Apologies for my earlier blank post. I'm not fully awake yet, as should
be obvious.
Ranma - Fall of the Eagle Chapter 9
by James Stone
stoner@elycion.geology.ualberta.ca
(c) 1996 Stone Age Productions All Rights Reserved
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Kitty Field, late afternoon
When 1630 came around, it found Ranma sitting with his senior NCO's,
reviewing the performance of the rescue mission. Most of the NCOs,
especially the Warrant Officer were surprised that there hadn't been any sort
of official reprimand from the Brigadier, most having assumed that was why
Ranma and the Resistance girl had been called to her office that morning.
Ranma hadn't elaborated on the reason for the summons, shrugging off the
questions by saying that the Brigadier had just wanted to become acquainted
with the Resistance leader.
"I guess since we can't send her back, the Brigadier decided to live
with it," was Ranma's summary. Surprised but pleased, the talk had turned
back to the impromptu mission, going over what had gone right, and what
could have been done differently, so that they'd be even more prepared in
the future.
At 1630, the base's horn gave one short wail, signalling the end of
another official work day. At the sound, Ranma jumped up, and grinned
apologetically at his men. "Sorry men, I've got to run. I think we've
covered most everything here anyways...we can continue tomorrow morning if
needed, right, Warrant?"
The Warrant nodded. "Righto, sir." He stood up to give the American
a proper salute, which was returned; then his face dropped into a sly grin.
"Off to see our French friend again?"
"Oi, Warrant, I thought he was after that little Russian cutie," a
sergeant piped up.
Ranma glared at the both of them. "Since when if my personal life
any of your guys' business, anyways? Sheesh." He turned to walk out the
door. "But for your information, it's neither of them. An old friend from
Stateside."
"Oh! Well, that's a bit of luck, isn't it then? Jolly good for
you," the sergeant replied by way of apology. "Alright, off with you
sir, we'll see you tomorrow." Grinning, the sergeant waved Ranma out the
door.
His step light, Ranma nearly bounced all the way to the Security
barracks. The day had been a good one after all, after he had gotten out of
that damn strange interview with the Brigadier. He guessed he knew why the
Russians were asking questions about him...Shampoo had probably told that old
woman about him and his problem. Ranma suppressed an involuntary shiver.
There was something about that old lady...he definitly hoped that she
didn't end up his enemy.
The Base Security barracks were all single and double rooms, one of
the advantages of being permanent base staff. As a Sergeant, Ukyou rated a
single room on the building's second floor. Asking the Corporal at the door
for directions, Ranma quickly found his way to the right door, and knocked.
It swung open immediately, a hand lunging out to grab the
Leiutenant and pull him through. Before he could protest at such treatment,
the door slammed shut behind him again, and he found himself with his arms
full of very excited Sergeant.
"He...hey! Ukyou! Give a guy a bit of warning before you do that!"
Ranma scolded, grinning hugely. "I mean, what if that door wasn't closed!
Don't you think a senior NCO and an officer groping each other like this
would be kinda weird?" He gave Ukyou's shoulders another tight squeeze
before letting the sergeant pull away from him.
"Don't give me that, 'sir'. Lucky for me, most of the guys in the
shacks are denser than you are. Otherwise, my secret would been out long
ago." Eyes twinkling mischeivously, Sergeant Ukyou Kuonji swung her head
back, her long brown hair flipping back over her shoulders. Letting go of
her old friend, she sat herself on her cot, and waved Ranma to the desk
chair.
Ranma just shook his head and sat down. "Still keeping your hair
long for 'medical reasons?'"
Ukyou nodded. "Yup. Hey, getting a friendly doctor to sign for me
was even easier once I was out of basic. That was tough, you know. After
getting through that, I can get through anything." She was interrupted by a
knock at the door. "Oh? Is that your 'friend' from before?" Still
grinning, Ukyou tipped Ranma a wink, but turned her face away slightly.
Ranma scowled and blushed at the same time. "She's just an
associate, geez. I got her out of a bad spot recently, I'm getting her
fitted in on the base. No big deal."
"Uh-huh, right." Ukyou smiled knowingly, but still wouldn't look
directly at him. "Whatever, 'sir'." Raising her voice, she called out.
"Come on in, it's not locked!"
Slowly, the door opened, and Akane's head peered around it. Seeing
Ranma, she brightened, and stepped further into the room. "Um...Sergeant
Kuonji?"
Ukyou nodded, and waved Akane into the room. "That's right! Come on
in, but close the door behind you please." Ukyou waited while Akane did,
then waved to the stop beside her on the bed. "Have a seat! And, we're
never gonna get anywhere if you call me 'Sergeant Kuonji' all the time.
Ukyou's my name." She proferred her hand.
Smiling, Akane took it. "And I'm Akane." Her smile left, replaced
by a look of confusion as she studied the sergeant, looking particularly at
her hair. "Um..excuse me, but are you a...?"
Ukyou grinned hugely. "A woman? You betcha!" She leaned closer to
Akane, a conspiratorial look crossing her face. "I guess I can trust you not
to let it out. We gotta stick together, you know." She winked at Akane,
who, considerably more at ease, giggled back.
"So, what's your story?" Ukyou continued, lying back on the bed, and
swinging her legs up beside Akane. She gestured to Akane's fatigues,
mismatched and overused. "You've obviously been there...how'd you get
there?"
Akane looked uncomfortable, until Ranma broke in. "Uh, Ukyou, maybe
now's not the best time...I mean, she's new here and all..." Uncertainly, he
looked at Akane.
Ukyou also looked over at the girl, her face contrite. "Oh, hey,
sorry about that...yeah, I mean, if you don't want to say, that's alright,
and all. Just curious." Still looking concerned, she looked over at Ranma.
"So, uh..."
Shaking her head, Akane broke in. "N...no, that's alright. I guess
I can tell it to you." She smiled at Ukyou. "I promised Ranma I'd tell him
sometime anyways, and, um, like you said, we've got to stick together,
right?" Looking downwards slightly, she missed the surprised blush that
spread over Ranma's face, or the twinge of pain on Ukyou's. "But you'll tell
me yours too, right?"
"Uh...sure, right!" Ukyou swallowed, and nodded, regaining
confidence. "Sure thing!" She grinned. "Then Ranma can tell us any dark
secret's he has....h-, hey! What's with those looks?" Ranma and Akane had
both gone deep red and were looking at the floor. Chewing her lip nervously,
Ukyou tried to ignore the sweatdrop sliding down the back of her neck.
"Uh...guys?"
Ranma cleared his throat first. "Ahem! Um...er...Akane! You were
gonna tell us your, uh...story! Yeah, that's right." Ranma looked pointedly
at the girl, who shook herself briefly, and nodded.
"Yes, that's right. Alright," she began, squirming to get a bit more
comfortable. "It started when I heard the news four years ago
about...about Poland." Ranma and Ukyou nodded in sympathy. "I don't know
why...it just made me mad that we still weren't doing anything. I was
only 15 at the time, but...I knew we should be doing more."
"Then the Phony War came, and we still just sat there doing
nothing. Oh, sure, every once in awhile we'd shoot down one of their
bombers, or they'd shoot at one of our ships, but it wasn't a _war_. I
was still young, I guess...I didn't know what war really meant, but I
didn't understand why we had declared war on the Nazi's, and then we just
sat there waiting for them to attack us."
"I knew that we weren't going to do enough to help France. The
forces we sent just weren't going to be enough. But then the New Year
came, and nothing happened, and nothing happened, and still nothing happened...I
was growing more and more frustrated."
Akane leaned back against the wall. "I went to the Army Headquarters
in London to ask about joining the Women's Auxiliary Forces." At this both
Ranma and Ukyou blinked and nodded; she had finally said openly that she was
from Britian. She shook her head in disgust. "They wouldn't take me because
I was underage. And when I saw what the WAF was doing, I knew that I
wouldn't be able to handle it. I didn't want to be a secretary, or a
radar-operator, behind the lines. I wanted to fight."
"When the invasion of France finally happened, everything boiled
over. I told my father and my sisters that I was going to fight the Germans.
I would disguise myself as a boy to join up, and be shipped to France. My
father got very angry at me, but he didn't say anything. When I went to sign
up the next day, I discovered that the recruiters had been warned off."
A look of pain crossed Akane's face. "The next few days were...very
hard. When I went home, I wouldn't talk to anyone. My sisters yelled at me,
my father cried. I knew I had to go fight...I was so wound up by that point
that I even considered fighting for the Germans."
Akane smiled a thin smile, grimly nostalgic. "But France surrendered
before I could think of anything to do. But when De Gaulle spoke from
London, and encouraged the French people to resist...that gave me the
inspiration I needed."
"I didn't speak to anyone at all that day...I stayed in my room, and
threw a few things together. Food...some rough clothes...boots. Then I
slept through the afternoon. At night I crawled out my window and ran
away. Somehow...I got very lucky. I stumbled into a group of men who were
as angry as I was about our lack of action. They accepted me as an equal,
after I beat one of them in a fight. We made plans, and, eventually, we were
snuck into France, and left."
Akane lifted her head up, looking proud. "Of the seven us of who
went, four were captured, two were killed, and one..." She smiled. "One was
forced to temporarily flee the country. But she's going back soon." Her
eyes flashed, hard as steel.
A long silence filled the room, as Ranma and Ukyou tried to digest
the Resistance leaders story. Then the sergeant slowly leaned forwards, her
face probing but concerned. "Um...Akane..?"
Akane turned her head, surprised, her hard look dropping into a
guarded expression. "Yes?" she asked hurriedly.
Ukyou cleared her throat uncomfortably. "You...you heard what
happened to your...comrades." She took a quick breath before continuing.
"What about your family?"
Akane's face stiffened up briefly, as emotions flickered just
beneath the surface. Grief, exhaustion, and relief all fought for
expression, until the girl's eyes fell on Ranma. Then they all subsided,
and a new look, one of cautious relief too their place. "They...they're
all fine."
Ranma blinked. "You were able to write them?"
Akane shook her head. "No...my oldest sister is a nurse here."
Ukyou bounced back from Akane, claping her hands together. "Oh,
Akane, that's wonderful!" Beside the bed, Ranma nodded emphatically.
"Yeah, that's really great! You found out when you went to visit
your man, and met her then, right?" Ranma asked.
Akane nodded. "Yes...she's well.... I was so relieved!" The
emotion on her face spoke of the honesty of the feeling.
Ranma nodded in satisfaction. "See? Everything's working out okay
after all. She told you about the rest of your folks, right?"
Akane's face dropped once again, reliefe fading into worry. Ranma
sat upright again, his face reddening. "Oh..uh, sorry. You don't have to..."
She interrupted him with a shake of her head. "No...I'll tell you."
She collected herself, forcing the tears back. "My father is fine...he's
working with the Special Forces. My other sister...she also joined the
service...and there hasn't been any word of her since."
Ukyou leaned forwards to take Akane's hands between her own. "Oh,
I'm sorry...but, I'm sure she's alright...just like you are!" She squeezed
the other woman's hands. "Missing is just missing. She'll be found again."
Akane looked at Ukyou gratefully. "Thanks, Ukyou....that's what my
sister said." She took a couple of deep breaths, squeezing the
other girls hands tightly, gratefully as she did so. Presently,
she relaxed, and a more natural smile came to her face. "So...now it's
your turn." Can't have her asking about Ranma, she thought to herself. He
obviously doesn't want her to know.
Ukyou ohed! "You still want to hear that?" She looked a bit
uncomfortable. "It's not nearly as exciting as yours...and it's all ancient
history now anyways."
Akane shook her head emphatically. "No it's not! And I don't care
how boring it is...some normalcy in this would be nice." She glaced at
Ranma, but looked away before Ukyou could read anything in the gaze.
"Besides, I want to know how the American's let a woman like you slip
through."
Ukyou blushed. "Um...thank you," she mumbled, obviously unused to
recieving such compliments. "Well...I think to start with it was because I'm
not an American citizen."
"Eh?!" Akane leaned forwards. "But, then..." she pointed to the
American fatigues the sergeant wore. "Then how..."
Ukyou grinned. "Well, not really an American, anyways. But my
papers say I am, and they say that I'm a guy. A friend of mine in Toronto, a
lady named Habuki, is quite adept at making documents."
"So you're Canadian?" When Ukyou nodded, Akane looked confused.
"But they've been in this as long as we have. Why didn't you join them, or
us?"
With a shrug, Ukyou answered. "I tried joining the Royal Canadian
Regiment, because that was my father's regiment during the first war. But I
was clumsy, so I didn't even make it through the first interview before they
knew I was both a girl, and really young. This was in 39...I don't know what
possesed me to think I could fool people when I was all of 14 years old."
"So I waited, and I practised being a man, and about a year later I
tried again. But bad luck: I ended up seeing the very same person who had
found me out the first time. So I was on the street again. This was 3 years
ago, August 1940."
She grinned at Akane. "As you know doubt heard then or later, you
guys were getting your butts kicked all over the map. Now Canada was really
out for me, and it didn't look like you guys were gonna be in it for very
much longer. And this was when I heard about Miss Habuki."
"I had a feeling America was going to have to get into things sooner
or later, so I started working in that direction. I left my fathers home in
Kitchener to move to Toronto, where I worked in a restaurant. Sometimes we'd
see Canadian soldiers on leave, or just leaving for the front, and I picked
up some tips from them."
"For instance," and Ukyou held up a thick sheaf of her hair. "One
thing that had bothered me was that I was going to have to get my hair cut
when I joined the military. But then one day a Canadian soldier just
happened to mention that the Army wasn't totally inflexible...there were
always excuses, usually medical ones. I pushed him a bit, and he told me
that there might be a medical reason for having long hair. You just had to
find the right doctor."
"And I had finally met Miss Habuki in person. She was sympathetic to
me, but wasn't sure I would be able to pass myself off as a man in the
American Army. Also, since the United States hadn't formally declared any
war at that time, it wasn't as easy to get into their army as it could have
been. So she advised me to wait, but she did agree to start the work so I
could get in as quickly as possible."
"When Pearl Harbour came, I had just moved to Buffalo, just across
the border. Miss Habuki hadn't expected the United States to get involved
for another month, at least, so the Japanese pushed my schedule up a bit.
But it also made it easier for me to get accepted into service. Because so
many volunteers signed up after December 7th, I had to wait over a month
before I finally was assigned to basic training."
Ukyou smiled at Ranma. "In my company, my bunkmate was a boy named
Ryouga Hibiki, and right across the aisle was another boy named Ranma
Saotome." Ranma flushed a bright red as this part of the story came
forwards. "There was a lot of tension in the barracks for the first week...
not surprising, when you bring a lot of young men from all over the country,
and put them into one small building together. There's friction at first.
After the first couple fights, Ranma, Ryouga and I were only ones left
standing, cause we're all martial artists. So we stuck together. We helped
each other through. Well, actually, they helped me more than I helped them.
Cause I couldn't keep it a secret from my best friends that I wasn't...um,
like them." She grinned hugely as Ranma flushed. "And since I was going to
need help anyways, I told them pretty quick. They helped hide me from the
rest of the company."
Ukyou gave Ranma a long, searching look. "I wouldn't have made it
without you...both of you," she added after a moment's hesitation.
Ranma shifted akwardly. "Aw, c'mon, Ukyou...it wasn't like we could
leave you to be found out or nothin'...we just had to do it for you."
Ukyou smiled, and, reaching out, now took Ranma's hand in hers,
squeezing it. "Liar," she said softly, letting his hand go, but removing
hers reluctantly, as if not wanting to lose the contact with him.
Ranma turned an even brighter shade of red, and squirmed away
uncomfortably. "Um...yeah." He cleared his throat, trying not to look at
Ukyou, or Akane, who was studying the two of them with a peculiar look on her
face. He scowled mentally. What was with her, anyways? She looked like she
was jealous or scared or something. He cleared his throat a second time,
trying to force uncomfortable thoughts away. "So, um...what happened,
anyways? Weren't you supposed to be going to the Pacific?"
Ukyou nodded, looking slightly relieved herself that the moment had
ended. "I was, but assignments change. The Pentagon decided that we didn't
need anymore troops in the Pacific while we were still trying to stop the
Japanese from advancing, so instead they assigned me to the North African
front."
She smiled. "Ryouga and I were on the same landing, did you know
that?" When Ranma shook his head, she nodded. "He was in his tank, of
course, about a mile up the line." Her smile darkened. "But his battle went
a bit better than mine." Without another word, Ukyou lifted her fatigue
blouse up to reveal the scars on the bottom of her ribcage.
Ranma and Akane winced, but merely nodded. They had seen too many
similar scars to react with horror at the idea. Ukyou answered with a
similar nod, and lowered her top again. "After the field surgery, I was
sent here to recover fully." She smiled. "They missed anything really
vital, so I'm all better now. But, someone decided that I'd done such a good
job here, they might as well keep me. So they promoted me to Sergeant, and
gave me my own squad of security."
She leaned back on the bed. "And I can't complain. I used to think
that I wasn't doing my part, but now..." she gestured outside. "I'm
responsible for all this brass. It might not be as hazardous as France, but
it has to be done, and I'm good at it." She grinned. "I dunno, maybe it's
even an honor. Most of the security people here are rehabs like I was, but
they get sent back to the front eventually. Brigadier Shiratori herself
asked to keep me here, so I don't think it's cause I didn't do well enough in
Africa."
Ranma shook his head emphatically. "I can't believe you'd even think
that, Ukyou! You were top of our class, remember?"
Ukyou grinned, and poked Ranma. "Or I woulda been, if a certain
someone hadn't had to show off by going off and 'killing' the entire enemy
command staff single-handedly during our training exercise." She shook her
head in mock-disgust. "Damn SpecOps officer-wannabes. Always gotta go off
and do something dumb just to give their respectable Sergeants heart
attacks."
With that, all three broke into laughter. "You sure you don't want
to come back, Ukyou?" Akane asked, a teasing smile on her face. "All of my
comrades seem to be infected with the same hero complex that Monseiur
American has."
Ukyou shook herhead comfortable at the Resistance leader. "No
thanks, ma'am. I'm not the sneaky type. I like to stand up and fight."
"After all you did to fool the Americans, you say you're not sneaky?"
Both Ranma and Akane broke up again over this, while Ukyou looked on in mock
anger. "You should have joined Intelligence, and been a spy instead."
Akane's voice went strangely flat at the end of this tease; the other two
looked at each other, and nodded.
"So, that's my story," Ukyou said cheerfully, to bouy Akane's
spirits. "Now, I think there's one more we need to hear..."
Ranma gulped. "Me? But I don't have anythign to tell."
Ukyou shook her head. "Try again, Ranma. I know you better than
that. I saw how you and Akane looked at each other back there." Her voice
sounded strange to herself, but neither Ranma nor Akane seemed to notice.
"So, there's at least a story in that, isn't there?"
Akane suddenly spoke up. "I think you should tell her, Ranma." When
Ranma looked up in surprise, and then resignation as he saw the look on her
face. Slowly, he nodded. "The whole story."
The whole story, beginning with Ranma's experience in China, to his
arrival on Kitty Field only days earlier with Akane took the young
Lieutenant two hours to recount. Through it, both Ukyou and Akane payed
attention, although less than either showed Ranma. For her part, Akane had
heard it before, so she spent most of her attention studying Ukyou. She
wasn't completely sure yet, but they way she had touched his hand
earlier...she didn't think it was simple gratitude for helping her get into
the army.
Ukyou, on the other hand, paid Ranma close attention, her eyes
widening at the story of Chyuuchyaunshyuan, and his female curse. But as
the story moved to France and England, she stopped thinking about that, and
concentrated on the way Ranma talked about Akane.
What she saw was definiately disturbing. Ukyou was a very
perceptive girl...she had used this skill many times throughout her career
to divert officers who might be getting a little too close to her secret,
and to figure out whom she could trust with it. There hadn't been many of
those...Ranma and Ryouga, the base surgeon, and a staff nurse by the name
of Unryuu...those were all she had ever let know about it. What her sense
were telling he now was that Ranma was obviously a good deal more concerned
about the Resistance girl that even he knew.
Akane's feelings were somewhat harder to decipher, but Ukyou
thought they might be similar to Ranma's...and, her own. She was sure
Akane must know that by now, the way she had been falling all over him in
thanks for his aid during basic. It hasn't meant to come out like that,
but...she hadn't been able to help herself. Ranma and Ryouga had been her
two dearest friends there...anywhere, she admitted to herself. And while
Ryouga was every bit as strong, handsome, and in his own way _nice_ and
Ranma, she couldn't think of him...that way. Her breath had never caught
when she saw him, her heart had never skipped a beat when she heard his
voice.
When the group had broke up at the end of basic, Ukyou had tried to
put it, and her femininity, behind her, and she had succeeded. At times,
she almost surprised herself by still physically _being_ a woman. Until
today, when she had looked up, right into his blue eyes....
A sudden silence filled the room. Startled, Ukyou shook herself
out of her own thoughts, and sat back, looking stunned and thoughtful.
"That's...quite a story, sir," she said, her voice having no trace of
sarcasm in it now.
Ranma nodded, looking downcast. "Yeah. It won't be too long now
before everyone on the base knows it either. I mean, even the _Russians_
know." Probably more than he knew himself, Ranma thought to himself. "But
what I said's exactly how it is, so don't believe no funny stuff you hear."
Ranma scowled at the sergeant.
Ukyou put a hand to her chest, mocking offense. "Moi?" she began,
then flashed a guilty look at Akane, who just grinned. "Would _I_ ever
believe such horrid things about you, Ranma?"
Ranma's scowl didn't let up. "I just don't want any more
cross-dressing rumors spreading around base, y'hear?"
Ukyou sat forwards. "That was Hiroshi and Daisuke, not me! I'd
never start a rumor like that! Sheesh." she protested. Then she grinned
cockily. "But don't worry sir. I hear any rumors in here, I'll quash 'em
for you."
Finally, Ranma relaxed. "Thanks, Ukyou. I knew I could count on
you." He looked down at his watch. "Aw, geez!" he exclaimed. "2000
already?" He sighed. "SpecOps has a curfew on already. Gotta be well
rested, we go in again in a couple days." He turned to Akane. "Hey, you
need a guide back to your place still?" he asked innocently.
Startled, Akane shook her head. "Er, no, that's alright. I'll
find my way back by myself." She smiled. "Sleep well, Monsieur
American...you need it." She waved at the tongue Ranma stuck out at her as
he walked out the door.
Ukyou watched the exchange silently, waiting until the American was
out the door and down the hall. Gathering herself, she opened her mouth,
only to hear her own question being asked at her.
"Do you love him?"
Surprised, she blurted, "Yes."
Akane's shoulders slumped over. "I knew it...." Ukyou stayed
quiet...how own suspicious confirmed, she felt akward, not knowing what to
say to her new rival; her glibness for once, defeated.
Akane sat there for several long moments, then she straightened her
back, and smiled over her shoulder at the sergeant. "Well, okay. But we
still have to stick together, right?" She winked.
Shocked, Ukyou's mouth hung open for an instant, before her wits
returned with her usual grin. "You bet! C'mon! I'll show you where we
can start!" Grabbing her cap in one hand, and the other girls arm by the
wrist in the other, she pulled Akane out of the room, and ran off down the
hall, laughing.
Kitty Field, two weeks later
As the suns rays broke out over the airfield, Ranma slowly roused
himself from bed. This was it, he thought glumly to himself. Today was the
last day on the base. Tomorrow, he'd be back in the field.
Stretching, he started to change into a light shirt and sweatpants
for his morning run. Working out the kinks in his body, and listening to the
low pops of his joints, he smiled unconciously. It certainly had been a more
enjoyable two weeks than he'd ever had before. Finding Ukyou again, after
almost two years...that had been too good to be true. With Ryouga, the trio
had been tight and now, with Akane instead of Ryouga...
Ranma paused at the thought of Akane. It wasn't quite the same
though, was it? While he felt natural arund Akane, he also felt something
more than he had around Ryouga or Ukyou. There was just something...more,
about being with her. Heading out his door, he realized something else.
Ukyou seemed to be a bit more hesitant whenever Akane was around. Turning
the corner, and breaking into a light run, Ranma shrugged to himself. Ukyou
had always been a bit self-concious. Maybe she still wasn't quite used to
being around a woman who had gone through many of the same experiences she
had.
Dismissing that, Ranma's thought moved back to Akane as he ran. She
_was_ fun to be around, when she wasn't being so edgy. He didn't understand
that...she could get so defensive at times! Especially whenever Shampoo
found him...it wasn't like they were dating or anything! And, well, what did
it matter to Akane, anyways? It's not like _she_ would be interested in him.
He scowled. Uncute tomboy...all that living in the bush must have
warped her mind. She had probably been a very sweet girl, living with her
sisters before the war came. Probably had been kind, maybe even cute.
Now...definitly uncute! he told himself, ignoring the laughter than came from
the rest of his mind. No way he could really like her. Not at all. She was
good as a colleague, that was all.
Unnoticed, Ranma's pace picked up. His feet started pounding into
the packed dirt of the airfield perimeter harder, kicking up more noticable
clouds of dust. His arms swung more freely, muscles clentched tightly. His
face turned redder and more flushed, his breathing picked up. Fire burned in
his eyes now. No way he could like that ugly tomboy! No way! Absolutely
NOT in lo--
With a yell, Ranma fell over, landing heavily in the dirt. Great,
just what he needed...even more to mess up his morning. What a lousy run
this had turned out to be. Cursing to himself under his breath, he picked
himself up on his knees, and looked behind him to see what he had stumbled
over. There, looking back at him with a look of perfect wounded dignity,
was the mascot of the Kitty Karrier.
Ranma's eyes went wide, and his whole body locked up. A cold sweat
broke out over his body. Trembling, he watched in an ecstasy of terror as the
tiny pink kitten picked itself up, and licked some dust off of its paws.
Then, with an evil glint in its light-red eyes, the cat took a menacing step
forwards.
"NOOOOO!!!!!!" His paralysis broken, Ranma leaped to his feet, and
fled, running headlong for the base, a huge dust trail in his wake. Watching
him with a look of satisfaction, the cat sat down, and began to clean herself
properly.
Almost two hours later, Ranma was calm again, in a relative sense.
He was still trembling slightly, and jumping at shadows, but that was okay.
His men had already seen him, and given each other knowning winks, carefully
out of the sight of the American and their British officer. The Lieutenant
had scrambled through the barracks just after revielle, bolting all the doors
in the barracks shut, and cowering in his bedroom. It had taken two calls
for mess hall to lure him out, and even then he just wasn't right until after
he had had a shower and not seen a cat for a few hours. Finally, the British
captain had decided he was ready, and took Ranma to their briefing for the
next day's mission.
Coughing gruffly, the day's briefing officer laid out the maps for the
two junior officers. "Alright men, tomorrow's mission should be a milk run.
It's a two-stage mission, alright?" When both officers nodded understanding,
the Colonel continued.
"Right then. First, you'll be taken by the aircraft to Grid 32 68,
near the Belgian border. From here, you'll move southeast, ten kilometers to
here." The Colonel pointed to a small black square on the map. "This mark
represents a chateaux, a fairly old retreat for the French gentry. With the
occupation, the Nazis have been using it as a base of operations."
The Captain sat forwards. "What, you're asking us to scope it out
then? Have a bit of a look-see?"
The Colonel shook his head. "No, you're going to blow it up."
Ranma leaned forwards. "Excuse me sir, but taking out a German
command center...that's--" he stopped as the Colonel raised his hand to stop
further protest.
"Yes, yes, I am aware that normally a single SpecOps group would be
unable to deal with a target of this magnitude. Which is why we're sending
you in with another group."
Ranma looked relived. "Which group sir? I heard rumors that the
Greek 23rd Squadron was being stationed here. I hear those Psi Corp guys
are good."
The colnel shook his head. "No, no, it's not the Greeks. It's a
group recently arrived on base...let me see, you may have run into some of
them. Where was that sheet..." The Colonel rummaged around on his desk
for a few moments. "Ah yes, here we are. The French Resistance cell that was
recused a few weeks earlier. They're going to be our aid." The Colonel
looked up over the sheaf of paper to look at the two officers. "Is there
something wrong, gentlemen?"
The Captain was the first to recover. "S...sir! You can't send
them! They're just back from a year of extended operations! They're
exhausted! It'll be another month before they're ready..."
The Colonel broke in brusquely, "I don't see why their members
couldn't be considerd fit for duty! The French Resistance groups operate the
same way we ourselves do, with a period of intensive actions followed by
extended leave periods! The only difference is that this leave for that
group has been rather nicer than most."
"Which is exactly why they're not ready to go back," the Captain
replied. "The reason they're even here is because they got too tired _there_
and were ambushed! If we send them back now they'll be captured in a month!"
"Nevertheless," the Colonel answered testily, "we can't keep them
_here_. Our resources are being strained to the limits as it is, supporting
the Second Front in Africa and those bloody American's and their bombers."
Saying this, he looked directly at Ranma. "We have to send them back!"
Ranma said quietly, "No."
Turning in surprise, the Colonel turned his attack from the British
Captain to Ranma. "What do yo mean, no?!"
More firmly, Ranma responsded. "No. I won't let them on this
mission."
While the Captain watched in surprise, the Colonel's color slowly
started to go red. "What do you mean, 'I won't let them'?! You don't have a
bloody choice!"
Ranma's lifted his head, staring into the Colonel's eyes. "What the
Captain said is right, _sir_. Aka...I mean, Tendo's cell is not fit to
return to active duty. Our men can perform this mission alone, _sir_."
The Colonel settled back into his seat. "So, that is your final word
then, _Lieutenant_ Saotome?"
Ranma nodded firmly. "Yes sir, it is."
The Colonel nodded. "And you're _quite_ satisfied that a small group
of men, such as yourself, cold pull it off?"
Ranma hesitated, but finally nodded. "Yes sir. Our team can do it
sir."
Again, the Colonel nodded. "Yes then, that's quite alright.
Captain, you and your second in command are dismissed. I'll see you both in
here at 0900 tomorrow to discuss your new mission plans."
The Captain and Ranma stood, and automatically saluted, before the
Captain paused. "Sir? 'New mission'?"
The Colonel nodded. "Yes. Since _Lieutenant_ Saotome here does not
feel your current mission is acceptable..."
Ranma broke in hotly. "Hold on a minute! I never said that it
wasn't acceptable, just that Akane...I mean, Tendo's cell can't be included
on it!!"
Blithely ignoring Ranma, the Colonel continued on. "...so, I will
remove your team from tomorrow's flight!"
As the American seethed quietly beside him, the Captain's eyes
narrowed. "Then...tomorrows mission will go..with the French then?"
The Colonel nodded, his eyes flashing coldly. "Yes. They will go
and handle the mission...alone."
Ranma looked up, his eyes burning. "You...bastard..." he breathed
heavily.
Smiling innocently through lifeless eyes, the Colonel just nodded.
"Now, Mr.Saotome...I understand you might wish to change your objections?"
With a sweep of his hand, he gestured to the chairs in from of the table.
"Now, if you'd take your seats, we can resume the briefing..."
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Aaack. Isn't it funny what a little calamity can do to your life? I
actaully have a valid excuse for once why this part is late, too. ^_^
Basically, it started with my primary server, where I store my archives,
and where I post from (elycion) was hacked, and taken offline for about 3
weeks. During that three weeks, i managed to annihilate my Windows
installation, and have to wipe the directory...but, because I did it at
some stupid hour of the night, I wiped out all of the fics I was working on
at the time. Fall of the Eagle 9, Future Chronicles, Ranma Plus, and
Rumble in Kyoto were all wiped out, along with a Tenchi fanfic I had
recently started work on again. So...
But I've got Windows reinstalled, got my account back, and still haven't
been able to do any writing, because of a full-time job. :P So my
normally slow rate of production has been slowed down even more, and I
can't promise that it'll acelerate. What I do promise is that you won't
have to wait another year to see the end of Fall of the Eagle...there's
only 5-6 more parts to go, and we're out of this. So any loyal fans I
have, keep your fingers crossed. I won't let this one go into 98. ;>
Till then, peace, love, Happy Holidays, and all that hippie bullshit. ^_-
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James Stone - stoner@elycion.geology.ualberta.ca
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http://elycion.geology.ualberta.ca/~stoner
http://elycion.geology.ualberta.ca/~stoner/amuck/amuck.html
http://elycion.geology.ualberta.ca/~stoner/fotw/flags
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Akane@Anime, Ukyou@Ranma, Stoner@Baka, Nabiki@Furtoonia, Geobaldi@Furry,
Mendo@AMUSH, Kylania@Delusions, Mousse@Avalon, Nanami@Fiction,
Noa@DahlingMUCK, Baradagi@ElseMUCK, Miki@ShojoMUCK, Karin@PikuMUCK
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