And getting closer to catching up:

    "She achieved a great many unlikely and unexpected results, but
we've grown used to that from her. Her new partner, however, was like a
rising nova among glow-lights -- I don't know that I've seen a finer
Galaxy Police officer in all my time."

    Commander in Chief, Galaxy Police, further identification withheld

Heh. never a good sign when the speaker asks for anomyinity.

-- Mentioned at a munitions conference in New Terran year 005.


    Washuu thanked Ranma quietly as he set her down, a few steps away
from the Galaxy Police cruiser. Mihoshi jumped when the pair appeared,
and Oe nodded from where he was, leaning against the side of the craft
and looking more than a little winded.

Or terrified at the idea of riding with Mihoshi

"Good to see you again, Mihoshi,"

she said, managing a weak smile. "I hope you're not going to have any
more trouble with piloting your ship?"

    She shook her head, pointing at Kintaro. "Nope!" she exclaimed
brightly, her surprise at Ranma's appearance dismissed instantly. "He's
flying for me, now! He's pretty good at it!"

Oh, my bad.

    Oe pulled a book that was tucked into his belt out, and snapped it
open, setting pen to paper instantly. "Where is it?" he asked.

Oe and Mihoshi. What a pair.

    Ranma gathered her into his arms and teleported them again, moments
before the ship lifted off, climbing upwards swiftly. Back at the
caravan, Eric and Norris were already poring

uncertain if that's the correct 'poring' there. I could be wrong, though

    "Backing off," he replied, one hand on the hilt of his sword, eyes
distant. "I guess they decided it's not worth it. I think they know
exactly what the decoy is, and they just don't care."

Reaver: Gotta eat them all anyway. One things as good as another.

    "A possibility," Yakumo replied, coming back into sight from around
one of the busses. "Are we ready to go?"

    "Once these are loaded up," Washuu said, indicating the weapon
crates. "Norris, your men should use these, Fuji-san, you might want one
too. They work a little bit like the positronic laser rifles, but
they've got slightly better power-sources.

And hopefully they haven't adapted to them yet.

    Rei felt her face grow slightly warm, remembering how he had carried
her about the moon to retrieve the sword. She could have stepped away
from him without worry for the atmosphere, but something felt...
right... about being close to him

No one is immune to Ranma's charm. :)

    Rei couldn't help but chuckle at that. "You know, Hotaru-chan,
that's not normally the way it works," she chastised.

    "We're not normal people," Hotaru countered.

She's learning

    "Well, we're going to be reaching Cologne's village soon, right,
Ranma? Once we get there it's pretty much all over. We'll be able to
hold out there until everyone can be evacuated."

Well, that's what they're hoping for. Still think sitting in one place is a
bad idea, though.

    Ran-oh-ki made a quiet noise, curling up comfortably in Washuu's
lap. The scientist absently scratched the creature's ears,

I see they've made their peace with one another over the laser eating
incident.

    Washuu sighed, while Ranma cast about curiously. At the very least,
she'd gotten him to relax a little, if his stories were all quite
strange.

Even by her standards? She's been around for a while, you know.

Still there were more pressing matters to attend. She rose,

stepping off of

can drop 'of'

    Passing around the bulk of the hill revealed the river to view, some
other Marines and defenders already staring towards it. The bridge was
long gone, its remnants swept away by the rushing torrent of water. Late
spring snowmelt had flooded the river to much more than its normal
depth, or possibly a dam upstream had been burst. That possibility
didn't please Washuu, but the scientist ignored it for the moment,
walking to the edge of the bridge, where the concrete cut off abruptly.

True. They hadn't considered that the reavers might have been here already.

    The large metallic object rose ponderously, shedding water
liberally, as a pair of treads came into sight.

ah ha. A tank

    Washuu pursed her lips thoughtfully, then turned her attention to
Ryouga and Nuku. "Okay, I'll need you two to get that back in the river
-- it's just blocking the road here."

Ryouga better be careful or he'll 'Pig out'

    The resultant splash washed up over the bridge, leaving Nuku soaked,
and rendering Ryouga.... Gone. In his place, a small black piglet
wrapped in Ryouga's clothes sat, staring at the river in annoyance.

Heh. Thought so.

    The Chinese boy immediately collapsed to his knees and retched
violently.

Morning sickness, I see. Mousse is obviously pregnent. :)

    Mousse nodded, taking a deep breath, and looking towards the trees
that carpeted the area. "I'm okay," he said after a short pause. "I
don't like cars."

Obviously.

    "I can't make Ranma-dono support Tenchi-san, Ayeka-san," she said
softly. "Who he follows is his choice."

But once the situation is explained, he'll undoubtably do it.

    Regarding Ayeka cautiously, Funaho explained, "I was not aware that
you knew him."

    She shook her head, carefully tucking the seed into a pocket and
turning to walk down the corridor. "I know of him, but I do not know him."

Nice way to put it.

    "Footprints," Ranma said quietly. "I mean, heat, I guess. I can see
where someone stepped. And then they left, walking away."

Nifty ability.

    Mousse     turned

extra space

    "Wow," the Chinese boy allowed. "So, we can guess that the tank fell
in when the bridge was destroyed, and then something or someone else
knocked this end down?"

    "I guess. Whoever did it is gone now. We might as well go back."

    Mousse felt his stomach churn at the prospect of teleporting again.
"Maybe we could scout more thoroughly," he suggested. "Some other clue
could turn up."

Might be a good idea.

    Ryouga -- human again, thanks to Washuu -- sat at the side of the
road, face darkened from the embarrassment of the situation. Yakumo sat
a short distance away, and Ryu much closer, finally free of the clinging
girl that habitually clung

Two 'cling' tensese together. I'd drop the first.

    "I guess," he said quietly. "I still get the feeling there's more to
this."

Ditto. Smells like a trap.

Ryouga shot the pair an indignant look, scoffing, "I think they

taste just fine."

    "Then again," Ranma drawled, "you like Akane's cooking."

Ryouga: Only because it tastes fine too.

    Ryouga resisted the urge to yell at Ranma -- he hadn't displayed
that much life in those regards in longer than he could remember.
Managing a faint smile, he allowed, "I got a stomach of steel, I guess.
I can probably eat anything."

    As though to punctuate his comment, Ran-oh-ki began eating the
discarded packaging.

He wins. :)

    Ranma rolled his eyes, adding, "You got better taste than the rat."

    Ran-oh-ki pointedly ignored Ranma, munching away on the wrappers
contentedly. "How much does he need to eat, anyway?" Ryouga asked,
frowning. "Didn't he turn into a ship, once?"

    Nodding, Ranma explained, "He says tells me

drop 'says' I think

that he wants some

things to add to himself before he does it. He wants to make come

some

    "So he's some kind of weapon?" Ryu asked, frowning.

    "Yeah," Ranma said very quietly, setting the remains of his meal
within Ran-oh-ki's reach. "Just like me."

Ranma: When I'm a girl, you can just grab my breasts and a beam of energy
comes out of my mouth.

    He glanced up, seeing Hotaru smiling at him brightly, one hand on
the massive polearm she carried about with her. "What else am I?" he
asked curiously.

    "You're my boyfriend. And you're a real person, just like me," she
stated calmly.

    "How would you know?" he pressed, suddenly suspicious.

    "Because I was made to destroy the world," she delivered in the same
calm tone.

Ranma: Okay. You win that round.

    "And you're a defender," she encouraged him. "You alone have leant
considerable strength to the cause, here. Without you, we wouldn't have
done nearly as well as we have already." Smiling, she reached an arm
behind him, pulling him towards her in a semi-hug. "Besides," she chided
him, "now you don't need to try so hard -- we've got more weapons and
tools to help us fight."

    His face fell instantly, though he didn't meet her eyes. "So am I a
weapon or a tool after all?" he asked quietly.

Washuu: We all are in one way or another.

    Norris stood at the front of the bus, steadying himself with a grip
on a handrail, and squinted his eyes to see forward. The driver ignored
him for the moment, concentrating on the road, until Norris called out,
"Dew, stop right here -- I see something that needs to be investigated."

Hmm

    Once the small group passed the shrubs that concealed the tank, the
reason there was no response was immediately evident. The entire rear
portion of the tank had exploded, scattering scrap metal across the
area. "What the hell happened here?" Norris grumbled.

Breaking point from the looks of things.

    "Elder?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Yes, we know
she. Why?"

Smart, invoking Cologne's name here.

    From behind Norris and Eric, causing the pair to whirl, another
female voice announced, "Very taken." Though they hadn't seen a sign of
her before, or heard her moving into position, she was leaning idly
against the first ruined tank, a large curved sword at each hip. Her
reddish eyes nearly seemed to glow behind the faint veil of blue hair
that covered them. "I speak better English," she noted. "I am Jian-Di,
that," she pointed at the redhead, "Kura-Wan, and that," she pointed at
the mace-bearing woman, "Pei-Lin. You think you help warrior women?"

Eric: Damn straight. I eat ravers for breakfast.

    "I have answers," Cologne muttered. "But I also have questions, and
I am your superior. What happened here?"

    Kura-Wan grinned brightly, holding her spear aloft. "Stupid Chinese
men thought that they controlled us, and attacked."

    Cologne narrowed her eyes. Why would the Chinese government chose to
do that now, of all possible times? They could have attempted it at any
point in the past, after all.

And with the reavers around, they have more important things to worry about.

"Do you know why?" she asked.

    Pei-Lin answered swiftly, "They said that they were looking for a
power. I think they were looking for...." She shivered uncomfortably,
and uttered a quiet prayer. "I think they were looking for Saffron."

That would make sense.

    Heart skipping a beat, Cologne shook her head. "They wouldn't be
that foolish, would they?" she mused. "Bah, it's not important -- do you
know what's been happening in the world?"

    Kura-Wan looked offended as she answered, "We're not stupid, Elder.
That's why we're on guard here."

But out in the boonies, coming by info his difficult. And it's not like
standard lines of communication work anymore.

    "What's wrong?" Ranma asked, cocking his head to one side.

    Cologne shook her head, looking away again. "The enormity of the
situation is staggering, Son," she said quietly. "Things I had thought
locked away and no worry to anyone are being touched on again, and that
worries me."

Oh?

    Ranma blinked, frowning. "Legends? Like, uh, long forgotten princes
of rival tribes that are supposed to be extinct?" he asked.

    Cologne choked, and swung her staff about, knocking Ranma sharply
over the head. In a grave voice she announced, "Maybe, and maybe not.
Some dreams are nightmares, and best left sleeping."

Herb: Hey!

    Where Ryo-oh-ki's other form was mostly symmetrical, Ran-oh-ki's was
not, the spines and vanes all arcing backwards as though to suggest a
greater speed. Ranma shrugged, striding towards the Marines, who all
stared upwards in stunned surprise. "Hey, Norris, Washuu," he called,
getting the attention of the pair as they argued logistics with Pavel.
"Ran-oh-ki can load up everything and take it so you don't slow
yourselves down," he suggested. "I want to hurry things up."

Better warn the villagers or they'll freak.

    One of the women stepped forward, and grumbled, "For all of his
vaunted skill, he's still a man.

Skill makes no distinction in gender.

    Ranma growled, shifting back into male form. "Fine," he muttered.
"Who else is coming?"

    Nuku gleefully leapt onto Ranma's back, wrapping her arms about him,
and still carefully carrying Ran-oh-ki. "I want to go with
Ranma-papa-san!" she exclaimed.

She might have fun playing with Lime, a distant relative of hers. :)

    Nuku leapt from Ranma's back as he dropped her off, and peered
around curiously. Ranma waved a hand at her in warning, and advised,
"Stay away from the springs down there, Atsuko."

I doubt if they'll affect her organic systems since they should be sealed
from water, but who knows.

    "Ooh! A girl!" a voice shouted triumphantly from behind the boulder.
Washuu glanced up in time to see a massive form rise from the boulder,
leaping towards her. Nuku didn't wait for the woman to react, instead
tossing Ran-oh-ki towards her, then racing to block the assailant's

charge.

Told you.

    Lime paled, and shook his head quickly. "Herb-sama doesn't like
people who ask him favors," he warned.

    "Yeah, well, you probably ask him for really stupid things, like to
touch his cursed form,"

Lime: Wow! That's right. How'd you know?

    Washuu snorted, as the group began to descend a winding path to the
floor of the valley. "From what I can tell, you martial artists are like
gangsters of some sort, and your gang is you, Ryouga, and Mousse.

Heh. Hardly.

    Lime stopped at the edge of the carpet, and motioned Ranma forward.
"Go on," he mumbled.

extra line break.

    Rolling his eyes, Ranma muttered, "Great." Clearing his throat, he
spoke up, explaining, "They're really big and ugly monsters that have
destroyed most of the world already, and are coming towards the
Joketsuzoku next. There are only a few hundred left,

Of course there were only a few hundred to begin with.

    The Prince of the Musk shook his head, frowning. "You may ask any
favor of me, Ranma. I am in your debt. But I am not so much in your debt
as to help every single person you bring along with you. I have no
dealings with them -- no obligations. I will not have anything to do
with them."

It might be good to point out here that the reavers don't really care who
they eat; they just do it.

    ***
    "Yes."

    And the battle was joined.

And I'll have to get to the next part soon.

Nice work. Things continue to move along at a good clip. Will get to more
before too long.

D.B. Sommer





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