TBAS - Chp.1Forward:
   As always, my thanks and gratitude to the genius Matsumoto for creating such 
  pliable characters for me to shape to my evil will ( insert meniacal laughter 
  here ). Please do remember while you read this that it is only for fun, and I 
  do not mean it to be taken very seriously, although it might not be as 
  offensive as others that I've released.
   Distribution, as always, is at the whim of the reader, and is not meant, nor 
  purposefully distributed for profit, or gain. Or more to the point, these 
  characters are not mine, only the situations they have been put into. And 
  thus, all copyrights, real or imagined, are differed to their original 
  holders. 



Episode 1 - Arrival At Zchivago 



A new freind, an old pain, and a new hope for the crew of the S.C. Tomobiki.



 Kyosuke leaned to the window pane, the heat of his slight breath steaming on 
the cold plexiglass as his eyes peered out into the breathtaking scene before 
him. Earth was waning, the light of the sun reflecting off it's magnificent form 
leaving Japan in shadow. His eyes bore sorrow as he saw the glimmer of New Tokyo 
shine dismally among the blackness, and remembered, thinking back to a time when 
things were simpler, when life wasn't so complicated. A time when earth wasn't 
in the middle of a war, and the biggest thing on his mind was how to see both 
Ayukawa and Hikaru, offending neither of them in the process. 
 A light smile cracked his stern features as he pulled his hand to his 
clean-shaven chin, remembering one of many times that Hikaru had caught he and 
Modoka in the middle of something less than virtuous, and vice-versa. He laughed 
softly, pulling his hand back into the poicket of his dungarees, 'Yes, times 
hade been simpler.' he thought to himself, sadness infecting his eyes once again 
as he continued morosely, 'Before she had passed on.' He pulled himself up and 
breathed a heavy sigh, pushing his thoughts away from the incedent forcefully, 
not allowing himself to wallow in the sloth that was sure to come if he 
continued on that line of thought. Instead, he removed his right hand from his 
pocket and tossed a few coins in his hand, then checked his watch. 'Un,' he 
thought, 'just enought time to get a drink at the pub.' He pushed the coins back 
into his pocket and shrugged hiimself up from the arching plexiglass of the 
observation bay. 'Un.' taking one last look at to the stars, a nd his home. A 
laugh was what he needed, a stiff drink and friends to share it with. Then added 
morosely, 'It's worked so far.' his eyes on the sparkling trail the Valkerie 
fighters going out on patrol, adding aloud, "Freinds..." 

 Ayukawa gulped at the sickening feeling of acceleration as the troop transport 
slowed to touch down at Zchivago Station on the face of the moon, her eyes on 
the cieling of the craft, focused, pulling her thoughts away from the tremendous 
speed they would have to achieve to kill the spin of the moon for a smooth 
landing. She wasn't sure if this bucket of debri would make it. Her stomach grew 
tighter as the jets sputtered out, grasping at the cushions of the acceleration 
chair, the pangs of fear growing in her mind. That hadn't felt like the gee and 
a half she knew to be prepared for on entry into their landing pattern. 'Why, 
even the slightest miscalculation and they would miss the moon entirely!' she 
reminded herself, then ammended grudgingly, 'Well, maybe not entirely. But 
enough to make their landing a bit less than smooth.' "Damned army pilots," she 
cursed under her breath, hoping they wouldn't miss the field entirely, not like 
that was possible. The troop transports the Army used were old, but not THAT 
old. 'Okay,' she admitted to herself, 'I just don't trust anyone behind the 
stick but me.' which she knew to be more than true. That one fact had almost 
gotten her kicked out of the Naval Pilot Training Facility in Guam. She had the 
annoying -or at lest to her instructors- habbit of grabbing the controls on the 
Valkerie trainers at every turn, dip, dive, you name it, and had almost cost the 
life of herself and that of the insructor that had had the bad luck to be 
saddled with a green, nervous-nelly like Ayukawa. Hence, the nearmiss at 
disqualification. But luckily she had had the good sence, and the will to keep 
her hands off the stick and her mouth shut due to a little chat with her old 
friend Yusaku, who had gotten her into this mess in the first place, convincing 
her that pilots were needed, which was true -at least 12 were shot down every 
week- and that she could be a good one, true also, even though it was a little 
harder to accept. 
 So, she clenched her jaw and waited it out, taking in slow breaths until she 
felt the tell-tale bump of the skids touch dirt, just the way he had told her 
to. It wasn't so bad, if you didn't think about the millions of things that 
could go wrong, and how pooly prepared Army pilots actually were. 'Now the 
Navy,' she ammended to herself, that being her branch of service, '*we* make 
*pilots*!' She let out a deep breath and started to unstrap herself as the churn 
of the hydrolic lock slided into place, connecting the ancient transport with 
the station. Pushing herself up from the acceleration pads, she started to fish 
for her effects, causing her dress blues to ride a little high on her hips, 
provoking a patronizing whistle from one of her fellow passengers. She shot him 
a cold look and dragged her duffle out of the the storage bay atop her seat, 
causing her suitor to cringe slightly and find some other nubile creature to 
lavish his attention on. She nodded to herself and started towards the door, her 
mind occupying itself with irrelivencies. He hadn't been bad-looking, his 
priorities were strait. There were those on the surface that believed -God knows 
why- that earth should surrender to the Invaders. Those kind of people make 
Ayukawa sick. Hadn't they learned when the Invaders had bombed Tokyo? Hadn't the 
sacking of New York taught them anything? Apparently not, for they still came in 
masses at every military event, screaming their protests and throwing everything 
from gestures to tin-cans at every uniform in sight, carrying signs that cried, 
"Handn't We Lost Enough?!" Cowards, every one. 
 Oh, she agreed, she had lost enough. Enough to last four lifetimes, but that 
didn't mean she wasn't willing to lose all to be sure the next generation didn't 
live out their lives as slaves. Laboring day and night for but a few crumbs to 
feed their empty stomachs. During the dark days after that fateful game of tag 
things hadn't gone so well. The chosen, Moroboshi was his name, had lost and the 
Invaders had taken the initiative, starting their reign of terror by herding the 
poeple of earth into work camps all over the world. Then, in the revolt of '92, 
they bombed Tokyo and raided New York, killing everything in their path to prove 
their supiriority, striking the fires of true resistance around the globe, 
pulling together the new world order with Mr. Ataru Moroboshi personally killing 
thier overlords in Kyoto, Denver, Moscow, Bueanos Aires, Singapore, and dozens 
of other cities to avenge the death of his wife, Shinobu. He was said to have 
died in the very arms of Benten, the Goddess of Luck, at the foot of her statue. 
His last words being, "Sweet vengeance... Finish it for me." Ayukawa let out a 
deep sigh as the lock cycled, 'How romantic.' and saw for the first time her new 
home, at least until she was assigned to a carrier. 'Would that someone would 
die for me...' she thought, stepping through the threshold and starting toward 
the C.O.'s office. 'But no one has noticed me since... well.' then shying away 
from the thought. It definately wasn't something she wanted to think about, 
especially not on the first day of a new assignment. Morose was not a good 
attitude to show the first time you meet your new mates, nor was that of a 
love-struck puppy, but she hadn't been that way since... well. 

 Kyosuke sat alone trying to laugh with the crowd of people about him as he 
nursed his syth-sake -real alchohol being off-limits to pilots on duty, and 
reasonably so. To hop into a Valkerie drunk or hung over was more than stupid, 
it was suicidal. A green Star-Jockey, just off the transport a week was trying 
desperately to grab the attention of one of the Engineers of the S.C. Tomobiki 
-the first trans-light carrier to be commisioned in the service of Earth's Space 
Navy- who was aptly named Nene the Nun. Kyosuke chuckled softly, 'He'd find out 
soon enough.' and he was, quite rapidly, when Kyosuke's comm badge beeped, 
interupting his almost amuzing thoughts, "Captain Kasuga, please report to your 
C.O. immediatly." Kyosuke sighed heavily and pulled the lip of the glass towards 
him, his eyes roaming over the colors that danced about on the red liquid, then 
shoved the half-empty tumbler to the center of the table, bringing his hand up 
to tap the comm badge that rested on his left breast, "Acknowledged." pulling 
himself up from his chair and making his way toward the door, bowing through the 
droves of people entering the pub, having just come off the first shift at the 
maintenance decks, a voice calling to him from behind, "Kyosuke!" it called, 
drawing his attention to the little redhead that struggled through the crowd 
behind him. "Leaving already?" she queried, happy for any excuse to remover 
herself from the almost demeaning scene of being hit on repeatedly by the young 
man who now pouted in the corner. "Yeah," he replied half-heartedly, "got orders 
to report to the C.O." shoving his hands in his pockets. He knew how Nene felt 
about him, but it really wasn't fair to her to be involved with a pilot, 
especially this pilot. 
 "Oh," Nene replied hopefully, "I'm headed that way. I'll walk you." then 
noddeed to herself, slipping an arm through his. "Sure." he shrugged, secretly 
happy for her company, even if it was somewhat uncomfortable, or at least, would 
most likely be. Nene had been after him for quitte some time now, since he was a 
rookie commander, just bumped up to First Leiutenant. Three years now she had 
remained faithfully devoted to her cause, hence the nickname -most personnel 
being killed during maneuvers in their first four months and those still around 
helping her reputation by learning long ago that gossip was not welcome in 
Admiral Megane's Command, a fact which many green pilots learned the hard way. 
And so, any man who had Nene on his arm was instantly respected, which suited 
Kyosuke. It helped immensly with the new recruits. He hadn't had as much trouble 
with dixcipline as the other wings -limited to one incedent as a matter of fact- 
mostly due to the mystique of being the only many *ever* to be propositioned by 
Nene the Nun. He rather liked being looked up to, even at the expense of having 
to constantly turn her down. But she was used to it by now, and honored to be 
beside him nonetheless -Kyosuke being the only man who hadn't propositioned 
*her* in her tenure of service on the Tomobiki. It was rather refreshing to be 
around a man who didn't try to get into her pants every thirty seconds, although 
she wouldn't mind if he did. He made her feel comfortable with who she was, and 
always respected her wishes, treated her kindly and avoided hurting her 
unnecessarily after their one brawl outside his quarters. It was her fault, to 
be sure, but he had never brought ythat up, was too thoughtful to do so, and 
always had a reasonable excuse to back out of dinner or whatever it was she had 
in mind, never allowing her to lose face at the almost ritual -by now- proposals 
she put to him. Always the perfect gentlemen, and so damned infuriating! 
 But she didn't mind his disinterest, and enjoyed his company, thier once 
possible relationship growing into a sort of comfortable freindship, both being 
too hones with the other to ever let their one spat happen again, which had 
evolved from a misunderstanding as to who would sleep where with whom. She 
giggled to herself, remembering the incident. It had really been quite hurtful 
at the time, but now, it seemed more humorous than anything. "Ee?" Kyosuke 
queried, interupting her thoughts. "Nothing." she responded with a giggle, 
smiling brightly, pulling a little closer to him. She had felt so foolish, 
standing there in the doorway to his bathroom, clad in a lace neglige in one of 
her most seductive poses. Another giggle erupted, bringing a quizzical look from 
Kyosuke. She shook her head and smiled to herself, thinking of how shocked he 
had been, standing in the kitchenette with a glass of synth-sake in his hand 
-his beverage of choice- and a copy of the maintenance report for Beth, his 
Valkerie -or the artificial intelligence that controled most of the ship's 
functions-his jaw on the countertop and VERY red cheeks. Sometimes she thought 
he prefered the company of his fighter to that of people, which was true, he 
did. Kyosuke considered people to be a precarious resource at best, always 
either volatile or whimsical. Even she had had a hard time when first getting to 
know him, he had always seemed cold, surrounded by a wall of ice, and then she 
had 'happened' across his personnel file through one of her numerous resources 
on board the Tomobiki, and understood, if only slightly. 
 She was very careful to never let him know what she had found, but he had felt 
that she knew the first time she had run into him after her little breach of 
protocol. She could understand where he was coming from, she herself -as his 
sisters- had been forced into doxy training for the 'Oni Managers', she shivered 
convulsively. His one remaining sister of the two twins, Manami, too shaken by 
the repeated abuse of the 'headmaster' of their 're-education' at her refusal to 
'do her part' -Nene shuddered again, almost losing step with Kyosuke as they 
rounded the corner to the Admin. Offices- to even see anyone she had known in 
that period of her life without regressing into a teary-eyed cowering animal, no 
longer human. Nene subconciously walked a little closer to Kyosuke at the 
thought. There were those that had even commited suicide after Moroboshi had 
freed the masses, no longer able to live as a human at all, too used to the 
'encouragement' a doxy recieved for good bahavior, the Oni were not above using 
drugs to control the masses. She herself had only norrowly excaped death by her 
own hand with the help of her good friend Sylia, who was long dead, and a true 
hero in her own right. 'How many years had it been?' she thought to herself, 
almost surprised by the nuber that came to mind, 'Eight. Eight years.' and 
leaned heavily against Kyosuke, almost unable to support her own weight, 'A long 
time to carry those old scars.' But she had kept track of Manmai's progress, as 
she was sure Kyosuke had, which was not much, but noticable considering where 
she had started from. Perma was a good man, if a bit thick-headed. His 
involvement with the war protests didn't make it easy for her to get 
information, but it was possible with a little monetary grease. Truthfully, Nene 
didn't know how bad Manami's condition was. Perma never letting her associate 
with anyone in the service, much less those that knew her way back when, most 
especially her one brother. 'She must be terribly confused,' Nene thought, 
'being taught not to hate those who had hurt her so.' her muscles bunching 
convulsively at the thought. 
 But Perma had been there for Manami during the first critical stages after the 
'Feril Days', the week after the assasination of 'Manager' Rei earning it's name 
from the riots that insued. Any Oni being captured in the streets of Kyoto being 
eaten alive by angry 'slaves', because that's all they were, animals who were 
led around by the whips of their masters. She herself barely remembered feasting 
on the lady of the 'gardens' -which was where the doxies were kept- they werte 
wuite tasty really, although a bit too salty for her taste. 'Yes,' she thought, 
'all of them had come a long way from the mindless criminals they had been.' her 
poise gaining it's customary strength. But Kyosuke's pain had been a bit deeper 
than most, or so she thought. 
 He stopped them in front of the door to the C.O.'s office and let her hug him 
before he entered through the double glass doors, making a half-hearted promise 
to meet for a drink later. She knew he would probably back out, but she needed 
at least the promise of company later, most especially when she was in a mood to 
remember. "Bye." she said affectionately, then added on a stern note, "And 
remember, the AaBaCaBu at twenty-two and no excuses." emphasizing her remarks 
with a stern finger. 
 "Okay," he chuckled a reply, his hand on the door, "no excuses." He might 
actually go, he could use some company he thought as he nodded back to her with 
a slight smile and passed throught the doors, the day had left him somwhat 
drained. 

 Ayukawa sat silently, trying desperately to calm herself after the long wait in 
the outer office of the administration cubicle. It had taken them a while, but 
they had finally gotten her orders confirmed and sent her to her new C.O.'s 
office to wait, again, to see which lucky squadron commander would get to 
'babysit' yet another raw pilot strait out of the Academy. Well, it wasn't her 
fault she had waited so long, it was not as if she had had a choice. Or, at 
least, that's what she tried to tell herself. 
 She had never been too fond of lying to herself, most especially now, as she 
sat in one of the two guest chairs, watching the old man shuffle his papers and 
paying absolutely no attention to her. She shifted in her seat slightly, trying 
not to show her discomfort of having to wait, yet another hour or two before 
someone would have the courtousy to assign quarters for her. She hated to wait, 
wasn't that why she had signed up in the first place? To put an end to all the 
waiting? 
 But wait she did, and the time went slow before she heard voices just outside 
the door and surmised that the waiting was about to end. She shifted in her seat 
again, the sound of the knob turning, ever so slowly bringing to bear the moment 
when she could finally have at least a taste of some greatly needed attention. 
 She could feel the bolt of the lock slip back as her ears picked up the muffled 
sounds of a man's voice echoing in through the crack in the door, "I'll see you 
there." accompanied by footsteps that grew louder as he passed by her, letting 
the door behind him hum to a close, then stopping before the desk that she 
herself faced. "Sir, Captain Kasuga reporting as ordered." he stated flatly as 
his feet snapped together. 
 "Very well, Captain," the older man behind the desk retorted, looking up from 
his tedious paper-shuffling for the first time since she had entered his office. 
"sit, please." motioning to the vacant chair, then stuffing his head back into 
his pile of officious beauracrousy. 
 "Thank you, sir." Kasuga said, seating himself fimly, but easily, waiting for 
the older man to open the conversation. He knew what he was here for now, knew 
as soon as he had opened the door. He had hoped that it would be something else, 
even something as tedious as taking an extra shift at the repair hanger, as 
every pilot had to do at least once in their career, but to take on new meat 
into an already tuned machine, that was something to be dreaded. The green 
sky-jocks were always trouble to manage, and always the first to go. It just 
wasn't good for morale to get to know someone and then watch them killed on 
their first mission. Most of the pilots in his squadron were seasoned vetrans of 
at least a hundred sorties, some almost as expierienced as himself, but those 
were hard to find. Taking on someone new meant you had to watch their back while 
doing the same for your own, and taking chances that no real pilot should ever 
have to, just to make sure the fresh meat wasn't too much of an easy kill for a 
hungry Oni. But the C.O. was talking. 
 "...now I know how you feel about this Captain, but this is no longer your 
discision. We need more expeirienced commanders, and as of right now, 2nd 
Leiutenant Madoka is Alita's replacement." 
 Kyosuke studied his fingers carefully, his working slowly over the cuticles of 
his left hand, "Does Alita know?" 
 "No," the C.O. stated as he leaned slowly back in his chair, "I had hoped you 
would do the honors." his hands working the old-fashioned lock on the top drawr 
of his desk, then producing a small, red-velvet case, then shoved it across the 
desk to Kasuga, who took it solemly, his eyes working over the soft case slowly, 
remembering his promotion to Captain, which had to be one of the worst days of 
his life. Saddled with six, not one, raw sky-jocks within' a day, and each one 
his responsibility alone. He had lost three of them in a week. It had been a 
very bad week. 
 "Gladly, sir." he responded somberly as he shoved the coveted peices of metal 
in his pocket for later. 
 "Good, now onto your new Aviator." the C.O. nodded, bringing out a file thick 
enough to choke a horse, then tossing it to him, "2nd Leiutenant Madoka, I'd 
like you to meet your new Squadron Commander, Captain Kasuga." 
 Ayukawa straitened subconciously at the sound of her name, and bowed slight to 
her new chief, for which she would fight, no questions asked, that was her job, 
"An honor, Captain." 
 Kasuga nodded absently, his face dug into the file that the C.O. had produced 
for him, "A pleasure, I'm sure." 
 "Captain," the older man hmmphed, taken aback by his infiriors attitude to a 
new squad member, "Have 2nd Leiutenant Makoka biletted with your crew and escort 
her to administration at 0800 to assign her a craft." 
 Kasuga straitened up immediately, knowing all too well this tone of voice, for 
he had the displeasure of hearing it all too often. He had worked with his C.O. 
for too many years to continually rub him the wrong way. Those who did had the 
innate knack of drawing the worst duty slots. "Yes sir!" snapping to his feet 
quickly. "And now if you will excuse me, sir, there is much to do before the 
morning." 
 "Very well," the elderly man nodded in compliance, "you are dismissed." then 
turning to Ayukawa, "2nd Leiutenant, I leave in the capable hands of the 
Captain." 
 "Yes sir, Admiral, sir!" she smiled brilliantly as she snapped to her feet, 
saluting smartly, then turning to Kasuga for direction. 
 Kyosuke nodded to her, opening the door and motioning for her to lead the way, 
which she was all to happy to do, for the wait was almost over, she could almost 
taste the heat of action, but something festered inside of her, something that 
felt almost uneasy about her new situation. She couldn't quite put her finger on 
it. 
 Kyosuke watched her leave, then turned to salute, after which following her out 
the door and out of his presence. He would surely keep the date with Nene now, 
even though he might be a bit late, but this was one night he would rather not 
spend alone. 
 "Kyosuke," the elderly man called to him after Madoka was out of earshot of his 
softened voice, "I don't want any pressure on her for a while. She has 
potential. In truth, she reminds me a lot of you, when you had just arrived." 
 Kyosuke was almost shocked at the statement. His recollection of his first days 
in the Navy was nothing like what he saw in the green pilot that he had sat 
beside not moments before, "Yes, sir, I'll try to make sure she doesn't get her 
ass shot off too soon." testing the extent to which the Admiral would accept his 
dry humor, which was not much today. 
 "Kyosuke..." the elderly man said dissaprovingly, waiting for the younger man 
to accomodate his will. 
 Kyosuke huffed slightly, then shrugged, "Allright, I'll keep an eye on her." 
 "Good." the admiral smiled, crossing his hands over his chest as he leaned 
back, "Now leave me be. I haven't had my nap today." 
 Kyosuke chuckled under his breath, opening the door once more to permit him to 
leave the Admiral's presence. He was one of the few men he had known who ever 
had the ability to make him laugh, if only slightly. He like the old buzzard. 

 Ayukawa waited patiently outside the door to the C.O.'s office, her hands 
behind her back, wishing she could start walking, start running, hell, ANYTHING, 
just so long as she didn't have to stand here for another ten or twenty minutes. 
But this time her wait was not long, which she had surmised, or at least hoped 
from the voices she could hear from the inner office. She kind of felt guilty at 
first, listening in on her supirior's conversation, but then learned that she 
could not hear anything concrete anyway, and decided the doors must be equiped 
with sound-muffling devices as she stepped out of the way of Kasuga just 
exiting. She nodded to him, trying hard not to show her excitement at finally 
being able to do something other than wait, and wait, and wait, and almost said 
something, but decided against it at the first look he had given her as he 
motioned for her to follow. "This way." even his voice had a quality that 
inhibited conversation. 
 They walked for a time down almost empty corridors, the residents of the 
cubicles either in bed, at their posts, or the more rowdy ones captured by the 
bright night life of the many bars that lined the main corridor. They had walked 
nearly half a kilometer before she decided to say something, "Say, where is the 
simulator around here? I want to get in a few shots to work the bugs out of my 
system." 
 Kasuga peered back over his shoulder, his eyes resting heavily on her as they 
slowed slightly to express themselves, "Tonight you get some rest. We'll worry 
about those 'bugs' after you've had at least one good meal and eight hours of 
sleep." starting back to his task of finding her station quarters. 
 "But I'm really not tired," she persisted, her eyes almost pleading with him. 
"I just want to..." 
 But he did not let her finish, "Look," he stated flatly as he stopped in his 
tracks, "If you're 'not tired'," he quoted emphatically, "I'll order a sedative 
for you, but if you step out of your cubic for even a second before muster I'll 
HAVE you sedated, is that clear?" 
 "Crystal, sir!" she snapped, her hands behind her back and her eyes blank. She 
had done this too many times in basic to miss the trick, and reamed herself for 
even opening her mouth on her first night of an assignment. 
 "Good." Kyosuke stated, relaxing his posture and motioning for her to follow 
him forward. "It's just ahead." lowering his tone to a pleasant note, stretching 
his gait to come to the door of her cubic within' a few minutes. 
 "There's a map in the terminal you can have printed," he stated as he keyed the 
door open, "and if you need anything just have the communications tech sound 
me." he concluded as she stepped through the door, convineintly forgetting the 
sedative he had mentioned earlier. 
 Ayukawa nodded quickly, tossing her duffle on the slim bunk, barely paying 
attention as Kyosuke explained what time he would be around in the morning to 
take care of the tedious parts of getting a green pilot assigned to everything 
under the sun, to which she responded without thought, "Yes, sir, thank you, 
sir." 
 "Um," Kyosuke nodded, and stepped back through the door, "see you in the 
morning." 
 "Um, Captain?" Ayukawa queried, catching him as he had just stepped through the 
steel portal. 
 "Yes?" Kyosuke responded absently. 
 "Sorry about, well..." finding it harder to apologize than she had thought it 
would be. 
 "Eh?" he queried, then brought his attention to her, "Oh, that. Don't worry," 
he shrugged, "first night gitters, I understand." and smiled his 'I know how you 
feel' smile he reserved for green sky-jocks and the occasional encouter with a 
soul-sick crew member. "Well, goodnight, and get some rest." he emphasized with 
an accusing finger and a light smile. 
 "Yes sir!" her tired eyes still shining as she saluted him smartly, contented 
with the outcome, finding herself more tired than she had thought. Just the 
sight of the small, uncomfortable bed was inviting as he nodded his response and 
let the door close behind him. Yup! She could be content here, she could feel 
it. 

 Kasuga stood firm at the door to his second's quarters his mind working over 
how he would handle the news. He didn't like letting go the best pilot in his 
squad, most especially to her own squadron, Alita just wasn't the kind of pilot 
that would make a good commander, she was too much of a loose cannon, 'As was 
I.' he reminded himself as the door swooshed open before him. 
 "Captain? What do you want?" the woman grumbled, rubbing her eyes as the 
oversized pj's drooped off her shoulders, obviously half-asleep. 
 "Um..." Kyousuke began, still unsure how to handle giving her what would 
probably be the best news of her life. "Alita, I have to talk to you. It's 
important." 
 Alita peered out at him, her hand now holding her sleep-heavied body up in the 
doorway as she scrutinized his form, finding little as she worked over the words 
he had used in her mind. He *never* called her Alita. Not unless it was 
something important, and personal. 'Maybe,' she began to herself, 'he's finally 
decided to give in and marry Nene?' then thinking better of the thought, 'Naw! 
The Captain's not the type.' her eyes regarding him suspiciously, 'Then what?' 
 "Alita," Kyousuke began as he scanned the area, "are we going to talk in the 
hall, or can I come in?" 
 "Oh!" Alita replied, her eyes jumping wide as she snapped herself out of her 
thoughts, "Sure, sure." moving out of his way and motioning for him to follow 
her inside, "Come on in." 
 "Thank you." he said as he moved through the door, placing himself at the 
center of the room as Alita moved to the small kitchenette, letting the front 
door snap shut as she fished through the cupboards for a cup of instant. 
"Alita," Kyousuke began as he watched her pull down the small vial of 
concentrated coffee, "there's something I need to speak to you about." 
 "Yes?" she responded, then, looking to him, "Oh, do you want a cup?" motioning 
to the mug she had placed in the micro. 
 "Oh, no thank you," he replied, "I won't be long, but what I have to tell you 
is very important." then fishing through his pockets for the token. 
 "Oh?" Alita responded, not paying attention as the micro sounded, letting her 
know that her coffee was ready. 
 "Um," Kyousuke began aloud as he looked down at the velvet box in his hand. 
Somehow, he had expected more from her in this situation. 'Was it really all 
that important anyway?' he asked himself as he felt her look to him, sipping 
from the mug in her hand. He pulled his eyes up to her, "Here," he stated as he 
tossed the velvet box to her, causing her to spill only a few drops on the 
counter as she caught the small token of the new life she would lead, "Admiral 
Megane told me to give you that." as he motioned to the box she held in her 
hand. 
 Alita stared at the small velvet box she held in her hand, as she worked her 
fingers over the seam that ran down the center as her mind tryied desperately to 
register what was in her hands. Her eyes grew wide, her mouth hanging open as 
she pulled the small box open, and there found the two golden bars welded to the 
background of a silver solar system. She huffed heavily, but no words came as 
she searched through the excitement for what to say. ANYTHING!! 
 "Be at the Admin. Building at 1000 tomorrow for you new assignment." Kasuga 
began as he started for the door, keying it open before him, and, with one foot 
out the door, a smile on his face, "See you later, then..." grinning devilishly 
at her, "Captain." 
 And with that he left as Alita pulled her eyes up from the magnificent sight 
before her and smiled brightly at his receeding visage, and began aloud with a 
chuckle as the door hummed closed, "That bastard. Didn't even give me a chance 
to thank him." 

 Ayukawa lay in bed, her eyes staring up to the ceiling as she recalled the 
events of the day, a fond smile working over her features as the thought of her 
new commander came to her mind. He was nice enough, with enough of his own 
little quirks to be interesting by his own right, but something bothered her 
about him. He was an able commander, to be sure. She had heard enough in the 
Academy about him and his squadron to feel honored to be chosen for duty in his 
wing, but still, something bothered her. Something she couldn't quite put her 
finger on. 'It's as if,' she thought as she rolled onto her side, her hands hid 
by the pillow under her head, 'I've met him somewhere before.' 
 'But that couldn't be.' she reminded herself. She had only been in the service 
for a scant two months, and even that little was spent either in training or 
asleep, which was more rare than you'd think, 'And the chances of meeting him 
when she was back on earth, well, that was more or less, three million to one.' 
But still, she couldn't help but feel that she had seen that stern face before, 
but somehow, different. 
 "Mm..." he huffed to herself, chiding herself for doing the very thing that her 
new commander had forbid, which was to stay awake all night worrying about 
something. Pilots often did so, that she knew, and realized that her commander 
had been right. Sleep was more important now than ever. And so she forced the 
though from her mind, letting herself flow through the relaxation techniques she 
had learned from Yusaku, and, in time, let her body rest even though her mind 
still worked through the eerie nightmares that always haunted her sleep. 

 Kasuga sat at the bar of the ABCB sipping his synth-sake and pondering the day 
as he waited for Nene to arrive. He hadn't spent as much time at Alita's as he 
had planned to and his new 'chore' had been easier to persuade that he had first 
assumed. He was almost starting to feel good for a change. 
 He had made Alita smile, and that wasn't too often an occurance. She was too 
much like him to let anyone see what she was really like, although a bit more 
free in her personal relationships. i.e. she actually went to the extent of 
inviting a few of the male members of the crew over for a drink every once in a 
while, but on the whole, never chose, and never, EVER showed any favoritism. She 
was too smart for that. Once a couple was established, the two were immediately 
assigned to different carriers, and with good cause. No one can concentrate when 
you're flying with your lover. It just raises the stakes and splits your 
concentration. A pilot has to be centered, focused. And if one were to get 
attatched, that person would always be fretting over the other, and not doing 
their job, which was fatal, most especially in a Valkerie. Oh, it was allright 
to be involved with someone who stayed on the carrier. It kind of gave a pilot 
some extra incentive. but pilots were pilots and usually gravitated to pilots. 
Both Kyousuke and Alita had both seen too much of that, and didn't want any 
more. 
 He could still remember the last time one of his crew had had a case of the 
'bug'. Two green sky-jocks had just joined his squad, and had somehow kept the 
fact from their commanders that they were a hot item in the Academy and ended up 
debri after a small sortie outside the proxima line back in the days that they 
were winning the war. He had cut left to ward off her attacker, she had cut 
right to run, and that was that. A stupid mistake which should not have been 
made. Most especially when she was about to be in the perfect position to take 
the threat out. 
 'It was a shame, really.' Kyousuke thought as he took another sip from his 
synth-sake. 'He had been a good pilot, and would have made a damn fine 
commander,' as he scowled at the glass, 'if a bit overprotective.' Kyousuke had 
lost too many young lives to let himself ever care about another, even in 
passing, for that would mean letting someone else care about him, 'And that,' he 
reminded himself, 'would be a crime.' 
 But as much as he tried to convince himself, he couldn't help but feel 
'attatched' to Nene, the one he waited for, even though he himself couldn't 
condone what would enivitably happen. She was, to him, a dear freind and 
compatriot, and still more, even though he couldn't admit it to himself. They, 
like he and Alita, were much the same in some ways, and the only person on the 
ship that he really trusted when broke down. 
 He chuckled to himself, remembering the last time that had happened, and wished 
woefully that he had accepted her obvious invitation that night, then corrected 
himself, thinking better of it. He had done the right thing, even though he may 
now regret it. 'But,' he thought to himself as he smiled slightly, 'just to know 
that I'm not alone.' his eyes cast upwards through the observation window that 
peered out into space, 'To know that it matters if I come back or not.' 
 "Good evening, my Captain." a voice called from behind him, pulling him from 
his destructive thoughts. 
 Kyousuke turned, half expecting to see the green recruit that had been assigned 
to him earlier today, and showed a smile, then realized who it was who stood 
behind him, "Oh, good evening." he said with a slight chuckle. 
 "So," Nene continued, "you came after all." her voice carrying a wistful tone 
as she moved to sit beside him. 
 "Yes," he chuckled, flagging down the bartender that polished his glasses at 
the other end of the bar, "I came." continuing the almost ritual joke they 
shared. "What would you like?" he continued as the bartender moved to the two. 
 "Oh," Nene stated thoughfully, "I think I'll have a rum and coke tonight." her 
eyes smiling at the thought of getting a little tanked. 
 Kyousuke checked himself as he heard her order, looking to her suspisciously. 
He knew Nene to well to disregard her order as usual, for usual it was not. She 
only drank when she felt like being nostalgic, which wasn't often, and far too 
dangerous for her to do alone. There had been many a time that he had made the 
mistake of being a bit too quick to disregard moods as 'womanly'. He was stupid 
where women were concerned, that was true, but not where Nene was concerned. He 
had known her too long, and, as much as he denighed it, cared about her much too 
much to let her go through this alone. "Rum and coke," he replied to the 
bartender's quizical look, then his eyes looking directly to the bearded man 
behind the counter, "two." 
 "Eh?" Nene responded, caught unawares by Kyousuke's offer to share her greif 
for a while. There was no mistaking it. Kyousuke was a creature of habit, 
nothing more. He only drank when she did, and she only drank when she needed to. 
She smiled slightly, letting the warm glow she always felt at this point soak 
through her body, and nodded to the bartender as he laid her drink before her. 
She raised her glass to him, offering a toast to their friendship, and all that 
he offered in that one gesture, "Kampai!" 
 "Kampai!" Kyousuke responded, tipping his drink to her and taking in a swallow 
as he showed a smile, his eyes bright with the feeling of friendship. 


 Thanks for reading, and I do hope you enjoyed it. Please look for other titles 
available from Fifth Way, as well as the rest of this continueing series of 
Ayukawa's adventures in stardom. 
The Seduction Of Ataru - UY/DP/Ranma crossover Lemon 
Something In Your Eyes - KOR Finale' 
Side Tails - KOR Lemon 
Aggressiveness Kyousuke! The Wild Frying Pan Experience! - KOR Lemon 
Wish You Were Here - KOR Episode 
To Be A Star - KOR Episode 
Not So Much Troubled - KOR Episode in ancient times 
For more info please e-mail me at mattj@icnet.net