Back to a little POE

    Process of Elimination -- Interlude One

    Akane

Hmm. Thought we had heard the last of her and the other girls.

    The door hissed open softly, as another young woman opened it,
floating into the small room with a dispirited air. "Heya, Akane," she
managed, yawning, and then coughing as a long stray hair was inhaled.
"Damn... stupid hair..."

Heh. The problems with living in Zero G

    Gleaming and polished corridors lined the whole of the ship from end
to end. There was no new dirt to smudge them,

Not true. If there are any children are on board, there is dirt. They
manufacture it from their bodies, you know. :)

    Akane took hold of a small rail, and pulled herself upwards sharply.
Without gravity, she sped across the hall, stifling a yawn. Shampoo was
probably elsewhere -- the crew in charge seemed to have no real problem
finding things to keep people busy, though Akane had a firm suspicion
that what they were doing was usually nothing more than pointless
busywork.

At least it's something to do.

    The fact that half of the intended occupants had never made it,

Oops. Didn't realize it was that many.

so

that the vast majority of the ship's rooms were actually unoccupied
helped, but the three shared a room anyway. None of them wanted to be
alone after what they remembered. Their last sight on Earth, before
Ranma had shoved them into the capsule that later dumped them into the
ship, only moments before it escaped. And their last sight was him,
alone, bleeding to death, and smiling despite that.

He's in a much happier place now. One that causes him no end of grief, just
like you three did. :)

    "Can tell," Shampoo said, stabbing at a button fiercely. She held
her strength in check enough to avoid damaging it -- important,
considering how ultimately fragile the ship truly was. "Hard not to
think of him."

Curiously, he thinks very little of you anymore.

    "Forty three years, Akane. Unless someone finds us first."

Oh? They're adrift, or unaware of the new planet that's been found for them
by the Jurai? Think someone would mention it to the ships that launched.

    Shampoo shrugged. "Never know," she mused. "Juu-rai might send
someone to pick us up, first."

I think someone there would find the time over the course of 40+ years, yes.

    It was easy to forgive. The three had learned to live with each
other fairly quickly, considering the main source of their disconcert
was... She let that thought die. "Have I ever told you that you were a
good friend?" Akane asked suddenly.

Shampoo: No, Shampoo ever say the same thing?

Akane: No.

Shampoo: Then we no lie to each other before.

    ------------------------------------
    Author's Notes:

    Short, pointless, and the first of three. Collect 'em all!

Will in due time. It is a really short piece. But that meant it was easy to
do. ^_^

D.B. Sommer

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