[Ranma/Battletech][FanFic] Battletech: The Saotome Gambit Part 16

[Jamie and Bridget Wilde]

Firebase LIBERTY
The moon of Oni, orbiting Shounetsu Jigoku
Capella System, the Nerima Confederation
10 April 3025

"The burial detail has returned, General Tendo."
Kasumi Tendo looked up from a draft of her detailed action report, and
regarded the young staff officer who addressed her. She was barely sixteen,
with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and a look on her face that
told Kasumi this girl was on her first deployment from home. Just twenty-two
herself, she tried to remember if she had ever been that young.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Grace," she said to her.
The young lieutenant took this as her cue to leave. She did so
reluctantly, as if hoping for another word from her beloved commander.
Kasumi wished she could have found something to say.
Their dead were now entombed in three mass graves near the accesses
to the base. It had become more and more apparent that they were going
to be stuck on Oni for awhile, and the fallen needed to be tended to. She
had ordered them buried outside, knowing that the vacuum and cold would
preserve their remains until such time as they could be exhumed and
properly interred on Nerima. Even if the Confederation fell, Tatewaki
Kuno could be expected to grant his defeated enemies that courtesy.
Later, when time permitted, she would don a pressure suit and walk
among the buried dead as she had done in the makeshift morgue. There had
been no public memorial for them, nor could there be until the fighting
was over. Her private prayers of mourning would have to suffice. It was
the best she could do until an acceptable resolution presented itself.
The Combine's radio jamming had effectively cut her off from
communication with her father's forces on Nerima, leaving her without
instructions from higher authority. With a Furinkan Combine blocking force
preventing an easy retreat from the moon, she had decided to maintain her
position, using the time to reorganize her shattered units and repair what
combat mecha they could before the next major attack.
Thus far the Combine had been content to keep her bottled up on Oni,
using random probes of her defensive perimeters to assess her strength and
to keep her occupied. Where the main body of the Combine forces had gone
in the meantime, she did not know. Fragmentary reports from her GunShip
squadrons had confirmed that the majority of the Combine's ground attack
forces had Jumped out of the system, leaving only the Combine Navy to
maintain the blockade.
It was a remarkable turn of events, and she did not know who to
thank for it. Perhaps the Jusenkyo Commonwealth had taken advantage of
Kuno's daring invasion of the Confederation, and launched one of their
own into the heart of the Combine? It was all just speculation at this
point, but as long as the Capella System remained in Confederation hands,
there was hope.
Colonel Mukaida entered her tiny office with a knock, his gaunt face
looking paler than usual.
"We've established a line-of-sight lasercomm link with the GunShips
_Leyte Gulf,_ _Cowpens,_ and _Cold Harbor,_" Mukaida said to her. "We have
a three hour window of communications with Nerima before their respective
orbits put them out of position in the daisy chain."
Kasumi flushed with relief. They had been trying to establish this
link for days without success. The Combine had GunShips of its own prowling
the dark reaches of interplanetary space, searching for the Confederation
vessels. Being a mechwarrior, she could hardly imagine the silent cat and
mouse games those ships played with each other in the void.
She punched at the terminal built into her desk. "Wonderful," she said
to the colonel. She then addressed the commo tech on her display. "Are we
through yet?"
"We're just now getting a signal," the tech replied. "There's going to
be about a three minute lag between points, ma'am."
"Send our data first," Kasumi told him. She tapped at her function
pad briefly, sending her action report to his station. "We can exchange
pleasantries after."
"Yes, ma'am," the tech replied. "Sending all data over the encrypted
bands now. Estimated time of transmission, fourteen minutes."
Kasumi nodded in reply. The encryption was a time-consuming nuisance,
and in this case, not technically needed. Since they were sending via laser
light, it would require a Combine ship to be in the direct path of the
transmission for them to intercept it. Her real concern was Nabiki's agents
getting hold of the data once it reached headquarters.
Every instinct told her to have her middle sister detained before
leaving for Oni, but Nabiki had been clever enough to avoid directly
incriminating herself in any form of wrong-doing. There was no legal basis
for holding Nabiki, and the best she had managed in her appeals to Father
was to have her sister's security clearance and official duties stripped
pending an investigation. It would blunt Nabiki's overt probes into the
affairs of the Confederation, but Kasumi doubted that she lacked for other
resources.

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

BATTLETECH: THE SAOTOME GAMBIT
PART SIXTEEN

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

The City of Gondolin
Planet Nerima, Capella System
The Nerima Confederation
11 April 3025

Nabiki Tendo kept on the move.
Though there was no warrant out for her arrest, she was smart enough
to operate as if one could be issued at any time. She spent a lot of time
in vehicles; from ground-effect limousines to a flock of rented helicopters
and tilt-rotor aircraft, and she always had more than one way out of the
city if she needed it. She maintained her communications links through
privately owned cellular phones, purchased under pseudonyms, and paid for
with anonymous blocks of service time purchased with cash through every
cell-phone provider in the city at ten different convenience stores.
There was no doubt in her mind that she was living in the most
dangerous time of her life. The termination of her position as Chief of
Intelligence and the suspension of her security clearance was intended as
a warning from her father and eldest sister that they suspected her of
treachery. At first she had resented the move for the crimp it put in her
intelligence collection efforts, but it did not take her long to feel
grateful for their futile wrist-slapping.
If she had been running the show, there would have been no warning.
There would have been arrests, not warnings. It may have proved that blood
was thicker than water, but in the 31st Century, such sentiments more often
than not led to palace coups...
Now she was playing a waiting game. For some asinine reason, Tatewaki
Kuno had left the system in a rush with most of his invasion force. She
needed decisive action from him if her plot was going to have any chance
of succeeding, and his desertion had left her in the lurch with the nobles,
who were really getting anxious. What the hell was going on with him? She
needed him to keep the pressure on, because her father's futile defiance
of the Combine was what she was counting on to spring her trap.
One of her phones rang. A bodyguard handed her the unit, then reached
over to the bar and began mixing a drink for her. He must have had the
feeling that she was going to need it. Outside the limousine the bright
neon and liquid-crystal adverts of the city's entertainment district
glittered in the cool summer evening darkness.
"Yes?" she asked with just enough venom to warn her caller that she
was in no mood for bullshit.
It wasn't bullshit.
"Terrific," she spat into the receiver. "You tell that son of a bitch
that I want to see him NOW. Not tomorrow, not later tonight, not even in
an hour from now, but right goddamned NOW. Are we clear on this?"
She disconnected and accepted the drink from her bodyguard.
"Spineless assholes," she muttered between sips of her Chivas and
Coke. "Instead of moving things forward, all I'm doing is putting out
fires."
Count Baldur Thuringia of Tikonov was getting cold feet. She knew the
others were just as bad as the addled Count, but he had been the first to
start visibly cracking. If she did not immediately take action to secure
his confidence, the others would bolt from her little camarilla en masse.
It wouldn't be easy, for her position was weak, and with recent events he
had every reason to be worried about the plot's chances for success.
That wasn't going to stop her from trying. If she did nothing, then
he would certainly bolt, and the plot would unravel around her. Worse, he
could go to the Grand Duke and expose her. A fat lot of good it would do
him when the Combine conquered the Confederation, but a frightened man
often overlooks these things in his haste to escape more immediate threats.
She keyed the limousine's intercom to speak to the driver. "Take me
to the Alcazar Hotel." The Count was staying in the hotel at her insistance,
rather than staying in the Castle as the other nobles who had come to Nerima
for the final battle had done. Baldur really was the weakest link in the
conspiracy, and she wanted him in a place where she could keep him in line.
The limousine took a left towards the starport, leaving the city's
luminous entertainment district. It was odd, but even with the Furinkan
Combine breathing down their necks, the place was as busy as ever. Perhaps
it was the people of Gondolin enjoying their last days of self-rule before
they became a vassal state of a vast new empire. Perhaps it was simply
easier to ignore one's doom rather than face it with open eyes.
The Alcazar was a luxury hotel that often catered to visiting nobility.
True to its namesake, it had been modeled after a Spanish castle from the
period of pre-Jump Earth, if a little smaller than the original. The Count
would have the penthouse floor reserved for himself and his senior officers.
Most of his personal forces were encamped on the plains surrounding the
city, close enough to reach Azure Cloud Castle quickly when the time came
to declare Grand Duke Soun Tendo, Nabiki's own father, insane.
She had been so close to that moment, she reflected bitterly as the
limousine descended down into an underground parking garage reserved for
guests of the highest importance. All she was waiting for was news that
Oni had fallen, and that the Combine was on its way towards Nerima. Any
further resistance would have been clearly futile at that point, and her
father's stubborn refusal to yield would have given her the opportunity
she needed to publically denounce him as insane.
With Akane gone to who knew where, and Kasumi either killed in the
battle for Oni or captured, she would have been the obvious successor to
the Ducal throne. From that position she would turn over the Confederation
to Kuno and thus end the stupid wasteful war between them. If, for some
reason, Tatewaki chose to ignore her terms and take the planet by force,
she would have her revenge. She had discovered the combination that would
unlock the family's nuclear arsenal, and she would not hesitate to turn
Kuno's invasion fleet and landing forces into radioactive vapors - the
Ares Conventions and the consequences be damned!
It was a sobering thought, because the use of nuclear weapons on her
homeworld both frightened and sickened her, but she would not go down
quietly to any of Tatewaki's treachery, and she intended to let him know
just how far she was prepared to go during the surrender negotiations. She
wasn't asking for much, after all, just the Capella System in exchange for
the rest of the Confederation's peaceful surrender.
The limousine came to a stop near the express elevator that went
straight to the penthouse level. She needed to draw her focus inward,
towards the present, rather than grim possible futures. She needed to
reassure Count Thuringia, or at least browbeat him back into line, and
that meant assuming an impenetrable mantle of strength.
Two of the Count's men were waiting at the elevator doors as she
stepped out of the limousine. Her expression was distant, with a touch of
her usual arrogance. Her bodyguards fell into step behind her, their eyes
watching for any signs of treachery. There was always the possibility that
the Count had already sold out, and would offer her up as a sign of good
faith to the Grand Duke.
"His Excellency has stated his wish not to be disturbed," one of the
men declared when she made to step past him.
She glared at him in return. A pang of fear knifed into her breast
even as he began to wilt under her gaze. Had the Count already sold her
out?
"His Excellency knows better than to deny me," she returned. "Step
aside."
The man wavered for a moment, but held firm.
"I'm sorry, my lady."
Nabiki's lip curled into a sneer. "You will be, mister. Now step aside.
Do not forget that the Count is my guest on this world."
The man wavered once more, his eyes darting to face his compatriot,
who offered nothing in the way of assistance out of the situation.
"Last chance," she told them. This is getting worse, she thought.
Unless Baldur was pulling some kind of power trip on her, there was every
indication that he was more than simply nervous about the plot. She needed
to talk to him, and with no further delay. Only then would she know what
he had or had not done.
The men stood still, their trembling hands aching to reach for weapons.
They dared not shoot down the daughter of the Grand Duke, nor could they
take any other sort of physical action against her, and yet they were
ordered to keep her from passing them.
Nabiki cocked her head towards her bodyguards, who lashed out with
lightning speed to bear down on the two wavering men at the elevator with
primed submachineguns. Nabiki stepped past the two hapless agents of the
Count and into the elevator. Each of her bodyguards motioned for the men
to join her, lest they sound an alarm in the time it would take to reach
the penthouse.
She watched dispassionately as the two were forced down on their
knees before her in the elevator, each with the muzzle of a fully automatic
weapon pressed behind their ears. Her bodyguards pulled themselves just
inside the doors, and then punched for the penthouse floor.
As the elevator rode up the shaft to the Count's apartments, Nabiki
was talking on her cell phone. She felt like having a little more insurance
in case things went badly from here.
The doors opened on the penthouse floor. Her bodyguards got off first,
their weapons tucked back under their coats, but easily reached if need be.
Nabiki stepped out imperiously, leaving the two men to cower in the elevator
as the doors slid shut behind her.
They were not expected.
One of the Count's bodyguards began reaching for a phone as she
approached. She could feel her own muscle men tensing at the sight, waiting
for her orders. She decided to let the man call the Count. It would make
him wonder about how she had managed to get this far, and perhaps would
think twice about continuing to believe that he could avoid her.
The bodyguard spoke softly on the phone, then waited with nervous
patience for instructions. Nabiki waited coolly, knowing that one way or
another, she would see the Count. Her bodyguards were the epitome of
impersonal menace.
Finally, the Count's bodyguard put down the phone.
"His Excellency will see you now," he told her, as if there had never
been an edict against her visit.
"Marvelous," she replied. "You don't know how pleased I am to hear
that."
Now came the moment of truth.
The bodyguard opened a set of double doors before her, and led her
into the Count's parlor. The lighting was set low; several lamps of wrought
iron and brass that glowed dully from the corners of the room, and the rest
supplied by lamps illuminating oil paintings - some of which dated back to
the Terran Hegemony.
The dark leather of the furnishings seemed to soak up what little
light was available, and the deep pile carpeting absorbed the sound of
their footsteps. The library was stocked with a selection of leatherbound
and digital media books that she doubted the Count had the education or
the temperament to appreciate. She noted that the bar was in use, with
an assortment of glasses and decanters scattered about the hand-rubbed
amaranth wood surface. Whatever discussion had recently taken place in
this room, it had been a difficult one judging by all the booze consumed.
The first man to appear was Baldur's son, a young man of twenty-one
with more bravado than brains, and who, by Nabiki's personal estimation,
wasn't half as good in bed as he thought he was. That didn't stop her from
fucking the living daylights out of him when the Count's party first arrived
on Nerima. As she was well aware, Count Thuringia was the weakest link in
the camarilla, and it was always good to have a loyal replacement waiting
in the wings.
"Hello, Rolf," she purred for him. He returned her sloe-eyed look
with one of piggish lust. A man of appetites more than ambitions, Rolf
Thuringia would make, at best, a temporary replacement for his father if
circumstances came to that. She had no intention of stringing him along
any longer than absolutely necessary before turning him over to the mercy
of relatives with a keener sense of politics than his. After the surrender
to the Combine, it wouldn't matter an iota to her who actually held
Tikonov's seat.
"Want a drink?" he asked her as she took the chair that would allow
her to best dominate the rest of the room with her presence. His grating
and hollowly insincere chumminess only served to remind her of how odious
a chore sex had been with him.
"Please," she returned coolly. "I was having a Chivas and Coke when
the necessity of this conference brought me here."
Rolf stepped around behind her to the bar, pausing long enough to look
down her scoop-neck black satin top. Nabiki could feel his eyes plunging
into the depths of her cleavage, and suppressed a cold shudder of disgust.
Though he was fairly handsome, with rough angular features that a man of
his tender years shouldn't have possessed, his very nature left her feeling
as if she needed to bathe herself after every little contact - even visual.
She reflected briefly upon their one liaison, and wondered if she
hadn't made a mistake in assuming that sex was the best way to approach
the man. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on her part, because his
libido had been the key to unlocking the nature of his relationship with
his father. Which was to say that Rolf would have sold the man without
batting an eye as long as he got to take over when the dust cleared.
She was, of course, incapable of seeing that same quality in herself for
the horrid thing that it was, and instead saw only opportunity in him.
Count Thuringia stepped into the parlor from his personal chambers
as Rolf searched the bar in vain for a bottle of Chivas. He was accompanied
by his aide de camp, a lieutenant colonel in the Confederation Army with a
reputation as a petty schemer. The colonel was right up Nabiki's alley in
most respects - ambitious, bright enough to be reliable, and of a suitably
flexible moral character. With the present difficulties in regards to the
Count, she now saw the colonel in a different light. He had hitched his
star early to the Count, and was considered extremely loyal to the man.
Should she decide to promote Rolf to Tikonov's seat, the colonel would have
to be removed as well. She saw danger along that path, and resolved herself
to find a solution to the problem as quickly as possible.
"I see you've made yourself at home," Baldur sniffed at beholding her
in his favorite chair.
"This *is* my home," she reminded him curtly. Rolf, having given up
on finding any Chivas, returned with an ordinary bourbon and coke, and set
it down on the end table by her elbow.
She sipped at the drink, her nose wrinkling slightly at how strong he
had mixed it, and wondered if this wasn't some sophomoric attempt at getting
her drunk for another round of the old in-and-out once his father went back
to bed. She tried to keep a rein on her bile, and directed the scathing look
she longed to give to Rolf at his father instead.
"I've heard some very disturbing things about you, your Excellency,"
she said to him, letting the implications of this hang between them.
"No doubt the reason you're here at this hour," Baldur returned.
"Do you want to tell me about it, or will I have to get it from you
one question at a time?"
The Count sighed heavily and ordered his son to pour him a glass of
brandy. Rolf did so sullenly, realizing at last that this was not going to
be a social call on Nabiki's part.
"It's too dangerous," he said after taking a sip of the brandy. "We
have to call the whole thing off."
"Nothing's happened yet," she returned, wondering what he knew. Her
dismissal as Chief of Intelligence was not public knowledge as far as she
was aware.
"The Grand Duke knows!" Baldur hissed. She could see the fear in his
eyes, how it paralyzed him and made him a slave to his instincts. He hadn't
sold her yet, she realized. He was just weak and stupid and afraid.
"My father doesn't know a thing," she countered coolly. "If he did,
I'd be under arrest by now, and so would the rest of you. If you would
pull yourself together for a moment, you'd realize that." She needed to
coddle him a little, and see if it had any useful effect. If it looked
like he would respond to her, she would be content to let things continue
as planned. If not, there was always Rolf.
Baldur averted his eyes from her, and looked down into his glass of
brandy.
"Oh he might suspect that I'm up to something," she went on. "But
his suspicions will come to nothing as long as we all keep our mouths
shut." She gave him a penetrating look that he did his best to withstand.
"You *can* keep your mouth shut, can't you, your Excellency?"
"Of course," he replied. "Of course I can."
"Good," she purred. She was not entirely satisfied with his response,
but a little more encouragement might help. "You realize that our little
arrangement is the best hope the nobles have of retaining their titles,
don't you, your Excellency?"
"Yes, of course I do," Baldur replied. Like so many other nobles
within the Confederation, his chief worry was the fear of Prince Kuno
stripping them of their lands and titles and giving them to rivals, or
worse yet, to the daimyo of the Furinkan Combine. Nabiki's plot, while
treasonous, held out some measure of security for them that they would not
otherwise have.
"Then I don't see why you're having second thoughts," she said to
him. "Running away from our pact will gain you nothing in the end. Your
*only* hope for the future rests with me. As long as you do your part in
this endeavor, we will succeed, and then we shall all reap the rewards of
our efforts."
Baldur nodded slowly. Nabiki could see that there was still some
lingering doubt within him.
"What is it?" she demanded.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked uneasily.
"I can see that you aren't entirely convinced," she returned. "I don't
want to feel as if I'm wasting my time with you, your Excellency." Her eyes
narrowed. She had played it soft with him, and now it was time to play it
hard. "Take this any way you like, your Excellency, but understand that you
are not irreplaceable within this pact."
Her eyes flicked briefly to Rolf, a gesture that went unnoticed by the
Count. The colonel merely seethed in silence near the bar.
"You wouldn't..." Baldur muttered, realizing that she meant to replace
him more than she meant to replace his role within the plot.
"I will," she replied coldly. "As long as I remain unconvinced of your
dedication - not just to me, but to every other noble who has joined us."
She gestured to herself. "*I* won't have to lift a finger against you, your
Excellency, should it come to that. Once the others realize what a threat
you represent to their futures, well... I needn't go into details that you
can surely provide for yourself."
His eyes trembled in their sockets, and she knew that, for the moment,
she had him. Rolf would just have to wait a little longer for his chance,
she decided.

* * *

"It's good to hear your voice, Father."
Grand Duke Soun Tendo cracked a wan smile on Kasumi's display. There
was a three minute lag between the time she had spoken and the time he
could reply, making the conversation that followed a painful exercise in
patience.
"It's good to see my daughter safe and sound," he replied.
"Did you receive my reports?"
Soun nodded. "I haven't had the time to go over them. I felt it was
more important to speak to you directly."
"Of course, Father. We continue to hold base LIBERTY. The other bases
have fallen. Our casualties are high, but we are consolidating and
reorganizing our remaining forces into effective units to continue the
defense of Oni, or to effect a retreat if ordered to do so."
This last she let hang between them, as if hoping her father would
indeed give the order to retreat.
"I understand," Soun replied. "I would gladly give the order to return
to Nerima, but with recent developments..."
Kasumi bowed her head. She had expected this.
"Yes, sir," she returned. "We shall continue the defense of Oni."
"I'm sorry, Daughter," Soun said grimly. "Prince Kuno's withdrawal
from the system has left us baffled, but we can't let an opportunity like
this go. I've ordered a mission to Shounetsu Jigoku space to resupply your
troops, and to allow you to evacuate your wounded. I'm sending what little
I can to reinforce your position as well."
"What are my orders, Father?"
"Kasumi, you are to reestablish control of the moon. Intelligence
indicates a modest enemy presence there, probably just enough to threaten
your retreat. You are to attack and destroy that force. From there, you
are to support a naval operation to harass the forces defending the Jump
Points so that we might break the seige before Kuno can return."
Kasumi knew that without a great deal of reinforcements, liberating
the Jump Points would be a tall order. Father had to know that. Perhaps it
was his real intention to make the conquest of the Capella System so costly
that Prince Kuno would withdraw rather than lose more men and materiel. The
League of Five Nails and the Jusenkyo Commonwealth had to be watching this
conflict, and assessing the Combine for weakness.
"I understand, Father," she said to him.
The Grand Duke's eyes began to water. "You make your father very proud,
Daughter."
Kasumi bowed respectfully, her cheeks tinged with red.
"How are things on Nerima, Father?" she asked after an embarrassed
moment of silence.
"As good as can be expected," he replied. "Morale is still high."
"And Nabiki?" She had to ask. She was going to have to stay on Oni
for a little longer, and that meant only Father stood in her sister's way.
"I have taken your suggestion to heart and suspended her of her duties.
Military Intelligence has taken over for her organization, and her people
have been reassigned." Soun thought about this. "Of course, that meant only
those who were on official payrolls."
"She won't be without resources," Kasumi agreed.
"Really, Kasumi," Soun harrumphed. "It's not like you to be this way
regarding your sister. You don't know how hard it's been for me to even
hear this kind of talk from you."
"I know, Father, but I wouldn't ask you to do such things if I felt
they weren't justified. Nabiki was set on surrendering to the Combine in
order to end the war. You remember her reaction when we agreed to allow
Mister Saotome and his son to search for Ryuugenzawa, and she was furious
when you honored your promise to marry one of us to Ranma."
Soun nodded slowly, his mustache drooping at the corners of his mouth.
"That I do. It doesn't make talk of treason any easier to hear. If
it had come from any other lips than yours, I wouldn't have even listened."
"I know how hard it must be for you, Father," Kasumi assured him. "I
don't like to think about it either, but I can't deny my conviction that
she is plotting something terrible against you."
Soun gave her a dismissive gesture. "Fear not, Daughter. I've quietly
banished Nabiki from the Castle and suspended her bank and credit accounts.
She's living off of whatever she's managed to squirrel away for herself
right now. When she runs out of money, she won't be as much of a threat."
"Be careful, Father. That might only make her more desperate."
"In any case," Soun continued. "She can't sell us out to the Combine
with Prince Kuno off chasing his tail. The wait will hurt her more than us."
"If she does try something that you can hang on her, and fails, what
will you do to her?"
Soun considered this for a moment.
"Exile, perhaps," he replied. "Maybe a few years in the South Tower.
I don't know, Daughter. A year ago I wouldn't have even imagined such a
possibility as a betrayal by my own flesh and blood. This is like some
nightmare out of the early days of the First Succession War, when our
family nearly ripped itself apart." Streams of tears fell down his face.
"I had thought we were beyond that now..."
"One last question, Father," Kasumi pressed. "Before our time runs
out. Have you heard anything from Akane?"
Soun looked away. "I received word from one of our foreign Consulates
that she is alive and well. I dare not say where she is out of fear that
somehow Prince Kuno will find out. Their expedition continues with some
minor difficulties. That's all I know."
The transmission began to break up as the GunShips that maintained the
lasercomm link drifted further and further out of alignment. They were
risking so much already by maintaining such predictable orbits for so long.
"Take care of yourself, Daughter," he said to her. "Again, you make
me proud."
"I will, Father," Kasumi replied. She brushed away a tear. "Good bye
for now."
The transmission broke up, leaving her to wonder if her father would
even receive her farewell.

Chapter Two

Offworld Quarter, the City of Aquila
Planet Tiber, Palatine System
The Federated Shiratori
13 April 3025

Ranma Saotome was not a man at peace with himself. He had been playing
the conversation with his father's mystery lover over and over in his head
ever since she had hung up on him. It bothered him that she seemed to know
who he was and, worse yet, despised him.
Was she even a lover at all? he wondered. It didn't make much sense,
now that he had considered it for so long, but what else could she be? They
had been on the planet less than two weeks so far, and Ranma was certain
that they had never come here in the early days of his youth. Who would
possibly know them here?
Genma had been no help. Whether he was simply feigning an alcohol-
induced amnesia, or he had really been that drunk, Ranma could only guess.
All he knew was that whoever the girl was, she had met his father that
day between the time they had left the Consulate, and the time he had been
arrested for public drunkenness. She might have been the one responsible for
Genma's injuries, an idea that Ranma was forced to consider following her
hostile reply to his call.
He pulled the hundred-imperial note from his pocket and studied the
handwriting. It was not his father's chicken scratch, but a girl's neat,
loopy script. She had given his father her number. Why?
"You aren't seriously planning on meeting her, are you, Ranma?"
He tried to ignore Akane's question as he walked down the hallway of
their hotel.
"Ranma?"
She had been nagging him about it ever since he had made the mistake
of discussing the phone call with his father. His biggest mistake, though,
was telling Genma that he was going to meet the mystery girl as requested.
"I'm not going to be ignored, Ranma," she added indignantly.
"Yes," he barked, still walking for the elevator. "I *am* serious
about this. I want to find out who knows us on this planet, and how they
know."
"You just want to confirm if your father's having an affair," she
countered.
"Maybe," he agreed. "But I don't think it's that anymore. It's weird
that she would know my name, and I want some answers."
They reached the elevator doors. Ranma stabbed at the call button
repeatedly, as if by pressing it over and over again, the elevator would
somehow move faster.
"Okay, fair enough," Akane conceded. "But I'm coming with you."
"Will you please stay out of this?" Ranma said, his voice pained. "I
don't need you tagging along."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "You said yourself that she sounded hostile
over the phone. What if you're walking into some kind of ambush?"
"All the more reason for you not to be there," Ranma returned. "There's
no need for you to get hurt over this." The elevator doors opened, and he
stepped inside, his finger shooting to the 'door close' button before Akane
could join him.
"I happen to be a decent fighter, Ranma," Akane countered. She stepped
past the threshold as the doors started to close, breaking the light beam
that acted as a safety feature, and propping the doors back open to Ranma's
obvious chagrin.
"Yeah, maybe."
"What do you mean, maybe? Where were you when the Black Rose was
attacking Port Said?"
Ranma grimaced. "You don't have to remind me. I've seen the newspages."
"So how about a little credit then?"
"I still don't want you coming."
She stood up on her tip toes and pressed in close to meet his gaze.
Tiny beads of perspiration began to form on his brow. "I already know where
and when you're supposed to meet her, Ranma. You can't stop me."
He leaned back against the wall of the elevator, his face a mask of
surrender.
"Whatever," he said finally. "But if you get hurt, I don't wanna hear
about it, okay?"
"Fair enough," she agreed smugly.
Her smugness grated on him.
"And don't think I'm gonna jump in and save your big butt, either,"
he added, knowing full well that if things did go wrong, he would do so
without hesitating, as if it were a reflex.
By her sly grin, she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. She
was so pleased with her estimation that she let his big butt remark slide
- at least for the moment, there would be time to make him pay for it later.
"That's fine with me, Ranma. I don't need your help."

* * *

Ryouga Hibiki strolled down the warmly lit sidewalks of Aquila Park
with Senior Technician Akari Unryuu by his side. Happiness was such a
transitory emotion with him that he remained uneasy even in the presence
of such a lovely young woman - one who obviously adored him - waiting for
the other shoe to drop. They were thoroughly lost, of course, but Ryouga
knew that as long as they stayed on the sidewalk and didn't cross any
streets, they would be okay.
He certainly didn't remember crossing any streets, but by the same
token, he was sort of tuning out the world around him. Including Akari,
who had amazed him with her ability to talk. And talk. And talk.
The primary topic of her monologue was battlemechs. No surprise there,
he figured, but she had an anecdote for just about any situation a Tech
could possibly have encountered in dealing with them, each as dry and
uninspiring as the last. He found that he wasn't even required to make
the appropriate interested noises, because that would mean that Akari
would have to pause first to allow it.
Despite her phenomenal talent for prattle, Ryouga was quite at peace
around her. Adoration was not something he was accustomed to, and he found
himself drawn towards her like a man starving for affection. Which he was,
he quickly realized.
The words "...So it's quite obvious that you're the man I'm going to
marry someday..." passed through his ears. They bounced around inside his
skull for several seconds looking for something fragile within his psyche
to run into. Eventually, the words "you're," "I'm," and "marry" met up
within his head to the delicate sound of a train derailment.
Ryouga stopped in his tracks, leaving Akari to take several more steps
before realizing that he had done so.
"Wh-Wh-What was that y-you said again?" he stammered softly.
She stopped and offered a sheepish grin.
"I said that it was obvious that you're the man I'm going to marry
someday..."
Ryouga blinked. The sound of his eyelashes clicking together was
defeaning to him. A rushing sound filled his ears as he pondered this.
"That's what I thought you said."
He swooned, and then, darkness...

He awoke to the curious mingling of perfume and traces of molybdenum
grease that was Akari's trademark scent. Warm hands brushed at his brow,
soft fingertips tracing down his temples and over his ears. He opened his
eyes to see Akari's face looking down at him. His head was apparently in
her lap. She didn't seem concerned in the least about his collapse. Instead,
she looked quite wistful.
"My grandfather always said that I should marry a man who pilots a
BattleMaster," she told him with a smile.
"A-A BattleMaster?" he asked dazedly.
"Yes!" she beamed. "Isn't it so romantic?"
She likes me just because of my battlemech? Ryouga wondered, his heart
sinking. That's it?
"But what difference does a person's 'mech make in who they are as a
person?" he asked her. It was such a bizarre sentiment that he simply had
to get an explanation for it.
"My grandfather always said that men who piloted BattleMasters were
brave, noble, selfless men, the kind of man who would make a good husband
for me. No one knows me better than my grandfather. He raised me, and taught
me everything I know about being a Tech, so it just makes sense that he
would know who was best for me as a husband."
Ryouga's eyes crossed at her twisted sense of logic.
"B-But it's just a machine," he protested. "How does a machine make a
person brave and noble and all that...?"
Akari shrugged. "I don't really know," she admitted with a giggle.
"But in your case, it's all true!" She leaned over him to touch her brow
softly against his. "It's all true, Ryouga, dear... I didn't think much
of it when you first joined us, but since then I've seen that you are all
that my grandfather said and more."
Ryouga's face began to burn with a great heat.
"Y-You mean, you *really* want to marry me?"
Akari shrugged. "It seems like a good idea. I can't think of any
reason why not."

The Dreamer in Ryouga began shouting, She wants to marry me! ...ME!
O, a ray of light in a dark and lonely universe!
The Logical part of him then began to vigorously slap the hell out of
the Dreamer. Wake up, stupid! it bellowed. Don't you think this is a little
sudden?

"But we hardly even know each other!" he blurted, his heart about to
burst in his chest. "D-Don't you think this is a little sudden?"
She brushed at his hair some more, her eyes huge and trembling. "I'll
understand if you say no," she whispered. "I know this is all so sudden,
but I'm willing to wait for you as long as it takes to say 'yes,' Ryouga,
dear."

WOO-HOO!!! the Dreamer part of his mind whooped gleefully.
It'll never work... the Logical part countered. A marriage based on
a battlemech? Puh-lease!

Ryouga's face fell with this realization. The internal conflict raged
on.

Akari is beautiful, she's sweet and kind, she absolutely adores us...
So what if she talks too much and is hung up on battlemechs? the Dreamer
put forward. How many girls in the universe have ever even given us the
time of day? This one wants to marry us!
Sorry slugger, the Logical part returned. I didn't want to have to do
this... BUT WHAT ABOUT AKANE!?

Ryouga flinched as if he had been struck. How could he let Akane go so
easily? What kind of man was he to do something like that?
"What is it, Ryouga, dear?" Akari asked him.
"Ummm..." he murmured, his heart close to breaking. "Can I think about
this...?"
Akari offered him a tiny smile. "I said I'd wait for you. Take as much
time as you need."
Ryouga Hibiki closed his eyes, knowing that he might need a long, long
time to figure this all out.

* * *

The bronze statue of Karl Tiber was pitted and weathered with centuries
of age. Ranma paused from his search of the surroundings to note the plaque
dedicating the statue of the colony's founder in 2519. There was no sign of
the girl who had directed him to come to this place.
The statue was only a few meters from the lake. The paddleboats had
all been returned to the rental pier as the sun set, and the surface of the
water was glassy and reflective of the bright yellow crescent moon hanging
low in the evening sky. The area around the statue was freshly cut grass,
with lines of tall, billowy trees of local origin set on knolls to either
side.
Akane remained a good distance from the statue, over by the paddleboat
rental shack, hopefully watching out for him without being too obvious about
it. The mystery girl had been very specific about meeting him alone. As long
as Akane didn't screw up and scare whoever it was off, he would get his
answers.
For a moment he wished he wore a watch. As it stood, he had no idea
what time it was. She could be late for all he knew. She might even have
decided to stand him up. He paced back and forth with this thought in mind,
eventually dismissing the idea.
Where the heck was she?

Ukyou Kuonji watched the man she believed to be Ranma from the shelter
of the trees. There was a passing resemblance to the elder Saotome from
what she could see of Ranma, mostly around the brow, chin, and the general
arrangement of his face. The odd style of dress he affected pointed to
offworld origins. What she had remembered as Ranma's long ponytail was now
carefully braided.
It had to be him. He was a stranger, standing where she had directed
him and at the appropriate time. He looked a little like Genma Saotome, and
his movements as he paced suggested long practice in the martial arts.
The question then, became one of what to make of his shadow, the girl
who watched him from the boat rental. A sister? she wondered. One she had
not met before? It didn't seem likely, she decided. She looked about the
same age as Ranma, and there had never been any mention of any siblings
in his family. There was also the fact that there was little resemblance
between the two of them.
A sudden thought occured to her.
"That can't be Akane Tendo," she muttered to herself. "Could it?"
"Yes sir, I think it is. She's cut her hair, but I pride myself on
being able to recognize important political figures of the Inner Sphere."
Ukyou looked up at Konatsu, who watched the unknown girl through a
set of magnigoggles while perched atop a handy tree limb. Her adjutant was
dressed in his kunoichi attire, something he had not worn in her presence
in years.
"I thought I told you not to come, Konatsu."
Konatsu gave her a sheepish look and put away the magnigoggles.
"Um... Would you believe my being here is just a coincidence?"
Ukyou scowled. "Not now, not ever, sugar."
He held up the magnigoggles.
"How about this: I've taken up birdwatching."
"Konatsu, get down off that tree before I get any angrier with you."
The one-time kunoichi dropped onto the spongy ground and stood at
attention before she could finish her threat. Ukyou looked him over.
"What are you really here for?" she asked him.
Konatsu remained at stiff attention.
"Begging the General's pardon, sir, but as the General's personal
bodyguard as well as her adjutant, I was looking after her physical
security. Sir."
"So you took it upon yourself to violate my orders and follow me,"
she pointed out sternly.
"No sir," Konatsu replied formally. "The General did not specifically
order me not to accompany her. I believe the General's exact words were,
and I quote:" His soft falsetto then became a frighteningly convincing
facsimile of Ukyou's voice. "'Konatsu, honey, I really don't think you
should come along with me.'" His voice then shifted back to his usual
breathy falsetto. "Unquote. Clearly, sir, no such order was given."
Ukyou blinked several times in exasperation. She hated it when he
did impressions of her. It was spooky the way he could duplicate her voice
and mannerisms. Mimicry was part of his kunoichi training, no doubt.
"Very cute," she said dryly. "Now here's an order you can appreciate,
Konatsu. I ORDER you to return to the base, and to stay there until I
direct otherwise. Is that perfectly clear?"
Konatsu bowed low.
"Crystalline, sir."
He bounded off into the woods, disappearing within moments.
She blew her bangs out of her eyes with a huff. She should have
expected this from him. His devotion to her wouldn't have permitted
anything less.
She returned her attention to Ranma Saotome. He was getting visibly
impatient, and she wondered how much longer she should keep him waiting.
Looking at him brought back all the old memories of childhood, and she
fought back a sniffle at the pain she had endured after the Saotomes walked
out of her life.
Could she really blame Ranma for getting left behind? He was, what,
nine years old at the time? What was she really expecting from this meeting?
She had set the whole thing in motion on a whim. The phone number on
the bank note was just a lark. She hadn't really expected them to notice,
it was more like wishful thinking on her part. When Ranma had actually
called her, she had reacted in the worst possible way.
Now she was here, having called him out to this place to meet, and
she didn't know what to do or say. Half of her wanted to rush out and join
the boy she had fallen in love with - perhaps even recapture those happy
days of their childhood before Genma had taken Ranma away. The other half
wanted to walk away, and put Ranma out of her mind forever - that part of
herself that knew one could never truly recapture a particular moment in
time. After all, he had Akane Tendo now... Right?

"Screw this," Ranma snorted to himself. "I'm outta here."
He started towards the boat rental pier. Akane watched him leave the
statue, presenting him with a 'what gives?' gesture as he approached.
"Ranma, wait!" a voice called to him from the trees to his back.
He spun around. A girl with long chestnut hair tied with a white satin
ribbon bounded from the tree line. She wore black tights and a purple
belted tunic, and a large axe - or shovel, or *something* - with a squarish
blade was strapped to her back.
This was the girl who had penned her phone number on a hundred-imperial
note?
He had to admit, though, that his old man had shown remarkably good
taste for once. She was actually pretty darn cute.
"You're the girl I talked to on the phone yesterday?" he asked her
as she ran towards him.
She drew within two meters of him, her face betraying her mixed
emotions of that moment. To Ranma it looked as if she wanted to come much
closer, and wasn't sure if she should. She didn't seem angry or vengeful
in the slightest, which was a sharp contrast to the voice he had heard
over the phone.
"You don't recognize me, do you?" she asked in a quiet voice.
Do I *know* this girl? Ranma thought frantically. I'd have to remember
someone as cute as her, right?
"Um?" he offered lamely.
"I guess not," she said mournfully. "It's been over ten years. A lot
can happen in that time."
"You mind telling me who you are?"
Her green eyes flashed hopefully. "I'm Ukyou Kuonji. I'm from New
Osaka originally."
Ranma wracked his brain for some kind of confirmation. He remembered
New Osaka, as it had been his first time away from the Nerima Confederation,
and also one of the few planets where they had spent any decent length of
time. He didn't remember any girls though.
"That means nothing to you?" she asked, her voice edged with sorrow.
"I'm thinking," Ranma protested. "I moved around a lot when I was
little."
"I suppose you have," she agreed.
The name Ukyou came back to him suddenly. Those were the days! he
reflected happily. Me and Ucchan! The brawls we'd get into... The food...
Sparring together in the mountains while on a training trip with Pop...
Food... Shredded-cabbage pancakes or something like that, but *gooood...*
He looked at the extremely cute girl standing before him. There was
just no way.
"I remember my best friend on New Osaka," he said to her. "A boy named
Ucchan."
Ukyou's jaw dropped. Her mouth flopped open and shut several times,
as if she were trying to speak, and no sound would issue forth. Finally,
she managed to get her vocal cords to obey.
"A... BOY!?"
"You ain't looking like any guy I ever met," Ranma pointed out.
"What are you, his sister or something? I don't remember Ucchan having
any sisters."
Ukyou's face took on a deep red hue.
"You thought I was a BOY!?"
Ranma cocked his head to the side. There was something he was missing
in this conversation, and he wasn't quite sure what it was.
Ukyou did not give him any further opportunities to ponder this.
"You... You... YOU IDIOT!"
The next thing he knew, the large flat-bladed shovel she carried, or
whatever it was, was suddenly slamming down on the top of his head. He saw
lots of pretty lights after that, and then, a close-up perspective of the
grass.

Ukyou looked down at her handiwork, the spatula warm in her hands
from the energy of the impact. It had all happened so fast! One moment
she was seething mad at having been mistaken for a boy all these years
by the one person she had ever loved. The next, she was clobbering him
with her ancestral weapon.
"RANMA!" a young woman's voice cried out in the distance. It was
the girl shadowing Ranma. The Lady Akane Tendo, Heir Apparent to the
Nerima Confederation, by Konatsu's estimation.
Ranma's *fiancee...*
The girl, Akane, whoever she was, was charging straight towards her.
She was yelling "Get away from him, you!" and variations on that theme.
What have I done? Ukyou wondered, her mind in shock. I've killed
him...
Then, as if to make her feel even more foolish, Ranma began to stir.
"What'ya do that for?" he groaned from the grass while rubbing his
head.
"Ranchan!" she cried with relief. She knelt over him and began to
hug him. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!"

Ranma, still dazed from his blow to the head, sat back dizzily and
let the girl, who had just clocked him, now put her arms around him. A
annoying buzzing rang in his ears, and he realized that it was the sound
of Akane's voice. She was probably ragging on him for something he had
done wrong, he supposed.
In the meantime, this girl who was hugging him sure smelled nice...

"You keep your hands off him!" Akane raged at Ranma's assailant. She
had her cell-phone in hand. "I'm calling the police!"
"It was a mistake!" the girl protested. "I didn't mean to hurt him!"
"Ha! Like you didn't mean to hurt Mister Saotome yesterday!?" Akane
shot back. "I saw what you did to his face with that big, er, whatever
it is!"
She began dialing the emergency assistance number when a miniature
version of the mystery girl's melee weapon cut through the phone with a
flash of sparks and shattered plastic. The throw had been so precise that
she hadn't even been injured by the blade as it passed.
"You're making a big mistake," the girl told her, a brace of the mini-
spatulas in her right hand as she cradled the dazed Ranma's head against
her bosom with the other. "Now stop overreacting and give me a hand with
him."
Akane stood still, eyeing the oddly-shaped throwing weapons warily.
"Just who do you think you are?" she demanded of the girl.
Ukyou gave her a tight-lipped and sad little smile.
"I'm Ranma's fiancee."

Chapter Three

Nerima Confederation DropShip _Palomino_
Landing Pad #6, Aquila Starport
Planet Tiber, Palatine System
The Federated Shiratori
13 April 3025

"Well, it doesn't look like there's any permanent damage," Doctor
Tofu said as he studied the scans from the DropShip's portable MagRes
Med-Imager in Sick Bay. "It's been my opinion based on previous experience
that Ranma has a pretty thick skull..."
"No kidding," Akane huffed, casting a contemptuous look towards Ranma,
and the girl who sat by his side to comfort him. His *fiancee!*
"So he'll be okay?" Ukyou asked the doctor.
Tofu patted Ranma's shoulder. The pig-tailed mechwarrior's head was
topped with a cold compress.
"He should be just fine," he replied. He looked to Ranma. "Now
remember, Ranma. If you should feel even the slightest bit dizzy or
nauseous within the next few days, you let me know," he admonished.
Ranma shrugged it off.
"Sure thing, Doc."
Tofu continued.
"I'll want to run another scan in the morning in any case, just to
make sure nothing's changed with your condition. It's good that you caught
me when you did, as I was about to make a run over to the hospital to check
on my _Dragonfly_ patients." He gathered up a bag. "You kids play nice now,
okay?"
He then stepped through the Sick Bay door and into the passageway
beyond.
Once Doctor Tofu was gone, Akane turned back to Ukyou.
"Ranma's going to be okay," she pointed out. "Now are you going to
explain this fiancee business or not?"
"Fiancee?" Ranma blurted. He had not been terribly coherent during the
trip back to the starport. "No thanks, I've already got one, and--"
"--That's what I've been trying to tell her," Akane said snidely.
"--And if you'd let me finish," Ranma shot back. "I was gonna say that
one fiancee was one too many."
She gave him a dirty look. "Jerk."
"Tomboy," he riposted.
"Anyhow..." Ukyou interjected, more than a little amused at their
verbal sparring. "It's all true. I was promised to be Ranma's fiancee
over ten years ago on New Osaka. His father even took the dowry for me
and then spent it all."
Ranma shook his head slowly. This was news to him, especially the
part about his old chum Ucchan being a girl - and a very cute one at that.
Had he been that completely naive not to notice?
"That figures..." he muttered. He looked around Sick Bay. "Where is
my old man, anyway?"
"I don't know," Akane answered him. "He wasn't on board when we
came back to the ship." She looked down at the deckplates. "How could he?"
she asked herself. "How could he just promise Ranma away like that?"
"It gets better," Ukyou said to her. "Instead of taking me with them
like they were supposed to, I got left behind." She tried not to think
about the pain, the humiliation. "Genma used my family like a pair of
ramen-shop chopsticks, and then he threw us away."
"Is that why you smacked him in the face?" Ranma asked her coldly.
Ukyou drew back from him, afraid of what he might do next.
"Yes," she said flatly.
"Good," he snorted. "It sounds like the old prick deserved it."
"Ranma can't be your fiance," Akane pointed out in the silence that
followed his remark. "He's engaged to *me.*"
Ukyou looked first to Ranma, and then to Akane.
"From what I've heard, you two only got engaged in the last three
months or so. I've been promised to Ranma, and the dowry paid for mind you,
for over ten *years.* If anyone has precedence here, it's me."
"That's ridiculous!" Akane retorted. "We've only got your word for it
that it's even true!"
"I believe her," Ranma said evenly, before Ukyou could reply. "Why
would Ucchan make something like this up?"
Akane whirled on him. "So you're telling me that you WANT to be engaged
to this girl, who comes from out of nowhere and says she's your long lost
fiancee, and piles on this sob story about how your Dad cheated her family
out of a dowry?"
He failed to detect the hurt tone in her voice before he replied.
"At least she's cute!" he retorted. "Not like some people I could
mention, who run around complaining about how they don't get any respect
from me, and hit me when they get mad, and..."
He stopped when he realized what his words were doing to her.
"Akane, I--"
"Save it, Ranma," she replied bitterly. "Have fun with your cute
fiancee."
She stormed out of Sick Bay, leaving Ranma and Ukyou alone at last.
"Let her go," Ukyou said, tugging at his sleeve as he rose to chase
after Akane. "This can't be easy for her. I know it hasn't been easy for
me."
"Stupid, uncute tomboy," Ranma growled. "She's just like her Warhammer,
always overheating, always flying off the handle at every stupid little
thing I say or do. I don't know why I even bother sometimes..."
Ukyou gave him a penetrating look, her green eyes filled with hope.
"You don't like Akane?" she asked him.
"She drives me nuts," he replied slowly.
Ukyou wanted to ask him another question, but held off when she
detected something else in the tone of his voice. Better not to push the
issue any faster than she already had, she decided.
"So? Are you glad to see me?" she asked him.
He blushed slightly. "I don't know, uh, sure, I guess."
"That sounded very sincere," she pointed out mockingly.
"Geez, Ucchan," he said, standing. "Akane's right. You came out of
nowhere, and I honestly didn't know you were a... well... A girl."
"A cute one too, according to you," she added with a shy grin. She
felt like she was thirteen years old in that moment. Ranma was so handsome
standing there, even with a cold-pack on his head. His rocky relationship
with Akane was more than she could have hoped for.
"I guess I did say that," he replied quietly.
"Ranchan," she said to him. "I know this is sudden. And I know that
I haven't approached this situation in the best possible way. I was angry,
Ranchan. Angry at your father, and angry at you for leaving me behind all
those years ago. But I don't blame you anymore, Ranchan. Not even for
thinking I was a boy this whole time."
"That was pretty stupid of me," Ranma said, blushing. "I'm sorry if
I offended you, Ucchan."
"You're forgiven, as long as I am too, for hitting you over it."
He rubbed at his cold-pack. "You're forgiven, Ucchan."
She smiled brightly for him.
"I'm glad," she said warmly. Thoughts of Mikado Sanzenin and the
Federated Shiratori Army were parsecs away from her now.
"Hey, I've got an idea," Ranma broached. "Let's go out for awhile,
and catch up on old times."
"That's a great idea," she returned. "Did you have any place in mind,
or can I recommend?"
Ranma pointed to the ceiling. "I have just the thing." He reached for
the intercomm and pressed the 'call' button for the Tech Shed.

* * *

The Boomerang, freshly unpacked from its stowage crate and assembled
on the tarmac, sat before the two mechwarriors. The moon had risen higher
in the sky, though its light was overwhelmed by the lights of the starport.
"What do you think?" Ranma asked Ukyou.
She had planned on somewhere a little more comfortable, but she didn't
want to dampen his obvious enthusiasm. "It's not quite what I had in mind,
but that's okay."
"Great. Let me give it the once-over, and then we'll get going." He
pointed to the sky. "No one can bother us up there."
Ukyou saw his point. "Lead the way."
Ranma did a preflight inspection of the turboprop recon plane while
Ukyou watched. When he was satisfied that the aircraft had been properly
assembled, he signalled her to hop in.
"Ever flown in one of these?" he asked her when they were seated.
She had, once. As a Brigadier in the Federated Shiratori Army, she
didn't get much of an opportunity to become more familiar with the planes.
"Just once," she replied. At least the seats were side by side. The
cockpit was actually kind of cozy. "Does this thing have an autopilot?"
"Sure," Ranma replied. "A simple one. Why do you ask?"
She blushed at the thought of getting in some smooch-time that was
long overdue. "Oh, I don't know. Things happen."
Ranma, ever the dense one, didn't make the connection.
"Whatever."
He lowered the canopy and sealed it. The powerful turboprop engine
roared to life behind them as he hit the starter. He sat there in
comfortable silence with Ukyou as the aircraft's engine warmed up for
take off.

Akane watched as the little reconnaisance plane taxied down the tarmac
until it was well clear of the DropShip, then turned back to face parallel
to the ship and accelerated. It leaped into the air within the length of
the _Palomino,_ reminding her of a time only weeks previously that she had
spent with Ranma in that very plane. This time it was Ukyou flying with
him.
She watched the little plane soar into the night sky, its collision
lights swamped by the yellow-orange haze of the starport's high intensity
sodium lamps. The symbolism of it wasn't lost on her. Ranma was flying
away, escaping from her with his new fiancee - a girl he had only just met.
His cute fiancee.
Damn you, Ranma! she railed at the sky. The Boomerang was lost to
her sight against the glow of the starport, but without the muffler engaged,
she could still hear its low, throaty buzz. I hate you! I hate you! I hate
you!
But she didn't hate him, and that was why it hurt so much.
She turned away from the open 'Mech Bay Door, past the hunkered,
furry mass of Pansuto Tarou, who was drifting through a sedative-induced
fog until he could finally be brought to justice, past the crewman with
the assault rifle whose job it was to shoot Tarou if he tried to escape,
and past the techs who had unwittingly abetted in Ranma's betrayal of her.
As she reached the Lower Deck, she encountered Yuka and Sayuri. Both
fighter pilots were dressed to go out for a night in town. The two offered
unsolicited looks of sympathy for her as she passed them. It was obvious
why they were doing this, as they were the ones who had driven the three
of them back to the ship from the park. On small ships like the _Palomino,_
there were no secrets among the crew, and Ukyou must have been a pretty
hot gossip item.
"Forget about him, Akane," Sayuri said to her.
"He's a jerk, just like his father," Yuka added. "Don't waste your
time."
She let it go, pretending not to hear them as she climbed through the
open hatch to the next deck.

* * *

"So, ah, Ucchan," Ranma began as he levelled off from his turn. The
muffler was now engaged, making the ride smooth and quiet. The lights of
Aquila were receding behind them as they flew south over moonlit farmland.
"What do you do now? Are you still making that okonomi-- ah, you know..."
"Okonomiyaki?" she teased. "Not really. I used to, but recently I
just haven't had much time for it."
"Too bad," Ranma returned. "It was good stuff."
"Would you like some?" she asked him. "When we land, you can come
back to my place and I'll make you as much as you want."
Ranma's eyes lit up.
"Really? That'd be great!"
He goosed the throttle and pulled up into a full loop, whooping with
glee. Ukyou tried to keep her stomach under control throughout the maneuver,
but was secretly pleased by how happy he was.
"Of course, you'll know what I do for a job once you see where I'm
living," she added. Konatsu might have to receive some very explicit
instructions later, instructions that involved in no uncertain terms his
removal from the premises for the rest of the evening. And hopefully well
past breakfast, too...
"So what *do* you do, exactly?"
She smiled. "Well, you'll be happy to note that I'm a mechwarrior now."
"Really?" Ranma gushed. "Cool."
"But I don't get much time in a cockpit," she added. "I'm a Brigadier,
commanding most of the Federated Shiratori's battlemech forces."
"Whoa," Ranma gasped. "That's *way* cool, Ucchan." He gave her a
funny look. "You're not pulling my leg about this, are you?"
"Not at all, Ranchan," she replied. "Although I've been thinking about
going back into the okonomiyaki business."
"Why?" he asked her. "I mean, if your okonomiyaki is anything like
it used to be, you'd do pretty well, but the job you've got sounds pretty
good."
"Not really," she lamented. "I hate my job. And I hate the man I'm
working for. I've been seriously considering resigning my commission."
Ranma shrugged. "Well, whatever. If it makes you happy, I'm all for
it."
Ukyou blushed. "Do you mean that?"
"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I? We're friends, right?"
Friends, she thought. I want to be so much more, but I guess that's a
good place to start.
"Of course we are," she returned.
"So why do you hate your job?" he asked. "Is the regular army that
bad?"
"This one is," she answered ruefully. "The Federated Shiratori Army
doesn't exactly inspire fear in the hearts of our enemies. Most of the
officers are totally incompetent, and the enlisted are usually nothing
more than a heavily armed rabble. I've been here since February directing
the Spring Maneuvers just so we can get up to par, but I know it'll just
be a waste of time because the Empress will undo everything, just because
she suddenly doesn't like one of my commanders and sacks him."
She gave Ranma a stern look.
"You can't run an army like that. Sacking commanders left and right
and promoting others just because you think they're cute. Morale goes
straight to hell and..." She stopped, realizing that she was venting, and
that she didn't want to do that around Ranma. Not when every moment they
were alone together was so important. "Sorry, my job has really been
getting to me lately."
"It's okay," Ranma told her. "I get the picture. It sounds like you're
not happy with it, so move on."
He flipped a switch on the simple instrument panel, and then let go
of the control column.
"Autopilot's on," he said to her. She blushed at the thought.
"So what have you been doing all this time?" she asked coyly.
"The usual training up until about three years ago," he said to her.
"Then we lost the family 'mech. It got too worn out to fix, so we had to
scrap it. Bill collectors took most of what we got for it, and we were
too broke to buy another 'mech."
"I see. Then my dowry was ultimately for nothing, then."
Ranma shook his head in disgust for what his father had done to Ucchan.
"I guess," he murmured, uncomfortable with the subject. "After that we
became Scouts. We've been chasing after this myth called Ryuugenzawa ever
since."
"Ryuugenzawa?" Ukyou chirped.
"You've heard of it?"
"What mechwarrior hasn't?" she replied. "I can see what you mean by
myth though. It can't possibly exist."
"My old man thinks it does." He thought about what Akane had said to
him in the park the day before, about how she needed Ryuugenzawa if she
was going to take back the Confederation from the Furinkan Combine. "Heck,
I've even started believing in it. Well, just a little."
"Why?"
Ranma wondered how much he should tell her. She was, after all, a
high-ranking officer of the Federated Shiratori Armed Forces.
"We've found a few things," he said at length. "Artifacts. Stuff
that points to where we might find the place."
"Really? Where do you think it is?"
"Not a clue. We need to find one more piece of the puzzle, and then
we'll have our answer. That's one of the reasons why we're here in the F-S."
Ukyou was intrigued.
"You think it's here. On Tiber?"
"Nah. It's on Genevieve," Ranma replied glibly. "Azusa's got it in her
Collection of Cute." He clamped a hand over his mouth just a little too
late. "I, uh, probably shouldn't have told you that..."
"It's okay, Ranchan," she assured him. "Why would I tell anyone about
this?" She leaned in close to him. "We're friends, right?"
"Yeah," Ranma affirmed. He eased ever so slightly back into his seat.
"Hey," she said after a moment. "Maybe I can help you get it."
He gave her a dubious look. "You? How?"
"Well, you see I was planning on going to Genevieve anyway," she began.
"I was going to petition the Empress for diplomatic duty, and if she said
no, then I was going to resign my commission and go home to New Osaka."
He thought about what she had said for a moment.
"I don't see how that can help us, Ucchan."
"I know my way around the palace," she said to him. "I'm not proud of
this, but I'm also one of the Empress' favorites. I can get you access you'd
never get on your own."
Now he was starting to see the possibilities.
"Hey, yeah," he exclaimed. "I get it. If you could help us, that would
be so cool, Ucchan."
"Wouldn't it, though?" she asked with a grin. The grin faded. "There's
only one problem though."
"What's that?"
"Akane. I don't think she likes me."
Ranma shrugged. "What's that got to do with anything? She's not in
charge of this expedition. My Pop is."
Ukyou's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Yeah. The only reason Akane's tagging along with us is because her
Dad, the Grand Duke, sent her away from the war at home."
"So you don't think your father will have any problem with me helping
you guys out?"
"The way I figure it," Ranma said to her. "He owes you big time for
this whole dowry thing. He doesn't have a choice."
He turned back to his instruments for a moment, then cast his eyes
out across the darkness. Ukyou watched him for some time in friendly
silence. She felt so comfortable around him. Words were not necessary
between them.
She leaned back in her chair. Ranma was like a dream come true, she
realized. Handsome, thoughtful, kind, and instantly open and friendly to
her even after ten years of separation. It was too bad he was shackled to
a shrew like Akane. In spite of herself, she grinned. But he won't be
shackled to Akane for very much longer, she thought.
She sighed happily to herself, secure in the knowledge that she was
still in love with Ranma, and even if he was a little clueless for a guy
his age, she knew that he would eventually come to love her back.

Chapter Four

Eight Shining Pearls Fortress
Planet Jusenkyo, Jusenkyo System
The Jusenkyo Commonwealth
17 April 3025

"<I'm very disappointed in you, General Herb.>"
Herb's red reptilian eyes flashed in response to Peony's declaration.
"<How so, Elder?>"
The wizened crone that was the Commonwealth Chancellor of the Exchequer
gave him a toothless sneer. Unlike Cologne, who Herb had known through the
clan's portraits to have been an extraordinarily beautiful woman in her
youth, Peony had always been homely. Age had done her no favors.
"<You allowed Shampoo to escape justice and become a renegade.>"
"<That's hardly fair,>" he sniffed. "<Given that it was your decision
to hold the hearing on Tau Ceti, where she would not lack for allies.>"
"<I had little choice in the matter,>" she returned indignantly.
"<Once again Cologne abused her power as head of the clan to insist upon
a favorable venue. My hands were tied.>"
Herb remained silent. He had expected Peony to have already gone
through the roof in a rage over the matter, and bring the conflict within
the Joketsuzoku leadership to a head. That was the reason for his coming to
Jusenkyo, to stave off such a disastrous turn of events.
Instead, Peony had done nothing. Did she already suspect that he was
less than loyal to her cause? At this point it would mean little to him,
as he had been prepared to tell her so outright had she taken the expected
course of action. He needed to discover her intentions.
"<What do you intend to do about it, Elder?>" he asked.
Peony grunted. "<For the moment, nothing. Cologne and her family will
bear the brunt of Shampoo's dishonor and disgrace. In time, it will bring
the other elders who have not yet taken sides into my circle.>"
Herb frowned inwardly. Had a hundred years of being second best to
Cologne finally granted Peony a measure of patience? If so, he had badly
misjudged her, and that was dangerous. Furthermore, if she was willing to
let Shampoo's escape go with little fuss, he would have very little to
offer Cologne.
His position had just been weakened considerably, for his power lay
with the strength of his army - and the threat of its use. Now there was
nothing to rattle his saber over. His only consolation was that he had not
exposed himself too soon in the game. He was still Peony's obliging tool,
at least for the moment, and Cologne knew that he continued to represent
the balance of power.
Since nothing else had changed in the game, it was incumbent upon him
to change his own position and strength. Cologne had certainly guessed by
now where his true loyalties and ambitions lay, and with no crisis to force
her hand, would be maneuvering against him.
Even worse, it was possible that she suspected his involvement in
Shampoo's escape. Since Peony had not pounced, who else could have stood
to gain from it?
"<What are you plotting, General?>" Peony asked him then, nearly
startling the wits out of him with such a direct accusation.
"<Pardon me, Elder?>" he asked in return, trying to sound offended
by the idea of plotting anything.
"<Strange whispers come to me from many corners of the Commonwealth,>"
she said, her toothless mouth hissing sibilantly as she spoke. "<From time
to time I entertain them with my ear.>"
"<Rumors,>" he scoffed. "<Whispers. Show me an authority figure who
isn't whispered against, Elder. You should know that as well as I.>"
Peony nodded slowly in agreement. "<Do not presume to remind me of
such things, young hybrid.>" Her rebuke was mild in tone, but Herb sensed
the anger in it.
"<Of course not, Elder,>" he returned humbly. "<May I inquire then, as
to the nature of these rumors?>"
Peony's breath rattled in her throat. "<I hear of the Musk Dynasty,>"
she said to him. "<A rabble of men who believe that they should rule over
the rightful affairs of women. They grow in strength on worlds administered
by you, General.>" She gave him a rheumy-eyed look. "<Some would question
your loyalty, General...>"
Herb affected a look of indignance. "<Do you question my loyalty,
Elder?>"
Peony closed her eyes. "<I do not,>" she replied. "<But there are
those on the Council who fear you, General. Fear is a dangerous emotion.
It clouds the mind and smothers the spirit. It breeds lies and hate.>"
She gave him another stern look. "<You have many enemies, General.>"
Herb realized at last where this was going, and had to stifle a laugh.
"<You mean Cologne, do you not, Elder?>" he asked haltingly.
Peony nodded. "<I do. And you would do well to realize that in your
future dealings with her. She would destroy you were it not for my
intervention.>"
Now Herb was rolling with laughter on the inside. The old bag was
trying to reinforce their alliance by frightening him with the spectre of
Cologne! It was too rich.
"<I-I thank you for the warning, Elder, and for your benevolent
protection,>" he said reverently. That's right, you stupid old hag, I'm
just a scared little boy, lost in the halls of power with no woman to guide
me. Please let me take your hand!
Peony seemed pleased by this, and smiled her toothless smile. "<You
may keep your silly fraternity, General. I have no reason to fear them.>"
Herb bowed indulgently. Oh, but you do, you mindless, senile old biddy.
You have EVERY reason to fear them.

* * *

Cologne regarded her Chief Scientist carefully. For the man to have
journeyed all the way from the Epsilon Indi system to Jusenkyo unannounced,
it would have to be something important.
"<Yes, Doctor, what is it?>"
Gaido bowed low for her.
"<I humbly come before you to discuss the matter of Saffron, Elder.>"
Cologne puffed thoughtfully on her pipe.
"<Dispense with the formalities, Gaido. We've known each other for
many years. Say what is on your mind.>"
Gaido relaxed slightly at this.
"<I have analyzed the data,>" he began.
"<Is there a problem?>"
The portly scientist sucked at his teeth for a moment. "<Not with
Saffron specifically. Indeed, he has exceeded all expectations for his
performance.>"
"<What then?>"
"<It has to do with his indoctrination,>" he said to her. Lazy coils
of blue smoke wafted over his head as Cologne puffed indifferently on her
pipe.
"<You're concerned that Saffron is too powerful to be controlled,>"
she said, seeing straight through to the heart of the matter. It was little
wonder why she was the Matriarch. "<I must confess that I too, from time to
time, worry about that possibility.>"
Gaido took her words as hope for his cause.
"<I have supported you in all things, Cologne,>" he said to her.
"<The Breeding Program especially. But right now I fear for the future of
the Commonwealth. What we've been able to achieve with Saffron has no
precedent. We cannot guarantee control over his power, or his loyalty.>"
"<There is no guarantee of loyalty for anyone,>" Cologne countered.
"<Even you, Doctor.>" She blew a smoke ring. "<Trust is a vital component
of society, which is why treason and betrayal are accorded universal
hatred among all of humanity. Saffron will be as loyal as any warrior of
the Joketsuzoku can be when raised and conditioned with the values of the
clan.>"
"<General Herb would be a good example of this then,>" Gaido snorted.
Cologne favored his outburst with a penetrating gaze. "<General Herb
has become what he is because I let him,>" she said coolly. "<For good or
ill, I have allowed him to achieve a position of power and authority,
even knowing that he could abuse his station and become a threat to our
society.>"
Gaido's mouth gaped open. Cologne was talking madness!
"<For what purpose?>" he asked.
Cologne closed her eyes for a moment in reflection.
"<Our society is very old,>" she said in soft voice. "<Thousands of
years old, from a time long before humankind reached out for the stars. We
began as pastoral farmers on the fringes of China, calling ourselves
Chinese, and yet paying only lip-service to the Emperor and his bureacracy.
Always we were a clan, ruled by a council, and that council was made up of
women.
"<Throughout our history we have been subject to the influence of
outsiders, from Genghis Khan and his warriors of the steppe, to the British
and American colonialists, to Japanese occupation, to Mao Zedong and his
idiotic communists, and even to Jiang Kao Xian's New China Sphere, and
despite them all, we have always done things our way. We maintained our
identity. When the Jump Drive became commonplace, the ancestors of this
clan went into space as mercenaries. We fought using modern technology,
but it was our ancient customs and our ideals that gave us unity as an
army, and allowed us to conquer our enemies.
"<In the early days of space travel, our clan, the Joketsuzoku, grew
wealthy and powerful. We expanded our influence from matters of war to the
colonization of the Inner Sphere. We founded the Commonwealth from this
very world, and now we control over a hundred planetary systems. In all
that time we were a clan, ruled by a council, and that council was made
up of women.>"
Cologne took another puff on her pipe before continuing her history
lesson.
"<Would that our hegemony be so uniform,>" she muttered. "<Our numbers
were never very many, and our warrior nature prevented us from ever truly
colonizing these worlds within our sphere. Mongrel races live in our empire,
Doctor Gaido; foreign cultures with foreign ideals. We can't stamp them out,
and it would be foolish to try. We need them, foreigners to our way that
they are. They run our factories, work in our mines, and grow our food.
Their taxes finance our armies and our fleets.>"
She set her pipe aside in a small clay bowl.
"<And therein lies the mortal danger to our clan, Doctor. We are an
empire populated by strangers to our ways. It does not matter to these
people that we have existed as a unified culture for millenia with women
as our leaders. They see only what they perceive to be discrimination.
These views infect us, Gaido. General Herb and the Musk Dynasty are but
the most threatening symptoms of our exposure to these alien thoughts.>"
Gaido frowned. "<I don't understand exactly what you are getting at,
Cologne. What does this have to do with allowing General Herb to become a
threat to the Joketsuzoku?>"
Cologne snorted. "<You've spent too much time in your laboratory,
Gaido. You should know that from time to time we must experience crisis
if we are to be reminded of ourselves and what we stand for. I myself have
gone soft these last ten years, doting on my great-grandaughter, Shampoo,
who has become such a terrible disappointment to me. Her bitter failure,
and the shame it has brought me, has opened my eyes. I am truly awake for
the first time in years.>"
She regarded him closely. Gaido could see the deep lines of concern
in her face, and knew that she had been contemplating many difficult paths
of inquiry into the future of the clan.
"<When I say that I have allowed Herb to become what he is, I do not
mean that such was my intention. Now I see once again with the wisdom of
my predecessor, that Herb is a test for the Joketsuzoku, and that it is my
responsibility as Matriarch to allow that test to come to pass. Dust and
cobwebs clutter the minds of our people, Gaido. We have become complacent,
even tolerant in the face of customs that are anathema to our clan. It is
time for a cleansing of spirit and a rededication to our ideals. For with
the Furinkan Combine waxing in the ascendant, and Prince Kuno soon turning
his questing eye towards our worlds, we cannot face them without unity of
purpose, and hope to prevail.
"<In the coming struggle we shall either triumph and thus preserve
our ways, or else we shall be swept away on the tides of history, our clan
and its culture lost to the antiquity from whence it sprang.>"
Gaido did not find the reassurance he was looking for.
"<I see, but what does this have to do with Saffron?>"
"<General Herb is the symbol of the Musk Dynasty. Without him, they
would be nothing more than a rabble; brutish, stupid, and easily controlled.
Herb himself has seen to that - he hates competition. If we are to crush
the man-symbol of disobedience to Matriarchal rule, what better way to do
it than with another man? A man loyal to the Council, with power and might
far beyond a normal human being - and yet still loyal to his clan.>" She
offered him an indulgent smile. "<I understand your fears, Doctor Gaido,
but Saffron will continue as is. Herb will never even meet Saffron until
such time as it becomes necessary for him to be destroyed.>"
"<Until it becomes necessary?>" Gaido asked incredulously. "<I would
think it was necessary right now!>"
"<Not so,>" Cologne countered. "<He bears a close watch, but to
destroy him now, before he can commit his treasonous heart to concrete
action, would be to make him a martyr. I don't want him to become a
martyr. I want him to be remembered as a villainous traitor to the clan.
His fall from grace must serve as a lesson to us all. Until he does
something unquestionably treasonous, and furthermore worthy of his
removal, he is free to cook up whatever plots his heart desires.>"
Gaido gave her a guarded look.
"<You play a most dangerous game with our clan, my oldest friend,>"
he said to her. "<Perhaps it was best if I returned to Lightoller. I have
neither the heart nor the stomach for such intrigues.>"
"<Go, my gentle scientist,>" Cologne said to him warmly. "<I don't
fault you for wanting to be well away from this place.>"

END OF PART SIXTEEN