~~~~~~~
Chapter 3h: The Perfect End To A Perfect Day
~~~~~~~
Phaseworld Center, Free Trade Zone (Naruni Enterprise's Headquarters)
Trader Smythers paced nervously, even within the relative security
of his own office he didn't dare let his guard down. Being on the
Board of Directors for Naruni meant that he had to not only worry
about rivals such as the Splugorth, but threats from within the company
as well. There were far too many ambitious beings surrounding him for
Smythers to ever totally relax no matter how well he was protected.
Especially now, the current operation that was on his authorization was
both risky and potentially dangerous to the company itself. If any of the
other members were to find out about this there was a more then likely
chance that Smythers would be *retired* from the Board. Such a
retirement usually involved a NE 20 mm plasma cartridge at point
blank range.
Yes, the risks of taking action were great. But the dangers of not doing anything
at all were much, much greater. The information Saotome possessed couldn't
destroy the company, but it would give Naruni's public reputation one heck
of a black eye if it was ever made public. Yet Smythers had been unable
to take any direct action against the troublesome officer while he had been
surrounded by friends and connections. There would have been too many
questions raised. Questions with dangerous answers, answers that might
lead to old secrets that the Trader intended to keep buried at all costs.
But now that the irritating flea had foolishly disconnected himself from
his support network there was an opportunity here to finally get rid
of the pesky threat once and for all. Separated from his allies,
Saotome would simply quietly disappear, never to be heard from again.
Smythers had no intention of wasting this chance he had been given.
Any remaining trace of the botched M'kri affair would finally be
eliminated. And if his agents could get their hands on the disc as well,
so much the better.
"Do you understand your orders? I want no mistakes this time."
The dark metallic form that stood at attention nodded once.
"Make absolutely sure that we can't be traced in any way to this."
It nodded again with a trace of impatience, this briefing was unnecessary.
It knew what had to be done, the orders had already been directly uploaded
into its system. But Smythers was the one in charge, so it had to humor
him.
Thankfully, the director soon finished and dismissed the subordinate.
It left the office quickly, this kind of business always left a bad taste
in its internal recepters. In a way it was a pity really.
Kehal Redge was a shrewd negotiator, one of the company's finest. But he
was also a very efficient enforcer and downright lethal (though reluctant)
assassin. Although he maintained a healthy professional respect for Ranma,
that wouldn't stop him nor would it sway from his duty. Naruni Repo-bots
served the company with no exceptions, no excuses, and no mercy.
~~~~~~~
-The planet Ristmoth
The capital was in a state of revolt as Imperial garrisons
battled rioting citizens for control of the city. Rebel
warships bombarded any detected signs of military
fortification from high orbit, paving the way for the
descending transports. Meanwhile, armed with Naruni
plasma rifles and portable missile launchers provided by
the Alliance months before, the locals threw themselves
against their long hated oppressors with a vengeance.
Blood ran rampant in the streets as they clashed with
seasoned Kreeghor shock troopers. Humans and D-bees
alike died by the score against the well entrenched Imperial
forces, but inch by costly inch they clawed their way forward.
Civilian hovercars with hastily added armaments and portable
force fields faced off against hovertanks and military class powered
armors, only sheer numbers gave them any sort of edge against the
superior army weaponry.
It was a terrible slaughter that went on and on beyond any standard
of sanity, men and women who had lost their weapons earlier were
clawing and biting at their foes where the fighting had broken down
into chaotic close combat. Against the natural armoring of the Kreeghor
and Machine People troopers all their efforts were usually for naught
and death usually followed swiftly. The rebels fared a tad better against
the Human,Wolfen, and Silloutte troops, the sight of fellow soldiers being
literally torn to shreds by wild-eyed rioters sent military morale plunging
to new depths.
Then someone came up with the bright idea of improvising weapons
from the high tech construction equipment that lay across the city,
abandoned by their owners at the beginning of the attack. Laser torches,
plasma drills, and construction bots soon joined the general melee,
and this time it was the Kreeghor's turns to do the dying.
Bodies and pieces of bodies went flying everywhere as weapons
and heavy explosives found their mark, even after centuries of
refinement the business of warfare was still quite messy, and
especially now it showed. Corpses started to quickly pile knee
high in the streets, the smoking remains quickly growing rank
under the putrefying heat of the glaring sun. More were pulped
under the treads of high-tech armored killing machines that crushed
enemy and ally alike indiscriminately.
After a hundred years of pain and suffering under the
iron foot of the Keeghor Empire, it was all finally being
repaid in the work of a single brutal day. High Governor
K'tarthkl'ppe Ryga had earned a special hatred in the
hearts of the planet's people for his harsh rule and
exploitation of those lacking enough funds to bribe him
and his administration.
Millions had died working as forced laborers in the most
hazardous and ill equipped areas of the industrial areas,
thousands more had been seized and sold into slavery on
the slightest excuse or whim. The depravities that those
poor souls were forced to endure made the slow lingering
deaths of the workers by starvation, radiation poisoning,
asphyxiation, and disease seem like a blessing.
Ryga had grown fat while the populace starved to death
just a few yards beyond his diamond gates. The rebellion
had no intention of taking him alive, the sadistic monster
had been responsible for too many outrages, had sent
too many good people to their death. They would bring
out his head on a pike to be paraded across the entire planet.
~~~~~~~
Dennis Skythe let loose a blistering oath as he picked off a sniper
defending the governor's palace before ducking back down to avoid
the return fire from the other troops defending the tyrant's stronghold.
"Damn, I'm gettin' too old for this crap."
Though his hair had gone completely milky white in the last
few years and his body wasn't as strong as it had been, the
general of the Resistance was still a formidable trooper.
He signaled back to one of the soldiers in his squad, within
moments a disposable one shot heavy rocket launcher was hauled
up to his position behind one of the many fortified buildings
that surrounded the decadent estate of the planetary tyrant.
The cleverly designed Naruni weapon allowed Dennis to use the
built in targeting to lock onto a heavy Dreadguard Tank defending
the main entrance without exposing any part of himself to the enemy.
A moment later a heavy armor piercing warhead came shooting down
the street, penetrating deeply into the hard outer shell before exploding
violently in the soft electrical innards of the machine. The thick blast
armor actually increased the destruction caused by containing the explosion
inside of the tank.
With its propulsion system gone, there was nothing to keep gravity
from asserting itself. The enormous hulk keeled over with a groan,
squashing three troopers that weren't fast enough to get out of the
way in time. Whoops and cheers erupted from the other rebels as
they renewed their assault on the now rapidly weakening Imperial
position. The high pitched whine of balls of energized particles being
fired from Imperial rifles mingled with the roar of plasma discharges
from the freedom fighter's own weapons.
Skythe turned to see that the leaders of the revolt were
making their way to him, despite his insistence that
they remain back at a safer distance from the front lines.
But there wasn't much he could do, this was their planet. He
was just here as an advisor from the Free Worlds. The real
leaders of this planet's rebellion were an unusual lot,
two humans, a machine person, and a Silhouette. But they
had all rallied under the cause of freedom, so now it was
Skythe's job to keep them alive so that their dream
would succeed. He sighed and wiped the sweat off of a brow that
had the consistency of dried leather. Those civilian leader types
were going to be the death of him, he just knew it. Then the grizzled
old rebel looked up toward the clear blue sky where flashes of light
still appeared every few moments.
"I wager those fleet boys are having a peach of a time right now."
~~~~~~~~
BGM: Irresponsible Captain Tylor: The Soyokaze battle theme
(Yes, it does have one!)
-Above the planet
"All hands brace for impact!!"
Alarm klaxons sounded as the corvette made an abrupt right
turn and rolled 90 degrees in a desperate attempt to either
dodge, or failing that, to minimize the blast damage of the
incoming bundles of high powered death.
Though the Shadowstar prototype was fast and heavily armed,
it had one major flaw. The ship's engines, no matter how advanced
and powerful they were, could not supply the necessary power for
*all* of the energy hungry systems onboard. Especially when in a
combat situation, the ship's guns and forcefield simply required
too much power in active mode, which meant that sacrifices among
the nonessential systems had to be made. So in exchange for an
armament that outgunned anything smaller then a good sized battleship,
the crew was forced to put up with some rather trying inconveniences.
One of the biggest of which had been the inertial dampeners, the device
that kept the people onboard from being squashed to the thickness of
a pancake every time the Untamed Stallion changed her velocity or
direction. During non-combat operations it was set at the normal rate
for a vessel of her size. But in battle the dampeners were reduced to
their lowest possible safety setting to keep the enormous drain on the
engines down, even then the strain of acceleration was so rough that
the normal humans and D-bees were required to wear full environmental
body armor to their stations.
Sammy, the Untamed Stallion's navigator and helmsman was nearly
thrown from her seat despite her safety harness as the force of inertia
tried to smash her into the ceiling. She was forced to hang onto the
guidance controls for dear life to prevent the ship from slipping out of
her control. The plan had worked to a "T", the cruise missiles were
currently doing their best to kill them instead of the transports. Now
all they had to do survive their success long enough to deal with the
stubborn warheads before they were blown to kingdom come.
Point defense managed to take out one more before the rest closed in.
One of the nine remaining missiles actually skidded off of the
ship's shields before detonating, thanks to Sammy's amazing
maneuvering only part of the blast caught the protective barrier.
The bluish green energy bubble flickered momentarily as the
damage was absorbed and dispersed across the entire facing side,
but stabilized quickly as more power was drawn from the shield
generators. The next three overshot their target and came around
for another pass, but hot on their heels was the return fire from
the corvette's guns.
One of the missiles was winged but not badly enough to cause
it to self destruct, the other two went into preprogrammed
evasive maneuvers that were only partially successful.
A lucky laser beam sliced off a stabilizer, sending the
rocket careening wildly away from the ship and back into
the planet's atmosphere where it impacted and detonated
harmlessly. Another missile impacted against the Untamed
Stallion's shield which still held, though the forcefield's
color dimmed and became almost totally transparent as it
was exposed to the full destructive fury of an uncontrolled
antimatter reaction. Yet another missile was intercepted by
point defense, but the last five came as a volley and there
was no chance to dodge this time. The intrepid vessel was
engulfed by the ensuing chain of explosions.
~~~~~~~~~~
Eyecatch #5
(Fade in)
(Caption: Washu's guaranteed way to decide who Ranma ends up with!)
(Overhead shot of a spinning roulette wheel, instead
of numbers on the panels there are the names and pictures
of various interested ladies.)
(A SD version of Ranma's head is thrown in as a roulette
ball. It goes bouncing along inside the spinning circle.)
(SD Ranma Head: "Ouch! Oof! Hey! Doh!")
(The little head passes several dozen names before it lands
in Washu's panel and sticks there.)
(Washu: "Oh my! It looks like the one Ranma is
destined to be with is me!!")
(The other girls: "Oh no you don't!!!")
(Mihoshi: "Um...Washu, why is your panel coated with superglue?")
(Washu: "Mihoshi!! *Sees that the girls aren't
taking this development very well* Uh oh...")
The SD head takes matters into its own hands and
manages to free itself with some difficulty.)
*Rip*
SD Ranma Head: "Owww!! You girls are all nuts!! I'm outta here!!!"
(It bounces out of the wheel and starts to escape.)
(Washu: "Wait for me!!")
(Washu runs after the bouncing head)
(A moment later all the girls start chasing after them, telling
SD Ranma to be a man and pick one of them. The strength of their
argument is hampered by the fact that most of them are also packing
several blunt instruments to *persuade* him who to pick.)
(The real Ranma is shown to be hanging overhead with a resigned
expression on his face. He's wrapped up in so many chains that it looks
like he's in a metal cocoon.)
(Ranma: "Would someone please untie me now?")
(Fadeout)
~~~~~~~
-Juuban
Urd walked straight up to Ranma. The fact that the
Knight was bigger then she was didn't seem to deter
her aggressive stance at all as she poked a manicured
finger against his breastplate. It felt like she was tapping
against a brick wall. That almost gave her pause for thought.
Almost.
"Okay you, I want some answers."
"..."
Ranma stayed silent.
This whole situation was rapidly spiraling out
of his control, and he didn't like it. But before
he got himself into even more trouble then he probably
was in already, he needed to know what in the Nine
Bleedin' Hells he was dealing with here!
{Damn, I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this again.
But I can't keep plunging around blindly anymore, all
the power in the universe won't save me if I don't have any
idea of what (or who) I have to watch out for. So far the
score is Murphy's Law: "Way too many to count", Saotome: "Zero".}
A small unobtrusive brush of his left hand against his
right forearm, an infusion of mystic energy from his
internal reserves, and Ranma's vision suddenly changed as
his eyes now saw into a medium beyond the spectrum
of visible light or conventional instruments, simultaneously
expanding and narrowing his focus and opening his awareness to
a realm of sensitivity where he was normally blind as a bat.
The darkening surroundings now glowed softly with occasional
blue flares marking the swirling eddies of power that fed
the hungry storm brewing overhead. A second look at Urd was
enough to cause Ranma to tense up involuntarily and take a
wary step back.
This was bad.
This was very bad.
This was "The Universe is using me as its personal chamberpot" bad.
Most normal people tended to have auras that were little
more then blobs of grey with the occasional streak of red, blue,
black, green, yellow, or pink to determine alignment. Those who
were either naturally strong in the supernatural or had trained
themselves in the way of magic had auras that were rough
approximations of their natural form and were usually a mixture
of one or more of the basic colors. Adult dragons and the like had
auras that were even more impressive, individual details peculiar
to the being in question could often be made out by those who
could see it.
The auras overlaying this exotic woman's physical body were *very*
realistic. That's right, auras, as in plural. The first one was
an almost perfect replica of the original body, right down to the
individual strands of hair cascading down her neck. It was the
second one that towered over the first that sent a shiver down
his spine, seeing the true form of a kami tends to have that
effect on anyone that's not one of them, even a Cosmoknight
wasn't immune from the effect. It also didn't help Ranma's
confidence any that both auras looked a *lot* more substantial
then the 'real' form.
The other little thing was the telling lack of any garments
on those images. Not that Ranma really noticed this,
since it didn't have any tactical significance that
little observation was shuffled off to a far distant
corner of his otherwise preoccupied mind where it would
be filed away with all those other little things that
Saotome either didn't think were important or just didn't understand.
While this dusty little corner wasn't as big as it used to be,
it still maintained a respectable amount of volume.
What he did know was:
1.) This lady wasn't human.
2.) She was *much* more intimidating than an adult dragon.
3.) Judging from the way the intensity of the colors kept
constantly shifting from one extreme to another, while she
had oodles and oodles of power, she almost certainly lacked control.
That was both a good thing and a bad thing, good because
it meant that she probably wouldn't be able to cast any of
those really nasty high level spells that required discipline
and focus. Bad, because if things came down to a fight there
was absolutely *nothing* more dangerous then an unpredictable
female. Well...except perhaps a group of jealous unpredictable
females...(ahem) getting back to the current crisis at hand...
Reflexively he looked over his shoulder for a way out.
No dice, eight pairs of eyes were looking right back at him.
{Wait a second. Eight?}
You could almost see those little gears turning in his head
come screeching to a halt. Now that Ranma could actually
'see' them, he was getting quite an eyeful.
The tall girl in the green fuku was mostly a mixture of medium
green and blue, with green holding dominance. No surprise there.
What was a surprise was that instead of manifesting as a person
or creature like most beings, her inner self was projected as a tree.
A tall majestic oak tree to be precise. Ranma had heard stories
about this kind of thing, it was rumored that occasionally those
with strong ties to nature and the natural order reflected that bond
in their auras. There was also a small red stain that ran into the
very heart of the tree that looked like an old emotional wound that
had never fully healed. He prayed that the light pink tint on the
very fringes was a mistake, that kinda thing was only supposed
to plague his human form.
The girl in the blue fuku was slightly more normal.
'Slightly' being the key word here. A standard
'real-form' projection, while not as luminous
as the others it was remarkably well structured.
Almost completely ocean blue, her aura was
a textbook example of calm and tranquility.
This would be a good person to cover his back in
a fight, someone who remained cool under fire.
It didn't hurt matters any that she wasn't hard on the
eyes either. She looked like his best chance to talk
things out later if he ever ran into these girls again,
a possibility that he was finding more and more likely
with every passing moment.
Now, the cute blonde in the orange fuku wasn't what
he'd expected. Her colors were much richer in tone
then her companions, but the very fringes were worn
and lacked a certain vibrancy that the others had.
This one wasn't a stranger to battle, definitely some combat
experience here. She looked pretty good (nowhere near his
level of course), but there seemed to be some kind of block
that was keeping most of her potential locked up. It required
some pretty heavy duty magic to accomplish something like that,
but for what reason? Uh oh, that pink showing was definitely there
and getting more solid every minute. Definitely not good!
The quiet one in the violet fuku seemed normal enough, but a
little *too* normal. Despite the fact that it was exactly what he'd
expect from someone her age with some minor psychic ability
it just didn't seem to fit with the person he saw before him. But
try as he might Ranma couldn't find anything else, she had a benevolent
alignment and possessed a small amount of supernatural talent and
that was it. But still, something about her aura bothered him...
Now Mr. Fashion Embarrassment wasn't much to look at. Ranma
had seen imps with more impressive fighting spirit. With such
a weak aura challenging even a minor supernatural fiend would
be an automatic death sentence. This guy was either really brave,
really stupid, or just plain nuts. Judging from his earlier actions,
Ranma was willing to lay money on the latter theories. But maybe,
just maybe, by the smallest, most remote margins of possibilities,
that little spark of power within his soul might actually amount to
something worthwhile under the right circumstances.
The little girl he'd rescued was another story all together. In
all his years adventuring he had never seen anything even
remotely like this. A natural living Power Nexus, and untrained
to boot. No wonder those things had been after her, she was a
walking battery of potential psychic energy! Although unable to
use the power that they generated for themselves, with the proper
training these incredibly rare talents could temporarily boost another
person's personal power. This would allow a magic user to cast spells
and attempt rituals normally only possible during solstices and solar
eclipses, special times when magic was at its strongest.
But it normally took decades of training to achieve the
abilities of a Nexus and only a dedicated few had ever
succeeded to the best of his knowledge.
{What's going on here?!}
He almost missed the news crew. Compared to everyone else there they
were like weak shadows on the wall, eclipsed by the brilliant lights
shining around them. In fact he would have missed them entirely if
the one holding the camera hadn't come closer for a better angle.
The sudden movement in his direction caused him to instinctively
focus his attention on them, but he quickly determined that they
were no threat.
Out of curiosity Ranma did a quick scan of the girl
that was still unconscious. She was a Godling as
he'd guessed earlier, the signs were unmistakable now.
His effort was also rewarded with a fascinating discovery,
yet another double aura! Not anywhere near as strong as
that mystery woman's, but remarkable nonetheless.
There was even a faint resemblence to the other aura,
were they siblings? If so, that might explain the woman's
agitation.
That little nagging feeling that something was wrong was back...
{Wait a second. A news crew?}
The full impact finally started to sink in.
{...A NEWS CREW?!!}
The equation was simple, but not at all comforting.
Media + Cosmoknight = A whole lotta trouble.
And that also meant...
...Uh oh.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey! Are you hard of hearing or something?"
Seeing that no response was forthcoming,
Urd decided to change her tactics. The buxom
goddess stalked forward until she was practically
in the poor guy's faceplate. Her voice took on a
sultry tone, and her body started to move in ways
that made it quite clear that she was very much a
woman.
"Well? I'm waiting for an explanation."
She emphasized her point by somehow getting even *closer*.
You could now slip one, maybe even two sheets of paper
between their respective forms, but no more.
The Inner Senshi glared.
The news crew started drooling.
Ranma was suddenly very grateful for his armor's
ability to automatically adjust itself to fit his
form, thereby avoiding a potentially embarrassing
predicament. Of course given the circumstances
he would have had to be dead as a doornail *not*
to be affected.
{Well, at least it can't get any worse.}
"So are we."
Oh damn.
{Just had to think it, didn't I.}
The rest of the Outer Senshi were here.
~~~~~~~
BGM: Space Lonely Soldier (Megumi Hayashibara)
With a resigned sense of dread Ranma looked up.
"I am the protector of a new age, Sailor Uranus!"
"I am the soldier of elegance, Sailor Neptune."
{Oh boy...}
The other girls he could understand,
they were still young enough to get
away with the whole fuku thing.
He might not approve of their choice
of combat apparel, but at least it
wasn't tacky. The same could not be
said of these new arrivals.
The short haired blonde could have passed for a good looking guy,
at least until you looked below the neck. Not exactly his type,
but she was a looker in her own right. Of course her attractiveness
was dimmed a bit by the dark looks she was giving him.
Talk about hostility, this one was just oozing bad vibes.
Nice legs though.
The girl with sea-green hair was a bit nicer to look at,
but still seemed out of place in the fuku. She was harder
to read, her expression was as cool as ice. But it was
a safe guess to say that her intentions were not
friendly. One did not make a dramatic entrance
from a strategically advantageous spot in order
to invite someone to tea and crumpets.
Unfortunately these two had the power
to back up their pretty speeches.
One of them alone he could have handled
with little worry, but dealing with
both at once would probably require
more then he was able to use in a
heavily populated area. His ethical
and moral code would not allow him
to risk such an action unless it was
a real emergency.
This hadn't reached that point of no return yet,
but it was getting there.
Their psychic energy signatures were each about half
as strong as his own, which meant that they were about
twice as powerful as the fuku wearing girls who were
already here. Unfortunately their higher level of experience
also meant that they could partially shield their auras from
his detection. There was no telling what other kind of
nasty surprises they might be hiding, he'd have to treat it
as a worse case scenerio until he knew otherwise. Ranma
especially did not like the look of that sword. It had to be
magical, nobody in their right mind would ever use such a
silly looking weapon unless it was enchanted with some
heavy duty power ups. Too bad that his tattoo didn't allow
him to check items, it only worked on living things.
The third member of their troop was a whole different
story altogether. Not only was she the best looking
of the three but her power level was...
{Oh shit.}
(To be continued...)
Chapter 3h: The Perfect End To A Perfect Day
~~~~~~~
Phaseworld Center, Free Trade Zone (Naruni Enterprise's Headquarters)
Trader Smythers paced nervously, even within the relative security
of his own office he didn't dare let his guard down. Being on the
Board of Directors for Naruni meant that he had to not only worry
about rivals such as the Splugorth, but threats from within the company
as well. There were far too many ambitious beings surrounding him for
Smythers to ever totally relax no matter how well he was protected.
Especially now, the current operation that was on his authorization was
both risky and potentially dangerous to the company itself. If any of the
other members were to find out about this there was a more then likely
chance that Smythers would be *retired* from the Board. Such a
retirement usually involved a NE 20 mm plasma cartridge at point
blank range.
Yes, the risks of taking action were great. But the dangers of not doing anything
at all were much, much greater. The information Saotome possessed couldn't
destroy the company, but it would give Naruni's public reputation one heck
of a black eye if it was ever made public. Yet Smythers had been unable
to take any direct action against the troublesome officer while he had been
surrounded by friends and connections. There would have been too many
questions raised. Questions with dangerous answers, answers that might
lead to old secrets that the Trader intended to keep buried at all costs.
But now that the irritating flea had foolishly disconnected himself from
his support network there was an opportunity here to finally get rid
of the pesky threat once and for all. Separated from his allies,
Saotome would simply quietly disappear, never to be heard from again.
Smythers had no intention of wasting this chance he had been given.
Any remaining trace of the botched M'kri affair would finally be
eliminated. And if his agents could get their hands on the disc as well,
so much the better.
"Do you understand your orders? I want no mistakes this time."
The dark metallic form that stood at attention nodded once.
"Make absolutely sure that we can't be traced in any way to this."
It nodded again with a trace of impatience, this briefing was unnecessary.
It knew what had to be done, the orders had already been directly uploaded
into its system. But Smythers was the one in charge, so it had to humor
him.
Thankfully, the director soon finished and dismissed the subordinate.
It left the office quickly, this kind of business always left a bad taste
in its internal recepters. In a way it was a pity really.
Kehal Redge was a shrewd negotiator, one of the company's finest. But he
was also a very efficient enforcer and downright lethal (though reluctant)
assassin. Although he maintained a healthy professional respect for Ranma,
that wouldn't stop him nor would it sway from his duty. Naruni Repo-bots
served the company with no exceptions, no excuses, and no mercy.
~~~~~~~
-The planet Ristmoth
The capital was in a state of revolt as Imperial garrisons
battled rioting citizens for control of the city. Rebel
warships bombarded any detected signs of military
fortification from high orbit, paving the way for the
descending transports. Meanwhile, armed with Naruni
plasma rifles and portable missile launchers provided by
the Alliance months before, the locals threw themselves
against their long hated oppressors with a vengeance.
Blood ran rampant in the streets as they clashed with
seasoned Kreeghor shock troopers. Humans and D-bees
alike died by the score against the well entrenched Imperial
forces, but inch by costly inch they clawed their way forward.
Civilian hovercars with hastily added armaments and portable
force fields faced off against hovertanks and military class powered
armors, only sheer numbers gave them any sort of edge against the
superior army weaponry.
It was a terrible slaughter that went on and on beyond any standard
of sanity, men and women who had lost their weapons earlier were
clawing and biting at their foes where the fighting had broken down
into chaotic close combat. Against the natural armoring of the Kreeghor
and Machine People troopers all their efforts were usually for naught
and death usually followed swiftly. The rebels fared a tad better against
the Human,Wolfen, and Silloutte troops, the sight of fellow soldiers being
literally torn to shreds by wild-eyed rioters sent military morale plunging
to new depths.
Then someone came up with the bright idea of improvising weapons
from the high tech construction equipment that lay across the city,
abandoned by their owners at the beginning of the attack. Laser torches,
plasma drills, and construction bots soon joined the general melee,
and this time it was the Kreeghor's turns to do the dying.
Bodies and pieces of bodies went flying everywhere as weapons
and heavy explosives found their mark, even after centuries of
refinement the business of warfare was still quite messy, and
especially now it showed. Corpses started to quickly pile knee
high in the streets, the smoking remains quickly growing rank
under the putrefying heat of the glaring sun. More were pulped
under the treads of high-tech armored killing machines that crushed
enemy and ally alike indiscriminately.
After a hundred years of pain and suffering under the
iron foot of the Keeghor Empire, it was all finally being
repaid in the work of a single brutal day. High Governor
K'tarthkl'ppe Ryga had earned a special hatred in the
hearts of the planet's people for his harsh rule and
exploitation of those lacking enough funds to bribe him
and his administration.
Millions had died working as forced laborers in the most
hazardous and ill equipped areas of the industrial areas,
thousands more had been seized and sold into slavery on
the slightest excuse or whim. The depravities that those
poor souls were forced to endure made the slow lingering
deaths of the workers by starvation, radiation poisoning,
asphyxiation, and disease seem like a blessing.
Ryga had grown fat while the populace starved to death
just a few yards beyond his diamond gates. The rebellion
had no intention of taking him alive, the sadistic monster
had been responsible for too many outrages, had sent
too many good people to their death. They would bring
out his head on a pike to be paraded across the entire planet.
~~~~~~~
Dennis Skythe let loose a blistering oath as he picked off a sniper
defending the governor's palace before ducking back down to avoid
the return fire from the other troops defending the tyrant's stronghold.
"Damn, I'm gettin' too old for this crap."
Though his hair had gone completely milky white in the last
few years and his body wasn't as strong as it had been, the
general of the Resistance was still a formidable trooper.
He signaled back to one of the soldiers in his squad, within
moments a disposable one shot heavy rocket launcher was hauled
up to his position behind one of the many fortified buildings
that surrounded the decadent estate of the planetary tyrant.
The cleverly designed Naruni weapon allowed Dennis to use the
built in targeting to lock onto a heavy Dreadguard Tank defending
the main entrance without exposing any part of himself to the enemy.
A moment later a heavy armor piercing warhead came shooting down
the street, penetrating deeply into the hard outer shell before exploding
violently in the soft electrical innards of the machine. The thick blast
armor actually increased the destruction caused by containing the explosion
inside of the tank.
With its propulsion system gone, there was nothing to keep gravity
from asserting itself. The enormous hulk keeled over with a groan,
squashing three troopers that weren't fast enough to get out of the
way in time. Whoops and cheers erupted from the other rebels as
they renewed their assault on the now rapidly weakening Imperial
position. The high pitched whine of balls of energized particles being
fired from Imperial rifles mingled with the roar of plasma discharges
from the freedom fighter's own weapons.
Skythe turned to see that the leaders of the revolt were
making their way to him, despite his insistence that
they remain back at a safer distance from the front lines.
But there wasn't much he could do, this was their planet. He
was just here as an advisor from the Free Worlds. The real
leaders of this planet's rebellion were an unusual lot,
two humans, a machine person, and a Silhouette. But they
had all rallied under the cause of freedom, so now it was
Skythe's job to keep them alive so that their dream
would succeed. He sighed and wiped the sweat off of a brow that
had the consistency of dried leather. Those civilian leader types
were going to be the death of him, he just knew it. Then the grizzled
old rebel looked up toward the clear blue sky where flashes of light
still appeared every few moments.
"I wager those fleet boys are having a peach of a time right now."
~~~~~~~~
BGM: Irresponsible Captain Tylor: The Soyokaze battle theme
(Yes, it does have one!)
-Above the planet
"All hands brace for impact!!"
Alarm klaxons sounded as the corvette made an abrupt right
turn and rolled 90 degrees in a desperate attempt to either
dodge, or failing that, to minimize the blast damage of the
incoming bundles of high powered death.
Though the Shadowstar prototype was fast and heavily armed,
it had one major flaw. The ship's engines, no matter how advanced
and powerful they were, could not supply the necessary power for
*all* of the energy hungry systems onboard. Especially when in a
combat situation, the ship's guns and forcefield simply required
too much power in active mode, which meant that sacrifices among
the nonessential systems had to be made. So in exchange for an
armament that outgunned anything smaller then a good sized battleship,
the crew was forced to put up with some rather trying inconveniences.
One of the biggest of which had been the inertial dampeners, the device
that kept the people onboard from being squashed to the thickness of
a pancake every time the Untamed Stallion changed her velocity or
direction. During non-combat operations it was set at the normal rate
for a vessel of her size. But in battle the dampeners were reduced to
their lowest possible safety setting to keep the enormous drain on the
engines down, even then the strain of acceleration was so rough that
the normal humans and D-bees were required to wear full environmental
body armor to their stations.
Sammy, the Untamed Stallion's navigator and helmsman was nearly
thrown from her seat despite her safety harness as the force of inertia
tried to smash her into the ceiling. She was forced to hang onto the
guidance controls for dear life to prevent the ship from slipping out of
her control. The plan had worked to a "T", the cruise missiles were
currently doing their best to kill them instead of the transports. Now
all they had to do survive their success long enough to deal with the
stubborn warheads before they were blown to kingdom come.
Point defense managed to take out one more before the rest closed in.
One of the nine remaining missiles actually skidded off of the
ship's shields before detonating, thanks to Sammy's amazing
maneuvering only part of the blast caught the protective barrier.
The bluish green energy bubble flickered momentarily as the
damage was absorbed and dispersed across the entire facing side,
but stabilized quickly as more power was drawn from the shield
generators. The next three overshot their target and came around
for another pass, but hot on their heels was the return fire from
the corvette's guns.
One of the missiles was winged but not badly enough to cause
it to self destruct, the other two went into preprogrammed
evasive maneuvers that were only partially successful.
A lucky laser beam sliced off a stabilizer, sending the
rocket careening wildly away from the ship and back into
the planet's atmosphere where it impacted and detonated
harmlessly. Another missile impacted against the Untamed
Stallion's shield which still held, though the forcefield's
color dimmed and became almost totally transparent as it
was exposed to the full destructive fury of an uncontrolled
antimatter reaction. Yet another missile was intercepted by
point defense, but the last five came as a volley and there
was no chance to dodge this time. The intrepid vessel was
engulfed by the ensuing chain of explosions.
~~~~~~~~~~
Eyecatch #5
(Fade in)
(Caption: Washu's guaranteed way to decide who Ranma ends up with!)
(Overhead shot of a spinning roulette wheel, instead
of numbers on the panels there are the names and pictures
of various interested ladies.)
(A SD version of Ranma's head is thrown in as a roulette
ball. It goes bouncing along inside the spinning circle.)
(SD Ranma Head: "Ouch! Oof! Hey! Doh!")
(The little head passes several dozen names before it lands
in Washu's panel and sticks there.)
(Washu: "Oh my! It looks like the one Ranma is
destined to be with is me!!")
(The other girls: "Oh no you don't!!!")
(Mihoshi: "Um...Washu, why is your panel coated with superglue?")
(Washu: "Mihoshi!! *Sees that the girls aren't
taking this development very well* Uh oh...")
The SD head takes matters into its own hands and
manages to free itself with some difficulty.)
*Rip*
SD Ranma Head: "Owww!! You girls are all nuts!! I'm outta here!!!"
(It bounces out of the wheel and starts to escape.)
(Washu: "Wait for me!!")
(Washu runs after the bouncing head)
(A moment later all the girls start chasing after them, telling
SD Ranma to be a man and pick one of them. The strength of their
argument is hampered by the fact that most of them are also packing
several blunt instruments to *persuade* him who to pick.)
(The real Ranma is shown to be hanging overhead with a resigned
expression on his face. He's wrapped up in so many chains that it looks
like he's in a metal cocoon.)
(Ranma: "Would someone please untie me now?")
(Fadeout)
~~~~~~~
-Juuban
Urd walked straight up to Ranma. The fact that the
Knight was bigger then she was didn't seem to deter
her aggressive stance at all as she poked a manicured
finger against his breastplate. It felt like she was tapping
against a brick wall. That almost gave her pause for thought.
Almost.
"Okay you, I want some answers."
"..."
Ranma stayed silent.
This whole situation was rapidly spiraling out
of his control, and he didn't like it. But before
he got himself into even more trouble then he probably
was in already, he needed to know what in the Nine
Bleedin' Hells he was dealing with here!
{Damn, I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this again.
But I can't keep plunging around blindly anymore, all
the power in the universe won't save me if I don't have any
idea of what (or who) I have to watch out for. So far the
score is Murphy's Law: "Way too many to count", Saotome: "Zero".}
A small unobtrusive brush of his left hand against his
right forearm, an infusion of mystic energy from his
internal reserves, and Ranma's vision suddenly changed as
his eyes now saw into a medium beyond the spectrum
of visible light or conventional instruments, simultaneously
expanding and narrowing his focus and opening his awareness to
a realm of sensitivity where he was normally blind as a bat.
The darkening surroundings now glowed softly with occasional
blue flares marking the swirling eddies of power that fed
the hungry storm brewing overhead. A second look at Urd was
enough to cause Ranma to tense up involuntarily and take a
wary step back.
This was bad.
This was very bad.
This was "The Universe is using me as its personal chamberpot" bad.
Most normal people tended to have auras that were little
more then blobs of grey with the occasional streak of red, blue,
black, green, yellow, or pink to determine alignment. Those who
were either naturally strong in the supernatural or had trained
themselves in the way of magic had auras that were rough
approximations of their natural form and were usually a mixture
of one or more of the basic colors. Adult dragons and the like had
auras that were even more impressive, individual details peculiar
to the being in question could often be made out by those who
could see it.
The auras overlaying this exotic woman's physical body were *very*
realistic. That's right, auras, as in plural. The first one was
an almost perfect replica of the original body, right down to the
individual strands of hair cascading down her neck. It was the
second one that towered over the first that sent a shiver down
his spine, seeing the true form of a kami tends to have that
effect on anyone that's not one of them, even a Cosmoknight
wasn't immune from the effect. It also didn't help Ranma's
confidence any that both auras looked a *lot* more substantial
then the 'real' form.
The other little thing was the telling lack of any garments
on those images. Not that Ranma really noticed this,
since it didn't have any tactical significance that
little observation was shuffled off to a far distant
corner of his otherwise preoccupied mind where it would
be filed away with all those other little things that
Saotome either didn't think were important or just didn't understand.
While this dusty little corner wasn't as big as it used to be,
it still maintained a respectable amount of volume.
What he did know was:
1.) This lady wasn't human.
2.) She was *much* more intimidating than an adult dragon.
3.) Judging from the way the intensity of the colors kept
constantly shifting from one extreme to another, while she
had oodles and oodles of power, she almost certainly lacked control.
That was both a good thing and a bad thing, good because
it meant that she probably wouldn't be able to cast any of
those really nasty high level spells that required discipline
and focus. Bad, because if things came down to a fight there
was absolutely *nothing* more dangerous then an unpredictable
female. Well...except perhaps a group of jealous unpredictable
females...(ahem) getting back to the current crisis at hand...
Reflexively he looked over his shoulder for a way out.
No dice, eight pairs of eyes were looking right back at him.
{Wait a second. Eight?}
You could almost see those little gears turning in his head
come screeching to a halt. Now that Ranma could actually
'see' them, he was getting quite an eyeful.
The tall girl in the green fuku was mostly a mixture of medium
green and blue, with green holding dominance. No surprise there.
What was a surprise was that instead of manifesting as a person
or creature like most beings, her inner self was projected as a tree.
A tall majestic oak tree to be precise. Ranma had heard stories
about this kind of thing, it was rumored that occasionally those
with strong ties to nature and the natural order reflected that bond
in their auras. There was also a small red stain that ran into the
very heart of the tree that looked like an old emotional wound that
had never fully healed. He prayed that the light pink tint on the
very fringes was a mistake, that kinda thing was only supposed
to plague his human form.
The girl in the blue fuku was slightly more normal.
'Slightly' being the key word here. A standard
'real-form' projection, while not as luminous
as the others it was remarkably well structured.
Almost completely ocean blue, her aura was
a textbook example of calm and tranquility.
This would be a good person to cover his back in
a fight, someone who remained cool under fire.
It didn't hurt matters any that she wasn't hard on the
eyes either. She looked like his best chance to talk
things out later if he ever ran into these girls again,
a possibility that he was finding more and more likely
with every passing moment.
Now, the cute blonde in the orange fuku wasn't what
he'd expected. Her colors were much richer in tone
then her companions, but the very fringes were worn
and lacked a certain vibrancy that the others had.
This one wasn't a stranger to battle, definitely some combat
experience here. She looked pretty good (nowhere near his
level of course), but there seemed to be some kind of block
that was keeping most of her potential locked up. It required
some pretty heavy duty magic to accomplish something like that,
but for what reason? Uh oh, that pink showing was definitely there
and getting more solid every minute. Definitely not good!
The quiet one in the violet fuku seemed normal enough, but a
little *too* normal. Despite the fact that it was exactly what he'd
expect from someone her age with some minor psychic ability
it just didn't seem to fit with the person he saw before him. But
try as he might Ranma couldn't find anything else, she had a benevolent
alignment and possessed a small amount of supernatural talent and
that was it. But still, something about her aura bothered him...
Now Mr. Fashion Embarrassment wasn't much to look at. Ranma
had seen imps with more impressive fighting spirit. With such
a weak aura challenging even a minor supernatural fiend would
be an automatic death sentence. This guy was either really brave,
really stupid, or just plain nuts. Judging from his earlier actions,
Ranma was willing to lay money on the latter theories. But maybe,
just maybe, by the smallest, most remote margins of possibilities,
that little spark of power within his soul might actually amount to
something worthwhile under the right circumstances.
The little girl he'd rescued was another story all together. In
all his years adventuring he had never seen anything even
remotely like this. A natural living Power Nexus, and untrained
to boot. No wonder those things had been after her, she was a
walking battery of potential psychic energy! Although unable to
use the power that they generated for themselves, with the proper
training these incredibly rare talents could temporarily boost another
person's personal power. This would allow a magic user to cast spells
and attempt rituals normally only possible during solstices and solar
eclipses, special times when magic was at its strongest.
But it normally took decades of training to achieve the
abilities of a Nexus and only a dedicated few had ever
succeeded to the best of his knowledge.
{What's going on here?!}
He almost missed the news crew. Compared to everyone else there they
were like weak shadows on the wall, eclipsed by the brilliant lights
shining around them. In fact he would have missed them entirely if
the one holding the camera hadn't come closer for a better angle.
The sudden movement in his direction caused him to instinctively
focus his attention on them, but he quickly determined that they
were no threat.
Out of curiosity Ranma did a quick scan of the girl
that was still unconscious. She was a Godling as
he'd guessed earlier, the signs were unmistakable now.
His effort was also rewarded with a fascinating discovery,
yet another double aura! Not anywhere near as strong as
that mystery woman's, but remarkable nonetheless.
There was even a faint resemblence to the other aura,
were they siblings? If so, that might explain the woman's
agitation.
That little nagging feeling that something was wrong was back...
{Wait a second. A news crew?}
The full impact finally started to sink in.
{...A NEWS CREW?!!}
The equation was simple, but not at all comforting.
Media + Cosmoknight = A whole lotta trouble.
And that also meant...
...Uh oh.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey! Are you hard of hearing or something?"
Seeing that no response was forthcoming,
Urd decided to change her tactics. The buxom
goddess stalked forward until she was practically
in the poor guy's faceplate. Her voice took on a
sultry tone, and her body started to move in ways
that made it quite clear that she was very much a
woman.
"Well? I'm waiting for an explanation."
She emphasized her point by somehow getting even *closer*.
You could now slip one, maybe even two sheets of paper
between their respective forms, but no more.
The Inner Senshi glared.
The news crew started drooling.
Ranma was suddenly very grateful for his armor's
ability to automatically adjust itself to fit his
form, thereby avoiding a potentially embarrassing
predicament. Of course given the circumstances
he would have had to be dead as a doornail *not*
to be affected.
{Well, at least it can't get any worse.}
"So are we."
Oh damn.
{Just had to think it, didn't I.}
The rest of the Outer Senshi were here.
~~~~~~~
BGM: Space Lonely Soldier (Megumi Hayashibara)
With a resigned sense of dread Ranma looked up.
"I am the protector of a new age, Sailor Uranus!"
"I am the soldier of elegance, Sailor Neptune."
{Oh boy...}
The other girls he could understand,
they were still young enough to get
away with the whole fuku thing.
He might not approve of their choice
of combat apparel, but at least it
wasn't tacky. The same could not be
said of these new arrivals.
The short haired blonde could have passed for a good looking guy,
at least until you looked below the neck. Not exactly his type,
but she was a looker in her own right. Of course her attractiveness
was dimmed a bit by the dark looks she was giving him.
Talk about hostility, this one was just oozing bad vibes.
Nice legs though.
The girl with sea-green hair was a bit nicer to look at,
but still seemed out of place in the fuku. She was harder
to read, her expression was as cool as ice. But it was
a safe guess to say that her intentions were not
friendly. One did not make a dramatic entrance
from a strategically advantageous spot in order
to invite someone to tea and crumpets.
Unfortunately these two had the power
to back up their pretty speeches.
One of them alone he could have handled
with little worry, but dealing with
both at once would probably require
more then he was able to use in a
heavily populated area. His ethical
and moral code would not allow him
to risk such an action unless it was
a real emergency.
This hadn't reached that point of no return yet,
but it was getting there.
Their psychic energy signatures were each about half
as strong as his own, which meant that they were about
twice as powerful as the fuku wearing girls who were
already here. Unfortunately their higher level of experience
also meant that they could partially shield their auras from
his detection. There was no telling what other kind of
nasty surprises they might be hiding, he'd have to treat it
as a worse case scenerio until he knew otherwise. Ranma
especially did not like the look of that sword. It had to be
magical, nobody in their right mind would ever use such a
silly looking weapon unless it was enchanted with some
heavy duty power ups. Too bad that his tattoo didn't allow
him to check items, it only worked on living things.
The third member of their troop was a whole different
story altogether. Not only was she the best looking
of the three but her power level was...
{Oh shit.}
(To be continued...)
