The Katana Fleet.
Two hundred Dreadnoughts, lost in service, crews dead of a hive virus that caused them to synch their navicomputers and leap into hyperspace. One of the great mysteries of space, and one of the legendary treasures right up there with the forgotten horde of Xim the Despot. And it was right there, hanging sparkling in space before her eyes.
Ranma stood beside his sister, arms crossed as shuttles carrying Alderaanian engineers slid across the vacuum to the nearest ships. He was explaining. "I ran, like you did, but stayed in space for a while, hanging out with some smugglers as a navigator. Computer botched a jump, landed us facing that!" He waved a hand, indicating the dreadnoughts. Then he chuckled. "We thought it was an Imperial ambush and jumped out right away. Only I and the captain saw our coordinates, where we'd been. I used the Force to make him forget after blanking the computer's memory. Then, once I figured out what it was, came back."
Ranko directed a look over to her brother, quirking her lips. "So while I've been living like a rat, scurrying from world to world, you've been out saving the universe from the Empire?"
A small shrug. "Not really, sis. At first I was scared out of my wits, hiding just like you."
She sighed, eyed boring into him before they turned back to the drifting ships. "So where did you hide? I went looking for a while. But I never did catch a trace of you."
A smirk graced his lips. "I think I outsmarted myself. I had one of those brilliant strokes of idiocy that turned out to be genius."
She waited.
"I enrolled at an Engineering program at a university in Tapani sector."
Ranko fought a smirk, then she failed, fought laughter, and failed, and soon the boy was holding his hysterically laughing sister as her legs grew too weak to hold her up.
"Hey!" He said defensively. "It worked!"
"But you!" She laughed out. "Of all people! You! My fumble fingered, never thinking... and a Jedi MECHANIC??!" She dissolved into fresh giggles.
Again, a small shrug. "Hey, I figured we had Jedi healers, pilots, and all that other stuff. An engineer is something they'd never look for, right? It goes against that whole 'feel, don't think' stuff they taught us, and machines ain't got the Force, y'know? Then, once I got into it thinking it was a great place to hide, I found I kinda liked it. Now I'm working with Bail Organa of Alderaan to start up a secret resistence to the Empire."
He looked out the viewport again.
"Two hundred old style ships ain't alot, but it's a heckuv alot better'n nothing. Besides, I was going crazy just hiding out, waiting for stuff to happen."
He met her eyes.
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(Posted Wed, 28 May 2003 22:18)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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