Well, here I am again with a new story.  This one has nothing to do with
the "Empire," series.  This one is different.  As some of you may have
figured out by now, for me, it's not a matter of which girl will get
Tenchi:  Ryoko or Ayeka.  It's a matter of, "Will they get Tenchi at
all?"  So I wrote this.  Hope you like it.
Tenchi Muyo is the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC.  The author owns
only the writing itself.  (Author laughs heroically at assembled army of
lawyers.  "HA HA HA!!!!  You can't sue me!  I'm....Da Da Da Dum!   POOR
MAN!!!")
BTW:  This story takes place in the OAV universe some time after Kiyone
joins the cast but before Manatsu No Eve.
Ahem...Enjoy.

I've Forgotten


	He came to slowly, his head pounding a steady tattoo between his ears. 
He wished whoever had decided to play the drums inside his head would
stop.  He moaned low.  He hurt almost everywhere.  His eyes opened, but
shut again quickly as lances of pain caused by the bright light of a
strange sun shot through his head .  He tried again, more slowly.  His
vision was blurred.  He couldn't focus.  Finally, his eyes began to
adjust to their new surroundings.  He looked up and saw...
	An angel.
	She had a kind face.  That much he could see in her soft, teal-colored
eyes.  Her hair, a light sea green, was kept in a braid that hung down
her left shoulder.  She smiled down at him.  
	"Hello," she said in a voice that was kind and musical.
	He tried to respond, to lift his head, but the only sound that escaped
his lips was another painful moan.  The back of his head hit a pillow.
	The young woman, who he decided was no older than he was, reached down
into a bucket of cold water and removed a rag, which she placed over his
eyes.  "Just try to relax," she told him.  "You're safe now."
	He took a couple of breaths and finally managed to force his brain and
tongue to form words.  "What...what happened?"
	"There was an accident.  Your ship crashed here."
	"Ship?"
	"Yes.  My father found you and pulled you from the wreckage.  I'm
afraid the pilot was dead."
	He tried to make sense of it all.  Ship?  What ship?  He didn't
remember a ship.  What pilot?  Dead?  How?  Crashed?  How?  Where was
he?  Who was *she?*
	"Where....where..."
	"You're on Callos Six."
	"Who are you?"
	"My name is Zenya Kadoka.  You're on our farm."
	He took another couple of breaths and tried to get his bearings.  He
couldn't see through the rag, but he could feel the shift in weight as
she got up from the bed he was lying in.  He could hear her filling a
glass of water from what sounded like an old lever action water pump. 
"May I ask your name, sir?"  she asked as she returned to his bedside.
	She put a cup of water in his hand.  He drank gratefully.  "Uh...yeah,
my name's..."  He blinked.  "My name is...."  Fear gripped him.  He
pulled the rag off his face.  Zenya was becoming frightened as well.  
She could tell by the haunted look in his eyes that something was
terribly wrong.  He looked up at her.  
	"I can't remember my name!"  

	Darvin Kadoka sat down in the pilot's chair of the smashed courier ship
and set to work.  He ignored the bloodstains on the control panel in
front of him.  He had seen far worse in his long career in the Royal
Guard.  Most of the equipment was smashed.  He hoped that there would be
some clue as to what had happened to this ship.  He heard movement
behind him and turned to see his young son, crawling into the ship.
	"Devon," he chastised the boy, "You shouldn't be in here."
	"Aww, but Dad, I wanna help."
	Darvin smiled.  "All right lad," he said.  "Come and sit up here with
me, but don't touch anything."  Devon, a boy of only ten years, smiled
and rushed to sit in the co-pilot's chair.  He studied the strange
controls with the same burning interest any ten year old would have
sitting in the cockpit of a space ship.
	Darvin began pushing buttons and typing commands on the pilot's main
terminal, and not having much luck at it.  Devon scratched his head and
began to ask questions.  "Is this a fighter ship?"
	Darvin smiled.  "No, son, it's a courier, used for shuttling around
messages or important dignitaries."
	"Oh," the boy said, only slightly disappointed.  He perked up again
when he noticed that his elderly father was beginning to get a response
from the pilot's terminal.  "Whatcha doi'n?"
	Darvin smiled again.  His youngest child was a very curious and highly
intelligent boy.  Darvin always tried to answer his questions correctly
and truthfully.  He didn't want to stifle the boy, or make him feel like
he was an annoyance.  "I'm trying to bring up the ship's manifest. 
It'll tell us where the ship has been, who was flying it, who its
passenger was, what it was carrying...Things like that."
	"Oh,"  the boy said.  He resumed searching the cockpit for mysteries.  
	Darvin studied the screen in front of him and frowned.  The computer
was completely scrambled.  The manifest was gone.  Not only that, but
the communicator had been destroyed.  There were no answers here.  He'd
would simply have to wait for the boy to wake up.  He looked around the
cockpit and began to form a list in his head of what could be salvaged. 
Living so far from the nearest settlement on Callos Six, his family
learned long ago never to waste anything.  He started counting the
emergency food packs stored in one of the ships containers.

	Zenya was busy making dinner when her father and brother returned.  Her
little sister, Alsia, was busy at the kitchen table, working on one of
her latest inventions.  Darvin entered the Kadoka house with a, "We're
home!"
	The eldest daughter wiped her hands on a towel and walked to the front
door to meet her father.  "Welcome back!  Did you find anything at the
crash site?"
	Darvin shook his head.  "I'm afraid not.  The ship's log and manifest
are smashed.  Is he awake?"
	Zenya sighed.  "Yes, but I'm afraid it won't do any good.  The poor
thing can't remember who he is."
	"Can't remember?"
	She nodded.  "Yes, he doesn't know his name, where he's from...he
doesn't even remember the accident."
	Darvin sighed.  "Amnesia," he muttered under his breath.  "Where is
he?"
	"In bed.  He's still very weak."
	The head of the Kadoka family stroked his dark blue beard in thought. 
"Do you think he's awake now?"
	"He might be."
	He smiled and put his hand on Zenya's shoulder.  "I'll go get him.  He
should try to eat something, don't you think?  When will dinner be
ready?"
	Zenya smiled.  "A few minutes."
	"Good."  He crouched down next to Devon.  "All right lad, help your
sister set the table."
	"Yes, sir," he said and followed Zenya into the kitchen.  
	Darvin walked into his bedroom.  He found the young boy sitting up in
bed.  He was so deep in thought, he didn't notice Darvin's entrance. 
"Trouble sleeping?"
	The boy's eyes darted to him.  
	He studied the boy for the first time.  He was young, very young in
fact.  His black hair was worn short with a braid hanging down the
back.  His brown eyes held fear and confusion.  The old man didn't blame
him one bit if what Zenya said was true.  Darvin took a step toward him
and continued.  "My name is Darvin Kadoka.  This is my farm.  How are
you feeling?"
	The boy thought for a second.  "Confused," he said, finally.
	Darvin nodded.  "My daughter tells me you can't remember what
happened?"
	The boy nodded.  "That's right.  It's all a blur."
	"You were in a Jurain courier ship.  Do you have any idea where you
might have been going?"
	The boy shook his head.  
	Darvin reached into his jacket pocket and removed a sword hilt.  "This
was on you when we found you."  The boy took the sword hilt and studied
it.  It *seemed* familiar.  "You weren't wearing a uniform, but that's a
Jurain sword."
	"I...I guess so."
	Darvin sighed.  "Are you hungry?  My daughter has prepared dinner for
you."
	A rumble from the boy's stomach was all the answer Darvin needed.  The
boy smiled sheepishly, then said, "I guess I am a little hungry."
	Darvin smiled reassuringly.  "There's some clothes on the edge of the
bed.  I'll see you outside in a few minutes."

	Dinner turned out to be a roasted bird-like creature slightly larger
than a chicken.  The boy sat at one end of the table and watched as
Zenya served each member of the family in turn.  He studied the rest of
the family.  Zenya was the oldest.  The next oldest was a girl of about
fourteen with short, dark blue hair like Darvin's named Alsia.  She wore
spectacles and an odd conical hat made of leather and bits of metal that
appeared to be electronic devices of some kind.  One of them was a glass
eyepiece that could swivel down over her right eye.  She caught his gaze
and smiled.  The youngest was Darvin's son, Devon.  He seemed to be
about nine years old.  He made a show of building his mashed potatoes
into a fort. His hair was also a dark blue and the resemblance to his
father was already apparent.
	Once Zenya had finished serving the rest of the family, she sat down,
and they began to eat.  The boy took a careful taste of the bird and was
surprised at how good it tasted.  He attacked the plate with gusto.
	Alsia noticed this and giggled.  "I guess he likes your cooking,
Zenya!"
	The boy, realizing it might not be the best table manners on this
planet to attack food like a hungry bear, blushed.  He looked up and
noticed Zenya blushing as well.  She gave him a weak smile.
	Darvin came to his daughter's defense by changing the subject.  "Do the
clothes fit?"
	The boy nodded.  "Yes, a little loose, but they're fine.  Thank you."
	Darvin nodded.  "Good.  Now then, to a more immediate problem."  The
boy looked up at him.  He wondered briefly if Darvin expected him to pay
for the food and clothes, and if so, how he would pay them.  Darvin, it
seemed, wasn't concerned with that.  "What should we call you?  Do you
remember anything at all?"
	The boy struggled to remember, but couldn't, and every time he pushed
his mind to remember, it responded with flashes of pain.  He shook his
head sadly.
	"Well, then," Darvin said, "We will have to give you a name, then.  It
seems rather rude, after all, to refer to you as, 'hey you,' now, isn't
it?"  Darvin took a bite from the leg of the poultry they were eating,
leaned back in his chair, and chewed thoughtfully.  When he had
swallowed, he eyed the boy.  "We shall call you Rikka, Rikka Ven."
	The boy repeated the name, trying it on for size.  He mentally
shrugged.  It was as good a name as any until he finally remembered his
own. *If* he remembered his own.  He looked up to see Zenya covering her
mouth with her hand, trying to force down a giggle.  He looked at Darvin
and saw him smiling slyly.  
	"What?"  he asked.  He hoped he wasn't making an ass of himself or
anything.  He discreetly checked his nose.
	Zenya finally spoke.  "My father's playing a trick on you," she
explained.  "He was born on Mallidon, and the native language there is
Mallidoni, not Jurain."  She saw the blank look on his face and
continued.  "'Rikka ven,' in Mallidoni, means, 'I've forgotten.'"
	He looked to Darvin, who nodded.  "True, but it suits you, I think.  No
one here but me and Zenya speak any Mallidoni, and this way, if someone
asks you your name, you can give them an honest answer."  The old man
seemed very amused by the joke.
	The boy nodded and smiled.  "It *does* seem to fit, doesn't it?"  He
laughed.  "All right, Rikka Ven it is!"
	  
	Ayeka was in her room, reading one of her Jurain romance novels, when
Sasami burst into their room huffing and puffing.
	"Sasami!  What is it?!"
	The little blue-haired princess took a couple of deep breaths before
answering.  "A ship just landed outside, Ayeka!"  She took another
couple of breaths.  "It's a Jurain courier ship!"
	"Is Tenchi back so soon?"  Ayeka asked hopefully.  
	Sasami shook her head.  "No, it's a messenger for you, Ayeka.  He says
it's important."
	Ayeka got up and let Sasami lead her downstairs.  When she got there,
she found a young man in a Jurain Naval uniform being harassed by Ryoko.
	"Come on," Ryoko was purring.  "You can tell me.  Are they making Ayeka
return to Jurai?  Is that why you're here?!"
	"Ryoko!  Leave him alone!  He has an important message for *me,* not
you."
	The courier looked a little uncomfortable at being between two very
powerful women who seemed ready to destroy each other at any second.  He
cleared his throat.  Ryoko took a step back.  He approached Ayeka and
bowed low from the waist.  "Your Highness," he said.
	"My sister tells me you have a message?"
	"Yes, Your Highness, from the Queen Funaho."  He reached into a rather
ordinary satchel on his belt and handed the Jurain princess a scroll. 
After she took it, he bowed again, turned on his heel, and left.  Ayeka
blinked at the abruptness of it all and undid the molecular bindings on
the scroll, opening it.  She smiled as she thought of what it might
say.  Hopefully, it would say that Tenchi was having a wonderful time on
Jurai, and that he was prepared to join Jurain society... with her at
his side, of course.  Visiting her home planet had been *her* idea,
after all.  She was sure once he saw how beautiful it was, he would want
to stay there forever...with her.
	She opened the scroll and began reading.  He eyes went wide with shock,
then disbelief, then pain.  The others saw her expression and began to
worry. 
	"Ayeka?"  Sasami began, worriedly.
	Ayeka dropped the scroll as if it had suddenly burst into flames and
began to stumble backwards, her legs refusing to support her any
longer.  She hit the floor with a thud.  She didn't even notice.  Tears
began to well up in her eyes.  She tried to say something, but
couldn't.  Finally, she managed to get something out.
	She screamed.
	It was a primal noise of fear, anger, pain, loss, regret, grief, and
more guilt than she ever thought she could feel.

	"You're up early," Darvin commented, watching Rikka approach from the
house.  The elder Kadoka sunk the maul he had been using into a nearby
stump and took a break while Rikka walked up to him.  He was glad to see
that his old clothes fit the young man, it made things easier.  "Are you
feeling any better?"
	The boy nodded.  "Yes, a little.  I still can't remember anything, but
at least the headache's gone."  He took a look around.  Callos Six was a
pleasant enough world.  Darvin's farm lay on the outskirts of a
settlement called Weyland.  It was a grassy area, and very hilly.  The
farm was nestled on the edge of a forest.  A road in front of the house
led in two directions, one into the forest toward the settlement, and
another out into the fields.
	Darvin nodded.  "Good, that means you can do some chores around the
house."  He smiled, jokingly.
	Rikka, however, took him seriously.  "Where do you want me to start?"
	Darvin waved the offer aside.  "You're a guest here, it's not
necessary."
	"I insist,"  the boy stated.  "I have to do *something* to repay your
hospitality."
	Darvin, seeing an opportunity, spoke.  "You ever split wood?"  At the
boy's blank look, Darvin mentally smacked himself in the forehead.  "Of
course, I've forgotten that *you've* forgotten."
	"No, it's okay.  I think I know how.  I remember *how* to do things, I
just don't remember *how* I know how."  He stepped forward and removed
the maul from the stump.  Placing a cut log on top of the stump, end up,
he raised the maul up and brought it down, neatly splitting the log in
two.
	Darvin nodded appreciatively.  "I see."  He sat down on another log
while Rikka went to work on the two halves he had just cut.  Taking a
drink from his canteen, he noticed that Rikka was wearing the sword
Darvin had returned to him.  He gestured to it.  "Expecting trouble?"
	Rikka looked down at where Darvin was pointing and smiled sheepishly. 
"Zenya suggested I wear it.  She thinks that being around something
familiar might jog my memory.  If you want me to, I'll stop."
	"Zenya suggested, eh?"  he said, ignoring the last part of Rikka's
comment.  "She's a bright girl, my Zenya.  May I see it?"
	The boy removed the sword from his belt and handed it to him.  Darvin
examined the sword.  He still wore his own sword whereever he went. 
Despite his earlier joke, Darvin knew that there were a great many
dangers on Callos Six.  Even so, his sword was nowhere near as ornate or
exquisite as this.  He commented on this to Rikka.
	Rikka nodded.  "I don't understand why *I* would have one like this. 
Maybe I was taking it to someone when I crashed."
	"Can you use it?"
	Rikka thought for a moment.  He saw sword maneuvers in his head and
instantly knew what they were and how to perform them.  He nodded. 
Darvin resumed examining the sword.  
	"It appears that it was damaged.  One of the jewels is missing, see?" 
He showed Rikka the sword.  He was right, there were two red jewels and
a hole where it appeared that one should be.  
	Rikka's eyes narrowed.  "Some craftsmanship," he commented wryly.
	Darvin smiled.  "It's a fine sword, nonetheless."  He regarded Rikka
shrewdly.  "I wonder how well you can use it."
	Rikka looked at him in shock.  "You know, I really don't know.  For all
I know, I'm a great Jurain swordmaster."
	Darvin smiled at the joke.  "Probably not.  You're too young.  However,
if you want to find out..." he trailed off, letting Rikka figure the
rest out for himself.
	Rikka smiled at the polite challenge.  "Why not?  It might knock
something loose."
	Darvin stood up and reached into the pocket of his dirty, brown
jacket.  When his hand reappeared, it held a less ornate version of
Rikka's own sword.  Rikka put the maul down where he wouldn't
accidentally trip over it and turned back to Darvin, sword up.  He
decided to let instinct take over.  He took a breath and concentrated. 
A blue blade appeared as if out of nowhere.  Darvin, it seemed didn't
require as much preparation.  He simply brought the sword up to an en
guarde position, and a green blade appeared.
	The two began to fence, carefully at first, each assessing the skill of
the other.  After awhile, they began to fight more aggressively.  Rikka
fought more with instinct since he couldn't conciously remember any
formal training.  He did what *felt* right.  Darvin, however, had honed
his skill with years in the Royal Guard, and he knew a few tricks that
even the sword masters on Jurai hadn't picked up.
	Rikka gasped and just nearly avoided getting his head lopped off.  A
few seconds later, Darvin had spun the sword out of his hand, disarming
him.  Rikka took a deep breath.  Darvin smiled and saluted with his
sword before deactivating it.
	"Not bad," the old farmer told him.  "For a beginner."
	Rikka smiled back.  "Not bad, yourself.  That was some move there at
the end."
	"N'es'pludh."
	"Pardon?"
	"A War'pah N'es'pludh.  That's the name of the technique.  I picked it
up when I was stationed on War'pah."
	Rikka nodded and repeated the name, committing it as well as the
technique to memory.
	Darvin saw him do this and spoke.  "I could teach you, if you like. 
Your style is sound, but I know a few tricks you can only learn on the
front line.  They might come in handy whatever you decide to do."
	Rikka shook his head.  "Thank you, but I don't want to be an
inconvenience."
	Darvin frowned.  "Rikka, I have two daughters, neither of which have
any interest at all in sword play, and by the time my son is old enough
to start training, I will have lost most of my skills.  I need someone
to spar with, as much for my sake as for yours.  Such skills have to
practiced or lost, and around here, swordsmen are hard to come by." 
Rikka considered this and nodded.  Darvin smiled.  "Good, we can begin
tomorrow...after your chores,"  he added.  Rikka smiled and began to
laugh.
	They hadn't noticed, but someone had been watching them.
	"Wow!" one of them spoke up, Alsia.  "No one's ever gone that long
against father!"
	Beside her, about thirty feet from where Rikka and Darvin had fenced,
Zenya nodded.  "Yes.  Father thinks he might be a Jurain soldier."
	"Really?" Alsia asked.  "Cool!"
	"I'm glad Father likes him."
	Alsia gave her sister a sly look.  "Zenya -likes -Rikka," she began to
sing.
	Zenya looked down at her younger sister, her face turning a distinct
shade of red.  "What makes you think that?!"
	Alsia folded her arms over her chest.  "Well, come on, Zenya, you can't
hide something like that from the greatest scientific genius on Callos
Six."
	It was at this time that Darvin noticed them.  "Hello, girls."
	Zenya regained her composure in record time.  "Father, lunch is ready!"
	Darvin and Rikka both smiled.  "Good, I think we've earned one, eh,
Rikka?"
	The boy nodded.  Together, they walked back to the house.

	"I have to tell you, Ryoko,"  Kiyone told her while watching Ayeka take
Ryuoh for its first test flight, "The odds of finding him are
astronomical."
	"I don't care, Kiyone,"  Ryoko shot back bitterly.  "If you don't want
to help me and Ayeka search for Tenchi, then get the hell out of here!"
	"Mihoshi and I will do our part, I'm just saying that it's not going to
be easy.  It could take months or even years just to find where he
crashed."
	The two were standing next to the lake, watching Ryuoh circle the
house.  The new spaceship tree was still a little young to be flown, but
it would have to do.
	Ryoko sighed.  "I'm sorry Kiyone.  I'm guess I'm just still pissed
because Jurai and the GP called off the search."  Ryoko shot Kiyone a
nasty look.  "That uniform you're wearing isn't the most popular thing
in my mind right now."
	Kiyone felt a wave of guilt.  It had been a month since Tenchi
disappeared en route to Jurai.  She had been the one to tell them to let
Jurai and the Galaxy Police handle the search.  It was what they were
trained to do, after all.  However, to Kiyone's bitter disappointment,
the GP had called off the search after only a month, and the King of
Jurai had declared Tenchi as too unimportant a man to spare more ships
for the search.  When Ryoko and Ayeka had heard this, they almost went
berserk.  
	Kiyone had felt so bad about talking them out of searching, that when
the GP had officially given up, she offered Ryoko and Ayeka any help
they needed from her to start searching for Tenchi themselves, even if
it meant resigning from the Galaxy Police.  Now, they were almost
ready.  The Jurains had managed to narrow the search area down to four
quadrants.  Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki would search the first quadrant, Ayeka
and Ryuoh the second, Kiyone and Mihoshi the third in the Yagami, and
Sasami would take Washu in the Tsunami and search the fourth quadrant.
	"We'll find him, Ryoko," Kiyone said solemnly.  "I promise."
	Ryoko threw her another snide look.  "No offense, Kiyone, but I heard
that kind of promise from the GP before."
	Kiyone's guilt was the only thing that kept her from belting the
ex-space pirate.  "I told you," she bit out through clenched teeth.  "I
didn't think the Galaxy Police would give up so quickly.  I just didn't
want you and Ayeka tearing across space and getting in their way.  I'm
sorry."
	Ryoko took a deep breath.  "Yeah, okay, I'm sorry.  I didn't mean it
the way it sounded."
	Kiyone looked up as Ryuoh began its descent.  "It's almost time," she
said.
	Ryoko only nodded.
	
	Kiyone watched on the viewscreen as the massive Jurain ship, Tsunami,
made the final jump to hyperspace.  "Well, they're off," she commented.
	Mihoshi just nodded.  "I'm setting a course for our first nav point."  
	Kiyone looked over at her partner.  When Mihoshi had heard about
Tenchi's disappearance, she had undergone some kind of transformation. 
She still screwed up at times, but she was far more focused and alert
than she used to be.  Kiyone hadn't seen her cry once since the day she
and Kiyone had read the letter Queen Funaho sent to Ayeka.
	Kiyone took a breath.  "Okay, Mihoshi," she began.  Mihoshi looked at
her.  "Let's bring him home."
	Mihoshi nodded and began tapping keys on her control panel.  "Engaging
jump drive...now."
	Silently, the Yagami entered the nebulous world of jump space.

	Rikka dismounted from his horse and took a look around the small
settlement that had been dubbed, "Weyland."  It was like a cross between
an old American western town, and a high tech space port.  Speaking of
which, he watched as a starship took off in the distance.
	Darvin followed his gaze after tying the horses to a post outside the
store.  "Mos Quarrin space port.  It's not very large, just big enough
to land a supply ship every now and then."
	Rikka watched as the ship climbed into the morning sky and disappeared
into nothingness.  It had been four months since he had crashed landed
on Callos Six, and this was his first time traveling into the settlement
proper.  Since crashing on the small planet, he had been helping out on
the Kadoka's farm, doing mostly manual labor and odd jobs.  He found he
actually liked the work, and the Kadoka's were a good family.  He
briefly wondered what his own family was like.
	He followed Darvin into what passed for the general store in Weyland. 
A balding man stood behind a counter.  He looked up and smiled when he
saw Darvin.
	"Ah, Kadoka, how have you been?"
	Darvin smiled back.  "Fine Jev, fine.  How's business?"
	Jev Oalson's face turned dark.  "Not as good as I'd like.  That damned
Toyzarian has been imposing his, 'taxes,' again."  He shook his head. 
"Darvin, I know you've refused in the past, but if you and some of the
other farmers and ranchers would..."
	Darvin shook his head.  "Sorry, Jev, but those days are over for me. 
If Ra'dan will let me live in peace, I will."
	The shopkeeper gave him an annoyed snort.  "Ra'dan isn't going to
ignore you forever, Darvin.  You're the only one who can stand against
him, and he knows it!  One day, he's going to work up the backbone to do
something about it."
	The farmer smiled.  "Then I will deal with it then."
	Jev sighed.  "Fine, fine."  He looked up and seemed to notice Rikka for
the first time.  "Who's this?  Hired help?"
	Darvin nodded.  "After a fashion.  This is Rikka, Rikka Ven.  Rikka,
this is Jev Oalson, he owns this store."
	Oalson offered his hand, which Rikka shook.  "It's nice to meet you,
young man."
	Darvin returned to business.  "I trust my usual order is ready?"
	Jev nodded.  "It's already loaded on the anti-grav.  Oh, one more
thing!"  He bent down behind the counter and emerged with a long, flat
package.  "This came for you about a week ago."
	Darvin tore the paper from the package while Rikka and Jev watched. 
The farmer began to explain.  "I've been waiting for this for months. 
I'm glad it's finally here."  Beneath the paper was a long wooden box. 
Darvin lifted the cover, revealing a wicked looking rifle.
	Jev nodded appraisingly.  "A Jurain positron rifle," he mused.  "Maybe
I spoke too soon."
	Darvin smiled as he hefted the weapon, testing it's weight.  "Don't get
your hopes up, Jev, there have been kappa wolves hitting my herds.  I
can't get close enough to hit them with a pistol, so I special ordered
this from Jurai."
	"I can think of a few more wolves to use it on."  Jev commented.
	Darvin's smile began to lose some of its lustre.  "Don't go around
saying things like that, Jev.  It's only going to get you into trouble."
	Jev waved it off.  "Say what you will, Darvin.  When you finally come
to your senses, I'll be here to help."
	Darvin sighed and replaced the rifle in its box.   "We'll be by to pick
up the order later."
	"Fine, fine, Darvin.  I'll be here.  It was nice to meet you, young
man."
	As they walked out of the store, Rikka turned to Darvin.  "What was all
that about?"
	Darvin stopped walking and motioned for Rikka to do the same.  "You're
about to find out."  Rikka looked up to see an orange skinned man with
three horns growing out of his head and two men who could only be
bodyguards flanking him.  He walked up to Darvin with no hesitation.
	"Du'kta vensa, Darvin," the orange man said.
	Darvin put on a smile.  "Good morning, yourself, Ra'dan."
	Ra'dan gestured to Rikka.  "Cupla deibwo askar donon forta?"
	Darvin seemed to have no trouble understanding him.  "This is Rikka,
he's the son of one of my old friends.  He's here to help out on the
farm."
	Ra'dan made a quiet hiss as he gave Rikka a once over.  "Resat tue?"
	Darvin nodded.
	"Doe calla chiet'do.  Com'pana doklo smastat.  Dok'chi no tala, cono
forsta."
	"I'll be sure to remember that,"  Darvin told him.
	"Sukia ta'na," he said, then motioned for his guards to move on.  Rikka
watched the trio go, not at all liking the sound of the conversation.
	Darvin answered his question before he even had a chance to ask it. 
"That was Ra'dan," he told him seriously.  "Callos Six's mob presence,
you could say.  He owns a little of everything around here."
	"He understood you, so why wasn't he speaking Jurain?"
	"The Toyzarians are a very racist, very egocentric people, Rikka.  They
believe all other species are below them, even the Jurains.  They can
all understand at least five different languages, but refuse to speak
anything other than their native Toyzarian.  That's one of the reasons
he tolerates me.  I'm one of the few people on the planet who speak it. 
Otherwise, he has to use a translator."
	"He's the one Mr. Oalson was talking about, huh?"
	Darvin nodded.  They started walking down the street again.  "The
Toyzarian Mafia depends on Callos Six as a transfer point for their
smuggling operations, but lately it's become less and less important. 
They've been pulling enforcers from this area over the last several
years, but Ra'dan still behaves as if Callos were a Toyzarian slave
world.  People are getting pretty fed up with it, Oalson on top of that
list because Ra'dan still collects protection money from him."
	"From him," Rikka said, "But not you?"
	Darvin nodded again.  "Ra'dan knows enough not to try my patience *too*
much.  If he tried collecting protection money from me or from any other
farmer, he'd have the entire countryside falling on him."
	"Even so," Rikka said, "He's the reason you carried your sword *and*
your pistol into town, right?"
	Darvin looked at him and smiled.  "Very good, Rikka," he congragulated
the boy.  "Oalson could be right.  By killing me, Ra'dan might think it
would send a message to the other farmers and ranchers in Weyland.  I
make a good target because I was a soldier, and would be the best choice
to lead the others if it ever came down to a scuffle between us and the
Toyzarian Mafia."
	Rikka nodded.  "I see."
	Darvin studied the boy for a moment.  "Let's get a drink, Rikka, I need
to talk to you about something."
	The farmer placed his hand on Rikka's back and guided him to a nearby
tavern.  Once inside, Rikka started for the bar, but Darvin stopped him
and led him to a table in the back.  A cheerful, rather well endowed
waitress took their orders and returned in quick order with a Jurain
scotch for Darvin and something called a Pashian Sunspot for Rikka.  The
boy took a sip and found the drink to be rather mild.  It had a spicy
flavor to it.  He nodded appreciatively.
	Darvin took a sip of his own drink and placed it on the table.  He
looked up at Rikka and seemed to make a mental decision.  "What are you
going to do, Rikka?"
	The boy looked at him and shrugged.  "I don't know.  It's been months. 
I suppose, I could go to Jurai, but..."
	"But?"
	"But then what?  I still have no idea who I really am."  His voice took
on a tone of finality.  "No," he said, "Scratch that.  I know exactly
who I am.  I'm Rikka Ven.  I just don't know who I *was.*"  Rikka
stopped as he suddenly thought up another implication of Darvin's
question.  "Darvin, if you want me to leave, I'll understand."
	Darvin smiled.  "No, lad, if I did that, Zenya, Alsia, and Devon would
never forgive me.  Besides, I rather like having you around."
	Rikka breathed a silent sigh of relief.  The Kadoka's were his family
now.  That's the way he saw it.  He would have been saddened to have to
leave them.
	"No, Rikka, I wanted to talk to you about another matter, I just wanted
to know if you had any plans before I brought this idea up."  He took
another drink of scotch before going on.  "I'm an old man, Rikka.  I'm
not going to be around forever...even if Ra'dan decides to leave me
alone."  Rikka listened with interest.  He knew that Darvin was being
very serious with him now.  "I came to family life rather late in the
game, Rikka, but I have always found it the most rewarding thing I have
ever set my hand to.  It's given me a sense of purpose I've never known
before, but, as I said, I'm getting old, and I'm not going to be around
forever.  Alsia, I'm sure, will be going off to some university to show
the rest of the galaxy just what a genius she really is,"  Rikka smiled
at that.  Alsia had proven herself to be no less than brilliant.  "And
whatever Devon decides to do in his life, I'm sure it will be something
the boy *wants* to do.  That leaves Zenya.  I have no idea what I
would've done without her.  After her mother died, she became the
caretaker of the family.  She has dedicated herself to her family."
	Rikka nodded.  He had a very high opinion of Zenya Kadoka.
	"Still," Darvin went on, "Eventually, I'm going to die, Alsia will
leave home, and Devon is going to find himself a girl and settle down on
his own.  When that happens, I want to be able to rest assured that
Zenya is cared for."
	Rikka said nothing, still not sure exactly where this was going.
	"Rikka," Darvin continued, "How would you feel about marrying my
daughter?"
	Rikka spat up the mouthful of Sunspot he had been drinking.  He coughed
for a good minute before getting out the word, "M...marry?"
	Darvin nodded, taking a sip of scotch.  "That's right."
	For some reason, Rikka found himself panicking. "Well...I mean...I
don't..."
	"You don't have to answer right away, I'd prefer that you think on this
for awhile.  It's a very big decision."
	"Yes," Rikka said, "I understand, but shouldn't *Zenya* be involved
with a conversation like this?"
	Darvin shrugged.  "Why?  It's obvious my daughter has taken a liking to
you.  But even more importantly, *I* like you.  I just wanted you to
know that it's okay with me if you choose to court Zenya.  As a matter
of fact, I really hope you would."
	"'Taken a liking?'"  Rikka repeated in wonder.
	Darvin put his drink down.  "Tsunami's left tit, man!  Surely you've
noticed!"
	Rikka shook his head.
	"The smiles?"
	He shook his head.
	"The way she brings your lunch out to you every day, and *I* end up
marching back to the house when *I* get hungry?"
	Another shake.
	"How she reads to you every day, because for some reason, you can't
seem to read Jurain?"
	Rikka shook his head a fourth time, this time in self reproach.  Damn,
he *had* missed it.
	Darvin shook his head and muttered,  "Tsunami save us from thick headed
sons in law."
	Rikka looked sheepish.
	Darvin looked at his would-be son in law and smiled.  "Well, lad, just
think about it."
	The boy looked up.  "I will," he said, seriously.  He *would* consider
it.

	Kiyone and Mihoshi entered the seedy tavern on Trading Station 42 and
took a quick look around.  The place was crawling with transients, low
lifes, and the pure bred scum of the universe.  Kiyone realized that
that was precisely why Ryoko had chosen it as their meeting place.  The
ex space pirate probably felt at home here.  She hugged her cloak
tightly around her.  Neither detective had been stupid enough to wear
their GP uniforms, and it was unlikely that anyone would recognize them,
but it didn't hurt to take precautions.  
	They finally found Ryoko sitting with Ayeka, who was cloaked as they
were, sitting at a corner table.  They sat down across from them and
ordered beers.  By the looks on both their faces, Kiyone knew they had
found nothing.  She sighed and looked around.
	"What about Sasami and Washu?"
	When Ayeka answered her, the disappointment in her voice was painfully
obvious.  "They're not here, yet."
	It was then that they heard voices coming from the entrance.  
	"I'm sorry, little girl, but you can't come in here.  You're under
age."
	"You're carding me?!  How flattering!"
	"Listen, kid, go home, okay?"
	"Look, I'm meeting some friends here, so could you step aside?"  
	"Sorry, kid.  Now, beat it!"
	"Last chance, brute!  Outta the way!"
	"Kid, you're really starting to bug..."
	There was a bright light and an explosion from the direction of the
door.  A few seconds later, Washu appeared at their table and sat down. 
She ordered a Pashian Sunspot, and the waitress practically ran to fill
the order.
	"Trouble with the bouncer?"  Ryoko asked.
	"Sometimes," Washu said, taking a sip of her Sunspot, "This form has
its drawbacks."
	"Uh-huh," Kiyone said.  "Where's Sasami?"
	"I left her at the ship.  I figured Sasami was a little young to be
hanging out at a place like this."
	"Any luck?"
	Washu stared down at her drink for a moment and then downed it with one
gulp before crying out, "Not a damn thing!"
	"It's been six months," Mihoshi sighed.  "Maybe...what if he's..."
	"He's not, Mihoshi!"  Ryoko and Ayeka cried out in unison.
	"He can't be!"  Ryoko added.
	"Not Tenchi!"  Ayeka agreed.
	Kiyone sighed.  "Then we keep looking!"  She reached into her pocket
and withdrew a holomap.  As a holographic picture of the galaxy took
shape in front of them, Kiyone took out a laster pointer and pointed it
at the map.  "All right, checking along the standard route didn't work,
so we're going to have to try the systems off the beaten path."
	"But how would the courier ship have gotten that far off course?" 
Ayeka asked.
	Kiyone shrugged.  "Who knows?  It's possible there was navigation
trouble, or maybe the pilot decided to try a shortcut, but I do know
this:  looking in the obvious places is turning up zip."  She gave them
the coordinates of star systems Tenchi's ship might have ended up in. 
"Mihoshi and I are going to try here."  She pointed to one particular
star on the map.
	Ayeka looked at the map and read off the chart.  "Callos Six?  That's
pretty far off the beaten track, isn't it?"
	Kiyone nodded.  "Yes, but it occurred to me that if Tenchi crashed and
survived, he would've made some effort to contact us...or Jurai.  That
might be different if he were on Callos Six."
	"Why?"  Ayeka asked.
	Ryoko beat Kiyone to the answer.  "Because it's owned by the
Toyzarians."
	"The Interstellar Mafia?"  Washu asked.  "They're *still* around?"
	Ryoko nodded.  "They were last time I checked.  Kiyone's right.  If
Tenchi landed there, he probably had to lay low to keep the Toyzarians
from using him as a hostage."
	"If he's not a hostage already," Washu piped up.  Ryoko gave her a
nasty look.
	Kiyone ignored it.  "All right, It'll take us about two months to get
there, checking out the other systems as we go.  We'll meet back here
again in three months, regardless."  They all nodded.  "Good luck."

	Rikka gently removed Zenya's arm from over his bare chest.  Moving
slowly and quietly to keep from waking her, he got out of  bed and went
to the kitchen.  He didn't bother checking to see if they were alone. 
Darvin had taken Devon and Alsia fishing this morning.  It was one of
the few times he and Zenya had to be alone together.  He placed a pot of
water on the stove and went about making two cups of tea.  He smiled. 
Nearly two months had passed since Darvin suggested to Rikka that he
should court Zenya, and he had taken the message to heart.  Zenya was a
kind, gentle, beautiful young woman who cared for him a great deal, and
he her.  He felt very lucky to be able to be near her.  He waited for
the water to boil.  Just as he was pouring the tea into the cups, he
heard Zenya's voice urgently call out from the bedroom.
	"Rikka!"
	Rikka, fearing something had happened to her, ran to the room.  Zenya
was sitting up in bed, the blanket wrapped around herself as she
searched the room with her eyes.
	"What?!"  Rikka asked in alarm.  "What's wrong?!"
	Zenya looked up and saw him.  She breathed a sigh of relief.  "I'm
sorry, Rikka.  I...I just had a bad dream."
	He sat down next to her and took her hand.  "Tell me about it," he said
in concern.
	She put on a brave smile.  "I don't want to worry you."
	Rikka shook his head.  "What worries me is that something frightened
you.  Please, tell me."
	She looked at him with fearful eyes.  "I dreamed it was so perfect,"
she said quietly.  "That you and I were married and had children.  That
we had a perfect, happy life."
	"What would be so wrong with that?" he asked her, caressing her face.
	"But it ended, Rikka!  Someone came to you and told you you had a wife
and children back on Jurai."  She was on the verge of tears.  "And then
you left."
	He stroked her face, wiping away an errant tear drop.  He smiled.  "I'm
not going to leave you, Zenya.  I promise."  He smiled.  "Let me get you
some tea."  He stood up and left, returning a minute later with two cups
of tea.  Handing one to her, he sat down again.  The two were silent for
awhile.  Rikka wanted to make Zenya feel better, he loved her, he would
do anything for her.  He gazed at her.  She was very beautiful, with her
aquamarine hair and teal eyes.  She looked nothing at all like Darvin,
unlike Alsia and Devon, who seemed to take after the elderly veteran. 
He wondered what her mother had looked like.  Whenever Zenya smiled, all
was right with the world.
	Something occurred to him.  "Why don't we?"  he asked himself.
	She looked at him in surprise.  "Why don't we what?"
	He stared into her eyes.  "Let's get married."
	"Married?"  she whispered.
	"Yes," he answered.  "Why not?  I love you.  Do you love me?"
	"Well...yes, of course..."
	"Then marry me, Zenya."  She looked away.  He could tell she was
remembering her dream.  "Zenya, I don't know who I was before, but I do
know who I am now.  I'm Rikka Ven.  No matter what happens, I'm going to
be Rikka Ven for the rest of my life.  I want that life to include you. 
Please....marry me."
	She looked into his eyes and smiled brightly, that same smile he loved
so much.  "Yes," she said simply, but with a tone of great importance. 
"Rikka Ven, I'll marry you."

	Kiyone manipulated the controls expertly, bringing the Yagami down onto
the landing pad flawlessly.  She let out a quiet sigh of relief. 
Landing was still a difficult maneuver, especially when dealing with
planets with varying gravities, temperatures, weather conditions, and
atmospheric anomalies.  She was just grateful that Mihoshi wasn't
piloting.  She tended to crash more ships than she actually landed.
	Two and a half months.  They were two weeks overdue on their projected
timetable.  They had gotten side tracked by what they thought was a
solid lead on Delgar Prime, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding. 
Still, they were here now.  It would take about a week at maximum speed
to make the rendevous with the others.  That gave them a week to look
for Tenchi.
	"Do you really think he would be *here?*"  Mihoshi asked.  
	Kiyone had to admit, the planet was pretty primitive, even for a far
flung colony world.  Still, all that meant was that Tenchi would've had
to rough it for awhile.  She nodded to her partner, then said, "We won't
know 'til we search."
	Mihoshi's expression adopted a look of grim determination.  "Hang on,
Tenchi Masaki!"  she cried, "First Class Detectives Mihoshi and Kiyone
are *on their way!*"

	"He's not here!"  Mihoshi wailed.
	Kiyone growled low in her throat.  Mihoshi's make or break enthusiasm
had lasted for all of three days.  After that she reverted to her most
natural state.
	Scatterbrained crybaby.
	"Look," Kiyone tried diplomatically, "We still have three farms to
check out.  It's possible the ship crashed out in the less populated
zones.  If so, then one of the farmers might've seen something."
	Mihoshi sniffled.  "Ya' really think?"
	Kiyone sighed and tried desperately not to be too annoyed with her
partner.  "Yes, I really do."
	She steered the rented hover car in the direction the old man in the
general store had indicated.  She hoped this farmer would know
something, *anything.*  Despite what she told Mihoshi, things were
looking pretty grim.  
	She hoped that Mr. Darvin Kadoka would be able to shed some light on
this mystery.

	Alsia heard the knock and groaned.  She *hated* it when she was
interrupted during an experiment, but it couldn't be helped.  Zenya and
Rikka were in the south forty, and her father and Devon were out back. 
She lifted the visor on her helmet and walked to the front door.  When
she saw who it was, she blinked.  It was two women in Galaxy Police
uniforms, complete with holstered sidearms.
	"Cool," she commented.
	One of them, one with dark teal hair, gave her a questioning look.  The
other, a blonde,  didn't seem to notice anything at all.
	"Can I help you?"  Alsia asked politely.
	The teal haired one looked down at her and smiled.  "Hello, there.  Is
your daddy home?"
	Alsia frowned at being addressed like a child.  She was willing to bet
her I.Q. was three times higher than this woman's and probably eight
times higher than the blonde's.  She sighed.  "Come in.  I'll go get
him."
	Kiyone and Mihoshi followed the young girl inside.  She led them to a
table and asked them to sit down.  There was a strange looking device on
the table as well as various tools and spare parts.  Mihoshi went to
touch the device but was stopped by a shout from the young girl.
	"Stop!  It's a very delicate experiment.  Don't touch it!"
	Mihoshi, used to hearing such things from Washu, smiled and gave her a
brisk salute.  Alsia took an annoyed breath and went to get her father.
	The girl returned a second later, followed by an old man and a very
young boy.  He sat down across from them.  "I'm Darvin Kadoka," he
informed them.  "How do you do?"
	"Fine, thank you, Mr. Kadoka,"  Kiyone said.
	"Can I get you anything?  A drink?"
	"I could use some..."  Mihoshi began, but was silenced by a look from
Kiyone.
	"Mr. Kadoka, my name is Detective Kiyone of the Galaxy Police. 
This..." she pointed to Mihoshi in obvious pain, "Is my partner,
Detective Mihoshi.  We're searching for the crew of a Jurain courier
ship that may have crashed near here."  Kiyone saw a twitch in Darvin's
eye.  It wasn't much, but it was enough.  "Can you help us?"  she asked.
	Darvin took a breath before answering.  "A courier ship, you say?"  he
asked.  Kiyone nodded.  He shook his head.  "I don't believe so, but
there's a lot of empty space on this planet."  He leaned back in his
chair.  "Perhaps Rikka knows."
	"Rikka?"  Kiyone asked.
	"My son in law,"  Darvin responded.  He turned to Alsia, who, to
Kiyone's puzzlement, seemed uncomfortable.  "Alsia, where's Rikka and
Zenya?"
	"They're in the south forty, repairing that fence."
	"Together?"
	Alsia nodded.
	Darvin shook his head and smiled.  "Newlyweds," he told Kiyone as if
that explained everything.  He turned back to Alsia.  "Do you know if
they brought that communicator you built with them?"
	At this, Alsia swelled with pride at the fact that one of her
inventions was being used.  "Yes, Father.  Rikka thought it'd be a good
idea if we could all stay in touch.  Just in case."
	"Good.  Go get me the transmitter."  Alsia went to her room to retrieve
her home made transmitter.  Darvin turned back to his guests.  "We'll
just ask them."

	Rikka grunted as he pulled the length of barbed wire tightly over the
newly planted fence post and held it taut.  When he was confident it was
tight enough, he nodded to Zenya, who was standing next to it.  She
walked up to the post and placed a self planting molecular staple over
the wire.  With a gentle tap of her finger, the staple entered the
wooden post, holding the wire in place.  Rikka let go of the wire,
removed his wide brimmed hat, and wiped the sweat from his brow.
	"How many does that make?" he asked his wife.
	"Sixteen," she said.  "Only eight more to go."
	He nodded.  "Good.  How 'bout a break?"
	Zenya beamed at him and nodded.  "I packed a lunch for us."
	He smiled at her.  "Great, I'm starved."
	The two walked to the horses and anti-grav wagon.  Zenya removed a
basket and began setting up their picnic lunch.  Rikka removed a canteen
and poured some water over his head.  He looked up at the bright yellow
sun and shook his head.  <Damn, it's hot out here,> he thought. 
Suddenly, Alsia's home made communicator started to beep.  He lifted the
receiver and spoke into it.
	"Hello?  Father?  Is everything all right?"  Since his marriage to
Zenya, Darvin had insisted that Rikka call him, "Father."
	"Yes, Rikka, everything's fine," Darvin's voice came over the speaker. 
Zenya had joined him by now.  "Rikka, there are two people here who are
searching for a courier ship that may have crashed near here."  Rikka's
back stiffened.  "Do you know anything about it?"  Rikka blinked in
confusion, then saw it.  Darvin was giving him an out.  He looked over
to Zenya, whose face had become pale and haunted.  
	He was looking right at her when he smiled, clicked on the transmitter,
and said, "Sorry, Father, but I'm afraid I can't help them."  Zenya
closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
	Darvin's voice also held relief.  "Well, Rikka, that's too bad.  I
guess they'll have to keep looking.  Sorry to interrupt your outing. 
Darvin out."
	Rikka replaced the receiver on the communicator and turned back to
Zenya, who embraced him with something close to desperation.  He hugged
her close.

	Darvin replaced the receiver and handed it back to Alsia.  "Well, I'm
afraid that's that.  I'm sorry we couldn't be more help."
	Kiyone blinked in surprise.  That voice....
	Mihoshi obviously didn't get it.  "Wow, that sure sounded like Tenchi. 
Maybe it's a good omen."
	Darvin began to sweat.  "Well, anyway, I wish you luck."  He stood up
and showed them to the door, shutting it behind them.
	Kiyone stared at the door for a moment.  Mihoshi noticed her
hesitation.  "Is something wrong?"  she asked.
	Kiyone shook her head.  "That was Tenchi's voice," she told Mihoshi.
	Mihoshi seemed confused.  "Wasn't it Rikka's voice?"
	Kiyone growled.  "No," she bit out in annoyance, "It was Tenchi's.  I'm
certain of it."
	"But why would he call himself, 'Rikka?'"  she asked her partner.  "And
why would he say he didn't know anything about the wreck?"
	Kiyone sighed.  "I don't know."  She looked over at her partner.  "But
I intend to find out."

	Rikka clapped the dust off his gloved hands and turned to Zenya. 
"Well, that's about it," he said.  They had finished repairing the fence
just as the sun was beginning to set.
	Zenya nodded.  "Rikka...I love you."
	Rikka blinked.  "I love you too, Zen."
	"I just wanted you to know."
	Rikka smiled.  "I'm not going anywhere, Zen.  I mean that."
	"I know."

	A kilometer away, lying prone on the top of a grassy hill.  Kiyone
handed the binoculars to Mihoshi and pointed to the couple.  "It's him,
Mihoshi."
	Mihoshi looked through the binouculars, but said nothing.  Finally, she
put them down and turned to Kiyone.  "Now what?"
	Kiyone thought for a moment.  "There's something wrong here, Mihoshi,
or he would've tried to make contact."  She stood up.  "Let's go."

	When they got to their hotel room, Mihoshi went to the bathroom while
Kiyone sat on the bed.  She thought hard for a long moment.  Tenchi was
in some kind of trouble, some kind of trouble where he couldn't risk
contact with someone who might be looking for him.  She shook her head,
and felt the guilt well up again.  She had made Ryoko a promise.
	When Mihoshi came out of the bathroom, Kiyone stood up and went to the
desk.  She began to jot down a list on a nearby note pad.  "Mihoshi, I
want you to go down to the general store and get me the things on this
list."  She handed Mihoshi the note.  "Pay in cash, not the GP account
card."  The blonde detective read it and scratched her head.
	"Kiyone, are you  planning a makeover or something?"
	Kiyone reached into the desk drawer and removed a pair of scissors. 
"Something like that," she said.
	As Mihoshi watched, horrified, Kiyone brought the scissors up, grabbed
a handful of her teal hair, and began cutting.
	*Ryoko,  you owe me.*

	Mihoshi stepped onto the boarding ramp of the Yagami and turned around,
facing the new Kiyone.  She couldn't get over how different her partner
looked.  She had cut her hair to about shoulder length and dyed it
blonde.  It had been uneven, so she handed the scissors to Mihoshi, said
a silent prayer, and asked her to straighten out.  Kiyone  had to admit
that Mihoshi had done a good job.
	She was also no longer wearing a GP uniform, but a yellow sun dress
that was stylish on this world.  She had also given up her orange
headband.  It made Kiyone look more...feminine.
	"All right," Kiyone was telling her parnter.  "You make the rendevous
with the others.  Tell them we've found Tenchi and give them an update
on what's happening.  I'll see you when you get back."
	Mihoshi saluted, but without conviction.  "Kiyone, are you sure about
this?  I mean if the Toyzarians find out you're here, they'll..."
	"Don't worry, Mihoshi.  I can handle it."
	"But why did you cut and dye your hair?"
	Kiyone sighed.  "We've been all over town asking people questions. 
Even in different clothes, someone would recognize me.  This way, it
might take longer for them to catch on.  Now get going."
	"I'll be back as soon I get the others,"  Mihoshi promised.
	Kiyone nodded.  "I'll get closer to Tenchi and try to make contact."
	"Good luck, Kiyone."
	"You too, Mihoshi."

	Kiyone entered the general store and picked up a shopping basket.  If
she was going to stay on this planet for the two weeks it would take for
Mihoshi to get the others and make it back here, she was going to need
supplies.  As she was filling the basket with canned uber peaches, she
heard the owner of the store, a man named Oalson, speaking with one of
the ranchers.
	"Yeah," Oalson was saying, "We got that shipment of fireworks in, so
this year's festival should be better than the last one."
	"That's good," the rancher replied.  "The whole settlement will be
there.  Speaking of which, have you posted any of the fliers?"
	Oalson nodded his bald head vigorously.  "I have one of my boys doing
it now."
	"Well make sure you send one of them out to the outlying farms to
remind the others.  The Restada's, the Montayal's, the Kadoka's, and the
Ven's would all be royally pissed at us if they missed out on the
festival.  And  *I* would be royally pissed if I missed out on Ms.
Zenya's uber peach cobbler."
	"Oh, relax Karsh, they know.  It's kind of hard to miss Midsummer's
Festival, it only comes around once a year."
	"Yeah, yeah, Oalson, just remember to remind them, okay?"
	Kiyone stopped listening.  A festival.  It would be a perfect
opportunity to make contact with Tenchi.  

	The sun went down on Midsummer's Day.  As if it were a cue, the
festivities started.  Main street was packed with people from all over
the settlement.  Children, waving sparklers in the air, ran down the
street in packs.  There were tables filled with food, drinks (alcoholic
or otherwise), and games.  A wooden stage had been erected, and a local
band was playing a festive tune on it.  Couples danced in the street in
front of the stage, celebrating in the best way they knew how.
	Descending the hotel stairs from her room in a light blue dress, Kiyone
entered the street and began searching the crowd for signs of Tenchi. 
It was difficult.  The place was packed.  She had been knocked into so
many times, she was beginning to think it was on purpose.
	Somehow, she had wandered onto the area reserved for the dance floor. 
Someone tapped her shoulder from behind.  She turned to find a tall,
dark haired man in a wide brimmed hat standing there.  "Pardon me,
Miss.  Would you care to dance?"
	Kiyone faltered for a moment.  Seeing no way to graciously decline
without questions being asked, she relented and let the man whisk her
onto the dance floor.

	From one of the food tables, Bilna Restada took a sip of punch and
sighed.  "Now that," he said, pointing at the dance floor, "Is a thing
of beauty."
	"You say that about every girl you see, Bil,"  Rikka said, elbowing
him.  "Which one is it this time?"
	Bilna pointed.  "The blonde in the blue dress."
	Rikka looked and saw the woman he was referring to.  He grimaced.  "And
she's dancing with Montayal," he said in disappointment.  "Well, there's
no accounting for taste."
	"The scummer doesn't deserve a creature so beautiful,"  Bilna said with
disappointed sigh.
	Rikka looked askance at his friend.  Bilna Restada was the son of the
owner of the ranch adjacent to Darvin's, so they often ran into each
other out in field.  As a result, the two had become friends.  "Well?"
he said, "Are you going to stand here all night and pine away in that
prose you're so damned fond of, or are we going to go rescue her?"
	Bilna looked at him, grinned, and slammed his drink down on the table. 
"I take it you have a plan?"
	Rikka nodded.  "Damn straight.  Just be ready to move when I do."
	A voice from behind them brought them up short.  "What are you two
planning?"  Zenya stared at her husband in mock anger.
	Rikka turned and blushed in embarassment.  "Well, Zen, Bilna was just
informing me that a girl he likes is dancing with Cal Montayal..."
	"Uh-huh,"
	"...And we all know what a scumbag he happens to be..."
	"Uh-huh,"
	"...So I..."
	"We,"  Bilna corrected.
	"Right," Rikka amended.  "'We' thought it would be a good idea to
rescue her."
	Zenya stared at him, then smiled.  "Don't get arrested."
	Rikka leaned over and kissed her.  "You're the best!"
	Bilna put his hands in his pockets and fidgeted, doing his best
impression of a six year old.  "Golly, gee, Mrs. Ven!  We won't get into
any trouble!  Honest!"
	Zenya laughed.  "Get out of here!"  As they walked away, she shook her
head.  "Boys will be boys," she said to herself.
	The two young men made their way to the dance floor, Rikka reaching out
and grabbing a mug of Toyzarian ale as he went.  They stopped at the
edge of the dance floor where the entire mass of dancing couples were
moving in a coordinated dance Callosians called, "the wheel."  They
watched as the couples circled around.
	Rikka saw Montayal and Bilna's dream girl start to move toward them. 
He nudged his friend.  "Get ready,"  Bilna nodded.
	As the couple was passing, Rikka stumbled forward and spilled his ale
on Montayal's shirt.  When he stopped in surprise, Bilna stepped forward
and inserted himself into Montayal's position, dancing with the blonde. 
The circle moved around, uninterrupted.
	Rikka apologized to the rancher profusely, helping him wipe the ale off
his shirt.  He sneaked a look up and found his friend talking with the
woman.  She didn't seem to mind the change in dance partners.

	The second someone splashed that drink on her partner's shirt, her eyes
reached out and found who had done it.  It was Tenchi!  Now, she was
dancing with someone else, a tall blonde man with an endearing smile. 
She looked around, searching for Tenchi, but lost him in the crowd.
	"How do you do?"  the man asked.
	"Uh....hi,"  she said.
	"The name's Bilna, it's nice to meet you."
	"It's nice to meet you too.  I'm Yokine."
	"Yokine?  That's a pretty name."
	"Er...thank you."
	They were silent for  few moments.  Kiyone searched the crowd again and
found Tenchi, standing next to that green haired woman.
	"So, where're you from?  I don't recall seeing a pretty girl like you
around here before."
	Kiyone recited her cover story from memory.  "My sister and I just
moved here from Belegast.  She had to take care of some family business
back home, so I stayed here to find a place and set up."  She tried to
get a look over his shoulder at Tenchi.  She decided to see how much
information she could get from her new dance partner.  "Interesting way
you cut in back there," she said, smiling.
	He smiled sheepishly.  "Yeah, thanks.  Wish I could take credit for it,
but it was Rikka's idea."
	"Rikka?"  she asked, pretending not to know the name.
	"Yeah," he said, smiling.  
	"You'll have to introduce me."
	Bilna paused and thought it over.  If he refused or made up some
excuse, she might think he's some kind of jerk.  On the other hand, if
she *was* considering putting the moves on Rikka, it might be a good
idea to introduce her to him *and* Zenya now and nip that particular
threat in the bud.  He smiled.  "Sure, but after the dance, eh?"
	"Of course," Kiyone told him with a smile.  This could be her big
break.
	They danced until the song ended, then applauded as the band took a
bow.  Bilna offerred Kiyone his arm, and he led her over to where Rikka
and Zenya were standing.  Rikka was grinning.
	"How long did Montayal scream?"  Bilna asked his friend with a chuckle.
	Rikka laughed.  "Only until I bought him an ale.  Small price to pay, I
guess."
	"Well, thanks.  Oh!"  He smacked his forehead.  "I almost forgot. 
Rikka, Zenya, this is Yokine.  Yokine, I want you to meet Rikka and
Zenya Ven."
	They all shook hands, Kiyone made her handshake with Tenchi  linger for
a second longer than was necessary.  He didn't seem to notice.
	"So, Yokine," Zenya asked, "Where are you from?"
	"Belegast," Kiyone replied, careful to remember her story.
	"Really?"  Zenya asked.  "Well, in that case...Calda for'zen, Yokine."
	*Uh-oh...*  Kiyone had to think quick.  "I didn't know anyone here
spoke Belegese,"  she said nervously.  As a matter of fact, neither did
she.
	Tenchi smiled and poked Zenya playfully in the side.  "My wife has a
thing for languages," he said in explanation.
	Zenya giggled and hugged Tenchi.  Kiyone watched carefully.  If he was
acting, he was doing a very good job.  They certainly
seemed...comfortable.
	The aquamarine-haired woman grabbed onto Tenchi's arm and began
dragging him toward the dance floor.  "Well, if you'll excuse us, I want
to cut a rug with my husband before he thinks of an excuse not to."
	Tenchi was grinning sheepishly as Zenya dragged her husband toward the
dance floor.  Kiyone watched as they stood and faced each other.  Tenchi
bowed and Zenya curtsied.  The band began another set and the two began
to dance.  Kiyone blinked.  She didn't know Tenchi could dance.
	"Rota tada, Restada," someone said from behind them.
	Bilna grimaced, and they both turned to see a Toyzarian flanked by two
taller men standing there.  Kiyone had been in the GP long enough to
recognize hired muscle when she saw it.
	The man standing left of the orange skinned alien spoke.  "My master
wishes you a good evening, Mr. Restada."
	Bilna nodded at the alien in response.
	"Ukla toud'lea?"
	"My master is curious as to who your lovely escort is."
	"She's..." Bilna started, "leaving."  He took Kiyone by the arm and
began to walk away from the trio, but the tough on the Toyzarian's 
right reached out and grabbed his arm.  Bilna stopped where he was and
turned to the Toyzarian.  "Tell your goon to take his hand off me,
Ra'dan, or he'll never pocket a bribe with it again."
	"Gou sala tal, Restada.  Roto gana fornta."
	"My master only wishes to enjoy a dance with the young lady."
	"Over my dead body,"  Bilna told him, seriously.
	"Nuk tia tal," 
	"My master wishes to inform you that that is a plausible outcome if you
interfere."
	Suddenly, a blue white blade appeared at the throat of the goon holding
Bilna.  The tough's grip on Bilna relaxed somewhat as Tenchi's face
appeared over his shoulder.  The Tenchi-ken burned brightly in his
hand.  The expression on his face was one of grim determination.  "I
wouldn't do that, if I were you," he told the goon.  Ra'dan's thug
released Bilna.
	Ra'dan turned on Tenchi.  "Iaka omwat tokka tu, Ven!"
	"My master warns you not to interfere in that which is none of your
concern, Mr. Ven."
	"Iklea tal reata fonamo."
	"And that it could be dangerous for you, as well."  Both goons started
to reach into their jackets.
	Suddenly, thirty guns were on Ra'dan.  Kiyone looked around and found
that every rancher and farmer around them had drawn a weapon of some
kind and was bringing it to bear on the Toyzarian gangster.  All
conversation around them had ceased, and the band had stopped playing.
	"For you too, it would seem," Tenchi said, seriously.
	Ra'dan looked around at the weapons pointed at him.  His bodyguards had
reached into their jackets, their hands obviously resting on pieces of
their own, but they did not draw them.
	The gangster fixed Tenchi with a hard look.  "Opama tal, Ven."
	"My master wishes me to inform you that he *will* remember this, Mr.
Ven."
	Tenchi's eyes narrowed.  "See to it that he does."  He deactivated the
Tenchi-ken and stepped back, allowing the Toyzarian and his goons to
leave.  A second later, Zenya was embracing him worriedly.  He looked up
at Bilna.  "You okay?"
	Bilna nodded.  "Yeah, thanks.  I appreciate it Rikka."
	Tenchi nodded.  "No problem, Bil.  You oughta walk your new girlfriend
home."
	Bilna nodded again.  "That's not a bad idea."  
	Kiyone allowed Bilna to walk her back to her hotel room, where he
tipped his hat, smiled, and left.  She shut the door and mulled over
what she had seen.  What was eerie was that Tenchi didn't seem to
recognize her.  Even disguised the way she was, he should have at least
recognized her voice.  Even the alias she was using, "Yokine," should
have raised an eyebrow, after all, it was only a simple anagram of her
own name with the first and second syllables reversed.
	It seemed that a more direct approach would be necessary.

	Rikka handed Mr. Oalson the appropriate amount of money, and Oalson
handed him a receipt.  "The supplies are on the antigrav.  My boy will
take it out to the farm."
	"Thanks, Mr. Oalson."
	"Hey, Rikka, I saw what you did for the Restada boy last night.  Good
work."
	Rikka looked uncomfortable.  "I wished it hadn't happened, Mr. Oalson. 
I'm worried it's going to cause trouble down the road."
	"Well, hopefully now that damned Toyzarian will get wise and get out."
	Rikka sighed.  "I doubt it."
	Oalson's lips curled in disgust.  "You're probably right about that." 
He smiled at the boy.  "See you later, Rikka."
	"You too."  Rikka turned to leave and almost bumped into Kiyone.
	"Ms. Yokine,"  Rikka stammered out.  "Pard'n me, I'm sorry."
	Kiyone stood right in front of him and laid it all out.  "I need to
talk to you, Tenchi."
	"Tenchi?"
	Kiyone nodded.  "I don't know what's happening, but I think you and I
should talk."
	Rikka shook his head.  "I'm afraid I don't..."
	"Tenchi, everyone is looking for you.  Ever since your ship went down,
we've..."
	Rikka put his finger to his lips and silenced her.  He looked over his
shoulder to see if Oalson was listening to them.  Luckily, he had gone
into the back room after helping Rikka.  The farmer turned back to
Kiyone.  "Okay, let's go talk."

	Rikka led Kiyone into a tavern across the street from the general
store.  As they entered, a busty waitress smiled from behind the bar. 
"Hey, Rikka."  She approached and led them to a corner table.  She
grinned mischievously.  "You should be ashamed, Rikka.  You've only had
a ring on your finger for a month, and you're already sleeping around?"
	Rikka tried to smile.  "She's an old friend from school."
	"Uh huh.  Don't worry, I won't tell Zenya."  She winked and left them
alone.
	He turned to Kiyone.  "Okay, who are you and what do you know about
me?"
	"Huh?"  Kiyone blinked.  "Tenchi, what are you talking about?"
	"Tenchi?  Was that my name?"  She stared at him in puzzlement. 
"Perhaps I should explain."  He took a breath and went on.  "About eight
months ago, my ship crashed here.  When I woke up, I couldn't remember
anything about who I was or where I came from."  Kiyone listened as he
told her the entire story.  When he was finished, she shook her head in
disbelief.
	"Well," she said, extending her hand, "I'm Kiyone.  I'm one of your
friends from Earth."  He shook her hand and smiled.  
	"It's nice to meet you."
	"Well, now what?"  she asked.
	He seemed uncomfortable.  "If you are my friend, then could you do
something for me?"
	She nodded.  "Sure,"
	
	Kiyone closed the door to her room behind her and sat down on the bed. 
She sighed.  What was she going to do now?

	The two weeks passed quickly, and before she knew it, Kiyone had
returned to her room to find everyone there, making themselves at home. 
They all looked at her and blinked.
	"Kiyone?"  Sasami asked in wonder.
	Kiyone ran her fingers through her blonde hair and smiled sheepishly. 
"Yeah, it's me."
	Ryoko, who had been sitting on the bed, stood up and approached her. 
She said nothing for a good minute, and then embraced the Galaxy Police
detective in a massive hug.  "Thank you, Kiyone.  Thank you for finding
him."
	Kiyone pried herself away.  "Wait!  We've gotta talk.  There's
a...well...snag."
	Ryoko frowned.  "What kind of...snag?"
	Kiyone bit her lip and continued.  "He doesn't want to leave."
	"*WHAT!!!!!*"
	Kiyone nodded and told them the story as Tenchi had told it to her. 
When she was done, Washu was nodding.  "It sounds like long term
amnesia, it sometimes happens to people who've suffered a severe
trauma."
	"Can you fix it?"  Ryoko asked.
	Kiyone blinked.
	Washu nodded.  "Of course, it's a piece of cake!"
	"Wait a minute!"  Kiyone interrupted.  "Haven't you heard a word I've
said?  He doesn't want to be Tenchi Masaki!  He wants to stay here as
*Rikka Ven!*"
	Ayeka stood up.  "He only thinks that because he doesn't remember
Tenchi Masaki.  We can cure his amnesia and..."
	"Ayeka!  He's married!  He's made a life for himself here!  We can't
just take that away from him!"
	"Wrong,"  Ayeka told her.
	"Yeah," Ryoko said, "Watch us."
	"Listen to yourselves!"  Kiyone pleaded.  "You're talking about wiping
out a man's existence!"
	"We're talking about restoring Tenchi!"  Ayeka corrected.
	"He doesn't want to be 'restored,' Ayeka,"  Kiyone pointed out.
	Ryoko floated a foot off the ground.  "Tell you what," she said.  "I'm
gonna go settle this once and for all!"  With that, she vanished.
	Kiyone watched her go.  "Damn!"  She bolted from the room and ran
downstairs.

	Zenya hummed as she mixed the contents of the bowl together with a
long, metal whisk.  She thought a cake would be a nice dessert for
tonight.  As she hummed, she heard the metallic clattering that could
only be Alsia working on one of her inventions in the next room.
	The men of the house were all out in the fields, working.  Harvest
wasn't all that far away.  She was just pouring the bowl's contents into
a pan when there came a knock at the door.  Zenya wiped her hands on a
towel and went to answer it.  When she opened the door, she found a cyan
haired woman standing there.
	"Can I help you?"  she asked.
	"Zenya Ven?"  the woman asked her.  There was something about her tone
that Zenya didn't like.
	"That's right."
	The woman pulled her outside onto the porch.  "I want to talk to you
about your *husband.*"  she said.
	Zenya's pulse quickened in fear.  "What...what about Rikka?"  she asked
in fright.
	"Don't call him that!  Where is he?!"
	Zenya shook her head.  "I...I don't know."
	The woman's eyes narrowed.  "You're going to tell me, or I'm gonna..."
	Suddenly, Alsia appeared and stood between the woman and her sister. 
She pointed as strange device at the woman.  "Back off!" she cried.  "Or
I swear to Tsunami I'll toast 'ya!"
	Ryoko blinked, then smiled.  "Sure kid, whatever you say.  Now move
oughta the..."  Suddenly, there was a horrific blast, and Ryoko found
herself on her rear end fifty feet away from the house.  She coughed up
some smoke and blinked in surprise.  "Damn, that was some blast."
	Alsia stood on the porch, grinning.  The device she was holding had
smoke coming out of one end.  She held the device to her lips and blew
the smoke off it.  "That's what you get for underestimating the greatest
scientific genius on Callos Six," she said.  "Now, stay where you are,
or you'll get more of it!"
	Ryoko growled and stood up, brushing the ash off her clothes.  "All
right, ya little punk!  If that's the way you wanna play it,"  she took
a step forward.  
	Alsia leveled her device at Ryoko and pulled the trigger.  This time,
nothing happened.  "Uh-oh,"  Alsia whimpered.  "I guess it only had
enough energy for one shot."
	Ryoko smiled and started toward them.  She paused as she heard the
sound of a horse galloping in their direction.  She turned and smiled
brightly.  "Ten..."
	The rider cut off her hail when he swung the Tenchi ken around and
slashed into her face just below her left eye from his horse.  Ryoko
screamed and covered the gash with her hands, waiting for her
accelerated healing mechanism to kick in.  She looked up and saw Tenchi
check his horse in front of the two sisters.
	"Come on!"  
	Zenya helped Alsia onto the horse in front of Tenchi.  She followed a
second later, climbing onto the animal behind him.  Tenchi kicked the
horse's flanks with his heels and the three of them sped off down the
road.
	Ryoko stood there for a moment in shock.  "Tenchi?"

	"Well, it serves you right!"  Washu told her daughter sternly. 
"Threatening the man's wife the way you did!  You had it coming!"
	Ryoko sat on the bed in Kiyone's room, her head hung in dejection.  "I
was just going to scare her a little," she said.  "Find out where Tenchi
was so I could talk to him."  Her voice was frail, sad.  "I...I wasn't
going to *do* anything."
	"Well, now what do we do?"  Mihoshi asked.
	"Well, I don't know about the rest of you,"  Sasami told them, "But I
think Kiyone is right.  We should leave him alone."
	"I agree,"  Washu said.
	Ayeka wasn't about to let it end there.  "Now wait a minute,"  Ayeka
said, "He's still the crown prince of Jurai!  He has a responsibility to
the throne!"
	"Oh, come on, Ayeka,"  Washu said in irritation.  "You know Tenchi's
never been crazy about being a prince."
	"I'm with Sasami and Washu."
	They all turned in shock at what Ryoko had just said.  She went on. 
"He's obviously happy here.  And I *want* him to be happy."  She shook
her head in sadness.  She couldn't believe that he didn't recognize her.
	"Are you saying that we should just *leave*?!"  Ayeka asked.
	Ryoko sighed.  "No," she said.  "Before we do, I owe him an apology for
today."  She stood up, defeated, but firm in her decision.  "Let's go
find him."

	Rikka checked Alsia's bedroom, his hand resting on the butt of the
blaster pistol he had borrowed from Bilna.  Darvin was checking his own
room.  The two met in the kitchen.  Rikka shook his head.  There was no
one else here.
	Darvin thought for a moment and shook his head.  "I was hoping it would
never come to this,"  he told Rikka sadly.  Rikka had nothing to say, so
said nothing.  They had left Zenya, Alsia, and Devon at Bilna's place
and had come back here to see if the assassin had decided to destroy the
house just for the hell of it.  It turned out that she hadn't.  They
walked outside and made for the horses.  Night was beginning to fall on
Callos Six, and they both wanted to be back at Bilna's to check on Devon
and the girls.
	"So you think it was someone Ra'dan sent?"  Rikka asked him.
	Darvin nodded.  "Did you recognize the species?"  he asked.  
	Rikka could only shake his head.  "Humanoid," he told his father in
law.  "Aside from that..." he shook his head in again in ignorance.
	Darvin nodded again.  "Toyzarians usually hire aliens as assassins. 
This helps keep suspiscion off them."
	They both mounted their horses and turned to leave down the road when
they saw torches...a lot of them.  Rikka's hand traveled down to the
blaster he wore on his belt.  A quick look found that Darvin was doing
the same thing.  They didn't move, they waited until the mob found
them.  Darvin heaved a sigh of relief as he saw Bilna and his father,
Grik Restada, riding at the head of the mob.
	"Grik, what is all this?"  Darvin asked, gesturing to the twenty
farmers and ranchers riding behind the Restada's.
	"Kadoka," Grik began in his heavy Rarkan accent,  "We hare'd what they
tried ta' do to y'ar wee ones.  We're hayre to help ya kel da
Toyzarian."
	This statement was met by cheers from the mob, most of whom were
brandishing either torches or hunting rifles.
	Darvin looked ready to protest, but another voice, Oalson's, cut him
off.  "Come on, now, Darvin,"  he said, "Who else would send an assassin
after your family?"  He raised his voice so that the others could hear
him.  "He's gone too bloody far this time, by Tsunami!"  The others
roared their agreement.
	Darvin seemed to consider this.  He turned to his son in law.  "What do
you think, Rikka?"
	Rikka, still enraged by the attack on his wife and niece, grimaced and
faced Oalson.  "Let's nail the fucker!"
	The mob cheered.  Darvin was silent.  Oalson addressed him.  "What's it
going to be, Kadoka?  You with us or not?"
	Darvin nodded.  "I'm with you."
	The mob cheered and started back down the road into town.

	Kiyone led the others down the stairs to the street and sighed.  None
of them liked the decision, but it was made.  Tenchi...Rikka was going
to stay here.  She wondered what life would be like without the jittery
earther.  She really couldn't picture it.  
	She reached the foot of the stairs and stopped cold.  She turned and
waved for the others to stop, to get back into the shadows.
	"What's..."  Mihoshi began, but Kiyone silenced her by covering her
mouth with her hand. 
	Ryoko and Ayeka watched as a group of twenty riders galloped by, all
brandishing rifles.  Ryoko picked out a familiar outfit and gasped.
	"Tenchi!"
	They seemed to be heading toward a three story brick building near
Kiyone's apartment.  She recognized the building.  It was where that
Toyzarian conducted business.  Two guards stood outside the front door. 
They saw the crowd approaching and began shouting into wrist
communicators and freeing their weapons.  The men at the front of the
crowd saw this and let out a war whoop, urging their horses to run
faster.  They unslung their rifles.
	"Holy..." Kiyone didn't get the rest of the curse out of her mouth as
the guards began firing.  The riders aimed and fired back.  One of the
guards fell while the other ran inside the building.  Before the riders
could get there, laser fire began to fall from the top floor.  Two of
the riders fell from their horses.  The rest of them spread out, taking
cover behind anything they could find.  Kiyone watched as a heavy steel
blast door fell over the front door of Ra'dan's office.  
	Once behind cover, the riders began to shoot back, firing their rifles
up at the third floor windows.  It was a stand off.
	"Tenchi!"  Ryoko cried and made as if to fly out to him.
	Kiyone reached out and grabbed her.  "Stay down, fool!"  she told her. 
"They're after *you!*"
	"What?!"
	"They didn't know who you were, remember?"  Kiyone explained.  "They
must have thought the Toyzarian sent you to kill Tenchi!  If you go out
there, they'll..."
	"I don't care!  He's in trouble!"
	"Ryoko!  Let me and Mihoshi handle this!"
	
	Meanwhile, Rikka and Darvin had ducked behind an old anti grav cart
across the street from Ra'dan's building.  Rikka fired off a couple of
shots, but he was certain he missed.  He growled in annoyance as a stray
laser bolt struck the anti grav, showering them in sparks.  Darvin
looked under the cart at the blast door that kept them out.
	"Those doors are too strong for rifles to blast open,"  he told Rikka. 
He reached into his jacket and removed his light sword.  "Come on,
Rikka!"  
	Rikka smiled and unhooked the Tenchi-ken from his belt.  He waved at
Bilna, who was firing from a pair of barrels near them.  "Bil, cover
us!"  Bilna nodded and fired three more shots at the building as Darvin
and Rikka darted across the street.  Rikka felt a warm sensation near
his big toe and looked down to see that a tiny bit of his right boot had
been burned away by a near miss.  He put it out of his mind.  
	They made it to the blast door and crouched down on either side of it. 
With the overhang above them, none of Ra'dan's men should be able to get
a shot at them, but it wasn't worth taking the risk.  The two brought
out their light swords and ignited them, plunging them into either side
of the steel door.  Rikka pushed his sword up and left, whle Darvin
pushed his down and right, forming a molten circle almost three meters
in diameter.  When the cutting was done, the steel disc fell away from
the door.  They crouched on either side of the door again as a hail of
blaster fire met them.  

	"Tenchi!"  Ryoko saw what was going on and vanished.
	"Ryo.."  Before Kiyone could get the name out of her mouth, Ryoko
reappeared, hurt and pissed.  She tried to dematerialize again, but
couldn't get away from the force field that now surrounded her.  Kiyone
looked up to see Washu typing away at her holotop.  
	"Sorry, Ryoko, but I'm afraid Kiyone's right.  You're staying here." 
She looked up her.  "Go to work, Detective."
	Kiyone nodded.  "Thanks, Washu."  She tapped Mihoshi on the shoulder. 
"Come on, bubble brain.  Let's go."
	"Right!"  Mihoshi said, enthusiastically.  "Detectives First Class
Mihoshi and Kiyone will break up this fight and...Hey!"  Kiyone had
grabbed her by the arm and was dragging her down the street, away from
the firefight.  "Kiyone!  The fight is back *there!*  Kiyone!"

	Bilna joined Rikka and Darvin at the entrance to Ra'dan's lair, ducking
from the hail of blaster fire that poured from the hole in the blast
door.  "Hey!  We're expected!"  he shouted through the entrance.  He
grinned wickedly as two more shots came through the door.  He shook his
head and shared a look with Rikka.  "Damn Toyzarians have no sense of
hospitality."
	Rikka rolled his eyes.  "Any ideas, smart ass?"
	Bilna grinned.  "Yeah."  He reached into a satchel at his belt and
removed a small wooden barrel about the size of a half gallon milk jug. 
A six inch fuse protruded from one end.
	Rikka's eyes went wide.  "Tsunami's cleft, Bil!  Where the hell did you
get that?!"
	Bilna's grin got wider.  "Oalson sells black powder," he said in
explanation.  "Ya gotta  light?"
	Rikka nodded and ignited the Tenchi-ken, maneuvering the blade close to
Bilna, who used the laser blade to light the fuse.  He tossed the bomb
inside and covered his ears.  Rikka and Darvin followed suit.  A second
later, the bomb went off.  The glass in the first floor windows
shattered and a storm of debris flew from the hole in the blast door.  
	Darvin looked up and whistled.  "Damn," he commented wryly.
	Rikka stood up and smiled.  "All right.  Let's finish this."  The three
entered the building.

	Ra'dan scurried about his office, burning documents and gathering up
what money he had on hand into a brown leather bag.  His ship was going
to meet him on the roof in a few minutes.  All he had to do was hang on
until then.  What did they want with him?!  He hadn't done
anything....lately.  
	He fell to his knees as a massive explosion rocked the building.  He
quickly got back on his feet and ran to the stairs that led to the
roof.  He'd wait for his ship there.

	Rikka, Darvin, and Bilna got to Ra'dan's office just in time to see the
orange alien run up a flight of stairs on the opposite side of the
room.  "Now we got the bastard!"  Bilna whooped, and the three started
after him, running up the stairs, right on the gangster's heels.   Rikka
led the way.  
	They got to the roof and found Ra'dan flanked by two bodyguards.  They
turned at their approach.  Bilna got one with a shot to the stomach
while Darvin dropped the other.  Rikka ran forward and tackled Ra'dan,
who was reaching for a blaster of his own.  The two fell to the floor
and began struggling, rolling around on the ground, each trying to get
the upper hand.  Suddenly, there was a bright light from above them, and
a dull roar pounded in their ears.  Bilna looked up to see a ship,
Ra'dan's private yacht floating just above them.  He fired a few shots
at it, but the ship had its shields up.
	Ra'dan saw the ship and began shouting.  "Resat gow!  Resat gow!"
	Darvin's eyes went wide.  "Rikka!  Get out of there!"
	Suddenly, there was another roar, and another ship appeared next to the
gangster's yacht.  Bilna blinked as he heard a voice over the ship's
external speaker.  "Attention down there!  This is the Galaxy Police
cruiser, Yagami!  Cease and desist at once!"
	Bilna looked up at the GP ship in confusion.  "Yokine?  Is that you?"
	There was no time for conversation, however.  At that moment, Ra'dan's
yacht opened fire, a heavy laser bolt struck the roof only a few feet
from the wrestling gangster and farmer.  The blast threw them in
opposite directions, knocking Rikka to the ground with a thud.  Ra'dan,
however, was not so lucky.  He flew from the roof and hit the street
three floors below.
	That was all Kiyone and Mihoshi needed to see.  They targeted the yacht
as it turned to get away and fired.  The yacht's left engine exploded. 
The ranchers still gathered below saw what was happening and ran to get
out of the way as the small starship crashed to the ground and exploded
in a ball of fire.

	Washu closed the door behind her and faced the crowd of people standing
in the hall waiting for her prognosis.  She smiled and said, "He'll be
fine."
	They all sighed in relief.  Ayeka stepped forward.  "Can we see him,
Ms. Washu?"
	"'Can we see him'....what?"  
	Ayeka glowered at her, but felt more at ease.  Washu's sense of humor
was only more proof that Tenchi would really be okay.  "Can we see him,
Little Washu?"
	Washu crossed her arms over her chest.  "In a word...no.  He's talking
with Zenya, now.  You'll just have to wait."  They all looked downcast. 
"But there's more,"  Washu told them.  They looked up at her in
expectation.  "It seems the blast knocked his memory loose.  He
remembers who he is again!"
	"That's great!"  Ryoko cried.
	Darvin stood forward and took Washu's hand.  Since the attack, the
Kadoka's and Tenchi's friends had compared notes as to what had
happened.  Realizing it was all a misunderstanding, Darvin held no
grudge against Ryoko or any of the rest of them for what had happened. 
The rest of the settlement was so overjoyed about finally getting rid of
Ra'dan, they had simply shrugged it all off.  "I want to thank you,
young lady, for helping him."
	Washu grinned.  "Hey, it's no sweat for the greatest scientific genius
in the universe!"  Darvin studied her a moment with a keen eye.  It made
her just a tad uncomfortable.  "Umm...Is something wrong?"
	"By any chance," he began, "Would you be *Professor* Washu of the
Academy of Science?"
	"Retired," she told him.  "Why?"
	He took her by the shoulder and led her aside.  "Ms. Washu, let's talk
for a few moments, shall we?"

	Zenya kneeled next to Rikka's bed and held his hand.  He had a bandage
over his left eye.  When she had heard what had happened, she took one
of Bilna's horses and rode into town as fast as she could.  He smiled up
at her.
	"Hey, Zen," he said.  "Some party, huh?"
	She shook her head.  "This is what happens when you go drinking with
Bil," she said in mock annoyance.  She smiled and tried to keep the
tears of relief from streaming down her face.
	"Boys will be boys," he said with a smile.
	She bit her lip in apprehension.  "Rikka, Ms. Washu said that you
remember everything.  Do you?"
	He nodded slowly.
	"I see."  She stood up and went to the table, pouring a glass of water
for herself.  "Well, that's wonderful," she said with her back to him. 
"I mean, it's what you wanted, right?  To remember who you are?"  She
wiped a tear away and tried to keep her voice under control.
	"I know who I am, Zen,"  he told her resolutely.  "I'm Rikka Ven, but
I'm also Tenchi Masaki.  And Tenchi Masaki has a family too."
	"I...I see."  She fought the tears back.  She didn't want him to see
her pain.
	Her ears didn't register the sound of him getting out of bed and
approaching her from behind.  He laid his hands on her shoulders.  "But
I'm married to you," he told her.  "And I see no reason why my memories
should get in the way of that."
	She turned with a glimmer of hope in her teal eyes.  "Then...then what
are you going to do?"
	"Well, I suppose that depends on you.  We can stay here, or we can move
to Earth."
	She blinked, the tears marring her vision.  "You mean...you're not
going to leave me?"
	He enveloped his wife in a tender embrace.  "I'm never going to leave
you, Zen.  Never."  He leaned down and kissed her.  She responded with a
fierceness something close to desperation.  When they finally separated,
she smiled.  That smile disappeared as a new thought occurred to her. 
	"Rikka, I can't leave Father and the others!  I mean...I have to..."
	She was interrupted by a voice from the doorway.  "Yes you can,
Zenya."  They looked up to see Darvin and Washu standing there.  "Sorry
to interrupt.  I knocked, but there was no answer."
	"We were a little, preoccupied,"  Tenchi said with a smile.
	Darvin smiled.  "I can see that."  He turned his attention back to his
daughter.  "Zenya, I want you to go to Earth with Rik...er...Tenchi."
	"Rikka," Tenchi told him firmly.
	Darvin smiled.  "Rikka," he repeated.  "You should go with him, Zenya."
	Zenya wanted to.  They could all see it.  "But...Father...what about
you and Alsia and Devon?  I can't just leave."
	Darvin stepped forward and took his daughter by the shoulders.  "Devon
and I will be fine.  It's time for you to find your own path.  Besides,
the lad and I will visit all the time, and I expect you spend summers
out here so I can spoil my grandchildren absolutely rotten!"
	Zenya laughed.  Tenchi blinked.  He was missing something.  "Darvin,
you said, 'Devon and I.'  What about Alsia?"
	"That's the other reason I want you to go, Zenya," Darvin told her.
	Washu stepped forward.  "Alsia's coming with us, Tenchi!  She's going
to be my new student!"
	"Student?!"
	"Mmmm hmmm," Washu told him.  "It'll feel good to teach again, and
Alsia certainly has the potential to become the second greatest
scientific genius in the universe!  So she'll be staying with us."
	Darvin nodded.  "Right, but she's still quite young, and I was hoping
her older sister and brother-in-law would go with her.  To keep an eye
on her."
	Zenya ran forward and embraced her father.  "Thank you, Father!"
	"Just remember, I want grandchildren....soon."

	"No!  Absolutely not!"  Sasami told her firmly, pointing a wooden spoon
at Zenya.  "This is your first morning here!  You're not going to spend
it doing chores!  I'll make breakfast, you go spend the morning with
Tenchi!"
	"But I should really help,"  Zenya told her.
	"No!  Leave it all to me!  Now, shoo!  Shoo!"  
	Zenya smiled and turned to go.  "Thank you, Sasami."
	Sasami's irritation was replaced with a  smile.  "Your welcome,
Zenya."  
	Zenya left the kitchen and met Tenchi as he was coming down the
stairs.  He stepped off the last step and gave his wife a good morning
kiss.  Sasami leaned out the kitchen door and called out to him. 
"Tenchi, Zenya's not to do any chores today, okay?"
	"No problem, Sasami."  He turned back to Zenya.  "Well, what do we do
now?  To be honest, I kinda got in the habit of doing work every
morning.  It feels weird not to."
	"I know,"  Zenya told him.  "Let's just sit down and relax.  Enjoy it
while it lasts."
	Tenchi nodded and they sat down on the living room couch, just holding
one another.  A second later, Kiyone and Mihoshi entered the room
through the front door.  They saw the newlyweds holding each other on
the couch and smiled.
	"Come on, Mihoshi.  Let's hit the bath."
	"Good idea!"
	As they were leaving, Tenchi called out to them.
	"Kiyone?"
	She turned to him.  "Yes, Tenchi?"
	"I just wanted to say...thanks.  Thanks for coming after me.  And
thanks for being willing to leave well enough alone."
	She smiled.  "No problem, Tenchi."
	He smiled.  "Are you going to leave your hair the way it is?"
	She absently ran her fingers through her short blonde hair. 
"Actually...I've been considering it.  Earth men seem to like blonde
hair, and Bilna certainly seemed to think it was a good color for me. 
What do you think, Zenya?"
	"Actually," she said, "I can't honestly picture you as anything but."
	Kiyone grinned devilishly.  "I'll think I'll keep it.  I'll see you two
at breakfast."  With that, the two went upstairs to the bath.
	Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Ayeka sat down at the table while Sasami
cooked.  Ryoko appeared next to her, sitting down next to her one time
rival.  They sat together in silence for a moment.
	Finally, Ryoko had to say something.  "Well," she began, "At least he's
happy."
	Ayeka nodded ruefully in agreement.
	"You know, Ayeka, there's nothing keeping us here anymore.  I've been
thinking about leaving."  Ayeka looked at her in surprise.  "Now that
Ryuoh's up and flying, how about you come with me?  We can cruise around
the galaxy and cause some *real* trouble."  Ryoko tried smiling, but
couldn't quite make it happen.  She still couldn't get over it.  They
had both lost, and it hurt.
	Ayeka sighed.  "No, Ryoko, I intend to stay here."
	Ryoko blinked.  Her eyes narrowed in suspiscion.  "Why?"  she asked. 
"They're not going to break up, Ayeka, and Tenchi's happiness is
important to me, so if you're thinking of *engineering* a break up, I
suggest you forget it right now, or else you and I are going to have to
step outside and have a *real* conversation."
	Ayeka let the threat pass.  "No, Ryoko, nothing like that.  This is my
home now, and Sasami wants to stay.  Besides...I...like it here."
	Ryoko paused for a moment.  "Your not telling me something."
	Ayeka turned on her.  "Are you accusing me of *lying?!*"
	"No, I'm accusing you of omission, there's a difference."
	Ayeka "hmmph'ed" in derision.  "Well, there's really nothing more to it
than that."
	Ryoko looked at her for a moment.  "Oh, really?"  she asked.  She
raised her voice and called out to Sasami.  "Hey, Sasami!  Why does
Ayeka want to stay?"
	Ayeka's eyes went wide, and she turned to Sasami, hoping to ward off
the answer with a gaze.  Sasami must not have seen it.
	"That's easy, Ryoko," Sasami told her, Ryo-Ohki perched on top of her
head.  "Tenchi's going to be the next King of Jurai."
	"So?"
	"Sasami!"  Ayeka cried.
	Sasami gave her sister a questioning look.  "Why shouldn't she know,
Ayeka?"
	"Uh...well...no reason...I guess."
	Sasami smiled.  "Well, Tenchi's going to be the next King of Jurai, and
it's Jurain law that every king have two wives, one Jurain and one
non-Jurain."  Ryoko blinked as this set in.  Sasami continued.  "Zenya
told me that her father is Mollidoni, but her mother was Jurain, so I
guess she could be either one."  She grinned broadly.   "That means any
one of us could be Tenchi's second wife once he's proclaimed king! 
Isn't it great?!"
	Ryoko was livid.  She glared at Ayeka, who looked at the table top 
sheepishly.  "You bitch," she hissed at the princess, partly in anger,
partly in respectful awe.  "You were going to let me go and never tell
me that?!"
	Ayeka sat up straighter.  "I saw no reason to tell you that which you
didn't think to ask."
	"And if I *had* asked," Ryoko asked, "Would you have told me?"
	"Well..."
	Ryoko shot to her feet.  "Ayeka!  I can't believe it!  That's low, even
for you!"
	Ayeka stood up and faced off with the demon.  "Who are you calling,
'low,' you monster?!"
	"Well, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..."
	"Chances are you stole it at one time or another,"  Ayeka finished.
	Sasami watched as the two powered up for a fight.  She frowned for a
few seconds, then grinned.  "All right!  Everything's back to normal
again!"  Ryo-Ohki 'miya'ed in agreement.
	In the living room, Tenchi looked in the direction of the kitchen and
shook his head as he heard Ryoko and Ayeka fight.
	"And to think, I was going to let you tag along with me!"  Ryoko spat.
	"And why would I want to tag along with the likes of you?!"
	"Oh, I don't know, I can think of a snooty, pink haired reason you
might want to stay away from home!"
	"How dare you?!"
	Zenya lifted her head and gazed in the same direction.  "I wonder what
they're fighting about now,"  Tenchi told her.  Zenya could only shrug.
	Suddenly, the door to Washu's lab exploded open with a blast.  Smoke
began to pour out of the dimensional door.  Washu and Alsia stepped out,
coughing and covered in soot.
	"Uh...Professor Washu?  Was it *supposed* to explode like that?"  Alsia
asked, dusting herself off.
	Washu coughed a few more times before answering.  "Oh, yeah!"  She
coughed again.  "You can't create a transdimensional time-space vortex
without a good size explosion!"
	Alsia seemed to accept this.  "Okay, so now what?"
	"Well, if I timed the experiment correctly..."
	Sasami stuck her head out the kitchen door.  "Breakfast is ready!"
	"...Then we eat breakfast."
	Alsia nodded.  "Cool."
	They all went to the kitchen and sat down.  Kiyone and Mihoshi joined
them a few moments later.  Ryoko and Ayeka were still going at it when
Tenchi entered, but stopped when they saw him.  They shared a look with
one another.  They both knew what the other was thinking.  This rivalry
hadn't ended.
	The stakes had just gone up.


Author's Notes:
Ha!  There it is!  Definitive and irrefutable proof that the series
*could* continue if Tenchi married someone *other* than Ayeka or Ryoko! 
(Author rubs hands together maliciously.)  *They* said it couldn't be
done.  They *laughed* at me!  Well I showed them!  I....Wow!  This is
really getting out of control.  Hang on a sec while I sit down.  (Author
sits and takes a few deep breaths.)  Jeez, I think I'm spending too much
time writing.  Maybe I should listen to my friends and really *do* go
out and get a life.
Nah, what do they know, anyway?!
Well, I hope you liked it.  Please send C&C to-
Thomas "009" Doscher 
doscher009@hotmail.com