EYRIE PRODUCTIONS, UNLIMITED presents FUTURE IMPERFECT: New Beginnings Benjamin D. Hutchins (c) 1993-1994 Eyrie Productions UTOPIA PLANITIA NAVAL SHIPYARDS ZETA CYGNI DYSON SPHERE DOCKING BAY No. 17 31 OCTOBER 2388 TSC 19:58:57 Docking Bay Number Seventeen at the Utopia Planitia Naval Shipyards is a truly impressive sight. It is located on the inner surface of the Dyson sphere itself, rather near the shipyard office complex, and is very rarely used. The bay is fully enclosed, heated and pressurized, so that technicians can work in it without the need for bulky, cumbersome pressure equipment. The surface toward the shipyard interior is a retractable dome of transparent durasteel. The bay itself is equipped with all manner of automated and semi-automated construction and repair equipment on a grand scale; it is seven miles long, five wide, and four deep. In it, the SDF-23 was constructed. And in it, the SDF-23 was currently docked, held at station by two enormous booms pincering the vast craft from the sides. The bay was pressurized and brilliantly illuminated; hovering nearby, the GENOM AT&T eclipsed the sun so that the space around the bay was dark. The SDF-23's vast foredeck was covered with people, neatly ordered into color-coded ranks, six to a side. Down the port side, there were: a large contingent (practically the entire working shipyard's complement) of white-suited UPNS technicians; next to them, resplendent in the red gabardine of their dress tunics, the entire officer corps (and a large percentage of the enlisted personnel as well) of the WDF Navy Strategic Fleet; after them, a block of blue-clad personnel, the Tactical Fleet officers and NCOs; then the Bastard Sons of Kilrah, in their tiger-striped "dress rags"; after them, the grey-clad contingent of GENOM Corporation executives, techs, and other employees; and the First Cybertron Armored Autobot Cavalry Division, polished and fitted for the day. Across the wide, red-carpeted aisle were the green-and-black WDF Marines; the orange-and-black Salusian Space Marines 121st Division; the multicolored Tactical Division personnel were next, fighter and bomber pilots from the various Aerospace Arms; row upon row of dress-uniformed Worlds Welfare Work Association personnel; another WDF Navy contingent, the white-coated Experimental Fleet officers (and, as usual, any enlisted personnel who had taken their invitation seriously -- many had not); and finally, across from the sea of white that was the UP contingent, were the black-coated Silent Service personnel. The red carpet in the center ran all the way back, covering the seam in the foredeck, and terminated at the door to the Number Five sub-Reflex turret house. At the other end, almost at the precipice at deck's end, were five steps up to a raised dais, a large, polished slab of tritanium starship armor made into a kind of table, a small contingent of personnel, and, behind them, the Wedge Defense Force's All-Branches Service Band. Clustered round the table at the aisle's end were Baron Lord Wolfgang Amadeus Fahrvergnugen, the patron lord of the WDF; Vaughn Gross; Iczers One and Two; and calm-faced Kwei-Chang Caine, the Master of GENOM Corporation, wearing his human guise for the first time in decades and looking much more comfortable. Behind them, being unobtrusive, was Network 23 reporter Maria Meneghel, the red light atop her subethercam glowing softly. Net23 was the only network that had been permitted to provide coverage of this event. Fahrvergnugen raised a hand. The band started playing a song, mostly horns, soft and vaguely mournful. Careful listeners immediately recognized it as the ending credits theme from Mystery Science Theatre 3000. (There were a few carefully restrained breakages among the multitude of guests, most noticeably among the contingent from the WDF Pennsylvania.) The guests fell silent. The gunhouse door opened and a man stepped out, walking with an even, measured stride -- in step with the music -- toward the other end. He was very meticulously prepared, that much was obvious to look at him, because not a single component of his WDF Navy Stragetic Fleet dress uniform was out of order. His boots were polished to an almost mirror finish. The white stripe on his trousers was almost blinding, as was the collar of his shirt. His scarlet tunic was flawless, the admiral's cross, WDF insignia, and large collection of medals and campaign ribbons carefully polished. The dress phaser hanging from his belt glittered, as did the short, square knife. The swords on his back hung in newly oiled scabbards. His gold-framed crystal eyeglasses gleamed under the lights, and the blue eyes underneath were bright. His long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his beard was neatly trimmed. The WDF Academy and Starfleet Academy class rings gleamed on his hands, and at his wrist was his trademark silver Rolex Immortal. He had eschewed the swagger stick he was, as an admiral, entitled to, but he had made one small concession to professional ego: the gleaming rowelless spurs on his boots proclaimed him, quietly, to have been a Valkyrie fighter pilot at some time in his career. Admiral Benjamin D. "Gryphon" Hutchins, Commander in Chief, Wedge Defense Force Strategic Fleet, marched down the aisle, smiling openly and not caring if anyone thought him to be unaware of the gravity of his situation. Behind him, towering over him and appearing to be ever so slightly embarrassed about the whole thing, was another, even more famous man: Fleet Admiral MegaZone, his blue dress tunic (also encrusted with decorations and campaign ribbons) providing a chromatic counterpoint to Gryphon's red one. As they walked, Gryphon became aware that the Tactical Fleet officers, led perhaps by Captain Bacon of WDF Tom Servo, had begun chanting softly: "Dess-lokdesslokdesslok! Dess-lokdesslokdesslok!" He made a mental note to smack Derek around a little, hearing MegaZone fight down a laugh behind him, and smiled again. Admiral Hutchins ascended to the platform; MegaZone remained one step behind him and slightly to his left. Both saluted Lord Fahrvergnugen, who returned their salutes gravely. The music played on. Moments later the gunhouse door opened again. This time, a woman stepped out onto the red carpet. She, too, was carefully prepared. She wore a silver and black Worlds Welfare Work Association dress uniform, the kind with the WDF Navy-style overlapping tunic (except that the 3WA tunic had buttons down the right side, and this one had a skirt that reached to just below her knees). Her low boots were made of some white and supple material. She wore a dress saber at her side, and a polished black shoulder holster suspended a glittering black PlasmaTronix 2000 sidearm under her left arm. The single black chevron, pointing down, at each shoulder identified her rank. Under the 3WA symbol printed in black on the upper left chest were an impressive number of medals and ribbons. She was only slightly made up -- just enough to accentuate her already startling beauty -- and her flame-red hair was in a perfect wolf cut, a silver-white ribbon tied elegantly above her left ear. Trouble Consultant First Class Kei Jeanne-Marie Morgan followed much the same path as Admiral Hutchins had, and like the Admiral, she had a slightly-trailing companion, in this case her partner, TC1 Yuri Daniels. Again, there was a chromatic counterpoint; TC1 Daniels's uniform was golden. Also, she was on the arm of a broadly-grinning Edison Bell, decked out in his best Victorian finery and sporting his old familiar face now, not the hawk-nosed one that everyone had almost gotten used to. They reached the steps and ascended; Bell bowed deeply to Lord Fahrgergnugen and to Gryphon, presented TC1 Morgan, and then stepped up to take his place behind Farhvergnugen, next to Master Caine. TC1 Morgan took up a position at the top of the steps, next to Admiral Hutchins; TC1 Daniels stopped one step back, slightly to her right, mirroring Admiral MegaZone's position. The music stopped. For a moment, there was silence. "My children," Fahrvergnugen boomed momentarily, "today is a great day. Today, a love born in the fires that forged the original Wedge Defense Force, a love that survived three centuries of war, the treachery of Largo, a century of hardship and misunderstanding, and the greatest battle that space has ever known, will be sealed into the Law of the Wedge Defense Force, under the watchful eye of Eris. Let us all rejoice at the power of this bond." There was a wave of open cheering before Farhrvergnugen held up a massive hand and continued, "Let us begin; surely after four centuries there is no excuse for further delay." He smiled. "Benjamin D. Hutchins, do you take this woman, Kei J. Morgan, to be your wife? Do you swear an oath above all other oaths, to love, respect, and aid her in all things, to support her, guide her, defend her, and never to forsake her?" "I so swear," replied Gryphon, looking him straight in the eye. Fahrvergnugen smiled immensely. "Kei J. Morgan, do you take this man, Benjamin D. Hutchins, to be your husband? Do you swear an oath above all other oaths, to love, respect, and aid him in all things, to support him, guide him, defend him, and never to forsake him?" "I so swear," said Kei, also meeting his gaze unflinchingly. "If any being here knows of any reason why these two should not, at long last, be joined in law as they are in soul, let you speak out now, so that we may defeat your arguments!" Farhvergnugen boomed to the (figurative) rafters. There were several seconds of dead silence. "Very well! Have you your vows ready?" "I do," both replied. "Excellent. Speak them now." Kei began. (It was only fair. Fahrvergnugen had, after all, extracted Gryphon's oath first. :-) She turned to him and, looking right into his eyes (they were, after all, precisely the same height), said, "Our lives will often separate us, as our duties carry us to the far corners of space, on dangerous assignments and perilous missions. I only want to assure you of one thing. I will always come back." "As will I," Gryphon replied. "Nothing can separate us forever. Until Death do us part; until Death do us rejoin." Bell managed not to snicker. Gryphon glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Optimus Prime, Martin Rose, and the rest of the Autobots far down the gallery, and added, "Until all are one, Kei." Kei smiled. "Until all are one, Ben." "By the power vested in me by the authority of Goddess herself," Fahrvergnugen boomed, spreading his hands and placing one, across the altar, on the shoulder of each, "I pronounce you husband and wife." There was a tense moment of silence. Gryphon stuck his hand out jauntily and said, "Say, thanks awfully much!" Seizing and shaking the proffered hand, Kei rejoined cheerily, "Oh, think nothing of it, old boy -- you'd've done the same for me!" "Well I did, didn't I?" "Why yes, as a matter of fact, you did." Most of the audience were either frozen in mortified silence, breaking down into gales of laughter, or just confused. Captain Derek Bacon, Commanding, WDF Tom Servo (MST-3000), collapsed in helpless hilarity. Kei, knowing when the joke had done its job, took Gryphon's other hand, put it behind her neck, and kissed him tenderly. The hilarity died and was replaced by applause and cheering. "LET ALL OF US REJOICE!" Fahrvergnugen roared, and outside the dome, the fireworks began. The reception was the largest party Gryphon thought he had seen since... well, since the victory celebration back in August, who was he kidding? He leaned back against the long table in the corner of the Main Hall of the SDF-23 and, a long flute of Tenctenese mineral water in his hand, grinned broadly. There were far too many people here, having far too good a time. It was almost unlawful-looking. He heard a flutter of activity at the far end, by the ice sculpture, and looked to see Martin Rose calling a small choir of tuxedoed people to order. Wondering what was up with this, Gryphon watched with interest as he tuned them up, then began to conduct them as they sang, quite professionally, a time-honored hymn. Now sing we, now rejoice! With heart and soul and voice! Lend an ear to what we say; News! News! Gryphon tied the knot with Kei-- Hammer whirled around, the cloak on his white-and-gold "dress Darkwing" suit fluttering, and pointed at him accusingly with his conductor's baton as the choir all shouted in unison, AND IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME, TOO! Hammer gave a sharp, "so there" kind of nod, and then bowed and dismissed his choir as the entire room shattered in helpless mirth. When he recovered from breaking, and had received congratulations from Hammer and Eiko, Gryphon returned to his place by the table and surveyed the room again, looking for someone in particular, someone he had noticed was present with rather keen interest. Specifically, he had noticed during the ceremony that Network 23 had sent Maria instead of their brightest star, Edison Carter, and wondered why. Perhaps because weddings, even this one, weren't Carter's thing; perhaps because they knew Maria had been with the Wedge Defense Force throughout the Golden Age; perhaps she had asked to be assigned to the job. Who knew? He sipped the water and scanned the room for her. There she was, by the great doors, talking to John Trussell. Gryphon stood fully up and made his way across the room, pausing often to shake proffered hands, tell enlisted personnel not to salute, and thank people for congratulating him. It took him a good five minutes to cross the room, and by the time he arrived, Truss was gone. "Hello, Maria," he said, quietly. The reporter -- tall, blonde and very beautiful -- started slightly, as if surprised to see him here, and said, "Oh... hello." "I'm glad you came," he said. "How've you been? It's been a while." Indeed it had. Gryphon hadn't seen her since... Goddess, what year had it been? 2347? '48? He had been living on Earth at the time, that was certain. Had just moved into his new apartment across the hall from Deunan and Bri, so it would have been '48. She'd discovered him by accident, having been sent to Olympus to do an investigative piece on ESWAT, and hadn't turned him in. "I'm... I'm all right," Maria replied, the faintest hint of an accent still noticeable in her Standard. "The ceremony was beautiful. A little short, though, I thought." "Well, that's Kei and I for you. Always getting right to the point." Maria looked slightly pained at the statement, and said softly, "I... I guess so." Gryphon put his hand on her shoulder and said, "What's wrong?" "Nothing," she replied, too quickly. "I'm fine." "You didn't want to come here, did you?" he said softly. "Net23 assigned you this job over your head?" "Well, yes and no," she said. "They assigned me, but I wanted to come. I just... I didn't think I would be welcome." "You? Not welcome? Maria, you're one of my oldest and dearest friends! You've been with us since near enough the beginning as to make no difference! You're the one who brought the WDF through all the tragedies -- it was you who made the Golden Age golden, for us and for just about everyone else! I'd no sooner turn you away than Joe, or Rick, or ReRob, for that matter." His voice became softer as he continued, "You believed in me during the dark times, and that puts you in a very special elite...." [AUTHOR'S NOTE: At this point, you may be thinking to yourself, "Give me a break! I've read the Exile shorts -- everyone and his DUCK believed in Gryphon. What the hell's going on here!" I've recently been ruminating on this subject myself. Just keep this in mind: there were, in the 2290 census (2 years after the Collapse of the original WDF) _15 TRILLION_ sentient beings in the known galaxy. Most of them believed it. Puts the whole thing in a different perspective, doesn't it?] She looked away from him. "That's why I was worried." "What? Oh, you thought Kei would be upset? Maybe even a little jealous? Don't be silly! She knows -- in fact, she was the one who pointed it out to me -- that if not for people like you, and Jamie, and Yuri, and Priss and Reika and Deunan and Bri, I wouldn't _be_ here today. If nothing else, she feels she _owes_ you something." Maria looked at, and then blinked at, Gryphon, looking a trifle confused. "She's a very progressive woman," Gryphon said with a grin, and kissed her gently. "Now come on, enjoy the party. Put that camera down for a while, no one will bother it here." "A-all right... just a second." She hefted the bulky subethercam and said, "Control, disengage the camera lock. It'll be safe here -- I'm going off duty." "All right," a tinny voice replied. The wristlock around her right wrist beeped and unlocked. Just before she set the camera down, the voice of Control added, "Say hullo for me, would you?" "I hear you, Control," Gryphon said to the camera with a smile. "Hello." Maria smiled her first smile of the evening and put the camera down. "My new Controller, Theora Jones. She's the best. Edison is so jealous." "Edison -- oh, Edison _Carter_. I always think of _our_ Edison first... name association and all that." "Oh, well, I still think of your Edison as 'E.E.', or even Jelly.... He was my FC officer, remember." "How could I forget?" Edison Bell had spent almost ten months working undercover before they had contacted Maria and recruited her to the WDF, way back in 1993, during those tense days before Earth joined the United Galactica and the WDF had to do everything they did on Earth in secret. "How is Carter these days? I keep missing his show. Up to my _neck_ in work at the shipyards." "He's fine," Maria replied as they walked further into the room, toward the table with the beverages on it. "He wanted to come, but he's working on a big expose. He thinks one of the Federation Starfleet's captains sold out to GENOM and helped their fleet beat Starfleet at Wolf 359." "Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants," Gryphon remarked. "Say, have you seen Murph lately?" "Truss and I were just talking about her. She's fine -- she wanted to be here too, but Murray has her on the big ExoSalusia embezzlement scandal.... She can't get a decent Controller either. I guess I'm lucky...." She trailed off, sounding distracted, and Gryphon, glancing up from the table, saw why: Kei had disengaged from a small knot of other 3WA consultants and was coming toward them. She looked, as she had all evening, positively radiant, with the happiness she was feeling supplementing that magnificent, healthy glow that seems to surround pregnant women. Her pregnancy hadn't yet started to show (much to Tricia Currier's relief, for she had designed the dress uniform Kei was wearing), but neither thought it would be long. "Hi," she said brightly, taking a flute of champagne (Dom Perignon, 2340 -- an excellent year, not as good as '43, but then, you can't find '43 any more) and giving Gryphon a quick kiss. "So you're with Net23 now, huh? How've you been? I haven't seen you since the breakup." "I've, uh... I've been okay...." Maria looked distinctly uncomfortable now, and glanced worriedly at Gryphon, who just smiled and nodded. Kei noted all this and became more serious. "I think maybe we should talk," she said, and put down the glass. "Don't you?" "I, uh...." Ignoring her hesitation, Kei took her arm and led her out of the Great Hall entirely, into a small O-deck nearby. "You're worried that I'm going to be angry at you because of what happened between you and Ben, right?" "You... you know?" "'Course I know. Ben and I have no secrets, it's healthier that way for everybody concerned. Besides, why should I be mad? What possible claim did _I_ have in those days?" Kei laughed. "Christ, what a double standard that would be." Despite herself, Maria laughed, slightly. "There," said Kei, "that's better. Look, this is a _celebration_! You're supposed to have a good time, not walk around being nervous about ghosts. Look, here's the bottom line: I'm not upset, I'm _grateful_." "Uh?" "Yeah! Hell yeah! It's 'cause of folks like you, who believed in him and loved him even when I didn't, that kept him _going_! I'm sure as hell not gonna be mad at you for being there when he needed somebody. You know something else? I wouldn't be mad if you still were." She paused, then grinned and said, "Well, maybe _today_ is a bad day, but you get the general idea...." "You wouldn't --" "Nah. I know he still loves you. Now, I know, it was a long time ago, you've both moved on, things change and it's probably not gonna happen again, at least not for a while. But if it did, hey, who am I to get in the way? Let me let you in on a little secret, Maria. Ben doesn't love just one person. He _can't_ -- it's not the kind of person he is. He loves me more than life itself, in a way he loves no one else, but I'm sure as hell not the only person he loves. It's just the way he's wired. Other people aren't a threat -- they're the key." "That... that's a very strange viewpoint to take," Maria said. She smiled. "I can see why he said you were very progressive." "Progressive? Hah! I just recognize the obvious. It's the way he is, there's no sense getting all worked up about it. Know why I called it a secret? 'Cause _he_ doesn't know it yet. In fact he'd be shocked to hear me talk like this on our wedding day. He thinks we just did it the oooold standard Terran way, exclusive and impractical. Probably agonize himself half to death the first time he thinks he's 'strayed', until I talk him down. Won't THAT be a hoot." Kei smirked. "Well. Now that I've utterly destroyed your concept of me, let's get back to that party, huh?" Maria laughed. "Sure." Gryphon watched as they came back into the room, laughing together at some private joke, and inwardly sighed in relief. It had gone well, then. They separated with a wave and another almost conspiratorial laugh, and Maria went to mingle. Kei came up beside him and put her arm around his back, squeezing him gently. "So. Enjoying the party?" "Yeah. I take it you worked everything out?" "Everything," Kei said, with a small, private grin. He made as if to ask a question, but she forestalled it with a kiss, and then another, and then leaned close and murmured, "Hey, I have an idea." "Yeah?" he replied in the same tone of voice. "Yeah," said Kei into his ear, pausing briefly to nibble at the lobe. "Let's get the hell outta here." "Not enjoying the party?" he said with a sardonic grin. "Well, you know, we're not really married until...." He stifled a sarcastic laugh at the utter absurdity of that notion. "Okay... give me a couple minutes." "Oh, all right," she said in a long-suffering tone. "Just don't be _too_ long, or...." "I don't think I want to know what comes after that 'or'. I won't be long, I promise." He kissed her, then plunged into the crowd, searching. It didn't take long. "Gryph!" Zoner called, holding up his glass. Gryphon grinned and raised a hand, walking over to where he, Yuri, and ReRob had been chatting. "Hey, enjoying yourself?" "Yeah, but...." He glanced at his watch. "My time in the light is short." "Huh?" said Rob, as Yuri broke and Zoner arched an eyebrow. "I have to go," Gryphon explained. "No need to break up the party -- hell, nobody will even notice we left. Just... before I went, I wanted to thank you guys for being there today. I can hardly believe we're all back...." "Hey," said Rob, "now don't go getting all emotional on us." "Right," said Zoner. "Life still sucks, remember." He took a sip of his unidentifiable, brightly-colored drink. "Besides, you're coming to _ours_, right?" said Yuri with a grin. Zoner choked, then reddened. "Of course," said Gryphon, grinning back wickedly. "_Somebody_'s gotta hog-tie Zoner and drag him to the altar." Zoner merely coughed. Yuri gave Gryphon a quick kiss and said softly, "Have fun." "Do I detect a note of jealousy in your voice, milady?" said Gryphon, deliberately incorrectly. "Patience! Christmas is coming." "Huh?" ReRob repeated as Yuri broke again and Zoner barely avoided a spit take. "Maybe when you're older, Rob," said Yuri, squeezing Gryphon's shoulder as he waved goodbye and melted back into the crowd. "Maybe when you're older." "Took you long enough," said Kei with mock petulance as he emerged on the other side of the crowd. She took his hand and, leaning close, said, "Now let's _go_ already." He laughed. "Lead on, milady, lead on." Just as they reached the grand doors, Gryphon felt a tap at his shoulder. He paused and turned to see Maria smiling at him, and then she kissed him. "I'm leaving for Spica," she said by way of explanation. "Won't see you again until my next vacation." "Your next vacation? Does that mean you'll be visiting?" "Of course! After all, the WDF is my family, and now that you're back together again...." "Given any thought to coming back to us?" Kei asked. "Yes," Maria admitted, "but right now I have too many responsibilities with '23... perhaps sometime soon, though. In the meantime, Lightnin will make an excellent replacement for me, I think." She smiled impishly. "Although, after so many years, the thought of being WDF Morale Officer is very... I don't know, very appealing. No one has called me 'Xuxa' since those days... well, except you, Gryphon." Gryphon grinned. "All part of the service, here in wackyland," he said. "Take care of yourself, Xuxa. You know my email address, right?" "I can get it," she said with a smirk. "I _am_ a reporter." "True. Be seeing you...." "Bye, you two." She reached past Gryphon to touch Kei's shoulder, almost q-style, and then she was gone. Gryphon gave Kei a quizzical look, and she replied merely, "Girl talk." Then her face became more serious (in fact, too serious to be serious), and she said in a lower voice, "Now let's get outta here." Gryphon laughed again. Goddess. It was all so unreal. The grand doors slammed behind them, and without them, the party went on for another ten hours or so. But then, for them, it did too, sort of.