SANDELLA RANSHI SANDELLA RANSHI
Real Name: Sandella Ranshi
Identity/Class: Alternate Reality (Reality-2775 circa 40th and 41st century) human mutant
Occupation: Adventurer;
apparent co-leader of the Sandeyla future;
former commander of Ranshi forces
Group Membership: Sandeyla Future;
formerly the Ranshi Empire
Affiliations: Cable
(Nathan Summers/Nathan Dayspring Askani'son), Eyla Cire and the other
Harmonists of Reality-22073 in Reality-616's modern era, Eliminators;
he Ranshi Empire ruled thousands of star systems and trillions of lives.
Enemies: Formerly the Harmonists of Reality-22073 (notably Eyla Cire, Manuel Cire) and their Guardians
Known Relatives: Ranshi Emperor (father)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed (last seen in the Harmonist ship orbiting Earth-616 with the plan to explore the universe);
at least previously the timeship Conquest give miles above
Manhattan but out of synch with Reality-616's modern era by one second;
formerly the Milky Way galaxy of Reality-2775
First Appearance:Cable II#78 (April, 2000)
Powers/Abilities: Sandella has certain psychic powers, including a powerful intuition.
She has command of the members of the Ranshi Empire aboard the Conquest ship in the modern era of Reality-616, and she formerly commanded a larger group.
She has access to the advanced weaponry of the Ranshi Empire in the 41st century.
History:
(Cable II#82) - In Reality-2775, circa 2000 A.D., Cable saved Randall Shire (possessed by the Undying Semijan (see comments) and seeking to gain control over humanity via mind-control and a message of peace and harmony) from an
assassin (Domino/Neena Thurman possessed by the Undying Aentaros).
Shire went on to establish a single
global nation.
Over the centuries, humanity conquered the galaxy in
the name of Shire, forming the Ranshi Empire,
ruling Earth and eventually the Milky Way Galaxy.
(Cable
II#81 (fb)) - By 4000 A.D. (and likely some time before that), the
Ranshi Empire stretched from one end of the galaxy to the other. Earth
ruled the cosmos.
(Cable
II#81 (fb)) - The Ranshi considered their empire to be the most glorious empire
in all history.
(Cable II#81 (fb)) - Three mysterious strangers (the Fates)
warned the Ranshi Emperor that his empire and their every existence
was imperiled, as events taking place 2000 years in the past would
split the timeline and that the Ranshi Empire was but one of two
possible futures.
(Cable II#80 (fb) - BTS) - The Ranshi
soon learned that the Earth of the other timeline was known as Harmony,
which they considered to be a decadent world of peace. As Harmony posed
a threat to their empire, the Ranshi resolved that Harmony must be
destroyed. 
(Cable II#80 (fb) - BTS / Cable II#81 (fb)) - The Ranshi
Empire warred with the Harmonists, but with little success.
(Cable II#80 (fb) - BTS) - The two realities believed that only one of their realties could exist and that the other would be a shadow that would vanish as a result of their war.
(Cable II#81 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, the Ranshi learned that a man known as Cable was the nexus for the divergence.
(Cable II#80 (fb) - BTS) - The Ranshi realized that victory in their era meant nothing but that the past was critical.
(Cable II#78 (fb) - BTS) - The Ranshi Empire resolved
to send agents into the past to preserve their timeline at the expense
of the Harmonists' timeline.
(Cable II#78 (fb) - BTS) - The Ranshi Empire ship
Conquest traveled to the modern era of Reality-616. Maintaining a steady phase
dislocation of one second ahead of normal time, their ship floated
miles above the island of Manhattan, New York.
(Cable II#78) - With their ship remaining undetectable
they detected a faint chronotronic energy field somewhere in the city,
Captain Holdyne reported to
Controller Sandella that they suspected 1-2 time travelers. He further noted that they suspected that the
Harmonists had sent some scouts ahead of their main force and that they
were trying to pinpoint their locations; at her query, Holdyne assured
her that Malan and his team would find and eliminate the
Harmonists no matter what the cost. 
Holdyne continued that they had detected no other
time vessels in or out of phase, which he felt indicated that the
Harmonists must be using some technology unknown to their science. When
Sandella reminded him that he had been warned to be prepared for anything,
Holdyne insisted that they would not escape.
She further reminded him that the fate of the entire Ranshi Empire
rested on his shoulders, but Holdyne replied that he and his crew were
hunters and the Harmonists were prey, and that he and his crew had
never failed to make their kill. Sandella countered that these "prey"
were quite dangerous and that it was critical that they not
underestimate them as they were on the same mission, to preserve their
future. She insisted that that could not happen and that all of the
Harmonists must die, as soon as possible.
Holdyne informed Sandella that he was sending
Malan and his team down to the city immediately and that they would
blend in perfectly; it would not take them long to locate the time
travelers, and then the Eliminators would do the rest. Sandella told
him to justify her faith in him and he would be well rewarded, but if
he failed her, he would not live to see the sunrise.
Meanwhile, Malan and his agents (including
Kriven) prepared for their trip, discussing that the primitives they
would encounter were essentially long dead ghosts. Stifling that talk,
Malan reminded his agents that they knew what was expected of them and
that they were to become one with locals; he further warned them that
if they were detected, the knowledge that the past was being altered by
the future could shatter the nature of reality itself. When one of his
agents asked how they would explain the Eliminators, Malan clarified
that the Eliminators would be only used against the Harmonists under
his direct command and that the "barbarians" would never see a thing.
As the team departed, Sandella remarked that they would find out if the Elite Team was as good as Holdyne had claimed.
(Cable II#79 - BTS) - The Fates mystically appeared before Cable, vaguely advising him of imminent threats of the Ranshi Empire and Harmonists (with representatives of both posted, but not identified).
(Cable II#79 - BTS) - The Ranshi agents led the
source of the chronotropic energies they had detected, whom they
incorrectly assumed to be a Harmonist, into a trap. Cable (whose
identity they did not know) overwhelmed his attackers, and his mutant
nature proved him not to be a Harmonist, leading the Ranshi to teleport
away.
(Cable II#80) - Aboard the Conquest, Sandella chastised Malan,
noting that he had been charged with capturing a lone time-traveler and
had failed. Malan accepted complete blame and asked that neither his
team nor Captain Holdyne be held responsible for his mistakes. Sandella
told Malan that she was going to be lenient, but she warned that she
would not tolerate a second mistake. She continued that the vids on his
suit had digitalized the entire mission and that obviously the stranger
they had been tracing for months was not from Harmony, but she wanted
to know much more about him. She considered him a riddle, which she
despised, and she instructed Malan to find him or not to come back.
As Cable met with Clarity, the Ranshi locked onto
his signature, and Malan's team were prepared for transport.
(Cable II#81 (fb) - BTS) - Holdyne blasted Cable with
his weapon on "maximum stun" and transported Cable aboard the Ranshi
ship, where he was placed in restraints.
(Cable II#81) - As Cable began to recover, Sandella
congratulated Holdyne and asked if the capture had gone smoothly.
Confirming that it had, he detailed their actions, also confirming that
he had blasted the hero at full strength. Holdyne further detailed
their captive's mutant powers of telepathy and telekinesis, both of
which were
being controlled by their dampers. Sandella corrected Holdyne that a
man like their captive was never helpless and that she wanted the crew
on full alert.
Sandella then introduced herself to their captive and
asked his name, and after he told her "Nathan Summers," she noted that
he was a timewalker. After he told her that he knew that they could
sense that that he radiated "chronotronic" energies, Sandella realized that
he was not afraid of her, which she considered refreshing; however, she
further advised him that in her time few people spoke to the daughter
of the Ranshi in such tones. Insisting that proper decorum be
maintained, she instructed Captain Holdyne to deliver a five second
blast as a demonstration of their technology. The energy blast targeted
his mind and caught him by surprise, as if a hot poker had been driven
between his eyes and then twisted and turned for maximum effect.
Sandella then spoke telepathically, telling Cable that she was Ranshi,
that he should not mistake her for one of Harmony's weaklings, and that
her father ruled the galaxy. She further advised him that no one mocked
her and that she was a mutant like him.
Feigning weakness so his abilities would be
underestimated, Cable remained silent as Sandella continued that her
psychic intuition told her that he was important to their mission, and
that her intuition was never wrong. Sandella then related the history
of the Ranshi Empire and their conflict with the divergent timeline of
the Harmonists.
After Cable asked what all this had to do with
him, Malan -- having scanned the vids of their mission -- rushed in
and informed Sandella that right before they had appeared, one of their
captive's opponents had called him "Cable." Recognizing the name Cable as
the nexus of the divergence (see comments),
Sandella exclaimed, "By the Eternal..." Taking advantage of the
distraction, Cable then broke out of his restraints; however, Sandella
ordered him sent back to the instant after he was removed, and she
insisted that they had to minimize any damage to the time stream. 
(Cable II#81 - BTS) - Returning immediately after his departure, Cable battled the Aentaros-possessed Blockade, who ultimately broke his own neck upon being disabled, freeing Aentaros to possess another.
Cable's associate Irene Merryweather noted that he had seemed to flicker "like some sort of giant light bubble" right before the battle. Clarity reviewed the entire battle, which his agents Greg and Lea had captured on video.
Irene further helped Cable connect
the timelines with Randall Shire and the Undying, noting that Randall
Shire would become the Ranshi after a bunch of centuries, while Shire's
Harmony movement's connect to the Harmonists was obvious.
(Cable II#82) - Aboard the Conquest, Sandella told Holdyne that they were monitoring Cable via the ship's computer and that if any of the Harmony time travelers contacted him they would know. Holdyne assured Sandella that the droids and assault teams were on full alert and that they could transport them anywhere in a millisecond.
Another member of the Ranshi
reported that they were picking up small traces of a chronotropic
energy array, which she figured to be from a shielded ship within
detection range. Sandella replied that the Harmonists had to act soon
as the time divergence point was only hours away. She ordered that the
instant the Harmonists snared Cable they should be transported to that
site.
(Cable II#82 - BTS) - Aware that the Ranshi could use the momentary shut-off of their deflection shields to attack, Manuel Cire insisted they act immediately, and the Harmonists transported Cable up to their ship.
(Cable II#82 (fb) - BTS) - The Ranshi beamed aboard the Harmonist ship.
(Cable II#82) - Aboard the Harmonist ship, the
Harmonists (aided by the saber-toothed tiger guardians) and Ranshi (aided by
their Eliminators) battled. As Eyla and Sandella fought, Cable
recognized them both as counterparts of his former wife, Aliya Jenskot,
and he telepathically asked them all to please stop. Cable's telepathic
force of will made all of the Ranshi, Harmonists, and their allies stop
and listen, and he asked what the Ranshi and Harmonists expected of
him.
Sandella told Cable that in her timeline (Reality-2775), he would save Randall Shire from an assassin that night and that Shire would go on to establish a single global nation. Over the centuries, humanity would conquer the galaxy in the name of Shire, forming the Ranshi Empire, ruling Earth and eventually the Milky Way Galaxy. She further told him that mankind was destined to rule the universe, that it was a glorious destiny, and that he could make it happen.
Eyla subsequently told Cable that in her timeline
(Reality-22073), how, after Cable failed to save Shire, Earth would eventually be turned into a paradise
of freedom and peace.
However, Sandella told Cable that Harmony offered
the peace of the grave and that mutants like herself ruled the Ranshi
Empire; she told him to ask Eyla where the mutants were in her
paradise. Eyla tearfully confirmed that on Harmony, mutants had been eradicated.
Sandella reiterated, "Save Shire, Cable, and our kind will rule the cosmos." She further countered Eyla's arguments, "I am the daughter of the Ranshi Emperor. Save Shire and you will rule by my side as Lord of the Universe." Eyla replied, " Let Shire die, and our advanced medicine will cure your techno-virus...then you and I can live together in paradise."
Both Sandella and Eyla told Cable that the only thing they knew about the assassination attempt was a name: Domino (who had been possessed by Aentaros).
(Cable II#83) - Sandella was present as Cable was sent back to Earth.
Approximately 10 minutes before
the point of
divergence, Sandella and Holdyne observed remotely from their ship.
Sandella
considered that she and Cable could be so happy together if he saved
their timeline, but she wondered what would happen if he picked the
other reality and what would it feel like to fade into nothingness.
Holdyne assured her that as their ship was present at that time, they
would not fade from existence, although their reality would cease to exist, and they would become orphans in the timestream. "Just like Cable..." Sandella added.
At the same time, Eyla and Manuel had a virtually identical conversation.
(Cable II#83 - BTS) - Cable stopped Domino from killing Shire but also used the violent entity Aentaros that was possessing Shire to cause him to alienate his followers, thus diverging Reality-616 from Realities-2775 and -22073.
Communication from the Conquest ship to the Ranshi Empire in their future time ceased the moment Cable stopped Domino from killing Shire.(Cable II#83) - Holdyne reported the loss of contact
with the Ranshi Empire, and Sandella confirmed that Cable had diverged
both timelines and
both Harmony and the Ranshi Empire were now no more than worlds that
could have been. Holdyne asked what they should do, and Sandella told
him
that they should contact the Harmonists' timeship as they needed to
negotiate.
At the same time, Eyla and Manuel had a virtually identical conversation.
(Cable II#84 (fb) - BTS) - Eyla and Sandella
realized that they were alternate reality counterparts of each other,
and they wondered how many others like them existed in the Multiverse
(including, they suspected, someone Cable had once loved and lost).
Appreciating their differences and their similarities, they decided
that it would be much more exciting to combine their forces and see what
they could accomplish working together in this century. Armed with 2000
years of cybernetic technology and genetic engineering, they would
forge their own timeline: "The Sandeyla future."
(Cable II#83) - After Cable and his allies had
thwarted the Undying, Eyla and Sandella transported Cable aboard one of
their ships. They told him of their plans and noted that before they
ventured off to the stars, they had wanted to say goodbye. Both Eyla
and Sandella gave him
Comments:
Created by...hmmm...
They first appeared in a story written by/credited to Joe
Pruett, but in an interlude with art by Michael Ryan and Andrew Pepoy;
the characters were inherently tied to and named for Randall Shire, who
figured largely into the subsequent Undying storyline that ran from
Cable II#79-84. That story had art from Michael Ryan and Andrew Pepoy
(with occasional substitute inkers) and was written by Robert Weinberg.
I would think Weinberg created the Ranshi Empire, and they were used in
the story just before he started writing...but maybe I'm wrong?
Sandella was this harsh military
leader, and when she captured Cable, she was all business, using
technology to psychically cause him pain as part of her demanding
respect. After learning he was Cable, the nexus point of the divergence
between her reality and the Harmonists', and sending him back to Earth,
she made this 180 degree turnaround, where she was lovesick for him.
Eyla was nice and there was a spark between her and Cable right from the start.
There is a LOT going on in this story arc. Randall Shire and Cable brought everything together. You can read the profiles on Shire and the Undying, etc. to get the other half of the story, but the Undying don't DIRECTLY relate to the Ranshi or the Harmonists. It may or may not make more sense as I profile the Ranshi Empire and its members.
Pretty much every writer likes to
write the story as if a future reality was destroyed when the past/main
timeline diverges from its history, but we know that the realities just
diverge, and many seen later as divergent realities. Especially during
the point of divergence, reality often seems to be in flux, with beings
and/or worlds seemingly vanishing from existence, only to show up
later.
The Conquest ship contained perhaps dozens of the Ranshi, including
Sandella, Holdyne, Malan, etc.. Their fate since departing Earth
is unrevealed.
They spoke a language requiring translation, but it was all translated for us and Cable.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Sandella Ranshi should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Cable II#78 (April, 2000) - Joe Pruett (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#79 (May, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#80 (June, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#81-82 (July-August, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#83 (September, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Walden Wong (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable
II#84 (October, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Nathan Massengil & Andrew Pepoy (inkers), Mark Powers (editor)
First posted: 10/01/2023
Last updated: 10/08/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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