Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma, 'nuff said. Don't forget to review! Thanks!

Chapter 1: Cephissus

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A large grey ship with black wings entered the atmosphere a dusty planet. As it approached the dry, flat ground, a woman marked it. She watched it but it was moving too quick. It landed, practically crashed, on the ground with a loud bang noise along with cries of metal, twisting out of shape. She began to think that it might not be the best idea.

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A man tinkered around a large, sputtering engine with a large drill.

"Ryoga, you jackass!" The man yelled angrily. He tossed the drill aside and picked up a rag to wipe the grease off his hands. He reached up to his dark brown ponytail and pulled out the rubber band. His brunette hair framed his delicate looking face. He reached for the zipper of his denim jump suit and tugged it down. She picked up a piece of mangled metal and handed it to the man that just appeared in the doorway.
"Ranchan, do you realize how much that cost?" He asked slipping out of the jumpsuit and revealed a modest outfit of a jeans and white wife beater.
"I realize Ucchan, but unless you have some gold ingots tucked away it's gonna have to wait." Ukyo blushed and straightened up.
"Then I hope you have a plan on how to get out of here because we're a lame duck."
"I'm going to find money, don't worry, just fix as much of it as you can."
"Yeah, tell Ryoga that whenever he gets a chance, I need to speak with him." She lifted up a large wrench menacingly.
"I'll remind him." Ranma winced and headed up the ladder. He walked down the corridor to a set of stairs. He climbed the stairs and walked in the cockpit. He glared at his pilot and second in command of a crew that only consisted of him, Ryoga, and Ukyo.
"You know, you should be down there fixing the engine." Ryoga shrugged.
"I would but I'm afraid that Ukyo may try and do something unnatural to me."
"You deserve it."
"Don't tell her that." Ranma rolled his eyes.
"Where did you crash us?"
"I think we're somewhere near Thabit but we could also be in Meissa but as far as I know we're in the Orion galaxy."
"Some navigator you are." Ranma frowned. "Don't the Tarquins own this?"
"You are going to ask for a loan from the Tarquins? Good luck. The last deal I tried to make with them ended up getting me stabbed and my wife raped."
"You don't have a wife." Ranma shot him a look and loaded up on his pistols.
"Well if I did, then she could have been. They certainly threatened to."
"Stay here and try to help Ukyo later, even though she hates your guts I think she would appreciate your help." He opened the hatch and stepped out onto an arid planet with red sands.
"I'll give her a minute to cool down. Listen, Ranma you don't want to go makin' trouble with the Tarquins."
"Don't you know Ryoga, Trouble is my middle name." Ranma gave him his classic grin and walked off.
"Stupid bastard." Ryoga muttered and headed to the engine room.

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Ranma looked around at the dusty red planet with dilapidated metal buildings that reflected the sun light making the planet feel hotter than it real was. He walked over to the seediest bar he could find and sat down to have a drink. He scanned the bar, not making eye contact, and hovered over his drink. His eyes settled at the very corner of the musty room and saw an egiine. He grinned and finished off his drink. He slowly walked over to the corner.

"Hullo and let me introduce myself, I am Ranma Saotome." Ranma held out his hand for him to shake but it turned it's head. "I see you're very friendly." He retracted his hand and sat down. "Listen, let me be frank, I'm looking for work." The egiine said nothing. "Ok, can you please tell me where I can talk to your boss?" The egiine still ignored him. "So I guess this means we have to deal with this the hard way." Ranma placed his pistol on the table. The egiine shifted in the chair. "Do you need another drink?" Asked a waitress. She saw the gun and backed away from the table. The egiine moved quickly, picked up the gun, and pointed it at Ranma.
"Whoa! I meant no trouble." Ranma drew his other pistol and pointed at him. "Put the gun down." He commanded it. He heard a click as the egiine loaded the pistol. Ranma blinked, did he just see small fingers?
"Take your business elsewhere, I don't be needin' this mess." The bartender pointed an imposing weapon at both of them. Ranma followed the egiine out of the bar. He placed his hand on the egiine's shoulder but it began to run off. Ranma groaned and ran after the egiine. It was surprisingly fast, usually they were slow, dumb creatures but this one was rather speedy. He weaved through alleys and through the streets after the egiine. Ranma nearly tripped over, its leg? He stopped and picked up the leg and examined it. It wasn't an egiine at all. Ranma dropped the leg and sped after the egiine. He finally ran it down into a dead end.
"Listen, I don't want to hurt no one, just want my pistol back." Ranma said with his hands in the air. The egiine raised it's arm, pistol in hand.
"Drop all your money or I'll kill you!" The voice was uneven, the hand was shaky.
"You see, the problem with that is you are dead ended, even if I dropped your money, I block your only way out."
"Not unless I kill you first."
"No one wants to die." The egiine fired a shot that lightly grazed the side of Ranma's head.
"Damn! That hurt!" Ranma rubbed the wound.
"I missed." The egiine said.
"You're makin' me angry, I promise I won't miss." Ranma pulled out his gun. "Looks like you have no way out."
"You would kill an innocent person?"
"No, but you are pointing a gun at me."
"I need help." The egiine lowered the gun.
"I figure, if you want to mess me with me, you need lots of help."
"Please I need money!"
"I can't help you there. Now give me back my gun."
"You're just going to leave me here on this dumb rock without a gun."
"Did you forget that you stole it from me?" Ranma asked.
"I'd figure a good-for-nothing hick like you couldn't help me!" The egiine handed Ranma the gun as he walked by. Ranma grabbed its arm and threw him against the wall.
"No one calls me a hick. Not even a worthless low life like you!" Ranma yelled angrily at it. He turned and walked, after one step, and he spun back around. "I'm taking you with me. I might be able to get a bounty on you." Ranma cuffed the egiine and headed back to the ship.
"Ryoga, let me in." Said at the com screen.
"Did you bring something back?" Ryoga asked.
"Yeah, let me in." The door opened and Ranma climbed on board with the egiine. He locked him in an empty storage room.
"Ranchan! I hope you brought back some money." Ukyo said.
"Or hopefully some pain killers." Ryoga muttered as he rubbed a bump on the back of his head.
"You're injured." She tried to examine his head but Ranma waved her off.
"No, no money. It looks like the rock is dry. We need to move on." Ranma said taking a seat. He was tired from the afternoon jog.
"How? I mean the engine 2 is damaged beyond repair. We have no money, no supplies."
"I don't know Ukyo. Just work on the ship, I'll figure it out." Ukyo's chest seemed to fall, he never used Ukyo with her.
"Yessir, Cap'n." Ukyo snapped and ran off to the engine room.
"Women." Ryoga shook his head as he watched Ukyo leave. "So what's the plan?" Ryoga asked.
"I don't have anything yet but when I know I'll tell you."
"You must have messed up, see what I told you about the Tarquins." Ranma took a seat on a chair by the store room.
"It's not the Tarquins I'm worried about."
"Just don't get killed. Ukyo will kill me if you weren't around." Ryoga went to his own quarters. Ranma opened the storeroom door and shut it behind him. The egiine sat on the floor.
"I'll let you go, just tell me who you are."
"I can't."
"Then I'll be waiting until you do. I think I might call the S.P. on you." The egiine made no movement. "But I'll give you a few hours to decide." Ranma locked the door and sat back on the chair. The egiine stripped off its suit and began working to get out of the storeroom.

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Meanwhile, Ukyo was muttering angrily to herself.
"Just work on the ship, I'll figure it out…What a jackass!" She threw a wrench across the engine room. "He neglects the ship, he neglects me! I wonder why I still put up with this." She stopped moving when she felt something pressed against the back of her head.
"Put your hands where I can see them." Said a soft voice.

Ranma yawned loudly and stretched his limbs. He sat there for a good hour. He placed his hands in his lap and began to think about what to do next. He could turn in his prisoner for a small sum, just enough fuel to make it to the next rock, but then what? He felt the ship lurch. He jumped to his feet and strode over the com screen."Ucchan! You wonderful woman! You fixed the engine! I knew a genius-" He stopped, something wasn't right. "Ucchan? Is everything ok?" The shipped jerked to the right and there was a loud boom. Ranma regained his balance and ran to the cockpit. The door was locked."Open the door!" He yelled at the com screen.
"I can't believe you brought a woman on board, she's going to kill us." Ukyo said.
"Ucchan! Do something!" He ordered her.
"Wish I could but I'm locked up." She put up her hands.
"What woman?" He asked. "Get her on the screen."
"She doesn't want to, not yet." Ukyo turned her head away from the com screen. "Sugar, you are going to kill us." She said to someone. Ranma watched the screen and waited for Ukyo or the woman to say something. But the com screen went black, the lights cut out, and the emergency lights flickered on. Ranma's eyes adjusted to the blinking red light.
"What the hell is going on?" Ryoga asked rubbing his eyes.
"A woman has Ukyo in there." Ranma replied.
"A woman, what woman?" Ranma shrugged. "How we gonna get in there?" Ryoga asked.
"You got anything to blast it open?"
"What do you want?"
"Something quick."
"You got it."
"Do you know what you're doing?" Ukyo asked the woman.
"I know how to fly if that's what you mean." The woman replied.
"Honestly, this is not how I imagined dying. If you untie me, I can get us to the next moon safely." The woman sighed heavily.
"Don't try anything fishy, I will shoot you if I suspect anything." The woman untied Ukyo. Ukyo stood up quickly, knocked the gun out of her hand, and kicked the woman squarely in the chest. She tied the moaning woman up. Ukyo then pulled up some screens on the main panel, after making a few selections, and then she hopped in the pilot's seat, took the controls, and landed the ship. The door burst open when the ship landed safely on the ground. Ranma and Ryoga were both holding weapons.
"What the hell is going on here!" Ranma yelled. Ukyo shrugged.
"Took care of it, Cap'n." She replied. "See, Ryoga, that's how you land a ship." She said smugly. Ryoga lowered his gun. Ryoga made a face at Ukyo.
"No ass-kicking for me?" Ryoga set down his gun. The woman was struggling in her bonds. Ranma pointed the gun at her forehead and she immediately stopped.
"You better tell me who you are and why I shouldn't call the S.P. on you." Ranma said calmly.
"You're not going to kill me." She said flatly.
"And why not?"
"Because I'm worth too much for kill."
"You take someone on my crew hostage and try to hijack my ship and I'm not going to kill you?" Ranma sounded irritated. "Who are you?" She didn't answer. Ranma pressed the gun against her forehead. "Answer my question doll-face."
"My name is Akane Tendo." She replied.

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A/N: So, what did you think? I'd been toying around with this idea for a long time. I know the whole Ranma in space idea is not original but I hope to create a good enough story line that it seems original. I don't have a beta reader so if I make a mistake, please let me know. Thanks, I hope you enjoyed it!

Notes:
S.P.: A transnational bureaucratic police force
egiine: A general term describing filthy people hired by crime lords. They don't bathe and wear layers of ditry clothes covering their bodies and hiding their faces. Most are addicted to narcotics and have little or no education, considered the scum of humanity. (Pronounced with a hard "g" like in girl.)
Tarquins: An extensive crime family with branches in the more populated planets.
Cephissus: Name of the ship