[Ranma/Battletech][FanFic] Battletech: The Saotome Gambit Part 12

[Jamie and Bridget Wilde]

Hyperspace

Contrary to what many in the Inner Sphere believed, hyperspace was
not so much a place as an intrinsic property of the universe. Curled up
into a tiny ball of cosmic string smaller than the Planck Length, the
higher dimensions of hyperspace permeated all of existence, giving rise
to a thousand quantum effects that even the scientific giants of the Star
League had been unable to fully explain. In spite of this, hyperspace,
that universal enigma, was not impenetrable.
Early physicists had predicted that the energy required to probe the
Planck Length was on the order of many quadrillions of electron volts, or
more power than the human race could ever conceivably hope to bring together
at one time and in one place. What they did not know was that Nature was
both cunning and underhanded, and while God did not play dice with the
Universe, he wasn't adverse to keeping a few aces up his sleeve. There
were ways around this seemingly insurmountable barrier.
Centuries later, the Kearny-Fuchida drive made interstellar travel
practical, using one of God's back doors in the form of the intricate
web of gravity that linked together the stars of the galaxy and the
universe beyond. Humanity surged outwards into the depths of space, and
soon after that the Star League was born. It was now close to a thousand
years since the day that first JumpShip had leaped across four light-years
from Sol to Alpha Centauri, but the process had remained relatively
unchanged in all that time.
The Nerima Confederation JumpShip _Dragonfly's_ voyage through
hyperspace was nearly the same as that of its ancient predecessor. The ship
fell through a wormhole in space-time, its hull perilously close to the
field of negative energy that maintained the narrow throat of the tunnel
that linked the Capra system to the ship's ultimate destination. Any contact
with that field would collapse the wormhole in an instant, catapulting
them back into realspace with disastrous effect.
Though the Jump was considered to be instantaneous to an outside
observer, relativistic effects could make the trip considerably longer to
those who experienced it firsthand. Ranma Saotome watched as waves of color,
sound, and sensation washed over him, warped and distorted in this place of
unreality and infinite possibility. Akane was by his side, her hand warm
and trembling in his.
Here the boundaries of the quicksilver-random quantum world crossed
over into the comfortably predictable realm of the Classic Newtonian
universe, where gravity and the laws of thermodynamics held sway, and one
could observe both the location and velocity of an object simultaneously
in space-time. Here, time was more than relative; it could and often did
reject entropy, and flowed backwards as easily as forwards, and one could
know of many things that had not yet come to pass if one was prepared for
the experience.
Hallucinations were common side effects of the Jump, but Ranma wasn't
so sure the images and sounds were phantasms. More than anything, they
seemed like bits of the past and of possible futures congregating in this
nexus of limitless potential in hyperspace. What he had seen in Jumps
before did not compare to his present experience.
He was not ready at first for the future, seeing himself instead as
a child, putting his father's neurohelmet on his head and hearing his
father's laughter as he stumbled around blindly, bragging about what a
great mechwarrior he would be some day.
This image blended seamlessly into a montage of battles, real,
simulated, and perhaps yet to come, that demonstrated how far he had
come in his boast - and how far he had yet to go. As the flames of war
burned around him, he saw himself in his girl-body, wearing a frilly
peach-colored dress, and complaining about the lack of support he was
getting for his breasts.
His protests gave way to hazy recollections of his mother, and her
gentle yet uncompromisingly formal voice. He saw her face like that of
some otherworldly madonna, ethereal and half-imagined, yet no less divine.
He realized that his strongest recollections of her were the way she
smelled; the soft lilting notes of her bath oil, the earthy fragrance of
peat after a day of tending their small garden, and the sweet buttery
scent of freshly baked cookies she had made him once just because it was
Thursday.
A tear welled in his eye in that moment as he realized on the most
intimate levels of understanding what had he had lost in his pursuit of
martial arts. His father was to blame for much of it, but then, what had
he really done about it other than complain?
Akane's face appeared before he could answer that question for himself,
her eyes closed and her lips waiting for his kiss - a kiss that only minutes
prior to their Jump he could not bring himself to give. He found himself
leaning forward in his chair, trying to reach that phantasmal Akane, and
ignoring the very real Akane who sat by his side, whose hand was set in his.
Even as he struggled with himself, she met him halfway, her lips soft and
warm, touching his with an electric thrill that he longed to feel again.
Did she really mean it? he wondered as the _Dragonfly_ fell onward
through the wormhole. Or was the kiss she had stolen from him just another
way of mocking him for his weakness - proving how easy it was for her to
do something that he had been unable to do? Was it actually possible that
this macho uncute chick didn't really hate his guts - that she actually
liked him - or was she just getting back at him for all those things he
was better at doing than her?
Before he could come to grips with these possibilities, the lights
and the sounds were gone, replaced with crushing darkness and a deafening
silence. Pain shot through him, lighting up every nerve in his body in a
flash of tingling heat. The ship seemed to twist and compress around him
as a rushing bass vibratto swelled up from the depths of the ship, filling
the silence with a furious noise. The shriek of tortured metal lanced
through him, and visions of the ship being ripped apart wracked his
fragile reserve of courage.

Emergency lights flicked on from battle-lanterns on the bulkheads,
casting stark beams of white in the darkness. Akane was still there by his
side, her eyes closed and her face taut with fear. The shadowy faces of
his father, Doctor Tofu, Ryouga, and Tarou were behind him. He saw tears
glistening on Ryouga's face, which the fanged mercenary quickly wiped away
in the hope that no one would notice.
Genma coughed, breaking the silence. Ranma realized that not even the
ventilation fans were running, and that at least this portion of the ship
was without power. Gravity was not present, meaning the main drives were
not functioning. There were no announcements from the Bridge to secure from
Jump.
By all appearances, the _Dragonfly_ was dead in space.

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

BATTLETECH: THE SAOTOME GAMBIT
PART TWELVE

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

Azure Cloud Castle
Planet Nerima, Capella System
The Nerima Confederation
29 March 3025

"Father, you should come inside now."
Grand Duke Soun Tendo turned at Kasumi's words to see his eldest
daughter standing by the door that connected the garden terrace to the
castle proper. Though Akane most resembled his dear late wife in appearance,
it was Kasumi who had manifested her vast reserves of quiet strength and
patience.
"Just a moment, Kasumi," he said to her. His gaze returned to the
heavens. Hikaru Gosunkugi's warning of an impending Combine attack on
the Capella System had been corroborated by other sources, giving him just
enough time to recall his forces for the coming siege.
The Combine's attack would mean that his daughter Akane, his dear
old friend Genma Saotome, and Genma's son Ranma would be cut off from
the capitol. They were truly on their own. To return would be to place
themselves in Tatewaki Kuno's hands.
If they weren't already, he thought bitterly. The first stop on their
expedition to find Ryuugenzawa had been the Capra System, where the Combine
was staging for their attack. There had been no word of them since they left
the Capella System weeks ago. Would Tatewaki Kuno be presenting them as
hostages when he arrived in the system?
Kasumi stepped up to his side.
"Really, Father. If you continue to worry like this, you'll make
yourself ill."
"I know, Kasumi," he replied. "I can't help but worry."
"Akane is in good hands," she observed. "Ranma will take care of her."
"He is a good boy, isn't he," Soun remarked. How he wished those two
would come to their senses and start getting along better! He was weary of
his throne, and longed to retire to a quiet life of peace and introspection
- and drinking beer and playing shogi all night, too. But even more than
beer and shogi, he wanted grandchildren! The sooner Akane and Ranma were
married, the better.
"There is some hope for him," his daughter replied with a faint smile.
"I think they are better suited to each other than they realize."
Soun returned the smile. "It relieves me to hear you say that, Kasumi."
"You really should come inside now."
He looked up to the bright stars. They were out there somewhere, along
with their enemies - and in some forgotten corner of the Inner Sphere lay
Ryuugenzawa, their only hope for survival. Genma had to succeed!
"Just a little longer," he mumbled.
She relented.
"Yes, Father."

Kasumi turned and left him out on the terrace. He was too much of a
worrier to convince otherwise. As she stepped through the door, she saw
Nabiki waiting for her in the hall.
"What is it, Nabiki?" She kept her voice civil for decorum's sake.
The two had never been very close, and Nabiki's recent turn against the
family unity had not done their strained relationship any service.
"Is Daddy out there?" she asked. Nabiki's ability to be so flippant
with people was a constant source of aggravation for the formal and proper
Kasumi.
"He is," Kasumi replied. "Though he doesn't wish to be disturbed."
Nabiki gave her sister a sidelong glance. "Then I suppose I'll have
to tell you instead. The Deep Space Tracking Center has just informed me
that the Furinkan Combine fleet has just Jumped into this system. They
estimate that they will be in orbit around Nerima in five days."
Kasumi frowned. "What about our defensive stations near the Jump
Points? Weren't they able to resist?"
Nabiki became tight-lipped. "I'm afraid not, sis. They were taken
by surprise. We were lucky to get any warning from them at all before the
stations were captured."
Kasumi's frown deepened. Those battlestations had been on alert for
the past three days. How had they been taken so completely by surprise?
"You came back to the castle to tell Father this?" she asked Nabiki.
"Or did you come for some other reason?"
Nabiki's eyes glinted against the light of the hall. "Just what are
you getting at?"
Kasumi's frown hardened into a stern glare.
"I think you know what I'm talking about, Nabiki. I'm not nearly as
stupid or as naive as you might think I am."
"More like prefer, sis," Nabiki said with a brush of her fingers
against her jacket. "I know you're not stupid. Just stubborn. We don't
stand a chance against the Furinkan Combine, and here you are ready to
lose everything we have for the sake of duty."
"Is it stubbornness to fight for what is rightfully ours?" Kasumi
countered angrily. "And duty is the price we pay for all that we have."
"It's a wonderful deal," her sister replied with dripping sarcasm.
"I can't thank our Tendo ancestors enough." She looked up at Kasumi with
a mixture of sympathy and loathing. "You may not be stupid, dear sister,
but you're still a fool to believe in our senile half-wit father and his
fat con-man friend..."

Kasumi's forceful slap in the face spun Nabiki into the wall. Her
cheek stung from the blow, and the fierce heat of shame and anger bloomed
within her heart.
"That was real genteel, sis," she managed. Kasumi's eyes were too
intense to look at, and she kept her gaze averted slightly. "You should
be proud of yourself."
The look on Kasumi's face told her that she was not.
"Go back into town," she said to Nabiki. "Leave the castle at once."
"I'll do that," Nabiki replied stiffly. "When you and Daddy finally
come to your senses and realize that your misbegotten bravado will end up
doing more harm to our people than good, let me know. I'll take care of
things, just like I always do."
She straightened out her jacket and left Kasumi standing alone in
the hall without any further words between them. She strode purposefully
down the hall to the Inner Courtyard and her waiting car. She had come
to visit her father simply for the sake of decorum, knowing that he would
not change his mind, and fully prepared to act without him. Her driver
opened the door for her, and she settled in on the buttery-soft black
leather upholstery.
Once the car was clear of the castle proper and making its way down
the winding road for town, she picked up her cellular phone. She had
divorced herself from the family's accounts when she left the first time,
and the expense of maintaining her own phone was nothing compared to her
means. She needed the security of her own accounts.
"Tell them to proceed," she said to the man who answered her call.
She then disconnected. Though her transmission was encrypted, she knew
that Kasumi was smart enough to have it monitored. She would leave nothing
to chance.
A quick poll among the nobles over the last three weeks had confirmed
her beliefs. She owned several outright, and the rest would jump her way
with little persuasion. They had lands and titles to protect, and assurances
from Tatewaki Kuno that nothing would change in those respects after the
Confederation had been ceded to him would be more than sufficient for them
to do as she instructed. Especially when it was clear that their current
liege was insane - as she would soon declare.
The only thing that remained was to hammer out the details with
Kuno-chan. His arrival in the system was sooner than she would have
preferred, but she was confident that she could pull off her coup d'etat
with little difficulty.
She wished that it hadn't come to this. If her father had only listened
to her instead of that oafish Genma Saotome, they could have avoided this
ugly mess. Sure it would have meant that Akane would end up as Kuno's bride,
but that was inevitable. Better that they got something out of it rather
than watching the wedding from a prison cell. It wasn't her fault that she
was the only one of the family with any common sense.
The car passed silently through the gatehouse and into the city.
Nabiki looked at the blaze of lights around her and smiled. She would
insist on keeping Capella as a personal fief, and looked forward to ruling
over the system as Duchess. One star system was more than enough for her,
and Kuno-chan couldn't begrudge her that much once he ruled the entire
Inner Sphere.

Chapter Two

Nerima Confederation JumpShip _Dragonfly_
Position Unknown, Date Unknown

"Did we make it?" Akane asked quietly by Ranma's side.
He released her hand.
"You're still here to ask about it," he returned.
"Jerk," she growled, though there was relief in her eyes. He wondered
what she had seen during the Jump to make her so upset and so glad to have
made it through to the other side.
"Hey, you asked," he replied curtly. He unstrapped his lap belt and
rose from his chair. Gravity was still absent, and he floated gently towards
the overhead.
"There seems to be a problem," Genma observed. The sound the ship
had made both entering and leaving Jump had not been pleasant. Had they
misjumped, or was it even worse than that?
"At least we're still alive," Doctor Tofu added. "I suppose it could
be much worse."
Ranma twisted around to face them. "Don't say that. We don't know
where we are yet."
He gave himself a push with his foot against the back of his chair,
and drifted across the lounge to the sound-powered telephone station. The
communications circuit was designed to be used in situations such as this,
when electrical power was compromised.
He set a dial on the phone to the 'Bridge' position, and cranked on
the growler. The growler was a small hand-turned DC generator inside the
phone unit that acted as a kind of annunciator to the person at the intended
station.
"Bridge, 'C' Deck Lounge," he spoke into the phone. His voice moved
a diaphragm in the phone, which acted on a magnet that then sent a low-
powered electrical signal through the line to the phones on that circuit.
The signal acted on a magnet, which moved a diaphragm in the earpiece,
which reproduced a tinny facsimile of his voice on the other end.
There was no answer.
"What the hell is going on up there?" he wondered aloud.

* * *

Captain Hinako Ninomiya righted herself in free-fall to face a Bridge
in the midst of chaos. Sparks and flame burst from control panels, filling
the room with smoke. Battle-lanterns flicked on around her as lighting was
lost.
They had come through the tunnel, though far from intact.
"Damage report!" she demanded. There were no immediate replies as
her crew brought the small fires under control around her. She reached
for an emergency breathing mask and plugged it into the manifold.
The fires were quickly extinguished. Because they had lost power, it
was a simple matter to put the fires out, but it also meant that they had
bigger problems ahead.
"Main Power is down," the Assistant Engineer managed from his station.
He fumbled for a breathing mask as the smoke thickened from melted wiring
insulation. "Emergency Power has not responded. I've lost most of the
repeater feeds for Engineering as well."
"Helm is down," the Helmsman added. "No response from the Main Engines
or the Reaction Control System."
"Radar and passive sensors are down," Sensory reported.
"The Main Computer is down on loss of power," Astrogation chimed in.
"We're rebooting from the system's dedicated emergency battery. It looks
like the auctioneered power supply did not cut in. We're checking on what
went wrong now."
Hinako knew the heart of the matter was located in Engineering. "Can
we raise the Engine Room on any circuit?"
The Communications Officer shook his head. "I'm sorry, Captain. We're
experiencing grounds on all powered and emergency phone circuits. We are
trying the 1MC intercom system now."
He flipped a switch on a secondary breaker board, cutting in a stand-
alone power supply for the intercom.
"Engine Room, Bridge, please respond."
The intercom crackled with static for several seconds. The voice that
responded was pinched and tinny, and short of breath.
"Bridge, Engine Room! Fire in the Engine Room! Fire on all levels!"
The sound of men shouting and the hiss of breathing apparatus over the
roar of an inferno chilled Hinako's blood.
"Bridge acknowledges the fire, Engine Room!" the Communications Officer
replied.
Hinako looked at her crew. "We can't do anything up here until we
restore power. We can't restore power until we put out the fires. Everyone
clear the Bridge and get below. Chief of the Watch, sound the General Alarm.
Pass the word on the 1MC for all hands to muster in the Crew's Mess for
damage control efforts."

* * *

The crackle of the 1MC caught Ranma's attention.

"Engine Room, Bridge, please respond."

The intercom crackled with static for several seconds. Ranma was about
to speak when there came a reply.

"Bridge, Engine Room! Fire in the Engine Room! Fire on all levels!"

They could hear the frantic efforts of the engineers over the intercom.
He tensed at the news. Akane gave him a frightened look.

"Bridge acknowledges the fire, Engine Room!"

Ranma and Ryouga both started for the door, followed closely by Doctor
Tofu and Genma. Tarou grunted and got up to follow, leaving Akane alone in
the room.
"Where are you going?" she asked them.
"What's it look like?" Ranma shot back. "You wanna burn to death in
the middle of nowhere?"
The reality of their situation set in for her. She had never before
experienced such a disaster, and even the ship's drills she had participated
in during her training as a mechwarrior did not compare to the sudden and
dire urgency of the moment.

"Rig ship for Fire and General Emergency! All hands not on watch or
involved with damage control efforts, lay to the Crew's Mess! All _Palomino_
hands lay to the 'C' Deck Damage Control Locker," the voice of the Chief of
the Watch on the 1MC demanded.

The General Alarm sounded. Akane steeled herself and followed after
them in the knowledge that the next few hours might be her last.
The passageways were lit only by the prying beams of light from the
battle-lanterns suspended from the bulkheads. Fingers of smoke coiled from
ventilation ducts. The sounds of the crew carried through the darkness as
they struggled in zero-gravity with powerless airtight doors and with
damage control equipment.
They were in the middle of nowhere, both figuratively and possibly
literally, and their starship was on fire. If they didn't act quickly and
decisively, she knew, they were going to die as Ranma had said, burning
to death or else choking on the smoke and toxic fumes from the flames.
She caught up with them as Ranma, Genma, and Ryouga struggled into
fire-retardant canvas smocks at the 'C' Deck Damage Control Locker with
the other crew members from the _Palomino._ The _Dragonfly's_ crew were
already heavily engaged with the various casualties, and the _Palomino_
crew represented the only reserves available.
"What do you need me to do?" she asked the man in charge, whom she
recognized as one of the _Dragonfly's_ cooks.
The cook looked over the fire-fighting teams that were forming up
around them.
"I need a phone talker," he replied, holding up a sound-powered
phone headset.
Akane took the phones and put them on without another word. As she
checked in with the few stations that remained on the circuit after the
grounded sections were isolated, she saw Ranma placing a breathing mask
over his face. Ryouga tended to Ranma's chemical oxygen supply, which the
pig-tailed mechwarrior wore over his chest. The chemical rebreather would
sustain him for about thirty minutes of strenuous activity at best before
the cartridge needed to be replaced.
She caught the look in his eyes as he adjusted the straps for a good
seal. There was fear there, something which she had never seen from him
before. He was scared, but he was going ahead anyway to battle the flames
on the decks below.
Ryouga finished with the rebreather, stuffed two extra cartridges
into the thigh pockets of Ranma's smock, then tucked Ranma's exposed
pigtail underneath the fire-retardant material. When he finished with
Ranma, he began the same process for himself, with Ranma assisting. The
way the two worked together shocked Akane. She hadn't thought they could
ever set aside their differences for long.
When they had finished, they joined Genma and one of Akari's techs
by the emergency ladder down to 'D' Deck. They would have to use the
ladders, as the elevators were not working with no electrical power. There
was a smoke curtain over the ladderwell, but enough of the soot and fumes
had drifted through the gaps to begin filling the small compartment.
The cook ordered everyone who wasn't on a fire-fighting team into
their emergency breathing masks.
Akane signed off temporarily to put on her mask. The synthetic rubber
smelled of old sweat and the iodine-based disinfectant used to clean the
mask. She pulled it over her head, thankful at last for short hair, and
adjusted the straps. When she had a good seal, she plugged the hose into
a manifold connection near the overhead and joined in the hissing chorus
of those around her sucking in breathable air.
She wanted to tell them to be careful, but they were already starting
down the ladder well.

Ranma checked the small digital timer display in his mask visor. He
had just under thirty minutes of oxygen remaining. His father had a plastic
board showing them where they were going and what to expect. It did not
surprise him to know that they were headed right for the heart of the
fire in Engineering to relieve the crew that were already down there - and
getting short on air.
"Any questions?" Genma asked them when he was finished.
"Anyone seen Tarou?" Ryouga asked in a near shout because his voice
was muffled by his breathing mask.
Ranma looked around. It was just him, Pop, Ryouga, and one of the
_Palomino_ battlemech techs. Doctor Tofu had left for Sick Bay, which was
only natural, but where was Tarou?
"Beats me," Ranma shouted. "Time's wasting."
Genma nodded. His glasses were starting to fog inside his mask. They
wouldn't clear up until the sweat was pouring down them, but that wouldn't
be of much help to him.
"Let's go!" he shouted to them.
They had to pull themselves down the ladder well in zero-gravity. The
hub of 'D' Deck was just as dark and forbidding as the rest of the ship,
and smoke diffused into a sparkling haze under the stark beams of the
battle-lanterns. Their breaths in the darkness were the only sounds to be
heard over the distant roar of the fire several decks below.
"We'll check in on 'F' Deck," Genma reminded them as they continued on
down the ladder well between decks. The smoke was heavier the farther aft
they went, though soon diffusion would make each level that was not isolated
from the fires as unbreathable as the next.
Once on 'F' Deck they had to leave the ladder well and pull themselves
through the smoke curtain. Beyond the deck hatch was an inferno, and they
could see the metal glowing a dull red from the heat. One of the ship's
crew stood nearby with a headset and a large plexiglass sheet with the
schematic drawings of the Engineering Spaces. The room was stiflingly hot,
and sensors on Ranma's helmet mask told him that the atmosphere was quite
toxic. Some of the crew drifted in midair, completely exhausted from their
exertions.
"It's a real Hell down there!" the man shouted through his mask at
them. "We've got all the fires knocked down but one, and I can't get
anyone close enough to it because of the heat."
Genma noted the stacks of empty carbon-dioxide bottles strapped down
against a bulkhead.
"Any Halon left?"
"Not here. We've called for some from the upper decks, but nothing's
reached us yet. The automatics went off as advertised, but something's
pushing the stuff out of the space. The extinguishers are all used up."
"How much CO2 do you have left?"
"We're down to one pallet that we were able to swipe from the
cryogenic plant before it got too hot," the man replied. "We called for
that too, but so far, zip. I was saving what we had left for one last push,
but my guys are all beat."
"That's what we're here for," Genma declared. He pushed Ranma and
Ryouga forward. "Go take care of it, boys!"
"What about you?" Ranma protested.
Genma gave him a solemn look through his fogged mask. "I'll be behind
you the entire way."
Ranma shook his head.
"Thanks a lot, Old Man."
The two started down a passageway where CO2 hoses tied to dedicated
fire-fighting supplies hung limply in midair. Crew members carrying some
of their own strapped down on stretchers were coming the other way. Ranma
could see that several of the people on stretchers were dead, and that all
had suffered burns.
They followed the hoses through an airtight door that had been cranked
open by hand, and into an orange haze of light and intense heat. Two men in
silvery proximity suits held up a reflective blast shield to keep the
radiant heat that welled up from the ladder at bay.
"We gotta get past *that*?" Ranma shouted to Ryouga.
"I don't think we're dressed for the occasion," Ryouga agreed.
The two men in the proximity suits made way for them as they
approached.
"Bring any Halon?" they yelled over the roar of the flames below.
"No," Ranma replied. "We were supposed to replace the fire-teams."
"They pulled out," the man said with a shake of his head. "It's too
damn hot down there."
Ranma looked to Ryouga, who shook his head slowly.
"What's going on, boy?" Genma demanded from well down the passageway.
"There's no one here to replace!" Ranma called back.
"Stay where you are. We've got some Halon extinguishers on the way."
Ranma nodded his head. Shouting just used up your air faster.
"What's the plan?" Ryouga asked him while they waited.
Ranma looked at the open hatch. Flames licked up from the angry orange
glow below. It really did look like some vision of Hell down there.
"I'm thinkin' we pin open a couple of extinguishers and drop 'em
down there to beat back the fires. Then follow them in and go from there."
"That won't work in zero-gee," Ryouga countered. "They'll just shoot
around the compartment like rockets."
"Then I guess we jump down there with them and hold them steady. We
brace ourselves against the bulkheads or something."
"That's the best you can come up with?"
Ranma's sweaty frown was clearly visible through his mask. "Got any
better ideas?"
Ryouga shook his head slowly. "I don't like it, but I suppose we don't
have much choice."
Bottles of Halon and carbon-dioxide appeared, courtesy of Akane Tendo.
"What are *you* doing here?" Ranma asked her in disbelief.
"Someone had to bring them," she retorted. She hefted the line of
bottles held together by lengths of nylon cord at him.
Ranma caught the bottles, and was driven against the bulkhead by them.
"Thanks a lot," he groused. Then he turned to the men with the blast shield.
"You guys first, since you're dressed for it. Come on, Ryouga."
The two men with the blast shield looked at each other, then at Ranma.
"You gotta be kidding us," one of them said.
"Nope. If I gotta go down there, then you can too."
Ryouga grabbed the blast shield from them. "Stop wasting our time,"
he yelled at them. Then he jumped down the hatch and into the inferno.
Ranma followed after, while Genma, Akane, and the two men looked on gravely.
'G' Deck was filled with heat and fire. In zero-gravity the very air
itself seemed to be ablaze, and it was impossible to tell where the center
of the inferno could be located. Even with the blast shield protecting
them from the bulk of the blaze, the heat was incredible, scorching them
through layers of canvas and thermal insulation.
Ranma planted his feet against a bulkhead, praying that it wasn't so
hot as to melt his insulated boots. When he was set, he clamped down on the
Halon extinguisher and held tight. A cold gout of gas sprayed from the horn,
pushing him against the bulkhead and driving back the flames.
The temperature dropped from dangerous to merely uncomfortable within
seconds, giving them the foothold they needed to continue the attack. It
was going to be slow going in zero-gravity, as he would have to hold on to
things as he advanced with the extinguisher to keep him from being impulsed
in the opposite direction as the gas.
The two reluctant crew were pushed down from above to land behind them.
They carried additional bottles of Halon, which they quickly handed off to
Ranma. Ryouga moved forward down the passageway towards the heart of the
deck with the blast shield before them. Ranma adjusted his position,
planting his feet on a section of piping and letting go with another blast
of Halon to clear the way.
"Do you hear something?" Ranma asked aloud.
"Like what?" Ryouga called back.
"A hissing noise."
"I can't hear anything other than the fire."
Ranma wasn't so sure. A fire as intense as this one should have burned
itself out by now from a lack of oxygen. At the very least it should have
been sucking up the air from the other decks, but all he had seen was the
fire moving the opposite way. Something was pushing the fire, just like the
two crew members had said.
"Let's keep going and see if we can get a better look."
Ryouga nodded, and advanced with the blast shield before them. The
bulkheads were scorched black around them, and melted metal and plastic
bubbled and flowed into weird and grotesque shapes in zero-gravity. Hot
gobbets of the stuff burned into their smocks and singed the flash hoods
that covered their hair.
The hissing was more distinct.
"I hear it," Ryouga cried.
"What do you suppose it is?"
"I don't know," the fanged mechwarrior replied. "Maybe an air line is
broken or something."
"Let's take a look."
They continued around a corner and into a wall of flame that shot
down the passageway at them. The fireball crashed into the blast shield,
licking around the edges at them like a ravenous beast. Ranma triggered
his second Halon extinguisher, not caring that he wasn't placed for it.
The blast of cold halogen gas smothered the questing fireball and sent
him flying back down the passageway with a yelp.
As Ryouga fought to maintain his own balance, another fireball came
shooting down the passageway in a curtain of pure flame. It pushed against
the intangible barrier of Halon, driving it back in his face in wisps of
decomposition products that tinged the air green against the orange of the
fire.
"Ryouga, pull back!" Ranma shouted from down the passageway.
Ryouga held firm, digging the semi-soft soles of his half-melted boots
into the deck for traction.
Ranma swore to himself and swam against the air currents to reach him.
There was definitely some kind of air movement driving the fire back down
the passageway. With no power in the ship, it couldn't have been a fan, so
it had to be some kind of air leak.
He reached Ryouga as another wall of fire washed over them, searing
them with its heat. The very air he gulped into his lungs from the
rebreather was hot, and tiny wisps of steam fogged his vision from the
drops of sweat that boiled off the inside of his visor.
"Ryouga, we gotta get the hell out!" Ranma cried.
"We can't let up!" he protested.
Ranma grabbed him forcefully and pulled him back around the corner of
the passageway. The flames washed over them once again, nearly blinding
them with the intense light of burning atmosphere.
"What are you doing?" Ryouga demanded.
"Saving your stubborn neck, P-chan! Now hold here while I drop this
airtight bulkhead."
There was a manual release for an airtight bulkhead nearby. Ranma
tugged at it, hoping to drop the fire-resistant curtain of steel into
place, and stop the return of the fire to those areas they had just secured.
It came down slowly, with a squeal of protest, but it came down. The
airtight bulkhead locked into place, protecting them from another wall of
hungry flame.
"Now we can't attack the fire at all," Ryouga protested. "What's the
big idea?"
"We ain't gonna be able to get through this way," Ranma replied in an
exhausted voice. "Until we can find a way to cut off whatever is supplying
the fire with oxygen, we're just wasting our time and what little Halon
and CO2 we have left."
The fanged mechwarrior said nothing.
"Well?" Ranma asked him. "Am I right?"
Ryouga dropped his head to his chest wearily.

Chapter Three

Ranma slumped against a bulkhead in Sick Bay. His face was grimy with
sweat and smoke from the savage attempt at fire-fighting. The air was foul
with particles of soot that glittered like tiny diamonds in the waning
beams of light from the battle-lanterns. In addition, the carbon dioxide
levels were high, and the oxygen levels low, making the easiest of tasks a
challenge. Portable lithium hydroxide crystal air-scrubbers were the only
things keeping the atmosphere even this breathable, but once the scrubber
chemicals were exhausted, so were their chances of survival.
Ryouga, Genma, Akane, and Akari were present, as well as Captain
Hinako and those members of the Engineering Department who were still
ambulatory.
The sounds of the wounded and the dying were muffled by the roar of
the oxygen-fed fire several decks below them. It was the last fire on the
ship that had not been put out. The best they could do was contain it to
parts of 'G' and 'H' Decks, but that wasn't good enough.
"The fire has spread back through Radial One-Oh-Five to within ten
meters of the Number One Oxygen Bank on 'G' Deck," Chief Engineer Evans
said to them, pointing from his sickbed to a smudged sheet of plastic
adorned with the starship's blueprints. He was badly burned over most of
his body, missing most of his hair, and loosely wrapped in bandages that
oozed plasma and other fluids. Doctor Tofu watched over him as he spoke,
keeping him conscious and lucid against the pain with acupressure, and
keeping him alive with continuous intravenous drips.
"The cut-out valves for the O2 bank went shut automatically when the
lines were broken on reentry from hyperspace," he continued. "But it looks
like they're leaking by."
"Yeah," Ranma said. "We could hear the hissing any time we got close
enough to the fire to fight it."
Ryouga nodded in agreement. He too was glazed with smoke and sweat.
"If the fire spreads into the O2 bank compartment..." Hinako began,
knowing the answer and yet wanting it from her Chief Engineer firsthand.
"What then?"
"The bank will probably explode once the heat raises the gas pressure
above the rating of the flasks," Evans replied in a voice taut with pain.
"If the Jumpcore hasn't already been ruined, an explosion like that will
finish it off. But that won't matter much because the blast will probably
decompress the rest of the habitat as well."
"Can we vent the O2 bank remotely?" Hinako asked. There were valves
for that purpose, but whether they would work was another matter.
"We tried that," Evans replied. "Locally too." He looked down at
himself. "How do you think I got this way?"
Hinako blushed with shame. "So what can we do, Commander?"
Evans studied the ship's drawings for a moment, straining for breath.
"The only thing I can think of would be to vent 'G' Deck to space. The
remote systems for that are down without power, though. Someone is going
to have to manually override the ventilation flappers between 'H' Deck
and 'G' Deck, and then he'll have to override the airlock doors on the
starboard side of 'H' deck."
"There's a mechanical interlock that has to be defeated before you
can do that, right?" Ranma asked, knowing that he was going to be the one
who volunteered for the job.
"Right," Evans confirmed with a wheeze. "A rack and pinion linkage
that keeps both doors from being open at the same time." He looked closely
at Ranma. "You can disengage it from a bulkhead access panel from the
inside only though. That means you'll be about five meters from the fire,
maybe less by the time you get there."
Ranma tried to look nonchalant about it. "No big deal."
"It's suicide," Akane protested, giving him a look of exasperation.
"Isn't there some other way?"
"Explosives maybe," Evans admitted. "But good luck trying to breach
the hull near those points, and God only knows how much damage you'll do
to other systems in the process. There's no time to get through the hull
with precision cutting tools."
Hinako didn't like the idea any better than Akane, but she was out
of able-bodied personnel who had both the necessary technical skills
- and the guts - to do it. "What are the chances that Number One O2 bank
will bleed down before the fire reaches it?"
Evans shook his head, an act that was clearly painful to him. "Number
One was at 4500 PSI when we Jumped. At the maximum bleed rate through the
rupture, it would take close to three hours to bring the pressure down to
one atmosphere. With it leaking past the valves, it'll take much longer.
We don't have that long before something bad happens."
"Right," Ranma declared. He thumped Ryouga on the shoulder. "Let's
get suited up."
Ryouga turned to Ranma and gave him a stern look. There was no chance
that he would refuse this opportunity to show Akane how brave he was, but
to be upstaged by Ranma like this!
"You don't have to tell me, Ranma," he replied. "I would have gone
without you."
Hinako looked at both of them.
"I can't thank you enough for what you're volunteering to do," she
said in her sultry voice. She gave Ranma a penetrating look. "Perhaps I've
misjudged you, Saotome."
"Save it," Ranma replied evenly. "I'm gonna want a rematch, you know."
Hinako gave him a tiny smile of approval. "Hopefully you'll get your
chance." She turned to Doctor Tofu. "Get with the Chief Medical Officer
and have them start moving the wounded up to the Greenhouses. The rest of
us not actively involved in damage control will follow. If the airtight
seals between decks start to fail when we vent 'G' Deck to space, the
Greenhouses will be our only refuge."
Tofu nodded in reply. Invader Class JumpShips like the _Dragonfly_
had two large bubbles outside the habitat where hydroponics gardens and
small open air recreation areas were located. The Greenhouses supplied
food crops and acted as a backup for the life-support machinery, and were
well isolated from the primary habitat. Ordinarily in a situation like
this, the DropShips could be used as lifeboats, but in this case, the
fires and the loss of power had cut them off from such a refuge.

* * *

The 'E' Deck Airlock was the closest one to the affected part of the
ship. Ranma and Ryouga struggled into their pressure suits, the lack of
oxygen in the space making their efforts as difficult as the condition of
free-fall they experienced.
Akane and Akari were with them. Akane because she wanted to be there
when the two of them left the ship, and Akari because she had the tools
they would need to complete their task. The demure technician floated
close by, waiting patiently for them to finish the task of suiting up.
Ranma finally locked his helmet into place, visor up, then accepted
a large transparent blast shield from Akari.
"Come on, Ryouga, we ain't got all day," he said to him.
Ryouga twisted his helmet into place. "Shut up, Ranma. Just try to
stay out of my way, all right?"
"Gimme a break."
"Stop it, both of you!" Akane admonished them. "You were working so
well together just a little while ago. What's gotten into you all of a
sudden?"
Ranma looked at Ryouga and winked.
"Wouldn't she like to know, eh 'P-chan'?" he said in a voice too low
for Akane to hear.
Ryouga grimaced, but said nothing.
Satisfied with their unspoken exchange, Ranma drifted towards the open
inner door of the airlock, catching a small EVA thruster on the way. Akane
reached out and snagged him by the foot, spinning him slowly in free-fall
to face her.
"What's the big idea?" he asked her gruffly.
What had been concern on her face now became ire.
"I was going to ask you to be careful, Ranma," she said to him. "But
now I couldn't care less about what happens to you. Jerk."
Her words stung, and he went on the defensive at once. "Oh yeah? Well
what would I care about what some uncute tomboy like you thinks?"
"Ranma!" Ryouga barked. "Don't talk to her that way."
"That's okay, Ryouga," she said tersely. "I don't care what he thinks
either." She gave him a forced smile. "Now you be careful, Ryouga. I mean
it."
Ryouga blushed brightly as she took his gloved hands in hers.
"Whatever," Ranma muttered. He stepped inside the airlock to leave the
two lovebirds to their good-byes.
Ryouga reluctantly let go of her hands and accepted the tool bag from
Akari. He blushed again as their hands made brief contact in the exchange,
but there was no time for words between them. Ranma was already complaining
about what was taking so long.
"Can't you ever shut up?" he asked the pig-tailed mechwarrior as he
joined him in the airlock.
"Nope," Ranma replied, dropping his visor and pressurizing his suit.
He clutched at the clear polycarbonate blast shield he would use to protect
them from the heat of the fire.
"If we get through this alive, I'm gonna kick your sorry ass, Ranma,"
Ryouga said to him as he dropped his own visor.
"You're welcome to try, man."
The airlock door went shut, and the air was cycled out. The last thing
they saw before they turned to step out into deep space were the faces of
Akane and Akari.
Ranma switched on his suit radio, and motioned for Ryouga to do the
same. With the ship powerless, there was no way for anyone to monitor their
conversation.
"You ready to do this, P-chan?"
"Shut up with that already," Ryouga returned. "What's your problem,
Ranma?!"
"You sleeping in Akane's bed!" Ranma shot back. He stepped out of the
airlock and into deep space.
Ryouga had no answer for that. It was true that he had enjoyed every
moment of it at Ranma's expense, and it was also true that now there was no
turning back for him as P-chan. If Akane were to find out that her beloved
pet pig was not what he seemed to be... He shuddered in his suit at the
thought.
"Come on, Ryouga," Ranma's voice crackled over the radio. "We ain't
got all day."
He followed Ranma outside. The vast emptiness of space that now
surrounded him shook him to very core of his being. Only the comfortable
mass of the _Dragonfly_ close at hand kept him from collapsing from vertigo
on the spot.
Ranma was pointing out into space.
"Hey, check it out," he said.
Ryouga caught up to him and looked in the direction of his finger. A
bright yellow orb glowed in the distance, shining forth with a light that
humbled the cold pinpricks of the other stars.
"We made it," Ranma said with a relief. "We're somewhere instead of
nowhere."
Ryouga sighed. If they had materialized in interstellar space, they
would have been trapped forever, unable to Jump even if they were able to
repair all of the damage to the ship. The K-F drive required a large gravity
well in which to function, and such was not to be found in the void between
the stars.
He triggered the small bank of jets on his EVA thruster, and started
along the hull of the ship.
"Hey, Ryouga," Ranma said to him. "Aft is the other way."
He cringed inwardly and fired braking jets. Ranma was already moving
towards the base of the dome shaped habitat of the _Dragonfly,_ where the
Engineering spaces could be found. The bricklike mass of the _Palomino_
was beyond, attached firmly to the hull at the forward end of the long
cylindrical mass of the JumpCore. At the far aft end were the plasma drives
and the finger-like apparatus for furling and deploying the JumpSail.
When he caught up to Ranma, he was opening the outer door of the 'H'
Deck airlock. It was a difficult task with no power, as he had to hand pump
the hydraulic fluid through the operating mechanism. The orange glow of the
fire spilled through the viewport of the door.
"It's gonna be hairy once we get inside," Ranma said to him. The
airlock outer door finally began to move, venting to space the small
amount of atmosphere within.
Ryouga could see the flames through the viewport of the inner door.
The access panel for overriding the doors' safety interlocks was on the
other side.
"I can see that."
Ranma gave him a questioning look. "You up for this?"
"You're holding the shield, Ranma," he returned. "You tell me."
Ranma nodded. "Right. Let's do it."
They floated inside the airlock and pumped the outer door shut from
the inside. It was decided that since they were going to have to force the
inner door open anyway, there was no point in equalizing pressure by filling
the airlock with more combustible air.
The inner door was hot to the touch, a bad sign. Ryouga cranked on the
hand pump as Ranma held the blast shield in front of the door. The airlock
door creaked, then began to wrench open, sucking flames and hot gas into
the tiny space with them.
More heat blazed at them, and flames curled around the edges of the
shield, burning Ranma's fingertips through his gloves. He grunted back a
curse and stepped into the inferno, trusting to his suit's environmental
systems to protect him from the worst of it. Ryouga moved in behind him,
searching for the access panel.
The bulkheads were scorched black from the heat, making it difficult
to find. He was reduced to running his hands along the surface, feeling for
cracks or handles. Ranma's grunts of pain and exertion filled his headset
as the pig-tailed mechwarrior held the blast shield between the flames and
themselves.
At last he found it. The metal was warped, and he had to wrench at it
with all his might to open the panel. The metal of the rack-and-pinion
interlock gleamed with heat discoloration within. Ryouga produced a pair
of pliers, and began to work at the Jesus-clips and cotter pins that held
the assembly together.
"Any time now, Ryouga," Ranma said tersely over his shoulder. The
flames licked up at them from the deck, causing sudden waves of ice cold
fluid from the environmental pack to course through the suit to compensate,
making them shudder with the rapid extremes of temperature.
"I'm working on it!" Ryouga retorted, yanking fruitlessly at one of
the fasteners with his pliers. No wonder they called them Jesus-clips!
A loud panting noise filled their ears, and suddenly another fireball
crashed into them. Ranma yelped in pain over his shoulder as he wrenched
the clip loose with a curse.
"The ventilation dampers must be leaking by," Ranma hissed. "'G' Deck
builds up pressure from the oxygen leak and the heat, then it relieves
through the dampers down here to 'H' Deck."
"Don't talk while I'm busy!" Ryouga growled.
"Bite me! This shield's getting too freakin' hot to handle!"
"I'm almost done! Now shut up!"
He wrenched at the last cotter pin, pulling it free. All he had to do
now was disengage the pinion from the rest of the assembly, and the safety
interlock that prevented both airlock doors from being open at once would
be defeated.
"Dammit!" he swore.
"What is it?" Ranma asked.
"The damn pinion won't disengage! It's stuck!" He began pounding on it
with a crescent wrench.
"OWWWGoddammit!" Ranma yelled back. "Don't say that! I can't do this
for much longer! Shit! My goddamn feet are melting to the deck!"
Ryouga continued to wrench at the recalcitrant pinion assembly, to
no avail.
"Ryyyyoooouuugaaaa!" Ranma howled as another fireball rolled over the
shield to engulf them. "This hurts! Hurry the hell up!"
"I'M TRYING!"
Ryouga pounded one final time on the pinion, then threw the wrench
away and lurched into the airlock with a guttural snarl. He clenched the
outer door handle in both hands and began to pull with all his might.
Veins popped out on his neck and brow as he wrenched at the door with
everything he had.
The pinion assembly groaned with the strain, but continued to hold.
"GODDAMN YOU!!!" Ryouga screamed at the door. "OPEN UP!!!"
A loud *crack* filled his ears as something broke inside the airlock
mechanism, and the outer door lurched halfway open. The sudden rush of
rapid decompression sucked a huge tongue of flame through the airlock and
across his body as 'H' Deck began to depressurize.

Chapter Four

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

Tatewaki Kuno studied the reports offered to him by Captain Kyle in
his private sanctum. The invasion of the system had proceeded as planned,
with the added bonus of the intact capture of the system's defensive
battlestations. He was glad he had decided to wait rather than press the
attack against the Confederation, allowing Nabiki Tendo the opportunity to
inform him of their weaknesses in time to act. The little traitoress was
full of useful information it seemed. After his encounter with his beloved
Akane Tendo and the cursed Saotomes on Capra, as had been foretold by Nabiki
Tendo in her secret missive from Nerima, he was convinced of her veracity.
Though he was eager to press on with the siege of Nerima, he decided
to wait a bit longer in the hope that Nabiki would provide him with further
information about the planet's defenses. What did a few more days matter
when it meant that his forces could be employed full-strength against the
League of Five Nails? For that matter, the more Confederation troops that
remained intact in the end, the more useful troops he could bring to bear
in his conquest of the Inner Sphere.
Yes, he decided, he could afford a little patience.
As was his custom at this time of the day cycle, he set aside the
reports and took a light lunch. The repast was excellent as always, but
for the nagging worry that something terrible had befallen his beloved
Akane Tendo and the mysterious Pig-Tailed Girl, which made him unable to
fully appreciate the cuisine. The ship that they were almost certainly
aboard had executed a hyperspace jump well outside the normal volume of
the Jump Point - an extremely risky maneuver. They had dematerialized
just outside of the gunnery range of the pursuing GunShip _Sekigahara._
What was not known was where or even *if* they had materialized at the
other end of the Jump.
Would the gods deny him that which he desired most in the universe?
He had not been exaggerating when he declared to Akane Tendo his feelings
for her. The Inner Sphere meant nothing to him without her to rule by his
side. And then, what of the Pig-Tailed Girl? Could he now forsake her,
having borne witness to her magnificence? Had he not cursed Saotome for
enslaving her, an Angel of Light, to his fell cause?
Was it not his duty to free her from his vile clutches?
He decided that it was. Images filled his mind of the Pig-Tailed Girl
swooning demurely and graciously before him, offering everything that she
had to him in gratitude. His heart began to race at the thought of taking
such a firebrand as the red-haired goddess into his arms.
But could he accept her offers? Was that not an offense against his
pure love for Akane Tendo?
Tatewaki fell to his knees in anguish, tears streaming down his face.
How could he love one and forsake the other? O, the cursed misery of it!
His tears stopped abruptly as another possibility crept over him.
Could he not love them both?
The idea filled him with hope, for it was not uncommon in history for
a man of such power and manifest destiny as his own to take more than one
wife. Yes, he thought happily, the three of them together!
He finished his meal quietly and set the dishes aside for the steward
to clear away. Akane Tendo was fated to be his, he decided firmly, as was
the Pig-Tailed Girl. Not even the physical laws of the universe could come
between them. He would refuse to accept any other possibility. It was the
only way he could bring himself to continue.
Tatewaki stood. He would pay a visit to his sister, who was still
unconscious in the intensive care suite, and then work out his tensions
in his private dojo. The order for the deployment to Nerima would be given
at the evening meal, giving him the opportunity to address his troops all
at once.

* * *

Kodachi lay in her bed, still tied to tubes and sensor leads as she
had been since she was taken from surgery. She had recovered enough strength
to be taken off the respirator, and her prognosis was good. As Tatewaki
stood by the door to her room he noted that a bit more color had returned
to her cheeks since yesterday.
In spite of her madness, she was truly a Kuno, he thought solemnly.
He considered himself fortunate in escaping the eccentricities of his
bloodline, of which his twisted sister and his hated father suffered most
grievously. The burden of bearing the only sanity in the family was trying
at times, but in his opinion served to temper him for his eventual rule.
He watched his sister's slow steady breathing for awhile, satisfied
that she would indeed recover as expected. Soon she would have to be moved
to the Periphery, preferrably before she regained consciousness. He would
have to pay the Surgeon a visit later, to secure his concurrence in moving
her. It was a formality, but these things must be observed.

"...ranma..."

He started at the mention of the hated mechwarrior's name, and turned
to confirm that Kodachi had in fact spoken it.

"...my darling...my incomparable...my ranma..."

He felt queasy at hearing these words spoken by his own flesh and
blood. Had the woman no shame?
Kodachi continued on in a dreamstate, her eyes rolling behind her
eyelids in REM sleep. A sly smile crept over her lips, and she made a
noise that was distinctly sexual in its context. An uncomfortable cold
sweat broke out on Kuno's brow at hearing his sister close to orgasm.
Had his sister taken this cretin to her bed? Had she debased herself
with an enemy of the Combine? It made his stomach churn, for while she had
long ago cast away the shackles of her virginity, she had also exercised
a certain amount of restraint in her affairs. It was deplorable for a Kuno,
of course, but at least it wasn't treason!

"...god, what a man you are...oh god, ranma...ranma...!"

He could not bear another moment of it. With a disgusted shake of his
head, he left the room as swiftly as his feet would carry him. Perhaps that
convent in the Periphery would do her more good than he had anticipated.

Sasuke was outside the room when he stepped through the door. The
ninja bowed deeply for his lord as he approached.
"Speak, man," Tatewaki ordered him.
Sasuke looked up submissively.
"My lord, you ordered me to report to you when I was prepared to
depart for the surface of Nerima. I am here."
Tatewaki nodded.
"Ah yes," he said thoughtfully. "Thy orders are to find and make
contact with Nabiki Tendo. Tell her nothing of our intentions, and enter
into no bargains with her. Officially, thou art merely an intermediary
between us."
Sasuke bowed.
"And unofficially, my lord?"
Tatewaki smiled thinly. "I wish to know of her true intentions. I do
not fully trust her, not even after all she hath done to persuade me. She
bears careful watching, and thy task is to pay close heed."
"Upon my life, lord."
Tatewaki grunted in amusement. "Indeed."

Chapter Five

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

Shampoo found the gardens of the fortress to be a godsend, giving
her a place of comfortable solitude filled with life and fragrance when
she really needed it. Mousse had kept his distance from her as well,
which was relaxing in itself.
Her stay had been uneventful thus far; though General Herb and his
entourage had arrived from Lightoller, he had not convened the debriefing,
and had made no attempt to contact her. The only thing that had marred her
own arrival was the fact that Laughing Orchid had died shortly before
planetfall. The funeral ashes had been scattered on Tau Ceti's winds days
ago. There was no autopsy, as per Joketsuzoku custom, though Shampoo knew
that even if one had been performed, Pink was too skilled a poisoner to
use something that would leave detectable traces behind.
Laughing Orchid's death was officially listed as a fatal allergic
reaction to conditions encountered on Capra. It was rare, but not unknown
for a person's immune system to rebel completely against the body when
faced with alien toxins, and in spite of the battery of antihistimines
travellers were normally subjected to prior to planetfall. Unofficially
of course, Laughing Orchid's cause of death might be better listed as
having crossed Pink in some way. Assuming there was still an expedition
after Herb's inquisition, she would have to speak to her privately about
the matter.
Herb would probably cast a more suspicious eye on the matter, but
now that there was no longer a body to examine, what could he do? What
concerned Shampoo more was that Herb was taking his time about conducting
the debrief. The hybrid general was being extremely calculating in whatever
it was that he had planned.
Perhaps he was assessing his position. Tau Ceti was a world that owed
a great deal to her great-grandmother, and so he had to know that he was
treading upon dangerous ground in spite of his authority from the Elder
Council. If she had been ordered to bring the _Intangible_ to the Epsilon
Indi System instead, matters might have been very different for her indeed.
Shampoo stretched out beneath a shade tree to sleep. She knew that she
had to remain on her guard when she finally faced Herb, and to do that she
needed to be well rested. She was a warrior, and all these thoughts of
intrigue and plotting were wearisome to her.

* * *

"So tell me, Mousse," the voice of General Herb said behind Mousse's
back. "Have you enjoyed your freedom thus far?"
Mousse froze at the sound of his enemy's voice. The urge to kill the
hybrid general rose in him, and it took several moments of sheer will to
set it aside.
"I have done my duty," he replied, turning and offering a salute.
Herb was flanked by his lieutenants, Lime and Mint. His red reptilian
eyes caught the light of Tau Ceti like polished garnets, dark and sanguine
as his mood.
"Have you now?" he asked Mousse sardonically. "I suppose you have...
- After a manner of speaking. Kima is dead, and your beloved Shampoo now
commands the expedition. You've done your duty to Shampoo rather well, I
expect. A pity about Kima, though..."
Mousse remained impassive.
Herb cleared his throat imperiously. "You haven't changed," he said
at length. "Still a slave to her. A willing slave, in spite of her rejection
of you time and again."
Mousse could bear this abuse no longer.
"Shampoo at least serves with me," he said flatly. "As I recall, she
couldn't even stand to be on the same planet as you, General, sir."
Herb flushed red. Lime began to move towards Mousse with abundant
menace on his face, but the general held him back with a look.
"Well said," he replied, still burning within. "I had no doubt of your
loyalty to her, Mousse, which is why I have decided to approach you directly
in this matter."
"What matter?" Mousse asked. "The inquisition where you hold her
accountable for what happened on Capra?"
"Perceptive as always, in spite of your blind eyes," Herb conceded.
"Yes, it is about that. And what comes after. You'd do well to listen
right now."
Mousse nodded. "I'm listening. Sir."
"Good. You can no doubt imagine why I was chosen to handle the
investigation into your failure and Kima's death."
Mousse nodded again.
Herb continued. "The Council wants blood. Specifically, Shampoo's
blood. This is twice for her in two months, and they are weary of her
failures."
"Shampoo had nothing to do with what happened on Capra!" Mousse
protested angrily.
Herb shook his head sadly. "Don't be a fool, Mousse. Do you really
believe such particulars matter to certain members of the Elder Council
who feel a change is in order for the leadership of the Clan?"
Mousse's face paled. Herb wasn't talking merely of some petty
infighting between rivals on the Elder Council, he was talking about an
outright coup!
"I see that you finally understand," Herb said quietly. "Good. It
will make this much easier, I think. Yes, Cologne has one foot out the
door at this moment, and Peony waxes in the ascendant. Cologne's personal
intervention on Shampoo's behalf has angered many on the Council, and to
have it end in abysmal failure, with great loss of life and the loss of
irreplaceable Commonwealth assets, is inexcusable.
"Shampoo is but the catalyst for this changing of the guard. Her
execution will bring down Cologne's bloodline in disgrace, and with it
her temporal control over the Clan. The Council will call for a vote of
No Confidence in Cologne's rule, and out she'll go. I expect that she
will be retired to an estate far away in the Periphery to live out what
few years remain to her."
Mousse's heart trembled with rage. How could this hybrid bastard
speak so callously of Shampoo's death and Cologne's ouster?
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked between clenched teeth.
"Because I like to play both sides against the middle," Herb said
with a smile. "As much as I would love to see Cologne thrown down from
her high pedestal, I realize that other than myself, she is the only one
with the ability to lead the Commonwealth in the coming struggle with the
Furinkan Combine. Peony is a bean counter, not a mechwarrior, and the rest
of the Council are a gaggle of gobbling old crones who sit in authority by
virtue of their antiquity. It would be suicide to seriously entertain such
folly as putting Peony in command."
Mousse had no idea where Herb was going with this, and the look on his
face confirmed it.
"Allow me to explain," Herb offered. "I know full well about the
purpose of your assignment, since Peony was stupid enough to trust me
with the knowledge when she recruited me for this kangaroo court - yet
another strike against her, I'm afraid. If Ryuugenzawa exists, and I
believe it does, it will be a powerful asset in our war against the
Combine. It is a discovery we can't afford to jeopardize because of
Peony's blind ambition.
"Shampoo will have to go on living, you see. To continue the mission
to find the Saotomes and Ryuugenzawa. Of course, she won't be working for
the Council anymore..."
"She'll be working for you," Mousse pointed out.
"Actually, *you* will be working for me," Herb corrected him. "I know
her too well to expect her to knowingly take orders from me. You will act
as my intermediary - but you will claim everything comes from Cologne. I'll
finance the affair personally, but in exchange, all of your reports come
back to my headquarters."
"Why would Shampoo care about anything I say?"
Herb shook his head sadly. "So hopeful and yet so hopeless, Mousse.
You desire her love and yet you rate yourself beneath it. However do you
expect to win her heart?"
Mousse was silent.
Herb cleared his throat again. "To answer your question: by the time
I'm finished, you will be the only friend she has left. You'll just have
to trust me at this point, as far as the particulars go."
Mousse thought this over. "I don't see how this helps keep Cologne
as Matriarch."
"Leave that to me," Herb said flatly. "Let us say for the moment that
I exercise a great deal of influence in Peony's faction, as she doesn't
have much of an army to back her claim without me. All Cologne needs to
do is bluff about civil war, and without me, Peony will fold. So you see,
if I do not give my tacit approval, the topic of replacing Cologne will
never see the light of day."
Mousse nodded ruefully. Herb had covered his bases well. Peony depended
on him for her coup, and Cologne would have no choice but to be grateful to
him for squelching it when the time came to reveal his true position in the
matter. And if she felt less than grateful (which was likely in Mousse's
personal opinion), she still had to recognize the power he held over her.
"You haven't explained why I would work for you any more than Shampoo
would."
Herb smiled thinly. "Mousse, you are perceptive, but like your weak
eyes, you lack the ability to see very far in front of your nose. Once
Ryuugenzawa is under my control, who do you think will represent the true
power of the Commonwealth? Cologne will be necessary, of course, in
rallying the country against the Furinkan Combine, but once we have crushed
them, she will no longer serve any purpose to me. The Musk Dynasty will
rise up and cast off a thousand years of matriarchal tyranny!"
He threw his hands up in pride.
"Consider this, Mousse. For the first time in your life, you will no
longer be a second class citizen. Men will rule the Commonwealth, men will
make all the decisions..." His eyes narrowed at Mousse. "And men will
choose their own brides. Think about that last point very carefully,
Mousse."
Mousse did think about it. Shampoo as his bride. It was all he had
ever dreamed of. Unfortunately it sounded too good to be true.
"What's to stop you from taking her yourself?" he asked. "After all,
if this comes to pass, you'll be the ruler of the entire Commonwealth."
Herb inclined his head to Mousse as if conceding the point.
"I understand your suspicions, but to tell the truth, Shampoo means
no more to me than a matter of personal conquest. I prefer my wives to be
somewhat more docile creatures. You may do with her as you please, Mousse,
if you think you can handle her."
Mousse closed his eyes and gave Herb's proposal some more thought.
"What if I still say no?"
Herb clucked mournfully at him. "There are other ways to obtain the
information I need; my offer to you was simply the most expedient. If you
insist on rejecting my proposal, then I'm afraid I'll have to exercise my
prerogative as Adjudicator in the matter of Kima's death and your failure
at Capra to apprehend the Saotomes. Shampoo won't be put to death, she's
far too valuable to me as a bargaining chip between the factions on the
Council for that, but a few years of forced labor at one of my private
farms on Dok To might make her, shall we say, a bit more *conducive* to my
advances..." He turned his head to Lime and then Mint. "And to the advances
of just about anyone, really."
Lime and Mint broke into dreamy smiles, complete with lines of drool
down the corners of their mouths at the thought.
"If I can't get what I want, Mousse," Herb said gravely, and his eyes
flashed maroon and crimson in the sunlight. "Then it really doesn't matter
what happens to anyone else. Consider that as well."
Mousse lowered his head.
"Tell me what I have to do."

Chapter Six

Nerima Confederation JumpShip _Dragonfly_
Position Unknown, Date Unknown

Akane sat in the Port Greenhouse with the rest of the ship's
complement. They could see the bright star in the distance and knew as
well as Ranma and Ryouga that they had materialized in a star system
rather than empty space. There was talk of using an auxiliary airlock
in the Greenhouse to reach the _Palomino_ and search for a habitable
planet - in the event that the two mechwarriors failed and the oxygen
bank exploded.
Akane would have nothing to do with such talk. Even though it had
been more than twenty minutes since she had left them in the 'E' Deck
airlock, there had been no word from them. The fire had been left to run
its course, with the remainder of the ship locked down as best as could
be done.
A growing fear gnawed at her in spite of her assertions that Ranma
and Ryouga would succeed. What if something had happened to them? Shouldn't
someone stay behind in the ship just in case they needed help?
Captain Ninomiya was adamant about keeping everyone in the Greenhouse.
It was the safest place on the ship, she continued to assert. Akane found
it hard to take the Captain seriously after she had reverted back to her
child body, and begun cavorting among the hydroponic flower gardens of the
Greenhouse's promenade.

* * *

Pansuto Tarou stalked his prey through the darkened passageways of
the _Dragonfly_ with the knowledge that his nemesis wasn't invincible.
The bright blobs of fresh blood that drifted in free fall around him were
proof of that. Happousai would not escape him this time.
In spite of the mortal danger they were all in, he had found that
the disaster the ship faced made for the ideal time to strike against
Happousai. No one would miss the little freak in the confusion, and he
doubted that anyone would question his death by some horrible accident
as a result of damage to the ship.
He floated on through the passageways, ignoring the heat that radiated
up from the fires below, and wary of an ambush the way Happousai should
have been when he first struck. It was blind luck that he had sensed his
presence that first time, but he hadn't been fast enough to escape the
knife completely. From all of the blood in the air, he judged that his
hit had been a good one, even if it wasn't immediately incapacitating.
His greatest fear now was that Happousai had already bled to death before
he would get his chance to gloat.
It was of no matter, he told himself finally. As long as Happousai
was dead, and knew who had killed him, that was enough. The little freak
knew whose hand had guided the knife, so all that remained was the killing.
He had Happousai trapped below 'D' Deck, and far from any help from
the ship's complement cowering up in the Greenhouses. The only working
hatch up to 'D' Deck had been thoughtfully locked shut by the retreating
crew from the other side, and with the fire burning out of control on 'G'
Deck, there were only a limited number of places Happousai could go.

* * *

Happousai crept with a silence borne of absolute self-control. Tarou
lurked in the darkness of the starship, hunting for him. The knife that
had nearly ended his life in a flash of cold steel sought to finish the
task the _bishonen_ mechwarrior had set for it.
As it stood, he was injured. He could not remember the last time he
had been so grievously wounded, and the shock of it had made him lose his
head and flee rather than face Tarou while he was human and vulnerable.
He was in control of himself now, and the master of martial arts in him
was taking charge.
The wound continued to bleed freely in spite of his hasty attempts at
dressing it. The knife had plunged deep into his back, probably getting a
piece of his kidney - from all the blood he was losing - but missing any
large blood vessels that would have killed him outright. He was lucky. It
pained him to think that he had been so easily taken by an amateur like
Tarou, but that was for another time. He hadn't reached the golden
afternoon of his life without taking advantage of lucky breaks when and
where they presented themselves.
He had planned on murdering Tarou anyway, and so the thought of
killing him now posed no threat to even his stunted code of morality.
The fact that he was leaking blood like a sieve only added a sense of
urgency to the matter. Tarou could follow that blood right to him no
matter where he went, and if he had changed into his monstrous Jusenkyo
form, who knew what his sense of smell would be capable of?
He had to assume that Tarou had changed by now. The stab in the dark
had been a spurious attack, Tarou taking advantage of the chaos of the
ship's distress to murder a hated enemy. Now that he had escaped, and
the assassination attempt had turned into a hunt, Tarou would be wary
and prepared.
Where could he go that would give him the best advantage? He rightfully
feared Tarou's strength and resilience in his Jusenkyo body, and he knew
that he himself was no longer the fire-spitting hellraiser of his youth.
One on one against Tarou's Jusenkyo body in a fair fight was a losing
proposition, but then, who was he to fight fairly?
He was on 'E' Deck, after having learned that he was trapped below by
the _Dragonfly's_ crew. The fires that burned in the Engineering spaces must
have been pretty bad, he realized, but then he had never bothered to learn
much in the way of technical skills or damage control, and so it hadn't
concerned him when it first came up. There wasn't much on 'E' Deck for him
to take advantage of. It was mostly storage and bulk tankage for the life
support systems.
'D' Deck had the Grav-Deck, which had been secured for the Jump, and
thus was still in free fall. It would have made the ideal place for an
ambush with its many passageways and compartments. Unfortunately, he
couldn't get there since the crew had locked down all access against the
fire. 'F' Deck marked the beginning of the Engineering spaces, but its
atmosphere had to be completely foul by now. The air was bad enough where
he was.
He would have to make his stand here, he realized. 'E' Deck had an
airlock, and that would suit his purposes even if there was no power to
automatically cycle it.
His eyes narrowed, and a chuckle escaped his lips as a plan formed.
In spite of the pain, and of the numbing sensations he was experiencing
in his extremities, he knew he had enough juice left in him for one last
surprise.

* * *

Pansuto Tarou followed the drops of blood that hung suspended in the
still air of 'E' Deck. He wore a flask of cold water tucked in his sash,
and in his hand carried a squeeze bulb of hot water. The other hand held
the knife, still slicked with Happousai's blood. The squeeze bulb would
allow him to change quickly in zero-gravity. It would not do to be seen
by one of the crew in his monster form, and even though they had retreated
towards the bow, there was the possibility that there might still be one
of the crew below 'D' Deck. He had no desire to kill anyone else today if
he could help it.
The blood trail led away from the hub of the starship, towards the
pressure hull. He followed warily, noting the irregular blotches and
stains along the bulkheads, deck, and overhead indicating that his prey
was starting to lose control over his flight. He had to be close to
bleeding to death by now.
The trail ended before the 'E' Deck airlock door. Happousai floated
limply in free-fall, his tiny hands stretched out in vain to work the
blood slicked manual controls which lay exposed in the open access panel.
Happousai was dead, it seemed, and all Tarou could bring himself to feel
was disappointment.
The inner airlock door was slightly ajar. Apparently his nemesis
had been trying to hide inside and avoid notice, but had expired before
he could get it open far enough. Tarou's shaggy face broke into a smile.
He might as well oblige the little freak.
He slipped the knife into his pantyhose sash and finished turning the
wheel that manually opened the inner door the rest of the way. Happousai
floated before the door lifelessly, his glassy eyes wide open in a stare
of death, and his clothing soaked with dark red blood. Tarou sighed. He
would have liked to have been able to confront Happousai before the end.
As he had told Kima right before he crushed her spine, he had come to
accept what he had become, but damn Happousai for not giving him a choice.
He could cycle the airlock manually from the staging area, and because
the pumps would not work due to the loss of electrical power, the chamber
would still be pressurized. Overriding and opening the outer door would
eject Happousai's body cleanly into deep space.
One of his huge paws locked around the body of Happousai. He was cool
to the touch from having bled out, and the limbs moved stiffly in free-fall.
All it would take was one good toss to put Happousai out of Tarou's misery
forever.
As he cocked back his arm for the deed, Happousai blinked.
Despite his surprise, Tarou managed to keep his head enough to try
and clamp down on the diminutive mechwarrior in the hopes of squashing him
dead, but Happousai squirted free with a cackle, and grabbed up the bottle
of hot water from his hand. A hot jet of the stuff sprayed into his face,
transforming him back to a human in a haze of water vapor.
"Idiot," Happousai spat at him as Tarou groped blindly for his knife.
"You should have made sure I was dead while you had the chance."
"Goddamn you!" Tarou snarled back, as angry at himself for being taken
in as much as he was at Happousai for getting away. "How did you...?"
"Come on," Happousai wheezed. "Did you really think a true master of
martial arts wouldn't have learned to utilize certain cateleptic trances
for just such an event?" He sprang past Tarou with a laugh, just avoiding
the questing blade.
"It won't be a trance next time, I promise," Tarou replied furiously.
His wizened mechwarrior foe was behind him now, and he was wide open
to Happousai's attack. He spun about in free-fall, slashing desperately
with the knife. Happousai twisted clear, and pulled himself along the
length of Tarou's arm in a flash to kick him square in the mouth. His
head rocked back, and Happousai's blood-slicked hands clamped down on
the carotid arteries just behind the jawline.
Happousai became a leech attached to the back of his head, and his
cold claw-like hands dug into the flesh behind his ears, pinching the
arteries against the jawbone and interrupting the flow of blood to his
brain. Tarou brought his own hands back to dislodge him, and earned
himself savage bites on the fingertips. A tunnel of black overtook the
periphery of his vision as the oxygen supply remaining to his brain was
expended. It would only take a few seconds before he...
He was reeling now with anoxia, twisting and lurching clumsily in
free-fall as Happousai made wet spitting hisses of exertion in his ears.
A roaring sound filled his consciousness as the tunnel of darkness expanded
in his field of vision to leave only a tiny window of dim light. Losing
himself in the swelling darkness, groaning out one last curse, he twisted
one final time to crash limply against a bulkhead.

Happousai released his grip on Tarou's arteries, wheezing with pain
and exertion. His own heart fluttered in his chest, and waves of dizziness
washed over him. It had been a close thing between them as to who would
black out first.
He dragged the weightless Tarou into the airlock and cranked the door
shut. It would only take a few minutes to override and open the outer door
to complete the job. He just needed to rest a bit first.

* * *

"What's taking them so long?" Akane asked worriedly.
"Have patience," Genma replied.
"They should have been able to get the airlock doors open by now," she
continued. "How can you just sit there when your own son is risking his life
for you?"
Genma's lips pursed.
"No one asked the boy to do it," he said at length. "He knew the risks
involved when he volunteered. I respect his decision."
"That's not answering my question," she pointed out.
Genma blinked several times, but did not continue the conversation.
The ship trembled slightly around them.
"What was that?" Akane cried. Had the oxygen bank exploded?
One of the _Dragonfly's_ crew looked up. "It felt like there was some
kind of thrust on the ship," he replied.
The trembling became a barely perceptible vibration that continued for
some time. Akane noticed that the normal conditions of free-fall within the
hydroponic gardens of the Greenhouse gave way to a tiny amount of perceived
gravity, and the stars shining outside the dome began to slowly shift their
positions.
"They've done it," Genma announced gravely.
"Done what?" Akane asked, still very confused.
"They've depressurized 'H' and 'G' Decks," the crewman explained to
her. "All that air rushing out of the airlock is acting like a thruster.
We're turning slowly to port."
"Oh, thank the gods," Akane breathed with relief.
They continued their vigil, waiting for Ranma and Ryouga to return and
give a report of what happened before returning to the habitat. The minutes
dragged on long after the thrust on the starship had ceased. They were in a
slow spin, with just enough perceived gravity to make them feel slightly
disoriented when they moved. It was correctable once power was restored to
the Helm and the engines, but until then they would have to live with it.
After what seemed an eternity to Akane, the primary airtight door
linking the Greenhouse to 'C' Deck slid open. She rushed to the door in
time to catch two pressure-suited figures in her arms as they fell face
first into an unconscious tumble in free-fall. The stench of smoke and
soot was heavy on them, and their suits were burned black and flaking off
small bits of material to surround them in a dirty nimbus of charcoal.
"Ranma! Ryouga!" she cried as she tried to steady their tumble. Their
eyes were closed, and their faces were ashen white behind their scorched
visors. Arrays of small red lights flashed urgently on their torso mounted
suit status displays.
There was no reply from either of them.

Chapter Seven

Federated Shiratori Battlemech Forces Mobile Command
Planet Tiber, Palatine System
The Federated Shiratori
2 April 3025

Brigadier Ukyou Kuonji looked out at the night sky of her personal
balcony in time to see a shooting star streak across the heavens. She
took advantage of this small stroke of fortune to make a wish. She closed
her eyes and thought hard, as if by a sheer act of will upon the white hot
chunk of blazing space rock, she could force it to grant her wish.
She had a lot to wish for, she realized when she was done, and the
meteor had faded to invisible motes of dust in the sky. Chief of Staff
Sanzenin was still on the planet, but he wasn't running things as he
should have been. That onerous task remained hers, and hers alone.
Was it too much to ask that one of the battlemech troops accidentally
step on him during the evening pass-in-review?
"Brigadier Kuonji?"
She turned from the balcony of her private apartments to see Major
Konatsu at the door, dressed in slippers and a yukata with an absolutely
gorgeous honeybee and daffodil print pattern. Konatsu always did have
better taste in clothes than herself, she admitted. He had brought her
a tray of milk and cookies, a personal indulgence she had thought was a
secret known only to her. She should have known better, she realized, in
having a former kunoichi for an adjutant.
"Thanks, sugar," she told him with a tired smile. His eyes widened
slightly at her term of endearment. It didn't matter much to him if she
was in the habit of calling just about anyone that she didn't outright
hate by that particular term.
"Can I get you anything else, sir?" he asked quietly.
She blew her chestnut bangs out of her eyes. "Oh I dunno," she said
absently. "How about a new life?"
Konatsu bowed uncomfortably.
"If it is in my power to give, sir, I shall do it."
Ukyou shook her head slowly. Konatsu's devotion to her was heart-
warming sometimes, and exasperating the rest of the time.
"I didn't mean that literally," she told him, walking over to the
table with the tray. "But I appreciate the thought."
She sat down at the table and plucked a cookie from the tray. The
dear had brought her frosted animal cookies - her absolute favorite in
the entire universe!
"You shouldn't have," she told him with a grin. "But I can't eat all
of these myself. Have a seat."
Konatsu blushed. "Really, sir, I couldn't."
Ukyou dunked a cookie in her milk and ate it.
"There's only one person here who needs to worry about her girlish
figure, sugar, and it isn't you. Have a seat."
Konatsu blushed again.
Ukyou knew that it pained him more often than not to be reminded of
his true gender, but sometimes his girl act hit too close to home for her
- especially where interesting, eligible men were concerned.
"If you insist, sir," he said softly, and took a seat, his eyes averted
from her.
"Well?" she pressed.
He looked up briefly, doing his best to avoid eye-contact, and took a
cookie from the tray. He ate it gingerly, as if afraid to spread crumbs on
the nice clean tablecloth.
"Much better," Ukyou said with a chuckle. "Try to look like you're
enjoying it, at least."
Konatsu cracked a weak smile. "Yes, sir."
"And stop with the 'sir' crap," she told him sternly. "Around the
troops, I expect it, but here... It drives me nuts, sometimes."
Konatsu nodded meekly. "Yes sir, I mean, Miss Kuonji."
Ukyou made a face of disgust.
"Ugh... 'Miss Kuonji?' You make it sound like I'm some old spinster.
How many times do we have to go over this, Konatsu? When it's just the
two of us, call me Ukyou, okay?"
Konatsu's face was wracked with discomfort. "Yes, sir... I mean...
Miss... I mean... Ukyou..."
"Work on it, honey," she instructed him as she ate another cookie.
Konatsu ate a second cookie, if only because he feared she would tell
him to do so if he refrained. They continued on like this for some time,
the silence heavy over them.
"Konatsu?" Ukyou asked him at length. "Do you mind if I bounce
something off you?"
Konatsu looked up from his half-eaten cookie.
"I am prepared to accept whatever punishment you deem fit, sir, I mean,
Ukyou..."
Ukyou brought a hand up to her brow wearily. "I meant an *idea.*"
The kunoichi blinked twice in surprise.
"You would ask my unworthy opinion on some matter? Me?"
"Yes, you," she returned. "Do you see anyone else in the room?"
Konatsu actually looked around to confirm this, causing Ukyou to give
a heavy sigh and gobble down a handful of cookies in despair.
"No... um, Ukyou, I do not."
"Now that we've established that there are just the two of us," she
said to him. "What would you say if I told you that I was considering my
resignation?"
Konatsu blinked several more times in surprise.
"Do you mean this?" he managed.
"I've been giving this a lot of thought, Konatsu, and I honestly
don't think that I can continue being Mikado's whipping girl for much
longer. I'm going to murder him one of these days, and end up answering
to a firing squad..."
Konatsu bolted to attention, his eyes wet with tears of devotion.
"Let not this burden consume you, I beg! My dearest Ukyou, please allow
me the honor and the sacrifice of ending General Sanzenin's life! If it
pleases you, I shall die gladly!"
It was Ukyou's turn to blink in surprise.
"Sit down, Konatsu," she said softly.
Konatsu did so, though he seemed quite disappointed at losing his
opportunity to sacrifice his life for her sake.
"I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, Konatsu. I really do.
The whole point of this is that I don't want to kill Mikado. But if I
don't get out from under him, it's going to end up happening, I just
know it. That's why I have to resign."
Konatsu remained silent for some time, analyzing the situation from
every angle. Each time he came up with the same terrifying conclusion.
"But...?" he began, and then the words failed him.
Ukyou sensed the nature of his distress.
"Konatsu, I couldn't get rid of you if I tried," she told him.
Konatsu closed his eyes, and tears spilled down his face. "You could,
dearest Ukyou," he said reverently. "If you wished for me to go, I would
go. There would be no question of my obedience to you."
Ukyou blushed bright red. She had always understood Konatsu's devotion
to her for what it seemed, that he was grateful to her for taking him under
her wing, and sparing him further abuse at the hands of his mother and
sisters. What she saw in him now was something altogether more intimate,
and it spooked her a little.
"Don't worry about it yet, sugar," she told him. "I've decided to give
it two more weeks before I make up my mind."

Konatsu opened his eyes and wiped demurely at his tears with a small
handkerchief he always kept with him for feminine moments like these. Would
his beloved Ukyou leave him? Could he bear it, and do as she asked? As to
whether or not he would leave if she told him to do so, he knew that he
would. He would sooner die than go against her wishes. What tore at him
the most was the fact that he knew he couldn't bear a life without her.

END OF PART TWELVE