Boy, last batch was posted twice. This batch wasn't posted at all...
Attempt 2, coming through.
----------
From: David A. Tatum <desaix@sysnet.net>
To: ffml@anifics.com
Subject: [REFUGE] [ranma] Shantyworld Chap. 5 by William Morse
Date: Wednesday, June 27, 2001 10:25 AM
To reply, post publically or e-mail the author privately at
montanto@hotmail.com
Enjoy!
The FFML Refugee List
Except for the stuff that's mine everything belongs to Rumiko Takahashi,
Studio Gibli, Kenichi Sonoda and Columbia Pictures. Also while it may seem
that the Ranma Characters are slightly outnumbered in this one this is
still
a Ranma Fanfic. The other chapters can be found at
http://fanfic.tass-anime.com/ranma.shantyworld so without further ado,
Montanto Productions proudly presents
Shantyworld
A Ranma Fanfic
With Gratuitous cameos
by Bill Morse
Chapter 5
Welome to the Basin
part a
The Fisherman sipped his tea as he reviewed the menu at the Arionidae
Lounge. He always enjoyed a good meal after a successful deal was
completed
as his personal celebration. The Suzie's Playground job was probably the
most successful in his career. With the megacreds he raked in on that one
he
could almost consider retiring.
The Fisherman laughed out loud at that last thought occurred to him. To
even
consider retirement was ridiculous. Money, no matter how much, was only a
way of keeping score.
The Lollygagger wine steward came up to the table with a copy of the wine
list and burped a query.
"Oh, nothing, just thinking to myself," the Fisherman glanced at the wine
list. "You know I find it amazing that you actually have bottles of Chateau
Fifth Beijing 47 here."
The wine steward retched proudly.
"Of course you do. That's why I keep coming here. I'm just impressed
considering Fifth Beijing was destroyed in 42."
The wine steward rubbed the back of its 'neck' with a manipulator tentacle,
looking as embarrassed as a Lollygagger could. It made a soft gurgling
noise
in explanation.
"A reasonable facsimile? Considering how obsessed the Governors are about
truth in advertising, how in the Void did you manage to pull this one off?"
The wine steward made a low belching noise.
"Really? How ingenious. Now you've made me curious. Where does this
reasonable facsimile come from?
The wine steward seemed too embarrassed to answer but finally chirruped a
reply.
"Oh, come now, you know as well as I do how original the Oni are when it
comes to naming their agricultural centers. Which planet, called Grain, did
it come from? "
The wine steward answered with a low chortling sound.
The Fisherman rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Hm, relatively temperate
climate, good yellow light, almost tempting but no. I'm afraid you'll have
to peddle this Bordeaux from Chile to someone else.
" A little bit of ancient ethnic humor," he explained when the wine steward
looked confused, "don't worry, most humans don't get it either. For now I
think I will have a glass of my usual. Now off you go while I decide what I
want to eat."
The Fisherman laughed as he watched the wine steward shuffle away. He went
back to reading the menu.
"Fisherman! Look Gourry! It's the Fisherman!" The Fisherman turned to see a
petite redhead and a tall muscular man with long blond hair standing at the
entrance of the Arionidae. The redhead ran up to his table hugging him.
"Oh,
Fisherman, it's so good to see you!"
"Lina, the fabric, please."
"Right, sorry," Lina brushed off the Fisherman's jacket, "I'm just so happy
to see you. I mean I was telling Gourry just how great it would be to see
the Fisherman again."
"But, Lina, you said he could rot in the, Yeowch!!" The blond man doubled
over as Lina's elbow struck him between the legs.
"Don't listen to him, he's an idiot," Lina smiled.
"Don't worry, I never do," the Fisherman grinned putting his menu down. "So
what can I do for my favorite girl today?"
Lina fell to her knees begging. "Fisherman, you got to get us a gig,
please!
It's been weeks! With all the talent flooding into the Rimsides even the
little jobs are taken, we haven't even been able to get bodyguard work! You
gotta help us!"
"Lina, I'd love to help both of you, but as you just said, it's a buyers
market out there. They can hire whoever they feel like and all we can do is
smile and watch."
"But, Fisherman! You're the guy with the connections. You make the deals!
Me and Gourry heard you had something big going down at Heaven's Way. I
mean, don't you have anything lined up for the Battle of Fatima's Well?"
Lina, you know perfectly well the Battle of Fatima's Well is strictly a
naval engagement. Good as both as you are, you're infantry." Nobody feigned
sympathy better then the Fisherman.
"Infantry?" Gourry demanded managing to get back on his feet. "We're better
then any void forsaken infantry! We're Special Forces! We're..."
"Gourry, would you please shut up," Lina hissed, "What I'm saying,
Fisherman, is if anyone can find something for us it's you. I can make it
worth your while." Lina leaned over and stroked the Fisherman's cheek,
speaking in a low sultry voice.
The Fisherman glanced blandly at Lina. "Lina, sweetheart, take some advice
from your Uncle Fisherman. Stick to fighting, you'll never make it as a
prostitute." He waved his hand before Lina could say anything. "Tell you
what, I'll call you when I find something and don't worry, when have I ever
let you down?"
"Don't say anything, Gourry," Lina hissed as her partner raised a finger.
She turned back to the Fisherman "Thank you for your help, Fisherman," she
said, smiling. "I knew we could count on you! Come on, Gourry, let's go.
Bye, Fisherman!" She grabbed her partner by the arm and started dragging
him
to the door.
The Fisherman chuckled and picked up his menu again. In the corner of his
eye he noticed a rather disheveled but familiar individual standing at the
restaurant's door as Lina and Gourry exited the Arionidae..
He paused as if he had been interrupted, listened intently, and said "Yes,
of course I understand, Lady Mendou. The position you're in is more common
than either of us would care to admit," tapping his earpiece the minute he
was sure the man was within earshot.
"Its not just a matter of quantity � any hawk can yank runaways from a
Freeport � it's a matter of finding the right people for the job and for
even a man of talent and integrity that is easier said then done..
Yes of course I understand, Lady Mendou, time is of the essence. I am
confident I can get you every thing you need within your time frame," the
Fisherman paused as he let his imaginary conversation end with the Lady
Mendou cutting him off. He looked up finally noticing the man in front of
him.
"Why Genma Saotome! Would you look at you! Sit down. Void, man you look
like
you were run over by a herd of wild gaff."
Genma Saotome did look a sight. Half of his face and neck were covered in
nuskin. It would probably be another week before the discoloration faded.
His right arm was covered in a flex cast, and who knew what his freshly
tailored clothes hid. He was clearly favoring his left leg.
"A sixteen year old with a spatula," he muttered as he slowly sat down
picking up a menu.
"Quite a few of them, I would imagine," the Fisherman commented after
looking him over.
Genma glanced at a menu trying to avoid the Fisherman's gaze. "Ah! Fifth
Beijing 47! An excellent year! I will have a bottle of it for myself and my
good friend the Fisherman," he signaled the wine steward.
The Fisherman and the wine steward exchanged glances before it shuffled off
to the wine callar.
"My, trying to impress me with such a rare vintage. So, what brings you
here
today? If it's about Ranma forget it. Fool me once, shame on you and all
that."
Genma cringed. The Fisherman had never done anything about that particular
incident. He had never let Genma forget about it either.
"Well, actually, it does concern my boy," Genma took a deep breath and
began
to tell the Fisherman his story.
The Fisherman said nothing merely raising an eyebrow when he got to the
part
about drugging Ranma. He whistled through his teeth when Genma finally got
to how much he had gotten paid for his efforts.
"Saotome, you've just increased my respect of you tenfold. I didn't know
you had it in you and I didn't think that kind of money existed outside of
the Ports."
Genma stared at the floor unable to meet the Fisherman's gaze.
"I think I know the value of human flesh more then most people," the
Fisherman continued. Ranma's talented. More talented than about anyone his
age I've ever seen. But I tell you, Saotome, even if an honest man such as
myself threw the truth to the void, 500,000 credits would be as much as I
could get for him. Tell me, Saotome, what's so special about your son so I
can find people like him?"
"I don't know, really I don't. They didn't even bother to haggle."
"And I doubt you could count high enough to ask for a higher sum. Never
mind, I doubt I could either."
"I don't think anyone could, Fisherman. Anyway, I was wondering do you have
any idea how I could get Ranma back?"
The Fisherman stared at Genma in disbelief. "Get him back? I'm sorry
Saotome. I was listening to this story of yours for the past fifteen
minutes
and I'm fairly sure I caught the part about you selling Ranma to the
Governors."
"I know, I know but is there any way?"
"Saotome, this is the Governors. You're out of your league."
Genma stared at the floor. "I know. I'm going crazy, I shouldn't have
wasted your precious time on something like this. I . . . "
"Saotome, don't worry I understand. The first time is always the hardest.
It's just that for most of us it takes a little longer to the hit the big
time. Soak it up and enjoy yourself. You're a big man now, a citizen of the
galaxy, while I remain a mere fisher of men."
Genma took a deep breath. "You're right of course. I'm sure you have
important appointments. Thank you for your time, Fisherman." With a quick
nod of respect he turned to walk out of the Arionidae.
"Saotome." Genma paused at the lounge's doorway. He slowly turned to look
at
the Fisherman and waited for the other shoe to drop. The Fisherman cocked
his finger and grinned. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Genma shuddered as he desperately tried not to think of such terrible
atrocities.
* * * * * * * * * * *
There are some who believe the greatest miracle in history is that the
asteroid which struck Doozysack thousands of years ago did not destroy it
completely. The impact was catastrophic of course � creating the Rim
Crater
and moving Doozysack into orbit about Mama Prime's � if there had been life
on the desolate moon at the time it couldn't have survived the collision.
The Pariah's Trail is a group of intertwined roads starting in the shanties
and slums surrounding the Governor's ports running along the side of the
crater's ridge in a slow incline, passing above the Northport, over the top
of the crater's ridge, and down into the basin. It was the way of choice
for
those too poor to use the Governors' Road and too desperate to use the
Smugglers Road.
Parts of the trails are occasionally wide enough for two vehicles to drive
side by side, but in most parts it's a struggle for even a normal sized
vehicle to make it through.
The Ucchan is not a normal sized vehicle.
Ukyou stared at the pile of rocks blocking the Ucchan's path and sighed.
Rockslides were not uncommon on the Pariah's trail. Occasionally parts of
the trail would be wiped out entirely. Too often people who wanted to
cover
their flight or prevent others from escaping did this deliberately. Much
of the Pariah's Trail's traffic was foot travel so rockslides were usually
ignored or forgotten as travelers chose adjacent trails.
The pile of rocks in front of her had to be at least ten meters high.
Ukyou
grabbed her lifter and jumped out of the Ucchan.
She had modified a hand-held lifter to fit into a metal staff. The flat
paddle shaped gravity projector on the end made it look, for all the world,
like a giant spatula. Ukyou had made improvements on her "battle spatula"
so it could take, and give, much more punishment. If she reversed the
vector of its localized field of artificial gravity it could pack a
devastating wallop when she swung it. Even turned off could be a very
dangerous weapon.
Ukyou climbed up to the top of the rock pile. It was worse then she
expected. The rocks covered the trail for another twenty meters.
"Is anyone out there?" she shouted. She didn't see anybody but for what
she
had in mind there was too much of a chance of innocent bystanders getting
hurt. She took her lifter from its strap and turned it on. She lifted a
large boulder and flung it off the pile. She smiled watching it bounce
down
the face of the ridge breaking up triggering more rockslides in the
process.
"Fun as this is, I'll be here for a week if I do it this way." She climbed
down the rock pile and walked back to the Ucchan, then climbed up into the
driver's seat.
"Switch to reserve power and charge up the battering ram," she ordered,
strapping herself in.
"Acknowledged, Ukyou," the onboard computer droned. The "battering ram" was
a modified repulser which Ukyou had bought from a scrap merchant for next
to
nothing. She had been going through one of her artistic phases at the time
and had added every accessory she could think of into the Ucchan, no matter
how apperently useless.
Ukyou watched the readings leap up as the rock pile exploded. "Please let
this be all it takes," She begged watching the dust clear.
Rocks still blocked the trail.
"Void ! Again!" Ukyou shouted in frustration.
"Acknowledged, Ukyou," the computer repeated. The Ucchan fired a second
blast. Ukyou watched the reading jump again. "Another one and I'm stuck
here," she muttered.
She sighed in relief as the dust cleared revealing the trail. A third force
bolt would have drained the power cells completely. She would then have had
to waste an entire day waiting for them to recharge. She unstrapped
herself
and jumped out of the Ucchan, her lifter in hand and walked over to the
remains of the rockpile. She looked around slowly to see if there were any
other challenges in the landscape. "Autopilot, and take it slow," she
shouted.
"Acknowledged, Ukyou, steady as it goes." The Ucchan started to roll over
the rubble.
Ukyou let the Ucchan pass, still looking for possible trouble. She ran to
the ladder bolted on the Ucchan's backside, quickly climbing to the top of
the Ucchan. "Get ready for company, Sugar," she commanded. She could hear
the weapons systems click and whir into a ready position. "And Ranchan
laughed at my constant tinkering," she laughed as she paced back and forth
watching for the slightest sign of trouble. If there were anyone within
thirty kilometers they would have heard the racket she made clearing the
trail. She wasn't particularly worried about Peace Robots in this area.
It
was too remote and too far away from the Governors' Road. But there was a
chance that other people were following her and she couldn't afford waiting
to find out if they were friendly.
For twenty minutes she kept a quiet vigil, expecting the worst. It never
came. All she could hear was the wind, the whir of the Ucchan's motor and
the low rumble of ships landing in the distance.
"Weapons down, steady at forty clicks." The weapons returned to their
normal
compartments and the Ucchan sped up to the requested forty kilometers.
Ukyou
sat down on to watch the view, putting her lifter aside.
It was late in the afternoon and the glow of the star behind the
near-constant cloud cover was beginning to set. She was finally high
enough
to have a good view of Northport.
She watched a Jurai Dreadnought descend. There was something almost
dreamlike about standing directly above the giant ship. Ukyou had always
imagined a giant door on the top of the port opening and closing as the
ships arrived and left. Much to her surprise it slowly sank into the
pitch-black roof of the port. "It's some sort of force field, but what's
on
the other side�?" She wondered.
Ukyou lay back and watched the Star set over the western hills. In the two
days her journey had taken so far she still was not used to the darkness of
the countryside at night. If it weren't for the gentle red glow of Mama
Prime she probably would have been unable to see her hand in front of her
face.
She watched the darkness cover the port city. From this height she could
see all the way to the Mainport. Between the two ports the city looked like
a field of lights in the darkness. Even at night the imperial fleets
continued to land glowing like giant chandeliers being lowered from the
sky.
Spotlights shined from the ports as if to assist in their descent. The
ports, like their masters, never slept.
Ukyou climbed down into the Ucchan's small sleep cabin, locked the door.
"Start depressurizing the cabin, Sugar, we're getting pretty high up and
its
better to acclimatize while I'm sleeping. "
"Acknowleged, good night, Ukyou." The Ucchan started playing soothing
music.
Ukyou quickly fell asleep. If there were any problems during the night the
computer would tell her.
It took another day to get over the crater ridge. Occasionally she would
pass small caravans of travelers fleeing whatever troubles they had
suffered
in the port city. Ukyou tried to ignore their plight. On the Pariah's
Trail it was common courtesy not to remember faces.
The top of the ridge was an amazing sight, with rugged mountains on both
sides of her as far as the eyes could see. The crater was so large she
couldn't even see the curve of the rim. The air was thin but breathable.
Unfortunately, at this height, the sky was also quite clear.
The Ucchans's windshield polarized automatically. Ukyou climbed back into
the Ucchan's cramped sleeping quarters to get her star gear out. It was
the
standard cheap stuff: wide brimmed hat, stained robes once were white, a
facemask, and dark goggles. Hardly a fashion statement but more then
sufficient.
The higher up she went the more spectacular the view became. The Northport
below was still visible but now the Mainport to the south dominated the
view, looking like a giant black pancake on the landscape.
"Governor ports, okonomiyaki of the gods," she laughed to herself.
At this height one could almost comprehend the magnitude of the imperial
armadas. Even after two weeks the flow of ships showed no sign of slowing
down. In fact it was even more impressive now as more of the larger
vessels
began to arrive. From this distance it looked like meteor showers were
striking the ports in slow motion.
Several kilometers after she crossed the top of the ridge she passed a
shield tower. It was five hundred meters around at the base and over a
click high. There were a thousand towers around the crater's ridge; one
every twenty-five kilometers. Together the towers generated a force field,
covering the entire crater basin. Due to weather patterns created by the
crater the valley had clear weather over 70% of the year. It was the
purpose of the field to filter the Star's harsh white and ultraviolet light
into a safer yellow wavelength, in effect turning the Rimcrater basin into
a
giant greenhouse. This made the Rim Crater Basin the most successful
agricultural area on Doozy Sack.
For the first time in a week Ukyou began to enjoy her trip. The drive down
the interior ridge was as easy as the drive up was torturous. The view of
the crater basin was something out of a children's fiction packet, green
for
as far as the eye could see. There were hardly any buildings other than
plantations, a few towns, and a Freeport according to her data pack. A
network of roads ran across the land dividing it into even squares,
reminding Ukyou of a giant green Go board.
"I could get to like this," she whispered to herself. She rolled down her
window, taking in the cool air. The filtered starlight was warm and
pleasant. If only she could get used to the strange blue color of the sky.
She reached the first plantation after another day's drive, the crater
floor
in just under two days. Finally, she could leave her worries of possible
pursuers behind her.
The first plantation looked friendly enough. Nobody stopped her when she
crossed the property markers. It was definitely worth checking out. True,
it was easy enough camping out in the Ucchan as she always did, but she was
on private property now and she had no idea just how kindly the locals
would
deal with squatters. Ukyou did not want to cause more attention then
necessary.
For almost an hour she didn't see any further signs of the plantation other
than some automatic sentries and Da Farrik herdsman mounted on gazelle like
creatures. She waved at one of the Da Farrik. It put a fist to its chest in
acknowledgement.
A few kilometers later she passed a heard of Jimenryu, huge reptilian
beasts
from the Jurai homeworld. Ukyou was impressed, she had only seen pictures
before. The herd consisted mostly of the horned santsunokao, several
different species of kamokuchibashiryu and three gigantic uderyu. She
stopped to watch the huge animals graze. She had heard rumors there were a
group of Jurai expatriates hiding in the crater. Was this proof of it? It
would certainly have cost a fortune to ship jimenryu here unless they had
been brought here as embryos.
Ukyou stopped the Ucchan to watch the uderyu browse in a small grove of
trees, They were incredible, the smallest of them was over six meters tall.
One of them stood up on its hind legs, balancing on its tail for support to
reach some of the higher branches. She could feel the ground shake as the
uderyu came crashing back to the ground after finishing its meal.
Four Da Farrik rode towards one of the uderyu, brandishing zap sticks
mounted on lances. One wearing a chain mail veil over its face rode
directly
under the uderyu, striking the beast in the flank with its zap lance. The
creature bellowed angrily but lumbered in the direction the Da Farrik
wanted
it to go.
She finally passed a plantation worker walking down the road. He was a
young man about Ukyou's age with cropped black hair. For a moment he
reminded her of Ranma. Ukyou forced the image out of her head. He was
shorter and thinner then Ranma. "And Ranchan has more muscles anyway," she
reminded herself. He was probably just another bondservant.
Ukyou stopped just in front of him. "You there, boy," she called out.
The man turned angrily at her gritting his teeth in anger. "How many times
do I have to tell you bastards? I'm a ��" he paused as his eyes widened in
surprise. "Ucchan?" He whispered.
Ukyou studied him in surprise. No one called her that except Ranma and . .
..
"Ryuu-chan?" Ukyou climbed out of the Ucchan the moment she realized who
the
"boy" was. "The void take us, Ryuu-chan, what are you doing here? Did
something bad happen to you?"
Ryuunosuke laughed. "What? A person can't come to the crater because they
want to? It's good to see you, Ucchan."
The two cousins embraced happily. They had always been close, growing up in
the cliff sides, sharing all of their secrets and interests. "Ryuu-chan,
please forgive me, I thought..." Ukyou stammered.
"Yes, I can see what you thought. It's an easy mistake to make. Anywhere
else it would be true, but not here. The Lady hires her workers,"
Ryuunosuke grinned.
Ukyou was surprised for a second time. "No bondservants at all?" She asked
in surprise.
Ryuunosuke shook her head smiling. "The Lady is a strange one and I don't
complain for a minute. She's taken in a lot of strays. Not quite as many
as the Mayor Eboshi, of course, but I like to think it's because the Lady
has higher standards."
"If she has such high standards why would she let Uncle Fujinami stay
here?"
Ukyou asked, looking around suspiciously.
Ryuunosuke smiled sheepishly, putting her hand behind her head. "Well,
actually she didn't. I mean you'd have to be a saint to even consider
having
him close by, let alone in the basin-bowel itself."
"You ran away, didn't you?" Ukyou interrupted.
"I haven't seen the old man for six months," Ryuunosuke grinned, "for all I
know the Peace Robots finally got him."
"Not that it would help. You need a brain to be born again," Ukyou laughed.
She had no more love for her uncle than her cousin did and she never had to
live with the man.
"Yeah, even if he had anything between his ears there's no way a probe
could
get through that skull of his," Ryuunosuke nodded.
"But, Ryuu-chan, if you got away from Uncle Fujinami why are you still
dressed like that?" Ukyou asked looking at Ryuunosuke's clothes.
"Old habits die slowly," Ryuunosuke growled. "Anyway it's not as if you
should talk," she pointed at Ukyou's own androgynous garb.
"Its comfortable," was all Ukyou could think of to reply. "So tell me about
the Lady, would she be willing to extend hospitality? It's not that I need
work or a roof over my head. I do have a business after all. But it will
be
a while before I can get a sufficient customer base. Besides, I just got
here."
"I don't know why she shouldn't," Ryuunosuke shrugged. "She's turned down a
few but they were all, well, you know how it goes. Some people have more
urgent reasons to come here then others. You haven't done anything wrong,
have you, Ucchan?"
"That's a matter of opinion," Ukyou said dryly, "but nothing that can harm
anyone but myself."
"It's better if you tell us now," Ryuunosuke said matter of factly. "Trust
me, you don't want the Lady to find out on her own."
"It was a standard numbers scam," Ukyou sighed. "Nothing we hadn't done a
hundred times before on a smaller scale. Ranchan and I had been planting
rumors for the past two months. We targeted Sanzenin territory because
Sanzenin's the weakest of the local families in that part of the Rimsides
and at the same time the only thing that keeps Mendou and Kunou from
destroying each other. Neither family wants a fight because they're worried
McSweeny will sweep in to seize the spoils if a conflict broke into a
full-blown gang war. They suffer Sanzinin's existence as a convenient
buffer.
"Anyway, Sanzenin's not in a position to do anything unless it's in their
own territory. We figured we'd be long gone before it was even an issue.
But
when the time came for us to pull the sting Ranchan didn't show up. That's
when everything fell to the void. I found out later he was abducted and
sold
by his father. Now I'll never see him again," Ukyou wiped a tear from her
eye.
"Wait a minute, is this the same Ranchan you've been mooning about for most
of our childhood? The Ranchan you said you would kill if you ever laid your
hands on again?" Ryuunosuke demanded.
Ukyou stared bleakly at the Ucchan's steering wheel and nodded.
"Don't tell me you fell for him again?"
Another nod.
"Why? I thought you said he was five years older then you."
"He was."
"What?""
"He went into space," Ukyou explained.
"Oh, jump drives. Sorry, Ucchan I should have realized. So, what happened?"
"Like I said, when Ranchan didn't show up, they realized the set up and now
I'm being hunted like a dog. If your Lady doesn't want me around I
understand."
Ryuunosuke was silent for a minute. "The Lady is fair," she said finally.
"I think she will probably give you a chance."
"That's all I can ask for. Do you need a ride?" Ryuunosuke nodded with a
smile. "Then hop in," Ukyou smiled gesturing towards the Ucchan. Both
doors
opened automatically as Ukyou walked back to the driver's side.
"I'm glad you showed up when you did," Ryuunosuke said climbing on board,
"Dinner is in an hour and the way everyone eats you don't want to be late."
"What else should I know about your Lady?" Ukyou asked as they drove
towards
the central estate.
"Well, she's run this plantation for almost forty years, but you'd never
know to look at her. You know the old rumor about Jurai expatriates?
There's a lot of talk going around that she's one of them. She'll deny it,
of course. In fact the one time I've ever seen her upset is when some one
made an issue of it. A word of advice, don't call her Sempai even if you
think she looks like one."
The drive through the plantation was pleasant enough. For as far as the eye
could see grew vegetables of every form, as well as thick orchards of oil
berries, bhat fruit, and carrot trees. They passed more mixed herds of
jimenryu and other creatures. Green houses came next.
You can grow just about anything that can handle a temperate climate in the
valley," Ryuunosuke explained, "but the Lady experiments with growing
tropical crops like bananas, tarktis and protoculture."
"Protoculture?" Ukyou laughed, "people still grow protoculture?" She
couldn't imagine people taking money to accept protoculture as gift. The
belief that the pollen from the bioluminescent plant could be used as an
energy source was one of the galaxy's greatest boondoggles up there with
perpetual motion and cold fusion.
"Just as an ornamental," Ryuunosuke giggled. "Whatever else you might think
about the stuff, it is pretty and whatever else it's worth, you have to
remember, half of the galaxy's economy is based on ignorance."
Ukyou nodded. Takes all kinds she thought.
Except for the stuff that's mine everything belongs to Rumiko Takahashi,
Studio Gibli, Kenichi Sonoda and Columbia Pictures. Also while it may seem
that the Ranma Characters are slightly outnumbered in this one this is
still
a Ranma Fanfic. The other chapters can be found at
http://fanfic.tass-anime.com/ranma.shantyworld so without further ado,
Montanto Productions proudly presents
Shantyworld
A Ranma Fanfic
With Gratuitous cameos
by Bill Morse
Chapter 5
Welome to the Basin
part c
They soon arrived at the plantation house and Ukyou gasped in admiration.
Architecture was a hobby of hers and she had processed many a data pack
about all the classical styles. She was always disappointed how the
potential of design never seemed to be realized on Doozy Sack. Even in the
haughty and refined Gentryways everything was merely a cheap imitation of
imperial styles. Even if a building passed muster, how could one
appreciate
it, crammed in like sardines along with countless other houses.
None of this applied to the Lady's mansion. It stood alone, framed
perfectly
by the landscape and meticulously trimmed red bushes of a type that Ukyou
had never seen before. It was definitely based on a Jurai design. If there
was anything to what Ryuunosuke had said earlier this could prove it. But
it
also had elements of Tlrellokak, Hindustani Revival, and Dublin
Expressionism.
"Turn in here," Ryuunosuke said pointing to the driveway.
She parked in the back of the mansion where servants were setting up rows
of
tables for dinner.
"Here we are and just in time," Ryuunosuke laughed, jumping out of the
Ucchan.
Ukyou shut down all systems and followed her cousin out.
"The Lady likes to make all meals a communal event," Ryuunosuke said as
they
watched servants carry out large bowls of something steaming hot and trays
of fruit and bread. "She thinks those who live well together work well
together."
Transports were carrying workers who were too far from the mansion to walk.
A small crowd had gathered around looking at the Ucchan. It wasn't everyday
one saw a large catering van designed to serve in a warzone.
"Wow, that is such a cool rig," a girl Ukyou's age, dressed in a mechanic's
jumpsuit, said, looking at the Ucchan closely.
"Thanks," Ukyou blushed. She was always glad to show the Ucchan off and
couldn't get enough compliments.
"It looks like one of those old Mishima models. I didn't think I'd ever see
one of those in working order."
"You probably never will. All I used was the frame and chassis. That's all
I
was able to salvage from the junk yard," Ukyou said proudly. To the best
of
her knowledge Mishima Heavy Industries had gone under two hundred years
ago.
"You put it together all by yourself?" The girl ran her hand over a freshly
welded seam. She gasped in amazement when Ukyou nodded. "That is so
awesome!
I do engineering myself but all I ever get to work on is farming equipment.
I rebuilt one of the generators with 36% more capacity; do you want to see?
It's based on an Oni design so it . . . "
"That's enough Fio," another girl interrupted, "I think Ryuu's friend wants
a chance to eat." She was older than Fio and about thirty centimeters
taller with her hair cut short. She had red, fang-shaped tattoos under each
eye. Other then those differences the two girls were completely identical.
"You'll have to excuse my little sister," the other girl grinned. "If
machines were properly equipped she'd take them to bed with her."
"Sa-an!" Fio shouted, blushing.
The older girl, San, burst out laughing. "You're in luck," she turned to
Ukyou. "Our little sister, Sheeta, is cooking today. She likes to
experiment. You may like it."
Ukyou nodded and followed Ryuunosuke and the two sisters to the chow line.
She was a little nervous. So far everyone had been very nice but she didn't
feel right being dependent on charity. Still, the openness of country life
was a refreshing contrast from the paranoia of the Rimsides.
The girl scooping out stew to everyone was about two years younger than Fio
and wore her long hair in pigtails with a red headband. Other than that she
was identical to Fio and San.
"It's Santsunokao stew," she said, smiling when she saw Ukyou staring.
"with
tubers and my own mix of spices."
"Thank you, I never had it before." Ukyou stammered gratefully.
"Well, I hope you like it," Sheeta smiled.
"Come on, Ucchan, you're holding everyone up," Ryuunosuke pushed her
forward. "Don't worry, Sheeta's never killed anyone with her cooking. Yet."
Together they walked to the tables, Ryuunosuke chatting with fellow farm
hands and introducing Ukyou all around.
Four Da Ferriks had just rode into the lunch area, all wearing the same
standard work gear of cotton jumpsuits and wool cloaks with plastic armor.
Herding jimenryu was not without risk. The rider with the chain mail veil
was the same she had seen moving the uderyu.
They dismounted as they reached Ukyou and Ryuunosuke's table. Ukyou was
surprised as she watched them saunter over. The tallest in the group, its
face covered with chain mail, stood a head shorter than Ukyou. It looked up
at her with jet black eyes.
"Hi, Lamb-chan!" Ryuunosuke waved.
The Da Ferrik turned to Ryuunosuke and hugged her tightly. "Moshi, moshi
Ryuu-san! The wind blows rumors fast, fast. We hear you ride with truck
driver who come here to ranch?"
"Yes, this is my cousin, Ukyou Kuonji," Ryuunosuke replied.
Before Ukyou could stop it, the Da Ferrik had embraced her in a tight hug.
"Glad, glad to have met you, Ukyou Kuonji-san, happy mucherly. Na Fafa
Allekh ka Rassalmah is me. That Lambs to the Slaughter in local spak" One
of
the other Da Farriks grunted in disgust.
"Uh, I see," Ukyou said slowly.
"Why you humans give funny look when I tell name for first time? It food
honorable clan name what show great great prowess as herdswoman." Lambs to
the Slaughter asked.
"It's nothing, Lamb-chan, it just looses something in the translation,"
Ryuunosuke explained in a tone that made Ukyou wonder if this was part of a
long-standing joke..
Lambs to the Slaughter shrugged, seemingly unoffended. "These sisters in
labor of mine. The other Da Ferrik slapped their chests with their fists in
greeting except the one who objected to Lamb to the Slaughter's translation
crossing her arms and turning her back to the others. "Tashn Fafa Ta Ganik
is my old name giver. She disapproves of me. Funny mucherly," Lambs to the
Slaughter added.
"I'm glad to know you all," Ukyou nodded, flattered by the greeting.
"You must tell me Ukyou Kuonji-san, is that your weapon there?" Lambs to
the
Slaughter asked, pointing to Ukyou's lifter leaning against the table.
"After a fasion," Ukyou admitted nervously. She had carried the lifter with
her out of habit and was probably abusing her host's hospitality by
bringing
it to lunch.
"Wonderful, mucherly! You must . . .must . . . how does a human say dance
without killing so may be ready for real dance?"
"Spar?"
"Yes! Spar! You and me must spar! These sisters of mine fall on tails too,
too, quickly and Ryuu-kan only dance with bare fists. I be needing weapon
spar mucherly." Lambs to the Slaughter spun her zaplance around in a
complex
kata almost too fast to watch. "It be worth much, much, for both of us if
you be up to it."
"Sure, sounds like fun."
"Thanks, thanks mucherly, Ukyou Kuonji san!" Lambs to the Slaughter hugged
Ukyou a second time.
"Oh, there's the Lady now," Ryyunosuke pointed as they sat down at their
table.
Ukyou turned to look. The Lady was a beautiful woman with brown hair
apparently in her forties. She was dressed in a form fitting black dress.
As she walked towards the serving table she was talking with a younger
woman
in black and red robes with long black hair, one of whose arms was made of
metal. Two girls followed behind them, one in her early twenties the other
in her late teens. Other then age and hairstyles they were identical to
the
other girls she had met today.
"That's the Mayor Eboshi the Lady is talking to," Ryuunosuke said. "She
comes here frequently, almost as much as Kushana, the owner of the basin's
Freeport. They do a lot of business together."
"What's happened to her arm?" Ukyou asked.
"She lost it in a hunting accident, something to do with a giant
carnivore,"
Ryuunosuke explained.
"It glorious dance," Lambs to the Slaughter added, "She best it right and
proper but before she get to kill it, it get in one last bite."
"Anyway, she wears her injury like a badge, refusing to let her arm be
regrown or even wear a better model that no one would notice. Don't ask me
to explain higher ups," Ryuunosuke shrugged.
"Ryuu-chan what's with all those girls?" Ukyou asked.
"What girls? Ryuunosuke asked.
"Those two behind the Lady, and those other three."
"Oh, those are the Lady's daughters. Clarise," Ryuunosuke pointed at the
taller of the two girls, "is the oldest. You've met San already, then
there's Nausicaa, she's the one standing next to Clarise, then comes Fio
and
Sheeta, I'm sure you'll meet Kiki and Katsuke soon enough."
"Are they vanity clones? Why would someone use the same matrix for that
many?"
The Lady says they're her daughters," Ryuunosuke interrupted, " and I'm
well
fed and warm at night. They're her daughters."
Ukyou shrugged, not wanting to force the issue. She sat back to enjoy her
stew. The Santsunokao reminded her of gaff, only much tastier and nowhere
near as tough.
She watched the Lady talk with several of the farm hands, patiently
listening to them one at a time. More than one of the hands pointed at
Ukyou. The Lady turned to look at her. She pensively studied Ukyou for a
moment before walking over to the table.
"Hello there, I am told you are Ryuunosuke's cousin. Welcome to the
basin."
The Lady's voice was pleasant and refined as if she chose each word for its
quality and nuance. It also had a certain maternal quality to it that made
Ukyou want to trust her completely.
"My name is, Ukyou Kounji. I'm delighted to know you, Lady," Ukyou nodded
her head in respect.
"Now, now, we'll have none of that," the Lady laughed. "The way my
employees go on behind my back, you would think I was royalty. You may call
me Gina."
"Sorry, I am glad to know you, La . . . .Gina," Ukyou stammered.
"The pleasure is mine, Ukyou." Gina smiled. "What brings you to our fair
abode?"
Ukyou explained her ordeal: how she had lost her best friend and run afoul
of a mob, how she needed to get away from the ports for her own safety and
to forget. She didn't bother to mention just why the mob was after her.
Gina listened intently, nodding in silence. For a moment Ukyou thought she
wasn't going to buy it. "That is very unfortunate, Ukyou," she said
finally.
"I can see you have had a very hard couple of weeks. Still, it is important
always to move forwards and never dwell on the past. The basin is a good
place for that. I wish you well."
"Thank you, Lady I hope I can earn your.." Ukyou stopped in mid sentence as
the sound of a low hum filled the air. She swallowed slowly, knowing full
well what it was. To her surprise hardly anyone even glanced as the Peace
Robot floated across the courtyard. It paused, slowly spinning, taking in
everything. It darted towards her table. Did the Governors know? Was all o
f
her running been for nothing?
The Peace Robot stopped in front of them. Gina smiled. "I welcome you,
Gentle Enforcer. I hope your pursuit of order continues as it always has."
The Peace Robot did not respond, merely hovering in front of them for the
longest moment Ukyou could ever remember. Then it darted off away from the
plantation. Both Gina and Ryuunosuke laughed as Ukyou let out a long gasp.
"You have lived around the Ports far to long," Gina observed. "I believe
that is the only enforcer in this part of the basin. It usually only has to
deal with the occasional gun-runner and those desperate to run as far as
the
basin. It comes by about every other week and after a while you come to
expect it."
"We call it, Chrome-chan," Ryuunosuke added.
"Chrome-chan?" Ukyou repeated incredulously, not able to comprehend anyone
having that level of familiarity with a Peace Robot.
"People tend to behave themselves more out here," Gina explained.
Except for the stuff that's mine everything belongs to Rumiko Takahashi,
Studio Gibli, Kenichi Sonoda and Columbia Pictures. Also while it may seem
that the Ranma Characters are slightly outnumbered in this one this is
still
a Ranma Fanfic. The other chapters can be found at
http://fanfic.tass-anime.com/ranma.shantyworld so without further ado,
Montanto Productions proudly presents
Shantyworld
A Ranma Fanfic
With Gratuitous cameos
by Bill Morse
Chapter 5
Welome to the Basin
part c
The first week of living in the basin went well enough. Ukyou started doing
business in Iron Town, parking the Ucchan just on the border of town limits
and the Lady's plantation. Ryuunosuke, Lambs to the Slaughter, and their
friends visited whenever they had the chance. Ryuunosuke seemed to know
everyone, be they farmer, teamster or merchant, and she mad sure that every
single one of them tried their first Okonomiyaki or they would have to
answer to her. Before she knew it Ukyou even had regulars. Her business
picked up quickly.
She had spared with Lambs to the Slaughter several times she had one twice
and so had Lambs to the Slaughter. The fifth had been a draw. While she had
managed to hit her in the chest plate, Lambs to the Slaughter scored a
cripple at the same time. Lambs to the Slaughter had been delighted. We
make
good dance sisters, mucherly," she laughed.
Iron Town's proximity to the basin's one port made it the most prosperous
community in the basin, and the busiest. Everyone in the basin seemed to
come to Iron Town at one point or the other. There was a wide mix of
species
who came and went in Iron Town, and there were more humans here than she
was
used to though there were still plenty of Lollygaggers, Tengu, Da Ferrik
and
Tegumi, a meter tall creature which always reminded Ukyou of a raccoon
standing on it's hind legs.
It was late in the afternoon and sales had died down. Ukyou was talking to
a
young Lollygagger as it showed her a copy of a popular ficpac that
translated roughly to Russshahshhs Divided. "Now let me make sure I
understand this right. This one," she pointed at one of the Lollygaggers on
the pack's view screen, "is engaged to be spawning partners with this one
here."
The Lollygagger belched an affirmative.
"But he is cursed to change genders when he is hit with cold or hot water."
The Lollygagger made rapid sloshing noises as it nodded its head.
Ukyou stared at the pictures puzzled. "How can you tell?" She asked finally
The Lollygagger looked almost hurt as it retracted all four of its
eyestalks.
"You Kuonji?" A loud voice asked before she had a chance to apologize to
the
Lollygagger. She looked up to see two humans, a man and a woman, stride up
towards the Ucchan. The man one was one of the biggest humans she had ever
seen. He looked nearly as tall as a Minotaur cow and strong enough to
wrestle one of the Santsunokao being herded to the slaughterhouses in the
distance. His confident gait along with his stern expression suggested that
he was fully aware of this fact, but his clean-shaven face seemed to be all
frown. What she could see of it anyway. He wore dark star goggles over his
eyes and a red bandana holding back a mane of black hair. All this could
not
hide two vicious looking scars intersecting across the bridge of his nose.
His companion, while still tall, barely reached his shoulders. Standing
beside the man, she looked thin but regal. She dressed well, like the
personal assistant of some higher up or mayor.
The man produced a scanner from his brown leather jacket and pointed it at
Ukyou. "Yeah, you're Kuonji. Even if you didn't line up with the records
there's no mistaking that crate," he nodded at the Ucchan dismissively.
"Who wants to know?" Ukyou reached for her lifter hidden below the Ucchan's
grill, "and watch what you call a crate."
She didn't see his hand reach for his hip until he had drawn a large knife
as long as her forearm and faster then she could blink, the blade stopped
just at her chin. "Keep your hands where I can see them and we'll get
along
just fine."
"What do you want? Ukyou stammered, knowing full well what he wanted. The
gangs had sent hunters after her. For all she knew this could be one of the
expensive ones sent by the mayors themselves.
The man barred his teeth, grinning. Ukyou decided she liked his scowl far
better. "News travels fast in the Basin. When Rally here heard you were
setting up shop in Iron Town she thought we should have a few words with
you. You do remember Rally Vincent, don't you?" He nodded at his partner.
"I remember a blonde white woman with blue eyes named Rally Vincent." Ukyou
studied the woman's light brown skin and short black hair.
"Let's say we live in interesting times and leave it at that," the
so-called
Rally replied.
"Tell me another," slowly Ukyou's hand drifted toward a small pile of
cooking utensils. She had heard this tale being used far to many times.
'Rally' shook her head as if not expecting to be believed. "Are you still
trying to unload that barrel of bad sauce, Ukyou?" She asked.
Ukyou let out a sigh of relief. "If the Sack gets any smaller it would
disappear, it really is you."
"It's been a long time, Ukyou," Rally smiled.
"What brings you to the basin, Rally-chan?"
"Business takes me lots of places," Rally said finally, "I'm sure you have
at least met my partner, Bean Bandit, the notorious road buster?"
The man grinned again.
Ukyou's eyes widened. What was the greatest freelance driver in all of the
port city doing out here in the basin? "Who hasn't?" She said nonchalantly
somehow managing to maintain her composures, "can he get the pig sticker
out
of my face?"
Bean Bandit took off his sunglasses and glared at Ukyou. The knife brushed
against her chin.
Bean Bandit took off his sunglasses and glared at Ukyou. The knife brushed
against her chin. For a moment Ukyou began to feel as if her bravado had
been dangerously misplaced. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to back
away fast enough. . . let alone reach for her throwing knives in time.
Bean burst out laughing and put the knife back in his sheath. "She's got
guts, Rally. If she can drive that thing as well as you say she can she's
just what we're looking for."
"What are you talking about?" Ukyou asked.
Rally said nothing for a second. She turned to the seemingly fearless Bean
who had put his star glasses back on and was looking around nervously. "Are
you still doing the run, Ukyou?" she asked finally.
"Uh, maybe." It was now Ukyou's turn to be coy. "If I am it's probably been
a long time, depending on if I've ever done it before, mind you."
"We have a job," Rally explained. "Could be a milk run, could be very
dangerous. It's nothing Bean here couldn't handle � except the item is far
too large for our vehicle to handle. We were about to give up hope until
we
heard about a 'lunch tank' setting up business in Iron Town. I hoped it
was
you."
"I'm flattered. But what does this have to do with me?" Ukyou asked.
"It's so warm out here. Say we have dinner at this location," Rally smiled,
handing Ukyou a card.
"No problem at all." Ukyou crumpled the card up and let it burn up on the
grill after she read the address.
* * * * * *
The Tower, in Ukyou's opinion, was one of the worst hotels she'd ever been
in. Even by Doozy Sack standards. The food was so bad that Ukyou doubted
the
waiter getting her order right would have helped at all.
The waiter spoke in a language her translator didn't recognize. She watched
as the utterly obnoxious hotel manager bullied him.
"Ucchan? What did that woman mean about the sauce?" Ryuunosuke asked. She
had come with Ukyou to provide moral support and had just finished
downloading and reviewing the event which had brought them here.
"Oh, that's right, you weren't around for that incident. This was back when
we were still living in the Cliffsides. I was with Ranchan at the time,
and
was trying my Dad's recipe for ten-year sauce. The idea is that you bury
your concoction and let the ingredients ferment for ten years. I dug it up
two years ago."
"How'd it go?"
"Void, it was terrible! It was the greatest failure in my life as an
Okonomiyaki chef."
"That sounds awful," Ryuunosuke whispered.
"Not really. The Lollygaggers love it. My business has doubled since then.
I'm lucky I made it in bulk or I would have run out by now. You wouldn't
believe how much time I've spent trying to figure out what I did wrong! I
don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for this." She handed a well
worn data pack over to Ryuunosuke.
"Cooking With Akane? I think I've heard of this."
"Who hasn't? Anyway there are a few good sauces in there that have done the
trick but still, it's not the same."
"I don't know, Ucchan. Ever think that she's just a really bad cook?"
Ryuunosuke winced as she looked at some of the recipes.
"Bad cook? Are you kidding? You're suggesting she gets these results by
sheer luck? No way, Tendou's a genius!"
Ryuunosuke shrugged, feeling this was an argument she couldn't win. She
looked up a minute later, seeing something. "Uh oh," she whispered.
"What?" Ukyou turned to see where Ryuunosuke was looking. Three men had
just
walked into the restaurant. One of them stood at the doorway with an
armload
of papers while the others started to walk table to table passing out
pamphlets.
"Children of the Guhrukai," Ryuunosuke explained eying them nervously.
"Graks?" Ukyou laughed. "You have those losers here?"
"We have lots of them up here," Ryuunosuke answered, "No one's sure how
many
but they're not losers. At least up here they have more opportunities."
"You're kidding"
"Oh no. Sure they behave themselves when they're in town. I mean who'd
want to mess with Eboshi or Kushana or even the Lady for that matter - but
the basin is really, really big and there's hardly any Peace Robots besides
Chrome-chan, who knows how many they can hide out here.
"Thank you, power to the species." Ryuunusuke said as she grabbed the
pamphlet handed to her by the larger of the two Graks.
Her response was a little too quick for the Grak. "The Governors will fall,
the Ports will crumble, humanity will rise up," he explained.
"Of course, power to the species," Ryuunosuke repeated, cracking her
knuckles.
"You may mock us but-"
"Look she said she agrees with you. Butt out," Ukyou moved her spatula from
behind her chair onto the table, turning it on with a thought. The
silverware lying on the table began to rattle as they got caught up in the
spatula's gravity field.
"We keep you waiting, Kuonji?" Bean and Rally walked up to their table
before the Grak could respond. The Grak glared up at Bean, snarled, and
walked away to join his companions at the doorway.
"Not at all, Bean-chan," Ukyou answered relieved the pair had come when
they
did, not caring in the least if the diminutive would piss Bean off.
"That's good. Our guests should be here any minute. Who's this bit?" He
asked pointing at Ryuunosuke.
"My cousin, Ryuu-chan. She's good people," Ukyou growled.
"Didn't say she wasn't but let me make it very clear, our guests are more
then a little paranoid," Bean explained.
"Who are your guests?" Ukyou asked.
"Local folk. No one you've ever heard of," was the reply,
"Here they come now," Rally whispered. Ukyou looked at the doorway to see
two men arguing with the Sons of the Guhrukai.
"Wait a moment," Bean growled. He strode over to the doorway walking in
between the Sons of the Guhrukai and the two men. Two of the graks backed
down very quickly after a mere stare from Bean. The largest did not get the
message and began to threaten the taller man.
Bean laughed; turning around as if to walk away, only to spin back punching
the Grak in the solar plexus. The Grak fell to his knees gasping for air.
Bean grabbed the Grak by the shoulder, helped him up and led him to the
door. Bean missed the door and the Grak fell to the ground, his forehead
bleeding.
Bean walked back to the table grinning, the two men in tow.
"Your good manners will be the death of you one of these days." Rally
smiled.
"Ah, shadup, Rally. You know our guest better then I do. You make the
introductions," Bean growled.
Rally stared at her partner for a second as if trying to suppress the urge
to make a sarcastic remark, then smiled and turned to Ukyou. "Ukyou, this
is
our client, Earnest Rangepacer."
Earnest Rangepacer was a big man in his fifties. He was dressed all in
white
with the exception of brown leather boots. He tipped his wide brimmed hat
towards Ukyou. "Pleasure to know you, little lady. As Ms. Vincent said, I'm
Earnest Rangepacer and this here's my son, Earnest Jr."
The son looked like a shorter version of his father. He stared at Ukyou and
Ryuunosuke. He glanced around the room and finally turned to his father. "I
don't know, Daddy, it's bad enough we have to get these city folk to handle
our business, and now they bring in whoever they feel like and then expect
us to trust them on their say so."
Ukyou reached for her spatula but Rally stopped her.
"Look, twerp, Ukyou's done more runs then you can count. Now that may not
be
an impressive number, but a run in the Rimsides makes anything you can
imagine in here look like a cakewalk. Ukyou's got the skills and she has
the
wheels, and if you even think of questioning my integrity again, I'll let
her have at you."
The younger Earnest tried starring back at Rally but averted his gaze.
"You'll have to forgive my boy. He really is a good boy but he does get
excitable at times," the older Earnest grinned. "Now as you were sayin',
little lady you gone and done some smuggling runs in the Rimsides. What I
want to know is, is it as bad as all them city folk like to say it is?"
"Worse," Ukyou said trying hard not to laugh. "The Peace Robots keep the
worst of the power blocks honest � but what's left make up for lost time .
..
... . and keep in mind you're still trying to avoid the Peace Robots."
"How do you think the stuff you had to deal with back home compares to
stuff
out here?"
"Oh please, what do I have to worry about out here? Graks? Rival
Smugglers? Poachers? Give me a break, there's a good reason there's
hardly
any Peace Robots out here. There's nothing out here that I can't handle at
the Ucchan's wheel."
Earnest chuckled and chewed on his cigar. "Well, if that's what you think,
miss, then we may have some work for you."
"Let's hope so. Now we can talk theory or we can cut to the chase. What do
you want me for?"
"It's a big run," Rally interrupted. "Big and Little Earnest here are
arranging everything. You'll be moving the item. Bean and I will be running
interference."
"Who's the client?" Ukyou asked.
"Anyone tell you you ask too many questions?" the younger Earnest demanded.
"Anyone tell you you were suicidal?" Ukyou glared at him, reaching for her
lifter.
"Now, now, it's a perfectly reasonable question. The problem is, the client
wants to be left anonymous, and if we want to keep their business we'll
have
to respect that," Earnest said and grinned.
"Just tell her what she needs to know, Earnest," Rally interrupted.
"Yes, yes, of course," Earnest continued, "as I said, little lady, we have
a
number of items that have to be moved to Ridgetown, a thousand klicks north
of here, no questions asked."
"That goes without saying, doesn't it?" Ukyou drawled.
"Well, yes, anyway, we got a lot of stuff that has to get there in three
weeks. So we got a lot of parties to move it. Thirty grand in advance,
fifty
on delivery and another fifty for the one who gets there first. Do we have
a
deal, little lady?"
"We have a position to begin negotiations." Ukyou smiled.
* * * * * * * *
"You're actually going through with this?" Ryuunosuke demanded as they
walked out of the Tower. "Are you out of your void forsaken mind?"
"I'm wondering that myself," Ukyou muttered.
"Then forget about it. You just got out of the rimsides by the skin of your
teeth, and you got your business going again. Why in the world do you want
to get yourself into more danger?"
"I don't know, maybe it will help me forget. And with that kind of money I
could probably get off the Sack for good."
"Head injuries will help you forget too! I know things aren't as bad here
as
they are down in the ports, but just because you have five enemies instead
of fifty still means you have five enemies!"
"Oh come on, Ryuu-chan, you said yourself that there was nothing out there
but rustlers and Graks!
"Ucchan, I know they're pretty beaten down in the Rimsides, but out here
they have had the opportunity to go about unnoticed for years. A lot of
them
are effgees who haven't ever seen the Peace Robot method of keeping the
peace. Trust me, girl, there's nothing more dangerous than some idiot who
thinks he has a chance!"
Ukyou looked over at the Graks standing on the street corner. There were
ten of them now, still passing out flyers. Five of them had instruments
and
were playing a patriotic cacophony. Behind them they had put up a red
banner with the silhouettes of two men strapped back to back, writhing in
agony and seemingly bleeding. It was the standard picture of the legendary
martyrs Gaisuke and Teberetsu, the brothers Guhrukai.
The Grak who Bean had "led" out the door had had his head ineptly bandaged
by his friends and was sitting behind his friends. He glared at Ukyou and
Ryuunosuke.
Ukyou returned his glare and studied the banner. She had seen the symbol
before but she had never seen it displayed so blatently. It amused her how
the banner barely covered some graffiti. It was a standard slogan which
said
the following:
THE GOVERNORS ARE NOT EVIL. THE GOVERNORS ARE NOT GOOD. THE GOVERNORS ARE
IN
CHARGE.
Ukyou smiled appreciating the contrast between the two opposing viewpoints.
"I've got to do it Ryu-chan," she said slowly. "I've got to do something.
If
I stay here and pretend that everything's all right I'll go mad."
* * * * * * * * *
"Can you believe that bastard?" Lina demanded, her mouth full of food.
Gourry looked up from his plate. "What was that Lina?" he asked.
"The Fisherman! 'I'll call you when I find something', can you believe
that?"
"I don't know, Lina. Maybe the Fisherman's telling the truth."
"Maybe we can pluck megacreds from the air and we won't have to worry about
money ever again, " Lina muttered.
"You really think so, Lina?"
Lina covered her face with her hand and shook her head in exasperation.
"The
only reason the Fisherman's not going to hire people like us is because he
thinks there's a good chance we might survive a mission. If we live he'd
have to pay us."
"Gee, Lina, that's not a very nice thing to say."
"Hello? Gourry? This is the Fisherman, he's not a nice person. How many
times do I have to spell it out to you?" Lina leaned over shouting in her
partner's face.
"He's always nice to me," Gourrey muttered.
"That's because he still thinks you're useful. For what I don't know; use
your head as a battering ram perhaps. Anyway we have bigger things to
worry
about right now. Like how we're going to pay for our next meal."
Lina and Gourry looked up to see a woman dressed all in black, wearing a
white fullface starmask with ruby lips, no eyebrows, and a sapphire tear
continually streaming down her left cheek. Two men flanked her, one a
handsome well dressed and clean-shaven man, the other had a scruffy black
beard with the rest of his face covered by the shadow cast by his gray wide
brimmed hat.
"Polly, I will be paying their check and put whatever else they have on my
tab." The woman sat down beside Lina. The Tengu bobbed his head in
understanding, running over to the counter to take care of her request.
"Gosh, thank you so much, Lady, I really appreciate it. I'm Lina Inverse,
by
the way."
"Yes, and your partner in Gourry Gabriev. I've heard so much about the both
of you, I'm flattered to be able to be sitting to close to you."
"You flatter me, Lady, but..."
"No really! I've been hearing about your exploits for years. I mean the
death defying nature of all of them. I can see where the rumors about you
really being a R.Y.O.U.G.A unit came about."
Lina spat out her food as she starting coughing violently. " R.Y.O.U.G.A
unit? What in the void are you talking about?"
"Nothing, I'm sure, but you could be something similar considering some of
the attacks I've heard you're able to do; apparently without the help of
weapons. You probably know about them better then I do, I'm just quoting
rumors. You know, digger bolts, flame arrows, fireballs and what was that
last one? Dulagu something or other."
"That's not right! It's the Dragon Sla..mphf!"
Lina slapped her hand over Gourry's mouth.
"I'm sure I wouldn't know, Lady," she grinned sheepishly.
"Whatever," the woman continued. "I mean, if you were able to do even one
of the things they say you can do - can you imagine all of the upgrades
necessary? I mean if that were true I would have to ask you just how much
of you is still organic."
Gourry was about to reach for his weapon when he suddenly felt the hairs on
his neck rise up. He looked down slowly at a crackling zapstick centimeters
away from his throat. He had not seen the clean shaven man draw his weapon.
His partner, stepped back and drew a blaster, aiming it exactly between
Gourrey and Lina. Gourrey slowly put his hands back on the table.
"You'll forgive Goemon, he does get excitable at times." The woman's smile
was turned into a cartoon grin by her mask. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's
just
a rumor. The problem is the way the Governors deal with trouble is by
eliminating it altogether. Rumor or truth they don't care. Whether you're a
R.Y.O.U.G.A unit or not is irrelevant. What you won't be is a threat to
them."
Lina swallowed and gulped down the rest of her drink. "Lady, Gourry and I
are very grateful for your help. But I've never even heard of a . . . . .
Dulagu thingy."
"You're right, I'm sorry," the woman smiled, getting up to leave. "Still,
one has to wonder. If there was such thing as a dulagu thingy, how many
calories per second would someone burn generating one?"
Lina looked down at the pile of empty plates covering her table. "I don't
know what you want, Lady, but. . . . "
The masks ruby lips stretched from cheek to cheek in a wide smile. "Funny
you should ask."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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