>From the Scriviner:
        I've had this idea for months. Which initially started out as a
fairly simple, Ranma cast with superpowers type of story, but I decided to
make it more interesting by melding the Ranma Universe with the Strikeforce
Morituri Universe. To those who aren't familiar with Morituri, I suggest
asking about it at your local comic book store, it was one of the good
series back in the eighties until it got cancelled.
        The premise of Strikeforce Morituri is simple. Aliens land on Earth
and in order to fight them, people are given super powers by the government.
There's a catch though... the people who undergo the Morituri process have
only one year left to live. Keep it in mind. This is not going to be a
particularly happy series. If you want a comedy go read one of my other
fanfics...
        Once again, as with all of my melds, keep in mind that the character
in the story, while sharing the name and basic world view of the original,
may not necessarily act the way the original would due to the differing
experiences of each. Anyway, enough talk. Please read on...


Death come not by halves.
A Ranma 1/2 / Strikeforce Morituri meld by the Scriviner

Rights belong to the owners. That's all we need to know. Don't sue. No cash.

Prelude: Parting Words. 

	The following is a transcription from the final recorded message left by
Dr. Mamoru Chiba after his vehicle was recovered at the outskirts of the
alien inhabitted territory:

<continuous background noise is the muted sound of a car engine>

	Toufuu, I know you will find this, so I at least have the satisfaction of
saying goodbye to you, my friend. I had to get all of this off my chest and
I know you will listen.
	I am going to die in a few hours and this is the happiest I've been in
weeks. I am more than ready to go because there's nothing left for me. They
are all dead. A dozen strangers, my wife... all dead. 
	God help me, I killed them, we killed them.
	I know what you'll say, Toufuu... it wasn't my fault. It none of it was our
fault... we didn't know that our preliminary process would burn them out
within a matter of days. But we didn't have a choice did we? The Horde had
landed and our defenses were being decimated. 

<bitter laughter> 

	We were such desperate fools... grasping at straws. It seemed like such an
elegant solution, didn't it? Use the alien technology to fight them on our
terms. We found a means of giving our volunteers superhuman powers by simply 

<twenty eight words deleted for security purposes>

	 Our Morituri process is both an astounding success and a dismal failure.
It worked, Toufuu. It worked incredibly well. Within several hours of the
process all of our volunteers had acquired superhuman abilities... the very
same powers that killed them within several days. But you know all of this.
	I never should have allowed Usagi to volunteer. I never should have even
let her find out about it. I know what you're going to say. Our screening
process was entirely sight unseen and without names, just the silly code
names our superiors cooked up. 
	I couldn't possibly have known it was her... but it is still my fault. I
hope you understand that. 
	You're probably wondering where I went after the debriefing. You know...
the one where they told us we'd be getting a new batch of volunteers?
Well... I locked myself in my quarters and I got stinking drunk. 
	A couple of hours later... I don't know how long, I eventually found myself
in the lab. I wanted to smash everything. I wanted to destroy all of our
work... I didn't want to be responsible for any more deaths! I think you
might have noticed the shattered test tubes and beakers...
	But I had a better idea.
	I've subjected myself to the process, Toufuu. Usagi was right... it is
exhilarating. As though I've come alive for the very first time. I didn't
bother with any of the preliminary treatments and my lifespan will probably
measure only a few hours instead of days. But I don't care. It will be more
than enough. 
	I am dictating this to you from my car. I am currently driving towards the
alien base and I intend to kill as many of the bastards as I can before I
burn out. I seem to have developed an unusual ability. I can generate
destructive pulses of energy... Interestingly enough, it seems to come
naturally, almost as if I've been doing it all my life...
	I feel sorry for you, Toufuu... you are going to have a dozen eager young
hopefuls all asking for the privilege of allowing them to die... I couldn't
take it any more... I hope you can forgive me, though... but I don't expect
it. Truth to tell, I don't care anymore at this point.

<engine sounds slow to a halt>

	Well... this is as far as the car goes, Toufuu. I'll be leaving this tape
here. I'm going to go see how many of the bastards I can drag to hell with
me. God help you Toufuu. God help you all...

<sound of the car door opening then closing followed immediately by a muted
roar and faint shouting>

<tape is silent for thirty minutes followed by the sound of an massive
explosion in the distance>

<tape ends eight minutes later. No further sounds on recording.>

To be continued...