"Ranma 1/2: Mechwarrior Team Jusenkyo: Chapter 1"
by: James "Phoenix" Jones
< > indicates thoughts.
[Planet: Moraine --Lyran Alliance: April 21, 3057]
The Shadow Hawk moved slowly through the debris ridden field, dodging the shattered remains of battlemechs and columns of steam that littered its path. The mech's autocannon, poised to fire at a moments notice, glimmered in the harsh light of the setting sun. Inside, the pilot surveyed the damage she had caused.
On the ground before her, she saw what was left of the Dasher she had just been fighting. According to her readouts, the mech had gone up, pilot and all, but she had sustained very little damage herself. Unconsciously, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking through the armored glass of her canopy, she noticed that she was now alone. All she could see was the rocks and debris that marked the field. <Where is everybody?> she asked herself.
Almost as if to answer her, a Crusader mech emerged from behind one of the larger rocks on the field, from the way it was facing, she couldn't make out any insignia. The appearance was so sudden that she nearly panicked, but calmed down quickly and spoke into her comm unit.
"Crusader Pilot, this is Mallet of Jusenkyo Lance Baker!" she said. "Identify yourself!"
The mech stopped in mid stride and turned toward her. Over the comm unit came the reply: "This is White Bow, Mallet."
Mallet breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Nice to see you finally decided to join the fight, White Bow." As she finished, she could almost see the other girl fuming behind the Crusader's canopy shield.
"It just hasn't been my day, Mallet." White Bow replied (a note of sarcasm in her voice).
Slowly the Crusader turned completely around to face the Shadow Hawk and Mallet could see that White Bow's statement had been correct. The mech's left torso was almost gone and the left arm hung uselessly to one side. A thin trail of smoke rose out of the torso indicating that the fusion reactor had been damaged.
"Ouch." Mallet said.
"No kidding, but you should have seen the other guy." came the reply. "Where are the others?"
Mallet looked at her secondary screens for a moment and then said, "According to my readouts they're in sector 21-L."
"All right lets go."
The Crusader turned away and began a half run, half walk movement toward the indicated coordinates. Mallet pushed on her controls and fell in beside White Bow.
According to their radar, only two or three enemies were still active, but both girls watched the rocks carefully as they moved.
Two mechs, a massive Battlemaster and a smaller Phoenix Hawk moved swiftly over the rocky terrain as they chased after the fleeing Locusts.
Inside the Phoenix Hawk, the pilot scanned the Locusts and laughed. Each one had massive damage to their torsos and were probably on the verge of overheating. <The clan must be getting desperate, for them to use Locusts.> he thought.
"Slow down, Wild Horse!"
The pilot heard the words and looked at his rear monitor to see the Battlemaster lagging behind. Flicking his comm switch, he said, "Come on Lost Boy! Even you should be able to keep this pace!"
"Damn it, Wild Horse!" came the reply. "I told you not to call me that!"
The Phoenix Hawk slowed so that it was running even with the Battlemaster. "Well, would you prefer me to call you 'Fangs'?"
Static was the only answer.
"What's the matter, Lost Boy? Run out of witty come backs?
Still Static.
"Wait, I know what's wrong." Wild Horse teased. "You're afraid I'll get to those Locusts first and boot you out of the running for teams kill record."
The Battlemaster screeched to a halt and turned to face the Phoenix Hawk, which also stopped. Dropping his mech's PPC, Lost Boy screamed, "That's the _last_ straw, Wild Horse!"
Pulling on his controls, he brought the mech's arm up to position for a punch. <This'll flatten that bastard!> he thought as he slammed the controls forward. The attack was dead on, unfortunately, the Phoenix Hawk was no longer in front of him. Wild Horse had veered away with his jump jets before the punch had even been thrown.
"Why you!" shouted Wild Horse, as he dropped his own Large Laser rifle and took up as best a fighting stance as a mech could manage. Pulling on his own controls, he made ready to punch Lost Boy.
The attack was halted before it began as a new voice entered the cockpit.
"You two knock it off!" called the voice. "If you want to kill each other, do it on your own time! Right now worry about those Locusts."
Both pilots were left speechless. The voice was louder than most of the sounds around them and neither had expected it.
"You two are worse than the Red Angels!" the voice called again. "At least they don't fight each other _during_ combat."
Both pilots started talking simultaneously, but stopped when another new voice entered over the comm. "No worry, Lazurus. I take care Locusts."
"What?!" shouted Lost Boy and Wild Horse in unison.
"I say, I take care Locusts." came the reply.
The two continued to stare dumbly as a Victor emerged from the smoke and walked over to join them.
"Good work, Shampoo." the voice sounded again. "That's all of them."
Wild Horse stared dismally at his console, across from him, he could almost see Shampoo laughing at him behind her armored canopy. <Damn it!> he thought. <That only puts me five . . . no four kills above her!>
Sighing into the comm, Wild Horse said, "Attention, all Jusenkyo mechs. This is Wild Horse, return to hanger." With that, he turned his mech around and began to walk back to the stables, Lost Boy and Shampoo falling into formation behind him.
A few minutes later, the trio of mechs entered the hanger, just as the doors ground shut. As he backed his mech up against the wall, he noticed that the others had already arrived.
* * *
The hanger was little more than an old mining complex nestled in the side of a hill. The team had spent almost a year remodeling it and it still just barely held the teams mechs and equipment. To one side, a small tunnel lead into the barracks and continued on through the hill to the main entrance. It wasn't much, but it was home.
As she climbed out of her Shadow Hawk, Mallet couldn't help but marvel at the diversity of the mechs that lined the walls. Each was painted in desert camouflage, with a golden lightening bolt striking a blue lake, the team insignia, printed on either shoulder. Of course, the mechs had nothing on the diversity of the people that piloted them.
Stepping out on the catwalk, she looked over at White Bow's Crusader, which her father was already working on. As she called to him, he waved and immediately went back to work.
She was about to walk away when she saw someone approaching her.
Ukyou "White Bow" Kounji, the teams resident small arms specialist (not to mention full time cook), walked over to her. "Nice to see you had better luck than I did." she said, indicating the Shadow Hawk's, damage free exterior.
Mallet stared at Ukyou for a second, noting how nice she looked. Ukyou's long hair was, as usual, tied up with a white ribbon that gave her her callsign, and her eyes shined like always. The fact that she could go through combat and still look like she had just come out of the showers always amazed Mallet, who always looked (at least to herself) like she'd been dragged through a swamp.
"HQ to Akane! Come in, Akane!" said Ukyou. "Do you copy? Over."
Akane shook her head and said, "Oh . . . sorry . . . um . . . what did you say?"
"I said, 'nice to see you had better luck than I did.'."
"Oh that," Akane stumbled as she turned to look at her own relatively undamaged mech. "Well, we all have bad days." she concluded.
Ukyou nodded and laughed. <They way she looks at me, I'd swear she was . . . neh.> "Well, I'll talk to you later." she said as she walked past her lancemate and began to descend the ladder.
"Where are you going?" Akane queried.
"I gotta' get cleaned up." she said. "I've gotta date later this evening."
Akane raised her eyebrows in surprise. Both she and Ukyou were considered tomboys by the rest of the team and the two of them where hardly ever asked to go out on dates. "With who?" she asked.
Ukyou blushed deeply and said, "Well. . . um. . . you know I _have_ been talking to Ryouga lately."
"Oh rrreeaally?"
Ukyou flushed even deeper and, trying to sound mad said, "It's . . . it's not what your thinking! _He_ just asked _me_ out for drinks later on. Th. . . that's all!"
"Uh-huh." Akane retorted as Ukyou disappeared down the ladder.
<Hmm. . . . I wonder what Ranma's doing tonight.> she thought as she turned back to her mech to check out the autocannon system.
As he climbed out of his mech, Ranma stretched as wide as he could. <Man,> he thought <why do cockpits have to be so damn small?>
He knew the answer of course, but the muscle cramps that he always got as he climbed out of a cockpit _really_ made him envy the ground troops on occasions. He began looking around at the other mechs and sighed. <Hmm. . . I wonder what Ak . . . >
"Gotcha!"
Ranma's train of thought ended abruptly as he heard the call. Looking up, he saw a small red blur jump off of a beam and speed toward him. "On the contrary!" he said as he dodged to one side and caught hold of the blur's ankle. "I've got you." he finished smugly as he lifted his sister by the ankle to where he could almost be eye level with her.
"Hey!" she cried as she struggled against his grip. "That's not fair!"
"All's fair in Lo . . ." he stopped for a second to correct himself. "I mean in war and surprise attacks, Ranko."
Ranko, "humphed" and smiled, then said, "O.K., bro. _NOW PUT ME DOWN_!"
Ranma grinned and put her down. Ranko had just turned ten, but she was short for her age, the top of her head was dead even with his lower ribcage. There was no question as to whether or not they were related though, Ranko looked almost exactly like Ranma, except for her red hair. More than once the pair had been accused of being father and daughter instead of brother and sister. Ranma laughed at that fact every time he thought about it.
"Hey, Ranma!"
Ranma snapped awake and said, "W. . . what?"
"I said, Kodachi was looking for you." Ranko replied.
Ranma groaned audibly. Kodachi "Black Rose" Kuno had been a literal thorn in his side for almost two years now. Ever since he had bailed her out of a jam during a tour through the Draconis Combine, she had had this screwed up idea that he loved her. A fact that he adamantly denied, but the denial never seemed to do any good. "Which way did she go?" he asked.
Ranko scratched her head and pointed to the left, "Um. . . that way. I think."
"Good enough." said Ranma as he hoisted Ranko onto his shoulders. "We'll go this way."
<He's just going this way so he can see Akane.> Ranko let out a small laugh at the thought, but, thankfully, Ranma hadn't heard.
Akane wiped a little sweat off her forehead as she raised up from the autocannon's control check port. <You'd think that with all that money Nabiki's been making off that Nas-Bak stock she could spring for some coolant in here!> she thought.
Turning around she saw Ranma moving toward her with Ranko perched on his shoulders. <Kodachi must be after him again. I wonder why. . . uh. . . > She suddenly realized that the front of her cooling vest was open. She flushed and quickly zipped it.
Ranma stopped in front of her just as she finished.
"H. . .hi, Akane." he said as he put Ranko down. Akane had grown a lot since he first saw her, and he had to admit that the curves on her body had filled out nicely. He always liked the way she looked, but he would never admit it.
"H. . .hi." Akane replied as she looked at him. Ranma had put on a lot of muscle since she had first met him, but he still had an incredible physique that she found quite appealing, however she would never let on about that.
The two continued to stare at each other in silence, until Ranko, very loudly, cleared her throat and said, "Well. . . uh . . . I think I'll be going now."
Without taking his eyes away from Akane, Ranma nodded, but said nothing. Akane did the same.
<They've got it bad.> Ranko thought as she climbed down the ladder.
"So. . . um . . . uh. . . how'd you do today, Akane?"
Akane shrugged and said, "I bagged one. How about you?"
"I got three." he replied.
Akane nodded and said, "The clans must be getting desperate to be using light Sphereoid mechs like they were today."
"Yeah . . . they must be." Ranma paused awkwardly. As he looked at Akane, he fought hard to find the right words.
<What's with him?> Akane thought.
Ranma began to twiddle his fingers as he stammered, "A. . . Ak . . . would you . . ."
"Would I?"
"Li. . . like to . . . uh. . . um. . ."
Akane was getting perturbed. "What is it, Ranma?" she asked angrily
"Well, its just that. . ." he began.
"RANMA!!"
Once again, Ranma's train of thought broke. <This always happens> he thought. Leaning over the rail, he yelled, "What is it, Pop?"
Genma looked up at his son and smiled nervously. "Yuta was looking for you and Ryouga!" he said. "And he sounded pissed!"
<Damn!!!> Turning back to Akane, he said, "Um. . . look, I gotta go."
As he began to walk to the ladder, Akane grabbed him by the arm and said, "Yuta'll wait a minute, Ranma. What did you want to say?" She concluded the question by starring at him with the most pathetic expression she could manage (all the while fighting to keep from laughing).
Ranma began to sweat profusely as he looked at her eyes. "I. . . um. . ." he stammered. "Just
w. . . wanted to s. . . s. . . say. . ."
"What?" she asked, her voice getting desperate. <Why can't he say it.>
"J. . . just wanted to say. . . that. . . um. . . I . . . I. . ." he stopped. "You did good out there today. Yeah that's it. . . just wanted to tell you you did good." As he finished, he pulled roughly out of her grip and quickly disappeared over the side of the catwalk.
<Why you. . . you . . . > Akane could feel her blood begin to boil as she watched Ranma's form disappear down the ladder. < You. . . you. . . MAN!!!> Sighing angrily, she turned back to the mech and began another system check. Hoping that sweat would hide her tears.
<Why couldn't I just say those three little words? Just _three_ words.> thought Ranma as he walked toward the command center. The small lamps that lined the ceiling at regular intervals cast an eerie light over the walls, that always made him nervous. A few minutes later he arrived.
Outside the door to the command center set in a small alcove, sat Nabiki Tendo, the teams resident "finance expert." The alcove was much better lit than the hall and Ranma immediately saw that Nabiki was working more on her own investments than those of the team.
"Hi, Nabiki." he said. "Is Yuta in there?"
Nabiki turned to look at him, annoyed at being disturbed. "Do I look like a secretary, _Mr. Saotome_."
"Well, now that you mention. . ." Ranma began.
"Get in there!" she yelled, throwing a notepad at him for emphasis.
Ranma closed the door behind him and turned around. His secondary lancemate, Ryouga "Lost Boy" Hibiki, was already present. He was wearing his usual tiger stripe bandanna and the black jumpsuit that everybody else wore when not in the cockpit. He turned slightly and smiled at Ranma nervously.
Ranma smiled back and moved to stand beside him as they both snapped to attention. Yuta "Lazurus" Mariner, the commander of Jusenkyo Stables, looked at them sadistically from across the desk. Both boys knew that their commander was over fifty years old, but this mud brown hair and youthful face made him appear no more than about a year older than the two.
Yuta continued to stare at the two for a few minutes with his steel gray eyes. Both boys fidgeted nervously under the gaze. At length, he stood and placed his fists on the desk.
"Well gentlemen," he said. "Once again I seem to have averted another attempt by one of you to end the life of the other." The statement was spoken with more than Yuta's normal amount of sarcasm.
"Well sire, I. . ." Ranma began.
"I wasn't finished." Yuta said.
"Sorry."
"Before I say what I'm going to say, I want to know something. Why do you two fight so much?" he asked.
"Well. . . um. . ." they began in unison.
Yuta slammed his fist into the table and said, "I'll tell you why! It's because you two are so damn anxious to out do the other in combat!!!"
"But. . ." Ryouga started.
"How many kills do you need to make the team record for number of kills, Ranma?" Yuta asked.
"Two." he answered.
"How about you, Ryouga?"
"Three."
Yuta stood up to his full height and looked at them. "That's your problem," he said. "You two want that damned medal so bad, you're both willing to do whatever it takes to get it. That includes endangering each other _and_ endangering your teammates."
Neither boy spoke.
"I have been in the military for almost thirty years, and I have yet to see a mech pilot with your levels of skill."
"Really!!?" they both said in unison.
"Really." Yuta replied. "But you two have major problems."
"Like what." they said, again in unison.
"Your attitudes." he said. "You both want that medal. Fine, I have no quarrel with that, it's good to have some kind of goal. But once you have it, what then? What does it say to you?"
"It says that we're good fighters." Ryouga said.
"No it doesn't." Yuta said. "A piece of metal doesn't make you a good fighter. And that's all that medal is, a worthless piece of metal."
Again, neither boy spoke.
"The test of a good fighter isn't here." he held up his fists. "Its here." he finished by pointing to his head. "Anything to say about that?"
"No." they answered.
"Always remember." said Yuta. "The price of victory is often more than you want to pay, but it is _always_ higher than you should pay."
Again, Ranma and Ryouga remained silent.
"I'm not breaking up any more fights. From now on, if you two want to kill each other. It's none of my business." Yuta concluded.
Ranma and Ryouga stared at him, absorbing the words.
Yuta sat back down and looked over some notes. A few minutes later, he spoke again. "I will admit though, you did good out there today."
"Thank you, sir!" said Ranma.
"Thank you, sir!" said Ryouga.
Yuta leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Go down to the bar and relax." he said. "I'll join you in a couple of minutes. Dismissed!"
"Yes, sir!"
As Yuta looked back to the papers, he heard them shuffle out. <They'll figure it out someday.> he thought. <I hope.>
Outside, both Ryouga and Ranma breathed a _very_ heavy sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's over." said Ryouga.
"Me too." answered Ranma. Holding his hand out to Ryouga, he said, "But what he said makes sense. Truce, man?"
Ryouga looked at Ranma's outstretched hand and shook it, saying, "Truce."
Ranma released his hand and said, "I gotta get cleaned up. I'll meet you at the Nekohaten in a few minutes. Okay?"
Ryouga nodded and walked toward the exit, as Ranma walked in the opposite direction.
The Nekohaten, or "Cat Cafe," was a small, well kept bar in the town of Nermia, a backwater hamlet located about a mile from the Jusenkyo hanger. It was renowned for its excellent food, as well as its good (and more importantly, cheap) drinks. The owners/operators, were an old couple that looked more like trolls than humans.
As Ryouga walked in, he took note that the dinner rush had already filed out. At several small tables in the center, sat the rest of his team. He also noted, somewhat gloomily, that Ranma and Yuta had once again beat him here.
"Nice to see you decided to show."
Turning, Ryouga saw Ukyou smiling at him sweetly from a table to one side. He moved to sit next to her and said, "Yeah, Yuta needed to talk to me and Ranma for a few minutes."
"I assume that he was not too hard on you."
Ryouga looked around again. This time it was Tatawaki "Blue Thunder" Kuno that had spoken. Kuno, along with his sister Kodachi, were the children of two high ranking officials, originally of the Draconis Combine. They had both had very privileged upbringings, and had a sort of "master to slave" attitude toward the rest of the team. In fact, the rest of the team often wondered why Yuta continued to tolerate them.
"No, Kuno. Ranma and I are still alive."
"Against you, I hold no quarrel. However, Saotome is another mater." Kuno replied.
"I heard that!" Ranma shouted from one side.
"You will not speak of my lover in that fashion, brother!" countered Kodachi.
"That, vagrant is not your lover, younger sister!" yelled Kuno. "He barely acknowledges your existence on most occasions!"
The conversion quickly escalated into a heated argument. Considering the two siblings fought like this every day, the rest of the team quickly lost interest,
Ryouga continued to look around, trying to spot the rest of his team. Behind the Kunos, sat the other three members of the team, Akane "Mallet" Tendo, and the teams two resident clan "defectors." Mousse, a Jade Falcon trueborn, and Shampoo, a freeborn of the same clan.
"Greetings, Lieutenant Ryouga Hibiki." said Mousse. "Will you drink with me?"
Ryouga waved his hand and said no. Turning to Ukyou, he noted that her cheeks were already slightly flushed from some drink. "And how are you today?" he asked jokingly (more in an effort to keep his nerves than from any humor).
"Not bad." she said sarcastically. "Drink?"
"Why not?" Ryouga asked, as he promptly ordered drinks for both himself and Ukyou, as well as the rest of the team.
Akane watched the exchange between Ukyou and Ryouga with amusement. Both of them were known for both incredible bravery in battle, and absolute shyness outside of a battlemech. Of course, they had been talking to each other for quite some time, and Akane assumed that they were probably close enough to be considered boyfriend and girlfriend.
Taking her gaze from them, she turned to look at Ranma. Who was currently talking to Mousse and the old man who helped run the restaurant.
<I wonder if he ever thinks about me?> she asked herself, a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Akane, all right?"
She turned from Ranma and looked up to see Shampoo standing over her. "I'm fine, Shampoo." she said. "Would you like a seat?"
Shampoo responded by sitting directly across from Akane, almost blocking her view of Ranma. This didn't affect Akane though as she continued to stare at Ranma.
"Akane really like Ranma, yes?" Shampoo asked.
Akane turned and looked at Shampoo. The clan girl had unusually long hair for a mechwarrior, and her dialect wasn't the best, but she was also one of the few people Akane dared to call "friend."
"No. . . of course I don't." Akane said.
Shampoo smiled and took hold of Akane's hand. "Akane no need lie Shampoo."
"Well. . . I just wish I knew how he felt." she said lamely.
Shampoo smiled again and released Akane's hand. "No worry." she said. "No one really know what man thinks. Only way find out is keep trying." As she finished, she turned and looked at Mousse.
Everyone in the stables knew that Shampoo was almost hopelessly in love with Mousse (who was completely oblivious of the fact), and that love was considered a "forbidden" subject in clan lore that no trueborn ever truly understood. They also knew that Shampoo, being a freeborn, would never receive the love, or for that matter, the respect from Mousse that she wanted. But to her credit, she didn't give up.
The groups continued there own conversations for several minutes, when Ranma moved to Akane's table. "How's it going?" he asked.
"Not bad." Akane answered, turning to one side to look at Shampoo. Shampoo took the hint and moved to another table.
"So. . . um. . . I'm . . . uh . . . sorry about earlier." Ranma said.
"Oh. . . that's alright." Akane countered.
The two sat in an awkward silence for a moment. "I was wondering." the both began.
"Ah. . . go ahead, Akane."
"No, no, Ranma. You first."
"Okay." said Ranma. "I . . . um. . ."
As usual, he didn't get to finish the sentence as the doors to the bar were suddenly shoved open.
Every person left in the bar turned to see what had happened.
Through the door walked several men, each dressed in a gray-green jumpsuit with a Jade Falcon insignia displayed proudly on the shoulders. One man, taller than the rest, with snow white hair walked ahead of the group and said, "I am Star Captain Herb of Clan Jade Falcon. I am looking for the commander of the Jusenkyo mechwarrior contingent located on this planet."
"That would be me." Yuta said, matter-of-factly.
The man that had identified himself as Herb walked over to Yuta, grabbed his shirt roughly and pulled him to his feet. "So you are the freebirth that humiliated my mechwarriors this afternoon."
The other clansman, numbering eight in all, gathered around Herb. The mechwarriors of Jusenkyo stables instinctively stood up as well.
"No." Yuta said. "I am the _man_ whose _mechwarriors_ humiliated you clan bastards this afternoon."
Herb flushed bright red at the comment and was about to speak when Mousse put his hand on his shoulder.
"For a Star Captain you have very little in the way of manners." he said.
"Get away from me you . . ." Herb began, but he stopped short as he recognized Mousse. "You are Star Commander Mousse, are you not?" he asked.
"I am." Mousse answered.
"So, the traitor of Togenkyo Rift now associates himself with freeborn Inner Sphere garbage." Herb retorted.
"You want to say that to me?!" Ranma yelled angrily.
"Sit down, Ranma." Yuta commanded.
"But. . ."
"Sit down!"
Ranma reluctantly obeyed. After the moment of distraction, Herb turned his attention back to Yuta. "The deaths of my clansman are a stain upon my honor, freebirth. I demand that you fight me to restore it!"
Yuta stared at the man for a moment and said, "You are in a position unsuitable to give orders, Star Captain."
"Is that correct?" asked Herb sarcastically.
"Yes." Yuta countered. "Now let go of my shirt."
"Is that a request."
"No." said Yuta as he grabbed Herb's hand and twisted it sharply, forcing him to let go. "It was an order!" he concluded.
"Let go of me, you lousy . . . AHHH!!!" He trailed of as Yuta twisted his wrist harder.
Yuta held on for a moment longer, then released Herb. "If you want your honor restored, why don't you issue one of your famous batchalls, Star Captain?"
"I do not deal with freebirths." Herb said.
"Then deal with a former bondsman of Clan Jade Falcon." Yuta said, his voice tinged with hate.
"The clans do not release their bondsmen." Herb countered.
"Escape counts." said Yuta.
"What is your full name and rank, freebirth?" Herb asked.
"Colonel Yuta Mariner." he answered.
"Very well then Colonel Yuta Mariner." Herb stated. "My bid is this. I have one star and three points of mechs at my disposal, I bid them all in an honor duel with you to commence in three days."
Yuta turned to Mousse and asked, "Since, I am sure that he would rather speak to a trueborn, why don't you conclude the bidding Mousse?"
<You know exactly which nerves to press> Mousse thought as he saw Herb flush even more deeply with anger. "I would be pleased to accept that honor." he answered.
"Then do so." Yuta said.
<I hope you know what you're doing.> thought Ukyou.
<We could beat 'em.> thought Ryouga.
<This is gonna get ugly.> Ranma said under his breath.
Akane looked on, mentally crossing her fingers.
Mousse turned and conversed with the others for a few minutes, making Herb even more angry at the delay. At length, he turned and said, "This is our bid, Star Captain Herb. We will bid our mech contingent of two lances into this fight as well, to place us at even odds. However, this will be carried out in tournament fashion, a best 'two out of three' if you will."
"Two out of three?" Herb asked, not comprehending.
"That is correct, Star Captain Herb." Mousse continued. "The first battle will take place in three days, however, three days after that, we will meet again on the field of battle."
"For what purpose?"
"It is simple, Star Captain Herb. The team that wins two out of three of these fights will be declared the victor." Mousse concluded.
"That is un-clanlike." Herb countered.
"Nevertheless, that is our bid. Do you accept?"
"Prize?"
"The mechwarriors of Jusenkyo have authorized me to bid their mechs and equipment as prize." said Mousse. "Are you willing to make a similar bid?"
"I am."
"Then do you accept?"
"I do." said Herb. "With one small difference, the first two of these 'battles' will be fought according to clan protocol. The third battle (which will never happen) however, will have no rules other than total defeat of your opponent. Also, I will choose battle area. Do _you_ accept?"
"Well bargained and done." said Mousse.
Herb snorted and, motioning to his warriors, walked toward the door. For a moment, he paused and turned, saying, "Be grateful freebirths, for I have given you six days longer to live."
As they left, each of the team members breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, each wondering if they had made a wise choice.
"Let's go." said Yuta. "Cologne, put the drinks on my tab, I'll pay it the next time I'm here."
A voice from the back called out that that was alright.
When Yuta turned around, everyone else was already filing out the door.
Back at the hanger, Yuta ordered everyone to get to bed early. To his surprise, no one argued.
As he watched them leave, he walked down another hallway. After a few seconds, he arrived at the comm room.
Taking a chair, he sat and activated the comm screen. After punching a series of numbers, he waited.
After a few seconds a voice emerged over the comm. "Hello?"
Yuta smiled, "Hikaru, this is Yuta. How's it going?"
"Same ol, same ol, Yuta." replied Hikaru. "What can I do for you. Need some more mech parts?"
"Not this time, Hikaru." Said Yuta. "But I have got a challenge for you."
"What kind of challenge?"
Yuta explained the details of the honor duel between Jusenkyo and the Jade Falcon contingent.
"Sounds interesting, Yuta. But what do you want from me."
"Well, Hikaru, the team has eliminated over nine clan patrols in this area."
"So?"
"Soooo. . . something tells me that the esteemed Star Captain Herb will find a way to requisition some fresh omnimechs for this battle. I was hoping you'd have some new weapons you might want to bring out."
The comm was silent for a moment, but then Hikaru replied, "I don't have anything at the moment, Yuta. However, I may be able to come up with something later. How long do I have?"
"Three days till the first duel." said Yuta. "And six to the second duel."
"There's no way I can get you anything in three days, but I may have something by the second duel."
"What?"
"I've got some prototype stuff that I've been working on. If I can get it perfected. . . well. . . who knows?"
"Alright, keep me posted. Yuta out."
"See ya."
Mousse walked to his quarters, dimly aware of Shampoo following him. As he stopped outside his door, he turned to her and asked, "What is it, Mechwarrior Shampoo?"
Shampoo blushed and said, "Shampoo just want say, you very brave stand up Herb like that."
"Your words are unnecessary, Mechwarrior Shampoo." said Mousse. "I reacted as any clansman would have."
"Yes." she said meekly.
Mousse pushed his door in and walked through, as he was about to shut it, he noticed that Shampoo was standing in the doorway. "Is there something else, Mechwarrior Shampoo?"
In answer, she leaned forward, ready to kiss him. To her surprise, he shoved her out the door and against the opposite wall. "Wh . . ." she began.
Mousse glared at her, his eyes staring daggers. "I have told you before, Mechwarrior Shampoo!!!" he screamed. "I do not relate with freeborns!"
Shampoo stared at him, tears brimming on her eyes. "Mousse I . . ."
"You what?" he asked angrily.
"Sha. . . Shampoo love you!" The words were out before she realized she had said them, in surprise, she clamped her hand over her mouth.
Mousse backed up into his room a step, shocked by her words. <She. . . loves me? But. . . that
is. . . is not the way of the clans.> He stood shakily, trying to sort his thoughts. <She has tried to act kindly to me on occasion but. . . love? No. . . I doubt that.> "I do not believe you, Mechwarrior Shampoo." he said.
As she looked at him, Shampoo's face betrayed every emotion that she was feeling. <We aren't in the clans anymore Mousse! Why can't you let them go!?> "It true, Mousse." she cried.
"No, Mechwarrior Shampoo, it is not." he said coldly. "Love is nothing more than a second hand emotion reserved for the artisan cast to compose poetry by."
Shampoo, looked at him, tears flowing freely. "But I . . ."
Mousse backed into his room and slammed the door. From behind it, he called, "Love is nothing, Mechwarrior Shampoo! Abandon it!"
Shampoo picked herself up off the ground and walked away. <You're wrong Mousse. Love _is_ important, and I do love you.> she told herself.
As she reached her own room, she silently entered and closed her door. Laying on her bed, she buried her head in the pillow, and began to cry herself to sleep.
Akane couldn't sleep. The encounter with Herb had put her more on edge than she thought. Ever since she had earned the title of Mechwarrior, she had let her martial arts skill lapse, and no longer felt confident in hand to hand combat.
<I'll do something about that,> she thought <Right now!>
Throwing aside her blanket, Akane stood and stretched. Moving to her closet, she pulled out her old gi. A moment later, she was dressed and walked out into the hall, its metal floor cold against her feet as she moved toward the gym.
However, she didn't make it that far. A light in the comm room caught her attention and she went to investigate. As she walked in, she saw Yuta switch off the comm screen
"Yuta?" she asked.
The commander spun in surprise, rising slightly, but he stopped when he saw who it was. "What is it, Akane?" he asked.
"I. . . um, uh. . . couldn't sleep."
"Nerves?" queried Yuta.
Akane nodded and sat down in another chair, studying her commander, suddenly, she thought of something that had been bugging her for a long time. "Sir, I was wondering something." she said.
Yuta leaned back in the chair and asked, "What?"
Akane looked around nervously, unsure how to ask the question. "Why didn't you bid yourself into the fight with those clan bastards?" she blurted out suddenly.
He stared at her intently for a moment, then said, "I don't fight anymore, Akane. I haven't been in a mech in almost ten years."
"But why?" she asked again. "I've seen you fight in the simulator. I mean. . . you're incredible."
Yuta shook his head slightly, not answering. Akane was almost sure he was crying.
"Just decided to get out of the fight, huh?"
He suddenly jerked his head toward her, his eyes flaring. "No, Akane!" he said. "I didn't get out of the fighting, the fighting got out of me!"
Akane looked at him, surprised by the sudden outburst. "I. . . I don't understand." she said.
"It was my sec. . . thir. . . no, fourth year of being a mech pilot, about a month after I made captain." he said. "This girl named Merina Forest, 'Mana' we used to call her, had just been transferred into my unit. She was, without a doubt the most beautiful girl I've every met and I fell for her almost as soon as I laid eyes on her."
"Where is she now?" Akane asked.
"She's dead!" he yelled, a tear running down his face. "I loved her, I mean with all my heart. But I would never get close to her. I had to be the big macho warrior, and I thought talking to a woman like some love-sick kid would make me look weak, so I gave her even more grief than I gave the rest of my unit. But, no matter what I said, she'd take it in stride, follow orders and still act nice to me. Then, one day, just before a mission during the clan invasion, I really blew up at her. I don't even remember what I said, or even why I said it. But she stormed away and didn't even look back. I thought 'Yes! She's out of my life!' But I was wrong, dead wrong."
"How do you mean?" Akane asked, but she already knew what he meant.
"The movement was a disaster. The Ghost Bears tore my unit apart and forced us to retreat." As he said it, the look in his eyes said that he remembered it like yesterday. "I was covering the rear in my Atlas, but I already had severe damage, and I got my legs shot out from underneath me. I guess I blacked out for a minute, because the next thing I knew, Mana was standing over me in her Jenner, trying to help." he paused for breath, then continued. "The last thing I saw before I passed out completely was about two dozen LRM-20's slamming into her torso. Her mech exploded just as I passed out. Do you know what that's like?"
"No."
"I don't expect you to. But, I never thought. . ." he choked back a tear. "I mean . . . I nearly killed her with what I said, but she still saved me. But, just before she died, she radioed me and said that. . . that. . ."
"That what?"
"She told me she loved me."
"My God." was all Akane could say.
"After that, I had two weeks leave. But even when I came back, I was so unnerved, I lost my edge. That's why I don't fight anymore, Akane, I just couldn't bare what happened."
"I see."
"After that, I turned in my resignation from the fronts and became a field commander." he said. "And thats what I've been ever since."
"I'm. . . I'm sorry."
Yuta whiped he eyes on his sleeve and smiled. "Thanks for listening to me, Akane. I've never told anybody that, it feels good to get it off my chest."
Akane nodded and began to walk away, but stopped as Yuta called her name.
"Akane." he said. "I answered your question, will you answer one for me?"
"If I can." she answered.
"Do you have any feelings for Ranma?" he said it bluntly, not even trying to be subtle.
Akane was stunned. "Wh. . . I. . . of course I don't!"
"Be honest." he said. "Please."
"I. . ." she stopped to think a second. <_Do_ I have any feelings for Ranma?> "No. . . um. . . yes. . . um. . . I don't know! Maybe."
Yuta nodded and said, "If you do, tell him, I never told Mana."
Akane was still in shock, and could only nod dumbly as she walked out. Once in the hall she resumed her walk to the gym.
<I. . . I guess I . . . sorta. . . like Ranma. Don't I?>
She was still pondering the question as she tried to turn on the lights, only to realize they were already on.
"Who. . .?" she began, until she noticed Ranma's all to familiar ponytail. He had his back to her and was punching a wooden pole feverishly.
"Ranma?" she said.
He turned and looked at her, smiling. "Couldn't sleep either?" he asked.
Akane shook her head and said, "No, I couldn't, so I thought I'd practice a little. Care to join me?"
Ranma shook his head and said, "Nah. . . I already worked off my excess energy. I'm going back to bed." With that, he walked past her and into the hall.
<Say something dummy!!!> commanded a voice in Akane's mind. "Ranma?" she called.
He turned and said, "Yeah?"
Akane struggled with the words she wanted to say, but could only manage, "S. . . sleep well."
"Thanks." he said. "Akane?"
"What?"
"I still say girls make lousy mechwarriors." he said.
<What!?> she almost screamed.
"But. . ." he added. "You're doing really well. Good luck. And you sleep well too."
She stepped back in shock, as thought she had been slapped. "Thank you. . . Ranma." she said weakly.
"Anytime." he replied.
As the partial anger flowed out of her, Akane suddenly felt very tired and decided to hold off the practice till morning. <I love you Ranma Saotome.> she said to herself.
Once Ranma entered his room, he collapsed on his bed and pulled his hands up under his head. <Good luck, Akane.> he said to himself. <You aren't a lousy mechwarrior, you're one of the best.>
Ranma suddenly sat up and slapped his forehead. <Dummy! You can't think about her now! Think about that honor duel!>
Having scolded himself enough, he laid back down and closed his eyes. <And you, Star Captain Herb of clan Jade Falcon. . . you're gonna be the first one I take down.>
With that, he was asleep.
************************************End Part 1
O.K. here's the revised copy of "Mechwarrior Team Jusenkyo" Chapter 1.
I have made several changes in this story and I hope you like it. The Ranma 1/2 characters, as well as the characters "Yuta" and "Mana" are property of Rumiko Takahashi. Battletech and all things associated with it are the property of the FASA corportation. I would also like to thank Ross Mckenzie and Mike Loader for their extremely helpful input on this story.
C&C is requested, but please limit it to story content. _Not_ grammar or spelling. As per usual, all flames will be read, thought over, laughed at and promptly discarded.
Thanks for reading.
**************************************
Phoenix@citynet.net James Jones: The Blood Phoenix