Then the music came up and the anthem began.

  Equality of outcome

  Accord Values for all

  Nations without borders

  The patriarchy must fall

  Diversity is our strength

  Tolerance for all

  Gender is a spectrum

  The old ways must fall

  From Greenland to New Zealand

  From Nigeria to Nepal

  The great Accord of Nations

  Its Values protect us all

  And on it went until the music ceased and everyone shouted the words, TOLERANCE, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY and then cheered. Strick and I cheered too, as you had to do, but it was at this point that I always wondered how strange it was that the names of the three old battleships were also Tolerance, Diversity and Equality, and by cheering it was like we were mocking them for being tied up and going nowhere.

  But I didn't have long to think this thought, because the Navy Spirit captain was on the microphone again and yelling, 'And now for our dishonorable discharge.'

  The ten thousand sailers booed and jeered as the individual concerned was lead onto the platform in handcuffs and the light blue outfits worn by Navy prisoners. He stood, head down, a Master at Arms either side.

  'Ensign Ernest Lorna,' boomed the officer at the microphone. 'You have been found guilty of sexual misconduct against a lower-ranking Navy personnel member who identifies as female. You have violated Navy Spirit's most important codes. You have offended the feelings of a promising sailor. You have brought the Accord of Nations Navy into disrepute and you have shamefully ignored the values of the Accord. You are to serve a prison sentence, then you are to be discharged.'

  The crowd jeered as he hobbled away and down the steps.

  'What did he do?' I shouted over the noise.

  'The usual,' said Strick. 'Drinking. Morning after. She reported him.'

  'Was there a hearing?' I asked.

  'What does that matter?' said Strick. 'If she said he did it, he did it, right? What's the matter with you Burns?'

  The Navy Spirit captain dismissed the sailors. They wandered away, some to the mess for the late breakfast shift, others to their duties around the base, or to the Navy Spirit courses, but not every one. Beside us, three female cadets lingered. The three of them were around eighteen years old. Each had their hair clipped short, as usual.

  Strick nudged me.

  'It's happening again, Burns.'

  'What is?' I said.

  'It's not me who they're smiling at.'

  I looked across at the cadets. 'I better get going,' I said.

  'Good morning, Lieutenants,' said one of the cadets.

  'Good morning,' said Strick. 'Don't I know you from AONS Restitution?'

  'I don't think so, sir.' And then she added. 'It is sir, right?'

  'Absolutely it's sir,' said Strick. 'Just as it was on the cruise down the coast of AONT India, remember?'

  'No, sir. Never been aboard.'

  'Well, we'll have to see about getting you some sea legs,' said Strick.

  'How about your fellow lieutenant?' said the second cadet. 'We've saluted him after the last three pledges and the lieutenant didn't notice us once.' She looked at me coyly. 'Don't you like our salutes, Lieutenant?'

  As, I said, I was tall, over six feet, with yellow hair and blue eyes. The movie villain from the oppressive, pre-Accord West. This resemblance should have caused me to be a figure of hate, and yet, almost every day on the base I would catch winks, smiles, nods, sly catcalls and even direct propositions, often from superior officers, and from right across the whole sexual spectrum, which as everyone knew was limitless.

  'What's the matter, Lieutenant? Don't you like us?'

  Some might say I was in an enviable position having so much attention. But the risks were too great. One report of sexual misconduct and my career would be over. Just like that. Just like Ensign Lorna's career.

  Of course, that didn't mean other personnel couldn't enjoy themselves. Strick for example. Strick was everything the Navy wanted and promoted: a female who had transitioned to a male. He could do and say what he liked, which was exactly what he did.

  'I've got to run,' I said.

  'You sure?' Strick said. 'I've got release forms if you're worried.' He patted his pocket. 'Can't get safer than that.' He turned to the three cadets. 'You don't mind, do you cadets?'

  'Don't get your hopes up Lieutenant,' laughed one.

  'It's not that, Strick,' I said. 'I've got a meeting with Captain Paine. I can't be late for it.'

  'Captain Paine?' said Strick. 'Captain Paine?' he said again.

  'Is there any other?' I said.

  'What's it about this time?'

  'I'm about to find out,' I said. I didn't want to mention that it was about a mission. I didn't want to get everyone else's curiosity up. I had enough trouble keeping my own hopes under control.

  I returned the salutes of the three cadets.

  'T.E.D.,' they all said.

  'T.E.D.,' said Strick.

  'T.E.D.,' I replied.

  And then I walked toward the stretch of the base known as Navy Way.

  4

  NAVY WAY WAS the administrative heart of AONS Harmony. It stretched along the length of the docks, running north to south. It contained all the departments necessary to running a modern Accord Naval base.

  Each department had its own building with its name on a large sign outside each one. I walked by Plenty (the quartermasters), Togetherness (staff recreation), Sustenance (the main mess), and the largest building of all, the Navy Spirit building for Navy's personnel department.

  Finally, I got to the building called Leadership, the one where Captain Paine's office was located. I saluted the two guards at the entrance and then walked through the doors beneath a large metal crest of the Accord dove and rainbow.

  I got to Leadership and Captain Paine's office at 7:55, five minutes early. Lieutenant Commal was waiting at the desk outside in his blue NWU, looking intently at a computer screen.

  'T.E.D., Commal,' I said. 'I'm here for the eight hundred.'

  'T.E.D., Burns,' Commal replied without looking up. 'You'll have to wait. The Captain's busy.'

  'OK,' I said. 'How long?'

  'I'm not psychic, Burns. You know where the seats are, don't you?'

  'Sure,' I said, and walked over to the three seats placed in a row opposite Commal's desk.

  Commal had been friendly once. We'd completed several courses together as part of officer training. He was good company back then, but these, days Commal was hostile to everyone but senior officers, who wouldn't put up with the slightest hint of insolence.

  The rumor was that Commal had a change of heart after gender reassignment surgery. Commal wanted to identify as a male again, but Navy Spirit had refused permission on the grounds that to return to being a male would bolster the patriarchy, and bolstering the patriarchy was against the spirit of the Accord.

  The Accord knew best, as ever.

  Meanwhile, Commal's resentment grew. He'd starting working out and bulking up, and not taking his hormone pills. He'd even cut his hair short. Males who had transitioned to females wore their hair long whereas females who were female wore their hair short, like men. It was just one of those things. Commal now looked like a bulldog with breasts.

  'What's going on in there?' I asked nodding at Captain Paine's door.

  'Captain Paine's meeting with Captain Odilli from Navy Spirit about a new initiative from Admiral Zhou,' Commal said.

  'What kind of new initiative?'

  'What's it to you?'

  'It might affect me,' I said. 'What's it about?'

  'I don't know, Burns. Some new equity initiative for the Accord. They haven't announced it yet.'

  'I'm just wondering if it'll affect my chances of a mission.'

  'Listen, Burns,' said Commal. 'Don't think your cis gendered white maleness entitles you to any privileges around here. You'll soon find out what it's about.'

  'OK,' I said. 'I'm just asking. You're lucky enough to have been on a mission, Commal. This might be my first. I don't want anything to go wrong.'

  Commal looked up from his screen. 'That was eighteen months ago, after my reassignment surgery.'

  Then he looked back at his screen.

  At eight ten, Commal looked up from the screen. 'In you go, Burns.'

  'T.E.D.,' I said walking towards the door. 'Wish me luck.'

  'No, you wish me luck,' said Commal.

  5

  INSIDE, I SALUTED Captain Paine, then rotated to the second person in the room, Captain Odilli from Navy Spirit.

  'Tolerance, equality, diversity,' I said, then I stood at attention in front of Captain Paine's desk, keeping my face expressionless, hiding any hope I had for good news.

  Neither of the two officers appeared to notice me. They were having an argument. It was the kind where they pretended to be polite but actually wanted to shout at each other.

  'It's all very clear in the Rainbow 17 initiative document,' said Captain Paine. 'I've got to increase the quota of T.W.O.C. in the missions immediately--and that takes priority over everything else.'

  From the other side of the room, Captain Odilli spoke. 'It's equally clear that I'm to have more T.W.O.C. in my training courses,' said Captain Odilli. 'And if the T.W.O.C. don't do the courses, especially the I.F. unit, they won't be allowed to go on any mission. I'll forbid it.'

  The two officers glared at each other in silence.

  T.W.O.C. stood for transgendered women of color. I.F. stood for intersectional feminism. Understanding these two oppressed groups was a key part of Navy mission training.

  'Then we'll just have to take it up with Admiral Zhou,' said Captain Paine.

  'Fine by me,' said Captain Odilli. 'Admiral Zhou understands the importance of Accord values, Captain.'

  'Admiral Zhou also sets the quotas for the missions, Captain.'

  'Are you saying Accord values aren't important? Because that's what I'm hearing.'

  They glared at each other again. At the mention of Accord values, they appeared to reach a stalemate. No-one wanted to be accused of disrespecting Accord values. When an argument reached the stage of Accord values, and whether or not someone disrespected them, the argument was usually over.

  I saw Captain Paine look down at her desk, blinking furiously. In my peripheral vision, I saw Captain Odilli looking at the floor, shaking her head as if she were carrying on the argument in her thoughts. Then, Captain Paine looked up at me and frowned deeply.

  'What do you want?' she snapped. Captain Paine was in her early thirties, slim, and wore her brownish hair in the cropped style of all female officers. Zee had earned her Captain's rank after two years as a lieutenant aboard AONS Cohesion on a global goodwill mission. Ever since the mission ended, zee had been on shore duty, spending zer time working zer way up the Navy list, aiming for the exalted position of Admiral. Zee was thin-lipped, lined and constantly irritable.

  'Sirra,' I said, making sure to use Captain Paine's current preferred pronoun. 'Lieutenant Alexander Burns. I'm scheduled to meet with you regarding my upcoming mission.'

  At the mention of the word 'mission,' Captain Odilli began to snigger. 'The Mission is part of the E.O.O. program,' I said. E.O.O. stood for the Equality Of Outcome program, which required each member of Navy personnel to be given the same opportunities as every other sailor and to receive the same score afterward.

  Captain Odilli sniggered even more.

  'Kayla,' said Captain Paine to Captain Odilli. 'We can continue talking later. There's no need for you to stay here for this. I'll ask Commal to come in. Commal can be the third person.'

  Zee was referring to the Navy requirement for three people to be present whenever a cis gendered male met with anyone who identified as female.

  'No way,' said Captain Odilli. 'Watching you deal with this lieutenant is going to make my day. Just hold on while I get my cis male tears mug.'

  I was still standing to attention, still looking over Captain Paine's cropped hair at the photos on the wall. Zee had placed the usual pictures there: the Accord flag, the list of Accord values, a painting of the Accord Establishment Day ceremony, and a large photograph of the Accord Commissioners themselves outside the Accord Headquarters in AON sub territory Los Angeles, all of them dressed in uni-sex Accord smocks.

  'At ease, Burns,' Captain Paine said at last, as zee tapped at her computer. I put my feet apart and stood with my hands behind my back. Then Captain Paine looked up and said, 'Do you believe in the values of Accord values, Burns?'

  'Yes, sirra.'

  'You're committed to the ideas of diversity, tolerance, and the necessity to rid the Accord of privilege, sexism, and the patriarchy?'

  'Yes, sirra,' I said.

  I was usually asked these kinds of questions whenever I was in a meeting. It was because of my appearance, again. I looked exactly like a privileged guy over whom the struggle had to be won, a living relic of the pre-Accord era.

  'You've been here two years.'

  'Yes, sirra.'

  'And you haven't been promoted, and you haven't been on a mission.'

  'Sirra, this year will be my first,' I said. 'That is...if there is a mission, sirra.'

  Captain Odilli was snuffling back laughter.

  Then, Captain Paine sat back in her seat. I sensed bad news was coming.

  'Look, Burns,' said Captain Paine. 'Things have changed. The Equality Of Outcome program is out of date. It's been replaced by Rainbow 17, which was issued last week. According to your profile, I'm afraid you don't fit the new requirements.'

  'Don't fit, sirra?' I said.

  'Rainbow 17 is quite clear. It's just the rules, Burns.'

  'Yes, sirra.'

  Captain Odilli said, 'Ask him why he thinks he deserves a mission.'

  Captain Paine steepled her fingers across her shirt front. 'OK, Burns. Tell us why you deserve a mission.'

  I cleared my throat. 'Well, sirra. I believe I have completed all the training required to be eligible for a mission. Many courses were completed with distinction. I was top of class in the courses for Diversity, Purging Toxic Masculinity and Destroying The Patriarchy. I was second in the class for courses for Anti Sexism and the Intersectional Feminism course that Captain Odilli just mentioned.'

  Captain Paine said, 'High scores are examples of patriarchal meritocracy and oppression, Burns. They are no guarantee of advancement. In fact they reduce the likelihood of promotion. You ought to know that.'

  'Yes, sirra.'

  Zee began been tapping at her screen, frowning at something. 'Says here you took extra courses as well.'

  'Yes, sirra.'

  'Extra courses in what?'

  'In marksmanship, sirra, as well as hand-to-hand combat and Naval strategy. I also obtained a pilot's license specializing in Navy Slingshot aircraft, and JPack use. I also volunteered to help at a civilian LGBTQ shelter, and I requested to study pre-Accord era naval battles, but permission was denied by Navy Spirit.'

  'Naval strategy and hand-to-hand combat?' said Captain Paine, head slowly shaking. 'What on earth made you think they would help your career in the Navy?'

  'The Navy is still a fighting force in some ways,' I said. 'There might be an emergency that requires fighting capabilities at some point in the future. I was training for such an emergency.'

  Here, both Captain Paine and Captain Odilli both laughed together. Suddenly, they were great pals. The both of them leaned forward, their mouths open wide, laughing, almost as if they were going to slap each other's knees.

  When they had calmed down, Captain Paine said, 'Burns, it ain't going to happen. Your application is problematic, as I said. You're ordered to shore duty until further notice. We'll let you know about any missions coming up. In the meantime, you're dismissed.'

  'Permission to speak, sirra,' I said, standing my ground.

  'Make it fast, Burns.'

  'May I ask why specifically I am not eligible for a mission and why I am problematic? I have completed all the requirements. I have waited for two years. My name is at the top of the roster. I have no Navy Spirit code violations. The Navy Spirit charter states that equality of outcome must be the first consideration, it...'

  Captain Odilli climbed to her feet.

  'Are you trying to tell me about the Navy Spirit charter, Lieutenant? Because if you are, you won't just be on shore duty, you'll be doing all those courses all over again.'

  'No, per,' I said, making sure to use Captain Odilli's preferred pronoun, which was even more critical than getting Captain Paine's pronoun right, because the pronouns changed so often.

  Captain Odilli walked over to me. Per wasn't as tall as me. Per head reached only as far as my shoulder, but per anger made per seem a foot taller.

  'You really think you deserve this mission, don't you, Burns?'

  'I believe I have a case, per.'

  'You think you deserve it because of your privilege, don't you, as a cis gendered male--and a white male at that?'

  'No, per,' I said.

  'You probably think you deserve a promotion too, don't you?'

  'No, per.'

  'How about we give you a battleship to command as well?'

  I didn't answer.

  'You think I have time to worry about your disappointments, Burns? A privileged male like you? You heard Captain Paine. You're dismissed. Now get out before we call the MAs.'

  'Hold on, now Kayla,' said Captain Paine. 'Burns might deserve a little more explanation as to why he's not going on the mission. He's been waiting two years.'

  Captain Odilli, shook per head and sat back in per chair. 'Explanations are not required where privilege exists.'

  Captain Paine tapped at the computer. 'It's simple, Burns. Others on this base have moved higher on the Oppression Hierarchy.' Zee read from a list. 'Lieutenants Cestor, Neves and Lennox have all changed their sexual identities over the last six months. Lieutenants Tieffer, Ndougoo and Redondo have actually had gender reassignment surgery. Lieutenant Pereira has changed racial identity. And, Lieutenant Knab now identifies as non able-bodied. So they all get missions first. It's only proper, Burns and it's only fair.'

 

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