Aurora of Rainbow Fire chapter six: Games of Power and 
Dominance part b- Ayeka.

	A Tenchi Muyo TV series lemon comedy by Nugar.  
	Email the author at kichigai@tds.net with any comments.
	All characters and situations copyright their creators, 
Hiroki Hayashi and Masaki Kajishima, and AiC and Pioneer and are 
used without permission.  This is a nonprofit work only.

	Ryoko woke up with a muffled groan, looking much the worse 
for wear from her hard night's partying.  She stiffly picked 
herself up from her makeshift nest on the floor and gagged when 
she tried to swallow.  "Gahh..." she complained.  "My head..."

	"Quite a hangover you have there," I noted loudly, trying 
to keep the overwhelming stress and frustration out of my voice.  
I had been up nearly an hour, and had been down and negotiated 
breakfast to bring back to the two sleepyheads.

	Tenchi stirred in bed and threw the covers back, groaning 
and wincing along with Ryoko at my too-loud words.  Well it 
serves him right for drinking himself into a stupor last night.  
I have needs, too.

	"I must have gotten a little carried away," Ryoko admitted 
painfully.  "My mouth tastes like I've been chewing on some kind 
of incontinent frog, and I think I've got parasites in my brain."

	"The worm in the bottle," I noted, to which she nodded.  
"Well, look on the bright side.  If you eat a live frog first 
thing in the morning, nothing worse will happen all day."

	"To you or the frog?" Tenchi asked wryly, holding his head 
as if he was afraid it might implode.

	I gave Ryoko a slow, evil smile that held the promise of 
everything she'd given me and much, much more.  "In this case...  
The frog.  Very _definitely_ the frog."

	Ryoko blanched, and Tenchi looked ill.

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

	Ryo-Ohki shot upward through Mariposa's atmosphere, quickly 
passing through the envelope of high radiation and reaching the 
sparsely populated shell of orbiting ships and planetoids.

	I watched the display screen apprehensively.  How long had 
it been?  Ten years?  Twelve?  I think it was at the very least 
twelve since I had last been here, and that wasn't my idea.

	She had insisted.

	Now here I was, going to the first of what would 
doubtlessly be many difficult meetings.  It wasn't the most 
important, but it would probably have a great influence when I 
finally talked to Mother and Father, and the Emperor. 

	The question was, what kind of influence?  Would they 
approve?  Or disapprove?

	I put such questions away.  When you climb a tree, no 
matter how great, you do it one branch at a time.

	"Look for one that looks like it should be around one of 
our worlds," I ordered Ryoko.  "Not very large, about two 
kilometers long, polished metal at one end and a space tree at 
the other, with a Jurain dreadnought docked."

	"What is this place, anyway?" Ryoko asked curiously.  "And 
do we have to dress up?"

	"No more than you are," I said, and left it at that.  I had 
ignored Ryoko's wardrobe entirely, but Tenchi had a single 
addition.  A few words with Ryoko's bartender friend had procured 
a wooden dress sword for Tenchi, which was very similar to the 
bokkens he used when sparring with his grandfather.  The 
differences came in that the new one was more ornate, with a 
simple, tasteful tsuba of small-leafed vines to guard the handle 
and a single blue jewel set in the hilt.  He looked positively 
heart-wrenching wearing it along with his nice blue tunic and 
light pants, with such an honest and handsome face as to set the 
young girls to sighing. 

	Tenchi looked around with interest, no doubt surprised at 
the variety of homes and businesses.  

	Most were owned and operated by Mariposa citizens, and they 
all had a characteristically haphazard look, much like they'd 
been built by three different construction crews using completely 
different plans.  In their early days of construction they lacked 
focused gravity wells, so they had used captured black holes 
about the size of electrons and built an open superstructure 
around them to keep them contained.  In effect, they made 
something with the mass of a small planet, but the volume of a 
large ship.  
	

	When Jurai made contact about five thousand years ago, it 
opened up a whole new world of technology they had been without.  
Now they had artifical gravity wells and had long since done away 
with the dangerous black holes, which sometimes ate their 
stations.  The original structures still remained, but now they 
had spread out in all directions, looking much like a sea sponge 
rather than our own perfect trees.

	Here and there were a few examples from other worlds, using 
a far more orderly design, but still in metal and rock.  In one 
case we passed by a vast globe of cool green water, kept liquid 
within its sphere of atmosphere which was in turn held in place 
by the usual field.

	No where did I spot the one place I needed to go.

	Ryoko threw up her hands in disgust.  "Well, I don't see 
it.  How do you know it's even here?"

	I frowned, displeased.  "I don't, for sure," I admitted.  
"But she was here the last I heard, and she's not the kind of 
person to leave once she's made up her mind about something."  I 
frowned again in remembrance.

	"Who?!" Ryoko demanded.

	"Madame Winnowza," I replied truthfully, if not with the 
whole truth.

	Ryoko's brow furrowed.  "Her?  But isn't she..."  She 
stopped and shook her head.  "I mean, doesn't she run the most 
exclusive, most decadent, most perverted luxury getaway in the 
Juraian empire?"

	"No, no, of course not," I assured her.

	She sighed in relief.  "Whew!  You really had me worried 
there.  The Madame Winnowza I'm thinking about is a hardcore 
bitch who likes torturing people just for kicks-"

	"I see you've been invited over for tea before," I muttered 
under my breath.

	"-and who has been known to break a person's mind into a 
thousand pieces so that she might rebuild it into that of a 
willing slave-"

	"She's been known to," I noted grimly. 

	"-and rents boys, girls, and every unusual alien she can 
get her claws into to her incredibly wealthy clients."  Ryoko 
shook her head.  "I'd sure hate to meet her, that's for sure."

	"Funny you should mention that."

	"But, you said...?"

	I gestured around us.  "As you pointed out, we're not in 
the Empire.  There is only one Madame Winnowza that I'm aware of, 
and we're going to see her."

	Tenchi spoke up.  "Um, excuse me for asking, but how does 
any of this have anything to do with meeting your parents?"

	"That's..." I said, drawing it out, "a complicated story.  
But, unlike yesterday, this does have bearing on how my mother 
and father will see you."  I sighed.  "This could even be more 
important than that, because Madame has the ear of the Emperor, 
and we definitely want to be in his good graces."

	Tenchi nodded thoughtfully.  I suspected he thought we were 
just doing this for our own personal enjoyment, and he'd be right 
about Ryoko.  I, on the other hand, would very much like to avoid 
this place if at all possible.

	Not that I didn't intend to indulge myself if the 
opportunity arose.  I was already so frustrated I _hurt_. 

	"So why are we going here, exactly?" Ryoko asked pointedly.  
"I've heard stories about this place that would make you shiver."

	"She's my grandmother, the last of the true 
traditionalists."

	"Grandmother?!" Ryoko exclaimed.  

	"We're going to meet your grandmother?" Tenchi echoed.

	I nodded.  "Grandmother and I have never seen eye to eye on 
anything.  Mother was one of the big leaders of the reform 
movement, and she raised Sasami and I to follow her ideas of 
moderation and personal freedom."  I noticed them both raise 
their eyebrows at that, but they didn't have a clue so I didn't 
hold it against them.  "Grandmother and Mother fought constantly 
until the day Mother came of age.  Then she passed down all her 
titles to Mother, gathered her assets, and moved here.  We don't 
see or hear from her very often, but she does occasionally demand 
to see me."  Here I sighed, remembering several times I had been 
forced to visit.  "She wants me to become the leader of a new 
traditionalist movement, despite my feelings on the matter."

	"Wow," Ryoko replied.  "So...  This thing we've got going 
on here isn't very traditional.  How's she going to take it?"

	I shrugged gracefully.  "She respects firmness of 
conviction, power, and flaunting the wishes of others for 
personal pleasure, essentially the last three of the top five 
principles the traditionalists hold dear.  I fulfill all three."

	Poor Tenchi looked a little bewildered.

	"Madame Winnowza is also the Emperor's aunt, and, 
surprisingly enough, actually supported his rise to the throne.  
He still respects her opinion in many matters," I added.  "Mother 
has always disagreed with everything she's every said, but if I 
can get Grandmother to support our bid for marriage, Mother might 
be more amenable to it."  I smiled.  "And even if she doesn't, 
the Emperor certainly will."

	"Hey, there it is," Ryoko interrupted, directing Ryo-Ohki 
toward the distinctive mix of metal and wood.

	Ryo-Ohki received a private transmission as we neared, and 
broadcast it to the bridge.  "Attention private vessel, you are 
entering a restricted area.  Please idetify yourself and your 
purpose of vist."  The cool, professional tones were male and 
disinterested, and the transmission was audio only.  

	Ryo-Ohki slowed down to a crawl, waiting for permission to 
dock.

	"Send a visual," I murmured to Ryoko as I stepped forward.  
"This is the Ryo-Ohki, and this is Princess Ayeka of Jurai 
speaking.  Please inform Madame Winnowza that I wish a private 
audience with her immediately."

	"I'm sure you are, and I'm sure you do," replied the voice 
insultingly, still audio only.  "However, Madame Winnowza has 
left a message that she doesn't wish to be disturbed.  If you 
will send me your credit information, I will see about letting 
you dock, and maybe she'll see you."  His tone indicated that he 
didn't think it very likely.

	Ryoko snickered quietly and nudged Tenchi in the ribs.  

	"No need for that," I replied sweetly.  "Just give me a 
moment to punch through your shields and I'll show you my credit 
rating personally."  I jerked my head at Ryoko and she smiled 
widely.  Ryo-Ohki surged forward.

	"Hah!  Look little missy, I know you may think you're hot 
shit on a silver platter, but this isn't some provicial station 
where you can just barge right in in some little cruiser and 
claim to be the princess.  Do you know how many 'princesses' we 
get here every week?  And do you know what we do with them?"

	"Well," I replied, "Princess Alodovial was whipped, 
humiliated, and was being offered to the guests as a party favor 
the last time I was here."  I smiled.  "But then, she paid for 
that.  Handsomely, as I recall."

	Ryo-Ohki slammed into the thick field of Jurai power 
surrounding the ancient space tree that was the root and trunk of 
the station.  It slowed her considerably, but she was still able 
to fight and struggle forward.  Multiple beam cannons extended 
from the tree and the dreadnought, and other forms of weaponry 
swivled to bear on us.

	I closed my eyes for a moment and concentrated.  Ryoko's 
power ignited beside me, melding with and urging Ryo-Ohki on.  
Ryo-Ohki's power came from all around me, far different from that 
of Jurai but now familiar through long association.  I cast 
myself out, homing in on the comforting energy of the large tree 
melded with the station in front of us.  

	Contact.

	It was an extension of myself, a mental collage of warm 
browns and cool greens, the power so like my own that it made no 
difference.  I could feel the tree's approval of me and mine, and 
it retracted its beam weapons at my request.  I sent a thought to 
the dreadnought and it, too, stopped aiming at us.  The shield 
around the station also opened up before Ryo-Ohki, letting the 
cabbit streak forward unimpeded.  As I withdrew, I felt another 
presence, somehow both younger and older at once, which melded 
with the tree which had accepted me so.  Meet me at your dock, 
please, I thought.

	I opened my eyes again.  "The dock will be fine, Ryoko.  
And please behave yourself."  I did not elaborate, and I will 
admit that there was a note of resignation in my voice.  Ryoko 
behave?  Surely not.

	Ryo-Ohki docked with both speed and grace, if not the 
majesty my dear Ryu-Oh would have shown.  I sighed.  I missed my 
ship.  There would have been no question as to my identity, and 
the cabbit, while a surprisingly delightful creature, wasn't an 
extension of my self.

	I allowed Ryoko to teleport us into the dock proper, 
setting us down lightly on the deck.  Unfortunately, she put 
herself in the lead between Tenchi and I.  I tapped her lightly 
on the shoulder as I stepped forward to my rightful position, 
reminding her of her role.  Tenchi graciously offered his hand 
when I reached for it, and we strode forward through the empty 
bay; Tenchi holding onto my left arm and Ryoko trailing slightly 
behind on my right.  There would be no question of who I intended 
to take as a husband.  As far as I was concerned, Ryoko was the 
'zine subscription that comes with a Jurai Express purchase.  
It's not free, you don't really want it, but somehow you end up 
suckered into taking it as well.  And just like the 'zines, it 
looks like it is going to be less troublesome to just sigh and 
keep her instead of going to all the headache of trying to be rid 
of her.

	No, no, that's a terrible analogy.  Really persistent ex-
girlfriend of Tenchi's?  No, that's not any good, either.  How 
was I going to explain this?

	We stepped out of the stark, metallic bay into a waiting 
room which could only be described as lush.  The thick shag 
carpet was a deep shade of burgundy, and the walls were made of a 
very tasteful marbled stone with tapestries hanging over them.  
The tapestries themselves were exquisite, although the subject 
matter always made me blush when I looked at them: a veritable 
orgy of sex, violence, and domination.

	Behind me, I heard Ryoko mumble something.  I glanced at 
both her and Tenchi, and they seemed to be as embarrassed as I 
was.  I was glad, it's nice to know they share my opinions about 
what should be done in private, not public.

	I stopped and swallowed.  It had been three years since I 
had last seen my grandmother, and our parting had not been a fond 
one.  I felt two hands, one on each of my shoulders, and felt 
better.  I was not alone this time.  What's better, I wasn't 
there for a favor, either.  

	A slender young man burst through the double doors 
separating the room from the rest of the station, his face 
contorted in rage and spluttering in incoherent fury.

	I sniffed disdainfully.  
	

TBC