Disclaimer: Bandai and Sunrise own Gundam I believe. While Rumiko Takahashi owns Ranma, and our Nadesico friends are the property of Kia Asamiya and his affiliates.

Ranma 1/2 and Gundam/Wing/Nadesico

Fallen Star

Chapter 5: "A Brief Reprieve"

By Gray

"So…You're a Federation Test Pilot…" Mr. Prospector stated while rubbing his chin in thought.

"And what exactly were you doing piloting a Gundam?" He asked. Amuro sighed wearily.

"I might as well tell you. If an Admiral is here, then I suppose you can all be trusted." He took a deep breath.

"The simple fact of the matter is…the Federation Mobile Suits are pathetic compared to Zeon. Their Zaku II's, Gouf's, Gelgoog Marines, and of course, the Gundams, are far superior to our own Leo's, and Aries…" He was interrupted by Ranma snorting contemptuously.

"That doesn't matter. The suit is just a tool. It's the pilot's own skill that determines victory." He stated evenly. Amuro glared at him.

"Oh really? Do you think you could defeat a Gundam in a Leo then?" He asked sarcastically. Ranma growled.

"Big talk from the guy whose ass I just kicked!" He yelled. Amuro growled right back.

"So you're the psycho I fought! What the hell were you thinking! We're on the same side you idiot!" He yelled.

"Well excuse me for thinking a Gundam was the enemy. Last time I checked, we were at war with the goddamn things!" Ranma was already not liking this guy.

"Yes, we are at war with them, but not with each other, so let's all try to calm down." Yurika said sternly. Ranma grumbled but did so, as did Amuro.

"Anyway, as I was saying…" He glared at Ranma.

"The Federation suits just cannot compare to Zeon's. So…in order to balance the odds a little…the Federation began researching mobile suits. Naturally, the Gundams were by far the most powerful, so the Federation figured, why not make its own Gundams? To that end, the RX-78 prototype was created. And, through a bit of a twist of fate I guess you could say…I became its pilot. We're still testing it however, though I do find it odd that Federation members wouldn't know of it…" He frowned in puzzlement. Yurika rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Um…actually, we're not a part of the Earth Federation exactly…we're a privately owned battleship, that takes orders from Nergal Heavy Industries…though our purpose is to defeat the Zeon…" She said. Amuro blinked.

"Well…then what about the Admiral here." He pointed to Munetake. The older man coughed.

"Ahem well…I did know about the RX-78…" He started.

"Then why the hell didn't you tell us old man? I could have killed this guy here!" Ranma asked angrily. Amuro frowned but said nothing. He had lost after all…

"Because it was classified…boy." Munetake said levelly, for once maintaining his cool. Ranma's fists clenched and he grit his teeth.

"I'm getting real sick and tired of your bullshit old man! The next time you keep something that important from me…Admiral or not…you'll pay dearly…" He said in a low voice.

"Is that a threat, pilot?" Munetake asked. Ranma's eyes narrowed.

"No… Admiral…It's a promise…" The two stared at each other for a few moments more, before Ranma finally turned away.

"I'm outta here…Let me know when we encounter another enemy…" He disappeared out the door, and everyone watched it slide shut with a hiss. After several moments, Mr. Hoary broke the silence.

"Exactly where were you stationed Pilot Ray?" He asked. Amuro snapped out of his daze from watching Ranma face off against the Admiral.

"Ah…The White Base sir…It's a battleship." He explained. Hoary nodded.

"Megumi." Yurika turned to the Comm. Officer.

"Get in touch with the White Base tomorrow and let them know that we have their pilot and his Gundam here. Please apologize for the unprovoked attack as well." She ordered. Megumi nodded in understanding. Yurika turned back to Amuro.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like. Make yourself at home." She offered, turning to go back to the bridge. Everyone else filed out as well, and Amuro was left alone. His thoughts turned back to Ranma.

"That guy…Who is he? He's something else." He remembered how the pilot of the black mobile suit had fought like a man possessed. Even a skilled pilot like Amuro, in a powerful suit like the RX-78 stood no chance against him.

"Hmmm…I wonder…"

"Stupid bastard…I have half a mind to…" Ranma muttered as he walked into his room. Closing the door behind him, he wearily entered the bathroom and stripped off the stupid blue pilot's uniform. Stepping into the shower, he closed his eyes and let the soothing hot water ease his frayed nerves. It wasn't just the fact that Munetake pissed him off. No, it was much more then that. Simply put, Ranma felt guilty. He had blindly attacked a perceived enemy and the "enemy" turned out to be an ally. To say he felt stupid would be an understatement. It wasn't his fault of course; everyone aboard the Nadesico except for the Admiral had thought it to be an enemy. It was a Gundam after all! But, it seemed old habits die hard… He had meant to apologize to Amuro, and instead, he went and got into a yelling contest with the guy. The disappointment over not being able to fight an enemy Gundam added to his overall feeling of frustration. Today had not been a good day for Ranma, that was for sure. Sighing, he shut off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel on his way. He dried his body mechanically, and after dressing in a red Chinese shirt, and black pants, he came to the dilemma of deciding what to do now. Then his stomach growled, and the problem became a moot issue. He was hungry; hence, it was time to grab some food. The mess hall it was. Nodding, Ranma stood up, slipped on some shoes, and exited his room.

The cafeteria was noisy and raucous, which was a given, as it was dinnertime, and the various members of the crew were eating and chatting, mostly about the day's events. When Ranma walked in, he noticed some people eyeing him. There was fear in those eyes, and a little bit of awe of course. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not, but had started get used to it as of late. He noticed Megumi and Minato sharing a table. Well, he wouldn't have noticed it, but Minato was waving him over. Shrugging, he got his food, and made his way to the table. Sitting, he set his tray down lightly, and stared at the two women.

"Yes?" He asked. Megumi had yet to meet his eyes, and was looking at the ground nervously. Minato however, had no problem.

"Hey, it's been a while since we talked, so I figured, why not have dinner together." She smiled and delicately ate her food. Tonight's menu was an odd dish called "lasagna." It seemed that Ms. Howmei, the ship's head chef, was trying out different things lately. Ranma found that it tasted good enough, and had no complaints, even though it required a fork instead of chopsticks.

"So…I never got a chance to ask you…but…where are you from exactly?" Minato asked curiously. Ranma's face grew steely.

"Nerima…" He muttered. Minato's eyes widened, as did Megumi's.

"Oh! I…I'm so sorry." She whispered. Ranma shrugged.

"Forget it." He said, taking a moment to chew his food for once.

"It's…in the past."

"So the test data is in?" Munetake asked. He was sitting in his dimly lit office, a communicator in front of him.

"Yes. The two subjects did remarkably well…particularly the Nergal pilot. His skill is very impressive." The voice on the other end was stern and unforgiving. It was the voice of a man who had spent his entire life in the military, but had never gained anything from it except a zeal to be the best, and have the best under him.

"But…forgive me sir, but isn't having our pilots fight one another dangerous? I mean, Saotome could have killed Ray! That kid is out of control!" Munetake warned. The voice paused.

"It is not your concern Admiral…Saotome is exactly the sort of pilot we're looking for. However, I think it would be best to continue monitoring him for the time being…Keep up the good work." The voice flickered out, and Munetake was left alone in his room.

"Very well then…" Munetake was an ambitious man. A very ambitious man. If Saotome was his ticket to the top…well, he would use him until the boy was dead if need be.

"So be it." He whispered darkly.

"Now…where was it again?" Amuro muttered to himself as he wandered down the halls of the Nadesico. Why was the ship so damn big? The White Base was half the size of the Nadesico…

"You lookin' for something?" A voice asked from behind him. Whirling around, Amuro came face to face with Ranma, who regarded him levelly.

"I…um…" Amuro stuttered. This guy was quiet! Was he even human?

"Looking for some food?" Ranma guessed. Amuro nodded slowly. Ranma pointed in the direction he had just come from.

"The mess hall's that way. Take a right at the intersection, ya can't miss it." He directed. Amuro blinked and nodded, heading in the indicated direction. Ranma continued on his way. Only to bump into Yurika of all people.

"Oh Ranma! How are you? Feeling better I hope." She said quickly. Ranma shrugged.

"I'm fine Captain." He lied. Yurika smiled.

"Glad to hear it! But you know…" She twiddled her thumbs.

"You can call me Yurika…" She said slowly. Ranma smiled faintly.

"Alright then…I'll see you later Yurika." He said, turning to go.

"Wait!" She called. He turned back to her, blinking curiously.

"I was wondering…would you like to have a drink with me?" She asked. She didn't like to drink, but it might loosen him up, and besides, she'd do anything if it would put a smile on his face…

"Ah, why not. Sure, let's go." He said, surprising her. Yurika smiled widely.

"Alright! Let's go!" She led him by the arm towards the Officer's Lounge. Ranma blushed faintly at the way she held his arm to her chest.

"You ah, really don't need to do that. I know the way…" He started.

"No, it's okay! I want to." She replied, grinning madly. Ranma sweated.

"Women…"

"Ah! Here it is!" Amuro exclaimed, glad to have finally found the elusive mess hall. Entering with the happy thought of finally getting something to eat, he found it mostly empty, and gasped as he saw that the kitchen was closed. Sighing in defeat and with his shoulders slumped, he turned to leave.

"Hey! Are you hungry?" A voice asked. Turning, and slightly annoyed that he had been snuck up on yet again, Amuro found himself staring at an attractive young woman with purple hair.

"Um…yes, actually I am…" He trailed off uncertainly. Who was this girl? Whoever, she was, she was quite pretty, he noted. The girl smiled.

"Well then, come along and I'll get you something." She turned and headed over to the kitchen, with Amuro quickly following, the thought of food making his mouth water. He hadn't eaten since leaving the White Base in the Gundam.

"I'm Megumi by the way." The girl said as then entered the kitchen.

"Amuro." He replied. She giggled.

"Yes, I know. The Gundam pilot right?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Um yeah…that's me." He rubbed his head in embarrassment.

"Though I sure got myself whipped today…" He muttered distastefully. Megumi smiled.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Ranma's something else. I doubt there's anyone who could beat him…" She sighed dreamily.

"He beat an entire squad of Zaku's, and drove off a Gundam in an unarmed land combat Aestivalis." She smiled as she remembered. Amuro whistled in admiration.

"Wow, is he even human?" He asked jokingly. Megumi frowned.

"Sometimes I'm not so sure…" She muttered. Amuro blinked but decided not to question her. His stomach growled noisily, making him blush in embarrassment. Megumi laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot…" She moved over to another room, and came back with a large pot.

"There's still some soup left over, though I'm afraid all the lasagna is gone…" She explained apologetically. Amuro shrugged.

"Soup's fine with me!" He said excitedly, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the pot. Megumi smiled and fetched a bowl, filling it to the brim, and handing it to the young pilot with a spoon.

"Enjoy!" She said. Amuro nodded vigorously and immediately took it, heading out of the kitchen and grabbing a seat.

"Thank you!" He said, quickly digging in. Megumi smiled and grabbed herself a bread roll to munch on.

"So…Tell me about piloting the Gundam…What's it like?" She asked curiously. Amuro shrugged his shoulders.

"Well…it's not too different in terms of operation from any other mobile suit, but the real difference is the sheer amount of power it has. Not only is the armor capable of taking gun fire and not even denting, but it also has excellent response time, and all sorts of neat weaponry." He gulped down another spoonful of soup, as it was quite good, though he had no idea what type it was. Megumi smiled.

"What kind of weaponry?" She asked. Amuro's eyes lit up.
"Oh! Well, there's the twin beam sabers of course, there's its head Vulcan guns, and then there's my personal favorite…the beam rifle! It's a weapon that has the power of a battleship's secondary beam cannon, housed in a gun! It's great!" He was obviously very happy with his mobile suit, to say the least.

"Wow…" Megumi said in awe. Why didn't they have one of those? Ranma could really do some damage with a beam rifle…She could just see him heroically riding into battle, wielding one, and then returning, having single-handedly ended the war, and sweeping her off her feet. He would press their bodies tightly against one another and lean down…

"Um, Ms. Megumi?" Amuro asked. Megumi snapped out of her daydream, and laughed nervously.

"Um yes?" She hoped he hadn't noticed her zoning out like that…

"Um, can I have some more soup?" Amuro held up his empty bowl for emphasis. Megumi blinked for a moment, before laughing.

"Of, of course! Wait right here!" She scooped the bow up and headed back into the kitchen.

"She's a nice girl…" Amuro thought with a smile as he watched her.

"He's a nice guy, kind of like Ranma actually…" Megumi thought, glancing at Amuro out of the corner of her eye.

"You seem to like champagne…" Yurika stated, surprised to see Ranma drinking such a sophisticated drink. The fact that he picked a good type also surprised her.

"Er, someone, introduced it to me…" He said with a slight trace of nervousness in his voice.

"Well, I don't really like any kind of alcohol, but sometimes you just have to cut loose!" So saying, she downed a particularly large glass of the sparkling wine.

"Ah! That hits the spot!" She said with a slight slur. Ranma sweated.

"Um, Yurika, maybe you should take it easy…" He cautioned. Yurika giggled.

"Is that concern I hear?" She asked, pouring another glass. Ranma just sweated more as she threw it back like a pro.

"Ooh! It's warm in heresh!" Yurika laughed hysterically. Ranma gulped. She had finished over three fourths of the bottle…

"Um, maybe we should get you back to your quarters Yurika." He stood, and attempted to take her arm. Yurika wrenched free however, smirking.

"Hey! I'm your captain! And what I say goesh…I could have you court-marsh…" She giggled again.

"Wow, I feel kind of…funny…" She hiccupped and laughed again, before collapsing onto the ground. Ranma sighed as he heard her begin to snore lightly. Groaning, he picked the limp body of his commanding officer up, and with a nod to the barkeep, headed out the door.

"Damn it Yurika, you really should have listened to me…" Ranma muttered, knowing the girl in his arms wouldn't be able to hear him. Groaning in annoyance, though it was half-hearted, Ranma stopped in front of his door, and with a quick sliding of his key card to open said door, he entered, gently placing his intoxicated Captain on his bed roll, and, trying to ignore the mental images this conjured up, he decided to go to bed himself.

"Mmm, Ranma…" Yurika murmured in her sleep. Ranma blushed, and after realizing what he was doing, smacked his forehead in self-disgust.

"Idiot, stop it right this second!" He told himself.

"You have to be strong! You can't let weak emotions bog you down…" Nodding at his inner logic, which oddly enough, reminded him of his Father, the young pilot stripped down to his boxers and tank top, and settled down to sleep on the floor, using his shirt as a pillow.

"Well, at least no one saw me bring her into my room…"

"Did you hear? Saotome brought the Captain into his room!" One crewmember said to another.

"Oh yeah? What do you suppose they were doing…?" The more clueless of the two asked.

"Well, if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say…" The more imaginative of the two grinned nastily and made various obscene gestures with his hands, only to be smacked by a female crewmember.

"Pervert…" She muttered, walking off. And soon the entirety of the crew, save a few graveyard shift workers, settled in for bed. Little did they know of the coming trials in the days ahead…

Author's Notes: And another installment is finished…I'm sorry that both this chapter and the last one are so short, but I hope to make the next part very long. Oh yes, and just to let you know, I do indeed plan on bringing in other U.C Gundam characters, and maybe even a Ranma character or two.

Now I have two questions for you guys:

If you are reading this on fanfiction.net, do you think that I should move it to the Ranma ½ section? Or leave it in the Anime crossover section? Just curious… Do you think I should bring the curse back? I'm sort of split on that one, pardon the pun…

Until next time…