And here we go on that long and twisty path again. :)

Process of Elimination -- Chapter Seven

-----------------------------

"I remember the Battle of Shanghai just fine. It was just after the
first time I ever met that 'Ranma' guy, and he made some of the
hard-asses in Mishima look tame. Boy was an animal, I tell you, he
didn't stop at _nothing_ to kill a reaver. Oh, nothing, your, uh,
honorable exalted eminence, uh, sir, just thought I'd mention that.
You see, there was this bee near the accelerator..." [Message
truncated].

Paul Durant -- Hearing with Galaxy Police, case number TER2-656278
for a traffic violation.

Heh. Cute.

Running a hand through his hair, Tenchi said, "Well, that might not
be too bad, I guess... what else is wrong with it?"

Ayeka did not hide the small smile that formed as she noted Tenchi's
quick grasp of things. In time, he would doubtlessly become a fine
emperor.

Lopping off the heads of rebels left and right. Oh yes, a fine Emperor
indeed.

Ayeka nodded. It was indeed a pretty planet, foreign vapors

foreign? In what sense.

Ayeka bit back a yell of anger at the comment.

Why did she take it wrong?

 >

Screen after screen of information scrolled by, most of it far faster
than any of the men in the small conference room could read. As the
reams of information came to a sudden halt, the redheaded scientist
pointed to a specific chart with a short stick, explaining calmly,

Professor Washuu has returned.

"The decoy will not be activated until we reach Shanghai -- three
days from now -- and remove as many innocents to safety as possible.
Satellite imagery suggests that the city is deserted, and because of
that, intact. I'm not yet sure where the Chinese government moved
the populous, but with the city essentially at our disposal, I
should be able to create -- within a day or so of arrival -- a gate
with enough range to take everyone to, say, Australia. Then we can
activate the decoy, taking a much smaller and faster moving force to
the Joketsuzoku controlled territory, which is... here."

Eh? Why smaller? I thought everyone was going.

Patterson, to Norris's left, spoke up, frowning in consternation,

That's awkward. I'd reword it.

Cologne shrugged, speaking up from where she had remained so far,
mostly in silence, "Weapons are tools, and when their time comes to
an end, you must set them aside."

Yes, but Captains form an attachment to their 'tools.'

"I'm not sure," Patterson picked up, when Norris was unable to
answer, "but they can punch through triple strength battleship
plating. That's enough to stop a reaver, isn't it?"

"I doubt it," Washuu said dryly. "A bigger gun isn't the answer, and
if it is, then they'll just develop thicker hides because of it --
you'd need baby black holes as projectiles to accomplish what you
want, and I'm not even willing to consider development in those
areas. What can stop then

them

The boy blinked at her, frowning. "How?" he asked. "I can live
without air just fine, but I think I still need it to talk, don't I?"

Washuu smiled, then shook her head, explaining, "You'll see when you
get there... it should be completely safe, and I think Yosho wanted
to talk to you when you came back. Something about training."

"Oh?" Ranma asked, raising an eyebrow.

That will perk his interest.

The pair of them peered about the landscape. Broken gray stone and
largely featureless dusty plain surrounded him, lending Ranma an
eerie sense of deja vu. Ran-oh-ki mewled angrily, clawing his way up
to Ranma's shoulder to glare about and hiss at nothing in particular.

Probably the moon

Washuu waved a hand dismissively, as Ran-oh-ki inquisitively leapt
from Ranma's shoulder to nuzzle her ankle. She smiled at the
creature for a moment, then returned to frowning at the display.
"Well," she said, eyes flickering about the screen as she
considered, "it should be something I can repair. It just tells me
that these weapons are much more delicate than I'd like them to be."

Beggers can't be choosers.

Ranma frowned thoughtfully, staring at the constructs, while his
partner began sniffing curiously at the first of the undamaged pair.

Might be a good idea to get Little Ran Oh away from them. Wouldn't want them
devoured, after all.

He watched her until she crossed the distance between the two,
catching her easily as she launched into a hug that would have
toppled him, were he not braced for it. "Ranma-papa-san!" she
caroled happily. "Are you feelings

feeling

The last remained, and Ranma became aware that Norris and his men,
and Washuu, had fallen silent, studying the interaction. Nervous and
confused about being the center of attention, Ranma glanced at them
for a bare moment, turning his attention to the one child remaining.
A slightly dirty little boy -- though Ranma wondered where he had
found dirt so far at sea --

Children grow dirt just like they do hair.

Grinning toothily, Ranma shrugged, waving the bokken experimentally.
"Yeah, well, Pops said that I should know how to use weapons -- all
of them -- and if I knew them better, I'd be able to fight them
better without weapons."

Might be good to have him cringe a little at the memory of his father,

Yosho smirked, but hid the expression quickly behind a mask of
patience. "I've got a lot more experience, Ranma. It'll take you
some time to reach my level. Now, your level of control is
impressive enough that I'll spare you the more basic drills. Watch
my feet, I want you to copy this stance..."

Ranma does learn fast, to be sure.

***

Ami watched Ranma train. The boy, despite his odd ears, and sharply

drop this 'and' since you have one after it.

pointed teeth, and nearly glowing eyes, possessed a certain savage
beauty, and an even more savage grace.

He and Yosho trained, though in Ami's eyes, it was more Yosho beating
on Ranma with a stick.

It's a form of training, yes. Ranma is learned why it's best not to get hit.

The two fell silent, simply watching, until Minako drifted to sit
with them, watching Ranma studiously. "Wow," the blonde said,
without preamble, "he'd make a great senshi, if he were a girl."

Heh. Playing on another ff convention, are we?

"Um," Minako interrupted, before Ranma could walk away, "I don't
think you're a monster." Ranma blinked at her, and she smiled in
return, adding, "If you are, you're one of the cutest monsters I've
ever seen!"

Ranma stared, unsure of how to take that,

Ranma; Something along the lines of 'Oh no, not again," comes to mind

while Rei added her own

words, "I admit, I was a little angry that you thought that we
needed to be protected...

especially since they did.

aloud, "Is he sure? I still don't think he's happy with us."

"Well," Minako spoke philosophically, "they say that time heals all
words."

Pluto: This is true.

Michiru frowned dubiously, but looked to Haruka for guidance. For her
part, Haruka was uncomfortable with the idea. She didn't trust any
boys around Hotaru in general,

After all, boys were yucky. Only a girl would understand what girls went
through, and therefore were better.

"That's okay," Hotaru assured them, "I'll talk to him with his daughter!"

Michiru's face turned pale. "Ranma has a daughter?"

Michiru: Yuck. Boy-girl sex. Blech.

Both Haruka and Michiru exchanged a glance, turning back to look at
Setsuna and asking in tandem, "And?"

Furling the scroll back carefully, Setsuna chastised, "Don't you
remember who 'Kagome' and 'Inu-Yasha' were? The amateur time-traveler?"

Oh, so she was the traveller. I see now.

"Of course," Michiru said disinterestedly. "I'm still not seeing the
point of all this, though."

"Well, Kagome charged her descendants -- all of them -- to become as
skilled and proficient as possible in all forms of the martial arts,
specifically to be strong enough to fight the reavers. While the
reason was apparently forgotten, the duty was not. It's a reasonable
assumption that if we _can_ find another 'Saotome' -- the last name
recorded on _this_ scroll is a Saotome Genma -- we'll have an ally
that can see us through this mess without having to rely on...
Ranma.

Heh. Oh bitter irony.

Nuku eyed the two girls before her warily. One of them she thought
she could trust -- she smelled nice, and looked friendly. The other
one... the other one had _hurt_ her Ranma, and she didn't trust
_that_ one very much at all...

She'd trust the girl more with if head was no longer attached to her
shoulders, but that was a 'bad thing' and she wasn't supposed to decapitate
anyone.

But it would be mean to ignore both of them, simply because she
didn't trust the one -- and the first smelled too honest to be mean
to.

too.

"Uh..." Ranma managed, stalling for a moment, as Cologne arrived,
followed by Mousse -- who was carrying a large 'Nekohanten' delivery
box. Ryouga trailed behind shortly, offering Ranma a wry grin.

Odd

The old woman eyed the three girls with their proffered lunches, and
smirked widely. "I see my idea wasn't so original after all," she
commented.

Heh. Now Cologne's coming on to him.

"You're telling me," a new voice added from behind Ranma. "I thought
I was being clever!" The boy turned around, seeing Washuu carrying a
covered tray of her own. She offered him a sardonic grin,
explaining, "Can't blame a girl for trying!"

Ranma looked around slowly, noting the younger girls growing nervous
as they waited for him to make some kind of choice,

Now if he were Vegita, he'd merely kill all of them. :)

Yosho smirked, slapping Ranma on the shoulder companionably,

Yosho: Personally I'd have made a run for it, like I always do.

the air expertly. "This should be interesting," he commented,
flexing slightly, and setting to work. Less than three seconds
later, everyone had a surprising mouthful of the contents of the
bento. Ranma swallowed his own portion, and grinned. "That's pretty
good." For a moment, he nearly forgot that the girl who had made the
meal for him had only an hour or so prior shot a bolt of lightning
at him,

My, he did bounce back quickly

Michiru nodded, concentrating. What would help them? What could
protect them from the threat they were facing?

Again the mists parted, this time showing a scene right out of a
fantasy manga. A sword, ancient and rusted, its age-pitted surface
chipped and worn, thrust point first into the ground, leaning
against a sapling. Beneath the sapling, a faint hint of green, and
behind the tree, more, giving the distinct impression of an ancient
forest, though Michiru couldn't explain _why_ it felt ancient.
Merely that it did.

Heh. How mysterious.

"Well, if Tokyo were still around, we could search through legal
channels..."

"I think if that can be done, Setsuna will do it."

I don't think it can be, though. Civilization has pretty much taken a
powder.

He had used his speed -- fast enough that none other than probable

probably

"I'm not going to be your friend because you gave me food,"

Not being an enemy is not the same as being a friend.

Ryu snorted, dropping Ranma's hand and quickly polishing off his
lunch. "That's real nice," he mumbled around a mouthful of rice.
Swallowing, he added, "I'm getting what I want, so no problems from
me. But see if you can get them to take the handcuff off -- I could
break it, but I think that'd just make them mad."

Probably

"I'm sorry! I just smelled something good, like what Makoto-chan

cooked, and I thought that maybe there might be some extra, and so I
came over to ask if there was anything no one else wanted, and then
I heard you talking and I listened because I was sad that you two
didn't get along and..." She paused, gasping for breath, and resumed
a heartbeat later. "And I thought that it was so great that you two
are starting to make up because it's sad to have to watch people not
be friends!"

Yep. That's Usagi.

"No," Tenchi said, overriding the both of them. "I want to hear this
all out. Ayeka, sometimes what you tell me is really useful, but if
I'm going to be an emperor for Jurai, then I think it would be best
for me to be hearing both sides of any story. Don't you?"

Ayeka bit her tongue, humbled by Tenchi's words, and nodded silently.

Ryouko spared the other woman a glance, then resumed, "Anyway, the
nobility was angry because the Laruma had ships but weren't nobles,
so they decided the best way to deal with it was either to kill all
of their trees, or kill all of them."

Heh. Not very 'noble' of them, was it?

"So the Juraian council had to make Tsunami happy, and she was pretty
mad about the whole thing, so they said that the Laruma would be a
house of nobles, just like them, and then having ships would be okay
for them. Except that it wasn't, because the nobles only pretended
that they called the Laruma equals, none of them really respected
the Laruma."

Tenchi looked to Ayeka for confirmation, and all that she could say
in defense was, "Well... they _are_ Laruma."

Nice attitude. Show generations of irrational racism don't die easily.

Ayeka threw her hands into the air and sank to a seat, glowering at
Ryouko. The cyan-haired woman affected to be unaware of the glare
she was receiving. "Well, I only know from listening into
conversations in the bars I used to be allowed to visit," she shot
Ayeka a cool, level look, which Ayeka returned smugly, "before I was
told that I shouldn't, because it would make you look bad, Tenchi."
The woman turned her attention back to Tenchi, smiling at him and
winking. "What I heard, was

don't think you need the comma

Ryouko lounged in one of the chairs, glancing at Ayeka for a moment,
then back to Tenchi. "I don't think much of it myself, but you're
the boss here, Tenchi. If anyone can make changes, it's going to be
you, and there _is_ the standard of Juraian law..."

"Yes!" Ayeka proclaimed, raising her head triumphantly. "Juraian law
is fair and just!"

"Even if the nobles who uphold that law aren't," Ryouko noted.

That's usually the problem. The best you can hope for is to set up a system
that deals sparingly with the society and let society try and run itself.
The more power given to fewer individuals, the more easily the system is
corrupted.

Karau blinked twice, and turned to stare at Genoh in confusion. Genoh
shot his younger brother a glance, and the boy snapped his ledger
shut audibly, placing his stylus on the table, and stowing the
ledger in his robes. Ledger stowed, Genoh turned his attention back
to Tenchi. "No, Masaki-sama, no Laruma has ever been permitted to
serve in the council. Are you asking because you wish to mock me, or
do you truly not know?" The man seemed genuinely confused.

Tenchi: Why to mock you, of course. HAHAHA!

Changing from coloring angrily, and only just barely keeping her
tongue in check, Ayeka stared at Tenchi in disbelief, while Ryouko
eyed him with something much closer to awe. "Well," Genoh said after
a moment, he and his brother nervously glancing between the three,
"that would be... The Laruma have enough money to attempt to bid
into the Council, but we'd never win the elections to a seat."

"Why not?" Tenchi asked, frowning.

"Because our blood is considered too ignoble," Genoh answered
blandly. "We own no land on Jurai, so we can't bid as landowners."

Hmm. Interesting.

"So you need land on Jurai to be considered for the Council," Tenchi
stated flatly. "Fine. Ayeka, I'm the emperor, right? How much land
do I own?"

Ayeka's eyes rolled up into her head as she slumped out of her seat
and collapsed onto the floor.

Heh. That didn't take long.

"Wait," Genoh managed, looking unnerved. "You're offering us, the
_Laruma_, the emperor's land? Tenchi, what you suggest would... Are
you sure you wish to do this? I have no desire to remain an outcast,
but this... This could go a great way towards destroying the caste
system of Jurai."

"Good," Tenchi said, smiling grimly. "Then let's get to work."

Heh. Revolutionaries make poor leaders, though. We'll see if this works.
He'd be better off making slow changes or bumping off the existing members
that would stand in his way.

Will get to more soon.

D.B. Sommer





             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'