Circa 9,900 BC
Not on this Earth

       Wasyuu watched quietly as Angacil's relatives took him and their
baby away.  He looked helplessly back at her as his relatives carried
their son Annadil, 'beloved gift' onto their ship, Mordil.  Annadil had
his father's blond curly hair, while his skin was somewhere between his
father's dark olive coloration and his mother's pale peach skin. 

     Wasyuu would have cried, but she'd already cried so much that her
tear glands had dried up.  She could have destroyed them, but then that
would have meant war.  A war she could not win.  A war in which her allies
could not fight by her side, for the law was on the side of her enemies.  

     She turned silently and left.  To watch would only bring more pain,
and she had had enough of pain.  Never again, she swore.  Never again.

     The pain was not yet over.  Two days later, the news announced that
the Mordil had been destroyed with all hands on board on its way to the
capital world of the Mithlothian Empire.  Wasyuu cried herself sick when
she heard the news, until a holomessage came through.  It was short.  The
image was a crudely rendered picture of Walyn, the voice sounded like a
bad effort to mimic his voice.  "I told you I would have my revenge.  This
is only the beginning."

***************************************************************************

Chapter 6:  Princesses.

***************************************************************************

     Celia's phone rang.  She picked it up.  "Silky Doll, manager
speaking."

      It was Fargo at the other end of the line.  "I may have a little
surprise for you at our date at Chez Kino tonight at eight."

      She laughed faintly.  Fargo never gives up, she thought.  I wonder
which information this is.  "I'll be there."

      Fargo hung up.  Celia got up and stretched.  Maybe I'll even dress
up, just to make him wonder.  She laughed faintly.  Me, flirting?  I must
be going mad in my old age.

****************************************************************************


     Priss sat quietly in the park, watching children on the swingset.
She had brought Sho to the park from the orphanage.  She wished again
she could have found him a good home.  For a while, she'd thought about
adopting him herself, but she didn't feel like she was cut out for
motherhood.  Not yet, anyway.  Besides, if I got myself killed, he'd just
be right back where he started.  

      She didn't know what to do with herself tonight.  The band had
already practiced, and Celia was still trying to collect information on
her would-be assassin.  Right now, Sho was playing with some children
on the swingset.  "Oneechan!  Come give me a push."  She laughed and got
up and went over to him.

      "Here we go!"  She began pushing him, back and forth, harder and
harder.  He swung very high, laughing all the way.  She finally stepped
back and got out of the way.  

      The young girl on the swing next to him said, "Can you push me too,
oneechan?"

      Priss laughed.  "Sure thing, kid."  She began pushing the swing, a
little more gently than with the boy.  "How high do you want to go?"

      "I want to fly to the stars!"

      "Doesn't everyone?"  Priss pushed harder.  The girl's blue hair
caught her attention.  Wow, kids are dying their hair early these days.
Then again, I used to imagine I had a little friend with blue hair. This
kid looks a lot like how I imagined Maggie to be, Priss thought.  I
haven't thought about Maggie in years.  

       Priss sank into a bit of a fugue, lost in thought about her old
imaginary friend, her arms working to push the swing without conscious
thought.  She probably would have still been there, pushing the swing,
when the sun went down if she hadn't been snapped out of her reverie by
the sounds of children screaming.  

       For a few seconds, she thought she must be hallucinating, but then
she spotted the source of the trouble.  It was a 45-L, 'Hair Care
Professional Boomer'.  They were used in the 24-hour barbershops that had
sprung up in the last few years as traditional work hours further ceased
to have much hold on the population at large.  Unfortunately, the entire
line had one major problem.  Being cheaply made, their boomer minds needed
to shut down periodically as they tended to rapidly accumulate bad sectors
and other imbalances in their 'minds' if operated for too long at a time.
More than a 12 hour shift caused an increasing risk of mental dysfunction.
While rampaging combat boomers made the headlines, it was the beserkergang
of the much more common L series boomers that gave the ADPolice most of
its business.  While the ADPolice had a bad reputation, in dealing with L
series boomers, they were quick and efficient, limited mainly by numbers
in their ability to make a rapid response.

      Unfortunately, this wasn't much help to Priss right now when a
boomer with multiple scissors and razor attachments was running wild
through the park with her.  Right now, it was shaving some poor girl's
head, but the man lying halfway across the park trying to bind his arm
with his dinner jacket was evidence that things could get much worse.

      The boomer itself looked like a rampaging mannikin.  It looked like
an effort by a ten year old to model a human form, with a blocky torso,
legs, and arms.  It was dressed in a hawaiian shirt and knee-length pants,
unneeded for decency, but giving it a softer and less dangerous look.  It
had actually articulated hands, but its hands were disproportionately
large so as to contain various scissors, razors, hot water dispensers and
other tools of its trade.  It was horrendously out of date, and looked
somewhat battered and in need of a tuneup.

      Priss directed a swift curse at whatever idiot had left this thing
unmaintained along with the idiot who bought it in the first place.  She
pulled out her knife.  Celia's going to tell me I was an idiot, but I
can't let this damn beast kill these kids.  

      Sho leaped off the swing and started throwing rocks at the boomer.
"You damn monster, go home!"

      Priss resolved to be more careful about swearing in front of
children and charged forward.  "Yo, shave and a haircut boy!"  She hurled
a rock to help get its attention.

      It ignored her and finished shaving off the hair of the poor little
red haired girl it was holding.  Priss spent a few seconds trying to
figure out the best place to stab the thing, then stuck her knife into its
left hand, hoping to wreck the circuitry for controlling the hand.

      Unfortunately, the boomer began to move as she stabbed it, and the
blow only succeeded in cutting a small gash in its 'skin'.  It backhanded
her, sending her sprawling.  It was strong, but not more than a fairly
strong human, which gave Priss hope she could take this thing without
getting herself killed.  "Everyone, get the hell out of here!"  she
shouted.  

      Most of the kids took her advice.  Two of them, however, did not.
Sho kept throwing rocks at the boomer.  The little blue haired girl didn't
run either, though she did vault out of the swing she was on and started
digging in her pockets for something.  Priss tried to grab the boomer's
left arm, while standing on its left, hoping to keep the bulk of its body
between her and the right arm.  

       Unfortunately, she had forgotten for a moment that she wasn't in
her hardsuit.  The boomer easily dragged her around and pinned her.  She
would have been humiliated if she hadn't been getting increasingly angry.

      She heard someone shouting something, but she couldn't quite
understand what, then a bright cascade of light washed over the area,
living Priss blinded for a few seconds.  She heard the boomer saying
something like, "Ahh, you'd like a buzz cut, Miss?  Must be entering the
army..."

      She futilely kicked the boomer in what would have been his groin, if
he wasn't a robot.  At least I already wear a wig on stage, she thought,
then kicked herself for trying to look on the bright side of things.  

     Priss heard some kid yelling something about princesses and kicks.  A
multi-colored blur moved in front of her, then the boomer suddenly let go
of her and staggered backwards.  Priss looked around and saw a blue haired
girl, her hair tied up in two ponytails that seemed to erupt upwards out
of the side of her head, then cascade down, standing nearby.  There was a
red flower in her hair by each pony-tail, and she wore an elaborate red
and yellow outfit with a red 'jacket' top and a short yellow skirt.  In
her right hand, she clutched a two foot long wand with a large red heart
at one end, fixed in a yellow frame.  

      The boomer looked at the girl and cocked its head.  "Your hair is in
violation of code 359 of the local School District code.  Please remove
it.  You have fifteen seconds to comply."

      Priss took those fifteen seconds to turn and finally stab the boomer
in the wrist.  She took a nasty jolt and went flying.  Damn me for a fool,
she thought.  I'm not insulated in this outfit.  Her brain then caught up
with what she had seen before.  What kinda crazy outfit is that kid
wearing?  Must be some anime fan kid.  Probably thinks her toy has real
powers.  

      The boomer charged the girl, who leapt fifteen feet straight up into
the air, landed on a treebranch, then jumped down as the boomer ran
through the spot where she HAD been and clonked the boomer on the head
with her wand.  It fell down.

      Priss blinked.  I must be dying and imagining this as I die.  The
boomer got back up and charged the girl again.  She lithely dodged and
tripped it.  Sho shouted, "Kick its ass!"

      How can that kid move so fast, Priss wondered.  Is she cybered or
something?  Maybe she's some kind of crazy combat boomer...Well, she's on
my side, that's all that matters for now.  Priss looked around for
something heavy she could use as a weapon, since her knife was still stuck
in the boomer.  "Sho, get out of here!"  she yelled.

     "I can't leave you, oneechan!"

     "Then make sure you stay out of the way!"  Priss grabbed a treebranch
and moved forward.  She smacked the boomer in the head.  

     It turned and popped out a razor.  "Shave for you sir?"  She swore
and backpedalled.  
 
      What I wouldn't give for my hardsuit, she thought.  "Damn thing, if
I was properly armed, I'd..."  It moved faster than she thought possible,
its razor aimed for her cheek.  

      Before she could scream, she felt arms wrapped around her waist, and
suddenly, she was airborne.  About a second later, she was up in a tree
with the crazy blue haired girl.  "Who the hell ARE you?"  Priss asked.

      "You're welcome," the girl said, smiling.  "I'm Magical Princess
Pretty Sammi!  But you used to know me as Maggie."

      I am going insane, Priss thought.  It killed me and these are my
last delusions as I die.  "Maggie was imaginary!"

      "No I wasn't!  I'm as real as you.  You think you got up in this
tree on your own?"

      Priss looked down.  She was at least twenty feet up in the air.  The
boomer was trying to cut the hair of a statue in the fountain nearby.  "I
could be imagining I'm up in the tree."

      "Your entire life could just be your imagination!  We don't have
time for solipsism!  Your friend's life is in danger!"  Sammi shook Priss.
"Stop running from reality!  I'm as real as you, and I need your help to
stop this thing!"

      Priss decided to worry about hallucinations later...deep thought
wasn't her thing anyway.  "I can't hurt this damn thing without a decent
weapon.  If only I had my..."

      "Your hardsuit?"

      Priss stared at the girl.  "How the hell did you..."

      The girl traced an arc on Priss' forehead with a finger.  "There is
power within you.  Your hardsuit is not available, but it is.  I can
unlock it, but..."

      Priss looked down and saw the boomer was almost 'done' with the
statue.  Sho still hadn't run to safety, either.  "Sho, GET THE HELL OUT
OF HERE!"

      "No, I can't leave you!"  Sho started running over to the tree.

      Priss swore.  Damn kid takes after me too much.  "You say you can
give me the power to stop this thing?"  I must be crazy taking this
seriously, but I'm never gonna stop this boomer with my bare hands.

      "Yes, but there's a price."

      Priss looked down.  The boomer was looking for a new 'customer'.  "I
don't fucking care!  I can't let this damn hunk of junk hurt Sho!"

      Sammi smiled.  "You have a brave and loving heart."  She touched
Priss' forehead with her wand and the heart began to glow.  Priss felt her
forehead growing warm as the girl traced an arc, the bottom half of a
circle across her forehead.  "Now say the words that come into your mind."

      Priss' mind spun.  Memories of her recent dream flitted through her
mind, the crystal sword in the fortress and the woman who had called her
daughter.  Words spun and danced through her mind.  Finally, a memory
stabilized.  Herself on her bike, gun in hand, preparing to revenge her
boyfriend's death.  A red Mercedes Benz pulling up and a woman stepping
out of it.  She was tall, with nice clothing and short dark hair.  She had
looked at Priss as if she had known Priss forever and said, "Will you
entrust me with that burning heart of yours?"  On that day, Priss had
stepped off of the path to self-destruction, and onto a new path.  A
warrior's path.  She finally understood why she had trusted the woman, why
she had followed Celia Stingray away from the road of the vengeance that
is as much upon oneself as others to a better way.  Words formed in her
mind now, and she gave them voice.  "BURNING HEART POWER!!!!"  

       Light erupted from Priss' forehead and rushed across her body,
which now floated, transfixed in the air above the tree branch.  The
whirling energies around her sent tree branches flying everywhere, as her
clothing tore itself apart and reformed into a dark black outfit, rather
similar to her stage costume, though without the blond wig.  There were a
few differences.  Priss didn't normally wear a golden tiara with a blue
gem set in it on stage, for one thing.  She could almost feel power
coursing through her veins, but she wasn't sure how to use it.  

      "Now what?"

      Sammi pulled a short rod out of...somewhere.  Priss quickly saw that
it rather resembled a carved wooden sword hilt.  "Take this, your rightful
weapon,"  Sammi said.

      She took it.  She could see Sho trying to climb the tree.  The
boomer had spotted him and was rushing over.  "How the hell do I USE it?"

      Suddenly, a blue blade of energy erupted from the end of the hilt.
"Right."  Priss said, cutting off Sammi as she started to say something.
"DIE!"

      She leaped down at the oncoming boomer, aiming a blow down at its
head.  The sword cut right through the boomer, meeting no resistance
whatsoever.  It fell into two neatly severed halves, which ceased to move.  

      Priss concluded that hallucination or not, she LIKED this.  Sho ran
over to Priss.  "Wow, oneechan! I didn't know you were a superhero!"

      Priss laughed.  "Me neither.  Don't tell anyone, okay?"

      "I promise!"

      Sammi jumped down to Priss.  "Good job!"

      "I can hardly believe this is real..."  Priss said.  She could hear
the ADPolice sirens in the distance.  "How do I turn back to normal?  And
what was that you said about a price?"

      "All you have to do is concentrate."  Sammi shimmered and her
clothing changed back to normal.  Maggie smiled.  "Like that."

      Priss focused on what she was wearing before and swiftly reverted to
normal.  The sword hilt, however, remained.  "Who...Who are you really?"

      Maggie smiled.  "Let's take your friend home, then we can talk
properly."
  
      They left just in time to miss the ADPolice.
     
*************************************************************************

      After getting off of work, Nene walked up the steps to her
apartment. To her surprise, the door was ajar.  She tensed.  Could be a
burglar.  She could hear her TV playing inside and she KNEW she hadn't
left that on.  Good thing Lt. Yamano has us carrying guns all the time
now, she thought. She got out her pistol.  She heard the familiar theme
music of Magical Princess Evangelia playing.

     She kicked the door open and charged in, pistol ready, right as the
TV started to play an ad.  "Come see Aino Minako, seiyuu for Princess
Rei, at the Northridge Mall this saturday from 9-12!  She'll be
signing autographs and some lucky fan will get the complete Aino Minako
Video collection. That's right, the entire runs of Sailor V, Dread Space
Pirate Bailesu, Dragon Ball PDQ, Hime-chan no Anvil, Dirty Pair
Ultrakawaii Flash, and The first three seasons of Magical Princess
Evangelia!"

     Ryoko was sitting in Nene's nice new lounge chair, eating chips and
drinking Dr. Pepper.  "Hiya, Nene-chan!  Nice gun you have there."

     Nene blinked. "How...uh...how did you get in?"

     Ryoko smiled.  "You left the door unlocked.  I LOVE this chair!"  She
wiggled a bit.  "It's soooo comfy.  Nice TV too."

     "You didn't mess with the VCR did you?"

     "What, that primitive thing?  Naah."

     Nene gave a sigh of relief.  Good, I'll have this episode on tape.
She's eating up all my snack food!  Oh well, I was planning to give her
some of that, anyway.  She sat down on one of her other chairs.  "You
watch this often?"

     "Never seen it before, but it looks fun.  So you're a big animation
fan?"

     Nene laughed.  "The only reason I won't be down at the mall on
Saturday is that I already HAVE her autograph and the complete collection
of her stuff."

     "My son likes this stuff too.  I'm too busy to ever keep up with it,"
Ryoko said.

     "I understand you work for the government?"

     Ryoko got up.  "You could say that."  She walked over and put away
the food and the Dr. Pepper.  "I've sort of come up in the world."

     Nene said, "You can have more if you like."

     Ryoko smiled.  "We're gonna go to this little place I found this
morning so we can talk. I shouldn't spoil my appetite."  

     Nene nodded.  "What's it like?"

     Ryoko laughed.  "You'll see.  First we're stopping by this other
place..."

****************************************************************************

     Sammi and Priss stopped at an ice cream parlor after dropping off Sho
back at the orphanage.  Sammi got a really huge ice cream cone with three
scoops, while Priss got a simple strawberry ice cream cone.  "So...what
are you?  You haven't aged a whit since I last saw you and I was
what...nine then?"

     Sammi said, "Wh...oh yes.  I wanted to make sure you could recognize
me.  I can appear older...in fact, I usually do."  The way she was
munching on her ice cream seemed to deny that, though.

     "But what are you?"

     "I am a manifestation of what you might call a starship, named
Tsunami.  I am also a manifestation of Princess Sasami of the Juraiian
Empire.  In other words, I am from outer space."

     Priss blinked.  "You're an alien?  But you look human."

     "My people once came from Earth, so this is to be expected."

     Priss raised an eyebrow.  "What, this world was colonized by ancient
astronauts or something?"

     "More the reverse.  Humanity originated here, but long ago, before
recorded history, some humans fled this world during a disaster that is
remembered dimly in many legends of your world."  Tsunami munched on her
ice cream some more.

      Priss ate her ice cream quietly, her head spinning.  Celia's never
gonna believe any of this.  I bet Nene will eat it all up.  "So you gave
me powers with your alien technology?"

      Tsunami shook her head.  "No, the power was already within you."

      "I...I'm an alien?"  If she tells me my parents were really from
another planet...

      "I didn't say that.  Although you were born on the moon, if you are
who I think you are.  You're as human as anyone else, but you were born
with a special gift because of your bloodline.  You have a sister out
there too, although you've never met."

      "A sister?  I'm an only child!"

      "An adopted only child."

      Priss paused and thought.  "Good point...so who were my real
parents?"

      Tsunami took a deep breath.  "It all starts a very long time ago..."
I just hope this doesn't freak her out.

      Naturally, of course, it did.
     
****************************************************************************

     Nene soaked in the nice hot water at the bathhouse.  "Oooh, this
feels so good."  She looked over at Ryoko, who had a figure she thought
was about twenty times better than her.  "How can someone your age look so
good?"

     Ryoko laughed.  "Oil of Olay."

     They both laughed.  "So where are we going next?  And why come here
first?"

     "Well, I wanted to see you naked, for one thing, and..."  Ryoko
began.

     Nene blinked. "WHAT?"

     "Not like that!  I AM married, you know.  Besides, I'm sure Ryu has
seen it all before, and I am his mother so..."

     "What kinda CRAZY logic is that?"  Ryu's mom must be insane, Nene
thought.  She blushed.

     "He HAS seen you like this, right?"  I'm going to be very
disappointed if he hasn't, she thought.

     Nene blushed more.  "Uh, well, we..."

     Ryoko smiled.  "Good!  I was afraid the boy was starting to give up
after that...maybe I shouldn't mention that...naaah, you HAVE to hear
this..."

     Nene said, "I think Ryu would have told me if he wanted me to know."

     Ryoko pouted for a few seconds.  "Well, I wanted to see if you met
the minimum physical standards.  You passed.  With a little work, you
might be almost as good looking as me."  She winked.

     "Uh, thanks, I think."

     "There's another reason I brought you here as well."

     "What?"  Now Nene was kind of nervous.

     "We'll get to that in a minute."  Her voice went from its usual
playful tone to a very serious one.  "How much do you love my son,
Nene-chan?"

      Nene blushed some more and turned her head away from Ryoko, only to
somehow find Ryoko was now sitting on the OTHER side of her.  She started.
"I...uhy...I mean..."

     "Don't be shy.  I won't kill you if you give me the wrong answer."

     This was perhaps not the best way to calm Nene's fears.  "I
just...why are you asking me this?"

     Ryoko's voice got very serious.  "Because my son loves you very much.
Like me, he really totally throws himself into his relationships.  He
needs someone who can give him as much love as he gives her."

     Nene nodded.  "Yeah.  He tells me all the time how special I am, and
how beautiful and smart and fun to be with.  It's almost...scary
sometimes.  I just...It seems so right to be with him.  So natural.  I've
never had a relationship this close before.  I don't know what to do..."
She stared at herself.  "I guess that's probably not quite what you wanted
to hear."

     "Love is scary, isn't it?"  Ryoko's voice had softened.

     "And I feel so bad because he tells me everything that's going on
with him and there's things I just can't tell him, and then I feel
guilty."

     "Because you're one of the Knight Sabres,"  Ryoko said casually.

     "Yeah.  I'd get my head bit off by..."  Nene blinked.  "I...uh...what
gave you that crazy idea?"

     "I saw you get into a truck, then the four Knight Sabres came flying
out of it later."  Ryoko said cheerfully.  "Seems like pretty good
evidence to me."

     Nene boggled.  Celia's gonna eat my brain.  She thanked
God that no one else was in the place today.  "I...you..."

     "I haven't told anyone...yet.  I wanted to talk to you first."  She
paused.  

     Nene turned away again only to find Ryoko was STILL in front of her.
"I had good reason to keep quiet."

     "I'm sure you did.  I'm not angry about it.  Our family has many
secrets."  She turned slightly so she wasn't staring directly at Nene.
"It's my duty to determine how soon we can tell them to you, you see.  I
like you, Nene, and I trust my son's judgement.  I wish I had more time to
get to know you before I make my decision, but events are rushing along
quickly."  

     Nene said, "Wh...what kind of events?"  Her head was spinning.

    "Someone has been killing off one branch of our family over the
years, and we're trying to figure out who and why.  One of Youshou's
daughters was almost killed by the GENOM corporation, and we think her
grandchildren are probably in danger.  Ryu thinks you know where they are.
Do you know a Celia Stingray or a Macky Stingray, Nene?"

     Nene blinked.  "Yes."  I shouldn't have said that, she thought.
Celia will kill me.  She's RYU's mother!  She can't be bad, the other part
of her brain said.  Nene paused.  "Wait, you said one of Youshou's
daughters is Celia's grandmother?  That means Celia and Ryu are...second
cousins?"

     Ryoko stared off into space for a moment.  "Yes.  I think that's
about right.  So if you marry Ryu, you and Celia will be
second-cousins-in-law."

     Nene spent a minute or two boggling.  "I can hardly imagine them to
be even THAT closely related."  She blinked.  "I...So Celia's grandmother
IS alive?"

     "She's alive and well and staying in our hotel room."

     Nene turned to Ryoko.  "I...Is she the Queen of Swords?"

     Ryoko nodded.  "Yes."

     "I...what...HOW DOES SHE DO ALL THAT STUFF?"

     Ryoko said, "Her father is from another planet."

     Nene blinked.  "Youshou is an ALIEN?"

     "So am I and Aeka."  Ryoko smiled faintly.  "Welcome to the family
secret.  Well, ONE of them."

     "I..you..."

     Ryoko shrugged.  "It would have come out sooner or later."  She
levitated into the air.  "Just in case you thought I was kidding..."

     Nene quietly fainted.

***************************************************************************

     Priss stared at the remains of her ice cream.  Could it all be true?
Could I really be some kind of princess from a kingdom on the moon 25,000
years ago?  It sounds like neo-pagan mystic bullshit...but what happened
to me a little while ago was real.  I can almost feel the power in me now.
She fiddled with the sword hilt.  "So...now what happens?"  If I try to
talk to any of my friends about this, they'll think I'm nuts.

      "Well, I can help you learn to use your new abilities.  Also, you
need to meet the rest of us here...although you already know a few people
of Juraiian descent."

      Priss boggled.  "I do?  There's a lot of you here?"

      "Your student Manami, for one thing.  And her half-brother Ryu."

      Priss boggled more.  "Nene's dating an ALIEN?"

***************************************************************************

     Nene woke up in her apartment, in bed, wearing her pajamas.  For a
moment, she thought she had dreamed the whole thing, then she saw Ryoko
sitting on the bed next to her.  "Before you ask, I wasn't joking.  Your
friend Celia is descended from aliens, and so is Ryu.  Tenchi grew up on
Earth, but he's also descended from Youshou, who is half human and
half-Juraiian.  Aeka is also from Jurai, and I'm well...I'm special."

     Nene shivered slightly.  "I...why are you all here?"

     "Youshou loves this world, and so do we.  It's a long story...You
want to talk here, or shall we go eat and I'll tell you over dinner?"

     Nene wasn't sure what to say.  "Food would be good."

     She got up and got dressed.  "How did you get me home before I woke
up?"

     Ryoko teleported across the room to demonstrate as she said, "Like
this, but farther."

     Nene ALMOST fainted again.  

***************************************************************************

     It took a very long time for Ryoko to explain everything. Nene's
brain struggled to not explode into tiny little shards.  Finally, Ryoko
said, "Any questions?"

     Nene picked at her dinner and thought carefully.  "So you're all
royalty..."  She felt very small and inferior.

     "If you start calling me Princess, I'll kill you,"  Ryoko said
cheerily.  "Hey, don't feel bad.  I was criminal scum before I met Tenchi.
Ryu loves you because you're you.  I didn't tell you all this to brag.  I
decided I trusted you enough to tell you.  It may turn out to be a
mistake, but once I make up my mind to do something, I do it.  Besides,
you're at least as royal as I am, if not more."

     "What, you mean..."

     Ryoko laughed.  "Youshou did a little checking up.  Technically, you
ARE the heir to the Russian throne."

     Nene blinked. "I really am descended from Anastasia Romanov?"

     "Youshou's the one who got her out of Russia back in 1918."  Ryoko
wolfed down the last of her dinner and signalled the waitress, then
ordered more food.

     "He...but that was over a hundred years ago!"

     "Didn't you hear me earlier?  I came to Earth 700 years ago. I was
BORN thousands of years ago.  A lot of us live a very, very long time."
She laughed.  "Azusa's been bugging us to find Ryu a royal bride.  I think
he's going to have a heart attack on this one."

     Nene laughed.  "Well, this is all...so surprising.  So...When do I
get to ride in a spaceship?"

     Ryoko laughed.  "Finish your dinner FIRST."

     "Yes, Mother,"  Nene teased.  
 
     Ryoko laughed heartily.  "Call me Mom.  Aeka is Mother.  I'm Mom."

     "I...why did you kiss her at dinner last night?"

     "Because that sort of thing REALLY drives her crazy."  Ryoko winked
at Nene.  "She's so much fun to tease because she blows her top so
easily."  

     By the time dinner was over, Nene had come to accept that her life
had just become weirder than she had ever imagined.  She was still working
on accepting the weirdness itself.

***************************************************************************

     Tsunami could see Priss had reached the level where further
revelations could only boggle her.  "Do you have anything you have to do
tonight?  There are some people you might want to meet who can help you.
Or I can come talk to you again tomorrow."

     "I...I think I need to be alone for a while.  Or maybe to go talk to
some of my friends...I could use a nice long ride."  Priss finished her
ice cream.

      "All right.  If you need me, you can use the sword to send a message
to me.  Just focus on it and think of my name.  I'll call you later and we
can set up our next meeting."  She bounced off through the door.  

      Priss stared.  I haven't had my mind blown this thoroughly in a long
time, she thought.  She got up and left, not realizing a woman in a dark
green suit with reddish eyes was watching her.

***************************************************************************

     Nene and Ryoko appeared on the command deck of Ryo-oh-ki.  Nene
looked around. It was the strangest place she'd ever seen, with odd black
spindle-shaped crystals floating everywhere.  A huge viewscreen overhead
showed the Earth, floating in space.  

     "We...We're in orbit."

     Ryoko nodded.  "Ryo-oh-ki, this is Her Imperial Highness, Romanova
Nene, Tsarevna of Russia in Exile."

     Nene laughed.  "Just call me Nene-chan."  She looked around.  "Who
are you talking to?"
    
     "My ship."

     Odd small brown furry rabbit like faces appeared on the black
floating crystals and a resounding 'MEW' echoed through the ship.

     "Ryo-oh-ki says hello.  Ryo-oh-ki, hail Tsunami."

     "Tsunami?"

     "Tsunami is Princess Sasami's ship.  She'll be wanting to meet you,
too.  She's been up here in orbit monitoring things for us.  Sasami is
Aeka's sister."

      A tall woman appeared on the deck.  She was beautiful with a blue
tatoo on her forehead and long blue hair.  Dressed in a formal
kimono, she looked to be a little older than Celia, perhaps in her
mid-twenties.  Regally walking over to Nene, she said, "I am Princess
Sasami.  It is a great pleasure to finally meet you, Princess Nene."

      Nene blushed.  "Please, just call me Nene-chan."

      "And you can call me Sasami-chan."  

      Ryoko laughed.  "You're starting to sound like mom, Sasami."

      Sasami winked.  "Maybe I've been your mom all along."

      Nene laughed.  "This is all so much like a dream."

      "Your old life was a dream.  This is the waking.  Yet, this too is
another dream, though a higher one."  Sasami said.

      Before she could continue, Ryoko said, "Don't confuse her more with
all that mystical stuff.  Did you find that person you were looking for
yet?"

      Sasami nodded.  "Yes, I did.  She has been awakened.  This will be
very hard for her.  But enough of that.  I guess this is your first time
in space, Nene?"

      "I never thought I'd really be in space..."  She stared out at the
stars.  "They're so beautiful."

      Sasami smiled. "There's people living around those.  You'll get to
visit them some day."

     "That would be nice."

     Ryoko said, "Hey, I know something we can do for fun!  Let's go stage
a UFO sighting!"

     Sasami laughed.  "And dress up as Elvis?"

     Nene laughed.  "Roswell, New Mexico, here we come?"

     "Right!  Here we GO!"  Ryoko turned to one of the crystals.  "Set a
course for Roswell, New Mexico!" She paused, then turned to Nene.  "Where
on the Earth is that?"

     Roswell and a few JDF bases never did quite figure out what REALLY
happened that evening.

****************************************************************************

     Manami walked quietly through the park with her father.  "Where is
Mother?"

     "She and grandpa are off talking to some of his distant descendants.
I wanted to take the chance to spend some time with you.  I'm so busy, I
hardly get to talk to my own children."  He sighed.  "I haven't been able
to be a very good father."

     "You've been a wonderful father, father."  The park was part of the
Tokyo University Campus.  Before 2025, there had been three classroom
buildings here, but they had been destroyed by the Kanto Quake.  Now the
basement of one of them was a pond, the reconstructed ground floor of a
second one was a recreation center for the university, and the third one
was completely demolished.  Trees and grass flourished here, despite the
pollution, and dozens of students were scattered across the park, enjoying
its peace and quiet and beauty.

      "Are you happy here, Manami?"  Tenchi asked, picking up a stone and
looking out across the pond.

     "Yes, Father.  I've really enjoyed being here much more than I had
expected.  I've made a lot of friends and many good memories.  I..."  She
hesitated.  "I almost wish I didn't have to leave in a few years."

      Tenchi tried to skip the rock across the water.  It sank.  "This is
a really nice university, even with all the damage we did to it when Ryoko
and Aeka and I were here.  I knew you'd like it."  He picked up another
rock, but it sank instead of skipping too.  

      Manami watched quietly.  "What are you trying to do, father?"

      "I'm trying to remember how to do this so I can teach it to you
before I forget."  He concentrated and threw another rock. It skipped
once, then sank.  "I haven't done this in decades, I think."  He sighed.
"I haven't had a decent bowl of Ramen in decades either.  Jurai is very
advanced in some things...but not everything."

      "Our world sets the standard for galactic high culture,"  Manami
began.

      Tenchi laughed.  "You sound like a tourist brochure."  He threw
another rock.  It sank...like a rock, amazingly enough.  

      Manami blushed faintly.  "Sorry, father."  She watched him sink
three more rocks.  "Why don't you use your powers to help you?"

      "I could vaporize this entire pond too, but I won't.  This is
supposed to be a test of skill.  Me against nature."  He threw another
rock.  It skipped twice.

      Manami quietly picked up a rock and tossed it.  It skipped eight
times and landed on the other side.  "Like this?"

     Tenchi sighed.  "So much for teaching you how to do it."

      Manami smiled.  "You've taught me many things, father.  Even if rock
throwing isn't one of them."  

     "I understand you've become quite a singer."

      Manami froze for a moment in abject fear.  "I..um...yes."

     "Ryu said I should ask you about it.  Feel free to brag."  He winked.

      Manami briefly contemplated a few ways to torture her brother.  "I
am honored he thinks so highly of my singing."  She sat down on a nearby
bench.  "Would you like to hear me sing something for you?"

      Tenchi tried again to skip a rock.  This time it went three times.
He sat down by Manami.  "I think I'd like that."

      Manami spent a moment trying to remember a song that wouldn't get
her in trouble.  "Ahh, here's one from an old Earth album from the
nineties.  You might even remember it."

     "My anger hides a loving heart;
      My anger drives us far apart.
      Only your love can heal the pain,
      For it's your smile that brings the rain
      That helps love's fields to grow.

      Walk with me through summer's field
      So we can help our hearts to heal.
      Stride through the grass and smell the air
      Under the sun without a care.
      I want to walk with you.

      We hid our love behind our pride,
      Never letting others inside.
      To end those lies must be our task;
      Tear down the walls; Throw out the masks
      We used to hide from love.

      Walk with me through summer's field
      So we can help our hearts to heal.
      Stride through the grass and smell the air
      Under the sun without a care.
      I want to walk with you.

      Love does not end with "I Love You",
      Not if what the things we said were true.
      We have to strive to make it grow.
      We have to let our feelings show
      Else love will fade like dew."

     Tenchi listened quietly to the song, then applauded when Manami
finished.  "I remember that one.  That was off of Red Hot Summer, Ayukawa
Madoka's second album.  It came out in 1997, when I was a freshman here.  
I danced with your mother to that song."

     Manami smiled.  "I guess I chose wisely, then."

     Tenchi got a far away look.  "We had a lot of good times here.  Even
if every dance tended to turn into a riot."  He laughed.  "So have you
found a royal boyfriend yet?"

     Manami laughed faintly.  "Just a few dates."

     "Can't find someone you like?"

     "Not who great-great-grandfather Azusa wouldn't eat for breakfast."
She sighed.  "Ryu got lucky.  He's still going to have an uphill battle,
but..."

     Tenchi frowned.  "I will not let him push you into a marriage you
don't want, or away from one you do want."

     "I will do my duty,"  Manami said quietly.

     "I want my children to have a choice like I did and to be able to be
happy with who they marry, like I am.  We all don't have a lot of freedom,
I know, but you can't marry someone for hundreds of years if you don't
like them."  He laughed faintly.  "I hope Ryoko's meeting with Nene is
going okay."

      "Nene is a very sweet girl.  I think she'll make Ryu a good wife."
Manami picked up another rock and casually skipped it eight times across
the pond.  "If she survives this talk, anyway.  I wouldn't be surprised if
she challenged Nene-chan to a fight to see how good she is from all that
robot fighting."

      Tenchi bigsweated.  "I...I should have thought of that." He started
to get up.  

     Manami pulled him down.  "I was joking, father."  She laughed.  "It's
much more likely that she's getting Nene drunk."

     Tenchi sighed.  "I hope Nene can hold her liquor."

     Manami got up.  "My advisor wanted to meet you.  It's almost the time
I told her we'd be there."  

     Tenchi got up and followed her.

*****************************************************************************

     Linna went over her checkbook again.  Something is just not adding
up, she thought.  Her thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing.  She
answered it.  "Hello?"

     "Hi, this is Ryu."

     "Hi, Ryu!  What's up?"

     "I'm trying to get Celia Stingray's phone number for a relative of
hers.  Do you know it?"

     Linna blinked.  "Well, I...uh.."  What's he want Celia's number for?
A worm of suspicion gnawed at her.

     "I just found out her grandmother and mine were sisters, you see,
and..."

     Linna blinked.  "You're related to CELIA?"

     "Yes.  I'm trying to get her number for her grandmother, my
greataunt, Meylia Stingray."

     She's alive!  Linna thought.  Celia's going to be very happy, very
paranoid, or maybe BOTH.

***************************************************************************

     Professor Hiyama sat in her office and pretended to read a book.
Actually, she was thinking about her encounter with her visitor the
previous night.  Damn that woman, she thought.  What is she UP to this
time?  If she's after one of my students...She caught herself growling out
loud and laughed faintly.  "And why did she mention that tarot card?  I
suppose I should go find out what the Two of Coins means."

     She turned on her radio.  "Come on down to Chez Kino!  You'll find
the finest home-style dining in Mega-Tokyo at any of our five locations.
We've got stores in..."  Professor Hiyama changed the channel.  "Fighting
Evil by Moonlight..."  She changed the channel again.  "Masquerade...where
the world will never find you..."  She left the radio on that station.  

     Settling back into her chair, she tried to focus on reading "The
Pursuit of Flower Power".  This time she was interrupted by a knock on the
door.  "Come in!"

     One of her favorite students, Masaki Manami stood in the doorway,
along with another person she recognized.  She sprang to her feet.
"Tenchi-san!  It's been a long time!"

     Tenchi laughed.  "Wow, you're STILL here?"

     Manami said, "This is my father, Tenchi Masaki."  She cut off her
prepared speech when she realized they already knew each other.  "You know
each other?"

     "Professor Hiyama was teaching here when I got my degree.  I had a
few classes with her."

     Professor Hiyama came over and shook Tenchi's hand.  "It's been such
a long time."

     "I'm surprised you remember me."

     "How could I forget one of my best students?  Or those two crazy
girls who were after you?"  She looked over at Manami.  "I always thought
you looked familiar, but I couldn't remember why, until now.  I take it
Aeka was the one who finally won your heart?"

      Tenchi laughed nervously.  "It's a long story...uhh..."

      "Ooooh!  You married BOTH of them!  You sly dog!"

      Tenchi jumped slightly.  "How do you always figure these things
out?"

     Professor Hiyama laughed.  "I have a knack.  That would have solved
one problem relationship I had...but that's another story.  Sit down!  I
want to hear all about what you did with that silly political science
degree you got from here.  You're not running Japan yet, so I can only
assume you did something else."

      They spent a very long time reminiscing.

*****************************************************************************
    
     "So you all got out okay?"  Youshou asked.  He and Aeka were sitting
on a nice plush couch in a hastily rented hotel room.  The people they
were visiting sat on the bed nearby and at the small table in the room.  

     Kasuga Kyosuke sat on the bed next to his wife, Madoka.  They both
had grey hair now, though they had kept in fairly good shape, especially
Madoka.  Her voice was still soft and musical.  "Thanks to the children.
We still don't know how Genom found us."

     "We don't know how they found Meylia either,"  Youshou said.  "Or why
they wanted her dead.  Why did they wait so long to kill her?"

     "There's a new man in Genom now.  He was behind that,"  the man
sitting at the table said.  He was the oldest looking person in the room,
with short white hair and his face heavily lined by age.  He looked lazy
and indolent, but that hid a keen mind.  Goto Kiichi turned to Youshou,
"Ever hear of someone named Wallace?"

      Youshou shook his head.  "Other than an American politician nearly a
century ago and a scottish rebel many centuries ago, no.  Where is he
from?"

     "That's just it.  He's a man without a past.  Whoever he is, he holds
a lot of vaguely defined authority in the Genom corporation.  We've turned
up a lot of agents working for him.  He could just be another scapegoat
Quincy has raised up only to sacrifice..."

     Aeka said quietly, "But you don't think so."

     "I think he may have had something to do with the recent murder
attempt on Celia Stingray, too."

     Aeka started.  Youshou frowned.  "Tell me more."

***************************************************************************

     Mihoshi and Leon finished examining the park for evidence.  There had
been plenty of witnesses.  Too bad their story was completely
unbelievable.  Mihoshi asked what must have been the twentieth child, "Who
killed the boomer?"

     "These two cool girls with magical powers!  One of them had a
lightsabre and the other one had a long wand with a heart on the end!  The
jedi one leaped down from the tree and cut the boomer in half, then left
with her friend and some kid," the child, a cute little red haired girl,
said.  

     "And you say one of them had blue hair?"

     Leon sighed.  The first part of the story was clear.  The boomer had
come from a barbershop adjoining the park.  It had chased the customers
out and followed some into the park, injuring two.  It then gone after
some kids.  Then the testimony got crazy.  One of the kids' big sister and
one of the kids, a 'blue haired girl' had turned into 'jedi
knights'/'magical princesses'/ 'magical warriors' and proceeded to cut the
boomer in half.  

      Whatever had killed the boomer must have been using some kind of
laser beam or other energy source...The blade wasn't made that could cut a
boomer in half this well...Maybe a monofilament blade, but that wouldn't
melt the edges.  Probably the Queen of Swords, he concluded.  The damage
was similar...but then what about this 'blue haired girl'?

      Mihoshi finished interrogating the kids.  Leon turned to her.  It's
futile to even try, he thought, but I have to ask her.  "So what do you
think?"

      "The boomer was cut in half by an energy blade.  I didn't think they
made those on this planet,"  Mihoshi said.  "I mean..."

      Leon sighed.  "I'd almost think you weren't made on this planet."

      "How did you guess?"

      "We can talk about that later.  Any idea what COULD have made this
cut?"

      "Probably the Queen of Swords.  As for the blue haired girl..."  She
paused.  "Oh, I know who that was!"

      "You do?"

      "Sure.  Want me to call her so she can make a statement?"

      Leon boggled.  Can't hurt to try.  "Uh, sure."

***************************************************************************

     Priss drove mindlessly around the Tokyo University campus.  Manami
has to be around here somewhere...Where are you hiding, girl?  She had
tried all of Manami's usual hangouts.  Checking her dorm room had gotten
her the information that Manami was 'showing her folks around the campus'
from Shinobu, and that Ryu's mother was certifiably insane.  I bet she's
DEFINITELY the alien parent, Priss thought.  At least I finally understand
why he has that spiky hair...

      As she roared past the classroom buildings for the fifth time, she
spotted Manami and a young dark haired man in his late twenties coming out
of one of the buildings.  Who's that?  Priss wondered.  Must be an older
brother...he's not old enough to be her dad.  

      Priss roared up to the twosome.  "Manami.  We've GOT to talk."

      Manami blushed faintly.  This is going to require difficult
explanations, she thought.  Well, better to bite the bullet.
"Priscilla-san, this is my father, Masaki Tenchi.  Father, this is Asagiri
Priscilla."

      Tenchi bowed.  "A pleasure to meet you.  Are you attending Tokyo
University?"

      Priss laughed.  "I sing for a living.  In fact, your daughter opened
for one of my concerts recently."

      Manami got a look on her face like she'd just been hit with an
eighteen-wheeler.  I'm dead, she thought.  

      "Really?"  He turned to Manami.  "Why didn't you mention that?"

      "It...umm...It slipped my mind,"  Manami said.  "Would you like to
walk with my father and me for a while, Priscilla-san?  What was it you
needed to talk to me about?"

      Priss looked at Manami's father.  Surely he knows about all this
stuff.  He looks so young.  I guess this is where I see if I really have
gone nuts...  She parked her bike.  "All right.  So where are we headed
to?"

      "We were going to go get Ryu and get some food."

      "Sounds good to me."  Hmm.  Blunt is best, Priss thought.  "So, ever
met a blue haired girl who calls herself Tsunami?"

      Manami froze in place.  Tenchi blinked.  "

      Priss continued on with a cheery tone of voice, "She told me you're
from outer space.  Jurai, to be precise."

      Tenchi blinked.  "She told you that?"

      "Is it true?"  Priss stared at Tenchi.

      Tenchi put one hand behind his head.  "Well, I was born on Earth,
but..."

      Manami said quietly, "Everything Tsunami told you was true.  She
does like jokes, but not on something this important.  Why did she tell
you all this?"

      "Because she's been waiting for 25,000 years for me to reappear.
I'm from where she was born."  Priss stared up at the sky and found the
moon hanging low over the horizon.  "We're both from the moon."  She
shivered faintly.  "I...I don't know what to do.  How to deal with
this...who I can tell..."

      Tenchi nodded.  "I had to go through something like this.  I had an
ordinary life you see...until one day I decided to go poking around in the
family shrine..."

***************************************************************************

      Celia sat in a booth at Chez Kino #1, in downtown Mega-Tokyo.  It
was a nice restaurant, but not too nice.  The decor was set up to make it
look like you were eating at home...if your home had 30 or so tables and
booths.   Fargo sat across from her dressed in his usual ever so slightly
scruffy suit.  He quietly slid an envelope to her as he perused the menu.
"The food here is really good."

      Celia quietly opened the envelope, having already decided what to
buy.  "So I understand."  

      "Even though there's a rumor that the owner of this chain is a
boomer.  I don't believe it, though."  Fargo decided to get some chinese
style chicken and american style biscuits.  

       Celia blinked.  "Why would anyone believe she's a boomer?"

      "She's in her fifties, but she looks to be in her twenties."  He
pointed to a picture on the wall, which showed a young woman with long
reddish brown hair gathered back into a pony-tail in a chef's outfit.
"That picture was supposedly taken in 2032."

      Celia shrugged.  "Some people keep their youth.  I can't think of
any reason why someone would put a boomer in charge of a restaurant
chain."  She quietly read through the papers while placing her order and
waiting for the meal to arrive.  

      The assassination had been aimed at her.  Yamato had confessed to
the police that he had been hired by one Anton Robespierre, who Fargo's
contacts claimed was an alias of Wilson Kamisaka of Schilling Enterprises.  
Schilling was involved in construction and architectural design in its
Tokyo Branch, though it also had branches involved in furniture and carpet
manufacturing.  Kamisaka was third in command of the local branch and had
a reputation as their 'fixer', handling shadow operations, not that
Schilling Enterprises would seem to have a lot of need for such.

      Celia quietly put away the envelope as the food arrived.  She then
noticed an odd bulge in Fargo's jacket pocket, and some sort of white
fuzzy thing that was sticking out of it.  "What's that in your pocket?"

      Fargo blinked, then laughed.  "I'd almost forgotten I still had
that."  He pulled it out.  It was a small plushie doll of Sabre White.  "I
took my niece to see a bunch of seiyuu at a public appearance earlier
today. She made me buy her a few dozen of these dolls, and someone was
selling these as well.  I, of course, had to carry them all.  Guess I
missed this one."

      Celia laughed.  "What's next, an animated series?"

      "There's a rumor of that, actually."

      They both laughed.

***************************************************************************

     Macky sat at home and watched TV, basically bored out of his skull.
He was watching some old tapes Nene had lent him of 'Nick Hatchett, Robot
Fighter'.  This was from the season where all the robots were working for
Cthulhu.  Nick and his girlfriend, Leslie, were fighting an army of
Cyber-Deep-Ones in this episode who were trying to revive a giant
crocodile that lived in the bay of Rio de Janeiro.  As usual, the plot
made little to no sense, maybe even negative amounts of sense, but the
action sequences were well done and fun to watch.  

      The phone rang.  He paused the tape and answered it.  "Hello,
Palace of Love, Macky speaking."

      The voice at the other end of the line was unfamiliar to him, though
it stirred a faint chord of recognition.  "Macky Stingray?"

      "Um, yes.  Who is this?"

      "This is your grandmother, Meylia.  Is your sister home?"

      Macky nearly fainted.  

*************************************************************************

       At USSD, a screen began to flash.  A man blinked and plinked keys
on his keyboard.  "Shit."  He turned and ran to his superior.  "We've got
a big problem."

      "What kind of problem?"

      "You know our laser satellites?"

      "Of course I do!"  What kind of idiots are we hiring these days, the
colonel wondered.

      "We're ceasing to recieve transmissions from them, one by one."

      "Shit."  A flurry of activity soon began.

***************************************************************************

     "Celia is WHAT?"  Priss said.  She, Ryu, Manami, and Tenchi were at
'The University Cafe', an on-campus fast food place run by the dining hall
administration.  

      Ryu repeated, "Celia is my second cousin and of Juraiian descent."

      Priss boggled quietly.  "Is anyone I know normal?"

      "As far as I know, Leon is perfectly normal,"  Ryu said.  "Unless
Aunt Mihoshi has done something to him."

      "Something permanent, anyway,"  Tenchi said.  

      Priss said, "And Linna, I guess."

      "As far as we know,"  Manami said, grateful that her father had
completely forgotten about her having opened for one of Priss' concerts.

      Ryu said, "Anyone who has had that many different boyfriends is
hardly normal."

      "Thus says the man with spikey hair,"  Priss replied.  I can't
believe I'm taking this so calmly...then again, after hearing about Mr.
Masaki's life...I think I got off easy.  

      "You'll help us against Genom, won't you, Priss?"  Ryu asked.

      Priss laughed.  "As if you didn't know I'd say yes."

      "Had to ask, just to be polite."

      Priss thought about her energy sword.  This was going to be cool.
"So what do we blow up first?"

      Tenchi said, "Well, first we have to find out how much Genom knows
and why they're after the house of Jurai."

      "Are you sure they even know about Jurai?"  Priss asked.  "Maybe
they were after Meylia for some other reason."

      "With six boomers for an ordinary human who had been in a coma for
ten years?  They have to know something."  Tenchi said.  "Although it
could be someone is just using Genom as a front..."

***************************************************************************
  
     As Celia finished her dinner, her pager and Fargo's went off at the
same time.  Two seconds later, four other pagers went off across the
restaurant.  He laughed. "It never rains but it pours, eh?"

      Celia nodded and quietly adjourned to the ladies' room.  She got out
her cellular phone.  "You've got to come home, Celia!"  Macky said.

      "Well, I was almost done here anyway.  What's wrong?"

      "G...G..."

      "What?"

      "Grandma's going to be here at nine."

       Celia blinked audibly.  "She what?"

      "And our Great-grandfather too...and maybe some other relatives."

      "She...She IS alive?"

      "Alive and well and called us on the phone.  Also..."  Macky's voice
trailed off.

       "Also what?"

       "Just come on home..."

       "Okay.  See you soon."  Celia wondered why Macky was acting
strangely.  She would soon find out.

***************************************************************************

     Sasami, Ryoko, and Nene looked at the cargo in Tsunami's hold.
Sasami turned to Nene.  "What's the best way to disarm these things,
anyway?"

      Nene shrugged.  "Break the lenses, maybe?  We've got enough of them
to experiment on."

      Ryoko said, "I could just blow them to bits."

      "Yes, but that wouldn't be very creative."  The three of them put
their heads together and began to plan.

*****************************************************************************

     Priss, Tenchi, Ryu, and Manami were back in the campus park again.
Priss was finally starting to relax.  Being around people who seemed to
regard virtually anything, no matter how strange, as normal, was a relief.
"So then Manami forgot the lyrics to Born to Be Wild and started singing
some hymn instead...We all thought she must have had too much to drink."
Priss began singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic in a very wild style.

      Everyone laughed, even Manami, though she was blushing.
"Priss-san, if you tell my mother about this..."

      "She'll die.  I know.  I can be discreet, even though it's no fun."

      Tenchi laughed quietly.  "I won't say anything, dear, but you're
going to have to tell her eventually.  If she finds out on her own..."

      "This could be as bad as that tribble incident."

      Manami buried her face in her hands.  "Let's not even think about
that.  Please?"

      Tenchi laughed.  "The look on great-grandfather's face when he found
tribbles under the sheets on his bed..."

      Ryu laughed.  "And mom rampaging through the palace, blasting
tribbles right and left, shouting a war cry..."

      "Please!  I don't want to think about it!"  Manami said.  They
wouldn't let me have any pets after that...

      "So when do I get to meet your mom, Ryu?  Sounds like my kind of
person."

      "Well, she's off with Nene-chan right now.  They're supposed to come
back by campus afterwards.  I assume they'll get here soon."

      Priss said, "Hey, Manami, have you sung that song you wrote about
your brother for him yet?"

      Ryu blinked.  "What?"

     "We were going to play it at our concert, but Dan had a brain spasm
and couldn't remember any of it."  She sighed.  "I think he doesn't like
it and doesn't want to tell me..."

     Tenchi smiled.  "I want to hear it."

     Manami blushed.  "Okay...here goes.  It's pretty rough...I'm not a
great songwriter."

     "We walk through life together
      Yet we walk on different paths
      Two children of one father...
      Our mothers set us on the roads we follow.

      Wild Child, running free
      Running free across the sea of space
      Breaking all the rules
      You are the chaos to my law.

      I am the oak who stands 
      Strong against the wind and rain
      I must stand unchanging
      Against the winds and tides of fate.

      Wild Child, running free
      Running free across the sea of space
      Breaking all the rules
      You are the chaos to my law.

      I look at you and I see
      The freedom I wish was part of me.
      You're not afraid to do 
      What you want, to be what you want.

      Wild Child, running free
      Running free across the sea of space
      Breaking all the rules
      You are the chaos to my law."

     Ryu blushed.  "Uh, thanks..."  He wasn't sure what to say.

     "It's even better with loud guitars and heavy drumming,"  Priss said.
"The lyrics need work, but it gets the point across."

     Tenchi nodded and hugged his daughter, who blushed more.  "I'm proud
of your musical talents.  Keep working on it and you'll be a great
musician one day."  

     Manami blushed.  "You really think so?"

     "Damn straight,"  Priss said.  "All it takes is willpower and a
little work.  Okay, a lot of work."

     She smiled.  "Thanks."

****************************************************************************

     Andrea finished downloading various files she wasn't supposed to have
access to.  One advantage of this shift is nothing ever happens and no one
pays any attention to what we're doing.  Also, Lt. Yamano has gone home
for the night, which helps.  

      Checking timestamps, she noticed several of the files she was
downloading had been accessed recently.  Someone else is on the same trail
I am, she thought.  This doesn't bode well.

      "Hey, Andrea, whatcha doing?"  It was Leon.

      Andrea froze and prayed Leon wasn't paying very close attention to
what was on her monitor.  She turned and blocked any view of it as best
she could.  "What are you doing here this late?"  Then she spotted
Mihoshi.  SHIT, she thought.  

      Mihoshi smiled, "Hi, ...Andrea!  Nice headband you're wearing
today!"

      "We're investigating a bit of an odd case.  Rampaging boomer cut in
half by an energy blade.  Probably the Queen of Swords...but..."

     "But what?"

     "I dunno.  Something seems different.  None of the kids who saw it
said anything about a kimono, for one thing...and they all claimed she had
a lightsabre."

      "Well, energy weapons aren't exactly my field of expertise, either."
Go away, Mihoshi, she thought.  Sadly, Andrea had no psychic powers, so
trying to influence Mihoshi's weak will was STILL beyond her abilities.
"Still, we're not too far from making something like that, I think."

      Leon shrugged.  "I know some stuff about cars, but I'm no tech
expert.  I guess I'll have to bug the lab boys tomorrow."

      Mihoshi looked over at the screen.  "Whatcha reading?"

      Andrea swore silently.  Well, here comes the apocalypse, she
thought.  "A report on accident prone blondes."

      "Really?  Let me look!"  She leaned over and struck several keys
with her elbow."

      'System shutting down in 30 seconds', the screen flashed.

      It was only with effort that Andrea was able to avoid crying.

************************************************************************