Finally ... after much egging by my otaku friends ...
I've decided to bow to peer pressure and apply myself
to writing a fanfic. I'd love to natter on about this
fic and the anime that inspired it in the first place
... but no one really reads the foreword to a story
anyways. <laughs> Enjoy.
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*legal mumbo-jumbo about "Rurouni Kenshin" being a
trademark of blah-blah, yackity-schmackity ... you
people know the drill...*
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"No More Goodbyes"
A Rurouni Kenshin / Starcraft Potpourri
Episode One
"Goodbye..." She smiled, a brilliant dazzling smile
which broke through the tears like a ray of sunshine.
Explosions rocked the background, lights flaring and
the sound of men screaming, the ship shuddering like a
wounded animal, and she ignored them all, pulling
herself erect. Raven-black hair brushed aside with a
flick of the hand as she smiled once more, "I know.
Don't say that." Dull white light shone on her torn
uniform, flickered and stabilized once more.
"Never that." He spoke softly, bitterly, fists
clenching. He raised his head, eyes shadowed with
pain. Blood from his wounds dripped, pooling at his
feet, staining the snow-white uniform identical to
what she wore. Long crimson hair, the color of fire,
the color of blood shook, sighing of regret. "It ...
it ... it sounds so final..."
"Whenever then." Her hand rested briefly on his
shoulder, moving up to caress his cheek, tracing the
cruel scar found there. He laughed softly, without
mirth as she sighed, "I'll see you whenever..." The
hand fell away.
"I don't want to leave you." He said suddenly,
vehemently, moving away from the corridor wall, blood
stains on the stark gray metal. He flexed his arm,
trying not to wince at the pain shooting through it.
"I can still fight."
"You can." She spoke softly, without heat, eyes
steady on his. "But not against that." A wave of the
hand encompassed the darkness behind. "You wouldn't
stand a chance."
"We wouldn't know until I tried." He gave a weary
grin and drew the pistols holstered at his waist with
a quicksilver motion, hands blurring. "You never
know..."
"Not if you don't get the chance." With a sudden
abrupt motion, the woman pushed him ... out, out
through the doorway, at the same time slamming down at
the pod controls. As the heavy tritanium door hissed
shut, she fancied she could still hear him, hear him
beating at the door, shouting, screaming to be let
out. Screaming to be with her.
"Escape pod 08 activated." A soft female voice
chimed. "Evac procedures now ongoing. Pod will
launch ... in T-minus 10..."
"It has to be this way, don't you see?" She
whispered and turned back. Walking, unslinging the
rifle at her back, she cried out, "The madness ends
here! This is as far you get!" She could still hear
him, if only in her heart.
-Don't do this!-
The only reply to her challenge was a sibilant hiss
from somewhere within the depths of the ink-black void
ahead. The assault rifle lifted, guardedly, the
safety snicking into the off-position as she scanned
the darkness. "Show yourself!" She cried, hands
tightening on the weapon.
-No!-
A sudden movement, a rush of air.
-please, please don't-
Movement so fast it blurred.
-no-
Gunshots ringing, the assault rifle singing its song.
-Yumi!!!-
"...t-minus 1, countdown complete. Pod ejecting..."
"...see you .... whenever ... Kenshin-chan..."
"It hurts." Tears streamed down Yumi Komagata's
lovely face despite her attempts to hold them back as
she slumped against the table. One hand clutched at
her stomach, fingers tightening from the pain. Blood
from the wound stained her torn uniform. "It hurts,
Kenshin..." A few feet away, a small loathsome mass
of putrid flesh, really nothing more than teeth and
tentacles, thrashed in its final death throes. "It
hurts so much."
"Shhh." Placing a finger to her lips, Himura Kenshin
smiled at her as he ran the passed the scanner over
her. The device blipped as her life signs were
registered and scanned. "Be strong, Yumi."
"It hurts, Kenshin." She whispered painfully. "The
xenomorph..."
"...is dead." He finished harshly. The scanner
blipped once more, screen flashing. Kenshin's face
softened, "But you're not."
"Something is wrong." Her eyes closed, hand reaching
out to grip Kenshin's tightly. "I can feel it,
Kenshin."
"You'll be alright, Yumi." Kenshin said soothingly.
"Everyone has evacuated already. We only have to set
the destruct sequence on the Saratoga and get out
ourselves." The scanner blipped once more, urgently,
screen flashing crimson.
"You always were a terrible liar, Kenshin." Yumi
whispered, face contorting from the pain. "They're
dead, aren't they? All of the crew." She continued
on, not giving him a chance to reply, "It's in me,
the xenomorph. I can feel it inside."
"You'll make it, Yumi." Kenshin replied, not for the
first time at a loss for words. The scanner blipped
once again as he picked it up, glancing at the screen,
frowning at the data it showed. "Listen..."
"No, you listen, Himura." Yumi's eyes snapped open,
holding steady with his own. "The aliens infesting
the ship ... apparently breed ... using human hosts
... incredible cellular regeneration." She sighed.
"You have to warn the planet of the danger they're in.
If the ship crashes down there..."
"I will." He said firmly, pulling her up with him.
"With you to present the data." He started to help
her hobble towards the door. "I always was lousy with
numbers."
Yumi grimaced, "I feel so ... strong ... xenomorph
symbiote?" She trailed off.
"Enough talk, Yumi. We'll make it."
"I can feel it moving..."
"What are they?!" Kenshin shouted as he retreated
down the corridor, pistols blazing in both hands.
Beside him, Yumi screamed at the last of the crew to
go through the door, rifle held in a death-grip.
"What the <blam> HELL <ka-blam> are <blam, blam,
blam> they?!" He screamed once more.
"Xenomorphs!" Yumi shouted back over the din of
gunfire, assault rifle chattering in her hands as she
sprayed several dozen depleted uranium rounds down the
corridor. "Unknown type!" High-pitched screams
resounded as the creatures were cut down like chaff.
She took up a guard position, motioning to Kenshin to
seal the door.
"I know they're aliens!" He slammed a hand down on
the door controls, nodding grimly as the heavy cargo
doors slid shut. Down the corridor, grotesque corpses
sprawled, thrashing in their deah throes, greenish
ichor from their wounds eating into the floor. "Where
did they come from?" Kenshin asked as he ejected the
spent ammo clips from his pistols, sliding in new
ones. "And if you tell me they came from an unknown
quadrant, Yumi..." He flashed her a grin as he moved
beside her.
"You'll what?" She arched an eyebrow, eyes still on
the now-silent corridor.
"You have no sense of humor." Laughing, he moved
down, eyes wary. At the corner, he paused and called
out, "Clear. C'mon, Yumi."
"Are you sure they'll be safe in there?" She asked
as she moved to be with him, jerking her head back at
the doorway. "Those things seem to eat through metal
like it wasn't there."
"The walls of that cargo bay are six-inch thick
tritanium." He shrugged and continued to walk down
the corridor, Yumi beside him. "It's probably the
safest place on the ship right now."
"Maybe." She replied grimly as they reached the end
of the corridor, looking up. Overhead, greenish ichor
dripped from the open ventilation shaft. "Maybe not."
"That cargo hold is the safest place besides vacuum."
He paused at the door, frowning at the keypad.
"C'mon, the scientists are still penned in the labs."
"Regular hero, aren't you?"
"It's a dirty job." Kenshin smiled once more as he
punched in the passcode. The door hissed open. "But
hey, someone's got to do it."
"Escape Pod 08 activated, have a nice day..." Fire,
light, images of death and destruction. "...look at
what the cat dragged in ..." Movement, explosions,
the sounds of warfare and strife. "... the hell are
they?" Confusion, chaos. "...outnumbered ... fall
back, fall back!" Gunshots, screams, the sounds of
pain and agony. "...not worth it ... better ditch ...
need all the speed we can ..."
Darknes, quiet, the peace of oblivion.
"Any idea who TacCom'll be sending? He, she, or it
should be arriving today." Megumi Takani leaned back
in her chair and took off her headset, raking a hand
through long lustrous black hair. Purplish-black eyes
glinted as she commented idly, "We've been sending
distress calls for over a week, getting the military
equivalent of call waiting ... and suddenly, poof,
reinforcements. Amazing response time for TacCom."
"Reinforcements. Or so we hope. The only reason
TacCom is sending people is because of that." Tall
and broad-shouldered, brown spiky hair in disarray,
Sanosuke Sagara jerked a thumb at the battered escape
pod at the back of the room, the number 08 prominent,
"They gave strict orders it was not to be opened until
the operative arrived." He snorted, settling into his
seat beside Megumi's, "For all we know, there may only
be a corpse in there."
"Who knows?" Megumi shrugged. "This is highly
irregular..."
"But it isn't the first time TacCom has done this."
Sanosuke finished for her.
"So who're you sending as the welcome wagon?"
"You'll see..."
"You?! What do you mean you're taking over special
ops?!" A young boy of about ten stamped his feet into
the ground, scowling, "The garrison of New Japan has
asked for reinforcements, not a practical joke by
TacCom." His eyes flashed, irritation evident in
them.
"At ease, Sargeant. Tactical Command does not play
practical jokes." The officer, who was only six
years older, gave a broad grin, braided black hair
swaying gently, as she shook her head, turning to face
the fuming boy. "Lt. Commander Misao Matimaki,
commander of Special Forces Team 305, Oniwabanshuu."
She extended a hand, "Pleased to meet you, Sargeant
Myojin."
"Young to be the head of a special ops team." Yahiko
Myojin muttered to himself, pointedly ignoring the
proferred hand. "Too young."
"May I point out that you are even younger than I?"
Misao withdrew her hand. "You are not the only
teenager to have ever acquired the rank of officer."
"Only because I have a knack for machines and the
garrison is short-handed." Yahiko snapped, walking
towards the exit of the hangar. "And the rank is only
temporary."
"At least until TacCom confirms it." Misao smiled,
walking beside him. The two paused at the heavy metal
door. "Your battlefield records are exemplary,
Sargeant."
Keys clicked as Yahiko punched in the entry code, the
door hissing open, "Are you ... a ... a, you know ...
a Ghost?"
"No, Yoshi-boy." Rei shook her head firmly. "Ghosts
do not exist within the Terran Confederacy. They are
a myth. A mere ... rumor."
"And so are telepaths. No one outside of my
immediate family has called me by that name." Yahiko
smiled for the first time since meeting Misao,
sweeping a hand before him. "Welcome to the garrison
of New Japan, Lt. Commander. Welcome to the front
line against the Zerg."
To Be Continued...
P.S. The apparent confusion as to whether the names
are following Japanese format (i.e., family name
first) or Western will be resolved when I get around
to re-writing this first part.
Irreverently yours,
Whimsical
=====
"If all the idiots in the world died right now, the world
as we know it would be a far duller place to live in..."
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