Tenchi Muyo 	-	Alliance 	-	Chapter Ten
Author: Rann Aridorn
Comments: I'm hoping this chapter addresses some issues that people have 
had in previous parts, specifically, the Terran/Hyurodan war, its cause, 
and its end.
Legal stuff: The characters of Tenchi Muyo are property of their 
creators and/or the companies holding the rights to their use and 
distribution. Characters not seen in any Tenchi series are original, and 
the property of Rann Aridorn.




	The sound began like a dim roar, like rain on a window, and as the 
airlock door raised, grew to a constant static of tens of thousands of 
voices raised in excitement, shouting happily, many wordlessly, a 
constant stream of goodwill that turned into a sound all its own, like a 
single large entity speaking with one voice.
	Ryoko Hakubi gritted her teeth very hard, trying to keep the extreme 
discomfort she suddenly felt from showing on her face. The sound was 
entirely too much like the roar of a dogfight in the upper atmosphere, 
or the wordless shouts and reports of thousands of soldiers storming 
across a battlefield, weapons firing. A hundred memories she'd never 
wanted abruptly washed over her again, and she actually felt her knees 
go a little weak for a moment.
	Before she could be seen to sway, Kallista stepped up behind her, 
gently placing a hand on her back, out of sight of the crowds outside or 
the Juraian delegation ahead. Ryoko steadied, then tossed a quick glance 
at the orange-haired woman, seeing the stress on her friend's face, the 
additional lines around her eyes, the thinness of her lips. Tossing a 
glance to her other side, she saw that Riyata's face seemed to be carved 
of stone, the features more like a mask than living tissue. Her mother 
Washu, however, seemed perfectly calm, with the absolute proper amount 
of diplomatic smile on her face.
	She looked ahead again, and out of the corner of her eye, saw Ayeka 
looking back at her from the corner of her own, the Juraian princess 
looking a little worried. Ryoko wondered if she'd seen Kallista have to 
steady her, or if she'd simply picked up how disconcerted her fiancee 
was. Either way, nothing that could be said or done about it now. There 
was music starting, and the entire group was moving ahead at a stately 
walk that Ryoko found herself able to maintain perfectly, even as she 
felt like she'd rather be running back the other way and hiding 
somewhere inside the ship.
	The twin treeships had descended into a gigantic bowl on one arm of the 
gigantic Juraian Palace, resting on the middle of a flat, round floor, 
with the only thing coming from the bowl towards it being a broad railed 
walkway that aligned perfectly with the widest airlock on the side of 
the ship. The walkway continued on into an archway, while the rest of 
the bowl was lined with entrances and leveled rings, the standing areas 
thronged with Juraians and a few other species, who had come to see the 
women of the royal family return home, as well as the new arrivals, the 
Hyurodan queen and her daughter.
	Ahead of the arriving group on the walkway was a man who many regarded 
as the most powerful and important personage in the universe, the ruler 
of the Jurai, Emperor Azusa. He was flanked on both sides by six Juraian 
palace guards, the men seeming oddly blind in their helmets, the sturdy 
Juraian wood forming a band across their eyes and a two-thirds dome over 
the top of their head, flaps of white cloth hanging down from the sides 
to cover their ears and the backs of their heads. The colors of their 
garb, rust and faded green and orange on white, overlapped in such a 
manner that they somehow wound up rather resembling Autumn leaves, 
gathered around their king who towered at least a head above them all, 
his own dark brown and green robes making him look rather like the tree 
from which they had all fallen.
	Azusa was a bear of a man, with a thick, immaculately trimmed beard and 
a short ponytail falling over each shoulder, his thick raven hair 
gathered lightly back behind him; Ryoko thought it very unlikely that 
the broadness of his shoulders or the apparent solidness of his frame 
was in any way created by his clothing.
	"Welcome!" he bellowed, and through some act of technology or 
architecture, his voice boomed through the entire landing area. 
"Welcome, my fellow ruler! Welcome, my Hyurodan friends! Welcome to the 
center of the universe, to Jurai!"
	Ryoko thought it would have been a very bad time to break out in 
laughter... especially hysterical laughter, which was what she felt 
pressing hard from the inside of her chest.
	"You have come a long way, and there is still much to discuss and to 
do!" Azusa continued, which earned another round of roaring shouts and 
applause from the gathered.
	Washu stepped forward slightly, speaking clearly, and Ryoko 
absentmindedly decided that it must be the way the landing pad was 
built, because the diminutive-seeming queen's husky voice carried as 
easily as Azusa's.
	"Thank you, Emperor. We have indeed come a long way to seek this 
alliance with your people... I look forward to not years, but 
generations of goodwill and cooperation between us."
	Ryoko thought she saw a muscle jump in Azusa's jaw in a twitch, and 
felt an incredible rush of gratitude for her mother, as the laughter 
that wanted to come this time wasn't hysterical at all. Washu had just 
subtly needled the emperor of Jurai in front of a few tens of thousands 
of his subjects, who, to judge from their cheering, hadn't caught on in 
the slightest. It was one of known-space's poorest-kept secrets how much 
of a doting daddy Azusa was, and no doubt the thought of the next few 
generations including the offspring of his beloved eldest daughter and a 
space pirate that had done good had him grinding his teeth down to the gums.
	"Come then!" Azusa managed, forcing a smile again and not betraying his 
consternation. Ryoko noticed that Misaki and Funaho both looked amused 
in their own ways, as well... likely they'd both told Azusa to NOT get 
this way. The emperor turned and made his way towards the archway, and 
perhaps the fact that he was stomping was hidden by his robes to the 
spectators, but Ryoko could see it quite clearly.
	'Infuriating Juraians must be genetic,' the Hyurodan princess thought 
happily, her gloom and discomfort lifted quite a bit as she followed 
along in the procession.


	"My darling little girl!"
	Azusa's bellow seemed somehow just as loud as it had been in the 
stadium landing pad as he seized Ayeka in his mighty arms and lifted her 
in a hug, the princess giving a squawk of indignation at her father's 
undignified behavior. Ryoko didn't bother to muffle herself this time 
and let out the whoop of laughter that had been steadily growing inside 
her, leaving her almost weak as she laughed long and loud now, bending 
forward a bit and leaning one hand against a wall.
	"You're not hurt at all, are you?!" Azusa said gravely, apparently 
ignoring Ryoko as he set his daughter back down and looked her over 
anxiously. "Not scuffed or scraped in any of those battles? Your 
virginity is still intact?!" And here he DID shoot a dark glance at Ryoko.
	"FATHER!" Ayeka shrieked, flushing crimson as that merely set Ryoko off 
in a fresh gale of laughter. "How can you say such a thing?!"
	"Honestly, Azusa," Washu spoke up, though she too seemed on the verge 
of a hearty belly laugh. "My daughter is quite capable of controlling 
herself. Well, most of the time."
	Azusa blinked slightly, turning to look at Washu, his eyes slowly 
widening. "Washu! So it really IS one and the same!"
	"Of course it is," the pink-haired woman replied, the laughter fading 
from her voice, replaced by a reminiscent warmth. She stepped forward, 
putting both her small hands on either side of one of Azusa's huge ones. 
"Hello, Azu."
	"Washu, it has been..." Azusa trailed off, eyes taking a distant look, 
his face split in a broad grin.
	"Almost 2400 years, now," Washu supplied, her own lips curved in a 
broad grin.
	Funaho and Misaki blinked, almost in unison. "Husband," Funaho spoke 
up, her tone surprised. "You did not tell us that you knew Queen Washu."
	"I wasn't sure it was her," Azusa laughed. "A discussion for another 
time!" Turning from the small Hyurodan queen, Azusa plucked Sasami off 
her feet. "My little sprout has returned! And already grown some, I 
think! I keep telling you to stop that, silly girl!"
	"Aw, daddy!" Sasami giggled and squirmed, settling in comfortably as 
Azusa set her on his shoulder. "I got a cabbit! Look!" The young 
princess excitedly held Ryo-Ohki out in front of her father's face, the 
cabbit blinking its eyes at the shaggy Juraian dubiously.
	"A cabbit?" Azusa actually seemed rather shocked, his expression of 
mingled surprise and dismay turning to an oddly scrunched-up one as 
Ryo-Ohki proceeded to lick him on the nose. "... I see."
	In the background, Kiyone approached the guards, her hands tucked into 
the sleeves of her usual plain white kimono. Kallista watched as the 
Juraian guards shifted slightly... there was no overt acknowledgement of 
rank such as a salute or coming to attention, but it was quickly 
apparent just who held the greater influence.
	"I want the information networks on this," Kiyone was whispering, her 
voice barely audible, probably not even carrying back to the royals 
still making their greetings nearby. "Make sure Washu gets everything 
you find, either overtly or covertly. Keep a low profile on it, but I 
want the planetary patrol increased. Don't increase the number of 
ships... switch some of them out for higher powered vessels, and give 
the official reason as a simple duty rotation."
	"Yes, Kiyone," one of the guards said, nodding very slightly. Again, 
there was no spoken rank, but there might as well have been, even in 
referring to Kiyone by her given name. Subtly, two of the guards near 
the rear of the formation broke off and walked away, almost unnoticeable 
due to their casualness if nothing else.
	Kallista reached out to touch the other woman casually on the arm, 
drawing her attention. "Hey, if you're not too busy, how about showing 
me where everyone will be staying?"
	Kiyone looked at the orange-haired guard for long moments, as if 
judging just why she was asking, then nodded. "Alright... this way."
	The Hyurodan guard tossed a glance over her shoulder as she followed 
Kiyone down the hall, noticing that Mihoshi shifted her position almost 
imperceptibly more towards the center of where the royals were gathered, 
taking up the slack for her departed partner. Kallista probably wouldn't 
have even noticed it, if she hadn't been looking exactly for it. She 
smirked a bit. 'I feel ashamed. The guard unit back home isn't nearly 
this well-run. But then, it doesn't need to be... Ryoko gets pissy if I 
try to take care of her too much.'
	That thought eliminated much of her good humor, and Kallista's smile 
faded. She and Ryoko had been lovers for a long time, and it had seemed 
like when Ayeka had come along, Kallista had been left in the dust, 
dumped quickly and efficiently like a particularly smelly load of 
refuse... dealing with it as little as possible. Her jaw jutting out a 
little bit, almost as if in defiance, Kallista stepped closer to Kiyone, 
as if making a statement to... no one, as the hallway they were walking 
along was completely deserted.
	"Is there a reason you're like that?" Kiyone asked quietly, not looking 
over, her tone neutral.
	Kallista tried to make her own voice and expression just as neutral. 
"Like what?"
	"Walking along as if someone were going to steal your favorite toy. I 
don't much care for being the toy."
	"What, you don't want me to be close to you?" Kallista hadn't meant 
that to come out as argumentative as it sounded, but once it was out, 
she merely clenched her teeth and said nothing more.
	"I don't want you to be so possessive," Kiyone said, still evenly, 
still not looking at the other woman.
	"Why don't you just come out and say you're ashamed of me?!" Kallista 
snapped, starting to get very annoyed at the fact that Kiyone wouldn't 
even meet her gaze for a stupid argument.
	With a sigh, Kiyone stopped and turned to look at Kallista, regarding 
her flatly. "Would you like me to walk to the nearest communicator and 
announce our sexual relationship to the entire palace? I will, if it 
will satisfy your ego, or your hurt feelings. If the instant 
gratification of bruiting about what you and I do behind closed doors is 
preferable to the relationship I understood we were going to build, then 
I think I'd like to reevaluate things."
	"God, don't start... reevaluating," Kallista murmured, putting a hand 
to her face. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? Sorry." She let out a sigh, her 
tone becoming honestly contrite. "I just feel... really stressed, and... 
you wouldn't look at me, I thought..."
	Kiyone's features softened marginally. "... I'm sorry." She glanced 
around briefly, then stepped closer and took one of the other woman's 
hands, letting their fingers entwine. "I wasn't spurning you. I'm just 
not very... demonstrative." She took a slow breath. "But I noticed that 
the crowd earlier upset you, and I should have been more sensitive."
	"Yeah, well, we both know we're not perfect," Kallista murmured, 
smiling affectionately at her lover. Despite her reasons for going to 
Kiyone's arms, she wasn't sorry at all... the Juraian was nothing like 
Ryoko, but appealing all in her own ways... if much harder to try and 
understand, or even get along with smoothly. "Let's forget the whole 
dumb argument, okay?"
	"That's fine," Kiyone acknowledged, then simply turned and walked a bit 
further.
	They drew close to a silvery, round column that was a bit wider than 
any of the others Kallista had seen. Kiyone walked right up to it and 
gazed at it for a second, before a pair of doors whose seams hadn't been 
visible slid apart, revealing a round room about fifteen feet across, 
with the same carpeting as the hallway they were standing in. Kallista 
blinked, then stepped in after Kiyone.
	"These transports are all over the palace, since it's much too big to 
walk everywhere, and running something like a maglift train along the 
hallways wouldn't be practical," the Juraian explained as the doors slid 
closed. "You tell it where you want to go, and it will deliver you to 
the exit that's nearest to it." Kiyone raised her head slightly. "Lift. 
Hyurodan guest quarters."
	"We're already in the system, huh?" Kallista commented in amusement. 
She waited a moment, then cleared her throat. "So when do we start moving?"
	Kiyone grinned marginally. "We are. Look down."
	Kallista glanced at her feet, then made a confused sound. "The carpet's 
changin' color."
	"The various portions of the palace have different colors and patterns 
of carpeting. The closer together they are, the more alike the colors 
and patterns. The lifts move without feeling like they're moving, so..." 
She paused as the carpet became a seafoam color, and the doors slid open 
again, prompting her to walk out. "You can tell how long it's going to 
take by how much the carpet is changing."
	"That must've only been a minute or so." Kallista glanced back over her 
shoulder as the lift doors slid closed. "Are we not very far from the 
landing pad?"
	"Combining traveling through various levels vertically, horizontal 
movement, and maybe a redirect or two to avoid other carriages?" Kiyone 
paused for half a moment, then answered, "Around 154 miles, give or take."
	Kallista gave a low whistle. "So fast, and without even a hum of 
acceleration? Damn. How's it know to open up for you?"
	"A combination of retinal scan and face recognition." Kiyone paused in 
front of a large set of arched doors. "The retinal scan is always done, 
and the computer then chooses a random facial feature to scan as well, 
such as the nose, chin, forehead, things like that."
	"So if someone wanted to fool the system," Kallista picked up for the 
other woman, grinning. "They couldn't just make a general outline of 
someone's face or be picked because they had one feature in common... 
they'd have to be an exact copy, right down to the retinas."
	"Something like that." The Juraian woman turned towards the doors and 
pushed inwards on them, the doors swinging open with a nice, slightly 
dramatic sweep. Kiyone led the way inside. "A living area. Bath area is 
the door at the back. To either side is a bedroom, and that door there 
leads to the servants' quarters, which has its own facilities that I 
suppose you'll be sharing with Riyata." There was a tiny thread of 
tension there as she said it, but if Kallista had come to know her lover 
well enough to pick up on it, she didn't give any indication. "The areas 
around here are also for convenience and entertainment... a library, a 
computer room, a gaming room, an exercise area. They're pretty close by, 
so you can probably find them all on your own, and then tell the Queen 
and Princess where they are."
	"I'll get Riyata down here to check everything out, she's better at 
that than I am." Kallista took a long look around the opulent room, then 
grinned and stepped close to Kiyone, draping her arms over the 
green-haired woman's shoulders from behind. "Hey, you knooow... we're 
all alone, and they'll probably be gone for at least another hour or 
two... and that couch right there looks really comfortable..."
	"No." The denial was firm, but contained just enough amusement to keep 
it from being harsh. "I need to get back to Princess Ayeka." After a 
moment, Kiyone turned around to face the other woman and rested a hand 
against her cheek. "We'll find time to be alone together. Don't worry."
	"Yeah, promises promises," Kallista snorted, then smiled and leaned in 
to give Kiyone a quick kiss. "You go ahead. I can at least do an eyeball 
check of the rooms without Riyata here."
	"I'll see you later." Kiyone drew back from Riyata, smiled at her, then 
turned and left the way she came. But as the lift doors closed after 
her, the smile disappeared, a faint sadness touching her eyes and 
creating a small crease down the middle of her forehead. 'What am I 
doing? How can I do this to her...?'


	"-largest Gravity Chase arena in the known galaxy!" Azusa crowed, 
waving a hand at the long rectangle of white below the walkway the group 
was standing on, large platforms and boulders hovering and slowly moving 
above its expanse. The group had thinned out somewhat, Funaho having 
gone to be checked out by her personal physicians and Sasami having 
excused herself as being tired, Mihoshi departing with her, while Kiyone 
had, at some point, rejoined the group, without a word or a sound, and 
Ryoko realized she couldn't remember when the change had occurred.
	"How's the palace team doing this year, Azu?" Washu spoke up with an 
easy grin, prompting the emperor to make a face.
	"Terrible," he muttered in reply, raising a hand to stroke his beard. 
"I've been considering executing the captain as a motivation to the rest 
of them."
	"Daddy!" Ayeka yelped, turning a scandalized look on her father.
	"Only joking, my dear!" Azusa quickly amended with a great laugh, 
resting a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I know how much you like 
that Kiru fellow!"
	"Oh?" Ryoko suddenly spoke up, eyes narrowing the tiniest bit. "Who's 
this Kiru guy?"
	"The captain of the Gravity Chase team, as any civilized being would 
know," Ayeka answered, smiling smugly and resting a hand against her 
chest. "He is an amazing athlete, and he always dedicates his goals to me."
	"He does, does he?" Ryoko folded her arms over her chest, looking off 
to the side.
	"Jealous?" Ayeka prodded, smirking wider and leaning forward towards 
the other woman.
	"HA!" the Hyurodan princess shot back, putting all the scorn and 
derision she could into a single syllable. "I'm just disgusted you could 
be impressed with something like that! I could take apart any 
namby-pamby, soft, pampered palace pet of a Gravity Chase player with 
both hands tied behind my back and my legs tied together!"
	"Don't air your sick fantasies in public!"
	"WHAT?!"
	Washu cleared her throat and spoke up again, attempting to divert the 
building fight before someone was sent toppling over the railing. "Azu, 
the sports arenas have undergone a lot of renovations and replacements 
since I was here last, but anything new...?"
	"Ah, yes, I was hoping you'd ask! This way!" The emperor strode down 
the walkway, leading the group into a large lift. One of the guards 
pressed a button on a remote, apparently knowing where his ruler wished 
to go without it being said. "Now, as you know, Washu, we sometimes get 
people from other dimensions stumbling in around here."
	"I remember," the pink-haired queen acknowledged with a nod. As the 
lift opened and Azusa started off again, she continued, walking at his 
side. "The dimensional barriers in this area of space are a little thin. 
I remember when we got an entire starship just dropped into orbit in the 
middle of Startica. Quite the fuss, that was."
	"Quite," Azusa agreed, still seeming rather annoyed at the memory. 
"Well, we recently had a fellow get dumped in who was a player of a 
sport we'd never heard of. Quite fascinating, really. Naturally we 
wanted to hear all about it, and he was eager to tell, especially when 
he realized we might make it possible for him to play again."
	"Devoted," Washu commented idly as a pair of doors opened in front of 
them, and the group made its way out into a balcony seating area, with 
several chairs of such rich padding and grand design that it was obvious 
this was the royal box. Ahead of them was another bowl-like area, almost 
as large as the one the ship had set down in. In its center was a raised 
circle, the size a bit hard to judge without anything to give it scale. 
 From two sides of it were short, square vertical outcroppings, and from 
the other midpoint of the circle was a high, thin white metal arch that 
went up high over the entire thing. Hanging halfway up this arch were a 
pair of rings, one slightly smaller inside the other, both with a 
technological look to them.
	"What the hell is it?" Ryoko said, scratching the back of her head.
	"Why, it's our new Blitzball arena!" Azusa almost bellowed, raising his 
chin proudly.
	"Yeah, and what's that when it's at home?" the Hyurodan princess 
further queried, Azusa deflating a bit at how unimpressed she was. "Is 
it anything like Gravity Chase?"
	"Not much!" Misaki broke in, looking quite excited. "A little bit, but 
not really! It's played underwater!"
	"Underwater?" Ryoko blinked, exchanging a surprised look with Riyata, 
who returned it but just shrugged a little. Looking back at the Empress, 
Ryoko prodded, "So it's played underwater, and...?"
	"Two teams, two goals, one ball, six people on each team!" Misaki 
practically bounced in place as she explained. "Originally, the players 
just learned to hold their breath for a very long time, and the periods 
were five minutes long, two periods per match, but we decided it would 
be more interesting to give the players breathing gear and stretch the 
periods out!"
	"Hunh." Ryoko walked over to the edge of the balcony, looking down at 
the inactive arena. Riyata followed along after her, settling in nearby. 
After a minute, Ryoko's lips curled in a smirk, and she nudged her 
guard. "We'd kill at this game."
	"Yeah," Riyata agreed with a small grin of her own.
	"And just what makes you say that?" Ayeka huffed, eyeing Ryoko dubiously.
	Ryoko turned around and leaned back against the ledge that served as a 
banister, still smirking. "You don't know much of anything, do you?"
	Ayeka bristled, opening her mouth to fire back a retort, only to have 
Washu interrupt. "What my smug daughter means, princess," Washu 
commented. "Is that Hyurodan can function rather well even in hard vacuum."
	That caused a number of blinks amongst the Juraians. "What? You're 
saying that you can live in space?" Ayeka said, eyes a little wide, tone 
more shocked than disbelieving.
	"Yup, that's what she means, toots," Ryoko spoke up again, waving a 
hand dismissively. "For upwards of five hours on the average. I can do 
six." She smirked again and thumbed to one side. "Riyata here did eight 
once."
	"It wasn't fun, though," the black-haired woman added, deadpan.
	"Our brains are configured so that our muscles will react differently 
without gravity, and our lungs can hold and process the air to keep us 
oxygenated for all that time," Ryoko picked up, still grinning. "Our 
eyes even have a special second lid that protects them from the vacuum. 
Going underwater'd be no big deal for us."
	"Well, I think that's a fascinating idea!" Azusa spoke up, surprising 
Ryoko and Riyata, as well as Ayeka. "There are several Juraian teams 
forming already, and even a few alien races, but it would be interesting 
to have a Hyurodan team as well!"
	"Huh? You're serious?" Ryoko blinked a few times, and exchanged another 
look with Riyata. After a moment, she grinned again, and pushed off from 
the ledge. "Hell, sure, why not? Don't wanna get all soft while I'm 
here, some sports might be just what I need!" She sauntered forward to 
lean down a bit and look Ayeka in the eye, smirking rather wickedly now. 
"Maybe your pal Kiru will wanna get his feet wet for the honor of 
getting smacked around by a princess who ain't a wilting flower, huh?"
	"I am sure that he is more than up to the challenge," Ayeka replied 
through gritted teeth, glaring back at her fiancee.
	"It's true what they say, sports really do bring people together," 
Misaki commented happily.


	Sasami peeked around the corner carefully, checking for any adult who 
might tell her she Really Shouldn't Be Here. It had never happened 
before, not in this hallway, but that didn't mean it couldn't. She had 
to be very careful, and very quiet, lest someone find out about her 
Special Place and ruin it for her. She'd even left Ryo-Ohki behind in 
her room to make sure, and ditched Mihoshi... not that that was really 
very hard, anyway.
	Seeing that the coast was clear, Sasami padded around the corner and 
quickly over to the large sliding metal double doors at the end of the 
hallway. She stood very still as the little half-sphere above the arch 
of the doors shot out a beam of green light that played over her body 
from head-to-toe. As it faded, the doors gave a little jolt, then slid 
slowly apart. Feeling relieved like always, though she had no reason to 
expect the doors would suddenly stop opening for her, Sasami hurried 
through them before they'd fully finished opening. The freshness of the 
air and smell of earth washed over her senses, and she smiled brightly 
as she looked around at the vast, cylindrical chamber, stretching up 
above further than the eye could see, and to the sides almost as far. 
Large trees grew from plots of earth set on pedestals, some of which 
simply seemed to float perfectly still in place, others attached by 
long, thin support rods to the perfectly smooth walls of the chamber.
	Visiting the Hyurodan homeworld had pretty much been a lot of fun, but 
Sasami was glad to be home, and back in her Special Place. Smiling 
brightly, she trotted forward, and fell right over the edge of the 
round, rail-lacking balcony the doors had opened onto.


	Riyata wandered out of the guest quarters that had been assigned to the 
Hyurodan, and stretched some. She was tired, but too restless to sleep. 
She needed something to do, but she wasn't the sort to sit around and 
read or play games, and exercising just felt unattractive at the moment. 
That didn't leave a lot to do. Well, she only knew one person she could 
ask, so she'd just have to see if they were available.
	Heading back into the lift, Riyata turned around to face the doors, 
then looked a little blank. "... Can you take me to wherever Mihoshi is?"
	"Attendant Mihoshi's whereabouts are not available from this unit," 
came the reply in a smooth, cultured male tone, just a little too 
perfect to not be computer generated.
	"Right," Riyata muttered. After a moment's thought, she tried again. 
"How about Sasami?"
	"Princess Sasami is in the Main Arboretum," the voice answered. Almost 
immediately, the carpeting below Riyata's feet began a gradual fade, as 
she was whisked through the lift passages towards the very heart of the 
palace.

	
	Sasami giggled delightedly as she drifted slowly downward, her arms and 
legs stretched out, her ponytails fluttering lightly behind her. Trees 
of all sizes and types seemed to float up past her as she descended, and 
the princess tilted a little to one side, sending herself into a lazy 
spiral that took her all around the edge of the chamber's center, 
passing almost close enough to touch many of the trees' branches. It was 
soooo quiet in here, she thought, and yet she could still hear an almost 
music whispering to her deep inside, a slow, gentle song that had been 
playing for a very, very long time, but hadn't finished yet, nor even 
come close.
	She tilted again, this time upright, her clothes fluttering as her feet 
angled downwards. There was a very soft thump as the princess landed on 
a gentle, grassy incline. Smiling, Sasami raced up the slight rise of 
the hill, towards the absolutely enormous tree at the very center.
	"Tsunamiiiii!" Sasami cried, running in a full circle around the tree, 
then blinking. Where was she? "Tsunami?" She made another, slower circle 
of the tree, stopping at one side of it and peeking around the trunk a 
bit more, her hands resting against the bark. "Tsu. Na. Mi?"
	Then a hand lightly touched her shoulder, and with a squeal, Sasami 
whirled around and jumped into a pair of welcoming arms. "Tsunami!"


	Riyata stepped out of the lift, and looked around as she made her way 
down the short corridor. It was very plain, and simply opened into 
another, much wider corridor, this one with tall, square-sided arches 
spread at intervals down the length of it, terminating at the end with a 
pair of metal doors. There were no other exits, and no decoration. And 
it was almost uncannily silent.
	"Hunh." The Hyurodan guard walked forward slowly, right up to the 
doors, then rapped on one with the knuckles of her gauntlet. "Helloooo...?"
	"Hi!" came a bright chirp from directly behind her.
	"Gyah!" Riyata whipped around, only to come face-to-face with a beaming 
Mihoshi. "... Where did you COME FROM?!"
	"Um..." The dark-skinned blonde looked thoughtful, putting a finger to 
her cheek. "Well, I was left in an orphanage here in the palace just 
after I'd been born, so I can't give you an exact answer, but I guess I 
had a mom and a dad, and they both-"
	"You know what?" Riyata interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose 
and holding up her other hand in a 'stop' gesture. "Forget I asked."
	"Okay!" Mihoshi agreed brightly, then blinked curiously. "Forget you 
asked what?"
	"... Right." Riyata honestly didn't know whether to scream or just 
start laughing, but she found herself smiling all the same. "I was 
looking for you anyway. Is there anything good to do around here to relax?"
	"Um, well, there's shopping!" Mihoshi answered immediately, eyes 
lighting up.
	"Not really my thing. I dunno, is there anything like that garden that 
was on the ship...?"
	"Oh, lots." Mihoshi gave another nod. "Just ask the lift to take you to 
the botanical level."
	"Yeah. Sounds good. Thanks." Riyata turned and started to walk away, 
only to pause and glance back over her shoulder. "There's not animals or 
anything in those gardens, are there? I'm not going to get a chunk 
bitten out of my ankle?" Visions of gardens stalked by eccentric and 
overly rich people, complete with predators, danced around at the edges 
of her thoughts.
	"Nuh-uh. If you want a bite taken out of you, you'd probably have to go 
to one of the animal preserves," the blonde replied cheerfully.
	"I'll pass on that, all the same," the Hyurodan murmured, still 
grinning a bit. "Thanks, Mihoshi."
	"Welcome!"
	Riyata made her way back to the lift and stepped inside. "Botanical 
level." On a whim, she added, "Close to a garden that's done up like a 
jungle, if there is one."
	The carpet began its steady fade, gradually becoming a deep green color 
before the doors slid open. Riyata was immediately struck with the feel 
and smell of the jungle, the air warmer and wetter than the garden back 
on the treeship had been, smelling more musky and rich than that 
gentle-seeming thatch of grass and trees had been. Taking a deep breath, 
the Hyurodan guard stepped out of the lift, looking around. It was as if 
she honestly had stepped into a jungle, the vines growing freely over 
the trees, the grass growing long and mingling with bushes in some 
places. Only the path away from the lift seemed trimmed in any way... 
the rest looked just as wild as it should. There were apparently a few 
lifeforms, or at least a very good and very concealed sound system, as 
the sound of birdcalls carried through the humid air.
	Moving forward with a considerably lighter step than she'd had in quite 
awhile, Riyata almost immediately stepped off of the path and made her 
way between two trees, and further into the "wild". A few minutes' quick 
walk brought her to the banks of a stream about fifteen feet wide, and 
that looked like it was fairly deep, rocks jutting up from it in a few 
places. After only a token amount of time to consider that her stride 
had carried her fairly far from the path and that she seemed far enough 
away from prying eyes, Riyata pulled off her gauntlets and dropped them 
to the mossy bank, stepping out of her boots as well, quickly tugging at 
the clasps of her breastplate and dropping it beside the rest, then 
wriggling out of her loincloth. Nude, she stepped forward and dove 
easily into the water.
	It was warm, just warm enough that it seemed natural, and still cooler 
than the warm air had been, the transition making the water seem both 
hot and cold at the same time. The water felt thicker somehow than it 
would have in a swimming pool or simple pond, seeming to part ahead of 
her instead of merely flowing around her. Riyata twisted her body, 
dipping down agilely, arms sliding close to her sides and legs pressed 
together, diving a few feet before tilting back up and letting herself 
surface, drawing in a deep breath since she hadn't bothered to "switch 
modes" before diving. She let the water's buoyancy tilt her body until 
she was laying on her back, spreading out her arms and legs some to help 
stay up, the gentle current turning her in a slow circle.
	'It's been... a long time,' she thought, gazing up at the simulated sky 
through the locks of black hair plastered against her face. She bobbed 
there in the water, bobbing a little, large breasts seeming to rest 
directly on surface level, the water washing over the flat, toned 
muscles of her stomach in thin waves. 'A long time since I've been in 
waters like this.'
	Riyata had been born in the equatorial region of a Hyurodan colony 
world two systems away from the homeworld. She had grown up in a jungle 
as wide and rambling as her imagination, waking each day to know that it 
would be a struggle against the world she lived that day, and a struggle 
to be approached with a grin and a firm hand. One took the jungle 
seriously, because the jungle always took you seriously, and responded 
as such. She was one of the brave ones, who would frolic in predator's 
waters with as much confidence as moving through her own home. But then, 
her family had always been watergoers, swimming the rivers for their 
bounty, accepting the danger with an easy look in their eyes that had 
spawned rumors that their genes held no ability to fear death.
	Riyata had not been home the day the Terrans arrived, in their gunmetal 
grey starships and with their dark intent. She had, in fact, been in a 
bar picking up dates with Ryoko and Kallista when her world, and her 
family, died. The river-laced jungle of her childhood was now nothing 
but a flat, stinking bog, the air and the water fatally poisonous to 
everything but a methane-producing strain of algae that thrived off of 
radiation.
	It was the beginning of a war that would stretch on for well over a 
century, and leave not thousands, nor millions, but billions dead on 
both sides. The Terran Empire wanted the Hyurodan in their power or 
dead. The Hyurodan would rather the second, but were much more willing 
to apply it to the Terrans. In those first few shaky weeks and months, 
the Hyurodan had known little of who or what they were fighting, or even 
why, having only a handful of strange names of captains and their ships, 
and an insignia that was said to have something to do with how the 
Terrans propelled their ships of conquest across space.
	At some point during the war, Washu had become the Hyurodan peoples' 
true leader, and the captain of the ship that had begun the conflict by 
attacking Riyata's homeworld had become Emperor of the Terrans. Many 
said that the war truly began the day that the Terran fleet had arrived 
at the Hyurodan homeworld, and Washu and Ryoko had been there with a 
small fleet of cabbits to meet them. For the next century the Terrans 
were pushed back, back through the Hyurodan systems they'd taken, 
through their own space, and all the way back to their own homeworld. 
Then, the blockade, and long years of maintaining it, before the 
satellite net that would suppress power emissions was activated, the 
Terran threat rendered impotent with the flick of a switch. It would be 
a time of peace, Washu said, from then on, the Hyurodan guiding the 
Terrans back to a path that was not one of destruction.
	What few knew was that, on the first night of that time of peace, 
Riyata had made her way down to the surface and into the grand palace in 
the great swath of land the Terrans called "Indiana". And there, she had 
ripped apart the aging Emperor Tiberius Kirk with her bare hands.
	Riyata let her eyes sink closed. She had never been able to remember 
leaving the Terran palace, but reports had said that every living thing 
in it had been found violently slaughtered, as if by a very large, very 
wild animal. 'A heinous but perhaps unavoidable backlash of acts 
committed during wartime,' had been the official stance on it.
	She'd never been able to decide whether it had been too heinous or not 
heinous enough to avenge the memories of two devoted and loving parents, 
a teasing but kind older sister, and a newborn baby niece.
	And now, Ada was gone, too. Sighing, Riyata twisted in the water and 
dived again, closing her eyes and letting the sweep of the water carry 
away some of her heavy thoughts. As much as she might want to feel 
alone, she still had two of the best friends she could have ever hoped 
for, a job she loved working for a woman she greatly admired, and... 
well... things weren't exactly looking down. If anything, her situation 
was better than it had been in years, her recent loss notwithstanding.
	But then why did her heart feel as if it were drifting deeper into the 
water than it was safe for anyone to go...?


	"-and I think they're right for each other," Sasami continued 
thoughtfully, leaning back against the full chest of the 
anciently-attired woman who was holding her on her lap, Sasami's pants 
suit with long jacket clashing slightly with a Juraian kimono millennia 
out of date, and yet both showing the same general style somewhere in 
their makings. "But they don't seem to think so."
	"That is a matter that is not new at all, small friend," Tsunami's 
soft, lyrical voice intoned in a gentle murmur, the spirit manifestation 
leaning forward to place an almost ethereal kiss just above one of 
Sasami's ears. Her voice was like several layered together perfectly, 
with the gentle ring of struck crystal threading subtly throughout; 
combined with the way her long, blue ponytails swayed behind her and the 
folds of her kimono rustled silently, as if on a constant phantom wind, 
and she was an unearthly vision, her features and manner inhumanly 
beautiful and graceful. And yet all of it seemed lost on the little girl 
sitting in her lap, who had been busily chattering away for the last 
hour as if speaking to a peer or a dear friend.
	"So what do you think I should do?" Sasami asked a little plaintively, 
tilting her head to look up at the tree-spirit.
	"Much I have seen in my life, Princess," Tsunami said in the same soft, 
gentle murmur, light pink eyes turning tender and amused. "But even had 
I experienced romantic love myself, I believe it is one of those things 
that is unique to each person. Alanna and Elinin were both Juraian, and 
a rather different sort of Juraian than those alive today, at that."
	"You miss them, huh?" Sasami whispered, turning a bit more towards 
Tsunami and resting her head against the spirit's shoulder, closing her 
eyes.
	"I miss Alanna more than you can possibly imagine, my little one," 
Tsunami replied, her eyes sinking half-lidded, sadness tingeing her 
gaze. "Her presence, the sight of her, the sound of her voice, the touch 
of her hands. My longing for her has been an ache inside me that only 
seemed to grow the further I stretched my branches towards the sun as 
the years passed." She was silent for a moment, and then gently 
tightened her arms around the small princess. "It has eased greatly 
these two years past, however."
	"Do you ever stop missing someone who's gone away...?" Sasami opened 
her eyes, looking up at Tsunami's face.
	"As long as you remember them, child... you do not stop missing them. 
One day it may stop hurting you to miss them, and you may go for long 
times without realizing you miss them. And then you will remember, and 
you will realize that you missed them all along."
	"How long do you remember?" the young princess queried, looking into 
Tsunami's eyes to make the question personal rather than general.
	"Forever, Sasami." Tsunami smiled, just a little sadly. "Trees remember 
forever."
	"So... you'll never stop missing Alanna? Forever and ever?"
	"Forever and ever," the tree spirit agreed, though not altogether 
unhappily, closing her eyes and nuzzling the top of Sasami's head a little.
	"So, one day... will you miss me, too?" the young princess asked, very 
softly.
	"I will miss you forever and ever too, my treasured Sasami," Tsunami 
sighed. "And that is why I shall always be here. So that there shall be 
one who may say, when the stars grow cold and all other memories have 
passed into history... 'Her name was Sasami. And I loved her very much.'"


	Ryoko stepped out of the lift, and almost took a half-step back at the 
rush of warm, hot air that hit her face. Stepping out onto the path, 
peering around, feeling out of place still wearing her formal dress in 
the middle of the jungle. "Uh... Riyata?"
	"I'm back here... between those two trees right in front of you, and 
about two minutes ahead."
	Muttering a little, Ryoko reached down and grabbed at the folds of her 
dress, yanking it up to bare most of the length of her legs, and setting 
off through the underbrush. It was a little more than two minutes as she 
avoided several bushes and puddles that would have required a change of 
clothes, finally arriving at Riyata's pile of clothing. The Hyurodan 
princess eyed the guardswoman, who was resting chest-down on a flat 
stone in the middle of the stream, chin on her forearms, lower half of 
her body still in the water, thick black hair plastered down somewhat 
from the water. She was also grinning, showing off a set of fangs to 
match Ryoko's, seeming rather wolfish with the expression.
	"Welcome to my lair, little lost girl," the black-haired woman said in 
a passable imitation of a growl. "Won't you take a little swim and have 
tea with me?"
	"Figures you'd only cheer up by turning into the Grasper," Ryoko 
snorted. "C'mon, we don't have time for playing at kids' stories... 
there's some stupid ceremony we need to be at to make my engagement to 
the priss official."
	"Fine, fine. You head back to the lift, and I'll be right behind you."
	Ryoko gave a brief nod, then turned and began picking her way back the 
way she'd come. Riyata let herself slide backwards off of the rock, 
giving a sort of squirm with her body to send herself shooting back to 
the bank, arching her back to bring herself up. She grabbed at the edge 
of the stream and hauled herself out, a torrent of water pouring off her 
skin and out of her hair. Stepping away from her clothing somewhat, the 
tall, lanky woman clenched her fists and flared her flight field 
slightly, letting the faint swirl and pulse of it fling the water off of 
her skin. Letting the field ebb after a few moments and giving her hair 
a few light pats to assure herself it was dry, Riyata yanked her scant 
articles of clothing back on and trotted off through the vegetation.
	"Lord, I hope there's a decent bar or two around here," Ryoko grumbled 
as Riyata rejoined her and they stepped inside the lift. "I've got an 
itch on the back of my neck that says I'm gonna be needing one, soon."


	The throne room wasn't as heavily populated as Ryoko had been expecting 
it to be. In fact, it looked like it was mostly the royal family's 
personal servants, a few contingents of their guards, and the royal 
family itself, as well as the Hyurodan; the rest of the population would 
be watching on video feed. Azusa, Funaho, Misaki, Sasami, and Washu were 
standing at one end of the room, on the dais that held the royals' 
thrones. Stretching between them and the entry doors, where Ryoko and 
Ayeka were standing, was a broad crimson stretch of carpet, with Riyata 
and Kallista standing across from each other at the midpoint of it, the 
guards at attention, their Juraian counterparts arrayed behind them in 
phalanxes.
	The doors swung shut after Ryoko and Ayeka, and the two began a slow 
walk down the length of the room.
	"Let's just get through this and get it over with," Ayeka murmured in a 
low voice intended only for Ryoko, her lips barely moving.
	"Fine by me," Ryoko muttered back, both of them plastering looks of 
near-indifference on their faces as they made their way to the front of 
the room in near-lockstep. Ryoko thought she caught a hint of anger in 
Kallista's eyes as she passed, and made a mental note to tell her friend 
to unclench a little bit... Ryoko herself might antagonize Ayeka 
mercilessly, but none of this was actually her fault.
	The two princesses came to a halt just in front of the dais, and Azusa 
stepped forward, his own expression rather guarded, no doubt to avoid 
showing some emotion the Emperor of Jurai really shouldn't at the 
engagement of his eldest daughter.
	"We have come together on this day to acknowledge the intentions of 
Ayeka Masaki-Jurai and Ryoko Hakubi to be wed!" He paused for a moment, 
then cleared his throat a bit and continued bellowing out the words. 
"Now, turn towards one another and join hands!"
	Rather stiffly, Ryoko and Ayeka turned to face each other, Ryoko taking 
one of Ayeka's hands between both hers, and the Juraian princess laying 
her other hand atop the Hyurodan princess' topmost. They looked at one 
another's faces almost blankly for long moments. Then, crimson eyes met 
yellow, gazes locking, and much of the stiffness rushed out of the both 
of them.
	"They stand before us today as they prepare to unite, not only with one 
another, but to unite their peoples as well!"
	Riyata suddenly blinked, distracted from the speech. She sniffed more 
noticeably, looking for the scent that she'd noted a moment before. '... 
It couldn't possibly be...'
	"The alliance between them shall usher in a new age!"
	The speech trailed off, and Ryoko licked her lips nervously, her eyes 
still fastened on Ayeka's. She needed to speak, needed to tell her... 
something, say something, anything, to this woman she was going to spend 
the rest of her life with. She opened her mouth-
	And the doors were flung wide open with a bang, snapping every head in 
the room in their direction. A figure shrouded in a black cloak swept 
into the room, silent and storming purposefully towards the throne dais. 
Several of the Juraian guards rushed towards the new arrival, and 
Kallista turned, bringing her spear to the ready, only to have Riyata 
rest a hand on her shoulder.
	"Don't," the black-haired guard said with a sigh, shaking her head. 
"It'd just make things worse."
	Two of the Juraian guards came to a halt in front of the figure and 
slammed their staffs together in an X to bar its path. The hood turned 
slightly one way, then the other. Then, a gloved hand came up and yanked 
the hood down.
	"The hell?!" Ryoko yelped, Ayeka giving a pained squeak as the 
Hyurodan's hands squeezed around hers. "What are YOU doing here?!"
	The long sweep of somewhat spiky light purple hair fell free of the 
hood and rested behind the woman's back, the hair kept back from her 
face with a band that rested across the top of her head, a few short 
spikes of hair poking out around it. Her dark red eyes were narrow and 
flashing with anger, a light flush to her features making the dark black 
tattoo that curled around from the curve of her jaw on the left side of 
her face and arced to below her eye in a pair of slashmarks stand out 
all the more.
	"You!" Nagi roared, stabbing a finger forward to point at Ayeka. "Get 
your damn Juraian hands off my wife!"

- End Part Ten -



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