Alternative Urusei Yatsura Fanfic by *Lewis Burden* (file: jad3_uy.txt )
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   This Fanfic is not yet finished and currently consists of 12 parts.
Every part will be uploaded and made available on a weekly basis on the
Internet.  Files are available vie email request or ftp at world.std.com
in:

ftp: world.std.com /pub/uy-fanfic    email request: uy-fan@lexicor.com
*********************************    *********************************

This Fanfic was first uploaded to GENIE and is now available on the Internet.

note: This is very alternative UY and highly recommendable UY fanfic
=====

Enjoy,

        Yat Siu

        - ysiu@lexicor.com

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             Alt-Urusei Yatsura Chapter III

           "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"
            _________________________________
     They had finally kissed and now they both knew that
their worlds could never be the same.  What a miracle it
was, Lum thought.  A dream has become reality.   But as she
looked around at the destruction that she had caused, the
destruction of a place that was all too familiar, she
wondered whether it was a dream or a nightmare.   Looking at
Ataru, she wondered if there were any real possibility of
expecting his love, once he realized what she had done.  For
now,  he only knew that it was her people who caused this
destruction.  He didn't know that it was by her direct
command.  She had to tell him.   She wanted him by her side
when she took the throne.  She wanted him as her emperor and
not Rei.  For that, he had to know who she was.  Even so,
she thought, there were so many obstacles in the way.  It
seemed unimaginable that they could ever surmount them.
    They sat together now among the ruins.  The streets were
still empty.  The terror had stopped, but the people weren't
ready to rush out of their homes just yet.   As far as Lum
was concerned this was good.  She couldn't bear to look at
their faces.  She was sure that she would recognize them
all.   Lum and Ataru both remained silent, keeping their
confused thoughts to themselves.  What does one say to a
dream who suddenly comes to life?
    Ataru looked at Lum sitting next to him.  This was not
entirely the same Lum that he had encountered in his dreams.
The face was the same, but the uniform was entirely
different.  And there was a tragic sadness to her.  The Lum
he knew wasn't like that.  She would pout now and again, and
of course, get very angry, but on the whole she was light-
hearted and cheerful.  Sadness never touched her face for
very long, but this Lum seemed to be used to sadness.   She
seemed to carry a great weight, and was not free like the
Lum he knew.  He began to wonder if his dream really had
come to life, or was this some kind of farce.   Looking
around at the destruction, he wondered if there was
something far more terrible about this Lum than a temper and
lightning bolts.  He felt wary, but he was still willing to
believe in the dream.
    Breaking the silence between them he asked, "How much of
the dream Lum, are you?  I don't remember the uniform."
    She looked down at her uniform.  She had been such a
rush to get down there that she hadn't bothered to put on a
flight suit.    She wasn't in her dress uniform, just the
standard issue, but given her rank there was enough gold to
let anyone know that she was high up the ladder.   She had
worn this uniform, or one like it, every day for the past
four years and it never bothered her, or impressed her in
any way.   Now the uniform looked ostentatious and imperial.
She didn't feel right in it any more.   She looked up at
Ataru's face.   He patiently waited for an answer.
    "There's a lot about me that never came up in the
dreams," she said.
    "How much?" he asked and wanted to take it back as soon
as he said it.   It had come out too strongly.   It was
improper to be so forward to someone he had just met, but at
the same time there was such familiarity with her face.
Still it was a very abrupt thing to say.  He had to remind
himself that this was not the same Lum he had come to know.
He was becoming more sure that there was a new person
attached to that face.
    "Quite a bit, I'm afraid," she admitted, but quickly
added, "but there was also a lot of me that was in the
dreams.   All my feelings, and hopes. . . My heart was in
the dreams, Darling.  It's just that it wasn't in my life."
    She thought about the last thing that she had said, and
what Ten had always asked her.   "What does your heart say?"
he would ask.   She had told him that her heart wasn't much
to make decisions with, but in her dreams it was everything.
"My heart was in my dreams," she repeated to Ataru with more
confidence.   "How much of you do I know?"
    "Pretty much everything," he said.  "I'm rather average.
It was only in the dreams with you there that made Tomobiki
interesting.  In reality, it's just another Tokyo
neighborhood."
    "I don't believe that!" Lum said, glad to get a reprieve
from divulging more about her life that wasn't in the
dreams.   "What about Sakura and Cherry and Megane, and
Shinobu.  There was quite an assortment of characters here."
    Ataru sighed, remembering again how Shinobu had left
him.  "They're not as eccentric in real life," he said, but
then thought and added,  "Except maybe Cherry."   He turned
to her and caught her eyes.  "What do we do now?"
    It was such a simple question, Lum thought, but at the
same time so very difficult.  What should they do now?  What
does one do when a dream comes to life?   What does one do
while living a life, like Lum's, where even dreams must fit
within strictly defined criteria.  Lum had to marry Rei and
rule the empire.   There was no room in her structured life
for Ataru.  Only her dreams had held any room for him, and
even that was being challenged now.
    "My real life is very complicated," Lum began. "I've
wanted you to be a part of it so badly, but you were only a
dream.  Now . . ."  Lum's voice trailed off in indecision.
She knew that her life was coming to a head.  She had a
choice.  She could meekly follow the course that had been
set for her, or she could rebel.
    Ataru saw her indecision and smiled.  He stood and
offered her his hand.  She looked up at him questioningly.
    "I'd rather not sit here in the rubble," Ataru said,
"Why don't we go to my house, so I can show my parents that
I haven't been crazy."
    "I don't think that would be a good idea," Lum said
quietly.
    "Oh?"
    "I've already been to your house.  Your parents called
me a demon and chased me out."
    "That's sounds like them," he said smiling, "I'm sure
I'll be able to talk them into a better mood."
    It struck Lum, that there Ataru was, just like he was in
the dreams.  He wasn't hiding anything.  What was wrong with
her?  "Darling!" Lum said standing, "Don't you realize that
I ordered all this destruction.  No one here is going to
accept me now."
    Ataru just looked at Lum in astonishment, and confusion.
He had seen the invasion as the final crumbling of the real
world.  The appearance of Lum only confirmed his suspicions
that the real world had been taken over by his dream life.
It was obvious to him that Lum was the cause of violence,
but that she had intended it was a new idea.   The idea that
maybe Lum was a demon, as Cherry had said, seemed a little
more plausible now.  How many of the other things that had
happened to him, had she ordered, he wondered.  "Why?" he
asked.
    "It's what I do, dammit!"  Lum was feeling the full
brunt of her guilt now.  All the planets she had conquered
now seemed like Earth to her.  She couldn't shut it out
anymore.  She had invaded her home.  She thought of the
entire Empire, of all the planets that had been invaded over
time.  She thought of Benten's world, strangled to death by
the Azu's, and it became Earth as well.  "I'm an invader!
Don't you remember!" she shouted.  "That's how it all
started!  I invade planets.   Only this time there won't be
any race.  We've taken your planet and now we're going to
subjugate it's people, steal it's resources and then leave
it for dead, all it the name of the Uruseian Empire, and by
the command of its future Empress, ME! . . . Damn ME!"  Her
fists were clenched in terrible anger and guilt.  "Damn ME!"
she shouted again and ran off down the road.
    Ataru really had no clue of the internal debate that
tore at Lum's soul.   All her life she was taught
responsibility to the glory of the Empire.  She was taught
the game of family politics, which she had mastered to a
degree.   Like anyone in power, she was taught the necessity
of preserving the order on which that power rested.  She was
taught about the five thousand years in which that power had
grown.  She was taught how to overlook the suffering of the
people that she had conquered.   Now she watched that system
destroy the world she knew as home, a home far dearer to her
than Urusei had ever been.
    Ataru knew about none of this.  All he knew was that
everything that he had known as real before was gone.   The
object of his dreams was all that remained in this life,
now.   She was the only thing left of any value to him.  He
ran after her.  Cherry watched him go.
    Lum stopped and tried to regain her composure.  Tears
were streaming down her face, and she cursed herself for
acting like a fool.  Her training, and aristocratic
sensibilities were gaining a winning hand in her
subconscious.   There, she knew, was order and structure.
She held onto its firmness.   She only saw chaos the other
way.
    "You there!" she heard someone call.  Lum looked up.  It
was Kakugari.   He was dirty and looked slightly injured.
Chibi was with him.
    "What is that? A uniform?"  Kakugari asked.
    As they approached her, Chibi shouted,  "She's got green
hair!"
    "And horns," Kakugari finished.  "Megane!"
    "What are you?"  Kakugari said when he reached her.
    Lum wanted to smile, but there was nothing friendly
about the demeanor of Kakugari.    Face to face, in real
life, Lum noticed how large he was, and imposing, almost
frighteningly strong.   Megane came running up with Pama,
but stopped short in surprise.
    "My word!"  He said looking at Lum.  "Gentlemen, I
believe this is Ataru's dream girl."
    Everyone stood back, agape.
    "That's right," Lum said, "I'm Lum."   She hoped vainly
that recognition would ease the tension she felt.
    "So," Megane said, circling her.  "Dreams come to life.
This is most interesting.  That's a nice uniform you're
wearing.  You look very very military."  Lum didn't like his
tone of voice.
    "Do you really think this is Ataru's dream girlfriend,"
Pama asked.
    "She's beautiful,"  Chibi said.
    "Oh yes," Megane agreed, "she's beautiful, and seductive
as well, I'll bet."
    "What do you mean?" Lum asked.
    "It's quite simple," Megane responded. "You see, I'm not
as easily fooled as Ataru.  Your seductive powers will not
work on me."
    "What?!"
    "What are you saying, Megane?" Kakugari asked.  "She's a
dream come to life."
    "Look around you gentlemen.  This is no dream.  It's a
nightmare, and here is the angel of destruction."
    Megane was face to face with Lum, bearing down on her.
She found that she was involuntarily backing away.
    "Are you saying that she's some kind of monster, who
tricked Ataru in his dreams," Pama asked.
    "Or, he has willingly betrayed his people to this
invader.  In either case, she's a deadly enemy, and we are
at war."
    Lum looked on the faces on people she had once counted
as friends.  Megane was right.  This was a horrid nightmare.
There was violence in their eyes as they closed in on her.
She came to the planet in such a rush that she was
unprepared for confrontations.   She had brought no weapon,
and although she was a well-trained hand-to-hand fighter,
she did not believe that she could take all four of them.
"They were her friends," she thought to herself over and
over again as she continued to back away from their advance,
expecting the attack at anytime.
    "What are you idiots doing?!" came Ataru's voice.
    "Darling!" she yelled and ran to him.  She had never run
to anyone for protection before, except her father, but this
seemed natural to her.   Ataru stood proudly in front of
her.
    "What do you idiots think you're doing?" he asked again.
    "You and your dreams have betrayed us to this invader!"
Pama shouted.
    "What's wrong with you?  A couple days ago you were
hoping that she had kissed one of you."
    "That's before we knew that it was a kiss of death,"
Megane began. "Look around you. Doesn't the timing of her
arrival make it plain to you that she caused all this.  She
was using you to learn about this planet so that she could
invade it.   Now she is using you again to gain acceptance
on this planet.  It's so obvious that even you could figure
it out."
    Ataru had to admit that it did make a lot of sense.  He
looked at Lum.  She looked back at him as if she was
waiting for a decision.  He was about to speak, when a
fighter roared overhead.
    It was followed by several more.   Everyone ran for
cover expecting another attack.  Lum took cover too, as a
precaution.  She recognized the fighters.  The first was
Benten's.  The one's later were Rei and his squadron.   She
should have known that they would come down after her,
sooner or later.   She watched them bank around in the
distance and then come to a hover shortly down the road.
They landed, and she saw Benten leaping out of her fighter
almost before the ship came to a rest.   She could feel her
anger even from a distance.  Lum emerged from her shelter,
and met Benten halfway.
    "What the hell did you think you were doing?!" Benten
yelled.  Her face was red.
    The words shocked Lum.  At that moment, she realized
that she hadn't been speaking Uruseian since she came down
to the planet.   She had been speaking the native tongue as
if she had been born to it.  She hadn't even known.   She
wondered if Ataru was blessed by a similar understanding of
Uruseian speech.
    "He's here, Benten," she said.  Behind Benten, Rei also
had left his fighter, and was coming toward them.
    "Your Darling?" Benten mocked, "Yes, I heard.  The whole
damn ship heard.  They heard that you stopped the invasion
and came rushing down here in the middle of a goddamn war.
Fuck! Without even a damn weapon, just to find some figment
of your imagination."
    Lum's defenses went up.  She wasn't used to being talked
to like this.  "He's no figment!" she protested, "I found
him, and now I'm going to marry him!"
    At that point Rei had reached them, but stopped short.
"Lum?"
    Benten coughed loudly.  "It's obviously been a hard day
for you."  she said quickly to Lum.   "All the pressure of
the dreams and such.  We'll get you back to the ship, so you
can rest."
    Lum looked on Rei's stunned and hurt face.  She had made
a major slip.  She forgot her anger and decided to play
along with Benten.   She slumped a bit.  "I do feel a little
dizzy," she said.  She let her knees give way.  She knew Rei
would catch her, and he did.
    "We'll finish for you," he said.
    "No," Lum said quickly, letting Rei hold her up.  She
had to figure out a way to buy time.
    Benten jumped in.  Speaking to Rei, she said, "I'm going
to investigate this area and find out what brought her here.
They must have some powerful mind controlling weapon.  It
could be dangerous attacking the planet until we find out
what it is."
    Rei's furrowed his brows searching desperately for a
decision.  "Good," he said at last, "but not alone."  he
snapped his fingers and two of his men stepped  forward.
    Benten looked coldly at them.  "That's quite all right,"
she said.  "I work alone."   This statement was common
knowledge.   Very few people were willing to work with her.
That was by design.   Benten detested most Uruseians.
    Rei stared at Benten, beginning a contest he knew he
could not win, but he was too pig-headed to give up.
Something was not right here.
    Lum let out a moan, and said, "Please, I have to get
back to the ship."  then she switched to Japanese.  "Come to
Benten.  She'll take care of things.  I'll see you when I
can.  I love you, Darling."
    Even Benten was surprised by Lum's sudden language
change.  She guessed that Lum was faking it.  With an
urgency in her voice, she said, "She's talking gibberish,
Rei!  You had better get her to the doctor quickly."
    "Doctor?!"  Lum yelped, looking at Benten.
    "You need to take what's coming to you, or you'll start
acting crazy again."  Benten said with all the concern and
sympathy she could muster.
    Lum wasn't fooled, but she was in no position to start
an argument.
    "Rei," she said, "take me home."  She looked up at him,
wide eyed and innocent.  It was more than he could take.  He
gave the order to his squadron to return to their fighters.
He picked up Lum, and carried her back to his own fighter.
Lum caught Benten's eye as they left and nodded over to
where Ataru was hiding.    She also mouthed that there were
four others around.
    Benten acknowledged the signal and then began mocking
Rei carrying Lum with exaggerated movements.   She received
the appropriate response from Lum as Rei gently placed her
in his fighter.
    Soon they all flew off.   Benten looked at the quiet
scene around her.   She clapped her hands.  "All right,
everyone get out here!"
     Ataru cautiously emerged from his cover.   He didn't
understand Uruseian, but it was easy to guess what she had
said.
    He was still a little cautious though, aware of how
violent Benten could be.  However, he was moving too slowly
for Benten.   "Well, get the hell over here!"  she yelled
motioning him to come over.  He did.  Sizing him up, she
commented, "Not an incredible specimen, are you?"
    She looked around to see if anyone else had come out.
"Where the hell is the rest of them?!"
    She took out her weapon and fired at a likely hiding
place.   The weapon was on a low setting, but small pieces
of stone flew off from the wall she shot at, and Chibi made
a break for it.  Everyone else took their cue and ran.
    "Aww hell," she said, not knowing if she was supposed to
go after them or not.   Ataru tried to grab her gun arm to
stop her from shooting again.  She jerked away and in a
reflex act, almost struck him with her weapon.
    "Don't touch me," she commanded. "I wasn't going to
shoot him."
    "Why aren't you speaking Japanese?" Ataru said in his
own language.  Lum had come speaking Japanese just as he had
expected her to.  He assumed that everyone else would as
well.
    Benten was surprised.  In the Uruseian empire everyone
spoke Uruseian.  She was surprised to hear another language.
 She guessed it was the language that Lum was speaking.  How
did Lum learn it so quickly, she wondered.
    She looked at Ataru again.  What a mess he was going to
cause.  Lum wasn't going to want to take this planet now.
She would have to explain that.   Benten was also going to
have to sneak Ataru on the ship, which was going to prove to
be a hassle, and probably not a good idea to begin with.
And to top it all off, he didn't speak Uruseian.   She
sighed and pulled out a scanner.   Lum's shuttle was a half
a kilometer to the north.  She went off to it without
acknowledging Ataru again.  He guessed he was supposed to
follow her.
    So this was Benten, he thought.   No chains and a lot
more clothes, but she seemed about the same.  He had already
seen her temper a couple of times, and he had only just met
her.  What was this strange language she was speaking, he
wondered.   He wondered also what Lum was doing with Rei.
Maybe she loved him in real life.  He traipsed after Benten
through a couple of the neighbor's yards and soon came to
Lum's parked shuttle.  There were some curious people
looking over it.
    Benten fired a couple shots in the air.  "Get away from
there, you bastards!  Damn natives."   Benten's mood was
getting worse and worse the more she thought about the
complications that Ataru was going to cause.  If Lum didn't
have time to help her planet because of him, he would
quickly disappear.   She had given serious thought to making
him disappear now and of telling Lum that he was killed in a
fire fight with the locals, but she wasn't ready to hurt her
closest friend yet.
    Satisfied that everyone had cleared out, Benten
approached the shuttle and opened it.  She went in and
programmed the autopilot.  After she finished, she saw Ataru
quietly standing in the doorway.   She stood and pointed to
the chair she had been sitting in.  "Sit!" she said.   At
least she wouldn't have to fly with him.   He meekly came in
and sat where she indicated.   "Stay!" she said as she left
and closed the door.   She went back to her fighter.   She
would control the  shuttle from there.
    Ataru looked around the shuttle in amazement.  He had
flown in many space ships in his dreams, but this was real.
He realized that soon he would be in space.  It was all too
amazing.   Lights blinked silently on the console, following
some unknown plan.
    Suddenly the door opened.   Cherry was standing there,
with Shinobu.
    "Well, well," he said.  "You've kissed the demon and now
you're leaving with her.  Not surprising."
    "Ataru, how could you betray your planet like this?"
Shinobu pleaded.
    Ataru sighed.  "It couldn't be easy, could it?" he
thought.  "I'm not betraying anything," he said sharply. I'm
just leaving.  It's been made perfectly clear that I'm not
wanted here."  He directed the last statement at Shinobu,
who lowered her head.  Cherry entered the ship, and sat next
to Ataru.
    "Don't you realize the horrible things they'll do to you
up there?"
    "It can't be any more horrible than what happens to me
here!  I'm sure the ship will be leaving soon.  You had
better leave."
    Shinobu was about to protest, but in answer to Ataru,
the door swung closed; pushing her in.  The engine hummed to
life.   Benten's fighter screamed overhead, and the shuttle
dutifully lifted up to follow it.   Shinobu turned in panic
and began banging on the door.
    "Now see what you've done," Cherry said accusingly.
"You've delivered you girlfriend as well to the clutches of
that demon."

    "I didn't deliver anyone!" Ataru shouted.  "You brought
her here.  I didn't ask either of  you to come."
    "What's going to happen to us?"  Shinobu asked in panic.
The view outside began to darken at they left the
atmosphere.  The engines of Benten's fighter glowed up ahead
like some guiding lantern.
    "We will be experimented on, and probably dissected
alive to satisfy their alien curiosity," Cherry explained.
Shinobu fainted.
    "We are not going to be dissected!" Ataru protested.
"At least I'm not.  I hope someone will dissect you,
though."
    "We shall see, " Cherry said confidently.
    "Look!" he said pointing to the quickly approaching
fleet.   "This is the menacing power that you have brought
upon us.   Terror from the skies all for the sake of an
demon's kiss."
    Ataru stared at the huge ships of this small part of the
Uruseian fleet.  He still didn't believe Cherry's warnings
of doom.  At this point the nightmare that Cherry might be
right was thoroughly muted by the  reality of being trapped
in such a small enclosed space with the annoying monk.
Ataru began to consider leaving the shuttle for a certain
death in the spatial vacuum.   The Uruseian ships didn't
look menacing to him.  They looked like a welcome relief of
open space to be away from Cherry.   He hoped that he could
convince Lum to send Cherry back down quickly.
    Shinobu began to get up.   Ataru looked down at her, and
went to help.   He looked back up at the lead Uruseian
battle ship, which now filled the screen.   What was he
flying headlong into, he wondered.   Maybe a little of
Cherry's caution wouldn't be too bad a thing.   He had to be
careful not to forget that Lum had ordered the attack.  He
must not forget the possibility that Megane was right, and
that Lum was using him to get Earth.   He didn't want to
believe any of it, but wasn't it wise to at least consider
the possibility.    The shuttle banked and followed Benten's
fighter into a bay on the side of the ship.
    Benten landed her fighter and watched the shuttle
quietly come to a landing next to it.    She saw two bay
crew personnel coming to help with the shuttle.   She had to
think of something quickly.  Benten leaped out of the
fighter, and met them halfway.
    "Where the hell do you think you two are going?!"
    "We know your fighter is off-limits, but the shuttle has
to be re-prepped," one of them said condescendingly.  She
detected a bit of racism in his voice.   Well, as least she
wouldn't have to fake her anger.
    "You had better watch your attitude.  I got my fighter
scratched out there and I don't need any of your goddamn
lip!"
    "Yes, maam," the attendant said, getting a little
nervous.
    The other, wiser, attendant was tugging at the first
one's shoulder.   "We can prep it later," she said.
    "Yeah, take this idiot out so I don't have to beat him
senseless.  My bike's been scratched.   I'm going to need
some time alone."
    The second attendant was already making her way back.
"Come on. We're missing the game."
    "Yeah, the game!  Well if you want to be alone, I can
understand, " he said and quickly left.
    "I hate Uruseians," Benten muttered and went to the
shuttle.   She made another check to see if the bay was
clear.  It was.  She checked the monitor camera to make sure
it was safely blocked by her fighter.  Satisfied that they
were unobserved, Benten opened the shuttle.   Cherry stood
in the air lock.
    "Who the hell are you?!" she asked in  astonishment.
    "Be gone, demon," Cherry said and made a mystic sign.
    Benten uttered a curse and yanked Cherry out of the
shuttle.  Then she saw Shinobu quivering next to Ataru.
Benten looked accusingly at Ataru, who shrugged.   "You
thought you'd invite some friends!  Just wait until you
learn Uruseian.   I'm going to have some choice words for
you."   She roughly motioned for Ataru and Shinobu to leave
the shuttle.  They did.
    When Benten turned, she saw Cherry pawing her "bike".
This was the last straw.  She pulled her gun, but Ataru
blocked her and moved Cherry away from the fighter.
    "You're going to get us killed," he told Cherry.
    "You admit we are in danger," Cherry answered, "Don't
worry death is inevitable.  This fact makes us strong."
    "Will you get moving," Benten called.
    Ataru looked over and saw Benten making her way toward a
door.   She was glancing nervously back and forth, and
frantically waving for them to come.   Ataru grabbed
Shinobu's hand and they went to Benten.  He was glad to see
that Cherry also came.
    They went through the door and entered a short hall with
five doors.   Benten went to the middle one and stopped to
see if everyone else was coming.   They went in.   It was
Benten's quarters.   They were much smaller than Lum's and
extremely messy.   There were clothes everywhere, and a half
built fuel pump sat in a greasy mess on a table.  There was
also a bit of a stench.   Benten was going around furiously
picking up clothes and checking for bombs.   She cleared
some chairs and motioned for them to sit.   Then she left.
    Shinobu looked around herself in disgust.  "I used to
believe that your room was a mess, Ataru."
    "Benten's not what one would call cultured," Ataru
explained.
    "You know her?" Shinobu asked.  "How many girls were you
seeing in your dreams?"
    "There were quite a few," Ataru admitted, "but Benten
wasn't chasing me like Lum was."
    "That's a relief."
    "We must figure out how to escape," Cherry said going to
the door.
    "Benten has a short fuse, Cherry, and you've already
started it burning.  You had better stay put."
    "I agree with Ataru," Shinobu said, "Don't make her any
angrier."
    "It's locked," Cherry said.  He went back to his seat.
"Every second we're in their clutches puts us and the Earth
in more danger.   We must escape and sabotage the fleet, so
they can't attack us again."
    "Sabotage the fleet?!"  Ataru stood and yelled.   "You
idiot!  You can't even open the door.  I'm planning to stay,
and I'm not going to sabotage anything.
    Just then the door opened.  Benten entered the room with
some type of electronic headset.   She started to put it on
Ataru's head, but Cherry jumped up to stop her.  Benten's
gun came out quickly.  She uttered some words that sounded
pretty nasty, and her eyes showed how little it would take
to get her to pull the trigger.   Cherry reluctantly sat
down.
    Benten finished her work, and took seven small disks out
of her pocket.  She studied each of the them, laughing at
one, and then took a different one and inserted it into the
headset.
    "What is she doing?" Shinobu asked.
    "Probably, getting ready to erase his brain, not that it
will have much effect on him,"  Cherry said.
    Ataru was about to answer when Benten flicked a switch
on the side of the device.   Ataru's mouth seized up and
searing pain shot through his brain.   The terrible thought
that his brain was being erased, filled him.   Then with a
flick of a switch the pain stopped, though he still had a
headache.
    "Now do you understand me?" Benten asked.
    Ataru did.  Amazement washed through his face.
    "The Ataru we knew has been wiped away forever," Cherry
said.
    Shinobu buried her face in her hands and began to weep.
    "What the hell's the matter with her?" Benten asked.
    "They think you erased my brain," Ataru said, surprised
at the sounds he was making.   In a matter of seconds he had
been made fluent in an alien language.

    "Damn," Benten said taking the headset off Ataru. "I
knew I shouldn't have done it.  Now you sound like one of
those fucking aristocrats."
    "What do you mean?"
    "All of these disks contain the Uruseian language, but
they have different accents.   I thought I'd give you an
Uruseian aristocratic accent so that you might be accepted
easier."
    "You have a West Quadrant accent, don't you?" he asked.
    "Yes," she said with a hint of annoyance.
    "How do I know that?"
    "The device writes the language to your brain.  The disk
is a recording of the neural pathways of a native speaker.
Naturally, you get a little of their knowledge along with
the language.   There is more to a language than just words
and meanings.  There's also a little culture.   Now, enough
of the lesson, who the hell are these two?"
    "They came on the ship after you left.  They were
trying to convince me to stay, and then the shuttle took
off."
    Benten fell roughly into her seat.  "You were bad
enough.  What are we going to do with them?"
    A buzzer sounded at the door.  Benten cursed, and
yelled, "Who is it?"
    "It's me, Ten."
    Benten pushed a button. "Come."
    "Ten?" Ataru repeated.  "Jariten?"
    Ten came through the door.  Ataru was greatly surprised
by what he saw.   He was actually expecting to see a small
child, not this squat man.   Ten looked at Ataru and smiled.
    "So you're the dream boy.  Nice to meet you."  He
offered his hand.
    Ataru shook it.
    "Ataru," Shinobu asked, "Who is this?  How are you
speaking their language?"
    Ataru was still amazed at how large Jariten was.  He
said to Shinobu, "This is Jariten, Lum's cousin.  He's
supposed to be a lot smaller.   The machine taught me the
language.  It hurts some, but it works."
    "And I'm sure it brainwashes you at the same time,"
Cherry offered.  "Shinobu, we are better off with our
ignorance."
    "Don't worry Shinobu, I'll see if they'll take you back
to Earth,"  Ataru said.
    "I thought you would just bring up Ataru," Jariten
asked.
    Benten groaned.   "That's what I thought too, but these
two decided to stow away!"
    "Could you take them back?" Ataru suggested.
    "I'd like to," Benten said.
    "It would be difficult," Jariten explained.  "We'd have
to come up with some excuse to go back down to the surface."
    "We're already flying on half thrusters," Benten
observed.  "Where's Lum?"
    "They took her straight to the doctor," Ten said, "Her
mad rush down to the planet is going to be hard to explain.
Everyone knows that the dreams were traced to this world,
and also that it was that knowledge which caused Lum to stop
the war, but they don't know if she found Ataru or not."
    "She left without me,"  Ataru observed.
    "Exactly, so they'll think that you are still down
there."
    "If I were Rei," Benten observed, "I'd obliterate the
entire island to make sure that Ataru was destroyed,
especially after what Lum said."
    "What did she say?" Ten asked.
    "She blurted out before everyone that she was going to
marry Ataru."
    "Great."
    "Destroy the whole island?  Just to get me, but . . ."
    "Rei's not much for finesse, and Uruseian's don't give
much value to slaves, like you and me."
    "But all those people, my parents. . . What do you mean
slaves?"
    "Lum hasn't told you anything, has she?" Benten asked.
    "We didn't have much time,"  Ataru admitted.
    "You've spent the last six months with her,"  Jariten
said.
    "The dreams?   Nothing like this was ever in the dreams.
 Lum lived on Earth and no one from Urusei ever came to
attack it.  There was nothing about slaves."
    "There was nothing about the Uruseian empire or Lum's
position in it?"
    "No, not really.  Her parents seemed important, but
nothing was directly said about who they were.   We really
didn't worry about it."
    "Interesting," Jariten commented.
    "Ataru," Shinobu broke in, "I'm frightened.  I want to
understand what's going on."
    "So do I," Ataru admitted.
    Benten dropped down on her bed.   Jariten looked for a
place to sit, but saw that everything was too dirty.  "You
haven't cleaned up from the bomb yet, eh?"
    "I don't need that, now!" Benten said sharply.
    Jariten shrugged, and remained standing. "Whatever.
Lum's going to want us to educate him."
    "I know.  I know."
    "How about my home?" Ataru asked.  "We can't let Rei
blow it up."
    "I don't see where we have much choice,"  Benten said,
"Besides it will buy us some time."
    "Lum's not going to want him to blow it up, either,"
Jariten observed.
    Shinobu got up and took the language headset.  She
started to put it on.
    "Hey! That thing's nothing to play with," Benten said,
rushing to her.
    "She wants to understand what's going on," Ataru said.
    Benten looked into Shinobu's eyes.  She could see how
lost Shinobu was and felt pity for her.   "All right, but
I'm not going to make her talk like some damn aristocrat
too."  She tossed that particular disk away, and selected
another.  "She's going to talk with my accent."   Benten
smiled at her choice disk and placed it in the device.  She
went about setting it up for Shinobu.   Sitting Shinobu
down, Benten shot an icy glare at Cherry to make sure that
he didn't get up.
    "Watch the old man," Benten said to Jariten, "He's  been
damn annoying the whole trip."
    "He's like that."  Turning to Shinobu, Ataru said, "This
is going to hurt, but it will be over soon."
    "Very accurate choice of words," Cherry added.
    Benten flicked the switch, and Shinobu's head swing
back.  She wanted to scream, but found that she couldn't
move her mouth.   About the time she felt she couldn't bear
it any longer, it was over.   "How do you feel?" Benten
asked.
    "I understand you," Shinobu said softly.
    "Yeah, great isn't it."   Benten took the headset off
and looked at Cherry.  She hesitated.   "Only so I can swear
at him."  she said and went to him.
    He put up his hand.  "Tell her that I don't want her
machine," he said.
    "There's nothing wrong with it," Shinobu said.
    "That's what the machine told you to say."
    "He doesn't want it,"  Ataru said, wondering why he let
himself get in the middle of this.
    Benten locked eyes with Cherry and she thought about
pulling her gun.   Actually, she thought more specifically
about vaporizing him, and solving her problem that way, but
she didn't feel like having to explain herself to Lum.
    "Fine!" she said and threw the headset on her bed.
    "Are you people really from Ataru's dreams?" Shinobu
asked, "I'm mean, Ataru you know everyone here already."
    "Well, sort of,"  Ataru admitted.
    Jariten raised an eyebrow, "Sort of?"
    Ataru looked at Jariten and thought for a moment how he
would explain the differences he saw, then he though better
of it.  "I think I had better not explain."

    Jariten cocked his head, and studied Ataru's expression
"Maybe not," he agreed.
    He then turned to Shinobu.  "Yes, dear lady we've all
been the subject of the dreams of these two, and I am glad
to say that I have heard your name before, although I must
admit that Lum never mentioned how pretty you were."
    Shinobu blushed.
    "Stop!" Benten said pounding her fist on the table.
    "What?" Jariten asked innocently.
    "Stop it."
    "I was just being polite, and complimenting a beautiful
woman."
    "I know what you were doing, and we don't have time.
I've got to think up something to tell Rei.  I told him I
was going to search for the source of the dreams on the
planet.   I can't tell him what I found."
    "Yes,"  Jariten said, "we're going to have to do
something about Rei, aren't we?   We don't want him finding
out about Ataru until we're ready and we don't want him
destroying several million people just to get him.  He needs
to be distracted."
    "He needs more than that, but what do you have in mind?"
    "Leave that to me," he said, smiling devilishly.
    "Whatever, and what am I supposed to do with our guests?
They're not staying here."
    "I would like to see Lum again," Ataru asked.  Shinobu
turned her head away.
    The act caught Jariten's attention.   "I agree," he said
answering Benten, "They can't stay here.  Who knows when the
next bomb will go off?" He shot her a knowing smile, and she
stuck her tongue out at him.  "I know a couple empty rooms
where we could hide them, until things can be arranged.
I'm sure Lum will come as soon as she's able.    Benten, why
don't you take them to 912A?  It's furnished.  They'll be
fine there."
    "912A?!  That's a fucking command residence, and it's on
the other side of the ship.   How am I going to get them
there?"
    "I know where it is.  It's only one floor down from
Lum's quarters.  They'd never suspect that we'd be crazy
enough to hide anyone there."
    "Damn right it's crazy.  How am I going to get them
there?"
    Jariten winked and he turned to go out the door.  "Be
resourceful.  I have a bull to distract.  Bye all.  Bye
Shinobu."   He blew her a kiss, and disappeared out the
door.
    Benten threw a pillow at the door.  She turned to Ataru
and Shinobu.  "This has been a bad day."
    Benten began pacing.
    "What will happen to us if we're discovered here?"
Shinobu asked.
    "What the hell do you think?!" Benten said roughly, and
continued pacing.  Shinobu decided it was best not to ask
any more questions.
    Suddenly Benten stopped.  She turned to the three and
said, "Wait here."  With that she left the room.
    "We're going to be killed, aren't we?"  Shinobu asked
Ataru in their native language.
    "Of course,"  Cherry answered and got up.  He went to
the door, and opened it.  "I thought so.  It isn't locked
this time."
    "Cherry," Ataru said standing. "They're going to put us
in a safer place.  We have to stay here."
    "Safer for whom?"  Cherry responded.  He peered both
ways down the hall.  "Our best and only course is to escape
while we can.  Come along Shinobu."
    "I'm staying with Ataru," she said.  "If we leave,
we'll be killed."
    Cherry looked at her with genuine concern.  "I told you
that helmet would brainwash you.    I will go alone, then.
I'll see if I can find some way to help you."  Cherry went
into the hall and the door closed behind him.   Ataru rushed
to the door as it closed.
    "Ataru, if he gets caught, they'll find us,"  Shinobu
said getting out of her chair.
    "I know!  Damn him!"
    "We should go and get him."
    "We have to wait for Benten.  She'll be mad enough at
Cherry without finding us all gone."
    Just then the door opened revealing Benten carrying
three flight suits.  "We can get pretty far with these,"
she said.  Then she noticed the expressions on Ataru and
Shinobu's faces.  "What's . . . Damn!   Where the hell is
he?"
    "The door wasn't locked, so he escaped,"  Ataru said.
    "And you just let him go.   Maybe I should just shoot
you both now and save security the trouble when he gets
caught!  Damn!"
    "He can be very sneaky, when he wants to," Ataru
offered.
    "For ours sakes, I hope so.   Well put these on," she
said, throwing down the uniforms.  "I'll take care of you
first."
    While they were slipping the flight suits on, Benten
asked, "What does he expect to accomplish, anyway?"
    "He was talking before about sabotaging the fleet so
they couldn't attack Earth again.  Of course, he doesn't
know anything about this ship."
    "It doesn't take a brain to damage a ship, once your
inside," Benten offered.  "Damn!  As if things weren't bad
enough."
    When they finished, Benten looked them over.  "Fine, but
now we have to cover your heads, or your lack of horns will
give us away."
    "You don't have any horns," Shinobu said.
    "Yes, and I'm the only one on the whole ship.  Everyone
knows me.  Very few non-Uruseians get to join the fleet.
They don't want the guns falling into too many the wrong
hands, I suppose." Benten laughed as if remembering an
inside joke.  "Hmm.  Helmets, in residential halls, would
look suspicious.  Of course, I am also going to look a bit
suspicious in the command residences."   Her face became
serious as she looked at her two charges.  "How does he
expect me to do this?"
    Suddenly a klaxon sounded.   Ataru was surprised at the
speed in which Benten grabbed her helmet and was heading
toward the door.
    "What's going on?"  he called out, when she was half-way
out.
    "Scramble siren,"  she said. "We're under attack."   She
stopped in the doorway, remembering her other
responsibilities.  She looked at Ataru and Shinobu, and then
down the hall.  The siren continued to sound.  "Damn!"  she
said and tossed her helmet to Shinobu.   "Put that on.
Ataru, stay between me and the girl, and move fast."
    Ataru and Shinobu came up behind Benten.  She peered
around the corner.   A pilot ran out of his quarters in a
rush and ran toward the hangar.  "Go!"  Benten said, and
they ran out the room.
    The klaxon continued to sound and everyone was rushing
to battle stations.  No one paid much attention to the three
of them as they ran through the halls.
    Benten moved very quickly, confidently guiding Ataru and
Shinobu through a maze of halls and ladders.    Benten
refused to use the lifts.    As they moved higher and higher
up, the halls began to clear.   By the time they reached
level nine, section A, there was no one around.   Benten
lead them to room 912A and was surprised to find it
unlocked.  She shoved Shinobu and Ataru in.  Following them,
she closed and locked the door.
    Benten turned and saw Ataru and Shinobu staring in awe.
Benten's mouth also fell open.    This was an upper level
command residence, so she expected it to be larger, and more
comfortable than her own, but she was not prepared for the
opulence that now greeted her.   She looked around at the
rich decorations and suddenly realized how Spartan Lum's
quarters were.
    The siren stopped and a voice sounded over the P.A.

"There is no attack.   Repeat, there is no attack.  Stand
down.  We have experienced a computer error, which has been
corrected.    There is no attack.  Please resume your
earlier duties.   Message ends."
    Benten laughed loudly, and plopped down on the large,
plush couch.  "Hah!  Jariten!  Computer error, my ass.  Will
you look at this place?"
    "Do all the officers live like this?"  Shinobu asked,
handling a crystalline curio from the night stand.
    "I don't know,"  Benten said.  "I never thought so.
This is a room that Jariten said would be clear.  I wonder
how he got it?"
    "Take a look at this bathroom!"  Ataru said, calling
them over to the room he was looking at.  The women came
over at Ataru's request.   Benten had been to hundreds of
planets, but she had never seen porcelain as rich as this.
The tub was huge, large enough for four, maybe five people.
Benten was starting to realize the truth of 912A.
    "This is no standard officers quarters," she said.
"Jariten surprises me at every turn."
    "You mean, he uses this for . . ." Shinobu  blushed.
    "You have to admit, he has balls.  On the same floor
with all the fucking generals, Jariten has a bachelor pad.
Hell, even Rei's quarters are two floors down from here."
Benten laughed.   She laughed until she was almost falling
over.   "I wish I had known about this earlier.  It would
have come in handy."
    "So we're safe now?"  Shinobu asked sitting on the bed.
    Benten stopped laughed and looked seriously at Shinobu.
"Safe?"  Benten said.  "I suppose.   As things are, you'll
never be very safe, but hell, what a room to be hiding for
your lives in.   There's got to be some liquor somewhere."
Benten went searching through cabinets and cupboards until
she found what she was looking for.
    "That angel!" she squealed.  "Bandar '91, Yuli of the
gods.  This makes up for the entire day."
    "Yuli?"  Ataru asked.
    "Yeah, have you no fucking culture?  Yuli is the
ritziest alcohol money can buy, and Bandar '91 is the
ritziest yuli ever.   Hah!  He's got five bottles here.
Well, he's not going to mind if we finish one, or two, or .
. ."  Benten giddily brought the bottle to the bed and
plopped down next to Shinobu.  She started working to get
the cork out.
    "Only the best yuli still uses a cork," she told
Shinobu.  "Ataru, why don't find some glasses."

    Lum, with Ran by her side, made her way back to her own
room.  Her session with the doctor was an unbearable string
of questioning and evading.   She couldn't tell him anything
of what she found.  She couldn't tell him how familiar
everything was on Earth.  And she couldn't say anything
about finding Darling.   However, Talo had been Lum's doctor
since she was four.  He knew her inside and out, literally.
He knew when she was being evasive.  He knew she was lying.
Fortunately, he was enough of a family friend not to tell
anyone on the ship, but she knew that the doctor would
definitely tell her father.
    She knew how difficult her actions had made her
situation with regards to her succession.  Her father would
tell her to send Ataru back down to the planet and forget
him.   The best she could hope for would be to arrange to
have Earth left alone, at least during her reign, and
Ataru's lifetime.   Ran quietly ushered her into her room,
and began undressing her.
    "It's the middle of the day, Ran?"  Lum protested.
    "I know what time it is, but the doctor said that you
were to rest, and that is what you are going to do."
    "Ran, I am fine."
    "That's not what the doctor said.  Now are you  going to
bed on your own, or will I have to sit and watch you to make
sure that you do?!"
    Lum studied the determination in Ran's eyes.   Sighing,
she went to her zero gravity chamber, and called for zero
gravity.   She floated to a more horizontal position.
Turning to Ran, she said, "Happy?"
    Collecting Lum's clothes Ran said, "I'm just doing what
I feel is best for you.  There's no call to be snippy."
    Lum smiled.  "I'm sorry, Ran.  I appreciate your
concern."
    "That's better,"  Ran made her way to the door.  "I'll
look in on you in a tenth.  Please try to rest."
    "I will."
    "Good," Ran said and left the room.
    Once outside Ran met Ten.  "The mistress is resting.
She is not to be disturbed,"  Ran said firmly.
    "I have no intention of disturbing her, dear lady," Ten
said.  "It's you I have come to see."
    "Oh?"

    Lum waited for four thousandths until she got out of
bed.  She was eaten up with impatience.   She knew that
Ataru was on the ship, now all she had to do was to find out
where.   She went to her closet and found some casual
clothes.   "Computer! Time?"
    "Point 68:91."
    Ran would show up around point 78 to come and look in on
her.  It gave her a bit of time.    "Computer:
communications, flight control."
    "Lt. Unot Wan, flight control," came a female voice.
"Who is this?"
    "Redet Lum."
    "Yes, princess.  What can I do for you?"
    "Has Benten returned yet?"
    "She returned at point 57:42.  She also brought your
shuttle with her."
    "That's was before the false scramble alert, wasn't it?"
    "Yes, maam.  The scramble was at point 59:34.  We still
haven't traced the cause of the error yet.  Sorry, my
princess."
    "That's all right," Lum said. "You've been very helpful.
Lum out."
    Lum guessed that the scramble was a ruse, probably
concocted by Jariten to move Ataru to a safe place.  He
could be anywhere on the ship, but at least she knew he was
on the ship, and he was safe.   Now it was a matter of where
to look for him.
    As it turned out, Lum was not totally in the dark about
Jariten's nefarious activities on the ship.  Of course, he
had told her a lot of it, to amuse her when  she was down,
but she had also done a little detective work on her own.
An Empress should be good, in her own right, at ferreting
out secrets.   If she could discover Ten's secrets, she
felt, she could find out anyone's.  Lum knew about the
various rooms that Ten used for spying, for women, or just
for hiding out from Rei.   Two were very close to Lum's
room.   The one just below her own room was the easiest for
her to find out about because she heard the parties.  That
seemed the most likely place to start.   Ten would put them
in someplace that was easy for her to find.
    She listened at her door, hoping to hear if Ran was
waiting there for her.  Ran was just cautious enough to do
it, and who could blame her.   Satisfied, Lum opened the
door.  The hall was clear.   The tenth floor of section A
was given entirely over to Lum.   The only other quarters on
the whole floor was Ran's servant quarters, which
unfortunately were right next to the lift.   There was no
way that Ran would not hear the lift doors opening so Lum
went to the emergency ladder.   She dropped down to the
ninth floor.
    The hall was clear.  Lum had escaped.   Room 912A was
only a short distance away.   She crossed the hallway, but
found the door locked.  That wasn't unexpected.    It didn't
matter.   Her thumb print opened every door on the ship.
She opened the door and was almost bowled over by the
raucous laughter.
    Benten and Ataru were sitting on the bed surrounded by
empty yuli bottles.   Their faces were flush and it looked
as though they were having a drinking contest.  Lum quickly
entered the room, locking the door behind her.  Glancing
around she was shocked by luxury of the room.   Ten really
knew how to live.   She was also shocked by the sight of
Shinobu snoozing peacefully on the sofa.
    "Darling?  Benten!"
    "Lum-chan," Ataru said loudly, mixing languages.  "I was
just telling Benten about some of my fights with Jariten."
    "A little floating kid in tiger-striped diapers!  That's
great!"  Benten shouted.
    Lum felt herself going pale.   "What else did you tell
her about the dreams?!"
    "Oh just about everything!"  Benten answered.
    "That was a boss outfit you had for me, a little drafty,
though.  And Rei, turning into a big orange bull when he
gets mad!"  Benten fell off the bed laughing.
    Lum felt just like someone who had caught her best
friend reading her personal diary.   She felt betrayed and
hurt.  Lum forgot all about Shinobu.  She marched over to
the bed, her fists were clenched.
    "Uh oh," Ataru said. "She's going to hit us with a
lightning bolt!  We better duck."  In an effort to duck, he
too fell off the bed.  He got up quickly and ran to the
bathroom.  His face was green.
    Lum went around he bed and looked down at Benten.
Benten stopped laughing and looked up at Lum.  "Hiya Lum!"
she said, trying to contain her mirth.
    "You were supposed to hide him, not get him drunk!"
    Benten sat up, but was still on the floor.  "Well you
know, there was the room, and the Yuli. . . Bandar '91!"
She held up an empty bottle, and then looked at it.  "Shit!
This is the '93.  I guess we ran out of '91."
    Lum sighed and sat on the bed.
    "'Ya pissed at me?" Benten asked.
    "A little," Lum admitted.
    "He's safe and sound, and I even brought a second one.
We had a third, but he got away.  Bastard."  Benten swayed.
It was an effort for her to sit up.  The floor kept shifting
on her.
    "Who was the third?"
    "Oh, I don't know, but he sure was annoying.  Hey, Aho!
What was that other guy's name?"
    "Cherry," came the muffled response.
    "Yeah, that was it.  What a ba - bas - idiot!"
    "Cherry's running around loose on the ship?!"
    "I had to get Aho safe and then I was going to go after
Cherry, but there was the room and the yuli . . . Bandar
'91!  Yuli of the gods!"
    Lum slumped over and rubbed her temples.  Things weren't
starting well.  They would be making their way back to
Urusei tomorrow for her coronation in two weeks.   Now her
Darling was drunk, Shinobu had passed out, and Cherry was
wandering the ship somewhere.   She didn't know what Cherry
was like in real life, but the thought of what he might do
worried her greatly.   Not to mention if he got caught.
How did Shinobu and Cherry get into this anyway, she
wondered.
    Ataru crawled out of the bathroom.  "Lum!  You're still
here!  Have you seen the tub in there?   Actually, it
doesn't look so great now.   You'd better look after it gets
cleaned up.  He fell over, and began snoring loudly.
    "I win!" Benten announced.
    Lum took a half emptied bottle of yuli and guzzled it
down.

    It was in better spirits and a little tipsy that Lum
made her way back up the emergency ladder and to her room to
be there for Ran's inspection.
    "Computer. Time?"
    "Point 77:70."
    Lum smiled.  There was no chance that Ran would have
stopped by early.   Ran was nothing, if not  punctual.   Ran
had been Lum's personal servant for four years, and Lum had
made great use of Ran's punctuality.   Lum took off her
clothes and hung them neatly back in the closet.   She went
to her zero gravity bed and waited for Ran.
    Earlier downstairs, Lum had sat all alone in the large
luxurious room.  Benten had fallen asleep after a few more
unintelligible words.  Lum moved Ataru to the bed, and
Benten to the second smaller couch.  She put blankets over
all three of them, and then she sat on the bed where she had
lain Ataru.   Lum spent the entire time, until she returned
to her room, just sitting on the bed and looking at his
face.   Occasionally, she would gently reach down to brush
back his hair, or caress his cheek.  She left them all
sleeping soundly.
    Floating, now in her own bed, she still thought of Ataru
and smiled warmly.   She hoped that soon she wouldn't have
to be so secretive about him.   She hoped that he could
stand proudly next to her for all to see.    It would take a
lot of work, but she was determined to see that happen.
    A voice sounded over the intercom, "Princess Lum?"
    "Yes, what is it?"
    "Oh, thank the spirits.  I was about to send someone.
I've been trying to get you for the past several hundredths.
I couldn't reach Ran, either."   It sounded like the girl
from communications.
    "I was detained.  What is it?"
    "It's your father.  He called at Point 70.  He wants to
talk to you, immediately.    He looked very upset.  I think
you should hurry."
    "Thank you," Lum said. "I'll be right down."
    Lum would normally be terrified of a message like that,
but she felt strangely calm.  Perhaps it was the alcohol, or
perhaps it was that she was expecting this call.   In either
case, she put on her spare uniform with cold efficiency, and
made her way to the communications room.   Lum thought it
was strange that Ran couldn't be reached.   Ran was never
busy with anything, but Lum's affairs.  She should be in her
room.   Lum would look into it later.   Right now, the
Emperor of the Uruseian Empire wanted to talk to her, and
she was late.
       Very shortly after Lum had left, Ten arrived in 912A.
Lum had cleaned much of the mess up before she left.   The
empty bottles were placed neatly on the coffee table.
Overturned nick-nacks were put back in their proper places.
However, Ten was still shocked at what he saw.   The empty
bottles caught his immediate attention.   He picked one up
and read the label.
    "No," he whispered.
    He rushed over to Benten and shook her awake.
    "Bandar '91, yuli of the gods," she said dreamily, and
started to doze off again.
    Jariten was not about to let her.  "Do you realize how
expensive this was?"
    "Worth every credit," Benten answered, still mostly
asleep.
    He held the empty bottle gently in his hands.  "I never
even got a sip."
    "Not true!"  Benten shouted, suddenly awake.  "I left
you some over there."  She pointed to an empty table.  She
squinted at the table.  "Maybe not."   She passed out again.
    Jariten gave up trying reason, and sat down sadly on the
chair next to Benten's couch.   He stood up quickly.  There
was something under the cushion.   Lifting the cushion, he
found that there was indeed one unopened bottle of Bandar
'91.   Jariten smiled.
    He went and got his finest glass, which was hidden
behind a trick door in the wine cabinet.  It was his Great
grandfather's glass, and his most precious possession.
Thieves tend not to be too trusting, so he kept it hidden.
He opened the bottle, and sat back down in the chair.
    Pouring himself a drink, he raised his glass, and
offered a toast.  "To Benten, for being so thoughtful, and
to a hard day's work, and a job well done."   He drained the
cup and poured himself another.
   The holoaudience chamber coalesced into life, revealing
an image of Lum's father.  His face was stern, and Lum felt
her earlier calm melting away.
    "Greetings, my daughter."
    "Greetings, father."
    There was what seemed to Lum like an incredible silence
between them.  Her father drew a breath.  "It has been
little more than a day since I left you.  I did not expect
to see  you again until you reached Urusei."
    "Yes, father."
    "My daughter has built a reputation of being level
headed and responsible.   These are good attributes for a
ruler to have.   Will you explain to me the events of this
morning; events that have family leaders counseling me
against turning over power to my mad daughter."
    Lum lowered her eyes.  "I'm sorry, Father," she said
meekly.
    "You are sorry?  When one is an emperor, one finds that
being sorry doesn't count for much.  Sorry does not placate
the families.   The dreams were traced to that planet, and
you went down, personally, to investigate."
    "Yes, father."
    "You found the source of the dreams?"
    Lum was silent, wanting to lie, but being unable to.
    "I see.  Where is he?"
    Lum remained guiltily silent.
    "I see.  Have you any idea of what you are going to do
with him?"
    Lum was still silent.  She didn't have the courage to
say what she wanted to say before her father.
    "I see," her father responded a third time to her silent
answers.  "I have told you how precarious your succession
is.   I have told you how careful you must be if you expect
to have any kind of smooth transition."
    "Yes, father."
    "Lum, I still trust you.  You have always done me proud.
I wouldn't be stepping down if I thought you weren't ready.
Do you know what are doing?"
    "No father," she said, much to her own surprise.   She
raised her eyes to meet his.  His face was no longer stern,
but compassionate.  "I'm following my heart."
    "I see," he said.  "It would look bad for you to make
for Urusei now.  Continue on schedule for another week.  You
have an extra week to work this out."
    "Yes father.  Thank you, father."
    "Don't betray my trust,"  he said and the image faded
away.
    Lum stared at the empty platform that had held the image
of her father.  She expected to be punished, to be told to
get rid of Ataru.  Her father's apparent acceptance of
Ataru's presence surprised her.   He left it in her hands,
even after she said she didn't have a plan.   It really
wasn't an acceptance of Ataru, though, it was an acceptance
of her.  He was letting her rule.  Right or wrong, he was
leaving it up to her now.
      His parting message burned in her brain.  Her father's
trust was precious.   Disappointing him was an anathema to
her.  She knew he understood her better than anyone.   He
knew how Lum felt about Rei.  He had to know of the ideas of
rebellion growing in her brain; not rebellion against her
father.  There was no force in the universe that would make
her do that, but rebellion against the system of families
that was forcing her to marry Rei and make Ataru a slave.
    She turned to leave the chamber.   What she wanted
required finesse, and guile.  To defeat the families she
would have to play the family game better than she had ever
done.  Before, she had played the game like a child; with a
little trick here, a little trick there.   Her eyes were
clear with determination.  Now she would play it like an
adult, like an Empress.   She was playing with real stakes
now, life, death, love,  freedom.   Winning this game was
her only option.  As she left the room, a tear ran down her
cheek.  She said out loud, "I won't betray your trust,
daddy."
    Ran waited in front of Rei's door holding a folded stack
of Lum's clothes.  She felt foolish, and felt as if she was
shirking her responsibilities.   Jariten had talked her into
doing this.    What had seemed like an excellent argument
before was less so now that she was actually here.
    Jariten had argued that since he was so good at spoiling
Rei's relationships he should be able to arrange them as
well.   He had further argued that Lum had already said that
she would like to see Rei and Ran together, so Ran would
still be serving Lum by doing this.   There was, of course,
Ran's own feelings towards Rei in the matter, but she
wondered whether she was really this desperate.
    Her station was still much lower than Rei's, and even if
a relation formed between her and Rei, it couldn't last.
Rei had many girlfriends, but there was no possibility of
permanency with any of them, because of Lum.
    Ran was concerned with station, especially her own.  Her
position as maidservant for the princess put her about as
high as she could get and not be on the List of Families.
Although she liked Lum, and felt her a kind master, she
envied Lum.  Lum was born with her high station, and Ran
felt that she did not appreciate the privileges that went
along with it enough.  She used so few of them.   Serving
Lum, Ran had a chance of being her maidservant when she
became Empress.   That was the real prize.  Ran would be
like Oyuki.   The maidservant of the Empress gained
immediate entrance into the List of Families.   Ran's
children would be born as aristocrats.   That's what she
really wanted.
    Even so, Rei was a greater prize, and Ran knew Jariten's
game very well.   For both Jariten and Ran there were two
winning scenarios.  The first, less likely possibility is
that Rei would lose interest in Lum and marry Ran.  This
way, Ran would be accepted into an already established,
powerful family, and Lum would be free to marry someone
else.   Someone of her own choice, if she worked fast
enough.
    The more likely scenario was that Ran might begin a
long-lasting affair with Rei, that continued after Rei and
Lum were married.  Ran would be the mistress of the Emperor
as well as the maidservant of the Empress.   This is not a
bad situation when one has the support of the Empress.   She
would have the Emperor's ear, and it would give her and
Jariten some control over Rei.   Ran might also be able to
gain some privileges for her bastard children, and there
would be some.   She would  see to that.
    It was all a part of the game of family politics, which
Ran was glad to play.  It was the only real way to increase
her station.   It was the only real way to make sure that
her children didn't have to serve anyone.  Ran even dared to
dream that her son, or grandson would be granted the
administration of a planet, or two.
    In either case, Ran would also have her chance to be
with Rei, even if it didn't last.  Ran wanted Rei's touch as
much as she wanted his station.  She didn't understand why
Lum didn't.  Ran didn't understand Lum.  She thought that if
Lum had to go through all this to get her own station,
perhaps she would appreciate it more.
    Jariten's plan was to just stand in front of Rei's room
until Point 71.   At Point 71, Rei, for some reason, would
come charging out and bump into her, spilling the clothes.
Rei would help her pick up the clothes, some of which was
underwear, and so the romance would begin.  It wasn't all
that easy.   Jariten placed a lot of the plan on Ran's own
wiles.
    Ran felt that Rei was more likely to run her over and
keep on going, but she waited patiently.  Point 71 was very
soon.   She tensed herself and drew a breath.   Right on cue
Rei came running out of his room and ran into Ran.   She was
thrown to the ground by the collision and the clothes
scattered.   There was nothing in the original plan about
how hard Rei's body was and how sore Ran would be after the
collision.   She almost felt she broke some bones.  She was
so sore.
    "Hey!" Rei shouted angrily.
    "Oh, I'm so sorry," Ran said getting up and collecting
the clothes.  She made sure she bent over at the waist and
not the knees as she would normally have done.   "I'm such a
foolish woman.  I just got Lum's clothes cleaned, and now
they're everywhere.   Could you pick up those panties over
there?"
    Rei was sufficiently distracted.  He had received a call
that someone might have sabotaged his fighter, but he had
just forgotten that.  "Lum's panties?" he whispered.  He had
been planning the renewed attack on Earth, in particular,
the destruction of Japan.   Now he was more concerned with
Lum's underwear.
    He picked them up like they were radioactive and then
gave them back to Ran.   Ran made sure that she was as close
to Rei as she could get to receive them.
    "Oh thank you so much," she said and then cringed.
"Ohh, my ribs!"   She dropped the clothes and grabbed her
side.   She had to be careful not to overact.
    Rei bent down to picked up the clothes again.
    "Ohh!"  Ran said louder.  "I think it might be  broken!"
    "Need a doctor?"
    "No!  I mean, I hope not.   Why don't you feel it, to
see if it's broken.  I trust your opinion."  She looked up
at him with wide-eyed vulnerability.
    "Where?" he asked.
    "Right there," she said, moving his hand just under her
breast.  "Do you feel anything?"
    "Not yet, uh, I mean no.  It feels fine.  I mean . . ."
    "Ooh!" she said and doubled up, moving her breast into
he hand.  He quickly pulled his hand away.
    She was being shameless and she knew it, but she wasn't
likely to get another chance.
    "I feel sore all over," she said.  "Your body is so
hard.  I don't think I can make it back to my room."
    "I could carry you."
    "Could you?" Ran said brightly. "That would be
wonderful, if you don't mind."
    "No trouble, but the clothes."
    "They'll be okay.  I can could give you some cookies, or
sandwiches, when we get to my room."
    Rei picked Ran up in his arms.   She was in heaven.
Rei started at a pace that was far too fast as far as Ran
was concerned.  "Ohh!" she cried out.
    Rei obediently slowed down, and Ran realized how easy
this was going to be.
    After Lum's talk with her father, she returned to 912A.
She was happy to see that Jariten was there.   He was
sitting at a chair next to the sleeping Benten.  On a table
next to him was a half empty bottle of yuli.   In his hand
he held a full glass, which he sipped from.
    "Hallo Lum," he said as she entered.  "Look at them.
Drunk on my expensive wine.   I doubt if they'll appreciate
the sophistication of the hangover they're going to have."
He took another sip.   "And how was your visit to the
doctor?"
    "Long and useless," Lum said pulling the only remaining
empty chair over closer to Jariten.   She sat in it, and
locked eyes with Ten.  "Cousin, we have a lot of work to
do."
    "I can agree with that."
    "I have been listening to my heart.  I am not going to
live with the status quo."
    Ten smiled and took a drink.  "I didn't think you would.
What specific changes is your heart telling you to make?"
    "The first," Lum said getting more serious, "is that I
am not going to marry Rei.   I intend to put Ataru up as my
future emperor."
    "You won't be making this announcement immediately,  I
hope."
    Lum smiled.  "There is some preparation I would like to
do first."
    "Good, continue."  Ten took another sip.  His eyes
sparkled with interest.
    "I do not want the attack on Earth to continue.   We
shall have no further military contact with them.  Further,
I think it is high time that the family's power over the
planets was broken.   I want to abolish the system of
slavery."
    Ten whistled.  "I'm impressed.  Then you plan on
starting a civil war."
    "Not if I don't have to.  I want to do as much as I can
behind the scenes first."
    Ten put the glass down and leaned forward.  "Your
coronation is in two weeks.  That fact coupled with Ataru,
is going to create quite a stir.  How do you plan to do
anything behind the scenes."
    "Well, my coronation is in three weeks.  Father gave me
another week to work things out."
    Ten leaned back.  "That'll make all the difference," he
said sarcastically.
    "You wanted to know what my heart said,"  Lum said
getting a little upset with Ten's complacency.
    "I did, and I am happy that you started listening to it.
Do you want to hear my news?"
    "What have you been up to?"
    "Oh, nothing," Ten said absently.  "I just fixed Rei up
with Ran.  If all goes well he won't want to marry you in a
couple weeks."
    "You what?"
    "I felt Rei needed something else to occupy him, besides
the existence of your dream boy there."
    "So you think he'll dump me for Ran," Lum said testily.
    "Well!" Ten said in mock surprise, "Jealousy, I'm
shocked.   He'll dump you, all right, with a little help
from me and from someone whose actually interested in him."
    "His family won't allow it."
    "I thought we were going to work on breaking the
families."
    "What else have you done?"
    "Oh let's see,  Ahh yes, I understand that Azu Des's
favorite vase exploded on the mantle in the Azu mansion.  No
one was hurt, of course, but I understand that feathers were
very ruffled when a message was found which read 'Tit for
tat - a friend of Benten.'"
    Lum nodded.  "We can only hope that he'll make the more
prudent response."
    "Azu Des is not known for his prudence, but I'm
confident he will soon see it our way.   Are you sure you
wouldn't rather have him killed?"
    "Not yet.  Anything else?"
    "I have a few other things brewing, but nothing to
report yet.  Any orders."
    "Orders?" Lum asked incredulously.  "I'm amazed.  It
sounds like you've already started before I even made my
decision."
    "Just a happy coincidence, I assure you.  Rei needed to
be distracted so he wouldn't blow up that island just to get
Ataru.   Rei and Azu Des, are minor problems."
    "Yes, I suppose they are,"  Lum agreed reluctantly.  "I
do feel as though I'm being too idealistic."
    "People die from old age, disease, chance, mistakes, and
idealism.   Only idealism is worth the sacrifice."
    Lum studied Jariten skeptically.  "Of course, master
sage, and what other advice do you have to bestow."
    Ten smiled and took another sip.  "Sarcasm doesn't
become you."
    Lum stood.  "Tomorrow, when everyone is sober, I want to
meet here, and begin our real plans.  At Point 40, if
everyone can manage it."
    "And  Cherry?"
    "Find him, please,"  She pleaded.
    Ten smiled, and finished off his glass.  "Have a good
night, my Empress."
    At the door, Lum turned and said, "Good night, Ten, and
please don't call me that.  At least not until the
coronation."
    Ten raised his glass to her, and she left.
    Benten opened her eyes and slowly sat up.  She was dizzy
and had a headache, but she was alert.
    She and Ten exchanged smiles.   "Her father was right,"
she said.
    "You are surprised?"
    "She's wanted to change things all right, but in the end
I didn't think she would have the courage."
    "She doesn't," Ten observed.  "Not on her own.   All
this is for him."  He indicated the sleeping Ataru.
    "She's destroying everything she's ever known, all for
love?"
    "Why not?"   Ten took another sip.

                                 * * *