"You knocked him out, remember Akane?" asked Sayuri. "He's still on the transport."
"Well, they won't do anything to him, right?" Akane asked.
"They shoot people trying to get away from them, Akane. What do you think?" Nabiki had never liked Ranma except as a source of money. Let the jock go get himself killed as long as she personally was safe. After all, when Shampoo was trying to kill him - she'd dangled the power of life and death over him.
"No," said Akane, realizing now what she'd done. "We've got to go back for him."
"Not going to happen," said the driver. "Those SAMAS are just the first arrivers. They've got a full set of mechs heading on an intercept. We don't have the weapons to handle that kind of enemy."
"So you're just going to run like cowards?!" Akane angrily demanded.
"No, we're refusing to fight a battle we have no hope of surviving," said the driver. "Unless you want to be ejected right now, I suggest you just be grateful for your own life."
"Well, they got away," said one of the Coalition soldiers, "but they left us a present."
"Nice of them, the psych boys should be able to pull some useful information out of him," said another.
"Here comes our escort," said the pilot. "Man, I've never been so happy to see those SAMAS hotshots before."
"Marking a full battle group, no wonder those raiders pulled back. Cowards to run from a fight now that the advantage is ours."
"They're d-bees," pointed out the first soldier.
Sayuri watched as the vehicles rapidly approached a large metal building, when she realized that the building itself was another vehicle but hovering stationary close to the ground.
"Jabberworks ship Trader Vic, this is Velocity," said the driver into a headset. "We've got refugees from a rift rescued from the Skullies. Will need medical exams and debrief."
Roger dodger, Velocity. As soon as you're aboard we'll leave current location. Use Bay Six. Welcome back.
The driver eased the hover truck alongside until a hatch slid open in the bigger vehicle, then nudged it through in a swift manuever that looked to have seen a lot of practice.
It briefly went dark as the outer hatch closed, though dim lighting came on as the girls were beginning to climb out.
Sayuri took in the scratched metal, the burn marks on the walls, and the paint job that didn't quite match in places and got the feeling this vehicle wasn't exactly new. The floor lurched briefly while they were still taking in the surroundings, and a feeling of movement began.
"Bwee?" said P-chan as he tried to comfort the in-shock Akane.
"Well, uhm," began Yuka, showing the first signs of coming out of her own shock.
A door slid open, retracting into the wall. After seeing a dragon, and noticing that 'Velocity' had pointed ears like some high tech elf, Sayuri hadn't been sure what to expect.
The woman entering was made entirely of metal, polished brass in color. "Hmmm. You didn't tell me they were children, Velocity. Don't worry kids, I just need to give you a quick exam to make sure you're not carrying any pathogens or tracking devices."
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(Posted Mon, 23 Feb 2004 11:28)
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