Nothing quite like avoiding schoolwork...

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.

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

     The bar had seen better days...the wooden tables and chairs, truly a
rare sight in this day and age, were cut and on the verge of falling
apart.  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 what 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 around.

     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 on the earth.  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.  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, quietly drinking, paying little
attention to some mumbling idiot a few stools down.

     A shuffling.  One of the fragments got up, 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 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?"

     "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 Genom execs who got on Quincy's bad side one too
many times were transferred to Circe - as experiment fodder.  Other
rumors - of men turning to 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 ge expensive.  And dangerous.  How much?"

     "125 million yen, 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 few days."  Finishing her water, she
slipped the disk in 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
Merceded-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 yen?  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 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 500 meters from the springs.  Keep it quiet
and don't fall in.  There may be traps, so be careful."  The group walked
through the woods, alert for any complications.

     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.
Armor 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_!  Head for the Knightwing!"  She 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
futuristic Headless Horseman.  Pulling herself together, only one option
remained in her mind.

     "Linna, Priss!  Get out of there, now!"  She started flying back to
the Knightwing.

     "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   ***
***   CRITICAL FAILURE - WEAPONS SYS - SUIT 3   ***
***   CRITICAL FAILURE - MOTOR SYSTE - 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.

***   CRITICAL FAILURE - SEC FAILSFE - SUIT 3   ***
***   CRITICAL FA----------------------------------
                         �
                         �
                         �
                         �

     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 went to 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.

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Well, this is a rough draft of the first part.  If you're disappointed at
the lack of Ranma characters showing up, I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait.
Ranma shows up in part 2.  Any comments are welcome.

Nightelf
nwl9354@tamvm1.tamu.edu