The year is 2005. For six years, mankind has waged a Secret War
against an enemy from Beyond the Stars. A thousand miles above the Earth
and falling, the Tendos, Ranma and Ryouga search for a way to get back
home, and escape the newly revealed horrors of the alien ship.


-----

	The Road To Cydonia

	Chapter III
	El Dorado

-----

	Written by:
Capn Chryssalid
jbw@wpi.edu

-----

	Nabiki watched the countdown continue, and mentally translated
how long they had left. The result was just as she expected: three and a
half hours before reentry. The middle Tendo was loathe to admit it, but
she was scared. Very scared. Unlike her younger sister, she was not
accustomed to danger, or to physical hardship. Ad unlike her older
sister, she had to keep her wits about her - she was the one in charge,
by unspoken consent, and she had to hold things together.

	But she was scared.

	Ranma was exhausted, and looked it. Something about the alien
control system had drained him of his energy, and Ryouga was little
better. She had assumed that Ranma was exaggerating when he described
the fatigue and headaches he had been getting helping her use the alien
apparatus. Now she could see that he had been, if anything,
overestimating his own resilience. The pigtailed boy was slumped back in
a too-small chair, massaging his temples.

	Nabiki sat against the central table in the control room, and
looked around at the rest of her family. And Ryouga. No one wanted to
walk the lower level of the ship anymore, and with good reason. Nabiki
hadn't really comprehended the danger they had been in, not until she
saw the alien's handiwork. Just thinking about it made her sick to the
stomach, but she swallowed her disgust, the taint still on her tongue
and lurking in the back of her mind.

	Kasumi, Akane and their father were together on one side of the
room. Nabiki had thought that they would go to sleep, but all three of
them fought fatigue and kept awake, even though they had nothing to do.
Akane still looked a little shell-shocked by what she had seen, and
Kasumi just looked concerned, but the tremble in her older sister's
shoulders betrayed her. They were in trouble, and everyone knew it. In a
far corner, Ryouga slumped forward, his right hand wrapped in tight
cloth that kept the index finger from moving.

	No one had said as much, but she could tell: they all thought
that they were doomed. That this would be their last few hours of life.
Nabiki couldn't blame them. That thought, and the frozen images of the
dead on the floor below them, haunted her. Just a few hours ago, she had
been happy that she'd been taken aboard the ship and the crew killed off
by Ranma and Ryouga. Now, with this... it was like being gassed in a
diamond mine, or running out of air in a bank vault.

	It was just cruel.

	There was a certain resignation to it, though, that came with
time. Everyone below had died, after all. Why should they be different?
Why should they have lived? It was only fair, now, that they die, too.
This wasn't a way of thinking Nabiki had considered before, but there
was a certain grim appeal to it. Then again, as she pondered that,
something came to her.

	"We were different," Nabiki said, softly. "We were..."

	It was the most anyone had spoke in the last half hour. Everyone
save the lost boy looked in her direction, curious eyes filled with
hope. It was not an entirely pleasant sensation; Nabiki wasn't used to
being the center of attention, ever. It wasn't something she
particularly craved, either. Most of the real work (and most of the
profit) was made behind the curtain, so to speak.

	"Nabiki?" Kasumi asked.

	"Forget them!" The middle Tendo suddenly blurted out. "Those
people down there. Forget them! We're different!"

	Kasumi's eyes narrowed just a little, showing her disapproval.
Their father echoed it. He also sounded upset with her. "Nabiki...!"

	"We're different!" Nabiki pushed off the table, and looked
around to Ranma, and then to Ryouga. "Look: I'm sorry for Mr.
Yanagisawa, and Mrs. Hirata, and Reiko-chan, and everyone, but we can't
think about that now! We have to survive, and we can survive! Think
about it! Why are we here, and not them?"

	Akane answered first, "Because Dad let us out?"

	"Exactly!" Nabiki exclaimed. "And Ranma let him out! All our
pods opened without a problem, but everyone else's... we couldn't get
them to open at all, right?"

	"Where are ya going with this?" Ranma asked. He didn't like
Nabiki dismissing the deaths of so many innocent people, but he was
curious as to what the mercenary girl was thinking.

	"The aliens. They knew there was something different about us.
Something special." Nabiki gave Ranma a pointed look, but frowned when
she didn't see any sort of recognition in his eyes. Then, she turned to
face Ryouga, who was still looking down at his hand.

	"What do you suppose that was, Ryo-baby?" Nabiki asked him.

	Ryouga's shoulders hunched and he let out a self-depreciating
snort.

	"Well?" Nabiki asked, more sharply.

	For a few seconds, Ryouga still didn't respond. Then, he looked
up with dark eyes. "It was me."

	"What?" Akane asked, surprised by this. "Ryouga-kun, what do you
mean?"

	"It was me," he repeated. "All me. I... I don't know how long
ago... but they came to the farm. Akari's Farm."

	Ryouga paused again, as if to compose himself, but no one
interrupted.

	He took a deep breath. "They took us. They opened my mind...
they saw everything. What I wouldn't show, they tore from me. The feuds.
The fights. The martial arts techniques. They learned everything. About
the Dojo... about the Amazons... everything. Everything!"

	He choked back a strangled sound, the free fingers of his right
hand clenching.

	"It was me... me... my fault." He closed his eyes, not wanting
to see them anymore. "The only thing they didn't learn was where. Where
you were. Not exactly. It wasn't that I was strong enough to hide it
from them... I just didn't know myself. So, they let me go. They screwed
with my mind, and let me wander. Sooner or later, I always ended up in
Nerima. Only then, in Tofu's Clinic, did I realize what I had done.
Remember what I had seen."

	"They followed you," Nabiki said, her voice slow and controlled.
"To us. Because we're different. Or at least a few of us are."

	"I'm... sorry..." Ryouga buried his head in his left hand. "I
didn't want... this. I didn't! I..."

	"Forget about it," Nabiki quickly cut in. "Right now, all that
matters is getting out of here. Not placing blame."

	"Nabiki is correct," Soun added. "We must be focused on one
thing at a time."

	"Thank you, Daddy." Nabiki felt a strange rush of confidence.
When was the last time her father had actually assumed an air of
respectability? When was the last time he had actually backed her up? It
felt like forever. "Now. We can say for certain that they were after us
because we are a martial arts family. So..."

	"But," Kasumi interjected. "Nabiki, you don't know anything
beyond the introductory forms. And neither do I."

	"But Mr. Ttendo does," Ranma answered. "And so does Akane."

	"If it was something genetic, we'd still be useful as some sort
of reference. We were close enough, by association, to be spared,"
Nabiki said, with absolute certainty. "They wanted us alive. Probably to
study or something. It is possible that they still do."

	"So?" Ranma asked, blinking. "Are you suggesting we try and get
the ALIENS to save us?!"

	"I'd rather die!" Akane yelled; her voice possessed of a sudden
fury.

	"Imagine what they'd do to us when they discovered we don't have
any special abilities," Kasumi reasoned. "We'd... what if we... ended up
like..."

	"You don't think I've thought about that?" Nabiki snapped. "But
is dying any better?! Damn it, I want to live!"

	"And how would we contact them anyway?" Ranma pointed out. "I
mean: we still haven't gotten the communications system working. And it
isn't for lack of trying, either. My head feels like one of Akane's
concrete blocks."

	"There has to be something we can do! Some solution we're not
seeing!" Nabiki turned to face the holographic display of their course
projection. "The only other options are that we either die on impact,
drown, run out of water or air, or have our lungs crushed into paste!
Even the two wonder-twins here couldn't survive a mile underwater!"

	Ranma gritted his teeth at the thought.

	"If we can't call for help, we need to move the ship," Nabiki
finished, her voice strained. "Maybe if we set off some sort of
explosive outside?"

	"All the alien weapons seem to be locked. They just won't fire,"
Ranma argued back. "Akane and me tried. Even if we kept fiddlin' with
'em, I don't think we'd get 'em to work."

	"If only we could get out and push," Kasumi mused.

	Nabiki scoffed. "Push off what? There's nothing out there!"

	"No, wait!" Akane spoke up. "That's exactly what we can do!"

	"What?" Nabiki asked. "What do you mean? I just said, there's
nothing out there to push off of..."

	"It's a long shot, but it's a chance." Akane nodded, forming the
plan in her mind. "We only need to move the ship a little, right? And
we'll hit land?"

	"Yes..." Nabiki responded, hesitantly. "But that's easier said
than done."

	"Ranma!" Akane then asked, "Do you think you can fire a ki
attack in space?"

	"I, uh..." Ranma bit his lip, ad thought about it. "I don't see
why not. Then again, it ain't like I'd know for sure. I've never heard
of it being done, but I can use it underwater just the same as on land,
so it doesn't need air to work."

	"It isn't like sound?" Nabiki asked, seeing where Akane was
going with her idea. "It doesn't need a medium to travel through?"

	"I... I don't know," Ranma admitted. "Maybe. You two ain't
thinkin' what I think yer thinkin,' are ya?"

	"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,
right?" Nabiki stated fact, but it was phrased as a question. Who knew
if it applied to ki attacks? "When you fire one of your special
techniques, force tries to push you in the opposite direction, right?"

	"Sure, ya gotta brace yerself..." Ranma shook his head, now sure
that they actually meant to go through with this. "But this is crazy!
Goin' out there? Inta space? Won't yer blood boil and eyes explode or
something?"

	"I don't... think so," Nabiki offered. "Didn't they do something
like that in that movie: 2001?"

	Ranma wasn't entirely convinced. Plus, he'd fallen asleep
watching that one for lack of firefights. It didn't matter, anyway.
"That was a movie, not real life!"

	"I'll do it."

	Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and saw Ryouga,
standing in the corner. Ranma felt the ki coming off the other boy. It
was heavy, and dark: it was the fuel of the shishi hokodan. No one else
there could feel it so sensitively, but Akane could see from Ryouga's
expression what was to come.

	"Ryouga..." Ranma began.

	"No, Ranma... This is for me to do." Ryouga's voice was the sort
of detached calm Ranma remembered him using, back when he had first
perfected his signature ki attack. "My perfect lion's roar has always
been stronger than your tiger's pride. Besides..."

	He trailed off, but Ranma knew what he had meant to say.

	'Besides... you have Akane. I have nothing.'

	It was the spiral of despair; Ranma could see it, feel it. The
lost boy was already building it up, for an attack that would rival the
one he unleashed in the fight against the Musk Dynasty. That blast had
leveled a hundred meters of forest in every direction. Ranma didn't like
being outdone, especially by his rival, but he really couldn't compete
in this case. The perfect shishi hokodan was far more powerful than even
his greatest moko takabisha, and the hiryu shoten ha (his own ougi, or
final attack) would be useless in this situation.

	"Is this safe?" Kasumi asked, from where she sat, next to her
father.

	"This is Ryouga were taking about," Ranma answered, when he
sensed that someone was going to tell Kasumi the truth. "If he can
survive me wailin' on him, he can survive anything!"

	"I suppose so," Kasumi said, but didn't sound convinced.  Next
to her, Soun gave Ryouga a simple nod

	"Unless anyone else had any other ideas?" Nabiki looked around
at the group. Of course no one had any other options. It made making the
decision easier... a little. She continued, "Then we should consider
this our last chance."

	"But we'll still crash," Akane noted. "Even if we hit land, how
will we...?"

	"I think," Soun spoke just then. "We all know what the rest of
us will have to do."

	Nabiki nodded. "The pods."

	"The pods?" Kasumi asked, with a trace of concern.

	"They're damn near indestructible," Nabiki pointed out the
obvious, and explained the rest. "And when Ryouga hit them, the people
inside never budged. We'll be safer in them than..."

	"No!" Kasumi yelled, and then covered her mouth, surprised by
her own sudden reaction. "I mean, isn't there some other way?"

	Akane frowned, deeply. "I'd almost rather risk it here..."

	"Kasumi. Akane," Soun's voice was stern, and dignified. "You
will both do what you must to survive. I, too, find it distasteful, but
you will do this."

	Kasumi bowed her head. "Yes, father."

	Akane crossed her arms, but relented. "I know."

	"I guess that leaves me," Ranma said, and rested his arm against
the back of the alien chair. "But... if I go down with the ship, does
that make me the Captain?"

	Nabiki scoffed. "I'll call you anything you like, as long as you
get us out of those damn tubes after we land."

	"Ranma..." Akane said, but never finished her sentence. Even
though it was her idea, her tone made it clear that she was starting to
have second thoughts, now that it was actually being put into motion.

	"We're wasting time," Ryouga spoke up, finally. He watched as
the others left the room, Ranma and himself going last. They exchanged
looks, but not words, before heading for the lower level of the ship.
After all, what was there to say? This was a battle of a different sort,
but each knew they could rely on the other.

	Both were martial artists, and not afraid of death, but both
worried about failure, and who they would leave behind. Martial artists
had a duty to protect the weak, but that had always just been limited to
whomever they tended to run into who needed help. Seeing the Earth out
the window, both silently wondered if that was enough anymore.

-----

	The door opened on the far side of the small room, exposing it
to space. Ten seconds later, it closed, and the room re-pressurized.
Nabiki had elected herself to be the one working the door controls,
which (unlike the command controls on the level above them) didn't
require any sort of ki ability to operate. They were simple enough and
worked like a touch screen, with a holograph superimposed over a
seemingly plain plate of alien metal. Using them wasn't a problem.

	The trick was in the timing.

	From where she was, she couldn't see outside the ship, and the
'thrust' from their little gamble had to be at just the right time. They
needed the ship to orient itself so that it roughly intersected the
horizon of the Earth. If all worked according to plan, the force of the
ki attack fired outside the ship from inside would then give the ship
enough of a boost to hit land instead of ocean.

	Nabiki had the door mechanism down to a tee, but she had to wait
for the signal from the others. Akane was on the leftmost window nearest
to the airlock door, and Kasumi was on the right. Their view wouldn't be
perfect, but when both gave the signal, it should be close enough. The
ship was slowly spinning on a vertical axis, so it was a matter of
waiting. Of patience. Ranma and Soun were on opposite sides of the door
between the 'examination room' (where she was), and the rest of the
saucer shaped ship.

	Besides no one wanted Kasumi or Akane to see what explosive
decompression would do to the lost boy. Akane considered him a good
friend, and Kasumi was... well, she was Kasumi. It would only be ten
seconds, but Nabiki had no idea of the kind of damage that could be done
in that time. Not that she wanted to see it, either. She had imagined
him exploding out there, and it chilled her to her core. She didn't want
to see it, but she knew she could detach herself from that sort of thing
better than her sisters.

	Ryouga leaned against the wall; near the alien corpses she'd had
him pile up earlier. Back then, she had berated him for wanting to dump
them into space, and now she was going to do just that to him. It didn't
matter that the aliens had followed him to Nerima. It hadn't been his
intention, and everyone knew it. No one would blame him. Nabiki doubted
anyone would even talk about it.

	It was the fault of those horrid creatures.

	The door opened, and Soun looked inside the room. "Akane thinks
were almost ready."

	Ranma, who also stood nearby, gave Ryouga a look. The lost boy
just shrugged, and pushed off the wall. His right hand was still wrapped
up, but he had indicated that it wouldn't matter. He wouldn't be using
his hands anyway.

	"Time to go," he said with suicidal certainty.

	Behind him, Ranma looked on with an expression Nabiki couldn't
quite place. Ryouga didn't hesitate, as he walked up to the door leading
to the airlock. Nabiki opened the door, and saw him make the last two
steps.

	"Hibiki." She wasn't sure why she said his last name, instead of
the more playful Ryo-Baby. No: she knew. She wanted him to take what she
said seriously. He inclined his head in her direction, but said nothing.

	"Ten seconds, and then its over," she assured him. "Don't try
and hold your breath."

	"I know," he said, tonelessly.

	"And..." she added, hastily. "We still have to pay you back for
your help. Remember that, ok?"

	He blinked at her, faced forward, and took two more small steps.
The door behind him, between them, closed with a hiss. Like before, when
he had first entered the ship, it was perfectly silent within the
enclosed space of the airlock. The only sound was his breathing, and the
faint beating of his heart. Ryouga found it almost relaxing, content as
he was with it being his tomb.

	Inside, there were two small square windows (more of the alien
metal, made transparent through some unknown means) to either side of
the final door. It was somewhat difficult to see them from the other
side of the inner airlock door, but now he could see the world beyond
very clearly. A resigned feeling slowly spread through his body, filling
it with warmth, and a peculiar heaviness.

	It was his heavy heart.

	Stepping back from the windows, and the ship's entryway, he
began building his energy. It had never been very difficult for him to
summon enough heavy ki to form the shishi hokodan. His Jyusenkyou curse,
his directional problems, his loneliness, his family (or lack thereof),
his childhood, it all went into his heart, where it turned black and
sickly green, before building up in his abdomen. Then, he reached for
his darker memories.

	Memories of fear, and rejection and self-loathing.

	He reflexively set his legs, braced himself, and felt his ki
manifest as an aura. It was more intense than he usually kept it at, and
felt like pinpricks up and down his arms, along his spine, and down his
face. His legs buckled slightly at the increase in weight, as the air
around him became charged. This was the force that had nearly brought
the inhumanly strong Tiger Musk: Lime, to his knees before being crushed
by the full power of the perfect shishi hokodan.

	He closed his eyes, and waited.

	It was not long. He felt it, and heard it, when the outer door
opened - the rush of wind, and the sudden chill. It was cold, and fast,
and nearly caught him by surprise. Ryouga had kept his mouth open while
he waited, and the air was ripped from his lungs, his chest constricting
painfully. His heart began to beat faster from a rush of adrenalin, and
Ryouga tried not to let the flashes of pain distract him.

	One, one thousand.

	Ryouga felt his feet leave the ground. He had not counted on
this. He was going to be sucked out into space, into oblivion. He
couldn't let this happen, not before he unleashed the lion's roar, and
did what he had promised to save the others. His arms splayed out, but
of course there was nothing to hold onto. Not immediately.

	Outside the airlock and inside the ship, Nabiki gasped, as
Ryouga flew towards the open doorway. He was glowing black and green,
the ki like flames filling the room. Behind her, Ranma (who had to keep
count) also sucked in a sharp intake of air. Neither had seen the shishi
hokodan form yet, and neither had any desire to see Ryouga take a space
dive that would not only kill him, but also ruin their best chance for
changing the ship's course.

	Two, one thousand.

	Ryouga's hands hit the sides of the door, and stopped him,
halfway outside the ship. He could feel the ice on his skin, the
pressure on his eyes, the boiling and then freezing of water on his
tongue and in his mouth, and the rush of the last of the room's air come
up from behind. With no air in his lungs, he let his body go slack, his
mind empty of emotion, and lion within him roar.

	The room exploded with light, forcing Ranma and Nabiki to squint
and look away. White became black and green, as a column of ethereal
fire filled the chambers of the airlock, and poured out the only opening
like a deluge. Air molecules, already charged with ki, flared up and
Ryouga's back hit the inner door. Still, the incredible alien metal
held, without the slightest buckling, as the perfect shishi hokodan
continued out into space.

	Behind closed eyes, Ryouga could see Akari, just beyond a field
of flowers and a familiar river. She was with Katsunishiki, her prized
pet yokozuna, and behind her he could see other dim shapes. He smiled at
her, and began to walk, feeling warmer. So much warmer. The last time he
had come here, Akane and his unrequited love for her had held him back.

	Now he knew. He knew he could leave her to Ranma. It wasn't just
what she wanted; it was what she had fought for, that day on Jusendo.
She was with Ranma, and finally, Ryouga could leave it at that. His
nightmare of that day, the one of her and Ranma together after his
death, was now a certainty he had long come to expect and accept. It
would not bring him back from his final rest.

	This time, he would pass on, and go just where he wanted to.

	He stopped, just a moment, in front of the river. Akari was
looking up at him now, eyes free of pain and fear. Still, she looked
sad. Why? Was it his fault?

	"Ryouga-sama..." she said, softly.

	"Akari-chan, I'm sorry." He gave her a wan smile. "I'm so sorry
I couldn't save you. I didn't want to make you wait, and I'm sorry for
that too. But I'm here now."

	"Ryouga-sama, don't..." She said, as he made ready to tread
through the water of the river that separated them.

	"Akari-chan? What's wrong?" he asked his voice also soft.

	She looked down, her right arm partway around Katsunishiki's
neck. "I don't want you to die, Ryouga-sama."

	Ryouga inclined his head, in an almost amused fashion. "My
life... isn't something I'd beg for. Not now."

	Akari looked up at him, and now there were tears in her eyes.
"Please go back. Please live, Ryouga-sama! There are people back there
you have to protect! And you made a vow: that what happened to me, would
never happen to anyone else."

	"I... I can't keep that vow." Ryouga clenched his fists. "I'm
not strong enough."

	"As long as you try, that is all anyone can ask. Go back, Ryouga-
sama. Go back, and live." She gave him another innocent smile. "I want
nothing more than to see you happy."

	"Akari-chan..." Ryouga reached out to her, as she drifted back,
into the shadows beyond. He felt himself being pulled back, away from
her. Away from his grandparents. His feet skidded, and he fought against
it only for a few seconds, before letting himself fall ever back into
the land of the cursed living.

	"Is he alive?"

	"He's still..."

	Darkness.

-----

	Ranma left Akane for last. Soun, Nabiki, and Kasumi all floated
in their pods, suspended in orange solution. They looked conscious for
the moment, and Soun in particular seemed to be looking away from them
intently, but Ranma tried to ignore the other Tendos for the moment. He
also tried to ignore Ryouga, who floated unconscious in Ranma's former
pod, his skin bluish and bruised, his fingernails black.

	"Ranma..." Akane leaned in close. She wanted to tell him
something; and he suspected that he knew what it was.

	"Akane," he cut her off. "I feel the same way."

	She hugged him, and Ranma fought to keep from blushing. There
was nothing more to do now, so Ranma let her stay in his arms as long as
she wanted. Not that he was complaining, or anything. Gentle gestures
from his fiancee were still somewhat rare, and Ranma secretly savored
every one.

	He wanted to kiss her, but was too shy to do it.

	So he enjoyed what he had, at the moment, without risking
anything she'd take the wrong way. Besides, she knew how he felt. He had
yelled it out to the world after the fight with Saffron, when he had
thought her dead in his arms. It was just so much harder to say it with
her awake, and looking at him, into him, searching.

	"Hey, I'll see you in a couple hours, ok?" he whispered, and
felt her nod against the side of his face. It felt good. Better than
he'd ever admit.

	"Be careful, Ranma. Good luck."

	It was the words he had wanted to hear from her. A part of him
still expected her to say, 'I'm a martial artist, too!' and demand that
she stay with him as the ship plowed into the earth at who knew how many
kilometers per second. She had pouted about being treated so delicately,
but he suspected the horrors and shocks of the last few hours were still
having a strong affect on her.

	An overestimation of oneself here meant death.

	"Don't worry 'bout me!" he said, and gave her his favorite cocky
grin. She backed up into the pod, and Ranma reached up to close it. No
sooner did the transparent material close her off from him, than the
tube filled with the orange goo. Akane's hand pressed against the clear
material, and Ranma covered it with his own, briefly, before heading for
the bridge.

	Now, he was alone.

	The ship seemed to take on a more ominous air, and Ranma cleared
his mind by checking the new course projection. Sure enough, they were
still plotted to hit the edge of South America, a little bit inland from
the South Pacific. Leaving the command room, he could see that the world
was getting closer. Blue and white seemed to be everywhere, without a
trace of the sparkling black background he had grown somewhat used to.

	Then the ship began to shake, as it hit some more substantial
resistance. Ranma had seen the American Space Shuttle, and had watched
enough quasi-scifi anime to know that this was the beginning of
atmospheric reentry. Even as it plummeted, becoming engulfed in a halo
of bright red and orange, Ranma distantly wondered what it looked like
from back on Earth.

	Was someone down there wishing upon a shooting star?

-----

	"Hotel One reports no xenos, repeat: no xeno activity in the
northeast quarter."

	"That's a negative All Angles?"

	"Negative All Angles, India One. I'll come around with Golf
Squad to back you up. Good hunting indoors."

	"Will do. Entering now."

	A door opened, light cutting through the dark. A pair of round
green circles moved through the dark, superimposed on top of a large
outline. Behind it, another pair, and then another, moved swiftly and
with practiced ease. Another door opened, and heavy boots, black and
green colored over a metal surface, made hardly a sound as they carried
their owner forward. A gauntleted hand went up, signaling the others to
pause. It made a hand sign, and motioned to the left.

	"Sectoids. Dead. No contact. Looks like five or six bodies. No
plasma scarring or burns. No ballistic trauma. They almost look... cut
up. They're in a rough pile, southwest quadrant of the Examination
Room."

	"Five or six? That's all?"

	"Suzette - Anything on BVI?"

	"No contact on BVI. No motion forward or above us."

	The voices were not heard by any outside the armored combat
suits. The leader, India One, motioned forward, and they continued to
the next door. They proceeded with caution, a flexible tube scanning to
the left and right of the door before the armored warrior stepped
through, a large weapon held at the shoulder and close to its body. They
took up positions, two covering one route, a third by the door, and two
in the opposite direction, away from the lift.

	"East Wing secured. Reactor Intact. Confirmed civilian
casualties in vitro. Seven. Looks like four female, three male."

	"John. Secure the lift."

	One of the armored figures quickly moved forward, while the
other two advanced more cautiously. Two faintly glowing green eyes, set
into a faceplate under a heavy looking helmet, paused to look over the
pods filled with orange colored fluid.

	"This is India One. Looks like we've got survivors: three
female, two male, all adults. Oriental features. One looks injured. All
appear to be fully suspended and unconscious."

	"Japanese?"

	"Could be."

	"Fukida could tell for sure."

	"Don't ask me how. Japanese, Korean, Chinese. They all look the
same."

	"Cut the chatter. I want three on the second level. Now."

	India One watched the four conscious civilians. It was highly
unusual to find survivors on an Abductor, unless the ship was stormed
before it took off, of course. Plus, these people were wearing clothes,
if somewhat makeshift. Sectoids almost never loaded people without
stripping them first. And why were these people alive and the others
not? A minute later, there was another surprising report.

	"Command Deck! We have another survivor. Human. Oriental
features. He's been tossed around, pretty beat up, but he's alive."

	"No more xenos?"

	"No contacts, sir. She's empty."

	"Both engines intact. Still got a full tank of One Fifteen. This
ship didn't run out of power, that's for sure."

	"Is that so?" India One asked, and smiled behind his faceplate.
"All right. Round up these civvies and prep them for flight. I guess
we'll just have to ask nicely to figure out what happened here."

-----


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