Subject: [FanFic] {FANFIC} BGC/Ranma: The Circe Project pt. 1
From: lizsue@mtc.ultranet.com (Lizsue)
Date: 4/5/1996, 9:34 PM
To: Ben Kosse
CC: Fanfic ml <fanfic@tendo-dojo.ranma.net>


I hope this works...

Nightelf(nwl9354@tamvm1.tamu.edu) presents...

The Circe Project

Part 1

Bubblegum Crisis characters created by Kenichi Sonoda
Ranma 1/2 characters created by Rumiko Takahashi

Don't do anything stupid with this fanfic without the author's permission.
If you want to, ask.  I'm not unreasonable...usually.

***************************************************************************

     The bar had seen better days...the wooden tables and chairs, truly a
rare sight in this day and age, were cut, rotting, and seemed on the verge
of collapsing.  Sawdust covered the floor, serving as automatic spill
control for whatever may end up there.  A few broken souls dotted the place,
their humanity crushed under a corporation's heel, the pieces shadowed by
the darkness, unable to see the stars covered by the sterile light of the
city, burying whatever humanity remained underneath uncertain sips of cheap
synthetic.  The smell...the smell was a strange mix of alcohol, sweat,
vomit, and a few other less-identifiable odors, proving a perfect match for
the shards of civilization scattered about.

     Through this cesspool, a woman entered and walked across to the bar,
bringing the impression that the deities had decided to base themselves by
walking amongst the mortals for a time.  She was young, in her early
twenties, with smooth pale skin and relatively short black hair.  Her
expression was a picture of calm stoicism, with little reaction to the
people around her, though her eyes showed a depth rarely seen in humanity.
She wore an immaculate red business suit, cut neatly and conservatively,
subdued and exquisite.  She sat down at the bar and quietly asked for a
glass of water.  She sat there for a moment, slowly drinking, paying
little attention to some mumbling idiot a few stools down.

     A shuffling.  One of the fragments rose from his table seat, walked
to the bar with a surprising degree of control, and sat down next to
the goddess in scarlet.  He was a rather nondescript man, in his early
thirties, with disheveled sandy hair, a day's growth of facial hair on his
chin, and tired eyes.  His clothes, a true contrast to his companion's,
consisted of a dirty, threadbare gray coat, dingy brown slacks, and worn
brown loafers.  Neither one turned to the other as they began to speak.

     "Hello, Sylia."

     "Hello, Fargo.  What job do you have for us?"

     "...(sigh)...An information-raiding party.  Biotek, inc. wants your
operatives to break into a Genom research lab, copy its files, and get out."

     The young woman raised an eyebrow.  "What kind of information?"

     The man shook his head.  "Frightening stuff.  Damn frightening.  Have
you heard about the Circe Project?"

     Sylia, for once, looked surprised.  The Circe Project...it made Genom's
boomer research look like a freshman chemistry experiment.  There were few
rumors...but what rumors there were would be enough to frighten anyone.
Rumor had it that high-ranking Genom execs who got on Quincy's bad side once
too often were transferred to Circe - as experiment fodder.  Other rumors -
of men turning into swine and other animals - were usually dismissed as
fantasy.  Unfortunately, some of the evidence found on the project suggested
it was more than fantasy...

     "Circe...that's going to be expensive.  And dangerous.  How much?"

     "125 million, 75 in advance."

     "Why so much?"

     "The lab's in a remote section of China...all the information you'll
need is on here," he said, handing her a small disk.

     "Thanks.  I'll let you know in a day or two."  Finishing her water, she
slipped the disk into a coat pocket, left money for the tab, and left.  She
didn't notice the fool sitting near her shift over a couple of seats and
take hers.

     A few minutes later, as an immaculately clean and shiny red
Mercedes-Benz roared through the streets of MegaTokyo, Sylia pondered this
new job offer.  "Something's wrong here...It's too...too...convenient?  A
job against Genom, something we rarely turn down...a potentially
power-shifting type of information...a place far away from the familiar
confines of MegaTokyo...the amount of payment...this is just screaming
'trap'.  But...who would value our lives at 75 million?  Are we _that_
much of a thorn in Genom's side?  Also. Fargo would have double-checked
for any traps.  Oh well...if the information on the disk checks out, I'll
probably accept...Genom with a weapon that can transform people is just
too powerful."

     She then shifted gears, put the pedal to the floor, and buried any
doubts in a rush of speed.

Three days later...

     "So what's this place we're hitting again?"  Priss' question echoed
through the Knightwing.

     "Didn't you pay attention in the briefing?"  Sylia's voice, canned
somewhat by the helmet, showed the briefest hint of annoyance.

     Priss looked sheepish even with the hardsuit on.  "Yeah, but...I
kinda forgot."

     "...(sigh)...It's called the Jusenkyo Bioengineering Laboratories.  Do
you remember the plan?"

     "Yeah, yeah...(starts going by rote) Enter the area from the north
side, cross over a group of springs, and, while Linna and I run interference
outside, you, Nene, and Mackie run in and download their computer into our
files.  Right?"

     Sylia smiled beneath her armor.  "I'm glad you remembered something."

     "We're almost there.  Get ready."  Mackie's voice projected barely
contained excitement.  Sylia needed his expertice, so he came along, clad
in a bulky yellow hardsuit.  At his warning, the others began to make
last-minute checks and preparations.

     "Jump in five seconds...Now!"  Setting the 'wing on hover, Mackie
leapt out of the craft along with the others and landed softly, his jump
slowed at the last second by retro-rockets.  He watched as the others
drifted down, their agile movements silhouetted against the moonlight.

     "This is Sylia.  Everyone copy?"

     "Yeah, I'm here."
     "Copy."
     "Copy, sis."
     "I copy."

     She looked at the others one by one, checking to see if there were any
problems.  "Okay.  We're about one kilometer from the laboratory.  Keep
it quiet and don't fall into the springs.  There may be traps, so be
careful."  The group walked through the woods, ready for any possible
resistance.

     Nene was worried as the group walked through the woods.  Something
didn't seem right about all of this...

     "I don't like it.  Why would they leave the springs relatively
unprotected?"

     "I don't know.  Maybe they figured that any force strong enough to
attack would be hindered by the springs."

     "Or maybe it's a trap waiting to happen..."

     "Quiet!" Sylia's voice hissed over the radio.  "We're almost there."

     They cleared the woods and looked at the springs in awe.  There were
hundreds of them...of every imaginable shape and size.  No wonder it
wasn't well defended.  No large force could go across without serious
logistics difficulties.  Also, there was no dry cover.

     "Nene, are you reading any traps?"  Sylia's voice was showing a little
bit of strain.

     "Only the usual sensors...no big deal."

     "Good.  I don't want any surprises here."

     They started walking through the area, taking care to avoid the
springs.  Water doesn't float, after all...they had gotten about halfway
through when Linna heard a *click* underfoot.

     "Sylia..."

     "Sylia!  A bunch of sensors just flared up!  Something else too..."
Nene's voice was on the edge of panic.

     "Holy..." Metal tendrils shot up from the ground, looking for
something to latch on to.  The group tried to avoid as best they could.

     "Sylia!  I can't affect these things!"  Nene was getting hysterical.

     "Get out of the area, _now_!"  Sylia fired the boosters on her jets,
soaring above the reach of the tendrils.

     "Sylia!  I'm caught!"

     "Sis!"  Nene and Mackie screamed as the tendrils grabbed them, then
slammed them into the springs.

     "Sis!  The water..."

     The next thing Sylia saw was a message on her HUD.

***   EMERGENCY - SECURITY ALERT 507 - SUIT 5   ***
***   EMERGENCY - SECURITY ALERT 214 - SUIT 4   ***

     "impossible..."  She was so taken aback by the messages that she put
herself in reach, narrowly missing getting caught herself.  She watched as
the two suits fired their emergency boosters and flew to the Knightwing.  A
shudder went through her as she saw Nene's suit: it flew by itself,
carrying its helmet underneath one arm, creating the impression of a
twenty-first-century Headless Horseman.  Pulling herself together, only
one option remained in her mind.

     "Linna, Priss, get out of there, now!  Head back to the Knightwing!"
She turned around and headed toward the aircraft.

     "Chikusho...*SPLASH*..."

     "PRISS!!!"

***   EMERGENCY - SECURITY ALERT 214 - SUIT 2   ***

     Only Linna was left.  Sylia watched, horrified, as Linna fired her
boosters, was caught by a tendril, and slam-dunked into a spring.  Priss'
suit, like Nene's, rose from the water, its headless body flying through the
air providing a none-too-subtle reminder: This was the death of the Knight
Sabers, and the springs, their graveyard.  She barely heard Linna's screams,
then stared in fascination at the readings coming in:

***   EMERGENCY - SECURITY ALERT 507 - SUIT 3   ***
***   CRIT FAILURE - WEAPONS SYSTEMS - SUIT 3   ***
***   CRIT FAILURE - MOTOR SYSTEMS   _ SUIT 3   ***

     The hardsuit flew clumsily from the spring, like a broken marionette.
Sensing trouble, it launched the suit far higher than it was supposed to
go.  Sylia watched as damage reports mounted.

***   CRIT FAILURE - SECURITY FAILSF - SUIT 3   ***
***   CRIT FAI-------------------------------------
                         º
                         º
                         º
                         º

     The hardsuit sputtered, died, and fell to earth, its strings cut, and
all Sylia could do was watch.  Fighting back tears, she headed back to the
Knightwing, her hopes crushed.  As she sank into the pilot's seat, she
noticed the combat boomers scouring the area, looking for anyone left.

     "I'm sorry...all of you," she whispered, gunning the engines, trying
to dull the pain by outracing the night.

****************************************************************************

End Part 1

My current plan calls for 8 episodes of this fic, though there may be more
if I feel like it.  Of the episodes, 5 are at least partially written in
rough-draft form.  A quick outline (without too many spoilers):

Part 1: see above.
Part 2: Sylia is busy reforming the Sabers, adding two to the team,
     including a young lady with the last name of Hibiki... (currently
     in rough draft form, except for one scene I have to write...)
Part 3: Reunions....that's all I can say about it.  Reunions. (rough draft
     finished)
Part 4: Sylia finds out what happened to Fargo.  Personally, the saddest
     of the chapters (rough draft finished)
Part 5-6: The new team encounters Largo.  Ohhhboy. (not yet written)
Part 7-8: The end.  Moral of the story: Don't piss off Sylia.  She's got
way too many tricks up her sleeve.  (Part of 7 written in rough draft form)

My plans for the fic are to post 1-3 over the next month or so, then hold
off on the others until after summer.  I know this sounds strange, but I
usually write the fics at my parents' house, then post them when I'm back
at college.  The end of 3's a good stopping point, with the team fully
assembled, but not yet in the thick of battle.  Any comments are welcome.

Nightelf
nwl9354@tamvm1.tamu.edu