Insertion Part 26: Titans by Sean D'Anna ===== "Space the final frontier. These are the voyages of the time traveler Ranma. His continuing mission to seek out new techniques and fiancees. To boldly go, where no man really wants to!" "Oh, you're a real riot," deadpanned Ranma as they floated in the middle of the spaceship. "How's the gravity coming along?" "Still busted, she hasn't come up for a while," said Dan as he turned their attention towards the opened hatch where Hanna had disappeared almost an hour before. Serena was sitting at a table nearby; she was playing with something just below the tabletop. Occasionally it would clack together and she would frown in slight frustration. "This is kind of nice," said Pissant cheerfully. "It is a new experience," agreed Carrot. "Never thought I'd be flying through space this way." "Well, here she comes," said Dan as he noticed Hanna coming up through the hatch. ++++++++++++ "We need to land again," said the woman as she floated towards the cockpit. "Something else is broken?" whined Serena. "This isn't a military ship or a yacht. I have to fix this stuff myself," snapped the woman irritably. "Great, let's find a port then," mumbled Ranma. "We should be close to Jupiter, the base on Titan is low key, and pretty much independently operated. We shouldn't find any trouble from the military there," said Hanna. "Great, I've heard that before," said Ranma. "So we're going to another spaceport then?" said Serena. "Looks like it," said the boy with a small shrug. He paused and noticed the girl fumbling with something. "What are you messing with anyway?" Serena shrugged and put three crystals on the table. "I managed to get them out of the rocks they were sealed in. It wasn't very hard, the seal was an old one from my family." "Where did you get those?" said Ranma dumbly. His face had gone completely white. "That guy gave them to me. He said he felt better about me taking them or something," replied the princess cheerfully. "Ah..." said Hanna as she froze and stared at her. "What?" muttered the princess in confusion. "You idiot! They already think we kidnapped you!" snapped Ranma. "Oh man..." "This is bad right?" said Hanna as she looked at him fearfully. "Now they're going to think that we took her as some sort of plot to get our hands on those things," said Ranma as he hung his head. "Oops," said the princess sheepishly. +++++++++++++ "The Silver Imperium Crystal is gone?" Serenity stared at Nephrite's holographic image coldly. "It seems that it was given to those who have taken the princess hostage. They arrived here just before I did," said the man with a small frown on his face. "Given?" asked Serenity. "I gave it to the princess," said the Chancellor's image as he appeared before Serenity. "She did not appear to be in any danger. I had no way of knowing..." "We sent out a message to the entire galaxy chancellor. You disappoint me," said Serenity coldly. She raised her hand up and clutched at the air for a moment. The man looked at her in confusion for a moment. "Pardon your highness, but...what are you doing?" The Queen's image made a slight jerking motion and she stared at something off to the man's right. Finally, one of the two guards standing by the doorway seemed to understand. He walked up and started to choke the chancellor to death. "Find my daughter, get me that crystal!" said Serenity as she turned to glare at Nephrite for a moment. "As you wish," replied the man with a slight bow. +++++++++++++ "Here we are," said Hanna as she docked the ship on one of the raised circular platforms that surrounded the large building. "So, what's the plan?" asked Ranma as he looked out onto the surface of the moon. It was pretty barren, mostly a lot of mountains and dirt. The spaceport itself was very busy though, and he could see a road that went off into the distance, towards one of the large cities that resided on the moon. "You two are going to leave while I fix this," said Hanna irritably as she shoved them towards the doors to the ship. "Huh?" muttered Serena dumbly. "Come on, we're going into the spaceport to waste a few hours," said Ranma calmly as he caught on. ++++++++++ On the other side of the spaceport, a sleek looking starship landed on one of the pads. Several men scurried about nervously with a stuffy looking diplomat hurriedly moving towards the ship as the front end opened downward. Three women walked down the ramp and onto the port, all of them dressed in the uniform of the senshi. "What an unexpected surprise," said the old diplomat as he bowed his head slightly in greeting. "To what do I owe this honor?" The lead senshi stepped forward and simply looked at him for a moment before continuing on her way. She had short cut blonde hair and seemed somewhat distracted. "Are you sure?" asked the second senshi as she turned to look at the third for a moment. She had shoulder length aqua colored hair and seemed a bit friendlier in demeanor, but not by much. The last senshi had short dark blue hair. She gave a small nod and frowned. "This would be the best port to contact Valdis's forces for pick up. It's run independently, and is open to commerce from all across the Universe. Any other port would be under the control of the parent planet closest to it." "So, they have completed their mission, and will come here for pickup?" said the second senshi coldly. "Why not just fly there themselves?" "In a ship that size? With half the Imperial Fleet after them? Don't be stupid, Neptune," said the last senshi with a small snort. "Don't underestimate them either, Mercury," replied the woman tensely. "They escaped Jupiter, and disabled a battle cruiser with that little starship of theirs. They have proven themselves to be quite resourceful, it's almost a shame we have to kill them." "Come on, before Uranus leaves us behind," said Mercury as she started after their companion, leaving the diplomat standing there dumbly. "Alert the security forces, there's something going on here," said the old man as he turned towards one of the honor guard that had come with him. "I'm not certain I want to find out what requires the attention of three of those women." "Sir!" said the guard in unison as they filed away quickly. +++++++++++ Serena giggled as she stared down at the three crystals in her hands for a moment. The remains of a meal was spread out between them and they were in the middle of an open area of the complex. Several small restaurants lined the walls along the area, with a few shops and stores nestled between them. "What?" said Ranma as he turned his attention towards the girl. "They like you!" she said as she held the crystals up to him. The three gems were glowing slightly, but not enough to attract a lot of attention. "Huh?" he muttered dumbly. "The crystals, they say they like you," said the girl cheerfully. "You talk to them?" he said dumbly. "Sort of," she said with a small shrug. "It's not the same as talking really." "Oh," he said as he looked at the three rocks for a moment. "What would they like me for?" "Separate, but whole," she said with a slightly confused frown. "Whatever that means. They say that you're like them. Any idea what that means?" "Yeah," said the boy as he looked away and took a drink from his cup. "Well?" said Serena after a moment of silence. "It's none of your business," he said flatly. "What now?" said Serena as she stood up. They had been wandering around for about two hours before they decided to eat. "Back to the ship I guess. She should be about done," said the boy with a small shrug. The girl looked slightly disappointed but nodded in reply. "Here," she said as she handed him one of the crystals. "Huh?" he said dumbly. "She likes you more than the others. I guess you can hold her for a while," said the girl cheerfully. "She?" muttered Ranma with a small frown. "Yeah, she," said the princess. "Great. Another love sick woman," muttered the boy under his breath as he shoved the crystal into his pocket. "Huh?" said Serena. It was obvious that she hadn't understood what he had said. "Nothing, come on." +++++++++++ "Yo! Hanna! You done with that thing yet? Or are we gonna have to hang around for a bit longer?" Ranma strolled onto the landing pad and paused. "What the?" There were about twenty soldiers standing around with their weapons trained on him and the princess. "Well, I told you they'd be here," said Mercury as she strolled out from behind the ship. "Get behind me," said Ranma as he shoved the young princess back. "Release Princess Serenity at once," said another female voice as Neptune moved up behind him. Uranus walked out wordlessly beside her and smirked. "Okay," said Ranma as he relaxed his stance. Everyone blinked in surprise and looked at one another. "What?" said Mercury. "I said 'okay'," he repeated. "No! Leave him alone!" snapped Serena angrily as she stepped between him and the senshi. Uranus walked up and took the girl by her arm, pulling her away from the boy. "So, this is all you are in the end?" said Mercury as she nodded towards the guards. The moved in and surrounded him. One of the men slammed his rifle butt into the back of his head and sent him to the ground. He lay perfectly still on the ground. "No!" cried Serena. "Don't hurt him! What do you think you're doing?" The princess slumped to the ground as Mercury shot some sort of small beam at her from a small weapon. "She's been reprogrammed. It's obvious," commented Mercury as she looked at the girl for a moment. "Take her to our ship." "What of these two?" said Uranus as she stood over the fallen Ranma for a moment. "I think we should bring the Queen a small gift," said Neptune with a cold smile. "We should kill them, they've caused quite a bit of trouble so far," countered Uranus. "No. We need to find out about the Imperium Crystal," said Mercury as she glared down at him. "I've got a way we can transport them without too much trouble after that." +++++++++++ "Where am I?" muttered Ranma as he looked around. He had not really been knocked out, but played along so far. "You're awake," said Mercury as she looked at him for a moment. Two large men were holding him up by his arms. It had taken them a moment to move him at all; his body weight had forced them to use four men to move him. "You must be from Jupiter, or a planet with a similar mass. Tell me, where is the Silver Imperium Crystal?" The boy blinked and looked at her for a moment. "So that's why you didn't kill me." "Correct. Now, tell me what I want to know, and I'll make sure that you live long enough to make it to trial." Ranma merely smirked at her. "Where's Hanna?" "You mean that lovely young pirate we took into custody? She's still alive, for the moment." "Alive where?" said Ranma coldly. "I'll ask the questions here," replied the woman as she nodded towards the two men. Ranma's eyes went wide as they leaned him forward and held him over a bucket of liquid. "With every question you don't answer, that water gets colder. It won't ever freeze either, soon it will be cold enough that we'll just shatter your skull like glass," said the woman as she glared at him. "Water?" muttered Ranma dumbly. The men dunked him head first into the liquid. "Now..." Mercury was cut off as her two guards were thrown away suddenly. Ranma fell to the floor, thrashing wildly as she clutched her left arm. There was a tearing sound, and blood began to seep from under her sleeve. The young redhead screamed in pain as the prosthetic was ripped away from her arm and clattered to the ground. "What the?" muttered Mercury in shock. The girl was knocked out cold from the pain and simply lay on the floor. "Damn," muttered the senshi as she realized that she probably wasn't dealing with a human. +++++++++++ Ranma woke up a short time later and looked around. Two guards were holding her up, and Hanna was beside her. They were in a mist filled room with a large hole in the center of it. Various machinery lined the walls of the area. "Who the hell are you?" muttered Hanna as she looked at the redhead for a moment. She looked beaten and worn out from torture. "It's me, Ranma," muttered the girl as she looked around the room. "Are we being frozen?" "In carbonite, for transport," said Hanna with a small-confused looking nod. "You're Ranma?" "It's a long story," replied the girl with a slight nod. "I see they took your arm," said Hanna as she noticed the missing limb. "How do we know this won't kill them?" said Neptune as she looked at her two companions. "We're going to test it on the woman first. He may be more inclined to talk after he sees what we're planning for him," replied Mercury coldly. She motioned with her hand and Hanna was brought foreword. Several midgets worked around her, removing her handcuffs and preparing the equipment. Ranma merely watched helplessly as they lowered her into the pit slowly. "I hate you," said the woman as she looked at him for a moment. "I know," he replied. The machine came to life and a cloud of super cold mist rose up from the floor. Ranma looked away and growled as the slab of carbonite with the woman inside was brought up from the floor. It slammed onto the ground with a loud finality and he looked down at it for a moment. His arm was throbbing in pain, and he felt incredibly weak from the blood loss. It was all he could do to keep standing, much less fight back. He could only hope that Serena would be able to convince them to release him once they made it to the Moon again. The small men began to prod him towards the hole and he hung his head in defeat. Uranus was wearing his belt with the blaster and lightsaber on it, and he couldn't even create a battle aura. In short, he was screwed. "Looks like this is it," he muttered. That was when he felt a warm glowing sensation in his pocket. He blinked in surprise and looked down. He was shrouded in the mist, and the senshi couldn't see it. "I know they searched me...is it still there?" he thought to himself for a moment. He reached into his pocket and found nothing, then he felt something begin to form inside his hand. A small hard crystal. Power began to flood him, and he felt completely refreshed. He looked around excitedly and a cold smile began to form on his lips as the floor slowly began to move downward. "Kaio ken." +++++++++++ "Where am I?" muttered Serena as she sat up and looked around at her surroundings. She was lying on a small soft bed, inside one of the rooms on the senshi's starship. "Serena, thank goodness you're safe!" said a familiar voice. The princess blinked and turned to see Endimyon sitting on the end of the bed. "What the heck are you doing here?" "I've been searching across the galaxy trying to find you! Are you all right? Did they hurt you? I'll have them all put to death!" exclaimed the boy excitedly. "I'm fine! Go away now," said the princess irritably. "The senshi are taking care of those savages right now, don't worry," said Endimyon as she moved to her side and took her hands. "They are not s... Okay, so maybe they are, but that's what makes them exciting!" said the girl defensively. "Exciting?" said the prince as he looked at her dumbly for a moment. "What are you talking about? I traveled all this way with the senshi so I could save you and..." "You save me?" said Serena as she glared at him for a moment. "You mean you tell the senshi to go save me, and then run up after it's over. They would have been here if you weren't with them you twit!" "But...but...but..." stammered the boy in shock. "I don't need you to save me! I was having the time of my life until you showed up!" snapped the girl as she snatched her hands away from him. "Now get out of my way! I have to go save them!" "It's too late, the senshi are already forcing them to tell where they hid the Crystal!" "No dummy. I have to go save the senshi from Ranma," said the girl as she rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. "Hey! You can't just leave!" cried Endimyon as he stood up to follow her. "Hey! You're right. I gotta play this part right," said the girl as she turned to face him again. "Huh?" said Endimyon as she hefted a vase over her head and slammed it down on top of his head. He promptly slumped to the ground. "Now that I've defeated my captors, I must sneak away to find my true love!" She scurried away into the hallway of the ship. ++++++++++++++ Meanwhile, in another time... "Well, well, well. If it isn't the Sailor Senshi," said Takibi as he stared down at the group of girls that rushed up into a rather gruesome scene. There were dozens of dead bodies, burned and charred around the room. The youma had someone's leg in his grasp and took large chunks of meat out with his teeth as he looked down at them. "My god! What's he doing?" said Jupiter in horror. "This is horrible!" cried Sailor Moon as she backed away from the thing. "I wonder what I should do with you? Barbecue? I already had some of that today..." The man jumped down in the middle of them. "You won't touch them monster!" cried Tuxedo Mask as he tossed a rose at the evil monster's feet. He appeared from the rafters and jumped down to face the thing. "That's an old trick, I can do it better," said the Youma Lord as he waved his hand. About a dozen roses made from flames shot from his palm and struck Tuxedo Mask, luckily he managed to move his cape up defensively. Unfortunately, the flaming roses exploded. He was sent into the air over the senshi's heads and landed badly on the ground. "No time for speeches! We need to act!" cried Sailor moon. Takibi appeared in front of her before she could finish speaking the sentence. It was as if he had just vanished and reappeared in front of her. He smiled as she backed away and punched her dead in the face. The girl was thrown back, and landed next to the fallen Tuxedo Mask. "We can't beat him!" growled Mars as she looked at the thing hatefully. "Well, you know what they say about barbecues. They never get old," he raised his arms and a whirlwind of flames appeared around him. They spread out towards the senshi, who merely braced themselves for the attack. "Do it now!" cried an unfamiliar voice. "What?" snapped Takibi angrily as he turned towards the source of the noise. He screamed in anger as his attack suddenly stopped. A blue light struck him in the chest and spread across it, creating a sheet of ice. "Damn!" snarled the monster as he vanished in a small swirl of flames. "Who are you?" said Sailor Moon as she slowly rose to her feet. A young girl about their own age with short cut black hair simply stared at them for a moment indifferently. In her hands was a silver rifle of some kind. "My name is A, and I don't exist." She held up a small silver device and smirked. "No! Don't look at it!" cried Mercury as she closed her eyes. The other senshi followed her lead. Akane frowned as she noticed this and put the device away. "What should I do?" A male voice answered her from her earpiece. "Maybe we could use them. They don't seem to be hostile towards you." She nodded and looked at the girls again for a moment. "I work for Ranma Saotome, or rather, I used to work for him." "Ranma?" said Jupiter angrily. "We don't have time to be fighting amongst ourselves," snapped Akane angrily. "It's obvious that we have a common enemy. We can't handle them alone, this weapon hurts him, but it won't kill him. You barely survived this time. We can help each other." "What did you mean by, 'used to work for Ranma?'" said Mercury. "He's gone missing, no one has seen or heard from him in a week," replied the girl with an angry looking scowl. "That's bad...right?" said Venus nervously as she looked towards her friends. "He's the one who came closest to actually beating these things. All we've managed to do is set up traps, and maybe drive them off that way. They're too fast for us to fight directly," said Akane as she eyed the girls for a moment. "So, you think we should work together?" said Mars with a distrusting frown. "Why should we trust you? What have you got to benefit from this?" "I could have let him kill you," said the girl flatly. "If you don't want our help, fine. Stay out of the way, you're not strong enough to take these things on." "And you are?" said Venus snidely. "We've had more success than you have. We can't kill them yet, but we'll find a way," replied the girl calmly. "Besides, this is more than just a random attack to kill and gather energy. Our information tells us they're up to something big. They aren't attacking like they could be, especially considering all the success they've had recently. Their plans aren't getting bolder, they're getting smaller." "That's good, right?" said Venus. "It means they're probably distracted by something," said Mercury. "Or they've almost got enough energy to do whatever it is that they're planning." "Either way, it looks bad for the both of us," agreed Akane. "So what do we do?" muttered Tuxedo Mask painfully as he looked at the new girl for a moment. "Whatever we can, and hope it's enough," replied the girl as she pumped the weapon and looked at them coolly. ++++++++++ TBC...