S.D.U.

S.D.U.

"This...is unacceptable."

My partner held up two small pieces of black material. From their size, the could be mistaken for funeral armbands. They weren't. They were our disguises for our next mission.

I had to agree with Jasmine. This was definitely unacceptable.

* * * * *

My name is Julie; Special Agent Julie Fields, Earth Parallel 24. Spell casting abilities for the denizens of my Parallel are almost non-existent, though our technology is on the verge of quantum computing. And, of course, dragons are considered mythical by nearly all of the humans in my Parallel.

I guess I should have also stated that I'm an Earth Parallel standard human. I also hold a landed title that allows me to use the title of Lady in my home Parallel. That impresses some people and irritates others. I suppose it depends on where you come from.

My partner is Special Agent Jasmine, from the Dragon Realm. Her barrier appearance is that of a petite (about 1.6 meters), very attractive Asian woman. With her long, waist length hair, delicate facial features and statuesque build, she looks like something out of a Singapore Suborbital advertisement. She's all dragon, though, and even in barrier form, any semblance of fragility is definitely illusionary.

Our supervisor, Special Agent in Charge Oak (I've never really understood why dragons take the names they do to interact with non-dragons), has a barrier appearance that reminds me of an older Brian Keith. You know, the guy who was in that old show Family Affair, that you see on TV land all the time. Unless, of course, your Earth Parallel doesn't have television. Or the TV land channel, though you'd be surprised how many parallels do have it. Let's just say that he appears tough and crusty, and looks in this case aren't deceiving.

I was recruited by S.A.C. Oak right out of finishing school. At first, I thought I was being enlisted in my nation-state's intelligence agency. Being a scion of landed nobility, I wasn't expecting anything more exciting than an education in estate financing, so I was thrilled. It was only later that I discovered that I was being recruited for a Special Dragon Unit.

As you can imagine, coming from a highly technological Parallel, where dragons are considered mythical, it was a shock to learn that Dragons are very real. And that I had been recruited because I was one of the few people in my Parallel that had potential spell casting ability and what my recruiter and present boss consider the essential mental abilities to make me an able S.D.U. agent.

It was a lot to take in, learning how certain dragons and spell-users used the position of the Dragon Realm and their own personal powers to wreak havoc and accumulate riches across the one hundred Earth Parallels, and how other dragons and spell-users fought them. The war between the two forces became known as the Barrier War, and every Earth Parallel has in its mythology some version of what happened. In my Parallel, the destructive dragons and their allies were based in Europe, their opponents in Eastern Asia. I'm told this was not an uncommon pattern in most parallels, though I don't know what to make of that particular fact.

The Barrier War ended with the destructive forces contained or destroyed, but not without a cost. Most dragons and nearly all humans lost the ability to leave their own realm/parallel. And those dragons that can leave the Dragon Realm are bound into human form, their power limited. This is a shame, because dragons are some of the most beautiful creatures I've ever seen. The only dragon I've ever seen in her true form is my partner Jasmine, and she is wondrous. She's about nine meters long, and has glossy, green scales that catch the light in a myriad of colors. Her eyes are pure black and you could easily lose yourself in them. She has a scent of wildflowers about her, and she doesn't move, she flows (which describes her human form as well). I'm told my boss is even more magnificent, but I've never seen him. But I digress.

As I was saying, the Barrier War ended with the placement of the Barrier. Not only was there a magical restriction placed upon most dragons and humans, but the dragons themselves had placed the families of their defeated foes into a sort of dimensional prison, which can only be opened in the Dragon Realm itself. I'm told the dimensional prison is actually very nice, considering what it is.

As you can imagine, a lot of Dragons didn't really appreciate this barrier being placed on their world, but they tolerated it. The chaos that had been present in their own world had made it worth it. But the Barrier War was more than a thousand years ago, and even Dragon memories don't last that long.

That's where the S.D.U.'s come in. We didn't start that way, you know. After the Barrier War was over and the winners put up the mystical barriers, some of the dragons and humans formed impromptu watch patrols, to make sure that no one tried to use the new situation to their advantage, or worse, undo everything they had accomplished. As the years turned into decades and into centuries, the impromptu watch patrols became permanent fixtures, and the bureaucratic order and techniques of the various Earth Parallels from which humans were recruited made their way into the structure of this watch patrol. There were a lot of normal investigation and action units and such, and then there were the S.D.U.'s, or Special Dragon Units.

S.D.U's were composed of Human/Dragon teams who were trained to operate incognito in dimensions where both magic and dragons were considered non-existent. We caught the cases that normal units were incapable of handling. Sometimes it meant the really oddball ones. And sometimes it meant the ones that could blow up in your face.

Like the kidnapping of the hatchling.

* * * * *

"Lady Julie. Jasmine. My office."

S.A.C. Oak insisted on using my title in addressing me (and it's one of the reasons I can never refer to him as anything but S.A.C. Oak), even though there was nothing that even remotely resembled deference in his tone. Somehow, my boss could combine gruffness and formality in any interaction with underlings.

My father, who holds the title of Viscount since he is the heir to the Earl of Hertford, has an official office where he meets with official guests and which is full of official paraphernalia, and then there's his actual office, where he keeps his computer and personal mementos. Somehow, S.A.C. Oak's office combined the two aspects seamlessly.

Jasmine and I came into the office. Our 'building' is in an annex (for lack of a better word) that connects my Parallel to that of the Dragon Realm. The annex is mostly in my parallel, though there is a portion that is behind the Barrier and in the Dragon Realm (and where I had the privilege of once seeing my partner's true form).

S.A.C. Oak continued working on something on his computer while Jasmine and I stood before him. There were a few moments of silence, which made us both nervous (not that you could see it on Jasmine, unless you had been teamed up with her for the last two years, like me). Finally, S.A.C. Oak looked up.

"I have a case with...political ramifications." There was a world of meaning behind the word political. "A hatchling has been kidnapped. It has become a cause célèbre with one of our statesmen. The statesmen you humans know as Vitner."

Vitner. I almost whistled. Vitner was the face of a movement among the dragons for at least a partial lifting of the Barrier. To allow trade and normal interaction with the other parallels. That sort of thing. That was their party line, anyway. Among those whose duty it was to maintain the barrier, it was seen as an attempt to crack the wall of sanity that protected us all. I've heard whispers that Vitner was but the polished surface of a movement among some dragons who wanted to return to a time when being a dragon meant taking what you wanted, regardless of the cost. As I said, not even dragons have infinite memories. A number had forgotten...or chose to forget...the cost of those times to dragons themselves.

"We have a limited time to rescue the hatchling. And not for just political reasons. The hatchling is definitely in danger. The Arcane Research Division has been able to locate the hatchling in Earth Parallel 17. The Sandwich Islands. Unlike your Parallel, Lady Julie, the islands are not an independent kingdom and a nominal British Protectorate. The exist as a political division of a North American representative republic."

"Hawaii. The United States of America. I've done some study of that Parallel."

S.A.C. Oak nodded. "One of the reasons I picked you and your partner, Lady Julie." S.A.C. Oak produced a picture of the hatchling in her barrier form. She appeared to be six years old, African ancestry and, as they say in my Parallel, as 'Cute as a Button Quail.'

"The Arcane Research Division has not been able to isolate the hatchling beyond the largest island in the archipelago. However, our local operative has been able to determine that the kidnappers are using a local aesthetics competition to camouflage their more colorful preparations. A type of pyrotechnics known locally as fireworks."

"Preparations for?" That question was from my partner.

"A spell of some type. The hatchling has the potential to be powerful, since it can pass beyond the barrier. A sacrifice of the hatchling for a transfer of power to the sacrificers is the hypothesis we're working under. The ends that will be achieved by that sacrifice has yet to be determined. The two of you are being dispatched to insure that the ends are not achieved."

"My partner's knowledge of this Parallel was one of the reason you picked us for this assignment. May I ask what the others were?"

S.A.C. Oak nodded to my partner. "Our asset in the dimension doesn't have the ability to confront the hatchling's kidnappers, once they've been located. You two should be able to. Or at least delay them to the point that additional assistance can be dispatched to assist you in apprehending them. In addition, our asset has previewed your profile pictures, and seems to think that the two of you are uniquely qualified to compete in this aesthetics competition."

This peaked my curiosity. "What kind of competition would this be, sir?"

For the first time that I can remember, S.A.C. Oak had a look on his face that was equal parts embarrassment and confusion.

"It's an event called the 'Miss Hawaiian Tropics Contest.'

* * *

"This is unacceptable."

That was my partner. She was holding up the two piece bikini in her hand and had just finished watching our briefing visual, which included aspects of the society we were about to insert ourselves to. Of course, it would be up to our local asset to help make sure we didn't do anything that made us overly conspicuous. But a background review was still necessary, so that we could avoid at least the major faux pas.

What my partner found unacceptable was the swimwear contest that we were expected to compete in. I can't say I blame her. Although we would be considered very presentable by the standards of this parallel, both of us came from very strict moral traditions. Though I have ancestors from Hawaii (my great-grandmother was one of the younger daughters of the Hawaiian King), my upbringing was very proper Imperial. And even though my distant Polynesian ancestors might have gone topless (though I think this is merely form boy fantasy), even my cousin Rita (short for Marguerite), who is known for wearing risque swimwear while on the Royal Beach in Hawaii (she's one of the daughters of the present king of Hawaii), wouldn't wear anything more revealing than what was common in the middle of the last century in Earth Parallel 17.

Jasmine's barrier form (which, in some unknown fashion, the Barrier itself determines), would have, as I said, been very appreciated in the swimwear that the denizens of this Parallel would have liked to see her and I parade around in. Jasmine's indoctrination into human culture was in my parallel, however, and she adapted the mores thereof, when interacting with humans. In addition, though the romance between humans and dragons in barrier form might make for interesting, if illicit, fiction, it's considered distasteful in most dragon and human social circles.

"Relax, Jasmine, I don't think we'll actually have to go through with the wearing of these 'bikinis.' We just have to show up and register. We'll rely on our contact to help us navigate these straits." I handed Jasmine her identification, which included a picture ID identifying her as Jasmine Lee and granting her the privilege of being able to operate a vehicle driven by gas combustion. There were also cards that allowed her access to credit accounts, though in my Parallel we use biometrics.

"I'm not really too happy about the regular attire, though." The dress I was wearing only went down to just above my knees, and revealed more cleavage than I would normally show outside of the privacy of my bedroom and bath.

Jasmine nodded, then gave me the once over. "The color, though, does accentuate your complexion." Thanks to my Pacific heritage, I'm darker than most English girls, and I suspect that's why the form boys always repeated the titillating stories about the topless island girls, possibly hoping that I would follow suit for their benefit

Jasmine gave me a couple of more compliments, and I her, as we mustered the courage to enter the lion's den. It was rather comical, if you thought about it. Two proven agents, one a dragon, the other an expert spell caster, intimidated by two thin strips of cloth called a bikini.

* * *

Our contact, Mike Wilson, described himself as 'California surfer boy meets Harvard preppie.' {Don't even ask me to start explaining what that meant!). Mike's mystical abilities were very limited, but he was very adept at helping other realm operative mesh into the local society. He seemed in awe of Jasmine, but not to the point that it handicapped his abilities. Some of the warnings he gave us, though, seemed nonsensical, or even contra-intuitive, such as -

"Don't advertise the fact that you're virgins. Nobody is going to be believe that two hot---that's a local idiom meaning aesthetically pleasing---women such as yourself are virgins. Particularly since you're both in your twenties. Or if they do believe you, you'll be tagged as social misfits, and ostracized. Worse, you'll be above the radar."

Mike was fairly good at explaining every local idiom and slang that he used at the exact moment he used it. Although we both knew not to reveal our abilities, he stressed that the amount and type of touching used in this culture, which would have been grounds for a duel in mine, were considered at least marginally acceptable here. It was important not to overreact.

This was troublesome, since both Jasmine and I were wearing dresses that exposed our shoulders and arms. When we went to register for this contest, and participated in the social mingling afterwards, it was not uncommon to be touched on the shoulders or upper arms by the people interviewing us. It wasn't an experience that was easy to endure, I assure you. Being subjected to crude talk (by my culture's standards) and casual caresses, as well as having the upper portion of our breasts exposed and ogled without reacting violently was something of a challenge. It helped that we were doing this for the rescue of a hatchling. I knew that's what kept me from blasting one cretin who patted my buttocks as he passed by. He wore a button identifying himself as a judge, so I suppose he felt that entitled him to first hand experience of the flesh he was judging. Jasmine confessed to me later that she was tempted to toss an individual across the room for continuously referring to her as 'a cute little thing.'

That was the only such thing we had to endure, and that for only an hour. Jasmine was able to 'catch the scent' (for lack of a better phrase) of the hatchling as soon as we got clear of the contestant's reception. Since Jasmine considered the object of our mission at hand, she was all in favor of the direct line approach, i.e., move in a direct line toward the hatchling, and woe be unto the judge or spectator who got in our way. Mike, however, was able to extract us without loosing the mayhem on this crowd that Jasmine and I really wanted to.

We tracked the hatchling to a storage room in the hotel that the contest was in. I had every offensive and defensive spell I could think of, ready to launch. It wasn't necessary. The room was empty, save for the cutest little blue-eyed, blonde hair six year old girl I had ever seen. The little girl identified Jasmine as a fellow dragon in barrier form, and threw herself into Jasmine's arms. As Jasmine held the hatchling, crooning dragon sentiments as best she could with a human larynx, Mike and I searched the room. Her captors had left in a hurry, leaving behind not only the hatchling, but several other items as well. The hatchling was in good spirits, and appeared to be unharmed physically and mentally.

As soon as we 'launched' our mystical signal, a retrieval team appeared. The members of the retrieval team quickly grabbed everything of note, including what appeared to be some type of mystical record files, as well as a more mundane, primitive computer. My partner and I found ourselves quickly sequestered in an unknown annex, and were separated until we finished our separate reports.

* * *

After I finished giving my report, I was escorted into a sitting room that would have been at home in my Aunt Ermia's summer residence. I found myself sitting across from Jasmine, who was quietly sipping tea. Jasmine poured me a cup from the most beautiful service I had ever seen. We compared notes on what had happened to each of us once they had separated us, but neither one of us had any answers. Jasmine reasoned they had separated us so that they could get our individual impressions. I suspected Jasmine's report was probably more reasoned and measured than mine.

We had settled into a comfortable silence when S.A.C. Oak entered the room, followed by a human wearing a suit that would have been in style a century and a half ago in my Parallel.

"Lady Julie, Jasmine, may I introduce S.A.C. William Rutherford, the agent in charge of the S.D.U. in this annex."

S.A.C. Rutherford nodded to both of us. Since he was a human S.A.C., I knew he must be a potent spellcaster.

"Ladies, I hear that you were entered into one of those bikini contests in Parallel 17. That must have been a sight to see."

Neither I nor Jasmine took offense to this comment. S.A.C. Rutherford was flirting because there was a list in his head that said that he needed to flirt before entering a serious dialogue with two younger, female agents, and that's how it came across.

"Besides being the head of this annex's S.D.U., I'm also the Watch's chief political analyst." I tried to keep my face blank. Dragon politics again.

"You're probably wondering why you were able to rescue the hatchling so easily."

Jasmine interrupted with "How is the hatchling doing?"

S.A.C. Rutherford seemed a little put out by this question, but our boss took it in stride. "The hatchling is doing quite well. Her parents send you their thanks."

Rutherford appeared momentarily agitated by Jasmine's interruption and our boss fielding the answer, but quickly composing himself before answering.

"As I was saying, it appears her captors, having abducted the hatchling with little interference, were surprised to have been tracked so quickly. When you appeared so close, it spooked them. They left in a hurry, leaving a number of interesting items behind. There might even have been some connections to an organization led by the dragon Vitner---you are familiar with Vitner?" Jasmine and I both nodded. "As I said, there might have been some connection with Vitner and his organization, but that's speculation at best. The most disturbing thing was...you are aware of the Barrier Prison?"

Again, we both nodded. The Barrier Prison was the dimension in which the dragons who had been on the losing side of the Barrier Wars had been exiled.

"There was quite a bit of information about the Barrier Prison. Including speculation on how to open it outside of the Dragon Realm."

This declaration was met with silence. The dragons exiled to the Barrier Prison had caused untold misery before being exiled. Since then, there had been no contact between them and our reality. None that anybody knew of, anyway.

Again, it was Jasmine who asked the question I was thinking. "So what do we do?"

Our boss, S.A.C. Oak, answered. "Now that we know that they're out there, we watch, we wait, we learn. And when the opportunity presents itself, we act."