This is the real first chapter of this five chapter story. Last chapter, we were given a bit of the preview of the real plot of this story which is a rescue mission of sorts.
Here, we would now be introduced to two new other characters with one of them being not who we would have expected. I also added a few cameos from a certain late eighties or early nineties real mecha series so watch out for that one as well.
Read and enjoy, everyone.
Chapter 1 – Rainy Days and Mondays
Receiving room of Republic of Louisiana Embassy– Monday, April 2, 2044
"Alright, what am I supposed to do? Everyone else has his or her mission objective so what's mine?" Lieutenant Commander Akane Saotome had asked her old high school friend and now client – Yuka Tsukihime.
Akane is the one of the senior female members as well as second in tactical command of the newly commissioned 2nd Special Forces Operational Detachment- Omega.
The said detachment is known to those in government circles and military forces alike as the Omega Force - a counter terrorist force to be reckoned with thanks to its state of the art mobile and personal firepower and its skilled members that had been brought in from both the civilian and para-military rank and file.
The 2nd SFOD-O was created to keep in pace with Mithril and other privatized para-military organizations that had somehow super seeded its well known predecessor - 1st SFOD-D or more commonly known as the Delta Force by means of using more covert operatives using civilians and para-military assets in their missions.
Both thirty-something women were sitting down in the light blue couch in the middle of the embassy's receiving room while Akane's son Ryu Saotome was playing tag with the embassy's two male guards.
Other guards were posted outside in specified foot patrols to keep the whole building safe from intruders.
The Undersecretary of Energy of the Louisianan government was reading over the printed notes that she had taken from her office in Baton Rouge, a few days earlier when she had answered.
"Simple, Akane. Your job is to rescue Sayuri Nonoka from John Twoeagles. She's a good friend of mine as well as the only daughter of my boss, President Nonoka. Officially, they were visiting Twoeagle's ranch in Oklahoma. In reality, they were being held there against their own will by Twoeagles himself since yesterday morning." The light brown haired government official had told her friend in a relaxed tone.
"His plan is quite simple, really. The President is an old man. Sayuri is still young and single. With the old man's term nearing its end, all Twoeagles has to do is marry Sayuri to secure his place in the Louisiana presidency." She continued evenly.
"What a manipulative ba-lony eating loser. I hope all Sooners are not like him," Akane replied as she had shook her head in disbelief. She had changed her words midway because her six year old son had come to within hearing distance of their conversation as he entered the room's front door.
The brown haired boy was now briefly examining the spacious room's Picasso paintings with his eyes.
A few seconds earlier, he had tried to run a single pudgy finger across the canvas since he actually thought it was a window or something but was quickly reprimanded by his panicking mother to the other woman's amusement.
The young lad had also ran his 1:10 scaled blue Trans Am die cast duel car on its concrete walls' light brown painted surfaces as circled the whole room. In addition, he also made some engine sounds as he was doing so as he pretended to drive his little toy around the said office.
Before he had returned to the room where his mother was being entertained by the government official, Ryu had actually peeked at some of the other occupied rooms to satisfy his overwhelming curiosity, something which is still in abundance within all of his six years of living with his loving parents.
The two frantic security guards were doing their best to keep the hyperactive boy from causing further mayhem while not making him cry in the process.
"I know what you mean, 'Kane. Actually, a lot of Sooners and even the other Oil Barons secretly hate him 'cause he's such an arrogant jerk behind the cameras. They only kept their mouths shut since they had feared armed retribution from his well-funded and powerful army." Yuka was saying as she had put down the papers to the coffee table and watched Akane stand up to pick up her only son.
"Alright, I'll head over there and rescue Miss Nonoka. By the way, when is the wedding anyway?" The thirty two year old mother and commander said as she was already taking her son's left hand with her right gloved hand while picking up her fully-loaded faded blue back pack with her left.
"It will be held exactly twenty-four hours from now, 'Kane. Better hurry," The now thirty three year old Secretary of Energy replied as she had escorted her armed and armored friend to the almost full and damp parking lot.
The child's aqua blue eyes was looking this way and that as he tried to figure out where he was going as he stayed close to his mother's side. As opposed to her friend, Yuka was only wearing her gray pant suit and white pumps.
The two women had stopped in front of a black Lamborghini Reventón – code named: Stiletto. The black car's sleek form successfully hid its fearsome weaponry well. All three of its weapons could pop out from their hiding places in three seconds flat.
Behind the front grilles lie the two linked machine guns. Both small bore weapons still use high density rounds for additional damage.
At the car's roof is a pop up turret with a Gauss gun. The said weapon is the car's main armament and has also doubled as a perfect weapon for sneak attacks. This is mostly due to the absence of smoke in the long titanium barrel upon the specially made round's discharge and its overall silent operation.
Finally, the car's oddly shaped hind lights rise up and slide in to reveal the two heavy rockets and their titanium pylons hidden behind the said lights. The heavy rocket pylons were installed as sort of tribute to the car's predecessor – the Hauberk Custom.
The Hauberk Custom was destroyed during the Saotome's third mission with the Omega Force.
Thankfully, the couple had escaped the destruction of their beloved car as they were rescued by a gutsy Technical Sergeant Kaname Chidori driving their other car – the Roadrunner in the midst of an all out vehicular melee.
For Ranma and Akane, the loss of their beloved vehicle was actually overshadowed by the demise of their shared friend - Fortunato "Fortune" Hunter.
The said overweight detective had driven a well armed and armored gray bus that was fully loaded with high explosives as he had made a suicide run from the fortress city to engage a thousand bikers that had surrounded the Omega Force in the highway just north of the said city.
As soon as Ranma and the others had left the battlefield in their shot up vehicles, Fortune had stopped pressing the triggers of his ride's weapons and pressed the red trigger in the center of the steering wheel instead, all of which he had done with a content smile on his face.
'Farewell, Ranma and Akane.' The Filipino detective had thought with a sad smile as some of the rear mounted explosives had been triggered and were already starting a fratricide among the other explosives. 'Consider this as my thanks for accepting me as your friend. Mom and Dad, I'm coming home.'
The powerful series of explosions that followed had reduced the nearly nine hundred gang members and their vehicles that had surrounded the bus to about two hundred or so.
As for the fallen hero himself, only little pieces of his battered and burned body had been found and he had to be patched up for his upcoming funeral.
Fortune did it so that the team could escape from an overwhelming rout as well as to whittle the enemies' numbers to something the Omega Force and the incoming militia back up could handle on their own.
In return, the Filipino detective was buried with full military honors by the various militias and the US 2 government.
Not bad for a police detective that was kicked out of the Albany police force for disobedience and dereliction of duty simply because he had gone berserk at the death of his partner in the force and shot a druggie thrice through the latter's mouth.
As thanks for Omega Force's efforts, the US 2 government's Department of Defense and its para-military ally – Mithril had constructed the Stiletto with the Hauberk Custom in mind.
The new car was also given an advanced female artificial intelligence program similar to those used by its older "brothers" – Altron and Arbalest.
With the special autopilot/gunner software program of Karakuchi Industries installed in its vehicular computer, the car's AI could drive itself independently; and even double as its gunner when no gunner is available
The sports car also has two high resolution targeting computers for both driver and gunner. With the Electronic Conceal System almost perfected by Mithril, the car could actually disguise itself from almost any sensor including infrared but ironically, still remain partly visible to the naked eye.
The car's limited power output had actually prevented it from achieving total invisibility, thus the Research Division of Mithril has recently started doing some research in making a hydrogen powered turbine engine capable of generating a thousand kilowatts or more to allow the ECS to achieve its full potential for its three customized vehicles.
Sadly, the A.I. itself could not act as both driver and gunner simultaneously but it could activate the car's Automatic Threat Acquisition Device to take over the weapon systems while it handled the car's autopilot system.
The mysterious thing about this car's female AI is her ability to bond with the family that owned it in nearly two years. This was why when the driver door had opened upward automatically; a joyous child immediately had gone in to play with his "elder sister".
The boy had even named the AI – Angela since her melodious voice had reminded him of angels
'He loves to play with his big sister, doesn't he?' Yuka had thought ,while she was watching the car and its diminutive owner play computer games using the targeting computers' five inch screens and teasing each other incessantly through the car's polarized bullet proof windows, along with Akane.
The government official had wished that her nearly seven year old daughter and thirty three year old husband were with her right now but they had to stay at their vacation home nearby.
This was done so that the stuck up Vice President of Louisiana, as well as those in the Louisianan government who were connected with John Twoeagles, would not be suspicious of her actions.
'Oh, Daisuke. I wish you and Hana would see this. Then again, Ryu would be our guest for the next two days while Ranma and Akane do their mission.'
"Something wrong, Yuka?" The auto duelist asked as she had studied her friend's flushing face.
"Um, n-no. I was j-just thinking about my o-own family. T-that's all," Yuka stammered as she had tried to hide her blush from the boy who was now looking at her through the car's transparent window. She knew that the AI would also be looking at her through its side cameras as well.
"Time for us to leave, Ryu. Hana's waiting for you back home and your Mom's going to rescue a princess along with your Dad and big sister," Yuka said both to cover her embarrassment and to subtly remind Akane that they did not have that much time remaining before the said wedding itself.
"Alright, Auntie Yuka. " The little boy had said with hopeful eyes as the car door again opened automatically. "Will Mom, Dad, and Sis be able to come back soon?"
"Maybe, since this rescue mission will only be for a few days anyway." Yuka answered to Akane's relief.
"Auntie Yuka's right, squirt. We'll be back before ya even know it," a high pitched feminine voice had added from the car's interior speakers.
"Even then, I'll have to buy some more food stuff to make up for my husband's appetite. I hope Daisuke doesn't mind us being there in your vacation home."Akane said as she was entering her car.
Akane had pulled the boy into her arms for a farewell hug before giving him to Yuka. She then entered her car and pulled the door down to close it.
"He won't, believe me. Nor would I. Just complete the mission and I will make a feast upon your arrival there," Yuka was saying to Akane through the opened window as the latter was strapping up and doing some system checks. "Oh yeah, I also credited about five thousand dollars in gold to your auto bank card for some travel money."
As soon as the system checks were done and Akane had thanked her friend, the Stiletto had left the embassy's parking lot with both Yuka and Ryu waving them off.
-oOo-
Before leaving the fortress city and capital of Texas, Akane had paid a little visit to the local AADA branch in South Austin.
The sun had shone brightly in the now clearing blue sky with some gunfire heard from a distance. She was a bit awed to be entering the AADA world headquarters, situated in the center of South Austin.
The twenty story building has held all of the dueling and personal records of its members worldwide. Even disputes between auto duelists from different countries were solved here.
Although since the bluish-black haired duelist was only after road and weather conditions, any AADA center could offer the same type of services. This was why she headed straight for the line of counters where AADA operators punch up the necessary information for a small fee.
The counters' six lanes were themselves filled with anxious courier drivers and duelists planning for a long trip through the countryside.
While she was waiting for her turn, Akane had let her brown eyes wander in the spacious room where the duelists would wait for their turn to be called for other concerns that were beyond the courteous counters' authorities.
There were rows of sofa seats where some duelists and most of the duelists' family members or fellow traveling companions had sat comfortably while talking to one another. Some vending machines filled with various beverages or snacks could also be seen in the room's sides.
There was even a mini playground where the toddlers were seen playing around while their parents were waiting in line.
The duelist could also see three wide screened television sets placed in the overhangs above their heads, each one facing a particular set of rows so that the building's clients could be entertained as they had waited for their turn.
She had even seen some older children playing tag within the massive open space with some elder members chasing them.
It was this scene that had quickly reminded Akane of her own misadventures in the AADA offices with Ryu back in Meridith, New Hampshire.
As Akane had given her membership card to the female operator with shoulder length red hair who was handling basic inquiries, the said orange haired operator had asked some general questions about her route before typing quickly at her console. The younger woman had also asked for the reason behind the trip.
"Sorry, but that's a well kept secret." Akane replied to the crest-fallen operator. The female operator had sadly called up her supervisor before asking for an autograph.
The blue haired duelist had complied and even left the operator with an old key-chain that held her spare keys for the Hussar Custom.
The newly arrived supervisor in his business suit had cocked his head in confusion at the sight of the young operator tightly hugging the duelist and saying thank you over and over.
The scene had even brought some smiles to the entire room as the customers and the other operators had a good laugh at the incident.
"This way please, Mrs. Saotome." The supervisor had said with a bow as the blushing operator had let go of the similarly embarrassed duelist.
As Akane was entering the door, she then heard a loud squeal behind her.
Looking back, she had to shake her head in disbelief at seeing the long haired operator and two of her colleagues jumping up and down the concrete floor and hugging each other in joy.
One of the three girls had dark brown hair reaching to the base of her neck while the other had short black hair.
The brown haired girl's glasses would had nearly fallen off their places if not for the small chain holding them to their positions.
The other operators were already yelling at them to go back to their work, ignoring the laughing customers. ("Vanessa, Sammy, and Kim, get back to work!")
As for the customer (and the staff) themselves, they finally had something that had broken the monotony of just waiting in line before being served.
As soon the mahogany door was shut, a suave voice from the black swivel chair that was behind a rosewood desk had pierced the silence.
"Ok, Akane. What did you give Sammy to make her squeal like that? I clearly heard her along with Vanessa and Kim squealing their hearts out as you were entering the room."
'That voice.' Akane thought as she had recognized the voice from her distant past.
"Is that you, Shinosuke?" she said aloud.
The leather chair had swiveled around to reveal the amused face of Shinosuke Higure in a two piece brown single breasted suit.
"Hi Akane, long time no see. So how is ol' Ran-chan and what the heck did you give Sammy?"
"Well, he's busy right now. As for the girl, I just gave her my old key chain for the Hussar Custom." Akane replied quietly. She did not want her old high school friend to know what they were really doing.
"Don't worry about me leaking your secret, 'Kane. We're actually on the plan as well. Y' see, AADA is also involved in this rescue mission, officially in a way." The AADA big-shot said with a dazzling smile.
"What would be written in the papers is that the President of Louisiana had secretly made a deal with the other oil barons to publicly humiliate John Twoeagles in the event that his only daughter would be forced to marry him," Shinosuke said before he had taken a quick sip at the iced tea placed in front of him.
He then added. "The Oil Barons in turn secretly asked us to create a band of duelists who will help them with their cause. It is in this way that the Omega Force would still remain anonymous to pretty much everyone."
"And you guys get all the glory, nice." Akane had to again shake her head, this time in resigned disgust.
"Well, it is a nice cover story. Also, you guys still get all the credit, just with out the fame and fortune that goes with it."
"Oh well, I guess I have to go. Sayuri isn't going to wait forever to be rescued. " Akane said with an audible sigh. "Be seeing you, Shinosuke."
"Good luck and remember, drive offensively."The AADA replied with a toothy smile as he had stood up from his chair.
Shinosuke had led the duelist towards her waiting car. Along the way, the stocky supervisor had given her all the printouts regarding road conditions and bandit activity on her route as well as a slip of paper.
On the said slip of paper was the telephone number that Akane would call upon her arrival in New Tulsa. Both men had waved merrily as the Reventón had backed up and left the parking lot before heading back to work.
-oOo-
Akane had made a second brief stopover at the Austin Branch of Uncle Al's Auto Stop and Gunnery Stop to buy some more ammunition for the Stiletto as well as herself and improved body armor for Sayuri when she and the rest of the team would rescue the young woman.
She had walked briskly past mannequins that were wearing various sets of body armor, improved body armor, blended types of body armor and improved body armor, and even military body armor.
It was the last set of armors that were just too expensive for her taste and that her father had already placed a special order to Fabre Industries for the Omega Force's use after this mission.
The duelist had made her choices of ammunition much like she would choose between brands of milk and bread. She had also placed an order for a set of improved body armor as soon as she finished placing all her purchases in a steel push cart.
Akane then paid for all her purchases and had pushed the stainless steel cart towards the waiting Stiletto in the establishment's wide parking lot. The whole shopping spree had only taken thirty minutes before she placed the ammunition and improved body armor in the car's trunk that was located in the front.
After she entered and turned on the power plant, the duelist had told her virtual daughter that they could now start their mission.
"We shoulda bought some limpet mines or even some C-4 plastic explosives for a good diversion," mused Angela as she had noticed the absence of the said explosives in the earlier purchases that were now kept in her trunk.
"No need for that, dear. I heard from Ikki that Takuya had bought enough limpet mines for a small war when they stopped by here yesterday. I just hope neither he nor Junpei would goof up in placing those mines."
-oOo-
Interstate 35, Waco Out-skirts - 1:30 PM
"Achoo."
"Eww, I hope that cold's not catching or I'll be staying at a hotel with Hikari and the other girls along with their children." Izumi Kanbarra said with disdain as she had glared at both the driver and gunner of a dark blue GMC Savanna Van LS G1500. "Oh course, it'll be on your accounts too."
"It's not, honey." Takuya Kanbarra said as soon as he had wiped off the snot away with his light brown handkerchief that he had taken under his improved body armor where his blue jeans lay.
His blonde wife of four years was always nagging him on using tissue or hankies so that their little girl - Hikari Kanbarra would not use her pink dress' sleeves whenever she sneezes. "It's probably because someone was thinkin' of us."
"Must be Miss Akane since she's always playing mother hen with us," Junpei added while keeping his eyes on the road. "Taki, we shouldn't have told her about the setting of the limpet mines in TwoEagle's pad before we left the airfield since she'll definitely worry about us goofin' off while we set 'em up."
"That's why I'm here with you guys, JP." Izumi said with a wide grin. "Still, it was a great idea for us to pose as the wedding cakes' delivery service since the best bakery this side of the Mississippi is in downtown Dallas, Texas."
"Yeah, it still sucks that both Ikki and Koji had gone ahead of us by a whole day." Takuya mused as he had studied the radar and the side mirror. "It'll much more fun if we can all chat along the way with our spankin' brand new laser induction communication system."
"True, true." The blonde passenger in the middle seat said in agreement. "By the way, why did Doris not join us in this mission? I thought that she had taken the week off from NBC?"
Hearing the name of his girlfriend of three years, Junpei's broad shoulders had fallen in a slight slump.
"She was, but a friend of hers in the station had gotten sick with the flu so she took over the girl's weather forecasting duties until this coming Friday."
"Don't be so glum, man." Takuya had interjected with a tap on his older friend's shoulders. "We're here so you ain't alone in this mission."
"Taki's right. We're the three musketeers of the Last Frontier Courier Services as well as members of the illustrious Omega Force. Sadness, beware of our awesome power."
Both young men had to laugh at the impromptu speech made by the token female. Finally, JP said from the bottom of his heart. "Thanks, guys. It's no wonder we're all like a family than a fighting force."
Before the other two could let loose a few tears themselves, a few beeps were heard from the Security Six's various alarms, meaning that company is coming and it is not the neighborly type either.
-oOo-
As the Lamborghini was about thirty miles north of Austin, Angela had reported the appearance of several objects on the road ahead as seen on her sensors.
"Are they mines or junk, Angel?" Akane was trying to peer past the delivery van that was blocking her view of the road. Suddenly, the metallic green van in front of her had stopped in an abrupt manner.
The auto duelist then turned to the right to avoid a collision, briefly leaving the road in the process. The AI then belatedly told her what the object that was picked up by her radar is – a bale of hay that the van had unfortunately slammed into.
As the black car had crested the next hill, Akane had to groan at the number of damp hay bales scattered throughout the wet asphalted road.
More than that, there were some vehicles that were either pushing the offending bales out of the way or found themselves stuck in the muddy fields on both sides of the road. All in all, it was one big traffic mess.
Angela had told her driver and "mother" that they could avoid most of the obstacles at their current speed of sixty miles per hour.
Akane had thought about it for a second before shaking her head and told her "daughter" that she would slow down to about forty five miles per hour as a sign of respect for the other drivers.
As soon as the Stilletto had cleared the traffic mess, its driver and AI had seen the reason for it – an overturned red farm truck resting on its right side. One of the truck's steel belted front wheels was completely blown away while the other was still spinning on its axle. The black sports car had parked just behind it.
"I know this will delay us a bit but we have ta help out. I kinda doubt everyone else here would do the same." " Akane said as she had took off her safety harness and opened the door. "Oh yeah, call for an ambulance so we can leave quickly."
"It won't be much of a delay, Mom. Besides, I see that some of 'em are even ready to shoot the truck itself to kingdom come. Thermal sensors indicate that there is someone in the cab and he's not moving, just breathing slightly." Angela had answered in her mother's ear fitting headset.
The duelist then ran for the truck and immediately went to the vehicle's cab. The driver side door was sprung but not yet fully opened.
Akane still had trouble opening the door completely but manged to do so before lifting the large middle aged man in green body armor out of the cab's interior and onto the asphalt.
As soon as the duelist's blue boots had landed on the ground with a soft thump, a sleek blue and black car with a Texas Ranger insignia on its side had arrived. The officer had taken over the job of taking care of the man while Akane hurriedly went in the Stiletto.
While the Reventón had left the area in a squeal of all terrain tires, a red and white ambulance was fast approaching the accident scene from the capital city's direction.
-oOo-
Two hours later or 3:30 PM, the Stiletto had reached the town of Waco. Taking a quick peek at the charge indicators, Akane had passed the whole town so she could save some traveling time.
A few miles north of Waco, she had seen a big aluminum sign with these words being written on it:
Ross' Truck Stop – Next Cutoff
Written below it in scrawny handwriting via a black marker was this:
Still in Business so don't count us out yet! Free charge ups all day.
"If this isn't an obvious trap, I don't know what is."Angela's snappy tone had betrayed her exasperation at how dumb some criminals were.
"I know, dear. Still, it's best we take care of it before some idiotic traveler does fall for it." The duelist replied as she had nodded in agreement with her daughter.
Even then, Akane still made a plan of her own ever since she had read the AADA bandit report nearly three hours earlier as they were leaving Austin.
'Thank goodness, everyone else had passed it by earlier.' The duelist had thought with relief.
The said report had told her that the said truck stop had been completely destroyed by a desert gang attack and that some local bandits had been using it for their own deadly scams.
"Are ya sure, Mom? I mean, we still have a wedding ta crash up north."
"Give me ten minutes and we'll bag these nitwits," Akane said as she had powered up all the car's fearsome weaponry. As one, all weaponry had jutted out of their hiding places in the car's customized and composite body.
"Ok. Let's do it."
The black Lamborghini had taken the cutoff and headed for the truck stop, a mile away. The first thing that both mother and AI daughter saw was the truck stop's massive and holed concrete walls. Its nine inch thick front gates had looked like it was blown violently off its steel tracks.
Tacked on the concrete wall nearest to the gates was an aluminum sign with these words written on it:
Honk and drive in. We got free charge ups and coffee. All ammos and grenades are at half-price.
"Definitely a trap."
"I agree with ya there, dear."
Akane had pushed the horn twice as she slowed down the car enough to enter the wrecked truck stop at a crawl.
Suddenly, the duelist had heard gunfire from her left as well as her right. Even worse, a battered metallic green midsize car had just showed up in front of the Stilletto, 20mm rockets whooshing out of its two front launcher tubes where its headlights were supposed to be.
Of the shots that missed the car, some of them had holed the still erect structures while others ricocheted off the five inch thick concrete walls.
As soon as she recovered from her shock and put the Reventón in gear, Akane had instructed her daughter to knock out the pedestrian gunners while she traded fire with the junk car chasing them around the decimated truck stop.
A minute into the battle, two of the bandits with tripod-mounted machine guns were dead with the enemy car's plastic rear end was also tattered from accurately fired high density machine gun rounds followed by the Gauss gun's stainless steel needles moving at supersonic speeds.
The Stiletto had only suffered some damage to the car's rear and sides where some of the rockets and bullets had hit it.
After the second minute had passed, the remaining bandits and the car's lone occupant were also killed and the car itself was destroyed by a heavy rocket.
"Stay alert, Angel. I'm goin' to do some salvaging for a bit," Akane said as she had exited the car for a short while.
After a bit of searching, Akane had recovered a .45 Colt Magnum, a half-full box of rockets, and another half-full box of regular machine gun ammo. One of the bandits even had 140 Texan dollars hidden in his torn black faded jeans' back right pocket.
"Ok, let's get outta here." The female duelist said as she had again entered her car and strapped herself in.
The black Reventón had backed up until it passed the busted gate and slowly turned around. It was during this maneuver that another escapee from the scrap yard has shown up from the other side of the truck stop.
The Stiletto had accelerated quickly as it made its way back to the highway with the other car in hot pursuit. The chasing red car had fired its recoilless rifle at the lead car's rear, making some more damage at the lead car's composite rear armor.
But the said chasing car was not able to survive the armor piercing heavy rocket that met it head on.
"Scratch two moving junk piles," Akane said in triumph as her lips had curved to a satisfied smirk while she had pushed the various weapon switches in the dashboard to the off position.
"Way to go, Mom. I guess they won't bother anyone else anymore," The A.I. gushed with pride.
-oOo-
While his youngest daughter was fighting the bandits in the Ross truck stop, General Soun Tendou was fighting a different kind of battle.
He was defending himself from some bureaucrats in Oklahoma and Louisiana who had heard rumors about his team's involvement in the build up of some of the Oil Barons' armed forces and had called his bluff in the Tri-media.
"Gentlemen, please. I have no say in what they (the Oil Barons) say or do, " He said in a radio and television interview at the fon Fabre mansion's living room. At the time, he was wearing a double breasted piece suit since he was on semi-official business.
The black haired general added with disdain. "I am only here because I was invited by Mrs. Suzanne fon Fabre to test the viability of the new military body armor for my team. Even my wife and one of my grandsons are here with me so they can see for themselves what I am up to down here."
"I stand by my husband not because I am his wife but because he has nothing to hide from me or our family," Kimiko Tendou had added as she sat beside her husband on the couch and held the hem of her yellow sun dress tightly. "Furthermore, he is only a brigadier general in the US 2 Army, not a charismatic leader that you made him out to be. He is just looking out not only for my daughter and son in law but also to the members of the Omega Force that became our extended family of sorts. So please, let my husband do his job while you do yours."
After hearing the stirring words from the elderly couple, the media men had packed up and left the manor since their scoop for the day was already done.
-oOo-
After finding the highway, the Stiletto then headed for the small town of Ross to see if there were any charging stations or garages there. It had taken five minutes at its current speed to reach Ross proper.
As the black sports car was cruising through the town's main street, a local sheriff had flagged them down.
"Excuse me, Ma'am but I heard some gunfire followed by two explosions just south of here. Do you have any idea on what went on there?" He asked after Akane had lowered her window.
"Actually, it was my car and I who took down the bandits that had commandeered the truck stop south of here."
"You don't say. 'scuse me fer a minute." The sheriff had backed up a few feet from the car door and made a call on his hand-held radio. After chatting for a bit, he then returned to the waiting Lamborghini.
'Wow that was quite a feat you made there, Ma'am. Please follow me." The sheriff had led the black sports car to the garage where it was repaired and recharged.
The Gauss and machine guns magazines were also refilled to its maximum level. Finally, two replacement heavy rockets were installed on the used pylons on both sides of the car's rear end.
While the car was being repaired and given a quick paint job, a local reporter was interviewing the duelist. Since she was instantly recognized, Akane had told the reporter that she was in Texas for some rest and relaxation. She had also added that her husband and son were waiting for her in Oklahoma City.
-oOo-
While his wife was being interviewed in Ross, Ranma Saotome was already overseeing the preparation of the Omega Force members that were with him in an undisclosed location in the panhandle part of Oklahoma.
It was Sousuke Sagara who had told him about his wife's interview and the possible bad weather in the next twenty four hours as the mercenary was watching the four o'clock news advisory along with his own newly wedded wife- Kaname.
"Hmm, that was pretty sloppy of her ta be caught on camera in that part of the world." The pony tailed duelist said as he had rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Then again, it does make some sense since her collage roommate is in Texas as well so she can say actually say that she was visitin' a friend at the time."
Realizing that he was now rambling, the pony tailed leader of the Omega Force had added. "Sousuke, tell the others ta hurry up wit' the preparations before the storm does hit. We'll roll out as soon as we can get mobile after the storms 'ave passed."
With a crisp salute, the Mithril mercenary had only answered. "Yes, Sir."
-oOo-
After all the work has been done - a full hour later, Akane had taken a quick peek at her Q&Q wristwatch. To her dismay, it was fifteen minutes after five pm.
While the duelist waited for the repairs to finish, she had also sold her loot to the ammunition store just a block away from the garage, earning a hundred dollars more to her credit.
As Akane was entering the Stiletto, a red haired teen aged girl came in the garage running. The girls said that the sheriff was asking if she would like to make some salvage claim on the two vehicles that the older woman had destroyed.
"Nah, you guys need the money more than I do. Tell him ta give my share to the local clinic or somethin'," The senior member of the Omega Force replied. She was already doing a complete system check before backing her car out of the garage and heading on her way.
The Stiletto with the brand new paint job then made its way out of town while everyone was waving their goodbyes at the black sports car and its driver.
As the car made its way north, Angela had picked up a news report from a local radio station praising her and her talking car for their actions at the truck stop.
"Don't tell me, you talked back at the garage." Akane's tone had turned cold at the sudden realization as her hands suddenly froze up.
"Actually, I squealed a bit while they were fixing my damaged armor. I never knew that I could actually be ticklish in places. Still, I got them to believe that the second hero is a car not an A.I. of one. Thank god for Knight Rider and the Love Bug."
"Alright, you're off the hook for now. Just be careful, not all duel cars have A.I." Akane's voice and facial expression had mellowed dramatically as she spoke. "And even if they do have one, only one A.I. can be considered my beloved teen aged daughter."
"Aww, Mom. You're just as bad as Dad."
I do hope you liked the Saotome "siblings" featured in this chapter. For the Macross or Robotech fans, the Bridge Bunnies are here in force. They are the three counter girls that were squealing their hearts out in the AADA HQ.
I would like to apologize for the SI inclusion but I have to admit that was the best way for an self insert to cross over anyway.
On the next chapter, you would see how much trouble traveling north just to crash a wedding party could really be.
See ya there.