Oh good- More!
----- Original Message -----
From: "DB Sommer" <sommer@3rdm.net>
To: <ffml@fanfic.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2000 2:39 PM
Subject: [FFML] [fanfic][TM!] Vacation Days Chapter 7
Ryo-Ohki dipped low over the greenish colored waters as she flew
toward the
towers in the distance. The buildings grew larger as she approached
the
tourist area that Ryouko had directed her towards. When she was less
than
three kilometers away, she slowed down and approached at a far more
cautious speed.
"Are you certain they're here?" Aeka asked as she observed the town
become
more distinct on the external monitors.
"Well, we have on our hands a popular seaside tourist planet with a
population of fifty million that has either mysteriously lost the
ability,
or is simply refusing, to communicate with us. There hasn't been a
launch
from the planet's surface since we've arrived in-system. And I can't
pick
up a single transmission, not even a radio station, anywhere on this
entire
giant swimming pool. Now what do you think the odds are Mihoshi has
been
here?" Ryouko crossed her arms as she waited for Aeka's inevitable
answer.
Awww, picking on poor Mihoshi! (sniffles and reaches for the tissues.)
"It does make sense," Aeka admitted a bit reluctantly. Something was
bothering her about the situation. Even Mihoshi, walking disaster
that she
tended to be, would have been hard pressed to knock out an entire
planet's
ability to communicate. And how could she have disabled all of the
spaceports too? It just didn't seem possible. "But perhaps we should
consider an alternate explanation."
"Yeah, right," Ryouko snorted derisively. "Like what? A giant
undersea
monster awakened from its ancient slumber and grabbed the entire
population
of the planet?" Ryouko made a 'monstrous' sound and wriggled her
fingers in
Aeka's direction. "That sounds like the plot to some cheesy late
night
movie."
Don't you know she'll get what she wished for?
As Ryouko finished her declaration, gigantic tentacles hundreds of
feet
long and dozens of feet across shot out of the water and wrapped
themselves
around Ryo-Ohki, halting her in mid-flight.
Um, I told you so...
"I hate you," Aeka said calmly to Ryouko right before Ryo-Ohki was
dragged
into the icy depths of the ocean below.
Vacation Days
Chapter 7
A Tenchi Muyo! Fic
This uses the OVA continuity.
Any and all C+C craved for. You can contact me at:
sommer@3rdm.net
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Tenchi Muyo! materials
All of my stuff is now stored at:
http://angcobra.jumpfun.com/dbsommer.html
xxxxxxxxxxx
First light for the remaining crew of the Rack N'Ruin and their
Galaxy
Police partners turned out to be a couple of hours after light first
struck. Malgaunt had insisted, and eventually won the argument, that
in
order to recover the Shihana they were going to have to be prepared
for any
eventuality. That meant making the time to take everything they
could
possibly need in order to ensure that things ran smoothly later. So
once
again the crew went through the inventory of what they had salvaged,
then
thoroughly reexamined the ruins of the ship one more time.
Do they want to kill him yet?
A handful of additional items were recovered on their second
inception.
Onita found and claimed a high powered plasma rifle and Funuyaki dug
out
some water treated cloaks to help keep them dry in case of rain. A
handful
of other small, useful items were discovered by the others as well.
It was as Onita and Ariana searched the remains of the rear of the
ship -after the Galaxy Police officer had pulled aside some heavy
pieces of
what were once armored plates from a heavily reinforced room- that
he
spotted a shiny turquoise block that was fifteen feet long and ten
feet
across. Unlike most of the other remains of the ship, it was intact
and
without even a scratch upon it.
"Neratron," Onita said under his breath. It was an incredibly
resilient
substance that could transform directly from gas to solid. Among
other
things, it was frequently used as a cheap alternative to contain
prisoners,
its unique molecular structure putting them in a form of basic
suspended
animation. Its advantages were that it cut down on the amount of
space
required to keep prisoners and one did not have to worry about
feeding and
maintaining them. On the downside, the suspended animation was not
always
one hundred percent effective and occasionally the prisoners died
while
entombed in the substance. That complication failed to stop some
less
scrupulous individuals and governments from using it anyway.
"Oh, I forgot he was still in the brig," Ariana said from her
position from
several feet behind the large man.
"Who's in it?"
A tiny smile formed on Ariana's lips, one she concealed from Onita.
"Our
puppy."
Onita stared at her blankly for a moment. "You have a puppy locked
up in
Neratron? What did he do, chew on Stargrave's slippers?"
Ariana ignored the slight against her captain and continued smiling.
"Just
release him from the Neratron and you'll see for yourself."
Please don't...please?
Onita shrugged and began looking for a cylinder of Preztnast, the
chemical
used to revert Neratron to its gaseous state. Usually it was
inserted
directly into the Neratron via an air-powered injector. Within
moments he
found the case that held the long silver cylinders. There was a huge
hole
in the side from a fragment of flooring that had been ripped upwards
and
punctured the gunmetal gray case. Over half of the injectors had
been
destroyed, but all it required was one to initiate the chemical
change. He
extracted a working cylinder, double-checked it to make sure it was
in
working order, then plunged the end into the turquoise substance.
For a single moment nothing happened, then the Preztnast begin to
take
effect as the surface of the block where Onita had injected it began
to
bubble. It bubbled slowly at first, but it quickly picked up speed
as the
material became black mist that drifted away in the slow passage of
air
that traveled through the many holes that now dotted the surface of
the
ship.
A hole formed where the Preztnast had first been injected into
block. As it
grew deeper and wider, ever expanding, Onita saw the first hint of
what was
actually inside the Neratron. A furry hand with nearly inch long
claws and
strong muscled lines along the fingers and wrist was exposed in the
retreating mists. More was continuously revealed; the fur was orange
colored, and a powerful arm was revealed as well. Soon a face that
was
pointed outward somewhat, free of fur save around the sides and
bottom of
the jaw became visible. A flat nose and closed eyes, deeply inset in
the
face, also became clear. Onita was able to identify what race the
'puppy'
belonged to.
"A Sasquish." It was an odd being to be among the group of pirates.
In
general they were a race that tended to be well respected throughout
the
galaxy. They were most famous for being very talented negotiators,
with
sharp minds and quick wits. That they also tended to stand between
seven
and ten feet tall, bore very sharp teeth and sharper claws, and
weighed in
around five hundred to seven hundred pounds of solid muscle that
could
break most other sentient races in half without halfway-trying did
not hurt
in most of their negotiations either. Onita had never met one
himself, but
Sasquish were usually spoken of in terms of great respect.
The last of the Neratron changed into mist, allowing the Sasquish to
be
free of its prison. Onita watched closely, for if anyone suspended
in the
substance did not open its eyes within the first thirty seconds of
being
freed, it usually never opened them at all. Within seconds after it
was
freed, the Sasquish's eyes fluttered open as it reoriented itself to
the
world it had been awakened to. Onita noticed that the creature
appeared
male, given its lack of clothing and Onita's own basic knowledge of
Sasquish anatomy not being all that different from many other males
of
various species, his own included.
He continued watching closely as the Sasquish slowly rose to his
feet. Once
Onita was sure he could stand on his own, he turned to Ariana.
"That's some
puppy."
The next thing Onita was aware of was being hoisted into the air as
though
he were a small child and the Sasquish was a rather large parent. A
very
large and somewhat homicidal parent as he found himself being
suspended in
^parent--
mid-air by the throat and unable to breathe. Onita was a powerful
man, very
powerful, but he was helpless in the grasp of the far stronger
Sasquish.
His blows had no effect, mostly due to the thick hide of the alien.
"My name is Pupei! Not 'puppy'!" The Sasquish uttered in a growl
through
gritted teeth. He roared once into Onita's face; the fetid breath
from
being entombed in Neratron sending a wave of nausea through the
Galaxy
Police officer as his vision began to grow black.
Ariana watched the scene with amusement. "Oh, I forgot to tell you,
Pupei
is something of an outcast among his race. It has to do with a
chemical
imbalance in his brain that can't be corrected. It makes his temper
somewhat volatile, especially when compared to others of his
species. On
the other hand, he's even stronger than most Sasquish and can bench
press
well over one ton under standard gravity conditions. But I see
you've
discovered that on your own. Nice detective work."
Hee....
Darkness began to claim Onita. His hand fumbled for his side arm,
only to
have it fall to the ground when his fingers failed to properly latch
onto
the weapon. His thought processes were so jumbled he wasn't sure if
he
could have aimed it properly anyway. Besides, he also was uncertain
who he
would have shot first: Pupei for strangling him or Ariana for
setting him
up and laughing about it.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" A voice boomed from the doorway.
Ariana's amusement turned to chastisement as she saw Stargrave
standing in
the ruins of the doorway to the ship's brig. "It's... ah..."
"Save it!" He said over her stammered excuse. He moved quickly, yet
gracefully, towards Pupei's side. The Sasquish' grip remained firm
as
Onita's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his struggling
became a
shadow of what it once was. "Release him."
The order was firm, and commanding, yet Pupei did nothing. "He
called me a
puppy! I hate that!"
This time Stargrave's voice dropped lower, yet continued to carry
its same
commanding tone. "I gave you an order. Now release him."
Pupei turned, and bared his teeth at Stargrave. Sa'bre failed to
even blink
at the implied threat while Ariana's sidearm was in her hand in an
instant
and she tried to get a clear shot at Pupei's head.
"If you refuse my order again, I'll finish what a started the last
time you
^what I started
defied me."
The effect was instantaneous as Pupei released Onita. The Galaxy
Police
officer dropped to the ground hard and was gasping desperately for
air as
he laid prone on the ground. Pupei gave one last low growl towards
the
captain, but backed away. His hand subconsciously fingered a long,
jagged
scar that ran diagonally across his chest from the top of the left
pectoral
to the right end of his stomach.
Aha, that's what he did last time. Surprised he stopped.
Stargrave made no motion to help the slowly recovering officer.
Instead, he
waved his hand toward Ariana and Pupei, indicating they should
follow.
Without bothering to glance in Onita's direction, Sa'bre called over
his
shoulder, "When you can walk again, meet us outside the bridge.
We're
almost ready to go." The trio left without another word.
Malgaunt scowled in the direction of Stargrave and his two returning
companions. "Where's Onita and who's the rather big fellow?" He
directed
the questions towards the captain.
"The Sasquish's name is Pupei. He survived the crash by being frozen
in a
block of Neratron. He's going to be very useful to us. As to your
man,
Lieutenant Onita, Pupei had a disagreement with him over the
pronunciation
of his name. Your man suffered no permanent injury and should be
rejoining
us shortly." Stargrave gave a non-committal shrug and looked over
the
supplies. He began mentally inventorying what they should take and
what was
going to have to be left behind.
The mental tally was interrupted as Malgaunt warned, "We're in this
together, Sa'bre. We can't afford to have infighting among our
people. Mine
will keep in line. You had better keep a tighter reign on yours."
^rein, as in horse, rather than monarch
"On the few of them are left, anyway," Funuyaki added from her
position off
to the side of the gathering, where she was keeping as much to
herself as
she could.
That comment earned her a glare from Stargrave that would not only
have
struck her dead, but reduced her to ashes as well if it could. That
look
was followed on its heels by an equally lethal looking stare from
Ariana.
It took a great deal of effort on Funuyaki's part to refrain
commenting to
Ariana about how some dogs took after their masters a little too
well.
After another tension filled moment -in which Funuyaki felt a
curious,
prickly sensation from the back of her neck- Stargrave relaxed and
gave her
a smile that radiated even more lethality than the glare had. This
time
Ariana did not bother matching Stargrave's outward change (not that
Funuyaki thought she could match it) as both she and Stargrave
turned away
from the officer and returned to inventorying the goods. The moment
Stargrave turned away, Funuyaki felt the sensation disappear. She
shook it
off as just her finely honed officer's warning sense giving her an
appropriate warning that her life had been in danger.
Her thoughts returned to those of solitude. About the only people
that had
bothered her since the crash were Malgaunt, when he ordered her or
asked
her opinion on something, and the gray wrinkly bag of flesh,
Autolycus.
Curiously, she found herself charmed by the... whatever he was, and
honestly regretful that they had not met under different
circumstances. He
was easy to get along with and had a sharp mind, despite his age.
Also he
lacked the hard edge the other members of the Rack'N Ruin had,
despite his
won status as a pirate. They might have even become friends. But
they had
met under their current conditions, and as charming as he was, he
still
represented part of the difficulties that plagued her. Not that the
others
were not suffering continuing troubles of their own. Troubles that
were
becoming progressively worse as time wore on.
Among them was that Fera was dead. Somehow Funuyaki instinctively
knew
that, although she could not say how she knew or why. She was
beginning to
wonder if any of them were going to get off the rock they were
stranded on
alive. As the casualties on Funuyaki's 'side' continued to soar, she
had to
admit it was not an unrealistic expectation.
Funuyaki was still considering her options when Onita finally joined
them.
He was as Stargrave had promised, apparently unharmed save for the
red
marks at his throat, and those were becoming fainter by the second.
Far
from surprising, Onita headed directly for Malgaunt. Funuyaki
considered
joining them before she realized she didn't particularly care what
had
happened to her excessively muscled partner.
Her eyes followed the animated discussion that was just out of her
earshot.
Onita shot a glare towards Ariana. Although the look promised a
great deal
of suffering, it wasn't anywhere near as menacing as the one that
Stargrave
had used earlier, or the glare Ariana was now giving him in return.
Funuyaki found herself idly wondering who would kill whom first if
it came
down to a duel. She knew Onita was skilled in combat and had a
tendency
towards excessive violence, but her money would have been placed on
Ariana.
As much as she couldn't stand the woman, she exuded an air of
controlled
lethality.
The glaring cut back to more manageable amounts as Malgaunt ordered
Onita,
then Funuyaki, to begin gathering the supplies they would need to
take with
them. Funuyaki sighed and went to work, thoughts about her comrades
falling
from her mind.
As they began rounding up the equipment, Stargrave saw that Angstrom
was
assisting and obviously gathering together some items that were
intended
for one taking their overland journey. Stargrave made his way over
to
^this sounds a little off.... how about "one taking
AN overland journey?"
Angstrom and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't bother getting
anything
together. Your job is to stay here and guard the transmitter."
The older man appeared hurt by the order. "Even with our pup- I mean
even
with Pupei helping out, you're still going to need every able bodied
being
you can get. Joffry can watch the transmitter just fine."
"Joffry has two broken legs and would hardly be able to react in an
emergency." Stargrave shook his head. "I need someone reliable
staying with
the transmitter. It's our only way off this planet. If anything
happens to
it, our recovery operation is going to be meaningless. I need you
here."
Reluctantly, Angstrom assented. He was obviously depressed as he
began
helping the others pack their things. Stargrave watched him for a
few
moments, and once convinced that he would be compliant, turned to
Autolycus. "I can't see any reason for you to go along."
"Oddly enough, I was thinking the same thing about the mission
altogether,"
Autolycus said as he looked up at his captain.
Stargrave saw that the statement had attracted everyone else's
interest.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Autolycus took a deep breath and began. "Give up the Shihana,
Sa'bre."
"You must be joking!" Stargrave snapped.
"Far from it. This plan of yours was faulty from the beginning, as I
would
have told you had I suspected that you were talking with the
Yagdagron with
the intent on recovering the Shihana. Now that your well thought out
plan
has fallen completely into pieces, it's time to cut your losses and
get out
of here. Raise a distress call on a general frequency. Since the
Galaxy
Police won't be the ones responding, whoever picks us up won't know
who we
are. As long as we don't have the Shihana with us, they shouldn't
have any
reason to not take us off this miserable planet."
"I'm not leaving the Shihana behind!" Stargrave snarled. His
increasing
anger caused Ariana to move closer to him, though she made no openly
aggressive movements towards Autolycus.
"It's just a tool, one that has become more trouble than it's worth
having,
no matter how important you think it is. Look at all we've lost in a
matter
of hours and what do we really have to show for it? Just a bunch of
bodies.
Now everything we have lost can be replaced in time, but the most
important
thing is that it IS replaceable. But to continue on the course that
has
caused us to lose so much would be madness." A sadness entered
Autolycus's
eyes. "Give up this foolish dream of vengeance and let go of your
past,
Stargrave."
"What do you know about my past?!"
"I know enough to tell you that if you continue on this course with
the
obsession you have, you'll just succeed in destroying yourself."
Stargrave trembled with anger, then, almost as if he realized who he
was
arguing with, he calmed down. Slowly, he took a deep breath to
relax, then
spoke in a much more controlled voice. "Even if what you say is
true, it's
my choice. Besides, I have absolutely no intention of failing
anymore. I'm
poised on the edge of achieving my dreams, and only a fool would
turn back
at the moment of his greatest triumph."
"Sometimes it's the bigger fool who doesn't change his dreams,"
Autolycus
said quietly.
I like him, or it, or whatever
Rather than becoming angry at the continued defiance, Stargrave bent
low
and stared Autolycus directly in the face. "You're right, but
sometimes
it's the bigger fool who changes his dreams when confronted with the
possibility of failure. Life is about risks, and I will not shirk in
my
dreams because of fear or possible failure."
Autolycus gave up his arguments. His form seemed to slump slightly
in the
baggy clothing he wore.
"You don't have to come along if you're worried," Stargrave said as
he
began packing things again.
Autolycus shook his head. "I'll be coming with you for a while
longer," he
assured them as he watched the others begin to pack their things as
well.
"We can't spare anyone to help you along," Stargrave informed him.
Autolycus snorted at that. "I can keep up without any help. I have
my
ways."
Much to the others' surprise, Stargrave grinned, the first time he
had done
so since they had crashed. "You do at that, old one. You do at that.
Now
let's get going" He took a moment to pull the locator out and
examine its
viewscreen once again. The blip still remained at the exact same
coordinates it had before. If it stayed that way for one more day,
it would
be his once again. And then he would prove Autolycus wrong as the
galaxy
trembled at his feet.
Tenchi rolled around a bit, still somewhat in the throes of the
latest part
of a dream. The one that led into it was a faint blur, but the
current one
was more than enough to capture his full, dreamlike attention. In
it, he
was placed in some horrible situation in school in which he was
interested
in several very attractive classmates who continuously rejected his
blatant
romantic overtures. In it the girls had no names, but they all
seemed
hauntingly familiar. There was the somewhat ditzy blonde hall
monitor, the
somewhat snobbish purple-haired class president, and the somewhat
rough and
tumble cyan-haired class rebel. Every time he tried to come onto any
one of
them, that girl would hit him and say she wasn't interested in him
and that
he should try to harass one of the other girls. Each rejection
caused the
class to laugh at him, but he still persisted in spite of the
humiliation.
He was sure one of them would break down and like him eventually. He
just
knew it.
*gets out her dream translation book. nothing*
There were other, non-romantic interests in the dream as well. There
was
the tall, pale, greyish-haired teacher with the small glasses on his
nose,
who seemed to have a bad tendency to come after Tenchi with an
energy sword
whenever he got an answer wrong. There was the spiky red-haired
school
nurse that kept trying to give him enemas
*runs screaming from the monitor*
, and then there was his younger
sister, who would pop in periodically and say 'poor Tenchi', and
offer him
support. Somehow, they all seemed faintly familiar to him, although
he
couldn't place a name with any of the faces.
Eventually the frustration within the dream affected him enough to
that he
came out of it and groggily awakened a little. He was too exhausted
to
force his eyes open, and a part of him wanted the dream to turn out
better
anyway. Distantly, he felt himself fluff up his squishy pillows and
made
his head more comfortable before trying to drift off again. It was
still a
bit cool, so he tried grabbing his blankets to cover himself up.
After his
hands fumbled around and found nothing, he became dimly aware and
took a
moment to allow his sleep drowsy mind to come up with the
information as to
why he couldn't find the blankets.
Right, he was sleeping on the cold ground of an alien planet with no
blankets to keep him warm. The additional detail of there not being
any
pillows either also entered his thoughts as well. It took several
moments
for that detail to be accurately processed before the conflicting
information really registered. His memory told him he had fluffed up
some
squishy, yet firm, pillows several seconds ago. It took another
moment for
enough higher functions to switch from their sleep cycle to going
online
and make sense of the situation. Where would a couple of squishy,
yet
comfortable pillows come from? And why had he developed a sudden
craving
for milk?
*gets hysterical*
Eyes flew wide open as Tenchi realized that his 'pillows' were
covered in
an orange material, and found out exactly why they were so squishy,
yet
firm as well.
"ACK!" he sat up, using his hands to help rise by pushing himself
upward.
That he placed them directly on Mihoshi's 'pillows,' and that she
gave off
a low moan as he did so, made him panic even further so that he
overrode
his natural instincts and simultaneously released his hold by
ripping both
hands away from their contact point. With no method of support, he
went
crashing back down face first in-between Mihoshi's breasts once
again. On
the bright side, they served to cushion what might have been a
painful
experience, very nicely.
Tenchi assessed the situation. Evidently, at some point during the
night he
had sought a more comfortable position on the hard and cold ground
and
ended up sprawled out directly on top Mihoshi and used her as a
makeshift
^on top of
mattress. Currently, their bodies were pointed in the same
direction; he
was just lower than her. His face had been resting on her chest and
the
remainder of his body was stretched out across hers. By some
miracle,
Mihoshi had not been awakened yet.
If anyone had come by, the position would have been explicitly
compromising. For the first time since they had crashed into the
planet,
Tenchi was grateful for not being within half a galaxy of anyone he
knew.
He would never have been able to explain what was going on. But luck
was
with him for a change. All he had to do was extract himself from
being on
top of Mihoshi and no one would be the wiser.
He started to get up when Mihoshi's legs suddenly wrapped themselves
around
his lower back, tightly, as he discovered a moment later when he
tried to
raise himself off her and found he was effectively locked into the
position
he was currently in. He tried raising himself up on his knees, but
Mihoshi's legs kept themselves wrapped around his back, tightening a
bit as
he tried moving his hips up.
[Talk about thighs of steel. And I thought Ryouko was strong.]
"You be quiet!" Tenchi hissed. At that moment, Mihoshi moaned
slightly.
Tenchi had enough time to whisper, "Oh shit," before Mihoshi wrapped
her
arms around his head and smothered him into her cleavage.
Tenchi was about to shout at Mihoshi to stop when he heard a loud
snore
come from her again. As impossible as it seemed, she must have been
still
asleep. It seemed either she was grabbing him in response to some
dream, or
her grasping actions were instinctive. In either case, he still had
a
chance to get himself out of the situation without having to give a
lame
and unbelievable sounding excuse as to what he was doing on top of
Mihoshi.
Sure, knowing Mihoshi she'd believe him, and amazingly it would be
the
truth, but he would still feel stupid in having to admit to crawling
on top
of her like some kind of pervert in the middle of the night.
As he was still in the process of trying to reevaluate the
situation, he
started to feel lightheaded. It took him a moment to realize that it
was
because he was buried facedown in Mihoshi's cleavage, pressed firmly
against her and with little room to breathe. Mihoshi's arms had a
firm grip
around his head, and the most he could risk doing was turning his
face
slightly so that he could free his nostrils and could get some
decent gulps
of air.
Once he got some fresh oxygen, he tried coming up with another
solution.
The way things were going, he was beginning to think he'd rather
fight
Kagato again than having to deal with extracting himself from his
sleeping
partner. It would have been easier to deal with, in any case. He was
still
trying to come up with something, when he heard Mihoshi begin to
murmur in
her sleep.
"Oh yes, I like it when you say things like that. It makes me feel
so
wanted."
Tenchi felt at odds with himself. There was a feeling of disgust at
eavesdropping at what was obviously not meant for his ears, yet at
the same
time a voyeuristic desire also made its presence known as his ears
strained
to hear more of what was going on in Mihoshi's dream. Being helpless
in the
situation, he relaxed and continued to listen as she murmured again.
"Ohh, what would the others think if they heard you say that about
me?"
That piqued his curiosity further, the feelings of disgust falling
by the
wayside. Was she dreaming about him?
"I bet Aeka and Ryouko would get angry. They get jealous so easily
if
they're made to feel inadequate. Thanks for choosing me."
So it was about him. He should have known. Still, it was to be
expected.
She had made her interest in him known, even if she was not quite as
forward as the other girls tended to be. The other girls probably
dreamt
about his as well. His pride swelled at the implication as Mihoshi
spoke
again.
"Of course, I'd be happy to help you with the cooking, Sasami."
*passes out*
Facefaulting while lying flat and being smothered in someone's ample
cleavage is a physical impossibility, a universal law that even
Washuu
could not break even if she felt inclined to try. That was the only
thing
that prevented Tenchi from doing so at that moment.
After Mihoshi had quieted down, Tenchi tried coming up once again
with
something to get him out of his predicament. Her hold was as tight
as ever
and gave no indication of easing off in the near future. She was
going to
wake up eventually; even Mihoshi could not sleep an entire day. He
needed
to do something to get her to release her deathgrip without waking
her up.
And then it occurred to him, an idea so simple, yet so brilliant,
that even
Washuu would have patted him on the back for coming up with it. The
way to
make Mihoshi release her grip would be to do something to her to
make her
shift that grip, and there was an easy, and completely innocent way
of
doing it.
Tenchi would tickle her. Sure. That would work. No problem.
The only difficulty would be in deciding where to tickle her. Many
people
were ticklish in their sides, and Tenchi had perfect positioning to
try
there. He began running his fingers along her sides, waiting for the
right
moment to jump out of her grasp the instant it was loosened when she
laughed. After tickling her sides for a few moments, he felt her
tremble. A
wide smile broke across his features as he felt her hold shift and
then...
...tighten. Her legs grasped at his waist with a power that he could
scarcely believe, and his face was smothered into her chest again.
Low
moans of passion could be heard as she cried out, "Oh yes, Tenchi!
Yes!
Keep doing that! Keep touching me there!" Her hips began bucking up
as she
continued moaning.
Tenchi stopped 'tickling' immediately. That had not been his fault.
How the
hell was he to know that that area of Mihoshi's body was a sexually
sensitive one? She was an alien, for crying out loud! And what was
worse
was that his own body had begun to respond to the rather animated
reaction
Mihoshi had to his stimulation.
Tenchi needed to extract himself from her before something happened
that
both of them would really regret. Unwilling to give up on his
original
plan, which was good but had suffered from faulty execution, Tenchi
began
to run his fingers under Mihoshi's armpits. With any luck, she would
at
least try to scratch the irritation and release him. If she reacted
the
same way again, he would just yield to the inevitable and wake her
up to
face whatever consequences followed from his actions.
Even Tenchi's rotten luck wasn't able to hold up. Mihoshi began to
giggle
as he tickled her there. Almost immediately she loosened the grip on
both
her arms and legs, and Tenchi used the opportunity to get off of her
and as
far away as he possibly could. After a moment, Mihoshi's giggles
subsided
and she began snoring once more.
"I need a vacation," Tenchi moaned as he flopped back on the ground.
You are on vacation...um...at least I think you are
Tenchi woke Mihoshi up an hour later. Almost when she had awakened,
she
looked at him curiously, then blushed. Guessing at why she was
blushing,
his reaction was to blush in kind. After several minutes of
blushing, and
the internal voice cooing in a sarcastic voice about 'what a man he
was,'
Tenchi and Mihoshi grabbed a quick meal of flat tasting rations
before
turning to the problem of modifying the anti-gravity web to run on
its own
power. Unlike with the previous modifications Mihoshi had done back
at the
ship, this one proved to be more difficult. It took them hours of
using a
minimum of tools to hammer, bend, and otherwise nearly rebuild from
scratch
a working power supply to the sled. After working for most of the
afternoon, they had at last rigged up a small vehicle that was
little more
than the two long rods and a hovering power core that they could
pull
through the air behind them. Still, it was the only option they had.
"Which way do we go?" Mihoshi asked as they began to set off.
"Over there." Tenchi pointed to some hills in the distance. He
thought he
remembered passing them on the way over, and in any case they would
help
provide cover for them should the people that were trying to get
their
hands on the orb come looking for them. It was the best they could
manage.
The duo set off for the hills.
"DAMN!"
Malgaunt turned at the outburst to look at Sa'bre. Stargrave and he
had
taken the middle section of the six person procession as it made its
way
towards the Shihana. "What?"
"It's moving again!" Stargrave nearly wailed as he stared at the
locator.
Malgaunt was at his side in an instant. "Direction and speed?" He
hoped
against hope it was Fera and that she was heading towards the ship.
"Nearly in the opposite direction from us." Stargrave stared at the
screen
for a few moments. "Slowly, at least for now."
Malgaunt did his own mental calculations as he watched the blip on
the
screen move slowly away from him. "I'd mark it as no greater than
two
kilometers an hour. For now, as you say."
"We'll still catch up to them," Ariana said. "It'll just take a
little
while longer. Maybe an extra day. Two at the most."
"Humph!" All eyes turned to Pupei. He was in the rear position of
the
group. On his back he bore half of the equipment that had been taken
on the
journey and had kept up with the others with no problems.
"You have something to say?" Stargrave asked, his temper barely held
in
check.
"You humies are all slow. Let me get rid of this stuff and I can
catch up
to the Shihana in a day. All I need is that locator to point me in
the
right direction."
Stargrave brought the device closer in an almost protective gesture.
"Hardly. This is the only means we have to track it. If we lose
this, we
might as well be looking for an Argathian Tick in a Fildebeests
Punt."
A what? I like the names you make up, but this one....
"Fine." Pupei gave a shrug. "On the other hand, if we get to where
whoever
is stealing the Shihana was, I might be able to track them by
scent."
"You can do that?" Funuyaki wasn't aware of Sasquish having that
highly a
developed sense of smell.
"If there isn't a strong odor to mask the person I'm tracking, and
if they
excrete a scent, yes." Pupei looked towards Stargrave again. "But I
do need
a starting point."
Stargrave considered the facts. It sounded as though it was a
possible
alternative. They would get as close as they could to the track the
Shihana
had taken and allow Pupei to go ahead from there. Pupei was a
formidable
opponent, and could probably defeat any mere Galaxy Police officer
easily.
However, given what Mihoshi had done so far, she was anything but
'mere'.
But since the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, Stargrave had no
choice
but to nod his head in approval. Besides, he had a good feeling
about the
plan. Maybe this one would work where all of the others had failed
so
miserably. After all, how much bad luck could one person have?
It took them another day and a half to cover the forty-eight
kilometers
between themselves and the path the Shihana had taken. In spite of
the
occasionally difficult terrain, every member of the party was in
superior
physical shape (save for Autolycus, who was somehow keeping up by
moving
his tiny legs 'very fast,' as he said) and they were able to set a
pace
that would cover slightly better than twenty kilometers a day. The
Shihana
itself was being transported at less than half that, although it
appeared
to have been taken into a more mountainous area, meaning that
Stargrave's
own speed was probably going to drop off as well. If the Shihana
made its
way out of the mountains first, that lead could increase. It was
more
imperative than ever that Pupei succeeded in his task.
Once the Sasquish got the scent, Stargrave gave the order to leave
and
watched him set off at an impressive speed. Funuyaki estimated his
speed at
nearly fifteen kilometers an hour, and he seemed to have no problems
negotiating the terrain. With any luck, he would be upon the Shihana
before
the twin suns set. And by the end of the next day, the Shihana would
be
Stargrave's.
"Tenchi, take a look at that!"
Tenchi stopped pulling the anti-grav sled and looked in the
direction she
pointed, shielding his eyes from the glare of the twin setting suns
and
stared at the distant horizon. A soft smile broke across his
features as he
bathed himself in the panoramic view before him.
Mihoshi moved closer to his side. "What do you think?"
"It's beautiful." At that moment, Tenchi was overwhelmed by the
realization
that he was now witnessing a view that no one else from his planet
would
ever enjoy. Not one, but two suns were setting at the same time,
their rays
shining through a sky that had never known the touch of civilization
and
was as pure and as natural as could be. The effect was dazzling and
it was
a unique thing that only he, out of billions of people, could enjoy.
For
one brief moment, all of his cares and worries about his and
Mihoshi's
predicament fell aside and a feeling of exhilaration passed over
him.
Mihoshi refrained from giggling, instead content to bask in Tenchi's
obvious enjoyment of the scene. The wave of emotions that washed
over her
at the knowledge that something she had pointed out had made Tenchi
feel so
happy surprised her. It made her feel content, and yet much happier
than
she had been in a long time as well. It was most confusing.
She was still trying to sort out her emotions, and failing, when she
saw a
large, furry figure approaching the mouth of the pass they were in.
It took
Tenchi several moments longer, until the figure actually entered the
pass
itself, before he realized it was there.
"Mihoshi? Do you have any idea what that thing is?" he asked.
Mihoshi looked at the creature, standing roughly some thirty meters
away
from their current position. "Well, if I'm not mistaken, it looks
like a
Sasquish. Overall they're a very nice alien race that are very
smart, tend
to be reasonable, and not given to quick or irrational judgments.
Except
for the ones with a rare brain disease that make them quick tempered
and
nearly homicidal. But the Sasquish try to cover up that fact from
the
general public since they consider such members of their race an
embarrassment and a symbol of their inability to deal with the
problem. But
generally normal Sasquish are easy to get along with and cause few
problems
that draw the attention of the Galaxy Police."
The Sasquish drew close enough that Tenchi could make out the
expression on
its face. "And the ones that are quick tempered?"
"Have a bad tendency to rip the limbs off of people that they don't
like,"
Mihoshi informed him. "I had to arrest one a while back. It was a
bit
difficult, since their hides are so tough they're laser resistant."
The Sasquish was drawing uncomfortably close. "How did you stop
him?"
Mihoshi thought about that for a moment. "Umm. As I recall, after we
demolished the bar, most of its patrons, and the security bots, I
ducked
under one of his punches and he hit a power main embedded in the
wall,
electrocuting him. It ended up causing a back out in the whole area,
but he
^black
was definitely subdued. He did smell just awful afterwards. I never
want to
smell burnt Sasquish again."
When he was about ten meters away, the Sasquish slowed down as he
approached them. To Tenchi, the alien appeared very big and very
strong.
"Did the one you had to arrest look as angry as the one that's
approaching
now?"
"Uh, yes. Yes it did," Mihoshi responded happily.
That was just great. Tenchi took note of their surroundings. The
pass they
were in was narrow and with sheer sides that made climbing
impossible.
Judging by how fast the Sasquish had initially ran towards them,
there was
no chance they could outrun him either. Unless a space ship suddenly
swooped down and chased off the large alien, they were not going to
get out
of this without a fight.
Mihoshi stood in front of Tenchi and smiled towards Pupei. "Umm,
excuse me,
but I don't suppose you're here to rescue us?"
"Afraid not," Pupei was impressed by the girl's courage. When faced
by a
large and angry Sasquish, most humanoids would have tried fleeing in
terror. It never did any good, but that never stopped them from
trying.
"What are your intentions here?"
That brought Pupei to a stop. What game was the girl playing at?
Perhaps
she was trying to buy time. "I'm going to take that orb from you and
kill
you. Trust me, compared to what Stargrave would do to you, being
dismembered by me is going to be a blessing."
"Sir, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to place you under arrest,"
Mihoshi warned.
Stupid courage, Pupei noted, but it was still courage. At least the
boy
hadn't seemed to do anything yet. The Galaxy Police officer was the
most
dangerous. She would have to be taken out first.
"I'm quite serious." This time. Mihoshi drew her side arm and
pointed it at
Pupei.
"I thought you said they were laser resistant," Tenchi said from his
position slightly behind Mihoshi. Given her poise, he had thought
she knew
what she was doing in confronting Pupei. But now he began to wonder
if
perhaps he had jumped to a very wrong conclusion.
"Oh, that's right." She tossed her laser pistol several meters away.
"So how are you going to subdue him now?" Tenchi asked.
"Oh, that's easy. I'll just..." Mihoshi thought about it. Then she
gave
some more thought about it. Then she gave a whole lot more thought
about
it, using every thought she had. After several moments, she sobbed
out. "I
have no idea how."
Pupei shook his head. Either the duo were having fun at his expense
or they
were idiots. In either case, he was going to enjoy dismembering
them. He
gave a battle cry and rushed towards Mihoshi.
Tenchi fumbled for the master key inside his shirt. Just as he
brought it
out, it slipped from his finger and fell to the ground. Several
curses
escaped from his lips as he bent down to retrieve the weapon. He
looked up
just in time to see that there was no chance he could recover it
before the
Sasquish fell upon Mihoshi.
Pupei was no more than ten feet away when a panic-stricken Mihoshi
held out
her right hand before her and yelled out, "Halt!" before closing her
eyes
and wincing.
Large shards of ice shot out from the freezer cell in her gauntlet.
The
initial giant ice shards impacted against Pupei's skin, halting his
forward
momentum. As each shard touched him, it adhered to him like a second
skin.
Within several moments, he was completely encased in ice. Once fully
blanketed in the opaque substance, the unit stopped firing and shut
down.
Hearing none of the expected sounds of violence, Mihoshi opened her
eyes
and saw that block of Sasquish standing in front of her, not more
than five
feet away. She looked curiously at her glove. Wow! I forgot I had
one of
these."
You mean that wasn't intentional? The girl has incredible luck...
Tenchi sat down, happy that the problem had been solved while
silently
cursing Mihoshi for getting him so worked up when she had the
situation
well in hand, even if she didn't know it. The girl was going to give
him a
heart attack one of these days -assuming one of the other girls
didn't beat
her to it first- but as it stood now, Mihoshi was probably the front
runner
in that particular contest.
Within the block of ice, Pupei felt his mental processes shut down
one by
one. It was just like when he had been frozen in the Neratron. He
was being
encased in a prison that denied him even the dignity of movement, to
be put
on display as a freak of nature for the amusement of others, just
like on
the ship. Just like he had been treated on his home planet. He was
an
embarrassment, not only to his family, but to his entire race. He
denied
that fate! Never again!
A surge of anger flooded him, counteracting the anesthetic functions
of the
icy prison. It took all of his remaining strength, but he forced
himself to
fight through his stupor and then through a field of pain. He flexed
his
impressive muscles with all of his might, and just as he thought he
would
fail, he felt a crack form in the surface of the ice. With that
small
victory to spur him onward, he redoubled his efforts and was
rewarded by
the prison shattering all at once, sending icy fragments in all
directions.
One of the larger fragments that struck Mihoshi solidly in the
temple,
^omit "that"
stunning her and sending her reeling. Even as Pupei fell to the
ground,
trying to regain his strength, Mihoshi staggered around as though
she were
drunk. Swaying, she ended up walking facefirst into one of the rocky
sides
of the pass and bounced off, hard. She turned back towards Tenchi,
cross-eyed and standing even more unsteadily on her feet. "That
didn't feel
good at all." She collapsed to the ground in a heap.
Pupei recovered enough to appreciate the unintentional results of
his
handiwork. He took one menacing step towards Mihoshi. "I'm going to
beat
you to death with your own arm for that, you little bitch."
"Stay away from her!"
Pupei turned away from Mihoshi's motionless form. His attention was
so
riveted on the girl that he had forgotten there was another annoying
pest
around. He took a careful look at Tenchi. "Fine. Have it your way.
I'll
beat her to death with your arm instead."
Sensing words would be wasted, Tenchi said nothing and held the
master key
before him. A moment's concentration and he summoned forth the power
within
him, activating the long blue blade of Juraian energy. He began a
basic
attack pattern his grandfather had taught him, bringing the blade
high
above his head. From that position, he flowed smoothly and brought
the
blade to bear in front of him, pointing it in Pupei's direction.
Tenchi
hoped the show of skill would make the Sasquish think twice before
attacking. Surely he would back away in fear of the master key.
Pupei took one look at the blade of energy, laughed then came
forward.
Tenchi gulped audibly. "Stay back, or I won't be responsible for
what
happens to you." Tenchi saw that words had no effect on the much
larger
alien, and was about to go into an attack position with the master
key when
the blade flickered, then went out altogether.
"BWHAHAHAHA! What's the matter, humie? Forget to put the battery in
your
little flashsword there?" Pupei roared in laughter again as Tenchi
slammed
down on the hilt in a vain effort to get the sword to re-ignite. It
was the
best laugh he had had in a long time. The boy had done him a favor
in
lightening his mood. Pupei would return the boon by killing him
quickly.
Tenchi's panicked attempts failed to produce even a glimmer from the
master
key. Seeing Pupei recover from his bout of laughter, Tenchi backed
away and
began looking around for an alternate weapon. His eyes fell on the
laser
pistol a few feet away, the one Mihoshi had carelessly tossed aside
earlier. She claimed it wasn't powerful enough to hurt the Sasquish,
but
Tenchi found himself hoping that this would be one instance in which
she
had been wrong.
He bent down and picked up the weapon. It appeared to be simple
enough to
use; one just pointed at where the target was and pulled on the
trigger. It
was just like shooting a gun, not that Tenchi had ever had the
opportunity
to fire one, but the principle appeared the same.
When he leveled the laser at the Sasquish, it just smiled in return.
Tenchi
went ahead and fired, the laser bolt going well over the right
shoulder of
what he thought he had been aiming at. The second shot was badly
overcompensated, and Tenchi's shot hit the ground a good two feet in
front
of the furry alien. Pupei grew tired of toying with his prey and
charged
forward, taking the third shot in the shoulder. He grimaced slightly
as the
laser stung him, but did no real damage. The fourth shot never came
close
to Pupei as he managed to close the distance between him and his
target and
slashed upward, striking Tenchi's weapon arm. Instead of heading
towards
the alien, the shot went high into the air and struck the side of
the pass
directly above Tenchi. The blow also served to knock the laser out
of
Tenchi's hand and it went sailing nearly twenty feet away.
Tenchi pulled back his arm, cradling it in his other. Blood flowed
freely
from a gash that had been opened up by the Sasquish's claws.
Pupei backhanded Tenchi, sending him sailing several feet away and
into the
side of the pass wall and right under an overhang. Pupei took a
moment to
admire his handiwork. "Nice try, kid. But this is where you get
what's
coming to yo-" A rock hit Pupei directly on top of the head.
Pupei paused in his 'parting speech' and looked up. At first, he was
concerned that a third person might have been hiding and had
positioned
themselves above him for some kind of assault. But when he looked
up, he
saw no one there. Relaxing, he looked back towards Tenchi. He was
about to
begin his speech again when a low rumble came from above. His head
jerked
upward, for he thought he recognized the sound and understood what
the
first stone had heralded. Sure enough, just as he looked skyward, he
saw a
large portion of the pass wall, the part that the fourth laser shot
had
hit, give way and come falling down the towards him like a gray wave
of
water.
Dumb luck again
Pupei lunged forward, hoping to make it under the overhang Tenchi
had
fallen under, all the while knowing he wasn't going to make it. A
prayer
passed his lips as he felt the first, and largest of the rocks, hit
him
squarely in the back. A Sasquish's hide could withstand a great deal
of
abuse, but tons of stone falling from that height was far too much,
even
for someone as durable as Pupei.
Tenchi covered his ears as the roar of the miniature avalanche
deafened
him. He too sent a silent prayer to the heavens above; one in which
he
hoped the overhang he was under would not collapse from the weight
from
above.
No prayer for Mihoshi???
Less than ten seconds after it started, it was over. Tenchi waited
for the dust to settle, and his hearing to return, before scrambling
out
from the underhang and running as far away from the area of the pass
that
had collapsed. Just because the initial wave was over did not mean
there
would not be a second rockslide, perhaps even worse than the first.
A couple of minutes passed, and when it appeared that nothing else
was
going to fall down, Tenchi relaxed. He looked at the place where his
opponent had been and found himself feeling sorry for the large
alien in
spite of the fact that it had just tried to kill both himself and...
"MIHOSHI!" Tenchi turned to see where she was. She appeared to be in
the
same condition as she had been when he had lost sight of her. She
was
laying face first on the ground and well away from the rockslide.
Guilt shot through Tenchi as he made his way over to her and
carefully
picked her up. How could he have forgotten her so quickly? True, he
had
been attacked, cut, and nearly buried alive, but once it was obvious
he was
out of any immediate danger he should have been at her side.
Instead, he
had stared at a big pile of rocks while Mihoshi could have been
dying. If
anything happened to her, it would be his fault for not reacting in
time.
Ignoring the growing feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach,
Tenchi
gently shook her, while being mindful of the wound to her head.
There was
only a small trickle of blood coming from it, not as much as the cut
she
had gotten in her fight with the Katasan from the other day, but
with head
injuries one could never tell how serious they truly were.
Panic started to overtake him; that would accomplish nothing. He
used a
mental exercise to calm himself. It was one his grandfather had
taught him
when he was younger, and ever since the girls had entered his life
he had
found himself putting the technique to frequent use. After bringing
himself
under control he softly, he called out Mihoshi's name.
After the second time Tenchi said it aloud, Mihoshi's eyes fluttered
open.
The dreadful feeling that had made its home in the pit of his
stomach left
him. He said, "How do you-"
"The Sasquish!" Mihoshi tried sitting straight up from her prone
position
in Tenchi's arms. She only got halfway up when her head slammed into
Tenchi's, knocking them both out for a full minute. They recovered
at the
same time, each sitting up and groaning.
Enough already! My head hurts!
"Sorry about that," Mihoshi said as she regained her feet, then
helped
Tenchi up on his. It took both of them several moments to collect
their
thoughts before they realized what had happened.
"Where's the Sasquish?"
"Under there." Tenchi pointed at the pile of rocks that now served
as
Pupei's funeral cairn.
Mihoshi looked at the pile of stone, whistled, then looked back at
Tenchi
in open awe. "Wow! I had no idea you were that strong. How'd you
pick up
that really big boulder on the top? It looks like it weighs a couple
of
tons."
"I didn't throw the rocks on top of him!" Tenchi snapped. "He just
got
buried in an avalanche!"
"Oh." Mihoshi nodded in understanding.
Tenchi breathed a sigh of relief and allowed the majority of his
tension to
drift from him. Once he felt at least semi-relaxed, he turned his
attention
to the prize that the others seemed to so desperately want. "I
wonder
what's in that thing?"
"Let's find out." With her curiosity aroused, Mihoshi turned to the
orb and
examined it closely. She touched the single button on the outside,
and was
rewarded with the control panel sliding open. Looking at the twenty
different keys that dotted the surface of the pad, it readily became
apparent to her that the way to open the orb was to punch in some
kind of
code. She told Tenchi as much.
"Is there anyway of figuring out what the code is?" Tenchi asked.
"You could hack your way into the system and figure it out that way.
Usually the protection on these is really good and it's difficult to
figure
to get into the system and find the proper files." Mihoshi began
punching
numbers into the keypad.
Tenchi watched her closely. "So how long do you think it'll take you
to
hack into that thing?"
"Silly. I can't hack into it. I don't have any equipment for it, and
I'm
not really any good at hacking either."
"Err, then what are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just playing with the numbers here." Mihoshi listened with
amusement at the funny sounds each button made when she pressed
them. "The
code has to be some combination of them. I can make it open when I
find out
the right one."
"And how long are the codes, usually?"
"It could be anything up to twenty five different digits."
Tenchi felt a headache come on. "Mihoshi, do you have any idea how
many
different twenty five number combinations are possible on a twenty
digit
pad like that? The idea that you can just randomly punch buttons and
hope
you somehow come up with the right combination is-"
*WHIRR...THUD*
"Ohhhh, that's really pretty. You know. I think that second orb
inside the
first one is made out of polynison. That's strange because it's
really,
really expensive and to use that much of it would cost a small
fortun...Tenchi, why are you hitting your head into the ground and
saying
'Why do I even bother' over and over again?"
Why does he bother...
Tenchi didn't answer, he just kept hitting his head into the ground
and
hoped that after enough times, it would eventually all make sense to
him.
Either that or he knocked himself into unconsciousness. Either way
it would
make things less frustrating.
And several feet away, one of the most lethal killers in the
universe
remained where it was, only two shields away from blossoming as it
was
created to do.
Naturally Mihoshi would not stop to think WhY something would be
shielded so much...or would she?
I'll have to wait and see.
Lotsa fun, DB. More!!!
June