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                          Galaxy Police Mihoshi's
                          A C A D E M Y  D A Y S

                          "The Mihoshi Syndrome"
                                    by
                               Ryan Mathews

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CHAPTER SIX

        Five men stepped into the light behind Lieutenant Tugh, who 
continued to hold Kiyone and Mihoshi at gunpoint.  Two walked in front, the 
seeming leaders, while the others remained behind.  Kiyone recognized one of 
them as the man who had attacked them in the barracks.
        "Ah, Tugh," said one of the leaders.  "It seems you've solved our
little problem."
        "There wouldn't have been a problem if you'd kept your goons on a
leash," Tugh angrily replied.  "The only reason these two cadets are here is
because you chased them out of their confinement."
        "It was a mistake, but one that's easily remedied."  The man snapped
his fingers.  One of the goons drew a pistol and advanced.
        "What do you think you're doing?"
        "We can't let them live."
        "I'll deal with this!" Tugh shouted.  "In my own way, on my own 
time!  If you can't handle it, Shi, that's too bad!  You can shove these 
guns up your ass for all I care.  You're lucky I'm even buying them, after 
what happened with your little demonstration."
        The man gave Tugh a long stare, as if trying to determine whether or
not he was serious.  Finally he said, "Okay.  You handle this in your own 
way.  Just make sure that you do, or we *will* handle it for you."
        "Did he call you `Shi'?" Mihoshi asked.
        The man smiled.  "Exjin Shi, arms dealer to the stars, at your
service.  The boy you know is my nephew.  He wasn't worth much until he
enrolled in your Police Academy.  Then he became the most valuable member of
the family."
        Kiyone looked at Tugh, tears welling up in her eyes.  "Sir, I can't
believe you'd do something like this!"
        "I'm broke, Kiyone.  I used to have a bit of a gambling problem.  I
managed to kick the habit a few years back, but I've never been able to pay
off my debts.  I can resell these guns and get back even."
        "It's a wonderful system," said the arms dealer.  "I ship the guns 
to the academy through the port, and Tugh uses contacts inside the GP to 
ship them."
        "But that's illegal, isn't it?" asked Mihoshi.
        The arms dealer blinked.  "Did you really pass the entrance exam?"
        "With flying colors!" beamed Mihoshi.
        "Let's get this over with," said Tugh.  "Dramm!"
        Dramm appeared from behind the towering stacks of crates, carrying a
briefcase.
        Kiyone was heartbroken.  "Dramm.  Not you too."
        "I'm sorry, Kiyone.  I tried so hard to keep you out of this.  I
warned you, and I thought you'd listened, but here you are anyway.  I guess
it's just one of those things."
        Tugh motioned to Dramm.  "Show him the money."
        Dramm open the briefcase.  The dealer leafed through the contents.
        Behind Kiyone, Mihoshi glanced around.  "Wow, that stack of crates 
is even taller than the one I climbed before!"
        Kiyone turned around to tell her to shut up and saw that Mihoshi had
begun to climb the stack.  Her blood turned to ice.  She opened her mouth to
shout at her to get down, then closed it for fear that Mihoshi would be 
shot.
She glanced nervously from one of the armed guards to the next, waiting for
the moment when one of them would notice Mihoshi climbing and open fire.  
She readied herself to pounce as soon as that happened.  Maybe in the 
confusion she or Mihoshi could escape.
        But the strangest thing happened.  As Mihoshi climbed higher and
higher, no one noticed.  She was in plain view, but nobody looked in the 
right direction.  Kiyone couldn't believe it.  She glanced one last time at 
Mihoshi, who had nearly reached the summit, then stopped looking, not 
wanting to attract attention herself.
        Finally, Tugh noticed Mihoshi, and did something Kiyone found odd.
He glanced up at Mihoshi, stared for a moment, then turned around and went 
back to arguing with the arms dealer about the amount of Juraian currency in
the payment.
        Confused, Kiyone stole one more glance at Mihoshi.  She was bent 
over, apparently whispering to someone behind the stack.  Kiyone looked at 
Dramm.  He winked at her.
        Kiyone's heart soared.  She had been wrong.  *Now* she understood
everything.  She quietly moved closer to the nearest guard.
        "Then we have a deal?" Tugh asked.
        "We have a deal," replied the arms dealer.  "The guns are all 
yours."
        "Wonderful.  Then I have all I need.  NOW!!"
        Armed Galaxy Police officers streamed out from behind every stack of
crates.  Kiyone drove her elbow into the stomach of the guard behind her,
grabbed his arm, flipped him painfully onto his back, and took his gun.
        "Don't move, Shi!" Tugh yelled.  "After all you put me through, I'm
not that intent on taking you alive."
        The arms dealer cursed.  "I should have known better then to do 
business with a police officer."  Several officers moved forward to take him
into custody.
        The dealer whipped out a gun and fired a shot into a crate.  Before
the officer could react, the crate exploded.  Two others quickly detonated 
as well, in a chain reaction.  Debris flew through the air, cutting down 
officers and mobsters alike.  In the chaos, the dealer turned and ran toward 
the warehouse entrance.
        Mihoshi had been at the top of the stack.  When the crates at the
bottom exploded, the stack was thrown upward and collapsed.  Kiyone watched
helplessly as Mihoshi fell.
        As Mihoshi plummeted, guns and ammunition, thrown upward by the 
explosion, flew past her.  Mihoshi grabbed a pistol out of the air.  She
grabbed a power cell as it flew by and slapped it in.  She took aim and
fired two perfect shots into the dealer's legs.  He fell, sprawling.
        Mihoshi completed her fall, making a perfect landing, at least at
first.  "Owwie, my butt," she whined, then added, "Did I get him?"

        Kiyone and Mihoshi remained to help clean up.  They'd been lucky.  
The shrapnel hadn't killed anyone, and although some of the injuries had 
been serious, all the officers were conscious and talking as they were 
carried off.  Dramm himself had received a nasty laceration on his forehead, 
but insisted that it just be bandaged for the moment.  Mihoshi, of course, 
had come through without a scratch.
        "That was an incredible shot, Mihoshi!" Kiyone said.
        "Really?  Thanks!"
        "I'll say that was incredible," Dramm agreed.  "`Unbelievable' is 
more like it.  Maybe you could give me lessons sometime."
        Mihoshi laughed and blushed.
        "We're nearly done here," said Tugh.  "Why don't you cadets head 
back to the barracks?"
        "Yes sir," said Kiyone.  "But before we go, could you just answer 
one question?  How did this all start?"
        Tugh laughed nervously.  "I wonder that myself sometimes.  Shi had
arrived on campus early, just after the last term ended.  He wanted to see 
me.  He confided in me about his criminal relations.  They had been 
pressuring him to help get them into the GP's organization.  They wanted to 
set up a smuggling operation.  He didn't want to do it, but he was afraid 
they might start to threaten him, and he wondered if I could help him.
        "Well, when he told me exactly who his relations were, I could 
hardly contain myself.  The GP had been after Exjin Shi and his operation 
for years.  I saw this as a great opportunity.  So, with the help of Dramm 
and the other officers, we set up a sting operation.
        "To make a long story short, I'm a lot better at running an academy
than at running a sting operation.  Once we let these people onto the base,
I had trouble controlling them.  If they'd have killed you, I never would 
have forgiven myself."
        Kiyone smiled.  "I forgive you, sir.  I'm just glad you hadn't 
really gone bad.  I, um... I really look up to you, sir."
        "I know, Kiyone.  That's why I've never made you call me `sir' when
you're not in uniform."
        Kiyone looked down at herself.  She was a mess.  Her clothes were
torn, she was all covered in dust, and her poor bare feet were aching from 
all the splinters she'd stepped on.  "Oh, man.  I need a shower bad.  I'd 
better get back to the barracks.  Come on, Mihoshi."
        "Coming!" shouted Mihoshi.
        "I'd better get back myself," said Dramm. "The nurses are going to
have a fit if I don't get this cut sealed.  So, Kiyone, can I pick you up in
front of the barracks at 2000 hours?"
        "What for?" Kiyone asked.
        "Our date, of course."
        "Oh!  I, uh, sure!"
        "Great!  See you then!"

              *                       *                       *

        Kiyone smiled as she remembered.  Getting closer to Dramm had been 
one of the nicest things about that case.  As with most first romances, it 
didn't work out, but they had some great times, and when they broke up, they 
remained friends.  Kiyone hadn't talked to Dramm in almost a year.  She 
resolved to get in touch with him if she and Mihoshi survived the mess they 
were in.
        She mentally kicked herself.  She was supposed to be figuring out a
solution to their problem, not thinking about old boyfriends.
        She'd made virtually no progress.  There were only two possible
solutions: escape or signal for help.  Escape seemed the more unlikely of 
the two.  Climbing up or down the bridge was even more infeasible now than 
it had been when Kiyone had tried it.  That left signaling as the only means 
of rescue.
        It was impossible to signal via radio.  Both the onboard radio and
Mihoshi's wristcorder were melted beyond repair.  That left some kind of
visual signal, which was made nearly impossible by how neatly their aircar 
was tucked underneath the bridge.  Kiyone was pretty sure there were flares 
in the trunk, but there was no way to get to them, save maybe using their 
guns to cut through from the cabin.  Even then, one of them would have to 
crawl back to get them, which meant the other would have to climb out onto 
the hood to balance the car.  Assuming the flares were there, shooting them 
into the air was impossible with the bridge overhead.  That meant shooting 
them downward, and Kiyone doubted they were waterproof enough to burn 
floating in water for very long.
        "Here comes a car," said Mihoshi.
        Kiyone didn't feel anything.  "How can you tell?"
        Mihoshi smiled and pointed to her pointed, elflike ears.  She was
pale.  Kiyone could tell the poor girl was terrified.
        "Must be a service vehicle," said Kiyone.  "They shouldn't be 
opening the bridge for at least half an hour."  Kiyone heard the car herself 
now.
        The car approached, the rumble getting louder and louder.  The 
bridge began to vibrate.  Finally, the car passed overhead.  The bridge 
shook gently.  Kiyone's and Mihoshi's car began to sway as the support beams 
vibrated underneath them.  Then the rumble went away, and everything was 
calm once more.  They'd survived the passing of a single car.  They wouldn't 
be as lucky when the traffic passed overhead en masse.
        Kiyone pounded the dashboard in frustration.  There had to be a way
out of this mess.  There always had been one in the past, no matter how 
hopeless the situation had been.  Working with Mihoshi was like riding a
roller coaster.  Up, then down, then up again, then down again.  Mihoshi had 
a way of getting Kiyone into trouble, but she also had a way of getting her 
out of trouble as well.  In their first adventure, Mihoshi had stumbled upon
information that had nearly gotten them killed, but in the end, she had 
saved the entire operation.  The two of them had received commendations.  
That was the pattern life with Mihoshi followed.  Things got worse and 
worse, then, just when it seemed hopeless, they rebounded.
        Rebound.  There was that word again.  Kiyone pounded her forehead.
The word must have some significance, she thought, or her brain wouldn't 
keep bringing it to her attention.
        "Kiyone, didn't you say the bridge wouldn't open for a half-hour?"
        Kiyone nodded.  With both her and Mihoshi's wristcorder out of
service, and no power to the car's systems, they had no way of telling time,
but her own internal clock, in addition to the light outside, made her guess
the time at about 530 hours local.
        "Well," Mihoshi continued, "I think your estimate might be a little
off, 'cause I hear *lots* of cars."
        Kiyone paled.  She must have misjudged the time, or else been wrong
about the time at which the city opened the bridge.  Whatever the case, the
minutes they'd had remaining had now become seconds.
        Kiyone's mind worked feverishly.  She tried to think of anything 
they could try, no matter how desperate.  She couldn't keep her mind on 
track, though.  She drifted, thinking about all the people to whom she 
wanted to say good-bye: her mother, her father, Commander Tugh, Dramm.
        Dramm!  Rebound!  Her mind made the connection.  Dramm had once 
shown her something she didn't know about her own gun.  If a power cell was 
drained in a firefight, Dramm had advised, she shouldn't throw it away.  In 
an emergency, it was often possible to get one last shot out of it, even if 
the cell had seemed to be completely drained.  The phenomenon was known as
"rebound", where a fresh battery could partially recharge itself.
        The battery in the aircar was fairly new, as far as Kiyone knew.  It
was possible that it had rebounded.  There wouldn't be enough power to fly
it back to the base, but they could get out from under the bridge and fly to
the shore, or at least make a safe splash landing.
        But... If the batteries had rebounded, why hadn't the radio worked?
Kiyone thought about it.  It was possible that a shot from Garrett's gun had
damaged the system feeding power to the dashboard systems, but not the one 
that fed the engine.  It was possible.  No, thought Kiyone.  It was
ridiculous.  There was no way she could possibly be that lucky.
        But Mihoshi could.
        Was that the solution?  To just say "damn it all" and put everything
in the hands of Mihoshi's maddeningly stupid luck?  Mihoshi had an annoying
way of "lucking" herself both into and out of trouble.  Could her luck 
really save them?
        As Kiyone heard the cars approach, she figured they didn't really 
have much of a choice.
        "Mihoshi," she said, "start the car."
        "W-what?"
        "You heard me."
        "B-but, there's no power!  I can't--!"
        Kiyone yelled at her.  "Dammit, Mihoshi!!  We have thirty seconds to
live!  We're going to die unless you do something!  Now, START THE DAMNED
CAR!!"
        "WAAAH!" Mihoshi yelled, and hit the ignition switch.
        The dashboard remained dark, but the engines roared to life.  Both
women were pushed into their seats as the car thrust itself free and flew 
out from underneath the bridge.
        Then the engines cut out again and the car dropped like a rock.
        Kiyone braced herself for the impact, knowing it wouldn't do any 
good.  Mihoshi hit the ignition switch again and again.  At the last moment, 
the car came to life once more.  Straining with the controls, Mihoshi 
leveled the car as it hit the water, painfully, but non-fatally.  It skipped 
once, twice, then began to sink.
        Kiyone laughed with joy, and was rewarded with excruciating pain.
"Come on," she said, "we have to get out of here!"  She looked out the 
window.  The car was already underwater.  She looked down in horror to see 
water rapidly filling the cabin.  Of course, she thought.  The whole car had 
been shot full of holes.  Her crazed laughter turned to gurgles as the water 
rose past her face.

        She awoke in a hospital to see Mihoshi hovering over her.  "I'm
alive."
        "Yup!" confirmed Mihoshi.  "Glad to see you're finally awake."
        "What happened?"
        "You'll never believe it.  This cruise ship saw us go into the 
water, and the captain dove right in and pulled us out."
        Kiyone could believe it.  She tried to sit up, and winced in pain.
        "Hey!  Don't move," Mihoshi said.  "You broke some ribs."
        "I see.  As usual, you weren't even scratched."
        "Not true!"  Mihoshi displayed her left hand.  "See!  Broken pinky
finger."
        "Well, I guess that's something."
        "Let's see, what else."  Mihoshi looked at a list.  "Oh, yeah!
Garrett survived the fall, can you believe it?  The safety systems in those  
luxury speeders must be something else, huh?  He's in Galaxy Police custody.
And these are for you."  She handed Kiyone a bouquet of flowers.
        "Mihoshi.  You shouldn't have."
        "Oh, they're not from me.  They're from the cruise ship captain.  
And here's his picture, and here's his telecom number.  He's cute, and he 
really likes you!"
        Kiyone looked at the picture.  He *was* gorgeous.  Kiyone thought
about calling him, but with Mihoshi's luck, he'd probably turn out to be a
serial killer.
        "Oh, and, um, this is for you."  Mihoshi handed her a sheet of 
paper, a bit nervously.
        Kiyone read it over.  It was a request for partner reassignment.
Mihoshi had filled it out completely.  All that was required was Kiyone's
signature.  "Oh, Mihoshi..." she started, annoyed.
        "I know you don't like to talk about it, so I figured I'd save you 
the trouble."
        Kiyone looked at the form.  She couldn't help but smile.  Mihoshi 
*would* do something like this, she thought.  However, Kiyone had decided 
ages ago whom she wanted as her partner.  She just hadn't recognized the 
decision.  Now she did.  She tore the form into several neat pieces and set 
them on the table next to her bed.  "Mihoshi, when I'm ready for a new 
partner, I'll ask for one myself.  I'm not ready yet.  Okay?"
        "Okay," replied Mihoshi, the relief evident in her voice.
        "Unless you'd rather work with someone else?"
        "Oh, no!" exclaimed Mihoshi.  "I like having you as my partner.  I
think you're cool!"
        Kiyone stared at Mihoshi, trying desperately not to laugh.  She lost
the battle, alternating laughs with yelps of pain.  "Damn you, Mihoshi!" she
said, between giggles.

              *                       *                       *

        Kiyone finished her shower, put on her robe and headed back to her
room.  She had lingered longer than usual under the hot water, feeling she
deserved it.  As semesters at the Academy went, this was already one for the
books, and it wasn't even three days old.
        On the way back, she ran into Shi.  "Kiyone!  I've been looking for
you," he said, then blushed as he saw how she was dressed.
        "It's okay," said Kiyone.  "With the men's and women's barracks in 
the same building, you'd better get used to seeing the occasional bathrobe."
        Shi laughed.  "I guess so.  I really shouldn't be over here.  I just
wanted to see if I could catch you before you went to bed.  I wanted to 
thank you and apologize for what my relatives put you through."
        "No problem.  I wouldn't want academy life to get too boring."
        "Thanks again.  I'd better get to bed myself."
        Kiyone remembered something.  "Hey, Shi!"
        "Yes?"
        "I've just been thinking.  We're probably going to hang around a 
lot, you, me, and Mihoshi, and I was wondering if there was something else I 
could call you.  No offense, but your name sounds like a pronoun.  It gets
confusing."
        Shi smiled.  "I understand.  Most of my friends call me by my first
name."
        "Which is?"
        "Doujin."
        It figures, thought Kiyone.

        She went back to her room.  Mihoshi was already asleep, having 
passed out on her bunk in her clothes.  Kiyone pulled off Mihoshi's shoes 
and tucked her in under a blanket.  "Do me a favor," she said, softly.  
"Don't wake up for a few days."
                              T H E  E N D

EPILOGUE: CHAPTER TWO AGAIN

        Tugh explained how, thousands of years ago, a scientist had made a
prediction.  She had predicted that one day a child would be born with the
ability to alter the laws of probability.  This child, when born, would play
an important role in the fate of the universe.
        "And you're saying Mihoshi is that child?" asked Kiyone.
        "We have no idea," said Tugh.  "But she was born at about the time
predicted, in about the location predicted.  And you've seen the sort of
things that happen around her."
        Kiyone had to admit that Mihoshi's luck seemed supernatural.  "What
do want me to do?"
        "Look after her.  Be there for her.  If she is the child in 
question, this will be a very difficult time for her."
        "Very well," sighed Kiyone.
        "It's not that bad," said Tugh.  "If you give her a chance, you 
might even become friends."
        "I doubt it, sir.  But I will give her a chance."
        The scientist had disappeared two thousand years ago, but she was
essentially immortal, and there was every chance she was still alive.  
Kiyone very much hoped that was the case.  Because if she ever met this 
"Washu", there some questions she wanted to ask her.