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
Thirty-Three: Clowns To The Left Of Me...
May 9th, 2012
"I hate to say it, Boss," said Chief Warrant Officer Bell, "but I think that this old bird has finally had the biscuit."
"Pretty bad, is it?" Ranma knew that Hawkwing had taken some serious knocks in his last mission, but it sounded like things were even worse than he'd feared. He knew that the head had been caved in, but those modules were easily replaced.
"We've got fragment penetration in the left torso, and damage to the number seven pump housing," said Bell. "LIDAR is just gone, and we'd have to rebuild the mount before we could install a new unit. Left lower leg actuator is severely overstressed, and you know what a bitch it is to replace those, and you also severely overheated that engine. Thermal damage to the right torso rotary junction—" Why couldn't she call it a hinge, like any normal person? "—that we never could get fixed. It's a primary structural element. You've got three or four older wounds on that bird much like that, and it's reaching critical mass." She snapped her clipboard shut and ran a hand through her bangs. "In technical terms, your aircraft is what we call a 'write-off.'"
Ranma scowled. "Switchblade has been around longer than Hawkwing, and she's still mission-capable."
"Switchblade is a prototype, not even an Alpha. And she's developing cracks in her powerplant housings that we can't patch. She's in just as rough shape—probably worse."
"Damn." Ranma sighed. "At least they don't make me pay for 'em."
"Your insurance would be a bitch," said Bell. "If Hawkwing had been a Stonewell-Bellcom bird, instead of a Shinnakasu, we might have been able to fix her. But we never had an awful lot of spare parts from Shinnakasu, and they're long gone." The Shinnakasu factory had been plastered from orbit during the Holocaust, and while they were rebuilding, the bulk of their spare parts had been on site, and were now vapour. "As it is, we'd have to fab up the parts on site, and the total cost of repair would be more than double the price of a new bird."
"Okay. What have we got in the motor pool?"
"Nothing." Bell flipped open her clipboard again. "Since you're not assigned to a squadron, we have only the reserve motor pool, and they're badly depleted due to the Diamondbacks' losses. They lost all eighteen of their birds—"
"All eighteen?" Ranma frowned. "I though Max got out of that furball alive."
"Oh, he did. So did half his pilots. But Falconeur was written off, too, and the Diamondbacks were struck."
"Shit," mused Ranma.
"So Colonel Hayase reactivated the Top Hatters as VFA-119. She offered the CO's spot to Max, but apparently, he declined."
Ranma frowned. It just wasn't heard of for an officer to decline a posting. No matter how conditionally it was offered, declining a post would almost certainly bring an officer's career to a screeching halt. "Why did he do that?"
"No idea," admitted Bell. "But they ended up giving Top Hatters to Park."
Ranma had trained Park, and while his opinion of the man's flying was not so great, he knew that the young pilot had shown great promise in leadership. But Max...it just didn't make sense. He stood up suddenly.
"Well, as you say, I'm not exactly in a squadron right now, and they tell me they've got the Lightning back up again for more test flights...I'm guessing that's what I'll be riding in the near future."
"With both Switchblade and Hawkwing down for the count, I'm gonna be out of a job," said Bell.
"Don't sweat that," said Ranma. "I'm sure my next ride's gonna be a factory-new Super, and I'll need a plane captain. I'd rather have the best."
"Well, in case the best isn't available," quipped Bell, "you might have to make do with me."
"Yo, Misa."
Misa looked up from the report that she, Milia and Nabiki were poring over. "Ranma. How can I help you?"
"Dunno if you can," admitted Ranma. "But I just heard Max refused the Top Hatters. Any idea why?"
"Not precisely," said Misa. "I do know that he resigned his commission earlier today."
Ranma blinked. "He did?"
"Yes," said Nabiki. "My sources tell me that he felt that 'the United Nations Space Service was no longer fulfilling the mission for which it was chartered,' end quote."
Ranma frowned. "It ain't like Max to just walk away from somethin' like that."
"The Diamondbacks were totally wiped out," said Misa. "And he'd been flying Falconeur since the day he was commissioned."
"Not quite," said Ranma. "Falconeur was his second bird. But he didn't spend long in an Alpha before getting promoted."
"Still," said Nabiki, "he was apparently disaffected with the way the Spacy was handling the Malcontent issue."
"Yeah," mused Ranma. "He was griping about that last week, during the Trad incident."
"Speaking of which." Nabiki glanced down at the report on the table. "You reported that Kamjin was involved in that?"
"Took me by surprise." Ranma stuck a finger to his lips—a move that looked cute as hell in his girl form, but somewhat stupid in male form. Misa repressed a giggle.
"We thought his command cruiser had been taken out during Ragnarok," he continued. "But if he'd executed a fold before the Fortress went, he might have survived."
"We didn't detect a second fold signature," said Nabiki. "Plus, the reports we've received from Vwritlai indicate that Kamjin's fold system was damaged during the battle of May fifth, twenty-ten."
Misa winced at the reference. She'd been drunk on duty—well, okay, only slightly—and had accidentally shot down then-Lieutenant Ichigyo Hikaru.
"So if he didn't fold, how did he escape?" Ranma frowned. "I mean, he was practically on top of the Fortress."
Nabiki pulled a file from her folder. "This is the recon report on crash site NA-D37." She unclipped a photo from the rest of the file and slid it across the table to Ranma. "Does that look like the ship you saw?"
Ranma picked up the photo and glanced at it. "Yeah, that's it." He blinked, and looked again. "But that ain't Kamjin's ship."
"No, it is not," said Milia. It was the first time she'd spoken since he'd approached. "Kamjin was assigned a Queadol-Magdomilla cruiser. That ship is a Thuveral Salan class destroyer."
"Is it possible he was aboard that ship at the time of the fold?"
"It certainly is possible," said Milia. "It would be unusual, however. Plus, that ship has certainly crashed. It could not be raised again. It did, however, make a relatively soft landing."
"So if he was aboard that Salan, he could have survived the crash." Ranma bit his lip. "An' I didn't put him down at the battle of Trad. So he might still be out there."
"He most certainly is," said Milia. "He was not among the prisoners or casualties. However, you did at least destroy his Glaug, and the body of Lap'Lamiz was recovered."
"Yeah, that really set him off," mused Ranma.
"I believe that they had become lovers," said Milia. "So his reaction to her death was...predictable."
Ranma's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
"Cultural contamination," said Milia. "And those two were sufficiently alike to allow it to happen."
"Which means he's gonna be twice as mad at us." Ranma sighed. "Well, is there any good news?"
"Only one," said Misa. "The Lightning project has been fully approved by the Admiralty, and any further test flights are only to straighten out the bugs in the design."
"It needs more control surfaces," Ranma said instantly. "Especially around the nose. Maybe canards, or somethin'."
Misa laughed. "Don't tell me. Tell McCain, and he can tell Stonewell-Bellcom."
"But if I gotta fly combat any time soon, I got no ride," said Ranma. "They wrote off Hawkwing and Switchblade both today."
"You do have one other combat robot," said Milia. "And it has been repainted."
"Oh, the Queaddlun-Rau," said Ranma. "Yeah, and it's a nasty piece of work, but how many other Zentraedi robots do we have in our service?"
"None," said Misa. "Though we're looking at adapting the Glaug to Miclone operation. Maybe even upgrading it. If we can get the Protoculture Factory back on line."
Ranma nodded, then said, "Well, have we got a second Queaddlun-Rau available? Even one that ain't mission capable?"
"Yes," said Nabiki. "We have one that you captured some time ago. Why?"
"Because my plane captain ain't checked out on the type," said Ranma. "And I wanna keep Bell. She's the best plane captain I ever had." And he'd had a few; Wiersbowski for Delta 403, Corporal Ross for Switchblade, and Bell herself, who'd taken over Switchblade from Ross.
"I can get it released," promised Nabiki. "And if Bell is as good as you claim, she might just complete doctrine on repairing the Queaddlun-Rau."
March 16th, 2012
"Master Saotome."
Ranma paused, and turned to face Milia. "Yeah?"
"A new film is opening tonight."
"So I've heard," said Ranma. "All about the Space War, an' givin' me a bigger role than I deserve."
"Of that last, I am uncertain," said Milia. "However, I wanted to ask you to accompany me to see it."
He almost agreed, until his brain started working. "As in, a date?"
"Yes," said Milia. "I am told that a movie is an acceptable first date."
Well, it was only a matter of time. He sighed. "Milia, I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because you still think of yourself as my property."
She opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again. "I apologize. You are correct. I should have waited for you to ask me."
He threw up his hands. "That's not what I meant!"
Now Milia looked puzzled. "Perhaps you could tell me what you mean?"
"I've told you dozens of times, you're a free woman. You can do what you want."
"And I wish to go to the movie with you," said Milia.
"No, Milia." He turned and stormed off.
Milia bit her lip. "I do not understand where the problem lies."
Maximilian Jenius, late of the United Nations Space Force, glanced around the base with a look of disgust on his face.
"I have to say, I am not overly impressed so far."
Salinas shook his head. "It's a bit rough as of yet, but we'll get it back in order. We're not going to touch the outside, though. The less reputable it looks, the less likely it is to be investigated."
"And what about the team?"
"They're a bit of a mixed lot," admitted Salinas. "Some of them are here for the same reason you are: the Malcontents are getting just a bit too bold. Others are just anti-Zentraedi."
"I don't want anyone like that in my Flight," Max said instantly. "Most Zentraedi are decent enough."
"I've got my own doubts about that," said Salinas. "But as long as they stay peaceful, it's not an issue. Our goal is the suppression of Malcontent violence. If we can keep them from organizing, we can keep the damage level down. That outfit that hit Trad—"
"They were rallying around a Renegade officer," said Max. "Kranshevra Kamjin. If we can figure out where he's hiding, we can smash half the Malcontent problem with one shot."
"Our intel teams will be concentrating on him." Salinas frowned. "Guy seems to have vanished entirely, though."
"What about hardware?"
"We've got six Valkyries available to us, as well as three prototype ships of various versions." Salinas flipped open his notebook. "Unfortunately, all of them are in various states of disrepair. On the other hand, we've got twelve Valkyries that will never fly again. We can mine them for spare parts." He closed the notebook again. "This site wasn't targeted directly by the Zentraedi during the Holocaust, but a nearby powerplant was—the one that powered this site. We'll have the lights back on by tomorrow, and then we can start getting the aircraft repaired."
"Let me see the inventory."
Salinas passed the notebook over, and Max flipped it open again. He perused the list of aircraft, then tapped the one at the bottom.
"I'll want this bird for my own. Can you make it a priority?"
"The VF-X-2?" Salinas shrugged. "Sure. Mostly uses standard parts, save for the powerplants, and they're ticking over nicely."
"Okay." Max grinned. "When will we have some targeting intelligence?"
"We've got a pipeline into the regular Intelligence department," said Salinas. "We should be getting some intel day after tomorrow."
"Oh, before I forget." Max's expression turned serious again. "One thing we cannot afford to do is to anger the regular Spacy. I don't want to do anything that risks them coming down on us."
"Just operating will be risky," admitted Salinas. "Once they learn that there's a band of civilians—even if most of them are former Spacy—they'll want to shut us down." He cleared his throat. "After all, what we are doing is illegal."
"Illegal or not, it's what has to be done."
"He turned you down, didn't he?"
It wasn't really a question, but Milia nodded. "He did."
"I figured he would," admitted Misa. "Probably why I didn't mind giving you the advice."
Milia looked up at her, and Misa felt a bit of a chill.
"You have not ceased entertaining hopes that he will parter with you."
"I know he loves me," said Misa. "But I also know that he and I cannot be together. And I look at you, and see everything he ever said he loved in his wife. And none of the things he didn't like. How can I not be jealous?"
"I do not understand jealousy." Misa paused, then asked, "Is there any reason why we both cannot be his partners?"
Misa chuckled. "You mean you'd be willing to share him?"
"Neither of us could be at his side every minute of the day," said Milia. "Surely with two of us, we could support him more continuously?"
Something seemed to click in Misa's mind. "Tell me something, Milia. Do you love him?"
"As far as I understand the word, I believe so. But I admit that my understanding of the emotion is imperfect."
Trust a Zentraedi to state it so bluntly, mused Misa. "Do you love him enough to give him up?" She felt herself growing angry. "Because here I am, all but throwing him at you, despite the way I feel. Because you're better than me. Because he deserves better than me."
"Do you truly feel so little for him that you would not fight for him?"
She nearly lost her temper at that remark. Savagely, she forced it down. "He's not a trophy, not some prize to be claimed! That attitude is exactly what pissed him off so much about all the 'fiancees' he had when he was a teenager. Is that how you're approaching this—like it's a game?"
"No," said Milia. "I am his. If he does not accept this, it does not matter; I belong to him. He has won me; I cannot win him. But if he will not accept me—"
"Then you have no choice," said Misa. "You have to abide by what he wants."
"I have a small favour to ask, Ranma." Nodoka set her tea cup down, and folded her hands in her lap. "One of my employees has been overworking herself, and needs some down time. However, she has refused to take any leave, as she believes that her studies are more important than her health."
Ranma shrugged. "If she's refusing even a direct order to take it easy, there's not a lot I can do."
"Well, there is, actually." Nodoka grinned. "You see, while she is shaping up to be an excellent officer, she still remains at heart a very lonely girl. So if you were to ask her to go to the movies—"
Ranma raised his hand. "Whoa. You're trying to set me up with her, aren't you?"
"Not at all!" Nodoka shook her head. "Well, perhaps a little. At the very least, I'd be happier seeing you out with someone, and where my little problem intersects with hers, a natural solution presents itself."
"You're channelin' Nabiki again, aren't you?"
"Nabiki has a very sensible head on her shoulders," said Nodoka. "In fact, if I thought there was any way at all to make it happen, I'd be trying my best to get you two together." She shook her head again. "Sadly, it's not going to happen, so I felt I should go for second-best."
Ranma sighed. "Okay. So who is it you want me to take out?"
"I wonder if I should tell you." She put on her best pout. "If I do, you'll just come out with some reason why not."
Ranma considered her words, and glumly forced himself to agree with her. "So how about this: I promise that, barring any glaringly obvious reason, I won't say no."
"Fair enough," allowed Nodoka. "It's Ling—"
"Minmay?" Ranma groaned. "Oh, where to start with the glaringly obvious. How 'bout the fact that she's half my age?"
"Nothing of the sort!" Nodoka shook her head. "She's nineteen, and you're...okay, so she is half your age. More or less. There's nothing wrong with that; you're only taking her to the movies!"
"But you know she won't see it that way," objected Ranma. "Okay, we'll set that aside. How about the fact that one Ichigyo Hikaru, commanding officer of the Jolly Rogers, is more or less her boyfriend?"
"Less, rather than more," said Nodoka. "I doubt they've even seen each other recently. Plus, he's currently on station in Trad."
He'd known that that was a weak argument, but it was worth a try. "How about the fact that I don't really like her that way?"
"Again, I'm asking you to take her to the movies, not to marry her."
He was running out of arguments. "Someone else asked me to go."
"And did you say yes?"
"...No." He couldn't lie to his own mother, could he?
"Then I suppose it doesn't matter."
Ranma sighed. "Okay, Mom. I'll do it."
Nodoka grinned. "I'll tell her to meet you at your quarters at five o'clock."
This is a stupid idea.
"That's a stupid idea!" Nabiki shook her head in disbelief. "Didn't you learn anything from Nerima?"
Nodoka blinked. "I don't understand what you mean. He's not currently seeing anyone. What's wrong with giving Minmay a little help?"
"First of all, there's the fact that you essentially manipulated him into this," said Nabiki. "After the Ranko incident, you know he won't refuse you anything. Even now, seventeen years later, he still feels badly about it."
"It's a mother's duty to give her son a nudge in the right direction," said Nodoka primly. "What's wrong with that?"
"This wasn't a nudge," replied Nabiki acidly. "It was a sideswipe. Second, he might not be seeing anyone right now, but there's three other women who are more than a bit interested in him."
"Misa has laid aside any claim on him," countered Nodoka. "And he turned down Milia."
"Misa might have said she's not interested in dating him," said Nabiki, "but she still has very strong feelings for him, and a bit of a jealous streak. That last is the reason that they broke up, but she's trying to correct that. But she'll blow up if she finds out about this plot."
She stood up, and started pacing. "As for Milia," she continued, "it's only a matter of time before she figures out what she's doing wrong. And as soon as she does, he's not going to know what hit him."
"And who's the third woman?"
"Me," snapped Nabiki.
Nodoka blinked. "You?"
"Do you think I'm immune to the Saotome Effect? Especially after he saved my life, after the misfold?" She shook her head. "I know he doesn't look at me that way, especially since our history together was so rocky—'Longest week of my life', I believe he said?—but I've grown up since then, and so has he." She looked down at her feet. "Many a time I've kicked myself for pushing him off onto Akane. Not just because it was a rotten thing to do, but because once I realized that behind that jock attitude, he had a brain as well...and the biggest heart I've ever seen..."
"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" asked Nodoka quietly.
"Because you would have tried to force us together," said Nabiki. "And neither of us wanted that. We've been getting along a lot better than when we were kids, and I was enjoying that. But I knew that he was hung up pretty solid on Misa, so I kept to myself. Then they broke up, and I thought, 'Now I have a chance.' But I waited—he was in pretty bad pain over the break-up. And I waited too long; two weeks later, Milia came up on his radar."
She sat down, and heaved a sigh. "I really doubted there'd be anything romantic between them, but I thought at least trying to rehabilitate her might help him heal. And seconds after that, the Holocaust. And then nobody had any time for anything; we had a planet to rebuild. I saw more of Misa than I did of Ranma, and he saw more of Misa and Milia than he did of me, and...I guess I gave up."
"It's far from too late," said Nodoka quietly. "Remember that he doesn't view this date with Minmay anything more than a favour to me."
"But she will," said Nabiki. "Especially given the way you told her—that he was interested in going to the movies with her."
"That doesn't mean—"
"He shies away from personal connections," said Nabiki. "If I do anything—anything at all—before he settles down from this, he'll react very badly. And I don't want that." She grimaced. "Nor do I want to be one more member of the cat-fight that is certain to erupt out of this."
Nodoka looked concerned. "Is it really that bad?"
"Nodoka...if there is one thing that any woman will agree upon, it's that Saotome Ranma is worth fighting for."
"Hi, Ranma!" Minmay grinned. "Ready to go?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," he said. He wasn't at all looking forward to this, but he'd promised his mother to show Minmay a good time. Despite his suspicions—no, scratch that: his near certainty that she was plotting again.
But it meant he had to be cheerful, so he forced a grin, and offered her his arm.
"It wasn't that bad, Ranma!" Minmay laughed. "Even if they did turn me into an alien for whatever reason."
"Makin' the combat robots read the pilot's mind was a bit fake, too," said Ranma. He chuckled. "I guess they didn't expect the audience to believe the truth."
"And what is the truth?"
"It's all done with computers," said Ranma. "Even a rookie can climb into a Soldier-Mode Valkyrie and get some kind of action out of it. Hikaru managed it."
"Alien magic sounds cooler, though," said Minmay. "Especially when it let you throw fireballs."
Ranma smirked. "Fireballs are easy." He sighed. "Well, it was at least a halfway decent piece of propaganda."
"You said the same thing about the movie I was in," said Minmay crossly.
"I did not," he objected. "I merely stated that it could well have been propaganda."
"Same thing," she sniffed.
"Well maybe," he admitted. "Well, I hope you had a good time, at least."
"I did," she said. "And I'm looking forward to next time."
He stopped, and sighed. "Minmay, I get the feeling that Mom didn't tell you the truth."
"What?" She stepped around in front of him, to look up at him. "You mean, you didn't want to go out with me?"
"That's not what I said. But Mom is trying her best to push us together, and I don't think that's very fair to either of us."
"I don't mind," she said quickly.
"Yeah, but..." He sighed. "Look, Minmay. You're a lot younger than me. Shouldn't you be looking for someone closer to your age?"
"Nobody my age is half as nice as you are," she said softly. "As soon as they figure out who I am, they go from a potential friend to a crazed fanboy. Even around here, where I'm not working in entertainment, everyone remembers me from the ship."
"Give it time," said Ranma. "You've only been in town less than three months. Besides, Hikaru knew you before you were famous."
She snorted. "I haven't seen Hikaru for months. I called him and left him my comm code, but he never got back to me."
Ranma frowned. "Really?"
She nodded. "The only person who's shown any interest in me is you. And now—"
"Wait," said Ranma. "I wanna get somethin' straight. I can't see tonight leading much further, okay? I wanted to do somethin' nice for ya, because you've been lonely and over-stressed."
"Oh, I know," she said. "But still, it was nice of you—"
"Ranma!"
Ranma blinked, and turned...to see Milia storming towards them.
Oh, this I need.
She drew herself to a halt, a meter away from them, and glowered briefly at Minmay before turning the full force of her ire upon Ranma.
"I had asked you to see this movie with me tonight."
"Yes, you did," said Ranma. "And I said no."
She bit back whatever retort she had been about to make, then carefully said, "You stated that you did not hold my prior defeats against me, and that you considered me a free agent. Does this still stand?"
"It does," he said, matching her careful tone.
Milia pointed at Minmay. "You I hold blameless in this." Her finger shifted to Ranma. "But you—"
His first reaction was to try to deny it—after all, that reaction had stood him in good stead for many years. But the problem was that he could see why she should feel insulted. So instead, he replied, "I can see why you would feel insulted, but no insult was intended."
"None the less," she said. "I regret that my upcoming mission requires my absence for the next five days. Upon my return, I shall meet you in the dojo."
His eyebrows rose in surprise. "Very well. I shall be there."
She nodded once, then turned and stalked off.
Minmay let out a breath. "I thought she was going to attack you right here and now."
"I thought so, too," said Ranma. "But this is even better."
"Better?"
Ranma nodded. "She finally has decided to treat me as an equal. No, better than that; as one of her own." He grinned. "I'm looking forward to our duel."
Minmay blinked, then stepped round to face him directly.
"Do you mean to tell me you intend to go through with it? To beat her up—again?"
He nodded again. "Where else can you learn the true measure of another warrior, but on the field of honour?"
She gaped at him a moment longer, then shook her head. "Boys and their silly games! And it's even worse when the girls get involved in them!"
16 May, 2012
The U. N. Spacy did not, of course, formally recognize duels, but in keeping with the international stance of the United Nations, did not interfere with "local or regional cultural differences", and both the Japanese culture and what there was of Zentraedi culture cheerfully accpeted duelling as a legitimate means of working out grievances. Things were also complicated by the fact that Ranma and Milia had chosen the same person for their seconds, and upon learning of this fact, had both independantly chosen the same person for their alternates, as well.
A quick meeting between the two proposed seconds had settled the issue.
"Misa and I have agreed to first blood or knockout," said Nodoka. "Neither of us really want to see Milia harmed."
"Neither do I, Mom," said Ranma. Niceties of the code duello be damned, he'd call his second by the title he held most dear. "An' at least I know you're confident I'll beat her."
"She's come a long way," said Nodoka. "But she's hardly in your league. You are the last remaining student of the Saotome school of Unrestricted Grappling, and this is the first official duel you've fought; you've been accepted by two students as Master; now you will earn the title."
He shook his head. "Only one person could give me that title, Mom."
She smiled. "Do your best."
He bowed to her, then turned and entered the dojo.
To his surprise, he was not the only one present. Milia was already there, along with her second—Hayase Misa. Nabiki, Hikaru and Minmay stood to the side. He turned back to Nodoka.
"What are they doing there?"
"Misa and I agreed to Nabiki as the judge, and Minmay requested to be present as a witness. Again, Misa and I agreed on that. We recruited Hikaru as a second witness."
He sighed. "Forgot about needin' a judge." He stepped onto the tatami, and bowed, first to the iroha, then to his honourable opponent. Milia returned the bows.
Nabiki stepped forward, bowing as well. She turned to face Nodoka, and out of deference to the fact that Milia spoke no Japanese, addressed her in English. "Are all your interested parties present?"
"They are."
She turned to Misa. "Are all your interested parties present?"
"They are."
The Japanese code duello was different from the Zentraedi, and Nabiki was unfamiliar with both. She was obviously making this up as she went along. But it sounded right.
"At this time, I will ask if either of you have chosen to lay aside your disputes. Milia Fallyna, how say you?"
"I have not."
"Saotome Ranma, how say you?"
He shook his head. "I have not."
She stepped back. "Then be ready to fight with honour." She raised her hand, and Ranma snapped into a full ready position. Milia adopted a stance closer to his usual choice; a rear-leg stance, that made her look deceptively vulnerable.
Best finish this quick.
"Begin."
Ranma stepped forward, his rear foot coming up into a kick. Milia parried it, as he expected, and struck into the opening, also as he expected. He turned her counterattack against her into the shiho nage, a powerful throw that could be turned into a pin.
To his considerable surprise, she stole the energy from his throw, turning it into a somersault, so flawlessly executed that it looked like he'd assisted her with it.
Where did that—I didn't teach her that!
She landed behind him, and spun into a hook kick—practically his own signature kick. He parried it, but was forced to do so with the elbow, his back still to her. He stepped backwards, his leg hooking around hers, and elbowed her in the solar plexus. She parried, but the blow still struck. It was robbed of its energy, however, and she fell back, but pulled it into a back roll and came up facing him, hands at the ready.
He used the break to turn to face her, and stepped forward again. She's weak on the defense; she only thinks of the attack—
His train of thought was interrupted by the heel of her hand striking his chin. Hard.
Ow! Can't let her do that again—
She closed the gap again, going to short-arm strikes, aiming for his torso. He parried three shots, and jumped back to open the range again.
She knows I got a reach advantage, an' she's nullifyin' it as much as she can. I can't use any special techniques—it wouldn't be honourable, an' they'd wreck the dojo. But I gotta put her down fast an' hard...
She came again, her face a mask of concentration. He parried her low kick, her higher hook kick, then three more body blows.
She's fast, was fast even before I trained her up. Probably faster than me...
No, she wasn't. His mind flashed to one special technique he could use.
He jumped back once again, then adopted an open stance. Milia smirked, and charged in.
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
Fifty separate blows rained upon her in under two seconds. Milia staggered back, dazed, a splash of blood flying from one split cheekbone. But only the one; every other strike had struck muscle, not bone or soft tissue.
He stopped, held his stance. Milia took one more step back, then collapsed to her knees.
"Stop." Nabiki held up her hand, then walked forward to examine Milia. She touched the Zentraedi's cheek, then nodded.
"First blood." She turned to Ranma. "Do you find that your honour has been fulfilled?"
Ranma nodded. "I do."
Nabiki turned back to Milia. "Fallyna Milia. Do you find that your honour has been fulfilled?"
She nodded, still gasping for breath.
"Then I declare the match ended through first blood."
Ranma bowed to Nabiki, then to Milia, then again to the iroha. Only then did he walk over to Milia.
She'd managed to regain her breath, and looked up at him in surprise as he extended his hand. She took it hesitantly, and he helped her to her feet.
Then she grinned. "Movies tomorrow?"
He shrugged. "Sure."
"APU and starboard powerplant are fully online," said Salinas. "And that failed portside powerplant...we've got a half-dozen spare Two-Kay-Twos coming in tomorrow."
"Where did you get them?"
Salinas shook his head. "They didn't tell me, and I didn't ask. Avionics are done, armaments are ready, and as soon as we fit the new powerplant and get it calibrated, we can start the full-body kinesics programming."
"How long?"
"Four days, maybe five," said Salinas.
Max nodded. "I'll spend it reading the flight manual."
"We've got a simulation set up for Jet Mode and GERWALK mode."
"I'll take it."
"So all told," said Salinas, "I figure in a week, we can start operations."
Max grinned. "And then we knock a gigantic hole in the Malcontent forces."
OMAKE
"The only person who's shown any interest in me is you. And now—"
"Wait," said Ranma. "I wanna get somethin' straight. I can't see tonight leading much further, okay? I wanted to do somethin' nice for ya, because you've been lonely and over-stressed."
"Oh, I know," she said. "But still, it was nice of you—"
"Ranma!"
Ranma blinked, and turned...just in time to see Milia's foot slamming into Minmay's face.
"Wait a minute—"
Milia was obviously not in a mood to wait for anything. "There's no way I'm letting you steal him, you little bimbo! He defeated me, so I belong to him!"
Ranma shook his head. Aside from the odd way that was phrased, it seemed remarkably familiar. Especially given Milia's somewhat unorthodox hair colour.
"Back off, you alien floozy. He's mine!"
He blinked. "Misa?"
Sure enough, the brunette was storming down on them, in a jealousy storm that put him in mind of a certain tomboy from his past.
"Ranma's known me for years, and I'm the only one here he's actually seen on a long term basis."
Milia sniffed. "Perhaps. But I was the only one whom he called cute."
"I did?"
"He did?" Misa blinked.
"Certainly he did. In Chapter Twenty Six." Fourth wall violations were much easier, Milia reflected, when it wasn't part of the main story line.
Misa scowled, and raised her fists. "He respects strength. You lost to him. Four times now, counting this chapter just past."
"Technically," said Ranma, "that part of this chapter hasn't happened yet."
"Hey, if she can ignore the fourth wall, then I can ignore continuity, right?"
Milia snorted. "I've already beaten you once."
"I'm up for the rematch," Misa snarled. "You're not the only martial artist here!"
"Indeed not," broke in a new voice.
"Who now?" He turned, to see Max approaching. The pilot smirked, and drew—
"A sword? Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
"Most English private schools still teach Fencing, Saotome. Now I will force you to drop the charade, and release the red-haired girl from your control."
"Well, that took longer than I expected."
"What about me, Ranma?" Claudia stepped out of the shadows. "Are you going to turn your back on all those long nights we spent together?"
He froze, not unexpectedly, from the glares given him by the other females present. He raised his hands. "It's not what it sounds like. We were just talking!"
"Enemy of women," screamed Max. "I shall strike you down!"
"I thought Macross landed in Alaska, not Nerima!" Ranma shook his head. "The only goofball missing is that screwy—"
"Saotome Ranma!" A very ragged, bearded and angry Ryouga made his appearance. "I shall make you pay for destroying the Earth!"
"...Right on schedule." With only one option remaining, Ranma took it.
"Saotome Secret Technique!"
From a safe distance, Nodoka watched with tears running down her face as her son ran from the varied assailants, love interests, and people who fit in both categories.
"My son is so manly!"
