[Ranma/Battletech][FanFic] Battletech: The Saotome Gambit Part 13

[Jamie and Bridget Wilde]

Ranma Saotome opened his eyes to discover himself in a lush garden
filled with flowers and creeping vines. He felt as light as a feather
floating in this ethereal greensward, surrounded by the cool glow of
starlight and soft voices. He tried to move, but his limbs would not
respond. The moment was too surreal for him, and he yelped in panic at
the sudden, horrifying idea that he had not survived the fire.
The yelp drew immediate attention, and he felt warm hands on his brow
in reassurance. His eyes darted to the presence he sensed behind him, and
he beheld an angelic face that did little to reassure him in his thoughts
of mortality.
"Mechwarrior Saotome, sir," the sweet voice said to him. "Are you
feeling better now?"
Ranma blinked several times in thought, trying to put the voice and
the face together.
"I think so, Akari," he said finally. "Am I in the Greenhouse?"
She nodded.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, sir," she replied. "You and Mechwarrior Hibiki were able to
extinguish the fires about nine hours ago. Since then, the crew has been
restoring power and cleaning up the atmosphere."
Ranma nodded slowly. He had been out for nine hours? He vaguely
remembered closing the 'H' Deck airlock inner door with Ryouga after
successfully depressurizing the two affected decks. From there they had
isolated the leaking 02 bank, inspected 'G' Deck to verify the fires
were out, and then repressurized the decks with inert nitrogen from
one of the surviving N2 banks. He didn't remember getting as far as
the Greenhouse.
"Where's Ryouga?"
Akari blushed at the mention of his name. "Mechwarrior Hibiki is
right here with you, sir."
Ranma craned his head over his shoulder to see Ryouga floating
unconsciously in free-fall, wrapped loosely in a silvery exposure blanket,
and tied to an intravenous drip. It was only then that he noticed that he
was also hooked up to an IV, and that his arms were gently restrained to
keep him from struggling in zero-gravity and pulling out the needle.
Doctor Tofu floated over to them then, smiling broadly in his usual
manner. Oddly, his hands were spotted with fresh blood in several places.
"Ah, Ranma," he said to him while removing the IV drip and the various
restraints. "How are you feeling?"
He took an internal inventory before responding. He had certainly
felt better. His skin was red and sore from flash burns, his throat was
dry and raw from breathing extremely hot air, and his eyes seemed overly
sensitive to light.
"Not too great," he replied.
"That's to be expected," Tofu said, nodding. "You're suffering from
extreme dehydration and heat stress, not to mention that you've got first
degree burns over most of your body."
"How about Ryouga?"
"The same. I expect he'll be waking up soon enough. I prescribed some
acupressure and a mild sedative for the two of you, in order to let you
rest in spite of the burns. I'm worried mostly about your left arm where
you were shot last February. The skin there is very new."
Ranma looked at his arm. It was about the same ruddy color as the rest
of him, and felt no better and no worse.
"I don't feel any difference," he said to the doctor.
"That's good," Tofu said with a nod. "I'd like to keep an eye on it
anyway."
"Fair enough. So what's with the blood stains?"
Tofu looked down at himself.
"Oh this," he said absently. "It's very strange. When the crew
returned to the habitat to begin repairs, they found Master Happousai
near death outside the 'E' Deck airlock." He looked gravely at Ranma.
"He had been stabbed in the back."
Ranma's eyes widened. "No way!" he breathed. "The old geezer got
stabbed?"
"I'm afraid so," Tofu declared. "The Ship's Surgeon, Doctor Mayinga,
asked me to assist with the surgery. It was touch and go for awhile, but
it looks like he'll pull through."
Ranma looked away. "Man..."
"That's a curious look from you, Ranma," Tofu noted. "I would have
expected you to be happy about what happened to him, after the incident
with Ryouga and Happousai on Capra."
Ranma remembered Ryouga's attempt to kill Happousai on the highway
outside the city, and the disappointment he and his father had shared when
Ryouga failed. His feelings in the matter would have been obvious to anyone.
Tofu had been with them at the time, and he had seen it.
"I ain't gonna lie to you, Doc," he said after a moment. "If he
kicked off today, I wouldn't miss him. It's the way he almost got it
that bugs me. No one deserves to die like that, gettin' stabbed in the
back." He narrowed his eyes at the doctor. "You don't think *I* did it,
do you?"
Tofu shook his head. "Of course not, Ranma. The man who was probably
responsible is already in custody."
"Really? Who?" Was it Pop? he wondered idly. There was no sign of his
father in the Greenhouse. Knives in the back weren't really his style, but
there was definitely no way the guy would have the nerve to face Happousai
man to man.
"That friend of Ryouga's we brought with us," Tofu supplied. "Tarou."
"He isn't my friend," Ryouga replied suddenly. Akari was by his side,
hovering over him, though he seemed to be oblivious to her. Ranma wondered
how long he had been awake. "He was my partner for awhile, but I wouldn't
call him a friend of anyone, least of all me."
"How do you know it was him?" Ranma asked Tofu.
"I believe it," Ryouga interrupted. "Tarou hates Happousai even more
than I do."
"There was a struggle after the stabbing," the doctor explained when
Ryouga was finished. He removed the IV and restraints from him as well.
"When the crew found Happousai, they also found Tarou unconscious inside
the 'E' Deck airlock. They figure Happousai must have tried spacing Tarou
after he defeated him, and passed out from blood loss before he could
finish the job."
"Lucky for Tarou," Ranma muttered. He didn't have anything against
the man, but it was hard to feel sympathy for a guy that had been a cold
fish from the moment they met. "What are they doing with him?"
"We don't have a place to put him yet, since the air below 'C' Deck
is still pretty foul," Tofu told him. "So we're keeping him in restraints
and heavily sedated until the Ship's Brig on 'D' Deck becomes habitable."
"Um, may I make a suggestion?" Ryouga said quietly.
Ranma and Doctor Tofu looked at the fanged mechwarrior, who seemed
very uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"What is it, Ryouga?"
"You should, ah, keep him away from cold water," he replied. "This is
important."
"Tarou went to the Jusenkyo Labs too," Ranma added, remembering what
Ryouga had told him. "If you know what I mean..." He caught an angry look
from Ryouga, which faded away when it became clear that he had no intention
of revealing Ryouga's curse.
Tofu looked surprised. "What an amazing coincidence," he said evenly.
"What does he turn into?"
Ryouga swallowed hard. "Something you don't ever want to see," he
explained. "Trust me, it's dangerous."
Doctor Tofu nodded slowly. "I'll be sure to let Captain Ninomiya
know that. Tarou is pretty heavily doped up at the moment, so I doubt
that it will become a problem within the next few hours."

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

BATTLETECH: THE SAOTOME GAMBIT
PART THIRTEEN

by J. Austin Wilde
Safety Control Rod Axe Man,
Fission Park Press
wild...@gci-net.com
http://www.gci-net.com/users/w/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 One

NCJS _Dragonfly_
Position Unknown, Date Unknown

"Captain Ninomiya, the ship is rigged for reduced electrical loads,
and Assistant Engineer Fulton reports that emergency power from the Ship's
Battery is ready to be restored, and that the JumpSail is ready to be
deployed."
Hinako looked up from her coloring books and nodded at her Damage
Control Assistant.
"Very well," she replied. "Have him restore emergency power." She went
back to coloring.
"Restore emergency power, aye," the DCA acknowleged.
The main lighting flicked on abruptly, wavered for a moment, then
came on strong. Displays flashed to life on the Bridge, filled mostly
with urgent alarm messages and reports. The _Dragonfly_ was coming back
to life.
"Captain, Senior Lieutenant Fulton reports that emergency power has
been restored. Estimated remaining life on the Battery, fifty-four minutes."
Hinako considered this.
The _Dragonfly's_ electrical distribution system had suffered extensive
damage, and the surviving members of the Engineering Department had been
working on cleaning up and salvaging enough components to put together a
functional Load Center since the fires had been extinguished. It was all
very jerry-rigged, but vital to their continued survival. It was also just
inert metal without a source of electrical power. At the moment they were
existing on one reduced-capacity 400Hz motor/generator turned by the nearly
depleted Ship's Battery.
The fusion plant was down, but was considered to be in adequate
condition for a restart - but that would require sufficient energy to run
the cooling system and the cryogenic plant for the magnetic bottle, and
they would also need enough power to charge the pulse capacitors for the
Z-Pinch ignition laser that would start the reaction. If they could get
that far, then the _Dragonfly_ would have all the electricity it needed,
as well as the Main Engines to position them within the star system. The
Jump Drive was another matter, unfortunately. The massive circuit breakers
that energized the system had been critically damaged by reentry into
realspace. The ship could not Jump until they were repaired.
"Will the JumpSail be able to provide enough power" she asked him.
The starship's JumpSail would be the only remaining source of electrical
power available once the Battery gave up the ghost.
The DCA nodded. "Yes, ma'am. We estimate being able to produce at
least seven hundred kilowatts, which should handle our reduced hotel load,
run the auxiliaries for the fusion plant start-up, and give us a modest
battery charge."
"Order Fulton to deploy the JumpSail," Hinako commanded. She floated
out of her seat. "Astrogation, how long until we can get a position fix?"
Her Astrogator consulted with his section. "At least four hours,
ma'am. The Computer took a bad hit coming out of Jump, and we're having
to restore parts of our database from the archives. The best I can offer
is that we've materialized in a system with a 'G' type main sequence star,
which gives us a good chance of arriving in a system with a habitable
planet."
She frowned. "But we aren't in the Capella System."
The Astrogator shook his head. "No, ma'am. The star's spectral
composition does not match Capella. Nor is there any indication of the
system's battlestations. We misjumped, but for now we don't know where or
even *when* we are."
"Do we have any ideas?"
"Well... From the star sightings I was able to take from the Ship's
Observatory, I'd say we aren't even in the Confederation." He looked away
for a moment in unease. "We *really* missed the mark, ma'am. I hazard the
opinion that we have Jumped much farther than the normal ten-parsec limit."
"I see," she replied. Her bottom lip protruded in a pout. "Well,
keep working on it, I guess."
"Yes, ma'am."
Hinako returned to her coloring books.

* * *

"Hey, Ryouga," Ranma said to the mercenary mechwarrior. "How're you
feeling?"
Ryouga looked up from the squeeze bulb of fruit punch he was sipping.
They had been recovering for some time in the comfortable free-fall of the
Greenhouse. Most of the crew had returned to their duties of repairing and
restoring the starship, leaving the two with the rest of the less seriously
wounded until Sick Bay could be made ready to accept them.
"I'm fine, Ranma."
Ranma threw back his head. "Me, I'm bored. Wanna spar?"
"Don't even think about it, Saotome," Doctor Tofu said suddenly from
behind him. "I want you and Ryouga to take it easy for a few days."
"Aw, Doc..."
"I mean it," the doctor said firmly. "Now I'm going to check on some
of the others. You two behave."
They watched Tofu go before turning back to each other.
"So, Ryouga. What are your plans for when we finally get somewhere?"
Ryouga thought about this.
"I'm not sure really," he said. "When I was on Capra, all I wanted was
to leave. Now that I'm gone from there..."
"You should stay with us," Ranma told him.
Ryouga looked at him like he was on fire. "YOU want ME to stay on with
this group?"
"What's the big deal, Ryouga?"
"That's what I want to know. Aren't we supposed to be enemies?"
Ranma snorted. "Oh man, don't start that again. The only reason why
we might be enemies is because you want it that way. I'm telling you, man,
you need to relax a little, and stop sweating the small stuff."
"Junior High was not small stuff!" Ryouga protested. "I was the
laughingstock of the Hsien Academy! You ruined my life!"
"Easy, Ryouga. Take it easy. You're blowing this way out of proportion.
All I'm saying here is that you should just let bygones be bygones, and
stay on with us. We could sure use you in a fight."
Ryouga raised an eyebrow. "Aha. You reveal your true intentions, Ranma.
You just want me to stay because of my BattleMaster. If it was someone else
with one, you'd want them to stay too."
"Oh man, it ain't like that, Ryouga," Ranma insisted. "Sure, it's
great to have a BattleMaster around, and yeah, it's true that Happousai
and his Locust ain't going anywhere for awhile, but I wasn't trying to be
like that."
"Then what were you trying to say?"
Ranma blew out his breath in exasperation. "For Pete's sake, Ryouga,
can't you accept for once that I'm trying to be nice?"
"Not really," Ryouga replied. "The memories of Junior High are still
pretty strong for me."
"Fine," Ranma grunted to him. "You wanna talk Junior High, then let's
talk. Who walked you back to your room all those times so you wouldn't get
lost?"
Ryouga blushed.
"Uh-huh," Ranma continued. "That's what I thought."
"Then you left," Ryouga finished for him.
"That wasn't my fault. Pop thought I wasn't getting a challenge there,
so he pulled me from school and we took a job off-planet. I had no choice."
"So you say."
"Whatever," Ranma said, throwing his hands up. "If you don't want to
stay with us, then just say so. It ain't no big deal to me."
"I didn't say I didn't want to stay," Ryouga said after a bit. "I just
asked why you wanted me."
"I'm not going there again. Are you with us or not?"
Ryouga looked outside the clear dome of the Greenhouse to the stars
beyond. "How could I leave Akane to the likes of you?" he asked Ranma,
though he continued to scan the heavens.
"You wanna run that by me again?" Ranma said in an acid tone.
Ryouga turned back to face him. "You don't deserve her, you know."
Ranma scowled. "Oh yeah? Who says?"
"It's obvious by the way you treat her," the fanged mechwarrior
replied. "Akane deserves a man who will love and respect her. One who
doesn't insult her, or treat her like she's incompetent."
"And I suppose you know just the man for the job."
Ryouga smiled dreamily. "Indeed I do."
"Give it up, ham-hock," Ranma growled. "She may be a macho, uncute
battleaxe, but she's spoken for. Got it?"
Ryouga shot him a dirty look. "How did she end up with an arrogant
jerk like you anyway?"
Ranma rolled his eyes at the thought.
"Her dad and mine made this stupid deal before we were even born," he
explained to Ryouga. "They said they wanted to unite our two families, but
it's all a bunch of crap. They just want Akane and I to take over for them
so they can retire and live easy."
Ryouga thought this over. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. They
actually want *you* to be the next Grand Duke of the Confederation?"
"Pretty weird, ain't it?" Ranma asked him with a grin. "I ain't too
keen on it myself."
"So don't marry her," Ryouga suggested.
"Who says I'm gonna?" Ranma shot back. "Besides, if we can't find
Ryuugenzawa, there ain't gonna be a Confederation for much longer."
Ryouga's eyes lit up. "Ryuugenzawa?"
"Yeah. I thought Akane told you what we were doing on Capra?"
"It didn't come up," Ryouga replied. "You really think you know where
it is?"
The pig-tailed mechwarrior's expression darkened.
"Pop does. Me, I think it might have existed at one time, but it got
looted just like all the other Star League outposts."
"But what if you're wrong?" Ryouga asked hopefully.
Ranma shrugged.
"Then I guess we can win the war against the Combine. We'll have
all the old technology again, and our 'mechs will be better than theirs.
Personally, I ain't holding my breath for it."
"I suppose it is a stretch," Ryouga conceded. "But something like that
is too important to let go. Don't you realize, Ranma, that Ryuugenzawa could
hold the secrets to our cure?"
"What?"
"You heard me, Ranma," Ryouga said to him quietly. "All the legends
say that Ryuugenzawa was the primary Star League Defense Force proving
grounds for advanced technology. If any place would have the know-how to
cure us, that would be the one."
Ranma looked down at his hands. It was getting harder and harder to
maintain his cynicism regarding Ryuugenzawa. What if Ryouga was right?
What if Ryuugenzawa really existed? Could he say good-bye to his girl half
forever?
"You're thinking about it, aren't you, Ranma," Ryouga observed.
"Maybe." His eyes lifted to regard Ryouga once again. "Man, I'm bored.
Let's go see if we can find something to do."

Chapter Two

"Captain Ninomiya?"
Hinako looked up from her attempt at zero-gravity finger painting.
Her face was smeared with bright blobs of color, much to her Astrogator's
dismay.
"What is it?"
"We've got a solid fix on our location," he declared.
"You do?" she cried. "That's wonderful!" She sprang from her chair
and floated over to give him a congratulatory hug, which left him equally
smeared with paint.
"So where are we?" she asked him.
He wiped at the paint with a handkerchief, remembering by Ranma
Saotome's recent example to keep his temper around the Captain. "The
Palatine System," he announced. "We've somehow Jumped over sixty parsecs
to land in the middle of the Federated Shiratori. Currently, we are in an
elliptical solar orbit that will take us within three light seconds of the
primary - in about twenty-five months."
"You're sure?" she asked him.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied confidently. "In addition to the star-sighting
data, we have spectral-type confirmation for the Palatine primary. We have
also intercepted radio and microwave emissions from the third planet in the
system, both military and civilian, that marks the world as Tiber."
"I see," Hinako said sagely. "If I'm not mistaken, the Confederation
maintains a Consulate office on Tiber."
"Yes, ma'am. They coordinate our trade agreements with the Embassy
on Genevieve. According to our atlas database, Tiber also has a moderately
sized orbital drydock that regularly services civilian shipping."
Hinako snapped her fingers. "We're going to be okay," she declared.
She turned to her Communications Officer. "Order the Captain of the
_Palomino_ to prepare for departure within the next twenty-four hours."
"Aye aye, ma'am."

* * *

"So why are we bringing the wounded with us?" Ranma asked as he and
his father went over Hinako's plan. It had not taken long for him to run
afoul of the elder Saotome. "Not that I have anything against those guys.
Well, Happousai maybe..."
"Isn't it obvious, boy?" Genma countered. "In addition to taking
some of the load off the ship's damaged life support systems, they can
get better treatment at a hospital. All we have to do is make contact
with the Consulate, and they'll arrange for them to be admitted with no
questions asked. Meanwhile, we set up the deal to get the ship put into
drydock, and to purchase the repair parts we'll need to Jump out of here.
The Consulate should even be able to help us with funding and getting us
crew replacements."
Ranma nodded slowly. It made a lot of sense.
"I guess so." He looked away. "So what do you think about the old
freak getting stabbed?"
Genma frowned. "It's terrible," he grunted.
"It ain't that bad," Ranma countered. "The Doc says that he'll pull
through."
"That's what's so terrible about it," his father returned. He looked
to the overhead as if pleading to the gods. "Is it too much to ask to be
rid of him forever?"
"I guess so," Ranma replied when the gods did not.
"Still," Genma mused. "I suppose we can enjoy the peace and quiet his
convalescent period will provide."
"We're gonna be waiting on Tiber for awhile once we're there," Ranma
noted. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
Genma rolled his eyes.
"What else?" he asked sardonically. "We're going to train. I can tell
that you're already going soft on me."
"That's a laugh," Ranma snorted. "You're welcome to try me anytime,
Pop."
"Don't push your luck, boy. You're not that good yet."
Akane floated into the room as Ranma opened his mouth to respond.
Her face and hands were streaked with soot and grease from her task of
the last six hours - cleaning and replacing the filter plates for the
portable electrostatic precipitators they were using to clean up the
atmosphere after the fires.
"I heard the _Palomino_ was getting ready to leave for the planet,"
she began. "Are we going too?"
Genma nodded. "Everyone not essential to the ship's function and
repair is going, including the wounded."
"How about Tarou?" Ranma asked him.
"Tarou will be going as well. Captain Ninomiya wants him turned over
to the Consulate so he can be shipped back to the Confederation to stand
trial."
"I thought she could try him as the Captain of the ship?" Ranma asked.
Genma shrugged. "I guess she doesn't want to be bothered with it while
the repairs are going on."
"I suppose you're right," Ranma mused. "It would have been easier if
he had managed to kill Happousai instead of just wounding him. After she
found him guilty, all they'd have to do is space him."
"True," Genma agreed. "There is no death penalty for *attempted*
murder." Tears of frustration streamed down his face. "Oh why couldn't
that Tarou fellow have succeeded!?"
"Listen to you two," Akane scolded. "I don't believe I'm hearing this.
Happousai may not be the easiest person to tolerate, but you're actually
wishing that he was dead - just so you can see Ryouga's friend get executed
for it?"
Ranma and Genma looked at each other for a moment, then to her.
"More or less," they replied in unison.
Akane shook her head in disgust. "I'm sorry I asked." She started for
the airtight door.
"Hey, Akane?" Ranma asked.
"What is it, Ranma?" she returned.
He started after her. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked as they passed
through the door and into the passageway. "You don't look so good."
Her expression softened.
"I'm tired, Ranma. Tired and worried."
"I understand the tired part," he said to her. "But worried? We're
okay, the ship is fixable, and we're within two days of a nice terran
planet. What's to be worried about?"
"I'm worried about P-chan."
"P-chan?" It took Ranma a moment to remember that Ryouga was also
her pet pig.
"With the fire and all..." she explained. "I haven't seen him since
before we Jumped, and I'm really worried that he suffocated in all the
smoke."
Ranma considered revealing Ryouga's secret, but decided that would
not help steady Akane's current emotional roller coaster.
"He's fine," he told her.
"How do you know that?" she asked hopelessly.
They bumped into Ryouga at an intersection. He smiled for Akane, and
gave Ranma an indifferent look.
"I know P-chan is okay," Ranma began, looking right at Ryouga. Had he
really been serious about asking him to stay? He kicked himself mentally for
forgetting so quickly that there was a very good reason for sending Ryouga
on his merry way. "I know because I saw him not too long ago."
"Really?" Akane cried, almost in tears with relief.
"Yeah," Ranma returned. Ryouga was busy sweating fearfully. "Right,
Ryouga?"
Ryouga turned red. He knew Ranma was trying to get his goat, but
Akane's worry for her pet pig was so great that he couldn't bear to
disappoint her.
"Um, yeah," he managed. "Don't worry, Akane. P-chan is fine."
"In fact," Ranma chortled. "He's probably closer than you think."
"Really?" Akane asked. "You're not just saying that to cheer me up?"
"Go on and tell her, Ryouga," Ranma said to him.
Ryouga shot him a death look. It was put up or shut up time, he
realized. The trouble was that he couldn't bring himself to tell her. Not
like this!
"It's true," he said defeatedly. He was commited to being P-chan
now, but if it meant that Akane would be happy... "I-- I saw him on the
_Palomino_ not too long ago, when I was moving supplies over for the
transit to Tiber."
"Yeah, he's got the worst sense of direction," Ranma said with a
triumphant laugh. "You'd almost think he was Ryouga or something..."
Ryouga's death look intensified, but was missed entirely by Akane,
who smiled warmly at both of them.
"I'm really glad to hear that he's all right," she said. "I miss him
already."
She floated down the passageway for the elevator to the Docking
Compartment, leaving the two mechwarriors in strained silence.
"What's the big idea, Ranma?" Ryouga hissed when she was out of
earshot. His fists were clenched into tight balls of bone and sinew.
"You tell me, bacon-butt," he retorted. "What's up with sleeping in
her bed?"
"It just happened," he said to Ranma. "I didn't plan it or anything."
"Uh-huh, sure. I see you didn't knock yourself out trying to get away."
Ryouga smirked. He still had something over Ranma. "What's the matter?"
he asked. "Are you jealous because it wasn't you?"
Ranma flinched at his words. "I ain't jealous of nobody, got it?"
"Heh," the fanged mechwarrior retorted. "At least I can be honest with
my feelings for her. It's more than I can say for you."
"Don't make me laugh, pork-boy. If you're so damn honest, why ain't ya
coming clean with her about P-chan?"
"Shut up!" Ryouga snarled. "The situation just got too complicated, too
fast."
"It's more like you chickened out. I can only imagine how pissed she'll
be at you when she finally finds out."
Ryouga grabbed him by the shirt front.
"She won't find out," he menaced.
Ranma narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh yeah? Says who?"
Ryouga cocked back a fist. "I'm warning you, Ranma. Not a word."
"Ooooo, I'm *so* scared. Gimme a break, Ryouga. I enjoy watching you
squirm over it. You think I'm going to give that up?"
Ryouga's sneer intensified even as his grip on Ranma's shirt relaxed.
"Don't push your luck, Ranma," he told him. "Sooner or later she'll
realize what a creep you are, and then she'll see me in a whole new light."
A blood vessel popped out on Ranma's forehead at the mention of the
word 'creep.' Yuka and Sayuri were still giving him the cold shoulder over
Akane, and he hadn't done anything wrong to her in *hours!*
"She'll see you in a whole new light, all right," he growled. "That
is, as the *other* white meat..."

* * *

"So," Doctor Tofu asked as a battered and bruised Ranma Saotome
floated into Sick Bay with an unconscious Ryouga in tow. "This is what
happens when I tell you two to take it easy for the next few days?"
"He threw the first punch," Ranma groused, rubbing his sore jaw.
Tofu shook his head. "Maybe I should sedate you like your friend
Tarou?"
Ranma put out his hands. "No thanks."
Ryouga shook himself awake. "Where am I?"
"That's the story of your life, ain't it," Ranma observed.
Ryouga wiped away a smear of blood from his nose, and started coming
for him. "You got lucky, Ranma. If that pipe hadn't been in the way, I
would have..."
"Not in Sick Bay!" Tofu shouted, losing his cool for the first time
that Ranma could remember. "If you can't follow my orders to behave, then
go beat the tar out of each other somewhere else. - But don't think for a
minute that I'll have any sympathy for you when you come staggering back
to Sick Bay for help." His eyes narrowed to slits of cold fire behind his
glasses. "In fact I have a few special chiropractic techniques that will
make your healing process as miserable as possible... Do you boys
understand me?"
Ranma and Ryouga nodded meekly.
"Good," Tofu said to them. "Now cool off and go clean yourselves up.
I don't want to look at you for at least fifteen minutes."
The two gave each other sheepish looks and floated back out the door.
"Man," Ranma groused in a hushed voice to Ryouga. "What's eating the
Doc?"
"I dunno," he replied. "But I don't want to find out."

Tofu watched them go and sighed wearily. He had been awake and treating
the wounded for longer than he could remember, and his vigil would continue
on the trip down to Tiber. His only comfort was that Happousai was judged by
Doctor Mayinga to be too weak for transit, and would remain on board under
constant observation - probably until the _Dragonfly_ was put into drydock,
and the trip down to the surface was not as demanding.
The stress of the mission was getting to be more than he could bear,
and a large part of it was the separation from Kasumi. How he longed to see
her shining face once more, and to hear her soft sweet voice! Why had he
been such a fool around her all these years?
He should have told her how he felt before the _Palomino_ lifted from
the castle, but his nerve had failed him once again. She must have thought
he was some kind of spastic dork for all of his carrying on. The attack on
Capra, and their recent misjump, had brought home to him how dangerous this
mission was. There was a good chance that he would never see her again, and
the only way she would ever remember him was as the kind-hearted but goofy
family doctor.
He couldn't take that. Not when he felt so much more for her. Didn't
they both deserve a little happiness together?
Tofu reached into his desk and withdrew a small stereograph of Kasumi.
It had been taken at a spring festival on Nerima not long before the arrival
of the Saotomes. Somehow, he had managed to ask her to come along with him
to the festivities without botching it too badly, and she had agreed. He
did not know if it was out of a desire for friendly companionship, sympathy
for his clumsy request, or something more - and he didn't care. That day
had been one of the happiest of his life.
"Doctor Tofu?"
He looked up to see Akane floating in free-fall in the doorway.
"What is it?" he asked her nervously. The stereograph of Kasumi
slipped out of his grasp to float gently with the air currents in the
compartment.
"May I come in?" she asked him.
"Of course," he replied, snatching at empty air in a vain attempt to
recover the precious stereograph.
Akane drifted silently over to the flat piece of holographic plastic
and caught it between her fingers. She looked at the small 3D image of her
sister for a moment, then sighed deeply.
"You really do love her, don't you, Doctor Tofu," she said quietly.
His face blazed with embarrassment.
"I-- I do," he managed solemnly.
She pursed her lips in reflection. "I guess I've always known that."
She pulled herself into a chair across from him, her face taut with emotion.
"I may have tried to deny it sometimes, but I guess I could never put it
out of my mind."
"What do you mean, Akane?" he asked her softly.
She looked up at him, her eyes wet. "Don't you see?" she asked in
return. "For the longest time I've... Well..."
Tofu gave her a look of puzzlement.
"What is it, Akane?"
She took a deep breath.
"I've been in love with you, Doctor Tofu."
Tofu blinked in amazement.
"Akane..." he said softly. "Is this true? I never--"
"--I know," she broke in. "You never knew. That's been my problem
the whole time. I've felt this way since I was fifteen, and probably
before then, too."
He looked away for a moment. "What about Ranma?"
"I don't know," she sniffed. "I just don't know." Her eyes closed.
"I didn't come in here to tell you this; I was just going to ask if you
needed anything out of Stores for the trip, but when I saw you looking
at that picture of Kasumi I felt like my heart was going to break."
"I'm sorry, Akane," he said to her awkwardly. He took his hands in
hers and held them tight. "I didn't realize that you felt this way."
"It's all right," she said flatly. "This has been coming for a long
time. I guess it's better that it finally happened. I was a fool to keep
deluding myself into thinking that there was ever any hope for something
between us, because I know that you love Kasumi."
They both fell silent for some time, each looking down at the neat
surface of the desk. The soft sigh of the ventilation fans mingled with
the sound of Akane's sniffling, and the sounds of airtight doors opening
and closing beyond the compartment.
"We're a lot alike, I think," Tofu offered, at last breaking the
silence between them. "Both of us pining for someone who doesn't have the
slightest idea of how we feel about them."
"Yeah," she replied. "I guess so." She handed him the stereograph of
Kasumi. "If you don't tell her how you feel when we get home, then *I*
will."
"Akane!" Tofu cried, aghast.
"I can't let you waste your chance at love like this," she returned.
"There aren't any guarantees that Kasumi will wait for you to get up your
courage and tell her."
Tofu looked down at his hands. "No, I suppose not."
"Then you'll tell her how you feel?"
"I was thinking about doing just that - before you walked in," he
replied. "I *will* tell her. Even if she doesn't feel the same for me, I
*have* to tell her."
"I'm happy for you, Doctor Tofu," Akane said in a trembling voice.
"I really am, and I wish you the best of luck with Kasumi."
Tofu squeezed her hands. "Are you going to be all right?"
She nodded. "I think so."
He rose up from his desk, drawing her up with him into a comforting
embrace. She cried softly in his arms, as she had done once before, seeking
solace in his embrace, and knowing that all they would ever share was
friendship. For the first time she could bring herself to accept that fact
unconditionally, and with no more regrets. She was finally over her crush
on Doctor Tofu.

"Okay, Doc, we're all cleaned up and we--urk..."

Tofu and Akane parted awkwardly from their embrace to see Ranma and
Ryouga floating in the doorway, their faces and bodies frozen in shock at
seeing the two of them in each others' arms.
Ranma, his face pale and drawn, turned slowly away from them.
"Sorry," he said flatly, and pushed himself forcefully out the door.
Ryouga remained where he was, poised to weep, and yet not daring to do so
in front of her.
"Ranma, wait!" Akane cried after him. "Ryouga, this isn't what it
looks like. Why can't that jerk understand?"
Ryouga nodded slowly. "That's all right, Akane. It's none of my
business. I'll be going now."
He slipped out the door and floated miserably away.
Akane turned back to Tofu, who shrugged sheepishly.
"Thank you, Doctor Tofu," she said in a subdued voice. "I'm sorry I
didn't tell you this sooner. Just remember not to make the same mistake I
did, okay?"
Tofu nodded, and let her go.

"Ranma, wait!" Akane cried after him. She had only just caught sight
of his pig-tail darting around a corner on 'C' Deck. Ranma did not respond.
Honestly, she thought angrily. He's such a coward sometimes!
When she reached the corner, he had already commandeered the elevator
for who knew which deck. Out of spite she punched the bulkhead - regretting
it immediately.
"Stupid jerk," she said between her teeth. Her hand ached from the
blow, and she considered returning to Sick Bay where Doctor Tofu could
look at it. After a moment's pause, she decided against it. Now was not
the time to come back to him in tears. He had his own problems.
She decided instead to visit the Crew's Mess and get some ice for her
hand. 'D' Deck was spinning again, meaning that a semblance of gravity had
been restored on the ship, and that the deck was habitable. A nice cool
drink probably couldn't hurt, either.
She touched the 'call' button on the elevator panel with her good hand,
and waited for the car to appear on her deck. The doors slid open to reveal
an empty car. That was fine by her, she didn't feel like explaining how
she had hurt herself. She gripped the handrail tightly and selected 'D'
Deck.
A loose congregation of idle crew sat in the Crew's Mess. Most were
enjoying a little break from the long hours spent restoring the ship's
functions, a few were preparing to come on watch. There were no regular
meals yet; everyone was living off the contents of several large boxes of
survival rations until the _Dragonfly_ had enough reserve power to start
up non-essential electrical loads like the galley equipment.
Fortunately for her, the Ship's Surgeon had prevailed upon Captain
Ninomiya the idea that the ice-maker was a vital load for burn victims
whose injuries weren't critical. She opened the hinged door of the machine
and scooped up a large pile of ice cubes into a ziploc bag. The ice was
soothing to her injured hand, and she sat next to the machine for several
minutes enjoying both faux-gravity and the relief from pain.
In spite of herself, she thought about Ranma. The jerk was obviously
upset at seeing her hugging Doctor Tofu. Or was it just embarrassment for
walking in on what would logically be assumed to be an intimate moment by
an outsider? The more she thought about it, the less clear Ranma's reaction
became to her.
It was starting to give her a headache, although the below-normal
oxygen and above-normal carbon dioxide levels could have been responsible
as well. The tiny particles of greasy soot that clung tenaciously to the
air in spite of the round-the-clock action by the precipitators probably
weren't helping matters. There were a few pre-packaged acetominophen
dispensers located at the end of the compartment near the galley, and
she rose reluctantly to self-medicate.
P-chan sat despondently before the closed door to the galley, oinking
mournfully for some reason that Akane could not fathom, and did not care
about. All she knew in that moment was that her beloved pet was alive and
well, and right before her eyes.
"P-chan! How did you get here?"
The pig looked up at her sadly.
She scooped him up into her arms, and hugged him close to her body.
"Oh, P-chan, I was so worried about you! Where have you been?"
The pig made a few weak grunts, and nuzzled against her in reply.
"I missed you too, P-chan," she whispered to him. "When Ranma said
that he had seen you, I didn't know whether or not to believe him. If
Ryouga hadn't said something, I probably wouldn't have. I know Ryouga
would never try to mislead me."
P-chan oinked sadly at this.
Akane felt much better having P-chan with her, so much so that she
forgot all about her injured hand. She walked off the Crew's Mess to her
quarters, a small single-occupancy room on the far end of the ring-like
Grav-Deck. If not for the 'D' Deck Hub that ran through the middle of
the slowly spinning level, she could have looked directly overhead and
seen the door to her room from outside the Mess Decks.
Her room was as she had left it before the Jump. There was a little
smoke damage, leaving the place smelling sooty, but all in all it could
have been much worse. She pulled the chair out from the fold-down desk
and sat down with P-chan in her lap.
"It feels good to be sitting down," she said to the pig. "I've been
on the go ever since the Jump." She looked down at her dirty clothes and
sighed. "What I really need is a shower and a nap. You won't mind if I set
you down for awhile so I can get cleaned up, would you?"
P-chan oinked in reply.
"Okay," she said lightly. "I didn't think you'd mind." She set him
down on the bed and began tugging at her top. P-chan started to blush, and
then turned away to face the opposite bulkhead.
"I've never seen a pig act so modestly before," she chuckled as she
unhooked her bra and tossed it to the floor. Her shorts and panties went
next, unnerving the pig as the lacy underwear was flung absently onto the
bed.
"Thank the gods for JumpShips," she sighed. "My own shower..."
Individual showers were the standard for single-occupancy rooms
aboard the Invader Class starships, and for once Akane had no complaints
about her noble heritage. Most of the ship's complement had to make do
with communal showers, which, although bigger and more numerous than on a
Leopard Class DropShip, were still communal showers. Though her bathroom
was every bit as cramped as the one on the _Palomino,_ it was still hers
and hers alone.
She opened the door to the bathroom and started the water running.
Though the hot water heaters had not been reenergized yet, there was still
a good reserve remaining in the large heated tanks on 'D' Deck to supply
her with all she needed. She stepped into the warm pulsating streams of
water and sighed contentedly. It was good to be the daughter of the Grand
Duke...
After a long healthy soak under the showerhead, she stepped out and
toweled herself off. She paused for a moment by the mirror, which was
fogged up by steam. A few brushes with her hand against the glass cleared
a patch in the center of the mirror, and she looked at herself for a
moment.
She wondered how others saw her. The short hair was still something
she was getting used to, but all in all she felt it was a good look for
her. Her eyes were a little red and puffy, but she was willing to chalk
that up to the lack of sleep and the dirty air. Her figure might need a
little work, she thought grimly. She wasn't showing any flab now, but you
never knew when it was going to sneak up on you. She would have to work
out later, but first, she needed a nice long nap.
Her body-image inventory complete, she stepped out of the bathroom.
P-chan remained facing away from her, looking for all intents as if he had
never moved a centimeter since she started taking off her clothes. She
suppressed a chuckle at this, and pulled a pair of pajamas out of the
drawer beneath her bed. P-chan peeked over his shoulder at the sound of
the drawer being pulled open, and got more than an eyeful.
Twin streams of blood fountained from his snout as he keeled over into
merciful unconsciousness.
"P-chan!" she cried, pressing her pajamas to her bosom with one
hand while scooping him up with the other. His head rolled around on his
shoulders for a moment or two before he regained consciousness with a weak
grunt. She looked at him for several moments, his face blazing red with
heat, before deciding that he was okay.
"Don't scare me like that, P-chan. Honestly."
She set him back down on the bed, and he turned away so that she could
get dressed in her pajamas. Once she was suitably attired, she pulled back
the blanket and the sheets and slipped into her small but cozy bed. P-chan
whimpered for a few moments until she snuggled him close to her under the
covers. After that, there came only contented grunts.
"It's been a pretty rough day," Akane yawned as she turned out the
lights. "I've survived a dangerous hyperspace Jump, a disastrous fire,
and confessed my unrequited love for Doctor Tofu." This last declaration
made the pig tense in her embrace.
"I'm glad I told him," she continued. "It was stupid to go on hoping
that someday he would look at me as more than just Kasumi's little sister.
I can finally get on with my life."
She gave the pig a squeeze - which elicited a happy sigh from him.
"And I'm glad you're okay, P-chan," she went on. "I feel that no
matter what, as long as I've got you, I have someone I can talk to. I can
tell you all those things that I'm afraid to tell other people, because
you're just a cute little pig, and you can't pass on everything I say."
The pig sighed again, this time sadly.
"Ranma..." she said, oblivious to Ryouga's distress. "Should I tell
him that I like him? Or would that just make him even harder to deal with?"
P-chan grunted in what seemed to be the firm negative.
"I just don't know what to do about him," she confessed. "One minute
he's the bravest, coolest, most selfless guy I've ever met, and the next
minute he's nineteen years old going on nine."
She gave P-chan a squeeze and yawned loudly. Sleep wasn't far away,
and her emotional guard began to wane.
"Don't tell him I said this," she murmured drowsily to her pet pig.
"But even though he's a total jerk sometimes, I think I really do like him.
I don't know if I love him, but..."
A tear trickled down Ryouga's porcine face as Akane drifted off to
sleep.

Chapter Three

Azure Cloud Castle
Planet Nerima, Capella System
The Nerima Confederation
3 April 3025

"Would you care for some more tea, Mrs. Saotome?"
Nodoka Saotome inclined her head in the affirmative.
"Yes, your Grace. Thank you."
Soun grinned as a steward refilled her teacup. "Please, Mrs. Saotome,
call me Soun. We've known each other for a long time, and certainly before
I was the Grand Duke."
Nodoka nodded. "As you wish."
With the matter of formality between them settled, Soun took a slow
drag on his cigarette. "Have you enjoyed your stay?"
She smiled. "I have. I'll admit that I was surprised to receive word
from you inviting me to Nerima, and even more so at your news of my husband
and son. I've never been away from Sian before now, but to see Ranma again,
I would travel to the far side of the Furinkan Combine!"
Soun laughed a little nervously at this. There was still no word from
his friend, and with the Furinkan Combine occupying both Jump Points, it
was unlikely that they could return to the system safely. The ship bearing
Nodoka to the Capella System had only just arrived ahead of the Combine,
and now she was as much a prisoner of Kuno's blockade as the rest of the
system.
"Of course," he replied. "So it's been awhile since you've seen the
boy, has it?"
"Seventeen years," she replied tonelessly. There was a great sadness
in her voice, which she tried her best to conceal.
Soun lifted his slack jaw from his chest. "...I see..." He cleared
his throat uncomfortably. "Well, I suppose training in the art can make
you lose track of time..."
"Yes," she replied wistfully. "I suppose it can. I am comforted at
least in the knowledge that my dear Ranma has certainly become a man among
men by now." She seemed to glow for a moment. "What you've told me of the
mission Ranma and my husband have taken up for the Confederation fills me
with pride. I've always known that my men were selfless and brave."
"We owe them a great deal for their courage," Soun agreed.
Nodoka sipped daintily at her tea. "You must be very proud of Akane."
Soun's face fell slightly. Not only was his old friend missing in
action, but his youngest daughter as well.
"I couldn't be more pleased with her," he replied haltingly. "I know
that she will make a fine Grand Duchess."
Nodoka blushed. "Ah, my dear little boy is getting married," she said
in a near whisper. "They grow up so fast." She looked across the salon at
the photographs of Soun's family. His three daughters looked so lovely, and
there, on the far right, was a sterograph of Ranma and Akane together.
She rose, and Soun followed her with his eyes over to the portraits.
Nodoka studied the stereograph of Ranma and Akane, taken at the surrender
summit following Soun's announcement of their betrothal. Their nervous
expressions did not dampen her appreciation for how beautiful they looked
together. The three-dimensional photograph seemed to leap out at her as
she looked at it, making her wish she could reach out and touch her son
and future daughter-in-law, and take them into a warm embrace.
"He is such a handsome man," she declared, her voice filled with
emotion.
"If I may say so, he has inherited his mother's grace and beauty,"
Soun added.
Nodoka blushed. "You flatter me, sir," she said to him. "I can see
that there is a bit of his father in him too," she continued. "The way he
carries himself in this stereograph. Why, he looks just as confused and
overwhelmed as Genma did when we were first engaged." She chuckled softly
and just a little sadly at the nostalgia she felt in that moment.
She looked at the other photos and stereographs on the wall. "Permit
me to compliment you on your fine daughters."
"By all means," Soun returned proudly.
"Kasumi has certainly grown up tall and lovely," she declared. "I
remember the birth announcement you sent to us on Sian. Genma and I had
hardly been married a month when it arrived. It made me want a daughter
so much. Genma, of course, had other ideas, and I suppose with Ranma he
got his wish."
Soun nodded silently. While he welcomed Nodoka's presence in the
castle, it was a reminder of how their two families had drifted apart
since his coronation. His regret for keeping out of touch for so long
had been subordinated by the problems of his country, and now when matters
looked nearly hopeless for the Confederation, he had been given a chance
to restore what had been a cherished friendship with the Saotomes.
"This must be Nabiki," Nodoka observed, looking at a picture of the
mahogany-haired middle daughter. "She has quite a lot of mischief shining
in those pretty eyes."
You don't know the half of it, Soun thought to himself.
"Nabiki has always been a handful," he agreed.
"Oh?" Nodoka asked. "I would think Akane would be the most trouble.
She strikes me as a very spirited young lady."
"Akane and Nabiki can be difficult," he admitted. "In their own
particular ways." He shrugged. "But what can I say? I love them both."
"Of course!"
Nodoka found another photograph of Akane, taken as a girl of sixteen.
She wore a short floral print dress that flowed in the breeze with her long
fall of blue-black hair. She was on a stretch of pristine white beach sand,
standing before the deep blue water of the sea.
"This photograph reminds me very much of your wife," she said softly.
"Akane has come to resemble her a great deal."
Soun tried not to choke up. "Yes, she has," he managed against the
lump that formed in his throat.
Nodoka understood his sudden reserve. "Forgive me, Soun. I should not
have mentioned..."
"No, no," he interrupted with a wave of his hand. "There's no need
to feel that you've done anything wrong. It's difficult sometimes for me
to accept that she is gone, but I can't change the past no matter how
hard I might wish."
"Let us talk of happier things then," Nodoka offered. "Like the return
of our loved ones, and the salvation of the Confederation. I believe very
strongly that our hour of triumph will come."
Soun tried to smile. "By all means," he replied. "We have managed to
marshal most of our resources in this system for Prince Kuno's siege. It
will be a hard fight, but our morale is high."
"You see," Nodoka pointed out. "We have nothing to fear."
Soun nodded slowly. "Of course not."

* * *

Kasumi Tendo, eldest daughter of the Grand Duke, and the woman many
in the Confederation felt should have been the Heir, dusted off her old
neurohelmet. She frowned at its untidiness, a reflection of how much time
she had spent with matters of state. Now, with the Furinkan Combine howling
at the door, her duty lay in matters of war.
Her battlemech stood tall, foreboding, and silent in the family's
armory. It had stood there for years, unused. The grinning death's head
visage of her mighty Atlas, the largest, most fearsome battlemech in all
of the Inner Sphere, had always made her feel as if the giant war machine
was privy to a wonderful joke.
There would be little time for levity in the near future, she mused.
Her army was about to deploy for Capella's second planet, a steamy hellhole
of vulcanism and toxic atmosphere whose only moon served as the last bastion
of defense between Nerima Orbit and the Jump Points. Fortifications on the
moon awaited reinforcements, and the mines on Shounetsu Jigoku were vital
to the system's industry for the battlemech-critical raw materials they
produced.
Judging by Prince Kuno's caution since his arrival in the system, he
would be loathe to ignore Shounetsu Jigoku and put its troops and ships at
his rear where they could ambush his armies, and interdict his supplies and
reinforcements from the jump points. He would have to attack there, and
either capture or destroy the fortifications. The valuable mines would
fall easily after that, and his way to Nerima would be clear.
The mantle of Captain of the Household Guard had fallen upon her in
Akane's absence. Though morale was high among the troops, it was her duty
as a Tendo to lead them in battle. She had not been in combat for four
years.
Violence had never sat well with her, and she looked to the coming
battles with all the anticipation of performing a vital, if distasteful,
chore. She placed a hand on the cold, hard armor plate of the Atlas' foot,
and steeled herself for what lay ahead. She wished that there was someone
she could talk to, to confide in, before she boarded the DropShip for the
front. Her father was trying to cope in his own way with the crisis, Akane
and Doctor Tofu were gone to who knew where, and Nabiki...
Nabiki was plotting something dreadful. She had no proof of this, as
her sister was taking pains to conceal her activities, but she had no doubt
of it. Though it shamed her to admit it, she wished Father had not recalled
Nabiki from her sabbatical when the Combine renewed its offensive. Her
sister was sick, whether from greed and ambition, or something more
physiological, she did not know. She only knew that Nabiki needed more
help than she could give, and that her sister would not accept it if it
were offered.
Now she was leaving the planet, and leaving Nabiki unchecked in her
plots. A part of her wisely wanted to remain on Nerima to keep an eye on
her. Who knew what Nabiki was capable of?
She had her duty, she reminded herself. She had to fight to protect
her family and her people. Though she would make every effort to spare
life in battle, she knew that in such hostile environments as the vacuum
of space and the toxic, corrosive atmosphere of Capella II, that some of
her enemies would not survive. It was as much as she could do to preserve
her principles, and in the meantime, she would pray that Nabiki would stay
her hand.

Chapter Four

Army Group 'B' Headquarters, the Hotel Lyonne
Planet Viridian, Alpha Canaris System
The League of Five Nails
3 April 3025

"What am I going to do?" Hikaru Gosunkugi lamented to his trusted
cousin, Tetsuo. His parents had ordered him to return to Tetsuyama
Fortress on planet Angbad. The last thing he wanted to see - besides
his parents - was the bloody red star known as Melkor.
They were angry at him for losing the Capra System. Never mind that
they hadn't even heard of Capra before the Furinkan Combine seized it, they
were angry that he had lost it in spite of the large force he had brought
to that star system. His tremendous victory at the Jump Point meant nothing
to them, as the Gosunkugis had a traditional contempt for the Navy that only
Hikaru had been able to overcome. On the contrary, he reserved his contempt
for the League Army, and had his reservations for their effectiveness in
combat confirmed during the abortive attempt to engage the Combine on the
surface of Capra.
"You have two choices," Tetsuo offered. "You either return to Angbad
or you don't."
"That isn't very helpful," Hikaru snorted.
"I know you don't want to go back. So don't."
Hikaru frowned. "How exactly am I supposed to do that without making
my situation any worse? I'm probably going to be grounded for this as it
is."
"Stall. Find some excuse to stay here for the moment."
"Such as?"
Tetsuo thought for a moment. "Well, there is Prince Kuno's invasion of
the Capella System. That's a pretty big deal, and it affects the League of
Five Nails almost as much as it does the Confederation."
Hikaru nodded slowly. It was possible that he could beg off for the
moment using that excuse. "We could always say that we were readying an
invasion of the Confederation to grab what we can for ourselves before the
Combine takes it all."
"That will probably work," Tetsuo agreed. "You know how they want you
to expand the League."
"We have more pressing problems. Like how to stop Kuno."
Tetsuo nodded in agreement.
"What did the oracle say?"
"'Ask again later,'" Hikaru lamented. He held up the small black sphere
and shook it. "Now it says, 'You will order out for pizza and suffer third-
degree burns.'"
"I got that once from a fortune cookie," Tetsuo noted. He looked at the
black orb's missive. "You know, I didn't think they could fit all that in
the space available, but what do you know!"
"It's a sign," Hikaru declared. His sunken eyes seemed even more hollow
and empty than usual. "Of what, I have no idea."
"Perhaps we need to cast a detailed horoscope on the matter of what to
do about Tatewaki Kuno," Tetsuo suggested. "But just to be on the safe side,
let's cancel the Army Group 'B' Staff luncheon at Greasy Tony's, and eat in
the Hotel instead."
"Agreed."
With the matter of lunch settled, the two rolled out a chart of the
Inner Sphere that had been updated with their latest Intelligence, and
began pondering over it.
"He's spread awfully thin," Tetsuo observed.
"True," Hikaru agreed. "But mostly in places where we'd have trouble
reaching him."
"Capra is about his only vulnerable point where we can hit back."
"He'll be expecting it."
Tetsuo looked up from the chart and at his cousin. "You're really
serious about stopping Kuno, aren't you? The Confederation has pulled back
from just about everywhere on our border to defend Capella, and instead of
hitting them now and grabbing what we can, you want to break the seige."
"If Kuno takes Capella and gets Tendo to hand over the Confederation,
then we're done for," Hikaru pointed out. "He'll come after us next, and we
won't be able to stop him. After that he'll go after the Commonwealth. If
he can beat them, the Federated Shiratori will simply fold. The Inner Sphere
will belong to Tatewaki Kuno."
"Not to mention Akane Tendo."
"I'm trying not to think about that," Hikaru said gravely. "So you
see, we have to break the seige if we're to have any hope. Even keeping
the status quo is better than letting Kuno win."
"So what do you propose, cousin?" Tetsuo asked.
Hikaru bit his lip. What he wanted would not find much acceptance
beyond the confines of the room he occupied.
"I want a strategic alliance with the Confederation," he declared.
"A tall order," Tetsuo said, whistling with appreciation for his
cousin's daring. "You'll have to convince Grand Duke Tendo as well as your
parents."
"Tendo might not have much choice," Hikaru pointed out. "As for my
parents, well, we don't have to tell them just yet."
"I assume that Akane Tendo will be handed over to you in order to
seal the alliance?"
"Of course."
"Another tall order."
Hikaru frowned. "I'll find a way to convince him. All I need is some
kind of in with him. Even if I can't convince him, though, I still have to
stop Kuno from forcing his will upon the man. We have to get him to hold
off on a full-blown invasion of Nerima, and that means we have to hit him
where it will hurt."
"His pride is easy to play on," Tetsuo noted. "The target doesn't
necessarily have to be that important so long as it makes him look bad."
Hikaru snapped his fingers.
"That's it!"
"What is, cousin?"
Hikaru gestured to the map of the Inner Sphere. "Tetsuo, we are going
to invade the Furinkan Combine."
Tetsuo's first reaction was one of utter disbelief. Then he began to
think about it. A wide grin moved slowly across his face.
"Cousin, you are either completely crazy or else a certified genius."
Hikaru grinned back. "Since I know I'm not crazy, the answer to that
is obvious." He pulled on his headdress and lit the candles. A fatted calf
would be sacrificed tonight in burnt offering to the gods for success.

Chapter Five

Dragon of the Black Pool Fortress
Planet Tau Ceti IV, Tau Ceti System
The Jusenkyo Commonwealth
4 April 3025

Shampoo fastened the last frog-closure on her full dress cheongsam
before the mirror in her quarters, then stepped back to admire herself.
The pattern of eight butterflies chasing flaming pearls was skillfully
embroidered with gold and silver thread on her sleek attire, and glittered
in the light. Her lustrous purple hair was done up in her usual buns,
though she had carefully wound strings of pearls and gold beads through
them. The Phoenix insignia of Mechwarrior Major on her high collar
- encrusted with garnets, amethysts, and honey-colored topaz sewn into
the embroidery - was especially suited to her, she decided. She only
hoped that she would continue to wear it after Herb was finished with
her.
The general had decided to convene the formal debriefing that
afternoon. She had received the summons to attend from Lime and Mint,
Herb's inseparable henchmen. Fortunately for them, they knew better than
to say anything to her other than that which was dictated by their orders
when they presented themselves. It would not help her in the General's
eyes to have beaten his lackies to a pulp.
She had enough time to visit the small temple on the fortress grounds
before she was to report. She was not an overly religious person, but she
felt that in this case she could use all the help she could get. Checking
herself in the mirror one final time, she opened the door of her quarters,
and stepped out into a small plaza whose flagstones were covered with a
kind of local ivy and patches of hardy blue-green moss.
The visiting officers' quarters were just a few minutes' walk from
the temple, and from there only a brief transit to the small auditorium
where General Herb was holding the debrief. Shampoo walked proudly towards
the temple in spite of her unease, drawing salutes from the mostly female
troops she passed. She vowed to enjoy her status while she could, and put
dark thoughts of her uncertain future aside for the moment.
The temple was small, a place barely large enough for one to kneel
and offer prayers to one's ancestors for intercession and guidance. The
cold granite stones were polished to a mirror finish, the sharply chiseled
characters soaking up the reflected light into their depths. The sweet
tang of incense tickled her nose.
Mechwarrior Lieutenant Pink was there, kneeling silently in prayer
when she approached. There was no sign of her twin, but that didn't mean
that Link wasn't around. Shampoo stopped short of the threshold to wait
until Pink was finished.
The young mechwarrior stood slowly and offered a brief salute to the
slabs of granite before turning to leave. Her eyes met Shampoo's and they
locked for a moment in silent challenge.
"<Mechwarrior Major Shampoo,>" she said to her superior with a salute.
Shampoo returned it. "<I see that I'm not the only one in need of
guidance from the ancestors.>" Her curiosity got the better of her. "<Were
you praying for our fallen sister, Laughing Orchid?>"
Pink fought back a tinge of color in her cheeks.
"<If I was, what would it mean to you?>" she asked archly.
Shampoo decided to press the issue. After all, was it likely that she
would ever get another chance? "<It would mean that her death was not the
simple matter the Ship's Doctor made it out to be.>"
Pink's eyes narrowed.
"<It's true what they say; a woman who faces her own death has not
the time to fear anything else.>"
"<It seems to me that you have more to fear than I do,>" Shampoo
returned.
"<Perhaps,>" Pink conceded. "<But then, anything that happened aboard
the _Jade Lotus_ during our return to Tau Ceti was your responsibility. You
would have as much to lose as me by coming forward with the truth.>"
"<Hardly,>" she snorted. "<So you did poison Laughing Orchid. It was
very clever work to have fooled the doctor so easily.>"
Pink nodded slowly, taken in by Shampoo's flattery. "<It was one of
my more difficult assassinations. You can appreciate my subtlety then,
when I say that there are far swifter and less pleasant ways of passing-on
than the gentle wasting that Laughing Orchid endured.>" This last seemed
to be something of a threat, and Shampoo considered it as such.
"<My only question is why,>" she returned in a tight voice.
"<The answer should be obvious.>"
"<Forgive my ignorance,>" Shampoo said with a humble smile that was
anything but.
Pink returned the smile with her own wry grin. "<Laughing Orchid
disgraced herself and she disgraced the company with her shameful retreat
on Capra. Then, in the full bloom of her crimes, she dared to accuse Mousse,
the comrade she had abandoned in the thick of the battle, of mutiny and
insubordination.>" Her eyes closed. "<It was inexcusable.>"
"<So you poisoned her,>" Shampoo pointed out. "<Rather than see her
answer for her own transgressions in the proper manner, you took matters
into your own hands.>"
Pink gave her an accusing look. "<Are you suggesting that I openly
denigrate one of my battle-sisters in favor of a man?>" She spat upon
the ground at her feet. "<Ludicrous.>"
"<Then why murder Laughing Orchid at all?>"
"<It was the solution that offered the most face,>" Pink declared.
"<It was fitting that Laughing Orchid die for her cowardice in battle, and
that she suffer for her shameful and baseless accusations. That was the
price she had to pay, but for her sake I also ensured that by her premature
demise, Mousse could not prevail against her in a public trial. She saves
face that way, as do we all for not having to endure the shame of seeing
one of our battle-sisters belittled for the sake of a man's honor.>"
Shampoo nodded slowly at Pink's logic. There would be no shame upon
the sisterhood of the Joketsuzoku by having Laughing Orchid die of a
supposed allergic reaction to Capra's biosphere. On the other hand, to
allow Mousse to confront his accusers in a public trial - and very likely
prevail in any court overseen by General Herb - the result would be an
acknowledgement that a man had shown great courage in a battle where his
female accusers had fled like cowards, and then tried to cover up their
actions with slanderous accounts. On the whole, a scenario many in her
clan would have found quite unpalatable.
In an earlier day, she would have agreed with Pink. Now, the idea of
Pink's motivation sickened her. It was nothing more than lip service to the
ideals they had all sworn to uphold when they became Mechwarriors of the
Commonwealth. In denying Mousse his right to defend himself against his
accusers, Pink had firmly committed herself to putting the face of the
clan above her oath.
"<I see your point,>" Shampoo said quietly. Her disgust was evident,
and she wanted Pink to have at least a taste of it.
"<I did my duty to the sisterhood,>" Pink declared, sensing exactly
what Shampoo thought of her solution to the problem. "<Justice is done,
and our way of life is preserved. If you feel that the matter should be
pursued beyond the happy conclusion I have provided, then you are an
idealistic fool.>"
Shampoo flushed with anger. In a stand-up fight she could kill Pink
in the blink of an eye and with one arm tied behind her back. Pink knew
this, and so a fight between them would be anything but honorable and
clean.
Pink gave her a warning look, then added. "<I can see where you might
have certain sympathies for Mousse. He has endured a great deal of torment
for your sake.>"
"<What do you mean by that?>" Shampoo demanded.
"<Haven't you seen his back?>" Pink asked in return. Then, realizing
that Shampoo had not, she continued. "<If you have the opportunity, you
should look at his back. Those kinds of scars aren't gained in battle, and
they're too fresh to be much older than six months. That would put them
from around the time of your departure from Lightoller, most likely. As I
understand it, General Herb wasn't very keen on releasing you from duty,
and Mousse had a hand in your escape. The General is a vengeful man."
Shampoo thought about Pink's words. Had Mousse been tortured as
punishment for disobeying General Herb? It would explain a great deal
about his behavior since leaving Lightoller.
"<It's no business of mine,>" she replied.
"<As you say,>" Pink said with a grin.
Shampoo couldn't let her go that easily.
"<Remember, sister, that justice is not yours to mete out at your own
personal discretion. If ever we should serve together, you will do well to
remember that.>"
"<Good luck with the debrief,>" Pink retorted, knowing full well that
the odds of Shampoo escaping with her life, much less her rank, sat upon
that precarious perch between slim and none. She offered a perfunctory
salute, and stepped past the purple-haired mechwarrior to join her twin
sister Link, who had appeared out of seeming thin air.
Shampoo watched them leave, and decided that it was for the best that
she held her temper in check. Though Pink was ever the more treacherous of
the two, Link's loyalty to her sister was sufficent to provoke a dagger in
the back at the least opportunity.
When they had gone, she presented herself before the polished slabs
of granite and knelt in prayer. She did not pray for deliverance, for she
knew better than to expect that. She prayed instead to acquit herself well
on the field of honor that would be her place of execution.
The Law of the Joketsuzoku held that a warrior sentenced to die for
a crime had the right to face her executioners in combat. If she defeated
them, more would take their place until she finally fell, or until no one
else dared to enter the fated circle. If she could survive against all
comers, then her innocence was established in blood for all to bear witness.
General Herb would make certain that her executioners were the fiercest
fighters in the Inner Sphere, for he maintained a private stable of male
gladiators that often ruled the circuits at Solaris VII and in other
respected venues. It galled her to think that she might have to face mere
men at her execution, and that eventually they might even defeat her.
Give me strength, she pleaded to her ancestors. Do not let me shame
my great-grandmother by dying cheaply. Let me sell my life dearly!

Mousse watched silently from some distance to the temple. Though
Shampoo was but a fuzzy smudge of color to his weak eyes, he looked on
as if he could see the worry and anguish that wracked her lovely face.
She knelt before the ancestors as one who faced death, though she had
no way of knowing yet of General Herb's plans for her.
His heart ached to see her like that, and to know that it was all
for nothing. The General had already stated that he would not execute her,
though the alternatives were perhaps even less palatable. He himself would
play the pivotal role in their fruition.
How could he have become Herb's tool so easily?!
He looked at her once more, and knew the answer. For Shampoo, whom
he loved with not simply his heart and soul, but the very entirety of his
being, he would do this. To follow Herb's orders was to buy time for her,
so that somehow they might escape the machinations of the hybrid general
and the enemies of Cologne on the Elder Council. They would have to leave
Tau Ceti in disgrace as wanted criminals, but also with the opportunity
for eventual redemption.
He closed his eyes slowly, drew in a deep breath, and left Shampoo to
continue the preparations General Herb had outlined for him.

* * *

General Herb stepped into the auditorium from the greenroom at the
back of the hall, his long full cape draping him in shimmering emerald
silk. The serpentine coils of a dragon embroidered in gold and platinum
thread wrapped around the full body of the cape, writhing and undulating
as he walked, and the large embroidered Chinese characters for his rank
and station glittered with the light of thousands of tiny diamonds expertly
set into the fabric. His red reptillian eyes gleamed maleficently, and his
jaw was set with the grim determination to execute his duty to the Elder
Council.
He took his place behind the cloth-draped table that had been set upon
the stage, eyeing the crowd in attendance with satisfaction. His personal
guard, led by Lime and Mint, stood well behind him, but their fearsome
presence was undiminished by their distance. Scribes and recorders in
their ceremonial garb took their places at the wings of the stage.
He took his seat, and those in attendance slowly followed suit.
His eyes settled upon Shampoo, who sat with an older woman acting in
the capacity of her counsel. He recognized her as one of Cologne's old
friends, and who currently served as the fortress' Castellan. She would
play into his hands quite suitably, he thought with a smile.
Lime sounded a large gong.
"<This convenes the formal proceedings into the matter of Fourteen
through Fifteen March of the year 3025, aboard and about the Jusenkyo
Commonwealth DropShip _Jade Lotus,_>" he announced for them.
Mint stepped up to provide a stack of hardcopy for him to pick through.
"<I have been conducting this inquiry privately over the last several
days through the study of the ship's logs, flight recorder data where
available, and deposition of the relevant personnel in the interest of
saving time,>" he continued. "<It was my sincere hope that more formal
proceedings would not be necessary.>"
His eyes settled once again upon Shampoo, who sat imperiously in her
chair as if none of this meant anything to her.
"<Unfortunately, I find that this is not the case. Having exhausted
all avenues of research into the matter, it is the finding of this officer
of the Commonwealth High Command that the mission entrusted to Mechwarrior
Major Shampoo and Agent Kima by the Elder Council has failed disastrously,
and with great loss of life and irreplaceable Commonwealth assets.>"
Shampoo's counsel began to stir. Herb cut her off before she could
voice an objection.
"<Due to the unfortunate death of Agent Kima on the planet Capra, I
find that all responsibility for the incident must fall upon Mechwarrior
Major Shampoo. It is a sad but inarguable consequence of command, and one
that I am certain that Mechwarrior Major Shampoo understood when she
assumed command of the mission.>"
He looked at her closely.
"<Is this not correct, Mechwarrior Major Shampoo?>"
She steeled herself and stood to face him.
"<It is just so, General,>" she replied in a firm voice.
Herb smiled thinly. "<Having established her own culpability in this
incident, and in light of the preponderence of evidence in the matter, I
find that the law offers me little recourse in my final judgement.>" His
gaze passed over the many faces in the auditorium. Disbelief was evident,
as was shock, and even disgust with the ease in which Shampoo was being
railroaded. He knew their sympthathies lay with her, and that too would
play into his hands.
"<Nevertheless, I found it necessary to transmit my findings via HPG
to the Elder Council, and seek their wisdom in the matter. I cannot argue
the fact that the chief cause of woe to the mission was the untimely arrival
of a large Furinkan Combine force on the planet - a circumstance beyond
either Agent Kima or Mechwarrior Major Shampoo's control - and I hoped that
the Council would take this into consideration when determining what
disciplinary measures would be appropriate.>"
His eyes fell, and he seemed to slump for a moment in sadness.
"<The Council, however, informed me that Mechwarrior Major Shampoo
was under a probationary sentence at the time of the mission for a
previous failure in action - the details of which are irrelevant to
these proceedings. In fact, the resolution of her probationary sentence
was contingent upon the success or failure of the mission to Capra.>"
He regained his composure, giving Shampoo an evil grin that lasted
just long enough for her to notice. Her sudden tension delighted him.
"<Mechwarrior Major Shampoo, rise, and face the pronouncement of this
Board of Inquiry,>" Mint called from behind his general.
Shampoo stood quietly, her face calm and serene in the face of imminent
doom. The auditorium was eerily silent around her as the assembled soldiers
and functionaries of the fortress looked on in horror.
General Herb broke the seal on a gilded scroll, unrolled it, and stood.
Mint stepped forward to take the scroll and read it aloud.
"<It is the determination of this officer of the Commonwealth High
Command, Mechwarrior General Herb, the Commander of the First March and
its Wards, that the suspended sentence of death imposed upon Mechwarrior
Major Shampoo shall be reinstated by the expressed orders of the Elder
Council. This sentence of death shall be carried out at a time and place
determined by Mechwarrior General Herb, who acts in the capacity delegated
to him by the Elder Council.>"
A groan of disbelief spread throughout the auditorium. Shampoo remained
proud and silent. This had not come as any surprise to her. General Herb had
put on a good show, but she knew how much he was savoring this moment. She
renewed her vow to make him suffer for this by forcing him to watch his
precious cadre of gladiators die gruesomely at her hands.
Herb took the scroll back from Mint.
"<It is my determination that the sentence of death imposed upon
Mechwarrior Major Shampoo be carried out at dawn on the first day following
her arrival on the planet Jusenkyo, that the Elder Council may witness it.
As is the right of all soldiers of the Commonwealth, those who wish to set
themselves before Mechwarrior Major Shampoo in combat should beg leave
from their superiors and report to the starport by midday tomorrow for
transport to Jusenkyo.>"
The gong sounded.
"<This concludes the Board of Inquiry. Mechwarrior Major Shampoo, you
will surrender yourself immediately for confinement pending the execution
of your sentence.>"
She closed her eyes, and held out her wrists for Lime and Mint to
cuff.

Chapter Six

Furinkan Combine JumpShip _Imperator_
Capella System Zenith Jump Point
Capella System, the Nerima Confederation
4 April 3025

"Tell me, brother dear, were you worried about me?"
Tatewaki Kuno regarded his sister from across the small room. She
looked remarkably better than he would have expected for someone who had
been so close to death within the last two weeks. It was time to see her
moved to that convent in the Periphery with all haste.
"Perish the thought," he harrumphed. "Thy death would have been a
boon once I pronounce sentence upon thee for thy treason."
"Treason, brother dear?" she asked sweetly. "Whatever do you mean?"
"Do not play coy with me," Tatewaki returned. "Thy crimes are legion,
and thy mutiny hath put the Army into disarray. Full many an officer have
I been forced to execute, much to the wounding of our noble cause."
Kodachi measured his words carefully. Upon regaining consciousness
aboard the _Imperator,_ she had known that any of her troops captured with
her would likely be put to swift death. She didn't hold it against Tatewaki
beyond a certain personal attachment for some of her officers, as she would
have acted in the same fashion had her position versus her brother been
reversed.
"Am I to meet the same fate, I wonder?" she mused aloud.
"Nay, sister," Tatewaki replied. "Father would not stand for it, as
you well know. Instead, I have decided to send thee away."
"Send me away?" Kodachi asked, knowing where he was headed with this,
and simply going through the motions to get him to continue. Tatewaki needed
drama in his life the same way people needed oxygen, and when he did not get
it, he became rather cranky. It was best not to make cranky the man who held
your very life in his hands. Well, not *too* cranky...
"Aye," Tatewaki continued, pleased that she remembered how the game
between them was supposed to be played. "To a convent in the Periphery.
There it is to be hoped that thou shalt find and mend the error of thy
shameful ways."
"A convent," Kodachi replied dryly. "Should I be surprised that you
would think of nuns at a time like this?" she asked teasingly. "I know very
well the effect your years of Catholic School has had upon you, you naughty
boy."
"Be silent, woman!" Tatewaki seethed. Having renounced Catholicism
for the more pliable Shinto/Buddhist blend favored by his ancient Japanese
ancestors, Tatewaki loathed even the mention of his time at the Our Lady of
Perpetual Misery Elementary School, to say nothing of those trollish nuns
who smote his knuckles with such holy wrath. "Thy impertinence earns you
only ever more time spent in those dreary halls."
"Very well," she simpered. "To the convent I shall go. Perhaps if you
visit me some day, you'll find me wearing one of those short plaid skirts I
used to wear in school." She batted her eyes and grinned wickedly at him.
"I remember how uncomfortable you used to get when you saw me in them..."
Tatewaki's face reddened.
"Be silent," he said. It was close to a plea.
"Calm thyself, Tachi, dear," she said mockingly. "I wasn't interested
then, and I'm not now." She sized him up with a glance, enjoying how easily
she could set him on the defensive, even with her position as weak as it
was. "But if it will mean my freedom, well, I wouldn't mind indulging you
just this once." She began to draw the sheet away from her bare breasts,
giving him a peek at her rosy nipples. "I'm a little weak and tender right
now in my wounded condition, so you'll have to be gentle with me..."
Tatewaki remembered to avert his eyes.
"Get thee behind me, sister!" he snarled. "Thy shameful licentiousness
is a scourge upon the great name of Kuno!"
Kodachi laughed at him with all the mockery she could muster.
"You might be First Lord of the Star League one day, my dear brother,
but you'll always remember who it was that could break you with a word."
Tatewaki took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"To think that I let thee live when it was full within the measure of
my power to end thy life with but the press of a button..." he muttered
angrily. "If such dark times befall me that I ever be considered a fool
in the eyes of men, let it be for that singular act of mercy. Good day,
O wicked sister."
With that he stepped through the airtight door.
"Oh pooh," Kodachi sighed. "That was just too easy."
She pulled the sheet back up over her breasts, as the room was a
little drafty. It really was just too easy to get under Tachi's skin. He
might be sending her off to a convent in the Periphery, but the matter of
how long she remained there would not be decided by him. Surely at least
some of her regiment had escaped from Capra!
She needed to speak to Sasuke. Hopefully the ninja had been resourceful
enough to escape execution with the rest of her officers and staff. She
decided that he was. Her brother would probably want to keep him close for
the moment, in order to establish his loyalty.
Escape ranked high in her thoughts, but another matter lingered in her
mind. What of that rogue, Ranma Saotome?
She had returned to consciouness with his name upon her lips. Though
they were dreams borne of the delirium of her injuries, she knew that Ranma
Saotome could indeed protect her from Tachi. That handsome devil, so brave
and gallant on Capra! She had never before beheld his like, and thoughts of
him fascinated her.
They also stirred thoughts of jealousy within her bosom, for he was
the fiance of that insufferable Akane Tendo! How was it possible that a man
like him was shackled to such a vile and shrill girl, when a woman of her
own unsurpassed beauty, grace, and breeding was denied?
She would have to rectify that matter. Her darling Ranma deserved far
better than the Tendo girl!
A sudden thought brought out a sly, wicked grin. In taking him for
herself, she would not only gain such a fantastic prize of manhood, she
would also exact yet one more richly deserved bit of vengeance upon the
cursed Akane Tendo!

Chapter Seven

Nerima Confederation DropShip _Palomino_
Transitting the Palatine System en route to Planet Tiber
The Federated Shiratori
1 April 3025

NCDS _Palomino_ transitted the interplanetary void between the marooned
starship _Dragonfly_ and the planet Tiber. The voyage would be a short one
given their proximity to the world, a mere eighteen hours acceleration
followed by another eighteen to decelerate at the end of the trip. The
planet itself glowed blue in their telescopes, a welcome sight after the
bleak deserts of Capra.
As they neared the end of their acceleration run, the passengers and
crew enjoyed supper in the tiny Crew's Mess. Two of the _Dragonfly's_ cooks
had come aboard to prepare meals full time, as the number of wounded who
were berthed in the 'Mech Bays had doubled the DropShip's normal complement,
and food preparation had become more than a simple affair.

"All hands prepare to shift propulsion," the 1MC announced. The ship
would be securing its main engines for a brief period of time in order to
realign them for deceleration. The sensation of gravity provided by the
plasma drives would cease during this time, putting the entire vessel in
free-fall.

The crew taking their meal groaned in complaint.
"It figures that they'd decide to do this right in the middle of
chow," Ranma complained. Their food was not currently configured for
consumption in a weightless environment.
"It's only for an hour or so," Genma replied. "You can wait that long,
can't you?"
Ranma was busy stuffing food into his mouth. He paused just long enough
to give his father an incredulous look.
"Really, Ranma," Doctor Tofu cautioned. "Eating like that right before
going into free-fall isn't healthy."
Ranma grunted in disagreement.
"Are we really surprised at this?" Akane said with a chuckle. "In the
past two months I've learned that nothing comes between Ranma and food."
Ranma nodded vigorously as he crammed an entire pork bun into his mouth
in one bite.
The rest of the crew stood and began to file through the scullery with
their plates. Genma rose with Akane and Doctor Tofu.
"Can I get your plate, Akane?" Tofu asked her.
She gave him a warm smile.
"Why thank you, Doctor!" she exclaimed.
She passed him her dirty dishes. "That's very sweet of you."
"It's my pleasure," Tofu beamed.
"'Scuse me," Ranma grunted, hopping over the bench seat to get past
them. There was a hurt look on his face that she had seen before. She
mentally kicked herself for not confronting him sooner on the issue, but
after the incident in Sick Bay, she had not had a chance to get him alone.
The way he hung around other people since the departure of the _Palomino_
made it seem like he was consciously trying to avoid just such a
confrontation.
"Ranma?"
"Hey, uh," Ranma muttered, his food gone. "Look at the time. I better
check on the LAM for tomorrow, huh."
He slipped past the crew waiting in line by the scullery for their
turn at disposing their dishes. His plate sailed over their heads to land
neatly in the stack. He disappeared forward before anyone could raise a
voice in complaint.
"Ooohh..." Akane hissed. "Not this again." She started after him,
feeling the gaze of the entire Crew's Mess upon her as she dashed after
him. She could not believe she was doing this. If Ranma wanted to act this
way, then who needed him?!

"Securing the Main Engines!" the 1MC announced.

The constant muted rumble of the plasma drives ceased abruptly, and
the ship lurched ever so slightly into free-fall. They would drift for
about an hour, then position their drives towards Tiber for the eighteen
hour deceleration burn. Until then, they were weightless.
It made chasing after him that much more difficult, and she once
again questioned why she was bothering.
"Ranma, stop right there!" she yelled at him. "Stop being such a
coward!"
She pulled herself around a corner to come face to face with Ranma,
who floated idly in the middle of the passageway as if he had been there
the whole time. His expression betrayed no insight into what he might have
been feeling or what he was thinking in that moment.
"Ranma!" she cried in surprise.
"You wanted something?" he asked nonchalantly.
She decided to let him play his cool act. It was better than facing a
crybaby.
"I just felt that you needed to know something, that's all."
"That you're in love with Doctor Tofu?" he asked her. "I kinda figured
that out for myself, the way you're always acting around him." He brushed
at his threadbare red mandarin blouse. "It's no big deal," he continued
impassively. "I understand how you feel. I'm even happy for you."
"You're an idiot," she replied. "And you don't understand anything.
I'm not in love with Doctor Tofu. Not anymore."
He looked surprised. So surprised in fact that he didn't rise to her
slight.
"No kidding?"
She nodded. "I've had a crush on him for years. That much is true."
He waited for her to continue, then finally asked her the question
that burned in his mind. "So now you don't?"
"He happens to be in love with Kasumi," she explained. "He's felt that
way for at least as long as I've been able to notice. It didn't change how
I felt about him, but I always knew that he would never feel the same way
about me as he did about Kasumi."
He nodded slowly at her words. "So what about you two hugging in Sick
Bay?"
"He was just comforting me," she said softly. "We had a talk about how
I felt, and the fact that he was in love with Kasumi. We're just friends,
Ranma. Nothing more. That's how it will always be between Doctor Tofu and
I." She grinned mischievously at him. "So stop worrying, okay?"
"Hey," he complained. "Who's worrying?"
She leaned in close to him, making him break out in a sweat. "Whatever
you say, Ranma. Whatever you say." She looked him in the eyes. "You know,
Ranma, just because I told you that I thought it was cute when you were
jealous--"
She ceased speaking. Ranma remained deathly still, his eyes wide and
a sheen of perspiration gleaming on his brow under the fluorescent lighting
of the passageway.
"What is it, Ranma?" she finally asked him, drawing away from his
face.
"Uh, nothing..." he muttered nervously. "I just thought you were gonna
kiss me again or something dumb like that."
She smiled. "I think it was more like you *hoped* I would." She looked
him over, then checked to see that there was no one else in the passageway.
"Close your eyes."
Ranma swallowed hard.
"Y-You mean it?"
She gave him a sidelong glance. "Just do it, okay?"
He closed his eyes. The sweat was starting to bead around his brow in
free-fall like a salty mist.
"Gotcha!" Akane cried, and gave him a push that sent him tumbling away
in a slow zero-gravity somersault. She pushed off in the opposite direction
with a hearty laugh, and disappeared down the ladder to the Lower Deck.
Ranma opened his eyes as he tumbled away to crash into the far airtight
door. His last sight of her was of her laughing eyes as she stole one final
glance at him before slipping down the ladder.

"You are sooooo uncute..." he grumbled.

END OF PART THIRTEEN

Many Thanks go to Michael Chase, D.F. Roeder, Elsa Bibat, and Bill Seney for
their continuing support for this fanfic. Domou Arigatou! Merci Beaucoup!
¡Muchas Gracias! Bolshoyeh Spaciba! Xie Xie! Danke!