The Wild Stallion was crafted of a bit of this and and a bit of that. Scraps of ships fitted together by a demented shipbuilder and wandering trader named Genma Saotome. Living quarters from a holed Nubian Pleasure Yacht gave it a decadent 1001 Nights feel. The starkly functional neo-techno engine room was from a wrecked Corporate Battlecruiser that had been in a cometary orbit. The organic-looking polyps of a K'thk comm/sensor array contrasted with the ugly little blaster pods, most of which didn't do anything but look threatening. Only four were actually hooked up, and those were from entirely different ships as well.
The Wild Stallion was a hunk of junk to some.
Ranma Saotome of Saotome Reclamations called it home.
"#%@&##!"
Okay, sometimes he called it a few other things as well.
Ranma glared at the holo-display as if he could change it by sheer force of will.
...systems are down. Defense fields failing. Any ships within communications range please respond!
Ranma let out a deep breath. Well, it was a martial artist's duty to help those in need. He flopped down into the pilot's chair and began turning the ship in the proper direction.
"This is the Wild Stallion, registry 034137A, out of the Hub. I'll be there in twelve minutes."
"Please hurry, we might not have much time left."
"Get in spacesuits, prepare to evacuate your ship. Ain't no way I'm gonna dock if you've got those on board," grumbled Ranma. "What were you doing on a Shadow planet anyway?" The girl didn't sound that stupid.
"-dow or Moo... - didn't know... -nal breaking up... comm systems infil..."
Ranma frowned a bit more thoughtfully. If it had been an unlisted Shadow planet, then it wasn't just outright stupidity.
There were a number of them, with an equal number of ancient weapons and bio-constructs waiting to attack those foolish enough to try and loot their secrets. With hundreds of millions of suns, many of whom had at least one marginally habitable planet - there were many worlds that had structures from previous travelers or civilizations.
Which had been the case when he'd lost his parents. The planet Thryth was not officially a Shadow planet, but there had been at least one Shadow weapon on its moon. The villagers of the back to nature world had been Koreans, and they were apparently never bothered by any weapons. His parents, checking a scar on that moon had triggered a bio-probe. Anything of the Shadow was dangerous in the extreme. Other than a painful last transmission where they were cornered, Ranma had been left with little to remember them by.
He had continued building up his skills and had put together the Wild Stallion. No job too small, no fee too big.
Ranma didn't know his current course was with:
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(Posted Mon, 10 May 2004 07:46)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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