[FFML] [Fanfic][Ranma][LOGH] Twin Stars - Prelude & Chapter 01

[Ignacio Moreno]

I am resending this mail because it seems that the mailing list doesn't
recognize the [ALT+171] symbol.

Sorry for the inconveniences.

Disclaimers:

- Ranma belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

- Legend of Galactic Heroes [LOGH] belongs to Yoshiki Tanaka and Kitty
Films.

- This story is made for fun and is meant for the enjoyment of the fans.

- I have to thank Kirra and Patti Peterson for preread these chapters. Thank
you very much.

- I thank all kinds of comments and suggestions, as well as illustrations
based on the history.

- Please C&C.

*--Twin Stars: Prelude:*

Shampoo woke up, turned around in the bed and watched the luminous digits of
the bedside table's clock. It was 6:43 am. She put aside the sheets
grumbling, got up and approached slowly to the window walking barefoot by
the cold metallic floor. Once there, she stayed looking by the window.

A vast dark veil, upholstered with countless bright diamonds scattered at
random, spread at the other side.

Shampoo stretched her arm and covered a handful of these luminous points
with her open hand.

'It seems that I could get them only by stretching my arm.' Shampoo thought,
while she closed her hand in the air. 'But I know that I can't get them.
These little lights are stars; enormous spheres of hot gas, that are very
far.'

She slowly lowered her arm and the stars appeared again in the same place.
Shampoo sighed and went away from the window.

'Some would say that to realize this is to be mature.'

Shampoo left these thoughts with a shake of her head, and went to the
bathroom.
------------------------------

Shampoo was finishing dressing when she heard the buzzing of the intercom.
She let it buzz while she tied her shoes. Finally, she pushed a button and
the buzz ended.

"Yes?" Her tone of voice was clear, self-confident and calm; it was very
different to the one that she used in Nerima, but these times were,
literally, very far.

"Ma'am!" A male voice answered respectfully. "We've just contacted with the
fleet of Rear-Admiral Akane Tendo."

"All right! I'll head to the bridge right now."

Without waiting for an answer Shampoo turned off the intercom.

The clock was precisely 6:59 A.M.

"She's punctual as ever."

Shampoo smiled and went out of the room.

Tbc…

*--Twin Stars: **Chapter 01: Reunion:*

A small shuttle passed through Shampoo's fleet formation towards the admiral
ship.

Shampoo's flagship was a standard battleship named Valkyrie.

Its design was completely functional and it was focused to fulfill its task:
transport the cannons and its servants to the battlefield.

The basic form of the ship was a long rectangular parallelepiped with two
other parallelepipeds, nearly as tall as long, added at each side on the
rear of the main hull. These had three of the four engines of the ship. The
last one was in an appendix that projected from the lower part of the main
hull. All the ship was painted dark blue with the exception of a few
circumferences painted metallic gray. The emblem of the New Reich, a golden
lion, was painted in the center of the ship.

The general appearance of the ship was similar to that of a gun.

The three huge doors of the hangar opened when the shuttle came near the
side of the Valkyrie. The transport ship entered in and fit in an airlock.
Two robotic arms secured the ship while the hangar's doors were closed.

When the moor maneuver ended a guard opened the door of the airlock and
moved away. A few seconds later Akane Tendo appeared by the airlock.

Although she'd lived hundreds of years in hibernation, her biological age
was only 30 years old. She had turned in a beautiful young lady but her
appearance was very similar to that of her adolescence. The most notable
differences were a white scar on her chin and a resolute but calm
expression. Rivers of blood had killed her youthful impulsivity and had
forced her to maturate.

Akane wore the uniform of Flag Officer with the rank of Rear-Admiral. This
consisted of black shoes and trousers, and a white shirt hidden under a long
black army jacket. The cuffs were made with a light, gray metal and they
were encircled by a silver-plate circle with curved ornaments. The T-shape
epaulettes were joined with the collar. Both pieces were made with the same
material that the cuffs and they had silver borders. Two silver stripes
crossed each epaulette vertically showing the rank of rear-admiral. A last
metallic piece completed the adornments of the jacket. It was below the
collar and had a triangular shape. A semiprecious oval stone was embedded in
the center. At each side of the stone two silver lines made curved
ornaments. Two vertical white lines came up from the lower edge of the
jacket to the edges of this piece. A metallic belt with an elaborated buckle
clung the jacket around her waist.

The guard, who wore a simple black army jacket with two rectangular
epaulettes without stripes, stood to attention on seeing a flag officer and
saluted. Akane returned the salute, with a fast movement, before she went
down the stairs of the airlock and got up to the mobile path that crossed
the ship.
------------------------------

Less than five minutes later Akane arrived to the Officers' lounge. The door
of the room was opened so Akane entered without knocking and closed the
door.

The lounge was a rectangular room with a large window that showed the outer
side of the ship. A long sofa, a few armchairs, a cocktail cabinet and a
rounded table with four chairs were the set of furniture in the room.

Shampoo, which was looking at the space out the window, wasn't surprised
when she heard close the door because she had seen Akane's reflection from
the window.

Shampoo had matured into a beautiful young woman as Akane had. Her prideful
personality had been tempered by the experience. She had turned more
sensible and receptive. The most important change in her look was that she
had cut her hair. It hardly covered her neck although she had let it as long
as the military ordinances allow it.

Her uniform and rank were the same that Akane.

"You are late" Shampoo commented with a smile while she turned towards
Akane.

"Excuse me, Mister Gale Wolf." Akane joked knowing that she had arrived
right on time, while she fought against the impulse to stick her tongue out
to her friend.

After this curious greeting both of them joined in a friendly hug.

"I missed you" Akane admitted while she moved away.

"Me too."

Any of their old acquaintances had been surprised by these words, but Akane
and Shampoo had become good friends after everything that they had endured
together. With the many years spent in space, the rivalry between the two
had vanished.

Both of them were the only ones that had lived in a time where the Earth was
the only occupied planet. The fact that they didn't belong to this age had
joined them in a way that hadn't been possible before.

Shampoo went to the cocktail cabinet where she took a bottle of white wine
and two glasses while Akane sat down.

"How did the six months patrol go?" Shampoo asked while she put the bottle
and the glasses on the table and sat down too.

"They were calm" Akane answered while she watched Shampoo pouring the wine.
"The most serious was a grade 8.5 earthquake in the planet Ubuntu."

"It had to be terrible."

Shampoo passed a glass of wine to Akane. She took it with an absent-minded
gesture, since her mind was remembering the images of collapsed buildings
and squashed corpses.

"We've seen worse things." Akane raised her cup of glass and drank a nip.
"Excellent! What vintage is this wine?"

Shampoo accepted the change of topic with a smile.

"It is a 410 vintage."

Akane let out an appreciation whistle.

"You have turned into a wine gourmet."

Shampoo shrugged her shoulders.

"This bottle was a gift from Frederic."

Commodore Frederic Charles Dreyer was Shampoo's chief of staff.

Akane left the glass on the table and leaned towards Shampoo.

"I think that he likes you" she commented confidentially.

"Nonsense" Shampoo replied gruffly. "You must know that it isn't a good idea
to get involved with anybody from the work, and less in the navy."

"Sure!" Akane said with a smile in her lips while she watched her friend
drank her wine at one gulp.

"What about you? When was your last date?"Shampoo left her glass on the
table too and looked at Akane, who awkward averted her eyes.

"You know very well that I haven't had a date." After a short silence Akane
continued. "The last night I dreamt that I was with Ranma again. I believe
that he is alive."

"Akane, don't do that to yourself!" Shampoo reproved. "It is almost
impossible that Ranma is alive. Okay, suppose that he is alive, where are
you going to search for him?"

Akane remained looking at the table in silence without know how respond.

'These are a very wise words' Shampoo thought. 'Then why don't I follow my
own advice? Accept it, you can't forget Ranma either.' Shampoo sighed. 'We
are two stupid romantics and, at that rate, we will turn into two stupid old
maids.'

Before either of them could add any more a call rang by the
inter-communicator. Shampoo approached the communication device and answered
it.

"What's happening?"

"Ma'am" a voice answered with an urgently tone. "We've just detected a fleet
of more than six thousands ships that are coming towards us. The signature
belongs to imperial ships but they don't answer our calls."

"Six thousands ships!" Akane exclaimed while she met Shampoo at the side of
the intercommunicator. "These are four times our combined combat force."

Shampoo didn't make any comment but Akane noticed the worry in her face.

"How far are they?" Shampoo asked.

"We will be within their range in less than fifteen minutes."

"Shit!" Shampoo cried out at the same time that she turned off the
communicator so none on the other side could hear her. "The warp engines
will take more than thirty minutes to be ready."

"They have caught us with our trousers down."

Shampoo nodded and switched on the communicator again.

"Order to all the ships: Red alert. A six thousand ship fleet is near our
position with unknown intentions. Face it up and adopt a defensive wall
formation. Position the battleships in the front line to serve as a shield.
Get ready the warp engines and inform me when they are ready. Don't fire
until you receive the order or are attacked. I repeat it: Don't fire until
you receive the order or are attacked."

Shampoo turned towards Akane while they heard by the device how her orders
were being sent to the rest of the fleet.

"We can't do anymore now" Shampoo told to Akane.

'Wait for the best and get ready for the worst. That is the only thing that
we can do.' Akane thought. 'I don't think that this fleet has come only to
greet us. Who can be? With all of humanity united, it is impossible that
there is an enemy!'

Akane stopped speculating because she had more pressing matters to atend to
at this moment.

"With your permission, may I have contact my ship?" Akane asked.

"Go ahead."

Shampoo moved away allowing that Akane could use the intercommunicator.

"Rear-admiral Akane Tendo speaking."

"Ma'am" was the answer from the other side.

"Send the next message to commodore Reinhard Scheer, of the flagship
Mjolnir."

Shampoo observed how her friend gave exactly the same orders in spite of
they hadn't the time to agree.

'Anyhow it is the only logic course of action,' Shampoo meditated. 'We have
to present a united front to resist the necessary time to put online the
warp engines. But will they allow us to make the jump?'

"Until my return on board the fleet will be under rear-admiral Shampoo's
orders. That's all. Send it quickly."

"Right away Ma'am!"

After hearing the answer, Akane turned off the intercommunicator and looked
at Shampoo.

"Reinhard is very capable," Akane commented. "There won't be any problem."

"Then the arrangements are already under way. The fleets will be in position
around ten minutes."

"We have less than five minutes of margin. It isn't bad. Now we will only
need a plan of action just in case that we be attacked."

Without lose any more seconds both commanders started to develop their
tactic plan in the short time that they had.

Tbc…
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