[Ranma/Battletech][FanFic] Battletech: The Saotome Gambit Part 3

[Jamie and Bridget Wilde]

Chapter One

Psychiatric Isolation Ward
Jusenkyo Laboratories Medical Center
Planet Lightoller, Epsilon Indi System
Jusenkyo Commonwealth
4 February 3025

General Herb scratched his chin thoughtfully as several thousand volts
of high-frequency alternating current lanced across the moist bare back of
Commonwealth Mechwarrior Mousse. The application of said current was done
so as to inflict the most agony possible without the embarrassing risk of
causing the subject to go into instant cardiac arrest. Mousse screamed in
appreciation for the efforts made on his behalf, as he had been doing for
the greater part of an hour.
"It should go without saying that I'm extremely disappointed in your
conduct," Herb said after the current was secured, and his victim capable
of responding to his voice.
Mousse looked up from the padded table, his eyes bloodshot and
trembling. "I've already told you everything," he croaked. Blood trickled
down the corner of his lips from where he had bitten through part of the
hard rubber mouthpiece provided by Lime during the jolts. "What do you want
to hear from me?"
The taciturn Herb actually smiled at this.
"I'm not conducting an interrogation," he told the man. "I am well
aware of the details and extent of your treachery."
Mousse's eyes blazed. "There's been no trial," he gasped. "I have a
right to a trial... A trial of my peers or one of ritual combat against my
accuser..."
Herb motioned to Mint, who cranked up the juice.
When Mousse was finished screaming and was down to shuddering gasps
of agony, Herb answered him.
"This *is* your trial" he said with a smirk. "Though in fact you were
tried by me the very moment I learned that you were at the starport instead
of following my explicit orders. We now dispense with the formalities."
His smirk became a beatific smile. "You must have been too busy screaming
when I formally convened."
Another jolt of current shot through Mousse's body.
"Did I tell you that I was extremely disappointed in your conduct,
Mousse?" Herb asked through the blast of hoarse screams. "I had plans for
the lovely Shampoo, and in a misguided moment of weakness - fostered by an
affection that she will never share with you - you went and ruined them.
I had thought you far more intelligent than that."
He turned to Mint, and with a raised eyebrow, had the voltage and
frequency increased beyond a particular threshold level. The higher the
current's frequency, the greater the tendency for it to travel along a
shallow path between the terminals rather than cause deep and potentially
fatal wound channels. Herb found the resultant burst of flame and acrid
smoke from Mousse's flesh particularly gratifying.
He brushed away the greasy blue smoke and nodded with satisfaction.
A long black char mark branded Mousse from a point above his right kidney
to a point between his shoulder blades and just right of his spine. Mousse
was barely conscious now, twitching, and drooling facedown onto the floor
to form a small puddle on the scrubbed white tile that was tinged ever so
slightly with pink.
"Mint, a little speed, if you would be so kind," he said to the smaller
of his two henchmen. "It isn't yet time for Mousse to go into shock."
Mint scrambled to comply, producing a prepared syrette of amphetamines
and jabbing Mousse in the thigh, while Lime removed the terminal clips from
the cracked and blackened skin and set them aside. Lime followed this with
a perfunctory application of white antiseptic foam along the char streak,
leaving the rest for a member of the medical staff that would not question
such gruesome methods to finish tending to. He then lifted Mousse's head up
by a length of hair to face his tormentor.
"It is the judgement of this Court that you are found guilty of willful
insubordination against a flag grade officer, and guilty of disobeying his
lawful orders," Herb told him. "These charges levied during the continuing
state of emergency are normally punishable by death, but given the otherwise
exemplary service record of the accused, this Court has decided a certain
leniency is in order."
He leaned in close to Mousse.
"Your status as a Mechwarrior of the Commonwealth is provisionally
stripped..."
Mousse closed his eyes. As if torture wasn't cruel enough, Herb had
just taken the only mark of distinction he had enjoyed over the rank and
file of the Commonwealth. The general continued the pronouncement of
sentence, though anything he had to say at that point would mean nothing
to Mousse.
"You are furthermore awarded thirty days confinement - to be sustained
only on rice and water, given ten lashes by whip, and upon arrival of the
JumpShip _Reflections of Wisdom_ you will be transferred to a Correctional
Custody Battalion on the Periphery world of Dok To, where your status as a
mechwarrior will be reviewed after evaluation of your conduct for a period
of two years."
Dok To was a world administered indirectly by Herb, and as such,
Mousse knew he could expect much more of the same when he got there. His
future as a mechwarrior was over no matter how well he conducted himself
in the Correctional Custody unit, and he knew that he could expect no
support from his family. They would receive Herb's version of events first,
and the shame would be great enough for them to disown him outright.
Despite his crushing vengeance, Herb apparently wished to gloat, as
he had not yet left the room.
"So, Mousse, was your gallant mission worth the trouble? Was assisting
a woman who holds no affection for you and will never consider you worthy
of her attention worth all of this suffering?"
Mousse was beyond caring about reprisals.
"If it meant keeping her away from the likes of you, then I'd do it
again and again," he spat. "I'd die to keep her from you, even if everything
you said about her was true."
Herb's face remained impassive and aloof in spite of the insult he
had sustained. He turned to Lime, who prepared to deliver a backhanded
blow in response to Mousse's insolence, and shook his head. With a weary
sigh he steepled his fingers in sympathy for such a deluded man, then made
a dismissive gesture to his henchmen.
"Take him away."

____________________________________________________________________________
J. Austin Wilde and Fission Park Press proudly present:

BATTLETECH: THE SAOTOME GAMBIT
PART THREE

by J. Austin Wilde
Safety Control Rod Axe Man,
Fission Park Press
wild...@psn.net
http://www.psn.net/~wildeman/

The characters and situations of Ranma 1/2 are the
creation and property of Rumiko Takahashi and
Shogakukan/KITTY/Viz Video. Battletech and its
related materials are the property of FASA, inc.
No infringement of copyright is intended nor
should be inferred by this work of fanfiction.
________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Two

Azure Cloud Castle
Planet Nerima, Capella System
Nerima Confederation
12 February 3025

Grand Duke Soun Tendo was a man nearly broken on the wheel of fate.
He sat upon the tatami of his personal chambers and tried to determine
where and how he had gone astray. While it could be said that the
Confederation had been threatened long before he succeeded to the throne,
it would be during his reign that it would fall.
There were no easy answers for him to face. He knew that he had let
his people down in the hour they needed him most. He realized at last that
he had wallowed in grief after the death of his beloved wife, and that his
selfish and weak indulgence was responsible for the end of his rule. His
daughters had bravely bought his country time, but without his leadership
they could not hope to ultimately prevail.
Hence his reluctant decision not to go into exile with the rest of
his family at the end of the surrender process. Despite his shortcomings
as a ruler and a father, he was a proud man. Only his death could atone
for his failures. He would put his affairs in order, and then commit
suicide as soon as practical.

Kima happened by the open door of Soun's chambers and paused to regard
the leader of the Confederation. His face was grave, and tears streamed
freely down his cheeks. She had never seen a man cry so proficiently before.
It was understandable, she thought to herself. He was facing the
imminent destruction of his reign - a reign that had been passed down since
before the fall of the Star League. He was also a man, and men were known
to be inherently weak creatures; all bluff and bluster and no substance
underneath.
Her mission was to gather intelligence, and if necessary, disrupt the
summit as surreptitiously as possible - thus preserving the status quo of
the Inner Sphere. Now upon seeing Soun Tendo, she realized how futile that
mission was. He was a beaten man, defeated by his inner weakness more than
by any force of arms. Whether she stopped the summit or not, the entire
Confederation was doomed in short order with this man on the throne.
It was time to return to the delegation before she was missed. Her
exploratory journey into the heart of the Tendo sanctum had proven the
effectiveness of her disguise. She could enter and leave at will, without
fear of challenge, all thanks to her exhaustive studies and her Jusenkyo
body.
She had been reluctant to assume a form that would be obsolete as soon
as the Confederation fell, as fall it must, but she was also a warrior of
the Joketsuzoku. Unquestioning obedience was what the Matriarch demanded,
and Kima would not shirk from that responsibility. Doctor Gaido had told
her prior to the process that there was no way to reverse the effects, and
that she would be forced to bear the body of Akane Tendo for the rest of
her life. She was promised governorship of her own system in return for
such a curse, but would the price paid come dearer than the prize gained?
As she left the west wing and was logged out by the sentries, she
tried to grapple with that question. She did not notice the soldier that
passed her coming the other way, so she did not see the freshly given
shiner that graced his right eye.

Soun heard the respectful tapping at his chamber door. He wiped away
his tears and turned to face a soldier normally posted to the gatehouse at
the foot of the mountain. The man saluted smartly and presented himself
before his liege.
"Your Grace, Corporal Ward reporting with an urgent dispatch."
Soun nodded gravely, apparently taking no notice of the soldier's
black eye.
"Go on, Corporal."
"Your Grace, there is a man at the gatehouse who claims to have been
a close friend of yours prior to your ascension. His name is Genma Saotome.
We thought he was just some crackpot and tried to turn him away, but, well,
he and his son overpowered the garrison, and are holding them hostage until
you grant them an audience. We don't dare use the battlemechs stationed
outside for fear of..."
The Grand Duke was across the room in a heartbeat to grab the soldier
by his lapels.
"D-Did you say Saotome?" he demanded.
"Y-Yes, your Grace! Saotome!" the corporal replied fearfully.
"Send a car at once!" Soun demanded. "No harm is to come to him and...
his SON did you say?"
"Yes, your Grace!"
"They are to be treated with the greatest courtesy and respect," Soun
gushed happily. "See to it at once!"
"Y-Y-Yes, your Grace! At once, your Grace!"
Soun released the man, who saluted again and tore out of the room at
a full gallop. The Grand Duke's face beamed with delight, and tears of
joy streamed down his face. From a man facing his imminent suicide, he had
become a man reborn with hope.
"Oh, how I've waited for this day!" he cried.

* * *

"Pop, this is without a doubt the dumbest thing you have ever done."
Genma ignored his son in favor of keeping an eye on the two heavy
battlemechs that stood outside with their missile launcher caps open and
red-tipped Magna-Longbow missiles glinting dreadfully in the sun. They
were followed by several Infantry Fighting Vehicles that disgorged troops
into protected positions uphill, and by two more IFVs that covered the
escape route back into the city. They were effectively bottled up inside
the gatehouse.
"What are you afraid of, boy?"
Ranma looked around to the battered huddle of hastily secured soldiers
and shrugged. "Oh, I don't know; death by firing squad, getting stepped on
or blown to bits by one of those Crusaders out there, maybe a slow and
thorough torture session followed by life in prison. You know, things like
that."
"Don't be so spineless, Ranma," Genma chastised him. "If you were so
concerned about that, why did you bother to help me?"
"It was either that or get shot!" Ranma protested. "You think any of
these bozos were going to discriminate between the guilty and the innocent
once you started bonking heads?"
Genma rolled his eyes. "Always thinking of yourself, eh boy? Where did
I go wrong in raising you? You've turned into such an ingrate!"
Ranma popped his knuckles in reply.
"Don't even get me started, old man. You didn't have to attack them."
"They were trying to throw us out!" Genma shot back. "They didn't
even bother to telephone the palace and tell them that we were here!"
Ranma swept his arm out angrily at his father.
"Can you blame them!? *I* don't even believe your crazy story! You
and the Grand Duke of the Confederation are bosom buddies... What a bunch
of crap!"
Genma clenched his fists.
"Boy, you've got a lot to learn about respect for your elders."
"Well I had such a great teacher!" Ranma sneered. He dropped into a
fighting stance. "You want to throw down, Pop? Come and get some!"
Genma was about to take his son up on the offer when the soldier they
had released to notify the Grand Duke returned in an open-topped car. The
IFVs parted for the car as it drove up to the gatehouse. He jerked his
thumb out the barred window and grinned with triumph.
"You see, boy? Our transportation has arrived."
Ranma looked out the window and frowned. There were dozens of men armed
with assault rifles and blazers pointed at his face from the cover of their
positions. The car was there, but it was too far into the open to reach it
without becoming an easy target.
"Looks like they're just trying to draw us out, if you ask me."
The soldier exited the car and approached the rear gatehouse door.
"Not too close, man!" Ranma warned him.
"Quiet, boy!" Genma returned. "Let's hear what he has to say."
The soldier held his hands out to show that he was unarmed, then
opened the armored door. Ranma tensed for action, which did not come.
"His Grace, Grand Duke Tendo, has asked me to convey his best wishes
and welcome you to Azure Cloud Castle. This car has been put at your
disposal," the soldier declared. "If you'll please accompany me..."
"How do we know this ain't some kind of trick?" Ranma asked him. "Once
you get us into the open you could just gun us down."
The soldier wasn't prepared for the question, and stood slackjawed.
"I knew it," Ranma growled. "It's just a trick."
"No!" the corporal protested. "The word has already been passed. No
one is to harm you. You are to be treated with the greatest courtesy and
respect, honest! The Grand Duke told me himself!"
"Yeah, well we ain't leaving until all those troops back off, and
back *way* off," Ranma returned.
"I have to agree with the boy," Genma rumbled.
The soldier nodded wearily. "Just a moment, please."
He might have only been a corporal, but with a quick confirmation
from the castle to back him up, the troops piled back into their IFVs and
the two battlemechs withdrew to a distance of a hundred meters. Genma
decided this was good enough, and stepped outside. When no snipers gunned
him down, Ranma reluctantly joined him.
The ride up the mountain also came without incident. Ranma almost
preferred a fight, as the sudden cooperation was pointing dangerously
towards the chance that Genma and the Grand Duke really *did* know each
other. That was too weird to even think about.
They were escorted through the upper donjon and into the inner keep.
>From there an honor guard of four soldiers of the Household Guard escorted
them to a lush garden terrace with a blue marble fountain and a stunning
view of the city below. Ranma kept waiting for that white hot flash of a
laser beam between his shoulders, but it never came. Instead, they were
offered refreshments of tea and small cakes from golden trays.
"This is totally whacked," he said to himself as he nibbled on a cake.
A small part of him still feared that they had fallen into a trap.
"What is, boy?" Genma asked smugly. "The fact that your father was
right?"
Ranma turned to face his father.
"Yeah, well, that *would* be pretty earth-shattering," he agreed. "So
now that we're here eating the Duke's cakes and drinking his tea, just what
was your big idea for coming here?"
Genma narrowed his eyes. "You'll know soon enough, boy."
Ranma would have none of that.
"Enough with that crap, Pop! I'm tired of your whole cryptic routine!
Just tell me already!"
Genma set down his teacup.
"Boy, don't push me. My patience with your attitude problem is running
out."
Ranma leaped at him.

* * *

"Daddy, I don't understand what could possibly be so important that
you would drag me out of the summit meeting! Don't you understand how
important this is to the future of the Confederation?"
Akane bit down on her lip as Nabiki finished. It was all she could
do to keep from screaming at her mercenary sister.
"Really, Father," Kasumi agreed. "This isn't like you at all."
Soun was still beaming with happiness.
"My dear children, a moment I have been waiting for since before you
were born has finally arrived."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Akane pressed.
"The son of a very dear friend of mine has come to Nerima," Soun
explained. "It was agreed over twenty years ago that our two mechwarrior
families be united."
"United?" Nabiki asked. "As in, one of us marries this guy's kid?"
"Precisely," Soun replied, and the color drained from Nabiki's face.
"One of you will marry Genma Saotome's son."
"Who?" Nabiki asked incredulously. It was clear that she was liking
this arrangement less and less by the moment. "I've never heard of the
name 'Saotome.' Are they nobility?"
"Not exactly," Soun grunted.
"Are they even rich?"
Soun shrugged. "I'm not really sure. Genma wasn't exactly rolling in
money the last time we were together."
"Do you even know who this son is?" Nabiki pressed. "What he's like?
How old he is?"
Soun took a long drag on a cigarette.
"I've never met him."
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Great. You can count me out."
"Really, Father," Kasumi clucked. "It sounds like such a rash decision
on your part to make such an arrangement without thinking it through."
"Yeah," Akane chimed in.
Soun was undeterred by his daughters' lack of enthusiasm.
"Your mother agreed with me on this," he declared, knowing that any
mention of their mother would force them to listen to him. "We were both
good friends of the Saotomes, and the Saotome School of Martial Arts is
one of the last of the Anything Goes Schools in the Inner Sphere. Think
of it as your duty as heirs to the School."
"What about our duty as heirs to the Confederation?" Nabiki pointed
out. "I would think those obligations come first."
Soun now grew impatient.
"One of you *will* marry Genma Saotome's son," he declared, his voice
having regained the stern and unyielding character of the old days. The
sudden outburst of charisma momentarily cowed his children, who had grown
used to the impassive and listless man of the past decade. "That is my
final decision, as your father and as your liege lord."
There was a long and oppressive silence between them then, broken at
last by a gentle cough from Nabiki. "Is he at least cute?" she asked meekly.
"I suppose we'll find out," Kasumi added with some apprehension as
they stepped through the doors to the garden terrace.

"REALLY CUTE, OLD MAN! REALLY DAMN CUTE!"
Ranma was beside herself with rage, the water from the fountain almost
steaming off her body. She faced off against her giant panda father, fists
clenched and murder in her eyes. The panda snarled back at his son, now a
daughter, and prepared to leap back into the fray.

Soun Tendo could not believe his eyes. He had given explicit orders
that Genma and his son were to be shown to the garden terrace and made
comfortable. Where had this circus act come from!?
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. "Who are you?"
"This is supposed to be your old friend and his son?" Nabiki quipped.
"A redhead and her giant whatever-it-is pet?"
Soun shook his head vigorously in the negative.

Genma stumped over to Ranma and spun her around, his paw draped over
her shoulder. He then pushed her forward and grunted that she introduce
herself while trying to look dignified in the presence of his old friend.

Soun, his mind still groping for rational explanations, found himself
asking "...you wouldn't happen to be...?"

Ranma stepped forward. She was blushing with shame as she cleared
her throat to speak. "I'm Ranma Saotome," she declared. Nudging a thumb
backwards to the panda she continued, "and this is my father, Genma."
For a moment her eyes locked with Akane's, whom she recognized from the
newspage as the chick who had whipped the Black Rose of the Furinkan
Combine.
"Sorry about this," she added as an afterthought.

Chapter Three

Nabiki could not believe that she had been taken from the summit
meeting for this. There they were in the garden, ostensibly to meet one
of Daddy's long last mechwarrior buddies and the guy's son - whom either
herself or one of her sisters was going to marry - and instead what they
found was a red-haired girl and a panda. The girl claimed to be Ranma
Saotome, but where was her father?
Meanwhile, her own father was trying to make sense of this development
himself.
"Are you really Ranma Saotome?" Soun asked.
Ranma nodded, blushing furiously with shame.
"And Genma Saotome is your father?"
Ranma turned to face the panda, who growled something in reply.
"It's true," she replied.
That was good enough for Soun in his fractured state of mind. He ran
forward and embraced Ranma like a long lost child. Ranma tried not to choke
as the man's arms wrapped around her like bands of iron.
"Oh, happy day!" the Grand Duke exclaimed. "At last you've come!"
Nabiki stepped forward and tapped her father on the shoulder.
"Um, Daddy? Are you sure this is what you want for us?"
Soun disengaged from Ranma enough to keep from crushing her.
"What are you talking about, Nabiki?" he asked.
Nabiki rolled her eyes and pointed to Ranma's buxom chest. "This 'son'
of Genma Saotome has quite the rack, don't you think?"
"Oh dear," Kasumi clucked. "Nabiki does have a point, Father."
Soun looked down to Ranma's bulging breasts.
"I-I don't understand..." he mumbled.
"Oh come on," Nabiki cried. "Ranma's a girl!"
Soun looked again. Ranma did in fact have quite a chest. He moved
his hands down her sides, confirming the narrow waist and roomy hips of a
perfect hourglass figure.
"A... A girl...?"
He felt faint, but managed to keep it together.
Ranma's face was now blazing red, her eyes cast straight down to her
feet.
Akane stepped forward to pull her father off Ranma. "Okay, Dad. The
show's over. Give her a chance to breathe, already."
Soun stumbled backwards, reeling.
"I don't understand," he muttered. "They said a man and his son... at
the gatehouse..."
"It's a long story," Ranma said at length. "One which my old man would
just loooooove to explain." Suddenly clutching the kettle of hot water for
tea, she turned to the panda. "Ain't that right, Pop!?"
The panda backed away from the kettle.
"Come on, Pop," Ranma growled. "This was YOUR idea, remember?" She
flung the kettle at the panda, dousing him with scalding hot water. Genma
yelped in pain. As the steam cleared, a man in a soaked white dogi stood
before them, his glasses knocked askew on his face.
A heavy silence hung over the garden, leaving Nabiki to be the first
to say something.
"Oh. My. God."
Soun, his fragile eggshell mind hanging on by a wispy thread, now
looked upon the man, and at last recognition set in. Subtract about forty
pounds, add some thinning hair, and it was like they had never been apart
these twenty years.
"Saotome!" he cried. "It IS you!"
Genma, tears flowing down his face, nodded gravely.
Akane and Kasumi stood dumbfounded. There had to be some kind of
rational explanation for this. They'd even settle for something irrational,
so long as it explained what they had just seen.
"My son is correct," Genma told them. "It is a long story, and one
that must be kept in the strictest secrecy."
"Of course," Soun replied. He was willing to accept just about anything
so long as his old friend was really there and not just as some delusional
fantasy. He gestured towards his daughters. "These are my three little
girls--"
"Dad!" Akane protested. She was not a little girl!
"Right," Soun harrumphed. "This is my eldest daughter, Kasumi, who is
twenty-two."
Kasumi bowed formally for them. She seemed kindly enough in Ranma's
opinion, which was a relief given the discomfort of their situation.
"Next is my second daughter, Nabiki. She's twenty."
Nabiki offered a terse smile. "Charmed, I'm sure." It didn't take a
genius to figure out how welcome they were with her.
Soun continued, hastily ignoring Nabiki's clipped greeting.
"And finally, my youngest daughter, Akane. She's nineteen."
Akane curtsied and offered a friendly, if cautious, smile.
"My son and I are very pleased to meet you," Genma said for the two
of them.
Ranma, still a girl, looked around for more hot water, and tried to
ignore the stares she was getting from the three girls at his father's
reference to him as his 'son.'
"Hey, can I get some hot water?" she asked them. "I used it all on
Pop."
The Grand Duke nodded. "Certainly! Akane, be a good girl and show
Ranma to the kitchens."
Akane looked incredulous.
"Me? Why does it have to be me? Why couldn't one of the guards just--"
"--It's no big deal," Ranma interjected. "Just point me in the right
direction and I'll get it myself. I don't need some girl to lead me around."
Akane turned back at Ranma and fumed.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"I thought it was obvious," Ranma replied.
Nabiki shook her head. "Okay. That's enough for me. I'm going back
to the summit meeting. Have fun with your little friends, Daddy." She
turned and quickly left the terrace before Hurricane Akane started blowing
up.
"I can show you the way, Ranma," Kasumi said sweetly. She knew as well
as Nabiki when her youngest sister was about to explode.
Akane's eyes darted between Kasumi and Ranma, unsure if she was being
made to look bad, and unwilling to take the chance. "No, I'll do it. Come
on, Ranma."
She started for the doors, not even waiting for Ranma to follow, but
with a shrug and a sigh, the pig-tailed mechwarrior quickly caught up.
Soun and Genma watched the two of them go, and then turned to each
other with sly smiles.
"You remember our promise, don't you, Saotome?" Soun asked him, tears
of joy in his eyes.
"How could I forget?" Genma replied, equally dewy.
Soun nodded briskly, then spit into his hand. Genma followed suit.
They clapped their hands together and shook.
"You don't know how happy I am to see you, Saotome."
"The same goes for me, Tendo."
Kasumi, up to now a mute witness to their secret pact, now cleared
her gentle voice to speak.
"What is it, Kasumi?" Soun asked her.
"Is there anything else, Father?"
"No. Not right now. Saotome and I have a lot of catching up to do, so
we'll probably retire to my study until supper."
Kasumi bowed deferentially.
"Very well, Father. I'll have the stewards send up refreshments."

"So, you're really a guy, is that it?" Akane asked Ranma as they
walked down the marble halls of the palace.
"Yup," Ranma grunted.
"You want to explain that trick with the hot water?"
"Nope."
Akane grit her teeth. "Fine. As long as you do whatever it is that
you came for and leave, I don't care."
"Amen, sister."
Akane stopped short. "What was that?!" she cried angrily.
Ranma halted and turned to face her.
"Look, you want the truth? Fine. Yes, I'm really a guy. Something
happened to me that I really don't want to talk about, okay? As for why
I'm here, your guess is as good as mine. My old man clams up every time
I ask him about it, so stop asking me. Got it?"
Akane said nothing for a moment while Ranma glared.
"All right," she conceded. "I can respect that. If you don't want to
talk about what happened, okay. I don't really blame you for wanting to
drop the subject."
This seemed to placate Ranma, so Akane continued on her way.
"My father tells me you're one of the last students of the Anything
Goes Style," Akane said as they walked.
"Yup," Ranma agreed. "Me and Pop."
"So you're both mechwarriors?"
"Of course!"
Akane smiled a little at this. "What 'mech do you pilot?"
Ranma frowned briefly and said nothing. It was obvious even to Akane
what the answer to that question might be, and instead of looking down on
Ranma for being one of the Dispossessed, she actually pitied her - him -
a little.
"Okaaaay..." she went on. "What 'mech *did* you pilot?"
"Phoenix Hawk LAM," Ranma muttered. Reminding one of the Dispossessed
about the days when they were true mechwarriors was never very polite, but
there seemed to be no malice in Akane's question.
"Really?" Akane gushed. LAM pilots had to master the intricacies and
fighting tactics of operating both the humanform battlemech and the fixed-
wing aerospace fighter. It was not something that most mechwarriors could
manage to do well.
Her response surprised Ranma, prompting her to continue what would
have been a painful subject. "Yeah, but it was pretty beat up. Eventually
the thing wore out, and we didn't have the parts or the money to keep it
going." A tear welled at Ranma's eye, but she quickly brushed it away.
"We had to sell it for scrap, but then all our creditors swooped down to
collect. We didn't have enough money left to buy another 'mech, even a
salvage job."
Akane nibbled uncomfortably on her lip. As the daughter of the Grand
Duke she would never have to worry about losing a battlemech to a lack of
parts, and certainly not money. Ranma was a sober reminder of the many
mechwarriors in the Inner Sphere whose battlemechs were their only means
of wealth and status.
"But at least you didn't *lose* it," she offered. "I mean, you didn't
get your 'mech shot out from under you, so it's not like you were defeated
or anything."
Ranma nodded her head. Her father had consoled her with the same words.
It had been three years now, and the wounds of shame and poverty were slowly
scarring over for her.
"Something like that," she replied. "Thanks."

The kitchens were huge, capable of serving the entire population of
the castle plus a sizable contingent of guests. Numerous cooks, sculleries,
and stewards bustled about them. Hot water was easily obtained for Ranma,
but this was no place to change back into a guy.
"What is it?" Akane asked Ranma when she hesitated to do whatever it
was that turned her into a man.
"Uh, could I have some, you know, privacy?"
Akane blushed.
"Um, sure. There's a storage room over there."
Ranma nodded and went over to the door. After carefully checking to
see that no one was inside, she entered and closed the door. Seconds later
a young man of nineteen emerged. His hair was black and tied with a pig-
tail, and his eyes were the same blue-grey as Ranma's. If not for the water
stains on his red mandarin blouse, Akane would not have believed that the
man she now beheld was the girl she had just spoken to.
"R-Ranma?"
He nodded with a grin and stretched out his arms. "Man, I *hate* being
cooped up in that little girl body."
She looked him up and down.
"Are you sure you don't want to explain this?"

* * *

Ranma Saotome eased off on the backpressure and brought his battlemech
to a halt within the cover of some coniferous trees. His sensors probed the
surrounding plains for some sign of his target, but so far all he had was
nothing. He decided to switch his active sensors off and continue the
search passively.
He wasn't sure why he had accepted Akane's challenge to a simulator
duel. It might have been boredom, or the fact that he was eager to jump
into a cockpit - any cockpit - once again. The simulated battlemech he
controlled was a 45 ton Vindicator, one of the Confederation's own designs.
It wasn't half bad for a medium 'mech, and although it was slower than he
would have preferred, at least it had jump jets.
He wasn't sure what Akane would be piloting, but from what little
he had read of her tactics in the newspage, he felt that she would come
looking for him when he didn't show. That was fine with him. A single
throw of a control switch powered his battlemech's reactor down to idle,
and brought his heat output to minimum. The tree cover would further absorb
and disperse his thermal emissions to the point where Akane would have to
practically run into him to notice.
It wasn't a long wait before his neutrino detector began to ping.
Neutrino detectors capable of being carried aboard a battlemech weren't
very accurate; they gave a fuzzy estimate of bearing and range, but as
early warning systems they could be pretty useful for detecting the
radiation from an operating fusion plant. Their drawback was that they had
to be fine-tuned to local conditions or else they would be set off by the
planet's sun and rendered useless. Fortunately, this was a simulator,
where things generally worked as they were supposed to.
Akane (or at least a neutrino source) was roughly in front of him,
and within a thousand meters. She was also closing on his position, having
either detected him or else deciding that there was no other place he could
be hiding. He decided to play it cool and let her come to him.
After a few moments he was rewarded with the tiny vibrations of his
analog clinometer; the tell-tale of a large humanform 'mech stomping across
the ground nearby. He couldn't quite hear the heavy metal-shod footfalls
of the approaching 'mech, but he knew she was close. A quick flick of his
eyes towards his engine exhaust duct temperature gauges told him what he
needed to know - that his jump jets were still hot enough for a brief
blast of thrust while his reactor was idle.
A bright flash of light glared through his cockpit as a laser beam
rippled through the trees and set several alight. She was trying to smoke
him out. He waited calmly, fingers tensed on the jump jet studs of his
control yoke. He had another forty seconds of thermal reserve left in his
jets before he would have to power up.
A second beam of laser fire screamed through the trees, this time to
his right. She didn't know where he was, and was just trying to spook him.
He wasn't going to let her. Thirty seconds.
The clinometer shook in its mount. This time he could feel the 'mech
stomping closer. Trees only a few dozen meters before him began crashing
down as they were pushed over. Twenty seconds.
He caught the sight of a whip antenna and goosed his jets. The
turbines screamed behind and below him as the outside air was sucked in
and superheated over the engine coils. His hand shot out to the reactor
control panel, bringing it to life.
Akane was caught by surprise by his jump, and fanned laser fire in
a frantic attempt to catch him. Ranma put on a little more thrust to his
left leg jets as he eased off on his right, side-slipping in a midair
evasion maneuver. The clouds of dust, steam, and tree bits from his jump
would obscure her vision long enough to do what he intended.
Ranma's Vindicator was too close to use its Long Range Missile launcher
or its particle cannon effectively, leaving him with a light and a medium
laser. That was no good against his opponent, who faced him in an Enforcer
- a 50 ton Federated Shiratori 'mech which packed an autoloading 155mm
cannon and a heavy laser that had no such minimum range difficulties. The
reactor's output climbed rapidly as he put greater demands for thrust on it.
He was sucking every last watt of power out of the plant as his Vindicator
soared over the Enforcer to touch down just behind it.
Ranma's limb controls groaned against the abuse he put them through
as the Vindicator sprang up from its touchdown, pivoted on its left heel,
and brought the right leg up and out in a roundhouse kick. The blow smashed
into the thin rear center torso armor of the Enforcer, scattering shards of
diamond-hard aligned crystal steel and brilliant yellow sparks of flame.
The Enforcer staggered forward, crashing into more trees as it fought to
stay upright.
He had to give Akane credit as she regained control of her 'mech and
whipped out her right arm to bear on him. His fingers caressed the boost
studs in time to avoid a long-rod tungsten carbide penetrator from the
autocannon. His Vindicator shot airborne once again, only the upper portion
of the passing shell's discarded sabot striking his armor - ineffectually.

"What the--?" Akane cried to herself as the autocannon shell sailed
far downrange. "Is he reading my moves?"
Her heavy laser arm came up to bear, firing point blank at the
Vindicator, and still missing as Ranma once again side-slipped in midair.
Her pupils shrank to tiny dots as the 45 ton battlemech loomed overhead.
Catching hold of herself, she gunned her throttles in an attempt to avoid
what was surely a death from above attack aimed at her cockpit. The
Enforcer scrambled forward and past the falling Vindicator.

Ranma pivoted the Vindicator in mid-air, allowing the Enforcer to
flee while he steadied his 'mech for an easy landing. As he touched down,
Akane had thoughtfully opened the range to ninety-three meters, and his
HUD's targeting reticle glowed green for PPC release. He squeezed on the
trigger, sending a bolt of blue-white lightning square into the Enforcer's
heavily damaged rear center torso, and watched impassively as the
battlemech burst apart into a white cloud of plasma with a fatal reactor
crash.

Akane stared at her snowy instrument bank in disbelief. Her simulated
battlemech had been destroyed by a direct hit to the fusion reactor. Had
this duel been real, she wouldn't have even known what had happened, she
would have simply ceased to be.
As a mechwarrior she had experienced death in the simulator many
times. It was a part of the training process to be defeated in sim combat.
But this was more than defeat, this was humiliation. She watched as the
duel's statistics scrolled across the display and groaned. He had struck
just two blows - one of them a kick! She hadn't hit him once, not even
once! The actual combat had taken mere seconds!
She raised her cockpit canopy and stepped out into the real world.
Ranma's cockpit was already open, with the guy standing impassively next
to his unit, arms folded over his chest. It was clear that he hadn't even
bothered reviewing the statistics.
"Wanna go again?" he asked her. "Only this time don't hold back, okay."
Akane's fists clenched tight. He couldn't be serious, could he? The
impudent jerk!
"What the heck was that?" she cried angrily.
"What was what?" he replied. He seemed perplexed by her question,
which only made it worse.
"You call that a duel?" she spluttered. "All you did was jump around!"
Ranma unfolded his arms and set them akimbo. "Hey, it worked. I'm
alive, and you're dead. End of story."
She knew he was right, but he was so infuriating that she couldn't
let it go. She just stood there trembling and fuming with rage.
"Hey, don't take it so hard," Ranma offered when he realized how angry
she really was. "You did pretty good. Most mechwarriors wouldn't have been
able to stay upright after that roundhouse kick, especially in the middle
of all those trees." He brushed his hand absently against his red satin
shirt. "Of course after reading about how you walked all over the Black
Rose's personal guard, I expected a bit more of a fight..."
That was the last straw. Akane stumped over to Ranma and slapped him
as hard as she could across the face. Ranma, caught off-guard by her attack,
spun around and slumped to the side of the simulator unit. When he was able,
he sat up and touched the bright red hand mark on his cheek gingerly.
"What was that for?!" he demanded.
"That's for being such a jerk!" she shot back, and stomped out of the
room.
Ranma stood slowly and watched her go. One moment she was actually
nice to him, the next moment she was slugging him.
"Man, that chick is psycho."

Chapter Four

The Grand Duke's Personal Apartments
Azure Cloud Castle
11 February 3025

"So what do you think, Tendo?"
Soun Tendo once again looked over the tattered notebooks and scattered
relics that lay before him. It was a fantastic tale, but could it really be
true?
"I don't know what to say, Saotome," he hedged. "The fact that wild
stories about Ryuugenzawa have been circulating for centuries makes all
this very hard to take at face value."
"Ryuugenzawa exists," Genma said firmly. "I feel it with every fiber
of my being. Isn't what I've shown you enough? The fact that the boy and
I fell victim to the very Star League laboratory detailed in these journals
practically screams their authenticity."
Soun tried to look supportive.
"But really, Saotome. Try to look at it from my perspective. I admit
that you and your son's, er, accident is fairly convincing proof that the
Star League had installations detailed in these journals, but--"
"--I understand, Tendo," Genma said slowly. "There's no need to go
on." He stood and bowed respectfully before his friend. "The boy and I
won't trouble you with this any longer. We'll be leaving first thing in
the morning."
Soun's eyes bulged.
"B-But, Saotome! Our agreement!"
Genma stood motionless.
"I'll need the boy with me if I'm to continue the search," he said
evenly. "I'm not as young as I used to be, and in my line of work it's
necessary to have someone you can trust watching your back."
Soun was almost trembling. "Saotome! You can't mean this!"
"Don't worry, Tendo. Our agreement stands. We'll just have to wait a
little longer; just until the boy and I find Ryuugenzawa. Then we'll
return, and we can unite our two schools."
"But that could be years from now!" Soun protested. "If ever!" He
leaned in close to his friend. "Saotome, you mustn't breathe a word of
this to anyone, but this summit meeting isn't just a peace conference..."
He let that confidence hang before them for a moment before continuing.
"The Confederation is going to surrender."
Genma was aghast.
"Tendo! You can't mean that!" he hissed.
Soun closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "It's true. The Confederation
is at its breaking point. We've been pushed beyond the limits of endurance.
Any further struggle is pointless and would only bring great calamity to our
people." He sobbed. "I can't allow that. Right now my daughter Nabiki is
bargaining with the Combine and the League for the most equitable terms."
He paused for a moment as Genma looked on in disbelief.
"It won't be so much of a surrender as an orderly transfer of power,
but it will mean the end of my reign and of my family's claim to the Star
League."
"But what will happen to you?" Genma pressed.
"We'll go into exile," Soun replied gravely. "We'll probably keep
the Capella system as a personal fief, and perhaps the title of Duke just
as a sop, but in the end the Tendos will either have a Kuno or a Gosunkugi
as Lord."
Genma nibbled at his lip.
"I see. There's no choice but for you to surrender then, is there."
"None, Saotome."
Genma thrust his fists to the ceiling.
"Come on, Tendo! You can't give up now! Why, this is the best reason
yet for helping me in my search for Ryuugenzawa. Once its secrets are in
your possession, the Combine and the League won't stand a chance against
you! It'll tip the entire war in your favor!"
Soun looked up at his friend. Once again the embers of hope began to
glow within his soul.
"Do you think so, Saotome?"
"Of course I think so!" Genma replied. "Trust me, Soun old friend!
And besides, if what you've said is true, what have you really got to
lose?!"
Soun thought hard about this. It was said that opportunity only
knocked once. But Ryuugenzawa couldn't be true, could it? What should he
do?
While Ryuugenzawa remained an unknown, he did know one thing: he had
asked for Genma's help in an hour of need, and his friend had appeared
without warning out of the vast gulf of more than twenty years to answer
his plea. If that wasn't the voice of Providence speaking, there was no
such thing.
"I'll do it," he intoned.
Genma perked up his ears. "Come again, Tendo?"
Soun Tendo's eyes burned.
"I said I'll do it."

* * *

The Grand Hall, Azure Cloud Castle

Nabiki Tendo couldn't have been more pleased with herself. Everything
was going as she had expected, right down to Tetsuo's stonewalling on
parliamentary procedures and nitpicking on every last detail. He was doing
his job so well that even the Commonwealth representative, who she expected
to cause trouble, felt little need to add any interference to the process.
One of her aides handed her a note from the Combine table as Tetsuo
filibustered on the process of verifying Confederation troop levels for
a proper muster over to the succeeding house's army. She looked over to
Domitian, who sat calmly ignoring the League ambassador while appearing
rapt with attention. She had a feeling about the contents of the note,
and carefully opened it away from her staff.

The Furinkan Combine agrees to all terms with
the exception of article IX, section 3 - regarding
final disposition of Akane Tendo. My government has
instructed me to accept no final arrangement until
your sister has been formally betrothed to Prince
Tatewaki. I also must confess that I am impatient
to end as soon a possible this diplomatic charade
you've crafted, and get down to an unencumbered
resolution of these issues as we have previously
agreed.

- D

She fed the note into a paper shredder next to her at the table,
blinking at the flash of light from the built-in plasma arc incinerator
as it turned the confetti into ash. She had expected this as well. The
entire summit was counterfeit, as she had been meeting with Domitian
through cut-outs and middle men for months now on the terms of the
surrender, but the show had to go on.
The details of arranging the orderly transfer of possession of over
a hundred star systems and the absorption of billions of loyal citizens
into the Furinkan Combine were nothing compared to the difficulty in
getting Daddy to agree to offer Akane in marriage to Tatewaki Kuno. It
seemed that only she understood how important the marriage would be
politically. It would be an important symbol of the union of the two
Successor Houses, and the one most likely to make the people accept the
surrender and annexation peaceably.
She already had him on the ropes with her defeatist propaganda. Well,
it wasn't entirely propaganda, but she had exaggerated a few figures here
and there to get her point across. He just needed a little more prodding,
and then she would be able to get from him this last provision of the
agreement.
Perhaps those two freaks who showed up on the castle's doorstep would
serve as an ideal distraction for him. As for this supposed promise to
unite their two families, well, if Daddy was going to insist upon it then
Kasumi was the only possible choice. With the surrender, her role in running
the day to day operations of the Confederation was moot. It wouldn't take
much effort to get her to go along with it either - she did what Daddy told
her.
Nabiki sat back and stretched. It was all turning out as expected, and
that was all right by her. Once she pushed the agreement through, she could
relax. It had taken her five years to get to this point, and she was eager
to return to a normal life. The hated Succession Wars would no longer be her
concern, and soon the Inner Sphere would be united into a Star League once
again - all thanks to her.

* * *

Tetsuo Gosunkugi was not a fool. He had been carefully observing the
summit, even while he was speaking, and it was clear that the fix was in
with the Furinkan Combine. The question now was whether to continue to
stall, as he had been doing, or should he seek to expose Nabiki's back
room deal with the Combine Ambassador?
Exposure would certainly test Nabiki's grip over the Confederation
nobility. The masses wouldn't stand for it, and in the ensuing riots the
country might collapse into civil war - with Hikaru in the ideal position
to take advantage of the chaos to grab territory for the League that they
wouldn't have a chance of getting at Nabiki's rigged bargaining table. The
Combine would probably still be able to subdue whatever the League couldn't
grab, but anti-Combine sentiment among the populace would be high enough to
tie their hands dealing with insurgency movements for years.
Even if a civil war didn't happen, a coup might well depose the Tendos,
and see a Confederation noble with sympathies leaning towards the League
take the throne. That might prove just as effective strategically against
the Combine as a civil war. He knew several Confederation nobles who would
be ideal for this, but there was no way to warn them to prepare without
tipping his hand.
There were so many options, and the situation was even more volatile
than he and Hikaru had imagined during their talks on Viridian. Should he
risk a transmission via HPG requesting instructions? There simply wasn't
time to send a courier via JumpShip.
He decided that come what may, he would have to act on his own, and
hope Hikaru approved. If things got ugly there was always his platoon of
Special Ops people infiltrated among his diplomatic staff. Once they had
Akane Tendo, there would be no risk of counterattack, and Hikaru could
force his way into the Confederation through marriage to her. Wouldn't
*that* burn Tatewaki Kuno's ass!
Nabiki was calling a recess. She must have wanted to clear something
up with the Combine stooge, Domitian. That was fine with him, his voice
was getting tired. They wouldn't dare pull anything today anyway, as it
wouldn't look right. Probably not tomorrow either. Saturday would be the
fateful day.

* * *

Kima compiled her report to Cologne for HPG dispatch as Tetsuo wound
down his speech in response to Nabiki's call for a recess. Unlike her
League and Combine counterparts, she had nothing to fear from handing over
an encrypted message to Comstar for transmission. The Third Circuit
representing Comstar at this summit might have suspected Joketsuzoku
infiltration of his organization, but he was smart enough to keep his
mouth shut. His predecessor had been taught a painful and ultimately
fatal lesson in minding his own business.
She hoped it would be an extended recess until the morning. There was
much to learn about the Tendo stronghold that her unique new perspective
could give her. Especially in the family quarters. She had a mind to check
in on Nabiki that evening.
It was dangerous to have a direct conversation with the woman, as
there were too many unknown factors present that could compromise her. Her
intelligence briefs seemed to point towards some tension between Akane and
her sibling, and Kima counted on that to remain sufficiently distant from
Nabiki without drawing attention.
The middle Tendo daughter clearly had her own agenda at the summit.
The real question now was when she would show her true colors. Nabiki was
very intelligent, but showed a carelessly positive assessment of her
capabilities. It was practically arrogance, and it might well backfire
with a little help from the Joketsuzoku.
Her wings continued to ache underneath her heavy cloak. She wished
that she could stretch them out and get a little flying in, but that
would be impossible. The Inner Sphere was not ready to know about the
existence of the hybrids. Not until Saffron was ready, and Cologne would
be the judge of that.

Chapter Five

Ducal Guests' Chambers, Azure Cloud Castle

Ranma Saotome lay back in the bath and let the steaming water soak
into his pores. It had taken thirty minutes of scrubbing to get the smell
of the _Belle Marle_ off him, and his skin glowed pink. Across from him
in the bath was his father, who dozed with a damp washcloth over his eyes.
"Hey Pop, you still awake over there?"
Genma stirred.
"More or less," he grunted. "What is it?"
"You mind telling me now why we're here?"
Genma was quiet for a moment before responding.
"You'll find out tomorrow night," he told him. "Now stop asking me
about it."
Ranma splashed at the water. "Does this mean we're done looking for
Ryuugenzawa?" he huffed.
Genma opened his eyes. "What if we were?" he asked.
Ranma looked hopeful.
"Well, it's just that we've been searching for three years now, and
I'm gettin' kinda tired of being on the move all the time. I mean, I never
really believed in any of that junk anyways, it's always been just something
to do."
Genma sighed wearily and looked skyward.
"How quickly they lose heart," he lamented to the heavens. Then he
faced his son. "Hasn't our time on Lightoller taught you anything, boy?
We've never been so close to finding Ryuugenzawa, and now you want to go
home..."
Ranma bit back a curse.
"Don't you even miss Mom?" he asked bitterly. "Or wonder how she's
doing? Do you know that it's been so long since we've seen her that in
dreams I can't even remember what she looks like? I wake up in the morning
and I have to pull her picture out of my pack just so I can prove to myself
that she's real."
"Don't get sappy on me now, boy," Genma warned.
"Or what, old man?" Ranma returned. "So what if I miss her? At least
one of us does. You make me sick sometimes with this stupid quest of yours."
He stood up to leave, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist.
"I used to believe in you, you know! I used to think that you were this
all-knowing and undefeatable mechwarrior, and that once we found your
goddamn Ryuugenzawa we'd be heroes!"
He splashed out of the bath and stepped into his bathing slippers.
"Where do you think you're going, boy?" Genma demanded.
Ranma turned back to his father, his eyes bloodshot with betrayal.
"I'm leaving... I'll give your best to Mom when I see her."
Genma watched him go. It would do no good to fight him at this point.
Ranma wasn't really going anywhere. Once his temper had cooled, he would
come around.
"Damn fool boy is just like his mother," he observed. "All emotion
and no sense."

* * *

The garden terrace was still and dark when Ranma stepped through the
doors. The golden strings of light that made up the capitol city of Gondolin
glittered silently far below, and the stars shone brightly in the heavens
far above. One of those stars was Sian, his home, only twelve parsecs away.
For all of its relative proximity to Capella, it might have been on the
other side of the galaxy to him right then.
He could not remember the last time he had set foot upon the soil of
his birth. He and his father had been on the move since he was little more
than a baby. He had been learning martial arts, 'mech and aerospace fighter
piloting, technical skills, and combat tactics from anyone who could offer
useful instruction, and this at a time when even children of other
mechwarriors were still playing in the yard.
It had been a hard life, and he had rarely complained, but now the
pangs of regret knifed into his breast. What had it all been for? The
family's battlemech was gone before he turned sixteen, and he and his
father had been chasing a myth for the last three years. Was he just
living a lie, or was he an accessory to his father's delusions, or both?
Ryuugenzawa didn't exist. It might have at one time, but the Great
Houses of the Inner Sphere started searching for Star League depots and
facilities to plunder just as soon as General Kerensky abandoned them, to
say nothing of the hundreds of wildcat treasure hunters like themselves
who searched the lonely backwater systems of space. Ryuugenzawa might have
existed once, but it had probably been stripped and looted long ago, just
like practically everything else belonging to the fallen Star League.
It was time to go home. He owed it to his mother, and he owed it to
himself. To hell with his old man.
"Ryuugenzawa doesn't exist," he told the night sky. "I don't care
what Pop says about it."
The soft footfalls on the grass alerted him, and he turned to face
Akane Tendo.
"Akane?"
She halted several paces from him.
"What is it?" she asked him.
Ranma scratched his head nervously. She was really putting out bad
vibes, and he decided to play it safe.
"Nothing. I was just asking if it was you or not."
Akane shrugged. "It's me."
She continued standing there, looking at him, which was unnerving.
"Look," he began. "If you want, I'll leave. It's no big deal, and this
is your home, so just say so."
"Stay," she replied.
Now he was really confused. Was she still angry with him, or was she
one of those girls who ran hot and cold all the time?
"Hey, uh, about this afternoon..." he said nervously.
"What about this afternoon?"
Ranma cocked his head. If that was how she wanted to play it, he
was okay with that, but her reaction wasn't what he was expecting. Perhaps
it was best to play it safe anyway, and apologize.
"Look, I'm sorry about this afternoon, okay?"
She shrugged again. "Okay with me."
Ranma blinked twice. "Uh, great. Cool."
A heavy moment of silence passed between them.
"Hey, uh, Akane. I was just thinking that it was getting kinda late,
so I'll be turning in, okay?"
"If you insist," she replied. "I couldn't help but overhear you
talking about Ryuugenzawa, though. Do you want to talk about it some more?"
Ranma blushed, a reaction that was fortunately unnoticed in the dim
light of the terrace. "Oh that? It was nothing. I was just talking to
myself."
Akane frowned. "Oh. My apologies."
Ranma stepped past her with a nervous bid of 'good-night,' and went
back into the castle.
**That was kinda weird...**
He was making his way towards the guests' quarters when he ran into
Kasumi - quite literally.
"Oh dear," she cried softly. "I'm so sorry, Ranma."
"Nah, it was my fault," he demurred. "I wasn't really paying attention
to where I was going."
"It's very late," she observed. "Is there something wrong?"
Ranma shook his head. "Not really. My body's still on ship time, so
normally it would take a little getting used to local time."
"Normally?" she asked.
"Well, I don't mean to sound disrespectful or nothing, 'cause its
nothing against you or your family, but I'm not sticking around on Nerima
for much longer. The first ship headed to Sian is gonna find me on it."
Kasumi gave him a puzzled look.
"You're leaving? So soon?"
"Like I said, it ain't nothing against you guys; this is between me
and my old man."
"Are you sure?" Kasumi pressed. "I think my father and yours had
something important planned, remember?"
Ranma rolled his eyes. "First I've heard about it."
Kasumi seemed even more surprised at this.
"Really? So you don't know about...?"
"Kasumi, I don't have a clue about why I'm here," Ranma returned.
"Not one. My old man said I'd find out tomorrow night, but I don't plan
on sticking around that long."
"Well..."
"Do me a huge favor, okay?"
Kasumi did not like where this was going.
"What is it, Ranma?"
"Pretend you didn't see me tonight, okay?"
She wrung her hands for a moment. Dishonesty did not come naturally
to her.
"I'll try," she managed, not at all pleased with herself.
"Great," Ranma replied, clearly satisfied in spite of her decidedly
uneasy assurance. "You've all been great, so thanks for everything, huh?"
"O-Of course, but..."
"No time," Ranma said with a wave. "Have a good night."
Kasumi watched him go and wrung her hands with concern. Father would
not be pleased about this, and just at a time when he was starting to act
more like himself again. She couldn't let this happen to him; it would
crush him! Determination set itself within her breast and she stomped
her foot on the polished marble floor for his attention.
"Ranma, I can't allow you to leave. It wouldn't be proper."
Ranma stopped short.
"Aw, come on. This really doesn't concern you."
Kasumi gave him a hard look. "It *does* concern me, Ranma. Your
presence here is very important to my father. Now please go back to your
room and promise me that you won't try to run away." She set her arms
akimbo. "PROMISE ME."
Ranma suddenly felt very small.
"Uh... Sure. Whatever, Kasumi."
She did not let up. "PROMISE ME."
The weight of her gaze was staggering to Ranma, who began to sweat
profusely with dismay.
"Okay! Okay! I promise I won't try and leave!"
Kasumi immediately brightened.
"Thank you, Ranma. Run along back to your room now."
Ranma did so, feeling very small indeed at having been browbeaten
by someone like Kasumi.

Chapter Six

The Grand Duke's Private Apartments
Azure Cloud Castle
12 February 3025

The second day of the summit had passed much like the first, and
Nabiki was ready to present the final draft of the Furinkan Combine
proposal to her father. Once he had approved it, she would keep the
delegates hanging on for a few more days of the same bickering before
springing the decision. In case he was less than receptive to the idea
of betrothing Akane to Tatewaki Kuno, she would still have those few
days margin to work on him before Domitian ran out of patience.
He had called them all to his chambers after the State dinner given
in honor of the delegates to the summit. She was a little concerned that
it might have something to do with the two freaks that were staying in
the castle as guests, but wasn't going to let it deter her from the
evening's mission. He would be made to see reason, and that was that.
Kasumi was, predictably, already there when she arrived. So were
the two freaks, but at least they were in their so-called 'normal' forms.
She had to admit that Ranma as a man was pretty cute, but if his father
was any indication of what he would look like in middle-age, she would
happily decline the offer of marriage.
Only Akane was absent, and so she took the opportunity to approach
her father with the draft.
"Everything is going well, Daddy," she announced to him. "We're
getting a better deal than I thought we would."
Soun seemed not to hear her.
"Hello..." Nabiki said, waving her hand in front of his face.
"Oh, Nabiki," he responded. "I'm sorry, daughter. You were saying?"
"I was saying that we're getting a better deal out of the Combine
than I thought we would," she said with a touch of irritation. She handed
him a copy of the draft, which he breezed through distractedly.
Soun nodded. "The Combine you say?"
"Of course! You don't think those weasels in the League of Five Nails
can match an offer from the Furinkan Combine, do you?"
"No," Soun replied. "No, I guess not." He looked around the room for
Akane, and did not see her. "So," he went on. "I suppose they have a
special condition attached to their terms, don't they?"
Nabiki frowned. "You knew this was going to happen, Daddy. I tried
the best I could, but was there ever any doubt that it would come to this?"
Soun nodded again. "Not really," he said uneasily.
"Then it's settled?" Nabiki asked him hopefully. "Naturally we'll
wait a few days to work out the last little snags before we announce the
decision, and we'll have to begin with the betrothal to put the best
diplomatic spin on it."
Soun was silent. He looked in Genma's direction, and received a
supportive nod. Then he looked to Kasumi, who gave him a similar gesture.
Nabiki began to get uneasy at this. Something was up.
"So, if you'll just put your preliminary chop on this," she said,
holding up the draft. "Then we'll sign the Power of Attorney granting
me Plenipotentiary authority, and it will all be taken care of..."
Soun remained silent.
Nabiki's eyes drifted around the room. She felt very alone.
"You mind telling me what's going on?" she asked as an open question
to everyone present. Only Ranma seemed to share her ignorance, the rest
remained silent.
Akane walked into the room moments later, noting Ranma and giving
him a dirty look which made him start in surprise.
"Okay, I'm here, what did I miss?" she asked them.
"That's what I'd like to know," Nabiki sniffed.
Soun cleared his throat for attention.
"I have given this a lot of thought," he began.
"Marvelous..." Nabiki snorted under her breath.
Soun disregarded his daughter's flippant remark. "And I have come to
a decision," he continued. He looked at Nabiki and tore the draft of her
proposal in half.
"There will be no surrender to anyone," he declared. "The Nerima
Confederation is not yet defeated."
Nabiki started to protest, but was cut off by a sharply raised finger
from her father bidding her be silent.
"I'm not through speaking," he told her. "Furthermore, I have decided,
and my friend and fellow mechwarrior Genma Saotome agrees, that we should
now fulfill our promise to unite our families and our fighting schools."
He looked at Ranma, who stood paralyzed before his father with a
sudden nameless dread.
"We have decided to betroth Ranma Saotome, Heir to the Saotome School
of Martial Arts, to my youngest daughter, Akane - effective immediately.
Saotome and I have already signed the appropriate documents."
Ranma's jaw dropped against his chest, and his eyes bugged out of
their sockets. Genma beamed with satisfaction.
"WHAT!?" Akane stormed. She had always known that an arranged marriage
was in her future, but the future had always seemed so far away. Now that
the future was here, she was near panic. "Dad, you can't be serious! Me
and... and... HIM?"
"Daddy, you're insane!" Nabiki added. "And you're dragging your entire
family - your entire country - down with you!"
"Nabiki!" Kasumi scolded.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma snapped at Akane, suddenly
realizing that he was being insulted. "You gotta problem with me?"
"Look at you!" Akane shot back. "Even if I wanted to, how could I
possibly marry a perverted freak like you?"
Ranma clenched his fists and sent Akane a heated look. "Oh, yeah? Well
it's mutual! Who'd want a psycho macho chick like you anyways?"
"Psycho?!" Akane shrieked. "Macho!?" She stomped towards him with
murder in her eyes, grabbing a pitcher of ice water from a nearby serving
tray and dousing him. "At least I'm not some kind of sex-changing freak!"
"Hey!" Ranma spluttered. She wiped away the wetness from her face.
"See what I mean? You're just like your Warhammer - I've never seen a chick
get so overheated so fast!"
"You take that back!" Akane cried, lashing out with a jumping front
kick that Ranma barely blocked with crossed forearms. She sidestepped the
follow up roundhouse kick and continued waggling her tongue at her.
"Akane! Ranma!" Kasumi protested. "No fighting!"
"I've never seen a chick so unfeminine as you!" Ranma chortled,
ignoring Kasumi and fanning the flames.
"Unfeminine?" Akane echoed. Her attacks stopped abruptly as Ranma's
declaration stunned her. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh come on," Ranma said, rolling her eyes. She struck a cheesecake
pose. "Even *I'm* more feminine than a crazy uncute chick like you!"
Akane grabbed the back of a leather upholstered divan, and in one
fluid motion she lifted it and threw it over her shoulder to land squarely
on Ranma's head.
Genma observed his dazed son dispassionately as Akane fumed and
sputtered with rage over the wrecked divan. "I hate to admit it," he
remarked. "But even *I* wouldn't have said something like that."
Soun seemed terribly pleased with himself - all the while ignoring
Nabiki's attempts to get his attention. "I agree, Saotome. But it seems
as if the remark has received redress."
"They fight like cats and dogs," Genma added. "Still think this was
the best choice, Tendo?"
Soun nodded confidently. "At least it will be entertaining."

Nabiki was steaming mad. Her protests to her father had gone unheard
over the din generated by Ranma and Akane. This was not how things were
supposed to happen. Her father had quite obviously lost his mind, and she
knew who to blame for pushing him into this.
"IS ANYBODY LISTENING TO ME!?" she screamed in frustration.
Those occupants of the chamber who were still coherent turned calmly
to face her. Once she had their undivided attention, she displayed her
intact copy of the Furinkan Combine's proposal.
"In case any of you had forgotten, we are still in the middle of
fighting a losing war with the Combine and the League. This document is
the only way we can end that war honorably, and without any further
bloodshed and destruction!" She bored her eyes into her father. "But
instead of doing the right and just thing, even if it was distasteful,
you've decided instead to indulge in some facile delusion!"
She gave them severe looks. They were all idiots. Even Kasumi, for
all her misguided loyalty to Daddy.
Soun turned to Akane and Kasumi. "Perhaps you should take Ranma to
the clinic. Nabiki and I need to talk."
Akane looked down at the senseless, half-concious Ranma. She felt bad
about what she had done to him, but the jerk had asked for it!
"Honestly, Akane," Kasumi asked her. "Was it really necessary to do
that to poor Ranma?"
"He had it coming," she muttered, but Kasumi gave her a thoroughly
disappointed look, shaming her into complying. Two of the palace guards
entered to assist them with Ranma, leaving Nabiki to face Soun and Genma.

"Well?" she said to them.
"We can save the Confederation," Genma said to her.
"You?" Nabiki snorted. "A fat old freak? You and your transsexual
son are going to save the Confederation? Don't make me laugh!"
Genma was unbowed by her insults.
"The boy and I have the secrets to Ryuugenzawa," he said flatly.
"We've been on the trail for three years, and now we've come to the end
of the search. It's within our grasp."
Nabiki was floored by his naivete. Ryuugenzawa? This was the secret
hope of her father, by which the Confederation would be saved? He was
throwing away their only chance of escaping with their lives and their
fortunes on a fantasy like Ryuugenzawa?
"Do you hear what your saying?" she returned, her voice trembling
with disbelief. "Ryuugenzawa is a fairy tale, a myth! It's part Shangri-La,
part Brigadoon, and part Lost Dutchman Mine! There isn't a single planet on
any chart in the Inner Sphere with the name Ryuugenzawa on it! There is no
such place!"
She approached her father, holding the remaining copy of the draft
before her like a spirit ward.
"Get ahold of yourself, Daddy," she pleaded with her father. "I don't
know what this fat fraud told you, but it doesn't matter. You're still in
charge here. You can say no to his delusions and send him away. No one
has to know about this; we can continue as if nothing happened."
Soun looked very tired. He shook his head slowly at her, and placed
a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"It's clear that you've been working too hard on this," he said
gently to her. "I'm sorry that the burden fell so heavily upon you. The
blame is all mine."
"Wha-What are you saying?" she managed.
"You need rest, Nabiki. The stress has been too much."
"You need your head examined!" Nabiki retorted.
Soun shook his head. "I'm asking you to retire for the evening," he
told her. "If you don't, I will be forced to ask Doctor Ono to give you
something to calm you down. The delegates will be informed tomorrow morning
of my decision."
"You wouldn't," Nabiki growled.
Soun picked up a telephone and punched in a number.
"Have Doctor Ono and a nurse report to my chambers at once with a
tranquilizer," he said into the receiver.
Nabiki couldn't believe this!
"All right! I'm going!" she barked angrily, and headed for the door.
"You'll regret listening to this fool," she added as a parting shot. "Mark
my words."
When Nabiki had left the room, Soun punched for the Sergeant at Arms
of the castle.
"Yes," he said to the man. "See to it that Nabiki remains in her
quarters. Use good judgement in dealing with her, but under *no*
circumstances is she to come in contact with any delegates until tomorrow
morning. If that means some measure of restraint is necessary, then so
be it. I can have Doctor Ono pay her a visit."
Soun nodded his head slowly.
"Yes, you should secure her telephone communications," he agreed.
"Suspend her cell-phone account too... Yes, she's very tired, and needs
her rest... Thank you, sergeant major."
Genma looked at his friend. He hadn't expected such a blow-up over
this. Would he still feel as commited to helping him find Ryuugenzawa as
he promised after this?
"Are you all right, Tendo?"
Soun lit a cigarette and sucked it down with a single drag.
"I haven't felt this much control over my life in years," he replied,
blowing the smoke out in a steady blue cloud that wreathed his head. "I
feel like a new man."

* * *

Doctor Tofu Ono helped Ranma to sit up.
"How do you feel?" he asked her.
"Like someone dropped a couch on my head..." she replied.
Tofu examined the small cut on the large lump, and decided that a few
stitches would be in order once the swelling went down.
"Should I ask how this happened?"
Akane affected a guilty look and excused herself from the room. Kasumi
hadn't accompanied her to the clinic, deciding instead to find Nabiki and
calm her down. It was obvious that Kasumi had been in on the engagement
- and the decision not to surrender. Was she the one who suggested Ranma
for her?
Tofu turned back to Ranma as Akane excused herself. "Let me guess..."
he said dryly.
Ranma said nothing at first, wincing as a nurse dabbled at her cut
scalp with an icy disinfectant swab, and then left the room. Finally it
dawned on her.
"You mean she's always like this?" she asked him.
"She's very high spirited," Tofu said somewhat diplomatically. "But
very sweet," he added.
"More like psycho."
"I heard that, Ranma!" Akane cried from the next room.
Ranma turned to Tofu. "I can't believe I'm supposed to marry that
chick..." she muttered. "No way in hell."
Tofu did a double take. "You, Ranma? Marry Akane? I don't understand."
Ranma immediately regretted saying it.
Akane stepped back into the room before she could explain. "There's
something about Ranma you should know about, doctor." She stepped over to
the sink and began running the water until it became nice and hot.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ranma protested. "This was supposed
to be a secret, remember?"
Akane took a paper cup from the dispenser and filled it with steaming
water. Tofu looked on in puzzlement as Akane flung the contents of the
cup straight at Ranma's face.
She put up her hands in defense, but the splash of water affected the
change nonetheless.
"Yeowtch!" he cried. "Dammit Akane, that hurt!"
"Serves you right for what you said to me," she replied.
"Yeah, well you ain't helping your cause like this!"
Tofu blinked a few times in disbelief.
"Ranma?"
The pig-tailed mechwarrior rubbed his aching head and glared at Akane.
"Yeah, it's me. Now you know my secret, no thanks to her."
"This is remarkable!" Tofu exclaimed. "Do you mind if I run some tests
on you?"
"Yes, I mind," Ranma grumbled. "No tests. No one says a word about
this. Duke Tendo promised to keep this a secret."
Tofu looked crestfallen. Ranma's change was incredible, and warranted
further investigation, but he respected the decision of the Duke.
"Now I understand," he said to Ranma, patting his shoulder. "I'd
like to offer you congratulations."
"Huh?" Ranma grunted. "What for?"
Tofu smiled. "She'll make a wonderful bride. You're very lucky."
It was Ranma's turn to blink. "Huh?"
"There's no way I'm marrying him," Akane declared. "This is all a
big mistake."
"That goes double for me!" Ranma added.
They both glared at each other in silence.
Tofu looked at them both and shook his head. "I can see that this
will be an interesting engagement."

END OF PART THREE