Chapter 4: To Cast off that which we know.
"This is a surprise doctor," Nabiki said, hiding her anger behind a mask of indifference. Internally she was fuming, this woman should not have been able to get here without Nabiki knowing. Worse than that the damn woman had gone over her head and got herself assigned to her ship. Nabiki may not have been as xenophobic as her husband but she shared his opinions about civilian interference. Dr. Weir was neither wanted nor expected. Yet here she stood.
"I am sorry about that Colonel-"
"Captain" Nabiki corrected. "Aboard my ship I am called either Ma'am or Captain, I have earned that right. If you are to accompany us you will learn the correct etiquette. You will show me the proper respect at all times. Aboard this ship I am the final authority, and, as far as you are concerned, am answerable only to god!"
"We'll see Captain" Weir replied, with a trace of venom.
"NO we won't Weir" Nabiki retorted, deliberately dropping the title. "The moment you step aboard MY ship you are under my command, civilian or not. It doesn't matter if you are the vice president of America or the Lord High Executioner of China, or for that matter even an envoy from the Kami, aboard MY ship you are either a crewmember or a passenger! Either way when I say jump you bloody well comply, Kapish?"
"Yes Captain I think I understand you very well," Weir replied stonily, eyes narrowing.
"Very well then doctor," Nabiki continued "the corporal here will escort you to the mess where you may wait until we can find your party somewhere to sleep." Nabiki waved a hand to indicate a marine standing in attendance. "You are dismissed" she added, without a smile.
"That went well," Richard offered ironically. Nabiki turned to him with a wan smile.
"YOU are welcome Richard," Nabiki said, reaching out a hand. But instead of just shaking his she pulled him into a hug. "How have you been?" she asked
"Well enough" he replied, cheered by the warmth of her greeting. "How' the family?"
"Growing" she answered, putting one hand to her belly. Richard replied with a big smile.
"Congratulations" he responded warmly. "When is it due?"
"Not for a long time yet" Nabiki replied.
"Ranma must be chuffed" he asked probing lightly.
"Yes he is Richard" Nabiki replied with a smile. "And no I am not going to tell you where he is"
"Fine, be like that then" he offered with false grumpiness.
"It is good to see you again" Nabiki enthused.
"And you" he replied.
"I'll let Laura know you're coming with us" Nabiki said.
"She's aboard?" he asked.
"No I just like messing with you" Nabiki explained ironically.
"Fine" he retorted, "tease the civvy why don't you?" Nabiki nodded and with a smile urged him to catch up with the rest of Weir's party. "Richard" she called after him, he turned back to her. "Tell Weir I am going to need details of everyone in her party."
"She won't like that"
"Tough, I will not have any more agent Flags aboard in my organisation," she replied harshly.
"Understood!" Richard responded thoughtfully.
o
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o
o
Dr. Elisabeth Weir was unhappy, very unhappy. Ever since she had become involved in the secret of X-Com that one woman had been a constant thorn in her side. And now the damn warmonger was throwing her weight around again. Well she would see about that.
"Georgie," she called to her private secretary, "Get me a line to the Commander in Chief."
"Ma'am?" the girl replied.
"Just do it" Weir responded, "and find me some coffee!"
"Elisabeth" Richard ventured.
"WHAT" she demanded.
"You really have to calm down" he replied, hands outstretched wardingly. "This is not a good impression for the troops" he explained nodding towards the marines standing guard.
"Fine!" she agreed with ill-humour.
"And Nabiki wants a list of all the people in our party"
"WHAT!" Weir demanded.
"She has that right," Richard reminded her. "Our group are subject to her security scrutiny."
"Damn
her" Weir said, "she'll use this as an excuse to get rid of
us!"
"Only if we deserve it" replied Richard.
"What?" Weir asked.
"You may not like her but you know that she will obey orders!" Richard admonished.
"She had better!" Weir replied archly. Richard was taken aback.
"What are you up to?" he asked.
"Wait and see" she replied, taking a cup of coffee that a girl handed her. Richard shook his head despairingly and went looking for Georgina to get the list drawn up. "Don't tell her what she doesn't need to know" Weir called after him.
"I don't think-
"Just do it" she ordered, cutting him off.
When Weir had first heard of this mission she had been horrified by the very idea of it. She had done everything she could to stop it, and failed. Then she had done what she could to pull the mission under UN direct command, and failed. Finally she had tried to have the worst warmongers removed from command and only partly succeeded. The murderer who had been in command of the first extra-terrestrial contact had been sidelined, denied permission to accompany his belligerent wife but she had been unable to stop Mrs Saotome.
She was determined that this next meeting would not be a repeat of the last. In her experience diplomacy and peace were always better answers than murder and destruction. There was no situation that could not be improved by careful reasoning and skilled diplomacy. To say otherwise was to revert to barbarism. To Weir this mission represented the next leap in human civilisation, the chance to meet alien races and forge a new destiny for the race as a whole.
She would not, could not stand by and let the uniformed thugs start a new wave of human imperialism. The Saotomes represented exactly what the marxist Schumpeter had described as an 'atavistic elite,' people who asserted their dominance through their ability to destroy. In her opinion it was people like the Soatomes who had been responsible for nearly all the great evils that mankind had perpetrated. Everything from 'manifest destiny' to the holocaust had been rationalised by just the same arguments that the X-Com agents spouted about the aliens. Weir was determined to prevent another incident that would stain humanity's soul forevermore.
o
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o
o
"Here's
the list Nabiki" Richard said, handing the Captain a datapad.
"Please be careful who you show it."
"Excuse me?" Nabiki
asked.
"Weir was rather explicit that I should hold back"
"And you didn't?" Nabiki guessed
"She told me to only tell you what you needed to know," Richard replied, "In my view you need to know it all," he finished with a smile.
"Thank you Richard" she answered with real feeling. For a moment he stood there in silence watching her scan the form.
"She's not bad, just misguided" Richard said, not needing to say who. "You two have more in common than you know."
"Believe me I know more than you think" Nabiki said ruefully. "Everytime we meet it seems we end up fighting, and neither of us will admit publicly that the other has a point. We just can't see eye to eye, and won't."
"You admit she has a point?" Richard asked.
"Of course she has a point," Nabiki replied, "and in a perfect universe I would stand beside her and hold the same banners. But the universe isn't perfect, love doesn't conquer all, the good continue to die young and some people cannot be told. Despite what she thinks X-Com is not about killing every non-human in existence. We aren't risking our lives for fun or self-aggrandisement. We do what we do to defend our way of life, to defend our people's existence."
"Even at the cost of theirs?"
"If necessary."
"She would ask what gave you that right," Richard replied, playing devil's advocate.
"Because the only other choice is surrendering to our extermination," Nabiki explained, "and that is even less right!"
"No diplomacy?"
"You have seen the films, do you think they look like people who will take no for an answer?"
"No I don't" Richard responded. "And more than that I trust your judgement in this. I know you well enough to know that you aren't the person she thinks you are."
"Thank you Richard" she replied. "That means a lot more than you know." He smiled in response, a warm genuine smile that he would never have known how to give only a short while ago.
o
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o
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"Ladies and Gents welcome to Skull squadron." Commander Roy Focker said to his troops. They were assembled in the pre-fight room for his welcoming speech. One he had given many times before. "You have been hand picked because of your demonstrated superior ability. Every one of you has earned your place here and will have to continue to justify it in the weeks and months to come.
"You will come to rely on each other, you will become closer than family." He ignored the rude snigger. "You will become a team at the heart of Earth's vanguard. The best of the best." There were a few cheers.
"Now your assignments will be posted on the scramble board" he said pointing at the large whiteboard behind him, "familiarise yourselves with your wingmen and training schedules. As of this moment you are operational."
As he left he was all but run down by the scrambling pilots, running for the board behind him. Ranma was for once slow to react, any insinuation that he had slept through the speech would be pure supposition, but quickly guessed what the fuss was about and leapt to join in.
"Oh no not Hikari," one man lamented.
"Kiss your nuts goodbye" a friend 'consoled.'
"Whoo I got Lisa" shouted another voice celebrating, "she is soooo HOT!
"Bertrand?" another said in disbelief. Ranma fought his way through, shoving and pushing with the rest. A blond haired man took the opportunity to pinch his shapely rear and received a solid palm-strike for his effort. After that the way cleared remarkably quickly.
Ranma quickly scanned down the pilot list, he found his assumed name, and found his pairing, a second Lieutenant by the name of Valentine. The name meant nothing to him, so he was probably a old hand from one of the smaller Earth bases.
"Who's Ranko?" asked a woman's voice to Ranma's left. Ranma turned to find out who. The girl in question was young, and very pretty. The first thing Ranma noticed was that she had purple highlights in her dark hair. Then she noticed the makeup. Most pilots never bothered, but this girl had taken the time. A scan further down showed up an altered flight suit, designed to accentuate her curves. Suddenly Ranma was looking straight into the girl's dark eyes, shining with emotion.
"I know" the girl said "I'm beautiful, try not to get too jealous!"
"Tell me you aren't Valentine!" Ranma wished.
"No," the girl replied, and Ranma allowed himself a sigh, "My name's Yuri, nobody calls me Valentine any more. Yuri is much prettier."
"Yuri?" Ranma asked "As in Mexico base Yuri?"
"You've heard of me?" Yuri replied, "would you like a picture? Do you have a cute brother?"
"I'm Saotome Ranko" Ranma explained, fighting the sinking feeling. Yuri was indeed a name he knew, from the worst reports, the girl was a menace to all things solid. Nobody had as many detriments against their name, or as many merits. She had been busted nearly as many times as she had been promoted and if her record was anything to go by it was only a matter of time.
"You are Ranko?" the girl asked, "you look like a man!"
"I am a…" Ranma argued loudly, only stopping when he noticed the audience their argument was generating.
"A what?" Yuri asked.
"Girl" Ranma admitted, "I'm a girl"
"Could have fooled me," Ranma's new wingman said, "even your name is all but masculine."
"Do these look masculine to you?" Ranma asked, lifting her ample bosom. (and causing a few spontaneous nosebleeds).
"No they don't" Yuri admitted, "You could actually look very beautiful if you just…" she continued, lifting Ranma's chin. "A bit of blusher here…"
"NO" said Ranma lifting the other girl's hand away. "I am perfectly happy the way I am" he informed her.
"But you need a prettier name," Yuri continued regardless.
"No" argued Ranma.
"Sakura?"
"NO!"
"Lina?"
"NO!"
"I know how about Kiki?"
"Definitely not!"
"We could call you Kei"
"No way," Ranma argued, "no way no how!"
"Kei it is" Yuri agreed, walking off, dragging Ranma along with her. "Now about those highlights…"
"I can't believe that this is happening to me!" Ranma groused.
o
o
o
Meanwhile hidden in the superstructure of the ship a lone form huddled, cold and tired. She was wearing the green of an X-Com ground crew agent and her patches identified her as a Dark Angel. She was spying on a mess hall through a small hole in the ceiling. For a moment one of her blue-black bangs dropped across her face, she reached back and pushed it behind her ear. "Who the hell are you?" Akane asked herself, looking down at 'Ranko.'
"Is someone there?" a new voice asked. Suddenly a torchbeam was swinging through the area she was hiding in. Akane bolted like a jackrabbit, immediately giving herself away whereas otherwise she might have remained hidden.
The chase was on.