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-- File: War.txt
Warriors Redemption
By Jeremy Evans
Disclaimer: The wonderful people at FASA own Battletech and all related
material.
The Amazing Rumiko Takahashi owns Ranma 1/2 and all related characters.
I did not write this to make any money, only for entertainment.
-----------
3056
Planet "The Rock"
Smoke Jaguar occupation Zone
Star Commander Ranma entered the briefing room. He was 6' 1' with
well-defined musculature, blue eyes and a handsome face. His dark hair was
fairly unremarkable except for the Pig-tail which reached down to mid
back. He was dressed in a blue/gray jumpsuit, with the patch for his unit
the 'Hunters' over his heart. He took a moment to scan the room, nodding
his greetings to the few warriors he was on friendly terms with. The rest he
treated to his usual indifference.
The room itself was a semi circular affair, with the seats sloping up and
away from the bidding pool. The bidding pool was set up with two stations
each facing the other. Both stations contained computer equipment with the
current information on the target and the two units that would be bidding
for the right of conquest today. Around and above the bidding pool were
several screens designed to let the warriors watching know what was going
on.
Ranma took a seat near the back of the room so as to be left alone during
the bidding. As he sat down an elemental entered the room, looked at him and
scowled. Ranma smiled smugly at the taller man, who then turned away in
disgust. "That was not very smart." Ranma turned around and sighed. Before
him stood his superior officer, Star Captain Ariel. She was what most would
consider pleasing to the eyes, with her dark brown hair, chocolate brown
eyes and lithe form. However, her eternal frown ruined the effect her
features
could have had on someone. "Why do you say that Star Captain?" She sat down
in
the seat next to him. "Elementals do not like being beaten by Mechwarriors.
I doubt it will be long before you face him again, and this time he will be
out for your blood." Ranma shrugged, "Then it will take me a little longer
to beat him."
She shook her head at this, "Your arrogance is bad enough. But considering
your other major failing.." Ranma sighed loudly "Star Captain, let us not
start that again. Besides it appears the bidding is ready to begin."
Indeed it was. The two Star Colonels dressed in the ceremonial fur of the
Jaguar, approached the pool. The two men glared at each other and waited as
the lore master went through the final rituals. Once done, the senior
officer
made his opening bid of units.
The object of the bidding was a Kurita planet that Intel indicated was being
set up by the Dragon to stage raids into Jaguar space. Already 2 merc
units were on planet along with one house unit. The two merc units were the
Jurian Guards composed of about 2 companies of mechs under the command of
Captain Yosho Misaki, and the Lunar Senshi composed of about 2 companies, of
mostly aging inner sphere mechs, under the command of Major Usagi Tsukino.
Neither group had any experience fighting the clans. The only house unit on
planet was composed of more experienced warriors but their new Commander
Captain Kuno had yet to see combat. With all this it was believed that this
mission would be a cakewalk. Despite the evidence to support this Ranma
still felt uneasy about the whole thing.
"You are concerned with something Ranma, quiaff?!" Ariel's brown eyes stared
at him intently.
"Aff Star Captain." He pointed to the screen showing the bidding. "I do not
think we are taking this mission seriously enough."
She frown grew. "Our opponents are nothing more than worthless
freebirths! My Trinary alone could handle the scum!!"
He shakes his head. "Those freebirth have beaten us on more than one
occasion. They do particularly well when we underestimate them, which is
what we are doing now." He waved a hand at the screen which shows the
opposing commanders final bid, which consists of 3 Trinaries of mechs a star
of aerofighters and elementals. "If you ask me that is cutting it a tad
close." He refolds his arms and waits for her reply. "We can take them with
less." She turned from him to watch the final bid of their commander. Ranma
shook his head before turning back to the screen.
Their commander smiled in triumph as he bid only one trinary and two
binarys of mechs. The bad feeling in Ranma's gut suddenly grew worse. Ariel
nodded in approval as she saw her trinary was still in the fight, though
down
one star. She then turned to face Ranma. "That is more than enough to handle
the
mission. In fact, I will be surprised if we do not completely rout the dogs
with that!" Her frown lightens somewhat as she turns back to watch the
opposing commander concede the bid. After the final rituals, most of the
mechwarriors began to file out of the room. Some to prepare for the coming
battle, others to simply return to their posts.
Ranma gets up to go when his commander's voice stops his movement.
"Star Commander, you will come to my quarters tonight." He sighed "May I ask
why I am to be..graced with your company this evening?" She turns to look
him up and down. "Mission preparation will not allow me to couple for
sometime and my duties have not allowed me to do so for a while already.
We also have a few things to discuss. You will come to my room tonight,
Quiaff." he looks at her, the response ' Hell No!!' briefly came to his
mind. He sighs, "Aff."
*****
Ranma looked at the naked form of Ariel lying atop his bare chest, his arms
wrapped around her. When he realized he was holding her he quickly dropped
them to his side. As his eyes gazed at her and his mind went over what
they'd done it took all his restraint to keep from shuddering. No matter how
much he
enjoyed sex during the act, he always felt miserable afterwards. Especially
when it was
with her. Coupling with his commanding officer was not high on his list of
fun
things to do and nothing happened this time to raise his opinion of it.
She stirred and looked up to face him. A frown was no longer on her face
but nor was it a smile. Satisfaction, that's what it was. She was simply
satisfied with how it went. She slowly lifted herself off him and plopped
down next to him." You continue to amaze me Ranma."
He gave her a look some where between surprise and curiosity. "May I ask
what you mean by that Star Captain?"
"You hate coupling, don't lie I see it in your eyes. For whatever reason you
continue to deny other females the pleasure of your body except for me and
the only reason I may enjoy it is because I can order you to. Still when
ever we do couple you always satisfy me."
Ranma blinked before answering, "I am trained to be the best at what ever I
do. No matter how much I dislike it."
Her eye brows raised "Oh really? Then explain your performance as a Clan
warrior!"
Ranma turned a withering glare on his commanding officer. "If you question
my skill you need only look at my codex.."
She snorts derisively "Ranma, you do have a lot of kills to your record. But
in all most all of them your opponent survived the destruction of his mech.
Sometimes it seems as if your doing your best not to kill the pilots! I can
understand this in intra clan battles but we are fighting Inner Sphere
Freeborns!! You should be aiming for the cockpit, not avoiding it!!!
His face takes on a tired expression. "Star Captain, the Great One himself
taught us the evils of waste. A captured live Inner Sphere mechwarrior can
do some work within the Clan. A dead one cannot."
She shakes her head "Nonsense! We have more than enough willing people in
the other castes, we do not need more!" her eyes narrowed "Also, I said Clan
warrior, I am not questioning your skill but your devotion to the Clans
and our ways!!"
Shock rode openly on his face "Star Commander!! You.."
She raised her hand for silence "You are a Warden, a heretic! You deny the
path Kerensky set us upon and because of this you will never be able to
serve the Clan to the best of your abilities. "
Ranma opened his mouth to respond, and then closed it. A most horrid truth
occurred to him, she was right. He shook himself out of this thought and
realized he needed to leave. As he tried to slip out of bed she grabbed his
arm and hauled him back
She stared at him "We are not finished."
He sighed, "I understand your point Star Captain..."
She shakes her head, and then straddles him and bends down to the point
where her nose hovers just above his. "I was not talking about that."
******
The door opened as Ranma entered his quarters. His bed was disheveled and
had numerous documents on it. Most dealing with new battlemech development,
troop movements and political stability in the Inner Sphere and a few books
on martial arts. Unlike the floor, his walls were bare. Ranma stripped as he
headed for the bathroom. Hitting a switch he activated the shower, then he
stepped in and let the stream of hot water massage his tired muscles.
As the water cascaded down his face he thought of the difference in this
lecture to the others he'd received from his commanding officer. This time
she pointed out that the clan would be best served by him being in a
position that suited his skills. He would never get there if he kept his
Warden attitude and thus the clan would suffer. The ring of truth to those
words had bothered him to no end. Ranma had left as soon as he could, all to
eager to escape and think on what was said.
Ranma looked at his hands. "Serve the clan to the best of your abilities and
Kerensky's dream will come true." He repeated the words of his long dead
mentor, Nodoka. The one woman who had actually meant something to him. He
closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. His old mentor had always said
that by being the best he could eventually complete the mission Kerensky had
given the clans. So, was that it? Embrace his clan and its ways and
Kerensky's plan would be served?
An image of a young girl with soft brown eyes and a dollish face who
entered his mind. He remembered meeting this girl during training to be a
mechwarrior. Her name was Isis; she was one of the freeborns in training
to be a warrior. Ranma saw very quickly that she lacked the talent to
make the cut, but she was one of the kindest people he had ever met. He
fully
expected to see her moved off into the Scientist caste and become a
doctor or nurse. He even once joked with her that the next time he saw her
would
likely be when he needed patching up after a fight. He saw her a lot sooner
than he expected.
It was right after his trial to be a mechwarrior. He had succeeded in
destroying two battlemechs earning him the rank of star Commander. He was
the only one of the four cadets from his Sibko to pass the test. He had
freed himself from his ejection seat and was walking toward the drop off
point when he noticed a group of freeborns standing around something. He
hesitated a moment. After all, a few minutes earlier and they were trying to
stop him from reaching his mech as a part of the test. Unlike others Ranma
was unarmed as he had forgone hand weapons and used the trees to slip by
most of the freeborn guards and the rest he quickly knocked out with his
hands. Curiosity winning out he pushed his way through the crowd and froze
when he saw what was at the center. It was Isis and she was bleeding from
several bullet wounds. He began to act before he knew what he was doing; he
picked her up into his arms and bolted for the drop point all the time
calling for a medic. He was almost to the med truck when she got his
attention by caressing his face. He looked down and saw her smile at him,
and then she closed her eyes for the last time.
"No. No! No!!" Ranma's fist smashed into the wall as more images of
brutality filled his mind. Images of clan mechwarriors stomping on the heads
of downed Inner Sphere mechs, the annihilation of unarmed civilians, and
finally the halo-vids of Edo, Turtle bay. Watching as deadly bolts of energy
rained down on the defenseless cities. Seeing men, women and children simply
cease to exist under the withering bolts caused him to shudder.
Barbarians. That's what the clans were. Technologically advanced Barbarians.
A mockery to all the Great One had stood for. Kerenesky must be spinning in
his grave. Well no more. He would find a way to make Kernesky's dream a
reality. With this thought Ranma grabbed a bar of soap and began to cleanse
him self in more ways than one.
-----------
Planet "Otaku"
Kurita Space, above the truce line
Ranma did a final systems check on his mech, a sleek Conjurer, as the drop
ship entered the atmosphere. Two weeks after his decisions, he still had no
idea of how to accomplish it. Years of Clan conditioning left him at a loss
of how to effectively fight back.
More jostling. The drop ship dove into the atmosphere. Not long before
combat would be engaged. He checked the displays on his Conjurer, all green.
The ways of the Clans. Even Nodoka had been taught to work
towards the betterment their clan. Well his only concern now was for the
people under his command. Once he got them through this, he would find a way
to start repairing the damage that'd been done to Kerenesky's dream.
With a final jolt the drop ship touched down. The bay door lights went
green, as the doors opened, showing the planet's night sky. The vanguard
units quickly moved out, eager to engage their enemy. Ranma's Star waited
for their turn.
*****
The battle was going well. The enemy had been engaged earlier than expected
but had very quickly begun to fall back. When this happened the clan
mechwarriors pressed their attack. Emptying ammo at their targets at an
impressive rate.
All this did nothing to soothe the feeling of unease Ranma had about this.
In fact it made it worse. Unlike his Star, most of the others were not
designed with more energy weapons than ammunition based ones. So even though
they were winning, they were rapidly running low on ammo.
It also didn't take long for Ranma to notice that they'd been drawn into a
valley. The Warriors at front missed it but being near the rear and not in
any immediate action Ranma was able to see this. "Strike Star I have a bad
feeling about this one. Stay on your toes." As confirmations came in he
shook his head. "Since when did I start to think like a Nova Cat!" It was
at that moment that missile fire rained down on the mechs near the front.
Ranma checked his sensors and cursed. Another 5 companies of mechs were
cresting the top of the valley. Some began their descent while others
started to fire their long ranged weapons from where they stood. Added to
that,
a couple of squadrons of aerofighters were closing in as well. "Maybe there
is
something to their visions after all!"
The Star Colonel was one of the first to succumb to missile fire from the
Inner Sphere mechs. Next was the 3rd then 2nd in commands. Finally his own
Star Captain was in charge. She quickly ordered the Smoke Jaguar mechs into
a formation, likely intending to charge the line and go out in a blaze of
glory. It was not to be as her last transmission was cut short as a gauss
rifle round slammed through the cockpit of her Cauldron Born.
Ranma realized with a sinking feeling that he was in charge. "My first
major command and it has to be this!" Ranma flipped on the unit address
system. "All units move back through the entrance, and regroup. We will
find better ground to fight them on." Several commanders grumbled but
obeyed.
The damage that was being inflicted upon them made them a bit more likely to
listen. As the Smoke Jaguar warriors fell back, Ranma's unit kept the path
out clear as several of the descending mechs tried to block their retreat.
Ranma saw a squat Jagermech rip off the arms of an already badly damaged
Nova with its AC 20s. He dropped his targeting reticule on to the mech's
left
arm and fired. One large pulse laser and two medium pulse lasers burned away
armor over the enemy mech's arm. Ranma activated jump jets rising into the
air as the other pilot tried to track him. He landed between the other Nova
and Jagermech. Firing again he managed to amputate the left arm of the mech.
This caused the pilot to stagger as they tried to compensate for the lost
weight. Ranma fired his streak SRMs, they slammed into to the gaping hole
left by the loss of the arm. The mech began to topple as the ammo began to
blow. The pilot managed to eject as the mech went down.
Ranma quickly ordered the badly damaged Nova to get moving. He took a
moment to scan the battlefield and was saddened by what he saw. Aero
fighters and LRM mechs rained death on warriors, while their Mech brethren
finished off what was left. In one place a stocky Grim Reaper and humanoid
Battle Master were laying waste to any Clan mechs in their path. In another
a bulky Gunslinger and Atlas were double-teaming a Warhawk, while up on the
ridge a red and white Salamander along with a blue and white Catapult rained
death upon the retreating Clan mechs. Finally a Bird-legged Penatrator was
trading shots with a Summoner until a Nightsky snuck up on the clan mech and
caved in its cockpit with its...Huh, Since when did a Nightsky have Axe
heads
shaped like a Spatula?.
His scan of the battlefield showed that he was pretty much the only mech
left in the area. The others had all ready gone through the pass or were
destroyed. Triggering his jump jets, he quickly caught up with his
retreating
Clansmen.
*****
"What do you mean get aboard?" The confusion and anger was evident
in the younger warrior's voice. Ranma sighed and once again reminded himself
to
choose his words very carefully. "I mean, get aboard so the drop ship can
get you out of here."
"We are Smoke Jaguars!! We do not retreat!! We will fight these Inner Sphere
freebirth
till our deaths! If you will not lead us."
The pig-tailed mechwarrior cut him off, "Enough! If you surats wish to
dishonor
yourself and weaken the Clan then disobey my order and die senselessly on
this rock! However, if you truly wish to serve the Clan you will get aboard
the drop ship." Ranma pauses a moment to let his words sink in then
continues. "The ability to learn from past mistakes, yours or others is a
talent that is greatly needed and in horribly short supply within the Clans.
Learn from our mistakes today, take that knowledge back to the Clan and we
will be strengthened in the long run."
The other warrior said nothing for a long moment. Finally he spoke in a very
strained voice. "We will board the drop ship, but I will see you in a Circle
of Equals when we get back, Star Commander!"
Ranma smirked "If I survive the day stravag, I will gladly give you another
opportunity to learn from your mistakes." With that he changed comm
channels and ordered his Star into a defensive formation.
His rear monitors showed the remaining 18 mechs quickly boarding the drop
ship. Unfortunately enemy missile fire was all ready raining down on their
position. His Star held their position in face of the advancing inner sphere
warriors. Ranma's large pulse laser burned away at the chest of a blocky
Centurion. The other mech swung its torso away to prevent his assault from
setting off the missiles stored there. The mech then staggered under the
assault of twin gauss rifle rounds fired from a Galahad piloted by one of
Ranma's star mates. Regaining its balance somewhat its AC-10 vomited fire
and metal at the Galahad, chewing through the armor over heart and staring
to munch on the its ferro-titanium bones. The pig-tailed warrior then
triggered his medium pulse laser and streak SRM's. The laser destroyed the
last of the other mech's armor, while the missiles slammed into the
undetonated ammo stored in the mechs chest setting of a chain reaction. The
other pilot ejected as internal ammo explosions tore the mech apart
Ranma checked his sensors and noticed the others stars were all ready
aboard. He triggered his comm. "All right, we have done our part for the
glory of Clan Smoke Jaguar today. Break for the drop ship." Ranma turned
his mech to run when he saw a missile swarm slam into the left leg of one
of his Star mates. The other's Nova plowed face first into the ground.
Ranma fired at the attacker, a Javelin, striking it in the head. As the
other
mech began to topple he moved to assist his fallen comrade.
As he used his mechs hands to lift the other to his feet he triggered his
comm "Can you make it?"
A moment passed before the other warrior responded, "Neg, Star commander
I have a damaged leg actuator, I do not think I can move fast enough. Leave
me
behind."
He shook his head "Neg, I will cover while you go to the drop ship."
Without waiting for a replay he turned to face the opposing force and
charged. The enemy's fire is quickly drawn to Ranma as he becomes a more
immediate threat. The other's mech stands still for a moment before
finally limping for the drop ship.
****
Ranma moved his Conjurer through the thick forest foliage as quickly as
possible. Between his anti-aissile system and the trees obscuring him from
view he
was able to dodge LRM locks from the Catapult, Salamander and Archers.
However, this did not mean he could relax as a Gunslinger, Atlas, and Owens
were currently hunting him.
Since the drop ship had left, leaving him behind 20 minutes ago, he had been
engaged in a running fight with one of the groups of mercenaries. He had
finally taken to the forest to prevent the support mechs from raining
missile fire down upon him. But that didn't stop the two assault mechs and
the light from coming after him. So far his speed and jump jets had allowed
him to stay safely out of the way of the larger mechs weapons, however the
light mech was able to land a few hits. Not causing him any real damage,
more like it was trying to piss him off enough to go after it.
"Stravag! These freebirths are very persistent!" As if to confirm this
two gauss rounds tore through the foliage in front of him. Arresting his
forward
motion and pulling a 180 while swinging his torso to the side, he dropped
the targeting reticule onto the offending mech and fired. Two medium pulse
lasers burned away over the mech's heart. The Atlas fired its medium pulse
lasers;
which struck and boiled holes in his leg and torso armor. The Owens charged
in firing missiles. A few struck doing no real damage. Ranma paid the
warrior back with a blast from his large pulse laser.
Ranma was getting ready to fire again when he noticed the mechs pulling
back. He blinked, and then the missile warning went off. He checked his
scanner then looked at the retreating Owens outside. A sense of doom
descended upon him as he realized that it had been carrying a NARC missile
beacon. He swung his large pulse laser in line with the rear of the mech.
Too late 40 LRMs slammed into his mech causing armor to fly in an impressive
light display. Amazingly Ranma kept the mech on its feet.
As he staggered to straighten up, the Gunslinger lumbered into view. The
enemy
mech aimed all its weapons at Ranma's mech. Ranma's hand hovered for a
moment over the eject button. He grit his teeth and hit it. The hot evening
air slammed into him, as he was sent skyward just ahead of the Gunslinger
firing its weapons at his mech, which was all ready falling back. All the
weapons hit their target. The two gauss rounds blew through the core housing
and out the other side, causing the mech to go critical. The force of the
blast knocked him out as his chute deployed.
****
Ranma stared at the wall of the cell, it'd been about 6 hours since he'd
been captured and moved to this cell on the main base. 4 hours since his
debriefing at the hands of the base personnel and some of the merc heads.
Four hours of sitting and thinking. Trying to decide whether or not to
commit
suicide
<Why did I eject?>
Ranma leaned back and stared at the far wall. He knew why he had ordered
the retreat, he knew why he had stayed behind, but he did not know why he
chose a life of servitude instead of an honorable death.
The door to his cell opened to allow in a very pretty young women carrying a
tray with food on it. She was dressed in a shirt and dress with a white
apron.
Her hair was pulled back in a long ponytail down to her waist. She had a
serene smile on her face. This unnerved Ranma. He was used to smug,
calculating, and even feral. Serene was new and totally unfamiliar. He gave
her a wary look as the door closed behind her.
"They told me your name is Ranma."
He nods, "Aff. "
She continues to smile. "A stallion amongst Jaguars, how interesting. My
name is Kasumi, a pleasure to meet you!" She sets the food down in front of
him, then straightens back up. "I thought you might want something eat."
His stomach rumbles in confirmation of this and without a thought, digs in.
After a few moments he looks up to see her giving him a funny look. He
blinks at her in total confusion. She nods her head in understanding.
"That's right you're not to familiar with our customs." She takes a seat in
the corner, folding her hands on her lap. "I guess that's something you'll
need help with if you're to live among us."
Ranma tensed up "I have yet to decide whether or not I will be living
amongst you."
Kasumi blinked as his words sank in, "Oh my! Why would you want to do that?"
Ranma
looked at her for a moment before he turned back to his food, "You would not
understand."
Kasumi watched him eat for a bit before responding. "If you wish to kill
yourself
I cannot stop you. However, it would be a waste to lose someone with your
skills."
Ranma snorted derisively, "The same skills which caused me to get captured
by your people!" Kasumi
smiled "Dosen't that simply prove the superiority of the Inner Sphere
cause?" Ranma froze
at this, most of the Inner Sphere was working towards a single goal and
that was to stop the
onslaught of the Clans. To stop an outside force from invading their space,
a task Kerensky had
meant for the Clans. The corners of his mouth tugged upward a bit at this.
He inclined his head
towards Kasumi, "You are correct. It would be negligent of me to turn my
back on a superior purpose."
especially one endorsed by the Geat One himself.
Her bright smile was turned up a few notches. "If you need any help
adjusting
to life here..." He shrugged "I will admit I am not familiar with Inner
sphere customs,
but if it will make everyone around me feel more comfortable I will make an
effort to learn."
She nods. "I am curious, I saw some of the Battle-Roms from the fight.
You could easily have gotten away, why did you stay behind?"
He shrugged "One of my people was down and would not have made it if I had
left. So I covered for him."
She blinks "Oh! Isn't that an unusual practice for Clan warriors?"
He smiled wryly "Depends on the Clan, but in general it is."
Kasumi's nodded as she got up. "Well, I must be going. I do
wish you the best in whatever happens though. Farewell."
She is about to step through the door when something finally clicks in his
head. "Thank you for the food."
She turns to face him and amazingly her smile brightens even more. She
bows "You are most welcome." She then turns forward and leaves.
As the door shuts behind her Ranma resumes digging into the food in front of
him. Shoving aside any doubts about the validity of this superior purpose
for now.
*****
An hour later Ranma was laying down on the bench in his cell staring at the
ceiling when he heard voices outside his door. He sat up as the door
entered and a tall, brown haired, mustached man entered followed by a very
short
old women with a knarled wooden cane. The two pulled up chairs to him as the
door shut.
The man extended his hand. "Hello Son! I am Captain Soun Tendo of the
'Nerima Maulers'. Ranma glances at the hand before he glares at the
man before him "Son?!".
Soun slowly rubs the back of his neck and laughs
"Sorry, old habit!"
He looked at the older man for a moment longer before turning to the wizened
old women next to him, with an expectant look. "I'm Sao-shao Cologne of the
'Amazons'"
Ranma's eyebrows knitted in concentration before recognition lit his face.
Cologne chuckled a bit. "I see you've heard of us."
He nods "The Clan had a few reports that dealt with you." Her eyebrows
raised a bit "Really, what did they say?" Ranma thought for a moment.
"Sao-shao
or Major Cologne of the Amazons. Former Liao warrior, recruited by Natasha
Kerensky. Was a part of her Black Widow Battalion before they returned to
the Wolf Clan. Since then she has been recruiting and training other Liao
warriors in an attempt to replace the Black Widow Battalion." He looked
up and saw a bemused expression on her face. "Not bad, young man. Not fully
correct but very close."
He did not like the appraising look she was given and decided to move on, "I
have a question." She says nothing but shifts as if to hear him better. He
goes on "Why are you recruiting Liao warriors? There are plenty of
mechwarriors who have fought the Clans in FedCom and Kurita space. Why
recruit the inexperienced ones, especially of a nation that hates the
Dragoon's guts."
Cologne sat quietly for a moment before responding, "There are many bright
and eager warriors in the Capelin confederation who do not agree with
their leaderships decision to avoid conflict with the Clans. They are
willing to put aside past differences for a greater good. Does that answer
your question?" He nods "Good."
Soun clears his throat, "Well, we should get down to business. Ranma, if I
understand Clan law correctly you are now someone's bondsman right?" he nods
"Okay, now how is that determined?"
"Whoever is responsible for bringing me down is my Bonds master."
Cologne smiles "Well that's solved." She turns to Soun " It was my unit and
its aero fighters that allowed us to crush the Clan forces. It was also my
LRM units that fired on his mech."
Soun looked at the elderly women "Yes but it was my mechs that cornered him
and targeted him for yours!"
The two glare at each other for a moment, then Ranma regains their attention
by clearing his throat. "Actually the warrior who delivered the killing blow
is my master. That would be whoever was in the 'Gunslinger'." Soun smiles
brightly as Cologne frowns. "Excellent! That was my daughter Akane." He
turns to Cologne "I believe this matter is settled." She shakes her head,
gets up and heads for the door "Fine, but if you should ever change your
mind young man, there will be a place for you amongst our unit." With that
she exits through the now open door.
Soun motions for Ranma to stand; he then grasps his hand and gives it a firm
shake. "Welcome aboard Son!" and with that motions for Ranma to follow him.
The two exit the cell, and make their way through the base. As they pass
workers and techs a thought occurs him. "Excuse me sir, who was the warrior
in the Owens? He is probably the fairly responsible for my mechs
destruction." Soun gives him a funny look and Ranma decides to explain.
"Akane delivered the killing blow but he made that possible. I am simply
curious as too who it is that managed to tag me with the NARC Beacon " Soun
nods in understanding "That was one of our new recruits, an expert in
hit-and-run. I think his name is Shinji Ikari." Ranma notices that they've
exited the building and a hover car is waiting for them next to the curb.
Without preamble the two men enter the vehicle and drive off into the
night.
(hopefully) Only the beginning....
Author Notes:
Well that's the first chapter. I have the 2nd and 3rd outlined but
I want to get some feed back on this chapter before I start the other two.
Also If anyone wants to have fun writing a story involving the other merc
units
on planet be my guest. I simply ask that you don't kill them off.
List of all Merc units that will be on planet:
Nerima Maulers
2 companies Reinforced
Jurian Guard
2 companies
Lunar Senshi
2 companies
Knight Sabers
1 company
Dropship: Nadesico Leapord Class
Captain - Yurika Misumaru
second in command - Jun Aoi
Helm - Erina Won
Electronics - Ruri Hoshino
Communications - Megumi Reinard
Aerofighter Pilot/Cook - Akito Tenkawa
Aerofighter Pilot - Akatsuki Nagare
Aerofighter Pilot - Yamada Jiro
chief mechanic - Seiya Uribatake
Ship's Gunners:
Ryoko Subaru
HIKARU AMANO
MAKI IZUMI
Dropship owned by the Dragon.