Shards of a Spectrum by Tamasha Toko

Malfunction

Chapter 1

Malfunction

As the Falcon E.M. space station floated in the darkness only illuminated by distant stars and faraway planets Kagome Higurashi tossed and turned in her bed unable to sleep. Tomorrow would be her history exam, and she was worried. Unlike her other classes where she only got high marks she kept getting too distracted in history and was only at an average score. How did she let her mind wander off so easily? Her classes were private sessions with just her and data disk module, and still she had a C? Last semester she had straight A's in history, but that was because she had been interested in it then.

The first semester had been all about the history of planet Earth and old technology such as telephones and cars. Kagome was a human, so Earth was where she was from, but she had never been there. As primitive as Earth appeared to be when opening the many files from the past the data disk provided she sometimes liked to imagine herself there on a mountain in the wind before a rainstorm. She couldn't imagine it though, because she had never been off the station let alone forced to feel the gifts of nature.

"Water," she got up and took the cold bottle as it was dispersed from a tube on top of the night stand giving up all hopes of a good night sleep.

The second semester of history wasn't exactly boring; it was just that she had heard all the information a billion times before. The Falcon E.M. along with many other stations and ships were developed in 2074 when the Earth got too polluted to grow crops for food anymore. Other planets were discovered and colonized along with some alien life forms that made peace with the humans by donating technology and sharing culture. One of the most helpful tools developed during the age of planetary expansion was a small box that could be carried anywhere on the body able to translate any alien language into hers called the Marillen Box. This information wasn't enough to pass though, because she didn't know the exact dates or the names of the people involved.

"Lady Kagome," a computerized voice responded to the motion censor that she crossed, "do you need assistance?"

"No 17," she told her small floor robot that turned itself off soon after.

They were in space, so the only government the passengers had to live under was the captain's. The captain was Kagome's mom making Kagome royalty among the station's workers. It had already been decided that Souta would be the station's next captain, so it was Kagome's job to entertain and be the pretty little princess everybody expected her to be. With such a reputation it was up to Kagome to stay on the station where she wouldn't be kidnapped and not fail anything simple like the history of planetary expansion.

She supposed she could study or upload her notes, but to her it always felt like looking up any information right before the actual test was bad luck, so there was only one thing she could do to keep her restless mind from wandering. The door automatically opened as she passed through into the quiet hallway making an annoying sound of released pressure. The hallway was pitch dark except for a few blinking white lights telling the passengers it was night time. Exactly 4:32 a.m. meaning the lights would be turned back soon in about half an hour; she didn't have to check a clock since always knowing what time it was had become a basic function installed in the mind of every human being. At 4:35 Kagome was at the end of the corridor entering a code into a door before entering.

"Sango," Kagome whispered poking her friend who was sleeping under the blankets.

"Kagome," Sango shifted slightly, "don't you have a test today? Go get some more shut eye."

"Can't I do anything around here without everybody knowing?"

Sango turned over and gave a sloppy morning smile, "There isn't anything better to do while floating around in space than to gossip about you Kagome."

"Obviously."

Sango had been Kagome's friend as far back as the two teenagers could remember. Sango was a permanent passenger since her parents enrolled her into the private school that took place on the station. Next year she would graduate and be welcomed into a well-established university located in a bio dome on Mars.

"Want to go cruising?" Kagome kept a cheerful façade to try and keep Sango awake.

"It's too early and I don't think your mom would want you flying when you could be studying."

"It will clear my mind. You don't even have to drive, just monitor me. Besides I know a certain boy named Miroku was planning bugging you during breakfast. This way we might accidentally arrive to the meal late."

"Deal."

Stars, stars, and more stars, Sesshoumaru tired of it all. The Guardian was indeed the most durable and powerful space ship in all of what had been discovered in the universe, but still he didn't seem too impressed with his situation. The damn ship was being used as his personal ride when it could be out of this system conquering another, and all so he could be transferred to his palace in Altaria.

Altaria wasn't exactly his favorite of planets either. Compared to others the planet was beautiful and mysterious even when it was just an orb in deep space, but to Sesshoumaru it was a sign of weakness. The planet was inhabited by toad like creatures, who were all under the single rule of their lord Jaken, and it would be simple to take over, but that's not what happened in the slightest. The toads fought him when he tried to conquer 100 years ago despite his reputation, despite their loss it still was embarrassing that they actually tried to rebel rather then just except his rule like all the other planets before did. Of course he punished the people by making their king nothing more than his personal servant, but just thought of being defied angered him for that was his first attempt to conquer without the help of his father, and it started off like that.

"Master Sesshoumaru," a slave with red skin who was working the controls addressed the bored alien, "a station by the name of Falcon E.M. is close to Altaria's territory."

"That vessel is human operated," Sesshoumaru noted rolling his golden eyes that were a signature of his race, "and those creatures know better than to enter any of our systems."

There was no point in dealing with the human scum that inhabitant such a sad excuse for space transportation. They knew of his power, so they kept their distance from his territory, and conquering them would bring him nothing but problems. They were too weak to be slaves, and their planets either grew food our made useless technology.

"Where are they?" Sesshoumaru eventually got curious.

He didn't know why he was curious about the vessel, because he should have had better things on his mind. Ever since last year conquering planets came with a price. The democratic planets finally got wise and decided to become allies to fight against the oppression the monarchs caused, which were all the worlds under his control, so now he was in a war. That was why he had to move to Altaria, since it's solar system was the perfect area for war headquarters.

"They are now in your territory," the slave reported, "right next to Tetsusagia."

Now Sesshoumaru did have a reason to be concerned. Why would the humans dare enter his territory? Was this their way of also declaring war against his monarchy? That and Tetsusagia, one of Altaria's moons, was too precious to be lost since it was a planet made of metal that could repair itself when material was taken away. His people had done well to care for it and use it's metal for weapons and ships just to have the greedy humans destroy it.

"Get a profile on them," Sesshoumaru commanded before standing up, "if even one weapon targeting system is activated from that station we will have them taken down."

"Lord Sesshoumaru," Jaken was also working a computer to prepare their defenses, "what do you recommend?"

"Obliterating the vessel would be simple, but a waste of energy. We would just warp them to Altaria, interrogate the humans for any war information, rid ourselves of the scum, and then use the station as a battle ship."

"The Falcon E.M. has gone into offensive mode," the slave reported.

"Beam them down then we will meet them."

Kagome smiled as she shifted gears in her cherry colored space cruiser. The miniature space ship was last year's birthday present, and she made it a tradition to ride in it everyday since. Unlike the other cruisers that were meant for space battle during an attack on the station, hers was meant for speed and seeing the stars fly past her.

"Wow," she whispered when her ship slowed down in the process of changing gears, "what is that?"

Right now Kagome had the cruiser positioned above the Falcon, and that's where in the distance she saw a huge white moon that was clearly meant to orbit around a beautiful planet that Kagome could see far off in the distance.

"Sango," she pressed a button on the intercom, "what is that planet? I have never seen it before."

"What planet?" there was a brief pause as Kagome was probably checking the atmosphere on her computer, "that's strange. Altaria belongs to the Alagonists, and I didn't think we were allowed into their territory."

"Kagome, Sango," the voice of Kagome's mother interrupted them, "that cruiser needs to be back here immediately!"

Kagome sighed as she had her cruiser turn while upside down, "I was just trying to blow off some steam mom. What's wrong?"

"The Falcon is malfunctioning and is going into offensive mode. If you don't get back here the docking bays will be closed. Damn, it's already too-

"Mom?" Kagome questioned as the message began to fade, "Sango what happened to the signal?"

There was nothing. All the connections had been cut! Kagome quickly maneuvered her ship so she could return to the station, but it didn't move. She was stuck there in the middle of space with a useless cruiser getting closer and closer to the strange looking moon and the beautiful planet it surrounded.

"Kagome," the mother gasped back in the control center before the lights went off and emergency power had to be uploaded, "What is going on admiral?"

"One of their ships must be around us captain. They released an electric barrier that will stop any movement from us and drag us into Altaria."

"So Kagome can't flee?"

"No, her ship will be one of the first dragged in. What I want to know is why we went into offensive mode? Some kind of computer failure?"

Kagome didn't have to hear all of this to know something is wrong. All the cruiser's functions have been shut off except for the oxygen flow, and energy was flowing over it. She recognized what was going on and desperately hit the button to get a hold of her mother; she was going to be teleported somewhere.

The last thing she saw was a blinding yellow light that took her vision. By the time it was over she seen her cruiser diving towards a green pool of water that appeared after endless amounts of mists. She pounded her fist on the eject button just as the nose began to sink and rolled out as soon as the door opened. So much for her pleasant drive, and it was going to get worse; she was going to fall into what looked like a swamp that was on most planets and she couldn't swim!

It didn't seem like water though despite the fact that she was sinking. It was like slime that wasn't sticky, but yet cool and soothing to her skin. It felt as though her feet hit the bottom since the sinking ceased even though she couldn't move and only had her head exposed.

Sesshoumaru left his ship not in a good mood. He already had issues with this war, and now there were spies on the loose. Humans knew of his power, but they still approached, so something was up. Maybe someone was influencing them to attack or being the greedy beings they were they wanted to conquer as well. Unless they gave him a good enough reason not to he would have them eliminated.

"Who was operating that space vessel?" he simply asked when he approached the station's crew and civilians who were all lined up in front of his castle's steps.

"This women," his servant Jaken pointed out using a staff to push Kagome's mother forward.

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow arched, a woman? This was why other governments and cultures were unacceptable to him. A woman as captain, he would never allow any female to get within power. He had no problem being a sexist, because to him women were too weak and were easy to fall to corruption, meaning they had no honor rather than serving their man.

"What is your business with Tetsusagia and Altaria?" he wanted to get straight down to business.

"We have no business with them sir," she quickly declared wanting their lives to be preserved so she could find her daughter, "our ship had a malfunction and our coordinates went off. We didn't even put it in offensive mode or anything, and we mean no disrespect."

Would he believe her? No, he couldn't. It was a simple enough excuse and he wouldn't fall for it.

"Can you prove it?"

"We have reports that show the controls have never been activated to do so, and it shows our original destination was Calsidion."

Jaken gathered the reports for him, and he simply glanced over him. He should have questioned it more, because for all he knew the reports could be fake, but he really didn't want to mess with the humans. He either wanted them dead or gone, and if they were killed falsely it would make his race look like savages. The problem was if they were spies or democratic militia it meant Tetsusagia was in danger, which wasn't good, because without it their ship and production would suffer greatly leaving them open for attack.

"Something precious of mine was endangered today," he spoke turning his back to the woman, "you and your people will be free to go, but I want something precious of yours so you will learn I am a force to be reckoned with."

Sitting in a puddle of strange goo got hold, and now she was frightened of this new world. Maybe this was why she was never allowed out of the space station, so far this world was only bring her misery. She could hear sounds from creatures that didn't sound too friendly.

Eventually she seen one of the creatures, and unfortunately it seen her. A two headed dragon, well, she was told dragons only existed in fairy tale books, but that's what she would call it. It looked as though it was going to eat her as it's eyes looked with hers and entered the pool able to easily swim through it.

"Somebody save me," she cried out knowing it was the end for her.

"Back off you damn dragon!"

The creature's ears perked up a bit before turning around and leaving, she hadn't been expecting that. She tilted her head to see who her hero was, and he appeared to be some kind of creature as well. He had what looked like dog ears that was strange, but his golden eyes and odd color of hair made it clear that he was a Alagonists.

Somehow he stood above the pool, his feet remained there as though it was a solid floor while his arms were crossed and a smirk played on his face. He then glanced over at her and his smirk widened as he looked down at her.

"Well well, what do we have here?"

She couldn't get any words out, she heard him speaking her language so obviously the device was working, but still it was hard speaking to an alien race. Before she could do anything his claws reached out and grabbed her by the collar of her dress her dragged her out and put her over her shoulder. He put her on the ground, but still didn't remove his hands from her.

"You'll do fine I guess."

He got behind her and pulled her into his lap.

"Let go!" she finally responded.

"So you can talk," he growled softly as though he was trying to coax her placing his chin on her shoulder, "nice."

A sharp pain was then felt against her neck as his fangs tried to bite softly. His hands were wrapped around her waist which soon rose up to rest on her breasts. Besides the biting he wasn't making too many aggressive movements, but she could tell he was strong enough to overpower her.

"Maybe I should bathe you," he continued, "you smell too much like swamp-

He was interrupted by a few bubbles that originated from the very pool he spoke about that showed her space cruiser was now settled on the bottom. He released her before examining the scene.

"Oh you're one of those humans," he noted as though in disgust, "you thought you would work out, but that ass brother of mine would never let me live it down."

Now that she was free...

"Who do you think you are!" she screamed angrily, "first you touch me and bite me and- errr!"

"Shut up," was his only reply, "obviously you are new to this place. Every so often I get the urge to mate so I get what I can find."

"You shut up," she replied, "you just find a girl and then have sex with her? How low can you get!?"

"Feh, learn your place human. I bet after what happened you will be a slave or something and just wish I would have chosen you for a mate."

Kagome wondered if the males in this culture went into heat or something, because he didn't seem like the type who would just go off and choose a mate while being cocky about it. That and he was acting different now in the way he spoke and moved as though he had been in a trace when he pulled her out. All that aside he was right, her family and everyone who had been on the Falcon was now endanger.

"Come on girl," his voice dropped low again, "I don't want to do this, but if Sesshoumaru finds out I stumbled across you and didn't do anything then I'm dead."

She stood up ready to follow him through the strange woods. She was probably going to be led straight into danger, but she had to see her mother and for some reason she felt protected around this man.

"What's your name?" she finally asked.

"Inuyasha," he replied, "watch your step. You almost tripped over a root."

"A root?" she questioned staring at a tree, "like to a tree."

"You stupid or something?"

"No, I have just never been outside before."

"Nut case," he muttered, "what's your name anyways?"

"Kagome."

"What does that mean?"

"Kagome I guess."

"Feh, your human names are so stupid. They honestly don't stand for anything?"

She ran his name through her head, and figured it meant dog demon, because all she really knew about Alagonists was their unique human-like appearance, and their connection to a human myth. According to legend one of their spacecrafts once broke down on Earth and as punishment for failing a mission they were forced to wait on Earth for 1,000 years before rescue, which they could easily outlive. It was a male crew and they ended up mating with celestial beings since humans weren't around yet, and it resulted in inu youkai, hence the name inu youkai of the stars that they were known by.

"You're like a little puppy," she noted thinking a little humor could hide the seriousness of the situation.

He growled like one, "Shut up! Don't believe that stupid human legend of yours about dog demons. The data we have on humans show that there are no such things as immortal beings or demons, so drop it."

"Then why do you have those ears?"

"I don't want to get into it right now!"

She recoiled, "Sorry."

He sighed, "Listen, I don't want to scare you or anything, but you need to be careful around my brother he isn't like me. If you annoy him in any kind of way he won't think twice before killing you, okay?"

She nodded not understanding how Inuyasha thought that statement wouldn't scare her.

Kagome's eyes lit up though when they entered the capital. It was beautiful, and made the pictures she seen of Earth somewhat revolting. Everywhere there were temples with steps made out of beautiful hard material, and there were more trees with pink leafs that grew all around.

"Kagome!" the captain of the Falcon ignored Sesshoumaru as she seen her daughter, "over here!"

"Mom!" Kagome quickly ran forward and went into a short embrace, "I'm sorry, I'm so scared."

Sesshoumaru analyzed this new female for only a brief moment. She wasn't on the space station with the others, so she had to be the one in the small cruiser. Such a stupid woman, who would do such a thing for leisure? Now she was hugging her mother as though she was a victim when the separation had been her fault for stupidity.

"Your daughter?" he finally asked the captain.

"Yes," she quickly said trying to give Sesshoumaru all the respect he deserved since their lives were being spared, "she got separated."

"Your first born?" he questioned again.

"Why, yes."

"Starting after your departure our deal that we spoke of will go in affect," he turned his back to them as he went about his business, "that girl will be my property and you're kind will never return to Altaria."

(End, for now of course)

AN: A little commentary about this fic since we all listen to commentaries on DVD. Umm...I feel guilty for deleting Castle Captive and Shadow Filled Hearts, but they had to die there were too many spelling errors and I had no intention of ever touching them again. With this I plan to make it up to you though. Sure this story is my crack at a sci-fi, but like the Kagome in Castle Captive we continue the tradition of her not knowing much since she has never really been on the outside world, and like in Shadow Filled Hearts she will be kind of like a pet to Sesshoumaru.

There...sound good?

Please read and review so I feel inspired to continue.