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Episode 16 -	Homecoming
	kisei
First aired -	17th July 2002

Following their narrow escape from a fleet of space pirates, Seina and the girls have been rewarded with some much-needed time off, so the Kamidake is headed for Earth. Seina wonders about the fate of his pompous but unlucky teacher Seiryo (last seen escaping the pirate base in episode 11). Clearly his last escape attempt was a failure, as he is now breaking rocks at a pirate hard labour camp! Meanwhile, Amane and Ryoko are already taking advantage of their hiatus from work. Knowing they are headed for Seina's home, they have dressed up in their best clothes and are practising their lines for buttering up Seina's parents.

As the Kamidake approaches Earth, the crew receive a distress signal from a ship, apparently being attacked by space pirates. Seina decides it is their duty to go and help. They turn around, within sight of the Earth, and head for the location of the distress signal. NB, unwilling to let any space pirates get in the way of his vacation, jumps ship before they enter hyperspace, and he plummets to Earth on his own. He passes close by a manned satellite, where Kenneth and Rajau (Seina's old roommates) have been posted on a monitoring mission.

The Kamidake arrives to find nothing but charred spaceship wreckage. However, there is one survivor; a young boy, unconscious but apparently unharmed. Amane and Ryoko are puzzled as to how he managed to survive unhurt. Before long, the boy comes around, and he is startled by Amane and Ryoko's appearance (much to their displeasure!). They leave the boy alone with Kiriko to calm down. Via the ship's security monitor, Seina watches Kiriko tend to the boy, remembering how she looked after him as a child too.

En route back to GP headquarters to drop off the survivor, the crew are sleeping. Only Kiriko is awake, taking her watch on the bridge. The boy wanders on to the bridge and Kiriko asks him if he is having trouble sleeping. He simply stares at her, then his eyes glow red — he is no innocent little boy, but a space pirate agent!

Nearby, the Daidalos, the ship belonging to notorious space pirate Tarant Shunk, lies in wait. Tarant himself is still bent on having revenge on Seina. He draws a knife, the same knife that Seina stabbed him with (see episode 10), and eagerly awaits the capture of his prey. The Kamidake proceeds into the waiting maw of the Daidalos, which snaps shut, trapping the ship and its crew.

Soon the crew of the Kamidake are taken from the ship, restrained and scanned to confirm their identity. Tarant strolls in vainglorious triumph among his captives. He shows Seina the scar from the wound he received during their previous meeting, a scar which he opted to keep as a reminder of his lust for vengeance. He takes Seina's pocket knife and plunges it into Seina's chest. However, Seina suddenly disappears; the whole setup is an intricate illusion! The Kamidake fires on the pirates then blasts its way through the Daidalos' hull. The Daidalos, heavily damaged by their breakout, explodes as the Kamidake flies to safety.

The Kamidake resumes its journey to Earth, but Seina is puzzled about how they knew they were walking into a trap. Kiriko explains that Fuku had sensed something wasn't right about the boy they took aboard. Thanks to the advanced decoy units installed on the ship, they were able to fool the pirates' scanners. Seina worries that they may have killed innocent civilians by blowing up the Daidalos, but Ryoko assures him that they were the only captives aboard.

Meanwhile, news of Tarant's failure and the destruction of the Daidalos reaches General Da Ruma of the Pirates Guild. However, he has further plans for Seina...

On Earth, Seina's sister Yoshiko is walking home when she spots a shooting star in the evening sky. She makes a wish on the star (wishing for a cute boyfriend), but the star grows brighter and closer until it lands close by, leaving a smoking crater. Yoshiko is surprised to see a small spherical robot crawl out of the crater; the shooting star was in fact NB!

Later that evening, Seina and the girls arrive on Earth and walk to the Yamada house. Kiriko and Seina are ashamed to be seen with Amane and Ryoko, who are still wearing their flashy gowns and attracting a good deal of attention from passers-by! They meet Kiriko's brother Kai along the way, who is pleased to see Seina again. He has even gathered a bunch of Seina's old friends to see him again, but familiar with Seina's bad luck they all keep a safe distance! Soon Seina and the girls reach the Yamada home. The family has moved into a much bigger house during Seina's absence. Seina's parents greet them, and Amane and Ryoko turn on the charm at once, eager to ingratiate themselves with their would-be parents-in-law, but Kiriko steps in and orders them to give Seina a little privacy. Seina is amazed at the size of his family's new home, but Kiriko explains that Airi has arranged for a portion of his considerable salary to be forwarded to his family. In fact, it is only the interest on his savings that has paid for this house, and the rest is to be given to him after he graduates.

The Yamadas invite Seina and the girls in for tea, and they discover that their hosts already have another guest; Neiju! She explains that she was so grateful to Seina for his help (see episode 14) that she came here specially to see him again and meet his parents. Amane and Ryoko are mostly worried about further competition, but Kiriko is worried that Neiju could get in trouble with the Melmas and the Juraians. Neiju reassures her by telling her that she is here on Lady Seto's say-so anyway!

Meanwhile, Alan, Barry and Cohen's saga continues. The trio have been cast in a TV drama show, and are taking part in a rehearsal session. However, the production company, which makes programmes for space pirates, doesn't allow anyone who isn't a pirate to be on the cast, but Alan, Barry and Cohen are so eager to make a break into showbusiness that they decide to become space pirates there and then!

At the Yamada home, Seina's homecoming party is in full swing. Amane and Ryoko drink with Seina's father in an attempt to score further points with the family. Kiriko converses with Seina's mother, who is eager to hear of what her son has been getting up to. Seina spots Yoshiko with NB. NB is not his usual lecherous self, and acts as if he is in love with Yoshiko. As the party goes on, the girls get progressively more drunk. Before long the family albums come out and the girls pore over pictures of Seina in his childhood. Amane and Ryoko are disturbed to note the number of photos of Seina with Kiriko. In fact, Kiriko was the only person who would dare go near him because of his bad luck, and she looked after him through much of his childhood.

By the time the party winds down, it is late at night. When everyone else has gone to bed, Seina stands on the porch and gazes at the moon. Kiriko is awake too, and she joins him. Seina muses that just a short while ago he would never have thought he could go to the moon, and now he has already been much further than that. He wonders how much further his life in the Galaxy Police will take him. Kiriko mutters that she doesn't want him to leave again, but Seina doesn't hear her. They stand and watch the moon together a little while longer.

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