"SAY WHAT?!"
That was both Kanami and Akane, by the way.
Ranma nodded. "Yeah, it's true. One of the alien races the U.N.'s been expecting to come knocking at our door's finally making their move."
"So what happens if you lose?" Nabiki asked, an eyebrow arching. "Ranma-kun, you're being asked to defend for the whole PLANET against ALIENS who have every intention to INVADE if you DO lose! And the person you're playing 'tag' with can FLY!"
He made a dismissive wave of his hand. The Saotome siblings and the Tendō sisters were now down in the other ranks' mess hall, located approximately amidships in Fort Erie's main hull. Around them, most of the junior ranks were at their tables gobbling down their food quickly so they could get back to their stations and prepare the corvette for launch in two hours. "Yeah, she can fly — and according to Tariko, she also has the ability to shoot lightning from her hands — but she's not a trained martial artist. I may not know all the stuff Tariko got from her sister, but I did learn some interesting tricks when I was in the Nǚjiézú village while I was adjusting to the curse Oyaji forced on me 'cause of his stupidity."
"So why is it these Urusians are doing this?" Kasumi asked. She had come over to join them after Fort Erie's chief cook, Petty Officer 2nd Class Sakuma Chiharu, had waived her off from volunteering in the galley to get breakfast made for everyone.
"Accordin' to Natsuko-chan and her friends, the Urusians are gettin' scared about us teaming together with the Avalonians and getting out into space like we're doin' now," Ranma replied. "But the good news about it is that most of the leaders on Uru — including Lum's dad — don't want to invade us since they've always been really interested in us. This goes all the way back to when the Urusians were invaded by the Seifukusu all those years ago. Only a small bunch want to actually start a war…"
"And if you win, you'll prevent that from happening," Nabiki concluded.
"Yeah."
"So where are they going to hold this?" Akane asked.
"Probably in Welland since that's where I'll be living with Shinobu."
Hums all around. "That'll be good if you keep it concentrated downtown," Kanami mused. "High buildings and you have all the bridges over the old canal to use as jump-off points for when you want to leap on Lum to tag her." She then sat back in her chair. "It'd be better if we held this in Niagara Falls, Saint Catharines or Hamilton. Toronto would be the best; loads of high buildings there to use."
The others all nodded. "Kanami-chan, how fast can you train your brother to use the psychic kusarigama attack? Or could Tariko-san teach him?" Nabiki asked.
A sigh. "It'll take a while."
"I got some ki training thanks to Shān's great-grandma," Ranma reported. "Both a speed-punch attack like the Typhoon Wind-Fist plus a cold ki air manipulation attack similar to the Air-Whirlpool Heat-Fire Strike. I don't want to end up crippling Lum with it…"
"Practice them now," Nabiki advised.
"Where?" Ranma wondered. "Only big-enough space on this ship is the hangar deck. And that's now filled with the Star Flare this ship carries on missions."
"Do you feel comfortable enough to use them if you have to?" Akane wondered.
He considered that question, and then he nodded. While he was normally quite cocky and confident in his abilities, the potential stakes in this particular contest he was facing were enormous. And Akane was his friend and sister-practitioner in Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū, so she had every right to be concerned about what he was facing. "I should be okay. If she doesn't pull a surprise on the first day, I can end it in an hour."
The others nodded, and then they perked on hearing the intra-ship P.A. click on. "Now hear this! Now hear this! Commodore's side party, report to the quarterdeck to receive Commander Joint Task Group 31-3. Now hear this…!"
"We'll be going soon," Ranma noted.
"Is it alright for us to stay?" Akane then asked.
"It'll be alright."
Everyone turned as Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class Kurokawa Satomi came up to them. Fort Erie's coxswain, she was the senior non-commissioned officer aboard the ship (she had stood as Shinobu's maid of honour at their wedding) and the unofficial "elder mother" figure for all the Avalonians aboard, even for the officer contingent. Accompanying the silver-haired woman with the maple-shaded eyes was Petty Officer 1st Class Saitō Ako, the chief supply technician and senior non-commissioned officer in charge of the Logistics Department aboard the ship. "Are you sure, Satomi-san?" Kasumi asked. "We don't want to be underfoot when you meet with the Urusians…"
"Kasumi-san, you ARE Ranma-san's best friends and he's about to make world history," Ako said as her golden brown eyes glittered with amusement. "It would be cruel to him to prevent his friends from being at his side when he confronts Lum…"
The others were quick to sense the slight growl in the supply technician's voice when she said that. "Belay that, Ako," Satomi ordered. "She's a sister now."
Ako jolted as she stared wide-eyed at the coxswain. "WHAT?!"
"She's one of us; Tariko-san told me this sometime ago," Satomi replied. "It was her own sister that prompted her to cross over."
Silence fell as Ako considered that, and then she sniffed. "Everyone, come with me. I'll take you down to the quartermaster's office. We'll get you all in Naval Combat Dress so no one questions what civilians are doing aboard ship at this time."
"Make Kasumi-san a cook," Satomi stated. "Nabiki-san can be an intelligence operator. Kanami-chan and Akane-san both can be PERIs."
Ako nodded as everyone stood up…
Later…
"General on the bridge!"
"At ease!" Masaki Natsuko said as the bridge crew all relaxed themselves, and then she smiled on seeing the lone man in civilian clothes standing by the main view port overlooking the corvette's bow and "A" triple-gun mount. "Ah, Ranma-kun!" the general said as she walked over to embrace him. "Nervous?" she asked as Shinobu headed to her chair at the other side of the view port to sit down and scan through the pre-launch information scrolling on the computer screen in front of her.
"Pretty much, Natsuko-chan," he admitted as the general slipped into a guest chair that the boatswains had fixed into place opposite Shinobu's position. "I never thought that I'd be the guy who'd end up helping Earth make first contact with another race."
She chuckled before nodding thanks as Satomi handed her a baseball cap marked with COMMANDER JTG 31-3 around the single maple leaf denoting her rank so she could slip it on over her head; like everyone else aboard Fort Erie, she was in naval combat dress despite her epaulette slip-ons being Army green in lieu of Navy black or Air Force blue. "Don't blame you. Make sure you stay psychically connected to your wife at all times when we meet up with Captain Invader and his party. You aren't an Avalonian, so you don't have any sort of empathy to use to judge how others are feeling. We're all in this together, so don't be afraid to call for help when you need it."
He nodded as he gave Shinobu a smile, which she returned with one of her own. "Already keeping it in mind, Natsuko-chan," he admitted, and then he perked. "Oh, when's this whole thing going public? If Oyaji learned about this…"
A laugh. "Don't worry about him, Ranma!" Natsuko advised. "He's still in Japan right now and your mother's keeping an eye on him. I had Reiko-chan contact her before we beamed up to the station." Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Shingyōji Reiko was JTG 31-3's formation chief petty officer as well as squadron coxswain for CANSPACEOPRON TWELVE, the Navy formation Fort Erie was a part of. "He and the sisters' father are still drinking themselves insensate due to their finding out you were married to Shinobu. If necessary, Nodoka-obachan will contact Master Happōsai to keep them in line."
He nodded. Given Genma's constant emphasis on forcing Ranma to never open himself out to anyone during the main part of their training trip, the younger Saotome knew that his father would hit the roof on hearing that Ranma was willingly depending on other people — and girls atop that! — to deal with a problem. And while Ranma still felt some discomfort concerning relying on others to help him, his mother, Shampoo's great-grandmother and his wife had all made it clear that it was alright to lean on others when it was necessary. And in this case, it was REALLY necessary.
"Captain!"
Shinobu looked back to gaze on Hagiwara Urara, who was serving as officer of the deck. "Go ahead, Combat," she called back.
"Chief Engineer reports all systems are go and we are severed from dockyard umbilical links," Urara reported. "Executive Officer reports that augmentation teams from 10 M.P. Company and 10 Intelligence Platoon are aboard and secured in their work spaces. Air Detachment Commander reports that ship's shuttle and shuttle crew are fully prepared for operations. Security and Defence Platoon Commander reports same with her group. Q.H.M. has programmed departure manoeuvres into the ship's navigational computer. We can depart anytime we want."
A nod. "Alright," Shinobu said. "Officer of the Deck, have the helmsman take us out."
"Aye-aye, ma'am!" Urara tapped controls. "Bridge to Pilotage."
"Pilotage, Petty Officer Sakuragi."
The bridge crew all laughed. "You driving us out, Mai-chan?" Urara demanded.
"But of course!" Petty Officer 1st Class Sakuragi Mai was the Chief Boatswain's Mate (or "Buffer") aboard Fort Erie; she was the highest ranking member of the Deck Department (who handled all seamanship/space manoeuvres aboard ship). "Navigation computer's got the departure instructions from Q.H.M., Combat."
"Acknowledged, Buffer. Captain, permission to take the ship out."
"Take us out, Urara," Shinobu ordered.
"Aye-aye, ma'am! Pilotage, engage departure program."
"Engaging, Bridge. Thrusters half ahead both!"
As the people on the bridge watched, the basin hatchway before Fort Erie began to open as the corvette began to move towards it and the deep blackness beyond. Watching the station move away from them, Ranma took a deep breath, and then he blinked as he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. Looking right to see Shinobu now standing beside him, he grinned as he reached up to grasp her hand, and then they turned to watch as Fort Erie soared through the large doors into her true environment beyond.
And as the corvette headed off to her rendezvous, we now…
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(Posted Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:19)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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