I have a message from another time... Eyrie Productions, Unlimited presents UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES FUTURE IMPERFECT - SYMPHONY OF THE SWORD - Fanfare for an Exiled Prince in E-flat Major Benjamin D. Hutchins (c) 2001 Eyrie Productions, Unlimited SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2405 5:40 PM EASTERN TIME PARKING ORBIT TRACK #449 EARTH, SOL SYSTEM, EARTH ALLIANCE Utena Tenjou was having an unusual afternoon, even by her rather liberal standards. She'd been aboard starships before - most often a converted Corellian freighter called Daggerdisc, which belonged to the father of Utena's roommate and best friend Kaitlyn. Daggerdisc was a relatively small ship, though, not very much bigger than a shuttlecraft. It had one deck, and everything in it was few moments' walk from anything else. The ship she was aboard now was so big it had -elevators-. "Turbolifts," said Captain Benjamin D. Hutchins, the very same father of Kaitlyn and of Corwin Ravenhair, another of Utena's best friends and the one who was usually driving when she'd traveled aboard Daggerdisc. He was dressed as Utena had never seen him before, in a three-piece uniform, dressy black pants and comfortable-looking jacket over a rib-necked turtleneck shirt. The shirt was a sort of mustard yellow, the jacket black with a ribbed gray-blue shoulder yoke. Pinned to the left breast was an eight-pointed metal star like a compass rose, cardinal points enlarged, southern point elongated, in bright red with its lesser points a deeper crimson. "Sorry?" said Utena. "Turbolifts," Gryphon repeated. "The elevators on starships are called turbolifts. They do more than go up and down - they also travel along the length of the ship, and in radial shafts in the saucer section. Without them it would take too much time to get from, say, the shuttlebay to the bridge - Challenger is nearly 2200 feet long." "Twenty-two HUNDRED?" "Yep. Oh, she's nowhere near the biggest ship in space - GENOM's got a class of Star Destroyer that's over four and a half -miles- from stem to stern - but they're unwieldy beasts. Nowhere near the maneuverability of this ship." Utena paused for a moment to consider a starship four and a half miles in length. The campus of Ohtori Academy was only about a mile across. Four of those, and another Forest of Secrets besides... "Wow," she said. The lift stopped, its doors opening with a soft hiss, and they emerged into a wide corridor, its metal walls, like the others, done in a pleasant silver, white and blue color scheme. Regular-width doors led off from the sides here and there, but at the hallway's end, a few dozen paces distant, the doors went the whole width of the hallway, and they weren't blue, they were red. "I realize this is kind of odd," said Gryphon, "but I'm going to say a bunch of things that won't seem like they have any connection with the matter at hand while I give you a little tour. It won't take all that long, and I'll try my best not to make you late. Just hear me out - OK?" "Sure," replied Utena. It was a little odd, but then, Kate's family was like that. It was one of the things she liked about them. "This is the first ship built for the International Police Organization's new Space Force," Gryphon told her as they walked down the wide corridor. "Nadia and I designed her as an answer to the Federation Starfleet's Galaxy class." He took her through the doors and into Main Engineering, a two-deck-high, massive chamber like an auditorium, dominated by the gently pulsing column of the warp intermix chamber in the center, and showed her around the engineering shops. They toured the shuttlebay, the farthest-aft crew-habitable part of the ship, and then worked their way forward and up. He showed her cargo bays, the arboretum, the Stellar Cartography room, the crew lounge, sickbay, the computer core, one of the torpedo rooms. And as he gave her the tour, Gryphon talked about the purpose of the IPO and its fledgling Space Force. Utena already knew some of the history from conversations with Kaitlyn. She knew, for example, that Gryphon, his wife Kei, and several other founding members of the Wedge Defense Force, all immortals from the twentieth century, had left that organization in 2391, after - if you could believe it - helping the Norse gods avert the Ragnarok, to found the International Police Organization and the Babylon Foundation. The Foundation's purpose was to draw together the diplomatic envoys of as many galactic civilizations as possible, to promote the general welfare and provide for a common defense against possible extragalactic threats. This was considered a pipe dream by many, at best an idealistic folly, at worst a needless complication. There were enough dangers -in- the galaxy, the detractors said; why waste time and energy worrying about threats from beyond? Other galaxies are too far away to pose any danger. Still, the part about promoting the general welfare had drawn enough powerful signatories that the Foundation's project, Babylon Station, was under construction despite detractors and numerous setbacks. The IPO's publicly-visible function was a bit more generally accepted - the investigation and interdiction of criminal activities beyond the abilities of regular police agencies to cope with. But, Gryphon was in the process of explaining, its true purpose went deeper than that. In fact, though they seemed to have little relation on the surface, the two organizations were really linked in very definite and important ways. They'd reached that point in the dissertation while touring the forward torpedo room. "With me so far?" he asked as they entered a turbolift again, and he keyed it for their next destination. Utena nodded. "Sure thing, Captain Hutchins," she said. He sighed, smiling, and opened his mouth to protest her formality yet again, though he had to know she was just doing it -because- it made him sigh that way. She grinned and headed him off, saying, "I can't call you 'sensei' here... " Just then, they reached their destination. The turbolift doors opened this time onto a large round room with a number of stations scattered around it. They weren't all manned. In fact, there were only two people present: a jaundiced-looking man sitting in the center chair and a Klingon in full battle armor at the station along the wall to his right. As the lift doors opened, the jaundiced man shot to his feet and looked as though he were about to speak. Unfortunately, he never got the opportunity, since Utena emerged from the lift at Gryphon's side saying, "... I haven't dumped you in another koi pond yet." That pretty effectively cut off whatever the yellow-skinned man at the center of the room had been thinking of saying; instead he stood there silently, giving her a comically puzzled look. Gryphon surveyed his bridge crew's bemusement for a moment, then told Utena, "This is the bridge of the ship, where we make everything happen. Most of the crew... doesn't seem to be here right at the moment... where is everybody?" "Coffee break, my lord," the Klingon rumbled. "Ah. Well, those of you who are still here, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine," he said, putting a hand on Utena's shoulder. "This is - " The jaundiced-looking man regarded Gryphon with a look of extreme but sympathetic reproach and said, "Oh, -Captain-. Is that what this emergency trip was all about?" "What?" asked Gryphon, puzzled; then he reddened a little and said hurriedly, "-No-." "Are you sure?" said the yellow man in an it's-all-right-I- understand-your-weakness tone of voice. "Because we all know the stories... " "Lore," said Gryphon severely, "it's nothing of the kind. The stories are all lies." "Oh, surely not -all-, sir," said Lore patiently. "Why, I've had many an illuminating conversation with Captain - " "Lore," said Gryphon more severely, "you're relieved." Lore slumped into the command chair and heaved a huge sigh. "Oh," he said gratefully, "I certainly am, sir." Gryphon sighed patiently. "Now that -that's- out of the way, gentlemen - and I use that term loosely - this is Utena Tenjou, my daughter Kaitlyn's roommate at WPI. Utena, may I present my science officer, Sub-Commander Klaang." >Greetings, honored one. What do you want?< she said in her best schoolgirl Klingonese. The Klingon's face broke into a huge smile. >The one greets you in return, guest of our house. A half-hour break and a ham sandwich wouldn't offend me,< he replied, but Utena, being only a first-year student of the language, didn't follow most of that. "Uh, sorry," she said. "I've only started tlhIngan Hol this year... " The Klingon nodded. "Of course. You're studying under the great Professor Kraalgh." Utena grinned. "You know Kraalgh?" "He is my cousin," said Klaang proudly. "Son of my father's brother. All in the house of Kalaan know his name." "I thought he was the black sheep," said Lore. "He is," Klaang replied equably, "but all in the house know his name, all the same." The burly Klingon (maybe, thought Utena, that was redundant) smiled conspiratorially and tinkered with his science officer's console for a moment, eliciting a few beeps and a satisfied-sounding electronic blorp, then handing a glittering datacrystal to a surprised Utena. "There you are, student of my cousin," he said. "A little something to help you in your study of the Warriors' Tongue. Qapla'!" "Um... thanks," said Utena. Smiling a bit hesitantly, she put the crystal in her jacket pocket. "And Commander Lore Soong, my executive officer and ship's smartass," Gryphon went on. "Absolutely charmed, my dear," said Lore. "Well. We're off to finish up a discussion," said Gryphon briskly. "Lore, you have the bridge." "I'll try not to misplace it," said Lore, and the captain led Utena through one of the other doors tucked into the side of the room. This led to a conference room, with a long table, comfortable- looking chairs, and large windows with a nice view of Earth. "Have a seat," Gryphon said, and Utena had a seat. "Where was I?" "You were about to tell me what the IPO is -really- for," she said. "Oh, right. Well... maybe the best way to do that is to tell you about the day it was invented." SEPTEMBER 13, 2390 AUTOBOT METROPLEX TEMPORARY BATTLE STATION, ASGARD The lights were low in Conference Room 17, at the top of one of Metroplex's towers. Outside, the cleanup and regrouping from the tremendous struggle that had been the Ragnarok was continuing; inside, eight figures sat at the long table, looking intently at the ninth, who stood at the head of the table with the aid of a crutch. Skuld stood with her back to them for several moments, looking out the room's wide window at the devastated plain; then she turned to them and said, "This was only the warning tone. The real crisis is yet to come." Six out of the nine stared at her in undisguised astonishment; the other three nodded in somber agreement. "I don't understand," said Kei Morgan. "The universe just came about an eighth of an inch from total obliteration, and that was only the -warning-?" "As far as the general public, Midgard's societies, know, yes," said Skuld. "Very few on the other side of Bifrost have any idea anything has happened. Most who have don't understand the gifts that allow them to know, and so don't understand what they've experienced. Thanks to all of our hard work, determination, and luck, the crisis was stopped before the normal people of the mortal world could become aware of it. "But Surtur won't be satisfied with this stalemate. For make no mistake, that's what it was - a stalemate. We won nothing, ended no real threat, today. We celebrate only our survival. Understand this: Surtur is the embodiment of evil. He is chaos, uncreation - the essence of cruelty given will - and he is far more devious than most believe. Defeated in open battle, he will turn his energies to more subtle ends... and I believe he will target the mortal world first." Urd Snowmane nodded, stood, and spoke. "For once I agree with my little sister," she said, trading small grins with Skuld. "Surtur lost this battle because of the intervention of mortals. Because of it, my guess is he'll want to make certain of two things: That the mortal world suffers for what its champions did here today, and that those champions are either dead or so busy dealing with the problems in their own world that they're too busy to intervene when he attacks Asgard the next time." Skuld looked down the table to the face of Optimus Prime, who had separated his human-size core robot from the rest of his mighty form to attend the conference on an equal footing with the others. "He'll especially hunger for revenge against your people, Prime; it was one of you who stopped his final charge." Prime nodded, unsurprised. "I suspected as much." He folded his arms across his twin-windowed chest, his half-masked visage taking on something like a smile. "If there's one thing we Autobots are used to," he said wryly, "it's enemies who hold grudges." "So what can we do?" Gryphon wondered. "Prepare," Skuld replied. "We have the Wedge Defense Force and the 3WA," said Yuri Daniels. "We can - " "They're good," Urd interrupted, "but they're not enough. Military forces are only part of the solution." At the end of the table, MegaZone was nodding, had been nodding through most of what the goddesses had to say. He had an intensely thoughtful look on his haggard face, his eyes focused nowhere within the room as the gears whirled within his head, and kept nodding agreement. His old friends - and most of the people in the room were such - knew what that meant, and wondered what was taking shape. "Urd's right," Skuld said. "Surtur's attacks will tend to be more subtle, especially at first. He won't just pop out of a rift and attack. He'll influence existing elements of society, existing forces in the mortal world, and slowly use them to destabilize the societies of Midgard. If possible, he'll try to arrange it so the mortals kill each other off without his direct involvement, or even that of his near servants." "That won't be too tough," Kei said ruefully. "The galaxy's a friggin' powder keg lately. We thought the War of Corporate Occupation would be the end of it?" She snorted. Gryphon nodded. "Kilrah's still as active as ever, and now Cardassia's taken a new aggressive stance. The Klingon Empire's tried to re-annex the Republic for the nth time. The Romulans took that opportunity to sink their fangs into the imperial neck. All of them have their eye on the Federation next." "Meanwhile, inside the Federation's own borders, the corp wars sparked by GENOM's reorg rage on," said Larry Mann. "They're only being kept under control by the 3WA, heavily outgunned local cops, and our own Corporate Defense Division." "And let's not forget all the terrorist groups unconnected with the corp wars," added Kei, ticking them off on her fingers in exasperation. "The Church of Man, the Sword of Salusia, the National Socialist Federation Workers' Party, that bunch of paranormal wackos who call themselves Big Fire... they're everywhere." "For that matter," said Yuri, "I'm not liking the looks of some of the stuff some of the Federation members themselves are getting up to these days. Have you seen the Earth Alliance's operational spec for this Psi Corps thing they're proposing to deal with the human esper population? Makes me glad I'm not an Earth citizen." "So... not to be repetitive... what can we do?" asked Kei. Gryphon sat up a little straighter. "Well," he said thoughtfully. "First we need an information monitoring system. Something that can keep an eye on events, trends, what's going on in known space." "An information engine powerful enough to sort useful patterns out of the news traffic of an entire galaxy?" said Prime. "Even Cybertron doesn't have a system as powerful as that." "So we'll have to invent it," Gryphon said matter-of-factly, as though that were a relatively minor task, on a level with buying more desks for new employees. R-Type nodded; he was used to thinking as big as that. Back in the bad old days, he tended to have projects with that kind of scope -handed- to him, and in the old GENOM, the operative root of 'deadline' was 'dead'. "Once we've got it working, we can use it to keep track of what's going on in the galaxy and hopefully get a heads-up on downward trends before they get deeply established." "Then what?" said Prime. "Then we investigate and put a stop to it," said Kei, as though -that- were as simple as showing the new employees to their desks. "Just like the 3WA used to do," said Yuri sourly, "before we turned into insurance adjusters in hot pants." "You mean you weren't always?" asked Gryphon, getting himself punched in both arms for his trouble. "Ow. OK, I earned that, I'll savor it. Anyway. That's right. That's what we need - a special force, like the 3WA taken to the tenth power. I mean, look at the five of us, for a start," he said, gesturing around to himself, Zoner, R-Type, and the two Trouble Consultants. "Between us we've got over two thousand years of experience handling dangerous and delicate situations. We round up more people like us, people with power, skill, and the responsibility to use them, and form a fast-reaction force to deal with the problems these elements are going to cause." "Gather our galaxy's best and our brightest," mused Optimus Prime, "and stand them up in line against the darkness." Kei blinked at the Autobot commander. "Uh... well said, Prime! Did you just count the five of us in the galaxy's best and brightest?" Prime nodded, touched the WDF/Autobot combination shield on his shoulder. "Yes I did," he replied, "and I think it's a great idea. The Autobots will help your new organization in any way we can." "Well, hey, that's great," said Yuri. "Or it will be, when we -have- a new organization." "I'm starting to get a picture in my mind of how it should work," Gryphon said. "It's hard to explain right now, but it's forming. We should be separate from the WDF - they're needed as they are, and there are plenty of other officers who deserve a shot at the top. It ought to be separate from the 3WA too, and from any corporation - its own oversight, its own sanction, everything." R-Type nodded. "I'm willing to commit whatever resources I have authority over to help out, though, with the understanding that sponsorship doesn't mean ownership," he said. "I know you guys are all pretty well off, but an undertaking like this is going to take a -load- of bread to capitalize." "My parents left me that house," said Gryphon without missing a beat. "I was -born- there." "You're not gonna lose the house, Ray," Mann replied. "Everybody has three mortgages these days." "But at 19%, you didn't even bargain with the guy," Gryphon protested, then shifted mental gears and went on smoothly, "That only addresses half the problem, though - the investigation and intervention. Somebody's got to get the governments and nations of the galaxy on the same page, too. In a situation like the one Skuld's forecasting, diplomatic relations are going to be more critical than ever, and a high-powered galactic police force isn't very suited to handling something like that." MegaZone got to his feet and spoke for the first time in the meeting, his voice still hoarse from all the yelling he'd done during the battle, but clearly audible in the quiet of the conference room: "I'll take care of that. It'll take me a year, maybe two, to flesh it out, but I should have it ready by the time you're ready to move on your idea." Then he turned and left the room. After a moment's awkward silence, Yuri got up and went after him. Utena sat and looked across the table at Gryphon for a moment, the gears inside her head turning. "The Babylon Project is Zoner's part," she said after a few moments' thought, "and the Experts of Justice are yours." Gryphon gave a pleased smile and nodded. "Exactly." "That's interesting," she said, because it was, "but... why tell me?" Gryphon sat back and steepled his fingers thoughtfully, as if considering how to word what was to come next. "Because of what Prime said. 'Gather our galaxy's best and our brightest, and stand them up in line against the darkness.' I know you're young, Utena, and I know you're not native to our galaxy, but... I think you qualify, and I'm not alone. Hell, Skuld thinks you could be a -Valkyrie- if you wanted, and she ought to know." Utena blinked, speechless for a moment, and then asked, "... Are you saying you want me to join the Experts of Justice?" "Well... yes," said Gryphon; then he held up a hand so that she knew to let him go on. "Not on an active basis, not right now. You're still getting your education. Still enjoying your childhood. Not that that has to stop if you're an Expert of Justice - hell, -I'm- still enjoying my childhood, it's just that my toys have gotten more dangerous," he added with a grin. That drew a laugh from her, and he continued, serious but smiling, "But from what I've learned of you, I think you and the IPO would be a good match. I think you -are- one of the best and brightest. I think you have the strength of will and the strength of character to be one of us - if you want to be. After what you've already been through, you may well want to hang up your gloves and not get involved, and I can't say as I'd blame you. But if you want to be part of this... " He gestured vaguely to the ship and, in a larger sense, to what it stood for. "... Then there'll be a place for you." Utena gazed thoughtfully at him for a few moments. "That's a lot more than I thought I'd be getting into on a quiet Saturday afternoon," she remarked with a small grin. Gryphon nodded. "I understand," he said. "I'm sorry. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I've been thinking about making you the offer for a while - I should have waited and done it under better conditions, but - " "Hold on a second," Utena interrupted him. "I didn't say 'no'. I just said it was a lot more than I expected to have to think about today. Give me a minute." She considered, then asked, "Are there any others like what you're offering me? Reserves, I guess you'd call it?" He nodded. "A few. Kaitlyn's one, just by virtue of being my student. Most of the children of the Ragnarok are. I'm considering making the offer to several of the other Duelists, including your old schoolmates." Utena grinned. "Wakaba would be all -over- that," she said. "I wonder why Kate's never mentioned it... " "It's probably never occurred to her," Gryphon replied. "The only time we really talked about it was when she was little, when she first became my student in the Katsujinkenryuu. Since then it's just been an unspoken understanding." Utena nodded, still thinking. "I have unfinished business," she said after a few moments. "Besides my education, I mean. I'm trying to find a way back where I came from. I don't intend to stay, but I may not have any say in that, I don't know... " A nod from Gryphon. "It's a chance I'm willing to take," he said. "And a quest I'm willing to help with, if I can - whether you take me up on my offer or not," he added, smiling. "I want you to understand that, above everything else - there won't be any hard feelings if you're not interested. You're still my friend - at least I like to think you are." Utena smiled. "Of course I am... Gryphon-sensei," she said impishly. "Better," said Gryphon, settling back in his seat with a satisfied grin. Utena thought for a few more minutes, getting up out of her chair to stand, hands folded behind her back, and look out at the Earth. They were passing over the night side right now, and she could see the gleaming dots of light that marked the major cities of Europe and western Asia. As she thought, she picked them out one by one, testing her grasp of Earth geography: London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Belgrade, Moscow... At length, she turned to Gryphon and said with a grin, "Well, what the hell. At least somebody bothered to -tell- me what I'm getting into this time. Let's do it." Gryphon got up from his seat. "You're sure? I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you into it. You don't have to decide today, or even this year. There'll be a place for you anytime, if you decide you want it." "I don't make decisions that way," she said. "Ask anybody from my old school. I just put my head down and charge on in." Gryphon grinned. "I like your style," he said. "I guess," she observed, "I'd better take Corwin up on -his- offer too." "What offer was that?" "Last month, when he showed me the One-Hit Wonder, he told me he thought I should try for a Master's Certificate. Said I enjoy space travel so much, I ought to try being the captain. I understand the exam's a lot of work... " "You're not kidding," said Gryphon. "... but he said we could work on it this summer - like when he taught me to drive, only on a bigger scale, I guess." Gryphon thought it over, then gave a "well, I guess that could work" sort of nod. "You're sharp enough," he said. "With Corwin's help... yeah, you could pass the Class 1 in a summer's work. Hell of a way to spend a vacation, though." "All the same, I think he's right - I -would- enjoy it. It's another challenge. I like challenges. They keep me interested," she added, grinning. "Well, if that's what you're into," he said; then he grinned, keyed up one of the wall display panels, and said, "Raise your right hand and read that." Utena did as instructed. "I, Utena Tenjou, solemnly swear before this witness that I will faithfully uphold the Code of the International Police Organization; protect the innocent, give aid to the helpless, lend my strength to the powerless; and strive always to conduct myself with honor, integrity and justice, in all times, in all places, against all the many foes of freedom and peace. I will be a beacon in the darkness, and I will not be alone. Together we will light the way to a better Tomorrow." When she'd finished, Gryphon shook her hand and said, "Welcome to the Space Force. C'mon with me." He scooped a datapad off the table and started poking at it as he led her out onto the bridge. Several officers were back at their posts aside from Lore and Klaang, but Gryphon paid them little mind, heading into the turbolift. Most of his attention was focused on what he was keying into the pad. "Where's Ruri?" Gryphon asked nobody in particular as the turbolift doors closed. With a quiet blip noise, the face of a pretty woman with a green stripe in her hair appeared on the display screen in the back of the car and said cheerfully, "Ship's lounge, deck 10. Coffee with the Chief Engineer." "Ah, of course. Thanks, Viz." "No problem, Chief," said the woman, and she vanished. "Deck 10," said Gryphon to the turbolift. The Observation Lounge on deck 10 hadn't gained a nickname yet; the ship, Gryphon had explained earlier, was only seven months old, just finishing up her shakedowns and system trials. She wasn't even fully operational yet; on the Experts of Justice Special Projects Division's still-tiny roll of active starships, she still sported an "NX" prefix on her registry number. The officer Gryphon was looking for was sitting at a corner table in the big room, whose windows looked out onto a forward-facing vista of space that Utena, inexperienced spacer that she was, had to just stop and gaze at in wonder, even the second time seeing it. It was a great deal more panoramic than the view afforded by the small cockpit of a Corellian freighter like Daggerdisc or the One-Hit Wonder. To be certain, with such large windows, it lacked a certain -immediacy- that the Corellian experience had, that feeling that one could just reach out and, but for the windows, one would be touching the Void; but it was so impressive in scale that she had to pause and look it over all the same. "Nice, isn't it?" said Gryphon with a smile. "Beautiful," Utena agreed; then she pulled herself away from it and followed him to the table for introductions. One of the two officers at the table was the tall, slender black woman Utena had seen in the opposite box at the Spring Concert the week before. Utena almost didn't recognize her, as now, instead of a lovely red formal gown, she was dressed in the corrugated white radsuit of a starship engineer. Her name was Nadia Davion, and she was very pleased to make Utena's acquaintance. The other was Ruri Hoshino, the one Gryphon was looking for. To Utena's surprise, Ruri looked like a little girl, a few years younger than Utena herself was, but for the look of bored maturity in her golden eyes. She had silvery-blue hair pulled up into a pair of very girlish ponytails, but the neatly tailored uniform she wore looked just as crisp and professional as could be. "Ruri," said Gryphon after introductions were complete, "I need you to file this for me." He put the datapad down on the table in front of her. "Of course," said Ruri. "I'm the Captain's Yeoman. Filing is what I do." She picked up the pad, and Utena was surprised again to see the glitter of an International Police Lens on the back of her left hand. With a look almost of ennui, Ruri perused the pad's contents, then looked blandly up at the captain. "Her?" she inquired, casting an uninterested look at Utena. "Her," Gryphon confirmed. Ruri re-read the pad again. "Uh... huh," she said, a little skeptically; then she shrugged as if to say, "Not my job, man," pressed her thumb to part of the pad screen, waited for it to beep, and handed it back. "Done," she said. "Welcome to the party," she added to Utena in a bored tone of voice, then went back to her coffee. Their next stop was Gryphon's quarters, where their arrival awoke a beagle sleeping in a basket near the windows. He came charging over to greet the new arrival, tail wagging furiously. Utena, who liked dogs, was pleased to meet him, and quite surprised. Doubly so, in fact - once because he was on a starship and once because on his collar he wore what appeared to be a Lens. "Yep," said Gryphon when she questioned him about it. "He's the only nonsentient being in the universe ever to pass the Test of Light." He knelt down and scruffled the dog, adding, "Aren't you, boy? Yes. Who's a good beagle?" "You made your -dog-... a -Lensman-." "Well, no, Skuld made my dog a Lensman. I was just watching." Utena gave him a sidelong glance, then went back to petting the beagle while Gryphon went over and addressed a terminal on the wall. "File 11-729," he said. "Synthesize." "Please present the subject for sizing analysis," said the terminal, and Gryphon beckoned Utena over to stand in front of it. It whirred, then beeped, then whirred again, and a moment later said, "Please wait for synthesis." Utena, dismissed from standing-in-front-of-the-panel duties, went back to playing with the dog. A few minutes later, the wall panel peeped; Gryphon went over to it, removed a neatly wrapped package, and handed it to Utena, then directed her to the bathroom to change. The uniform inside wasn't like the one Gryphon was wearing. The shirt, with its ribbed turtleneck, was the same, except for its bright red coloration, but the jacket and pants were different, much more ornate and dressy. She put it all on, taking a few moments to figure out how the strap over her right shoulder worked and wonder what the complicated silver emblem on it meant. Then she went to stand in the mirror and see how she looked. As she did so, the slim, white-clad figure of Dios walked into the frame 'behind' her. She started slightly and looked, but of course he wasn't there - only in the mirror. "Don't do that," she whispered. "People are going to think I'm going crazy." "Sorry," he replied. He looked her up and down. "Not bad. This is how they dress princes in your new world?" "Something like that," she replied. "I like the shoulder strap, though you couldn't put an epaulet on that side... I wonder... " He gestured, and most of the Duelist's embellishments, the extra touches which had appeared on her Ohtori Academy uniform before each duel, appeared. The chain hung from the end of the shoulder strap to the red-star logo rather than from epaulet to throat, and the right epaulet was missing, but other than that they all fit quite nicely. "Better," said Dios, nodding. "You'd best get a move on, or you'll be late for your date." "It's not a date," she replied automatically, feeling her cheeks get hot. Somehow it was worse having him think so than the others (even Juri, who she could tell was still a little angry about it), and for a moment something like the bitter taste of betrayal touched the tip of her tongue; but Dios only smiled his guileless smile, so similar to Akio's smile and yet so, so different. "Of course it is," he replied mildly. "A date is a thing two people do who enjoy each other's company. It's nothing to be ashamed of. He's a very fine young man. In many ways he reminds me of you. But then, I have a soft spot for the foolhardily passionate." "Thanks," said Utena wryly. Dios gave her his courtliest bow and disappeared. Shaking her head, Utena folded her other clothes, put them into the silver ship's-logo duffel bag that had been provided with her new uniform, and went out to see if it met with Gryphon's approval. "Looks great. I like the chain, I'll have to think about adding that," he said. "I have a couple of things for you to take with you," he went on, motioning her closer. She stood next to him at the counter that ran along one wall, putting the open duffel in front of them, and Gryphon took a few items from a small pile, identified them, and tucked them away in the bag. "This is a phaser, type 1B," he said, holding up a palm-sized black object with a large red button and a couple of dials on top. "Standard issue for field reserve officers. You probably won't need it, but better safe. Operating instructions," he added, including a brightly colored little booklet whose cover read "YOUR PHASER AND YOU: A GUIDE TO SAFE OPERATION" in large, friendly letters. "Is that legal?" asked Utena. "It is for you," Gryphon replied. "You're a commissioned officer. This is a field communicator," he said, holding up a device that was similar-loooking to the phaser but slightly larger, with a silvery metal grille. He wore a similar but older-looking item at his belt. "The badge on your uniform is a communications device too, but this one's more powerful, and can be linked into the telephone network. Starfleet's gone badge-only, but I like to keep these around. If you need anything, you can always contact this ship or IPO Headquarters with this." "That could come in handy." "I hope so. This is the employee handbook, so to speak," he said, placing a large blue-and-white book, similar in cover style to "So You've Just Arrived from a Parallel Universe", into the bag. "Outlines the general structure and procedures of the IPO and the Space Force, not that there are all that many - we try to keep things as informal as we can and still function efficiently." He zipped up the bag. "And... well... I guess that's everything." Gryphon glanced at his watch. "Guess we'd better get you dirtside." "I guess so," she said, shouldering the bag. "So... if it's not getting too far ahead... what exactly am I going to -do- when I'm an active officer?" she asked as they went out into the corridor. "Depends on what your strengths are when you activate," Gryphon replied. "If you have your master's cert and you're interested, I may well give you a ship." Utena looked vaguely alarmed, glancing around at the immensity of the Challenger. "I thought you said this was the only one you had." "Aside from a battlecruiser we have on loan from the Klingons, it is - right now," said Gryphon with a grin. "But," he added as they entered a turbolift, "you're not active right now, are you? Deck 8." They entered Transporter Room One about a minute later, Utena still mulling over his last statement. As the door snicked shut behind them, she glanced at her watch and said, "Oops. Looks like I'm going to be a little late." "I wouldn't worry about that. Girls are supposed to keep their prom dates waiting for a few minutes. It's expected." "Well, it's not a -date-, exactly," said Utena; she would have gone on, but she'd suddenly noticed that they had a little crowd waiting for them in the transporter room. Klaang, Lore, and a young woman with a lot of long black hair drawn back in a braid were all standing by the control pedestal. "Um," said Gryphon, "if you don't mind the captain asking a stupid question, who's watching the store?" "Nadia," said Lore. "Well, I guess that's OK then," said Gryphon. "What are you all doing here?" "Klaang called his cousin and asked him for the 411 on your friend here," Lore replied. "You might have told us you were coming here to meet with one of Kate's Duelists." "Indeed," said the dark-haired woman. Utena, taking a closer look at her, noticed her pointed ears and arched eyebrows and realized she was a Vulcan. Just at that moment, much to Utena's surprise, she -smiled-. Not a little Juri smile, as she had been given to understand Vulcans sometimes indulged in, but a full-fledged toothy grin. "I have been wanting to meet the one who broke your arm for some time, sensei." Utena cocked an eyebrow at the Vulcan. Somehow this seemed like the reverse of the natural order of things, but she let it pass. The Vulcan, for her part, just grinned a little wider and said, "Perhaps next time we meet we will be able to... what's the expression? Compare notes?" "Sounds like that might be fun." "Oh, sorry," said Gryphon. He placed his hand on Utena's left shoulder and, beaming, added, "Everyone, allow me to introduce our newest colleague - Captain Utena Tenjou of the IPO Space Force Reserve." Utena blinked. Blinked again. Turned and stared at him with naked astonishment. "-CAPTAIN-?!" Gryphon shrugged with an unruffled smile. "I told you I might give you a ship of your own someday." "But - look, I'm honored and all, but maybe you hadn't noticed, I'm only 15!" "I try not to discriminate on any basis but character," Gryphon replied. "Look, don't worry about it. You've got plenty of time to get up to speed. You don't have to activate your commission until and unless you feel you're ready for it." "But - can you DO that? Just jump somebody straight to captain that way?" "I can do anything I want," Gryphon replied with mock petulance. "It's my Space Force. That's one of the beautiful things about keeping the force small, simple and semi-formal." "Man," said Utena, shaking her head with a look of baffled amusement. "Talk about nepotism." "Makes the world go 'round," said Gryphon positively. "Anyway. Utena, this is my Chief of Security, Lieutenant T'Vek. She's a Katsujinkenryuu novice, just joined us last summer." "Nice to meet you," said Utena. "Um, pardon the question, but are you a Vulcan?" T'Vek nodded. "I am. Have you not seen one before?" "Only one - there was a Vulcan teacher at the Institute before Christmas break. I didn't have any classes with him, but Kate did, so I met him a couple of times. He... didn't act much like you." T'Vek grinned again. "Most do not," she said. "You did not tell me you had -defeated- Kraalgh," said Klaang reproachfully. "I almost let you leave the ship without according you the honor you deserve." He stepped forward then, ducked out of his linked-metal baldric, and draped it ceremoniously over Utena's shoulder, arranging it fussily until it was hung just so. Then he stepped back, crossed his fist across his chest, and said, >Well fought, warrior!< Utena looked down at the baldric in surprise, then started trying to take it off. "Oh, no, really - Mr. Klaang, I can't take this from you - " >You MUST!< Klaang roared. Utena recoiled slightly in surprise, smiled sheepishly, and relented, smoothing it down again. "OK, OK," she said in surrender. "Thank you. But I can't wear it with this uniform - it hides my shoulder pin." "Well," said Klaang, unfastening another piece of his uniform, "then you shall have to have a warrior's belt as well." "Hey," said Lore petulantly. "You never gave -me- your belt -or- your baldric!" "You never defeated my cousin Kraalgh," said Klaang stoutly. "I've never -met- your cousin Kraalgh." "That's hardly -my- problem." T'Vek smiled at their bickering and adjusted the programming on the transporter console. "Ready to transmit, Captain," she reported. Utena finished buckling Klaang's belt (which was much too long for her, but she managed by double-looping it and tucking away the slack) in place of the uniform's regular one, then folded up the baldric and put it in the duffel bag with the other things. Then she gave her best friend's father a hug goodbye, went up onto the platform, and squared herself on one of the glowing disks. "Have fun at the Formal," said Gryphon with a grin. "And good luck with finals." "Heh, thanks." Utena saluted with a grin. "Permission to disembark, Captain?" "Permission granted, Captain," Gryphon replied, returning both gestures. "See you next week in New Avalon. Energize, T'Vek." As she was swept away by the blue-white dislocation of the Challenger's transporters and returned to Morgan 412, Utena felt her grin widening. She couldn't wait to see the look on Corwin's face. /* John Williams "The Olympic Spirit" _Summon the Heroes_ */ Eyrie Productions, Unlimited presented UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES FUTURE IMPERFECT - SYMPHONY OF THE SWORD - Fanfare for an Exiled Prince in E-Flat Major The Cast (in order of appearance) Utena Tenjou Benjamin D. Hutchins Lore Soong Klaang tai-Kalaan Skuld Ravenhair Kei Morgan Urd Snowmane Optimus Prime Yuri Daniels MegaZone Lawrence R. Mann Vision Nadia Davion Ruri Hoshino Wolfgang, Beagle of the Lens Dios T'Vek Constructor Fleet Captain Benjamin D. Hutchins Title Kris Overstreet Segment suggested by Mike Feeney (EPU Forums user) Yes, Lore, not Data. Wolfgang Gallery: http://www.eyrie-productions.com/~gryphon/dog.html The Symphony will return