Well here we go. This is a project that I've been tinkering with for some 
time.

I'd first like to thank my good friends Christopher Gwyn and Julie Pohl for 
their prereading, suggestions and commentary.

As you know Ranma and Urusai Yatsura belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Jurai and 
certain Mercenary Captains belong to Pioneer. Shanty World, Doozy Sack, 
Governors, Peace Robots and anything else you do not recognize from anime, 
belong to me. I hope you like it. So without further ado. Montanto 
productions present

                                     Shantyworld
                              A Ranma Fanfic
                             with Gratuitous cameos

                                Chapter 1
                            Descent and Betrayal.

In her dream, life was simple. She walked down a street, in a strange, 
alien, city. It seemed unusual to her since the street was both clean and 
paved.  When she looked around she saw that she was standing next to a fence 
that kept people from falling into the adjacent canal. She was wearing a 
light blue dress with a white blouse, and carried a leather bookbag. Was 
this outlandish garb a uniform? Perhaps it was what she wore for school. She 
couldn't wait to find out, school would be so much more fun then her private 
tutors. She ran to catch up with her friends. Friends were a luxury she 
could barely understand. For most of her life she had been cloistered for 
her own safety as well as that of her family. To be treated as an equal, not 
with the fawning respect of a bondservant, nor the patronizing disdain of a 
higher-up or imperial, she liked it.

Life seemed good here; there was no poverty, no beggars, and no trash on the 
street, no one to fear in the alleyways. She watched as a little old lady 
washed the pavement, using a bucket and a wooden ladle. For someone to 
casually waste water by tossing it on the street, the wealth of the average 
person here must be incredible.  She as she walked towards the school, with 
her friends, she happily chatted about gossip and boys. She was in paradise.

Her reverie was short lived however, in the distance she could hear a faint 
rumbling which grew by the second soon the earth began to shake as well. She 
watched in horror as buildings collapsed around her. In desperation, she 
tried to run for safety, but the ground opened up from under her. She 
plummeted down the chasm, screaming all the way.

Akane woke with a start. She was in her own room with its gray, adobe, brick 
walls. The gaff skin rug lay on the floor. The portrait of Akane's mother 
(painted just prior to her cremation) hung on the wall. (Father had been 
reluctant to pay because "It didn't look lifelike.") Through the comforting 
steel bars on t her window the Star's light shone.

"It had all been a dream," she thought as the images of her fantasy world 
began to fade.

Obvious really. Who would be so extravagant as to waste water by throwing it 
on the pavement?

The house was still shaking. She could hear a rumbling in the distance. An 
earthquake? No, that was impossible. There were no earthquakes on Doozy 
Sack. The Governors made sure of that. A ship must be docking at port, a big 
one by the sound of it. She jumped out of bed, and ran to look out of her 
window. A larger house blocked her view. Frantically she ran out to the 
hallway to the stairs and climbed up top the roof.

It had been light for about fifteen minutes. The sky was overcast, as usual. 
Despite the perpetual clouds, Doozy Sack produced very little rain, and this 
morning was no exception. What remained of the night air was still chilled 
her bare arms and body, through the thin nightgown. Akane hugged herself, 
wishing she had paused long enough to grab her robe.

The roof provided a memorable view of the morning city. Houses stretched as 
far as the eye could see. Fashioned from anything people could get their 
hands on--adobe, wood, stone, the hulls of old starships-The buildings were 
born of inspiration and desperation combined. They collapsed as easily as 
they burst into flame: but that meant little to the builders. At least at 
the time of the building.

To the immediate west, lay a neighborhood of wealthy, elaborate houses. 
Known as the Gentryways, it was home of mayors, merchants and other members 
of wealth, and was positioned for maximum relief from the noise of the two 
ports.  Akane's home stood a kilometer east of the Gentryways proper, for 
though her family which owned one of the secondary freeports, easily 
possessed wealth enough for a residence in the Gentryways, her father, 
preferred one closer to his center of influence.

North of the Gentryways the dwellings progressively deteriorated into tents 
and shanties as far as the eye could see. Jutting beyond, nearly twenty 
kilometers in diameter, standing two Kilometers above the horizon, was the 
Northport itself. A magnificent obsidian structure, it dwarfed the crags of 
the Rim Crater it was built into. Despite its immense size it was only the 
smallest of the four starports, that dotted Doozy Sack's main continent in a 
triangular pattern. The largest starport, Mainport, was a thick black line 
against the horizon, directly south of her.  Other ports exited on Doozy 
Sack of course, including her father's. A handful of freeports had been 
built over the years, and the Governors tolerated them so far. The freeports 
were used by mercenaries, freetraders, and anyone either disallowed use of 
the Governors' ports or unable to afford their prices. Heaven's Way 
Freeport, owned by her father.

Suddenly she saw it. At first only a shadow through the clouds, as it 
descended, it revealed itself in all its glory: a battleship. It was bright 
yellow, covered with black stripes: the markings of the Magnanimous Tiger, 
dominant clan of the Oni Confederacy. Hundreds of ships, both Oni and Jurai, 
had been docking for several months but they had been mere frigates, 
corvettes, and tankers. This was the first ship of merit Akane had seen, and 
it was a sure sign that the Oni Confederacy's main fleet would soon be here, 
and the battle happening. The ship was huge, almost a kilometer in length. 
It was easily the largest ship Akane had ever seen approaching the 
Northport.

A dozen saucer-shaped fighters burst out of the clouds with a loud, 
thunderous, roar. Half were Magnanimous Tiger.  Three carried the blood red 
markings of the Gentle Orchid clan, the second only to the Magnanimous Tiger 
Clan within the Oni Confederacy.  The rest bore markings to Akane. All 
twelve darted around the Battleship in what looked like a carefree dance. 
Anyone foolish enough to attack, though, would learn their error quickly.

"They're coming," Akane gasped. "The fleets are coming!" She ran back to the 
ladder and climbed back down, virtually falling all the way, in her haste to 
get to the living room. "Father! Onnechan! The fleets are coming!"

Her family was in the central gallery. They seemed matter of fact about the 
news. Her oldest sister, Kasumi, was instructing the bondservants on the 
day's chores. When she heard Akane coming, she turned a moment and smiled. 
Then, giving a pleasant nod, she turned back to the briefing.

Her other sister, Nabiki, sat with their father at the dining room table.  
They were going over the books and the day's plans. Nibbling on a carrot, 
Nabiki pressed controls on the console, which was built into the table. 
Projectors hidden throughout the room activated 3-dimensional charts and 
graphs appeared overhead.

"The way I'm reading this, Daddy," Nabiki indicated the largest chart with 
her carrot, "is this. With the main fleets arriving, we'll be up to our ears 
in Mercenaries and Freetraders following the wealth. If we play things 
right, we should be able to double our revenue." Nabiki took another bite 
from her carrot.

"The only real downside to all of this that I can see is that with the 
increased Jurai and Oni presence, the Governors will be doubling the Peace 
Robots." She paused to think and chew. "The obvious ones, anyway. They'll 
probably square the ones we're not supposed to know about."

Soun Tendou stroked his mustache, thinking. "Do you think the Mayors will 
cause problems?" He asked.

Nabiki was silent. The charts above the table disappeared, replaced by two 
profiles: a stern looking woman, face partially obscured by shadow and veil, 
and a dark skinned man wearing sunglasses, a manic smile and a small palm 
tree sprouting out of his curly hair.  " I can play Mendou and Kunou against 
each other," Nabiki said slowly "Sanzenin's not an issue, it's only a matter 
of time before the others eat him alive. It wouldn't hurt us to encourage 
that."  The image of a man with silver hair and a mustache appeared. Nabiki 
steepled her hands. "The only one I'm worried about is McSweeney. He's been 
unpredictable in the past. I've been working on several contingencies, 
but..."her daughter on the shoulder. "Keep me posted." He became aware his 
youngest daughter was standing in the doorway. "Ah, Akane! Good morning. I'm 
sorry, did you say something?"

Akane paused. What she had just overheard disturbed her. So far the Mayors 
had let them be. The Tendous were a moderately successful due to their 
ownership of the Heaven's Way Freeport. They still had to pay an exorbitant 
amount to the Mayor's in order to stay in business. Wasn't that how things 
were supposed to work? But Nabiki's plans. Even if there was no intention of 
moving against them the paranoia of the Mayors was legendary. If they 
believed the Tendous meant them harm how would they respond? Were even 
Nabiki's skill and drive, up to such a challenge?

Akane walked up to her father and kissed him on the cheek. "It's all right 
Daddy, I can see you already know."

"Ah yes. The fleets. They're pretty much on schedule. Nabiki's freetraders 
informed her the main body would star arriving this morning. But come. Lets 
go up and watch. It is an impressive sight."

The three daughters followed their father as he headed towards the roof. 
"Ah. The Schoolgirl in paradise one again I see." Nabiki commented, as she 
passed Akane. "What's next, Sailor Scouts?" She said with a smile.

"What's a Sailor?" Akane asked. As curious as she was annoyed. She hated 
when Nabiki used her specialized upgrades to access the nervous system 
interface in Akane's wetware.

In the interim, two destroyers had joined the battleship already arrived 
over Northport. One was a Magnanimous Tiger, the other a Gentle Orchid. 
Looking toward Mainport to the south, the sky seemed to rain ships. A dozen 
battleships and destroyers descended over Mainport.

One of the fighters, over Northport, suddenly broke rank and dropped from 
the sky. At the last possible moment it pulled up and sped towards them. The 
Tendous watched in amazement as the ship weaved and dived, wreaking havoc 
above the Gentryways.

"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped, watching. "That pilot is risking an awfully large 
fine, doing that."

"I'll say." Nabiki added. "Who'd be crazy enough to break port regulations 
like that?"

"Lum-Sempai!" Akane shouted, realizing immediately just who would be that 
crazy. As if it had heard her call, the fighter halted and hovered, above 
the Tendou household. Slowly, it descended to hover over the Tendou's 
courtyard. "Lum-Sempai!" Akane repeated and rushed downstairs to greet her 
friend.

The Oni pilot climbed out of the cockpit. Underneath the flight gear, one 
could be seen the body of a young woman. Helmet and suit were standard 
Magnanimous Tiger issue, yellow with black tiger stripes. The pilot pulled 
off her helmet to reveal long green hair, short, golden horns, and a pretty 
face somewhere around 20 years old by Doozy Sack reckoning. The pilot looked 
down at Akane, and revealed sharp fangs in a smile. On her, the fangs looked 
cute.

"Akane-chan!" she shouted gleefully. She leapt from her fighter and floated 
gracefully twenty meters to the ground.

Although her family was influential in the Magnanimous Tiger, Lum had 
developed a reputation in her own right.

She had been stationed on Doozy Sack as a liaison officer several years ago, 
like many young imperials, enjoyed "slumming" in the Gentryways. During this 
time, Lum had virtually adopted Akane as her own. The Tendou family, hopeful 
of imperial support, had encouraged the relationship. Even after Lum had 
been transferred elsewhere, their friendship had remained strong. Although 
there were times Akane was unsure whether Lum considered her a best friend, 
or a pet kitten.

"Akane-Chan!" Lum said, as she landed on the ground. "My how you have 
grown!"

"I'm catching up with you, Sempai." Akane said confidently.

Lum swept Akane into a tight hug, and rose into the air with her. "You 
certainly are! I am going to have to get another planetside post and have 
you travel the stars for a while to prevent that. You do not know how happy 
I am to see you. You will have to tell me everything about your life."

Akane could feel her hair stand on end, as a mild current of electricity, 
coursed through her body. " Sempai?" She gasped. "Could you let go? I can't 
breath."

Lum dropped her. Not much of a drop, but it was enough to catch Akane off 
guard. She stumbled and landed, gracelessly on her bottom. Lum landed 
looking horrified. "Oh Akane! I forgot you humans are so fragile! Please 
forgive me!".

"Please, Sempai. I'm fine." Akane said rubbing her behind.

Lum looked relieved. "That is very good," she said, "but be more careful, I 
worry about you so much. So, Akane-Chan. I am told you are coming of age 
this week. I am so happy for you. That means you can finally come to 
Ganymede's with me."

Akane covered her eyes with her hand and shook her head. Her sister Kasumi 
had warned her against Ganymede's many times, calling it a den of amorality. 
Her sister Nabiki was a regular on weekends. Ganymede's was an establishment 
that catered to the discerning woman of means. Lum couldn't get enough of 
the place.

"You want me to meet your darling, Lum-Sempai? Akane asked skeptically.

Lum giggled. "Oh you have to! You will be so jealous! My Darling is so sweet 
and cuddly!"

Akane rolled her eyes. "If you want him so much why don't you just buy him, 
Sempai? Or at least purchase a tissue sample?" She always wondered why the 
daughter of a warlord, so powerful as to control the largest voting block in 
the Oni Confederacy was always so tight with her money.

Lum's face turned an emerald green as she blushed. "I am saving up for him. 
He will be mine sooner or later, but a tissue sample? Do not be vulgar, 
Akane-chan, if I did that it would not be my darling. But enough of this, 
come with me. You will have so much fun! After all what better reason is 
there to be with a man? Love?" Lum burst out laughing.

Lum's attitude was infectious, and soon Akane was laughing too. "Oh all 
right, Sempai. I'll come. But remember, I can't *enjoy* myself until next 
week."

"Yattah!" Lum shouted, as she hugged Akane. "Oh Akane-Chan! We will have so 
much fun today! Ganymede is not going to care how old you are! All you have 
to say is that you are with me and the only question he will ask is 'can I 
see your money'. Just you wait, I will find the perfect boy for you!"

Lum looked up at her fighter, which was still hovering above the courtyard. 
"You can go now," she said. The fighter bolted into the sky and disappeared, 
presumably headed in the direction of Northport. Lum grabbed Akane by the 
arm and virtually dragged her out of the courtyard and back upstairs to her 
room.  Akane sat down on her bed as Lum tore through her dresser. "You must 
have something appropriate," she said in frustration, "otherwise I will be 
forced to buy you something. It has to be something that says 'I am Lum's 
best friend. Fear Me.'" After a critical review of Akane's wardrobe, she 
finally selected a long beige pullover, sepia leggings and gaff leather 
boots that were died a shade of mahogany. Over this came a white vest that 
had the insignia of the Tendou family on the back.

Lum in the mean time had slipped out of her flight gear revealing a tiger 
stripped bikini and boots that went up to her knees. She circled Akane 
slowly scrutinizing her appearance.  "You look almost perfect. But something 
is missing." Lum rubbed her chin.  "Ah, yes, of course!" She produced a 
yellow tiger stripe, scarf, seemingly out of nowhere, and wrapped it around 
Akane's neck. "Yes. You are beautiful, now. Let us go," Lum said with a 
smile.

Outside of the Tendou compound, Doozy Sack awoke in all its squalid glory. 
More people then usual were outside all trying to get a good look at the 
fleet's descent. Those not gawking like idiots were getting on with their 
day: opening up shops, or walking to work

Lum seemed euphoric as they walked taking short cuts through twisted 
alleyways. For Akane by herself such a route would be almost suicidal in 
normal situations, but she knew that as long as she had her sempai beside 
her, she was safe.

"This is the time to live, Akane-chan, life is fast and unpredictable. To 
dance, from skillet to hearth, with the taste of blood on your palette and 
flesh in your teeth. We who wander the void on our way to the final end get 
a chance to run.  Look at me for example. I am a war hero now."

"Really Lum-Sempai?"

"Oh yes, I led my fighters against a scheduled sneak attack saving our main 
carrier during the battle of Weaver's Cluster. For my trouble I was promoted 
to Captain."

Akane looked at Lum with amazement, but slightly puzzled. "Weaver's Cluster? 
I thought that the fleets were gathering here for the battle of Weaver's 
Cluster."

Lum smiled shaking her head.  "Oh no Akane-chan, much as I pride myself in 
our victory, Weaver's Cluster was only a minor skirmish. The battle we are 
preparing for now is Fatima's Well. If we gain control over the gravity 
well, we'll gain the vital edge we need in our struggle against those damned 
Jurai."

The distinction between battles confused Akane more then she would ever 
admit. The war between the Oni and the Jurai had been going on for as long 
as she could remember. Despite being Lum's friend she still understood 
virtually nothing about it. "Sempai? What are you and the Jurai fighting 
over?" She asked."

Lum smiled sweetly and wagged a finger at Akane. "Now, now Akane-chan. You 
know that once grievances between two sides are filed, they become 
classified for the greater good. Why if the Governors let us tell every one, 
who knows what�." Lum was interrupted by the sound of, loud, explosions 
coming from the general direction of Ganymede's.

Lum turned in shock. "Oh no! It is the Jurai! They are after my Darling! 
Darling!" She shouted, taking flight. Akane ran after her, trying her best 
to keep up.

"Sempai! Please! Don't get involved! The Peace Robots will handle it!" she 
shouted. It was no use. When Lum was like this there was no stopping her.

Ganymede's was unharmed. But it was now closed, protected by reinforced 
steel doors. The rest of the street was not so lucky. A Jurai colonel and a 
mercenary captain had squared off in the middle of the and were doing 
considerable damage. The energy generators of the Jurai's personal defense 
field, looking for all the world like wooden spirit wards orbiting her 
figure, crackled with energy. They had taken the full brunt of the 
mercenary's energy blast and the street reeked of ozone from the exchange. 
The Mercenary captain had produced an energy blade.  Slowly, the two 
combatants circled around each other.

"Unclean trash!" Shouted the Jurai captain. "You can't have him! I paid for 
him! I own him!"

"My money is as good as yours, Princess," the captain sneered, "and Ganymede 
took it. Tenchi is mine."

"You two! Stop this! You are going to hurt my Darling!" Lum shouted. 
Electricity began to arc between her hands as she virtually glowed with 
rage.

"Lum-Sempai! Please! The Peace Robots are coming!" Akane shouted in 
desperation, tugging at Lum's arm, risking electrocution. "They know what's 
happening! They always know!" Lum calmed down as the distinct hum of Peace 
Robots approaching filled the streets of Doozy Sack. Both she and Akane 
broke into a run.

Most Peace Robots looked like large, floating, metal orbs. Some, however, 
were designed to look like chrome versions of whatever species they policed. 
On Doozy Sack most of the population was human.

Akane had seen Peace Robots that resembled Lollygaggers several times, and 
occasionally she had seen others fashioned to look like other species. 
Imperial Peace Robots were much rarer. Akane had heard more then one rumor 
that said that this was because in the case of Imperials the impersonation 
was perfect.

Right now there were three Peace Robots one was of humanoid design, flanked 
by two humming steel orbs.

A single blast of energy from one of the orbs rendered the mercenary 
unconscious. The Jurai watched in horror, as the mercenary fell to the 
ground. She turned to the Peace Robots. "Gentle Enforcers, no!" She shouted. 
"This was all that monster's fault!" She frantically pointed at the 
unconscious mercenary. "This is all a terrible misunderstanding! Please 
believe me�" She stammered, as the intensity of her defense field increased 
"I am Colonel Aeyeka Masaki of the royal house of Jurai! I am the 24th in 
the line of inheritance! The Governors will understand! Tell them who I am. 
Please! Tell them who I am!"

Her force field lasted a whole second before the wooden generators burst 
into flame and exploded. With another stun bolt, Captain Aeyeka Masaki 
slumped to the ground.

The Peace Robots picked up the two assailants as a carrier vessel appeared 
over head. Lum and Akane waited at a safe distance. "If they're lucky, they 
will wake up healthy and calm," Lum whispered. "If not they will be born 
again." She was, clearly disturbed by the whole idea.

"Your Darling waited several months for you, I'm sure he won't mind waiting 
a little longer." Akane said, trying to comfort her friend.  Personally, she 
didn't feel like playing any longer

Lum nodded slowly, strangely quiet and pensive. It was a marked contrast 
from her usually bubbly self. She was still staring at the Jurai Colonel. 
"Akane-Chan. I hoped to wait before I said this." She said slowly, with much 
hesitation. "I wanted this day to be fun for the both of us. I actually 
believed that I could wait before anything happened. But they," she nodded 
in the direction of the departing carrier, "showed me I was wrong."

Lum turned to look at her young friend "Akane-chan, do you remember what I 
told you about the rules of engagement?"

Akane smiled, happy to show off what her sempai had taught her. "Of course, 
Sempai, you said that the Governors control every aspect of warfare,  that 
they only allowed conflict at all if both parties followed the guidelines. 
Both forces would have to itemize everything. Ships, tactics, weapons, 
everything has to be put in triplicate. One time you said that the only 
strategic advantage was who had the better clerks."

Lum smiled. "Very good, Akane-chan. I am very proud of you. That is exactly 
right. But, I am afraid there is more. The rules of engagement have many 
loopholes. Ones that have existed for centuries. Why the Governors have not 
fixed them is one of the great mysteries of the universe." Lum paused and 
sighed. "I am sure you know the most basic loophole. Hiring mercenaries."

Akane nodded slowly realizing that the 'Rules of Engagement' had more 
wrinkles then she could possibly imagine. She waited for Lum to continue.

"That Loophole hardly even matters. Perhaps that is why the Governors never 
bothered to fix it." Lum said thoughtfully. "It usually ends with their 
mercenaries fighting our mercenaries. The damage a mercenary force could do 
to either of us is virtually nonexistent. But there are other kinks in the 
wire that the enemy can use. The most common and effective one being the 
tragic fact that accidents happen to supply lines."

"Sempai?" Frequently Lum's analogies made little sense and this time she was 
being more obscure then usual.

Lum stared up at the cloudy sky. "The Jurai will stop at nothing to gain an 
advantage in this conflict," she said slowly, "just like we would not. "I 
would be a fool if I did not believe that there was an intelligence officer 
out there who was aware of our friendship, and would think it useful."

"Sempai!" Akane gasped as she finally realized what her sempai was getting 
at.

Lum grabbed Akane and pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair. Finally 
after what felt like an eternity. Lum held Akane out in front of her. Tears 
in her eyes. "I am afraid that I am going to have to leave you, Akane-chan. 
If I spend more time here, the Jurai will know. And if that happens they 
will use you and they will consider you cheap. I know I would." She 
whispered. She wiped a tear from Akane's eye and smiled. "Cheer up. It will 
not be more then a year, the gods willing, and I have a gift for you before 
I leave."

"Sempai?" Akane asked, "if it had been someone else fighting, or if the 
Jurai had been behaved and merely bought another consort. Would we be having 
this conversation?" Lum smiled, but said nothing.

	Continued in next post


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