O.o

Holy crap, I live!!!

Sorry, folks. I got a serious dose of Real Life over the last month, so I've had to focus all my attentions there. Thankfully, the time for that has ended, and I've got new chapters coming up for all my stories! First off, the latest of Wildstar. After that, I'll have the final installment of Fagile, which will branch into a continuation called 'Trinity'. Descent to follow shortly thereafter!

OK, time to get down to business!!!

MattSaotome

Chapter 5

The Chase

Logan sat on a bench in the center of the main change room regarding his new uniform with a small amount of approval. As he eyed the material, only one thought went through his brain.

At least it's not yellow spandex…

It had been only ten minutes since Goku's announcement over the ships intercom that the Wildcards were to prepare for action. It had been the biggest surge of adrenaline he'd felt all day, and was definitely not unwelcome.

It took him only a moment to put the uniform on, and he marveled for a moment at just how well it fit. He began to test its stress limits, and was pleasantly surprised when he found that the uniform was both stylish and functional, allowing for his full range of movement with ease.

Grunting in approval, he held his arm up in front of himself and gave his palm a quick squeeze. His claws leapt forth, ripping the material of his uniform gloves for the first time. He turned his hand once or twice, noting how the material hugged his claws closely. Then he allowed his mind to drift off a little.

Something's coming, he thought. I haven't felt right all day… feels like all hell's about to break loose.

Behind him, Scott had just finished stepping into his suit, donning his new eyepiece at the same time. He, too, had been quite pleased with the uniform, and had rapidly discovered how much wider a range of control the new 'visor' gave him over his frighteningly powerful mutant ability. He sighed heavily, getting the same knawing feeling in his gut and turned to Logan's back.

"You feel that?" he asked quietly, his voice coming to Logan's ears over the noise the rest of the team was making as they changed. Logan nodded once in reply.

"Yeah," he breathed. "I've been feeling it all day."

"I wonder what's going on?" Scott mused.

"I dunno," Logan replied. After another moment of silence, he grunted. "Feels like the mother of all fights is on the way."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Better buckle up, one-eye," Logan quipped. "I think we're in for one hell of a ride…"

Will paced uneasily back and forth across the bridge of the Leviathan. He'd been waiting for some better news for the last four hours, but so far to no avail. It was really beginning to sicken him just how evenly his ship was stacking up against the Wildstar.

"What is Wildstar's current speed?" he grunted.

"Warp 14.7, sir," his lieutenant replied.

He growled again. "Helm, what is our current velocity?"

The helm officer looked down at his console. "Warp 14.8, sir."

Will paced for a few more seconds before stepping roughly up to the helm station.

"Increase speed to warp 15."

The engineer jumped up from his station at the back of the bridge. "Captain!" He barked.

Will turned sharply to face him. "Listen, mister! If we don't outrun the Wildstar, we'll never catch up to her before she reaches deep space three, and we BOTH know that it'll only be a matter of time from there before they discover our shipyard in the nebula! Warp 15!"

"Captain, the engine's were never designed to handle that level of stress," the engineer argued.

Will snarled at this remark, regarding his engineer with disdain. "It's called a warp 15 engine, isn't it?"

"On paper!" The engineer retaliated.

"Well if paper says it can be done, then we're doing it!" Will snapped. "Helm, warp 15! Now!"

The helm officer gulped. "Aye, sir."

Goku was pacing across the bridge as well. Not five minutes earlier, their sensors had discovered the Leviathan in hot pursuit behind them. Wildstar had barely managed to match their speed, only to have the Leviathan jump to warp 15.

"There's no way they can hold that speed, commander," Dana reported to him. "They're venting drive plasma, and their manifolds are burning at near nuclear temperatures. I'd give 'em twenty minutes, maybe half an hour at most."

Goku turned to look at Shampoo. "Time to intercept?"

Shampoo looked worriedly at her console, then back at Goku. "Ten minute, present speed."

Goku swallowed hard. The former Deep Space three was still almost an hour away at their present speed. The next decision he made came difficult to him, but he knew that it was either that, or face off against the monster that was now gaining on them.

"Mr. Jorgensen," he called out. "Extend secondary hull nacelles."

Dana sucked in a sharp breath, instantly sensing what Goku had in mind, and knowing full well what the consequences would be if they failed.

"Aye, sir." She responded evenly.

"Bridge to Engineering."

"What is it now, Kakarot!!" Vegeta sounded annoyed. "Are you ready to slow it down now?"

Goku sighed heavily. "I'm afraid not, Vegeta. I need to go faster."

There was an audible snarl over the com line. "Keep in mind, Kakarot, that this is only a warp 15 engine."

Goku nodded as if Vegeta could see him. "I know that, Commander. I also know that we have a warp 10 engine sitting in the saucer section."

There was silence for a moment. Finally, Vegeta's cool reply drifted over the com. "You're going to use the power surge as a speed booster and coast out the eddies."

Again, Goku nodded. "That's correct."

A series of hollers and shouts could be heard in the background as the Saiyan commander barked outorders. Finally, Vegeta came back on. "We're ready down here, Kakarot. Just keep a close eye on the structural integrity… and be prepared to blow out a few control circuits."

"Ten four, Commander." Goku replied, closing the connection. "Helm, give me a maximum warp burst on the secondary hull nacelles, and then set the main reactor for warp 15."

Ryouga instantly began to sweat, knowing as well what the very unfortunate consequences would be if this failed. He swallowed hard as he obeyed the instructions.

"A-aye, sir."

"Hold on to your seats, folks!" Dana proclaimed from her console. "This is gonna get bumpy!"

Grissom stared at the viewscreen in front of him intently. On it was the Wildstar in all her glory. The ship had just lowered its secondary hull's nacelles and increased speed to Warp 15. The only reason his ship was keeping up now was the fact that they were riding the Wildstar's warp field for all it was worth.

"Engineering, report?" Grissom asked.

"Structural integrity holding, Captain. We should be able to ride with them for a few minutes yet."

"Thank you, commander. Lieutenant, open a channel to the Wildstar, scrambler code Grissom Alpha."

The lieutenant looked up from his console. "Grissom Alpha, sir?"

Grissom nodded. "It's in the library databanks. Section 31's list of codes doesn't include it, but there is a crew member on the Wildstar who will be able to crack it with ease."

The lieutenant nodded. "Understood, Captain. Prepping Grissom Alpha."

Behind Grissom, a woman officer in a SI uniform stepped up to his chair, placing her right hand on the back of it. Grissom felt her presence behind him and sighed a little exasperatedly.

"I'm still not sure I should be doing this, number one…"

His first officer chuckled, her brown hair held up in a high ponytail by three blue beads, a few loose strands running in front of her ears on both sides.

"If you really weren't sure this was the right thing to do, you wouldn't be doing it, Gil."

Grissom let his eyes drift shut as a smile played over his expression. As usual, she was right on the money. "Thank you, Lita," he breathed. "It's good to know you haven't lost touch with reality."

She chuckled again. "Not for a few years anyways, my friend."

"Scrambler code prepared, Captain," the lieutenant reported.

Grissom nodded, entering business mode once more. "Open a channel."

The floor was a mess of torn clothing and strewn garments. Additionally, every flat surface between the bathroom and the bed had its contents emptied onto the floor. Slight panting could still be heard from the two occupants of the room, who were still under the covers of the bed, holding each other close.

Ranma lay on his back with Akane snuggled up to his side, nearly asleep. He was sufficiently wowed. He went over the last few hours in his head over and over again, still completely awestruck at what had happened… and at just how damned good it had actually been!

He leaned down a little and kissed Akane's forehead lightly.

"That was amazing, 'Kane," he breathed out.

Akane blinked a couple of times and looked up at him with a dreary smile. "YOU'RE amazing, Ranma."

Ranma's face split into a bit of a cocky grin. "I know," he sighed righteously.

Kane's hand came up slowly and barely slapped his cheek, the force not even enough to make a very notable sound.

"Baka," she giggled.

Ranma's eyes quickly darted to either side of the room before looking back down at her once more.

"…Again?"

He didn't even get a verbal response as Akane instantly regained her lost energy and flattened him back on the mattress once more.

Ryouga's console chirped at him loudly over the bucking and shuddering of the ship. He looked down at his display console and frowned deeply.

"Uhm… Commander?" he sounded unsure of what to make of the information he was reading.

"What is it, Ryouga?" Goku asked, crossing the distance from his command chair to the helm console.

"I'm picking up some very strange distortions in our warp field, aft quarter. I… I can't pinpoint it exactly… but it's there…"

Goku leaned over Ryouga's console and frowned as well. He didn't recognize the distortions either. He quickly stood straight again and turned to Shampoo.

"Ops, analysis!" He ordered, heading for her console now.

"Aiya!" Shampoo was also confused by what she saw on her screen, and began scanning for all she was worth, running one test after another just to have her console screech at her in protest as an end result. She sighed and shook her head. "Is no in library computer… Is unrecognizable to sensor… Shampoo no know either."

Mina hopped up from the second officer's chair and made a beeline across the room for Shampoo's console. Reaching the panel, she was quickly beside the Amazon, studying the distortion in the warp field with all her concentration.

"It… it doesn't make any sense. It's impossible for… waidaminute!!" She pressed a few buttons on Shampoo's console, rotating the scanning frequencies with an efficiency that Shampoo had never seen before. It almost made her dizzy how rapidly Mina was flipping through the spectrums. One thing that had not been mentioned was Mina's apparent knack for flying an Ops console. Suddenly, the counselor's eyes went wide, her face quickly twisting into panic.

"Sovereign-class starship bearing one eight zero! Cloaked! Distance: 500 kilometers! Dammit, the bastards are riding our warp field!!"

Goku was to his chair in an instant. "Full shields aft! Stand by all weapons banks!"

Mousse pushed buttons more frantically than he had during the battle with Cell, with only one difference: He was wearing his glasses this time.

"Quantum and Triphasic launchers locked and loaded… all phaser banks primed and ready, sir!"

Dana's console was the next to go off, and she hissed once more, resorting to her own finger dance across her panel as she hollered out over her shoulder.

"We just lost two more secondary control circuits, Commander! Our manifolds are approaching critical! There's no way to handle this speed much more than another ten or fifteen minutes!"

Goku nodded once as he continued to stand in front of his seat. "Understood."

"Commander!" Mina's voice rang out over the increasing volume of the ship shaking apart at the seams. "We're receiving a… I think it's a transmission from the Sovereign class riding our warp field."

There was a long pause, and Goku was beginning to lose his patience with the sudden dramatics. "And?"

Mina growled to herself for a second. "It's coded, standby. I… I think I recognize the decryption key. It's… Holy Shit!!!"

Ryouga's eyebrow went up as he looked at Mina awkwardly. "Do we wanna know?"

Mina quickly waved a hand in Ryouga's general direction, her face now suddenly lit up with what appeared to be a sudden spell of happiness. "I've cracked the scrambler, Commander! It's a secure channel. They're hailing us!"

Goku didn't waste a second in nodding and turning towards the viewer. "On screen."

The viewscreen tripped over static for a few seconds before hazing into the image of a seriously modified sovereign class bridge. At the center chair sat a man that Goku didn't recognize. His grey hair and etched features marked him around his late forties, and he was wearing a uniform that Goku had never seen before. Beside his chair stood a tall woman, definitely only in her mid twenties, dressed in the same odd uniform. The man in the command chair was the first to speak as a frown of apparent confusion crossed his features.

"Where is Captain Saotome?"

Goku's face became hard, a scowl of warning lining his features.

"I'll ask the questions here, Captain," he replied firmly. "Who are you, and why are you pursuing us?"

The man's face softened a little. "My apologies, Commander. Time is precious. I'm Captain Gil Grissom of the Federation SI Battlecruiser Sheffield. Beside me is my first officer, Commander-"

"Lita!" Mina's voice was warm and affectionate enough to make the whole bridge crew turn to look at her. What made them turn back was when the female on the viewscreen returned the greeting with an equal tone.

"Mina," Lita replied. "It's been a long time."

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Ryouga asked, his nerves beginning to crack under the stress of the last couple of hours. To everyone's surprise, Mina was beside Ryouga in an instant, a glass of water suddenly in her hand that seemed to come out of nowhere, which she quickly upended over the helmsman's head.

"Shut up for a second!" Mina chastised the helmsman now turned piglet exuberantly.

"Bweee!!!" Ryouga retaliated verbally. "Bukwee, Bwweeeeee!!!"

"Ok…" Grissom's voice wavered a little. "Now I've seen everything!"

Goku grunted in mild irritation, but a strangely humored smile was tickling his cheeks. He'd have to fill in the Sheffield's captain later.

"Lita, what's going on?" Mina asked.

Lita looked to Grissom, who smiled at her for a second before waving at his viewscreen, obviously giving Lita the floor. Lita's face quickly became serious as she looked back at her friend.

"Mina, the ship pursuing you is called the Leviathan. It's weapons complement matches, if not slightly bests, your own. She's coasting at warp 15 right now on four nacelles, but she's got four more! Don't ask me to explain further on that one, but they have a top cruising speed of warp 18, but at extreme risk to the stability of the temporal dynamics of the surrounding space. If they really get desperate, they can catch you!"

Mousse had stepped away from his console for a moment, moving over to the first officer's chair. "The I.S.S Leviathan?"

On the viewscreen, Lita winced. "I'm afraid there's a strange story behind that one as well. Suffice it to say that there was an… exchange incident in one of Section 31's starbase nebulas, and they accidentally ended up with the dreadnought that's chasing you."

Goku snorted. "Great. A toy fell from the heavens into the laps of the most devious and deceitful organization known to the alpha quadrant. I hate Karma!"

Grissom chuckled dryly. "Commander, we have tactical information on the Leviathan, but not much. I'll send you what we've got, and hopefully you can put it to use."

Shampoo scowled. "How know YOU not Section 31? Maybe you trick us?"

Lita was quick to shake her head. "We were assigned by Starfleet Command to see to the needs of the Section 31 detachment deployed near Deep Space 3."

"After seeing the Captain of the Leviathan destroy the station mercilessly," Grissom continued for her, "We quickly re-evaluated our position with Section 31, and decided that our oath to Starfleet Intelligence superceded our orders from Starfleet Command. That ship MUST be stopped!"

Goku nodded. "I have to say that I agree, Captain. Ranma and our CMO are currently on Risa dealing with an apparent epidemic that overcame most of the populace. Unfortunately, they're not expected back any time soon."

Grissom grunted this time, and thought to himself for a moment. Finally, he spoke again. "Very well, Commander. Here is what I propose. We'll send you the data we have on the Leviathan and hope that you can make use of it in time. Meanwhile, the Sheffield will proceed to Risa to recover Captain Saotome, at which point we'll aid in the battle. Just make sure you can hold your ground against them until I return."

"How long?" Mina asked quickly.

"About a half hour round trip," Lita replied. "You're a lot closer to it than you realize."

Mousse huffed indignantly. "Could be the dreadnought chasing us…"

Lita nodded seriously. "I'll stay with you until Gil gets back."

Grissom looked at her quickly, but bit his tongue, knowing better than to argue with his first officer when it came to matters of her devotion. Instead, he finally nodded once and turned back to the screen.

"Commander Kino will beam over immediately. I'm sending you our data on the Leviathan. Good luck, Commander."

"God Speed, Captain," Goku replied. "Be back soon."

Grissom grinned without humor. "Win, so that I don't have to worry."

Goku mirrored the Sheffield's captain. "I intend to."

Ryouga shook a hoof to the sky, as if egging the Leviathan on.

"BWEEEE!!!!!!!"

Evil Grin Next up, Chapter 6: Boarded!

Hopefully you guys haven't deserted me just yet... Review away!

MattSaotome