Full Ranma Panic
By Lisa Grey
Chapter 3: Research and Development
The following morning, Ranma and Kaname packed up their stuff and Ranma drove them to the research facility where they would be billeted. As they approached the compound, they had to stop and show their ID's to the guard posted at the gate. The guard directed them to a large main building and said there would be someone out there to meet them. Pulling up to the building, Kaname recognized that someone as Lt. Cmdr. Kalinin. The pair exited the vehicle grabbing their stuff before coming to attention and saluting the light commander.
"Specialist Kaname Chidori, reporting as ordered, Sir," Kaname said crisply.
"Specialist Ranma, reporting as ordered, Sir," Ranma echoed. Kalinin returned their salutes and ordered them at ease.
"First things first," the older man said. "Come with me, I have something for you." He led them into the building and into an office. "This is a classified facility and as such there are no personnel allowed here below the rank of Lieutenant. Ten-SHUN." The pair came to ridge attention. "There for, I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant with all the responsibilities, privileges, and pay grades appropriate to that rank. Congratulations, Lieutenants." The gray haired man handed them their Lieutenant's bars and shook their hands. "Now we can talk about what you will be doing here. Please have a seat."
For Ranma's benefit, Kalinin explained about the Lambda Driver, the Whispered, and Black Technology, after reminding them that this information was highly classified.
"Which brings us to your presence," the Lt Commander said. "Ranma, I can see you've already figured out what we suspect about the Lambda Driver. Tell me your thoughts."
"It's a ki amplifier of some sort, is my guess," Ranma responded.
"Yes, that's the theory we've come up with after studying you and some of the other high end martial artists you've associated with," Kalinin agreed.
"What exactly is ki?" Kaname asked. "I mean I know it's supposed to be the life energy generated by all living things, but what does it have to do with the Lambda Driver and what does that have to do with Ranma?"
"It's said that martial arts masters use their ki to augment their skills," Kalinin explained. "It is said that some, with decades of practice can even manifest it. Ranma and a handful of his associates have somehow managed to go beyond that. They can use their ki to increase their speed and strength to super human levels, shield their bodies from physical attacks, and even fire energy blasts." Seeing the girl's wide eyed stare, he turned to Ranma. "Would you care to demonstrate for her?"
"Sure," Ranma said, turning to Kaname. He began to draw up his ki, forming it into a brilliant blue ball above his cupped hands. Kaname's eyes were wide with wonder as she hesitantly brought up her hand.
"Can I touch it?" she asked. Ranma nodded, having to concentrate to keep the ball of ki stable this long. Kaname reached out and pressed a finger into the ball. She felt a resistance and then her finger felt warm, followed by a tingling sensation. "Whoa," she breathed in awe as she withdrew her finger. Ranma let the ki dissipate back inside himself.
"That is what a high end ki user can do," Kalinin explained. "You are aware of how you instructed Sousuke to use the Lambda Driver?" Kaname nodded. "The force the Lambda Driver used, as you had explained to Sousuke at the time, was Gauron's aggression and Sousuke's desire to protect, first his self, and then you. Ranma, why don't you explain to her how you use ki."
"Well, we use a strong emotion," Ranma explained. "I use confidence. My friend, Ryoga uses depression. The master of my former school uses perversity. The others I'm not sure of, but the ki is focused through the emotion, at least in cases where we manifest it. In cases of just boosting speed and strength, it just sort of happens naturally. The other thing is, it's like a muscle; the more you use, the more you can do, and the more you can store in your 'ki battery'."
"Okay, I understand," Kaname said.
"As you know, Sousuke can't manipulate his ki like Ranma does, and to my knowledge, neither could Gauron," Kalinin explained. "What we are here to find out is what would happen if we put someone who IS able to manipulate ki in an AS equipped with a Lambda Driver."
"Okay, that explains why I'm here but what about Kaname?" Ranma asked. "You said she's one of the Whispered, so is she here to make this stuff?"
"Actually, no," Kalinin negated. "She's here because of two incidents in which a Whispered person has assumed control of a machine made with Black Technology and achieved a near melding with the machine. One such incident happened with Miss Chidori herself. She was able to take control of Mithril's advanced attack submarine, the Tuatha De Danaan when its AI was hijacked, operating all of its systems until the crisis was over. She and Sousuke saved the whole ships compliment. We want to see if she can attain this same level of control over an AS."
"I see," said Ranma thoughtfully. "But aren't the Whispered too valuable to put them at risk on the battle field?"
"Don't even think about it, Ranma," Kaname said angrily. "I didn't like being left behind when it was Sousuke, and I damn sure won't tolerate it when it's you going into danger." Ranma sweatdropped while Kalinin chuckled.
"To answer your question, Ranma," the Light Commander replied, "everyone has to find their own place, even the Whispered. If she feels that the place she can make the most difference is in an AS, then that is her choice to make."
Ranma looked at Kaname, who looked back smugly. "I guess I can live with that," Ranma said with a sigh.
"Now then, now that you both know the background and the purpose of you being here, that brings us to the project you will be working on," Kalinin moved on. "We had two Arm Slaves built just for you two; the ARX-8 'Seraph'. Both rely heavily on the Lambda Driver and would be nearly useless to someone not able to use the technology to its fullest extent. You will be putting these machines through their trials. Should things go as expected, once the bugs are worked out, you will both be moved to the Special Response Team aboard the De Danaan where the two of you will form a sub unit that will be sent in to handle things that Sgt Maj Mao and her team can't deal with. Right now, Mao's team are our heavy hitters since it includes our only other AS equipped with a Lambda Driver, Sgt Sagara's ARX-7 Arbalest. Your unit designation, both here and eventually aboard the De Danaan, is Angel. Don't expect to see a lot of action at first. We want to keep this program ultra classified and you will only be deployed if the situation is dire. After the first few times, this will cease to be a concern and you will see a bit more action. Now, shall we go take a look at your mecha?"
"Sure," Kaname smiled brightly. Kalinin stood and led the brand new Lieutenants to the hanger bay.
OOOOOOO
The ARX-8 proved to be a departure from the most other Arm Slaves in production. Most notable was that it had reverse articulated, bird-like legs and its sloping nose which held what appeared to be a twin .50 caliber BMG mini-gun array. Kalinin informed them it was an Anti-Missile System (AMS). The machine stood slightly taller than the old M-6's but not as tall as the M-9 or the ARX-7. It could also crouch, effectively reducing its target profile by half and allowing it to spring up from cover without the time penalties doing so in a humanoid AS incurred.
Slung down the centerline, mounted at the top of the machine was the large 4-meter long barrel of an experimental 100mm gauss rifle. Ranma and Kaname learned that it fired iron jacketed depleted uranium penetrators as well as iron jacketed HE rounds contained in 6 eight round drums mounted on a rotating rack on the back of the AS. These drums clipped on to the breach of the gauss rifle and, upon firing, kicked the half meter long projectile into the breech of the gauss rifle with a small initiating charge. The magnetic field would then take over and would then accelerate the projectile to a speed of approximately 2000 meters per second, faster for the lighter HE rounds. When the drum was empty it would be ejected, the barrel would tilt back and a fresh drum would be fitted in an automated process.
To either side of the center torso, each of the large angular shoulders housed six ground-to-air missile and four ground-to-ground missile tubes. This gave the AS a hunched over look. Attached to these shoulders were the arms which terminated with hand manipulators. Mounted on top of the forearms on each arm was a pared set of 30mm cannons.
Other features included the latest in ECS systems, as well as an updated cockpit with a 360 degree, horizon to horizon view screen that displayed composite data from optical, infrared, and radar sensors, plus an experimental new sensor array could detect magnetic anomalies. The targeting system could track and identify multiple targets as well as assist in the aiming of the various weapons, allowing the pilot to engage multiple targets with different weapons systems simultaneously. The torso was gimbal mounted allowing negative 10 degrees to positive 50 degrees of incline and 240 degrees of traverse independent of the legs.
It was a very impressive machine, and as Kalinin intimated, it was far too complex to pilot without the use of the Lambda Drivers and a pilot with the ability to use them. This was the reason that current AS production models were all humanoid. The humanoid shape gave the pilots a better intuitive grasp on how the machine would move and allowed the control systems to follow natural biometric motions. The Seraph's Lambda Driver assisted control systems would theoretically allow the pilot to will the mecha to move in a certain direction in a certain manner. This system was mostly limited to the directional movement and the torso rotation and inclination. It was deemed that it would still be easer for the pilot to physically point to what he wanted to aim at or reach for.
The two lieutenants were impressed and eager to give the new machines a test drive, but alas the technogeeks wanted to run a battery of tests and simulations lasting weeks before they would actually get to take the Seraphs out and put then through their paces.
OOOOOOO
After hours of tests and simulations, it was determined that Kaname's use of the Lambda Driver control systems was akin to a natural function of her body. Ranma's, on the other hand, was more artificial and more taxing since he had to purposely infuse his ki into the control matrix. Kaname did this on an instinctual level so it was no more tiring for her than walking around. Consequently, Kaname's control over her AS was quite a bit finer and more precise than Ranma's. Interestingly, in simulations in Ranma's female form, the gap between them narrowed significantly.
This was most evident when they ran their first field test of the new mecha. It nearly proved a disaster for Ranma. Kaname had powered up her machine and brought it out of its crouch with no bobbles. She moved off carefully to await Ranma at the beginning of the course they were given to navigate around. Ranma, however, was in trouble as soon as he brought the AS out of its crouch. His AS staggered like Kurz on a weekend bender, nearly falling twice before stabilizing. His first attempt at taking a step met with similar results.
"This is no good. I can't stabilize it. I'm going to Mode F to see if that's any better," Ranma said, the frustration clear in his voice. 'Mode F' had become the euphemism for Ranma's female form. "Okay, in Mode F, recalibrating," Ranma's female voice came over the comm. "Alright, tying this again..."
Ranma's Seraph took a tentative step forward without a wobble, then took another step, this time more confidently and then moved to where Kaname waited.
"Better, Ranma?" Kaname asked.
"Yes, I'm a lot more stable now," Ranma said. "It feels just like in the simulator now. In Mode M it was like I was completely disoriented or something."
"Angel 2, do you feel confident enough to continue the trial?" Control queried.
"Affirmative, Control," Ranma responded. "Let's do this."
"Roger that, Angels 1 and 2, you are cleared to begin the trial," Control announced.
By the end of the trial, which was a fairly simple course that had them moving through different types of terrain to build real world data that could be used in the simulators, it was clear that Kaname out shown Ranma in piloting ability. Her movements were sure and graceful as if she were born piloting this AS. Ranma's movements were more mechanical, but had improved steadily as she became accustomed to interacting with the interface. To be fair, Ranma's piloting was significantly smoother than any M-9 pilot, including herself, could achieve.
Subsequent tests in the phase all netted the same results. Much to Ranma's extreme frustration he faced a continued inability to pilot the AS as a male. The techs went over the data with a fine tooth comb, trying to find the problem. Failing this, they sent Ranma to the medical lab to have a series of tests run on him in both forms.
Kaname and Ranma arrived at the project meeting they had been called to. Several of the department heads and the R&D brass were there. Everyone exchanged greetings and the meeting got underway.
"Good news, people," the project leader, Dr. Toshida announced. "We collected all the data we need and are ready to move on to the next phase of testing. We are several days ahead of schedule, in spite of the set backs we've encountered."
"Dr. Toshida, sir," Ranma spoke up. "Does this mean you've found the problem with the AS that prevents me from piloting it in Mode M?"
"That's the not so good news, Lieutenant," the Dr. said seriously. "We have found what we believe to be the problem, but it's not with the AS or the control systems. Dr. Yamaguchi, would you like to field this?"
"Certainly, Dr. Toshida," the elderly head of the medical department replied. "You see ladies and gentlemen, the problem isn't with the mecha or the systems, but in stead lies with our young Lieutenant here. Lieutenant, let me ask you, have you ever had a head injury?"
"Sure, lots a times when I was a kid, training in the art, and in fights before I came to Mithril," Ranma answered. "But I've never had any problems come from it."
"Well, you can't say that now, Lieutenant," the doctor smiled apologetically as he began to bring up X-rays, CAT scans, and MRI's on the large screen in the front of the room. "As you can see from these images of Ranma's skull and brain tissue, repeated head trauma has caused a thickening of Ranma's skull, here and here, where the skull contacts the brain. As he has indicated this wouldn't normally be a problem because only small portion of the brain is utilized. However, the Seraph's control systems require a pilot to use a large percentage of certain areas concerning spatial sense and balance. Unfortunately, these areas of contact are over potions of the brain believed to control these. We believe that this contact is inhibiting the full use of these facilities rendering the lieutenant unable to process all the data needed to stabilize the Seraph. Now, as to why Mode F operation is possible, well, the female brain is somewhat smaller than the male brain." The doctor pulled up more images. "These images are of Lieutenant Ranma in Mode F. Notice the areas of thickened areas of the skull are no longer contacting. Without that pressure the brain is able to function at full capacity. This is fortuitous to both us and Lieutenant Ranma, saving us from having to find another suitable high end ki user by allowing the lieutenant to continue participating in the program, albeit in Mode F."
That night, Kaname had to do a lot of damage control as Ranma cursed a blue streak about his idiot former father, uncute tomboy ex-fiancées, and his life in general before coming to Mithril. However, in the end, against Kaname's warm acceptance and tender caring support, Ranma's anger and bitterness didn't stand a chance. As long as Kaname was by his side, he decided, he could accept any burden and overcome any obstacle. By the time Kaname was done, he'd promised her that he would make the effort to stop seeing his female form as a curse, but instead, a blessing. It left him shaking his head in wonder at having made such a promise, but then it WAS Kaname asking, and he would do ANYTHING for her.
Kaname, for her part, wanted Ranma to be as happy as he wanted her to be and would go to the same lengths to make it so. She recognized early on that Ranma's girl form was a source of unhappiness for him. Not being something that was likely to go away, and, in fact, couldn't go away now that this was the only way for him to pilot the Seraph, Kaname decided that she would help him to change the way he thought about the transformation. After all, she had come to love all of the person that was Ranma, and that included the fact that he changed into a girl. It didn't matter to her in the least that what people might think, after all, it WAS Ranma and she would do ANYTHING for him, or her, as the case may be.
OOOOOOO
The next phase of testing was field trials of the ECS, targeting systems, and the conventional weapons systems. Team Angel as they had been dubbed took great delight shadowing other unsuspecting AS pilots in the training ground, sometimes coming within meters of them without them ever having known a thing. The ECS and targeting systems worked as specified although the MAD sensors proved to be a bit fickle.
The gunnery tests were somewhat routine. Not much new there, except the multiple target engagement. It proved to work flawlessly, allowing the Seraphs to engage three targets simultaneously by keeping the four arm-mounted 30mm cannons aimed at a designated target while allowing the pilot to properly position the Seraph to fire the missiles or the gauss rifle which had no traverse capability independent of the upper torso.
This phase of the project was also finished ahead of schedule and they quickly moved on to the most exciting phase. This is where the people in the project would truly see if all their hard work would pay off.
And pay off it did. This was where Ranma was finally able to eclipse her teammate. Kaname proved she could quickly and reliably use the defensive and offensive techniques of the Lambda Driver as displayed by Gauron and Sousuke, but because of her more complete bond with the control systems, she was able to do so with less effort and use them more effectively. Ranma, on the other hand, outshone her like the sun out shines the moon. Ranma found she could use all her ki techniques proportionately. Imagine a Moko Takabisha proportionate to an 8 meter tall Ranma. She could use the Umisenken which shocked the scientists to no end when the Seraph disappeared without a trace, only to reappear several meters away, without having used the ECS. She was able to fire off vacuum blades as well, though their effectiveness against hardened target was limited. Still softer targets such as unfortified buildings, light armored vehicles, and fences would not stand up to them. She was able to display the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, battering through heavy armor with her Seraph's fists, and her jumping ability was greater than the scientists had imagined was possible. One technique that didn't seem to be translatable was the Soul of Ice. It still worked for Ranma in the cockpit but had no effect outside the Seraph. While playing around with what the Lambda Driver could do, she even managed to shock herself when she manifested the Nekoken ki claws from the fingers of the Seraph. She had been trying to make a ki sword as a sort of fitting homage to the namesake of the Seraph. The Lambda Driver, instead, somehow recognizing the developed ki pathways used by the Nekoken state, reproduced them to fill Ranma's desire to form blades of ki. The claws proved every bit as devastating as her Nekoken claws. She could shred any AS or armor not equipped with a Lambda Driver in moments. All this was in addition to the kinetic shielding technique that the others used.
It was terrifying for everyone to think that if a less scrupulous organization had figured this out first, there would be little in the world that could have stopped them. Because of what Ranma could do with the Lambda Driver it spawned many philosophical questions. A debate was sparked arguing that there was a link between Black Technology, the Whispered, and Implementers, as people like Ranma who could use ki readily were dubbed. A related debate ran through the 'people in the know' as to the wisdom of opening this particular Pandora's Box, but it was widely acknowledged that now that this particular genie was out of the bottle, there was no putting it back in, lest some darker power uncork their own genie. It was decided that the Mithril organization would actively recruit people that might be Implementers to their cause, as well as researching as to whether or not an Implementer could be trained.
OOOOOOO
Amidst all the philosophical debate, the Seraph project went on. A year after it had begun field testing, the project faced one final test; real time combat. In this test the ammo fired would be paint but they were given the okay to use the Lambda Driver's abilities as long as no potentially lethal blows were administered. A destroyed or damaged AS was acceptable as long as the pilot wasn't hurt seriously.
Thus, Kaname and Ranma found themselves in a heavily wooded training ground awaiting the unit they were to engage. It didn't take long before they were both grinning like maniacs.
"So I understand there are a couple of shiny new lieutenants out here that wanna play, hmm?" Sgt. Maj. Melissa Moa said over the comm.
"Oh yeah," Kurz said cheerfully. "I can't wait to take down a couple of cute little Angels."
"Indeed," Sousuke chimed in, in his analytical tone, "though they may have an edge in technology, I believe that experience and numerical superiority will win the day. Do you ladies wish to surrender now?"
"Heh, dream on, Sousuke," Kaname laughed. "If all you brought was the three of you, then you are outclassed, even with Arbalest."
"No kidding," Ranma sneered playfully, "You guys should have brought at least five more M-9's to even hope to get one of us. It's not a question of who will win. You guys are going down. It's just a question of how long you last before you go down."
"Pretty confident, ain't cha, babe," Kurz returned. "Well, how about put your money were your mouth is? How about the loser buys the drinks for the next three months and if you lose then you both have to run around the base in bras and panties."
"You're on," Kaname said cheerfully, "but if you lose, You and Sousuke are gonna look awfully funny running around in a bra and panties." Ranma laughed at the mental image while Kurz gulped as he realized what he had just gotten himself and Sousuke into.
"Well, Sgt. Webber, you certainly know how to provide us with a great deal of motivation, don't you?" Sousuke chided.
"Oh come on guys," Melissa laughed. "I think you'll look cute. Besides, how good could those new Arm Slaves be? It's not like we're gonna loose. We're Team Urz! We're the best!"
Kaname switched to a private channel. "Ranma, Sousuke is mine," she said with a grin.
"You sure?" Ranma asked. "I mean it doesn't seem fair to Webber and Mao."
"Who said life was fair?" Kaname laughed. "Besides, this is personal."
"Okay, but be careful," Ranma cautioned. "You two should be pretty evenly matched given his experience. You're equipment and ability to operate it is better, but I'm sure he's learned a trick or two."
"No problem," Kaname said. "You be careful of Kurz, he's a crack shot with that 57 and I wouldn't be surprised if they use Melissa to try to engage you to set you up for him to get a shot at you."
"Right," Ranma grinned.
"Urz ready," Mao announced.
"Angels ready," Kaname announced.
"Begin," came the signal from Control.
OOOOOOO
Ranma spotted Mao standing in the open in a clearing as if to say 'come and get me'. Noting she was still outside Mao's effective gunnery range, about a three kilometers, she broke from the trees and stood in the open to give Mao a good look. While Mao was getting a good look, Ranma was scanning the terrain around the clearing Mao had chosen to engage her in.
Sure enough there was a ridge line about a half a click away that had a good view looking down on the clearing. That was where Kurz would be. Grinning, she decided give Mao a little taste of the Seraph's capabilities.
Mao watched as the bird like new AS broke from the tree line about three kilometers away. It was pained a dark smoky grey over an azure blue background, the paint scheme brought to mind dark smoke billowing into a blue sky. 'Pretty,' she thought, 'and impressive too.'
She zoomed in the view and studied it. It had twin .50 caliber mini-guns slung under its sloping nose and she could just pick out a pair of 30mm cannons mounted atop each of its forearms, four total. It didn't seem to follow the philosophy the previous models did in that, in spite of its hand manipulators, all its weapons seemed to be hard mounted. Looking at the top she examined a nasty looking barrel mounted there, currently it was pointed at her.
'Trying to intimidate me ain't ya little one,' she thought, unconcerned since usually shells of that caliber were slow and lacked the range to get to her from that far away. Sure, artillery could shoot a large heavy projectile a great distance, but the case that contained enough cordite to propel a shell that far was far too large to be practical for AS use. A second later she realized her mistake when a contrail of compressed air streaked toward her.
"Shit!" Mao yelled as she threw her M-9 to the side just as a high velocity shell shrieked through the space her head had just been in, blasting a large chunk out of the tree behind her and covering it with pink paint. "What the hell was that?"
"What?" Kurz demanded. "What happened?"
"Watch out for whatever that gun mounted on the top of those things," Mao cautioned him. "She just fired it at me from three clicks away and would have scored a perfect headshot if I hadn't been looking down the barrel when she fired it and had real good reflexes. Looks like you may have some competition in the long range sniping department, Urz 6. Damn, where'd she go?"
OOOOOOO
Meanwhile, Sousuke was getting his first view of the new AS. The bird-like mecha was painted in the same dark grey smoke pattern as the one Urz 2 had just sighted, only this one looked like smoke over a hot pink background. He watched as it moved through the trees, seemingly unaware of his presence and made the same assessments as his CO did.
"Sorry, Miss Chidori," he said to himself, "experience wins every time."
He stepped out from behind the outcropping of rocks he was behind to bring his guns to bare...only to have to throw himself to the side as a hail of 30mm paint rounds streaked through the space he had just occupied.
"Uh, uh, uh, Sousuke," Kaname's voice chided over his comm., "it's not going to be that easy."
For several minutes, they swirled through the trees each taking shots at the other. Several times, he could have sworn he had her, but the AS of hers was deceptively fast and her reflexes seemed to boarder on precognition. A few times each of them had to use the Lambda Driver shield to get themselves out of a sticky situation. Sousuke was nothing if not patient. All he had to do was wait for her to make a mistake. He didn't have to wait long. She had just entered a ravine with no outlet. The sides were too high for her to climb out as well. It was a simple matter to herd her further in with his cannon fire. Just as he took up a covering position, Control announced that Urz 2 was taken out. That was unfortunate, but at least he knew where Ranma was now.
OOOOOOO
Mao had to dive to the side as Ranma burst from the trees to her right firing at her. She noted that the new AS was wickedly fast, and, as Ranma turned it on a dime jinking around her return fire, she noted it was terrifyingly maneuverable too. As Ranma bounced around the clearing like a hyper active superball, Melissa knew she couldn't win against the Ranma like this. She had to get Ranma to stay still long enough for Kurz to get a shot at her.
"Hey Liuetenant," Mao called over the comm as it took everything she could do to dodge the incoming fire, "How about we test that heap of yours in hand to hand?" She made a calculated risk and threw her gun down, extracting her combat knife.
"Aw, what's wrong, Miss Mao," Ranma asked teasingly, "you don't like dancing? Okay, hand to hand it is then, but you'll regret it. You had a better chance with the gun." Ranma settled and rather than deploy her own AS's blades, she manifested her ki claws.
Melissa was wary as she detected the slight blue shimmer extending about a meter past the tips of other AS's finger tips. They didn't look overly dangerous, but she had already been surprised once by the new mecha.
"Move her a little to the left and then charge her," Kurtz said over the private channel. "Dive on the ground just before you get there. I'll put a shot in behind you and she'll never see it coming.
"Roger," Mao grinned. She began to circle to her right causing Ranma to circle to Mao's left, then without warning she charged.
She got to within twenty meters and dove on the ground as a 57mm round cracked through the space she had been in.
Had it not been for Ranma's near instantaneous grasp of events on the battlefield and lightning fast reflexes, that tactic would have nailed her. Before she even knew why, she had leaped into the air about twenty meters as the shot cracked under her.
"No way!" Mao heard Kurz yell right before four lines of 30mm paint slugs rang across her M-9's armor.
"What just happened?" she demanded.
"She leaped twenty meters into the air over my shot, strafed you on the way down, and then disappeared into the trees before I could get another shot," Kurz said in awe.
OOOOOOO
"It's over, Lt. Chidori" Sousuke said over the comm. "You just made a fatal blunder by entering a ravine with no way out. Surrender."
"In your dreams, Sgt. Sagara, the specialist," Kaname replied. "Why don't you come in and get me, hmmm?"
"Very well, Lt. Chidori," Sousuke sighed.
He moved up the side of the ravine, taking the high ground, allowing him to use the side of the ravine as cover but able to look down into it from above denying his adversary the same. Keeping vigilant, he moved along side of the ravine knowing his quarry had to be in there. Then he was at the end and he still hadn't seen her. Surely she hadn't used ECS. That was against the rules of engagement and Control would have disqualified her.
"Gotcha," she said over his comm just as a large high velocity paint round slammed into his AS's chest with enough energy to knock him on his back to slide several meters before coming to a halt.
He looked around in dismay and saw her step up to the edge of a higher rock face past the end of the ravine.
"Lt. Chidori, I don't understand," Sousuke said confused. "How did you get up there?"
"Simple Sergeant," Kaname laughed. "I jumped. You'd be surprised how high these things can jump when piloted by someone who can mesh with them closely enough."
"I see," Sousuke said. "Well played, Lieutenant, well played indeed. You used my overconfidence and lack of intel on your AS to ambush me, knowing I would underestimate its abilities. And what was that you hit me with? I've never seen a paint round knock an AS over before."
"That would be a gauss rifle paint round moving at about 2500 meters per second with a thin iron shell," Kaname laughed. "Now if you'll excuse me I have a team mate to assist."
OOOOOOO
"Did you hear that, Kurz?" Ranma taunted after Control announced Sousuke's exit from the battle. "You all alone now. You wanna give up now, or do you want to clean the pretty pink paint off your AS before to take a jog around the base in a bra and panties?"
"I ain't done yet, little girl," Kurz snapped.
"Oh but I think you are, Mr. Webber," Ranma laughed. "You're too easy."
Just then Kurz heard a shrieking sound. Before it occurred to him what the sound was, there was an impact on the side of his M-9 where he lay prone with his rifle. This was followed a second later by another impact on the M-9's head.
"Son of a...how? Where?" Kurz cursed.
"On the ridge overlooking your position about two clicks to your right," Ranma said cheerfully, waving when Kurz looked in that direction. "As to how? Superior equipment, Superior intel, superior tactics, and superior looks."
"It helped that you guys way underestimated us," Kaname chimed in. "How's it feel to be played like a cheap fiddle, hmm?"
"And their modest too," Melissa groaned.
"Speaking of modest, Melissa," Kaname teased, "are you going to let the boys borrow your underwear for your little run?"
"I guess you know this means war," Melissa fired back.
"Aw, you guys aren't gonna be sore losers are you?" Ranma said in a pouting tone.
OOOOOOO
Once they had all gotten back to the staging area, Ranma and Kaname where instructed to follow Urz back to the De Danaan and park them. They were then to return to the R&D lab to collect their gear and their transfer orders to their new billet on the sub.
Once that was done and they reported in to Lt Cmdr Kalinin, two lieutenants decided it was time for Urz to pay up. They instructed the sergeants to get into 'proper uniform' and report to the ready room. Once there, they were greeted with the flash of the camera Kaname was holding as they came to attention.
"Oh wow, you all look so cute," Ranma still in girl form said. "But I gotta ask, what are you idiots doing?" Urz looked at each other confused.
"We're reporting for our bet repayment, Ma'am," Melissa said crisply.
"Aren't you a little underdressed?" Ranma rolled her eyes.
"We are adhering to the terms of the bet," Melissa stated. "It will not be said that Urz welshed on a bet."
"Morons," Ranma stage whispered to Kaname who giggled. Addressing the three NCO's, "As I recall the terms of the bet were that you all had to wear a bra and panties while you run around the base."
"Yes, Ma'am, those were the terms, Ma'am," Melissa stated irritately, wishing this would just be done with.
"Well, I don't recall the part that stated you had to be wearing ONLY a bra and panties," Ranma said with a grin. The three Non-coms' eyes got as big as dinner plates as they realized their blunder. "Go put some clothes on before to traumatize someone."
"Yes, Ma'am," the three said crisply and looking decidedly relieved. They turned to go and another flash lit up the room.
"I gotta hand it to'em," Ranma giggled. "They were ready to follow through. That took guts."
"No kidding," Kaname laughed. "So what do you want to do with our three day pass?"
"Well, once those three get back I figured we could start collecting on the other part of the bet," Ranma said thoughtfully. "Then what? The beach again?"
"I don't know," Kaname replied. "I did want to go somewhere where we could be alone, but I'd rather see if we could find somewhere with a roof over our head."
"Maybe the captain knows a place," Ranma suggested.
"It's worth a shot," Kaname agreed.
OOOOOOO