I work as a contract programmer/analyst. Recently, one contract came
to an end. A new one starts Monday. As usual, my company gave me
the days in between as paid vacation. Cool! So I spent seven hours
writing today. Man, writing fanfic can be hard work when you push
yourself. But it was worth it. I completed a chapter, and may have
this dang thing completely finished by Monday.
Let me know what you think. Email me for previous chapters.
------RM
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Galaxy Police Mihoshi's ACADEMY DAYS
by Ryan Mathews
CHAPTER FOUR
"Hand me the micro-fuser."
"Roger!" Mihoshi fished through the toolbox and gave the appropriate
item to Kiyone, whose head was completely hidden under the aircar's dashboard.
It had taken close to forty minutes to get this far, most of which had been
spent figuring out how to get the damned thing apart and, once inside,
determining which wire fed which system.
There was a brief sizzling noise. "There! That should be it!"
Mihoshi's wristcorder was now powering the aircar's radio system, or so Kiyone
hoped. "Switch it on!"
Mihoshi touched a panel. Indicators flashed to life. "YAY! It lit up!
It lit up!"
"Lemme see!" Kiyone extracted herself from under the dashboard and
squirmed back into her seat. "Alright! We're saved!" She quickly activated
the emergency frequencies. "Mayday! Mayday! This Trasima City Police car 103
requesting immediate assistance!"
"I'm so hungry," said Mihoshi. "When I get back, I'm gonna have a big
breakfast!"
"Mayday! Mayday! This Trasima City Police car 103 requesting
immediate assistance!"
"I'm gonna have some grillcakes, with that berry sauce they make here,
and maybe some sausage..."
"Mayday! Mayday! Anyone, please respond!"
"And maybe some of those little cheesy things, y'know, they're kinda
like omelets, but they're not really?"
"Will you shut up about food?!" shouted Kiyone. "This isn't working!"
"That's weird. I wonder why not?" Mihoshi sniffed. "Hey, do you
smell something?"
Smoke began to curl, then pour out from under the dashboard. Kiyone
cursed loudly and fumbled for the fire extinguisher as the cabin rapidly filled
with smoke. Blinded, she gave what she hoped was the burning area a good spray,
while Mihoshi opened her door and tried desperately to fan the smoke outside.
The fire out, they sat choking and gasping, waiting for the smoke to clear.
Kiyone was the first to speak, her voice hoarse from the smoke. "I
don't get it. The power systems should have been compatible. If your
wristcorder is still running on the old system, if you didn't get the upgrade--"
"Upgrade..." said Mihoshi to herself, looking skyward. "Upgrade,
upgrade, upgrade."
No, thought Kiyone. Please, no.
Mihoshi snapped her fingers. "Oh! *That* upgrade! I remember now! I
did get it after all! I must have forgot."
If looks could kill, Mihoshi's head would have been vaporized at that
moment.
Mihoshi laughed nervously. "Um, Kiyone? That vein is standing out on
your forehead again..."
To Kiyone, Mihoshi seemed to undergo a bizarre transformation. Large
horns sprouted from her forehead. Her eyes glowed bright red, and huge,
dripping fangs protruded from her lips.
<What's the matter, Kiyone?> asked the grinning Mihoshi-demon. <You
aren't *mad* at me, are you? You know it's not my fault! You know I don't
*mean* to make your life a living hell!> The demon threw back it's head and
laughed.
"Kill..." muttered Kiyone.
"Now, Kiyone, you know what the doctor said about your blood
pressure!"
"Mihoshi, you... IDIOT!!"
"That's it," said Mihoshi cheerfully. "Let it all out!"
"You idiot! You moron! You pathetic waste of carbon atoms! I've
known *dishrags* that are smarter than you!"
"That's it!"
"I hate you! I wish I'd never been partnered with you! I'd wish I'd
never met you! I wish you'd never been born! I wish I had a time machine so I
could kill your grandparents before they had children!"
"Hey, wait," Mihoshi said, less cheerfully.
"When we fall off this damned bridge and plummet to our deaths, I
wanna survive just long enough to see you die first! At least I'll have one
second of life without you around to screw it up!!"
Spent, Kiyone collapsed into her seat, panting. There was a moment of
silence.
"Do you really hate me that much?"
"Huh?" Kiyone turned to look at her partner. Tears trickled down
Mihoshi's face. "Oh, god, don't cry. Not now."
"I'm sorry," said Mihoshi between sobs. "I try so hard. I know I
mess up a lot and I know I make things hard for you, but--"
"Look, I didn't mean it, alright? I was just angry."
"Really?"
"Really. Now please stop crying."
"Okay."
Kiyone sat back and closed her eyes. Whether she blamed Mihoshi or not,
the fact was, that wristcorder had been their last real hope. All that remained
was the remote possibility that a boat would go under the bridge, and that
someone aboard it would look up, before the morning traffic shook them loose.
It had been a long time since Kiyone had last felt this helpless. Of
course, Mihoshi had been involved back then, as well.
* * *
"Cadet Kiyone!"
Kiyone woke up with a start, evoking a chorus of giggles from her
classmates. Her brain frantically replayed the last few seconds of the
lecture. The instructor had asked her a question about a popular brand of
pistol.
"I had thought that, given your internship, you could explain the
problems with this particular firearm--"
"Yes, sir!" She stood up. "The Ghivex P-200 takes a level 200 power
cell, but the interface port is similar to the level 400 power cell used by our
PZ-706-C. Using the P-200 with a level 400 cell will make it explode in your
hand."
One of her classmates snorted. "Who would be stupid enough to do
that?"
Kiyone turned on him. "When you're pinned down by gunfire, see how much
time you have to think about your power cells!"
"Um, thank you, Cadet," said the instructor. "That will be all."
Kiyone sat down, embarrassed. That outburst certainly hadn't helped her
reputation. Of course, most of her classmates were already convinced she was a
bitch.
She was exhausted. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink the night
before. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that man lying dead, part of
his head blown off. She'd regretted her decision to remain quiet almost as soon
as she'd made it, but now that she wanted desperately to tell someone, she was
afraid to.
The reason for her fear was what had happened that morning. Mihoshi had
become worried when Shi hadn't shown up to have breakfast with them. It turned
out that he was in the stockade. The offense was breaking curfew, which was
ordinarily punished only with demerits the first time. At first, Kiyone had
been relieved. Perhaps Lieutenant Tugh and his officers could get to the bottom
of the situation without her help. And if she got into trouble, well, at least
it would be off her chest.
However, they wouldn't let either her or Mihoshi speak to Shi. It was
clear he was being held for something more serious than breaking curfew. Kiyone
waited to be called in for questioning, after all, Shi had seen her at the scene
of the crime, but the call never came. As the hours passed, Kiyone became more
and more suspicious. Were they investigating, or were they covering it up?
The class ended, and a grateful Kiyone left the classroom. Her next
class wasn't for an hour. Maybe she could at least get a little sleep.
Once outside, she saw Dramm up ahead, apparently heading for the
firing range. She picked up the pace and caught up with him. "Dramm!"
"Kiyone! What's up!"
"Oh, uh, nothing. Hasn't a girl ever asked you to walk her across
campus?"
Dramm blinked. "Well, this is a surprise. A pleasant one, though.
Where are you headed?"
"Back to the barracks."
"Sure, I'll accompany you."
They walked on for awhile, Kiyone waiting for the right moment to
bring up a question and make it look casual. Dramm knew more about the base's
operations than anyone else with whom she was on speaking terms.
"So, um, I heard a rumor about Shi," she said. "I heard he's in the
stockade because he went off base into the port. It's kinda hard to believe.
Mihoshi says Shi was always good about following rules."
"Who told you he went into the port?"
"Well, it's more of a guess than a rumor. Mihoshi thought she saw
Shi outside when we were cleaning the cafeteria. I figured he went into the
port, because how often does someone get sent to the stockade just for breaking
curfew?"
"If he was jailed for going AWOL, don't you think we would have been
told?"
"Would we?"
Dramm stopped walking and gave Kiyone an odd look. "Kiyone, I don't
know what you're thinking, but whatever it is, it's going to get you in even
bigger trouble than you've been in already. Command here may be harsh, but they
know what they're doing. You have to trust them."
"I want to. But I don't understand the big deal is about the port! I
mean, don't Academy employees have to be there to pick up cargo?"
"We don't get any supplies from the port. It's all land or air-
delivered. There's no good reason to be over there."
"But..." But then what were those crates Mihoshi had climbed? There had
been a lot of them. Dramm said something. "What?"
"I said would you like to go to a holo tomorrow night?"
"You're asking me out?"
"I believe that's what it's called."
"I'd love to," Kiyone said, a little stunned.
"Cool! Why don't we work out the details at dinner tonight?"
"Uh, sure!"
"Great! See ya then!"
Dramm headed toward the firing range, leaving Kiyone to wonder just how
much weirder things could get.
There was a field exercise that afternoon, one of the few in which
both upper and lower class cadets participated. The exercise was fairly
simple. A "sniper" was perched in a tower. The cadet was required to run
across the field, use the available cover, get himself in a position for a
good shot, and pick off the sniper. Both the cadet's and the sniper's guns
fired paint charges.
Kiyone finished her round with relative ease, although it took her
three shots to finally nail the sniper. She joined Mihoshi at the edge of
the field.
"Wow, Kiyone, that was awesome!" glowed Mihoshi.
"`Adequate' describes it better," Kiyone replied. "I should have
gotten him on the first try."
The instructor called the next contestant. "Cadet Mihoshi!"
"Well, I'm up! Wish me luck!"
Kiyone slapped her on the shoulder. "Go get 'im." The last thing
Mihoshi needed was more luck.
Mihoshi checked her pistol and marched onto the field. The sniper, well
out of Mihoshi's range, took aim with his rifle and began firing. Mihoshi nimbly
dodged two shots and took shelter behind a barrier. She gathered up her courage
and dashed to the next barrier. The sniper drove her back with a shot that
splattered right in front of her. She panicked and ran the wrong way, right
into the open.
Kiyone grimaced. Mihoshi was dead meat.
The sniper fired. Mihoshi yelped and fell to the side, the shot
zipping past her. Two more shots missed as Mihoshi got back to her feet.
Kiyone yelled at her to get back behind the barrier, but Mihoshi didn't hear.
She dodged wildly, somehow managing to slip between everything the sniper threw
at her. The sniper cursed out loud as he missed again and again, his paint
shells splattering all over the ground.
In all the chaos, Mihoshi had been moving closer to the sniper's
position. Suddenly, she swung her pistol up and fired back. Bullseye.
The sniper hollered in anger as the paint charge hit him in the chest.
But it didn't go off, bouncing harmlessly away. There was a moment of confusion
as both parties absorbed what had just happened, then Mihoshi high- tailed it
for the nearest barrier, diving behind it just as the sniper fired.
The sniper's charge struck the barrier and exploded, blasting half
the barrier into small pieces and throwing Mihoshi several feet into the air.
Kiyone felt the blood rush out of her head and she nearly collapsed. She
screamed Mihoshi's name and ran out onto the field. Mihoshi was lying
motionless, covered with rubble. "Mihoshi! MIHOSHI!" Kiyone brushed the
debris off her face. "Mihoshi!"
Mihoshi groaned. "What happened?"
"Oh, thank god..."
Mihoshi was taken to the infirmary, where she was treated for cuts
and scratches and released. Kiyone met her in the lobby.
"Look at you. I can't believe it. I hope you realize how lucky you are
be alive, much less only scratched."
Mihoshi laughed sheepishly. "Well, you know about me and luck. Hey, so
what happened out there, anyway?"
"Some idiot mixed a live concussion charge in with the sniper's paint
rounds."
"Ooh. I wonder how that happened."
Yeah, thought Kiyone. I wonder.
"Cadets Kiyone and Mihoshi?"
Kiyone turned around to find a young member of the base staff. He
held a folded piece of paper in his hand. "That'd be us."
"I have orders here from Lieutenant Tugh. You're confined to
barracks until further notice."
"What?!" Kiyone snatched the paper from his hand and read it.
"Apparently you were involved in some extra-curricular activities
last night."
Mihoshi hung her head. "I'm sorry. I screwed up again."
"Okay," said Kiyone. "I admit it. We did it. We had our reasons.
Would you mind telling me why this is coming out now? It's been more than
eighteen hours since we briefly left the base."
"As I understand it," replied the officer, "there had to be an
investigation first."
"Oh, really?" sneered Kiyone, her anxiety swiftly turning to anger. "An
investigation where they didn't even ask *us*?! And what's this `barracks'
crap? Why not just throw us in the stockade?! Maybe there's someone there you
don't want us to talk to?"
"Kiyone..." said Mihoshi, trying to calm her down.
"Listen Cadet, I understand you're upset--"
"You're damned right I'm upset!" shouted Kiyone.
"...but it's not my job to know the answers to your questions. My
job is to accompany you back to the barracks. Let's go."
Mihoshi and Kiyone went back to the barracks, Kiyone fuming all the way.
Actually, Kiyone thought, it felt kind of good. It felt better to be pissed
off than to be afraid. Kiyone knew one thing. Whoever the bastards were,
whatever they were up to, they weren't going to get away with it. Not if she
had anything to do with it.
END CHAPTER FOUR
TO BE CONTINUED