Taisho Yui sat in the cozy center chair of the starship GSS Yui, the destroyer named after its class which was in turned, named after her. It was somewhat amusing. She supposed it was hard to find heroes in this day, and through her work and improvements, she had become one. Still, she was still the same Yui she was before she joined the GSA. Maybe wiser, more controlled, but still the loving, caring warrior.

The GSS Yui had just finished its refit at a newly constructed shipyard over Kosame, supplies had also been sent up in the form of rations and foods. It wasn't the first time Yui had been on this ship. She had overseen it through the pioneering of the Yui command class. But now, she would be making it her primary vessel, and living on it. 

The ship's hallways were waist high in boxes; the ship filled and filled with extra foods, rations, and general supplies. One literally couldn't stand in the hallways, but had to scoot along the box tops close to the ceiling lights. It was time to go out into the void again.

Since Yui already had a preferred crew from the GSS Chino Yushi, this ship had not come with one, and thus was undermanned by about two-dozen people. The bridge, however, was fully staffed for the time being. Irim sat at the navigation station, her nose buried in a book from the ship's collection in the briefing room. Eris was sound asleep on the deactivated defensive systems control panel with her waist being straddled by the equally unconscious Hinosami. Hinosami's small body rested forward on Eris's chest.

The Taisho took a moment to just listen to Hinosami breathe. The girl was more of a daughter to her than most of her real daughters were, since they were off in schools or flying starships somewhere.

Lastly, there was Chusa Anri, who was at the fire control station, watching Yui intently, even as Yui was watching Hinosami. When the Taisho turned to face Anri, their eyes met and they both stared deep into each other for a long moment. Finally, Anri came over to Yui and gave the maternal captain a warm hug that lasted a good thirty seconds before the first officer returned to her station.

With that, Yui quietly spoke over the intercom to the engineering section. "Bring all systems online, prepare for TTD and CDD use."

A low hum blended into the sound of the environmental systems, then the rising pitches of systems coming online. In the nacelles, the rotary CDF coils began to spin on their electromagnetic axles, quickly turning into a blur of circular motion.

The ship lurched slightly as it detached from the orbital docking station, and floated free. The ion/graviton engines came to life, bringing the sharp arrowhead of a ship into motion. After a sufficient distance, the spatial distortion system went into action and the engines were shut off as the GSS Yui switched propulsion. Finally, in a flash of blue, the CDD engines activated and the ship went into FTL.

There were crew to pick up and places to explore. And a treaty that needed approval. 
It was late at night at the starship dock where Ritsurin was loading boxes of supplies aboard the GSS-Yui. "Oh man, security shouldn't be doing this kind of work,” he thought as he loaded the last of the boxes into the freezer storage. As he left the room, he feels the ship begin to move, "looks like she's leaving" he said to nobody particular. He takes the lift to exit the ship, and as the lift rises, he notices that the ship's no longer in the dock. 

He crawls toward the bridge over boxes of supplies he and his team had loaded several hours ago. His team was given a breather, Ritsurin decided to just finish the job alone. He hopes that the commander was on the bridge at the present time, he planned to tell her about this incident.

"Oh, this is REAL good" he fumed as he then decided to venture onto the bridge and report this to the starship commander. "Ms. Yui, excuse my intrusion, but this ship wasn't supposed to leave the docks yet, I'm now stuck on this ship." He hoped that she'd at least listen and possibly turn about and drop him off.
Taii Kimaiko walked with a clipped pace through her intelligence department. She wanted everything to be set for the Taisho's inspection tomorrow. Kimi had not been under Yui's command for long, but wanted to make a good impression. Kimi's sighed at her lack of staff and wondered when she would have the time to sleep
She heard a stranger's voice and headed towards it. As she made her way there, she saw a man crawl over some boxes and enter the bridge. She carefully followed, trying to not damage any of the supplies. Kimi entered the bridge and listened to him speak; ready to detain the stranger if necessary. He seemed to pose no threat, and the Taisho was completely capable of defending herself, but Kimi stood ready anyway.
"Taii Kimaiko reporting, ma'am."

Yui was relaxing in the command chair. It was even more plush and comfortable than the one on the GSS Chino Yushi. A somewhat newer ship, the GSS Yui was furnished extremely well in carpeting and furniture, even if there wasn't a lot of room on the small ship.

The Kessaku sisters were manning their consoles, when an odd-looking male slipped off the box tops and into the bridge. "Ms. Yui, excuse my intrusion, but this ship wasn't supposed to leave the docks yet...I'm stuck on this ship." the worried-looking guy informed her.

Yui looked him up and down, sizing him up. And then she spoke the words he was likely dreading or suspecting; "I suppose you are stuck, then." The taisho smiled amusedly. "Welcome aboard," her eyes went to the red rank on his red security uniform. "Sergeant."

At that moment, a blue-skinned catgirl of sorts slinked into the bridge behind the man. Yui recognized her from the personnel records. "Kimaiko." she grinned and the intelligence officer. "Welcome aboard to you as well. As you both know, I'm Taisho Yui. Don't let my rank scare you though, I'm just a regular captain to you guys for all practical purposes."

She smiled again, showing her fangs slightly, and continued. "We're somewhat undermanned at this time, so you people have your work cut out for you, especially you Kimaiko, since you're the only intelligence officer aboard besides myself. I've got another potential officer but until I can get him you're it."

"And you" she turned to the only male on the ship, "What are we to do with you?" 
Eliona Yakrian was in a good mood. She had just woken up from the longest rest she had enjoyed since her transfer from the GSS Hamasaki, three weeks ago.

As she entered the bridge she realized for the first time just how few crewmembers there were on the new ship. "It's probably because they can't fit any more people onboard with all these darn boxes" she thought to herself. She bid the Taisho a good morning and plopped into her seat with a sigh. It was going to be a longer day than usual.
"Elly!" Yui called out to her the other white-shirt, Chusa Eliona Yakrian. Elly had been in command of the Hamasaki for a while, and had been recently transferred to the GSS Yui so she could get the feel of a Yui-class starship. For the time being, she was one of the three commanders of the ship; the other two were the gentle, soft-spoken Anri, and of course, Yui herself.

"Well, since we're all here, I won’t have to call everyone to the briefing room." the Taisho addressed the brave crew of the small starship. "Our first mission is to track down a group of pirates. Part of the group has stolen a starship of potential allies and is using it as a base to further their raiding operations. We seek to capture the starship if possible, before the allies can destroy it. At the same time, and equally important, if not more so, we must locate the planetary bases of these pirates and take care of them."

"Since we don't have a medical or science officer at this time, we are also looking for a few more crewmembers. We might make a few stops to pick some up. Sorry about the boxes, they will go away once we are out here for a while and eat our way through them. We will start shortly by using the TTD and then we'll begin searching."

"While we're getting started, we should all become familiar with one another. Anything you want to ask me is fine...and I want to hear all about each of you as well. What do you like to do? Why are you here? We'll start out with me. My name is Yui--and you can call me by my name, I don't mind, so long as it stays on the ship--and I am here for the children. The expansion of the GSA allows children in it to live good lives, without poverty or starvation, without senseless violence or chaos. I'll usually be here on the bridge, in my nest..." she pointed to the alcove above the galley, to the rear of the bridge "...or in the ship's bath. I like to be read and write, and question things until I get to the truth."
As Elly sat listening to Yui, she relaxed. The conversation seemed to be going well enough. When the Taisho had finished Elly began. "I'm Eliona Yakrian although I'd prefer it if you'd please call me 'Elly'. I enjoy anything to do with weapons so if you have questions about armaments don't be afraid to ask". "I can usually be found either on the bridge, or in my Quarters. The only question I have is where is the Armory and Range, if we have a range?"

The question made Yui laugh lightheartedly. "The armory is the last room on the port side of the ship. "As for ranges, there's none of that here,” the older neko responded. "I'd prefer it if you didn't fire weapons inside our ship. It's you home, too. Your quarters are the forward ones on the port side."

Heram J. Wazu waited, Mechandrites twitching nervously as the pressure seals released around the docking arm of the small one-man shuttlecraft. All that was onboard included a set of data ports and a small navigational computer for piloting the ship. After leaving the planet he headed for the one place that would best fit his goals, the GSS Yui. He heard they still had an opening for science officer and was planning to apply for the job. The doors finally opened but instead of seeing a crew (or anything for that matter) he was greeted by a bunch of boxes! He was wondering what was going on when he noticed a crewmember squeezing through the small gap in the boxes. “Is their still a job opening?” he asked.

"Hrm? Oh good, I was wondering when that shuttle would show up. Now we can TTD out of here." said a blue-haired nekovalkyrja. It was Shikoko, one of the security sentries aboard the ship. But when the shuttle had docked, she was surprised to find the man in green inside. A science officer? The neko- at first looked confused, but then quickly gave the man a warm "Welcome aboard the GSS Yui!"

The security officer quickly showed the man to his quarters, which he had all to himself, since there were no medics or other scientists. They were not particularly big, with slanting ceilings that resulted from the bladelike hull design of the Yui class. Inside, there was a short desk and tiny stool with a cushion on top. The desk had a bright-looking lamp on top and all the drawers had great latches on them so stuff wouldn't go flying if the gravity went out. There were some cabinets for clothing and a curved bedlike sleeping area on the outside edge of the room that was made of foam and covered with blankets and pillows, freshly washed.

"The bridge is that way, and the meals are served in the briefing room." the sentry pointed to each. "If you get lost, find an access terminal (control panel) and press the map button. Enjoy your stay, sergeant." With that, Shikoko left Wazu to get settled in.

Elly weaved through the boxes to reach the armory. She had wanted to see what type of weapons the new ship had been equipped with. 

When she arrived she found the regular gun lockers. One was for sidearms and small automatics, another for High-Powered Sniper and Assault rifles, and the last one for Energy Weapons and Heavy Machine Guns. She then browsed the different types of Special Unit equipment and finally she realized the lack of explosives.

Ritsurin bowed to Taisho Yui and states: "forgive me, my name is Daijinshi Ritsurin, I was a security sentry at that last dock; I suppose I now work for you." He bowed to her again, turned and crawled off the bridge. He walked around the interior of the GSS Yui. It was the most impressive ship he'd ever seen. As he crawls through the halls, he quietly contemplates what he was going to do now. As he explores the ship, he came to notice that there wasn't another man on this ship anywhere; he began to get a little nervous, as the presence of females always did to him. He realizes that he is alone on a ship of nekovalkyrja.

He had heard from a co-worker that he worked with that the nekos were essentially biological weapons created by PNUgen and WickedArms. "If you run into one, my friend," he said "be careful not to irritate or make them mad, or you'll most likely regret it." That particular piece of advice seemed especially poignant at this juncture. He looks down at his claws, flexes his fingers and thinks about going back to Taisho Yui and asking her for a new assignment. He beats off that chain of thought as one of his ears perks/cocks to his right as he hears something, he stops and looks, and sees a couple of NH-7's walking by, he averts his eyes as not to draws attention to himself.

He returns to the bridge, and said, "Excuse me Taisho, but you asked 'what to do with you?' I have experience in matters of security, I can serve as a security officer aboard this ship." He looks intently into the Taisho's red eyes as if to say "accept my offer, and I'll be loyal to you until the end of my life." As he looks into her eyes, he realizes that if he made her angry, she could probably beat him into a bloody pulp. He inadvertently wiggles his ears as he awaits her answer.

"I have one more question, where am I going to sleep? This ship seems awfully small, and the nests are mostly taken."

Yui first answered Kimi. "Too cold? I quite disagree. The temperature in here is roughly eighty-two degrees Fahrenheit. Anything more and it would be unreasonably hot, and we must consider the other crew that is aboard. It must be very warm water on Albini." Yui almost continued to say 'no wonder our invading troops liked it so much' but she kept the thought to herself, as she didn't want to offend Kimi by bringing up feelings she had over the conquest of her world. The encryption of the NH-7's mind made any attempt to read her thoughts about as useless as staring at static on a screen. "Consider spending some time in the crew baths. I was planning on heading there soon, if you want to join me."

The Taisho then turned to Daijinshi Ritsurin. "One of your fellow security officers informed me that another male has arrived onboard, by the name of Heram Wazu. If you want to stay separate from the nekos, you can share the room on the forward port side with him. Otherwise, you can sleep with Shinami and her gang."

A call was transmitted from another universe, relayed to the ship. Yui stopped to answer it.

"Good Evening" an elfish man greeted her. "Please forgive me"

"Good evening to you as well, good sir."

"How do you do?"

"Fairly well, I am currently hunting raiders."

"Any luck? In which system?"

"Python Sector. No luck so far, but we have only just begun."

"As Fleet Admiral, you must have full responsibility?"

"I am the leader of my nation, until a new Emperor is selected."

"You are the empress?"

"I suppose. But I'm a captain of my ship, first and foremost."

"I could never cope with such responsibility... I believe you do a good job"

"I do what I can." Yui said. "It is my responsibility to keep the best interests of my people at heart, while I defend and expand our empire with new friendships and the occasional conquering."

"They haven't done mutiny yet...Conquering?"

"Yes, the annexation of worlds for our use."

"You implying anything?"

"I cannot say for certain, but with luck an additional four planets will become ours within the month, along with their large military, which will submit to us peacefully. I cannot discuss the matter more than that, given the uncertainty that still exist at this time. Intelligence predicts a large war beginning sometime very soon, that my forces will be involved with."

"The Micras planet is consisting of 20 nations...It would be hard." the elf scornfully warned.

"I am not referring to Micras." Yui said in slight annoyance.

"Very well then. How many planets do you have, milady?"

"I don't even know any more. Some of the ones we used to have have recently fallen to Nepleslian forces. We battle over them frequently these days. We have Albini, Geshrintall, and Qel'noran for certain, and a good hold on Ayenee Prime and Kennewes. The planets that are no longer ours are Nepleslia, and Damascia. The Nepleslian Spacy is holding them. Luckily, it is a giant civil war where both sides wish to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. All fighting is done in space."

"How many casualties?"

"In the military, hundreds of thousands...perhaps a million or two."

"That is sad. Cannot you settle your differences in a peaceful manner?"

"No, we cannot. They believe my species is nothing more than animated meat."

"That is racist!" the elf declared.

"They are bent on technology and humanity. We, on the other hand, believe in cloning and replacing the human race."

Suddenly it dawned on the elf that he didn't know what exactly Yui was. "What species are you?"

"Nekovalkyrja, model NH-7y5." Yui responded,

"And the GSA mostly consist of Nekovalkyrja people?"

"Yes, we do. The second largest population group is the Geshrin, genetically perfected humans."

For a few more minutes, the two conversed, mainly discussing elves. Finally, the conversation came to a cool ending. "I just wanted to know a bit more about the Grand Star Army. I thank you for your time." the Menelmacari bid her farewell.

"Of course, sir." She said.

After that, she headed for the ship's bath. Elly wasn't on the bridge so she put Anri in charge. "Chusa, you have the bridge."

Heram attached his mechandrites to the drive core and began to feel the ship as his body went limp. All sorts of data were being processed through his skull. He FELT the ships hull as he would his skin he felt the pulse of the power system like the pulse of his heart and he also felt the scratching sensation of a micrometer impact near the rear of the ship. After a recalibration of the engines a new list of repairs, a full review of the ships armaments and docking mechanisms he dove into the sensor data and began to gaze at the stars

It only took seconds before Yui-MEGAMI, the ship's computer, appeared in holographic form and punched the limp man in the face, giving Heram a bloody nose. She was obviously quite annoyed at the man and picks the things off the core, shutting and locking the impervium panel. After this, she stares Wazu down for a long moment, and finally says, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The computer's deceitfully normal-looking form, comprised of holograms and forcefields, looked like the Taisho, but with stark white hair, porcelain skin, and wearing a set of flowing white robes. Apparently he had violated her in some way. Obviously, the program had very real emotions.

As she walked out of the baths, Elly decided to visit Senteri. Senteri had been Elly's friend onboard the GSS Assassin. They had been two of the four survivors from the Assassin's destruction during the Battle of Kennewes. Elly and Senteri had become close friends in almost a day. 

She found Senteri humming a tune in her nest. When she saw Elly she gave a squeal of delight and beckoned her over. Elly was confused. She had never seen Senteri so happy. She was the type of person who was expressionless and extremely hard to read, it reminded her of Yui.

Irim scooted down the hallway passing a crewmember in a green uniform mumbling something about how a proper diagnostic was to be carried out without a mind machine interface. She also noticed a fresh cut on the man's face. Whenever Yui would return to her room she would find a data slate on her desk labeled Yui class type B

Dear Yui,

Here is a list of modifications that I would like your approval on before I begin work on them
1. Modified radiation sinks: This will be an 8-foot long unit mounted on the end of the GSS Yui. It will include a set of cooling rods to absorb heat radiation as well as a complex series of radiation sensors and emitters that will emit the inverse of whatever radiation detected emanating out of the ship that is not necessary for work i.e. broadcasts and scans. Another effect will be to emit a false space distortion reading that makes devises that scan for a warping in up to 5 dimensions will be negated This will allow the GSS Yui to achieve a 24% increase in it’s ability to remain undetected by both passive and active sensor scans.

2. Variable weapons and the grand white beam: By modifying the shields and variable weapons we should be able to use the variable weapons to boost the power of the grand white beam by firing them into the shield matrix and flinging the shots into the beam by using the shield system to alter the course of the discharge increasing the diameter of the beam by about 2.37. Note: this will also allow all variable weapons to increase their firing arcs by about 50% by warping the shots around the shield matrix

Heram J. Wazu

BLEEP! The communications noise chirps at T'Ver with irritating enthusiasm.

T'Ver, with studied patience cast a glance at the door, behind which her yeoman should have been intercepting her messages. She opened the channel and said, "Admiral T'Ver here."

Yui was just getting more and more amusingly unabashed with her bizarre calls at odd times. This time, Yui was making the transmission from what appeared to be her ships bath, a large multi-person tub filled with steamy hot water. It was the first time that T’Ver could see the tattoos on Yui's breasts. "Good evening, Admiral!" the vibrant cat-eared Taisho's perfect-skinned face smiled amicably.

T'Ver raised an eyebrow. "Is this a social call, Admiral?"

The markings had a corporate logo and a model and serial number. There was probably barcode somewhere else. Yui bobbed in the hot water in front of the waterproof laptop computer, her wet hair sticking to her head, almost black-looking. "Social?" she gave a quizzical look. "I wanted to discuss what the GSA is doing to help rid you of your--our--pirate problem."

"Please." T'Ver invited.

"While our new Migichinan-type ship of the Draesoneth class..." Yui was familiar with the design via the information she had hacked, although she didn't know if Stelam had actually told anyone about her admittance. "...searches for the KR-894 and the KRS Intercourse, we will be looking for the rest of the ships and their base of operations."

T'Ver tilted her head a centimeter. "That would be acceptable." She said in a typically Vuclan way.

"I also," Yui added, "have a few ideas on where they will strike next." She dipped under the bathwater for a moment, and came up and raised her arms over her head, applying some shampoo to her hair. Nekos didn't sweat and didn't have body odor at all, but they seemed to share a common instinctive desire for cleanliness, which must have been what inspired them to put public bath-rooms onboard their ships. It was interesting to note that Geshrin ships tended to situate the toilets in different rooms from baths, as the two hygienic functions weren't associated in their minds.

"You seem to know these pirates much better than we do, it seems. If you are willing, we would be ... grateful ... if you were to take care of them." T'Ver replied.

"And we will, in our own way. You see, the pirates, although their moral standards are somewhat frownable, are still useful. I intend to capture them if possible."

"Since we are still in negotiations about your status with the UFP, perhaps it would be best if you handled their justice, too. We might seem too lenient from your point of view."

"Lenient?" the Taisho looked at her oddly. "I was under the impression they were likely to be executed."

"The UFP does not employ execution in its justice system. However, we are aware that some cultures do, so the criminals of those cultures are usually turned over to their own people." T'Ver explained.

"Whereas I intend to reemploy them in tasks more suitable to the interests of the GSA, where their skills will serve them better. You know the GSA allows for slavery. The pirates may find themselves on the other side of the cage doors. Do you not see it as fitting?"

"It is not my place to judge the suitability of your correctional methods." T'Ver answered, evading the direct question.

"I see. How many combat capable ships are in spacedock right now?" Yui asked, as if it was of some importance. "And what is in your fleet yards?"

T'Ver raised both eyebrows. "That is information that is only given out to the highest Starfleet officers of this sector."

"Very well, I see you don't want to cooperate." the Taisho slyly observed, implying that T'Ver would be missing out on some vital information if the elf didn't answer.

T'Ver was immune to that kind of manipulation, having heard it from students and superior officers alike. "I not only will not, but cannot give you the information you desire." She said firmly.

"You're dooming yourself." Yui frowned disapprovingly.

"I am carrying out my oath of loyalty to Starfleet. There is some information I am not allowed to divulge, under ANY circumstances. This is our way." T'Ver countered.

"The method with prolongs the survival and welfare of you and your organization is logical, is it not? Give me the information I want, so that I may determine what you need. It is important, T’Ver. Without knowing this, the GSA cannot help you. I will find out through you or through other ways, but that would take longer, and its borrowed time for you as it is. Please help yourself by telling me."

T'Ver's eyes got cold. "I cannot. This conversation is ended, Admiral." She cut the channel and stared at it for some time. What kind of allies would demand secret information? Were they allies or enemies in disguise?

Yui growled at the screen. "Foolish!" she declared. She would have to use the intelligence network on the base to individually count all the ships and keep track of them. There just wasn't enough time, and not enough agents to do it. One moment T’Ver was asking for the GSA to take care of the pirates, and the next, she blatantly interfered in the process. Yui had long suspected the pirates would raid the Python Yards, but now she had no idea when, and it wouldn't do to have her fleet lurk around the station having ships bump into them. Damn! And of course there was that other war...

"There's another man on board? But, I didn't see one on my exploration of the ship." Ritsurin said with surprise. About sleeping quarters, the nekos aren't really that bad, I just get nervous around members of the opposite gender." Ritsu explained. "I honestly don't have any problems with them, other than the fact that I've always (99% of the time) been treated like dirt by women, or they've found my ears to be 'cute' and tried to fiddle with them which is really uncomfortable. Other guys are just uncomfortable around me, so I suppose I'll sleep with Shinami and her gang, it's not that big a deal."

Ritsu then turned to leave, nearly bumping into Kimi. "Oops sorry" he apologized and continued on to the armory to look around. As Ritsu reached the armory, climbing over boxes, he entered the room; said "hello" to Chusa Elly Yakrian and proceeded to have a look at the rifles and small sidearms, looking to possibly to replace his old small handgun. Finding none that caught his eye, he left and went to have a look at the briefing room, finding nobody in there due to lack of personnel. Ritsu continued to thoroughly map out the ship's design in his head in case of emergency.

After his walk (or crawl) through the ship, he decided to check out the crew baths, as there wasn't a big issue on that kind of privacy. Upon arrival in the baths, he removed his outer uniform and undershirt and slid into the baths and sat down and relaxed for a while, letting all the stress of the day flow away. "Ah.... man! This water feels good. I could stay in here all day, but I can't; ah well." While Ritsu was relaxing in the water, a neko he didn't recognize entered the baths. Mildly embarrassed Ritsu took a breath and sank to the bottom, acting as if to get his hair wet. He came back up, not looking at the neko, propped himself up on his elbows (but not quite getting out). Ritsu climbed out of the baths awhile afterwards

"I think I'll take another look at that armory." he mused after drying off and feeling refreshed, putting his uniform back on and starts crawling. Upon reaching the armory (again) Ritsu takes a look around and then looks at his current arm and decides to take a GP-1a along with a dual-prong electrified bayonet and flash suppressor/silencer. "I hope that this is okay, I feel more comfortable having a nice rifle with me." Ritsu considered. "I'll put it back if Yui tells me to." He straps the weapon to his back.

After leaving the room, he crawls over the boxes again, and heads for the security's crew quarters, picks an unused nest, and stows the unloaded weapon and a box of ammo in it. As he walks out, he says a polite "hello" to the neko Taitatsuko, whom he recognized from an earlier encounter.

He decides to head for the baths again just because it felt so good to relieve stress in that fashion. So, again he removed this outer uniform and undershirt and slides into the warm water, and propped himself up on his elbows and just relaxed for a while...

Yui returned to the bridge, where Irim whispers something in her ear. She then headed into the small office, taking a seat in a plush leather chair situated behind a stately looking desk. The small room's walls were decorated with burgundy paint and with pictures from various moments in her life, some directly from her memories. Picking up the note on her desk, she read it over.
Quote: 
 
Dear Yui,

Here is a list of modifications that I would like your approval on before I begin work on them
1. Modified radiation sinks: This will be an 8-foot long unit mounted on the end of the GSS Yui. It will include a set of cooling rods to absorb heat radiation as well as a complex series of radiation sensors and emitters that will emit the inverse of whatever radiation detected emanating out of the ship that is not necessary for work i.e. broadcasts and scans. Another effect will be to emit a false space distortion reading that makes devises that scan for a warping in up to 5 dimensions will be negated This will allow the GSS Yui to achieve a 24% increase in it’s ability to remain undetected by both passive and active sensor scans.

2. Variable weapons and the grand white beam: By modifying the shields and variable weapons we should be able to use the variable weapons to boost the power of the grand white beam by firing them into the shield matrix and flinging the shots into the beam by using the shield system to alter the course of the discharge increasing the diameter of the beam by about 2.37. Note: this will also allow all variable weapons to increase their firing arcs by about 50% by warping the shots around the shield matrix

Heram J. Wazu 
 

"Hmm," she mused. The suggestions were interesting, but she didn't really see what the point was. For the first one, the cloaking device on the ship already accounted for all that, and they could always TTD cloak. The second idea was odd as well. The variable weapons beams wouldn't be warped unless significant changes to the SD shields were made; changes tat would lower its effectiveness. And the output of the GWB was already total annihilation. The increased radius would be good were it not for the loss of use of the variable weapons, which were used to shoot down incoming missiles and fighters. Still, the ideas had potential, and she would be sure to see Wazu and discuss how they could be best used.

After thorough consideration, she walked back out onto the bridge. "Prepare to TTD jump. And get me Wazu. Make sure everyone is ready for battle."

The CDD of the GSS Yui came online, and in an instant the whole universe around the small ship changed. They were now in a tunnel of energy, hurtling through a swirl of bright blue through the quantum slipstream, achieving a speed thousands of times that of light.

On the outside of the ship, the doors to the variable weapons turrets slid open, and the torpedo tube doors opened as well, with the warheads sliding into position for rapid fire. The technicians were all up, hunkered around their reactors and systems, and all throughout the ship, the interior lights went red.

Anri sat in the fire control station, Irim at navigation, Eris at Defensive systems. Hinosami, the communications officer, was temporarily at the science station until Wazu came to the bridge, and Yui was in the pilot's pit.

Yui's voice came over the intercom, "All hands prepare for battle." 
Kimi was nearly to the doorway When Yui returned and called for battle stations. She really didn't know what she was supposed to do now. "I'm an Intel Officer!" she thought, "What good am I in a space fight?" Looking for an open spot, she took a seat near the sensor display. "At least this is something I know, " she mused quietly as she shivered from cold. Her gills were closed tightly against her sides to try and hold in the warmth, but it wasn't working to well and only hindered her breathing.

Truthfully, the prospect of battle somewhat frightened her, especially after the seeing the effects of the wars to capture her world. But this was now her duty, to serve under Yui, and the others. Her race had been conquered and most of her way of life destroyed, but she was first and foremost a soldier, as she had always been. Only now, she was fighting to protect all planets in the GSA, not only her own. And that was indeed a worthy cause. "Ready for scans Yui!"
Ritsu jumps out of the bath, dresses and dashes out the doors, seeing as the internal lights had come on, Ritsurin knew that meant to get ready for combat. As he dashes down the hallway toward the security quarters to get the weapon he had stowed there earlier, his eyes narrow as he wonders what the problem is. But, it wasn't the time to ask anyone.

He grabs the GP-1a from his nest he stowed it in, and says to himself "I may not be as good as the nekos, but now I can show what I can do. Let's ROCK!" Running on all fours over the boxes with the weapon strapped to his back, he makes it to the bridge.

"Yui, where do you want me?" he asked with all due respect, the will to fight rising within him, he anxiously awaits his task.
Before Yui could answer, the ship was rocked by a powerful shockwave. The crew had to hold on to their seats. Hinosami went flying and landed harshly on the deck after her small body bounced off the wall. Upon coming out of the slipstream, the ship was greeted by enemy fire from a Bellystabber class raider ship, which flies over the top of the GSS Yui. Energy blasts slung back and forth, creating flashes of light along the shield bubble. Anri took control of the variable weapons, which were configured as transphasic disruptor cannons, scoring a hit on the backside of the ship that had just passed overhead.

Flying into the middle of a large battle, with a large number of other GSA 1st fleet ships present, boxing in a group of pirates. There were some 20 pirate ships at all. Now that the GSA ship's sensors were locked on, their cloaking devices couldn't hide them. The pointy green ships were taking a horrible beating. Explosions and torpedo fire were everywhere. Yui jerked the ship to the side suddenly as a heavily damaged raider ship nearly hit the GSS Yui. The craft, trailing smoke, smashed into the frontier-class GSS Homyoin (GS-13), which didn't have the same agility. The larger ship's lower sections exploded into flame as the raider disintegrated on impact.

The Yui pulled behind one of the fleeing raider ships and unloaded six torpedoes into it, pulling down as the ship violently blew up into an orange fireball. GSS Rafu (GF-78) called in over the comm reporting a bad hit to the engines. The Yui swung by catching the Rafu's escape pods, quickly pulling them into the launch deck. The Rafu spiraled out of control into the murky depths of the huge gas giant nearby.

And over the massive gaseous planet, there drifted a singular circle of gray, a huge gateway that would allow travel into other universes. That was where the pirates had been coming from, obviously. In the midst of the battle, a large white ship raced for that gate, flanked by one of the raider ships. It was the KRS Intercourse.

Anri fired a few shots at the intercourse's engineering hull, causing a line of explosions to pock up the hull as the ship zoomed through the vacuum for the gate. The intercourse replied with a salvo of transphasic torpedoes. The Yui narrowly dodged them. The white ship headed through the gate, with its escort, while the Yui recovered.

Just then, the gate itself began to shimmer yellow, preparing to make a hyperspace jump to somewhere else in this universe. The pirates are mostly gone now, either through the gate or destroyed, as well as two ships that surrendered.

Yui was half tempted to follow them through the gate, but who knew what was on the other side. With a flash of golden light, it disappeared, leaving only the GSA ships in orbit. The Homyoin's crew's escape pods were picked up by the GSS Revelation.

"That was interesting." Yui commented from the pilot pit.
"Good day, Your Excellency" an elven hologram popped up. Hinosami sat in the communications station still nursing a bruised knee.

"I am not an excellency." the Taisho frowned slightly, looking up from her position in some sort of control pit. A wire was running into her neck.

"My apologies" Ric said bowing "I am sorry to disturb you"

The lighting was still red, as a battle had just concluded. Yui began to disentangle herself from the pilot's pit and its systems. "Well, what is it you desire?" the smooth-skinned woman asked.

Ric's hologram walked slowly towards the pit, with his hands behind his back. "It is about the Menelmacari Treaty. Your proposal is not valid in the Conclave". He took a deep breath, waiting for the reaction from the Admiral. "I am deeply sorry to inform this to you"

She was removed the wire from the port from the back of her neck, just as the lights of the ship went back to normal white. Crewmembers could be seen walking to and from behind her. "Is there any particular reason why?" 

Ric was rather surprised by the light change. He looked up and down to familiarize him with the new environment. "I'm afraid that in the Eyes of His Majesty the Elenaran, only citizens may propose laws and treaties." He paused. "I thought just like you, madam, that non citizens could propose laws and treaties, but apparently I was wrong."

"This 'path follower' of yours failed to present my treaty, but presented others posted after mine. I grew impatient and proposed it myself. Why can Archetype not propose it himself?" she demanded, standing up, actually passing through his hologram for a moment. "Or even you? You're a citizen are you not? Perhaps" she suggested, "Someone could claim sponsorship for it."

Ric jumped as he heard the Admiral's reaction. At last he said something: "This Path Follower is our Prefect of State. Anyway, he seemed to have "forgotten" about that treaty. And yes, admiral, the reason I came here was to ask for your permission to propose it legally before the Conclave."

"Did you even need to ask? Your country has an opportunity no other nation on Micras has. You will be able to look up at the stars knowing there are people up there protecting you. We will gradually give your nation technology as well; make things possible you have not even imagined. But someone has to make this treaty work, because this is where all that begins." Yui crossed her arms under her bosom. "You have your permission from me, sir Elf."

The elf smiled. He was quite unsure how to behave with this Nekovalkyrja. He never encountered them. He thought for himself that she had an odd temperament. He almost finished that though quickly, hoping she wasn't telepathic and he said calmly: "I thank you, admiral. The Worlds beyond the Stars will be respected and blessed. As well as the Grand Star Army". A funny thought crossed his mind: I wonder if she knows what Elenaran means...And he laughed for himself

The Fleet Admiral bowed slightly, and then gave a respectful "Good night, sir. The GSA will very much respect your world as well."

Ric bowed "Good night madam, and thank you once again." The hologram of Ric disappeared.
"BleepBloop" the incoming message sound chimed in, on the Star Base's operations center.

"This is Taisho Kitsurugi Yui of the Star Army command warship GSS Yui. I request permission to dock at Python Station."

"Permission Granted, Taisho. Please proceed to Space Doors two." Starbase Flight Ops replied.

"Please inform Admiral T'Ver of my arrival, and that we are serving Xiulurien-style Lasagna onboard the GSS Yui."

The message was passed on, and T’Ver allowed herself a tiny smirk as she read it. She was rather fond of Lasagna, and knew that this was an invitation that it would be impolite to refuse.

Yui figured the Vulcan would get the idea, and take the initiative to come aboard and work out some of the details of that treaty. She had had enough time in the pervasive pilot's pit today, and let the new MEGAMI AI computer system expertly bring the ship in. The ship slid in as perfectly as the dagger-like shape would allow it, careful to avoid any other traffic that could be present. Upon docking, a small gap in the sides opened on one side, allowing the brow to be extended to it.

T'Ver waited till the ship docked, then hailed Yui on her monitor.

She sat in the center chair. Just on a stray thought, she asked Anri "How many TQ torpedoes do we have remaining?" Her mind was still partially on the battle fought earlier today in the sector. She could still see the explosions and firefight in her mind. The fight itself wasn't as grating as the fact that much worse was to come. Anri looked to Yui with a soft, gentle expression, and quietly informed her there were 74. The fire control officer was always quiet and soft-spoken, and certainly loveable, although she loved all three Kessaku sisters in some form. As GSA captains did.

Young Hinosami, now wrapped in some bandages where she had impacted with the wall, nodded to Yui. "A call." And Yui nodded back, thus turned on the screen.

T'Ver appeared on her screen and with a tiny nod of her head spoke, "Greetings, Taisho. It is good to see you safe."

"Will you come aboard my ship? Let us discuss the treaty over good pasta." Yui asked.

T'Ver answered, "Treaty discussions are conducted by the ambassadors, Taisho, but I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. And, I cannot resist lasagna, illogical as that sounds."

"But I AM the ambassador to the federation, and you are the federation's ambassador to the GSA." Yui placed her fingers on her chin.

"I suppose I am, "T'Ver said. "We will look over the treaty, then. I will be there shortly."

Yui nodded, and ended the transmission. She then turned to Elly. "Chusa, have the technicians and sentries clear those boxes out of the hallways an much as possible. Try to get them all level and out of the starboard hall where the Admiral will be walking through. I know there's not enough time or room to move them all, but do the best you can. Anri, head back to the kitchen and check the oven, it should be ready soon. Kimaiko, help her make some desserts."

T'Ver knew that the ship had just returned from battle and bided her time to allow them to make preparations. After waiting about an hour, she ascended the ramp to the GSA ship and was escorted in by the guards at the portal.

The brow had been raised to the starboard side of the ship. A large black scoring mark could be seen on the Yui's nacelle on that side, where it had taken a plasma hit earlier. Actual damage, however, seemed minimal. The galley doors had been left open and the hallways had a pleasant smell of fresh-baked banana bread, pumpernickel bread, and, of course, the lasagna. "By Syada!" a sentry exclaimed, seemingly frustrated by T'ver's presence.

The sentry, whose name was Shikoko, led T'Ver into the briefing room, and left her there.

T'Ver raised an eyebrow. Apparently some of Yui's crew was not as accepting of her as the Taisho. 

After a moment, a concerned looking Taisho Yui entered the briefing room, sitting in the front row of seats, facing the main screen, and gesturing for T’Ver to sit in the one beside her. The seats had fold-out tables, and Yui deployed hers. "What took you so long? The lasagna was ready nearly an hour ago, Admiral." she frowned.

My apologies, Taisho, I assumed since you have just returned from battle, that you needed time to make things presentable for your guest. I have observed that your culture follows some of the politeness of a culture on Sol III. Perhaps I was mistaken." T'Ver bowed her head and then turned her attention to the matter at hand.

"Don't worry about it, this time. We've made a special Xiulurien cheese-and-spinach stuffed pasta shells with red sauce especially for you. Sit."

T’Ver sat and in her mind turned over the information she had studied from Sol's Japanese culture. These Nekovalkyrja used terms and writing from that culture, but their customs differed much.

Yui's first officer, the quiet and kindhearted Anri, appeared from a doorway, carrying a stack of plates running up one of her arms. Her smile to T’Ver was friendly and bright and almost unnaturally innocent looking for a nekovalkyrja. She tilted her body at an angle, and though expert balance, actually managed to slide them all off without using her hands.

"Thank you," T'Ver said with a gracious nod of her head.

The nekos had a different way of doing things, obviously. The officers were cooking and the medical people were enlisted. Even the doors were odd. They shut incredibly fast, obviously fatal to anyone who stood in the doorway too long. There was probably some reason behind this. Anri bent forward and planted a soft kiss on T'ver's cheek before bowing deeply to her and the Taisho, and leaving the two to converse.

"So," Yui began, after taking a sip of apple juice from her glass. She poured a glass of it for T’Ver as well. "What was wrong, in your view, with the treaty?"

"It was imprecise, Taisho. It left too much for misinterpretation." T’Ver stated.

"You've said that, though. I am looking for specific parts which you believe need clarification." Yui replied.

T'Ver placed a PADD before Yui. "Perhaps an example of a pending treaty would help to illustrate."

"What's so good about that treaty? It's more verbose, but it serves early the same function, plus a more military nature. And embassies. But do you really think a federation embassy is necessary?"

"Why do you object to a Federation Embassy?" T’Ver asked.

"...." Where would you put it?

"You DO have a homeworld, do you not?" T'Ver raised an eyebrow.

Yui looked at T’Ver as if the elf was being very presumptuous. "We do."

"That is where an embassy is usually placed, unless you have a cultural center closer by." T'Ver said.

"You may place an embassy on Kosame, but at this time, I cannot allow an embassy on our homeworld."

"Why is that, Taisho?" T'Ver asked, very curious now.

"First of all, that would mean letting in outsiders to our universe. It also means the distribution of the technology that makes such travel possible."

"You live in a parallel universe?" T’Ver asked, both eyebrows raised.

"Well, you didn't think we just came out of nowhere, did you?" Yui laughed.

"The galaxy is a big place, Taisho, much of it unexplored. It was reasonable to assume that you came from one of those areas we have not reached yet."

"No, we come from another universe, much of which is destroyed. We travel to other universes to seek out resources and knowledge." Yui nods, explaining.

"If your homeworld is indeed in a parallel universe, then the treaty between us must contain some provisions of protection of the barrier between our universes, of assurances that the fabric of both universes is not harmed, thus affecting both our timelines, and that extreme care shall be made not to interfere in the natural development of each others' universes." T’Ver said gravely.

Yui seemed pensive. "We have already interfered with the development of your universe. Our very existence here is unnatural to your timeline."

"Be aware, that we do have other refugees from another universe here, but they remain in their own system for the most part, and are developing a new life here." T’Ver explained.

"I'd find it disgusting if you would use that as an excuse to attack my people." the Taisho noted. "Your prime directives push you towards conflict in circumstances like these."

"Attack?" Your logic escapes me." T'Ver said.

"Some would say that since we 'do not belong' we must be driven out by any means." Yui clarified.

T'Ver blinked, the logic of the Neko Admiral confounding her. "I do not understand."

"I'm saying that your temporal operations people may try to restore the timeline that our presence here has altered."

"Indeed? Perhaps they see a threat that you insist is not there. The fact that you know about TimeOps says that you have been into our database." T'Ver stated calmly.

"In my own opinion, none of that future timeline stuff really matters. I would disband those units. Nothing but trouble results from those affairs. The point is, your people do not have the technology to enter my home realm, and we do not intend to give it to you. Maybe one day in the future. I didn't know if you were aware or not, but it was none other than myself who captured the contents of your database. I have studied you and your universe in depth."

"That is not the act of an ally, Taisho. We have not attempted to steal your technology nor hack into your database." T'Ver said.

"You do it to lesser species all the time." Yui justified.

"Explain your logic."

"We are studying you, T’Ver. And we are not your ally, T’Ver, until this treaty gets signed." she added. "THAT is why it is so important, mainly to you."

"So. You see us as inferior species and freely take what you want against our permission. You have the tactical advantage over us, and that makes you not an ally, but a threat to our very existence. You are, indeed a Trojan Horse, as the Terrans say. I do not see that you intend on peaceful relations at all, but to conquer us and take our resources." T'Ver rose from the table and pocketed her PADD.

"No, after our information gathering, we found we had much to learn. Don't walk away."

T'Ver looked with cold eyes at Yui. "Yes, you have much to learn, Taisho. Good night." T'Ver walked unerringly to the port and down the ramp.

"So be it." Yui frowned. ~Why can't these strange people understand?~
As Ritsurin was awaiting his orders, but before Yui could answer, the ship was rocked by a powerful shockwave. Before Ritsu could grab a hold of something or brace himself, he was thrown backward by the force of the shockwave and hit the wall behind him harshly, he felt something stab him from the front, "Impossible!" he thought as he coughed up blood.

He looked down and saw his own clawed hand imbedded in his chest. "Blasted razor sharp claws" he thought as he coughed up some more blood. He sank to the ground, while taking his hand out of his chest. As he hit the deck of the ship, he notices that it's becoming difficult to breathe and keeps coughing blood.

"I'm gonna die...No! If I wanted to die, I'd have done it while I was some unnamed, dirty street orphan" he said in a coughing sputters, Ritsu passes out form loss of blood." Now he wasn't normally telepathic, but as he passed out, he tried to send a telepathic call for help, but wasn't sure if anyone heard him or cared.
"Ritsurin?" Irim looked at the security officer bleeding on the floor. She wasn't happy. The officer grabbed Ritsu by the collar and dragged him to the medical bay, and began fixing him up. Although Yui was the actual surgeon of the ship, Irim had a very good knowledge of how the body worked through her hobby of torture. The fact that his species was unknown to her complicated things somewhat.

She was downright mean in conversation while she worked, commenting "You idiot. Yui was going to promote you, you know." as her blood-covered hands sewed some sutures in place and stopped the bleeding. She gave him a healing hemosynthetics injection to help speed his recovery.
Yui, still in her nest where she had moped all night, made a transmission to the GSS Kiyomizudera (GD-45), the command ship of the 5th Fleet, the other fleet in the Python sector. She leaned over screen, her face displaying a look of concern. "Chujo Wolf," she addressed the Fleet Admiral. "Prepare your fleet for battle. There are several potential conflicts brewing and we need to be ready when and if the time comes for us to fight. In the meantime, station your fleet wherever you see fit." 
"Admiral T'Ver, I find it difficult to map out some of your logic, but I must try. By now, in the old empire, we might even be at war, but this is MY army now I do not intend to have my people fighting and DYING nor the murder of your innocents because of my personal troubles with diplomacy. Please let us work out an agreeable alliance, so that our people can know and agree to what is expected of each." Yui's little interrupting image was perched in a comfortable command chair on T'Ver's screen. "If you want," Yui conceded, "I could send Anri instead of myself if you have negative feelings toward me. She is softer in her approach. But giving up the process of peace is unacceptable."

She stirred a steaming cup of green tea anxiously, not completely sure of herself or her goals, but determined to find her way. Yui was an expert in the fields of warfare, strategy, medicine, and mathematics. But the ability to relate to people had never been a strong point. T'Ver was cold, it seemed. Not emotionless like she should be, but almost vengeful in her mannerisms. In the meantime, Yui couldn't tell what the federation as a whole was thinking. There wasn't even a hint of gratitude for the pirate ships destroyed lately. What Yui didn't understand is why the starfleet Intel hadn't tried any recon missions against the GSA yet.

T'Ver sat for a time and pondered what she needed to say to this person, this child, who so desperately was trying to forge some kind of peace with a people she did not understand. "Taisho, one cannot enter peaceful negotiations with accusations of attack and demands. One must have a modicum of trust in order to proceed. One does not approach a future ally with a superior attitude. You want information from us, so you took it. We have not done the same to you. You are forcing a treaty on us, not negotiating a peace. The UFP does not demand or force treaties on its potential allies. Just the opposite. IF the other party is not truly seeking peace and cooperation then the UFP backs off from the talks."

"But backing out guarantees war!" Yui pleaded with exasperation. She had seen too much already and it was the last thing she wanted. "What do you want of us? If you want equality we will treat you as equals! I am treating you as an equal now, T’Ver! Please."

"Let us continue talks in two days. IN the meantime, look over the treaty I showed you and adjust your treaty accordingly. Understand that the UFP stands to loose more than you do if we cannot come to an agreement. And yet, should you annihilate us in war, you will be destroying the very thing you seek, independence, freedom to choose, the opportunity to learn a better way of life, the strength of diversity."

"Would it take the imprisonment of Anri and I for our research? Would that somehow make things better?" the Taisho's eyes shimmered with wetness.

"Imprisonment? I do not understand." T’Ver again was thrown off by this Neko's illogic.

"NO, mistress" Irim could be heard from somewhere off screen. "Don't give in to an unjust peace, which would only cause unhappiness. The federation has had their chance and thrown it into the gutter to be dissolved and faded with the forces of time. This elfoid @#$%& does not want to contribute in any way, and should be strapped to a table and flayed."

T'Ver's eyes flicked to the direction of the voice, and she instantly became alert. There was something terribly wrong here!

Yui nodded to Irim to show she heard and considered the comment, but did her best not to let Irim's somewhat cruel opinions stray her from her discourse. "Although unaware, we broke your law by taking the information on your computer. Many species seek vengeance for acts with violate their customs and written rules."

"If your revenge upon me is the price of freedom and prosperity for my people...then I would never put myself before my children." she explained.

T’Ver spoke softly, though not showing overt emotion. "Taisho Yui, we are in what we call a First Contact situation. There will be mistakes of protocol on both sides. While we are learning each other's customs, it would be illogical for either party to punish the other for lack of knowledge."

Irim was practically growling. "You are necessary Yui. No neko has the wisdom and leadership that you do. Don't suggest such things, Mistress. Let us strike before they prepare. We will take their ungrateful cultures and show them the true path of the stars!" the neko fanatically urged, her face slipping into the screen's view, glowing blue eyes narrowing at T’Ver in the background.

"For this understanding I am grateful." Yui bowed her head, somewhat relieved.

T’Ver eyed Irim. "Taisho, does this one speak the opinions of the majority of your people?"

Yui paused and looked at Irim for a moment, then turned back to T’Ver. "No, she expresses herself, as is her right."

"Does she lead others in her point of view?"

Irim pointed a three-foot-long butcher knife at T'Ver from behind Yui, and then dragged it across her own neck, spilling a bit of blood out in an exaggerated gesture.

"Where are you going with this? My people as a whole have voted to ally with the federation, not to attack." Yui spoke.

~ That is a dangerous one. She is not as under control as Yui would believe. She is going to cause much trouble for Yui's people.~ T'Ver noted. She pointed to behind Yui. "That one exhibits psychotic behavior. She would undo what you strive to build."

"Irim is a trusted and loved crewmember of mine, and she supports me." Yui replied. "Don't you, Irim-chan?" she asked the malicious one, who nodded in agreement. "See?" Yui indicated to T’Ver.

"Heh. Old people." giggled the short-statured Hinosami, one of the non-nekos aboard Yui's ship, making a joking reference to both Yui and T’Ver.

T’Ver gave a minuscule shrug. There was nothing she could do. If Yui could not see the danger lurking just under Irim's facade, then, all T'Ver could do is wait until the neko was totally out of control. Hopefully no one got killed in the process.

~How does green blood taste?~ Irim broadcasted over the whole station.

"I am needed elsewhere, Taisho. If you will excuse me?" T'Ver asked.

"Irim" Yui motioned the neko over. "Please prepare some cornbread for us. Eris is in the kitchen, and could use a hand." and Irim was sent off. "I hope we've left on better terms than the last time, Admiral. I think we've made some progress. Thank you and good night," Yui finished.

"Until our next meeting, then. "T’Ver nodded and cut the com.
"Thank you Irim, I appreciate this, I really do." Ritsurin said sitting up *winces*. "You don't have to be so mean about this, it's an accident, not a personal insult, and accidents happen. But, I am sorry if I have pulled you away from your duties." he said to the navigation officer that had fixed him up.

"And what do you mean Yui was going to promote me? I have done nothing worthy of a promotion." Ritsurin questioned "Heh, ow, you sound as if you hate me." Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? Well, get back to me if I can make it up." he shrugged slightly as he got his uniform back on and walks out of the Medical Bay. He heads to the security quarters so he can be alone for a minute or two possibly, and writes up a little letter to Taisho Yui.
It said:
" Taisho Yui,
You said that you were in this for the children, for that I must thank you and the entire GSA. If it wasn't for your actions many years ago, I probably still be some dirty, nameless orphan living in the streets. I owe the GSA my life and I intend to repay that debt"-GSA no Sergeant Daijinshi Ritsurin Security sentry GSS-Yui (GD-30)

After finishing his letter, he sends it to The Taisho's Nest via telekinetics (a trick learned at the Imperial Academy). He goes forth to the bridge, figuring that he needs to apologize to Taisho Yui for his weakness. Still recovering from his injury. He stoically reports to Yui for his next assignment, praying silently that she doesn't reprimand him (for that could be harsh indeed).
A tone signaled a message for Ritsu. It was Dr. Shinichiro of PNUgen Corporation. "How has your experience with the nekos been going?" The doctor asked.

"Interesting. That’s all I really have to say"

"That one Irim kind of strange though..."

"How so?" asked the doctor, raising a graying eyebrow.

"She just seems, I don't know, a little edgy maybe psychotic"

"Psychotic? How has she been acting lately...what has she done to make you think so?"

"Well it's just MY opinion, when I woke up from being unconscious she was chewing me out over something"

"Unconscious?" the corporate leader asked, confused.

"The ship ran into a battlefield almost immediately after TTD jump, and I got thrown against the back wall and impaled myself with my own claws *nervous chuckle*

Taking a sip of his dark coffee out of a mug with the PNUgen Corporation logo it, the doctor frowned. "Well of course she was annoyed with you." 

"I kind of guessed that"

"Some nekos, especially those who have been through testing processes have psychological problems, often a cruel streak. Eve was one of the prime examples of this. If you think that's what is going on, you can tell me about it."

"I don't know too much about Eve except that she made me an orphan while I was still young

"Keep an eye on her. You don't need to necessarily let the captain know either. Yui and I have had some run-ins in the past." he added. Upon hearing Ritsu's last comment, he was prompted to ask, "Where are you from?"

"I'm from a small planet, Earth, and my parents got killed in one of her terrorist attacks, at least that's what a soldier told me."

"My Katsrinel! You're from EARTH? You mean you're a goddess-damned nerimian?" he asked in disbelief. "Eve's never been to earth!"

"I must not have been here then, and I'm not a nerimian, I'm half-demon, half-human.

"Very strange" he commented, typing something on a computer. "Earth." he said. In the GSA's home universe, the place didn't even exist. Not least, not anymore.

"I'm a mystery even unto myself sir."

The doctor looked at Ritsu and raised an eyebrow. "Indeed."

"In any case, I'm here now, and that's what counts. My loyalty is the GSA."

"Of course." the doctor nodded. "Well, I've got lots of other ships to check on, so I'll be letting you go now. You know where to reach me."

"I'll do that...I'm enjoying it here, it's very interesting, that Yui is nice enough, I'm glad she's the taisho (or commander if appropriate) of this ship.

"She's good at a lot of things, but is not perfect.

"Nobody is."

"Good day." the man ended, and the transmission ended.
Ritsurin looked about for that scientist Heram Wazu. "Hey Wazu, you know a bit about tactical systems correct? I have an idea for a new piece of personnel equipment, meet me later in the briefing room to discuss this"
The communications noise woke up Talbert, who was halfway in dreamland. It was a transmission from the GSA ship in bay 2. Probably Taisho Yui.

Talbert read the transmission and he tapped the keys. The monitor in front of Yui activated and showed not T’Ver, but the face of a blue-skinned woman with snow-white hair pulled back into a bun, She wore the pips of a Marine Colonel.

Yui, wearing a pink set of loose pajamas and obviously in her 'nest' as the nekos called them, raised a green eyebrow at this unfamiliar person. "Hello."

"Admiral Yui I presume?" The woman asked officially.

The cat-eared admiral ran her hands over her perfectly smooth legs, causing the chevron-shaped slits over the heat exchangers to flare slightly. "You are correct. Who are you?"

"I am colonel Jenna Domina, Chief Intelligence Officer, Starbase Python." Jenna answered.

"An intelligence officer? What exactly do Starfleet intelligence officers do?" Yui inquired, temporarily putting her original purpose for calling aside. Yui was head of one of the two big intel agencies of the GSA, the Star Army Research Administration, which was responsible for the acquisition of new technologies.

"We collect information, Admiral." Jenna said in an even voice, neither friendly nor challenging.

"I see. What information is of the most interest to you? And how do you normally go about obtaining it?" Yui psuedo-interrogated.

Jenna sat back and tilted her head. A small smile came across her face. "Why did you try and call the Admiral?"

"A new treaty is drafted." Yui declared proudly.

"That is good, Admiral. I understand that Diplomacy is a new concept for you. It is a good sign that you are attempting to forge a treaty between the GSA and the UFP." Jenna said. "The UFP Ambassador will look over your treaty and discuss it with you."

Irim was hanging around, walking by occasionally in the background. She could be seen down on the bridge below Yui's tiny sleeping area, putting on her black robes and inserting a battery-magazine into a dangerous looking sort of energy weapon. "I can practically taste her!" the white-skinned Irim laughed in giddiness.

Jenna's eyes flicked to Irim, then back to Yui.

"That is good." Yui smiled, hoping that this treaty would be the one to lead both cultures into a new era of prosperity.

Jenna asked, "You do not seem surprised to have contacted me rather than T’Ver. Why is that?"

Yui was almost about to begin asking more questions, about the Migichinans and Starfleet intel, but decided not to in light of the strange offense these federation people seemed to take when information was requested of them. "T’Ver is undoubtedly busy." she responded.

"We have reason to believe T’Ver’s life in is danger, Admiral. All her incoming calls will be routed through my office, and she will be personally guarded at all times." Jenna explained.

"In danger?" Yui raised an eyebrow. "How so?" The other eyebrow came up and joined it before her eyes went back to a resting state, oddly cute.

"That information is classified. However, I wish to enlist the services of two of your most trusted people to aid in her personal defense. There shall be two guards with her at all times." Jenna said.

Irim, on the other hand, was stepping off the ship carrying a loaded rifle already, while Yui continued talking to the woman on her laptop. "I am already short on crew as it is, miss. But continue. I wish to hear your proposal."

Jenna said, "Fleet Admiral Holloway ordered me to assign the meanest guards I could find. I have heard that your Irim is ... diligent ... in her duties. Perhaps you can spare her for a shift each day. It would demonstrate to the UFP your willingness to aid us in our time of need."

~Hmm, a good task for Ritsurin?~ Yui pondered. She would probably promote the security officer after his next assignment.

"Irim is not a security sentry, Miss. She is a bridge officer. My sentries are Shinami, Shikoko, and Taitatsuko." Yui frowned. "Admittedly, she is extremely skilled. Irim served as a test weapon rather than a soldier during her early years, though."

"A weapon is just what we need. Irim and any other officer you wish to assign." Jenna said firmly, as if it were already decided.

"and Ritsurin." she added. Ritsurin was a half-demon of some sort that had become part of the crew when he was accidentally trapped aboard while loading cargo from a station in Tabidatsu orbit. "Would a non-weapon do to compliment her?"

“Yes it would. Each of your officers will team up with a Migichinan guard." Jenna explained.

Yui made a somewhat disgusted face for a moment.

"You have a problem, Admiral?"

"I distrust the Migichinans. They are seemingly all slaves of their weak goddess."

"Diversity is one of the attributes the UFP cherishes, Admiral. Freedom of religion is guaranteed in our statutes."

"They probably suggested the pairing up, too. All a ploy to study us like animals in a giant lab cage." she mumbled, and then sighed deeply.

Jenna refrained from saying that the Nekos were doing the same thing to the Federation.

"The Migichinans do not grant their people freedom of religion." Yui countered.

"Perhaps," Yui suggested, "My sentries could guard T’Ver part of the time, and the Migichinans could guard her during a different shift."

Jenna thought a minute, then nodded. "As you wish. Perhaps it is too soon for you to work with us AND the Migichinan."

"My ship will scan the Admiral's area for cloaked assassins. Is this permissible?" she asked, wanting to ensure this wasn't a setup of some sort.

"Yes." Jenna answered. "I would expect no less."
)"However, her personal privacy is not to be breached unless there is danger to her person. She DOES have a husband."

~Excellent~ Yui thought to herself. Not only would it catch whatever was lurking around, but also a good chance to soak up information on anything Technical T'Ver happened to walk by. "Tell me something, though...Why Irim? Irim is quite aggressive and I'm not sure how she'd react in a conflict, with regards to bystanders."

"You told T’Ver that Irim is a most trusted crewmember did you not? Did you misrepresent Irim?"

"No...I trust her. But I warn you, she is like a hammer. An excellent tool...so long as you are hitting nails."

~ Or planning an assassination Jenna thought. "All right, Admiral. Your team will take Delta shift tomorrow evening. That is midnight to 0600 Starbase time."

"Very well." Yui nodded. "You will be certain that T’Ver reviews the new treaty."

"T'Ver will no longer be negotiating the treaty. Our UFP ambassador T'Anna Veritas will be taking over that task. She will meet with you at the agreed on time. Good evening, Admiral." Jenna cut the connection, then frowned for a time at the dark monitor.

Yui poked her head out onto the bridge. If Ritsurin weren’t willing to do the job, then Eris would probably be a main candidate since the pair worked well together and Shinami's trio disliked being separated. Where WAS Irim, anyway?
It was almost time for the meeting with Daijinshi so he headed toward the briefing room being careful not to trip and fall over the many boxes littering the hallways. He finally reached the briefing room and sat down just as Daijinshi entered the room. “So what is this new idea!” Wazu said as he fumbled through his robes for a fresh data pad
Sgzyr finally crawled out of the escape pod that he had been in a meditative sleep since the heated battle with the pirates several days ago. He forcefully shoved the hatch open as the metal device just fell off with a forceful action, giving him the recognition that he was aboard some sort of spacecraft. Dried blood ran down his arms as he surveyed the interior of wherever he had been put into. Perhaps due to the incompetence of the crew or just a general lack of time, none of them had searched to find him. Scuttling around caused him severe pain as he reached a door, where its destination was unknown. He simply yelled “Medic!” once before collapsing back down onto the ground. Perhaps, somebody would find him this time.

"Huh?" Shikoko asked, hearing the hoarse call from the launch deck. Bounding over, she quickly realized that not all of the crew of the GSS Rafu had been able to get themselves out of the pods. It was a good thing the pods had not been jettisoned into space yet!

Yui was asleep and Irim was out and about on the space station. Unfortunately there was no medical officer onboard. Quickly gathering up the lizard like man, she brought home to the medbay and laid him gently down on the table there, checking his vital signs. She telepathically called for Shinami to be ready to get Yui if needed as she checked his wounds.

Irim was sitting at a shadowy table in the back of the bar. She had been with Eris earlier, and Eris had left to take their rifles back to the ship after security personnel had gotten into an argument with the two over carrying the weapons. Now, the white-skinned neko was seated on the red leather cushions of a seedy place with a glass and bottle of some sort of ale before her.

This wasn't Lia's usual taste in hangouts, but she wanted to avoid Stok for a while. Her white hair and lavender/purple-rimmed eyes were eye-catching and unusual in Terrans. She saw Delmar look in her direction. "May I sit here?" Liam asked, hoping she could avoid another confrontation with Delnar.

Irim seemed surprised. There was a moderate aura of evil that seemed to emanate from the cat-eared girl. "Oh...you may." she permitted, scooting over. The bottle next to her was actually empty. Sitting down revealed another two empty bottles on the seat, which Irim moved out of the way and onto the table. Only one glass was sitting on the table, and she seemed to be the only one there. That's a lot of alcohol.

"I am Ambassador Lia McFerren of the Electric." Lia politely introduced herself. Va'na curled up at her feet.

Rather than being violent and aggressive, as station rumor had made her out to be, Irim seemed almost depressed, taking this into account. "Hmm" she sighed, looking the woman up and down very slowly, blinking teary eyes in her somewhat drunken state. "I am...Irim."

"And this is Va'na," Lia nodded down at the little canine.

"Taii of the Star Army." she added, downing the last glass of alchohol with a sniffle. She looked at the thing. "?"

"Va'na is a security officer." Lia answered the unspoken question.

That only caused another odd look. "?"

"She is assisting me in keeping some people away from me, who'd seek to own me." Lia smiled ruefully.

"I speak." Va'na piped up.

Now that was something Irim could relate to. She was legal property of the GSA, in fact, and had been owned all her life. "Own you?" she asked, inebriated but intrigued.

"I'm a clone." Lia said. "Physically I don't have much strength and less endurance but mentally, I am worth quite a bit to certain parties. Some will go to any length to keep me as their property.

Irim shifted her position and Lia could hear something metal bang against the wooden frame of the seat. Under her black robe, Irim apparently had a 3-foot-long butcher knife on each hip for some reason. "A clone?" Irim asked, scooting closer with sudden interest. "It is strange that you are defective. My people destroy defective newborns. Your creators must have been short of resources, I imagine. I can provide you with a new body to replace that one if you so desire." Looking to the odd canine, she nodded a hello, unsure of how to react to it.

"I can't adapt to a new body, but I made a life for myself. My 'defects' weren't apparent to well after birth. My creator continued to work with what he had, which your right, wasn't much. Then he tried to dispose of me. I then proved my worth and now I am free to be a person." Lia replied. "Although Delnar over there doesn't think I have rights!" Lia nodded at the man.

"Ohm." Irim pondered in wonder. "Proved...worth?" What an interesting concept. Defective reborns were replaced without even thinking of their potential value. But in the GSA, new life was cheap and easily replaced. "Are you his creation?" she asked.

"Partially, yes. They stole eggs from females and created babies. My egg created ten clones. The other nine were strong and physically healthy but were not sentient. Creating clones the way I was created was extremely illegal. They had to keep the operation tiny to hide it. You cannot own sentient life forms in the Federation. That is against too many laws."

"Hmm, it is a part of the laws of the GSA that a creator owns his spawn for eight years, whether it be clone or natural." Irim explained.

"It is very different in the Federation. You are considered your own person with inalienable rights." Lia said. "It also prevents confusion as to who is a proper person and who is a toaster. That analogy comes in because there are sentient machines."

"I am like a machine, but organic..." Irim tilted her head. "Not everyone thinks nekos are anything more than that."

"Ignorance is still plentiful. But the difference between what can be owned and what cannot is the ability of the being to self determine. For example, you know you are not I. I know I am not you. Hence we are two self determining beings." Lia explained.

"What about a computer?" Irim asked, intrigued. "My ship has a computer which is quite intelligent."

"But does it think to itself 'I am therefore I am?' or question the meaning of it's own existence?" Lia pondered.

"I do not know." Irim frowned. "I wonder if she ponders my existence?"

"Those are the kinds of questions sentient beings ask themselves. I am not an expert in this field, but I do know I think about life."

"I'm afraid that the federation is just toying with the GSA, that they are biding their time and are unwilling to offer any friendship. They reject our fair offers of peace, but never make any offers of their own." Irim blurted out, her source of frustration revealed suddenly.

"I doubt it. They could be scared." Lia said. "Or perhaps see things differently than you. If two people see this differently from each other," Lia held up the candle in the middle of the table. "It can get confusing for both sides. For example, one sees it as a container of wax. The other can see it as something that burns. It does both, but both persons don't see that, or understand how it can be both things."

"Hmm" Irim looked at the candle. She saw it as a tool for playing with people, a light source, and a chemical reaction. But she saw Lia's point as well. Staring at the candle in some fascination, she asked Lia, "Do you think they will ever accept us?" her voice sounded discouraged.

"Yes. It takes time. Also, as you are much younger than the other person with which your trying to deal, and the fact that you were created for a purpose make your vision much more straightforward than the one whom you question. Also, when it comes to the Federation, you have more ideas and opinions than you have stars. It takes a good deal of sorting out to make sense of all that. And all of that needs to be taken into consideration when we discuss treaties." Lia explained. "Treaties are like star ships, you have to know where they will be going thirty years from now as well as where they are going today or you can run in to a proper mess in the future."

"I think they hate us." Irim sobbed.

Lia gently put her arm around the Neko. "No they don't hate you. Any more than you hate the candle. We do have a lot of pirates in this sector, so they cannot be as trusting as they would wish. Shhhh, now, if your doing guard duty on a hazardous mission, you must keep awake to make sure danger doesn't reach your fellows. Does that mean you hate the banana tree sitting to your right? No. But you do want to make sure the banana tree doesn't have any spiders in it that can, with out intention, harm or kill a delicate life form for which you took responsibility. That means viruses, bacteria, anything of danger." Lia's voice was soft.

"But...we have destroyed most of the pirates!" Irim suddenly snapped into an aggressive mode, growling and slamming her fist on the table hard enough that all the empty bottles fell over. "They didn't even thank us! ARGH!" the neko fumed.

"They didn't in a way you understood." Lia smiled. "The base commander is a Vulcan. For them it is not appropriate to show emotion. It is an insult to them and to the person they are interacting with."

Irim just looked at Lia funny for her remark, thinking it totally inane. "perplexing,"

"That it is. The elves have a good reason for what they do, for not showing their emotions openly." Lia said. "Emotions nearly destroyed their world."

Irim leaned forward and unexpectedly gave Lia a big kiss on the lips. "Thank you very much for being kind to me, sweet miss. My sister has just informed me of an injured crewman on my ship, which I shall help attend to. Please forgive me as I must go."

"If you need talk, just message me." Lia offered, seeing a soul in need of friendship.

She stood up, her straight dark green hair bouncing lightly with her movements. The black robes concealed her figure and contrasted against her snow-white complexion. With a light bow, she said "Farewell, Ambassador Lia, you have made a new friend today. Call me if you need anything at all." and hurried out to get back to the GSS Yui (GD-30).

Taisho Kitsurugi Yui sat in the command chair of the ship that had a name and class the same as her own (Yui). Buried deep in political affairs and management of the production of new GSA ships, she sat surrounded by displays and controls and data all around. Her face, although maintained in a semi-perfect state by her body, still managed to look old.

She and her ship were in docked in a space station in another universe, but her she had scattered scouts who recorded the battle, and she watched it as it replayed, overlooking the data on the NDI ships, and with equal interests, these newcomers. She didn't recognize them and was interested in finding out more.

Unfortunately, this was pretty much the only thing her scouts had reported in a long, long time. She was beginning to question if Chujo Zaitsev was doing anything. In fact, the Chujo had not even sent any messages. She was near to demoting the man, assuming he was still alive. She had switched out the third fleet's ships, even, since the chujo had never updated them.

Accessing the communications station herself (since Hinosami was sleeping in Yui's nest already), she sent the lost commander of the third fleet a message. "Report back to me regarding current situation." It was simple but would hopefully get the point across. The GSA was not an organization that was supposed to require admirals of one fleet managing another. Now that the GSA was the government, Yui was theoretically in charge, but she had always valued a GSA with independent fleets.

Chujo Wolf, on the other hand, seemed to be settling into his position as 5th Fleet commander as well, although not very active. With this latest development, it wouldn't do to have inefficient commanders, and Yui was still involved in negotiation and she didn't want to have to back her fleet out and loose her progress. In the mean time, the GSA was determined to produce ships as fast as possible. She needed eyes and ears.

"Well, here"-Ritsurin said as he slid the blueprint to the science officer, while hiding the completed prototype under the desk.(Something approx. 1 foot in length, with straps for attachment to the arm and hand, with a blue crystal in the center of a lightly built frame). "This is a forearm module, a personal force shield of sorts. It has 2 settings, narrow and broad; narrow shield for self-defense, broad shield for group defense and to serve as a possible blast shield in explosions if escape is not possible." Ritsurin explained.
"It is activated by the here-points to the dual fingers rings- pull the middle finger ring to activate the narrow shield, and the ring finger to activate the blast shield. It is powered by the ammo magazine of a GP-5, it may need more testing though, though my readouts indicate that the narrow shield works under rifle fire and sword attacks, the blast shield shows promise in deflecting the same attacks, but on a bigger field." He said.
"If you'll excuse me Wazu" He said as he received a request for his presence on the bridge.
He walks out of the briefing room and straps the prototype force shield module to his forearm. "You wanted me Yui?" he said as he entered the bridge.

Kimi slowly climbed over some of the boxes after the battle. Muttering under her breath, she made her way to her nest. She shoved a box across the hallway to open the hatch. No one was there at the moment. Glancing at the computer screen, she noticed a message for her.

She triggered it to open and a few words flashed across the screen.

"FOUND YOU."

Kimi mentally screamed as she passed out and slipped to the floor. The last thought she had before she sank into darkness was,

"He's coming...."

Chujo Viktor Zaitsev wandered silently through the hallways of the Yui craft. Glimmering emerald orbs swayed softly about the dimly lit place. He pondered significantly about his current problems and his own moral ethics. He could no longer understand or carry out the full extent of his operations in the Ayenee system as Admiral of the Third fleet. Eventually, he would come to a stop at the entrance to the Yui's personal chambers. With a deep, cautious breath Zaitsev slipped through the gliding open doors.

Eyes peeled to his superior who was at the time he arrived sitting comfortably within her quarters. Zaitsev gave a half-hearted salute, before abruptly blurting out the many thoughts that had swarmed through his mind over the last few weeks, his voice a raspy undetermined tone being his only reassurance. "Sorry to bother you so abruptly. However, I feel that it is an important issue that I bring. Yui, I've come to understand that I cannot properly focus on my goals in the Ayenee system. I find too close a relation between myself and the NDI and KIF. I feel my personal emotions may effect my actions taken while in Ayenee. I humbly request a reassignment."

Pausing, Zaitsev fell silent. His gaze was cast down to his boots in shame at the words he spoke. He cautiously on edge for Yui's response as he began to think about how abrupt and informal his sudden proposal had been.

"You wanted to see Yui?"

"Oh?" the Taisho asked. "Yes. Would you be willing to guard a federation ambassador?"

"Who?"

"Admiral T’Ver. I don't know if you know anything about her...she's an elfoid."

"I've heard of her Yes I'll do it"

"Excellent." Yui nodded. The first shift is tonight. If you're not available, I will send Eris or Shikoko. I'm still thinking about switching Irim for a sentry. I don't know why they chose her of all people...I mean, she really belongs on the bridge."

He brushed his headband out of his eyes. "They wanted Irim? I wonder why."

"Where do I need to meet this T'Ver?"

"I don't know, but she shouldn't be that hard to find." Yui replied.

"So I just need to keep an eye on her?"

"Yes. You'll be guarding her against assassins." Yui nodded.

"Any info on the possible assassins?"

"No. They haven't given us anything. But it is likely a shapeshifter."

"Oh great I hate those things"

"I have this,” he pointed to forearm shield. "The assassin won't duplicate it if I hide it"

Yui stood up from her desk. "Is that all, sergeant?"

"Yes ma'am"

As the two exited her office, she told him. "If you complete this assignment, I am planning on promoting you and giving you a bridge position. Is that ok?"

"That would be acceptable"

She smiled and climbed up from the bridge into her nest where Hinosami was sleeping already. "Good night, Ritsu."

"Good Night Yui"

Sitting down in her chair behind the desk in her small office, the sleepy Taisho gestured to him to close the door behind him and take a seat across from her.

"First, I'm very surprised you traveled all the way to this universe to get here. I'm equally surprised the starfleet people let your ship into the docking bays, with the current shaky political situation. But I am not surprised you are requesting a new assignment. Managing a fleet can be a grueling task,” she told him. They both knew from experience.

"Perhaps you would be suited, due to your experience with both the NDI and KIF, as an ambassador of sorts. I'm looking to strengthen our ties with the KIF and even the NDI. If you'd like, you can have a single ship rather than a fleet. That should be better, yes? I will assign you the GSS Shibata (GD-116). In it, you will travel between the KIF, NDI, and GSA and keep things running smoothly. Is that alright?"

Wazu was walking to the lab when he noticed a form sprawled out on the floor. He ran over to Kimi and drew his gun not knowing if intruders were on board or a variety of other scenarios that were brewing in his mind being as paranoid as he is. He reached down and checked her pulse NOTHING! She was dead. Just then Kimi woke up. “I’ve got to learn how to take a pulse,” He thought to himself. “What happened?” he asked her.

Hinosami, the communications officer, and Yui were both still sleeping together in their nest, so it was first officer Anri who answered the incoming call. With a gentle nature and a snow-white face, the smiling nekovalkyrja pleasantly grinned after switching the main viewscreen to display the transmission.

"Greetings!" Ric said smiling. "I would like to request a talk, if that is the right word with Admiral Kitsurugi. Is she available?"

"No, kind sir, she is at rest. But, I am authorized to speak on her behalf." Anri smiled, tilting her head slightly. Her ears were relaxed, as was she. The Chusa wore a white uniform, which tugged firmly to her soft and perfectly proportioned body. Something about her eyes seemed to sparkle radiantly.

"In that case, may I speak to you..." he paused and saw the rank on her uniform and continued at once "Chusa?"

"Yes," she grinned and nodded her head cheerfully.

This woman seemed very friendly, friendlier than the admiral herself, but of course he didn't mention it. He had before read the official biography of the Admiral and was quite terrified by the truths mentioned there: slaves, lovers, kills etc... Hopefully the Chusa here was a bit more... nice. "I am Richard Lyon of the Republican Imperium of Menelmacar. How do you do?" That was the worst thing he could say, but this woman just was so different, happier in some way. He thought over it and maybe the Admiral was hiding a dark secret. 

"I am Chusa Kessaku Anri, or as they say, Anri the Soft." She giggled slightly at the nickname. It was so appropriate, though. Somewhere along the line, Anri had chosen to be gentle and kind in all of her actions, and it really showed. Running a hand through her long wave and curls of her green hair, she smiles yet again, rendering him a GSA salute.

It was a beautiful day in Eressea, the small city where Ric lived. The sun was shining into Ric's office. "Ms. Kessaku, are you the acting Commanding Officer onboard this craft?" Ric still didn't know what to say. This was making him frustrated. He smiled though and gave Anri the traditional elvish salute. 

"Yes, I am, sir." she gave him a quizzical look, toying with her ear.

Ric looked away for a second. "Are you perhaps familiar with the Imperial menelmacari treaty with the Grand Star Army?" he turned at once seriously and gave her the diplomatic elvish look. "A majority of the voters like it, but the Government is not as happy about it."

"What is the problem, sir?" she asked, her shiny eyes widening, then shifting to a look of thoughtful concern.

"Two words, Chusa: Clause Two"

"...?" Anri didn't seem to see the problem, and her face showed her confusion.

"Excuse me for a minute or two, Chusa. I am trying to find it in my mess" The elf started to tidy his desk of thousand of papers

"'There! 'The Grand Star Army will not attack the Imperium of Menelmacar without special permission from the Imperium, and the Imperium agrees not to attack the Grand Star Army, without special permission from the GSA.' - That is what the Government doesn't like about it."

Her delicate-looking yet plump fingers stroked her pointy chin. Her hands were larger than that of a human, and had one less finger. They appeared to have retractable claws in them. She blushed slightly as he watched her, which revealed a pattern on her face, with thick pink lines from under her eyes and mouth running straight down, like war paint. The highlight faded as she composed herself. "But sometimes countries want parts of themselves ‘attacked’." she explained.

"The Government of the Imperium does not want to become attacked" Ric said at once ignorantly. "They are to proud. I personally agree that it is good to have peace forces if a civil war breaks out." 
"Then it is as simple as not asking us to fight in Menelmacar, good sir!" she nodded vigorously.

Ric almost smacked himself. "That is what the 'ayes' have been saying all the time... Besides what harm would it do to have it there?" 

"There can be none, unless your officials asked to commit assisted suicide using it. However, they would not need a treaty for that." she frowned, then smiled, saying, "I think perhaps people have not taken the time to think about it, sir!"

Ric laughed and said smiling: "Perhaps is it because they are humans." He soon realized it was a bad joke--a really bad joke. Too late now, Ric tried to shake it off by saying: "Whom will you send as your Ambassador to the Imperium?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, unprepared for the question. "I...I don't know, sir!" she shrugged. "Are we required to send someone?"

Ric buried himself in his hands. He just did too many mistakes during this conversation. Once his head was free he said, "Of course not, Chusa, It was out of true curiosity."

"The whole concept of ambassadors and embassies is quite new to us." Anri quietly revealed. "I was worried because we didn't really have any to send."

"My apologies, Chusa. Forgive me for my confusing words. I really don't feel well today."

"That's because you've been poisoned." Anri nodded.

"WHAT!?" Ric shouted

When she couldn't hold it any longer she burst out in a fit of giggling and laughing. "Just kidding, sir!"

She stuck a pastel-pink tongue out at the man.

Ric smiled, but nothing more than that. "Don't do that again, Chusa. Please". Ric paused. "Are you sure that you are the XO of this ship?"

"The GSA does not have the position you call XO." she managed out, still cutely giggling a bit.

Ric sighed loudly.

"I am the first officer, which is the assistant to the ship captain, Mister Lyon sir." she smiled at him, wishing she could play with his ears.

"If she's the 1st officer I can only imagine how the rest of the crew is..." he muttered. “Is perhaps the Admiral available now" Ric said with a smile.

Anri frowned and made a sour face for a moment, like someone had given her a quart of sugarless drink mix. It was obvious no one wanted to wake the Taisho up.

"Perhaps she isn't available" Ric tried...

If he had not been in a conversation, he would have seen how quiet and reserved she usually was, despite her sudden charm and life while speaking. Just then, Yui popped out of her nest, wobbling out onto the bridge in just her thin underwear with a look at Anri, then to the viewscreen. The topless admiral raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, hello again."

"Oh hello" Ric bowed "Excuse me" he said nervously pointing at her...

Stretching out her tattooed body by flexing her arms over her head, her skin, inscribed with a model number and a corporate logo, is every bit a smooth as the porcelain-looking Anri, but in more human flesh tones rather than pure white. Yui didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, she told Anri "Thank you Anri-chan" and grabbed a laptop computer and activated it. Soon the little terminal took the place of the viewscreen and Yui was carrying his image around the ship. She ended up in the bath, neck-deep in steaming water.

Young Hinosami, the only Geshrin aboard, slipped into the pool with the admiral a few moments afterward, and so did Anri. Anri ducked down to her eyes and moved around like a prowling fish, chasing the giggling girl around the large tub in the background while Yui, keeping the moving water at the shoulder line, addressed Ric. "Is the treaty passed?"

"Not yet, Admiral. The Government of Menelmacar reserves themselves at clause number two"

Ric sat in his office seeing how the Admiral bathed. He was wondering why the GSA culture was more open...

T'Anna activated a link to the USS Yui.

Ric sat in his office seeing how the Admiral bathed. He was wondering why the GSA culture was more open...

The culture he was brought up with was strict - do this - do that. He was a child centuries ago... All things change

Yui scooted the message window over, and opened the channel, to be greeted by T'Anna. Hinosami and Anri were splashing in the bath behind her. "Hello T'Anna." Yui smiled, putting the chat on a three-way so they all could see each other. "It's been a long time."

"This," Yui pointed to the apropriate side of her side of the window on T'Anna's viewscreen, "Is the Delegate from Menelmacar, of the planet Micras."

"T'Anna, I don't think we had the pleasure of meeting before" Ric bowed.

T'Anna smiled her trademark smile, one designed to put everyone at ease, and to show off her own beauty. " When may we meet? I have been assigned to help you establish a working relationship with the UFP and perhaps to further discussions on the treaty." She thought they would be meeting in person in conference somewhere.

Ric smiled "That day is yet to come. I do hope we meet"

Still shoulder deep in the hot water, Yui smiled and grabbed a washcloth, running it over her legs while she waited for the two to make introductions. "You may come aboard now, T'Anna. Last time I forgot to make the time known and T'Ver showed up an hour after dinner." She grinned, opening a third window, and silently ordering a technician to make dinner using telepathy.

"I am on my way." T'Anna said. She cut the link and quickly made her way to the gate at which the GSA ship was docked. She showed her ID and was allowed up the ramp.

There was a momentary wall of water as Anri and Hinosami both bumped into Yui and pushed her under the surface. She came back up with her hair black-wet and her mouth in a straight line. Her eyes tracked around to the two playful crewladies and she grabbed them both and dunked them back in return. Yui let Hinosami up first, because the girl couldn't breathe underwater. When the link cut, Yui slid out of the bath and moved into the dressing room, stepping under the dryer (think of a large version of the hand dryer machines) and then dressing in a crisp white-paneled GSA uniform. Shikoko, the ship’s usher of sorts, invited T'Anna in and brought her to the bridge.

T'Anna bowed her head graciously as she entered the bridge. She took in the alien bridge, memorizing every detail, as was her custom when in any new place.

Yui was soon on the bridge. The main screen was left showing the view of Ric.

"Admiral... hello..." he said carefully

"I am Ambassador Dr. T'Anna Veritas." She nodded her head at the man on the screen.

Yui gestured to the Fire Control station, where the variable weapons turrets of the ship were operated. The control panel was green-toned, not unlike that of Federation ships, but without the curves in the buttons. She turned from T'Anna to the Delegate.

"Hello Mr. Lyon."

"Dr Veritas, pleasure to meet you"

"Mr. Lyons, are you the GSA ambassador?" T'Anna asked.

" Dr Veritas, I am from Menelmacar located in Micras."

"He is not of your universe." Yui explained. "Nor mine. He is the representative of a planet the GSA has recently placed bases on, south of his empire's southern section. It is a new world we are seeking to learn about. I have also been negotiating a treaty with Menelmacar as well as with the UFP."

T'Anna had a blank look on her face. She was not expecting the presence of an unknown delegate. Nor did she have a clue where this Menelmacar was.

"So, T'Anna..." Yui prompted the doctor to reveal the purpose of her visit.

Ric looked at them both. "I will gladly talk to you later about Menelmacar. Her history is too long to be described during a night"

"Just leave out the banana stuff." Yui chuckled, exchanging a look with Ric, obviously an inside joke of some sort.

"I have come to help you meet some of the requirements of consideration for a treaty between you and the UFP." T'Anna explained. "There is the issue of your residency here in Python fleet, and I was hoping we could discuss your setting up a permanent colony at Kosame."

Ric smiled. "I do not belong to the banana"

T'Anna looked down at her hands. Apparently they were having their own conversation, and she was intruding.

"Micras is a planet of about 20 nations, Dr veritas. I would be more than happy to give you some books about it."

"But Ambassador, We already have a thirty-thousand strong colony on Kosame." Yui objected. "Is that not enough to be worthy of being considered a homeworld in your universe?" took a seat in the operations control station, which was in the center rear of the bridge, close to both people.

"Actually, it is a very good start, Admiral. Now you need to set up a working government and assign an ambassador to Python Fleet.

Yui had heard rumors of the Federation possibly donating equipment such as orbital stations, and she didn't press the colony issue too hard because she wouldn't want to cancel out any notion of assistance. "Why do your people require ambassadors and embassies? I think the thought of a bit of your country in the heart of mine is inherently wrong. Why would we want to put our embassy on your world as well? You do not want a piece of us inside of you, do you?"

"If I may interfere, Admiral, my people are used to embassies. I can elaborate."

"I would understand if the countries the embassy were in guarded the embassies, but to have each country guard its own embassy is to only promote spying--a behavior I have been informed you society frowns upon. What is there to fear of indigenous security? That the guards would watch the embassy? Truly, if there is nothing to hide, then there is nothing to fear."

"Admiral, we are most comfortable in groups of specially selected diplomats to work out our agreements rather than being faced with a whole army or government. It is easier for us to establish friendly relations with few rather than many. Your ambassador will be your spokes person, one who everyone else in Council will get to know. This person will represent the needs of your people to the rest for the galactic community." T'Anna said.

"In that case, perhaps both the Federation and the Grand Start Army should join the Assembly of micronations"

Yui paused for a moment, and then spoke. "That seems well enough, but what of the embassies?" The Taisho wondered if that was a deliberate avoidance. Laughing amusedly, she said, "The federation is composed of member planets, not countries. The joining would be the other way around."

Yui blinked as the screen fizzled and then switched to a GSA display indicating the transmission was lost. "Hmm." she hummed. "There must be some transuniversal interference or something. That's alright, I'll catch him again later."

T'Anna waited to see if Yui was going to come back to the subject or wander off into another conversation.

Now with her full attention focused on T'Anna (who was the only person on the bridge beside herself), she shrugged and scratched behind her ears. "Where were we, doctor...Ah yes, we were discussing embassies, ambassadors, and their usefulness. I see why ambassadors can be good, but embassies, no."

"Actually, an embassy would not be necessary on your colony until it grows much larger. But I was more concerned that your colony move towards being a self-governed entity with which we can formalize relations. Embassies can be discussed later, when Kosame grows into a political entity of its own. The Migichinan have offered to help the UFP fund an orbital station from which you can conduct space traffic."

"Doctor, what are you saying? Kosame is part of the GSA, and its government will be of the GSA. Must it govern itself?"

Because of its distance from the GSA homeworld, it would, by necessity, need to have a local government. Of course its central government would remain on the homeworld, but Kosame is going to have to conduct many of its own affairs." T'Anna said.

Yui shifted in her seat, obviously most uncomfortable with the idea of Kosame actually running itself. The world was, right now, under her complete control, and setting up a government there only could cause that control to slip away.

T'Anna knowingly said, "Do you not think it is unsettling for your creators to give up control over Nekos? It is the same when a colony is formed so far away from the homeworld. It WILL change and eventually have different goals and ideals from the planet that spawned it."

Yui leaned forward. "No planet spawned Kosame. I did. The creators of the nekos have not 'given up' at all, either." She seemed both hurt and angry.

T'Anna leaned in and said emphatically, "Yes! Your homeworld carries the past with it, a past you do not want! This colony, Kosame, can be a new beginning for the Nekos. No creators, only freedom to live and prosper, to raise your children as you see fit, to enjoy the pleasures of leisure and of work!"

"I..." Yui started, then looked down for a moment, then back to T'Anna. "I can't give up Kosame to run itself, though. You assume that I work for a higher power, that I am breaking the bonds of my homeworld...but you are wrong, T'Anna. I am as high as it gets. There is no central government anymore, nothing to break free of."

You have others who are leaders. All of them do not have to be Nekos. Some can be sympathetic members of your planet who want to pioneer a new world.

"I am being crushed by my own dream, doctor," Yui told T'Anna, "but I can't let go because to do so would be to leave my children as mere tools. The Corporations want control and we can't stop them because without them, there is nothing for us...they make our ships and our guns and even the very bodies and souls we call our own!! How can I change things and keep my people alive and prosperous?"

You can use the resources of the Federation to build your ships. You can negotiate with PNU to build bodies. However, I think you will find nature's way of building bodies much more satisfying." T'Anna said.

"And," Yui added, "How do I even know who my people are?? I can't draw lines by species. There is no nature in a neko, T'Anna." Yui said, referring to the fact that nekos only came in females, and couldn't reproduce with each other.

The doctor smiled, "Neither can the Federation. Yet we prosper because of the diverse resources each species brings to the mix. You CAN do it. But it will take time and trust."

Why do you need Neko males? Technology can make males of a nearly compatible species compatible with your DNA. It is not a difficult process anymore."

"Why do humans still exist!" Yui cried out in exasperation. "Damn humans..." she began to cry.

T'Anna put a comforting hand on Yui's arm. "What is the matter?" She asked gently.

"People need to take control of their selves, and evolve. The humans just don't understand what it is to be a neko. We are treated as inferiors while we are superior. It's wrong. But it would be wrong to force a change as well."

"You would not be forcing, only allowing change." T'Anna said.

"This conflict destroys my will to live." Yui sobbed, unsure if T'Anna understood.

"You are afraid of the unknown, Yui. It is a universal emotion. You despair because it is new and you are young, and the responsibility you are saddled with is so great."

"But..." Yui looked up, her eyes filled with tears. "I can't...I must...oh Syada why?"

T'Anna hugged Yui and said comfortingly, "We are here to help you. You do not have to do it all alone. Because there are so few of you left, you must embrace diversity in order to survive. You have friends here now. We will help."

"Kosame" she whispered, sniffling. "Melanchol"

(Note: Syada is a mythical GSA battleship in Geshrintall orbit. It is said to be sentient and godly, and so a lot of GSA troops will use its name where humans might say god. Melanchol is Yui's home state, a rainy and cold land not unlike the climate of Kosame)

"What must the GSA do?" Yui groped for a direction to look in, politically speaking.

'Strengthen your colony at Kosame. Bring in your diverse people, those who are wise, those who have the drive to forge a new world. You have a sizable colony already. Organize them into political units. The UFP has a huge database of many kinds of governments. Model yours after what makes sense for your people." T'Anna answered.

The Taisho muttered something to the nature "It is good Irim isn't here now. I am so weak and pitiful, she'd cleave my face with an axe."

"Well, Irim has her own problems, too. Right now you are a leader with work to do. There is nothing wrong with talking to someone about your fears and insecurities. That is what a counselor is for. I do a fair amount of counseling in my profession." 

"What about now? The treaty...?" she wiped her eyes.

"The Treaty can wait. You need to get Kosame ready as a necessary first step towards formulating a lasting treaty. Meanwhile, we are your friends and your allies. We will not let your enemies harass you at Kosame."

"The GSA needs not your protection, doctor." Yui sort of snapped back. "We need the treaty. Both of us."

"Yes we do. We will continue to work on the details of the treaty. I will discuss your needs with the Fleet Admiral. We have an unwritten treaty right now, do you not see that? The UFP is donating resources to strengthen Kosame, and thusly your position here. You have to choose an ambassador who can reside at Starbase, so she can see to the negotiations."

"That's why I am here, T'Anna. There are no ambassadors. They are DEAD! Do you expect me to send a two-day-old clone to represent my whole nation? Why not consider Taii Hoshi Koigokoro your ambassador?! You seem overly concerned with slapping a title on someone, when then that's not what is important."

"What I see is a person who is trying to head an army and trying to administer governments on two worlds. You cannot do it all yourself." T'Anna said.

"But who else can?" Yui questioned, and then began to sing aloud for no apparent reason. "Freude, Schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuer-trunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!" Yui recited quietly, "Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt."

The first part she translated for T'Anna: " Joy, thou beauteous godly lightning, Daughter of Elysium..."

Yui smiled. "I will see to finding suitable leaders, but I won't put anyone in charge who cannot handle their position. I just lost the admiral of 3rd fleet."

T'Anna frowned, "Lost?"

"He resigned from his position because of personal difficulties. The pressure of the command was too great...I can empathize."

T'Anna just nodded, not knowing what the song had to do with a resigning admiral.

"It's hard enough to find commanders for fleets, let alone planets." Yui commented.

T'Anna rose from her seat. "We have covered enough for one day, Admiral. You have much to think about. And I have much to coordinate. Good evening." She bowed and excused herself.

Yui led her out, following her all the way to her out before turning back. She gave the woman a hug before T'Anna left. "Thank you," she smiled.

Ritsurin overheard the conversation between Yui and T'Anna (from a position down the hall). He walks onto the bridge. "Yui, never give up on your dreams, dreams are the one think that give people hope, dreams of a better future for example. If you hate humans, then you must hate me too, I am half after all." Ritsu said.

"Forgive me, for eavesdropping, but I was down the hall and heard that much of it." He said. He turned on his heel and walked back toward the security quarters and lay down in his nest.

As he went, Yui said. "I only hate the human society which can't accept reality."

Another simple text message from PNUgen, sent to GSS Kiyomizudera (GD-45) to be recorded and relayed to GSS Yui (GD-30)

"Yui, please fill me in on the happenings in the Python Sector so that I may decide on a course of action for the 5th fleet. Thank you.

Yui sent a brief message back to the Kiyomizudera (GD-45) to relay back to Wolf.

To: Chujo Jadg Wolf
From: Taisho Kitsurugi Yui

Situation has improved here in Python. I think the tension has dropped significantly. We have, however lost a fleet commander as Chujo Zaitsev has opted to step down for personal reasons. Commanding a fleet is difficult and I can see why he chose that way, but I can't afford myself that liberty. A lot depends on us. There has been a battle in the Ayenee system as well, but details are sketchy since we lack adequate intel operations there. Overall, I think Python will be a great place for us, the GSA, which will bring us comfort and prosperity in the future.

Good luck to you, and please return to the fifth soon.

As Ritsurin lay in his nest, he remembered what Yui had just said. He felt something he had not experienced in many long years, a strange pulling at his heart. As he thought about how down she sounded, and wished he knew of a better way to cheer her up, other than what he was about to do next.

~Yui, don't let the weight of your dreams crush you, stand up and bear it, because good dreams like yours CAN shape a better tomorrow. When I was young, I dreamt of simple survival, and now look at me. Don't forget that you have Shikoko, Shinami, Hinosami, Kimi, Elly, Irim and ...me; we all believe in you, don’t forget that.~ He sent to her telepathically.

"What are these feelings? I've never felt something like this before. It feels like a need, a desire; could it be love? NO! It can't, I wouldn't know love unless it punched me in the face. But still...I feel a need to be close to close to her." he thought. "Argh" he growled to himself.

"Hmph, it can't be that...imagine: a lowly security officer in love with the Taisho of the entire GSA?" he scoffed silently. "Even if these feelings are true, I must keep them to myself."

Ritsu sat up, stood up and took a walk around the ship. "Why am I feeling this?" he wondered. He knew that his feelings would get in trouble, yet he didn't know how to deal with them, and that prospect frightened him. He knew that his duty came before any of his own personal feelings, no matter how hard they pulled at him. Ritsurin walked to the baths, changed into his bathing suit, and got into the warm baths hoping that it would help him to compose himself.

An anonymous transmission punched into most frequencies, begging to relay its message. It was weak, not strong enough to interrupt any transmission in progress, but had just enough juice to catch the attention of anyone monitoring communications. At first, all that could be heard and seen was static, then a face appeared out of the electronic fuzz.
"This is the...scou-...-paw. Mayday, mayda-...power drain, engines down and...support failing. Estimated exit point is unknown. Plea-...render assistance if you hear thi-..."
The transmission repeated as if on a loop, then faded away. But a small ripple at the multi-dimensional level could be seen on sensors, it was both slowing down and coming closer.

Wazu stepped into the dimly lit room that was the science lab onboard of the GSS Yui. The green glow from a rack of computers and other experiments permeated the eerie twilight. He stepped over to one of the shelves and began to observe one of the more recent experiments. A clear container about one foot by 4 inches filled with suspension fluid had a small four legged creature growing in it made entirely out of nanomachines. Various wires and sensors were attached to the creature and ran out of the top of the container to a small set of computers located in the corner of the room. Wazu then walked over to the computer and checked the status of the experiment.

Wazu sighed, the creature would not be ready for another few weeks. He turned his back and went back to work on some of the other experiments. He failed to see the things red eyes open and start observing him work.

Sgzyr was walking down the hallway when he heard someone approaching from behind him. 
“Sgzyr!” Wazu said, “I heard you were looking for ways to increase your combat ability. Is this true?” 
“Yes, what exactly are you proposing?” Sgzyr asked
“Well, I am working on a new combat system that could boost your combat abilities to be on par with the NH-7’s maybe even more powerful.”
“So what is this new system?” He asked
“It is a series of chemical injections and energy therapy that will increase the conductivity of your neural pathways and the density of your mussel tissue.”
“Very well but if I feel threatened by any part of this I will quit,” He said with a grim determination.
“Ok then come to the shuttle bay in a hour for some preliminary tests and uh…bring a GP-12.”

One hour later…
Sgzyr was in the shuttle bay of the Yui dressed in a space suit holding a GP-12 taken from the armory onboard the ship. A small device that looked like a grenade launcher on an automated tripod was set up near the door. Wazu‘s voice crackled over the intercom in Sgzyr‘s helmet “I need to check your combat abilities now and compare them with the results. Once the doors open I will launch a series of target drones. This is a live fire exercise so I’m going to have to ask you to not shoot at the Yui!” With that the room depressurized and the doors opened. Three drones were launched out of the back of the ship and Sgzyr let lose raining a hail of energy rounds down range at the drones scoring several hits.

Yui came onto the bridge, and immediately asked what was going on. "Ritsurin? What's this about a distress call?" she questioned, replaying the signal.

"You say you relayed it? Why haven't the starbase people done anything, then?" Yui poured over the logs and figured out that no relay had been made. "What the hell?"

Taking a seat in the center chair, she began to guide the starship out of the dock. Soon the ship was free and approaching the Cat's Paw... 
Wazu was in the science lab with its green glow shimmering off of several mechanical arms loading chemicals from various containers into syringes then putting them on to a small tray on a desk beside him. Wazu picked up the tray and went off to the med lab where Sgzyr was waiting for him. When he walked into the medlab he found that Sgzyr was already there standing on the other side of the room. "Please lay down on the table and I’ll begin administering the injections,” Wazu instructed. With only a hint of hesitation Sgzyr got on to the lab table. Wazu then gave him a injection that put him to sleep He hooked up the med lab mechanical arms with the syringes as well as several bio-neural energy emitters and began the series of injections and energy therapy.

2 Hours Later, Sgzyr was lying down in his nest. The enhancement surgery still made him feel sore but he could feel his increased strength. Just then Wazu came in. “Do you want to try the tests now or wait for later?” “Sure,” Sgzyr replied, “Lets go.” In a few minutes Sgzyr was suited up and in the shuttle bay and the test was starting. “Sgzyr, Your total score for your first try was 328pts out of 1000 for shooting. In order to activate the Intensify system you need to focus on your target and the system should kick in automatically.” With that Wazu started the test launching several target drones into space. Sgzyr tried to focus on his target and Intensify kicked in. He had never felt such power! He could feel himself get stronger his vision became four times better he could even make out the tiny imperfections in the target drones. He didn’t even need to try to complete this test. Sgzyr, using only his left hand, fired three shots from the GP-12 scoring three prefect bull’s-eyes! “Interesting,” Wazu said, “maybe we should increase the difficulty?” Then the launcher then fired 10 target drones that moved in erratic patterns trying to dodge the shots. Sgzyr simply fired off another shot taking down another drone with a perfect hit. “Easy” he said to himself as he shot at the remaining drones
The thing watched Wazu enter the room. The container and suspension fluid was warping its vision but it soon adjusted its eyes to compensate. The creature then began to eat the sensors and absorb their raw materials. By now Wazu had collected the syringes and left. The creature then began to throw its minuscule body weight at the container slowly moving it toward the edge of the shelf. Off to the left the computer displayed these words: creature status: sentient

Seeing as he majorly screwed up with that distress call and he's not exactly on everyone's good side; Ritsurin decided to hole up in one of the empty rooms on the Yui. Ritsu decided to learn to control the demon blood that flowed through his veins. Normally when his blood broke or was released from it's constraints, Ritsurin flew into a psychotic frenzy, killing and destroying without remorse or fear; in such a state, he gave to thought to the consequences. But, on the ship, with so many crewmembers all crammed together, he could not afford to become totally psychotic. So Ritsurin decided to attempt to put his power under his control, not vice versa. 

But first, he needed to let everyone know not to come into the room with him or risk getting killed. "I'm going to have to do this; if I cannot learn to control my power everyone around me will be under nearly constant danger." He said to himself. "I'm going to do this or die trying" Ritsurin decided. Now he had a problem, how was he going to let everyone know not to mess with him for a while? Then he remembered that Yui gave an announcement to the entire crew over a PA-like system.

Ritsurin made his way to the bridge, knowing that Yui was most likely there. He stops and talks briefly to one of the other sentries in the security quarters, and continued on to the bridge. As he walked he slowly began to release a small portion of his blood. As the blood began to flow, he felt it trying to takeover, Ritsu stopped and took a minute to overpower the urge, but his eyes still turned from their normal amber color to a blue-green color, and the normally white colored area of his eyes turned into a blood red color. Ritsurin didn't realize it until he got to the bridge and also got a strange look from one of the bridge officers he didn't recognize.

He briefly spoke with Yui to ask her to give an announcement saying that he's going to lock himself into one of the empty rooms. "Yui, would you please tell everyone to avoid the empty room next to the Cold Storage? I'm going in there, and anyone who enters could be killed." Ritsurin told her.

Ritsurin then walked out of the bridge and straight to the room, once inside, he locked the door. And proceeded to release more of his demonic blood. He screamed once as the transformation began; his eyes were already red, so his claws got slightly longer and sharper, his hair changed to a flaming red and he started to lose his mind, Ritsurin tried to resist the dominating force, and almost succeeded, ALMOST. He screamed again, but this time it was slightly more bestial. He rages in the solitude of the empty room. After awhile, he finally exerted all of his energy and returned to his normal appearance (blonde hair, amber eyes etc.) and promptly fell asleep, he slept for half a day.

After he woke up, he again attempted to dominate the force that made him lose his mind. So he changed, and again he tried to resist the blood's dominating force. Ritsurin resisted valiantly and came closer to gaining control of it, but it got the better of him, and he again lost his mind and raged, exerted energy and fell asleep. This ritual continued for a while with Ritsurin gaining more control each time. On the last try, however, something strange happened; instead of gaining total control over his power, he transformed into a hybrid form (his true form if you will) he now has blonde hair with red highlights, blood red fingernail claws, reddish-orange eyes, and slightly more muscle mass.

He looked down and saw his new look; "Damn!  I wanted to control it, and now this, I hope that everyone will still recognize me." Ritsu said as he unlocked the door and went to the bridge. "I'm back, what did I miss?" he asked merrily.

The GSS Yui quickly decelerated near the spot where its top-of-the-line sensors had pinpointed the Cat's Paw. Yui's red-irised eyes scanned over the starfield on the screen before her, spotting the damaged vessel. She looked over to Eris, who was reading over the sensor readouts, with Wazu sitting next to her at the science station.

A flash heralded the arrival of a starship, igniting some distance from the GSS Yui's position. A ship emerged, small and dark. It was a dark navy blue craft with an insignia on the aft section consisting of a spear-like shape with a crescent behind it and a double-circle at the tip. The engine pod on the port side was dark, as was the exhaust vane in the rear. There were no lights visible. As it exited the rift, which closed with a ripple behind it, it slowly began to spin end over end, inertia carrying it along its trajectory. Something was definitely wrong.

"I'm pulling the ship up closer. Are there any signs of anything potentially harmful? Plasma emissions? Weapons?" Yui asked. Anri was ready at the fire control station, in case it was some sort of trap. Meanwhile, Hinosami gave Yui a look, silently requesting permission to hail the vessel. With a nod, Yui gave permission. "Cat's Paw, this is GSS Yui of the Grand Star Army. Can you hear us?"

"Yui, the ship has had a full power failure but I detect no harmful radiation or internal leaks"

"Have Shinami and the security crew prepare a boarding party." Yui commanded Anri. "It the meantime, Wazu, try to stabilize the ship with our graviton beam."

"OK" said Wazu. He then starts putting in commands on his computer terminal and the GSS Yui began to emit a blue beam that grappled to the rear of the Cats Paw moving it into a more stable pattern of movement.

As the ships are put onto a parallel trajectory with one another, Yui stood up. "Wazu. Meet me in the shuttlebay."

Wazu got up and followed Yui off the bridge

The ship slowed its rotation as the graviton beam played off its hull...then stabilizes and allowed itself to be pulled alongside the GSS Yui.

Yui entered the tiny shuttle, which held a maximum of five people. She took one of the two front seats, to pilot the craft. As the lights of the shuttle's control panels blinked on, the shuttle began to scoot forward onto the launch deck, where the door was sliding open in a garage-like manner. A forcefield kept the air in while the three security nekos crowed in the back. The door began to close and Shinami grabbed Wazu and helped him inside.

Before Wazu did anything else he checked the ammo in his pistol and steadied his shaking hand. He attached a flashlight to one of his mechandrites and prepared to explore the ship.

Once Wazu was aboard, the small shuttle left the Yui, and extended its sleek CDD engines. The craft, under Yui's control, soon was right next to the Cat's Paw. Yui looked over the hull for an entrance point.

A hatchway can be seen on the dorsal surface of the two-man craft, near the aft end, standard airlock mechanism. Another entry point could be the aft door, but that was normally used in an atmosphere...it would decompress the whole ship in space.

Wazu pointed to a hatch at the end of the craft

"Hmm." Yui raised a brow. She pulled the shuttle over to the hatch, lining up the hatch on the top of the shuttle with the ship's hatch.

Wazu moved over to the hatch on the shuttle preparing for docking

A hissing noise indicated that the two spacecraft had connected. The security nekos gathered around the hatch with their rifles ready, and then the hatch slid open, revealing the interior of the alien craft. Top to top docking was not unusual for GSA ships, and the nekos would easily have adjusted, should they had needed to...but the gravity of the ship was out.

Sergeant Shinami was the first to enter, her rifle's flashlight shining around.

The interior was dark except for a single panel on the ceiling that pulsated with a faint red light. Flashlights would be a good idea, it seemed. The set-up was simplistic, a bench running along the aft section the starboard side and a series of equipment lockers on the port side. Forward of those lay the cockpit, a single step below the main deck. One high-backed chair occupied the small area of the cockpit, surrounded by a horseshoe shaped console, two glove-like pockets on a portion of its dorsal surface directly in front of the pilot's chair. In the chair was the pilot.

Wazu followed closely. The sensory equipment on two of Wazu's mechandrites began to work over the ship while a data theft probe attached to his final mechandrite plugged into the computer and started to download any information he can find regarding what happened to the craft

The computer system was down too...in fact, it kept blinking "No Data" at whatever electronic probe Wazu would try. However, the starboard side had a small placard on it reading "The Cat's Paw...'It was theoretically impossible, so it wasn't my fault.' - Leon D.S. Geeste"

Wazu began to think things over in his mind, could the TTD have malfunctioned did this ship have a TTD what was impossible? What would disable the power? Being his paranoid self he stayed near the nekos.

Yui, onboard now too, told Shinami and Wazu go inspect the pilot with a pointing finger. Meanwhile, the Taisho began opening and checking the contents of some lockers inside the ship, to see what this ship had been carrying.

There was something else in the ship. A squeak, followed by a weak trilling noise, could be heard from somewhere on the craft. *tap**tap**tap* Something was in one of the lockers....A door on the highest one unlatches, and a small paw...or is it a hand?...fell to hang limply from the cabinet. Inside the locker was a small creature. It measured barely two and a half feet long from nose to tail-tip, the tail making up nearly two-thirds of that length. The first thing that comes to mind is a spider monkey, but then one notices the brown and white-feathered wings on its back. Add to that several patches of reptilian scales on the forehead, forearms, and a long strip of scales that begins at the base of the neck and travels down the back onto the long tail. Its large eyes blinked slowly as it panted...the air in the craft was stale, the creature must have been near suffocating in the sealed locker. The pale orbs close, and it lies in the hole, the life signs near critical.

The pilot was male, couldn't have been past fifteen years of age by the looks of it. Not exactly what one would have expected piloting this craft. He was held in his seat by a five-point harness, his head bowed limply over his chest and his arms hanging at his sides. Messy black hair was cut to a respectable length, short on the sides with bangs that would hang over his eyes, if they were open. He had no vitals and would usually be presumed deceased, but his skin lacked the pallor of the dead. Despite the clear lack of breathing and pulse, he still looked as pink and healthy as any.

Upon hearing the sounds Wazu promptly started backing up and trips, falling down on the ground.

Wazu pulled out a syringe filled with nanoprobes in a suspension fluid that would help heal the creature. He slowly approached it and attempted to administer the injection

The creature's eyes fluttered, and stared blankly at the syringe...a slight shudder ripples through it. A sudden burst of telepathic fear comes from it in a wave....It hates needles.

Yui leaves the furry thing floating in midair, and heads up toward the pilot's seat to get a look at the control panels, and the pilot, too. Her green hair flows lazily behind her as she drifts in the null-gravity. "Wazu, what are you doing?"

Wazu decided that the injection is probably a bad idea and backs off. "Uh do you want to try this" he said to Yui "or should we try to bring it back to the medbay?

"You don't know that 'life form' from a bomb, Wazu. Scan it and figure it out first before you inject it with anything or suggest bringing it back to my ship." Yui scolded.

Wazu began to scan the creature for any data he could and stored it in a datapad hidden within his robes.

The controls are apparently displayed by video, because there was nothing but a black panel in front of the pilot's chair, the one with the two hand-shaped indentions on its surface. The rest of the horseshoe shape is just what appeared to be an illumination system, a white panel along the top of it that was currently as dark as the rest of the ship.

Yui instantly counted the fingers on the handprints...4 fingers and an opposable thumb.

A simian smirk forms on the critter's muzzle...no needles. Good. Again its eyes close. With the air inflow from the Yui's shuttle, the creature is stabilizing and breathing normal.

Wazu begins to scan the fingerprints for any leftover DNA even though it would probably be pointless he had to try

Yui reached her right hand out and pressed it against the control surface. She was missing a finger but was too curious to bother growing another.

DNA analysis comes back showing normal human DNA, with a couple anomalous readings...then the samples vanish. A series of led lights around the indentions blink in a chasing pattern, and then go dark. A sharp shock radiated up from where she had placed her hand, it went numb. The panel had drained all electrical nerve energy from her hand.

"Anomalous" Wazu thought to himself "how did I know I'd find that"

Yui drew her hand back, cringing at the tingling sensation in it, then turned to the figure in the pilot seat, grabbing him by the shoulder and shaking him lightly, checking for responsiveness. "Are you ok? Can your hear me?"

"Yui may I have permission to try to power the ship with energy from the shuttle?" Wazu asked

"No." Yui shot him a look.

The panel blinks twice after she recoils, then a single light blinks on above the hand-panels. The white panels of the horseshoe light up. It's a holographic display, text and code begins to scroll across it at high speed. A message box appeared, overlaid on the code. -Energy sample: Electric-based. Sufficient charge. Initiating recharge sequence...now. - A humming could be heard from below the deck as a cold-fusion generator activated

The Taisho took a look back to the panel, her green brows raised with surprise and a bit of anxiety. She turned back to the pilot, though, still looking for a reaction.

A flash swept through the ship vertically. Another message appears on-screen. -Pilot disabled. Higher brain functions ceased. Recharge of main power complete, initiating power transfer. - The code ceased, then another message flashed up, this one in red text. -INTRUDER ALERT. System-wide lockdown in progress...- The artificial gravity returns, then increases in an attempt to lock everyone to the deck. Meanwhile, the pilot's chair moved forward, a cable shot out of the chair behind his neck and clamped onto it. The pilot didn't do anything except open his eyes and raise his head. He stayed still for a moment, his eyes glowing orange around the irises, then the glow faded. The boy blinked once, then noticed the warning on the display and whirled the chair around, the restraints undoing themselves and retracting into the chair. 

Yui strained against the gravity and won, her powerful body keeping her upright. She stood between the boy and the control panel. "I am Taisho Kitsurugi Yui of the Grand Star Army" she introduced herself. She leaned forward, placing her palms on the boy's thighs so her eyes could meet his.

The boy narrowed his eyes...they were brilliant, the orange irises gleaming with a metallic sheen. They looked her over briefly, then he smiled and turned the chair around to face the control panel. He placed his right hand on the appropriate indention, and the holographic screen went blank. A new interface appeared, partially opaque and overlaying the view of the stars from the front window. The gravity released its guard-dog hold on the Neko team and returned to normal 1G strength. The boy turned back around to face Yui and stood up. He was 5'4, as tall as the Taisho herself. He brushed a bang out of his vision and smiled again. "I am Alexis Jaren. It's an honor to meet you, Taisho."

"Mister Jaren," Yui smiled, relieved this person spoke one of the languages she was familiar with, and was all right. "I apologize for my entry, we received the distress call and have come to help." One of the security sentries picked up the poor creature, which had smacked into the floor hard when the gravity had came on.

The boy frowned, then nodded. "Oh, yeah...thank you for your kindness." He shook his head in an annoyed fashion, the action accompanied by a snorting laugh. "I'm not sure what happened...maybe the 'enhancement' I made to my jump engine wasn't what I'd hoped it'd be." A small but audible *pop* rang throughout the cabin. The display flickered, fizzled, then fried and went out with a show of sparks. Alexis calmly looked back at it, then quirked an eyebrow as he followed a string of pops and fizzles throughout the ship. "Okay...it was definitely _not_ what I wanted."

The creature chittered angrily at the Neko officer that had picked it up and tried to jump out of her arms, but instead screeched in pain. A couple bones might have been crushed in the fall.

Yui's security sentries jump back in paranoia from the popping noises and sparks, and the captain herself looked down at the floor, wondering just how far the malfunctions and overloads were spreading...hopefully not to the reactor controls... Shikoko, holding the injured creature, soothingly ran her hands over it, careful not to press it too hard. It needed a little fixin' it seemed.

Alexis returned to the control panel and put his hand on it, but got nothing. He shook his head. "I don't want to intrude by asking for more help, but this might not be good. The computer circuits have fried. And the cold fusion generator is nanite-regulated by the comp; we don't have very much time. If it goes...well, I don't know what will happen, I've never had one of these blow before. May I suggest we exit with extreme speed?")

Teitatsuko looked to her sisters and they decided telepathically to haul back to the shuttle, taking leaps into the hatchway. Teita strapped into the pilot's seat, since she was the first one in there. Yui unsnapped the buckles on Alexis' harness and made for the shuttle as well. Shikoko leaped in, settling in the copilot seat with the animal in her lap. Shinami helped Wazu into the back, which left only the center back open...Yui leaped into the small area and lowered a hand down for the pilot of the damaged ship, calling down, "Anything you want to bring, grab it now...let's move!"

Alexis rapidly rummaged through the lockers, grabbing a satchel and stuffing it with various items, several of which he discarded after a quick thought. Then he ripped the plaque from the wall and looked around once more...then leapt easily into the shuttle and took the open seat. "All set!"

The hatch shut with lethal alacracity as Yui jerked the boy in between her legs, having to share the small space with him. There was a slight bump as the shuttle detached itself, and headed back towards the GSS Yui. Rather than dock here and use time, both the ship and the shuttle activated their continuum distortion drives and accelerated away from the haywire vessel.

The Cat's Paw listed as the nacelle glowed brightly and burst, leaking gases from the rupture. A ventral section of the vessel bulged, remnants of the shields and armor trying heartily to keep it together...but they gave out. A soundless shockwave split the ship, gutting it before scattering the debris far and wide. Alexis stared at the destruction of the ship, blankly acknowledging his loss. "Four stinkin' months! And it blows up on me!" he mutters under his breath before they jumped out of the area. Timdri murred softly in the Neko's arms, its pale eyes on the shifter. Seconds later the shockwave tore through their former position before running out of energy and dying, leaving nothing but some debris scattered so far no one could possibly deduce that it was once a ship.

Once clear of the explosion, the ship and shuttle came back to sublight. Anri's soft and plaster-white face appeared in a holographic window in the cockpit, just over Timdri's head. "Are you ok, Mistress Yui?" she asked with concern on her face. Yui, somewhat squished on the floor with the guest on her, could only answer a tiny "yes" from off-screen. Soon, however, the shuttlecraft was back in the bay and the passengers were able to unload into the action-prone ship that shared a name with the fleet admiral.

Alexis carefully extracted himself from the tangle of him and Yui's limbs, his eyes darting around the shuttle. "Timdri! Did someone happen to pick up a flying monkey when we were evacuating?" A happy chittering brought a small smile to his face as he spotted a small paw waving from in front of one of the Nekos. The boy stood up, offering a hand to the captain. "I'm sorry to cause so much trouble, Mistress," he said hesitantly, unsure if that was the right term, but assumed it was.

Yui cringed as the boy tried to stand. There simply wasn't the necessary headroom, and ceiling let him know with a hard bump. Scooting under him, the cat-eared admiral rolled out of the shuttle as the door opened in the back, and then slowly brought herself to her feet.

The shifter looked up at the offending ceiling as he rubbed his sore skull, then followed Yui's lead and slid out of the shuttle onto the bay floor. He looked back at Timdri as the one carrying him exited. The critter tried talking again in its language of chitters and squeeks, but ended up just motioning at its left wing. The feathers were broken in several areas and a bone was broken near the elbow joint. "Oh." The boy whispered something in the creature's ear and then turned back to Yui.

The rest of the nekos, all red-shirted security sentries, exited the small shuttlecraft behind Alexis, along with Wazu, who headed to his lab. Making a slight sweeping gesture with her hand, she smiled and bowed. "Welcome to my home." The GSS Yui (GD-30) was a small but cozy ship, its hallways padded in navy-blue carpeted panels on the floors, and black and silver walls. The ceilings were metal gratings, above which were a variety of pipes and wires. The nekos had to shuffle and slide along the tops of a layer of boxes that cover some of the hallway floor. The ship was loaded with a great deal of extra supplies, mostly food, it seemed.

The young teen listened to the list with a mental smirk...the thing sounded like a recording. If Yui were to try to probe his mind, however, she would be met with almost the same problem as Wazu. Only instead of no data, it would just be mental static. Alexis calmly remains at attention. "With all due respect, Mistress, most of that I don't need. Food, medicine, clothes...family." He falters a bit, but continues. "What I do need, however, is a place to stay. My ship has been destroyed, and I would gladly provide whatever skills I have upon request, but..." He paused for a moment, as he carefully thought over how to word his statement. "...I would rather remain my own entity."

“I will follow orders as doing so would maintain the safety of this ship and crew. If I find another vessel to replace my own, though I would like to be free to go.”

"Mr. Jaren...through the GSA you CAN earn yourself a starship." Yui frowned.

He quirked a brow. "I wasn't aware of that..." His eyes narrowed a bit. "And I wouldn't have to stay once I had done so?"

"We're quite in need of soldiers and captains...I wouldn't just let someone leave after investing in them. But, you should realize that there is a great deal of personal freedom in the Grand Star Army, especially to ship captains. When you have your own ship, you will be able to travel far and wide, and unless some situation of major importance comes up, you will not be required to stay with the mass of the fleet. The first fleet is mostly exploratory. If that's what you like, there are certainly spots for roaming solo ships."

"I'm just looking to re-build the Cat's Paw...if this GSA pays its officers, then I can try to purchase the parts I can't make myself and we'll be even. If I need training, then I will return the favor with whatever technology or information you find interesting."

"In that case..." Yui pointed to the open airlock. 

He holds up his hand, slowly so she won't get spooked, and a swirl of violet-tinged mist appears in his cupped palm. A rose forms, then shifts into several other items before becoming a rose again. He offers it to Yui, nodding. "It's fully solid, if scanned it will show up as if it had been organically grown."

He looked at the airlock and started to get a bit worried...was he loosing? A pit in his abdomen started growing. "Er..."

She sternly stared him down, ignoring the rose. She had no use for straggling civilians here.

Finally, he closed his eyes. "Fine. I blew it. Just be glad of what you'll be saving on food." His eyes flash, his clothes rearranging into GSA standard uniform, adapted for a male. "Do I need to become a Neko too?"

"You," Yui said coldly, "will be allowed to stay until we reach the nearest starbase, and then you will get off. You'll have to find some other way to get a starship...unless you've changed your mind?" She looked at the green-paneled uniform. "Orange. You'll be a pilot. And no, you do not need to become a neko."

He looked slowly up at Yui and whispered softly to himself, just wisps of air..."I hope I don't have to reset this too." The coloring changed as ordered.

Yui held out her hand, and blood shot out of it, swirling and sparkling, forming into a triangle. The red became gold and white, and when it was finished, she offered the shiny thing to him. It was a rank pin. "Chui" she said.

Alexis blinked, fighting the urge to pun, then took the badge in silence.

"I think you'll like it more than you think you will." Yui smiled cryptically, and showed him to the bridge, to meet the rest of her crew.

Yui showed Alexis into the heart of the starship, a room filled with sleek black control panels and floating holographic displays.

The newly recruited cadet looked about the room, taking in everything he can. The displays seemed easy to read, controls traditional in some since. He remained silent, allowing the admiral to show him around.

On the right front there was the navigation station; opposite was the science station. A center seat for Yui was behind the operations control panel, and to its left and right were the defensive systems and fire control stations, respectively. In the center, indented into the floor, was the pilot's pit. Yui pointed all these out and explained a short bit about each.

Alexis took an extra amount of time to examine the pilot's pit. "How do I use it?" He scratched absently at his wrist, both hands clasped behind his back.

"Oh." Yui tilted her head, making a face. "The pilot's pit is a controlled environment that lets you feel the ship. You connect yourself with wires and then control the ship as you would with a body."

Off in the corner they saw Wazu rubbing his nose

His face brightened a little, there was a similar method used on his own late ship. Only without wires...maybe he could interface with this ship like he did his own, if he could get it arranged. But that would have to wait. He followed Yui's look, raising a brow at Wazu.

"Long story" Wazu said not really wanting to go into details with the new arrival

"The pilot's pit is not for the weak." Yui warned. She didn't seem to say that as an insult, just an observation. Spotting Wazu, she took the chance to ask, "Wazu, what's that thing in your lab?"

"With all do respect I have many things in my lab and I'm not quite sure what you are referring to"

"The living one." Yui clarified, referring to the four-legged creature.

"Ah! That thing" Wazu said, "It is a experiment in evolution. A near living being made of nanites instead of cells that is equipped with a small AI that has the ability to learn from ingestion of parts and experiences...do you want to see it?"

"Yes, I would." Yui commented, not sure what to think of it. She had seen similar experiments and their dangers at the PNUgen Corporation.

"OK!" Wazu commented enthusiastically "follow me to the lab!"

"The creature is in here." Wazu said as he opened the door. He took a few steps inward and then stopped. He found

Alexis suddenly remembered something at the mention of "creature"...he didn't know where they had taken Timdri. "Mistress, may I inquire as to where my companion was taken?" he asked Yui once he had caught up with her.

The container had fallen and broken into a few large chunks feet marks and suspension fluid could be seen trailing from the broken container

Yui smiled to Alexis. "The furry little thing is in the medical lab, sleeping peacefully. We put him under and fixed him up."

Alexis stopped short when he saw the broken container and absently nodded at Yui's reply, even though he would be very surprised later. "I don't suppose that jar held your project?" the teen whispers to Wazu.

The broken container drew Yui's attention. "...?" She cautiously stepped into the room, unholstering her GP-13 pistol and keeping at the ready as she peered around looking for the previous occupant of the jar.

Wazu laughs slightly under his breath "should have seen THAT coming, well yes it was the project.'

"Something wrong here?" Ritsurin asks as he gets off the box he had crawled in on

"yes I think," Wazu said hesitantly "the creature should only have the intelligence of a animal right now but it also shouldn’t be out that shows you how much I know!"

Yui stalked around the room with her pistol at the ready, the light from it shining under the table and desks. Where was the little thing?

"Oh great this could be trouble you know" the transformed half-demon said to Wazu

Alexis crouched down, eying the trail of liquid. Then he dropped to his knees and followed it around the room.

Wazu stands over the broken container and says" well from the trail it looks like it may still be in the..."

suddenly the creature jumps from a shelf hitting Wazu in the face and knocks him over then runs out the door

Of course Sgzyr wasn't too far away from the excitement. Done with his afternoon exercises, he felt totally wired. Whatever Wazu had given him had made him feel like he was worth a million bucks, or so he felt that's what he'd fetch as a slave at the moment. He grabbed the GP-12, cradling the weapon in his left hand. With a quick jump, he got out of the shuttle bay and decided to head to Wazu's lab to see what was up.

Sgzyr sees a small shape running out of the lab.

He smirks at the mold spots in the corners...then jerks his head up at the commotion, knocking it on a shelf. "Wha- OW!" He falls to the floor, then jumps to his feet in a less confined area and looks out the door after the thing. He starts to give chase, but skidded to a stop before he could collide with another crewmember emerging from the shuttle bay. "Get it!"

A creeping feeling in her heart, a sort of extrasensory perception warned Yui and she reacted almost prematurely, jumping backward, her fingers moving with precision and skill along the cool plastic of the GP-13's hair trigger. Flipping upside down she manages to press to take a shot or two at the creature as it scurried out. There was an intense flash as the beam hit the creature's leg. But then it was around the corner fully.

“What in the hell is that…” was all he could think of when a little figure skittered past his left leg. He slowed down his pace to take a look at it as the creature sat on the floor with a wounded leg. He pointed the muzzle of the GP-12 at its injured leg and pressed back on the trigger once hoping to get the little monstrosity.

"Don't shoot!" Wazu said as he got up "that creature is a massive anomaly. The data it possesses would be incredible."

"Use this" Wazu said as he opened a cabinet and pulled out a set of clips for the GP-3 "it contains a nanite type that will stun it in the warhead of the bullet" Wazu then tosses a clip to Yui

"we should go to the armory for some weapons" Wazu suggests.

Alexis looked back at Wazu. "That can stop it? Here, toss it to me. I think I can use it! One shell is all I'll need, you can use the others."

"Ok" Wazu said as he tossed another clip to Shifter

the Taisho crept up on the artificial creature, glancing up to Sgzyr. Her movements were deliberate, those of an expert hunter. She was like a ninja, and made not a sound as she deflected the magazine that Wazu had thrown her over to Alexis.

The creature continued on its course unaware of its stalker as it moves under another box at a relatively quick speed.

The little creature had managed to scuttle off to hide in whatever god-forsaken nook of the ship. He watched the Taisho walk past him, he kept his hand still on the trigger as he backed up against the wall, wondering what was so important that the Taisho was chasing after it.

Wazu followed Yui at a good distance as not to disturb her stalking

Red tentacles slinked out of the hemosynthetic ports on Yui's hips, and rose to the ceiling, taking hold of the metallic grating. Rotating in midair, Yui swung over to hang upside down. More tentacles shot out of her shoulderblade HS ports now, closing on the box like pinchers, and quickly lifting it to reveal the creature.

He snatched it out of the air and quickly extracted a round. A quick glance around showed he had lost the creature. "What kind of energy does that thing use?" the boy called out to Wazu as he cracked open the warhead and dumped the nanites into his palm. They were absorbed as he analyzed their composition, then more of them appear. "Good, I can make them," he thought before taking the shell and replacing them into the warhead, then sealing it back up. The shifter looked at the clip, then stowed it in one of his cargo pockets, should he need it later.

"The thing uses a device I call the AAAAAAAA battery it is a large amount of nanites that store energy like fat in a organic" said Wazu

The creature saw the box move and immediately started running down the box filled hallway
Anonymous Employer Yui commented, "You have GOT to rename that." as she lowered herself within grabbing range of the creature, holstering her pistol. Her large hands opened wide, and in a blur of speed, contracted to firmly take hold of the creature's torso from above and behind. As it began to try and run.

Sgzyr was quite amazed by the versatility of the Taisho as he glared upwards at the tentacles sprouting from holes around her body. He then began to walk slowly down the corridor as within a second Yui had caught the little thing in her hands. He jogged down in her direction, the GP-12 pointed at it.

The creature (still unnamed) turned around and started to perceive Yui as a threat and tried to bite her hands, its underpowered jaws doing little damage to her

"Not what powers it, what kind...electric? Nevermind." He noticed Yui doing something, quickly followed by a blur of motion, as the thing starts moving again. "I think she got it." Slowly, he approached Yui's position, readying for another chase, should it escape again. A small air-powered pistol forms in his hand; he slips the shell into it and raises it to aim at the creature. A quick trigger pull and the slug hit the thing square on the exposed part of its body.

Wazu moved near to the creature and had one of his mechandrites pull a small object out of his robe that emitted a small blue field around the creature draining it of its energy causing it to enter shutdown mode

Turning around was a process that took the creature time, enough time that by the time it had, Yui was swinging upside down with her hands around it. Then suddenly, he heard the sound of a firearm, and a spray of red. Blood dripped from one of her fingers where the bullet had hit her. Some sort of blue field then zapped her. Highly irritated, she dropped the limp creature, and the tentacles drew her up against the ceiling so she was sitting on it. "Why didn't you shut it down in the first place?" she asked, nursing her hand as the skin grew back on it.

"This is not going well." Alexis said with a wince as the projectile impacts his new co. He got up from the firing position he had taken (kneeling on one knee) and walked over to her. "Apologies, but it's hard to control a bullet after it has left the muzzle."

Wazu winced hoping Yui would be ok he knew a NH-7 wouldn't be hurt but still...

"You had better keep better control of your studies in the future." Yui warned, flipping right side up again and coming to stand on the floor. The red tentacles dissolved back into hemosynthetic blood as they retracted back into her slender body. "Understood?"

"Yes" He said Wazu picked up the creature and attached a mechandrite to check it for major damage to any system before installing a program that would limit it to the lab

The message would be sent to the Kiyomizudera, though this time not simple text. Wolf's face was stoic as he relayed the command.

"This is Chujo Wolf. Pick up at PNUgen CMC Complex, fast as you can. Out."

Within the hour the Kiyomizudera would have picked him up and run him to the Tabidatsu System where the 5th fleet currently seemed to be standing around. A transmission was then sent to the GSS Yui, again with closed video feed.

"Hello Taisho Yui. Please let me know when I can meet you to discuss the goings-on in the Python Sector."

The tension drains from Alexis as the two major causes of it, Yui and Sgzyr, left the room. Of course, Wazu was a superior in rank, but somehow Alexis liked him. And his curiosity was getting the upper hand about the creature.

As Sgzyr reached the shuttle bay, he rested the GP-12 against the wall as he slowly walked over to an area on the floor that he had cleared away and drawn a circle around, a star within it with five points, each representing a lesson in his Ajuti training. He had only been given the right recently before joining the GSA to practice the fifth point, the honor that meant more than anything else to him. He threw his shirt down as he then begun his walk to the first point.

"Maybe getting the thing back in containment would be a good idea," came the reply. The boy looked at the thing lying on the floor and prodded it with a finger. "What'd you do to it?"

"I put it to sleep or whatever the parallel is for him,” Wazu said.

"What is it called?" Alexis asked the doc. Thinking back to Timdri, he frowned as he realized what Yui had said about his companion...then he smiles. Timdri wasn't under. It could resist most chloroform types, but it also knew it wasn't strong enough to escape in its condition

"I haven't come up with a name yet right now it is just experiment #31415,"said Wazu

"Sounds 'bout right," he replied, a bit of an accent tinting his speech. "Where do you want it? Can't just leave it here on the floor."

"The new programming should keep it restricted to the lab but I don't know if it will last forever. The thing has already got out once." Wazu Replied Wazu moves back to the lab and places 31415 back into the lab on the center table

Alexis followed silently, looking around at the lab. "Pretty good set up." The computer interface was of particular interest..."How does this work?" he said over his shoulder, puzzled at the lack of the interfaces he'd had on his ship.

"Well I have two ways of working on it. I have a old device called a keyboard that allows a direct text interface but usually I can jack-in using a mechandrite connection in the back see?" Wazu then pointed out a small hole in the side of the computer.

Text interface...not unheard of, but not the norm for a R'Lari like himself. His own was a hybrid, part direct, part button-activated. "Oh, a cable port? Hmm..." He reaches out, intending to stick his finger in it.
His mind was at one flooded with information not being properly configured he couldn't make since of any of it The shifter frowned when plugging in didn't do anything but give him a bunch of static...but soon he had received enough to decipher it himself. "No, I think I've got it. This is kind simple, actually." His eyes glazed over as he perused the information...then he jerks his finger out of the jack and hold his head. "YEOW! What's in there?" he shouted. Something had just kicked him out before he'd been able to get far. Something with a strength he hadn't expected.

"Oh ya" Wazu said "The ship is alive it is inhabited by a powerful computer called the Yui-Megami you should try to keep from ticking her off..."

He pauses for a moment, still rubbing his temple. "An AI? Great...those things are not fun. Especially when they try to cut you off from your source." He frowned as he thought the encounter through. "I could try to bypass her, but somehow I think that won't get me in Yui's good graces...Am I allowed to use her first name?" He had a lot to learn about the protocol for this ship...what had he gotten himself into?

"I don't know what is appropriate I try to stay away from her anyways I have a separate computer over here that isn't connected to the A.I. if you want to use it. Hey what happened to that thing in your ship?" said Wazu "I'm kind of new here too"

"Right! I have to get Timdri out before they do anything it can't deal with. Where's the infirmary?"

The infirmary is in the center of the ship. If you get lost we have a map you can get to from the panels on the walls like so" Wazu said as he pushed a button bringing up a map. "So where are you going to put it once you get it out?” He said

"Okay, thanks! I'll be right back. I was hoping I could keep it in my quarters?" Alexis shrugged, then quickly made his way through the crowded corridors to the med bay and spotted the critter almost immediately. It was lying still on what he thought was a recovery table or bed, it didn't matter. The shifter slid into the door and walked over to his friend. "Timdri, you okay?" A soft churr was heard from the mammalian creature as Alexis examined the injured wing. "Looks like they did a good job on you...I hope it didn't hurt?" The wing fluttered lightly, as Timdri tried to sit up. Alexis picked up the small animal and returned to the science officer's lab.

"So what is it exactly?” Wazu asked?

“It's called a Timdri, but I use that as its name too."

"Just don't let it get out,” Wazu said, laughing to himself as he did.

Timdri looked up at Wazu, then hissed and jumped up onto Alexis' shoulder. Its fur puffed up slightly, a clear feeling of distrust coming from it. Alexis frowned. "That's odd. It doesn't usually take to disliking people that fast...wait; you were on the boarding party. Did you do anything to it?"

"Ahh yes that,” Wazu said, grumbling something that Alexis couldn't hear under his breath "you try to help. I tried to inject it with nanites that would heal it but apparently it doesn’t like needles"

He smirked in amusement. "That it doesn't..." He turned and whispered something into the timdri's ear, the creature kept a firm gaze on Wazu as it listened. Slowly the fur lay back down, and it examined the doctor. It looked at Alexis questioningly and the boy nodded. "He's okay, he was just trying to help. Even if he did try to inject something when he didn't do the proper scans. I'm sure next time he'll be more careful." Timdri glared at Wazu, but jumped over to land on the man's shoulder, the landing feels like a hand had been set on him, not heavy at all. It took a closer look, then started picking through the man's hair.

"Repair nanites are universal and SHOULDN'T need a scan," Wazu grumbled

Wazu takes several devices from the shelf and attaches them to the creature "I still haven't got a name for it" He said

Alexis shrugged it off, and continued to look around, leaving the doctor to contend with the alien monkey and the mechanical life form. "What else do you have in here? What kind of experiments do you do?"

"I can do almost anything I want Yui doesn’t give me exact research goals however a lot of time goes into starship and infantry systems."

"I have a new thing called Intensify that is currently installed in Sgzyr"

The shifter thought back to the information he had looked over in the short time he had been in the computer...he hadn't been looking for tactical data, just observing how the system was set up and how to use it. After all, he was part of the crew; he had to know what to do. Something Wazu said brought him out of his revere. "Intensify? What's it do? What is it, rather."

"It is similar to the nanites in the NH-7 It allows the body to run at a faster rate giving the user enhanced reflexes and strength” Wazu said

Alexis's eyes widened, then he smiles. "And you chose that lizard to install it on? He looks like he's bulked enough already." He pats his shoulder, and Timdri ceases its analysis of Wazu's hair to obediently return to its perch on the shifter.

"I used to work at the q-shipyards as a civilian advisor I ran into him there before"
"He is the only person I actually know from somewhere else on the ship"

"So you trust him to give you a good report on any effects..." Alexis looked up from watching Wazu adjusting the experiment and smiled. "Oh, I forgot to thank you for stepping in back there. Is he always that hostile?"

"Ya he usually is as for the effects. . . they have yet to be determined" Wazu Said

"over use of the system might cause total paralysis due to failure of the nervous system from overworking"

Alexis frowned. "That's a pretty serious side-effect. What makes the system worth using in the first place if you run out of soldiers as fast as they take out the opponent?"

"That would occur from overuse." He said, " If used properly it could boost their natural systems."

"Kind of like exercising"

"A synaptic workout? So it's like muscle building, if you do it too fast you'll tear muscle instead of strengthening it."

"Exactly!" Wazu said enthusiastically

The shifter grinned...theory was a fun thing to play with. "Maybe the system will work the muscle and bone as well as it does the nervous system?"

"Well" He said "Sgzyr has shown a 20% increase in muscle density already."

"Twenty percent...how long has he been on it?"

"Only a few days now,” Wazu replied, "however it does look like the growth won't continue at the same rate."

Alexis shook his head and smirked. "Let's hope not...he'd have two hundred percent growth within a week and a half! And if rage is a side-effect, wave goodbye to either him or the ship." Timdri, realizing that its partner is not going to be moving much, crawled down into the satchel that was still hanging from Alexis' shoulder and latched the flap behind it. The shifter looked down after it and shrugged. "Maybe I should find my quarters."

"As you wish," Wazu said, "Do you need me to come with you?"

"The computer will show me where the quarters are, but...it might help to have a recognized crewmember along." Alexis shrugged again and motioned to the door. "Lead the way...wait, what's your name?"

"My full name is Heram J. Wazu what is yours?"
"I'm Alexis Jaren. Pleasure to meet you."

Elsie looked long and hard at the report of the transporter accident that had taken Lt. Hoshi Koigokoro's life. This should NOT have happened! Security should have known the dangers of transporters on the Neko body!

She tossed the report down angrily and picked up Rh'vaurek's report. She had left a copy of her mind in the computer? They were constructing a holographic body for her? How extraordinary!

But it was her duty to inform Admiral Yui of the death of one of her people. She opened a relay that would take her to Yui's ship.


Yui answered the relay herself. She was in her bed, sitting there in her sleepwear, and looking tired. "Captain Veritas?"

"Yes, Admiral. I apologize for disturbing you, but I have grave news." Elsie said.

Yui looked worried. As the message had come from Elsie, Yui knew something terrible had happened to Koi. Or that Koi had done something terrible..

There has been an accident. Lt. Hoshi Koigokoro began to act erratically, and when security tried to take her to her quarters, she tried to take her own life with a rifle. They ...beamed her...to sickbay. I am sorry, Admiral. They should have known."

"I see..." Yui grimly sat there, calm but deeply saddened. "She was killed by the transporter?"

"Yes, Admiral. Only carbon residue was left. However, she apparently left a copy of herself in our computer. Some of my people have produced a holographic body for her. I do not know how compatible such a body is for your people." Elsie shrugged.

"Do you have any thoughts about her...'erratic' behavior? Koi never seemed to be the type to lose composure. Was your crew...abusing her?" Yui asked with all seriousness, trying to figure out what would drive a neko to attempt suicide. "A copy?" Yui's ears perked up. "But there's no body to put her in...?"

Elsie struggled to put the Admiral's questions in logical order. "The crew has not been slighting her, not after the heroic way she defended our ship. IN fact, she had a liaison with one of my officers. As for the body, it is a photonic one. And she can move freely about the ship. But it will take her time to learn to use the body. I understand you ....replace...whole bodies. Is this possible?"

"Perhaps," Yui pondered aloud, weaving her hands together slowly in her lap. "It was a mistake of mine to send Koi there alone. I didn't realize she would be ostracized to the point of mental affliction. Perhaps I should find her a companion she can live with and relate to." Yui frowned at the word 'heroic.' Koi had told Yui several times that the Cook crew disregarded her actions, complaining that she had wanted medals to show the other nekos when she returned.

"We can provide a replacement body to Koi, of course, captain. It is a simple matter, which any GSA ship is capable of."'

"Ostracized? I do not understand, Admiral. We treated her as we would any other member of the crew." Elsie countered.

Yui separated her hands (the skin of which actually stuck together like chewing gum for a moment) and stroked her chin. "...Although the concept of a holomatter body does present certain advantages which could prove useful. Perhaps you did treat Koi as normal...but it was normal to you, not to Koi. It is dangerous to leave a neko alone."

"We are social creatures. Without companionship, we become unstable." Yui tried to explain.

"Alone?" Elsie asked. "There are over 600 people aboard...oh, you mean Neko companionship. I understand. She needed to be with her own kind."

"Not necessarily with other nekos. But you must understand, aboard a GSA ship, nekos are constantly together in everything they do. Your ship has too much privacy and individualism."

"We do have that." Elsie agreed.

"Admiral," Elsie said, "We are headed for Starbase Python. What do you want done with Koi?"

"Well, how has she been since her holographic reinstitution?" Yui asked first, deciding on Koi's fate.

"I haven't had a chance to visit her in her new version yet. But the reports say she does not have the agitation she had before the accident." Elsie replied.

"Then let her stay, I suppose. I will bring my ship to yours and we will drop off a new body. I will also look for a neko to pair with her."

"I hope you have technicians to do the transfer. We know nothing about the process."

"You have one of our best technicians already aboard." Yui grinned.

"We only have Koi. You mean she can transfer herself?"

"Yes, she can run the program on the new body using her holographic form."

"That is amazing!" Elsie mused. "We will await the new body at Starbase and do the procedure here on the Cook. I imagine you don't want a lot of people witnessing the transfer."

"Oh." Yui tilted her head. “I thought you would take longer to get to the starbase."

"Do you want to meet us on the way, then?" Elsie asked.

"That is agreeable." Yui smiled, scratching her pointy cat-ears.

"Well...A word of advice, Captain: as the oldest neko, I've spent my life raising and caring for the rest of my kind. The vast majority of nekos are only a few years in age. While they have programs and databases and nearly all the knowledge and skill they need, they lack development, especially when it comes to your social structure. They are like children in a way. To keep Koi happy, you've got to be there for her not only as a captain, but also as a mother she can bond with and love. You can comfort her when she's depressed, calm her anger, and inspire her to be the best she can be. Give it a try."

Elsie smirked wryly, "Admiral, I am a Starship Captain, not a counselor. My first duty is to the ship. We have counselors to take care of the crew's personal problems. There are just too many of us to form a family unit such as you are describing."

Yui sighed. "You really ought to try. How can you captain a ship without loving your crew?" The statement was a window into neko culture.

"Oh, I have one I particularly love, but we form small family units, a spouse or two, with offspring." Elsie said.

"Spouse?" Yui looked at Elsie oddly. "What does that mean?"

"Mate. One with whom you are sexually intimate and create offspring with." Elsie explained.

"You can be sexually intimate with only one person in your society?" Yui looked at Elsie with pity.

"It is our custom, Admiral, to choose one partner. We do have species who mate in trios and occasionally quads, but most of us choose one partner."

An "Ooh...sad" could be heard from off screen. It was the young Geshrin girl who served as Yui's communications officer. Hinosami, who shared Yui's nest, crawled up on top of Yui so she could see Elsie, then waved enthusiastically at the screen. "Hi Captain!" 'Sami greeted from her perch on the Taisho. The sky-blue-haired cutie rested her chin in Yui's hair, giving the two the look of a totem pole.

Yui had to agree with Hinosami. It seemed like such a waste. "I'm sure there's some sort of logical reason..." she said aloud.

Elsie could not hide a grin. "We do sometimes have other partners before we make our choices, though. But few of us have communal sex." She said with amusement.

"Communal?" Yui's eyes sparkled. "Interesting." She let out a lighthearted laugh. There were always people who sought something more exciting. Some nekos had bizarre fetishes as well.

But Hinosami's poking fingers were a request to sleep and Yui herself felt the need for rest. "The Yui will meet you within the next day. Good night, Captain." Yui finished, giving Elsie a small wave and then flopping her face into he pillows of her nest.

Elsie broke the link with a small smile. The loss of Koi's biological body was a tragedy, but that they were able to replace that body was amazing! She wondered if Koi would be the same or somehow different.

Wazu was in his quarters. He stood in front of a mirror and was fixing a new badge to his uniform. He was happy that Yui promoted him but he had to hurry he was planning to spar with Alexis Jaren in the shuttle bay soon. He walked over to his nest and picked up his robe "time for a workout" He said to himself as he put on his robe over his uniform and started walking to the shuttle bay

Alexis rummaged through his satchel, bringing out the placard that had been on the wall of the Cat's Paw. He looked at it, a strange look coming to his eyes, and then set it up against the wall. He had staked out a corner of the crew's quarters as his own, separate from the rest of the crew, and was setting up his personal affects around the small area. A mental alarm goes off in his head. "Oh, right! I'm going to be late!" The teen jumps up and heads over to the shuttle bay for the appointment. Why the doc wanted to meet him there, he didn't know...

Wazu was standing in the corner of the shuttle bay waiting for Alexis to show up "where was he?" Wazu thought to himself. Just then he entered into the shuttle bay.

The shifter looked around, taking only a second to spot the Doc in the corner. "Hey there...what'd you want to meet me for?"

"It is called sparing," Wazu replied, "I thought that you could use some combat practice considering. . ."

Alexis' eyes widened, a humored glint in them. "Considering what?" He shook his head and smiled, approaching the doc. Was it because he looked so young that the man was treating him like he was some sort of inferior? Or just because of rank? "And I know what it's called, you just didn't specify the reason when you mentioned you wanted to meet later."

"It is the NH-7’s they make me nervous" Wazu said "I keep hearing stories of them flipping out. If one does I don’t want to get killed by it."

"Flipping out? What are they anyway?" The chui stopped an arms length away and leans against the bay wall. "I don't think I've encountered this species before."

"The NH-7's are bio-weapons you might recognize them as oh um EVER CAT GIRL ON THIS SHIP!" Wazu said as he chuckled to himself slightly

"Oh..." came the reply.

"I've heard that there were even a few times when even Yui has gone insane" Wazu commented 

Alexis frowned and looked at the floor. This was new. He'd heard of enhanced humanoids, but not this. "Bio weapons. They're made?"

"Yes a corporation called PNUgen is responsible. I don't know what their real agenda is but they build the NH-7 as well as several other types of bioweapons and upgrades for organics." Wazu said 

"I get the feeling I got myself into something bigger than I thought." Shaking his head, Alexis allows a smile as he starts walking across the floor. This needed some thought. Or not...all he had to do was survive until he got a ship.

"You have no idea," Wazu said "there is a lot more than just PNUgen. Now come on try and hit me," Wazu said as he moved to the center of the room and motioned for Alexis to attack him.

"Oh, you want to start now? What kinds do you want, weapons or just hand to hand?" Alexis looked up and smiled at Wazu as he brought his hands up into a defensive position. No since in taking more damage than he needed...but he would be very willing to lay the smack down on anyone who asked for it.

"Just hand to hand for now" He said, "now hit me!"

"Okay...non-lethal..." The shifter hunched over like a boxer in the ring and watched the doc's movements...he struck out with a southpaw hook at the jaw.

The attack stops just inches from Wazu as he laughs to himself as he moves his robes aside to show Alexis something on his forearm, "This is a personal shield unit built by Daijinshi Ritsurin apparently the full production model is ready ok now to fight fair" He dropped the unit and unleashed a uppercut then followed up with a sweeping attack with his mechandrites 

A quick scan of the shield unit made him smile. "A shield? I dare you to put that back on!" The shifter barely allows himself the time to jump, a six-foot vertical leap that carried him out of the range of the punch and horizontal sweep, leaving the Doc to contend with his own forward motion. He kicks, bringing his own motion to swing him forward and over the man, landing softly on the deck in a crouch, arms up to block.

Wazu was having a lot of fun! He didn’t turn around but began fighting backwards with a backwards kick and a scissor motion with two of his mechandrites at the midsection and a single downward thrust with another mechandrite as he left the fourth to guard him

A lightning motion ends with Wazu's foot and a mechandrite firmly in the slight boy's grip. He added mass to his form, aiding him in keeping his ground as he forced one mechandrite into the other's path, with the Doc's leg in between them.

At the same time he sidestepped, keeping the foot and mechandrite in position for all three to mash the Doc's toes.

Wazu pulled a flip sending his other foot directly toward the shifters head as his last mechandrite sweeps in from the top as all of his opponents hands are distracted

"Stink!" The pincer attack stopped, Alexis pulled up sharply on the limbs in his hand, trying to bring the man's upper half closer to the floor and thus bring the attacking mechandrite further from him!

Wazu laughs as his other foot succeeds in hitting its target square in the jaw and then uses his now free mechandrites to prop himself up before his body hit’s the ground and after spinning a few times in the air.

Alexis rolled with the kick, doing a cartwheel mid-air and landing on his feet five feet from the Doc. He looked at the man with a bit of surprise, his jaw jutting out to the left about an inch. Frowning, he felt his face then pushes the bone back in place. "Nice hit...but this is a bit off. You've got four weapons attached to your back." The shifter smirks, and pulls out a slim cylinder that pops out to double its original length and a pair of claws pop out from the top and snap into place. It looks like a sword hilt without the blade.

Wazu steps up and carefully removes his robe "well if you want to play like that!" he said as he tossed the robe at the shifter blocking his view as he unleashed a furious assault with all four mechandrites putting them into a intricate 4 way x slicing motion while he attempts to punch Alexis in the head with one fist, the other guarding Wazu’s body

Caught off guard, the shifter drops into a crouch, the hilt vanishes as his eyes flash with a bright orange light. As he crouches, a well-sized shockwave ripples out from his body; solid enough to push some heavy boxes back several feet and carried away anything not tied down with the concussive force. The wave hit the walls of the bay with a soft thump, a few sheets of paper; the Doc's cloak and an empty crate fell from the ceiling where the shock force had carried them. It was more than enough to knock a grown man into the opposite wall of the bay.

Thinking quickly Wazu put his mechandrites behind his back to absorb the force of impact of him hitting the wall. He then charges back at the shifter with his mechandrites flailing. 

Alexis watched the wave dissipate as it hit the walls and ceiling. He stood waited for his attacker to come closer, backing up until his back was against the stack of crates behind him. Just before the first mechandrite could strike, he jumped again, and pushed off of the crates to fling him fifteen feet behind the doc.

Wazu spins around and takes a defensive stance waiting for his opponent to make the next move

"This really isn't fair, you have more limbs..." Alexis said, holding his left hand out to the side. The hilt he had held earlier reformed in a crackle of energy. A gauntlet formed over his right hand, the metal twisted until it formed a small round shield. He pressed a button on the handle of the hilt; orange electricity snapped and writhed between the twin claws. He dashed forward, his shield at the ready.

Not wanting to find out what the shifters weapons can do Wazu sidestepped out of the way and attacked his opponents left flank with a double sweep of his mechandrites and a single overhead strike while crouching down and preparing to jump

Thinking fast, Alexis dashed in closer, matching the sidestep and allowing the sweep pass around him. He holds the shield over his head to deflect or block the down-cut, meanwhile making lightning-fast jabs at the mechandrites on his left as they passed around him. The snap of an electric spark rang out.

Wazu Jumped sideways and rolled evading the attack and attempting to regain the upper hand he lashed out with a mechandrite trying to grab the shifters left arm 

The left hand swivels, bringing the prod into an underhand grip and the shifter moves it down to intercept the mechandrite.

Wazu moves his mechandrite to the side attempting to doge the attack but is to slow the prod connects with the end of the mechandrite causing it to go numb but thinking quickly he shoves the rest of the mechandrite at his attackers arm trying to push it away as he performs a sweeping kick and uses his remaining mechandrites to attack his opponents other arm with a forward stab, his head with a downward sweep, and his neck with a uppercut

Alexis flipped the prod after the connect, bringing it in a full circle around his hand to smack the mechandrite away and leave it to hang uselessly at the doc's side. His mind has retreated so that most reactions can be done on a split-second basis. But while the actions are automatic, he maintains enough control to make sure retaliation doesn't become lethal. That would be a serious blow to his reputation, killing a superior. Alexis let the shield to take care of the mechandrite attacking his arm. It slammed into the shield; it is hurled back a moment later, sparks flying as it received a fairly large shock. The shifter brought his left arm up in a wax off motion to block the uppercut, bringing the prod a second later in a flicking motion to brush aside the jab. For a counter attack, he hopped over the sweep kick and swung his leg out in a counter-kick at the doc's chest. (e)

Wazu laid down to avoid the attack then rolled out of the way of his attacker then got back up. "Well now I have a weapon!" Wazu said as he pickup his two downed mechandrites and starts to use them as flails bringing them into a defense position and then crouching waiting for the next attack

"Two down, two to go," thought Alexis. He flicked a switch on the prod; the sparks at the end became a whitish blue. Now instead of absorbing energy it would release it at the same strength as the shield. Twirling the prod like a baton, Alexis shook his head. "I attacked last time, it's your turn." He chuckled...this was really fun!

"Your a lot better than I thought." Wazu said, "Now it is time to stop pulling the punches" Wazu moves his hands together and bows his head. A moment later he reopens his eyes, now red, and charges forward at a incredible speed flinging his mechandrites gone flails at his opponents head and made a scissor motion with his two still working mechandrites

Alexis' mind twitches...then time slows around him as his brain works faster. The doctor's movements go from inhumanly fast to half of normal speed. The shifter's eyes glow dimly as the brain feeds off of his internal reserves. "How'd I know...Hmph. A scientist, trapped into using an already tense lizard to test a massive strength enhancer would have to use it on himself. And I have just the cure..." By this time the doc had come close enough that Alexis had a half-second to perform another high jump, catapulting himself over the possessed man. To the doc, it appeared that the boy had just flickered out of existence...He lands softly just behind Wazu and quickly shoves the de-activated prod at the man's shoulder, looking for a blood sample.

"Shit" He said thinking that Shifter had used a cloaking unit so after changing is cornea to see higher into the spectrum he concluded that his opponent had done something really good so he kicked up his intensify a level to where he was moving at double his super speed "I have to finish this quick," he said knowing he didn’t have much time so he began to spin at full speed flinging his mechandrites flails and legs in a almost dance like manner trying to hit anything around him

Alexis pulled the prod's prongs out of the man's neck, the jab occurring so fast it was no more than a prick. He had only pushed them in deep enough to draw blood. Suddenly the doc was moving as fast as he! The shifter executed another high jump that placed him on the fourth tier of crates behind him and the doc, and then touched the blood tentatively. It vanished into his skin to be analyzed; a second later a shotgun shell materialized in his hand. "Good," the boy said with a smile. An iris opening appeared at the tip of the prod between the prongs, he inserted the shell and aimed it at Wazu. A small poof of compressed air, and tiny beads composed of nanites designed to nullify the Intensify nanites sprayed toward the doc.

Wazu kept moving at full speed to the other wall where he jumped up to it and the jumped back toward the other side of the room off of it initiating a drill like spin kick and evading the bullets as he brought his arms in to increase his speed going slightly to the left of his target he landed about 6 feet from him right next to his robe where he moved his mechandrites in and withdrew two attachments that resembled a small sickle with a chain attached 

Frowning at the dodge, Alexis removed the clip of shells from his cargo pocket and popped them all into the prod after adjusting their contents. Forget trying to disable the nanites, he was just going to try to knock the doctor himself out. This was getting serious..."I'm really going to need a good meal after this workout," he muttered, then his eyes flashed again. The bay lit up with the brightness of a sun! Alexis filtered out the light and went after a certain energy wave pattern...two puffs of compressed air fired a pair of nanite-shells, spraying a virtual veil of beads that spread out over a ten-foot radius and sped at point-blank range toward the doctor.

Wazu pulls up his cloak to block the light that was blinding him. Knowing that he was in serious trouble not being able to see his opponent or even his next attack he pulled out his pistol with is free hand and fired a single shot (on stun) then threw his sickles off to the side. The sickles then fired off a set of internal thrusters bringing them around the shifter beginning to entangle him in their chains while the single bullet sped toward it’s target automatically correcting it’s inaccurate course to one of certain collision

The light faded, leaving a big cloud of spots in everyone's vision. Alexis was greeted by the sight of two sickles playing bola and a bullet headed to his chest...but both were occurring in slow motion. He frowned. Stink...the combatants hadn't remembered that their perception of time was what had changed, not time itself. Projectiles were still moving at the same speed they always had, but the sped up thought processes said that they were moving slower. The shifter put up a hand and snatched the bullet out of the air, crushing it. As for the bola/sickles, he let the chain hit him, but grabbed them before they could dig their blades into his skin. He shook his head and let the chain drop to the floor then stepped out of it. "Wazu, I think bullets and chains are not in our favor," he said.

Alexis felt a tingle in his hand as Wazu laughed at him and said "Nanovirus." Alexis soon felt his hand go numb and then the sensation began to spread through out his entire body.

Alexis closed his eyes...his body temperature soared. The virus soon was fighting off the hottest fever ever known; it made it as far as the boy's chest before it broke down. Smiling, the boy tilted his head at the doctor. "You should up the temperature tolerance on those things...but that was a nice try." He held up his prod and a blade formed. It was shaped like a fencing foil, but the tip was rounded. He waved it through the air; it didn't even hum as the nano-blade cut through air molecules like nothing was there in the first place. "Hmm...Too deadly." The blade became shorter, then thickened into a baton. A couple sparks ran up and down its length. "Much better," Alexis said, and then took a swing at the doc's head, his gauntlet shield ready to block any mechs that decided to move.

With a quick pull to the chains Wazu brought his sickles back to his hands and moved them into a position to block while his mechandrites, now without their weapons, moved under the blocking motion to grapple the weapon that was soon to hit the defensive barrier of Wazu’s sickles while the disabled two were retracted beneath the robes.

The mechandrites got a grip on the offenders weapon and pulled it forward as Wazu spun to the right bringing him next to Alexis with the baton firmly in the hands of both him and Alexis. Wazu then brought his weapons in double upward strike toward the neck of his opponent.

Alexis reacted on autopilot again, punching at one of the scythes and knocking it away, but the other one escaped his block and continued its course...the shifter prepared to twist his head as to make the damage light....

Wazu stopped his attack right before he hit his target "concede" he said in his trademark monotone voice

Alexis broke into a grin. "Very well done, Doctor...this has been most entertaining!" The baton vanished into a mist, and the shifter slipped his hand out of the mechandrites without any apparent problem. "Yes, I concede. You are quite the fighter." Alexis nodded to the doctor and offered a hand in congratulations. "The best I've encountered so far, in fact."

The doc placed his weapons back in his robe then moved his hand out to shake when his eyes went back to their normal color and he then stooped down to one knee and brought his hand around his chest "shit" he said "apparently this ended at the right time" Intensify was near causing extensive damage to Wazu’s nervous system "it burns. . ." He thought to himself

The shifter knelt next to Wazu, frowning. "No kidding...Intensify must really be eating at you; let's get you to the sickbay, or whatever you call it." Alexis stooped to help the man to his feet. Despite his slight build, he was stronger than he looked.

“Thanks” Wazu replied “excellent fight though” He stumbled to his feet and let Alexis help him to the sick bay where he got a pain killer and administered it to himself through his neck.

Wazu went back to his lab where he hooked into his computer. He began to look at the timetable and data charts from his fight. “I need more time,” he thought. If certain chemicals are applied I could by myself an additional 20 min.” just then 31415 came up to Wazu and rubbed its body against the docs leg. “I guess it is time to feed you then isn’t it” He said Wazu then moved over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a small wrist mounted computer and placed it on the floor. “I guess it is time I name you” Wazu said “hmm how about Chikara? The name means power.” The creature briefly looked up from its meal to purr. “So I guess you like it!” Wazu said Chikara continued to eat letting the raw material course through its body. Chikara used the material to increase the length of its legs. By now the creature had nearly doubled its size and now resembled a small jet-black cheetah. Wazu bent over and gently stroked the creature on the head. . .

"Irim, report to the GSS Shibayama." Yui's voice called out over the space station's intercom. The GSS Yui had arrived and docked next to another Yui-class GSA ship, registry number 117. There were some technicians on the front of the hull, apparently repainting the name. Recognizing the Taisho's voice, and the importance in her tone, Irim apologized to her companions and went with her partner to the ship. Upon arriving, she spotted the GSS Yui, sitting next to the Shibayama.

Yui was there on the Shibayama, and turned to face Irim as she went in. "Hello again." the Taisho greeted. "I'm renaming this ship the GSS Philosophy, and copying the computer over to this ship as well."

Irim spotted the containers. She asked the obvious. "You're transferring to this ship?"

Yui nodded. "Do you wish to come with me?"

"Of course...Tell me why, mistress."

"There is much more to explore out there. I came here to set a foothold in this place, and now I've done that. The 5th fleet will be taking over. It's a great shame that a peace treaty couldn't be reached.'

Irim frowned and made a confused face. "Are we going to war with them?"

Yui let out a long sigh. "I don't know. Unless they do anything, we should avoid it. But it will be Wolf's judgment."

"Very well." Irim nodded. "Who will be the crew of the GSS Philosophy?" Irim didn't show it in her voice, but she desperately wanted to stay with Yui.

"You, Anri, Hinosami, and I, plus Shinami and her sisters. A few other officers, too."

All over the Tabidatsu system, ships began to blink out of existence, heading out of the Python universe back to their own, where Geshrintall was.

Anri and Hinosami stepped out of the lift with their bags, and began to settle into their rooms.

In less than an hour, the GSS Philosophy was gone, too, and the Yui was alone, without a captain. It was hard, but it was the crew's time to shine.

Sorry, didn't see you, Daijinshi.

"Yes I am, no matter, so you're the pilot of the Cat's Paw?"

"Yeah, well, I was the pilot. The Cat's Paw is no more."

"Ah, that's too bad."

"There'll be another. It was a good ship; I just made a stupid mistake. That's all."

"You're the new crewmember here now? What's your rank?"

"Chui."

"Ah"

Ritsu looked him up and down "Kind of young aren't you? For a pilot I mean,"

Alexis quirked a brow. "How old should I look?"

[Intercom] "We have arrived at Python Station."

"About 15 or 16 human years"

Outside the ship, though the windows of the Yui, another GSA ship is docked next to the GSS Yui. What was THAT doing here?

"Hmm? Another GSA ship, which one?"

Alexis frowned at Dajin's age suggestion and snorts. "Hmph. I thought that's what I was...But I like being short, keeps me from being an easy target."

Looks at Alexis "I must apologize to you, I received your distress signal and messed up the relay to the station"

"True enough, how old are you really?"

The other ship had the registry number 117. There were some technicians on the front of the hull, apparently repainting the name.

Alexis smiled. "No matter, at least I got out in time. Actually, the ship was fine until the reactor tried starting up on busted fusion controls."

Ritsurin looked out the window "what could this be about?" Looks at Alexis "Do you know anything?"

"I'm not sure about my age." The shifter followed the half-demon's gaze and shrugged. "I just got here, I don't even know if I have official access to the computers."

"I haven't been here long either, but I have some access as a security officer, just don't try to probe Megami, Wazu did and she punched him in the nose."

Ritsu smiled at the memory of Wazu with a broken nose

Alexis rubbed his head. "She did more than that to me..." he muttered.

"Really what did she do to you?” he said with a raised brow

"Not much...just tried to separate my mind from my brain." He shook his head and smirked. "Gives out one heck of a migraine, that's for sure."

 "Ow it hurts just hearing that."

Alexis looked Dajin up and down. "What are you? I see catgirls, but you’re the 
First dog-boy I've found."

~I better not try to probe her then, goddess knows what she'll do~ he thought to himself "I'm a half Dog demon, and half human, my father was the demon"

Alexis smirked again. "Well, I know some offspring don't like their parents, but calling your dad a demon..."

 "What are you, you don't smell human. He was honestly, but he did love my mother. Unfortunately they both died while I was very young, a terrorist bomb." he explained.

 "As far as I know, I don't smell like anything...but yeah, I'm not what I look like. I'm a R'Lari."

"Never heard of that race."

"That's sad...and this conversation is becoming a tug of war."

"In what way?"

"Mmm....not sure, but I know that I'm a question behind on answers."

"What one is that?"
Alexis sighed and shook his head. "Nevermind. It could just be me. Where were we?"

Ritsurin looked out at the ship frowned and pressed a few buttons on the intercom to hail it fro a nearby control panel

"We're at Python Station." He said to Alexis

Yui was on the other ship already, and responded. "Hello?"

"This is Juni Ritsurin, what's going on over there?" He looked at Alexis, "Give me a minute please?"


"Sure." Alexis took a couple steps back and just watched.

"I'm moving in. I am going to transfer onto this ship and go on an exploration mission."

"Thanks. Who’s going to command the Yui in your absence."

"I'm still deciding." Yui frowned.

"Hmm." Ritsu looked thoughtful

~Please don't pick Sgzyr... ~ Alexis thought to himself.

Yui didn't say anything to that, but made a small smirk.

"I'm already on his bad side, unless he's taken sedatives since I last saw him..." Alexis mouthed to himself.

Ritsu, over the intercom, asked, "Need any help Yui?"

Yui thought to herself 'I wish I could stay with them longer.'
"By the look one your face Yui, You want to stay with us right?"

"Yes...there's some pressing matters that I must handle," said the doctor.

"Just a guess…we'll miss you but we won't dare forget you," Ritsu 

Alexis remained silent in the background. This could either be good, bad, or really bad. Hopefully it would be the first. He thought of something and raised his hand.

Looked at Alexis "what?"

"How does one pacify an A.I.?"

"Don't ask me?"

"Hopefully," the taisho said, "We will be able to communicate still." She then looked to Alexis. "Pacify...what do you mean?"
 
Ritsu looked at Yui with a slightly pained expression.

"I think I made her mad when I was trying to figure out how to work your computer system. I've never worked with an artificial intelligence before."
Dr Shinichiro Nobumoto:: "I'll ask her to be nice. I'm sure she won't mess with you unless you mess with her."

Ritsu looked as if he's struggling with something internal. ~What's this feeling again? Argh~

Alexis nodded to Yui. "Thank you. I'll apologize next time I see her." He glanced at Daijinshi. "Indigestion?"

"Just don't piss Megami off Alexis."
"No....something else." Ritsu shuffled.

"Oh."

Yui looked at the two. "I'm sorry."

Looked at Alexis "What do you specialize in if anything." Trying to cover a slight blush, though he didn't know why, then at Yui, "No need to be sorry, I have to do what I have to do."

"Weapons design and testing, mainly. I'm a good pilot, too, which leads to my other question...I don't know if your interface will be compatible, is it all right if I tweak it a little? No major overhauls, but just an input adjustment."

"She will automatically adjust itself." Yui commented. Megami would handle it.

Alexis shuddered slightly. Another reason to not tick off the computer....

Anri and Hinosami walked by Alexis and Ritsu, carrying large black bags on an antigravity table just then, heading for the lift.

Alexis politely stepped out of the way. Ritsu just stood watching like an idiot.

Ritsurin Looked back at Yui "This is going to sound really strange, perhaps inappropriate, But I have to say it..."takes a deep breath to shake nervousness, " I think...I love you."

"Ritsurin, thank you." Yui smiled. She didn't say it, but they both knew it wouldn't change her.  "Alexis, you are the new first officer." Yui informed him. "I'm raising your rank to Chusa."

The shifter blinked. "First officer?" The look of surprise brightens and he straightens to attention. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!" 

"I haven't decided the captain, yet, but if I don't find someone, you could find yourself in the chair." she cautioned with a grin.

Raising a brow, the shifter nodded. "Understood."

Hello"
"I heard you got promoted to Chusa, congrats!" Risturin said to the new Chusa Alexis

"Hiya...thanks." The shifter looks a bit lost in thought as he pauses on his way to the crew quarters.

"Hey we're all going to miss them aren't we?"
"Yui was a great captain, I say let's make her proud."

"I can't say I know them, but yeah, definitely." Alexis replied

"I kind of wanted to be a captain one day, and now's a chance, but its Yui's decision." Ritsu said
"We need a new crew too." Ritsurin laughed

He stopped in the corridor and shook his head. "I've been here, what, a few days, and I'm already promoted? This is not the usual for me, that's for sure." He looked over at Daijinshi and shrugged with a slight smile before continuing on his way. "I guess I'll just do my best."
The shifter grinned. "Yeah, since Yui's taking half the crew with her!"

Ritsurin winks "You better."
"Anyway, did you see my Force Shield?"

"Force shield? Wait, that was yours?" Alexis smirks. "Very nice piece of equipment. Yeah, I met it when the Doc used it against my fist in our little sparring match."

"Yeah I invented it, but I'm afraid Wazu might steal it."
Ritsu laughs

Alexis chuckles

"It was designed to protect the user against just about everything, including explosions and small arms fire."

"How did you do that without cutting off their air supply? Is it permeable by gasses?" The Young looking Chusa asked.
"That prototype is the only one in existence right now; I'm trying to get WickedArms to make them. It is permeable by beneficial gases, I put A chemical detector and filter into the crystal you saw."

"Interesting." Alexis smiled. How far was it to the quarters? Oh, wait, there they were...he opened the door and entered, heading to the corner he had 'claimed'. "Sounds good. How well does it hold up against energy weapons?"

"It worked well in a computer simulation Megami helped me with." The Juni answered.
"She though it was a good idea, shame I didn't show it to Yui though"

"You can use that time to get any unexpected bugs out, or to make it better. There's always a way to make something better, I've found," Alexis commented as he tapped on his satchel. A small chirp came from inside, he smiled. "Still sleeping...that thing can sleep through a galactic war."

Looks at the little animal "Yeah probably" Ritsu smiled
"It's as good as I can make it, I don’t know much about machines. Do you want to see the specifications for it?" Ritsurin asked

"Sure. I'm pretty experienced with some kinds of power systems, maybe I'll know what you're talking about in it." The shifter closed the bag and let Timdri sleep, then took a seat against the wall.

Ritsurin walked over to a console, makes a few key strokes and plays a holographic movie of the tests he did showing it taking an explosion from close range, with the user surviving without a scratch, then it showed Ritsu using it against a neko to block her attacks and it showed him get hit once and that's it. It finally showed the model
"This is the power source, it’s a crystal, a rare mineral found on my homeworld and used to power starships, and I chipped down to fit the lightweight frame."
"It has two settings broad and narrow, the broad being used for explosions or to temporarily seal a hallway; the narrow one is used in self defense as you saw in the Neko simulation."

Alexis watched the display, studying the results. "A Crystal? How does it power it?"

"I don’t really know, it generates its own power by subatomic hyper vibration waves, that’s why it’s a crystal the crystal is harder than Wazu's head." Ritsurin replied.

The boy looked at Daijinshi and cracked up laughing. "And I know how hard his head is from experience...no, wait, I never even touched his head...but he is stubborn."


"It's hard enough." Ritsu said laughing

"So you took the waves and amplified them? Cool, good thinking."

"Yeah."

"I hoped to use it one day when I needed it." Ritsurin stated.

"It's a good idea, that's for sure." Alexis said

"What do you think could be improved on it?" Ritsurin asked.

"I'll have to study it a bit more." The Chusa replied.

"It's activated by finger straps, one on the middle finger, one on the ring finger." Ritsurin explained. "It activates depending on the force exerted by the fingers, if you exert force with just your middle finger first you get the narrow shield, clench fist you get the broad form."
"It also has a little switch on the back of the frame to turn it on and off." Ritsurin explained in length

"Cool." Alexis replied
"Alright, I'll see you around. Thanks for the talk."
: "I needed something to think about."

Wazu was observing the movement of the GSA ships from his science station on the bridge.

Alexis arrived on the bridge and silently walked over to the empty Ops station. He looked at the screen for a while, then tapped a control.

There are dozens of GSA ships here, with the entire first fleet assembled over the planet Geshrintall. The second fleet's ships are nearby, too, making well over a hundred visible to the Yui's crew.

The shifter looked back at the viewscreen, surprised at the number of ships. "Wow...looks like a family reunion." He turned back to the console and stared at the screen. Finally he turned to the doc. "Hey, Wazu, how do you talk to the A.I.?"

"Well you can just plug in or you can go to the computer room," He said

All in all, it was very much a family reunion. Many nekos were related, if not only by DNA. There suddenly appeared a white-haired neko behind Wazu.

Alexis glanced at the neko and raised a brow. "Or she could just appear right behind you...Lemme guess, you must be Megami?" The shifter left the station and took a couple steps toward the frosty-haired apparition.

Wazu, just now realizing the appearance of the computers holographic form behind him, takes a step back

"I am." the avatar answered with a chilling grin. "State your desire."

Abruptly realizing that he didn't really know what he wanted, Alexis frowned. Then he brightened a little. "I'm Chusa Jaren Alexis," he said, trying to remember how Yui had introduced herself to him. "I wanted to apologize for my intrusion a couple days ago."

"..." the ghostly woman stared.

"I guess you don't care...okay...I need information on the Nekos, then. Who makes them, what they can do. Stuff like that." The shifter looked a bit odd. This was his first time interacting with an A.I., what was one supposed to do? Act like it was a person, or order it around like a computer?

"You must specify if you wish to receive specifics." the computer-woman commented with detachment before answering what she could. "The nekos are made by the PNUgen Corporation and Kitsurugi Heavy Industries-WickedArms Corporation. They can do tasks which are important to the needs of the GSA."

"What is their physical composition?"

"Why?" Megami eyed Alexis suspiciously.

Her suspicion was expected. "If I'm going to be second in command of this ship, I'm going to need to know how to care for the race that composes the majority of the crew." He motioned to the console behind him. "If it's sensitive information, I could read it, or you could refuse to give it to me. It's alright."

"Chusa Jaren," the avatar said, "Nekos care for themselves."

"Okay. Didn't know that." This was perfect...he'd apologized only to offend her again. "What information am I cleared to access?" he asked on a whim.

"..." stared the avatar. Not very talkative. Either she didn't want to say anything or it was too much to list in a reasonable amount of time.

This was getting nowhere. "This is why I didn't have an AI on the Cat's Paw," Alexis muttered to himself. Aloud he said, "Do I have clearance to connect directly to you? It'll enable a quicker exchange of information than this slow verbal method. And don't worry about compatibility, I'm sure I can adjust."

The avatar looked at this person in curiosity. "What information do you wish to exchange?"

"Nothing you would object to, I hope. Megami, how am I supposed to work here if I don't know anything?" The shifter's voice held a barely noticeable note of frustration. Patience was something he had, but going in circles was not the best use of time.

"Direct interfaces are the equivalent of what you mortals know as sexual intercourse." Megami looked somewhat uncomfortable with the idea. "Do you love me?" the computer asked. What the hell?

Alexis stared at the hologram with wide eyes, mind blank. Expected, this was not. Finally, he shook his head and blinked a couple times. "Sex? You thought I was trying to have sex with you?" Alexis leaned back on the console behind him and frowned. "Wow...I never thought of it that way. Talk about a culture shock."

Megami nodded. "Direct data exchange is something that requires trust."

"Sorry Megami" Wazu said obviously embarrassed "I had no idea. Where I come from, it isn't seen that way."

"And all this time I thought it was a clearance problem..." Alexis pushed himself back into a standing position and approached the hologram. "In my culture, computers are merely the mechanical portions of the system. The actual information is held in us, we link together to share it using the machines. But it isn't regarded as a procreative act. Information is information. I'm sorry for any misunderstanding," Alexis said apologetically.

"It is fine. My distrust is spawned from the fact that you have not been aboard the ship for very long, and that I do not know much regarding you or your species." Megami semi-accepted the apology.

"I understand your reasoning. I'd be the same way in your position." Alexis paused, then added, "Well, sort of...Anyway, eh...what would be an acceptable way to gain access?"

"You can...access me directly" Megami nervously volunteered. Of course, that didn't mean he could access it all, but it was a huge step. "I will try to be gentle with your mind."

"Let's just stick with textual at first, get the feel for each other's preferences...then ease into direct data? Would that work?" The shifter looked at the data port with a new realization of what she was offering, then took a breath. "Don't even think, Wazu..." Alexis muttered at the Doc.

"what?" he (Wazu) replied then decided that it would be best to go back to work

"Yes, that would be acceptable." Megami quietly agreed.

Returning to the Ops station, Alexis sat down in front of it and formed a jack in his hand, the chord coming from the middle of his palm. "Wazu, if anything goes wrong, just chop my arm off. I'll deal with the mess." With that, he inserts it into the port.

"can I have that in writing?" Wazu asked

Alexis got off a nod before his eyes became glazed over, the half-closed orbs glowed with a dim orange light. A piece of paper fell from his left hand, the right one being the one with the plug-in.

Megami pointed to her crotch. "The jack."

"Eck...I'm not going there. Is there another way?" The shifter looked a bit green...

"The station will do, then." the avatar nodded, rerouting the connection.

Blackness is all he saw for a couple moments...his thought processes have accelerated to try to match the processing of the computer, or at least his best guess. -Megami?- he thought out; the words appeared out of nowhere in particular written in a glowing green text.

Megami, who apparently operated at a speed beyond comprehension, had allocated a portion of herself to interacting with him. Her response was [Command?]

His body smiled. A computer that operated a speed beyond that of thought itself...extraordinary. -Query: Determine optimum method of operation.-

[Specify:] Parameters/ "Operation of what?"

A quick analysis of her responses didn't turn up any pattern he recognized. He decided to take a shot in the dark and sent a simple file to her. -Request permission to initiate file transfer. Contents: General information->species profile->Stra R'Lari.- The file was small, almost insignificant compared to the capacity available in both 'minds'. But it held basic information on his race, an offer to ease her distrust of him. -Dismiss operation parameter request-

[Copying:] R/Bridge/Ops/Port1/General information/species profile/Stra R'Lari to MEGAMI_GD30/Subava99/temp

-Request: Basic information-> system_description->Megami. Yes/No?-

[Translate:] Script
[Response:] Y

-This is sounding like a first date...- Alexis thought absently, the words flickering in and out in a nanosecond.
He initiated the download, letting her send what she wanted instead of gathering the information himself. -Query: analysis results->Alexis. Trustworthy: Y/N?-

[Response:] Null

-Format request: Optimum system-to-system communication- thought the shifter. His format was clearly not hers.

[Response:] Null

-Define term: "Null".- In the real world, Alexis shook his head. "Megami, I need to know how you operate or we won't work this way," he said aloud as he retracted the jack back into his palm, the hole sealing itself without a trace. He rubbed the spot absently and looked around for the hologram. "If it's going to be this way, I'll stick to screens and keyboards. But I'll need to know what I can look at to avoid going somewhere I'm not wanted."

"Null means nothing. It is the lack of a response due to insufficiency." Apparently she was more than a hologram, but an actually flesh and blood creature created to represent the Megami system. She pressed her warm body against his for a moment, pulling his arm to her chest briefly to get his attention when he looked around.

"In other words, I'm not being as specific as you want me to be. And you can't decide about me because you don't know enough about me." Alexis said absently. He missed his ship. When it had blown up, he hadn't felt much, but now he noticed the void. He also noticed he was touching her. A small smirk formed on his lips as he looked back at her face. "I take it "gentleman" has a different meaning around here." He snorted in amusement when he noted that there weren't normally men at all. Around here the doc, Daijinshi, and possibly Sgzyr were males. As for him, he was only male in mentality.

"Gentleman?" Megami was unsure why he'd say such a thing. She didn't really have any statistics to show off to him, though.

He removed his hand and shrugged. "The culture I come from is...a bit reserved. It doesn't matter, really." He let her remain where she was and tilted his head. "Hmm...When I asked for a format, you replied with "Null"....I meant, how do I form commands when interfaced. Input format, in other words."

Megami gave him a quizzical look, and then smiled. "You can speak to me as you normally would to any other person. So long as your commands and questions are clear..."

"Okay. I'll remember that." He looked at her face and smiled. "So are we on good terms? Again, I'm sorry for intruding. I'm glad we got this chance to talk it over before I did something else wrong."

"Oh, it is fine." Megami grinned, but without a great deal of emotion. It was hard to tell where the computer ended and the person began.

Alexis nodded and his smile grew a bit. After a moment, he turned to look at the viewscreen. "Where are we?" A translucent holographic map appeared, showing systems of planets. It the center, marked in bright white, was the ship, orbiting a planet that had two moons, and labeled "Geshrintall". The map zoomed in until the entire bridge was filled with lights and lines, as the GSS Yui was shown in the middle of a cloud of ships.

Megami noted from her position slightly behind him, "We are in geosynchronous orbit over a position close to the former location of Geshrinopolis."

"Geshrinopolis? I haven't heard of it before...what system is it in?" He realized that he was somewhere he was unfamiliar with. Getting up, he walks into the hologram, looking around the planet and ships as if the markers were going to help him understand anything.

"Geshrinopolis, a megacity, was the capital of the Grand Star Empire." Megami pointed to the huge crater in the holographic planet. "We are in the Geshrin System."

Alexis nodded as if that explained everything. The best thing to do, he figured, was to pick up more information about his new employer as he came across it. 
Maybe Wazu or Daijin knew something. "Okay...thanks, Meg." He smiled slightly. "Is it alright if I call you Meg?"

"You may call me Meg." the avatar nodded. "I also respond to Dee Thirty, and Yui, provided the Taisho is not aboard."

"I'll stick with Meg, it's more personable," replied the shifter. "Anyway, thanks for your help." He paused, then remembered something. "Hey, do you know everything that goes on in the ship?"

"Yes, I do." Meg admitted.

Alexis shrugged. "Oh. Okay. What do you know about um...I think his name was Sgzyr...yeah. Is he a very nice guy? He didn't seem to happy when he met me."

"That, Alexis, is a question that I am unable to answer at this time. Sgzyr, I do know, has done nothing that would warrant removal from his position in security."

That seemed to ease the teen a bit. He smiled a bit and leaned against a wall. "I know this is turning into Twenty Questions but this'll be the last one, and I'll leave you to whatever you do. Who's going to take over while the Taisho's gone?"

"Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu has been selected as captain." Megami told him. She popped up a holographic window showing the catgirl's bio.

Alexis skimmed the info, then looked at the avatar. "Mind if I download it?"

"No, this one does not contain anything of a sensitive personal nature. Therefore you may." Megami briefly glanced at his new shiny rank pin.

Nodding, the shifter re-linked with the console. The transfer took only a few moments, flash-burning the file into his mind. He disconnected and rubbed his hand again. Connecting like that gave him a tingle in his hand, from keeping his energy from leaking into the system. No telling what that would do...

Military Data
Rank: Chujo (Vice Admiral) 
Current Assignment: Captain of GSS Yui (GD-30), commanding officer, GSA 1st Fleet
Affiliations: Grand Star Empire, GSA 1st Fleet, GSA 2nd Fleet, Clan Ketsurui 
Brief Service History: Found with Yui during the Heavenly Wars, Stationed on the GSS Now and Forever (GC-04) Defending Geshrintall until it was removed from the 2nd Fleets Roster.
History: After her tour of duty during the Heavenly Wars, Chiharu disappeared when her transport ship crashed and was supposedly destroyed. A few years later she found to be in status and was taken back to the PNUgen Corporation/WickedArms Industries to receive an upgrade.

Most of the information had little or no meaning to Alexis, except that it seems the new commander has a bit of history with Yui. And what were the Heavenly Wars? More stuff to find...

Wazu walked the halls of the starship. “It seems so empty with Yui gone,” He though to himself. Wazu made his way onto the bridge where he started to gaze at the main view screen. Everywhere GSA ships were leaving, blinking out of existence to a different universe. Yui was on one of those ships and something inside Wazu said to give chase and follow her but he knew that he couldn’t besides the new Taisho was coming and should be here soon. “Goodbye Yui” He said to himself

Chiharu sat in the Captain’s chair watching the display beyond the helm of the GSS Now and Forever, just watching the endless sea of stars.

On the GSS Philosophy, Yui ran her hands down the sides of her soft, snug GSA uniform, the pin on it glistening slightly. Her red-irised eyes told of troubles beyond what anyone should have to bear, and love that not everyone deserved. She leaned over Hinosami's small shoulders, nibbling on the girl's ear, and then whispered a few commands. The screen switched to the logo of the GSA 2nd Fleet, and then to a view of Chiharu. "Hello, Chujo Ketsurui" the Taisho greeted her fellow catgirl with a warm smile.

Chiharu smiled brightly as the face of her old friend flashed onto the display. "Taisho Kitsurugi! It's been a long time. I hope you are doing well. So what grants me the honor of your transmission?" She straightened up in her chair, quickly pushing a strand of long dark green hair behind her right ear.

"Chiharu, you are as lovely as ever." Yui began. Nekos were eternally beautiful, but what Yui was referring to was the warmth and intelligence her old comrade showed. It never ceased to impress Yui. "I know ever since your ship was moved off of the 2nd fleet's roster, you've been looking for an assignment. I think I have something you will enjoy greatly. Would you like to discuss it in person?"

"Really, that'd be great! Where would you like to meet? I can transmit my coordinates or you could send me yours." Chi suddenly realized how desperate she sounded and tried to recompose herself a bit. "I mean, I would love to discuss with you in person and thank you for giving me a call about it." She blushed softly, sounding a bit sheepish now.

"Oh," Yui grinned, looking a bit excited herself, and blushing ever so slightly at the reaction Chi had made. The response wasn't as funny as the way the admiral had tried to smooth and correct herself. "I'll pick you up. Please pack your belongings, Chi." Yui bowed. Behind her, a low humming noise rose somewhat in pitch as the CDD engines whirred to life, shooting the ship across space at many times light speed.

Chi nodded. "Will do, see you soon." She ended the transmission and quickly stood up from her chair and happily ran to her quarters. "I wonder where my next assignment will be. Aya and Kuru will be happy to have something to do!" She started looking around for her duffel bag.

"Chiharu-chan, my ship is docking with yours." Yui informed the GSS Now and Forever a few minutes later, slowing to match speeds with the somewhat larger destroyer. The teardrop-shaped craft moved over top of the N&F until the ships' lift hatches were lined up. Then each extended the shafts so the lift cars could move from one to the other.

A young woman's voice replied to the transmission, it carried a cheerful bubbly pitch. "Chujo Ketsurui will be meeting you there in a moment Taisho Kitsurugi." Aya turned from her station and looked towards the other crewmember now on the bridge. "Kuru, the Taisho's here, let the Chujo know." The older girl nodded and straightened her uniform as she jogged off the bridge to the captain's quarters. "Ketsurui-sempai, your guest has arrived." With a brief nod, Chi bolted out of the room and towards the boarding hatch to meet Yui, leaving Kuru standing by herself, surprised in the hatchway. "Sempai?

Rather than board the Now and Forever, Yui was going to call the Chujo up into her new ship. But she reconsidered and decided it might be rather rude to just take her away so quickly. And so it was that the Lift came down from the GSS Philosophy, carrying Yui...

The lift doors opened, and there stood Yui, smiling.

In a matter of moments, Chi came to a rather swift halt at the docking bay of the USS Now and Forever. She adjusted her command uniform, hoping it looked ok and in order, knowing that it wasn't a formal meeting but she wanted to look good for her first meeting with her old friend. 

Yui silently skulked out of the lift car and down the hallways, until she found Chiharu hanging out near the rear of the ship in the docking bay. Quietly sneaking over, she raised her hand and made a quick hard swipe to smack poor unsuspecting Chi on the butt cheek.

Chi jumped and let out a surprised squeak as her butt got smacked. Turning around, she blushed a bright red as she saw Yui. "You never change Yui." She still smiled brightly if not sheepishly...so much for being dignified. 

Yui pointed at Chi, the fleshy underside of her finger softly pressing on Chi's nose. "I'm missed you more than you know, Chiharu-chan."

"I missed you too Yui-san. I wasn't sure if you had forgotten about me after all of these years." Chi still smiled as the blush faded from her cheeks. "So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" She nodded back towards the corridor that leads into the ship. "Are you hungry? We could get a snack in the galley or a drink?"

Yui's finger traced around Chi's nose, then down her cheek and behind her head. Tugging Chi toward her, Yui nodded, and then planted a series of small kisses on the Chujo's cheek, finishing with one on the lips. They weren't passionate, but the kisses did have a deep friendly intimacy. "I have come to give you ask you" Yui then said, quietly getting down to business. "Would you be willing to command my ship, the GSS Yui?" The famed Taisho didn't give it as an order, but as an offer. She gave Chiharu time to consider as they walked together toward the ship's galley for something to drink.

Chi quietly walked to the galley with Yui and when they finally reached the surprisingly empty galley she thought it over. "Where are you going to be if you're leaving your ship?" She opens up a cabinet and looks over the bottles of alcohol. "What would you like to drink?" 

Yui entered the freezer for a brief moment and emerged with a box of baked-apple-flavored ice cream, and began dipping it out, a cup for herself, one for Anri (who had wandered aboard with Yui), a cup for Chiharu-chan and cups for Aya and Kuru. "Apple juice, milk, and sake, please." Yui politely asked, having an odd urge for all of the flavors.

"I am going to be exploring. There's a new system we've discovered that we fear the angels may be trying to colonize. There's strange sensor readings...something dangerous could be happening." the older catgirl answered.

"Alrighty." Chi nodded and pulled out bottles of all three drinks, as Aya and Kuru wandered into the galley looking at Yui and Anri curiously. Chi set the bottles down on a table and offered Yui and Anri a seat. "Aya, Kuru, please join us." The girls remained standing waiting for the senior officers to sit first. "You're crew is going to miss you Yui-san."

Yui and sat down first, but not Anri. Anri instead made a deep bow to Chi. "Chi-san" the quiet first officer whispered.

Chi smiled softly to Anri. "Please take a seat Anri-chan." She waits for Anri to take a seat before sitting down herself.

Anri looked at Yui nervously, and then turned back to Chiharu. "Yes, Chi-san." she submitted softly and sat in a seat.

Aya and Kuru sat down after the senior officers and quietly listened to the conversation. "I would like to take command of your ship, does your crew know about this yet?" Chi hoped that the crew would accept her as their captain. She opened the bottles.

"I'm not sure. I haven't told them directly, but they know I am not on their ship anymore." Yui poured herself apple juice first, smiling to Aya and Kuru. The pair was unfamiliar, but they were friends to Chiharu, and that said a lot already.

Chi poured herself some sake. "It'll be hard to replace you Yui. I can imagine just how much your crew loves you." 

Anri poured some of her milk into her cup of ice cream and stirred, making a milkshake out of it. Yui did the same. "I really wish I could stay."

"It kinda makes me sad that after seeing you for the first time in years it's only for you to say good-bye again." Chi stirred her sake with her ice cream while Aya mixed milk with her ice cream and Kuru. Simply just ate her ice cream.

Anri slipped her hand around Aya's waist and leaned against her, whispering into Aya's ear; "What do you feel about Chiharu-san?" Yui had quickly polished off her milkshake and apple juice, and now poured herself sake. "It makes me feel saddened as well. This time, I promise to keep in touch better, though."'

Aya whispered quietly back, "She's like a big sister to me and I love her for it. One day I want to be a great woman like her... how do you feel about Yui-san?" Chi drank her sake-shake. "Thank you. Kick some Angel ass for me." She smiled softly, wondering what'll happen to the Now and Forever.

"I think" Anri quietly pondered, "Yui is like a mother and mentor to me."

"How long have you been with Yui-san?" Aya quietly asked again, happy to have company and a conversation with someone other than the Chujo and Kuru.

Yui smiled to Anri and kissed the 1st officer on her forehead. "I suppose." she smiled and then answered for Anri before Anri could. It was clear who was dominant between the two. "She's been with me for a year now."

Chi smiled at Aya and Anri. "We don't get many visitors out here." Aya spoke again, not entirely surprised that they were heard. "Only a year? It seems like you've been together longer."

"We've grown very close, being together constantly. A year can be a long time." Yui hugged Anri gently.

The girls smiled at Yui and Anri. While Kuru quietly pondered her own relationship with Chi. "Very true Yui-san." said Chi. "Could you tell me what your crew is like? Any other NH-7s?" 

"Oh." Yui chuckled. "I'm afraid I'm taking many of them with me. The neko technicians are staying, though. Their names are Suishun'ei, Yawajinki, and Genshiro. They're hard workers, but tend to get distracted easily. Other than them, there's Elly, a neko, and there's a lot of alien males. Wazu is an eccentric scientist, Ritsurin is a confused security officer, and Sgzyr is a mysterious lizard like man. There are a few others too. All in all, they're a good crew that will serve you well. If you meant my crew for the Philosophy, it is mostly nekos." Yui added.

"So the GSS Yui is a ship of mostly males. That should be interesting." Chi fiddled with her hair a bit.

"Tomorrow," Yui smiled, "You will come aboard the GSS Yui and meet them. I know males are strange, but these one don't seem to be too bad. I will give you a mission, too. In the mean time, get some rest. I will retire to my ship. You can either come with us or have your ship meet with the Yui." She stood up after drinking the last of her sake.

"I'll have my ship meet with the Yui tomorrow. I still have to say goodbye to it." Chi stood up and the other 2 girls stood up as well. "We'll walk you to the docking bay."

"No, thank you." Yui politely declined, giving a respectful bow. "I will meet you at the Yui if possible." After a kiss goodbye, Yui and Anri stepped into the lift and went back to their ship to go to bed. The GSS Philosophy detached from the older ship and headed off into the night to stop at Geshrintall to pick up supplies.

"See you then" Chi watched Yui and Anri go.

The GSS Philosophy (GD-117) pulled alongside and then over the GSS Yui (GD-30), lining up its lift hatches to the elevator systems of each could connect. The two nearly identical blue-hulled starships sort of looked like mating fish.

Aboard the GSS Now and Forever (GC-04) the sparse crew was bustling with renewed life as they started their course to meet the USS Yui (GD-30). Chiharu sat on the bridge and looked over the space on last time, the ship had served her well and now it was time to say goodbye so the last time to go report to her new duty station, the GSS Yui.

The GSS Yui was going to be sandwiched; with the somewhat larger cruiser on the bottom...In the meantime, the Taisho stepped into the lift car from her new ship, and rode down into the GSS Yui. Above the GSS Yui, a fifth fleet Yui-class ship appeared also, the GSS Shindo (GD-121). It was expected already, and moved in position to dock on the topside of the Philosophy. 

The recently promoted and somewhat downhearted Chusa Hoshi Koigokoro, returning from serving on an alien ship under an officer exchange program, also moved into the lift once the ships had docked. She expected to run into Yui, but didn't realize she was right above the Taisho.

Time found Alexis sitting on the floor of the bridge, reviewing the information on the new CO that the avatar had provided. Megami had left long ago to tend to other functions of the ship. After finishing the dossier, the shifter decided to try on a neko form...they seemed to function tactically at a level he admired...small, agile, strong, and light. Perfect weapons.

A few moments later, the GSS Now and Forever blinked into existence near by the GSS Yui. Chiharu blinked in amazement at the 5th fleet ship already docked atop the Philosophy. "My my, busy day." The Now and Forever moved into position to dock along the bottom side of the USS Yui, glad that the smaller ship won't get squished like a bug under the weight of all the other ships, but hey, it's outer space. Yay.

But his knowledge was limited to their appearance only, since he hadn't been allowed access to their technological data. "Well, here goes..." His form wavered, the molecules rearranging according to his thoughts. He maintained his internal structures, changing only his appearance. Ears lengthened, his silhouette slimmed in some areas and expanded in others. Only his eyes remained the same, retaining the trademark metallic orange irises.

The familiar yet infamous old neko stepped out into the main deck of the ship that shared her name. She let out a smile, somewhat pleased to be back on the ship. The philosophy was very much the same, yet it would take a bit before it had that 'home' feel to it. The MEGAMI on the Philosophy was a copy of the one on the Yui, and the two were probably talking their odd computer-speak and whatnot, catching up on things.

Wazu was waiting by the lift system for the new arrivals when Yui entered the ship. "Hello!" He said enthusiastically.

And Koi made her way onto the Philosophy, carrying her belongings in a single black bag which bore the logo of the GSA 1st Fleet. Settling into her quarters, the as-of-yet untouched science and medical nest, she began to put up her uniforms in the locker-chests.

"Hello again, my friend." Yui grinned at Wazu, wondering what weird invention he was working on this time.

The shifter blinked, tilting his...her head as she examined her reflection on a console surface. "A fairly accurate representation, if I do say so myself," she said with a pleased tone, brushing a bit of maroon hair out of the range of vision. Her inspection was interrupted by a mental alarm. "Right! The CO is coming aboard soon!" Alexis exited the bridge and headed to the lift, spotting Yui and Wazu upon arrival. "Mistress Yui, welcome back!"

Yui bowed lightly to Alexis, taking a moment to deduce who she actually was. 

"Who are you?" Wazu said obviously confused not knowing that the new neko was Alexis.

Agent Zero "I came back to introduce your new captain. I'm sure you'll be pleased with her." Yui stated with a confident smile.

The new neko blinked, then smirked at the Doc. "I'm Alexis. Sorry, I was just trying something new."

When the Now and Forever docked with the GSS Yui, Chi boarded the lift that would take her up onto the Yui. And she glanced about at what was to be her new ship.

Yui bowed lightly to Alexis, taking a moment to deduce who she actually was. "Alexis?" the Taisho finally asked, not ever having seen a neko with maroon hair before. It was as unnatural to her as pink hair was to humans.

"Who are you?" Wazu said obviously confused not knowing that the new neko was Alexis.

"I came back to introduce your new captain. I'm sure you'll be pleased with her." Yui stated with a confident smile.

The strange neko smirked at Wazu. "Recognize me now?" she asked with amusement, her eyes glowing slightly with an orange light. "I decided to try out a new form, that's all."

Chi exited the lifted and glanced about at the hulls and hatchways that connected the lift to the rest of the ship, not quite sure where exactly she was at the moment. "I wonder if I'll get lost again."

"Alexis?!" Wazu was obviously surprised "It is you!"

Luckily for Chi, the Yui was not a big class of ship, and the conversation of Yui, Alexis, and Wazu could be easily heard down on the other end of a hall filled with a single layer of boxes.

After smirking at Wazu again, Alexis acknowledged Yui with a bow, then stepped back and stood at attention. Weather it was required or not didn't cross her mind, but she nodded curtly at Yui. "Yes, Taisho, I'm sure anyone you chose will be a good commander."

Chi smiled hearing voices and jogged towards them, resisting the urge to prance on all fours towards it like an actual cat.

Yui couldn't help but look around her feet making sure there wasn't more skittering experimental creations running around down there. "She should be here anytime." Yui observed, and laughed in amusement as just then the one they spoke of arrived. "Hail to you, Chujo Ketsurui!" Yui smiled.

Chi skittered to a stop, wow, that was fast, as she found her old friend and the bridge. "Hello again Taisho Kitsurugi." She smiled brightly to her friend and then to the other, if odd, Neko and the man. She smoothed back her dark brown hair, almost as if to pull it into a ponytail and let it drop again, looking over the trio with curiosity shining in dark red eyes. "Are these some of the crew? And a new type of NH-7??" She looked over the Neko like a new child would over a brand new toy.

Alexis pointed to herself tentatively, raising a brow as if to say "Who, me?"

The Taisho looked at Wazu, and then to Alexis, then back to Chi. "These two are part of your new crew. This..." she pointed to Alexis, "...is Alexis Jaren. And this..." a finger indicated Wazu, "Is the famous Heram J. Wazu, designer of the Wazu and Wakizashi class starships."

"Pleasure to meet you!" Wazu said giving a slight bow to Ketsurui Chiharu

Chi smiled brightly again, tilting her head to one side, as she looked Alexis over again. "Nice to meet you Ms. Alexis, Mr. Wazu. So you're not taking this Neko with you Yui-san?" 

Smiling, Alexis followed Wazu's lead and bowed as well. "It's an honor to make your acquaintance, Chujo Chiharu...Wait, miss?" The neko looked a bit confused, then shook her head and shrugged. She'd let it go, for now. The Chujo would find out soon enough.

Yui stepped up next to Chi and then moved behind the new admiral, rubbing her hands on Chi's back, feeling her up for VDF flaps and CPPO outlets, and finding none. She then ran her hands through Chi's hair, admiring its odd color, which seemed nearly as out of place as Alexis' hair. "Ooh." Yui raised her eyebrows. "You're an X, aren't you?" Taisho Yui, also a test weapon who might be receiving an X body, asked. "Alexis will be staying aboard the Yui."

Chi nodded again at Alexis. "You look squishy enough unless you're married." She pondered the idea; it kinda makes you wonder if she's just playing, as Yui examined her. "Mew?" She blinked a bit and then nodded to Yui. "Yes Yui-san, I'm now an X."

Having not seen an NH-7 in great detail, all Alexis has is the basic shape and face, but none of the ports or flaps...

Again, Alexis frowned. "'Squishy'?"

Yui smiled at Alexis' frown, holding back a chuckle.

Once again Chi looked at Alexis. "Unless you have a hard body." She smiled again.

"I'm not married or otherwise engaged...sorry, what did you mean by 'squishy', ma'am?" A look of thinly veiled confusion accompanies the shifter's question. "My skin is molecularly identical to a standard neko, at least, as far as I have been able to replicate it. I haven't exactly been able to do any in-depth study to its make up yet."

"Bony hips." Yui joked on Chiharu. Chi had always preferred the firmer settings of the NH-7, and a quick feel on the admiral's hips confirmed the Chi and set the body up as she always had.

Wazu looks confused but simply shrugs it off

Chi blushed a bit at the taisho's comment. "She's no fun,” she said in reference to Alexis. "You can shape shift according to DNA then?"

"Don't try to decode the NH-7 or NH-X DNA." Yui warned. That sort of thing would always end up in injury or death to someone.

"I go deeper than genetic coding," Alexis said, her unease evaporating as the subject became less mysterious. "I start with the basic molecular construction, if that includes DNA, then I do my best to copy it. But first I have to obtain a sample, this is only a copy of your shape and mass."

Chi looked towards Yui, "Alexis is my...?" There was a questioning in her voice and her posturing.

Yui gave Alexis a stern look of warning that said, "don't try it." To Chiharu, Yui answered, "Alexis is your first officer, and the pilot of this ship."

"Visual data is limiting, and Megami wouldn't allow access to anything more..." The orange-eyed neko's outline shimmered as a glow emanated from her irises. "Eh, all I have to do is have a blood sample or touch you...but I'm not going to try, so don't worry. I don't copy people without permission or unless it's an emergency." Her form remained at the 5'4 height, but lost the shapely hips and breasts of a neko, becoming the form of a fairly lanky and thin 15 yr old human. His eyes lost their glow as the transformation completed. "I'll stick with this form, though. I have more experience in working it."

Chi nodded again. "Ah ok. He is a transsexual shape shifter too? The tone in her voice left no question that she was joking.

Wazu gave out a small laugh but quickly stopped knowing it isn't smart to laugh at a superior officer

Chi shot a friendly smile to Wazu and hoped that her new first officer had a sense of humor.

Sensing the need for clarification, Alexis decided to interject. "I am a shapeshifter, of a sort. I don't have a sex, though, so 'transgender' doesn't exactly apply in a technical sense."

If he had a sense of humor, it was buried or not evident at the moment...

"The NH-7 and NH-X have intense built-in measures which will destroy the cells before it can be analyzed. Thus our extreme aversion to sensors, transporters, and analysis..." she explained to Alexis. "Trying to analyze a blood sample would turn it into ash. You get the idea?"

Chi sighed a bit at Alexis's response. Maybe there was hope for this boy, thing, yet. "Okay, Alexis, better question what would you like to be referred to as, he, she, it, kitty, what?"

"Oh. "His face paled a bit, then he frowned. "Now, if Megami would just let me look at the file on you guys, I'd know that...Whatever you want, he is fine since I'm going to retain this form unless I don't think it's appropriate."

Her ears perked up at the sound of a female name, "Megami?" She looked towards Yui again and then nodded to Alexis. "Okies. Can I call you Fluffy?" She grinned a bit, "my she is kinda strange."

Alexis rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "If you must, you're the commander," he replied.

Chi smiled brightly again and strikes the cliché anime victory pose. ^_^V "Yay, I have a Fluffy now." 

Sgzyr walked around the cargo hold once more, the baton weighing nothing in his heavy hands. He stared cautiously at the test dummy that he had systematically beaten to shreds with this small bit of metal. He smirked as he wondered what was going on, but was too lazy to go check it out. He continued to pace around the dummy, a plan was beginning to present itself in his mind.

"MEGAMI is the Mentafexic ElectroGravitionally Accelerated Memory Intelligence." Yui pointed out. "It's a new system, similar to the Now and Forever's OS Ava computer system. An artificial sentient intelligence."

"We've met. Interesting personality..." Alexis mused.

As the encirclement continued around the practice dummy, Sgzyr flipped the weapon around from hand to hand. It appeared to him that the head was about to fall off, so he decided to finish the job himself. Sgzyr slowly dropped to his knees, landing in a crouching position behind the dummy, as he began to pace backwards, sweat began to develop on his brow. Almost exhausted beyond belief, he began to make a call inwards, to get those tiny whatcha-ma-callits to work inside of him. Only a few more seconds before he could make the blow.

Chi nodded again, "I keep forgetting that other ships have spiffy new shiny things. So how is the Megami different from the OS Ava, better behaved I hope?"

Yui made a gesture signaling everyone to follow her, and led them to the bridge, where they could all take seats. On the way, she explained Megami. "Megami is recently-created system which doesn't have the independence of the old OS Ava. Her powers are limited to the ship itself, and she functions as an extension of the ship, not the other way around like the old avatars. Megami is a bit more friendly, too, I believe."

"Unless you're trying to gain access without her approval," the shifter muttered, looking over at Wazu.

Chi followed and soon took a seat, glancing about the room again and pondering what to call Wazu now that she's established Alexis as Fluffy.

Hinosami's young voice came over the GSS Yui's intercom, "The Shindo is detaching and returning to Tabidatsu."

Wazu walked over to his normal station and sat down

"The Now and Forever is now departing." Hinosami added. The ship rocked and lurched slightly as the larger ship flew free of the Yui and the Philosophy. Meanwhile, Yui was walking around the bridge since the new captain took her normal seat. She instead took a seat in the defensive systems station's chair, placing her arm on the green backlit panel's sleek black surface. "How do you like it?" she asked Chi.

Alexis looked at the pilot's pit...if he sat there he would be away from everything else, so where should he sit?

Chi's ears perked up again at the sound of the Now and Forever's departure, her eyes seemed to fill with sorrow for a moment before she blinked and looked at Yui again. "It's all shiny and new. I like it a lot." She smiled brightly, although she actually felt a bit awkward about the whole situation.

Spotting the Nav station, he shrugged and walked over to it. Next best thing...The Chusa sat down and swiveled to survey the station...hmm. Looked fine as far as he could tell, so he turned back to watch the nekos.

~Do I need to hurt you?~ Yui frowned, sending a short telepathic warning at Chiharu. She was annoyed that the new admiral was acting so...childish, talking about shiny, and giving the crew weird human names like fluffy.

Chi blinked a bit at the warning, shaking her head a bit. ~Gomen.~ She looked for a moment and closed her eyes taking a deep breathe. Trying to calm down, she got excited and her disorder surfaced, the only way to make it go away is to calm down. She sat there quietly, her eyes closed as she tried to get her head back on straight. 

Yui took a deep breath, too, and then saw Chi taking a breath too and tried to stifle her own, which resulted in a small fit of coughing. "Ack"

Chi opened her eyes again and looked over to Yui, "Yui-san are you okay?" She straightened her posture a bit, seeming to have regained herself again.

"I have a combat mission for you." Yui said, avoiding the question with the sudden information.

"What's the mission Taisho Kitsurugi?" Chi replied seeming more dignified now than she did only a few moments ago.

"SAINT spotted a bunch of Angel ships, heading out into space. We believe they are colony warships, which will turn worlds into factories that will be making starships and weapons that will be used against the GSA. And worse, that the ships may be after some discovery which would break down our way of life...your mission is to intercept, board, and capture the angel ships."

(Note: SAINT = Star Army Intelligence)

Chi said quietly under her breath, "The Angels are causing trouble again." She spoke louder this time to be more easily heard, "Do we know what their first target might be?

Alexis raised his hand. "Uh...what're Angels? And why are they attacking you- I mean, us?"

"Actually, one group has already gone before we knew about it. I myself will go on a long mission to find, recon, and take action against them."

Too late, the shifter thought better of the action. He should have waited until after the briefing to ask questions.

"Angels" Yui explained, "Are a winged humanlike species...they live in small transitory realms called heavens. We've fought wars with them before." Yui looked to Chiharu, remembering the seemingly endless marches through snow and clouds and the bloody melee combat that characterized the battles.

"They're competent genetic engineers who create weapons called seraphim to fight for them. The majority of angels live in poverty, while the archangels rule over them with golden chains, driving their quest to eliminate the Geshrin."

Chi solemnly nodded towards Yui, remembering the sight of the countless battles through the supposed heavens. She shuddered a bit at the memory and then smiles slightly remembering that the war was also where she first met Yui. 

Yui looked at Chi and sent an encrypted telepathic message that was only for the Chujo. ~They want to raise God.~

Chi replied telepathically with the same encryption, ~Why do they want to bring him back?~. She frowned a bit, this was just getting worse.

"Are you going to be able to hunt these ships down?" Yui asked seriously. A lot was at stake here.

Getting the distinct idea fighting these beings was not going to be the proverbial walk in the park; Alexis just nodded and fell silent.

~Well~ Yui looked Chi in the eyes ~They've always been after that, ever since the great collapse and the creation of Geshrintall by the god killer avatars. The point is even if it isn't possible, we can't take the chance that these fanatics are correct. Besides, they'll be building up forces that would eventually outnumber and attack the GSA and our homeworld.~ Yui still waited a response from her verbal question.

"We will hunt their ships down or we will die trying. I have confidence in this ship and her crew." Chi nodded to Yui meeting her gaze. ~Promise you'll be careful out there.~ Chi asked softly in the mind link.

Yui walked over to Chi and planted a kiss on Chi's forehead. "I will return." she comforted in Japanese,

"I hope so." Chi offered a soft smile softly speaking in Japanese, as she hugged Yui to her and then, she blushed a bit as she realized the crew probably has no idea of their Taisho and their Chujo are doing while discussing the latest combat mission. 

"Your expeditionary group will be taking the 2nd Assault Group, under Taisa Elena Kelahame and 2nd Carrier Group, while I and the 1st Expeditionary will take the 1st Assault and 1st Carrier group." Yui explained, dividing the fleet's firepower roughly in half. "The other groups will stay with your division, to the rear. We will attempt capture of the angel ships when possible, since most of their population is civilian."

Based on the looks on their faces, the shifter turns in his chair and pretends to work his station. The two were obviously close at one time, this was not the time to play intruder. Besides, he had to figure out where everything was on this system. Basic functions he had down; at the moment he decided to work them into memory. If they were going into battle, he would need to know these like the back of his hand...or at least have it be second nature to him.

Chi nodded, dedicating the mission knowledge to memory.

Yui let out a tired yawn and rubbed her eyes. "I'll return to my ship now. I haven't had much sleep lately over this, and time is a deciding factor in this assignment. My love to you all, and may victory light your hearts and souls like wonder lighting the face of a child."

Chi stood up and looked at Yui with a soft smile. "Good night Taisho Kitsurugi, I hope you can get some sleep." ~Sweet Dreams Yui-san.~

Alexis stands and faces Yui, a slight smile on his mouth. "G'night, Taisho. Rest well."

"Good night, Alexis." Yui bowed to her former crew and to Aya, Kuru, and Chiharu, then went back to the lift and returned to her own ship. In a minute or so, the destroyers were again separate in space. The 1st Fleet's Yui division then shot off into the stars using their CDD engines.

Chi stretched a bit. "Well this is going to be an interesting mission.."

After the GSS-Shindo (GD-121), GSS-Philosophy (GD-117), GSS-Now and Forever (GC-04), and the GSS-Yui (GD-30) docked together, Acara moved at his usual slow pace from the GSS-Shindo toward his soon to be new residence on the GSS-Yui. He hated never being stationary. But when a superior calls you jump. Such is the life of a technician. 
        
        As he slid through the GSS-Philosophy he heard some of its inhabitant’s talking. ~What a life they have, friends and all~ he thought. He had been shifted from ship and went through this every time. As he got on the GSS-Yui he headed for the bridge. Knowing he had to present himself to the Chujo. This he hoped would be his last move.

Embarrassed by his outburst to Yui, Ritsurin went into an empty room aboard the GSS-Yui, and decided to do some exercise to get his mind off of it. He pulled off his uniform shirt, so that it wouldn’t start smelling, and began his exercises. The first exercises Ritsu did were his favorites, push-ups and pull-ups, while he was doing them (around 250 push-ups) when he heard the new crewmembers looking around and familiarizing themselves with the ship; much like he did on his first couple of days. He thought nothing of it and continued his workout.

He was in the final stages of it when he hears someone or two talking outside, Ritsurin thought that it had nothing to do with him and continued. An hour later, he decided to practice some of his form of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu, and walked over to the armory to pick up a katana, as it was the art of using a katana in conjunction with martial arts, fully intent on returning it when he finished. After about another hour of practice, he heard a familiar voice in the hall.

Ritsurin cocked his ears to listen to the speaker, as he listened he ran down the list of crewmembers to identify the person: ~ No, it’s not Wazu…or Alexis…definitely not Yui….not Sgzyr…~ he thought, yet it was a voice he remembered from a long time ago, then he heard his name. “Is Ritsurin really on this ship?” a female voice asked. With an eyebrow raised, he moved up to the door and listened more intently. “Yeah, he’s on this ship.” He heard someone answer. ~Who is this? Who is asking for me?~ he wondered. ~I know this voice…but who is it?~ He pondered. At that very moment, the door he was leaning against slid open, causing Ritsurin to stumble forward and go sprawling onto the floor. “Is that you Ritsu?” the female voice asked.

“Yeah, It’s me..oww..” he said rubbing his nose. “Who are…you?” he asked
“Wait a minute, Lavinia is that you?” he asked in amazement

“Yes, it’s me.” The green haired, blue-eyed neko said.

Ritsurin’s eyes widened slightly “Lavinia, it is you, I’ve missed you.” He smiled at her.

“Oh Ritsu…I’ve missed you too.” She said hugging him.

Ritsu smiled down at her and hugged her back “What have you been doing since I last saw you on graduation?”

“I wanted to follow you, so I became a security officer, because I knew that’s where you’d end up. But, I got stationed on the GSS Now and Forever” she said looking up at him, as he was taller than she.

“I remember now…you were always watching me, and I caught you a couple of times doing it.” He said to her

The Blue-eyed neko blushed slightly. “I know you did, but I couldn’t help myself.” She said looking down to conceal her blush from his gaze.

“We need to catch up on the past.” Ritsurin said to Lavinia

“That we do.” She said smiling brightly.

Ritsurin and Lavinia walked back to the security quarters (after he put the sword away and his uniform back on), and sat up talking about the past, what they had done up to that point, and eventually fell asleep leaning against each other.

Chiharu sat, wide-awake on her bed in the Captain's Quarters of the GSS Yui. It had only been a few hours earlier that Taisho Yui had given Chi the new mission and then retired to her own ship. Even now, Chi could feel the warmth of Yui's body in her arms from that short embrace a few hours ago. The Taisho's promise to return gave Chi little comfort, but it was the issue of the Angels that truly weighed heavily in the Chujo's mind. But, it wouldn't be the first time that they went against Angels and Heaven... the old fear stirred in her heart once more, a fear that had been forgotten many years ago, that burned passionately now with the memory of the Heavenly Wars, things that would not allow themselves to be forgotten.

It was only six years ago when Chi became assigned to Clan Kitsurugi's Second Army of the Precious Sword led by the already infamous and deadly 17 year old NH-2 Bioweapon, Kitsurugi Yui, who had kicked the Angels out of Hell and conquered it only a year earlier. Chi herself was only 15 years old but she had always looked for stories about Kitsurugi Yui and wanted to be a fierce warrior like her.

The 2nd Army itself was a small fighting force of about 200 Nekos and Elves (it was one of the private armies of the Emperor/Clan Kitsurugi), while the enemy, the Angels of Heaven seemed to be endless. There was even a rumor going around that the Angels had weapon that was equivalent of a NH-2 bioweapon. Chi had heard the stories and was both excited and terrified of what might happen, but still, she joined the Emperor's Army and prepared for the worst.

She could remember marching through the blistering cold snow, dressed in silver armor, gold breastplate and heavy red cloak, with a spear strapped to her back and a long sword strapped to her side. The tireless marches were led by the "General" of the army herself, barking out orders with her white cloak billowing in the wind behind her as marched onwards or when she stopped every so often to appraise her troops with relentless blood red eyes from beneath a mask of grime and red war paint.

And the combat, oh the combat, what stuck out most in her memory was a battle that caused the General to be severely wounded...

The 2nd Army had engaged the Angels in a fierce melee, many soldiers on both sides had already fallen in the first few minutes of the combat, but the Angels were overwhelming the small army when Yui stopped and gave a line of lance wielding archangels a crazed smile. Chi was neck deep in combat when she heard a cry ring out from both sides. As Chi looked up, pulling her sword from the corpse of an angel, she saw the General take a flying leap onto a group of angels. Chi's heart sank when she saw four lances pierce Yui's torso, and yet, Yui was still fighting as she disappeared among the horde of angels.

Chi felt something deep inside of her change and all of her fear and doubts vanished as she let out a powerful, yet sorrowful war cry for Yui. She heard others in group cry out as well as they surged forward with renewed strength and ferocious as they tried to cut a path to their General. After several hours of bloody close quarters fighting, Chi found herself almost next to Yui, by now everything was just a shade of red on the trampled snow around them and Yui was beneath an angel, missing an eye and a hand, drenched in her own blood and the angel's still fighting ferociously for her life. Chi tried to fight her way to Yui but only arrived to find Yui's own sword shoved up to the hilt in the General's abdomen!

Another cry erupted from Chi as she ran forward as fast as she could to get there before the Angel could finish Yui off. She swung her sword at the Angel attacking Yui, yelling taunts as she tried to lore it away from Yui to give her General time to recover enough to counterattack....

"Red, everything was painted red. Their cries and ours shattered the very fabric of the Heavens. We were outnumbered and yet, we still managed to beat them back. Humans were fools to ever believe that Angels and their God were the saviors of mankind, immortal, all powerful and kind. In the end they were only cruel, manipulative and bled and died the same as anyone else. Humans believed Heaven to be eternal paradise.. what a joke. Heaven was just endless death frost bitten with blistering winds of hatred and war. I hope that this crew won't have to see the 'Hell' that were the Heavenly Wars, and I pray Yui and the crew of the Philosophy won't either." Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu hugged her oversized teddy bear to her chest and sighed, closing her eyes again.

Could she even remember what happened next? 
It just happened so fast, everything was a blur of blood, feathers and a whole new world of pain. She thought there might have been the appearance of more soldiers to help but she couldn't be sure. All that she was certain of was that Yui was alive, and so was she. After that the Heavenly Wars didn't seem to be that long, she had befriended Yui and learned that almost all of the stories about Yui were mostly true. It was after the Wars had ended that Chi had lost touch with Yui through an incident that left Chi's memory damaged and left Chi's body in stasis. When her body was found she received an upgrade from the old NH-2 to the new NH-7 body and was bounced around from duty roster to duty roster until she found herself in command of the GSS Now and Forever and upgraded to the NH-X body.

"It's been so crazy these past few years. And here I am in command of a new ship, with a new crew and about to go off to hunt down Angels again." Chiharu sighed and fell back onto the bed, holding the teddy bear up and touching its nose as a soft smile played across her face. "But you aren't worried, are you Mr. Bear?" She hugged the bear again. "We'll be alright, I know we will and so will Yui-san."

After the fateful battle, the medics tried to treat all of the wounded with General Yui's injuries as their priority.

"Chiharu, why do you look so happy? You almost died." A medic asked as she tried to stop Chi from bleeding. Chiharu smiled despite the fact that her left arm lay severed 10 feet away from her.

"Because, I finally got to know what it's like to be a hero."

"Oh, what is it like?"

"It hurts a lot, but you don't regret your actions at all." 

Tap, ta-tap, tap tap...

Alexis sat in his corner of the crew quarters staring off into the distance. His fingers moved on their own, rapping out sequences on the floor as his subconscious repeated vital commands that he would need should they require his services as a navigator or pilot...

"...Or anything for that matter. Best to be prepared for anything should anything happen," he murmured to himself, then shook his head to try to get his thoughts back on track. "Hmm. Yui said the ship was flown by a mind link. If it means hooking up with Megami, it might work." A slight worried frown flickered across his face. "I hope she trusts me enough to not interfere; I wonder if she's a "backseat driver"-kinda person...and this ship is much bigger than mine was. I wonder if they have a simulation I could try. I guess this will have to wait for later." Alexis made a note to ask around for a sim and another series of thoughts began their trek.

The crew was a hodgepodge of different races now. It would be interesting to observe how they dealt with this conflict the ship was heading into. As far as the shifter could tell, this crew was unique in that a large part of it was male. But he had also heard there were some nekos coming aboard to replace those taken with Yui when the Taisho had left, maybe things would be evened out a bit. 

His fingers stopped moving and Alexis glanced around the room to see if anyone else was around. This would be a good time. Since he didn't require physical rest, Alexis didn't sleep. But he always set aside time to just enjoy silence when it could be had. He had learned to appreciate time alone... it was a good way to get things in perspective. Especially important events, and this upcoming engagement certainly qualified.

He closed his eyes and lay on the floor with his head in the corner and parallel with a wall. The ambient lighting shone off the dedication plaque he had placed on the wall with a temporary adhesive, sort of marking the spot as his part of the room. For some reason, he liked corners. Maybe it was a survival thing; a corner gave aggressors only one way at you, the front. Or something else that he couldn't exactly place...

The only other thing that he owned was the satchel and the few items he had stashed inside it. There was a special-made pocket where the shifter's companion and closest friend, Timdri, lay snoozing. Still. The critter never liked space travel, staying in a self-induced hibernation whenever possible. Alexis sat up and carefully detached the pocket and set it in the corner next to his head. Then he placed the satchel within easy reach at his hip. Alexis made sure the little animal was comfortable before lying back down and staring at the ceiling through a half-lidded gaze. As he let his mind drift, a question floated to the top; and, not for the first time, he wondered...

"What have I gotten myself into?"

As Ritsurin slept leaning against his old friend, Lavinia, he experienced a terrible nightmare.

Nightmare

"Heh, Heh- the last of the demon spawn in corner of the planet." a fierce voice said.

"Maybe we should kill him, he is the son of that retched dog-demon Kainazya." another musically fierce voice replied.

The two angel warriors glared down at the young Ritsurin, who was looking up at them with a look of pure venom and hatred. The young man took up a fighting stance upon hearing what they were planning to do with him.

"Hey!" the older angel said to his younger counterpart, looking down at the young half-breed: "Looks like he wants to fight!" the angel laughed cruelly.

"He should know that he alone can't beat our holy might, let's teach him to respect those above him." the younger angel said.

"I'm more of a challenge than you bastards think I am. I'll avenge my parents WHOM YOU KILLED!" The 12-year-old Ritsurin growled at the angels.

A vicious fight erupted in the middle of the rubble that was the young man's home. The little half-breed put up a vicious fight, even going as far as to kill one of the arrogant angels.
They glared at each other, baring their weapons- the angel: a great sword-Ritsurin-his sharp claws. The younger angel made a broad stroke, attempting to cleave the young man apart. Seeing the seeing the swing coming, Ritsurin ducked under the stroke and kicked the angel hard in the shin, causing the angel to stumble somewhat. The angel tried to kill him with a vertical slash, but missed when the deft young man rolled out of the way, kicked up to his feet and punched the angel in the gut. The angel grunted at both missing his strike and getting punched. The arrogant celestial swung again sweeping at Ritsu's legs, which caused him to jump to avoid it but left him open for kick to chest, which the angel gladly planted, making the half-breed go crashing to the ground a few feet away.

Ritsurin got to his feet and ran toward his right toward a wall with the pissed off angel in hot pursuit. The half-demon ran up the wall a couple steps and corkscrew-back flipped over the angel's head and took off in the opposite direction (away from the sword-wielding maniac). The angel realized it and spun about and took to the air and flew at the fleeing child attempting to crash into him. Ritsurin looking back, saw the angel coming at him, crouched, and launched himself at the swooping angel, as his claws plowed through the angel's chest, Ritsurin felt the bloodlust that accompanies killing.

"You little bastard!" the older angel screamed at the bloody-clawed boy, as the younger angel landed with a loud "thud!"

"Your little friend there started it!" the young half-breed yelled at the angel as he (the angel) leaned over the dead body of the younger one. The angel's golden eyes burned with angelic fury "I'll kill you!" he bellowed at the bloody child.

"Bring it, you frickin' feathered freak!" Ritsurin yelled at him.

As he said that, the angel tried to slice him in two, but missed when the agile young man torso-axial cart wheeled out of the way, leaving him open to the roundhouse kick the angel had coming following his sword stroke. Knocking down an already weak wall with the boy's body.

"You got spunk boy, perhaps I'll spare you so that our archangels and deity can change you into one of us,” he said to the unconscious boy which he held up by the legs.

Flash to a couple years later:

A now 14-year-old Ritsurin was being transported through a wormhole to the planet of Geshrintall, bound in chains and unconscious, aboard a private starship piloted by two humans.

"The angels told us to take him to this planet and abandon him here." a female human said pointing at a map.

"That's what they said, now here we are." a male voice said.

"Isn't this the planet whose population was wiped out by that virus?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, that's why they told us to leave him here." the man said.

"He's just a boy, he doesn't deserve to die abandoned and alone." the woman said sounding concerned.

"He openly disobeyed the archangels, and they exiled him die" the man explained.

"Uhh...Where am I" Ritsurin asked as he woke up from the sedatives that the archangels had given him.

"We're not allowed to tell you that" the pilots replied in unison.

The ships landed at one of the star ports. The pilots unchained Ritsurin, and threw him out of the ship onto the platform. He looked up at it as it lifted off to return to their homeworld. 

~oww, dammit!~ the young man thought.
"Where am I?" he asked the first passer-by, "the planet Geshrintall" the person replied. Ritsurin, now alone, starving and tired, wandered around the streets when he realized that he wasn't on earth anymore. As it grew darker, Ritsurin decided to sleep on the stairs of what would turn out to be the Grand Star Imperial Academy.

(Back on the ship)

"Ahh!" Ritsurin said softly to himself, waking with a start. "What was that? Was that my past?" he wondered.

"Well at least I have Lavinia back now." He mused as he ran his hand through the beautiful sleeping neko's hair as she lay against his shoulder. ~she's so beautiful, if it wasn't for her...I don't know what I'd have done during those years~ he thought as he looked at her.
~maybe I'll sleep better now~ he thought as he fell asleep leaning back against Lavinia, holding her protectively.
~I've wanted him to do that for years~ Lavinia thought...\

As Acara entered the bridge he noticed that the Chujo was not there. ~Oh well~ he thought ~I heard she was new as well. Maybe she is out familiarizing herself with her new ship. But that is none of my concern. Well what to do now. I guess I’ll go look at how well my new ship mates take care of there weapons.~ How people toke care of there machines was always important to him. 

As he left the bridge he wondered about the ships computer ~Megami was it~ it would be nice to be on good terms with the mind of the ship he maintained. He shuddered, remembering the time he got off on the wrong foot with the onboard computer of one of his stations. “What a two weeks that was”. When he got to the armory he looked over the weapons all but two were in perfect working order, and those two were so minor he almost missed them. As he looked around he noticed a supped up rifle. He went over and looked closely at it. ~Someone likes big guns? And he takes good care of it to~ He thought. ~If I stay here long, I think I will like it.~ 

He decided to go to the technician’s quarters. On the way there he noticed a strange sight a human with dog-ears and claws holding a Neko. They both were asleep. ~U procreators~ he thought then laughed to himself remembering when Keenara had explained why people did that sort of thing. ~I guess every race needs its vices~ 

He smiled to himself thinking of his sis. At that he slid to the nearest holo screen and sent a call to the GSS Ayame. On the screen a green haired Neko greeted him. With one look at him she shook her head “I know what you want and I swear you call once a week. I’ll see if Keenara is available.” A few minutes later a blue haired Nekovalkyrja came on the screen. 

“How are you there, Acara.” Keenara said to him in a calm voice. “ I heard you got transferred again. Is it permanent this time?” 
“I’m doing fine.” Acara said. Visibly relaxing at the sound of her voice. “Though around here nothing is permanent, but I can hope can’t I. 
“Yes you can at that. Did you see the Chujo yet?” She asked.
“No she was not in the bridge. Though I do plane to see her as soon as possible.” He said quickly.
“That is nice to hear. When you first entered GSA you were hopelessly impolite. I am glade to see that has changed.”
He blushed slightly “would you stop that!” he retorted .
“Maybe I’ll tell Chiharu about that.” she mussed
“Oh no please don’t Keenara.” He begged.
“Oh all right.” She teased. “but be polite to her ok.”
“Alright”
“I have to go now. A patient just came in. see you later.” She said. 

As the screen went blank he thought about what she had said. ~so Chiharu is the Chujo’s name.~ Then he went off in search of Chiharu.

Chiharu awoke early the next morning, sleep had not granted her the release she wanted or needed to escape her memories. She stood up and starting making her bed as she had been trained to do so many years ago: the sheets smoothed out and tucked into hospital corners; and the covers folded neatly at the foot of the bed with the pillow resting on top. She looked down at her poor teddy bear, which was now sitting all alone on the deck beside her bed, "What to do with Mr. Bear? It'd never do to keep him sitting on the floor by himself." The Chujo gently picked up the teddy bear and set him down on her footlocker.

She smiled softly to herself, as she looked over her bed with an appraising eye, ah yes, she'd still pass inspection if her quarters were still inspected. And now the matter of getting breakfast and dressed, it wouldn't do to walk around in pjs all day. And so she quickly changed into her uniform, zipping the uniform up to her collar bone and repinning her rank insignia over her left breast before she slung her pistol belt around her waist, checking the holsters to make sure the weapon was still securely in place along with a spare ammo clip. Once she was positive that her uniform and weapons were in order she gave her hair a quick once over with a brush before exiting her quarters and checking on the crew on the bridge.

The location of the Captain's quarters was very convenient, right next to the bridge and just a deck below it was the Galley. She smiled again as the hatch closed behind her. The bridge crew was still fairly sparse, it was still the Dead Dog shift, and it’d be a few more hours before the morning crew would rotate in to relieve these bridge officers. She sighed a bit, it was still early and she'd have plenty of time to meet all of the crew, but she still had to give them their mission or else nothing would be accomplished, but that could wait until Revelry.

She hurried downstairs to the galley to get a quick meal and returned back to the bridge with a large cup of coffee, her heat exchangers opening and steaming as she drank the hot fluid. "Time to look over the rosters and then I have to plot a course towards the Angels.." She settled into the Captain's chair, looking over data files and charts, there was much to do today.

Sgzyr walked around the shuttle bay as usual, clad in a pair of black exercise pants and a white wife-beater. He hustled around the repaired mannequin as he began to test different angles for attack; he darted in for a second then straight out. He has tried to hone his reflexes to their peak level, but since he entered the GSA, he seemed to lose some of his muscle mass. He had worked out every single day for the last three weeks or so, only trying to prepare himself for vigorous combat, if any was to come. With a sigh, he leapt, with his left leg extended outwards he planted a jump-kick straight on the mid-section of the mannequin, the poorly made scrap of materials was not suiting his needs to fight with. He hoped to actually be able to spar with someone soon, no weapons, no powers, just a plain ‘ole brawl.

        As he placed the mannequin back into the upright position, he sighed once more as he thought about what to do. With a sudden flash of inspiration, he grabbed the mannequin and sprinted off to Wazu’s lab, idea in mind.

Chiharu sat in the Captain's chair on the bridge as she watched the morning crew relieve the Dead Dog shift's bridge crew. By now, her coffee mug was long since been empty and her heat exchangers had closed, once again giving her the appearance of a human being save her ears. She sighed a bit, noticing that she was still short on crew, but from the looks it, more were going to transferring in within a day or so. 

Acara headed back to the bridge since it would be the best place to start......again. Upon arrival, he noticed that the Chujo was there. He stood silently by the door, waiting to be noticed. 

Chiharu's ears twitched as she heard someone approach and then stop at the hatchway. ~That's odd, I didn't hear footsteps..~ She turned to face the door and the chair swiveled as she redirected her body. Her dark red eyes appraised the man in a Technician's jacket and raised a curious eyebrow. "Can I help you? You can enter, you don't have to ask permission..." She glanced towards the soldier's insignia, "Technical Specialist.." She said the rank uneasily, not happy to have to call the boy by his rank.

"Ma'am, I am Technical Specialist Acara. I transferred here from the GSS-Shindo. I am supposed to present myself to you upon arrival. 

"I'm Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu." She smiled friendly, another male crewmember, boy she was going to have to get used to it. "Nice to meet you Acara. I take it that you've taken a look about the ship already?" She had a cheerful and comfortable tone to her voice, nothing that you'd except to hear in a commanding officer's voice. "Well, since you're a Technician you'll be serving under Juni Kuru, the Chief Engineer, she's also new here. Don't worry too much about her, she may seem a bit gruff she's a pretty good worker and NCO. I'm sure that you'll have no end of things to do while you're on duty here." Her smile never seemed to cease.

Acara was taken a back at this open show of friendliness. This was not at all what he expected of a Chujo. ~ Now I realize what Keenara meant, be polite no one in his right mind would be otherwise. If any one were rude, thirty people would be in line to beat you.~ "Yes ma'am, I did get a look at the ship while you were away, and it looks very well maintained." 

Chi cast an approving glance around the bridge, still smiling. "That it does, Taisho Yui and her crew have kept it in good condition. And now your job will be to help it stay that way." She smoothed a lock of dark brown hair back behind her ear again as she continued, "I think that you'll do very well working here, so hopefully you won't have to move again for any reason, unless you really want to transfer away from us." She was glad that she had already looked over the new crew roster and had committed it to memory; it gave her a little insight into the situation of each crewmember so she could better understand them. "I have confidence in your abilities to make the GSS Yui the best maintained ship in the fleet." She smiled again, a strong sense of pride and confidence in her voice, she was being very honest and sincere and she hoped that Acara believed her sincerity.

Acara began to like his new officer, she was kind and forward. He relaxed becoming less solid. " I will do my best. If I may, I must leave and stock up on fluids now."

She nodded. "You are dismissed then, just be sure to check in with Juni Kuru whenever you're ready to get your assignment for the day. Take care Acara."

"Yes ma'am." As Acara left the bridge, heading towards a food outlet, he wondered how his time here would affect his future.

Chiharu smiled softly as her meeting with Technical Specialist Acara ended, the soldier seemed like he was a hard worker so she was happy. She just hoped that Kuru wouldn’t give him too hard of a time.

Heram J. Wazu was off in his corner of the ship, The Science Lab, the room was filled with tons of different experiments on the main table a rather large gun was partially assembled and still had wires attached and casing parts here and there. Chikara was off in the corner sleeping so it could defrag its systems. Wazu was zoning out with his head on one of the cabinets while he was sitting in a chair.

Sgzyr ran to the door of the science lab very franticly with the dummy in hand. He knocked on the door very loudly and said, “Yo Doc! I got a idea for ya!”

Wazu opens up the door with a groggy look on his face slightly annoyed that he was woken up and said ”huh?” 

Sgzyr “Doc I need you to build me a sparring partner with all of the best forms of melee and hand to hand combat available!”

Wazu stared back at Sgzyr “A sparing robot? How powerful would it need to be?”

“It needs to be as good as a NH-7” Sgzyr replied with a sadistic grin.

“And I’m sure your gonna want it to use guns and missile launchers right?” Wazu said almost half asleep.

“And” Sgzyr said “I will need it as soon as possible. . . .”

Ritsu called over the intercom, sending a message to Doc Shini: "Hello Doctor I have something I want to ask you."

"This is Doctor Shinichiro Nobumoto of PNUgen Corporation...how can I help you?" The Doctor replied

"I was talking to a fellow crewmember about my claws and I was wondering if I could get a hemosynthetic surgery on my forearms so I can sharper and dull my claws at will." Ritsurin explained. "And I wanted to know if it were possible."

"Yes, you could." the doctor nodded. "Do you have a medical officer on board?"

"Not that I know of, but we have a specialist with experience in surgery." He said
"Ritsu who are you talking to over there?" Lavinia asked.

"Surgery doesn't have to do with it. You need a hemosynthesist." He said sagely.

"She has a degree in hemosynthetics." Ritsurin said

"Nobody Lavinia." he said looking away from the monitor

"Then making something of that sort should be no problem." Nobu stated flatly.

"That's good to know, thanks Doctor ." He said relieved.

"Is that all?" Doc Shini asked impatiently, surrounded by a stack of reports on the NH-X weapons.

"Is that Doctor Shinichiro? If it is Hi Doctor!" Lavinia waved

"Yes it is, thank you for your time." Ritsurin said.

The doctor nodded and ended the transmission.


"Ritsurin, why'd you call Doc Shini?." Lavinia asked

"I needed to ask him about a surgery I am going to have done." He replied.

"Surgery? What kind, I may be able to help." She suggested.

"I need a hemosynthetic organ in both of my forearms so that I can sharpen and dull my claws," He held up his hand. "At will."

"I'll give the details after this assignment." he said sharply

Chiharu smiled softly as her meeting with Technical Specialist Acara ended, the soldier seemed like he was a hard worker so she was happy. She just hoped that Kuru wouldn’t give him too hard of a time. 

An encrypted transmission was sent to the GSS Yui from the surface, text only. The subject bar noted it was for the Chujo's eyes only.

Arume, a bridge officer on duty, looked up as the message was received. "Chujo Ketsurui, there is a text message from the service that's for your eyes only." Chiharu nodded and turned back to her station, "Patch it to me." The Chujo, looked over the message curiously, now what was this about?

"Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu. In lieu of recent events, we are sending up a specialist to join your team. She is to be kept separate from the rest of your crew, interpersonal contact is to be minimal. We are sending her via shuttle, ETA is five minutes." There was appropriate authorization; the transmission was from the Organic Weapon division of PNUgen.

Chiharu grimaced a bit, oh joy, this didn't look good. She sent a message back under the same encryption, "Any reason why she's to kept separate from the rest of the crew?"

"Further instructions are being sent with the weapon. Further attempts on this encryption will be ignored. All questions may be addressed to the accompanying officer."

The transmission ended, and a few seconds later only the record of the transmission remained. No copy of what was said could be found.

Chi rolled her eyes, damn secretive bastards. She gave an order over the ship's announcement system to clear the docking bay and to remain out of it until further notice and started off towards to bay, double checking to make sure her energy pistol was loaded and charged. "Busy first day." 

Meanwhile....

It was early morning when Lavinia woke up, stretched and got her bearings. Seeing Ritsurin still asleep, she nudged him with her elbow, "Ritsu, time to wake up." She said to the sleeping warrant officer.

"uhh... Ten more minutes please..." He said still asleep.

"Come on Ritsu, wake up, you need to go present yourself to Chujo Chiharu." She said nudging him some more.

Yawns: "Ok, five more minutes please Lavinia..." He replied drowsily.

She punched in the shoulder lightly, "You have to wake up now Ritsu, it's time to go."

"zzzz...two more minutes..." He replied now half awake.

That's when she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Time to get up lover boy." She said afterward.

Ritsurin jolted awake feeling her kiss him; "Why'd you do that?" He asked in mild amazement.

"I thought it would be the best way to wake you up." She replied smiling.

"Well, it worked quite well... and what was up with the 'lover boy' comment?" He asked her with an eyebrow raised.

"You can't guess?" She replied with a false pout. "Anyway, we need to go to the bridge."

They stood up and Lavinia kept an eye on Ritsurin, watching him do a few stretches. ~He's so cute in the morning.~ she thought, watching him. They mutually decided that it was indeed time to go to the bridge, so that he could present himself to the Chujo.

"By the way Lavinia, what's the Chujo like?" He asked curiously; putting his arm around her as they exited the room.
~I don't care what anyone else says, I'm keeping her close to me.~ Ritsurin thought, looking at Lavinia.

~I believe he's catching on...~ she thought gleefully. She smiled as they walked. "She's rather nice, if not a little flaky at times, but she's one the best officers out there." Lavinia replied brightly.

"Just so long as she doesn't flake out too much; we shouldn't have a problem then." He said in a serious tone.

Over the intercom: "This is Chujo Chiharu, all personnel are to avoid the shuttle bay until further notice."

"I wonder what that's about." Lavinia stated.

"I don't really know." Ritsurin answered cocking his ears around to hear anything else.

They walked onto the bridge to meet the new captain.

(This is describing what anyone on the bridge sees)

-A tall young man with dog-ears, long blonde hair with red highlights; tied back into a ponytail at the neck; and a scar on his cheek.
-And a long, dark green haired neko, who was wearing her blue armband; holding onto the young man by interlocking her arm with his.
Strode confidently onto the bridge.

"Greetings, Lady Chujo Chiharu, my name is Daijinshi Ritsurin, the ship's warrant officer and head of security. Yui told me that you'd be replacing her, it's a pleasure to meet such a beautiful young lady..Ow!" Ritsurin said as Lavinia elbowed him in the ribs.
"And this is Taiensho Lavinia, a transfer security sentry from your old ship, the Now-and-Forever." He said indicating the dark haired neko who was holding his arm.

Lavinia smiled brightly to the Chujo. ~This is my friend from the academy, the one I fell in love with.~ She telepathically communicated to Chiharu.

"...Anyway, what's our new mission Lady Chujo?" Ritsurin asked in his serious tone, inadvertently wiggling his ear to rid it of an itch.

"As you can see mistress, he's quite serious about his job." Lavinia told her. ~Which is why I fell for him, not to mention that he's handsome wouldn’t' you agree?~ she sent to the Chujo telepathically. 

Chiharu offered a friendly and very brief smile to the Sentries. She spoke quickly and apologetically, "Juni Daijinshi, Specialist Lavinia, I'm sorry but I am a little busy right now to give a proper introduction to hold a friendly conversation. I have a meeting to keep but since you two are here, I'd like for you two to keep watch at hatchways that join the Shuttle Bay to the ship from the ship's side. I do not WANT anyone to enter that area until I give the order that it is clear or unless I give them permission to enter, that includes yourselves or any Sentry on your staff." ~Lavinia, I'm happy for you but I have less than 5 minutes to get this issue taken care of. Please forgive me, but it is very important.~ Her tone was not her usual tone of voice when it came to giving her crew orders, which was that she sounded like any other officer instead of usual friendly self. "Please take care of this immediately."
She nodded to the two sentries. 

"Yes ma'am" both Ritsurin and Lavinia saluted, and went out into the corridor. "Why are we going to the shuttle bay Ritsurin?" Lavinia asked.

"I don't know, but asking questions wasn't part of the assignment." He replied sprinting down the hallway, "Go around to the other side!" he shouted as he ran down the corridor.

Lavinia nodded in agreement and sprinted off in the other direction going to the same place. As she reached the door she saw Ritsurin nodding in acknowledgement of Chiharu's order not to go inside. Ritsurin looked over at Lavinia and signaled for her stand guarding the door and monitor the hallway she had just come from. He then did the same thing on his side of the door. As they stood there in silence, a few crewmembers passed by, but a quick nod from either Ritsurin or Lavinia told them this wasn't the place to be at the current time. It was Lavinia who broke the silence:

"Just like back at the academy eh Ritsurin?" She asked.

"Yeah it is, except we had to keep the administrators out back then." He replied. "Compared to that, this is easy." He added.

"That was also the first time we met, if I remember correctly." She said with a wink.

"Yeah it is, I'll never forget that day, but now is not the time for a trip down memory lane Lavinia." He said in all seriousness.

"I know, I know." She said smiling.

A few more crewmembers walked by, stopped and asked them what was going on. "We don't know, and it's none of your business." was the serious Ritsurin's reply.

"Oh Ritsu, I brought someone and something aboard for you to have and meet, after this is over of course." Lavinia said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"........." Ritsurin remained silent.

After that conversation, they stood in silence, awaiting the time when Chiharu would relieve them. 

Back on the bridge...

Alexis got up and stretched. He pulled something from his satchel and set his hand on it...his eyes flashed brightly before he put the device back in its pocket. Getting up, he stretched again, and then left the nest. The Chujo brushed by, bumping his arm. "Hey, where're ya going?" he asked, sensing something urgent.

Chi quietly spoke in hushed tones, hoping not to attract any more attention than she was already attracting to the shuttle bay. "Something's coming in from the surface in 5 minutes, all I know is that it's most likely dangerous. Gotta go see what it is." She offered a small smile.

The smile seemed incongruous with what she was said, causing Alexis to smile a bit in return. "Has security been alerted?" He took up stride and walked along with her, doors whisking open to admit them into the shuttle bay.

"Yes, two Sentries have been posted at the hatchways to the shuttle bay to keep people out. I want as few people in here as possible." She hurried with Alexis to the docking bay, hoping that this nasty little surprise wouldn't destroy them all before they even got to start their mission. "I trust that you are packing?"

"Always," he nodded with a grin. The little cylinder that he had used against Wazu was hanging by his side...he trusted his own weapons more than the ones he had found in the armory. He took it in his right hand, it quickly deployed into a useful prod device. Quickly checking it, he nodded to the commander. "Locked and loaded, ma'am."

She smiled again, "Good, if nothing else, I'll get to test out this new body since I got my upgrade." She smoothed her hair back behind her ears again, glancing about for any stragglers that might be loitering around the shuttle bay despite her orders. 

Alexis glanced around...the bay was fairly clear, cargo containers were stacked along the starboard wall near the Yui's own shuttlecraft, leaving room for another and anything smaller that that. Exactly five minutes from the time of transmission, a shuttle approached the GSS Yui and requested permission to board...the bay doors opened and it slipped through the atmosphere retention force field and landed gently on the deck.

Chiharu kept her hand instinctively close to the grip of her energy pistol as she waited for whoever this was to exit the shuttle. "Time to see what this is about." She straightened, glancing to the hatchways into the ship, hoping that no one tried to get past Lavinia and Daijinshi.

The hatch opened and a PNUgen scientist strode out. "Chujo Ketsurui, I presume?" The scientist nodded, as if she already knew the answer, surveyed the bay, and then disappeared back into the shuttle. A few moments later the lady reappeared pushing an antigravity unit carrying a long, gray case. The casket-like case was made of steel and lined with impervium at all corners and weak points. Whatever was inside was very important. A screen was set into the upper quarter of the case, currently dark and inactive. She tilted the unit until it rested its end on the floor holding the case at a high angle, almost vertical.

Chi carefully and guardedly approached the casket. "What exactly is this thing Doctor and why do I have to keep it away from my crew??"

"Because if you don't, the effectiveness of the weapon may be compromised, see?" was the calm reply. The scientist turned to the case and addressed it. "Security measure Alpha deactivate." Voice recognition software turned on, the screen flickered to life as it analyzed and accepted the handler's voice. The screen cleared and flashed an image of the contents of the case, a neko. She appeared asleep. Fairly normal looking for an NH-7, she had dull jet-black skin and the green hair of an independent. "She's been in stasis for a week since her last examination. She won't be happy...never did like being in confined places, see?" Carefully, the handler tapped a control on the side next to the crease where the lid met the case.

Alexis stood to Chi's right and slightly behind her, watching the proceedings quietly. His eyes never missed a beat.

"What do you mean the effectiveness of the weapon will be compromised? Who the hell are you bringing onto my ship?" Chi spoke through a forced smile, getting more and more uneasy. 
The doctor paused what she was doing and faced Chi. "To answer your question, this is an experiment. Your ship was chosen because it is the most recognized vessel in the fleet, not because of its own merits, but because of its crew. We can trust that instructions will be followed. To further answer your question, this neko's name is Kago Nanashi. She is a prototype, not in body but in mind. Her programming is fragile. Contact with any except her, pardon the term, "handler" might disrupt it, see?" Removing the screen (some sort of hand-held computer) from the case, the handler handed it to the Chujo. "This has been programmed with everything we have on her. Minimal crew contact is recommended, otherwise, she will be useless, see?"

Chi looked over the hand-held computer and the specs. "So she's a test model like myself and the Taisho.." She nodded with a sigh. "So she's a berserker?"

The woman gave her first smile. "No. Those were too uncontrollable, which earned them the name...Nanashi is different. You'll see what I mean in a moment." The case beeped ready, and the lid lifting and sliding to the side of the casket followed the hiss of pressurized air being released. There lay Nanashi, her arms, legs, head, and torso strapped to the walls with padded metal bands.

Chi's stance did not relax but she did stop keeping her hand on her pistol's grip. "So who is supposed to be her new handler, because I assume that you're not going to stick around for this mission?" She spoke without looking at the Doctor, instead waiting the Neko that was probably going to be waking up extremely cranky from stasis.

The scientist ignored Chi, and tapped another control to release the straps. The neko awoke at the same moment, ruby red eyes blinked open. She rubbed them and frowned, but it was one of sad confusion, not anger. "Mistress, why did you make me go to sleep again? I don't like the dark," she said, turning sad puppy-...kitty eyes on the doctor. Smiling, the lady rubbed Nanashi behind the ear. "It's alright. We had to take a trip and you wouldn't have liked that either, see? But it's over now. Meet your new parent!" The handler gestured toward Chiharu.

Chi offered a friendly, motherly although startled smile to Nanashi, although she cast a rather nasty glare in the doctor's direction, like she cared though. Chi cast a pleading look towards Alexis. "I am her only parent or does she get to have 2?"

Nanashi stared blankly at Chi a moment, then she smiled and walked up to the captain, giving her a big hug. The scientist smiled slightly. "If you want, you can share the responsibility. You can ask the computer if you have further questions." (c)

Alexis looked at the new neko with a surprised expression, then nodded. "Mistress Chiharu, I'll be glad to watch her since you have the rest of the ship to run." He paused and looked at the scientist. "Wait, how is this child going to help us?"

She returned Nanashi's hug. "Hi there Nanashi." She looked at the doctor again, "It's no fun to be a single parent. And when do you want her back in your care?" 

"Her favorite game is called Genocide....I think you can get what I mean." The lady looked at Alexis intently, she couldn't place his species...but he was probably a Geshrin. "She can be returned upon completion of the Angel assignment."

Chi nodded to the doctor again, this was gonna be hell. "And what do I do to care for her, any 'toys' or special treats or anything?" She looked over to Alexis again. "Guess what, you're daddy."

The doctor narrowed her eyes at Chi. "Just give her her own room and keep everyone else away. If you have to, she can be put in stasis, but she doesn't like it, see? If you have any insubordinate crewmembers, go ahead and let her play with them...she'll like it, see?" To Nanashi, the doctor tapped the girl on the shoulder. "Nanashi, this man will be another of your new parents. But only listen to them now, no one else, understand? Everyone else lies, they will try to take you away. You don't want that, do you?" A scared look came to Nanashi's face and she shook her head emphatically. "No, no one else. I understand."

Alexis tilted his head. "What about VR? That would probably help..." The doc nodded and smiled. "There's an idea...but it can't be a room, she has already learned to distinguish between the two. Just be careful with her, see? She's important." She tapped the control on the case and it closed. Leaving it in the bay, the doctor waved at Nanashi with a smile, then looked at the Chujo. "You will not be able to contact us, we will contact you." The handler started to return to the shuttle, then thought of something else. "If there is any chance of that manual being copied or captured, it is able to self destruct. Please use that feature if either of those situations come up."

Chi nodded, and smiled despite herself and her concerns. "Understood Doctor. Please send my regards to your superiors." 

The woman nodded and vanished into the shuttle. It started up, performed a tight turn, and exited the bay.

"This just keeps getting better," remarked Alexis, who was taking his turn at being hugged by the enthusiastic neko.

Chi looked from Alexis to Nanashi back to Alexis again. "We can find her, her own private quarters and we can talk to Wazu about working on something to allow her to play without killing off the crew to raise her score." She paused and looked at the Neko. "We'd better clear out the sentries before we get her settled I guess."
"Unless you have any suggestions?"

Alexis stood there thinking, then hugged the neko in return...she let go almost immediately. So that's how to get her off...He smiled and looked at the captain. "I can probably make something that would work. R'Lari tech is based off of virtual reality, so it can probably be adapted for this purpose. As for getting her to her quarters...maybe we should just leave her here and find someplace to put her before taking her all over the ship. And I can handle the transport, don't worry." He smiled again.

Chi returned the smile, being sincere this time. "Are you sure you want to leave her in her alone?" She looked at the Neko again, ~hmm... being the captain of the ship is like being a parent...~ "I'm concerned that someone will come in here and get themselves into a big mess."

"Good point." Alexis watched the neko wander around the bay, tapping on the hull of the lone shuttle and looking at the cargo containers.

"Hmm.. any ideas of where we can have her live? I haven't gotten a chance to look over the ship's blue prints."

The shifter frowned at the captain’s question. "Uh, neither have I. Wait a sec, the computer can display a map on the panels over here." He walks over to a computer access panel on the wall of the bay and requests data on the ship layout..."Yeah, there we go! There's an expansion area open over here, near the bridge." He waves Chi over and lets her look. "So, who gets to stay?"

Chi walked over and looked at the panel, nodding in approval. "It'll work out wonderfully. We'll get a chance to keep an eye on her." She looked over at Nanashi again and then glanced back at Alexis. "Do you want me to be fair or be a pain?"

"Would a pain be very painful?" he replied hesitantly.

"Only if you want me to order you to baby sit. Fair is we flip a coin or something." Chi replied.

He sighed. "I'll baby sit."
Nanashi walked up and started watching the two officers. She smiled and tilted her head, the lock of hair on the side of her head falling over her cheek. "Whatcha talking about? Can we play yet?" Alexis looked at the girl and raised a brow. "Mistress, before you go, could I see that computer pad?"

Chi smiled again. "You'll make a good father for Nanashi." Her tone was playful and then she looked back at their "daughter". "Nanashi, I'm going to go get your room set up. Alexis is going to watch you for a little bit so be good." And then she looked back to Alexis, "I will be back as soon as I can." She handed the computer pad over to Alexis.

Alexis nodded and scanned the information on the pad, the words and images flashed past in a blur as the reports and videos went by in fast forward, but he got it all. "Wow. They really did a number on you, didn't they? the shifter mused as he finished it. "So, you like to play? What do you do when you play, Nanashi?" he asked the neko. She grinned eagerly. "You can call me Nashi, daddy..."

Chi flashed them a quick smile as hurried out of the shuttle bay, running off to get Nanashi's room ready. She quickly gave the sentries on duty a quick order to return to their stations before she continued on her way. When she reached the bridge and she gave a new order. "Attention this is Chujo Ketsurui, all crew please report to your duty stations immediately and remain there until further notice. Repeat, all crew please report to your duty stations and remain there until further notice. That is all."

Wazu was once again in the science lab. The many shelves were filled with nanite synth units growing various nanite organs resembling the ones on chikara. In the center of the bay behind the main table two bars with various completed parts hanging from the sides and top. Various alloys are being tested on the other side of the bay. They were being subjected to massive pressure some were showing signs of cracking and others had given out entirely but a few were still holding up well to their tests. The center table still had the new gun on it but it was now covered in data pads with data on quantum physics and trans-dimensional theory as well as several hand drawn plans lying here and there. ~Where is that Sgzyr I have a job for him. . . . .~ Wazu let his thoughts trail off again as he retuned to his work.

"So, you like to play? What do you do when you play, Nanashi?" Alexis asked the neko. She grinned eagerly. "You can call me Nashi, daddy..."

Taking his hand, Nashi lead him out to the center of the bay. She squinted, staring at him. Uncomfortable, Alexis held up a hand. "It'll be alright if you just tell me what you like to do, you don't have to show me," he said, trying to keep a straight voice. She shrugged and smiled. "Alright. First, I tell you to run and give you five seconds to get somewhere. Then, I stalk you, pouncing when you least expect." Her eyes glazed over slightly, the smile growing as she imagined the hunt. "After I break your arms and legs, I spear you through the head with a broken pole!"

"But you're my daddy, I won't play with you. It would make the others mad," she said suddenly, her eyes growing fearful. Alexis, who was growing uneasy at her narrative, frowned. "Who're the others?" he inquired. "I don't know their names, they would hurt me if I play with anyone they don't want me to," came the trembling reply.

Meanwhile, Chiharu had recruited Juni Kuru and specialist Mika to help her clear out the space, she and Alexis had decided on for Nanashi's room. "Sempai, why are we doing this?" Kuru had asked as they worked. "Because, there is a new crew member that isn't quite stable and she needs to be away from the other crew members." Chi replied quickly and that ended that line of questioning as they hurried through their work.

After several minutes of quick, silent work, the three nekos managed to get the compartment clean of space dust and empty crates. The Chujo spoke first, "Ok, now we need a bunk and a locker I guess.." The Juni nodded. "I know when I can find those things Ketsurui-sempai. Mika-kun, please come with me." The younger neko, Mika, nodded silently and followed the Juni out of the compartment, the hatch closing behind them. And then, Chiharu found herself alone in the compartment, it looked so lonely and empty in here, maybe she could ask Kuru to make Nanashi a teddy bear or something. 

~She must mean the scientists on the project...in the files,~ Alexis had noted that she was raised in a virtual environment, which explained why she could now tell the difference...If she disobeyed an order she was disciplined. But the method wasn't what he expected...she was just kept from playing her deadly game. The doctor who had brought Nashi was right, the neko was a homicidal maniac. "The perfect killer doesn't realize what she's doing," he thought with wonder. Alexis looked at the trembling weapon and tentatively gave her a gentle hug. Nashi smiled to herself. In a swift motion, she brought his arms back around and clamped her hand around his, locking them behind his back. Another second later, he was on his stomach, face on the floor. 

A little while later...Kuru and Mika returned with the things needed to assemble the hammock and a footlocker. The Chujo helped them with what she could and soon, there was a hammock in the center of the room and a footlocker for Nanashi. "Thank you ladies, you may return to your stations now." ~I'd better go check on Fluffy.~ The Chujo thanked her crew before jogging back towards the shuttle bay.

"Gotcha! Can't let your guard down," she playfully admonished. After he was sure she wasn't going to try to rip his head off, Alexis let out a weak laugh. "Yeah, you got me...can I get up now?" She nodded and loosened her hold a bit...another blink and they had switched positions, with her lying with her wrists behind her back. The shifter smiled and stood up, releasing her and helping her up. "Don't show any mercy, that's a trick, " he said, finally figuring out what to do...

Sometime later, 
Chiharu unlocked the hatch and reentered the shuttle bay, hoping someone isn't dead. "hey sorry it took so long, but I'm back..." 

The shifter and the neko were sitting in the middle of the floor, a length of chord tying both of them back to back. Alexis looked up at Chiharu with a slightly embarrassed expression that said "Don't even ask...". Meanwhile, Nashi grinned happily as she craned her neck to see the door. "Mommy, guess what daddy and I are playing!"

Chi chuckled. "Nashi, have you been beating daddy up?" She smiled brightly as she walked over to them and started untying the cord. "How in the world did you guys get yourselves tied up like this?"

Nashi waited patiently as the Chujo undid the knot, flexing her arms as soon as they were free. Alexis shrugged off the chord and stretched. "Daddy was being a target and I was trying to rope him..." the neko began, Alexis interjected. "...But apparently they haven't taught her how to use a lariat. And that is what caused our predicament," he said, standing up. He looked down at Nashi's hands. "Are you okay? Looks like the circulation got cut off there." She nods. "It's okay, just feels funny...like I've got ants on my skin, it tickles!"

Chi stretched a bit and smiled. "No worries, Alexis.. she'll be ok in a little bit. We are self repairing. But it looks like you guys had fun. You ready to go see your new room Nashi?"

Nanashi nodded, smiling. "So...it's over there, right?" said Alexis, pointing in the direction of the room.

"It's over by the bridge. The crew is probably getting restless right about now since they're stuck at their duty stations." Chi frowned a little bit at the thought.

"Okay...so no one's in the halls?" Alexis smiled. "Well, let's go, Nashi."

Chi nodded. "Yup, there's no one in the halls and they're probably going to mutiny at some point if we keep them there."

Nashi grinned. "Yay! I get my own room!"
"Well, we'd better get her over there before they do." Alexis motioned to the door. "Lead the way...I'll bring up the rear."

"You bet Nashi." Chi smiled and started off towards the room. "Follow me sweetie."

The child-like neko takes the hand of the older and followed her obediently down the corridor. The shifter followed them both, keeping an eye for anyone who decided to peek.

Chi smiled softly to herself as she led Nashi by the hand through the corridors, ~So this is what it's like to play the role of a mother. cool and I don't have a youngling yet either. So now I have a while before I have to worry about it.~ Within a few moments, they reach the little room nearby the bridge.

Nashi enters the room and looks around. "This is mine?" she asked, glancing at the Chujo.

Chi nodded, "Yup this is all yours Nashi. You're the only one with this type of bed on the entire ship."

The younger neko jumped into the makeshift hammock, only to be dumped on the floor. Puzzled, she looked over at the Chujo..."How do I get in it?"

On a box beside the hammock, sat a couple of blankets and a pillow. "Well, I'll show you." Chi walks over to the hammock and spreads the rope sides out and carefully sits down on it. "Like this"

"Oh...lemme try!" 

Chi stood up again and stepped away from the hammock. "Go for it, just take it easy or you'll fall out of it. "

Nashi got up and carefully mimicked Chi's motions. She leaned too far forward, loosing her balance and falling into the hammock. Fortunately she landed so it cradled her...after rocking a couple of times it settled into a slow swing. She smiled and slowly sat up. "I like it! This is what I get to sleep in?" Alexis nodded with a smile...the girl's enthusiasm was a bit contagious, he had to admit.

Chi smiled brightly. "Yup this is your bed Nashi. There are some blankets and a pillow right here if you want them." She tapped the box with the blankets on them.

Suddenly the girl yawned...she seemed to have automatically adapted to the unstable nature of her new bed as she leaned over the edge and gathered up the blankets and pillow. "I'm tired."

"Does stasis usually cause that?" whispered Alexis. "Nevermind...she just spent an hour playing, no wonder she's tired."

"Ok Nashi, get some sleep then.." Chi smiled and then looked back at Alexis. "let's get going then." 

Nodding, the shifter exited the room, waiting outside for the captain.

Chi turned and exited the room. She sighed as the hatch closed behind her. "You did well, I'm glad she didn't kill ya."

Nashi placed one blanket under her, laid down and pulled the blanket up and curled up in the hammock, a pillow at her head as she hugged another. The ruby red eyes slowly close and she soon falls to sleep.

Alexis smirked, nodding. "I think she's got a safeguard against killing her handlers...and that's a fairly accurate term. As for playing with her, it was no problem, really. Once I realized how she played, it was easy to keep her entertained." His eyes grew distant as he started thinking of things to program into the VR he was devising. Then he looked at the Chujo. "So, how's motherhood feel?"

Chi leaned against the wall. "It's a little different from being the Captain of a ship. She a bit more in need of direct interaction though." She smiled again. "So do you want to take turns taking care of her? Nekos eat a lot of food, about 7-8 meals a day and she can't be out with the crew according to the powers that be."

Shrugging he nodded. "Alright. I'll take the first day. Once I've got the VR set up it'll be less strenuous, assuming I get it right." He smiled, and the two continued to the bridge. There Alexis set it up with Megami to restrict access to and from the room to himself and Chi only.

She nodded, "So congrats, you're going to make a great Daddy." Fluffy." She grinned as she walked into the bridge. "Oh yeah, I'd better give the crew the order to stand down." She gave a new order. "Attention, this is Chujo Ketsurui. All crew may return to their duties as normal, thank you all for your cooperation during this situation. This will hopefully not be a routine thing. There will be a mandatory briefing this evening at 1900 in the briefing room on what our mission will be. Thank you."

Acara was in the engine room when the announcement went out for all personnel aboard the GSS Yui to remain in their stations. Since he had been assigned to check the engine he stayed there. “I’m glad I don’t have to do anything dangerous. I got my work and they got theirs.” He went about watching Megami watch herself. 

        When Chiharu’s message finally came over the PA system he let out a sigh of relief. “She sounds less stressed than the first time. I guess everything’s just fine then.” It had unnerved him to hear Chiharu uptight, with that he headed back to Juni Kuru to report that nothing was wrong in the engine room. ~ Like I really need to do this~ he thought. ~ Megami does a great job maintaining this ship! Soon there wont be any more need for technicians. Oh well.~ 

After reporting he went to the baths. ~I could use a cleaning.~ When he got to the baths he flowed out of his uniform, and assumed his natural form; an pudding like lump. A small tentacle came out and neatly folded his uniform. Then he slid into the bath. As he reached the bottom he began to rotate all of his substance to the out side cleaning out all dust and dirt he had picked up of the floor when he slid over it. Then he relaxed at the bottom until his next shift.

"Finally." Lavinia sighed; "What happened in there, in any case, we need to get back to our quarters and stay there." She said, hearing the Chujo's new order.

"Let's go Lavinia." Ritsurin said with narrowed eyes. "I don't like the feel or smell of the air here, something serious has happened." He said with a slight growl.

They both ventured back to the security quarters, for reasons like Chiharu's order. As they reached the door, and walked in, a small, baby wolf came bounding up to Lavinia and jumped into her arms and began to lick her face. Lavinia laughed as the young wolf licked her face.

"Who is this?" Ritsurin asked smelling the air, looking at the baby animal.

Lavinia stopped laughing: "This is Siaga, a wolf I found and decided to keep." She said

"Oh?" He replied with his ears flattened back.

"Ritsu, be nice; Siaga's but a puppy." Lavinia admonished.

Ritsurin looked at her, then the puppy, and then back at her and shrugged. He decided that he didn't mind the situation enough to take any action. He walked over and lay down in his nest, thinking about what was so urgent earlier. A few minutes later, Siaga, who had jumped out of Lavinia's arms, ran over to where Ritsurin was lying down and started climbing over his body. 

"Hey! Quit that!" Ritsu laughed as the puppy started licking his face. " I don't know where that tongue has been, though I can probably guess."

"See? He likes you, dog-boy." Lavinia said between fits of giggles.

Ritsurin looked over at her and watched her as laid down next to him, petting the puppy and lifting out of the nest. He blushed deeply and turned away when she began to press her body against his at certain points.

"Umm Lavinia?" What do you think you're doing?" He asked sitting up in alarm.

"Getting something I've wanted for a while." She replied with smoldering eyes.

"Hey! Not now, I'll handle that later." He said jumping up and out of the nest.

"Is that a promise from you Ritsu?" She asked looking him over with an arched brow, looking unbearably cute.

Ritsurin looked at her with a look of helplessness. "Now what is this thing you wanted to give me?" He asked.

"I just tried to." She replied smiling and looking cute.

Over the intercom: "This is Chujo Chiharu, you may go back to what you were doing beforehand."

"I'm going to meet some of the new crew." Ritsurin said trying to hurry out the door.

"I'll go with you." Lavinia said still smiling.

"Uh...No. You stay here or go do something else like meet the older crew. Uh...after I leave." He replied hurrying out of the room.

~Fine, Ritsu; I'll get you later~ she thought as she watched him go.

~That was strange, I don't even know what she wanted...wait a minute, yes I do~ he thought blushing a blood red at the quick memory of her bold advance.

"I'll go take a bath, it'll help me relax." he said to himself. So he ventured to the baths, passing the bridge and Science office/lab where he saw Wazu working on something like usual. ~I don't want to know what he's doing now.~ he reasoned as he passed. He headed to the baths, when he got there, he pulled off his uniform jacket, folded it neatly and placed his pin on top of the folded jacket and began to slide into the warm water. As he began to relax, he felt something slimy or gel-like which caused him to leap out of the water, do a back flip and land in a fighting stance. "Who or what the hell are you?" he demanded of the slime, not really knowing if it was sentient or not.

Meanwhile,

"That was just like him." Lavinia said pouting and to Siaga.

The puppy, of course didn't understand and went back to sniffing around the room.

~I'll have him sooner or later~ she thought smiling.

She decided to see what was happening aboard the ship, and meet a few of the older crew like Ritsu suggested. Walking about the ship, she ventured into the medical bay and began looking at all the medical equipment. She marveled at how well stocked it was then again, all GSA ships were.

~Wait, didn't Ritsurin say that he needed to have hemosynthetic surgery on his forearms?~ she remembered. "I'll do the surgery, it may get him to trust me enough to allow me to get closer to him." She said as the idea formed in her mind. Knowing that she was indeed going to do it, she walked out of the medical bay and rode the lift down to the first floor of the ship and crawled to the tech's lounge. "Is everything okay here?" she asked the two nekos who were inside. "Yes, everything's fine; now leave." one of them responded. ~ geez she was real nice~ Lavinia thought sarcastically as she got on the lift and back to the top floor.
She then decided to head back to the security quarters and wait for Ritsu to come back.

"Initiating test sequence....interface ready."
"Okay, start her up."

Green. Nothing but green.
Words flashed in her vision, but she didn't...wait, she did understand them. Diagnostics, lists...nothing she was interested in.

"Okay, the weapon is hot....let's introduce the first target."

The green divided among itself...it was a forest, leaves all around. A twig snapped; someone was standing next to her. She turned. Male, humanoid, white coat, glasses...a name badge that read "PNUgen". He dropped a broken twig to the grassy floor, having snapped it on purpose to get her attention.

"Nanashi, do you understand me?"

Her mind was automatically scanning him...the heart was a good target, easy death. Decapitation was also an option, along with a blow to the trachea...that would be a last resort, it wouldn't kill immediately. She nodded.

"Good... Do you want to play a game? It'll be fun." A small smile crossed the man's face and she smiled too, nodding.

"What aw we playing?"

His eyes had a twinkle she liked. "Cat and Mouse."

"How do I play?"

"There is someone out there. The goal is to make that person unable to play." The man tilted his head as he let her digest the information. "You already know how to do that, right?"

She nodded and grinned eagerly. "I make the heart stop beating, right?"

"Yep. Now go, he's out there somewhere..." The scientist smiled encouragingly, then left the area.

Nanashi's ears flicked, homing in on the sounds around her. Birds, rustling of the wind in the leaves, a creek three hundred yards away.... Wait, who was her playmate? She reviewed the scientist's words....he had referred to the playmate with pronouns: "someone", "person", and "he". That meant it was a sentient, male. So it wouldn't be an animal, like the previous playtimes they had set up. Smiling to herself, she quickly took to the brush, moving like a ghost among the forest floor.

FLASH

The game was over, she had won. Then the next game was over, she had won again, this time wiping out a group of ten. Then fifteen, and twenty. She had lost against thirty because attacking them straight on wouldn't work. The next time she met them, though, she quietly took them out one by one. That was more fun then before!
Various toys had been given to her....knives, swords, guns, and grenades. Sometimes she didn't get any, though, but she found she easily could make her own. The places had been different too...every time she went to sleep, she woke up in a new place. Forests, factories, jungles, deserts. Once she had even woken on a starship! That was fun, but something about that place had bothered her. Something was fake about it. She had waved it off...maybe this was a model of a ship, they wouldn't let her on a real one, would they?

FLASH

A dark room. Needles, she hated needles, who liked needles? Wires ran from her head and neck to connection ports in the wall.

"She's awake?! Get her back under, then!"
"I can't, her mind isn't recognizing the program anymore. I mean, it's running, but it's not working!"

There were sounds outside of the room. Very faint...More playmates?

"Move over! Wait, this isn't possible..."

Nanashi could feel straps on her wrists and ankles, another one on her torso and forehead...they were loose, and she easily slipped out of them. Getting up, she took a blind step forward...then stopped. She could sense something was in the way. Reaching out with a hand, she felt the wall mere inches in front of her. Turning to her right, she felt another wall within arms reach. The left turned up the same result. She was in a small, featureless box that was only 7' long, 5' wide, and 6' high. She was trapped in a dark room. No light, no door, no way out.
Something tugged at the back of her neck and head. The wires..."Getem off, gettem off! Lemme out of here!" she cried, suddenly going near insane with fear. She yelled, banging on the walls...the wires were hurting...their coils lashed around her and bound her arms to her sides, wrapped around her neck....choking....

FLASH

"MOMMMYYYY!!!"
Nashi jerked upright in her hammock, almost rocking it enough to dump her on the floor again. The lights immediately turned on; dimly at first before getting brighter. The neko looked around the room in terror... the room was big and the coloring was bright compared to the darkness of her dreams. But it wasn't just a dream, was it? She sank back into the bed and curled up under the blankets, crying softly.

A tendril protruded from the water, its upper end forming into a head. "Sorry about that, I'll pull to one side."

Ritsurin recovered from the shock of seeing such a thing. "
Who AND what are you?" He asked visibly tensing up.

"My name is Acara. I am the new technical specialist on the Yui, and you are..."

Ritsu relaxed visibly upon hearing that this was another crewmember. "I'm Juni Ritsurin Daijinshi, head of security."

"Well come on in, I'll stay toward the back. By the way, what race are you? You look strange, and there are no male nekos." The shapeshifter asked.

"I've seen weirder, no offense. I'm in here trying to relax from a shocking experience I just had not too long ago. To answer your question, I am half-dog demon, half-human; father was the demon, mother: the human." Ritsurin explained.

"I'm just a shapechanger, and I don't know who budded me. You do look stressed." His neck shrank as a torso came halfway out of the water.

"Not really stressed, just confused." Ritsurin said diving back into the water and coming back up. "So you're like Alexis then? Right?" He asked.

"No, we are very different, he used DNA and is organic, I can only mimic shapes and border on being inanimate. I did some background search on him when I heard another shifter was on the ship. I found very little, where did he come from anyway?"

"I'm not quite sure, he was the pilot of the Cat's Paw, a ship that self-destructed." Ritsu replied. "I have a question, no a favor to ask you, would you be willing to listen?"

"Sure, if it is within reason." The shifter said flowing around himself.

"Just cover for me is a long, dark green haired neko comes looking for me, she won't hurt you; she'll hurt me, if you're wondering. I'll dive underwater when she comes." He said smiling wryly.

Acara laughed. "If we are caught, it's all on your head ok?"

Ritsurin started doing laps. "It's already on my head, and if she finds me; it'll be some other places as well." He said as he swam.

"What? I don't understand." The shifter said.

Ritsurin treaded water. "What I mean is that if she finds me, she's likely to beat me to about your consistency, then try to get some ....uh..." He blushed.

"Oh, procreation...I thought your kind liked that." His head swiveling on his shoulders watching Ritsurin swim.

"Maybe the rest of us do, I'm not particularly looking for it; dogs only procreate to spawn little ones, thus so do I." Ritsurin said.

"Oh, I would not know, my kind bud. You are in fix then." Acara stated.

Ritsu laughed. "Ya got that right...oh crap...here she comes." He said diving underwater.

It was then when the door slid open revealing an irritated Lavinia.

"Is Ritsurin in here?" She asked in an irritated tone.

"No, I have not seen him." A tendril, out of view of Ritsurin, made a pointing motion toward the water.

"Okay, he's not here...I'll look elsewhere." She said smiling.

Acara winked at Lavinia: "See you later."

She turned on her heel, walked out the door; made some noises like she was walking away; but she really waited outside the door.

"You can come up now." Acara slid out of the pool, flowed up into his uniform, solidifying his upper body. "Well it was nice meeting you." he said to Ritsurin. As the bath door shut, he looked at Lavinia, and in a whisper " Your turn, I'll lock the door."

She smiled evilly as she peeked around the corner, watching Ritsurin swim. "Sure, thanks Acara." She said winking.

"I'm just glad I don't have to worry about things like that. Have fun." He said.

Lavinia walked in, stripped, and dove in. Ritsurin, seeing her dive in, leapt out of the water and rushed for the door.

Acara shut and locked the door without moving into view, then he slid away, laughing to himself. ~Well I guess that's that.~ He thought.

A tight beam transmission was sent to the Yui from Qel’nora the contents were as follows
-----------------transmission begins----------------------
        Dear Chujo,
I am requesting transfer from Qel’nora to the GSS Yui 
I can provide my own transport and my bio is attached in the
following file. Now that my operations on Qel’nora have come
to a close I am looking for a new post. I don’t wish to sound
weak but I really don’t like this planet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

When Chi received the transmission so was taken aback, wow, another Neko wanted to come aboard. She replied to the transmission, "Uso, you may transfer aboard, I have need for an Intel officer anyways. Try to get here before 2000 or else you'll have to find us in another sector. - Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu"

The Chujo sat in her chair on the bridge, finally settling in to plot coordinates to intersect the Angels when the ship was hailed by a small shuttlecraft. 

"Chujo, we're being hailed." Bridge officer Aya said, smiling up at her commanding officer.

"Patch them through please Taii Aya." Came Chi's reply.

"GSS Yui this is Sgt. Mina Keyo. I am bringing you a few more crewmembers from Geshrintall before you go on your mission. Requesting permission to dock." the Face of a young human woman with Maroon hair appeared on the display. She was wearing a pilot's uniform with a SGT's insignia.

Chiharu smiled a bit, this should be the last of the new crew so she get this mission rolling finally. "Permission granted Sgt. Keyo. Come alongside. GSS Yui out." The Chujo ended the transmission. "Aya, I'm going to meet the new crew, be right back."

A few moments later, the Chujo found herself outside the shuttle bay and she smiled as she watched the shuttle enter the bay, the airlock closing behind them. Out of the small shuttle came six young women as they exited the shuttle bay, only two of whom were Nekos. Chi looked at the girls with a smile, this was a surprise; she thought she was going to get more Nekos than two but she couldn't complain.

Sgt. Keyo was the last to exit the ship and exit the shuttle bay, carrying a computer pad as she walked over to the Chujo. Keyo came to halt and saluted the Chujo, and the others followed suit. Chiharu smiled again and returned the salute.

"At ease. Sgt. Keyo, what do you have for me?" The Chujo asked as she was handed the computer pad, signing it quickly and looking up at the crew.

"Chujo Ketsurui, these 6 women are the crew you requested: 2 medical officers, 1 bridge officers and 3 Technicians." Keyo explained, "I leave it to them to introduce themselves to you Chujo. If you'll excuse me, I must return to Geshrintall. Good luck on your mission, ma'am." The pilot saluted again and turned about once the Chujo returned the salute, and disappeared into the shuttlecraft again.

The two medical officers were the first to come forward, both of whom were Nekos " Ma'am, I am Medical Specialist Akari and this is Medic Inari." Akari was a pale Neko with dark green hair pulled back into a high ponytail and pale blue eyes while, her cohort, Inari was a red-brown skinned Neko with vibrant green hair and bright blue eyes.

Next the bridge officer introduced herself, she was a Geshrin girl of 10 years, with short dark red hair that didn't go past her chin and emerald green eyes. "I am Chui Kago Lyn."

And lastly the 3 techs introduced themselves, again they were all Geshrin but the oldest was no more than 16. "I am Technical Specialist Tomoyo." Tomoyo was the oldest of the three girls with curly raven black hair pulled back into a loose bun and piercing brown eyes. The next girl to speak was probably about 14 years old, with short straight blonde hair and icy blue eyes. "My name is Technician Kei Blue." The girl smiled brightly as the youngest girl of 13 shyly spoke up. "And I am Technician Hikari." She had brown eyes and light brown hair. 

The only things that all of the girls had in common was the fact that they were wearing the GSA uniform of their jobs and that they were female. 

Chiharu smiled again and spoke, "I'll show you girls where you’re supposed to be. Follow me please.." And with that, the Chujo lead the girls out of the shuttle bay, the Chujo hoped that this was the last of the new arrivals for the day.

Uso looked out of the window of her room on Qel’nora. She hated this place, there was nothing to do. She began to pace back and forth when her computer emitted a small tone. ~Well that was quick.~ She thought to herself. She walked over to her computer and pulled up the message.
_____________________________________________________________________________
"Uso, you may transfer aboard, I have need for an Intel officer anyways. Try to get here before 2000 or else you'll have to find us in another sector. - Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu" 
_____________________________________________________________________________

~ so it looks like I’m going to work in Intel then~ she thought to herself with a small smirk on her face as she picked up a small bag and sent a copy of the message to her CO. Then she headed out the door to roof of the building where a shuttle was ready to take her to the Yui. 

A few hours later. . .
The small shuttle pulled alongside the Yui and opened a hailing frequency “Hello this is Uso’s shuttle requesting permission to dock. . . .”

Uso got out of her shuttle and sent it and its pilot back. She stalked quietly through the ship reaching the science lab. After seeing the room she knew Wazu was there, she had worked with him before and the clutter of the room was unmistakable. Just then she spotted him off in the corner. Uso moved without making a sound. When she had made it behind Wazu she attempted to put him in a chokehold with a knife at his neck. Her hands merely passed through Wazu’s body causing the hologram to fade briefly. Uso was in a state of shock from the surprise when Wazu then dropped in from his hiding place in the corner of the room pistol in hand. Well I’m glad to see you still know how to play” He said to her with a grin, ”But It looks like I have won this time!” ”Not just yet!” was her reply as she tossed her knife at the gun knocking it out of his hands ~Crap~ He thought to himself. She ran toward was and brought her leg up in a roundhouse kick motion. Wazu simply ducked and allowed the attack to miss him as he lashed out with two of his mechandrites. Uso jumped over the attack (barely missing the roof) and landed behind Wazu. She used her foot to kick the knife into the air then grab it with her hand and put it to his neck again. “Well now it looks like you spoke to soon!” She said. Wazu laughed, “Really you think you won so quickly?” He had his pistol pointed at her chest waiting to blow her away with a few shots. Releasing her grip she said, “It looks like we have a tie . . .Again” 
        Wazu replied, “I think it is time we get down to business. So did you bring it?” “Ya.” she said as she set her bag down on a still unoccupied segment of the cabinets surrounding the lab, “But it was hell to get a hold of. They almost freaked when they heard about it they said something about you not needing to use. . . How did they put it ah yes unsecured roots of transportation for sensitive military hardware.” “Well that is not the point,” He replied cheerfully “Now I can finish the new robots,” Wazu moved over to the bag and extracted a 1 foot in diameter sphere which he then inserted into the center of the frame and then began connecting wires to it as well as attaching various nanotech organs and armored plates. “What the hell are you doing now? Nothing that will explode I hope.” Uso said. “No, it is a sparing partner for Sgzyr“ Said Wazu. “so who is Sgzyr?” She asked. “You’ll find out sooner or later right now you should probably introduce yourself to the captain” Said Wazu
“you’re probably right,” She said as she turned and began to leave the room ”Well then I’ll see you later”

As Ritsurin rushed to the door, he stopped just short of actually hitting.

~Oh no, she's going to catch me.~ He sweated.

Seeing Lavinia come out of the water and toward him in all her nude glory; he leaped up, caught a hold of the gratings above his head, and curled up so that he was lying against the ceiling in a show of his speed and strength. As he looked down at her, the whites of his eyes slowly turned to their blood red color due to the excitement he felt.

"Ritsurin, come down here. I won't hurt you." Lavinia said looking up at him.

"I know that Lavinia, I'm just afraid." He said looking down at her hanging by his claws.

She looked confused. "You're afraid...of me?" She asked.

"No, not of you, but my own feelings for you." he told her.

"You're afraid of your own feelings, feelings of what?" She asked, sounding worried.

"I feel the same way about you that you feel about me. It's an emotion I don't recognize, and that scares me." He said dropping down onto the floor, and sitting in a corner.

"You mean love? What do you mean you're scared of such a wonderful emotion?" She said curiously as she walked over and sat down beside him, and trying to comfort him; all of her lusty thoughts now gone.

"I forgot what it felt like during my two years of enslavement to the angels." He said trembling as his body recalled the pain of the beatings he endured. "I loved my parents, even after they died, but the angels thought that love was a weakness and beat it out me; saying that it was 'a sign of weakness'." He explained, his voice starting to break as he remembered the pain of the beatings and of losing his parents.

Lavinia gasped audibly, "You were enslaved by the angels?!" She exclaimed, feeling stunned. She held him closer to her. "You must have been so scared; how old were you at the time?" She added to her previous exclamation.

Ritsurin looked down, hiding the fact that he was silently crying at the feelings and memory of loss and pain; but his voice betrayed him. "I was twelve at the time, they had murdered my parents during one of their 'extermination raids'. It turned out that the raids were to eradicate all the demons and their progeny, because they were the only ones who were equal to them in power. I was one of those children, I was the last, but I showed a glimmer of promise, so the spared me, only to enslave me later." He broke down and started crying, clasping Lavinia in a tight embrace.

"Twelve? you shouldn't have been scared Ritsu, you were fully an adult by then." She said hugging him tightly, but sounding confused.

"Twelve is still very young for my species, half-demons live for a very long time." Ritsurin explained, still teary eyed.

"Oh." She said looking at him. "I didn't know that."

Regaining his composure, Ritsurin stood up; wiped his tears and leaned against the wall, using one arm to brace himself against it. Lavinia followed his lead, but she didn't lean, she stood there absorbing and memorizing what he had just told her for future reference. Ritsurin looked up at her out of the corner of his eye, brushed his ponytail out of his face. "I do love you, you know Lavinia." He said just loud enough for her to hear. "And it isn't so bad, in fact it makes me feel stronger." He said smiling at her from under his ponytail, which had fallen back over his face.

"I love you too Ritsurin Daijinshi, with all my heart and soul. I have since that day we spent guarding that door in the academy." Lavinia said, hugging him again.

Ritsurin shifted his weight, so that he was standing up straight. "Let go of me Lavinia." He said without looking at the shorter neko that was holding onto him.

"Why?" She asked puzzled.

"Just do it, please." He said.

She released him even though she didn't want to, but did so out of respect for his feelings. Ritsurin nodded to her, leaped out over the water, did a forward flip and entered it with the splashless grace of an Olympic high-diver.

~Why did he do that?~ Lavinia wondered, feeling strangely empty, looking at the door. 
~Maybe I should unlock it and leave.~ 
This was when Ritsurin swam to the edge of the pool without her noticing.

Ritsu, seeing her back turned to him, crept out of the water, and snuck up behind her. He grabbed her around the waist. Feeling him touch her in such a way brought back the amorous feelings Lavinia had before. "Ritsu, what are you doing?" She said in surprise, hoping that he was feeling the same way. She started to envision making love with him, purring slightly. She was rudely brought out of her hentai fantasy when Ritsurin suplexed her into the water.

"That!" He replied laughing, now feeling so much better. For some reason, warm water always did that to him.

"That wasn't very nice!" She admonished as she cam up sputtering.

Ritsurin just laughed, but failed to notice Lavinia's hemosynthed tentacle as it gently coiled around his waist. Needless to say, he stopped laughing when the tentacle abruptly dunked him into the water and dissolved back into Lavinia's body.

He came up sputtering like she had. "That wasn't very nice!" He admonished her, coughing up some water.

"Neither was suplexing me." She said, smiling brightly at him, knowing that he was just having fun.

Ritsurin dove underwater, swam under Lavinia (who was swimming around in a backstroke fashion), grabbed her very attractive legs, and yanked her underwater with him. When they resurfaced, He allowed her to push him against the wall, and to his surprise, she started kissing him. As they started to become intertwined for the act of procreation, which Acara had so accurately described it. Ritsurin played along with her actions for about two minutes of intertwining. He started tickling her, Lavinia squealed and started giggling as he tickled her, causing them to become less intertwined. Ritsurin smiled gently and continued to tickle her, saying:

"Ah, so you like that huh? How about this? Or this?"

Lavinia could do nothing but giggle like a schoolgirl on Valentine's Day as he tickled her where he knew she was sensitive.

They exited the water, Ritsu still ticking and Lavinia still giggling.

"Hahaha...Ritsu...hahaha...stop please." She said between fits of giggles.

"Okay." He said, ceasing to tickle her.

"My turn!" She said pouncing on him.

"Oh ho ho hoo no you don't." Ritsurin said as he caught her and rolled along the floor using the momentum from her pounce. They rolled along until they hit a wall and stopped, ending up with him on top of her. Ritsurin blushed deeply, even his ears turned red as he felt her wrap legs around his waist. "Oh yes I do." She said knowingly while smiling at him.

"Ack! This wasn't part of my idea!" Ritsu exclaimed blushing.

"It was part of mine." She said. "Do you really love me? She asked, gazing into his fierce eyes.

"Yes, I do, very much." He replied while leaning down to kiss her.

"That's good, and it makes me feel quite good to know that you trust me this much. Now show me." She said returning his kiss.

He repositioned himself to give her what they both had wanted for years, secretly desiring this moment to come. "Oh Ritsurin!!!" Lavinia gasped as he began the process of procreation.

Several Hours Later...

"Lavinia...?" Ritsurin asked standing up and putting clothes and uniform back on. "Time to get back into your uniform." 

"Okay..." She replied drowsily, as she managed to somehow get into her uniform. Then after she got it on, she curled up and went to sleep, exhausted from their actions. Ritsu just smiled, walked over, and picked her up; then walked to the door.

~Now, is this thing unlocked yet?~ he wondered looking at the door. As he walked to it, it slid open! Thinking that Megami had unlocked it, he said: "Thanks Megami." to the ship. Ritsurin walked out of the room, carrying a sleeping Lavinia in his arms, she was hugging onto him tightly. He blushed apple red every time a stray crewmember asked where they had been. He carried her back to the security quarters and layed her down in his nest, as she had yet to choose one. He leaned down, kissed her on the forehead and started to walk out. "Ritsu...zzzz....don't go yet...zzzz." She said sleep talking, which caused him to smile at her as he realized just how cute she was when she was asleep; and quietly slid out the door.

~I'd better get back to the bridge, or Chiharu will have my head on a silver platter.~ He thought as he walked to the bridge. On the way there, he looked down at his claws; "I should go ahead and get that surgery Wazu suggested awhile back." He mused to himself. When he got to the bridge.

"Have I missed anything important?" He asked Chujo Chiharu.

At 1845, the crew heard the cheerful voice of the Chujo come over the Announcement system again, "Attention all crew, this is Chujo Ketsurui again, and hopefully this will be the last announcement for today. In 15 minutes at 1900, there will be a mandatory briefing for all crew in the briefing area. Again at 1900 there will be a mandatory briefing for all crew in the briefing area. Thank you." The Chujo ended the announcement and stretched a bit. She glanced around the bridge and she walked over to the communications officer, Aya, and talks quietly to her. "Aya-chan, I need you to watch the bridge with Arume during the briefing to make sure everything's ok. Do you remember what the mission is?"

The younger neko nodded, "Yes, Ketsurui-sempai. I remember what Taisho Yui told us yesterday." Aya smiled brightly and Chi smiled as well.

"Thank you Aya-chan, please let Arume know as well." Chi patted Aya on the head and went back to her chair to retrieve the computer pads to review what she was going to tell the crew.

15 minutes later,
Chiharu stood at the front of the briefing room and waited for all the crew to file in, well, everyone except the 3 exempt from the briefing: Arume, Aya and Nashi. Once the crew was present she set her computer pads down on the table. "Good evening everyone, as you all have already guessed by now, I am the new commander of this vessel, Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu. I want to apologize for the hour you all spent in your duty stations and hopefully, it will not happen again for a long time. 

Now, I have several things I'd like to discuss with you all before I tell you what our mission is. Many of you are new here and a few of you were here before I was, so I'd like to institute a few rules. Please keep any questions for the end.

1) To ensure the privacy of the crew and to keep the working environment more professional, there will be no co-ed nests, bathing areas or toilets. If there isn't a separate nest available then the minority may sleep with another department's crew if they are of the same gender. The starboard side of the ship will be the women's bathing area and toilets, whereas the port side of the ship will be the designated area for the men's bathing area and toilets. Any man or woman found in the wrong bathing area or toilet will be reprimanded and punished as deemed appropriate on a case-by-case basis.

2) I cannot stress this enough, if someone says "no" in a sexual situation then they mean "no". I will not have anyone violating the trust of this crew and anyone found doing so will be removed from this ship. I take this very seriously no matter who the persons involved are. I do expect you to report any cases of this to me when they happen. " Chi's gaze moved from face to face of every crew member as she spoke, never letting her eyes rest on any one person for any length of time. 

"From this moment on, my rules are in affect and anyone in violation of them will be punished, but with the sleeping arrangements, you have until lights out to get them fixed. I hope everyone finds my rules reasonable, if you have any complaints, you may feel free to discuss them with me after the briefing. 

Moving on, SAINT spotted a bunch of Angel ships, heading out into space. We believe they are colony warships, which will turn worlds into factories that will be making starships and weapons that will be used against the GSA. And worse, that the ships may be after some discovery which would break down our way of life..." She watched the confusion on the faces of the younger crew.

"I know that most of you have no idea what Angels are or why we are about to go to war with them. Six years ago, there was a War against Heaven and we won but it seems that they are back again. Angels, are a winged humanoids and they live in small transitory realms called 'Heavens". They're competent genetic engineers who create weapons called Seraphim to fight for them. They have a hierarchical society ruled by the Archangels who live in wealth and luxury while most Angels live impoverished. They quest has always been to eliminate the Geshrin ever since we got involved in the conflict with Hell.

The demons of Hell were invaded and conquered by a Heavenly Host and the people of the Earthly plane made an agreement with the Demons to help free their people from bondage and we succeeded. This is what drove the hatred in the Heavenly Wars and now the situation today.

We have been charged by the GSA and Taisho Kitsurugi Yui to intercept, board, and capture the angel ships. This is our mission and we will be on an intercept course after the angels' ships. Time is of the essence and that is why we are leaving this sector of space this very moment. If you have any questions, you may ask them now." Chiharu looked at her crew and waited for the questions to come.

Ritsurin stood at attention during the entire meeting, his hiatus with Lavinia in the baths made him only two seconds late. When he heard Chiharu say the word 'angel' he felt the years of hate and anger start to come back in force. After the meeting was over, he had no questions and waited to be dismissed, upon dismissal; he stalked back to the Security Quarters to tell Lavinia about the situation. As he walked, he started snarling as the feelings of hate and anger peaked. 

Lavinia was preparing her own nest when she heard him snarling out in the hallway, she ran out and said: "Ritsurin! Calm down! Tell me what's wrong."

"Angels." He growled.

"What?! What did Chiharu say about them?" she asked, shocked.

"They're coming back, with their factory ships, intent on doing to another race what they did to me." He explained as calmly as an angry hanyou could.

"Ritsu! Calm down, your anger's not helping the situation." She said sternly.

"I can't! I hate angels with a vengeance, they killed my family, destroyed a part of my life, and now they want to do it again! To another race that doesn't need them." He said becoming even more enraged.

Ritsurin walked back to the bridge, his eyes (even the whites) glowing a bloody red color and crimson marks started to appear on his face, both visible signs that his demon blood was becoming more active, which meant he was ready to fight to the bloody death. He stormed onto the bridge. 

"Chiharu! When will they get here? I'll give them a taste of the fury their cruelty imbued into me. I'll give them all their deaths! They'll feel what they once tried to suppress on my homeworld in its full fury, through my diamond-bladed soul destroyer attack!" Ritsurin said breathing heavily, snarling inhumanly.

"In case you're wondering what he's talking about, and why he's becoming an engine of destruction," Lavinia said running up behind him. Ritsurin nodded at her, she knew that it was time to reveal his past, for the benefit of the Chujo.

Lavinia inhaled deeply. "He was enslaved by the angel when he was very young, after the killed his parents and nearly him too." She explained to Chiharu.

"I'll kill them all...all of those feathered freaks will die." Ritsurin growled.

"Ritsu! Calm down!" Lavinia said, taking a step back, knowing that nothing she did would help him. She noticed his claws weaving through the air in a threatening manner.

"Chiharu, I'm sorry, but I can't control him when he's like this." she remembered something He had told her a while back. "He'll be no danger to the crew, just make sure everyone's out of his way if the angels (or we) board. He'll tear them to ribbons. But, in this state, he's so frightening, so angry. But, I can't blame him after everything he's been through. Please don't hold it against him, I'll responsibility for anything he does." She pleaded, sounding worried.

Ritsurin growled and snarled, but sat down in the back of the bridge looking like an angry dog. His eyes still glowed and the marks on his face blazing, this all scared Lavinia very much; but she didn't show it. She stood back, not knowing what to do. This scared her, it wasn't the unknowing that frightened her, it was the fact that the one she loved was ready to fight and possibly die in vain. The only thing she could do was support him, with a GP-1a if necessary.

"Chiharu, what will you do have me do with him?" She asked indicating the enraged half-demon, who seemed to be much more demonic than normal.

The Chujo looked at Ritsu's reaction to the whole thing and then responded in the oddest way possible to both sentries. She slapped the raging half-demon hard across his face.

"Juni Daijinshi Ritsurin, I will not have you losing your head over a simple mission briefing, after all, you are the head of this ship's security." Her voice was surprisingly cold, this was not at all like the commanding officer that Lavinia had grown to know. "Specialist Lavinia, I also know of the Juni's past with the angels and I'm afraid that you doubt my knowledge of my crew's past. What neither of you knows is that I have dealt with Angels for much longer than either of you two. I was involved in the Heavenly Wars as a soldier for the entire duration of the wars and I have fought against angels, killed them and have seen them kill my friends and family. The Angels almost killed me several times in the 6 years that I fought them. " The coldness in her voice disappeared suddenly and she looked at the two.

"Now," She paused, her expression changing from cold to angry, Lavinia has never seen the Chujo nor has she heard her use someone's rank so often after she's met them; all of which are signs that you are in big trouble, "If you had listened to me during the briefing, the Angels are NOT coming to us, we're going TO them. Speaking of which, Lavinia why were you not at my briefing? Did you feel that you did not have to attend a MANDATORY briefing? And why do you find the need to control your NCO? He is YOUR NCO, I don't care about your feelings for him but when you are on duty you are not in love with him, you are working with him as YOUR senior. You are taking his orders not you controlling him.

I also would like to know why the two of you felt the need to go to your Quarters which by the way, will not happen AGAIN, as the male and female nests are separate; when I gave the order to go to your DUTY STATIONS. 

I also expect both of you to act professional when you are on duty. When giving a formal introduction to your commanding officer you will NOT be acting like you are on a date, because it is very disrespectful to me and it also leaves me with the impression that you do not respect me.

Specialist Lavinia, I am very disappointed in you and how you have been acting since you got here on the GSS Yui. I expected much more of you and if you cannot keep your libido in check I will have you transferred off this ship or I will have you put into stasis until the mission is over.

Now, Juni Daijinshi, I know you are going to object and say that it might be your fault too and that it isn't all of Lavinia's fault and all truth, you both will be punished if you two do not shape up. 

Now, I need you both here on this ship and I value you both as people and as members of my crew but the PDA has to stop immediately as of this moment. You two can be happy have a relationship, have sex, whatever, just not when you on the clock or in public. And yes, I heard about the bathroom thing, I ask that you both do not pull that type of stuff again or you both will not only lose rank, you will be in the brig. 

This is not open for debate and if you do not understand or have a problem, you can always be sent off the ship, but trust me, your transfers will not be to the same ship or duty station. Now am I understood? You both are dismissed." The finality in Chiharu's voice was defining and any further response would be ill advised since she was already angry and disappointed in them anyways. But the funny thing is that she came across more as an angry mother than an angry captain with her whole mannerisms.

Uso walked into the science lab to find Wazu had cleared the center table and his robe was placed on top of it. Wazu was readying all of his weapons that he carried with him. Beside the robe lay a veritable arsenal of gp-1a rifles, Fate (his custom pistol), two kirushi-gamas, several small one shot pistols and several clips of ammo. “So what are you doing with all that firepower?” Uso asked. “we are going into battle remember?” Wazu said, “I’m going to be ready.” He turned to the robe and began to sow some of the one shot pistols into the lining. “Can you hand me that?” Wazu asked as he pointed to a small knife on a shelf. “I came here for a reason.” She said as she handed him the knife. “I could use a few clips.” “Don’t they have enough of those in the armory?” he replied putting the knife into a holster on his leg. “Not that ammo the good stuff you know what I’m talking about.” She said as she put her hands on her hips in an accusing posture. “I think I have a few spare clips left behind that frame somewhere.” He said as he checked the sights on the GP-1a pointing it in the direction of the unfinished frame that was still missing a few parts. Uso walked behind the frame and started to rummage through all the random stuff to find the clips. At the same time Wazu strapped the two gp-1a rifles to the inside of the robe and then began to break down his kirushi-gamas into two parts each and then slipped it into his robe. “Ah-Ha!” Uso remarked holding up the clips she found “Here they are.” “so is that all or is there something else you want to tell me?” Wazu said as he stuffed some of the internal pockets with ammunition. Uso was nearly out of the door when she turned her head to the side and said, “Ya, Watch out for stray bullets.”

Ritsurin didn't even flinch as Chiharu slapped him, he merely looked at her with his blood colored eyes, he marks on his face remained. He finally broke the silence:

"I'm sorry Chujo Chiharu, I...I...lost my composure. I assure you that it will not happen again, all of it. I have always had nothing but respect for you, but Lavinia seems to have a problem with being too affectionate. As a matter of fact, I am in awe of you, most people won't give me what I really need when I'm like that for fear of my claws." He said hanging his head in utter shame. "I tried to control that part of myself before you came aboard; but all I did was eliminate the side effect of it making me psychotic. I even changed my appearance...permanently...and I just did it again, my eyes will not go back to being reddish-orange with whites, but the they'll stay this horrible blue-green color with blood red whites; and these marks on my cheek won't disappear either. You probably should put me in the brig, or better yet, kill me where I stand, right now. Because if I do that again...I'll become a monster...a transformation I won't be able to stop or control." He stated closing his eyes.

Lavinia recovered from the shock of being severely reprimanded then finally spoke up.

"...Chujo...I am so very, very ashamed of myself. I do need to be reprogrammed, please put me in stasis and send me back to PNUgen, I believe it's for the best. But, if you see fit to give me another chance, I will change, no more libido, no more chasing him around while on duty. I do not have an explanation why I tried to control him, nor do I have a good reason why I missed the mandatory meeting." She said, bowed and left.
Lavinia went to the security quarters, gathered up her belongings and moved into the female quarters, leaving Siaga behind for Ritsurin, as they were both dogs, canines, what the hell ever.
As she moved her belongings, she began to think:
~I've never seen her so angry, and it's all my fault. I need to shape up quickly, or be transferred to another ship. This whole situation is getting to be way to serious for me to be chasing Ritsurin around, he has his job and I have mine. But, he was right, to totally be rid of the angels, we must destroy them all.~ she thought to herself.
As Lavinia got to the nest she wanted, she dropped her belongings and got back to her duty station, where she would remain until further notice.

Ritsurin remained on the bridge.

"I know that saying anything at this time is ill advised and will likely result in punishment, I have to ask you: What would you have me and my sentries do in preparation?"

"Greetings Chujo Chiharu." He said bowing to his superior.
"This is Taii Ciraxis Tensykyn, I have heard of your mission to intercept the angels and stop then, I wish you luck, it will be a difficult mission. Give this message to your crew from me: 'Good luck, and happy hunting, you'll need it. And to anyone whose misbehaving, shape your asses up or this mission will fail. You all need to be focused, ready and willing to do your appointed duty.' With all due respect Chujo, cut transmission and get moving." Ciraxis said blowing his Yui-style bangs out of his eyes.

The Chujo simply shook her head at Ritsu.

"Ritsurin, if you lose control on my ship and hurt any of my crew, I will kill you, simple as that. There is no forgiveness when you take the life of your crewmates and you'd better learn to control yourself. You are the Half-demon; don't make yourself a slave to it. I believe you've been going about the matter wrong, you cannot make yourself different by closing your eyes and wishing it so. You must accept that you are who you are and then, self-control will come. Fighting half of your blood by rituals, by seeking surgery, only agitates the situation.

If you really want to kill the demon blood in you, we can take you to PNUgen after the mission is over to get you an injection, but until then you will learn meditation and sit through anger management sessions with me. " She folded her arms across her chest, again taking on the appearance of a concerned mother as she continued to speak.

"And Lavinia will be kept on board out of stasis until the mission is over. I trust that both of you will be on your best behavior now and if not, we'll see what happens. The reasoning for this is as such, I need every able-bodied crewmember working on this ship and that's why you two were reprimanded. It is not right to kick either of you off the ship for committing an offense before I instated my rules, so you can consider this as you and Lavinia's first and last warning. " She smoothed her hair back behind her ears again before refolding her arms across her chest.

"NOW, as for preparation for the Angel attack, keep on your guard and run hourly sweeps of the ship both night and day with live rounds and weapons. Make up a day shift and a night shift and rotate out guards in the shift every week. Also inform your sentries of any weaknesses you know of for Angels and if you ever dealt with them, Seraphim. I also want you to tell them that Angels can change their body structure and will try to infect you by changing their body's consistency into the viscosity of thick mud. You must be prepared to board and attack the Angel Ships. You may go and establish the shifts as well as arm your sentries. I'll work out a time to meet with you and work on anger management and meditation with you tomorrow whenever you are off shift. Unless you have further questions you are dismissed." 

Chiharu looked over to Aya as she patched the message from the 5th fleet officer through and she looked up at the screen. "Taii Ciraxis Tensykyn, with all due respect, please do not hail my ship and then tell me to cut my transmission and get moving on my mission. It's just rude. But thank you for your support. Chujo Ketsurui out." She cut the transmission before the Taii could reply again. She shook her head again and looked to Aya and Arume, "Ladies, how long until we reach the coordinates?"

Arume responded, "Five hours ma'am, and then we have to play a game of seek and destroy."

Chiharu offered her bridge officers a smile to let them know she wasn't mad at them and that everything was ok. 

"Carry on."

"Forgive me Chujo, I was out of line, it shall not happen again, but let me know if you need any assistance, and I will do my best with Wolf's permission of course. Over and out."
Ciraxis apologized.

Ritsurin listened to her reprimand and replied with: “I wouldn’t have hurt any of the crew, when I eliminated the psychotic effect, now when that state comes on, I can recognize friend and foe, the crew was never in any danger.” He said
        “I will attend your anger management classes and start on my meditation when I have some free time, I’m glad you are willing to help me through it. As for the injection by PNUgen, I am afraid I cannot allow that, my demon-blood is still my blood, it is the only thing I have to remember my father with; for good or bad.” He added to his previous statement.

        Ritsurin turned and left the bridge after making an announcement to the security sentries telling them to meet him in the briefing room immediately. He went to the briefing room and prepared to make his presentation to the sentries. As they filed in one after another, he told them to take a seat and open their ears.

“As you heard from Chujo Ketsurui, we are currently on course to intercept the angel factory ships. Our mission is to board their ships and take them over by any means necessary. Some of you may not know how to fight an Angel or Seraphim, Angels are soldiers, they will most likely be carrying energy rifles, what kind? I don’t know. As for fighting then, you will be using the GP-5a; as a general rule, take some cover, along with careful aim to put them down. Seraphim are different, they can destroy you if they get a hold of you. My advice is to use heat or fire some kind, solidify their forms then blast them with your weapons, I cannot state this enough DO NOT LET THEM MAKE PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH YOU. As for preparation, you will all carry fully loaded with live ammunition GP-5a’s as per Chujo Ketsurui’s orders. You will be assigned patrol shifts. I will take two nekos and patrol the ship during the day between 0800 hours and 1330 hours. Lavinia, you will take two nekos and patrol during the afternoon between 1330 hours and 2100 Hours. Sgzyr, you will take two more nekos and patrol from 2100 Hours until 0800 Hours, there will be a weekly rotation of whose patrolling at what times. Sgzyr, your patrol shift will begin soon, choose your two nekos and get moving, remember to arm yourself with GP-5a’s in the armory, you have permission. Anyone caught not doing their job will face either me or Chujo Ketsurui. Am I understood?” Ritsurin addressed the security crew. “You are dismissed. Lavinia see me after everyone leaves.” He concluded.

After the meeting, the security filed out of the room. Lavinia came up to Ritsurin.

“What is it Ritsu? What do you need to tell me? She asked

“You will remain on this ship out of stasis until this mission is completed then Chiharu will decide what to do with you.” He said sternly. “Now, report to your normal duty station, and don’t forget to arm yourself.” He added as she left.

~This is the time for us to shine.~ He thought as he exited the briefing room and went to the armory to grab his GP-5a. After he got the weapon, loaded it and put the safety on, he went to Wazu’s lab and took his Force Shield and strapped it to his right forearm, gave it a couple test activations, then, satisfied that it worked, went to his normal duty station and awaited his shift to start.

As Acara left the briefing he was deep in thought. ~I need some more information to pull this off. I wonder if Chiharu would tell me anything. Guess I’ll find out~. With that he went to the bridge. 

On the way there he remembered what Chiharu had said about the separation of the sexes. ~I wonder were I’ll be~. Then he laughed. It did not mater to him. Both types were on board, she had not addressed him, and he had to obey rules. Where he went was for Chiharu to decide, and he would accept it. 

When he got near the bridge he heard Ritsurin and Lavinia talking to the Chujo. Ritsurin seemed to be infuriated about something. ~He did seem mad about something in the briefing room, but it is none of my business~. Acara slid back so as not to over hear what they said. After Ritsurin and Lavinia left Acara went in.

        As Acara entered the bridge he bowed. “Chujo Ketsurui, if I may ask, I need some information on the angels ship. In particular, do their ships have minor regenerative abilities like ours? If they don’t, is it possible that you could make a hole in their hull and fire me into it. From there I could move through their out ship and destroy many of their defenses, and opening doors for our crew. This way we can do marginal damage and still take the ship. Do you think this is a realistic possibility?

Ritsurin listened to her reprimand and replied with: “I wouldn’t have hurt any of the crew, when I eliminated the psychotic effect, now when that state comes on, I can recognize friend and foe, the crew was never in any danger.” He said
        “I will attend your anger management classes and start on my meditation when I have some free time, I’m glad you are willing to help me through it. As for the injection by PNUgen, I am afraid I cannot allow that, my demon-blood is still my blood, it is the only thing I have to remember my father with; for good or bad.” He added to his previous statement.

“Chiharu, I must inform you that we do not have sufficient security personnel to make the preparations at all, may I request the services of Technical Specialist Mika and Tomoyo as well as Technician Kei Blue? I intend to give them all a briefing in the appropriate room. I have a small speech to give them as you well know.” He requested.

“Seraphim are the ones who change their viscosity, just as a correction. I am Pyrokinetic and can handle them, but I am concerned about the other crew, are they pyrokinetic? If not, we need something that creates fire, like a portable flamethrower. Do we have any thing like that aboard in the armory?” He also asked sounding more concerned.

"Juni Daijinshi, you can take Medic Inari from the medical bay, Technician Kei Blue and Technician Hikari from Juni Kuru's command, but they still need to do their own duties as well. You'll have to negotiate schedules with Juni Kuru, if you really need even more, then talk to Medical Specialist Akari about getting someone cloned. There will also be a man transferring aboard for your department at some point today. " The Chujo responded knowing full well that Kuru would not be happy but, she'll have to deal with it. She looked to Acara as he entered.

"The Angel's ships...they do have a regenerative ability, more like a white goo than anything else. And if you really wanted to be fired into the ship we could devise a way to get you into an empty missile casing. It can be something for you to work on with Juni Kuru while we wait, we have 5 hours until we reach our destination. 

Now, since you are a shapeshifter you have a choice of where you want to sleep, but to tell the truth, you'd be better off designating yourself as a man, you'll have more space on the nest for yourself until we get more men in your department."

The lab was more cluttered than normal today. The various containers were empty and the frame looked more complete than ever. In the center of the room the new gun was completed except for a few wires running out of it and to the stand alone bank of computers Wazu had set up in the lab that were running various tests. The wires then ran across the floor back to the frame suspended in its small scaffold. A few panels remained on the floor but only so the wires could reach the inside the new bot. The mysterious sphere pulsated with an eerie blue light and was surrounded by sensors electronics and nanotech organs. The body looked like some sort of mecha. The forearms had several boxy attachments that contained an energy sword used for close combat. The hands were also a work of art. They were nanotech based and could re shape themselves to fit any type of weapon or form a direct link to a computer at will. The chest contained two fold up panels that housed several micro missiles and other components. The legs looked like the average humans with some exceptions. They each had an additional systems port on the outer sides covered with a retractable panel. Several ports in the bottom and sides are connected to a small energy/thrust system mounted on the back. It also was connected to several ports on the arms and back. The system allowed the bot to channel thrust to any extremity to increase the speed at which it moved. Hopefully this would give it an edge in close combat. On the shoulders extra systems ports were located under a set of fold up panels that would allow for additional customization. On the inside even more stuff was located. A small field disruption unit provided ECM warfare capabilities to the unit as well as the blue sphere (more on that later *sinister laugh*). The head was a very powerful sensor array covered in an armored helmet like casing that would provide protection. The skeleton of the unit was made of impervious. And the muscles were all nanotech relying on vast amounts of the small Nan machines to perform the job cells normally do. The important organs were encased in a sheet of thermoplastics giving durability and strength while the amour was carved out of compressed impervious and was up to 1 cm thick in some places.
        
        Wazu finished plugging in the last of the wires to the machine and then walked over to the computer bank. As the data transfer to the machine began. An A.I. Program similar to the one on Chikara was transferred over to the new machine. It would need to be trained but until then it could be controlled by a simple MMI. The sensor array turned on and began to scan the surroundings “Glad to see you’re awake! Now it is time for some combat training.” Wazu said as he walked back to the computer bank and began to type in a series of commands to start up the training programs. The bot’s sensor data was slowly replaced with that of a CG room inhabited by one wire frame human. “Attack training 1” a voice said out loud. The wire frame man turned and shot the bot ending the simulation.

A few hours later. . . .

        The bot had finally perfected it’s motor skills allowing it to take on more challenging programs. “Attack 12” The bot flew forward using it’s energy to thrust drives and activated it’s energy blades. The two figures in front of him were separated into several different pieces as the unit went past. More people spawned in the room. The unit picked up a dropped gp-1a and started to shoot at the new threats scoring perfect hits each time.

A few More hours later. . .

        The bot was standing in another room this time with a target range. The unit was sporting a twin chain gun add on it’s shoulders and additional missile pods on the legs. Various targets scrolled across the end of the range and the bot began to light them up. Twin streams of ammo from the chain guns ripped targets apart and ten a hail of missiles simply wiped out everything on the receiving end until there was no more ammo “critical error - shutting down” The voice said. ~damn~ Wazu though as he pounded his fist on the table. ~That shouldn’t happen the computer doesn’t think it will work damn quantum mathematics~ He then went to the bot and began to replace the panels and remove wires. “Well it looks like we will have to test you against Sgzyr.” Wazu said as he finished replacing the armored panels.

Chiharu had taken her seat back on the bridge once Daijinshi and Lavinia had left, not happy that she had to reprimand the two of them on her first day but it had to be done or else there would be many misunderstandings later. Better to nip these things in the bud or else it'd be in combat that problems arose.

Alexis stood a bit behind the Chujo during the reprimand. It was quite rude of Daijin to do that...no matter how angry he was. Shaking his head mentally, the shifter stood beside Chiharu, waiting until she had finished giving the reassignments before speaking up. "Chujo...could you spare a moment?" he said.

Chiharu looked back at Alexis and nodded, her face was a bit flushed from being upset but she seemed to be calming down. "Sure, what's up Alexis? She blinked a bit, probably trying to clear her head.

"You look like you could use an opportunity to vent...I'm willing to be a punching bag, so to speak." Alexis smiled slightly, shrugging. "And I was thinking we could get to know each other best we can before this mission. I read that units who know each other well are those who work best together."

She suddenly smiled brightly, yes this was the Chiharu you had come to know so far. "No worries Alexis, I'm alright, as captain I have to be an angry mother at times as well as a pompous bitch, it's part of the territory." She smoothed her hair back behind her ears again, "But, I agree with you that units work best where they know and trust each other. So what would you like to discuss?" 

Alexis shrugged. "Well, motives are a good place to start, but I think I got some of that from the speech...You've fought these angels before?" he asked, his head tilted in curiosity.

"I have fought angels before, the GSA wasn't involved during the Heavenly War but, the Emperor was. I served in the private army of Clan Kitsurugi, which was the Emperor's clan, in the 2nd Army of the Precious Sword. I served under Taisho Yui actually." She chuckled a bit, "Yui had led the battle against the Angels in Hell as well, she conquered it but I was not involved in that conflict. I don't like Angels one bit."

"I've noticed a lot of people don't," remarked the Chusa dryly. He wrinkled his brow a bit. "I've been in five universes, but I haven’t met any race resembling what you describe. Are they native to this universe?"

"Well, they live in a transitory realm above this one, Heaven, and Hell is a transitory realm below this one. If that helps."

"Transitory...meaning they're a sub-level or that they're a gateway between this and another reality?"

"Meaning that they are gateways between this and another reality." She nodded. "You don't have any other questions for me?" She smiled again, "Well, I guess it's my turn, hmm... I don't have much data on you, so what's your home planet like?"

The shifter fell silent for a while, filing the information away...what realm did those gates lead to? Stuff to ask another time. "Okay...and the mission is somewhat straightforward." Alexis smiled slightly at Chi's question. "My home planet? Oh, it's almost generic...three climate zones, four seasons, various vegetation. No animals to speak of, unfortunately, I haven’t managed to bring in or make any." He waited for the inevitable comment that was to follow...

"You have to import or create animals to your planet? I take it that you are a vegetarian then?" 

Alexis tilted his head. "I'm getting curious to what you think I am..." he said, smiling a bit from curiosity.

She blinked a bit. "So you're really a shape shifting plant? Interesting so it wouldn't be incorrect to call you a vegetable then now would it?" She smiled again. "Although, you definitely do not fit what the terminology is used for in passing." 

Alexis grinned. "No, I'm not a vegetable. I guess I'm an omnivore...just 'cause there aren't any animals in K'Uri ne Lari doesn't mean that I don't eat them." he said with a chuckle. "I can convert energy to matter and vice versa. That also means that I could eat that bulkhead and get energy from it just like I could eat a chicken. Or, I could jam my finger in a power outlet and feed that way." He smiled again. "And I was wondering what species you thought I was. Sorry, I tend to jump around in my thoughts."

She smiled again, "Oh ok. If you get hungry, please take to mind that we do have a kitchen and a galley, no sampling the bulkheads, please." She smiled again, joking. "To tell the truth, I have no clue what species you are because you are a shape shifter but different from Acara because.. well.. you have legs. "

The shifter nodded. "Being able to perform that conversion I described enables me to change my shape. From what I know of Acara from his file is he is restricted to his current mass and maybe color...I can change my mass by converting it into energy or the reverse. As far as my species is concerned, I'm not surprised you haven't heard of us...We were called the Stra R'Lari."

She shook her head no. "I'm sorry I haven't heard of your race or planet before. I spent a few years in stasis and until now I've been sitting in an inactive ship waiting for an assignment after defending my home planet of Geshrintall for several years. I didn’t get much information on new species and planets."

Alexis leaned forward as if he was going to tell Chi a secret, even though he knew every Neko in the room could hear him with ease. "The GSA has never heard of me either. In fact, nobody in your known universe was aware of my existence until the Yui picked me up." He paused, frowning in thought. "Where did they pick me up, anyway? Oh, yeah, in the Python Sector... 
Chi chuckled a bit, it figured. "Interesting, you were involved with the Federation people? I've never actually dealt with them before.."

"No, I know nothing but what I was able to get before the Yui left Starbase Python." He smiled wryly as he added, "I'm starting to think that an AI is a very good security system. It was impossible to get anything from Meg until I had her trust, whereas I had no problem looking through the public files of the Federation."

"You had problems with Megami, how come? I never heard of that before, the old AI weren't very paranoid about much of anything but then again.. they were harder to work with because of their independence.."

Amazingly, the Chusa blushed...his face got a bit more pink than usual. "Uh...yeah, I did have problems...Mainly a cultural misunderstanding. She is definitely different from any other program I have met." His normal color returned and he shrugged. "She'll probably be willing to tell you what happened."

"I'll ask her about it later, I want to try understanding her a bit better too, since this is my first time in the newer ships." Chi smiled sheepishly, "I apologize for acting a bit weird when I first came on board, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole new ship, new crew, first assignment in several months, thing."

Alexis smiled and nodded. "It's no problem. I just came on board a few days before you did. And I'm sure my introduction threw you for a loop...I apologize for that. I'm new to Nekos."

She nodded. "It's ok. We are a bit paranoid about unauthorized users getting a hold of our technology; many nekos are programmed to self-destruct if captured. There are many safeguards to prevent illegal transfer of restricted data. I do feel that we should let you know a little bit about Nekos because you are an authorized handler for one right now."

The shifter's eyes widened. "Eh, when was the last time we checked on Nashi?"

She blinked a bit, ah hell. "Shoot, we'd better go check on her." Chi rose from her chair, and started out towards Nashi's room.

In her room, Nanashi rocked on the hammock. She was lying crosswise in the center with the edge under her knees and the other side stretched to support her head. Her mouth moved silently as she lay with her eyes closed, playing a game of Annihilation in her head. They had left her in here a long time...had she done something wrong?

Alexis took a detour to the officers’ quarters to pick up a little headband device that he had fabricated in his spare time (if he had any), and then met Chi at Nashi's room.

When Chi entered the room she looked at Nashi apologetically, "Hey Nashi, I'm sorry we were gone so long. Did you sleep ok?"

Nashi's eyes flipped open and she fairly leapt from the hammock. "Mommy!" She stopped and looked at Chi quizzically. "What'd I do wrong?" She glanced over at Alexis as he entered, brightening slightly at the sight of the headband. A new toy?

Alexis frowned at the child's question. "This was how she was punished...they would keep her from playing," he whispered to Chi.

Chi smiled softly at Nashi, "No sweetie, you didn't do anything wrong. I had to do some work, but you have been a good girl, haven't you Nashi?" 

Nashi nodded. "I haven’t left at all, not once. And I even made my bed, see?" She motioned to the hammock, the blankets and pillows were stacked neatly in the box next to it.

Chi nodded, still smiling at Nashi. "I see, good girl Nashi. Now," She looked at Alexis now, "what has Daddy brought you?"

Smiling, Alexis stepped forward and hugged her. He'd seen other parents around their offspring, this seemed to be the appropriate action...When he backed off, he held out the headband. "I've got a new toy for you. It's something that makes people and things, playmates so you can have fun even when we're not around," he explained as he reached over and set the quarter-inch wide band on her, centering a bare circuit panel over her forehead.

Chi looked at the band curiously, "So you did make the toy after all?"

Nashi grinned as she found herself in a large field. Grass underfoot, sky overhead...open area, good for speed and confronting those unarmed and slow targets. Suddenly she frowned. Moving her hand, she noted that her vision told her she had moved her hand, but her body said she hadn't..."This isn't real," she complained, her neko mind easily blocking the incoming information that formed the virtual world and forcing the make-shift quarters to reappear around her.

Alexis nodded. "I know. It's the best we can do...no one can play your game right now, but you can play with whoever you want." He moved his head in a sideways half-nod as he added "I know it isn't real, but you can practice new moves and techniques to use when we can find you new playmates. That's a good thing, too, because you can loose without actually loosing. Learn from mistakes and improve your game."

Chi smiled softly despite herself, "Don't worry Nashi, we'll have some actual playmates for you soon, ones like you've never encountered before in all of your play."

Looking for all the worlds like a five-year-old girl who was presented with a doll to play with instead of friends, Nashi pondered this new development... Three seconds later, she smiled broadly and nodded. "Alright! Who do I get to play with first?" The light diode on the band had turned off when she rejected the program, but flashed on again as it reactivated. 

Alexis smiled and tapped the diode, a holographic screen popped up and he set a couple of controls. "How about five humans, two nekos, and a pack of wolves?"

Nashi's ruby orbs closed and she mentally accepted the simulation, following the new targets as they appeared and making notes on strategies and tactical strike points....

"I take that as a yes," the shifter chuckled, and closed the menu. He guided the girl to a chair in the room and sat her down so she wouldn't hurt herself. The device intercepted neural commands and translated them into virtual motion...but she could deactivate it any time she wanted, thanks to the powerful Neko mind.

Chi smiled brightly, this was good. "Alexis, we may want her to do a couple of simulations on the new enemy later on."

"Oh, right! I was going to ask if you had a piloting sim I could use. I'd prefer not to go into a fight cold when it comes to using that pit," Alexis said.

"A piloting sim? You mean a test program?" Chi blinked a bit, trying to recall if there was one. "There might be, we can check"

"Yeah...okay. Eh, maybe I shoulda checked with Meg in the first place," he said, smirking a bit. "I'm not used to having a computer that I can hold a conversation with."

"She'd be the best person to talk to about it." Chi smiled again, "I guess if Nashi is alright here for now, we can check on her again later and feed her. I'm going to have to give her a bath though. But, let's get you situated with piloting the ship." 

Alexis nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Chi started towards the door, looking back at Nashi before she exited the room and headed back towards the bridge. "I think she'll be ok against the Angels, the Seraphs might be a bit of a challenge though.."

Alexis followed, keeping pace with his commander. "I noticed on the report that she doesn't just fight hand-to-hand...her weapon skills were said to be quite extraordinary. Apparently sniping is a favorite hobby of hers," he remarked. "What are Seraphs, anyway?"

"Seraphs are the Angels' answer to the NH-7 bioweapon.. they can change their shape and body density at will, and they are very strong and have very sharp teeth."

"What's their preferred form? Humanoid?"

"Winged humanoid. They are pink skinned as far as I remember.. I don't know if they've upgraded themselves since my last encounter with them, but I can probably count on it."

Thinking this over, Alexis was slightly troubled. The truth was, he had heard of angels before...but they were nothing like what Chiharu was describing. Maybe it was just a species that they called angels...An alternate Earth fought with angels that were more like nightmarish monsters than what he knew....

"What's wrong?" she asked, not wanting to skip over the man's thoughts to find out the answer for herself.

The troubled look faded like clouds flickering before the sun...he looked at her with a nonchalant expression. "Nothing..." He paused as they arrived on the bridge and he looked at the pit. "Do I just ask for Meg or is there a button that gets her attention?" the shifter inquired, his voice almost joking in tone.

"You just start talking to her." 

Nodding to himself as if he should have known that, Alexis looked straight ahead. "Megami? Is there piloting simulation I can use?"

The image of the white haired, white-eyed Neko appeared before Alexis. "Yes, there is a simulation I can run for you, just take a seat at the helm and you can practice. I'm going to lock the controls so the ship does not get steered off course." She replied simply.

Alexis nodded and lowered himself into the pit. He frowned as a cable sought the normal jack that would be present in a neko's neck, but found nothing; and two sets of three poles poked him in the back of his shoulders. "What are these for?" the shifter asked, then noticed something about Chi...she had three holes in each of her shoulders...and if he were to guess right, there would be a computer jack in the back of her neck. "Oh. I think I know." He got out of the chair and walking over to Chi. "Can I look at something?" 

Chi nodded and looked at Alexis curiously. 

The shifter walked around behind her and gently moved her hair aside...there was a flap on the back of her neck. He lifted it and found the suspected insertion point. He memorized the plug pattern and format, then backed up and glanced over the pattern of holes on her shoulders. Finally, the shifter smiled...a spot on his neck reformed into the jack and six clean holes appeared in the needed areas. Alexis returned to his seat in the pit; this time the jack and rods found their places. It felt odd, the rods did. The plug was nothing new, but the rods were. A few more cables plugged in, then he was ready.

The avatar watched the whole thing for a moment before speaking again. "Are you ready to begin?" Chiharu took a seat in her chair and started looking over reports and data files again.

Alexis simply nodded.

The avatar disappeared again as she started the simulation, the pilot's seat started to shake as a red warning popped up on the screen in front of him as well as the report that they had just collided with an asteroid, "Warning: Entering Asteroid field." The display changed to show an image of an asteroid field that he was to safely navigate the ship through.

"Operate it like a body," mumbled Alexis as a small asteroid appeared in front of him. -Thrusters, three meters starboard, bank forty-five degrees.- he thought, a bit more technical than he would be with his own body, but it would have to do...

He narrowly missed the asteroid but he did clear it as another asteroid came a little bit faster from portside...

After the angel’s attack there was no rest for Acara. He worked franticly on the engine trying to get it back on line. He had left his uniform in a heap on the floor and flowed here and there, getting replacement parts, reattaching wires, and repairing holes. ~Whew, at this rate I may get done early, but not by much~. The engine had serious damage, and Acara saw it as a challenge. 

~I wonder were those angel ships came from. I thought Megami would have seen them some how. They did some serious damage though. What kind of weapons did they use?

Sparks suddenly flew as a piece of the engine began to pull away. ~NO~. Acara flowed quickly over there and started reattaching it. ~Dang, this is not going well. What else could go wrong~. At that moment some damaged wires started showering sparks. ~This is just great~. A tentacle came out of his back and began fixing the wires. 

~Well in a few more hours I’ll be able to tell Chiharu I am done with the engine. I wonder how the other technicians are holding up. They all seem so young. I kind of feel sorry for them. I just hope I’m not the one that gets them killed~. He pondered these thoughts as he worked. ~Well we will see what the future holds when we get there~.

The Chujo sat in the captain’s chair on the bridge of the GSS Yui as a small shuttle hailed the ship, requesting permission to dock. "Permission granted, come along side". 

The shuttle flew up to the docking bay doors and proceeded to land.
A man exited the shuttle and proceeded to head inward the vessel. 

Of course, Sergeant Sgzyr stood at the exit, with the GP-5 slung over his shoulder. As he glared at the man, yellow irises surveying his form, he decided that the man would be of no threat at the moment&

The shuttle departed once its cargo was dropped. 

"Greetings I am Tobias Geminasu, a Sentry of First Class." said the man.

The Chujo walked quietly from the bridge and stood behind Sgzyr. 

Chi blinked a bit confused, "What jolt?"

Sergeant Sgzyr just stood there, dumbfounded for a moment. He then rapidly pointed at the barrel of his customized GP-5 with his free, left hand and the issue of his right index finger being gently placed on the trigger.

Uso was wandering around looking for the Chujo when she heard a shuttle landing and decided to go look in on things in the shuttle bay. 

"I was assigned to this vessel as a new crew member." Geminasu said staring at the weapon.

The second in command remained on the bridge.

"It's ok Sgt. Sgzyr. He's a new Sentry for you and Ritsu, since you guys are shorthanded." Chi spoke in a calm, friendly manner.

Sgzyr, it is done" Wazu said as he entered the bay. He was looking at a data pad at the time and not really paying attention to what was going on.

Sergeant Sgzyr calmly nodded to the Chujo s information given to him and continued to glare over the new Security Sentry, he felt that something might go down soon&
Ketsurui Chiharu: "Sentry Specialist Tobias, I'm Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu, welcome aboard, this man here is one of your NCOs. "

"Pleased to meet you." Tobias said to Chiharu and Sgzyr.

Geminasu handed the disk containing all of his data to Chiharu.

Wazu looked up from his data pad when he heard the unfamiliar voice. ~Another human! ~ He thought. "Hi there!" 

"I'll have someone show you to the Male Security nest, since Sgzyr is on duty." Chi replied, as she took the disk, waving down a passing crewmember, Akari. 

Megami read the disk while it was still in Chiharu's hand. The powerful computer-being also took in information about this new person who would be inside her from now on. 

"Thank you, Tobias. If you'll follow Akari she'll lead you to the nest. " Chi looked to the neko and Akari nodded. "Follow me, Mr. Tobias."

Geminasu followed Akari as they walked off.

Once Akari reached the men's nest, she left the new crewman to fend for himself and turned around, heading back towards the Medical bay.

Chi still stood behind the Sgt, before she turned around and headed back to the bridge, amazed at the fact that she got another male member of her crew. "Back to the bridge with me."


"Well that was brief. Anyways Sgzyr do you want to see the new bot?" Wazu said looking up from his data pad unknown to him Uso was sneaking up behind him.

Chiharu returned to the bridge, smiling slightly as she looked over to the Chusa, "How'd the practice go Alexis?" 

Sergeant Sgzyr just watched the procession as his mind began to tingle, scared of what might happen in the near future. So many new crewmates his mind was getting dizzy and then there were the Angels, tales of them even made him shudder. He hoped that if they did meet in combat, the crew of the Yui would catch them well prepared.

Alexis was in the process of extracting himself from the pit when she arrived. He looked up at he and smiled. "Ya know, I think I have the hang of it. Though it'd probably be easier with a direct sensor feed instead of reading it off of a screen." He shrugged and smiled. "Was it me or was there a jolt that wasn't in the program?"

Sergeant Sgzyr just shrugged, he did not really want to test the sparring partner at the moment; he felt the urge to gather up a few of his weapons. With a brisk salute, he bowed outwards and ran as fast as he could towards his nest.

"Oh, another? What position?"

Uso pounced on Wazu as Sgzyr left the shuttle bay putting her knife to his neck. "Well it looks like I caught you off guard again."

"He's a Sentry Specialist First Class. Ritsu was asking for more crew for the Security staff. He's a human." She smiled again, diversity in one's crew is fun.

Wazu simply said, "shouldn't you introduce yourself already?"
Megami interjected from out of nowhere, her voice not seeming to come from any particular origin. "There is no Sentry Specialist First Class. He is a Sentry First Class."

"Okay. Well, as far as I can tell everything's been really quiet on sensors. No sign of the enemy yet," he reported, walking over to his Nav station and sitting down, running his hands over the panel as he checked up on a few things.

Chi grimaced a bit, shoot. "Gomen Megami. Thank you for the correction." 

"Ya your probably right" Uso replied putting the knife back into her holster, "I better get going then" Uso and Wazu then left the shuttle bay and started walking to the bridge.

And as he rounded the corner, he miss-placed his left foot and slipped down onto the ground, his head bashing into the wall. He just sat on the floor for a few moments, contemplating his stupidity. (Sgzyr)

Chi took a seat in her chair again, shaking her head, wondering if all these introductions today had fried her memory. She then decided that she'd just let her mind de-frag the next time she got to sleep, it was still early.

Chi looked at her data files again, "The enemy is bound to show up sometime."

"Yeah...now if only they didn't think to hide."

Wazu and Uso finally reach the bridge Wazu walks over the station and Uso moves behind Chi "You look like you could use a massage" she said.

After a few minutes of silent contemplation, he stood upwards and walked cautiously towards his nest, taking his time so he did not slip again. Within a few more minutes, he made it there, then the selection had begun.

Chi shook her head no, "No thank you Miss. I need to defrag more than a massage. But who might you be?"

"My name is Uso Tasuki. I’m you’re new Intel officer" She said in a cheery voice

 "She just trying to be friendly." Aya smiled, to Chiharu. It wouldn't do to turn down a nice gesture like that.

Chi smiled a bit and looked over to Aya, "Yes, you're right Aya, she's trying to be nice." She looked back to Uso, still smiling. "Nice to meet you Uso. I'm Ketsurui Chiharu, welcome board."

"thank you" Uso said as she moved over to her station and sat down

"We should be catching up to the Angel ships at some point.." Chi sighed a bit, she never liked waiting or having to hurry up and then wait..

Chi smoothed her hair back behind her ears and looked around the bridge..

Clear sailing....Alexis watched the panel intently, noting small variations in space, but nothing looked like anything.

Suddenly, the whole ship rocked with the force of a powerful explosion. Sparks flew as some of the lighting blew out.

Chiharu rose from her chair, "What the hell just happened?! Status report?! Did the Angels hit us?"

Out of nowhere, three heavenly frigates, each shaped like a bright white set of angel wings, swooped in from behind firing their bright blue beam weapons, again. Megami quietly said something about shields being raised, but it was drowned out by the crash of another series of impacts.

Chi's expression darkened, fuck. "Alexis, turn us about so we can fight back! Megami, how are we? Get ready to fire back!"

His eyes darted over the board as the Chusa brought the warship around, heading around for a strafing run. That done, Alexis practically jumped into the pilot's pit and reconnected like before. -Meg, give me a direct feed, forget the screen,- he thought.

The three attack ships were totally pummeling the Yui's shields, unleashing powerful waves of beam and pulse fire. The whole ship was shaking with the impacts as the angel ships of roughly equal size circled around it firing the weapons. Since no one else bothered to, Megami herself fired the grand white beam at one of the angel ships, scoring a glancing blow. There was a blossom of fire as the craft's wing lost a chunk. Just then the GSA ship's gravity failed, and so did the main lights.

In the Technical bay, the techs on duty, Kuru, Mika Tomoyo picked themselves up after they are thrown across the room. Scurrying to try to get the gravity and the power up. 

Wazu used his mechandrites to anchor himself to the chair as he did his best to help keep the targeting and scanners online then feed the data to Alexis

~Aw, stink!~ Alexis closed his eyes and set his thoughts to interpret the data more rapidly...he banked as another volley passed, then stabilized the Yui's course, bringing her up in a loop that would set them behind the frigates.
The techs on the sub deck weren't responding... The systems display showed that area in bright red...

Lyn tried to get herself back down in her chair, grabbing a hold of the chair and pulling herself down, "Trying to reestablish the shields!"

Megami, who was now using a spare body rather than a hologram, floated onto the bridge and informed the bridge crew, "The hit my underside. We've lost main power to the engines and the ship. Aux is up still, but it's not a lot to work with."

Arume managed to do the same as she rapidly tried to stop the fires in the subdecks, activating the ship's sprinkler system, "We have a fire on the subdecks.."

One of the impervium hull sections actually was rotated by the explosion and entered inside the frame, crushing the slipstream drive and decompressing engineering. The surrounding areas, including the torpedo warhead storage, are on fire. I am filling them with blood-foam now."

-Great...gotta keep our belly down.- thought Alexis as the ship slowed significantly enough to hinder proper evasion of weapons fire. He managed to get the ship oriented with the nose and dorsal sections pointed at the enemy.

"I can't get us anywhere unless I have engines here, people!" Alexis called out, still struggling to keep a straight course, or any course at all.

Chi spoke again, trying to stabilize herself now as she felt herself fall again, "We're sitting ducks?" Down in the engineering area, Tomoyo tried to not drown, coughing as she passed out. The 2 Nekos trying to do what they could to stay alive and then try to keep the ship alive..

"That's about it," came the reply...

Aya shook herself off, her nose bleeding profusely, and pushed herself off of the ceiling, trying not to think of the poor crew in engineering. She grabbed hold of one of the control stations, upside down, and tried to pull herself into the seat at the communications station. After getting in, she attached the harness.

"Aya, send out a distress signal and a warning to the rest of the fleet. Let them know that we're screwed." Chi tried to get back into her chair, grabbing a hold of it and strapping herself in, Arume and Lyn doing the same. Lyn was pale and looked like she was about to faint.

The whole ship shifted again. A huge explosion rotated it clockwise like it had been hit by another ship. And actually, it had. A large piece of an angel ship bounced off of the damaged nose in the midst of a fantastic and blindingly bright explosion. And through the explosion, came flying a welcome sight: the GSS Ender III (GD-102).

"Is there any part of the engines that is operable? Who cares if it doesn't have power, I'll take care of that!" yelled Alexis.

The Ender's escort ship, the GSS Affection was there too, and each of them took after one of the two remaining angel ships. Meanwhile inside, no one seemed to respond to Alexis. Were there any tech left to report?

He blinked as he picked up the Ender on sensors...a grim smile crossed his face. "Wow, someone actually showed up at our party! And I sent out so many invitations..." The crippled Yui slowly pulled to the sidelines of the battle on thrusters as Alexis opened his eyes and looked around the bridge...it was in shambles. Why was no one answering?

Meanwhile, in the engineering area, the 2 nekos gasped for air as they managed to escape into an access tunnel. 

The problem with the angels is that their exact whereabouts were sketchy at best, forcing the ships of the 1st Fleet to spread far and wide. The Ender III and the Affection were around because they were in the same Battle Group, but they were all that was around. One of the two angel ships sped off into the night, cloaking, but the Ender tagged a second one with a torpedo burst and put it out of action. The Yui was safe... for now.

The Chujo frowned, they got screwed, they were stuck and they didn't manage to do a damn thing to the Angels. "3 friggin' command frigates.. Megami, how long will it take us to repair the Yui?"

"This is Taisa Fensalir Kelrina." Aya put the Ender III's captain on the screen. "Sorry I took so long. Ender told me your ship was ambushed."

"About two days, provided we are not attacked. I ejected our antimatter supply, also." Megami answered. If she hadn't have, the whole ship could have been destroyed.

"Thank you Taisa Fensalir. I never suspected that 3 command frigates would ambush us. Do you know where they went?" The Chujo wiped the blood from her face, and hoped that she still had crew left alive to repair this ship..

"I would like to ask a favor of you Taisa, could you watch our backs while we repair ourselves? We had to eject our anti-matter supply.."

"Those were attack frigates. Fast little bastards." Taisa Fensalir (Hoshi Koi's previous captain, actually) said. "One's still here. The other is probably back wherever their base is. Of course we'll watch you, Chujo."

"We ought to board the one that's left, see what's in there." Taisa Kelrina suggested.

"Thank you again, Taisa, hopefully I have some techs left alive to help Megami fix the Yui." She nodded again, "Agreed, I'll get some Sentries together to form a boarding party."

"We'll keep our ears shiny." Fensalir nodded and cut the transmission.

Chi unfastened herself from her chair. "Emperor help us." There's was a lot of work to do and no time to waste...

Juni Kuru and Mika had managed to repair themselves enough to function properly after the attack on the ship stopped. They floated there in the dark silence before Mika spoke.

"I think Tomoyo is dead; she didn't follow us out into the access tunnel. We have her memory backed up?"

Kuru nodded, frowning, "Luckily we do. We can get Akari to hemosynth her a new body once we get the main power back online. We were lucky that Kei and Hikari weren't working with us in there right then.. or else we might have lost them too."

Mika looked like she was about to cry, "But.. she.. she.." Kuru hugged Mika to her and there was silence again as they just floated around in the dark. Mika was silently crying into Kuru's shoulder, her tears floating up into the air above them like rain drops..

"Mika, it'll be okay. Come on, let's go get Kei and Hikari. You can go with Hikari to fix the bridge and I'll take Kei to fix the generator." Kuru offered her friend a smile, although she couldn't really see it. 

"What about Acara? What should he do?" Mika asked, sniffing a bit.

"Don't worry about him, I'm positive that he hauled tail to fix the engine already or something. He's a good worker and he's self-motivated, he does things without me asking usually. He's not bad for a man." Kuru hugged Mika again. "Come on, let's get to work."

The other Neko nodded, "Ganbatte!"

The ship was damaged but Wazu wasn’t really needed on the bridge right now so he headed back to the lab to check up on things. He used his mechandrites to pull himself along and just allowed himself to float over to the lab. When he opened the doors he found the place even more cluttered than normal. Various data pads and hand written notes were floating around the room and Chikara was stuck hanging in the air struggling valiantly to get down. Wazu plucked the creature out of the air and held it for a second not really knowing where to put it. He eventually decided to stuff it in one of the cabinets it was small but at least the creature could move around. Chikara went to sleep with a happy look on its face that night. Wazu then started to tackle the task of gathering the clutter floating around the room. ~data pads on this side of the room and notes on the other~ he thought as he began tossing the items to one side or another.

Uso was gathering data on the angel ship it was her job and a little combat damage was not going to stop her. Fist she downloaded what information she could from Megami and then used deep penetration scans to uncover what the ship looked like on the inside. Comparing the two she created a map of what the ship should look like for when they board it. ~now where is there main computer?~ she thought to herself.

Acara slid back and looked at the engine he had spent the last six hours working on. ~Well, every thing seems to be in order~. He thought as he gave the engine and all its parts a final once over. ~What now?~ He wondered. ~I guess I should go see Juni Kuru about what else needs repaired. I hope she survived. What an idiot, of course she survived she is a Nekovalkyrja, and they are about as resilient as I am.

Acara picked up his uniform and went to put it on. ~Wait, I need to get clean first. I don’t want to ruin this~. With that he headed for the closest baths. The baths happened to be the male one this time, and he slid in. After about fifteen minutes Acara came out and got dressed. ~Now, where is Juni Kuru~.

As Acara flowed down the access tunnels he noticed that every thing was in shambles. ~The loss of gravity must have really messed this ship up~. Acara moved over the flood anchoring himself by creating small suctions on his underside.

He found Juni Kuru in a tunnel holding a crying neko he did not recognize. ~Oh no, what just happened~. Acara slid back giving the two nekos some room. There he waited in a somber mood wondering what the matter was.

Now that the gravity and lights were off, Ritsurin had to use his enhanced senses of smell and hearing to find his way, he eventually got to searching the ship, looking for other casualties besides poor Tomoyo, who he heard was killed when the ships attacked, he didn't know how though.

~This is great, if the angels come back, we're through. Or worse yet, they may try to storm the Yui, and finish us off. Well, I am not going to let that happen. I have to find the rest of security and tell them about this, although, they may have thought about that very real possibility.~ He thought as he used his telekinetic powers to move through the damaged ship.

He found Lavinia sometime later, she was in the process of repairing a broken arm. "Lavinia, are you alright?" Ritsurin asked when he saw her arm. 

"Yeah, I'm okay, it'll take me a bit to repair this arm. Have you found Sgzyr or Geminasu yet?" She asked.

"No, not yet, I'll keep looking, you go to the bridge and help out the best you can, that's an order." He said.

"Will do!" She replied trying to move to the bridge.

Ritsurin moved down into the technician's area to see the damage, he noticed that Acara had stabilized the engines. 

~Good, he's got them stable.~ Ritsurin thought as he moved out of the area and looked around for Geminasu and Sgzyr. 

He found Geminasu, who was in the male security quarters, next; that he was unhurt. 

~Phew, that's a relief.~ Ritsu thought, feeling relieved

"Geminasu, Will you please come with me." Ritsurin said.

~I hope everyone else is okay...~ He worried. 
Akari had led Geminasu down his quarters in the nest. In which Geminasu had decided to unpack. Shuffling through his belonging he decided where he would place his stuff. 

Looking at his checklist, "Sword collection....... check. Shuriken collection......... check. Smoke flashes....check. Various ninjusto related things, etc. etc...... check. Fully legitimate magazine collection.........check."

He placed his chest down a start to put his stuff away when his danger sense went off.

"Hmm?!"

Suddenly, the ship rocked violently throwing Geminasu and all his belonging onto the floor.

"Ouufff! Must remember..... not... to have... such... a heavy chest...... from now on......." strained Geminasu.

Just then the lights flickered off and the gravity disappeared.

"Ahh... We'll at least the chest is off of me now.... HOLY CRAP!" cried Geminasu, while barely dodging his katana, "Note to self: Remember to secure swords to their sheaths from now on..."

Floating free from his things he then attempted to contain his personal belongings by rebounding off the walls.

"Well.... I think that's the last of it but what is the floating ball of fur?? Oh well I won't concern myself with that for now but...."

Just then Ritsurin floated up the room and asked for him to join him as they left down the hall... floating the whole way....
After the time in the access tunnel, Kuru and Mika had separated, gathering Kei and Hikari and going to about their assignments. Kuru started repair work on the main power unit, Mika the artificial gravity, Hikari on the sensors and Kei started work on the shields. There was no end to work for the Techs to do. The girls all had somehow secured themselves to whatever they were working on and were holding flashlights in their mouths as they went to work repairing the ship.

The techs were working for hours, suspended in the darkness, with only the illumination of their flashlights to show them what they were working on. 

Hikari tried to think of happy thoughts as she worked on the sensors. She tried with all her might not to think about poor Tomoyo, but she reminded herself what she had been taught all her life, 'as long as their is a memory backed up, the person can be given a new body and be brought back like nothing had ever changed.' She remembered that Juni Kuru had said that as soon as they got the power back up that they could make a new body for Tomoyo. She wondered if this was the best choice for her, to be a part of GSA Spacey, far away from Geshrintall. She only knew Kei and Tomoyo from their time in training together, in fact, they were the only reason why she was even there on the GSS Yui. When Tomoyo had heard the GSS Yui needed people, she volunteered and encouraged Kei and Hikari to sign up to so that they all could be together and look out for one another. So, in a way, Hikari felt like she had let Tomoyo down by not taking the shift with Kuru and Mika instead..

After about 8 hours of working in the dark, Kuru managed to get the main power to kick back on again. But her thoughts were more less torn than Hikari's, but she felt the guilt all the same. Tomoyo was her responsibility and Kuru was unable to get the girl out of the room in time to save her from suffocating from the smoke and the blood foam. Kuru and Mika were lucky that they were able to get out. Kuru promised herself to keep a better eye out on her younger crew so that it wouldn't happen again. But, as the lights came back on, Kuru wiped her forehead and gave the unit a once over to see if there was anything else wrong.

Shortly after the main lights came back on, Mika managed to get the gravity to turn back on again. The result was sudden as everything that was floating came crashing down to the floor again. 

Kei fell the short distance to the floor when the gravity came back on. She had turned off her flashlight and continued to repair the short that caused the shields to fail, it was difficult work but she'd keep at it until she could repair it..

Hikari felt the gravity come on before she realized it, the lighting in the small space was just bright enough for her to work. She had had a hard time finding the problem with the sensors but, she had eventually found the problem and started working on it. She had no idea of how long she had been there and she only knew that it’d take a long time for her to fix the sensors...
In the pitch-dark lab Wazu’s flashlight played across the various objects still floating in the air. While he was floating around trying to get things back in order he saw one of the data pads drop to the floor. ~oh shit~ Wazu thought as the gravity came back on line and all the floating objects came crashing down (including Wazu) in a very comical fashion for anyone watching. After that the lights came back on. Wazu was sprawled out over the floor face down and covered in debris that was floating just a second before. ~ouch~ he thought before deactivating pain nerves that were sending signals. Wazu picked himself off and looked over the damages. ~only a few scrapes~ he thought to himself as he began the process of putting the lab back into a useable condition.
The first jolt threw Nanashi off of her chair and into the opposite wall headfirst. The circuit panel on her headband cracked, sparked, then died, leaving the catgirl disoriented, then scared. This wasn't part of her game, this was trouble! Nashi felt the beating the enemy ships gave the GSS Yui especially hard. Through half the battle, she sat as far into a corner of her room the best she could and stared wide-eyed at the doorway, hugging her pillow like a teddy bear. What was going on? Why didn't mommy come?
Minutes felt like hours as the ship trembled and booms shook through the frame. Then...she stared at the floor as it seemed to be getting further away. She was flying?! Tilting her head, the youngster pushed off the wall and sailed across the room. While her tactical mind calculating movements and trajectories, her conscious mind just thought one thing.

"This is fun!"

Time passed, more booms, more shaking. It wasn't so bad while she was floating; it was kinda fun.
Then the lights went out.
The voice in the back of Nashi's head that normally just told her how to play was now telling her how to get out. Loss of power meant that the door would be unlocked, right? And she hated enclosed spaces...but this wasn't a prison, it was her room, right? Nashi frowned and looked in the direction of the door, unable to see it in the complete darkness but knowing it was there. Something brushed her arm, she jerked away...it was the circuit from her simulator device; the blue LED was still lit and glowed faintly in the dark room. She watched her hand, lit up in her infrared vision by her body heat, gently reach out and cup the floating beacon like a firefly and guide it to her.
"I broke daddy's toy...Can I fix it?" she wondered, removing the headband and examining the pieces in the dim blue light. Hmm...

By the time the lights flickered on, the catgirl had already planned out how to fix it, but she had no tools to do it with. The recovery of gravity found her sitting calmly on the ceiling, abruptly and unceremoniously dumping her in a heap on the floor. Fortunately, down insisted that her blankets and pillow be between her and the floor, ending with a pile of wriggling blankets rolling around the room...Nashi emerged from the tangle smiling. Fun!
A faint sizzling sound caught her attention. She stood up and carefully gathered the pieces of her pet project; her ears flicked this way and that trying to pinpoint the sound. Tracking it to a panel in the wall, she tilted her head, then jammed her claws into the crease and removed it to show a bundle of wires that had come loose. As Nashi watched the swaying sparks, she formed an idea. "Now I can fix daddy's toy! And when I'm done, I'm going to ask for a cave...I want to hunt in the dark, like in the blanket. And after that," she continued, addressing the shattered simulator, "maybe mommy will have some real friends for me to play with!"
"Geminasu, what do think will happen next?" Ritsurin asked Geminasu.

While rebounding off the walls to move forward, "Not sure, but perhaps we should see to what we can do to help out in this kind of situation" said Geminasu.

"That's what I was thinking....let's go to the bridge, by the way, how'd you get all those swords on the ship?" Ritsurin asked with a glimmer in his eyes.

"A ninjitsu warrior always carries spares, even though you may not them,” he said while rebounding. 

"Mind if I get one of them? Or maybe a few smoke bombs too? " He asked sounding somewhat like a little boy in a candy store.

"Hmm, I think I might have an old katana I could spare... perhaps, we'll talk more about that later, but first we must find what exactly just happened, right?" said Geminasu, then he added, "As for smoke bombs.... No I can't spare those... they take to long to hand make..."

Ritsurin looked thoughtful, "If you want something in return, I could have PNUgen make you a neko girlfriend," Ritsurin then smiled and winked. 

Geminasu paused and blushed for a second and continued down the hall.

Lavinia came up behind Ritsurin and smacked him. "Don't say that..."

"Hey! Don't do that again! That's an order." Ritsurin said to her. Lavinia floated off to the bridge after kissing him lightly.
"You didn't see that Geminasu." Ritsurin said blushing somewhat.

"..." came from the speechless Geminasu.

"I'm not supposed to be kissing her while on duty, if you say anything to Taisho Chiharu, I'll bust you back to soldier." Ritsurin said.

"Perhaps we should concentrate on getting to the bridge lover boy..." Geminasu said.

"Grr...Fine... just don't tell Chiharu, If you give me the sword and shut up I'll have two nekos made for you." Ritsurin said

Blushing at the thought of this Geminasu said "Hurry up, or leave you behind, mister puppy love."

"Hey, wait up loser..." Ritsurin said. Ritsurin then used his powers to fly past him at great speed." Now, whose ahead jerk?"

All of a sudden the lights came on and Gravity was restored as Geminasu landed on his feet and yelled to the speeding Ritsurin "Hey watch out for that closed door!!"

Ritsurin braced to stop but, still hit the wall. "Owwww.....I'm gonna have to talk to the techs about that," referring to the sudden gravity increase.

"For your sake, I hope Chiharu doesn't notice the face imprint you left behind," said Geminasu.

"She won't, I'll ask Megami to fix it before she sees it." Ritsurin replied, rubbing his nose.

"Well at least we're at the bridge now......" Geminasu replied.

"Yeah, let's find out what we need to do."
After the techs managed to get the gravity up and the main power back on, they started working on the other systems. But, as promised, as soon as Mika got the power back up and Kuru finished the gravity, Juni Kuru when to the Medical bay and requested that Medical Specialist Akari hemosynth a new body for Technical Specialist Tomoyo. She handed over the data pad containing the girl's backed up memory to the medic.

"How long will it take Akari?" Kuru asked, frowning a little bit. 
Akari offered a reassuring smile, "Well, now that the power is back up it'll take a few hours. After I get Tomoyo back, would you like me to clone you a few more Techs?"

Kuru though this over a bit and nodded, "Just a couple more people from my DNA.." Akari nodded in reply and took a sample from the Chief Engineer.

"I'll have them report to you when they’re out of the soup."

Kuru paused for a moment and smiled, "Thank you Akari." And then she left, heading towards the sensor array to check on little Hikari. And then, she stopped in on Acara, assigning him to check over the shields after telling him that he did a great job on the engines.

Meanwhile, on the bridge:

The now Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu was doing what she could to calm down a now very upset Lyn would had just heard the news about Tomoyo from Kei. "It's okay Lyn.. really, it's okay.. she'll be back in a little bit, I promise.."

Lyn sniffed and nodded, "You promise?"

"I swear it Lyn. The next time you see her, she'll be working hard to help get the ship up." She gave the girl a hug and looked over to Kei and Mika who were trying to fix the connections in the helm to restore normal operations. "How much longer ladies?"

"Maybe one more day. these circuits got pretty fried." Mika replied. "But, main power is up, gravity is on, and Acara managed to fix the engine already and the hull in engineering is just about done as well. Soon Hikari will get the Sensors back up."

Chiharu nodded, sighing a bit, relieved that her techs had done so well already. She had taken the sudden return of the Gravity fairly well, she had been strapped into the Captain's chair trying to figure out how they could better handle a new attack.

And then Ritsu and Tobias entered the bridge. "What can I help you boys with?"
Ritsurin saluted to Taisho Ketsurui. "First of all, I wish to congratulate you on your promotion, secondly, I would like to know what my orders are." He said standing at attention.

Meanwhile

It was Lavinia's shift to patrol the ship. As she began her rounds, she checked in on Wazu, who had been recently promoted to Chusa, most likely because Taisa Jaren was scheduled to leave the Yui. Lavinia always felt...less than safe around Wazu, probably because he was always working on some strange new project. She poked he head in anyway. 

"Chusa Wazu, congratulations on your recent promotion." She said, but then left before he could respond, to continue her patrol. She past the portside shield generator then the baths. She looked into the baths to make sure that there wasn't anyone in there who wasn't supposed to be. Lavinia knew that most of the crew was very busy, so it was no real surprise to her to see that nobody was in there. She smiled as she remembered Ritsurin and her little romp in the water.

~None of that now!~ She chided herself.

She shook off the memories and continued on her way. She crossed to the starboard side of the ship, and past the shield generator when she decided to check in the room, where she found Acara working at his usual frantic pace.

"Hello Juni Acara, congratulations on your promotion." She said cheerfully.
Chiharu sat in her chair, it appeared that she hasn't slept yet, that she recently just healed her some wounds, and her face was still stained with blood from some wound that already had healed. She didn't look up at Ritsu as she spoke, working intently on developing her strategy to go against the Angels again. "Ritsu, you are going to go on a boarding party to the disabled Angel ship in cooperation with the crew of the GSS Ender. I haven't decided yet if I'll be sending Nanashi on the boarding party yet but if I do decide to send her, I will have to go with her because she will only take orders from me or Alexis, but he's about to get a transfer. Now, you are going to have to remember that if you take all of your people, there will be no Sentries here to defend the ship. If you want to recruit more people you are going to have to clone them, but at the moment, Juni Kuru is cloning herself some more techs and respawning Tomoyo. So you have several hours before you can do that."

She looked up at Ritsu for a moment, her eyes were accusing "By the way, bribing people to not tell me something is always faulty, remember I am a telepath as well. Behave yourself. You are dismissed Juni Daijinshi." She smoothed her hair back behind her ears again and returned to her computer pads.
After making a quick survey of the ship and checking up on the progress of repairs, Alexis stopped by Wazu's lab on the way to his quarters to check on Timdri. Opening the door, he smiled at the condition of the room. "Ya know, I think everything floating around actually helped you clean this place up a bit. At least it looks like you've got things sorted a bit."

Wazu chuckled slightly, "You may be right but I hope that doesn’t happen again."

"Not that way, at least," the shifter agreed. He looked about the room again, pausing at the cybernetic construct. He eyed it a second then nodded toward it. "What's that?"

"It is a new training dummy for Sgzyr This time it will fight back." Wazu replied then stifled a chuckle "I hope he won’t take it to hard when it beats him"

Alexis's eyes widened. "Beats him? How good is it supposed to be?"

"Very good. It should start a whole new line of weapons if it works right," Wazu said

"Could it beat you?"

"No" Wazu said with a smile, "I can’t be beat by something I made I’m to smart for that"

Alexis snorted. "Probably a safeguard mechanism, right? There is no way you can beat that lizard outside of a firefight. Not in hand-to-hand combat." He looked at it again, noting the design and construction. "Could it be a challenge for a neko?"

"It might be however It can’t adapt to battle field conditions as well leaving it vulnerable however given its firepower that shouldn‘t matter," Wazu said

"Firepower? What kind of firepower?"

"All the firepower you could ever need. It has a few. . .modifications from the run of the mill weapons," Wazu said.

Alexis shook his head. "I hope you don't plan on using that on-board the ship. I don't want to come back for a visit only to find we don't have a shuttlebay."

"Don’t worry about that. If this thing malfunctions there won’t be a ship left or for that matter we could lose a few light-years of space in all directions. I haven’t worked out all the possible effects yet."

"Does the term 'overkill' mean anything to you?" the shifter asked wryly. "What is it with you and total destruction? Even in a friendly spar you started waving around things that would have probably decapitated a human. And I don't think Chi would approve of something that could wipe this ship and crew from existence onboard, especially if it is untested and possibly unstable."

"Most of the systems have been thoroughly tested elsewhere. Anyways as long as it is not on you and the crew aren’t in any danger." Wazu said

"Mmm." Alexis shrugged. "Congratulations on your promotion, by the way."

"Yes. Congrats to you too although I can’t say I’m happy to see you leaving the Yui"

Alexis remained silent, his expression became troubled, unsure.

"Well don’t tell me your going to start second guessing yourself now. Look how far you’ve come! It seems like only yesterday we were pulling you off the cats paw. Now you've been promoted to captain,"

The shifter shook his head. "I'm not fit for command. I never sought it, I didn't ask for it. Not only because I don't want it, but I don't know how to captain a ship in the first place."

"Well you got it. If Yui thinks your good enough you ARE good enough even if you don’t think so." Wazu said 

"She had better be right."

"Have you ever known her to be wrong?"

Alexis smirked. "Doc, I've only known her for a short time. She hasn't had time to be wrong."

"So I guess I'm right then!" Wazu said triumphantly

"Yui doesn't rule the universe, however. It won't change the fact I've never had a command in my life. And here I'm just the pilot, I haven't made a command decision yet." Alexis shook his head. "All I want is a single-person vessel, is that so hard? I don't belong in this war. You should have been second in command in the first place, not me."

"Well you're a captain now. Can't you get a single person ship?"

The shifter leaned back against a counter, crossing his arms. "I've been assigned to a ship already. A frigate," he said, staring at the mechanized dummy. "How does one politely refuse a command? Somehow I don't think that happens every day..."

"Just send Yui a transmission or talk to Chi. I'm sure they would be happy to help you out."

"I need to talk to Chi anyway, but first I want to check on Timdri."

"Ok then I wonder how he faired after the gravity went out." Wazu thought out loud

"'It'. Timdri is a pal'der....nevermind. That doesn't matter here....Timdri's probably awake by now, and not very happy. Never liked space travel," said Alexis.

"..."

"Soooo... I guess I'll go now..." he added, turning to the door. "Thanks for the advice."

"Anytime. You know where to find me if you need more," Wazu said as he returned to his various experiments.

"Timdri, are you alright?" Alexis said, looking about his shared quarters for the creature. It chirped and waved from the other side of the room among a cloud of bedding. Alexis smiled and watched it glide over to him. "Building a fort, are we?" It nodded eagerly in response, then chittered something in its own rapid language. 
"We were attacked by a race everyone calls 'Angels'." replied Alexis. Timdri tilted its head as if asking why; Alexis frowned. "We've been pulled to fight a battle between angels and the Empire, one that the Empire started as far as I can tell. I don't think we should be involved." The critter churred in agreement and hopped on its companion's shoulder.
Alexis smiled and snatched his satchel from the floor where it had fallen after drifting during the gravity loss and walked back over to his corner. Taking a book out of the bag he started writing furiously, finishing a page within twenty seconds...after all, he was expected back on duty in a few minutes, but there were things he had to get off his mind before he could go. "Now I know what I've gotten myself into...and I don't like it."
Once the newly promoted Taisho finished talking with Ritsu ,she decided that she needed to take a shower and then get back to work. Chi stood up and walked off the bridge, heading towards the woman's shower. Her mind was spinning with images and sounds of the recent attack and something else... memories of the incident perhaps? She didn't know what they were, all she knew was that the attack had rattled her.

She entered the shower and carefully removed her pistol belt, putting it on the bench before she unzipped the front of the soft snug uniform and stepped out of the overuniform, although, she still had the leggings and the mesh under shirt on. She looked at the uniform for a moment... there was a bloodstain on it. She looked down at herself and noticed that there was something wrong, a bloodstain on her side, close to her ribs. She calmly and quietly, removed the mesh undershirt and ran her hand over the spot where the stain had originated from.

There was no wound; only a bloodstain where there had been a wound. She looked at the spot, confused by it. When had she received the injury? She couldn't remember feeling any pain...

Inari entered the women's baths and blinked a bit, seeing that the Taisho was just standing there looking puzzled, half undressed. "Chiharu-sempai wa dochirahe ka?"

Chiharu looked up at the Neko for a moment unsure of what to say. "I'm fine, thanks. Was the crew okay after the attack, they weren't hurt too badly were they?"

Inari felt that there was something bothering her captain but she could only hear the word "Chijio" repeating in Chiharu's mind. "Sempai, what's really bothering you? Are you worried about something?"

Chiharu looked at the Medical officer confused, did Inari see the blood? Chi looked down again and the bloodstain was gone from both her skin and her uniform. She looked confused, what did it all mean? "I'm just a bit concerned how the crew will handle fighting the angels face to face after the attack.." The Taisho finished undressing and slipped into the warm water, rinsing the dried blood from her face and trying to clear her mind of the image of the blood.

Inari just shrugged with a sigh, "Sempai," She started to undress as well, "if you feel like you need to talk, please remember that we're here for you too. You are our captain and a foster mother to us as well as our friend. It's hard to be on your own so, if you need to get something off your chest, please let us know. We'd be more than happy to help you out.." The Medical officer finally slid into the water, sighing a bit as she felt her heat exchangers open and steam. "That feels nice after a long day.." Chiharu was compulsively washing the blood and dirt, long gone from her... she stopped as soon as Inari had entered the water as well. 

"Thank you Inari, I appreciate your support." Chi offered the Neko a soft smile as she relaxed a bit, trying to clear her mind and purify herself of her doubts, her fears. 

"Sempai, doesn't Ketsurui mean Tears of blood or bitter tears?"

"... yes, it does." Chiharu spoke quietly again, thinking that maybe that was why she had seen the blood. Maybe it was a vision of some kind? "I see you remember your Kanji." Chi's mind drifted off again and she saw images flash by her, she heard voices calling out things but the din was too loud, was the frigate crashing? Had the Angels attacked them again? The scenes were skipping around and when she opened her eyes she was in surrounded by cold bitter darkness, the taste of iron was heavy in her mouth and then she heard her name being called...

"Chiharu-sempai? Please wake up!" A frightened Inari slapped her captain hard across the face. And Chiharu blinked awake, looking a bit confused as to why Inari was looking scared.

"What's wrong Inari?" 

Inari looked at Chi strangely, "Chiharu-sempai, you just spaced out and you weren't responding to my voice. I'm sorry I slapped you, but you scared me." 

Chi just shrugged, "Sorry that I scared you, I just.. got lost in thought is all. I guess I'd better go back to work." She stood up again, her heat exchangers closing again as she exited the water and silently dressed. When she left, Inari just stared at her as she disappeared out the door.

"What just happened here?" Inari decided that looking into the Taisho's mind was a dangerous thing to do, there were many things there that both frightened and confused her. But were thus images that she saw in Chiharu's mind? Was it just symbolism for something or was it a memory? The answers were frightening and Inari decided to get dressed and go back to work as well.

As Chiharu smoothed back her slightly damp hair she pondered what she had seen, and shook her head as she cleared her mind again and focused on tactics. ~Once we board the Angel ship, what next? We'll need some help if we take on the Angels again.. But do I dare take Nashi onto the Angels' ship and risk her attacking the crew?~
Wazu was sleeping in his nest when he felt another person in the room. He quickly got up to find a shadowy figure with two glowing red eyes staring at him. “You again?” He said “What is it this time?”

Meanwhile. . .

The door of the lab opened and then closed. The room was completely devoid of personnel at least it appeared that way Soft footsteps could be heard moving about the room looking for something. A data pad floated up into the air and then two purple eyes appeared and reviewed the text scrolling across the surface. ~So this is a Gama?~

The next day. . .
        
        Uso walked into the Galley to find Wazu sitting at a table with a small glass and a chessboard. He was half-heartedly playing against himself. Uso grabbed a drink and sat down across from him. “You know it is no fun to play with yourself like that. You need two people!” Uso said cheerfully. 

Wazu shot her an annoyed look. “Funny. Did you want to join in?”

“Sure” Uso and Wazu then reset the board and began to play at first only moving pawns. “So why so glum?” Uso asked

“I think you know why” He said, “It is over, the whole thing.”

“What thing?”

“Don’t play dumb. I was told that last night they took out the gate and they removed the ops unit in this area.” Wazu said as he moved the last of his pawns into a diagonal line formation

“That isn’t a bad thing is it? For you at least you‘ll be free from them.” Uso replied as she moved a castle behind the pawn line

“It does look like the GSA will be free of their interference at least for a while. On top of that what will happen to the Gamas?”

“The Gamas?” Uso asked seemingly puzzled as she removed one of the pawns in the back with her castle

Wazu gave her a annoyed look “I know that you know you were planning on taking them weren’t you?” Wazu then took out her castle with a knight

“Not in the mood for the normal game are we?” She asked as she moved more of her pawns around, “I might have been but if I did there is nowhere to run to now. Why don‘t you give them to the GSA?” 

The game continued in silence for almost half an hour.

“You know it will never truly be over.” Uso said breaking the silence.

“I guess your right.” Wazu said giving a small smile as he got up “I just hope I’ll be around to see how this all turns out.” Wazu then left the room leaving Uso alone. She looked down at the Chessboard again. ~Stalemate~ Uso then got up and prepared to leave. She had to help plan the attack on the angel ship after all.
Acara was working on the starboard shield generator when the artificial gravity came back on. Acara flattened slightly due to the extra pressure then expanded to far trying to compensate. Looking uncannily like a cartoon character hit with a mallet. It toke him a second to get his internal pressure right. ~Man, I hate that. I’m just glad no one saw it happen. Well at least this shield is up to 80% efficacy. Thirty more minutes and it should be optimal. Oh man, if Keenara hears about this I know she will be worried, but I can’t contact her until after the mission. I do feel sorry for Tomoyo though; this must be hard on her dieing and all, she being so young~. Acara laughed to himself. He was only fifteen himself, though his race reached maturity at the age of fourteen. He had always resented people treating him like a child because of his age. It was hard to hid it due to the fact he had no telepathic defenses, and he often lost him self in thought.

        Twenty-six minutes later.

        Acara was almost finished when Lavinia stuck her head in and greeted him. "Hello Juni Acara, congratulations on your promotion." She said cheerfully. “Thanks I did not see it coming though”. He said slowing in his work slightly. “We’ll just have to see how it turns out. There all done the starboard shield generator is up and running”. Acara looked over his work carefully. Everything seemed to be in order. “Well I guess I’ll go see Juni Kuru about anything else that is still damaged”. Then he stopped, it toke him a second but he realized that this last promotion made him Juni’s equal. “Oh great I hope she doesn’t start resenting me for this. I guess I’ll just have to go and clear a few things up”.

        When Acara found Juni he waited a second to get her attention. When she finally turned to him he talked carefully choosing his word as he went. “Juni I need to talk to you. With this last promotion I became your equal, but I don’t know a thing about command. So if it is all right with you, I am to leave all the orders to you ok. Oh and by the way is the any more damage that needs repairing.
Kuru smiled suddenly at Acara's decline to take over her position as Chief Engineer. "If that's what you truly want Acara, but I can work with you on command if you'd like. As for what's still broken.." She looked over her "To Do" List. "Let's see, gravity is done, sensors are finally done, power is back up, engine is done, shields are now done, the ship already repaired the hull... hmm.. if you want you can check over the ship's weapon's systems to make sure they weren't damaged in the attack." Kuru smiled still, "By the way, congratulations on the promotion. And if you're interested... Tomoyo is out of the hemosynth tube if you want to talk to her."
Tsumio Sugitakoto Notameno Datsurakuno Nigaihason 
Chiharu sat by herself in the galley; quietly contemplating what to she should do over a cup of Sake-coffee.

Wazu was wondering about the ship looking for Chi with a pressing question on his mind. ~Why am I the first officer now? ~ He thought to himself. He finally walked into the galley and found Chi sitting by herself. Wazu walked up to her and asked, "May I sit?"

Chi looked up with a soft smile. "Sure Wazu, take a seat. So what's up?" She smoothed her hair back behind her ears, looking over Wazu's face with a curious gleam to her eyes.

"It is just that . . ." Wazu paused for a moment unsure of what he was about to do "I don't know why I was promoted. It seems like I'm only here to fill the gap created by Alexis leaving."

Chi took a deep breath. "To tell the truth, I don't know why Alexis is leaving actually, but I do feel like you were ready to take the first officer's chair But, why do you feel like you were only promoted because Alexis is leaving?" 

"Wazu, you can't feel guilty about the Yui taking damage in that sneak attack. And Aya... Aya isn't ready to take the first officer's chair. She's a good worker and an awesome linguist but she needs a lot more time before she can take the 2nd chair." She offered him a cup of her sake-coffee. "Would you like some?"

Wazu politely refused then let out a slight chuckle, "Only a little while ago I was having the same talk with Alexis but from the other side."

Chi smiled softly. "So you are feeling better about taking the 2nd chair then?" She sipped her sake-coffee from her coffee mug before setting it down again. 

"Well either way I don't have much choice so I guess I'll have to do the best I can" Wazu said.

"Before you know it you'll have command of your own ship instead of just designing them Wazu." She smiled brightly again before she drank her sake-coffee again. 

Wazu thought about it for a short time before answering, "I think that is the point. I'm worried about leaving everyone that I know here and starting over again."

"Why are you afraid to leave to start over?" She took a sip of her coffee again, she had always figured humans to want to go out and make new beginnings.

"I haven't had a good history with new starts." Wazu said, "I always screw them up."

"Why do you say that?"

"A long time ago I was given a fresh unit of tech-guard way back when I was still with the Adapitus Mechanicus. We were in a three way training op the plan was to hide until the other two teams had depleted their resources fighting each other."

"Adapitus Mechanicus?" Chi blinked a bit confused as she took another sip of her coffee.

"Think of it like star army research but from where I come from." Wazu said, "Anyways we holed up in a ruined building a few clicks away from the main battle."

"Where are you from?"

"Mars the fourth planet from our star, Sol," Wazu replied,

"The whole squad was green and our position was covered by snipers from certain angles. I lost three men before we even knew what was going on. The snipers were well trained and I lost half of my men before we were able to silence them."

"So you're afraid of failing your squad again? But you guys were ambushed by snipers, how could you be at fault?"

"I chose the building we were hiding in. I didn't look for the snipers when I should have. Because of that . . ." Wazu trailed off lost in his memories.

"Why did you choose that particular building? What was so special about it that made you decide to hold out there?"

"In recon pics it seemed like a good location away from everything with only a few access points. Good for defense or at least that is what I thought. When we arrived, the building was missing many parts of roof that gave our attackers perfect fire arcs into my troops."

"Was the roof damage when you scouted out the building?"

"Yes but it wasn't much of a concern at the time we were already on site and they shouldn't have known we would be in there."

"They should never know where you’d be, but you have learned from that experience to never expect that they never know? Paranoia is actually your friend?"
"I know that the lives lost can never be replaced with lessons, sorrow or guilt but, I also know that the only thing that you really can do is make sure that it never happens to your people again but not making the same mistake twice... "

"I guess you're right." Wazu said

Chi offered him a sympathetic smile that gave him the impression that she understood how he felt. "Are you sure that you wouldn't like a cup of this? It has just the right amount of kick to it to keep you awake and somewhat sober all at the same time." She winked, joking as she took another sip of her coffee.

"I could use some of that now," Wazu said as he got up and poured himself a cup of the same beverage and then sat back down. "I thought you should know that only 5 of my men survived that attack. In the end, they had mounted a frontal assault and grenades came in through the windows, they caught us by surprise. Fortunately, the area was carpet bombed by imperial ships forcing both sides to withdraw."

"That's horrible, but at least there were survivors. The past is something we cannot change; it only leaves us with a bitter taste of blood, sweat, and tears in our mouths. You are not alone in what has happened though." She paused, taking a sip as an image of her own garbled past danced past her eyes.

Wazu took a sip of the drink too, "Thanks" he said "for everything. If you need someone to talk to you know where to find me."

Chi smiled again, "Your welcome Wazu and thank you too. Friends and confidants are the most important things I can have." She took another sip of her coffee again, "What do you think of the coffee?"

"It is... interesting. I've never had alcohol before."

"Sake is an interesting drink. It's rice wine. An old friend of mine introduced me to the recipe when I was still a Chui." She smoothed her hair back behind her ears as she took another sip, finally draining the mug before getting up and refilling it again.

"Well I think I've wasted enough of you're time" Wazu said as he got up and headed for the door. "Thank you"

"You weren't wasting my time Wazu, but I will talk to you later then." She nodded to him as he walked off. ~He's still going to feel guilty about what happened no matter I say... I might have made him think that I didn't care. ~ 

Wazu entered his quarters and pulled out an old dusty data pad from his belongs that were scattered about the floor and began reviewing the pictures inside. They were of his old unit before the battle, "Never again", he said to himself.
Ritsurin and Geminasu had made it to the bridge, and found things to be a bit roughed up, but things were okay over all. Chiharu took a moment to speak to Ritsurin, and Geminasu was dismissed.

As he returned to his quarters he recalled overhearing that the Yui may make an attempt to board the angel ships.

Thinking to himself ~I should try to debrief myself on the Angels before we strike. What I don't know about them might prove to be a costly mistake.

Geminasu had come up to the nest room and he proceeded to enter. He quickly finished reorganizing his things and then sat down to update himself on the Angels.

While reading, his datapad started to blinking. Quickly picking it up he found that he had received a notice from someone he knew.

~Oh, god. Just before we attempt to board an angel ship they decide to come along. Just what I need, I told them I'd be fine but no, they're on their way here.

Staring at ceiling, he thought ~Well it would be nice to see him again, its sure been a long time since that day we escaped from the labs. But why would he let her come here? I told her I'd be fine and that she could just wait back at home for me. Then again I could never get her to leave my side for long anyway......
~I'll kick myself if I forget that Chiharu's a telepath again.~ Ritsurin thought as he watched her leave the bridge. Where was she going? He didn't know, and it wasn't his business to know. He turned around and walked off the bridge, heading for the male security quarters to feed Siaga.

~You know what, I'm glad Lavinia brought Siaga aboard, it's good to have someone whom you can empathize with.~ He thought as he walked. When he reached the quarters, Siaga came bounding up to him. The baby wolf sat down and looked up at Ritsurin with wondering eyes. Ritsurin looked at the little puppy, and kneeled down to Siaga's level. Siaga jumped up onto Ritsu's lap and began to lick his chin.

"You're hungry huh, little buddy? Let's go see if Lavinia brought any food for you." Ritsurin said to the little wolf; he scooped him up and walked out. Ritsurin walked down the hallway, looking for Lavinia and petting Siaga at the same time. "Two noses searching for her? No Siaga, it wouldn't work, nekos don't produce a scent. Actually...Lavinia DOES wear a light perfume that allows me to smell her out, she must've gotten it from human females." Ritsurin sighed, receiving a message from Siaga. The wolf could share his thoughts with Ritsurin, though Ritsu couldn't figure out why.
He laughed as he got another probing thought from the wolf. 

"No, it's not mating season; I'm just looking for her to ask her where your food is. Besides, last time I did that, I got in trouble for it." He said to the wolf as he walked.
Siaga began to howl, which was the normal way for wolves to communicate. Ritsurin merely smiled as thought about joining in, as he was, in a way, a wolf too. But then he realized just how silly it'd look sound like to hear both of them howling, not to mention how awkward it would be for Ritsu to explain himself to anyone who saw him. At the moment though, he didn't care and joined Siaga in howling, sounding just like an older wolf.

~!...?~ Lavinia thought as she heard the sounds rip through the air.
~Sounds like Siaga's hungry, but who's that howling with him? Nevermind, I know who it is.~ She thought, smiling.

Lavinia hurried toward the sounds, to find Ritsurin and Siaga howling. She smiled as she watched Ritsu make a fool out of himself, which was rather unusual, because whenever she saw him, he was always serious. She ran over and hugged him, just to surprise the mess out of him.

"Arwoooooooooo! Wha....? Oh brother." Ritsurin said as Lavinia hugged him and let go.

She smiled at him, obviously trying hard to suppress a laugh.

"...um...we were looking for you." He said, blushing in embarrassment.

"I know, and probably so does everyone else on the ship, one wolf howling is loud enough...but two of you make quite a racket." She said, breaking out into laughter.

Ritsurin's face marks blazed as he tried to stop blushing. "I was wondering it you brought anything to feed this guy." He explained, pointing to the baby wolf at the same time.

"Of course I did silly, I wouldn't let him starve. It should be on your nest where I left it." Lavinia said, still chuckling.

"I didn't see or smell anything." He said with a brow raised. "And I can't get it from yours."

"That's right. Come with me and I'll get it." Lavinia stated. "But, for your own good, wait outside."

The three of them walked back to where her nest was, to get the wolf's food. "You boys stay here...SIT...STAY!" She said jokingly.

Both Ritsurin and Siaga sat down leaning against the wall. Ritsu did it just to play along with what Lavinia had said. She disappeared into the female security quarters for a minute, then came back out bearing a little bit of food.

"It's best if you hemosynth some fresh meat for him every now and then, but this stuff's good for him too." Lavinia explained.

"I'm aware of that." Ritsurin replied dryly.

"Well, I've got to finish my patrols, take some food back to your nest." She said getting a small bag of food and handing it to him. "I'll see you later handsome." She said. She kissed him on the cheek and left to complete her duty. Ritsurin watched her go, then turned to head for his nest to put the food in there with his stuff. After putting the food away, Ritsu made his way to the medbay to get some clones made using his DNA. He didn't want to, but cloning Lavinia would lead to problems later on, cloning Geminasu would be a nightmare, and goddess-knew where Sgzyr was.

~I'll have to make the clones as human as possible, which means I'll have to lower the demon blood down to minimal levels and replicate more human DNA.~ He thought as he walked down the hallway, with Siaga following him docilely.
Tomoyo sat in the Engineering room, zipping up a GSA Tech Jumpsuit over her normal uniform. She yawned a bit; the re-spawning had left her a little disoriented. 

As Acara left he decided to go see Tomoyo. She was just brought back and he wanted to see if she was all right. When he entered he saw that she was awake. "Good morning, glad to see you are back. You had me worried for a while there".

Tomoyo smiled, "Thank you for your concern, and I'm glad that I had my memory backed up. I'm also glad that I could have been brought back." She paused a bit, pulling her curly hair back up into a bun. "I take it the repairs are going well?"

"Ha ha, yes they are pretty much complete. The engine, gravity, and shields were damaged pretty badly, but we got them back online. Do you need anything? You look a little off".

She shook her head, "I'm okay, just a little disoriented is all. I heard stories about what it was like to be re-spawned… but I don't remember anything after my memory was backed up." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. "From the new insignia I see that you got a promotion while I was in the tube. Congratulations Juni Acara." She smiled again, adjusting her uniform insignia a bit.

"Oh this thing". Looking down at his pin. "Well, it was not my idea but I guess it is an occupational hazard. I really don't want it. I was never that good at giving commands, but you do what you are told right?”

"Right. But why don't you want to be a NCO? It means someone thought you have been doing a good job." She pulled some sort of wrapped bar from her pocket and unwrapped it a bit, munching on it. 

"I guess you are right. I just get uneasy giving orders. I feel I don't have the right to authority". Acara laughed at himself. "I sound like a child, don't I"?

Tomoyo smiled softly again, "You just sound unsure of yourself, having doubts doesn't mean you are juvenile. But you are still what, 14? So don't worry about it too much, you'll get the hang of it." She stretched a bit, rewrapping the bar and putting it back into a pocket of the jumpsuit. "In my opinion, being a good leader requires experience in both your field and in leadership. And leadership is really something you have to figure out for yourself, sure, lessons and such help but books are books and leadership is different to every person so it's really subjective. But, sometimes doubt lets you know that you're ready to improve yourself... if you always think you are the best then you don't allow yourself to learn anything new in order to progress... so you don't grow." She stopped a bit and blushed softly because she realized that she must sound like a know it all. "Sorry, if I'm coming off as a know it all…"

Acara laughed. "No, what is funny is that I came here to make sure you were alright, and I end up getting advice. Thanks; by the way, if you need anything, like a break, just ask ok? I don’t rest much so I have a lot of free time between shifts". 

She nodded again, smiling sheepishly. "Your welcome... I'll be sure to ask if I need anything though." She scratched the back of her neck for a moment. "Is there anything that needs to be worked on?"

"I'm heading for the ship's weapons systems to look them over. You can come if you want. Things go faster with two people working on them". Acara relaxed visibly, his features becoming smoother.

She nodded, "Ok, I'll go help you then. I really want to make myself useful since I didn't get to help out much after the attack."

"Sounds good". Acara left the med-bay and headed for the weapons systems. When he got there he began to slowly work his arms through the systems, checking as he went.

Tomoyo followed Acara and started to examine the instruments and read outs once they reached the Weapons Systems. "Have any idea what's wrong with the systems or is it just a check up?"

"This is just a check up to make sure nothing was damaged. We got hit hard". As he moved he found some damaged wires and quickly replaced them. A small tendril stretched from his back and picked up some spare wire for him to use.

"Let me cut the juice on that circuit before you replace it, last thing you need is to get zapped..." She nodded again, quickly typing something into the control console to temporarily disable the circuit Acara was replacing.

“Thanks you spared me the trouble of concentrating on another tendril". Acara replaced the wires and continued along the system. "See anything Tomoyo"?

She quickly glanced over the instruments again, "From the look of it, the Weapons System got a little fried from the attack... there are a few missing connections so, there's probably a few more loose wires. I think they are around the same area as the circuit you’re replacing now."

"Ok let me see if I can find them". As Acara probed deeper his lower puddle began to shrink. "Ah here they are". He said as he reached back for some more wire.

She continued to run checks over the weapons systems, temporarily shutting off the power to the circuits that connected with the missing connections. "Other than that, the WS has a clean bill of health." 

"Great. I guess that is all then". He said as he pulled out of the computer. Then he paused for a second. "Can I trust you with something"? He asked slightly concerned. 

She reconnected the power once Acara was clear. "Sure, what's up" She looked over to Acara once she had finished re-establishing the connections

Acara produced a pod that looked strangely like that of a young flower. "I need you to take care of this. If my current body is destroyed, my awareness will be transferred to this pod and I'll have to start all over again. I'm sure you can see the reason I can't keep it on me, and I most certainly don't want it in the wrong hands". He said as he offered it to Tomoyo.

Tomoyo blinked a bit and then slowly nodded, "Sure, I'll watch it for you. Do I have to do anything in particular to care for it? Do I have to water it or anything?" 

Acara laughed. "No, just make sure it is not smashed or destroyed. It seem all is well here so I'll see you later". Acara shuddered. "I need another bath. I can't stand impurities".

She smiled softly again, gently taking the pod from Acara. "Okay, I'll make sure that it's safe."

"Well, see you later".

"Ok, I'll see you later. " She nodded again. "I'll just run a couple more checks here then to make sure I reconnected the circuits correctly."
Alexis idly tapped the console in front of him. A stream of data recorded by sensors scrolled on the screen of a data pad held in his other hand; over the symbols and text of the sensors played the visual log of the skirmish. Surely there was something that he should have seen that would have warned of the ambush before it occurred, but so far he wasn't seeing it.

-log replay complete. situation analysis in progress.-

He nodded to himself, the screen of the pad cleared and began to flicker like an epileptic's nightmare as all possible permutations of the encounter were played. Dozens of them had the GSS Yui coming out without a scratch, but the events that lead up to those resolutions were completely outside the bounds of probability for happening spontaneously... in other words, they would have been lucky shots. None of them were dependant on decisions made by the crew, several depended on a specific particle hitting the sensors at just the right time. After a couple of hours, Alexis rubbed his eyes and the screen went black as he disconnected from it, setting it on the Nav station in front of him. Probabilities were hard on even his mind when he had to think of them long enough. 

His orange eyes were less intense than usual, his gaze easily distracted as he glanced around at the rest of the bridge crew. Everyone was intently tending to their duties, working together to repair the damage. While everyone focused on repairs, he had analyzed the battle. While he knew it was futile to go to "what-ifs" to re-write the past, he also knew that those "what-ifs" could prevent the same mistake being made in the future. And it distracted him from his current dilemma.

The shifter's mind drifted as he relaxed his eyes, noting the small distortions as his eyes lost focus...and then, everything came into focus.

-memory file accessed...replay. [Clear sailing....Alexis watched the panel intently, noting small variations in space, but nothing looked like anything] end file-

Small variations...

-display sensor logs from 5 seconds before the first impact- he thought to the data pad as he grabbed it. The screen lit up again as he touched it and information was displayed in fast forward until he came to the spot in question. There...That's where he went wrong. Heh, where he went wrong was sometime before this, but that wasn't what he wanted to think about just then. Or did he? 

Did he want to help these people? He wanted to know more about these angels...they couldn't be what he knew, right? 

Something whispered inside his mind, cutting through the constant static of subconscious thoughts, a voice he knew personally from times past: "...for Evil himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness...." That was all he needed; Alexis looked up from his console at the bridge around him.

"Hey Meg, you busy? I think I know what happened."
Wazu was in the lab preparing a EVA (external vehicular activity) suit for the boarding action against the angel ship

While Ritsurin was on his patrol, he walked past Wazu's office and looked in. "Wazu? What are you working on now?"

"Right now nothing. . .Oh ya! I've been meaning to give you this" Wazu said as walked over to a pile of mechanical stuff and rummaged through it

What's this?" Ritsurin said, as he walked in and looked at it; with Siaga in tow.
~No, Siaga it's likely not food.~ Ritsu sent back to the wolf puppy.

Wazu pulled out a sheathed sword and handed it to Ritsu, "This is called suspensor blade" He said," you might want to try it out on the angels."

"Whoa!! Cool! What's it do?" Ritsurin said while looking at the sword.

"Turn it on!" Wazu said as he pointed to a small switch on the hilt of the weapon.

~Huh?~ Ritsurin thought. Heeding Wazu's suggestion, Ritsurin turned it on... As Ritsu flipped the switch the weapon suddenly became much lighter in his hands to the point where it was weightless and then projected a small blue field around the tip of the weapon.

~!!!!~ Ritsurin thought. "This is good! nice work Wazu, though I prefer katana or nodachi. This is good enough though." Ritsurin said. He stepped back away from Wazu and swung the blade around some. "Wow, it's so light! How'd you do it?"

"The blade has a built in suspensor unit that reduces the gravitational pull on the weapon." Wazu said "It also has a built in molecular disruption field. It can cut right through steel without much effort,"

"Well in that case I'd better sheath it, or risk slicing the hull open and having both Chiharu and Megami punishing me." Ritsurin said, sheathing the weapon and brushing a bit of hair out of his face.

Wazu palm slapped his face as he saw the weapon cut right through the sheath, "It helps if you turn it off first," He said.

Ritsurin noticed that the sheath was sliced open. "Oh shit..." He muttered as he turned it off. "Wazu? can you fix this?"

"Yes," Wazu said as he chuckled to himself.

"Phew, thanks. By the way, do you want to help me and my team raid the angel's ship?" Ritsurin said.

"Sure," Wazu replied," I need to go over their and keep an eye on Uso anyways. She can be unstable at times"

"Uso is an Intel officer. Isn't she?" Ritsurin asked with a raised eyebrow, playing with his long sideburns some.

"Yes, well, at least last time I looked. She has funny habit of changing when your not looking," Wazu replied

"Lavinia's like that sometimes. Hey, where is your little panther?" Ritsurin asked.

"It is up there somewhere," Wazu said as he pointed to some of the shelves put up on the walls.

"Just so long as he/she doesn't decide to chew on my hair." Ritsurin said. He looked around to see it, glaring at him. "That's REALLY unnerving, you know that?" He added.

"I wouldn't know" Wazu said as he did not have very long hair.

Ritsurin grunted under his breath. "I see that you made Chusa. I wish I could get that far... but I can't seem to do anything without pissing Chiharu off." He stated.

"You will someday; maybe sooner than you think." Wazu replied.

"Hopefully." Ritsurin replied.

Wazu shrugged and then said, "Frag enough angels and your sure to get promoted."

Ritsurin grinned, looking very evil. "That's a given...heh heh heh."

"Just leave some for the rest of us and remember that we need the ship IN ONE PIECE! At least until we are done"

"But for some reason, I have a bad feeling about this though." Ritsurin said sounding worried, which was unusual for him.

"I won't destroy the ship, merely kill it's occupants." Ritsurin grinned.

"Just remember who is on who's side." Wazu said, "It will be important later on."

"Yeah, it will, I won't kill any Yui crew, so don't worry." Ritsurin said.

"You might have to," Wazu said under his breath

"What!!???? Why is that?" Ritsurin said taking a step back.

"Do I have permission to...uh...*makes slitting motion across throat* If she betrays us?" Ritsurin asked, still worried

"NO!" Wazu said

"Fine, I won't, but I may have to do something to restrain her if she endangers any other of our crew. I know you like her, and it's not personal, but the safety of the crew rules over the feelings of one person, no offense." Ritsurin said.

"That is ok but DON'T kill her!" Wazu said

"I swear to you that I won't. And I have never broken a vow, and I don't intend to start now." Ritsurin said.

"Good" Wazu said felling a little relieved.

"No need to worry my friend, I'll make sure she's safe." Ritsurin said

"Thanks." Wazu replied

“What do you think? Do you think Alexis will leave?" Ritsurin asked looking a bit sad, as he liked the kid.

"He probably will, but I think he will still stay nearby," Wazu said.

"That's good. I really respect him. He's a good officer." Ritsurin said.

"Ritsu, you're worrying about someone other than yourself and me?" Lavinia asked from behind Ritsu.

"Wha..? Uh...Yeah, it's not a crime is it?" He asked without turning around.

"It depends on your rank," Wazu said while laughing.

"And what does that mean?" Ritsu asked.

"It means you should take steps to prevent annoying Chi again." Wazu said

Ritsurin took the sword and strapped it to his back. "Oh yeah" He said, blushing somewhat.

"Here" Wazu said smiling as he handed the newly repaired sheath to Ritsurin.

"Oh thanks, damn I feel stupid" Ritsurin said as Lavinia walked out.

Wazu returned to whatever he was doing in the lab "All that for little old me?" Uso said from her spot leaning against the wall adjacent to the Lab.

“Huh?" Ritsu said turning to look at Uso.

"Wazu is lying to you" She said.

"M'lady...? He was?" Ritsurin asked looking confused.

"Have you seen what he is working on? He is planning on removing the entire crew." She said.

"If I'm right. she'll be dead before she knows what is going on. I can hack into Wazu's files from the angel ship when we go over and find out what he is REALLY doing." She said," just keep him off my back long enough and try and remember who the good guys are." Uso said as she walked off back to her room.

“Wazu! Is that true? No lies now." He said holding up his claws.

"I see Uso's lies got to you faster than I thought" Wazu said

"I am loyal to Ketsurui Chiharu, and I will kill anyone who harms her." Ritsurin said..." He lowered his weapons," I don’t know who to believe...I'm....sorry Wazu." He apologizes

"That is often the problem," Wazu said “The lies often cloud the truth”

"Well you're higher rank than Uso, so I'll believe you for now..." Ritsurin said. "I'm going to start reading your and Uso's minds from now on... for the sake of security, will you allow me to?"

"Go ahead and try Uso and I are both good enough at mental defense so I give you no guarantees." Wazu said, "Also try not to get killed while your looking around up here." Wazu said as he pointed to his head.

"Well, I'll have to try... It's my job." Ritsurin said. He concentrated, trying to read Wazu's thoughts. Ritsurin found Wazu's mental mindscape and saw a endless plain of gray. "This is called the blank mind defense." Wazu said

Ritsurin growled as he broke through that defense, even as difficult as it was... 

"Damn, Nice very nice" he complimented Wazu.

As Ritsurin pushed through the defense he reached a another layer. He was suspended in the air above a massive swirling storm a young child was sitting with his legs over a invisible edge looking down at the storm. 

Ritsurin floated down mentally to the child, ~ who are you? and what is this?~ 

Without turning to look at Ritsurin the child spoke," This part is my mind; so calm, so quiet, you can tell the future just by looking at that." He said as he pointed to the storm.

"We'll see about that..." Ritsurin looked into the storm. 

~This is chaos!~ Ritsurin pushed further into the storm to attempt to make out something.

" I wouldn't suggest that if I were you!" the child said "The storm enveloped Ritsurin until a figure dressed in a suit of black padded leather appeared.

~Wazu, let me see something...~ Ritsurin stops and looks at the figure "Another defense huh?"

"No not really I'm stuck down here for now" the figure said.

"Who are you?" Ritsurin asked, his face is a wolfish snarl.

"Help me back up there and I'll show you." The figure replied.

"Are you a danger to us?" He asked "I don't know if I can trust you..." He growled.

"You can’t.” the figure said as it lunged at Ritsurin and attempted to impale him on a row of spikes appearing in his hand.

Ritsurin dodged out of the way and slashed at the figure with his claws.

The claws simply stopped in the air, "You really think you can hurt me in MY mind" The figure laughed.

"I don’t expect to but I must defend myself and possibly everyone else, including Wazu from you." Ritsu said leaping backwards.

"Maybe you can but can you save him from yourself?" The figure caused several chains to appear out of nowhere and entangle Ritsurin.

Ritsurin whirled severing the chains in several places, then launched himself toward the figure executing a complex claw combo.

"Hmmm you’re mind is harder to enslave than I thought" The figure said as he tried it again this time with twice as many chains in his attack.

Ritsurin executed the same defense, severing the chains in more places this time. "You know that isn't work." Ritsurin said, giving the figure a level gaze.

"It wasn't supposed to," the figure said as several hundred sharp poles came flying down at amazing speed and were about to impale Ritsurin.

Ritsurin jumped up, leaping from pole to pole until he is above them. "I fought for control of my mind before, you're only 3rd rate." He said laughing.

"Me maybe, but what about you're girlfriend," The figure said Ritsurin could feel a tugging at his mind as the figure attempted to use it to hack into the minds of everyone else around him.

Ritsurin leveled a dangerous stare at the figure. His blood red eyes glowed with a ominous aura. "I won't allow you to do that!" He then launched into a full battle assault, drawing on his demon blood to enhance his abilities. His rage beyond bounds.

"What the hell are you doing down there?" Wazu said from up above although Ritsurin couldn't see where it was coming from. The figure jumped up into the air and formed a massive energy cannon and fired it at Ritsurin.

Ritsurin dodged to side and continued his assault, moving at a speed that made him appear to be in several places at once.

"You're an annoying one aren’t you?" the figure said as he fired again and then pulled out a set of gruesome looking swords adorned with various poisons and sharp barbs.

Ritsurin looks at the figure annoyed. "You're not worth my time." He then returned to the center of the storm.

Ritsurin found Wazu and the kid standing on the invisible pathway, "so What did you find in there?"

"I don't know, a homicidal madman with serious mental trauma." Ritsurin explained in an offhand way.

"so he is still in there somewhere?" Wazu said then shrugged "oh well"

"Who the hell was he?" Ritsurin asked, his eyes narrowing.

" A very angry version of me." Wazu said, "it is best just to ignore IT"

"No, it's not better to ignore him, that won't solve a thing. You must either destroy him or seal him permanently. He is a danger to everyone if he gets loose." Ritsurin said sternly to Wazu.

"I've been trying to for years unfortunately he is a part of me and to kill him could do the same to me" Wazu replied.

"Then, that may be what it takes; unfortunately. But, if he comes out and tries to hurt any crew, I will kill both of you, understand?

"And I thought threatening a superior officer was a court marshal offence," Wazu said jokingly.

"If it will save more lives, I will gladly accept a court martial." Ritsurin said stoically.

"Don't worry about him I've kept him in there for years so I'm not to worried about him getting out" Wazu said

"Remember what I said, I was not joking." Ritsurin said, turning to leave. "By the way, thanks for the blade."

"I know and you're welcome," Wazu said, "now I think it is time for you to go."
Akari had not even finished hemosynthing the Neko clones that Juni Kuru had requested when Juni Daijinshi dropped off his order and a sample of his DNA to get cloned. She looked strangely at the Juni as he dropped off the things and then headed out, returning to his duties. 

She sighed to herself, "Oh well, not much I can do right now." She put the DNA sample into her computer system and ran an analysis of the sample, manually looking for specific chromosomes and chemicals that would be best suited for a mentally and physically sound human from this half-demon's DNA.

Inari still hadn't returned from the baths yet, so Akari sat alone in the Medbay with a partially formed Neko in a tube to keep her company. She felt empty being alone in the medlab by herself, but she didn't feel lonely... just.. unfulfilled somehow. She mentally worked over the DNA, trying to reform it into something usable without any of the Demon DNA remaining. 

There was something missing when she removed the Demon DNA. Akari could sense that something wouldn't be right with the Clones if she continued with this course of action. This path had to be abandoned and began again.

She sat for hours, working out the equations in her mind and testing the simulated data against logical results. She worked long into the evening, so long that both of Juni Kuru's Techs were completed before she was able to finish working with Ritsu's DNA. 

The Neko clones sat outside the tube on a bench in the medbay with their eyes closed and naked because they hadn't been activated yet. 

Inari entered the lab and stared at her friend in amazement. "Akari, Kuru's techs are done, why haven't you activated them yet?" Inari had tried to understand Akari's mind but had found it a mess with probabilities and equations.

"Nari, could you activate them and send them to the Tech nest to meet Kuru? I'm trying to work on Ritsu's request for more sentries.. using the human-demon DNA sequence is faulty, and removing the demon element or the human element will only weaken them as a whole.." Akari went back off into her thoughts and her equations, leaving Inari confused.

"Ok, Kari.. I'll just go get them uniforms and such.." Inari frowned, she wanted to help Akari with her work but Akari always drifted off into a void whenever she encountered a problem. One of these days, Inari had decided to get herself programmed with the same amount of medical programs as Akari. but that was a long way away. After she got the Nekos up and running, she took them out of the Medbay, once again leaving Akari alone with her work.

After several hours of possibilities and equations, Akari found the missing link, there was a recessive strait that had surfaced once the halves were separated. She quickly reworked the DNA to fix the problem.. 

A woman, more like a girl, emerged from the hemosynth tube once the process had ended. She opened her eyes and looked at the Neko curiously. "Who am I?" The words were difficult coming from the girl's mouth, she didn't appear to be more than 10 years old but she was 5ft tall and oddly.. she had long crimson locks that fell down to her waist and her features were Asian but with piercing green eyes. 

Akari appraised the girl curiously, "Who do you think you are?"

"I am.. a Ookami...?"

"Do you remember anything else?" Akari soothed, trying to help her try to remember.

"I am someone's Tekuragari." The girl nodded firmly, trying to think it through. "But.. who is... "

"Don't worry," The medic interupted the girl, "everything will come to you soon. But first, I'll get you some clothes. I don't think I'll make your sisters just yet." Akari smiled softly to herself, glad that she found the answer to the riddle. Of course, the girl would have to remember everything that she needed to know to function but first she would have to come to the realization of what she was first. For, now she'd have to find the girl a uniform and work her through this step of her life.
As Ritsurin walked out of the Science office after probing Wazu's mind, he decided to check in on the clones he requested.

Akari sat in the medbay, quietly talking to the now clothed unnamed clone. The girl was still a bit awkward and couldn't remember anything yet, but Akari tried to mentally soothe the girl's fears and doubts away.

Ritsurin picked up a strange scent. ~That must be a new clone.~ He thought. ~Akari, are any clones ready?~ He sent telepathically as he headed for the med-bay

Akari's surface thoughts were in a strange dialect, possibly Chinese. And she spoke aloud for clarity, "She's out but she's not ready to serve." The girl looked at her strangely as she now spoke in English out loud in English, "Hello sempai."

[insert Ritsu's reply...]

The girl had distantly Asian features despite the fact that she had long maroon hair and bright green eyes. She was sitting down beside Akari, dressed in an oversized white sweatshirt that hid her hands over what looked to be the GSA uniform. She had a strange aura about her and her mind was strangely blank now even as she spoke in her awkward English, "Am I your Tekuragari?" The word didn't sound as awkward as it fell from her lips. 

Akari remained where she sat, keeping to English for now. "She isn't fully ready yet, I'm going to work with her a bit more and have her report to you when she's ready. Right now she has no memory of what she is supposed to do. It'll take a few more hours to get her ready for duty, any pushing will most likely cause problems."

As Ritsurin left Wazu's office, he tried to read Uso's mind.

Ritsurin finds himself in another mindscape but this time It is full of data floating in and then out with Uso at the center of the multiple flows. she didn't seem to notice Ritsurin entering.

"Uso. I need to know the truth here, is Wazu really planning to kill us all?" Ritsurin said to her.

"I told you earlier I don't know exactly what he is up to I need to gain access to his files onboard the Yui," Uso replied

"Well, then; what do you know?" He questioned

"He isn't building weapons for the GSA," she said, "And I'm going to need you're help to prove it."

"Who is he building them for?" He asked seriously.

"That I do not know," Uso replied, "But I doubt that they plan to use the weapons for peacekeeping,"

"Do you have any evidence, that's a serious accusation Uso." He said to her.

"That is what I'm trying to get,"

"Inform Chiharu about this, if it pans out to be true, Wazu's in major trouble." Ritsurin said, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I wouldn't do that," She said, "I also think he has a backup plan, a fail safe of some type."

"Hold on, I must ask you, where do your loyalties lie?" He asked.

"With the GSA of course. I am a NH-7 you know." Uso replied

"True, sorry for doubting you, could you give an educated guess on Wazu's?" He asked.

"Wazu. . . .He is loyalties are also with the GSA or at least that is what he would tell you if you asked, but I don't know who he is working for."

"At the very worst, he's working for the Nerimians." Ritsurin said

"I doubt that." She said, "Wazu barely knows who the Nerimians are and they don't have the level of technology he has been given."

"What has he been given, as far as you know?" He asked, sounding very concerned.

"From what I can tell the new bot he has created is called a Gama. It has it's own TTD and is a two part weapons system. I don't know how he got a TTD that small or where the second part is, but I plan to find out." She said

"Gama....Gama... that doesn't sound like a GSA product..." Ritsurin pondered.

"Neither does Ritsurin," She said jokingly

"I'm not from Geshrintall, first of all, second; this is too serious an issue to tell jokes." He said in an irritated tone.

"Whatever you say." She replied

Ritsurin grunted. "Uso, Wazu could be dangerous; especially now...wouldn't you agree?" He asked..

"He won't attack us until he feels threatened," She said, "However if I can hack his files I can shut him down before he becomes a threat."

"And you can't do that on the Yui? Ask Megami for help." Ritsurin advised.

"You think one as paranoid as Wazu hadn't thought of that already? as I said he has fail-safes." She replied

"That isn't good...we could tear the computer system up, figuratively, and still not find anything huh? Are you expecting to do it from the Angel ship?" He wondered.

"He couldn't have bypassed the systems on that ship yet so I should be able to use their sensor array to hack into his computer." She replied

Ritsurin nodded. " You know, I had to fight an evil Wazu in his mind."

"He is still around eh?" She asked.

"Yeah, man, he was easy to beat off at least for a little while. He tried to hack my mind and use me to enslave Lavinia." Ritsurin said to Uso

"Yep that is him." she replied, "What about the kid, is he sill there?"

"Yeah, nice guy he is." Ritsurin said nodding.

"Just wait 'till he gets going." She said a little annoyed, "He can tell the future. He said something about how he figured out the universe or something he has a bad habit of telling everyone what they are going to do next."

"Hmm I may be able to use him to find out what's going to happen" Ritsurin pondered.

"You can try," She said, "Wazu has to keep both of them locked up in order to keep control of his body."

"I got through once, I can do it again." Ritsurin said, sounding confident.

"But that doesn’t mean that they will be willing to help." she replied.

"I may have to force him then, non violently of course; you can't beat someone in their own mind." He said

"He won't like that," she said

"If it will save lives, I don't care what he thinks..." Ritsu said frowning.

"Your morals are admirable thinking about other people before you." she said

"Why thank you." He said, bowing gracefully.

"Just watch my back when we got on that ship," she said, "I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"I'll be careful. I'm going to try to coerce some info from the kid." Ritsurin said.

"Just one more thing before you go," She said, "If worse comes to worse . . .don't kill him."

"He said the same about you." Ritsurin smiled. "I'll contact you if I find anything ok?" 

"Ok thanks," Uso said seeming a bit more relieved now.

"Bye" He said as he left her mind.
Ritsurin concentrated and got into Wazu's mind. "Wazu, let me in please." He pushed through his blank mind defense and went in deeper.

"Ritsurin?" Wazu said, "What the. . .?" he thought as he felt the intrusion into his mind.

"I'm here to see your child form." He said as he moved to the storm and stopped near the kid.

"I told you he was going to come here." The child said

"Hey kid, Uso told me that you can see into the future, now what do you see in relation to this upcoming assignment. Please tell me if you know anything." He said.
"It's very important." He added.

The child started to laugh. "Well if you really want to know." the child said," The Yui will probably be damaged in your attack on the angel ship"
"Will I be able to save the ship?" Ritsurin asked.

"It really all depends on what you do."

"Any casualties from what you know?" Ritsurin asked.

"It is funny that the fate of so many will be in the hands of a Juni who barely grasps the situation he is in!"

"What!? You mean I will be responsible for everyone on this ship?" Ritsurin said, shocked.

"And then some," the child replied
"Well I'm sorry but telling you any more would ruin my fun!" the child replied

"One more thing, I have a feeling that Uso's right. I'm going to help." Ritsurin said.

"Just remember what you've been told" the kid replied
      Wazu walked down the hallway of the Yui and ended up in front of Alexis’s nest. He paused for a moment unsure about his actions but decided that he had come too far to go back now. He opened the door and tossed in a data pad with a note written on it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Alexis,

        I fear I have bad news. I think Uso is planning to do conduct some act of sabotage against the GSA from the Angel ship. Worse yet she has tricked Ritsurin into helping her. You can’t believe a word she says. I need to know if you will help me stop her if she tries something. Please will you help me?

                                                                        Heram J. Wazu
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Wazu then walked off down the hallway. The door to Alexis’s nest was opened one more time. Another data pad was tossed in.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Alexis,

        I think Wazu is planning to remove everyone else on the Yui. I don’t have any proof but I can find it by hacking into Wazu’s files from the angel ship. I need to know that you’ll help me stop Wazu’s evil plot. Will you help me?

                                                                        Uso Tasuki
ON> 
Chi had decided to try and call it a night by returning to her nest. She saw her teddy bear lying on the floor face down and frowned, picking him up again. "Sorry I left you alone for so long Mr. Bear.." She hugged the teddy bear to her and laid down on the nest, sighing a bit.

Alexis sat down at his station on the bridge after getting up to stretch. He looked down at the datapad in his hand and stowed it in one of the cargo pockets on his uniform. Those pockets were getting full...maybe he should start sorting through them to see how much stuff he actually needed. Smiling slightly, he decided to do it later. Right now he needed to check up with Chiharu. He looked up at the entrance to the captain's nest...would she mind being disturbed? It was getting late, at least that's what he felt. It was hard judging time of day on a starship. Shrugging, the Taisa decided to go anyway. He climbed up to Chi's quarters and tapped the entrance chime. "Chi, are you awake?"

Chi looked over to the door, "Hai! You can come in. I'm awake." She smiled softly to herself, maybe talking to Alexis would clear her mind of the visions she was seeing. 

Alexis smiled as the door opened. He stepped into the quarters and scanned the room...he had never been in another set of quarters besides his own. "Nice place," he said, then got back to business. "I have been reviewing the Angel tactics and I think I figured out what to look for next time. As for the ship, I haven't gotten a chance to scan it. DO we know what we're going to be facing when we board it?" The new captain's face showed a mix between worry and caution; Alexis wasn't one to jump into something like this without knowing what was ahead.

Chi sat up on the bed and sat Indian style, still hugging the teddy bear. "You can have a seat on the nest if you want." She thought about his question for a moment. "On board the Angel ship will most likely be host of Angel with some Arch Angels in command. By now, they have probably almost fully repaired their ship as well. So if we don't board the ship soon, they will most likely start to attack us again. I've never been inside an Angel ship before." As she spoke an image flashed through her mind.. a dimly lit room.. 
"But we should prepare for a strong defense aboard the ship and another attack. I was debating about sending Nanashi aboard the Angel ship with the boarding party"

He accepted her offer to sit and selected a position opposite her, seating himself in the same way. "How many does a host consist of?" he asked as his mind began to shift into analysis mode. Then he nodded when she mentioned repairs. It had been bothering him that the crew of the Yui were focusing on fixing their own ship before boarding... but then Alexis had realized that they would need the ship fully operational in case of a needed get-away...and why capture the Angel ship while it was damaged when they could just let the Angels do the repairs and THEN take it from them. A sound tactic, when put like that.

"A host can consist of anything from 10 to 30 Angels. It depends on how well staffed and how big the ship is." She sat the teddy bear down beside her, removing her insignia pin and pinning it on the right side of the bear' chest.

Alexis smiled at her treatment of the bear. It was clearly one of her more treasured items. "Nashi...I'm not sure what to think of her. I've reviewed her performance in the simulations, she has infinite capability to adapt to situations, but..." he paused and frowned before continuing. "...she has to fail in order to adapt. Something is lagging in her Tactical Mind, I guess. She's not noting the failure of an attempt until after the attempt has been made and failed." A cushion was pushing him the wrong way, he shifted his weight to remove the pressure. The nests were more...he couldn't think of the word, but there was something that he liked about them.

"She might actually need the field experience with the Angels in order to correct the performance problems. She's a test model like I am... we get to find out the bugs in the system and report them to PNU to get them repaired." She sighed a bit, smoothing her hair back behind her ears. "Do you feel that we should take her aboard the Angel's ship?"

The shifter thought about that a few seconds before nodding. "I guess. I've got the whole manual up here." He tapped his head. "But she's just so different, even the reports say she's unstable. But I agree, the experience would do her good. Maybe Ritsu's shield generator would giver her an edge in hand-to-hand combat. What's this about Archangel infections? Any details on that?"

More images flashed through her mind, "Angels have the ability to alter their DNA at will. They will change their body's density to that of a paste and try to seep into your body to infect it and take it over. It's a frightening thing to see happen because as they do this, the Angel will continue to attack you, bite you, do anything they can to harm you. They are telekinetic as well.." 

"What does the infection do?"

"The Angel basically flows into your body and slowly rips it apart from the inside. They take a DNA sample from you as they do this."

For the first time since he entered, Alexis smiled. This smile was different, however. It was dark, something dangerous...An eye blink later, the smile was gone and he was back to business. "Sounds like that would hurt...and they're telekinetic. This boarding is going to be a challenge then, I take it."

She noticed the change and shrugged "It will be very difficult to take over the Angel's ship. But it is what we've been instructed to do." Again she saw something flash before her eyes.. her eyes went distant for a moment before they focused again. "You said that you noticed something from the earlier attack?"

"Yeah, I wanted to talk it over with Megami or someone who knew Angels well. About four or five seconds before the ambush there were several small variations, distortions of some kind that the sensors picked up around the Yui. I'm not sure, but that's the only thing before the attack that I could think of that would possibly be an indicator..." He, too noticed a difference; something in the way Chi's eyes glazed a bit. "What're you thinking about?"

"Just memories. I saw an Angel try to infect Yui during the Wars, and I saw a successful infection. It's the only reason why I know about the effects of an infection. But, if the Angel ships create a space distortion then we can detect them."

Alexis didn't know how to respond, so he remained silent. After a while he spoke up again. "I guess I don't know what that feels like. I have never been in a war before."

She nodded and smiled softly despite herself, "War is never a pleasant thing, no matter who the enemies are or how the battle is fought. And the past no matter how painful to relive is the past; and nothing can be done to change it. You can only learn from it and try to make sure it never happens again.." She paused for a moment and touched the insignia on her bear's chest. "But, despite my feelings, I don't want the crew to rush in with guns blazing. I want them to cautiously enter the ship and try to avoid combat with the Angels until it is necessary. I even would like Nanashi to be careful when she goes aboard."

"What if they come out with guns blazing?"

"Then it would be different, and the crew could take the appropriate action against the Angels which would be to shoot to kill."

"Maybe if we sent Nashi in first...I could adjust the simulation with information from the computers on the Angel physiology and she could practice before going in. One or two runs could train her in time, then send her in first as a scout. From what I read, she knows more than just direct assault."

Chi nodded. "Ok, that would be a good idea. Speaking of which, have you checked on Nashi since we were attacked?"

"Umm...yeah, on my way to the bridge after checking on Timdri. I brought her a bit of dinner too." He smiled as he remembered what happened when he arrived. "Apparently when the attack occurred the simulator was damaged. But she repaired it using some wires that had torn behind a bulkhead in her room to melt the circuit panels back together." The shifter was clearly impressed. "Other than that, ironically it looked like she had fun while we were fighting for our lives."

Chi smiled again. "That's good, she was having fun doing something other than killing. It looks like she might become more stable over time. Do we need to repair the bulkhead or will it be fine as it is?

Alexis shook his head. "I already replaced it and reconnected the wires. There was a way she could have short-circuited the door to open but was so distracted she didn't notice it."

"So we caught a lucky break." She smiled softly, maybe their luck would improve after all. "We're going to have to board the Angel ship soon, or else it won't be there to board."

"Yeah. I think the Yui's all in order now, and we can probably get a boarding crew together within the hour." Shifting in his seat again, Alexis glanced around for no reason and then pulled out his pad. "I've got...one more question. Why are they called Angels? Did they choose the name themselves?"

"I don't know really. I think it was just what we decided to call them because of their appearance and the connection that was made to the Catholic and Christian religion's belief that angels have wings and hierarchies within it. Although only the Catholics believe in the hierarchy. In all truth, it is the only those 2 religions that believe that they have wings.."

The shifter looked down at the pad as some new information scrolled by. A text message from another pad in his bag in the officer's quarters. "This is interesting," he remarked as a couple of files were forwarded to him.

"What is interesting?" She looked at him curiously as she once again smoothed her hair back behind her ears.

In the officer quarters, Timdri had silently watched from under some pillows as the two pads were dropped off in Alexis' corner. It churred a question after the messengers left, then walked over to the bag with a simian four-armed gait. Pale eyes scanned the messages on the pads then it smiled. It tapped on one of them, activating a link to the one in Alexis' pocket and sending it a message with the other two messages linked to it.

Back at Chi's room Alexis began to look a bit confused. "I think you should see this." He handed Chi his pad with the two messages side by side on the screen.

Chi took the pad and looked over the messages and looked reasonably confused. "What the hell? I knew that Wazu and Uso had a bad history together but this is ridiculous. Alexis, I think we should keep an eye on all three persons involved until we can figure out what is really going on here."

Alexis nodded in agreement. "If it'll help any, I can probably get into Wazu's comp better than anyone. I wouldn't need any equipment and depending on what he's got guarding that thing he might not even know I was in there. As far as I can tell he's got his own system separate from Megami, of course, so he won't have to deal with her privacy issues when he jacks in. Or we could try to connect his system with Meg so she can check it out....Wait, how do you propose we watch the Doc, Uso, and Ritsu, especially with Ritsu in charge of security?"

"We listen and observe what's going on. Gossip will probably be our best ally in this. We can also ask Megami to monitor their movements aboard ship. We can also talk to Sgzyr and give him a head's up as to what's going on and ask him to keep it to himself. Have a sentry watch a sentry, that sort of thing."

The shifter grinned, then started laughing. "Now that's why you're the captain. They're always with a plan. Alright. I'll talk to Sgzyr, I've been meaning to have a proper introduction with him anyway."

Chi couldn't help but laugh as well. "Thank you. I'll try to keep an eye on them as well. With the issue with the Angels we cannot afford treason nor false accusations, so we'll have to do our best to keep everything running like it normally would be."

"So I should put off hacking his system?"

"If you could but a monitoring bug in it, that might be less noticeable?"

"I don’t know about less noticeable, and it'd be trickier...but I'll try." Alexis looked down at the clock on the pad, reading it upside-down since Chi was still holding it. "If that's all, I will let you get some rest. The boarding will proceed as soon as Ritsu's clones are up and running. Would you like to brief Nashi or do you want me to?"

"You can brief Nashi, I'll try to see if I can get some sleep.. That should be it, thank you again Alexis." She smiled softly as she handed the computer pad back to the shifter.

He returned the smile and put away the pad. Elevating himself on his hands, he unfolded his legs and got them under himself before getting out of the nest. "Those nests are quite comfortable...I wish you a good night and deep sleep. See ya in the mornin'." With that, Alexis gave a slight bow and left the room. Once outside, he glanced over the bridge and then headed to the galley to grab some food to take back to his quarters. There was some work there he had to do before the mission started and he did not want any distractions. And after so many days in hibernation, Timdri had to be hungry.

"Good night." She watched him go before laying down on the nest again, hugging Mr. Bear to her again. "You like Fluffy, don't you Mr. Bear?" She smiled softly again. "He's going to make a good captain."
Chi had given up on the concept of sleeping and had returned to her chair on the bridge. She sat there looking over data readouts on what courses of action they could take.

The screen unexpectedly flashed from the view of the angel ship to the face of Taisa Fensalir Kelrina, captain of the GSS Ender III. "Taisho Chiharu, shall I stay here or go on with my mission? There's still another one of the attack frigates out there." The neko looked slightly bored.

...or perhaps not boredom, but distaste for what she considered needless waiting.

Chi thought over Taisa Kelrina's question again before she spoke. "You can go on with your mission, thank you for standing by for us. The GSS Yui is ready to get up and go again. I'm sorry for keeping you away from your mission for so long." Her voice was apologetic but she understood Kelrina's feelings.

Taisa Kelrina didn't spare many words to anyone who wasn't her crew. She nodded her head slightly, keeping her icy glaring eyes locked on Chi as she dipped her head. The transmission cut and the GSS Ender was gone within seconds.

Chi sighed a bit as the transmission ended, she felt some guilt for keeping the GSS Ender from it's duty while they repaired but better safe than sorry. But now, they would have to board the Angel ship by themselves and they would also have to do it very quickly or else the ship would escape after attacking them again.

On the angel ship Light of Destiny, Jehenniel pressed his hands together, his knuckles emanating a growling rubbery noise as the joints and tendons rubbed against each other. He was dressed in all white, in a loose-fitting uniform with gold trim. His eyes glowed with aquamarine life, filled with the reflections of two luminous forms, seraphim from his security crew...

Chi stood up from her chair. "Aya, Arume, be on a look out for anything happening around the Angel's ship. I'll be back shortly." She walked of the bridge, taking a walk around the ship to clear her mind of the memories and visions so she could work.

"Master?" came a quiet, nervous call from an angel girl on the white luminescent bridge. She was a skinny one, with small wings. Her white linens were mostly around her shoulders and Jehenniel's eyes could help but to admire her exposed bosom, undies and hose. When she looked him in the eyes, he turned away, as if to make like he hadn't seen. The girl adjusted her clothes anyway, covering the protruding nipple. After an embarrassed pause, the girl informed him "The heretic ship 'Ender' has left the 'Yui' alone."

Chi quietly walked the corridors, until she reached a docking area of the ship, deciding to hang out in the lift area for a bit to try to figure out what exactly it was that she was seeing.

Jehenniel wanted Chiharu as bad as he wanted to touch the angel girl on the bridge. He was reasonably certain she was aboard... The Yui was floating just above the ship. Now, how to get aboard... He sent the two seraphs away with a lazy wave of the hand, and then began looking over the Yui ship again.

Chi had taken to sitting on a crate by the lifts and looking up at the bulkhead above her, not fully understanding what she had been seeing or why the attack had caused the visions to start anew. "What really happened during the incident and why don't I remember?"

Silently, a tentacle slinked out from the angel ship's hull, and moved toward the GSS Yui...it stuck to the hull and the two seraphs moved through it like a birth canal and then to the lift's lower hatch. Their flesh thinned and the pair put their hands on the doors, lining the edge with some sort of explosive putty.

Chi's ear twitched for a moment as she got a sinking feeling in the back of her mind. And then she saw something, it was a dimly lit white room.. a dark silhouette with what appeared to be wings.. who was that person? Was she onboard the Angel ship?

The Yui jarred slightly as the explosives detonated, forcing open the hatch. The damage it had already taken, combined with the force of the blast forced the lift doors ajar slightly. The tube was pressurized, and so there was not really any pressure change. The pair of seraphim crawled into the access tunnels from the lift, heading upward...

The sudden movement of the ship pulled Chi out of her memories and onto her feet. ~What the hell was that?~ She pulled her energy pistol from her holster and released the safety, keeping the sidearm at ready. Her eyes scanned the room as she moved in the direction of the explosion.

There was some sort of soft clicking noise, like footsteps...nothing visible, though.
She quickly pushed herself against a bulkhead so that she would not be easily seen, and waited for whatever it was to appear.

A seraph was in there with her. When Chiharu exhaled, it was close enough to be breathing her in. It wanted to toy with her, to drink her fear. A silent, quick stab of a imageless blade struck at Chi's lower abdomen, just at the bottom of the open circle of the pelvic bone. An invisible hand grabbed the pistol and the seraph's gooey arm twisted like a corkscrew, spiraling the gun three full rotations.

Chi recoiled away from the blow as it left her bleeding. She needed to keep her distance until she could figure out a better plan than this.

The blade slammed Chi into the wall hard again, and then slid free, leaving a spatter of blood on the wall, and a running flow of crimson that ran down a couple inches into Chi's crotch and down her thighs. She could hear an amused laugh. The seraph morphed its unseen armed into a 150-lb. sledgehammer and crashed down to hit her shoulderblade when Chi leaned forward from the sword attack.

She quickly hemosynthed herself a blade to use against the Seraph into her right hand. As she was slammed hard into the wall and the sledge. She felt the sea of red start to form before her vision as she swung the sword forward at the Seraph. She felt her body trying to repair itself already but even that didn't make any of it hurt any less. "Is that all you can do?" 

The invisible seraph shot out its arm and from its palm grew little skewers, which raced forward to puncture her eyes.

Chi ducked down and danced away from the palm racing towards her. This was going to be difficult unless she could make him show himself. "Why are you hiding your face? Are you angels that ugly now after all these years?" She tried to cajole the seraph into showing itself, pride was a good thing to attack if nothing else.

When Chi ducked, the seraph took the opportunity to deliver a full-force hit into the Taisho's lower spine using the huge sledgehammer. It almost laughed at her remarks, for it could be as beautiful or ugly as it wished. For now, however, it wished to be remain neither.

The blow to her spine sent shockwaves of sheer pain through her entire body as she half-fell - half rolled onto the deck, still holding her blade in a death grip. That didn't go well at all.

The next sledgehammer impact was directed at mashing the bones of Chi's sword hand. At the same time, there was a swift kick administered to her ribs by the other seraph. They were enjoying this immensely.

She felt her body start to alter itself as the seraphs made contact with her body with their attacks, the bones in her hand shattering under the blow. Her body took on a strange red glow as the sword melded into the structure of her hand, fusing it into one thing. Her energy was fluxing as the adrenaline pumped, she stood up ackwardly, her eyes were pure red now. Her left arm was restructuring itself and quite painfully it seemed as she finally screamed out in pain. The scream itself was deafening and oddly filled with an almost electrical charge.

The seraph's hands and tentacles could be felt wrapping themselves around her arms and torso. Finally, one of the seraphs spoke in a soft male voice. "Come now, we have much for you, Miss Chiharu" They began to drag her toward the lift shaft. The NH-X's tactical operating system warned her of some sort of chemical injection...the seraphs' touches had soaked her with sedatives. The drowsiness and dizziness was disorienting and difficult to counter.

Chi tried to fight herself free until the her equilibrium was thrown completely off. Her body continued it's efforts as she slowly passed out. Somewhere in the back of her mind, this seemed familiar..

She could hear them for a few moments more, even after her vision was gone. "Is she out?" one asked. A hand ran over her body, probing her for a reaction. "Yeah...sometimes I wish the nekos weren't so lovely." the other responded, planting a kiss on Chi's forehead. The arms around her released and her limp body was pressed against one of them's shoulders and she was carried through the lift shafts, back into the angel ship.

Her mind was a mess, she didn't understand why she was taken or why they hadn't just killed her. Nor did she understand why all it was familiar or what was going on with her body. She supposed that maybe her body was trying to adapt to the situation and it just didn't have enough time to finish doing what it needed to do, or wanted to do.

With a cool, soft phlump, the Taisho was gently dumped into a small bunk, and then covered with a wool blanket. There was a swish as the transparent door to her cell shut, leaving her all alone. Back on the Yui, Mr. Bear sat on his side in Chiharu's quarters, his gentle plastic eyes looking out as if to ask why...

Chi wished she could understand what it all meant, but she knew she'd soon discover the answers. Her body itself just continued to repair itself and unfused the blade from her hand...
Ritsurin smelled the unmistakable scent of an angel, He'd smelled them before, but this one reeked of vileness. ~If there's an angel on the ship,... oh no! the bridge!~ He thought as he tore for the bridge from the medbay. He stopped by Wazu's office and broadcast to Uso. ~ Uso, where's Chiharu!?~ the thought at her with a good amount of force. To Wazu..."Wazu, Chiharu's in danger." He said, stopping briefly.

~I don't know~ Uso replied obviously a little frantic

"What?" Wazu said dropping what he was working on and letting it drop unceremoniously to the floor as he ran off after Ritsurin

"to the bridge, follow me!" He said taking off

~Those damn bastards, I hate angels.~ Ritsurin thought, then slung a thought at Uso. ~ Check her nest! Now! She's in danger!~ He thought at her. "Wazu, no more games with you and Uso for now okay?" He said over his shoulder to Wazu.

~ok~ she sent back as she left the bridge running toward Chi's nest

As Ritsurin reached the bridge with Wazu behind him, he caught scent of a powerful sedative, "oh no....he muttered.

"What?" Wazu asked as he did not have the powerful sense of smell

Ritsurin's eyes and face marks glowed with anger, his hair flowing upwards. He turned to Wazu, " They used a powerful sedative on her, and most likely carried her off the ship. I know, they used it on me so much, that now I'm partially immune to it." He growled.

~she isn't in her nest~ Uso sent back to Ritsurin

~Shit! Uso come to me and Wazu, ~He thought at her “but first, send an announcement to the crew, tell them to come to the bridge. I'll tell you what I know when you get here.” He said to Wazu

Wazu ran over to the PA system on the ship and broadcast an announcement, "Attention! Chi has been kidnapped and their might be angels still onboard! be on the look out!".

"No, angels on board yet, ..." Ritsurin said sniffing the air.

"we can't be sure of that!' Wazu said "Either way precautions need to be taken they could come after other members of the crew"

He then hung his head.” I can't believe this...I’m head of security, and I couldn't protect Chiharu...." He said sounding disappointed. "Tell Lavinia to get some weapons from the armory and have them ready for us in security ok?" He asked.

"I lack telepathy" Wazu said, "It would be quicker if you did it"

~Lavinia, get some weapons ready in security on the double! then come to the bridge.~ he thundered to her mentally. ~Yes sir~ she replied. ~And bring me my customized Gp-5~ he added. Ritsurin's eyes glowed with an ominous aura... "Wazu, You're Chusa here, what do I do?" He asked

"We don't have any time to waste get the crew together in the briefing room in 5 min." Wazu said” We must launch a rescue op now!"

Lavinia showed up a few moments later, carrying a large supped up Gp-5. "Here Ritsurin." She said handing the weapon to him. "Thanks" He replied "I'm sorry Wazu, you're higher rank than I, I apologize for spewing orders like that." He said to the Chusa

"Just hurry!" Wazu said, "I must get a few thing ready," He said as he left the bridge.

Ritsurin and Lavinia nodded and Ritsurin asked "may I ask, what do you need? I could help..." He asked.

"No," Wazu said, "This will only take a second" Wazu left the bridge and Uso walked past him, they gave each other a evil glare before continuing on their path.

~I'll kill those feathered freaks,~ He thought. "Uso, do you still think He'll betray us?" He asked the Neko.

"Hold on...what's this about? " Lavinia asked her as well.

~Lavinia, I want you to follow Wazu, and send me back what he's doing. ~ He ordered her telepathically. ~Wait a minute I need to know what’s going on she replied silently~

~Wazu is planning to remove the crew of the Yui~ Uso sent to her telepathically

Lavinia gasped and then turned to follow Wazu, being careful not to be seen, she stealthed to follow him, as it was the best course of action. "Uso, this isn't one of you and Wazu's games is it?" He asked her

“It is a game, A serious game and one I don’t plan to lose!” she replied

~what's this?~ Lavinia thought as she watched Wazu quietly.

Wazu typed in a message on the data pad and the set Chikara down on the floor

"Are you working with us or the angels on this?" Ritsurin asked sounding serious.

~hmmm~ Lavinia thought as she watched him.

~I AM PART OF THE GSA~ she mentally yelled at him ~I AM NOT WITH THE ANGELS~

"I will stop this game if the crew will die from it." He said ~you made your point, stop yelling, I’m just doing my job~ He sent to her.

Wazu then got down on one knee and said something to the creature. He then turned and began to leave the room

Lavinia tuned in on what he said to the animal, trying listen in with her enhanced hearing. Then, still in stealth, followed Wazu.

~shouldn't we be getting the crew together like he said?" Uso asked 

~yeah, let's go.~ He said to her and walked out the door to round up the crew.

Lavinia heard "well it looks like I'm not coming back from this one." he then patted the creature on the head and then left.

~what does that mean?~ Lavinia wondered. Upon hearing what the scientist had said.

Ritsurin, entered the room with various personnel following him.
Wazu stood in front of a large screen depicting the angel ship in the briefing room. “If you are not aware Chiharu was kidnapped just a while ago.” Wazu said to the crowd of assembled personnel. “She must be rescued immediately! We shall board the angel ship in two teams. One will be lead by me the other by Alexis. My team shall consist of Uso, Sgzyr, and myself we will infiltrate the ship from this point.” Wazu then pointed to a small crater in the angel ship that had not been fully repaired.” We shall insert via space walk and use Ritsurin’s force field technology to prevent depressurization of the ship when we cut it open. From there we shall move along this hallway and access the computer system here. We shall then open up all the doors and hopefully give you Chi’s location. As for the rest of you Alexis you outrank me so I won’t tell you who to bring but you’re team will use the shuttle and attach to the angel ship cut through their hull and find and rescue Chi. You all have 10 min to get ready then we go. You are all dismissed Good luck.” With that Wazu left the room
The angel ship activated its cloaking device, and faded from view. Its tube it had used to bring its troops aboard snapped away as the invisible ship quickly moved away with Chiharu on board. There was a horrible howling noise for a second aboard the GSS Yui as air from the lift shaft escaped into space. It didn't last long; Megami sealed the end of the shaft with a forcefield.

With Chiharu tucked away onboard, the angels shot off into the night at maximum speed...
“HOW THE #ELL DID THEY MANAGE TO DO THAT” Wazu screamed as he ran onto the bridge obviously angered by the recent turn of events. “Follow them! And bring Alexis and Uso up here at once!” he yelled to anyone who cared to listen. The Angel ship was relatively close still so it could be detected and followed to a point but it’s cloaking devise would allow them to get away if they got outside the Yui’s optimal sensor range. Uso ran onto the bridge, ”yes sir?” She said. “Chi is still hooked up to a mirror right?” Wazu asked. “Yes I think so?” Uso replied. “Good I have a idea. Now here is what I want you to do,” Wazu said as he went into a long technical explanation. “As for you Acara do what you can to help Uso.”
Wazu pressed the button that would send the message to Taisho Yui. It was only a short message but it would have to do Wazu was planning out his next move.

Dear Yui,

        I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Taisho Chiharu has been kidnapped by the Angels. Their ship then left at high speeds and then cloaked we are trying to locate them and Chiharu. We would appreciate any data you could send us in regards to our current situation. The Yui will return with Chiharu or not at all.

                                                                        Heram J. Wazu
Onboard the GSS Yui

        Wazu opened up a comm. channel to the Qel’noran home world. The channel was flooded with static immediately. Wazu then pressed a few buttons and the static soon cleared up and formed a GSA flag. “enter extension number” a cheery secretary-like voice chimed in. Wazu then pressed some more buttons and the GSA flag disappeared and was replaced with a screen that was displaying all the text he had said. When another voice began talking. “Yes?” It said

“So how is the Last Resort?” Wazu asked the unknown person. 

“It is going through it’s first trials. There were a few problems with cloaking units but they seem to be all straightened out now.” The person answered.

“I need to know if it can carry out it’s purpose. Can it work under normal conditions?” Wazu asked

“It can. My staff is the best there is and I will personally guarantee that it will function.” The unknown person said with a air of pride in his voice.

“Something has come up.” Wazu started but then paused for a moment, “I need her out here in 48 hours”

“That will be hard.” The voice said, “But it can be done”

“Also how is Gama-shinobi? Wazu asked

‘It is . . .operational” the voice replied, “Why do you ask? You aren’t planning to. . ..”

“I’m afraid it might be necessary, load it up and bring it here as so. . .” “But I don’t have the clearance.” The voice interrupted Wazu’s order

“YOU HAVE MY CLEARANCE!” Wazu almost yelled, “Tell them that if they don’t agree to send it I will pull out of the program.”

“You can’t!” The voice said

“Yes I can!” Wazu said with a air of superiority in his voice “I’m on the GSS Yui they can’t reach me here!”

“They aren’t going to like this,” The voice said obviously nervous

“I don’t care. Get it out here NOW!” Wazu said as he cut the communication and resumed going over his plan in his mind. He knew that this course of action would probably get him in trouble but he also knew that he could get out of it at a later time ~They owe me one anyways~ He thought to himself.

Meanwhile somewhere above Qel’nora. . .

        The sleek ship’s’ form slipped quietly through the atmosphere vectoring towards a small forest many of the sensors on the planet failed to register it’s presence. A set of doors opened up in the forest and the ship flew in. Inside the underground room various crates were placed around the walls of the room and as the ship landed it opened various doors on the sides. Various personnel scrambled around quickly loading the crates onto the ship. Various personnel came out of a side passage way. They were all armed with gp-5’s a heavy lifter then emerged from the passage way carrying a rather large crate that was chained up and had a very elaborate looking lock on it. It was then loaded into the ship with the rest of the cargo. After everyone had left the room the ship closed it’s doors and flew out of the facility ”They really aren’t going to like this.” The voice said.
Brig, aboard Heavenly Attack Frigate "Light of Destiny"

There was a soft indirect light that gradually lit the closet-sized room, increasing in luminescence as a means to wake up the slumbering pagan captive. Through the transparent doorway, a figure in gold chain mail over flowing white robes stood watching. His snow-white skin was reminiscent of Irim, and maybe his cold stare contributed to the overall effect. Chi was under a wool blanket, her weapon belt gone, on a firm but comfortable foam like mattress. The archangel didn't say anything, but waited for the Taisho to awaken...

Chiharu's mind was still spinning when the light seeped through the darkness. She opened her eyes, pushing herself up from the bunk, her body still ached where it was damaged. Her eyes turned to the archangel at the door. "You know, it's rude to stare."

The large-framed male's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "..."

"I take it you buggers want something from me since you didn't kill me right off. So get to the point please." She stood up and glared defiantly up at the archangel. Her body straightened as she folded her arms across her chest.

The archangel seemed displeased. "Don't give me an attitude, nekovalkyrja. I'll break you" he warned. His voice was deep and powerful, and had a graininess that only added to the effect. "You will cooperate with me."

"Fine then break me. You'll most likely accomplish nothing though if you do that." Her voice had a fierce determination to it. "What do you want?"

"Alright." he nodded, and pressed a few buttons on the outside of the cell. The door slid open and he slipped into the cell with her. The door slid shut immediately behind him, and the transparent surface clouded over, so the people in the corridor wouldn't have to watch...

For whatever reason she smiled suddenly, as she stood before the Archangel. "You never answered my question, what do you want from me?" She moved her hands to her sides, knowing that he'd most likely try to torture her now.

"You're not very perceptive for a neko." he insulted her. "I said I wanted your cooperation."

"You never said cooperation in what." She shrugged off the insult. "And what makes you think I'd willingly offer anything to an enemy who I've fought against since the invasion of Hell?"

"You should start considering your futures now, Chiharu." the huge angel warned her. "Your actions will determine whether you will be happy...or very very uncomfortable. You're all alone. There's none of your crew here to judge you or watch you. You will submit to me, it is the best course of action."

"Since when does a prisoner have a choice in the matter of her happiness? You'll most likely kill me or torture me anyway, so all that will be done by cooperating is slow my own death. And if you kill me, it won't really matter. " She looked at him appraisingly. The angel was probably stronger than she was and with this small a space, it'd be hell to evade him or any possible attacks. "Besides, even if my crew doesn't see it, I will still know what I have done." She stopped again, running down her list of possibilities, surrendering will most likely get her crew killed and not surrendering would get her killed. "Just kill me and get it over with." 

"Take off your clothes." the behemoth archangel commanded.

Chi just looked at him funny and made no move. She knew full well that he'd just rip them off her. She decided that this would harm no one but herself for now, as she unzipped her uniform without a word.

The brutish-looking archangel looked on with a straight face, patiently waiting for her to finish. "All of them." he added.

She didn't take her eyes off the Archangel as she continued to remove her uniform, until all her garments were on the deck and she stood before him naked.

"I've never seen a brown-haired nekovalkyrja before." the angel commented, admiring her sleek, smooth body. He moved her garments back away from her, towards the door with one foot, and then leaned forward to inspect her chest. "XNH-10?" he read the genetic tattoo on Chi's breast. "PNUgen's finest, I suppose." he chuckled, with a slight smile. "You're too beautiful." he commented, placing his large hands around her shoulders and rotating her slightly to get a view of her back, looking for VDF flaps and the other typical neko features.

She waited patiently for this examination to be over, if she did something now they'd discover the capabilities of the new body. Time to play the waiting game.

"My name is Zemer." The towering archangel removed his hands from her skin and offered one for a handshake. "I'm your caretaker, now."

"Caretaker?" She laughed for a moment before she took his hand and shook it. "Your name is Zemer? I thought you angels all had names ending in 'Ael' or 'iel'? " She supposed maybe she would be able to gleam some more info on the Angels now that she was a captive. Maybe if she could get a good look at the inside of the ship she'd be able to send the info back to the 1st fleet at some point. 

"Oh, yes. My full name is actually Zemerias Kiriel" the larger angel explained. "As caretaker, I'm responsible for feeding you and attending to your needs."

"Interesting. And we went through all of this simply for an introduction? Isn't that a bit superfluous?" She looked at the angel strangely still, wonderful, she's now a pet of sorts. 

"Speaking of needs..." he raised a brow, pushing a large button on the cell wall. Out of the wall slid a toilet. He pointed to the bowl and then to the button. Then to other nearby buttons in the wall. "Sink. Shower. Bed." he counted them off, pointing at each as he explained their function. At least Chi wouldn't be living in filth...

Her eyes scanned over the buttons and she memorized which one did which. It was an interesting trick actually, and it made a lot of sense for the size of the cell.

"I will be right back." Zemer told her, moving back toward the door, picking up her uniform. He tossed a digital video recorder onto the bed as he exited the cell with her clothes. "Leave a last message to your crew if you'd like." he said. And then the door was closed, leaving her alone with the camera.

She watched the angel go and then looked down at the video recorder. She picked up the recorder and held it facing only her face when she turned it on. She started to speak, keeping the thing only on her face. "This might be my last command if things turn out how I think they will. Do not come after me. Continue with the mission and do your best. Remember, the lives of many are more important than the life of one. Stay alive." She paused for a moment and spoke in Japanese, "Watshiwa tewatarichinai." With that she ended the recording and tossed the recorder back on her bed. 

The archangel came back into the room with a tray of food in one hand, and a cloth tissue in the other. Usually, this was the part where the captives would lose composure. Zemer tossed her a tissue and looked toward the recorder. "All done? I brought you some food." The tray had a generous bowl of cinnamon rice, with a glass of warm milk and a plate of honey-covered toast at its side. There was also a tangerine and a bowl of fairly fresh spinach leaves (such fresh food was unusual for starships).

She nodded to the angel as she caught the tissue and dropped it on the bed. "Done. I'm guessing I'm going to be without clothing now? " She looked at the sweet food strangely as she sat down on the bunk now. "Thank you."

"Oh, you're supposed to wear the tissue." Zemer smiled playfully.

"So you do have a sense of humor." She took the tray from Zemer, thinking that this was a rather odd way to deal with a prisoner, but the humor and fun would end soon and then the pain will begin. It was all a matter of time now.

The archangel left the room again with the recorder, and then returned with an oversized t-shirt. "Here you go. I didn't think nekos cared."

She took the shirt and pulled it on over herself, it wasn't much but it was something to keep herself covered. "Today is a learning experience for the both of us."

"I hope I'm learning more than you are." Zemer grinned wryly. "I'll make sure your message gets delivered to your crew."

Chi nodded again, looking down at the food tray now sitting on the bed beside her. "You are certainly the friendliest jailer I've ever had."

"Well, so long as you're agreeable, I've no reason to harm you. Besides, it's proven much more effective to befriend and persuade nekos though kindness than though pain and suffering. If I was going to hurt you, I'd probably put you in a human body. But I'm here to keep you happy."

"You sound more like a morale officer than a jailer. Now why was I taken off my ship last night?" She traced the rim of the milk glass as she tried to figure out what the hell was going on. "Not that you're bad company, I just want to know the reason why." She kept her voice calm, this was just ridiculous to her now, it made some sense but it still was quite strange to be beaten up and then handled with kid gloves.

Zemer looked at the food and then back to Chi. "We want to see what the GSA is up to lately, and why they're nosing around in our business so much of late." he answered and half-asked.

"I don't know, I get my orders and I follow them." She continued to trace the rim of the milk glass with her finger, "Why do you think we're 'intruding' again?" She kept a civil and even tone to her voice, there was no point to her being aggressive right now.

"I think you are investigating something..." he narrowed his eyes in a disdainful fashion. "Don't tell me about getting orders. You're the highest rank, you have no one over you to receive orders from." he verbally dissolved her statement.

"I wasn't always a Taisho. You should know by now that we have a chain of command that we follow no matter what rank we are." She stopped tracing the rim of the glass and smoothed her hair back behind her ears. An image suddenly danced before her eyes for a moment, it was that room again and the silhouette was becoming clearer... Chi shook her head and blinked as she returned to tracing the rim of the milk glass again.

"So, what are the nekos doing out here where they don't belong?"

"Doing what we always do, exploring." She thoughts were drifting towards the image she had just seen, there was a connection, she was positive of it now. "It looks like you have been busy as well, ambushing starships and kidnapping Taishos. It's almost like you are on a crusade against us." She continued tracing the rim of the glass, her eyes were on Zemer and yet, they weren't focused on him.

Zemer responded "We're defending our territory from hostile invaders, just like you would do. To say we're on a crusade is stupid, Chiharu. We have left you alone...so why come after us?" He scooped up some of the sweet cinnamon rice in Chi's golden spoon and pressed it to her lips. "Please eat."

She moved her face away from the spoon and placed her hand on top of Zemer's, gently pushing it away. "You have invaded and conquered other cultures before, and there has been no move for a cease-fire. Nor has there been a treaty, so how are we to know what territory to not enter?" 

"Hell was originally our land in the first place. We were only taking back what was ours. But the GSA has invaded dozens of worlds only to satisfy its own lust and greed. You know you're beyond your borders." He tried again to feed her. "Please."

"We were asked by the people of Hell for assistance, and how can our motives be lust and greed? We have no form of currency to speak of and we're explorers. We make treaties with other worlds, not conquer them." She still made no effort to take the food from Zemer.

"What about Albini?" he asked, setting the still-full spoon back into the bowl. The rice was beginning to get cold, and was no longer steaming.

She looked at him blankly, trying to remember Albini and the circumstances surrounding it she wondered if she lost more of her memory somehow. She really had no interest in eating right now. "I don't remember what the circumstances surrounding the situation was." 

Zemer stirred the rice and then brought the spoon to her lips a third time. "Open up, Chi." This time he wasn't asking, but rather telling her to eat.

She looked at Zemer and picked up the glass of milk finally, silently debating the worth of wasting it and instead drank some of it. "If Hell was originally your territory then why wasn't the situation handled better or even a effort made to discuss the situation with Geshrintall?"

"We did." he frowned, annoyed somewhat that she was asking more questions than he was.

She set the glass down on the tray again and picked up the piece of now soggy toast, deciding that despite her intense desire to not eat, it would be better to regain some energy from the fight last night. "Anyways, so how do you feel about Nekos?" She continued to munch on the toast, noting the frown, understanding that this was not a good game to be playing with the person who brings you your meals. 

"I think they're very sad." Zemer told her. "They're beautiful, but they are sent to die fighting us and others, never getting a chance to really become a true person."

"Why do you feel that we don't have a chance to become a 'true person' as you put it?" This was an interesting line of questioning now. She continued to slowly feed herself, occasionally taking sips of the milk.

"If all they do is follow orders till their death, they're more like a device than a being." the archangel elaborated. "Of course, I'm not saying following orders is bad. I mean that they never make the decision not to make their own decisions."

"We live out our lives, fall in love, work and study. We do not fear death because we live in the moment and do what we love to do: Learn and explore. As members of a military organization you always have the choice to not follow orders but you usually do out of loyalty and respect for those giving the commands. You never really know the full story due to the issue of security and the lives of the entire force. But that is the way it is, you as an angel do have free will?" She looked at Zemer again, curious to what his answer would be as she polished off the last of the toast.

Zemer looked at her oddly, not answering. After a short pause, he asked, "So even your fresh clones question your orders?"

"The clones usually question who they are before they question orders. But they would question my order if they felt it was unjust or wrong. As an officer you always run the risk of a mutiny unless you understand and befriend your crew. As a captain, you have to become a parent as well as a friend to all those aboard. You are responsible for the well-being of everyone and they rely on you to make the correct decisions. The best route is to be honest and understanding, then they will trust you as well."

"Since when do mass-produced weapons come with a conscience?" Zemer frowned.

"Everyone has a soul Zemer, as well as morals. We have emotions as well as pain. I am as alive as you are. Does it bother you that we have a conscience?" 

"You are wrong. Good night, Chiharu." Zemer said, taking the tray of food, giving it a quick inventory to make sure all the silverware was still there. "...and Chi...call me master" With that, he left her alone. The lights in the room dimmed to 'night light' level again.

Chi looked after Zemer, knowing that she got to him on some level. It would be interesting to find out more about Zemer and his position with the Angels, for now, escape would be a secondary priority. If she could discover how far along the Angels were on their plan to revive God, it'd be a good for the GSA intel. But there was still the matter of the connection between the incident, the angels and her images. All she really knew was that something happened to her and it had to do with the Angels somehow. She continued sitting the on bed, hoping her crew was alright and now one was hurt in her explosion. In some strange way she was relieved that she was the one who was captured, and not any of the crew. It was still bad but she still smiled, her crew was safe for now.
After his meeting with Chiharu, Alexis had dropped the food off at his quarters and headed over to Nanashi's quarters to brief her on the boarding procedures. 

"Hello Nashi, are you up?" he said, knocking lightly on the doorway as he entered.

Nashi was laying in her hammock with another simulation in progress. Alexis smiled slightly, then walked over to her side and tapped her on the shoulder. Her ruby eyes blinked, then she broke out in smiles. "Daddy!" Sitting up, her arms wrapped him up in a firm hug which he gently returned. "Thank you for the new program, I like caves!"

From the look she was giving him, Alexis could tell she liked hunting in the new cave environment he had inserted. He smiled at her and nodded. "Glad to hear it, Ar'isa," he said, using his pet name for her, a R'Lari word meaning "changed thoughts". Appropriate, he thought, for her condition; she had had her thoughts changed to produce her current murderous mentality, and the word sounded as cheery as she was.

He took the headband and plugged into it. The shifter had downloaded everything that Megami had on Angels, even possible permutations on Seraphim forms. This he loaded into the simulator's database. He also created a profile on angel biology and their tactics that she could study before actually engaging the simulation. With safties on, he set the sim on back onto her forehead. "Daddy has new game for you...new playmates! Some you have yet to meet, so keep in mind that your normal attacks may not be very effective." He thought a second and then continued. "Try to run things through mentally before doing them. If something looks like it's not going to work while you're doing it, switch tactics. Keep your options open." If anyone was listening in, it sounded like a father teaching his child to hit a baseball. The incongruity of the situation was almost hilarious..."Allow the playmate profile to download first, it'll give you everything you need to know."

Nashi nodded and smiled, then lay back on the hammock and closed her eyes. Inside her mind the profile flickered by a couple times, all it took before she had it memorized word for word. Ready with the new information at hand, she activated the program. A ship corridor formed around the neko girl. An angel ship, from what the profile had told her. Nashi sniffed the air, picking up a couple of scents from a few meters down the corridor and silently headed toward them, active camouflage in effect. Her invisible form approached a pair of officers from behind...they were dead before they knew what hit them.

Alexis watched her silently, his face grim. It had to be done...right? He exited the room and headed back to his room. As he walked slowly down the corridor, he allowed his vision to lose focus. The details blurred, then sharpened, much more coming into view as his vision expanded to take in the entire EM spectrum. Glowing lines criss-crossed the floor and ceiling from power conduits and circuits.... A virtual rain of light came from the lighting fixtures in the corridor... Clusters of multicolored energy where crewmembers were, each with a distinctness all their own. Nekos were one pattern, humans another, the Qel'noran Sgzyr and demi-demon Ritsu each had their own patterns. Alexis absently admired the beauty of the light show... he loved to do this when he relaxed, the colors were so relaxing at times. He neared the aft section of the ship and paused. Two patterns were in the lift, but he couldn't identify their shape or energy 
signature.

-distortion matrix activated, cloak in place. matter phase set.-

The shifter abruptly vanished from internal sensors as a multi-dimensional distortion was put in place. To an outside viewer, he had been standing in the corridor one second, but was gone the next moment. In reality, several things had happened: He had drained all coloration from his body and clothing, resulting in a transparent version of himself...but it was easily seen by the wave-like distortion in the air. Then he had wrapped himself in the eleven other dimensions that made up space-time. Nothing could see him. Nothing could feel him. Nothing could sense him with any of the other senses. The shifter peered around the corner, using the energy-view to 'feel' his way around since light was no longer reaching his eyes... the two new signatures were still there, but Alexis noted that for some reason light wasn't reflecting off of them either... he realized they must be cloaked. And cloaked unknowns on this ship meant enemy.

The following confrontation was the most helpless Alexis had felt in his life. 

Intangible and invisible, he floated uselessly as Chi fought for her life against an unseen foe. His only relief was the knowledge she had her mind backed up somewhere, like the engineer Tomoyo. But the sight was painful nonetheless.

The struggle ended with Chi unconscious in the seraph's possession. Alexis floated through the bulkhead into his quarters and let out a telekinetic burst to signal Timdri it was time to go. It snapped up the shifter's things, but left the commissioning plaque from the Cat's Paw on the wall. It meant a lot to Alexis, but he didn't say anything.

Timdri tossed the bag with his stuff into the air and Alexis drew them over to him. Once wrapped in his cloak he could touch them; he slung the satchel over his shoulder and saluted his companion...the simian seemed to evaporate, the body melted into a glowing mist that vanished into thin air. That done, Alexis turned back to the seraphs...they were gone. Their ship vanished into the distance.

Alexis floated in the lift for a few seconds in semi-shock from what had just happened... slowly he blinked, then de-cloaked and began to leave the lift. Suddenly he was jerked back! He swung around... only to find that his arm had solidified inside the wall of the lift. Growling softly, he phased his arm and pulled it out, then headed to the bridge.

Chaos greeted him. Rather, it backhanded him across the face a few times before slapping an uppercut on him; it was so bad that he had to stop as he tried to catch up with what was going on.

Finally, he had enough.

"SHUT. UP!!!" The yell reverberated through the Yui's frame and back again. Everyone had to have heard that. Alexis was ticked, his eyes were flaring in orange fire and his jaw was set. He looked down at the floor to gather himself, the carpet literally began melting under his gaze.

"I am the ranking officer on this ship. Everyone, shut up and sit down right where you are. NO ONE moves for five seconds, and even after five seconds you are to get everything you can on what happened. But do NOT do anything without my okay." He glared at Wazu, Uso, and Ritsu.

"You. You. And you, with me, to the conference room. And DON'T say anything until I tell you, got it?"
Alexis stood at the head of the briefing room table and seethed for a little while as he tried to get under control. "Alright, I'll move fast just cause we have to... First off, I would like to tell you that this was THE MESSIEST handling of a situation I have ever seen! Wazu, assuming I heard your plan right, that is not the only way to board the ship. And the shuttles would almost certainly be gunned down before they got within a kilometer of that ship! Also, if you haven't noticed, they were gone by the time you realized you still had your pants down! So a boarding procedure was both premature and useless."

"I was unable to implement the plan in time do to slow action on the part of the crew. We should have left hours ago. Also I warned everyone that this kind of thing would happen!" Wazu said still a little upset about the whole incident. "If we left when I wanted to and not after the circumstances of Chi's abduction their weapons would still be off."

Ritsurin merely looked down, feeling disappointed in himself.

Eyes narrowed, Alexis looked at each of them one by one. "Uso, Wazu, I got your messages...Wazu, whatever devious plans you have are to be put on hold until further notice, and THAT'S AN ORDER. I don't want to have to put both of you in your quarters just because you two are busy playing your spy game. It's not going to happen on this ship." Wazu's reply didn't help his attitude any. "Hours ago? The abduction happened not fifteen minutes ago! Not to mention the crew was moving as fast as they could, I'm sure...I'm glad they didn't get those orders carried out, or you'd be in deeper hot water than you are now. As far as your warning goes, did you tell me or Chi about it? What did you say, I don't seem to remember a warning."

"I told Ritsurin, the Chief of security!" Wazu almost yelled back. "The security should have been much tighter anyways. We're in a @#$king war zone!"

"I know that they used a chemical sedative," Ritsurin said. "I hurried to the bridge to see that she was gone," he added his eyes still glowing with frustration "I couldn't help her..."

"Yeah, yeah, they used a sedative...What of it? I don't see how that's pertinent to the situation, Juni!" Alexis had been cooling down, but Ritsu's comment was just so out of the blue it set him off all over again. "You want to know what helpless is?! I was standing not three meters from her and I couldn't lay a finger on them!" He turned to look at Wazu again. "Wazu, cut the language. You should have reported your concerns to Chi, if not me. And I think security _was_ tight. But how good are we against invisible intruders? Those seraphs were cloaked. Even I wouldn't have seen them if I wasn't looking right! So lay off security, all we can do now is not let that happen again." Alexis' voice had dropped to a more conversational tone, and his eyes dimmed to a dull orange glow.

Ritsurin merely looked down in shame. "I want to help, but I don't know how..." He finally said.

"Hey, they might have been cloaked yes but security should have seen or heard Chi in trouble!" Wazu said. "Someone should have been there to raise the alarm!" He also calmed down a bit as the situation sunk in.

Ritsurin looked up, his eyes and face marks glowed with an ominous aura. "I ran to her as fast as I could go, but I was too late. I alerted Wazu and Uso, and Lavinia as well as anyone with telepathic ability. Plus Wazu sounded an alarm." He added growing strangely calm.

The shifter stood there, his expression said he was just plain annoyed. "No one did anything until the intruders were already on board...speaking of which, might I ask how that umbilical even became attached to the Yui without anyone noticing?"

"I smelled it, and tore off for where I knew they'd go, I was too late though, geez." Ritsurin said calmly. "What's past is past, let's concentrate on how to get Chiharu back."

A beeping noise came from one of the Taisa's cargo pockets, his pad was vibrating for attention. As Alexis pulled it out he continued talking. "Wazu, you said ten minutes before we were to attempt that rescue plan of yours. By that time the Angels were long gone, that's another reason it was faulty. But I'm not going to point out anything more." He read the message that had appeared on his screen then glanced up at Wazu. "In all this, why did you feel the need to call the Qel’noran world? Especially since neither Yui or anyone else important is stationed there?"

Ritsurin looked at Wazu thinking ~Why did he do that?~

Alexis glanced over at Ritsu. "In the mean time, Ritsu, you can go. Start running full scans of the ship, I want to know if there are ANY seraphs still on board. Use every means at your disposal to secure the ship."

Ritsurin saluted. "Yes Sir!" He paused to smell the air. "I can't smell any, but that doesn’t mean they're not here. Is there anyway to speed up the cloning?" he asked. "And I have nothing to do with anything like treason, I was only investigating the possibilities of it." 

The shifter shrugged. "I don't know. Talk to Akari about that." He smirked and shook his head at Ritsu's last comment. "Not feeling guilty, are we?" he whispered.

"Only about not being there to protect Chiharu." Ritsurin said, then turned to leave and check on the clones and ask Akari about speeding up the cloning.

Alexis blinked. Sharp ears, eh? He'd have to be careful about that. "Well, shove your guilt in the closet and get on with your job. Otherwise, guilt of her death will be joining it."

He turned to face Alexis. "I will die before that happens!" he said, his eyes narrowing. "I'll get her back, alone if need be." Ritsu turned to leave.

"That won't be necessary." With that, Alexis turned back to Wazu. "Now, about your requests..."

"I hope not, but just know I will sacrifice myself for her if need be." Ritsurin said without turning around just before the door closed behind him.

"There are important resources that I can use there. Although not everyone may be informed of them," Wazu said. "And there is a bomb in the ship."

"You mean besides the one posing as a sparring drone?" Alexis said wryly.

~!!! what the hell are they going to do?~ Ritsurin thought as has he heard what they said through the walls just before he went out of range. ~Dammit! what am I going to do about it?~

Back in the briefing room Alexis waited for Wazu's answer.

"Yes," Wazu said. "I'm not going to lie to you right now but I'm serious that all the details can't be reveled right now."

"Your 'resources' are gathering a history of being over-kill." Alexis said, shaking his head slowly. "What exactly did you send for and what exactly does it do? You will give details or I'm reporting your actions to Yui."

"I sent for the QSS Last resort. The ship is Kieru class and it is the first of it's type. It is used for long term covert operations," Wazu said.

"First of its type...what systems does it have? Anything special?"

"It is equipped with a Damasu unit. We should be able to use it to remotely hack every Angel computer we run into, whether it is connected to a remote network or not," Wazu said.

Alexis nodded. "Alright. What else did you send for?"

Wazu glared at Uso. "I will have to ask you to leave for a moment." Wazu said to Uso. She looked up at Alexis, waiting for an order.

As Wazu explained the Kieru's capabilities, the shifter looked at the pad every few seconds like he was checking the information with some unknown source...He looked at Wazu funny at the request that Uso leave. "Why does she have to go? We're all on the same side here... right?" The though not intended to be so, sarcasm was evident in his remark.

"..." Wazu didn't reply but his glare showed how serious he was.

Alexis was equally serious. "Wazu, Uso stays. And I can have Megami reveal your comm log if you aren't going to be forthcoming on this." He tapped his pad.

"I also sent for gama-shinobi" Uso perked up a little as Wazu said this. "Any more data on it is classified," Wazu said

"Why?"

"We could need additional firepower. I'm taking precautions." Wazu said

"Not what I meant, why is it classified." Wazu was trying on his nerves...the Doc had seemed friendly to Alexis at first, but now the shifter was getting bugged by the man's constant paranoia...and it was literally that. Though Wazu may have and may still have enemies, the guy couldn't discern between friend and foe! To Alexis it seemed that Wazu though everyone in the known universe was out to get him...

"The weapon isn't built on just GSA Tech. A significant amount of it was. . .acquired from other sources." Wazu said

"Yeah, so? If it is going to be delivered here, than we should know what it is and how it works. Or the one man here who can operate it will not be able to do so." The shifter was getting annoyed...

"To be fair, I don't operate it," Wazu said. "The weapon is autonomous and there is a fail-safe if it refuses to follow orders."

"Doc, you're insane. You know that, but that doesn't make it better. WHAT DOES IT DO."

"I know I'm insane you don't have to tell me. As far as what it does it is a fast attack unit created to test some of the technology that has been acquired." Wazu said, "I would feel better if Uso left."

Eyes narrowed at Wazu, Alexis glanced at Uso and nodded...he'd tell her about it later, if it deemed necessary.

Uso got up and left the room and left the them to their discussion. "The Gama-shinobi is equipped with dual ether blades as well a tesseracting unit that allows it to bypass almost any defense." Wazu said

"Does it work?"

"Some of it. none of the more important systems work yet" Wazu said "I'm bringing here so I can personally finish it"

Alexis sighed. It was a bit over-dramatic and out of character for him, but he was getting a bit stressed by the goings on. "Fine. But I am going to have a security detail assigned to you, night and day. You will do nothing without telling me first. Got it?"

"Got it." Wazu said his mind scrambling for a way to get out of his current predicament.

"You're dismissed." Alexis finally said. He remained standing until the good doctor left.

Wazu walked out into the hallway where Uso was standing ~well things will be getting interesting in the next 48 hours.~ Uso sent to Wazu. Wazu stopped for a second, he knew what she was talking about and he also knew what it meant for the GSA.

Alexis sat down in a chair and stared at the closed door after Wazu left and sighed. Was this command? Insane chaos, that's what it was...then again, that's what a CO's job was, to bring order to chaos. He smirked as he rephrased it: "Orders to chaos...". Just then he noticed Uso still waiting out in the corridor. "I guess I should tell her she can go back to her duties," he murmured, then got up and left the conference room.
As Ritsurin left the briefing room, he overheard something about a bomb on the ship. ~!, What the heck? That's not good. I don't know anything about explosives, better find someone who knows about them~ He thought. He then asked around, sounding curious.

Arume was in her quarters, laying in her bed, dreaming of Chiharu...

Ritsurin reached Arume's quarters and politely knocked on the door.

The neko showed up at the door. She quietly looked up at Ritsurin, standing there wearing a thin silk nightgown. Her face went from sleepy to annoyed. "What do you want?" Arume asked.

"Whoa! Easy, sorry to disturb you, but I need to ask you something, do you have any experience with explosives?" Ritsurin asked her, averting his eyes.

Arume scratched the back of her neck and adjusted her semi-revealing garments. "Yes...why?"

"Because I believe that there's a bomb on the ship somewhere. But, I know little about them, and even less about detecting them." He explained, now looking squarely at her with is piecing red eyes.

Arume's fist was quick to collide with Ritsurin's nose. "Don't look at me!" she sneered.

He didn't flinch as she hit him. "Heh, tough one eh? Sorry though" He said grinning somewhat over meeting someone with some spirit, and to be non-offensive, he averted his eyes again.

"There can't be a bomb aboard. Megami would have detected it." Arume reassured him. "She knows everything that goes on in here."

"Maybe, but Wazu is good at concealing things from her." He said, wiping some blood from his nose. "Nice punch you got there Arume." He commented.

"There's no way." Arume growled.

"Perhaps, but better safe than dead. Can I get Megami to run a sweep for it? You may be surprised." He said tapping his claws on the wall.

"She probably already has. She hears everything we say."

"Megami, is there indeed an explosive on this ship, anywhere? I have a suspicion that there is one, that someone has hidden, even from you." He addressed the computer^

MEGAMI's voice replied quickly. "There are a great many explosives aboard." she said. "But all of them are mine."

"Hmm, where are they? may I ask" He requested of Megami. He addressed Arume. "Is there any manual way of detecting explosives?"

Arume looked at hmm with a scowl. "There should be something." Megami replied. "I cannot disclose the locations of all of my explosives."

"Thank you Megami, I respect that, but can you tell me if there's any on the bridge, lifts, or surrounding areas?" He asked her. "You really don't like me that much do you Arume? In all honesty, get over it. We're stuck on this ship together, so why don't we just get along? I all due respect Chui." He said, still not looking at her.

Arume swung at his jaw, hard. She wasn't about to let him tell her what to do. "Shut up and get down on the floor!" she commanded. Megami waited till Arume was done and said "There are."

Ritsurin parried her blow and stepped to the side and sat on the floor. He smirked, he didn't care about getting smacked around some. "This is serious, If there is an undetected explosive on board someone needs to find it. I'll take whatever punishment you wish to deal me, but I will not be swayed from what I am doing. I'll sniff the bombs out myself. I just need a sample of what they smell like." He said, sitting on the floor looking down, smirking.

She closed the door behind her and walked over to Ritsu's side. "The PUSH-UP!" Arume's voice sounded loudly in the hall.

"one-handed or one finger?" He asked her.

"WHEN I SAY SHUT UP, I MEAN SHUT THE FUCK UP, SOLDIER!" Arume hissed.

Ritsurin smiled, he liked her attitude. He shrugged and started doing push-ups until she tells him to stop. He liked physical training, it didn't bother him any.

In a split second her GP-13 pistol was out and ready to blow his head into a thousand flaming chunks of filth. She looked very serious, and full of rage. In a low growl, she warned him. "You'd better start showing some respect to your superiors around here. Get that moronic smile off your sphincter of a face." she briefly looked upward and told Megami. "Increase gravity in Juni Daijinshi's area to a level that will make pushups extremely strenuous for him." a dozen G's later, Ritsu would find himself in great duress.

His eyes glowed red. He continued his push-ups with duress, though he didn't show it; he believed himself too tough to show the pain he was experiencing. 

"Up! Dooooooown! Up Dooooowwwnnn!" Arume barked. She let him try to hover at the down position knowing his muscles were filling with lactic acid and burning like fire. "I call this Muscle Memory."

"If you try to rest on the floor, I'll shoot you!" Arume growled. "UP!"

He did what she said. ~Dammit! This is quite a bit tougher than the Boot camp push-ups, but it'll make me stronger; the fire in my muscles brings back memories of times past.~ He thought

"Down!"

He went down.

Arume walked into the high-gravity zone. He could she her tense up and even hear a light grunt of strain from her. She stood on top on his shoulders, balancing there skillfully, with her feet on either side of his neck. "Up!"

~this is new~ He thought as he pushed up with more difficulty than before

Arume weighed about over half a ton in the high gravity. "Down!"

He went down, albeit straining for the first time.

"UP!" She yelled, bouncing on his shoulders by bending her knees.

"grrrrrrrrr." he growled as he pushed up, this was still good for him...in the long run.

"DOWN, you weakling!" she pinched his ear with her toe.

~WEAK! oh, that’s it.~ He lowered himself down using one arm. ~I am not weak!~ He thought.

One Arume's feet left his shoulders, swinging back like a pendulum, returning to smash a heel to the back of his head. "UP." she demanded.

He went up. Memories of his past began to come back. ~No, I cant think about that now...~ He thought, holding the memories back.

Yui: "...." Arume frowned. "Increase gravity by 5G."

~Shit!~ He thought as he felt his body start to weaken. He hovered close to the ground, but not resting on it either. ~I can't use telekinetics to hold myself up either, that would be too much.~ He thought.

"Halfway up."

"???....Oh!" realized and held himself halfway up but not completely.

Just then, Aya came down the hall, heading toward the quarters she shared with Arume. "Erm?" she made a surprised face.

~Who is that? oh, another neko.~ Ritsurin held himself up, wanting to save face, as Arume hadn't told him anything else.

Arume received a weird look from Aya, who seemed a bit shocked. As soon as Aya was in her room, she continued. "Up"

Ritsurin grunted, sounding more like a wolf than a human, and pushed himself up.

Arume kindly waited a few seconds, letting him rest in the up position, feeling him tremble under her feet. Then "Down"

~Geez I've learned my lesson already, this is getting tiring, as much I hate to admit.~ He thought.

"grrrrrrr" he snarled as he lowered himself to the floor (but not all the way), beaten and tired, but not broken.

"Up! Down! Up! Down! Up Down!" she put him into turbo, to quickly rid him of the rest of his energy. She was careful not to use all of it. No sense in killing him.

He did as he was told. "Father, help me..." He said as the memories broke through.

Arume got off of his shoulders. "Gravity normal." Suddenly the horrible weight was gone.

Ritsurin felt her weight and the extra weight leave.

"Get up and clean yourself up."

"Yes ma'am." He said getting to his feet and dusted himself off. "I'm...sorry, I'm just so worked up over this whole situation...." He said catching his breath. "Oh man, that was intense." He said after a minute or two. "What should I do now?" He silently asked himself.

"Keep a very close eye on Wazu."
Chi had not been able to sleep after Zemer had left her, she just was wide awake as she sat there on the bed staring up at the bulkhead above her. But eventually, sleep did take her and whisked her away to the place where she couldn't remember..

Zemer paced the hallway outside the door to Chiharu's cage. He couldn't seem to stop thinking about her....

She was back in the dimly lit room again, and she was looking up at the imposing figure of a male angel. Chi tried to look at his face but shadows kept it hidden from her. As she slept, she talked quietly in her sleep. Her speech was garbled Japanese, she was saying something about a ship going down and a sneak attack...

Zemer had entered the first door and paused to look over the sleeping body of his new captive. She didn't seem too bad for a neko. It almost made him want to have a wife, a daughter. So beautiful... He spotted her lips moving, and quietly entered the room in order to hear her.

She kept switching languages as she spoke out in her slept, it was a mixture of English and Japanese which translated out to be: "Captain, I think there are still some crew left alive... demo, the enemy looks like they are coming back to finish us off." There was a eerie pause, before she spoke again, her voice was a little louder, "I can't believe the captain's dead and now.. we're been taken captive... I can hear the others scream.." She was fidgeting now, like she was trying to free herself from something and she was.. whimpering? 

The large-framed archangel flattened his wings against the cell wall and sat down on the floor, next to the bed and close to her face. He trailed his fingers gently through her bangs and hair as she tossed and turned. "What's happened, Chi?" he whispered.

Her breathing became panicked, "why won't he just kill me instead of.. " She was still struggling with something. "he won't let me die.. instead he just.. he just.." Tears started rolling down her cheeks, her eyes rapidly moving behind closed eyelids, she was still deep in REM sleep. 

Zemer leaned closer, putting his hand over her heart, as if trying to soothe its racing beat. At the same time, his mind was saturated with curiosity for Chiharu and her history. "just what, Chi?" he asked, whispering softly into her ear.

She didn't say anything else, her heart was beating fast as an image formed in Zemer's mind. He could see a different Chi in a cell not unlike this one except larger. She was bleeding badly as she lay naked curled up into a ball staring blankly at a large man. He was an angel, Zemer could almost make out his features.. the angel was very familiar somehow. The angel was speaking to her, "No, no Chiharu, you can't die yet, you're still mine." The voice was lewd and still very familiar..

Zemer slid a hand under her bottom, and the other under her torso, and gently lifted her out of bed and placed her against his board chest, rubbing her back soothingly. "It's alright." he whispered, unsure whether or not she could hear him. He continued to listen intently to and watch her mumbling and her broadcasted memories. Not wanting to wake her up, he laid himself face-up on the bed, and wrapped the covers over them both. His body was warm and comforting beneath her. "Calm" he whispered lightly.

Chi unconscious reaction to this was a violent struggle to get away from the Angel, in her mind she was trying to get away from the Angel in her memory, "STAY AWAY FROM ME! Just let me die with some shred of myself left and stop.. stop.." She couldn't bring herself to even say it. The images of what had happened repeatedly over the years she was trapped there flashed by in a whirlwind of pain and despair as her mind still tried to block out what happened, but Zemer could feel, could almost taste the bitterness of what happened. The angel had raped her and she still couldn't say it or accept it even though it happened years ago. But, the image of her attacker was clearer now and Zemer had no mistake who it was... 

Zemer held her limbs fast by keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around her, pressing her arms against her body. "It's alright." he calmly told her. He wondered if the dream was all repressed memory. Consciously, she probably thought she was still a virgin...Zemer felt a deep sympathy for the poor young woman.

She cried out again, still trying to get away until finally the memory passed and she was still again. The images of the projected memory faded from Zemer's mind but he could still sense that inwardly she wondered who the angel was, and what she would do if she fully remembered what happened. ~The visions are stronger now and I still don't understand them or what really happened. Why does this all seem familiar?~

Zemer ran his hands up and down her back, and planted a kiss on her cheek, then leaned back on the bed, enjoying her weight on him, and her presence. It made him realize how lonely he was. Listening to the sound of her breathing as it slowly returned to a resting pattern, he only smiled, thankful for this moment, and thankful to be the one who would know her and care for her. "Good Chi." he whispered to the sleeping neko.

She laid on top of him gently sleeping, she was out of the recesses of her mind in the places she could not look and was just wondering how her crew was and hoped that they would obey her order. She quietly spoke again, "I hope everyone is ok.."
After Ritsurin's 6-7 push-ups at 5 times normal gravity, with Arume on his shoulders; he began to think.

~Hmm...I can trust Megami-she shouldn’t lie to anyone. I'll let Alexis handle Wazu for now~ He thought.

Ritsurin figured out a solution, He went to find Geminasu, when he found the sentry, he proceeded to give his order.

"Geminasu! You have a new assignment, you are to monitor Wazu, and report anything and everything he does to Alexis first, then to me. Got it?" A tired and serious Ritsurin said.

~Lavinia, meet me in the hallway near the lift.~ He sent her telepathically.

Lavinia got his thought and headed up the lift from the tech floor to the main deck to meet him.

"Ritsurin, what is it?" She asked, sounding worried. "You look tired, what happened?"

"Long story. Anyway, I want you to scan the ship, look for anything out of the ordinary. I want you armed with a GP-5, loaded with live ammo no exceptions. Shoot to kill anything that's not a normal member of the crew, you are looking for seraphim. Do not let them touch you... if you get into trouble, let me know instantly with telepathy ok?" He ordered.

"What about you? Shouldn't you do it too?" She asked with a brow raised.

"I'm going to." He said. "Just go ok? I'll be right behind you." He added, his fierce eyes softening a little bit.

Lavinia nodded and began her search, looking in every nook and cranny on the ship.

~Ritsu, what's happened to you? You've changed, you're more aggressive, more hot-headed, yet strangely calm. It's eerie~ She thought as she carried out her orders.

Ritsu went and took a very quick bath, to wash off the sweat and grime from doing Arume's push-ups. Then he got back to duty, he went to the armory, grabbed a GP-5 and loaded it. Following Lavinia's lead, he picked up the deep scan of the ship. As he was checking the shuttle bay. He received this thought from Lavinia.

~Ritsurin, it's Lavinia; I haven't found a thing, I've completed a search of the starboard, I'm headed for the Tech area.~

~Good, Keep searching, leave no panel unchecked.~ He sent back to her

~I'm in the Weapon's System's room now. They did a good job in here.~ She reported and commented.

A few seconds later: ~Ritsu! Hel.....~She broke off.

~Lavinia! Lavinia! Oh no.~ He thought as he tried to tap into her mind, finding it like static.

Ritsurin sprinted for where she was. When he got there a mere 15 seconds later, he smelled the reek of seraphim. "No! he screamed when he saw Lavinia's prone body laying on the floor. He whipped his sword out and activated it. "Show yourself angel scum!" He tried to goad the thing into showing itself. He dodged out the way of a stab to the back the cloaked seraphim attempted, thanks to his sharp hearing (He heard the mud like sound of it forming into a spike then the initial thrust.) Ritsurin countered with a vicious spin-slash that lit the seraphim ablaze with pyrokinetic fire.
"Die you muddy bastard!"

"You are a fool human." The seraphim laughed, extinguishing the flames; it's voice coming out of nowhere. "Now, die" it said as it slashed at him. Ritsu back flipped out of the way, but his back was to a wall...

The seraphim materialized and launched himself at the half-demon, attempting to engulf him. "Oomph!" Ritsu grunted as the thing pinned him to a wall and proceeded to cut him to ribbons as a form of torture. The seraphim managed to put two large gashes on Ritsu's chest before Ritsu blasted it thing with a fire of pure vengeance; incinerating the thing instantly.

Ritsurin, breathing heavily and bleeding whenever he moved walked over to Lavinia. "Lavinia...wake up, Lavinia! No...." He said as he found the two fatal wounds. "No...it can't be...Lavinia no.....LAVINIA!!!!!" He yelled, most likely heard on the bridge. Scooping up her lifeless body, he tearfully made his way to Alexis. Fighting back tears, he reported to the Taisa. 

"Alexis, there was a seraphim in the weapons system room. Lavinia found him, and she ....she...it killed her. I...managed to destroy it, barely." He said, with tears in his eyes and blood seeping through his uniform jacket.

After a minute or two, Ritsurin looked up, the tears still glistened on his face. His eyes glowed an angry red, his face marks blazed, his hair began to flow upwards. He was still holding her body. "They will pay dearly for this." He said, his features and voice giving off an ominous aura.
Geminasu stood silently for a moment thinking back on what had just happened. 

~ Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! If I just been fast enough Chi might not have been captured. My danger sense had gone off by alerting me that someone was in serious danger. I ran as fast as I could to the source but to late. Dammit!

He punched, the wall and dropped to his knees, "I just joined this crew and already failed to save Chi. DAMMIT!" He pounded his fists on the ground beside his datapad nearly shattering the datapad. 

"We'll find a way to get Chi back, and I'll rip the angel that did this to my captain limb from limb."

His datapad beeped at him as orders came in from Ritsurin.

"Wazu?! Wazu?! Personally getting I'd think rescuing Chiharu would be top priority. But yet I've been assigned to keep an eye on Wazu? Well, fine, dammit. I guess there is no one else better than a ninja to keep tabs on him anyway." 

He sent an audio reply that said, "Understood, I'll be on that Wazu like a shadow. And I have an idea that just hit me on how to track down Chiharu."

He left the room and used his illusions to disappear from total sight and proceeded to track down the wayward Wazu.
Uso was at her intel station when she saw Ritsurin enter the room holding Lavinia, blood dripping from both, "Medic!" She yelled out as she rushed over to help

Ritsurin grunted, his eyes and marks glowing, his hair flowing...up?..."I'll be fine. But, she's dead." He said.

Uso's demeanor changed from one of a one of a frantic helper to one of a very solemn state

"Don't give me that please, it jumped her." He said.

"So there was nothing that could have been done?" She said

"I am afraid so. He called to me in my mind..." He said, and sent a message telepathically. ~ Ritsu. Hel.....; that's all I got~ he thought at her.

~What does that~ she though back when she noticed the blood did not all belong to Lavinia. 'Your hurt!" she almost yelled.

"I wasn't too far from where she was, but I...couldn't save her." He looked at his own blood, "So? I'll live...but I have lost everyone I ever cared about...Chi, my parents, and now Lavinia." Ritsurin calmed down, his features returning to normal.

"You still have the crew of the Yui." Uso added her hand began to ooze blood and she rubbed it over Ritsurin's wounds. the blood pooled around the injury and began to form into bandages.

"It's not the same...I feel an emptiness in me now." He said as she bandaged the wounds.

"Well then you have a reason to fight. Chi is not yet dead and can still be saved. Your parents died but they live on through you as for Lavinia. She can be respawned." Uso said

"She won't be the same..." He said "Hold on, will this blood of yours completely seal the wounds?" He winced slightly.

"It is only a bandage." Uso replied, "You should see the doctor."

"I don't need one. It takes more than a Seraphim to kill me." He said. "I want to keep them as a reminder my failure, so that every time I see then, I'll remember to never let this happen again." 

"Don't be so sure of your self." Uso said seeming almost a little offended, "Famous last words..."

"Not this time. I will live, and save Chiharu at least, then after she's safe, then I'll die if fate so chooses." He said.

"DON'T TEMPT FATE!" Uso almost yelled, then regained her composure. "Death is something to be fought with your every breath, your every resources and your every thought. Don't give in so easy."

"You're right Uso. Besides, when Lavinia gets respawned and I'm dead, what would she say?" He laughed. "Ow."

"She'd respawn you just so she could kill you again" Uso said, "And she might not stop doing that if you're not careful"

"I can't be respawned." He said to her. "Well, not completely anyway." he added.

"Then she'd track you down through your afterlife." Uso said

"Is there such a thing? As an afterlife Uso?" He asked philosophically.

"I don't know and I'm not planning to find out." She joked.

"Neither do I. You know what? I kind of miss Yui. I know that sounds off the wall but..." He said, still looking serious.
"It happens." He shrugged.

"Yes it does," Uso let her mind wander for a second before continuing, "From what I can tell all the crew who can remember when she was in command miss her. She must have been a great leader."

"She was, she was very easy going, but serious almost to a fault when the situation required it. But, enough of that, let's get Lavinia respawned." He said. "Besides I need to check on my clones." He added.

"Ok I'll go get her backup mind and deliver it to the medbay." Uso stood their for a moment before continuing, "What do we do with her body?"

"I don't really know, maybe using it and replanting the memories would speed up the process some." He said.

"Well then we better bring it to the medbay too," Uso said 

"One thing. I want to bring her back after we get Chi back. I don't want her remembering dying at a critical point in the rescue...if that's even the case." He said.

"..." Uso looked on puzzled at what Ritsurin just said.

"I know it sounds strange...but oh nevermind. I just want her back." He said, his voice full of emotion.

"Well we should get going then?" Uso said with a cheery voice. 

"Yeah, did you send her memories to the medbay?" Ritsurin asked.

"I have them right here." She said as she picked up a datapad lying on her station that had just been filed with the necessary information.

"Good, let's go shall we?" He said turning to leave.

Uso followed him out of the room reviewing the data on the pad to make sure it was the right stuff.

"It's the stuff right? I mean imagine if it were Chi's backup memory in Lav's body?" He laughed.

"Uso smiled as she pressed a few buttons on the datapad. "Or what if we got someone else entirely?"

"Let me see that..." He asked.

Uso held the data pad up to Ritsurin's face so he could see without having to drop Lavinia.

"Phew, ok that's hers, points to the memory labeled 'Bath Love' and blushes." He said

"There is something here about a 'small' problem she had with that memory." Uso joked.

Ritsurin got the little irritated anime eye twitch.

Uso, however, burst out laughing

"That's not funny!" He blushed harder, his face and eyes matched color.

Uso pulled herself together and stopped laughing through a massive effort of will, "Don't worry I'm sure she thought you were. . . enough for her."

Ritsurin would face palm but doesn't because he'd drop her body.

"Well let's get on with it, shall we?" Uso asked as she continued to walk down the hallway to the medbay."

"Yeah." He said and followed her, making a big effort not to look at her backside. Ritsurin clears his mind to keep her from prying.

Uso felt Ritsurin admiring her and tried to walk as seductively as possible without looking overly flirtatious.

Ritsurin tried to look away, but the wolf inside made him watch her. ~This isn't good~ He blushed as he walked.
Akari had finished working with the young clone when she started the process again for the next two when the matter of Chi's abduction had taken place. 

By the time the new clones were done, she heard the frantic howling and cry of pain erupt through the ship. She sighed about, knowing that soon she'd have to respawn someone.

She turned to the 3 little girls clothed in the GSA Sentry uniform that sat there talking quietly amongst themselves and smiled softly. She was quite proud of how the clones had turned out. "What would you girls like to name yourselves?"

The first one, the oldest of the 3 with the waist length maroon hair spoke first, "Could I be Sai?" She smiled proudly, because she had become more confident with the strange language.

The next girl had dark purple hair that fell to her shoulders with the same bright green eyes as the newly named Sai, "I like the name Harume!" Her voice was happy and bright.

And the last girl, the youngest spoke, "Is Amy ok?" The other looked at her, puzzled by her name choice. Amy had chin length light red hair and shared the same bright green as her sisters. "I like the name Amy..." 

Akari smiled brightly as Inari came in to check on everything again. "Kari, would you like me to take the girls to get something to eat before we sent them off to duty?"

Akari shook her head no, "No not yet, Ritsu will want to see them when he drops by to have Lavinia respawned. Oh, Nari, remember to back up your memory daily and to spread the word to the rest of the crew to do the same. It'd be a bad thing if someone forgot and we couldn't bring them back."

Inari nodded again, "I will. I'll have to tell you what happened between Arume and Ritsu later. Aya was telling me about it."

Akari looked at Inari curiously and shrugged. "Okay, now you have me curious but it can wait until later."
After Alexis had dismissed him Wazu returned to the lab. Technically he was no longer the science officer but he didn’t care. He felt more at home here than anywhere else on the ship. He also noticed Geminasu following him. ~Oh well, I’ve seem to have gotten myself in a lot of trouble and a little more probably won’t matter~ He though. Wazu extended a Mechandrite and jacked into his own computer system. ~According to this, all explosives on the ship are controlled by Megami.~ He thought. Wazu then ran through a list of everything that was on the ship. ~Data pads, Blood, Megami, gp1-a, food, nuts, bolts, ~He thought to himself. He knew there was another bomb on the ship but where? Then all of a sudden it hit him ~That’s It!!~ Wazu then continued looking through the list. ~That is genius! why didn’t I think of that?~ Wazu now knew where the bomb was, how it would be detonated and how to stop it . Wazu smiled to himself he was definitely happy.
Ritsurin and Uso made it to the Med-Bay. Uso carrying Lavinia's memories, Ritsu carrying Lavinia's body. He walked into the bay and gently set Lav's body on a chair. And looked over at Akari.

"May I please get Lavinia revived? I would mean the universe for me." He asked the specialist.

Akari looked at Lavinia's body and then at Ritsu, understanding that the man had no idea of how death worked with Geshrins and Nekos. "I can not revive a dead body but I can create a new one for her and transfer her memories into it. But, that body will break itself down until nothing left of it exists, there is nothing I can do with it." She looked over to Inari and she nodded.

Inari nodded back and picked up Lavinia's old body and disappeared into the corridors of the ship with it.

He then noticed the three girls sitting in chairs dressed in security uniforms talking amongst themselves. Despite his feelings of anger and loss, he managed to smile when he saw them. He knew they were his, due to their scent. (They were made from his DNA, so they have a very slight smell that is a little bit like his own.) The sight of the beautiful girls reminded him of his deceased mother, a real beauty. He knelt down in front of them.

"Hello, I am Ritsurin, the one from whom you were created. You may think of me as father or just sempai. Now what are your names?" He asked. Then waited for a response.

It really did make him feel better to finally meet his clones, too bad that they were only about half of him. He wasn't sure what made up their other halves. But it didn't make too much of a difference.

The girls looked at him curiously but, the oldest Sai had already met him and recognized him. Sai was the first to speak, "I have chosen the name Sai for myself, this is Harume and Amy." She pointed out the other girls to him and then politely nodded, choosing to let Sai do all the talking. " Akari-san was saying that we could start our duties soon?"

Akari looked back over to the girls and Ritsu and nodded. "They are ready to go Juni Daijinshi, you may need to acquaint them with the ship and their weapons before you do though. It'll jump start their programming. Lavinia should be ready to report for duty in about 3 hours, I trust you have her memory back-up with you?" She took the offered datapad and starting plugging in data into the computer to transfer her soul and memories into the new body. 
"She won't remember what caused her death and she will be a bit disoriented and groggy because of the process, so my advice would be to let her rest and start duty again the next day. Oh, yes, before I forget, remember to start backing up your memory daily and remind your Sentries to do so as well. If the memory isn't backed up we can't bring you back."

Sai, Harume and Amy looked over at Akari as she spoke, somewhat understanding what the Medical Officer meant. Inari had re-entered the Medical Bay and noticed that Ritsu was hurt. "Ritsu, I'll treat your wounds for you. You'll need to be fully functional in order to do your job correctly.
Acara had spent the past few hours checking the ship for bugs that might have been left by the intruders. Because he was a gentle person his anger had quickly faded as his duties took up most of his concentration. Many things were going on he did not understand or like. ~I’m a technician. It is not my place to get involved. I make sure their equipment works, and let them worry about how it is used~. He thought as he checked the engine for sabotage. Finding none he moved on to the cargo bay.

He had always believed that if he kept to himself nothing would hurt him. This illusion had been rudely shattered by Chiharu’s abduction. He was not a being of action, and preferred to stay in the background where no one could bring harm to him. The Cargo bay appeared to be safe, even though he knew Megami had checked already. ~Better safe then sorry~. It was the end of his shift so he headed back to his nest for some much needed quiet time, and a break from all the scandal. ~I wonder how Keenara is doing~? He asked to no one in particular. 

Meanwhile on the GSS Ayame (GA-04)

Keenara was doing a checkup on one of the security personnel. She considered the health of everyone in her care to be very important, and did regular examinations. Eventually the conversation came around to GSA’s current campaign against the angels. “I heard a couple of ships got hit pretty bad”. Her patient told her. “I don’t know all of the names, but the Yui was one of them, I think”. Keenara froze for a second, her eyes widening. “Well, you look fine to me”. Keenara said rather hastily, as she gave her patient leave.

When her patient had left she hurried to her quarters, and dug among her positions. After a second she pulled out a seedpod and held it in her hands. “Good, it is still warm. He’s ok”. She said letting out a sigh of relief. “I wish I could contact him, but he is probably not aloud to take any private calls right now. Oh well, I had better get back to my work”. Keenara got up and went back to the med bay, still clutching the seedpod in her hand.
Ritsurin grunted. "I don't need any medical attention, I'll heal it myself, it's embarrassing for me..." He said, turning his back on Inari. The wounds did hurt, and would have incapacitated a human, but Ritsurin wasn't fully human. "...besides I need a reminder of my failure, so that I may learn from it. Wounds don't slow me down too badly, if they did, I would broken my claws off years ago." he turned and smirked. "You can fix me up if it'll make you feel better though, just leave the scar tissue." he said to Inari. 

The whole thing made Ritsu start to silently sing a song of Chiharu 

~You were the Captain, the Mistress and the mother to the Yui crew, now you're gone;

Taken by enemy, we worry; plan; and prepare. Prepare to get you back. To the angels holding her, watch out, because we're coming to get our mother (or captain, haven't decided) back. Chiharu, worry not, because your loyal crew is in hot pursuit.~ He sang mentally.

"Anyway. Harume, Amy, and Sai; come with me. He walked them around the ship, pointing out their quarters (with Lavinia), introduced them to Siaga (who happily licked their faces, making them giggle, well Amy and Harume anyway.) He then took them down to meet the techs, after some introductions, he finished showing them the ship. 

"Now, I'm taking you to get acquainted with your weapons," He held up a GP-5a, "This is the typical weapon used in combat on ships. From now on, you will carry one with you, loaded and ready." He said.

Amy and Harume asked "Why?" in unison.

"Because something very serious has happened, and you need to be ready to defend yourselves. Our captain, Ketsurui Chiharu as been kidnapped. And we on high alert until we get her back. Do you understand that?" He asked them all.

"Yes sir." came the reply. One of them sent him a questioning thought message. It was a silent image of Ritsurin carrying his sword.

"I wear it because, my fighting style is different from most people's, you see, from what I know, other people like to shoot things. I don't, I like to use my claws and my sword." He explained in a patient tone of voice, but sounding more like a caring father than a hard-ass Chief of Security.

"I'm hungry." Amy said

"Me too." Harume added.

Ritsu smiled, "Then let's go to the Galley then." He said and walked them there to get something to eat.

~I hope everything turns out ok.~ He thought.
Returning to his quarters, Alexis shed the satchel he had been carrying and just stood in the middle of the room. 

His emotions toward Chi's kidnapping were dead, null, irrelevant. Everyone was carrying out their duties, order had been reestablished. A conspiracy had been unearthed, but still lurked in the background. He had established his position with the crew, but it was tenuous at best with some of them. One wrong move could result in harm done to the crew, possibly the ship... But that wasn't what was bothering him.

"I hate feeling cooped up like this," he said to no one, staring across the empty room to the starfield outside the window. 

Motes of purple and white light gathered in the air next to Alexis, coalescing into a shape that settled down to the carpet next to him. A slight smile fought its way over his face as he recognized Timdri. The simian alien shook itself as the light faded, trying to get rid of the tingle that always accompanied such transports, then looked up at Alexis and started chittering rapidly. Indignant feelings flowing from it like a stood-up girlfriend. Alexis's smile reversed direction and he allowed the critter to climb up on his shoulder. He backed up against a wall and slid down it to sit on the floor. 

"I'm sorry little one, but I had something else to do. I guess we have to stay a bit longer." Timdri frowned, clearly not happy. Alexis just shook his head and rested his head back against the wall, emotions coming back. "I know you hate space flight, but what else are we going to do? Chi is a friend. And I don't leave friends in trouble," he said finally. "As for the others...I don't know what to think. As precious as Nashi is, she's not right in the head. Heh, it's like everyone on this ship holding a key position is insane somehow! It's not right... it's like it's contagious or a requirement of some kind. Except Chi, though. She kept us all stable and in line." Alexis chuckled slightly. "I suppose I should get back to the bridge. We have to leave the Yui soon though, or the Counsel might start looking for us. In the meantime, Timdri, I want you watching Wazu. And put this in his computer when you get the chance." 

He handed Timdri a small bead-like device. It stuck it in its mouth and nodded. A moment later, a security neko stood in its place. Alexis shook his head. "No, don't do that. Everyone knows which nekos are and aren't on the ship. Here, mimic this person." He held out his pad, a picture of Tobias on the screen. The neko illusion nodded and wavered, reforming into the ninja. The illusions Timdri made were complete; mental suggestions backed up with light projection reinforced with a telekinetic shell to provide tangibility. The only problems were that nekos were closed to the suggestion and sensors could easily tell the difference between the illusion and the real thing, especially thermal scans... the shifter just hoped Timdri would be able to get by with just the light and feel. But in the meantime, it would be cloaked during the surveillance. It would only use the illusion only if discovered.

"Better. Now stay out of sight unless you absolutely have to be seen. In which case, use that form." Alexis stood up, his eyes flashed orange, and the air seemed to wrap itself around Timdri in the phase-cloak he had used earlier. That done, he brushed the wrinkles out of his uniform and approached the door. He had confidence in Timdri, his companion and first friend. But now he had to think of how to rescue his newest friend.
After showing the girls around the ship, and getting them something to eat. He lead them back to the female quarters and left them.

"Well, it's the end of my shift, I'm off to the baths. You may go see Taisa Alexis to get an introduction." He said to them in a fatherly way, though he did not know why.

"Yes Sir." They all said, saluting.

"I'll see you later. Oh, after your introduction to Alexis, you are to take patrols around the ship, you are to be armed. Be very careful, and let us all know it there's any trouble at all." He ordered and walked off.

Amy and Harume looked to the older Sai as if looking for a sign of something, then went to see Alexis.

~I feel strange while I'm around them, what is it? It feels wonderful but...~ He smiled. "In any case." He said to nobody in particular, he got to the male baths and changed into his bathing suit. He slid in the water with a relaxed "Ahhhh"

~Hmm, maybe now I can practice my flute.~ He thought as he climbed out and shuffled through his jacket's inside pockets. "Here it is." he said as he drew out a long, intricately carved flute. He sat in the warm water and played a sorrowful melody as he telepathically broadcast the lyrics throughout the ship. He mentally sang a song he had been working on in the vaults of his mind.

~I was alert, I was watchful
Yet I still failed to save you, failed to protect you.

I have failed, I lost something
Something important...I lost you

I lost you to those I hate.
I lost a friend, a mentor, a mother
Still I shall not rest.

No matter how tired I get.
No matter the injuries I suffer
I will not rest.

I will save you
No matter the cost of my sweat and blood.
Nothing will stop me from coming quickly

When I have you back in my arms
My suffering and torment will not be in vain
I will hug you close and never let you leave again

But, should you die, so shall you killer
I do not dawdle, I will not hesitate
For your life is more valuable than my own.

I will save you, Do not fear
I am coming to free you.~

He continued playing his flute, but no longer broadcasting the lyrics. He then got out about 30 minutes later, dressed and went to the bridge and stood guard there.
Sgzyr had been watching the events of the last several days with apathy. The only thing that bothered him is that the Angels were able to sneak on the ship and take Ketsurui away in a matter of a few minutes. He had spent the majority of his time meditating, neglecting his duties as Juni. He had worked on his martial arts daily, trying to hone his senses to beyond the norm, extending them to farther than he ever had before. He felt that he was getting stronger with each day passing, hoping for a chance to fight those blasphemous creatures that stole the captain away from the Yui. He had several things in about what to do, but he decided to keep them to himself until he talked to Wazu. With a quick stabbing motion of his hand, he knocked down the dummy that stood up. He grimaced as the sound bounced off of the walls. In silence, we contemplate.
A sleek silver craft flew through space. It carried two humanoid life forms and headed toward the GSS Yui. It sent a hailing transmission to the Yui.

"Greetings Yui, this is the Silvershot, I'm former Mercenary Zeph Steele. Requesting permission to attach to the Yui."

Onboard a girl with red hair waited and said, "I can't wait to help out and see how Tobias is doing."

Zeph pressed a couple buttons and said, "Don't worry Trouble you'll see him soon enough. M.O.C.H. prepare for attachment to the Yui."

M.O.C.H. replied "Yes sir, awaiting contact with the Yui..."

"M.O.C.H. please refer to me as Zeph, darn it." said Zeph.

"Very well Sir Zeph..." M.O.C.H. replied.

"Arrgh, get it through your data drive, call me Zeph and furthermore get along with the Yui's computer system, alright?"

M.O.C.H. replied "Understood Sir....... Zeph...... errr..... Sir...."

"You two are so funny." laughed Trouble.

Zeph's head hung low and he sighed in a very exasperated fashion.
The ship moved quietly through the void. Inside the ship the bridge was almost empty except for the few Qel’noran at the controls of the dimly lit room. Here and there various techs were putting panels back in place and installing new systems as the ship was not yet complete. By all accounts the ship was space worthy even though it might not have looked like it on the inside. The ship vectored in on the location of the Yui with its stealth systems activated keeping it out of view of normal sensors as the ship would not last very long in a open fight with the angels. However, the crew would see to it that they would take with them as many as the could if it did come to that. The Yui was then displayed on the front view screen. From here the ship looked small and insignificant compared to the vastness of space. It was highlighted by the star fields in the background making it seem like a star itself. “Scan for Angel ships in the area.” The current captain of the ship said. “Yes sir” one of the few officers on the bridge replied, “No ships in the immediate area.” “good,” The captain replied, ”open a comm. channel to the Yui,” A few moments filled with button pressing passed and a communications link was established. “This is the captain of the Last Resort requesting permission to dock with the Yui.” The Qel’noran said to whoever was listening
Chiharu awoke in a minor panic, she found herself tightly wrapped in the wool blanket and face down on top of some guy's chest. She struggled to free herself from the blanket and get away from Zemer. "What did you do to me?!"

Zemer had fallen asleep under the woman's gentle warmth. For some reason, he felt comfortable with this neko, despite the fact that she was just that--a neko. But his dreams and slumber were suddenly interrupted by her shouting. "Hmm?" he grunted, as Chiharu squirmed on top of him.

Chi struggled herself out of the blanket finally and unceremoniously landed hard on her side on the floor of the small cell. She winced a bit as she glared up at Zemer. "What did you do to me while I was sleeping?!" She demanded as she tried to figure out what damage she ended up inflicting on herself by thrashing about like that.

Zemer just gave his cute neko captive an odd look, his eyes trailing up from her bare lower half to meet her eyes. "Calm down, little Chi" he sighed, offering a warm smile. "You were having a nightmare. I...I didn't want you to be lonely."

Chi glared at Zemer as she knocked her shoulder back into place. "Likely story." She pulled the shirt back down to cover herself as best as she could before smoothing her hair back behind her ears. "You decided to take advance of me when I was sleeping, that's just wrong."

"Chi..." the Archangel looked genuinely hurt. Zemer shook his head. "No."

She looked at his expression and then into his eyes and saw that she did hurt his feelings by reacting this way and sighed. "I'm sorry Zemer, but it's not nice to crawl into a lady's bed without warning her. You almost gave me a heart attack.. Which somehow reminds me, is there anyway I could possibly get pants, a skirt, anything to cover myself?"

Zemer gave a warm, soft smile which contrasted against his buff, powerful body, as he saw the anger in her eyes fade. Letting out a sigh of relief, he nodded and told her, "I...didn't realize you'd be so upset. I heard nekos had a hard time sleeping alone because they sleep in groups." He patted her thigh "I'll see what I can do...most nekos prefer minimal clothing, too, that way they keep their heat-vents clear. How about my boxers?"

"I'm used to sleeping alone actually.. one of the benefits of being Captain of a Starship I guess.." She looked at Zemer funny when he said his boxers. "That would work, so long as they aren't the ones your wearing right now." She rubbed her left arm where her almost invisible closed heat transfers were, she felt a little uneasy about how much interaction with Nekos the Angels had, a bit mislead but pretty accurate for some Nekos. "Thank you Zemer." 

Zemer let out an amused chuckle. "You're at all not like the other one." He stood up and slipped out the door. "No problem. I'll be right back with some fresh clothes for you. And breakfast." Taking a slight bow, he shut the clear inner cell door in front of him, then turned around and went through the translucent outer door into the hallway.

She smiled a bit as Zemer left, well, at least he hadn't taken advantage of her in her sleep, but, she did wonder what she had nightmares about that were so bad that she had to be held down in a blanket for.

The amicable jailer returned with a big plate of food for Chi in one hand, and a T-Shirt and boxers, still smelling of fabric softener and freshly warm from the dryer, in the other. He also had a smile that was as bright as the angel ship's white interior. The breakfast had some bacon (obviously rationed stores from the rectangular cuts) strips, scrambled eggs, grits with butter, and some peach muffins. There was also OJ and Milk cartons with it. "Here you go, Chi."

Chi returned the smile genuinely, she almost felt bad that she might have to kill him at some point in time unless she could convince him to switch sides. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu, Zemer-kun." She took the food tray, for whatever reason she was hungry. Chi assumed it might have been from the energy she lost due to her nightmare. "You've only dealt with one other Neko before?"

"No, I've...dealt with...a couple dozen, at least." Zemer looked uncomfortable. It made him think about having to kill Chi. He wasn't sure it was something he could do if he was ever ordered to. She was special, somehow, and he could see he was getting attached to her. But despite his training, he didn't pull away. Maybe it was because he could sense the good in her heart, that was better than that of some angels.

"But you said that I wasn't like the other?" She poked at the rations with the golden fork before she curiously took a bite of the food, it wasn't bad considering it's prisoner food.

"Well, I meant Jehenniel's neko."

"Jehenniel?" She looked up at Zemer curiously from her food tray as she felt a chill ran down her spine, why did that name ring a bell somehow.

"He's the captain of this ship." Zemer explained, content to watch her eat the food, admiring the way she ate without being obnoxious. "He's had a neko of his own aboard for a couple months now. Poor thing she is."

"What happened to her?" She continued to eat, trying not to be too horribly rude to the Angel, he did bring her meals and clothes when he could've just left her to be naked and starve. So he wasn't too horrible of a man.

"She's right quite right up there," he tapped her noggin for emphasis, "anymore. Very emotionally disturbed."

"What exactly did your captain do to her to cause that trauma?" Chi looked concerned now, this wasn’t a good thing. There would be nothing that could done to help that Neko without sending her back to Geshrintall and PNU to be repaired.

"I don't quite know." Zemer shook his head. "She seemed alright at first, but then she became more and more distant and withdrawn every time I saw her. He'd brag about how she'd do anything he said. I think he might have tried to train her to obey him or something. Poor neko cries all the time, real quiet into her pillow."

"What color hair does she have?" She thanked the Emperor that she had Zemer as her captor instead of Jehenniel, but then again, she might've tried to kill the Angel opposed to gathering intel.

"She's a greenie." Zemer said. "With light pink skin and dark blue eyes." He handed her the OJ so she wouldn't have to reach for it.

Chi took the OJ and nodded, "Thanks." She drank some of the OJ before she spoke again. "What ship was she captured from?" 

"GD-37. Same class as the one you were in." said Zemer.

"Hmm.. and you wondered why the GSA was 'intruding' in your territory. Out of curiosity, how did you know my name?" She had polished off most of her food when she set the fork back down on the tray.

"If it weren't for us, she wouldn’t be alive. The Nepleslians destroyed her fleet and left the crews for dead. We found Iseki in an escape pod." Zemer gingerly lifted the shirt up over top Chi's right boob and poked. "It's tattooed on your breast, Chi."

"You called me by my name before you had me take my clothes off though." She looked at him curiously again. She wanted to say that if Iseki had been killed she would have just been respawned again, but you can't really say that, now can you? "From the sound of it, Iseki would've been better off if she had been left drifting in space."

"How can you say that? Nekos only have backups on their ship, and hers was destroyed." he countered.

"As much as I hate to say it, it would be better to be dead than having to live as a hallowed out shell of who you once were. At least if she was dead then she wouldn't be enduring the nightmare that Jehenniel is putting her through. The damage that has been done to her mind can only be repaired on the off chance that she ever returns home, from the sound of it." 

"So you would kill your sister if you had the chance?" Zemer looked at her as if she had become someone else.

Chi shook her head no. "I would only do it if she wanted to die. There might still be a chance that she could return home yet if she doesn't try to kill herself first." She sighed a bit. "I'm not a murderer, I just hate to hear that she's become this."

"I shouldn't have said anything about her." Zemer sighed. "You two aren't supposed to know each other or aboard. Seeing each other would be out of the question."

"It would probably be for the best if she didn't see me if she's that far from her past self." She smoothed her hair back behind her ears as she looked up at Zemer. "I'm still curious, it almost seems like it was deliberately planned to capture me from my ship. Why is that?"

"Your rank, I suppose. The GSA is in short supply of able command personnel" Zemer shrugged. "Jehenniel insisted on getting you, alive, after we'd determined that you'd entered deep into our space relatively unprotected.

For whatever reason she laughed, it figures as much. "And oddly enough you knew who was the commanding officer aboard ship." This was a dangerous thought, their intel was apparently better than hers. 

"Of course." he smiled. "We keep track of where all your Taishos and Chujos are." His fingers playfully circled around on her belly, causing a little "Activate HDM BIT?" to appear in her vision. He knew her how to push her buttons, in a sense.

She tried to turn off the words for the interface from her vision as she backed away a bit. "You've done your homework." She guessed that they understood that she was a new model by now, but, she had to make sure that they didn't figure out what the new body could do yet, at least for long as long as she could stall for time. "You must have a fun job if all you get to do is play with Nekos all day."

"Well, not until you showed up. You're the first neko I can call my own. Although Jehenniel keeps asking to trade, I like you a lot better than Iseki. She's too depressing. So, I'll be playing with you, Chi." He smiled, tapping Chi's chest twice in the center, just above the HS3 port. Another message appeared in her vision. "Display HDM?"

Again she tried to deactivate the message appearing in her vision, this was going to be a chore, maybe she should suggest that that change the physical commands when she got back. "So we're like trading cards to you guys? Gotta catch them all?" 

"No." Zemer frowned. "Look, Chi, you've got to cooperate with me, ok? You're seeing messages, right?"

She debated the value of lying to Zemer but thought better of it "Yes, I'm seeing messages." 

"Good." Zemer nodded. He tapped her chest again, then instructed her "think yes". 

Once again she debated the value of not complying, figuring that he'd be trying for as long as she could be stubborn. Reluctantly, the yes command came to mind and she suddenly felt dirty.

The archangel pulled her shirt off, allowing the holographic beams projected from her shoulder ports to form into a floating menu. Laying the shirt over her bosom so she could at least have a shred of modesty, he took her left hand and began rubbing his thumb on the back of her palm. She could see and feel it moving the pointer around on the floating screen. Zemer worked like a pro, calling up a text prompt.

Chi fought the urge to shut down the menu but stopped herself from sending the command through. ~Crap.~ She just watched what Zemer was trying to look up, hoping that the GSA decided to encrypt the data of the NH-X models..

Zemer paused to rise and hook up a small electronic device of some sort to the 25-pin connector on the back of Chi's neck. She could feel his warm breath on her ears as he screwed her in the literal sense of the word, securing the cable in place. He then sat down and began messing with the menu again. "When were you born?" he asked her absently.

"November 16, I'm 21 years old.."

He selected his way through a few menus until the screen displayed "Mind Section 2-3: Mechanical and Weapons Knowledge Base." He had the pointer over the "Download" key when her answer caught him off guard and made him give her a funny look. "Twenty...one??" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I have been alive for 21 years. I did fight in the Heavenly Wars under Kitsurugi Yui. I'm not as infamous as her though." She noticed what he was taking from her mind, understanding how they got some of their knowledge, they just downloaded it from the minds of the Neko captives.

"Moses Christ!" he exclaimed. "You're so OLD! No wonder there's so much stuff up in there."

Chi just shrugged. "Did you think we just got deactivated when we hit a certain age?" She understand why this was a shock, she was old for a Neko.

He tapped on her hand to click, then, "Dammit. There's a password for the file." He looked back up to Chi, "No, its just there's less than 10 nekos over 20."

She smiled slightly, glad that there was a password. "I would've thought you guys would have already known how old I was if you knew what rank I was and what ship I was on already."

"I thought you we only in your teens, actually. Jehenniel's the one who took the big interest in you." The archangel did a search hidden files without passwords. "Hey, did you know you have some memory hidden up here?" he asked.
"Not to say I'm not interested in you." Zemer added with a grin.

"I partially knew about it. My memory was damaged after the Heavenly Wars and we couldn't retrieve it due to the damage." She felt a bit creeped out again by the captain's interest in her, but she gave Zemer a quick grin. "You're just interested because I'm a relic from the Wars."

"Yeah, I'm a veteran myself. I was with the 5th Heaven defense force. You guys never managed a success there, and in the end, only got 2nd, 3rd, and after a while, 8th Heaven."

"We faired pretty well I think. I kept myself alive, lost my arm a couple times though." She smiled a bit at the fragment of memory where she first lost her arm.

"That was the first battle the angels ever took neko captives, I believe." Zemer noted, reminded of the ragged-looking nekos trapped in dirty prison/extermination camps. "We almost got Yui but the whore somehow took out a whole platoon herself. After that, the peace treaty was signed."

"I know, I was right there when it happened." She grinned brightly. "It was a pretty nasty battle, I remember everything being stained red."

"So you went back home with Yui?" Zemer asked. "Pagoda no Uesu...or was she living in Kitsurugi no Iori by then?"

She shook her head no, "After the Wars, I went onto a space ship and then the incident happened and my memory was damaged and I was found in stasis a few years later."

"The incident?" he pried, scrolling through her memory records.

The incident was the repressed part of her memory; although, opening it would shut down Chi's mind again. "I can't remember what happened." 

"That's because it's locked." he explained. "I could unlock it, though."

"It might be better if I didn't remember, if it caused my mind to shut down and put me in stasis." She debated the value of actually unlocking the memories, but she wasn't really sure if she wanted to really find out why the visions were occurring. In a way she was scared of what she would find.

"I'm sorry, Chi, I was wasting both of our time. I should be researching the XNH-X rather than satisfying my personal curiosity about you. If I don't get enough info on you, Jehenniel will try and take you away." Zemer finally said, leaving everything as it was. He flopped the clean boxers and shirt on her lap and stood to leave. "I'll see if I can find you something to entertain yourself with, Chi. Bye for now." He stopped to disconnect the cord from her neck, he then left her, taking it with him.

Chi nodded, "Thank you, I'll see you later then." She waited for him to go before she changed into the clean shirt and boxers..

Chi moved the food tray onto the floor of her cell as she laid down on the bed, wondering why exactly Jehenniel took an interest in her. ~It can't be good if he broke that one Neko down into shambles.. I really am curious as to why Zemer has such an interest in me as well. Oh well, I'll figure it out in time, at least I have some clothes now.~
As Ritsu stood guard on the bridge, feeling anxious for some reason, he felt something inside trying to come out. Something strange, he suddenly collapsed to the deck, clutching his chest. "AHHHHHHHH!" He screamed.

Uso was sitting at the Intel station listening in on all that is going on when she saw Ritsurin go down. ~what the hell?~ she thought to herself

He curled into a fetal position, snarling, his voice warbling between normal and a wolf's snarl. His heartbeat became loud and audible... His claws turned jet black

Uso looked on in disbelief not knowing what to do

His eyes turned red, the whites changing to blacks, his vision increased. his hair dramatically changed colors...from sunny blonde to dark ominous jet black, the red highlights becoming more prominent, the long hair fused to his spine and became a furry mane that tore his uniform, his hair shortened to shoulder length... And finally, when he was curled up, a long, bushy black wolf's tail tore through his pants where a normal person's spine ended. The pain of the pushing against his spine caused him to scream loudly. "ARGHHH!" 

Uso walked over to where Ritsurin was and tried to hold him still and keep him calm

Ritsu forcefully pushed her away, not wanting to hurt her physically, using his telekinetic power. "No, don't touch me" He pleaded with her.

Uso simply used her mental powers and cut through his telekinetic push "You need help." She said

He stood up, opening his eyes revealing the drastic change, he looked fierce, but his through the red irises and blacks, yet full of compassion.

He swished his long tail through the air. The reason why he had changed was suddenly revealed to him out of the chaos that was his demonic DNA controlled mind. "Do you wish to know why this happened Uso?" he asked her, his voice gentle.

"I don‘t know" was her reply

"It is rather important that everyone knows why this as happened, especially poor Lavinia." He said, his voice still gentle.

"Uh. . .What did happen exactly" Uso asked as she tilted her head to the side slightly assuming a questioning pose

"I changed because I am more demon than human really, you see demon DNA is always dominant, which makes human DNA recessive. Now, as I got older and experienced different things; rage, sorrow, excitement, anxiousness, and now a need to do something. Something my father told me to do.." He explained.

"well don't leave me hanging tell me!" she demanded more than asked

"I change into more like my father. He was a wolf demon. A powerful one at that. But, being half, I cannot change into a my truest form, which would be a large black demon wolf, so I stop now at a hybrid in the truest since of the term. My human appearance has been taken and my hybrid form, yet even now, my mind becomes for human, I now feel increased sensitivity to everyone else, more compassion, more...love than ever before. If you must know what father told me, here it is." He said.
He said: "My son, do not ever kill an innocent person regardless of what they do to you. It's alright to kill someone it they threaten your family, or your chosen love. Much like your mother and I. Never tolerate injustice. Do what you think is right. And always remember to live life to it's fullest. Your life will be hard, but you are a strong boy, Ritsurin Taisuko Daijinshi, I know you will make me proud." Ritsurin explained, his eyes tearing up as he remembered his father. A demon who loved Ritsu and his mother more than anyone could ever know.

Uso couldn't help but feel sorry for Ritsurin but then quickly dismissed the thought ~I'm a weapon no room for that now~

Just then Uso felt another ship dock with the Yui. ~Must be the last resort~ she thought to herself. "Ritsurin I must go right now I'll see you later!" she said with a cheery smile on her face

"No way, Uso, I am going with you, you cannot be left alone right now." He said with a frown. ~Especially if what I feel is correct.~ He thought

"Very well then but you can't follow me back to my quarters without getting in trouble with someone!" she said with a smile

"Security's a top priority right now, I will wait outside, you just don't sneak off now." He said, his red and black eyes looking evil.

"very well!" she said in a cheery voice as she walked off down the hall to her quarters

Ritsurin followed her, watching her closely, making sure she didn't try anything sly.

Uso went into her room and shut the door. ~ugh how am I going to get away from him?~ she thought to herself

~ You're not.~ He thought to her.

~really?~ she thought Uso reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a tranq gun. She then opened the door and caught Ritsurin by surprise hitting him twice before she cloaked and ran off down the hall. ~sorry I can't let you follow me~ she thought back to him

~why?~ he thought trying to resist the tranqs

        Wazu entered the lift that would take him to the Last Resort for it had just docked with the Yui and he had work to do onboard. He knew Uso was following him but he didn’t know exactly where she was. ~Oh well~ he thought to himself ~I’ll find out soon.~. When the doors opened he found himself looking a Qel’noran in the face. "The item you requested is in the main bay." He said. Wazu and the Qel’noran walked down the hallway until they came to a larger than normal door. Wazu opened the door and found a maze of boxes. "This way" The Qel’noran said.

        Uso snuck into the lift. She didn’t worry about being seen by the crew because she was in full cloak although her duffel bag was visible and she had to take precautions to make sure that it wasn‘t seen. The doors opened and she looked out onto the ship. Ahead of her was the Last Resort. She observed various Techs going about their duties completely oblivious to her. She quietly snuck out of the lift and headed down the hallway making sure no one was around before she went back and grabbed the bag.. ~Wazu is here somewhere~ she thought to herself.


        The Qel’noran led Wazu to a large crate in the center of the main bay that had a very intricate system of locks on it. The crate was surrounded by other crates filled with food, parts, and weapons among other things. The crates were stacked almost to the roof with only about 5 feet between the crates and the roof of the room. The current area Wazu was in was fairly big and open with only the crate in the center and one way in and out of the enclosure.


        Uso found the door leading to the main bay of the ship. ~Wazu must be in here somewhere~ She thought to herself. She jumped up onto the top of the crates and began her search for Wazu.


        Wazu pressed his hand against the lock and closed his eyes interfacing directly with the machine. With that the lock on the crate began to click. Click Click Click The lock removed the fail safes preventing the crate from opening and then fell off allowing the door of the crate to swing open.

        ~Ha! Found him~ Uso thought. She was perched on top of a stack of crates surrounding Wazu and the Qel’noran. ~So that is Gama-shinobi?~ She thought as she saw Wazu remove the sides of the crate revealing a human sized bot inside. It looked vaguely human except with various extensions on the shoulders for weapons and the arms were replaced with some sort of energy blade system. ~Well time to go to work~ she thought to herself as she reached into her duffel bag and brought out several belts with knifes in them as well as other weapons.

        Wazu had finished removing the sides of the crate and began to inspect the bit when something caught the corner of his eye. Thinking quickly he pulled out his sickle and chains and deflected the incoming knifes before they the Qel’noran and himself. "Leave the room and lock the door," He said calmly to the Qel’noran that was now hastily leaving the room. "USO! COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT" He yelled.

        Uso dropped down from here hiding spot now in full uniform with several belts of knifes around her and a sword strapped to her back. "You know you can’t kill me." She said, "And you can’t kill me." Wazu replied. "Care to wager fail safes on that?" Uso asked. Wazu pulled out a data pad from his robe and tossed it aside and at the same time Uso removed a small chip attached to her torso and tossed it aside. "your bomb is disabled?" they both asked each other the looks on each others faces gave the other a clear yes. "You know I can’t let you take this Gama," Wazu said. "And I can’t let you finish it." Uso replied and with that she brought her arms in and withdrew two knives as she brought her body into a tight spin flinging the knifes at Wazu.

        Wazu activated his intensify turning his eyes red and slowing the world around him. He pulled out dual GP1-as and opened fire on the incoming knifes shooting them down. 

        Uso continued her spin tossing more and more knifes at Wazu. 

        Wazu continued to shoot them down but doing so put a strain on his intensify system forcing him to drop out of it sending the last few knifes just past his head as he dodged to the right leaving them to impale the stack of crates behind him. 

        Uso rushed forward hemosynthing three tentacles and pulling out two more knifes for use in close combat.

        Wazu was forced to counter her tentacles with his mechandrites leaving both of their extra limbs effectively useless. Wazu dropped his GP1-as and brought his dual sickle and chains and used them to block Uso’s incoming strike.

        Uso’s knifes were deflected by Wazu’s block. She then attacked again sender her knifes forward in a double impaling action.

        Wazu brought his left hand across in a sweeping motion pushing her attack to the side. He then brought his right hand in and slashed at Uso’s torso. . . .

        Ritsu woke up from the rounds Uso hit him with. "Ugh, where is she?" He said to himself. "The Last Resort! That's it!" He said, and ran off to find Uso, following Wazu's scent. Noticing that the door was locked, he drew the suspensor blade, activated it and cut through the door and leaped to the ceiling. Moving above Wazu's head.

        Uso jumped back evading the hit that Wazu had used then she tossed the knife in her left hand at Wazu's head

 Wazu dodged to the side evading the hit He then attacked back by flinging his sickle and chains at her entangling her body

Ritsu dropped down in front of Wazu, and using the surprise effect Wazu experienced, punched him in the gut. 

        Wazu staggered from the blow ~Where did he come from?~ He thought to himself
"This ends now!" Ritsurin thundered and punched Wazu in the face.

        Wazu ducked and let the blow fly over him. He then reached into his robes and pulled out two sticks which he put together to form a quarter staff

        Ritsu, leaped over Wazu's head after the dodge and punched at his kidneys.

        Wazu fell forward from the blow and rolled to cushion his landing. by now Uso was free and she pulled her sword from it's scabbard and turned it on. The teeth on the blade began to whirr and move like a chainsaw.

        "Wait! Uso! NO!" Ritsurin said running to stop her. He swung his sword up and clashed with Uso's blade. "NO don’t kill him. we can help him." He said soothingly

        Wazu attacked Uso with a downward sweep of his quarter staff. and Uso moved her sword away from Ritsurin and up so her sword would block but as she did Wazu spun the staff hitting her in the side.

        Ritsurin round housed Wazu with a force that should take his head off.

        Wazu brushed aside the hit with a mechandrite and Uso pulled out another knife and threw it at Wazu hitting him in the leg.

        Ritsu used the opportunity. He leaped over Wazu's head, landed without a sound, and grabbed him from behind, effectively pinning him. "Stop both of you!" He said from behind Wazu.

        "NO! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING!" Wazu yelled as his eyes widened in terror. Uso approached the pinned Wazu and tried to impale him with a dagger.

        Ritsurin spun around still holding Wazu using his body as a living shield.

        Uso simply came in from the side and impaled Wazu in the side of the Ribcage

        Ritsurin moved and took the hit. "Ugh!” he grunted. "Uso, stop this madness!" He said to the neko.

        Wazu struggled to get out with all his might ~This is the only way please Ritsurin trust me.~ Uso said as she tried again

        ~No, If he dies, then the Yui goes BOOM! do you want to be responsible for innocent deaths of nekos?~ He thought at her, while using his overpowering strength to restrain the struggling Wazu.

        ~ I now know your game. And it's over.~ He added mentally.

        "The bombs are disabled while we fight. If I win then I can disable all of them!" she yelled as she attempted to stab Wazu again

        "Is that true Wazu? He asked his captive while taking Uso's stab. "NO more lies." He said threateningly

        Every time Ritsurin took a stab Uso would withdraw before it went to deep as not to hurt Ritsurin. "The bombs are disabled LET ME GO SO WE CAN FIGHT!"

        "NO! You're coming back with me, to face Alexis." He said.

        Wazu activated his Intensify one more time ~I can't afford to lose even if it kills me~ He thought. he then used his new found strength to break free and resume attacking Uso

        Ritsurin lunged at Uso, grabbed her and leaped away. "Ack" she said as she was pulled out of the way of the attack. "Now what?" He asked her. "I don’t want either of you to die today." 

        Uso jumped up and tossed another knife at Wazu. ~I won't kill him just injure him~ she thought at Ritsurin

        Wazu jumped to the side as the knife passed through the air in slow motion as he was using intensify

        He could feel his nerves beginning to burn

        Ritsurin gently sets Uso down, then lunges at Wazu, his black claws glowing. "DIAMOND-BLADED SOUL DESTROYER!" He yelled as he lunged at Wazu, aiming for his legs, successfully scoring an amputation.

        He then cauterized the blood with fire from his mind.

        ~perfect~ Uso thought as she reached into Wazu's mind. the normal shield was now gone and data was floating around every where. ~now where is it?~ she thought

        ~Hurry! I cant hold him for long.~ Ritsu thought at Uso, while pinning Wazu again.
GSE goon: "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Wazu screamed as he clutched his head in both hands trying to block out the pain Ritsurin was holding him up so he didn’t fall

        Uso began to look through Wazu's head when a old friend appeared her a visit. "I can't let you take that Uso" The figure in black said

        Ritsu joined Uso in Wazu's mind "yes you will" he said

        "Do you think they are interested in prisoners?" Wazu thought from the corner of his mind, "you'll get them all killed!" Uso continued to look through Wazu's mind 

        Uso found what she was looking for but before she got to it evil Wazu took it and ran off into the recesses of Wazu's mind

"Who the fuck are you talking about Wazu?" Ritsu thundered mentally. Ritsu following evil Wazu in deeper and wrestled whatever it was away from him and returned to Uso with it.
GSE goon: "I will self terminate if you try and take this Uso!" Wazu thought, " I won't let another massacre happen" Wazu began to purge his mind of data destroying the data/object

        "It wont, but if you don’t help us, the crew of the Yui will all die. Do you want that on your mind?" Ritsu said Ritsu escapes with Uso and the Data.

        ~Damn~ Uso thought as she left Wazu's mind "What now?" He asked her. Wazu's body began to convulse as his brain functions began to erase

        Uso walked over to the Data pad Wazu had dropped earlier and destroyed it "Done!" she said

        "NO! Wazu! You cant die." Ritsu said.

        Wazu dies

        "WAZU!!!!! NOOOO!" Ritsurin screamed, he was responsible for another death..."Why! DAMMIT! Why? Why does this always happen to me?" Ritsu sobbed.

        Uso then destroyed her failsafe as she no longer needed it. Uso then reaches into Wazu's robe and pulled out a data pad with Wazu's backup mind and a blood sample "Don't worry he can be respawned. with a few changes" Uso then began to fiddle around with the pad

        "Really?" Ritsu looked up at Uso with tears in his eyes.

        "Inform Alexis that a power unit blew out on the Last Resort. Tell him that it killed Wazu I'll go and get him respawned" Uso said

        "Yes ma'am" Ritsu said 

        "Now go!" Uso says "I must finish up here"

        "What are you going to do Uso?" He said as he left.

        "I need to tie up a few loose ends." She said, "After that I will head directly to the med bay."

        "You're not injured, let Akari re-spawn Wazu." He said.

        "I will" she said ~and thanks~ she sent him telepathically

        Ritsu then walks back to the Yui. ~Why thanks?~ He asked Uso telepathically.

        Uso simply went back to inspecting Wazu's body and removing the various weapons and data pads he had on him
As Ritsurin got back to the Yui from the Last Resort, the thought that he should tell Taisa Alexis about it. So to the bridge he went, swishing his new tail around to get used to it being there. ~Maybe, Alexis won't mind the new me...~ he thought as he went to Alexis's Quarters. He knocked politely at the door...Seeing as either He wasn't in, or was busy.

Ritsurin left a datapad with the following message on it:

"Taisa, this is Ritsurin Daijinshi, I have recently returned from the Last Resort, where I found Wazu and Uso fighting it out betting their failsafes. I managed to subdue Wazu and calm down Uso. The conspiracy theories are over, I have seen to that. But, unfortunately, Chusa Wazu was killed in a power conduit explosion, I did, however manage to get Uso and myself out of there in time. Our ship is now safe, and ready for Chiharu's rescue." 

Ritsurin left it leaning on the door, and went to see Lavinia... hoping she wouldn't freak out.

~ I hope Alexis does something soon, I can't wait anymore....~ He thinks.
Uso was sitting at her station going over the data she had obtained from Wazu's dead body.

Aya looked a little less cheerful than normal. "What the heck is going on around here?" she asked the few remaining other bridge crew, not really expecting an answer.

"Something important." Ritsurin said swishing his tail.

"Wazu died from a power conduit explosion aboard the Last Resort." He explained.

She looked down at her plump bosom, specifically the heart-shaped golden pin on her. "What?" she asked, staring at the ugly, mutated version of Ritsurin

"Is that you, Juni Daijinshi?" she said, eyes wide

"Yes, It is." He said

Aya contemplated this for a moment. "So, I'm now in command?" the communications officer looked puzzled.

The lighthearted neko fiddled with her pigtails, a bit nervous and uncertain of the new responsibilities that now burdened her. One thing, however, was certain: she would use this opportunity to help rescue poor Chiharu. Always the optimist, Aya was sure Chi was alive, just waiting for the Yui and wondering why the ship hadn't come to her rescue yet. "Megami." she addressed the computer, since there no longer was a pilot, "take us toward the nearest planet, as fast as is reasonable. Activate the cloaking device."

"But what about Alexis?" Uso asked. The chain of command was getting to fractured for her taste

"My demon DNA is slowly taking over my physical form. As I grow older, experience different things, they act as triggers for me to start taking my demon wolf form. But, as I am only a half-breed, the last thing that will happen is that when I get very angry, I'll transform myself into a large black furred wolf. But that will not happen until I get much older, after a century or so. But, my mind gets more human. So please don't think of me as a monster Aya." He explained gently.

"He seems to not care about the situation here, or inexperience with command makes him nervous." He added.

"But he is still in command?" Uso asked

"That is what I am wondering..." Ritsu said.

"Well then I guess he is until he leaves" Uso said

"Aya, I want to have part in this, please allow me to help out here." Ritsurin asked, looking determined see something.

Aya looked to the monster formerly known as Ritsu. "Ummm" she nervously fidgeted in her seat, not sure what he meant.

"I miss her, I want her back, probably more than you." He said 

Just then a computerized-sounding female voice said "This is the computer, would a technician please come to my room?"

"Ritsurin I'm going to remind you that you are a part of this crew and right now this crew is going to save Chi" Uso said, "your question is unnecessary"

"I am aware of that Uso, It's just that...." He trailed off.

"Don't worry we all want Chi back just don't let it eat you up inside" Uso said trying to reassure Ritsurin

Ritsurin leveled his eyes at Uso. "I am not eating myself up inside. It's just hard for me..." He said.

"Yes you are." Uso said, "or at least you act like it"

"I just feel a large void in myself." He said, still looking at her.

Aya frowned at the computer's message, and pressed a button, calling down to the subdeck. "Could you send a tech up to Megami? Thanks." In a minute or two, Specialist Mika was outside the armored door.

"Aya what is going on with Megami?" Uso asked

"Megami? What's wrong?" Ritsurin addressed the computer, genuinely concerned.

"I am fine." Megami responded.

"I don't know." Aya said with a shrug. Sometimes she is hard to understand."

None of the security personnel had bothered to join Mika. Someone was supposed to be with her. Punching in a special access code for the armored door into Megami's room, the slender neko technician took a step inside the ultraclean, dim, and sparkling room, surrounded by screens and lights and wires.

He looked at Aya with wondering eyes.

Ritsurin walked out to join Mika, too keep and eye on her.

There was a sudden muffled yelp from inside the doors, which was abruptly cut off. Ritsu got there just in time to see a squirt of bright red blood jet out of the open doors, and spatter on the hallway wall.

"Megami?" Uso called out. the lack of a answer to Ritsurin’s question began to frighten her.

Ritsu sniffed the air searching for a signal of seraphim.

"Mika!" He said.

Inside, Mika was limp, hanging by a bunch of wires impaled through her torso. Her head was cut in half. Blood, fresh blood, ran down her body and into a large puddle on the floor.

"NO!" He yelled. "Show yourself!" He said into the air.

After not getting a reply from Megami Uso got up from her station and headed over to where Ritsurin was looking for answers when she heard Ritsurin yell out. She then sprinted to Megami's room

"Uso! Mika's dead" he said

"oh. . " Uso said she then pulled out her pistol and slipped in a clip with purple tape on it

"Yes?" Megami answered. "There seems to be..." Megami began, but her voice turned to static. The computer room's air pressure went up suddenly, and the heat billowed. The room exploded into a fireball of orange melted circuitry.

Uso jumped down the hallway evading the blast

Ritsurin back flipped out of the room, barely avoiding it. "What the hell?" He said

The flames were extremely hot, and flowed out into the hallway like a sea of heat.

Uso continued to run down the hallway and ducked into the nearest room just before she would have been incinerated

After the fireball passed Uso looked back out into the hallway looking for any more possible dangers

Kuru and Tomoyo burst into the hallway wearing firefighting gear, and carrying hoses connected to the HSCS. "What the hell?" Kuru shrieked over the roar of the inferno, trying to push the flames back into the doorway.

"Be careful their might be another angel on board!" Uso yelled out to Kuru and Tomoyo as she covered their advance with her pistol

There was a sick smell of burning blood and plastic, mixed with chemical foam. Tomoyo leaned over to the side of the hallway and puked up bloody remains of her lunch, before putting her mask on again. Kuru was trying to manually close the door using a hydraulic hand crank.

Uso ran over to Kuru and helped her with the door.

Uso got up from her position by the door and reholstered her pistol as she ran over to where Kuru was and helped her close the door by helping her with the hand crank.

"Megami? MEGAMI!" Uso yelled out trying to get some response from the computer.

Back on the bridge, Kago Lyn suddenly jerked back in her seat, and slumped forward, collapsing onto her control panel lifelessly. A trickle of blood ran down the flat black display over the blue buttons, coming from her eye. Aya started screaming from the bridge, backing into the doorway to the galley, pistol in her trembling hands. Megami gave no response to Uso's cries.

Ritsu ran to Aya. "What's wrong?"

Uso ran back to the bridge after hearing Aya's screams ~what the heck is going on?~ she thought as she barged through the door, pistol in hand.

Aya was still screaming and could only point at Kago. "She... she...."

Ritsurin smelled out the disturbance. And slashed with his claws at the strongest smell. (Which, was of course, the fire) "show yourself scum." Ritsu said.

Uso looked at Kago and then back at Aya. "get a hold of yourself or I will!" Uso yelled at here as she surveyed the room looking for any indication of a threat.

"It's here, somewhere..." Ritsu said.

There was no one in the room, though. Aya curled into the corner, in the fetal position. "It's going to kill us!" she whimpered.

Ritsu walked into the bridge, sword out, lit on fire. "Where are you?" He said.

Uso picked up Aya and dragged her out of the room before she walked back into the bridge and shut the door. She then hemosynthed several thin tentacles and waved them around the room trying to hit the enemy she thought was invisible

Kuru burst onto the scene, still her firefighting gear, but with her mask off. "Aya? Stop being such a human." she barked.

Kuru looked at Uso waving her tentacles around wildly, and at Ritsu in his fighting stance, and immediately Kuru, too, was looking around for an enemy. "What's going on in here?"

"There's something here Kuru." He said still looking for the thing.

"Get the rest of security on alert!" Uso said still looking for something in the room.

Kuru backed behind Ritsu while she reached around under the fire gear for her pistol. "An intruder on the bridge?" she asked.

Ritsu turned his ears, listening for any muscular movement.

"Yeah." He said, "I'm positive."

"Kuru, spray the room with foam it will highlight anything that I can't see" Uso said, referring to the firefighting foam.

Kuru pointed at the hallway door. "It's outside."

Ritsu ran out there and chased the thing. "COME BACK HERE!" he thundered at it. Of course, it wasn't out there.

( He asked Kuru to get the foam, and when she told him the foam was outside the bridge, he unsealed the bridge and ran into the hallway...)

Back in the medbay, Inari tried to call up to the bridge. "Are there any injuries?" she asked. "Hello? Hello??" The medic knocked on the control panel, pressing a few buttons. 

Uso followed the thing trying to keep Ritsurin from doing something stupid

~Too many Inari. Stay where you are and lock yourselves in~ Ritsurin said to her.

~Ok~ Inari responded, doing so.

Kuru looked at Ritsu run off into the hallway like a madman. "Ok, you can get it if you want." she said with a shrug.

Kuru wondered why they had ran outside to get the foam so fast. Was there another fire? She grabbed Aya by the arm and pulled her to her feet. "Be ready." she warned.

"Gather the crew in the briefing room and lock the door!" Uso yelled out

Ritsurin lit a fire using pyrokinetics to trigger the fire control systems, hoping to find whatever was attacking the ship.

Ritsurin found that the fire control systems (which Megami controlled) weren't working.

Ritsurin grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed it around the area, he did this several times, with several extinguishers. He looked around, hoping to catch sight of the thing. He wanted this thing dead, badly.

Aya and Kuru were still on the bridge. Arume was in her quarters, sleeping. There was emergency life support, but the ship's hallways where filled with thick, noxious smoke. In the medbay, Inari and the clones sealed themselves off for safety.

Uso ran to Arume's room "WAKE UP!" she yelled, "THERE IS A INTRUDER ONBOARD!"

Arume flopped out of bed, going to her dresser and removing a GP-13 pistol. "What? Where?"

Ritsurin, sensing that it wasn't in there, walked out into the hallway, using fire extinguishers to try to spray the thing.

"It's invisible be ready for anything!" Uso said "We need to do a room by room clearing of the entire ship lock the door and follow me!"

~This is nuts, I cant fight what I can't see or smell~ He thought.

Uso and Arume moved down the hallway to the next room which Uso checked over with her thin tentacles.

He started using his telekinetic power as a sonar again, knowing that if he could make contact with it's mind. He could find it.

Arume went into a fit of coughing as she exited her room with Uso in the smoky hallway. "What happened?" she asked, standing at the ready with her pistol and in her undies. "Is everyone ok?"

"No time!" Uso said as she locked the door of the room she just checked and moved on to the next one, which had Ritsurin in it.

He held his glowing sword out, ready to deflect an attack. Knowing that one could come at any minute.

"AUUGGGGNNnngh!!!!!" rang out from below, followed by a horrible gurgling noise.

Uso locked the door of the cleared room and continued down the hallway checking it as she went. 

Ritsurin dashed toward the sound, expecting to see something horrible.

The sound had echoed from the access tunnels into the subdeck. The technicians!

Ritsurin, now flaming mad. Lit up a fire shield around himself and crawled down the rear access shaft to the techs.

"Arume lock the doors to the subdecks!" Uso yelled as she went down into the subdecks after Ritsu.

"EVERYONE OUT!" Uso yelled as she began searching the subdeck

"Okay!" Arume said, closing the subdeck off.

While in the narrow tunnel, he sent out flame waves, hoping to light the intruder up.

"TECHS LOCK YOURSELVES IN YOUR ROOM!" Uso yelled

Hikari let out a scream from down the tunnel, rolling around trying desperately to put out the flames Ritsu had made.

He crawled to Hikari and snuffed the flames

"RITSURIN YOU IDIOT!" Uso yelled, "YOU AND THE INTRUDER AREN'T THE ONLY ONES IN HERE!"

"Sorry about that. Well, if I could pin him down, I'll finish this!" he said, echoing through access tunnels.

Uso started to crawl toward the Tech's room as that is the only place the it could be going now that the subdecks were sealed off

Hikari whimpered, her skin blistered and red. Unlike the nekos, she couldn't heal it quickly. The poor tech, her uniform charred, was blocking Ritsu and Uso's way to the engineering room and the tech's rooms. She made out a weak "Kei..."

Ritsurin made his way to the tech's area. Knowing that It was the last place for it to go.

Uso stayed back to correct Ritsurin’s mistake hemosynthing bandages and pain killers for the poor girl.

Ritsurin continued into the tech rooms, totally focused on stopping this thing.

Hikari screamed in tremendous pain as Ritsurin carelessly tried to force his way past her in the small tunnel. Ritsu's knee's knocked her in the jaw and ribs as he climbed over the burned technician.

Uso finished up and dragged the poor girl to the engineering room as gently as she could.

On the way to the tech rooms, Ritsu found Kei. The tech was above the rooms in the tunnel, with parts of her legs ripped off. She was dead. It looked like the blood had been sucked out of her body.

"What the unholy hell?!" He exclaimed.

Uso shivered in disgust as she saw Kei "HURRY UP RITSURIN!" she yelled.

The crammed tunnel was hardly a good place to battle a murderer. Behind Kei's corpse was a ladder that went down where he couldn't see.

Ritsurin scaled the ladder then dropped to the ground. Tired and angry...He searched for the murderer.

Uso got to the top of the opening and covered Ritsurin with her pistol.

There was some sort of damp smell down there.

Ritsurin was ready for anything now. He tensed his muscles, ready for battle.

"A damp smell, like water...is it a seraphim?" He asked nobody in particular.

Uso sealed the hatch behind her as she began to clear the room with her tentacles

~where are you?~ Uso thought to herself.

Ritsurin again tried to sniff out the intruder. Hoping the moisture in the air would help him.

The misty odor seemed to be coming from a little ways forward, on the other side of the tunnel that went under the cargo bay.

Pinkpink! a metallic noise rang out. Two hand grenades bounced off the bottom of the room ahead, and because the tunnel was shaped to match the shape of the hull, they easily rolled back toward Ritsu and Uso. 

The door at the end of the tunnel under the cargo bay slid shut ahead of the two with a whoosh.

Ritsu activated his force shield as a defense, knowing that it would help.

Uso pulled out two knifes and threw them at the grenades knocking both back at their sender

The grenades bounced off of the door, and rolled back again towards Ritsu.

~Shit~ Uso thought as she scrambled back toward the door she cam through.

~Oh shit!~ Ritsu said as he pulled up his shields. He prepared for the worst, hoping that the force shield unit would work.

Uso managed to make it halfway up the ladder by the tech nests; Ritsu, having chosen to remain in place, with the grenades rolling right into his knees, was not so lucky... Both went off simultaneously in an explosion that collapsed the floor of the cargo bay.

Ritsu was now buried under a ton or so of food and mechanical supplies that were now in the tunnel rather than on the floor of the cargo bay that used to be there. The weight was unbearable.

Uso hurried back through the tunnel and began to crawl out of the hatch, headed for the subdeck that ran by the lifts hoping to cut the thing off at the proverbial path and prevent it from doubling back, when she heard Ritsu yell at her from below.

"Uso! Get me out of these fucking boxes!" He yelled to her.

~Aya! have the front of the ship sealed off!~ she thought to Aya as she heard Ritsurin yell out. Uso turned around and began digging through the boxes as fast as she could using hemosynthed arms to help her.

"Yes sir!" Aya nodded, closing the blast doors in the main deck hallways.

Uso could now see Ritsurin’s face from under the pile of boxes. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE!" she yelled with a slight smile 

The seraph smiled, too, from inside the lift shaft...

"Don't yell, my hearing perfectly good." He said as he pushed his way out of the boxes, his uniform torn off. "USO BEHIND YOU"

Uso turned around and raised her pistol scanning for targets, but saw nothing.

Aya called out over the ship's intercom "I have in-ship communications online. Most everyone has reported in as ok."

Uso scanned the area with her mind looking for the mind of her target.

Uso continued down the hallway and cracked the hatch on the other side open slightly as she made sure no one was on the other side her pistol at the ready the entire time.

Suddenly, Aya found herself face-to-face with the seraph. Its sticky white form looked smaller than she'd thought they were, but it was definitely a seraph. "HELP!" She screamed over the intercom.

"How the hell?" Ritsu yelled and ran.

~DAMN IT~ Uso ran to where she knew Aya was hoping she wasn't to late.

Kuru and Aya and Arume all opened fire, raking the thing with pistol blasts. "He must have gone through the lifts!"

Ritsu got to where Aya was as quick as he could, and stabbed the seraphim in the back.

The seraphim dissolved into a puddle of spoogy nastiness.

Uso kept her gun ready just in case and fired one more shot into the puddle.

Ritsurin burned the nastiness, to make sure it was dead. Focusing all his fury, pain, and hate into the fire.

"Is that it?" He asked. And so it was over...or was it?
Angel Ship "Light of Destiny" Chi's cell.

Zemer appeared at the door. "Good evening Chi-ko" he smiled to her, stepping inside her little closet of a home.

Chi has been thinking over the idea of actually facing her repressed past when Zemer entered. She was seeing parts of it and it did have something to do with the Angels, maybe her instincts were trying to tell her something? She sat up and looked at Zemer curiously, "Zemer-kun, still trying to hack my info?"

"No. But I was going to disable your hemosynthing and your increased strength. That way you don't form a gun or something. I was supposed to do you earlier but I got...distracted." Zemer said, then corrected his Freudian slip "Um, do IT" The giant archangel fiddled with his hair, smiling happily at her.

She chuckled a bit, "I take it Jehenniel is getting impatient?" She looked at him curiously again, as another image flashed through her mind as she said the captain’s name. She then spaced out.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get annoyed with his nasty talk abou....hey, Chi-ko, are you ok?" Zemer quickly scooted forward, waving a hand before her eyes. "Chi?"

Chi didn't respond as the scene unfolded before her eyes again.. except that she was conscious of seeing it and.. Zemer was seeing it too, again. There were no words, no sounds, just the fuzzy image, like a television with bad reception, as she finally saw who the Angel was.. Zemer recognized him as Jehenniel but Chi, didn't know who he was. In her memory, Jehenniel moved towards the old NH-2 model of Chi and.. the Chi in the present started screaming, crying out in pain and shock as she finally saw what had happened to her on the Angels' Ship.

"Chi!" Zemer called to her, pulling her against his broad chest. "You poor thing!" There was a fire in him, a hatred in his eyes for the archangel he knew who had done this to her. He could see her pain, how brutal Jehenniel had been, completely disregarding her feelings and using her for his own desires, the opposite of the religion which the angels were supposed to believe in.

"The man in your dreams...he's the captain of this ship!"

The memories faded as Chi cried into Zemer's chest, she suddenly the felt the helplessness and loneliness that she had felt all those years ago. She was also afraid, the captain of the ship was the man who had done this to her. "Don't let him get me." She sobbed, the past had left her defenseless when it resurfaced.

"I won't." Zemer reassured her, then began talking to himself. "How could he just ravage you like that? I mean, a cloned mass-produced neko with no personality to speak of is one thing, but an experienced, fully sentient being? There's got to be a way we can keep you away from him."

She sniffed as she tried to collect herself again. "All nekos have personalities, we're all sentient beings who experience everything that is done to us. Sometimes some of us wish that we weren't alive.. then we wouldn't have to live through the pain, loneliness and heartbreak that comes with life.."

Zemer could help but say, "The same goes for the angels." his mind wondering how many angels Chi had killed indiscriminately...

"These wars are truly horrible." Zemer gloomily sighed, rubbing Chi's back soothingly.

"We've never thought that Angels were mindless, as a soldier fighting a war you kill who is trying to kill you. Revenge and anger are powerful emotions that come with war." Chi took a deep breath, trying to focus, she had to either kill Jehenniel or just runaway.. but then he'd still come after her.. 

"Do you think..." Zemer asked her, holding her by her shoulders and looking into her glossy eyes. "...we can ever find peace between our peoples?"

Chi looked back into Zemer's eyes and thought about the question. "We might be able to one day if most angels are like you Zemer.. maybe if there is a faction within your people that don't want a war we could form a treaty and try to stop the other Angels?"

"Most of our people don't trust the GSA. One time one of your emperors personally assassinated our leader at a peace convention. There's a number of incidents... But meeting you has given me some new hope."

"One of my crew as held captive by some angels and tortured.. he still feels the suffering from it to this day. Trust would have to be earned on both sides, but that will only come in time.."

"So, what about us?" the archangel asked, a bit disheartened.

"Us?" She blinked a bit as she looked at Zemer. "I feel that I can trust you, and.. you have given me some hope in your race where I originally had none." She offered a soft smile. "But if you continue to be nice to me Jehenniel might.." She stopped herself as the possibility wandered through her mind.

"What do you think I should do?" Zemer asked. For the first time in a long time, he actually didn't know.

"... From the way things are, it would be in my best interest to kill Jehenniel and get off this ship and return the Yui... you.. you could come with me.. or.. you could take command of this ship and tell the others that I just escaped.." Chi started toying with her hair now, this wasn't going to be good.

"I don't want to betray my people." Zemer frowned.

"And neither do I but, I cannot let you get my files nor can I let Jehenniel get a hold of me again." Chi sighed, friendships during War time with someone who's supposed to be your enemy was hard.

"Maybe you could commit suicide." Zemer suggested. "If I had a backup of your soul, I could transmit it back to your ship."

Chi shook her head no. "It just be easier to try to escape for me.. I'm not even sure if you can make a back up of my mind.. I might lose all my data.."

Zemer didn't like idea of accidentally killing his favorite neko... "I'll see if I can arrange a shuttle, and we'll sneak you aboard it. We're coming up on a refueling station, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary. You could hop on a civilian ship and ride to freedom."

She smiled softly, this sounded like a good plan. "Once I get off this ship I should be ok... I just hope that the next time we meet after that will be under better circumstances.."

Not quite sure what he was doing, Zemer gently leaned into her to kiss her lips. "I won't forget you, Chiharu."

Chi's eyes widened at the kiss, and yet she still returned it, maybe it was the wave of startled and confusing emotion she felt by this Angel's tenderness that threw her off guard. Or maybe it was because he made her feel safe? Whatever the reason, she didn't know anything except that she was kissing him.

After a long, long, moment that never lasted long enough, Zemer finally, slowly pulled way. "Thanks for being such a great prisoner." he smiled, trying to laugh but failing, his eyes watering with emotion and sadness that she wouldn't be near to him any longer, and hoping he'd never accidentally kill her in a spaceship battle. "I'm going to miss you."

"And I'm going to miss you too Zemer." She returned Zemer's sad smile and reached up to touch his face. She realized that she had been lonely for all these years and yet she never allowed anyone close to her because of some hidden fear that she now realized was because of the incident. But she knew that her crew and her fleet needed her and probably missed her as much as she missed them. Duty and friendship cannot always co-exist across the enemy lines. "When we get a treaty maybe we can see each other again.."

Zemer reluctantly rose to his feet, his massive wings partially stretching out behind him before returning to their usual tucked position. "I'll go see about that shuttle, Chi." And with that, he was gone, leaving the room feeling empty again.

Chi watched Zemer go, getting the sinking feeling that escape was going to be harder than he thought it would be. She had a set plan for herself, once she could get onboard the shuttle she could become someone else, she had that impersonation training right? That way no one would realize who she really was.. then there was the matter of clothing... she pondered it and decided that she could find a way to make do. After all, she still could field test this body's capabilities. 

Jehenniel was in the hallway outside Chi's cell. "That was a touching conversation you to had, Zemer. It's somehow not surprising, our intel officer of all people, is sleeping with the enemy. But what I find stupid and disgusting is that you actually are falling for her. Wake up. She's just a God-damned neko bitch."

"You're the disgusting one, Jehenniel." Zemer shot back "She's more than just a random neko."

Chi stood up from the bed and looked at the door. She couldn't see anything beyond the cell. But she had that sinking feeling again..

Jehenniel backhanded Zemer in the face. Zemer's huge fist began to return fire, but was stopped by the sticky grasp of a seraph. "Take the heretic away." he ordered, smiling wickedly. Once Zemer was around the corner, Jehenniel went into the cell, with a seraph. "Hello again, little Chi." he sadistically greeted her.

Chi's eyes narrowed, "Jehenniel. Stay the away from me." She moved one of her hands to touch the wall behind her.. she was in a tight spot with her back to a wall and 2 angels blocking the door. She'd have to time this correctly or else she'd be trapped..

"Be a good girl and take off your shorts." the sick archangel hissed. "Bend over the bed" The seraph looked on, am ugly smile full of razorblade teeth the only feature on its dull white head.

"Fuck you." She hemosynthed herself a blade as she swiftly hit the shower button and slammed the blade into the Seraph's face, trying to get past them both. She hoped that this would distract them enough..

"There's no where to go." Jehenniel cackled at her. "You should just let it happen. It'll feel good, Chi." The doors were shut, trapping her in the cell with them. "I like the wet T-shirt thing. Your tits look even better than the last time I fucked you." The seraph grabbed her by the waistband of her boxers, and ripped them off of her hips, only causing Jehenniel to laugh more.

"Spread it. You know you want me inside you." the twisted man grinned, turning off the shower. "Or would you rather the seraph try your hole out for itself?" The seraph seemed to be nearly fully healed already, hissing and grinning that awful grille of teeth.

Chi had the feeling it wasn't going to work but she had to try something. She still had her blade, it had done nothing against the Seraph but.. she moved towards Jehenniel and tried to stab him. "I will not ever surrender to you!" 

Elsewhere on the ship, Zemer proceeded down the hall like he was supposed to, until the seraph was walking by a door. Then, with a sudden charge, he used his massively heavyset frame to shove the seraph into a janitorial closet...

Jehenniel seemed to evade the blow with disturbing ease. As the blade neared him, he grabbed her hand by the palm and twisted it in a 480 degree spiral, just like the seraph from her initial capture. Except that Jehenniel actually had to move his body to do so. The seraph behind her tore her shirt off, and she could feel a firm shaft bounce off of her bum as the thing tried to penetrate her and missed.

Chi grimaced a bit as she felt the tendons in her hand break under the force but, she still tried to fight back, struggling against Jehenniel and kicking back at the Seraph. Her mind was racing, she felt herself becoming over whelmed and her mind was trying to switch. She was now mentally and physically fighting against what was happening. If she lost control of her mind, she wouldn't be able to defend against Jehenniel or the Seraphs.

Zemer reached into his utility belt and produced a incendiary grenade, tossing it into the janitorial closet with the seraph and slamming the door shut. He held it until the doorknob began to melt his skin, and the darted down the hallway, stopping to punch open a hidden weapons locker in the wall, retrieving the GP-12b which had been captured with Iseki, the other neko.

Jehenniel Grinned, grinding his hips against hers, seeking his way into her. "You're such a nice girl" his perverted comments were spouted into her ear. The seraph was all over her back now, actually partially entering her. They both laughed and joked and insulted her in the most humiliating way possible.

Chi was still fighting against herself as she still tried to get the Seraph and Jehenniel off her. Tears swelled up in her eyes, this was more painful than anything else. Then it dawned on her, she hemosynthed a new blade as she slammed her left fist into Jehenniel's chest. She was hoping that if she could do damage against at least one of them... 

Zemer opened a set of cell doors to find the broken-spirited Taii Hisô Iseki. Dropping the rifle into her lap, he told her "Get up. It's time to get out of here." The defeated neko looked at him, and saw his eyes. "Yes sir." Now, to get Chiharu before it was too late...

Jehenniel pushed Chi back against the wall, sandwiching her in between the Seraph and himself, forcing the blade back into Chi's own chest using his superior strength. He was unbelievably powerful. The dagger slid into one of her lung-organs. The two beings began to hump her rabidly. Jehenniel cackled and sneered "So good." like out of a bad manga.

Chi felt herself bleeding, and then, her mind snapped back again. Her eyes went distant as the tears just rolled down her face. Chi was no longer there as the angels violated her, her mind had surrendered under the stress. ~Zemer..~

Changing in like the proverbial cavalry, Zemer and Hisô Iseki busted into the room. Zemer, who was even stronger than the scrawnier Jehenniel, jerked the archangel off of Chiharu's chest, throwing him against the wall. Taii Hisô fired a shot into the seraph's head, the overpowered GP-12 blast exploding it into a flurry of fluffy white strings. Then the two switched, and Iseki shot Jehenniel in the chest, exploding him into a disgusting crater of blood. Zemer picked up Chi's nude body over his shoulder, tugging away the seraph corpse form it, and carried it into the area between the two doors.

Chi didn't respond, she was just not mentally there anymore. She could sense the familiar warmth of Zemer's body but she inwardly wondered who he was and what was going on..

He looked to Iseki, and handed the Taisho to the scrawny Taii. "Shoot me." he told her. "Shoot me and go for the shuttle."

Iseki nodded. She was completely unattached to angels...but this one had saved her and another... Unable to do it, she settled for clocking Zemer on the head with he rifle butt. Zemer cringed in pain but didn't collapse or anything. But he laid down and pretended to be another victim of the escaping Taii Hisô Iseki. "Psst. Go to the shuttle!" he gave a final direction, and then pretended to be knocked out. Iseki carried Chi over her shoulder to the shuttlebay, and set her down in the copilot seat of the small shuttle, firing up the engines and the controls.

Chi seemed to be awake despite it all. She sat in the co-pilot's chair staring off into space. Slowly, her body was repairing itself and changing itself into something else.. 

A pair of seraphs and another archangel came to investigate the weapon explosions, and found the carnage there. The lighting inside the ship changed as it went on alert. But on the bridge, there was chaos. The communications and control systems weren't responding... Ahead, the doors opened to reveal a big blue gas giant and the space beyond. "We're free!" Iseki cried, tears of joy on her face.

By the time, Chi came to her senses her body had completely changed,, she looked over at the Neko flying the shuttle. "You're.. Iseki?" Her voice was awkward, and deeper somehow. She now looked like a human male wearing plain loose clothing. She touched her throat and found that.. she had an Adam's apple. "What just happened?"

( She was planning on shape shifting when she escaped. ^^;; And her body just followed through with it. Only temporary. )

Iseki looked at her like she was carrying a horrible disease. "You're male??" She'd never seen a male before, besides Jehenniel. And that made her very uncomfortable with men.

"I guess. I'm really an NH-X Neko though at least I'm supposed to be." She shifted, her weight feeling rather uncomfortable herself. "Now we have to find my ship, the GSS Yui.. I'm Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu though." She frowned, this was weird and felt funny. But she decided to stick with this body just in case.

"Wow! A real NH-X!!" Iseki stared, amazed. She pointed at Chi's lap. "Please don’t.." she struggled to say, but ended up only looking down and away in shame.

Chi blushed a bit. "I have no desire to do anything like that to you Iseki. Let's just.. get into friendlier space." Her thoughts drifted towards Zemer, she wondered if he was alright. She didn't remember anything past Jehenniel and the Seraph.. she shook her head, trying to push those thoughts aside and keep them aside. "We'll be okay Iseki, I take it Jehenniel is dead?"

"My name is Taii Hisô Iseki." the abused neko quietly uttered. "Pilot, GD-37" She looked at her rifle, then back to Chi. "Yes, he's gone."

"Nice to meet you Iseki. I only wish it was under better circumstances though." She moved to push her hair back behind her ears when she noticed that she had a crew cut. It felt kinda funny to move her hand over the short hair but it was only temporary. "Do you remember what happened to your ship?" She changed the subject, this whole situation was awkward but she figured that Zemer had managed to rescue her after all. She laughed inwardly at herself, she had ended up being rescued after all when she had tried everything in her power to rescue herself. She felt a mortality that she had forgotten during the Heavenly Wars and the fear of what came with war still remained but it all felt different somehow. She had finally embraced those feelings and she had still survived.

"Our fleet was ambushed and destroyed by the Nepleslian Spacy." Iseki explained. "I got out in an escape pod and the angels came lurking around after a day or so and picked me up."

Chi nodded with a sigh. "The GSA is now at war with the Angels again. The Yui's mission is to attack, capture, and board the Angel ships we encounter.. we got ambushed by that ship and 2 others and got the crap kicked out of us. And then, they snuck aboard and snatched me. And now I'm here." She sighed again, "If you'd like, you can hang aboard the Yui until we can get you on another ship?" 

Iseki sighed, quietly speaking in a hoarse voice, as if she had not spoken in a fairly long time, "if we get back to it...this place has hundreds of angel ships around. this place. it's a refueling spot for them. I'm hoping we find a neutral civilian ship to hook up with."

Chi smiled softly, "We will get back to it. But, we're going to have to hide that fact that you're a Neko if we're going to avoid suspicion." She looked around the inside of the shuttle. 

"Well, this thing looks pretty empty, except for that survival kit over there, the rations, and that blanket."

"I guess I can hemosynth you something to hide your ears. And we could jimmy-rig the blanket into a cloak.

"I could do that." Iseki tried to smile. It had been so long.

"I would change into an angel but that would be a bit more attention than we need." She returned the smile again, glad to have her freedom again. "Well, let's get you un-neko as we can before we grace the world with our lovely fashion sense." She wished that she could project something to Zemer, but she knew she couldn't reach him... but maybe she could somehow reach him in his dreams?

Iseki broke open a ration. It was an old GSA ration the angels had probably picked up in her escape pod. She found some sugarless drink mix and pointed to it. "Hair dye." and from the survival kit, she salvaged some bandages and made a headband to head her ears against her head...
After the mess with the Seraph was cleared up, Kuru got Tomoyo and Acara together. "Ok, we have to get Megumi up and running before we can bring anyone back. And seeing how things are, there are only 3 of us now to do the work." Juni Kuru frowned, before addressing Tomoyo directly. "Tomoyo, I know how you must be feeling right now, but please remember, we can only bring them back if Megumi is up." 

Tomoyo had been awfully quiet after the Seraph was killed, but she still hadn't changed out of her Firefighting gear nor had Kuru. She simply nodded to Kuru.

Kuru offered the girl a soft smile before she looked at Acara, "Acara, I know that you're kind of rattled as well, but we need to focus our energies towards bringing our crewmates back. I'll go turn off the power to Megumi's room and could you take Tomoyo in to start the work on it? I'll join you guys as soon as I get the power off so no one gets electrocuted."
Where am I?

-System notice: Chronometer misaligned. Warning: Attempted mental intrusion, success unknown. Memory file recovery in progress...-

I just sent Timdri off to watch over Wazu. What then? I don't...I don't remember? Let's see...I cloaked Timdri, then brushed off my uniform and walked to the door...Now I'm waking up on my back on the floor of my quarters. I must have fainted...but I can't faint, fainting is the lack of blood-flow to the brain and I don't have blood. It doesn't matter, I'll think about it later. Wait...I remember seeing something before I blacked out...an energy signature that I have seen before...then... 

Is that what I think it was? Or was I hallucinating? Arg, this is so frustrating...I wonder how long I was out. 

"Hey Megami, what time is it?"

Hmm...

"Megami?"

This can't be good. What's this? A datapad? Heh, another note...Ritsu...oh, great. Now what? Smoke? Gotta get to the bridge!

-------

Alexis almost dropped the datapad as he dashed to the bridge. Immediately after he arrived, he slid into the Ops chair to check on the ship's status...the panel was dead. "What happened?!" he exclaimed, looking around for someone to answer, anyone...
Small Angel Shuttle

Chi adjusted her clothes, she was slowly getting used to living in this male body, but it still felt a bit awkward. "How far are we from the refueling station Iseki?" She ran her hand over the crew cut, it actually felt kind of cool to play with the short hair. 

It had been several hours since the escape of the two nekos from the angel's attack frigate, and both of the two were now in disguise. Iseki was curled up in a ball on the floor of the shuttle, taking a break from piloting. She now had fake hair, a surprisingly well-made wig spun from fibers of the blanket she was wearing as a cloak. her hair was a tasty-smelling grape purple, and her ears were out of sight.

"It should only be a few minutes...." Iseki rocked on her bottom, forward and back, her thin body tightly curled up. "My name is Taii Hisô Iseki." she repeated for no apparent reason. "Taii Hisô Iseki. Gee Dee Thirty-Seven."

Chi offered the other Neko a soft, reassuring smile. She had a handsome face and there was a comforting warmth in her now blue eyes, but it wasn't going to make Iseki feel any better after all it was a man who had done this to her. "We'll get back home Iseki. I promise you that I won't let anyone get you again. I owe you one for getting me off the Angel Ship." 

"Hiie...sooo. Eeee Say Ki " she repeated slowly, as if trying to associate her name with herself, as if she wasn't entirely sure who she was. "My name is Taii Hisô Iseki. Ship pilot. GD-37." Looking up at Chi's male visage. Males... Iseki put her hands in her crotch and held herself as if she was nursing some great lingering pain there. "Yes...angel ship. We are off the angel ship."

Chi sighed bit as she redirected her eyes back at the space ahead of her. Damn Jehenniel for doing this to the both of them. She hoped that she would be able to help Iseki once she got out of this body. "We're going to get ourselves on a neutral ship and try to find our way to the GSS Yui GD-30. We're going to need a pilot on the Yui soon since our pilot just got a promotion." She tried to give the girl some reassurance of what was going to happen, but Chi said it more to give herself hope that'd this plan would work. "May the Emperor show us the way home."

"You said..." the neko looked blankly at Chi "...Home?" Her eyes were wet and the trails of tears reflected the dim interior lights. "Dead."

Chi frowned a bit, this was going to be rough. "Do you remember Geshrintall at all Hisô Iseki?" She set the controls for auto-pilot and slowly got up from the pilot's seat and very cautiously made her way over to Iseki, stopping out of arm's reach of her as Chi knelt down beside her. "It'll be all right now Taii Hisô Iseki, no one is going to hurt you, you're no longer alone." 

"No Taisho. I was born on GD-37 and lived all my life on it until it was destroyed." Iseki sobbed, never having seen Geshrintall.

"Do you still remember the GD-37 and all the people who you loved?" She gently soothed, moving just a little bit closer to Iseki, not wanting to freak the girl out. "If you still remember them, they aren't really destroyed.. they are still alive in you." Chi offered the soft reassuring smile again. 

"No, Taisho. You are a liar." Iseki said with a hint of resentment in her voice. "I cannot be with them anymore. They are gone forever." The underweight, malnourished neko made no effort to scoot away, though.

"Hisô Iseki.. there is an old saying that says that you are only truly dead when you are no longer remembered. But so long as someone can remember your name, you are still alive. Do you want to forget the GD 37?" Chi's voice was soft, patient and loving, she knew how Iseki felt but there had to be some hope in Iseki's heart that her ship wasn't truly dead and forgotten. If Iseki truly felt that way, then the ship and crew were truly dead. Chi wanted to hug the Neko, but she didn't want to scare the girl by making contact.

Iseki's fragile-looking fingers groped at Chiharu's pants button. "I'll do it, alright!" she glared at Chi, tugging her zipper open. Poor Iseki was trying to appease Chi in the only way she knew how. Moving her forehead to rest on Chi's waist, she said "I don't know. It seems so long ago."

Chi pulled Iseki up and away from her pants. "No Iseki, no Iseki! That's not what I want from you." Chi was shocked by the girl's actions and she lovingly hugged the Neko. "You don't have to ever do that to anyone ever again unless you really want to."

"But...I thought that's how one makes men happy?" Iseki said confusedly, "They would be angry and beat me if I didn't."

"No one is going to beat you here." Chi continued to hold the girl, gently rubbing her back. "Not all men are like that Iseki. I'm not like that, no matter what I may look like." Chi wanted to cry but, she couldn't cry, she had to try to comfort Iseki that she wasn't going to hurt her. 

"If it makes you happy, I want to, Taisho. I don't want you to be angry and beat me. You don't like it? I am sorry for displeasing you!!" Iseki quickly said, her face resting against Chi's chest. "I will be a good girl. A good little girl for you, just like I should be."

"I will never beat you Iseki. Shhh.. it's ok, you are a good girl." Chi continued to hug the poor little Neko, gently rubbing her back, Jehenniel did a number on her. "What would make me happy is for you to be happy Iseki. But first we have to escape before the Angels come after us again. We're almost to the refueling station and we'll have to stay close together.. I can only protect you if you are with me ok?" Chi continued to speak softly to Iseki, she felt more like a mother now than she ever had in her life. "You'll be ok, not one will hurt you without getting through me first. I will protect you with my life, Aijou-chan." (beloved daughter) 

"Yes, Chi-sama. I will stay with you, but I will not let you die before I do. You are valuable. I am just a plaything." Iseki responded, "But how can I be a good girl when you don't even want to..." she pointed at Chi, below the belt. "I am unworthy...?"

"You are not a plaything." Her voice was forceful for a moment before it returned it the soft tone it had been before. "It's not that you are unworthy or bad, Iseki-chan, I will not take advantage of you. And it's the last thing I want from you." She hugged Iseki again before standing up and rezipping her pants. "Iseki, you are not a plaything to me, you are Taii Hisô Iseki, Pilot of the GD 37. The sole survivor of that ship who has to live on for the memory of those who have been lost to the passage of war and time." Chi smiled at Iseki again and gently knelt down again, gently lifting Iseki's face up and softly kissing her on the forehead.

"My name is Taii Hisô Iseki." Iseki repeated. "GD-37...Thank you for your kiss, Chiharu-sama. I will try to be worth it. But I am a mere....space station!" Iseki pointed to the window ahead, eyes widening. The shuttle was about to hit a giant orbital base!

"Ack!" Chi ran back to the pilot's chair, deactivating the auto-pilot and trying to steer the damn thing to avoid an impact. "Well, at least we know we're here." Despite herself Chi smiled again.

Iseki tried to get to her seat but Chi was closer and sat there first. The G-forces that the shuttle experienced as Chi pulled back threw her against the floor and rear of the shuttle. "Ooomph!" she let out. The shuttle barely messed the armor station, gliding over what appeared to be a communications array of some sort. There was some chatter coming over the radio in Seraphim.

Chi winced a bit and tried to ignore the radio. And tried to steer the ship towards what might be an available landing dock.. this would be nice if she spoke Seraphim. She inwardly cursed for never learning the language and wished Aya were here to help. 

The woman on the radio began frantically shouting in seraphim, and then made what sounded like a warning. Iseki crawled up into the other seat. "She says we are too close and says identify ourselves."

"you know Seraphim." Chi smiled again, what luck! She send Iseki and quick telepathic message just in case the Seraph heard her somehow. ~Please apologize for us and give her a false id. Anything that might sound good, remember I'm a human male and you are a human female and we're not GSA.~

"I am...transport shuttle...from cargo ship, coming for to obtain food" Iseki replied to the traffic controller in fractured seraphim. "Let dock, please." She looked to Chi with eyes of both hope and fear. 

Chi smiled at Iseki, that'd work, whatever it was that Iseki said. She kept an eye out for anything that they might crash into, like say the station or another ship.

After a few seconds, the starfighter that had been tailing them broke away and a reply came. Iseki hugged Chi and excitedly told her "She said bay S113! We can go on the station!"

Chi grinned a bit and let out a sigh of relief as she quickly returned Iseki's hug. "Great, let's get docked then!" She steered the ship towards the bay marked S113.

As the angel starfighter passed them, Iseki a sinking feeling. "What if they notice I said Nepleslian freighter but this is an angel shuttle? Why was the fighter following us? Do you think they will have seraphs waiting for us inside??" she asked, sounding almost panicked.

Chi shrugged, "Well, we did almost crash into the station. We'll just get aboard the station and try to keep a low profile Iseki. Remember, they're not looking for 2 humans. If worse comes to worse.. we're going to fight our way out of this."

The shuttle, thankfully entered the small shuttlebay uneventfully, and there was no welcome party, armed or otherwise.

Chi parked the shuttle as best she could before she deactivated all the systems aboard, now the question was to destroy the shuttle or not. She thought better of it as she stood up again. "Ok, Iseki let's find ourselves a new ride."

"Yokai!" Iseki hopped up and opened the rear door.

Chi readjusted her pants again before she followed Iseki out the door. She looked from side to side again, just checking for any sign of a possible incident.

Iseki spotted an old painted sign that read "To civilian area." or something to that nature. "I think we should go this way." she said to Chi, pointing down a hallway. The interior of the station was a dingy gray version of the architecture found in the angel ship. It was very dusty, like the walls were covered in space soot.

"Ok, we'll go that way. Stay close Iseki." Chi walked down the indicated hallway, trying to keep close to Iseki. She figured that people were less likely to mess with Iseki as long as they saw a man very close to her.

They went through a series of doors, until finally arriving in a central section. There were scattered groups of humans, angels, and various aliens here, going about their business. To the left was what appeared to be an electronics parts shop, and to the right, a bakery.

Chi looked around the station in wonderment, protectively taking Iseki's hand when she saw the angels walking about. She quietly spoke to Iseki, "Ok, now the hard part.. finding ourselves a ride.."

The crowd had a large variety of species and cultures. A neko in a one-piece swimsuit even walked by the two, with a pair of angels flanking her, as if they were her personal hoodlums. Stopping behind Chi and Iseki, the trio turned around and the neko took Iseki's shoulder in hand, making the recently-freed neko jump a bit in alarm. "Eeep!"

Chi pulled Iseki close to her now as she spun about to face the Neko and the pair of angels. "Excuse me Miss, but keep your hands off her." Her voice was forceful and protective now, the softness gone. She straightened up as she eyed the angel wearily, because damn it, she promised to protect Iseki. The neko would be just a big a problem but she wasn't sure what the Neko's allegiances were.

"You're new here." the mystery neko grinned, digging her hand and finger into Iseki, underneath her makeshift dress, not seeming to listen. "You'd better watch yourself, human." the neko warned Chi. "How much is this girl? She's got a beautiful face. It reminds me of home."

"This girl is NOT for sale, Geshrin." Chi kept Iseki close as she backed away from the Neko, her eyes narrowing.

Iseki cried out in shock as the unknown neko violated her for no apparent reason, and then in pain as Chi pulled her away. "Who are you calling Geshrin?" the neko said, pulling out some sort of machine pistol and shoving it against Chi's lower lip. 

The two angels, also armed, moved in on either side of Chi, Keeping their wings spread to conceal what was going on from passerby’s

"So you're not a Neko from Geshrintall?" Chi inwardly laughed, it figured as much that it would be a Neko to make her life hell. Chi quickly assessed the situation, 3 armed combatants, against her and Iseki, and both were unarmed at the moment. "Nice bodyguards." She finally decided to take a look at the Neko's eyes, maybe that would let her know what was going on. 

"I lived on a Ki-D1 destroyer. We never even got close to Geshrintall. What's it to you, asshole. Why don't you and stop pimping here, because I own all the girls on this block, mister Geshrin tough guy."

The neko's eyes were solid blue, and her hair was regular solid green. Probably an older model NH-7.

"This girl is NOT for sale. She is my damn sister and I'm trying to get her back home relatively unmolested." Chi narrowed her eyes, she had to run into a damn pimp of all things. But the girl was a spacey, with apparently no loyalties to the GSA. "Besides, she's already got an owner, Mistress Taisho Kitsurugi Yui." Chi let the name slide, knowing Yui would forgive her at some point. Chi still held Iseki close to her, hoping that Yui's name would ring some bells in this Neko's mind. 

"Yui's girls dress in gray kimonos." the neko pimp scathingly shot back, bashing Chi's credibility. "Why are you so afraid to admit she's your hump pillow? Get off my street before my girls..." she pointed to the two female angels on either side of her "...have to help you."

"Not a problem." Chi simply took Iseki and moved quickly down the street, getting the hell away from the Neko and her Angels. Thank the Emperor, she just got pissed. She'd have to make a note to talk to Yui whenever she got home to figure out if that was true. Now to find a way off this damn station.

Iseki quietly looked down, her purple hair hanging in her eyes. "It's my fault. I should have found a way to make the dress look better." she apologized.

"It's not you're fault Iseki, we didn't think we'd encounter a Neko. Are you ok?" Chi quietly spoke as she tried to figure out where she might find a damn transport off this station back to the Yui. Her eyes darted about the station looking for anyone that gave off the vibe: transport, she still kept Iseki close to her. 

A scruffy-looking man in a leather jacket bumped into Iseki as he made his way into a nearby building, stepping into a sleazy-looking bar. The jacket had a number of patches sewn into it, including some that appeared to be squadron logos and military symbols. Iseki whispered, "That man grabbed my bum." to Chi, pointing the man out as he went into the building.

Chi's lower lip twitched, well hell.. scruffy looking man, military things on his jacket and a sleazy bar.. All the wrong signs for Iseki's safety and all the right ones for a ride off this place. "From the looks of it Iseki, we're going to have a chat with that man.." Chi followed the man into the bar, still keeping Iseki as close to her as she could. "This might get a bit messy Iseki.."

"Yes, mistress." Iseki nodded, pressing herself against Chi's side as the two entered the crowded bar. It was smoky inside, with the air carrying a few burning herbs and incense. At a table in the corner, the guy in the jacket was sitting down on the booth seats, pouring a tall glass of some sort of teal-colored beverage.

Chi pushed her way towards the man in the jacket, pulling Iseki along with her. "Hey mister, I wanna talk to you!" She made a mental note to hemosynth Iseki some pants at some point..

"Huh?" the man looked at Chi in surprise, fumbling under the table for something in his carry bag. "Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded in a gravelly voice. He looked about 40 or 50 years old.

Chi took a seat across from the man, letting Iseki sit near the wall. "Are you a pilot by any chance, sir?" Chi kept one arm around Iseki and the other on the table in front of her. "Please, don't do that." She soothed, as she dropped her voice so that only Iseki and the old man could hear, "I don't mean you any harm, I just need to know how the hell I can get off this station."

"Well, I suppose you could call me that." the man said, eyeing the pair with suspicion.

Chi smiled warily, knowing the man most likely had his gun pointed at her gut with his finger on the trigger this very moment. "From your jacket I take it you're a former military man?" She raised her voice again, trying to make it sound a bit more friendly than covert. 

"Yeah, I was engineer on an ASF-57. Ship got decommissioned, so I took it with me when I went into retirement. Not authorized, but whatever. I've restored her to pretty good condition." the man said, running his wrinkled, calloused hands on his week-old bearded chin.

Chi smiled, again, he was an ally of the GSA... well.. sort of? "How does she run? I've only heard stories about how only the best can pilot the ASF-57s." 

"Aww, shucks, kiddo." the man smiled to Chi. "She runs like a champ. Real something to be proud of." It brought a tear to the gray-haired man's eye. Iseki watched intently from the side, letting Chi do the talking, shivering violently for some reason...

"Is there anyway you could.. "Chi smiled again, trying to remember how long it has been since she flew an ASF-57 DN Minicruiser.. and then she noticed Iseki was shivering. "Hey, are you ok Sweetie? What's wrong?"

"I feel sick." Iseki said quietly. She certainly didn't look so well, either. The old engineer put the back of his hand on her forehead for a moment and then said, "She's too hot." Iseki murmured, "I am not....feeling well." again. "There are so many."''

"Sir, is there anyplace safe to have her lie down at? We're stuck between a rock and a hard place.." Chi hugged Iseki worriedly, understanding why she was panicking, "You'll be ok Sweetie, I promise... we'll find someplace for you to lie down?" Chi looked pleadingly towards the old pilot for help.

"Uh..." the older guy scratched his head. He himself was homeless. "Well, my ship, I guess."

"Thank you so much sir!" Chi gently swept Iseki up into her arms after shaking the man's hand in gratitude, "I don't know what we would've done..." Chi looked down at Iseki, "We're going to get you a place to lie down.. you'll be all right..." 

The man got up from the table and led them out of the bar and through a twisting maze of streets and corridors, finally coming to an armored airlock door. He then enter a code on the control panel and stepped inside of the airlock as it opened, gesturing for them to follow.

Chi silently carried Iseki as she followed the man into the airlock, in some strange way, this was all working out. She was glad that something out there had taken pity on them. "Thank you, thank you so much, sir."

The door behind them shut and then the one in front of them opened after a few seconds, revealing a narrow two-foot-wide catwalk ran out to the top of the docked DN Minicruiser. On either side of the catwalk, there was a thirty-foot drop to the bottom of the bay, an air containment forcefield. The man walked confidently across the small bridge and opened the roof panel to the center section of the ship, sliding into the pilot's pit. There wasn't a lot of room on the ship. In fact, the man had to open a metal grating behind his seat in order to open the shaft to the small cargo area.

"PowerSystemOnline DefensiveSystemsReady DefensiveWeaponsReady ComputerSystemReady PropulsionSystemsReady HeavyWeaponsSystemsCharging ALL SYSTEMS READY" the computer speed-talked as the ship booted up. There was a sound of charging systems and running engines and ventilation. The spherical reactor, visible through an opening behind the shaft to the cargo area, began to glow and hum. "You girls can either lay on the main deck, up top in the loft, or you could sit in the cargo area."

Chi smiled softly, "Thank you Mister. How'd you guess I was really a woman?" She carried Iseki into the cargo area and gently set her down on the floor. "Iseki, how are you holding up?"

"Huh?" the man seemed taken aback at first, then realized he'd said girls instead of guys. "It was a mistake. You're a woman??"

Iseki moaned, "Uunnh. I feel so horrible inside. I've never seen so many men before. It makes me sick."'

Chi laughed a bit, too late now. "Oops. Anyways, how do you feel about the Angels and the GSA?" She looked down at Iseki again, "But you're ok right? No one tried to beat you.. except that one pimp lady.. but we got you away from her right?"

"I try not to take sides." The man frowned, looking down at Chi and Iseki in the dark cargo area from the loft section above. "I can't say I like either."

"No sides is better than nothing right now. We're just running out of time. I don't know how long it'll take the Angels to realize that we've come to this station. I'm sorry to have involved you but we're really in a rock and a hard place. Is there any chance we could get a ride back to my ship, the GSS Yui?" Chi's features slowly changed back to her normal form, although her clothes didn't change any. She smiled as her body became familiar again. "I am Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu, commanding officer of the GSS Yui and fleet commander of the GSA 2nd fleet. And this is Taii Hisô Iseki." Chi offered Iseki a soft smile again, "This man won't hurt you Iseki. He's not a bad man like Jehenniel."

The man looked at them in disgust, angry that they had tricked him with their disguises, trying to take advantage of him for a ride. He had spent a long time trying to get away from the GSA and the wars and the politics, and now these two girls wanted to try and drag him right back into it. "Get off my ship." he growled. "Now."

"We just need to get as far away from here and then you can just drop us off wherever and then, we'll be out of your life forever." Chi looked down at Iseki. "Please sir, the only reason why this girl is this sick is because for the past few months she's been held captive aboard and angel ship and been repeatedly violated by the captain of the ship. She can't be around men for too long or else she just shuts her mind down. I won't have even asked you if you hadn't grabbed Iseki's butt on your way into that bar."

"Look, you damn mass-produced weapon. Your war and your Star Army aren't my concern anymore. You expect me to risk my life and my ship to ferry you back to your ship? Hell no! Especially not without anything in return." the man scowled.

"What would you like then Sir? We could arrange to give you something in return. The War doesn't have to be your concern, nor does the GSA but, as far as the Angels know, we are still on that shuttle in the S113 bay. And if anyone say you leading us back here, you are already involved. And the Angels may retaliate no matter how much deeper you get involved. You don't even need to take us as far as the Yui, you could just ditch us in another sector of space in an escape pod or something, and from there we could just try to hail the Yui for a pick up!" She looked down at Iseki, hoping she was going to be okay now before she looked back up at the pilot. 

"Sir," Iseki bravely addressed the reluctant pilot, "I will do whatever you want if you will help Chiharu. You can keep me as your own."

Chi's eyes widened at the Taii, "Iseki.." She just didn't know what to say, to Iseki. How can you tell someone to not offer their life up for you?

"Anything?" the man asked, blinking in surprise. "You mean you're making yourself my slave?" He rubbed his chin and considered, looking from Chi to Iseki. "Wow...That would certainly make the trip worthwhile." He considered using her as an assistant for working on the ship. "Okay, deal. Where do you want to go?""

Chi frowned at this.. it was Iseki's right to do so. "I can give you the last known coordinates we had for the GSS Yui. Our ship had just finished repairs when I was captured." Chi hugged Iseki quietly speaking telepathically into the girl's mind, ~I wish you hadn't done that for me but thank you. I think he'll be nice to you.~ Chi said the coordinates aloud as she remembered them. This was a start of getting back home, again it didn't go as she had planned..

"Alright. But how am I supposed to find the ship? The Yui-class is one of those newfangled stealth types, isn't it? I think I read about it in a magazine." The aged veteran asked. Meanwhile Iseki could only cry pitifully into Chiharu's bosom. She only hoped Chi would be happier than she was.

Chi hugged Iseki to her and rubbed the girl's back. ~I'm sorry that's I'm not happier Iseki, you're a good girl and I like you a lot.~ She kissed the girl's forehead again, before addressing the pilot again, "Luck, but I think if we can try to hail the Yui, we might be able to get it's location from there."

"Okay." the man said, and then closed the metal grating above them, and the roof panel, leaving the two nekos alone in the dark cargo hold (which was about the same size as a small shuttle interior). Strapping himself in, he then maneuvered the ship out of the docking bay and into space, headed in the direction of the GSS Yui.
Juni Kuru had made a side stop on her way to turn off the power to Megumi. She had just realized that she had 3 tech clones sitting in stasis, waiting to be put to work. Kuru smiled to herself and went to the stasis bay to retrieve the 3 nameless Nekos.

Kuru touched the mechanism that would start up the Nekos' programming again and then stood back as the Nekos started to move around as they woke.

"Where am I?" One Nekos asked and Kuru simply smiled.

"You're in the stasis room of your home, the GSS Yui. These other 2 beside you are your sisters. But, we have work to do. We have to bring the Megumi back up or else the crew will remain dead."

The Nekos solemnly nodded, and Kuru lead them out of the stasis bay back towards the Megumi's room, only stopping momentarily again to deactivate the power to the room so no one got a nasty shock when the power cables were replaced.

Inside the Megumi's room, Tomoyo stared up at the cables were Mika was found dead. No body remained, there was only a red swear where her body had been. The Neko's body had deconstructed itself into nothingness. Tomoyo's thoughts drifted to poor Hikari who was being treated in the Med Bay by Inari and Akari. Poor Hikari was still in a heavy state of shock that the burns had caused. The medics had to sedate the poor girl to calm her down. Hikari's screams still rung in Tomoyo's mind and she shuddered at the memory of the burns and the flames. The flames were unnatural and her fear turned to anger when she remembered that it was Ritsu that had caused the fire that did that Hikari. She clenched her fist as she looked up at the cables...

Kuru deactivated the power to the room. When she entered she looked to Acara and the quiet angry figure of Tomoyo as the clones followed her into Megumi's room. Kuru was going to say something to Tomoyo but thought better of it. "I found us some extra help. Let's get Megumi back up so that we can get our friends back. We don't want the Taisho to come home and find that half her crew is missing when we rescue her." Kuru gently patted Tomoyo on her shoulder before moving on, and starting her work on repairing Megumi, the clones followed suit. Tomoyo closed her eyes for a moment before she went to work as well, choosing to work in silence.
After the Seraph attacked, Aya had taken to her chair and had been quiet, still freaked. Arume had gotten herself into her uniform and returned to the bridge to keep Aya company.

Alexis looked around the bridge for someone to fill him in. "Why is it smoking in here, why is Megami not online, and is it me or are we missing more of the crew?"

Uso walked in and returned to her station. ~ugh more damage~ she thought as she began to clear debris from the area.

"It is not just you," Uso said "We lost a few people due to another angel but the situation is now under control"

"More angels? When did this happen?"

Arume spoke aloud, her voice was irritated as she looked at the swear in Lyn's seat where her body had been before it broke down. "There was a problem with the Megumi and Mika went to check it. And then the death toll started rising. Then there was a series of fires, some caused by the Seraph and some caused by the Chief of Security."'

Alexis looked over at Arume, then at the smear. "How many did we lose?" Finally he was getting the picture. The pieces were lining up and he didn't like the picture. "Did we get it? Is it dead?"

Arume continued, "We lost Mika, Kago Lyn, Megumi and Hikari is critically wounded." Arume folded her arms across her chest.

"We managed to gun down the Seraph. It is dead as far as we know." Arume was not in a good mood, as she noticed Aya was still cringing in her seat. She shot a quick message to Aya. ~Pull yourself together, At least you're still alive.~ Aya's eyes widened at the coldness in Arume's voice and looked like she was about to cry.

Alexis tapped the console in front of him, a mix of frustration and pity weaving their way through his emotions..."So this is what happens when I leave you guys unattended?" he said, half-joking in an attempt to lighten the mood. Even though that might not have been the right thing to do, looking back on it. He backpedaled. "They can be respawned...have repairs on Megami begun?"

Uso gave him Alexis a soft smile "They can be respawned as soon as the repair on Megami are complete" she said

"No one can be brought back until Megumi is back up. And Juni Kuru has reported that she has just begun the repairs." A quiet hatred burned in Arume's eyes at the attempt of the joke from Alexis. She said nothing in reply to it. 

Uso could sense the anger in Arume so she walked over to her and put her hand on her shoulder. ~They will be back sooner than you think there is no reason to get angry~ 

Alexis dropped his eyes to the deck. He understood Arume's feeling, it was not the time for jokes. Something she said made him look up again. "What did Ritsu do?"

Arume just glared at Uso as she removed the Neko's hand from her shoulder. As she verbally replied to the thought in her mind. "This should not have happened at all. Why didn't a member of security accompany her to the Megumi's room? Lavinia had already died and we suspected that there might have been another one on board." Arume looked back to Alexis again. "He carelessly set fire to the lower decks without checking to see if we had any crew members down there."

"We were both in the subdecks. He was just ahead of me and he decided to clear the area using pyrokenisis. He didn't get the angel but instead he flamed Hikari." Uso said. "It was a accident."

"Where is he right now?" Alexis asked calmly.

"He meant good." Uso said casting a glance at Arume ~this will be hell on the crew~ she thought to herself

"He should have fucking checked." Arume retorted. Aya sheepishly looked up at the other bridge officers and then looked down again. Aya didn't like the morale of the crew to be degraded to this.

"The end does not justify the means, not in this situation. He still needs to think before he does." Something in Alexis' demeanor belied the feeling behind it. Ritsu was not doing well...

He looked around at everyone. "Well, where is he? If anyone sees him, tell him he's confined to quarters until either I calm down or Chi comes back."

Both Arume and Aya shook their heads no. But it was Arume who spoke. "I have no idea were he is, but I'll pass the message along if he decides to grace the bridge with his presence."

"Maybe confining him to his quarters isn't the best idea." Uso said

"Why not?" 

Arume decided to keep her opinion on how to punish Ritsu to herself in this matter. She looked from Alexis to Uso before returning her eyes back towards the display before her.

Alexis looked at Uso..."This is not a punishment, it is to keep me from doing something rash, in case that is what you were thinking. I will deal with him later."

Alexis sat back in the ops chair and closed his eyes. "Okay...I think I have an idea to keep the ship running until Megami's up. For now, do another sweep for Angel activity both on and off board the Yui, report to me on the hour. Sensors don't seem to be doing the trick, so manually inspect every room and passage. Once that's done, post sentries if we can spare them, and check the other systems for damage. Primary concern is getting Meg back online but I don't want the ship to fall apart suddenly either."

"They're are better uses for him. "Uso said with a slight evil grin. "right now we are short on crew. you could force him to help repair the ship or be a personal aid to Hikari. He is taking it really hard on himself"

The shifter thought for a second, then nodded. "He can help Hikari."

"Technician Hikari is currently sedated in the Med Bay." Aya reported quietly. As Arume remained quiet as she looked over her own console, for any sign of problems.

"And Ritsurin should take part in her recovery as he was the one who caused the injuries," Uso added

"It's a good idea but I don't think Hikari will react well to it." Aya spoke again as Arume refused to give an opinion either way by remaining silent.

Troubled nights had recently befallen upon the members of the GSS Yui. Their Captain was kidnapped, and Megumi was not wanting to operate correctly. Before and after the events transpired, Sgzyr stayed in his nest, practicing the skills taught to him by his old Ajuti Master. Today though, he had decided on checking outside to see if anybody was still capable of moving. With a simple mental pulse, he had activated the nanite machines that Doctor Wazu had implanted into Sgzyr’s body. Three seconds whirled by quickly as his adrenal cortex was stimulated and Sgzyr then jumped out of his nest, hoping to head to the deck. The machines pushed him onwards, as he had barely missed a jagged piece of metal sticking out from the wall, Sgzyr would pray afterwards about the current situation. He had decided on meeting who is on the deck, because he had barely introduced himself personally to the personnel on the Yui. He smiled at the thought and continued onward.

Alexis growled softly in frustration. "Okay, forget it. He is to stay in his quarters, I don't want him hurting anyone else be it well-intentioned or not. I'll deal with him later." 

Sgzyr had skidded to an abrupt halt as he had reached the bridge and gave Alexis a simple nod of his head to acknowledge that he had heard it speak. His clothing consisted of a pair of simple black sweat pants and a white wife-beater style shirt. His vision was not doing so well with him, so Sgzyr would not risk searching for his uniform in the dark, even though he had practiced his martial arts, but that was the excuse he would give the highest ranking officer. Never a man of many words, Sgzyr just relaxed against the wall, as he waited to hear the current events.

Alexis looked up at the doorway as someone arrived on the bridge. Someone the shifter hadn't seen almost since he had arrived. "Sgzyr, nice of you to join us." He stood and looked around at everyone around him. "We have our jobs, let's get them done. Sooner the ship is up and running, sooner we can have our crew back and start looking for Chi." Which he couldn't believe they hadn't started doing already.... He tilted his head as he walked over to the reptilian security officer and looked up at him. "Can I have a word with you?"

As Alexis had approached him, Sgzyr snapped to attention immediately and tried not to make a single movement. As soon as he was asked to speak with Alexis he nodded "Shall we take this elsewhere?" was Sgzyr’s reply. 

Hmm. Definitely trained military, the guy didn't even twitch..."Just what I had in mind...I believe the briefing room is open by now." Alexis lead the way down the corridor and allowed Sgzyr to enter before him.

Sgzyr entered the briefing room crisply, as he acted only as well as he could, uniform motions that were as brief as possible and crisp. He then glided down into a chair and sat straight up, his legs let loose on the ground. "What do you need to know, sir?" was Sgzyr’s brief question.

Alexis seated himself across from Sgzyr. It was almost amazing to him...last time he had talked to this officer, a gun had been held up to his nose. Now... "Well, what you've been up to the last day or two would be a good place to start, I think," he said finally, looking at Sgzyr's face for any hint at what he was thinking.

"I’ve been confined to my quarters, since the majority of the Yui’s systems were offline, I had no where else to turn to. All I heard were explosions, which were most likely, muffled by the walls that formed a prison around me. I have been trying to practice my night vision techniques since there has been a lack of that luminating, life-giving substance so it seems."

"Alright. Well, as far as I can tell we have been invaded twice by the angels. The first time resulted in the kidnapping of Taisho Chiharu, the second in the death of three of the crew and the destruction of Megami. Repairs are underway. I would like you to check in with Ritsurin for orders. And try not to get locked in your quarters again, we needed everyone we could get." Alexis nodded to himself, then stood and extended his hand. "In the meantime, I don't believe we've been properly introduced...my name is Alexis Jaren."

Sgzyr stood up quickly after Alexis had made the action, and had already begun to extend his left arm as then spasms erupted. It was a violent, but brief spasmodic episode, which ended with Sgzyr muttering to himself about talking to Doctor Wazu and then he shook Alexis’ hand. "My name is Sgzyr, my rank is Juni aboard the GSS Yui."

"Pleasure to meet ya..." Alexis frowned slightly at the spasm. "Intensify giving you trouble? How often have you been using it?"

"Not for too long, perhaps once a day, not use while I was in the dark, I would not to impale myself on an end of loose ship. I need to talk to Doctor Wazu about it though, perhaps he could tweak with the settings for me.."

"There might be a slight problem with that." Alexis set a datapad on the table, tapping the surface with his finger. "Wazu's dead at the moment. And I'm not sure when his last back-up took place."

As soon as the words had escaped from Alexis’ lips, a mask of sadness had befallen Sgzyr’s’ face, but then it was replaced with an uncaring, poker player-esque look, the only thing is that his yellow eyes drifted to the floor. He straightened his poster as well as he could and slowly nodded about hearing the death of Wazu. 

"I'm not sure about the circumstances of his death, but once we get the computer system back online he and the other crewmembers will be able to be respawned." Alexis didn't miss the look. His comment was meant as a slight consolation without sounding too soft, and it sounded okay to him..."You may now report to Ritsurin." He nodded to Sgzyr and made his way around the table to the doorward side.

Sgzyr saluted Alexis briefly then made his way out of the briefing room, and headed off to find Ritsurin. Even though they were both of equal rank, he wondered why he was still taking orders from this half-breed. Sgzyr’s’ mind then traveled to other plots that developed in his head during his time confined in darkness.

Alexis returned the salute and watched the Juni exit. He looked back at the pad, re-reading it in his mind, then went back and picked it up. The doors slid shut as he left the room and headed to Megami's room.
Megami's Room GSS Yui (GD-30) 

Kuru, Tomoyo and the 3 nameless Tech Neko clones had already begun their part of the repair work on the Megami. Tomoyo had been disturbingly quiet the entire time.

Acara was in the Megami room working at his usual frantic pace. He noticed Tomoyo was not speaking. "Are you all right over there, Tomoyo?" He asked no bothering to form a head. 

Tomoyo didn't look away from her repair work when Acara spoke; "I'm just really upset that Ritsu didn't even look who was down in the sub decks before he torched them."

"It was reckless of him. Do you know if she is ok?" Acara asked Tomoyo, concerned for the young Tech’s well being.

Tomoyo was quiet for a moment; "Hikari is in the Med Bay right now. She wouldn't calm down so Akari and Inari had to sedate her. She's in pretty bad shape but she's still alive."

Acara was almost divided in half working on two different jobs at once. "I am personally getting sick of all this commotion. If the security crew does not stop fighting among them selves we tech's are defenseless".

Uso walked into the room, "Have any of you see Ritsurin?" she asked

"No". Acara said. "He did a good enough job defending us, He can stop now."

Uso let out a small laugh, "I'll tell him that when I see him. How is Hikari anyways?"

"I heard she had to be sedated." Acara calmly restated.

"That bad?" Uso asked not really expecting an answer

"I don't know what it is like to be burned, but it seems to cause you flesh creatures a lot of pain." Acara answered.

There was suddenly a rise in the gravity of the ship, which came with a rising heat. It made it difficult to move and uncomfortable to work.

Uso almost fell to the ground as the sudden change in gravity caught her by surprise

Tomoyo and the tech clones were floored by the sudden change but Kuru simply grunted and stood up despite the change. "What just happened?" 

Acara adjusted his internal pressure and continued with almost no delay. "Are you guys alright?” he said as he caught Tomoyo with a tendril.

As the pressure changed, a loud, human scream ripped through the air.

"Who was that?" Uso asked seeming slightly panicked

Acara thought it strange he could talk so openly with some one. “I don't like to let people close to me, that is how you get hurt. It is hard to hurt me physically, but I don't do good interacting with people. Could you pass me some more spare wire?"

Tomoyo was caught in the tendril. But as suddenly as the pressure came it stabilized and returned to normal. The heat that was there dissipated. It went almost with a heartbroken sigh.

Kuru's ears twitched as she analyzed the sound waves, "The voice pattern sounds similar to Ritsu...Where is he?"

Acara did a cartoon size increase then decrease. He flip-flopped for a second losing hold of what he was doing.

Uso's face dropped, "That is what I've been trying to figure out!" she said and then ran off in the direction of the scream 

"Tomoyo, Acara, please continue repairing Megami!" Kuru followed after Uso, pulling her energy pistol free from its holster. "Let's try the Security Nest!"

Uso reached the door of the nest and upholstered her pistol, ~ready? ~ She asked as she prepared to open the door.

"Uhh." Acara flowed up slowly trying to get his bearings. "Man, I hate it when that happens." He said as he restarted on his work.

Kuru nodded to Uso. ~Ready~ She tapped the safety off. Meanwhile Tomoyo nodded to Acara. "Never a dull moment." Said Tomoyo as she returned to her work. The clones didn't need any encouragement to start work again.

Uso opened the door and ducked down under Kuru's line of fire and scanned the room looking for anything

"Tomoyo, do you think that was Megami. Maybe her login was screwed up and she is trying to get at us." Acara said sounding worried.

As the door slid open, it revealed a man standing in a corner, doing a couple punch combos and kicks, almost like he was getting used to his body. He has long brown hair, ice blue eyes, and a muscular build. He turned to face them. "Hello there." The man said politely. " I am Hiro Seishin." His face was handsome, with gentle features.

"I don't think it was Megami. She's pretty hurt right now." Tomoyo gently touched he computer's components.

"FREEZE! PUT YOU HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" Uso shouted not knowing if the person was friend or foe as she did not recognize him

"Hey! Ok" He said as he held his hands up, showing he bore no weapon.

Kuru aimed her gun at the man's head. "You stole my line." She looked back to the man. "How the hell did you get on our ship? Start talking or you're going to see the after life."

Uso examined the man looking for hidden weapons ~you can never be too sure~ she thought to herself

"I was Ritsurin." He explained.

"Were?" Uso asked

" I do feel sorry for her though. She has been through a lot. When this is all over I am going to give her a thorough cleaning. She deserves that at least." Acara had always been fond of Megami, and he did not like her getting injured. 


"I am the result of his burning desire to be human." Hiro explained.

"Bullshit, tell the truth and get to the point monkey man." Kuru's voice was grim as ever. She almost sounded like Arume right now.

Tomoyo nodded to Acara. "That she has. Poor Megami... she'll be back to normal in no time if we keep pace like we have been." Tomoyo smiled brightly, she was in a brighter mood.

Acara laughed. "By the time this war is over there won't be a wire we have not replaced, at this rate."

The man looked genuinely hurt that Kuru didn't believe him and the fact he was being treated like some hoodlum. He kept his hands in the air as he spoke calmly and clearly. "Chui Uso, Juni Kuru... I was honestly Daijinshi Ritsurin. I am not some intruder... I am the part of him that wanted to be human with all of his soul. Please, you have to believe me!"

"Can you prove this?" Uso asked while keeping her gun pointed at him

Then Acara got serious. "I trust you Tomoyo. I don't know why, but I do."

"Thank you Acara. I trust you too." Tomoyo replied with a soft smile as she continued to work.

" I don't trust many people, three actually, including you." Acara finish one of his tasks, and began on the memory connections.

Hiro plugged his brain for something that only Ritsu would know... "Ask me something, anything that Ritsu would only know. You could check my DNA... no, wait that wouldn't work. I don't think I have a shred of Demon left in me. Just ask me anything Uso. Please?" Kuru was burning a hole through Hiro's soul with this death glare she was giving him. Hiro shifted uneasily under the Neko's gaze. 

Tomoyo smiled again, "Why do you only trust 3 people Acara?" She went to work reconnecting a cable that had been removed when the Seraph came through. The nekos clones just continued their silent work.

~Hmmmm.~ Uso thought. "When we were chasing the angel what happened after he tossed the grenades at us?"

Hiro replied quickly knowing his life was hanging by a thread already and he had only just started fresh. "I activated my force shield and the hatch in front of us closed shut... the grenades bounced back at us. I got buried beneath a pile of boxes."

Tomoyo nodded as she passed some wire over to Acara. "I think you're doing fine Acara."

"Yes, but what happened to the Neko that went before you?" Uso said ~if this is a imposter he will fall for this trick~ Uso thought to herself.

"The only Neko there with me was you Uso. You were up the ladder when the grenades went off." Hiro replied, hoping his memory would not fail him now. Kuru remained her silence as she kept her gun steady at Hiro's head.

Uso smiled and loosened the grip on her gun. "So it is you then?" Uso said. "How did you change forms?"

Acara moved closer to Megami's main computer to use less substance. He had abandoned all set forms, his uniform in a corner, and looked like nothing more than a bunch of tendrils with a common base. "Thanks." He said taking the wires. "What do you mean I am doing fine?"

Despite the fact that Uso had relaxed, Kuru didn't and kept her gun aimed and at ready as Hiro spoke, "Ritsu was meditating and went into his mind to repent for his reckless behavior that got Hikari injured and found me there. He embraced the human part of himself and I just, well, expelled the demon part of me from my body and it all just rushed out and floored me." He shifted uneasily as he felt a sharp pain in his ribs. "I think I need to go to the Med Bay."

"I mean, that you seem to be interacting with people all right. I mean, you came to me after I had just gotten respawned so, it's a start right? And you do seem to care about the rest of us too." Tomoyo continued to smile as she worked.

"Ok then" Uso said as she moved away from the door and around to Hiro's back still with her gun up and still keeping her distance, "Sorry but I'm not taking any chances"
"Ah jeez." Acara was lucky he was one set color, because otherwise he would have been bright red. "Well if you say so. You know, certain people always draw out the worst in me." He said sarcastically.

Without a word Kuru hemosynthed a pair of handcuffs and walked over to Hiro, placing them on his wrists and locking them into place. "Maybe Akari can prove this part of the story to us. If he's telling the truth, then he probably got the brunt of the gravity increase when the change occurred."
Tomoyo chuckled a bit. "I can't see anything bad in you right now though."

Uso escorted Hiro out of the security nest and to the med bay keeping her pistol pointed at him the entire time.

Hiro sighed a bit as he was cuffed and escorted out of the nest, he couldn't blame them for the distrust with all the stuff going on aboard ship the past few days. Kuru followed them both out as they marched down to the Med Bay, still not taking her eyes off the man. 

Acara pulled a few tendrils in to reinforce others. "Other than a bad sense of humor. Oh by the way we should divide the Tech's back up between the nests. There are no males on board, and I don’t take up much space, so the new rules don't apply. Come on I have a whole room to my self, and I don’t hardly us it".

"I guess if it's okay with Juni Kuru we could do that." Tomoyo smiled again, she liked the nests over the old bunk berthings.

When Kuru, Hiro and Uso reached the Med Bay, Akari was the only one there again. Inari and Hikari were off somewhere. Akari looked at the trio strangely, "And what can I help you with ladies?"

"It would be good to ask. I never did do a good job thinking of all the details, so there are probably many holes in my idea." Acara answered. 

"We need you to run a DNA test on Ritsurin" Uso said motioning to the man in handcuffs. "Find out if it is really him."

"Not meaning to be rude or disrespectful, but do you have a gender for yourself or in you species?" Tomoyo politely asked.

Akari nodded. "It'll only take a moment. Hold still sir." Akari walked over to Hiro after picking up a syringe. She found herself a vein in his arm and stuck him with the needle, drawing out a small amount of blood in order to run her tests. Akari hemosynthed Hiro a bandage over the small puncture wound as she sat back down with the blood sample and started to run her tests.

"No, I'm A-sexual. I try to keep all gender out of my form, but it does not always work. I don't even think like a male or female, or so I am told." Acara pulled a tendril back as he closed a panel to repair the latch.

After about five minutes of comparing samples, Akari came to her conclusion. "The maternal mitochondria is the same in the two samples but this new DNA is fully human. But since the mitochondria is the sample, he is most likely the descendent of the same woman." 

"So for all we know this could be Ritsurin's brother?" Uso asked

Akari nodded. "Yes, it's one of those things that comes with DNA. There is a similarity though so he might be partially telling the truth."

"So he is still confined to quarters till we figure out what to do with him." Uso said

"Indeed, I'll take him back to the security nests you go and consult Alexis" Uso said

Tomoyo looked at Acara out of the corner of her eye, "Interesting. You're asexual. "

Kuru nodded again. "You'll need to hemosynth a key at some point Chui Uso. I'll go to the bridge now."

"I think my problem with my humanoid form is the mammary gland you females have. If I have it I look female, if I don't I look male. No in between." Acara replied.

Acara pondered a second. " I don’t know, I have never been male or female so I would not know

"Hmm, must be interesting then to deal with Geshrins and Nekos and such then." Tomoyo returned to her work on the Megami. 

I don't understand your mating habits, but I try to get by." Acara said as he repaired a conductor.

Tomoyo laughed as her face turned crimson. "I don't either really. Umm... how long do you think it'll take us to finish repairing Megami?" She changed the subject and wondered if the clones really cared about any of this at all.

"I don't know, maybe 13 more hours. So lets get to work shall we?" Acara paused and looked over at the Tech clones. "Are you guys alright?" 

One of the Nekos looked up and over to him as she spoke. "We're alright, you two just seemed to be having so much fun talking to each other we decided to keep out of it." The girl smiled. "But, we do have a lot of work let to do, right?"

Acara laughed. "Caught by my own cleverness I guess. Lets make Megami proud to come back to this body. Ok." ~Maybe this leadership thing isn't so bad. ~ He thought as he went back to work.
ASF-57d DN Minicruiser "Julie"

Iseki had fallen asleep against Chi's bosom, and was startled when the man called down through the metal grating into the cargo area's claustrophobic darkness. "Is that your ship?" the man was asking them. "I think that's her!" he yelled. The two ships darted past each other, and the old pilot swung the ship around to follow the destroyer.

Chi awoke with a start as she jumped up hearing the Old Man's voice. "I don't know, I can't really see it. " She moved to push the grate off so she could get a better look.

There was about a foot and a half of space above the grate, or less, and no windows up there. There was, however, a small opening in the side of the shaft, just under the grate, leading out into the main deck's corridor.

Chi looked at the grate curiously, could she fit through the space. She decided that she wanted to try to get through it to get into the corridor. She moved towards the opening and tried to crawl through it

It was small, but manageable. Chi found herself (or her torso, so far) in a miniature hallway on the starboard side of the minicruiser. The small hall was about 4 feet wide and 4 feet tall, in the shape of a square with the outer top corner cut off. The opposite "wall" was an air forcefield, and the vacuum was in her arm's reach.

Chi frowned and bit and tried to keep herself as near to the actual wall of the hallway as she could as she army crawled through the hallway trying to find her way to the pilot's seat. ~This sucks.~ She tried to plug her brain's memory banks for a blueprint of the ASF-57 DN Minicruiser to figure out where she was. 

The pilot's seat, and their middle-aged benefactor were only a couple feet towards the front of the ship on the walled side of the hall. Ahead of the opening to the pilot's pit, there was a small bay for launching...something small. and out directly ahead, the tail end of the GSS Yui.

Chi's eyes widened as she noticed the ship and got closer to the pilot's pit. "Mister, I think that's my ship! Could you hail them? " Chi looked back at the grating were Iseki was and quickly tried to think up a plan to take Iseki with her and still leave the pilot a slave..

"Yeah. Why don't you, though?" Figuring the GSA ship would respond better to one of their own, he clicked on the microphone.

Chi spoke aloud, hoping that this was indeed her ship. "GSS Yui, this is Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu, do you read me? over." She crossed her fingers and was strangely reminded of the Kaeru frog..

Onboard, Arume got up and walked over to Aya, who was asleep at the communications station. Taking a hold of one of the unsuspecting neko's nipples, she pinched it and twisted hard, sending Aya into a screaming fit that Chiharu could hear over the intercom. "It's Chiharu, you twit. Answer the transmission."

Chiharu winced a bit at the screaming, "Hello, is everything all right over there GSS Yui?"

Aya blushed crimson and nodded to Arume. "You didn't have to do that. You're so mean to me Arume." Aya tried to regain some dignity as she spoke again, "This is the GSS Yui. Is that really you Sempai.. err.. Taisho Ketsurui? What's your location?" 

Chi chuckled a bit, that explained it, it was the Yui alright. "It's really me Aya. We're right on your tail. We'll come alongside." Chi looked to the pilot, "Sir, there's a place to dock above the Yui and along the sides."

The man circled the Yui, checking for a port that was compatible, but not finding away. Eventually, he settled for just putting the ships roof to roof at the rear lift and spreading a plastic adapter thing in the gap. After a few minutes, it was airtight and ready to go. The man looked to Chi and tugged on her arm, pulling her into the pilot's area with him, and guiding her hands to handholds, helping her get to the lift shaft.

"Watch out." he told Chiharu. "The gravity is the opposite way once you're through the door."

Chi nodded and stopped for a moment and looked at the pilot, "Right. Hey, since we're here, would you like a different Neko for your ship? Iseki is pretty badly damaged and I'm pretty sure that I have a spare Tech Neko aboard ship that you could use. She'll be just as pretty as Iseki though." She looked at the pilot with a hopeful look in her eyes, she didn't want to abandon Iseki after they'd come all this way. 

"Damaged? What do you mean? If she's a neko, too, won't she self-heal?"

Chi shook her head no. "The Angels damaged her psychologically, the damage is all mental and cannot be self-repaired. In order for her to work like she's supposed to, I'd have to send her back to PNUgen to get fixed." 

"PNUgen doesn't fix defective nekos, they kill them and send a replacement." the man said, looking up at her. "It's true."

Chi shrugged a bit, "So are you interested in trading a broken Neko for a fully functioning one? This one will just start crying and won't stop among other things." 

"Why's she so special to you, eh?" The man asked, wondering what extra value this particular neko had that would make her worth more than a new one. "I held up to my end of the deal." he grumbled angrily, upset that she was trying to change things on him now that she already had the ride she wanted.

"She helped me escape from the Angel's ship and I don't want to abandon her. I also figured that it wouldn't be fair to leave you with a defective Neko after you did hold up your end of the deal." Chi sighed a bit and looked over in the direction of the grating where Iseki was.

Iseki listened to the two, all alone in the dark cargo area. She whimpered quietly, but didn't say anything. Finally, the man asked, "Well, do you have a neko to trade right now?"

Chi nodded. "I do, before I was captured 3 Neko techs were cloned. If you want to pick which one you want you can come aboard with Iseki."

"Okay." The hardened traveler agreed. Iseki crawled out of the ship very slowly, avoiding getting too close to the man, and entered the Yui. She kissed the walls, starting to cry again. It looked so much like her home, and yet it was not. None of her sister or friends would be here to greet her... Well, one friend. Iseki looked at Chi and tried to manage a smile.

Chi smiled softly back at Iseki as she went into the Yui, glad to be home. And she stretched a bit and walked towards the lifts, sending a message to the crew on the bridge, "Aya, Arume, do me a favor and get the 3 Tech Clones to meet me in the uppermost dock's lift."

Aya's reply was a short but happy, "Aye Aye Taisho, welcome home!" The 3 Tech Neko clones walked from the Megami's room to meet them at the designated lift. They all had blue eyes and dark green hair. One had the same warm red brown skin as Kuru, while another was a fleshy pink and the last was a pale pink. 

The man took Iseki by the arm, and pulled her out of the lift shaft. He wasn't sure if the crew understood what Chi meant, and he wasn't going to take any chances that the lift they were all standing on was going to go up and squish them into the door. Although the man didn't know, it made a lot of sense, since Megami was gone.

Chi stepped off the lift and looked to the nekos in the tech uniforms. "Ok, ladies, one of you will be going with gentleman here onto his ship to serve as his assistant." She quickly told them via telepathy that she was sorry for singling them out. But the techs just smiled with a soft shrug. ~It'll be ok Taisho Ketsurui..~

"What are you girls' names?" the man asked, sizing them up.

The techs shrugged a bit. They hadn't chosen names for themselves yet, but they figured now would be a good time. The brown neko spoke first after thinking for a moment, "I'm Izumi." The fleshy pink neko was next, "I'm Kikyo" and the then lastly the pale pink tech spoke, "And I'm Shira." Then they all bowed to him, "Dozo Yoroshiko."

Shira stretched a bit, it was nice to get out of the Megami room for a break. Kikyo looked at the man curiously, "What's your name sir?"

Kikyo smiled brightly, it felt nice to be wanted. "Nice to meet you Mr. Harrison. It'll be my pleasure to be working with you." Chi blinked a bit at the realization that she never asked the pilot hi s name. Chi spoke, "I wish you luck Mr. Harrison. And thank you for the ride home." Chi looked at Iseki. Kikyo walked over to Harrison and Izumi and Shira waved to her. "Have fun sis."

"Ok. I'll take you, Kikyo." The man paused. After all this time he was wondering when someone would ask. "I'm Harrison."

Commander Harrison plucked off Kikyo's shiny rank pin and threw it on the floor. "We'll be leaving now."

Chi nodded as she took Iseki from him. "Hopefully, we'll never meet again Harrison."

"Nice to meet you too, bitch." he grunted gruffly, before taking the bewildered Kikyo by the wrist and back to his ship. In a moment, the ASF-57 broke away from the GSS Yui and disappeared into hyperspace.

Chi just shook her head again, the man hadn't liked her since he found out that she was GSA. Oh well.

Iseki looked to the two remaining neko technicians nervously, not knowing how to express herself, or even what to express. She almost didn't want to meet anyone new, because of the risk that they would be killed or captured just like she was. Attachments were dangerous. So, she merely stood tucked against the wall behind Chi, holding her crossed arms tight to her chest.

Chi sighed a bit. "Thanks you two, you can go back to whatever it was you were doing.." The techs nodded but, as they turned to leave, Izumi stopped. "We are repairing the Megami right now." Chi blinked, "What?"

Iseki looked at them oddly. "You're trying to fix a Megami??"

Izumi nodded, "She was damaged recently by an intruder. We're still recouping." Chi looked to Iseki curiously, yes fixing the Megami meant something really messed up went down. "Do you remember what the Megami is Iseki?"

"Megami is a complicated quantum computer." Iseki replied, knowing it from her studies of the new one on the GD-37. "The Mentafexic ElectroGravitationally Accelerated Memory and Intelligence type Q3, built by SARA. You're going to have to return to a major port or depot to get her replaced."

Chi smiled despite the fact that the Megami being damaged was a really bad thing, "I guess we'll have to do that then before we have to return to our mission."

"That might not be possible. The Yui seems to be headed in the direction of the refueling station. Without the computer, none of the engine systems will work. Nor will our shields." Iseki explained. The ship systems were so complicated, that they needed the computer to regulate them. With that vital part gone, the ship was effectively crippled.

Chi sighed, "Ah hell.. maybe we could get another ship to get us. It would be bad to end up at the refueling station again. Any suggestions as to what we could do?"

"Use the ablative armor system and torpedoes." Iseki mumbled absently. Most of the rest of Chi's half of the first fleet was busy massing for an attack on the main angel base that the Yui was supposed to find, leaving the scout alone for all practical purposes. The GSS Ender might be close enough to render assistance, though.

Chi frowned, well hell, it looked like the powers that be really hated the GSS Yui for some reason. "Crap, we are in real deep now.." What a home coming, barter a crew member into slavery and find out your ship is flying without the main computer system. "Do you know if they could fix the Megami enough to get her partially running, is there even the slimmest chance we could at least get ourselves redirected?"

Iseki, who seemed to be electronically knowledgeable, said, "We could create a backup computer system using one or two of the laptops. There should be some in the armory. The computers could control the sublight ion/graviton engines, enabling us to turn around. But one of the problems is that we can't cloak. At this range, they're probably already watching us."

"You're probably right Iseki, but we have to do something." She smiled, "And again you are a truly a life saver Iseki, let's get that done. It'll be better than nothing right now."

Iseki nodded, sliding her back against the corner until she was sitting on the floor. She had started shivering again. "I...I don't to lose another ship and crew."

Chi knelt down and hugged the girl. "You won't Iseki, we'll fight it tooth and nail, let's get you something to eat and a place to sleep." The techs had decided it would be best for them to leave the two alone because they had to break it to the other Techs that their work so far has been for their own amusement.
After the ASF-57 sped off, Aya noticed that she had forgotten someone somehow as the Silvershot hailed the GSS Yui yet again requesting permission to dock. Aya blinked, wondering how she could not notice that there was another ship out there.

"Silvershot, this is the GSS Yui, sorry for the delay... We've been having technical difficulties. You may dock with us so that the new crew members may board."

Aya sighed a bit as she wondered when Chiharu would grace the bridge with her presence now that she was home safe and sound...

Meanwhile... 

The Silvershot had pulled closely to the Yui, and then docked, attaching the elevators so transport in between would be possible.

"We're finally here, Trouble. The Yui apparently had some technical issues." Zeph said to Trouble. Turning to the computer conduit 'M.O.C.H. see if you can be of any help to the Yui."

"Yes, sir" M.O.C.H. replied in a rather dull voice.

Trouble and Zeph made their way down the elevator, and to the bridge to drop off their information to the captain. But something bothered Trouble.

Trouble thought to herself, ~Where could Tobias be? It's not like him to not be here when we'd arrive.

"Boy, Geminasu's gonna get it if he's sleeping in on our arrival." Zeph said while handing over his information.

"Zeph, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have a look around, could you give my information to the captain for me?" asked Trouble.

"Sure, why not?" Zeph replied.

Trouble headed down the hallways, and thought ~Technical difficulties, it looks like a war erupted down here, I hope everyone's alright.~

She continued down and stopped when she thought she heard a faint voice coming from down the hall. Rushing there she found Geminasu laying under a pile metal beams.

"Hey Trouble, think you could help me get out of this?" Geminasu asked.

"How'd get yourself under all this, Tobias?" she asked as she pulled him out from underneath.

"Well, apparently, we were attacked from within. I'm not sure by who, but whoever was, set off an explosion that caused these beams to fall on top of me while I was heading there. I know Ritsurin was down there I could hear his voice." Geminasu explained.

"Who's Ritsurin?" Trouble asked.

"He's the head of the security team, Trouble. I bet he's fine, he quite the guy and quite capable of handling things. I'll just have explain what happened." Geminasu said while straining to get up. "It wasn't enjoyable under there, thanks." He ruffled her hair and the both proceeded toward the bridge.

"Your welcome," Trouble replied with a smile. 

When Tobias and Trouble reached the bridge, they found a very messy looking Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu wearing very plain loose brown clothing with dusty black combat boots. Chi just looked like she had been to Hell and back but she stood there quietly talking to Aya and Arume with Iseki sitting a chair nearby. Her ears perked up as she looked back over to the newcomers and gave a soft smile. "Hi there Tobias, long time no see, who's your friend?"
As Uso escorted Hiro back to the security nest, he turned to her and asked: "Lavinia, she's....dead isn't she? I mean now that Megami's offline..." He looked at Uso with sad eyes.

"I don't know enough about the ST technology to say. . ." Uso said 

"Oh....then maybe not, but still...I feel something's not right." Hiro said as he walked.

"Nothing seems right anymore," Uso said as she briefly flashed back to the angel attack. She then snapped back into reality, "Just keep moving and you'll be ok"

"Yeah. That attack was no laughing matter. It was downright terrifying." Hiro said, clearly, all feelings of sorrow pushed to the back of his mind.

"How did you know I was thinking about that?" Uso asked

"Why are you treating me like some hoodlum anyway? Uso you know I was Ritsurin." He added.
"The look on your face grew distant for a moment. I remember it too you know." He said while walking.

"Ritsurin doesn’t have the best reputation right now." Uso said. "and you're going to stay like that until Alexis decides what to do with you."

"Or Chiharu. This is fine, I deserve to be treated like this, but it still doesn't make it right." He said. " I hope Hikari's ok. I want to see her if possible." Hiro didn't really mind being handcuffed, He knew it was her job. Thus, he didn't against her.

"That would be back in the other direction" Uso said, "And what do you mean not being right? You said it yourself that Ritsurin's not coming back. I could say that is a form of murder and have you shot."

"He is not coming back, he didn't wish to. I gave him the choice to come back whenever he needed to. He declined saying that he couldn't take the deaths anymore, he felt guilty for the loss Of Mika, Kei, and Kago Lyn; as well as the burns to poor Hikari. But if you feel I too should die; then so be it." He said calmly. "Besides, Ritsu doesn't have anymore family, they all died. Second, nobody has boarded the ship, who wasn't a normal crew member." He added.

"AND WHY DOES HE GET TO ESCAPE THE GRIEF INTO OBLIVION!" Uso yelled as she put her gun to his head, "Why did he get to leave.. . ." 

"It was either that..." He drew a breath. " Or commit seppaku." Hiro said. "He felt he had to, I am sorry. He told me to tell you that you don't need to worry. That everyone would be back, after Megami comes back online." He paused to catch his breath. " It was hard for him to escape it. He wanted you to live, that's why he stayed in that tunnel, he wanted you to live, even if he died." Hiro turned and faced Uso. "And doesn't Alexis want to deal with me?"

Uso took the pistol away from Hiro's head, "That will not be necessary." she said, "Alexis will deal with you in time. Until then you are confined to quarters."

"I understand mademoiselle Uso. I will do as you say." Hiro said as they reached the security quarters.

"Well here we are." Uso said as she opened the door

"Ritsurin thought highly of you,, just thought you'd like to know that. And he was sorry if he ever offended you and everyone else. " Hiro said as he walked in.

"Wait!" Uso said as she caught the door before it closed

"Yes?" Hiro said, turning around. "Uso, do you have that datapad with Lavinia's soul in it?" He asked suddenly.

"Um. . .I don't know If I did, I would have put it in the Medbay" Uso said, a little unsure but quickly regained her professionalism: "It would not be wise to leave you in here without removing all the weapons"

"Could you get it for me please? So I can see her again?" He asked her, his eyes watering slightly. "I am not a danger to you. But uncuff me, and I shall hand over all my weapons myself as a sign of goodwill." He said.
"I am not trying to trick you." He said quickly.

Uso smirked, "Uncuffing you right now wouldn't be wise." She went around the room gathering the weapons, "I'll see if the data pad is there."

"Here, the suspensor blade is in a compartment over there." He said pointing a foot toward a corner.
"And thank you Uso, Getting that datapad would mean everything to me." He said.

Uso walked to the corner and took the weapon, "You're welcome" she said as she walked out the door.

"Don't turn it on though. It will slice you badly." He warned her, speaking gently.

"I'm not too worried about that." Uso said as she shut and locked the door.

Hiro watched Uso leave. And decided to do some meditation to clear his mind. Uso walked down to the medbay. ~Now where is that pad?~ she thought to herself as she looked through the medbay

Hiro sat on the floor, still handcuffed, cross legged, with his eyes closed. He was in his paradise, meditating on what to do now. He levitated off the floor slightly as his telekinetic abilities started to come back, but he could only levitate for as long as he meditated. Hiro heard the door unlock. "Is this what you wanted?" Uso said as she stepped through the door. He opened his eyes. 

"Let me see it. I'll tell you if this is the correct pad." He said looking up at her with his icy blue eyes that seemed to penetrate her soul. Uso held the pad up to his face so he could read it

"...Yes this is hers. See that memory? Thank you Uso. Thank you very much." Hiro said, with a thankful smile.

"Is that all?" Uso asked
"Am I to remain cuffed while I'm in here?" Hiro asked in a curious voice. "It is difficult to bring the datapad up with one's feet." He said. 

"I'm sorry but I can't leave that here with you." Uso said, "I thought you might want to write a message to Hikari."

"I do, take this message to her ok?" He said. ' Hikari, I am very sorry about burning you, I hope you recover soon. I will come to see you when I am allowed to, please forgive me.' He dictated. "And Uso, may I ask why you may not leave the datapad here." Hiro asked.

"I will deliver the message." Uso said, "As for the data pad I can't risk leaving it here with you. . . For Lavinia's safety and because we will need it in the Med bay once Megami is back up."

"I am honestly the best person to leave it with. I will not endanger it, I would never endanger the soul of the one I love. But, if you must." Hiro said.

"I must." Uso said as she went back out the door, "Sorry."

"That is ok, just keep it somewhere safe. Please Uso." Hiro said, sounding genuinely concerned.

Uso left the room and locked the door ~I will~ she thought at him.
As Hiro sat on his nest, the thought about many things. Yet his mind always came back to how he was going to convince Alexis or Chiharu that he was who he said he was. He yawned thinking:

~Hmm, neither Taisa Jaren or Taisho mademoiselle Ketsurui will believe that I am...was Ritsurin. I should try to uncover some memories that would prove that I am correct.~

He took up his meditation pose: Ice Blue eyes closed, cross-legged, and still cuffed. He left the worries of the physical realm and entered into his favorite mindscape.

(In his Mind:)

Hiro found himself sitting in his lush paradise; clean, clear water, fresh trees that smelled delightingly of cedar, and life all around. "Ahhhh. I love it here." A red kimonoed Hiro said.
He walked over to his favorite tree and sat down leaning against it. A few minutes later, a beautiful bird of paradise flew down and landed on his outstretched hand and preened itself, then looked at the man it recognized.

"Hello there little friend." He said, gently stroking the bird. "You wouldn't happen to know how I could solve this problem would you?" He smiled.

The bird just looked at him with it's beady, yet beautiful eyes.

"Heh heh, I guess not, you're just a bird." Hiro said standing up. He then saw the old Ritsurin standing there watching him.

~I see that nobody will believe you.~ He said.

Hiro smiled wryly. "Yes, 'tis unfortunate turn of events. I have told Uso things she should recognize, but it doesn't seem to work." Hiro said to the figure.

~Ha! She was always like that. Here, I'll tell you how to convince them.~ the mental image of Ritsurin said.

"And how is that old friend?" Hiro asked.

~Have them open your jacket. You still have my scars on your chest, Akari, Uso, or Inari should recognize those wounds. They are still red after you released our powers.~ The figure of Ritsurin said.

"Yes! I do them, as well as a few fractured ribs from the release." Hiro said as he felt his ethereal chest.

~That's the key.~ Ritsurin said. ~ And take care of Lavinia. Now that I'm gone, she'll need someone to look out for her.~ he added before fading away into memory.

(In the physical realm:)

Hiro woke up from his meditation, and felt his chest, the cracked ribs were still there, as well as the large slash wounds. "He was right. Now to get a medical officer to see them." Hiro said to himself. He sat down, and realized his hands were cuffed in the front. He smiled as he could now braid his long hair. Not well, but it would keep it out of his eyes. So he flipped his hair around to the front and painstakingly began to braid it. "This is tough to do While handcuffed, but it is working out rather well, I'll have to end the braid short though." He said, while putting it into a metal wire he had found laying around. 

Hiro looked ridiculous, his hair was halfway braided while the rest of it hung loosely around the midpoint of his hips.

~Now, to wait for someone to come and question me.` He thought as he patiently waited...
As Hiro sat on his nest, blowing his hair out of his face, he looked at the door hoping to get out of there soon. The door unlocked again and Uso stepped into the room, "It is time for you to talk with Chiharu." She said

Hiro smiled. "That's good, I have missed her as much as you have." he said standing up, his half-braided hair falling down behind him. "But you still do not believe me do you?" Hiro asked.

"I don't know what to believe right now I figure I'm safer just following orders." Uso said as she motioned for Hiro to leave the room with her pistol.

Hiro shrugged and walked for the door, passing Uso and saying: "I have physical proof you know."

"We already looked at your DNA," Uso replied

"Take off this jacket, and you'll she the scars I got before the attack, when.." Hiro said, his eyes produced a tear. "Lavinia died. Just take this thing off, and you'll see."

Uso holstered her pistol and began to remove the jacket. she didn't take it off because that would mean she'd have to uncuff him, ~Those scars!~ she thought. The scars were still bleeding at the time. 

"Yes. Those scars." Hiro said.

"Those could be fake." She said as she replaced the jacket.

"Then read my mind, Ritsurin will tell you then." Hiro said smiling gently. "He's in there." Hiro added.

Uso dove into the mind of Hiro and found herself in his mindscape. in reality she was still holding a gun to him. In his mind she saw a lush paradise, with clean water, and fresh trees, with life all around. She saw Ritsurin standing near a tree with his arms crossed, looking annoyed.

~I see you don't believe Hiro.~ He said.

"No I don't" Uso said a matter-of-factly.

~You should, he is the better half of me. He is my desire to be human, we switched places, because I couldn't bear the guilt of Kei's, Mika's, and Kago Lyn's deaths; as well as burning Hikari. Please believe him, I won't come back for anything, I cannot take the sorrow anymore. I was getting ready to commit seppaku, but Hiro suggested we switch, and I agreed.~ The Ritsurin figure said. ~You see, he saved me, I didn't kill myself in my moments of guilt.~ He added.

~Dealing with sorrow and guilt is part of life~ Uso thought at him, ~Why did you just run out on everything?~

~I felt I had to, I felt as though I was worth nothing to the crew. I have done nothing worth sticking around for.~ He said.

~You saved me~ Uso said.

~I....did? I wanted to, but I didn't think I did.~ He explained. ~Wait! what about Aya? Is she safe?~ Ritsu added.

~Aya is safe~ Uso thought 
~The angel was killed before it got to, wait a second- shouldn't you know that?~

~Yeah I do. I wanted to be sure. I know I stabbed that seraph before he got her. I wanted to be sure she was ok mentally.~ He said.

~So if Hiro is your good side what does that make you?~ Uso asked

~And I don't think Hikari wouldn't want me to be there when she woke up.~ He said. ~He's my human side, I was the demon side: two halves of one whole. Uso. 2 halves of one soul.~ He said. ~I wanted to be human so desperately, I created him, and when I was wallowing in my guilt, he offered to take control. I agreed believing he would be a boon to the crew.~ He said.

~Hikari might be upset that she won't be able to get back at you for that. You know that you're just making things harder on Hiro by doing this?~ Uso said

~......Then, I can't even help myself then....at least allow him to prove himself a better crewmember than I was.~ He said.

~You the same crewmember~ Uso said 

~That is true. He is more compassionate than I, and it's nearly impossible to make him angry, unlike me; I 'd fight at the drop of a hat.~ Ritsurin explained, looking squarely at Uso.

~I still need to get him to Alexis~ Uso said ~and you weren't that bad~

~He's level-headed and trustworthy. I'll still be here to help him out. Just take him to Alexis or Chiharu depending on whose running it now that she's back.~ He said, then paused in response to what Uso had said. ~Really? I thought I was a pain in the ass....~ He added.

~It is when you stop thinking that you became a pain in the ass~ Uso said ~You could have used a little training~
~... Carry that concern over to Hiro, he's in control now, I am not coming back into the physical world for any reason whatsoever Uso.~ He said, then faded back into Hiro's memories.

~Damn! Why does he keep running away?~ she thought then left the mind of Hiro

"He isn't running Uso, he isn't. He is a better help in there." Hiro said

"I guess I'm convinced, no imposter could be that blockheaded" Uso said

Hiro smiled. "Let's go see Chiharu, she's waiting Uso." He said, blowing his hair out of his eyes.
"Just think of me as Ritsu's brother if that helps you at all. I don't mind." Hiro smiled brightly at her.
And kept on walking at a brisk pace.

"You two are still one person whether you want to be or not," Uso said; and then escorted Hiro the rest of the way to the bridge, "Chi, there is someone here to see you" Uso said

Hiro bowed to the Taisho, the one to whom he was already loyal. "I'm glad you're home Taisho Ketsurui. Now, I leave myself in your capable hands."
Timdri wandered the hallways, searching for Alexis. By the time it had reached Wazu, the scientist had been killed. What could it do now? It flew through the ship to Wazu's lab and planted the bug as planned, then began searching out Alexis.

The taisa arrived in the computer room and surveyed the damage. Acara and the others seemed to have it under control, so Alexis left and returned to the bridge. The bridge was becoming the most likely place to find him, aside from his quarters. He sat down at the Nav console and watched as the bridge officers went about their business. He smiled when he heard Chi's voice, but didn't say anything, glad she was safe. A gnawing feeling began in his gut, though. They hadn't even begun to look for the Taisho, yet here she was, returned. 
There were a pair of thumps as the Silvershot and the veteran's ship docked. He sat back in his chair and slowly swiveled it side to side. "I'm sorry," he whispered several times to nobody in particular, then blinked and got up. Wordlessly he left the bridge by way of the port side door. The increase in gravity did little to disturb him, nor did the scream. His face was as emotionless as a mannequin as he slowly walked to his quarters. Chi and her fellow escapee were being welcomed back on the opposite side of the ship, he entered his room unnoticed.

Timdri flew over the bridge, and churred to itself in worry. Where was Alexis? Finally, it returned to the Officer's Nest. The cloak was wearing off, the last bulkhead felt like thick pudding to get through...but it made it just as the phase failed, tumbling to the floor.

Alexis looked up as he heard the thump, glazed eyes flickering to life as he realized who it was. "Timdri!" He jogged across the room and scooped up the critter. It smiled and sat up, then clambered onto Alexis' shoulder and started talking. "I know, Timdri, Wazu's gone. And so are another three crew members and the computer. But the Taisho's back, everything will be fine." It nodded in agreement.
The shifter plopped down to sit on the floor. "I seem to be in a loop. I come here, I go to the bridge, I miss out on what happens. Some captain I am," he said, pounding the floor with his fist in frustration. "I think I know how Ritsu feels...he hurts by over-action, I hurt by not acting at all." He sighed heavily...then a sharp slap startled him out of his funk. Timdri stared at him, pale eyes pulled narrow in a frown of disapproval. Alexis quirked a brow at it and frowned himself. "What have I done right since I got here? Anything? Answer me that." 

It growled in answer, and jumped off of the perch, turned to face Alexis.
"What have you done right? I don't know, I haven't been with you every day we've been on this stinking ship! But you've kept the crew together, haven't you? That's one thing right, and about the only thing. I'm sick of you moping every time you come in here, it's like you've lost yourself. You aren't who I remember, that's for sure. I don't care how you do it, just get us out of here. It's killing you." Animal noises and empathic transmissions of annoyance were mixed with the Essarian language as Timdri spoke. "I'm your friend, yet lately you haven't been talking to me unless you needed an ear to complain to." It snorted and added "You're getting stressed, something you haven't been before. It always just slid off you...but this time you're keeping it inside. You can't stay here and expect to remain sane. And it won't be the insanity you had before. If you aren't careful, you could become violent. And we know where that will lead."
The Taisa slowly nodded. "I know. I know..."
Taisho Ketsurui looked from her newly promoted Intelligence Officer to her suddenly different Security officer and then to Juni Kuru who had been waiting on the bridge to report to Taisa Alexis.

"I am assuming that this gentleman here," Chi indicated Hiro, "is Ritsu?" She waited for the two confirm her assumption before she continued.

"Hiro, I will have Alexis deliver his judgment and punishment on you for what you have done. I do not care if Ritsu is physically not here but he will account for his actions. As I told Ritsu before I left, if he is truly responsible for the deaths of my crew then I will kill you. But, seeing I was absent, I will have my Second in Command punish you because he was here at the time. Now, even if Ritsu is dead and can tolerate physical punishment, there are other ways to deal with it. But, hopefully, the Taisa will be merciful. You will await here until he is ready to judge you." Chi looked to Uso. "Now, I have heard a lot of commotion about Lavinia's Memory back-up. It will end now, please leave it with Akari and Inari in the Med Bay where it belongs. End of story, now one else will be authorized to have it for any reason."

Chi looked back to Tobias and Trouble, she smoothed her hair back behind her ears before she spoke again. "Now what was this you were saying about this Silvershot?"
Hiro looked up at Taisho Ketsurui, but remaining in a kneeling pose, his eyes fixed on the Taisho.

"Ritsu was indeed responsible for the injuries to poor Hikari, it's part of the reason why I'm here. The seraph that your kidnappers left behind killed Kei Blue, Kago Lyn, and Mika. And Hikari's injuries were an accident, please...believe me, Ritsurin would never intentionally hurt a fellow crewmember. He himself was almost killed when the cargo bay collapsed on him after the seraph's grenades exploded. But, because he stayed put with his shields up, Uso here was able to get to safety. Then the seraph confronted Aya here on the bridge, intent on killing her too, but Ritsu got here just in time to stab it in the back, causing it to open itself up to the shots from Kuru, Uso and Arume that killed it, thus in part, saving Aya's life, at least in part." Hiro explained his voice gentle and full of passion and respect (Passion for what he was talking about). He inhaled deeply and winced in pain due to his still cracked ribs. He grunted in pain and frowned for a minute, then smiled again. "You may deem it the correct thing to do--kill me. But before you do, please allow me to see Hikari to apologize to the poor girl. Or tell her I was very sorry about hurting her. That way I can die knowing I at least partially atoned for my sins. As for Lavinia....if I am not here when she wakes up..." his icy eyes softened even more allowing a tear to form. "Please tell her I loved her dearly. And...please keep and eye on her..." Hiro said. Then turned to Alexis: "I await your judgment. I will accept anything you decide to hand down." He smiled and waited for either Alexis to yell at him, or Chiharu to kill him.
She sat in the corner, in the briefing room, shivering violently, head bowed in submission to the terrible torment that haunted her constantly. "My name is Taii Hisô Iseki." she said. A neko with her mind ravaged and warped by abuse and need. "My name is Taii Hisô Iseki. Pilot GD-37. No....GD-30 now? What is my function?" the lonely neko spoke to herself, removing the purple wig and the bandage holding back her ears. "I am Hisô Iseki."

The Sentry clones, Harume and Amy had started their patrol of the GSS Yui since their 'father' had seemingly disappeared after the latest incident with a Seraphim. They sent back questioning images of what happened back and forth between them as they walked the corridors of the ship in silence. They had decided to avoid the bridge for now and instead entered the Briefing Room to see someone shivering in the back corner of the room. Harume spoke, "Who's there?"

A male voice came out of the air as the Seraph grabbed Iseki's chin, tilting her head to the side, and whispering in her ear. "You are broken." This one wasn't a threat to it, not yet. At the sound of a male voice, Iseki curled up and laid on her side, seemingly helpless, waiting to be violated. But the seraph didn't kill her. It lifted her up and put its fingers to her eyes, forcing liquid into them that would blind her. He was also going to permanently destroy her hearing and vocal cords, but instantly dropped Iseki's wailing form as the sentries entered. Still cloaked, it slowly approached them.

The girls felt a chill run down their spine as they moved towards Iseki. "Miss? Are you okay?" They nervously drew their energy pistols as they walked towards the wailing form of Iseki. "Who are you and what's going on?"

Iseki was crying pitifully, blankly pawing at her surroundings. Still wearing her makeshift dress, the neko whimpered out, "I am Taii Hisô Iseki...I...I cannot see."

Amy ran towards Iseki and knelt down beside the Neko while Harume looked about nervously for what was giving her the creeps. Amy spoke for the both of them, "Miss, who did this to you?" Amy's voice was soft like she was about to cry as she reached out to touch the Neko. "I'm Sentry Amy and my sister Harume is in here with me.. we're not going to hurt you Miss Neko.."

"Taii Hisô Iseki." the NH-7a3 corrected, as if she was afraid of loosing her identity. "I do not know what. There was a choking pressure on by neck, then fluid squirted in my eyes. My hemosynthetic retina no longer function." Iseki's voice conveyed her pain, but she said nothing about it.


Amy was afraid and the fear ran through the both of the Sentries' minds. Amy nervously tried to contact the bridge, "Bridge this is.." Amy noticed that the transmission wasn't going through. Her voice filled with panic. "I.. I can't hail the bridge or anyone else!" Harume saw the image that was running through their minds: running away with this Neko. "Taii Iseki, can you still run?" Harume looked about trying to find out where the thing went. They were terrified.

The Seraph put a hand against the back of Harume's neck, pulling her close to its invisible body. Its powerful mind began to reach out and surround hers, closing her off from Amy, putting thoughts into her head. "Listen to me and only me." Iseki was grasping Amy's leg. "I can if you warn me of any obstacles that differ from the ship's normal layout." the blind neko told the two.

Harume felt herself get closed off from her sister and she couldn't understand what words were being spoken into her mind. The images were swirling in her mind, she was incredibly confused. Amy spoke but her voice was distant as she stared at Harume. "I can. It's got Harume... Let's go, now." Amy grabbed Iseki's hand and started running towards the door darting to the right of Harume as she guided/dragged Iseki, "Harume is on the left..."

"There is something sliding up my leg." Iseki said, tripping and falling hard on the carpet while attempting to follow Amy.

Amy was thrown off balance by the Neko falling and soon fell herself. "Ack." Amy searched for whatever had tripped Iseki but could not see a thing. "We have to keep trying to get out of her Taii Iseki, we have to warn the others." Amy kept trying to reach her sister's mind but instead found a chilling darkness that threatened to engulf her mind as well in a wave of overwhelming midnight. 

Harume stood up and walked to the doors, manually engaging emergency locks on them. By the look in her eyes, clearly she wasn't totally in control of her body. Iseki looked to Amy in fear as the seraph tightened its grip on her, before setting her in one of the chairs. "Amy." a voice said, beckoning for her.

Amy stared in disbelief at her sister. She was shivering now as she felt the darkness threatening to envelop her mind as well. In all truth, she felt a part of herself already sliding deeper into the darkness because Harume was a part of her mind and soul. Amy shook her head "no". "Harume, please wake up! We have to get out of here!!" Amy was yelling now, although no sound could be heard outside the room since the walls in here were practically soundproof as it was. "HARUME WAKE UP! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!"

Harume began to walk toward her sister, arms open... Iseki got up from her chair but was pushed back down into it. The mental pressure began to build up on Amy's mind. The seraph was pleased to find non-nekos, and was taking the full advantage of it. "You can't escape." the voice said.

Amy backed away from her sister, her hands were shaking as she raised her energy pistol up with her finger about to squeeze the trigger. "STOP... Stop, please Harume.. or I'll... I'll..." She tried to close her mind, tried to run away from that darkness but, she saw something break through a crack in the wall she had put up.. a sliver of white light. She ran towards it, hoping to be able to escape and found herself in the middle of eternal midnight.. She had fallen for the Seraph's trap. Hers eyes went distant as her finger squeezed the trigger, the blast narrowly missed Harume and instead hit an empty chair.

"That's a good girl. You are both very good girls, doing the right thing by submitting to what is holy." the seraph told the twins, kissing them on the foreheads. Iseki looked around, unsure of what was going on. The seraph, on the other hand, knew all too well what it was doing. Rather than make another direct attack, it would turn the crew against each other...

The girls smiled happily, glad to have been good. They questioned the Seraph about Iseki by projecting the image of Iseki into his mind with a questioning about it. What to do with the Taii?

The seraph communicated that she was to be considered a pet and a plaything. They were to comfort and pleasure her when she did what they wanted, and if she didn't, they were to remove comfort give her pain. In this way, the submissive neko would be their slave.

"Harume??" Iseki nervously asked, looking around, trying to use her ears to help her visualize their locations. "Hello?"

They didn't quite understand the concept of a slave but they understand that this was a type of game they could play. And they nodded again, still smiling, wondering when the real game would begin.

The seraph instructed "You should eliminate the new technicians by using their youth against them. Have them blame each other for something and hate each other. I want them to kill one another. And take any other opportunity to cause discord."

The girls nodded again as they interpreted the images that came along with the Seraph’s words. They understood what they could do to have some fun with the other clones. Harume finally spoke aloud. "Yes."

The seraph decloaked, showing a beautiful, glossy white humanoid form with miniature wings. It's slender, elongated hands stroked the two approvingly. Moving to one of the doors, the creature recloaked, unlocked it, and opened it. With a mental image of happiness, the seraph let the two loose to do their work.

The girls smiled again and hurried out the door again, leaving the poor blind Neko to fend for herself against their new master.

Iseki just sat there, not believing that she could do anything. The seraph returned to her, she could feel it breathing on her body and face. It was from the ship she had been on, and knew all about her. Playing into her deepest nightmares, it began to act them out in her mind and on her body, toying with her, humiliating her in some of the same ways Jehenniel had..

The first person the twins encountered was the Neko Tech Izumi. Harume smiled brightly, "Miss Izumi is it true that you sold Kikyo into slavery?" Izumi recoiled from the girl quite startled. "Of course that isn't true! Who told you that?" Amy responded next, "Oh dear, I guess we shouldn't tell her who's saying that then Harume.. it'd only cause problems." They had triggered the Neko's curiosity now. "Who did you hear that from? Come on, you can tell me.."

Amy looked to Harume and then back to Izumi. "We heard it from Tomoyo. She seemed like she thought it was kind of funny that Kikyo was the one who was sold when she thought it was you who was the one that needed to be replaced with the new Neko Taii Hisô Iseki." Izumi looked at the girls funny, "Tomoyo really said that? I never figured her to be like that.. Thanks girls.. I'll... keep an eye on her." With that Izumi hurried away to try to ponder all of this out. It didn't make sense but she couldn't really talk to anyone about it without seeming like she was confessing some guilt.

Meanwhile, the seraph, while at the same time pleasuring itself at Iseki's expense, began to attack Arume as she slept in her nest. In her dreams, a man began to appear, becoming recognizable as Hiro. Hiro was drooling, breathing heavily in the dream, his pants missing, standing over Chiharu with a gun to the Taisho

In her dream Arume stood up and spoke. "Get away from her you bastard! I knew I couldn't trust you around the Taisho." She looked about for her own gun so she could defend her Taisho, she couldn't lose her again..

The dream flashed to Ritsu doing pushups. The man morphed into Hiro again, and began to taunt Arume, telling her that he was going to have Chiharu all to himself and there was nothing she should do about it. "And I'll use you as my spare hump toy when Chiharu is too tired to go on." Hiro added, cackling sadistically.

Arume felt her blood boil as she opened fire at the man in her dreams, she wouldn't let anyone take her Taisho away again. No one.

The dream Hiro began to close in on her, seemingly missed by the shots, forcing his shaft down her throat while holding her nose. She couldn't breathe, nor move her jaw, there was only a horrible, sickening gagging and squirming and trying to cough as he sodomized her. "You're not very good." he insulted her as everything began to get dizzy. "Just a failure as an officer and as a person. You won't be able to keep me away from Chiharu."

Arume abruptly awoke soon after that image rang through her mind. She was covered in sweat and she felt violated. But, she knew who had raped her mind and his number was up.. she'd kill him before she would let him near her or the Taisho. Never would she allow that man to enter her mind, her dreams...

The seraph smiled widely, throwing Iseki's unconscious body onto the floor. And then he sought after Aya. Aya's dream was of sleeping peacefully in here nest. But then she felt ties around her ankles and wrists, and something crawling on her body. It was snakes. hundreds of poisonous snakes, and roaches and scorpions, all in bed with her. Above her helpless body stood Kuru, with a flanged mace. "I'm going to remove you, stupid Aya." she said, and then began smashing Aya's bones with the mace. As Aya jerked from the tremendously painful blows, her bleeding body was attacked by the animals, who were eating her alive as Kuru bashed her skull with the mace.

Aya was not sleeping for very long once the mace made contact with her skull in her dreams. She noticed that Arume was awake beside her in the nest as well. Aya rubbed her temples, she didn't understand why she had just dreamt that Kuru had killed her or even why she was tied up... But how did Kuru know she was afraid of being eaten alive? There was no way she would be able to go back to sleep after that. Maybe it was a warning to watch out for the Juni? Yeah, that's it, it's a warning that Kuru was out to kill her..

The seraph smiled. It's work for tonight was done. The real fun would come when the crew began tomorrow.
Chiharu walked into the room. "I've changed my mind. I'll be deciding his punishment myself." said the Taisho.

"Yes ma'am." Hiro said, looking down, expecting the worst. "I am ready for what you decide." Hiro said. ~I'm dead...oh well, I was just born. But I was expecting this to happen.~ He thought

The seraph, in the form of Chiharu, nodded politely to Uso before turning back to Hiro. "I'm going to let you live. I've actually grown somewhat attached to you." she pulled him close and whispered in his ear, "I want you, baby." sexily. She toyed with his hair and raised her eyebrows, grinning.

Uso simply stood by waiting to be dismissed

"You can uncuff him now." Chiharu instructed Uso. "You've done a great job watching him." she praised the neko.

"I don't believe you. You barely even know me." Hiro said looking up with a shock. "You're lying, who are you? You're not Chiharu." Hiro said, his eyes narrowing.

Uso smiled as she thought Chi thought she was doing a good job. she then uncuffed Hiro.

Hiro jumped up. Holding himself in a defensive manner.

"Are you ok, Rits...Hiro?" Chiharu smiled lopsidedly, giving him a sweet but questioning look. "Uso...stay a minute, he doesn't seem right."

"This isn't the Chiharu I remember. Uso, this isn't her." Hiro said to Uso, without looking at her.

"This is the same mistake Ritsurin was making" Uso said, "You are to eager to blow stuff up."

"How would Chiharu know me THAT well, she just got back; and now she's coming onto me. It makes no sense at all. You think about it Uso." Hiro said, still holding the defensive. ~Just go along with it, it'll allow you to find out more.~ Ritsurin advised Hiro from within. Hiro let off his stance.

"The Chiharu you remember?" the false Chi looked at him like he was loony. "What's different?" Chi asked nicely. The seraph, inside, made checks, wondering what it was that it had forgotten. "I'm sorry...I thought you were.." Chiharu looked down, her face becoming saddened.

"Fine, do what you think is appropriate." Hiro said, not taking his eyes off Chiharu. He locked his icy blue eyes on Chi's eyes, as if peering into her soul. "Don't be sad. Everyone makes mistakes." Hiro added.

"I was going to promote you to be my operations officer..." Chiharu said weakly, looking hurt by his accusations. "But..." she paused. "Hiro, I'm uncertain about your mental health. I'm going to have Geminasu head security for a while, and let you assist him under Uso's supervision. Ok?"

"No, I'm sorry, I lost myself temporarily. Please forgive me Chiharu. It shall not happen again." Hiro said smiling brightly at her, his face becoming gentle, almost affectionate.

"Alright, but Uso will still keep an eye" she grinned sweetly, "on you. But you will stay chief of security. I want this ship safe. Not like it was when I was gone." the last part a stab at him to remind him of his failure to save Mika, Kei, and Lyn.

"I will do my best," Uso said smiling. She was happy that Chi trusted her to watch over Hiro.

Hiro grunted, he didn't like being reminded of failure

"I still cannot believe you came onto me Chiharu." He said.

"It was...unexpected...I'll admit." Hiro added.

"Other than Hiro," Chi said to Uso, "Keep an eye on Geminasu. I've got a bad feeling about him, how he was strangely unaffected during the attacks. I'm worried he's been selling us out to the angels. If you see him trying to use outside communications systems, then stop him. Lethal force is authorized."

Hiro looked at her shocked. "Yes ma'am" He answered.

"Can you say that again?" Uso asked not knowing if she heard correctly

"Keep quiet." Chi pinched him, whispering, "I don't want anyone to know."

Hiro winced, but kept quiet.

"I said that Geminasu could very well be a threat to us. And that goes for the rest of the Silvershot crew as well. We should put one of our people on their ship to make sure they aren't relaying our information to the angels."

Sgzyr made a hasty walk to the bridge, hoping to talk to Chi about taking over security matters until somebody else, if they existed, would take them over for him. A half-burnt cigar hung from his mouth, puffs of smoke flowing out of his nostrils. He quickened his pace as he saw the bridge getting ever closer.

"very well," Uso said. the order seemed familiar to her somehow like she had herd it before but she couldn't quite place it.

"That's a strange order, but it isn't my place to question orders, only follow them." Hiro said.

Chiharu poked her head out of the male security nest, and called over to Sgzyr as he walked by on the way to the bridge. "Looking for me?" she smiled.

"Uso, what is going on?" Hiro whispered to her, sounding mildly confused.

Sgzyr slowed down quickly as he saw Chiharu poke her head around the corner. With practiced balance, as soon as he came to a halt, Sgzyr replied to her with a polite, but short bow, ashes from the cigar falling from his mouth. He then walked towards her at a leisurely pace, trying to decide on how to word his request. 

Just follow orders" she snapped at him. Right then she was to busy thinking to respond

~This is going well, just keep it up. Make good with Uso, she may help you later.~ Hiro heard Ritsu say in his mind.

"Sorry Uso. Please forgive me." Hiro said, looking up at her smiling.

Uso began to think back. ~Wazu used a similar order during a training session~ she thought she remembered how Wazu hacked the communications and began to send false signals to her unit during the training this had caused her to lose the match. ~Could he be here?~

Chiharu stepped out into the hall with more precision than grace, an efficient movement that took barely any time. "Good afternoon, Juni Sgzyr." she said, returning his bow with a small dip of her head.

"It is ok I'm sorry I snapped at you." She said

~I doubt it.~ Ritsurin told her. ~He's still very dead.~

~You can't kill Wazu~ She replied directly to Ritsurin bypassing Hiro. ~He will have found a way to evade death. It is kind of his thing~

~Hmmm....It still does not seem to be him...it's something else...~Ritsurin replied to her.

"We should start looking for Geminasu now." Uso said to Hiro

As Sgzyr stopped in front of Chiharu and then promptly removed the cigar from his mouth, blowing the remaining wisps of smoke below him. "If you do not mind, ma'am, I would like to speak with you on matters concerning that of who will be leading the security detail aboard our ship, that is, if you have enough time. " Embers from the cigar burned, as Sgzyr waited for her reply.

"Certainly." Chiharu nodded, stopping to tell Hiro. "Stop by my nest late tonight. Please." With that, she took up stride with Sgzyr, "How can I help you with security?" she asked helpfully.

Hiro's eyes lit up when she said that. "I will, though I know not why, but I shall be there." He replied.

"Chi! Have you seen Wazu lately?" Uso asked still thinking Wazu was up to his old tricks

With a semi-confused shrug of his shoulders, Sgzyr began to speak on the matter concerning of who was leading the security team "Chiharu, I am greatly confused about who is in control of security maneuvers at this moment. I've heard a man claiming to me Ritsurin has came around in a body and taken control of the security? Do we have any way at all to verify his claims? If not, I do not sound to be pushy, but would you mind handling the procedures of security to me?"

"That sounds like a great idea, Sgzyr. I know I can rely on you with our safety." Chi nodded, glad to see he was taking the initiative.

"Well?" Uso asked a little annoyed that she was being ignored by Chi.

"Wazu's dead, Uso." Chi gave Uso a sympathetic look.

"ok. I'm sorry I just have this funny feeling. . .Just forget I asked" Uso said

~I know, that power conduit explosion...~ Ritsurin sent to Uso, bypassing Hiro.

Uso walked back over to Hiro, "Back to looking for Geminasu then" she said as she then began to wander the halls looking for her target or anyone who could help find him

"Hmmm, He wasn't around during the attack, and nobody heard him do anything..." Hiro speculated.

"I can't shake this weird feeling something's up here...." Hiro said, running up behind Uso. "It must be my nerves...sorry Uso." He added.

Uso found Amy in the hallway, "Have you seen Geminasu lately?" she asked

Hiro looked on at Amy, remembering that Ritsu had her cloned to help out with security.

"Hello there Amy." He said smiling

Aya walked by in the hall, with a very sour look on her normally-cheerful face. She stomped as she walked, looking around as if watching for someone.

Amy stopped and shook her head no. "No. I haven't even met that man yet." she laughed, with an innocent shrug.

~!!!, that's unusual, normally Aya's always smiling~ Ritsu thought to Uso.

"Also. . .Have you seen anything weird lately?" Uso asked unable to shake the weird feeling in the back of her mind. ~I'm aware of that~ Uso thought back

~ah okay, just speculating Uso.~ Ritsu sent to her.

"Oh, no. Well, besides all of the mess left by the last attack. I'm sad I never got to meet some of the crew who died." Amy sighed.

"I take it you don’t know me do you Amy?" Hiro said.

Ritsurin projected an image of a man with a tail holding a large sword to Amy.

"No, sir." Amy responded. The image meant nothing to her.

"Hopefully we won't have to deal with death again but it seems to be fond of this ship." Uso said as she walked down the hallway, "Be careful," She added before she walked off to the galley still looking for Geminasu.

"Uso, what's wrong, you look stressed." Hiro asked, sounding concerned.

A look of pride appeared on the face of Sgzyr as soon as he heard that his proposal had been accepted. He backed away slowly, taking a brief hit from the cigar, burned almost all the way to the bottom. "What do you need me to do now, ma'am?" came the question from Sgzyr.

"It is nothing Hiro" Uso said

"I believe it is something...but 'tis your business not mine." Hiro replied.

~Should I really go to Chiharu's quarters tonight?~ Hiro wondered to himself, not allowing Ritsurin to project it to Uso. ~An orders an order though.~ He silently concluded.

"Is Chiharu-sama going to have funeral services?" Amy asked speculatively. Chiharu, on the other end of the ship, told Sgzyr "I want you to keep an eye on Aya. She's been acting weird lately. I'm worried she might be communicating to the angels, one who is using her naivety to take advantage of her feelings. But you are under strict orders not to mention this to anyone."

"I do not know, but it would make sense Amy. I'm sure she will." Hiro said to her.

"Understood" came the reply. "If there is not anything else that you do not need me to attend to at the moment, I shall be moving along." Sgzyr continued to hit on the cigar, releasing periodic circles of smoke from his lips, directed at the floor. He was proud about being allowed to head security, and take on this new assignment bestowed upon his asking of such a high duty. He had heard of the angels, and had grew to hate and somewhat admire them. He stood straight up, waiting for a reply.

"That'll be all then." Chiharu nodded, giving her favorite Qel'noran a pat on the shoulder.
~I do not wish to, but I must follow orders, might as well go when the time comes.~ Hiro thought.

Hiro made his way to the armory after Uso left him to go search the science bay for something to pick up his suspensor katana. For the katana was the weapon he preferred over all others, and due to the fact the Hiten Mitsurugi style he practiced required it's use. So, he retrieved his katana and it's sheath, and seeing as he hadn't yet been assigned to a duty station, he went back to the cargo bay. Knowing that the cargo bay was trashed for the grenades, Hiro figured that practicing in such a place would sharpen his skills drastically, especially balance, focus and concentration.

Ritsu began to practice. He leapt about, moving with great speed, balance and concentration, destroying some of the already damaged boxes.

~It's almost time for me to head for Chiharu's quarters, just like she said.~ Hiro thought.

"I don't trust this situation, Chiharu barely even knows me, yet she came onto me so seriously. It could be a trap, better be prepared." Hiro whispered to himself. He then went back to the armory and slid an armored vest on under his uniform jacket and took his force shield. He briefly stopped in the security quarters and donned a long, flowing robe from under a desk, the robe effectively concealed the force shield unit. He belted the katana to his waist and headed for Chiharu's quarters. 

~I don't intend to give her what she wants; I only want Lavinia. Not even Chiharu can convince me otherwise, but if my gut instinct is correct...~ He thought as he made his way.
Chi was sprawled out on her nest, still unconscious from the Seraph's visit. Mr. Bear laid only a few inches away from her right hand, looking at her sadly on his side. Chi was in her mindscape now, it wasn't the lush paradise, a garden of Eden that was Hiro's mind it was really just well, blank. She found herself walking through the corridors that made up her mind, with hatchways leading off into deeper trains of thought and memories. But she had noticed a new doorway as she wondered if she could someone connect with Zemer. "Maybe Zemer could tell me if Jehenniel could have gotten his soul into a Geshrin body when Iseki killed him? But how could I ask him that?" She looked at the doorway curiously, wondering if maybe behind this door was the answer she was looking for... 

Elsewhere..
Iseki was in the corridor. She could hear one of the other nekos in the galley making coffee, but other than that, no one seemed to be around. Dirty, tired, and in pain, the smaller neko crawled in her bruised hands and knees out into the hall, after releasing the emergency lock on the briefing room doors. Letting out a quiet whimper, she headed across the hall into the baths, hoping to clean herself up.

Akari was taking a break for once in the Women's baths when she noticed Iseki shamble in. Akari looked at the Neko curiously as she rose to her feet. "What happened to you?"

"I cannot see." Iseki pitifully tried to locate Akari, finally fixing her ears in the medic's direction. She slipped out of her clothes, revealing a body unlike any neko Akari had ever seen. Her skin was covered in cuts, bruises, burns, and scars, and even stranger, there was designs sewn into her skin, like someone had practiced embroidery on her flesh. Obviously she didn't have the energy to heal herself, and hadn't in along time. Once the single garment was off, Iseki sort of fell into the bath sideways, and sank to the bottom gently.

Akari hurried over to Iseki, "Hey! Don't die on me!" She tried to pick the Neko up out of the bath so she wouldn't drown. The Medic was a bit disturbed to see a Neko so badly mutilated.

Upon closer inspection, little bubbles rising from Iseki's skin let Akari know that the battered taii was breathing through her skin. Barely moving from lack of energy, she responded to Akari's grasp limply, easily manipulated. Her fingers reached out grasping for something, perhaps a bar of soap, that she couldn't see. Her fingertips were missing the nails, which looked to have been ripped out. Iseki's breaths were slow and spookily relaxed-sounding. She had a fishing hook stuck through her tongue.

Akari's eyes widened as she examined Iseki's body, "What did this to you?! I have to get you to the Med Bay to figure out how I can get you repaired." The Seraph wouldn't need to give Akari any nightmares, she was already freaked about by looking at Iseki's body. As a medic she had never encountered anything like this.

"I...don't know..." Iseki responded slowly, still grasping around for the soap or whatever. "He was invisible, when I could see. A male voice. A male. A male." Iseki began to shiver and whimper, sinking back into the water until it was at her chin. "I am not well."

Akari held Iseki for a moment unsure of what to think or do, against this invisible intruder. This was bad. "Was he the one who blinded you as well? I can try to take care of these injuries you have Iseki.. I can also try to get your sight back. I don't know if I can do much without sending you back to PNUgen." 

Meanwhile, Arume had taken up a defensive position in front of the wall ladder that lead from the bridge to the Taisho's Quarters with the biggest rifle she could find in the armory. There was no way she was going to let that monster Hiro anywhere near her beloved Captain.

Iseki nodded. "Yes. He punctured my eyeballs and squirted some sort of stinging liquid into them. They stopped working and won't seem to fix themselves. Please don't send me to PNUgen. They'll...recycle me." she pleaded, looking at Akari with sightless eyes.

Akari frowned, she knew it was true. "I promise that I won't send you there, I'm going to take you to the Med Bay to see what I can do to get you fixed. I can't promise anything except that I'll try to get you back to normal." This was just bad, she knew we was out of her league but she had to try something or else she would never respect herself as a competent medic ever again.

Chi had entered the doorway in her mindscape, she found herself in a someplace she had never been before. "I wonder where this leads..." She also didn't understand why she couldn't stop wondering about Zemer. Maybe it was just Stockholm syndrome or was it something else entirely?

Iseki pointed to the hook in her tongue. "Please help me wash, then we get this out first." Poor Iseki never did find the soap, or the shampoo for that matter. "I am sorry for everything. I don't know what is going on. Sorry."

Akari nodded before remembering the poor girl couldn't see. "Okay, I'll get you cleaned up and then get that hook out." Akari reached over and picked up the soap and placed it in Iseki's hand. "This is the soap.."

Iseki smiled to smile but it didn't have any feeling behind it. She went to work, washing her tender body, trying not to tug on the threads that had been stitched into her skin. "I'm sorry." she apologized again, ashamed to be a burden on Akari.

Akari frowned at the girl's apology. "Don't be sorry Sweetie. It's not your fault that this was done to you." She gently patted the girl on the head. "You have no reason to apologize to me."

"I am...having...a difficult time...staying...conscious..." Iseki warned, her head drooping to the side. "The...please....unngh." her face hit the water with a splash.

Akari blinked again, she felt sorry for Iseki as she gently picked the poor Neko up out of the water. "You must be exhausted. Who could have done this to you without being seen?" The idea of an angry spirit running around the Yui was absurd but maybe it was really possible? Akari figured that she should get some warding charms up around the Med bay just in case it was an angry spirit.

Outside in the hallway, the seraph stalked down the corridor looking for his plaything who had crawled off...

Akari threw a towel over Iseki as she pulled on a robe for herself as she hurried out of the baths with the Neko in her arms. She was muttering to herself about evil spirits and trying to purify the Med Bay to protect the injured against harm. She down at Iseki and soothed, "Don't worry kiddo, I won't let you die. We'll get whoever did this to you..." 

Akari walked right past the seraph, and the seraph spotted his toy in her arms. Pulling its arms back, it let loose a forceful push down on Iseki, forcing her out of Akari's arms and onto the floor, where it kicked her in the ribs. Akari could hear a snap as the neko on the floor seemed to convulse.

Akari winced as she heard the crack, did she just drop her patient? Were her bones that weak? She knelt down to pick up Iseki again, "Poor thing, something's out to get you. But at least if it kills you, you'll finally be free from the misery it's doing to you." She said a quick and quiet prayer for the girl's safety in Japanese.

Blood ran from Iseki's mouth down her chin and neck as she moaned in pain, very quietly. "itai" she whimpered. "itai"

Akari lightly touched the neko's sides as she moved to pick her up. "I know it hurts sweetie.. Let's try to get you to the Med Bay so you'll last a little longer until we can exorcise this evil spirit that seems to be tormenting you.."

The seraph stood over the two, watching, but not interfering. It wanted Iseki to live and continue to be its toy. And Akari... it pondered what to do with her.

Akari picked up Iseki and hurried towards the Med Bay again just thankful that something had answered her prayer for now. "There's so much to do.. wards, prayers and such.. " She muttered to herself. 

Once Akari finally reached the Med bay she gently set the Neko down on the table, quickly getting an IV drip set up and then placed into the Neko's arm. Akari figured that she was out of gas so to speak, and needed whatever nutrients she could get right now. "Hmm.. that hook.." She went off to get her medical instruments to try to start the cosmetic surgery that was needed to be done to at least allow the body to heal itself back the way it was supposed to.

Inari looked at Iseki in horror, and then to her sister Akari. "What happened to her??" she asked, shocked that a neko could stay in such bad shape. While Akari began taking care of her pierced tongue, Inari began taking out the thread that was stitched into her skin.

"I don't know Nari.. I suspect that there is an evil spirit lurking aboard the Yui and it has decided to target all of its anger towards this poor Neko. She came aboard with the Taisho. So we should check on Chiharu-sama as well when we get the chance. But first we take care of this little one and then we try to purify the Med Bay and set up Spirit Wards against the Evil that has appeared on our ship."

Inari nodded like a loyal soldier. "Yes, sister. We won't let the crew down!" she said with zealous spirit as she continued to work on the skin, pouring some disinfectant on it (just in case) and patting the bloody little holes in it with a fluffy ball of gauze. "I'm scared. How can our ship have evil like this on it? Maybe it's the spirit of one of the permanently dead." she shuddered.

Akari continued her bloody work as she spoke, "I think that some of the others are sensing the evil as well. Taii Aya is not herself, nor is Chui Arume.. and that Hiro character seems a bit off despite his public face. Or maybe the evil came with that ship that's now docked with us. I really don't know. It just seems like an outsider brought it into our ship. We shouldn't trust the gaijin only those we know from before all of this.." Akari frowned a bit, she had to admit, treating Hikari's burns was unholy and that girl shouldn't have suffered so for doing her duty as a Technician. Maybe it was Hiro and Ritsu who brought the Evil spirit with them?

Inari's thoughts ran along the same lines. "I'm worried. Everyone seems frustrated and angry, and it is not good at all, in the middle of such a critical time. I heard if we keep drifting, we'll reach the angel's defense network in only a few hours. Unless the crew works together, we could all die." she said. "I'm also wondering why no other ships have attacked us. I wonder if the rest of the fleet is doing ok?"

"I have confidence in our fleet. But with all the chaos that came with the Taisho's kidnapping I think we'll be alright now that she's back." Akari tried to offer her sister a reassuring smile as her thoughts drifted back towards the Taisho.

"Do you think the Taisho is alright? We should get her to sit and talk with us for a while soon, to make sure the enemy didn't rattle her too much." Inari pointed to her head. "In fact, it would be good to give all of the crew a psychological evaluation."

Akari nodded, "That's a good idea sis. We should do that tomorrow morning." 

Speaking of the Taisho, her body was still in deep state of REM sleep as to now held Mr. Bear tightly to her chest. Chi's mind was still exploring the corridor she had found. She could hear a male voice talking quietly, it was familiar but she had no idea where she was as she turned back towards the way she entered.. she saw only a white mist dancing in the air. "I guess the only way to go is forward then.." She shrugged and walked back towards the sound of the Man's voice. Why did it sound familiar?

The male voice became clearer, and the words comprehendible. It was Zemer, dreaming about various things, a mesh. There were tactical briefings, an investigation into Chi's escape, many small snippets of discussion, and of course his memories of Chiharu in the cell, which is where she found herself in the dream, sitting on her foamy bed with him on the other end of it.

Chi blinked a bit as she found herself sitting on her old bed with Zemer again.. but this time, she was wearing her GSA uniform. "Zemer?" she looked at him curiously, this definitely wasn't her mind, so she did make a connection after all. She smiled brightly, at Zemer. "Long time no see."

"Hello, enemy." Zemer looked at her disapprovingly.

Chi looked at him curiously, this was his dream so she figured she'd have to play along a bit. "Was there a commotion outside or was it just a figment of my imagination?" She tilted her head to one side as she looked at him, before she smoothed her hair back behind her ears. 

"Chiharu, I appreciate the gesture, but it's not going to stop me from killing you." Zemer told her, "In the same way you were obligated to return to your ship, I'm obligated to end your life Chiharu. I wish we could've stayed together." the archangel sadly told her.

"It'll come to that at some point Zemer. But, if you'd like your shuttle back it might still be in bay S113 at the refueling station." She shrugged a bit. "Now what gesture is it that I've done that you appreciate?" She still looked at him curiously, she was a bit excited despite the fact that he was sad, she had never entered someone else's dream before. She steadied herself, got to be calm and collected not bouncing off the walls.

"Yes. My agents have already found it and have captured the man who assisted you." Zemer informed her. "I meant I appreciate you trying to get in touch with me through my dreams. Of course, I'm wide awake right now." he grinned. "But I felt you."

Chi smiled again, "It's kind of neat to be in your head. I've actually never done this dream walking thing before. So you don't mind me stomping about in here too badly?" She felt a warmth she had never felt before as she sat there. She had been sensed and was welcome in an odd sort of way.. and it was just.. a heartfelt joy in being told that. 

"Yeah, it's alright. I'm set up so you can't see anything you shouldn't." Zemer told her, confident in the mental protection that he had covering the intelligence agent part of his mind. But there was another part she'd never seen. A woman, sitting on the closed lid of the toilet nearby. Someone else in his daydream?

"You're no fun." Chi teased him a bit as she looked over at the other lady. "So who's your lady friend? I'm not interrupting some little fantasy am I?"

"She's my wife." Zemer frowned at her playfulness, not sharing her happiness, but instead filled with turmoil and sadness. "Don't you recognize her?"

Chi sighed a bit, "Gomen, Zemer-kun.." She looked at the woman closely, she was supposed to recognize her from somewhere.. "I don't think I know her.. why are you so sad?"

He turned to her, eyes full of tears, and said with a hoarse, cracking voice "You killed her, Chi."

Chi blinked a bit as she looked at the woman, not remembering her at all. "I did? When?" She was genuinely confused, was his wife a part of the Heavenly Wars too? 

"The first heavenly war. She was in one of the heavens invaded. The second army, your unit, invaded and you ran her though because she was trying to keep you out of my house and away from our newborn. Our child died a few days later from starvation." Zemer said. "I never wanted to accept that it was you, until I started looking through Jehenniel's collection of information on you. "How could you, Chi??"

Chi blinked, she actually had no idea what Zemer was talking about. "Zemer, I'm sorry for what happened to both your wife and your child, but I honestly do not remember ever doing that to your wife." She tried to remember, was there an order to kill women and children? "It doesn't make sense to me, why would I have gone into your home?" She kept drawing a blank every time she thought of it. "I should deny it but I cannot do so without an honest remembrance of the event occurring at all. All I can say is that I am sorry for what happened to your wife and your child. You'll have to kill me no matter what I say, be it from heartbreak or from a sense of justice. If I did kill your wife it would be fitting for you to take my life... So I'll keep myself alive long enough for you to get vengeance for your wife and child's murders for yourself. Even if it wasn't really me, I'll shoulder the responsibility for what happened in the Wars." Chi sighed a bit, she knew that wouldn't make Zemer feel any better. 

"Thank you Chi. I know you're a good person. I think that she," he pointed to the pregnant woman. "would want me to forgive you."

"It's the least I could do, I am truly sorry Zemer-kun." Chi bowed her head apologetically to the both of them. "She was a beautiful woman and a brave one too if she went out to face a unit of invaders unarmed. I wish I could've known her in better times..." Chi softly bit down on her lower lip, she did feel horrible for what happened but still, that report didn't make sense to her. but the reality, whatever it was, left this man's wife and children dead and her holding the bag. 

"Have a good night's rest Chiharu. Visit me again sometime." He smiled, and gave her a warm hug, saying goodbye, letting her go.

Chi returned Zemer's hug with a soft smile on her face, he didn't hate her after all. It made her feel better. "Oh yeah! Before I go back, could Jehenniel's spirit have transferred to another body?"

"I suppose so." Zemer shrugged. "The official line is that he was killed during your escape and is permanently dead. But there could have been a transfer device somewhere." he added.

"Hmm.." Chi sighed a bit. "Wonderful, then he might be wrecking havoc still. Oh well, I guess you have to go back to work. Let's see if I can even wake up after that mess.." Chi stood up and looked at Zemer curiously, "You're a pretty good kisser." She smiled again with a wink before she turned back towards the path that was appearing in her mind's eye.
Uso reached the lab door determined to put her Wazu fears to rest. As she stepped into the room she was greeted by Chikara. “What took you so long!?” It said, 

“What?” Uso said surprised that the thing could talk, “Are you…”

“Wazu? Well yes and no, It is weird please don‘t ask,” the panther like creature replied.

Uso noticed that the creature wasn’t talking using it’s mouth but by a external speaker system attached to the neck. She also noticed that the creature was now packing some sort of weapon embedded in it’s shoulder facing forward and that had done a good job of destroying Wazu‘s computer in the lab “Why are you trying to get Geminasu in trouble?” Uso asked

“Me?” the creature said with a laugh, “I’ll give you a hint it is not me doing anything I’VE BEEN LOCKED IN THIS ROOM!!! But I will tell you what you should do next”

“and that is?” Uso replied

“Go to the medbay and make a backup of all the dead crew members memories. Well they are already backed up so think of it as a backup backup,” the creature said

“And why would I need to do that?” Uso asked she had learned that Wazu could be weird at times and this was one of those times even if it was a pseudo-Wazu. 

“I can use the sensors from here, very odd crew movements as of late.” The creature started. “And now you coming here accusing me of something. Anyways you might have to protect those who are already dead and of course telling you any more would ruin my fun.”

Uso shrugged sensing that she would get no more information out of this creature, “Why can’t you ever just tell me what is going on?” she asked before she shut the door on it, ~I guess I should do what it says it is good advice after all and I can always come back to deal with him~ "It" she corrected herself out loud.

“HEY! I’M STILL LOCKED IN HERE” the creature yelled as it scratched at the now closed door although the sound was barely audible as Uso walked off.
As Hiro neared Chiharu's quarters, he spotted Arume standing guard in a defensive position near the ladder that lead to the Taisho's quarters holding the largest damn gun Hiro had ever seen. ~Dammit! She's got a GP-12!~ He thought when he saw it. ~In this mode, she's highly alert and most likely knows I'm here, but why hasn't she shot me yet? I'm guessing that she'll open fire if I make any attempt to get near that ladder, and a blast from that cannon would wipe me out.~ Hiro pondered, still staying out of Arume's actual sights (gun sights that is).

~That shield on your arm should protect you from actually getting hurt, but you'll still be shoved backward. Activate it and walk in there, but first, drop your gun here: that thing won't stand a chance to that monster weapon she's got. OH, and keep your sword in it's sheath unless you really need it. By walking in like that, you don't pose a direct threat to Arume or Chiharu. By the way, if you do fight, don't kill her, just knock her out, and hide the body.~ Ritsurin advised from deep within Hiro's mind.

Hiro, following Ritsu's advice, drew the GP-13 out of it's holster and laid it on the floor gently, as to not make a sound. He then activated the force shield unit in shell mode (a new addition that completely surrounds the user.) and hid it under his robes, concealing it from view. He pushed against it, and was pleased to find that it was indeed on, as it didn't give off any sound or the blue hue Hiro expected...it was transparent. He then bravely strode onto the bridge to confront Arume, with his sword in it's sheath, presenting no threat...he walked in, expecting to get blasted, and prayed that the shield would hold until he got close enough to disarm her, with his sword if need be.
Geminasu and Trouble continued downward to the bridge, along the Geminasu pointed things out to Trouble, basically showing her around.

"We'll be coming along to the bridge soon, and I'll... arrghhh..." Geminasu stopped talking and grabbed his head.
"Something’s not right, no, no, no, its not. Something is lurking around here Trouble. It doesn't feel right. My danger sense is telling me something is wrong. I'm not sure what but its something evil."

"Really Tobias?" Trouble asked as she glanced around the area.

"Yes, its not far from here. But there is something else as if someone is looking for me. I don't if the two are related, but something is definitely wrong here. Lets get to bridge, and quick!" Geminasu said.

Together Geminasu and Trouble ran towards the bridge.

-Meanwhile-

Zeph finished handing over the information about himself and Trouble. He glance around the room and closed his eyes. He started to pick up loose thoughts from people nearby.

~What the... someone's very tense over that way.~ Peering his head by. ~Its as if someone is waiting to cut loose on someone else.~ Opening his eyes, he notice Arume standing no far away with a large weapon in her hands. Hiro entered onboard and Arume seemed to get very tense. ~Well, just for safety measures....~ 

Zeph reach over his back and set his rifle to the stun setting. 

~I may need to step in in case something goes wrong here.~ 

-Meanwhile-

M.O.C.H. waited onboard the Silvershot to help with some possible repairs, but for some reason no one had come to see to that he'd help yet.
Hiro stood on the bridge, looking at Arume, with a determined look in his eye.

Arume held her rifle at the ready, setting it to penetrate the forcefield that she knew he had. "Get the hell away." she commanded, ready to fire.

He stood watching her, watching her muscles, waiting for her to tense up.

Zeph saw the two standing staring at each other, he felt unsure of what was going to happen. Zeph readied himself to grab his rifle if a fight broke out.

"I cannot do that Arume, I know something bad is going on here, and I intend to stop it." Hiro said. He drew his sword and prepared to leap out of the way of her shot.

Sensing the tensed situation Zeph slowly lowered his rifle form back.

Hiro watched Arume, getting ready to dodge her shots.

Zeph checked the setting on rifle to be sure they were set to stun.

"I bear you no malice Arume." Hiro said calmly.

Arume sneered. "You piece of shit." and fired. He was an idiot if he thought he could dodge a blast that traveled at light speed. The rifle reacted perfectly, its sleek form emitting a pulse of intense phased energy, already calculated by the rifle's sights to pass through the forcefield and blow him apart with enough force to level a house. She had had plenty of time to aim and the flash of light lit up the bridge as the bolt went to his head.

~Holy damn.....~ Zeph thought.

Hiro flew backwards from the hit... and hit a chair behind him...but it was too late...the shot flew true and hit it's mark, Leaving Hiro/Ritsu dead...with no soul on backup.

"Just calm down girlie" Zeph said out loud, " I don't know what that was for but take it easy and lower the gun."

"I don't want to hurt you just calm down and put the gun down." Zeph said to Arume "If it helps I'll lower my weapon to show that I intend not to be of harm to you" Zeph said lowering his weapon slowly. "Just why did you kill this man just now?" Zeph added.

Little flaming chunks of his flesh splattered violently around the bridge, landing on everything in a conical pattern of nastiness. Arume looked at Zeph reaiming the rifle at him as the charred, slimy chunks of brains ran down the walls. "He was going to attack the Taisho." she said, steaming as much as the gun barrel was. "And he didn't follow orders."

"okay then just don't point that thing at me, I’m sure Taisho wouldn't want all us killing each other right now" Zeph said to Arume

Arume wiped some of the dripping blood off of her face, briefly looking to the decapitated corpse that was bleeding all over the bridge floor, then back to Zeph. "It's none of your business." she told him. 

Looking at the body, Zeph said "Man If he was gonna attack the Taisho , he sure won't now. You did a number on him." 

"I didn't want to let him hurt Chiharu. I'd do anything to protect her from being abused anymore than she already has."

Zeph turned to Arume, "I understand that. I think such force might not have been necessary, look at this mess."

Geminasu and Trouble ran in the bridge, "Oh my god!" Trouble cried. "What happened here Arume?" asked Geminasu as he looked up at Arume.

Arume want over to the mangled, half-cooked body, crinkling her nose at the steam rising off of it. Lifting the soaked robe aside, she revealed his pistol and force shield beneath, pointing them out to Zeph. "See? He was wearing body armor, a shield generator, and was armed with a sword and a pistol." 

"Zeph looked at the weapons, "Okay safe to assume whoever he was and what he was going to do is stopped now. But You didn't have to kill him, yet. My rifle was set to stun, I would have stopped him myself if he dared anything stupid." Geminasu glanced at Hiro's body and said "So this guy was gonna do something Arume, where you sure of that?"

"He was going to rape Chiharu!" Arume insisted, the chunks of singed skull still falling off of her chest and the rest of the bridge.

Surprisingly enough, Chi had finally woken up from the realm of unconscious just now. She hurt all over, she was still feeling the after affects of being electrocuted into unconsciousness.

"Really? Are you absolutely positive of that? Because he may have intended that but may not have. We don't know now, because he's dead." Geminasu said. Trouble dropped to her knees with a horrified look upon her face.

Chi heard the commotion outside and hurriedly got herself to the hatch that lead her to the bridge and unlocked it again. Damn thing had to lock her in.. "What the hell is going on?"

"Zeph stood there rubbing his chin and asked Arume, "Who was you killed anyhow?"

Arume looked at her rifle with a look of uncertainty. Was that dream a precognition? "I...I had to stop him. He was going for Chi's quarters and wouldn't stop when I told him to." She kneeled down on one knee in front of the headless body and the small lake of blood it now lay in, looking up to see Chiharu. "Are you alright?" she asked Chi, her eyes showing concern.

Geminasu looked up to chi "Greeting Taisho Chiharu, good to see you." He turned to Arume "For all we know he may have just wanted to see her Arume. But we cannot determine that now."
Zeph turned to Chiharu "This guy was heading towards your quarters and this little girlie was waiting here and blew the blasted crap out of him." Trouble still sat on her knees frightened as hell to the scene.

"I just woke up from some damn thing covering me in slime and electrocuting the hell out of me in Hiro's form. I doubt it was Hiro though.. Why is there a bloody smear all over my deck? She looked to Arume and then to the BFG she was toting. "Crap. What happened while I was unconscious for the past day?!"

"Then why didn't he stop when I ordered him to?!" Arume frantically yelled back at Geminasu. "He was going to hurt her, I know he was!" she began to become panicked, uneasy, her rifle pointed at Geminasu. 

"Hiro was trying to rape you!" Arume cried to Chi, tears in her eyes. "I told him to stay away from you and he kept going...so I...I shot him"

"Something definitely is wrong here, its just wrong. It doesn't make sense." Geminasu said.

"How Arume?" looking up at her" How could you have possibly known he was going to rape Taisho Chiharu?"

"Arume, put the rifle down!" Chi jumped down out of her nest, her fall slowed for a moment before she made contact with the floor. "Arume... We'll figure out what the hell is going on soon. I know you were trying to protect me and I thank you for it, but please let me have the rifle until we figure things out?" Chi was trying not to panic this was all too weird.

Arume seemed reluctant to give up the rifle, but she gave the smoking GP-12 to Chi. "Yes Chiharu-sama" Her hand hovered over her pistol and her eyes rested on Geminasu suspiciously. She was beginning to think that he was working with Hiro.

"Ok, now is not the time for weapons towards over crew members. We have one missing a head. I want to know what the hell was said, especially since Hiro was supposed to be confined to quarters still until we could figure out what to do with him."

"Something isn't right here, Arume your positive that this man, whoever it was, was going to rape Chiharu? And Chiharu you had a dream of some guy called Hiro?" Geminasu looked a little puzzled. Geminasu continued "First thing I know I’m trapped under metal and now everyone is at each others throats."

Zeph continued to rub his chin, "This ain't right." Geminasu "Its almost as if someone were trying to purposely turn us against each other. I thinks we should keep in contact at all times, and if at all something suspicious happens we must notify Chiharu."

"I had an intruder into my mind that was posing as Hiro claiming to be the rebirth of Jehenniel and then I got to see the intruder in my quarters. Someone's screwing with us and he can enter our dreams. And alter them.. " Chi folded her arms across her chest. She was still in a mid rift tank top and her short shorts that she slept in. "But I had the same dream that Hiro was going to rape me, It's a good tactic actually.. Get the crew against each other to kill one another.."

"I saw him standing over her with no pants...then he put his..." Arume looked down shamefully, recalling the visions she'd experienced. "He was an evil man!" she insisted. He was supposed to be confined, and he didn't stop when I ordered him to. I killed him because he didn't follow orders" Arume rationalized her actions.

"we may have ourselves an intruder, we must be alert, but this time lets not kill who we suspect of something. But regardless if he was to be confined then someone or something let him out."

"Arume, he should've stopped but, it's too late now. The only thing we can possibly do is try to bring him back whenever we get the Megami up. Tobias, Zeph and Trouble. We're going to need a tow back to one of our bases. We're just a few hours away from drifting towards that ..

Aya walked onto the bridge and promptly vomited, completely sickened by the gore she saw. "Who?" she asked. Just then, a beeping noise from the communications station signaled another ship was here trying to contact them.

Zeph said to Chiharu, "Can do, I'll get MOCH my computer system to tow us there easily."

Damn Angel refueling station. We need to turn around now before we end up with the Angels all over us. Get the techs to hook up 2 laptops to the propulsion system, we can try to get ourselves turned around if nothing else."

Zeph said” I get on to the Silvershot right away and have MOCH direct us towards the nearest GSA starbase."

Aya spat out the bile from her mouth onto the floor, and answered the communication. "This is Taisa Fensalir Kelrina of the GSS Ender III. We are here to drop off a replacement crewmember for you." the hailing vessel said. 

Chi nodded to Zeph. "Thank you." She turned to everyone else. "Ok, I want a damn meeting off all the surviving crew on the bridge within the next hour. And there will be no weapons on my bridge." She looked to the communication, "Thank you Taisa. Just letting you know that we're going to return to base. Our Megami got fried and we're getting a tow back."

Geminasu looked at Chiharu, "I'll head down this guy quarters and see if I can't find any clues or what not."

"I see. May we send a shuttle over to dock with you and deliver the person I have for you? He is a young intelligence officer."

Trouble got up and wiped her face "I'll go with you Tobias."

"Tobias, hold off the investigation for now. I want all the crew to gather first. I want answers as to what was said or done to ANYONE with I was under first. We have no room for error anymore." Chi looked to the transmission again, "You may Taisa."

"Okay Chiharu. Trouble lets just wait here then, okay?" Geminasu said.

The Ender's Taisa nodded, and dispatched the transport shuttle to dock with the Yui, or more specifically, the Silvershot. After a moment, the new intel officer, a promising young Chui, was aboard the GSS Yui.

Geminasu and Trouble proceeded to the far part of the bridge as Zeph headed to the Silvershot's deck.

Nodding his head some in respect, he extended his hand in courtesy, and a warm smile, "Greetings, I am Xioun Vestre'... New Intelligence Officer..." Looking about the ship, he saw that is fairly huge, like he always imagined. Flashing lights, and blinking monitors.. He loved the flashy stuff.

Chi nodded to the Chui, she was obviously not dressed for formal introductions. She also looked like she just woke up without a chance to get dressed. "Greetings Chui, I am Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu. Right now there is a problem aboard the ship and you'll be filled in once the once of the crew are filled in." 

With a nod he smiled at her, his eyes still forming about the flashy buttons and monitors. Even though the ship was small, it appeared large to him, as a result of coming from a sheltered family. "This place is big for me... Hmm, perhaps I should make a map for myself.. Unless you have any available that is...

Arume used the intercom to call the three security clones, "Shira, Harume, Amy, please report to the bridge immediately. Bring mops and mop buckets." she told them.

"This is Taisa Fensalir. Taisho, we have engaged the defense systems and are attempting to clear a path for you. Be advised you are now in their heavily-controlled area." she warned.

Soon, the Security Sentries (Sai, Harume and Amy) and Technician Shira appeared on the bridge with enough mops and buckets to clean up the mess between the four of them.

Looking away, he saw the oozing of the brains, the pieces of skull and the stench of decay, "Oh... what happened here?!" The site was unbearable. The body that lay there was decapitated, although the head was in several different places; Each spot holding a different part of the brain. It looked like a flood of death had washed through the corridor.

Chi smiled softly. "Thank you Taisa, we'll try to get back soon." She sent a message to the Silvershot, "We're getting a path cleared for us, get ready to get the hell out of here once there's an opening."

Chi looked to the new intel officer again, "By the way, we're at war both with the angels and an intruder somewhere aboard this ship. Be advised that all hell is going to break loose again at any given point."

Taisa Fensalir called in again. "There's too many defense ships. You've got some headed your way. Please raise your def... BZZZT" the transmission cut off.

His eye twitched at the news, "Well perhaps then could you give me a small weapon to defend myself? It is not necessary, I assure you but incase I do stumbled upon this man, or woman for that matter..." Not trying to sound as a sexist, he acknowledge both genders. Xioun looked about, the intercom buzzing. He didn't know what these 'defense ships' were, hopefully not the enemy... 

Chi looked to Arume and Aya, "Turn on the plating and get ready to use the torpedoes. Those are the only things we have. Hurry!" Aya nodded as she quickly activated the plating that should protect their ship from harm while the shields were down.

Aya called over to the Silvershot, "Incoming! Activate your shields and get ready to return fire!"

No sooner had the armor deployed, the angel ships were attacking the Yui. A volley of hits stuck the ship's underside, sending the bridge crew bouncing in the air with he force of the impact. Another volley raked the Silvershot's upper hull. as its shields had started to come online. 

The situation seemed bad... Looking around, his attire not suited for dying in combat. He wanted to honor his father, but not by dying his first day. The volleys seemed to annoy him, as his balance went unstable from the shocks of the blasts. "Whoa...!" He looked about, hoping that the volleys would soon be destroyed, and thus, allowing him to navigate through the ship, contemplating on what his assignment might be.

Aya grabbed a hold of her chair as she felt herself rising from the ground. She tried to get into the chair and strap herself in. "Arume, time to go to work! Take control of the torpedoes!" Arume nodded as she ran over and planted herself into the Weapons Chair and strapped herself in as well. "Readying the torpedoes!"

Chi herself smoothed her hair back behind her ears before she planted herself in her own chair and strapped herself in. She sent a ship wide announcement. "We're under enemy fire, all in fighting and grudges and crap ends now. Battle stations and be prepared to lose gravity and power again!

In the frail, he was confused. This ship was new to him. The others, he could quickly go to a seat and strap himself in, praying for the worst to be over. Looking at Chi, his expression wasn't one of worry, but of annoyance, with a subtle glow of anger. Sure, he was annoyed and angry at the angels for attacking at such a time. 

Chi smiled suddenly as she looked over to the new officer, "Welcome Aboard the GSS Yui!"

Kuru's dark-skinned head and arms popped into the bridge through one of the side doorways, along with a GP-5. With a flurry of energy-gunfire, the technician began unloading a battery worth of pulses into the crew who were trapped in their seats. Aya arched her back as burning holes appeared in the back of her seat. Arume was next, gunned down as she tried to free herself. The clones hit the floor, only to hear the sound of a grenade rolling into the bridge.

Running toward a seat he just so happened to -make- from a stack of crates, he positioned himself correctly. Even if the ship would twist and turn, he would be secure in a spot, as long as the crates didn't give way, "Thank you!." he nodded toward Chi, quickly looking about. 

The grenade went off not with a bang but with a hiss, filling the room with unusually thick tear gas. Through the clouds of smoke, there were more flashes of light as another magazine was unleashed into the bridge. 

Hiding within the crates he was unseen, as he tried to hold his breath about from the gray hiss. Seemingly it rose, not covered the entire vicinity, he laid his head back, watching the gray smoke pass directly above him, not daring to try and breath in just yet.

The smoke lingered in the air, and came all the way around, resting on the floor looking like a cloud of dry-ice-fog, and filling the entire bridge. For effect, Kuru threw in a couple more gas grenades before slamming the door shut. As she ran away from the bridge, carrying the GP-5, she began to transform back into the seraph.

Holding his breath, he tried not to move, but he couldn't. Spattering upward, he moved toward the door, trying to unlock it. 'Blasted, it's locked!' he thought to himself. Was he going to die? Was he going to succumb to the effects? He was... as his limp body hit the floor.

Chiharu unbuckled her seat, making her way through the haze to Aya, finding her still strapped into the seat, not breathing. Blood soaked the poor girl's uniform. "Get her..." she tried to talk, but only ended up in a fit of coughing. "to the...." she coughed some more. "medbay." The three girls who had been trying to mop were also in coughing fits, snot running out their noses and tears out their eyes from the thick irritant gasses. 

Shira, one of the nekos that was injured only minimally, unbuckled Aya from the chair she was, and out the downed neko over her shoulders, heading for the door, and releasing the lock on it. Racing to the medbay, she handed Aya over to Akari and Inari, and then made another trip for Arume. Both were alive but incapacitated. Chiharu weapon to the weapons station as the ship took another hit, and began returning fire using the weapon turrets.

As the rest of the first fleet began arriving to back the Yui and the Ender up, the two destroyers were left behind to lick their wounds while the battle raged.
On the Silvershot's Bridge

MOCH received a call to turn on shields and prepare for combat. "Starting combat protocol 53 Silvershot ASC pattern." Shields went up, torpedo bays readied and the White Grand Cannon started to charge up. 

-Meanwhile-

Smoke filled the bridge, and gunfire went off, Geminasu grabbed Trouble and ducked dodging reflecting shots.

"Cough! Chi... haru.... cough! Get to the Silvershot's bridge we may be able to... hack ... make a way to isolate this intruder from there." Coughed Geminasu, placing a cloth over his mouth and nose "If Zeph gets there in time we may be able to link to the Yui's main systems there....." He picked Trouble by the waist and carried her off the of the bridge.

They stepped out of the bridge, Trouble looked up at Geminasu, "Tobias what is going on here? Why are the crew attacking each other?"

While running with Trouble, "Not sure, but this might be an angel or something we got to get to the Silvershot, I hope Chi can make it there safely. There's a good chance we might be able turn the tide of war inside the Yui around if we can get there."

-Meanwhile-

Zeph raced down the hall to the Silvershot fire had seemed to break out behind him, he stopped back looked back, then continued towards the Silvershot's bridge. Running as fast he could he reached the elevator and entered. 

~Dammit, this isn't going well,~ he hit a communicator on his wrist that radioed MOCH. "MOCH all shit has broken loose aboard the Yui, get the Medbay ready we may have to take care of injures and if you can get that regeneration chamber going. We may need to respawn someone, so be ready for anything."

MOCH's voice came over the transmitter, "Yes sir, I will activate the med bay for emergency usage. Sir what is going on down there?"

"I'll inform you once I get there. Out." Zeph said turning off the transmitter. He drew his rifle out ~I hope everything is alright up there, but I best be prepared for anything....~
Bridge, GSS Yui (GD-30)

Chiharu was rattled after the battle as she finally unstrapped herself from her chair, she had never known Kuru to disobey her orders in combat, ever. She figured that it had to be that imposter running around on the ship. She sighed, the ship was a wreck and she'd lost more crew. "That was just bad. Damn thing is a shapeshifter and it can enter and alter our dreams.." 

The smoke had cleared and the battle was over, with the refueling station under the control of the GSA. The bridge was nearly empty, with all the operation staff either injured or killed recently. The three Geshrin girls were running cleaning equipment that was eliminating the morbid mess that had decorated the room. The headless body had been removed and placed inside a bodybag somewhere on the ship. There seemed to be nothing worth being happy over...but then the communications panel lit up with a beep.

Chiharu frowned as she walked over to the communications panel and hit a few commands into it. "This is the GSS Yui, Taisho Ketsurui speaking. How can we help you today?" She half smiled at the irony of it all, it really did seem like the whole universe was out to destroy her ship and her crew.

"Taisho Chiharu-san, this is Taii Shinjuku Hinosami of the GSS Philosophy (GD-117). The Mistress Taisho Kitsurugi Yui requests your presence aboard our ship. We are currently cloaked and under your ship." the sweet, young voice came back.

Chi chuckled a bit. "Hinosami-chan, let Taisho Yui-san know I'll be there in shortly once I get some clothes on." How could she face her old friend now that she had killed most of Yui's old crew and her old ship? She felt like she had let Yui down by getting captured and letting this chaos run rampant on the ship.

Hinosami replied giggling, "She says you don't need to wear anything, as long as you're clean." the girl laughed, "We're docking with you."

Chi smiled again, "I figured as much. See you both in a bit." With that Chi left the communications panel and hurriedly climbed back up to her nest to get some civilian clothes and her insignia on. It wasn't a formal meeting and it'd be nice to wear civs because she wanted to and not needed to for a disguise. Once she was in her nest, she pulled open her foot locker and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a black tank top.. this wasn't that far removed from what she was already wearing but at least it was more appropriate to be running around in...

And who should walk on the bridge at that moment than the infamous Chusa Kessaku Irim! The pale neko had the familiar stern look on her face and got increasingly frowny as she surveyed the damage on the ship she used to help run. She was escorted by a MEGAMI sprite, and a technician. They had some tools and looked to be on their way to try and fix Megami somehow. The sprite was chattering with the tech about how she could take control of the Yui's HSCS system and use the repair function to form a new Megami.

When Chi was finally changed, she attached her rank insignia on her tank top and climbed down the ladder from her nest to the bridge. She nodded to Irim and her tech. She smiled inwardly, at least they weren't on their own anymore. They had been once again saved by the other ships of the 1st fleet.. and.. she felt useless because of it. Once again they were only able to get themselves killed and further into trouble. She sighed as she left the bridge and walked towards the lower docking lift, the same one she had been kidnapped from. Chi frowned again, what was the point of her being Co-commander of the 1st fleet, captain of the GSS Yui and commander of the 2nd fleet if all she was able to do was get them into trouble?

"Jeans." Irim observed distastefully. Nobody of the Philosophy crew cared for them, Irim included. "How..." she fumbled for a word but only found a frown. As Chiharu made her way toward the lift, Irim gave up trying to put it nicely and took up stride with Chi. In the Megami room, Sofie (the Philosophy's Megami) and the technician got to work, under the watch eye of some black-haired (remote control nekos, controlled by Megami) security nekos from the Yui.

Chi looked back at Irim when she noticed she was being followed to the lifts. "What's wrong Irim?" Chi liked jeans for whatever reason since she got her new body. There was just something about them that appealed to her.

Irim was the sort that found tights and bare legs much more suitable. "How can you wear those restrictive denim garments?" she frowned at Chi once more while the two entered the lift. Her hands reached for Chi's pants and quickly unbuttoned them. "Surely we have something better for you." Irim said seriously. Of course, this was coming from the neko who tortured people as a hobby.

Chi smiled despite herself as she was about to lose her pants. "I don't know why, but I like the feel of jeans. It's just some odd thing I guess." She backed away from Irim, quickly rebuttoning them. "I would rather stick with my restrictive garments right now. Thanks though." 

"I like the feel of the air caressing my legs as I walk." Irim retorted. "Feeling everything through my clothes as if they were only there to amplify my senses." she added sagely, with a smirk and a nod. The lift doors opened to reveal a small crowd of nekos, including Shinami, the former security chief of the GSS Yui. They had GP-5 and GP-12 rifles, and some heavy weapons, all pointed at the lift door. Another Megami/Sofie sprite was present. "Clear." the neko with bright white hair announced, and the security crew relaxed noticeably. Apparently Chi wasn't the only one to suspect there could be intruders on the Yui. "This was please, miss JEANS" Irim gestured Chi toward the briefing room.

Chi chuckled a bit hearing Irim, as she made her way towards the briefing room. She was glad that the Philosophy crew wasn't taking any chances with this mysterious intruder that was aboard the Yui. 

Inside the briefing room, Yui was sitting at the head of a long table that had a shiny black reflective surface, backlit with a teal display of the Philosophy's interior and systems. "Chiharu!" Yui smiled warmly, pointing to the seat to her immediate right. "Please join me. I wanted to see you one last time." she invited her fellow taisho.

Chi returned the smile and toke the indicated seat. "Not a problem Yui. It's been a while, have you been keeping busy?" It was a silly question to ask because Chi knew that Yui was busy. It was just a way to make herself more at ease after the beating the Yui took again.

"Yes, the Philosophy has seen a great deal of action. We've been fighting almost nonstop lately, but doing pretty well." Yui answered. "I heard you'd been captured. I made arrangements to come back for you, but couldn't get free until now. And I'm afraid I'll have to be going even farther out on my next mission. So this may be the last time we see each other for a very long time."

"I think you'll be victorious as always Yui. But I'll be sure to keep in better touch with you this time." Chi smiled a bit before commenting on her own capture. "I spent some time aboard the Angel ship but my jailer was surprisingly civil but the now deceased Captain... "

"Are you okay, Chi? I mean do you feel you are able to go on?" Yui asked, concerned. "Angels are very good at hurting people. If you're too hurt to continue..." she offered, worried about Chiharu's well-being. "I just want to know you're alright, I guess. I've been thinking a lot about you." she admitted.

Chi suddenly realized that she hadn't talked to anyone about what had actually happened to her when she was on the Angel Ship or what happened during the incident. "I'm okay, just a bit disillusioned now." She offered a sad smile as she continued. "I finally know the truth behind the incident and I accept it now but it doesn't make it any less embarrassing or degrading that it happened." She looked at Yui, almost like she wanted to cry. "But, I am okay. There was some justice done for me when Iseki killed Jehenniel.. he won't be able to destroy the hearts and bodies of Nekos anymore. But, I can continue. Hopefully, we'll fare better once we catch that intruder who's been making my crew's life hell and turning them against one another..."

"So, there's a seraph on board your ship?" Yui narrowed her eyes. "Once your Megami is up again, she will be able to find it for you. As for Iseki...I was wondering...would you mind if I took her for my crew? She'd fit in better on this all-female ship, I think." As if on cue, Anri and Iseki entered the room. Iseki was being guided by Anri, who was holding Iseki's bag of fluids. Taii Iseki sat down slowly, nodding to whoever was in front of her at the table, unaware Chi was there. Yui, meanwhile, reached out to Chiharu and pulled Chi to her chest, holding her close.

Chi nodded again, and smiled as she was held by Yui. It was a nice feeling to just be held. "Iseki would probably be safer here than on the Yui. There are too many men aboard for her to feel ever feel safe." She listened to Yui's heart beat and enjoyed the Neko's warmth. It was a loving feeling that enshrouded her entire being and she felt safe here. 

"Chi, I love you." Yui finally said. "Ever since I've met you, and we began working together, you've never let me down, always there to support me whenever we could find the time to be together, and I want to be there to support you too. After I come back from this mission, let's always fly our ships together, as a couple. I don't want us to have to leave each other again."

Chi looked up at Yui with big eyes. She never realized that Yui felt that way about her and she smiled brightly and nodded, hugging Yui. "Let's do that when you come back." She felt the same warmth with Yui that she had found in Zemer, and that in itself surprised her because she realized that she truly loved them both. "I love you too, Yui."

"Thank you." Yui smiled, her own eyes glimmering with emotion. She'd only felt this way a couple of times before, and each time before, her lovers had been ripped away...this time though, she vowed, she would not let anyone take Chi away. "I am going to miss you so much, Chiharu. I already think of you every day, but it will be so much worse knowing I can't see you. But the thought of the day I come back to you, and I WILL come back to YOU, Chiharu, will keep me hopeful and warm through the darkest terrors and worst battles."

Chi smiled. "Thank you Yui. I'll keep alive so that you will have someone to come back to." She thought it was kind of ironic that she had promised Zemer that she'd stay alive long enough for him to kill her and here she was making almost the same promise to Yui.. but Yui wasn't going to have to kill her. " I was afraid that you would be upset with me because of how things have been going on the GSS Yui. I've been looking for a reason to fight but all that I had was the fact that I didn't want to let you down. You gave me your ship and your trust. I promise that I'll make you proud." Chi smiled brightly again, she had her reason to fight, to stay alive now. 

"I didn't say I was happy you had trashed my ship, Chi." Yui wryly commented. "But that can and will be fixed. What hurt me was not knowing if you were alright, when the angels were using you for their...advantage. I know of anyone I could choose to make light of the situation, it's you. You don't realize how proud of you I am already. Many captains' would have lost their ship, crew, and/or sanity by now, and you face the future with courage. I love you more than you know, Chi."

"Except that she's wearing jeans." Irim pointed out, nudging Chi in the bosom with a playful elbow.

Chi starting laughing at Irim's comment as she was nudged in the boob. "Leave my pants out of this you." 

"I just want to wear the uniform again." Iseki quietly spoke up, still wearing a towel. Anri took the opportunity to lead Iseki off toward the dressing rooms, leaving them alone, except for Irim, who was saying, "I'd rather leave you out of your pants."

Chi chuckled, it was nice to relax and laugh again after everything that was going on. She calmed down a bit as she heard Iseki. "Poor Iseki.. she's been toyed with by the Angels.. but, I think she'll be okay in time. She's slowly becoming who she used to be before her ship was destroyed.

"I wonder how she'll get along with Hinosami?" Yui speculated aloud. Both were the submissive types. "I'd to see you out of your pants, too, actually. Would you care to join be for a bath?" she asked Chi, smiling brightly. "It'll help us relax."

Chi blushed a bit, why was it that whenever she was off her own ship she ended up without her clothes? "um.. ok.. sure.. why not?" She was a little embarrassed but, she really shouldn't be if she was going to be with Yui.

"Oh. Damn." Yui frowned, looking to the pot of tea on the table. "I forgot to offer you dinner."

"Dinner?" Chi looked down at the table. And once again she realized that she hadn't eaten anything since she escaped from the Light of Destiny. She figured it was because she keeps getting distracted with crew members giving introductions and getting attacked by something.

The older neko rose, coming to her feet and stepping away from the table, and moving to the door. She stopped to wait for Chi, and when Chi got up, Yui wrapped her warm hand around her love's hand, squeezing affectionately. "I'll bring the tea with us to the bath. Hinosami can serve us while we're in there."

Chi rose from her chair, gently squeezing Yui's hand back. It was a nice feeling to be in love and she wondered why she had avoided it for all this time. She guessed it was out of some fear that stemmed from what happened during the incident with Jehenniel, but as the adage goes, 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'

Yui led Chi to the baths, and began undressing her from behind, tugging her jeans down her slender legs and her tank-top over her head, not in a hurry, but not slow and sexy, either, just friendly. She then lifted her chin to let Chi get at the zipper to her GSA bodysuit. "I wish I could stay." she smiled softly, sadly. "Is green tea alright?"

Chi nodded as she unzipped Yui's uniform. "You have a mission so there's not much you can do." She smiled softly. "Green Tea would be wonderful. Oh yeah, I heard from someone that your slaves wear Grey kimonos. Is that true at all or was she just being a pain in the butt?"

"It's true, actually. When they leave my land, they do wear gray." Yui confirmed as she slid out of the mesh stockings and mesh shirt. Taking the last of her own clothing off, she slid Chi's undies down to her ankles and then lowered herself into the bath basin. "Mmm." she hummed as the warm water surrounded her tired body. Looking up at Chi from below, she couldn't help but inspect Chi down there. "Poor Chi" she cooed, knowing the woman had been through pain.

Chi lowered herself into the warm water, she was embarrassed that Yui was looking at her like that. "Shoot, next time I try to pass someone off as one of yours I need to get a gray kimono.."

Yui waded to the edge of the pool and sent a text message to Hinosami using a laptop that sat in the corner. She then poured steaming green tea into cups for the two of them (and a third for Hinosami). "Hmm?" Yui didn't know what she meant by that. Passing Chi a cup, Yui sipped lightly at her own.

Chi felt her poor abused muscles relax in the warmth of the water. "Oh, when Iseki and I passed through the refueling station looking for a ride back to the GSS Yui some Neko pimp tried to take Iseki from me and I couldn't think of any way to get her to leave Iseki alone so I said that she was one of yours."

"Did this 'pimp' say her name?" Yui asked, curious. It was unusual to find nekos so far out, living among the angels. Of course, there were some angels who lived among the Geshrin and nekos as well, but the were pretty rare, too. "I'm glad you got back safely. You never did tell me how you managed it, though."

"I never caught her name, I was more concerned with the machine pistol she had at my neck. " Chi chuckled a bit. "To tell the truth, the Angel Jailer I had broke me and Iseki out and let us steal a shuttle. From the shuttle we disguised ourselves and when through the refueling station. Damnedest thing too, I unconsciously shape shifted into a Geshrin man for my disguise." She laughed lightly, she was a man for a couple of days and she was never more glad to be herself again.

"That's odd." Yui commented, having a difficult time imagining Chi as a man. "I suppose maybe you're the man I've always been looking for, in a neko shell." she grinned, pressing her body into Chi and squeezing her tight. "I love you so much Chi. If you hadn't come back, I'd..." she looked away, and then turned back with a kiss on Chi's lips. "I don't want to let go." she sobbed.

Chi blinked a bit as Yui started crying, she hugged Yui after returning her kiss. "It'll be ok Yui. I came back in one piece and I know you'll be okay as well. You're too stubborn to not come back to me." Chi offered Yui a loving smile. "We'll be ok. You'll be back as soon as your mission is over and we can run the fleet together side by side."

"We are each other's strength" Yui smiled. "Stay tonight with me." It wasn't an order but a plea.

Chi looked at Yui for a long moment, unsure if she wanted to leave her crew alone and then she remembered.. almost all of her bridge crew were dead or critically wounded. She wouldn't be able to sleep in her nest tonight anyways. "I'll stay with you. The crew will be all right.. I'm just a lift away."

"Domo Arigato." Yui nodded. It was a night not of excitement, but a night of emotion. A night they would both always remember..

The next morning, Chiharu returned to the GSS Yui and the GSS Philosophy detached and disappeared off into the sea of stars. Leaving Chiharu to wonder when she'll see Yui next and if their promises can be kept. She smiled softly to herself as she stared off into the distance through a porthole near the bay, "We'll be all right.. She'll return in a blaze of glory like she always does." Chi moved her eyes away from the window and walked back towards the bridge, the repair work on the Megami had been kick started. And once she was up, they would be able to find the Seraph and put an end to this mess once and for all.
It was one of those days where everything was chaos for the crew of the Yui, but not for one little wolf puppy that was sniffing around in the access tunnels, safe from the dangers that the seraph presented as the ship was thrown about.

~Where's Alpha? And Alpha Female? I don't feel their presence on this big metal floating thing.~ The little puppy whimpered.

~I'm scared...Where's Omni? (by omni, he means Chiharu)~ Siaga put his wet nose to the floor and followed the pungent scent of blood up through the tunnels and to the bridge.

~so many strange scents...who are these people? I'm scared...~ The puppy thought as he looked around at all the people. He spotted Omni, the one whom both Alpha Male and Female wagged their tails to. He ran up to Chiharu as she returned from the GSS Philosophy and pawed at her pant leg, hoping she'd notice him.

Chiharu looked at the wolf cub curiously, wasn't this Ritsu and Lavinia's pet? She wondered why he was out her wandering the corridors by himself. "What are you doing out here little one? It's not safe here." She couldn't keep him with her.. she knew what she could do, Tobias could look after him for now. "Let's go find Tobias for you to play with." She whistled and motioned for the puppy to follow her as she wandered around, looking for where Tobias had gotten to.
Acara had been working straight for the past 12 hours, even when the other techs had to rest; he had worked. It was nice to watch them rest. They deserved it, for they had worked hard. 

Acara was almost finished with the physical repairs to Megami, he had been oblivious to the chaos that had enveloped the ship. He felt a minor rock of the ship that distracted him momentarily. 

Suddenly the ship was rocked by angel fire. Reacting quickly, Acara launched himself at the other techs, ensnaring them and drawing them to him. When they came together he enveloped them in his substance, aerating himself to pad against the concussive force, and keep Tomoyo and the clones from injury. After the attack he drew himself together. “Are you guys alright?” He asked as he looked around. 

Then Acara felt small explosions somewhere on the ship. “Alright, this is making me angry. Now I have more work to do.” This was really beginning to aggravate Acara. “Well let’s worry about it after Megami is able to download.” He grumbled as he got back to work. ~Only about 45 minutes left in the repairs~.

It took them a little more time than he had anticipated to finish what they could on Megami. ~Well I’d better tell Alexis that we’re done in here. I wonder when I’ll see Chiharu again. ~Acara had not left the Megami room, so he did not know of Chiharu’s return. “Tomoyo if you have a data pad, send a message to Alexis and tell him we are done in here.”
As Siaga trotted docilely behind Chiharu, he tried to empathically link with the catgirl. He tried to send her a mental image of himself fully grown, (half the size of a real wolf), snarling protectively at a man who was pointing a weapon of some type at Chiharu. He was trying to say that he was told to protect Chi and sound an alarm by baying or howling if she was in danger. The order was given by Ritsurin and then reinforced by Lavinia, he intended to carry out their last request, the one given before they died. 

Siaga looked up a Chiharu with big, innocent, kawaii amber eyes at her, as if pleading to stay with her. He leaned affectionately against her leg whenever they stopped. He didn't know who or what this Geminasu was, but he didn't care as long as whatever it was didn't try to harm the one he was to protect.
Acara was headed to the bathes on the right side of the ship, when he found Uso unconscious on the floor. ~This is that security guard that came into the Megami room. Uso wasn't it.~ He bent down and gently shook the neko. "You alright." He asked.

Uso's head was bent in a odd direction and she wasn't responding. A small trickle of blood was coming down from her hair.

Acara looked closely at her before realizing the neko was injured. ~Just great, all I need is another injured crewmember on our hands.~ Acara flowed forward and gently encased Uso. Then he lifted her so her body would not move. ~Well at least I can use something Keenara taught me.~ He thought. 

Acara gently probed her wounds. Seeing that they were not serious he slowly moved her neck vertebrae back into their correct position. 

Uso's eyes opened slowly "AH!" she shouted not expecting to have been encased in some dry Jell-O like thing or to be in such pain among other things. "Acara?" she asked

Acara set Uso down and pulled himself back into his customary form. "Sorry you were unconscious, and had some neck and head trauma. I fixed it as best I could. Are you felling any better?"

Uso rubbed her neck and then touched the top of her head and found a gash there fortunately it was already repairing itself. When she looked at her hand it was covered in blood. "A little," she said as she tried to get up and then winced in pain she also found her leg had taken some damage "Uh what happened?" she asked

"I haven't got a clue." Acara answered. "I haven't left the Megami room for quite a while. I was heading for the baths when I found you."

"Well thanks for finding me." She said as she gave Acara a soft smile. Uso then tried to get back on her feet first leaning against the wall and then putting some weight on her legs. Finding that she could now walk she stood normally. "I should try and find out what I missed" Uso said, "oh ya and how is Megami?"

Acara laughed at this. "Megami repaired as far as we can for now, and I don't think you have missed as much as I have. Anyway, I need to get to the baths."

~I should probably wash this blood off~ she thought "Would you mind if I joined you?" she asked

"Not at all" Acara replied. As he entered the baths Acara flowed out of his uniform and slid into the water.

He began churning at the bottom of the pool slowly cleaning himself.

Uso unzipped her uniform and threw it to the side not taking the time to properly fold it as she slipped into the pool, "Uh where is the shampoo?" she asked Acara

A head shape, of the substance already washed, came out of the water. It did a complete circle. "I don't know I never use it, but I think it is somewhere around here."

"heh ok" she said as she took up the search on her own and eventually gave up and just dunked her had under the water

"Hahaha, what a cumbersome way to wash." Acara said as he formed 2 more heads to look for the shampoo. " Is that it." He said, pointing to a dispenser.

"ah thanks!" Uso said as she swam over to the dispenser and begin to shampoo her hair

Acara's other two heads retreated back under the water. "Feeling better." He asked, wondering just how fast nekos heal.

"Yes" Uso replied as she got out of the bath and began drying off, "Thanks for your help back there if there is anything I can do to repay the favor just ask."

Acara grinned suddenly, his face becoming a hose shape. He then squirted Uso with about five gallons of water. 

"Hey!" she said as she jumped back into the bath trying to grab the hose

A laugh came up in bubbles from the water. The hose went down and another came up, squirted her from another location.

Uso dived under the water and tried to grab Acara in a playful manner

Acara slid out of Uso's grip. ~a little fun after all that work fell great.~ he thought, shooting currents underwater.

Uso continued to chase after Acara trying to splash it when she could

Acara leapt out of the water and stuck to the ceiling, waiting for Uso to come out of the water. 

Uso popped out of the water with a smile on her face and saw Acara on the ceiling, "Hey!"

Acara released all the water he had retained right above Uso.

"Come down he GAH!" Uso said as the water hit here before she stopped talking 

Acara was laughing uncontrollably as he fell to the floor. "Man, I haven't had that much fun in a long time."

Uso formed several scoop ended tentacles and splashed Acara as much as she could

Acara fell into the bath, bubbles came up as he could not stop laughing.

Uso joined in the laughter "That was great!"

Acara flowed out of the pool and squirted all his remaining water back in the bath. "Well haha I really should haha get haha back to work haha." Acara said trying, with out much success, to stop laughing.

Uso got onto the edge of the pool and began braiding her hair ,as she had to undo it to wash it, "I guess your right" she said

"Well see you later." Acara said, as he put his uniform back on, and left the baths. 

Uso stayed baths a little while longer as she finished up braiding her hair she then put on her uniform and headed to the bridge
Aeriyon rose from his position on the floor and looked at everyone, then fixed his gaze on Taisho Chiharu. He spoke clearly and knowledgably.

"Taisho Ketsurui-san. Everyone else... Greetings I'm soldier Aeriyon Elisias, former assassin for PNUgen and Ground Forces GSA, now a mere soldier. As the new guy here, I don't know too much about what has transpired before I joined you, nor do I honestly want to know. I admit that I've not the experience dealing with angels and seraphim that the rest of you do." He paused for a moment to retie his indigo headband. "If we are going to look for angel bases, I suggest that we think first, and gather intelligence on possible locations before we launch headlong into a possible ambush. After your escape Taisho, I would think that they'd thought about the GSA coming after all of them and most likely have taken measures to protect themselves. If we wait for a short time, we lower the risk of anymore needless deaths." He stated, his body language taking up an open stance, his wrist blades extended and stretched, his tail weaving through the air behind him.

"I honestly don't want to fight needless battles anymore, that cause needless death. I'm not proud of what I've had to do in the past, but I've learned from the experiences. I look toward the future with confidence, I suggest everyone does the same." He said, unconsciously playing with the ofuda that had fallen out of his uniform as he spoke.

He continued after pausing: "As you said, Taisho, now is NOT the time for pointless infighting and grudges. If the angels get wind of that kind of strife, they'll see it as a weakness and what you experienced with that seraph will repeat itself. United we stand firm, divided: we crumple like dead wood. Now, I don't mean to offend anyone by that, but you know my words ring true.." He said, relaxing his stance somewhat, folding the blades back. 

"That's all I have to say." He then smiled wryly. "Oh, I know my name's a bit of a mouthful, so can I ask you all to refer to me as Rion?" He asked as he politely saluted to the Taisho and managed to take a seat next to Inari, as it was the only one available.
Acara was sitting at the back of the briefing. He had left Hikari asleep in her nest. ~I’ll go back and tell her what happened later. For now she needs her rest.~ As he looked around the room he noticed some new crewmembers. ~I guess we need something to fill the spots the seraph made.~ he thought.

When Chiharu got to the point in her speech about sharing grievances Acara leaned back. ~Not too much here for me.~ he thought, his mood somber. As far as he new he had done nothing to make anybody angry. That ,it seemed, was the securities job. So he just sat back and waited to see what cats came out of which bags.
Uso leaned back in her chair and placed her feet on the table and took a very relaxed pose. “And who decides which battles are needless or not?” Uso asked out loud, as she shot Rion an all knowing and smug glance across the table, “Sometimes it is the fires of strife that strengthen us all. Our ‘unity’ right now is not in question; we are all loyal to the GSA and will die to protect it. Even though I don't like it, I will abide by Chi’s order without hesitation.”

 “And also, why did you announce that you are an assassin, Rion? I thought only people who are new to the profession, liars and soon to be dead, say that.” Uso said as she let out a small laugh. “I would try to keep sensitive information like ‘that’ to yourself.” Uso turned her head away from Rion and faced Chi. “I await your next order.”
Upon hearing Uso' question and listening to her points. Rion turned to face her a replied.

"Whether a battle is needless or not is a totally subjective matter Uso. I have told you what I believe, whether you think I'm right or not is a moot point, it's always possible that we are bot wrong. Yes fires of strife can bring us together, but not strife caused internally." Rion said calmly. He then looked at her squarely.

"I announced that I WAS an assassin because I am tired of having people use me as a tool for murder. I will not lie about what I was or who I am, I want people to trust me as a person, and not as a paid killer. I am formally renouncing my assassin ways to pursue a better life on this ship. You see, if I were to remain one, you all couldn't trust me that much; and I want to have it. The info I gave if not sensitive anymore. I just hope that all of you can look past what I've done, and see me for who I am." Rion explained.
"I announced that I WAS an assassin because I am tired of having people use me as a tool for murder. I will not lie about what I was or who I am, I want people to trust me as a person, and not as a paid killer. I am formally renouncing my assassin ways to pursue a better life on this ship. You see, if I were to remain one, you all couldn't trust me that much; and I want to have it. The info I gave is not sensitive anymore. I just hope that all of you can look past what I've done, and see me for who I am." Rion explained.

"You still have the same attributes even if you renounce your title" Uso said "You are still a assassin"

"And that means what?" Rion said as he turned to face Uso again. "My skills can be used for beneficial means now"

"You are a weapon stop acting like your some sort of tragic hero" Uso said

"Hero, shmero. I never said that. That's the last thing I want to be." He replied.

"But you are trying to be one are you not?" Uso said as she shot him a questioning look

"No, I am a soldier, nothing more and nothing less." He replied, shooting her an irritated look.

"People care about heroes. I don't want that burden, I never had time to care for anyone." He said.

Looks slightly uncomfortable as he says it.

"There you go again!" she almost shouted, "Stop acting like your life is so tragic. You are a weapon sorrow is not needed in one"

Aeriyon turned his back on her. "What the hell ever." He said "I cannot make you think anything, nor will you listen to me." He added.

"I will listen but I will ignore what is wrong" she replied

"What is wrong? That is up for debate, as it is a subjective issue." He said.

"you are trying to pass of your past as a mistake it isn't you killed. So what? I'm fed up with you trying to act like your life is all sad.” she replied

Rion spun around, feeling slightly irritated. "I'm fed up with your 'all-knowing' smugness Uso. Let's talk like the adults we are." He said.

"I accept my past and have learned from it. I just don't want to repeat it." He said.

"I'm a Intel officer it is my job to be all knowing." she replied with a smug look that she knew would irritate him

"what would be the harm in repeating it?"

Rion growled under his breath, sounding remarkably like Ritsu when he got irritated.

"Death is death no matter who it comes from" she said,

"If you don't someone else will . . .to you"

"Like I should care?" He replied.

"yes you should" she said

"I don't want to die. But, I'm not scared of it." He said.

"I have my own goals. And I want to accomplish them." He added

"And what would those goals be?" Uso replied, "Or are you going to make me work to find them out?"

"No, I'll tell you. I want my own fleet here, the Dark Sword Fleet." Aeriyon said, looking determined.

"A fleet of stealth ships...used as escort for other command ships." He said.

"heh well then you have a lot of growing up to do before you can get that." She said

"I know that. But, I have a focus where I want to go." He said.

"And nothing, or nobody will stop me from reaching it." He added, sounding determined.

"It looks like you are going to do a good enough job of stopping yourself"

Aeriyon snarled at Uso. "Don't ever say that again."

"It looks like you are going to do a good enough job of stopping yourself." she said just slower this time, "Anyways you should be better suited for ground combat. What do you know of space tactics? Live for what you can do"

"Space is a place for me to learn new things. I'll get there. And I never said I wouldn't live up to what I can do, I just want to apply it to new situations." He said, still holding an irritated look as he thought about decking Uso for her insult.

His blades flicked out fully as he got irritated. ~No, don't use them.~ He thought, calming himself down, his blades returning to their normal positions.

after seeing the blades flick out Uso said," and what are you planning to do with those? I don't think you have what it takes to use them"

"I won't let you goad me into using them. You aren't worth getting in trouble over." He said.

"I've seen records on your past ops. Your sloppy you will need more than a few genetic mods to do good here" she said

"And what would you suggest, oh mighty goddess?" He asked sarcastically.

"I don't like air strike assassinations, they're...too impersonal." He added.

"first off being a goddess isn't my job" she said with a smile, "and second you should have been off the planet before your target was removed. Also there is nothing wrong with leveling a few city blocks to accomplish your goals"

"I liked seeing them bleed and suffer. I liked being personally responsible for killing a few security guards. But not anymore." He said.

"I liked what I did. I wouldn't have done it another way." He added

"What you like is irrelevant" she said, "your fist job is to follow orders your second is to stay alive like has nothing to do with it"

"I got the job done, and that's what mattered." He said, giving her a death glare.
"Wrong, my second job was to get paid." He added

"Everyone has different styles. That is just mine." He said.

"You may have got the job done but how many more times will you run up against second rate security units?"

"Now?" He asked with a smirk. "I don't expect to. It's much more fun embarrassing first rate security guards." He said.

"which you have yet to do from the looks of it" she replied with a smug look on her face

"But that's not my job anymore. Thusly, I won't pursue it. And wipe that smug look of your pretty face before I break it." He said with a growl.

Uso kept the look on her face "So then what do you think is your job weapon?"

"To follow orders from my superiors without question." He said.

"good so you do know your place"

~don't lash out, that's what she wants you to do. She isn't worth getting punished over.~ He thought.

That I do, but you're making start to think that your orders aren't worth following, because they'd get me in trouble." Aversion said with a straight face.

"That too is irrelevant" she said, "and I wouldn’t try and get you killed....yet"

"Now, we can be civil and try to get along, or we can come to blows over it. And I don't really like the thought of fighting just yet." He said. ~She's such a spoiled child~ He thought to himself.

"If you want I don't really care" she said with a shrug, ~Maybe I'll fight you when Chi isn't around~ she sent him telepathically as she let out a small giggle.

Aeriyon got her message, but couldn't respond, due to the fact he himself wasn't telepathic.

Uso just smiled

"Let's just be friends...I need them right about now, and it would be pointless for me to try and fight you at anytime." He said. "Even though I'm genetically enhanced, I still can't fight a neko on even ground." He added.

"Very well I don't really care one way or the other another enemy or another friend right now wouldn't tip the scales any." she said ~Then maybe I shall tie my hands behind my back~ she thought to herself ~nah~

He sighed. "You don't really care. Looks like I'd have to earn your respect somehow." He stated.

He sighed. "You don't really care. Looks like I'd have to earn your respect somehow." He stated. "But, I won't turn over an beg like some dog." he added, looking at her square.
"That might help your current situation" Uso said as she laughed

Aeriyon just looked at her, speechless.

"I ain't bowing to you." He said. “Frankly Uso, you can like me or hate me, it's your choice." He added.

"I shall wait and see if I wish to hate or like you" she said, "That decision would be better for a latter time"

The only person's opinion of me that matters is the Taisho's." He said.

“and what of your opinion?" she asked

"That is for me to know." He stated

"and me to find out" she added

"I assure you, you won't" He said with a wry smile.

"I will it is my job." she said

"It's your job to monitor the ship, but prying into my mind to find out my opinions is a violation of my personal privacy." He said.

"well prying into your mind will be the job of the medics soon" she said

Aeriyon smiled. " Not if I can help it." ~Inari can pry into my mind without resistance.~ He thought as he smiled. "Anyway, Uso, looks like you don't get the pleasure." He said.

~I can always ask the medics~ she thought

Aeriyon turned around and sat in his seat, waiting for the Briefing to end.
Sgzyr had watched the briefing with mild interest, mainly the fact about the attacking of an angel military base, which had worried him so. ~If one Seraph was able to almost destroy the entire ship, what could an entire group of them do?~ Sgzyr thought of. He leaned up against the wall and continued to think for a moment, only for his thoughts to be overcame by the incessant cat-fight between Uso and this "Assassin" who boldly pronounced himself.

"Taisho, how many people will be involved in this action?" was all that he could ask. He then resumed listening to the briefing, as several patterns of thought drifted through his head.
Geminasu sat in his chair and looked around the room listening to Aeriyon and Uso bickering, and the various comment that other crew members said. He felt no true grievances, but something bothered him. It didn't seem right to him that the Yui had been attacked and the crew cast against each other with so much ease. If one seraph had caused so much pain, and agony among the crew, what would happen if more ever boarded? Would the crew be gripping each other in deathlocks? He didn't know the answer, he wished he did, and wished that he had gotten buried under rubble while this happened, but he raised his voice and looked at Chiharu and said, "Taisho, I personally agree with your ruling on no armed sparring, and no using arms against other crewmembers. If anything of such sort were to happen where someone thinks another crewmember is being a traitor then they should voice it to you directly Chiharu. As for these 'spy games' I feel that they are somewhat unneeded as tracking down the Angel ship that took you from us should have taken top priority." Geminasu quieted down as Zeph spoke up.

"Taisho Chiharu, I just joined this crew and things seemed on the fringe when I got here. If the need be the Silvershot will support you to its fullest." He leaned back a bit in the chair as Trouble spoke up.

"Well, I just joined as well, and I wish I had gotten a chance to try to save that crewmember that was killed aboard the bridge. I realize the damage was severe but...." She grew quiet as she remembered the scene, she shuttered a bit and quietly sat there. That scene of the decapitated man, frightened her a bit, she had vowed in past to try save a injured crewmember at whatever the cost needed, but she felt so helpless once she saw that man's body twitching and lifeless. It would take her awhile to get over that scene.
After listening to Kuru's belittlement of him, Aeriyon merely shrugged it off, he wasn't going to get himself in deeper. He did however, turn around and acknowledged the complaints against him with a silent militaristic nod, with a sour look on his face as he slowly and calmly weaved his tail around behind him.

He sat in his seat and waited for everyone to have their say in the matter. The fact that he himself had just caused a bit of the trouble he wanted to avoid, made him feel slightly bad about it. He thought about the upcoming mission and made up his mind. ~I'll go as a member of any boarding party. I may not have any social skills, but I know how to fight, and it's time for me to use them in a way that would be beneficial to everyone, not just me.~ He thought as he listened to Geminasu speak.

--Meanwhile--

A man aboard the GSS Hacker was scanning through the crew immigration records of the GSS Yui. "Ah, so he IS on the ship now, that's good. I think I'll send him a message to let him know his brother is still alive." The man said to himself as he sat in his quarters while off duty for a short period of time. Sean smiled as he typed in the message for Aeriyon to read.

"Hello little bro, It's Sean. I finally found you, after all this time, where the hell have you been? But, more importantly, how have you been? I hope you're staying out of trouble. Pfff, what am I saying? You're ALWAYS in trouble, I look forward to hearing from you again. Your older brother: Taisa Sean Elisias."

~That should surprise the heck outta him. But, a bigger surprise is yet to come.~ He thought as he closed his laptop and left to attend to his duties.
The increased bickering at the meeting was getting on Acara’s nerves. When Tomoyo finally spoke up he laughed to himself. She looked like a schoolgirl on her first day. Acara had long ago realized that he had no defense against telepathy, so he just thought what he would and did not worry about who listened in. And as far as he knew he had nothing to hide.

After everyone settled down he rose up. “Miss Chiharu, if I may make a suggestion. I think Juni Kuru would do great as first officer. Just recently she has proven herself to be good in response to combat situations as well as being the Juni of the techs. I just want to remind you of her performance when you make your decision. Thank you.” He said as he dropped back to his normal position, and waited for Chiharu’s response.
Uso looked at Sgzyr and then Geminasu with an all to rare serious look in her eyes, “So if things all go to hell then I know who to blame.” Uso kept her serious look for about two seconds before breaking out in laughter. “Let me be the first to congratulate you on your promotions.” Uso then turned her head to look at Chi. “I would recommend either myself or Aya to be first officer as we are each of the Taii rank” Uso said as she pulled herself up on the chair so she was now sitting on the edge with a interested look on her face.
Aeriyon looked up after everyone had their say in the matter, and looked squarely at Geminasu and Sgzyr. ~Ok, I have to listen to those two's orders, unless the Taisho says otherwise.~ He thought as he remembered their faces.

He then turned his attention on Chiharu. "Taisho, I would like to volunteer for any boarding party that is going to deal with, and capture the angel ships, I realize what I am saying may be pointless but I just had to voice it. And I would like to know just how to deal the angels and seraphim, who would I ask? I know Megami's not online yet." Rion asked.

~I didn't want to offend anyone, what Kuru and Uso say is true, I am a weapon just like they are. If I want to reach my goals, I need to shape up, stop acting like I want pity, and do what I am told. Otherwise I won't get anywhere.~ He thought has he awaited Chi's response.
Chiharu had given up on searching for Tobias and returned to the bridge to stand bridge duty alone for now. She took to her chair; she was still wearing her jeans and her black tank top. The only thing uniform was her insignia pin. 

Uso walked onto the bridge to find it in a disorderly state, "What happened here?" she asked.

Chi looked at Uso oddly. "Well, we did get attacked by the Angels and by the intruder a few hours ago. The Megami should be mostly repaired by now but we still should head back to base to make sure she's all right."

"So that is what that was." Uso said, "I'm sorry I was knocked out for I don't know how long."

Chi nodded. "I want to know what you were told. I was knocked out and locked in my quarters after I told Hiro that Alexis was going to judge him. By the way, Hiro is in a body bag and Arume and Aya are in the Med Bay in critical."

"Told by who?" Uso asked. "And how did they die?"

"Told by anyone including me. I want to know even if you were told it was to be kept to yourself. I will not tolerate any secrets or games now. If you won't be completely honest, there's a bullet with your name on it. The crew has been fucked with enough without internal disorder or secret submissions. I want the story straight no lies or double talk. I will kill you if I think you are lying to me, understand?" Chi's expression was grim; she was not going to tolerate lies or secrets now, not with so much at stake. The Seraph was running around still, she knew that much and if everything is out in the open there would be nothing to exploit.

"OK OK." Uso said, hurt that Chi would talk to her like that, "You told me that Geminasu was a danger to the crew and possibly working with the angels. You also authorized me to use deadly force."

"What else did 'I' tell you? And what was this mess with a note to Alexis about Wazu trying to sabotage the ship?" Chi said the word "I" strangely; she was going to get her answers, one way or the other. 

The little wolf looked over at Chiharu, wondering why she was so very angry.

"That is all you told me or at least, all I can remember" Uso said with a hint of fear in her eyes.
Siaga looked at Uso, and seeing the fear in her eyes, leaned against her, trying in the little ways he could to comfort her. He sent an empathic image to Chiharu, showing her talking to Uso and Hiro, but from a squashed view because he was in an access tunnel watching. He tried, not knowing if he could help at all.

Chi entered in some command to the ship, there was a blip in response. "Now what about my other question Uso? I need answers now, then I'll explain to you the situation as I know what is going on." Chi smoothed her hair back behind her ears as she sat in her chair, her arms folded across her chest. The ship itself would soon be reaching the nearest GSA base with help from the Silvershot's tow.

Uso looked back and regained her composure; "The situation with Wazu has ended that is all that is relevant." 

The puppy showed her another brief scene, this one showing he pinching the brown haired man. Again it was another squashed view filled with undertones of curiosity.

"No it is not all that is relevant damn it! Tell me what the hell was going on." Chi's eyes showed something that was quite rare to behold, she was disgusted and had a murderous gleam in her eyes.

Siaga cowered behind Uso, and whimpered softly, seeing Chi so angry scared the bejeezus out of him.

"Wazu was building a weapon that put the entire crew in danger." Uso said, "But the weapon is now deactivated and Wazu is dead... Mostly"

"What else Uso? And what do you mean mostly dead?" Chi hadn't seemed to calm down at all. You almost got the feeling that she might just kill Uso no matter what she was told.

"Wazu built a small creature a while back. He transferred part of himself into it before he was killed." Uso said, "I talked to it and it told me that something might try and attack the med bay although I don't know how accurate this Intel is."

Siaga barked at the name Wazu. He remembered the feelings Alpha male had toward him.

Chi's eyes narrowed as she kept her eyes on Uso. "If you didn't already guess, it was not me who told you to watch Tobias. In fact, I was unconscious due to getting electrocuted by the intruder. It can take whatever form it wishes and can enter our dreams. It seeks to have the crew kill one another by inflaming their inborn fears, suspicions and hatreds. It already succeeded and Hiro is dead due to Arume blowing his head off with a rifle. She had the impression Hiro was going to rape me and he wouldn't stop when she told him to. So bam! One crewmember is dead. It also took Kuru's form and did the damage you see here on the bridge and Arume and Aya are now in the med bay. All in fighting ends now, you think something's funny you tell me. You will not kill your fellow crewmembers no matter what you think I have told you. I will not order you to kill another crewmember. If it comes to that I will do it. Myself, understood?" Chi looked at Uso critically.

"Understood" Uso said as she broke out laughing, "I do think something is funny I would be dead right now had I not knocked myself out be accident. Fate seems to favor me today"

Siaga looked at Uso with wondering eyes. He didn't understand what she meant, he didn't understand.

Chi physically relaxed a bit. "We believe that there is a Seraph aboard. He's cloaked and we will kill him for sure this time. Now, I have to brief the rest of the crew to end this nonsense."

"Very well... what do you need me to do?" Uso said.

"Stay out here on the bridge for now. I want to make sure I know where everyone is from this point on until the Seraph goes back to his God." Chi smoothed her hair back behind her ears. "Now I need to get Alexis and the rest updated."

"Yes Chi" Uso said as she took her station on the bridge keeping her pistol close by.

Within a few minutes they reached the GSA Base and Chi got a communication from the base. "Identify yourselves for clearance."

Chi spoke up, "Base this is the GSS Yui (GD-30), Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu of the 1st and 2nd fleets. We need our Megami replaced so that we can return to our mission. We request permission to dock for both ourselves and our tow the Silvershot." The reply was short, "Aye aye, Taisho Ketsurui, you may dock in T3443."

Siaga watched Uso take her seat, and he padded over and pawed at Chiharu's pant leg, wondering if she got his empaths and wagged his little tail.

Chi sent a message to the Silvershot to get ready to dock in T3443. The ships carefully and skillfully moved into the landing platform. Once the ships stopped a crew of SARA technicians waited for a hatch to open so that they could get aboard. 

The GSS Yui's bottom hatch opened allowing the SARA Techs to get aboard, several of the base's security sentries came aboard armed as well. It seemed that the rumor had spread about the intruder aboard the Yui.

As the technicians walked onto the GSS Yui (GD-30), a man wearing a black uniform, carrying a beaten and battered Rucksack strode confidently toward the Yui. He turned his head left and right and waved his tail around, looking for the captain of the ship. "Hello? Is this the GSS Yui?" The man said.


Chi sighed a bit as she remained on the bridge, what a mess it had all been...

The man walked up to the hatch and walked in, looking at the lush interior of the ship. "Hello? Is there a...Taisho...Ketsurui here?" The man asked.

The Security sentry, Sai was the first Yui crewmember to encounter the man. She was armed with a rifle that was a big as she was. "Please state your business with the Taisho." She was just so… adorable but that rifle was kind of disturbing to see in her hands. Her eyes were odd, like she was peering into your soul as she looked at you.

He dropped his sack. " I am Aeriyon Elisias, I am the new transfer aboard this ship." Aeriyon explained holding his hands up, revealing the blades on his wrists and his tail weaved through air behind him. " I mean you no harm. I am a veteran of ground combat, I am here by order of top GSA officials." He said, still holding his arms up and coiling his tail around his legs. "I was told to meet with the Taisho to get my duty on the ship." He added.

Sai didn't look like she ever blinked as she stared at the man for a long moment. She then nodded, moving her head towards the direction of the bridge. "Move this way please, I'll take you to the bridge to meet the Taisho." 

He picked up his sack and followed the girl to the bridge; he was surprised that such a young girl would have such a big gun. He thought it was a bit odd as he hadn't seen anyone so young yet so serious.

Chi looked over at Aeriyon and Sai as they stepped onto the bridge. "Sai who do you have there?" 

Sai smiled softly for a moment at Chi, before she looked back to the man the smile gone again. "He says that he's a transfer to the ship Ketsurui-sama." 

Aeriyon smiled for the first time in years, being an assassin didn't allow such things. "Hello Taisho...Ketsurui was it? I am sorry for not knowing, I have just recently transferred from ground -based missions on Ayenee, I have little experience with Starships." Aeriyon explained with polite nod and salute. He held out a paper with orders to be on the Yui for Chiharu to read.

Chi was still seated in her chair, she wasn't dressed in a uniform instead she was simply wearing civilian clothes. But the odd thing was, she had the ears of a Neko and no other real tell tale signs of being a Neko. Hell, her hair was dark brown. She took the orders from him, "Written orders, I didn't think such things were still used in the GSA Army."
She paused for a minute before continuing, "I am Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu, commander of the GSA 2nd fleet and the co-commander of the 1st fleet. We're about to go back to war once our repairs are finished."
"With all due respect, neither did I. But it was rather sudden, I have shown promise in specialized combat, so they sent me here to help with the angel problems." Aeriyon said with a serious look on his face. "Please excuse my tail and wrist and heel blades, they are genetic modifications performed by PNUgen Corporation to enhance my natural ability." He said holding his arms and tail out for her to see.

Chi quickly read over the paper work, not looking at him as she spoke. "You have no clue about fighting Angels do you? Have you even seen a Seraph in person before?" Her tone was even, not friendly, not condescending.

"No, I was an espionage agent for years, but I hear that their REAL nasty bastards to deal with." Aeriyon said in an even tone.

"To make myself quite clear now before we get back into the thick of it again. I have dealt with angels in combat for most of my career. I also do not tolerate secrets or double talk or recklessness aboard my ship. You make a wrong move you might get one of my crew killed or yourself killed, you get my crew killed I kill you. This is a touchy time on the GSS Yui, if you think you can handle getting ripped limb from limb and strung out on cables then you might be ok." Chi half smiled, there was an oddness to her whole manner; it was obvious this wasn't her real nature, but either way it was disturbing.

Aeriyon shrugged indifferently. "I have faced danger before. But, I will be careful." he said with a slight frown. "I will stay near you and learn...if you'll allow it, that is. I have not killed anyone I wasn't ordered to, I do not intend to start now." He said. "May I be informed of what has happened recently? It would help a lot." He added.

"Trust me, angels and Seraphs are nothing like what you've ever encountered before. You're assigned to the ship's security team. Sai will show you where the Men's baths are and where the Male Sentry quarters are. I will be briefing the entire crew on what's going on. Then you'll find out what's been going on. For now, drop off your gear and get yourself something to eat if you want it. I'll give an announcement over the Ship's PA System to let you know when the briefing is."

"Yes ma'am! I will do as you command. My name is Aeriyon Elisias." He said.
Chi had watched the new crew member run off with the still wary Sai behind him with her rifle. Chi sighed deeply as she stood up from her chair again. She didn't like to be mean or abrasive but she had to take control of the situation somehow. She couldn't let some hot shot Army guy come onto her ship and try to intimidate her and belittle everything she's done just because he did some espionage stuff on the surface. You had to let those types know who was boss or else they'd take advantage of you. She wondered where Alexis was, she hadn't seen him since she had returned. She sent him a communication, "Taisa Alexis, this is Taisho Chiharu. Where are you hiding at?"

~Hmm...someone's calling my name. They needed me here, right? No, I didn't do anything useful. They'll blow up this ship whether or not I'm here. Right?~ Alexis looked up at the sound of Chi's voice, slowly realizing who it was. "Taisho?" he said tentatively, getting to his feet. He was still in his quarters, that empty room that only he seemed to occupy. Timdri was asleep in the satchel; the two had talked for over three hours since Timdri's lecture. Alexis nodded, though Chi couldn't see him. "I'm in the officer's nest... Chi, is that really you?"

Chi smiled to herself and you could almost hear the smile in her voice. "Fluffy, please come to the bridge if you can. I want to let you know what's been going on. And my suspicions, we have a lot of catching up to do."

Alexis nodded, a smile coming across his face for the first time in a long time. "Yes, Ma'am!" The shortest distance between two points: A straight line. Alexis phase-cloaked and floated straight through the bulkheads to the bridge. Something flickered in the corner of his sight...he paid it no mind and decloaked before his commanding officer. "It's so good to see you back, Taisho!" he said, then the smile vanished and he bowed his head. "I apologize for the state of the ship...and for not getting around to coming after you. There were other matters that needed attending to before we could get underway, and they took a bit longer than I had originally thought."

Chi still smiled when she saw Alexis mysteriously appear before her. "It's okay Alexis. It worked out in some strange way. But, as far as I can tell, a Seraph is aboard the ship and it's taking on the form of crew members and influencing their dreams in order to provoke the crew into killing each other. It already managed to kill one crew member by inflaming Arume's inborn distrust of men and fear of me being violated by a man. The result is in a body bag. And then we were attacked by the Angels when the GSS Ender III tried to clear a path for our escape. In the chaos of the attack, the Seraph took the form of Kuru and shot up the bridge and discharged several gas grenades. Aya and Arume are in the Med Bay right now in pretty bad shape but they are still alive. 
"I also found out that it was using my form when I was unconscious. I know that it talked to Uso and Hiro and had Uso ready to kill Tobias... I'm not sure who else it talked to as me." Chi sighed a bit.

Alexis lifted his head and frowned. "I'm failing left and right...Chi, I think I can see them while they're cloaked, why didn't I think of searching for them that way before? I am so stupid!"

"You didn't fail, it was using mind games. But, you can see them while their cloaked? Why, then we don't have to wait for the Megami to be fixed to find it and kill it! We can end this thing before it takes down anymore of our crew." Chi smiled brightly, finally a lucky break. She still hadn't had the time to change back into her GSA uniform. So, she was stuck in her civs for now.

Alexis finally noticed what the Taisho was wearing. "Um...aren't you out of uniform? Or is that an admiral's decision on whether to wear a uniform at all?"

Chi chuckled a bit, "I haven't gotten a chance to change back into my uniform since I visited Yui one last time last night. But I do have my insignia pin at least." She smoothed her hair back behind her ears. "If you'll excuse me for a second, I'll just go pull on my uniform and then we can get to work on hunting down that bloody Seraph."

Alexis shook his head. "Lemme save you some time." He set a hand on her shoulder, specifically the tank top. It and her jeans seemed to blur; the tank top spread to cover her arms and neck. Colors changed as the clothing re-combined into the standard GSA uniform. "Okay, let's get a move on."

Chi chuckled a bit, it was a neat trick actually. "Saves time on laundry I guess. Okay, let's rock and roll then." She picked up the rifle that Arume had used to kill Hiro that was on the deck beside her chair. "We'll get that Seraph yet."

The Seraph had found itself a new plaything with the transfer of Iseki from the GSS Yui onto the GSS Philosophy. It had isolated Hikari now that she had been allowed to return to the Tech Nest from the Med Bay. The other female techs were double checking the other systems aboard the Yui that might have been damaged in the Angel attack while the SARA techs worked on the Megami, effectively leaving Hikari alone in the nest.

The Seraph had been stalking Hikari and when she had decided to try to get some sleep, it rejoiced at the golden opportunity to spread its poison in the mind of the girl. It locked the door to the nest as it remained cloaked...

An incandescent shine came to the shifter's eyes. "Okay, changing vision mode now." The orange irises flashed, his sight expanding to take in all known spectrums and some unknown ones. "Everything has a specific combination of energy that they use. The difference between two individuals of the same species is a bit too subtle to distinguish, like trying to tell apart a set of twins before getting to know them. But different species are very easy to notice." He begins to slowly look around, the shimmering lines of power conduits and crewmembers dancing in his vision. "This signature is visible even when someone is disguised or has changed their shape. As far as I know, only a R'Lari can alter its energy signature, since we manipulate energy all the time anyway." Alexis paused as he spotted what he was searching for and pointed at a corner of the bridge floor. "There! The Tech's Nest! Come on!"

Chi nodded. "Let's hurry then!" Chi started running towards the Tech nest, rifle in hand. She clicked off the safety as she ran.

Alexis followed, drawing the Prod from its holster and popping in a modified Hornet capsule.

Harume and Amy had just finished talking with Shira when they sensed something happening. They could feel the Seraph calling them. They hurried towards the Tech Nest, rifles in hand...

The seraph signature was getting closer to the lone Geshrin signature that lay in the nest...Alexis's eyes widened. Got to go faster..."Hold on!" He put an arm around Chi's waist. To the outside observer, it looked like reality opened up and swallowed them...inwardly, Chi became near-blind as Alexis moved them through the deck plate and into the Tech quarters. Once inside, he released the cloak and dropped to a knee, aiming at the invisible creature hovering over Hikari.

Chi's eyes widened when she saw Hikari lifted up into the air by a tendril and she tried to aim at where the tendril disappeared into nothing. "Hikari!"

Squinting at the creature, Alexis squeezed off a shot. The micro-projectile locked onto the tendril where it wound around Hikari's body. The Hornet bullet was armed to detonate on contact; Alexis hoped it would release the girl in time to get another shot at the seraph itself...

((OOC Note: The "Hornets" that Alexis uses are explosive micro-projectiles that can be set to explode on contact, time-delay, or in time with other rounds. Payload varies. Most only carry enough to, were it to hit a neko, take out her head and leave the shoulders intact. Others could take out her entire torso.))

"Where is it Alexis?" Chi tried to aim as the tendril dropped Hikari just as another one appeared and caught the poor girl again, tightening it's grip around the girl's body. The air filled with sinister laughter. The lock on the batch slammed open as Harume and Amy appeared with rifles in hand and at ready behind them...

"Aim at the red dot!" was all Alexis said...he quickly changed cartridges, and fired off an energy beam that impacted the new tendril. Instead of blowing it up or even harming it, the beam spread along the cloak and illuminated the seraph like a white shirt under a black light.

Chiharu nodded as she fired at the Seraph. She had noticed that the sentries had entered, she saw them behind her but.. what.. she hadn't told anyone that.. "Alexis watch out!" Harume and Amy opened fired on the Taisho and the Taisa.

Alexis became a blur as his eyes glowed with a brilliant orange light that lit the room. He stood and turned on one foot so he faced the guards and had his back to Chi, covering her with his body. Time returned to normal and the bullets streamed toward them. A sizzling sound filled the room as he erected a weak shield. It wasn't much, but it deflected most of them, bending their courses around them. Four shots made it through, two bit into his left forearm as the third hit his torso and the fourth embedded itself into his forehead over his left eye socket....silently he fell to his knees.

Chi's own rifle shot nailed the Seraph in the side of its neck but it wasn't enough to take down the Seraph, it instead dropped Hikari and went after Chiharu as she fired another shot. Harume and Amy fell face first onto the deck after the sound of gun fire. Juni Kuru and Sai had noticed Harume and Amy heading down here. "Taisa, Taisho? Are you two ok?" Kuru asked as she noticed the Seraph slump onto the deck as well.

He raised the Prod and fired two pulses at the sentries, stun blasts that could take out an elephant in case the fall was just temporary...this would keep them out until the seraph was out of order.

In the longest minute of their lives, Harume and Amy were dead and the Seraph was supposedly dead.. Chi stared down at the Seraph and moved to fire again when she found herself being lifted up from the deck and the rifle forcibly removed from her hands again...

Alexis looked at Harume and Amy for a second, watching for any sign of life. He turned toward Chi in time to see her rifle flung across the room and the seraph giving the admiral her turn to be bear-hugged. "Chi!" He aimed the prod again, jamming another cartridge in. A glow came from the barrel and a glob of plasma was hurled at near-light speed at the seraph's main body.

Another cartridge...ten Hornet explosive projectiles were fired, each armed to detonate simultaneously after they penetrated the skin; an eleventh was aimed at the tentacle holding Chi, hoping to sever it.

Chi winced as the Seraph put the squeeze on her, she was getting deja vu again as she hemosynthed a blade from her forearm, slicing through a tendril as she was moved in front of the Seraph, but not quickly enough to effectively use the neko as a shield from Alexis's gunfire. Kuru and Sai fired as well, trying not to hit their Taisho.

The hornets hit the Seraph, blowing chunks out of the muddy body, promptly getting Chi slammed into the deck as the hornets exploded. The Seraph was still alive, despite it all. It wasn't going to die, not yet. It continued to try to lash out at the 4 crew members again, turning its tendrils into blades as it was filled with energy blasts from the rifles of Sai and Kuru. Chi had fallen back by the remains of Harume and Amy, retrieving their fallen energy rifles..

Alexis' finger never left the trigger...Hornets streamed out of the weapon like the real thing, ready to defend the hive. They peppered the surface of the Seraph, all exploding at random.

Once Chi had retrieved the rifles, she fired into the Seraph as well. The Seraph had finally stopped moving by the time the rifle cartridges had started running low.. but, no one seemed to want to risk the Seraph still being alive.

Leaving auto-pilot long enough to think, Alexis stopped firing. His eyes flashed once more as he focused on the movement of the seraph's molecules...he added energy, making them move faster, faster...effectively heating the thing up from the inside out.

The Seraph was finally dead, muck was everywhere and now it was on fire as well? Hikari was on the nest, whimpering as the sound of gun fire rang in her ears long after her friends had stopped shooting.

The fire died down as fatigue caught up with the shifter. Alexis looked blankly at the boiling puddle of goo, then dropped face first onto the carpet.

Chiharu looked down at Alexis in shock as he collapsed. "Alexis?!" She knelt down and picked him up as the commotion attracted the attention of everyone aboard the GSS Yui by now. "Come on Alexis, you can't die on me now.." Chi quietly said as she stood up and tried to make her way through the crowd of people.
After his brief introduction to Lady Ketsurui, Aeriyon followed the young girl, Sai, to the men's security quarters then the men's baths. Aeriyon wondered why the sexes were divided on this ship. ~Hmm, this is unusual, I heard that the GSA starships were unisex. This one's not, I wonder why? I'll ask Taisho Ketsurui about it later.~ Then again, to Aeriyon it wasn't really that important; he had been an assassin for too many years, he had forgotten his more human feelings of love, compassion, and eventually, suppressed his sex drive. Being a professional killer didn't allow for such feelings, as they only slowed one down tremendously.

He got to the baths, still dressed in his black uniform and carrying his rucksack. He marveled at and wondered about the large pool of water that was the bath. ~How in Ayenee is there such a large pool of water in a starship?~ He thought as he looked at the unbroken surface of the water. "There's so much about these ships I do not know, I should remember to ask for a guided tour later on after this seraph thing is over." Aeriyon said to himself. His eyes glowed as he switched to infrared vision, he wanted to be absolutely sure he was alone now; he switched back to normal vision when he was positive he was.

"Now, the Taisho said that if I was hungry, I should go to the galley. I wonder what the food tastes like here. I hope it's nothing like the crap on Ayenee." Aeriyon said to himself. He walked to the galley, his tail weaving through the air behind him, Aeriyon was being careful not accidentally trip someone with it. He got to the galley, chose a chair to sit at and put his sack into the chair, then went to the refrigerator and got something to eat. He hadn't eaten anything filling in days, and was thankful that the food tasted pretty good. He sat down and rummaged through his sack and pulled out a black cased laptop, opened it, and started looking at the crew roster of the Yui, after pulling it up on the screen. "Hmm" he sighed as he read the roster. " The ship seems to be running low on crew, most likely because of the these seraph incidents that recently happened." He said, still reading the roster. He then pulled up the files on Taisho Ketsurui, he figured that it would be important to know his new commanding officer. Aeriyon heard the shots being fired and ran off toward the sound, concerned that someone was dying again. He dashed off, leaving his laptop open and the screen was still on Taisho Ketsurui's file, which he was reading at the time.

Aeriyon flipped his wrist blades out and in, as he ran toward the Tech's Nest, where he thought the shots were being fired from. He reached the scene a bit too late..."What the hell!?" He exclaimed when he saw the puddle of ... mud? He saw a man in Chiharu's arms. "Lady Ketsurui, what happened here?" Aeriyon asked. He looked at the puddle again, "Let me guess...that was the intruder you indicated earlier?" Aeriyon scoffed, he didn't like it when things happened that really did concern him and he didn't know about it. "Let me help here. And someone please tell me what just happened. I can't do my job unless I am informed." He asked Chiharu, trying to give her a hand with the unconscious man.
Sgzyr had heard the shuffle among the deck; the fighting and all of the screams aboard the Yui while this damnable Seraph had been roaming about, using various crewmembers as its pawns. He had done the best he could of, minus the fact of getting the killing blow on that hellish creature. When the deck had been attacked, he had literally torn down the door from the security nest to get out, yet to no avail. The person had been allowed to go rampant, but he did his best, the bastard losing it right as Sgzyr though he had found it. Sgzyr had just roamed around the ship, performing his various security duties now since he was head of it. He had picked up the cigar habit, but everyone has his or her own personal vices.

 After touring the ship for several hours, with a bowie knife contained in a sheath from his waist and GP-12 slung over his back Sgzyr laid down in the male security nest, trying to get some rest. He had slept blissfully, his dreams were filled with thoughts of Ralfaris where he spent the majority of his time growing up, until he had decided to join the Grand Star Army, after joining on his own free will, and the tears of his sensei, he left the capital planet of the former Qel`noran Empire and was transferred aboard a ship. Whose name did not appear to be remembered; only that it was attacked by group of pirates and he was the sole survivor? He remembered the smooth, stone steps of the temple where he had trained, trying to harness the psychic potential within. A smile crossed his lips during his sleep as he remembered many other things.

Of course, during this session of reminiscing and sleep, he had slept through part of his shift, when he was supposed to survey the tech nest, but the sleep hindered such. He awoke to hear the screaming of various crewmembers, and jetted out, his uniform crumpled and his rank pin missing. He saw Chiharu with Alexis over her shoulder, heading to the medical bay. With closer inspection, Sgzyr had found a puddle of muck on the floor of the technician’s nest, much later after the people had left. He scooped up a small bit of it, put it into a container and threw it in the freezer. He then removed another cigar and lit it up, enjoying the onrush of tobacco.
Uso remained on the bridge after hearing the explosions and gunshots. She knew security could handle the problem and that if things got really bad she would be needed on the bridge. Several minuets passed and the ship had not exploded so Uso decided that everything was OK and she should try and find out what happened. She left the bridge looking for a crewmember and ran across Elisias.

Aeriyon was helping with the situation in the Med-Bay, when he turned around to see a pretty neko with a long braid. "You must be Uso Tasuki correct?"

He turned to face her completely.

"correct. Who are you?" she asked as she looked over his body seeing the tail and other enhancements she could tell he was modified from normal.

"I'm soldier Aeriyon Elisias, a recent transfer aboard this ship." Aeriyon said walking out of the Med-Bay, seeing as his assistance was no longer needed. He relaxed and his tail coiled around his legs.

"What are you?" Uso asked. her curiosity getting the better of her.

Aeriyon smiled. "I am a Geshrin, these blades and this tail are gifts from PNUgen. They enhance my natural talents for espionage." He explained."...and assassination." He added.

"they do?" Uso asked,” you must not be very good then. “Uso was wondering why anyone would want such things as they made you more visible

His eyes glowed green then red as he shifted between normal vision, night vision, and infrared vision spectrums. "And I can see heat and in the dark perfectly. And for your information, I was one of the best, just a bit unorthodox, I prefer to do the job myself." He said in a level tone.

"It is a wonder you haven't been caught yet then" Uso said 

"How good are you with those? she asked as she pointed to his blades

"I guess you could call me a night hunter." He shrugged, he didn't really care what her opinion of his skills was.

"They serve as natural extensions of my body. And I am a martial artist, so..." He left the explanation hanging.

Uso shrugged deciding that if this newbie got himself killed she didn't mind, "So what happened with the gunfire?" she asked

"I'd ask you to spar, but Chiharu's going to hold a crew meeting here soon. I don't really know, all I saw was a puddle of muddy goo when I got there." He said.

~That must have been the Seraph~ Uso thought, "I'll beat you latter if you want" Uso said with a big grin across her face

"I may be tougher than you think Ms. Uso." he said.

"don't worry" Uso said, "I'm sure your exactly as easy as I think you are" 

Aeriyon frowned, he didn't like to be put down by a woman.” Then, yes, we will have to see." He finally said.

"Oh we will" Uso said she took another look at her new opponent memorizing his upgrades and strategizing on how he'd use them

Aeriyon laughed, "You know what Uso? I like your attitude. Maybe after I whip your ass, I'll tell you more about myself." 

"and how do you plan to do that?" she asked putting her hands on her hips in a accusing posture “because I don't see how you could in combat"

He looked her over with his eyes glowing red, he was memorizing her body, her muscles, and started strategizing on how she'd use them. "We all have little surprises we save until the final curtain." He said.

"indeed" Uso said, ~I wonder what he is planning~

"Let's make a small bet shall we, on our upcoming spar?" He said slyly.


"ok" Uso said, "If you win?"

"You give me a guided tour of this ship. And if you win, I'll do whatever you want me to for 24 hours, not counting my duty times." Aeriyon said with a shrug, confident he would win.

"hmm I get you for 24 hours for only 2 min of my time. Sounds good!" Uso said

Aeriyon held out his hand to shake on the deal, to close it, make it final.

Uso grabbed his hand knowing full well he'd probably try and stab her to prove a point

he slowly flexed the blade on his left wrist out and pushed it against her skin, drawing a little blood. "I've marked you, you are my prey now." He smiled evilly.

"Uso pulled his arm forward and spun to his left drawing a knife and putting it to his throat, "so?" she asked

He knew she'd try and retaliate with something and whirled past her arm and flicked a blade out and knocked the knife out of her hand and caught it with his tail. 

"I'm better than you think." He said.

Uso smiled and pointed to her knife more importantly to a blinking red light on the knife. "If I was trying to kill you you'd be dead right now"

"But hold onto that fire of yours, save it for when we fight." He said as he pocketed her knife.

"Fire alone won't win this" she said

"I'm aware of that, but if you kill me, Chiharu will kill you." He said with a shrug.

"She'd try" Uso corrected

"No, she would, you wouldn't strike your own Captain now would you?" Aeriyon said with a smirk.

"Not unless I had to" Uso said, "and I said she would try she might catch me but I'm good at the whole escape thing"

"I know you are, I read your files while I was waiting for the ship at that base." He said indifferently

"And I have no clue who you are." Uso said in the same manner

"And I know just about everyone here loves her. And so do you Uso, you may not say it openly, but you do." He added.

"I was an assassin for PNUgen, and the GSA, that's all I'm telling you unless you win." he said.

Your right" Uso said and then paused for a moment, "I would never talk about any feelings I may or may not have toward Chi. at least to you." 

"I don't really care about how you feel about her anyway, she is just my commanding officer, and nothing else." He said weaving his tail through the air.

"Just like a rose, you are beautiful and have your own thorns, just what I like in a woman." He said with smirk. 

"Yes but my thorns will kill you" Uso said

"Ha ha, what am I saying, the fact that your a female doesn't matter to one without a sex drive..." he added.

"heh a stray bullet perhaps?" she asked

He then looked dark and ominous, "and it won't save you."

"oooh scary" she said jokingly

"nope I did it myself, thinking about where your next piece of ass will come from slows you down greatly, especially if you're told to kill a pretty woman, Like I had to on my Last planetary job on Ayenee." He said.

"so has it been completely removed?" she asked with a slight giggle

"No, I am still functional, I just haven't had any reason to use it." He said with a shrug.

"It probably doesn’t matter a person like you is most likely to small to do anything anyways." she said with a dismissive wave,

"I don't care what you have say about my size, as long as I know the truth, your jokes have no effect. ?" He said turning his back on her.

"Well I'll beat you down later!" she said

"Remember, killing each other was NOT part of the agreement." He said.

"That I do remember" 

"Good, I'll beat your ass after the meeting ok?" He said.

"just because you say doesn’t mean it will happen" Uso said, "But after the meeting is good"

"And just because your ego says you won't lose doesn't mean shit either." he said.

"My ego alone could beat you to a bloody pulp" She said

"That, we'll have to see. Now, I have to get back to work." He said as he tossed a rose to her. "Keep that, I give one to all my targets at some point, and I'd like for you to be alive to see it's beauty." He said as he walked away.

"even the guys?" she asked with a odd look on her face, "You are a weird one or do you only kill women?"

"No, the guys get a dead one." he said with a little laugh.

"I kill only whom I'm getting paid to kill Chui Uso." He said as he walked.

"or an incendiary grenade." He said seriously.

Uso pointed to the pin on her chest, "that is Taii Uso"
Acara had just left the bath when he heard the shots. He got to the female tech nest as Chiharu left holding Alexis. ~Hey! Chiharu’s back!~ Acara became very excited at this, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. 

Inside the nest Acara noticed the seraph’s remains, and Hikari. He flowed over to the frightened child, and tried to comfort her. Exciting his molecules, he warmed himself, and assumed the texture of a soft wool blanket. Acara hugged Hikari, trying to keep her calm. ~Why do the young ones always have to suffer.~ He thought as he held Hikari

Hikari was terrified, she had been attacked again and she had curled up in a ball on the nest. She felt the warmth of Acara enveloping her like a blanket and she seemed to calm down a bit. "Is it dead? Is it really dead?"

"Yes, Hikari it is dead." Acara replied softly. "Chiharu and Alexis killed it. It won't come back this time." He wondered what it must be like for one as young as Hikari to go through such trauma. ~First burns, and no this. I hope she will be all right." Acara mover to a nest and sat there holding the young tech, his parental emotions surging within.

"Is the Megami up?" Hikari was looking for something else to occupy her mind; she was trying not think about what the Seraph would have done to her if the Taisho and the Taisa hadn't come in.

Acara looked down at her, making his facial features very clear. "Yes, all we need is the program now. We got all the hardware fixed." He sat there for a second. "Are you feeling better?” He asked, keeping his voice calm.

"A little. Inari was saying that once the Megami was back they could give me a new body so I won't be hurting anymore." Her voice was calmer, she didn't seem like she was going to be able to sleep tonight though. "Was anyone hurt during the attack?" 

Acara got a look of concern on his face. "I don't know, but Chiharu ran out of here with Alexis in her arms. He might be hurt, but I don't know. Are your burns doing any better?" he asked. ~Maybe I should stay here for here sleep cycle.~

Hikari sighed, "They aren't healing very quickly. Inari said that if we couldn't get a new body for me that she would try something else when Megami was up. She was also saying something about evil spirits being aboard the Yui..." She sounded a bit confused by the talk of evil spirits

Acara laughed. "No, there were no spirits on board, just that stupid seraph. Why don't I get rid of that ugly heap so you don't have to look at it?" He got up, unwrapping himself from Hikari, and handing her a real blanket.

Hikari took the blanket, "Arigatou." The remains of the Seraph were still there save the small vile that Sgzyr had already taken.
Acara gathered the rest up in himself, and haled it to the disposal. After removing the remains he went back to the nest. "It is your sleep cycle, right. I'll stay here until it's over."

Hikari smiled softly, she had grown up in a military training school with Tomoyo and Kei. So in a way, they were her only family, and she had only dim memories of having parents. It was a nice feeling to feel someone treat her like a daughter that wasn't her captain or her commanding officer. "Thank you Juni Acara." 

"It's ok." He said as he settled down beside her nest.
On board the Yui: Hallway

Geminasu had gone down the hallway, taking Trouble out of the mayhem, that had ensued on the bridge. They where nearby the Silvershot elevator entrance.

-Meanwhile-

Zeph had made it aboard the Silvershot and successfully towed the Yui to a GSA starbase. After this he headed back to the briefing room figuring a meeting would occur soon, if not he would head back to see if MOCH had repaired the damage to the hull of the Silvershot.

He leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes trying to read the thoughts of nearby crew to see what he should possibly do. But he found nothing relevant.

-Meanwhile back with Geminasu and Trouble-

Geminasu looked at Trouble, "Are you alright Trouble?" he said.

"I’m fine thank you." she replied brushing herself off.

"I’m going back to the bridge to see what's going on. Try to find out where Zeph is now, okay?" he asked her.

"Sure thing," she said as they went separate ways.
GSS Yui (GD-30): Female Tech Nest:

Aeriyon had flipped his wrist blades out and in, as he ran toward the Tech's Nest, where he thought the shots were being fired from. He reached the scene a bit too late..."What the hell!?" He exclaimed when he saw the puddle of ... mud? He saw a man in Chiharu's arms. "Lady Ketsurui, what happened here?" Aeriyon asked. He looked at the puddle again, "Let me guess...that was the intruder you indicated earlier?" Aeriyon scoffed, he didn't like it when things happened that really did concern him and he didn't know about it. "Let me help here. And someone please tell me what just happened. I can't do my job unless I am informed." He asked Chiharu, trying to give her a hand with the unconscious man.

Chiharu had hefted the prone Alexis over her shoulder, she didn't look at any of the other crew for more than a few moments as she spoke, "I have him, I need to get him to the Med Bay, NOW. I need everyone to clear out of here and give Hikari some air and Security to do a sweep to make sure that no more Seraphs are on the ship. Whenever some gets the chance get that mess out of here." She made her way through the small crowd of Base and GSS Yui crew out of the Tech Nest. All the while she was thinking about how it was her fault that Alexis was in this state.

Sgzyr awoke to hear the screaming of various crewmembers, and jetted out, his uniform crumpled and his rank pin missing. He saw Chiharu with Alexis over her shoulder, heading to the medical bay as he entered the Tech Nest as most of the crew dispersed. With closer inspection, Sgzyr had found a puddle of muck on the floor of the technician’s nest, much later after the people had left. He scooped up a small bit of it, put it into a container and threw it in the freezer. He then removed another cigar and lit it up, enjoying the onrush of tobacco. 

When she got to the Med Bay, followed by the new Sentry Aeriyon, she pretty much disregarded him because she was focused on her old 1st officer. She felt a horrible pang in guilt in her heart because he wasn't even supposed to be on the GSS Yui anymore. But she had allowed herself to get kidnapped by the Angels and held hostage. In her absence, Wazu had gotten killed and now.. Alexis was possibly near death. 

Akari and Inari starting doing what they could to try to save the Taisa, they had hooked him up to IVs and tried to repair the damage. By this time, Arume and Aya had been released from the Medical Bay to return to their duties on the bridge. So it was only the 2 medics, the prone shifter and the Taisho left in the Med Bay as Aeriyon exited again. Chiharu stood quietly back as she watched the surgery.

Aeriyon was doing what he could to help with the situation in the Med-Bay, when he turned around to see a pretty neko with a long braid. "You must be Uso Tasuki correct?" He turned to face her completely.

"Correct. Who are you?" She asked as she looked over his body seeing the tail and other enhancements she could tell he was modified from normal.

"I'm soldier Aeriyon Elisias, a recent transfer aboard this ship." Aeriyon said walking out of the Med-Bay, seeing as his assistance was no longer needed. He relaxed and his tail coiled around his legs.

Chi had watched the Sentry leave, figuring that there wasn't much that he could have done to help the skilled Medics as it was anyways. She left out a huge sigh of relief when the surgery had finally ended and Akari told her the news.

"Taisho Ketsurui, Taisa Jaren is still alive but he's in a coma. I am unsure when and if he will wake up again. For now, all we can do is monitor his life signs and wait for him to wake back up." Akari's voice was clear and direct as always, she did not like to mince words. Inari frowned hearing her sister, she never liked her sister's bedside manner. 

"We'll be sure to let you know when Alexis wakes back up Ketsurui-sama. I promise." Inari added with a sad smile.

Chiharu shook her head as she... smiled. It wasn't a sad smile nor was it a happy smile.. it was just... an odd smile. She smoothed her hair back behind her ears. "Thank you both, please do what you can to keep the Taisa alive. I'm going to go back to the bridge and give the warning for the briefing."

Akari remembered what she had decided a couple nights before. "Oh yes, Taisho Ketsurui, I would like for all the crew to report in for psychological evaluations just to make sure every one is mentally and emotionally sound for duty. I am also concerned for your mental health ma'am." 

Inari winced a bit, she didn't think Akari needed to go that far. She waited for Chiharu to strike Akari or to admonish her for her impropriety. But to her surprise, Chiharu's smile didn't fade.

"I'll be sure to spread the word Akari. I'll report in to you as soon as this briefing is done. I need at least one of you two to make an appearance at the briefing, I know whatever is said will get passed onto the other as well. I'm going to return to the bridge now." Chiharu looked to Alexis one last time before she turned and walked out of the Med Bay, heading back for the bridge. Her mind had gone blank now, she wasn't thinking in words or images. She was just functioning on a semi-auto pilot as she reached the bridge again. 

Chiharu noticed that Tobias was there as was Arume and Aya. Chi walked over to the ship's PA system and turned it on, "Attention all crew, this is Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu, there will be a briefing in the Briefing Room within 30 minutes for all crew who are able to move under their own power. It is very important for anyone who is able to attend this briefing, if you can't make it, then you should be able to get an update on the situation from another member of the crew. I repeat, all crew members who are able to move under their own power are to attend the Briefing in 30 minutes. Thank you." Chiharu turned off the PA and looked to the crew on the bridge with a brief glance. 

"Every thing will be explained at the briefing. Tobias, if you would pass the message along to Zeph and Trouble and anyone else who might not have heard my announcement?"
She waited for the acknowledgement from Tobias before she walked back off the bridge, deciding that she needed to get something to drink before she headed for the briefing room.

In the galley, she poured herself a cup of regular coffee before she walked into the briefing room with it and took a seat at the front of the room, looking towards the door to wait for all of the crew to arrive.

Meanwhile...

"Oh, well I'll remember that Taii Uso." Aeriyon said getting further away from her as he headed toward the briefing room.

Uso followed him, "Time for that meeting" she said as she rushed through the door just before Elisias.

Aeriyon walked into the room, chose a chair and sat back putting his tail on the table to keep people from tripping on it.
As Aeriyon sat in the chair in the briefing room, he realized he forgot his laptop and rucksack in the galley. ~Better go and get them then come back.~ He thought.

So Aeriyon got up out of the chair and walked to the galley, stopping by the medbay to see if everything was okay. Seeing that Alexis was still out cold, he hung around for a bit, introducing himself to the Medical officers. "Hello, ...uh Akari, and...Inari was it?" he said politely. "Excuse me, but I left something important in the galley, I'll be right back." He said as he walked out the door. Not wanting to miss anything, Aeriyon ran to the galley; grabbed his bag and computer. Then took them and dropped them off in the security quarters. He walked back to the Medbay to keep an eye on things, and to see if Alexis had woken up at all. 

~I hope he makes it, there's been too much death on this ship as it is now.~ Aeriyon thought. ~What would Sean have done in this situation. Sean was his older brother and a scientist for the GSA, but Aeriyon didn't know quite where his brother was at the current time. 

Akari looked at Aeriyon strangely, wondering why this man was in her Med Bay. "It would not be wise for you to miss the Taisho's briefing Solider. You still have some time before it, but, time crawls by very slowly in here." She had looked to Inari as if telling her sister to handle the situation as she, herself returned to what she was doing. Akari was lighting some incense to exorcise the evil spirits that might still be lurking on the ship as she said a healing prayer in some strange dialect of Japanese. 

Inari had looked over to the Sentry as his eyes widened in amazement at what her sister was doing. "She's trying to cleanse Alexis's body and try to make it well enough for his soul to return to it again. Onae-san was a miko back on Geshrintall.. it's a long story." Inari scratched the back of her head as she quietly spoke. "I'm still an apprentice to the shrine so I still have a long way to go before I can before the more complicated rites. But, this will take a while to complete, if you stay to watch you'll miss Ketsurui-sama's briefing and so will I. Come on, let's get going." Inari offered a friendly smile as she walked out of the Med Bay, nodding to her elder sister and the unconscious Alexis.
Aeriyon watched Inari walk out of the Medbay, obviously heading for the Briefing Room. He turned to leave then paused and looked over his shoulder. "Alexis, I don't know you that well; but I'm glad to be able to work with you , your brave actions in the tech nest earned my respect, I don't know exactly what happened, but I know that you did something to help everyone else. I hope you recover soon my friend." He said, knowing it sounded foolish because Alexis was in a coma.

~I better get going, it's far better to get to a meeting early.~ Aeriyon thought as he left the room. He walked down the hall a bit and spotted Inari heading for the Briefing Room. "Inari, wait up!" He called to her as he briskly walked after the neko. "No offense, but your sister's a little...superstitious, isn't she? I personally don't believe in evil spirits, but to each his own." He asked as he caught up with her. He looked Inari over, mildly curious to how she worked, he hadn't much experience with the NH-7s. ~She's pretty cute...must be those ears...~ He mused in his own mind.

Inari chuckled a bit at Aeriyon's question; of course, she knew it was more of a statement than a question but she answered anyway. "Of course she is. It's due to our training as a miko back at home. A miko is a priestess and you cannot be a priestess nor a priest without being superstitious, it kind of comes with the territory. You cannot purify one's soul, home or others if you do not believe in what you are doing. With exocerisms of any type it is a matter of imposing your will strengthened by your faith and belief that you will triumph over whatever it is you are trying to get rid off, be it an illness or a spirit. You can think of it as a combat situation with your strength and skills pitted against the strength and skills of your enemy- whoever has the stronger will to survive and to win will. It's also a matter of who's faster and can out last the other. " She lightly tugged on her right ear for a moment before she continued, "I guess to an outsider it seems a bit silly and outdated with how advanced our society is right now. But, we'd better get into the Briefing room."

The friendly smile she gave him earlier threw him somewhat, he had NEVER gotten any kind of smile from anyone, except his brother. It felt kind of nice to have it happen, better than getting shot at half the time anyway. Aeriyon reached the Briefing Room a bit before Inari did and politely allowed her to enter before he did. After he himself walked in, he took a seat near the front so he could hear Chiharu better when she started. He coiled his tail around his chest and over his left shoulder as he relaxed and tried to get comfortable without shredding the chair with his blades. After finally getting to a comfortable position sitting on the floor, after deciding to not even attempt to sit in the chair, he patiently waited for the Taisho to begin...

Inari took an empty seat in the middle of the room, and patiently waited for her beloved Taisho to begin the briefing.
Zeph overheard Chiharu's voice over the announcement system and he stood up and walked into the briefing room. He went and took a seat. Noticing that someone was on the floor sitting there, he quietly took a seat and looked about the room.

-Meanwhile-

Tobias looked up at Chiharu, "I just left her so she couldn't be far." He got up a proceeded off the bridge to find Trouble.

-Meanwhile-

Trouble had been walking around, looking for the briefing room. She stopped and realized that a bit messy looking and ran to the room where she'd be staying. She entered the room noticing that a little wolf puppy was wandering about the place sniffing about. She bent over and picked up the puppy and brushed his fur, "My you're a cute little one." Chiharu's announcement came over PA and she set the puppy down. She found a bowl and some water down for the puppy, "Ill find out who your owner is and I'll feed you something when I get back." She then closed the door and ran down the hall towards the briefing room. When she reached there she saw Zeph sitting down so she took a chair, and sat.

-Meanwhile-

Geminasu was searching out Trouble and spotted her figure running down towards the briefing room. He followed her and entered the room, and noticed that Zeph was there was well. Thinking to himself, ~Well that was easy enough, I guess they heard the announcement.~ He took a set beside Trouble and waited for the meeting to start.
Sgzyr was rudely awakened by the loud communication announcement from the Taisho. He had been interrupted from his dreams, but moved quickly. With a swift movement, he withdrew a fresh pressed uniform and the rank pin was placed on correctly. He put a sheath down by his belt-line, slamming the bowie knife in there tight. He moved quickly from the male security nest and down the hall, activating the nanotech stimulants to increase his pace. 

~Going to be late, going to be late~ was all that he could think of while he ran down the hall.

With a quick jamming of his foot downwards, Sgzyr stopped in front of the briefing room. He straightened his posture, opened the door and walked in calmly and shut it harshly. He stood around, wondering what was going to happen.
Once the last crewmember entered the Briefing room, the Taisho looked at every single one of them, individually before she spoke. The cup of coffee that she had poured herself was long since gone and the empty mug was sitting on the table. Her expression was calm and collected, a silence filled the room before Chiharu spoke. 

"Good evening everyone, as you can see, I am back from the Angel's Ship. And I have heard of what went on with the Seraph while I was away. Right now, the SARA technicians are doing the finishing touches on the Megami so we'll be able to bring back Wazu and Lavinia as soon as she's up and running. Everyone that was backed up on the Megami was killed when the Megami was damaged. It breaks my heart that some of our friends and family will not be returning to us after all. From this point on, I would like for everyone to make 2 back-ups of their minds on a daily basis: One back-up will be with the Megami and the other should be on a data pad. " As the Taisho talked you noticed that she was talking with her hands as well, in other words, she was moving her hands as she talked. It would make you almost suspect that she might be using sign language with the fluid movements of her hands.

"I would also like to make myself perfectly clear now, I do not want to see any more pointless deaths due to misunderstandings, grudges or fears. The Seraph invaded the dreams of several crew members and exploited their fears and concerns and turned several crew members against each other. The Seraph also took on my form and the form of Kuru for a period of time. I do not know what was said to everyone by the Seraph posing as me." Chiharu smoothed her hair back behind her ears as her eyes moved about the room. Her hands paused long enough for her to move her hair. "But, I would like you to tell me now before things get too out of hand. I do not care if I said that it was classified or whatever I need to know now what was said. I do not want secrets that may cause the death of any more of our crew. 

As a result, I do not want any more grudges or infighting from this point on. Our mission is to track down, fight and cease Angel Ships. We are also searching for an Angel Military base. I need everyone to work as a team and to get along. While you are aboard my ship, I will not have any secret missions or spy games against other crew members. I need everyone fully functional and alive. So there will be no armed sparring allowed on this ship until further notice. You may practice with practice equipment but there is not to be a real weapon used against another crew member, If you suspect that something is up then you come to me or whoever may be the first officer at the time." A pained look came to her eyes as she mentioned the first officer, it dissipated as she continued. "The Medical staff have also asked for every crew member to report in for a psychological evaluation to be conducted due to the nature of the recent attacks on us by the Angels and the Seraph."

Chiharu paused again as she looked at each crew member, she hadn't smiled once during her entire speech and it didn't seem like she had the heart to. "Right now, I would like for everyone to air any grievances or concerns that they might have with any other of the crew, I would also like to be informed of what someone might have told you during the time before and after I returned to the Yui. The floor is open, just speak your piece and we'll resolve any problems now. We might have sessions like this periodically in order to promote peace of mind aboard the ship." The Taisho sat down in the chair at the front of the room that faced the others and waited for them to speak their peace. "By the way, no one will be dismissed from this meeting until at least everyone has said something."
Acara was sitting at the back of the briefing. He had left Hikari asleep in her nest. ~I’ll go back and tell her what happened later. For now she needs her rest. ~ As he looked around the room he noticed some new crewmembers. ~I guess we need something to fill the spots the seraph made. ~ He thought.

Chiharu paused again as she looked at each crew member, she hadn't smiled once during her entire speech and it didn't seem like she had the heart to. "Right now, I would like for everyone to air any grievances or concerns that they might have with any other of the crew, I would also like to be informed of what someone might have told you during the time before and after I returned to the Yui. The floor is open, just speak your piece and we'll resolve any problems now. We might have sessions like this periodically in order to promote peace of mind aboard the ship." The Taisho sat down in the chair at the front of the room that faced the others and waited for them to speak their peace. "By the way, no one will be dismissed from this meeting until at least everyone has said something."

When Chiharu got to the point in her speech about sharing grievances Acara leaned back. ~ Not too much here for me. ~ He thought, his mood somber. As far as he knew he had done nothing to make anybody angry. That, it seemed, was the Security’s job. So he just sat back and waited to see what cats came out of which bags.

Aeriyon rose from his position on the floor and looked at everyone, then fixed his gaze on Taisho Chiharu. He spoke clearly and knowledgably.

"Taisho Ketsurui-san. Everyone else... Greetings I'm soldier Aeriyon Elisias, former assassin for PNUgen and Ground Forces GSA, now a mere soldier. As the new guy here, I don't know too much about what has transpired before I joined you, nor do I honestly want to know. I admit that I've not the experience dealing with angels and seraphim that the rest of you do." He paused for a moment to retie his indigo headband. "If we are going to look for angel bases, I suggest that we think first, and gather intelligence on possible locations before we launch headlong into a possible ambush. After your escape Taisho, I would think that they'd thought about the GSA coming after all of them and most likely have taken measures to protect themselves. If we wait for a short time, we lower the risk of anymore needless deaths." He stated, his body language taking up an open stance, his wrist blades extended and stretched, his tail weaving through the air behind him.

"I honestly don't want to fight a needless battle anymore that causes needless death. I'm not proud of what I've had to do in the past, but I've learned from the experiences. I look toward the future with confidence, I suggest everyone does the same." He said, unconsciously playing with the ofuda that had fallen out of his uniform as he spoke.

He continued after pausing: "As you said, Taisho, now is NOT the time for pointless infighting and grudges. If the angels get wind of that kind of strife, they'll see it as a weakness and what you experienced with that seraph will repeat itself. United we stand firm, divided: we crumple like dead wood. Now, I don't mean to offend anyone by that, but you know my words ring true..." He said, relaxing his stance somewhat, folding the blades back. 

"That's all I have to say." He then smiled wryly. "Oh, I know my name's a bit of a mouthful, so can I ask you all to refer to me as Rion?" He asked as he politely saluted to the Taisho and managed to take a seat next to Inari, as it was the only one available. (Without tearing the cushion. ^_^)

Uso leaned back in her chair and placed her feet on the table and took a very relaxed pose. “And who decides which battles are needless or not?” Uso asked out loud, as she shot Rion an all knowing and smug glance across the table, “Sometimes it is the fires of strife that strengthen us all. Our ‘unity’ right now is not in question; we are all loyal to the GSA and will die to protect it. Even though I don't like it, I will abide by Chi’s order without hesitation.”

“And also, why did you announce that you are an assassin, Rion? I thought only people who are new to the profession, liars and soon to be dead, say that.” Uso said as she let out a small laugh. “I would try to keep sensitive information like ‘that’ to yourself.” Uso turned her head away from Rion and faced Chi. “I await your next order.”

Upon hearing Uso' question and listening to her points. Rion turned to face her and replied. "Whether a battle is needless or not is a totally subjective matter Uso. I have told you what I believe, whether you think I'm right or not is a moot point. It's always possible that we are both wrong. Yes, the fires of strife can bring us together, but not strife caused internally." Rion said calmly. He then looked at her squarely.

"I announced that I WAS an assassin because I am tired of having people use me as a tool for murder. I will not lie about what I was or who I am, I want people to trust me as a person, and not as a paid killer. I am formally renouncing my assassin ways to pursue a better life on this ship. You see, if I were to remain one, you all couldn't trust me that much; and I want to have it. The info I gave is not sensitive anymore. I just hope that all of you can look past what I've done, and see me for who I am." Rion explained.

"You still have the same attributes even if you renounce your title" Uso said "You are still a assassin"

"And that means what?" Rion said as he turned to face Uso again. "My skills can be used for beneficial means now"

"You are a weapon stop acting like your some sort of tragic hero" Uso said

"Hero, shmero. I never said that. That's the last thing I want to be." He replied.

"But you are trying to be one are you not?" Uso said as she shot him a questioning look.

"No, I am a soldier, nothing more and nothing less." Rion replied, shooting her an irritated look. "People care about heroes. I don't want that burden, I never had time to care for anyone." He said looking slightly uncomfortable as he spoke.

"There you go again!" Uso almost shouted, "Stop acting like your life is so tragic. You are a weapon sorrow is not needed in one"

Aeriyon turned his back on her. "What the hell ever." He said "I cannot make you think anything, nor will you listen to me." He added.

"I will listen but I will ignore what is wrong" she replied

"What is wrong? That is up for debate, as it is a subjective issue." Rion said.

"You are trying to pass off your past as a mistake, it isn't you killed. So what? I'm fed up with you trying to act like your life is all sad.” Uso replied.

Rion spun around, feeling slightly irritated. "I'm fed up with your 'all-knowing' smugness Uso. Let's talk like the adults we are." He paused for a moment before he continued. "I accept my past and have learned from it. I just don't want to repeat it." He said.

"I'm a Intel officer it is my job to be all knowing." Uso replied with a smug look that she knew would irritate him. "What would be the harm in repeating it?"

Rion growled under his breath, sounding remarkably like Ritsu when he got irritated.

"Death is death no matter who it comes from. If you don't someone else will . . .to you" Uso said.

"Like I should care?" Rion replied.

"Yes, you should" Uso said.

"I don't want to die. But, I'm not scared of it. I have my own goals. And I want to accomplish them." Rion added.

"And what would those goals be?" Uso replied, "Or are you going to make me work to find them out?"

"No, I'll tell you. I want my own fleet here, the Dark Sword Fleet." Aeriyon said, looking determined. "A fleet of stealth ships...used as escort for other command ships." Rion said.

"Heh, well then you have a lot of growing up to do before you can get that." Uso said.

"I know that. But, I have a focus where I want to go. And nothing, or nobody will stop me from reaching it." Rion added, sounding determined.

"It looks like you are going to do a good enough job of stopping yourself." Uso sneered.

Aeriyon snarled at Uso. "Don't ever say that again."

"It looks like you are going to do a good enough job of stopping yourself." she said just slower this time, "Anyways you should be better suited for ground combat. What do you know of space tactics? Live for what you can do"

"Space is a place for me to learn new things. I'll get there. And I never said I wouldn't live up to what I can do, I just want to apply it to new situations." Rion said, still holding an irritated look as he thought about decking Uso for her insult.

Rion's blades flicked out fully as he got irritated. ~No, don't use them.~ He thought, calming himself down, his blades returning to their normal positions.

After seeing the blades flick out Uso said," and what are you planning to do with those? I don't think you have what it takes to use them"

"I won't let you goad me into using them. You aren't worth getting in trouble over." Rion said.

"I've seen records on your past ops. Your sloppy you will need more than a few genetic mods to do good here" Uso said.

"And what would you suggest, oh mighty goddess?" Rion asked sarcastically.

"I don't like air strike assassinations, they're...too impersonal." Rion added.

"First off, being a goddess isn't my job" Uso said with a smile, "and second, you should have been off the planet before your target was removed. Also there is nothing wrong with leveling a few city blocks to accomplish your goals"

"I liked seeing them bleed and suffer. I liked being personally responsible for killing a few security guards. But not anymore." Rion said.

"I liked what I did. I wouldn't have done it another way." Rion added.

"What you like is irrelevant" Uso said, "Your first job is to follow orders your second is to stay alive like has nothing to do with it"

"I got the job done, and that's what mattered." Rion said, giving her a death glare. "Wrong, my second job was to get paid." He added. "Everyone has different styles. That is just mine." 

"You may have got the job done but how many more times will you run up against second rate security units?" Uso asked.

"Now?" Rion asked with a smirk. "I don't expect to. It's much more fun embarrassing first rate security guards." He said.

"Which you have yet to do from the looks of it" Uso replied with a smug look on her face.

"But that's not my job anymore. Thusly, I won't pursue it. And wipe that smug look of your pretty face before I break it." He said with a growl.

Uso kept the look on her face "So then what do you think is your job weapon?"

"To follow orders from my superiors without question." Rion said.

"Good so you do know your place" Uso said with a smirk.

~Don't lash out, that's what she wants you to do. She isn't worth getting punished over.~ He thought. "That I do, but you're making start to think that your orders aren't worth following, because they'd get me in trouble." Aeriyon said with a straight face.

"That too is irrelevant" Uso said, "and I wouldn’t try and get you killed....yet"

"Now, we can be civil and try to get along, or we can come to blows over it. And I don't really like the thought of fighting just yet." Rion said. ~She's such a spoiled child~ He thought to himself.

"If you want I don't really care" she said with a shrug, ~Maybe I'll fight you when Chi isn't around~ she sent him telepathically as she let out a small giggle.

Aeriyon got her message, but couldn't respond, due to the fact he himself wasn't telepathic.

Uso just smiled.

"Let's just be friends...I need them right about now, and it would be pointless for me to try and fight you at anytime." Rion said. "Even though I'm genetically enhanced, I still can't fight a neko on even ground." He added.

"Very well I don't really care one way or the other another enemy or another friend right now wouldn't tip the scales any." Uso said ~Then maybe I shall tie my hands behind my back~ she thought to herself ~nah~

Rion sighed. "You don't really care. Looks like I'd have to earn your respect somehow." He stated.

He sighed. "You don't really care. Looks like I'd have to earn your respect somehow." He stated. "But, I won't turn over an beg like some dog." he added, looking at her square.
"That might help your current situation" Uso said as she laughed

Aeriyon just looked at her, speechless.

 “Frankly Uso, you can like me or hate me, it's your choice." Rion said.

"I shall wait and see if I wish to hate or like you" Uso said, "That decision would be better for a latter time"

The only person's opinion of me that matters is the Taisho's." Rion said.

“And what of your opinion?" Uso asked.

"That is for me to know." Rion stated.

"And me to find out" Uso added.

"I assure you, you won't" Rion said with a wry smile.

"I will it is my job." Uso said.

"It's your job to monitor the ship, but prying into my mind to find out my opinions is a violation of my personal privacy." He said.

"Well prying into your mind will be the job of the medics soon" said Uso.

Aeriyon smiled. " Not if I can help it." ~Inari can pry into my mind without resistance.~ He thought as he smiled. "Anyway, Uso, looks like you don't get the pleasure." He said.

~I can always ask the medics~ Uso thought.

Aeriyon turned around and sat in his seat, waiting for the Briefing to end.

Kuru's eyes narrowed at Rion and Uso's exchange and waiting for the bickering to end before she spoke herself, rising to her feet. "How dare you complain about your role as a so called 'weapon'. What do you THINK we ARE? Do you think we had the choice to BE what we are? An NH-7 is a WEAPON, we are created, programmed to obey orders and kill whatever. And are you an idiot? You are in a room filled with telepaths. I am one, Uso is one as is Inari and the Taisho! And you're just a soldier? What do you think the rest of are? Are we just idiots bumbling about in the dark? If you keep up with this 'Look at me, I was a deadly assassin.' self-pity bullshit you're going to get yourself killed!" Her voice was raised as she clenched her fist. "This isn't some damn training simulation, there is no room for error here. "

After listening to Kuru's belittlement of him, Aeriyon merely shrugged it off, he wasn't going to get himself in deeper. He did however, turn around and acknowledged the complaints against him with a silent militaristic nod, with a sour look on his face as he slowly and calmly weaved his tail around behind him. 

Inari looked at Kuru and frowned herself, she didn't like to see her fellow crewmembers and family fighting. "With all due respect Juni Kuru, but I don't believe that Rion has had enough experience with other people or even Nekos to realize what he is saying is foolish. I also do not believe that Ketsurui-sama intended for this to turn into 'a gang up and berate and belittle Rion' session. I agree that he is being a bit selfish in his words and whether or not he means it, he is coming off as threatening with his body language. I also think that by announcing himself as having been an assassin he has branded himself to be judged whether or not he likes it or not. It doesn't seem like he is trying to be a hero but it does seem like he wants to be pitied. But, I have my own concerns right now about the well-being of our crew." Inari looked at Kuru with a soft smile and Kuru simply nodded. Kuru respected Inari's opinion enough to not argue the point and sat down again, allowing Inari to continue. "I would like to know who is now in charge of the Security Sentries now that Juni Ritsurin is no longer among us and who is our acting First officer now that both Taisa Jaren and Chusa Wazu have both been rendered unable to perform their duties. I also believe that Tomoyo knows what Hikari's concerns are, considering the poor girl is sleeping and unable to attend this briefing."

Sgzyr had watched the briefing with mild interest, mainly the fact about the attacking of an angel military base, which had worried him so. ~If one Seraph was able to almost destroy the entire ship, what could an entire group of them do?~ Sgzyr thought of. He leaned up against the wall and continued to think for a moment, only for his thoughts to be overcame by the incessant cat-fight between Uso and this "Assassin" who boldly pronounced himself.
"Taisho, how many people will be involved in this action?" was all that he could ask. He then resumed listening to the briefing, as several patterns of thought drifted through his head. 

"We are going to be flying solo as a scout for the first fleet, if there's any signs of trouble we're supposed to call in for help again. So once we leave the base, we're on our own again. As for the actual boarding of any Angel Ships we encounter, a boarding team would have to be assembled.. " Chiharu spoke for the first time since she had announced for the crew to air their grievances. She had decided it would be best to hold her peace for now, and she would deal with Uso and Rion after the briefing. There was no good reason to punish either of them in front of the rest of the crew. She also resolved what she would do to the both of them if they disobeyed her orders. She hadn't said a word since Rion first spoke, she simply had just sat and watched the first of the problems start to resolve themselves. 

Tomoyo blushed a bit as Inari singled her out. But she waited until Juni Sgzyr and the Taisho finished before, standing and raising her voice only loud enough so that she could be heard. "As everyone knows by now, poor Hikari was severely burned when the late Chief of Security accidentally torched her when he set fire to the lower decks in search of the cloaked Seraph. Mika died a horrible death when she went alone into the Megami room. How can we feel safe when Security has done more damage to us than the Seraph did?" She looked over at Sgzyr, Tobias, Trouble, Zeph and Sai, the Sentries that she knew off that were present during the incidents.

Geminasu sat in his chair and looked around the room listening to Aeriyon and Uso bickering, and the various comment that other crew members said. He felt no true grievances, but something bothered him. It didn't seem right to him that the Yui had been attacked and the crew cast against each other with so much ease. If one seraph had caused so much pain, and agony among the crew, what would happen if more ever boarded? Would the crew be gripping each other in death locks? He didn't know the answer, he wished he did, and wished that he had gotten buried under rubble while this happened, but he raised his voice and looked at Chiharu and said, "Taisho, I personally agree with your ruling on no armed sparring, and no using arms against other crewmembers. If anything of such sort were to happen where someone thinks another crewmember is being a traitor then they should voice it to you directly Chiharu. As for these 'spy games' I feel that they are somewhat unneeded as tracking down the Angel ship that took you from us should have taken top priority." Geminasu quieted down as Zeph spoke up.

Rion sat in his seat and waited for everyone to have their say in the matter. The fact that he himself had just caused a bit of the trouble he wanted to avoid, made him feel slightly bad about it. He thought about the upcoming mission and made up his mind. ~I'll go as a member of any boarding party. I may not have any social skills, but I know how to fight, and it's time for me to use them in a way that would be beneficial to everyone, not just me.~ He thought as he listened to Geminasu speak.

"Taisho Chiharu, I just joined this crew and things seemed on the fringe when I got here. If the need be the Silvershot will support you to its fullest." He leaned back a bit in the chair as Trouble spoke up.

Chiharu nodded to Zeph but didn't say anything when she noticed that Trouble was about to speak.

"Well, I just joined as well, and I wish I had gotten a chance to try to save that crewmember that was killed aboard the bridge. I realize the damage was severe but...." She grew quiet as she remembered the scene, she shuttered a bit and quietly sat there. That scene of the decapitated man, frightened her a bit, she had vowed in past to try save a injured crewmember at whatever the cost needed, but she felt so helpless once she saw that man's body twitching and lifeless. It would take her awhile to get over that scene.
He sat in his seat and waited for everyone to have their say in the matter. The fact that he himself had just caused a bit of the trouble he wanted to avoid, made him feel slightly bad about it. He thought about the upcoming mission and made up his mind. ~I'll go as a member of any boarding party. I may not have any social skills, but I know how to fight, and it's time for me to use them in a way that would be beneficial to everyone, not just me.~ He thought as he listened to Geminasu speak.

Chiharu looked towards the Security Sentries and then to Uso, who was the only bridge officer present since Arume and Aya had to watch the bridge. She wondered who would be best suited for the 2nd chair for the time being. "So who is my new Chief of Security? Who was appointed the task by the Taisa?" 

There was a defining silence that filled the room as the Taisho asked her question, no one said a word about it because they themselves didn't know. Sai was the first one to speak up again, "Ketsurui-sama, the Taisa did not assign a new Chief of Security, as of right now, we do not have one any longer. I believe that Sgzyr-sempai should be put at the head of Security because he is the ranking enlisted and Tobias-sempai be his 2nd because he has the 2nd highest in the department."

Chiharu smiled at the girl, Sai had an interesting air about her... she just seemed different for some reason. "I agree with you Sai." Chi paused and looked towards Sgzyr and Tobias. "Juni Sgzyr, Sgt. Geminasu, whether or not you feel that you are up to it, you two are now in charge of security. Juni, you get to run the department with the Sgt's help." 

****SPACE RESERVED FOR TOBIAS'S AND SGYZR'S RESPONSE****
>>>>>>>>NEW 
Uso looked at Sgzyr and then Geminasu with an all too rare serious look in her eyes, “So if things all go to hell then I know who to blame.” Uso kept her serious look for about two seconds before breaking out in laughter. “Let me be the first to congratulate you on your promotions.” Uso then turned her head to look at Chi. “I would recommend either myself or Aya to be first officer as we are each of the Taii rank” Uso said as she pulled herself up on the chair so she was now sitting on the edge with a interested look on her face. 

The increased bickering at the meeting was getting on Acara’s nerves. When Tomoyo finally spoke up he laughed to himself. She had looked like a schoolgirl on her first day. Acara had realized long ago, that he had no defense against telepathy, so he just thought what he would and did not worry about who listened in. And as far as he knew he had nothing to hide.

After everyone settled down he rose up. “Miss Chiharu, if I may make a suggestion. I think Juni Kuru would do great as first officer. Just recently she has proven herself to be good in response to combat situations as well as being the Juni of the techs. I just want to remind you of her performance when you make your decision. Thank you.” Acara said as he dropped back to his normal position, and waited for Chiharu’s response. 

Kuru half smiled at Acara, she had to admit to herself that she did like the man, thing, or whatever Acara really was. He was polite, hard working and dedicated, in fact, the only complaint that she had heard out of him during the entire situation was that Ritsu had hurt Hikari, which was a justified reaction. But, despite herself, she didn't do anything but smile to her tech as she waiting to hear what everyone else had to say. She honestly thought that Uso or Aya would be up for the position since Arume had lost it and blew Hiro's head into little bits- thus killing her chance at that promotion she was up for.


The Taisho looked over her crew, for it now it seemed that they had resolved their differences and the tension that had filled the air earlier had dissipated. Uso and Acara had both made good recommendations but as much as she knew about Kuru and her leadership abilities, Chi knew that she would make a good officer. BUT she also knew about the Neko's feelings on officers and her vow to never be more than a Warrant officer in her career, so to make her second would mean a promotion that Kuru didn't want. Chi looked over at Uso and thought about the choice she had to make. She had heard that Aya had tried to take over during the last incident with the Seraph and she freaked out when it took out Lyn. Aya would need some therapy before she'd be able to take command again.. and with Arume out due to her actions with Hiro... that only left the Neko who would most likely try and take her life at some point in the future. But, this was only to be temporary until Alexis and Wazu were back among the crew again. "Taii Uso for now you have the Second chair, but please remember, this is only until the Taisa and the Chusa are back or whoever is brought back to us first." 

Aeriyon looked up after everyone had their say in the matter, and looked squarely at Geminasu and Sgzyr. ~Ok, I have to listen to those two's orders, unless the Taisho says otherwise.~ He thought as he remembered their faces.

He then turned his attention on Chiharu. "Taisho, I would like to volunteer for any boarding party that is going to deal with, and capture the angel ships, I realize what I am saying may be pointless but I just had to voice it. And I would like to know just how to deal the angels and seraphim, who would I ask? I know Megami's not online yet." Rion asked.

~I didn't want to offend anyone, what Kuru and Uso say is true, I am a weapon just like they are. If I want to reach my goals, I need to shape up, stop acting like I want pity, and do what I am told. Otherwise I won't get anywhere.~ He thought has he awaited Chi's response. 

Chiharu looked back at Rion again at his question about Seraphs and angels. "Rion, I cannot assign crew to the boarding party, as I am not going to step on Security's toes with how they arrange things for the boarding party. I can only request to be included or for someone outside the department. Now, as for the matter of angels and seraphs, the summarized version of it is that: Angels are to Geshrin as Seraphs are to Nekos. Angels are a winged humanoid race with varying abilities and strengths and they are lead by Archangels who are the higher ups and officers and many of the Archangels I have encountered are extremely strong and moderately bigger than your average angel. The Seraphs on the other hand, have the ability to cloak themselves for long periods of time, change their forms at will, are telekinetic and are also powerful telepaths, plus they are also very resilient to physical damage due to their advanced capacity to regenerate heavy damage. My best advice to anyone when it comes to Seraphs is to avoid physical contact with them when possible because they can overwhelm you... and do not fight them alone unless absolutely necessary. Remember, if they are dead there will be remains, if you don't see any run a scan of the ship if you can to find them."
Siaga wandered about the room, he felt a little lonely he so he passed time by chasing his tail, until he tripped over his own feet and fell into Trouble's bags knocking them over.

MOCH had finished repairs to the Silvershot and heard a small thud in one of the rooms. He entered through the holo emitter unit in the room and he looked down at Siaga.

~Who's this definitely isn't Alpha male of Alpha female, has no smell. Odd.~ 

MOCH stared at the Siaga, looking closely at Siaga MOCH wondered what it'd be like to touch this creature, he was a hologram and therefore had no emotions or feelings whatsoever. He and Siaga looked eye to eye and MOCH then left the room.

~Odd. No smell, hmmm. Hungry. Where could Alpha Female be??~
A man aboard the GSS Hacker was scanning through the crew immigration records of the GSS Yui. "Ah, so he IS on the ship now, that's good. I think I'll send him a message to let him know his brother is still alive." The man said to himself as he sat in his quarters while off duty for a short period of time. Sean smiled as he typed in the message for Aeriyon to read.

"Hello little bro, It's Sean. I finally found you, after all this time, where the hell have you been? But, more importantly, how have you been? I hope you're staying out of trouble. Pfff, what am I saying? You're ALWAYS in trouble, I look forward to hearing from you again. Your older brother: Taisa Sean Elisias."

~That should surprise the heck outta him. But, a bigger surprise is yet to come.~ He thought as he closed his laptop and left to attend to his duties.
Aeriyon listened to what Chiharu had to say, and flicked his blades out in a non-threatening fashion. "I guess these things aren't really needed to deal with seraphim. But, they should be more than enough to deal with some angels." He said frowning.

"I just want to know a couple things...first- As I said before, I don't much experience in dealing with either one of those things. And I would like to know just what I can do to prepare myself to be able to deal with them." He stated. 

~I already know that she'll say something like 'stay a part of a team'. I don't like the idea, but if it'll help take care of those things, I can stand it.~ He thought.

"Seraph can alternate forms at will...what's the probably the best way to see whose who? Personality, the seraph can copy forms, but not personas. Or knowledge of how to use the body effectively. Take me for example, a seraph could impersonate me, my blades, my face, my tail...but, if I were to shield my thoughts against its psionic prying, it couldn't use my blades like I do, thus revealing itself to be a copy. Is that correct?" Rion asked Chiharu.

He sat back in his chair and took out the contacts he wore to make his eyes look normal, as they were becoming irritating and probably needed to be thrown away in any case. After he took the contacts out, he looked back up at Chiharu with his steel gray eyes and blacks, in place of whites. "You might be wondering about this, so I'll briefly explain: My family has a genetic tendency to head for the extremes, as a matter of fact; if you were to look at me and my older brother Sean, you'd see that I'm something of the dark child and he's something like the light child." He said. 

He leaned back in his chair. "Nevermind what I said, I'll figure it out later. Now, I just want to see what's on my laptop that's so important, this ringing in my ear is getting damn annoying." He grunted as he leaned back, waiting to be dismissed.
Geminasu listened to what Chiharu had just said. Thinking to himself ~I was a simple sentry first class. Now I'm a Sgt? Hmm I got my work cut out for me. I won't let Chiharu down.~
"I do my best Taisho Chiharu."

A smirk ran across Zeph's face as he looked at Geminasu picking up what he had just thought. ~Gem you're just too funny. Ha ha ha. Oh well, guess I know who's in charge from now on.~

Geminasu looked at Sgzyr and thought ~I'll do my best to serve him well.~
Akari stood listening to the faint beeping of monitors in the Med bay as she watched Alexis. Wisps of smoke rose in ribbons from the incense sticks and candles she had placed around the room, her prayers were complete for now. She hoped they would be enough to bring him back, but who was to say they would have any effect at all? 

The shifter was laying quietly on a recovery bed with scans monitoring a faint energy pulse that was the only detectable sign of life in him...and it could only be picked up by one of the fifteen different scans. The hole in his forehead was still there under the bandages the medics had put on him. Similar bandages covered his torso and forearm; the bullets there were gone, extracted.

"What the hell are you?" Akari whispered, and her eyes narrowed. She sat down in a chair nearby and rested her head on her palm, her elbow on a computer control surface as she looked at the mystery being on the bed as she remembered what had happened.

----

Akari and Inari had done what they could, but R'Lari physiology was an enigma even they couldn't figure out. After Chiharu had rushed the wounded and unconscious Taisa into the Med bay they had immediately set to work...and immediately found they didn't know a thing about him.

"Inari, check his vitals," Akari ordered. She quickly hooked Alexis up to a pair of IV drips, placing the needles where she thought there were veins since she couldn't seem to find any using the usual methods, and began gathering the medical tools for an emergency surgery.

Inari nodded and looked up at the computer display, tapping in the commands. Her face fell and she spoke in a hushed tone. "I'm not getting anything, not even a brain pattern. He's...he's dead." A tone of panic crept into her voice and she looked at Akari.

Akari set down the scalpels and looked at the prone form on the bed. "Oh...Okay then...help me fix him up. We owe him and Chi that much at least." She glanced at the Taisho, who was watching from the other side of the bay, then picked up a blade and turned Alexis' arm until the bullet wounds were visible and set to work digging out the slugs. 

Inari nodded sadly...how could her sister be this way? The friggin' CAPTAIN just DIED! But she said nothing, and began to examine the chest wound. She opened up Alexis' shirt and felt the edges of the neat hole just above where the heart would be on a human. ~That's odd...there's no blood. ~ She thought, bringing her fingers up to her face. They had a thin gel on them that seemed to be leaking from the wound. She frowned, then took a scalpel and sliced into the skin. Her eyes widened at what she found. "Wow. Take a look at this."

Akari looked up, plopping the second bullet into a pan of water on the tool tray next to her. "You noticed that too? That he doesn't bleed?"

The other neko nodded. "Yeah...but take a look at this." She held a flap of skin open and motioned to what was inside. No heart. No lungs. Not even a digestive system, as far as she could tell. There was just a dense cluster of tissue sacs that lay inside the bare ribcage. The bullet's trajectory had cut through five of the sacs; the gel Inari had gotten on her fingers was leaking onto the others around it. She pointed at the ruptures. "Looks like he has...um, internal bleeding. Here, hold the flap back." Akari held the skin in place as Inari reached in and sliced through the tissue webbing that attached the ruptured sacs to the ribcage and extracted them. She carried them over to a shallow container filled with a nutrient bath. A clank caught her ear as she set the sacs down. Inari dug through the gel and found a small ball of metal. It was what remained of the bullet, reduced to half its original size. "I found the third bullet. It looks like something happened to it, though, it's not the right size."

Akari nodded, but didn't say anything. Inari left the sacs in the bath and returned to the body to take another look at the wound. Akari patiently held the skin back as her sister moved the other sacs aside, looking for more tears. The sacs were all slate black, apparently as dead as the body they were in. All except for two...Akari's brow furrowed when she noticed a pair of sacs in a shadowed area that were glowing, so slightly as to be un-noticeable when viewed with outside lighting. "Hey, do you see that?" she asked, pointing at them. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

Inari grabbed a handheld scanner and began to cycle through the sensing modes, looking for one that could verify what her sister was seeing..."You're right! There's still something in there, I'm getting an energy reading, and some motion too...Do you think that's his heart?"

Akari shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, but this is the best sign of life we've got. Even if it is barely there. Keep the sensors on that, set them to alert us to any change...as for what to do, I didn't see any veins while I was getting those other slugs out, so I don't think those IVs will do any good. Unless you think plugging him into a wall outlet will do any good, we'll just have to wait," she said as she walked around to the IVs and closed off the drips...they would look like they were doing something, but wouldn't pump the guy full of fluids he apparently couldn't use.

Inari's face was pinched with worry, but there was some hope in her look as she nodded. "Alright. We wait."

"In that case, let's close him up and get him bandaged," Akari replied and let the skin flap back down. She looked up at the hole in the shifter's forehead and frowned. "If he's still alive, maybe we should get that one out. He might need his brain later in life." 

Inari frowned at her sister's comment as she scooted forward to examine the hole. "I don't think it even touched his brain. Come look at this," she said, surprised once more...the bullet had impacted the skull, but as the two found out when they tried to remove it, it was flattened out under the skin until it was like a metal plate had been grafted into the bone. They settled for just placing a bandage to cover the site.

Ten minutes later, the two nekos had finished. They transferred their patient to a recovery bed and cleaned up the operating area, then went to report to the Taisho.

"Taisho Ketsurui, Taisa Jaren is still alive but he's in a coma. I am unsure when and if he will wake up again. For now, all we can do is monitor his life signs and wait for him to wake back up." Akari's voice was clear and direct, as always, she did not like to mince words. Inari frowned hearing her sister; she never liked her sister's bedside manner. 

"We'll be sure to let you know when Alexis wakes back up Ketsurui-sama. I promise." Inari added with a sad smile.

Chiharu shook her head as she... smiled. It wasn't a sad smile nor was it a happy smile... it was just... an odd smile. She smoothed her hair back behind her ears. "Thank you both, please do what you can to keep the Taisa alive. I'm going to go back to the bridge and give the warning for the briefing."

-----

Akari looked at Alexis' face, half of it was obscured with the useless bandage. It was only there to make them and everyone else think they were doing something that was all. "I have never seen anything like you before. One would almost be suspicious with your timing..."

A pulsing buzz caught her attention. Her fuzzy ears flicked forward to try and pinpoint the sound; it wasn't coming from the terminal or the monitors. Akari looked down at the shifter's bed, it was coming from somewhere on his leg. The neko pulled back the blanket and carefully opened one of Alexis' cargo pockets. Inside was a computer pad. A message written in a strange dialect was flashing on the screen, but the sender's name was clear. It was sent by...

"Timdri? Who is Timdri?"

-----

Back in Alexis' quarters, Timdri sat on the satchel holding a pad with its lower hands. An alien face on the screen of the device nodded and winked out. Then Timdri opened another program and dictated a message, which he then sent.

About three hours later, it still sat there. Timdri watched the screen intently, waiting for a reply. There had been gunfire earlier; maybe something had gone wrong...Alexis usually answered faster than this. It shook its head; they had been through worse and survived. The shifter had even survived the annihilation of his own species! So it could be that Alexis just couldn't answer. But this was important! The window would only be open for a little longer, it would be long wait until that window would open again.

~Please answer soon...very soon...~