Remembering the Past

"Momma, I'm scared."

Boshi rolled over and looked at her newly-adopted daughter. "It's alright, climb in bed with me."

Aliha nodded and walked around the large bed, then climbed under the heavy comforter and hugged her surrogate mother. She yawned and fell back to sleep quickly, while Boshi lay there and listened to her soft breathing. She couldn't fall back to sleep, being plagued by her own visions of a past life, so she lay there and tried to make sense of them. She remembered a Queen being killed, and herself vowing to protect others from the same fate, but little else. She sighed and looked at the clock. Since daybreak was fast approaching, she climbed out of bed slowly as not to disturb her daughter and left the room. She put on a pot of coffee, then sat down on the window seat facing out of her room, many stories above all but a few of the skyscrapers surrounding the Temple.

Boshi sighed. Just days after discovering her Chibi, the Council granted permission for her to finish retraining Aliha, and only a day after that she had adopted the young girl. It had been several months since then, though. In the begining, Aliha was afraid to open up and show her true potential, not wanting to be taken away from her new mother as she had been taken from her others so suddenly. She had made friends with several of the other Chibi Scouts, though not deeply, and had shut out many of the Sailors and Chibis. Xarae, Ciel and Chikako had always been top on Aliha's list, second only to Boshi.

Nagareboshi snapped out of her trance when a loud bang echoed through the room and Aliha started screaming. She jumped up and ran into her room, only to find Ali sitting next to the bed, clutching her stuffed rabbit and bawling her eyes out, her hair sticking out every which way. Boshi had to strain not to laugh, then walked over to the girl and picked her up. Ali wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and burried her face in Boshi's nightdress. Someone knocked on the door, and Boshi walked out to the the door and opened it.

Chikako stood there, concern written across her soft features. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

Boshi smiled. "Poor Aliha fell out of bed."

"Poor girl," Chikako said and rubbed the little girls head. Ali looked up at Chikako, her face streaked with tears.

"Is Chika staying?" she asked.

"If she wants to. I have coffee on if you want some," Boshi offered.

"That'd be nice," Chikako said, then followed Boshi inside.

Boshi sat Ali down on the couch, then tapped her nose. Aliha giggled and wiped her eyes. Boshi grinned, then turned and went into the kitchen to get the coffee.

"Chika, what are you doing today?" Aliha asked.

"I don't know," Chikako said truthfully. She had no idea!

"Would you like to go to the park with me?"

"Okay," Chikako smiled.

Boshi came out of the kitchen and handed Chikako a steaming cup of coffee. She grinned and made a funny face, and everyone cracked up.

"Okay, Ali, concentrate," Boshi said gently.

Ali nodded and took her battle stance again. She was doing a blind drill, using only the Force to sense where the droid was going to fire so she could deflect it. This time she was much more succesful, not getting hit but having to dodge very close shots several times. Boshi deactivated the droid and turned the training room light on.

"That was great!" Boshi praised.

Ali blushed. "Nah," she shrugged it off.

Just as Ali was gathering her few things she had brought with them, another group of people entered the training room. One little girl leaned over and whispered something to a little boy, and they laughed loudly. Ali glowered at them and walked quickly out of the room, her head held high. Aliha had been the object of childish taunts since she had begun retraining, and she felt hurt by this. Just because she had been accepted so late didn't mean she should be made fun of. Why are they so mean to me? she wondered. Boshi ran to catch up with her.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Nothing," Ali denied.

Boshi stopped and raised an eyebrow. "That was definitely something," she said. "You know, if we are going to have a real mother-daughter relationship, you are going to have to tell me things."

Ali sighed. "I know, but I have always been... different..." She trailed off, then turned and ran down the hall to their rooms.

Chikako peeked out of one of the rooms. "What's up?" she asked.

Boshi sighed. "Aliha is growing... distant, and I don't know what to do."

"Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing you, and I was wondering if I could be of some help."

Boshi and Chikako turned around, and there stood one of the most handsome men either of them had ever seen.

Boshi smiled. "Maybe. I'm Boshi."

"Jedi Knight Noken Jodenshi." He shook Boshi's hand gently, then placed a gentle kiss on the soft skin of her knuckles.

Boshi blushed a deep crimson. "Oh," she said almost silently.

Chikako grinned. "Well, I figure you two will have everything under control pretty quickly, so I'll leave you alone." She scurried off into her room.

"Well, Boshi, your little girl seems unhappy," Noken said.

"I know, but I don't know why."

"She said she has always been different. Maybe we could help her by getting her something which she can love as her own and which will love her back."

Boshi thought about that. She brightened. "A pet!" she exclaimed. Noken smiled.

"Okay," he said, "how are we going to do this?"

"Well, Aliha wanted to go to the park, so we could get Chikako to take her, then we could go and get her something at one of the shops."

Noken nodded. "That sounds good."

Boshi hugged Noken. "Thank you!" she exclaimed happily, then ran to get Chikako.

"But Chika, I'm tired. Let's go home," Aliha whined.

Chikako was panicking. They couldn't go home or everything would be spoiled. She was almost about to give up when she got an idea. "Want some ice cream?" she asked.

Aliha brightened. "Do they have Chunky Monkey?"

"I think so," Chikako said with a smile.

"Then let's go!" the little girl shouted, running off.

Chikako sprinted after her, barely being able to keep sight of her. "Ali, slow down!"

Aliha stopped suddenly, and Chikako ran into her, and they tumbled head-over-teakettle and landed in a heap. Aliha got up and dusted herself off, then fixed one of her braids which had come unfastened. Chikako got up and took Aliha's hand. "You can't run off like that, okay?" Aliha nodded.

They walked the rest of the way to the parlour, then they took a seat on the patio. Chikako instructed Aliha to stay at the table; then Chikako went inside to get their ice cream. Out of boredom, Aliha swung her legs back and forth and hummed a song quietly, one which she remembered hearing faintly when she transformed.

"Ouch!" someone exclaimed from behind her. Aliha had accidently kicked someone standing behind her.

Aliha turned around, and recognized it as one of the other Sailors. "Sorry, Mara."

Mara smiled. "No problem. So, are you here alone?"

Aliha shook her head and resumed swinging her legs and humming. She had never bonded at all with most of the other sailors, so she barely spoke to them.

Chikako came back out just as Mara was about to leave. "Hey Mara."

"Hi Chikako," Mara said.

"What're you doing here?" Chikako asked.

"Um, getting ice cream?"

Chikako giggled. "I know, silly question."

"Actually, I was looking for you," Mara said.

"Oh?"

"I need to talk to you. Alone." She casually cocked her head towards the little girl eating her ice cream.

Chikako nodded, and they walked some distance away.

Aliha ate her ice cream slowly, thinking about all sorts of stuff, when something hard hit her. "Ow!" she shouted.

A group of youngsters stood some distance away, laughing hysterically. Aliha grinned wickedly at them, then lifted them with the Force. They looked a little frightened and were struggling against her hold, wondering how she could do that. She dropped them, and they fell in a heap. The biggest boy got up and stalked over to Aliha.

"You better leave the Temple, or you're going to be sorry you ever arrived," he growled, then the whole group turned and left.

Aliha closed her eyes, forcing away tears. I have to be strong. They can't do anything to me, she thought to herself. Oh, who am I kidding.

"Okay, you can come in," Boshi called.

Chikako led Aliha into the living room, and curled up in the middly of the room was a small black ball. Aliha walked over to it and touched it gently. It uncurled and looked up at Aliha, whiskers twitching.

"What is it?" she asked.

"A kitten," Boshi told her.

"It's so cute!" she exclaimed as it rubbed its head against her leg.

"What are you going to name her?" Noken asked.

"Um... maybe Tisha, after my sister," Aliha said.

When Aliha said that, the kitty looked up. "So, do you like Tisha?" she asked the little black ball.

It mewed a reply, and Aliha smiled.

"I guess it's Tisha," Chikako said. "Well, I have to go. I'll see you guys all later."

They waved goodbye to Chikako, then she left. Boshi picked up Tisha and rubbed its chin. It purred, content with Boshi holding it.

"Ali, this is Noken," she said, introducing the man next to her.

"Hi," Aliha said.

"Hello, Ali. I hope you like your new pet."

"Oh, I do, sir."

"Ali, Noken invited me to go to dinner with him, so Yuki is going to look after you, okay?"

Ali nodded. "Okay."

"I'm going to go get dressed, so you and Noken can stay here and play with Tisha," Boshi told them; then she turned and left the room.

Aliha watched her new kitten chase nonexsitent mice across the floor and giggled when she rolled on her back and batted her paws at flies. She chased Tisha around, giggling as the little black kitten tried to hide under tables and behind planters. They played like that for a while, with Noken watching them with a grin.

"How do I look?" Boshi had stepped out of the hall and twirled around.

Aliha gasped. "You look so pretty, Mommy!" she exclaimed, giving her a hug.

Boshi wore a pretty aquamarine gown with off-the-shoulder full-length sleeves. Her hair was clipped back with a clip made of marble and silver, and she wore a silver chain with a simple marble drop bead.

"You look amazing," Noken said softly, and Boshi blushed.

Boshi called Yuki, and she arrived quickly. She greeted Boshi warmly and was introduced to Noken quickly.

"Okay Ali," Boshi called. "We're leaving now. Be good!"

"I will, Mommy," Aliha said.

Nagareboshi and Noken left, and Yuki took a seat on the couch.

"Who's that?" she asked, referring to Tisha.

"That's my kitten, Tisha."

"She is very cute," Yuki said.

Aliha nodded, then picked up her kitty. "I'm going to go and play in my room."

"Okay," Yuki said. "If you need anything, I'm here."

Aliha nodded, then went into her room. She shut the door quietly, then sat on her bed and let Tisha go. A few tears slid down Aliha's cheeks, and she wiped them away quickly. I can't stay here, Aliha thought. She packed a small bag with a few pieces of clothing, her journal, some kitty food which had been put in her room, and a few other material items. She put Tisha in her bag, then whispered a few words to her. She shut the top, slid it on her back, then tiptoed out of her room. She looked in at Yuki, who didn't see her, then she turned and left the apartment quickly.

About half an hour later, Yuki finished her and Aliha's dinner, and wondered why Ali hadn't come out of her room yet. "Aliha, dinner!" she called, with no response. She walked down the hall and peeked into Ali's room, but no one was there. She was surprised but stayed calm. She searched the apartment, but to no avail. She called Boshi.

"Yes, Yuki?" Boshi asked.

"You have to come home!"

"What's wrong?"

"Just come here, it's an emergency!"

"Okay, I'll be there in a little while. Call the others and have them come to my place."

Yuki said she would, then hung up. She called some of the others, and they all agreed to be there soon.

"Okay, Yuki, you called me home in such a panic, so what's wrong?" Boshi asked.

Chikako, Ben, Nom, Mara, and Miyuki sat around, waiting silently. Ben piped up with, "Come on, Yuki, just tell us."

"Yes," Nom said, and Miyuki nodded.

Mara looked around. "Where's Ali?"

Boshi realized something. "I don't sense her here, and she didn't come meet me when I came in!"

"Um, that's the thing," Yuki said. "She's gone."

Aliha ran away from the Temple, trying to hold her bag still as not to frighten poor Tisha. She remembered a ship, from her dreams, and she had to find it. She let the Force guide her, and she found herself being led into a seedy part of Coruscant, down in the lower levels. She slowed as she reached the worst part of her journey and lifted the hood of her robe over her head. She walked slowly, giving herself an air of age and making it seem like she was going somewhere specific, but wasn't in a hurry to get there. She passed many dirty people, many smelling of alcohol and making the young girl scrunch her nose in disgust. She shook her head and focused on finding this ship.

"Yo," a man called to her.

"What?" Aliha demanded, projecting her voice and making it seem deeper, older.

"What's a purdy youn' thin' like you doin' down here," he drawled, obviously intoxicated.

"None of your buisness."

He growled. "I don't like yur attitude. I think I'm gonna hafta teach you a lesson." He grabbed Aliha's arm, and she turned her head quickly. He realized the girl was very young and smiled.

Aliha gave him an evil smile, then threw him across the street and into a building. He slid slowly down the brick and landed in a heap.

"A lesson, hm?" she said, then fixed her hood and continued on her way, leaving a wake of startled onlookers behind her.

It took about an hour for Aliha to find her way to the hangar where she believed the ship was. She tried the door, but found it locked. Ali rapped on the door gently, and a few moments later the door slid open and there was a fat blue Toydarian.

"Waddaya want?" he demanded.

"I'm looking for a ship," Aliha told him.

"Aren't we all. What's your name?"

"Aliha."

A look of recognization crossed his face. "Ah, I tink you did leave a ship here, though you did seem a lot older then."

"I was," Ali said.

He just looked at her, then spun and led the young one inside. He stopped in front of a huge Corellian cruiser, and Aliha looked up at it in awe. "The Starlight Phoenix," she whispered, then stopped, amazed she knew the name of it.

"Well, if this is yur ship, be on with it. I have work to do."

Aliha waved the little blue bug off, and he flew off. Aliha walked underneath the large ship and climbed up the ladder, then hit a button, and the hatch opened. She climbed in, and the ladder retracted. She hit another button, and the hatch closed, but a different one than before, a stronger one better suited for hyperspace. Aliha gazed at the interior of the ship, amazed at everything, but even more amazed at the fact that she knew what ever one of the buttons, levers, switches and panels was for. Weird, she thought, then ran down a hallway, climbed up another ladder onto the top deck, then walked through a door and entered the cockpit. She put down her bag and let out Tisha, who mewed thankfully and wound herself around Ali's ankles. Aliha gave her a pat, then took a moment to refamiliarize herself with the controls. She quickly found the ignition, the shields, weapon controls and hyperspace controls. She took a seat at the helm and hit the ignition.

"Oh, Noken, what am I going to do?" Boshi sighed.

Noken took her in his arms and held her gently. "We will find her. She's just a girl - how far can she go?"

"That's what you don't understand. She may be a girl on the outside, but she remembers almost everything from her past life. She could probably even pilot a starship if it came down to it."

Noken shook her head. "Where would a little girl get a starship?"

Boshi pushed Noken away. "She's smart - she could get one if she really wanted one."

"Please, Boshi, don't push me away. I want to help, and you need someone to comfort you. Your daughter is gone, and how can you deal with that alone? Something awful could happen to her and you need all the friends you can get... and..."

"And?" Boshi said questioningly.

"Never mind," Noken said. "Let's just find Ali before it's too late."

Yuki, Ben, Mara, Miyuki, Chikako, Nom, Noken and Boshi sat around Boshi's kitchen table.

"We have to find her as quickly as possible," Nom stated. "She is in very real danger."

"I know, Nom," Boshi said, "I know. But what can we do?"

"Ben, Yuki, Mara and the others can go and start searching for her," Noken said, "and you and I will stay here, and you can use your bond to try and find her."

"That's probably one of the most logical responses I have ever heard," Miyuki said with a smile.

"Hey!" Nom exclaimed.

"Calm down, you two - this is NOT a battle of logic or wits," Chikako scolded. "We are trying to find Ali."

"I'll take the girls out to try and find her, if she's still on planet," Ben said.

"Okay," Boshi said, letting a tear slide down her cheek. "I have to find my little girl."

Everyone left Noken and Boshi alone and went to try and find the girl.

"My Boshi," Noken whispered. "We will find our little Ali, I promise you."

Boshi looked up at him, her eyes glassy. "Our Ali?"

"Boshi, I... I know this will sound very odd... but... I love you." Noken held Boshi close.

"But how?"

"I don't know. But I could tell from when I first saw you."

"Oh, Noken."

Aliha shot the Starlight into hyperspace, heading off towards Tatooine. She felt that was probably the best place to start piecing together her past, and she could hide there fairly easily. She got up and stretched, then started walking back towards one of the cabins. Tisha sat up from her seat on the other pilot's chair and mewed questioningly.

"Oh, come here, Tisha," she said gently. The small kitten got up and followed her to the cabin.

Aliha lay on the bed and rested her head on her arms. "What am I going to do?" she asked the empty air beside her.

Tisha hopped onto the bed and sat beside her. "You could go back," she said.

Aliha jumped up in surprise. "You... you can talk?"

"Well, I suppose you can call this talking," Tisha said.

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I didn't see the need. But I can see you really need your mother," Tisha told her.

Aliha nodded. "I'm going back," she told her kitten, then got up and ran to the cockpit.

Aliha pulled the ship out of hyperspace, then looked at the viewscreen. "Uh oh," she said. They had stopped right in the middle of a group of ships, and they did not look friendly. "We have to get out of here," she told Tisha, and she nodded.

Ali activated the invisibility cloak and turned the ship around to jump back into hyperspace, but it seemed that the other ship's sensors had picked them up. Aliha put the ship on autopilot, then hopped into the weapons control seat. She started firing with her rear hidden laser cannons and took out two ships quickly. She rendered another useless, then tried to get away, but she was boxed in.

"Prepare to be boarded."

The deep female voice rang through the cockpit. "This is not good," Aliha muttered, then grabbed Tisha and hid her in her cloak. She made sure her lightsaber was clipped under her shirt where it was impossible to see, then sat down at the controls.

The ship shuddered as a larger ship docked with the Starlight. Aliha opened a compartment under the controls and found a small blaster hidden there. Maybe we can still get out of this, she thought, then picked it up and prepared to be borded.

Boshi sat crosslegged on the floor, her eyes closed. She concentrated and felt her mind moving down the connection that she held with her daughter. Noken paced back and forth in front of her, arms crossed. She felt Aliha's mind shields, but it was enough to give a vague location of the girl. Boshi's eyes flew open. Noken stopped and looked at her.

"She's been captured!" Boshi cried.

"How do you know?" Noken asked.

"I can sense Sith around her, and she would never betray us like that."

"But maybe her sister tempted her..." Noken suggested.

Boshi shook her head. "I know her. She would never stray so far."

"We have to tell the others."

Ben... Boshi thought.

Yes Boshi? Ben thought back.

Ali's not here.

I know.

I mean, she's not on planet. She's been captured by the Sailor Sith.

We must work quickly then. I'll bring the others to the Mind's Eye.

We'll meet you there.

"Come on, Noken, we're going to find her," Boshi told him, then grabbed her cloak and ran out of the room with Noken in tow.

The two ran through the Temple, then hopped on Boshi's speeder when they made it outside. They raced through the streets, weaving in and out of rushhour traffic. Once they were almost hit sidelong, but dipped down just in time to get out of the way, then continued on their way to the hangar. They arrived quickly, and found the entryway to the Mind's Eye open. They ran inside and into the cockpit, where everyone else was seated already. Nom closed the hatch and started the engines. They rumbled into life and they were lifted off the hangar floor and shot out into space.

"Do you know where she is?" Nom asked, hitting various buttons and flicking switches.

"Not exactly, but it seems from her vague position she was on her way to the Outer Rim, most likely Tatooine."

Nom nodded and punched some coordinates into the computer; then they shot into hyperspace. Everyone but Nom left the cockpit and went out to one of the back rooms to discuss things. Boshi sat down on a crate and rested her elbows on her knees. She cradled her chin in her hands and looked forlorn.

Mara and Ben took seats on either side of her. Yuki stood beside Mara, facing in, and Chikako stood opposite her. Miyuki sat across from Boshi on another crate. Noken stood behind Boshi, his arms around her shoulders.

"I hope she's alright," sighed Boshi. "Why did she leave? Did I do something wrong?"

"You did nothing wrong," Noken told her. "She's very confused. She needed to get things off her chest, though I must say she did choose an odd outlet."

"You're telling me."

Boshi sighed. "Well, we need a plan for when we arrive at wherever it is that we're going."

"I think," put in Miyuki, "we may have to wing it."

"That's probably the best we can do," Ben said.

"Well, we should have a skeleton plan, like, in case we run into some major trouble," Mara said, and Yuki nodded.

"Okay," Boshi said. "From what I can tell, she's being held on a ship. We should have Nom and..." She paused for a moment. "...and Noken stay here, just in case. Ben, Mara and I will board the ship to find Ali, with Miyuki and Yuki standing guard at the entrace to this ship. Alright?"

"Sounds good to me," replied Ben.

"Can't I go with you guys?" Yuki asked.

"I think it would be better for you to stay here, Yuki-chan," Ben said affectionately.

Yuki nodded. "If you think so."

After that, nobody said much of anything. They sat around waiting, Yuki and Ben whispering to each other, Boshi being comforted by Noken, and the others just looking bored. They were about to get up when an alarm sounded.

"You had best come to the bridge, Boshi. Bring Ben and Mara, as well," Nom commanded through the comm.

"Okay guys, you heard the captain. Ben, Mara, come with me," Boshi said.

Everyone stayed sitting except for those aformentioned, and the three of them ran up to bridge. They found on the viewscreen a huge battlecruiser looming in the distance. Boshi looked at them, then suddenly cried out and fell to her knees.

"What?" Ben exclaimed, grabbing onto Boshi's shoulder.

"She's.... on the..." Boshi muttered, then collapsed.

Aliha lay curled up in a corner of her dank cell. She could sense the Sailor Sith all around her, and with all the evil energy she was growing weaker by the minute. She had tried to fight off the people boarding her ship, but there were just too many and too much dark energy was flying at her. Now she was stuck in this cell, not knowing whether she would live or die and wishing her mother would come save her. Ali sighed and closed her eyes, trying to sleep, but on the hard, metal floor of the cell it was nearly impossible. Tisha laid next to her, curled up against the girl's stomach. Barely noticing, she began to sing, a slow, sad song entirely made-up, but yet she knew the words exactly:

Aliha opened her eyes slowly and saw Katisha standing just outside her cell. "Kat," she muttered, her energy nearly gone.

"Aliha!" Kat exclaimed, then lowered her voice. "How did you get here?"

"My ship... was boarded..." Ali murmured, her eyes sliding shut out of their own accord.

"Come on, wake up!" Katisha prodded, but it was no use. Ali was dying, and Kat couldn't stop it.

Boshi sat on the captain's seat on the bridge of the Mind's Eye. Ben was kneeling next to her, as was Mara. Nom was working the controls of the ship, keeping them from being boarded, for a time anyway.

"My Ali, she's dying," Boshi said.

"What? How?" Mara asked.

"The dark energy must be too much for her. We have to save her."

Ben nodded. "I have a plan," he said. "We should let them board us."

"Have you lost your marbles?" Mara shouted.

"I do not believe Ben has marbles," Nom mentioned.

"Not literally, Nom," Mara rolled her eyes. "I meant it as he is totally crazy."

"Oh," Nom said, then went back to piloting the ship.

"Anyway, are you crazy? We can't let them board us! We're trying to save Ali, not get ourselves killed."

"Let my finish, Mara. We let them board us, then we can sneak onto the ship, after we've disposed of the bad guys."

"Well, I don't think there's much else we can do," Boshi said.

"I know that there is little else to do, but I would prefer it if we did not let them board us. It just does not seem logical," Nom told the others.

"It may not be logical, but if we don't, we're stuck," Ben said.

Nom sighed. "If we must."

Nom prepared the ship, and the battle cruiser moved towards them. As the two docked, Mara gulped. "Here goes nothing," she said.

Five women burst into the cockpit. They held up their blasters, then told the group to give up without a fight.

"Shooting Star Power, Make Up!" Boshi shouted, and she transformed into Sailor Shooting Star.

"So we have some Sailor Senshi, do we?" the head woman said.

"I am Sailor Shooting Star, senshi of Light and Sparkle. On behalf of the Star, You will fall!"

The women laughed, then Shooting Star smiled at them. "Sparkle Dust Surround!" she shouted, then all five women slowly slid to the floor, unconscous. "Tie them up quickly. They will wake up soon."

Ben and Mara tied the women up quickly, then Boshi returned to her normal form. The three of them ran to board the ship and got Yuki and Miyuki to stand guard. Boshi led the way into the foreign ship. Boshi pinpointed Ali's location, then the three of them slowly made their way down through the ship.

"Ali!" Boshi exclaimed. She stood just outside Ali's cell.

Aliha was unconscious and just barely alive. Kat stood on the other side of the cell, her eye downcast. "I tried to help her..." she whispered.

Mara found the control panel for the cell's shielding and deactivated it. Boshi ran in and grabbed the unconcious girl and the tired kitten. Just as they were about to leave, an alarm sounded through the ship.

"Watch it, girls," Ben said. "They're coming."

Kat ran off to keep from getting caught, and Boshi took off towards the Mind's Eye. "Hold the fort for me," she called to them.

"No problem," Mara said as the Sailor Sith flooded around them.

Boshi made it onto the Mind's Eye quickly, then brought Ali to one of the staterooms. Noken ran in, followed by Yuki and Chikako. They crowded around Aliha as Noken and Boshi tried to revive her, Tisha watching from a distance, looking very worried. It took a while, but they had finally gotten her to at least only be asleep.

"Nagareboshi," Nom said through the comm. "Where are the others?"

"They're on the ship still," Boshi told Nom.

"Don't worry, I will take Yukiko and Chikako to save them," Noken said, and Boshi glowed.

"You would do that?" she asked.

"Of course, Meine Liebe," Noken said, then kissed the top of her head.

Yuki and Chikako looked at each other questioningly. "What are you talking about?" Yuki asked.

Noken smiled. "Riene, mon amie Yukiko."

"Huh?"

Noken shook his head. "Never mind, Yuki. Let's just go and save our friends."

"Together, we will be, forever as one," Boshi sang quietly, holding Ali's hand as she slept.

Ali groaned, and opened her eyes slowly. "Mummy?" she said quietly.

"Ali!" Boshi exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

Ali shook her head. "I don't feel too good."

Boshi silenced her with a touch of her lips. "Rest, my Ali."

Ali nodded, then yawned deeply. She rolled over and went back to sleep. Tisha lifted her head from off her paws and looked down upon them from her perch on a shelf. She yawned, then hopped down and walked over the Boshi, who picked her up and scritched her head.

"Hey there, Tisha," she said. "Are you alright?"

Tisha mewed a reply, then lay on the floor next to her chair and went to sleep.

Ali slept for a long time, while Boshi sat in the cockpit with Nom; they were doing their best to keep track of what was going on with the others. Noken had taken a small comm unit with him, so they could hear what was going on, for the most part. From what they could tell, one of the Senshi was down, but they were winning the battle against the Sailor Sith.

"I hope Noken's alright," Boshi said quietly, touching the necklace that he had given to her just before he left.

"He is, Nagareboshi," Nom said comfortingly.

"Nom, why do you always have to be so....... logical?" Boshi asked suddenly.

Nom just looked at her. "The best answer is the logical one," she said.

Boshi shook her head. "Poor misinformed Nom," she said with a smile.

Nom just frowned at her. All of a sudden, the noise coming from Noken's comm stopped.

"Okay, guys, I have one thing to say," Noken's voice rang through the cockpit. "RUN!!!!"

Boshi and Nom looked at each other, then ran out to the entrance to the other ship. Just as they arrived, Noken, Ben and the Sailors arrived, blaster fire ringing around them. Boshi helped them up, then Nom shut the door.

"Nom, get us out of here!" Mara exclaimed.

Nom nodded, then took off. Noken, Mara and Ben headed off to rest, while Yuki, Chikako and Boshi stayed by the door, just in case. The ship shook as they moved away from the battle cruiser, and Boshi steadied herself by grabbing onto the wall.

"I better go check on Noken," Boshi said, then ran off to find him.

"You're here, there's nothing I fear
And I know that my heart will go on.
We'll stay forever this way,
You are safe in my heart,
And my heart will go on and on," Noken sang quietly as Boshi slept next to him.

He truly loved her, and he didn't know what to do about it. They had only met a few weeks ago, but he already felt a deep and strong emotional connection to her, and wished - no, hoped - that she reciprocated completely what he was feeling.

"Urg," Boshi groaned. She opened her eyes and sat up.

"Are you feeling alright?" Noken asked.

"Are we at home?" Boshi asked, half asleep.

Noken smiled. They had arrived several hours earlier, and both Boshi and Ali had been sound asleep when they docked, so Noken had carried Boshi and Chikako held Aliha and brought them back to their apartment. Chikako had left to get some rest, but Noken had sat next to Boshi's bed as she slept, comforting her when she cried out and calmed her when she tossed.

"Yes, amante," Noken said.

"Hmm?" Boshi wondered.

"Nothing, petit fleur."

Boshi shook her head. Noken had showered her with lovey sayings and pet names, but she didn't quite understand why. She knew he loved her, he had told her, but she didn't realize how deeply his love went. The young woman had never really encountered love, not the way Noken felt, so she couldn't understand it.

Boshi sat up and climbed out of bed, and Noken steadied her. They walked out to the kitchen and sat down; then Boshi grabbed a snack out of the fruit bowl on the table and began to eat. They heard soft steps coming from down the hall, then watched as Aliha shuffled out from her room, carrying Tisha and Loki, her beloved stuffed rabbit.

"Momma, I want to go home," she said, sitting on Boshi's lap.

"You are home, Ali," Boshi told her. "No, I mean Home, with my mommy and daddy and sisters," Aliha said persistently.

Boshi and Noken looked at each other. We are definitely going to have to find out more about Ali's past, Noken thought, and Boshi nodded.

Boshi laid Ali on the couch to watch cartoons, then sat down next to Noken. Noken was looking somewhat uncomfortable and fidgety.

"Are you okay?" Boshi asked.

"Of course, mi que tira estrella," Noken said, tracing a line down Boshi's cheek with his finger. "Mein Liebe, I have to ask you

Boshi just looked at him. "Yes?" she prompted.

Noken shifted in his seat, then sighed. "Never mind."