Redefined Honour
Once again a large thankyou to WSRaptor for taking tiome from his busy schedule to prvide some proofing for this piece of work. No end in site.
Ch9: A death in the family
Kasumi desperately tried to work moisture into her mouth in an attempt to scream, shriek or even whimper through her clenched throat. Her eyes were fixed onto the impossibly long metallic barrel of a Browning while the sound of gunfire echoed in her ears. Even worse than the sound of that exploding gun, however, was the wet thump that followed immediately after.
After firing angrily at her father, the barrel of the gun came to rest on her forehead. Kasumi just closed her eyes as she awaited the inevitable. This was not something she could brush off with an 'oh my' as she would with Ranma's other adventures she had often been witness to. It seemed too real and too immediate for that. Her life had never been as directly threatened as it was now.
Her current situation had all started with something she would have associated with Ranma. After all, it seemed to be a natural progression of strangeness for aliens to invade with him around. At first, she had felt relief that Japan was not one of the places which had been invaded. It was a relief that had quickly faded as she saw the effect the invasion had on her country and those around her.
It started with a report of an increase in lawlessness in the more remote areas of Japan. The prime minister naturally called for a state of emergency until the threat of the invaders had been dealt with. As time went on and when news reached Japan that the invasion could not be stopped, the anarchy quickly spread to the capital along with mass desertions from law enforcement ranks. Blatant signs of street violence and home invasions followed widespread looting. Her father had fortified the dojo and house forbidding her to go out alone. She hadn't recognised, at the time, how much protection Ranma and his friends had offered Nerima before now.
Still, she had been satisfied that the situation would calm down and pass with time. Either that or she would find out later that Ranma had been instrumental in driving the aliens off before they did too much damage. It didn't bother her that she wouldn't be able to go out before the situation died down. After all, with the Saotome's gone, they had plenty of food to last. Kasumi was further comforted by the fact that Ranma had always seemed to be there since his arrival, protecting her family from any trouble that reared its head. Even if he wasn't here now, she had little doubt that he would return just in time to save them from anything too serious.
She was a little surprised then when a group of men attacked their home even though intellectually she knew it was just a mater of time in the rapidly worsening situation. She had smiled proudly as her father had staged an ambush on the men. He quickly leapt onto the men felling three in a heartbeat but when the forth had pulled a gun her smile quickly turned to an expression of horror and fear.
The sound of gunfire followed by a wet thunk quickly snapped her out of her unconcerned monitoring of the events that surrounded her and her family. It brought home the stark reality and risk that the adventures she had often watched with amusement carried and the realization that Ranma might not arrive in time to save her and her father.
Kasumi closed her eyes at the touch of cold metal to her forehead. She had heard that people's life flashed before their eyes in the instant before death, but that wasn't what she was experiencing right now. She was experiencing all the possibilities of what might have been, all her dreams and desires for the future, which she had delayed for the sake of her family. She saw the children, which she would now never nurse or watch as they grew. She faced with regret the image of a happy and loving marriage with the man of her dreams. He held no face now and she guessed, at that moment, he never would.
Kasumi wished she could have seen her sisters and even Ranma one last time before the end. It seemed so unfair that she would be taken away like her mother before she could fulfill her own dreams. Death, in her opinion, always came too soon and was never fair.
"This wouldn't have been necessary if you had not interfered," she heard the man growl seeming to extend the moment of her death to eternity. Kasumi suppressed a flinch when she felt a warm liquid splatter against her face. A metallic clang followed by the sound of gruff cursing gave her a little bit of hope.
"What exactly do you think your doing?!?" Kasumi opened her eyes and sobbed in relief at hearing her sister's threat filled question.
*****
Nabiki was so sick of hiking around Japan that she almost missed the first signs of trouble. As her little sister, Ukyo and Kuno neared Tokyo, it seemed that she was the only one to notice the drastic change in the colour of the sun. It had changed from a pale yellow to a brilliant orange, a change that Kuno immediately blamed on the 'foul sorcerer Saotome.' Still sulking over her humbling, Akane dismissed it as unimportant, but Ukyo shared a look of understanding with her. She at least understood its significance.
Leaving Kuno behind, the three girls increased their pace. Nabiki wasn't overly concerned since she hadn't received any dire reports from her underlings. However, the amount of haze required to change the colour of the sun from such a distance meant a big fire or at least, a lot of little ones. Nabiki frowned. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't received any reports at all from her underlings in the last three days. 'This can only mean trouble' she thought to herself forcing the group to increase their pace again.
As they entered the outskirts of Tokyo, they knew that the situation was dire. Houses were torched at irregular intervals, some still smoldering. Widespread evidence of looting met her eyes as she scanned the streets but by far the most damning evidence in her eyes was the fortified homes. Fortified homes meant that people lived in fear of their lives. Deciding to make a snap decision in the face of the disaster zone that was once a proud capital city, Nabiki merely looked askance at Ukyo. She was pleasantly surprised and relieved when Ukyo quickly picked her up and alongside Akane increased the pace again. When she finally arrived at the dojo, she could see her worst fears being borne out. Her father lay unconscious in the middle of three men whom she didn't recognise. He was bleeding heavily from a wound she couldn't see. Kasumi stood pale faced with tears silently trickling down her face, a gun held to her face. As quickly as she grasped the situation, she was dumped in favour of Ukyo gaining better access to her mini-spatulas.
"What exactly do you think your doing?" Nabiki said in as hard a voice as she could manage ignoring the dirt and grass stains that messed her clothes. Ukyo had already dealt with the gun with a thrown spatula and for once, she was grateful for her quick and often hostile reflexes.
"I knew that taking the Tendo dojo couldn't have been this easy," the man replied ignoring the apparent ease in which he had been disarmed. "What do you say we finish this," he said slowly drawing a bladed weapon of his own. The short blade he wielded looked ridiculous when compared to the giant spatula that Ukyo had unsheathed but underestimating anyone in Nerima Nabiki knew, was a quick way to lose fights.
Seeing Ukyo move in to engage Soun's attacker, Nabiki rushed to her father's side not even noticing Kasumi and Akane doing the same. He had gained consciousness, but a compassion filled glance by Kasumi confirmed what she had already suspected...her father didn't have much longer to live.
"Akane," he croaked out clearly struggling to breathe, "don't worry my princess, your older sisters will always care for you." Nabiki looked at Akane knowing that her younger sister would be taking the death of her last parent harder than herself or Kasumi. She had been too young when their mother died to really understand the significance and Nabiki felt that she was too immature now to cope with the consequences of her father's death. Nabiki quickly looked away from the wild unblinking stare in her younger sister's eyes and the shattered look on her face.
"Nabiki, Kasumi," Soun gasped clearly breathing his last in her eyes "I know I don't have long to live and I'm glad I could share my last moments with the three of you, my loving faithful daughters." His pained coughing almost drowned out in the metal on metal clanging that came from just a few feet away. "There is one last thing that I would ask of you though, a promise before I die. Join the schools. One of you do it for me. Ranma is shaping to be a man to be proud of. He would make anyone of you a welcome match."
Nabiki didn't know where to look, whether at her father's rapidly unfocusing eyes, the slowly expanding pool of blood, the hardening face of Akane or the grief stricken one of Kasumi. Regardless, the sound of clashing weapons was slowly overpowering the sound of her father's silent whispers and she knew that her life and that of her family's was about to change dramatically once again. It was up to her that it didn't change for the worse.
Soun's final moments coincided with a final sickening thud followed by the sound of a body limply hitting the ground. "Jackass, well he put up one hell of a fight whoever he was." With the threat dealt with, Ukyo joined in the short period of grief that they could allow themselves before chaos once again overwhelmed them unknowing that Ranma had acquired two more possible suitors.
*****
Ayeka stood proudly on the deck of the flagship that led the Jurian Defence Armada. Though she couldn't see them with her eyes, the ships sensors told her that similar ships all crewed by her people surrounded her. The bravery of her people matched their ingenuity and drive in creating this vast fleet for her to lead and she was proud that she had been chosen for this task.
"We are approaching the edge of our territory princess," although Ayeka tried to encourage an informal bond between herself and her offices so as to better gain their loyalty it was only proper that they address her by her rank during missions.
"Thank you, COMs. Please relay to the fleet to be prepared to scatter at the first signs of neutrino activity and engage according to combat parameters." Today she would win back some of what had been taken. She would prove the council wrong in applying what she had learned and be the first to gain a victory over the invaders which some claimed were unstoppable. Ayeka would do all this beside the people she had trained with in preparation for this moment.
"Crossing the spatial coordinates now. Communications have been blocked from Jurai." Ayeka could hear tension in her officer's voice and sympathised, but this was something they needed to be able to do without the support of Jurai.
"Raise battle alertness to level 2," Ayeka deliberately spoke with a calm and confident tone to settle the crew. A hysterical commander would lose the battle faster than a tactical disadvantage.
"The fleet reports nor…a jump in neutrino flux princess!"
"Fleet, level 1 battle alert. Scatter," She imagined the fleet scattering in seemingly random directions in an attempt to escape the encirclement she knew would be coming.
"Reports of contact princess. We lost some of squad three and four. A total of 5 losses reported," Ayeka nodded grimly. The loss of so few of the smaller, less agile ships wasn't really a surprise. She almost imagined the great crescent shaped ships of the enemy spewing beams of energy at her ships.
"Squads one and two, try to split the fleet. Three and four engage at will." Out of the four fleets, which had been newly built for this role, one and two were the newer ships with the most firepower. Three and four contained a larger number of ships but of an older make which were less responsive and had less firepower.
"It's working princess! We're hurting them with few losses," Ayeka smiled for the sake of her COMs officer, but knew that the fight still had a long way to go and any losses at this stage were too many.
Ayeka stared at the display on her console. Her wedge seemed to be working and they were indeed doing some damage, not as much as she would have hoped but… The sound of whooping distracted her as she witnessed the destruction of the first of the invader ships of the war by the Jurian defence.
Looking back at the display on her console, she tried to hide her panic. "One and two scatter NOW!!" Even as she shouted over the top of her COMs officer, she new it would be too late. To her eyes, the movements of squad one and two that had once seemed so fast and fluid, now crawled sluggishly out of the trap she could see closing. Once again, she imagined the blocky ships of the Jurian Empire, the height of technological achievement, cut apart by those malevolent beams of energy.
Almost as quickly as she witnessed the trap closing, it had sprung with little more than half of her squads' ships escaping the trap. Still, she knew the fight had just begun, even if it wasn't going quite as she had hoped. Looking around the bridge, she was once again reminded of the importance of a calm commander. The atmosphere was dark and despondent where once it had been filled with hope and optimism. "Squads three and four provide backup for one and two. One and two, focus your firepower and engage your targets carefully."
She listened as confirmations of her orders came in, but the mood had been broken and she could see it making an effect on the battlefield. She was losing more ships for less damage inflicted and then suddenly her own ship was under fire. Ayeka quickly sat down so as not to be disturbed by any impulse that the inertial dampeners couldn't take care of.
Outwardly, she was calm as she further refined the instructions to her fleet to adapt to the current situation in an attempt to maximise the damage done to the enemy and minimise her own loses. However, she could see that the field was lost. An earpiece allowed her to listen to the channels inside the squadrons and her heart sank at the tales of bravery and heroism that to her represented the Jurian spirit. As each ship was destroyed along with the lives of their crew, Ayeka couldn't help but feel her hatred towards this new enemy grow.
"Princess, call the retreat," her COMs officer looked haggard and drawn as she suggested the final humiliation. She would save the lives of those who yet fought on, a fragment of those that embarked. "To the remaining f…" Ayeka knew only darkness as her flagship clipped an angry red beam and imploded.
*****
Ayeka turned to face the aging man as she exited the simulation room "Eishi," she greeted "how does the construction of the fleet go?"
Eishi grinned wryly "Does it matter? At this rate, you'll just destroy the fleet and loose the lives of the idealistic Jurian's who follow you."
Ayeka growled in frustration and anger at the man's impertinence "By the time the fleet is finished, I will have improved to the point where I can win. I am supported by some talented officers."
Eishi just nodded before making a final comment "And you are making excellent progress. Just remember that these simulations are just that, simulations. We don't know how the enemy will react to an incursion into their territory."
Holding her gaze until he was sure he had gotten his point across, he nodded firmly before walking away. Ayeka smouldered with anger at the old man. Her patience was also wearing thin with regards to learning battle strategy and how to lead and inspire the troops that followed her. She vowed to herself that she would crush this threat and any future threats to her father's empire. It would be some time before she realized exactly how fool hardy that vow was.
*****
Ryoko trailed the people she had spent the last three weeks with through the forested path. Ranma followed his mother while Shampoo clung to his arm chirping happily. The occasional sound of laughter carried to her ears but not much else. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she once again focused on Nodoka, Ranma's mother. It seemed too big a coincidence that she would appear into his life so close to his assassination attempt.
She had some suspicions about that and judging from the direction they had been heading in over the last couple of days, those questions would likely be answered soon enough.
"Even after all this time, you still don't trust us, do you Ryoko?"
Ryoko barely stopped herself from flinching as the old Amazon again managed to surprise her "No less than I trust his mother, old ghoul," she replied irritated that she had once again been surprised by the sprightly old lady.
"Ahhh, yes I admit that his mother suddenly appearing is a little strange, especially so soon after that attack. What did happen to the body? I didn't see it when I regained consciousness?"
Ryoko shifted uncomfortably at the memory of the attacker dissipating after she had struck what she assumed was a killing. "I assume you and Ranma did have to kill it?" Cologne pressed.
"We buried it," Ryoko bluffed, still not removing her eyes from Ranma and Shampoo. She failed to notice the new growth that Nodoka was leading them through.
"Well that's very interesting, but I suspect you know something that you're not sharing with the rest of us. Something about this attack maybe? Perhaps it should be you we shouldn't be trusting." Ryoko turned sharply to face the old woman and her accusations and suddenly noticed the area of forest that they were walking through. Time spent with Ranma had healed a lot of her wounds, but the regrowth couldn't hide the image of Tenchi keeled over a pool of his own blood nor the birds drown out the sound of his dripping blood.
She didn't even notice when she collapsed to her knees as the world seemed to spin nor did she notice the strong arms that embraced her from behind and picked her up. All she could see was Tenchi's blood smeared face, as it questioned why she didn't save him.
*****
Yosho sat calmly waiting for the arrival of his grandson. His daughter had rang ahead and let him know that they would be returning sometime today. Now it just remained for him to consider the best way to convince his grandson to return to Jurai. It would not be easy from what he had been told of the boy's life and personality, but then even his daughter had admitted she didn't know everything about her son's past.
He would appeal to the boy's sense of honour. He would save billions of lives by returning to Jurai and possibly save an empire. How could he not return? Looking up sharply and reaching for the master key, his front door burst open. He relaxed slightly when he saw a boy matching Ranma's description carrying a distraught Ryoko.
"What happened, Boy?" he demanded gruffly.
"She's still mourning Tenchi father," replied Nodoka calmly as she followed her son in.
Yosho watched as his grandson calmed the grief stricken Ryoko and wondered if he had misjudged the boy already. The arrival of the Amazons diverted his attention before he could further consider the situation.
"Father, I would like you to meet Cologne and Shampoo," Nodoka supplied while her son finished calming Ryoko "...and as you probably already guessed - Ranma."
"Grandfather," Ranma bowed in greeting. His attention then focused on the plainly wrapped package with his name labeled on the side resting on the table beside Yosho.
"Grandson, before I get started, I have a gift for you. It is part of your family heritage." Yosho was a little surprised by the suspicion that crossed Ranma's face at the sight of the plainly wrapped box, but noticed that the suspicion didn't stop him from accepting the gift.
"My thanks grandfather," Ranma answered politely while slowly unwrapping the gift as if constantly looking for traps.
"Its an egg," Ranma exclaimed in confusion when he finally had the box open. Before his grandson could say anything else though the egg started to crack and rock as it hatched. He joined everyone in the room as they watched in horror as a large worm burst from the egg. Three feet long and heavily scaled, the worm hissed aggressively at Ranma before quickly borrowing through the floorboards and disappearing.
"Ahh thanks," Ranma stammered out in reply to the gift being the first to recover. "I guess it got away though." Yosho just blinked. That was nothing like Ryo-oki. What was Washu thinking?
"Yes well," started Yosho ignoring the worm in favour of bringing up Ranma's Jurian heritage. "Back to..." he trailed off seeing Ranma's focused gaze staring past him at the TV. Yosho silently cursed. This could upset his plans a little.
"Wide spread violence and looting continue for the fourth day as guns flood the streets of Tokyo," a news reporter stated. How they could continue broadcasting with everything that had happened surprised Yosho a little.
"Ranma!!" Yosho shouted entreatingly as Ranma stood up.
"Sorry gramps, but I sent my friends back into that and I have to get them out." Sharing a quick look and nod with the Amazons Ranma left with the Amazons in company. Yosho also quietly noticed that Ryoko had disappeared from the couch on which she had been resting.
"Daughter," Yosho growled in a concerned voice, "you know how important he is to the empire. Do what you can to influence him."
"Father, I will do what I can to turn him into a leader of men, but I am afraid it is too late to directly influence him."
"You must Nodoka! Billions of lives depend on it!"
Nodoka gave her father one last sad look before following her son, the incident with the worm already forgotten.
*****
Tsunami stood next to Washu in one of her larger labs. Both were watching the events currently plaguing the Jurian Empire with interest. A picture of a three-foot worm emerging from an egg was frozen on one of the screens. Washu just stood staring at it, open mouthed.
"Ahh Washu-Chan?" asked the blue haired goddess in confusion. "That wasn't supposed to happen was it?"
---------------------
A/N - The following Omake is an idea that was spawned by a review from Aleh and a comment from Black Dragon. A challenge eh?
Ayeka just watched as her battle line crumbled and her fleet was destroyed piecemeal. "Princess, we have an urgent message from the Menace."
"Patch it through," she nodded.
"Princess," came the crackly reply from Menace "the E-101 has been stolen."
"WHAT!! Computer find the E-101!" A blip on her console was highlighted racing out from her battle line towards the enemy's flagships. "Connect me," she commanded as an image of Mihoshi appeared on her view screen.
"Mihoshi!! That's an extremely sensitive and highly experimental ship! Return it at once!"
"Princess, I'm trying to, but it just won't respond. Maybe this will…"
Ayeka watched in horror as Mihoshi pressed a random red button on the control board. "NO!!" she screamed, but it was too late as the blip suddenly accelerated and rocketed even faster towards the enemy flagships.
"Mmm…that wasn't it. What about this one?" By this time the enemy flagships were focusing their fire onto the E-101. The button Mihoshi pressed seemed to have an effect as the ship danced and flittered between the angry beams of deadly plasma.
"Why wont this thing work?" whined the blonde displayed to Ayeka's crew. By now, she had reached the enemy flagships and was causing havoc as their own weapon's fire damaged their fellow ships in an attempt to hit the E-101.
"This one will do it! I know it," Mihoshi cried happily pressing yet another random button on the dash causing a flash of energy which temporally disabled the enemy fleet.
Ayeka could only shake her head as this blond ditz did more damage by accident with one experimental craft than she managed with an entire fleet. Nevertheless, she took advantage of the situation by pressing the attack.
"All ships fire at will and BRING ME MIHOSHI!!!"
Once again a large thankyou to WSRaptor for taking tiome from his busy schedule to prvide some proofing for this piece of work. No end in site.
Ch9: A death in the family
Kasumi desperately tried to work moisture into her mouth in an attempt to scream, shriek or even whimper through her clenched throat. Her eyes were fixed onto the impossibly long metallic barrel of a Browning while the sound of gunfire echoed in her ears. Even worse than the sound of that exploding gun, however, was the wet thump that followed immediately after.
After firing angrily at her father, the barrel of the gun came to rest on her forehead. Kasumi just closed her eyes as she awaited the inevitable. This was not something she could brush off with an 'oh my' as she would with Ranma's other adventures she had often been witness to. It seemed too real and too immediate for that. Her life had never been as directly threatened as it was now.
Her current situation had all started with something she would have associated with Ranma. After all, it seemed to be a natural progression of strangeness for aliens to invade with him around. At first, she had felt relief that Japan was not one of the places which had been invaded. It was a relief that had quickly faded as she saw the effect the invasion had on her country and those around her.
It started with a report of an increase in lawlessness in the more remote areas of Japan. The prime minister naturally called for a state of emergency until the threat of the invaders had been dealt with. As time went on and when news reached Japan that the invasion could not be stopped, the anarchy quickly spread to the capital along with mass desertions from law enforcement ranks. Blatant signs of street violence and home invasions followed widespread looting. Her father had fortified the dojo and house forbidding her to go out alone. She hadn't recognised, at the time, how much protection Ranma and his friends had offered Nerima before now.
Still, she had been satisfied that the situation would calm down and pass with time. Either that or she would find out later that Ranma had been instrumental in driving the aliens off before they did too much damage. It didn't bother her that she wouldn't be able to go out before the situation died down. After all, with the Saotome's gone, they had plenty of food to last. Kasumi was further comforted by the fact that Ranma had always seemed to be there since his arrival, protecting her family from any trouble that reared its head. Even if he wasn't here now, she had little doubt that he would return just in time to save them from anything too serious.
She was a little surprised then when a group of men attacked their home even though intellectually she knew it was just a mater of time in the rapidly worsening situation. She had smiled proudly as her father had staged an ambush on the men. He quickly leapt onto the men felling three in a heartbeat but when the forth had pulled a gun her smile quickly turned to an expression of horror and fear.
The sound of gunfire followed by a wet thunk quickly snapped her out of her unconcerned monitoring of the events that surrounded her and her family. It brought home the stark reality and risk that the adventures she had often watched with amusement carried and the realization that Ranma might not arrive in time to save her and her father.
Kasumi closed her eyes at the touch of cold metal to her forehead. She had heard that people's life flashed before their eyes in the instant before death, but that wasn't what she was experiencing right now. She was experiencing all the possibilities of what might have been, all her dreams and desires for the future, which she had delayed for the sake of her family. She saw the children, which she would now never nurse or watch as they grew. She faced with regret the image of a happy and loving marriage with the man of her dreams. He held no face now and she guessed, at that moment, he never would.
Kasumi wished she could have seen her sisters and even Ranma one last time before the end. It seemed so unfair that she would be taken away like her mother before she could fulfill her own dreams. Death, in her opinion, always came too soon and was never fair.
"This wouldn't have been necessary if you had not interfered," she heard the man growl seeming to extend the moment of her death to eternity. Kasumi suppressed a flinch when she felt a warm liquid splatter against her face. A metallic clang followed by the sound of gruff cursing gave her a little bit of hope.
"What exactly do you think your doing?!?" Kasumi opened her eyes and sobbed in relief at hearing her sister's threat filled question.
*****
Nabiki was so sick of hiking around Japan that she almost missed the first signs of trouble. As her little sister, Ukyo and Kuno neared Tokyo, it seemed that she was the only one to notice the drastic change in the colour of the sun. It had changed from a pale yellow to a brilliant orange, a change that Kuno immediately blamed on the 'foul sorcerer Saotome.' Still sulking over her humbling, Akane dismissed it as unimportant, but Ukyo shared a look of understanding with her. She at least understood its significance.
Leaving Kuno behind, the three girls increased their pace. Nabiki wasn't overly concerned since she hadn't received any dire reports from her underlings. However, the amount of haze required to change the colour of the sun from such a distance meant a big fire or at least, a lot of little ones. Nabiki frowned. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't received any reports at all from her underlings in the last three days. 'This can only mean trouble' she thought to herself forcing the group to increase their pace again.
As they entered the outskirts of Tokyo, they knew that the situation was dire. Houses were torched at irregular intervals, some still smoldering. Widespread evidence of looting met her eyes as she scanned the streets but by far the most damning evidence in her eyes was the fortified homes. Fortified homes meant that people lived in fear of their lives. Deciding to make a snap decision in the face of the disaster zone that was once a proud capital city, Nabiki merely looked askance at Ukyo. She was pleasantly surprised and relieved when Ukyo quickly picked her up and alongside Akane increased the pace again. When she finally arrived at the dojo, she could see her worst fears being borne out. Her father lay unconscious in the middle of three men whom she didn't recognise. He was bleeding heavily from a wound she couldn't see. Kasumi stood pale faced with tears silently trickling down her face, a gun held to her face. As quickly as she grasped the situation, she was dumped in favour of Ukyo gaining better access to her mini-spatulas.
"What exactly do you think your doing?" Nabiki said in as hard a voice as she could manage ignoring the dirt and grass stains that messed her clothes. Ukyo had already dealt with the gun with a thrown spatula and for once, she was grateful for her quick and often hostile reflexes.
"I knew that taking the Tendo dojo couldn't have been this easy," the man replied ignoring the apparent ease in which he had been disarmed. "What do you say we finish this," he said slowly drawing a bladed weapon of his own. The short blade he wielded looked ridiculous when compared to the giant spatula that Ukyo had unsheathed but underestimating anyone in Nerima Nabiki knew, was a quick way to lose fights.
Seeing Ukyo move in to engage Soun's attacker, Nabiki rushed to her father's side not even noticing Kasumi and Akane doing the same. He had gained consciousness, but a compassion filled glance by Kasumi confirmed what she had already suspected...her father didn't have much longer to live.
"Akane," he croaked out clearly struggling to breathe, "don't worry my princess, your older sisters will always care for you." Nabiki looked at Akane knowing that her younger sister would be taking the death of her last parent harder than herself or Kasumi. She had been too young when their mother died to really understand the significance and Nabiki felt that she was too immature now to cope with the consequences of her father's death. Nabiki quickly looked away from the wild unblinking stare in her younger sister's eyes and the shattered look on her face.
"Nabiki, Kasumi," Soun gasped clearly breathing his last in her eyes "I know I don't have long to live and I'm glad I could share my last moments with the three of you, my loving faithful daughters." His pained coughing almost drowned out in the metal on metal clanging that came from just a few feet away. "There is one last thing that I would ask of you though, a promise before I die. Join the schools. One of you do it for me. Ranma is shaping to be a man to be proud of. He would make anyone of you a welcome match."
Nabiki didn't know where to look, whether at her father's rapidly unfocusing eyes, the slowly expanding pool of blood, the hardening face of Akane or the grief stricken one of Kasumi. Regardless, the sound of clashing weapons was slowly overpowering the sound of her father's silent whispers and she knew that her life and that of her family's was about to change dramatically once again. It was up to her that it didn't change for the worse.
Soun's final moments coincided with a final sickening thud followed by the sound of a body limply hitting the ground. "Jackass, well he put up one hell of a fight whoever he was." With the threat dealt with, Ukyo joined in the short period of grief that they could allow themselves before chaos once again overwhelmed them unknowing that Ranma had acquired two more possible suitors.
*****
Ayeka stood proudly on the deck of the flagship that led the Jurian Defence Armada. Though she couldn't see them with her eyes, the ships sensors told her that similar ships all crewed by her people surrounded her. The bravery of her people matched their ingenuity and drive in creating this vast fleet for her to lead and she was proud that she had been chosen for this task.
"We are approaching the edge of our territory princess," although Ayeka tried to encourage an informal bond between herself and her offices so as to better gain their loyalty it was only proper that they address her by her rank during missions.
"Thank you, COMs. Please relay to the fleet to be prepared to scatter at the first signs of neutrino activity and engage according to combat parameters." Today she would win back some of what had been taken. She would prove the council wrong in applying what she had learned and be the first to gain a victory over the invaders which some claimed were unstoppable. Ayeka would do all this beside the people she had trained with in preparation for this moment.
"Crossing the spatial coordinates now. Communications have been blocked from Jurai." Ayeka could hear tension in her officer's voice and sympathised, but this was something they needed to be able to do without the support of Jurai.
"Raise battle alertness to level 2," Ayeka deliberately spoke with a calm and confident tone to settle the crew. A hysterical commander would lose the battle faster than a tactical disadvantage.
"The fleet reports nor…a jump in neutrino flux princess!"
"Fleet, level 1 battle alert. Scatter," She imagined the fleet scattering in seemingly random directions in an attempt to escape the encirclement she knew would be coming.
"Reports of contact princess. We lost some of squad three and four. A total of 5 losses reported," Ayeka nodded grimly. The loss of so few of the smaller, less agile ships wasn't really a surprise. She almost imagined the great crescent shaped ships of the enemy spewing beams of energy at her ships.
"Squads one and two, try to split the fleet. Three and four engage at will." Out of the four fleets, which had been newly built for this role, one and two were the newer ships with the most firepower. Three and four contained a larger number of ships but of an older make which were less responsive and had less firepower.
"It's working princess! We're hurting them with few losses," Ayeka smiled for the sake of her COMs officer, but knew that the fight still had a long way to go and any losses at this stage were too many.
Ayeka stared at the display on her console. Her wedge seemed to be working and they were indeed doing some damage, not as much as she would have hoped but… The sound of whooping distracted her as she witnessed the destruction of the first of the invader ships of the war by the Jurian defence.
Looking back at the display on her console, she tried to hide her panic. "One and two scatter NOW!!" Even as she shouted over the top of her COMs officer, she new it would be too late. To her eyes, the movements of squad one and two that had once seemed so fast and fluid, now crawled sluggishly out of the trap she could see closing. Once again, she imagined the blocky ships of the Jurian Empire, the height of technological achievement, cut apart by those malevolent beams of energy.
Almost as quickly as she witnessed the trap closing, it had sprung with little more than half of her squads' ships escaping the trap. Still, she knew the fight had just begun, even if it wasn't going quite as she had hoped. Looking around the bridge, she was once again reminded of the importance of a calm commander. The atmosphere was dark and despondent where once it had been filled with hope and optimism. "Squads three and four provide backup for one and two. One and two, focus your firepower and engage your targets carefully."
She listened as confirmations of her orders came in, but the mood had been broken and she could see it making an effect on the battlefield. She was losing more ships for less damage inflicted and then suddenly her own ship was under fire. Ayeka quickly sat down so as not to be disturbed by any impulse that the inertial dampeners couldn't take care of.
Outwardly, she was calm as she further refined the instructions to her fleet to adapt to the current situation in an attempt to maximise the damage done to the enemy and minimise her own loses. However, she could see that the field was lost. An earpiece allowed her to listen to the channels inside the squadrons and her heart sank at the tales of bravery and heroism that to her represented the Jurian spirit. As each ship was destroyed along with the lives of their crew, Ayeka couldn't help but feel her hatred towards this new enemy grow.
"Princess, call the retreat," her COMs officer looked haggard and drawn as she suggested the final humiliation. She would save the lives of those who yet fought on, a fragment of those that embarked. "To the remaining f…" Ayeka knew only darkness as her flagship clipped an angry red beam and imploded.
*****
Ayeka turned to face the aging man as she exited the simulation room "Eishi," she greeted "how does the construction of the fleet go?"
Eishi grinned wryly "Does it matter? At this rate, you'll just destroy the fleet and loose the lives of the idealistic Jurian's who follow you."
Ayeka growled in frustration and anger at the man's impertinence "By the time the fleet is finished, I will have improved to the point where I can win. I am supported by some talented officers."
Eishi just nodded before making a final comment "And you are making excellent progress. Just remember that these simulations are just that, simulations. We don't know how the enemy will react to an incursion into their territory."
Holding her gaze until he was sure he had gotten his point across, he nodded firmly before walking away. Ayeka smouldered with anger at the old man. Her patience was also wearing thin with regards to learning battle strategy and how to lead and inspire the troops that followed her. She vowed to herself that she would crush this threat and any future threats to her father's empire. It would be some time before she realized exactly how fool hardy that vow was.
*****
Ryoko trailed the people she had spent the last three weeks with through the forested path. Ranma followed his mother while Shampoo clung to his arm chirping happily. The occasional sound of laughter carried to her ears but not much else. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she once again focused on Nodoka, Ranma's mother. It seemed too big a coincidence that she would appear into his life so close to his assassination attempt.
She had some suspicions about that and judging from the direction they had been heading in over the last couple of days, those questions would likely be answered soon enough.
"Even after all this time, you still don't trust us, do you Ryoko?"
Ryoko barely stopped herself from flinching as the old Amazon again managed to surprise her "No less than I trust his mother, old ghoul," she replied irritated that she had once again been surprised by the sprightly old lady.
"Ahhh, yes I admit that his mother suddenly appearing is a little strange, especially so soon after that attack. What did happen to the body? I didn't see it when I regained consciousness?"
Ryoko shifted uncomfortably at the memory of the attacker dissipating after she had struck what she assumed was a killing. "I assume you and Ranma did have to kill it?" Cologne pressed.
"We buried it," Ryoko bluffed, still not removing her eyes from Ranma and Shampoo. She failed to notice the new growth that Nodoka was leading them through.
"Well that's very interesting, but I suspect you know something that you're not sharing with the rest of us. Something about this attack maybe? Perhaps it should be you we shouldn't be trusting." Ryoko turned sharply to face the old woman and her accusations and suddenly noticed the area of forest that they were walking through. Time spent with Ranma had healed a lot of her wounds, but the regrowth couldn't hide the image of Tenchi keeled over a pool of his own blood nor the birds drown out the sound of his dripping blood.
She didn't even notice when she collapsed to her knees as the world seemed to spin nor did she notice the strong arms that embraced her from behind and picked her up. All she could see was Tenchi's blood smeared face, as it questioned why she didn't save him.
*****
Yosho sat calmly waiting for the arrival of his grandson. His daughter had rang ahead and let him know that they would be returning sometime today. Now it just remained for him to consider the best way to convince his grandson to return to Jurai. It would not be easy from what he had been told of the boy's life and personality, but then even his daughter had admitted she didn't know everything about her son's past.
He would appeal to the boy's sense of honour. He would save billions of lives by returning to Jurai and possibly save an empire. How could he not return? Looking up sharply and reaching for the master key, his front door burst open. He relaxed slightly when he saw a boy matching Ranma's description carrying a distraught Ryoko.
"What happened, Boy?" he demanded gruffly.
"She's still mourning Tenchi father," replied Nodoka calmly as she followed her son in.
Yosho watched as his grandson calmed the grief stricken Ryoko and wondered if he had misjudged the boy already. The arrival of the Amazons diverted his attention before he could further consider the situation.
"Father, I would like you to meet Cologne and Shampoo," Nodoka supplied while her son finished calming Ryoko "...and as you probably already guessed - Ranma."
"Grandfather," Ranma bowed in greeting. His attention then focused on the plainly wrapped package with his name labeled on the side resting on the table beside Yosho.
"Grandson, before I get started, I have a gift for you. It is part of your family heritage." Yosho was a little surprised by the suspicion that crossed Ranma's face at the sight of the plainly wrapped box, but noticed that the suspicion didn't stop him from accepting the gift.
"My thanks grandfather," Ranma answered politely while slowly unwrapping the gift as if constantly looking for traps.
"Its an egg," Ranma exclaimed in confusion when he finally had the box open. Before his grandson could say anything else though the egg started to crack and rock as it hatched. He joined everyone in the room as they watched in horror as a large worm burst from the egg. Three feet long and heavily scaled, the worm hissed aggressively at Ranma before quickly borrowing through the floorboards and disappearing.
"Ahh thanks," Ranma stammered out in reply to the gift being the first to recover. "I guess it got away though." Yosho just blinked. That was nothing like Ryo-oki. What was Washu thinking?
"Yes well," started Yosho ignoring the worm in favour of bringing up Ranma's Jurian heritage. "Back to..." he trailed off seeing Ranma's focused gaze staring past him at the TV. Yosho silently cursed. This could upset his plans a little.
"Wide spread violence and looting continue for the fourth day as guns flood the streets of Tokyo," a news reporter stated. How they could continue broadcasting with everything that had happened surprised Yosho a little.
"Ranma!!" Yosho shouted entreatingly as Ranma stood up.
"Sorry gramps, but I sent my friends back into that and I have to get them out." Sharing a quick look and nod with the Amazons Ranma left with the Amazons in company. Yosho also quietly noticed that Ryoko had disappeared from the couch on which she had been resting.
"Daughter," Yosho growled in a concerned voice, "you know how important he is to the empire. Do what you can to influence him."
"Father, I will do what I can to turn him into a leader of men, but I am afraid it is too late to directly influence him."
"You must Nodoka! Billions of lives depend on it!"
Nodoka gave her father one last sad look before following her son, the incident with the worm already forgotten.
*****
Tsunami stood next to Washu in one of her larger labs. Both were watching the events currently plaguing the Jurian Empire with interest. A picture of a three-foot worm emerging from an egg was frozen on one of the screens. Washu just stood staring at it, open mouthed.
"Ahh Washu-Chan?" asked the blue haired goddess in confusion. "That wasn't supposed to happen was it?"
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A/N - The following Omake is an idea that was spawned by a review from Aleh and a comment from Black Dragon. A challenge eh?
Ayeka just watched as her battle line crumbled and her fleet was destroyed piecemeal. "Princess, we have an urgent message from the Menace."
"Patch it through," she nodded.
"Princess," came the crackly reply from Menace "the E-101 has been stolen."
"WHAT!! Computer find the E-101!" A blip on her console was highlighted racing out from her battle line towards the enemy's flagships. "Connect me," she commanded as an image of Mihoshi appeared on her view screen.
"Mihoshi!! That's an extremely sensitive and highly experimental ship! Return it at once!"
"Princess, I'm trying to, but it just won't respond. Maybe this will…"
Ayeka watched in horror as Mihoshi pressed a random red button on the control board. "NO!!" she screamed, but it was too late as the blip suddenly accelerated and rocketed even faster towards the enemy flagships.
"Mmm…that wasn't it. What about this one?" By this time the enemy flagships were focusing their fire onto the E-101. The button Mihoshi pressed seemed to have an effect as the ship danced and flittered between the angry beams of deadly plasma.
"Why wont this thing work?" whined the blonde displayed to Ayeka's crew. By now, she had reached the enemy flagships and was causing havoc as their own weapon's fire damaged their fellow ships in an attempt to hit the E-101.
"This one will do it! I know it," Mihoshi cried happily pressing yet another random button on the dash causing a flash of energy which temporally disabled the enemy fleet.
Ayeka could only shake her head as this blond ditz did more damage by accident with one experimental craft than she managed with an entire fleet. Nevertheless, she took advantage of the situation by pressing the attack.
"All ships fire at will and BRING ME MIHOSHI!!!"