I understood the general thrust of this episode, but there's a lot of details which I missed; that's what happens when the synopsizer doesn't understand the language of the show he's synopsizing. Corrections and insights are welcome. I thank Aubrey Kuang-Yu Chen for his many corrections and insights. Most anything I get right about what is actually said are due to him.
Kiyone madly presses the "Fire" button. She and Mihoshi are in their ship, and they are trying to apprehend this Space Cowboy. I don't know what he's done, but he wears a cowboy hat and his name is "Bento Cougar" or something like that. Kiyone wants to catch this guy, because then the Galaxy Police will notice them and they'll get a promotion! And that would be so great! And she'd be very happy! So she continues blasting at the Cougar, who fires back, but Mihoshi catches him in a tractor beam, and she's actually doing a good job of keeping him in the tractor beam. He tries to fire back, but a well-aimed barrage disables Cougar's ship. So Cougar gives up, and Kiyone and Mihoshi are happy. So happy that Mihoshi lets go of the controls, and everyone falls to earth.
Back in the Tenchi house, Sasami is cooking fish in a bucket, while Ryou-oh-ki watches. (I don't really get this. She's indoors, and there's this bucket, and a wire grill over with fish, and some coal(?) in the bucket, and Sasami is fanning it. I guess they aren't worried about carbon monoxide building up. Maybe it's not charcoal. Maybe, as Aubrey Kuang-Yu Chen suggests, the cooking exhaust is on.) Mihoshi is back in her street clothes, drying her hair. She complains that she still smells like burnt fish even after her twentieth(?) shower. Kiyone comes up in her street clothes and starts yelling at her. "And who's fault is that? We're lucky we're still alive!" Mihoshi apologies for something. Sasami sees this, and she starts being concerned about them. Or maybe Washuu -- Washuu's just been sitting in her room working on something since Ryouko left. Ryouko hasn't returned home for quite some time, and Sasami is concerned about that. Or maybe she's worried about the fish. She cooked too many fishes, since she made one for Washuu. Washuu had mentioned earlier that she wanted to be left alone to continue her research on the crystals.
Well, what about Ryouko? She's in outer space, in the headquarters of the Galaxy Confederate Bank. (At least, that's what I'm reading the caption as.) She's turned pirate again, dressed in the same outfit she wore before she met Tenchi. Inside the ship, Ryouko finished up bashing guards, and then sits on the console, next to Hotsuma, as he hacks at a computer terminal.
They talk for a little while. I gather that Hotsuma is the brains of this operation -- he's the one that knows where everything is. He's figured out the security schedule so they'll arrive when there are few guards around. Ryouko isn't blindly following him, of course. "You set your sights high," she says, "making the GCB HQ our first target."
"Of course," Hotsuma replies. "This is our first mission together. We must make it a memorable one. Besides, there is a valuable prize that goes with it..." Hotsuma at one point puts his hand on her shoulder. Ryouko frowns, and brushes it off.
Anyway, Hotsuma has figured the schedule right, and they proceed through the ship.
"After you, Princess," he says, bowing.
"Don't call me Princess," replies Ryouko. "I don't like princesses."
They go down this elevator, and Ryouko gets concerned because she figures there are too few guards in the bank even if Hotsuma got the schedule right. Before Hotsuma can explain himself, Ryouko teleports herself outside the elevator and promptly starts like a drowning seal. (This is all very comical.) Ryouko, it seems, forgot to check for atmosphere before she left, and as she arrives back, panting, Hotsuma explains that the atmosphere has been pumped down for security purposes.
Anyway, they continue down, and they reach another hallway, and they're still talking, and somehow the Galaxy Police is mentioned, (Hotsuma simply reminds Ryoko of how much time she will spending in jail if she were ever caught by the GP) and Ryouko doesn't like that. She shakes Hotsuma by the shirt for a while, and then they continue on. (Hotsuma seems to smirk a little when she goes off ahead of him.)
They fly through some security beams, and they come to another computer terminal. Ryouko cracks it open and sticks her hand down it and tries to get past its security. But it just spits out more and more insulting messages and Ryouko gets angrier and angrier until the computer says "game over" and Ryouko gets fed about and is about to blast it...
...when she suddenly realizes maybe that's not the best thing to do, especially with Hotsuma watching. "Since you are so anxious to do some work," says Ryouko, "I guess I will leave this simple job to you, Hotsuma." So Hotsuma comes in and gets past it in about 3 seconds.
Is there some sort of moment her betwixt Hotuma and Ryouko? It kind of looks like it. Hotsuma says something like "Well, let's go. Ryouko." and Ryouko seems kind of, well, appreciative?
Yuugi, who has been watching, delivers a solioquy in some strange language which Randall does not understand just before the commercial break.
Hotsuma and Ryouko have delved further into the ship and they're talking about something. They come to another door with a computer station. Some hologram guy appears and gives a little speech, stops, resets, and gives it again. (He's got a hiragana "ho" on his head. It just reminded me of the holograms in Red Drawf with "H" on their heads.) He's asking for the password. Ryouko kind of beats him up, yelling at him all the while, but stops when she realizes she's getting out of control. It seems to work though -- Ryouko's violet response was just the password the hologram guy was looking for! He goes off on this long speech, and the doors open.
So now they're in the center of the bank, or ship, or whatever. And there's a really cool thing there. Hotsuma explains it's a "micro black hole," which is where the Milky Way Bank stores its money. Obviously, they have to steal it.
Then robots come out blasting! Hotsuma pushes Ryouko to the ground, out of the path of a blast, and covers her body with his. He's hit in the arm!
The robots advance menancingly.
Hotsuma, who's injured, and Ryouko talk. Hotsuma says it'll take only a minute to break through the security on the "micro black hole" but Ryouko, concerned for her new partner's general health and well-being, thinks it's best they leave now. Hotsuma replies, "I said that we are going to make our first mission a memorable one. We are not leaving without our prize. Stall them for as long as you can."
Hotsuma goes off to work the computers with the "micro black hole" in an effort to open it up and grab it (well, in its container). Ryouko watches him with concern and perhaps admiration as the robots advance menancingly.... (The robots advance menancingly very well, but strangely, they do not actually get any closer.)
And then Ryouko gets into a battle frenzy and starts taking down the robots.
Hotsuma does whatever it is he was supposed to do, and gets the micro black hole, and summons his ship, which crashes through the ship. The micro black hole goes outside the ship, and Ryouko and Hotsuma get in it.
The Galaxy Police start attacking the ship! Shots are exchanged. A shot manages to detach the micro black hole from the pirates' ship. "Sh--!" exclaims Hotsuma. "The micro black hole!" It floats away, and the pirates warp out of there.
So Hotsuma and Ryouko are safe on their ship, for the moment, without the micro black hole. But they did manage to get some money, and Hotsuma gives a sack of it to Ryouko. The money is Jurian, though. Ayeka's smiling face graces the bills. (It's a funny picture. Ayeka has a really big smile that spreads almost beyond her face, and she's holding up her hands with her fingers in some cute Japanese position.) Ryouko is enraged at the very sight of this, and she throws down the bag on the floor, stomps on it a couple of times, and then sits down on it.
Hotsuma laughs.
There's a little mood change, as Ryouko speaks wistfully to Hotsuma. Hotsuma answers in kind, and he sits down next to her. It's just the two of them, watching the stars warp past the ship. Hotsuma puts his hand on Ryouko's shoulder, and this time, she doesn't frown, and she doesn't push his hand away....
Back in the Tenchi house, Kiyone has achieved a great success! She explains it to the Tenchi household. (Well, the remaining members, anyway. Washuu is still in her room.) Kiyone and Mihoshi have gotten a promotion! Mihoshi is smiling. Nobuyuki is smiling. Ayeka is surprised and a little concerned. Sasami is happy for Kiyone and Mihoshi. Tenchi's grandfather is drinking tea.
Kiyone goes on to explain that they're now going to by stationed at the local Galaxy Police station on Uranus, and they leave immediately! Mihoshi doesn't like the idea that they have to leave the house, and she gets really panicked and starts shaking Kiyone. Nobuyuki is also shocked. Ayeka is surprised and concerned, just like she was before. Sasami is downcast. Tenchi's grandfather has a bad feeling about this.
No one is in Tenchi's apartment. There's a picture of him and Sakuya there, though. Sakuya is leaning against Tenchi, quite happy, and Tenchi is looking at her a little warily. Someone is calling, and the answering machine picks it up. It's Kiyone, saying goodbye, basically. I guess she's telling him the details. Tenchi is out walking with Sakuya in the evening. She's holding onto his arm, quite happy, and she smiles at him. He's a little wary at first, be he quickly gets used to the idea and smiles himself.
Kiyone and Mihoshi fly away. Kiyone is saluting -- she's incredibly happy. Mihoshi's face is pressed against the window and she's sobbing -- she's incredibly sad.
It's dinner time at the Tenchi house, but no one feels like eating (with the exception of Nobuyuki.) Ryou-oh-ki is picking at her carrot, depressed. Ayeka is sad. Nobuyuki thinks the food is really good and is gobbling it up. Tenchi's grandfather is dour. Sasami is sad. Ayeka is trembling. She puts down her bowl. "Why?" she asks. "When we first got together, everyone was so happy. Why is everyone leaving? Why is it turning out this way? Why?"
"Sister...?" Sasami turns to Ayeka concerned.
Tenchi's grandfather has a bad feeling about this.
The sound of Nobuyuki's chopsticks scraping against the bowl is the only sound echoing through a strangely quiet house that's not been this empty in a long time....
I am the keeper of Gummi Wisdom!
Email address: gee@math.berkeley.edu