[Ranma][FanFic] Battletech: The Saotome Gambit Part 4

[Jamie and Bridget Wilde]

Chapter One

The Great Hall of Azure Cloud Castle
Planet Nerima, Capella System
13 February 3025

"You look quite handsome, Ranma."
Ranma looked down at himself and shrugged. The formal outfit was
borrowed, as he had no previous need for such a ridiculous get up. Kasumi
was just trying to make him feel better about this whole nightmare. Easy
for her to say, he thought. She's not the one getting railroaded.
"Uh, thanks," he muttered to her.
Grand Duke Soun Tendo waited nearby to step out into the hall and
address the delegates. Genma Saotome, looking very sharply dressed, stood
by his side. The smug looks the two gave each other were revolting. How
was it possible that his father and the Grand Duke were old friends? Not
only that, but they were close enough to want their kids to marry, and
still did after more than twenty years of separation!
"I don't believe this is happening to me," Ranma moaned quietly.
"Now, Ranma," Kasumi said to him. "This is all for the best. Try to
show a little more enthusiasm."
He arched an eyebrow at her. "That's easy for you to say; you're not
the one getting hitched."
Kasumi took his rebuke placidly.
"Be that as it may, I expect the future heir of the Confederation to
comport himself in a proper and fitting manner."
Ranma's mouth dropped open.
"Heir?"
Kasumi frowned. Men could be so dense at times. "Of course, Ranma.
Akane is the Heir to the entire Confederation. By marrying her, you become
the Grand Duke when my father steps down." She wasn't certain if he heard
this, as Ranma's eyes were glazing over, and a silvery thread of saliva
cascaded down his lip.
"Ranma?" she asked worriedly.
Ranma remained vacant.
"Oh dear," Kasumi clucked. "Perhaps you should sit down. Father won't
be presenting you just yet."
She motioned for a servant to bring a chair, and bade Ranma to sit.
He complied absently, sitting and staring into space.
"It's not as bad as you think," Kasumi offered. "Father has years
and years to go before he steps down, so you'll have plenty of time to
learn the job."
Ranma made a gurgling noise from deep within his throat, but continued
to stare with glazed eyes straight ahead.
Kasumi shook her head slowly in pity for him. "Poor Ranma."
"What's his problem?" Akane asked, having just arrived in the small
antechamber set off from the great hall to wait with the rest of them for
Soun's announcement.
Kasumi turned to her youngest sister and sighed.
"I'm afraid Ranma simply isn't ready for this," she replied.
"That makes two of us," Akane agreed.
"Oh, not this again," Kasumi lamented. Akane was such a stubborn
girl. "We've already been through this, Akane."
"And nothing's changed! I don't want to marry this... this *pervert.*"
The word 'pervert' snapped Ranma out of his catalepsy.
"Who're you calling a pervert?" he demanded.
Akane set her arms across her chest. "Who do you think?"

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

BATTLETECH: THE SAOTOME GAMBIT
PART FOUR

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

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

Tetsuo Gosunkugi sat quietly with the League Delegation, dreading
the Grand Duke's announcement and yet knowing it to be inevitable. The
Combine would be declared the successor to the Confederation, and the
League would be left out in the cold. The only chance for success now lay
in kidnapping Akane Tendo.
He had ruled out exposing the deal between Nabiki and the Combine.
There simply wasn't time to exploit the chaos that it might generate, and
he didn't want to blindside his cousin Hikaru. There was also little chance
of installing a League-sympathizer after a coup, as he was unable to contact
the handful of Confederation nobles who met the criteria of being friendly
to the League and possessing the resources to take and hold the throne.
The Special Ops group he had brought with him was ready to act, but
a new factor to the game had just been introduced. Apparently Hikaru had
decided to stack the deck, for the nefarious Tsubasa Kurenai was on planet,
and had infiltrated the palace.
Tsubasa was an enigma, and Tetsuo did not like enigmas. Rumors placed
the transvestite as originating from the Federated Shiratori, where he had
been a mechwarrior and scout. There were also interesting bits of gossip
stating that he and the Federated Shiratori Chief of Staff had suffered
some kind of falling out, which was interesting, but in Tetsuo's opinion
questionable. Mikado Sanzenin was as straight as they came, so unless he
had mistaken the strikingly _bishonen_ Tsubasa for a woman, there was no
chance of anything romantic between them.
What Tetsuo did know about Tsubasa Kurenai was his effectiveness as
an infiltrator. The man was a master of all manner of impossible disguise,
and his hastily drawn sketches of the layout of Azure Cloud Castle had been
superior to the carefully crafted ones from his Special Ops group - who
had more time to prepare, it must be noted. The chances of the operation's
success were greatly improved by Kurenai's presense.
He considered using Tsubasa for the actual grab of Akane, and the
Special Ops group for support in case things got ugly. The diplomatic
fallout from a failed attempt would be bad enough, and so he didn't want
to create any more of a scene than necessary. Tsubasa could work quietly,
which was vital.
The palace heralds announced the entrance of the Grand Duke, stifling
further reflection. He stood with his delegation and prepared to face the
inevitable.

Ambassador Domitian was worried. He had been unable to contact Nabiki
since dinner last night, and now the Duke had called a hasty gathering of
the delegates. What was going on?
He considered the possibilities. One was that Nabiki had succeeded
in getting him to sign over the power to deal in an official capacity for
the Confederation, and he was going to announce this. That was fine, though
it might be a bad signal to send the other delegates, who would likely
suspect that something was up.
Another possibility was that he had decided on his own initiative
which delegation to accept, and that Nabiki was being sequestered somewhere
to keep the Combine in the dark until it was too late. Domitian couldn't
imagine the League coming up with an attractive offer capable of matching
the Combine, but perhaps there was some personal stake in this. He winced
at the thought that the Gosunkugis were willing to give up Akane for the
ability to outdeal the Combine - knowing that Tendo was reluctant to see
his daughter married to Hikaru or Tatewaki, and profiting from this at the
Combine's expense. Domitian's hands were tied in that matter. Prince Kuno
would not accept any deal that did not include Akane as a bride.
The third possibility was that Tendo was wavering. It was a difficult
matter to surrender before you had been truly beaten. He didn't like that
possibility at all, but it changed little in the long run. The Combine
couldn't be beaten, which was the whole point of this summit in the first
place. If Tendo was having second thoughts, then perhaps a few more attacks
by the Black Rose and Blue Thunder regiments were necessary to bring the
Duke back to the bargaining table.
The Grand Duke was making his entrance, and Domitian stood with the
rest of his entourage. There would be answers to these questions soon
enough.

Kima was not eager to end the summit and return to Jusenkyo. Something
very odd was occuring within the Tendo family, and all previous bets about
the summit's outcome were off. She wanted to discover more about the two
mechwarriors currently staying in the private guest chambers of the castle,
and more importantly, what they knew about Ryuugenzawa. She faced a hard
choice: leave with the rest of her small delegation and return to the
Commonwealth, or stay on the planet and continue her impersonation of
Akane Tendo in order to learn more. It would be dangerous to stay, but
would it be more dangerous to the Commonwealth to leave?
The young man named Ranma had declared his disbelief in Ryuugenzawa,
but when asked, had been unwilling to discuss it. Was he really hiding
something? Did Ryuugenzawa exist, and did he know its secrets? If the
answers were yes, then this was something the Commonwealth had to know.
The Joketsuzoku must control Ryuugenzawa, or at least deny it from the
Confederation, the League, and especially the Combine.
The Grand Duke entered the hall as she grappled with these questions.
The look on his face was proud and stern, and not at all what she had seen
of him previously. Something very dangerous was about to happen, she felt
suddenly, and her nerves began to tingle.

"His Grace, The Grand Duke of the Nerima Confederation!"
Soun Tendo walked purposefully from the antechamber and into the
Great Hall to the polite applause of the delegations. He approached the
rostrum with a determined look upon his brow, mindful of what he was about
to do and confident that it was the right thing. His daughters Kasumi and
Akane stepped out from the antechamber to stand well off to the side from
him, and they were followed by Genma and his son Ranma.
Nabiki was conspicuously absent, having chosen to remain in her
apartments rather than lend any support for him. It wounded him to see
her acting this way as much as it did to know that she considered him to
be insane, or worse, totally incompetent. He didn't blame her for this
last sentiment, knowing full well how he had failed his country for so
long, but when the time had come for him to finally take decisive action
on his country's behalf, she had scorned him.
He did not know what he was going to do with her after this. Perhaps
a nice long vacation would clear her head and calm her down. Perhaps even
a sabbatical off the planet to put some distance between them for a time.
Yes, that sounded best.
He looked up from the rostrum to face the delegations, satisfied with
this preliminary solution to the problem of his middle daugther. He touched
a stud on the polished wooden podium and a tiny beam of laser light
projected from the reading lamp and into his eyes, scanning the notes
from his speech directly onto his retinas. The speech would be rebroadcast
later to the public, and he wanted to look decisive and strong for his
people.
"Honored delegates," he began, mindful that all eyes were upon him.
"I welcome you this morning to my home and thank you for the great distances
you have travelled to be here. I ask you all to please be seated."
There was murmured applause from the audience before they began to sit
down. Soun continued when the hall was again silent.
"Peace in the Inner Sphere has been an elusive goal. It was hoped from
this summit that we could achieve some small measure of it in our lifetimes,
and I am confident that this is still possible."
He could see Domitian begin to fidget in his chair at this. The Combine
Ambassador was not alone.
"However it is my duty as the Grand Duke of the Nerima Confederation,
and the leader of its people, to reject the overtures made these last few
days, and to continue what is a rightful claim to the Star League. The war
to defend ourselves against the aggression of the Furinkan Combine and the
League of Five Nails will continue until such time as these two countries
have proven by their actions that they truly embrace peace."
The audience began to yammer amongst themselves at this revelation,
which was clearly not expected by anyone. Soun motioned for silence, which
came somewhat reluctantly.
"In the interest of promoting a just and honorable peace, I have
decided to remove a bitter and divisive matter of contention between our
three Great Houses."
He looked to Akane, who stepped forward hesistantly.
"I wish to announce that my youngest daughter Akane, the Heir to the
Confederation, has been formally engaged to be married."
Akane blazed red and fought the urge to flee. Domitian's eyes lit up
with brief hope, as did Tetsuo's. Only Kima seemed to know better, and
remained stoically silent awaiting the news.
"Akane shall be married to a mechwarrior from the Anything Goes School
of Martial Arts, a school that the Tendo family has been a part of for
centuries, and one that has protected the Confederation for just as long."
He turned his head to Genma and Ranma. Ranma remained where he stood
until a subtle shove from his father pushed him out onto the raised dias
to stand next to an even more embarrassed Akane.
"I present to you Mechwarrior Ranma Saotome, Heir to the Saotome
School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."
There was a shocked silence at first as no one recognized Ranma or
even had any clue as to who he was. This was followed by a rising buzz of
questions amongst the delegates until a halting applause began rolling
forth. Domitian turned beet red and stormed with no little fanfare out
of the hall, leaving his delegation to make an awkward retreat behind him.
Tetsuo remained stonefaced, and his delegation followed suit. Kima gave
the Grand Duke a tiny grin of approval and then began to applaud.
What should have been an embarrassing political blunder made Soun
smile with delight. He had humiliated the Combine and taken the control
of his country back into his own hands. Better still, he had placed his
beloved daughter out of his enemies' reach.
Ranma and Akane turned briefly to each other as the applause grew in
strength. Akane still couldn't believe her father had gone and told the
entire planet about the engagement. What was worse was that news of this
would be spread throughout the Confederation, even the entire Inner Sphere.
What was he thinking?
It was bad enough that she was now engaged to a thoughtless, arrogant
jerk, but one who was afflicted with some weird sex-changing condition that
happened any time he got wet? Furthermore, what did this mean for her
command of the 1st Nerima Guards? Would *Ranma* end up with command once
they were married? She couldn't stand the thought of it. The 1st Nerima
had been her dream since she was little. Ranma didn't deserve it, not after
all she had done to fulfill that dream. He didn't!
She looked into his eyes then, and saw that this was no picnic for him
either. She felt a little bad for him, seeing as how it was obvious that
he had no idea about the whole mess until it had been sprung on him. The
guy was a total jerk, but at least this wasn't his fault.
Ranma remained in shock at the sudden twist of fate that would
catapult him one day into the throne of Nerima. It was too much for him to
even think about, much less understand. Akane seemed no less affected by
this turn of events. For a moment he almost saw some warmth in her eyes,
but it was probably just pity for him. He didn't need her pity. He turned
away and faced the audience once again.

* * *

Ambassador Domitian was through with pleasantries.
"Tendo, do you realize what you've done!?"
Soun nodded thoughtfully.
"I don't think you do!" the Combine Ambassador shot back. "The war
will continue, and you will continue to lose. Do you really think Prince
Tatewaki will hold back after this insult?"
Soun took a puff on his cigarette, enjoying the way the Combine stooge
had come unglued. Domitian enjoyed a reputation for being unflappable.
"I expect he won't," Soun agreed.
Domitian flushed a deeper shade of red. "I'm offering you one final
chance to reconsider your actions, Tendo," he said angrily. "Put me back
in touch with Nabiki, stay out of our way, and let us handle this problem
- you've done enough damage to the peace process!"
Soun opened his eyes briefly, smoke streaming from his nostrils like
a dragon in fitful slumber.
"And if I refuse?" It was a rhetorical question, as he would certainly
refuse to capitulate.
Domitian almost spluttered with exasperation. Catching hold of himself,
he stabbed an accusing finger at the Grand Duke. "Then I can't guarantee
any measure of security for you or your family when the Confederation is
conquered. It will all hang upon your neck."
Soun closed his eyes again and nodded. "I see." He crushed out his
cigarette. With a sizzle and hiss from a wooden matchstick he lit another.
"Consider yourself and your diplomatic mission formally expelled," he told
the Ambassador. "You have two hours to remove yourself and your entire
delegation from the castle, and six hours to get off my planet. If you do
not make best speed from orbit to your JumpShip, I will see to it that your
ships are blasted out of the sky."
He regarded the trembling Combine Ambassador.
"Go."
Domitian stifled an obscenity and whirled out of the room, leaving
Soun, Genma, and four bodyguards who knew better than to remember anything
they might have accidentally seen or heard.
Soun turned to his old friend. "I'm really sticking my neck out on
the chopping block, Saotome. You had better be correct about Ryuugenzawa."
Genma smiled nervously. "Of course, Tendo. Don't worry. Once we get
those two kids married, we'll start provisioning for the expedition and
be on our way."
Soun nodded slowly.
"Perhaps it would be best not to force the issue of marriage, Saotome,"
he said. He had been thinking about the two kids ever since he had told
them of his plans for them, and it was clear that entertaining or not, the
way they got along together was going to be very important for the future
of the Confederation. "Akane is a spirited girl, and I see that your son
isn't exactly fond of the idea himself."
"He'll grow into it," Genma assured. "He's a stubborn one, but he'll
grow into it." He cracked his knuckles. "Even if I have to pound some sense
into him."
"All the same, perhaps we should allow them some time to get to know
each other first. After all, there's no hurry. We've waited this long,
right Saotome?"
Genma nodded half-heartedly. Life would be much simpler for him after
the wedding that he was rather impatient. All the same, even he could see
the sparks that flew between those two. "You're right, Tendo."

* * *

Tetsuo was beside himself. How could Tendo do such a thing? The
implications were staggering, though he should have known something like
this was up when he did not see Nabiki standing with her sisters. Tendo
had scored big at home with his people for canceling the summit and
sticking his enemies with the blame. It was slow suicide for the Nerima
Confederation, but to their credit at least they would go down swinging.
He had his intelligence staff working at a fever pitch to find out
who Ranma Saotome was. If he was such a great mechwarrior, and obviously
close to the family, there should be something on him. Tendo wouldn't
engage his daughter to a total stranger.
Unless he was a total fraud.
Tetsuo almost struck himself for not thinking of it sooner, but with
the feverish preparations for abducting Akane, he was terribly sapped for
mental resources. What if this Ranma Saotome fellow was part of a scheme
by Tendo to put off the League and Combine hopes for securing Akane as a
bride? He couldn't think of any practical reasons for this, but it made
a certain kind of sense. It would certainly explain Saotome's anonymity.
There wasn't much time to consider this, as he and his staff were
living on borrowed time. The Combine had already been forcefully expelled
from the castle following a private meeting with the Duke, and it seemed
likely that the League would also be asked to leave with all haste. His
men were still getting into position, and that included Tsubasa.
In the meantime he had to finish preparations for getting off planet.
He and his staff would leave on their own ship, while the Special Ops
group would use a stealth shuttle that had landed with Tsubasa in secret
about a hundred kilometers from Gondolin and safely over the horizon. He
also had an aerospace fighter wing (for air support and to cover a fighting
retreat) in orbit aboard a converted Behemoth Class DropShip supposedly
under a merchant flag. He hoped for a quick and bloodless operation, but
was prepared to deliver Akane to his cousin one way or the other.
"Our men are in position, excellency," one of his staff informed him.
Tetsuo nodded gravely. "Tell the remaining staff to head for the
starport immediately. Once we are aboard our DropShip, and *only* then
will I give the order to commence."
"Yes, excellency."

Chapter Two

Ranma Saotome was livid.
"I'm on to you, Old Man," he said tersely to his father.
Genma looked up from his lunch in their private quarters.
"Now what it is it, boy?"
"I know why you're doing this to me," Ranma continued. "You're trying
to get me to marry that macho chick daughter of the Duke so you can live it
up as one of the royal family!"
Genma slurped up a mouthful of noodles and regarded his son. "What are
you talking about, Ranma?"
"Don't play dumb with me. Kasumi explained the whole thing. If I marry
Akane, and her father retires, then that makes me Grand Duke."
Genma gave his son an incredulous look.
"And you have a problem with this, boy?"
"You're damn right I do!" Ranma yelled. "You're just using me so you
can live fat, dumb, and happy here on Nerima. You don't even care what I
think about all this - hell, you didn't even tell me about it first 'cause
you knew I wouldn't play along!"
Genma set down his chopsticks.
"That's right, boy. I knew you wouldn't, but that doesn't matter
anymore. The matter is settled."
"How'd you do it, Pop?" Ranma asked angrily. "How'd you get Duke Tendo
to agree to this? Even *he* has to realize what he's doing by this."
Genma took off his glasses and wiped at them with the front of his
dogi. "I thought it was obvious, boy. We made a pact when we were young to
do this. In fact, it was Tendo's idea in the first place. So yes, boy,
Tendo *does* know what he's doing."
"I'm not marrying that girl," Ranma replied, secretly stunned that
Duke Tendo could have done such a thing. "You can't make me."
Genma began to redden. "Ranma, I'm tired of your selfish attitude.
Just for once try to think about someone else."
"You mean someone like you?" Ranma sneered.
"I expected such a snotty remark from you," Genma said sadly. "But I
suppose it couldn't be helped, trying to raise you on my own..."
"Let's talk about that," Ranma retorted. "Let's talk about Mom."
"Yes, let's," Genma agreed. "Think about how happy your mother will
be, how *proud* of you, as you step up to rule the Confederation." His
eyes narrowed and his voice took on a low reproachful tone. "Then think
about how disappointed and embarrassed she'll be when you rebel against me
and leave poor Akane at the altar."
Ranma cringed. "W-What are you talking about?"
Genma, sensing his son's sudden weakness, struck for the opening.
"You know what I'm talking about, boy. Think it over very carefully. Do
you want to make your mother proud, or ashamed?"
Ranma fought for a reply. "Well, I, uh... That is..."
Realizing his son was on the ropes, Genma stepped in with the final
blow. "Face it, boy. This is bigger than you. Much bigger. Accept it before
it destroys you."
Ranma's will almost crumbled. "But how the hell can I marry a girl
who hates my guts?" It was a last desperate grasp, and he took it.
Genma was unfazed. "Is that all?" he laughed heartlessly. "Boy, if
*that's* the best you can come up with, you might as well just give up."
Ranma had lost the fire of his convictions, but he wasn't yet ready
to capitulate. "I thought you were supposed to be in love with the person
you marry. Isn't that how it was with you and Mom?"
Genma nodded. "Of course your mother and I loved each other," he
agreed. "But this is different. This is more than just a marriage, this is
a formal matter of state. With this marriage, Duke Tendo is making a
statement to the entire Inner Sphere that the Confederation won't give up
the fight, and *you're* it."
"Now that you put it that way..." Ranma said slowly. Genma moved to
put a reassuring arm around his son, only to get a punch in the jaw. "Now
I really hate it! You're *both* using me! Hell, you're even using Akane!
The last time I checked, she wasn't too thrilled about this either!"
"She knows the responsibility of a Tendo daughter," Genma retorted,
rubbing his chin. "She's lived with the prospect of an arranged marriage
all her life. She might complain, but she'll do her duty. Will you do your
duty to your family, your school of martial arts, your very country? Or
will you just run away?"
There had to be a way out of this, Ranma thought desperately. He could
not marry a girl who hated him, even if it was his duty.
"Let me think about it," he replied. He stood from the table and
walked out of the room.
"Don't take too long, boy."

* * *

Ranma found himself once again at the garden terrace. He supposed it
was natural, considering that the garden had been intended as a place of
peace and quiet, removed from the hustle and bustle of the castle. It was
a good place to think, and he needed to do a lot of that.
Thoughts of Akane, and their sudden engagement, were foremost. He knew
that he didn't hate her, but he wasn't all that fond of her either. She
was the most violent-tempered girl he had ever seen, exploding in his face
if he so much as breathed funny around her. He was just like her in that he
wasn't happy with the engagement, so why couldn't she see that and cut him
some slack?
He was definitely not ready to get married. If marriage was so great,
then why did his dad leave the house as soon as possible, never to return?
- and this from a man who supposedly *loved* his wife! No, there was no way
he could marry a girl who hated him, and Akane apparently hated him a great
deal.
The thought occured to him that he should ask her about it, and maybe
she could convince the Duke to change his mind. Then he thought better of
it. The Duke was pretty set on fulfilling this stupid pact, and if a
marriage to Akane wasn't going to work out, he'd just pick a different
daughter, and that wouldn't be any better.
Nabiki made his skin crawl. He admitted to himself that he wasn't the
most socially adept of people, but even he could feel the contempt from her.
Akane's temper was nothing compared to the cold and mocking hatred that
Nabiki nursed for him. No way in hell was he going to marry her.
That left Kasumi, who was actually nice to him, and was also pretty
cute. Unfortunately, she was physically three years older than him, and
acted about twenty years older than him. He didn't have a whole lot of
experience with mothers, but he figured Kasumi for a pretty good one. He
didn't want a wife, and he really didn't want a wife that acted more like
a mother.
He shook his head in frustration. He had just run through all of his
marriage prospects, and they weren't comforting. That could only mean one
thing: he had to somehow talk his way out of marriage altogether. Perhaps
his cursed Jusenkyo body would help.
"What are you doing here?" a voice asked. Ranma quickly registered it
as belonging to Akane.
He turned around. She stood in the doorway to the castle dressed in
a yellow floral print dress that she had apparently changed into after the
Duke's announcement.
"Nothing," he replied quietly. "I was just thinking. This is a good
place for that sort of thing."
She gave him a strange look, as if never expecting in a million years
that he was capable of rational thought, then offered a weak smile.
"Funny, I was coming here to do the same thing."
Ranma rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"If you want, I'll go. This being your place and all..."
Her expression softened. "No, that's all right. Stay." As she said
this, Ranma was gripped with an intense feeling of deja-vu. They had
played a variation on this theme just last night.
She noticed his reaction and frowned.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked archly.
He shook it off. "Fine. I'm fine. Really. Just a little deja-vu. It's
nothing."
"What are you talking about? Deja-vu?"
Now he was really confused.
"You know. Last night?"
Her frown deepened. "I didn't even see you last night, Ranma."
He laughed nervously. What kind of game was she playing with him?
"Oh come on, Akane. Remember? You asked me about Ryuugenzawa?"
"Why in the world would I ask you about some mechwarrior's fairy tale?"
Ranma turned pale.
"You're kidding, right?"
Akane set her hands on her hips. "Of course I'm not kidding. I never
saw you after dinner, and I never talked to you about something dumb like
Ryuugenzawa." She looked at him with surprising concern. "Are you sure you
feel okay? I think maybe I hit you harder than anyone thought."
Ranma did not know what to make of this. He was positive that he had
spoken to Akane, but it was dark in the garden, and he could have been
mistaken. But there was also the fact that he had asked the girl if it was
her, and she had said yes. Was someone trying to put one over on him? If
he was delusional, was his encounter with Kasumi last night also just
fantasy?
"Ranma?"
His eyes shifted back into focus to regard Akane.
"Yeah?"
"I think we should go see Doctor Tofu," she told him. "You don't seem
well."
"No, I think we need to find Kasumi," he replied. If Kasumi didn't
remember bumping into him, *then* he would go see the doctor.
"What does Kasumi have to do with this?"
"I'll explain in a minute."
Before Akane could protest, a distant flash of light caught their eyes,
drawing their attention to the horizon. Several DropShips could be seen
lifting into orbit on their plasma drives. Presumably they were the League
of Five Nails ships leaving the planet, as the Combine had been forced out
an hour earlier.
"Well, two down, one to go," Akane announced. Until the Jusenkyo
Commonwealth delegation left, she would not feel entirely at ease.
Ranma nodded once in agreement.
"So, any idea where Kasumi is?" he asked her.
"She's probably with my father," Akane replied. "You can try in the
library or maybe the study."
He gave her a puzzled look. "You're not coming?"
"Why should I? You don't seem to need my help."
Ranma frowned. **This chick was impossible. One minute she's concerned
about me, the next she could care less...**
"Uh, okaaaay... See ya."
He gave her a jaunty wave and started out the door.

Akane watched him go. What was with him, anyway? Expecting her to tag
along with him wherever he went... What a conceited jerk!
She walked to the edge of the fountain and gazed into the rippling
water. The spray of droplets was cool and soothing on her face. Her mother
used to come here often, so for Akane, the garden and its fountain was a
special place.
What was she going to do? Having to marry Ranma was almost as bad as
having to marry Tatewaki Kuno or Hikaru Gosunkugi. Why did her father have
to make such a stupid promise, and why had Mom let him?
She felt like dropping to her knees and crying. Her life was coming
apart around her. All her hopes and dreams were being crushed by this
ridiculous promise. Nabiki threatened to tear apart the family over it.
She needed someone to turn to for support, or at least a shoulder to
cry on. Kasumi usually filled that role, as did Doctor Tofu, but now Kasumi
was just as impossible as Dad, and going to Tofu would only hurt her more.
Nabiki was never close to begin with, and now she was hostile to everyone.
She had no one. No one at all.
She looked down into the waters of the pool in search of answers and
found instead the reflection of a tree that should not have been so close
behind her.
"What--?" she cried, spinning around.
Tsubasa, disguised as a tree, hit her in the face with a blast of
narcotic mist. Akane staggered backwards, half-blinded by the numbing mist,
and stumbled into the pool with a shriek and a splash. Realizing that she
was going to drown if he didn't do something quickly, Tsubasa found himself
hampered by the rubberized material of his disguise and unable to pull her
free of the water.

Akane felt the icy water squeezing at her chest, threatening to force
the air from her lungs. Her heart trip-hammered in her ears as she gasped
and spluttered half-paralyzed by the numbing fog of the drug. She was going
to drown, and she was powerless to stop it. All she could manage was a thin
scream of panic.

Tsubasa ripped frantically at the seals of his disguise. This wasn't
supposed to happen! If he let her die he would never collect for the job.
He managed to strip the tree disguise down to his waist when a man in a
red mandarin blouse and black draw-string trousers walked into the garden.

"Hey Akane, where exactly *is* the librar--urk!"

Ranma Saotome saw a woman *who was dressed as a tree* shirking her
disguise as Akane spluttered and splashed weakly in the fountain. From her
lethargic attempts at getting out of the fountain, it was clear that she
was somehow incapacitated. It did not take a genius to realize that This
Was Not Good.
"What the hell's going on?" he demanded, rushing the tree chick.
In response to his question the girl in the tree suit whipped out a
small handheld device rather like a flashlight, only Ranma could tell by
the tinny whine of a millimeter wavelength radar array that it was in fact
a laser pistol. The radar beam tickled like pins and needles across his
chest, giving the weapon a precise range for the focusing optics.
He threw himself to the right as a burst of light rather like a camera
flash filled his field of vision, and by the time the nearly silent sizzle
of ionized air reached his ears, his left arm was already burning. A jolt
of pain shot up his arm and hammered in the back of skull behind his ear
as the laser beam went wide of cutting him down. He tumbled into a roll
and sprang for the cover of a nearby marble statue.
As he rolled upright and threw himself against the statue, the sweet
smell of his own cooked flesh assailed his nostrils. His left arm was badly
burned from the elbow to the wrist, and where it was not burned, tiny steam
explosions had left the tissue lacerated and bleeding freely. The sleeve of
his blouse was melted in spots to the charred skin. The beam must have
grazed him in passing, or else he would have had a stump instead of a
barbecued arm.
He grit his teeth and tried to focus beyond the pain. The statue
wasn't very good cover, so he couldn't stay there long. He needed to take
this assassin out and fast - without getting burned down in the process.
A laser as small as that one would only have a few shots worth of
juice before it ran dry. That was in his favor, but it only took one good
shot to cut him in half. The other problem was that Akane was flailing in
the fountain and did not have long before she drowned, and so he really
couldn't afford to play around with this assassin chick in order to get
her to use up all her ammo.
As if to make a point, a beam sizzled into the statue, cracking the
hard stone as it expanded with sudden heat and peppered him with tiny
slivers. He sprang to his feet and sprinted for another statue. A third
beam crackled just in front of him, its fading tenth-of-a-second pulse of
light registering in his eyes far too late for him to react. All he could
do was throw himself into another somersault and roll clear before beam
number four found him.
The next beam churned up the grass behind him in an explosion of
moist sod and steam that pelted his back. Ranma sprang to his feet in time
to see the assassin fumbling through her disguise for another powercell.
He charged, knowing that this might be his only chance.

Tsubasa bit back a curse as the grip of his laser pistol tingled with
the low energy warning. This character in the red and black was some kind
of greased lightning, evading his shots at every turn. Even the beam that
should have cut him in half managed only to graze his arm.
He ejected the powercell with a flick of his thumb and reached for
another one on his belt. He needed to kill this guy now, before Akane
drowned and before someone heard the commotion and sounded the alarm. The
only things going for him at the moment were an Akane too drug disabled
to make much noise, a nearly silent weapon, and an opponent who wasn't
smart enough to yell for help.
Ranma's foot was practically in his face a moment later, as the pig-
tailed mechwarrior flew at him in a jump kick. Tsubasa twisted clear of
the blow, sending Ranma over and past him to crash into the fountain. The
laser pistol fell from his hand as he tried to steady himself in the clumsy
half-donned disguise.

Ranma slammed into the fountain and bounced off with a yelp to land
in the pool next to Akane. Tsubasa loomed over him, bent double to retrieve
his laser pistol, which made for an easy target. As the would-be kidnapper
popped up with the weapon, Ranma grabbed onto the pillar of the fountain
for leverage and wrenched her legs up into a double kick to Tsubasa's
midsection.
He saw the assassin stagger over with a grunt of pain, giving him
enough time to get Akane's head out of the water. She was coughing and
choking, her eyes bloodshot and wild with fright, and Ranma's heart
nearly seized at the thought of how close she had come to dying. As
Tsubasa struggled with his disguise, Ranma took Akane up into her arms
and made a break for the door.
She didn't quite make it before one of the League's Special Ops men
burst through the door with a suppressed submachinegun under his stolen
Confederation Army uniform cloak. Over a dozen more were right behind him.
Ranma stopped short, relief evident on her face upon beholding the men
she thought were on her side.
At least until the soldier put the fat black muzzle of his weapon
against the tip of her nose.
She jerked her head hard enough to the side to give herself a case of
whiplash, which was a small price to pay for not getting it blown off. A
dozen rounds of subsonic 10mm hydrashok sailed millimeters past her ear
and the burning powder from the muzzle flash singed her hair. As she dodged
the burst she planted her left foot, held tight to the girl in her arms,
and pivoted into a savage roundhouse kick that hammered unchecked through
a full circle, and with the knife-edge of her foot coming squarely into
contact with a point just behind the soldier's ear. The sound of crunching
bone went unnoticed as Ranma hopped clear of the doorway in search of
another exit.
Unfortunately, it didn't look like there were any other exits, except
the edge of the garden wall, which was a precipitous drop of about four
hundred meters to a hard and jagged spur of mountain rock, and therefore
right out.
To make matters worse, the assassin had reloaded her laser pistol,
and a strobing flash of light cut into the stone wall by Ranma's head.
More splinters of rock stung her face as she finally got it through her
head to scream for help. The rest of the League commandos poured through
the door as she hollered for somebody, anybody, to help. The only thing
that kept them from cutting her down in a hail of bullets right then and
there was the fact that she was carrying Akane in her arms.

"Give it up," Tsubasa replied coldly. "We've got you outnumbered and
outgunned."
"Bite me!" Ranma shot back. "Any second now this place is gonna be
crawling with troops."
Tsubasa grimaced, knowing this to be true. He also knew that whoever
Akane's protector was, he suddenly seemed shorter than before. His voice
seemed surprisingly feminine, and wasn't his hair black just a minute ago?
It was more important to resolve this as quickly as possible, for the
extraction ship was already on its way, and save the analysis for later.
"Hand her over and we won't hurt you," he said soothingly. He motioned
for his men to lower their weapons even as he dropped his laser into his
belt pouch.
He started towards Ranma and Akane slowly, and in as unthreatening
a manner as possible. While he had ditched the laser, he still had the
narcotic mist sprayer in his fingertip. One good shot would drop his
pig-tailed nemesis in his tracks.
"Stay back," Ranma growled.
"Make it easy on yourself," Tsubasa countered. He was almost within
sprayer range. The remaining commandos kept watch both on Ranma and on
the only exit from the garden. "You would already be dead by now if I
wanted it."

"You can't have her," Ranma retorted, coiling to strike before the
tree chick could do something sneaky. Her left arm was about to give out
from bearing Akane's weight in its wounded condition, and her knees were
shaky. She had to do something before she ran out of gas.
It was looking fairly hopeless for them until the low wail of an air
raid siren began to echo across the mountain top castle. Tsubasa cursed
bitterly. Their extraction ship was on schedule, but they weren't, and its
arrival had tipped off the Confederation garrison before they had Akane.
The garden began to throb as Rifleman and Crusader battlemechs stomped
from hangars to their reinforced air-defense positions high on the castle
walls above them.
"Time's up, ya crazy broad!" Ranma cackled triumphantly. If you're
lucky, you might be able to bag ass out of here before you get captured."

Tsubasa's blood began to boil. He couldn't believe that pig-tailed
bastard had just called him a broad!
"How dare you call me that!" he cried, and charged the last few meters
to get within sprayer range.

Ranma saw the outstretched finger and knew no good could come from
it. With a desperate groan of exertion she tossed the unconscious body of
Akane Tendo straight into the air and out of immediate danger even as she
threw a high front kick that struck Tsubasa's hand and knocked it aside.
The narcotic spray burst forth into a shimmering cloud of droplets that
missed the mark completely. Tsubasa screamed with pain at his broken wrist
and crumpled to the ground as Akane fell back into Ranma's arms.
The battlemechs began to open fire above them as the small and fast
stealth shuttle screamed over the garden. Two turrets on the spacecraft
belched deafening bolts particle beam fire at the 'mechs, suppressing them
long enough to hover above the garden on four tongues of thruster flame
that sprayed out at angles to keep them from incinerating the garden below.
Despite the shuttle pilot's precautions, the air burned with the heat of
the particle beams and the shuttle's fusion drives.
A hatch opened in the bottom of the shuttle and twenty long nylon
shock cords fell from inside. Tsubasa knew when he was beaten, and took
hold of one of the cords with his good hand to latch the carabiner hook to
his belt. The commandos followed his lead, spraying suppressing fire of
their own at the doorway to keep the real Confederation soldiers from
getting through.
Ranma watched them spring into the air as the shuttle pitched up,
right, and down the mountain to get below the castle battlemech weapons.
It then took off straight for Gondolin, knowing that the Confederation
'mechs would be loathe to fire at them for fear of stray shots landing in
the city. The League agents were just tiny specks in the distance when
they were finally pulled inside and the shuttle screamed aloft for orbit.

Chapter Three

"Ranma! You risked your life to save my little girl! I'm so proud of
you!"
Ranma Saotome gasped for breath under the crushing and tearful embrace
of her future father-in-law, Grand Duke Tendo. She was seated on a litter
in the garden as several paramedics under the supervision of Doctor Tofu
examined her. Akane sat nearby, weak and dazed from the drugs, but otherwise
suffering no serious injury. Numerous soldiers and medical staff clustered
around them, as did Genma and Kasumi.
"That's quite a laser wound," Tofu remarked as the Duke unlatched
himself from Ranma. "You're lucky to still have an arm."
Ranma looked down at the charred and bloody arm. The pain was deadened
somewhat by the nerve blocking acupressure points Tofu had stimulated. She
could still move her fingers, but the lack of strength concerned her.
"How bad is it?" she asked. It looked pretty bad.
Tofu moved a sterile gloved finger along the arm at various points.
"I'm afraid we're looking at a few hours of minor surgery to debride
the arm before we can attempt any skin grafts. It might be a few days before
we get any indication of permanent nerve damage, but I think the wound was
shallow enough to preclude anything serious. It also looks like a few
quality hours will be spent picking tiny bits of stone shrapnel out of your
skin, but I can get a nurse to do that."
"So I'll be okay?"
Tofu smiled and patted her on the back.
"In a few weeks you'll be just fine. Once we get your arm bandaged up
I'll take a look at that neck of yours. A little acupuncture should probably
do the trick." He looked towards Akane. "I'm going to see to Akane now."
Ranma followed the doctor's glance over to her. She seemed pretty
out of it.
"Is she gonna be all right?"
Tofu smiled again. "She'll be fine as well, don't you worry."
"Who's worried?" Ranma asked nervously.
Tears continued to stream down Soun Tendo's face as he looked upon
Ranma. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done for Akane, son," he
blubbered. "Oh, I can almost feel the love between you two..."
"What?!" Ranma squawked. "Now wait just a second here..."
Genma stepped in before his son said something stupid. "I don't think
there was any doubt where the boy's priorities lie, Tendo. The real question
here is who was responsible for this?"
"That's what I'd like to know," Ranma agreed.
Soun frowned with contempt. "It was the Combine," he intoned. "It had
to be. They couldn't get my little girl one way, so they tried another."
He clenched his fists tight and the tears began to flow even swifter. "I
have a mind to order the System Defense units to destroy them before they
can reach their JumpShip and escape."
"That might be a bit hasty," Genma hedged. "After all, we can't prove
anything yet." He looked down at Ranma. "Well, boy, who do you think was
responsible for this?"
"Didn't I just say that I'd like to know?" Ranma groused.
Tofu had completed his preliminary examination of Akane and turned to
the Duke. "These two are safe to move," he declared. "I would recommend
taking them down to the infirmary at once."
Soun agreed. He felt vulnerable in the garden, and there was no reason
not to believe that other hostile agents might still be within the castle.
The Jusenkyo Commonwealth delegation had been about to depart when the air
defense units went on the alert and the castle was sealed. They could have
easily infiltrated spies or assassins in the confusion.
He gave orders to his troop commanders to allow the Commonwealth
delegation to depart, followed by a thorough inspection of the castle and
its grounds. This would not happen a second time.

* * *

Kima was commited to leaving now. Whoever had pulled the stunt with
Akane had loused up her chances of staying on as a spy. Tendo would most
certainly tighten security around the castle in the wake of the attack
and attempted kidnapping of Akane.
She suspected that the League was responsible, as kidnapping really
wasn't Tatewaki Kuno's style, and certainly not something a career diplomat
like Ambassador Domitian would do. It did however fit Hikaru Gosunkugi's
usual _modus operandi._ She wondered how long it would take the Nerima
Confederation's espionage network to find out. Probably a while if Nabiki
continued to remain on the outs with her father.
The last of her staff had already departed down the mountain under
heavy security, and it was just the primary diplomats that remained. She
wanted one last look at the castle, under the pretext of seeing the Grand
Duke a final time and paying her respects. Surprisingly, the Duke had been
willing, if somewhat reluctant, to see her.
She was under escort of course, and they came to a long hallway
adjacent to the garden and the scene of the incident. Duke Tendo appeared
shortly, along with his own entourage of bodyguards and staff types. Akane
and her new fiance followed next with various medical people and the family
doctor. Tendo and his bodyguards stopped for her as the rest of the group
continued on.
"I apologize for the less than hospitable farewell," Soun offered her.
"I understand, your Grace," Kima returned. "This has been a disgraceful
moment in Inner Sphere relations. I would like to state for the record that
the Commonwealth categorically denounces this incident and those responsible
for it."
Soun nodded solemnly.
"Perhaps our two countries can come to a better understanding through
this."
"Perhaps. Time will tell," she replied. Ranma and Akane were passing
behind the Duke on litters as she said this, and she found herself more
than a little distracted. Particularly by Ranma, who seemed much smaller
than when she had seen him in the grand hall. His hair was also a different
color now, and...
Kima turned pale. Ranma had very obvious breasts. Unless she was
seeing things, which she doubted, it could only mean one thing.
Ranma was a woman.
But Ranma had been very much a man that morning. It made no sense.
Unless... She felt her own body begin to tingle at the thought. Unless
Ranma had a second body just like Kima did. A Jusenkyo body... The thought
would never have occured to her if she hadn't already been exposed to the
Jusenkyo Effect.
The only way that was even remotely possible was if Ranma had been to
the Jusenkyo Labs. She knew of no outsider participant in the Breeding
Program who had been exposed to the Jusenkyo Effect. Only Doctor Gaido
would know for certain, though.
"Is there something wrong?" Tendo asked her. Her reaction to seeing
Ranma must have been more telling than she imagined.
"Oh. Nothing at all," she managed. "I was simply overcome by what had
befallen your daughter's fiance." She bowed for him. "By your leave, your
Grace?"
Soun nodded. "Of course. I wish you a safe and speedy journey."
Kima thanked him and left as quickly as she dared. This was probably
the most important piece of information she had to offer the Matriarch
regarding the summit.

* * *

"How do you feel, Akane?"
Akane shrugged half-heartedly. She was in her own room again, now
dressed in a yukata, her dress folded neatly at her side on the bed. Kasumi
continued to hover over her since her release from the infirmary, and it
was getting annoying.
"I'm okay. A little nauseous, but that's because of whatever it was
they hit me with."
Kasumi nibbled at her fingertips. She always worried about Akane,
but this was one of the few times that she had felt completely powerless
over matters. Now she felt guilty for somehow letting her baby sister
down. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Akane gave her a wan smile. "I'm okay, Kasumi. I just need a little
rest."
"Are you sure?" Kasumi pressed. "It's no trouble."
"I'm fine."
Kasumi didn't look convinced. "Well, if something comes up, just let
me know."
Akane smiled. "I will."
"And you know there's always two guards outside your door," Kasumi
added.
"I know." She hated it, but she knew enough about her father and eldest
sister to know that keeping guards close by was the only way they were going
to be able to sleep nights for the next few weeks.
"All right," Kasumi conceded. "You rest now, and I'll have dinner sent
up to your room."
Akane nodded again somewhat despairingly, and Kasumi finally took the
hint. She left without another word, leaving Akane alone at last. She fell
back onto her bed and let the anti-tox drugs work their way through her
system to clean out whatever it was the spy had used on her.
She couldn't sleep, despite her fatigue. It ate at her self-confidence
to have been taken so easily by an enemy agent. She was better than that,
and smarter than that. If it hadn't been for Ranma, why she'd...
Ranma.
She didn't remember much of anything after the spy had drugged her,
only hazy nightmares of drowning and gunfire. She certainly didn't remember
Ranma coming to her rescue, or of getting shot in the process. Once the
narcotic agent had started to wear off in the infirmary, Ranma was already
in a separate room, so she had to take other people at their word for what
had happened.
The idea of Ranma risking his life for her didn't click. It didn't
seem like something he would do. Why should he even care?
She sat up in bed once more, and unfolded the dress she had been
wearing that day. Ranma's blood stained the fabric in wide, messy, and
slowly browning streaks along the back panel, left shoulder, and below
the bodice. There was far more blood than she was expecting.
A lump formed in her throat, and her eyes began to water as she
realized that it was all true, but her biggest question remained as yet
unanswered.
Why did he even care?

Chapter Four

Furinkan Combine JumpShip _Imperator,_
within four light-seconds of the
Alpha Centauri-A Zenith Jump Point,
Alpha Centauri System, Furinkan Combine
17 February 3025

FCJS _Imperator_ hung high above the yellow sun of Alpha Centauri-A
awaiting news from the Nerima Confederation. Pacing the Executive Bridge
of the JumpShip in his dark blue hakama was Tatewaki Kuno, Prince of the
Furinkan Combine, Heir Apparent, and General of their Battlemech Forces.
The prince, known throughout the Inner Sphere as the Blue Thunder of
Furinkan, was not in an agreeable mood.
"Communications," he barked. "What news?"
The Communications Officer, long accustomed to his prince's temper,
managed to keep his voice fresh and free of irritation at this sixth
query in the last thirty minutes.
"The Ambassador's ship has not yet appeared from Jump, Highness."
Kuno nodded coolly, though it was clear that he was anything but.
Had that fool Domitian failed, or would that vision of beauty known as
Akane Tendo finally be his? If Domitian had succeeded in bargaining with
the treacherous Nabiki, the price he would pay for Akane's hand would be
dear, but worth every last C-bill. He would gladly hand over a dozen
worlds if it would mean that Akane was his.
So lost was he in his rapture for Akane that he did not hear his
sister, Princess Kodachi, enter the Executive Bridge.
"Ah, brother dear," she simpered for him, making him start in surprise.
"Do you really believe even that horrid Nabiki Tendo would be so callous as
to sell her own sister to you?"
"Be silent," he admonished her.
"What then of your declaration to the entire Inner Sphere that no man
shall marry Akane Tendo without having defeated her in battle?" Kodachi
continued with a malicious grin. "It seems to me that you have yet to
accomplish this task."
"Hold thy tongue, sister," Kuno growled. He hated having his sister
point out the glaring flaws in any of his ideas, but most of all those
ideas concerning his pursuit of Akane Tendo. Her words were a cut enough
to the quick that he did not think to mention his sister's own recent
personal defeat at Akane's hand. "The Blue Thunder shall yet prevail over
her."
Kodachi laughed heartily in her brother's face at this. Officers and
crew on the bridge quickly turned away from the two and pretended that they
didn't exist.
"My dear brother," she chuckled. "Ever the optimist."
Tatewaki grew weary of her impertinence. "Hath not thy regiment orders
to carry out?" he demanded.
Kodachi snickered at his feeble attempt to dismiss her.
"Of course, brother dear," she affirmed with a smirk. She struck a
forlorn pose with her arm across her brow. "How careless of me to forget!"
She continued to stand there, mocking him with her eyes.
"Be off with you then!" Tatewaki barked, throwing his hands up in
frustration.
Satisfied with his outburst, she gave him a peck on the cheek and
sauntered off the bridge with a wave of her hand.
"Farewell, brother dear," she called with her back turned to him.
"Give my love to father if you see him."
Tatewaki Kuno, Crown Prince of the Furinkan Combine, clenched his
fists in rage as his sister stepped through the airtight door to the
Senior Officers' quarters. How dare she make sport of him in front of
the crew!
"Contemptuous witch," he hissed to himself. "How I loathe thee,
sister, and look to the day when I, Tatewaki Kuno, shall sit upon the
Star League throne and laugh whilst thou art exiled to a convent in the
Periphery! Mark me well, sister, for as the stars shine, so shall this
come to pass!"
He was closing his eyes in rapture at the thought when a brief
flurry of activity possessed the bridge crew.
"Conn, Sensory;" a voice called over the intercom. "New contact
designated Romeo Four bearing zero-three-three plus zero-one, range
three point four light-seconds. Contact appears to be a ship emerging
from Jump."
"Sensory, Conn; aye," the Officer of the Deck acknowledged.
Tatewaki watched his bridge crew swing into action as the contact
was probed further, and tactical displays updated with fresh data. The
Battlecomp made initial recommendations. If the contact was evaluated
to be hostile, four squadrons of aerospace fighters were available for
rapid response, as were several Union Class dropships fitted out as
gunships. The _Imperator's_ crew would be ordered to battlestations.
Because the technology to build new Kearny-Fuchida Jumpcores was
lost to the antiquity of the Star League, the Articles of War forbade
his forces from firing upon any enemy JumpShip that did not first open
fire on them. However, any DropShips it released were fair game. Most
of the remaining starships of the Inner Sphere had been stripped of all
but the most basic defensive armaments in light of this convention. The
_Imperator_ itself was an exception to this; being one of the few
comparatively intact Star League battlewagons in service.
These precautions proved unnecessary mere moments later.
"Conn, Communications; Receiving hails from the JumpShip _Acropolis,_"
the Communications Officer announced. "They request permission to depart
the Quarantine Zone under normal drive."
"Conn, Sensory; Confirming Contact Romeo Four as FCJS _Acropolis_ by
IFF transponder and JumpCore EMS Emissions Signature," the Sensory section
added.
The Officer of the Deck turned to Prince Kuno, who gave a nod of
assent.
"Inform the Ambassador's staff that I expect a full report upon
docking," he told the Officer of the Deck. "I shall await them in the
Salon."
"At once, your Highness."

Tatewaki Kuno was barely able to contain the excitement in his voice
when his steward announced the arrival of Ambassador Domitian and his
staff. He took a calming sip of hot sake before giving his permission
for them to enter.
Ambassador Domitian entered the salon, his face an expressionless
mask. Tatewaki Kuno knew the man was not given to much emotion, and so
did not see anything amiss with his ambassador's blank countenance. His
aides however could not claim poker faces half as good as their master's.
It was enough to set him on edge.
"By your leave, Highness," the man offered.
Tatewaki motioned for him to begin.
Domitian collected himself before speaking. His serenity became
more pronounced, which began to worry Tatewaki even more.
"It did not go well," the ambassador began at length.
Tatewaki's blood pressure rose a few points.
"Those League swine outbid us?!" he cried out in disbelief.
"No, Highness. The League's offer was spurned as well."
Tatewaki's ire became puzzlement.
"Who then?" he demanded. "Speak, man! Was it the Commonwealth? Indeed,
I put no fell deed past those harlots!"
Domitian shook his head slowly.
Tatewaki became livid at the implications. "Th-The F-F-Federated
Shiratori?!" he stammered in utter horror of the idea that Azusa Shiratori
might take easy possession of that which he had striven so mightily for.
"Say it not!"
"Nay, Highness," Domitian replied.
"Speak then!" Tatewaki raged. "With whom hath the brazen Nabiki Tendo
found favor?"
"Grand Duke Tendo has withdrawn his surrender offer," Domitian
replied carefully. "As the documents favoring our custody of the
Confederation were being presented for his approval, he dismissed all
of the representatives and announced the betrothal of his daughter Lady
Akane to a Mechwarrior named Saotome."
Tatewaki Kuno's lower lip began to tremble. Veins bulged out of his
forehead and neck. His skin took on a deep and distinctly unhealthy crimson
hue. Not a breath escaped his lips for over three minutes, before he at
last gave rise to his voice.

"HE HATH BETROTHED MY BELOVED TO ANOTHER, A MAN NOT MYSELF!?"

Domitian took a step toward the door. His aides followed his lead.
"I am afraid so, your Highness..."
Tatewaki leaped up from his chair and across the salon to strangle
his ambassador.
"EXPLAIN YOURSELF, CRETIN!" he bellowed, shaking the man's head so
vigorously that his neck made popping sounds. "WHY HAST THOU RETURNED
WITH SUCH NEWS TO MINE EARS!? WHY HAST THOU NOT PERSUADED TENDO TO HIS
BETTER REASON!? WHY ART THOU NOT EVEN NOW RIPPING THY BEATING HEART FROM
THY BREAST IN SHAME AS I THROTTLE THEE!?"
Ambassador Domitian could not reply, having slipped mercifully into
unconsciousness - a fact that went unnoticed by Kuno as he continued his
tirade. Only after watching the man's eyes roll up into the back of his
head did he release Domitian and let him drop bonelessly to the floor.
"Be gone from my sight, man!" he told his half-dead ambassador.
"Until sweet Akane Tendo is my betrothed, get thee hence, and darken not
the chambers of the great Tatewaki Kuno with thy feckless and timid
presence!"

* * *

Tatewaki Kuno pondered matters before his personal shrine well into
the ship's night cycle. Domitian had failed him. He had a mind to execute
the fool, but put the notion aside. Spur of the moment executions were bad
for morale, no matter how well deserved.
He looked up at his shrine, with its numerous depictions of Akane
Tendo, and sighed mournfully. The photos, stereographs, paintings, and
even a sculpture carved from a single block of white diorite captured
the essence of her in every mood, in every delightful way, and were each
masterpieces of art and craftsmanship. Yet she was not there in his arms,
warm and vital, making his shrine but a hollow counterfeit of her glory.
"Long do I pine for thee, Akane Tendo," he said to the images of
her.
Slowly he looked down from the shrine to the detailed report Domitian
had prepared prior to his Jump to Alpha Centauri. One image captured his
eye, and brought the bitter taste of bile to his throat. This cur, this
oaf, this Ranma Saotome, had dared to presume himself her fiance - mocking
the great Tatewaki Kuno!
He would be brought to his accounts, Tatewaki vowed. He made plans
to display this cretin upon the prow of his mighty battlecruiser as a
warning to the Inner Sphere. It would be a fitting gesture for the one who
had stolen his goddess in the night like a common burglar to endure forever
as his trophy in the cold dark reaches of space.
The Duke would have to suffer for this insult as well. Indeed, the
entire Confederation existed only to keep Akane from her rightful place as
the wife of the Blue Thunder, and would have to pay.
"Very well," he decided grimly. "Where diplomacy hath failed to gently
persuade, so shall the might of Tatewaki Kuno prevail. We shall raze the
Confederation unto the ground, and scatter its ashes unto the winds. 'Til
sweet Akane be mine, let no man of the Confederation remain who doth not
gibber and quake at the sound of my voice!"
A tone sounded at his door.
"Speak!" he commanded.
"I have a dispatch from the Nerima Confederation marked most urgent,"
the voice of his aide de camp replied.
Tatewaki thought for a moment.
"Enter."

Tatewaki looked over a sheet of paper from his Intelligence staff
regarding the dispatch. It had been sent via HPG using a Combine code that
the Confederation had obviously broken, and purported to be from Nabiki
Tendo. She desired a meeting with him, in person, on neutral ground, and
in regards to the affair with the Confederation.
He considered it. She had failed him as much as Domitian, but perhaps
there was still something to be gained from entertaining her suggestion.
There would have to be an accelerated military campaign against the
Confederation - for honor's sake if nothing else - though he would gladly
accept a brokered surrender if it meant that Akane would be his.
He decided that he had little to lose by meeting with Nabiki at this
point, and gave the appropriate orders to his staff.

Chapter Five

Eight Shining Pearls Fortress,
The Ancestral Home of House Joketsuzoku
Planet Jusenkyo, Jusenkyo System,
Jusenkyo Commonwealth
18 February 3025

Happousai allowed himself to be led by two formidable ladies of House
Joketsuzoku into Cologne's presense. Being the kind of man that he was -
that is, completely full of himself - he took for granted the fact that he
was one of the few outsider males allowed such priviledged access to the
Matriarch. Instead he took advantage of his diminutive stature to look up
the two girls' uniform cheongsam minidresses.
The two either didn't notice his visual groping or else were possessed
of considerable self-restraint. With martial precision they conducted him
past exquisitely painted silk partitions and into the private audience
chamber of the Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku. Incense burned in a corner of
the octagonal chamber in accordance with the principles of Feng Shui, and
the faint hum of hidden electronics confirmed his suspicions that even in
this place of thoughtful introspection and quiet meditation, Cologne was
never far from the instrumentality that connected her with her empire.
Cologne, wizened and shrunken beyond any practical estimates of her
age, sat quietly in the center of the chamber smoking a pipe. The acidic
tang of the smoke, enough to overcome the sublime blend of the incense,
told Happousai that whatever the substance was that she was enjoying, it
was not tobacco. She looked up briefly at them, narrowed eyes glinting in
the soft golden light of scattered candles, and puffed on her pipe. For
a moment Happousai tried to remember that the shriveled crone who sat
before him was at one time a tall and willowy young woman of celestial
beauty.
"<Pink, Link, that will be all. Leave us,>" she said in a dry voice.
The two Joketsuzoku hesitated, then retired from the chamber. They would
be out of earshot, as was expected of them, but not unable to answer an
urgent summons. Happousai watched them go.
Cologne cleared her throat and cast her rheumy eyes up to regard him.
He wasn't certain if he detected approval or reproach in the cast of her
face.
"I am informed that you have urgent news to bring me," she said in a
voice of measured disinterest.
Happousai pawed at the ornate rug with his foot.
"Never mind that, Cologne," he said spryly. "How've you been? It's
been, what, two years now?"
Cologne's passive face grew cold.
"I am a busy woman," she reminded him. "Because you have been useful
to me in the past and because of our shared history I am perhaps overly
indulgent of you, Happi, but if you don't tell me immediately of your news,
I shall have you thrown out."
Happousai tried to look hurt at her reproach.
"Fine then," he pouted. "It so happens that I ran into two of your
guinea pigs on Capra. It seems that's as far as they could run. I thought
you might be interested in getting them back, and if so, I could make
myself available to help."
Cologne closed her eyes and shook her head. Herb and Doctor Gaido
still had to answer for their lack of restraint concerning those two. She
then opened her eyes and put on a bland face for Happousai.
"If I were interested in having them back, they would already be
in Gaido's lab," she said evenly. "You have wasted my time."
She was about to send for Pink and Link when a purple-haired vixen
in a dangerously short cheongsam bounded breathlessly into the chamber.
Happousai's eyes bulged out of their sockets in appreciation for her
pulchritude.
"<Great-grandmother!>" she cried happily in Chinese. She then noticed
the gnomish lump of Happousai and fell to her knees to give the Matriarch
her proper due in front of outsiders.
"What is it, Shampoo?" Cologne asked gently in the Standard tongue.
There was little wrong that Shampoo could do in her eyes, and she often
doted on her without thinking of it.
"Is good news!" Shampoo reported. Her Standard was a little weak,
since she had devoted her considerable energies toward fighting skills
rather than more scholarly pursuits. "Confederation surrender talks have
failed!"
Cologne nodded briskly. This was good news indeed. Such good news that
she forgot that Happousai was still present.
"Was Kima successful in throwing the talks off track?"
Shampoo beamed.
"Was not necessary, Great-grandmother! Duke Tendo withdrew surrender
offer at last moment."
Cologne frowned. While it was vital to the Commonwealth's interests
to maintain the status quo within the Inner Sphere until her plans had
come to fruition, she had not counted on Tendo to do such a rash thing.
Kima's very role as Commonwealth observer was to derail the talks in such
a way that an orderly transfer of power to the Combine could not happen.
Cologne worried less about the League winning Tendo over, as they were
weak and already unwittingly deep into her pockets, but better still to
keep things as they were. Now Tendo had done something unexpected.
"Explain," she demanded of Shampoo.
"No have full details yet," Shampoo demurred. "Report came over
Hyper Pulse Generator from agents in Comstar. Kima due to arrive in two
weeks from Nerima to report in person."
Cologne frowned deeper. What was so important that Kima wouldn't seek
to report via HPG message rather than delay for weeks to Jump back to the
Joketsuzoku? She of all people knew how deeply infiltrated Comstar was with
Commonwealth agents. A message could easily slip through unnoticed by the
ignorant tech-priests of that misguided and self-serving organization.
What was Duke Tendo up to? Could it be that the man was taking back
his throne from his manipulative daughter Nabiki? Was this merely a petty
squabble between the family, or did it hint at something darker? By all
reasonable estimates the Confederation was a lost cause within twenty years
no matter how hard they resisted. What was Tendo doing? Had he really
cracked, as some had long suspected, after the death of his wife?
Cologne thought hard as she puffed on her pipe. Fortunately, Happousai
seemed too interested in Shampoo to be curious of Commonwealth affairs.
She was about to dismiss him a second time when she came to a decision.
"Happi?" she asked sweetly. Her hoarse croaking voice almost pulled it
off.
Happousai turned his ravenous eyes away from Shampoo long enough to
regard her.
"Yes, Cologne?"
"I have a job for you. I want you to go to Nerima and find out what's
going on within the Tendo family. It is my understanding that you have
something of a familiarity with the Duke. Use that to get close to them,
and report via HPG everything you can."
"Why me?" he whined. He always whined. Cologne usually raised her
compensation rates just to get rid of him and his huge dewy eyes.
"Because you are the best man for the job," she told him. "And for
reasons I have already outlined. You know that I will be generous in my
compensation for your efforts."
Happousai's eyes went alight, and he spared a lascivious glance
towards the oblivious Shampoo.
"You know what I want, Cologne," he said, voice quavering with hope.
Cologne's eyes darkened like roiling thunderclouds.
"While you may be a mechwarrior of considerable skill, you are far
too old to be of use to my breeding program. Your potency is suspect, and
furthermore, you will not enjoy such a boon with Shampoo."
Happousai's face trembled halfway between crushed and enraged, and
Cologne was quick to let him off easy. The gnomish little mechwarrior could
be extremely dangerous in his wrath.
"But perhaps I have someone else who could 'entertain' you in some
way," she added slyly. "Think it over, Happi. Time is running short for
you to reach Nerima while the situation remains sufficiently undeveloped to
do any good."
Happousai nodded slowly, a wide boyish grin spreading across his face.
His eyes became huge and dewy at the thought of an evening or six with one
of Cologne's gorgeous Amazons.
"When do I leave?"

Chapter Six

Fisherman's Wharf, City of San Francisco,
North American Protectorate,
Planet Earth, Sol System
24 February 3025

"What's the matter, Kuno-chan; is your espresso too strong?"
Tatewaki Kuno looked up from his demitasse and into the deep walnut
colored eyes of Nabiki Tendo. There was a playful cruelty in those eyes
and in her crooked smile as she sipped from her own cup.
"Thy choice for a rendezvous unsettles me," he said evenly.
Nabiki did not reply at first. Her gaze was taken by the fog that
shrouded the distant towers of the Golden Gate bridge and the green expanse
of the Presidio to the north, and by the crumbling ruins of Alcatraz across
the icy slate colored bay. This was her first time on Earth, and she was in
love with San Francisco.
"The Sol System is neutral ground, Kuno-chan," Nabiki said at length.
She knew how much he despised the Earth. Only the island of Yamato meant
anything to him, and that was out of respect for his ancient samurai
heritage. "And if you come all the way to Sol, you might as well set foot
on Earth."
"Thou wouldst do well to refrain from addressing me in such an uncouth
fashion," Tatewaki sniffed. Nabiki always managed to rub him the wrong way;
one of the reasons he had delegated the surrender negotiations to Domitian.
Now he was pressed into dealing with her in person.
Nabiki laughed.
"What, you expect me to call you 'Your Royal Highness?' Give me a
break, Kuno-chan. As the Tendo Family voting proxy in Ceres Metals Corp
- which has offices in this system - I can be here without a fuss. Your
presence here as Heir Apparent to a household with a claim to the Star
League is patently illegal and a threat to the Sol System's neutrality.
You want Comstar to shut you down - forcing you to communicate solely by
JumpShip - fine, I'll address you as Prince and watch as the Combine falls
apart from within."
Tatewaki seethed in silence. Comstar would indeed act to protect their
interests, and a communications embargo was their most effective weapon.
The Combine had a small handful of ships with HPG transceivers, but needed
techs from Comstar to maintain them. With no access to the HPG network, he
would be forced to use the XBoat Method, and that would create unacceptable
communication delays.
Nabiki winked at him. "Or, we can keep this unofficial. I'm Nabiki,
and you're my old friend Kuno-chan, both Private Citizens. Which would you
prefer?"
Tatewaki continued to seethe. He had personally beheaded people for
lesser offenses than those she heaped upon him, but on neutral Earth he
was powerless to give Nabiki her just desserts.
"Thou didst request this meeting for our mutual benefit," he said
between clenched teeth. "I suggest that you stop wasting my time and come
instead unto the crux of this matter."
She flashed him a brilliant smile.
"Sure thing, Kuno-chan. Now as you know, my father, for reasons better
left unmentioned, has decided to withdraw the surrender offer I had so
carefully crafted..."
"And betrothed sweet Akane Tendo to a churlish cretin named Saotome,"
Tatewaki was quick to add.
Nabiki nodded ruefully. "I was getting to that. Why he did this is
completely beyond my understanding. I hesistate to add that I fear for his
mental stability." She said this last with a penetrating look, to make
certain that he understood exactly where she was going with this.
It took a moment, but he nodded sagely. The word treacherous did not
begin to do justice to this woman. She was ready to depose her own father
on the grounds of mental incompetance, which, although it might well be
true, was a betrayal most foul. It smacked of something his own sister
Kodachi might do if she ever fell out of favor with their father (O joyous
day!).
Nabiki continued.
"I am still prepared to hand you the entire Inner Sphere on a silver
plate, Kuno-chan," she told him with utter sincerity.
Tatewaki, still reeling from the idea that he was dealing with such
a treacherous woman, cocked an eyebrow at a statement that was simply
absurd.
"I did not realize that the Inner Sphere was yours to give," he
replied with more than a little sarcasm.
"Of course it is," she returned. "The Confederation is the lynch-pin
of this entire conflict; the fulcrum upon which the Inner Sphere's balance
of power shifts."
Tatewaki wasn't in the mood to draw her out one piece at a time.
"Explain thyself," he said to her.
"Think about it, Kuno-chan. Why haven't you been able to utterly
crush the Confederation? You have the most powerful and numerous army in
the entire Inner Sphere. Is it because the Confederation mechwarriors are
superior to the Combine's?"
Tatewaki was about to reply in the firm negative when Nabiki answered
her own question.
"Not really," she said flatly. "So tell me why you haven't been able
to do it, Kuno-chan."
"The answer must be obvious even to an untrained female such as
yourself," he replied. "Because the Confederation lies opposite the neutral
territory of the Sol System from the Combine, it presents the smallest
possible front. Given the limited range of JumpShips, our advantage in
numbers is negated by the small number of worlds which we may strike at
from our bases on the frontier."
Nabiki smiled again and took a sip from her demitasse.
"I couldn't have said it any better myself. You need a broad front
to take advantage of your numerical superiority. The same goes for your
war with the League of Five Nails. Granted you've been focusing mostly
on us, but you face the same limited front with them too, which brings
me to my proposition.
"By taking over the Confederation lock, stock, and barrel, I'm
*giving* you your broad front against the League. Or the Federated
Shiratori, whichever turns you on, but I'm guessing that you want the
League out of the picture first so you can put the squeeze on the
Combine's only true rival in the Inner Sphere."
"The Jusenkyo Commonwealth," Tatewaki muttered.
"Exactly," Nabiki said with a gleam in her eye. "With the League
conquered, you have the Commonwealth boxed in on two fronts. Hell, once
you break out of your primary invasion areas I'd be willing to bet that
most of the League's barons will defect to your side within two weeks
rather than get forced off their land, and that will let you conserve
your military strength against the Commonwealth while adding the League's
armies to your forces.
"That old biddy Cologne will never surrender to you of course, but
I'm also going to bet that Empress Azusa aside, the real movers and shakers
in the Federated Shiratori will be willing to give you very favorable terms
rather than end up next on your list. That country has no stomach for war,
as I'm sure you've noticed. After that, it's a _fait accompli._ Those crazy
Amazons might fight to the death, but by then you'll have over seventy
percent of the Inner Sphere in your back pocket. There is no way they could
withstand you for long if you went all out."
She stood up and stretched out her arms.
"And voila! The Inner Sphere belongs to the Furinkan Combine! Of
course it would go to your father, but what you do with him is your own
business."
She leaned in close enough to him that he could smell her perfume.
"I hear from very reliable sources that he isn't exactly right in the
head either, if you catch my meaning..."
In spite of himself, Tatewaki smiled. What she proposed was base and
most foul, but coming from her lips sounded sweet and just. It also made
a great deal of sense. Had not his own staff bemoaned their less than
ideal strategic positioning time and time again?
Bases within the Confederation would mean a vast front, one potentially
fifty parsecs long. The weak and fractious League of Five Nails could not
possibly hold such a front, and a lightning swift strike by his massed
Combine forces could break through their lines before they could even fall
back to more defensible positions. A total rout would ensue, and victory
would be his.
Once the League was subjugated and its forces integrated into the
Combine Army, he would have the Jusenkyo Commonwealth facing two broad
fronts. Their weakly garrisoned worlds on the League border would have to
be reinforced, sapping their strength and leaving them vulnerable. Of
course the assimilated League forces would be used as shock troops against
the Commonwealth, but high casualty rates would ensure that his new vassals
did not get uppity with him as they occasionally did with their House
Gosunkugi masters. As for the Federated Shiratori, they would keep until
after the Commonwealth was annihilated, and that would be the true _fait
accompli._
His smile broadened at a new thought. The deposed Empress Azusa could
join his sister in a convent on the Periphery! Oh, how he would savor their
combined misery!
Nabiki cleared her throat, abjuring him from the realm of fantasy and
back to the gulls and the tourists of the Embarcadero.
"Judging by the smile on your face, I'd be led to believe that you
like what I have to say," she said smugly.
Tatewaki composed himself.
"Your proposal has merits, Nabiki Tendo," he replied stiffly. "But in
truth I am not convinced that thou art capable of delivering what thou hast
promised."
"Kuno-chan, I'm hurt."
"Pray spare me the theatrics, Nabiki Tendo. Thou hast failed in thy
endeavors thus far; what giveth you such faith that thy endeavors will
yet bear fruit?"
Nabiki's eyes hardened, and her voice grew taut and cold.
"I hold the nobles of the Confederation in the palm of my hand,
Kuno-chan. If I were to declare that Grand Duke Tendo was mentally unfit
to rule, they would back whomever I cared to name as successor, including
myself. I have nothing against my younger sister, but the only reason she
was named Heir over me is because I don't need things like arranged
marriages spoiling my plans. I might also add that I have already removed
everyone from the capitol that give more than token support to my father."
Her thoughts flashed to her older sister as she said this, but her
face remained stern and unyielding. **Everyone but Kasumi, anyway, and
what can she do?**
She jabbed her finger in his chest.
"Never forget, Kuno-chan, that *I* am the power behind Nerima. What
happened two weeks ago happened because I was too soft regarding my father.
I've got too much at stake to let that happen again."
She removed her finger and sat back down to her espresso.
"Now, Kuno-chan, do we have an understanding?"
Tatewaki was beside himself with fury at this insolent woman, but
at the same time he was fascinated with her. The resultant expression on
his handsome face was one of puzzlement.
"Of course, Nabiki Tendo," he finally managed.
"Splendid!" she exclaimed. "I'll fax your people at the Regency a
copy of my terms. Assuming you still keep Domitian around, he'll verify
that they remain identical to my original offer as outlined in the
surrender agreement."
She finished her espresso and rose. She had a meeting with a local
broker about an estate in Hyde Park coming up later, and she wanted to do
some sightseeing and a little shopping on the way. After that she had to
endure the semiballistic to the Lima Beanstalk, followed by a two day trip
up the well to Jack's Castle. From there a passenger liner would ferry her
to the Sol Zenith point and the Confederation JumpShip _Transcendant._ She
wished she could spend more time on Earth, and consoled herself with the
fact that once her plans had reached fruition she would be on a JumpShip
bound for Sol - the only safe place remaining in the Inner Sphere until
the Furinkan Combine had completed the conquest.
"The next time we meet face to face, I will assume it will be as
sovereign to sovereign," she purred. "In fact I look forward to it,
Kuno-chan."
Tatewaki did not take her offered hand. Instead he gave her a solemn
nod and left her standing at the table. She watched him join the party of
vigilant bodyguards as his black Cadillac Phaeton limousine slid up from
the Embarcadero on silent hoverfans. The doors opened, the Prince and his
entourage entered, and then they were gone.

END OF PART FOUR