3000 years into the future, Humanity is once again fighting for it's very survival. There of course are those heroes who make sacrifices for the sake of others. Some have to sacrifice more than most people will ever know. Thanks to the Praetorians, our lives can continue...

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To understand this story please read the Prologue first, Thank you.

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Michelle stood at the entrance to the cave, a shiver rolled down her spine. Aspects always creeped her out, and this one was the worst for her. Steeling herself, she took a deep calming breath and worked her way inside the cave. The sounds of water dripping from stalactites, echoed through out the cavern. Deeper she went until she could no longer see in front of her and was forced to stop. "Are you here?" she called out into the darkness waiting for an answer. She knew he was there, watching her, letting her feel her fear for a time. All aspects seemed to have a sick enjoyment of smelling other's fear. "Well not mine." she mused to herself, then calmed herself and squashed her fears. A hissing filled the cave, "SSsssSSsssS.... I've got a job for you."

Chapter 2
Homecoming

I quickly showered and dried myself off, silently thanking God, the feline's normal aversion to water was one instinct I hadn't inherited. Today was the day, they'd make planet fall this morning and I'd finally be introduced to my Praetorian guide. I had only just learned last night that we were aboard the Stolas station, having been moved from Asmodeus while I was unconscious. There were only two space stations in the system, Stolas was a science station in high orbit around Earth II. The other was an experiment in living in space rather than planet side. Bifrons Station was somewhat a failure in that regard, but was quite adequate as a relay station for space traffic.

Quickly I was dress, as there wasn't much to put on. I'd been told that I needed light clothes for the humid heat of the surface. Yet no one could think of anything to give me other than the small strips of cloth due to my body's new natural weapons. Having dressed I grabbed a small duffel bag that was stuffed with the same type of clothing, enough to have one change for everyday. I slung the duffel over my shoulder, turned off the light, and headed for the shuttle bay.

In all my time on the Stolas I had not once seen anyone other than Missy, Shanna (the bubbling fountain of energy), and a male doctor named Robert. Charles had apparently requested reassignment, imagine that. I walked through the halls and made my way to the shuttle bay, apparently it was already prepped for flight. The engines thrummed and the loading ramp was down. As I walked towards the shuttle Dr. Missy walked out with a ready smile. It was the kind of smile that said, 'You're not gonna like what I have to say, and I find that amusing.' I walked up the ramp and she reached out and gave me a quick hug and a genuine smile. "Now for the last ten years we've had a tradition." She grabbed my hand and had me hold it palms up, then she reached into her pocket and pulled something out, and quickly put in my hand. I took it and looked at it, she had given me a cigar with a pink ribbon around it. Words that read "It's a Girl!" written in pink on the wrapper. Missy just smiled and gave me another hug, "Welcome to the better half dear." When she let go she walked away, making it half way across the bay before she turned to way goodbye.

I stepped into the shuttle, walked past the cargo hold and into the passenger compartment. There were five humans and three other Praetorians, all male. When I walked through the hatch i felt their eye's drill into me. The humans were openly gawking, the Praetorians had admiring expressions. I was so not ready for male attention. I knew what I looked like, and these strips of cloth weren’t helping in the slightest. Embarrassed, I quickly found a seat and tried to ignore them. In my haste I had forgotten about my spine spikes, as they sunk into the back of the cushioned seat. Grimacing I tried to ignore it, the damage had been done after all. It certainly wasn't the first piece of furniture I'd torn up in the last few days. My first night in bed I had shredded both my sheets and mattress.

I took a better look at the three other Praetorians in the compartment. They were all tank types, heavily armored. Two of them were huge and couldn't even sit in a chair, they took up positions by the wall and sat down. Harnesses had been built into the walls to accommodate the larger Praetorians, apparently it was common. The third didn't have the thick armadillo type plates like the other two had, but instead had thick scales like a dragon. His scales were red and he had bright yellow slitted eyes. Every Praetorian I had ever seen a picture of had animal like qualities to them, but I was told that only aspects like myself actually gained the animals personality quirks and instincts. According to the doctor it made aspect far more powerful than normal Praetorians, and at the same time much less predictable. I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but there was a touch of bitterness and an edge of worry to her voice when she had said that.

I felt the shuttle lift and ease out of the station's bay. This was my first time in the black, conscious anyway. The weightlessness of space, you hear spacers talk about it, but it just cant be described adequately. The trip was short and soon we were already experiencing the rigors of re-entry. It was like the shuttle had been grabbed by a giant hand and vigorously shook. When it was over i extracted my claws from the both the floor and sides of my seat. A human sitting across from me chuckled, "Your first drop?" I just nodded, my brains felt rattled. "Your first time's always the worst, but it never really gets much better." I looked at the damage i had done to the seat and just shook my head. "I don't think their going to want be on any other ship again". The seat was more than ready to be retired, and my claws had dug through the 1/8th inch steel plate on the floor.

When we finally landed the green light indicated that we were free to unbuckle ourselves and make our way off the shuttle. I grabbed by duffel and quickly left before someone said something about the shredded seat. As i exited the shuttle i was assaulted by the heat and humidity, but the air was so fresh! I had never in my life breathed air of this quality. The scent of the trees dominated the air. As i looked about i noticed the humans were being rounded up by a Sysco Co. representative. There were also two Praetorians waiting, one male the other female. The woman could easily pass as human but on some instinctual level, i knew what she was. She was looking at me smiling, so i headed towards her. When i stopped in front of her she held out her hand, and i took it and shook. "Hi! I’m Michelle, I’ll be your mentor for the next month. if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, I'm the one you bring em to." i was about to respond but she quickly held up her hand and stopped me short. "Now for your first lesson, every Praetorian chooses a new name. It is a passed down tradition, as of this moment you have left your old life behind. I don't want to know who you were or what your name was. Until you rename yourself, I’m going to just be calling you 'Hey You'. This is especially true for us females, no one wants to think of us being formerly male. Not only is it bad form, but it's also top-secret. Never tell a human company worker what you once were. Understood?" It did make sense, so I agreed.

Michelle took me on a quick tour of the compound, it was the largest operation on the planet but not the only large scale complex. This facility was mining the basic metals, iron, copper, nickel, tin, and aluminum. As we wondered about i was shown the mess hall, company crew quarters, male Praetorian barracks and finally the female barracks. The female barracks was the same size as the male barracks, but since there were only four female stationed at this complex each woman was given half of an entire floor. It made little sense to me, but Michelle said to think of it as a 'compensation' for loosing my dick. As i looked around my assigned section i noticed rooms where walls had been knocked down to make for bigger rooms. One section could host a rather large party.

After i had been assigned a room and dropped off my duffel she took me to the company offices. Every where we went people were staring, i felt like a freak. I knew they were staring not because i was a woman, but because of how freakish i looked. I found myself fighting back tears, and asked Michelle where the restrooms were. Luckily Michelle caught be before i headed into the men's room. I walked over to the sink and washed my face and hands, trying to calm down. I glanced up and noticed Michelle was watching me. "You know they were looking because they saw an exotic beauty right?" i shook my head no. "No they were looking at the freak, i look like a walking can opener!" Annoyed she pulled me back from the mirror a bit then pointed at it. "Tell me what you see? do you see a Freak or something sexy and exotic? Cuz I’ll tell you what i see." she move behind me and ran her fingers lightly over my jaw. "Such a pretty face" and as her fingers burned a trail down my neck and to my shoulders she sighed "such a delicate looking frame. Then her magic fingers continued their agonizing march down my side to the flare of my hips. "Such beautiful curves, a human woman would kill for such a figure." Then her hand caressed my thighs " and such long shapely legs, you know ever man there would have loved to have his face between these thighs" and her hand slipped to my crotch and cupped the smoothness of my sex, lightly caressing it.

For the first time i felt the hollowness down there, such a need to be filled. It was a heady thing, and i found myself breathing a bit harder. With each new stroke she coaxed by body into a burning need. Her other hand was playing havoc with my breasts, i had of course felt them a few times of the last few days and knew that a gentle caress would make them tingle, but i was not prepared for the full fury a deliberate touch could bring them to. I was melting into a puddle of goo while watching in the mirror as she brought my new body to life. Then she stopped, and stepped back. I was quivering with need, and she simply smiled, she knew exactly what she was doing to me. After collecting myself i washed up so i wouldn't be quite as gooey down there, but it didn't help much. My panties were soaked and i was still horny.

We walked out of the restrooms and down the hall. it was different this time. People were still staring but now I could see the lust in their eyes. My new senses could smell it, i had been wonder what that smell was. I knew what they were thinking, and what they wanted to do to me. I was already turned on, my thoughts on sex. Their blatant staring and the smell of a primal mating call in the air, combined with the sway of my hips and the bounce of my breasts. I had never been so turned on in my life. Even the thought of being penetrated was making my lips ache, my clit throb and by womb felt open and more empty than ever before.

Finally we arrived in front of a door, the plaque on the door read "M.J. Harris, Sr. Operations Officer." Michelle, rapped on the door, and was answered by a male voice "Enter". Michelle opened the door and we walked in. There was man sitting in front of a large desk, the desk was littered with various paperwork, but it was obviously a very organized mess. The middle aged bald headed and rather plump man scowled at us as we entered the room. He reached across the desk, grabbing a holo-board and the projection of my new picture was displayed. "So your the newest aspect, perhaps this time we got one a bit more loyal. 'Mans best friend' indeed, those damn mutts have been no end of my headaches. Your file says that your reconnaissance, but being new here your in for one hell of a wake up call." he took his steely gaze off me and onto Michelle. "I want her field ready a.s.a.p. Take her to NTA first thing tomorrow." Michelle looked pissed, "Sir, pink ribbons are supposed to have a one month adjustment period, need I remind you of your contract?" His face turned red, "NO I DO NOT NEED REMINDING!, NTA will free for the next two weeks! Now get the FUCK out of my office and do what the hell i told you to!" We turned and left, Michelle made certain to slam the door on our way out. With my new hearing i heard him mumble "Freak Bitches".

Michelle was fuming, and stormed out of the building. It was rather obvious that those two had a history of fighting each other. As on our way out i heard the whispers, "Great their at it again, boss is gonna be pissed for the rest of the day". After we got outside she slowed her pace, and I figured it was the best time to ask. "What's NTA?" She just sighed, "NTA is the Northern Training Area. It's a bit tame, but it's still pretty dangerous. We normally go there with a full class of 50, it's to slowly get them used to the dangers of the planet. Pink ribbons like us are supposed to have a one month period where we adjust to our new sex before mingling with males. What he's doing is a work-around, and probably illegal as hell. You can bet your ass I’m going to report this. He's expecting you to go to NTA practically alone! It's almost a death sentence!" She was getting pissed off again. I didn't know how much trouble I was in, but i was glad that i at least had someone to get pissed off on my behalf.

At lunch I finally came to the conclusion that my diet had changed somewhat. I had tried to eat a salad, that I just couldn’t bring myself to actually swallow any of it. I wanted meats, so I went back and got Salisbury steak. It was nasty and I couldn’t bear to finish it. In the end I went another day hungry, as I hadn’t really eaten anything satisfying since I became a Praetorian. After lunch Michelle told me that Mr. Harris had apparently scheduled for me to leave to NTA the next day. Talk about quick, I just got here today and he’s already shipping me off elsewhere. I had the feeling that I was being used like a pawn in Michelle and Mr. Harris’s arguments.

The rest of the day was absolutely boring, and I was thankful when it was finally time to go to bed. I found that due to the longer days I had to draw black out curtains to darken the room. I had no trouble sleeping that first night, really I haven’t had any trouble sleeping since my change. Odd since I used to have insomnia. Seems my dick wasn’t the only thing missing. Strangely I was beginning not to mind the loss, although I still wasn’t all that comfortable gaining breasts. Was I adapting to all this just a bit too fast? Or were things moving around me so fast that I didn’t have time to think upon it. No that couldn’t be I’ve been bored since lunch and haven't thought a bit about my situation, or maybe I was just ignoring it? What does it matter to dwell on it anyway, it’s not like I can change back. Or can I? Would I even want to? If you asked me right this second of course I’d say yes. How about a year from now? How would I know what I’d think about a year from now. Screw this I’m thinking myself in circles, Goodnight.