Star Trek: Ranma's Chronicles 12 – By DS Wynne
Disclaimer: Ranma ½, Star Trek, Sailor Moon and other genres belong to their respective owners.
Note: This is a multi-genre story.
Special note: This is a sequel to "Star Trek: Ranma's Story".
Author's note: This chapter (as well as Season Four of DS9) takes place before the events depicted in the movie "Star Trek: First Contact".
Part 12: "The Life Trap, Act One".
Location: Federation Station "DS9", Bajor Sector (2373 CE).
Nabiki Tendo, whose occupation was that of an "Exemplar" of "Correspondence" (i.e. space, spatial dimensions, etc.) of the computer savvy group known as "The Virtual Adepts", was pondering her next move. On this day, she, her sister Kasumi Tendo (an Exemplar of "Prime", the spring-well of the Source, from the monotheistic group known as the Celestial Chorus) and her brother-in-law "Starfleeter" Commander Ranma Saotome's daughter Ensign Hoshiko Saotome (also of Starfleet) were visiting the Federation Station DS9. Although Nabiki would rather go to the station as Admiral Nechayev, Kasumi insisted that she comes as herself. It is interesting to note that while Correspondence was her "specialty", Nabiki had command over other aspects of Creation, such as Mind and Time, while Kasumi's command, besides Prime, was over Entropy and Spirit. Spirit, for those who are not sure, is the spark of life that enables sentience to exists, and is what enables "lesser beings" to evolve into omnipotent entities. Otherwise, a person would simply be recycled back into the Material Realm. Thankfully, more and more people have a greater understanding (albeit not consciously) of the potential of the Mind, hence the development of "hyper-science". That is why more people these days don't believe in gods, ghosts and other supernatural elements, since the belief in the potential of the mind to perform great things (see: Wesley Crusher for an example). So while Kasumi understands the Primordial aspects of the Reality, Nabiki is on the cutting edge with a Dynamic understanding of that same Reality. That is why Nabiki is always ahead of the curve in the understanding of more advanced technology, some of which borders on "magic". Although "Computer Hyper-Science" is her primary expertise, Nabiki could run rings around the likes of the Starfleeter Data, and has completely mastered the art of "Techno-babble". And it's not a conscious effort on her part; just a lot of experience that she had acquired while "Beyond the Rim".
Still, in spite of all this, she really missed being…human. Her old machinations don't thrill her as they did when she was younger, and wearing "flesh suits" to contain her essence can be uncomfortable at times (as the Exemplar of Correspondence, she feels somewhat confined). She was seriously considering retiring from it all by having a baby of her own. Certainly, it has been a long time since she was a wife and mother, so while she didn't want to get married again, she was looking for child. And interestingly, so was her sister Kasumi, which brings up the real reason for the visit.
"You want to WHAT?" Ranma exclaimed, as he got up from his seat. He, Nabiki and Kasumi were having a private lunch at Quark's in the upper balcony.
"Have your baby," Nabiki replied, as she sipped her cream soda. "Kasumi and I want your children."
"You GOT to be kidding."
"We understand if you feel committed to Usagi, Ranma," Kasumi replies.
"Well…if I agree with it, and if Usagi doesn't mind…do we, well, you know…"
"Have sex?" Nabiki replies. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind having physical intimacy with you, but all I need is a genetic sample."
Ranma sat down and folded her arms.
"Do you even REMEMBER how to do it?"
"Oh, my!" Kasumi exclaimed. "That's not very nice."
"It's alright, Kasumi," Nabiki smirked. "Ranma's simply acting out his 'machismo'."
"Ha, ha," Ranma replied.
"And to answer your question, I can always get a 'manual'."
"Fine, then," Ranma began. "I'll speak to-"
"THERE you are," said Juraian Crown Princess Nodoka, who was being flanked by her bodyguards. "You are a hard person to find, my son."
"Mom, you remember Nabiki and Kasumi?"
"Oh, yes. It's been a long time, has it not?"
"It has, auntie," Nabiki replies.
"I did not know that you would be here until we arrived," Kasumi interjected.
"Well, since Emperor Tenchi Jurai has allowed me to see my son AND see to his happiness, I want to take advantage of the situation."
"Mom, I told you: I don't want to marry Sasami," Ranma said flatly.
"And I have much work to convince Ranma to see things my way."
Ranma sighed.
"Look, I got to return to duty," Ranma said, as he stands up. "We'll have to discuss this thing later."
After Ranma leaves, Nodoka decide to sit down with the Tendo sisters.
"So, what is this 'baby business' I hear?" Nodoka asked sweetly.
Meanwhile, Counselor Usagi Tsukino was in the soon-to-be open Bene Gesserit chapel, with her acolyte Leeta. She was going over the opening ceremonial rites with the Bajoran "dabo girl".
"…And the senior Sister will stand over…here, while I read the pronouncement," Usagi said. "You will carry the parchment to my left side, so I can pass it off to the visiting Reverend Mother."
"Wow, this is a lot of work," Leeta replied.
"We of the Bene Gesserit take ritual very seriously," Usagi replied. "You should know that."
"I know, I know…"
Just then, Kai Winn enters the room.
"Hello, may I enter?" said a voice from the entrance.
Usagi and Leeta turn to see the golden robes and triangular cap of the Kai of Bajor (the supreme religious leader).
"Oh. Kai Winn," Usagi said, as she sat down her scrolls. "I did not know that you were to arrive here today."
"Not everything needs to be announced, Counselor Tsukino. Or should I address you as 'Reverend Mother'?"
It was no secret that many within the Bajoran religious caste felt that the arrival of the Bene Gesserit was a threat to their way of life, including Kai Winn.
"It's 'Counselor', Kai. I'm not doing things in a professional capacity at the moment."
"Good."
Kai then turns to Leeta.
"Leeta, can you excuse us? I have a private matter to discuss."
"Of course," Leeta replies. "Besides, I need to pick up those robes from Garak's."
And with that, Leeta leaves.
Kai Winn then turns her full attention back to Usagi.
"Let me get to the point. My opinion about your…Bene Gesserit has not change. It is trying enough that Bajor has been influenced by outsiders, the latest being the Federation's presence, but what you are proposing to do could do more damaged to my fragile society."
Usagi sighed.
"As I told you before, the Bene Gesserit is a meta-religious community. You can believe in other gods, or no gods for that matter, as long as you simply believe in the perfection of the mind and body as ONE. According to Vedek Bareil, this does not contradict the belief in the Prophets."
"Be as it may, I do not want the prospect of the importation of an alien 'religion' disrupting Bajoran society."
Kai Winn turns to leave, and then returns her attention back to Usagi.
"Please do not think ill of me, but I am only thinking of what's best for Bajor."
"I'm sure," Usagi replies. "Good-day, Kai Winn."
Kai Winn gives a nod.
"And you, as well, Counselor Tsukino."
When Kai Winn leaves, Usagi sighs. She felt that she was doing the right thing in establishing a presence for the Bene Gesserit, but the stakes may have just gotten higher.
Suddenly, Usagi felt feint, and somehow, and image of the Lord of Apocalypse popped in her mind.
"Dark Side…IS…Dark Side IS-!"
Meanwhile, aboard the Valiant…
Sasami, the avatar of Tsunami, the goddess of Jurai, steps aboard the "Defiant-class" starship with her protectors "Alpha" and "Omega", two silvery spheres that Emperor Tenchi Masaki had commissioned. Sasami had come aboard the Valiant in order to find her future husband.
"Hello, ma'am," said the Senior Chief Miles O'Brien, Chief of Station Operations. He was working on repairing the Valiant's systems, thanks to the damage it took from the Klingon onslaught. Speaking of which, the Klingons are STILL a problem that the Federation will have to address, since they have been conducting skirmishes in and around Cardassian territory and the Cardassian DMZ.
"Why, hello, Mr. O'Brien," Sasami said. "How are you, today?"
"I'm fine, ma'am," the Irishman replied. "Just helping Commander Saotome get this ship in prime condition."
"And the family?"
"Keiko and Molly are fine. They are supposed to be back to the station soon, so I am looking forward to that."
"That's good. I was looking for Ranma to have lunch with him."
"He's actually in the bowels of the ship doing repairs. I can get him-"
"That's okay. I'll go to him."
"But ma'am-"
"No, I insist. And since we are going to be family, you can call me 'Sasami'."
"I really appreciate that ma'am- I mean, Sasami."
Sasami giggles.
Meanwhile…
"I'm getting some weird feedback in the input-output injectors," said Hoshiko, as she used her "Technical Tricorder" to monitor the feed. She was helping Ranma and the "Trill" Jadzia Dax, a science officer, in ship performance improvements.
"Must be an imbalance in the propulsion systems," Ranma said, as he began to fix the power converter. "I'm telling ya, Dax, I got too many women wanting me to do this and that."
"Uh-hum," said Jadzia.
"Hey, YOU don't count, 'Old Man'." Ranma replied. Bad enough I got Amanda and Pert upset with Mom over her introducing me to a new wife. And now, Nabiki and Kasumi want to have MY kids? I'm getting too old to have children…again."
Dax passed a tool.
"Oh, you're BREAKING my heart, Ranma."
Just then…
"Lord Ranma?"
Ranma and Dax turned to Sasami, who was crawling along the access tunnel.
"What are you doing here?" Ranma asked.
"I would like to give you your lunch," Sasami said, as she brought up a basket of food. "But if you are too busy…"
"Actually, I need to check on the upper deck's systems," Dax said, while given a knowing smile. "It will take me…some time to complete, which means I need some help. Ensign?"
"Huh?" Hoshiko began. "Oh! Right."
"Dax-!"
Once alone, Ranma turns his attention to Sasami.
"Um…hello?"
"Hi," Sasami said, as she presented Ranma a beef bowl of Ramen noodles. From her conversations with Nodoka, presenting her potential husband with a meal will allow her to open him up. "Hungry?
"Um, sure," Ranma replied, as he accepted to bowl. He took a sniff at the dish. "May I?"
"Sure."
Ranma took his chopsticks, and took a sample.
"Man, this is good!"
"Thank you, Lord Ranma."
"Just call me Ranma."
"I would like that."
Meanwhile, in one of Quark's holosuites…
CRASH!
Amanda Rogers was breaking rocks with her fists, as part of her training.
"Damn that Ranma!" Amanda said, as she broke the bricks. "Why can't he stop being such a womanizer?"
"Well, according to some rumors I've heard," began Pert, as she punched a heavy bag, "Ranma's mother did something to him before he was born."
Amanda looks at Pert.
"How do you know this?"
"Bought the data from 'The Ice Queen's Data Emporium' on the Digital Web."
Figures Nabiki would be involved somehow, Amanda thought to her self.
"So, what exactly did Nodoka do to Ranma?"
"Well," Pert said, as she stopped her exercise. "She supposedly linked a Juraian seedling to his life-force before Ranma was born."
"So it was a genetic enhancement."
"No, not exactly. Sure, his fetal development was improved upon, but the gene-work was a side-effect, not the intended goal."
"So, what was the intended goal?"
Pert looks Amanda.
"Nodoka wanted her son to be a 'mate-magnet', so to speak."
"You GOT to be kidding."
"That's what the file said. Nodoka had this weird notion of having as many grand-children as possible, since she realized that…Genma was not suitable in providing lots of children, for whatever reason, she didn't want to make the same mistake with her only son."
"I see. Wait a minute. Does this…condition apply to Ranma's girl form?"
"Yes, it does, which is why Nodoka has always insisted that Ranma be a proven 'man amongst men'. If Ranma was stuck as a woman, Ranma-CHAN would be limited in the number of children SHE could have."
"Oh, I get it," Amanda says. "A single man has enough…'stamina' to repopulate the population of Europe within days."
"Exactly. So it's easier for Nodoka to get what she wants, as long as Ranma remains a male."
"Then why hasn't she pressed the issue of Ranma having lots of kids?"
"Two reasons. One, Nodoka is impressed by Ranma's career choices, and, two, Ranma has no problem getting women, since Usagi is 'open-minded' about such things."
"Well, if Ranma thinks I simply going to sleep with him, he can just forget it!"
Pert gives Amanda "The Look".
"Honestly, if Ranma wanted you, would you do 'it'?"
Amanda sighed.
"Maybe…"
"And there lies the problem. I…have desire for Ranma, but he's isn't the womanizer that you make it out to be. He really wants to be a proper family man, and what Nodoka did to him is making nearly impossible for Nodoka to get what she wants."
"But would you-"
"In a heart beat, and that is the scary part. Ranma, whatever the cause, has this knack to attract women…like a bee to a flower."
"Well, he isn't going to 'fertilize' THIS flower anytime soon!"
Somehow, Pert doubts the truthfulness of Amanda's words.
Later…
"Um, so you're cool with all this?" Ranma said, as he and Usagi were going back to the quarters.
After having dinner at Quark's, Ranma had told Usagi that he was seriously thinking considering Nodoka's proposal of marrying Sasami.
Usagi looks at Ranma, and hold his face.
"You tasted her soup, didn't you?"
"Uhhhh…"
"Look, Sasami is a nice girl, Ranma. If this is what you want, I give you my permission. But remember, I'm not the only person you have to deal with on this matter."
"Oh, man, you're right. Gah!"
"Yeah, well, we can always sleep on it- wait. I left my datapad back at 'Quark's. I'll be right back."
"I'll come with you-"
"No, it won't take too long. Run a bath for me or something."
"Sure."
As Usagi walked back towards the Promenade, Ranma enters the quarters he shared with Usagi-
BOOM!
The shock wave knocked Usagi down, as the sounds of the klaxon blared.
"Ranma? RANMA!"
Usagi, braving the fire, went back towards her destroyed quarters, as a blazing fire raged. She summoned her will to control the flames long enough to clear a path to Ranma.
"R-Ranma?"
Location: Apocalypse.
Lord Darksied, in his true form, was observing the fiery pits of his home, with his hands clasped behind his back from his main citadel.
"Lord Darksied?"
The spectral form of Nabiki Tendo appears behind the dark god.
"I take it that you are here because…?"
"Yes. The Flesh Trap has been sprung."
"Good," Darkside says. "And if Ranma Saotome can solve the riddle of the trap, he will become stronger. Otherwise…"
"I know. Like you, I have plans for him. However, unlike you, I have faith in his abilities."
"We will see, Exemplar. We will see…"
Location: Tendo Compound (Tokyo, Earth)
Months later…
"Why, hello, Ryouga," said Mrs. Usagi Saotome. Usagi no longer wore her "meatball-head" hairstyle. Instead, she opted to wear shoulder length hair; she had also very matronly clothes. "What brings you by?"
Starfleet Lt. Ryouga Hibiki was fidgeting. Ever since the explosion and subsequent fire, Ranma wasn't the same…
"I would like to see how's he doing. I mean…he was a friend."
"Oh, well come right on in. I'm sure he won't mind…"
"Thanks."
Ryouga looks around the main foyer. He had heard that Usagi was teaching martial arts to make ends meet, while Kasumi Saotome, Ranma's second wife, was tending to the household. He had also heard that Usagi had given up both her Starfleet career and her Royal Crown (as the rightful ruler to Crystal Tokyo) to take care of her husband's needs.
Soon, Ryouga's thoughts were interrupted by a whirling sound.
"Ah, here he is," said Usagi.
Rolling into the foyer was a confined Ranma Saotome. His entire body was placed in a black encased automatic wheel chair. His entire body was both damaged and scarred, horribly disfiguring Ranma. Unfortunately, his injuries were also severe enough to render him both crippled and mute.
"Hello, Ranma," Ryouga said. "Are you well today?"
BEEP!
Ryouga had to remember that one beep was for "yes", and that two beeps were for "no".
"I'm…glad."
Usagi took a handkerchief from her apron, and wiped the drool from her husband's mouth.
"Come," Usagi said. "Let's have dinner. Can you close the door for me, Ryouga?"
"Sure," Ryouga said, as he does what Usagi had asked of him. He wanted to be there for his beast friend, until the bitter end.
Tbc.
