Does anyone remember this being posted about this time last year? That
was when I thought the main story would be finished. It wasn't then, but
it is now, so here come the sidestories once more...

                         Hostile Takeover
                     A Ranma Wars Side Story
                        By J. Austin Wilde
                        Fission Park Press
                    and P-P-P-Chan Productions


J. Austin Wilde, K.B.C.S.
Minister of Propaganda and
Herald of the Temple of the Island King
Fission Park Press
wildeman@psn.net



Ranma Wars is the creation of Lucas Muzzatti. If it is also a parody of 
George Lucas� Star Wars, than this is the first I�ve heard of it. Go ask 
Lucas (Muzzatti that is) for explanations... Ranma 1/2 and Star Wars are 
of course the creation of Rumiko Takahashi and George Lucas with all the 
usual rights and privileges.


________________________________________________________________________
Not so long ago in a galaxy of our own devising...


     �You do realize that you�re putting yourself in harm�s way, don�t you?�
     Nabiki nodded in her typical nonchalant manner at Kasumi Antilles� 
remark. **What do starfighter pilots know about this sort of thing 
anyway?**
     Kasumi sighed and adjusted the straps on her flightsuit�s life support 
pack. The usual flashing status lights upon the pack had been modified 
long ago to appear as multi-colored smiley faces, a touch Kasumi 
insisted made her fellow pilots more at ease before a mission. Nabiki 
thought it was just silly, but then there was something not altogether 
there about Kasumi Antilles in the first place.
     �Have you heard a word I�ve said?� Kasumi asked in a tone that 
was increasingly cross.
     Nabiki nodded again. Her friend�s concern was touching, but it was 
starting to wear thin.
     �Of course, dear.� Nabiki said when it looked like Kasumi was going 
to say something else.
     �You don�t seem very concerned about this,� Kasumi remarked.
     �It�s just business. Besides, I�m going prepared.�
     She reached into her purse and removed a small golden tube. Kasumi�s 
eyes widened in appreciation.
     �Oh my! What a remarkable little blaster!�
     Nabiki smiled. �It�s not a blaster.� She popped the cap and extended 
a little red wax with a twist of the bottom.
     �Lipstick?�
     Nabiki nodded a third time and puckered up.
     �A weapon of a more civilized age... The right shade of red can be 
far more devastating, and it's not as clumsy or as random as a blaster.�
     Her touch up complete, she gestured to Kasumi�s starfighter. The 
K-Wing was top of the line, but it was just a little too �cute� for her own 
sense of aesthetics. Of course it suited Kasumi�s just fine. She decided 
that the baroquely formed active/passive EMS array looked a little too 
much like a ribbon bow on the thing�s nose. The fact that it was painted 
bright pink didn�t help any, either.
     �Shall we?�
     Kasumi sighed again and tucked her fall of golden brown hair into the 
neck seal ring of her flightsuit. She donned the pink �snoopy cap� hood 
that would keep her bangs out of her eyes and contained her earpiece 
speakers. That done she extended the retractable boarding ladder along 
the fighter�s fuselage and climbed up.
     Nabiki followed behind her. She noted the little duckies and bunnies 
painted on the inside of the boarding ladder well, and stifled the urge to 
retch. The K-Wing was just too cute for its own good.
     Kasumi had strapped into her acceleration seat and plugged the various 
wires and tubes from her flightsuit into the starfighter�s life support and 
command/control systemry. Easy listening music played softly from 
cockpit speakers. The starfighter recited preflight status in a bubbly, 
almost squeaky cute voice.
     Nabiki fought back the taste of bile once more, and settled into 
Kasumi�s lap. The canopy lowered into place and sealed with a hiss. 
Kasumi placed a safety strap about Nabiki and locked it in place.
     �Comfy?� She asked.
     �As a bug in a rug,� Nabiki replied.
     The K-Wing�s engines shrilled to life, and the starfighter rose off the 
deck using gravity drive. Kasumi gently eased it out of the ship�s fighter 
bay and goosed the thrusters to get them clear. The starry void greeted 
them eagerly.
     Below them was the planet Tatooine. It was a dusky ball of sand, but 
real estate value notwithstanding, it was going to be Nabiki�s richest prize. 
She hoped.
     �Jabba�s air defenses are pretty formidable,� Kasumi warned.
     �That�s why I hired the best,� Nabiki replied. She patted Kasumi�s 
throttle hand.
     �Okay, I just had to be sure you wanted to go.�
     She shoved the throttles forward to their stops and clamped on the burn 
studs. The K-Wing�s HEPLAR drives blossomed into three plumes of red 
flames. Pushing forward with the yoke nosed them down towards Tatooine 
in an increasingly steep dive.
     Nabiki felt herself being squeezed against Kasumi�s chest with the 
acceleration forces.
     �D-Don�t y-y-you h-have d-d-d-dampeners f-for th-this?�
     Kasumi gave her a tight lipped murmur of laughter.
     �Oh my, I forgot that you weren�t used to this sort of thing. I keep 
the dampeners set low to use the power for other things -like shields.�
     She caressed a control at her side, and the ride became a little easier 
to bear. But not much. The planet filled the canopy now, they were so 
close.
     A low warbling tone sounded in their ears.
     �What�s that?� Nabiki asked.
     Kasumi consulted her sensory suite.
     �Oh dear, it seems they�ve detected us. They�re launching fighters.�
     �So soon?�
     �You�re the one who insisted she should be dropped off right next to 
his palace,� Kasumi reminded her gently.
     �Now what?�
     �Well you *do* want to go down there, right?�
     �Yes...�
     �Then please be quiet and hang on.�
     The K-Wing�s shields came up to power. Kasumi double-fronted them 
and energized her weapons. As an afterthought she switched off the easy 
listening music.

     The music was replaced by something a little less lethargic; 

     Ministry.

     At first Nabiki was a little confused by Gibby Haynes' monologue, but 
when the racing engines sounded and the drums pulsed, she knew it was 
�Jesus Built My Hot-Rod�. The K-Wing tore straight down into the 
atmosphere with an angry red trail of superheated air behind it. Their 
hypersonic shock wave rippled against the energized deflector shields, 
and the starfighter�s engines screamed like demons unfettered. Seconds 
passed like hours as they dove deeper and deeper into Tatooine�s 
atmosphere.
     Nabiki strained her neck enough against the acceleration forces to see 
Kasumi�s toothy, almost feral grin of expectation.
     �This is a side of you I hadn�t expected,� she managed.
     �The music helps me concentrate,� Kasumi replied.
     �I don�t want to know...�
     �Hang on please.�
     Nabiki barely had time to register her words when the K-Wing 
lurched into a hypersonic snap roll and pulled hard into an inside loop 
that brought it level with the horizon, which had the effect of bleeding 
off airspeed murderously. She was plastered against the canopy of the 
starfighter as a stream of green light rippled past them. Kasumi threw 
the K-Wing into another snap roll and dove into an inverted split-s.
     Nabiki was now upside down in the cockpit, held in only by the strap 
and by the inertial dampers whose purpose was more to keep the 
starfighter from flying apart than it was to protect the pilot. Kasumi�s 
finger tensed on the firing stud, and a volley of brilliant red light 
streamed from the K-Wing�s nose mounted laser projectors. The beams 
slashed through the shields of the T-95 Tsubasa and bored right through 
its engine. The interceptor went down in a spiraling flame trail.
     �So sorry about that,� Kasumi said sweetly into the tac-net.
     She then gunned the engines, coaxing them back to full power through 
the thick troposphere of Tatooine. The other two Tsubasas were at the 
apex of Immelman turns, and Kasumi loosed a concussion missile apiece 
at them as they hung there at stall speed.
     One concussion missile struck the slower of the two before he could 
react. The missile transformed the Tsubasa into a shower of high energy 
plasma and white hot fragments. The last fighter put on speed and cleared 
out before her other missile could get itself turned around to reattack.
     �Oh my, I hope that didn�t hurt much.�
     �I�m sure it was quick,� Nabiki gasped.
     �One more to go,� Kasumi Antilles said with a sigh.
     She checked her speed and then her sensor suite to ensure that there 
was indeed only one more fighter to go. She loosed another concussion 
missile to keep the Tsubasa pilot busy and turned inside the other�s turn.
     With a missile inbound and Kasumi�s K-Wing undercutting his turn, 
The Tsubasa pilot knew he was doomed. To scissors now would send the 
missile right up his exhaust pipe and to do anything else would put him 
at the mercy of Kasumi�s superbly agile fighter. He settled for ejecting.
     The Tsubasa exploded far ahead of him as his cockpit module separated. 
The K-Wing waggled its wings in salute and turned back for Jabba�s palace. 
The Tsubasa pilot just hoped he could get off-world before Jabba�s men 
caught up with him. Desertion didn�t suit the repugnant crime lord�s fancy.
     �Well at least *one* of them lived,� Kasumi observed with a smile. 
�Perhaps we�ll meet again some day under friendlier circumstances. 
Wouldn�t that be nice?�
     If she wasn�t so grateful to be alive, Nabiki swore she would 
strangle the chipper starfighter ace right then.



                         *      *      *



     Jabba�s palace was at its bawdiest. Music played from the speaker 
stacks and exotic alien females danced for their lord�s pleasure. The 
Who�s Who of the galaxy�s most wanted lists drank and caroused in the 
shadowy nooks. If Mos Eisley was a wretched hive of scum and villainy, 
than Jabba�s palace was the ghetto basement.
     Jabba himself lay upon his great bed of native stone. Bib Fortuna 
tended to his master, whispering entertaining lies into what passed for 
an ear amongst the Hutt. A badly abused protocol droid sat at the foot 
of the bed, sparking intermittently.
     �<Bring in the intruder!>� Jabba bellowed. Beings scrambled to comply.
     Nabiki was brought before him in chains. Her slinky black bodysuit 
was ripped and torn in interesting places. Four particularly ugly and foul 
smelling Gamorians served as guards. That they were heavily armed was 
an understatement.
     The music faded, and the rest of the scum looked on. Cat-calls in 
numerous languages assailed her ears, but she remained calm and aloof. 
One of the Gamorians clubbed a Jawa that approached too close.
     Bib was confused. �Such precautions for a scrawny human female?�
     Jabba bellowed laughter, and was aped by his little toady, Salacious 
Crumb.
     �<You are truly a fool Fortuna. That is why I keep you around. Surely 
even you recognize the infamous Nabiki Tendo?>�
     Bib nodded reluctantly.
     �<Then you are aware of her exploits. Such as her absconding with 
five of my shipments of spice from Jyusenkyo. Or of her stock manipulations 
that put several of my legitimate business fronts under. Or that she master-
minded certain assassinations of key Hentperial figures whose services 
I�d thought well paid for.>�
     Jabba leveled his huge bulbous eyes at her and stuck out his tongue 
in a belch.
     �<I know you understand me, woman. Need I continue?>�
     Nabiki shook her head slowly, deliberately.
     �You needn�t waste any more of your breath,� she said. �You may 
need it later.�
     Jabba laughed monstrously again.
     �<I admire your bravado, but that is all that it is.>�
     Nabiki said nothing.
     Jabba continued, and his retinue listened on.
     �<One wonders why you hired the great Kasumi Antilles to fly you to 
Tatooine only to have her drop you in my lap? Is suicide such a common 
desire amongst your kind?>�
     Nabiki raised her face to look him in the eyes. Jabba was surprised 
at the resolve he found in those languid orbs.
     �I didn�t come here to die, Jabba.�
     Jabba stuck out his tongue in another belch and scooped up a little 
furry critter from a bowl of them. He popped it in his mouth, and its 
squeals could be heard all the way down into his gullet. He turned his 
eyes back to Nabiki.
     �<Death would be far too kind for you. Perhaps I should let this 
place swallow you up as I have this nurfurdur. I think you�ll enjoy the 
company!>�
     He laughed, and Bib gave the subtle sign that everyone should join 
in. They did, all though it was a little too eager. Jabba stopped, and 
the rest of the laughter quickly died out. The crime lord loved doing 
that.
     Nabiki remained coolly aloof.
     �I�ll make you a counter proposal. You can divest yourself of all 
holdings and leave Tatooine. Or I can just take them from you. At least 
if you bow out voluntarily, you�ll have a little cash to survive.� She 
gave him a withering look. �I doubt you could survive long as a beggar 
on the streets of Mos Eisley. I�m sure someone of your criminal stature 
has made plenty of enemies.�
     Jabba�s laughter came even more riotous this time.
     �<Now I am certain that you have a place in my court!>� He nearly 
choked out the words as he laughed. Bib gave the sign and the rest joined 
in. �<My last comedian met with an unfortunate accident with the 
Rancor!>�
     The place was almost a riot now.
     �<Take her away!>� Jabba ordered. �<And see that she is given a 
change of ensemble! Her current one leaves too much to the imagination!>�
     The Gamorians led her away with Bib Fortuna following close behind. 
The party picked up where it left off. Jabba brought his dancers in close 
and drank in the taste of victory.



                           *       *       *



     Nabiki was tossed rather roughly into a dank cell. The Gamorians made 
quick work of her clothes, ripping the stretchy black fabric right off her 
body with blunt hooks. A blaster held against her temple kept her from 
resisting too much.
     When she was naked, the Gamorians backed out of the cell with 
grunting laughs. She guessed it was a good thing they didn�t find her 
attractive. Bib Fortuna on the other hand was groping with his eyes 
from the safety of the other side of the bars.
     �I find you have too much hair on your head, but are otherwise 
appealing,� he said in a gravelly whisper.
     Nabiki did her best to keep the peepshow to a minimum.
     �You I find rather ugly,� she remarked bitterly.
     Bib affected a hurt look. �Is that any way for partners to talk?�
     �Show a little good faith perhaps.�
     Bib snorted something in his own tongue. He stooped over and threw 
a little something in gold chain mail through the bars. Nabiki accepted it 
silently and put it on. She looked herself over. **Why did it have to be a 
chain mail bikini? Silly question I suppose. Jabba wants to rake in the 
humiliations after everything I�ve done to him.**
     �Acceptable?� Bib asked.
     �Under the circumstances I�m sure I could do worse.�
     �Then we are partners again?�
     Nabiki looked him over. Reason told her to trust him about as far as 
she could throw him, but she had been arranging this for a long time. **No 
turning back now, I�m in the belly of the beast.**
     �Partners.�
     Bib looked pleased.
     �Then all will be as we have planned.�
     Nabiki smiled wanly at Bib�s choice of pronoun. He had about as much 
to do with her plot as Jabba himself.
     �Yes. All will be as planned.�
     Bib was about to leave when he remembered something. He turned 
about and threw a little object that shined in the dim light. Nabiki caught 
it and smiled.
     �I almost forgot to return that to you,� Bib muttered.
     Nabiki popped the top of the lipstick tube and applied some absently.
     �I�m glad you remembered.�
     Bib bowed slightly and left. She noted the suspicious look he gave the 
lipstick tube as she slipped it into the bosom of her bikini top. He would 
serve her well enough.



                          *       *       *



     �<Bring out the entertainment!>� Jabba demanded.
     Nabiki was brought forth by a chain about a golden collar. Her 24kt 
gold chain mail bikini glittered in the light. Her skin glowed with the 
scented oils Jabba preferred his slaves to wear. Many gasps of 
appreciation and more than a few cat-calls heralded her arrival.
     Jabba looked her over. He had an appreciation for the human female 
form that would be thought of as grotesque amongst his own kind. Jabba 
was rather gleeful in his admission that he was a deviant.
     He found Nabiki to be as exquisite as he�d hoped. Her cool demeanor 
in the face of such humiliation only heightened her appeal. He knew he�d 
have to kill her sooner or later, but for as long as she held his favor...
     �<Dance for us my lovely snake!>� Jabba bellowed.
     The collar was removed from her neck.
     Nabiki stood still.
     Jabba�s eyes widened, a Huttese equivalent of a grin.
     �<Dance!>�
     An Ithorian with a long spearrifle poked her in the shoulder blade.
     �I�ll tell you again Jabba. Accept my offer. My generosity has a 
short half-life.�
     Jabba popped a handful of water snakes into his mouth. The things 
wriggled in his mouth as he sucked them down.
     �<I�m sorry, you said something?>�
     Nabiki crossed her arms over her cleavage.
     �Your ears must be bad. I won�t repeat myself.�
     The Ithorian poked her again.
     She scowled once at Jabba before she stepped out into the middle of 
the floor.
     The music came up. Bib had anticipated his master�s desire and 
selected an appropriate score. It was all strings and a strangely resonant 
drum. Under different circumstances she would have found it sensual. 
Now it was just another humiliation Jabba heaped upon her.
     She began to dance. Slowly at first as she became accustomed to the 
rhythm, and then working her body as the tempo picked up. She knew 
Jabba�s tastes, the things that aroused him. And she was patient.
     Jabba was transfixed by her performance. For a biped she had a 
remarkable fluidity, an unconscious grace that translated into the 
movements of her silky limbs. Supple arms and gamine legs played across 
the dusty stone floor. She kept her eyes on him, and the fire in them 
wakened urges he�d long denied himself.
     The song ended and the next picked right up. This one was faster, 
with a staccato beat that had her working her feet as fast as she could. 
Her head flicked about with swift glances to the beat. Several of the 
crowd began to shift their places.
     The next song was a slow and stately one, a triple measure, rather 
like a sarabande. She dipped her head with each second beat, and her 
hair bobbed sensuously; covering her face but not dimming the lambent 
flames that glowed in her eyes. Jabba stopped feeding his face and just 
watched her. Bib rather nervously took his eyes off her and looked 
around the room.
     Nabiki minced lightly across the floor, working closer to Jabba. 
She felt the lipstick tube still cold against her breasts. Bib was now 
sweating profusely.
     Jabba let her come closer. He was oblivious to the movements in the 
shadows of his murky den. Nabiki however paid attention innocently 
enough. Everything was going according to plan. She played her hands 
across her belly, working them up to her breasts. Bib�s eyes were focused 
on that spot in her bosom where the lipstick tube was concealed.
     Her seductive dance had brought her very close to Jabba now, she 
could practically reach out and touch him. Not that she wanted to. Those 
moving in the shadows drew knives, swords, and blasters. Nabiki caught 
a glint of steel reflected from a knife and smiled inwardly. The music 
began building up to a crescendo with the introduction of horns and 
powerful bass strings. 
     She looked at Bib Fortuna and winked slyly. The gesture blended 
perfectly with her erotic performance and so no one was the wiser. Bib 
tucked his hand into his pocket and returned her wink with a faint nod. 
The music was spiraling up into a lavishly fierce finale, and Nabiki lost 
herself in the dance. 
     The music ended with a crash of horns and thunderous percussion. 
Blaster fire rang out, killing the Gamorian thugs and the Ithorian with 
the spearrifle instantly. Knives flashed, and throats and other tender 
spots were opened with the steely rings of metal on flesh.
     In under a second, Jabba the Hutt�s entire guard was wiped out.
     Nabiki had wisely taken this time to duck.
     Bib drew his blaster and began to direct it towards Jabba when he 
realized to his horror that the beings under Nabiki�s employ were 
subsequently gunned down en masse by people in the crowd he�d always 
thought to be Jabba�s various guests. Blaster fire screamed across the 
smoky chamber, and the cries of the dead and wounded and panicked 
almost kept up with the high-pitched reports.
     In under two seconds, Nabiki�s entire hit squad was wiped out.
     A deathly silence fell upon the chamber.
     Bib Fortuna saw the look in Jabba�s eyes as he turned his blaster 
away from the crime lord and out into the gallery. He�d been had. Jabba 
had foreseen this very betrayal and had prepared against it.
     Jabba laughed cruelly. �<Very amusing...>�
     Nabiki stood up and struck a self-assured pose. Sweat glistened off 
her extravagance of oiled skin. 
     �I thought you would appreciate it. Mindless violence has always 
suited your sense of taste when appropriately applied.�
     �<I must admit I wasn�t entirely expecting you to enlist my 
majordomo in this little performance, but I do agree that betrayal adds 
a certain flavor that agrees with my palate. Particularly so when the 
betrayal is for naught.>� 
     He rumbled evilly and his huge eyes bulged at Bib Fortuna. Bib began 
to stammer explanations and oaths of perpetual fealty. He could almost 
feel the tiny red dots of laser aimpoints crawling across his body from 
Jabba�s secret guards.
     Jabba silenced him with a powerful swat of his arm. Nabiki hadn�t 
expected the wasted little things of having so much power. Bib fell to his 
knees and began to weep.
     �<You were ever the fool, Fortuna. More so for having thought you 
could trust this delicious little morsel. No matter. Your fate shall come 
after I decide hers. Perhaps I shall overlook this indiscretion in light of 
your previous service.>�
     Jabba looked back to Nabiki. �<What do you say, pretty one? Shall 
I reward your thrilling entertainments with a swift and merciful death, or 
would you prefer something similarly dramatic?>�
     Nabiki said nothing in reply.
     �<Nothing to say? I�m disappointed in you.>�
     She smirked. �What difference does it make? Death is death.�
     Jabba murmured agreement.
     �<Even so, I hate to discard you so soon after I�ve acquired you. 
You are a pretty fish, but far too dangerous to have swimming around 
the tank.>�
     Nabiki nodded and slipped the tube of lipstick from her bosom. Bib 
Fortuna�s eyes widened in horror. He stood up and pointed at the small 
golden trinket.
     �Master beware! She has some kind of weapon secreted there!� 
     **Bib was quick to return to his master�s good graces,** Nabiki noted.
     Jabba recoiled in surprise.
     When a third volley of shots rang out and killed his secret guard, he 
was even more surprised. Three quarters of the guests now lay in smoking 
heaps about the room, and the place stank of burnt flesh. Salacious Crumb, 
who had been laughing the whole time, was now a bubbling magenta splatter 
on the wall behind Jabba.
     Jabba watched as the other half of the guard directed their weapons 
at him. Explosions and gunfire could be heard elsewhere in the palace now. 
There would be no reinforcements to help him.
     Nabiki smiled wanly for them.
     �Now I seem to recall making you an offer. I also recall giving you 
a second chance. I don�t give third chances.�
     Bib was flabbergasted. Jabba deathly silent.
     �I appreciate your help, Bib. I couldn�t have smuggled in those hit 
men without you,� she began. Bib began to sweat even harder. �But I 
couldn�t have pulled this off without you, Jabba.�
     It was now Jabba�s turn to be flabbergasted.
     �Yes, I know. You didn�t mean to, but you�re just *so* predictable. 
And so very arrogant.�
     Now Jabba understood what she was talking about. She knew he�d 
have extra triggermen hidden in with the guests. She knew that he would 
be expecting something from her. All she needed was a little excitement 
to bring his triggers out into the open so her own men could pick them 
off. And he had given it to her.
     Nabiki popped the top of the lipstick tube and touched up.
     �And you Fortuna, so quick to betray me? I�m surprised Jabba�s kept 
you around this long. But don�t worry, I won�t make that same mistake.�
     She replaced the top of the tube and tucked it back into her bosom. 
One of her hit men stepped up and threw a cloak over her shoulders. 
She wrapped it around herself and started to laugh.
     �You know, as of about ten minutes ago all of your legal assets were 
frozen pending criminal investigation. Your high powered lawyers all 
met with terrible accidents, so there won�t be help from that quarter. 
And as for your illegitimate business concerns, well I guess they�re just 
mine for the taking.�
     Several armored troopers stomped into the chamber and secured it. 
One of them saluted her. She threw a jaunty salute in return and 
continued.
     �And that my dear Jabba, is the signal that your palace and sail 
barge have been secured by my organization. As your new landlord I feel 
I must evict you.�
     Jabba found enough resolve to laugh at her.
     �<You won�t last a day in this house. I have powerful allies.>�
     Nabiki laughed again.
     �I don�t think so. You see my little coup over you sends a powerful 
message to whatever friends you might still have. And let�s face it, I�m 
good, but even I can�t seize *all* of your holdings at once. No, I think 
the scramble for the leftovers will be enough to keep all of the other 
organizations too busy to bother tangling with me.�
     More troops filed into the chamber. These weren�t your average thugs, 
either. Nabiki had hired an elite mercenary company from the look of them.
     �You�ll be leaving now. My men have instructions to drop you off in 
Mos Eisley. With any luck the police or the Hentperials will pick you up 
before one of your competitors does.�
     She gestured to her half naked form.
     �I�d make you dance for me, but I don�t think I have the stomach for 
it. You on the other hand have too much stomach for it.� She gestured to 
his bloated form. �I think kicking you out of your own palace is 
humiliation enough.�
     Jabba was livid with impotent rage. Several dozen blaster rifles and 
a huge crew served gun shoved in his face quickly silenced him. The great 
bed-throne�s gravity drive whined in protest as they took him away. Bib 
Fortuna stood alone now in a room full of enemies.
     Nabiki clucked sadly at him.
     �Poor Bib. You should have played it through to the end. If you had, 
well, let�s not kid ourselves shall we? I mean if you�ll betray Jabba 
you�ll betray me later.�
     She stepped back from him and the troops did the same. Bib realized 
too late what he was standing on.
     The trap-door opened with a cloud of dust and a heavy thud. Bib 
dropped straight through the floor and slid down into the Rancor chute. 
His screams persisted for a few minutes before they were drown out by 
the Rancor�s growls. There followed a few sickening crunches of bone, 
and then silence.
     �No hard feelings?� She called down the hole.
     One of her men reset the trap.
     �Will you be staying here tonight?� He asked her.
     She looked about her to the bloody and burned ruins. �No, not tonight. 
This place needs cleaning up. I�d suggest burning it to the ground, but the 
Mos Eisley syndicates need a symbol of power. I�ll return soon enough.�
     She stepped over the body of the Ithorian and walked out of the room.
     �I mean, now that I�m in charge here, it�s as good a place as any..."
     She walked up the stairs, and a wicked smile played across her face.
     �Today Jabba the Hutt. Tomorrow I think I�ll try the Hentpire. And 
I have just the man to use as my unwitting pawn...�
     Her thoughts drifted fondly to the handsome face of Kuno Vader.
     Her laughter echoed through the empty halls.



                                 THE END


Notes:

1) This is the first in a series of short fics from P-P-P-Chan 
Productions and Fission Park Press that will introduce the main 
story. The next fic in the group will be 'The Desert Suite' (featuring 
Kasumi Antilles).

2) The K-Wing starfighter was designed and built by Kawaii Heavy 
Industries of Shiratori. The K-Wing sports powerful reactor/propulsion 
systems by Charming, a twin laser projector array, a concussion 
missile launcher with eight reloads, and four streamlined pylons
for proton torpedoes. The on-board A/I system is specifically 
tailored to be as friendly and cheerful as possible. It is the front
line starfighter of the Rebel Alliance.

3) The T-95 Tsubasa is a popular interdiction and commerce raider. 
While not as fast or as agile as the K-Wing, its main claim to fame 
is its sophisticated sensory deception gear. Beyond visual range, 
the Tsubasa can appear on sensors as any type of spaceship (or object) 
the operator desires. At long ranges even capital ships can be 
simulated! The three belonging to Jabba were on a simple intercept 
against only one fighter, thus there was no reason to employ their 
deception gear.

4) Yes, it�s just a tube of lipstick. What did you think it was?


Free the Nukes!