The battle for Gateway
Chapter 10: Do you feel the same?
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Authors note: I've had no sleep for the last few days, I've been surviving on nothing but coffee, and I'll try to get around to rewriting chapters 8 & 9 sometime soon.
Nabiki wondered around the corridors trying to find Ranma but she couldn't find him anywhere so she decided to ask one of his squadron and goes to find one, she found Whistler in the hanger where the fighters were "hey Whistler, you seen Ranma?" she asked making Whistler turn round.
"He got a message from an old friend of his, and had to go see hid friend on the Altron."
"He has friends?" Nabiki replied jokingly as she sees Ranma's fighter coming into land and gets out once he landed and turns round and pulls out a small package from behind his seat and goes up to Nabiki and Whistler "who's that for?" Whistler asked looking at the package in Ranma's hands "it's for Kasumi." Ranma replied before he walked away and goes to find Kasumi, finding her in the infirmary "hey Kasumi, package for you."
"Thank you Ranma." Kasumi said before she took the package from Ranma and puts it to one side as Ranma leaves and begins to wonder who the package came from before she opens it and reads the letter and realises who it was from, meanwhile Nabiki was still trying to track down the ever elusive Ranma and was having trouble trying to find him and asks around and got the same reply from everyone she asked. Elsewhere Ranma was writing a letter to McQuade's family.
"I never really did like writing these."
He finishes the letter and proof reads it before sending it to McQuade's family before he leaves where he was and goes to find his squadron and finds them sat in the reccy room sat around doing nothing and waiting for the call to action "hey Nabiki's looking for you." Whistler said as Ranma walked over to them and sat on a stool with his back to the door when Nabiki walks in and spots him and goes over to him "Ranma can I talk to you for a moment?" Nabiki asked.
"Sure."
Nabiki and Ranma leave as everyone in the room makes whipping sounds making Ranma turn round "cut that out." He said before he leaves and follows Nabiki to her quarters "What was it you wanted to ask?" Ranma asked as he closed the door behind him "Ranma, I wanted to ask you something." Nabiki said, "That's why I'm here." Ranma replied flashing her a grin making Nabiki blush "I… I wanted to know if you love me?" she asked making Ranma rather nervous and scratches the back of his neck whilst sweat dropping "it's kinda awkward at the moment." Ranma replied.
"I understand."
Ranma sees the tears welling up in Nabiki's eyes before he goes to leave and stops at her door "I'm really sorry, you know where I live so you can talk to me anytime." Ranma said before he left and heads back to the reccy room while Nabiki just sits on her bed planning her next move on getting Ranma.
"So, what's going on between you and Nabiki?"
"Nothing." Ranma replied before he left the reccy room and went to the hanger where the wreckage of McQuade's fighter now sat to one side and looks at it and can still hear the sounds of the techs running to the fighter and the smell of the leaking fuel still burned in his nose before he left and headed to his quarters and sits on his bed before putting his head in his hands and looks at the floor before taking his flight jacket off and putting it to one side as Ranko walks in.
"It's strange without McQuade now."
"Sure is Ranko." Ranma replied as he begins to remember how he and McQuade had first met.
Flashback
As the battle of Pluto raged Ranma's fighter crashed right next to an AEF airstrip and Ranma got out of his fighter and reported in to the commanders building but they didn't have any transport at the moment before the sirens went off causing them to run out of the building and to an AA gun "you know how to use this?"
"Yeah, you keep loading and I'll keep firing!" Ranma shouted as he swung the AA gun round and opens fire at several enemy fires and keeps track of them as they fly low towards them as the commander of the airstrip keeps on feeding the guns as Ranma keeps on firing at them hitting the lead enemy fighter before it crashes as the other fighters peel off "COMING IN AT TEN O'CLOCK!" this makes Ranma turn the gun round and opens fire quickly destroys the enemy fighters before the squadron living at the airstrip land and Ranma recognised the lead fighter.
"Took your time John."
"Ranma. thought you were dead." John replied as he got out of his fighter "I need your help John, I need to get back to my squadron." Ranma never finished his sentence as John motioned for Ranma to follow him to John's quarters and John goes inside and comes out a minute later with a heavily modified motorcycle.
"You'll get it back."
"Relax." John said as Ranma got on it and kick started it and heads back to his squadron, along the way he narrowly avoids enemy fire as he heads back to his squadrons airstrip. When he gets there he stops the bike and gets off and wheels it to outside the commanders office before he goes in and reports in and comes out and waits for his squadron in the waiting room and finds someone waiting.
"You new on this strip?" Ranma asked.
"Yes sir."
"Don't call me sir." Ranma replied as he sat down and looked out of the window keeping an eye out if his squadron lands "so kid, you a new gunner?" Ranma asked the person "no, I'm a new pilot. I've been assigned to Rogue squadron."
"I never knew we were getting a new pilot."
"John McQuade."
"Squadron leader Ranma Saotome." Ranma replied as his squadron landed and Ranma stood in the doorway watching as they got out "I can't believe Ranma got shot down." Yui said as she climbed out of her fighter "never saw him bail." The person next to her said before they spot Ranma standing in the doorway "don't count me out of the game yet." Ranma said before he introduces McQuade to the squadron.
End flashback
"When you think about it, he had a good innings with the squadron."
"Sure did." Ranko replied before she left and Ranma lay down on the bed staring at the ceiling thinking back on all the memories of all the times he and McQuade kept on getting into fights before smiling slightly but now McQuade was dead and there was nothing they could have done to save him.
Later
Ranma hadn't moved from his spot and his squadron were getting worried about it and decided to call in the person who had known him for a long time… Nabiki "personally, I'd leave him alone for a while." Nabiki said before she walks away and goes to her quarters and prepares her plan for Ranma and gets changed into civvies before putting her flight jacket back on and leaves her room and heads to Ranma's quarters. When she gets there she enters his room and finds him asleep before climbing into his bed with him.
"I wonder if he loves me."
"I do." Ranma said before Nabiki realised that he wasn't asleep and turns round to look at him before kissing him.
Authors note: I will get around to redoing chapters 8 & 9.