comment, please feel welcome, I appreciate any thoughts you may have
about
the story.
Well, you asked for it.... (;)
I asked, and you certainly delivered! These are some very comprehensive
comments. I am very grateful for the time you must have put into writing
them - thank you very much. I shall try to reply to them as best I can
below, hopefully without giving too much away.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"The Satyr, the Seraph, and the Scion"
= = = = = = = =
Satyr's gotta be Happi, Seraph is obviously Ukyou, but Scion....? Hm.
Inheritor? Could be Ranma, but I'm leaning towards Akane, here.
The satyr isn't Happi; it's Ranma. She's something of a woodland
creature/demon, and she is lustful - not for sex, but for death. She has
uncontrollable urges to fulfil her desires, and those take precedence over
normal behaviour. She does things like going out after revenge when Akane
is lying bleeding behind her - that sort of thing. There is a vague sexual
element to it as killing is almost a sensual experience for her, as shown
when she killed the first Hidari clone way back near the start of the story.
The scion is certainly Akane - she's the descendant of a long line of
dragons.
So we have the satyr, the seraph and the scion - Ranma, Ukyo and Akane.
Gee, all she has to to to get a foot massage is stick her feet in some
water. Me, I have to *pay* someone....
Is Ranma just fidgeting, or is she hopping across the river on her
instant ice floes?
She's hopping. She has to keep moving against the current, which keeps her
on her toes, so to speak.
Mt. Moiwa loomed ahead, seeming to tower over them despite its relatively
Mm, I think "Mount" might work better than "Mt." here.
You're probably right there. Yeah - I think I'll change that.
modest five-hundred and thirty-one metre height. It served to mark the
edge
"...five hundred thirty-one metre...." Using British spelling?
Certainly, my good man. I always do, unless the majority of my readers
desire otherwise.
of the mountainous region to the west and the beginnings of the city of
Sapporo to the east. In the winter, the slopes were coated in a thick
dusting of light white snow, transforming the green giant into an
enormous
ski field. Locals and tourists alike tore down the mountainside with
reckless abandon as often as the weather conditions would allow it.
Sounds like the Aspen of Japan.
It's a very nice place to visit, or so I am told.
At least with the sun setting behind them the temperature was dropping as
day gave way to a much cooler twilight. There were clouds in the sky,
and
the telltale prickling of Akane's skin told her it would rain soon. She
smiled up at the clouds, coloured a deep red by the alpenglow, and hoped
for the shower to begin.
Great, she *likes* rain. Figures.
Um... "Alpenglow"? That must be one of those words I've never run
into
before. Fairly obvious from context, though.
Akane adores the rain. It's a colossal downpour of life - what more could
she ask for? Ranma, obviously, isn't so keen on it.
And as for alpenglow, it's a lovely word that doesn't get nearly as much
usage as it deserves. It fit the scene nicely, so I thought I'd give it a
go. :)
Despite the length and difficulty of the trek, it was not entirely an
unpleasant experience. The past three weeks had been a real change of
pace
as far as Ranma was concerned. Ranma had, following their disastrous
ITYM "as far as Akane was concerned" -- this is from her viewpoint.
Whoops - good point. I'll change that.
attempt at infiltration in Osaka, adopted a more cheery disposition that
reminded Akane of the girl she had met in her home so long ago.
Similarly,
she had felt her own mood lifting, despite the hardships of the journey.
Hopefully, Ranma was jolted enough by Osaka events to start
re-thinking
her approach to things,
and isn't just using subtle psych techniques to keep Akane docile.
Well ... Ranma's cheery demeanour is at least partially caused by the
killing she took part in at Osaka. She finds killing the Hidari to be
immensely satisfying.
Conversation had flowed more freely between them and Akane had found
herself enjoying Ranma's company once more. Ranma had really opened to
"Opened *up* to her"?
Huh - I could have sworn that was what I wrote. I must have lost my "up"
somewhere along the line. Thanks for pointing it out.
sprinkling of rain began. She closed her eyes and let out a contented
sigh
as the liquid ran over her face in tiny rivulets, soothing her muscles.
And then flowed slowly, caressingly, over the rest of her body,
stroking
every inch
of her--
WHACK!
Ow! Oh, c'mon, don't look at me that way. After all, water *loves*
her,right?
Heh, I suppose there are ample opportunities for the story to take a
lemon-flavoured twist. I don't think I'll be going down that route, though.
Lemon writing isn't my bag. :)
"Hey, come on," came Ranma's voice. "We can't stop now. This rain is
only
going to get worse."
"You mean better."
"No, I mean *worse.*"
Talk about fire and water....
Yep. They really are chalk and cheese in many respects. Not all, however.
"I know, I know," Akane replied, slightly disappointed. Opening her eyes
again she glanced to Ranma, who was standing on the far bank of the
river.
The droplets that fell in the redheaded girl's vicinity hardened into
tiny
balls of ice, some thudding into the ground around her, others bouncing
off
the top of her head.
I find this image slightly cute and quite amusing, for some reason.
Death itself annoyed by hailstones - you don't really think of the grim
reaper having problems like that, do you?
Ranma obviously hated it, stepped easily across the river and joined her
companion on solid ground. Despite herself, she couldn't help a smile.
Ranma, we have these gadgets called "umbrellas," now. A wonder of the
modern age.
You shoudl try one.
That's Ryoga's schtick. Although, he probably won't be needing his - there
isn't much rain aboard a submarine.
Suggest replacing "exploration" with "reconaiisance" in this context.
That... is one biiiig submarine. It belateldy occurs to me that most
of
the
major powers on the planet would be *very* interested in this sub. Either
Phoenix
has major pull with *all* the big names in naval force, or a sufficient
tech
advantage to
go undetected (which, given the amount of work Japan, Russia, the USA, and
Britain
put in to ASW tech and training, not to mention China, the Koreas, and
other
regional
players, is one *heck* of a feat. But the Seraph would seem to suggest
such
an
advantage)
This is something I gave a little thought to, and decided to take the
typical storytelling route of ignoring it as a concern. Remember those
liberties I mentioned at the start of the chapter? This is one of them. :)
Seriously, though, I guess I'm going to run with the assumption that the
Spring's tech is suitably advanced to hide it from most observers.
the vessel's maximum depth by a considerable amount. The ability to
launch
aircraft must have been deemed a worthy exchange for such a handicap.-
A sub that survive flooding on that scale is one heck of a naval
architectural
miracle. But the tradeoff balances things out -- Phoenix tech isn't
completely
immune to the realities us mundane engineers have to live with, it would
seem.
I did decide in the end to have the sub at least vaguely constrained by the
boundaries of reality. I just figured - hey, if Full Metal Panic can have a
giant submarine that launches enormous mechs, I can have one that launches
helicopters.
sound echoed through the cavern as they were lifted slowly toward the
ceiling, the sliver of sunlight growing ever wider above them.
"Open the hangar bay doors, Seraph."
"I'm sorry, Ukyou. I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"This is the wrong movie."
Fortunately, I don't think Seraph Wing knows any songs.
Okay, that "unkown female" ought to set off some alarm bells. Do the
Alphas
know that there's sometimes more than one dragon? Even if they don't,
*anyone*
accompanying Ranma should be treated with extreme caution (and extra
firepower).
As far as the Alphas and Hunter are concerned, there is only one dragon.
-No, My Lady,- Seraph Wing replied. -I have no access to classified
military systems. This is the first I have heard of it.-
Interesting limitation. Presumably, given time, Seraph *could* hack
into
such systems. So, did the design team add ironcald "obey the rules"
features
to him, or did they deliberately leave out the capacity to hack?
Which would be of limited use -- with Ukyou's hands to work a
keyboard,
Seraph could *still* make standard "social engineering" attempts, guessing
passwords,
trying for known holes in the OS (does Phoenix use Micro$quish?), etc.
The designers didn't want Seraph Wing poking around into deeply classified
files. He has access to basic information on the layout of the sub, and
some information about the personnel aboard, but he doesn't know everything.
Ryoga has already demonstrated, though, that he's built things into Seraph
Wing that weren't part of the original design.
Scratch op, minimal briefing, no prep time, near-zero intel -- I know
people who
have *nightmares* about situations like this. OTOH, given the nature of
their
target, it really can't be helped, and the Alphas seem to know that.
Exactly. Most of their missions run along these lines. They take what
opportunities they get.
I dunno, this doesn't gell for me. Fireteam callsigns and assignments
should
not IMHO be things assigned as you're climbing on the chopper. They need
to be ingrained into the team group subconscious. Still, if they've
trained
to
operate this way, I guess it's not a big deal.
This is more for the reader's benefit than anything else. We know from
Ryoga's past that a full team is fourteen members (he lost all thirteen
teammates in his encounter with Ranma), and this is divided into two
fireteams. Hunter is basically restating that the team layout is the
standard one with no deviations. That's why he doesn't list the members of
each fireteam - they already know what team they're assigned to.
"Sir," Scar acknowledged with a curt nod of his head. He was, like all
of
them, fully outfitted in combat gear, his helmet clutched under one arm.
The multitude of grenades and ammunition strapped to a bandolier that ran
across his chest gave him an extremely intimidating appearance; one that
was reinforced by the determined expression upon his face.
Right up until he tried to walk and collapsed under the weight of his
equipment.
No, he's okay. He dropped his Ring of Protection + 1 and the weight loss
was enough to ensure that the encumberment penalties no longer apply. ;)
"Understood, Sir," Scar confirmed. "No questions, Sir."
I'd be asking about Saotome's companion, but Scar apparently took
"unkown" literally.
Hunter doesn't know any more than Scar does about it, and Scar knows that.
He's pretty used to minimal intel when dealing with a dragon.
not recognise any of them. The AI dutifully searched personnel databases
to fill in the blanks, and filed a note for Ukyo to review their profiles
at a later date.
Only an AI can be simulateneously that pleasant *and* that anal. Heh.
Playing Alfred to Ukyou's Batman, eh?
Could have been worse. "It looks like you're trying to kill a dragon.
Would you like any help?"
Ukyo felt her stomach tighten as the platform neared its apex. The
sunlight was a deep shade of red, silhouetting the Colonel as the
platform
slowed to a stop, flush with the top of the hull. Not daring to move but
longing to look around, she reached out with her spatial sense and
examined
the outside world for the first time in far too long.
I'm kinda wondering how this "spatial sense" works, and what its range
and
limitations are....
In close range (50 metres or so) it gives her a pretty complete sense of
what is going on around her. Movements, temperatures, distances, all sorts
of information. As the range increases its level of perception drops off -
I won't speculate as to its maximum range - until at the edges of her
perception she can vaguely sense large bodies moving.
The engines of two helicopters churned into life, the rotors' motion
kicking up strong gusts of air. She had to admit, it felt good to be
outside again.
Gee, regular old helicopters? Not fancy tilt-rotor VTOLS or "6th Day"
style X-wings? I'm vaguely disappointed.... (:)
I thought better not to go -too- overboard. :)
"I say we nuke the broad from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Somebody (Benares?) already did Rana-v-Predator. Anyone ever do
Ranma-v-Aliens?
That would be a genuinely frightening crossover. I'm not certain if I would
want to read it. :D
The city of Sapporo stretched out as far as the Akane could see. The
metropolis sparkled a dozen different colours, a sea of lights glimmering
beneath the gentle drizzle that tumbled down from the darkening sky
above.
With the sun's final light dying behind the mountain, the city had taken
on
an almost magical glow.
I've seen Chicago from the air on a clear night. It's like that.
I looked at a few photographs taken from the mountain - the city really is
huge, and there aren't any really tall buildings, so it really does look
like an ocean of lights. Fantastic view - I hope one day to experience it
first-hand.
themselves, more times than I care to remember. But every once in a
while,
they remind me that they can -create- something beautiful."
....Gee, thanks. I think. Nice to know you think so *highly* of us.
Ranma's
imbalance is showing again, methinks.
Indeed. Ranma has a pretty low opinion of humanity in general.
"It's a nice thought, isn't it?" Akane said. "Humans aren't all bad. I
used to be one myself, you know."
I could argue that she still is, in the ways that matter most. But we
could
spend a hundred pages just doing that, so, on with the C&C!
Indeed - Akane certainly hasn't lost touch with her humanity. More on that
later.
but this is the closest thing he has to a home. I guess he finally
realised that he needed one."
"His kind"? Either I missed something a few chapters back, or Happi
has unexplored depths yet to be plumbed.
Happosai is a Tatsujin watcher. Part of that immortal border-race. See
chapter 13.
"You've got nothing to be sorry about. My old life was so ...
-ordinary-.
I went to school, I studied, I came home, I trained. I've been doing
that as long as I can remember. It was boring."
In the words of Konstantin Bothari: "I *like* being bored."
And the words of that Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times."
"You know what?" Ranma asked. "I've studied and trained for nearly nine
hundred years. I'm stronger, I'm faster, I'm more skilled in battle than
anyone else on this planet. My father taught me that being the best was
the most important thing in life. I'm supposed to be -happy- that I'm
the
best."
But if you're not *accomplishing* anything with it... Ranma has spent
those
nine hundred years essentially getting nowhere. And meanwhile, the enemy
has
been learning, advancing, and gaining ground. Hasn't she figured this out?
No, she hasn't. That's one of the fundamental flaws in her character.
"Being immortal gives you a different perspective on these things," Ranma
replied, a smirk creasing her features.
Y'know, if Ranma had done just a little investing a century or two
back,
she
could have resources, front companies, assistance and staff operated
through
strings
of cutouts to help her figure out what Phoenix is after. Networks of
safehouses,
comm channels, dead drops... instead, she's got Happi and a few isolated
mountain
caves. Sheesh.
If only Nabiki had taught her financial investment instead of the trade of a
thief, she would be very wealthy. :)
appreciate what they have. None of them understand how lucky they are,
just to be alive."
Okay, given that it's essentially the god of death saying this, that
lastline
gives me the willies.
Heh heh heh ...
Well, damn. She *does* know, and she's been deliberately keeping
Akane
(and all her ancestors) in the dark. Just what the heck does she think
she'sdoing,
anyway?
She -thinks- she's protecting them.
"You're the last of the Tendo line," Ranma insisted, knowing it was
futile.
"If you die ... I don't know what will happen. I have to protect you."
Yeah, but what happens if you don't do *something* about, um, whatever
it is that you Dragons are *supposed* to be doing... whatever that is.
Dammit, I hate not knowing what's really going on....
I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. :)
Pedant note: receiver, not transmitter. GPS is by its nature a
*passive* system,
for the ground units. The team's datalink could repackage and broadcast
the
GPS data, but the GPS itself is only a receiver. Seraph *could* just be
using
verbal shorhand due to time constraints, but he strikes me as being almost
fussily
precise.
You're not the first to point that out. I've changed it in the updated
version. :)
Ukyo nodded her thanks, then turned to face the window once more. The
scenery had faded quickly into darkness, an black sea that stretched out
endlessly below. Staring into the darkness was a distinctly unsettling
experience - doubly so given what lurked within that darkness.
But shouldn't her spatial sense allow her to "see" in the dark, and
perceive
the ground/trees/rocks/whatall going by underneath?
That is as may be, but she has spent her whole life relying on her eyes. To
lose that sense would put her at a severe disadvantage, purely because she
is so used to using her sight.
Over the weeks, she had been so caught up in her new circumstances that
the
impossible had almost happened - she had almost forgotten about Ranma,
about her search for vengeance. It was so ingrained into her psyche that
she couldn't understand how she could have put it out of her thoughts for
so long.
I'm gonna go out on a limb, here: the sword. ISTR it had an
"amplifying" effect
on her obsessions 900 years ago, too. Being kept seperate from the sword
maybe
letting her rebalance a bit. But even if so, the sword is obviously not
the
*source* of
her obsession, just something to keep her from thinking about awkward
questions.
Like, how has she lived so long, unless she's like Ranme herself?
I'm not going to answer this, because I can't think of a way to answer it
without giving too much away. I'll have to ask for your patience - all will
become clear(er) in later chapters.
-Okay,- Ukyo replied, still smiling. -Thanks. I appreciate the company.
Good timing, too. I was just thinking about you.-
HAH! I knew it!
They're such a sweet couple. :)
"She was a nurse. Kind to a fault, gentle, compassionate. She helped
those who needed help," Ranma said, closing her eyes in remembrance.
"She
was a beautiful girl. She could calm anyone's anger with just a few
words,
heal the sick with the lightest touch of her fingers. When she smiled,
the
heavens themselves stopped to stare."
Oh, yeah, that's Kasumi, all right.
Indeed. I think I'll come back and revisit Kasumi's story later on. It's
too long to break up the main story with now, but it is worth telling. So -
later.
Akane sank into silence. She appreciated now why Ranma had told her so
little. The few words Ranma had spoken carried so much meaning. The
very
absence of detail filled her mind with horrific imaginings, a dozen
different deaths that her great aunt might have suffered through.
I can't help but feel a bit suspicious, though.... every time Ranma
leaves something
unsaid, my inner alarms go off. But maybe I'm just paranoid.
I don't know, a little paranoia is healthy now and then. But then, maybe
not.
"Helicopter," Ranma replied. Reaching out, she grabbed Akane's hand and
pulled her to her feet. "They must be tracking us. Come on, we have to
go!"
No innocent reasons for choppers in that part of the country?
Perhaps, but Ranma isn't taking any chances one way or the other.
She began her trek up the mountainside, her submachine gun held at the
ready, her spatial sense acutely aware of the other six moving alongside
her, a line that stretched partway around the mountain's base.
Seems like an awfully wide area for seven people to cover.
The idea is that they're spread thin enough that they can cover the area so
Ranma can't slip through. They don't have to be close enough to engage
Ranma, because Ukyo is the only one who'll be fighting her. Remember,
they're there basically as a distraction to allow Ukyo to get close enough
to attack.
Sigh. The battle plan has met the enemy, and perished. Long live
improvisation.
The best laid plans...
"You'll be okay. I know you can do it," Ukyo replied. -Have some faith,
Seraph Wing.-
I notice Scar isn't countermanding her instructions, which is telling.
Now,
I wonder -- is Ukyou really having faith in Angel, or is she just
cold-bloodedly
using the medic? Ukyou seems to have been connecting, slowly, with her
teammates
lately -- another reason I suspect that being away from the sword is good
forher.
But has her proximity to Ranma wiped away all that?
Ukyo is indeed making connections with her teammates. She's been isolated
from humanity for hundreds of years, and now she's finally starting to make
friends. She isn't being cold-blooded.
In this state I'll be lucky to hit the mountain, she thought ruefully.
How
on Earth did I get myself into this situation?
"Angel," Scar's voice filled her ear. "I'm on my way. Hold on. I'm
coming to help."
Geez, don't they have any snipers? Or airdrop Blue in to support
Angel.
Snipers probably aren't an option through the thick forest cover, and air
support is out of the question for reasons that are soon apparent.
"Negative on that," Fox shouted into the radio, over the howling sound of
a raging wind. "The wind shear up here is incredible. We're pulling
back,
the chopper can't take this kind of punishment. I've never seen anything
like it."
See? :)
great to cover the distance in time. They should have deployed two
fireteams, not just one.
You'd think they'd have a better idea of Ranma's capabilities by now.
The main problem is the storm. It's really messing them up, and they had no
idea it would be coming. They haven't seen anything like it before.
The weather didn't help. The mission planner would have reviewed the
meteorological situation; why weren't they warned about the storm? The
wind howled like a banshee as it circled the mountain, drowning out the
voices chattering over the radio. She decided she was better off not
knowing what they were saying; no doubt it would only worsen her panic.
Hmm again. This storm almost can't be natural.
Correct.
"You ..." she growled, shaking with uncontrollable rage as she slowly
advanced toward the figure. She gripped her sword with a bloodied hand,
the red stain already frozen to her skin. Her mind bubbled with fury,
barely able to contain the tortures she would inflict upon the bastard
human who had dared to injure her Akane.
Akane, who's currently lying ON THE GROUND BEHIND YOU, BLEEDING?
Helllloooooo!!!! Yeah, Ranma is *definitely* in need of psychological
balance.
Ranma's vengeful side is awfully compelling. She isn't even thinking about
Akane's well-being right now.
Angel squeezed off round after round into the dragon, taking shaky steps
backwards as the shots seemed to have no effect whatsoever upon the
creature's advance. For all the good the gun did her, she might as well
have been throwing mud.
She was kneeling when Ranma saw her -- how is she taking steps back?
She stood up. :)
-I do not know. The storm's dissipation should have sped his approach.-
Hammer and Anvil, IIRC, were the twins I suspected of being Hidari, or
similar. hmmm....
The plot thickens.
And heck, a few more seconds might get back to arrive in time. Blue
should
be able to fly in, now.
If they weren't busy elsewhere.
It was a bullet. Her bullet. Completely flattened.
Uh....oh.
No need to panic. Just Seraph Wing's biokinetic plating repelling the
bullet, as it did in chapter 9.
Seraph Wing's combat-survival programs went into primary mode, filling
"Primary mode"? Someone's been reading Peter F Hamilton, I see.
Heh heh. I'm very pleased you caught this. I'm such a fan of the Night's
Dawn stuff, I simply had to put a reference in some place or other. It
seemed only fitting to put in a passing ref to a series that entertained me
so much.
No Joshua Calvert in this story, though. :)
unnecessary, and gleefully ignored. The shield held effortlessly.
That's bad news for Ranma, and for the story as a whole. If Phoenix
can
now
produce technology that can overmatch Ranma this easily (even assuming
Ranma
isn't running at Battle Maximum right now), then stopping them is going to
benigh
impossible. Or maybe it's the unique combination of Ukyou and Wing that is
this
powerful.
Ukyo is the only one who can host Seraph Wing. There's a reason for that.
"I bet you didn't think you'd see me again, not after what you did last
time," Ukyo said, a deep sense of satisfaction dripping from her words as
she admired the look of utter shock upon Ranma's face. "Well, I'm here
to
repay the favour."
Ranma has sufficiently annoyed me that I'm almost rooting for Ukyou
here.
I'd at least like to see Ranma taken down a peg or two -- she might learn
something.
Good, good. Ranma has a dark side, and as such shouldn't be automatically
treated as the good guy here. It's one of the questions I want people to
ask - which side is in the right, here?
"Ukyo?" Ranma asked, the sound more a stunned exclamation of surprise
than
a question.
"That's right. And here you thought I was a defenseless medic, ready for
you to cut up? Wrong. You're not getting anywhere near her."
Ah, righteous indignation.
A staple of the Ranma 1/2 universe if ever there were one.
"My mother couldn't fight back, and you killed her. But that's all
changed
now, hasn't it, Ranma? Now I can fight back, and it's your turn to die.
You're not going to murder anyone else."
Her *mother*? But the dragon Kuonji was male. And Ukyo's never
mentioned her
*father,* that I recall. I smell a setup, here. And I think I know where,
and who....
Ukyo has mentioned her mother before - early in the story, when she first
met Akane. She has always had an obsession for killing Ranma to avenge her
mother's death. However, dying so many times has scattered her memories
somewhat, and I don't think she has the full story herself anymore.
And Kuonji wasn't a dragon - Kuonji was a Tatsujin. And Kuonji was that
Tatsujin's first name. And I'm pretty sure I was careful enough to never
mention the gender of that character.
I know what you're thinking, but Ukyo's parents are not who you think they
are.
"Sorry, sir, I can't raise him. I've already tried, he's not responding.
Hammer's transmission to the pilot indicates they requested a pickup to
evac a wounded female."
Sug: "indicateD."
Uh....oh. Ranma wasn't the target of this op, Akane was. And H&A are
ringers
inside Alpha, working directly for whoever's pulling Hunter's strings...
Kuonji?
But what does the Phoenix boss want with Akane? Just what were those
test
results about? I suddenly have this nasty feeling the Phoenix hasn't been
trying to
kill off the Tendo line all this time -- they've been *pruning* it, waiting
for Akane to
show up.
But if Phoenix *does* get Akane, what can they *do* with her?
Akane was a target of the op, but not the only target. Multiple goals were
achieved.
Your other thoughts are very insightful, but I shall make no comment on
them, because I don't want to give anything away one way or the other. :)
Scar stepped over to Ukyo, raising his submachine gun to point at Ranma
as
he drew nearer. "Don't move her until our chopper is in the air. I'm
not
exposing any of my team to her. Once we're all aboard and our chopper's
in
the air, then you haul her ass into the second chopper. We'll cover you
>from the air. Got it?"
Good plan, given what they have to work with.
When life gives you lemons...
What secrets are you hiding, Ranma? What exactly -are- you?
After nine centuries, she's only *now* asking that question?
Soemeone's
been tampering with her head. But with Ranma dead, their best hold over
her
is gone, plus their need for her....
Ukyo's mental state has yet to be determined. Even she doesn't know what's
going on inside her head.
-Please, be careful, Ukyo.-
Forgot Ryoga was there. Can he see through her eyes, or just hear
through
her ears? I assume he can hear Seraph's internal comments to Ukyo, as
well.
He can only hear. And yes, he can hear what Seraph Wing is saying, but not
the other way around.
First rule of assassination: kill the assassins. I guess the first
rule
of creating
super soliders is to always install an off switch. Someone has decided
they
don't need
Ukyo anymore.
That is how it would seem...
That was no mere Frame shutdown -- someone made sure that it would
take
Ukyo down with it.
The timing is telling, though -- they didn't wait for Ranma's body to
be
put on the chopper.
Which means that whoever-it-is doesn't care about Ranma. Either s/he
thinks
Ranma is dead,
or Ranma is now irrelevant.
Huh! Maybe *that* explains the Leviathan Spring -- I don't see any
way
that Ranma could
attack a submerged submarine. It would make for one place that is
*totally*
secure from her.
You're right about the Leviathan Spring. However, chapter 1 tells us that
Ranma only freezes water when she's wearing her cloak. So, it's not
-totally- inconceivable.
And if you want to keep Ranma out of the Leviathan Spring, you don't load
her into a helicopter and bring her aboard, now, do you?
Ah hah! I see a way out. The Core must still be partially
funcitonal.
And,
unless Seraph is a great actor, I'd say the AI is loyal to Ukyo. If he
and
Ryoga
can find some way to get the Frame back on line...
And if Ranma has gotten beyond her Berserk phase, she'll question
Ukyo...if
she's smart. At this point, Ukyou and SW may be the only hope Ranma has of
getting Akane back. And Ryoga is about to get a look at the "human" side
of
the Dragon that crippled him -- his preconceptions aren't likely to survive
the
experience.
But first, Ukyo and Ranma are both going to have to overcome their own
respective conditioning... and that's going to make the big fight scene in
this
chapter look like a Sunday brunch.
Very true. Your comments are pretty well on the mark. Sooner or later
Ranma is going to discover Akane isn't where she had been left, and at that
point she's going to want answers. I'm hopeful that chapter 16, "Alone at
Last", will shed some more light on the situation and clear up a few of the
questions you've raised.
It's very gratifying to see someone getting so much out of this chapter, and
I'd like to thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I
greatly appreciate it, and I hope my reply has been of some use to you.
Regards,
R. E.
========
Ten
http://ten.waxwolf.com
Perfection has a price.
========
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