Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or Gundam SEED FREEDOM
Chapter 5
Ouritsuju
Cosmic Era 75
Plants controlled airspace
Lacus couldn't believe how Ranma treated others, he disregards the rank higher than him at times, he does what he please like it meant nothing, a bit informal to others, crass at times and loves to mess with people heads with descriptions of sexual innuendo.
Yet there is a kindness and warmth radiating from him and an enigmatic past that no one knows.
Warmth…
Holding onto his hand, Lacus can feel warmth radiating from his hand, and in this cold environment, this was a welcome change and yet 'how could he has such warm hands?'
Millennium Observation deck
The observation deck gives a view of the Plants colony as Ranma brought Lacus to one of the tables to have a chat "Please, sit down Ms. Clyne you and I have something serious to discuss"
'The way he talks is different. He looks very serious, I wonder why?" Lacus thought and she did what he asked and took a seat.
Meanwhile, surveillance cameras in the observation deck are focusing on them and listening in on their conversation but one of the operators spoke up as he found something strange when they use thermal imaging
"Normal human body temperature is around 36 to 37 degrees Celsius; this guy body temperature is over 40 to 41 degrees higher" said one of the operators
"Three to four degrees higher than normal, that can't be right"
"Nothing about this guy is anything but normal" remark by the other operator as Kira and the others listen in on the conversation which they shouldn't, but they were worried when Ranma ran off with Lacus in tow.
They watch Ranma and listen to him carefully
"Three weeks ago, when I was in the hospital, doctors there were practically squeezing me of my blood by the gallon" Ranma said sarcastically
"They said it was to make sure I didn't bring any virus to the Plants and infect the people, which is strange because Coordinators have impressive immune system resistant to every known virus and diseases, and the Naturals living in the Plants have a better immunization than that of Earth. So, that's not it" He seated at the opposite side of the table put his hands on the table put his cellphone down and an expression that's neutral, but Lacus know that he is very upset inside and don't know why
"I have a friend working in your eugenics lab, and my friend informed me just now that, they have extracted chromosomes found only in my DNA, and is being used in their experiment, an experiment to alleviate the incompatibility problems that led to miscarriages and birth defects," he said
"I am aware that the Plants enforce strict laws regarding regulated marriages, allowing its citizens to wed only if the two possess a high likelihood of producing children together. I know that third generation coordinators are being born less and less. Your eugenics lab has been trying to find a way for more couples to build a family, even marriage to Naturals"
Ranma open an app on his phone and a holographic display is shown and it reveal a message from the eugenics lab to Plant Supreme council
"This was a message from lab 7 to the council days ago. please read it for me"
Lacus looked at the message first and had wide eyes, gasping in surprise as she covered her mouth. This was important information she should have had days ago, and they kept it from her.
"Ms. Clyne?"
She reluctantly read the report "All twenty-five test subjects, mitosis of cells turn fetus has been achieved. On third week, growth stable and no sign of deformation and no inherent genetic defect was pass down to the child and does not expect miscarriages to occur upon transfer to mothers and surrogates" she finished, and this would have been good news if it wasn't for the man who became a genetic donor without consent.
"Ms. Clyne, I know Coordinators are desperate, but I never expect that they would resort to thievery!" Ranma voice went up a volume
"No, no you don't understand" Lacus was quick to defend
"They promise me, they will only do research of your DNA and not proceed any further to this stage, not until we get your consent" she said
"I haven't had any news from the lab for weeks now and no one in the Plants council informed me of this when I had a meeting with them 3 days ago"
"Well, I haven't given anyone my consent, and this is the first time I heard this!"
"As do I, Ranma please calm down and let me explain" Lacus pleaded seeing how angry he is now and the pained look she's giving is making him calm down a little and he knows why they are using his DNA
"I can very much guess why, and it got something to do about me being a Natural born Coordinator. Am I correct?"
"What, you knew?" Lacus answered with a question
"I know, because a scientist friend of mine and my personal doctor who knows more about genetics than anyone in the world and she told me that my DNA is practically a match to Coordinators DNA except that I am a Natural born, which is a surprise even for me" he said as he leans back
"It was never even considered, that a Natural could be born with all the traits of a Coordinator, which is unheard of and, how could the Earth Alliance miss this is," Lacus said
"They didn't" Ranma cut in
"Earth Alliance knew all along that I'm Natural born Coordinator. A child shaped by time, by diversity, by nature and nurture. I am by all rights, a first generation Natural born Coordinator if such a thing even possible"
"Eugenics scientists were elated when they found someone like you. You have all the benefits and yet none of the problems that every coordinator has. They wanted to seize you for their research, I was against it as it would violate our treaties with Earth, especially with the Atlantic Federation and if this gets out it could end the fragile peace we have"
Lacus look away from Ranma ashamed "They promised me to wait until the lab finish their findings and then asks your permission if your DNA was viable, otherwise it would violate the prerequisite of supporting COMPASS, that a consent must be given first it's the law"
"They just found out that my DNA carries the chromosomes to for your people survival, I doubt they would care about one man's rights over that"
"No, No the Plants will not do that! The law"
"They broke their own law Lacus! They violated the treaty, and when the Earth Alliance hears of this, they will demand the Atlantic Federation to withdraw from the coalition. COMPASS is not an organization that they have faith in, nor would they wish to follow its lead. Now they have a reason to leave" Ranma shoulders slump down
"I could have given them my consent, if they had asks me, before this"
"I'm sorry" she and felt defeated
"After the war, after the revelation of chairman Durandal Destiny Plan…the Plants is in the point of rapid population decline" she said her voice tinged with sadness "Despite all assurance made by the council, that we will recover eventually despite our losses" Lacus shook he head
"It's been two years, and the birthrate of third generation coordinators has been… abysmal" She spoke of a report from the census registry
"Yesterday the birthrate is 25 children born that's over 750 a month, a month before that, it was around 50 a day, a year ago it was over 150 a day"
"Those are not healthy numbers, even 150 a day last year is too low a birthrate for a sustained population" Lacus slightly nodded in agreement with Ranma assessment.
"Marriages with Naturals have dropped or are non-existent. People were not happy to know what Destiny Plan had in store for them and many decided to decline or back away."
"People don't like the idea of a caste system being forced into them" Ranma stood up and went to the observation window "Ever since Durandal revealed his 'Destiny Plan' it became a rallying point for Blue Cosmos and others with the same mindset."
Ranma look towards the Plants as he spoke "They projected to everyone who would listen, that Coordinators are clever monsters, able to mislead people like lambs to the slaughter"
"Durandal is quite a genius" Ranma remark
"He deceived millions of people by using a fake Lacus Clyne and use them to rally against the Earth Alliance, against Blue Cosmos…against Logos. Zaft was in euphoria to have such overwhelming support in their belt. They won because of that and many hope that they would force the Earth Alliance to sue for peace but instead…Durandal revealed his Destiny Plan" he said feeling a change in the air, a heavy feeling…a coldness.
"Everyone had hope for peace, but instead he offered a plan where peace will be lasting one. A plan that will fix humanities flaws and all problems will be resolved. All you must do is surrender or die"
"Destiny Plan" Lacus exclaim
Ranma looked towards Lacus "He was quite good at manipulating people like they were chess pieces on a board. The main pieces were Meer Campbell, Lord Djibril, President Copeland, Cagalli Yula Athha, the Seirans, Logos, Earth Alliance, Zaft…Talia Gladys, Shinn Asuka, Ray Za Burrel, Kira Yamato, Athrun Zala and you, Lacus Clyne"
He balled his fist in anger for a moment and release it "Thanks to everyone effort in defeating Logos and the Earth Alliance he gains everything he needed to force that plan into everyone"
"We ousted one tyrant and replaced it with another, and no matter what bullshit that came out of his mouth, he's a tyrant" he pointed out
"Despite the Three Alliance defeating him yesterday, it did little to ease people anxiety over Coordinators today, and many believed that Coordinators deceived them, betrayed trust and so forth. That fed Blue Cosmos cause as a righteous one and it swelled their numbers and the flow of resources despite losing their main weapons supplier, Logos. And, if you look at what's been happening in Kanazi, Dohma, Ehron and Laiha today, you will see that their neighboring countries, just went on with their lives caring less of what had happened to their next-door neighbors who are Coordinators and their allies and supporters"
Looking back to Lacus, Ranma tells her something about that "They are silent. No words of outrage, no criticism, no praise to the enemy, no words of comfort to their neighbors. Just silence, deafening silence and the squawk of politicians offering their country's hollow sympathy"
There was a complete lack of empathy towards their neighbors which replaces the anger and hate and glee of seeing Coordinator suffer. The silence was worse.
"Do you know, I have a lot of friends who joined Blue Cosmos?" Ranma told her surprising Lacus
"When the whole world was against the Earth Alliance and defeat is imminent, my Band of Brothers was working in the background, to save as many in the Alliance as we could. We knew Djibril was leading the Alliance to ruin and so, many broke away. Our biggest save was the seventh fleet, and it became the rallying force for every Alliance survivor when Arzachel was destroyed"
"If you had that many forces in your possession then, why didn't."
"Why didn't we join the three alliances, the reason? Same as always been, trust" Ranma answered
"Despite all the good intentions you've shown, we didn't trust you and why should you trust us, we are after all, the bad guys in the storybook in the Cosmic Era…and we are still the bad guys in the storybook, and I doubt that's ever going to change people perspective of us"
Lacus said "Ranma, you are not a bad person"
No, but I wear the uniform of bad people, I know because that's what the people in the hospital called me. We are murderers and killers. As if Zaft was any different, after all, alliance surrenderers were taken to ditches to be shot at same as what happened in Panama, or when the time when Zaft liberated Guinahan when they drove the Alliance forces except for a few who couldn't due severe injuries.
On the bridge, Shinn and Luna hawk heard the name Guinahan
"Zaft won that battle, and instead of taking custody of enemy soldiers as POW under the rules of war, Zaft left them in hands of a mob to exact their revenge" Ranma gritted his teeth
Lacus felt cold all the sudden
"Tell you of a story of a friend of mine in the Alliance. His name was Joshua, and he had a brother stationed in Guinahan, he was a doctor, and his name was Thomas, and he was doing good work actually, doing a lot of good in the Alliance hospital who came in no matter who they are" Ranma said as the grip he has on the rail was causing an indentation
The sound of metal being shape by sheer brute strength was awful to the ear
"While everyone cheered the heroic Zaft, 150 evil Earth Alliance patients were dragged out from their hospital beds defenseless and murdered by the mob including the all the doctors and nurses who tried to shield their patients. That, should never had happen but it did" he let go of the rail and continue his story
"Rules of war have been broken by both sides" Lacus said
"I KNOW THAT!" Ranma yelled back and with a slam of his fist on the rails, it bended from force of impact
"Yes, I agree with you on that and because no one is following the rules of war, and so, this conflict is beyond brutal and unending and even COMPASS efforts are useless and that's how Alliance Command sees it!" Ranma saying pressing
"My friend Joshua joined Blue Cosmos remnant. I tried to persuade him not to join them, but I couldn't" there was guilty feeling of failing to stop Joshua. How he should have broken his legs and not walked out from the Alliance was one of his failures.
"He told me that Blue Cosmos was right about Coordinators, and that they will try to enact Destiny Plan again if given a chance, and by his words 'those sterile bastards will do anything to stay alive, including turning the whole world into Coordinator. They know that they are nothing but a mistake, and they should die like one' that's what he said"
"Then, 6 months ago, I found out that Joshua, under Colonel Michael orders, led a squadron of high-altitude bombers to Guinahan and dropped napalms over it, and not only that, but he also dumped thousands of tons of toxic waste in their farming fields and their drinking water to make sure they can't feed themselves should there be any survivors… I knew he did that for his brother. He did that for revenge" Ranma shook his head dismay
"What a terrible way to honor his brother, the man who was dedicated to healing people, and no different when Zala loyalist drop Junius 7 on Earth" he remarks solemn.
"What…what happen to your friend?" Lacus asks
"He had to be stopped…So, I led a special forces group to raid their base hidden in the Ural…I put two bullets in him… and then brought his body home to his family for burial. It's the least I could do for him" his fist pounded the guard rail again, and it dented even more as Ranma shed a tear.
"He would never had joined Blue Cosmos, if Zaft had taken his brother prisoner and Guinahan would never have been burned to the ground if they didn't kill him and what was worst of all, they burned his body in a bonfire and scattered his ashes all over the goddamn desert"
Both were silent for quite a while and during which the temperature in the observation lounge went down to ice cold and it was radiating from Ranma body
With arms in a prayer position, Ranma reached into the Soul of Ice, so instead of the warmness he was radiating a while ago, it was now arctic cold and Lacus is shivering from the cold.
Now occasionally, when Ranma became too upset or his emotions are so high it would get out of control, he instinctively reaches into the Soul of Ice to calm down those emotions as much as possible. Remembering his friend Joshua and how he couldn't save him from himself and what he had to do to stop him from causing anymore needless death by firebombing another Guinahan was too much.
When he stopped, he noticed Lacus shivering from the cold and the observation lounge was partly frosted from the Soul of Ice. So, he took his uniform coat off, gave it some warm ki and draped it on Lacus shoulders. Lacus reacted immediately from the warmth coming from the shirt and so she stopped shivering
"I'm sorry about that" Ranma apologize as he seated back
"Why is this place being so cold all of the sudden?"
"It's the effect of my Soul of Ice. Don't worry, this will pass"
"Soul of Ice?"
"It's a prerequisite state for one of my most powerful martial arts techniques. I rarely use it, other than decimating an entire battalion because of its destructive capabilities. However, I found other uses for the Soul of Ice"
"Other uses?"
"It's somewhat different than you Coordinators going into SEED mode or SEED factor"
"SEED mode, SEED factor? I don't understand"
"I am not surprised that you don't know about this, despite the fact that you have been using this to enhance your combat abilities, something that most people namely natural born are rarely able to do it" Ranma said
Overview
The SEED factor (Superior Evolutionary Element Destined-factor) is a term for a unique phenomenon that represents the ability for an individual to enter into a state of enhanced awareness and peak physical ability, known as SEED mode. It is something you Coordinators can do and very few Naturals who can during battle, and it's to amplify your fighting power to the maximum level and it's triggered through high emotions.
Soul of Ice
A mentality needed to master the Hiryu Shoten Ha.
Overview
Whether one is going to be fighting physically, spiritually or psychically, they're going to have to have a firm control of their emotions. However, this does not mean that one buries their emotions but experiencing them calmly.
A calm intensity of emotion that is completely stable and, in their control, a Soul of Ice.
The Soul of Ice requires a perfect balance if you let your emotions get too out of control, your body temperature is going to go up and there'll be another unpleasant surprise for you. However, if you try to just bury and ignore those emotions, you're just going to have the same problem.
You need to let the emotions flow, but flow where you want them to flow. You want to be making conscious, free willed decisions.
You don't want to be following some program, habit or routine.
Without both instinct and intellect, you aren't getting to the center of this spiral.
0-
Ranma gave a gesture for her to stop asking about it "Let us talk about that some other time, I want us to focus on resolving this problem with your eugenics lab before Alliance Command get a whiff of this"
Lacus nodded in agreement "I understand"
Ranma then look towards the doorway "Commander Yamato, I would appreciate if you could join us, and not lurking behind the doorway"
"Kira?" Lacus looks towards the doorway and stood there was Kira, and he walk towards and sat beside Lacus
"I- got worried"
"I wasn't running away with your girlfriend to have a hot salacious night with her, if that's what you are thinking" Ranma told him which cause Kira and Lacus to look away and blush
Ranma shook his head in disbelief of their reaction "Honestly, this is not a normal way to react guys. It's weird" he remarks 'sigh'
After an awkward moment, Ranma went back to the subject of this conversation and can see one way to resolve it and that's to have every DNA sample that belongs to Ranma be disposed of.
"Ranma please, can't you reconsider what you are asking?"
"My DNA is my body and my right to use or not," Ranma answered
"They showed no consideration of the person's feelings when they extracted chromosomes from, and that's practically an act of being violated by strangers. In other words, I am being raped, repeatedly!" he said, pounding the table with his fist and putting a stop to any argument Lacus could give.
"They want my permission, then they need to earn it. Instead, they earn my ire"
"Come on now Saotome, that's sooo lame!" a familiar voice that cause him to sweatdrop as the shivers run down his Ranma spine and it came from the cellphone and startled Lacus and Kira
'Oh, please kami Sama, not her! Anything but her!' Ranma thought pleading
"I know you can hear me Saotome, so answer the phone already and let me in on your conversation" the voice asks and made Lacus and Kira look at Ranma with questions and confusion
"Ignore the voice coming from my phone" he advised but the voice was having none of that
"Ranma Saotome, if you do not allow me in on your conversation, I will download all expletive pictures of you that I got from Nabiki and see how many creepy perverts drool over all over them" the voice threatened and that pretty much force him to open an app for the holography projector to reveal a woman with an unusual long pointy red hair wearing an attire with color schemes similar to Lacus for some reason
"How the hell did you get those pictures of me from Nabiki!?" Ranma demanded
"Oh, she gave it to me before she went to the GP Academy years ago, says that should you be uncooperative in the future, I should use it to blackmail you to do what I want you to do"
"That bitch!" he growled and then it hit him 'Wait, Nabiki is still alive?'
"Nabiki? that mercenary, the notorious Nerima Ice Queen, slash blackmailer is training to be cop?"
Washu chuckled "You'd be surprised on the affects you have with the women in your life, especially the eldest of the three Tendo's. Your former fiancée, however, she wants nothing to do with you which is fortunate" Washu told him
Lacus hears a word she's unfamiliar with like 'GP Police Academy, is that a new police academy? And that cellphone, how is it receiving cell signal out here?' the woman turns to Lacus and Kira she's smiling at them
"Hello, the name is Washu Hakubi, chief director of Overtechnology Scientific Research and Development department and," from the small image on the table to the full-size hologram that look so real. Washu was looking at the two with teary eyes.
With a gentle touch to Kira face smiling and to Lacus, a big bear hug
"Ah! Ma'am?" Lacus was startled of the hug
"Hush child, now, let me get a good look at you" Washu cup Lacus face, shedding a tear
"The last time I saw you, I held you in my arms… on the day you were born from your mother… Sophia, Sophia Loren. Seigel have raise you well, bless his soul"
"What? My Mother?" that surprised Lacus as she never knew her mother who died when giving birth to her from what her father told her
Washu then turns her attention to Kira "you have the gentle face of your mother Via. How well you've grown" Washu said and that surprised everyone listening
"Wait, you know our parents?" Kira asks and Washu acknowledges it and shows them a photo of what looks like a graduation ceremony.
"They were my best students" Washu said as the recognize the young faces of Via and Ulen Hibiki, a pink hair lady that look almost like Lacus and then Gilbert Durandal, which was a surprise to them
'Our parents knew each other!' Kira thought
"They were my best students" Washu said with a hint of sadness in her voice
"My Mother's name, I never knew my mother's name…Sophia my father never told me her name, not even once!" so many emotions were running thru her like a runaway freight train that Kira had to console her as Washu cup her face again to look at her
"Hush my child, calm down sweety, calm down, calm down Lacus" Lacus slowly calms down while tears were still flowing as Washu opens her arms for a hug, feeling the warmth and kindness of a mother was overflowing
"That's my girl" Washu whisper and she broke from the hug
"There are so many things I want to tell you, about the wonderful person that is your mother. I can only ask you to be patient for a little while, the same to you Kira, I want to tell you all about your mother as well, for I will be coming to the Plants in a few days from now"
Lacus nodded as did Kira
"Washu" Ranma called her attention
"Are you really coming here?" he asks, and Washu nodded
"This is, as a good a time as any, Saotome" she said
"Those fools have messed with your DNA without permission, so why don't we ask some compensation like…complete access to the original Productive Location Ally on Nexus Technology facilities that's been left idle for years"
"What!?" both Lacus and Kira
"Not a chance in hell that they would agree to that, and I am not in the mood to let them do what they want with my DNA" Ranma replied
"Ranma, I know you are upset of what they are doing to your DNA without your consent and believe me I understand your anger" Washu said
"However, see it from their perspective, they are desperate, and you heard what Lacus said about their current birthrate problems. Ranma, they are at the end of the line and your DNA is a lifeline, a glimpse of hope they have not seen for a long time"
"Maybe, but tell me Lacus," Ranma look towards her and asks, "why is the council keeping this a secret, as much as the Earth Alliance is keeping my existence as a Natural born Coordinator?"
"I- I don't know"
"A Natural born like me is a Coordinator. That itself is unprecedented. So, how would the Plants react when people like me are possibly being born today?" he questioned
"Washu, what are the odds of people like me being born today?" Washu did the math which was easy for her
"Well, Two hundred years ago, it was one in a billion people. you would be a rare individual back then" Washu answered
"Rare? So, what are the odds on this era?"
"It's one in a hundred thousand people" Washu answered which surprised even Ranma
"That quite a jump from 1 billion to 100 thousand in a span of only two centuries. I only guess it's around 1 in 500 million, Washu. What's the reason for it?"
"Everything" was Washu answer
"Everything?"
"Despite what people think of the past, the world back then was peaceful two centuries ago, and change comes slowly if ever" 'Except for a noted few, like a certain martial art master we know and love' Washu thought
"One of the best traits that humanities possess is its adaptability to change, whether it's War and conflict, environmental changes, pressure and stress in both physical, emotional and spiritual and yes, the presence of genetically engineered human beings is triggering an evolution in the human body or should I say forcing it to adapt to a twisted world…and that is something the eugenic scientists have taken away when they engineer a child into a Coordinator"
"Miss Washu" Lacus asks "is this what's causing the birthrate problem?"
"That and more my dear Lacus" she replied
"I taught the best of them and the lessons I tried to teach my student's cautionary warnings, that eugenics is not an end all, and be all answer to everything …The best among them were your parents, and I thought they understood what I tried teaching them, and yet it seems that my warnings were for naught" Washu with a tone of disappointment in her voice
"Washu?" Ranma have never seen Washu this downcast as Washu look towards the Plants
"Ulen, Gilbert and Aura were one of my best students, and I taught them a level of knowledge that expanded their minds in Eugenic that is unheard of" she started
"Ulen Hibiki and Aura Maha Khyber were fierce rivals and Gilbert was a boy genius in that bunch that I hope would be the one to pull people out of the brink. I was so wrong" Washu then revealed something that's not known
"Gilbert presented to me a thesis for a new system. It was a good thesis but unfortunately it was flawed, very flawed, which I graded as a C minus instead of an A plus that he'd hoped I would give him. I told him that it lacks empathy towards people and stifles humanities growth in excluding freewill from his equation. To deny a child to grow, to be more than what this new system assigns him to be"
Wash heaves a sigh of disappointment "I told him to rework it. He never did, and even tried to enact it. My final grading…an F!" Washu declared
"The Destiny Plan was a C minus thesis?" Kira said in realization
"She downgraded it to F. wait," for Lacus, that last name was familiar to her and remembers "Aura Maha Khyber? The queen of the Kingdom of Foundation, she was also your student?"
"Yes, and she is also Gilbert most staunch supporter and among other things" Washu informed which feels ominous and gave Lacus a warning "Lacus, take heed in dealing with her when you meet her in the future, and that includes all her children, for they are not what they are" she warned
"Though I would prefer you completely stay away from her and her Kingdom if that's possible but it's not, as you are going to be dealing with her in the future" she sake her head and turn to Ranma
"Ranma"
"I am not changing my mind, Washu!" they can see that he's adamant
"It is a Martial Arts duty to protect people!" Washu remarks loudly and it made Ranma mad
"Are you trying to use my honor code against me now!?"
"I am trying to tell you, that these people need your protection as much as the people on Earth need protecting, they need you!" Washu gestures to the Plants.
"You can save them and maybe even put an end to this genetic conflict, once and for all!"
Ranma snorted at that idea "One man doesn't hold the key to end a conflict"
"Unless their name is Ranma Saotome, and YOU CAN end this conflict, you can save the Cosmic Era" Washu put emphasis in the words 'you can'
Ranma look at Kira and Lacus who is somewhat in disbelief in what Washu is declaring and why she's saying such things like Ranma is some kind of savior
" That's a tall order you are asking me to do Washu"
"So what, you are used to this kind of stuff when it gets dumped into your lap all the time and you never complain, you just do it. Still, you are not going at it alone, not this time. Overtechnology is watching your back as do the others as well"
"Others?" Lacus repeated
Ranma then asks them "Forget what she says for now, it's hard to explain, but could you Ms. Clyne and Commander Yamato, give us some privacy for a moment?"
Ranma then turns towards the security cam "Uh, guys please turn the camera off?"
Despite asking and they did turn off the camera, Ranma activated the anti-surveillance field app on his phone
"This will give us some privacy" Ranma then look at Washu now sitting at the opposite side of the table and slam his palm on the table "first thing first…now, have you been listening to every call I made!?" he stood up and shouted at Washu making her hair wave
"Only when I get bored, and it's a good thing too, I get to get to see Kira and Lacus again and my, my such lovelies they grow up to become!" Washu being cheerful
Ranma slumps back to his seat groaning "Washu, do you have any idea; the kind of danger you are heading to? Blue Cosmos still has a bounty on your head, and I don't know about these people"
Washu acted dismissively "Pfft! Like those morons can hurt me, Ranma. They have no idea how dangerous I am and besides, I won't be alone, Ryo-Ohki will be with me along with Azaka and Kamidake that Ayeka loaned me, and several others and I know you will assign bodyguards for me"
"Of course," thinking about it he can send a special forces unit to shadow guard Washu "I think, a contingent of ODST will be your bodyguard led by Master Chief Blue team will be shadow guarding you all the time" he decided
Washu nodded at the choice "That's acceptable"
"Reworking the seventh fleet to US navy standards took a while, after the mess Blue Cosmos made with the Alliance"
"Now if you are coming here, are you sure you want everyone to see all those technological advances to everyone? I mean, Ryo-Ohki alone is going to freak out everyone"
"It will be fine Ranma, don't worry" Washu said with assurance "Seeing what I am bringing will establish my superiority over them and establish Overtechnology as the most advanced company in the world" Ranma nodded in agreement then he asks another question
"Speaking of which, what's the status of the seventh fleet readiness?"
Washu answered "Slow Ranma, we are falling short of our goal and reason for that is our construction of new ports and shipyards is getting delayed far too much"
"So, what's the problem?"
"Manpower, we need at least a hundred thousand people, or more as many people as we can get for the construction industry, and we need more of the fabrication machines to make more of the complex parts for the ships in the fleet. Ranma, we need the Plants labs and production line that's been left idle for decades"
"The Plants council isn't budging; they are hesitant Washu"
"I'm aware that negotiations are stalling or more like they are dragging their feet even though we offer to share our technology with them in exchange for access to the Plants technical resources. Opening them up will not only benefit them but everyone and not just the Plants"
"From what Ms. Clyne told me, they are bit apprehensive in letting Overtechnology setting up shop here, due to our association with the Earth Alliance and I can't blame them for that" Ranma admitted
"Manpower and resources" he notes
"We've been moving people offworld since the last war, smuggling people out in secret from every part of the Alliance and the Atlantic Federation, Eurasia, East Asia, here in the Plants and Orb without getting noticed. To get that many people, you need to empty all of Arzachel base for that and moving 100 thousand people is just one part, we need to relocate their families as well and that is not an easy task unless,"
Peeking at the doorway was Lacus, and she and Kira were behind the wall and trying to hear their conversation and failing, thanks to the anti-surveillance field. Lacus peeked, and she sees Ranma silhouette and knows he has a stern look which she blushes and snuck back out of sight and Ranma smiled with amusement
"Ohhhh, Ranmaaaa, I haven't seen you smile like that in a long while. Have you fallen in love with my little girl?" Washu teases him as he blushes from her query
Defensibly he talks back "She, is an amazing young lady and it's hard not to fall in love with her, hell! Everybody is in love with her"
Washu had a glint in her eyes. Now, normally she just wants some material to gossip with the others, however Ranma danger alarm is screaming on his ear like the whole world is on fire 'Oh God! Every time someone looks at me like that, I ended up completely naked and tied up in some operating table with probe needles all over me!'
Washu hummed with a question on her lips "As I recall, the joint chiefs gave you a choice in volunteering or not?"
"Yeahh" was Ranma cautiously responded
"You must really want to see her personally, despite the fact that, you don't want to be anywhere near this place and yet you volunteered anyway" Washu said sounding happy about it
Then Washu asks "So, what do you think of her?"
Looking thru his own thought, his interaction with her for all this time have made him smile
"She's…bright, wise and intelligent, kind, strong willed, a beautiful voice. I would say…the very best part of humanity is in her and…she's one of the most beautiful women I've meet in my life"
"Why, of course she is!" Washu agrees cheerfully and said something of a revelation to Ranma
"She is after all, my granddaughter!"
"Oh" that was Ranma response as the brain is processing what he just heard, a mind-blowing secret that Ranma head explodes (not really)
"SHE'S YOUR WHAT!" Ranma stood up
"You heard me Ranma, her mother's full maiden name is Sophia Loren Hakubi, and Lacus is my granddaughter, well she's the seventh descendant of one my daughters and Tenchi actually. I keep track of all my kids, even those who decided to live their lives on Earth instead of migrating to the stars." Washu closed her eyes and open it with a serious tone following
"Truth is… Lacus was almost never born if I hadn't step up to save Sophia child, and you can thank Aura for that!" she spat at the name
"The current Foundation Kingdom reigning Queen? What did she do wrong?" Ranma asks curious
Washu answer with one word "Everything"
"Everything. Aura created a variant of a Coordinator and name them 'Accord' and she created them by disregarding every warning I gave her, cross line that shouldn't be crossed. offsetting the very balance in nature just to create supermen like human" Washu felt disappointed
(From the Gundam wiki)
An Accord is a Coordinator variant engineered by Aura Maha Khyber under Gilbert Durandal's Destiny Plan: Project Destiny. An Accord possesses a higher physical potential than the standard Coordinator, as well as several unique mental abilities including telepathy, mental networking, mental manipulation, mentally influencing people, emotional manipulation, and creating illusions.
It is Aura's interpretation of an Ultimate Coordinator; considered a different breed from Dr. Hibiki's Ultimate Coordinator.
For telepathy, they are capable of reading minds and feelings, allowing them to understand another person's intentions. However, their abilities are limited by distance as they can only read and manipulate thoughts within a certain range. It is most effective during battles as they can anticipate the enemy's movements, as well as communicate and coordinate with each other. While an Accord is able to generate false thoughts, visions, and feelings to manipulate a person to do their bidding, they aren't capable of directly controlling a person's mind.
Telepathy is the only shared ability amongst Black Knights, each of them specializes in an ability greater than the others. As such, one Accord may have a high degree of charisma to convince people to follow them while another can manipulate a person's level of attraction to another. As such, not all Accords can read the minds of others and not all can create psychic illusions. Noticeably though, the Black Knights lack the SEED factor as they can't enter a state of focus except for Lacus.
As a weakness though, psychic intrusion and mind reading can be exploited by an opponent. If the opponent is aware of the Accords' abilities, they can use focused thoughts to prevent them from reading their mind. By creating a mental distraction, the person can avoid their intentions being known. Alternatively, if the opponent allows their movements be directed by a third person, this will prevent an Accord from knowing their opponent's true intentions for a critical strike.
-o-
"200+ years ago, someone once said that "superior ability breeds superior ambition" what Aura did is nothing more than to validate those words, when she created these Accord and now her children with superior abilities, it went into their heads, believing that they are the master race"
"Washu, it sounds like you are talking about 'Augments', right?"
"That and more Saotome, they are Augments 2.0 to be exact and if the data that I gathered about them is right, then they are dangerous"
"So, Lacus is an Accord?" Washu nods in confirmation
"The Lacus Clyne growing in Sophia wound at that time, would have been born in complete opposite to the young lady you know and love. She would have been a monster with powers that could sway millions of people with her songstress voice alone. She would have become a woman, with the moral compass of a demon with a face of an angel. She will deceive you"
Washu leans on the table (think of Gendo Ikari when he sits at his office looking like a bastard)
"Sophia and Seigel were newlyweds, they wanted to have a child and asks Aura, her best friend, do the procedure for her but three months after, Sophia called me and asks to look at the condition of her child for she sense that, something was terribly wrong, and she was right" Washu slammed a fist on the table out of anger.
Washu explained to Ranma, that the child speed of growth was abnormal and the reason for it was the child was siphoning Sophia life to the point that she could die before she could give birth. The child was in a rapid growth, unfortunately the child internal organs was not growing properly to accommodate the rapid growth and in time the child would have died and the mother with it.
Seeing the danger, Washu could have removed the fetus to save the mother, but Sophia says no for the child was hers and Seigel and she does not want to lose the child even if she loses her life.
Washu gritted she fought not to cry but remembering Sophia was hurting her and it worried Ranma
"Washu"
"She asks me to save the child no matter what, and I did save her child!"
"I used my superior knowledge to alter, repair and restore what Aura did" Washu was smiling with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
"The child will be born with a moral compass. I put everything back into balance and I went a step further"
"A step further?"
"The child will be born, inheriting all the wisdom, the understanding and the love of her parents and grow beautiful. She will have maturity beyond her years and most assuredly, Lacus Clyne will be born beautiful!"
Ranma couldn't help but agree "Well, from everything I've seen, you accomplished that and more" Washu look happy
"She, is Tenchi descendant Ranma and there is a possibility that Lacus…may have inherited the wings"
"Inherited the wings?" when Ranma heard that, only one thing came up in mind and it's a worrying thought
"Washu, could she create?" Washu vehemently shakes her head
"I don't know if she could and like Tenchi, I don't how he was able to generate the Wings which is still a mystery for me even now" she looks to Ranma
"All of Tenchi children showed no indication that they inherited the wings, though there are ways to know"
"And what's that?"
"Well Ranma, for one, you could show her the Tenchi-ken or your "Koh-Oh-Yoku" to her and see how she will react when you let her touch it"
Ranma look at her questioningly "You want me to show her the blade or my 'Lightning Eagle Sword' Washu that's not something I show around to people"
"But it is the equivalent to Tenchi 'Kou-Ou-Yoku' something me and my sisters were surprised to see when you created it from purely out of highly condensed Chi and it more than a match to Tenchi 'Light Hawk Wings'"
Thinking about what Washu said there is a serious outcome that came to mind. Had the child lived and without Washu intervention, a Lacus Clyne with the powers of the wings would make her almost godlike to everyone. Then, there is another problem,
"If she can draw out the wings, the Juraian Royal family will try to claim her. They will involve themselves in Earth's affairs along with the galaxy federation! Ranma said and shake his head for it being a bad idea
"No! That's out of the question. I won't allow her to be exposed to that. The Hell! I'm Already in big trouble with Jurai!"
Washu what Ranma is referring to "Your status as an Ouritsuju bond to the first generation Jurai treeship, the Tsunami you mean"
Ouritsuju, from Japanese, in English it translates to Royal Tree.
"You and the others brought me into the Royal Arboretum to heal me and I was in a coma, that lasted for 200 years. When I did wake up, Sasami (now a young lady in looks) was there and offered to take me home, even though, it's been 200 years, and this is not the world I knew when I left. I still want to be here instead of Jurai. What I did not know, is that my bond with Tsunami the treeship has consequences"
When it was explained to him, that the Tsunami treeship also represented Tsunami, one of the three Chousin goddesses and that Sasami have been assimilated with the goddess and that Ranma. To no fault of his own… is now married to a goddess.
He is also being accused of usurpation of the throne now that he's married to their patron goddess
Ranma pounded his head on the table "Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous in your entire life?" he asks
"I can think of a few" Washu remarked while pointing at herself 'and a certain Goddess of Fate that you seem to have forgotten Ranma. You idiot!'
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Tenchi was married to you who is a Chousin" flippantly Ranma said
"Do you know that tree ship's has psychic links with other trees? It's like a damned chatroom in head sometimes! Worst of all, I get no privacy!"
"So, you got married to a Goddess and in a Star trek Borg collective, so what, you should be happy Ranma" Washu shrugs like it was no big deal which made Ranma growl at her
"Washu! Jurai is threatening actions against me if don't return the treeship Tsunami and Sasami back to Jurai which I can't because Sasami doesn't want to go back"
"She doesn't want to go back to the Masaki home either, she's at Tabletop Island managing the house over there"
"It also doubles as a correctional facility for Earth's most dangerous criminal, and you should know, I put one of your former students in there"
"I know, unfortunately" Washu knows who is in that prison and it made her a bitter in disappointment
Ranma huff a little "let us shelves about this for now. So, when will you be coming Washu?"
"In five days from now, I will be bringing several people who are quite important" Washu was smiling at the thought
"And who are these people you are bringing with you?"
"I'll tell you…"
Several minutes later
"Anti-surveillance field" Kira remarks "It's amazing that I can't hear or see a thing"
In their perspective, the Anti-surveillance field is like a smoky bubble where they can't see or hear anything and it also disrupts surveillance devices or cctv cameras and microphones, though they can see silhouettes as Lacus who peek inside was attest to that.
Then when the field dropped, it revealed Ranma writing on a pad of paper and he looks like he's having a good mood
"Ranma?" Lacus calls him and he look up with smiling
"About five days from now, a battlegroup made of Earth Alliance warships will be in the border, they are there to escort Washu personal spaceship under a diplomatic flag" Ranma explained
"They will handover escort duty to Zaft to the Plants. However, the vessel is not likely to be a shuttle or anything you've ever seen so, it will be unusual"
"Unusual?"
"Yes, and also uhmn, Lacus"
"Yes?" Ranma look at both Kira and Lacus and he's smiling like he's on cloud nine or something
"It would be appropriate to bring bouquets of Yellow and Red Roses to welcome the people arriving with Washu" he advised
"Alright. Is there a reason?" Ranma thought of an answer for that question
"I would look good for the press"