Balta, Ryoko

リョーコ・バルタ

Despite naming herself after Ryoko Hakubi, Ryoko Balta is far less bloodthirsty than rumors suggest. Although she belonged to the feared Daluma pirate guild, she was the most educated and cultured pirate of her time. She is knowledgeable about many customs from other planets, such as the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Her beauty is so striking that some male Galaxy Police officers would be willing to abandon their posts to join her (it is rumored that numerous "Ryoko Balta Fan Clubs" exist within certain G.P. stations).
Within the pirate guild, however, Ryoko had few friends and was hostile toward Tarant Shank, the guild's most vile member. Conversely, she is a close friend of another guild member, Kyo Komachi.
Ryoko Balta is also a shape-shifter, and she frequently used this ability to infiltrate Galaxy Police posts to gather information. One of her preferred forms is that of Erma, a Wau Galaxy Police clerk who works for Airi Masaki, the head of the G.P.'s Jurai office and the grandmother of Tenchi Masaki.