The Chobimaru,
the vast spherical battleship owned by the Kuramitsu family, is bound
for Earth under orders from its captain, Misao. Mashisu,
Misao's adjutant, appears on the bridge looking for the captain.
One of the crew members tells her that Misao has left his post due
to
an
emergency
and offers
to contact him for her. Mashisu refuses and tells the crewman she
will go and find him herself.
In his quarters,
Misao Kuramitsu sits and stares into the fireplace, deep in thought.
He remembers the events of the previous evening, when he received
a message from his sister, Mihoshi. In fact,
there were several messages, and every single
one of them featuring Mihoshi enthusing about
what she
has
been
doing
with
Tenchi (working in the fields with him, dreaming about him). He came
to the conclusion that this "Tenchi" person his beloved
sister keeps harping on about in her messages must be her lover,
and based on
earlier
tales of him being "surrounded by women", that poor Mihoshi
is part of a harem! Brandishing his pistol, he swears to kill Tenchi.
A call
on his communicator interrupts his rant; it is one of his crew, warning
him that Mashisu is on her way to see him. He suggests
to the crewman that they fob her off with the excuse that he received
a
top-secret
communication from headquarters, but fails to notice Mashisu is already
standing behind him! She has an important message to deliver, namely
that Earth is a populated planet still in the early stages of civilization.
This rather puts the kibosh on the chief's plan to kill Tenchi
by "accidentally" wiping out the entire planet while battling
with Ryoko
to retrieve
Mihoshi, Ayeka, Sasami
and
Yosho. Mashisu admits that while she doesn't mind helping Misao retrieve
his sister and possibly wipe out a few of the Juraian royals as well,
the plan to destroy Earth is a bad idea. Misao mutters that Mashisu's
behaviour is hardly appropriate considering she is supposed
to be in his service, but she hears him and punishes him
for his insolence by bending him over his desk and giving him a spanking!
Misao apologises, telling Mashisu he only wanted to get his sister
back, and she stops. She goes on to warn him that the plan must be
changed; the inhabitants Earth may be primitive, she says, but they
are still quite likely to spot a ship the size of the Chobimaru entering
orbit. Misao complains that he wants to make Tenchi's death look
like an accident as he wouldn't want Mihoshi to hate him for killing
Tenchi. Mashisu, however, knows that however Misao does it, both
he and Mihoshi are likely to be hurt. Misao tells Mashisu that he
would rather see Mihoshi hurt by his own hand than leave her with
Tenchi, whom he thinks will just use her and cast her aside.
Later, Mashisu
speaks with a trio of GP operatives who have been brought on the
mission. She outlines the changes she wants to make to the plan.
Now, she explains, they are going to destroy the Chobimaru. Their
new plan is to lure their target to the Chobimaru, attack Ryoko to
provoke her, run away and get her to tail them back to the Chobimaru
as well. There, an "accidental" reactor overload will destroy their
target and implicate Ryoko in its destruction, meaning her expired
wanted status (see episode 2) will be in force
again. The GP operatives agree to the new plan, and Mashisu tells
them to attack in twenty-four hours...
Meanwhile, at the
Masaki shrine, life carries on as normal. Sasami and Ryo-ohki are spreading
water outside the shrine (a Shinto purification ritual) when they
spot a woman approaching. Sasami and Ayeka rush to greet her; she
is, in fact, Seto Kamiki Jurai, their grandmother. Ryo-ohki puts
on a performance of a new hand dance (like she did in episode
13) for her. Soon, Noike and Tenchi come to greet the latest
visitor. "You've grown since I last saw you," Seto tells him, then
explains that she used to cradle him when he was a baby.
Later, back at
the house, Ayeka expresses her surprise; if Seto had visited Earth
before, that must mean that she knew where Yosho had been hiding
all along. Seto explains that Yosho only contacted her after
Ayeka had left Jurai
to search for him. Just then, Washu comes to greet Seto, dragging
a tied-up Ryoko behind her (Ryoko, of course, has heard of Seto's
reputation and wanted nothing to do with her). Seto stands up to
introduce herself to Washu, then suddenly collapses.
A little while
later, Washu examines Seto to find out what is wrong. Fortunately,
as Washu reports, it's nothing more serious than a case of exhaustion
brought on by over-excitement about the trip. Washu assures everyone
she will look after Seto while everyone else prepares dinner.
Soon, the girls
are busy preparing food while Tenchi is out collecting the harvest.
Sasami tells Noike they have run out of aubergines, and Noike offers
to go and ask Tenchi to pick some more. Taking Ryo-ohki with her,
she drives out to the fields to help Tenchi. As she helps him pick
the vegetables, Tenchi remarks that she seems remarkably at-ease
with farm work. Noike tells him that she had to work in the fields
when she was a child too. It may have been hard work, Noike goes
on to say, but it was worth it to have a greater variety of fresh
food at the table.
Later, Noike arrives
back at the house, but Tenchi is not with her. Noike tells Sasami
that on the way back they met Mihoshi, who was going out to pick
up more groceries, and Tenchi decided to help her. Preparations for
dinner continue apace, and Washu notices how well Sasami and Noike
work as a team; between them, they're working at three times the
usual pace! Washu warns them that Seto will probably not be up and
about in time for dinner, but Sasami knows otherwise. She recalls
how Seto always used to show up when food was prepared, even if she
was
asleep, so the smell of them cooking should have her on her feet
in no time. And sure enough, seconds later Seto wanders in! Washu
asks Seto if she would like to retire to her laboratory for a chat
while the others finish preparing dinner. As they are leaving, Sasami
stops them and asks them to put back the plates of food they were
about to steal first!
Meanwhile, Ryoko
has been drinking sake on her usual perch in the rafters. She has
just run out, so she decides to go and meet Tenchi on the way back
from the shops. Ayeka, meanwhile, tries to call Katsuhito to invite
him for dinner, but finds the line dead. She leaves for the shrine
to ask him in person, taking Ryo-ohki with her.
Before long, Sasami
and Noike have almost finished preparing dinner, so Noike goes to
Washu's lab to call her and Seto. Just as they are leaving, the lab
disappears around them, replaced by a shimmering blue and black room.
A man appears in front of them; one of the three Galaxy Police heavies
Mashisu briefed earlier...
Ryoko, meanwhile,
has snagged herself a barrel of sake and is heading back home, swigging
from a jug as she goes. Suddenly, a shimmering force-field appears
around her, and another of the GP operatives appears. Ayeka too is
attacked by one of the GP operatives as she and Ryo-ohki walk up
the steps to the shrine...
Back at the house,
Sasami has finished laying the table for dinner when the room vanishes
around her, replaced by a blue-black landscape. Mashisu steps out
to confront her.
Some time later,
Tenchi and Mihoshi arrive back at the house to find it deserted.
They search every room, but there is no sign of anyone. Just then,
Mihoshi's communication bangle beeps and flashes; it is a call from
her brother (though it takes quite a bit of prompting for her to
remember exactly who he is!). Misao turns
to Tenchi and invites him to attend a banquet in thanks for "taking
care of his sister". Tenchi accepts, but, he adds, only if everyone
else can come along too. Misao agrees, telling him that his men will
escort the others to his ship. When he closes the communications
channel, we see he is as full of hatred for Tenchi as ever; his cordial
invitation is clearly a trap.
Meanwhile,
Ryoko faces Sorunaru, the GP operative who has her surrounded by
a force
field. He tells her that their real business is with Tenchi, and
his job is just to keep Ryoko busy for a while. He summons up a trio
of mechanical fighting machines, telling Ryoko that they are far
more powerful marionettes than she is. "I am not a puppet!" Ryoko
screams, producing a burst of energy that destroys two of the mechanoids.
Sorunaru is momentarily shocked into silence, and Ryoko takes advantage
by taunting him mercilessly. Sorunaru retorts by telling Ryoko that
it is the wish of a "certain someone" that Mihoshi and
Tenchi be brought together. Imagining Tenchi and Mihoshi as lovers,
Ryoko loses
her temper and rushes at Sorunaru. Suddenly several larger and more
powerful fighting marionettes appear. Ryoko gets struck on the face,
opening up a bleeding wound on her cheek. She finds herself surrounded
by Sorunaru's robots, and Sorunaru himself taunts her, telling her
to behave or face the consequences. Ryoko stands for a moment, considering
her opponent, then a grin spreads across her face as she mutters
"I'll kill you!"...
