I said I'd get them out quicker, and I meant it (the next few, anyway)

Previous chapters are availible at http://templar.anifics.com/  comments 
are always welcome, and always answered.

Disclaimer: Everything contained in this work of fiction is property of 
its original owner.  No infringement is intended.

No Need For Protoculture
by Andrew Wilson

Chapter 10: A Wedding and No Funerals

"How long's it been since we got kicked off?" Rick idly asked as he and 
Tenchi shared a rare 'morning' off.

"Can't say," Tenchi said as he poke an unidentifiable lump with his 
fork. "Is this supposed to be food?"

"Can't say.  Six months, was it?"

Tenchi looked up form his so-called lunch and exchanged a glance with 
Rick. "We were sent off in...December?  What's the date today?"

Rick shrugged. "Been too long counting only shifts, not days."  He 
glanced at his watch and starred off into space for a moment. 
"May...fifteenth?  God, has it been six months?  Has it only been two 
weeks since Lisa left?"

"Guess so," Tenchi took another bite and managed to get it down.

Rick glanced up suddenly. "Hi Max, sit down, sit down."

"Thanks Rick, hi Tenchi." Max slid into the vacant seat with a lazy grin 
on his face.  Tenchi vaguely remembered him mentioning something about a 
date...somehow connected to Max dragging Rick to an arcade in the city. 
  He still needed to get the whole story out of either of them.

"It's about last night, guys," Max began. "I think I'm gonna get married."

Rick had the unfortunate timing to have been taking a sip of coffee.  He 
spit that out while Tenchi started choking on his food. "That's the most 
ridiculous thing I ever heard," Rick finally sputtered. "You've only 
been on one date!  Man, you know she's not going to be leaving town, so 
why don't you take some time?"

"We're in love," Max said with a shrug.

Tenchi stopped coughing about the time Max interrupted Rick's 
lecture/rant. "Listen, Captain, Lieutenant, that's not that part that's 
bothering me.  You see, I'm not sure how to say this."

"Just say it, Max," Tenchi advised.

"She's the enemy," Max said in a rush. "Miriya confessed to me that 
she's a Zentradi."

Rick stared blankly at Max while Tenchi started chuckling.  While Rick 
and Max debated hotly about love and similar things, Tenchi could only 
laugh as his original encounter with Ryoko flashed through his head.

"Okay," Rick was saying, "so you're attracted to this girl.  How many 
times does this happen...what's so funny, Tenchi?"

"I think he's drawing a parallel to his own girlfriend," Max said with a 
smirk.

"What, that Ryoko girl," Rick mused. "Hold on..."

"Yes, Rick," Tenchi said, "she's not human.  I might tell you how we 
first met sometime.  Not that she's-"

"Don't try to deny it," Rick said with a sudden laugh.

The mood had lightened in that moment, and lightened further as another 
figure stepped up to the table.  Tenchi knew that Zentradi could be 
shrunk down to human size.  He also knew from Washu's after-battle scans 
that there were female Zentradi.  What neither he nor Rick expected was 
the beauty in front of them.

"We were just talking about you," Max said to Miriya.

"You were right, Max," Rick said at last. "She is beautiful.  I think I 
understand now."

Tenchi nodded his agreement.  She wasn't just beautiful (though Tenchi 
was more than slightly biased toward two other beauties), Tenchi could 
see from the way she moved that the woman in front of them could 
probably give him a run for his money in combat.

"I'm so pleased to meet you," Miriya said. "Both of you look just as 
Maximillian described you."

"You're a lucky man, Max," Rick commented. "And forget all that nonsense 
I said earlier.  And to guarantee you two have a great wedding day, I 
play to be there to kiss the bride."

Tenchi snorted, then went silent as a thought occurred to him.

"I knew I could count on you, boss." Max reached over to take Miriya's 
hand. "You'd better hold off on it until I talk about that to the future 
Mrs. Sterling.  We're shorthanded as it is, and I'd hate to see Tenchi 
have to command the squadron again."

Both officers snorted, and even Miriya grinned.  The two lovebirds 
wandered off after a few minutes more.  Tenchi mused over his thoughts 
for a few seconds before excusing himself and jogging after them.

"Um...Miriya?" Tenchi asked as he caught up to the pair.

"Yes?" she replied.

"I hate to ask this, but were you involved in the actions against us on 
Earth?"

"Yes," Miriya slowly replied. "That is where I fist met Maximillian.  He 
was the only opponent that ever defeated me."

Tenchi nodded. "That's what I thought.  Thanks."

"Something wrong, Lieutenant?" Max asked.

Tenchi looked at them. "No Max.  Enjoy your time off.  We're on the 
flight line at fifteen hundred."

"Sure," Max replied. "Gotta back up those newbies."

Tenchi forced a grin. "It wasn't that long ago that we were the newbies."

As the lovebirds departed, Tenchi's grin vanished.  He knew which mecha 
Miriya had piloted.  Now he had to decide whether to tell Rick that 
Max's intended was the one who shot down Roy Fokker.

*No,* he told himself. *There's been enough pain...enough hate.*

*******

The wedding was announced publicly later on that day.  It soon expanded 
into a huge social event for the entire Battle Fortress.  What started 
as a symbol of young love soon became a symbol of hope for every being 
(human or otherwise) aboard.

The wedding was a show from the start, with Max and Miriya flying in on 
Max's Veritech with a honor guard from all squadrons and the Destroid 
corps.  Once inside, the wedding was relatively simple, with Lieutenant 
Commander Gunn performed the ceremony itself with efficiency.  The crowd 
kept its peace until the reception.  Between the 'squadron roast' where 
every member of Skull had at least something to say in order to 
embarrass the groom, Minmei's little performance, and Gloval's 
unexpected speech, it was a night to remember.

And one watcher found the song Mimei was singing particularly ironic. 
The lyrics of 'To Be in Love' were having a particular effect on Claudia 
Grant.  Several others had similar reactions - there had been many 
losses over the course of the war - but unlike the others, the watcher 
was able to do something about it.

"May I have this dance?" he asked her from her shoulder.

Claudia jumped, spun with a disbelieving expression on her face, and did 
a double take as debelief gave was to surprise.

"Roy?" Her whisper was barely heard above the music.

Roy Fokker leaned on his cane with one arm and ran his other hand 
rakishly through his hair. "Yep, it's me, beautiful. I-urk!" Roy broke 
off as Claudia grabbed him in a fierce hug. "Careful.  The docs wouldn't 
like it if I hurt myself again."

"How?" CLaudia whispered through her tears.

Roy shrugged. "I don't know.  One minute I thought I was dead, then I 
get this wierd nurse shoving me back into bed."

"Big Brother!" Rick shouted as he grabbed Roy in a bearhug.  The other 
Skulls quickly made their way over, except Max.

"You been taking care of these bozo's, Rick?" Roy asked when he could 
breath once more.

"Been keeping your chair warm, Roy," Rick replied.

Roy shook his head. "It's your chair now, Rick.  Heck, I've spent the 
last four months remembering how my limbs worked.  Flight line's a long 
ways off."

Rick locked eyes with Fokker, then nodded once.  A moment later, the 
alert sirens began to wail.  Gloval finished speaking to his com band 
and quickly took the microphone again.  "Ladies and gentlemen, it 
greives me to say this, but we are now on Red Alert.  All military 
personel report to battle stations.  Civilians proceed to emergency 
duties or to designated shelters.  The SDF-1 is about to come under full 
scale attack." Gloval paused. "God be with you all, now move quickly."

"Get going," Roy said. "I'll be in flight ops."

Rick nodded again and led the Skulls in a mad dash out of the room.

"Flight ops?" Claudia asked.

Roy smiled as he hobbled toward the lift cluster. "You didn't think 
Sammie could take over for Lisa, did you?"

*******

All of Skull had been refited with FAST packs and extra armor, so they 
accelerated toward the approaching pods at a rate that would have left 
the pilots unconsious or dead before.  Max had somehow managed to grab a 
refitted VF-1D trainer instead of his normal VF-1A.  Miriya had somehow 
found flight suit that fit and was in the back seat.

Skull was, once again, the spear point.  The other Veritech squadrons 
and flight groups spread out behind them.  The battlepods accelerated 
toward them like a wave of death.  The two forces met in an orgy of 
energy and destruction.  Tenchi wove his way through the mass of targets 
and triggered his cannon and missiles when he had a clear shot.

"Hold on, Skulls," Rick's voice filtered through the melee. "Miriya's 
pointed out a weak point, feeding you telemetry."

Tenchi's screen lit up with a diagram of a battlepod.  One area was 
highlighted, and circled.  It wasn't very big.

"You've got to be kidding," Skull 11 muttered over the circuit. "We're 
supposed to hit that?  It's too small."

"Cut the chatter," Tenchi hissed.  He lined up behind a trio of pods and 
triggered very short bursts with his gunpod, disabling all of them 
instantly. "It's not that hard."

While the mecha forces continued to slug it out, the Zentradi 
battlewagons continued toward the battle fortress.  The barrier shield 
continued to shrink as it's power systems were overloaded by the waves 
of energy being poured into it.  Skull cleared away the rest of the 
battlepods and swept in toward the nearest cruiser.  They formed up and 
saw a portion of the barrier shield fail.  A cluster of beams shot 
through the opening and one of the SDF-1's engines flared out.

"Fire on my mark!" Rick commanded. "Twenty seconds."

"Fifteen seconds." Skull lined up with its target cruiser.  The last 
battlepods were picked off with laser fire.

"Ten seconds." The Zentradi ships ceases firing abruptly.  The smaller 
ones were already breaking off, and the larger ones began moving away in 
order to turn.

"Five...four...three...two...Abort!  Skull squadraon, abort firing!"

"What's going on, Lead?" one pilot asked.

"Message from Control," Rick explained, "we've been called home."

Tenchi looked at the fleeing ships in wonder. "They were winning...and 
they pulled back."

*******

The way pilot's quarters were arranged, Tenchi was on the opposite side 
of Rick from the newlywed's new room.  Because of this, he was able to 
get a better night's sleep than Rick.  Of course, he was also up half 
the night arranging for Miriya Sterling to replace Corporal Elkins as 
Skull 4.  While Captain Gloval was very conservative about standard 
military practices, the other Veritech pilots (with Commander Fokker's 
help) managed to convince him that the traditional prohibition against 
married couples in the same chain of command could be ignored in this 
case since there would probably be a mutiny in Skull if she *wasn't* 
allowed in.

And so far that bet was working.  They only had time to put her through 
a few sims, but on both individual and squadron level simulations, she 
excelled.  This was, oddly enough, especially true when Rick, Tenchi, 
and Max suited up for a group exercise.  Any doubts about her ability 
vanished when the records of her and Max together were viewed.

As all good things must end, so did the brief peace.  Skull wasn't in 
space when the Zentradi dreadnaught approached with peace overtures, but 
they were on the flight line as the huge ship blew away a squadron of 
intruding fighters.  And Skull had the dubious honor of being in 
Battleoid mode with weapons leveled at the Scout Pod as it landed in the 
main hanger.

The 'ambassador' was quickly ushered off the flight deck in a jeep. 
There was a tense moment when his pilot/escort attempted to follow, but 
that was quickly diffused.  The first flatbeds were rolling in when the 
call for Rick, Tenchi, Max and Miriya to report to the special sessions 
chamber.

*******

There was a slight snag in one of the lifts, so Tenchi wasn't able to 
make it to the chamber as quickly as the other three.  He began to wish 
that the entire fortress had blown up along the way as he entered the 
room.  Seeing a short, misshapen Zentradi doing poses and singing in a 
cracking falsetto was too much for anyone to have to experience in their 
lifetime.

"Have the girl brought here," Gloval ordered. "And her cousin as well." 
  He looked up then and saw Tenchi saluting in the doorway. "Sit down, 
Lieutenant.  This is shaping up to be an interesting day."

Tenchi slowly sat. "Um...sir?  If I may make a suggestion?"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

Tenchi swallowed. "I think Dr. Lang's assistant should be here."

"I've already sent for her," Gloval confirmed. "Along with another 
civilian."

Tenchi nodded.  A moment later, Ayeka entered the room and flashed 
Tenchi a smile.  Just behind her came a rather famous pair.

"That's her! Yes!" Exedore exclaimed as Minmei entered.

"I'm getting tired of being pushed around by the military," Lynn-Kyle 
didn't bother disguising the hostility in his voice.

"Now," Minmei said in a tired voice, "would someone mind explaining why 
it was so important for us to come here?"

Kyle stepped in front of his cousin, as though to block her from the 
room's other occupants. "Don't expect any answers from them.  They only 
care about their fascist war schemes; they don't care about-"

"Will you shut up you spoiled little boy?" Ayeka snarled. "Unless you 
think talking to a battle fleet would make it go away!"

"Quiet!" Gloval thundered.  Exedore nodded approvingly as the Captain 
turned to the civilians. "You will answer our questions.  These 
proceedings are strictly classified, and if any of you mention them to 
anyone, I will personally see that you rue this day.  You will give us 
your total cooperation.  Do you understand."

When he received their ascent, Gloval turned to Exedore. "Now, Mr. 
Minister, if you would *kindly* tell us why your mission here is all about?"

*******

It took the assurances of everyone in the conference room to convince 
Exedore that the powers displayed by Lynn-Kyle in the movie 'Little 
White Dragon'.  Of course, Gloval didn't exactly say that similar powers 
didn't exist, but he didn't want to confuse Exedore by the explanation 
of certain residents of the SDF-1.  A tour of the engineering spaces was 
required to convince him that the battle fortress did not hold the great 
secret that his people had been searching for (though Washu vowed to go 
a more thorough search later).  And just when Tenchi thought that there 
might be a peaceful solution, the other shoe finally dropped.

"You know what this means, then." Exedore said into the handset. "I 
understand." He replaced the communicator and gave Captain Gloval a 
somber look. "Captain, you must prepare yourself to escape this star 
system, we will help."

"And leave Earth defenseless?" Gloval's face hardened.

"Yes," Exedore said simply.

"Out of the question, we are sworn to defend our world!" A murmur from 
the other people in the room backed up Gloval's statement.

Exedore nodded. "Yes, I understand. We Zentradi would not act any 
differently.  What's more, without your help, escape for us would be all 
but hopeless.  The Protoculture Matrix was our great hope for success; 
the armada's supplies are all but exhausted." He suddenly sighed. "It 
seems we shall soon be fighting a common enemy."

Something clicked in Tenchi's head. "Wait, that fleet?"

"Yes," Exedore replied. "My Lord Breetai has just informed me that the 
Grand Fleet is headed for this star system.  That means four million 
either hundred thousand ships with more destructive forth than a dozen 
supernovas."

"Only outnumbered and outgunned five to one," Washu said. "Assuming that 
all of Breetai's forces stay with him."

"A fight it shall be," Gloval stated over Kyle's objections.  He slowly 
moved his gaze over the collected people in the room. "Now, I want 
options, not doomsaying."

"Captain," the intercom speaker blared, "we're picking up a ship 
emerging from hyperspace just beyond Saturn's orbit.  It's moving into 
the system at a high rate of acceleration."

"Time to intercept?" Gloval asked.

"Two hours, sir." The junior-rating replied. "It does not match known 
profiles."

"So, not a Zentradi." Gloval nodded. "Inform me when it arrives in-"

"Another group, sir!  This one much larger.  Estimate one hundred fifty 
ships.  But...sir, they've engaged some kind of ECM.  We can't read get 
anything definite."

"Damn," Gloval swore. "Keep tracking the advance ship."

"Acknowledged."

Gloval turned back to Exedore. "Now, you mentioned that this young 
woman's voice was might be the key?"

*******

It was a long wait before the tech came back on. "Captain, the advance 
ship is within Lunar orbit and transmitting an omni-directional message."

Gloval nodded. "Route the message to my screen, along with the readings 
of the ship itself."

Washu glanced over the Captain's shoulder, and groaned as a very 
familiar figure in a Galaxy Police uniform appeared on the screen.

"Zentradi fleet," the woman stated, "this is Detective First Class 
Mihoshi of the Galaxy Police.  You have invaded restricted space in 
violation of Interstellar law, section-"

"Give me that," Washu snapped as she pushed Gloval away from the 
communications screen.  A few adjustments and an attached device later 
and she was screaming into the screen. "Mihoshi!  What took you so long? 
  You were supposed to be back here over a year ago!"

"Washu?  What are you doing aboard one of the Zentradi vessels?"

"This is an Earth ship," Washu ground out.

Mihoshi brightened immediately. "Oh, then can I speak to the person in 
command?"

Washu gave an exasperated sigh and waved to Gloval. "All yours."

Gloval cleared his throat. "This is Captain Henry Gloval, commander of 
the SDF-1.  What can I do for you, Detective?"

Mihoshi looked off screen for a moment before smiling at Gloval. "Well, 
sir, we had evidence of a Zentradi invasion.  But since you appear to 
have everything under control, I apologize for-"

"Wait," Gloval snapped. "The situation is far from under control, 
Detective.  The ships you see are all that we have for fighting the main 
Zentradi fleet."

Mihoshi blinked. "Oh.  In that case, I'll patch you directly to the 
force commander."

Washu's gaze snapped back to the repeated display showing the 
surrounding space through visual readings, radar, and gavitic sensors. 
The previously muddled readings of capital-ship stealth systems dropped 
away to reveal a huge group of ship in tight formation behind Mihoshi's 
patrol ship.  The fleet was impressive, to say the least.  The smallest 
destroyer equaled Mihoshi's ship in mass, but was much more compact and 
lethal.  The crowning glory of the fleet were a dozen ships even Washu 
had only heard whispers of from Mihoshi's computer systems (not that she 
hacked into them, of course): GP Super-Dreadnaughts.

Unlike any other ship in the galaxy, Justicar-class Super-Dreadnaughts 
didn't conform to any aesthetic values.  There were no eye-pleasing 
shapes, structures, or designs.  Every centimeter of hull was devoted to 
sensors, armor, engines, and enough weaponry to atomize a small moon. 
These battle-wagons (which, coincidentally, reminded several observers 
of terestrial hammerhead sharks) were not made for parades or 'showing 
the flag'.  They were made for situations where negotiation and arrest 
were not options.

They were also, at over six kilometers long, the second largest ships 
out there (even larger than Bretai's flag ship).  The largest ships were 
also GP vessels: several ten-kilometer long, boxy fleet tenders.  The 
other cruisers, destroyers, and battleships of the fleet were dwarfed by 
their bulk.

The various parties were staring at the new ships until the com screen 
beepped again.  The figure on the screen this time was a green-haired 
galaxy police officer sitting in a command chair.

"This is Admiral Kiyone Makabi, Commander in Chief of the First Fleet, 
Galaxy Police Special Weapons and Tactics Division.  How can we be of 
assistance, Captain?"

Gloval simply took this latest event in stride, for he was either 
halucinating or a miricle just occured.  Either way, things were looking 
up. "Admiral, we have the Zentradi main battle fleet heading here in 
hyperspace as we speak.  Our best guess is that they are coming here to 
annihilate the planet."

Kiyone nodded. "Understood, Captain.  I feel obligated to tell you, sir, 
that there is little hope we would be able to defeat a force of that 
magnitude."

Gloval smiled grimly. "We have plans for that, Admiral."

Kiyone noded again. "I look forward to hearing them, Captain.  Since you 
are the-" Kiyone cut off and directed her gaze away from the pickup. 
"What the devil are those?"

Four vessels appeared on the conference room's repeater display. 
Conventional radar was having difficulties picking them up, but the 
SDF-1's other sensors (which even Doctor Lang wasn't sure to call) was 
able to give them visuals.

Each vessel was built around a rounded, diamond-shaped core that bulged 
in the center.  Two huge spars sweapt back along the core on either side 
of the core, while a third rode along the dorsal edge.  The spars were 
connected by a web of fragile-looking tendrils that sorrounded the core. 
  Each place the tendrils intersected hosted a globe of the same blue 
material the core was made from.  By contrast, spars and webbing 
appeared to be made out of wood.  Though what kind of tree grew large 
enough for those five hundred meter spars?

"Those look like Jurian ships," Washu commented, "but it's a pretty 
radical departure from their usual styling."

"Captain Gloval," Kiyone said, "I am receiving a transmission from the 
new ships.  My communications officer is switching to a three-way 
transmission, so you will be able to talk with them as well."

"Thank you, Admiral," Gloval said.  The man, Washu observed, was looking 
slightly overwhelmed by the entire situation.  He was recovering 
quickly, though.  Nothing like the threat of genocide to keep people 
focused.

The image on the screen split.  Kiyone's image shrank and slid to one 
side.  On the other side of the screen appeared another woman.  She was 
dressed in a uniform of grey and white, with dark eyes and short-cropped 
hair.  She spoke in a language that Gloval couldn't comprehend.  Admiral 
Makabi replied in kind, then the woman's focus changed to Gloval.

"Captain Gloval," she said, "I am Captain Honorra of the Jurian Imperial 
Navy.  We noted the Zentradi ships in the area upon our arrival.  Do you 
require assistance?"

End Chapter 10

Now that I've actually reached a part that wouldn't leave me alone until 
I wrote it some months ago, the next two chapters should be relatively 
quick to write (much like the latter half of this one).


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