[Ranma][FanFic] Ruler of the Raging Main - Part 1

[J. Austin Wilde and Bridget Ellen Engman]

Author's Forward:

Well, it's autumn again, and high time for another big adventure
fanfiction story from me. This one is a bit of an Elseworlds story that
has been tossed around in my head for almost a year now. Between meeting
my Heart's Desire and leaving active military service for the pleasures
and pitfalls of civilian life, I haven't had a great deal of time or
energy for writing. (Helping to raise a three-year-old may also be a
significant factor here, but let's not confuse the issue further.) I
think the last meaty work I put out was "2001: Odyssey 1/2" -sometime in
April. So when my Muse finally got off her duff and inspired me, I was
hell-bent for leather to get to work.

This is a fantasy story set in a past that may have been. There are
parts that are based in historical fact (as we know it), and there are
parts which have been shaped solely for the purpose of advancing the
story I wanted to tell. It's a Ranma story, featuring the cast we know
and love, but have a care not to take any character relationships or
other canonical tidbits for granted. I used and abused where I saw fit.

Above all, enjoy the story! I'm not getting paid for it, and while the
C&C I get is always appreciated, I write for the pleasure of
storytelling and the entertainment it gives to others.

The western shore of the Yellow Sea, late summer, 1669 AD.

It was mid-afternoon and the waterfront stank. It smelled of rotten
fish, garbage, raw sewage, and other human detritus ripened by a searing
sun, and cursed with no appreciable wind to blow it all away. The locals
didn't notice a thing, having lived with it all their lives. The crowds
continued to mill and throng about the wharves jabbering their singsong
cants of ways, wares, and whores oblivious to the cesspool they lived
in.
Ranma Saotome was not a local. He wasn't even Chinese. Given the
chance, he would be on the first junk, sampan, or bark that would take
him across the sea to Japan. He didn't know much about the world, but he
knew he hated Shanghai.
It was all his father's fault. With luck his old man was being
served up with rice and bamboo shoots even as he thought of him. He knew
better, however. Bastards like Genma Saotome led charmed lives.
He didn't have much money for passage on a ship. He knew he could
swim the distance, but there was Ucchan to think about. His adopted
sister and companion was strong and tough, but he honestly didn't think
she was up to the challenge.
Ukyo appeared, carrying a large bowl of rice, a pot of something
that smelled like curry, and two skewers of meat, probably dog if Ranma
had his guess. He had eaten worse. She smiled for him and he smiled
back.
"Since this will be our last meal in China, I thought we'd
celebrate," she said brightly.
"How much did you spend?" Ranma asked warily.
"Not that much," she shrugged. She felt the sudden weight of
Ranma's gaze upon her and started. "How much can passage to Japan cost?"
Ranma began to get a sinking feeling. "That depends on whether you
want to be a passenger or one of the crew..."
Ukyo reddened.
"I'm sorry..." She said lamely.
He lowered his head. He couldn't be mad at her. Not in any real
sense. She had been his only constant friend for the last ten years.
They'd grown up together as brother and sister.
"Don't be," he said. "You didn't know any better." Inside, he felt
like screaming. The entire trip to China had been an endless string of
disasters. Hopefully they had left most of them behind in Qinghai
Province. Some however weren't *ever* going away. That thought alone got
his blood boiling.
"Oh please, Ran-chan, don't get mad!"
Ranma took a deep breath. Then another. Then a third.
"I ain't mad," he said gruffly. "I said you didn't know any better
and I meant it."
"You're mad at me," Ukyo accused.
"I'm not mad at *you,*" Ranma replied. "Just this whole damn
training trip... I hope those Amazons did him in, `cause if I ever get
my hands on him I'll..." He left his oath at that.
"Whatever he gets, he deserves," Ukyo agreed.
They ate in silence for awhile.
"I just hope that crazy Amazon girl lost us." Ranma said, and
shuddered at the thought of Shampoo's dogged pursuit of them across
hundreds of miles of Chinese countryside. It sure as hell wasn't *his*
fault that she got clumsy and fell into one of those damn springs. Of
course she held him responsible for it anyway, and added it to the list
of reasons why she wanted him dead.
"If I ever get my hands on her..." Ukyo growled. Shampoo had ruined
her best spatula during the pursuit.
"I'd settle for never seeing her again," Ranma declared. He went
back to eating the last of their savings.
"We can earn some money," Ukyo suggested at length. "I mean, how
did your father get the money for us to come over here in the first
place?"
"Stole it in the night probably," Ranma replied offhand. "Either
that or he swindled it out of someone... Or sold one of us..." He
shivered at the thought.
As they ate, a large ship heaved into the harbor. It was a western
ship, being much larger, rounder hulled, and with squarer sails compared
to some of the junks they had seen. Tall men in dingy clothes manned the
rails. A few cannon, of which Ranma had heard of but had never seen in
action, sat lashed to the deck.
"Who are they?" Ukyo asked.
"I don't know," Ranma replied. Westerners all looked the same to
him, even though he had only ever met one up close. He was some kind of
priest. A `Jesuit' or something. He was arrested and executed by the
local daimyo's men when Ranma was only eight. All he could remember was
that the man had pale skin, brown hair, and never bathed.
"Maybe we could get passage with them?" Ukyo asked. "I hear those
kinds of ships visit Nagasaki all the time to trade."
"It's an idea," Ranma replied, "but there's something about that
ship I don't like."
Any further discussion on the subject was halted by the loud cry of
a young woman several yards behind them.
"Ranma! You die now!!!"
Ranma almost sighed with resignation as he heard his assailant's
voice. How she had caught up with them so soon he had no idea. The girl
was relentless!
"Shampoo..." He growled.
A large spear landed between himself and Ukyo. Clearly Shampoo
wanted them to die facing her, else she wouldn't have missed. He turned
to see her, sword in hand, glaring hatefully at him.
"How many times do I gotta tell you--" He began.
"No talk!" Shampoo screamed at him. She spoke her broken Japanese
because she was well aware of the fact that Ranma and Ukyo didn't speak
much Chinese. "You fight!"
"--that it ain't my fault?!" Ranma continued, ignoring Shampoo's
challenge. "You want revenge so bad, go find my dad!"
"You one who defeat me in tournament!" Shampoo cried angrily. "You
one who get me curse for body! I not know what father do, but Shampoo
know you do this to me! Now Shampoo get revenge!"
"You'll have to come through me!" Ukyo cried back defiantly. She
pulled a brace of small spatulas from her bandoleer. She wished she had
her great-spatula to fight this crazy Amazon, but she would make do to
protect Ranma.
"Silly spatula girl only get in way, not defeat Shampoo!" The
purple-haired Amazon girl retorted. Then she charged.
Ukyo charged at Shampoo. What she planned to do about the Amazon's
sword was anybody's guess. The crowds of merchants, beggars, fishermen,
and coolies were clearing out of the way fast.
Ranma didn't want this, but with Ukyo attacking Shampoo he didn't
have much choice except to fight. Shy of killing her, which he also
didn't want to do, defeating her would only make her more angry, more
desperate for revenge. It looked pretty hopeless for a peaceful solution
unless they could incapacitate her long enough to get on a ship bound
for Japan. Let her try finding him then!
Ukyo attempted a lunge with her off-hand spatula to catch Shampoo's
sword and press it to the outside. Shampoo saw this coming a mile away
and twisted her curved sword blade around the strike. She stepped inside
Ukyo's guard a moment later as the brown-haired girl tried to withdraw.
All Shampoo would have to do was reverse her sword stroke, and Ukyo's
head would be cut from her neck in a flash.
The next thing she knew, Ranma was in her face -with his shoulder
blade pressed against the sword edge, preventing it from moving. She
couldn't hurt him with it either, as the edge wasn't razor sharp, and
counted on the weight of the blow to help with the cutting.
Before she could lift her sword off his shoulder blade for a swing,
Ranma thrust out with both of his hands, palm-striking her in the chest
and neatly shoving her off her feet. She landed on her derriere with a
gasp of pain and surprise.
**She is so fast!** Shampoo thought in horror. Not even during her
shameful defeat in the tournament had the outlander girl moved so
swiftly. It appalled Shampoo to think that this girl was cursed with the
body of a handsome young man; almost as much as it appalled Shampoo to
become a cat upon occasion.
Ranma wasted no time with the Amazon. He and Ukyo were already
running away.
"I kill you, stupid barbarian girl!" Shampoo taunted in
desperation. She had to end this now, or risk disgrace in her tribe.
Even Mousse would be thought higher of than herself after that!
It almost worked. Ranma stopped long enough to cry, "I told you
once, Shampoo! I-AM-*NOT*-A-GIRL!... I-AM-A-*GUY*!!!"
Shampoo's eyes widened in surprise. The first time she had heard
Ranma make such a declaration, she believed it was a misunderstanding
caused by the language barrier. To hear it a second time from Ranma
meant that it wasn't.
**Not a girl?!... That means... No... Impossible!**
Still, she didn't *want* to believe it.
As Ranma turned to rejoin Ukyo, he stepped into an old woman
carrying a clay jar of water. He was soaked instantly. The old woman
shrieked not only in surprise and anger, but also in terror as she
watched Ranma transform into a buxom red-haired girl.
The old woman wasn't the only one shrieking. Ranma-chan seemed to
be doing a fair amount of it herself. A brief shrill of terror escaped
Shampoo's lips as well when she saw the transformation.
**She wasn't a girl who fell in the Spring of Drowned Man...**
Shampoo realized with a sick horror. **She was a man who fell in the
Spring of Drowned *Girl*... Then that means that I was defeated by a
man, not a woman...**
A soft cry uttered from her mouth, the cry of a condemned woman
hearing sentence passed upon her.
**Oh no... This is worse than any nightmare...**
Stunned into silence, Shampoo sat on the ground and watched the two
escape down the waterfront.

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

RULER OF THE RAGING MAIN
Part One:
The Price of Soft Flesh

J. Austin Wilde, K.B.C.S.
Super Critical Reactor Axe Man, Fission Park Press
wild...@flash.net

Chapter One

Ranma-chan caught up to Ukyo, and the two slipped around the corner
of a mud-brick waterfront shop and stopped. The noise and banter picked
up around them again as the excitement died away.
"Is she gone?" Ukyo panted.
"I think so," Ranma-chan replied, not really sure herself.
"Good."
"How does she manage to find us all the time?" Ranma-chan lamented.
"I guess we aren't too hard to notice," Ukyo replied. "We're both
foreigners, and she's Chinese. She probably just asks around and gets
all the help she needs."
"The sooner we get to Japan the better," Ranma-chan said glumly.
"There's gotta be a way we can get on a ship."
She sat down with her back against the wall of the shop and
thought. Ukyo stood for awhile keeping watch for Shampoo, who would
probably be searching for them. She wondered how good an idea it was to
hang around the waterfront.
Ranma-chan was watching the ship that now heaved its cargo onto the
pier. Two tall westerners busied themselves haggling with one of the
local merchants. There seemed to be a lot of good natured shouting going
on, as if the men knew each other.
Ukyo noticed what Ranma-chan was watching and decided to watch as
well.
"Any idea what they're saying?" She asked.
Ranma-chan shook her head.
"Nope. Whatever it is, I don't think it's Chinese."
This was obvious because of the way the men mashed so many
consonants together to make sounds. It wasn't anything like the
sing-song rhythms of Chinese, nor did it have the syllabic elegance of
Japanese. Of course this analysis was beyond anything Ranma-chan could
have told Ukyo. She just knew it wasn't Chinese.
After some minutes of listening to this, with no sign of Shampoo to
be found, they decided it was time to move on. Without money for passage
to Japan, they would have to stay in Shanghai until they could come up
with the money or find another way. In the meantime they would have to
find a place to stay the night.
As they were leaving however, Ranma-chan caught one word that
garnered her immediate attention.
Nagasaki.
"Wait a moment," Ranma-chan said with a touch of her hand on Ukyo's
shoulder.
"What is it?"
Ranma-chan gestured to the ship.
"I think they're going to Japan when they leave here."
"But I thought you said we didn't have the money to pay for
passage?"
Ranma-chan smirked.
"Who said anything about paying?"
Ukyo tried to smile in reply. Bad Things usually happened when
Ranma got one of his bright ideas. In some respects he was almost as
half-baked as his father when it came to schemes. Still, she loved the
idiot with all her heart, and even if he was too dense to notice it, she
wasn't going to abandon him. Bad Things or not.

* * *

Shampoo wandered aimlessly down the waterfront streets, at first
oblivious to the stares she received from the locals. When their
mutterings and muted laughs reached even her ears, she mustered up a bit
of Amazon pride and carried herself haughtily. She stared coldly at the
inferior men and women who surrounded her, her eyes gleaming a promise
of bloody murder for any who dared cross her.
The murmuring stopped, and Shampoo was left alone to her thoughts
once again.
**I must find Ranma and kill him before anyone else learns the
truth. Him and his silly companion, the spatula girl. Then I won't have
to marry him.**
She shook her head as a tear welled up in the corner of one of her
eyes.
**But I must!** She thought bitterly. **If I do not marry him, then
I spurn my own creed! I *must* marry a man who can defeat me in single
combat. The very strength of the tribe depends on this simple
commandment!**
She lashed out at an empty barrel with her foot.
**But I hate him so much!** She protested. **He made me look like a
fool before the entire tribe. Even these filthy smelly fishmongers saw
me shamefully defeated by him! I hate him! I wish he had killed me and
ended this!**
As Shampoo struggled with this irreconcilable conflict she passed a
waterfront tavern. Drunken fishermen from the fleet sopped rice wine at
her feet. One dared to paw at her and make lewd suggestions.
It caught her by surprise. Instinctively, she lashed out with a
spin kick that caught the drunk across the jaw and snapped his neck like
a dry reed stalk. He spun around several times before sprawling on the
warped wood of the pier frontage. He twitched slightly as he lay there,
but Shampoo knew better than to waste time with him, she'd felt the
bones in his neck give way as she followed through her flawless strike.
The man's friends stared in shock for a moment as they watched the
man twitch and quiver at their feet. When they looked up to the author
of the killing, Shampoo was in a fighting stance and waiting for them to
try something stupid. She was quickly obliged.
The first one came at her with a clay pot of hot rice wine. Shampoo
batted away his feeble charge with a deft flick of her left arm. The
right arm she thrust out savagely in a forearm strike to the Adam's
Apple. The drunk flew over her shoulder, gagging helplessly against his
crushed windpipe.
Shampoo lashed out with her foot as she withdrew her deadly strike,
and caught another fellow under the ribs. It wasn't a fatal blow like
the first two, but it put the man down with hardly a grunt of exertion
from her. The rest of the drunks held fast -just out of what they hoped
was the extent of her reach.
She glared at them defiantly. She had tasted blood and wanted more,
but only if they dared challenge her again. That was the law of her
people as well.
They stood there, clutching rickety chairs and clay cups in
defense, but they stood there.
Shampoo spat on the wooden pilings at their feet.
"I shall waste no more time with you weaklings! Away from me before
I forget myself a Warrior of the Joketsuzoku!"
The drunks hesitated for a moment, unwilling to turn their backs on
her, and aware that many people of the town were witness to their
shameful defeat.
Shampoo growled at them, stamping her foot as if she meant to
charge. They broke and ran without a second thought. As the townsfolk
laughed at their retreat, Shampoo whirled on them with a deft flick of
the sword that had once lain tucked in her sash.
"Do any more wish to feel the wrath of the Joketsuzoku this day!?"
She cried angrily. "My sword is not yet blooded!"
The townsfolk scattered. She was alone yet again. Or so she
thought. From across the waterfront the fight had been witnessed with
fascination. A fascination that melted quickly into an idea.

* * *

There was a saying that the gods looked after children and fools.
Genma Saotome was no child, but if it meant getting a lucky break every
now and again, he didn't mind playing the fool. His escape from the
Amazons was truly a gift from those very gods.
They had been marching back to Joketsuzoku with him as their
prisoner. Tight ropes bound his arms to his sides, and his legs were
roped at the ankles with just enough slack to manage a stumbling gait. A
spear prodding his ample back provided the motivation to keep up the
pace.
Qinghai province was a mountainous region with weather that was
unpredictable to the best of auguries. The sudden summer thunderstorm
that blew down from the blunted peaks carried with it a drenching rain
that transformed him into his formidable Jusenkyo body. A giant panda
snapped the bonds that held it fast like wet rice paper.
He wasn't stupid enough to try and fight them, even if they were
frozen in surprise long enough for him to get a few fatal blows in.
Instead he did what he did best -he ran like hell.
In the fury of the storm it was easy to get away. Genma knew all
about evading pursuits. Once he slipped them for good, he knew his only
hope lay in getting back to Shanghai. It was too bad for Ranma and Ukyo,
but those were the breaks. With any luck they had evaded the Amazons as
well, and were heading east themselves. Perhaps they could even meet in
Shanghai -but he wasn't holding his breath, and he certainly wouldn't
wait long for them.
It seemed like such a waste, though. Ranma was a good fighter; he
had the makings of a samurai fit to regain the lost family status, and
Genma did hate to lose his son. But he had to keep his priorities
straight. He was still a fairly young man, and he could always father
more children.

Shanghai loomed before him. He could smell the town long before he
caught sight of it over the low green hills of rice paddies. The sight
of the gaijin ship in the harbor swelled his heart. The white men didn't
take rice in trade, but their hearts were filled with a lust for silver
and gold. Genma had a little of both of late, and soon he would return
to Japan.

Chapter Two

"Are you sure about this?" Ukyo asked Ranma in a hushed voice. The
light of the ship spilled in little ruddy pools upon the dark waters of
the harbor. The moon was a but a knife-edged crescent low in the sky.
"Got any better ideas?" He returned.
She huffed at her bangs. She hated it when he was full of himself.
Which was often.
"Okay. But what happens if we get caught?"
Ranma hadn't exactly thought that part through. It all depended on
when they got caught, and where they were when it happened. **If,** he
assured himself. **If.**
"We won't get caught," he said at length.
"Why does that not comfort me?" Ukyo sighed quietly.
"Relax. It ain't like this is one of pop's stupid schemes."
**I don't know about that...** Ukyo thought to herself.
Ranma clambered across the mooring line that held the bow of the
ship fast to the pier. It creaked as it took a strain from the ship. The
tide was going out, and was trying to pull the ship with it.
Ukyo started as she heard the line go taut. Ranma, who was hanging
upside down as he climbed, merely held still for a moment and waited for
the strain to pass. A gaijin sailor roared laughter a few dozen yards
away at the waterfront tavern. He was joined moments later by the voices
of others.
The mooring lines took another strain. Ranma was in mid-climb, and
the sudden shift of the heavy line caused him to lose his hold. He
dropped backwards into the water with a splash, his feet still wrapped
around the line.
Ukyo's heart skipped a beat as Ranma thrashed for a second under
the water. Before she could cry out in fright, Ranma-chan pulled herself
out of the water by sheer leg strength and clung like a wet rat to the
mooring line.
They waited in silence, Ukyo at the pier, and Ranma-chan on the
line. The drunken revels at the tavern had concealed the noise -they
hoped. No one seemed to investigate the sound of the splashing water.
Ranma-chan pulled herself up the rope and onto the ship. She poked
her head up over the rail and gestured madly for Ukyo to follow. Ukyo
let out a deep breath, and reached out for the line. Ever so slowly, and
fearful of falling into the water, she pulled herself up the line to the
ship. Ranma-chan helped her over the rail, and together they huddled
close beside a large coil of line.
"See?" Spluttered Ranma-chan. "That was easy."
"Where do you plan on hiding, now?" Ukyo was quick to ask. "We
can't stay up here."
"I know that," Ranma-chan replied. "We just sneak down into the
hold and hide with the cargo. When we get close enough to Japan, we'll
jump over the side and swim for it."
Ukyo thought Ranma's plan sounded too easy to actually work. "What
if the ship doesn't go to Japan?"
"I heard them say they were going to Nagasaki," Ranma-chan answered
quietly.
"You told me earlier that you just heard the word Nagasaki," she
countered. "For all we know they were already there."
Ranma-chan stuck her tongue out at Ukyo. "If you're so worried,
then why did you follow me?"
Ukyo suppressed the urge to strangle him.
"Well?" Ranma-chan pressed.
"Just shut up," Ukyo said quietly. "I believe you already. Let's
just find a place to hide while it's still dark."

* * *

Shampoo wandered up and down the waterfront. Her inquiries
concerning the whereabouts of Ranma and Ukyo were starting to take her
in circles, and her already haggard patience was becoming even more
threadbare. If she didn't find them one way, she was prepared to take
the entire town apart hovel by stinking hovel.
She was lost in oh-so-satisfying plans for Shanghai's urban renewal
when two gaijin slipped out of one of the tent-front taverns that had
sprung up next to the ship with the setting sun. She paid them no mind,
confident that her word of her display of martial prowess had spread
throughout the town. The fetid-smelling inhabitants of the town had
certainly changed their tone when speaking with her.
She had just collared the toothless pimp that had sent her on an
hour long search for a place that didn't exist when the blackjack came
down on her head. She should have known better than to leave herself
open, but the desire to wring the filthy little fleshmonger's neck and
then start on her rampage of the town was boiling in her blood. She
slumped down with a whimper to the warped and salt stained wood.
One of the gaijin flipped the pimp a small copper coin. The pimp
made a clumsy catch and then scampered off. The two men threw a large
burlap sack over Shampoo and hefted her away.

Chapter Three

The Ship's Bell rang eight times. With it came the surly voice of
the Bosun, who with a large willow switch, began to strike the bare feet
of those sailors who were still too drunk to heave-to out of their
hammocks when he came bellowing through the berthing area. They shrieked
in pain only to catch another lash across their nether regions for their
troubles.
"<On your feet, you slackards!>" The Bosun bellowed. "<A night of
drinking and whoring, and you think you won't pay for it in the
morning?! Think again!>"
He lashed out at another sailor still struggling with his trousers.
"<Get on deck, you lout! I don't care if your pecker swings in the
breeze when you get there!>"
Hopping clumsily while half out of his trousers, the sailor cursed
his way out of the door and onto the deck. A crowd of bleary-eyed crew
milled about cursing, spitting, and occasionally puking over the side as
their excesses caught up with them. The sun was way too bright for this
early in the morning.
"<Get in ranks!>" The Bosun yelled.
The crew shambled to comply. The Bosun whipped a few sluggards for
effect. In moments they were assembled in three wobbly lines of fifteen.
The Bosun gave them a hard-eyed stare as a door opened aft. He put
a whistle to his lips and blew a high pitched shrill, which had a few in
the back ranks daring winces. They came to attention with a slow shuffle
of feet.
A bear of man stepped out of the door. His clothes suggested a
uniform somewhere in their distant past, otherwise he was as ragged as
the rest of the crew. Behind him stepped a tall and gangly man with hard
dark eyes and a weathered green cloak over his shoulders.
"<The crew is assembled, Captain Cristobal!>" The Bosun bellowed.
"<Very well,>" Cristobal grumbled. He seemed a little hung-over
himself, though the Bosun knew for a fact that he had never stepped
ashore. He never did these days.
"<What's the count?>" The tall one, who was known as Delgado,
asked.
"<Just getting to that, sir,>" the Bosun harrumphed. Those slugs in
berthing were going to pay for making him late for the count...
The count went slowly, with a few lashes from the Bosun to jog
men's memories. Even then it came up one short. They counted again. One
short.
"<We'll have to do this by names, sir,>" the Bosun said
apologetically to the Captain.
Cristobal belched and nodded absently.
"<Be quick about it,>" Delgado added sharply.
"<Aye,>" the Bosun grumbled, his dislike of the Mate barely in
check.
After another series of roll calls, it was at last established that
a young recruit named Peraval was missing. Cristobal nodded and went aft
to his cabin again. Delgado clicked his tongue brusquely.
"<If he shows up before we weigh anchor, see to it that he gets
twenty lashes and ten days of bread and water,>" he ordered.
The Bosun nodded in acknowledgment. "<And if he doesn't?>"
"<List him as missing. If he shows his face the next time we're in
Shanghai, we'll hang him for desertion.>"
The Bosun aye-aye'd, and Delgado went below.

"What was all that shouting about?" Ukyo asked quietly.
"Don't ask me," Ranma-chan replied. "Maybe they're getting ready to
leave. The sooner the better."
"How long do you think it will take us to get to Japan?"
"A week, I think. It's been so long since we first got here, I
don't remember much."
The two ducked down quietly into the hold again. There were plenty
of silk bales to hide in, so at least it would be a comfortable trip. As
long as the rats didn't put up much of a fight.
They were just above the waterline, which was good. The lower hold,
they had discovered, was leaking a bit between the wooden planks of the
hull, and the bilge was filled with brackish seawater. It did not help
matters that several drunks had decided to relieve themselves in it the
previous night.

* * *

The Bosun's whistle shrilled again. The thumping of bare feet on
the decks was followed by the creak of capstans, pulleys, and the anchor
windlass. Men grunted in exertion as the Chanter called the rhythm of
the work with a song. Mooring lines were heaved in, and the sails were
unfurled with heavy sighs of weathered canvas.
The ship heaved over roughly to starboard, its timbers creaking
with the sudden strain of a full hold. Water sloshed in the bilges,
bringing up a reek that Ranma and Ukyo found to be breathtakingly foul.
Slowly the ship hauled out to sea.
"I was worried about food," Ukyo whispered. "Now I don't think I
can eat anything without getting sick from the smell."
Ranma-chan nodded with a pinched nose. "Maybe we'll get lucky and
catch a bit of a breeze when we go to steal food tonight."

* * *

Ranma-chan crept quietly out of the `midships hold with Ukyo right
behind her. It was night once again on the ship, and with nothing to do,
most of the crew were asleep in their hammocks. A drowsy lookout on the
foc'sle and one at the helm were all that were even half awake.
They made their way across the sea-slicked deck to the ladder that
led down into the storerooms. Ranma-chan had scouted the way the night
previous, and felt certain she could find the larder again. She had
spent many a day in search of a stolen meal with her father, that was
certain.
They crept down the ladder, which creaked for no other reason than
to spite them. No one came to investigate. Ranma-chan reached out and
slipped the hook off the ring that held the door fast. She slipped into
the dimly lit compartment only to stop dead in her tracks.
Ukyo bumped into Ranma-chan as she stopped, causing her to freeze
up as well.
"What is it?" She hissed.
"You bastard," Ranma-chan spat out. "How did *you* get here...?"
Genma Saotome looked up from a barrel of hardtack biscuits, a large
hunk of salted pork in his fat hand. A look of surprise, and quite
possibly guilt, was plastered across his face. He recovered quickly and
gave them a warm smile.
"My son! My dear daughter Ukyo!" He whispered cheerfully. "I
thought the Amazons took you!"
"Don't give us any of that shit, old man!" Ranma-chan spat back at
her father. "You left us for the Amazons to kill while you made your
escape."
Genma gestured frantically for them to come inside the compartment.
"Keep your voice down, boy!" He hissed. "Do you want everyone on
this ship to hear you?"
"I just want to know how you live with yourself for the all things
you've done to others in your life," Ranma-chan growled.
Genma was used to Ranma's insolent outbursts, but there was
something particularly venomous in his son's words. Something that
frightened him.
"I was so worried about you two," he began. Ranma-chan's fingers
cracked as she flexed them into a fist.
"I looked everywhere for you," Genma added, hoping that it would do
something to help. It didn't. Ranma-chan advanced slowly on her father.
"Ran-chan, you idiot!" Ukyo hissed. "You'll get us all thrown
overboard!"
"To kill him, it might be worth it," Ranma-chan growled.
Ukyo grabbed him by the arm. "You're being just as stupid and
selfish as he is," she told him sternly. "He hasn't been the best father
to us, but at least hear him out."
"Listen to your dear adopted sister, Ranma." Genma added from the
relative safety to be found cowering behind the barrel. "Just let me
explain my side of the story."
Ranma-chan sizzled, her female features doing nothing to dampen the
patricidal expression that burned in her eyes.
"Let's hear it."
Genma wasted no time with the usual theatrics he would have
employed under more civil circumstances.
"After the purple-haired Amazon chased us out of the village, I
lost my footing in the bamboo copse just south of the Cursed Springs.
When I got back to my feet, I saw her fall into one of the pools while
she was chasing you. I was about to catch up when the rest of her tribe
came running up from behind in pursuit."
He dared an apologetic look.
"I *had* to hide, they would have seen me and killed me in an
instant otherwise."
Ranma's hate filled look softened slightly.
"So you see," Genma continued, "it's not my fault that I couldn't
find you later. I really did try. After that I figured the best thing
for me to do was go back to where we started our journeys in China, and
returned to Shanghai."
"So you were going to leave us when the ship left?" Ukyo asked
sternly.
Genma blanched. "The ship was leaving. What was I going to do? I
bought passage on the ship and hoped that somehow you would find your
way back to Japan on your own. I'll admit, I had nothing but confidence
in the two of you -after all, I trained you!"
"Is that what you want us to take this nightmare as?" Ranma-chan
snarled. "A training exercise?"
"If it helps..." Genma said hopefully.
Ranma-chan looked to Ukyo.
"I'm killing him; want to help me?"
"You can't kill your own father!" Genma protested before Ukyo could
reply.
"It's been done before, old man!" Ranma-chan threw back.
Genma stepped back as Ranma-chan tensed to spring. The red-haired
girl leaped over the barrel of hardtack. Genma brought up his arms to
block the blow. He was knocked back a pace to slam against the bulkhead.
Ranma-chan pressed the attack. Her fists flew from her sides, and
Genma blocked with all his ability. Ukyo hissed at them in as loud a
voice as she dared to get them to stop. She was ignored.
"This is for all the times you made our lives miserable!"
Ranma-chan raged as one of her blows landed on Genma's face. He reeled
with the blow and slumped over. Not satisfied, Ranma-chan cocked back
her fist for the killing blow.
Genma lashed out with a foot sweep that caught Ranma-chan off
guard. As the girl toppled to the deck, he bolted past Ukyo, spilling
the barrel of hardtack in the process. Ukyo let him pass, her first
concern was Ranma, who had landed rather hard on her back.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Fine!" Ranma-chan spat. "Where'd he run off to?"
Ukyo didn't have the chance to answer before the Bosun appeared
with a brace of musket pistols in hand. Two sailors with drawn cutlasses
and pistols were close behind. The Bosun swatted Ukyo aside and thrust
both barrels into Ranma-chan's face.
"<Stowaways!>" He bellowed. "<Wake the Captain,>" he ordered one of
the men. The other now held Ukyo at sword point.

* * *

"<The Captain is indisposed,>" Delgado said evenly to the Bosun.
"<I shall deal with these two.>"
He looked closely at the two young women. Despite their ragged and
oft-patched clothes, both were quite pleasing to the eye. They had
lovely curves to their hips and bosom; the red haired one in particular
was quite voluptuous. Both had the stern and fierce eyes of tigers; the
dark haired one a lambent green, and the red haired one an icy
grey-blue.
"<Are they virgins?>" He asked.
"<I wouldn't know, sir,>" the Bosun replied. "<In any case, no one
has touched them beyond what was necessary to bind them. I can vouch for
that.>"
"<Very well. Let us for the moment assume they are.>"
**Better than I hoped for,** he thought pleasingly. His face
betrayed none of his inner satisfaction, and continued to exude a dour
bitterness for the sake of the two prisoners. **DeGuzman will reward me
handsomely for even one of these.**
"<Have you a sign of our passenger?>" He asked the Bosun.
"<Nay, sir. Not a trace. He must have fallen overboard in the
night. Perhaps in the struggle with these two that we overheard before
apprehending them.>"
"<Perhaps,>" Delgado nodded. He paused. It seemed the Bosun had
other news for him. Unpleasant news. "<Well, man, spit it out!>"
"<It seems, sir, that one of the crew smuggled a large black and
white bear aboard ship the night before we left port. One of the men
found it in the lower hold while we searched for our passenger. We've
got it held fast with ropes. We're keeping it there until we can get the
guilty party to own up to it.>"
Delgado shook his head slowly. **This ship nearly founders with a
lack of discipline amongst the crew! Would that I had a free hand in
matters...**
When he did speak, it was in an icy voice, leaden with contempt.
"<Whoever brought it aboard may consider it forfeited to the
interests of the ship. Unless a confession comes forth, waste no time
searching for one. For all we know it was that stupid deserter Peraval
that brought it aboard. Just see to it that the beast is well chained.
Perhaps we can make a quick sale of it. If not, well, I'm certain a
little fresh meat at some point in the voyage could never do any harm.>"
"<Aye-aye, sir!>" The Bosun saluted, happy at the prospect of a
good steak a month hence.
Delgado gestured to Ranma-chan and Ukyo, who sat sullenly bound and
under guard.
"<Put these two with the other girl,>" he ordered. "<DeGuzman
prefers his women unsullied. With this in mind, if one of the men even
touches them outside the dispatch of his duty I'll see him flogged to
within an inch of his life and then hanged to finish it, Cristobal's say
be damned.>"
Though the Bosun had no love for the Mate, he knew the man fortune
smiled upon. Cristobal had the lung sickness, and was worsening with
every week. It would not be long before Delgado would assume the
captaincy upon Cristobal's inevitable death.
"<At once, sir!>"
The Bosun and two of the men led Ranma-chan and Ukyo in silence to
a storeroom located farthest aft. The Bosun unlocked the door to reveal
a small compartment with a single porthole and no furnishings. Shampoo
sat chained to the inner bulkhead stanchion.
The Amazon's eyes flicked up to regard whoever it was who had
disturbed her. When they fell upon Ranma-chan and Ukyo, they began to
burn with a fierce loathing. She strained at her chains to no
appreciable effect.
The Bosun was a good judge of character. Immediately recognizing
the hostility Shampoo presented to the other women, he decided to secure
Ranma-chan and Ukyo to the outer bulkhead stanchion, which was just out
of Shampoo's manacled reach.
After personally inspecting their bonds, the Bosun left
instructions with the men, and the three left the women alone in the
storeroom.
As soon as the door was shut and locked, Shampoo growled menacingly
at Ranma-chan and Ukyo. Ranma-chan ignored her, with Ukyo following the
pig-tailed girl's lead. Shampoo snorted in contempt for them.
"When Shampoo get free from bonds, she kill you," she told them.
"Yeah yeah," Ranma-chan replied, nonplused. "Tell us another one."
"Shampoo no tell joke. Shampoo state fact."
"Uh-huh," Ranma-chan muttered as she inspected her manacles. Ukyo
stewed next to her.
"Are you happy now, Ran-chan?" She said at last. "We're prisoners
instead of passengers."
"We've been in worse spots," Ranma-chan replied softly.
"Name one," Ukyo challenged him. Ranma-chan was silent.
Shampoo grinned at them. "Shampoo say it gift from gods. Now
Shampoo no have to chase all over China."
Ranma-chan rolled her eyes disparagingly at Shampoo. "Yeah, and
you're no closer to killing us now than if we were a hundred leagues
away."
Shampoo growled in reply, and then chose to ignore them with great
theatrics.
"That's what I thought," Ranma-chan said finally. She looked down
at her iron manacles with a sigh. She could not free herself from them.
"Now what are we going to do?" Ukyo asked.
"We wait for a chance to escape. One's bound to come along. In the
meantime we just act like we're defeated, and hope they get careless.
I'm sure this boat's going back to Japan. We still have a chance..."
"If you say so," Ukyo replied sullenly.
They passed several long moments in silence. At last Ranma-chan
turned to regard Shampoo, who was rubbing the back of her head until she
realized that she was being watched. She quickly changed the motion of
her hand to an idle scratching and pretended that nothing was wrong.
"Get a little bump on the head?" Ranma-chan asked.
Shampoo gave him a sharp look.
"Shampoo not know what stupid barbarian talking about."
"I see," Ranma-chan replied with a grin. "No-one could *possibly*
have caught you unawares and knocked you out. You must have come with
them willingly."
Shampoo growled under her breath.
"Shampoo not guest here! Even stupid interfering barbarian see
that."
"So you *did* get a nasty bump on the head," Ranma-chan said with a
snicker.
Shampoo wrenched at her chains with all her might. It was enough
effort to make the stout wooden stanchion creak a bit, but she was held
fast.
"Shampoo hate you more than words describe..." she said coldly.
With that, the tiny room became silent save for the the creak of
the timbers and the roar and spume of the sea.

Chapter Four

Delgado looked again through the spyglass. The same black banner
fluttered in the breeze from the top of the daimyo's castle that
overlooked Nagasaki. He grunted in disgust.
"<Those little monkeys are at it again,>" he said gruffly.
"<They've barred the seaport from us.>"
Cristobal coughed harshly once.
"<They're doing it to drive up the price of silk,>" he replied.
"<If they can keep us out of the city for a week or so, they'll double
their profits.>"
"<What of our perishables, then?>" Delgado asked. "<They'll be
rotted away in another week.>"
Cristobal thought this over.
"<Set a northerly course up the coast,>" he said at length.
"<Perhaps we can find a buyer elsewhere, and if not, it will kill time
until Nagasaki decides to open its doors again.>"
The Mate smiled at this.
"<Perhaps we can find something else to please deGuzman while we're
at it.>"
Cristobal grunted. "<Three isn't enough?>"
"<Think of the profits, Captain. If deGuzman doesn't find them to
his liking, there are others who will. The princes of Italy and of
Turkey always have an eye for fine oriental treasures.>"
"<Very well,>" Cristobal sighed, though he never once entertained
any notions of sailing to the Mediterranean to sell off slave girls.
"<Use discretion if you must go, I don't want this ship turned into a
slaver's brig.>"
Delgado nodded, "Of course, Captain.>"
Cristobal went below. Delgado saw him eyeing the large golden ring
he wore on his finger as if it were a heavy burden. Delgado's eyes
narrowed as the odd crystalline stone flashed the colors of a heavy sea
before a storm.

* * *

The Lady Akane of the House of Tendo ignored the plaintive cries of
the samurai Tatewaki Kuno as she dashed from the trees and down onto the
coarse grey sand of the beach. The waves crashed hard and cold on the
rocks, scattering salty spray across the warm afternoon air. Kuno could
be heard thrashing through the trees behind her.
"Though my Lady flies like the deer of the forest, she secretly
hopes that her stalwart Gamekeeper will prevail!" Kuno cried gleefully
as he cleared the trees. His yukata fluttered in the wind behind him.
"Fear not, my shy doe -that I shall!"
"Will you stop with that nonsense!" Akane cried over her shoulder.
"Just because the old women of the household gossip about something
doesn't make it true!"
Kuno picked up speed as his bare feet reached open and level
ground.
"The Blue Thunder need not heed the wagging tongues of crones, for
he has received such news in a dream from Heaven!" He replied with a
happy cry. He was almost upon her now.
As he closed to glomping range, Akane stopped dead in her tracks
and leveled her fist at him. He ran straight into her clenched fist and
staggered backwards to land in the moist sand.
"Thy coy rejoinder wounds me..." he said with a pinched voice.
Akane shook her head sadly as she regarded the samurai at her feet.
"Oh Kuno, it's not that I don't like you," she began softly. "It's
just that until such an engagement is made official, I am free to do and
see whom I please."
Kuno regained a bit of dignity by sitting up and settling on his
knees in a stately posture.
"Though thy unchained spirit inspires such rapture in my noble
breast, these are not the behaviors of a daughter of the Lord," he said
solemnly.
"I couldn't care less about learning to play the koto, and all of
the other stupid things `ladies' are expected to endure," Akane shot
back. "I wish to learn the ways of the sword and study Confucianism like
a samurai."
She leaned in close to him.
"Females *can* become samurai, as you are well aware..." She added
with a dead level look in his eyes.
Kuno's face became one of exquisite rapture.
"Oh my gorgeous lotus blossom from Heaven! Though thy impassioned
words do inflame me as do none other, know that in all truth thou truly
must join with me! For is not dazzling beauty a flash of quicksilver
Lightning followed by the sonorous roar of Thunder?"
Akane dipped her head in frustration.
"Kuno, you didn't hear a word I said."
The samurai reached up to take Akane's arm at the wrist. As he
began to pull her down to him for a passionate and completely unwelcome
kiss, Akane bashed him soundly on the top of his head. Even a girl who
could shatter stout wooden planks had to wince at how dense and hard
Tatewaki's skull was.
Nevertheless, the blow was enough to stun the samurai and allow
Akane to escape.
When Kuno regained what little sense he possessed, he saw his
beloved Akane several dozen yards down the beach. She seemed to be
struggling in the grasp of two large shaggy foreigners. Two more tried
to grab at her wildly kicking feet. A fifth gaijin stood in a beached
whaleboat with a musket pistol lowered in his hand.
"AKANE!!!" Kuno bellowed. "Unhand her, you fiends!"
He dashed at them with glittering sword pointed high, his wrists
locked at the level of his chest.
"Kuno!" Akane cried desperately as the savages clawed at her
flailing limbs.
"Prepare thyselves, for the righteous fury of the great Tatewaki
Kuno -known throughout Japan as the Blue Thunder- is meted out this
day!!!" he cried at the top of his lungs.
Delgado calmly leveled his pistol at Tatewaki Kuno and fired.
The musket ball smacked into the samurai's forehead with an audible
*crack,* dropping him flat on his back with a splatter of blood. Akane
screamed in horror, then slackened in the grasp of the men who struggled
against her.

Nabiki and Kasumi Tendo came swiftly to the beach, accompanied by
several other household samurai. They were alarmed by the sounds of
Akane's screams, which were stopped short by the distinctive sound of a
musket discharge. They found Tatewaki Kuno lying spread-eagled on the
sand, still clutching his sword -which continued to stand straight up in
his grasp.
Nabiki knelt over the samurai. She wiped at the blood that stained
his forehead and then bent low over his chest to listen for a heartbeat.
"He lives," she said to the others. She found a squashed musket
ball lying in the bloody sand by his side and picked it up to study.
"One would think that the great Tatewaki Kuno's reputation for
musket balls bouncing off his thick head would have his foes aiming
lower," she declared, still eyeing the crushed lead ball.
"Where is Lady Akane?" one of the samurai asked with great concern.
"Oh dear," Kasumi remarked almost casually. "It appears she is on
that little boat with those men."
All eyes turned to the distant whaleboat rounding the last of the
swells before reaching deep water. A caravel lay at anchor some distance
beyond, sails lowered against their spars. Akane's brightly colored
kimono could be seen clearly against the deep blue color of the sea.

Chapter Five

Ranma stirred from a restless sleep at the sound of the door being
unlatched. Ukyo continued to sleep peacefully in her lap. Shampoo
watched the door warily from the other side of the little compartment.
"Feeding time?" Ranma asked no-one in particular. She was famished.
"Shampoo not know," Shampoo replied quietly.
"Who asked you?"
Shampoo glared at Ranma.
The door opened, stifling any further conflict between the two. A
girl in a tattered kimono was brought in and chained to the same
stanchion as Shampoo. Tears stained her face, though she looked at the
sailors who chained her with hard eyes.
Ranma could tell by the kimono that the girl was of great social
standing. That fact alone made her indifferent to the girl's plight.
The girl lashed a foot at one of the sailors careless enough to
turn his back to her. Her strike sent the man sprawling against the
bulkhead to a chorus of laughter from the other sailors. He spun around,
ready to give the girl a good thrashing -and then probably something
else to remember him by. The meaty paw of the Bosun suddenly clutched at
his shoulder with a grip that held him fast.
"<Touch her and you'll swing in the sun, laddie-buck,>" He said
evenly.
The sailor cursed once to himself and turned away. Ranma found
herself giving the girl a grudging respect.
**She's got guts,** she thought.
Ukyo had since awoken from the clamor, and she regarded the girl.
"Who's the kimono?" she asked Ranma. Akane managed an indignant
huff at this.
"Beats me," Ranma answered. "Just another prisoner, I suppose."
Ukyo's brow furrowed slightly in concern.
"I don't like this, Ran-chan. It's like they're collecting women or
something."
"You mean for slaves?" Ranma replied.
"I think so," Ukyo replied gravely.
"I am *not* going to be someone's slave!" Akane said suddenly.
"I don't think there's much you can do about it," Ranma riposted.
Akane cast a hateful glare at him. "Who are you to talk?" She asked
haughtily. "A tattered whore like you should be glad to be thought of so
highly as to be sold as a slave. It's more than you deserve."
This had Ranma's hackles up. Fighting against the heavy chains to
stand up, she pointed an accusing finger at Akane.
"I am Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial
Arts!" she cried.
"Sounds like a style learned in a brothel," Akane said dryly.
Shampoo began laughing hysterically at this.
Too furious for words, Ranma settled back down to the deck.
Ukyo rolled her eyes. "Am I the only one who understands that we're
all in the same situation here?" she asked them. "Don't you think we'd
be better off working together instead of insulting each other?"
She cast a dark look to Ranma first.
"Yeah..." Ranma replied sullenly.
Ukyo looked to Shampoo. "Truce?"
Shampoo stopped giggling and glared at Ukyo.
"Shampoo sworn to kill Ranma," she declared.
"Do you think you'll ever get the chance the way things are now?"
Ukyo asked firmly.
Shampoo thought about this for a moment.
"Shampoo will help spatula girl and other one, but she no help
Ranma," she said at length.
Ukyo decided not to press the issue. Instead she turned to Akane.
"What about you?"
Akane stiffened. "I don't require assistance from the likes of a
whore and her companions."
Ukyo clenched her fists tight. "Then I hope you rot here!"
Akane turned away.
"Nice try, Ucchan," Ranma said quietly.
Ukyo sighed sadly and settled against Ranma's shoulder.

* * *

Captain Cristobal looked across the vast expanse of sea that
surrounded his caravel. His lungs were heavy and his cough watery and
weak. He knew the end of his days was drawing close. A month, maybe two,
at best.
The ring on his finger glowed with the reflected rays of the
afternoon sun. The odd crystalline stone shimmered a deep blue that
mirrored the color of the gently rolling sea. As beautiful as it was,
how he wished he could be rid of the thing!
Delgado strolled on deck, reproaching the helmsman for a sloppy
appearance before standing behind Cristobal.
"<How are we feeling this day, Captain?>" he asked cordially.
"<I am not dead yet, Mister Delgado,>" Cristobal replied evenly.
His words lost effect when he began a vigorous coughing fit.
"<We shall reach Tai-pei in three days,>" Delgado said, waiting
until Cristobal had stopped his coughing.
"<I will be happier when we are through the Straits of Malacca,>"
Cristobal remarked. "<The Dutch become more bold with every passing
day.>"
Delgado nodded with a bitter grunt. A mutual hatred of the Dutch
was nearly the only thing the two men had in common.
"<How fares our cargo?>" Cristobal thought to add.
"<As well as can be expected,>" Delgado replied offhandedly. "<They
shall likely survive the voyage to Panama.>"
Cristobal slapped the rail with his hand. "<Not chained in that
little closet you have them in, they won't. Have Velacruz bring them up
on deck.>"
Delgado raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"<Whatever for, Captain?>"
"<To illustrate a point,>" Cristobal said with a hacking cough.
"<Quickly now, Mister Delgado.>"
Unsure of the captain's intent, Delgado barked orders for the Bosun
to fetch the four slave girls.

* * *

Ranma, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Akane were brought up on deck. Their
hands and ankles were chained, and their chains were linked to each
other by another length. The Bosun saluted as he presented the girls to
the Captain. The remainder of the crew stood about on deck and gawked.
Delgado watched them warily. He knew what the Chinese girl was
capable of at the very least, and the finely dressed one had put up a
considerable fight. The other two remained enigmas, but Delgado had the
feeling they were no less dangerous if taken for granted. He almost felt
sorry for Don Juan Perez deGuzman, even though the man had a preference
for feisty women.
"<Is the Preacher on deck?>" Cristobal asked aloud.
A man in ragged sackcloth stepped forward. A wooden crucifix
dangled from his neck by a length of large polished sandalwood beads.
"<I am here, Captain Cristobal,>" the man said calmly.
"<Translate my words, Father,>" Cristobal said to him. "<See to it
that they understand what I tell them.>"
"<As you wish, Captain,>" the Preacher replied.
Cristobal looked to the Bosun.
"<Mister Velacruz, remove the women's chains,>" he said.
"<Captain?>" The Bosun asked in surprise. Delgado's jaw dropped.
"<You have become hard of hearing, Mister Velacruz?>" Cristobal
asked in return.
The Bosun snapped to. "<No, Captain. It shall be done.>" He began
to unlock the manacles and leg irons of the four girls at once.
Cristobal spoke in a loud voice as the Bosun went to work.
"<As you can see, we are several days out to sea,>" he told the
four girls. The Preacher spoke passable Japanese, and passed on the
Captain's words.
"<It is pointless to chain you now, as you have nowhere to go.
Should you choose to jump over the side, it would only be to your
deaths, for in which direction lie your homelands now?>"
He gestured to the endless expanse of empty ocean that heaved and
swelled in every direction they looked.
"<On my ship everyone aboard earns his keep,>" he went on. "<You
shall be no different. We could do with kitchen help, sculleries, and
maids.>"
"<That's not all we could use, Captain!>" one of the crew cried
out. A chorus of agreement murmured through the ranks.
A look from Cristobal to the Bosun sent a switch across the man's
face.
"<The first man who lays a hand on one of these outside of the
performance of his duties shall be flogged and then hanged as an example
to the rest. In this I am not adverse to Mister Delgado's proscribed
punitive measures.>"
The happy buzz of the crew went silent.
Cristobal returned his gaze to the four.
"<In return for your labors you shall be fed as the rest of the
crew. You shall stay in the storeroom where you have been kept when
released from work. You shall not travel about the decks unescorted
without my permission. If you choose to make trouble, I'll have you
thrown over the side to feed the sharks.
"<Mister Velacruz shall make up a bill detailing your duties.
Father deGama will ensure that you understand what is expected of you.>"
With a wave of his hand, he dismissed them.
As Ranma was taken below, he caught one final glimpse of the ocean
that imprisoned him as surely as any length of iron chain.

END OF PART ONE

Author's Notes:

1. Yes, this is going to be another big one. Just in case you had any
doubts, let me dispel them now.

2. The Portuguese hatred of the Dutch stems from the decline of the
Jesuits (and consequently Portuguese trading efforts) in Japan following
the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate. While Ieyasu Tokugawa
considered Japan to be isolated, limited trade with Japan did occur. The
Dutch East India Company began to rise in wealth and power through other
Asian trade while the Portuguese sank into the morass of domination by
the Hapsburg kings of Spain.