The Elevator Between Worlds
A The Class Menagerie* short story
by Don Miller, Jr. (aka LionkingCMSL)

Tony, Biff and Scott were returning from the gym when they met up with Dani and Kevin, both returning from the library. They entered the Richter Hall elevator and pressed "3". When the doors opened, the five students did not see the the familiar third floor of Richter Hall that was their home away from home. What they saw was ...

The Lion's Den was returning to Outpost 1 from the Vulpinian homeworld. The FireFoxx was in for a major overhaul and her command crew was given a few weeks of R and R.

Captain LionkingCMSL was happy. He was "home" in his own ship. He closed his eyes as he sat in the command chair and relaxed almost to the point he was ready to drift off to sleep.

"LK?!"
"Yes, Lee" the large anthro lion said as he opened one eye.
The hare science officer looked at his board and said, "I'm getting readings of a temporal/spatial anomaly."
"It's location and is there any danger to us?" LK was fully alert now.
"It's centered on the bridge 'lift. There is no danger to us."
LK turned to the tigress that was his Chief of Security. "Altaica, go to yellow alert and be prepared for anything. Nothing overt, but be ready."
"Aye, sir." The tigress touched a couple of controls and the "Yellow Alert" klaxon started to blare and the corresponding annunicators started to blink deep amber.
"LK, the anomaly has strengthened and stabilized. It's at the 'lift station here at the bridge."
The captain got out of his chair, walked to where the doors for the bridge 'lift were. He then straightened his baseball cap, smoothed his green robe and said, "Be ready for anything furs."
As he finished his statement the 'lift doors opened revealing an antique elevator car. Inside the car, in various degrees of shock and disbelievement, were a lion, house cat, bull, mouse, and iguana.

Dani pressed the "door close" button frantically. She may be the R.A., but she was out of her league here. This was not Richter Hall by any stretch of her imagination. The doors held in the open postion, as if waiting for something. Dani had the feeling they were stuck here, wherever "here" was.
Kevin was eyeing up the room they were looking into. This was heaven to him. There was technology here that he had only dreamed about.
Scott was eyeing up a tigress, who was wearing a simple gi. Maybe he would have some luck with her, if they were stuck here for any length of time.
Tony, the gentle bull, was at a total loss. Here were beings that could probably kill them and not think twice about it. He also noted that the people in the room were a combination of plantigrade and digitgrade walkers, with a lion being the latter.
Biff, who thought he was big, looked at the lion that stood only about five feet from him. Biff's mouth hung open. This lion was bigger than any person he had ever saw. Now, Biff was not the quickest student at DeMontfort, but even he could tell that the person standing in front of him was close to eight and a half feet tall and weighed over four hundred pounds, easy.

LK looked at the furs in the elevator car and thought to himself, "These are just youngsters. It must be frightening for them. Well, I better try to set them at ease. I hope they understand Standard." Aloud he said, "I hope you can understand me. We will not harm you. Welcome aboard the Lion's Den. I'm Captain LionkingCMSL, or LK for short." He then turned to his crew and said, "Ok, let's not spook them anymore than they have been. Altaica, cancel the yellow alert."
The tigress nodded and touched the controls that shut down the yellow alert.
"You can speak English?!?" Tony asked.
"Yes we can. Although we call it 'Standard'."
"Hey Biff. He's a lion. Maybe he's a relative of yours," Kevin cracked as he gave the lion a shove. "Why don't you go ask him."
Now, normally Kevin would not have been able to move Biff, but the P.E. major had started to take a step and his left foot was off the floor and in mid-air. Biff went stumbling out of the elevator and started to fall forward. He never hit the deck as LK reached out and grabbed the student. To the students' surprise, the leonine captain hefted the six foot two, two hundred fifteen pound Biff like he was a sack of flour.

When LK had set Biff down, gently, he asked the student, who was gawking up at him, "What's your name son?"
"B-B-Biff. Biff Kingston."
"Okay, Biff." LK looked at the others in the elevator car and said, "It's as I said, we won't hurt you. Please come out of the 'lift. What's your names?"
The other four students started to come out of the elevator and introduce themselves.
"Dani Murrieta," the mouse said uncertainly
"Kevin Nekohashi," the house cat said while looking around the bridge whistling softly.
"Scott Sorrell," the iguana said while trying to impress the disinterested tigress.
"Tony Durham," the bull said. "Where are we?"
"It's as I said, the Lion's Den. Now, if you mean where she's located, then we are in space, heading towards our homeworld."

As Tony left the elevator, the doors slammed shut, causing the five students to look back in alarm.
"LK," Lee commented, "temporal/spatial anomaly has disappeared. All readings nominal."
There were five cries of "No!"

At this point Sam, the otter who was furring the helm/nav station, interupted. "Sir, we're ready to drop out of hyperspace."
"Hyperspace?!?" Kevin, Scott and Tony said in unsion as they looked at the otter.
"T-t-that's only theory, at best," Kevin stammered.
Scott, the math major, looked at Sam and said, "The mathematics to achieve it are ..." He stopped, for he was at a loss for words.

The otter looked at his captain and only shrugged his shoulders. He turned and looked at his board. "We've dropped into normal space. Outpost 1 has given routing directions to our hangar."
"Ok. George, let Outpost 1 know that we have guests."
"Aye, sir," the lynx at the commo board responded.

The misplaced students looked at the main viewscreen as it switched views to show the space station and the planet behind it. They looked in awe, not at the station, but at the planet.
Dani dropped her clipboard, pointed at the planet and breathed a single word. "Earth."
LK picked up the dropped clipboard and said, "Yes, it was called that at one time. We now call it 'Homestead'."

Kevin's attention was diverted from the planet and to the space station. He let out a low whistle.
"What?" Tony asked.
"Look at that ship. It's huge."
Both Tony and Scott turned to look to where Kevin was looking and they both gasped. The ship that Kevin had spotted was the BattleFoxx, one of the sister ships to the FireFoxx.
"How big?" Kevin asked Sam.
"The BattleFoxx? Six miles long."
"That's got to be the longest," Tony commented.
LK responded with a blasé "No. Actually, the Nightshade has the 'Foxxes beat."
" 'Foxxes?' There are more than one of those?" Biff asked, finally taking his eyes off of the screen.
"Six in total."
"How big is the Nightshade?" Scott asked, interested in the mathematics of building, maintaining, and navigating such a huge ship.
"Eighty seven and half miles long," Sam said matter of factly.
Tony caught Kevin as he fainted.

The five students and the commmand staff for the Lion's Den were in the bridge briefing room.
"The question is, how are we going to get you home," LK said. "Thoughts. Ideas. Anyfur."
"Anyfur?" Dani questioned.
"Sorry. We call individuals, here, furs. I'm sure there are other differences in the way speak."
"Oh."
"LK, the problem is we would have to wait for another temporal/spatial anomaly to appear." Lee said. "The problem is that we don't know when or where one could appear. Our guests would have to be relatively close to it to have a chance to get home. Even then we don't know what would happen."
"Well, we could shove Biff into it and watch," cracked the revived Kevin.
BAP!!!
"Ouch! Dani, the captain should have never given you your clipboard back."
"Captain?"
"Yes, Biff?"
"Do you have a football team? I'm the star quarterback at DeMontfort."
Tony answered with, "Biff, I really don't think you should be bothering the captain with that. He has more important things on his mind."
The student lion glared at the bull, but he kept his mouth shut.
"Sir?"
"Yes, Dani."
"Although I hate to admit it, Biff does have a point. What will happen to us if we can't go home?" A tear was starting to form in one of the mouse's eyes. Dani was very afraid at the prospect they would never go home.
"I don't know. You could possibly attend one of the many schools on Homestead and finish your studies in your choosen fields."
Kevin sat bolt upright, and was clearly excited at this prospect. "What are chances I could get on the BattleFoxx?"
The captain eyed the house cat critically and said, "I'm sorry Kevin, but the answer is next to none." The cat was visibly deflated and LK continued soothingly, "Kevin it has nothing to do with you fursonally ... er ... personally. It's that the race that built those ships are very selective on who they let serve onboard their ships. Your best bet would be Outpost 1. Then you could at least visit the 'Foxxes and maybe even the Nightshade."
Kevin perked up at the idea, but he still wanted to serve on board one of those ships.
"Hey! What about me?" Biff protested.
LK looked at the young lion with a hint of sadness. "Unfortunately Biff, there is little call for your choosen field. But I think we can find something for you."

"Captain to the bridge," the intercom blared suddenly.

Everyone filed out of the briefing room and onto the bridge. As they passed the 'lift doors five pairs of eyes stared at it hoping beyond hope that they would go home. Although one pair of eyes were sort of wishing they could stay.

"What is it lieutenant?" LK asked the fur at the science station.
"Sir we have another temporal/spatial anomaly forming. From what Commander Bibbers told me, it's as it was before."
Lee walked over to the station and did some quick readings. He turned to his captain and said, "Yes. It seems to be as it was before." He looked back at his board and said, "Strengthing. Ok, it's stable. Location is as before. 'Lift station for the bridge."
With that the 'lift doors opened revealing an elevator car that was very familiar to the Richter Hall students.
"So now we know," LK commented
"It came back," Dani squealed.
"Whoopee," Kevin said sarcastically.
"Quickly, every fur in the car. It maybe your only chance," LK ordered.
By the tone of his voice, the students, even Kevin, knew they better not disobey. They filed into the car and turned around to face the crew of the Lion's Den one last time.
Scott looked at Altaica and said, "If you ever make it to DeMontfort, look me up."
The tigress couldn't believe her ears, and said nothing.
Dani said, "Thank you Captian. I'll never forget this or you."
"I still want to get on the BattleFoxx."
BAP!!!
"Dani, watch that clipboard," Kevin said through clenched teeth.
LK looked at the five students and said, "Take care and be well."
With that the elevator doors closed.

When they re-opened, the five students looked out cautiously. The familiar surroundings of Richter 3 were there. All five students breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did we go through what I think we went through?" Scott asked as he stepped into the hall from the elevator.
Kevin looked at his watch and said, "Although my watch says 'no', I would say 'yes'. We all have memories of that encounter." As he was walking towards his room at the end of the hall, he continued, "Hey Biff, looking at the size of some of those people, you could've been part of a football team."
"Yeah? How?"
"As the football," Kevin laughed.
"Grrrr," is all Biff said as he chased Kevin.

Kevin made it to his room and slammed the door in the lion's face.
The other three went to the lounge wondering if what had happened to them in the past hour was real.

Onboard the Lion's Den, the captain finished making a log entry when Altaica approached him.
"LK, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Did you hear what I heard? From Scott."
"The pass? Yes. I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think anything will come of it."
"If you say so." Altaica entered the 'lift and said, "Hangar deck." As the 'lift started to move she wondered where she would end up.

THE END (?)
to see where this story goes, go to "Student Commander Altaica Powell"

The Lion's Den Bridge

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* = All The Class Menagerie characters and artwork © Vince Suzukawa/Classwork Comics, 1997-2001.
All Lion's Den characters and artwork © Don Miller, Jr (aka LionkingCMSL or LK) 2000 - 2001