lt.  But no way that's senior enough for 
command of an elite squadron like Skull.  Since Fokker was a Lt. 
Commander (equal to a Major) when he died, one rank lower is more 
believable (though given that the concept of 'time in grade' went out 
the window during the trip back to Earth...)

I'm sorry...I'm trying to cut down on the exposition.


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