a past of the TENCHI MUYO universe, a past that almost certainly does not 
officially exist.  Kiyone as she appears is my version of the character, 
building upon what we saw in the Great Space Adventure.
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Galaxy Police Mihoshi's ACADEMY DAYS
by Ryan Mathews

CHAPTER ONE

	"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGHH!  MIHOSHI, YOU IDIOT!"
	"I'M SORRY!"
	Kiyone turned her head, the same appendage she had pulled inside the
cabin barely in time to avoid losing, and screamed at her partner.  "Will you
please WARN me when you're going to do something like that?!"
	"B-but I had to make a quick decision, or I might've lost him-- YAAH!"
Mihoshi yelped as several rounds punched through the cabin.  She dove, banked,
and quickly moved the aircar out of the line of fire.
	Kiyone got a handle on her stomach, then caught sight of their quarry,
swerving wildly between buildings.  Mihoshi was right about one thing: one
second would be enough for him to lose them, not for good, but long enough
for something awful to happen.  Garrett was flying without lights, the harder
to be seen in the early-morning darkness.  He was a disaster waiting to
happen, and if there was one thing Kiyone didn't need on her record, it was
another disaster.
	It was all desperation, of course.  Kiyone was certain Garrett knew
there was no real chance of escape.  She had sent out the call for backup, and
soon there wouldn't be any place on the planet for him to hide.  That wouldn't
stop him from trying, though.
	Mihoshi closed in.  "Preparing tractor beam!"
	Garrett leaned out and shot at them again, one of the beams from his
sidearm piercing the engine compartment.  When this was over, Kiyone resolved,
she was going to have to take a look at that gun.  The aircar was supposed to
be beam-proof.
	"I'm going to try to force him back inside the car," said Kiyone.
"Will you please remember to warn me if you decide to go under another
bridge?"
	"Roger!"
	Kiyone pulled herself back up through the roof and fired several quick
shots in Garrett's direction.  As she had hoped, he pulled back into the
cabin.  However, his desperation overcame his regard for his personal safety,
and he quickly began firing back.  Kiyone returned fire again, and winged him.
Garrett howled in pain and disappeared from view.
	Then it happened.
	Perhaps disoriented by the pain and the flash of beam-fire, Garrett
made a wrong turn.  His aircar slammed into the side of a building, wobbled,
spun, hit another tower, and dropped like a rock.
	"MIHOSHI!!"
	"HANG ON!"
	Mihoshi opened the throttle and took off after the falling aircar.
Kiyone prayed they'd get there in time.  Who knew what he'd fall on?  If they
were lucky, they'd get off with severe property damage.  If not, he might hit
an apartment complex where scores of people were asleep.
	Mihoshi sent their car into a dive.  Kiyone clenched her teeth and
hung on for dear life.  Mihoshi was a competent pilot, but things had an odd
tendency to go wrong whenever she was in control.  Kiyone hoped this wouldn't
be one of those times.
	Mihoshi approached the other aircar from behind, while at the same
time dropping at a dizzying rate.  At the last moment, she swooped underneath
the aircar, passed in front of it, and hit the tractor beam.  Bullseye.
There was a sudden jolt as their car's engines took on the added weight, then
they began to climb.
	Mihoshi and Kiyone both shouted for joy.  "Mihoshi, that was
incredible!  I can't believe you pulled off that manuever!"
	"Really?!  You really liked it?!"
	"Like it?  For once, we're going to complete an assignment without
anything going seriously wrong!  I could kiss you!"
	"Uh-oh..."
	Kiyone's heart sank as she realized she'd spoken too soon.  Afraid to
ask, she did anyway.  "What do you mean, 'uh-oh'?"
	"When Garrett shot at us, he must have damaged the re-charging system.
We're running out of power!"
	"We'd better put him down fast, then."
	"Sure, but where?"
	Kiyone thought about it.  "Head for the bay.  We can drop him in the
shallow water."
	"Roger."
	As they headed toward the coast, Kiyone looked out over the Trasima
City skyline, a bit annoyed that their backup hadn't arrived yet.  One of the
axioms of Galaxy Police work was "never depend on the locals".  The Trasimans
were a nice enough people, but they were a little behind the times when it
came to law enforcement.  They were woefully unequipped to handle someone like
Garrett.  When they did show up, Kiyone expected it to be in helicopters and
ground vehicles.
	They soon arrived at the bay and flew out over the water.  "Okay,
where should I put him?"
	Kiyone scanned the coast.  "Right down there looks like a good place."
Mihoshi nodded.
	The tractor beam vanished and Garrett's aircar was let go, more than a
kilometer above the water.
	"What are you doing?!!"  Kiyone gaped in disbelief as Garrett's car
fell for a full ten seconds before slamming into the water with fatal force.
"Dear god, Mihoshi, you killed him!!"
	"It's not my fault!!  It turned off all by itself!"  Mihoshi's eyes
welled up with tears and her face took on a look of panic Kiyone knew only too
well.  Kiyone knew what had happened.  The combination of lights and towing
had served to deplete their power reserves far more quickly than she had
expected.
	The console began to flicker.  "What do I do?  What do I do?"
	"Get out over the water!  Maybe we can splash down.  If we come in
low, we can skip off the surface a few times, and--"
	"I don't think I can do anything that complicated!  I'm losing
control!"
	The aircar swerved wildly and continued to fly farther out over the
bay.  "Mihoshi, you've gotta turn it around.  It's too deep out here!  Even if
we survive the impact, we'll drown!"
	"I'm trying, but this stupid thing won't do what it's told!"
	The console was flashing on and off now, more off than on.  Each time
power was lost, the aircar dipped terrifyingly.
	"Um, Kiyone?"
	"What is it now?"
	"Well, like, you did tell me to warn you when I was about to go under
a bridge."
	Ahead of them loomed the main bridge that spanned the bay.  Kiyone
realized what was going to happen.  A little bit higher and they could fly
over it.  A little bit lower and they could fly underneath.  But, no, not
with Mihoshi the Jinx at the controls.  With her flying there was only one
possible outcome.
	Mihoshi struggled with the stick, to no avail.  The console went dark
and stayed dark.  Kiyone had time for one last scream before the impact.

	Kiyone groaned and opened her eyes.  It felt wrong for the afterlife.
Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of white light, with relatives calling
for her?  Instead there was just a lot of pain.  Her head hurt, her side hurt,
pretty much everything hurt.  Kiyone looked to the side and saw Mihoshi.  That
explained it.  She'd died and gone to Hell.  Either that or she was still
alive.  Ever the optimist, Kiyone chose to work from the latter assumption.
At least that one afforded the possibility of getting away from Mihoshi some
day.
	"Hey.  Hey, featherbrain.  Wake up."  Kiyone shook her gently.
	"Ummm.  I don't wanna go to school today."
	"GET UP, DAMMIT!"
	"YAAAH!"  Mihoshi sat up with a start.  "Oh, hi, Kiyone.  We made it,
didn't we?"
	"Yeah, but made it where, that's the question.  I can't see a thing."
Kiyone peered through the windshield, squinting and blinking, but couldn't
make sense of anything she saw.
	"Well, maybe I can get a better look if I step outside."  Mihoshi
opened her door, put one foot outside, then screamed and promptly jumped back
into the cabin.  "There's nothing out there!"
	"And that's bad?" asked Kiyone, confused.
	"I mean nothing!  No water, no ground, no nothing!  We're, like, in
the air!"
	Kiyone opened her door and stuck her leg out.  As ridiculous as it
seemed, Mihoshi appeared to be right.  Of course, they could simply be a meter
or so off the ground, but the only way to be sure would be to jump out.
Unless...
	She fumbled around the cabin until she found the emergency handlamp.
"Help me get the roof open."  With Mihoshi's help, she pushed the panel aside
and stood up on the seat.
	"Can you see where we are?" Mihoshi asked.
	"I don't see much at all."  Kiyone shone the lamp down and to the
side.  There was still no clue as to how high they were, or what was keeping
them from falling.  Finally, she shone the flashlight above and to the front.
Of course, Kiyone thought.  Where the hell else could they be?
	Kiyone sat back down and turned off the lamp, once again disgusted by
her luck, or rather Mihoshi's.  Only Mihoshi could have pulled off a trick
like this.
	"So, um, so where are we?" Mihoshi asked again.  "Is it bad?"
	"That depends," replied Kiyone.  "Do you consider being wedged
between two support beams, one hundred fifty meters above the water, to be
bad?"
	"Hmm," Mihoshi thought.  "Yes, that would be bad."
	"Then it's bad."
	"Oh, no!" cried Mihoshi. "Where are we?"
	Kiyone rubbed her temples, wondering if she should take some headache
medicine now or begin rationing it.  It wasn't as if she wasn't used to
Mihoshi getting her into trouble.  After all, it had begun the moment they'd
met.

	      *                       *                       *

	"What do you mean, I don't have a single?!"
	"I'm sorry, Kiyone.  We just don't have the rooms to spare."
	"But it's not fair!  I earned that room!"  Kiyone shouted across the
desk.
	Lieutenant Tugh was as apologetic as he could be.  "Kiyone, you know
how the GP Academy works.  Every year we screen enough people for a full
class.  Usually a few don't pass the entrance exams, leaving us with a few
extra rooms to be given to our best upperclassmen as singles.  But this year,
everyone got in.  I'm sorry, Kiyone.  Just chalk it up to bad luck."
	Kiyone sighed.  "This really sucks."
	"I'm afraid it gets worse.  You see, since you expected a single, you
didn't sign up with a roommate, so you've been assigned one."
	"Oh, no," said Kiyone, aghast.  "Please don't tell me I've been
roomed with a freshman."
	"'Fraid so.  Go easy on her, okay?  It's not her fault."
	Kiyone drooped, utterly defeated.  "Okay."
	"And I want all this out of your system by roll call, is that
understood?  Friend or not, once your cadet's uniform is on, and you're
calling me 'sir' like everyone else, I won't tolerate any attitude problems."
	"Yes, sir."
	"Now go meet your roommate.  I understand she's already arrived.  Who
knows, maybe you'll become good friends."
	Kiyone sincerely doubted that.

	As she walked across the campus to the barracks, Kiyone began to fume.
It just wasn't fair, not after all she'd been through.  Kiyone's roommate the
previous year had been a real pain in the ass, always moving the stuff on her
desk, interrupting her studying, talking about her stupid boyfriends.  Rather
than letting it get the better of her, she had allowed it to inspire her.  She
had out-achieved everyone in her class in marksmanship, endurance, piloting,
and regulations.  She had finished the year ranked number one, and had spent
her inter-term internship in blissful contemplation of a second year without
the annoyances of any her childish, boneheaded classmates invading her private
space.
	And now this.  Not only to have her dream of privacy yanked away from
her, but to be roomed with a freshman!  Her?!  Kiyone, who had scored the
third highest ever on the combined skills test?!
       As Kiyone reached her room, she wondered how it possibly get worse.
Then she turned the key, opened the door, and saw how.
	The room was an absolute disaster.  Clothing was strewn everywhere.
Opened suitcases littered the floor, their contents spilling out.  Kiyone's
favorite desk was already cluttered with innumerable items.  Kiyone dropped
her single bag and wandered aimlessly about the wreckage.
	"I don't know who you are, but you're DEAD!!"
	A groan came from the pile of clothes on the bed.  The pile shifted,
and something began to emerge, as if the clothing was somehow giving birth to
a new life form.  It was female.  Her dark skin contrasted with her bright
blue eyes and wavy blonde hair.  Combined with her pointy, elvish ears, the
complete picture reminded Kiyone vaguely of someone, but she couldn't quite
place it.
	"Umm...  How long have I been sleeping?  Oh!"  said the girl as she
finally noticed Kiyone.  "Are you my roommate?"
	"Yes," Kiyone replied, her tone making it clear just how much she
resented the fact.
	"My name's Mihoshi!  What's yours?"
	"Kiyone.  *Upperclassman* Kiyone."
	"Really?" exclaimed Mihoshi with delight.  "You're an upperclassman?
Does that mean you'll be my sempai?"
	"Do you realize you have panties in your hair?"
	"Oh."  Mihoshi stood up and brushed the spare bits of clothing onto
the floor, not looking the least bit self-conscious about it.
	"And to answer your question, no, I will most definitely *not* be your
sempai.  We don't use that system here."  Not officially they didn't, anyway.
Many upperclassman took it upon themselves to become mentors to freshmen, but
Kiyone had no intention of doing so, especially not with this girl.  "Let's
get a few things straight right off the bat.  First off, the lower bunk is
mine, as is the desk by the window.  Next year, I'll be out of here and then
you can have them.  Is that understood?"
	"Yes sir, Upperclassman Kiyone!"
	Kiyone started to get pissed at her for being sarcastic, then saw that
Mihoshi's enthusiastic smile was perfectly honest.  "Um, just 'Kiyone' is
fine."
	"I'll move this stuff right away!  I'm really sorry, but I was
space-lagged really bad, and it was the best I could do to unpack a little
before I passed out."  Mihoshi began to clear the clothes off the bed,
throwing them onto the floor.
	Kiyone checked her watch.  "Look, forget about that for now.  We'd
better get into uniform.  Roll call's in twenty minutes."
	"In twenty minutes?!" shouted Mihoshi, alarmed.  "I slept for that
long?!  Oh, dear!  Oh, dear!  I'd better get moving."  She stood up and
banged her head on the upper bunk.  "OWWWW!"  She staggered backward into the
desk and knocked the mirror off.
	Kiyone yelled "NO!" as what had been her favorite of the mirrors in
the room smashed to the floor.
	"Oh, no!  I'm so sorry."
	"No problem.  I'll just take yours."

	Kiyone was glad for the familiarity of roll call.  Mihoshi had stuck
next to her until Kiyone had finally made it clear that freshman had to line
up together to the left.  Head Sergeant P'yun walked up and down the line,
hollering out names in his practiced gruff voice, and looking with either
satisfaction or vague disapproval at each of the cadets who replied.
	Finally he reached Kiyone's roommate.  "Cadet Mihoshi!"
	"Here!" Mihoshi chirped.
	"Cadet Shi!"
	Mihoshi blinked and looked at the boy next to her.  A look of delight
spread across her face.
	P'yun finished the roll call and faced the cadets.  "I want to welcome
you all to the Galactic Police Academy.  You're all looking well.  Or rather,
the upperclassmen are looking well.  The freshman have a bit to learn about
uniform protocol.  But that's to be expected, and it will be corrected, by
this time tomorrow.
	"You upperclassmen, you know what you're in for.  You freshman don't.
Whatever you've been told, whatever you've imagined, the reality is much
worse.  This will be the most difficult year of your life.  Some of you, I
hate to inform you, won't be standing in this line at this time next year.
	"We have extremely high standards.  The Galactic Police is not a team
of rent-a-cops who catch shoplifters and muggers.  No sir!  We are responsible
for the security of more than one thousand different worlds.  Our enemies are
pirates, organized crime, smugglers.  It is a very dangerous job, and it is
not one for the weak!  Do I make myself clear?"
	"SIR, YES, SIR!!" shouted the cadets.
	All except one, who was whispering to the boy next to her.
	"CADET MIHOSHI!" thundered P'yun.
	"S-sir!  Yes, sir!" said Mihoshi, scrambling to get back to attention.
	"Were you talking to Cadet Shi?"
	"Sir, um, no, I mean, yes, sir, see, Shi and I, we went to the same
high school, and I hadn't seen him in--"
	"Did I *ask* for your life story?!"
	Mihoshi looked ready to cry.  "N-no, sir, I..."
	"Drop and give me twenty!  You, too, Shi!  NOW!"
	Mihoshi looked confused, then saw Shi begin to do push-ups, and
imitated him.
	"I'm only going to say this once," said P'yun, sternly.  "No one gets
special treatment here!  No one!  I don't care who you are!  I don't care if
your grandfather *is* the goddamn commissioner!  Is that clear?!"
	"Sir... yes... sir..." said Mihoshi between push-ups.
	Kiyone was stunned.  She knew Mihoshi had reminded her of someone, but
the commissioner?  That bubble-headed, ditzy little girl was the granddaughter
of the *commissioner*?  Kiyone felt the edges of her mouth curl up, and fought
the urge to laugh.  But one look at Mihoshi doing push-ups and seeing the
resemblance, was too much.  Kiyone let out a snort.
	P'yun turned on her.  "You find this amusing, Cadet Kiyone?!"
	"S-sir, no, sir..." Kiyone desperately tried to get herself under
control but couldn't stop giggling.
	"You can do *thirty* push-ups.  After all, you're an upperclassman.
You're in better shape.  NOW!"
	Kiyone dropped and started doing push-ups, appalled.  She felt her
her classmates staring at her.  Damn them.  If they'd seen Mihoshi, they'd be
in hysterics too.  This was turning out to be the worst day of her life.
	And yet, as she did the push-ups, she couldn't stop laughing.

END CHAPTER ONE

Comments appreciated!

------RM