Disclaimer
Macross is owned by or licensed to lots of people - Tatsunoko Studios, Harmony Gold, Studio Nue, Streamline Video...note that none of them are me.
The same can be said of Ranma 1/2 - Rumiko Takahashi, Kitty, Shonen Sunday Comics, Viz Video. Not me.
I didn't create any of them, and I certainly do not own them. Any use of them in this story is meant as nothing more than tribute. Please don't sue me.
Wednesday's Child
Twenty-Five: The Warrior's Path
August 11th, 2010
Science and Technology Report
Prepared by Major Nabiki Tendo, Intelligence Division
The GA-31C Jackhammer MMS and the GA-34 Stiletto
As the Valkyrie frequently finds itself outnumbered by the Zentraedi forces, and since the standard Zentraedi Battle Pod is most charitably described as flimsy, there have been several attempts to improve the quantity of firepower that the Valkyrie can lift. One solution to date has been the Space Augmentation Combat System, which permits up to twenty additional missiles to be carried. However, the primary purpose of that package is to improve space manoeuvreability.
Research and Development has thus turned to new weapons systems. The first development is the GA-34 Stiletto. Based upon the GS-11 Coral Snake missile, the GA-34 is a lightweight, passive infrared homing missile. The shaped charge warhead has been replaced with an annular fragmentation blast warhead, and by removing the BRCLOS system in favour of the IR system, the weapon becomes fire and forget. However, due to the limited computer carried by the weapon, it has a bad tendency to lock onto anything within its cone, and as such is of limited use in a dogfight.
However, the light weight of the weapon - 85 kilos, down from the 95 kilos of the Coral Snake - offers another option as well. The GA-31B Jackhammer has been re-engineered to carry four Stilettos in place of its standard warhead. In addition, the guidance system has been simplified, the laser guidance being deleted and the inertial guidance reduced in size. Finally, the motor has been re-tuned, giving the missile lower acceleration and fuel consumption. However, upon reaching its programmed attack point, the missile can then engage up to four separate targets with the Stilettos.
This combination of weapons grants a single Valkyrie the ability to attack a theoretical maximum of twenty-four targets during the closing battle, or a maximum of thirty-two if also using the Space Augmentation FAST packs. In addition, the Stiletto may be carried and deployed by the same systems that can carry and deploy the Coral Snake, and is better suited for space combat as well.
Brevity call for a GA-31C remains Golf One. Brevity call for a Stiletto attack is Golf Three. Pilots hearing a Golf Three call should remember that the Stiletto has no means of distinguishing between friend or foe.
"You've been moping about in your quarters for the last week," said Max. "Look, I know that you and Misa broke up. I know that that's rough on you."
"Leave me alone, Max." Ranma glared at him. "You ain't got no idea what's goin' through my head."
"Don't I?" Max shook his head. "I don't know if you dumped her, or she dumped you, or if it was a mutual decision. But I've been through a break-up myself, and I know that it doesn't exactly make people happy inside."
"What is it gonna take for you to leave me alone?"
Max shrugged. "You could tell me what happened."
"I'd rather not," said Ranma. "It's kinda private, ya know? If Misa's willin' to tell ya, when she gets back, you can tell her I said go ahead, but I gotta think of her privacy, too."
"In that case, I can help you unwind," said Max. "Give you a chance to work off some of your anger."
Ranma considered, then said, "You've got a point. Okay. I'll promise I'll head out an' find some company. But not just yet, okay? Gimme about an hour."
"Fair enough." Max stood and headed for the hatch. "Your sixty minutes starts now."
Ranma snorted. "Get out of here!"
It wasn't sixty minutes. It was more like twenty.
Once Ranma had fixed his attention on something - anything - he found himself drawn back to action. He showered, scraped the stubble from his chin, and pulled on a fresh set of his Chinese silks. He glanced at the clock, shrugged, and jotted a note for Max. On his way out, he stuck it to the door with a bit of blue tack.
The area around the White Dragon looked as good as new, he was glad to see. He walked in, the bell over the door announcing him. Minmay looked up. "Ranma!"
"Hey, kid."
"I heard about you and Misa--"
He raised a hand. "No. Anything else. But I ain't talkin' about that, okay?"
"Okay."
Ranma sat down and sighed. "Sorry. But I just..."
"It's all right, Ranma. I understand." Minmay grinned. "How about this? I managed to get a bit more free time."
"How so?"
"My manager decided that we shouldn't release a fourth album just yet. Said that the sales figures on the third one weren't all that he expected. He figures that having just one entertainer aboard who's releasing albums is part of the problem. So he gave me a few weeks off while he scouts for more talent."
"I...guess that's good."
"Well, I was a bit put off when he told me," admitted Minmay. "But I saw his point. So he's trying to recruit a male band, something with more of an edge. And in the meantime, I get some spare time." She grinned. "So you want to go to the arcade with me, and I can get some more flying in?"
"Not really," said Ranma. "Listen, when was the last time that you talked with Hikaru?"
"It has been a while...between his schedule, and mine, we never seemed to have time to get together."
"I know. That's what he was complainin' to me about the other day."
Minmay blinked. "He was talking to you about that?"
"Not precisely." Ranma paused, and looked down at his hands. "He was bitchin' about the fact that I've spent more time with you than he has."
"But whenever we've spent time together, you've been a girl!"
"That's the only reason he hasn't tried to take a swing at me yet," said Ranma. And snorted. "Not that it'd land, but it'd be irritatin' for him to try. But his patience won't last forever."
"But what am I supposed to do?" Minmay threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "He's always off on one mission or another, whereas you've had that test-pilot work until recently--"
"But now that that's over, I'm goin' back to the Skulls, effective tomorrow, an' I don't need my CO pissed off at me." He scowled. "Pardon the language."
Minmay giggled. "Don't worry about it." She sobered again. "But seriously. What can I do about this? I'm not willing to give up a good friend just because Hikaru's getting jealous."
"You need to discuss that with Hikaru, not me. But in the meantime, I wanna cut down the amount of time I'm spendin' with ya, just ta keep him from freakin' out on me." He looked up as the bell rang. "Yo, Max."
"Got your note. Figured you'd be stuffing your face by now."
Ranma shrugged. "I decided I wasn't hungry."
"Who said that?"
"Shut up, Max." Ranma stood up. "I was talkin' to Kamidake last week, an' he said that he's got the Valkyrie! game dialled in closer for Soldier emulation. So we might even be able to use it as a training sim."
Max grimaced. "Everything with you is training, isn't it?"
"How do you think I became the best?" Ranma grinned. "Let's go give it a whirl, shall we?"
"Christ, some of us work day in and day out, and then on our days off, what do we do for fun?" Max rolled his eyes. "More of the same."
"'Six days shall ye work, and do all you are able,'" began Ranma.
"'The seventh the same, and muck out the stable.'" Max held the door open. "Age before beauty."
"Pride before fall," countered Ranma. But he stepped through, waving back at Minmay as he left.
"Christ, between you and Hikaru, I can't keep track of who's chasing whom anymore."
Ranma rolled his eyes. "I ain't chasin' Minmay. She's young enough to be my daughter." He frowned. "Well, my neice, anyway. I think I've got cause to worry about her chasin' me, though."
"I didn't notice anything of that sort."
"You wouldn't." Ranma rubbed his chin with a finger. "Normally, whenever I go in there, I get a face full of cold water. But not today."
"Cold water." Max frowned. "Why would she do that?"
"She's fixated on my girl side," he said.
Max laughed. "You're still trying to pull my leg with that one? I must say, you and your sister are really sticking to that--"
"Bonehead!" Ranma scowled. "Look, I know you're stubborn, and more than a bit stupid--"
"This from a guy I've helped out in the past."
"Look, I'll prove it!" He glanced around. "Shit. Par for the course. No cold water. Let's go back to the Dragon and I'll--"
Max waved. "No need, no need. I'll play along for the moment. Or at least, I shan't bother you with it again today."
"Fair enough," growled Ranma.
He glanced ahead, spotted the Terrible Trio approaching from the other direction. "I'll even stop pestering 'you' for a date," he added.
"Good for your health."
"...Since 'you' are an avowed lesbian." He'd timed it just right; the Trio were just passing them, and all three broke into giggles.
Ranma twitched, and turned on Max. "Look, jackass, I'm gonna--"
"Calm down, Ranma." Vanessa grinned. "We know which way you swing!"
Ranma cracked his knuckles. "Max...start runnin'."
Macross did not have a full-scale genetics lab, but Elmendorf Air Force Base did. Admiral Hayase studied the display, watched as the Human DNA strand gave way to the Zentraedi DNA strand, then as the two merged, cancelling out the common genes. Leaving only two, and neither of them overly important.
"Remarkable. With the exception of cosmetic differences, these people and ours might as well be identical." He sat down opposite his daughter, and scowled. "Practically the same species; probably more accurate to think of them and us as merely different breeds of humanity."
"And they're adapting easily to our culture," added Misa. "Almost as though they need it."
"They probably do," allowed Hayase. He pulled a cigarette from his breast pocket, and lit it.
"You used to hate that habit," observed Misa.
"Running the whole damned U. N. Spacy can be stressful," he said. "Having my daughter angry at me didn't help."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he said. "I've been an ass. I admit it. But as to the Zentraedi...They've got a...a void where culture normally lives. They try filling it with warfare, but that only goes so far." He crossed his arms, the cigarette in his left hand tracing a ribbon of smoke in the air. "This evidence changes everything. Clearly, we have to change our attitude towards these people."
Misa felt hope flare in her heart. She leaned forward eagerly. "So you will try to persuade the other Admirals to enter into peace negotiations with the Zentraedi?"
"I'll do my best," said Hayase. "But you must remember that, even as a full Admiral, this gives me power only to order a cease-fire. A clear majority - that's two-thirds - of the Admiralty Staff has to agree to negotiations."
"Is that a rank-based vote?"
"Yes," he said. "So I get four votes. But there's two Vice Admirals and five Rear Admirals, and at least twelve Commodores, all on the Admiralty Staff." He looked away. "There's a very good chance that the vote won't go our way."
"You're right," admitted Max. "The mods do allow for a more accurate simulation of Battroid Mode. I'm just sayin' that they still aren't accurate enough."
"They allow for a wide range of hand-to-hand options," argued Ranma. They were up on the upper level of the arcade, watching one of the other patrons putting a simulated Battroid through its paces.
"That's fine for you, but I still think the mobility is ramped up too high," said Max. "We don't want new nuggets thinking they can pull off stunts like we can right out of the tin."
"Why not?" Ranma shrugged. "Gives 'em somethin' to aspire to, right? Not to mention, if they don't think they can do it, then they can't, right?"
"Good point," conceded Max. He blinked. "Whoa...talk about luck."
"Hm?" Ranma glanced over and down, to see Milia at one of the other Valkyrie! games. She wore a dark wine bodysuit, offset by a yellow scarf - badly offset, in Ranma's opinion; the colours looked a bit garish together. "Oh, her. Thought she turned you down?"
"Yeah, but unlike your sister, she's never admitted to playing for the other team."
"Do ya need a fresh set of lumps?"
"Don't get your panties in a twist, Saotome." Max picked up his tray of coins. "Grab your cash, and let's go over there. I want a chance to play against her."
Ranma rolled his eyes, but picked up his own tray. It wasn't as heavy as the one Max carried, but Ranma hadn't played as much, and hadn't been playing to win. He followed Max down to the lower level.
"Hey. We meet again."
Milia looked up at him, and smiled coldly. "Greetings, Max Jenius."
"Think we could have a game together? From what I've seen--" He indicated her own tray, sitting next to the simulator. "I think we'd be pretty evenly matched."
Milia looked at him, then up at Ranma. "No."
"No?"
"No. I've already determined that you are not whom I seek. I wish to play against him."
She pointed directly at Ranma.
Ranma blinked. "Me?"
"Yes. You are the other member of the Jolly Rogers who pilots a Valkyrie J-Type, are you not?"
"The only one, at the moment," said Ranma. "An' I ain't technically flyin' with the Rogers at the moment."
"That's right, she said she was looking for either you or Kakizaki," said Max. He gave Ranma a disgusted look. "Figures. Your sister's off the market, and the only other girl I've seen that's halfway interesting is interested in you."
Ranma waved his free hand. "This ain't my fault."
"Didn't say it was. Just a case of bad luck." Max snorted. "I'll try not to hold it against you. Enjoy your game." He turned and stomped off.
Ranma watched him leave, and scowled. "Max, ya seem to be combinin' the worst traits of Ryouga and Kuno."
"Shall we play?"
He turned back to her. "Look, Milia, that was really bad manners, ya know. Just brushin' him off like that--"
"I am not concerned with manners. Only with skill." She smiled crookedly. "Unless you think your skill is beneath mine?"
Ranma bristled, then sat down opposite her. "You betting your entire stash?"
"Yes, I think that would be appropriate."
"Awright, lady. Game on!"
Simulated GERWALK figures rose above the holographic table, and Ranma grabbed the stick. He slammed the Valkyrie into motion, diving towards her and spraying the area with gunfire. But the red GERWALK ducked and wove between tracers, returning fire with pinpoint accuracy, flying backwards as much as forwards.
A martial artist is more than one who practises his Art; he learns a sense of other Arts, knows how to feel them out and counter them, how to recognize a person's entire training history from seeing them execute just a few simple moves. It was only seconds into the battle before Ranma spotted her style...and realized with a chill that he'd seen it before.
A female Zentraedi...and an Ace. An' I think I know just which one...
He decided to test his theory, allowed himself to slow up just a touch...
She pounced, raking his GERWALK with fire. Then hesitated herself, hovering, and putting a few final rounds into his disintegrating unit...ensuring the kill.
Bingo. He looked up at her, and the world seemed to fade around them. Only she existed to him right now...and he was nearly certain that he had fought her before.
For her part, she seemed most cocky. "I seem to have won that skirmish."
"Shall we try Level A?"
She smiled coldly. "Yes. Let's."
His Valkyrie reformed, reconfigured to Battroid. Again, he firewalled the throttle, this time stomping right rudder, so that his Battroid tumbled in mid-flight, and slammed into hers boot-first.
The move caught her by surprise; nobody had been warned of the upgrades to the Valkyrie! simulation but he and Max. She recovered her Battroid from its tumble, and jetted towards him, gun pod spitting fire. He dodged the tracers, brought his gun pod around and pulled the trigger.
Here's where I ran out of ammo.
He released the trigger, then stomped rudder again, bringing the Valkyrie around in a mid-air spin-kick.
But this time, Milia was ready for it. She parried the shot with the robot's left arm, and fired into his jet with the gun pod. Damage readouts lit up on his screen, but he ignored them. The gun pod was in the Battroid's right fist; with the left, he punched her Valkyrie, pushing her away. Then brought up the gun, and triggered three bursts into the Battroid's carapace.
The holographic Valkyrie absorbed the punishment without apparent damage. Milia pivoted again, launched another hail of gunfire at point-blank range. He jetted forward inside her minimum range, and tackled her. His jet's left hand found purchase on the red Battroid's right arm, and he twisted and tore.
The lower arm was ripped free, torn clear of its joint. Simulated sparks and arcing electricity spat from the stump. He tossed the arm aside, then twisted as she hammered at him with the gun pod. Two rounds smacked into his fighter, but again he ignored damage telltales.
He tapped the stud on the side of the throttle control, and the targeting ring came up, simulating the monocle. The head lasers rotated to engagement angle, and he fired them into the head of the red Battroid. She worked her vectored thrusters to shake him off. Grimly, he clung to the robot, kicking it whenever he got the chance, and keeping the lasers trained as close to one spot as he could.
Finally, the red Battroid managed to dislodge him, and he fell some distance before he could recover the aircraft. As he expected, Milia dove after him, gun pod blazing. He tilted and dodged, burning towards her at maximum climb, then grabbed a leg.
A quick twist, an upward kick, and the leg came off even more easily than the arm.
As before, Milia broke away again, burning at maximum thrust out of the combat zone.
Ranma firewalled his engines. A thumb flipped the monocle ring over her unit, and he held down the fire button. Shells hammered the back of her fleeing Valkyrie, and it exploded, coming apart in bits of simulated debris.
She looked up at him, astonishment clear on her face.
"Well played," he said coldly.
"And to you." Her expression settled to one as Arctic as his own. "I think it would be a good idea for us to meet elsewhere."
"A fine plan." He stood up. "Shall we say, at the park, in two hours?"
"I shall look forward to it." She stood, saluted him - an odd, across-the-chest salute that would have erased any lingering doubts he might have had - and stalked from the Arcade.
"Saotome."
He turned, stared down at Nabiki. "Yes, Major Tendo?"
"Something you ought to know about that girl--"
"She's the Zentraedi Ace who killed Roy."
Nabiki gaped at him. "How--"
"By her fighting style." Ranma turned and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I have an appointment," said Ranma. He pushed his way through the door.
"You really think she wants to meet with you to say, 'Congratulations? Good game?'"
"I promised myself that I'd kill her." He grinned. There was nothing of humour in it.
"You're not a killer, Ranma--"
"Yes, I am!" He turned and glared at her angrily. "The day Akane died, I became a killer. I've killed for vengeance. I've killed to protect others. I killed Saffron for Akane's sake!" He turned and started walking again. "And now, I'll kill her, as I swore I'd do."
"You've never killed in cold blood."
"That's about to change."
"Saotome Ranma, listen to me for once in your life!" She stepped in front of him. "She's a defector. She's come here to find a new life. Don't take that away from her!"
"She chose the wrong place."
"Promise me you won't start the fight," pleaded Nabiki. "If she doesn't attack you, let her live."
"Why? So she can kill another pilot?"
"What would Akane think?"
Ranma scowled. "That's a low blow, Nabiki."
"What about Misa? Didn't she want to offer the Zentraedi a peaceful life?"
"Misa and I broke up. Just in case your spies haven't told you yet."
"You still want to be friends with her. You told her so." Nabiki crossed her arms. "How will she feel about you if you kill Milia in cold blood."
Ranma clenched his fists. "Fine. I won't attack her. But if she raises a hand against me, I'll tear her in half."
"That's the best I can expect?"
"Yeah." He started forwards again, and she squawked and jumped out of his way. "Now if you'll excuse me...I need to get to the park."
Misa stood as her father exited the wardroom. "Did--"
Admiral Hayase nodded. "The vote went in our favour. Eighteen votes to fourteen in favour of opening negotiations."
"Oh, thank God."
Hayase thumbed the lift control, and the hatch slid open. "Most of the 'nay' votes were from the Commodores, but Vice Admiral FitzGibbon was most hard set against negotiations. I told him of the fleet you saw--over four million ships! But he maintained that the only ones we had to worry about were the mere twenty thousand or so in Earth space."
"I wish that were the case," said Misa as she took a seat in the lift. "But Supreme Commander Bodolze may well decide to mobilize against us. But I believe that the commander of the fleet we face - Commander Vwritlai - is a little more open to reason. Provided that the offer comes from a male officer."
"Sexist?" Hayase thumbed the lift controls, and the lift started moving upwards.
"Not really. The Zentraedi have reason to distrust Humans already, and more reason to distrust females. Vwritlai spoke disparagingly of making deals with females."
"Ah." He glanced over at her. "And do you feel there would be a male officer most qualified to make such an offer?"
"Yes, Sir. Captain Global."
"Not Lieutenant Saotome?"
Misa looked down, hoping it would hide her blush. "No, Sir. You might not have heard, but...Ranma and I broke up last week."
"Oh." Hayase looked abashed. "I'm sorry. I was never really against that young man...I just felt..."
"That he was too old for me?" She looked up at him. "Or was it the curse?"
"The curse sure didn't help," admitted Hayase. "But no, primarily, it was the age. And the fact that when I first met him, he was hanging around my underage daughter, who was wearing a swimsuit."
Misa chuckled. "So was she. And she looked a lot better in it."
"I was trying not to notice." Hayase pulled his cap from under his arm and settled it on his head. "I have something to show you."
The lift ground to a halt, and Hayase led his daughter from it, down a short corridor, and into a massive vertical tunnel. Misa's breath caught in her throat.
"Is this..."
"The Grand Cannon," he confirmed. "The most powerful gravity-wave beam we could devise, powered by the gravitational and electromagnetic field of the Earth itself."
"My God."
"This is the final card I had to lay to guarantee a win in the vote," said Hayase. "Before we open negotiations, we will fire this weapon and destroy a good portion of their fleet."
"Wait--" Misa frowned. "You're going to negotiate after firing?"
"Yes," said Hayase. "The Admiralty feels that we must negotiate from a position of strength, and firing this weapon will demonstrate that strength. We will avoid hitting their command ship - an act of good faith - but as long as the enemy maintains a fleet in our system, we are subject to systematic bombardment from orbit."
"Yes, we are." Misa stepped forward. "And that is why you must not fire!"
"I'm sorry, Misa, but we've got no choice." Hayase looked upwards, towards the muzzle of the massive weapon. "Our weapons officer feels that, given optimum firing conditions, we can destroy ten thousand ships in one blast."
"Leaving another ten thousand - probably more - very angry with you!" Misa shook her head. "Admiral, I feel that I must protest this action in the strongest possible terms."
He turned towards her, startled by her sudden shift to cold military protocol. "The decision is no longer in my hands."
"It is! You said it yourself - you could declare a cease-fire, and with a vote to open peace talks already in place--"
"That vote will be nullified if I order this Cannon not to fire," he said. "The pro-war factions will gain numbers, any attempted cease-fire by myself will be overturned, and the Cannon will still be fired. No, if we are to have peace, it must be the peace of the largest guns."
"Sir, I must continue to disagree," said Misa stubbornly.
"It doesn't matter." Takeshi turned away from his daughter, unwilling to meet her eyes. "Their blood may be the same as ours, but they are still alien, and reaching an understanding with them may yet prove impossible. But if there's one thing we've learned about them, it is that they respect firepower, and the willingness to use it.
"The date of the firing of the Grand Cannon has already been set. They may well be willing to negotiate, but they will be more willing once we wipe half their fleet from Earth's skies."
Ranma casually stood as Milia entered the park. "So. Decided to show up, did ya?"
Milia paused, and slowly drew a dagger from her belt. "I have never before been defeated on the battlefield. You not only defeated me; you humiliated me. Forcing me to retreat, with a badly mauled robot."
"I meant ta kill ya." Ranma shifted to a combat stance. "I'll give ya this one warning. I promised my sister that if you didn't attack me, I'd let ya be. So just put away that knife, turn around, and walk away. And nobody dies today."
"Death is preferable to defeat." She stepped forward, dropping into an attack posture. "Now, I shall prove that I am the superior warrior."
"You've been warned."
She charged, knife low. He pivoted, his left foot snapping out in a kick aimed directly at her solar plexus. But she parried, with the knife hand, then jabbed forward in a perfect riposte. He spun out of the way of the strike, following with a back-punch, but she ducked under it.
Okay, she ain't unskilled.
A slash from the knife was parried, and he aimed a quick punch at her head. She dodged it by mere millimeters.
But I've beaten people way more skilled than her.
She kicked, a high-angle strike, and he brushed it aside, then dodged the follow-up kick with the other foot. She landed lightly, and leaped towards him.
In fact, I beat one of her people with my bare hands, against a Queaddlun-Rau.
He turned her leap into a throw, and she turned the throw into a handspring, dodging his kick.
An' these alien bitches have got to learn not to mess with me.
She dropped and spun, and he leaped over the leg-sweep, jumping back and bringing his hands together. The confidence ki sang in his ears, more than he'd summoned since fighting Saffron.
'Cause Saotome Ranma don't lose!
"Mouko Takabisha!"
The blast caught her dead-on, enveloping her in superheated air. She was propelled backwards, slamming into a tree, and rebounded forwards, face first into the dirt.
Ranma lowered his hands, and approached her warily. The jumpsuit that she wore was smouldering in places, and her hair was charred. He kicked her once, just hard enough to flip her over. Second-degree burns were visible on her hands and face. He knelt, wrapping the fingers of his left hand in her hair, and raised his right hand for the killing blow.
Payback for Roy.
The girl's eyes fluttered, and opened. He was struck by the beautiful lines of her face, and the hollow look of pain in her eyes.
"Finish me," she gasped. "Death before defeat."
He raised his hand again, barely noticing that it had dropped.
"Please..."
His right hand came down...and slammed into the soil beside her dead.
"Aw, fuck."
He stood up, and reached for his communicator. Tapped the key, and said, "Medical assistance, Kingston Park. Send a burn unit."
"No." Milia shook her head, gasping at the pain as she did so. "Kill me!"
"Nabs was right." Ranma shook his head. "I can't do it."
"Coward."
He looked down at her. "Call it that if you want. But you have to live with your defeat. Just like me."
