Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ A Tail To Remember ❯ A Trip Through Time ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
A Tail To Remember
Chapter Two: A Trip Through Time

Kuririn was the first to speak. He backed away from the two
Saiya-jiin in shock. "Kami-sama, how could you do that? You know
what will happen when the full moon is out! We'll have two Oozaru
running around trashing Chikyuu!"

"Yeah! Just what we need, two giant monkeys wreaking
havoc!" Yamucha snorted. Bulma whacked him alongside the head
with her hand.

"Chill, guys! Gohan wouldn't do that, would you, Gohan-chan?"
Bulma asked.

Gohan, in shock, was busy examining his tail in his hands.
"Well, I, uh..."

Vejiita wrapped his tail around his waist and crossed his
arms. "The brat doesn't know about the Oozaru transformation! He
doesn't remember from the other times he transformed. Unlike the
pathetic third class brat, I can control my Oozaru form." He
sniffed his nose in the air walked away from the group.

"Vejiita-san, wait." Kami called out to him. Vejiita stopped
but did not turn around. "I also need to ask you for a favor."

"What do you want now, Namek-seijiin? This had better be
worth my time and energy."

Kami continued slowly. "I am aware that you can control your
Oozaru form. What I am asking you is to show Gohan and Goku how
to control theirs, as well."

Vejiita turned around and glared at Kami. "Why would I want
to do that?" He pointed at the young child. "I could care less for
the gaki! He can destroy this miserable planet as much as he wants."
He frowned as he realied what Kami asked of him. "And what about
Kakarotto? You said both of them."

"Actually, as I gave you two back your tails, I gave all the
Saiya-jiin back their tails."

Gasps of disbelief arose from the others. "What? Nani?"

Kami continued calmly. "I can give you something else in
return for training the two."

Vejiita crossed his arms and frowned. "A bribe? You can't
buy the Saiya-jiin no Ouji, Namek-seijiin." He turned back around
with a snort.

Kami smiled. "But I think this would be of interest. Does the
name, 'Seiika,' ring a bell?"

The prince stiffened dramatically. In a flash, he stood in
front of Kami, gripped the front of his robes, and lifted him off the
ground. He growled in the face of the green creature. "What do
you know of her? Tell me now, Namek-seijiin or your life is extinct!"

The others were surprised at the reaction the one name
could cause in the diminutive male. Mr. Popo recognized the name
Kami mentioned. "Are you sure about that, Kami-sama? Do you want
to do this?"

Kami looked over to the black-skinned male and nodded his
head. Mr. Popo sighed and nodded back. Kami refocused his
attention on Vejiita, who was getting angrier with every second he
didn't speak. He spoke quietly. "Calm down, Vejiita-san. Put me
down, and I'll tell you about Seiika. And Serori."

Vejiita stared into Kami's eyes, trying to find the truth
buried within them. Kami returned the stare with an air of peace
and calm. Vejiita saw what he was looking for, and set Chikyuu's
guardian down and backed up a few paces. "Speak, Namek-seijiin.
Now."

Kami sat down at a nearby table, and motioned for everyone
else to get comfortable. Vejiita snorted and continued to glare at
Kami, his eyes not wavering. Kami focused on the Prince and
motioned him to take a seat. Vejiita stared down the god and finally
consented, with the deepest scowl ingrained within his features.

"Will you teach Goku and Gohan how to control the Oozaru
forms?" Vejiita snorted but finally consented with a small nod.

Bulma spoke with a confused tones. "Kami-sama, who is this
Seiika and Serori? Fruit and Celery?" She chuckled a little. "They
almost sound like Saiya-jiin names."

Kami smiled. "Well, you are right, Bulma-san. They are
Saiya-jiin. And they are on Chikyuu." Everyone around the table
gasped in astonishment, including Vejiita.

"But I thought Vejiita-sei was demolished by Friezer! How
can there be any more Saiya-jiin, Kami-sama?" Kuririn asked
confusedly, albeit with a little fear. He didn't want to have to worry
about any more Vejiita's or Radiitzu's or Nappa's running around.

"Because, baka, they were off Vejiita-sei when it was
destroyed." Vejiita sneered at the bald monk. His gaze turned
reflective for a moment. "But I had thought their pod was
destroyed by Friezer's scouter ship."

Kami nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I believe their pod was
damaged, at least it looked that way when I saw it enter the
atmosphere."

"But," Bulma asked impatiently, "who are they? Why did
Vejiita-baka here react so strongly to the names? Especially Seiika's?"

Kami turned to the Prince with a small smile. "Why don't you
ask Vejiita-san for yourself?" Everyone turned toward him in
anticipation of the answer to recent question. Vejiita just 'humphed'
and closed his eyes, ignoring everyone in the room.

Bulma started to get mad. She stood and shouted at the top
of her lungs, "Vejiita no baka! Tell us now or no food for a month!"

Everyone jumped and ducked under the table. Vejiita just
opened his eyes and scowled in her direction. "Onna! Must you yell
at all times? Soon I'll be completely deaf." He sighed and the scowl
momentarily left his face. He spoke softly. "Seiika is...my sister.
My twin, actually."

Bulma's anger left as fast as it came. She sat down with an
astonished look on her face. "Your...your sister? Twin? How?"

Everyone peeked up from underneath the table and looked in
the direction of the Prince. He scowled at the attention he was
receiving and scoffed in Bulma's direction. "I think you can figure
that out, Onna." He spoke in a condescending manner. "Or would you
like me to explain it to you?"

Bulma blushed furiously and for once didn't comment.
Chou-tzu, who had been quiet so far, spoke up in his tinny voice. "So
where are they now, Kami-sama?"

Tenshinhan finished his friend's set of questions. "And how
strong are they?

Everyone looked to Kami for the answer. It was a question
that was flashing across everyone's mind. Kami cleared his throat
and spoke. "Well, they are in Tokyo. The Nerima district to be
exact. That's where the pod crash-landed."

"There are other Saiya-jiin in Japan?" Yamucha wondered out
loud. "Why haven't we been able to sense their ki before?"

"Well," Kami coughed, "I have been suppressing their ki so no one
could sense their differences. They were raised as humans, by humans,
and they do not know about their true nature."

"So there are two untrained Saiya-jiin running around
Tokyo?" Kuririn exclaimed.

Yamucha chuckled ruefully. "I feel sorry for the citizens of
Tokyo." Others joined in his amusement.

"Actually, they are not untrained," Mr. Popo explained. "Both
are trained in the Art. Serori is the best in his area, and has
accessed some of his Saiya-jiin heritage. Seiika has been trained,
but not as extensively and aggressively as Serori. Seiika is now
known as Tendo Akane, and Serori is known as Saotome Ranma."

The others were quiet as they pondered this information.
Suddenly Kuririn jumped up. "Saotome? Ranma? I've heard that
name before! He's supposed to be one the best martial artists in Tokyo!"
Kuririn looked confused for a moment. "But he's only a teenager. He
couldn't be the same one. Vejiita-sei blew up when Goku was a baby,
right?"

Kami nodded solemnly. "Yes, the Ranma that you are talking
about is the same one that is also Serori. True, he is only a
young adult, but he is the best. Some of his exploits you may
have heard about might be a little exaggerated, but they
are probably as close to the truth as you'd get, without going to the
sources themselves." Kami let a grin form. "They have had some wild
adventures. And Ranma has improved his skills with each encounter
and challenge."

"Just like a Saiya-jiin," Vejiita smirked.

Kami nodded. "Yes, he does exhibit some traits. Incredible speed,
agility, and the love of a fight." Kami chuckled. "I couldn't suppress
everything. Although, Akane, or Seiika, has shown the spirit of her
true nature quite often."

"What do you mean by that, Kami-sama?" Gohan asked.

Vejiita snorted loudly. "What the Namek-seijiin means is
that Seiika has a temper." He looked at Bulma. "And I can bet it's a
rather short and nasty one, too. It always was."

She just sniffed in return and turned toward Kami. "So why
are they so young? Shouldn't they be the same age as Goku and
Vejiita? Seiika...Akane should be the same age as Vejiita, since they
are twins, correct?"

Kami shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know why they are
younger. They arrived on Chikyuu a few years after Goku crashed."
Kami recalled the night with a faint smile on his wrinkled face. His
gaze drew itself inward as he retold the night's events. "At that
time, I did not know about Vejiita-sei's fate. I did know that all
they would cause was trouble. For when they arrived, they almost
immediately transformed into Oozaru and started to demolish the
surrounding area. You see, there was a full moon out when they
landed..." He broke out of his self-induced trance and looked around.
"It would probably be better if I let you experience it for
yourselves." Kami stood up and with a flash, everyone in the room
disappeared.

**********

~Chikyuu, Tokyo, Nerima. Sixteen years before the present date, or
Several years after Goku's crash-landing~

Four adults crowded in awe and in fear around a gigantic
crater, a rather small, metallic sphere created when it dropped out
of the sky. The crater that the sphere rested in was deep, and the
adults had to peer through the dust and dirt that clouded their
vision to see what had landed in the backyard of two of the four's
residence.

Without the four Chikyuu natives' notice, nine beings popped
into existence above the crash site. They hovered in the air and
observed the reactions of the four on the ground silently. Kami
spoke in normal tones. "We are merely observers here. They can
not hear, see, or sense us. Ranma and Akane have just landed, and
the four adults down there are Tendo Soun and Kikuko, and Saotome
Genma and Nodoka." He pointed out each as he spoke. "These will
become Ranma and Akane's adopted parents. Soun and Kikuko
already have two daughters, and Genma and Nodoka just lost a son in
the childbirth process."

"When are we, Kami-sama?" Bulma glanced around, trying to regain
her bearings.

"This is about sixteen years ago."

The others remained silent and watched attentively as the
four adults on the ground muttered to themselves. Suddenly, the
hatch on the spacepod opened, and a metallic voice could be heard
over the wind:

::transport complete. destination--chikyuu
achieved. shutting down cryo-stasis process.
estimation to reanimation complete: fifteen
standard minutes. beginning reanimation now.::

"So, they were cryo-genetically frozen?" Bulma wondered.
"That would explain why they are so young. They didn't age while
they were in space."

Vejiita nodded in agreement as he stared transfixed upon the
scene below him. "All pods were equipped with the cryo-stasis
process for long-range space travel." He spoke quietly, his gaze
steady on the scene. "Cryo-stasis was only activated for extremely
long distances or if something went wrong with the module."

Everyone remained quiet as they watched the two males
venture down into the crater to check out the space pod. The males
walked around the pod, examining it, pointing out different things to
each other. Suddenly the computer voice broke through the males'
discussion:

::reanimation process complete. starting
resurrection process now. estimation to
complete awareness--one standard minute.::

"Resurrection process?" Kuririn wondered aloud, as a puff of
gas was released into the air surrounding the module. The two males
backed away quickly. The females above them called out to them in
worried tones.

"A gas to wake them up, baka." Vejiita snorted loudly. He
became quiet, though, when he saw what happened next. The gas
had dissipated. After a few moments of tense silence, a small hand
tentatively curled around the edge of the door and two smoky blue
eyes framed by unruly black hair peeked above the frame. The blue
eyes quickly disappeared back behind the door and a set of dark
brown ones replaced the blue.

Vejiita gasped at the sight of the brown eyes. "Seiika..." he
whispered. Bulma, who was next to him, glanced in his direction at
his hushed word.

More of Seiika's face revealed itself as she became bolder.
She looked about and stepped out of the pod, with Serori
immediately right behind her. The girl, Seiika, wore a deep-purple
dress with gold-threaded accents around the waist, collar, sleeves
and bottom hem. A thin circle of gold twisted around her forehead.
The boy, Serori, wore white armor, with gold accents. A bodysuit
underneath the armor was the same deep purple as the girl's.

Around both their necks hung a fairly large pendant. They both had
furry brown tails that were wrapped and tucked around their waists.
The girl had shoulder-blade length dark brown hair pulled back at
the nape and the boy had his free, sticking upwards and outwards,
angling towards the right in three thick branches. Ranma/Serori
said something to Akane/Seiika and she responded in a language that
no one understood, except the Prince.

"What did they say?" hissed Bulma.

He floated down to get a better look at the children. "He
asked her if she was messed up in the head for getting out of
the pod so soon. She told him to shut up and that she knew what
she was doing." Vejiita gave the two young Saiya-jiin a small smile
and a shake of his head. "They're just as I remember."

The floating group watched as the Serori and Seiika took in
their surroundings. They both suddenly froze as they saw the four
adults staring at them. Serori stepped in front of Seiika and called
out in a harsh tone to the adults. The four adults looked at each
other in confusion, not understanding what the young male had said.

"He said, 'I am Serori, champion of Seiika no Oujo of
Vejiita-sei. What is your business?'" Vejiita explained before he
could be asked.

The two females pushed forward and made soft sounds to
the two children, beckoning them to come closer. Serori gave them
a frown and turned toward Seiika. They talked quietly to each
other, and holding hands, floated out of the pit and level with the
humans above them.

The four adults and the two children stared at each other,
not knowing where to go from there. The two female adults stepped
forward again but halted their advance when Serori growled at
them, and flared his aura into the visible spectrum, a corona of blue
surrounding the young pair. He moved completely in front of his
Princess and fell into a ready stance, awaiting any sign of attack.
The males, recognizing what the young boy was doing, called back
the females. The females complied reluctantly; when they were
back even with the males, Serori partially relaxed his stance, and
wiped out his aura. The smoky blue orbs took in every little detail,
and were aware of everything.

Vejiita watched the reactions of both groups on the ground.
He noted with pride how Serori protected his sister, and gave the
males a wide smirk when he heard them mention the Art. Those
fools don't know how deep they are getting themselves. Just wait
until they transform.

As soon as he finished that thought, he noticed that Seiika
had looked skyward and taken note of the full moon. She gasped
aloud and pulled on Serori's arm. He turned around and looked in the
direction of where she was pointing. At once, both children started
to breathe hard and change into their Oozaru forms.

"They're transforming!" Kuririn exclaimed, pointing out the
obvious.

Gohan watched in awe and with a touch of fear as the two got
bigger and hairier, clothes stretching and pulling to meet their new
bodies' proportions. "Is that what happened when I looked at the
moon before?"

Kuririn nodded. "You and Goku both. I imagine Vejiita looked
that way, too, but I didn't see him transform then." He shuddered a
bit in remembrance. He then glanced at the moon and then the two
male Saiya-jiin in his presence. "Kami-sama, why aren't Gohan-kun
and Vejiita transforming now?" Everyone looked at the child in
question.

Kami explained patiently, "We are not officially part of this
time. The moon's rays will not effect them."

Gohan patted his form and shivered. "I do feel sorta tingly,
though."

"It's just your body's reaction to the two's transformation,
and the fake-light of the moon," Kami explained comfortingly. "You
won't change. Not now." Everyone's attention was brought back
forward when they heard two loud roars. They had finished the
transformation and were completely Oozaru. Serori-Oozaru and
Seiika-Oozaru started to methodically rip the surrounding area
apart; throwing trees, tossing boulders and anything else that
caught their attention. The four adults on the ground screamed and
yelled in terror at the sight of the ape-monsters. The males quickly
started to run away in fear, pulling the females behind them.

Vejiita laughed at the adults trying to scurry away from the
rampaging Oozaru. "Don't run, baka! That'll only get their attention
more!" He roared even louder when Serori-Oozaru stomped his foot
down in front of the fleeing group, making them fall and trip over
the gigantic toes. He grasped at his stomach, he was laughing so
hard.

Bulma 'walked' down to where the diminutive Prince was
laughing his head off. She smacked him in the arm, trying to get his
attention. She only hurt herself in the process. Vejiita did notice
her there, though, and half laughed, snorted at her. "Don't even try
to injure me, Onna. You'll only succeed in hurting yourself."

Bulma rubbed her throbbing hand and scowled in his
direction. "Then stop laughing at the humans!"

He laughed some more. "I'll stop laughing when they give me
a reason to stop, Onna. And stop ordering me around!"

"I'll stop ordering you around when you listen to what I say!"

"And that will be never!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" By this time, the two's tempers were in full flare and
nothing could get their attention, except for Gohan's shout.

"Hey, Kami-sama! Here comes...you, or the young you, I guess.
Boy, that sounds weird."

And indeed, Kami, who looked the same today as he did sixteen
years ago,came barreling down from the sky and launched a ki
blast at Seiika-Oozaru. She just batted the blast away and
took a swipe at the flying green creature. Serori noticed the
Namek-seijiin and bellowed in his direction. Kami shot another
blast at him, and Serori turned away, dodging the missile of ki. It
did not hit its target directly, but did, in fact, neatly slice off his tail.

Serori gave one final deafening roar and started to shrink
and de-transform. The young-Kami looked startled at the
detransformation but quickly figured out what happened. The next
blast was aimed at Seiika's tail directly. She was busy snarling at
the adults on the ground and did not see the blast coming. She, too,
started to shrink when her tail was severed. Young-Kami hung in the
night air and watched Seiika shrink down to normal size. The adults,
once they saw the two children unconscious on the ground, slowly
inched their way over to the young saiya-jiin.

Young-Kami floated down to the group of people and landed in
a kneeling position in front of the unconscious ones. The adults
gasped and backed away, thinking that this creature maybe could
transform, as well, and attack them. Young-Kami just ignored them
for now and concentrated on the task he was going to complete. He
placed a hand on each child's head and muttered something under his
breath. There was a flash of light and after the adults blinked a
few times, noticed that the green-skinned creature was standing in
front of them. The females clutched their corresponding male in
fear.

Young-Kami smiled at them gently, and spoke in soothing
tones. The words floated up to everyone's ears. "Don't worry, the
saiya-jiin will not transform again. They are exhausted right now,
and are sleeping off the effects of the night's events." He bent
down and picked the two sleeping children up. "I have suppressed
their memories and abilities, reducing them to normal children." He
held out the children to the adult females. "They are only babies.
Would you look after them and raise them as your own?"

The two females came forward and took a child each into
their arms. They murmured words to the toddlers in their embrace,
and turned toward the males, offering them a glimpse of the
sleeping saiya-jiin. They looked and murmured back to the females.
They, in turn, nodded at Young-Kami, accepting their new charges.

"Thank you, all. Love them as your own, and everything will be
fine." Kami smiled at them again, and flew up into the sky. One of
the males shouted something at the disappearing Namek-seijiin, but
did not receive a reply.

Vejiita floated over to where the adults and children stood in
a huddle, observing their behavior with the young saiya-jiin. Bulma
floated closely behind him. "It looks like they were, or are, in good
hands," Bulma noted with a smile. Vejiita just snorted and floated
to where the female was holding Seiika. He stared intensely at the
adults, and then turned his gaze upon his sister.

His stare disappeared and it became an almost loving gaze,
looking her up and down, trying to etch every minute detail into memory.
Bulma came up along side him and watched the Prince get a longing
look as he tentatively reached out to touch Seiika's cheek. His hand
passed through her, but she moved in her sleep as a response,
turning in the direction of his hand. Vejiita grunted as the ability to
touch her was impossible. Bulma gasped at the child's reaction and
placed her hand on Vejiita's arm to comfort him. She leaned her
head against his head and watched as the Prince ran his hand
through his sister's hair and cupped her cheek lovingly. Seiika gave
a little sigh in her sleep and the Prince returned it, albeit it was
louder, and with more longing. Vejiita mumbled something under his
breath that Bulma couldn't understand and withdrew his hand,
lingering on the pendant she wore.

Bulma noticed it too, and asked him about it. "What is that
pendant, Vejiita-san?"

"It is the insignia of the Saiya-jiin. It marks you as saiya-jiin
and shows what your status is." The pendant that Seiika
wore was a stylized silver 'V', slanted to the right. There were
three gold rings surrounding the top of the first prong of the 'V',
and a large red ruby rested at the base. He pointed out the
different features. "Each ring symbolizes a class. If there are no
rings, that means you're Third class, like Kakarotto and his brat.
One ring, Second; two rings is First, and Three rings means you are
an Elite." He pointed out the large red stone. 'The stone is what we
call a 'Vartat'. It was very rare and signified royalty." Vejiita then
reached behind him, and from nowhere, pulled out his own insignia.
It was exactly the same as Seiika's, but a little more battle-worn.

Bulma jumped slightly at the appearance of the necklace.
Where did he pull that from? She moved behind him, patting him
down, searching for a hidden pocket. Vejiita blushed and scowled at
the attention Bulma was giving him and swatted her away with his
tail.

"Never mind where I got it. I'll explain about it later, if I feel like
it." He tied his insignia around his neck and tucked it into his bodysuit,
away from curious and prying eyes.

She came around to the front again. "You'd better. If I
didn't know better, you pulled that from sub-space." He scowled and
turned his attention away from her, crossing his arms. She smirked
and crossed her own arms and leaned closer to him. "You did, didn't
you? You can access sub-space! Why didn't you mention it before?"

He sneered at her. "Why would I want to, Onna? It's no
concern of yours what I can do or cannot do." Bulma was going to
start into him, but they noticed that the adults were leaving. They
turned and watched as both Seiika and Serori were carried inside
the nearby dwelling.

Vejiita sighed and stared at the lights that flickered inside
the house. Bulma leaned up against the sad Prince in a show of
support. "She's still out there, you know." She spoke quietly. "You
can meet her again when we get back."

Vejiita's expression brightened a bit, but returned to the
familiar, and safe, scowl as he pulled away from Bulma's
half-embrace. "Don't worry about me, Onna. I will do fine on my
own." With that, he crossed his arms and floated back up to where
everyone was watching the house and the Prince silently. They all
had seen the stony mask of anger Vejiita usually wore torn away
when he confronted his long-lost twin sister.

Bulma stared after the scowling Prince and shook her head.
She floated back up to everyone else and gave the sulking Prince a
small smile. "Whatever you say, Vejiita, whatever you say." She
turned to Kami. "Are we ready to go back?" He nodded and there
was another bright flash as everyone disappeared from the night
sky.
**********

~Kami's Lookout, Chikyuu, Present~

The arrival back in the present was not as exciting as the
arrival in the past. Everyone was quiet as they pondered the sights
and information they received in the last hour or so they were
time-traveling.

Bulma spoke first. "You said earlier when you gave back
Vejiita and Gohan's tails back that you gave *all* the
Saiya-jiin their tails back, right?"

Kami nodded with a smile. "That I did, Bulma-san."

Gohan spoke next. "Does that mean Serori and Seiika, I mean
Ranma and Akane, have their tails back, too?"

Kami nodded again and smiled wider. "That it does,
Gohan-kun."

Vejiita spoke gruffly. "What about their memories and
abilities?"

Kami furrowed his forehead in thought. "Those should be
coming back as well, although they will come slower than the tail."
He chuckled lightly. "They won't remember all at once, but when
they wake up in the morning, they will have a surprise waiting for
them!"

"You mean their tails, Kami-sama?" Kuririn asked.

"Yes, that, and they will be starting to remember some things
from Vejiita-sei and such. They will think it was a weird dream, or
something to that extent, but their tails will tell them otherwise."

"Um, Kami-sama?" Gohan asked hesitantly. He was holding
his tail in his hands. "When is the next full moon?"

Kami absently scratched his head. 'It'll be in two days,
Gohan-kun."

"Will that be enough time for me to learn how to control my
Oozaru form?"

Kami nodded soberly. "It should be, Gohan-kun." He turned
to Vejiita, who was off to the side. "Will it be, Vejiita-san?"

He looked up at Kami, and then glanced at the young saiya-jiin.
He closed his eyes and spoke. "Possibly. If the brat actually
trains at it seriously."

Kuririn turned toward the green Namek-jiin. "What about
Serori and Seiika, I mean Ranma and Akane? Won't they transform,
too?"

Kami nodded. "Yes they will, if they look at the full moon.
That is one reason why I wanted to have Vejiita train young Gohan
here on how to control his transformation. Hopefully, two Oozaru
with their minds intact will be able to handle two others without
awareness. Do you think you both can handle them, Vejiita-san?"

The Prince scoffed and sneered in his direction. "I don't
need the brat along to handle two rampaging Oozaru. I am the
Saiya-jiin no Oujii. They will listen to me no matter what state their
mind is in."

"Even Seiika?" Bulma asked off on the side, giving him a small smile.
Vejiita just snorted and turned away from the group.

He called over his shoulder to Gohan. "Be ready at the crack
of dawn, in the large canyon, brat. We will begin your training,
then." He turned around and with a flash, grabbed Bulma and shot
over the edge of the palace, to return to Capsule Corp.

************

~The Expanse of Space, Far Side of Pluto ~

A lone spaceship skirted the edge of the galaxy, paused, and
set a course for the only inhabited planet in the galaxy of Sol. A
smaller, blue-tinged, oxygen-rich planet third from the gaseous ball
of light.

Within the ship's hallowed passageways, its inhabitants
bustled around in activity. Warriors trained, scientists studied,
children played, and the captain prepared. Prepared for what some
may ask? What he prepared for was the advancement of his race.

For that was what he and his crew and civilians did; they
advanced their race.

Now, that doesn't sound like a bad way to lead your life.

Actually, it sounds rather admirable. Advancement for knowledge
and growth always leads to a better life, doesn't it?

Usually.

But how the crew and the captain of the battleship, Tokemomu,
accomplished this left a foul taste in many people's mouths.
They did, indeed, live up to their name.

Assimilate.

For the battleship Tokemonu was on a mission of mercy, or so
they thought. They were on a mission to further their race by
capturing the natives of unsuspecting planets and changing them into
their own race. For they thought that if you were not a part of
them, you were inferior.

How considerate.

For they were the Kiseichuu Hachi.

And they were on their way to Chikyuu.

**********