>From 92a...

++++++++++++++++++++++++

	Trunks wasn't really in all that good a mood. He'd gotten suckered into
the party he was sitting at. He didn't need connections with Sailor Moon
around. She could fix all the stupid damage to the planet anyway. He
knew that of course, but Azusa seemed to want the girls to meet some of
his friends for some reason. 

	There were quite a few familiar faces in the crowd, as well as a few he
hadn't seen before. It was quite crowded in the ballroom and he simply
floated above the mess in a corner. He was casually gazing through the
faces and keeping an eye on things in general. Mostly because he was so
bored. 

	The Senshi were actually hanging around with Azusa and talking with
some of the dignitaries from the planet. He was introducing them to
various people by calling them over and letting the girls watch whoever
it was kiss his ass. Nabiki wasn't with them though, and that struck him
as odd. She was standing off in a shady looking corner and appeared to
be doing the same thing he was really.

	Tenchi was stuck between Ryoko and Ayeka. The pair was not speaking to
each other and glared at each other angrily despite the boy between
them. Trunks grinned at him and waved. The boy hung his head down even
lower. 

	"He'll get over it," said Carrot cheerfully.

	"I'm kinda feelin sorry for him," said Ranma nervously. 

	"Do you want to go over there and tell Ryoko that she's not engaged to
him anymore?" queried Dan. 

	"NO!" was the original occupant's immediate reply.

	"Too late to do anything about it. Might as well enjoy the show," said
Carrot as he turned their attention towards the Senshi again. Nabiki
wasn't with them, which struck him as odd. 

	His grin widened as he realized who she was speaking with. She was
standing in one of the more shady corners. People the Emperor would
rather no one knew about. People who had grown powerful and rich enough
to warrant invitations too attend important parties. 

"Underground connections. Hope she can handle it," commented Dan.

	"I think she can. If not, we're around," replied Carrot. "If you want
useful information at a school you ask the bad kids. Might cost you a
bit and you can't always trust them. I imagine she sees this as the same
thing."

	"The senshi won't stand for turning a blind eye towards that kind of
people," pointed out Ranma.

	"I think she knows that," replied Carrot calmly. "She's either going to
talk with them about under the table type deals, or threaten them."

	"Wonder which it'll be?" asked Ranma.

	Nabiki pulled a blaster from her side and jumped out of the corner
leaving two dead Juraians in her wake. She smiled calmly as she twirled
the weapon around her finger and placed it back inside its holster. The
crowd had stopped and she was the focus of attention. None of the guards
had moved and she simply held up a small cube as she stepped up to the
emperor and handed it too him. 

	He accepted it and smiled at her. "I take it my suspicions were true?"

	"Ten million credits for an Emperor? The emperor of Jurai no less,
cheap bastards," replied Nabiki. She was already surrounded by the
senshi once again.

	Azusa merely nodded his head towards the doors and two guards merely
nodded and stepped outside. "I thank you for your assistance in this
unpleasant matter."

	The group of girls merely nodded and turned to look at the shocked
crowd. 

	Azusa cleared his throat. "Ah, Prime Minister. Come and meet our new
friends."

	An elderly Juraian dressed in a rather colorful looking set of robes
swallowed hard and walked forward. 

	Trunks snorted. "That jerk. I bet he set this whole thing up just so
we'd do that for him."

	"Actually, your friend discovered evidence of it earlier today."

	The boy turned upside down and floated just next to Funaho's head. She
was standing just below him and smiling cheerfully. "I've never seen him
take a liking to anyone so quickly. I'm quite surprised in you."

	"Guess we just grow on people like fungus or something," he replied as
he continued to watch the crowd beside her. "Who was it? Mercury?"

	"Actually I believe it was Saturn."

	"Hotaru? You're lucky she didn't take out a few buildings trying to
stop it herself."

	"I beg your pardon, but I do have some tact. Unlike certain unnamed
little boys." The girl frowned up at him with her hands on her hips. She
was dressed in a purple gown and had even gone so far as to put on a
little makeup.

	"Hey Hotaru," he said as he waved at her. "You've been busy today?"

	"Not really. I stumbled across these idiots plotting something in a
hallway. They asked me if we were mercenaries for hire. They aren't
here. The messes are just representatives sent by them to speak with our
leader. I informed him she was the one I took orders from."

	"Oh. I get it," grumbled Trunks. "Stupid criminals are common
throughout the universe I suppose." He noted that both bodies were being
carried out of the room and any fluids were being cleaned up
professionally. Within two minutes the area was full of partygoers once
again. 

	"Cerio isn't happy with Tenchi I see," said Hotaru.

	The noble was standing against the wall near to where the prince was
sitting. He had a deep frown on his face and was dressed in what looked
like a powder blue jumpsuit. There was a short cape and the pants
appeared to be bell-bottoms.

	"What the hell is wrong with that guy?"

	"He did lose a lot of credibility, not to mention..." started Hotaru.

	"No. I mean his clothes! Will you look at the guy?"

	"What's wrong with them?" asked Funaho.

	"He looks like a complete fag! I've know gay people who'd be ashamed to
dress like that!"

	Funaho frowned at him slightly. "It's a cultural barrier I suppose.
Here, such fashion is considered quite attractive."

	"I know that. It's just creepy that's all."

	Hotaru looked somewhat confused. "You think gay people are creepy?"

	"All right. That's a hole with no bottom that I'm not climbing into. I
like gay people fine. I just don't understand it." He glared at both
women and they seemed to shrug it off.

	"Since when are you so politically correct anyway? You've eaten
people's internal organs with me before."

	Funaho's eyes went wide as she stared at the two children in shock.
"What?"

	"That was thousands of years ago! Stop brining that up!" snapped the
girl angrily.

	"All right fine. We really do have to leave tonight. We've got to find
some kind of mess to get into to get a few practice runs with before we
get to Earth."

	The girl frowned at him irritably. "I've got a few good possibilities
plotted into our course. It'll add two weeks to our trip if we don't
find anything. Several hostile races have planets under their control
not to far from Earth."

	"Whatever."

	"My but you're a strange group of children," muttered Funaho.

	"Yeah. Tenchi's one of us too. Scary huh?" said the boy as he grinned
at her. He raised his arms up and pretended to reach for her with a
vacant look in his eyes. "One of us! One of us! One of us!"

	She giggled behind her hand and blushed slightly. 

	Trunks finally flipped over and floated as if he was sitting on the
floor. He put his hand up to his forehead and faltered for a moment in
the air. "Whoa. Head rush."

	Hotaru merely sighed and looked away in shame. "My master is an idiot."

	"Cerio has been glaring at Tenchi for almost three hours now. What's
with him?"

	"Tenchi's victory has changed the course of his carefully planned
life."

	"I'm starting to think Tenchi might be the end of it," replied the boy
calmly. "I'm still not sure if he's stupid enough to try and beat him
again. Does he have a ship?"

	"His family commands a small fleet," replied the woman calmly.

	Trunks's eyes lit up and he turned to glance down at Hotaru. "Neat. You
might not have to alter our course after all!"

	"What? Do you have any idea how long it took me to calculate all that
and put it in the damn computer for that outdated piece of junk?"

	"Please! George might hear you!" cried Trunks as he picked up the man's
head. He was on the ground long since passed out from drinking. 

	"At least he's a quiet drunk," snorted Hotaru. 

	"He's got to loosen up a bit. All this stress can't be good for him,"
said Trunks as he promptly let the man fall back to the floor. 

	Funaho was a bit surprised. She hadn't even noticed that the boy was
floating right over him. "Oh my. I'll have someone take him too his
room." She waved to one of the guards and he rushed to her side and bent
to his knees. "Take him to his room and make sure he is comfortable."

	"Take his clothes and burn them please. I've been trying to talk him
out of that outfit for months now. I think he's gone a little crazy.
Maybe getting rid of it while he's out will help? Oh, and if you don't
mind, could you just drop him off at the ship? His things are already
onboard. I don't think he used his room."

	"Crazy?" grumbled Hotaru. "Gee you think?"

	Trunks looked at Funaho again and grinned. "Only a little. He's
harmless, really."

	"I don't recall ever seeing him before," commented the woman as she
peered at him for a moment.

	"Had to get a six pack into him and drag him here. He's been on that
stupid ship of his the whole time."

	"Oh. He pilots your ship?" she asked him.

	"Yeah. I'm gonna hand the keys over to him when this is over. It's his
ship really, we're just sort of borrowing it."

	The woman wisely decided that it was best not to ask.

	Trunks turned his head towards Hotaru. "Why didn't you get Washuu to
calculate our... Say, where is Washuu anyway?"

	Hotaru blushed and turned away from him. "She said not to bother her
tonight. She wanted to go one more time."

	"Eew. I don't see Yosho around either."

	"He'd better show up to say goodbye to his mother," growled Funaho. 

	Azusa glanced over at her and frowned slightly.

	"Sorry. I'm afraid I should be going now. I really shouldn't have been
away from his side at all."

	"Too bad. I hate formalities, they just get in the way of everything
interesting," replied trunks.

	"Possibly, but they too have their place in the world." With that said
she left Hotaru and Trunks standing alone.

	"Wanna go find Yosho?" asked the boy. 

	"Not really no. I think I'll get some sleep actually. I'll see you when
you get to the ship."

	The boy nodded and continued to search the crowd as she walked away. "I
guess it's up to me then."

	Trunks merely grinned as he noticed Cerio's little corner was growing
interesting. 

	An attractive young girl with long white hair draped across her
shoulder walked up to him. She was a little younger than he was, but not
by more than a year or so. Her clothing was a sort of pale blue dress
that hugged her curves. She leaned against the wall and Trunks fiddled
with his watch and pulled a wire out of the side that he placed inside
his ear. He pointed his wrist at the scene and grinned.

	"Who is he?"

	"Some low life upstart from a backwater planet. I'll take care of him."
Cerio frowned at her for a moment and looked back towards Tenchi again.

	"Brother dear, the thought maddens you doesn't it?"

	"Something I cannot have? My own destiny swept away by a commoner? No
sister, the thought never crossed my mind."

	"He is of Prince Yosho's line. Hardly a commoner."

	"Who are you kidding? He's never even been to Jurai before."

	"I know. I'm finding him appealing. Ayeka is beyond my reach, but the
other one. I think I can be rid of her, and maybe take her place at his
side. The wife of an emperor."

	"You know I will give you that honor," replied Cerio coldly.

	"I believe that other boy has everyone questioning your sexual
preferences, brother. Why would you want anything from me then? You want
her for obvious reasons."

	Cerio growled angrily. "I shall make you pay for that." He hid his face
behind his fan and stared her down from the other side. She copied his
movement almost exactly. 

	"You'll try. Really brother dear, you have no idea how long I've waited
for an opportunity like this one. Soon, you'll be bowing to me."

	"I'm afraid I'm taking care of that this evening. Sorry sister, but
your position remains unchanged." He then cackled rather girlishly and
went back to glaring at Tenchi.

	Trunks lost interest in the conversation at that point. "Sounds fun.
Tenchi's got his own version of the Kuno family now. Maybe we should get
some of that drowned girl water for him when we get back?"

	"Real funny," grumbled Ranma irritably. 

	"We'll file it away for later, in case things get too boring. We don't
want to piss everyone off just before the big fight."

	"Weren't we going to look for someone?" asked Pissant.

	"We got plenty of time. This party will go for at least two more hours.
We'll just head straight for the ship when it's over," replied Dan.

	"We should go soon though. I want to get everything loaded ahead of
time. We can have the palace servants take care of it while we look for
him," added Carrot.

++++++++++++++

	"Hello mother." Yosho appeared to be standing alone in a darkened
hallway. He was looking up at the moonlight in front of a window.
Windows like it lined the wall giving the room its only light. He had
been on his way to board his ship when he decided to stop and admire the
moon for old time's sake.

	"My son," said Funaho as she stepped out of the shadows and into the
light with him. 

	"I hope the boy is ready for this."

	"I think he is more than ready. Which brings me to the point."

	The man stiffened up and turned to face the woman.

	"I hear you're living an awfully lonely life on that planet down there.
Not even calling your mother on occasion."

	Yosho appeared to be petrified with terror. He was hoping to avoid this
confrontation before he left.

	"Why you've been there for who knows how long and all you have to show
for it is one measly grandson? I hope he fairs better with his wives
than you did with yours."

	"What!?" cried the man in shock.

	"Haven't you mourned long enough? One grandson isn't enough."

	"Mother! I won't be..."

	"You have abandoned us Yosho, do not let the rest of our line do the
same. You know I cannot bear another child."

	The man turned his gaze away from her and up to the moonlight. "I do
not think I can break Tenchi's ties with Jurai, if he is to wed Ayeka."

	"And if something happens to him?" she replied coldly. "You know of the
rift these outsiders have caused."

	"Yes. The fact that it is even there, after all they have done for
Jurai, is exactly why I left. I feel I have doomed my Grandson to spend
the rest of his life facing it in my stead."

	It was his mother's turn to look into the moonlight.

	"If there are any other children in my future, they will live as their
people live."

	"So what's keeping you then?" she replied cheerfully.

	Yosho sighed heavily. "Mother...I don't want to talk about this right
now."

	"When the hell are we going to talk about it then?" she snapped as her
features hardened once again. "Don't even think about not calling me for
this long ever again. I might decide to visit for a while if you don't
call."

	The man paled. "A while?"

	"Find a girlfriend," she growled at him. "I don't care what you have to
do. Stop sitting around pretending to be old! You'll die when you die,
don't sit around and wait for it."

	"Wait a minute. How do you know about all this?" he muttered as he
stared at the woman. 

	"I had a little talk with Tenchi this morning. He was more than happy
to talk with me, what with you telling him about his engagements and
all. Really Yosho, you didn't tell him he would have to marry two
women?"

	"You didn't..." he gasped.

	"No. Don't be silly. I had planned on keeping my eye on things for a
while myself. I might decide to inform him though..."

	"My god. All parents are evil," said Yosho dumbly. 

	"After all the shit you put me through when you were little? You're
damn right!"

	"I guess you're right," replied the old man as he scratched the back of
his head and grinned at her.

	She turned to look up at the moonlight for a moment and smirked. "Stop
changing the subject. Why aren't you dating?"

	No answer came.

	She turned and looked at the empty hallway. A small vein popped out of
her forehead. 

+++++++++++++++

"What?" Trunks had a large grin on his face as he hung by his shoulders
from Yosho's desperate grip. The party was winding down and he was
trying to find a place where he could horn in and get the girls to their
ships without causing too much commotion. The senshi were pretty much
attached to Azusa at the moment, everyone else was already boarded and
ready to go. 

	"We have to get out of here. Right now." The man had horrible fear in
his eyes.
	
	"Sure. What's wrong?"

	"My mother," replied the man fearfully.

	Trunks looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of the glare the
woman was giving the room as she quietly walked in the door on the
opposite side of the room. "Right. Ladies! Time to go!"

	Azusa blinked as the girls calmly stepped away from his side. "Thank
you for the party Your Highness, but we have to go now." Ami bowed and
followed her companions towards Trunks. 

	"What's going on here?" 

	"Guards. I am not through speaking with my son," snapped Funaho as she
pointed at Yosho. 

	Azusa decided he would sit on his throne and watch the end of the party
suddenly.

	"So that's how it is eh?" muttered Trunks as he watched this happen.

	"All right! We get to fight our way out!" said Trunks cheerfully. He
glanced at the looks the senshi got on their faces as they immediately
went into combat mode. 

"Try not to kill anyone. We're diplomats remember?" snapped Nabiki at
the girls.

	"Are you insane? My mother is pissed!" snapped Yosho as he turned
towards the doors and rushed out of the room. 

	"I don't care about the others. Let them go, and bring me my son,"
snapped the woman as the glared at the guards. 

++++++++++++++++

	"They're using the alarms for this?" muttered Trunks with a small frown
as the hallways began flashing with red lights. Word was apparently
already around the palace as a large group of guards stood in front of
the group. There were about thirty of them and all of them looked ready
to face them bravely.

	Yosho was the first one to charge them. He had another sword and hacked
one of the guard's weapon in half. All of them were armed with wooden
staffs. 

	"Please," said Trunks as he spread his arms and walked just in front of
the senshi. "Yosho, you can stop now."

	The man was still cutting his opponent's weapons in half and had not
yet realized they were not resisting him any longer. All of the men were
staring towards the bright multicolored light behind him. He hung his
head and walked back towards them. "Can we just go? I'd rather not get
caught."

	The senshi were standing just behind Trunks with a magically charged
weapon in each of their hands. All of them were armed with two forty
five-millimeter handguns except Rei. She had what appeared to be a giant
flaming rocket launcher resting on her shoulder. The weapons were
glowing with the color of each girl's power. Nabiki was standing beside
them calmly with her arm raised in the air ready to order them to fire.

	"Put em away girls," said Trunks over his shoulder.

	"Show off," grumbled Minako. 

	They all holstered their weapons and they strolled through the mass of
stunned guards. Rei's weapon simply dissipated out of existence as she
lowered her arms.

	A few moments they were jogging through the landing pad. The girls
broke off from the group and headed for their fighters. 

	Yosho and Carrot jogged on board the Mikon Taka where Hotaru was
standing in the ramp waiting for them. "Nice of you guys to show up."

	"Call the others and tell them to take off now. Yosho has to get off
planet as soon as possible."

	"What's going on?"

	"Ignore Juraian blockades and checkpoints. Take off." He turned her
towards the cockpit and pushed her forward while he turned towards
Yosho. "Once we get away from the palace we're home free."

	The man merely nodded and staggered after him into the ship.

	"Aren't three Juraian cruisers going with us?" asked Washuu as she
popped her head into the conversation. 

	"Ahhh! What the hell?" cried Trunks as he noticed her. He calmed
immediately. "You're coming with us?"

	"All of the equipment for monitoring the starships has been fitted into
this starship. I'm going to have to teach you how to use it."

	"This is George's ship. I'm giving it back when we're done?"

	The man glanced back at him from the cockpit and blinked. He was
dressed in a blue jumpsuit of Juraian design. "Really?"

	"Yeah. It's the least I can do right? Besides, I've got other ways to
get around planned for later." He grinned at her as she faltered for a
moment. 

	"Oh. I suppose I can remove it then." 

	"Let him keep it. I'm sure you'll want to improve on this by then
anyway."

	"You're right," she said cheerfully. "After all, I can run the entire
ship from here. It's also got an advanced diagnostics program in it.
Quite useful."

	George staggered back to the cockpit in a slight daze. Everyone but
Carrot was glad they burned the outfit in the end. Carrot thought the
look matched what was left of his sanity. Even if it was a little gross.

	"Wow, that's information that might be useful later," said Trunks to no
one as he smiled. His teeth actually sparkled as he winked at no one in
particular. 

	"Come on. We're going to the cockpit." The boy waved his hand.

	"Who are you talking too?" asked Washuu. 

	"Readers," replied the boy as he glanced at her.

	"What?" said the woman dumbly.

	"Can I talk to the readers?" asked George.

	Trunks laughed at him. "No. Don't be silly. Only me and Hotaru get to
talk to the readers."

	"I am so not going there," said Hotaru as she frowned at him George was
piloting the ship and the floor lurched slightly as it lifted off.
Artificial gravity kicked in a moment later and they continued with what
they were doing.

	He waved her off and continued towards the cockpit. 

	Everyone was looking at Hotaru.

	"What? I don't know what the hell he was talking about okay?!" she
snapped.

++++++++++++++++

	Trunks found himself sitting next to George at the communications
console just behind the pilot's seat. "Ladies. How are things going?"

	The lead fighter was jet black and had its wings loaded down with
missiles of different makes and designs. The other five fighters were
the same color as the uniform of the Senshi that piloted it. Sailor
Moon's ship was colored military gray at her own request. They were hot
rod looking monstrosities with shining colored chrome coats. The rear of
each was fitted with massive engines with several jets. The noses ended
in large dual barreled laser cannons. The weaponry on each ship varied
under the wings. Everything from continuous fire lasers to light or
medium sized missiles. 

	"Neat," said Carrot cheerfully as he watched them pass by and take
positions just in front of them. 

	"I'm picking up a transmission," said Carrot. "Things check out over
there girls?"

	"We're fine," said Nabiki calmly. 

	"Takin the other call then," he said as he flipped the switch. 

"YOSHO!" screamed the angry voice on the other end. 

	"Ouch," muttered the boy as he pulled the headphones off. "He ain't
keen on talking right now lady."

	"Put him on."

	"Nah. I think I just won't bother to tell him you called. G'bye."

	"I'll charge you with kidnapping! Bring back my son! Don't make me come
after you?"

	"Heh. What the hell crawled up your ass all of a sudden lady? I haven't
known him very long, but I doubt if Azusa will bite. Your will versus
the fate of a planet and screwing over the people who just saved yours?
Besides, he's not dumb enough to attack us."

	"We shall see. I command a fleet of my own."

	"What the hell did you do to your mother?!" snapped Trunks into the
passenger cabin angrily.

	"I didn't call for seven hundred years," he cried from his hiding place
under the table. 

	"Holy shit. She'll kill us all," said Trunks dumbly. "We gotta get out
of here!"

++++++++++++++++

	Ranma Saotome frowned as he glanced over his shoulder and found Tochi
standing behind him. He was standing on a rooftop looking down at the
wreckage of the village. Around twenty of the bird people had to be
destroyed, before they took control of the village. Quite a few were
seriously injured when they tried to run, and he had medical teams from
his base flying in to care for them. He needed them in good condition.
There was already a team setting up the training area just outside the
village.

	"What?"

	"It's time. Come with me," she said simply as she turned away and
floated into the air.

	He grinned darkly and floated up after her.

++++++++++++++++

	Four hours later Ranma was standing in a large room filled with glass
tubes. Inside each one was a small crystal that were growing into what
appeared to be humans. The ones close to where the pair was standing at
the front of the room were the most developed. 

	"Not very original," commented Tochi. "Still, it is your first one,
it's always a special moment."

	"Yes. I suppose that it is," he replied simply as a wet looking man in
a black suit and tie stepped out of the only drained tube right in front
of them. He calmly put on a pair of shades and said nothing as he simply
looked at them both. His features offered no expression at all. His hair
was short and black, slicked back and greasy looking. His features were
nothing more than a permanent frown.

	"Agent Smith, how very nice to meet you."

	"Yes sir," replied the thing stonily. 

	"Agent Smith?" asked the woman in confusion. 

	"Yes. Why do you think I chose this particular design? Easy to
manufacture, intelligent, strong, and fast. He's basically and upgraded
human clone with no free will and has the magical ability of a standard
Youma. Plus, he'll blend in with the humans easily until he's provoked."

	"What happens then?" she asked him as she ran her fingers down the
creature's chest. 

	"If you're thinking transformation forget it. His intelligence is his
real asset. He's also strong and fast enough to handle almost anything
his line of work can throw at him. Plus, he's more than willing to die
to complete an objective. I got the idea from a movie actually."

	"A movie?" said the blonde as she wrapped her arms around his chest
from behind him. 

	"Yes. These will be commanding the starships and running sensitive
areas. Two months is not enough time to allow these creatures too much
power. I intend to hold their leaders onboard the starships to help
ensure the fighters don't turn."

	"Are you sure that will be enough?"

	"Does it matter?" he replied calmly. "I for one don't intend to go
anywhere near those starships until the planet is well under our
control."

	Smith continued to stare as Tochi put her chin on his shoulder. He
hadn't even tried to speak since his introduction. 

"What are you going to do with him?" 

	The boy merely snorted as he narrowed his eyes at the thing. "I'll have
ten more of him by tomorrow, with seventy five total by the end of the
week. The rest will take a bit longer. I'll probably go through a few of
him, but I think I'll use him to help contain the mess my daughter left
in China. I want those phoenix people to get used to taking orders from
him as well. Plus he'll be able to keep those fools hiding in China out
of our hair while we operate there. He can sense their energy and is
drawn to it."

	"You mean?"

	"He's not finished growing yet Tochi. All of this, is just one Youma.
Impressive ne?"

	"I thought you growing some Youma for yourself was a bit odd."

	"Impressed?"

	"Very. No wonder it took you so long to create just one. Kuroi was even
starting to think you were having trouble with our instructions, or gave
up."

	"I'm not sure if this will make him more comfortable with our plan, or
just make him more paranoid."

	She kissed him on the neck playfully and said nothing. She wasn't
really sure which of them would win when it came down too it. It would
be very interesting to find out if nothing else.

++++++++++++++++

	"What's going on? Why are they turning toward us?" asked Nabiki
sharply. As she glared at the tiny screen on her console that showed
Trunks grinning at her. Everyone in their group had on a headset and was
listening in. The Senshi actually had theirs built into the helmets they
wore. Trunks also had the original communications equipment for the ship
turned on as well and had an open line to Jurai. Yosho was standing just
behind him with his arms folded over his chest.

	"We may have to shoot our way into deep space. Hold on, I'm working on
it," replied the boy. 

	"Azusa? Hello?" he called into the microphone on his ear as he switched
channels again.  

	Within seconds the Emperor was glaring at him angrily. "What is the
meaning of this?"

	"Your wife has gone insane and is trying to make us come back. I'm not
really sure what made her snap, but I think it was something Yosho
said."

	"I am aware of that," he growled impatiently. "Hurry up and bring him
back. She'll calm down in a few days or so."

	"Sorry my friend. Order your ships away or I'm gonna go through em," he
replied calmly.

	"What?" growled the man.

	"You really don't want me and my lady friends to blow up your nice
shiny and expensive starships do you?"

	Tenchi's head popped up on the console in front of George. "When did we
put a video screen here?" Muttered the man as he flipped one of the
switches. Tenchi's head appeared and he looked quite worried. "What's
going on? Grandpa, Are you all right?"

	"I'm fine boy. Are you on course?"

	"Yes. We left right after you did. I'll be there in a moment. The
captain of your ship decided to follow once we got word that you were
off planet." replied the boy.

	"Yes. I've been looking forward to meeting you again," interrupted the
Juraian man behind Tenchi. "Hello Yosho."

	"Yosho, I have your grandson," replied Azusa. "Those ships will return
on my command."

	"My orders haven't changed yet. I'm still under the personal control of
the Emperor himself. Even the empress can't order me about at the
moment. As much as I'd like to see you again old friend, I'm afraid I
must follow his command."

	"I understand. Tenchi, do not worry yourself if you are forced to
remain behind."

	"I won't stay behind long if we do turn back," said the boy firmly. "In
fact, I have no intention of going back even if the Emperor orders it."

	"It is not your choice boy," replied Azusa calmly.

	"Well don't tell him about anything while we're gone then!" snapped
Trunks irritably. He'd grown tired of the family bickering. At least
Ayeka had enough sense to ignore it, she'd probably prefer to stay on
Jurai. Ryoko wouldn't care either way as long as Tenchi was there. He
paused and thought about it. She'd want to leave as well, just to keep
Ayeka on level ground. 

	He hadn't heard from any other ships yet and the large starships that
had appeared in front of him seemed to be simply waiting for them to
come into range. He switched to the senshi for a moment again and put
Azusa on hold. "Lock and load ladies. We're getting kind of close." He
quickly flipped back to find the man glaring at the screen angrily. 

	The ships outside the cockpit shifted and folded, making themselves
even sleeker looking as the turrets elongated and shifted. The other
weapons systems came to life as well, moving up into ready to fire
positions on the wings if they needed too.

	"I demand that you desist!" roared the man angrily.

	"Call your ships off Azusa, if anyone starts firing at me I'm going to
leave an awful mess behind up here."

	Tenchi and the captain looked rather nervous. 

	"What?" muttered the Juraian man dumbly from behind the boy.

	"I will do nothing. My wife has ordered you stopped, and she will deal
with these matters herself." The transmission ended.

	"Man. He's whipped so bad," said Trunks as he adjusted the frequency
once again. "Well ladies. Looks like we get our first taste of real
combat a little early."

	"I am nothing of the kind!" snapped Azusa's voice angrily. "Those ships
belong to my wife. I do not have the power to order them away. I can
only ask her and I am not going anywhere near her right now."

	"Oops, forgot about the audio!" said the boy cheerfully. It was quite
obviously a lie.

	"What?" stammered Nabiki dumbly. All of their weapons were armed and
the girls gave a collective gasp. Ami merely stared forward calmly and
seemed too ignore everything. 

	"Are you insane?" cried Minako. "We can't... I mean..."

	"We just saved their entire planet and his mother is going to kill us
if we don't get away. How grateful do you think they are now, huh?"

	"Not nearly as grateful as they'd be if you'd just left him behind,"
snorted Nabiki angrily. 

"I don't think she'd kill you," corrected Yosho. "I imagine she'd
probably want to torture you a bit though. Just you personally, Trunks."

	The boy glared back at the doorway again. "You stay out of this!
	 
	"What the hell are we doing? Just take him back!" snapped Minako.

	"No," said Usagi softly.

	Everyone went silent and turned their attention towards her. 

	"This is his fight too. You heard him, Earth is his home."

	"Thank you," replied Yosho.

	"Wow. We sure talked a lot," said Trunks as he turned towards the
window of the cockpit. "Scoot over man, I'm driving for this."

	George fumbled out of the way as the boy planted himself in his seat.
He shifted over to the co-pilot's seat and buckled himself in very
securely. "I suggest you do the same," he said to Yosho.

	"Freighter, this is Captain..." The transmission was ended rather
abruptly.

	"I'll take this call captain. Hello boy." Cerio was looking at them
smugly from behind a fan.

	"Hiya!" said Trunks.

	"I am taking Prince Yosho back to Jurai. Prepare to be boarded."

	"If you try, we're gonna blow up your ship," replied the boy calmly. 

	"Ship? Don't be foolish. I command three Juraian battle cruisers, and
three wings of fighters. Surrender or be subdued. Even if my fighters
are unable to support you, the Queen's fleet is sitting in front of you.
There can be no escape for you this time."

	Trunks snorted and pointed at the intercom. "Subdued? Get a load of
this jerk girls. Would you please remove this asshole from my presence?"

	"Gladly," replied Nabiki.

	"Are you sure we should be doing this?" muttered George nervously.

	"They're gonna blow up your ship if you don't do it," replied Trunks.

	"There is no other choice!" agreed Yosho with a serious frown on his
face.

	"Cut it out. This is all your fault you know," said Trunks as he
frowned at the man. "Not that I'm not enjoying it."

	Yosho sighed and nodded his head. "I see."

	"We'll be there in a moment Grandpa!" cried Tenchi angrily.

	"No boy. You continue your course. We'll catch up. I do not think the
captain or crew will be very cooperative about facing their own fleet. 

	"You're right. I couldn't ask that of them. I wasn't thinking," replied
the boy somberly.

	The captain looked incredibly relieved at hearing this. "I'm ending the
transmission and cutting off communications. I'll find out what happened
when I return." The man was obviously not pleased, but seemed to have
some grasp of the situation.

	"We should take him back to avoid this confrontation," warned Washuu. 

	"Bah," replied the boy as he waved his hand at her.

	"It will damage the relationship you just formed if you embarrass the
planet this way," warned the scientist.

	"She's right," said Hotaru as she poked her head into the conversation
as well.

	"It's getting a little crowded in here. You should be manning the guns.
The senshi don't need Jurai, I'd just as soon have them cut ties with
this place before they pick up any of its bad habits. At least until
Tenchi takes over and cleans things up. With all the training I have him
it shouldn't be a problem. I'm not keen on staying myself, we need to
get back and the red tape involved with something like this will keep us
here for a long time if we wait for them to let us leave anyway."

	"A wise decision," said Yosho calmly. 

	"You shut up. You're calling your mother when we get back."

	"You can't..." snorted Yosho as he frowned at the boy.

	"You wanna bet?" he replied calmly. "I've got five little soldiers I'm
sure would be more than glad to help me do it too."

	The man walked out of the cockpit followed by the others. Hotaru and
Yosho manned the guns while Washuu took her place at her station. "Three
Juraian battle cruisers? I don't think those ships are Tenchi and the
others."

	"What are our chances?" called back Trunks. He had turned on several
screens and was looking at the faces of Nabiki and the Senshi on six
small screens. 

	"Are you kidding?" snorted Washuu. "Those shields are nothing to scoff
at, but our weaponry should penetrate no problem. After all, each girl's
power is the battery for the weapons systems. The ship itself works as
an amplifier actually. Only Nabiki's ship has a separate power source
for the weapons systems."

	"Cool," said Trunks as he grinned at her image.

++++++++++++++++

	There were four large cruisers in front of them and three behind them.
It was one hell of a tight spot. Dots began to appear out of the giant
ship's belly as the fighters launched. 

	"They're trying to subdue this ship. I've got a feeling destroying
yours is optional, especially once we start returning fire. Our mission
is to escape ladies, other than Cerio and his ships I'd rather avoid
casualties if we can avoid it. Fighters are fair game though." He began
to flip switches on his console and set both his hands on the controls.
Warning lights flashed on the console and he glanced over at George.

	The man was simply sitting there, petrified with horror at the coming
onslaught of ships. 

	"Here they come," said Nabiki as she steeled herself. Trunks dove down
into a roll and the fighters veered off in two groups to the right or
left. Ami and Rei went left after Nabiki, while Usagi led the others in
the opposite direction. 

	All of the fighters dove after Trunks.

	"We could just leave him you know. He'll probably think of a way out of
this himself," commented Rei.

	"No one gets left behind. Not even him. Don't forget the others on
board," replied Nabiki.

	"I know, just thought I'd bring it up," she kicked in her after burners
and spun around a hundred and eighty degrees in an instant. The other
ships performed the same maneuver and lost the few fighters who had been
launched to tail them. The larger ships were closing in all around them
and were spreading out to surround them.

	"We need to keep a door open," said Nabiki. "Girls, figure out which
ship has that pink haired idiot on it and keep him from getting into
position."

	A laser bolt streaked towards Nabiki's ship and she rolled away. "That
one," she growled as she caused a target indicator to appear on all of
their screens. "He's been listening I think."

	"Gee you think so Ma'am?" snorted Minako. 

	"You just volunteered for that mission, I want Hino on your wing. The
rest of us will keep the Mikon Taka covered. Let's go to work."

	"That's enough," said Yosho firmly over the intercom. "I shall return
home. I did not think she would take this so far."

	"What? Aw, man!" cried Trunks.

	Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief as the fighters broke off
suddenly.

	Trunks halted and jumped out of the seat to go give Yosho a piece of
his mind. He paused as he realized the position he was in at the moment.
That jerk had ruined a perfectly good space battle.

	He jumped up and began working at the console.

	"What are you doing!?" cried George in horror. 

	"Your orders sir?" said Minako as she appeared on screen. None of the
Senshi had stopped and herself and Rei were both still charging Cerio's
ship.

	"Stop. I guess I can't make criminals out of you. It's his decision in
the end," replied the boy simply as he continued to work at the console.
The ships stopped charging and turned towards his position.  "By the way
ladies, see you when we get there." He promptly shoved a few levers
forward and the stars began to streak across the sky.

	"Stop them!" cried one of the desperate commanders of the starships. 

	It was too late though the ship was long gone.

	"Prince Yosho has escaped!" verified another transmission. 

	"Impossible!" cried Cerio angrily. 

	"That asshole left us!" snapped Minako.

	"Actually, they were only sent to retrieve Yosho," pointed out Nabiki.
"We should go before their orders change. The six ships blasted out of
the ring of command ships in an instant. Trunks had transmitted the
information into their ships just before he made the jump. 

+++++++++++++++++++++

	Yosho was staring at the boy in horror. "What are you doing? I
surrendered!"

	"You aren't in command of this ship. I am," replied the young Saiyan as
he kicked his feet on top of the table and stretched out. "We need to
slow down a bit. Cerio has a trap waiting for Tenchi, so we need to
double back and meet up with them. I don't want the girls to get to
Earth before they kill something. I'm still not certain how some of them
will react to it at first. They might not care, but I'm not willing to
bet on it. I'm pretty sure it will bother Minako and Usagi at least a
little bit once they realize what they've done. Ami's about as lethal as
she's going to be. Rei and Makoto probably won't mind much."

	"I'm not entirely comfortable with that," commented Washuu.

	"He is right, we can't have one of them freeze up with emotion in the
heat of battle. It's best to get into a small skirmish first. I've got a
feeling that we'll be diving right into things when we arrive," said
Hotaru calmly. 

	"I suppose you're right," replied the scientist as she continued to
work at her console. "The Senshi's ships will power down when they catch
up to us. We'll have to wait a few minutes for them to arrive."

	"Do not blow this off boy..." growled Yosho.

	"Don't you get it? You're off the hook. I kidnapped you. I didn't tell
you I was calculating this jump when things got quiet for a reason."

	"What?" stammered the man dumbly.

	Trunks pointed at a small lens near the front of the cabin. It was
poking out of the wall.

	"Washuu is sending this to Jurai. It's encrypted, so the ships around
the planet won't pick it up. I'm sure it will find it's way into your
father's hands in a day or so though."

	The woman waved at him cheerfully.

	"That doesn't excuse the abuse of my honor!" snapped the man angrily.

	"You'll forgive me in an hour or so when you realize I'm right,"
replied the boy with a small shrug. "Sit and think about it for a while.
Tenchi should be following the coordinates we originally set, so he'll
be easy enough to catch in about an hour or two."

	"What was this about a trap?" asked Yosho. 

	"That idiot prince wants to pick a fight with Tenchi. I imagine he'll
attack his convoy and target his ship specifically. Wants to be rid of
him to get his 'destiny' back or whatever. I'm sure we'll have plenty of
fun blowing him up for it. How are the girls doing anyway?"

	Washuu smirked at him. "Playing cards, sleeping, going over battle
data. I think Nabiki is still a little miffed at Cerio for shooting at
her. It was the only shot fired in the whole skirmish."

	"Man. How annoying," grumbled Trunks. "I kinda wish we could go back,
but I suppose they'll all be gone by then anyway."

	Yosho sighed and hung his head. "How did I get into such an odd
position."

	"You didn't call your mother for seven hundred years, that's how.
Honestly man, what's wrong with you?"

	Hotaru narrowed her eyes at the man and he stepped away from her.

	"Anyway. Here are the girls. Give them our new coordinates and
rendezvous with Tenchi. Look for good ambush spots along our planned
route and change our route through them. I want to catch him with his
pants down. I leaked our travel plans just before we left."

	"What?" muttered Hotaru. 

	"I 'accidentally' included our full route when I transmitted our course
to the senshi. All the Juraians probably picked it up. This short escape
jump was hidden in the transmission."

	Yosho glared at Washuu. "You did this?"

	"Well. I had a little help, but what you don't know won't hurt you,"
replied the boy simply. 

	Washuu simply blushed and sank a little deeper into her chair as she
purposely rotated it away from Yosho.

	"I give up. Tell me when we meet my grandson. I'm going to sleep until
I get my own ship."

	"You wanna go back to Jurai then it's your call," said Trunks with a
small shrug. "I don't have time for delays like that. Sorry."

	The man glanced back at him and nodded with a slightly thoughtful
frown. "I suppose I understand then. I will remain, it is already too
late to do anything about it now."

	"I'm sure your grandson will be happy to hear that. He'll feel better
knowing you're with him to help," said Hotaru as she leaned against the
wall and closed her eyes. 

	The young saiyan boy merely hopped to his feet and walked back towards
the cockpit. "If I don't get to blow up something soon I'm gonna go
nuts," he muttered under his breath.

	"Little warmonger," growled Hotaru without much heat in her voice.

	"Yeah. Like you're not looking forward to putting your fist into Chibi
Usa's skull," he replied simply as he rounded the corner and left them
sitting there.

++++++++++++++++++

	TBC...

	Next Time: Ah, the action begins again finally; Akane and friends
'Enter The Matrix' so to speak, and Cerio does something really stupid,
and pays for it! Next time on Insertion! ^_^

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