Ran-Ran's first thought as she blinked awake was that she may have made a mistake of some kind. She remembered a short fight with that blue-haired woman. It was a terribly short fight, and the woman had taken her down quickly. She patted herself down to make sure there was nothing missing and then took stock of her situation.
She was in a room with three walls, and a third open space leading out into a hallway. There was a slight buzzing sensation that most people probably wouldn't even notice. Looking around at the room and noting the bare, rather hostile nature of the room, concluded that she was in a cell of some sort. The only thing she couldn't figure out was why there were no bars.
"What's that buzzing?" she asked quietly.
She frowned suspiciously at the open hallway and reached out a hand. There was a flash of light and something burned her hand. As she pulled it back she saw a rippling wall of energy where the bars would be.
"Magic," she whispered reverently. Then continued in a deadpan tone. "Or I'm stuck in one of those stupid outsider 'science fiction' shows." She turned to examine the other walls. Eventually her eyes found the air vent. All those stupid shows had people escaping through the air vents. Surely in real life it wouldn't be that easy.
"The little savage found the wall," Carella said smirking as he watched the security camera. The communication station started flashing and the human turned away from his entertainment to see what was going on. "It's the general channel."
"Just let it play and see if it's important," Irashi growled irritably. "Don't give me a running commentary while I'm trying to pilot."
"Grumpy about not getting to test run the goods?" Carella asked with a smirk. "You know they're worth more intact." Irashi growled a little as the communication screen displayed an angry Ryoko.
"Ryo-Ohki!" Ryoko yelled angrily. "Break atmosphere, now! Scan all ships in this area! I know those two creeps don't have the credit for anything but a standard cloak! Open a broadcast to the general channel."
Ranma braced against the floor at the sudden acceleration but was standing up soon enough. He blinked at the sudden transition from day to apparent night and the sight of the planet dropping underneath them. A hologram that he thought he recognized as the solar system appeared in the center of the ship's bridge with various notes pointing out tiny bleeping dots here and there.
"Are these guys any good?" Ranma asked.
"I'm busy here!" Ryoko snapped. She turned back forward as a communication screen popped up. "I know you two freaks can hear me!! Carella, Irashi, if you want to live! You turn back with that kid now! You don't want to make me track you down!! Fucking, cowardly body snatchers! And you KNOW what'll happen when the GUILD hears you took a bribe from a bounty!"
"Kiyone," Mihoshi called out. "Ryoko's broadcasting a message." Kiyone came up forward from the living quarters and sat down in the pilot's seat as Ryoko shouted into her message into the system.
"Don't answer," Kiyone said. She held off a moment, considering.
Kiyone turned away from the screen and powered up the ship. As soon the ship's systems locked everything down, it was rising into the sky. Up to the edge of the atmosphere.
"Hold us in the planet's edge," Kiyone said. "I'm going to take a look around."
"Okay, Kiyone," Mihoshi said. She hesitated as she thought of something else. "Should I pull up the weapons and everything?"
"Do that," Kiyone said. She turned away from the console to look over the small system hologram. "I see about five ships in the system. That's Ryo-Ohki, making a big statement and going strong." She tapped a few keys and the map revovled showing the other side of the Earth. "There's another ship." Kiyone paused a moment to double check and make sure no Earth craft were encroaching on her, unlikely as that was.
"Wow, it's bright," Mihoshi commented. "Like it's lit up or something. Can anybody see that?"
"No," Kiyone said. "The cloaking's not down that much." She watched it following discreetly behind Ryo-Ohki's path. "I pretty sure I know who that is, but why is she going so bright? Even standard is almost shut off, anything less and Earth would spot her."
"So why doesn't Ryoko see her?" Mihoshi asked.
"I get the feeling that Ryoko's busy right now," Kiyone said. She waited for the blip to get into the line of sight for her first remote probe and then pulled a visual. "There you are."
"She just fucking signed our death warrants," Carella said irritably. "What the hell did we do to her?"
"Ryoko doesn't like the slave trade," Irashi commented. He flipped a few controls and increased the acceleration on his ship.
"Ryoko's dead," Carella retorted.
"That certainly looked like her to me," Irashi said.
Ranma watched the map hologram as one of the blips started speeding up, the hologram seemed to block it out and extract it. Putting it up on the main screen for Ryoko's benefit. Ryoko smirked as they sped up.
"Second stringers," she muttered. "Only about a lightyear ahead. I'll catch them by the next star."
Ranma watched the hologram some more, trying to stay out of the way, and watching it move along with Ryo-Ohki's motion. He glanced a little further down at a blip following along behind them. He pointed at it.
"What's this?" he asked. Ryoko glanced back over her shoulder for a moment.
"I'm trying to save your little girlfriend's hide before she ends up somebody's toy," Ryoko snapped. She stopped as she stared at the blip. "Ryo-Ohki, that's what I think that is, isn't it?" A third hologram pulled out of the system map and blew it up into a visual of the ship. It was Ken-Ohki.
"She wants to see you fight," Ranma said. "All this just to test you out." He frowned and cracked his knuckles.
"Nagi is mine!" Ryoko insisted. Ranma nodded, but still frowned. "You can have anything that's left, if there is anything."
"Was that the moon we just passed?" Ranma asked.
"Pluto," Ryoko corrected. "What the hell? That static's...a sub space signal..."
"Ryoko," Ranma said hesitantly. "You should look at this."
"WHAT?!" Ryoko blinked and stared at the holo map. "Oh, fuck..."
As they pulled out of the Sol system Ryo-Ohki's sensors found themselves with less interference and an enhanced range. Which is why they suddenly found at least twenty ships on the edges of the sphere of Ryo-Ohki's reach. A series of schematics started flashing through a screen as Ryo-ohki identified the oncoming ships.
Nagi tapped her fingers irritably as she followed Ryoko. She had half hoped that Ryoko's little act would have flushed out Makibi as well as the idiots she had sat out as bait. If the investigator was making a move she was being very quiet about it. Nagi narrowed her eyes.
"Ken-Ohki," she said. "You're showing me everything, aren't you?"
"Ciao," Ken-Ohki responded, hesitantly.
"Ken-Ohki," Nagi repeated cooly. "Are you showing me everything?"
"Ciao, ciao," Ken-Ohki responded. "CIAAAOO!"
"It's not your place to figure out what's best for me," Nagi said icily. "Show me what you're hiding."
"Ciao," Ken-Ohki said mournfully. Nagi's eyes grew wide as she looked saw the oncoming blips.
"Where the hell did these guys come from!?" Carella demanded as the screen was filled with cops and military.
"They have to be after Nagi," Irashi said, hopefully. "I'm going to take it to that debris field and try to hide until they pass by.
"Patroller, patroller, patroller, patroller, patroller," Ryoko said as the schematics scanned on her heads up display. "Cruiser, cruiser, cruiser, merc, merc, merc...more patrollers, cruisers. Where the hell did these guys come from?"
"They're cops?" Ranma asked. "Will they help?"
"Cabbit class ship, identify yourself," an impersonal man asked, popping up on yet another screen.
"How do you drive with all this stuff in the way?" Ranma asked.
"Who do you think this is?" Ryoko snapped angrily. She glanced at the ship Ryo-Ohki was tracking and noticed that it had changed course to a small debris field. Like that's going to throw me off.
She glanced back to the communication screen in time to see the cop turn to the side.
"Are you the Ryo-Ohki?" the man asked.
"No," Ryoko said irritably. "I'm Ryoko, the ship is Ryo-Ohki. What the hells going on."
"Be advised we're here to apprehend the first class criminal Nagi," he said. "Please stay out of the action."
"Kiyone," Ryoko growled.
"Ryoko," Ranma said quietly behind her. She turned a look at him and hesitated a moment. Ran-Ran wasn't particularly his favorite person, and neither was Shampoo, but he wasn't going to let her get carted off somewhere while Ryoko went for vengeance. Not if he could help it.
"They couldn't catch her anyway," Ryoko muttered angrily. Then she turned back to Ranma. "Let's get this over with quickly."
"Thanks, Ryoko," Ranma said.
"Can you spare a couple of patrollers to make sure a couple snatchers don't get out of this field?" Ryoko asked irritably. "I'll take care of the work." And then I'll be there to push Nagi's face in.
"I think we can spare that much," the officer said.
"Ken-Ohki," Nagi said angrily. "Get us out of here, NOW!!"
"Ciao!" Ken-Ohki responded firmly. Nagi frowned angrily.
"And what do you think the Jurai will do to me?" Nagi asked, firmly.
"Ciao. Ciao."
"Oh, there's no death sentence," Nagi agreed. "But there's always a cryo-tank malfunction. An attempt to escape. A transportation accident. Do you really think I'd survive imprisonment?"
"Ciao!" The cabbit stated firmly.
"For my own good," Nagi shook her head irritably. She knew that Ken-Ohki was telling the truth. Cabbits always thought the best of their pilots. And there was no way she was going to get Ken-Ohki to change her mind here. She had banked on almost total loyalty. She had not thought that the loyalty would go so far as to cause Ken-Ohki to treat her like a child.
She turned to look at the on-coming ships. Perhaps it was time to find a less conscientious mode of transportation. Ken-Ohki would fall back in line after Ryoko was dead. She snatched one of the floating crystals in the bridge and waited, staring at the sub-space static that was probably Makibi's coded message.
"I'm going to check on the prisoner," Irashi said. "If all else fails we can use her as a hostage." The neko-jin stepped out of the pilots chair and grabbed a shock rod as he wandered back in the ship toward the brig.
"The GP is surrounding the field," Carella called out over the intercom.
"What about Ryo-Ohki?" Irashi asked into his communicator.
"The field's interferring with the sensors," was the answer. "It's not in range yet, if it's coming."
"She's comin..." Irashi stopped as he came to the brig. The empty brig. "Oh hell."
"What's wrong?" Carella asked.
"The girl got out of the cell," Irashi said. "I thought you were going to rig that air vent."
"We ran out of money," Carella reminded him. "Remember? We had to pay your alimony to that neko-jin woman. You should have warned me she was still in the service."
"Oh shut up," Irashi grumbled. "Can you find anything in the vents? And it's Ctarl-Ctarl you idiot, why can't any of you on this side of the galaxy get it right!?"
"Nothing in the vents," Carella said, ignoring him. "There's the...hey...where'd it go?"
"Where'd what go?" Irashi asked dangerously. "Ryo-Ohki?"
"Let's do this fast," Ryoko said irritably. "I want to get back before Nagi's finished killing all those cops."
"Anything I should know?" Ranma asked.
"Try not to break the hull," Ryoko said. "The shields should hold the atmosphere in, but it isn't worth risking."
"Nothing really damaging then," Ranma nodded. "I'll go this way."
"This day is turning into a real waste," Ryoko muttered in token resistance, as she directed Ryo-Ohki to follow Ranma.
Ran-Ran snuck around a corner and suddenly found herself in what looked like a cockpit for an airplane. She blinked and looked out at the debris field and the unfamiliar star shapes beyond.
"I'm actually off the planet," she whispered in shock.
"What, YOU!"
And Ran-Ran was reminded that she was not alone in this place. She turned to look at the ugly, beat-up male that was shouting at her. Obviously he was a poor fighter if had all those scars all over himself. He apparently didn't know how to get out of the way.
"You! Ugly male," she shouted, switching to Japanese. "You lock Ran-Ran in that magic box?" The man stood up and started to come at her.
"Yep, and your goin -- " Carella was interrupted by the supposedly defenseless girl's solid strike to his stomach. He doubled over and felt another thud as he remembered just why he preferred to cover Irashi in fights.
"Stupid outsider!" Ran-Ran repeated, kicking him back against a wall.
Ranma turned a corner and found himself standing at one end of a hallway, across from someone. To be specific a cat person. Ranma froze as shiver went up his spine.
"Why do I get the cat?" he wondered. The man smiled.
"Ahh," he said. "You obviously have heard of reputation in battle. Well, you should feel honored to be defeated in combat by a Ctarl-Ctarl."
"Couldn't you just give back Ran-Ran and we can skip this part?" Ranma wondered hopefully.
"Miao?" Ryo-Ohki muttered behind Ranma.
"AAAHHH!!!" Ranma shouted flipping around to see Ryo-Ohki. "Don't do..." He stopped as he ducked under Irashi's attack. The cat man landed gracefully on his feet and immediately twisted about to attack Ranma again. Ranma shakily blocked the strike.
"You are skilled," Irashi admitted. "But I have never been defeated." That got Ranma's attention focused for a moment. He snapped his fist forward, felt the sting of the hit and frowned.
Bakusai Tenketsu? He concluded. Or something similar. His opponent took the chance to smirk at him and chuckled. Ranma looked at the super tough cat person and felt a fresh shiver down his back.
"You see how futile it is," Irashi said. "We cannot be harmed by mere human fists." Then he lashed forward with a kick and laughed as Ranma dodged back.
"Oh m..man," Ranma muttered worriedly, letting himself be pushed back. "Why does it gotta be cats?"
"I am not merely a cat you, fool," Irashi declared. "I am an immortal, unbeatable, Ctarl-Ctarl."
Ranma twitched at the word immortal, suddenly imagining a feline Saffron. That train of thought brought him to remember what Saffron had done. Sweating profusely in fear at facing the cat, his eyes still narrowed. He attacked again, and the arrogant cat man stood ready to accept it. And the other thousand or so strikes that accompanied it in the twelth of a second the attack lasted.
Irashi's head whipped back and he tumbled to the ground. The catman jumped to his feet, expecting at any point that Ranma would follow up the attack. Instead Ranma merely backed up.
"That does it, you pathetic human," Irashi shouted. "I planned to save this for Ryoko, but for actually daring to wound me, you have earned my full power!!" As full power as I can get without a moon.
"Full..." Ranma whimpered watching the cat man tense up. "...power?!" Then his opponent grew and changed, into something that made Kuno's tiger look small. Ranma took off screaming down the hallway, Irashi close behind.
"Miao?" Ryo-Ohki said, confused before following. She kept the transformed neko-jin in sight listening to Ranma's yells. As usual after meeting a full-blooded member of a race that Ryoko claimed descent from, Ryo-Ohki felt a renewed understanding of her partner's volatile nature.
"A DEAD END!?!" Ranma shouted. "MASAKA!!!!" Even as bestial as he became with the transformation, the neko-jin seemed to be laughing as he turned the corner to see Ranma plastered against the wall.
"Nice kitty," Ranma said shakily. "G...g...g..g...good ki..ki..kitty." Ryo-Ohki blinked and teleported to Ranma's right.
"Miao?" Ryo-Ohki asked. At that sound, Ranma stopped shaking and seemed to fade completely out of awareness. His arms and legs came away from the wall and curled up into a one-legged stance for a moment.
"Rrrooowwwww," Ranma yowled and then dropped to all fours, back arcged. He looked at Irashi with narrowed eyes. "gr.r.r.r.r.r.r.r..khiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii."
"Miao?"
Even Irashi, in his transformed state, paused for a moment. Then both cats leaped at each other.
"You take Ran-Ran home!" the young Amazon demanded angrily.
"All right! All right!" Carella snapped. He'd felt worse before, but this girl obviously had the advantage over him in hand to hand. "Just let me get to the pilot's seat."
"No tricks." It wasn't a question. Of course, while she was saying it, Carella was already moving to his seat. She wasn't even watching him closely, she had been right, he was a poor warrior. Why should he cause her concern?
"No tricks," Carella agreed, smirking as he turned to face her and fired the hold out blaster holstered in his chair.
Ran-Ran blinked and felt it strike her shoulder before she realized he was making a move. She stared at the gun in his hand and clutched at her burned, and now bleeding shoulder. Both stood frozen like that until Ryoko simply appeared behind Carella, floating.
"Not so tough now, eh kid?" Carella asked. "Won't get as much for you now, but that's life. What are you looking at?" Ran-Ran's eyes were wide, focused on Ryoko.
"I really hope that you aren't what Nagi wanted to test me against," Ryoko growled. Carella stared up and pointed his gun in the direction of the voice. Ryoko grabbed the weapon and crushed it, along with the hand holding it.
Carella stared at his crushed hand, whimpering quietly until Ryoko knocked him unconscious and then glared at Ran-Ran.
"You're a real pain in the ass, did you know that?" Ryoko asked. She paused a moment and closed her eyes, obviously concentrating on something. Then her eyes flashed open. "You alright kid?"
"Uhhh, you flying?" Ran-Ran asked. Ryoko nodded angrily.
"I don't have time for this," she grumbled and closed her eyes again. Next thing Ran-Ran knew, she was in a crystalline room with a view of the stars.
"She sorcerer?" Ran-Ran asked.
"What's this Ryo-Ohki's saying about you being a ca...?" Ryoko stopped as she turned a corner to find devastation. The walls, floors and ceiling were shredded beyond repair, ir was like looking at confetti. Ryoko was thanking the heavens that they weren't yet near the hull. "What the hell happened here?"
One of the already weakened walls was caved in from the other direction as a huge feline was pushed through the wall. The cut and bleeding beast stood unsteadily up on it's feet as Ranma, looking a little beat up himself scampered through the new entrance, and enlarging it as he passed. Ribbons of metal peeling off from his area.
Ryo-Ohki, Ryoko projected, concentrating. How much damage has been done?
When she got the answer she cursed and opened her eyes to see Ranma and the feline viciously clawing at each other. Ranma was easily winning, and the only reason the other hadn't already fallen was that Ranma would back off to give his opponent space to recover for a bit. And then he launched forward again attacking the other until it started to fade again. He was actually playing with the monster.
"RANMA!!!" Ryoko shouted. Ranma looked to Ryoko and cocked his head for a moment. His opponent took a chance to attack and found itself casually slammed to the floor.
"Rowr?" Ranma cocked his head the other way, and then bent to grab his dazed opponent by the scruff of his neck and happily padded over to Ryoko and deposited it at her feet. Ryoko blinked down at her feet as Ranma happily circled her feet, purring.
"What in the world is wrong with..." There was a loud groaning sound. Ryoko closed her eyes and reached out to Ryo-Ohki. GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE NOW! NO WAIT! Just me and...never mind.
Ryoko looked around Ryo-Ohki's bridge and glared at the two unconscious snatchers.
"Miao?" Ryo-Ohki asked.
"Put the two jerks on ice," Ryoko said. "And head for Ken-Ohki." Ryoko growled as the two bounty hunters were absorbed into Ryo-Ohki's form, creating cells to hold them when they woke up.
The day was about to get a lot better, in a moment she'd be able to track down and destroy Nagi. Which was when she got something of a shock. No debris, no destruction. And Nagi no where within reach of Ryo-Ohki's senses.
"What happened here," Ryoko asked.
"Miao," Ryo-Ohki said. Ryoko blinked in surprise.
"Ken-Ohki turned her in," Ryoko repeated. "Her cabbit? You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"
"Miao!" Ryo-Ohki sounded somewhat offended. Then she was bowled to a sitting position by Ranma pushing at her legs. Ryoko's eye twitched irritably.
Ranma climbed onto her lap and nuzzled against her cheek, still purring happily. Ryoko blinked and tried to ignore Ranma, unsuccessfully.
Great, it takes him going crazy to make him affectionate. Ryoko blinked and stared deadpan straight forward. "What, am I thinking?" Ryoko asked irritably.
She floated up to her captain's chair, Ranma comfortably purring in her lap. She felt really tempted just to boot him into the wall, but it was too much effort. Especially if he decided to try to tear the place up afterword. As he was right now, at least he was safe. He probably couldn't hurt Ryo-Ohki, but why take the chance.
Then Ranma pecked her lips and settled down in her lap. Ryoko blinked in surprise and stared forward in a slight blush before whipping to the nearest crystal.
"You aren't recording this, are you?"
"Miao," Ryo-Ohki said in a why would I do that manner.
Ryoko growled and watched the leaving police ships. Idly petting Ranma without really realizing it.
"Don't you dare think this is it, Nagi," she whispered harshly. She glanced back over her shoulder as she sensed Ken-Ohki arrive from whereever he had hidden. "This won't keep her away from me."
"Ciao," Ken-Ohki said pleadingly.
The police officer left for the cockpit with a sneer of disgust on her face. She left Nagi's gear on a table across from her gear, confident in the strength of the Galaxy Police brig. She didn't notice the handcuffed Nagi take the crystal in her hand, a sentimental item she had said, and slice through the bands. There was virtually no sound as she drove the crystal through the wall, into the cell controls on the other side. Nagi strided out of the cell and collected her energy whip on her way to follow her captor to the officer's partner.