Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Half a War ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Ranma 1/2, Homeworld or Homeworld: Cataclysm, (yadda, yadda insert legal stuff). Don't sue me, you won't get enough to cover your legal bills.

Half a War: Chapter 3

As Kasumi stepped out of the passenger area of the shuttle she had to admire the air of Senken carrier. It was a little thing really, but it was also a very important thing. Humans and nearly all known sentient races needed air in one form another. The air in any space ship tended to be stale, the air scrubbers robbing the air of anything organic. Disease was a major concern aboard ships and the best way to handle outbreaks was to prevent them. The air aboard the Senken had a slight scent to it; it smelled almost like a sea or lake, a slightly briny smell that compared to the normal staleness was actually pleasant.

As she continued down she saw two people waiting for her and her family at the bottom of the ramp. That must be Nodoka and Genma she thought to herself. She recognized them from the brief description that Nabiki had given her. Nodoka was wearing an old style woman's uniform, the type that had a knee length skirt with slits up the side, rather than the more modern uniform with pants. She also had an old sword strapped across her back. It gave her an air of being very much in control. Beside her was a man wearing a gray pilots uniform, and a barrette covering his apparently bald head. The odd glasses seemed to use an elastic cord to loop around his ears. She was honored that the two would meet them personally, rather than send an ensign to escort her and her family. She wondered were Ranma was it seemed odd that his parents were here but that he would be missing. She really hoped that he wouldn't be too young, young men tended to be, boring and, well, as Akane often put it, perverted.

"So where's this Ranma we're supposed to meet? He couldn't even be bothered to show up for his own engagement." Akane was already voicing her disapproval it seemed. Kasumi just sighed, sometimes there were good reasons for people seemingly rude behavior and she hoped Akane would learn this eventually.

"Ranma is currently finishing up the recon patrol. He'll be back in a few short moments so long as nothing else pops up unexpectedly." Nodoka said with a pleasant smile, apparently ignoring the ire in Akane's voice. "If you don't mind we can wait here on the flight deck until he arrives."

Kasumi glanced around the flight deck taking it in. The area was mostly clear except for a few ships kept at the ready for immediate launch. From what she saw it appeared as though most of the spacecraft were kept below and above the flight deck. Lifts were likely used to raise or lower the fighters and other small craft when needed. She could see the areas in the floor that would open up to allow fighters to be raised. The configuration was odd though. The openings were long and appeared to run the breadth of the flight deck. Most carriers had small doors just big enough to fit a single ship through. These long doors could probably admit five or six craft through. The organization and timing that would be required would be incredible. She wondered what standards the Senken used when recruiting pilots and crew. They would have to above what the Hiigaran military admitted. But than considering the fame of the Senken she supposed they could be picky.

Nabiki asked a question that immediately popped to mind "Why would Ranma lead the recon? I gathered that he was a fighter pilot."

Genma answered. "Ranma has some special abilities that make him incredibly effective at recon and after that incident with the Taidan he insisted on personally leading the recon patrol on it's first sweep. If Ranma can't find anything, than nothings coming for a while."

"What makes Ranma so special that he couldn't leave it to his pilots." Akane still didn't sound pleased.

"That, I am afraid, is very hard to explain, and will have to wait until Ranma arrives. You really wouldn't believe us unless we showed you." Nodoka was still perfectly polite and he small smile hadn't left her face yet.

"Ah, yes, well about Ranma. Is he eligible to unite our kiithid?" Soun asked the one question he hadn't the patience to be polite about.

"Don't worry about that Tendo. Ranma is old enough if that's what you're asking." Genma answered his old friend.

"Are you sure, our youngest child is sixteen, Ranma seemed very young when he heard him over the comm." Kimiko didn't want her daughter to have to baby sit her husband, at least not literally.

"That is one of the things that you will have to see to believe. Which is just as well, Ranma's recon flight is just docking. Ranma will be the last to land, he likes to make sure that his crew is safe." Nodoka said.

Kasumi looked over to see just that happening. The ships entered the hangar three abroad and where wheeled efficiently into docked position. The pilots than began climbing out of the cockpits and loosening their flight suits. Kasumi noticed that for some reason every pilot was soaking wet. She was really curious about that and had to ask. "Genma why are all your pilots so wet?"

"The short answer is that the cockpit is filled with fluid. The fluid is denser than blood and when the pilot pulls high g-force maneuvers the pressure squeezes the body and helps keep the blood near the brain. The pilots also breathe the water, which is super saturated with oxygen using a unique set of chemicals. This prevents their lungs from collapsing under the pressure of some of the really extreme maneuvers."

"So is this some of the special research that you Saotomes disappeared with all those years ago?" asked Nabiki.

"Actually no. The high power ship drives and weapons systems are mostly what our kiith worked on decades ago. The fluid cockpits were Ranma's idea. Of course he left the actual development of them to me, and, the engineers I managed to hire."

"What's that about me?" Asked a small redheaded girl as she approached. Kasumi noticed that she walked confidently as she approached, and didn't seem at all intimidated by Genma and Nodoka. She was wearing a pilot's uniform and was in the process of wringing her top out. Unfortunately she had taken her top off in order to rid it of its excess moisture, the top of her fight suit was bunched around her waist, leaving her completely naked from the waste up. There was no doubt that if this was Ranma than he was definitely female and therefore not a he.

"Ranma! What have I told you about running around topless?" Nodoka looked slightly upset with Ranma. Kasumi meanwhile looked at the obviously female Ranma and sighed to herself. Well hopefully the trip wouldn't be a complete waste now that the engagement business was off. Under normal circumstances two women marrying would not be a problem but when kiith politics and succession were involved things got complicated. Uniting the kiithid without the unity being able to produce an heir was pointless and would not be recognized as a union of the kiithid by the council.

"Don't worry Mom. Hiroshi is getting me hot water."

From off to the side came a warning "Hey Ranma, heads up man!" called a young man as he tossed a closed container of water in Ranma's direction.

Ranma caught the container unscrewed the lid and proceeded to dump the slightly steaming contents over her head. All five Tendos watched in shocked amazement, as the petite redhead seemed to flow outward and become a young man. "See mom, problem solved. No more breasts." the young man said. He turned to thank his friend but Hiroshi had already disappeared. Ranma shrugged and turned back to the Tendos.

Kasumi began to re-evaluate the new Ranma. This male was nearly a good twenty-five centimeters taller than the girl that he had been, also a mass of around thirty kilos had been added. Rougher masculine lines had replaced soft feminine curves. The face was the most startling, it had changed and somehow not changed. All the features were nearly the same but only the smallest changes were evident; a stronger jaw, straighter nose, tighter mouth and several other almost invisible changes had been made. Yet the face was unmistakably the same, no siblings looked as similar as Ranma's two forms. She looked at his eyes and saw that they hadn't changed in the least. The eyes were still clear blue and sparkling with a bit of mischief.

"Ranma I wish you had waited before doing that." Nodoka still looked displeased with her child. "These aren't normal circumstances and you should have used more tact."

"I don't like hiding it mom. Especially after that incident with Ryoga. Not to mention Kuno" Ranma looked only slightly sheepish.

"Well Ranma since you seem to be in the mood to have matters settled quickly I would like you to meet the Tendos." Nodoka had a look of mischief in her now as well. "This is Soun and his wife Kimiko. These are their daughters: Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi."

Ranma smiled and bowed politely "Pleased to meet you."

The Tendos were still in shock and could only stare at the young man who had been a woman only a moment ago.

"Well Ranma I'm glad you seem to like them." Nodoka smiled and continued "One of those young woman is going to be your wife in the not too distant future. I hope you'll get along with the girl who gets to be your fiancée."

Now it was Ranma's turn to stare in shock as he went rigid. Silence reigned over the flight deck for several moments. Nabiki noticed that a slight hum could be heard and that probably meant that the drive system of the carrier had been damaged in the brief fight with the Taidan. She hoped that the Engineers and Techs were working on the problem.

Meanwhile down nearly three stories and eight hundred meters away through corridors, reinforced bulkheads and tons of super strong alloys, the repairs had been temporarily halted. Two fighter pilots were just arriving, huffing and puffing from the short but intense run from flight deck to engine room. They joined the engineers and technicians as all huddled around a small instrument. The device was designed to pick small sounds too quiet for the human ear to hear and analyze them. The data was used to run diagnostics on various ship components. Right now it was patched with a small data chip that was designed to pick up a very specific sound pattern. They needn't have bothered with the device at all. The sound they were listening for came through loud and only slightly distorted but still easily recognizable.

"FIANCEE!" The word reverberated around the massive room despite the loud purr that the engine drive made.

The engineers and technicians looked at the two pilots and shook their heads. "I don't believe it. Even all the way down here you could hear him." Commented one of the technicians.

"Told you so." Hiroshi said with good humor.

"You guys should know better than to bet against us by now. Really I thought engineers were supposed to be smart." Daisuke looked pleased with himself as he accepted the winnings from the various engineers and technicians.

"Well at least we didn't take the bet that Ranma would be surprised about the engagement," another technician said.

"Heh heh. That was one of worst kept secrets around. Ranma has to pretty clueless if he never picked up on it" an engineer commented.

"Speaking of worst kept secrets and clueless, when do think Ukyo is going to tell Ranma that she's in love him?" Asked the first technician.

"I don't know, want to start a pool on it? Whoever guesses the right time gets the pot." a different engineer suggested.

Hiroshi and Daisuke smiled; they could probably win this one too. Work didn't resume on the drive systems for another half-hour after that.

Back on the flight deck where a shocked Ranma was staring at an equally shocked family of Tendos, things were at a standstill. Nabiki noted that she could no longer hear the humming of the engine over the ringing in her ears. The boy had quite the set of lungs on him, probably from breathing all that water in the cockpits. Nabiki also found it amusing that Ranma looked ready to run and hide in the farthest reaches of the ship that he could find. It made him look kind of cute in boyish sort of way.

"Well boy are you going to stand there and gape like a fish or are you going to choose the girl you want or not?" Genma asked in annoyed and gruff voice.

Nabiki and Kasumi shared a brief look between themselves. They had discussed the matter of the engagement in some detail and decided on several courses of action given several possible scenarios. Having a boy who seemed to change sexes with water was not in any of the scenarios anticipated.

That was when Akane felt her sisters put their hands on her shoulders. She felt dread at what was about to happen. She knew she complained about boys and just knew that her sisters were going to offer her up as the ideal fiancée. She tried to think of some way out of this but her mind kept coming up blank.

"Don't worry Akane, we know the last thing you need right now is more romantic troubles." That was not what Akane expected to hear from her oldest sister.

"It's okay. Kasumi and I will handle this after all it wouldn't do for the youngest one of us to be the first to get engaged. After all we don't want to be seen as old maids or anything." Nabiki looked at her youngest sister. That expression of horror had been priceless and the look of gratitude after it had been worth just as much.

Behind the three sisters Soun and Kimiko were looking disappointed. They had hoped that engaging Akane would settle her down a little and help her with the problems she seemed to have with boys. "Well, Ranma looks a little young, maybe Akane would be the best match for him." Kimiko commented. She hadn't been expecting her daughters to be so organized about this.

"I'm only a year older than Akane, after all how much difference could a year make." Nabiki had been a little worried that her parents would try something like this with Akane, so she and Kasumi had planned for this as well. It was easier to follow the plan than to think too hard about the sex changing fighter pilot.

"And Akane still has two years left at the Academy, she really doesn't need the stress of an engagement during the hardest part of her education." Kasumi was being sincere about this. Akane really should finish the worst part of her schooling with out distraction.

"But they're both military commanders or at least will be. They would be an ideal match." Soun followed his wife's lead. He really wanted Akane to get over her hang up about boys.

"Daddy, I hate to point this out but Genma and Nodoka are the exception when it comes to married commanders. Most couples have a hard time leaving their personal lives behind on the battlefield, and it can cause severe conflicts. Especially when a command could put a loved one in danger."

"Hey don't I get a say in this?" Ranma asked finally getting over his shock.

"Not just yet Ranma. You'll have to wait while they sort out who is eligible to be your wife." Nodoka answered her son. The word wife sent Ranma into a paralyzed state again. Nodoka looked at him and smiled, he wouldn't be going anywhere for the next few moments.

Meanwhile the Tendos hadn't stopped arguing.

"I'm sorry mother, but Nabiki and I are adamant about this." Kasumi was trying to be firm but these were her parents she was talking to. Unlike Nabiki she was too nice to outright tell them they were wrong.

"Listen mom it's okay. I really don't need a fiancé right now. And Kasumi is right, I really should finish up at the Academy first." Akane was joining her sisters in this endeavor. Hopefully when presented with a united front their parents would give up on trying to go through with this very foolish idea. There was no way she wanted to married to that pervert.

"Alright Akane won't be Ranma's fiancée than." Kimiko really didn't want to give in to her daughters on this matter, but when all three of them agreed on something there was no changing their minds. They were very close as siblings and worked well as a team, to well it seemed.

Akane was relieved. She was out of the deal that only left her poor sisters. Hopefully one of them would be able to keep him in line.

With the declaration of surrender from their parents Kasumi and Nabiki turned to Ranma. "Well Ranma why don't you take us on a tour of your ship, just the three of us?" Nabiki asked as she and Kasumi walked forward and looped arms with Ranma.

"Yes that will give us some time to get to know each other. We can decide on the engagement matter later." Kasumi followed Nabiki's lead. Akane would stay with the parents and make sure they didn't try to pull a fast one after giving in. Kimiko wouldn't go back on her word but Soun might.

As Nabiki and Kasumi walked of with Ranma in tow, his chest still bare, all that he could think about was why would his parents had to keep this a secret from him. Why was he always the last one to know?

Author's notes;

I'm going to give most of the characters more intelligence in this story than they have in the series so they will be slightly OOC. After all both Ranma and the Tendo sisters grew up with their respective mothers. So no Ranma won't have the neko-ken, Nodoka would never allow it and most battles are ship to ship anyway. Don't worry though some characters will be as stupid as ever.

Also Ranma had his mother to help him through his curse in this story, so he has a different attitude about it.

So what do you my readers think of my attempt at some humor.