And more fun.

Soun turned and thought about it.  While there were several excellent
restaurants within walking distance, storm clouds brewed overhead, and
it had been raining off and on all morning.  It was a pity.  A walk
would have been nice.  He had been spending too much time sitting.  The
lack of exercise was giving him a severe case of swivel chair spread.

Heh.

"Yes, sir."  The guard put the telephone down and pointed at the back
wall.  "The elevators are back there, sir.  Professor Saotome's lab is
the third one on the left as you exit from the elevators.  Is there
anything else I could do to be of further assistance?"

Soun: Make me some waffles, bitch.

Guard: I beg your pardon.

Soun: It was something I used to say to my late wife.

Guard: Did she do it?

Soun: No, she used to beat the shit out of me. We had a playful relationship
that way.

"Allow me to show you," said Genma, shutting the door.  When Soun took
his eyes off him for a moment, he raised a small needle gun he had kept
hidden in his pocket and fired a slim dart into Soun's back.  Within a
moment, a fast-acting sedative hit his system.

Geez. That was abrupt.

While he waited for the sedative to wear off, Genma leaned against one
of the lab's tables.  Things were getting desperate, forcing his

him

"Mmf?"  Soun thought quickly, wondering where this was going.  This
whole situation didn't make any sense.

And it's about to get worse.

"So a while ago, I had an idea."  Genma reached over and flipped on the
main switch of a power bar on the nearby lab table.  A computer screen
lit up and began scrolling text.  Soun saw Genma type now and then, and
he watched in helpless curiosity.

Heh. A good thing QD Genma's memories can be accessed by S 1/2 Genny.

"<Sir, I'm detecting a resonator signal of unknown origins.>"

All movement ceased on the bridge of the Dragon Claw, currently sitting
parked at the LaGrange point just outside the moon's orbit, as all eyes
turned to the figure sitting at the center of the bridge.  Slowly, the
command chair swiveled around to the front, revealing the face of a
white-haired young man of muscular build, his handsome face marred only
by a single deep and ragged scar across one cheek.  Like all the others
present, he was immaculately dressed in a tailored, dark-green uniform
jacket with blue piping, black pants, and calf length, gloss black
leather boots.  In addition, he also wore a white beret at a slight
angle on his head, marking his status as the ship's captain and a line
officer of the Musk Dynasty.

Hmm. Interesting variation.

Soun sat up, hearing a bottle rolling to one side as his motion moved
the blanket that had been on top of him, causing him to cringe slightly
from the pain caused by the sound.  He felt awful, and his head was
starting to pound mercilessly.

Waking up to a hangover. How nice.

There was only one inescapable conclusion.  This was no illusion, no
false reality.  This was another world, as real as his own, and the man
he had thought was the Genma Saotome he knew had consigned him to it,
to switch him for the Soun Tendo of this other world, an emotionally
crippled man.  A man that he was having difficulty accepting that he
could have ever become.

Of course he would. No one would want to admit they could ever fall.

That name was oddly familiar, and it took him a moment to recall where
he had heard it before.  When it came to him, he almost smiled at the
irony.  His Akane practically worshipped the amazon, and she even had a
life-sized poster of Shampoo hanging up in her room.  Here, things were
different.  So many things were different.

Got that right. ^_^

Soun paused.  Saotome-kun?  That was how someone addressed a friend,
and he had never been the friend of Professor Genma Saotome.  Then he
paused again, as flashes of the friendship between this world's Soun
Tendo and Genma Saotome came to mind.  A slight smile lit his face for
a moment.  Maybe they could be friends as well as allies.  That might
be nice.  He had been so involved in his work for so many years that he
didn't really have anyone he could call a friend anymore.

Besides, it had been a while since he had enjoyed a good shogi match.

Heh. He's practically integrated already.

Herb smiled coldly.  "<Since we can't follow it in this vessel, I'm
going to piggyback a transmission on its carrier wave while it's still
available.  With any luck, there will be an analog of mine that I can
use on that tangent, allowing me to track down the source of that
signal and use it to transmit that world's location to the Dynasty
homeworld.  I sincerely doubt they'll put up much of a fight when a few
of our dreadnoughts phase into orbit over their heads.  It should make
an excellent staging area for a surprise assault on the backside of
those Solnoid bitches, once we finish with pacifying it.  Wouldn't you
say so?>"

The centurion saluted.  "<A brilliant plan, sir!>"

Depending on which world he's talking about, he might not have an analog.

This was impossible!  He was now a female, a lowly brood mare!  Someone
was going to suffer dearly for this!

Heh. Of course, this means the Musk aren't all dead after all in the
QDverse.

"<Ensign Shan was the only engramatic template among the crew database
that was able to generate a positive response from my test pulse.

Oh, this could get real messy.

 This

isn't too surprising, since there are one hundred and two different
versions of the ensign out of the one hundred and eight member worlds
of the Matriarchy.  Individuals like her are extremely rare, as you can
well imagine,

Heh. interesting idea that some people tend to pop up no matter what.

                    ******************************

"<Report status, Centurion,>" said Herb when he returned to the bridge.
His thoughts felt a little fuzzy, an unfortunate side-effect of the
engram recording.  Ever since waking up from the procedure, something
had felt wrong, a tickle at the back of his neck.

"<Nothing to report, sir.  All systems nominal.>"

The centurion's words did not soothe Herb.  The nagging worry did not
abate, feeling like a splinter in his mind.

Hmm. So only a copy is in QDHerb's head. That should still be enough to
cause problems in QD earth though.

While the group had been boisterously deciding, Shan Pu had noticed a
strangely dressed girl stealing food from the table, where a feast of
celebration had been laid out.  She would not soon forget that face.
She had chased the girl into a nearby alley, furious at the thief's
brazenness to steal from Solnoid soldiers like that.  There she had
been astonished to see that the strange girl had opened a quantum
tunnel, and Shan Pu had leaped at her, engaging her in a furious
unarmed melee to prevent her from escaping.  After a brief but fierce
struggle, the girl had managed to knock her out with a powerful kick
that slammed her into a wall.

Heh. Ranko gets around.

A short time later, Peh Fum had found her in the alley and brought her
back to the pleasure house, where her friend had picked out a handsome
young man for her, and the evening had ended on a more enjoyable note.
It had been Shan Pu's first time with a man, and he had been both a
wonderful lover and pleasant company talking with afterwards.  All in
all, her last night of shore leave had been memorable, before she had
to leave for her first assignment as a newly-commissioned officer.

What had been his name?

Oh, yes.  Ranma.

He gets around too. :)

                      ******************************

This time, Herb was unable to avoid being thrown from his seat as his
vessel was struck once more,

Wee, it's just like Star Trek. This is why space vessles need seat belts. :)

 >

"<Fire all weapons!  Let those treacherous bitches die with us then!>"

With only the sent engrams to cause problems from then on. :)

"<Tube one reloaded,>" she muttered to herself, uncertain if anyone was
still alive down there, or if it had only been the automatic systems
doing it.  There was no response from any of the other tubes, fore or
aft.  "<Maneuvering to fire.>"

Heh. Yep. I thought as much.

                    ******************************

*** Earth  0.000,0.000

Shan Pu blinked as her eyes suddenly came back into focus, and she
swayed slightly on her feet before quickly regaining her balance.  She
glanced down and found herself to be dressed in a sweat-dampened, dark
blue T-shirt over a sports bra, the shirt tucked into the waistband of
her light purple silk pants.  Each of her hands was wrapped with tape,
and her feet were bare.  A heavy leather bag was in front of her, one
that her analog had apparently been punching and kicking for some time,
judging by the feel of her shoulders and thighs.

Hmm. Since this is only a duplicate in her, like the Nab 1/2 Nabby in QD
Nabby, wonder how long QD Shampoo's personality will reassert itself.

Shampoo wasn't concerned about that.  The merger had already begun for
her, and it wasn't as if she was going to forget anything from either
life.

Especially since Space Shan should realize she's only a copy set of memories
and that the 'real' version of her is still in her homeworld.

What did concern her was finding the source of that resonator signal on
this world before the Muskys did.  She was little more than a glorified
prizefighter here, on a world ruled by feral males.  She was going to
have to give some thought to the matter and work out some kind of a
strategy.  For the time being, she would simply act as her other self
would normally act and try to learn more about her new home until an
idea presented itself.

Her fervent hope was that the Muskys were even more disadvantaged by
the status of their analogs on this world than she had been.

Oh, you could say that.

                    ******************************

Herb sat heavily on the cot, vaguely realizing that she was in a cell
of some sort, but that wasn't very important right now.  This analog
was female!  How could such a thing have happened?  The white-haired
girl's attention seemed to be focussed

focused (I think)

 on her breasts, having ripped

open her top to stare down at them in shame and disgust.

Herb: Couldn't they be bigger?

Herb began to laugh, a low, melodious sound, filled with as much venom
as mirth.  Someone was going to pay for this, and pay dearly in blood
and pain.  She would see to it.

Hasn't probed QD Herb's memories yet? Space Herb should have some idea of
what's been happening here.

"Welcome to your new life, Tendo-kun," said Genma with a grin, undoing
the bonds that held Soun tied to the chair.  "You and I have a lot to
talk ab- urk!"

Oops.

Genma, in desperation, drove a knee into Soun's stomach, repeating it a
second time when the first didn't seem to yield much of a result.  That
managed to weaken Soun's grip enough that he could take a breath and
get back some leverage.  The two began trading body blows like a pair
of punch drunken prizefighters, Soun too far gone in his anger to fight
very effectively, and Genma already too winded from nearly being choked
to death.

And I'm sure QD Genma's bodies is not in martial arts form yet.

"It's a damn shame that only the boy knows the Anything-Goes School,"
said Genma with a shake of his head.  "It would have been perfect if
one of your daughters had managed to pick them up like the boy did.  I
suppose we could have run one of them through the device, if you hadn't
broken it trying to kill me."

Oops.

"Saotome-kun, there's something I need to tell you."  And Soun began to
describe the techniques he could recall Nabiki using, as both men began
to grin widely.  When it was over, they clasped hands.

"Nothing can stop us from uniting the schools together now!" they both
shouted, and then they embraced, laughing jovially together.

Well, they do have a point.

Soun wasn't sure how to respond other than with a nod, watching the
girl get up and begin clearing dishes.  He was a stranger in a strange
land here, and it was paradoxically made even stranger by the fact that
it all seemed so ordinary to him on a certain level.  Everything around
him had changed, and even the Emperor he had sworn to serve did not sit
on the throne here, on this altered world.  For a man who had devoted
his life to his Imperial Majesty's secret service, that realization was
disconcerting.

A servant with no one to serve, basically.

"<Yes,>" Genma said with growing concern.  "<Is this about my son?  Has
something happened to Ranma?>"  He paused and lowered his voice.  "<Is
that why you're here?>"

Soun picked up his fedora and tugged it down slightly on to his head.

Oh yeah. Well inconspicious. I seen Director Soun has not been out in the
field for a while. :)

Genma felt sick for a moment, and he leaned against a lamppost.  "I'm
so sorry, Tendo-kun.  Uh, I mean, Tendo-san."

Genma; Don't have me and my family liquidated.

Soun: I'm not that sort of person, thank you.

Yumi poured some batter on the griddle as she glanced over at the two
men in the corner booth.  She had heard the bald one mention the name
Ranma loudly, piquing her interest, and so she had been watching them
off and on while they talked together for the past hour.  Ukyo would be
home from school soon, and she was curious to hear how her niece's day
went.  Today had been rather dull, so spying on the two men was giving
her something interesting to do, as well as being good practice for her
lip-reading skills.

Heh

"Eh?"  Genma glanced over at Yumi, as if just noticing her for the
first time.  "Too mannish in her build for my tastes."

Genma: Sides, I already got a woman I'm very happy with.

"Oh, this is Ryoga, Mom," Ryoko said quickly.  "Ryoga Hibiki.  He and I
met on the road while I was off training."

Achika felt a little faint.  Her wayward daughter had been travelling
alone with a boy?  She dried her hands a bit more, uncertain what to do
with them.  All kinds of scenarios flashed through her mind, none of
them very pleasant to her.

Achika: That poor boy. There's no telling how my slut daughter has corrupted
him.

Achika watched the pair head upstairs and thought.  Now that Ryoko was
back home, a talk with Nodoka seemed like a very good idea.  The girl
had been alone with this Ryoga boy for days, maybe even weeks.  Who
knows what could have happened between them out on the road?  As she
headed back into the kitchen, Achika decided to talk with Nodoka as
soon as possible.  Perhaps Ranma would be just the stabilizing sort of
influence that Ryoko needed.

No. It's a bit late for that.

My, you did do a lot of things. The inclusion of Space Herb and Shampoo
threw me a bit, but obviously you have plans to go somewhere with it. Like
how you moved so many things along. Looking forward to reading more. Write
faster! faster! ^_^

DB Sommer



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