Chapter 6 - Retrieval

"Set a course to assist the Sisko." Ami ordered. The ensign working the helm attempted to comply but was cut off by the operations station chirping.

"Ma'am, there is a Runabout class ship leaving the atmosphere of the planet," Vong noted.

"BAH!" Ami screamed. "Set a course to grab it first then."

The helmsman nodded and began to put in the course information.

"Ma'am-" Vong started. The helmsman rolled his eyes and stopped his entry.

"Yes?" Ami asked, the annoyance very obvious in her voice.

"Sorry. But the Runabout is small enough to mostly avoid their planetary radar and observation stations, but we are not. We will be detected if we get any closer."

"BAH!" Ami grunted. "Is the Runabout in any danger?"

Vong checked. "Yes, but it's no Kuno cube."

Ami nodded. "Set a course for the Sisko then."

The helmsman hesitated slightly, but then once he was sure that no one was going to be changing their minds again, did what he was told. The Crossroads swoops around and starts to move towards the Sisko.


"Commander?" The tactical officer called to Mina who was going over damage reports with an engineer.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"I am getting what appears to be a sensor blip of a Sovereign-class starship about 30 million kilometers from here."

"Appears to be?" Mina pondered. "You can't be certain?"

The Lieutenant shook his head. "No ma'am. The Kuno's appear to be giving off some sort of radiation that is interfering with our sensors."

"Can you hail them?"

"I'll try."

The tactical officer hit some buttons. The monitor went to some very bad static, but a silhouette was slightly visible through it. The shape spoke some words, but they were very garbled.

"This is the best I can do." He stated. "But they do appear to be moving closer."

"Crap." Mina groaned. She stands and turns towards the engineering station. "Serena – you need to get the communications system working so that we can get through the interference. We need to make sure that they don't engage the Kuno cube while the others are over there."

Serena nods an acknowledgment and motions for the engineer that was with Mina to come with her.

Mina sits back down and sighs. "Keep trying to send a message through to tell them NOT to fire on the cube."

The Lieutenant nods and returns to his work.


Ranma could only stare in awe at what he saw. The inside of the Kuno cube was wallpapered with posters of his self, well, herself, and of Akane. He knew that the guy had an obsession, but this was sick. There was even a picture of her when she got sick on Tijuana 3, and, well spoiled the crystal beaches, if you know what I mean.

"Wow." Lita gasped. "This guy really digs you and Commander Tendo."

Ranma weakly nodded. Shampoo giggled.

"He in love!" Shampoo added.

Ranma just growled at Shampoo and walked to a doorway. He checks a tricorder.

"According to the scans we had done just before we left, this is Kuno's master bedroom that we are in," Ranma said.

"I didn't think that the Kuno's slept?" Lita asked as she pawed through some of the stuffed girl-type Ranma figurines that Kuno had in multiple, unhealthy positions, on his dresser.

"Well," Ranma murmured. "I suppose that 'regeneration chamber' would be more of an accurate term."

Lita nodded and walked over to the doorway where her bosses were.

"Now, through here is Kodachi's master regeneration chamber is." Ranma nodded to Lita.

Lita nodded back and moved in front, her phase rifle drawn. Ranma crouched down and hit some buttons on his tricorder. The seal on the door released and it slid open slowly. 

Through the door, the room was very dark. Lita quickly put on some night vision glasses and slinked in. Once she was sure the room was clear she started to search for a light switch. She found one. She flipped on the lights and looked around.

"Holy shit!" She exclaimed.

The room was not only wallpapered with pictures of Ranma, but it was also carpeted. And that's not all. Kodachi also had Ranma curtains surrounding her regeneration pod. There was a Ranma clock on the wall, a Ranma calendar, and an Akane dartboard.

Shampoo just laughed. Ranma scowled as he pulled the dartboard down and broke it in half.

Lita snickered. "I hope you got some residuals for all this merchandise."

Ranma just groaned and walked to the next door. He checked his tricorder and nodded to the pair. They didn't notice him though. They were both busy digging through one of Kodachi's drawers.

Ranma cleared his throat to gain their attention, but only got a laugh. He cocks his head.

"What's funny?"

Shampoo turned to Ranma. "Can you shake?"

"Huh?" Ranma asked.

Shampoo shimmied a little. "Shake!"

Ranma shrugged and also shimmied. Lita fell to the floor laughing, Shampoo just grinned.

"This does it better!"

Shampoo tosses Ranma something. He looks at it.

"OH MY GOD!" Ranma screams and drops the device.

Shampoo starts to laugh. "It a Ranma vibrator!"

"I know what it is. Let's go NOW." Ranma bellowed.

Lita and Shampoo tried their best to regain their composure and walked over to the door. Ranma shook off the disgust. Not so much the disgust that his face was on a vibrator, but the disgust that he touched something that had been somewhere he NEVER wants to be.

"Now, through this door is George's chamber. After that, we will be in the main corridor." Ranma explained.

Lita nodded and again took her place in the front. Ranma released the seal on the door. Like the last room, this one was also dark. Lita quickly cleared the room and turned on the lights.

"WOW!" Lita exclaimed.

George's room had no posters. No wallpaper, no carpet. It was very drone-ish.

All George had was a cold metal grey desk with a small engraved piece of wood on it. Shampoo went over to inspect it. She read the engraving.

"Shampoo beautiful eyes." Shampoo said.

"Is he saying you have beautiful eyes, or is that where he wants to mount your beautiful eyes?" Lita asked.

"Shampoo have no desire to find out." Shampoo stated.

Ranma shushed them as he walked over to another door. "I have one bio-sign behind this door."

Lita and Shampoo scurried over to the door. Ranma disengaged the seal and Lita peaked in. It looked like a bathroom. The tub was full of water. Lita slowly moved in, with the other two behind her.

Lita looked around and didn't see anything. Ranma checked his tricorder.

"It's still in here." He whispered.

Suddenly the lights went out.

WHOOSH!

Something zips right past them.

"BEHIND US!"

WHOOSH!

"IN FRONT OF US!"

WHOOSH!

"WHERE IS IT?"

WHOOSH! "BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

The trio screams as they start to fall backward.


"Has anyone seen Ensign Hibiki?" Mina asked the rest of the bridge crew.

Everyone shook their heads to report that no; they have not seen Ryouga lately. He seemed to disappear without anyone noticing.

Mina groaned. "Computer, where is Ensign Ryouga Hibiki?"

The computer replies. "Ensign Hibiki is not on board."

"Where is he?"

"Ensign Hibiki transported off the ship via transporter room seven at 0722 hours."

"And where did he go?"

"Transporter records are unavailable during a network virus scan. Please ask again later. Twelve billion files scanned, sixty-seven trillion, nine hundred eight billion-"

"Shut up." Mina interrupted. She then groaned to herself. "Why the hell is there a virus scan running NOW anyway?"

Mina sighed and walked back to the communications station. "Any luck contacting the other ship yet?"

The operator shook his head. "No, but the signal is improving. We should be able to contact them in six minutes."

"What's the time till the ship is in weapons range of the cube?" Mina asked.

"Four minutes."

"Not good enough," Mina complained. She then tapped her communicator.

"Aino to Tskunio. Serena, we need communications up in three minutes!"

Serena nods, not even realizing that Mina cannot see her nodding. She then taps her badge and goes to help the engineers working on the communications equipment.

"What if we launched a relay probe?" One of the engineers stated.

"Can we get one ready in time?" Another asked.

"We should have one ready now, for when we pass through subspace variances." A third added.

"I'll get it launched!" A fourth said.

"I'll call the bridge!" A final one noted

All five engineers scurried off in opposite directions. Serena just stood there and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm good." She grinned to herself as she walks to the turbolift.

Back on the bridge, the communications officer speaks up to Mina.

"Ma'am, we are launching a communications beacon. It should be able to relay our transmission through the interference and get it to the other ship."

"Excellent!" Mina yelped. "Make it so!"

The communications officer nodded and made it so. Seconds later the bridge of the Crossroads appears on the viewer, clear as day, with Ark in the captain's chair.

"This is Commander Ark Madcock of the Federation starship, the U.S.S. Crossroads."

"Good day!" Mina grinned. "I'm Lt. Commander Mina Aino, of the U.S.S. Sisko. I appreciate the assistance you are planning on giving us, but I would request that you do not fire on the Kuno cube."

The weapons officer can be heard letting out a disappointed moan in the background. Ark tilted his head. "How come?"

"We had an officer kidnapped and we currently have a boarding party over there attempting to recover her."

"Right," Madcock noted. "I'll inform Captain Mizuno. Do you need more security personal?"

Mina ignored his question. "Captain Mizuno? Ami Mizuno?"

Ark becomes confused. "Uh, yeah."

"May I speak to her?"

"I don't see why not, hang tight."

Ark mutes the channel and starts to talk into his communicator. Mina couldn't hear anything but she was adept enough at reading lips to know he said something about a 'crazy girl'. Soon the channel re-volumized.

"Going to patch you into her ready room," Ark stated as he transferred the communication.

Mina grinned when the face of Ami appeared on the viewer. 

"Hey!" Mina smiled.

"Mina!" Ami smiled back. "Glad to see you are well!"

Mina nodded. "Same to you! Congratulations on the promotion!"

Ami nodded. "Thank you! Once we get everything taken care of we will have to get together."

Mina nodded again. "Yes, Serena, Lita, and Raye will be very happy to see you."

"They are all on board over there?"

Mina nodded. "Except Lita, she's on the boarding party that is on the cube."

Ami checked a terminal just off-screen and nodded. "As I said, we'll get together when things settle down. Now, if you guys are okay, we have a problem near the planet we need to deal with. Yell if you need anything."

Mina nods and waves as communications are terminated. Shortly thereafter, Serena walks onto the bridge.

"Did you get in contact with them?" She asked.

Mina nods. "Good job."

Serena blushes. "Thanks."

"Guess who the captain of that ship is."

Serena thinks for a minute. "Ami?"

"No, it's-" Mina spins around. "Yeah, it is Ami. How did you know?"

Serena shrugs. "Lucky guess?"

Mina sighs. "She's going to come over after everything calms down."

"YAY!" Serena jumps up and cheers. "I'll go tell Raye!"

"SERENA!" Mina yells.

"Yeah?" Serena says, cowering slightly.

"Raye doesn't need to know right now. If she wants to be involved in what's going on she will come out of her little crawlspace and get involved."

Serena sighs and nods. She then goes back into the turbo lift.


"They've boarded," George told his siblings.

George got no answer.

He turns to see Kodachi standing above her brother with a very large katana pointed right at Kuno's gullet.

"FOR RANMA!" Kodachi screams.

George groans. He fires his phaser and knocks Kodachi right off her brother, the sword dropping inches from Kuno's neck.

Kuno sits up and looks at George.

"Thank you, but I had her right where I wanted her."

George simply rolls his eyes and fires on Kuno. "Now, you are both where I want you."

George chuckles at his own witty remark and goes back to checking out the sensors. "Four of them. Do they really think they will get you back with only four of them?"

"You guys are pathetic! Of course, they will!" Akane cried from the corner she was tied up in.

"Eh, we'll see," George grumbled.

Kodachi starts to stir. She staggers to her feet and stumbles over to where George is seated.

"That hurts, you know."

George nods. "Yeah, I know. You two need to declare a truce until we get this mission done with."

Kuno also starts to stagger to his feet. "A truce? With her?"

"If the two of you can't get along for at least one day, then I will have to keep shooting you. And then I will have no use for Ranma or Akane and I will have to shove them out an airlock into open space." George explains.

"YOU WOULDN'T!" Both Kuno and Kodachi bellow.

"I would," George assures them.

Kuno sighs and looks at his sister. "I suppose for the sake of Akane Tendo and the pig-tailed girl I can work with you on this." Kuno dryly states, extending his hand.

Kodachi sighs back. "I suppose for the sake of my darling Ranma I can also work with you."

Kodachi takes her brother's hand and shakes it.

"Now, isn't that much better? Everyone getting along, huh?" George smiles.

Kodachi and Kuno both turn to their brother and give their best fake smiles.

Akane just rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, this is going to work." Akane groaned.

"Quiet you," George ordered as he turned back to his terminal. He giggles a bit when he sees the blips on the display. George grins some more but then starts to frown. "What the hell are they doing in my bathroom? Why the blue hell is there phaser fire?" George frowns. "I did flush, didn't I?"


"JESUS CHRIST RYOUGA!" A sopping wet Ranma-chan screams as she climbs out of the bathtub. "You scared the hell out of us!"

"Bwee?" Ryouga oinks.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Ranma asks.

"Bwee!" Ryouga replies.

Ranma groans. "How's the water coming?"

Lita, who is also wet and on the other side of the room shooting a bucket of water with her phaser, replies. "Getting there."

"Meow?" Shampoo meows from the other room.

"STAY OUT THERE!" Ranma orders as she shudders.

Lita grins as she begins to see some steam start to waft off of the water in the bucket. She sticks her finger into it and nods.

"This should be warm enough, sir." Lita states. She then pauses. "Or is it ma'am?"

"Just give me the water." Ranma glowers.

Lita complies and hands Ranma the bucket. She quickly splashes herself and Ryouga. Ryouga, who is now naked, immediately scurries off to find his uniform.

Ranma hands the bucket and what's left of the water to Lita who takes it into the other room and pours it on Shampoo. Lita walks back in and chucks the bucket into the corner.

"Well, that was a little weird." Lita acknowledges.

"I thought you knew about the curses?" Ranma asked.

"I did, but till you see it actually happen, you really don't believe it."

Ranma nods understandingly. He then returns his attention back to Ryouga who is just finishing putting on his uniform.

"Now, what the hell are you doing here?"

"What?" Ryouga innocently whines. "I want to help rescue Akane."

"How do you end up as P-Chan?" Shampoo asks, walking back into the room.

Ryouga, doing his best not to notice Lita or Shampoo's very wet shirts, stammers.

"I am not very good at working the transporters. I ended up materializing right in this bathtub here. As soon as I fully materialized, poof; P-Chan."

The group murmured what seemed like an understanding murmur.

"Here," Lita said, walking over to Ryouga. "Give me your phaser rifle. I'll program it to be more effective on the drones."

Ryouga hands it to Lita. She begins to start to hit some things into her tricorder, but it simply chirps. The kind of chirp that you hear right before something goes wrong.

"This isn't a real phaser rifle!" Lita gasped.

"I don't have security clearance to get a real one out of the armory, so I just took the display model from the conference room." Ryouga shamefully acknowledged.

Ranma just rolls his eyes. "What did you expect to fight with?"

"Well," Ryouga begins. "I just figured that when they saw I had a rifle they would surrender and let me take Akane back."

Lita and Shampoo just look at each other while Ranma stooge-slaps Ryouga across the top of his head.

"You mutton-chop!" Ranma scowled. "Lita, give him your hand phaser."

Lita nods and tosses the phaser to Ryouga. He smiles and chuckles nervously.

"Alright, let's get going," Ranma ordered.

Lita nods and walks out of the bathroom, making sure that the main room was still clear. She motions for the rest of them and walks up to the door to the corridor.

"We need to hang a left out of this doorway, and then travel pretty close to a kilometer down to the access ladder to the main control center," Ranma states while checking his tricorder.

Lita nods and slides the door open. She peaks outside, slowly, and sees nothing. She creeps out and into the hallway.

"You can see all the way down the corridor." Lita states. "And I don't see a soul."

Ranma nods and guides the others out into the hallway. Lita up front, with her rifle drawn. Ranma behind her, Shampoo behind him. Ryouga comes out last, covering their flank.

They get about a hundred meters down the corridor when all the lights go off. The group quickly put on their night vision goggles.

"See anything?" Shampoo asked.

"Nothing." Lita acknowledged.

"Ryouga?"

"Nothing," Ryouga stated.

"Ryouga, do you have night vision goggles?" Ranma asked cynically.

"No," Ryouga replied.

Ranma groans. "Shampoo."

Shampoo grabs Ryouga and shoves him behind Ranma and takes up Ryouga's spot on the flank. "Nothing."

Ranma nods. "Keep moving. Slowly."

A K-Mart-style intercom tone is heard.

"Welcome aboard!" George's voice states.

"Keep moving," Ranma whispered. He then raises his voice to speak with George. "Where's Akane?"

"She's right here in the corner," George stated. "But it's going to take you far too long to get here that way."

Ranma and Shampoo suddenly dematerialize from the group, their rifles being left behind, and dropping to the deck with a clang.

"Captain!" Lita calls out.

"I'm sorry!" George says. "I must have made you two lonely. Here. Have some playmates!" George laughs maniacally until the transmission is cut off.

"Playmates?" Ryouga asks.

Suddenly the lights turn back on and Ryouga and Lita are surrounded by the Kuno drones.

"Ah shit," Lita grumbles.

"I SHALL SMITE THEE!" The drones all-state in unison.

"Yeah, we're boned." Ryouga sighs.


"Where are the ships?" Trevor asks as he lands the runabout in a crater on the dark side of Zima's farthest moon.

"They are in a high orbit around the planet," Ami-Computer replies.

"And they cannot see us?"

"Nope."

"Good. And what about the Crossroads?"

Short pause. "They are 45 million kilometers away and are holding position. They apparently attempted to make contact with the other Federation ship. They then turned away and moved just outside of the radar range of the orbiting Zima ships."

"Can we hail them?" Trevor asked.

"Not without alerting the security ships to our position," Ami-Computer replied. After a few seconds, she continues. "I scanned them as they were firing on us. They can only maintain spaceflight for a little over nine more hours. It will take them months to search the area just around the close moons. It's very doubtful that if they don't locate us within the next few hours they will discontinue the search."

"Yeah, so what, just wait it out?" Trevor asks.

"Sure. We have enough reserve power to run life-support for sixteen more hours, with enough juice left to get outside of their radar range. And as long as we set our course right with the alignment of the moon, they won't detect us."

"And we can contact the Crossroads as soon as those ships leave orbit?"

"Yup."

Trevor shrugs. "I guess we've waited this long to be rescued, we can wait a bit longer."

Trevor leans back and looks out his window at the inside of the crater they were parked in. It was not very interesting at all. Very dark, the only light is the light coming off of the runabout's red and green running lights.

Trevor did see something that worried him while looking out of that window.

Foster.

Foster had left the ship and was standing out in the crater. He was looking at the sky.

"What's he doing?"

Foster begins to glow.

"What-"

He starts to fade out.

"-the-"

He disappears.

"-hell?"

Foster was gone. Trevor looked around frantically. "Ami, where did he go?"

"I don't know."

"Why didn't you tell me he was leaving?"

"He didn't tell me he was leaving either."

"BAH!" Trevor groaned. "Scan for him!"

"That will require a proactive scan. They will be able to detect us."

"I don't care. I want to know where he went."

Trevor realized that he didn't want Foster to leave. It seemed that Trevor had grown accustomed to Foster being there.

"There is no need for any scans," Foster stated.

"GOOD GOD!" Trevor screamed. "You scared the hell out of me!"

Foster sat back down and shrugged. "Sorry."

"Do you still want me to run that scan?" The computer asked.

"No, you idiot!" Trevor snapped.

"BAH!" The computer replied.

Trevor rolled his eyes and squatted down in front of Foster.

"You don't need to be sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. I know you were only doing what you thought I wanted you to do."

Foster looked up at Trevor. "I fixed things."

"Huh?" Trevor asked.

"I went back and put life back into those people."

"You can do that?"

Foster laughed. "You make it sound hard. Humanoid life is nothing but electrical currents."

"Well, maybe physiologically. But LIFE is much more than that."

"See." Foster sighed. "That's what I don't understand. Your people are killing each other and others even though your lives are so important."

Trevor sits all the way on the ground.

"I had no intention of leaving those people dead. My people understand the meaning of life – the preciousness of life. When you yelled at me, I came to realize that you understand the preciousness, just not the meaning."

"Huh?" Trevor asked.

"Ever look at the stars and go, why am I here?" Foster mused.

"Not lately. After the war, I am just glad I am here."

Foster laughed. "Do you know why you are here?"

Trevor thought about this for a moment. "According to science, I'm here to multiply."

"Science is meaningless when it comes to the meaning of life. We are here for others. It's got nothing to do with yourself. Life was created to supplement other life."

Trevor cocked his head. "I'm not following."

Foster smiled. "You're not supposed to. It took my people eons to figure it out."

The look on Trevor's face could only be described as utter confusion.

"Trevor, was Ami happy when you two were together?"

Trevor thought back. "She never complained. Well, except when I came back from the gym."

Foster grinned. "Do you believe in soul mates?"

"No." Trevor groaned. He then eyed Foster. "Should I?"

Foster just grinned. "It's not about you."


"Good morning!" A sweet female voice states to a Sisko crewman in the corridor of deck eight.

A very frightened crewmember cowers in preparation for the beating he is about to receive.

Until he realizes that she just said 'good morning.'

"Uh, good morning Commander Hino." He cautiously replies.

Raye smiled at him and continued her trek to her office. The crewman looks at another who watched the exchange.

"You should go buy a lotto ticket. You're obviously having a very lucky day." The watcher states.

The other man just nods as he watches Raye hug another crewman who had dove for cover.

Raye finally reaches her office and steps in. She sees Jeff sitting at his desk.

"Commander! Good morning!"

"Good morning, Jeff!" Raye grins as she sits down at her desk. 

"So what's on tap for today?"

Raye checks her computer. "Well, we don't have any patients today. And considering we are under a security alert, we won't have any walk-ins, so I figured you could help me with this."

Raye tosses a PADD over to Jeff. He begins to read it.

"Letter of resignation? I thought we talked about this."

Raye nods. "We talked a lot. I think you and I both know that this is the wrong job for me. I'm no counselor. It's simply a resignation from this post."

"I don't think there are any other positions open on this ship. Do you really want to be taken away from your friends?"

Raye sighed. "Well, I doubt two of them would really care that much."

"Have you even talked to them?" Jeff asked.

Raye scowled. "You know, you have just as good of an ability to piss people off as you do cheer them up."

"It's a gift. Now, you need to talk to them."

"Now?" Raye asked, pointing to the flashing red lights.

"Eh, well as soon as the situation warrants."

"Fine. But I am still turning that in." Raye states while pointing to the PADD in Jeff's hand.

"If you think that's best."

"I do." Raye nods.

"Well, I am not going to try and talk you out of it then," Jeff says, tossing the PADD back to Raye. "Just make sure you tie up all your loose ends before leaving."

"I might not have to leave," Raye replies.

"No, you might get to stay, but regardless, loose shoelaces will make you fall and break your nose."

Raye just laughed. "Confucius you ain't."

Jeff laughed as well.


George just laughs as Kodachi mauls a restrained Ranma with kisses. Ranma tries and tries to fend the assault off but to no avail.

Akane glowers at the display as she kicks Kuno across the room once more. "RANMA!"

"Yeah, I'm tied up here, Akane." Ranma groans.

Akane rolls her eyes as she sends Kuno across the room again. Kuno hops up again, but instead of running back to Akane, he walks over to Ranma. He pulls his sister off of him.

Kodachi starts to object, but George pulls her aside.

"I heard Ranma say that he would LOVE to see you in that new dress you got!" George lied.

Kodachi beamed. "I'll be back in six minutes!"

Kodachi fluttered out of the room, black rose petals flying. One of the Kuno drones quickly follows her out, sweeping up the petals.

"My drones are not janitors." Kuno objected.

"It's him or you, dude." George dryly states.

Kuno grunts. "Very well."

George rolls his eyes and walks into another room. Kuno grins at his adversary.

"Where is the pigtailed girl? What have you done with her?" Kuno demanded.

"Idano." Ranma mumbled.

George walks back into the room with a bucket. "Hey, Tatewaki! Look over there!" He points in the direction of a hallway.

Kuno, stupid as usual, looks in the direction he was pointed. George quickly douses Ranma with the water, making him female. Kuno groans at the trick.

"Fool me, will you-" Kuno shuts up when he sees a very wet female Ranma right in front of him.

"OH PIG TAILED GIRL!" Kuno exclaims, glomping onto Ranma with all his force.

"GET OFF ME!" Ranma-Chan yells.

Kuno snuggles Ranma some more, finally burying his head between her breasts. Ranma snaps.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She screams. Ranma forces the ropes that are binding her to snap. She then sends Kuno flying through a wall and into the next room.

"YUCK!" She exclaims.

"RANMA!" Akane bellows.

"Oh, sorry," Ranma says as she runs over and begins to untie Akane. George stays where he is and watches the pair.

"Are you okay?" Ranma asks Akane.

Akane nods and grabs Ranma's head. She pulls him close and gives him a kiss.

"I knew you'd come for me." She whispers.

Ranma smiles and the pair kiss once again.

"OH MY GOD!" A now bandaged Kuno cries as he crawls through the hole he had just made in the wall. He turns to George. "And you said it would only happen in my dreams!"

George smiles and shrugs. Kuno opens his arms wide and grabs the pair.

"The three of us! Together at last!" Kuno hollers.

Simultaneously Ranma and Akane send Kuno flying through the hole that one of the drones had just repaired. The drone watches his likeness shatter the wall. He sighs and begins his repairs.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Ranma said, helping Akane to her feet.

"Oh, wait ten seconds, please," George asks.

"WHAT? NO!" Ranma yells.

"Okay, don't. But I don't know where you think you're going. You don't have your communicators."

Ranma groans.

"D'oh!" Akane grumbles.

"WRETCHED PIG TAILED GIRL!" Kodachi screams as she comes plowing into the room, knocking the repair drone through the hole he just finished patching.

"Ugh." Ranma groans.

"What have you done with my darling Ranma?" Kodachi demanded.

"He left," Ranma stated.

"WHAT?"

"He said he was going to go buy flowers for the pig-tailed girl." George lied.

"DID HE NOW?" Kodachi scowled.

"Yup. And Akane Tendo!" George grinned.

"NOT IF THEY ARE BOTH DEAD!" Kodachi screamed, ripping off her dress and stripping down to her rhythmic gymnastic outfit. She whips out her ribbons and quickly wraps the two together. She then pulls out a sword and prepares to strike a mighty blow.

"Now, now," George says, walking over and grabbing the sword out of her hand. "No need for that. Having them tied up will be plenty for now."

Ranma and Akane groan and slide to the floor together. Kodachi flutters off to change once again, with the usual flower shower trailing behind her.

The worker drone slowly crawls through the hole in the wall and grabs a broom and dustpan and follows Kodachi out.

"You will never get away with this." Ranma grunts while trying to get out of her bindings.

"Oh yeah?" George grins. "Soon as we get the engines back online we're out of here."

"Then what? Going to use the secret weapon on Earth?" Ranma asks.

"Huh?" George asks. Then he remembers. "Oh, no secret weapon. Just a scheme to get you out here. Would you believe that Tatewaki thought of it? Amazing that it worked!"

"That is impressive." Ranma mused. Akane gives an elbow to the ribs to get her back on topic. "What I mean is that the Sisko will not let you leave the system. And Lita, Shampoo, and Ryouga are on the ship. They will make their way up here."

"Shampoo is in there, much in the same state you're in." George said pointing to a door labeled 'closet'. "As for the other two, they are preoccupied at the moment."

Ranma grumbles. "Well, you know if we don't return before too long the Sisko will send more security personnel over."

George just shrugs. "Whatever you want to believe." George laughs and starts to walk away. He stops and looks Ranma over once more before he leaves.

"I don't know why you bother turning back into a boy. You've got a great rack." George starts laughing again and leaves the room.

 

Ranma attempts to flip George off but ends up only jamming his finger into Akane's back. Akane grumbles and turns her head as much as she can to look at Ranma. "You brought Ryouga?"