"I can't believe the nerve of you!  After all she did  and you still go back there!  I mean, she was throwing explosive okonomiyaki at us!"

    Akane fumed as Ranma just stood there in the park weathering her storm. They had actually talked like reasonable people these last few days since the wedding attempt, but now he did this.  How he could go to Uchan's after what she did, Akane could not understand.

    For the moment, she couldn't bear to look at him.  Turning away, she began again in a quiet voice.  "I know she still wants to marry you.  I know she was your friend.  But, she was trying to hurt us.  She was almost as bad as Kuno and that blasted sword."

    Akane stood silent for a moment, the breeze blowing through her hair.  It was a quiet night, made even more so by the silence of her fiancee. "You told me you love me." She said in almost a whisper as she turned again towards Ranma.

    For a moment, anger once again flared through her when she saw him looking up at the sky, seemingly not paying her any attention.  But the look on his face held her words back.  An uneasy sensation washed through her body as she looked up too.

    It was a clear night, and in the park, away from some of the city's lights, she was able to make out a few of the brighter stars.  For a moment, she wondered what he was staring at so intently.  Ranma seemed to understand her puzzlement.  "Some of the stars are moving."

    Akane looked at him, then at the sky again.  She was no astronomer, by she could see that there were two extra stars in what the westerners called Orion.  She was about to comment on that when ruby flashes came from them.

    Kracka-THOoommm!!!

    The first sounded like the Kami themselves were bringing lightning back to the world.  All around them, red and green bolts rained from the sky, huge blasts of thunder following each one.  Akane looked back up at the strange stars, seeing that the blasts were coming from them, and fear gripped her heart.  Those weren't stars above.

    KRA-THOOOOMMMMMM!!!

    Akane and Ranma stumbled back from the shear sound of the last blast. Akane looked in the direction of where it hit, and terror ripped through her.  "HOME!"

    Instantly, the two of them began sprinting back to the Tendo house.  They were two blocks away when they found her.

    Kasumi lay face down on the pavement, a small bag of groceries scattered behind her.  Giving the flaming wreckage of her home only a brief glance, Akane raced to her, gently rolling her over.  With some relief, she noticed that her sister was still breathing, but her face looked as if she had spent way too much time in the sun.

    Then she opened her eyes and Akane looked into the milky white orbs that had been her sister's loving eyes.

* * *

Ranma's Rebellion

Chapter 2

By Donovan A Willett

* * *

Hyperspace
Freighter, Tiberian Delight

    Akane woke with a start.  For a moment, she was disorientated, but her mind began putting pieces together.  Her first real thought was regret that the berths of the Tiberian Delight were too small for her and Ranma to be able to sleep together.  The nightmare had come many times before, and he was able somehow sense it and be holding her when her mind returned to reality.

    As it was, Ranma was currently engaged in one of his greatest talents, sleeping through anything.  She stood and gave her husband a kiss on the check before heading for the fresher station.

    For Akane and Ranma, the memory of Warlord Kennril's arrival would always be fresh.  Before he even opened communications with the governments of the world, he did his little demonstration on Washington, Moscow, London and Tokyo.  For the United States, the attack was devastating.  It was early morning there and their congress was in session.  Over ninety percent of the American Federal government died in those few moments. In the other cities, the hours had been wrong to do such damage, but there was much.  England lost her Queen and much of the Royal Family as Buckingham palace was leveled.  The devastation of the Kremlin and central Moscow left Russia without a President and many of the senior ministers.  As for Japan, while much of the civil government had managed to survive, the Imperial Palace had been wiped from the face of the city, the Imperial family with it.

    All of this was minor compared with the personal losses that Akane and Ranma had suffered.  One of the turbolaser blasts had hit the dojo itself.  Everybody in the house, Soun, Genma and Nadoka, had been killed instantly.  Akane and Ranma had been out having their argument, Nabiki was off trying to sell some pictures of Ranma and Akane to Kuno, and Kasumi had to run to the store to get some ingredients she had been short of for dinner.

    Kasumi had barely survived as it was.  Being only a few score feet away had taken its toll.  Every bit of exposed flesh was flashburned by the blast, and it would be months before her skin returned to normal.  Her hearing was gone for a full month.

    But all that she recovered from.  The damage the searing light did to her retinas and corneas was permanent.  When she wasn't working with the fledgling resistance, Akane had spent much of her time trying to help Kasumi learn to cope in the darkness that now surrounded her.

    Truth be told, though, Kasumi did recover.  Like many of the blind, she learned to adapt her other senses to guide her way.  Sometimes, even she was amazed at how well.  Ranma had his own theory.  All three of the sisters had trained in the Art under father in their childhood, though only Akane had pursued it with an eye to make it her life.  But, he told her, it seemed that Kasumi still remember much of her early training in meditation and such.  Perhaps it was her ability to focus her will, her Chi, within that allowed her to be so calm in such a chaotic world.  And now, bereft of her sight, Kasumi had learned subconsciously to reach out with her Chi and feel the world around her.

    Akane smiled at her reflection in the mirror.  While Ranma could be incredibly dense at times, she suspected he was right on the money in this regard.

    A few minutes later, Akane felt steady enough to return to her berth, but ran into Ginon in the passageway.  "Ah, you're awake, I was just coming to get you two.  We'll be coming out of hyperspace in about 15 minutes. We should make planetfall on Lorgon in about three hours."

* * *

Hyperspace
Freighter, Correllia's Son

    "Don't push so hard.  Relax and let it tell you where it is."

    Nabiki grunted, but tried to clear her mind as she brought the lightsaber back up to a ready position.  Somewhere in the hold of the freighter, beyond her blindfolded eyes, was a practice remote.  A remote that she swore was developing a maniacal ability to hit her when she was not expecting it.

    After a few seconds, she could sense it.  It was hovering a few feet to her left.  Reaching out, she began to feel details, including the energy build-up in one of the stinger emitters.

    A shot rang out and her lightsaber dipped to block it, then rose to block a second.  A third got through though, striking her in the shoulder.

    The shots from a practice remote were too light to cause injury beyond a slight red mark, but they were attuned to cause quite a sting when they hit.  Nabiki had been hit with six since they started this session and she had had enough.  Yelling in frustration, she flung away her lightsaber and reached out with the Force to grab the remote.  Once she could feel it struggling to break her invisible grip, she flung it hard against the floor, silencing it.

    Exasperated, she pulled off the blindfold and looked to Bernar.  What she saw shocked her, for floating just a few inches from his face was her still ignited lightsaber, held in place by the power of the Force.  For a moment, she thought maybe he had grabbed it and put it there for the shock value.  But she knew differently, she had felt which way it traveled when it left her hand.  What troubled her now was wondering if she had recognized his position before the blade left her hand.

    Bernar reached up and deactivated the saber before him.  Tossing it to her, he finally spoke.  "That was interesting.  Now, what happened?"

    Nabiki actually hesitated for a few seconds.  "I got frustrated.  I lost control."

    "You grew angry.  And with that anger, you accepted in the Dark Side." He paused for a second, then sat down before continuing.  "Loss of control is the heart of the Dark Side.  Anger, Fear, Hatred, those are all the same thing.  When you can't control it, you feel those dark emotions.  When you feel those dark emotions, you open yourself to the Dark Side, and your control wavers.  In the end, it is Chaos that the Dark Side seeks."

    "And the Light wants Order above all?"

    "No, the Light Side wants the natural order.  Chaos is vital to the universe, for it helps it grow.  But the Chaos of the Dark Side is destruction."  He stood and walked over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.  "Frustration is also the Dark Side if you let it be."

    "So, I'm to feel nothing."

    "Some would say so.  I and some others would disagree.  It was the origin of some fun debates at the Academy.  The way I've always seen it is that you should never let your emotions rule you.  When you let your emotions rule you, you cease to control yourself.  There will always be anger and fear, the key is know them for what they are and to file them away, control them.  Never let your emotions control you.

    "The one exception is Hate.  Hate is not a natural thing, it is something you create and feel.  When you feel Hate, look in it, and see why.  In the end, it is because of fear or anger.  Once you know what it is that you fear or are angry about, you can start to control yourself again."

    "And what of the other emotions.  Love and such?" Nabiki asked.  This kind of discussion was far from what she ever had from Darth Tarrel.

    "If they are true, then they don't control you.  True love, true joy, they are something you create because they feel right.  If those emotions come to rule you, then they are from the Dark Side.  Loving someone obsessively is just as dangerous as hating them."

    Nabiki thought for a moment.  "I saw plenty of that at home.  I watched some who thought they loved do things that they wouldn't do to their worst enemy."

    "Exactly."  Bernar walked over and picked up the battered remote.  "When you are in control of yourself, then you will not need to work to control the Force.  You will be open to the Force and need only to guide it.  Right now, you are seizing the Force and shoving it around.  Now go take a rest, we'll practice again later with some simple telekinesis drills."

* * *

Port Grons, Lorgon

    Ranma grunted as he set the case down on the repulsor truck.  They would be offloading nearly half of their cargo of cinnamon and pepper here on Lorgon, and were expecting to turn a tidy profit.  Now that the last one was in place and secure, he hopped into the open-air cab beside Ginon. The caption of the Tiberian Delight looked over to see if Willtal and Akane were ready in the other truck, then pulled out of the docking bay.

    "You do good work kid.  Most of the time, I've got to baby-sit folks cargo handling for the first time."

    Ranma chuckled.  "Vallon was always a little short handed, so we did more than just security for him.  Sometimes I think I should have signed up as a cargo handler for all the time I spent as one."

    Ginon chuckled.  "That's Vallon.  Good guy, if a bit tight with his headcount."  He looked over at Ranma as they pulled into one of the main streets of the port.  "Watch it kid, you are going to break your neck looking at everything at once."

    Ranma looked a little sheepish.  "This is my first time out of my own solar system.  I'd seen a few other species in the years since the invasion, but not this many.  Most of them were in Vallon's group."

    "Well, the Empire of old didn't brook much with non-humans.  I understand that the Remnant is reforming in that regard, but a lot of the ex-Imperial Warlords like Kennril still think in the same old way. You're lucky your planet was human.  Who knows how bad it would have been if you weren't."  Ginon began to decelerate as they approached the customs checkpoint at the edge of the Spaceport area.  "And don't forget, kid, this ain't a load of Spice we're carrying.  It's food flavorings.  You say Spice and they'll tear this thing apart looking for glitterstim and such."

    Lorgon, being on the outskirts of the 'civilized universe' was not as heavy handed with it's customs officials as many other worlds were. When a ship docked, an officer or two would come aboard to ensure there were no slaves or truly dangerous cargo on board, and then leave.  This meant that Lorgon thrived as a port where ships could meet and exchange cargoes with a minimum of fuss and no duties.

    Leaving the Spaceport area was a different matter.  At all the gates were fully manned Customs Stations who would thoroughly check everything leaving.  They had a few problems a few years back, and were taking no chances now.  All and all, this resulted in a pretty safe and prosperous place to live on the fringes of 'known space' and many thought that Lorgon might find itself at the center of a prosperous region in the next few decades.

    Ranma paid only scant attention to the actions of the Customs officials, for Ginon assured him that their cargo was worth more than even risking any problems with prohibited items.  What did hold his attention were the clouds he could see coming in out of the distance.  They had not told Ginon and Willtal about his curse and he really didn't want to deal with it right now.

    It only took about ten minutes before they were given clearance into the city, and soon they were pulling up to the warehouse to sell the cargo. Inside, they found their buyer with about six others.  Ginon frowned a bit at the numbers, but pulled to a stop and went to talk with the buyer.

    Things went smoothly, and it only took a few moments before they were checking out the merchandise.  It was then that things went sour.

    "It looks good." Said the buyer.  "We'll take it."

    "You can offload just as soon as I get confirmation that your thirty-five is in my accounts."  Ginon replied as Willtal checked his datapad.

    "You don't understand." The other said, "I said we'll take it, right here and now."

    Before any of them could get to their blasters, they saw that they were surrounded.  Through the doors came in six more men, all with blasters drawn, the buyer and his men pulling theirs out too.  "Everybody get your hands up where they can be seen."

    Ranma may have been a good fighter, but even he knew stacked odds.  He submitted a quick search that relieved him of his blasters, then was ushered over where they would be held.

    "Okay, each of you on a corner of that parking pad.  No talking and you might just get out of here alive."

    Ginon did speak.  "What about Ferra Vax?  I paid my fees for passage."

    The buy snorted.  "Vax is a fool.  He thinks he can run this city, but we know the truth.  You wasted your money."

    Ranma merely stood quietly fidgeting.  At least it appeared to be fidgeting.  Akane knew better as she recognized the signals.  During their time working with the smugglers, they had picked up a set of hand signals that were used within the group.  Akane covertly glanced around and confirmed Ranma's evaluation.  A pair were at each of the two doorways.  Those close enough to each other to make things easy.  Eight more stood near them as guards, all close enough to be reached in just a few steps.  The last of them, the buyer, a guard and a man who was working quickly on a terminal were over by the trucks, their blasters holstered.

    Akane nodded to Ranma and began to draw upon her Chi.  Within a few seconds, she could feel him doing the same.  As they both built up, the bond they had forged over the last few years of training together allowed each to know how far the other had built up.   When they were ready, no words had to be spoken.

    Akane spun and let loose her focused Chi at the pair at the nearest doorway.  They barely had time to look up before being propelled clear out the door.  The nearest guard stood, his mouth agape, at what had happened.  She didn't give him a chance to react any further as she kicked him in the head.

    The next guard was a bit more vigilant as he brought his blaster to bear. Akane was faster though, as she dropped down below the shot and swept his legs out from under him.  As he fell, she reached out and snagged the blaster from his hand, glad that it was a Blast-Tech model she was familiar with.  Thumbing the safety to another setting, she pumped a blue stun bolt into the third guard, then rolled and shot the one she had knocked to the floor.

    As she rolled over and fired at the buyer and his men, stun bolts from Ranma's position joined hers.  Once they were down, she rolled and saw that Ginon and Willtal had managed to subdue the last two guards.

    It only took 15 seconds.

    After a few moments, they gathered all the unconscious ones together while Ginon was yelling over a comlink.  It only took about 10 minutes for the first policemen to arrive.  They spent the next 30 minutes or so telling their story to the officers, leaving out the Chi blasts to say they managed to get a blaster away from the guards to shoot the ones near the doors.

As they were talking to the officers, a Twi'lek in a conservative suit entered introducing himself as Lin'Tal, a representative of the Importers and Shippers Guild.  The head officer scowled at the betenticaled man, but did not say anything.

    Ginon, on the other hand, did.  "I'm glad you are here!  What is going on here?  I worked with the Guild to arrange this transaction, and these men are trying to rob me!"

    Lin'Tal did not even flinch.  "I'm afraid these gentlemen have decided to betray the Guild.  We will see that it's taken care of."

    "You're damn right, things like this are enough to keep me off this dirtball.  I have it in my mind to take my merchandise and head out, letting everybody know how pitiful security is around here."

    The officer in charge flinched a bit.  One of his main duties was to make sure non-criminal merchants stayed happy.  He closed up his datapad and checked to see if his men had finished moving the prisoners out. Satisfied, he turned to the Twi'lek.  "You handle this.  Your folks messed this up, so clean it up."

    Lin-Tal watched the officer leave, then turned to Ginon.  "Don't worry about him.  The authorities ignore us as long as the main flow of trade is uninterrupted.  I am authorized to purchase your goods at the full thirty-five thousand."

    "Fifty."

    "That is out of the question.  I understand you being upset..."

    "Damn right I'm upset.  My sell is disrupted, I'm held at blaster-point, and I've just been told that these guys were slicing into my ship's computer.  Apparently they wanted the Tiberian Delight too."

    After about 15 minutes of haggling, Ginon got 35 thousand and a new R9 series atromech droid.  The goods delivered and the droid picked up, they packed it up and decided that leaving Lorgon for a while would be a good thing.

    Ranma chuckled at Akane as she cursed not being able to sleep in a 'real bed' as they settled down for the night.

* * *

Nerima District, Tokyo, Japan
Earth

    Takiwaki Kuno knelt quietly in his garden.  To his left, a small fountain splashed water in a pool full of koi.  To his right, carefully manicured bushes evoked images of mountains.  Before him, a black streak of destruction.

    He had been tempted to repair the damage that the flaming debris had caused the night of the Invasion, but instead he had left it.  With no one to go in and clean up, nature itself had begun the task and now greenery had encroached in, trying to reclaim the area.  Much as the Resistance was creeping in to repair the damage that Kennril had caused.

    As they often did during his meditations, Kuno's thoughts drifted to the woman he loved.  He knew that soon, Tendo Akane would see through the lies and deceptions of Saotome, and that her marriage would end by her own will.  Until then, Kuno would honor Bushido and not fight against the will of her family.

    As for Saotome, Kuno pushed back his rage into a corner of his mind.  The foul deceiver, Saotome had humiliated him with his shapechanging ways for years.  The thought that the... creature... had used his fememine wiles to seduce him into even contemplating somebody besides the most beautiful and gentle Akane.  When Saotome had finally revealed himself, it took a while for Kuno to accept, his highly logical mind refusing to believe such foul sorceries could happen.

    Kuno shook his head to clear his mind of thoughts of that one.  Once again, they drifted, this time settling in on his sister.  Despite her unfinished mind, she had brought honor to the Kuno name, even if nobody could know that she was the one.  The Starbinder would not be operational for many months to come, as a result, more traders ran the blockade and brought supplies to the Resistance.

    He had other hopes for her too.  She still desired Saotome, despite his evil ways, and Kuno supported these desires.  He knew that if Tendo Akane found Saotome with Kodachi, she would rightfully flee the Beast and come to the one that she truly deserved.

    Kuno was patient, he knew in his own mind, that he would win.

    The sounds of blaster fire in his mansion roused Kuno.  He rose and turned to the house, his hand on his katana.  He knew it would be fruitless to attack Imperial troops with the katana, but he would not die meekly.

    What came out of the door was not a troop of armed men, but one Imperial officer.  He was young, but carried himself with a quiet arrogance.  He wore the coal black uniform of a member of the Imperial Intelligence Directorate and wore the rank of a Major.  It took a minute, but Kuno recognized him.  He was a native of Earth and had been to Nerima a few times.  He would not have even remember the man, but the man's name had stuck in his head.

    "State your business, Pantyhose Taro."

    Taro scowled for a moment, then composed himself.  "That's Major Taro. And you can take your hand off your blade, Kuno, I'm not here to destroy your little cell of resistance.  In fact, you have been quite an embarrassment to Colonel Voron this last year.  I know he would love to know who leads the rabble in Tokyo.  Just remember that if you do succeed too much, Kennril will replace Voron, and who knows who will be the next Overseer for this district."

    Kuno glared at Taro.  "Then state your business.  Or did you come here only to taunt me with your betrayal of your world."

    "Betrayal?  I'm doing what's best.  What's best for this mudball of a world.  And what's best for me.  As for what I want, I'm looking for the transsexual."

    "Saotome is not here.  And I would not tell you where he were even if I could."

    Taro scowled again, then he surged forward.  Kuno barely managed to draw his katana when the blow struck his arm, numbing it and the blade fell to the ground.  Taro seized Kuno by the neck and lifted him up off the ground.  "Know this, I will find him.  Now tell me, was he on that ship that escaped a week ago?"

    Kuno fought to breath past the iron grip.  "He is beyond your reach."  He gasped out.

    Taro stared into his eyes for a second, then flung him into the blackened chunk of concrete which had once been part of a house nearly a mile away.  "Don't make too much of a nuisance of yourself, or we might decide you are worth the effort."  And with that, he departed through the gate.

    Kuno sat up, his arm barely responding to his thoughts, his breathing labored through the abused throat and cracked ribs.  It was only a minute or so before another joined him.  Ono Kasumi, along with her husband, had joined up with the Resistance to aid their injured.  Her blinded eyes were covered with a simple cloth, but she had learned to cope and often moved around the mansion and gardens with no assistance.

    "I fear for him.  He was always an angry young man, and now with Happosai dead, I fear there is no release for him."  She said her fingers touching him gently as she spoke, then seeking out pressure points. Under her husband's tutelage, she had learned the arts of acupressure and pressure points, and used these to aid many.  A touch to the shoulder, and feeling rushed back into his arm.  Gentle pressure at two points at the base of his throat, and his breathing became less labored. A few more touches to his torso, and the pain from his ribs faded.

    Kuno slowly stood, then offered his hand to her as she stood.  "Yes, an angry young man.  And a traitor to our world.  We must move quickly so that his anger can no longer touch us.  Tell the others, we disperse tonight."

* * *

Yesbleth
Edge of New Republic space

    Lorgon, Ranma noted to himself, might have been a small, backwoods world, but it did have something over Yesbleth.  That was a simple dignity and respect for itself.  Yesbleth started as a trade stop, was a trade stop, and always would be a trade stop.  As a result, the population around the spaceports that dotted the planet didn't really care if they made any lasting improvements.  Oh, there were exceptions, mostly from people who had actually settled down and tried to make a long-term life on the world, but, for the most part, it was a planet full of transients.

    Of course, Ranma's mood might have been affected by the fact that just as soon as they bid farewell to Ginon and Willtal, they got caught in one of the rainstorms that Yesbleth was known for.  As a result, it was two women who were searching for passage to Coruscant, Capital of the New Republic.

    It wasn't going too well either.

    "What do you mean it will take four months?  I've looked at the charts and a ship can make it in a month easy."

    "Listen lady, you got two choices.  You can either hop a liner as it passes by and spend the time it takes it to wander that way.  Or you can hop a freighter, but unless you are willing to pay out some major credits, no freighter would take you unless they got a cargo headed that way.  And I'll be honest, there just ain't much in this region of space that is worth shipping all the way there."

    Ranma shook her head and started to turn away from him in the busy catina, but he suddenly spoke up again.  "Hold on a second, you might have a break."

    "What?  Join the Republic Navy or something and hope they send me there for training?"

    That actually drew a laugh.  "You got spirit, I'll say that.  No, what I mean are there are always young captains who are still trying to build a rep.  See that Twi'lek over there?"  Ranma and Akane looked over and saw a female Twi'lek trying to weave her way towards the back of the cantina.  "She's the first mate on a new ship in the area.  Approach her right, and they might be willing to ship you to Corrasunt."

    Ranma looked at the man for a moment, then came to the conclusion that he was trying to help.  She nodded to Akane, who plopped a few New Republic coins on the table for the man's fee, then started following the spacer. When they reached her, she was talking to a man seated at a booth in the back of the cantina.  The Twi'lek was looking at a datapad, her head tails twitching slightly.  Finally, she nodded and put the datapad in a pouch in the leg of her jumpsuit.  When she turned, she was surprised to find two women looking at her.  "May I help you?" she asked.

    Akane spoke first. "We understand you have a ship for hire."

    The spacer smiled.  "Yes, she's a brand new Corrillian.  Top of the line hyperdrive and defenses.  Sit down, and let's talk."

    Taking a nearby seat, they ordered drinks and settled in to negotiate. "My name is Li'Pan.  Now, what's your cargo, and where do you want to go?"

    "Passage to Coruscant for the two of us."  Ranma frowned at Akane's wording knowing that it would mean staying in female form to avoid questions.  "I'm prepared to offer thirty for the trip there, plus ten as a retainer for a flight back."

    Li'Pan frowned slightly.  "That's a bit low for a run like that, but I can see that you are running tight.  Tell you what, let me know what you are going to the Republic capital for, and I might be able to help."

    Akane stared at the alien, wishing she could read her better.  After a moment, she took a gamble and went with the truth.  "We're from beyond the Republic.  Our planet got invaded by Imperial forces, and we are trying to contact the New Republic for help."

    "Hard case."  Li'Pan replied.  "The Republic is pretty strained right now with the Yuuzhan Vong invasion as it is.  And the Imperial Remnant is assisting the Republic as best it can.  On the other hand, if this was a direct shot from your world, it was probably some ex-Imperial with some ships.  You might get lucky there."  She sat back in her chain and took a drink.  "Tell you what, there is a Regional capital only a few days from here.  For twenty-five, we'll can carry you there and let you talk to the representatives there.  If things look good, but you still got to go to Coruscant to finish things, we'll carry you for another twenty."

    Ranma and Akane leaned over and began to confer together.  The offer was not what they were seeking, but it had potential.  They leaned forward to negotiate further when a man accidentally bumped Akane's chair. "Sorry about that.  Now as I was saying, you've got to trust the Force. It'll lead you right.  Now let's see what this man has to offer us."

    Akane shook her head and was starting to take a sip of her drink when the man's companion replied.  "I hope so, I don't want to spend the next few years running around in circles."

    The sound of Akane choking on her drink caused several people in the area to turn and look.  Akane didn't care as she turned and her eyes confirmed what her ears had just told her.  "Nabiki!" she cried as she knocked her chair back and embraced her lost sister.

    Bernar smiled.  "See what I mean.  Trust in the Force."

    Nabiki ignored him, but managed to gather her wits.  "Akane!  What are you doing here?"

    "The same thing you were supposed to be doing.  What happened?"

    Li'Pan was looking closely at Nabiki at this point, but her attention was diverted.  She stood up herself and waved at her captain to get her attention.  "Captain, I think we have a cargo."

    The captain smiled as she approached.  "Good, I was afraid the Ranchan would gather too much dust at this rate."

* * *

Part 3 coming soon.

* * *

    Well, I've had a few people asking for some prologues or such to tell the backstory.  So, as a result, I'm going to continue what I started in Chapter 2 and throw in some flashbacks to fill things out.  Let me know what you think about how this has been going.

da Donovan

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