Hello everyone,

        I released this fanfic last week and have since made quite a few
changes, including the title.  It was entitled May You Live in Interesting
Times until I could find a better one, and Brad Jones suggested The Weight
of Tomorrow.   I would like to thank everyone who C&C'd the fic the first
time, I'm sure you will find many of the changes were incorperated.

I would like to thank my prereaders Brad Jones and Andromeda for their
keeping me in line and coming up with many great suggestions of how to
tweak things.

I would also like to thank Anthony Woo for giving me a nice list of Martial
Arts styles to use and The Eternal Lost Lurker for help with Japanese names
for attacks that will be used later on.

C&C of all kinds is wished for and appreciated.  I don't know if it's long
enough for a MST... but here's to hoping.  <G>

Thanks to everyone who reads it and enjoy it.  Chapter Two is in the works
and should be released fairly soon as I'm now free from school! :>

Warren




Disclaimer notice.  Ranma 1/2 is copyright of Takahashi Rumiko and Star
Trek DS9 is a registered trademark of Paramount Studios.  If either one of
them should stumble across this little story, hopefully they will see if
for what it is, a tribute to two great storylines.

[Ranma/DS9] The Weight of Tomorrow

Worf and Jadzia stepped off the promenade and into Quark's.  After scanning
the bar for a moment they saw the Ferengi and walked over to him.

"How is the married couple doing today?  Can I get you something to drink,
half-priced as a late marriage gift?  Dax, I still can't believe you
married this big lug; I mean you could have had m..."

Quark's ramblings came to a sudden and complete stop when he realized Worf's
bat'telh was bared and the Klingon was beginning to growl.

Dax pushed Worf's blade aside before turning towards the Ferengi, "Now
now boys, no shedding blood over little ol' me.  Quark, we were wondering if any
holosuites were open.  It's been a while since we've had a good workout."

"Didn't you two just finish your honeymoon?  I would have thought-" Quark
noticed Worf's glare, "Uh, what was I saying? Oh yes, Holosuite Four is
available.  Oh!  Someone was asking about you earlier Worf.  Well, not
personally.  She wanted to know if there were any really strenuous workout
programs.  I gave her a copy of your calisthenics program.  She's up in
Holosuite Two as we speak.  I offered her one of my better programs but she
just scowled when I mentioned dancing boys.  *mumbles* I offered her a
 reasonable price too... *louder*  Now, if you will excuse me.  I have a bar
to run and you two don't seem to be ordering anything."

Worf and Jadzia shared 'the look' and then headed up the stairs towards the
holosuites.

Of course, Jadzia was curious and draged Worf over to check out their mystery
person.  They stopped outside of holosuite four and Jadzia called up the
program information.

"Worf?"

"Yes?"

"What level do you usually run your calisthenics program on?"

"Level seven.  Why?"

"This program is set to level twelve.  And Worf, the safety protocols are
turned off!  Computer! Open the doors to Holosuite Four.  Authorization
Dax-Omega-Epsilon-Pi!"

The doors *swooshed* open and the couple ran inside only to stop dead in
their tracks.

The interior was a cleared section of jungle.  There were mountains in the
background complete with snowcaps and puffy clouds.  The mountains were
void of technology and appeared to just be their majestic selves.

In the middle of the clearing stood a lone female.  She stood about 1.7 meters
tall and the gi seemed to fit loosely.   She appeared to be in peak health and
was visually stunning; her hair was black with a silvery-reddish tinge.  She
appeared to be about 45 terran years old and was dressed in a black gi that
was tied shut with a yellow scarf.  The scarf appeared to be old and ragged
and poorly made but the woman patted it lovingly and then turned towards
her opponents.

There were fifteen Nausicaans surrounding the female and they all had
various weapons in their hands.  There were no disrupters or any other sort
of energy weapon, but the knives, staves, and clubs that were in appearance
did not look any better to Dax.  She was about to order the computer to
"freeze program" when the Nausicaans made their move.  They rushed at
the woman as a group and before Jadzia could utter one word the lady...
flowed... for lack of any better word, towards her attackers.

Worf could barely believe his eyes.  He could barely follow the fight for
that matter.

She moved with a grace that was seen once a generation.  Her moves made
those of a professional dancer look the clumsy fool.  The first Nausicaan
saw her victim blur towards her before she realized she had been sent flying.
The experience was a new one which unfortunately ended abruptly when she
face-planted the wall next to Worf.  The rest of the attackers soon
followed.

Dax was attempting to follow the sub-lightspeed fight.  To call it a fight
would be misleading, this was a massacre on a grand scale.  The woman spun
kick a Nausicaan in the face before dropping to foot swept the alien who
came up behind her.  An uppercut left the fourth attacker with a broken jaw
and no teeth.  And as if this wasn't impressive enough, the woman began
alternating styles.  Each alien was sent flying flying towards the edge of
the clearing.  The lucky ones were those who slid to a stop before slamming
into the trees; the unlucky ones went through the trees.

Dax attempted to count the styles she saw but was beginning to lose track.
She had not seen some of those styles used since her old host, Emony Dax's,
gymnastics teacher, Ranko, had demonstrated them 70 years ago.
Tai Chi became Kalaripayit.  Then Mui Tai flowed in Capoeira before the woman,
<Ranko?, used one of the newer martial arts styles, anbo-jytsu, to finish
off the last Nausicaan.

The whole fight had not lasted more then a minute!  The Nausicaans were
strewn about the jungle floor and their weapons were in even worse shape,
if that was possible.  Dax was sure she had seen a metal bo staff shatter
into a million shards.  And the woman was not even breathing hard.
Amazing.

And then for the first time, Dax and Worf heard the woman speak.

"Computer, one bucket of lukewarm water please."

A bucket materialized next to the woman who then dumped it over herself.

"Computer, end program."

Everything vanished and in its place was a square room whose walls and
floor were covered in a glowing yellow grid. All of the occupants
disappeared as well except for Dax, Worf, and the mystery fighter.

The woman had her back turned to the couple but then said aloud, "Well, did
you enjoy the show?"

"That was amazing!  The whole battle didn't even last a minute! And it was
LEVEL TWELVE!  Worf himself doesn't go past eight.  How long have you been
training?  How many styles do you know?  Is your name Ranko?  Did you ever
teach gymnastics?  What..."

Jadzia's questions came to a stop when Worf cupped his hand over her mouth.

"Very impressive," Worf stated before turning to Dax.  "I am certain she
will answer your questions if given the chance."

Dax glared at Worf and then looked sheepish, "I'm sorry, I do get carried
away sometimes.  My name is Jadzia Dax and this is my husband Worf.  That
was his program you just, uh, decimated."

The lady bowed to Jadzia and then Worf, "I am pleased to meet you, my name
is Ranma Saotome and yes, I have been called  Ranko on occasion.  I'm sorry
about your program.  That Ferengi said your calisthenics program was the
best program to train in.  It will do for now I suppose. Anyways, I will
answer all your questions, but first let me change into something more
comfortable."

Dax was about to move out of her old-found friends' way when she realized
Ranma was not moving.  Instead she had closed her eyes and had a look of
concentration on her face.

The water covering Ranma began to steam and evaporate.  On top of that,
from that Ranma began to change as well.

She gained about a foot in height, her hair lost its reddish tinge and
became jet black with silver streaks down the pony-tail, and then her
breasts began to recess and she became a he.

Worf immediately went into a defensive stance and muttered, "Shape shifter."

Dax had seen many things in her 300 years of living but this, despite its
strangeness, was very familiar. And so was Ranma.

Ranma relaxed from his concentration and upon noticing Worf's position,
took an unassuming pose. "I am sorry if I frightened or surprised you.  I
am not a shape shifter, I merely have a different... physiology than most
and;  wait a minute.  Did you say Dax?  I knew a Dax, she had those same
spots on her neck that you have.  I figured they were some sort of cultural
or family tattoos.  What was her... Emony Dax!  That's it.  She was a
gymnast. So, were you two related?"

"In a way."

"In a way?"

"I am, well, I was Emony Dax.  But that was over seventy years ago.  You
don't look any older then fifty but I remember you.  That was about 74
years ago when you trained Emony Dax to be a gymnast.  You really were the
best teacher I ever had, a bit intense sometimes, but good."

"That was you, eh.  It's been a long time, hasn't it.  Look, why don't you
join me for dinner and we can get caught up on old times.  I'd also like to
get to know your husband a bit better.  Come on, my treat."

Worf finally relaxed, looked to Jadzia who nodded yes, and then agreed.

The trio walked over to Quark's and found a table upstairs overlooking the bar.
A Ferengi waiter soon came and took their orders.

Worf ordered pipius claw and prune juice while Dax ordered sem'hal soup
and a raktajino.  Ranma asked what they served and then ordered one of
everything.

The Ferengi looked at Ranma with a 'can you afford it look' until Ranma
sighed, rooted around his pockets and pulled out a gold coin.  He handed it to
the waiter while saying, "The food had better be good, that coin is a relic
from the 22nd century."

Ranma turned to the couple and said, "Man, they could give Nabiki a run for
her money, I swear.  Now where were we?  Ah yes, Emony Dax or was it my
change in gender?  Well, I guess I had better start at the beginning for
Worf's sake.  Besides, you always liked hearing my stories, didn't you
Dax."

She noded at this then guestured for him to begin.

"I may not look it but I am over 400 years old.  I was born near the end of
the twentieth century.  My father took me from my mother when I was five
and raised me to be a great martial artist.  While on one of our 'training
missions' we went to China where my father and I were knocked into some
cursed pools.  To make a long story short, cold water turns me into a
female, hot water changes me back.

I discovered about three years after I had been cursed that each "side" of
me aged separately.  A normal person could live to be over a hundred years
old back then so I was looking at an easy two hundred year life span; if I
was so lucky as to live beyond my teenaged years that is."

Worf's questioning looked on their faces so Ranma answered the unasked
question, "I got into a lot of fights with my rivals, my fiancee's, their
suitors, kidnappers, and whatever other odd adventures popped up.  Aside
from really keeping me in shape and advancing my training, it's not the
best way to guarantee a long life."

Quark and several of his tray laden waiters approached the table.  The food
was served and the waiters left, but Quark stayed behind, hovering.

"What do you want, Quark?"

"Whatever do you mean, Worf?  I am just trying to be a good host but how
can I do that when my customers won't even let me near their tables?
Besides, someone from your table gave Queeg a coin that is worth about 6
bars of gold-pressed latinum.  I was wondering if and how I could find out
where they got such a coin?"

Dax intervened before Worf could bodily remove Quark from their space, "Not
now, Quark."

"But, I have a very lucrative offer for whoever... Oh all right, but I'll
be back later."

And with that, Quark went back downstairs to con someone less suspicious
then these folks.

Jadzia opened up her napkin and reached for her spoon; she was about to ask
Ranma to continue when she noticed something missing from their table.

"Ranma?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to your food?"

"I'm already done eating. Now where was I?"

"Er, that was fast.  How was your meal?"

"The Augergine soup was decent if a tad bland, those tube worms were spiced
so they tasted better than the ones pops and I used to scrounge up.  That
utaberry dish was a bit tart but i really enjoyed that fizzy drink.
Trixian bubble juice I think he called it..."

"I get the idea, "Dax smiled, then continued, "Before you continue on with
your story will you answer a question?"

"Shoot."

"Shoot?  I did not hear phaser fire nor do I see any legumes leftover from
the meal,"  Worf stated.

"It's an old expression, Worf. it means proceed, or go ahead."

"I wanted to ask about your curse.  You said it takes hot water to turn you
male again but in the holosuite you clearly asked for lukewarm water.  I
don't remember your being able to heat water before.  How or what did you
do?  And, fiancees!?  You only ever told me about Akane!?"

"Okay, one question at a time.  The fiancees weren't my fault, as I said
earlier, my pop arranged that whole mess.  And I don't really want to talk
about them just yet.  Let me start with my curse.  Yes, I did order
lukewarm water, I have had boiling water poured over my head more times
then I care to admit.  I created a technique where I heat up my chi and
then form a warm layer of air around myself.  The warm air heats up the
water which then triggers the change.  For the longest time I could not go
swimming in my male form without the embarrassing , uh, developments but
now I can pretty much control which form I wish to be in.  There is also
the added bonus of staying warm wherever I went."

"You have that questioning look on your face again, Worf.  Spit it out, eh."

"What is 'chi'?"

"Oi, that question has been debated for centuries, but for me, it's
basically your inner energy.  Some martial artists have the ability to
control their chi and can do amazing things with it.  I myself am fairly
versed in its use and can concentrate my chi and send out several different
types of ki-blasts among other things.  Here, let me demonstrate it on a
small scale."

Ranma cupped his hands and concentrated.  Several small glowing balls of
varying colors appeared in his hands and he began to juggle them.

"Color is very important.  Every emotion has its own color or flavor if you
will.  For example, yellow is confidence, the light blue is hope, and green
is sadness."

"What about red?  That appears to be glowing the brightest."

"Red.  Red is love."

Dax noticed the sad expression on Ranma's face and tried to change the
subject; she did, however, fully plan on bringing it up later when she could
talk to Ranma alone on the matter.

"What else can you do with your chi?"

The distraction seemed to work as Ranma's expression lightened and
he tosses the balls at Worf where they *popped* and disappeared.

"As I already mentioned I can create a warm layer of air.  Aside from that
there are some offensive techniques that use concentrated emotions to form
an attack.  It also raises ones level of awareness and... excuse me."

Ranma grabbed a butter knife from the table and flinged it down the hall and
into a hanging tapestry.  The spin he gave it caused the blunt handle to
bang into the cloth; the resulting expletive and shuffling noises proved
that there was more behind the banner than just a solid wall.

Worf and Jadzia exclaim as one, "Quark."

"He's a persistent one isn't he."

"Now, chi can also be used to keep the body running more orderly than it
usually would and as such extends the age of the user.  When I was sixteen
I knew two such users.  One of them was my fathers's sensei.  That
perverted old bastard was over 200 years old by the time I met him.  The
other was the great-grandmother of one of my fiancee's.  She claimed to be
over 300 years old, and boy, did she look it.  But what a fighter; she may
have looked her age but she was still as spry as an eighteen year old.  She
taught me more in that first year then I had ever dreamed existed."

"One of the chi techniques I eventually learned was how to 'age well' as
she called it.  Happosai also taught me his aging techniques.  The
combination of those ki techniques and the unique properties of my curse
have given rise to the ancient yet young looking fellow you see before
you."

"Now, if you will excuse me, I need to catch up on my beauty sleep.  It has
been very nice meeting you Worf.  Dax, I hope we can continue this
conversation tomorrow.  Oh, do you know where Keiko O'Brien lives?  She's
my many times removed niece and one of  the reasons I am visiting the
station."

Jadzia gave Ranma directions to the O'Brien's quarters and then wished him
a good evening.

"Great maker!  Look at the time.  Can you believe we spent 3 hours talking
to Ranma?  It certainly was interesting.  You seemed awfully quiet Worf.
What's up?"

"There is nothing wrong with me.  I did not wish to distract him from his
tales.  I found them completely agreeable."

"Well, that's good.  Come on, let's go to bed as well; I've got an early
shift tomorrow.  Hopefully we will see Ranma again so he can continue with
his story."


End of Chapter 1

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Not all mice are vegetarians. Grasshopper mice aren't. They eat insects,
lizards, littler mice. You know what a grasshopper mouse does when it
targets its dinner? Points its nose skyward and howls. Like a wolf. Not as
loud. Like a real small wolf.