The Eforcer Days
AJ Siytangco


	"Big day tomorrow, isn't it?"  Mrs. Clawson said over the
telephone to her son.
	"It sure is, mom." Jake said.  "Tommorrow is graduation day.
Really wish you could all be here."
	"We all do, son.  Even Josh.  It's just that we can't leave the
farm unattended to.  Your father is working overtime as it is."
Though Jake couln't see her, he knew his mom enough to know she was
happy, and at the same time worried about him and his new line of
work.
	"It's Ok, mom.  And don't worry, I'll be just fine."  They said
their goodbyes and it was the next kat's turn at the phone.  Chance
was waiting for him outside the calling station.  He had just
finished his call home  a few minutes ago and had been waiting for
Jake while reading an old issue of Powerkat.  His mom always sent him
an issue whenever she ha the chance.
	The sun was high but Benitez didn't make them run for that day.
He was being kind with graduation being so close.  
	"Nervous, Jake?"
	"Actually, a bit." Jake admitted.  "I mean, I came here for an
adventure, and I really did get one.  Now, I have a feeling I'll get
more than I can handle."
	"Yeah.  I know how you feel.  But you gotta admit, the rush
during that raid felt good, right?" 
	Jake recalled the sweat dripping down his cheeks, the pounding of
his heart and the rush of adrenaline that shook his whole system.
"Yeah, it felt pretty good."
	"Yo! Chance! Jake!"  Tailor's RIO called from the jeep he was in.
"You guys know about tonight?"
	"Yeah!" Chance yelled back, waving.  
	"See you then!" He roared off, leaving a rising cloud behind him.
	They continued walking, heading for the shooting range for some
target practice.  Jusst before they got in they were stopped by the
straight, authoritative form of  Seargent Lowerski.  Her smiling face
was directed at Chance.  
	"Go on inside, Pal." Chance told Jake.  Jake didn't know what was
going on, but he decided to just ask later.  He greeted the Seargent
and after she returned his salute, left.  He had a gut feeling this
was going to take a while, so he made a detour to Louis'.
	"At ease.  So, Furlong.  Tommorrow you graduate."  She said.
	Chance smiled at her too.  "Yes ma'am."
	"Do you even realize that your the best pilot this academy has
ever produced?"
	"No, Ma'am." He was  being humble, but inside he knew no one
would beat his scores for years to come.  "I hadn't realized that
ma'am."
	Her expression hardened.  "The scores you beat were mine,
Furlong."  Chance's shock was noticable.  "I was the best pilot this
academy ever produced." Nila continued.
	"Ma'am..." Chance stuttered.
	"I want you, Furlong.  In your jet, in ten minutes.  Just you and
me,  in the air."  She smiled a bit again. "Just to see who the best
really is."
	Chance's face slowly opened a grin and a hearty "Yes Ma'am!"
burst from his mouth.


	Over at the gym, which doubled as the dojo, Ralph was sparring
with Lt. Tar.  He kicked high and was blocked, he then kicked low,
and was also blocked.  Tar threw punches and chops, which Ralph
parried, though Ralph knew Lt. was only toying with him.  He charged
his superior but still couldn't get in.
	"Too much force, not enough form..." Tar sidestepped Ralph's
thrust.  He circled around and brought the back of his paw
centimiters from Ralph's face.  Ralph fliched from the near impact.
He knew the match was over.
	They stepped away from each other and bowed.  Tar led Ralph down
from the mat.  "You came here because you wanted something, Myers.
What's on your mind?'" It never bothered him that Ralph was actually
older than he was, and being of higher rank, he actually felt
comfortable calling him by his last name.  Ralph didn't seem to mind
calling him "sir" either.
	"Well, sir, I just wanted some tips about being in the field."
	Tar paused for a moment to think it over. "How do you mean?" he
asked Ralph.
	"Survival tips."
	Tar sat down on a bench.  "Why did you join the Eforcers?"
	"I joined the Enforcers to support my family..."
	"And you don't want anything to happen to you out in the
field..." Tar finished.
	"Yes, sir."
	Tar scratched his chin in thought.  A moment later he had his
answer.  "To tell you truth, the best way is to put in for a desk
job.  But I don't think you'd be happy there."
	"No, sir."
	"If you're going into the field anyway, take a ground job.  Apply
for security duty here on the base, or maybe on patrol.  It's safer
than being in the air."  Tar stopped for a second and eyed Ralph.
"You're wife and kittens are everything to you, aren't they?"
	Ralph breathed a deep breath, "More than I ever thought possible,
sir." He answered proudly.
	"Then that's my tip to you, Myers.  Never forget your family.
Don't ever let this job get the better of you."
	Ralph smiled and saluted, even though he wasn't supposed to since
he was in civilian dress.  It was a salute to Tar anyway, not the
rank of Lt.


	The controller at the tower really had no idea what was going on.
All he knew was that Lowerski wanted two jets ready, for one last
practice run.  Why it was this close to graduation, he couldn't
fathom.  From his view it seemed that Lowerski and the pilot of the
other jet seemed to have something personal going on.

	"I can see why you're the best...Ma'am." Chance said as he
rocketted through the sky. He fulled the throttle and pulled a sharp
turn. He was pulling a lot of G's.
	Lowerski circled around and almost got him in her sights.  "I can
see... why I... graded you... the way I did..."  She was pulling a
lot of G's too.
	They banked and turned and looped and dove, their contrails
forming intricate patterns in the sky before dispersing.  It was
slightly odd for Chance not to have his RIO with him.  He looked
behind him but Lowerski wasn't there.  He scanned below him as best
he could but didn't see any sign of her.  Lastly he looked up and
there she was.
	Chance banked left just as Nila rolled right.  Again they
separated only to run each other head to head.  They zoomed past each
other and circled around for the kill.  Their contrails formed a
figure eight now.
	In a surprise move Nila climbed fast, going ballistic.  Chance
did the same but he was at a different angle to the ground.  As he
climbed he found the sun's rays in his eyes.  He had the shield
himself with his arm.   He got disoriented for a minute but regained
his bearings.  He reversed his direction and headed for the hard
deck.
	"Very impressive." Lowerski said over the radio.
	"I aim to please, ma'am.  What happens if I loose?"
	"I fail you."
	"And if I win?"
	"I fail you."  Lowerski said.  Chance knew she was kidding, but
it still wasn't funny.  In her cockpit, despite her bravado, she was
struggling to hold on to consciousness as she pulled more G's than
she ever would've allowed herself to. Furlong's crazyness must've
rubbed off on her.

	"Louis?"  Jake peeked.  The door to Louis' private office was
ajar, and all the lights were off except for a lamp in one corner.
Jake slowly stepped in, being careful not to make any noise since he
thought Louis was asleep.  Louis was sitting on his lazy chair, his
necktie undone, his polo shirt open three buttons down, and generally
looking hagard and fatigued.
	"Jake?" Louis looked up.
	"What happened pal?  You look like you went twenty rounds with
Lt. Tar."  Jake set himself down on the small seat next to his
friend.  He noticed the heavy eyelids and slugginsh movements.
"Didn't get much sleep last night, huh?"
	"I was too busy packing."
	"What? Packing?"
	"I'm leaving, Jake."
	Jake blinked.  He felt that maybe he was seeing things and
blinking would clear his thoughts. "Where?  Do the others know?"
	"Nope.  Not yet anyway."
	"But I thought Feral didn't get the budget cut.  So how come your
leving, Louis?"
	"I'm,"  He got himself to stand.  "I'm closing shop here, Jake."
He rubbed his nape as he yawned. He headed for his oak desk,  Jake
stood and  followed.
	"When did that happen?" Jake asked "And why?  We were doing real
progress.  I made the communicator, we made a motorbike out of
scratch, Feral's private jeep never looked or purred better..."
	  Louis opened his drawer and took something out.  Jake couldn't
see what it was, but he saw that it was rectangular, like a book.
Louis looked at him and smiled slightly, "I never really wanted to
make any weapons, you know.  I figured, maybe I could work within the
Enforcers since they have such a huge budget and stay as long as I
could."
	Jaked heaved a sigh, "Surely you knew they'd look for weapons,
Louis.  This is a paramilitary outfit."
	"Yes, of course I knew that.  But no one else would fund this
brainchild of mine.  But let me tell you, you all did great.  All the
things we made out of scrap, all the things we improved.  I've been
at this for two years now.  I guess I couldn't dupe the Enforcers for
long.  But now, I found an indipendent company who  is ready and
willing to support this kind of research."
	Jake's spirits lifted somewhat, "Well congratulations, Louis.  It
seems you've finally gotten your wish."
	"Congratulations to you Jake, you're going to be an Enforcer
tommorrow." Louis handed Jake what he had in is hand. "They're yours,
Jake."   Jake accepted his gift.  It was Louis' notes.  Notes on
everything from laser induction to organic fuel.  
	Jake flipped the pages.  Carbons, polymers, metallurgy,
aerodynamics, thermodynamics... it was all there.  Jake didn't know
what to do or say.  He felt as if he were a serf who had just been
knighted by the king for reasons unknown.  "Louis..." he stuttered.
	 "You seemed the most adept among those in the the class, Jake.
The others were good, no doubt about that.  But you just... absorbed
everything, like a plant does nutrients." Louis crossed his arms.  "I
suppose you could say I just wanted the nutrients to be used on the
best plant in my garden.  	
	"Thanks" was all Jake could say.


	"Ma'am, we're both running low on fuel, here." Chance said into
the radio.  He was down in the canyon now, with Lwerski in hot
pursuit.  What was it with this she-kat?, Chance thought. He decided
to try an old trick he saw in a movie once.  Suddenly he slammed on
the air breaks and saw Lowerski shoot by.  But she climbed and
banked, getting clear.
	"I've seen that movie too, Furlong."
	"Yes Ma'am."  There was one last trick up his sleeve.  Lowerski
may be a movie buff, and Chance was counting on her being a fan of
the Red Lynx so he couldn't use any of his tricks.
	Just one last trick, one he'd been working on for a while now.
He  slowed down, almost to stalling speed.  Lowerski had to do so as
well, or she'd shoot past Chance.  Chance then maxed out the plane,
at the same time looping.  Chance would later swear the rattling and
buckling he heard sounded like the plane cursing him for such a move.
Before Lowerski  could speed up and get away, Chance had her in his
sights.  The tone sounded, and the contest was over.

	Night came, and the base, though quiet, was teeming with life.
The barracks were empty, save for the quick moving form of Paul
Nichols stuffing his bag with his clothes.  The others were getting
ready for the trip to Cocktails on Megaway 12.  
	The clang of the openning door split the silence and jolted Paul
from his musings.  It was Will Tailor, followed by Miranda.  They
seemed to be in high spirits.  She was the first to spot Paul.
	"Hi, Paul. Ready to go?" Miranda was ecstatic.
	To both her an Will's surprise, Paul shut bounded out the window
into the darkness.
	The ran to where he stood calling his name.  When they looked out
the window they saw him moving away, toward the perimiter fence. Will
knew what was happenning, and he knew what could happen to Paul if
caught.  He set out after him, jumping out of the window.  Miranda
chased after them.
	Will's heart hadn't pounded that hard since he made that first
leap down the building during the training exercise.  Paul broke into
a sprint and Will had to run double-time to cover the distance
between him and Paul.  Miranda was keeping up, but was tireing.
	Before Paul reached the fence he felt Will's fingers slightly,
then firmly grip his shoulder.  The next instant they were both on
the ground, wrestling each other.  They were right beside the mes
hall, which, thankfully was empty.  Miranda caught up and dragged
Will off.  Paul tried to knock Will down but his blow was caught.
	"You still can't beat me, crud-face." Will lifted Paul by the
shirt and slammed him against the mess hall wall.  "Now talk.  What
was that all about?!"
	"Let me go!" Paul still faught.
	"Put him down, Will." Miranda ordered.  Will let Paul down but
didn't let him go.   
	The startling contrast of between Will's intense stare and
gritted teeth, and Miranda's gentle, caring gaze wasn't lost to Paul,
even in the darkness they were in.  Will shook him up, "Well? You
could go to jail for what you did, you know."
	"I..." Paul began.
	"We know you were runing away, pipsqueak." Will interrupted.
	"Will, stop it.  Let me talk to him."  Miranda's tone was more of
a command rather than a plea.  Again Will complied.  He let go of
Paul's shirt and Paul slid to the ground.
	"He's all yours." Will turned and walked a bit.
	Miranda knelt close to Paul, her paws running over his face and
his hair.  He was tense, shaking.  Almost terrified of something, as
if he'd seen the Reaper. She asked him again what was wrong.  
	"I'm... I'm just not..." He tried to answer.
	"Yes?" She said softly.
	"I... Can't handle this..." He said.
	"Handle what?"
	"He can't handle being an Enforcer." Tailor said forcefully.
Miranda looked harshly at him then back at Paul.  Paul nodded
sharply.  He stood, helped by Miranda.  
	"That's right." Paul tried to regain his composure.  "I can't
hack it, Miranda." He was frightened and apologetic.  
	"Paul..." She started.
	"I can't.  Not after what happened in that building.  I..."
	"You have to, Paul." She explained, "You have to finish this.  If
not for your family then for yourself."
	Will came up, "Look, kid.  You sure aren't the best Enforcer
around, but you made it this far fair and square.  All you have to do
is march tommorrow and that'll be the end of it.
	"We all have our reasons for being here, Paul.  We all have our
fears too.  But if you don't stand up and grab your fears by the
whiskers  then  you've wasted all this time you were here."
	"We'll all be there to help, Paul." Miranda said soothingly.
"For support, for companionship or what have you.  Always.
Especially me." She took a step towards Paul and he wrapped his arms
around her.  They stood there in an embrace for a few moments more
before they broke.  Will was watching.
	"Now that that's over and done with, We'd better head over to
Megaway 12."  Will had his arms akimbo.
	"You're not so bad, Tailor." Paul comented, his voice was  still
a bit  shakey.
	"Your not so bad yourself, squirt." Will said.  "But if you tell
anyone I said that I'll hit you so hard your kittens' kittens will be
needing  doctors."
	"We like you too, Will." Miranda giggled.


	"Where are those guys?" Chance wondered out loud.  
	"I don't know." Jake said.  "Everyone's here except for those
three."  He looked around.
	"Here they come." Ralph declared as he saw the front door open
and their friends file in.  "Three very late kats."
	"Sorry." Paul said.
	"We got a bit tied up." Miranda explained.
	"Nevermind that now." Chance said. "We've got a round of beers
comming up already.
	"So how do you feel?" Miranda inquired, addressing her question
to everyone present.  
	Jake was first.  "It's strange, you know?  I mean, I came here to
find an adventure, but now... I don't know.  There's more.  Like I
really can do some good as an Enforcer."
	"Here, here." Chance applauded.  "I'm sure everyone here feels
the same thing on one level or another.  Everyone nodded.  They were
at the same table they were on that first night they visited.  Except
now, they were all congregating on that table, and that table alone.
An uneasy silence filled the group.
	"I'll miss you guys." Miranda said later on. "All of you.  Even
you, Tailor."
	Tailor smiled and thanked Miranda.  Then it was his turn. "Look,
truth to tell, I wouldn't mind getting together with you guys again
sometime soon."
	"Anytime, Tailor." Ralph told him.  Then he spoke to the group.
"I'm sure you all know about my family, and how much I love and care
about them.  We'll, Let me just say this.  It's wonderful to have a
family.  It's also nice to have a family at work too."
	Just then the drinks came.  The owner insisted it be on the
house, he said to the best training batch to ever pass by his little
night spot.  They got their drinks and were prepared to toast.
	"What should we toast to?" Chance posed the question.
	This time, Paul spoke up.  "I've got on, Chance.  How about to
family... to friends... and to charity.  That's what this has all
been about anyway, right?"
	Miranda smiled, and Chance grinned.  Evenryone raised their
glass.  "So be it." They toasted.  That was their last night
together, and one of their best.

_____________________________________________________________________
__

Epilogue:
	
	Paul ended up putting in for guard duty on the training base.
Miranda is still his partner and the two have since gone steady and
married.

	Ralph climbed the ranks in the Enforcers, and is now a
Lieutennant.  His top priority is still his family.

	Will Tailor is now an instructor at the training facility.  He
teaches Air Combat Maneuvering alongside Seargent Lowerski.

	Louis is still conducting his research till today.  The firm who
offered to fund him is so enthusiastic that they extended their grant
for another eight years.

	Sgt. Benitez has since retired.

	Lt. Tar has quit the Enforcers and is currently the reigning
champion in the Intercity Kat-Won-Do circuit.

	Commander Feral is still the Enforcers Comamnder

	Mayor Manx is still Mayor

	Calico Briggs is now Deputy Mayor, having won in the elections.

	Vanessa, Callies classmate now has a boyfriend.

	And Chacne and Jake... well, you already know about them, right?


					T H E   E N D