The Allegro Incident
by Eric J. Brown
Chapter 1
Part 1.  An isolated stretch of space.
	For all intents and purposes, space is empty space.  That's why the name is appropriate.  Expect for a few clouds of gas and a hunk of rock here or there, there is normally nothing but pinpricks of light from distant stars burning brightly.
	That also means that Imperial Warships are not common either.  For the crew of the Rebel Alliance Ship Abaremono Buta this was a good thing.  It had a young crew, a somewhat checked past in the history of combat, and it simply wasn't the most heavily gunned ship.  
	Perhaps that is why it was given this sector to patrol.  A quiet part of space, a  system with only one habitable planet, a system that rarely saw anything of space travelers.  
	"Ryo. . Sir, we've got a new vessel in the area, around 30 million kilometers away."
	"Can you make out what it is, ensign?" asked the commander, his interest stirred.
	"Not at this distance, it's too small.  We could move closer and I might able. . . wait a minute.  What the. . . ?  Sir!!  We have an Imperial Star Destroyer coming out of hyperspace next to the unidentified ship!!"
	Alarms echoed throughout the ship.  Under the glow of the errie yellow lights on the bridge that signified an alert the 22 year-old commander surveyed this new twist.
	"Has it picked us up on it's scanners?"
	"I don't think so, Sir."
	"Any distress signals coming from the other ship."
	"No, Sir."
	A deep slow breath came out of the commander's mouth.  "Let's just sit this one out.  Lt. Tsubasa, move the ship behind that moon.  It will give us cover against the Star Destroyer's scanners.  We don't want to interrupt an Imperial supply transfer by ourselves."
	In less than fifteen minutes, the Star Destroyer lept into hyperspace.  Slowly, the Buta crept around the planet.
	"Is the other ship still there, ensign?"
	"Yes, Sir, but it doesn't seem to be operating.  I need to get closer to it to do a good read.  These long range scanners just don't pick up that much detail."
	"Okay, we better check it out.  Lt. Tsubasa, make your course 212 mark 4, one half impulse."
	Tsubasa looked over his shoulder towards his commander.  "Sir, that would take us away from the ship."
	"Oh, well, in that case just take us towards it."
	"Aye, Commander Hibiki."
	The Rebel craft lumbered slowly towards the damaged ship.  As they approached, the entire crew let out a gasp.  A huge hole was ripped in the side of the ship.  Score marks scarred the entire hull.  The single gun placement was pulverized.
	"Can you make out any life signs on that ship yet, ensign?"
	"Not yet, wait, yes Ryouga-sama, um, Sir.  There are two humans, one male, one female."  Lt. junior grade Akari looked at her monitor puzzled.  "Make that two females, Sir." 
	Slightly embarrassed and reddened by the comment, Hibiki asked, "Can you raise any communication with them?"
	"No, Sir."
	Leaning back, Hibiki let out a sigh.  "We better try a rescue mission."  He pressed a small button, activating the ship's intercom system.  "Major, prepare a boarding squadron for boarding."
	A crisp "Yes, Sir," came back over the intercom, followed by the sounds of kitchen ware being shuffled around.  Dinner would be late today for the crew of the Buta.  That is the price you pay when the ship's cook is also the head of the ship's ground forces.  Oh well, helping other victims of the Empire was their job.  Dinner was one of the lesser sacrifices that they might have to make.
Part 2.  Inside a derelict ship.
	A young, dark haired woman sat it a corner of the room, her back slouched, her pretty face resting in her hands.  Her large, dark eyes focused on the floor of the hold, refusing to look at the man ranting on the other side of the room.  She wouldn't lose control of her anger, not now.
	"If you don't want to be stuck here," she began quietly, "then why don't you use those skill you always talk about a blow a hole in the door so we can radio for help.  Did you think of that?"
	He stood with his back to her, his head lowered.  "Of course I thought of that.  But I don't know what's outside that door.  You want me to blast open the room to a vacuum and have us get sucked out?"
	The man's head shook back and forth, a dark black ponytail swinging behind him.  "No, I think we're just stuck here.  I think I'm going to be spending the rest of my life stuck here with you cooking stinking canned beef for all eternity.  I think. . . ."
	A can of said beef came flying through the air, hitting the man square in the back of the head.  "You think _I_ like this any more than you do?" asked the rather strong armed woman.  "This was why I made you promise.  And you were doing so well."
	She paused to take a deep breath.  Sadly, with her eyes closed, "Then you heard about that damn water again."
	The anger rose in the young man, bubbling with strange fury.  "You've never understood.  Do you know what it's like to have to worry when you're taking a shower that the hot water might run out?  What are we supposed to do then, buy another wardrobe for me, because I sure as hell can't wear your clothes.  It's like wearing a tent, I mean good. . . ."
	Depending upon your point of view, it was a good thing that the woman didn't have any more canned meat lying around next to her.  However, when she tossed the only thing she had next to her, a tall glass full of ice water, something very strange happened.  The he ceased to be a he and instead was changed into a quite attractive and shapely redheaded she.
	His/her red hair soaking wet, he/she slowly brought his/her eyes up to bare on the dark haired girl.  "Akane, what did you do that for?  I mean, you realize how long I'm going to be stuck like this?!  You know, we don't have anything to heat water in here!!"
	"Just deal with, okay Ranma.  That's what I think.  That's what I've thought for the past five years.  You're this way, be content.  I'm sick of hearing you. . . ."
	Akane was cut off by a loud clang echoing throughout the entire ship.  Akane stood and crept back into the corner, staring at the door.  "Ranma, I think they're back. . . ."
	Ranma, the red head, stepped away from the door, his/her energy beginning to condense and flow in a controllable way with in him/her.  "I know, just keep back, Akane."
	Akane's already large eyes opened to an impossibly wide size.  "Ranma!!  They'll have blasters!!  You'll take out a few, but then they'll mow us down!!"
	"There's not really a choice now, is there?"  Both Ranma and Akane adverted their eyes as the door began to glow red hot as someone began to burn through it.
	The door burst open, sending a wave of hot air rushing into the room.  Ranma collected the energies flowing inside him/her and aimed at the lead person, ready to release them.  Then he stopped dead.
	There was a simple solider crouched in the door way, drawing some cover from the side of the jagged hole.  Her combat fatigues were typical camouflage.  She carried a standard blaster.  So it wasn't fear that stopped Ranma.  It was a pair of large brown eyes and a white bow resting gently and elegantly on her forehead.
	Ranma managed to eep out one little word.  "Ucchan?"
	Upon seeing the attack position of the girl in the room, Major Ukyou had brought her rifle up to her shoulder read to fire.  Her finger was starting to depress the trigger when she saw the woman's face.  "Ranma," came from her lips as her nickname was spoken.
	The rebel major stood and looked behind Ranma.  "Akane. . . ?  What are you two doing. . . .Wait."  She calmly walked up to Ranma, paused a second, and then swiftly brought the butt of her rifle across the side of his/her face.  As Ranma fell to the floor, another rebel solider slapped a pair of handcuffs across his/her wrists.
	Another solider started to move towards Akane, but Ukyou cut him off.  "You don't need to do that."  She looked down at the dumbfounded Ranma shaking her head.  "The Commander is going to love this."
	Ukyou flipped out a small comlink, turning it on.  "Commander Hibiki, we found some. . . "
	"WHAT!!" cried Ranma, a trickle of blood/spittle flying from his mouth.  She rolled onto her back, her hands pinned beneath her.  "You can't mean Ryouga?"
	A cutting laugh came from over the intercom.  "How ironic, Saotome.  I find you once I give up trying to find you.  You'll pay now, Saotome, you'll pay now."  The voice grew darker.  "First, you stole Akane away from all of us in the middle of the night and left us for dead.  Now, you're running around, having abandoned her, probably letting the Empire take her into slavery.  You're going to wish that the Empire had. . . ."
	"Uh, Sir, I hate to interrupt, but Miss Tendo is with him, er, her.  She looks to be fine, a little shaken up, but that's it."
	Shyly, Akane managed to peep out, "Hello, Ryouga.  How have you been?"
	A moment of silence echoed throughout the ship.  "Oh.  Well, it's nice to hear from you again Akane. . . .  Uh, Major Ukyou, would you escort the two over to the ship where we can talk."  His voice grew darker, losing any of the friendliness it had when speaking to Akane.  "And bind Saotome up.  Bind him tight."
	"What.  Now why are you two. . ." started Akane before a sharp glance shut her up.
	"There are reasons.  Now, if you would, just follow that grunt there out the door and to the landing transport."  Ukyou bent down and picked Ranma up rather roughly.  "You too.  Oh, you're going to regret that night, Ranma, you're going to regret it."
	The trip from the dead ship to the Buta was rather short, but the few minutes were rather uncomfortable for Ranma.  Her hands bound behind her back, she sat quietly for the most part.  But the handcuffs didn't cause the pain that Ranma was feeling.  It was the way Ukyou was glaring at her.
	Ranma shifted in her seat.  "You know, I can get out of these anything I want, Ukyou.  It wouldn't be hard at all."
	The major leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her face, hiding it all from Ranma except for her eyes.  "I know you can."
	The transport slid into the hangar of the Buta, stopping with a quiet thud.  "Okay," pronounced Ukyou, "get up, let's go."  She roughly lifted Ranma to her feet and pushed her through the door.
	Ukyou looked over her shoulder at Akane, who was still sitting in the transport, her head bowed.  "You coming?"  Almost sheepishly, Akane stood and followed Ukyou out of the transport.
	The bridge of the ship was an open space, around 30 feet by 30 feet.  There was a main heads up display, around 12 feet high on the front wall.  A single control panel stood five feet from the main screen.  Various other displays and panels lined the rest of the walls.
	Right in the middle of the room there was a large chair, surrounded on either side by two smaller chairs.  But the middle chair was where there was someone very familiar.  Moppy black hair hung down over the lowered face of the man.  The grey uniform he wore was starched stiff.  His fingers were quickly taping out an impatient rhythm on the arm rest of his chair.
	Upon the entrance of Ukyou and her prisoners into the bridge, Akari looked up from her communications board, her mouth open as if ready to say something, but she just closed it and looked down.
	The tapping stopped.  "Well, Saotome," came a voice from underneath the mess of hair, "it's been a long time.  Almost five years, isn't it.  Five years.  Five long years I've been waiting for this."
	Ryouga lifted his face, his eyes narrow and fixed.  "In the middle of the night.  You didn't even let us say good bye.  In the middle of the night.  You stole her away."
	"But it wasn't him, Ryouga!  It was me, I'm the one who left. . . ." started Akane.  
	Neither Ranma nor Akane had noticed how worn and shallow Ryouga's eyes had become, not until he looked up at Akane at the sound of her voice.  For a moment, life returned to them, a sparkle, a glint, something that made them seem vibrant.  Then, the moment was gone and the eyes returned to dullness, dark and somber.
	A faint smile grew on Ryouga's lips.  He motioned to the seat at his right.  "Do sit down, if you would, Akane."  His smile grew extremely large.  "I don't blame you at all.  I know how persuasive he can be.  But I don't think you realized what your actions did."
	Akane remained standing next to the bound Ranma.  The smile faded from Ryouga, but not because of Akane's refusal.  "Soun found the note from you two in the morning.  He was devastated.  His little girl had run off.  Everyone gathered at the dojo.  We made search plans.  Everyone spilt up.  We were going to find you both and bring you back."
	Ryouga let out a quiet hmmp.   "But then the Empire's drop ships came.
	"There was made panic.  Fighting in the street.  It was terrible.  Everyone got separated.  I made it back to the dojo.  It was completely destroyed.  Burned to the ground.  Ukyou was there, so were Tsubasa and Akari.
	"We tried to find anyone else we could.  For hours, nothing.  Then we found Mousse.  He was lying on the ground holding Shampoo in his arms.  A beam had fallen on her head.  She regained consciousness, but she wasn't the same after that.
	"The six of us searched some more and found no one.  Then we met some rebels.  We signed up that very day.  We're all still here."
	A long sigh came from Ukyou as Ryouga paused.  "Except for Shampoo.  Last year, we left her at a hospital.  They were going to see what they could do to her rehibiliate her."
	Ukyou tried to force a smile.  "It's not quiet as bad as Commander Hibiki is making it out.  The five of us are still here, I run the ground forces and Mousse is in the fighter wing."  
	Ukyou was definitely having difficulty speaking.  Tears welled silently in her eyes.  "Mousse didn't take it well when the message came from the clinic.  The Empire had raided it for some new, experimental drug.  She was killed.  Now he has delusions about her, he thinks my husband is Shampoo half the time."
	"Wait, Ucchan, you got married?" asked Ranma.
	Ukyou held up her hand, revealing a nice wedding band.  "I told you it hasn't been all bad.  He's a nice man.  He is the leader of the fighter squadron on the ship.  His name is Wedge, you'll get to meet him latter.  He's down in a bay doing some repairs."
	Akane stood rubbing her ringless ring finger.  "We never did get married, not really, did we Ranma.  Maybe we should have stayed."
	"Yes, you should have."  Ryouga's voice filled with anger.  "We would have been together when the Empire came.  I wouldn't have had to leave most everyone I ever knew for dead.  That's what you did to us Ranma, you tore everyone apart.  What were you thinking?
	"And, what were you doing out here in deep space with a Star Destroyer breaking into your ship?"
	Akane's eyes narrowed, looking at Ranma.  "We'll, we had a nice little home, but Ranma here heard about a scientist who figured out how to make Nannichuan.  We had been living together for four years, four perfect, peaceful years.  Then, he ran of to find this scientist.  Of course, I came along too.
	"We were headed to that planet over there when the ship was jumped.  We got trapped in the galley's storeroom.  We don't know what they took.  The only thing we had was our Nanichuan information."
	Hibiki, forgetting the past, leaned forward thinking.  "What would the Empire want with Nannichuan?"
Part 3.  Elsewhere.
	The bridge of the Star Destroyer Kinu Zubonsh was full of activity.  Having just successfully completed a hit and raid would do that.  However, the Captain simply sat quietly and waited.
	They new rebels were active in this area, and the Captain wanted some data off of a certain ship her, so why not kill two birds with one stone?  Perform the raid, hop out, hop back in, out of the range of the cheap rebel scanners and wait for the second ship to show up.
	The Captain didn't have to wait long.
	On the bridge, what appeared to be a giant Panda held up a sign which read, "Sir, I've picked up a second ship in the area, Rebel, S-class."  The Captain was a little disappointed, only a small ship.  Oh well, guppies had to be caught also.
	The communications officer piped up, "Sir, shall I open a communications channel with them.  I'm sure they'd become wonderful friends. . . ."
	The ship's number two cut the communications officer off with a stern look, a tear welling up in his eye as he did it.  The Captain thought that his second was learning.
	The old Captain pressed a button on the console next to him.  "Commander Kuno, launch your Tie squadrons."  He leaned back.  "Keep the Zubonsh here, we'll give this kill to our fighters."
	His plan had worked.  The data he had gotten was very interesting as well.  As were some of the fringe benefits of the raid.  The Captain thought of his private stash and smiled.  In only a little while.  In only a little while.
Part 4.  The Buta
	Hibiki sat deep in thought.  "I just can't for the life of me think what the Empire would want with a Nannichuan formula.  Maybe it has something to do with. . . ."
	He was cut off by the sound of alarm klaxons ringing throughout the ship.  "Ryouga-sama!!!  I've picked up around 18 TIE fighters closing in on the ship!!"
	Hibiki pounded his fist down onto his seat.  "Damn!  A trap.  I should have known.  Commander Antilles!  Scramble Rouge Squadron and engage."
	Inside a hangar bay, Wedge Antillies, the flight leader of Rouge Squadron, the husband of Ukyou, lept to his feet.  "Okay boys, you heard him, scramble!" Wedge bellowed as he dashed off to his X-Wing.
	"Damn, where'd my ship go?"
	Wedge paused and jogged over to Mousse who was standing facing a wall.  "Mousse, it's over here." Wedge spun Mousse and pointed him towards his ship.
	"Oh, why thank you Shampoo," was all Mousse said before he went over to his ship. 
	Less than a minute later, six metal objects streaked out of the hanger bay of the Buta.  "Wedge looked at his scanners.  Three to one, not bad odds.
	The bridge waited nervously as the green rebel blips moved closer and closer to red Imperial blimps.  Then a voice boomed over the bridge's speakers.
	"Very well then, rebel brigands.  I accept your surrender.  Have your fighter return to their hangars and power down the ship."
	Hibiki paused before answering.  Naw, it couldn't be.  He slammed his fist down onto the transmit button.  "Don't count on it!!"
	"Very well," replied the voice.  "Prepare then to taste the wrath of the Blue Thunder of the Imperial Navy!!"
	At that moment, six of the TIEs broke off and dove towards the X-Wings, while the others angled off to head directly at the Buta.
	"Here they come!!" shouted Rogue Leader, who immediately swung his X-Wing around behind the lead TIE.
	"I can't see them!!" Came Mousse's voice over the intercom as his ship angled off towards the Buta.
	Wedge's X-Wing sent concentrated beams of energy through one TIE.  "Nevermind Mousse, just head back and cover the Buta."  He ought to be able to see that.
	The six splinter TIEs were quickly taken care of, but while they were occupying Rogue Squadron, the other 12 had reached the Buta and thrashing it rather well.  The two guns on the rebel ship weren't going to be able to pick off 12 TIEs.  The TIEs were too good.
	The lead TIE was flying exceptionally well.  It was an odd shaped craft.  It appeared to have a long wooden sword coming out its front.
	"That's Kuno leading them!!" cried out Akane.  Fortunately for the doomed crew of the Buta, the intercom was still on.
	Kuno's TIE peeled off from its attack vector.  "Me thinks that was Akane Tendo.  She must have been captured by the rebels.  She must be saved!!  Lightning Squadron, the orders have changed.  Disable the ship only, do not destroy it!!"
	Despite the best efforts of the gunners, both engine were pulverized before Rogue Squadron could come and chase off the remaining TIEs.
	Smoke poured throughout the bridge.  Coughing, Commander Hibiki called for a damage report.  Tsubasa, looking strangely like a fire hydrant, yelled out, "We've lost both main engines and our lateral controls.  All I've got left is the landing thrusters."
	At that moment, the ship's sprinklers turned on.  Now, Hibiki isn't as dumb as you might expect.  Much to Ranma's delight, they were warm water sprinklers.
	"Can you get us down on that planet there?"
	"I think so, Sir."  Tsubasa turned on a thruster and the ship limbered towards the planet Allegro.  Ranma and Akane had been trying to get there and it looked like they would.  The Buta was going down.