A Different Type of Visitor (ADTOV) Chapter 10

Standard disclaimer, don't own Ranma 1/2, or Rifts. Wish I had some stock or shares but I don't. I'm doing this for my enjoyment and for the enjoyment of any of my readers. May they continue reading my works after they read this.

Thanks again to all my reviewers.

Work on ADTOV is still in progress. Book 2 ADTOW is started and will be posted, as it's own story on and I'm not sure about other hosts as so far this is also posted in Ranchan Crossing bridges. Oh well. On with the Story

Yet another thing has been brought to me by one of my readers. The interior dimensions of the LightWar deep space reconnaissance vessel. Specifically that you would not be able to fit a 14 foot by 7 foot room in a craft 80 feet long by 45 feet wide. I am here to tell you that not only is it possible, but done all the time with today's technology. Thinks of the spacecraft of Rifts more like Naval ships than Fighter Jets.

The quote I had received on it was specifically comparing the LightWar to a F-22 fighter. Which is of course almost 80 engines and control systems for its internals. And the F-14 fighter is even worse by the way.

I modeled the LightWar closer to the Typhoon Special Forces Insertion Vessel, which is very close to 80 feet in length… and has berthing for 20. That also includes one massive GTE engine; by the way a GTE is a Gas Turbine Engine… the same style of engine found on a Boeing 747. I've seen these beauties many times by the way (the engine, not the typhoon, only been on a typhoon twice while in Bahrain). Also you can fit 12 bunks and lockers into a 14-foot by 7-foot area. That is that standard size on US Frigates (Oliver Hazard Perry class by the way) for two bunking cubes, now imagine fitting 60 of those in a room 40 feet wide by 30 feet long. Cramped ne? That was the berthing I lived in for 4 years. And for those of you reading this on Mazokou Ranma is stationed on the Abraham Lincoln, a ship berthed at the same base that the ship I was on. Just email him for confirmation on how cramped berthing can be sometime if you don't believe me. Remember his ship is only 1000 feet long (about the height of the Empire States Building by the way, or just longer than a foot ball field) and can house more than 5000 people without hot racking. That's why Aircraft carriers are known as cities at sea.

I am working on a drafting of the LightWar right now and hope to have it prepared before this chapter is released. Check my A/N's at the end to see if I've completed it, if so and you'd like a copy then review or email the request to me.

Thanks.

On with the fic.

Chapter 10

Herb-chan blocked a high punch from Akane and watched as the raven haired girl immediately went into a low guard position and shot her left foot out to mess up Akane's position. If this fight had happened a week ago Herb-chan's attack may have born fruits. However Akane had finally been showing some forward progress in the art so instead of trying to jump over the kick, or even block it, the girl shuffle stepped into it so that her shin hit Herb-chan's shin instead of Herb-chan kicking her knee.

The Chinese sometimes prince, sometimes princess reacted by tapping a double tap against Akane's right collarbone with her left backhand in a cross attack. Akane grabbed the hand before it could tap her collarbone a third time, which was becoming a bit bruised in the attack, and tried to do a domination move only to find that her opponent had somehow slipped free and was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and still couldn't find Herb-chan till…

"Look Up Akane." Herb-Chan said from directly above the raven-haired girl.

Akane did look up and saw the exotic princess of the musk seemingly hanging on the ceiling with what she would later swear was a slight shimmer to the air around her.

"Never think that an opponent is going to only attack you from the front. They can attack you from any angle, and from any direction." She said as she flipped to the ground, her pink and dark violet hair streaming behind her. Akane watched as Herb-chan suddenly froze and looked around. "Just a second Akane, I need to investigate something" The girl said with a far off gaze in her eyes.

"I wonder what that was about?" Akane asked to no one in particular as she watched her friend walk out of the room, her Chinese clothes and silks shimmering a little with the air displaced by her movement.

The reason that Herb-chan had left was that she had felt a presence enter the area, and while she had been sparing with her friend and unknowing fiancée the presence had come closer. She had continued to dismiss it until shortly after she had used her floating technique. Shortly after that she felt the presence seem to spike in power, or focus; she couldn't tell which. After excusing herself from Akane the Princess of the Musk went to investigate.

What she found surprised her only just a little bit. In the house was a black haired boy in Chinese fighting tangs, and there was also Genma shouting something at said boy. Judging from the youth's stance and mannerisms Herb-chan thought that this could only be Ranma, Genma's son that the two of them had been attempting to track down. However, even barring the fact that Ranma had regained his male form, Herb-chan felt that Genma might just be a bit out of line with the way he was treating his son.

She was about to step in when her eyes widened as she felt a flicker of the presence she had felt earlier and realized that there were two of them, not one. One of the presences came from the son of her companion, Genma. The other was entering the room. And though this girl may appear to be a sibling or otherwise, there was no way she was entirely human. Herb-chan watched as the new red haired girl walked up to Genma after he had said

something rather misogynistic and she waved one hand causing the water to lift up out of the glass of water into the form of a snake that quickly struck at Genma strait into his forehead. That casual display of power, mixed in with the fact that the girl had four arms instead of just two left no doubts in the neo-princess's head that she was at least part draconic.

Not wanting to be seen Herb-chan engaged a seldom-used skill of her peoples and damped her Ki fires to a degree that she'd almost appear to be invisible to any decent martial artist. She needed to find out more about these two half dragons before she confronted them as she had thought that the royal line of the Musk was the last decedents of the Dragons. Especially as it now appeared as if she was the last of her kind.

Scene Break

Ranma-kun and Shakeera watched as Genma in his cursed form turned away from them and walked away after their argument with him.

"I forgot about that." Ranma said as he turned to Shakeera.

"Forgot about what?" His companion said.

"That pops was cursed as well." Ranma said as he looked back at where his father had walked out of the building.

Shakeera looked over at where Genma-panda had walked away. "That was your father?" She asked.

"Yep. Though the Panda thing is going to take some getting used to. Suits him." Ranma-kun then shrugged his shoulders. "Hey I need to do some sparing… join me in the Dojo?"

Shakeera was about to nod her head and follow when she sensed the presence of a supernatural being suddenly dampen its energies nearby. Not able to track it with her passive Psionics anymore the four-armed girl wanted to find the being rather than to spar for a bit. "Not just yet Ranma. I've got something to do first." Shakeera turned away from Ranma and headed further into the house.

Ranma, being Ranma just shrugged his shoulders and went to the Dojo. Once there he saw the youngest Tendo daughter practicing a beginners form of his school. The pig tailed youth watched her for a moment and was about to correct her on a stance when she noticed him and fixed him with a glare that spoke volumes about her opinion of him.

Ranma decided to just let sleeping dogs lie in this case and went about his own exercise, albeit under the intense glare of Akane.

Scene Break

Genma had finally gotten back into his human form and was stomping determinedly towards where he thought his son to be practicing. "BOY!" he yelled out as he closed on the Dojo. "GET OUT HERE!"

Inside the Dojo Ranma-kun and Akane had finally gotten into a sort of rhythm of ignoring each other or, in Akane's case, glaring balefully. At the sound of his father's bellow Ranma got a bit distracted doing a spiral kick while balancing on his right big toe and fell over onto the fire bucket in the room.

The instant elfin looking red haired girl was more than happy to follow her fathers second order to join him outside the dojo. Of course, she led with a flying jump kick towards her old man instead of a regular walk like most earth bound humans would have done.

Scene Break

The Trans dimensional warrior known as Akuma was walking down a road somewhere in one of the prefectures of Tokyo. He was staring intently into his red half visor that covered his left eye. Visible on the lens were several alpha numeric symbols in an unknown language and some form of targeting reticule that darted around the visor and paused every now and then to highlight something in the obsidian beings vision.

Akuma stopped beside a 3 meter high wall as his visor blinked something at him. "Last place of known use" he said to no one in particular.

He looked directly at the wall and could see through the red screen several outlines of figures moving around, and many lines that could be seen overlaying everything. "Cease mapping function Scanner. Living beings only right now." He said.

A passerby looked at the strangely dressed being talking to itself in an unknown language and decided to leave whatever challenger it was be. Akuma couldn't have cared less of course, as he was more interested in watching a small humanoid female tossing around a larger humanoid male.

"Weak beings. Not even capable of self flight." He said in a derisive tone in his home language. "Scanner, power level." Akuma demanded of his visor. "Hrmph. Lower quadrant power. Must be beginning warriors."

Then the girl managed to throw the larger male into a recession in the ground. Akuma figured it was some form of decorative water gathering or pool as there were several aquatic beings moving around in the area. Then the Scanner's readings fluctuated briefly and the silhouette of the humanoid male was replaced with a silhouette of an Ursine male.

"Interesting, species morphing powers. Not common in humans in any dimension. But no active phase tech. These people could not be part of the crew of the LightWar." Akuma thought to himself. "Scanner must be malfunctioning. There should be at least one phase tech scanner or computer on this premises. If this is where it was detected that is."

The being shrugged his shoulders again and turned away from the compound wall to continue his walk through the streets of Nerima.

Scene Break

Shakeera was searching out whatever it was that had hidden itself behind an energetic shield. She didn't want to use any of her more invasive Psionics while she was a guest in someone's home, but anything that could remover it's presence from her Psionic senses so handily was something she felt needed watching out for.

She listened for Ranma's footfalls as he left the house to go to the dojo then she silenced her own footfalls and opened herself to the energies of the house. Her vision took on an almost surreal aspect as lines sharpened and colors deepened, creatures seemed to jump out of the woodwork as she watched an ant make it's way across the wooden floor. Said ant appeared to her enhanced vision to fill her entire plane of view when she focused on it. Everything from the mandibles on its head to the hair like filaments on its back stood out in stark relief in the eerie light that composed this aspect of her mind sight.

Unfocusing from the ant Shakeera noticed a fly buzzing nearby. She turned her mind to look at the other creature in the room and saw how the fly was confused by the flat plane that it kept bumping into. As if it could not conceive that something could be there. Shakeera had to almost forcibly remove her attention from the bug at this point. No matter how many times she invoked this ability, the four armed girl was always taken slightly aback when she used her mind sight to look around and detect things.

Once the trans-dimensional girl had come down from her visual euphoria she then got onto the reason she had invoked her powers to begin with. The searching out of whatever being had dampened its life forces in order to remain hidden.

Looking around, and once more getting distracted by the confused fly, Shakeera was able to sense a being on the other side of a nearby wall. She was about to just go over and ask the being what they were doing when she got a slight mischievous grin and invoked another power of hers. (1)

To Herb-chan, the girl she was attempting to observe went from just simply registering on her awareness to being like a magnesium flare seen just inches from the face. The four armed girls life powers had spiked dramatically and blossomed into a battle aura as far as the princess of the Musk was able to determine. Figuring out that she had been found out Herb-chan released her technique that she had been using and walked around the corner to come within sight of what she felt would be an angry martial artist, or even worse an angry dragon. Only to see that the girl stood there like normal with a slight smirk on her face.

"I see you decided to stop hiding?" The girl said to Herb-chan who was mustering some of her regal air to her as an attempt to stave off the fact that she had been startled not to find an angry opponent.

"Who says that I was hiding?" Herb-chan replied to Shakeera's question.

"I guess you weren't then. So, what do you want?" Shakeera asked.

Herb-chan looked at the other girl for a minute, still caught a little flat footed and attempting not to reply in a petulant tone though she really wanted to. "I sensed another descendent of Dragons and wished to learn more about the being I sensed before introducing myself." She answered carefully.

"Dragon descendent? Not myself I'm afraid. You might have sensed Ranma however." Shakeera answered while she crossed her lower arms underneath her breasts and clasped her upper hands behind her back. "I'm descended from another pair of races."

"No, you are one of the Dragon clan, I can feel it even now. Though I have never seen one of the clan mates with six limbs, even if they were able to unlock their draconic heritage the most they would get for extra limbs would be wings rather than a second set of arms." Herb-chan said with her head cocked a little to get a better look at the other girl. "Did you fall into the springs of Jusenkyo and have them mix?"

"Springs yes. Mix? Probably not. This is my birth form, and my race is naturally four armed as we are descended from Rahu-men and Elves rather than humans mixed with any other genome. But Ranma and myself both fell into another spring and my energies and spells contaminated the waters somehow changing both Ranma's birth form and his cursed form. However you will need to take that up with my charge with me there prior to any challenges or confrontations." Shakeera answered and folded her upper arms over her lower arms creating a body language version of saying that she was now guarded against Herb-chan. "As to myself, I don't change with the waters as my race has some protection against this. What about yourself? I sense the supernatural about you, but not exactly what it is."

Herb-chan drew herself up a bit standing as tall as she could in her diminutive form. "I am Herb, Crown Prince of the Musk Dynasty." She said in a regal tone as to infer that Shakeera should already know. "Latest in the Line of the Dragon and Heir to our Empire." The last said in a rehearsed voice. Then she deflated a bit and after letting her shoulders slump a bit continued. "At least I was heir to the Musk empire. Something happened while I was aiding Ranma's father who helped to unlock my curse from a foolish mistake I had made. Just months ago our lands were rich, and our fortress was strong. When I returned just over a month ago the lands were left to fallow, and the keep was run down. My vassals were no where to be seen and a legend was left, one I have not a clue as to how to answer."

"Tough, though I do understand being one of a small race. My tribe is one of only three wandering tribes of Rahu-elf in the multiverse that we've been able to discover. Our numbers are fewer than 1000 in my tribe alone. And we have yet to discover another race that we can mingle with. So once we are gone, there may be no more of us… Ever." Shakeera unfolded her arms and motioned to the cushions in the living room. "Care to sit? I would like to hear of this legend that you say was left behind in your newly abandoned Kingdom."

"That's just it… wait… what is your name. I have given mine." Herb-chan said.

Shakeera blushed a little at that. "Sorry about that, Shakeera Sonee'" she answered as she sat down.

Once they were both seated Herb-chan went into her story. "When I returned to the lands of the Musk everything appeared to be in ruin, but ruin of an ancient age. Then I encountered a lone farmer near the abandoned keep. He claimed to be the last of the line of the Tiger, which should have been impossible as the line of the Tiger was one of the more prolific lines of our Dynasty. However there was almost no one else left anymore. We left his steading with two things. One thing was a painting and scroll, the other was a legend. Almost a riddle actually."

"A riddle? From a changed land… go on."

"The farmer said 'that two hundred years in the future that their prince would save their kingdom from the abandonment of two hundred years from the past.'" Herb-chan said with a far off look in her eyes.

"That sounds almost like a temporal disturbance…" Shakeera said quietly before she leaned forward. "Go on, I would like to hear more. This intrigues me."

Scene Break

The sounds of harsh combat could be heard over the walls of the Tendo compound as Nabiki Tendo came home after meeting with one of her contacts.

"What the?" She said to herself and entered only to see Ranma-chan go flying past her on her way to return a throw that she seemed to have just recovered from. Nabiki dodged the Panda that happened to be currently in a form of assisted flight as she made her way into the house only to find their four armed extra dimensional guest talking with the other aqua-transsexual that she knew in a strange dialect of what she could swear was mandarin. "Weird."

Nabiki walked into the kitchen to find her sister busily at work cutting some vegetables for dinner. "Hey sis, when did Mr. Saotome and Princess Herb get back?"

"Hmm? Oh this morning little sister. They've been at this though since Akane, Ranma, and Shakeera came back home." Kasumi said in an airy distracted tone. "Maybe Shakeera and Herb-chan would like to help with dinner?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Herb-chan?" Nabiki asked out loud trying to hold in a snicker. "A prince helping with dinner? Oh that'd be great!" She said holding her side lightly.

Kasumi looked over her shoulder at her sister and almost all of her vapidness vanished from her gaze. "Really? But who do you think should cook for them when they marry? After all, Akane's finally found a boy she likes and he's asked father for permission to woo her. So perhaps it'd be best if Herb-chan learned to cook so that they can get along." She said then let her features return to their airy calm that she projected to just about everyone and everything. "Besides, she'd look cute in an apron."

"You scare me sometimes Kasumi." Nabiki said as she walked out of the kitchen.

Scene Break

Akane had just finished up her evening work out routine and had wondered out onto the veranda overlooking the yard to watch Ranma-chan and Genma-panda fight some more. She sighed as she watched the diminutive red haired potential fiancée of her sisters spar full contact with her pandafied father. "Why can't I be that good?" she wondered to herself not for the first time. She sensed someone come up and sit down beside her.

"Hey lil' sis. What's going on?" Nabiki asked Akane as she sat with one leg off of the porch and the other one pulled close to her so she could rest her arms on it.

"Nothing much, just wondering and wishing right now."

"About what?"

"Martial arts, people, life, you know the usual." Akane stated distantly.

"People? Like a certain person?" Nabiki asked raising one eyebrow suggestively.

Akane looked down and blushed, "Well maybe one person. I just wish she was a guy right now."

"What if she was like Ranma?" Nabiki asked as she was still convinced that her younger sister didn't know about the curse yet.

Akane looked at her sister crossly. "The Perv? No way! There's absolutely no way I want Herb to be like that Pervert Ranma. Who know's what he does to that girl body he has anyway!"

Nabiki waived her hands in warding to try to calm Akane down. "Whoa there Akane. I was just talking about the curse part. Not the motivations behind the person. Would you like it if Herb was like Ranma that way?" She asked.

Akane calmed down a bit then blushed and turned her head away from Nabiki.

"Ok then little sister. I'll have one cursed Prince/Princess of the Musk begging for your hand before you know it. I'll even give you the family special!" Nabiki said good naturedly as she stood up, a knowing gleam in her eye.

"WHAT!" Akane called out shocked. Her call managed to distract Ranma-chan enough in the yard to get belted by Genma.

"Hey! Watch it Old Man!" the red haired girl yelled out and charged back at her father.

Akane looked back at her sister after being distracted by the battling duo out in the yard only to see Nabiki waiving over her shoulder as she walked into the house. "Wait Nabiki!" She called out running after the sometimes mercenary minded middle sister.

Scene Break

It was a dark and stormy day that found Ryoga wandering around the outskirts of a Japanese town. Well, it felt dark and stormy to the eternally lost boy. And he thought that he was near a Japanese town though it might be Korean as far as his mapping and navigation skills were concerned. Now, if he could only find his Nemesis and beat him once and for all.

The lost boy's thoughts were interrupted by a lightning strike close by. However there was no sound of thunder to accompany the lightning strike. Only the light emitted from the bolt that struck a jagged course through the sky to impact in the center of the field in front of him. "Isn't lightning supposed to just flash and be gone?" The lost boy thought to himself as he watched the writhing beam of high intensity electricity and plasma danced along the air in place and then split into a fork as the bottom separated out into two beams that were merged about ten feet in the air.

However instead of seeing the forest on the other side through the bolt's arc Ryoga saw a glade of evergreens and a cloaked woman on the other side that he was sure wasn't there the first time. He Jumped into the bushes behind him before she could catch site of him and waited to see what she would do.

The woman walked through the archway made by the lightning and turned around once she was on the other side. She lifted her arm which was bare except for a small woven metal bracer that was less of a protection and more of a ornament as far as Ryoga could tell. Underneath the bracer and elsewhere on her arm there were many tattoos of various things; swords, eyeballs, wolves, fireballs, lightning, flowers to name what the Lost Boy was initially able to observe. Something came flying towards her from the other side of the lightning arch and she caught the object. It seemed to be a canister of some sort.

Duantis core lebalcorinth da nin flez no Shak sen Kira! The woman called back into the place she came from. She watched as the lightning came back together into one solid stream of electricity then flew back up into the sky. Sarin… no Sonee' She said then turned into the forest opposite of Ryoga and walked away.

As soon as the strange woman was into the tree line Ryoga moved to follow her only to find himself on a Cliffside overlooking a village. "Where did she go?" He wondered out loud.

Scene Break

Akane was walking around the yard later in the evening looking for something to do. She hadn't been able to find her friend Herb all evening but had seen a guy that she'd seen several times before talking to the interloper from the stars that brought Ranma to the Tendo household.

She couldn't be sure but she was sure that they were talking about some form of spirit manipulation. However they might as well be talking in Mandarin for all she was able to understand. She shrugs her shoulder and walks away after making a valliant attempt to listen in out of curiosity rather than boredome. Or at least that's what she told herself.

The guy looked at her and smiled a friendly smile then went back to his discussion with the four-armed girl as if nothing was wrong or out of place about the whole situation.

Disgruntled that she could not understand them the raven haired girl went into the house to get a snack after dinner.

Scene Break

Cologne and Shampoo were just stepping off of a tramp freighter upon docking in Japan. Though later in the night there wasn't as much riff raff as the matriarch of the Jokentetsu was expecting. Shrugging her shoulders about it she and her charge walked towards the city. Just before they left the docks a small group of dock workers came out of one of the buildings they seemed to be hiding in.

"Ain't no way we're picking up broads from freighters no more." One of them voiced the words that they all were thinking at that moment.

"Amen." Two of the others stated.

"Let's go to the bar, we should be safe there. Hey I heard that there was a new girl that's pretty hot... Mai or something like that. She's local so she shouldn't be that tough." The other's nodded and the left the dock's to head off to another adventure.

End Chapter

(1)Psychic Ping – An interesting ability that causes anyone with any form of sixth sense or extra sensory perception to sense impending doom or disaster, or a large aggressive foe, or any combination of such. Basically it's a way of Psychically going "BOO!".

Author's Notes:Well, I'm not finished with the scanned copy of the LightWar bows in appology however I am still working on it.

Also I finally was able to come out of my writers block on this story. No clue as to the time I'll be able to update on CH 11, but it is finished being outlined already. I'm also finishing up the next chapter of Shimeru Family 1/2 and should be able to upload it soon. I'm also nearing completion of the first few chapters of several other of my fic's and should get them posted in the next few months. I'm also rewriting Weapon X Japan right now and will be accepting responses on a new name for it as I want to rename it when I finish the rewrites.

Thanks for reading.

Enlu Tarsonis.