Disclaimer:  Tenchi Muyo is the creation of Hiroki Hayashi and Masaki Kajishima.  It is owned 
by AIC and Pioneer. The only things I do own are any original characters that may appear.  I 
am not making any money off of this, so please don't sue me.


Barbarians at the Gates

By

Dark Jezter


	They called him Jakkaru: the Jackal.
	It wasn't his real name, of course.  The name of his birth had been lost long ago, a 
mystery from the past he never spoke about.  Of course, none of his men dared to pry into the 
personal affairs of the most feared space pirate in the galaxy, so his past was a source of 
constant speculation in seedy bars and pirate circles all over the Galaxy Union.
Jakkaru wasn't a large man.  Standing slightly over five and a half feet tall, he wasn't 
powerfully-built either, but rather had a lean frame.  What he did have, however, was presence.  
A glare from his dark, emotionless eyes had caused men twice his size to back down on several 
occasions in the past, and those who had wronged him severely had more often than not met 
their doom at his hand.
	The Jackal sported a mane of black hair he wore into a long ponytail, and his face was 
covered in a heavy beard.  A long scar ran down his left cheek, a permanent reminder of some 
long-forgotten battle.
	"Sir?" said his Lieutenant.
	"Yes, Valerius?"  Inquired Jakkaru.
	"As expected, the Juraian planetary defense network was operating well below nominal 
capability.  ETA to Jurai orbit is fifteen minutes."
	"Very well, continue with the plan."
	Jakkaru smiled grimly and looked out the main viewscreen of his ship, the Hospi-Ohki.  
Within the hour, 30 different pirate ships (each containing several hundred battle-ready pirates) 
would be launching attacks against military and industrial centers all over Jurai in a bold attack 
designed to bring that corrupt empire to it's knees.  Jakkaru himself would be spearheading the 
assault on the royal palace.
	The irony was delicious, thought the pirate.  Space pirates had founded Jurai; it was 
only fitting that they be the end of it.
	An attractive middle-aged (although how old nobody was sure, as most civilized 
cultures around the galaxy had developed longevity methods) woman stepped out onto the 
bridge behind Jakkaru.  The woman was not Jakkaru's lover.  They slept in separate quarters, 
and she was definitely not one of the girls from his seraglio.  Jakkaru had even referred to her as 
"Mom" on occasion.  One thing was sure, however; she bore the same hatred for Jurai that her 
"son" did.
	"Well?" she said.
	"Soon," replied the Jackal.  

-=*=-

	How could this be happening?  Thought the Emperor of Jurai.
	The crumbling of the Jurai Empire had happened so gradually, even he hadn't noticed 
until it was too late to do anything about it.
	It had all started over 700 years ago, when Ryo-Ohki and Ryoko had launched a bold 
attack on Jurai's royal palace.  Since it's birth, nobody had ever attacked Jurai itself.  Jurai had 
always been a haven, an impregnable fortress, and a ray of light in the darkness of the universe.
	That had all changed that fateful day seven centuries ago.
	The damage from the attack had been repaired, but the blow struck to Jurai's national 
pride would take far longer to repair.  The royal palace, the heart of the Empire and home to the 
Emperor and his family, had been nearly destroyed in a bold assault.  The fact that it was a lone 
space pirate, and not a rival empire, only increased the embarrassment to the Juraian armed 
forces.
	In his rage, Azusa had ordered the executions of several key military leaders, on 
charges of treason for letting Ryo-Ohki get through Jurai's "unbreakable" defenses.  The 
leaders hadn't really been at fault, but the blame needed to be placed on somebody; after all, he 
couldn't very well have people losing faith in Jurai's security, could he?
	Another penalty of the attack had been the sense of confidence it had instilled in the 
pirate clans across the galaxy.  Before the attack, pirate raids in Jurai space were nearly 
unheard of.  After the attack, however, the pirates began launching bold attacks on Juraian 
convoys, space stations, and even remote colonies.  On top of this, systems that were under the 
sovereignty of Jurai began openly revolting.
	Azusa frowned, that was when things had really gotten bad.  The Holy Council became 
bogged down in procedures.  Many council members suggested that they allow the GP to begin 
patrolling Juraian space to deal with the pirates, while others argued that it would be better to 
allow the Jurai's own military to handle it.  As time passed, the debates continued, never coming 
to a resolution.  Meanwhile, the pirates began attacking locations deeper and deeper in Jurai 
territory while more and more systems declared independence from Jurai rule.
	Like rats leaving a sinking ship, he mused silently.
	Thanks to a double agent planted inside Galaxy Police headquarters, Azusa and his 
wives learned that Yosho, their daughters, and even Ryoko (whom, they learned, was under the 
control of Kagato when she attacked the palace) were all living on Earth, the same planet where 
he had met his first wife, Funaho.  Even more shocking, however, was the knowledge of 
Yosho's grandson, who was capable of generating Light Hawk Wings without a tree of Jurai.  
What exactly was Tsunami up to?  Why had she endowed that boy with so much power?	
	The Royal Family had promptly departed for the Earth, before leaving, however, Azusa 
had picked a Seriyou, a Juraian count, as a suitor for Ayeka.  The attempt hadn't been so much 
an attempt to marry off Ayeka to the young Count, however, as it had been an attempt to 
outrage Yosho and goad him into marrying Ayeka.
	The ploy had failed, however, and Ayeka had remained on Earth.  Much to his horror, 
he learned that his eldest daughter had fallen in love with the earthling, Tenchi.  It couldn't have 
come at a worse time.  The return of the crown princesses would do well for the morale of the 
empire, but if Ayeka refused to marry, the Emperor would look like a fool who was incapable 
of controlling his own offspring.
	Therefore, he kept secret the nature of his visit a secret.  To all concerned, he had only 
traveled to Earth for a brief holiday with his wives, and Ayeka, Sasami, and Yosho were still 
officially missing.
	But there was still the matter of that boy, Tenchi.  If he married Ayeka, he would have 
become the heir to the throne, and there was no way that the nobles would allow a mongrel to 
sit on the throne.  They had been outraged that he'd taken a first wife who wasn't Juraian, how 
would they react to a half-Earthling ruling their empire?
	Ayeka wasn't the only one competing for that boy, though.  The space pirate Ryoko 
was as well.  How would the nobles react if it were learned that a member of the royal family 
was a lover with a known criminal.
	The palace walls suddenly shook violently, interrupting his train of thought momentarily.  
Klaxons blared, and he could hear officers running and barking orders outside the throne room.  
The knights that were flanking his throne visibly tensed, and brought their weapons to bear.
	The visit to Earth had been decades ago.  The Juraians continued fighting their internal 
conflicts, although their military began to diminish as soldiers began abandon their posts.  It 
finally got to the point where over half of the Juraian military was made up of mercenaries.
	And then the Jackal appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
	The pirate leader appeared seemingly out of nowhere.  He was cunning, bold, and 
ruthless.  He dared to launch attacks deep into Jurai space, even having the guts to attack 
Juraian military bases and loot the residences of Nobles.  The pirate gained followers, and 
before long, had amassed his own pirate fleet that wreaked havoc within Juraian space.  The 
thing that made Jakkaru really dangerous was the fact that he possessed a fleet of Cabbit ships.
	How the *hell* had the pirate gotten cabbit ships?  Azusa wondered silently.  Before, 
there had only been one known cabbit ship, Ryo-Ohki.  And there was only one person in the 
universe that knew how to create those ships: the great scientist Washu.  Intelligence reported 
that Washu had gone missing shortly before Jakkaru appeared.  Had she been kidnapped and 
forced to give away the secret of the cabbit ships?
Although they could not generate Light Hawk Wings, cabbit ships were fast, 
maneuverable, self-repairing, durable, and they packed a lot of firepower.  A cabbit ship was 
quite easily the equal of a Juraian tree ship in combat.  The major advantage that cabbit ships 
had over tree ships was the fact that cabbit ships could be mass-produced, while a single 
Juraian tree ship took decades to grow from a sapling to a battle-ready ship of war.
	A piece of the ceiling fell from above and shattered at the base of the throne as the 
palace shook again.  Another alarm sounded, and a small robot servant hovered up to Azusa.
	"Sire, the Hospi-Ohki, Mazoku-Ohki, Trix-Ohki, and Cori-Ohki have begun strafing 
the royal place.  It appears as though they will be landing attackers soon," it spoke in a calm, 
indifferent tone.  Azusa growled and rose to his feet.
	"It ends here!" He barked to the soldiers lined up in the throne room.  "A lordship to 
the man who brings me head of Jakkaru!"
	With a fierce cry, the knights and soldiers in the charged out of the room to do battle 
with the infidels who threatened Jurai.

-=*=-

It was the feeling he lived for.  The rush of adrenaline that always arrived shortly before 
a raid.  The sphere of Jurai had given way to a wide expanse of forests and cities, it's 'elite' 
mercenary guard had been shattered asunder by the wedge-shaped formation of corsairs, the 
gleaming Juraian interceptors falling to the planet in streaks of flame and smoke. Lances of 
energy flew at ships from batteries on the ground, but their attacks glanced harmlessly off the 
shields, and the ground batteries were themselves soon destroyed by the attacks.
The royal palace itself soon found itself under attack by the Jackal and his most trusted 
captains.  Spiky, crystalline ships swarmed the gleaming spires of the palace like hornets, 
precision weapons eradicating the defenses of the palace, leaving it unguarded.
It's shields gone, it's cannons reduced to rubble, the palace was vulnerable.  Elite 
guards took up defensive formations at all entrances, ready to die in the service of their 
emperor.
Soon enough, their adversaries arrived.  Blood-mad pirates, whom had been fighting 
and plundering for years, charged the defenders with energy swords, blasters, and explosives.  
The fighting was terrible.  Fire and blood, screams and explosions, chaos.  The Juraians were 
not bad fighters by any stretch of the imagination; they had been training in the arts of war for 
generations uncounted and had a devotion to honor and duty deeply embedded into their 
psyches.
But the pirates were veterans, buccaneers who had been raiding colonies and avoiding 
the military for years.  They had fought Juraians before, and new what to expect, and how to 
counter it as well.  The time soon came when the Juraians ranks were scattered, and the 
screaming raiders began to dominate the battle.
In the midst of this, the Jackal himself appeared, a long white energy blade in his hands.  
He took his place alongside his men.  When his blade flashed, men died, and he began clearing 
a path through the sea of battle.  Men cheered and shouted his name.  None could stand before 
his great and terrible wrath.  Amidst this confusion, a great and decorated captain of the Juraian 
chivalry spotted the pirate-lord, and remembered the promise Azusa had made to anyone who 
could deliver the Jackal's head.  He charged.
The two men fought under the great arch of the palace gates.  The knight and the pirate.  
Energy blades flashed and arced as they struck each other, neither man gaining the advantage.  
As the battle wore on, sweat began to bead on the knight's forehead, yet the pirate kept a calm, 
yet intent look as they dueled.  The knight stumbled, and the Jackal saw an opening and took it, 
and so it was that the knight fell dead to the ground with a half-severed neck.
Upon seeing the loss of their leader, the Juraians cried out and retreated, their will to 
fight broken.  The Pirates, their losses light compared to those of the Juraians, stormed into the 
palace, fighting as they went.
It was the first time Jakkaru had seen the home of the emperor from the inside.  The 
walls were adorned with rich tapestries and priceless works of art, sculptures carved of marble, 
and jeweled vases.  The plunder would be good, and would sustain the raiders comfortably for 
years.
Jakkaru didn't dally long, though.  The lust for revenge beat in his heart.  Like a 
bloodhound, he walked briskly through the corridors of the palace, following the directions he 
had learned from studying the palace maps over and over again.  Many times, soldiers of the 
Emperor's personal guard would rise to stop him, but they could not stand long before his 
deadly blade.  Within the hour, he reached the core of the palace and stood before to huge 
doors, the Juraians royal emblem carved in.
The pirate stood before the doors, his loyal men behind him.  He reached out his hand 
and touched the lacquered wood, and the doors swung outward obediently.  Jakkaru strode 
alone into the room; his men remained back in the hall, having been given orders not to enter the 
throne room.
The room was massive and oval-shaped.  The walls were as tree-trunks, and the ceiling 
a canopy of leaves.  At the top of a great staircase stood the throne, and standing there in battle 
armor stood the scowling emperor of Jurai himself.  The two men stared at each other for a little 
while.
"You," said the Emperor simply.
Jakkaru said nothing, but simply fingered the hilt of his energy-sword.
"Infidel defiler," continued Azusa. "No invader has ever stepped foot on the sacred soil 
of Jurai and lived.  I shall see you and your men skinned alive in the palace square!"
"Dog of Jurai!" barked the Jackal in response.  "Are you blind?  Your dynasty is at an 
end, and your empire fades.  With your death, Jurai's strangle-hold on the universe shall be no 
more!"
"And who are you to dictate to an emperor?  A pirate?  A barbarian from the remote 
ends of the galaxy?  Your words are as impure and corrupt as your blood.  Enough of this 
banter.  Have at you!"
With those words, the Emperor teleported behind the pirate and swung a sword 
downwards, intending to cleave his enemy's skull.  With blinding speed, Jakkaru whirled around 
and parried the swing, quickly retaliating with an attack of his own that the Emperor blocked.
The two combatants swung, parried, dodged and thrust.  Both men had been fighting 
their entire lives, and they moved so fast and with such agility that their duel seemed to be a 
choreographed dance.  Jakkaru suffered a wound to his hip and blood stained his suit.  Azusa 
was grazed by the pirate's blade and his forehead bled into his eye.  Yet still they fought.
The fight seemed to last forever, and both combatants grew weary.  With a grunt and a 
diagonal swing, Jakkaru severed the right arm of the Emperor.  Azusa screamed and fell to his 
knees, and the tip of the pirate's sword was leveled at his throat.
"Quarter!" begged the Emperor.
"Quarter?" laughed the Jackal.  "Did you give any quarter to my wife and son?  Nay, 
you ordered them and myself put to death because we were a political inconvenience.
Your assassins succeeded in killing my family, but fate decreed that I should live.  I 
vowed that day that I would live to see your death."
"Who are you?" Azusa whispered, shaking.
Jakkaru didn't answer, but instead flicked his wrist and his sword flashed.  Azusa's 
head rolled across the floor.  The Emperor of Jurai was dead.

-=*=-

Long did the pirate sit upon the throne, looking down on his slain foe and stroking his 
beard. Eventually, the woman whom most men knew as his mother entered the room, looking 
briefly at the decapitated corpse on the floor before looking up at Jakkaru.
"We have the Queens of Jurai in our custody, and the Princesses as well." She 
reported.
It took Jakkaru a long time to answer.  "They are not to be harmed.  Leave them here.  
It was Azusa we wanted."
"And what will you do?  Azusa is dead, and so is his empire.  My daughter and 
grandson have been avenged."
Jakkaru stood, covered in the soot and blood, but looking as commanding as any king.  
He slowly proceeded down the steps until he reached the bottom.  He spoke.
"I grow weary of this life.  Now that I have achieved the vengeance I have desired for 
so long, I will retire as a pirate," he stated, his eyes filled with pain and joy as he remembered 
his beloved wife and son.  "I'm going back to home, and returning to the humble life of a farmer.  
Who knows, maybe I shall even go by the name I did so many years ago...
Tenchi Masaki."


The End

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