This is the collection of my writings of fancy. I drabble into romance and science fiction and all of the things in between. If you enjoyed what I wrote, please, leave a comment?
Chapter 1
O++++{{=========>
Keelor walked through the idyllic wilderness, grief stricken. He had just left the village where he had grown up. It was decimated. The survivors had told of a new warlord of immense power that had come and laid waste to many of the villages in the surrounding area. He absently adjusted the hilt of his great bastard sword slung across his back, as if willing the evil warlord to appear before him that Keelor might cleave him limb from limb.
Keelor thought back to when last he had seen his homeland. He was but a lad, wide-eyed and innocent in the ways of the world. He had left his best friends, Anderpaul and Tesalynn to find his self in the world. He had invited his friends to accompany him, as they had had many great adventures in their youth, but the two had grown quite fond of each other and told him they were to be vow-tied in the spring. They wanted to settle down and make a family, not something that lends itself to the traveling life. They had persuaded Keelor to stay until after the ceremony.
Out in the world, Keelor had made a name for himself as a warrior. He had trained with many of the great masters, and had even learned to harness his energy, allowing him to perform seemingly superhuman feats. He was battle hardened and knew that few people could best him in combat. For all his strength, he was still kind hearted and just. If he had one fault, it was his confidence. It often crossed the line in to arrogance. He was in short a true hero.
His grief was compounded by the tale he had heard when he had asked of his friends left behind some ten cycles ago. He had been told about how when Anderpaul was out on the village supply run as a protector, ruffians had invaded the village. They had taken Tesalynn and killed their two children. They beat and raped Tesalynn, leaving her to die in the mud as they threw her into the street. The townsfolk had stood by paralyzed with fear and had done nothing.
When Anderpaul returned, he went insane with grief and rage. He had cursed them all and left the village and had not been heard from in five cycles.
Keelor visited the grave of Tesalynn and her children. He touched the sapphire power crystal that hung about his neck from a silver chain. It was a gift from her to him upon his leave taking. His other hand strayed to the dagger that Anderpaul had given him. He grieved for his friends and thought if he had only been here he could have prevented this.
So it was with righteous fury he set out to find this warlord. The man would feel the blade of justice, Keelor vowed.
Chapter 2
O++++{{=========>
Keelor was aware of them for quite some time. He had heard them approach though they thought they were being stealthy. They had sat and watched as he had eaten his meal and stretched out his six-foot heavily-muscled frame on his bed roll and began to sleep, or so they thought.
They had crept up on him, eyeing his belongings hungrily. There were three of them. One had drawn a dagger and began to move it toward Keelor's neck.
As he did so, his intended victim seemed to blur and disappear. At the same moment there was a crack and one of his companions fell to the ground lifeless, his head twisted around facing backwards. The other let out a gurgling noise as he clutched his throat, trying in vain to stem the lifeblood that suddenly began to pour from it.
"By the gods, another one like the Commander," the remaining brigand said.
Keelor paused, seeming to materialize in front of the brigand, the tip of the huge bastard sword resting at the top of his breastbone.
"Speak quickly and you may yet live," Keelor growled. "Who is this other like me? This Commander of which you speak?"
"Please, Mi'lord, spare me. Not much is known of the Commander. He showed up in our camp a fortnight ago. Just waltzed in and challenged our leader for control of the band. He was dressed in a hooded cloak, and we could discern not a feature of him. He defeated our leader without even seeming to move. Just sort of blurred and disappeared only to reappear a moment later in the same spot as our leader fell dead from an unseen cut so deep it nearly severed his head," the brigand said with a shuddering glance at his fallen comrade who had met a very similar end.
"Where can I find this Commander," Keelor demanded.
"Mi'lord, you follow the path about two leagues, until it forks. You take the left fork for about another three leagues. There you'll see the palisades of the Commander's camp."
"Very well, Ruffian. You've been cooperative, but I can't very well let you loose while I must sleep. Can I?" Keelor asked. The man grew visibly terrified at Keelor's words and began to tremble.
"Peace man. I won't kill you but I must bind you until morning."
Keelor suited actions to words, and soon the brigand was trussed firmly to a tree. Knowing the cutthroat was secure, Keelor settled in for some rest. Tomorrow he would meet this Commander character, and justice would be at hand.
Chapter 3
O++++{{=========>
Keelor awoke and made preparations to break camp. He then cut the brigand free and warned him that if he should ever cross Keelor's path again, it would not go well for him. The brigand ran like a scared rabbit.
The High Master warrior then set off. He had some distance to travel and he was quite eager to administer some justice to this evil one calling himself the Commander. The scum would pay for what he had done to the villages.
As Keelor approached the fork in the path the brigand had spoke of, he noticed a hooded figure in a dove grey cloak leaning on a plain wooden staff at the apex of the fork. The figure shifted as the warrior approached addressing Keelor.
"Ho, Keelor. What are you about? You wouldn't be looking for the Commander would you?"
Keelor was a bit taken aback at this greeting. "Who are you that knows my name and what business is it of yours what I am about."
The figure took down the hood, revealing an old man with close-cropped grey hair and a mustache. He peered at Keelor with piercing green eyes that looked far too young in such a weathered face. Keelor's own slate grey eyes peered right back at the old man with an equal intensity from under his own mane of sandy brown hair.
"I am the wizard Ashrod," the old man said. "It has been given to me the knowledge that you are the only one that can stop the evil one you seek. However, you are not yet ready for what you will face if you continue."
Keelor chuckled. "With respect to you and your art, old one, I am ready to face whatever lies before me."
"Indeed, you're one of the most skilled warriors in the land, but the evil one is, if not your very equal, your better," Ashrod said. "I see, however, that you won't be dissuaded from this course. You're very stubborn, Keelor. It'll serve you well...if it doesn't kill you first."
Keelor smiled at the mage. "You're correct, Ashrod. I will not be dissuaded. How can I stand by and allow these atrocities to continue? I must be going. I cannot tarry any longer. Well met, my friend."
"Well met, Keelor. Good fortune to you. You'll need it," the mage said cryptically.
The sun was high in the clear azure sky when Keelor approached the palisades of the Commanders encampment. The crisp autumn air had given way to the smell of wood smoke and the stench of decay and human refuse. Keelor could sense the evil emanating from the encampment. It was almost palpable. He had seen many such places in his life as a warrior.
Keelor made his way to the gate where he was promptly challenged by the guard.
"Hold traveler! You have no business here. Be gone or die," the guard said.
"I seek the Commander," Keelor stated.
"Ah. Then you are the one. We were told a warrior would be coming to see the Commander today. Very well. Go to the cabin in the center of the camp and meet your fate," the guard said, grinning a predatory grin.
Keelor wondered just how this Commander knew of his coming. The brigand he turned loose could not possibly have beaten him here. He would have heard the man's rough passage, and he had run the opposite direction. He shrugged this off. It was of no consequence. Justice was at hand. Keelor proceeded to the Commander's cabin, noticing as he did the men begin to follow him. Apparently expecting a show.
Keelor entered the courtyard of the cabin as a large crowd gathered, cutting off any retreat. That was fine. Keelor did not intend to retreat, though he could have cut through the men like a scythe through grass had he wanted. He spied a dark cloaked figure conversing with a group of men at the far end of the courtyard. The figure looked up as Keelor strode toward them. Turning toward Keelor the figure made a sweeping motion with a gloved hand, and the group around him dispersed.
"Ah Keelor. You have come at last," the man said in a strangely familiar gravelly voice. Keelor couldn't quite place where he had heard it before.
"I see you don't recognize me old friend. Perhaps this will help," The cloaked man took down his hood.
"Anderpaul," Keelor gasped. "Surely you're not the one responsible for all this mayhem committed in our land."
"I am indeed," Anderpaul confirmed. "I am the Commander you seek."
"Why, old friend? Why have you done this," Keelor asked, in shock.
"Because I can," Anderpaul stated simply. "Because I'll take from those cowardly fools what they have allowed to be taken from me. They will pay for their affronts."
"You're mad. Stop this. I beseech you. Don't let this travesty continue," Keelor pleaded with his friend.
"And if I don't," Anderpaul asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Then I must stop you. Justice will be served," Keelor stated simply, his demeanor hardening.
"So be it," Anderpaul said, doffing his cloak.
Keelor tossed his pack off to the side. He removed his sword and coat tossing the coat on the pack and drawing his bastard sword from its scabbard before depositing the scabbard on the coat and pack.
The two warriors squared off against one another, one with white hair, cruel midnight blue eyes and wearing dark scale armor, the other with sandy brown hair and intense slate grey eyes wearing bright chain mail armor. The dark warrior had produced a huge battle-axe seemingly of the air.
"Last chance, Keelor. Leave this place and don't return," Anderpaul offered.
"I can't. I must not allow this to continue," Keelor rejected.
With that Anderpaul seemed to blur and disappear. A moment later sparks flew from Keelor's sword as it blocked a blow that would have decapitated a man without his training. Then Keelor to seemed to blur and disappear. To most of the gathered crowd, the battle was only witnessed as sparks flying from blocked blows and counter blows.
For an hour and a half the warriors strove against one another, neither able to gain an advantage on the other. They were perfectly matched in skill and endurance. Finally, the warriors reappeared. They were both breathing heavily, gasping air. They were both bleeding from unfelt scratches that seemed to be all the damage they could do one another.
"You have great skill, old friend," Keelor observed.
"As do you, Keelor, but I grow weary of our sport. Let us end this now!"
Anderpaul began to blur again, and Keelor concentrated on him, ready to block the next strike. Too late, he heard the dart as it whistled faintly through the air and embedded itself in the back of his neck.
"Treachery," Keelor cried as his knees buckled. He fell to the ground, his muscles refusing to obey his commands.
As the world began to go black, he heard Anderpaul say, "Do not worry old friend you will recover...far from here, but you will recover. Do not return to this place, or next time I will have no choice but to kill you."
With that the world went black.
Chapter 4
O++++{{=========>
"Unngggg," Keelor groaned as he came to. His head hurt beyond all comprehension. He started to open his eyes but quickly changed his mind as the light spurred the pain to even more intensity threatening to cause him to go unconscious again.
"Master, he awakes," Keelor heard a female voice say.
"Peace, my friend, you're among friends," the female voice said addressing Keelor. A gentle hand was placed on his brow.
"Drink this," the female voice told him as a foul stench assaulted his nostrils. "It will make you feel better, though it won't taste very good."
Keelor took a sip of the fluid. As advertised, he gagged on it. The little he swallowed did, however, have an immediate effect on the pain in his head so he quaffed the rest down then fought down the urge to vomit it right back up. Soon the pain receded first to a manageable then to a non-existent level.
Keelor cautiously opened his eyes, fearing the pain might return. When it did not, he began to take in his surroundings. He was in a warm bedchamber. There was a fireplace with a cheery fire burning in it. The female voice he had heard belonged to a pretty young woman in a grey robe. Her hair was ash blond and her eyes were a delicious chocolate brown.
"Where am I," Keelor asked her.
"You have the honor to be a guest in my home," Ashrod said as he strode into the room.
"Ashrod! What happened how did I get here," Keelor asked. "The last thing I remember is being hit with that dart, launched by one of Anderpaul's henchmen. Such treachery. I would never have expected it from my old friend."
"That's why he beat you. His advantage lies in the fact that he is willing to use less than honorable methods when it suits him," Ashrod explained. "He is no longer the man you knew. He is now a Chosen of the Corruptor, Dagarot. Gods only know why he didn't kill you. He told his men to carry you to the river and cast you adrift on a raft, with all of your belongings if they wanted to live. You would have awakened far from here had I not persuaded them it would be far more healthy for them to give you to me."
"Dagarot! The god of corruption," exclaimed Keelor.
"Yes. Your friend's grief and anger were such that Dagarot was easily able to bring Anderpaul under his sway. Very soon he will go to become a Destroyer, one who is the Chosen of two or more gods, and is of Evil alignment. My guess is he will go to Alkor, god of mayhem. He will become unstoppable. Your only hope is to become a Guardian, the opposite of a Destroyer. I see you are a Chosen of Skyla now..." Ashrod was saying when Keelor interrupted him.
"No, my god is Kale," Keelor corrected.
"But you do not wear the diamond, the gem of Kale. You wear a sapphire, the gem of Skyla. Curious," wondered Ashrod.
"Where is my dagger," Keelor asked. The woman handed it to him from where it rested on the night table.
"See here, here is the gem of Kale," Keelor said, pointing to the diamond on the hilt of the dagger. "The sapphire was a gift from a friend many years ago."
"Ah, I see," said Ashrod. "But this could still be the answer we need. The fact that you were given the sapphire means that Skyla favors you. I think we should set out as soon as you regain your strength. We should go to Skyla's temple. I think that's our best hope. If you're favored by Skyla, perhaps she will be willing to confer guardian status on you."
So it was. Two days later Keelor found himself back on the road, in the company of Ashrod the mage, journeying to the temple of Skyla.
Chapter 5
O++++{{=========>
Keelor and Ashrod had been traveling for three days. The trip so far had been uneventful, so it didn't surprise Keelor in the least when they came upon the scene of a horrible battle. There were six bodies here. Five were Anderpaul's brigands. One appeared to be a cleric of Gianna. Only one of the brigands was killed by the cleric's mace. The other four had one arrow each protruding from their chests.
It was then they heard the scream of rage. Keelor was off like a shot towards the sound, Ashrod hard on his heels. They came on the scene and saw four more brigands standing facing a ranger. The ranger was the archer, but his bow was discarded to the side, and he had pulled his long sword. He had managed to kill one other brigand, and was holding the rest at bay. He was getting tired though. It was only a matter of time before the brigands over came him.
So intent were they on the prey, the brigands didn't hear Keelor's approach.
"So what have we here? Four of you against one man, that hardly seems fair, now does it," Keelor chided.
Three of the brigands turned, one still keeping an eye on the ranger.
"Fercor, you keep the ranger busy. We will deal with these others," one of the brigands said.
"Ah," said Keelor, "three of you against the two of us, that hardly seems fair either...to you."
"Yer smart mouth won't be so lively once we slit your throat, fool," the brigand said. The three of them charged Keelor and Ashrod.
The first to reach Keelor was unable to stop in time to avoid charging down the length of Keelor's sword that seemed to appear out of the air just before penetrating the brigand's chest. The muscles of Keelor's arms bunched as they overcame the resistance of his sword passing though the brigand's leather armor and penetrating his chest. His momentum carried him nearly to the crossbar of Keelor's sword. The brigand looked down in surprise at the steel disappearing into his chest, and died.
Keelor dropped to a squat, ducking the second brigand's blow, causing him to over balance and charge right past Keelor. Keelor then pivoted and yanked his sword from the dead brigand's chest in one fluid movement, facing the second brigand as the man fought to stop his momentum.
The third had engaged Ashrod. Ashrod had side stepped his charge and connected smartly with his staff on the back of the brigand's head sending him sprawling. As the third Brigand got up, shaking his head to clear it, his compatriot lunged at Keelor.
Keelor casually defelected his blade and landed a resounding punch in the side of the brigand's head with his free hand.
"Surrender," Keelor growled.
"Never," the brigand cried lunging again.
He never saw Keelor's stroke. Such was the momentum of the huge bastard sword, that it cleanly severed the brigand's sword arm just below the shoulder before stopping several inches into his chest. Keelor withdrew his sword and the brigand hit the ground dying.
The third brigand saw this and looked at the two new comers.
"Fercor, you're on your own," he yelled and ran.
Fercor turned at the yell and the ranger, seeing the opening, cut him down.
"Thank you, my friends," said the ranger. "I'm the ranger Falcon. To whom do I have the honor of owing my life to?"
"I am the wizard Ashrod and this is the High Master Warrior, Keelor," Ashrod introduced.
"Well met my friends," Falcon said. "I owe you my life. May I travel with you, perhaps getting the opportunity to repay the debt?"
"Well met, Falcon. We journey to Stoneville to visit the temple of Skyla there. You're welcome to travel with us for as long as you wish," Keelor said with a smile.
A strange look passed across Ashrod's face ending with a mysterious knowing smile. When pressed about what it meant he would not say.
Chapter 6
O++++{{=========>
As they traveled, Keelor studied their newest companion. Falcon was a competent man with reddish brown hair and ice blue eyes. He was a few inches shorter than Keelor at 5'9" but he was lean and well muscled. He moved with the trademark grace of ranger and seemed to be very alert, with a sharp eye. He had a great disposition and laughed frequently as they talked.
Keelor decided the Falcon would be a good man to have at one's back when things got dicey. As for Ashrod, well, he seemed to accept Falcon as a friend that had been with him for years. When Keelor thought about it, he sensed rightness about the three of them being together.
They had stopped to camp one last time before they reached Stoneville. Falcon had hunted them up a couple of rabbits, and Keelor had found some wild potatoes, some onions and some herbs. Ashrod was cooking them up in a stew when Keelor and Falcon gave each other a meaningful look, and Falcon faded into the woods.
Minutes later a man wandered into their camp. He was a slight man with long blonde hair that he wore pulled back and tied. His attire was brightly colored and he had a mandolin slung across his back. He carried a short sword at his side and a sling attached to his belt. When he spoke it was in a melodious voice.
"Greetings, friends. Your stew smelled so divine and your fire looks warm and inviting," the man explained. "I was wondering if I might share your repast and company in return for a song or two?" The man gestured to his mandolin.
"Certainly you may, minstrel. Come join us," Ashrod said.
Keelor glanced sharply at Ashrod.
"Oh relax, Keelor. If the man intended us harm he wouldn't have just walked up and asked to join us," Ashrod chided with another of his mysterious smiles. "Tell me my friend, what is your name?"
"I am the bard Jarrith," the bard Jarrith proclaimed. "Perhaps you have heard of me?"
"Alas, my friend Jarrith, I don't get out much so I haven't had the pleasure," Ashrod said smoothly, adding, "Oh for pity sake Falcon, quit slinking about in the shadows and join us. We have already established the man means no harm."
Falcon seemed to materialize out of the shadows next to Jarrith, returning the arrow to its quiver, and rolling his eyes. Jarrith's face drained of color as he became aware of the ranger beside him.
"Well, friend Jarrith, I suppose I should make introductions," Ashrod said. "This slab of flesh with the massive sword is the High Master Warrior Keelor, and our stealthy friend there is the ranger Falcon. I am the Wizard Ashrod. Well met to you."
Jarrith regained his composure and clasped hands with each of them in turn before gracefully seating himself by the fire. As they waited for the stew to be ready, they talked. After eating and listening to Jarrith play a few songs, they grew silent getting ready for sleep. Jarrith broke the silence.
"So, my friends," he began, "you're all on a quest to stop this evil warlord Anderpaul, and you, Keelor, expect to become a Guardian." Keelor nodded. "It all sounds very romantic. Do you think I might tag along with you? I can see this might be a tale that needs telling. I am also handy with my blade and sling here, and will be willing to lend it to your cause if need be."
"I don't see where it would hurt," Falcon said. "How about it Keelor? Should we let him travel with us?"
"Very well," assented Keelor, "but understand, Jarrith, we are about serious and dangerous business here. Your life may be in jeopardy frequently."
"I understand, friend Keelor. I'm neither weak nor cowardly. I'll help out how ever I can," Jarrith said seriously.
With that they settled in for the night, leaving Falcon to take the first watch.
Chapter 7
O++++{{=========>
Ashrod, who had the last watch, awoke everyone with the smell of spiced potatoes cooking. They each in turn disappeared in the wood and took care of their business. The party ate quickly and broke camp. All of them were eager to reach Stoneville so they could have a tankard or two of ale, get cleaned up, and sleep in a warm soft bed for a change. They had all been traveling for the better part of a fortnight and the trail was wearing on them.
It was mid afternoon when they arrived in Stoneville and found the inn. By the time they had taken turns at the bath and sent their trail clothes out to be laundered, it was suppertime. They all met up in the inn's tavern and dined on steak, potatoes, and vegetables. They also had a rare treat, fresh bread with whipped sweet butter.
The party was basking in the afterglow of their meal. Keelor and Falcon seemed to be engaged in trying to drink each other under the table. Keelor seemed to have the upper hand. They didn't notice that someone was watching them.
Natalia was a girl that knew what she wanted most of the time. Right at the moment she was a bit drunk and she was eyeing the large man with the huge sword. The man was handsome but the nose that had been broken too many times prevented him from being termed beautiful. He was dressed in leather breeches and a loose white shirt. His huge sword was leaning on the table at his side. He had a dagger on his belt and a full purse there also.
Being a thief and a woman, she was having a bit of an uncharacteristic inner conflict. She could not decide which she wanted more, the man or the fat purse he carried. Finally she decided she could have both. She could seduce him and after he pleasured her and passed out, as most men do, she could make off with the purse. Something inside her said this was a bad idea, that this man was not one to be trifled with, but the drink caused that something to go unheard.
Natalia made her way through the crowded tavern, casually avoiding the wandering hands of the male patrons, and gracefully sat down in the man's lap. She leaned down and whispered in his ear, asking him if he would like to dance.
Keelor didn't know what to make of the beautiful woman that sat down so unexpectedly in his lap, but it had been a while since he had danced with a woman so he assented. She stood taking his hand as he got up.
"I'm sorry my friends, but I can't refuse the lady's request," Keelor said to his companions with a wink, and allowed himself be led to the open area in the room in front of the musicians where other couples were dancing. He didn't notice the mysterious grin once again on Ashrod's face. He was too busy looking at the girl in front of him. She had naturally curly dark chestnut colored hair pulled back into a bushy ponytail. She wore a tight one-piece black leather outfit that laced up each side, leaving a fascinating strip of exposed skin crisscrossed with the leather bindings of the outfit. Her moderate breasts were squeezed into a devastating display of cleavage. Her head barely came up to his chin he noticed as she turned to him and they began to dance.
Keelor was surprisingly light on his feet considering the amount of ale he had consumed. As they danced, they introduced themselves. They danced for a couple of songs until they became too warm then returned to the table, Natalia once again sitting in Keelor's lap.
Keelor introduced Natalia to the others and they all talked companionably for a while. Ashrod made a production of yawning and stretching before he stood.
"Remember we go to the temple tomorrow," he cautioned. "Don't stay up too late." With that, Ashrod headed up to his room. Keelor wasn't sure, but he could have sworn the old man winked at him before taking his leave.
Once again, Natalia leaned down and whispered in Keelor's ear.
"I hope you don't think me too forward, but I would love to share your bed tonight," she said seductively, nibbling playfully at his ear.
"Not at all. I would like that," Keelor smiled.
"Well, gentlemen," Keelor said to his companions, "Ashrod is right. The morrow comes swiftly, and we should get some rest."
He stood Natalia up and then stood his self, collecting his sword. Keelor headed for his room with Natalia hot on his heels. When they reached the stairs, she looked over her shoulder and gave a little wave to Falcon and Jarrith. The two looked at each other with knowing eyes, and burst out laughing.
"Let us go, my friend. My bed is calling to me as well," Falcon laughed. The two drunken men stood unsteadily and helped each other up the stairs before each retired to his own rooms.
Chapter 8
O++++{{=========>
Natalia lay next to Keelor as he, as predicted, dozed. Her head rested on his shoulder and her lithe athletic body was pressed up against his. She was basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. He had taken her to highs of pleasure and passion she hadn't achieved with a man before. She was debating with herself again. Should she stay here and snuggle with him a little while longer or should she take his purse and make good her escape? She reached out and caressed the purse where it sat on the night table.
"That would not be a good idea at all," Keelor said.
To her credit she didn't jump or snatch her hand back guiltily. She just slowly moved her hand back to his chest and began lightly teasing the hair with her fingers.
"I thought you were asleep," she said softly.
"I sleep very lightly were my purse is concerned," he said with a chuckle.
"So why are you all going to the temple," she asked changing the subject.
Keelor told her of their quest, about how he must become a Guardian to stop his old friend from enslaving the region and causing so much suffering. He told her how it was originally just Ashrod and himself, and about how his party had grown.
"That is serious stuff," Natalia commented.
"Umm hmm," he confirmed.
"Hey," she said sitting up suddenly, "do you think I could join your quest?"
"What, so I will have to constantly worry about my purse," he laughed.
"Hey," she said reaching down and playfully pinching his side, starting a gentle tussle until the person in the neighboring room pounded on the wall.
"Seriously though, I am a trained fighter as well as being experienced at opening locks and locating traps. What do you say? I promise your purse will be safe," she expectantly.
"Besides, there are certain fringe benefits to having me around," she said running her hands down her chest, cupping her breasts after he didn't say anything.
"Ok, ok, no need to break out the heavy weapons," Keelor said laughing at his own joke while she looked at him darkly before breaking into a huge grin herself.
"Great," she enthused, "you won't be sorry."
"Come on let's get some rest," Keelor said.
She snuggled back up to him, and they both drifted off to sleep smiling.
Chapter 9
O++++{{=========>
The next morning as the companions gathered for breakfast, Keelor told them of their new addition. Everyone warmly welcomed Natalia to the party. Natalia actually blushed at being so well received. She was sitting close to Keelor holding his hand, having expected there to be more resistance to her joining the group.
"You two must have had fun last night," Falcon commented smiling.
"Only one left," Ashrod said cryptically.
"Ok, old man, talk. You keep getting these curious smiles every time someone joins the party, then, infuriatingly, I might add, you refuse to tell anyone why. I want explanations," Keelor demanded.
"Very well," Ashrod said holding up his hands in surrender. "The divination I cast said there was to be six party members. A warrior, a mage, a ranger, a bard, a thief, and a cleric. I suspect we will be collecting the cleric later today. There is one perplexing bit though. While the divination spell has proved accurate in all other respects, it did say there was to be three men and three women. According to my count, even if our cleric turns out to be female, we are slightly behind in the count."
"Well men," Jarrith said jokingly, "that must mean one of us is gonna get turned into a female."
The men all looked at each other uncomfortably until Falcon said, "I sure hope it's not Ash. He'd make a hideous woman."
The table dissolved in laughter.
"Come. We must be going," prodded Ashrod. "There is no telling how long this will take."
It was a two-hour walk from the inn but the sun was still low in the sky when they arrived at the temple. They entered the temple and were confronted by a statue of Skyla standing in the center of a large round room. The companions marveled at the statue, because it seemed that no matter where you were in the room, Skyla always faced you.
An old priest took notice of the group as they walked around the room gaping in awe at the statue. He got up gingerly from his knees where he had finished his praying, and made his way to the party.
"Welcome to the temple of Skyla, friends," he said congenially. "May I assist you?"
"I have come to be made a Chosen of Skyla, should she deem me worthy," Keelor told the priest.
"But you already wear the gem of a chosen of Skyla," the priest said eyeing him suspiciously.
"Indeed I do, but..." Keelor explained how he came by the sapphire pendant.
"You wish to become a Guardian?" the priest gasped in question.
"He must to fulfill his destiny," Ashrod said.
"Guardians have not walked the land for a hundred years," the priest said in amazement. "Wait right here. I must talk to the high priestess."
Soon the old priest returned followed by an elderly woman, obviously the high priestess. She was remarkably well preserved and must have been a raving beauty in her day.
"Sarl has told me what you wish. Understand this though; you will be submitting yourself to Skyla for Her approval. If She does not approve, She could do anything. As little as nothing could happen or She could strike you down in a horrific fashion. Since you are submitting yourself to Her of your own volition, Kale will not be able to assist you directly. It is all dependant on what sort of relations the two of Them have at the moment," the high priestess explained.
"I understand," Keelor said.
"And you still wish to do it?" the high priest asked.
"Absolutely," Keelor confirmed.
"So be it," the high priestess said. "The ceremony will be at sunset tonight. You must meditate until then. This is Talynnda. She will instruct you on how the ceremony will go, and guide you in your meditations." A young cleric approached at the high priestess's signal while she was speaking.
"Please come with me," the girl called Talynnda said. "Sarl will see to your companions."
Talynnda lead Keelor off to a side chamber down a short hallway off the statue room. She gave him a plain white robe and told him to remove all his clothing and put the robe on. He did as instructed piling his clothes and weapons neatly on the floor by the wall. He then went over to where Talynnda was kneeling on a cushion and she gestured to a matching one directly before her. Keelor knelt down on the cushion, facing Talynnda.
"When we enter the judgment chamber, the high priestess will ask High Master Warrior Keelor to step forward. You will step forward onto a raised dais. There you will find two pedestals on which there will be two bowls containing sapphires. These are the sapphires of judgment. Do you understand so far," Talynnda asked.
Keelor nodded and she continued, "The high priestess will then ask your purpose. You will say you are here to be judged by Skyla. The high priestess will then instruct you to remove the robe and step between the bowls. She will then tell you to place your hands on the sapphires of judgment. You will place one hand in each bowl. Then the high priestess will turn and approach the altar. There she will await the sound of the first bell. This bell indicates that the sun has touched the horizon. She will then pray to Skyla asking her to judge you. At this point anything can happen, but remember you must keep your hands on the sapphires at all times. We will wait until we hear the second bell, indicating the sun has dropped below the horizon. If this bell rings and nothing has happened Skyla has found you unworthy and has decided to ignore you, which I suppose, is better than being struck down. Do you understand what you must do?"
Keelor again nodded.
"Are you familiar with meditation?" She asked him.
"I am," Keelor said.
"Then we must meditate together until it's time for us to go to the Chamber of Judgment," Talynnda told him.
They both dropped into meditation.
Some hours later, they were roused by a priest, telling them if was almost time. Keelor stood in one graceful movement, as did Talynnda. He became aware of his need to empty his bladder and said so. He was directed to the chamber pot, and he promptly used it.
Feeling much relieved, Keelor was led by Talynnda to the Chamber of Judgment. Once there he saw all his companions standing off to the side as well as a handful of clerics that had come to observe the event. As soon as Keelor arrived, the high priestess took her place on the dais.
The ceremony went exactly as he was instructed and soon he was standing naked with his hands stretched out to the sides, each in a bowl of sapphires. He didn't wait for long before hearing the first of the bells. He would never hear the second one.
The high priestess completed her prayer. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then the sapphires in the blows began to glow, steadily increasing in intensity. The spectators saw Keelor throw his head back. Then they heard him begin to scream. It was a horrifying, lung ripping scream that seemed to rise in pitch, as the light grew more intense. Soon the light was too bright to look at and everyone had to look away. As the scream seemed to reach an impossibly high pitch it stopped and the light slowly faded. Everyone looked back toward the dais just in time to see a figure slump to the ground.
The companions rushed to the dais. The high priestess had gotten there first and rolled the prone figure over just as the companions arrived. As they stood there with their mouths agape in dismay, the high priestess addressed the room.
"High Master Keelor has been judged!" she said in a booming voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems we have a new Guardian. He has been found worthy! Praise be to Skyla!"
"Praise be," the clerics intoned as the companions looked from Keelor's prone form to each other in horror.
O++++{{=========>
Beautiful Justice will be continued in part 2 when Keelor finds out just what it cost him to become a Guardian. --LCG
I would like to thank those that helped me with the proofing and structure of the story. I would also love to hear any and all constructive feedback. --LCG
He saw the murderous fury in her slate grey eyes as she approached him, and he would have tried to get away but he was hurt too badly. All he could do was just lay there impassively until she reached down, grabbed a handful of the front of his shirt and once again picked him up against the wall. He felt himself losing consciousness as she moved her face very close to his. With their noses a hairs breadth apart, and her smoldering grey eyes starring pitilessly in to his, he could feel her breath on his lips as she spoke.
"If you ever," she began with a tone that would have frozen molten iron instantly, "do that again, they will be prying your bones out of this wall, because that will be all that is left of you to send home to Mommy for your burial. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"
Chapter 10
O++++{{=========>
Keelor came to in a warm comfortable bed. He felt like he had been crushed by a huge slab of stone. He was getting really tired of waking up this way. The last thing he remembered was hearing the bell ring at the Judgment.
He heard voices approaching, and he wasn't quite ready to deal with anyone yet so he feigned unconsciousness. The voices belonged to his companions and seemed to be in some sort of heated debate, so he listened.
"How can we be sure that is him," Falcon was saying.
"It's him," Ashrod said firmly, adding, "Think about it, it makes sense."
"Not in my book it doesn't," Falcon maintained stubbornly.
"Guys, please," Natalia said, "I know its him."
"How can you be so sure," Falcon demanded.
There was a pause before Natalia said, "The tattoo. It is still there."
"What tattoo," the men chorused.
"Exactly," Natalia said as if winning the point.
"What," Falcon yelled in exasperation.
"My point is, you all have been with him longer than I have and none of you have noticed the tattoo. I discovered it during our...um...exertions the night before we went to the temple," Natalia explained.
Keelor felt the covers being pulled back gently. He could tell he was still naked due to the cool air on his bare skin.
"See it," Natalia said triumphantly, "The diamond transposed over the crossed swords, just below the navel."
"Ok, ok, I believe you," Falcon accepted. "Now cover him up. It gives me the creeps looking at him like this. It doesn't look anything like him, that's for sure, and, anyway, I am sure Keelor wouldn't want us all gawking at his naked body."
Keelor didn't know what to make of all this. He must have been changed into some hideous monster, if his body was giving Falcon the creeps. What did that mean? He felt the cover go back over him, as he was coming to the conclusion the Skyla had rejected him. After all she was the goddess of beauty. She would not have made him a hideous monster if she had approved of him. He must have groaned out loud, because Natalia spoke quickly.
"Shhh, everyone. He is coming around. Remember don't let on until we know he can handle it."
He felt someone sit on the side of the bed and a hand stroke his hair.
"Keelor, sweetie, how do you feel," Natalia asked.
"Dead," he croaked, further convincing himself he was a hideous monster.
Cautiously, his eyes fluttered open. The pain he had expected was not there, so he looked up at Natalia, who was leaning over, looking at him with her eyes full of compassion. He thought about attempting a reassuring smile for her but wasn't too sure that it wouldn't look like something horrible in his present state. Instead, he looked around the dimly lit room. Noting that each of his companions was here. They all seemed to be wearing a cautious, but sad look.
"I take it from the looks you all have, Skyla rejected me by way of transforming me into a hideous monster," Keelor remarked, trying to at least put his friends at easy about how he would take his new appearance.
"Quite the contrary," Ashrod said with an amused look. "You are now a Guardian, and are surpassingly beautiful."
"Yeah right," Keelor said, smiling weakly at Ashrod's attempt to lighten the mood.
Everyone looked at each other, unsure on how to proceed. Keelor put his hand to his face to rub a tickle on his cheek. He felt a tuft of hair that seemed quite a bit longer than it used to be. He took hold of the offending tuft and pulled it around where he could look at it. The first thing he noticed was that it was jet black. The second thing he noticed was it was indeed quite a bit longer than it used to be. Next he noticed his hand. It was smallish and had slender delicate fingers, but definitely not hideous.
It was then that all the clues he had been ignoring fell into place. The sound of his voice, his hair, his delicate hand, the odd sensations of his body, they all made perfect sense.
"Oh my god," Keelor said in understanding. He sat bolt upright in the bed, casting aside the covers, and began laughing hysterically. His laugh wasn't a pleasant warm laugh, but that of someone who had gone stark raving mad.
Natalia threw the covers around him while the men turned from his nakedness, causing Keelor to laugh harder. Natalia put her arms around him and held him tightly, until the maniacal laughter began to subside into tears.
"It's ok, Sweetheart, we are here for you. We will help you get through this," Natalia told him soothingly.
"I was thinking," Keelor said between giggles and sniffles, "that I had become a hideous beast. Now, I don't know which would have been worse."
"Hey," Natalia said, "Half the population bears up under this, are you telling me a big strong warrior like you can't?"
"But I am not a big strong warrior any more, am I?" Keelor choked through the tears. "I am a woman." He then began laughing again, as if he had just made a joke. In truth it was a sort of joke that Skyla had played on him. She had made him a Guardian, but at the price of being a woman.
Chapter 11
O++++{{=========>
Keelor discovered that he had been out for two days following the Judgment. A member of the local gentry that was a devout worshipper of the temple had given the party the use of a large manor house outside of town. This was done to afford them some privacy. People had heard that a Guardian now walked among them and had thronged the temple to see. The companions had to smuggle Keelor out of the temple so that he would have a chance to recover quietly.
Talynnda had accompanied them to the manor. She had told them she had been instructed to accompany them when they were prepared to resume their journeys. She was quite polite if somewhat distant. She appeared to be a competent cleric, and that would be a great benefit to the party.
Keelor slowly recovered his...umm...her strength. She was in her room sulking, looking down between her breasts at the sapphire pendant the hung there. It too had changed. It was now set in a ring of diamonds, reflecting her new Guardian status.
She heard a gentle knock at her door.
"What is it," she said sourly.
"May I come in," Falcon asked poking his head in the door.
"Would it make any difference if I said no," Keelor said acidly.
"Of course it would. A gentleman does not enter a lady's bed chamber without an invitation," Falcon said with a straight face, but he could not keep from laughing when Keelor cast him a look that would have killed him instantly, if looks could kill that is.
Falcon entered the room since she had not told him to bugger off. She had gone back to staring out the window. She was sitting in a chair by the window with her knees pulled up to her breasts, one elbow propped up on her knee with her head in her hand. The other arm was hugged around her knees. Her raven hair contrasted with the white robes she wore and the paleness of her skin. She was the very picture of feminine beauty as the bright sunlight backlit her profile. Falcon thought of telling her so, before he remembered who she was and thought better of it, having no desire to have her dagger between his ribs today.
Falcon moved over and sat on the bed. He looked at her for a few moments longer.
"Keelor, you have almost recovered your strength. You need to get out of this room, maybe go outside and get some air. How about we go outside and spar for a bit," Falcon asked.
Keelor's face lit up at the suggestion, but then turned sour again.
"What a lovely suggestion, sir, but I haven't a thing to wear," Keelor said sarcastically plucking at the silken feminine robes she wore. "This is hardly appropriate for sparring, is it?"
"I will make you a deal," Falcon bargained. "If I find you something more appropriate to wear do I have your word you will come down and work out with me?"
"I guess so," Keelor said without enthusiasm.
"Great," Falcon said happily heading for the door. "I will send Natalia up with the stuff. See you down in the courtyard." It was then that Keelor realized she had been played.
"Falcon," she called to him.
"Yes," Falcon paused, barely stopping himself for saying "dear" or "honey".
"Bring my sword. I am gonna kick your tail!"
Falcon just smiled and disappeared.
Chapter 12
O++++{{=========>
Soon Natalia was knocking at Keelor's door. She entered without waiting for a reply carrying a big bundle of clothes.
"Good morning, Love," she said brightly. Keelor ignored her.
"Keelor," she said coming over to her and taking her hands. "I know this is hard for you, but you must get over it. People need you. The longer we sit here doing nothing the more people lose everything to Anderpaul and his murderers."
"Easy for you to say," Keelor snapped. "You are not the one that has been stripped of everything you once were and dropped into a weak defenseless body in which you are expected to do battle with the one of the strongest warriors alive. No, Natalia, you don't know squat."
"Oh, so that's how it is huh?" Natalia needled. "You are now a poor defenseless little girl, fit only for looking pretty and warming her man's bed. Is that it? Ok, well if that's the way you feel then start acting like it."
Natalia gathered up the clothes she had deposited on the bed.
"I will go see if I can find you some skirts and corsets, so you can begin your life as a delicate flower. Then we will see about getting you married off to some man, so you can begin squeezing out his children."
"Natalia, wait," Keelor said.
"Unless of course," Natalia said pausing. "There still beats the heart of a warrior under those prefect pretty breasts of yours. You are disgusting, you know that? Anyone would love to be as beautiful and desirable as you are, yet all you do is feel sorry for yourself about it."
"Enough!" Keelor screamed. "Put the damn clothes down! You are right for gods' sakes! Now quit being a drama queen and help me get dressed."
Natalie's mouth dropped open in disbelief. Did Keelor just call her a drama queen? The irony of it caused her to double over in laughter. Keelor, the very picture of a drama queen had just called her one.
When Natalia quit laughing, which was sometime since every time she thought she had it under control, she would look at the dark expression on Keelor's face and round of guffaws would over take her, Keelor was standing there tapping her tiny foot with her arms crossed under her breasts, looking at her imperiously, she began to instruct the new girl how to dress.
"This will hold your breasts tightly and keep them from getting in your way so much. It will also keep them from bouncing around, which, trust me, can be painful by the end of the day," Natalia explained to her as she handed Keelor a leather halter with padded silk lined breast cups.
Keelor stood there holding the contraption with a look of confusion. Natalia saw the look of confusion and instructed her on how to put it on.
"You just stick your arms through here and it laces up the front," Natalia explained.
Keelor felt her breasts being mashed firmly against her chest as she laced up the halter. It did feel better not to have them jiggling and bobbing around every time she moved. She didn't feel so alien anymore. The halter was a must if one had to have breasts, she decided.
"I saw how much you liked that outfit I had on when we met, so guess what," Natalia said mischievously.
"You didn't," Keelor said in horror.
"Well not exactly," Natalia laughed. "I got you a pair of breeches along the same lines."
Natalia tossed Keelor a pair of black leather breeches. After Keelor pulled them up over her hips and got them buttoned, Natalia showed her how to lace them up the sides. As the laces were pulled tight the leather seemed to form fit to Keelor's new curves.
"One thing Natalia," Keelor said perplexed, "my...um...bottom is still bare."
"That is so that the men can have easy access," Natalia said in a deadpan tone. She kept a straight face for a whole two minutes through sheer act of will, and the fact she wasn't looking at Keelor while the girl stood there looking horrified. Then she looked at Keelor's expression and burst out laughing.
"I'm sorry Keelor, I could not resist," she said finally. "These breeches were made for the adventuring woman. That flap of leather hanging there in the front with the long laces hanging from the lower edge, you pull it up between your legs and bring the laces back around in front of you and tie them off. There you see. Now if you need to answer nature's call you just untie the laces and pull the flap up and all the appropriate equipment is exposed and ready for action. When the flap in position it conceals everything. See not a patch of skin showing."
"Fascinating," Keelor said, "I was thinking that by the time I got all this rigging loose and taken down I would have wet myself. Handy!"
"Now for your top," Natalia handed her a loose white shirt.
Keelor put it on and was absolutely swimming in it.
"Where did you get this thing? It's huge," she griped.
"You don't recognize it?" Natalia asked, surprised. "It was the one you were wearing the night we met. Here this will help."
She wrapped a belt around Keelor's waist. Keelor noticed her dagger was already on the belt. She adjusted it over to her left hip where she normally wore it. Then Natalia helped her lace up the cuffs of the shirt. They came three quarters of the way up her forearms. Keelor knew she was smaller than before but she didn't think she was that much smaller. She mentioned it and Natalia told her that they had altered the cuffs as the sleeves were much too long anyway. She explained that the new cuffs had boning in them holding them snuggly in place while the sleeves were loose and flowing from the elbows up allowing for freedom of movement while not interfering with her weapons.
"Now for the coup de gras," Natalia said handing Keelor a pair of cotton socks and a pair of new black leather boots, which Keelor needed no help to put on for a change. The boots fit perfectly and came up to her mid calf.
Natalia pulled her over to the full-length mirror that Keelor had been avoiding thus far. Natalia stood her in front of it and Keelor looked at herself in awe. The breeches fit to her legs like a second skin displaying her well-formed legs to perfection. The belt sucked the loose shirt in displaying her tiny waist and the flare of her hips. The bottom of the shirt hung down to a little above her mid thigh kind of like a skirt. The v-neck of the shirt teasingly displayed the top of her halter and the generous cleavage it formed with her firmly held breasts. The pendant hung just above the cleavage from its silver chain. Her raven hair spilled across her shoulders completing the vision of beauty.
"You know," Keelor said, "A week ago I would have been falling all over myself to possess this woman. Well, I guess I got her now, don't I?"
"Yes," Natalia agreed, "Skyla is not the goddess of beauty for nothing, I suppose."
"One thing though," Keelor said thoughtfully, "The hair has to go. I can't fight if I have to keep pushing it out of my face."
"You will not touch those beautiful raven tresses with a blade!" Natalia said horrified. "Do you know how long it takes to grow hair like that?"
"Natalia, I don't care how long it takes to grow it. It's my hair and it won't be growing at all if I am dead."
"You're right. It is your hair, but let me show you something first before you do anything rash. If you don't think this works, then we'll see about shortening it," Natalia coaxed. "Come sit on the bed."
The girls sat on the bed and Natalia began to fuss with Keelor's hair. As she worked she explained what she was doing. She also brought up something else too.
"You know," Natalia began carefully, "Keelor is not really a proper name for a woman."
Keelor stiffened. She knew this was coming sooner or later.
"Well what do you suggest," Keelor said, "You name me. I want you to have the honor since you are teaching me all the things a mother would have."
"You are sure you want me to do that," Natalia asked.
"You might as well, if you don't mind," Keelor confirmed.
Natalia fell silent as she worked. She finally finished braiding the raven hair, and showed it to Keelor. It was beautiful. Natalia had woven a thick length of snow white silk into the braid, accenting the black hair marvelously. Keelor was impressed as she tossed her head from side to side noting that no hair got in her eyes. She smiled happily for perhaps the first time since she had awoke after her judgment.
"I've got it," Natalia said after seeing her smile.
"Well, don't keep me in suspense. Who am I to be known as now?" Keelor said expectantly.
"You will be called Keelicia," Natalia said with mock formality, "But your friends will call you Keeli. Come on. Falcon is waiting and he is probably gonna tease you about how long it takes women to get dressed."
Keeli smiled at her new name and the girls headed down stairs to join Falcon in the courtyard.
Chapter 13
O++++{{=========>
When they arrived at the door to the courtyard they saw that the other two companions and Talynnda had joined Falcon. Natalia grinned mischievously.
"Wait here. I will announce you with your new name," she said still grinning.
Natalia entered the courtyard stopping at the bottom of the short flight of steps, and clearing her throat.
"Presenting," she called loudly, "Lady Keelicia, Guardian Warrior of Beautiful Justice, formerly High Master Warrior Keelor." Natalia's voice dropped down to a normal level, "But her friends just call her Keeli."
"Well it’s about time," Falcon began, " I swear you women take forever to get duh..."
His voice died on his lips as Keeli left the darkness of the building and entered the courtyard. She walked confidently with her head held high, looking very regal. She stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked at the companions as if surveying her subjects.
"Natalia, dear, what was that scruffy little man over there saying," Keeli ask in a haughty tone.
"I have no idea, Mi'lady, your beauty seems to have struck him dumb," Natalia said half seriously.
"I see," Keeli said in the same haughty tone as she approached Falcon. She stood before him with one arm crossed below her breasts and a slender finger on her chin. She pursed her lips, head still inclined regally, as if studying a complex object that just wasn't quite right.
"Well, my beauty must indeed be miraculous to strike such a cretin dumb. He looks the sort that has something to say about everything," Keeli said adding a small smile when the others guffawed.
"I believe I saw a pitcher of juice over there by the others, and I find I am a bit thirsty," Keeli continued playing the haughty regal role to the hilt. "Please join us, Falcon, dear, when you find your tongue. I believe if you look down you will find it lying there on the ground at your feet." Keeli then turned and glided regally over to the others before breaking down giggling herself.
Falcon just stood there for a minute, his jaw working but the connection between his brain and vocal cords still preventing him from making a comeback. Finally he just shrugged and joined the others where they all were hugging Keeli.
"Cretin, huh," Jarrith said eyeing Falcon, while Keeli sipped her juice.
"Well, he deserved it after the way he tricked me this morning," Keeli said with a smile.
"Hey, that was for your own good," Falcon said, having found his voice. "Look at you. You are smiling and joking now where as this morning you were a reclusive sour puss."
"Well in truth I do feel almost human again after Natalia finished trussing me up. Gods, I am trussed up everywhere, my hair, my legs, my arms, my...well...you know," Keeli finished with a blush.
"Well we are all glad to see our old friend is starting to return even if in a different form now," Ashrod said sincerely. "We were getting quite worried about you, you know."
Keeli looked down ashamed. "I know," she said, "I am sorry, I was being selfish and feeling sorry for myself. Natalia made me realize that."
"Well, new body or not, we still love you, Keeli," Natalia said.
"Besides," Falcon chimed in from where he was sitting examining Keelor's huge bastard sword, "she is much nicer to look at than Keelor was."
"We'll see how nice I am to look at with your eyes swollen shut, Cretin," Keeli said darkly, then brightened, "Hey, my sword! May I?"
"I was thinking," Falcon began carefully, "I think you should get a new sword. This thing is just too big for you now."
"Nonsense," Keeli dismissed. "Let me see it."
Falcon offered her the sword hilt first, holding the scabbard. Keeli reached out and grasped the hilt pulling it smoothly from the scabbard with one hand. She had intended to do a showy flourish, but when it cleared the sheath, the tip dropped immediately to the stone pavers of the courtyard with a clank. She grasped the hilt with both hands, looking around sheepishly. With both hands, she heaved the great sword up holding it out in front of her. The tip bobbed and weaved unsteadily. After making a few experimental slashes, it was obvious to Keeli and everyone else that the sword was controlling her far more than she was controlling the sword.
"I will let you borrow one of mine if you want, Keeli," Natalia offered.
"Actually I think we should start with something simpler," Falcon suggested.
"What did you have in mind?" Keeli inquired.
"How about we start with a little hand to hand," said Falcon.
"You're on, cretin! Prepare to be soundly trounced by a girl! Hope your ego can take it," Keeli said rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
"We'll see who gets pounded, little girl. I hope your ego can take it!" Falcon said with a feral grin.
The other companions winced at Falcon's retort, though Keeli just returned his feral grin as they squared off against one another. She fully intended to pound the tar out of him, taking out a little angst about her condition. Falcon for his part didn't know quite what to expect. He knew Keelor was a high master warrior, which meant he was highly skilled in unarmed combat, so Falcon was wary. On the other hand, Keeli was about 3 inches shorter than him and he had at least fifty pounds on her. Add to that Falcon was quite skilled in unarmed combat, and he would normally not have considered someone Keeli's size a threat.
It turned out it was a mixture. She was very fast, even without using her super speed, and she could almost land a blow at will. The trouble was, while some of her blows had hurt (he was going to have a black eye to prove it) they lacked the power to do any real damage. On the other side, she was very hard to hit. Her blocks combined with her speed kept him from doing any real damage to her. Grappling though was a different story. He dominated her when they grappled. It was after the fifth of these grapples that she landed skidding on her butt. She pounded the stones and screamed in frustration.
"Let's take a break," he told her, offering her a hand up.
She looked up at him, sweat running down her face, and narrowed her slate grey eyes, the one feature she had retained from her former body. She slapped his hand away and levered herself up and stalked off toward the table. He smiled at her toughness as he watched her for a moment before following.
"Would you like some advice," Falcon asked her.
She looked at him for a moment, studying his face for any trace of patronizing then, not seeing any, said, "Sure, I guess I could use some."
"Two things I noticed. One, you attack like you expect to have more power. You seem to forget you have lost, what, 70 or 80 pounds of muscle. You are simply not as physically powerful anymore. You simply can't grapple with me and expect to overpower me. Two, your technique is horrible. No offense, but, in short, you hit like a girl. This is not really surprising, since I have been watching you for some time, and you seem to have a lot of female mannerisms that came along with the body. You need to go back to the beginning and practice your technique. Do you remember the forms?"
"Yeah sure. I was an instructor too," Keeli said.
"Good," Falcon continued, "You seem to have the knowledge but the body doesn't know how to use it. Maybe we can all learn from you as you teach yourself."
"Hey that's a great idea," Jarrith interjected.
"I am in," Natalia agreed, as did Talynnda.
"A couple of points of interest," Falcon said. "You are very fast. Faster, I think, than you were before. Also, I suspect you are more flexible than you were, maybe even more acrobatic, you know, like handstands and flips, though you didn't seem to use it."
Chapter 14
O++++{{=========>
After lunch, Ashrod asked Keeli if they might go for a walk. Keeli agreed, feeling a bit cooped up in spite of the manor house's size. So it was that Ashrod and Keeli toured the grounds of the manor. They looked for all the world like a grandfather out for a stroll with his beautiful young granddaughter. This wasn't lost on Keeli, but she was enjoying the brisk autumn air too much to let it bother her.
"How do you feel, Keeli?" Ashrod asked.
"Like I got the crap beat out of me," Keeli replied smiling and unconsciously rubbing her sore butt.
"That will pass," Ashrod said, chuckling, "but that is not what I meant."
"I know, Ashrod. Ok, you want to know how I feel, fine. I feel overwhelmed. I feel weak and ineffective. I feel like the butt of a joke, perpetrated by Skyla. I feel like time is running out, and I am nowhere near ready to face Anderpaul again. Yet the longer we linger, the more people are hurt by him."
"Physically, I feel better than I ever have. I no longer hurt from old injuries when I get up in the morning. I tend to notice finer details more, like the texture of cloth and colors. I suppose that's part of being female, but it goes beyond that. Before, I was very aware of my environment. Now I feel in tune with it, if you understand what I mean. Before I could sense things, objects, men, animals, and so forth. Now it seems I can sense their energy too. I can also read their affiliations. For instance, your energy is purple meaning you are affiliated with Arcana, god of magic. Falcon's energy was green for Gianna, goddess of nature."
"Also that is why he had such a hard time hitting me. I could see his energy build up in his arm or leg right before he launched an attack. I might very well be faster than I was, but the reason he couldn't hit me was I could see it coming before it ever started."
"Those are all passive aspects of your Guardian powers," Ashrod explained. "Have you discovered any of the active aspects yet?"
"Active aspects?" Keeli asked perplexed.
"Yes, for instance, according to my research, Guardians had the ability to move objects without touching them. Try moving that pine cone over there," Ashrod suggested.
"How," Keeli asked.
"Focus your energy, then reach out with it. Envelope the pinecone within it, then picture what you want the pinecone to do."
Keeli gathered her energy, focusing it. It was, she noticed, much more plentiful and intense than it was before. She raised her hand toward the pinecone, extending her energy toward it. Slowly, the energy began to stretch forth. It extended about a foot from her hand and stopped.
"I can't," Keeli said after a minute.
"Nonsense. Concentrate," Ashrod coached.
Keeli redoubled her efforts. The tendril of energy extended out to about a foot and a half and again stalled. It was no use. She couldn't get it any further than it was.
"I can't," she said the frustration evident in her voice.
"It's ok," Ashrod said, "It will come with practice. How about we try something that you might feel is more useful. Might even make you feel better about yourself."
"And what might that be," Keeli asked.
"Well, your enhanced speed, can you still do that?" Ashrod asked.
Keeli blurred and disappeared, reappearing on the other side of Ashrod.
"I guess so," She said causing Ashrod to start and wheel about. "So what?"
"Well, in the same way you focused your energy to amplify your speed, you can use it to amplify your strength," Ashrod explained and Keeli's face lit up.
She walked of and picked up a stick about one inch in diameter. She tried as hard as she could to break it normally, but to no avail. Then she focused her energy and slowly began putting pressure on the stick. Soon it gave with a snap.
Keeli jumped up and down excitedly, saying, "Yes, yes, yes!" She looked around for a bigger stick. She found one about as big around as her wrist. It snapped as easily as the smaller one had.
"Look out, Falcon! My blows won't be so ineffective now!" she said.
"Be careful," Ashrod cautioned, "you could really hurt him badly with that."
Chapter 15
O++++{{=========>
Keeli spent her mornings training in combat with Falcon, Natalia, Jarrith, and Talynnda. Her afternoons she spent exploring her Guardian powers with Ashrod. She made progress with extending her energy but could only get it out to about three feet so far. Her combat training was a different matter though.
Keeli had perfected her technique. It wasn't up to its former level yet but this body learned fast. They had taken to sparring again. Keeli decided she would surprise Falcon, having not told anyone of her newfound ability to boost her strength.
She and Falcon squared off, as the others, less skilled than Falcon and herself, sparred amongst themselves. Keeli began, not using her power, letting Falcon think he was up against more of the same, him having a very difficult time hitting her and her landing blows almost at will, but lacking the power to do any damage. They did this for a while until he grew tired of striking air and went to grab her to grapple. She caught his hands and their fingers interlocked. He smiled at her as they began to play mercy. She let him force her wrists back, letting him think he had the upper hand, for a minute. Her face contorted in real pain.
"Do you yield," he asked her.
"You wish," she told him through her grimace of pain.
He continued to apply force until he heard her wrists creak. He didn't want to break her wrists, and he wondered if she was stubborn enough to allow them to be broken. Yes, he thought, she just might be. He decided to change tactics. He hooked his leg around hers and pushed, trying to put her down.
She knew what he was doing and focused her energy. He might as well have tried to push over a tree. A look of surprise crossed his face as he tried to push harder to no avail. Keeli then began to slowly straighten her wrists. Again a surprised look appeared on his face. As their wrists straightened, beads of sweat began popping out on his forehead. She continued, bending his wrists back. She smiled at him, as his face became a mask of pain.
"Do you yield," She asked him.
He said nothing, redoubling his efforts. Soon she felt his wrists creak, stressed to the maximum. Still he said nothing so she used the same maneuver he had tried on her. She easily pushed him off balance and eased him gently to the ground, before she released his hands. He laid there a minute rubbing his wrists, and she offered him a hand up.
He smiled at her and slapped her hand away, jumping up and assuming a combat stance. Falcon kicked at her head but she side stepped outside of it and landed a crushing blow to his kidney. She was rewarded with an 'unnfff' of pain from him, but he recovered quickly, spinning around with a powerful punch. Which she also stepped outside of leaving his mid section wide open for the blow she landed in his belly. He 'whuffed' and doubled over falling to the ground. At first she was afraid she had hit him too hard but it turned out she had just knocked the wind out of him. Nevertheless he had had enough for the day.
"Gods, you got strong all of a sudden. What gives," he demanded.
"So how does it feel to be pounded by a little girl," Keeli razzed him. "Maybe I am not getting stronger, maybe you are turning into a weak little girl yourself."
"I will show you a weak little girl," he said and grabbed her and kissed her full on the lips.
He felt her hands move up to his chest and in the next instant he felt himself slam into the wall thirty feet away from where Keeli was standing. Falcon watched Keeli stalk over to where he had landed in a heap at the base of the wall. He saw the murderous fury in her slate grey eyes as she approached him, and he would have tried to get away but he was hurt too badly. All he could do was just lay there impassively until she reached down, grabbed a handful of the front of his shirt and once again picked him up against the wall. He felt himself losing consciousness as she moved her face very close to his. With their noses a hairs breadth apart, and her smoldering grey eyes staring pitilessly into his, he could feel her breath on his lips as she spoke.
"If you ever," she began with a tone that would have frozen molten iron instantly, "do that again, they will be prying your bones out of this wall, because that will be all that is left of you to send home to Mommy for your burial!! Am I making myself perfectly clear?" Without waiting for an answer she dropped him back into a heap and wheeled on her heel and left the courtyard. As he once again slumped to the ground, he passed out.
When Keeli had began move to Falcon after he had slammed into the wall, Jarrith and Talynnda had moved to stop her fearing she would kill him out right. Natalia stepped in front of them and told them, "Don't!"
They had all looked on as the last bit took place. After they watched her go, they rushed over to Falcon. He was in bad shape. He had several broken ribs and a broken collarbone. One of his lungs was punctured and he had fractured his skull when he hit the wall. He was dying. It was fortunate that Talynnda was there. She set to work patching him up. She quickly exhausted all of her healing spells to stabilize him. He still had the broken ribs and collarbone that would have to wait for Talynnda to rest and her healing powers recharged before they could be healed, but he would live.
Just as Jarrith was going to go find a litter to carry Falcon inside with, Ashrod burst into the courtyard.
"What in the name of Arcana is going on here?" He demanded. "I just passed Keeli in the hall and she told me to get out of her way unless I wanted to end up like Falcon." About then he saw Falcon lying on the ground unmoving. "What happened?"
"I don't know, Ash," Natalia said. "I mean I know what started it. He kissed her. They had just finished sparring and she had got the best of him displaying that new strength of hers. They were razzing each other and he all of a sudden grabbed her and kissed her. I am not sure what happened next. She just put her hands on his chest while he kissed her and suddenly he was flying through the air and slammed into the wall thirty feet away, but it wasn't like she threw him. She hardly moved, but she damn near killed him. We thought she was going to finish the job but she picked him up, said something to him, dropped him and left."
"Damn," said Ashrod, wincing.
"Look," said Natalia, "You all get Falcon up stairs. I will go find her."
Chapter 16
O++++{{=========>
Natalia found Keeli kneeling by a tree. She had one arm on the tree for support as she retched and cried. She didn't seem to take note of Natalia's presence. Natalia just stood there for a while until Keeli was doing more crying than retching and then she spoke.
"You killed him, you know," Natalia said conversationally.
Keeli jumped, and then said, "The bastard deserved it! He...kissed me!" She said that as if she were saying, "He rubbed my face in dog feces."
"Yes, he did! However, if every time a man kissed a woman she killed him, our species would quickly become extinct," Natalia remarked.
"I am not a woman!!!," Keeli turned and screamed at her.
"The hell you aren't!" Natalia retorted. "Look at yourself! I don't just mean the way you look. Look at the way you act, your mannerisms and even the way you speak. I don't care what you were last month, you are every bit a woman now. Speaking of which, you are due for the real treat of femininity here real soon. I wanna see you argue with me about whether you are a woman or not once the cramps and bleeding start."
Keeli's eyes got round and she gasped. It was apparent she had never thought of that. She put her face in her hands and started sobbing again. Natalia came over to her and knelt down before Keeli and hugged the sobbing girl to her. Natalia just held her and let her sob it out. When the sobbing subsided to sniffles, Natalia spoke again.
"He is going to live, in case you are interested. He was hurt very bad but Talynnda stabilized him. He is going to be hurting for a while though. At least until Talynnda's healing powers are restored," Natalia said softly, feeling Keeli nod against her chest.
"Come. Let's go back," Natalia said pulling out a handkerchief and cleaning up Keeli's face. "I am sure everyone is dying to know how you slammed a 200 pound man in to a wall thirty feet away without seeming to move."
Natalia helped Keeli up and steered her toward the house, with her arm around Keeli's waist.
"So was he a good kisser," Natalia asked as they walked to the house.
Keeli glared at her.
"Ok! Ok! Gods you can be so ill-humored sometimes," Natalia groused.
They walked the rest of the way to the house in silence. Right before they entered, Keeli said quietly, "yes," with a little half smile.
It took Natalia a moment to make the connection, but then she rolled her eyes and smiled as they entered the house.
Chapter 17
O++++{{=========>
The girls found their three uninjured companions in the common room. When Keeli entered, she saw disappointment, disgust, and fear pass over their faces. She lowered her eyes in shame. Natalia steered her toward the couch, and sat down beside her.
"How is he?" Keeli asked softly.
"He'll live," Ashrod said after a pregnant pause.
"No thanks to you," Jarrith said bitterly. "I hope you are not planning on finishing the job."
Keeli stiffened at this remark, and a little of the fire returned.
"As long as he keeps his lecherous paws off me, he has nothing to fear from me," she said icily.
"Look," Keeli said more calmly after a moment, "I feel bad about what happened. I apologize to you all. That was no way to treat a friend. He caught me off guard. I never expected or wanted him to do what he did. I was a man for the love of Sabri! How did he think I was gonna take it?! Surely he didn't expect me to like it! Maybe I overreacted, but he had no right to do what he did!"
They sat in silence for a while longer, before Ashrod finally spoke.
"So how did you do it?" he asked.
"I am not sure. I intended just to focus my energy to push him away. I was just thinking 'get away from me'. Somehow the energy did something else. It just sort of burst forth and carried him with it," Keeli explained.
"I see," said Ashrod. "Could you do it again?"
"I don't know. Maybe," Keeli said picking up a cup off the table.
She looked at the cup intently. Suddenly it flew from her hand, across the room shattering against the back of the fireplace. Ashrod smiled and everyone else looked at one another.
"That was amazing!" Talynnda said.
"Yes, well, while you people are down here entertaining yourselves with her parlor tricks, I am going to check on Falcon," Jarrith said in disgust.
Everyone just sat looking at each other in surprised silence for a moment as Jarrith stalked out of the room.
"Gods, it seems I have really upset him," Keeli said perplexed.
"Well," Natalia commented, "I think he might be 'that way', if you understand my meaning."
Keeli looked confused for a moment, then her eyes widened in understanding.
"You mean..." she said her voice trailing off.
"Yes," Talynnda said. "It seems we have quite a little ring of unrequited love going on here. Jarrith wants Falcon, Falcon wants you, Keeli, and you want Natalia."
Keeli blushed but did not deny it. Natalia looked at her in mild surprise.
"Unrequited hell," Natalia laughed, throwing her arms around Keeli and hugging her possessively.
"I thought I gave him the creeps," Keeli said referring to Falcon's comments after the Judgment.
"You heard that, huh?" Natalia said surprised. "You little sneak."
"I don't think it was you that was giving him the creeps," Talynnda explained. "I think it was his attraction to you as a woman. He was having trouble reconciling the attraction with who you were before. He has put that behind him for some time now. He is quite taken with you, you know."
"Really?" Keeli drawled. "Ya think? But seriously, I had no idea until he...um...did what he did."
"You mean you haven't seen him looking at you. When you are around he barely notices anything else," Natalia said. "I really thought he would have more self control though."
"I saw him watching me. I thought he was just waiting for me to sprout a third arm or a second head or something," Keeli told them.
"The boy wants you very badly," Talynnda observed.
"Isn't that just too bad?" Natalia said. "She is all mine. Do you hear? Mine."
They all started laughing.
Chapter 18
O++++{{=========>
When Falcon came to, he saw that Jarrith and Talynnda were in the room with him. His internal injuries and collarbone and fractured skull had been healed but his ribs where still broken. When he groaned the companions took notice of his consciousness.
"How do you feel?" Talynnda asked him.
"I feel like I have been trampled by a herd of wild horses," Falcon groaned.
"Here. Drink this. It tastes bad but it will deaden the pain," Talynnda instructed him.
"That witch really did a number on you," Jarrith commented. He had seen the massive bruising as the covers had fallen back when he and Talynnda helped the injured Falcon to sit up
"How is she?" Falcon asked quietly.
"She is chained in the cellar, in case she takes a notion to finish you," Jarrith said.
Falcon's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.
"Stop it, Jarrith!" Talynnda admonished him, then turned to Falcon. "We've done nothing of the sort to her. She feels bad about what happened."
"Well we should have," Jarrith quipped, "And she doesn't feel half bad enough."
"At any rate," Talynnda remarked, "I doubt that would stop her anyway, if she really wanted to beat on our ranger friend here some more."
"Hey, lay off her, Jarrith!" Falcon told him. "It was totally my fault, and I deserved it."
Jarrith threw up his hands in exasperation saying, "Why is everyone babying her so?"
"Because that's what she is right now!" Talynnda explained. "She may look all grown up, and she may have an adult mind, but it's a male adult mind. She knows nothing of the role Skyla has put her in. She is learning now what all girls learn over a period of years. Unfortunately, she must learn very fast, because she knows that the longer it takes, the more people are hurt. So she is pushing herself, pushing very hard, and there will be times when she will lose control."
"We must be there to bolster her and help her through those times. She has a lot of pressure on her small shoulders. We need to not lose sight of that."
"She chose this though," Jarrith retorted.
"Did she really?" Falcon asked. "Or did the gods thrust her into this position. Sure Keelor chose to undergo the Judgment, but keep in mind that he could well have ended up dead or worse had Skyla not approved. All that aside, do you think for one moment, Keelor, the very masculine High Master Warrior would have chosen to be a tiny delicate girl? With respect to Talynnda, that was a cruel price Skyla exacted for giving him the abilities he needed to stop Anderpaul. He has never done any of this for himself. He has only done it because fate has thrust him into a position of being the only one to stop the suffering. Besides all this, I owe him my life. If she sees fit to take it, then it is hers."
"You know," Jarrith said thoughtfully, "I had forgotten all that. I just saw her running around here like a little princess, everybody kowtowing to her, falling all over themselves to fulfill her every whim. I just didn't think about the strain she is under. It still doesn't excuse her nearly killing you, but if you are not going to hold it against her, I don't see how I can."
"Just keep in mind what she is going through," Falcon said, "and consider cutting her some slack."
"Words of wisdom, Falcon," Talynnda said. "You may want to heed them yourself the next time you get the urge to kiss her. So tell me, was the kiss worth it?"
Falcon leaned back and closed his eyes remembering the feeling of Keeli's perfect body pressed against his, and her wonderful woman scent as he pressed his lips to her warm soft ones. He smiled distantly as he relived the moment, holding it in his mind, trying to memorize every detail.
"Absolutely!" he said finally. "That and then some."
Jarrith rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in exasperation again, muttering something about lovesick fools. Talynnda just laughed amusedly.
Chapter 19
O++++{{=========>
Keeli padded softly toward the kitchen. If was dark in the house and most everyone had gone to bed. She was dressed in her nightgown and was going to bed herself when she decided she was thirsty. She noticed that the light was still burning in the kitchen, thankfully.
When she entered the kitchen, she saw Jarrith. She paused for a moment, then seemed to make up her mind and walked on in.
"Hi," She said tentatively, testing the waters, as she poured herself some juice.
"Hi," He said in the same tone.
"Look, I know you have a thing for Falcon," she began, watching as his back stiffened. "I know how frustrating it must be for you that he has the foolish thing for me."
She stopped because she saw his shoulders shaking. She thought he was crying, but soon it became apparent he was laughing when he turned to her. She looked at him questioningly.
"It's ridiculous, isn't it?" he explained. "I want someone that could never want me, and that someone wants someone who could never want him. How pathetic are we, wanting what we can't have? The trouble is, I am the only one that knows it. I think he believes he will have you eventually, but you have Natalia. She loves you and you seem to love her too. You and Natalia..."
"Let me tell you a little secret," Keeli smiled. "There is no 'Me and Natalia', at least not since that first night. Sure I love her, and I think she loves me too, but I don't think she is entirely comfortable with the idea of being with a woman, no matter what brave face she puts on it. So right now we are like best friends or sisters. Maybe it will become more, maybe it won't. Time will tell."
"About what happened..."
"You don't owe me an explanation," Jarrith said.
"Your right, I don't, but I know you are angry with me about it, and I just want you to understand," Keeli told him. "All my life I have been a warrior, even as a child I knew that is what I was meant to be. So my life was spent honing my instincts and reactions to that of a warrior's. I was good at it. I was strong and powerful. I could intimidate people into making way for me just by my presence alone. Add to that I was a man and I found the idea of being with a man repugnant. I don't judge anyone for that, it's just not my way."
"Suddenly, I find myself playing for the other team. Instead of being a big strong intimidating man, I am this frail tiny girl. Men think they can take liberties with me now that they would have never thought of trying with Keelor, because I am no longer big and intimidating. And in truth, until I learned to amplify my strength, they could have, and I could do nothing about it. Do you understand how humiliating this could be? Well, that is just what Falcon did to me. He took advantage of me, thinking I am a frail little girl, and would just accept what he did because I was supposed to! I reacted to that the way any warrior would, aggressively! I never intended to do what I did! Gods! I didn't even know I could, but once it happened I was too angry and humiliated to regret it right away. I had to calm down before I fully realized what I had done."
"I don't expect you to fully understand this because you are neither a warrior trained to respond aggressively, or a man who has been forced suddenly and completely into the body of a woman. All I can ask of you is that you at least try. Fair enough?"
"I think I understand more than you know," Jarrith said with a distant sadness in his eyes. "Keeli, for what it's worth, I'm sorry I have been so harsh with you. I've been acting like a fool. I still don't think what you did was right or justified, but I suppose we are all allowed our mistakes. You, more so than any of us. I can only imagine the pressure you must feel and we should make allowances. It seems I am the only one who hasn't. I am sorry for that."
"Think nothing of it," Keeli said. "We are all under a strain here. So how is Falcon?"
"He hurts," Jarrith told her. "He is worried about you, if you can believe it. He is beating himself up about crossing the line with you. He says he deserved what you did to him and then some. I don't think he could bear it if you didn't forgive him."
"You know," Jarrith said getting an idea, "I was going to take this juice and tea up to him. The tea will help him sleep. Would you like to take it up to him?"
"Sure," Keeli said, taking the tray.
She paused at the kitchen door looking over her shoulder.
"Jarrith, just between you and me, I'll let you in on a little secret," she said, "You know what the scariest part about the whole incident was?" He looked in askance. "It was the kiss...I think I...I think I liked it," she said and quickly left the room without looking at him.
Jarrith found himself alone, smiling and shaking his head. "Keelor," he thought out loud, "this person you have become is truly an enigma."
Chapter 20
O++++{{=========>
Keeli padded up to Falcon's room. The door was open and he was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. She balanced the tray on her hand and used the other to knock softly on the doorframe.
"Can I come in?" she asked as if afraid he would tell her to bugger off.
Those fears were dispelled when his face brightened at the sight of her.
"Please do," he told her smiling broadly.
"I brought you some juice...and this horrible smelling tea that is supposed to help you sleep," she told him brightly.
"You're a lifesaver," he told her accepting the tea.
"My god!" she said looking at his bruises, "Can you ever forgive me for this?"
"Forgive you?" He asked incredulously. "I am the one who should be asking forgiveness. I deserved everything I received."
"Nonsense," Keeli dismissed. "What you did was stupid and impertinent, but it certainly didn't warrant the response I had. They told me if it had not been for Talynnda, you would have died from the injuries I caused you."
"What I did was humiliate and degrade a beloved friend. What I did, under the circumstances, was the same as rape," he told her, "I deserved whatever response you desired. I violated your person and your trust. I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me."
"Oh, stop being so melodramatic!" she laughed. "You succumbed to your feelings is all, as did I, with my response. We both had a lapse in judgment and followed our emotions. I tell you what. If you can forgive me, I am pretty sure I can find it in my heart to forgive you. What do you say?"
"Done," he said. "Well, I guess the cat is rather dramatically out of the bag that I find you irresistible. How do you feel about that?"
"I don't know," she answered. "A large part of me finds it repulsive. A smaller part is telling me it's natural. That part seems to be growing as time goes by, but I am nowhere near ready to say I find men attractive. I suppose all of me finds it flattering, but don't take that as any kind of encouragement. I guess what I am trying to say is we are friends, let's keep it that way. If that part of me ever takes over completely, you will be the first to know, but don't hold your breath."
"Fair enough," he said.
"Finish your tea and drink your juice," she told him. "It's time for sleep. You realize, of course, that I am going to tease you to distraction, right?"
"You couldn't!" he said. "You wouldn't?"
He was noticing the mischievous glint in her gray eyes. Then she stood and leaned over him, and giving him a nice view of her cleavage, she kissed him on the forehead.
"Good night, Falcon," she said sweetly, and then smiled seductively.
"Pleasant dreams," she purred.
"She can and she did," Falcon muttered to himself. "Where the hell did she learn how to do that?"
Back in her bedroom, Keeli laid down in her bed after putting out the candles, leaving the room lit by the soft flickering light from the fireplace. She was almost asleep when she heard her door quietly open and a figure padded across the room. She knew it was Natalia from her scent. The smaller woman crawled into bed with Keeli, snuggling up to her. She put an arm around Keeli and their hands found each other and linked fingers. Keeli drifted off to sleep with a small happy smile on her face.
Chapter 21
O++++{{=========>
Keeli awoke to a gentle kiss on the back of her neck. The two girls were still lying in the spoon position they had fallen asleep in. She purred for a moment, before turning her head to look at Natalia in the predawn light. Natalia picked her head up and kissed Keeli on the tip of her nose.
"Get up sleepy head," Natalia whispered and threw the covers back.
Keeli made a noise of protest and tried to pull the covers back up, but Natalia was having none of it. She began to tickle Keeli. Keeli squealed and tried to fend her off, but Natalia was relentless. Soon Keeli, giggling, had to jump out of bed to get away from Natalia's onslaught.
"Good, now that you are up, my raven haired beauty, would you be good enough to throw a log on the fire and get it stoked up," Natalia said as she stretched languidly on the bed.
"Hmmph," Keeli complained. "I'll stoke your fire alright."
She went over to the fireplace and poked the fire back to life then added more wood. Moving back to the bed, Keeli crawled sensuously up the bed from the foot, straddling Natalia's stretched out body. She stopped when her face was directly above Natalia's. Slate grey eyes stared into emerald green ones.
"Love, you always stoke my fire," Natalia purred, and then smiled teasingly. "Even if you don't have a log to throw anymore."
With that, Keeli sat down abruptly, pinning the smaller girl to the bed and began tickling her. Natalia squealed and laughed as she tried to buck her assailant off of her, finally managing it when she launched a counter assault. Keeli rolled off of her to get away, but Natalia stayed with her until she was on top looking into Keeli's eyes. She dipped her head down and kissed the raven-haired girl. The kiss became more passionate and intense than either of them had intended. Natalia who was still between Keeli's thighs began to grind her pelvis against Keeli's. Then she opened a second front as she began kneading Keeli's breasts through her nightgown. The hem of both girls' nightgowns had ridden up allowing skin-to-skin contact.
Keeli felt her nipples respond to Natalia's touch and become erect, even while the smaller girl's pubic hair was causing electric sensations as it slid over hers. She instinctively pulled her legs up wrapped them around her lover as she felt the pleasure build up inside her. Abruptly, Natalia began to shake, her back arching as she pressed her pubic mound firmly against Keeli's.
"Amazing," Natalia gasped in disbelief as she relaxed and rolled off the dark haired girl. She looked over at Keeli and saw that she had one hand on her breast and the other had found its way down to her mound.
Natalia shooed the hand away from Keeli's pubic area and replaced it with her own. She gently traced the outer folds of Keeli's opening with teasing fingers. She moved her hand up and placed it flat on Keeli's belly over the tattoo there, then moved it down pressing firmly on the furry mound. Keeli pulled her knees up spreading her thighs wide to provide Natalia better access as her fingers cupped over the Keeli's mound. Natalia's middle finger dipped into the warm wetness as it split between Keeli's tender folds. The finger began a return journey back up the slit until it came to rest on the hard little knot located at the top. Keeli twitched when the finger brushed against her pleasure center. Natalia repositioned herself and slowly eased a finger in to Keeli's slick opening. Using her other hand she began to rub the little nub with her thumb. She began to slide her finger in and out of Keeli while the thumb on the other hand rubbed the knot. Soon she had two fingers in side Keeli and began to move faster.
Keeli, who had been fondling her own breasts, felt the pleasure build inside her once again. She started to moan and squirm as Natalia's wonderful hand brought her to a crescendo. She pulled a pillow over her face and screamed a muffled scream as her first orgasm ripped through her. As her arched back collapsed back down on the bed, Natalia's hands stopped and she moved back up beside Keeli. She removed the pillow from over Keeli's face and looked at the warm flush on the angelic face she found there. Keeli's grey eyes fluttered open and she smiled a content smile. Her arms snaked up around Natalia's neck and the smaller girl's head dipped down kissing her.
"Good morning!" Keeli said as they broke the kiss. "Can you wake me up like this every morning?"
Natalia laughed and got up off the bed.
"Come on let's get cleaned up and dressed. I have something I want us to do," Natalia said.
Chapter 22
O++++{{=========>
"Hey, you’re getting pretty good at that," said Natalia displaying her voyeuristic streak as she watched Keeli get dressed.
"I had a good teacher," Keeli replied hamming it up subtly for her audience.
When she finished dressing, Natalia told her to go down and get them a pitcher of juice and a pair of cups and meet her on the sunrise balcony. She nodded her acknowledgement and headed down stairs to the kitchen. Nobody else seemed to be up yet.
She arrived on the balcony with the tray containing the pitcher of juice and cups. It was still a little dark but she didn't bother lighting the torches in the wall sconces since the sun would clear the horizon shortly.
Keeli had just sat down and poured herself a cup of juice when Natalia arrived carrying her twin katanas and some other gear. She glided over to the table putting the stuff down and pouring a glass of juice for herself. Natalia drank her cup down quickly and began strapping some sort of apparatus to her wrists.
"What's up?" Keeli asked.
"I thought we would do a little exercising," Natalia said handing Keeli one of the katanas.
"Great," Keeli said, "Do I get a set of those?"
She was talking about the weighted bracers that she had finally realized was what Natalia had put on her wrists.
"Not quite yet," Natalia said. "I know you have that super strength and all but I want you to do this without using any of that stuff, ok?"
"Umm, sure ok," Keeli agreed.
"Let's stretch out a bit first," Natalia suggested.
As the girls stretched, Keeli noticed she was indeed much more flexible than she used to be. She could now stand with her feet together and touch her forehead to her shins. When they finished their stretching, Natalia asked Keeli if she was familiar with the slow sword forms. Keeli told her she had seen them but had never been impressed enough with it as an exercise to try it. She had thought it was beautiful to watch though it was more a form of dance than a combat exercise. Natalia chuckled at this and told her that she was due for a shock.
"Ok, let's begin. Try to follow my movements," Natalia instructed.
Keeli positioned herself where she could watch Natalia as they moved. At first she was clumsy and halting with the forms, but as they worked she began to be more and more gracefully. By the time they finished the first set of forms Keeli was sweating. She and Natalia continued until Keeli began to get shaky from her exhausted muscles. It was about three hours after they had started and the sun had risen well above the horizon. Both girls were perspiring freely in spite of the cool temperature.
"So what did you think," Natalia asked Keeli with a smile.
"Wow, I didn't think it would be that intense, but every muscle in my body is on fire," Keeli said quaffing down juice.
"Every morning from now on, we will do this as the sun rises," Natalia told her. "The forms we did are called the Sunrise Forms. This evening we will meet on the other balcony and I will teach you the Sunset Forms. We will do those every sunset."
"As long as you wake me up every morning like you did today," Keeli said grinning.
"We'll see about that, you raven haired pervert," Natalia said affectionately.
They picked up their stuff and went in the house to clean up. When they arrived at the dining room for breakfast, the others, less Falcon, were gathered at the table completing their meal.
"Hey! There you two are," said Jarrith. "We were just about to eat everything and not save you any."
"That," Natalia said sweetly, "would have been a bad idea, my friend"
It was half convincing since Natalia had worn her katanas today, a hilt sticking up above each shoulder. And the way Keeli was eyeing the pancakes with sweet butter and fresh fruit said there would have been hell to pay if they hadn't saved her any. Ashrod had the most amazing culinary abilities.
"How do you do it, Ash," Keeli asked between mouthfuls of the exquisite fruit pancakes, "I have been with you for some time and I can't figure out how you get all these fresh ingredients, even when they are out of season."
"A mage never reveals his secrets," Ashrod said mysteriously and smiled.
"So Talynnda, when were you planning on completing Falcon's healing?" Natalia asked.
"Sometime this morning. Whenever he gets up. Why?" she asked.
"I was thinking. We need to make a run into town and maybe get Keeli here a new sword. I thought he might like to go with us," Natalia explained.
"I could do it now, if you like, and you could ask him after you finish eating," Talynnda offered. "Besides I need to go to the temple for a bit to check up on some things."
"Great," Natalia said, adding, "You're a peach!"
Chapter 23
O++++{{=========>
Once the clerical magic had done its job, Falcon couldn't wait to get out of the house. He didn't particularly care for towns being a ranger and all, but everyone suspected he would happily go into a pit of vipers if he were following Keeli. Jarrith decided to stay at the house with Ashrod. Everyone suspected this was because his poets heart couldn't take seeing Falcon following Keeli like a lovesick puppy.
So it was that the four of them, Keeli, Natalia, Falcon, and Talynnda set out for town. It was a brisk two-hour walk, and Talynnda parted ways with them at the temple road. They had made arrangements with her to meet up on the way back later on, and the rest headed into town.
Their first stop was the weapons shop, where there was a surprise waiting for Keeli. They had sent her chain mail shirt in right after the judgment to have it altered. She tried it on. It fit perfectly, though it was more of a chain mail dress coming down to just above her mid thigh.
Keeli was browsing the swords, rejecting most everything Falcon or Natalia pointed out to her. Then she saw it. It was beautiful. It appeared to be some sort of hybrid, a katana except slightly less curved, with a conventional cross bar, and it had a matching wakizashi (a shorter cousin of the katana, often used with it in two bladed styles) of the same design. The scabbards were lacquered a glossy slate grey color that looked ten feet deep. Falcon said later it looked just like her eyes. The hilts were done in some sort of smooth leathery skin dyed the same color grey as the scabbard, and were wrapped in a vivid blue thread in the pattern of a standard katana. It departed again from the standard katana by having a round ball of metal instead of a tassel. The crossbar was the same brushed finished metal as the pommel and oval shaped toward the hilt but tapered into a round blunt point of sorts about four inches either side of the hilt. It was also enchanted. She could see a glow of energy around it.
"Excuse me," Keeli called to the shop proprietor.
"How may I help you miss?" he asked as he trundled up.
"I would like to see that blue handled one with the grey scabbard," Keeli said sweetly.
"The lady has fine taste," the shopkeeper said as he turned and reached for the weapon.
"What are you doing?" Natalia hissed at her. "If we all put our money together, we still could not afford that sword. Hell! We could put you out on the street turning tricks and it would take even you a month to earn that much."
"Quiet!" Keeli commanded. "Watch and learn."
"You know," the shopkeeper said as he returned with both of the swords, "I have had this set in here for about five years, since the sword smith that created them sold them to me. I paid a pretty penny for them too. Many have tried to buy them but they didn't want to pay even half of what they were worth so I held on to them."
Natalia groaned. Keeli had picked up the larger katana. It felt magnificent in her hand. She slowly withdrew it from its scabbard, feeling for any catches or binding. There were none. It felt as if it just flowed out of the scabbard. She examined the blade, starting from its point moving toward the hilt. It was flawless perfection right down to the fine wavy pattern in the metal that was formed from folding it hundreds of times. Keeli lightly ran her thumb down the edge a couple of inches. It parted her skin painlessly and effortlessly, yet when she bounced it on her hand with no lateral movement, it didn't even crease her skin. The balance of it was perfect she noticed as she continued examining the blade. When she got down toward the hilt she noticed an inscription on the blade.
She almost dropped the sword when she read the flowing script that had been etched into it. As it was, she gasped out loud.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Natalia demanded.
Keeli handed her the blade, smiling. She picked up the wakizashi and pulled it from the scabbard. It too seemed to flow from its casing. She had no doubt it was as perfect as its bigger counterpart, so she looked and sure enough, it was inscribed too. Keeli read the inscription and laughed out loud. Natalia looked up in askance.
"Read the inscription," Keeli told her.
"By the gods," Natalia exclaimed, "What the bloody hell...this is too weird. Falcon, look at this. Falcon?"
"Falcon," Natalia yelled and Keeli giggled.
"What is so funny! Where is Falcon?" Natalia demanded.
"He'll be alright," Keeli said nonchalantly. "He snuck out about ten minutes ago when we weren't looking."
"Ok, I will take your word for it," Natalia said in exasperation setting the katana down on the display case.
"If you think that is weird, look at this one," Keeli said handing the wakizashi to her.
Natalia gasped as she read it. She hastily put it down too. Keeli grinned a huge grin. The swords were meant for her. Somehow, five years ago, an unknown but very talented sword smith inscribed the katana with the words "Beautiful Justice" and the wakizashi was inscribed with the words "Raven Justice".
"How much?" Keeli asked the shopkeeper.
"Well, I will only sell them as a set, you understand," the shopkeeper said apologetically.
"I will only buy them as a set," Keeli dismissed. "How much?"
"6000 gold," the shopkeeper said.
"Galloping green gumdrops," Natalia exclaimed slapping herself on the forehead, "let's go Keeli."
"Natalia relax, please," Keeli told her, and then said, "Falcon, may I please have my sword."
Keeli was holding out her hand without looking behind her. Natalia had thought the strain must have finally become too great for her, and she went mad. So it was a great surprise when the huge bastard sword was placed in Keeli's out stretched hand. It was all Natalia could do to keep from screaming. As it was she jumped as if somebody had goosed her.
Keeli handed the huge sword to the shopkeeper and told him to examine it. While he was looking at it, she took off her hooded cloak and handed it to Falcon.
"So what do you think of that?" Keeli asked the shopkeeper.
"It is the bastard sword of a High Master Warrior, and a chosen of Kale. How, may I ask did you get it?" the shopkeeper asked.
Keeli leaned over and smiled sweetly at him, seemingly oblivious to the fact she was giving him a great view down her cleavage and also the diamond and sapphire pendant. She spoke in a conspiratorial tone.
"Can you keep a secret?" she asked him.
"Why sure, miss," he told her, probably more to keep his view of her cleavage than because he could.
"I was that warrior in another life," she told him with a winning smile.
He looked at her then at the sword and then back at her. He started to chuckle as if he thought she was making a joke. Then it all clicked into place for him. The sapphire and diamond pendant. The sword of the Chosen High Master Warrior of Kale. The rumors he had heard concerning the happenings at the temple. His eyes grew very wide.
"It's you," He said in awe, "You are the Guardian that everyone has been taking about. By the gods! It is an honor to have you in my humble shop, mi'lady."
"It is a pleasure to be here," she said standing back up right.
It must have reminded him of what he had been looking at because he blushed a deep crimson, causing Keeli to grin even broader.
"Now about those swords," she said, " you are holding a highly collectable and rare item in your hand there. I propose that I trade you 500 gold pieces and the bastard sword for these fine weapons. Before you answer read the inscriptions on them to me again."
The shopkeeper set down the bastard sword and picked up the katana and read the inscription out loud.
"It says 'Beautiful Justice'," he read then his eyes snapped back to her.
She was idly fingering the pendant hanging around her neck. Falcon, who had not been around for that discovery, gasped.
"Go on, read the other one," Keeli prompted him.
"No need, Mi'lady, I know it by heart. It says 'Raven Justice', and both match you perfectly," the shopkeeper said in awe.
"By the gods,' Falcon exclaimed.
Keeli was positively beaming. The shopkeeper, however, could not give in to her first offer without at least trying to wrangle a better price.
"1000 gold pieces and the bastard sword," he rejoined.
"Look, my friend," Keeli said still smiling sweetly at him, "you and I both know you would have taken the first 5000 gold pieces someone had offered you for those swords. I am giving you a rare collectable sword that belonged to the first Guardian to walk the earth in a hundred years. I will even give you a signed document of authenticity and witnessed by a priestess of Skyla. For that, you can name your price and someone will pay it, and I bet it doesn't take five years either."
The shopkeeper appeared to be thinking about it. Keeli smelled blood and went for the kill.
"Going once," she said.
He looked at her, then the bastard sword, then the katana, still thinking.
"Going twice," she said.
He picked up the bastard sword and appeared to examine it.
"Gone," Keeli said reaching for the bastard sword he held.
"No wait please," the shop keeper said slumping in defeat, "It's a deal. The swords are yours. By the way the set of them together is called 'Beautiful Raven Justice'. That is what the creator told me. He said someday their namesake would come for them. I thought he meant one of his people. I see now that beautiful raven justice has come for them."
Keeli blushed as she counted out five of her hundred gold piece bars.
"You are too kind, sir," she told him as she picked up the katana and slide it back into its scabbard.
"Sometimes I suspect I am," he told her as she ran her thumb lightly down the edge of the wakizashi, again painlessly drawing blood before sliding it back into its scabbard. "But in this case, I state only the simple truth, Mi'lady. Well bargained."
"Thank you very much, good sir," Keeli acknowledged. "If you go to the temple this evening, the high priestess will have your document of authenticity."
"Very good, Mi'lady," the shopkeeper smiled.
"Oh, and by the way, please keep my presence here to yourself," Keeli said.
"As you wish, Mi'lady," he said.
Chapter 24
O++++{{=========>
"Is everybody finished shopping?" Keeli asked.
"I am," Natalia said. "That experience at the weapons shop wore me out."
"I am too," Falcon said. "I got everything I came here to get."
"Very well, let's hightail it to the temple then, and maybe we can catch Talynnda before she leaves."
"Falcon, dear, may I have a word?" Keeli asked.
"Of course," he said, and they dropped back a few paces behind Natalia.
"Falcon," Keeli said in a low tone, "I just saw something I want to buy. You two go on ahead and I will catch up with you before the edge of town. Be careful with Natalia, she seems awfully skittish today. I don't think she will willingly let me out of her sight and I don't want the company, if you know what I mean."
"By your command," Falcon said with a smile. She smiled back at him and then blurred and disappeared.
Falcon caught back up to Natalia. She looked around and didn't see Keeli.
"Oh shit, where is Keeli?" she asked, the tension naked in her voice.
"Relax, Natalia, she had to buy one more thing. She said she would catch up to us at the edge of town," Falcon told her calmly.
"And you let her go? By herself?" Natalia asked like they were talking about a 6 year old.
"Natalia, please! Calm down. It's not as if she can't take care of herself," Falcon reasoned with her.
"Yes, but what if she gets attacked. She is not that good with those swords yet. She is a beautiful young woman and has no clue about the dangers she faces alone on the street. All sorts of criminals target girls like her. You know, pretty rich young women who are foolish enough to travel the streets alone with their fat purses hanging out for all to see. She is ten times more likely to get attacked than you are. A hundred times more likely to get attacked than she would have been in her old body. And she probably doesn't even realize it," Natalia said working herself up into a state.
"Natalia, calm down!" Falcon said firmly. "In case you forgot, we are talking about someone who damn near killed me without even moving."
"Exactly my point, you moron," Natalia told him, "If she uses that ability on a ruffian, that story is going to spread like wild fire. We'll be lucky if Anderpaul himself doesn't come looking for her."
"Enough!" Falcon said. "Nothing is going to happen."
"How can you be so flippant about this?" Natalia said. "This could turn into a real disaster."
"What could turn into a real disaster," asked a voice from behind her.
Natalia wheeled a found the girl in question standing nonchalantly behind her holding a package.
"Oh thank the gods!" Natalia said and threw her arms around Keeli, hugging her tight. "Don't you ever go off like that by yourself again!!"
"Yes mother," Keeli said sweetly.
"You people are gonna drive me mad!" Natalia told them. "Let's just go."
They did, indeed, make it to the temple before Talynnda left. Keeli asked to speak to the high priestess and was escorted to her office. She explained what she needed and the high priestess had one of her scribes write up the document, which Keeli signed and the high priestess witnessed. She promised to make sure the shopkeeper got the document.
"I am glad to see you doing so well," the high priestess told her. "Talynnda tells me you are having a rough time, but you seem to be dealing with it well."
"I try. I am taking it one day at a time and working very hard to adjust and be prepared for what I must do," Keeli said.
"That is good," the high priestess said. "I must say you are taking to your new role very well. If I didn't know any better I would think you had been a woman all your life."
"Thank you," Keeli said blushing. "Well, we must be going. Thanks for your assistance."
"Think nothing of it," the high priestess said. "Skyla be with you, and farewell."
The four companions left the temple and the remainder of the journey was uneventful, except a small talk that Falcon had with Keeli. It went something like this...
"If you ever leave me to run interference with your mother-hen-of-a-girlfriend again, I'll..."
Chapter 25
O++++{{=========>
Keeli was like a kid with a new toy. She was running around showing everyone her new swords. Everyone was duly impressed, at least they were for the first five times they were shown them, particularly when she showed them the inscriptions. She wouldn't put the things down. She had gotten the scabbards fitted how she wanted them and ran all over the house practicing drawing them, and telling everyone who would hold still for three seconds more information that they ever wanted to know about sword smithing. By the time sunset was near, Keeli couldn't find anyone. They were all avoiding her. They had all grown tired of hearing about how the blade wouldn't cut unless it was moved along it's edge, and how the folded high carbon steel was so much stronger than ordinary steel and so on and so forth.
As sunset approached, Natalia had to grit her teeth and find Keeli. Keeli was in her room...playing with her swords. Natalia came in and Keeli's face brightened. Her mouth opened too, but before she could say anything Natalia cut her off at the pass.
"If I hear one more word about how that is such an unusual hilt design for a katana, I swear, I will beat you with those swords," Natalia said menacingly
"I was only going to say, I was about to come look for you because I wanted to give you something before our workout," Keeli said with a hurt look, "but if you are going to be mean to me, then maybe I shouldn't give it to you."
"Well, that would be entirely up to you," Natalia said feigning unconcern.
"I see. Well, if you don't want it maybe Talynnda would like it," Keeli said petulantly.
"Oh don't be ridiculous, girl! Of course I want it!" Natalia said in exasperation.
"I don't know...do you promise to be nice to me?" Keeli extorted.
"Yes, dammit! If you quit torturing me, I might even be real nice to you later on," Natalia extorted back.
"How nice is real nice?" Keeli asked.
Natalia groaned and threw her hands up.
"Ok, ok," Keeli relented going over to the side of the bed and tossing Natalia a sea foam green bundle tied with a white silk sash.
Natalia untied the sash and unrolled the gi.
"Oh my god! It’s beautiful Keeli," Natalia said going over and hugging the girl. "I love it."
"So does this mean you are going to be real nice to me?" Keeli inquired.
Natalia, by way of reply, kissed her deeply on the lips.
"Whoa there tiger!" Keeli said with a smile. "Let's not start anything we can't finish. We have a work out to do."
The girls separated. Keeli took off her swords and laid them reverently on the bed then began to get undressed. Natalia followed suit, trying to watch Keeli at the same time. Keeli reached down and picked up a white bundle with a vivid sapphire blue silk sash, which she unrolled and began to put it on. Soon the girls were dressed, geared up, and out on the sunset facing balcony.
They had lighted the wall sconces since they would be working into the dark this time, and by the time they had completed their stretching, the sun was just about to kiss the horizon. They got into position and began their slow dance with their blades as the sun touched the horizon.
As before, Natalia led Keeli in the forms and they were using only one sword like they did that morning. Keeli noticed that her new katana was about three inches longer than Natalia's. With the hilt design, and greater length and thickness, she had expected it to be heavier than the borrowed katana she used that morning. She was surprised at how light it felt. She had no trouble keeping up with Natalia and still keeping her movements precise. Like in the morning they worked for about three hours, and both girls where perspiring heavily at the end. As their dance grew to a close the girls straightened and bowed to the sun then turned toward each other and bowed to themselves.
It was then that the clapping started. The girls whipped around to see their companions had all pulled up chairs and were watching them. So intent had they been on their workout, they hadn't even noticed. The girls looked at each other and then bowed to their audience.
"That was possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," Jarrith said with a tear in his eye.
"Oh yes, it was marvelous," agreed Talynnda.
"It was fantastic," Falcon said.
"Falcon, you think anything Keeli does is fantastic," Ashrod said, "but in this case I have to agree. Good show girls, but dinner has been getting cold for a half hour now, so let's get a move on."
The girls just toweled themselves off after everyone complained when they tried to go clean up before dinner. Dinner was, as usual, miraculous. Everyone was stuffed and had retired to the common room to sit by the warmth of the cheery fire going in the fireplace. They all sat in contented silence for awhile before Keeli opened her mouth to say something and everyone hit her with a throw pillow.
"Hey, what was that for?" she said finally, after everyone had run out of ammunition.
"Because we don't want to hear anymore about how smoothly your sword 'just sort of flows' in and out of the damn scabbard," Everyone said in unison.
"Well that's good, cause I wasn't gonna tell you about that. I was gonna tell you about something I noticed while working out," Keeli said brightly. "I noticed that even though it is physically bigger than Natalia's, my sword..."
The rest was lost in a chorus of groans.
"Hey, come on people! This is interesting stuff, my sword..."
"All right, everyone grab a leg or an arm and I will tickle her until she stops with the sword," Natalia called and every one jumped up and started closing in on Keeli.
They had her surrounded on three sides with a wall at her back and she was in imminent danger of being tickled when she turned, took three steps up the wall behind her and kicked off flipping over their heads and landing on the tea table in front of the couch. As they turned, she did a back flip off of the table, landing on her feet near the exit from the room. There she paused and stuck her tongue out at them, insolently.
"Let's get her," someone yelled and everyone took a step toward Keeli.
She was off like a shot, giggling like a little girl. As they heard her footsteps disappearing down the hallway, they all sat back down.
"Do any of us have enough energy to be amazed at that little display of gymnastics?" someone asked.
"Na," someone else said, "I am too busy wondering how long it’s gonna take her to realize nobody is chasing her."
Everybody chuckled about the last bit before falling silent again.
Later they found Keeli in her room, dressed for bed...polishing her swords. So they quit worrying about why she didn't return to the common room. It seems the joke was sort of on them. She knew none of them were chasing her but she used the opportunity to be the first in the tub.
Chapter 26
O++++{{=========>
There was a knock at her open door. She looked up from her polishing and saw Falcon standing there.
"You know, you are gonna wear off all the metal off those things if you keep that up," he said. "May I come in?"
"Sure. You didn't come all the way over here just to tell me that did you?" Keeli asked.
"Nope. I came all the way to your room to give you this," he said holding out a small wooden box.
"What is it?" she asked looking at it warily.
"Open it and find out," he said.
She cautiously took the box, as if it might explode at any moment, and opened it. Inside were two earrings. One had a small diamond in a setting above a large sapphire. The other had a small sapphire set above a large diamond. They were exquisite, and most likely very expensive.
Keeli put her hand over her mouth. She looked at him and then at the box and it's precious contents, then back at him.
"Why are you giving me these?" she asked softly.
"Because you are my friend and I wanted to," he replied.
"I can't accept something this expensive," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You have to. I can't take them back. The man who sold them to me is leaving town first thing in the morning," he told her plainly.
"But my ears aren't even pierced," Keeli said, still trying to avoid the gift.
"Big deal," he said. "I am sure that at least one of us in this house knows how to pierce ears."
"I can pierce ears," Natalia said as she glided into the room. "Who needs their ears pierced?"
Keeli held out the box to Natalia looking away and blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. Natalia took the box and looked in it.
"O my!" she exclaimed. "Falcon, you wouldn't be trying to steal my woman away would you."
"I am trying my best but so far she's having none of it. Look. She won't even accept a gift from me in friendship because she is wrapped so tightly around your finger."
"Is that all it is? Friendship?" Natalia asked and Falcon nodded. "Keeli, you can accept this. I mean, it's not like it's an engagement ring or something."
"I don't know, it is just so extravagant," Keeli said, looking at the earrings again.
"I am going to get my needle. Nobody move," Natalia said rushing out of the room.
She returned an instant later with a needle. She pulled Keeli over to the dressing table where the light was better and held the needle in the flame of the candle there of a couple of seconds to sterilize it. She took one of the earrings and held it up to Keeli's ear lobe until she found a spot she liked. As she started to push the needle in Keeli spoke.
"You better be quick," she cautioned Natalia.
"Why? You're not afraid it will hurt are you?" Natalia asked as Falcon looked on.
"Oh, goodness no! I was talking about this," she said holding up her thumb.
"I don't see your point," Natalia said.
"Do you see any cuts on my thumb?" Keeli asked her.
"No, none at all," Natalia said examining the thumb.
"Exactly!" said Keeli. "I have been slicing that thumb open all day blooding the edge of the swords, but I have no cut there now. I think I heal really fast, so if you aren't really fast getting the earring in the hole you are about to make, it will heal up on you."
"Oh, I see. Well, I will try to be faster than that then!" Natalia said, driving the needle through Keeli's ear quickly when she wasn't expecting it.
Keeli twitched a little but that was all. Natalia picked up the earring and as she pulled the needle through and followed it immediately with the post of the earring. Soon the other one was done and both earrings were in. The gems' setting turned out to be attached to a fine little chain and the earrings hung down from her ears and bobbed and moved when Keeli moved her head. She looked in the mirror, pushing her raven hair back behind her ear to look at the earrings. They looked perfect.
Keeli went over and gave Falcon a hug. Then she remembered something.
"I have something for you too," she said going over beside the bed and picking up a reddish brown bundle tied with an emerald green silk sash and handed it to him. He unrolled his gi.
"Oh wow!" he said happily, "does this mean I am invited to workout with you girls?"
Natalia and Keeli looked at each other and then looked at Falcon and bursting out laughing.
"What is so funny?" he asked.
"Nothing, nothing, sorry," Keeli said. "Sure you are invited if you think you can handle it. You might have trouble with that long sword of yours, particularly when we start the two blade forms, tomorrow."
"Well, I don't think I will be as graceful as you two, but I would like to try. Anyway, I have a gouache, I can use that as a second blade," he said.
"Alright, be at the sunrise facing balcony before sunrise and be prepared to sweat," Natalia said. "That is, by the way, very early so we should be getting to bed."
Chapter 27
O++++{{=========>
It was quite chilly the next morning when Falcon found the girls on the Sunrise Balcony, as they had dubbed it. They had all made a concession to the cold by wearing socks with their gi's. The girls had managed to get up early enough that they had had time for a cup of hot tea. Poor Falcon had barely managed to get up at all, so had to suffer the chill until they warmed up with the forms.
The two blade forms, Falcon discovered were even more beautiful than the singles. Keeli found that they took much more coordination and concentration. She was familiar with the two blade fighting style from her Warrior training but it had never really been her thing. Now though, she was beginning to enjoy this new style. Through she respected the slow forms she was still a tad dubious as to how well it would translate into a fight.
She said as much when they were on their way down to breakfast after the work out. Falcon had given up about half way through because he was having trouble following the girls. He was shaky and awkward, so he preferred to just watch and get a feel for the routine, before trying them in earnest.
After breakfast the companions went to the courtyard to do some sparring. Falcon got fairly trounced, though Keeli managed not to hurt him too bad this time. He also restrained his romantic urges, so he managed not to end up in traction.
They were taking a break when Natalia returned to them carrying an armload of wicker swords and wearing a mischievous grin.
"So where did you get those," Keeli asked as Natalia passed them out.
"I bought them at the weapons shop while you were getting fitted with your chain mail. I had the shop keeper deliver them to the temple and they delivered them here, along with your mail," Natalia explained.
"Oh my!" Keeli exclaimed. "I forgot all about the mail when I started wheeling and dealing for the swords."
The wicker swords, it seemed, were perfectly matched to the companion's swords, even Keeli's, which perplexed her since she didn't even have her swords when Natalia bought them. Natalia explained to her that she had told the shopkeeper they wanted replicas of whatever Keeli chose.
"Why the wicker swords though?" Keeli asked. "I think we are all have enough control not to do any damage to one another."
"Think about it, Keeli! I originally thought of it as a way to keep our swords from getting dinged up and possibly broken while practicing, but I am fairly sure that while you wouldn't have to worry about that with your swords," Keeli beamed happily at the mention of the quality of her swords, "if any one of us sparred with you, we would very possibly end up with a sword that was cut in half."
"Why do you think that?" Falcon said.
"Because," Keeli explained, having caught on to Natalia's point, "My swords are enchanted. They are unbreakable, unless the enchantment is broken, they are permanently sharp and will probably cut through a good sized piece of steel."
"Good point," Falcon said.
"So who wants to get spanked by me first," Keeli said brightly.
Keeli proved she was indeed the best of them, though only because of her special abilities. Both Falcon and Natalia had fought her to a standstill before she used her speed and strength to overcome them. Jarrith, though skilled, wasn't even in their league.
The best match though was Falcon and Natalia's. They really went at it. Neither pulled any punches and at times they seemed vicious. It really seemed there was something personal going on, almost like they had a grudge against each other.
"Wow! They are really pounding the tar out of each other," Keeli remarked to Jarrith as they watched the two battle.
"Of course they are! They are fighting over you. They are, after all, rivals for your heart," Jarrith explained with a sigh.
Natalia had just caught an overhand attack by Falcon on her crossed swords. Falcon made it a contest of strength by slowly forcing her swords down with his. Natalia knew she was out matched in strength so she brought her knee up delivering a vicious blow to the crotch. Keeli winched as Falcon's knees turned to jelly and he went down on them.
"Had enough, nature boy?" Natalia taunted.
Falcon's head snapped up.
"You're gonna pay dearly for that, you stupid cow!" he said angrily.
Keeli was just about to step in and stop them before it got out of control when Falcon sprang up with murderous rage in his eyes. With a scream of fury, he attacked. He swept aside Natalia's guard with his sword and with his free hand he punched her dead in the nose. Natalia's nose exploded in a mass of blood. She fell back landing on her butt.
"Say your prayers, you horse's ass! You're dead meat!!" Natalia said getting up.
"Bring it on, slut!" Falcon said coldly.
"Enough!" Keeli screamed at them. "This has gone way too far! It stops now!"
"Awww, little Natalia has to be saved by her girlfriend," Falcon taunted.
"One more word, Falcon and you will be picking your teeth up off the ground!" Keeli told him menacingly. "Natalia, go have Talynnda see to your nose."
Natalia didn't move. She was staring at Falcon with fury in her eyes.
"Move it!" Keeli screamed at her.
Natalia threw down the wicker swords and stalked off in a huff. Falcon opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it when Keeli wheeled on him with her finger up, daring him to try her. He just shrugged.
"Now I don't know what all this is about, but if I ever hear about it happening again both of you will answer to me!" Keeli said in a tone that guaranteed that answering to her would be very painful.
"Well you just better keep your little bitch on her leash, or..." Falcon said.
"Or what, Falcon?" Keeli asked. "Are you that jealous and petty?"
"Keeli, what the hell are you talking about?" Falcon asked.
"Let's see, she has me and you want me...it doesn't take a genius to figure out you were taking out your frustrations on her," Keeli said.
"Oh, please, Keel!. It was nothing like that. She just went off on me," Falcon said.
"It was exactly like that, Falcon!" Jarrith interjected, "even I could see it."
"Fine," Falcon said. "The two of you just think whatever you want."
He walked off and Keeli sighed.
"Jarrith, I am gonna go check on Natalia. Would you be kind enough to pick all this stuff up?" Keeli asked.
"Sure, I'll take care of it," Jarrith told her.
"Thank you," Keeli said and left to find Natalia.
Chapter 28
O++++{{=========>
Keeli was sitting on a rock outcropping in the forest. She was picking up pinecones with her energy and throwing them at a tree some yards distant when Natalia found her. Natalia rushed up to her and threw her arms around Keeli.
"There you are," Natalia said her voice quavering. "I wish you wouldn't run off by yourself like this. Don't you know you could get set upon in these woods and nobody would be here to help you?"
"Natalia, I think I can take care of myself," Keeli said gently. "What is the problem? Falcon told me how you were freaking out in town, and you definitely seemed on edge. Now it is starting around here too. What's going on with you?"
"I just worry about you is all," Natalia said. "You have got a lot of pressure on you and this Anderpaul character could come looking for you at any time. I just think you need someone to watch your back."
"Natalia, give me a break! Look at how shook up you are! You need to tell me what is really bothering you," Keeli said.
"I love you and I just don't want anything to happen to you!" Natalia said.
"Try again, please. What's on your mind?" Keeli again questioned.
"Ok. I'll tell you but you will think I am crazy," Natalia gave in. "Ever since we went to town I have had this bad feeling that something was going to happen to you. I know it is silly but it has been getting stronger. I can't explain it."
"I feel it too," Keeli said softly.
"You do?" Natalia asked stunned.
"Yes. The longer we stay here the more chance there is of Anderpaul finding us. He surely knows a Guardian has been sent to stop him. It's only a matter of time before he comes for us," Keeli told her.
"What are you girls discussing," Ashrod asked as he strode up.
"We were thinking it might just be time to get back on the trail," Keeli informed him.
"I was thinking the same thing. You seem to have recovered most of your skills and you have mastered your guardian abilities for the most part. Yes, I agree it's time we get moving," Ashrod said.
That evening at an early dinner Ashrod informed everyone of the decision. It was greeted with a surprising amount of relief. Everybody seemed to be having those bad feelings. The only thing left to do was decide what the next step was.
After many ideas were put forth and it was decided they would first go back to Ashrod's residence. On the way there, they would try to gain some intelligence on the whereabouts of Anderpaul, and what they were up against. They would leave in the morning.
Natalia and Falcon were still frosty with each other but at least they were acting civil. Keeli was reasonably certain that this state of affairs was caused by the sense of foreboding that appeared to be rampant. She hoped once they were on the road things would settle down.
The girls then prepared for their sunset forms. When they arrived on the balcony they saw once again everyone had collected to watch. For obvious reasons Falcon did not choose to participate, but Jarrith had a surprise for them. As the girls began the forms, they found they had a musical accompaniment.
The music, they found out later Jarrith was playing off the cuff, brought the whole thing to a whole new level. To the performers it was more sensual, more immersing. To the spectators, it became enchantingly beautiful. The two-sword form made it possible to almost forget about the person and think of it as two swords slowly dancing with each other as the fading light of sunset played over the bright steel of the blades and was slowly surrendered to the flickering light of the torches.
The girls decided by unspoken agreement that they would face each other instead of the setting sun. The effect was captivating for the audience, and Keeli felt she was performing for her lover as she watched the smaller girl while mirroring her movements. When the girls completed their dance they bowed to one another as the last lonely wavering notes of music faded away. It was a fitting tribute to their last night of comfort and safety. Tomorrow night would find them sleeping in danger on the cold ground.
Chapter 29
O++++{{=========>
Tonight, Keeli and Natalia would spend in a nice warm comfortable bed and in each other's arms.
"Natalia," Keeli asked as they held each other, "isn't this weird for you?"
"How do you mean?" Natalia returned.
"Well I mean lying here in the arms of another woman. I know you had no interest in women before now," Keeli clarified.
"That is true, but...it's hard to explain. I guess I know who you were, and I loved the man. You are still that man, but in a different package. It would be like if you lost a limb. Would I love you any less if that had happened? Am I making any sense?" Natalia asked.
"I suppose, but how could you have loved me? We had only known each other for one night before this," Keeli said.
"When I first saw you, I knew there was something special about you," Natalia started to explain.
"Yeah," Keeli said grinning, "my fat purse."
"I will admit," Natalia said returning the smile, "I was attracted to that too, but then after being with you, and the way you had treated me, well, the purse seemed less important. Then when you caught me thinking about taking it and you didn't beat me, or throw me out, or worse, I ceased thinking about the purse all together. Instead, I thought only of the man. Then you told me what you were doing. You were going to risk everything to save common people from suffering, simply because you could and it was the just thing to do. I knew from that moment I loved you."
"Then we went to the temple, and you were changed. At first I was disappointed. I thought that this transformation was the end of us as a couple, but then I saw you hurting and lost. My heart was telling me this was the person I loved, and this person needs me. The fact that you are now a woman hasn't altered what my heart is telling me, and that is that we were meant to be together."
"I feel the same way," Keeli said. "I guess I just needed to hear it from you."
"Well, now you have. I love you unconditionally and you don't have to worry about me leaving you. You are all I want in any package you might appear in," Natalia said with conviction.
"That's good. I think all of us are going to need love and trust to face what lies before us," Keeli said thoughtfully.
"Keeli," Natalia asked softly, "How are you feeling? I mean about being a woman."
"Right now, I don't see that there is much I can do about it. Sitting around bemoaning my lost man hood is not going to get it back, nor will it stop Anderpaul. I guess what I am saying is that now is not the time to worry about it," Keeli explained.
"But do you want to go back if you could?" Natalia asked.
Keeli looked thoughtful for a few moments then said, "Sure, I think...maybe."
"Girl, that answer was all over the spectrum," Natalia laughed.
"Natalia, there is part of me in here now that is Keeli. She is female and always has been. She seems to be content for now just to run the body, taking cues from the male part. You know like mannerisms, speech, and such, but I can feel her presence more and more lately. Mostly as emotions, but I can see that one day soon, she will be the dominant side, that is, if we don't find a way to change me back. I am sure Keelor will always be in here, but his wants and needs are slowly becoming secondary to Keeli's. Don't worry, both aspects have the same values and morals, and both love you. The thing is though, the female side likes being female, so when you ask me if I want to change back, well, Keelor is screaming "YES", but Keeli is screaming "NO". And Keeli is getting louder, while Keelor is losing his voice."
"What of Falcon? He loves you. I think he even loved you as a man, but was too macho to feel it in any way but as brotherly love. Now he is free to express these feelings without your maleness getting in the way. Aren’t you curious about what it would be like? I would understand. I did say 'unconditional'," Natalia probed.
"I will admit that the longer I’m a woman, the more curious I grow. But even if I didn't love you, I am not ready for something like that," Keeli said.
"Well, if you ever get ready for it, I will understand and support you if you want to try it," Natalia said with sincerity.
"You'll be the first to know. I promise. Now hush and let's get some sleep. I have a feeling it might be hard to come by soon," Keeli said, settling farther into her lovers embrace.
O++++{{=========>
In part 3, Keeli and her companions gather allies and storm the Destroyer's lair. --LCG
I would like to thank those that helped me with the proofing and structure of the story. I would also love to hear any and all constructive feedback. --LCG
So it was the Keeli found herself beside the King and in front of the assembled men.
The King began, "Warriors, you have been gathered here to go on an important mission behind enemy lines. You have been selected for you competence as warriors and your discretion as men. All of you here at least know of High Master Keelor," the men all nodded. "High Master Keelor has made a great sacrifice to stop this madman in the north. Most of you will not even recognize...err...him anymore. I would like to present to you your leader in this most important of missions. This is Lady Keelicia, Guardian, that's right I said Guardian, of Beautiful Justice, formerly High Master Warrior Keelor."
Chapter 30
O++++{{=========>
The companions found themselves on the trail very soon the next morning. It seemed as though they all were eager to do what had to be done, eager, but not without trepidation. They all knew that what they were doing was very dangerous and they knew that some of their friends might very well die. Hence, their attitudes were serious as they took to the trail.
Their first stop was at the temple of Skyla. They were informed that Anderpaul was now indeed a Destroyer, and had consolidated his position as ruler of the Jadewood Forest. His army of henchmen crushed any town that refused to submit to his harsh taxation.
The party had been traveling for three days when they entered a small village. It had been sacked. The survivors were sifting through the charred debris that had once been their homes and shops.
In the center of the village, a command post had been setup. From the way people were coming and going, this appeared to be were the leader of the people was. Keeli and her friends entered the tent.
"What happened here," Keeli asked.
"The emperor," a man with graying hair said with a sneer, "didn't think we had given him enough of our winter supplies for his war effort. So he sent his henchmen to take them. They burned the village as a lesson to others."
"War effort?" Keeli prompted.
"Yes stranger," The man said. "Our new and unwanted emperor has decided to begin a campaign to take over the southern kingdoms. He is amassing an army on the southern border."
"How do you know all this," Falcon asked.
"Because his men came around to recruit our men, promising great rewards to those that chose to join the emperor's army," the man explained. "Now if you will excuse me, we are very busy trying to salvage what we can and prepare for the coming winter, so unless you are here to help, please leave."
"There must be something we could do for these people," Keeli said as they stood outside the tent.
"What can we do?" Natalia asked. "We dare not take the time to stay and help them rebuild."
"This is true," Ashrod said in agreement. "The best way we can help these people is to stop Anderpaul."
"There has to be some way to help them," Keeli said again. "These people are going to die this winter if they don't get some kind of relief."
"How about we travel to the next village and ask them to donate some of their winter supplies," Jarrith suggested.
"That is a great idea," Falcon said causing Jarrith to blush.
"So it's a plan then. We will stop at every village between here and Ashrod's manor, and ask them to help out," Keeli said.
After informing the village leader of their plan, they once again set off. The companions would find they would have to do some hard selling to get the other villages to agree to help.
Chapter 31
O++++{{=========>
"I am truly sorry, miss," The village leader was telling Keeli. "The emperor has taken most of our winter stock as well. We won't survive the winter if we give any of it away."
"There must be something you can do," Keeli was getting tired of saying that. "You don't need to give much. If everybody gives a little it will go a long way. If doesn't even have to be food. How about man power to help them rebuild their shelters, so at least they will have some protection from the elements? Maybe you could send clothing and blankets, anything would help them at this point."
"You are persuasive, young lady," the man said. "We will send what we can."
"Can you do one more thing for me?" Keeli asked.
"What would that be," the man said, his patience obviously wearing thin.
"Could you send people to the surrounding villages and ask them to help," Keeli requested.
"Very well. Consider it done," The village leader told her.
"Thank you," Keeli said. "I promise, the emperor will pay for the suffering he has caused."
"And just who is going to make him pay?" the man inquired.
"I am," Keeli said simply.
"Girl, you are mad. You will never get within a league of him. He has taken up residence in the Firemore keep. It is well guarded, and even if you do manage to get by the guards, it is said that the emperor has powers. It is said that no man can best him in combat."
"Then it is a good thing I am no man then, isn't it," Keeli smiled.
"No, you are not a man that is for sure, but you are insane. Good fortune to you, girl," the man said.
They went to a dozen villages and had similar scenes. The villages all reluctantly agree to send what aid they could, and one thing became clear. The companions were going to need help to defeat Anderpaul. The reports given to them said the Keep housed 200 of Anderpaul's most loyal soldiers on a war footing. They would an army to get past that many men.
By the time they had reached Ashrod's manor, they were despairing ever getting to the evil warlord. They had discussed many plans of sneaking in, but it always came down to there were too many men there to hold off, or overcome. Then Keeli had an idea, as they traveled the last league to Ashrod's.
"What about the southern kingdoms," she said. "They are surely on a war footing and wish to put an end to Anderpaul. Perhaps they would give us the assistance we need to get in Firemore. Besides, I know a king or two that owes me a favor."
"It might not be that simple, Keeli," Falcon said. "You may know a few kings that owe Keelor a favor but they will not know you, and they are going to be dubious at best about you if you claim you are Keelor."
"Perhaps you are right. Maybe the fact that I am a Guardian will convince them that we at least have a chance at stopping Anderpaul," Keeli suggested.
"I suppose it is worth a chance," Natalia said, and everybody agreed, lacking a better plan.
"It's settled then," Keeli said. "We stay at Ash's place tonight and then set out to treat with the southern kingdoms in the morning."
Chapter 32
O++++{{=========>
Three weeks later, five of the companions approached the main gate of the castle of the Deir Kingdom. Ashrod had chosen to stay behind to gather more information in preparation to gain entry into Firemore Keep. The rest of the party had to fight through the patrols that were guarding the border so were very weary when the castle loomed into view.
When they reached the gate, they were challenged by the guards. The guards at first were reluctant to let them in, until Natalia approached the captain and whispered in his ear. As she spoke, his eyes widened and he looked at Keeli, who smile at him. He asked them to wait there for a minute and disappeared.
He returned after a few minutes and told them that the King was very busy at the moment but would be glad to meet with them first thing in the morning. He told them he was instructed to show them to the guest rooms of the castle and provide for them anything they required. This suited the companions just fine as they were tired and reeked of the trial, and that was surely no way to meet with a king.
They were escorted to their rooms and were provided the use of a tub and after they had bathed, a hot meal. They spent the night in comfortable beds and were well rested when morning awakened them to the smell of a wonderful breakfast. So it was they the companions, well rested and well feed, were finally summoned to their audience with the King of Deir.
They were told to wait in the antechamber until they were announced. Keeli was a little surprised at how they announced her. She recalled a morning some months ago when she had a similar introduction, although it was far more flippant then.
"Announcing, Lady Keelicia, Guardian of Beautiful Justice and company, seeking an audience with the King," the herald boomed out.
Keeli and "company" entered the throne room and approach the King. They stopped at a respectful distance and bowed to the man seated on the throne. There they waited to be acknowledged.
"Greetings, Lady Keelicia. To what do I owe the honor of your presence before me?" the King asked.
"Your majesty, we know you are on the brink of war with this self styled emperor to the north," Keeli said. "What do you know of him?"
"I have heard that he is an evil, uncommonly powerful man. It is even said he is a Destroyer, though one of those has not walked the land in a century. It is also known that Guardians have not walked the land for just as long," the King said looking at Keeli meaningfully. "What is it that you want?"
"Your majesty, I have been charged with stopping the evil one. I mean to enter his very lair and apply divine justice to his backside. However to ensure this can take place we need a small group of warriors to help us get past the men guarding the keep," Keeli told the King.
"A bold plan, Lady. Forgive me but what you ask would require me to detach a sizable number of my most elite knights, while we are posturing for war. How can I do this when I don't even know if you are who you claim to be?" the King asked.
"You Majesty wants proof that I am indeed a Guardian?" The King nodded. "Very well," said Keeli as she surveyed the room. "You," she said pointing finally at the largest guard in the room, "Come over here and bring that table beside you there."
The man was an absolute giant. He was 6'5 and his arms were bigger around than Keeli's waist. He looked questioningly at the king. The king nodded and the huge man picked up the table effortlessly and approached Keeli.
"Put that down here," Keeli instructed and the guard complied. "What is your name, soldier?"
"I am Ackmoore," the guard answered.
"Ackmoore, you look like a strong man," Keeli observed. "Have you ever arm wrestled?"
"Yes, milady," Ackmoore said glancing at his King, "I am undefeated amongst the guard."
"That is great, my friend," Keeli said smiling at him. "Unfortunately I am about to break your winning streak."
Keeli leaned down slightly and put her arm in position on the table, waiting expectantly. Ackmoore looked from her face to the delicate arm and tiny waiting hand. He also had a good view of her cleavage in her bent position.
"Are you sure, milady? I would hate to hurt you," Ackmoore said.
"You are not afraid of a little girl, are you?" Keeli said taunted gently, smiling even bigger at him.
He glanced again at the king, who nodded. "As you wish, milady," he said smiling a tolerant smile that one might give a child that had just said he could pick up a mountain.
He leaned way down and took Keeli's tiny hand in his. Her hand disappeared in his as he closed his huge blunt fingers over it. He and Keeli were still smiling at each other when Falcon said, "Go!"
Being someone with a flare for the dramatic, Keeli let him push her arm over toward the table. She could tell he was not using his full strength either. When her arm halted its progress toward the tabletop, his eyes widened a bit and he stepped up the power. When his arm began to move back toward the upright position, the surprise on his face turned to shock. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he struggled fruitlessly to stop the progress of his arm toward the tabletop. Keeli had smiled at him the whole time and didn't even seem to be making an effort, but she could tell this man was hideously powerful. Still, he might as well have been attempting to lift the castle. Despite all his strength, the back of his hand soon rested on the tabletop. She released his hand and stood up. Ackmoore stood rubbing his beleaguered arm and looked in awe at the tiny girl that had just effortlessly beaten him.
"Well, your majesty, are you convinced?" Keeli asked as Ackmoore returned with the table to his post.
"With respect, Lady Keelicia, all that proves is you are stronger than you look," the King said, as the other companions mouths dropped open.
"Very well, your majesty, how do you suggest I prove who I am?" Keeli asked tolerantly.
"It has been said that Guardians came move things without touching them or using any incantations. Can you do this?" the King asked her.
Without taking her eyes off the King, Keeli pointed at Ackmoore. There was a gasp from all but six people in the room. Five were Keeli and her companions. The sixth was Ackmoore who had burst forth with a string of expletives as he floated off of the ground and rose into the air following Keeli's arm. She moved him through the air and deposited him on the chandelier where he clung to the fixture twenty feet off the ground.
"Well done, milady," the King said smiling at her warmly. "Now if you don't mind, Ackmoore is quite a heavy fellow and I believe I hear the rope creaking. I would hate to lose him or the chandelier."
Keeli lowered the frightened Ackmoore back to his position by the wall and as she let go of him he collapsed, overwrought.
"Thank you, milady," the king said. "You have shown yourself to be a very powerful individual, but these are tense times. Forgive me, but how can I be sure you are not in league with this "emperor" and this is not just a ruse to lure away our best warriors and ambush them."
Keeli's four companions looked at each other in exasperation. Keeli just smiled.
"Your majesty, do you remember a High Master Warrior Keelor?" Keeli asked the King.
"Indeed I do," the King said. "I am proud to say he is my friend, and has saved my life on more than one occasion in battle when I was a prince. What of him?"
"You majesty, would it shock you to know he is right here in this very room," Keeli asked with a mystifying grin.
The king looked around the room before saying, "Young lady, if that is so where is he?"
"Your majesty, he stands right before you," Keeli said smiling broader and locking eyes with the King with her slate grey eyes, Keelor's slate grey eyes.
"Powerful you may be, young lady, but Keelor you are not. Keelor is a large man, not a small woman. Keelor has sandy brown hair, yours is black as pitch. In fact, the only feature the two of you share are those slate grey..." the Kings voice trailed off as he saw something in those eyes. "By the gods! It can't be."
"Yes, your majesty, that was quite similar to my reaction when I found out Skyla's price for giving me the power to stop the emperor," Keeli explained still smiling.
"If you are indeed Keelor," the King said, obviously still trying to get his mind around the concept, "then you know things about me nobody else does."
Keeli began to move toward the King, but the guards stiffened and took a step forward.
"Be at ease, men," the King commanded. "You probably could not stop her if she intended harm anyway." He beckoned Keeli to continue.
Keeli stepped up beside the King and leaned down whispering in his ear. The King began smiling, and then the smile grew until the King was laughing in great rolling laughs.
"Keelor swore he would never tell anyone that, and Keelor would die before breaking his word of honor, so Keelor you must be," the King said wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. "Gods, how can you stand it?"
Keeli looked back at Natalia, and said, "It has its rewards."
"Very good, milady...err...How should I address you?" the King asked.
"You may address me in the feminine, as that is my life for the foreseeable future," Keeli told him.
"Very well, milady. It has been a long time my friend," the King stood and embraced Keeli. "What you ask of me, it will be done but come give us some details so we can decide just how many men you will need."
The King unconsciously linked arms with Keeli as a man would when escorting a woman. He realized what he had done and moved to let go, but Keeli stopped him. The King shrugged and began walking. They were walking to the war room where his generals were planning for the inevitable attack. The companions trailed a little further back as the two discussed old times.
Chapter 33
O++++{{=========>
After much discussion, it was decided that Keeli would assault Firemore Keep with thirty warriors at her back. The King had wanted to send more, but Keeli sited the difficulty of moving that many men around in hostile country without being noticed. The King had grudgingly agreed.
It took two days for the warriors who would be going with her to be assembled. Many were from nearby kingdoms. They were master warriors all, and Keeli recognized many faces from her past. One face was from the not so distant past. Ackmoore had insisted that he be allowed to accompany them, though it was unclear whether this was out of desire for action or to get away from the ribbing he was taking over having his winning streak broken by a tiny girl.
Natalia cleared up his motives when she told Keeli, "I think he likes you. He has been staring at you for days with those puppy dog eyes."
"What's not to like," Keeli smiled.
The plan was that they would break up the men into groups of six. One of the companions would lead each group to Ashrod's manor. They would go in intervals of one group per day, to lessen the chance of detection.
"Keelicia," the King said, still having trouble reconciling his old friend to the raven haired beauty before him, "These men all knew you personally or at least of you before...the change. I think they should know whom they are going into hostile lands with. They will respect you more and knowing what you have sacrificed to stop this madman, they will be more motivated."
"Very well, there is a certain wisdom in that," Keeli agreed.
So it was the Keeli found herself beside the King and in front of the assembled men.
The King began, "Warriors, you have been gathered here to go on an important mission behind enemy lines. You have been selected for you competence as warriors and your discretion as men. All of you here at least know of High Master Keelor," the men all nodded. "High Master Keelor has made a great sacrifice to stop this madman in the north. Most of you will not even recognize...err...him anymore. I would like to present to you your leader in this most important of missions. This is Lady Keelicia, Guardian, that's right I said Guardian, of Beautiful Justice, formerly High Master Warrior Keelor."
This revelation hit like a bolt of lightning. The gathered men gasped and murmuring started throughout the gathered men. "It can't be""what happened to him""surely this is some sort of joke"
"I know this is hard for you all to believe, but Lady Keelicia has proven to me absolutely that she is indeed High Master Keelor, though that title no longer applies. Lady Keeli, would you like to address the men?" the King went on after the murmuring died down.
"I know you are all wondering how this happened," Keeli addressed them. "This body was the price Skyla exacted in return for conferring on me the powers of a Guardian. I would do it again in return for the power to stop that monster calling himself the emperor." Keeli drew her katana holding it slightly forward and aloft. "I salute you all for having the courage to go into battle against overwhelming odds. If any of you would like to speak with me before we set off, you are welcome to."
Ackmoore draw his sword and held it aloft, waiting. He nudged the man beside him after a pause. Soon one by one the men drew their blades in salute. When all thirty blades where pointed skyward, Ackmoore boomed, "To Lady Keelicia, for her sacrifice to save us all from the Destroyer."
"Here, here," the gathered warriors said.
Chapter 34
O++++{{=========>
That was four weeks ago. The men were now camped in the forest spread out in five man squads while Keeli and the others planned the assault on the keep. Ashrod had been busy. He had somehow come up with a map of the inside of the keep. He had also been making these magical devises that when thrown, exploded on impact sending steel pellets flying in all directions. They were truly deadly devices.
Before long, they hammered out a plan. Keeli called one man from each squad hidden within the woods and explained to them how it was to occur. They listened intently so they could relay the plan to their fellows.
"OK, here is the plan," Keeli said. "Firemore Keep is one and a half days travel from here, though it may take us a little longer because we dare not use the trail. We will approach as close as we can to the Keep while avoiding detection. There we will wait. When night falls and activity in the Keep winds down we will approach under cover of darkness. When we reach this wall here, I will move three men with rope ladders to the top of the wall. There they will secure the ladders and let them down. The rest of us will then scale the wall and gather on the other side. From there we will stealthily take out any sentries."
"Our immediate objective is this door here. It is the main entry to the keep proper. These buildings on the outside flanking the courtyard are the guard barracks. Our intelligence says officers are the only ones allowed rooms inside the keep, though there will surely be guards. Once we get inside that door, you men will hold it. We figure there will be no more than thirty or so guards and officers inside the keep. The six of us will take care of those, while we search for the Destroyer."
"The door you men hold will be a bottle neck and should allow you to hold it against the guards indefinitely. After we take care of the Destroyer, we will meet you back at the door and, if necessary, we will fight our way out. I really don't think it will be necessary, since once they find out their supposedly unbeatable Leader is dead they will think twice about engaging the forces responsible. Any questions?"
"What if you fail to defeat the Destroyer?" one of the warriors asked.
"Pray that doesn't happen, soldier," Keeli told him grimly, "because if it does, we are all dead. Any more questions?" Keeli prompted.
There were none, so the men returned to their units to brief them on the plan. They had also been given bags of the magic explosive balls and instructed on their use. There were three per man.
It was decided that they would set out two days hence. As preparations were made the companions were mostly quiet. They sat around sharpening their weapons and checking arrows and sling shot. Natalia and Falcon were still acting a little cool towards each other, but Keeli figured that would stop soon. Mortal jeopardy tended to have that effect, that is, making one forget one is angry with the person watching their back.
Chapter 35
O++++{{=========>
Falcon was standing watch as his companions slept. They were hidden in the woods camped after their first day's travel. Somewhere in the darkness, he knew were five other groups of sleeping warriors each with its own guard.
Suddenly the hair on the back of Falcon's neck stood up and he heard a female voice softly call his name. He looked at his companions but they were all sleeping soundly. He heard it again. It was coming from the woods. He slowly drew his sword and moved toward the voice.
He had followed the voice about as far from camp as he dared and was about to turn back and go wake the others, when he saw a soft green glow just ahead of him. He moved forward cautiously. The green glow seemed to be coming from a matronly looking woman with pale green skin and green eyes. She was dressed in a plain robe adorned with flowers and leaves. In spite of her matronly appearance she was very beautiful. Though Falcon had never seen her in his life he knew exactly who she was. He fell to his knees.
"Oh great mother Gianna, why have you appeared to your humble servant," Falcon said to his goddess.
"Falcon, my child, you have pleased me," Gianna said. "I have come at the behest of my brother Kale. He has sent this for you."
She held out a single arrow. The fletching was an iridescent silvery color and the tip was a diamond. The arrow felt slightly warm to his touch as he accepted it.
"Kale has said to tell you, use it only when the time is right. He said that you would know when that time is. He said there is treachery afoot and that you and your companions should be wary."
"Thank you, great mother Gianna. I will try not to fail you," Falcon said.
"I have one more thing for you, this one from me," Gianna handed him an emerald pendant indicating he was now a Chosen One of Gianna.
"Thank you great mother! I will strive to be worthy of the honor you have conferred upon me," Falcon vowed.
Gianna smiled at him and began to fade away. As she did so she said, "Oh, and should you and your companions overcome the Destroyer, go to the temple of Sabri. There you will be rewarded." And she was gone.
Falcon made his way back to camp. He checked on his companions. They were all still sleeping soundly. He sat down and began to examine the arrow he still held, at least as much as he could by the pale moonlight. It practically hummed with power. He knew it was heavily enchanted. Recalling the goddess's words he wondered what treachery was going to waylay them. He put the arrow in his quiver and touched the pendant he now wore.
He was a Chosen One now and should have powers like Keelor once had, still had, only amplified. Falcon closed his eyes and tried to activate some power. Suddenly, he was looking down on himself from above. He could see perfectly in the dim moonlight. He saw his companions sleeping around him. Then his view rushed down and stopped beside his body, looking up at it.
Falcon opened his eyes and his view returned to where it should be. He looked over beside him and there sat an owl looking at him. He realized he was seeing what the owl was seeing. He was able to see through the eyes of creatures now.
"But can I do more," Falcon whispered, closing his eyes once again.
His view returned to that of the owl. 'Let's patrol the campsites of the other warriors,' he thought and his view rose up and began moving quickly through the trees. It finally stopped in a tree above a camp of sleeping warriors. The guard was alert and looked up in the direction of the owl, but he couldn't possibly see the owl. He was just hearing the sound of wings.
This scene was repeated four more times before the owl returned to the tree above Falcon. 'Thank you my friend,' Falcon thought to the creature. 'Please warn me if you see any dangers approaching.' He thought a mental picture of one of Anderpaul's men to the owl and the owl wordlessly agreed to Falcon's request. Falcon opened his eyes and smiled. It was time to awaken Natalia for her watch.
Chapter 36
O++++{{=========>
Keeli, Falcon, and Natalia lay hidden in the underbrush watching the keep. Night had fallen and they had lowered the portcullis and closed the doors into the keep. Soon things were quiet.
"It is time," Keeli said. "Falcon, go have the men move up to this position."
Falcon vanished in the darkness.
"Well lover, this is it. This is the moment we have been working toward all this time. Are you ready?" Keeli asked Natalia.
"Not yet," she said and leaned over and kissed Keeli deeply and passionately. "I love you. Now I am ready."
"I love you too, whatever happens," Keeli said a little breathlessly.
Soon they heard the muffled sounds of thirty men approaching. The men all took up positions in three groups.
"Are the ladder men ready?" Keeli asked softly.
Three equally soft yeses.
Keeli pointed to the first and he began to float up to the top of the wall of the keep. As soon as he was placed there safely, the second man, and then, the last swiftly followed him. The men secured their ladders and silently let them down.
With choreographed precision, the archers, including Falcon, were the first up the ladders. Soon everyone was over the wall. The archers had been picking their targets. There were two guards flanking the entry to the keep proper. Several others were spread out in roving patrols. Keeli waited until they had a shot at all the guards, and gave the signal. The guards all fell within seconds of each other, two arrows each buried deeply in their chests. They died without a chance to make a sound.
The company had almost made it to the door when dumb luck betrayed them. A guard walked out of the barracks, most likely to relieve himself, and saw them crossing to the door.
"To arms! To arms!" He called as he turned and ran back in the building. "Intruders in the Keep! To arms!"
All thought of stealth gone, the company ran towards their objective. As guards began pouring from the barracks, the company found the door locked. Natalia quickly began to pick the lock, as Keeli drew her swords, blurred and disappeared. Soon guards began falling from wounds inflicted by Keeli's unseen blades and the archers' arrows.
As soon as Natalia sprung the lock, everyone rushed in and the portcullis was dropped. Natalia began to panic when she looked around.
"Where is Keeli? Oh gods, we left her out there. We have to open the door and let her in, before she is cut to pieces," Natalia was saying when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
Natalia wheeled around and found Keeli standing there looking innocent. Natalia groaned in annoyance but that was cut short by the first of the interior guards arriving. He was dealt with quickly.
"Ok people, this is it," Keeli said. "That portcullis and door won't hold them long, be careful and good luck. Let's go find the villain and administer some justice!"
Keeli and her companions moved quickly through the halls, eliminating any guards and officers that dared to oppose them. Soon they stood in the long hall that led to the throne room. This was where they expected to find Anderpaul. Alarm bells were ringing in Keeli's head that something wasn't right. There were no guards.
Cautiously the companions approached the door. There was still no sign of any guards when they reached the door. They looked at each other wordlessly wishing each other luck. Keeli had reached out to open the door when it opened by itself. There seated on a throne, was the Destroyer, Anderpaul himself.
"Welcome. I have been expecting you," Anderpaul cackled evilly.
O++++{{=========>
In the fourth and final part, Keeli and her companions face the final confrontation with the evil destroyer, but the gods have a little twist of their own to add. --LCG
I would like to thank those that helped me with the proofing and structure of the story. I would also love to hear any and all constructive feedback. --LCG
Anderpaul placed his hands on the fallen girl's head. He began to use his energy to heal her. Slowly her eyes fluttered open. She put her hand to her wounded chest, groaning.
"Are you ok, my love?" Anderpaul asked tenderly receiving a nod from the girl. "Good, now I will make those vermin pay for this.
As Anderpaul made to get up, Keeli knew she had one shot at putting an end to his reign of brutality, and save her friends. She pulled him back down to her and he looked questioningly into her eyes. She put her hands on his chest and summoned all her energy. There was a thunderclap as he went transonic before slamming into the wall some forty feet distant with such force the stone of the wall cracked.
Chapter 37
O++++{{=========>
"So little girl," Anderpaul sneered as the companions entered the room on their guard, "you have come to stop me have you. Well, Keeli, you couldn't beat me when you were a man and you won't defeat me now - especially in that weak little female body. I always knew you were an effeminate little sissy."
"Anderpaul, save the melodrama for someone who appreciates it," Keeli sneered back. "It's time for you to stop this madness. It is time for you to die."
"Bring it on, little girl, if you think you're man enough," Anderpaul smiled at his joke.
Keeli drew her blades and started toward Anderpaul, who sat on his throne impassively. She had progressed to the center of the room when her companions saw her drop the swords and clutch her head, before dropping to her knees. Ashrod thinking that Anderpaul was doing something to Keeli readied a spell to launch at Anderpaul. Anderpaul made a slight gesture and the mage flew back and slammed into the wall with a sickening crack.
Jarrith went over to him to check if he was alive. He was, though he was unconscious and had a broken arm and leg. The rest of the companions watched Keeli intently.
As Keeli had made her way across the room, a familiar voice spoke to her in her head.
"Greetings, Keelor," she had said in his mind. "It is time for you to give up that body now."
"Who are you?" Keeli asked.
"Don't you recognize me? It is I, Tesalynn. My goddess Skyla has commanded that I have this body now. You must give it up. You were always meant for me you know. Even back when we were children. I was to be your mate and our offspring would have created an empire. But then your god decided to interfere with that. Skyla was very angry when I fell in love with Anderpaul. She sent the ruffians that killed me. I wasn't supposed to die, but the pendant that would have protected me, I had given to you. Imagine Skyla's surprise when you, of all people, submitted yourself to her. It was then she saw a chance to fulfill her plans for us after all. She made your body female, always intending for me to occupy it. She has commanded that I take over this body and be together with my beloved once more," the voice in his head told him.
"You will not have it," Keeli said. That was when the pain started and she fell to the floor clutching her head.
"Come now Keelor. You were my friend and I don't want to hurt you, but if you resist the pain will be great. You cannot prevent the inevitable. Your mind does not fit in this body, your very maleness will allow me to easily displace you," Tesalynn said as she pushed her way in.
Keeli screamed and then sat motionless with her head still in her hands. Her companions were growing very worried indeed when she didn't move for some time, so it was with great relief they saw her begin to stir. The relief would soon turn to horror though for when their friend arose, she did not pick up her swords, instead she approached Anderpaul who greeted her without stretched arms.
"Tesalynn, my love, I am so happy to have you back," Anderpaul said as the two embraced.
"And I you," Keeli's mouth said before engaging in a deep passionate kiss with the Destroyer.
The companions looked at each other shocked. They could not believe what was happening. Their friend was acting like this Anderpaul's lover. Then what was being said penetrated Falcon's mind.
"Tesalynn," he said softly to the others. "Of course Tesalynn was Anderpaul's lover. She was also a Chosen One of Skyla. We have all been made fools of by Skyla. She planned this. When Keeli got close enough to Anderpaul, she sent Tesalynn to take over her body."
"What are we going to do?" Natalia asked horrified. "We cannot beat the Destroyer, only Keeli could do that."
As Tesalynn and Anderpaul continued their emotional reunion, a glint caught Falcon's eye. In an instant it came back to him, the words of his goddess, "you will know when the time is right." And he did know.
Slowly he removed the diamond tipped arrow from his quiver. He nocked the arrow and pulled back taking careful aim. So intent was his concentration he didn't notice Talynnda move up behind him. He didn't see as she raised her mace in preparation to smash it down on his skull. He didn't see her look of surprise as the two tips of katanas appeared from her chest. He didn't see Natalia withdraw the blades and guide the dying cleric to the ground. All he saw was the sapphire and diamond pendant dangling above Tesalynn's breasts. Falcon let the arrow fly.
It flew straight and true. It struck the sapphire and there was a blinding flash. When everybody's eyes recovered Tesalynn lay unmoving on the floor, shards of shattered sapphire imbedded in her chest. Where the pendant had hung there was a hideous bruise appearing. Anderpaul dropped to his knees beside her, checking to see if she lived.
Keelor felt his mind get free of the sapphire prison that had entrapped it. He knew instantly that he only had one shot to get his body back. Tesalynn, in her arrogance had given him the key. "Your male mind does not fit in this body" she had said. He knew he must embrace the femininity that had been growing inside his mind. He also knew he must let go of the male, it was like an anchor dragging him down. He knew he must surrender that which he was and embrace who he must be. Keelor let go. Keeli mentally tapped Tesalynn's mind on the shoulder. As Tesalynn became aware of her, Keeli attacked, forcing Tesalynn out of her mind forever.
Anderpaul placed his hands on the fallen girl's head. He began to use his energy to heal her. Slowly her eyes fluttered open. She put her hand to her wounded chest, groaning.
"Are you ok, my love?" Anderpaul asked tenderly receiving a nod from the girl. "Good, now I will make those vermin pay for this.
As Anderpaul made to get up, Keeli knew she had one shot at putting an end to his reign of brutality, and save her friends. She pulled him back down to her and he looked questioningly into her eyes. She put her hands on his chest and summoned all her energy. There was a thunderclap as he went transonic before slamming into the wall some forty feet distant with such force the stone of the wall cracked. She watched as he fell heavily some ten feet to the floor.
Keeli got up slowly, the pain in her chest screaming at her. She went over and picked up her swords, then went to the crumpled form of Anderpaul. When she reached him she could see he was still alive, incredibly. Blood was streaming from his nose and mouth, but he was trying to talk. Warily, Keeli leaned closer to hear him.
"I am sorry, my friend," Anderpaul said weakly. "My gods have left me to my fate and I see now what a horrible monster I have been. Can you forgive me, Keelor?"
"Keelor is no more but I forgive you," Keeli said with compassion.
It was then that a huge thunderclap hit and the Keep began to shake. As stones started falling from the ceiling, everyone heard a voice.
"Once again my plans have been confounded," Skyla said angrily. "You will all die now for insolence." With that the building shook harder.
"We have to get out of here," Natalia yelled running toward Keeli.
As Falcon and Jarrith picked up Ashrod and ran, Keeli looked down at Anderpaul.
"Go," Anderpaul said, "I am dead anyway. I will use the last of my stored life energy to hold the way open for you. Go. You don't have much time."
Keeli allowed Natalia to pull her away from the dying man, that had been her childhood friend, and in the end, was her friend again. Then they were running as fast as they could. They reached the door and kept running until they were outside in the dawn light and at the edge of the forest. They saw the warriors begin to run towards them, helping them. When they reached the safety of the forest they stopped and looked back at the keep just in time to see it implode on itself, as if crushed by some giant awesomely powerful hand.
Natalia looked into Keeli's eyes, "Keeli? Is it you?"
"Yes love, it is me," Keeli said embracing her lover.
But that was not strictly true. Keeli was indeed the same person she'd always been. Her values and morals had not changed. She was still courageous in battle and compassionate when not. She was everything he had been, but for two things. The first was that her mind and body were as one for the first time since the change. She was now truly female in all aspects. The second was that she was no longer a Guardian. Skyla had withdrawn her support just before trying to kill them and Keeli was once again just a Chosen One of Kale. Her guardian powers were gone except one, her amplified strength. She retained that because it was simply another aspect of her same ability to amplify her speed, therefore a power available to a Chosen One.
Falcon came up to them and embraced both girls, and was soon followed by Jarrith. The four stood in a group hug for a while and then broke. Falcon took Natalia's hands in his.
"I'm sorry for acting so terrible to you. Jarrith told me what you did in there. I owe you my life," he told her.
"No Falcon, we owe you all our lives. If you hadn't done what you did we would all be dead or worse by now," Natalia told him. "For what its worth, I am sorry too."
Natalia reached out and touched the emerald pendant hanging from Falcon's neck. "When did you get this?" she asked.
"Yeah and where did you get that arrow? It had a diamond tip, if I am not mistaken," Jarrith said.
"Gianna visited me the last night we camped before arriving here," Falcon explained. "She gave me the arrow saying it was from Kale, then she gave me the pendant. Oh, and she also told me..."
Epilogue
O++++{{=========>
Keeli stood before the altar of Sabri, goddess of love. On top of it lay a golden ring. The ring was unadorned but for a small opal. The ring was to be her reward. With it she could once again become male. She looked over at Natalia who was standing at her side. Natalia looked on impassively. Keeli reached out a delicate feminine hand and slowly touched the ring in a light caress. She looked once again at Natalia.
"It is your decision, my love," Natalia said unhelpfully. "I will love you and we will be together whatever you choose."
Keeli gently picked up the ring, examining it as it lay in her tiny palm. Then she seemed to reach a decision, snapping her hand closed over the ring. Turning and kissing Natalia she walked outside to where the other companions waited Natalia following a pace behind. As she walked by the companions and between Falcon and Jarrith, she discretely flipped the ring to Jarrith who caught it. As Keeli kept walking, Falcon began walking beside her.
"So what happened? I thought the gods would have mercy on you and let you return to being your old self. Did you get your reward?" Falcon asked.
Keeli looked back at Natalia, who looked up from a discussion with Jarrith and smiled a warm smile of love at her. "Yes, I got my reward," said Keeli smiling.
Falcon and Keeli were both too far away to hear what the bard and the little thief talked of.
"It does what?" Jarrith asked with excitement.
"It switches your gender for as long as you wear it," Natalia explained. "In short, it makes your dreams possible."
She looked meaningfully at Falcon. Jarrith looked at the ring, then to Natalia, then to Falcon. His eyes filled with joy as he moved to slip the ring on. Natalia stopped him right before he did it. He looked at her questioningly.
"Keeli gave this to you as a gift, but I am going to ask you for a favor," Natalia said mischievously.
"Please anything," Jarrith said excitedly.
"I would like to borrow it a time or two," Natalia explained with a big grin. "I would like for my lady love there to be with child, and I would like to be too, after she has the first one, of course."
"Oh my," Jarrith said putting his hand to his mouth and tittering as if he already wore the ring. "Does she know?"
"She hasn't got a clue," Natalia said with a wicked grin. "I plan to surprise her."
"You are bad," Jarrith said smiling. "Sure, anytime you are ready, it is your's for the night, as many times as it takes. I'm not so sure that I would surprise her though. That could be, well, rather painful."
"Somehow I don't feel that it will take too many times," Natalia said mysteriously. "Thanks, you're a doll."
With that Jarrith was a doll, a beautiful honey haired doll, with ice blue eyes and a body straight out of some teenager's fantasy. She looked down at herself, running her hands down the front of her torso.
"Oh my," she said in a beautiful dulcet tone, "thank you so much, you girls are the best." And she launched herself at Falcon.
"So I thought we were all supposed to get a reward here," Falcon was saying.
"I am your reward," Falcon heard a strange but captivating new voice say.
Falcon turned toward it just in time to get plastered as a honey blonde beauty threw herself on him wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, then planting a deep passion filled kiss on his face.
"Hey, who are you?" Falcon asked when the kiss broke.
"You can call me Sarrith," the honey blonde said.
"All right Sarrith," he unbelieving disengaged from the girl to look at her.
"My, you are beautiful," Falcon commented, looking at his companions. "Hey where is Jarrith?"
Sarrith tittered at that, and Falcon caught on looking rather stunned.
"Well what did you expect to get here? This is the temple of Sabri, goddess of love," Keeli laughed as she linked arms with Natalia and walked on.
From him...
I met Lisa quite a few months ago through some great stroke of fate. I joined a female to male personals group hoping to make some friends. I was flipping through the ads and came across Lisa's. Everything seemed to change at that moment. Lisa is the most amazing woman I've met and her strength has helped me through my roughest times. Her understanding and encouragement has made my transition easier. We've grown closer, even though we're over 4,000 miles apart. My feelings for her have grown deeper, and I wrote this story hoping in some small way I would be able to show Lisa how much she means to me...
Some months ago I joined a group whose purpose was to help Trans-men find people who would be interested in them. When Aiden first contacted me, I was very flattered since Trans-women didn't seem to be in very high demand. He was very sweet and though he lived very far away, he captured my interest. After getting to know him, I knew for certain he was going to make some girl very happy indeed. I never thought I would be the one he would choose to sweep off my feet, but he's had quite a lot of success at doing just that!...
I met Lisa quite a few months ago through some great stroke of fate. I joined a female to male personals group hoping to make some friends. I was flipping through the ads and came across Lisa's. Everything seemed to change at that moment. Lisa is the most amazing woman I've met and her strength has helped me through my roughest times. Her understanding and encouragement has made my transition easier. We've grown closer, even though we're over 4,000 miles apart. My feelings for her have grown deeper, and I wrote this story hoping in some small way I would be able to show Lisa how much she means to me. She re-wrote it from her perspective, and let me say, this tough guy found himself tearing up with joy. I hope when you read it you can see just how much Lisa means to me and why I care for her so deeply.
--Aiden T. Rushing
From her...
Some months ago I joined a group whose purpose was to help Trans-men find people who would be interested in them. When Aiden first contacted me, I was very flattered since Trans-women didn't seem to be in very high demand. He was very sweet and though he lived very far away, he captured my interest. After getting to know him, I knew for certain he was going to make some girl very happy indeed. I never thought I would be the one he would choose to sweep off my feet, but he's had quite a lot of success at doing just that! When I read this story he wrote for me, I was deeply touched, moved to tears in more than a few places, by his evident regard for me. Truly, I hope that someday we live close enough to explore this romance in more than just prose...
--Lisa C. Grey
Him...
It was a cool night, at least a cool night by Florida standards. I was running around my apartment excitedly trying to get ready for the evening. It was 4 o’clock and I had about an hour before I had to leave.
After I got out of the shower I walked to the kitchen in my boxers and t-shirt to grab a beer. I love the taste of a cool beer, especially while I’m getting ready for a date. Once back in the bathroom I wiped the steam of the mirror with a towel and filled the sink with warm water. The razor felt cool against my skin as I made clean strokes through the shaving cream. Nothing feels as good as a clean shaven face. I was meticulous, to say the least. After shave, cologne, deodorant. All the right things to make me look, smell and feel my best. She was worth the effort.
I had laid out my outfit on my bed that morning. Needless to say I was excited. Black slacks, a clean starched white shirt, black dress socks and freshly shined shoes. I buttoned, tucked and lined up every crease and button so as to look my best. I even fought off the urge to smoke a cigarette knowing it would spoil that clean smell I had worked so hard to achieve.
5 o’clock flashed on my clock before I knew it. I grabbed the three cream and red roses I had purchased and had wrapped out of the refrigerator. One last check in the mirror and I grabbed my keys and cell phone and headed out the door. I made sure to turn off my cell. I only wanted it in case some dire emergency occurred. I didn’t want any interruptions during our evening.
Her...
I luxuriated in the hot water and rich bubbles of the tub as the sounds of my 'Cranberries' CD played softly in the background. I hated shaving but I loved the way my legs looked and felt when they were silky smooth. 'Someday,' I thought to myself, 'I'll get my legs lasered too.' I glanced at my watch and saw that I needed to drag myself from the languid water and start getting ready to go. He would be here in 2 hours or so.
I gently patted my smooth delicate skin dry with the thick soft towel, and then wrapped the towel around my head in a turban to soak the excess water from it as well. Slipping into my soft terry-dressing robe, I went to the kitchen to pour myself a cold glass of Diet Pepsi before I returned to the bathroom and brushed my teeth.
I ran my tongue over my slick clean teeth and smiled at myself in the mirror. I exalted for a moment at the image in the mirror. It hadn't always been there and it still thrilled me a bit sometimes when I saw it. Shaking myself and laughing a bit at my self-admiration, I slipped into my dressing room. Taking the towel from my head, my long damp brunette hair cascaded down around my shoulders. I gently began slipping a brush through it, taking care not to rip through any tangles. Once the brush moved through easily I picked up the blow dryer.
The hot air quickly removed the moisture from my damp tresses, drying them to a rich silky sheen and bringing out my auburn highlights. Once dry, I then used the straightening iron on it until it hung mostly straight but with a nice gentle wave. Clipping the hair back out of the way, I applied my makeup. Not too heavily, but a little more dramatic than my daytime look. After applying a final coat of ruby red lipstick, I blotted and checked the time. Wincing, I saw I had just over 45 minutes before he would be here.
With an excited sense of urgency, I pulled on my black stretch satin panties and then gently slid on my sheer black hose. Once my legs were sheathed in smooth nylon, I struggled into my black lace bustier, which pushed my modest B-cup breasts into and equally modest display of cleavage. I admired my look in the mirror, smiling at the contrast of my pale skin and the black lingerie. After making a few adjustments, I took down the little black dress from its hanger. I held it up to me for a moment, teasing myself. I couldn't wait to slip it on but I wanted to savor the moment. Finally, I unzipped the zipper in the back of the dress and stepped into it, pulling it up into place.
I used a trick I'd learned with a ribbon to pull the zipper up which pulled the slightly stretchy fabric tight around me, hugging my slight curves, accentuating them. The hem fell to just above my knees, displaying my shapely legs that had often been said were my best feature. I put on my few pieces of jewelry; gold rings, a bracelet, a diamond white gold pendant that hung just above my cleavage and two pairs of earrings in my ears. After I got all the jewelry situated, I then took the clip out of my hair and brushed it out again.
Him...
My new Pink CD was playing on quietly on the stereo when I pulled up in front of her house. I had taken my truck in to be cleaned inside and out earlier that day. I would go to any length to make sure everything was just right. I checked the mirror one last time to make sure my hair was in place, grabbed the flowers and headed for the door.
My heart was pounding as I knocked on the door. “I’ll be there in a second,” I heard her say from inside. I listened for her footsteps and placed the flowers behind my back. ‘Nothing like a good surprise,’ I smiled to myself. She opened the door and I had to step back for a second and catch my breath. She was beautiful, actually, beyond that. My brain couldn’t even come up with a word for how she was making me feel. I knew she was gorgeous. But sometimes you can just be so surprised.
I finally collected my thoughts and said, “You look beautiful, Lisa.” God and she did. Nothing fancy, but she didn’t need it, just a simple black dress that came down just above her knee showing off a little bit of her long sexy legs. I handed her the flowers, still stammering through any sort of a conversation. She invited me in and said she would put the flowers in water before we left. On her way to the kitchen she gave me a soft kiss on the cheek which nearly made me faint.
“So, where are you taking me handsome?” she asked from the kitchen.
“Oh, this little place I found on the water. I thought we could have dinner and a cocktail and then head to club if you wanted to. I mean, we could just play it by ear. Whatever we want to do is fine with me.” Of course, I knew this was a fib. I had given her a handful of fibs since I started planning this night. It had started a few months earlier when she mentioned her birthday was coming up.
Her...
I just finished applying Poison to strategic places; behind my ears, in my cleavage, wrists, and ankles, when the dog began to bark excitedly. A thrill of excitement and nervousness ran through me. He was here and though he'd been tight lipped about it, it was my birthday and I could tell he had something up his sleeve. I'd caught him looking at me with an odd furtive smile from time to time during the last few weeks. I quickly slipped into my black heels and waited for him to knock on the door.
"I'll be there in a second," I called when I heard his strong masculine raps on the door. I paused to check my hair and make some last minute adjustments to my jewelry before I stepped up to the door.
Aiden's eyes widened and he took a step back when I opened the door. At first, when I heard the catch in his breathing, I thought I had applied too much of the perfume, but then he produced three lovely roses from behind his back and said in an awed tone, "You look beautiful, Lisa."
I blushed shyly and invited him in while I put the roses in water. I kissed him lightly on the cheek so as to not ruin my makeup...just yet, as I took the roses. He petted my dog while I moved into the kitchen. Tsargos loved Aiden, and you know, my dog has some darned good taste.
"So where are you taking me, Handsome?" I asked as I got down a vase for the flowers.
"Oh, this little place I found on the water. I thought we could have dinner and a cocktail and then head to club if you wanted to. I mean, we could just play it by ear. Whatever we want to do is fine with me," Aiden said. I could hear the grin and the barely contained excitement in his voice, but I let it go...for now.
Him...
I had only been in Florida for a few months, but we had spent that time growing closer and closer together. We had met a couple years earlier on the Internet. Of course, everyone had said that’s all it was. We were Internet buddies, nothing more. But I think we both knew differently. When I had come down to visit a year earlier, I was taken. Everything I liked about this woman was intensified when I got to see it with my own eyes. She was kind, beautiful, caring, funny, gentle, and smart. The list grew and grew during our short week together.
When the job opportunity opened up, I decided to make the move. I didn’t have anything tying me to Spokane and knew that Florida had some good schools I could go to anyway. We knew there were no guarantees. We were just happy to be close enough to get to know each other even better.
So, a couple months earlier I started planning for her birthday. She wanted something simple, and that’s what it would feel like. Of course, the planning was the hard part. Everything would start with a quiet dinner on the water. But it would only get better from there.
We walked to my truck where I got the door and held out my hand to help her in. She smiled softly at me, something that always made my heart melt. I jumped in and started up my pick-up. It was a running joke that I owned the baby truck. I didn’t mind. She was my truck and I knew I would get a bigger truck someday. I just didn’t have a need for one right now. If we ever wanted to do something that required a big truck, we would just take Lisa’s.
We drove and talked about work, the weather and of course, Lisa’s birthday. She could hardly handle the suspense and kept trying to get me to spill the beans. I held strong, even though the surprise was more likely to kill me than her.
Her...
Aiden and I had met a couple of years ago on the Internet. We both had a rather rare perspective on life and that gave us an initial common ground to bring us together. We got to know each other in that unguarded sort of way that only the Internet can make possible and then a year ago he'd come to visit sunny Florida.
Though I'd claimed to be predominately lesbian, I'd often said that if the right guy were to come along, someone very special, then it really wouldn't matter that he was a guy. Well, Aiden was special all right. He was the perfect gentleman. He was sweet, considerate and romantic. He made me feel the way I'd always longed to feel, feminine and delicate, desired and cherished, protected and desired. He had a warm caring heart and strong arms to hold me. That he was devastatingly gorgeous...well, that was pure bonus.
I was beside myself with pleasure when he called to say he was moving here. We talked about it and we reminded each other that we still needed to get to know each other better, but he was willing to take the chance so what did I have to lose. So he'd arrived a few months ago, his truck and a U-haul trailer loaded down with all his worldly possessions. Close now, we had taken to spending nearly all our free time together. The more time we spent together the more we liked spending time together.
We stepped out of the house and I paused to lock the door. He offered me his arm and I intertwined my arm in his as we walked to his gleaming Dodge. We often joked about it being the baby truck, since my F250 extended cab 4x4 dwarfed his little Dodge, but really, I had to admit that his truck was easier to get in and out of in a skirt and heels than my big Ford was. He also got a lot better gas mileage than the 8 or 9 miles per gallon the big 460 consumed while powering the big F250 around in road battle. Still, I had to tease him a little and he took it good-naturedly. Our friends had to tease him too, which he took with equal grace.
He opened the door for me and handed me in. I gave him a little smile in gratitude and he shut the door before moving around to the driver's side. I loved the effect I had on this sweet man. Almost the smallest gesture on my part could produce a blush from him. He got in and smiled at me, which I returned. As we drove off, I put my hand in his and we made small talk as I tried to extract some hint of what the night had in store for me. He remained, however, inscrutable, much to my frustration.
Him...
Dinner was perfect. I had called a couple months earlier and reserved a table on the deck. The deck extended out over the water just a little. It was quiet, candlelit and hopelessly romantic, just like me. I made sure to behave like the gentleman I fancied myself to be. I took off coats, pulled out chairs, even ordered her dinner for her. When she excused herself to go freshen up, I spent a few minutes trying to catch my breath and my pulse which both seemed to be out of control.
As dinner came to an end, I asked Lisa if she had any idea what she might want to do. To make sure she would get to celebrate with her friends, I planned a small get together at my house for the following weekend. I knew how much her friends meant to her, but I wanted to spoil her rotten all weekend. Her friends all understood.
Lisa said she didn’t really care, and wondered if I had any ideas. I tried to contain my smile and asked if she wanted to go for a drive. She agreed and mentioned it might be fun to head to the club a little later and do some dancing. I said again that we’d play it by ear as I paid the check and got up to get her chair.
I popped another CD in the stereo before we hit the road. “This is part of your birthday present, I burned this CD for you. Just a few songs that remind me of you.” Lisa tried to convince me that dinner was enough, but I wouldn’t hear of it.
Once on the road, I drove with purpose. Lisa could read my face like a book, which usually didn’t bother me. But right now I was trying to make sure she didn’t catch on to what I was doing. Of course, she kept eyeing me from the passenger’s seat. I would just smile at her from behind the wheel. The sun was almost all the way below the horizon now. Everything was beautiful.
Her...
Dinner was lovely. He'd somehow gotten us a table with a fabulous view out over the water. Aiden was the most perfect and gallant gentleman, lavishing me with attention and all those polite things a gentleman is supposed to do for a lady. The food was marvelous. My grilled chicken and fettuccini alfredo was delicious and the view was spectacular as the sun crept toward the horizon and painted the clouds in beautiful pastel pinks, greens, yellows and reds.
Aiden was looking a little bit antsy, so I excused myself to go repair my makeup. Smiling slyly, I added a little extra sway to my hips as I knew he would be watching. When I returned he looked a bit flushed.
"So what would you like to do now, Beautiful?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. I could tell he was up to something so I asked if he had anything in mind. He suggested a drive and I said I thought that would be nice.
Back in his truck, he put in a CD before he put the truck into motion. He said it was part of my birthday present and he had burned a few songs that reminded him of me. I was touched and I protested gently that all of this wasn't necessary. Dinner was more than enough. He was having none of it. He seemed to have a definite destination in mind, but he only answered my questioning glances with an enigmatic smile.
Him...
We got down to the docks and I could tell the wheels in Lisa’s head were turning. She was trying to figure just what I had up my sleeve. I was grinning from ear to ear with anticipation. I could hardly contain my excitement.
We walked down the docks and came to a small yacht. I looked at Lisa and said, “Well, this is it.” She flashed me a puzzled look. “Just trust me,” I said. I helped her onto the boat and then hopped on board myself. We stood out on deck for a few minutes just looking at each other. Finally she asked, “What’s going on Aiden? What do you have planned?”
I could hardly contain my excitement any longer, but I knew if I just followed my plan, everything would work out great. I walked her down below decks, which was quite a feat in the heels she was wearing. I showed her around a little and then finally showed her the bedroom. Inside were a dozen roses and a few personal things I had started getting together weeks earlier. I made sure she had a couple changes of clothes, a toothbrush, hairbrush, and all the other things someone would need to feel at home.
It was finally time to tell her the plan. I had to at some point, because the excitement and curiosity would kill us both. “Happy birthday, baby. I know you didn’t want anything fancy. But you deserve it. Every day that I’ve known you you’ve made my world a little better. I just thought I would make your world amazing for one night. Come back up to the main deck with me, I have something to show you.”
As we headed up I could hear the string quartet softly playing. Once we were back out on deck, I grabbed her hand and pulled her close to me. We started dancing slowly. After a minute or two, her head was on my shoulder. “So, what’s the rest of the evening have in store?” she whispered in my ear.
I finally gave her the whole plan. We would stay at the dock for a little while, listening to the music, having a drink, dancing, staring at the stars. When I rented the boat, I also made sure we would have someone to drive. I knew how to drive a boat, I had done so for years, but this night was for Lisa and me. I didn’t want any distractions. We would head off shore a few miles and just cruise around until the sun came up. Late in the morning or early in the afternoon we would head back home. “Don’t worry, baby,” I said once I got done explaining everything, “not only do we have plenty of Corona, not only am I making breakfast, not only do we have the ocean to ourselves, but I also made sure you would get a chance to celebrate with your friends. They’re all coming over to my place next weekend for dinner and drinks.”
I looked at Lisa and saw a few tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said quietly, “thank you so much.”
Her...
I was a bit perplexed to say the least when we pulled into the Tierra Verde Marina. He was grinning from ear to ear as we walked down the rows of slips, finally stopping before what I judged to be a 50' Sea Ray. The name on the transom read "Scottish Adventure" in a blue and yellow tartan. The name was naggingly familiar to me somehow.
"Just trust me," Aiden smiled as my eyebrows rose in question.
Ever the sweet gentleman, he helped my board the small yacht then hopped on himself. I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to ask, "What's going on, Aiden?"
He just touched his fingers to my lips and guided me to the companionway. The steep steps down from the cockpit level were tricky in my narrow heels so I was grateful for Aiden's steadying hand. He showed me around the inside of the boat and the tour culminated in the master stateroom. He grandly opened the doors and on the bed were a dozen roses.
He couldn't stand it any longer and turned me to him. "Happy birthday, Baby," he said with a huge smile. "I know you didn’t want anything fancy. But you deserve it. Every day that I’ve known you you’ve made my world a little better." By this time I was about overcome with emotion as my heart swelled with warmth and the tears gathered in my eyes. "I just thought I would make your world amazing for one night. Come back up to the main deck with me, I have something to show you." Dazed, I was led back up to the cool salty air and the strains of a string quartet.
Taking my hand, he turned me to face him, he took me in his arms and we began to dance slowly around the deck. I laid my head on his shoulder and wondered what else he had planned for this evening. He told me the whole agenda. He'd chartered the boat and we would remain in the marina for a bit and enjoy the music, drink and the beautiful night. When the time was right the skipper of the boat would take us out and we would cruise around a few miles off shore. It sounded delightful. Again, I was all but overcome with emotion and Aiden's thoughtful kindness. He'd thought of everything.
"Thank you," I said, with feeling. "Thank you so much." My heart swelled with pride at this wonderful man. Dare I think it? My wonderful man? I could hardly believe that he'd chosen me. I felt so unworthy and certainly nobody else had ever felt this way for me. I thanked god for blessing me with such a magnificent person as Aiden. I hugged him fiercely and we continued to dance.
Him...
We danced for a while and had quiet conversation. We finally sent the quartet on their way and told the skipper to get us on our way. I walked down below decks with Lisa and told her to get comfortable while I got us a couple of cold beers.
I sat down and slowly nursed my beer. Lisa and I had never slept in the same bed together, and I wasn’t about to jump to any conclusions. I made sure that she knew the one bed was her bed. I had a couch I could crash on. I was sure we would cuddle a little, probably out on the couch. But I didn’t know if I would go any further than that.
Lisa and I both agreed that sex wasn’t the most important thing. I loved to cuddle, and so did Lisa, although we took our time getting there. We had both been hurt in the past and were very cautious with our hearts and our closeness. I knew I would never make a move with Lisa that I wasn’t sure of. I was respectful and gentle, two qualities that some women didn’t appreciate, but I would never compromise on.
Lisa stepped out of the room in jeans and a t-shirt. She could make monkey suit look sexy. There was just something about her, her quietness, her confidence. I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly, but it amazed me every time I saw her. “Hey handsome,” she called to me. She knew this was one of my favorite nicknames and she teased me with it as often as she could.
I stood up from the couch and held out her beer for her. She walked over and grabbed it from my hand. She was taller than me, but I rarely noticed. I was a pretty short guy, always had been. I had gotten used to be being shorter than the women I dated. My friends picked on me for it, but I took it all in stride. I loved looking up into Lisa’s eyes.
I offered Lisa a seat on the couch. There was a TV we could watch, or I could put on a CD. Lisa said she just wanted to sit and talk for awhile. I asked her if she was enjoying her evening. She said she was, and she was sure it would keep getting better.
Her...
After a while, Aiden thanked the quartet and they took their leave. He then gave the skipper the word that we were ready to head out. I hadn't noticed the large man before as he and his mate, a tall, beautiful, Nordic blonde sat on the bow of the boat in deck chairs. Aiden introduced them as Will and Sara. The skipper looked at me funny as he shook my hand. "Do ah know ya from somewhere, Lass?" he said in a Scottish accent. They both seemed strangely familiar to me as well, but I couldn't for the life of my place them.
"She looks like..." Sara said, then looked at Will. "Naaah, that'd be too strange," they both said at the same time. As for me, I had more than enough to keep me occupied, so I dismissed it as just some sort of coincidence and turned my attention back to Aiden.
As the two big Caterpillar diesels fired up, Aiden sent me to go change into something more comfy whilst he got us a couple of Coronas. I kicked off my heels and negotiated the steep stairs down to the stateroom carefully as the boat rocked slightly. Once in the stateroom, I looked in the small case of personal effects that Aiden had thought to provide. I removed the dress, the bustier and the hose and slipped on the black bra, jeans, and the pink t-shirt I'd selected.
"Hey Handsome," I said as I came back into the salon. Aiden jumped up a little too quickly, in his eagerness, but I thought it was cute. He held out a beer to me as his jaw worked trying to find words. I smiled shyly and took the beer, which he had thoughtfully wedged a chunk of lime in the mouth of the bottle. We stood there for a moment, captivated in each other's gaze.
"Would you like to sit?" he asked, shaking himself free of the spell and patting the couch beside him.
He offered to turn on the TV, or put some music on, but I just shook my head slowly and smiled. "Being here with you is enough for me," I said and he blushed a deep crimson.
"Are you enjoying the evening?" he asked.
"Oh yes," I said smiling sweetly at him. "It's fantastic, and you...you are wonderful, Sailor. I can't wait to see what happens next, because it just keeps getting better and better."
Him...
We sat on the couch chatting away when suddenly things became quiet. I could hear myself breathing heavily and silently hoped Lisa didn’t notice. I placed my beer on the floor and reached one hand out to touch Lisa’s face. Passion almost made me tremble, but I managed to keep it together. Touching turned into kissing, kissing turned into necking and before I knew it I had started to take Lisa’s shirt off.
I had never felt this close to anyone. Every moment, every touch seemed different and more amazing than the last. We continued kissing until we both suddenly seemed exhausted. I took Lisa’s head in my hand and we slowly lay back on the couch together. We cuddled there for awhile, catching our breath.
Lisa tilted her head back and looked up at me. “You want to come to the bedroom with me?” I wanted to scream, “Of course!” but managed to just quietly say, “Sure. I’d love to.”
The bedroom was like the couch, only with a little more room and a little more intense. We cuddled and kissed and giggled until Lisa finally got drowsy. I let Lisa lay her head on my shoulder, wrapped my arms tightly around her and watched her as she drifted off to sleep. The gentle rocking of the boat made sleep perfect.
I woke up before Lisa. We were both night owls, mainly because we both worked nights, so it was rare for either of us to get up too early. But I wanted to make sure breakfast was ready as soon as she got up. I was wearing jeans and no shirt, frying bacon, making coffee and enjoying the morning. I had slept great and was so eager to spend the morning with Lisa.
Suddenly I felt long beautiful arms around my waist. I spun around and there was Lisa, in my white button-down shirt, with only 2 of the buttons buttoned. She looked hot. And that was an understatement.
“Is breakfast almost ready?” she asked. “Sure is, baby. It should be done in a couple minutes.”
We spent the morning eating, cuddling and sitting out on the deck watching the water and drinking coffee. It was the perfect end to a perfect night. I couldn’t have asked for anything to go any better.
Her...
We sat on the couch on this big beautiful boat and chatted until suddenly, we had one of those moments. You know the ones, where you suddenly run out of things to say with your mouth and it gets quiet as your eyes are saying it all. He reached out and caressed my smooth cheek with the back of his fingers. I took hold of his hand and nuzzled it a bit. The passion was palpable as we began to kiss, and then make out.
I felt so at peace in that moment, yet amazingly excited. Little jolts of electricity were traveling through my body at his every touch, stroke, or caress. At that moment, I'd have given him anything, all he had to do was ask. All that I had, all that I was, was his for the taking.
I hadn't even realized he'd taken off my shirt until we slowed and I felt a slight chill. I snuggled up tighter to him and his arms held me a bit tighter.
"Do you want to come to the bedroom with me?" I asked him, grinning impishly. His eyes got wide and his breathing became a bit ragged, but he managed a quiet assent.
I stood and held out my hand to him. He took my hand and we relocated to the bedroom where a bit more fun ensued. Finally, the alcohol and dinner and gentle motion of the boat all conspired to put me into a blissful slumber as we lay close, my head on his shoulder and his arms around me. The last thing I remember before sleep claimed me was that I felt so safe and so protected in his arms.
When the warm sunlight finally penetrated my eyelids the next morning, my gentleman sailor wasn't with me. I lay there for a moment and smiled as I recalled the events from the night before. I forced myself up and to the head, where I relieved my bursting bladder then brushed my teeth. Returning to the stateroom, I located a pair of panties and slipped into them. I saw his shirt lying across a chair and, grinning softly, I slipped it on, fastening a couple of buttons. I looked in the mirror and saw my hair was a mess, but it looked kind of sexy so I left it.
I could smell the bacon frying as I came up from below decks. Aiden was standing before the stove in a pair of blue jeans and no shirt. I slipped up behind him and captured him in my arms, tickling his chest hair briefly before he spun about. I stepped back as his eyes roamed over my lithe and not very covered body. When his gaze met mine I was giving him a smoldering look from beneath my fluttering eyelashes. He gulped again.
"Is Breakfast almost ready?" I asked.
"Sure is, Baby," he replied. "It'll be done in a couple of minutes." I smiled happily.
Breakfast was delightful. He'd made us French toast, bacon and a chilled and sweetened bowl of cut up citrus. We spent a lazy morning chatting, being close and enjoying the unseasonably warm February weather as we sat on the sun deck of the Sea Ray. Finally about noon, we headed back in. During the trip we chatted with Will and Sara. They were lovely people, but they kept giving me these funny looks when they thought I wasn't looking. I was still too euphoric from the incredible time I was having to let it bother me.
Him...
When we pulled up in front of Lisa’s house she asked me why I went through so much trouble. I looked at her from across the cab and smiled, “I would do anything to see your face light up like it did when we first stepped onto that boat.”
I reached in my back pocket and handed Lisa a folded-up piece of paper. “This poem should explain it pretty well. I wrote this a couple of weeks ago, but it’s how I feel. Happy birthday baby,” I said as I reached across the cab and gave her a kiss. I hopped out of the truck, got her door and watched her walk all the way to her door. I knew in my heart this was only the beginning of something beautiful.
Her...
All too soon we were sitting in Aiden's truck in my driveway.
"Aiden, I can't tell you how much this means to me." I said. "Why did you go through all that effort, just for me? You know I will never be able to repay you." He made a dismissing hand motion and just looked at me smiling from across the cab of the truck.
"Lisa, I'd do anything to see your face light up like it did when we stepped onto that boat." He reached into his pocket and handed me a folded up piece of paper. "This poem should explain it pretty well. I wrote this a couple of weeks ago, but it's how I feel."
I read the words this wonderful man had composed in verse and I was overcome with emotion. I looked up at him as a couple of errant tears traced their way down my cheeks. He smiled gently and reached out to tenderly wipe the moisture away.
"Happy Birthday, Baby," he whispered and then leaned over and kissed me.
I hugged him tightly as we now stood beside his truck. Reluctantly I let him go and made my way to the door of the house, tears of happiness still finding their way out of my grey eyes.
When I reached the door, I turned back to him. "Call me," I said with a smile.
"Of course," he said with a smile of his own.
I entered the house and I knew that Aiden had unequivocally swept me off my feet. I looked forward to what the future surely held for us.
"Oh come on, Lynn. It's not like anybody is gonna see you," Janet half teased, half soothed.
Janet looked at her boyfriend. Lynn stood there in the doorway of the bathroom in their hotel room, his below-the-shoulder length brown hair dripping from the bath he was just in. Lynn was not the most masculine guy on the planet to be sure. He was slender, his 5'6" frame only weighing in at 130 pounds. His waist was just small enough and his hips were just wide enough that Janet really thought this was going to work. She could hardly wait to see the end result, especially now that she could see how smooth and soft his skin looked once he had removed his sparse smattering of body hair.
"Come over here, baby," Janet commanded. He complied and she began rubbing lotion on his newly smooth limbs and chest.
Lynn, for his part, was enjoying the attention, but he knew all to soon he would be most uncomfortable indeed. Janet was a great girl, but sometimes she got some very odd ideas about what would be fun.
She had carefully maneuvered Lynn into agreeing to this by making a silly bet with him. Foolishly, he had agreed to the "winner's choice" stakes, but he never thought she would beat him at volleyball. Not that he was chauvinistic, but he had played volleyball on his high school team and was pretty good at it. What he didn't know until after the fact was she had competed up to the national level on her own high school team. It wasn't a shutout, but she pretty much handed him his head. He could only stand there sputtering when she told him how she planned to collect the payoff. He had had no choice but to agree. After all a bet was a bet.
Lynn was discovering a great deal about his girlfriend. She loved him. That he knew. They had started dating six months ago when they had met at college mixer. They had been inseparable ever since. Still, he had been totally unprepared for the revelations she made when explaining her diabolical plot. She was, she had explained, very bi. While she was monogamous and really loved Lynn, she missed the tender intimacy that two women could share. Her solution was to teach Lynn to fill this void in her life. In the face of this confession of love and devotion to him, how could he not agree to at least try what she asked of him as ridiculous as it may seem, and she couldn't know how painful it would be for him. He agreed to spend the rest of the night and the next day dressed as her woman.
She finished rubbing the lotion on him and handed him a pair of black thong panties. He took them as if they would burn his fingers at any moment. Slowly he pulled them up into place, his package bulging out the front of them. She pursed her lips, thinking.
"Hmmm, that simply won't do, hon," she said critically. "Women are supposed to be smooth there," pointing to the bulge. "How about you tuck that back between your legs. I have read that your...um...testicals will go up inside, as well."
Lynn fiddled with the arrangement, finally getting his balls to go inside and his penis folded back. Then he snugged the panties up and they held everything in place. He had to admit his crotch did take on an amazingly feminine look.
Next she handed him a somewhat padded black lace bra, which she helped him into. She stood back and assessed his looks. She was pleased. Surprisingly, even though they had not gotten to makeup yet, there was definitely a girl standing in front of her. Lynn seemed to be a natural...until he moved, then the effect was shattered. Janet sighed and directed him to sit on the foot of the bed.
After blow-drying his hair, she began to weave his long brunette tresses into a lovely French braid. He loved the feeling of someone fussing with his hair. It was very relaxing. Soon she had the braid completed, tying it off with a length of white velvet ribbon. Getting out her "tool kit", she opened the makeup case and began applying cosmetics to his face. Occasionally their eyes would meet a she worked, his filled partly with discomfort, partly with wry amusement, hers filled with bright happiness and gratitude.
He kept trying to see himself in the mirror that was just out of range, but she steadfastly refused to let him look until she was done. She completed her work on his makeup with something unexpected. Before he knew what was going on, he heard a familiar click and felt a familiar sharp burning pain in his right ear. She had just pierced his right ear. He knew the sensation from when he had had his left ear done twice. Oh well, he knew it would heal up later when she realized how foolish this was going to be.
Janet had Lynn put on a olive tank top that teasingly bared his flat smooth midriff, followed by a pair of attractive white denim shorts that were just long enough to cover his tan lines from his trunks. *We'll have to correct those later* she mused. She completed the ensemble with a fine gold necklace from which hung a beautiful outlined heart encrusted with diamonds. She stood back and surveyed her work. With a bright grin she nodded in satisfaction. She wanted to paint his nails, but Lynn was about to burst with curiosity about how he looked. She relented and had him close his eyes as she led him to the hotel room's full length mirror. Again, she noticed, the effect was spoiled by his movement.
When she gave him the ok, Lynn opened his eyes...and gasped. There in the mirror looking back at him with pale grey eyes, was a vision. She was certainly no supermodel, her hips where a little too narrow and her shoulders a little too wide, but she had the girl-next-door beauty that would have the guys falling all over themselves to impress her. Lynn reached out slowly and lovingly touched fingertips with the girl in the mirror. If she hadn't followed his movements exactly, he might have doubted what he was seeing. She was undeniably female. Her eyes though: They had the most haunted and pained look for a moment, almost as if they had experienced some horrible trauma in the past. Janet would have sworn she saw recognition there too. The tableau held until Lynn turned to look at her in profile. The girl's movement suddenly became all wrong and Lynn burst out laughing. The beauty in the mirror moved with the abrupt harshness of a male.
Chapter 2: An Odd Reaction
After painting Lynn's finger and toenails, she spent the next couple of hours trying to coach some feminine grace into Lynn's movements. It was like pulling teeth, and the sun was soon dropping below the horizon. Finally, in the gathering darkness, Janet nodded.
"I guess that will have to do," Janet said contemplatively.
"What do you mean that will have to do," Lynn asked suspiciously.
"Well, I thought my scrumptious new girlfriend and I might take a moon light walk on the beach," Janet said, bracing herself for the coming battle.
"I see," said Lynn, neutrally. "Janet, I thought you said nobody was gonna see me like this." An inexplicable look of horror again passed through those lovely grey eyes.
Well at least he hadn't flatly refused to do it. "Lynn, it will be dark. Nobody will see anything odd. They will just think it is two girls walking down the beach. I promise if you are too uncomfortable we can come right back, but won't you at least try...for me?" Janet's ice blue eyes pleaded from under her mass of strawberry blonde hair.
In the end, Lynn could never refuse a look like that from his beloved Janet. He had to admit the rewards were bound to be impressive, as she launched her lithe body at him, hugging him tightly in happiness.
So it was that Lynn found himself in feminine attire, walking on the beach with his ladylove. It was a lovely moon lit night, and the pungent smell of the salt water assaulted his nostrils as the waves crashed on to the beach in phosphorescent explosions of sound. The gentle rhythm of the waves soothed Lynn's troubled heart, and soon he was enjoying himself as Janet held his hand possessively.
As they walked they chatted about inconsequential things when no one else was in earshot, but slowly their speech gave way to furtive glances at the other. Those turned into long meaningful glances, and soon the couple found themselves standing on the mostly deserted beach kissing passionately. They didn't really care about the people who walked on by staring at the two apparent girls locked in a passionate embrace, mainly because the lovers didn't notice. For the moment their worlds revolved around each other.
Janet had convinced Lynn to screw up his courage enough to stop and have a drink at one of the little outdoor beachfront bars. They were both getting a little fatigued from walking in the sand and welcomed the chance to sit and have a drink. She had chosen one that wasn't very well lit to preserve Lynn's "cloak of darkness". Lynn sat at a table while Janet went to the bar and got him a 'rumrunner' and a pina colada for herself.
They were well into their second round of drinks when two men approached their table. Lynn stiffened as he noticed their approach. Janet just smiled at him reassuringly and mouthed the words 'I'll take care of it'.
"What are two enchanting young ladies like yourselves doing on the beach alone?" the well-built blonde man asked them.
"Taylor, there must be a law against this somewhere," the other equally handsome brown haired man said.
"Well, Alan, if there isn't, there certainly should be," the blonde named 'Taylor' said.
"Guys, give it a rest, would ya," Janet said. "We really didn't come here to get picked up, ok?"
"Forgive me, dear lady," the one called Alan said smoothly, "we didn't mean to intrude, but we were so blown away by your loveliness," at this Janet gave a musical little laugh and Lynn looked down shyly, hoping the darkness hid the burning sensation he felt on his face that he knew was a blush, "we had to come over and at least offer to buy you drinks."
"Guys! Please," Janet tried again, this time taking Lynn's hand possessively. "Your offer is appreciated, but we are kinda like...together, you know?"
The look of disappointment on the guys' faces turned to a knowing grin when they looked at each other. They turned out to be pretty decent guys, because they just nodded their acceptance and moved on to the bar. They weren't quite through yet though, because they returned with a round of drinks for the two supposed girls.
"Guys, what is this?" Janet asked, looking mildly annoyed.
"It is our way of apologizing for the intrusion and saying the two of you being together, while a terrible loss to the male population, is ok with us," Taylor said. Then they turned to go.
"Thanks guys, really, I am touched," Janet said smiling at them as they smiled and waved over their shoulders. Lynn even found the fortitude to look up and smile shyly at them.
"See, I told you those smiles would be worth it..." Alan was saying as the men moved off.
The thing about Rumrunners is they are mostly all liquor. And unless you are fairly large or you drink a lot, neither of which applied to Lynn, the effects can really sneak up on you. Lynn felt ok until they got up to leave, then he realized he was in a tad of trouble. It wasn't that he was going to be sick or anything, but after three of the concoctions, he wasn't walking too well. The loose sand hopelessly confounded his already challenged motor coordination as they walked back up the beach toward their hotel. He was leaning on Janet quite a bit as they walked. It was a testament to her strength and fitness that they made it half way back before having to stop and rest.
Janet eased Lynn to a sitting position on the ground then sat behind him, pulling him back and pillowing his head on her smallish breasts. Soon a combination of alcohol, the gentle susurrus of the waves washing onto shore, and Janet's even gentler stroking of Lynn's hair lulled him into sleep.
Janet looked down at her unconscious lover. Her ice blue eyes held such tenderness in them that anybody who could have seen would have known that Lynn was the one she wanted to spend her life with. She was bigger than Lynn, her densely packed athlete's muscles giving her not only a height advantage but also a weight advantage. His testosterone charged muscles could still more than match her strength, but he still seemed smaller and weaker than her. Especially now, dressed as he was. That never seemed to bother him, as it had with some men she had gone out with. Janet somehow knew then that she had found a one in a million man in Lynn. She wondered though. She had seen the most profound pain and sadness pass through his liquid grey eyes when he was deep in thought. It seemed to be happening more tonight, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure it out.
She woke her lover after they had sat there for at least an hour. "Wake up sleepy head," she crooned, and he moaned groggily against her. "Wake up love, we have to get back to the hotel. It's getting late." He nodded and began to rouse himself.
"Feeling better?" she asked, grinning as they got up and brushed the gritty sand from themselves.
"Loads, sorry about that. I forget how those things sneak up on you," He said, grinning sheepishly.
"Sokay," Janet smiled, "I thought it was kinda sweet, and in character. My girl can't hold her liquor."
They both laughed at this and moved off toward the hotel.
As they began to get closer to their hotel the air became heavy with the acrid odor of smoke. Not the pleasant smell of a campfire either, it was the synthetic toxic smell of a structure fire. As they drew in to view of their hotel, they stopped cold, appalled by the debacle that greeted them.
It was their hotel that was burning. Worse yet, the flames were pouring out of the wing that had housed their room. Janet looked at Lynn in wide-eyed mute apology. She saw the horrible realization make the connection inside his eyes, and as he looked down at himself, at the attire he wore, she once again saw the naked pain and suffering in his eyes. This time it didn't go away. What they knew was that they would have to deal with the hotel management and possibly others dressed as they were, because that is all they had now.
Lynn seemed to reach a decision. Janet was watching as his posture shifted subtlety. He turned to her and cocked his head, indicating for her to follow, then 'she' began walking toward the hotel. Janet trailed along behind in amazement as her boyfriend's movements and gait took on an unmistakable, undeniable, graceful feminine form. And that was only the beginning of the shocks she was about to experience that night.
As she and Lynn walked up to the crowd of hotel patrons and on lookers, a hotel employee approached them.
"Excuse me ladies, are you guests at our hotel," the young man asked.
"Yes, we are guests, or were," Lynn said in a perfectly feminine, even sexy, contralto. Janet's mouth dropped open and she looked at Lynn like he had grown two heads.
"Could I have your names and room numbers please," the man asked, not noticing anything odd at all about Lynn.
"I am Lynn Davies and this is my friend Janet Easton. We were both staying in room 318," Lynn said without a trace of masculinity or self-consciousness.
A pained expression crossed the young man's face when he heard the room number, but he dutifully logged it on his clipboard before looking up and addressing them with sympathy.
"I am very sorry, but your room was one of the ones that were totally lost. I am truly glad to see you ladies were not hurt. You need to go see Mr. Talmidge, that gentleman over there. He is handling the property loss and arrangements for accommodations." With that he moved to the next group of people.
Janet followed dumbly along in Lynn's wake as 'she' swept up to the man pointed out to be Talmidge. After they had identifed themselves to him, he asked them a lot of questions and then gave them each a clipboard and asked that on the sheets they catalogue any property that might have been lost and the approximate value. He also added that arrangements were being made for all the displaced guests.
"That won't be necessary, sir," Lynn told the man. At his arched eyebrow, she continued, "We only live about an hour from here. I think it would be best if we just returned home after we are finished here, and save the available accommodations for those that don't have that option." Luckily, Janet had their car keys and wallets with their ID's and credit cards in her fanny pack, along with most of their smaller valuables.
"That's quite generous of you, miss," for that was indeed what Lynn was at the moment, "and it will be appreciated. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience. We will get you on the road in no time."
True to his word, two hours later, the girls were told they were no longer needed. As soon as they were in Lynn's big black 4x4 extended cab Ford and underway with Janet in the driver's seat, Lynn slumped, and 'Lynn the man' returned.
"Hon," Janet said looking over at this strange person beside her as she stopped for a red light, "we really need to talk."
Lynn looked over at her, the weariness battling on his face with, what was it...guilt? Janet couldn't tell, but Lynn just made an assenting motion as the light turned green and Janet got the big truck back into motion.
Chapter 3: Revelations
When Lynn didn't say anything for a long time, Janet turned off the road to a drive-on portion of the beach. The big mud terrain tires tossed massive amounts of the loose sand into the air as Janet's irritation made her driving more aggressive. She finally slid to a stop just before coming to the packed portion marking the highest point the waves washed. She slammed the truck's gear selector into 'park', leaving the engine running and the A/C going, and turned in her seat to face Lynn. She looked at him and waited expectantly.
Lynn seemed to shrink into the seat under her withering gaze. He could tell she was angry with him, but he really didn't want to relive this part of his life. He sat there paralyzed, torn between giving his lover the explanation she deserved and not wanting to delve into the old pain and torment that he had kept so buried along with 'her'.
"Lynn, you have been hiding things from me. That makes me angry, but I can tell what you are hiding is painful to you. Please tell me, so I won't have any doubts about us, and maybe I can help you deal with whatever terribleness you have locked inside you," Janet pleaded.
Lynn met her gaze and seemed to steel himself.
"It was 8 years ago. I was 16 and was getting into drugs big time. The drugs had changed me. I had become rebellious and sometimes even violent. I had been arrested for possession a couple of times and the next time was going to land me in prison," Lynn began the tale. "My parents loved me and desperately wanted to help, but I was out of control. They sent me to a 'special school' that claimed to be able to change my ways. Have you ever heard of 'petticoat punishment'? Well, this was the school's stock in trade..."
I arrived at Philadelphia airport. I'd left my home in Florida, wearing my attitude as both a shield and a weapon. Stalking down the jet way, I was ready to give anyone that made the mistake of speaking to me a large dose of the anger that burned inside of me. I was totally unprepared for the elemental force of nature that met me.
She was a stunning dark haired beauty, kind of like a young Joan Severance. She really got my teenaged hormones in an uproar, and I completely forgot to be the asshole I was planning on. She introduced herself as Maya, and said she ran the school that I would be attending. She just stood there for a moment, eyeing me critically, sizing me up.
For the first time in a long time I became self-conscious about my appearance. I was wearing the grunge look. My oily looking long shoulder length hair laid flat on my head, and my scrubby feeble attempt at a beard made me look unsavory, in spite of the fine features and clear grey eyes that I knew made for a handsome face that I diligently worked to obscure. I had on a shapeless flannel shirt over a ratty tee that had 'Megadeath' scrawled across it. Down below, I wore a worn-out pair of jeans stuffed into the tops on a pair of beat-up unlaced combat boots. I could sense the disapproval emanating from Maya.
"Well, Lynn, at least there is a lot of room for improvement," she said. "Let's go." With that she swept off leaving me to trail along in her wake.
The City Of Brotherly Love was a real shock to me. The hustle and bustle of the big city made my hometown of St. Pete seem positively rural. Even the air was different. It carried a heavy taint of vehicle exhaust, underlaid with a strange tartness that, in my limited travels, I had come to associate with the northern regions of the country. The air was also devoid of the comforting salt tinge that pervaded the air of my home. Even the colors seemed subdued here. Oh there was green here and there amongst the grey and glass of the high-rises, and a rainbow of colors on billboards and other advertisements, but the overall effect was grey. Everything just seemed grey.
And crowded. The traffic was just insane. I couldn't believe there were so many cars on the road at the same time. I could definitely understand now why some people could live their whole lives in a place like this without owning a car. I was, I decided, not cut out to be a city type, though I had thought that's what I was back home, I mean I didn't exactly live in the sticks, but I certainly didn't live in any city as defined by the sensory overload the pervaded this place. I was overwhelmed.
Maya drove us to what I guessed was the outskirts of the city, since the traffic thinned out some and the huge sky rises gave way to more modest structures. Soon we pulled up to the gate of a large estate. It didn't look like any school I had ever seen.
Maya showed me to the room that would be home for me during the program. To say the least, I was disgusted. The room was so overtly feminine I wanted to gag. The walls were a pale pink and the carpet underfoot was a rose hue. The dominating feature of the room was the large canopy bed with a lacy fringe that matched the color of the walls. The furniture, a dresser, a nightstand, and what I thought was a desk with a mirror over it (I later discovered it was called a vanity and what it was for, to my chagrin.), were all done in a lacquered bright white finish with brass fittings. Even the air in the room smelled subtly of baby powder and perfume. It gave me a headache.
"This sucks," I said. "Don't you have something else less...sissified?"
Maya laughed like she had been expecting this comment and had heard it many times before, but the laughter quickly evaporated and was replaced by a stern look.
"That wasn't a very nice thing to say, Lynn. Especially since we gave you the best room we have. This is your room for the duration of your stay here," she said simply, inviting no further comment. "You get settled in. The bathroom is through that door," she pointed to one of the other two doors in the room, one of them obviously to closet. "Take care of whatever you need to take care of and then join me in the conference room at the end of this hall. Don't take too long." With that she turned and left me alone with my thoughts.
I threw my case on the bed, it was one of the small carry-on types, but it was all I was allowed to bring. I guessed at the time the school had some sort of uniform, little did I know just how completely that uniform was worn. I went and used the bathroom, sitting while I peed. That was a little trick I picked up and used when not in a filthy public restroom. The reason was, in spite of my shabby appearance, I was really a clean person and sitting while peeing was just so much cleaner. It did make me a little uncomfortable this time, though, due to the nature of the room I'd been given. I finished up and flushing the toilet, I headed toward the conference room.
Maya looked up as I entered the room. She'd been conversing with four other ladies that would also be in attendance. At Maya's direction we all moved to sit at the conference table that dominated the room. Maya took the head and the others took the flanks, leaving me at the foot. Once we were all seated a moment was taken for the others to assess me and for me to do the same with them.
Maya cleared her throat and opened a file that sat on the table in front of her. I guess this signaled the beginning of the meeting and the end of my life as I knew it.
"Lynn," Maya began, "you know why you are here, but for the sake of the other ladies present, I will spell it out. You are here because you are out of control. You have been arrested for possession of controlled substances on more than one occasion, and your parent's are powerless to stop you. You are aware that if you get arrested again that you will be tried as an adult and that will mean prison time, but you don't seem to care. Your Parent's, desperate to save you from the life you are headed for, heard about my little program and how effective it is. They have sent you to me and given me permission to treat and discipline you however I see fit. I won't lie to you. You will find my program repugnant and humiliating at first, but it will only be as hard as you make it. If you behave with maturity you will be treated maturely, however, if you behave like a petulant child then you will be treated as such. Disobedience will not be tolerated, and we have ways that even you will find extremely unpleasant to ensure compliance if you refuse to do as you are told." The look in her eyes said this was an absolute statement of fact, and I blanched.
"My program is all about behavior modification and self-control," Maya continued. "What we are going to do is make you into someone else for the duration of your stay. As this person, you will have to control your rebellious impulses or risk stepping out of character. You will find you will want to desperately avoid stepping out of character, since the result will be quite humiliating for you."
"These ladies will be your instructors..."
The grey haired woman immediately to Maya's right was Ruth. She had a youthful appearance that belied the grey hair that was pulled back into a tight bun. Her violet eyes and regal manner commanded attention when they were directed at you. This striking figure of a woman was to be in charge of my manners and deportment. Whatever that meant.
To Maya's left was the fiery red haired Gwen. Her emerald eyes laughed at me, sending shivers down my spine as I was told she would be in charge of teaching me Personal Hygiene. I was already a pretty clean person as I mentioned earlier, but the message in her eyes said I wasn't going to enjoy her tutelage.
Stephanie sat to my right. She was a pretty brunette with pale brown, almost yellow eyes. She was to be responsible for making sure I was dressed in the appropriate manner for whatever the occasion demanded. 'How hard could that be,' I wondered.
Lastly, I was introduced to Sally. Sally was a platinum, almost white blonde with stunning liquid blue eyes. Short of Maya, she was the most beautiful of the ladies seated at the table. Her area of competence, it seemed, was hair and makeup. Hair and makeup?
I was a pretty smart kid, no matter how my behavior said otherwise, and I was beginning to get a clue about what these women had planned for me. I was still denying it. Surely my parent's would not have gone along with this ludicrous scheme. 'I must be wrong,' I prayed. All my fears were proven true, however, with Maya's next words.
"Dinner will be a seven tonight. That gives you five hours to at least appear to be a proper young lady. I will see you then...CAITLIN," Maya said with a meaningful look at me.
"NO WAY IN HELL," I shouted leaping up from my chair. But something was wrong. The room began to tilt at a crazy angle and there was a faint buzzing behind my ears that seemed to grow louder. I tasted a faint metallic flavor in my mouth and I looked down at the cup of soda I had been drinking. Suddenly, I knew that they had drugged me. My peripheral vision left me as blackness closed in. I staggered catching myself on the edge of the table and would have fallen as my knees collapsed, but Sally and Stephanie each had a hold of my arms and they eased me back into my seat as consciousness left me.
Chapter 4: Learning to be...Her
When I awoke, I had no idea what time it was, but I was glad that nightmare was over. As the familiar drug induced grogginess left me, I gradually became aware of an unaccustomed weight on my chest. My skin also seemed to tingle with sensitivity. I hadn't yet opened my eyes, but my hand moved to explore what it was on my chest. My eyes flew wide as my hand encounter two lumps of soft pliant...flesh? I sat bolt upright and noticed for the first time I was wearing a frilly nightgown, which I tore off to get a look at what I knew couldn't possibly be on my chest, and yet there they were. A perfect set of breasts. They weren't large by any means, probably barely a b-cup, but to my mind they were gargantuan. I shrieked and began sobbing.
Five night-gowned women burst into the room. Their hair was bed mussed but their eyes were alert as they took in the situation. As they assessed there was no danger they turned their collective attention to me. They stood and watched until I became aware of them.
"What have you done to me?" I sobbed.
Sally came over and hugged me tightly as Stephanie sat on the other side of me stoking my hair and saying, "There, there, Caitlin, it's not as bad as all that. You are a very pretty girl."
I tried to push them away but my heart wasn't in it. I needed the contact right then, even if it was with the people responsible for my present state. I gave up quickly and sobbed into Sally's shoulder. As my sobbing slowly subsided, Gwen bought me a box of tissues and Maya addressed me.
"Caitlin, you looked like such a perfect little angel yesterday when we finished your...adaptations, we thought we would let you sleep for the night. You must be famished, dear, after missing dinner last night. We will have breakfast shortly, but remember you must be presentable or you will go without."
"I...I can't," I moaned becoming aware of just how hungry I was.
"Why not?" asked Maya sternly.
"Because I...I...don't know how. I am a boy, for chrissakes," I shrieked girlishly.
"Well, Caitlin that's what we're here for, to help you learn," Stephanie said softly.
"Don't worry Maya, we will get her dressed and made up all pretty in no time," Sally said.
"See that she is," Maya said as she and the two older women left the room.
"She doesn't really mean to starve me if I don’t look like a girl does she?" I asked my new 'friends'. "If she does, I will be dead inside a week."
"Have a little faith, girl," Sally laughed. "Besides the fact she wouldn't let that happen, you have a lot to work with."
She pulled me up and put my nightgown back on me, then stood me in front of the mirror. I looked like me, only not. It was their 'adaptations' that fostered the illusion. For one thing, my facial hair was gone, my eyebrows had taken on a decidedly feminine arch, and I had a good bit (well, it was a lot to me) of cleavage showing out of the top of my nightgown. I could tell the breasts weren't real. They looked very real. They even felt real to my hand, but now that I had calmed down some, I realized in was a one sided feeling. I asked and was told they were high quality prosthetics, and would stay in place until a special solvent released the adhesive that held them to my chest. My legs looked surprisingly girlish now that the hair had been removed from those as well. Overall, I can’t really say the reflection in the mirror was very impressive. It looked rather androgynous at best. Apparently Steph and Sally thought differently, because they started cataloguing my feminine qualities.
"Look, Caitlin, you are not too tall, or too heavily muscled, and you are girlishly slender," Steph observed.
"And you have got the most beautiful face, with its fine bone structure and those marvelously luminous pale grey eyes. And your hair, it is so long and beautiful already. We won’t even have to use a wig. I can't wait to get my hands on it," Sally gushed. "You are gonna be a knockout, girl. Now get in there and brush your teeth and take care of whatever else you need to before we get started."
And I was too, a knockout. Once Sally tended to my hair and applied my makeup, and Steph dressed me, they stood me in front of the mirror again. I was astonished. The reflection in front of the mirror was no longer androgynous. She was all girl, and she was beautiful.
"Caitlin," Steph said formally, "meet...yourself." Then she giggled.
I know I should have been upset by what I saw. I was after all a guy, but the reflection was so lovely. Not perfect, but still lovely. I could have fallen for this girl had I met her on the street. I guess eventually I did fall for her, but right then it was just a sense of detached admiration. Somewhere, very deep down, I heard a tiny voice crowing in triumph.
The first month or so was very difficult as I learned to move and speak in ways that were as alien to me I could imagine. Somewhere along the way I quit letting it happen to me. That is not to say I rebelled. Quite the contrary, I began to actively participate. Remember that tiny voice? Well it had taken over and my male voice had now taken the back seat in my mind. Oh it was still there but it had surrendered the playing field to this new feminine person that had awakened in me.
Funny thing was, I was more comfortable than I had ever been in my life, even when I got good enough that they decided it was time for my public debut. I wasn't scared or concerned about being humiliated like one would imagine. I was actually excited about the chance for the world to meet Miss Caitlin Davies.
I had a blast. I didn't dance that first time, because, I had admitted to Maya, I didn't know how. Well, she changed that. She taught me to dance herself. She even taught me both the female and the male roles so when I went back to my life I would still know how. The trips to the club had become a weekly thing. I even danced with guys, though I wasn't interested in giving them anything else they seemed to want from me. Caitlin still liked girls exclusively.
Slowly, I began to realize the reason I never fit in and was always uncomfortable around other people, was "her". She was truly who I was. She was the pure unfiltered natural me. And I knew all that other stuff, the stuff that had driven me to the drugs and trouble, was the result of me fighting "her".
I knew my time with Maya and the others was drawing to a close. I would soon be labeled "rehabilitated" and sent home to my parents. I dreaded this homecoming because it meant I couldn't be Caitlin anymore. It was hard enough once I was allowed to talk to my parents and I had to talk as Lynn again. I just couldn't bear the thought of having to be a man again.
It was these thoughts that I was thinking when Steph found me in my room crying one day before dinner. I was sitting in front of the window curled up in an overstuffed chair looking out in to the grounds of the estate, bitter tears of sadness leaking from my eyes as I cried silently. Steph had been passing by my room when she heard my sniffles and decide to check on me. She took one look at my forlorn expression and the tears rolling down my face and she rushed over, gathering me in her arms instantly.
"Awww, what's wrong, Sweetie?" She asked gently.
"I don't wanna go home," I sobbed.
"Why not?" Steph asked.
"Because I can't be "her". I can't be Caitlin at home," I said miserably.
"Oh my, oh," Steph said. "Come with me."
Steph lead me to Maya's down stairs office. We entered to find Maya tapping on her computer keyboard intently. She looked up sharply as Steph cleared her throat. Maya took in my tear-destroyed makeup and the tragic look I wore and her indigo eyes softened.
"What going on," Maya asked looking a Steph.
"I think she had better explain," Steph said giving my shoulders a little squeeze to show her support.
I explained the whole thing to Maya and by the end I was in tears yet again. "I just don't wanna be "him" again," I sobbed to Maya.
"So why should you?" Maya asked simply, as if she couldn't see the ridiculousness of what she was suggesting.
"I have to. My parents..." I began.
"Your parents sent you here knowing full well what our techniques are. I rather think they will welcome their daughter home same as they would their son," Maya dismissed. "If you want to be Caitlin this bad, then you should be Caitlin."
"You don't know them," I said forlornly. "They will never accept me."
"Girl, have a little faith," Maya said. "They love you very much and want you to be happy. If you need to be Caitlin to be happy, then they will love Caitlin too."
My eyes lit up with hope. "You really think..." I began.
"Tell you what, Caitlin, let's ask them. It's time they met their daughter anyway," Maya said moving to the phone.
"OMIGAWD, nooo," I begged, but it was no use. Maya continued to dial the phone. As it started to ring she put it on speaker phone.
"Hello," My dad's voice came out of the speaker.
"Hello, Mr. Davies. This is Maya Kincaid," Maya said.
"Oh, hi Ms. Kincaid. How is Lynn? Everything's alright isn't it?" Dad asked, the concern in his voice.
"Yes, of course, or it will be in a few minutes. Is Mrs. Davies home and can you both get on the line?" Maya asked.
"Sure hang on a sec," Dad said and then we heard him call for mom the pick up the phone.
"Hello," Mom's voice came on after a series of clicks.
"Mr. and Mrs. Davies, I have someone here I want you to meet. She is a beautiful and wonderful person and has just been dying to meet you. Mr. And Mrs. Davies, I give you your daughter, Caitlin," Maya said.
There was dead silence. It hung in the air like an impenetrable fog. After the third time Steph elbowed me in the ribs, this time drawing a small feminine grunt of pain from me, I finally spoke.
"Hi Mom. Hi Daddy," I said timidly in my Caitlin voice.
"Hi Sweetheart," Mom said.
"Hi...um...Caitlin," Dad said neutrally. "How are you doing? Are you having fun up there."
"Oh yes, Daddy," I said, ok, gushed girlishly. "Maya and the others are just great. They have taught me so much and I am so happy here."
"That's terrific, dear," Mom said brightly, "but aren't you about ready to come home? Maya told us you were about ready to complete the program."
"I...I can't, Mom," I said dejectedly. "At least Caitlin can't."
Another dead silence. I put my face in my hands and started to silently sob again. Steph hugged me tighter.
"Mr. and Mrs. Davies, we have a little problem. You see Caitlin has learned a few things about herself..." Maya said and then explained about what transsexuals were and about how I most likely was one. "She is very sad because she thinks you won't love and accept her and she will have to go back to being Lynn again after she leaves here."
"Caitlin?" Dad said. "Don't be absurd. How could we not love and accept our beautiful daughter? Sure we will miss our son, but you are still that child, whether you are a boy or a girl, right Dear?"
"Right," Mom said. "Caitlin, did you know I always wanted a daughter? We are gonna have a blast together you and I. We'll go shopping and to the beauty salon together. We'll be great friends, Sweetheart." Dad groaned at the shopping and beauty salon part, causing all the women including me to giggle.
The tension seemed to evaporate, and soon we were talking like I had always been their daughter. In the end it was decided that my parents would send Maya a power of attorney to have my name legally changed and they would make arrangements to me to start going to a therapist as a prelude to starting HRT (hormone replacement therapy). They let me keep the name Caitlin, but Mom insisted I take the name Sarah as my middle name. It seems all first-born daughters in her family took their great grandmother's first name to be their middle.
"Caitie, Honey," Dad said just before we hung up, "Don't worry about coming home. Your mother and I can't wait to meet you in person. I am sure you are as beautiful as you sound." Then we hung up. I was like I had started, with tears running down my face, only this time they were tears of happiness not sadness.
"So, Miss Caitlin Sarah Davies, how about we go out and celebrate," Maya said to me.
"Great," I said, "just gimme an hour to get cleaned up. I know I am a mess."
"Yes, but you are a lovely mess," Steph said as she shooed me out of the room. "Hurry, there are hearts to be broken tonight, girl, and you will shatter every one of them."
"Don't worry," I called back over my shoulder, "I'll be sure to save a few for you girls."
Chapter 5: Abject horror
I danced that night. I danced like my soul had been set free. I danced with a wild abandon and a passion that I had never felt before. I was the happiest girl in the world, and it gave me the energy to dance like I never had before and, though I didn't yet know it, I never would again.
The club was getting crowded and my dancing was making me hot. Soon I couldn't catch my breath, so I told my five girl friends that I was going to step out to get some fresh air and catch my breath. Sally and Steph got up to go with me, but I smiled at them and said I was just gonna be a minute. I told them to stay and enjoy themselves. For some reason they listened, and soon I found myself slipping out the side door to the club into the cool night air, alone.
The door had barely shut when I heard it. A male voice.
"Well, well, what have we here fellas," it said from the darkness. I knew instantly from the mocking tone of that voice I was in deep trouble. I spun and tried to open the door to get back inside, but it was a heavy door and by the time I had got it open, one of the thugs slammed it shut again.
"Yup. This is our lucky night, fellas," the voice said again. "I can't wait to get inside that." The 'fellas' chuckled appreciatively. Suddenly, I felt my arms grabbed and twisted painfully behind me. The owner of the voice and three of his cohorts materialized out of the darkness into the feeble light cast by the naked bulb over the door.
He stepped up real close to me. I could smell his fetid breath in my face as he spoke, "How about it, babe, you gonna be real 'nice' to us?"
He made the mistake of getting too close to me, and I brought my knee up, connecting solidly with his crotch. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. I began to struggle with my captor, while the other thugs looked at their fallen comrade in shock.
"Damn this little bitch is strong," my captor yelled. "Somebody put her out before she gets away."
That snapped the others out of their daze, but before they could do anything, I brought the point of my spike heel down on the instep of the goon holding me. I felt his grip relax as he screamed in pain and I pulled free. I was free, now all I had to do was run. I had to make it to the safety of the front of the club. I never got the chance, however, before the blackjack came down and hit me in the side of the head.
I wasn't out for very long, but when I came to my hands were tied in front of me and a goon was holding a knife to my throat. "If she tries that again," the first goon said, "Cut her throat."
"Now, time for a little pay back," he said and then punched me in the stomach. I was everything I could do to keep from doubling over and cutting my own throat on the knife. "Let's check out the goods."
The thug drew his own knife and cut the sleeveless shoulders of my LBD. The silky black dress slithered to the ground. "Little skinny for my taste, but she looks nice and young. She bound to have a nice tight little twat," the bastard commented as he looked at my exposed body. I wondered what was gonna happen when they found out what I really was. Or maybe I didn't want to know. He slid the side of the knife gently down my curves after a short pause at my bra. He left that on but he soon got to my panties.
"Looky here, Fellas," the thug said, "We got ourselves a real little slut. She's wearing a garter belt and stockings." He cut my panties off. I closed my eyes, knowing I was about to be found out. The thug grabbed my crotch, then quickly snatched his hand away as if burned. He hissed and stepped back.
"Fellas, it looks like we got ourselves a little faggot here. Well faggot, you're gonna wish you was never born. It ain't nice to trick a man like that. Get him all hot for the pussy and then not have any to offer. Well, we'll take care of that later, but first we are gonna show you how it feels for a real girl. Get on your knees faggot," the talkative thug commanded and I was forced to my hands and knees.
A cock was shoved in my face, and I was told to suck it. I was also told that if I tried to bite they would cut my throat. The cock was then forced into my mouth and down my throat, choking me. As the goon in front was using my mouth, another took up position behind me.
I had never known profound pain until that night. I would have screamed in agony as it felt like a tree trunk complete with bark was forced into my anal cavity, but the cock in my throat prevented any sound from coming out. Tears began leaking from my eyes as my threshold of pain was exceeded, and I wished for the release of death, or at least unconsciousness. They all took turns using me and sometime during the horror, my mind detached. It was like I was observing through someone else's eyes. They were using my body but were no longer touching me. After what seemed like ages, the thugs were spent. That doesn't mean they where through with me, they were just done raping me. They began to kick me. After the first blow landed I felt ribs crack, and I balled up into fetal position with my arms covering my face.
Just before I blacked out I saw light spill into the ally as the door to the club was flung open and several big men rushed out grabbing the thugs. I was saved, was my first thought, but then I thought it might have been better if the thugs had killed me. Then the abyss thankfully claimed me.
Chapter 6: Caitlin No More
I woke up in the hospital. I found out the thugs had broken my arm and a leg. They had fractured my skull with the blackjack. Add to that the several broken ribs and bruised organs, not to mention numerous cuts and bruises. I wore so many bandages I looked literally like I should have been on display at the museum in the ancient Egyptian exhibit. This was all on top of my ravaged and torn anus.
Mom and Dad were there and so was Maya. Maya looked pale and drawn like she hadn't slept in days. I found out later she hadn't. I was out for three days following the incident, and she had been there beside my bed the whole time. So had the rest of the ladies, but they had gone to clean up and get Maya and my parents some food.
"C...Caitlin," Mom asked hesitantly, noticing I had opened my eyes.
I closed my eyes and shook my head, fighting down the feeling of nausea the movement caused. "Caitlin is gone, Mom," I said weakly in Lynn's voice. "She will never be around again."
Maya made a sound like someone had kicked her in the gut, "Lynn you can't mean that."
"Look, Maya, you know what happened to her. She can't deal with it, so she crawled back into whatever little hole in my mind that she came from and slammed the door bolting it tight," I said.
"But you are her," Maya started to argue.
"NO!" I said vehemently. "What happened, happened to her, not me. She couldn't deal with it and I don't have to."
"Oh God, Lynn," Maya said kneeling by the bed and taking my free hand and putting it to her cheek, "I am so sorry. This was all my fault..."
"You are wrong, Maya," I stopped her. "It was all Caitlin's fault. She was the one that went out there alone."
"But I could have...I should have made someone go with you," Maya said.
"Then what, Maya?" I asked her. "Then there would have be more than one of us in here, that's what. There were five of them. Caitlin should never have gone out that door."
"He is right, Maya," my dad said, putting a hand on her shoulder as she sobbed against my hand. "I wanted to be mad at you. For letting this happen to our child, but he doesn't blame you and I find that I can't either. Lynn, it wasn't Caitlin's fault either. It was those thugs that did it. It was their fault, and luckily concerned citizens caught them at the scene. They are going away for a long long time for sexual assault and attempted murder of a minor."
"Still," Maya said tearfully, "I have failed you Lynn. I was supposed to help you and I failed you. I am so sorry for that."
"No, Maya," I told her firmly. "I came to you because I was troubled. My troubles I figured out were caused by Caitlin trying to get out. Well, her spirit is broken and she doesn't want to come out anymore. I don't think I will have those problems ever again, but if I do then I will know what it is."
"Lynn, honey," Mom said, "You are talking about this like you and Caitlin are two different people. That sounds crazy. I still want you to see a therapist."
"I know, Mom. It does sound crazy, but Caitlin was part of my personality that I kept suppressed, locked back in my mind to keep people from seeing that part of me. That part of my personality wanted out and the struggle to keep it inside was causing me to do the drugs and get into trouble. Now it's locked back away with that horrible experience and doesn't want to come out anymore. I guess what I am saying is I don't want to be a girl anymore. I want to be a man, because men don't get raped," I explained.
I was in the hospital for several more weeks as my injuries healed. They had to operate on my abused rectum a couple of times and the other women from the school, particularly, Steph and Sally, worked on me very hard not to let Caitlin go. In the end though, they respected my choice, though they were very sad to hear it.
On the day I was discharged from the hospital, Maya, Steph, and Sally drove my parents and me to the airport. They sat with us and chatted until it was announced that boarding would commence. The three women hugged me tearfully and Maya looked me right in the eye.
"If you ever need anything," she said with conviction. "I don't care what it is. You let me know, you promise?"
"Ok, Maya," I said.
"Promise me," she insisted.
"I promise, Maya, if I ever need anything you'll be the first to know," I said smiling at her.
"I lied of course," Caitlin said. "When my parents died four years later in the car accident, I didn't tell them I was all alone, but they found out somehow and those five wonderful women were there for me. They flew down and helped with the arrangements and helped me with my grief. They didn't leave until I knew I would be all right."
"I haven't seen them since, but we talk twice or three times a year - usually, my birthday, Christmas, and sometimes the anniversary of the rape."
Somewhere, while telling the story, Caitlin had returned. Janet found herself holding the smaller girl and crying with her as she related the tragic experience.
"Caitlin?" Janet asked, looking out the back window of the truck at the lightening sky. "Please don't go away again, at least not for very long."
"I don't know if I have a choice, Janet," Caitlin shook her head. "It still hurts so bad."
"Please, sweetie," Janet pleaded, "I will help you deal with the pain, and I really want to get to know you. Just stay with me now and let me hold you a little while longer, at least until the sun comes up." Janet held the smaller girl tightly and stroked her hair as they sat in the big black Ford, crying softly and watching the sunrise.
When the sun topped the horizon, Caitlin disengaged from Janet's embrace. Janet passed her a moist towelette and the smaller girl began cleaning up her tear-streaked makeup. Caitlin then took the repair kit that Janet had removed from her fanny pack and unconsciously began to reapply her makeup expertly. Janet watched the girl that used to be her boyfriend put on her makeup with a warm smile, then she too fixed her makeup, before putting the big 4x4 in gear and once again kicking up masses of sand in the air as she got the heavy truck moving in the loose sand. They would of course have to stop for gas on the way home, since they had burned most of it keeping the Florida heat and humidity at bay while Caitlin told her tale, but by unspoken agreement, Caitlin was going to stay at least until they got home and to the shower.
Chapter 7: Nightmares
Lynn once again stood in the doorway of a bathroom. Once again his brown hair dripped from his shower and his nude body was silky smooth. Janet looked at her boyfriend and hugged him tightly.
"I am so sorry I made you do that," she said.
"No you're not," Lynn said smiling at her sardonically.
"No, Lynn, I mean it. If I had known it was so painful for you I wouldn't have even suggested it," Janet told him.
"Well, you might not have at that, had you known, but I really don't think you are all that sorry you did," Lynn said gently disengaging from his girlfriend, "I know you girlfriend and Caitlin and I have no secrets from each other. I know you like her and I know you are going to want to see her around again. So I think you are glad you got the opportunity to meet her, however painful it was for all of us."
Janet didn't say anything else as Lynn sat at the foot of their bed and fell back with his arms spread wide. She went in and took her shower. When she came out he was softly snoring having finally fallen asleep in the position he first assumed on the bed. She crawled up beside him and put an arm over his body and her head on his shoulder, and she soon fell asleep too.
Janet woke up to a woman's scream. She leaped up trying to figure out where it had come from. Then she saw Lynn sitting at the end of the bed holding his face in his hands sobbing softly. Only it wasn't Lynn. It was Caitlin, Janet could tell by the subtle posture change and the feminine sound of the quiet sobs.
Going over to the girl, Janet gathered Caitlin up in her arms. "It's ok honey, I am here. I've gotcha," Janet crooned softly.
When the girl's sobs subsided, Janet got up and went to the kitchen to make them some tea. She was headed back into the bedroom with the cups in her hand when she noticed Caitlin had cleaned herself up and was sitting on the sofa in one of Janet's nightgowns and robes. She was the very picture of femininity sitting with her legs tucked up under her looking out the window that was behind the sofa. She turned to Janet smiling brightly when she heard the teacups rattling.
"You're an angel," Caitlin told her accepting a cup from her.
"Caitlin," Janet began carefully, "You're back. Why?"
"Umm...I had a nightmare," the girl said, "I woke up in Caitlin mode and...umm...I guess it's not gonna be quite so easy to put this part of me away again now that I have brought it out. I don't know if I am ready to deal with what happened yet, but I don't think I want to let this part go again."
"It has been 8 years, love. Maybe you are ready to deal with it and move on," Janet suggested.
"Perhaps," Caitlin agreed, "but Lynn has to take the finals coming up. This may not be a good time to deal with it."
"Judging from that nightmare you had, it may not give you a choice," Janet commented.
Caitlin looked down into her teacup for a long moment.
"Who do you want me to be, Janet?" the smaller girl asked quietly.
"Oh, Honey, you know that's not a fair question, but," Janet said with a mischievous grin, "I do have answer for you, though maybe not the one you want. I want you to be whoever you need to be. I love Lynn and as Caitlin is just a feminine projection of Lynn, I love her too. Funny thing is I am finding that I feel differently about the two parts of the whole. Lynn makes me feel safe and protected, while Caitlin is so vulnerable and fragile, she makes me want to take her in my arms and protect her from the evil in the world."
Caitlin looked up and smiled at Janet, but Janet could still see the ghastly torment in the girl's steel grey eyes. She wanted to take that torment away so badly. Janet's heart twisted in her chest, knowing she was impotent do remove Caitlin's pain, but she did see something else in those eyes too, and that gave her hope. She saw the love and tenderness that she had seen so many times in Lynn's eyes when he looked at her. These emotions seemed to be doing battle for dominance with the hideous anguish. Janet knew if time heals all wounds, then love is the salve that speeds the healing along.
"So are you gonna be in Caitlin mode for a while today?" Janet asked her.
"I don't know. Why?" Caitlin returned.
"Well, I thought if Caitlin was gonna be around more often now, maybe we could go shopping for her. You know, get Caitlin her own wardrobe. I don't mind you wearing my stuff, but let's face it girl, you and I are shaped a bit differently and not all my stuff will fit you in size or coloring. Though I must admit you look fabulous in my nightie," Janet said this last with a lecherous grin.
"You know, lover, that is not a half bad idea," Caitlin said smiling at the bigger girl. "Nothing takes a girl's mind off her problems like a spending spree at the mall."
"You know it, girlfriend," Janet crowed, and the girls high-fived each other.
The girls jumped up and headed for the bedroom. It took some time but they found a cute little outfit that fit Caitlin adequately enough for a mall crawl, and soon they were dressed with their makeup on and Janet was fussing once again with Caitlin's hair. Janet wanted her to wear it down, so she was brushing it out into a feminine shape. She finally achieved a satisfactory result and the girls headed out the door. They were about to take Janet's Prelude, being a more feminine type of car but they looked at each other, and in unspoken agreement, they took Caitlin's truck. They might need the cargo capacity. Caitlin decided to take a chance and she drove the big Ford this time. They giggled forever about it when Janet pointed out they were a redneck's dream, two beautiful women in a big macho 4x4.
Chapter 8: Schism
Caitlin woke up screaming and sobbing again that night. Lynn had been the one to fall asleep after a couple of hours of the incredible love making he and Janet shared. She really wanted to try it with him in Caitlin mode, but when Caitlin refused to make any moves on her, Janet took matters into her own hands and began a seduction of Caitlin. Much to her surprise, she hadn't gotten passed some kissing and light petting, when she found herself suddenly making out with Lynn. She couldn't hide her disappointment that Caitlin had fled the intimacy leaving Lynn to take over, but she loved Lynn (she had a hard time not adding the word 'too' to that thought). He had always been an attentive lover, though not as tender as a woman was, so she would never be truly disappointed to be with him.
She did begin to wonder though, as she held the sobbing Caitlin. The change between Lynn and Caitlin was striking. Even he/she sometimes seemed to have trouble remembering that he/she was the same person. Thinking about it, it didn’t seem too unreasonable to think maybe there was something else at work here. Maybe the trauma has caused Lynn's personality to fracture, the masculine from the feminine, because neither side could handle what had happened.
What did seem obvious to Janet was that, once awoken, Caitlin was now ready to put the past behind her. To do this, Lynn was going to have to get some professional help. Janet resolved to find just that for them.
It had taken some research, but eventually Janet got the name of a therapist that seemed tailor made for Lynn's situation. And she was right here on campus. The therapist was experienced in helping both rape victims and the transgendered. She had of course taken the liberty of calling and making Lynn and appointment. She had even been persuasive enough to get it as soon as tomorrow, given the exams would start soon, and they didn't need to spend any more sleepless nights during those.
Lynn arrived at home that evening his normal bright positive self. At least the self the Janet had known originally. She could still see traces of Caitlin in those haunted grey eyes, but overall, he seemed to be happy. Janet was glad he seemed to be in an agreeable mood. He was glad to let her take the lead in their relationship, but that doesn't in any way mean that she dominated him. Indeed, if he wasn't happy with one of her decisions, he could be as stubborn as a brick wall. She now realized that he happily let her control the trivialities in their lives because his resources were being consumed on some subconscious level with holding down his inner demons. Even so, he seemed to have pride and self worth which Caitlin lacked.
Caitlin, like a lot of women that had been raped, felt tainted and dirty. She didn't feel that she was good enough to be loved, thus had she shied away from the intimacy the night before. It was this more than anything, Janet supposed, that caused her to think that Caitlin and Lynn were two different personalities, or fractured pieces of the whole at any rate. She explained this all to Lynn, and, surprisingly, he agreed with her.
"Lynn, Honey," Janet said tentatively, "I am glad you agree with me because I made to an appointment with a therapist for tomorrow after classes."
"I see," said Lynn noncommittally. "Well, if you think it will help. I guess it can't hurt."
"Of course I think it will help, silly. Lynn, I just want you to be a whole person again. You are way good enough for me now, but I want you to be all you can be," Janet told him.
"But what if Caitlin is the dominant side like she was before?" Lynn asked her. "Can you handle it if I became a transsexual again?"
"Of course, you dope," Janet said with affection. "I love you, and I want you to be whoever you need to be. If Caitlin is who you need the world to see then I want you to be her. I love all of you, including Caitlin. And don't forget I am Bi, so you would be the best of everything for me, right?"
"But wouldn't you eventually want a real man?" Lynn asked her.
"I am assuming by that you mean a big macho muscle-bound pin head with a nine inch cock?" Janet asked. "Lynn, before this weekend was there any doubt in your mind that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you?" Lynn shook his head saying he had no doubt. "Lynn look at yourself. I don't mean this as an insult to your masculinity, but you are nowhere near that macho life support for a cock. If you had been I wouldn't have been attracted to you to begin with. You have always had a slight, even feminine, build, and you are not so testosterone soaked that you think with your prick. Believe me when I say this, the only thing that will change if you become Caitlin is that the rest of the world will see the attractive woman that I always knew was there."
Lynn got up and hugged her tightly.
"I love you," he said clinging to Janet almost desperately. "You are the best."
Dr. Claudia Sharps, sat in her office looking at the slight man that sat across from her. He had arrived at her office a short time ago and they had made introductions and filled out the paper work. Now, they were in that awkward phase, where they were getting to know one other.
"So Lynn, what seems to be the trouble?" she asked sounding remarkably cliche to Lynn. "Your...girlfriend?...was quite insistent that I see you as soon as I could."
Lynn had deliberated about how he would handle this. He had finally decided he would be as blunt as possible. To that end he began to speak.
"I used to be a transsexual, Dr, Sharps," Lynn began, causing the doctor's eyebrows to arch and she interrupted him.
"Used to be?" She asked. "As in you are not anymore? It was my understanding that if you were, you always were - if not, then you are not."
Lynn gave her a small sad smile, and told her his story. She was horrified at the pain and suffering the person in front of her had held inside him for eight years. It amazed her that he had been able to function this long without self-destructing. What amazed her even more was when, as had happened with Janet, Caitlin had taken over at some point and finally finished the story.
"So you see, Doc, after all the nightmares and waking up as Caitlin, I think the two sides of my personality are ready to be rejoined," explained the girl, for it was impossible for the Doctor to think of the person that now sat before her as anything else. Everything about her, her movement, her speech, her posture, everything screamed 'I am a woman'.
By the end of the session, Lynn was back, and the doctor had formulated a plan. She was improvising a little because she had never had a case quite like this one.
"Lynn, I am going to give you something to help with the nightmares. Here is my assessment. I don't think you have MPD, but I have never seen anything quite like this. I think you and your girlfriend are right. As some kind of defense mechanism, your personality has separated the masculine from the feminine. I think it will be a relatively easy thing to fix, but dealing with the rape will be the tough part. Here is what I have in mind. I know that exams are coming up in a few weeks, so we won't do anything until after them, except office visits of course, but after you have the exams out of the way, I want you to be Caitlin all the time, no matter how painful or frightening it may seem. The idea being, your masculine side that is used to being in control will gradually rejoin with Caitlin. I won't lie to you. Being Caitlin full time again is going to be very painful. That side of you has a lot of undealt with issues, but I also think your assessment was right about it being time to put them behind you instead of burying them. Next week when you come in, please come as Caitlin," Dr. Sharps told him and filled out an appointment card as Lynn filled out a check.
Chapter 9: Examinations
Unfortunately, the meds that the doctor has prescribed seemed to need to build up in Lynn's system before they really became effective. Consequently, when exam time rolled around the nightmares had only just become less often than a nightly event. The loss of sleep was telling on both Lynn and Janet. Coupled with the pressures they faced with their upcoming trials, they were both somewhat surly, especially to each other. It wouldn't be fair to say that they were at each other's throats, but even their friends remarked on how the world's greatest romance seemed to have taken a turn for the worst. In truth, they were only slightly less affectionate toward each other, but a lot more snappish.
Janet had come home complaining bitterly about how tired she was and she believed she had blown her first day of exams. She was an Aerospace engineering major and had a rigorous technical class schedule. The complex equations, that would have normally been a breeze for her, had kept turning into a mountain of indecipherable symbology. Lynn had had a similar kind of day. He was an architectural engineering student. He had known he hadn't performed to his normal abilities either. They were both among the top students in their classes, and they hated not doing well.
Lynn was in the middle of preparing their dinner, when Janet came in.
"I can't believe this," she said venomously, "I am so stinking tired that I can't think straight. I will be lucky if I passed those exams at all. When are your stinkin' drugs gonna kick in so I can get some sleep?" She may or may not have been pinning the blame of her less than perfect performance on Lynn. In her fatigue and disappointment, even she wasn't sure.
Lynn rocked back as if she'd slapped him. He threw the cooking utensil he had been using on the counter and looked at her with betrayal in his eyes.
"Well excuse me for being raped!" he shouted at her. "But as I recall it was your stupid stunt that caused all of this." He pivoted, grabbed his keys off the counter, and was out the door. He hadn't even bothered to turn off the stove.
Janet was still standing there with her mouth open, absorbing the implications of what had just happened, when she heard the diesel engine of the big Ford fire up and the low pitched howl of the tires as Lynn violently maneuvered the big truck out of the driveway and down the street.
"Omigawd," Janet thought to herself, "what have I done?"
Janet had finished making dinner, and had waited as long as she could before eating alone. After a further wait, she was putting the now cold meal in the refrigerator, when she was gripped by fear. What if he doesn't come home, she thought. What if he does something rash? She started to panic. Grabbing her purse she got in her car and started looking for him.
She had soon exhausted all the places she thought he might have gone. She had searched in increasing desperation and was even considering involving the police, thinking he might have had an accident or something. Then she recalled a place he had taken her a couple of times, and told her he liked to go when he needed to think or be alone. It was about a half hour into the rural area outside of town, so she pointed the Prelude in that direction and hoped she didn't miss the turn off.
It turned out she need not have worried about missing the turn off because it was clearly marked by the fresh dirt thrown on to the road by large mud grip tires. She had to abandon the Honda as soon as she got off of the road because it would never have negotiated the mud soaked two tracker that led into the woods. She would have to walk and she knew she would be walking for a while.
Had she not been so upset she might have noticed the beauty of the moon lit woods as she walked. She certainly noticed the less pleasant pungent aroma of the freshly churned up mud she was stumbling through. She heard him long before she could see him. The heavy sounds of Godsmack echoed through the woods. That wasn't a good sign. That was Lynn's anger/depression music. She finally reached the clearing she was looking for and there he was.
Lynn was sitting on the hood of the black Ford leaning back against the front windshield. He had his hands behind his head and was looking up at the stars as he listened to the angry music blearing for the custom stereo in the truck. He seemed oblivious to her approach, not surprising considering the volume of the music. He must have known though because he didn't even jump when she leaned in the open door and shut the stereo off. Either that or he didn't care who it was.
"Lynn, Honey?" she asked timidly.
"Yeah, what do you want?" he said acidly. "You didn't get it all out of your system earlier so you had to come find me and tell me some more about how I am ruining your GPA?"
"Lynn, Honey," she said softly, "Please come home."
"No, I don't think so," he said, still not having looked at her. "I believe I will just stay right here and let you get some sleep for a change. I wouldn't want my problems interfere with your education." His tone was dripping sarcasm and hurt.
She swallowed the brief flicker of irritation that flared inside her briefly. "Lynn, I am so sorry. I had no right to blame you for this. I don't know what came over me. I am tired and cranky, and I was a total bitch. You are the most important person in the world to me. Way more important than any exam or my GPA. Please come home." Tears were in her eyes and her voice quavered with emotion.
"Janet, just go home and leave me alone," he said, sadness replacing the anger in his voice. "I'll be ok, I just want to be alone for awhile."
"Sorry, not gonna happen," she said firmly, climbing up on the hood of the truck herself.
She leaned back beside him and rested her head in his armpit. Her arm snaked across his chest and she said, "If you are gonna sleep out here then so am I."
They lay there without speaking for quite awhile before he gave up. Rolling out of her embrace and off the hood of the truck, he said, "Fine you win. Get in, unless you wanna walk back out of here."
The big diesel engine was firing up as she scrambled carefully to the ground and got into the passenger compartment of the truck. As soon as her door shut, Lynn matted the gas and spun the 4x4 violently around, heading back out to the road. She swore as her head nearly bounced off the roof twice before she could get buckled in. Lynn was driving through the headlight lit woods at a suicidal pace. The way he slid sideways around the curves and plunged through the mud holes, one would have thought he was driving in a rally race. They did, however, arrive at the road and her car unscathed except for maybe a little tenderness where the seat belts kept them firmly in the seats through the rough ride.
He dropped her off at her car then waited at the road for her to get turned around and follow. As she pulled up behind him, he matted the gas again, spinning a huge amount of dirt on to the front of her car. After she had to count backward from ten to let her anger cool, she began to laugh. 'I guess that was my own stupid fault for pulling up behind him, knowing how he was driving,' she thought to herself in wry amusement. She pulled out behind him as soon as the dirt had settled and they headed home.
Janet knew his mood had broken when she pulled in next to him in the driveway. Gone was the angry heavy beat of Godsmack. She heard the dulcet tones of Sarah McLachlan drifting out of the truck before he had removed the key, silencing the stereo.
She was getting out of her car when he came around the front of the black 4x4 and paused. He looked contrite as he examined the amount of dirt all over the hood of the previously immaculate Prelude.
"I guess I owe you a car wash," Lynn said sheepishly.
"Don't sweat it," Janet said softly as she came up and enfolded him in her arms. "I am just glad you are home with me."
Chapter 10: Parting Ways To Be Rejoined
They actually managed to sleep through the night that night and most of the rest of the week. Being better rested, they were much less irritable and they did much better on their exams than they had that first day.
As the last day of the semester came and went, Lynn knew it was time for him to go on vacation. His and Janet's love making that night had an intensity that only couples soon to be parted ever experienced. If all went according to plan, Lynn would never be back, as completely male anyway. Maybe not even in body. If his and Caitlin's personalities remerged, he realistically saw no reason why he wouldn't return to the transsexuality he had discovered before the rape.
So it was when Caitlin woke up that night with a scream and began sobbing, Lynn was not going to be back any time in the near future. When Caitlin's sobbing subsided, the girls busied themselves packing. Caitlin would begin her recovery by a little time away from home.
By noon the day, the girls were all set to get on the road. They had opted to take the truck, do to the extra room to move around. It was loaded with their luggage and road essentials. The house was buttoned up and arrangements were made with a neighbor to pick up the mail and look after things.
The girls climbed into the black Ford. Janet looked over at the beloved person sitting beside her, reaching over and squeezing the smaller girl's hand. She didn't know who that person would turn out to be, but she was certain of one thing...she loved both Lynn and Caitlin more that life itself. She vowed no matter what, nothing would come between them...ever. Caitlin pointed the big truck toward the interstate and points north. So began her journey to heal old wounds and re-discover herself.
Epilogue: Revisiting
Maya watched from the seat she had just taken in the front row of white folding chairs. She had tears in her eyes as the young couple recited their vows beneath a flowered trellis. The couple was beautiful to be sure. The taller of the two was a lean strawberry blonde. Her dress was a simple pearlesant white silk sheath that hugged her athletic curves. Her ice blue eyes were brimming with love for the shorter one. The shorter one was a beautiful brunette. Her dress was far more elaborate than the blonde's, but they complimented each other. The brunette's dress had full flowing skirts and a large train. Her sweetheart neckline plunged to reveal a modest amount of cleavage. Maya giggled at this. She knew these were not forms this time. Nor were they implants. These were one hundred percent natural not-quite-C-cup womanly charms. The brunette's grey eyes were if anything even more full of love for her partner. The love she radiated flowed forth and infected all present. Older couples long passed the flush of new love were once again looking at each other with renewed passion, and the younger people gazed with rapture at the miracle they bore witness to.
The bride's maids were arrayed to either side of the couple. Maya's own girls stood for the brunette, even as Maya had been the one to give her away. Friends from their southern home stood for the blonde. Notable in their absence were groomsmen, but that was understandable with no groom.
At the reception, Maya watched as the lovely newlyweds held each other tenderly, speaking quietly to one another as they danced. Her indigo eyes filled with tears as she remembered the day two years ago that the very same large black Ford truck that was now bedecked with streamers and scrawled with 'Just Married', had pulled up to the estate carrying the student she had failed and her friend. It had been an emotional reunion for Maya. She thought she would never she Caitlin again. Maya had carried the guilt of the girl's loss for eight long years. It was a balm for her soul to see her again.
They had come to begin Caitlin's healing process, and it was soon evident that the girl's fractured soul was once again becoming one again. Caitlin had picked up where she had left off all those years ago. She had changed her name and began her HRT, as she began to flourish in the loving support Maya and her girls provided. Maya had only been too happy to acquiesce when the couple had come to her with their plans to be married and to hold the ceremony and reception on the mansion grounds.
The tears once again returned to Maya's eyes as the young couple charged down the walk amidst the shower of rice the guests were hurling into the air around them. She was thinking of those two lovely and supportive parents that had missed their daughter's big day having had their lives ripped from them prematurely by cruel fate. She was, of course, wrong about that. They hadn't missed it. They had watched over their daughter from on high, in whatever her guise, ever since they had been forced to leave her.
As for Caitlin, her wounds healed and the desperate halves of her soul once again rejoined, but the scars remained. It was understandable. One doesn't ever truly recover from such a horrific experience, but Janet was always there to hold her when the infrequent nightmares woke her screaming and sobbing, and to kiss away the pain when the horror clouded those beautiful liquid grey eyes. She never had SRS (Sex Reassignment Surgery), and said, with a blush, when someone asked her reason, 'It's not important to me and...Janet likes that particular bit'.
Lee Barrett had been a close friend of hers since they had met through one of Ellen's former boyfriends. That had been six years ago. The relationship with the boyfriend had lasted a whole six months, but her friendship with Lee had never flagged. Ellen couldn't say why she liked him so much, nor could she explain why he could talk to her, when around any other female, he would retreat into his shell and become quite incommunicative. Maybe it was because when they had first met he didn't view her as a love interest. She had got to see him in some of his unguarded moments. She knew there was more to him than most people realized, so as a psychotherapist, and used her skills to draw him out. Even thought he was more talkative with her than anybody else, it had still taken her quite some time to get him to talk about himself.
Lee was a conundrum. He had a good job making good money. His family was decent. By all rights, he should have nothing to worry about. His constant worrying caused him to have a really critical self-image and he had very little self-confidence and no self-esteem. He was just so sad all the time. Lee had so much to offer the world, but he just didn't have the energy to do anything about it.
In spite of the fact he was rather depressing to be around, she still wanted to be there for him as his friend. She was eventually able to get him to confide in her. Two years ago she had got him to go to a colleague of hers to try to get help for his anxiety and depression. He had been diagnosed with a persistent anxiety disorder that no amount of drugs or conventional therapy had been able to overcome.
Lee had confessed to being a closet crossdresser during one of their weekly get-togethers recently. He was being urged to explore this part of him in more public surroundings by some online friends. He thought this might be fun but was confused by the whole thing. He claimed this was just a way to escape his reality for a while, to be someone else, but as they talked about it she began to wonder. He had said that he felt as if he thought and reacted the way a woman would. She had asked if he was a transsexual. He said he was not, then qualified it by saying that he wanted it all or nothing. He couldn't accept being made to resemble a female by a surgical procedure that would leave him as a pale imitation of the real thing. He reasoned that because there was no way for him to be a real girl, he couldn't be a transsexual. Ellen couldn't fault his reasoning for not having SRS, but she thought his reasoning about not being TS was somewhat dubious.
Ellen just didn't know what to do. Lee had a presence, once you got passed the cold exterior defenses, which caused people to like him. He just had this nobility of mind and spirit that fascinated her. In spite of this, he was not exceptionally lucky with women. He had theorized to her that this had to do with his thinking like a female. He thought maybe he subconsciously projected this, causing women to not be attracted to him. She thought maybe there was something to the projecting thing, but thought it had more to do with him projecting remote inaccessibility.
Ellen had got past the defenses with a combination of her training to draw people out and their friendship. She liked him. A lot. More than was she was willing to admit. It was not that he was physically attractive, though he wasn't bad looking. She was drawn to him in spite of herself and she couldn't explain why. She had been battling against these feelings for some time, but it seemed the more she fought them the stronger they got. She was scared to tell him about her feelings for him because she didn't want to lose the easy friendship they shared. She feared that if he were to know her feelings he might put up his defenses and shut her out like he did with every other woman.
She was beginning to realize that this compulsion she felt to be with him would soon outweigh these considerations. One thing was clear. The therapist was not able to help him. If his therapist couldn't help him then she wanted beyond all rational thought to give him solace as his lover. This thought soon consumed her, and she found that she no longer cared about the personal cost to herself. She had to be with him.
"Hello, Ellen."
Ellen started. She had not seen the old man in the rather unkempt looking bathrobe sit down next to her. As a matter of fact, she would have sworn he was not there a moment ago.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Ellen asked.
"No," the old man replied, " but I know you, and your friend, Lee."
"So what can I do for you, sir?" Ellen asked.
"It's not what you can do for me, but what I can do for you. I have here something that will solve your dilemma," the old man said, handing her an envelope.
Ellen opened the envelope. It contained a brochure and a pair of two-week passes to some place called Bikini Beach.
"How is this going to help me with Lee?" asked Ellen.
"You'll just have to trust me," the old man said, with a knowing grin. "Besides, what the worst that could happen? You could both have a much needed vacation?"
Ellen thought about it for a moment, and decided what the heck, it might be kind of fun. She turned to thank the old man, but he was gone. This was strange, very strange.
Chapter 1: Confession
Lee arrived at Ellen's beautiful house overlooking a river. He parked his black Honda Prelude in front of her garage and let himself in the house. He found Ellen sitting on the pool deck.
"Hi Lee. Grab a drink and come on out here," Ellen said. "How have you been doing?"
"Same as always, Ellen," he said, taking a Corona from the wet bar fridge and putting a slice of lime in it.
Ellen Gowski was a fine looking woman. She was 5'6" and about 125 pounds with dark blonde hair that extended to about 6 inches past her shoulders. She had the most wonderful dark blue eyes. She was beautiful. Lee found it hard not to think of her without wishing beyond reason she would be romantically interested in him. Wishing he was not such a freak so she could be romantically interested in him, especially when she was lying out on her pool deck with that tiny bikini on. It made her look so sleek and graceful.
"So, Lee, what's been going on?" she asked, conversationally.
"Nothing much, just going to work and coming home," Lee answered.
He could be so frustrating sometimes, Ellen thought. She looked at him. He was 5'7" 145lbs. He had nondescript brown hair and the most amazing grey eyes. He was trim but not real muscular. She concluded that his best physical aspects were those amazing grey eyes and his tight butt. She shrugged mentally. It was no wonder women didn't seem interested in him, it took all of her tricks as a therapist to draw him out.
"Lee, I want you to take a trip with me. You need a vacation and I've acquired a pair of two-week passes to this water park up the coast called Bikini Beach. What do you say? It'll be fun," Ellen explained while Lee stared at her like she had just suggested that they go to Spain to join the running of the bulls.
"Why do you want me to go with you? Why not Gina or Sandra or one of your other girl friends?" Lee asked.
"Because, Lee, you're my closest friend, and I thought it'd be fun to spend some time with you," Ellen said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I wouldn't want to cramp your style. It'll be hard to meet a guy if you're running around with one already," Lee said.
'I will already be running around with the only guy I want,' Ellen thought, but she said, "I'm not going there to meet guys. I'm going to spend some time with my good friend…you."
"Ellen, let me ask you something. In the five and a half years I've known you since you and Bill broke up, you haven't been serious about anybody, and recently you don't even seem to be looking. Why is that?"
'Ohmigod,' Ellen thought, 'the boy is about to get a clue.'
"I mean, people are gonna start thinking we've got something going on, and I know you don't want that," Lee said with concern.
'Nope,' Ellen thought, 'false alarm.'
"I dunno, Lee, I guess with my career and what not, it just hasn't seemed that important to me," Ellen lied smoothly. 'He'll know differently after we get to the park, but I don't want to scare him off just yet,' Ellen thought.
They talked about it and Ellen convinced Lee that he really should do this. He agreed to pick her up at her house Friday evening. They would take his new Honda Prelude since he was looking for a reason to take it on a road trip. Lee decided he could use a vacation, any excuse to get out of his daily obligations and have some time to do whatever he wanted. For her part, Ellen was planning to tell Lee of her feelings for him when they got to the park. She truly hoped he would not run from her, shut her out, because she wanted more than anything to be with him. It was breaking her heart, seeing him so lonely and sad all the time. She wanted so much to make him happy.
Friday evening rolled around. Ellen found herself waiting anxiously her living room when Lee pulled up outside in his sleek black Prelude. He, as with most men, had managed to pack two weeks worth of stuff into one duffel bag. He helped her load her two suitcases into the trunk. They barely fit, and they had to put his duffel and her make-up case in behind the passenger seats of the little two seater. It would be a four-hour drive to the park so they decided to drive the first two hours before stopping to eat.
Lee was a good driver, though Ellen could sense how uptight he was as they navigated rush hour traffic. A couple of times he voiced a colorful opinion of another driver before he remembered Ellen was in the car with him. At these times he would blush and apologize to her. Ellen thought this was cute. 'Chivalry is definitely not dead in this guy,' she thought. After they got out of town and traffic thinned out he relaxed a bit. They chatted. She did most of the talking though. Lee preferred to listen and drive, but he would give his input when called for. He loved her slight Irish accent, but found it strange in someone with a name like Gowski. He had asked her about that once and she said her parents were from Ireland, but her great great grandfather was from Poland.
As the black Prelude cruised up the highway, the old man sat in the old woman's office. He looked up from the scrying glass.
"So what's the bet?" he asked.
"I bet he ends up with a lifetime membership," the old woman said.
The old man laughed at that, and said, "Come now Old Woman, we both know that's a given. How about something else?"
The Old Woman just grinned at him. "You suggest something," she told the Old Man.
"Okay," the Old Man said thinking. "I better he tries to decline your offer for that cute blonde's happiness."
"So what are the terms?" the old woman asked.
As the two worked out the terms of their wager, the scrying glass showed a black Honda carrying its unsuspecting passengers toward the strangest vacation they had ever seen. Had they known what fate had in store for them, they probably would have still come, but with a lot more trepidation.
It was 11 PM when Lee pulled the Prelude into the hotel parking lot. He and Ellen entered the lobby to check in. It was a nice hotel. The lobby was decked out in warm wood paneling. The thick carpeting was tan with burgundy designs. Soft wood and leather chairs sat around for the guests to lounge in. There was a lounge across from the front desk, leaking strains of music out into the lobby. They made their way to the front desk where they were greeted by a jovial corpulent man whose nametag proclaimed him to be the night manager.
"Good evening, folks," proclaimed the man with an exuberance Lee seldom felt himself. "How may I help you?"
"We have reservations for two rooms, under the names Gowski and Barrett," Ellen stated.
The man tapped on the keyboard of his computer momentarily before his brow furrowed, "Are you sure it was two rooms? It says here you reserved a two room suite."
"We definitely wanted two separate rooms," Ellen confirmed.
"Well, I'm really sorry about this, but the suite that was mistakenly reserved for you is all we have available. I know there isn't going to be anything else available anywhere else due to the martial arts matches in town until Wednesday. If you would like the suite I'll be glad to comp it to you for the first night," the man said sincerely.
Ellen looked at Lee questioningly. Lee just shrugged, looking impassive.
"Well, I suppose if it's just for the night, it shouldn't be a problem," Ellen said.
"Very good, ma'am. I am really sorry about the mix up. If you could just fill out these forms and give me your credit card, we'll get you registered and in your rooms in no time," the man said apologetically.
Ten minutes later they were turning the key to their suite. Ellen had set down her suitcase to operate the magnetic key, while Lee stood by carrying her other suitcase and his duffel. She was a bit shocked when he had retrieved the Ruger 40 caliber semi-auto out of the glove compartment of the car. When he saw her look, he got embarrassed, thinking he had frightened her until she showed him the Walther PPK in her purse. Then he laughed and said something about "pitying the fool".
They entered the room. It was as well appointed as the lobby. The door opened into a small foyer, which in turn opened into a living area sporting a couch, chair, coffee table, and entertainment center. Beside the foyer but separated from it by a wall was a small kitchen area containing a fridge, a microwave, and a sink. No stove, but the cabinets did provide glasses and what not. There was a bar and stools further separating the kitchen from the living area. There was an alcove on the wall opposite the kitchen and foyer that contained three doors. The center door led to a large bathroom decked out in black marble. Dominating the room was a large whirlpool tub. To either side of the bathroom there was a door. Each led to an identical bedroom containing a comfy looking queen size bed, a chest of drawers and a closet. As with the living room, the bedrooms had tan walls with a burgundy border around the top, and a plush burgundy carpet under foot.
Ellen chose the left hand room, and Lee followed her in placing her suitcase on the bed. As he was going to his room to get settled in, Ellen asked, "How 'bout we change and go to the lounge for a drink before bed?"
"Sure," Lee agreed.
Lee unpacked his stuff. He freshened up his deodorant and put on a clean shirt. He then went into the living room to wait for Ellen. She seemed to be taking a long time, but he reasoned that she had two suitcases to unpack, so he clicked on the TV. He was channel surfing when she came into the room. When he saw her, his eyes bugged. She had on the infamous LBD (little black dress). It was terribly sexy on her. Her hair was done up in a most fetching manner. She was gorgeous. He barely was able to keep his tongue from dragging the floor. Seeing his look, she did a little pirouette and asked, "You like?"
His jaw made chewing motions as he desperately tried to engage his brain's speech center. He finally managed to choke out, "Wow."
'I wonder,' he thought to himself, 'if she knows how cruel and inhumane this punishment is?'
"Don't get me wrong," he asked her, "but why are you dressed like that?"
She laughed and asked, "Why? Don't you like it?"
"Sure, I love it, but why?" He asked again.
"Well, think about it. Won't it feel good seeing all the envious looks you get from other guys?"
"I suppose it would if you were my girlfriend instead of just my friend, but you're not," he pointed out.
"Well they don't know that. Come on, it will be fun. Let's go," and she was on her way out the door.
When they got to the lounge, Lee saw that she was right. The male population of the room was alternately looking at Ellen with naked lust, and at Lee a great deal of envy. It still didn't give him any sort of satisfaction. It just made him feel frustrated that he didn't even have a woman, let alone one that looked this good. Ellen, for her part, didn't make it any easier by taking his hand and adding a sexy little wiggle to her walk. They found a table and sat down. Ellen sat very close to Lee. After the waitress took their drink order, Lee just sat there inhaling Ellen's perfume. She smelled wonderful, and it was too much for Lee to bear.
"Ellen, what in the name of all that's Holy are you doing?" Lee burst out.
"Why Lee, whatever do you mean?" she asked innocently.
"Can the innocence crap, Ellen. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Tell me what's going on and why I shouldn't be carrying my ass back to the room and having serious second thoughts about me being here at all. I think I beat myself up enough without having someone who I trust, and knows more about me than my own mother playing cruel jokes on me."
Ellen looked shocked for a moment. He had such a low opinion of himself he couldn't fathom someone might actually be romantically interested in him.
"Lee," she inquired, waiting until he looked at her. This took a moment since he was trying to look anywhere but at her.
"Lee," he looked at her, "would it surprise you to know that I am very attracted to you?"
He snorted in derision and looked away. Ellen was terrified of what she was doing. She had not planned to move this fast, but he had called her on it. She was about to either end their relationship or take it to another level, but her heart was breaking at his pain. She couldn't say why, she only knew that she wanted to take him in her arms and comfort him as a lover, not just a friend.
"Lee," she said again, placing her hand on his arm, digging her beautifully polished nails into the tender skin of his inner arm as he tried to jerk away. The tableau held until the waitress came with their drinks. She released Lee's arm to take her drink. Lee began rubbing the little angry red crescents she had left in his arm. Lee took his drink from the waitress and slugged it back, and requested another. The waitress left to go get it.
"Lee, please," she implored him.
He looked at her, those beautiful grey eyes clouded with pain and anger.
"D'ya think I was born yesterday, or that I just fell of the turnip truck? For god sakes, Ellen. I know you couldn't be interested in me like that. For one, you know all my dirty little secrets. You know what a loser I am. Two, what would someone like you want with the likes of me? So what kind of sadist are you? Do you get you jollies buy teasing men who have no chance with you? Or are you just planning on mercy-fucking me?"
Even before the slap resounded across his face, he was immediately sorry he said that. Lee had seen the hurt in her eyes, those beautiful dark blue eyes.
"Oh, God, Ellen, I am so sorry. I didn't mean it. God, I'm a loser," he said as tears filled his eyes.
Ellen had gotten up to storm out, but she turned at this last comment. She had something acid on her tongue to say, but she saw the tear rolling down his face. The anger seemed to just drop to the floor like the tear. Instead of leaving she found herself with him in her arms as he cried quietly into her breast. As he stopped sobbing, she sat back down, drying her own tears with a napkin. The waitress came with the drink and left quickly. They laughed a little about that.
"I guess we put on quite a show," Lee observed.
"I guess we did at that," Ellen agreed.
"Lee, I wasn't kidding about what I said. I am attracted to you," she held up a hand to silence his protest. "It's because I know you better than anybody else. It tears me up, seeing you so lonely and sad. I'm telling you this because I think I can give you some happiness by being your lover. Don't worry, it won't be out of pity. I really do like you, hell, I'm in love with you. I thought you were getting a clue on the deck earlier this week. I'm not looking for a guy because I have the one I want right here. I want more than anything to hold you in my arms and kiss away your pain and sadness. I want very much to be your lover, if you'll have me." She said this last with a pleading look.
Lee could hardly believe what he was hearing. This raving beauty, this Goddess, she was pleading with him to be his lover? Impossible. Yet here it was. She had laid her cards on the table. He no longer doubted her sincerity. He just couldn't believe it was happening.
They finished their drinks and paid their tab. Lee was still a bit God smacked, when they got back in the suite. He sat down on the couch. Ellen came and sat down very close to him, kicking off her heels, and pulling her legs up under her. She picked up his arm and put it around her shoulders, leaning against him with her head on his chest. She could smell his cologne. 'Drakkar,' she thought. 'Smells really good on him.' For his part, Lee was relaxing into the position of holding a beautiful woman close. He was drinking in the smell of her hair. It was wonderful.
She looked up at him. She smiled and kissed him, feeling his body stiffen.
"Relax, love. Just sit back and enjoy," she said. Ellen was also frightened. She knew she was risking a valued friendship, but none of that seemed to matter to her any more.
They made out on the couch for the next few minutes. Then Ellen stood up, taking his hand. As she pulled him up, she could see his package straining against his pants. She led him to his bedroom. She stripped off his shirt, kissing his bare chest on each nipple before engaging his lips some more. She gently parted from him.
"I'm going to slip into something more comfortable," she said, adding, "If those pants are still on when I get back there's going to be hell to pay." She winked and left the room.
He stood and removed his pants, freeing his erection. God was he hard. His cock was thumping against his belly in time to his pulse. Ellen came back in the room, and he about passed out. She was wearing the sexiest little teddy he had ever seen. Lee couldn't take his eyes off her. She stood there and let him look.
"Lee," she said after awhile, "do you remember when you said I know you better than anybody else?"
He nodded slowly. He was still afraid this was some sort of dream and he wake up if he moved to quick or spoke too loud.
"Well, I have something for you I think you'll like. Do you want it?"
Again, he nodded dumbly.
From behind her back she produced a pair of sexy satiny panties. She held them out to him. As he reached for them his hand shook with excitement and fear. He took them hesitantly, holding them.
"I was wearing them a minute ago, feel the crotch," she said.
He felt. It was warm and moist, no, wet.
"That's how hot you make me, baby. Now put'em on."
He did, pulling them up into place. It felt strange having the piece of damp material running between his legs, and feeling her warm wetness against his crotch made him even harder, if that was possible.
"You know," she said, "I like you like that. You look so sexy."
She came over to him and pushed him backward till his knees hit the edge of the bed and he fell backward on to it. She moved between his thighs. He moved up on the bed till his head was on the pillows. She stayed with him the whole way, finally ending up on top of him with her legs between his. She slowly leaned down and began kissing him, her tongue probing his mouth. She was slowly rubbing her mound against his panty-sheathed cock. She did this a short time till she sensed his impending release. She gently kissed her way down till her face was over his crotch. She leaned down to smell it. It smelled of his musky scent mixed with hers. Her tongue darted out and caressed the crotch of the panties, eliciting a gasp from Lee.
"My baby girl is so hot," Ellen crooned, "and her pussy tastes soo good. I think I may take care of her first then she can take care of me."
She gently withdrew Lee's cock from the panties and slowly eased it in to her mouth. She had only just begun to bob her head up and down on it, when he lost it. He pumped what seemed to her like quarts of the sticky white stuff down her throat. She managed to swallow all of it but a little bit that leaked out dripping down her chin. God she loved the taste of it. She moved back up to the his face, and told him to lick the drop off of her chin, which he did, then she kissed him so they could share the taste. After he caught his breath, he rolled her over on her back and returned the favor. He gently ministered to her sex, and soon she was convulsing in multiple orgasms. He moved up over her, as she had done him and kissed her so they could share the wonderful taste of her secretions.
As they lay there, she could feel his member rising once again. She reached down and guided it into her. He slid inside her well-lubricated channel, and she let out a tiny moan. As he began slowly pumping into her, her moans got louder. Finally, after her third string of endless orgasms, he came again. He collapsed on top of her, and they lay like that till he was flaccid inside her. He got up and got a towel from the bathroom to clean themselves with. They fell asleep in each other's arms.
Chapter 2: Let's take a shower
Lee awoke the next morning, wondering where he was. He sensed another body beside him, snuggled up to him. Lee raised his head, hardly daring to believe what had happened last night. She was there. This angel. She was still here. He hadn't dreamed the whole thing. As he lay there looking at her, her eyes fluttered open. She yawned and stretched sleepily, holding on to him tightly.
"Good morning, Sunshine," Ellen said with a small affectionate smile. "Come on, we have to get ready to go to the park."
They got up. Lee told her she could have the bathroom first. He asked her what she wanted to drink. She said that some hot tea would be lovely. This suited Lee fine since he had never acquired a taste for coffee. He went to the kitchen and nuked two cups of water.
He was just pulling the tea bags out of the cups when Ellen came out of the bathroom. She was wearing a towel wrapped around her hair, and nothing else. Lee looked up from the tea. His eyes bugged, and he dropped a steaming hot tea bag from his nerveless fingers. It landed on the top of his foot. He began jumping around on one leg holding his foot. She suddenly burst out laughing.
"Gee, honey, what's wrong? Have we got the dropsies today?" Ellen asked through bouts of mirth.
Lee thought about the situation for a moment, and began laughing himself.
"It's your outfit," he said, playing it off. "It's just incredible. Are you wearing that to the park today? I think you should. It's very beautiful."
"Do you really think?" she asked. "Well, I'd love to for you, but others may find it a bit too distracting. So, alas, I must change into something a little less interesting." She said this last with mock sadness.
"Ellen," Lee said seriously.
"Yes, dear?"
"You could be wearing sack cloth and ashes and still look interesting to me."
She blushed and smiled. She came over to him and gave him a long passionate kiss, then took her tea, and went to her room to dress. He followed her sexy little bare bottom as far as the bathroom, where he entered and took his own shower. An hour later the black Honda was pulling into the lot of the Bikini Beach water park.
Lee got out and ran around to the other side, barley making it in time to open the door and assist Ellen out. She thought again, 'Chivalry is alive and well in this guy.' They collected their towels and swim suits and headed for the gate. When they got to the ticket window, they showed their passes. The pretty blonde waved them through saying that health regulations demanded that they shower before entering the park.
"See you on the other side," Ellen said, giving Lee a quick kiss before entering the women's locker room. Lee entered the men's. It struck him it was quite small for a park this size. He shrugged, found a locker and changed into his suit. He then stepped into the shower.
He expected to be blasted by a stream of water that felt like it was fresh off of a glacier, but was pleasantly surprised when it was warm. It was also quite relaxing. Lee stood under the shower for perhaps a bit longer than was warranted, but he was feeling to good to move. Had he not been slightly red/green color blind, as a lot of men start to get at his age, he would have noticed the pale pink mist surrounding him.
He finally shook himself out of the semi-conscious state of relaxation with thoughts of Ellen waiting for him. God, she was great, he thought. He left the shower stall. Lee felt a bit strange as he walked toward the door. As he neared the door, he passed a large floor to ceiling mirror. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something unexpected. He stopped and returned to the mirror. In disbelief he stared at himself. He was not feeling the horror he imagined most men might feel at what he was seeing. Instead, he felt a cautious elation. It was like all his dreams were coming true. First there was last night with Ellen, now this. He was incredulous.
In the mirror, looking back at him, was him, but not him. She had his same steel grey eyes, his same medium brown hair that on him was nondescript but on her was stunning. She had many of his features, only in a gloriously feminine form. Her hair was much longer than his, going down about ten inches past her shoulders. As his eyes moved down, he saw two things that he definitely did not have. Breasts. She had the most gorgeous breasts he had ever seen. They had to be C-cups. They looked firm, and perky. They were also on display for the world to see.
His eyes continued their journey down her body. They stopped at something that was definitely was not there anymore. Her crotch was shrouded in an electric blue Body Glove bikini bottom, but there was no doubt what was underneath it. It clung sleekly to her pubic mound in a way that Lee always loved to see on women. He had just begun to move down to the beautifully firm, toned, and very feminine legs when he heard someone behind him.
"Miss? Miss, are you listening to me?"
Lee looked down at himself, putting to rest the suspicion that this was some sort of fun house trick. Nope, the breasts were there all right. That left only hallucination as the cause of what he was seeing. He had, he decided, gone off the deep end. A hand grabbed his arm, shaking him gently.
"Miss, are you all right?"
"I'm sorry. Yes, I suppose I'm all right for someone who in the middle of a complete mental break down," Lee said, enjoying the sexy contralto sound of the female voice coming from his lips.
"I assure you, miss, this is very real," the old woman said handing him the matching underwire style top to the bottoms he wore.
"Oh, really?" Lee said, obviously still dubious.
"Yes, really. Now put on that top. I don't allow nudity in my park," the old woman said, and Lee complied. "Now, come with me and I'll explain."
They left the locker room. Ellen was waiting outside. As they started to walk by her, she was looking past Lee toward the locker room door he and the old woman had just exited. She did a double take.
"Lee," she asked hesitantly.
"Yes, Ellen, it's me," Lee confirmed.
"Whaa, how…?" she stammered.
"I was just about to explain in my office," the old woman said. "Perhaps you'd better come too."
"Yes, of course," Ellen said and fell into step with them.
They entered the old woman's office. She went around and sat behind a large paper-strewn desk, gesturing for Lee and Ellen to sit in the chairs placed before it. When they were settled, the old woman began the speech she had given hundreds of times before. She told them of how the park was a haven for women to relax without any male attention and as such, males were not allowed in. She told them of the magic showers that changed any male that insisted on buying a guest pass into a woman for the duration of the pass plus 12 hours, in Lee's case two weeks.
Ellen had been watching Lee with some interest. She asked the old woman, "He's acting like he's been female all his life. Look at the way he's sitting," Lee was sitting with his legs crossed knee over knee, and his hands folded in his lap in a feminine manner. "He looks just like his twin sister. If I didn't know he doesn't have a twin sister and I hadn't seen the two of you come out of the men's changing room, I would have never suspected he's not a she. Why is that?"
"It's part of the magic. It imparts all the necessary skills to be just what she appears, a young woman. Lee you can pick a new name or use the one you came with, as it is pretty androgynous," the old woman said.
Lee thought for a moment, then said, "I always liked the name Lisa. I guess I'll take that one."
"Very well, Lisa. You'll find that as far as the rest of the world is concerned you have always been Lisa Barrett. Even your parents think you've always been their beautiful daughter, Lisa. Now, I suggest you girls go enjoy the park. I think you will find it to be the best vacation either of you has ever been on," said the old woman with a knowing smile.
"So, Lisa, what do you want to do first?" Ellen asked, pulling the brochure out of her tote.
Lisa donned her sunglasses. Ocean Waves, the same brand that Lee had, but a more feminine style. She looked over the brochure.
"I think we should start off with a dip in the lagoon," Lisa suggested.
"Sounds great. Let's do it," Ellen agreed.
Later, they were sitting on the beach resting after riding the various slides. Ellen was rubbing sunscreen on Lisa. Lisa had already applied a liberal coating of the stuff on her. She had found it strangely arousing as Lisa rubbed her body, lingering over her curves. Now, she was doing the rubbing and was finding that Lisa's beautiful curves where arousing her as well.
"Lisa?"
"Hmm?"
"So what do you think about this?"
"What, about being a girl?"
Ellen nodded and Lisa looked thoughtful for a second or two.
"Ellen, for the first time in my life, I feel right. I feel…happy. But, you know, I find I'm still very attracted to you. While we were putting lotion on each other I was getting very hot and bothered. I guess I'm a lesbian," Lisa said with a giggle.
"Lisa?"
"Hmm?"
"It's funny. I've never been interested in girls, but, God help me, I want you in the worst way."
They were just breaking from a tender kiss, when a young girl with red and black two-toned hair ran by screaming. An older Asian girl, who was shouting at her in Japanese or something, followed her closely. Ellen sighed. Lisa looked at her questioningly.
"Lisa, I always wanted a family. I'm not getting any younger, and I guess I can feel the biological clock ticking. Until I met Lee though, I never found anyone worthy of starting a family with me."
It was not lost on Lisa, the part about Lee being worthy of starting a family with. The more they talked the more they realized they loved each other. It was as if some strange force had drawn them together.
They spent the rest of the day enjoying the park and each other. When the announcement was made that the park would be closing in a half an hour, they made their way to the changing rooms. Lisa had to go back through the men's side to get her stuff. She didn't quite know what to expect when she opened her locker. She started pulling out clothes, and discovered her clothes had changed to match her form.
Shrugging, she striped off her wet suit and toweled off. She pulled out the bra first, magically knowing this was the first step. It was a lacy rose-colored confection. She slipped it over her shoulders, leaning forward slightly to settle her breasts in the cups. The she reached back like only a woman can, and fastened the strap in back. Then she pulled out the matching thong panties, stepping into them. She pulled them up, settling the waistband in position, and then ran her fingers under the edges to settle them in place.
Anyone who was watching would not have seen anything but the very picture of femininity. To Lisa, however, while she was magically given the knowledge of how to don these sexy feminine things, she was marveling at the new sensations they were causing. She had never worn thong panties before, and she was starting to become aroused, feeling the way they cupped the mound of her sex, and threaded up through her beautiful feminine butt cheeks. 'This body is so much more sensitive than my old one,' she thought.
She shook these thoughts off, and continued dressing. Next she pulled out a black skirt. She stepped into it and fastened it around her tiny feminine waist. It came down to about her mid thigh, and hugged her figure. It was quite fetching the way it displayed the curve of her hips and the trimness of her waist. She then put on the top. It was cream colored, sleeveless, and tailored in such a way that it displayed her upper curves just as efficiently as the skirt did below.
Lisa topped her outfit off with a silver necklace with a heart shaped pendant encrusted with rubies, and matching earrings. She was surprised to discover her ears were pierced. She slipped on the black flats she found in the bottom of the locker next to her purse, and was about to leave when she got the feeling that she wasn't quite done yet.
She looked in her purse and found some makeup and a hairbrush. Yes, that was it, something told her. She needed to brush her hair and apply a little makeup. She stepped in front of the mirror, and brushed her wonderful hair out, noticing how it curved around her face in delicious, slightly unruly tresses. She then applied some lipstick, and a little eye makeup. She didn't need much, she somehow knew. She marveled at how efficiently and how expertly she had applied the makeup. She also was amazed at how the little bit of eye makeup she had applied brought out the steel grey of her eyes, making them look slightly larger more interested in what they were looking at. She was ready now. She picked up her stuff and left the room.
Outside, Ellen was waiting for her. Ellen's eyes widened when she saw Lisa. 'Geez,' she thought, 'that girl makes me feel plain.' It was not true of course. The two women were both just as beautiful, but in different ways. Nobody could ever describe Ellen as plain. Lisa's face lit up, which made her look positively angelic, when she saw Ellen.
"Lisa, you look absolutely gorgeous. That outfit looks perfect on you," Ellen told her, suspecting that a cardboard box would look perfect on Lisa.
"Thanks," Lisa said blushing slightly and giggling. "This old thing? It's just something I threw on. Now you, on the other hand, make me swoon with your ethereal beauty."
Ellen rolled her eyes and said, "Come on Shakespeare, let's get back to the hotel and figure out what we're going to do the rest of the night."
"Hey, Ellen," Lisa said, "I've got a great idea!"
When Ellen looked at Lisa to prompt her to continue, Lisa was leering at Ellen, wiggling her eyebrows. Ellen groaned then laughed saying, "Some things haven't changed, I see."
"Some things I don't want to change," Lisa said seriously as they approached the sleek Prelude, "like the way I feel about you."
"I see my taste in cars is the same," Lisa observed as they got in and fired up the A/C. Then she thought of something. She reached in her purse and pulled out the wallet. Inside, she found her driver's license. It now had her picture on it, with Lee's same address and drivers license number. She looked at the changes, reading them out loud, as if to solidify them. "Lisa Stephanie Barrett, Female," Lisa made a little gasping sound as she read the next part.
"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Ellen.
Lisa handed her the license.
"What?" Ellen asked, confused.
Lisa pointed to her DOB.
"Oh. Oh wow, Lisa! You're six years younger than Lee was," Ellen exclaimed. "Oh great, now you're better looking and younger than me." Ellen shook her head.
Ellen had made the last statement jokingly, but Lisa though she detected something else buried in the comment. It was something that made her feel a little guilty. She thought about it all the way back to the hotel. By the time they sorted their room situation out, having decided to keep the suite, Lisa knew they had to talk.
Chapter 3: Gone a clubbing
"Ellen," Lisa asked, after they entered the suite?
"Yes, Hon?"
"Please sit down. We need to talk."
"'Bout what, sweetie?"
"About how you feel about this."
Ellen sighed and sat down on the couch. Lisa went and got them two cans of Diet Pepsi from the fridge, then joined her there.
"'K, spill it. What's bothering you?" Lisa prompted.
"Well," Ellen began slowly, choosing her words, " I guess it's you. You are the, um, person I love, but you're so young and beautiful and feminine that you make me feel inadequate sometimes. You're just so much more attractive than me…" she stopped because Lisa had let out this unladylike snort and was now convulsing in laughter.
"Just what do you think is so funny?" Ellen demanded.
"You," Lisa said after she got her mirth under control. "So, I'm so much better looking than you, huh? Ha, you're so full of it your pretty blue eyes are going to turn brown. You? Inadequate? Me thinks, milady, you've perhaps been in the sun a wee bit too long today."
"And I think you just don't fully appreciate how attractive you are," Ellen snapped.
Lisa rolled her eyes, with an exasperated look.
"Ok, girlie girl, if you don't believe me, I know a way we can prove it," Ellen said.
"And how is that?" Lisa asked, making it clear that she still thought Ellen was full of it.
"Very simply, we go out to a club and see how many times we each get hit on. The one that gets hit on most wins."
"You want to go trolling for guys?" Lisa asked, eyes very wide.
"And why not?" Ellen asked a moment before Lisa's look penetrated her consciousness. "Oh god, Lisa, I'm sorry. You just act so natural that I have a hard time remembering that until this morning you were a guy."
"Believe me Ellen, I may look and act like I've been doing this all my life, but that's just the magic at work. Everything is a new experience for me. These panties I'm wearing, for instance, feel so weird, not bad, but weird. They're constantly reminding me of what kind of equipment I've got down there. Which is keeping me in a constant state of arousal."
"What kind of panties? Lemme see," Ellen asked innocently.
Lisa shrugged, stood up and removed her top and skirt. She stood there in her rose-colored bra and panties. Ellen made her do a little pirouette, like a lingerie model. She got up, and moved to Lisa. Her arms went around Lisa's waist, while Lisa's arms went around her neck. Lisa was a little shorter than her now so Ellen had to bend her head down slightly to kiss her.
Their lips met, parting. Tongues darted out exploring. Ellen's hand stroked Lisa's back, one going down to cup her butt cheek, the other holding her tight. Ellen's roving hand caressed up Lisa's curvy flank, stopping to rest on her bra-sheathed breast. Lisa made a little sharp intake of breath, as the hand on her breast began kneading. So engrossed was she in the sensations, she was surprised when Ellen's other hand released her bra strap. Ellen guided the bra off of Lisa, one arm at a time. Lisa started to protest being the only one naked, but stopped as the hand returned to her breast. It began pinching her nipple gently, causing her to let out a low moan.
Ellen gently guided Lisa to the bedroom, laying her on the bed. Ellen slowly kissed her way down to Lisa's beautiful delicious breasts. She took one of the nipples in her mouth and her tongue began playing with it. Lisa began moaning again. While Ellen's tongue was busy with the nipple, her hand slowly moved down till it cupped Lisa's Mound of Venus. Lisa's body tensed up as the hand began rubbing her sex through her sopping panties. She spread her legs to allow her lover better access. Before long, Lisa's body began convulsing in her first female orgasm.
Ellen kept rubbing until it subsided. Then she moved between Lisa's legs. She slowly kissed her way down from Lisa's breasts, lingering over her flat sexy belly, before arriving at her moist opening. She kissed Lisa through the panties, which had the pleasant heady scent of aroused female, then began pulling the panties down Lisa's shapely athletic legs. Once the panties were removed, Ellen returned her attention to her lover's pleasure center. At first she just looked at it. It looked much like her own. Then she reached out with one finger and caressed the still engorged love button.
"What are you doing?" Lisa gasped.
"What? You didn't think it was over just because you had the first wave of orgasms, hmm?"
With that, Ellen leaned down and kissed Lisa's vulva through her neatly trimmed triangle of pubic hair. Her tongue then danced along the sides of Lisa's dripping slit. After teasing the poor girl in to a frenzy, her tongue finally went to work on that magic female spot. While her tongue worked, Ellen gently worked two fingers into Lisa's well-lubricated hole. Lisa began praying, and rocking her hips in time with Ellen's thrusts. Lisa soon began to orgasm again.
"Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God," Lisa cried out as her body was wracked with orgasmic power. Ellen worked relentlessly until the orgasms stopped and Lisa pushed her gently away.
Ellen sat up, watching Lisa. The lovely girl just lay there, breathing heavily. Her legs, which were still spread invitingly, quivered as the muscles spasmed in memory of the violent contractions they had made. Soon her breathing slowed, and her eyes slowly opened. Ellen moved up and kissed her passionately. Lisa could taste herself on Ellen's mouth. She decided that she tasted much the same as Ellen had the night before, and she said so. Ellen laughed saying, "Gee, I had no idea I tasted so delightful."
"So Lover, what did you think of that? Did you like it?" Ellen asked.
The girl smiled dreamily. She curled up with her head in Ellen's lap.
"Oh Ellen," she said reverently, "It's was beautiful. It was the most intense, pleasurable experience I have ever had. Thank you so much."
Ellen sat stroking the girl's hair affectionately for a while. She finally got up when she noticed the little brunette in her lap was asleep. Lisa stirred at the movement, looking up at Ellen with sleepy eyes.
"Come on, Sweetheart. Get up. We have to get ready. It's almost eight," Ellen urged.
"Ohhh," Lisa whined, "do we have to? Can't we just stay here and cuddle?"
"As pleasant as that sounds," Ellen laughed, "no. We're going out. I was serious. I want to see which of us gets hit on more. May the best woman win."
Lisa rolled her eyes, and began to slowly get up. When she tried to take a step she had to catch herself on the edge of the bed as her legs turned to jelly.
"What have you done to me?" she cried to Ellen in mock outrage, "You have taken my ability to walk. What guy will want me now?"
Lisa put the back of her hand to her forehead in mock distress. Ellen was laughing at her.
"They'll all want you since you won't be able to do anything but lay there and have sex," Ellen informed her with an evil grin, "So you see my plan has worked. Now quit fooling around. Get in there and bathe you smelly girl."
"Look who's talkin'," Lisa shot back, ducking as a pillow slammed into the wall where her head had been. She scooted out of the room, giggling.
Later they were sitting at a table of a club, dressed to the nines. Ellen was wearing maroon sleeveless dress with a low neckline. The dress clung to her wonderful curves invitingly. The hem came down to just above her mid thigh. She was wearing white stockings with maroon three-inch heels. Her dark blonde hair was pulled to one side and tied with a ribbon, the tail lying over her shoulder. Lisa wore a tight little stretch silk number, which stopped just above her mid thigh. It was a lovely cobalt blue, and set off those breathtaking grey eyes. She, too, was wearing white stockings and three-inch heels only in cobalt blue to match her dress. She had opted to just accentuate her hair's natural unruliness, giving it that sexy bedroom look. Both girls' makeup was tastefully done for an evening at a club. Both girls looked incredibly sexy, but by no means trashy in any way.
Lisa had been uncomfortable when the first few guys hit on her, but she was getting used to it. She was getting so good at turning them down, that many of them left feeling good about themselves, in spite of having been rejected. At the moment they were sitting at their table comparing notes on how many guys had hit on them. It was pretty much too close to call.
Two guys walked up to their table. They were obviously quite drunk.
"So I says to my friend Rod here, you sluts have been turning down guys all night. That means you're either a pair of carpet munchers, or a couple of stuck up bitches. So I says what the two of ya really need is a real man. What do you say to that?" one of them slurred.
Lisa engaged her mouth before she engaged her brain.
"I think you are absolutely right. If you could just point us out a real man, because I don't see any within ten feet of this table."
"Fuckin' whores. You're gonna pay for your smart mouths," the one known as Rod said as they bristled and started forward, then stopped abruptly, looking behind the girls.
"Excuse me ladies, are these insects bothering you?" the voice came from the direction of where the drunks were looking.
"Aye, 'cause if they are, we'll be glad to remove them for ye," said another voice, also from behind the girls.
Lisa looked back and saw two well-muscled men that moved with the fluid grace of someone who has attained a high level of martial arts training. She was also surprised to discover she thought they were cute.
"I think it'll be alright if they just leave on their own, but if they aren't that smart, your assistance would be welcome," Ellen said.
"You heard the lady. Leave under your own steam or get carried out like the garbage you are, your choice."
The drunks seemed to be smarter than they looked. They turned to go.
"Wait," one of the rescuers commanded.
The drunks stopped and turned.
"You forgot to apologize to the ladies."
One of the drunks looked as if he were about to say something scathing, but thought better of it. Instead he just offered his most humble apology and promised it would never happen again. Then they turned and left, quickly.
Lisa and Ellen turned back to their rescuers. One was a tall Nordic blonde. He had broad shoulders and chiseled features suggesting his Viking heritage. He was well muscled, but not grotesquely so. He was also quite handsome in a rugged sort of way. Kind of like a Dolph Lundgren only cuter. The other one, with the Scottish accent, was also tall, broad shouldered, and well muscled, but he had brown hair. He looked kind of like Adrian Paul, the actor from that Highlander TV show, only with more muscle.
"Thank you oh so much, gentlemen," Lisa said.
"Don't mention it. It's characters like that that give the rest of us a bad name," the flaxen haired man said. "By the way, my name is Sven, Sven Olafson, and this Scottish cretin here is, get this, William Wallace."
Lisa and Ellen looked at each other then looked at the Scot, who was looking uncomfortable. They chorused at the same time, "Our Braveheart!"
They all giggled except William who was busy blushing. That is, the girls giggled while Sven chuckled.
"Hi, Sven, William. I'm Ellen and this ravishing beauty here is Lisa."
Now it was Lisa's turn to blush.
"Well met, my friends. Can we perhaps buy you ladies a drink?" Sven asked.
"Perhaps, but you must answer a question first," Ellen said. Lisa knew where this was going. Run, guys, run, she mentally urged.
Lisa knew the guys were doomed when William said, "Agreed." She groaned causing the guys to look at her and Ellen to grin.
"What would you like to know?" Sven prompted Ellen.
"We were wondering, which of us is more attractive?"
Both guys got this deer-in-the-headlights look, but it passed quickly.
"Well you're both so unbelievably gorgeous that any man that says he wouldn't crawl through a mile of broken glass just to bask in the warmth of your beauty is either lying or is gay. You're both easily the best looking women we've seen. Ever," Sven said, as William nodded in agreement, "But, with all due respect to you, Lisa, I'm a gentleman and everyone knows gentlemen prefer blondes. As I said before, William here is a cretin, so he may have a different opinion."
"Och, aye, laddie, indeed I do. It is nae so obvious to my foppish friend here, because he is nae wearing his large thick glasses that look like the bottoms of coke bottles and he cannae see without them. Lisa is obviously an angel sent down from Heaven so that all of us mortal men that look upon her heavenly beauty will weep with happiness that God has graced us with this blessing from above. While Ellen's beauty does nae pale much in Lisa's presence, Lisa is clearly the more bonnie."
Lisa was blushing furiously. Ellen was smiling at the guys.
"Well done, guys," Ellen said, "Please, join us."
"By your leave ma'am," said Sven as he sat beside Ellen.
William took a seat beside Lisa, who couldn't keep from smiling stupidly at him. He just told her she had an adorable smile. He asked her to dance and she assented. They got up and moved out to the dance floor. They were joined there shortly by Ellen and Sven. The two couples danced a while then the girls went to the restroom.
The two men watched them go, admiring the sexy sway of their hips as they made their way through the crowd.
"Why do they always do that?" Sven asked as the girls disappeared out of sight.
"Do what, lad," William asked.
"Go to the restroom in packs."
"To talk about us, ye great Viking haggis," William laughed.
"What do you think about Sir William?" Ellen asked as they stood in front of the mirror freshening their makeup.
"He's alright I suppose. Why do you ask?"
"You two certainly seem to be fawning over each other."
"Well he's a good dancer, and he did help save our bacon earlier."
"So, you gonna sleep with him?"
"Ellen!" Lisa said in shock.
"Come on, Lisa. I know you're at least curious about what it would be like with a man."
"Well, maybe a little, but I wouldn't do that to you, Ellen. I love you."
"Ok, Ok, but what do you want to say when they ask us out again?"
"What do you mean, when they ask us out?"
"Lisa, dearest, don't be dense. Of course they'll ask us out. After all, you are, and I quote, 'an angelic beauty sent down to make mortal men weep with your heavenly beauty'. How could they not ask us out again?"
"He is a silver-tongued devil, isn't he," Lisa said smiling.
"And I wouldn't blame you a bit if you wanted to give him the screwing of his life."
"Ellen!" Lisa said, exasperated.
"So are we gonna go out with them again?"
"Do you want to?"
"Of course, Dearest. That's why I asked."
"Then yes, if they ask, we will."
They went back out to the guys. After dancing a few more times, Ellen looked at her watch. She pointed out that it was almost one am, and they had a big day tomorrow. They said their goodbyes and thank yous. Lisa following Ellen's lead kissed William, and gave Sven a hug. They turned to go.
"Lasses, wait," William said.
"Yes," they said in unison.
"Can we see ye again?" William asked, with a hopeful smile.
"Sure," Lisa smiled back, "When?"
"How about Wednesday around 8? We don't have any matches after that, so we can stay out late and devote our full attention to you," Sven said.
"Sounds great. You can pick us up at the Grand Hotel," Ellen said.
"See you then," the guys said in unison.
Chapter 4: The dating game
The girls spent the next three days relaxing at the park. They lounged around working on their tan, riding the rides, and chatting about a myriad of things. Ellen watched Lisa closely. It seemed so odd that this could be the same person that she had arrived here with. Lisa was a stark contrast to Lee's down trodden, infinite sadness. Lisa seemed to have a zest for life. She acted like every day was a gift from God, and she was loathe to waste a moment of it. Her personality had become warm and engaging, almost bubbly. It was infectious too. They seemed to draw people to them. They had made quite a few friends. Anya, the park owner's granddaughter, had invited them out for drinks that Monday with some staff from the park. So it was that Lisa, Ellen and their new friends, Anya, Liz, and Jenny were seated around a table at the local TGI Friday's.
Lisa was very pleasantly chatting with the other girls, like she had been one all her life. She was just seemed so natural. It was like being a man was the strange alien state for her. Anya noticed Ellen watching Lisa and seemed to pluck the thought right out of her head.
"It is strange, isn't it," Anya remarked.
"I'm sorry," said Ellen.
"Lisa's acclimation to being female. We can cause this effect, altering the mind of the transformee, but we didn't make any such adjustments to her mind. We gave Lisa the skills with clothes and what not, but left her mind otherwise the same so she could appreciate the experience as a new one. Lisa seems to just naturally know how to behave as a female. Come to think of it, looking at her mind, I would not know she was ever a man, if I didn't know any better."
"What do you mean 'looking at her mind'?" Ellen asked.
"My Grandmother taught me to read minds. It's part of the screening process, to determine was sort of transformation should take place," Anya replied.
"So how is Lisa different," Ellen asked.
"Watch how she reacts to people. It shouldn't be like that without the mental adjustments. She should react like a man, then awkwardly try to react like she thinks a woman would, but she just reacts just like a woman, from start to finish. Watch Liz and Jenny. See if you can tell the difference."
"You mean…?" Ellen said, surprised.
"Liz, Jenny? Ellen and Lisa would very much like to hear how you came to work at the park," Anya said to them.
The two women looked a little uncomfortable, but after assurance from Anya, they agreed to tell their tales. As the stories unfolded, Ellen experienced shock, amazement, sadness, and an appreciation for the compassion shown by Anya and her grandmother. The five girls talked the rest of the evening, about their lives, about other transformees they had seen, about the park. Ellen did notice, now that she knew what to look for, that, in spite of the fact that Liz and Jenny had lived for quite some time as women, they still were not acting as completely female as Lisa. It was barely noticeable, and if Ellen wasn't a trained therapist and looking for it, she would have never picked up on it. In fact, it would have been fair to say she had seen women act more manly than Liz and Jenny, which made Lisa's behavior even more astonishing.
That night back in their suite, after another wonderful love making session, Ellen lay there watching Lisa sleep. She stroked the pretty girl's hair, thinking 'What's going on in there, I wonder?'. Ellen resolved to find out.
Wednesday morning arrived. The girls had gotten up and showered. They were sitting on the couch in bathrobes, with towels wrapped around their heads. Ellen watched Lisa sipping her tea, with her legs tucked up under her in a most feminine manner. She thought again how comfortable and natural Lisa seemed with her new feminine role.
"Lisa," Ellen asked.
"Yes, Love?" Lisa replied.
"I need to talk to you."
"About what, dear?"
"You seem really happy, lately."
"What's not to be happy about, Lover? I'm on a terrific vacation with a terrific girl, and I'm in love," Lisa said simply.
"But you are a terrific girl now, and you seem so comfortable with that. What's more, you act every bit like you've always been that girl. I know you've had gender issues, but in my experience, most people who have wanted to be the other sex had to learn to act and think like that sex. You seem not to be having any of these problems. How's your anxiety? Have you been worrying about anything? It seems to me anybody would be feeling self conscious with finding themselves in an unfamiliar roll like you have."
"Ellen, that's just it. This doesn't feel nearly as alien as it should. It feels normal. As for my anxiety disorder, well, it seems like a conflict within myself has been removed, and the anxiety has gone with it. When I look in the mirror, what I see doesn't clash with my self-image. It seems right somehow. I think it was more unnatural for me to try to behave as a man would then, than it is for me to behave as a woman now. I simply act as my mind has always said I should be acting. I didn't much like what I saw in the mirror last week, but I feel great about what I see now. I always told you I suspected I thought like a female. Well, I guess the outside now matches the inside. I feel at peace with myself. It's a good feeling, and one I've hardly ever felt. The only thing that saddens me is the fact that it's all going to end, and I'll be the same old me after we leave here."
Ellen saw the infinite sadness flicker through Lisa's gorgeous grey eyes, like a gathering storm cloud. It was gone quickly though. Ellen watched her lover, thinking about what Lisa had told her.
"Ellen?"
"Yes, Dear?"
"You remember what day it is?"
"Yes, Hon, it's Wednesday."
"We have a date with the boys tonight. Let's do something different."
"What did you have in mind, Sweetie?"
"Let's go shopping. I want to get something nice to wear for the guys," Lisa said with a small look of amusement.
"Lisa?"
"Hmm?"
"If you would like to explore your curiosity with William, I have absolutely no problem with that," Ellen said with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Besides, I think Sven's great. I wouldn't mind being intimate with him. Don't get me wrong. I love you, and when you're a man again, I would never do anything like that to you. I just think you should find out what it's like with a man, and fair is fair, right?"
Lisa explored her feelings. She wasn't really comfortable with what Ellen was suggesting, but she found it had more to do with her being with a man than with Ellen not being with her. She knew Ellen loved her, and she believed her when Ellen said she was faithful. She also knew from first-hand experience that a woman needed certain things. The circumstances were extraordinary, so why not make extraordinary allowances. Besides, she was a little more curious than she was willing to admit.
"Thanks, Ellen. We'll see what happens," Lisa said.
With that they got up and began to get ready to go to the mall.
As Lisa navigated her black Prelude into the mall parking lot, she noticed that it seemed a bit more crowded than she had expected. The parking lot was not jammed but it did have a lot of cars in it. She finally located a parking stall that, while some distance from the entrance, was under a large sprawling oak tree. This was quite a find, and worth the walk, especially for someone who owned a black car on a hot summer day.
The mall was packed with teens, which explained why there were so many cars in the lot. School was out for the summer, so the kids came to socialize at the mall. Lisa was wearing a pair of white shorts that displayed her tush rather nicely, and a short red tank top that defined the curve of her breasts while displaying her flat tummy. Ellen was similarly attired except she wore tan shorts with a powder blue top. Lisa noticed as they walked that the male population tracked their progress as if their heads were gimbaled gun turrets. Lisa put an extra little wiggle in her walk.
"Targets acquired and locked," Lisa said to Ellen.
"I'm sorry, Hon. What did you say?"
"We've been targeted, locked and are being tracked," Lisa explained.
Ellen looked around, and started laughing. Lisa noticed she too added an extra wiggle.
"So, Hon, where to first?" Lisa inquired, then wished she hadn't when she saw the mischievous glint in Ellen's eyes.
They looked at a directory. Ellen found what she was looking for, and took off without saying a word to Lisa about where they were going. Lisa followed wondering what she had gotten herself into.
As soon as she saw it Lisa knew where they were going. It was a bastion of femininity. Forbidden ground where most men feared to tread. As if to confirm her assessment, Lisa watched as a couple approached the store. When it became apparent where the woman was going, the man peeled off, suddenly becoming very interested in the stationary shop next door. Then Ellen was leading Lisa into the place. Victoria's Secret. Lisa felt like a kid in a candy store. Bras, panties, lingerie, oh boy!
The girls spent quite some time in Victoria's Secret before moving on. They spent several hours shopping, spending a great deal of money, and had to make several trips to the car to drop off packages before deciding to call it a day.
"God," Lisa remarked, "that was never that much fun as a man."
"That's because men have so few choices. Everything is pretty much the same, and it either fits or it doesn't," explained Ellen as they hauled their purchases in to the suite.
"It's 6 o'clock. That should be just about enough time to get ready before the guys arrive," Ellen commented.
The girls were putting the finishing touches on their outfits when they heard a knock at the door. Ellen went to the door and let the guys in. Lisa came out of her room to greet the guys. She was wearing a black sequined mini-dress that made her sparkle as she moved. The dress was low cut in the neckline, displaying a moderate amount of cleavage. She was going to have to be careful how she sat because, while not trashy short, the dress was short. Ellen had assured her that she had the legs and looks to make the dress work, though. She leaned over to put her heels on, not so inadvertently giving the boys a nice view of her cleavage. Ellen rolled her eyes, saying that the dress was going to Lisa's head.
"The dress be perfect, lass," William said with conviction. "Or rather, the girl in the dress be perfect," he added with a wink.
Lisa came over and gave William a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Oops," she said wiping the lipstick off with her moistened thumb.
"Och, Lad," Sven said, imitating William's accent," Ye've been marked." Then he was similarly marked by Ellen.
The girls had a wonderful night. The guys took them to a really nice, and Lisa suspected extremely expensive, Italian restaurant. Then they went to the dance club where they had met. Lisa and William were dancing as the faster paced music ended and a slow dance commenced. William looked at her questioningly, and Lisa thought for a minute if she was ready for this. William must have decided the she didn't want to because he started to lead her back to the table. That solidified Lisa's resolve. She pulled William back to her.
He put his arm around her with his hand on the small of her back. His other hand took hers, engulfing it. She put her free arm around his shoulder, resting her hand on the back of his neck, and lay her head on his chest. She was getting aroused being this close to him. She could feel her nipples pressing into his chest. Then she became aware of his excitement as she felt his stiffening member pressing against her belly. She looked up at him, smiling.
He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. It was a tender lingering kiss, but it was also very powerful. Lisa felt like bolts of electricity were being sent from her lips to her breasts and being relayed from there to her crotch. She was beginning to feel wetness between her legs. If William had not been holding her up, Lisa was sure she would have collapsed because her knees had suddenly decided to go on strike and turned to jelly. All these feelings were a little frightening for Lisa. She was still trembling when the song ended and they returned to their table.
When Lisa calmed down some, Ellen suggested they go to the restroom. Ellen navigated them through the crowd, and into the restroom. When they got there Ellen told Lisa to fix her makeup. She looked on with some amusement, then finally asked, "So how was it?"
"How was what?" Lisa asked, playing dumb.
"Don't play dumb with me, girly girl. I saw you two going at it out there. I saw his package straining against his pants and the glazed look in your eyes when you got back to the table."
"It was alright," Lisa said after a minute.
Ellen snorted.
"So what do you think? Are you gonna do him," Ellen asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Lisa blushed, but answered honestly. "Ellen, I think it's far less out of the question than the last time you asked me that. Probably not tonight though. I don't want to seem easy. How about you and Sven? Are you gonna do him?"
Ellen laughed saying, "I will if you will."
It was quite late when they left the club. As they climbed in to Sven's Yukon, William suggested a walk on the beach. The girls agreed that was a terrific idea. Sven put the big SUV in gear and headed toward the beach.
Lisa had taken her heels off and William was carrying them. They were holding hands and Lisa had pressed herself up against his arm. Sven and Ellen walked a little ways ahead of them. The moonlight was beautiful as it reflected off the water. The surf was light, but the phosphorescence of the waves when they broke was enchanting.
"Sven, wait one," William called. When they caught up, William got the keys from him, saying he and Lisa were going back to the truck to get the blanket and sit for a while. Sven and Ellen decided to keep walking.
Soon Lisa was sitting on the blanket watching the surf. She was snuggled up to William, who had his arm around her shoulders. He reached up and put his finger under her chin, lifting her face for a kiss. Lisa responded in kind. In no time they were making out like horny teens. William's hand gently caressed her lush curves, as his tongue tentatively sought hers. Lisa felt her resolve not to have sex with him tonight slipping. She stiffened when his hand cupped her breast. He felt it, and started to remove his hand. She placed her hand over his letting him know it was all right. He began massaging the breast, sapping what little control was left to her. If he had tried right then to make love to her she would not have stopped him. He just kept kissing and caressing her, not trying to go any farther. That's what they were doing when Sven and Ellen returned.
"Are you two perverts ready to go?" Sven called out to them.
"Perverts, huh," William said in mock offence. "ye may call me what ye will, Lad, but if ye apologize to my Lady friend here immediately, I will plead with her nae to strike down yer sorry carcass were ye stand. She is a goddess ye know. She has the power."
"Ha," Sven said, "I brought my own goddess for protection." He jumped behind Ellen, holding her in front of him and saying, "Please don't let her hurt me, O kind and lovely goddess."
The image of the big Viking cowering behind Ellen's delicate form, peering over her shoulder at them was too much. William and Lisa collapsed on the blanket in fits of laughter.
Ellen rolled her eyes. "I've gone out with a bunch of clowns."
"Yes," Sven said spinning her around, "but we are attractive clowns."
"You do have a point there," Ellen said planting passionate kiss on his lips.
In a little while they were standing in the hallway of the hotel saying their goodbyes.
"Why didn't you try to go further out there on the beach? I would have let you, you know," Lisa asked William.
"Lass, I could tell ye nae be ready for that. I dinnae want ye ta have any regrets," He replied simply.
Lisa felt her eyes mist up. "Thank you, William," she said and gave him a tender kiss. She then quickly entered the room before she started crying.
Ellen entered the suite, closing the door behind her. Lisa moved to her hugging her.
"It's a good thing I love you. William is so great. I had such a great time tonight, and I can barely control myself when he kisses me," Lisa enthused.
"I can tell, dear. We watched you two go at it for at least twenty minutes, and we walked on the beach for an hour and a half before that. You need to go take your makeup off. It's a mess," said Ellen.
"Look who's talking. I can tell by your smeared makeup you and Sven weren't just discussing Pavlov's Dogs," Lisa giggled.
Chapter 5: You're a lifesaver
As the following days rolled by, the girls enjoyed the easy camaraderie, which Lisa tended to foster in others, with the members at the park. They did find time to be alone though. At these times they would talk about their lives, and what they hoped to accomplish with them. Lisa told Ellen she had always wanted to be a mechanical engineer. When Ellen asked why she didn't do it, Lisa told her that she didn't think she was creative enough and college was not linear enough to hold her interest. Instead she opted for a trade school.
She was a little concerned that her field was starting to lose the luster that it had originally had, and she was starting to think she didn't want to do this sort of work till she was 65. Ellen told Lisa she was very happy in her career. The only thing she had not managed to accomplish yet was marriage. Oh, she had had plenty of relationships in college, but none had that spark. She told Lisa she wanted a family very badly, and she was starting to despair of finding the right person when Bill introduced Lee to her.
She told Lisa how she had gradually realized that Lee was the man she wanted to father her kids. It had taken a long time to get Lee to open up, but she knew there was a great person in there. It really upset her to see him in such pain. She told Lisa of how she just wanted to hold Lee and sooth him when he was down, and how she was just so terrified that if she told Lee how she felt he would shut her out, and she would lose his friendship. Ellen told Lisa of how she was sitting in the mall thinking about how she was going to tell Lee she wanted him more than anything else when the strange old man showed up and gave her the passes for this place and telling her it would solve their problems.
"So you want kids pretty badly, huh?" Lisa asked her.
"Oh, Lisa, more than anything." Ellen said earnestly.
Lisa looked thoughtful and didn't say anything for a long time.
They spent the evenings after the park going out with Anya and her friends, going out with William and Sven, or just staying in making love. Lisa and Anya had become quite good friends. Lisa and Jenny hit it off pretty well too. They could sit and talk for hours talking about mechanical stuff. They usually didn't get to, since the other girls would tease them till they stopped. Lisa had definitely made friends on the Bikini Beach staff.
Lisa was left uncomfortably in the spotlight after an incident that occurred on the second Wednesday. They were walking past the Junior Lifeguard Academy waving to Liz. There were two young girls climbing the wall. One had nearly reached the top when she fell. She plunged fifteen feet before striking the other girl in the head with her flailing limbs. The impact spun the first girl around banging her head on the wall before she hit the water. The second girl fell into the water. Both girls appeared to be unconscious.
Lisa was off before the girls hit the water, yelling for Ellen to get Doc Chastity. She beat Liz to the girls by virtue of the fact Liz was in the water already, at the wrong end of the pool. Lisa dove in grabbing the first girl, while somehow managing to hold the other's head above water for the second it took Liz to get there. The women got the girls out of the pool. Fortunately, Lisa had got them quickly enough and they were still breathing.
The girls were coming around when Doc Chastity arrived and assessed the injuries. She said the girls would have a bruise on each of their heads and she wanted to take them to the infirmary to observe them for concussions, but she thought they would be all right, thanks to Liz and Lisa's quick responses. The mothers of the girls found Lisa later that day. They each hugged her and gave her a tearful "thank you". Lisa told them that it was nothing that anybody else wouldn't have done in her position.
"You're wrong, you know," it was the old woman. "Most people would've frozen - or at least hesitated. You beat Liz to the girls and that was no mean feat."
"I was running, Liz was swimming." Lisa dismissed.
"You were running from much further away, and Liz told me the first she knew of something wrong was when she saw you do zero to mach 1 instantaneously," the old woman said firmly.
Lisa started to protest again, but the old woman over rode her, "Your modesty is appreciated, but, for goodness sake it, girl, take a little well deserved credit sometimes!"
"Yes, Ma'am," Lisa smiled.
"That's better. Now I'd like to extend my thanks, and as soon as I figure out what, I want to do something for you."
Lisa started to open her mouth, but the old woman glared at her till she closed it.
"Good, there may be hope for you yet. You two go have fun. I'll let you know what I have planned later," the old woman said as she marched off.
Anya found them just as they were preparing to leave.
"Grandmother wanted me to find you. She said to tell you that we're having a little ceremony to recognize you and Liz for your heroism tomorrow at the Tiki Hut. It's scheduled for noon. She said, and these are her words, 'she better have that cute little butt there on time' and then mumbled something about your silly modesty," Anya said grinning.
Lisa rolled her eyes and said, "Good lord, I guess I better be there then. I just don't see what I did as that big a deal."
"Lisa, sweetie," Ellen said with patience, "I can list at least four people that think it was a very big deal."
"Touche," Lisa admitted.
The next day at noon a crowd was gathered at the Tiki Hut. They had grills set up with burgers and hot dogs cooking. The old woman was standing on a raised platform with the guests of honor, the girls they rescued and the girls' mothers.
"Ladies," the old woman began, "we averted a near disaster yesterday, thanks to the quick reactions of one of our patrons and one of our lifeguards. A young lady fell from near the top of the climbing wall colliding with another young lady, and knocking out both girls. Lisa Barrett was passing with her friend when she saw it happen. She instantly came to the assistance of our lifeguard Liz Nelson, actually beating her to the victims and holding both girls' heads above water until Liz arrived. Then they both pulled the girls to safety. Normally, I wouldn't make a big deal of Liz doing her job, but Lisa is a park patron, and as such, went above and beyond. The girls' mothers insisted we have a little ceremony so the girls can present a small token of their gratitude to our Heroic duo here. I agreed. So without further ado, we'll get started. Lisa could you come up here please?"
Lisa stood and moved to where the old woman stood. The old woman beckoned to the girls. They came up standing opposite Lisa.
"Miss Barrett we wanted to thank you for saving our lives yesterday. We got this for you so you will always know whenever you look at it you're our hero," said one of the girls, as the other girl gave Lisa a small box.
Lisa opened the box and pulled out the gold chain with a gold charm in the shape of a life preserver.
"Read the back, it's inscribed," the talking girl told her.
Lisa read out loud, "With gratitude, Love Amy and Stacie. Girls, I love it and will treasure it always," Lisa said hugging the girls with tears in her eyes. The girls helped her put it on. Actually, they put it on her. She just held her hair out of the way. Then she returned to her seat as the crowd applauded.
Liz was next. They went through a similar presentation for Liz. Then everybody was told to go get some burgers and hot dogs. As the crowd dispersed the girls and their moms came over to Lisa and Liz.
"We just wanted to tell you again how indebted to you ladies we are. I hope you like the necklaces. The girls picked them out," said one of the mothers giving them each a hug, followed by the same treatment from the other mother.
Lisa was about to say something like 'You shouldn't have', but she caught the old woman glaring at her and just said, "It's wonderful. I'm just glad I was there to help."
Lisa and Liz chatted amiably with the girls and their mothers until Ellen brought the two heroes each a plate of food. Anya followed her with drinks. The two families excused themselves to get their own food.
The old woman walked up. She looked at Lisa thoughtfully and absently stroked Anya's hair.
"Lisa, how many people have you pulled out of the water," the old woman asked.
Lisa looked down at the little gold life preserver hanging from her neck. She got a faraway look as she remembered each incident. "I guess about five," she said finally.
Liz arched her eyebrows. Anya said, "Wow."
"Five people owe you their lives, from drowning. Liz, given your current and previous capacity as a lifeguard and your greater experience, how many people have you saved?"
"Seven," Liz said with certainty.
"Lisa you've saved almost as many people as Liz has. I happen to know that you've saved a great many more people than that from other fates, either by pulling them from the path of an oncoming car, or less directly by not compromising your principles and not letting the Powers-That-Be ignore an unsafe condition. I am telling you this because you seem to really believe that most people would've done what you did in a given situation. You are wrong in that. You're modest, and that's commendable, but you're also special. You don't give yourself enough credit for that," the old woman lectured.
"We're talking about my impending return to my old life, correct?" Lisa asked. "Well, I don't feel special. I feel insignificant. I feel just out of phase with the rest of the world, but as the song goes," Lisa said grinning, "'all that shit seems to disappear when I'm here with you'."
"Lisa, you're far from insignificant," the old woman said firmly. The rest of the girls nodded their agreement.
Chapter 6: The love boat
"Lisa it's four o'clock," Ellen observed. "We have a date with the guys tonight."
"Well, ladies," Lisa said to the group of women who had been talking with her, "as fun as this has been, Ellen and I have more, ah, pressing matters to attend to." This was greeted with knowing smiles and giggles.
Back at the hotel room, they were sitting on the couch relaxing for a few moments.
"Lisa, this is our last date with the guys," Ellen pointed out. "If you don't do it tonight you won't get another chance."
"I know, Ellen. It's just so scary."
"Why? Women do it all the time. Last Friday you and I did it. There's nothing to be scared about, hon."
"I don't think it's the act itself that's scary. I think it's the concept. It just seems so unnatural, the idea of being with a man. I mean what if…?"
"What if you like it? Well, of course you're going to like it. And it's natural for you to be with a man. After all, look in the mirror. You're a painfully beautiful young woman. What could be more natural between a beautiful woman and a handsome man? The guys have been incredibly patient with us. They deserve a little something to remember us by, don't you think?" Ellen coaxed.
"You're right, of course. As always. I can't make any promises, but I'll try not to chicken out," Lisa said.
"Well, I suppose that'll just have to do. Let's get ready. The guys will be here in a little while. They said to dress casual. I wonder what they have in mind?" Ellen wondered.
The guys arrived right on time. Lisa let them in the room. She gave Sven a hug and William a hug and a lingering kiss.
Ellen came into the room, she repeated the process, only she gave Sven the lingering kiss.
"Would you look at them, William? We told them to dress causal and they still look like goddesses," Sven observed.
"Aye, Lad, we're too lucky by half. Lasses, ye look devastating," William concurred.
The girls blushed. Lisa thought she and Ellen were the lucky ones to have found these two.
"So what are we doing to night?" Lisa asked as they piled into Sven's SUV.
"It's a surprise, lass," William said enigmatically, as Sven grinned and put the Yukon in gear.
Soon they were pulling into a marina parking lot. The guys got out and assisted the ladies out, then headed toward the docks holding the girls' hands. They walked down a row of various boats, stopping at a large Sea Ray. Lisa estimated it to be about a fifty-footer. It was a beautiful craft. The guys boarded it, helping the girls off the dock and onto the deck.
William disappeared in to the cabin, returning after a moment with a glass of champagne for each girl, and then he led the girls up to the cockpit. In addition to the controls and electronic gear the upper bridge contained some seating with a table. He gestured for the girls to sit and went to the controls. He began messing with the controls like someone who had done this many times before, and the powerful twin diesels rumbled into life.
Sven had gone forward and was standing on the bow. At his signal, a boy that worked for the marina tossed him the bowline, which Sven coiled and stowed. The process was repeated for the stern lines. William coaxed the craft out of the slip. Sven came up to the bridge and picked up the mic to the radio as he checked that it was powered up and on the channel his wanted.
"Del Ray Marina Control, this is the Scottish Adventure," Sven said into the mic.
"Scottish Adventure, this is Del Ray Marina Control, go ahead," crackled the radio after a moment.
"Yeah, Marina Control. We are headed out. Just wanted to confirm we are due back between 8 and 9 am tomorrow. Anything new on the expected conditions," Sven inquired.
"Negative, Scottish Adventure, conditions calm, seas one to two feet. No changes through tomorrow noon. Great night for sailing. Good luck and we'll see you tomorrow morning. Marina Control out."
"Thanks Marina Control. Scottish Adventure out," Sven said putting the mic back in its clip.
Sven then went below and returned with his own glass of champagne. Sitting down at the table with the girls, he broke in to a credible rendition of the theme song of Gilligan's Island stopping at the part about the 'three hour tour'. The girls had dissolved into laughter when William struck a pose during the part about the skipper.
William navigated them out to open water then motored down the coast, about a half-mile off shore. As the sun approached the horizon, William shut the diesels down and dropped the anchor. The girls were instructed to stay put as the guys went below. They were sitting enjoying the sea breeze and the smell of the salt air. Sven returned momentarily with a tray containing four bowls of salad, a basket of garlic bread, four sets of silverware and place mats. Then he went back below. He returned with the champagne in a bucket of ice, a carafe of water and four glasses with ice.
When all was in readiness, William appeared as if on cue. He carried a large tray with four covered dishes. As he distributed them, Sven turned on the boat's sound system. Lisa was amazed at the strains of music that came alive all around them. It seemed perfectly suited to a romantic dinner on a boat beneath the setting sun. Sven returned to the table and sat, wearing a big wide grin. William waited until Sven was settled and removed the covers from the dishes with a flourish. Placing the covers on the tray and the tray to the side, he took his seat beside Lisa.
"Ahem," William cleared his throat as he raised his glass of champagne, "To good friends, good food, and spectacular sunsets." This last was said with a gesture at the sun that was painting the clouds in a stunning montage of colors as it approached it's watery bed.
They all clinked glasses and drank of the champagne.
Lisa looked at the food. It looked delicious. It was broiled lobster tail served over some brown rice. The presentation was as good as any restaurant, and it proved to be every bit as delicious as it looked as they dug in.
"Good, huh?" said Sven seeing the looks of bliss on the girls faces. "Now you know why I keep this great Scottish cretin around. He has a delightful gift with culinary undertakings."
The girls looked at William surprised. He sat there looking smug.
"You made this?" Lisa asked astounded. He just nodded.
"Wow, it's great, William. It seems my friend here has found herself a quite talented man," Ellen commented.
"Everybody save some room," Sven said. "I get to demonstrate my talent next."
Lisa and Ellen didn't have any problem saving room. The portions were a bit on the small side, and when Sven served the apple cobbler a la mode Lisa realized it was by design.
The girls savored their desert, in a state of euphoria.
"William," Ellen asked as they basked in the afterglow of the wonderful meal, "this is your boat?"
"Aye, lass," He confirmed.
"Are you independently wealthy or something?" she asked.
"Lord no, Lass," William chuckled. "I own a small architectural firm. The Scottish Adventure represents years of good investments and saving. I sold ma house to give me the last bit o capital to buy her outright. I live on her now."
"She's beautiful," Lisa enthused.
"She is nae nearly as beautiful you," William said, tweaking her nose gently.
Lisa leaned over and kissed him. The two started going at it.
"I'm getting a chill. If these two are going to start that, how about we go below?" Ellen suggested to Sven with a wink.
Lisa didn't notice Ellen and Sven leave. After a while, William broke away. He got up and took her hand pulling her up as well. He pulled her to him, and put his arms around her waist. As she put her arms around his neck and looked at him questioningly, he began to gently sway to the slow pure sounds of the Latin guitar playing on the stereo. As they danced slowly around the deck, Lisa felt herself getting aroused. He leaned down giving her another one of those electric kisses. She could feel he was aroused as well. His package was straining against his shorts.
"William," Lisa said softly.
"Aye, beauty," he inquired.
"I'm ready," she said simply.
He leaned down and kissed her, then led her down below. As they entered the main cabin, Ellen and Sven were making out on the couch. They broke to watch William and Lisa.
"Lisa said she wanted the grand tour. Don't mind us," William said grinning. "This is the living room slash galley area. If you look to your left you'll see a couple making out on the couch. This way leads to the staterooms. This is the head. This is the port stateroom. This is the guest berth," William said like a tour guide.
"And this is the master stateroom," Ellen heard him say as the door closed. She looked at Sven and they grinned at each other.
"So, sailor, do I get the tour as well?" Ellen asked innocently.
"As long as you don't mind missing the master stateroom part. I suspect it will be unavailable for quite a while, but the port stateroom is quite attractive," Sven stated.
"Oh really? Let's take a look," Ellen said.
In the master stateroom, Lisa kicked her shoes of and was lying on the bed propped up on her elbows, when William turned from closing the door. She gave him a smoldering come hither look. He kicked his shoes off and lay down next to her while tenderly kissing her. His hand explored her curves, finally coming to rest cupping her breast. They kissed passionately. They turned toward each other. They were still kissing as his hand traveled down her flank, tenderly caressing past the swell of her hip, moving down to the bare skin of her firm lovely leg. He guided her leg up over his as he moved his leg between hers. He stroked her smooth skin as they lay there entwined, kissing. As her fingers ran through his hair, his hand slid up, pushing the hem of her dress up baring her rear. She stiffened as his hand began kneading her lower cheek. He broke the kiss.
"We dinnae have to if you dinnae want to, Lass," He said gently.
"I know," she said. "I want to. I'm just a little nervous."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Uh huh," she said as she pulled his shirt tail out of his shorts.
He cooperated as she stripped his shirt off. He reached over pulling the hem of her dress up. She picked her rear up so he could get it passed. Soon she was laying there in her bra and panties. She unbuttoned his pants and he stood and let them fall to the floor. She looked at him. He was not wearing any underwear. She smiled as she saw his member standing at full attention. He leaned over kissing her as he fumbled with her bra catch. It sprang free, and he stripped it off her.
He laid her back, her head on the pillows and her hair haloed out around her head. He began kissing her again, as his hand worked on her breast. Slowly the hand began to work its way down in gentle circles. It caressed down over her ribs, lingering on her flat smooth belly, teasing the waistband of her panties. Soon it was cupping the sleek mound of her sex through her damp panties.
She spread her legs to give him better access as he started to rub her. He kissed his way down to her breasts and gently licked and sucked her nipples, as his hand slipped inside her panties. She gasped as his finger found her engorged love button and began to caress it. Her hips bucked each time he stroked her button. His finger dropped down, dipping inside her dripping hole. It slowly pressed into her then began to extract before entering again and repeating the cycle.
She was feeling an orgasm coming on from his thrusting finger when he stopped and began kissing his away down to her crotch, pausing briefly to tease her belly button with his tongue. He slid his arms under her legs gripping each side of her panties. He placed a kiss on her pantied sex as she raised her hips so he could pull the panties off. He removed her panties and cast them aside. With the panties out of the way he began to work on her sex in earnest.
After her fourth orgasm she gently pushed his head away. She guided him up on top of her. He poised above her, the tip of his swollen member throbbing against her slit. He took hold of it and began to slide it up and down her folds before gently placing the head in her opening. He slowly increased the pressure until it slid in to her. She gasped, biting her lip to keep from crying out.
He began rocking back and forth, entering her a little deeper each time. Finally, he was inside her with his full length. He began to piston in and out of her. She could scarcely believe how good it felt. She became aware of the noises she was making, kind of mewling, moaning and purring all at once. She sounded like any other woman during good sex.
As he pistoned, she felt the now familiar currents rising with in her until they crested. Her back arched, and she started to quiver with orgasmic energy. His thrusting became more insistent then he pressed deeply into her, filling her to over flowing with his seed. He collapsed on top of her as she wrapped her arms and legs around him hugging him tightly to her. They lay there in that embrace until he had gone flaccid inside her. She felt his semen draining out of her down her rear. It would have been kind of a gross feeling except for its association with the pleasure of the moments before.
He slowly slipped out of her and got a towel from the bedside. He cleaned them off, leaving the towel between her legs. She sat up as he sat beside her. She leaned over and kissed him and could taste herself on his lips still. She didn't care.
Lisa woke from drowsing. She had to pee badly. William was asleep snuggled up against her back with his arm comfortingly around her. They were lying in spoon position. She carefully disengaged herself so as not to wake him. Groping around on the floor she managed to locate her still damp panties and slipped them on. She couldn't find her dress but found his shirt. Shrugging, she put it on. She quietly slipped out into the passageway making her way to where William had showed her the head.
She found it and emptied her bladder then looked at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was trashed so she washed it off. Her hair was mussed and matted in the sexy manner of a woman who had just had incredible sex. She smiled contentedly.
Lisa decided she was thirsty, so she made her way to the galley. She found a can of Diet Pepsi in the fridge and went up to the sun deck with it. She was watching the moonlight reflect off the water when someone sat down behind her and slipped their arms around her shoulders.
"Hi sweetie," it was Ellen, "did you enjoy yourself?"
Lisa laid her head back on Ellen's shoulder and purred. They sat there like that in silence for a while.
"Ellen, I think the only reason it was better between us is because I love you. It was…I can't find words to adequately describe how intensely pleasurable it was," Lisa confessed. "How was it with you and Sven?"
"Sven is quite a talented lover. He is gentle and attentive and he had me hollering almost as loud as William had you hollering," Ellen said. Lisa's face got warm and she knew she was blushing, but she could hear the amusement in Ellen's voice.
The girls sat in each other's embrace for a little while longer enjoying the afterglow of the evening's events and their warm embrace. Ellen finally disengaged.
"Come on, dearest. Let's cleanup the dinner stuff for the boys. It's the least we can do after that incredible meal," Ellen said.
The girls loaded everything that would fit in the dishwasher and they washed the rest by hand, drying it and finding where it went. Lisa had bent over to put some items in one of the lower cabinets when she heard Ellen giggle. She looked over her should at Ellen, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.
"You definitely look like someone's sexy girlfriend standing there in his shirt and your sexy little thong panties, with your hair all mussed from sex," Ellen explained. Lisa smiled pleasantly and went back to what she was doing.
That was the position she was in when she heard a low whistle of awe. She jumped up and whirled around, turning bright red from head to toe. She saw Sven standing beside Ellen with his arm around her. Ellen was grinning furiously.
"The girl is definitely a babe, huh?" Ellen remarked to Sven.
"No doubt about it," he said. "And it was a very nice view too."
"Come on, Studly," Ellen said, "let's go back to bed before the poor girl drops dead of embarrassment."
Ellen pushed Sven down the passage as he made a big show of craning his neck to look at Lisa's scantily clad body. Ellen turned just before they entered their stateroom and winked at her. Lisa grinned and turned off the lights before slipping back into her stateroom. She stripped down to the buff and lay back down on the bed. She scooted over beside William and he put his arm around her pulling her in tight. Lisa was smiling a happy smile and was soon fast asleep.
Lisa awoke as the sun streamed in the open portal on to her face. She rolled on to her back and stretched languidly. Her fabulous grey eyes fluttered open. She looked over at William who was lying propped up on his elbow with his head in his hand watching her.
"Good morning, beautiful," He said give her a kiss on the forehead.
"Good morning," She said smiling. She rolled toward him and wrapped herself around him hugging him tightly.
She felt something poking her. She moved her hand down till she located the offending object.
"Something else is awake too, I see," she said, her voice muffled by his chest.
"So it would seem," he chuckled.
"I say we put it back to sleep," Lisa said pushing him over on to his back. She moved down till she was looking at it throbbing inches away from her face. She gently kissed it on the tip, and began licking down the shaft. She licked and kissed her way back to the head. He stroked her hair as she slowly eased the head into her mouth. She took a hold of the shaft with one of her hands and began to bob her head up and down on his member. He was rubbing her love button as she sucked on him. As she began to bob faster, she started fondling his balls.
He slipped his fingers into her and began thrusting them in and out in time to her bobbing. She felt him begin to stiffen and his thrusting fingers became erratic, so she clamped her lips around his pole as he exploded in her mouth. Lisa swallowed his love juice as it pumped into her mouth. Given the night before there wasn't a lot but it was still a challenge for her to not spill any.
As he collapsed back on to the bed she moved back up and laid her head on his chest, with her arm around his body. They lay like that for a while. They made love once more before he had to get up and ready the boat for the return trip.
All too soon the guys dropped them off at their hotel. They said their goodbyes, and the guys told them to give them a call if they ever got to town again. The girls agreed and entered the room. They showered and went to the park.
Chapter 7: Of love and happiness
The last two weeks had been nothing short of spectacular for both girls. It was the last Friday of their vacation and Lisa's last day as a woman. She seemed a little less vibrant today. It was her only concession to the melancholy that gripped her soul. Ellen could tell her lover was down hearted about the impending return to her former life, but she didn't know what to do about it. She had hoped their love could make Lee happy, but after the last two weeks, Ellen had small hope of that. She had come to understand that the clashing of Lee's mind and physical body would prevent him from ever being truly happy.
Anya found the rather pensive looking couple seated at the bar of one of the soda fountains.
"Hi, ladies," said Anya cheerfully as she strode up.
"Oh. Hi Anya," Ellen said dispiritedly.
"Hi Anya," said Lisa with a smile, but Anya had looked passed her cheerful façade into her mind and saw the unimaginable sadness she hid there. Not even her lover knew the extent of her anguish.
"Grandmother sent me to get you. She would like to speak with the two of you in her office. So if you'll follow me, it's best not to keep her waiting," Anya explained.
"Lead on, MacDuff," Lisa said as they got up to follow Anya.
Soon they were seated once more before the old woman's desk. Anya had suspected what was going to take place so she stood in the back of the room. She so loved to see it when good people got something they wanted so profoundly. She hoped Grandmother didn't ask her to leave. She wanted to see her friend's sadness evaporate with the offer she was sure her grandmother was going to make.
The old woman nodded to Anya, mentally saying she could stay as it concerned her also. She then turned her attention to the two women seated before her.
"Lisa, how have you liked your stay at our park?" the old woman asked.
"It's been the most fabulous two weeks of my life," Lisa replied simply and without hesitation.
"Lisa, Anya and I would like to offer you a lifetime membership to the park. This means you would stay Lisa for the rest of your life."
Anya had been watching Lisa's reaction, physically as well as mentally. Lisa brightened like a supernova, a big smile spread across her beautiful face. The terrible sadness turned at once to joy and excitement. Then she looked at Ellen. Lisa's heart plunged once again, and the smile evaporated. Anya was a bit confused by this, but she suspected what the problem was. Instead of answering right away, Lisa asked a question.
"Why?" she asked simply.
On the surface this seemed like a rude and suspicious question, but neither Anya nor her grandmother dealt exclusively on the surface. Instead, the old woman answered the deeper question.
"Lisa, Lee has never won anything in his life he didn't work for, correct?" Lisa nodded. "You suspect that your coming here wasn't just a pleasant coincidence, yes?" Again the nod. "You are correct. I've been watching you for quite sometime."
"Do you remember about fifteen years ago when you rescued a little drowning girl from the surf of the beach near here? The little girl had swum out too far and didn't have the strength to make it back. Nobody had noticed her but you. She had gone down for the last time when you finally reached her. You pulled her up and dragged her unconscious body back to the beach. With your last once of strength you carried her to the waiting arms of some adults before wandering off a short way and collapsing from exhaustion."
As her grandmother finished the tale that Anya knew all too well, she gasped, "No," in disbelief.
"Yes Anya, Lee was the boy who saved your life that day," the old woman said, and then turned back to Lisa. "I've been watching you ever since. I've seen how you've suffered with your inner turmoil. I watched as you performed countless other small, yet no less important, acts of selflessness for others, who most of the time didn't even know what you had done for them, but their situation was bettered because of you. When it became apparent that you couldn't find the answer to your problem, I arranged for Ellen to get the passes to the park. I didn't know if this would be the answer you were looking for, but it seems as though it was. This is why I'm offering this to you."
All four women had become teary eyed during the story. Anya ran over and hugged Lisa. They both started crying.
"I never knew who you were. I tried to find out. I tried to find you to thank you, but they said you got discharged from the hospital two hours before I was up and around. Thank you. Thank you. I owe you my life," Anya said through her tears. She kissed Lisa on the cheek.
The old woman produced a box of Kleenex and passed it around. When everybody got themselves back under a semblance of control, she reiterated her offer.
"Will you accept it, Lisa," the old woman asked.
"Ma'am, your offer means the world to me, more than you know, or maybe you do. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, but I must decline," Lisa said, the gulf of her sadness showing through.
Ellen and Anya gasped.
"Why?!" Both of them cried in unison.
"I have my reasons," Lisa stated before tearing up and running out.
Anya went after her, but the old woman told Ellen to stay.
"Why doesn't she accept the lifetime membership," Ellen asked the old woman.
The old woman smiled a sad smile.
"She is being selfless again, Dear. She doesn't want you to know, but she's doing it for you. I don't normally talk about things like this because it is her choice, but I will make an exception in this case," the old woman told her.
"She's doing it for me!? Why?!"
"Do you remember when you told Lisa how badly you wanted children? Well she can't very well give you children if you both are women, now can she."
"No, I won't accept this. How can I live with myself knowing I am preventing the person I love from being truly happy? You've got to make her accept the membership," Ellen said desperately.
"Ellen, as much as I'd like to keep Lisa as she is, she's done my family and myself a great service. What kind of person would I be if I didn't respect her wishes? I can't force her. As I said, it's her choice. I would also suggest you don't discuss this with her unless she brings it up, or she will leave you and never have anything to do with me again for violating her confidence," the old woman stated.
Ellen looked inconsolable.
Anya caught up with Lisa when she collapsed under a tree sobbing.
"Lisa, what's wrong? Just between you and me. Please tell me. I want to be there for you," Anya said soothingly.
"Anya," Lisa said through her tears, "it's Ellen. She wants kids. I can't give her kids like this," Lisa gestured at her body. "Her happiness means everything to me."
"And how happy do you think she'll be knowing that she is the reason you chose to be unhappy?" Anya asked.
"That's why she can never know," Lisa said with conviction.
"There are other ways, you know. You could adopt. Or you could go back to being Lee for long enough to get her pregnant then become you again," Anya suggested.
"Anya, you know there is not much chance of two lesbians getting approval to adopt. And if I am going to father children, I think I should be around as a father. Also, I am only a year or two older than you now. That would make me 9 instead of 15 at the time of your incident. How could I have saved you? There is no way in the world I would give up your life for Lisa's."
"I am here aren't I? That means I was saved. Would you like to see how?"
"Yes," Lisa said quietly.
Anya touched Lisa's forehead. Suddenly, Lisa was hovering over a beach. There seemed to be a young girl in trouble out in the water, and nobody noticed. Nobody, that is except a pretty little 9-year-old girl. She scrambled into the water and began to swim out to the other little girl. She was about three quarters of the way there when two adults dove into the surf, a man and a woman. As the adults began to swim out to the older girl, she reached the drowning girl, going under briefly and pulling her back to the surface.
With a great amount of difficulty the older girl started swimming back to shore while trying to hold the drowning girl's head above water. She was not going to make it, you could tell. She was getting tired. She made it not quite half way back in and couldn't go any farther. She treaded water for a few moments still holding the unconscious girl up. She went under for an uncomfortable amount of time. She was still holding the other girl up. She came back up briefly, sputtering. She had just gone down a second time when the adults reached them.
The woman took the unconscious girl and the man dragged the older girl to the surface. The adults made it back to shore with both unconscious girls. They laid the girls on their stomachs and began pumping on their backs. The older girl was the first to start coughing up water. Then her grey eyes got wide as she drew in a huge breath. The man instantly had her in his arms, hugging her.
Lisa heard him saying, "Lisa Stephanie Barrett, that was a very brave thing you did, and I would never tell you not to try to help someone in trouble, but next time at least yell for help, before you go charging in. You scared the bejesus out of your mother and me."
Just then the other girl coughed up water and started breathing on her own, but she didn't regain consciousness right away. Lisa's mother picked the unconscious girl up and held her till the ambulance arrived.
"That's how it happened if you stay Lisa. So you see, you did save me, and at greater risk to yourself in the process, I might add. If it hadn't been for your parents watching their little girl much closer than the chaperones of the group I was there with were watching me, we'd have both drowned," Anya explained, her voice cracking.
"It really changes nothing, Anya. I still have the other concerns," Lisa said miserably.
"Lisa, we all just want what's best for you. Can you be happy with this decision?" Anya asked with concern.
"It's my decision, and yes, I'll be happy with it," Lisa's words sounded hollow.
Chapter 8: An elegant solution
Ellen once again found herself at the mall, watching people and thinking. It had been a month since they had returned from Bikini Beach. Lee had tried to stay up beat and happy, but Ellen could tell his anxiety and sadness were returning. For her part, Ellen was trying to be happy as well, with similar success. It was tearing her apart knowing that he had given up everything for her. She just couldn't figure out what to do.
"Penny for your thoughts."
Ellen jumped as she noticed the old man sitting next to her. She knew no one had been there a moment ago.
"It's Lee. He's sacrificed everything for me. It's tearing me apart. We love each other so dearly, but we have made each other so unhappy," Ellen said, not noticing she was pouring her heart out to an old man in a bathrobe who she knew nothing about.
"I see," said the old man. "I think I might be able to help."
"How?" Ellen's face lit up with hope.
"Take this," handing her a small bottle of thick blue liquid. "Go to the old woman. Tell her the plan. Convince her to go along with it. Then get Lee to go to the park. Tell him it's for the weekend. Then…" as the old man laid out the plan, a happy grin spread across Ellen's face. She also got a mischievous glint in her eye that oddly matched that of the old man.
"Agreed," the old woman said. "I'm not too sure I approve of the old trickster's method, but it might be fun. Now is there anything else?"
"You said that the fabric of reality is rewritten when the permanent change occurs, right," Ellen asked.
"Correct," the old woman confirmed.
"Can you make adjustments to the new reality?"
"Some. What did you have in mind?"
"Lee always wanted to be a mechanical engineer. He just didn't have the confidence to go through school to be one. Lisa wanted the same thing. Would it be possible to give her the knowledge to be one just graduated from school? She was at about the age that that would be plausible."
The old woman looked thoughtful.
"It might just be possible. It'll take quite a bit of power, but I owe Lee more than I can ever repay, whether he thinks so or not."
Lee sat at the table, idly munching on a plate of chips. He was starting out the window overlooking the river, when Ellen came in the room. She had been much happier over the last week. Lee was glad about that. It brought him down further when she was not happy.
"Lee, honey," she said smiling.
"Yes, Dear?" he asked.
"I have to go to a psychology convention next week. It starts Friday and ends Saturday evening. Guess where it is," Ellen had this sparkle in her eyes.
"I haven't a clue, Dear," Lee conceded.
"I'll give you a hint. Bikini Beach."
Lee's face lit up at the mention of the place.
"That's right. So I was thinking since I'll be there anyway, why don't you come up Saturday and get a weekend pass? Hang out with Anya and company for the day and I'll join you at TGI Friday's after the convention," Ellen suggested.
Lee agreed immediately. Ellen thought with amusement, 'this is almost too easy.'
Lee arrived at the park Saturday morning. He went to the window where Anya awaited him with his weekend pass. Lee entered the men's locker room. Lisa came out. She had brought her own top, being familiar with the procedure. Anya ran up and gave Lisa a big hug.
"I'm so glad you're back. Grandmother gave me the day off so I could spend it with you," Anya said gleefully.
"I'm really looking forward to spending some time with you to, Anya. I have a feeling I saved someone very special," Lisa said hugging her back.
They spent the day together talking about things that had happened in their lives after Anya's near-drowning. They saw Liz and Jenny from time to time as they enjoyed the park. Each time Lisa saw them, they gave her a strange knowing smile. She had caught Anya doing it too when she thought Lisa was not looking. Finally, it was closing time. Anya suggested that Lisa go ahead and get checked into her hotel room and get freshened up.
"Dress really nice," Anya told her cryptically, as they parted ways in the parking lot.
When Lisa finally arrived at the restaurant, everybody else was there except Ellen. She was wearing an LBD with sheer black seamed stockings and black three-inch heels. Her hair was pulled up with two errant locks framing each side of her face. She was heartrendingly beautiful.
Lisa came up to the table. She recognized Anya, Liz and Jenny. There was also a blond girl, and an absolute hunk of a man. Anya introduced the girl as her friend Danni, and the guy as another friend, Allen. She added that Allen was unattached. He stood to offer a handshake.
Lisa looked at him. He was tall, at least 6 feet, and well built. He had dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes, and he was well muscled, reminding her of William. She got a little tingly sensation in her crotch when she thought of William. Allen was also strangely familiar. She just couldn't place him. She took his hand.
"Pleased to meet you, Allen," Lisa told him.
"The pleasure is all mine," Allen said, his voice a pleasant baritone.
As Lisa sat down she noticed everyone looking at her with those strange amused smiles she had been getting all day. Lisa looked down at herself looking for something amiss. She found nothing.
"What? Do I have a tag hanging out or something? Is my makeup smeared? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Lisa demanded.
They looked at each other smiling, but said there wasn't anything wrong with her. The waitress came by and took Lisa's drink order. The group chatted amongst themselves, keeping an eye on Lisa. Allen had engaged her in conversation. As they made small talk, Lisa just couldn't shake the feeling of recognition of this man. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Have we met somewhere before?" Lisa asked.
Everyone at the table suddenly was consumed with hysterical laughter. Down in the depths of her mind, Lisa was finally getting a clue.
"ELLEN!?!"
There was a pregnant silence at the table that finally dissolved into more hysterical laughter.
"Took you long enough," Anya said between bouts of laughter.
"Wha…how?" Lisa stammered.
"It's a long story, but suffice to say, I found a solution to our little problem. I am now Allen Patrick Gowski, permanently, and it is with considerable pleasure that I inform you that you are now Lisa Stephanie Barrett, permanently. Well, sort of permanently, as we will find out shortly," Allen said as he turned Lisa toward him and lowered himself to one knee.
"Lisa," he said ceremoniously, "Will you marry me?"
Lisa sat there in shock at what had happened. Allen produced a small box, and opened it toward her, displaying the most wonderful diamond engagement ring she had ever seen. It was all too much. Lisa's beleaguered brain overloaded and she began to swoon.
"Easy there girl. Here take a drink of this," Anya said propping her up, and putting a glass to her mouth. It was strong and loaded with ethanol. It burned her throat on the way down, but it snapped her mind back into gear. She sat there staring at Allen and the ring.
"Well, are you gonna make the poor guy kneel there all night waiting for an answer?" someone from another table called out.
Lisa launched herself at Allen, threw her arms around his neck, and planted a passionate kiss right on his mouth.
"Yes!" she said. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
As everyone in the bar clapped and whistled, Allen placed the ring on her finger. He held her hand up to display the ring to everyone as they made a slow turn.
"As I said, you are semi-permanently Lisa Stephanie Barrett, until I make an honest woman of you," Allen said softly as they hugged each other.
Anya leaned over as Lisa and Allen disengaged.
"There's more," Anya told her. "As you know, you just graduated from college, with a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering."
"I did?" asked Lisa confused.
"Think about it and you will find you remember," Anya said.
To Lisa's surprise, she found she did remember.
"Well, Grandmother's friend Ronnie Harris has made you a job offer. She wants you to come and see her Monday morning so you can discuss the terms. She is just starting an engineering and manufacturing facility to design and build, guess what, equipment for amusement parks, specifically water parks. She wants you to head up the design team."
Lisa started to protest that she wouldn't know how to head up a design team, after all she had just graduated and had no experience, but Anya cut her off.
"Don't worry. You would shine in any case, but Ronnie will surround you with good people that will make you shine brighter. After they get to know you, you'll inspire their loyalty and they'll work very hard to make you look very good."
Anya stood raising her glass, "To Lisa and Allen. May their selfless love be an inspiration to us all. We wish you success and every happiness. Salute!"
Later that evening, the group found themselves at the dance club. Greg, Anya's boyfriend had joined them. They were all having a great time dancing, though Greg and Allan where feeling a bit well used, since Jenny and Liz would only dance with them. Lisa figured that was because these two seemed safe for the transformees that were not comfortable being interested in men. They were all taking a breather from the dance floor when Lisa saw someone familiar.
"Braveheart," she shouted over the music and the crowd.
William turned to see who had shouted. He spotted Lisa and she waved him over. He came over holding the hand of a statuesque Nordic blonde woman. Lisa began introductions.
"William, this is my fiancé, Allen. These others are Anya, Danni, Liz, Jenny, and Greg. Everybody this is William Wallace, my Braveheart," Lisa giggled tipsily.
"Good to meet ye all. This is my fiance, Sara, whom I think some of ye know already, since she is a member at the park," explained William.
Lisa thought the blonde, Sara, looked familiar. She was about to write it off as just having seen her at the park, until Sara looked at Allen like she recognized him. Having been duped once tonight already, Lisa was much more suspicious. She looked at William. He to showed the same spark of recognition when he looked at Allen. She studied Sara for a moment. Something was not quite right about her. Lisa and Allen looked at Sara while William and Sara Looked at Allen.
"Sven??" "Ellen??" Both couples exclaimed at the same time.
Everybody started laughing.
"Geez, I think I need a score card to keep up tonight," Lisa commented smiling. "OK, Spill it. What's your story?"
"Well," William began, "It was about a week after our last date. Sven and I were bored, and were trying to come up with something to do. We remembered how much fun ye girls seemed to have at the park. We had about a week to kill, so we went and got a week pass. I will nae bore ye with the details, but it was quite a week. Sven decided he was happier than he had ever been so he bought the lifetime pass. Sara and I started dating. It was sort of natural considering we were already good friends. Last night I proposed to her and she accepted. That about sums it up. So Allen, how did ye like yer time as a woman?"
Allen's eyes got big, and he laughed, choking on the drink he was taking. The rest of the people at the table joined him, while Lisa pounded on his back.
"Well," Allen said grinning, "it was fun while it lasted."
Lisa punched him in the arm, playfully.
"What am I missing here?" asked William.
"Well, it's like this...," Lisa started.
William and Sara's eyes grew wide as Lisa told them her tale. They began laughing when Lisa related the part about how Allen had surprised her earlier that evening.
"So, you were the one changed, Lisa. But how…?" Sara asked gesturing toward Allen.
"Love is a very powerful thing. It finds a way, and surmounts any obstacle," observed Danni reverently.
The three "in love" couples all looked at each other, their hearts in their gaze. The three unattached girls just looked at the loving couples and sighed wistfully. It held until Liz and Jenny realized what they had just done. They looked at each other and began laughing hysterically.
Epilogue
The old man and the old woman were once again in the old woman's office peering into the scrying glass. They were looking at a scene some years in the future. The scene showed a beautiful sunset on a beach somewhere. On this beach sat Lisa and Allen. She was laying back on him with her head on his chest. He had an arm comfortably around her shoulders as he stroked her hair with his free hand. They looked very much in love.
As exploration and colonization progressed, facilitated by FTL travel and new worlds full of resources, the numbers of people didn't keep pace with expansion. So the realm of humans became over extended and the glut of wealth that developed from this too rapid expansion destabilized the economy. Inflation rocketed out of control and the Terran credit, the standard form of currency, became nearly worthless. The whole scene brought to mind the post WWI picture of the child with the heaping wagonload of German marks going to the baker to buy a single loaf of bread. As the economy further destabilized, so to did society.
100 years after the development of FLT travel, midst the clamor for government action to shore up the failing economy and put down the civil unrest, a new party came to power. Playing on the fear of the people, they swiftly overhauled the ineffective democratic government into a committee-controlled totalitarian regime. This party brought about many changes, restoring order by sharply limiting expansion and taking control of all the resources. Government forces dealt with civil disturbances swiftly and harshly.
In addition to all this, this new party saw non-breeders, such as Gays Lesbians and Transgenders to be useless burdens on society and a historically non-conforming class of people threat to the harmony of Human space or at least their control there of.
Initially a huge and terribly effective propaganda machine began to "educate" the people on this evil in their midst. At first it was very low key. The statements issued contained just enough truth in them to make them appear on the surface to be reasonable. They played on people's natural preservation of the species instincts, and as more and more people began to buy in, the statements became stronger and harsher.
Over a period of years, public sentiment turned against the GLBT community. It was made a crime to be homosexual or transgendered, and those known to be such were swiftly and quietly rounded up everywhere.
The Terran Government had planned for this and had secretly designated an area on the edge of human explored space as a form of penal zone. During the years that the propaganda machine had be turning the public against the "non-breeding" community, the Terran Government had been using it's huge labor force to build a sensor net that enclosed what to someone living before FTL travel would have seemed an impossibly large area of space, containing thirty to forty star systems.
After the initial internment of "non-breeders", they were gathered together in hundreds of the largest and oldest FTL freighters available and sent across the sensor net under the guns of a fleet of naval dreadnaughts. The destruction of one "non-breeder" ship when it broke formation was enough to convince the others that compliance was the best course of action.
It was here when the cabal's formidable planning and organization broke down inexplicably. For some unknown reason, when cordoning off this region of space, they failed to do an in-depth survey of the planetary systems it contained. They knew next to nothing about what the internee's would find once they got in. However, they did give the "non-breeders" a chance for survival. In addition to the billions of outcasts, the freighters contained a limited amount of supplies and advanced terraforming technologies.
This was largely a propaganda measure to ease the public conscience by saying look, we didn't send them to their deaths. The Terran Government , however, gravely underestimated the spirit of these people and dismissed their chances of more than a couple of generations at the most before they dwindled out. It was expected that harsh living conditions and the fight for survival without any outside assistance would take it's toll, and because these people were non-breeders, the death rate would most certainly out pace any sort of birth rate.
Now 350 years after the development of FTL travel, The Terran Government 's efforts were bearing fruit. The economy stabilized, as did society. The Terran government held complete control of all shipping lanes and boasted a huge naval force that maintained this control. Though not terribly harsh for a totalitarian regime, people were beginning to speak of a return to a democratic form of government. Things were better now. The population was up and people were confident now and they were beginning to want a voice. The people weren't angry yet but the stage was set...
Chapter 1
Space. Space is an awfully cold and lonely place to be drifting around in. I looked around me at the 40 faces that were the tattered remnants of the more than 2000 officers and crew aboard the ship, my ship, the Serendipity. We were adrift, dead in space, trapped in the three decks, Fire Control, Navigation, and Tactical, which had comprised the operational center and bridge of the ship. As I looked at the fearful visages around me, waiting for me to give an order, some order that would save our lives, I thought back to what had brought us to this moment...
I stepped off the shuttle into the cool sterile air of the Terran Space Academy. I was a fresh-faced 15 years old and had just enlisted in the Terran Space Navy as an Officer Candidate. I was the grandson of an admiral. My grandfather had been very persistent through out the standard 4 years it had taken me to earn my Masters degree in Physics and Engineering with minors in Sociology and Psychology.
I loved my grandfather, but he never missed a chance to pressure me about joining the navy. It was always assumed that I would follow in his footsteps. My grandfather felt I had the makings to continue the family naval traditions as a career officer. My father had chosen a different life after a single hitch. He had decided to settle down and have a family and he didn't want to leave his children and wife for long stretches that would be required by naval life. My brothers and sister, though each as intelligent and potentially successful as I was, lacked the combination of intelligence, charisma, and tactical genius that I had and it was clear early on that they were mediocre naval material, so my grandfather had hung his hopes on my small shoulders. He had begun grooming me quite early for life as a career officer of flag rank. Taking me on long cruises on his yacht, he taught me to be a pilot and taught me the strengths and weaknesses of many naval vessels.
Consequently, I loved space. It represented freedom to me and its call was like a siren song. Personally, I didn't think I would flourish in such a structured environment as the military. I knew this would crush my grandfather so I kept these thoughts to myself. Yet as my graduation from college grew near and more and more opportunities in the private sector presented themselves, I became increasingly troubled. My grandfather sensed my growing reluctance and he knew of the fantastic opportunities I had outside of the military. He decided to hedge his bets, to solidify my resolve to follow in his footsteps. He had intended to retire as soon as I entered officer candidate school and he offered me his Yacht as a reward when I became a naval officer, as long as I signed on for a ten-year tour. That's what made me do it. That and a feeling of something missing in my life I couldn't quite define. I hoped the adventures I would have in the TSN would satisfy whatever this need was.
As I lined up with the other Officer Candidates on the line indicated, my mind returned to the present. The other recruits were all eyeing each other appraisingly and I was no different. To my right was a huge slab of hard muscle. Though he was only about 5'11, such was his bulk that I could practically feel the deck plates under foot straining to hold him up. He had close-cropped blonde hair and a cold intelligence lurking behind his ice blue eyes. I immediately didn't like him but I was wise enough to know that this was someone to watch out for. To my left was...well, she was a goddess was all I could think. She towered above my 5'6 at about 6'2 and her body was perfectly and athletically proportioned to that height. Her unruly ash blonde hair fell to just above her shoulders in an attractive way that proclaimed her a free sprit. For all her obvious physical prowess, what struck me most about her was the gentle compassion I saw in her emerald green eyes when they met my own steel gray. When she smiled and nodded to me I think my heart skipped a beat.
Our evaluations were interrupted by a booming military voice shouting, "Attention on deck!" A tall man with white hair, dressed in an ornate uniform, strode into the room as we all tried to assume some form of attention, most failing miserably. The man paused dramatically as he surveyed us before walking down the line scrutinizing each individual. Some Candidates he nodded and smiled at, others seemed beneath his notice. The Neanderthal to my right got a smile before the man came to me. I got a scowl, but that's not all.
"So you're the Callaway brat," he said with obvious distaste. His eyes traveled up and down my body before meeting mine squarely. "You don't look like much," he said dismissively. "Make no mistake, Mr. Callaway, I intend to make you prove your worth. Your name means nothing here. Your scrawny ass will earn the right to be in my Navy." With that he turned and moved on, smiling at the Amazon to my left. It seemed he was impressed by physical stature. After he reached the end of the line, he stepped to the front of the room.
"I am Commodore Turpitz, the commander of this training facility," the white-haired man proclaimed. "You are all here because you are the best and the brightest your generation has to offer. Your talents and abilities are, the Navy has deemed, adequate to train you for the honor of being an officer of a Terran Naval warship. It's my job to either mold you into competent officers, or send you back to mommy and daddy to find a new career." Turpitz was looking right at me when he said that last part. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling to know the Academy Commander had it so in for me...not. "Now, when you hear your name called, approach the table and get your packet. It contains your quarters’ assignment and your training schedule. You will report immediately to your quarters where you will be given 2 hours to settle in, get cleaned up and into your new uniforms, already located in your quarters, before reporting to Orientation. Some of you will not enjoy your time here, some of you will not graduate, but those that do will have the honor of being officers in the TSN, the most powerful Navy in colonized space. Good luck to you all. That is all." With that Turpitz turned on his heel and stalked out.
"Andrews, Brian Waylan!" the officer seated behind a stack of envelopes called. A tall red-blonde young man broke ranks and approached the officer, who handed him an envelope and called the next name. And so it proceeded until he got to me.
"Callaway, Brock Lee!" There was a general chuckle up and down the line at this. I steeled myself, and ducking my head, I broke ranks. I got my envelope and left the room, but as I went through the hatch, I heard someone call, "See ya later, Broccoli." That warm fuzzy feeling was back. Yeah I was really going to enjoy myself here. Just had to keep thinking of that yacht at the end of it.
Once out in the hallway, I looked at the directions to my new quarters, printed on the envelope. They seemed simple enough, so I set off. I entered another hallway and discovered to my pleasure that one wall was nearly all window from floor to ceiling. I was immediately transfixed by the beautiful vista before me; the window provided a view of space. As I watched, ships moved through it on various business. Never had I felt the siren's call so acutely, and I knew I was meant for space.
I don't know how long I stood there mesmerized by the spectacle, but someone yelling, "Hey Brock!" from right next to me startled me out of my reverie. I looked to the side and saw the lovely Amazon that stood beside me earlier.
After seeing that she had my attention, she said, "I said, it's beautiful isn't it?"
"Yeah," I agreed, ever the adroit conversationalist.
"Brock Lee," she said, with a small grin of amusement. I nodded ducking my head again, waiting for the standard jokes that generally occurred anytime someone heard my full name. "Hey, no, I didn't mean to make fun of you. It's just, I have never met anyone would could understand what that's like."
"Huh?" I said, cleverly.
At this point, the large guy that had stood on the other side of me passed us. "Hey, it's Broccoli and Cauliflower, the class vegetables," the brute scoffed as he went by. The Amazon girl stiffened and seemed about to cause the swine some serious damage, until I placed my hand on her arm. The look in her flashing emerald eyes softened as they met mine.
"So now you know," she said with a tight grin. "My name is Miriam Kali Flowers, Miri to my friends. Are you my friend, Brock?"
"Yeah, sure," I agreed.
"Well, don't sound so enthused about it," she said, pouting. Again I stood there stupidly, berating myself for offending this girl, that is until I saw her eyes dart over to see what effect she was having, then my brain kicked in, and I got a clue.
"Lady Miri," I began, formally, "I would be honored beyond all comprehension for you to consider me your friend. Surely, were it not so, the sun would fail to rise, and the heavens would open up deluging me for the rest of my days."
Her eyes grew wide and she laughed a hearty musical laugh. "You dolt," she said as we resumed moving toward the living quarters, "there is no sunrise or rain in space."
Our quarters turned out to be directly across the hall from each other, so we parted ways when we reached them. "See ya at orientation, Brock," she called over her shoulder as she entered her domicile.
"Later, Miri," I called to her back as I entered my own quarters.
Chapter 2
"Dude! You don't waste any time makin' inroads with the babes do you?" commented one Brian Andrews, my newly discovered roomie.
"It's not like that," I said blushing. "Hi, I'm Brock Callaway."
'Damn, he's friggin tall,' I thought as he took my proffered hand. 'Is everyone here going to be like a head taller than me?'
"Hi, I'm..." he began.
"Brian Waylan Andrews," I supplied smoothly.
"Brian to my friends," he said without batting an eye, and then grinned an infectious grin that had me returning it. I liked him immediately.
"So you're the infamous Brock Callaway," Brian said looking at me appraisingly. "Some how I expected you to be more...er...imposing. In any event, I guess I should feel honored to be rooming with the guy expected to be the star of our class, and destined for Admiralty."
"Oh please," I said, snorting, "I am not 'all that', and I certainly won't be the star of the class if Commodore Turpitz has anything to say about it. He doesn't seem to like me very much."
"Yeah, well, I hear Turpitz is one of those dyed in the wool military types that thinks it's everyone's duty and honor to serve in the TSN. I hear Admiral Callaway promised you your own private ship to get you in. Turpitz is just pissed because you didn't fall all over yourself to sign up to be an officer in his glorious Navy."
"Well, I had more attractive prospects in the civilian world," I explained. "They just had to make the Navy seem more convincingly attractive. Besides, I'm not sure I'm suited to the military way of life. Too oppressive."
"I know what you mean," Brian said. "But some of us really are honored to be here. Some of us have worked our whole lives to get here and they will resent you because to them you had to be bribed to be a part of something they see as a privilege. Personally, I just see the Navy as a stepping stone to get into what I really want, command of a cruise ship, where the real credits are."
"I see," I said. "I am kinda getting the impression that this isn't going to be a pleasant experience for me."
"Don't sweat it too much," He advised. "I can tell you're not the type to be all superior and in their faces about things, so I expect most will come around after they get to know you."
Brian and I continued to make small talk as we got settled in and dressed out in our new uniforms. These consisted of trousers and a tunic-like shirt that zipped up the front. They were made from an elastic azure blue material and were very form fitting for two reasons. One was so that if the artificial gravity failed they wouldn't drift about and get in the way and the other was to facilitate emergency donning of a pressure suit in the event of pressure loss. Still, though they fit very snuggly they didn't restrict movement at all.
I was making the finishing touches on my uniform in the mirror when I noticed Brian staring at me. I turned and asked him why, but he just looked embarrassed and mumbled something about me having the look of command or something. I was prevented from pressing the issue by a tone sounding followed by a command to report to the assembly area.
As I exited the room, Miri was coming out of hers, we both froze when we caught sight of each other. At least I did until Brian ran in to me, shoving me stumbling out into the hallway, not having expected my sudden stop.
"You like?" she asked, twirling around in front of me.
"Oh yeah," I breathed, my mouth suddenly very dry. She was gorgeous; a knock out really, the way the uniform hugged her curves while displaying her hard muscled form.
"You're looking awfully cute yourself," she said, smiling, then snapped her fingers in front of my face to bring me back to reality. "So are you going to introduce me to your new friend?"
"What? Oh. Yeah," I said intelligently. "Brian, this is Miri Flowers. Miri, meet my roommate, Brian Andrews."
"Pleasure to meet you, Brian," Miri said, smiling.
"The pleasure is all mine to be sure," Brian said smoothly, also smiling.
"Well, lets get going, we don't want to be the last ones out there," Miri said before shoving me in the direction of the assembly area and then following.
We entered the assembly area to see most of the candidates already there, milling about in groups, getting to know each other. As the last of the stragglers trickled in, a tone sounded from one end of the open room. Two men and a woman stood there, dressed in dark gray uniforms similar to our own. When they had our attention, the man in the middle began speaking.
"Listen up, people," he said. "When you hear your name and number proceed to the corresponding number you see on the deck." The woman began reading names and numbers from a list. I turned out to be eight, so I went and stood on the eight I found on the floor. It was behind the number one, which Brian was standing on. Miri was fifteen and was standing behind me, followed by another girl who was standing on the number 22. There were 28 of us in all making four rows of seven.
"This is how you are to line up each time we have an assembly. Remember your number. I will be your chief instructor," the first man announced. "You will address me as Instructor Kazanski. The gentleman to my right is Instructor Marshal and the Lady to my left is Instructor Hewitt."
"Your training here will be heavily team oriented. You may have noticed that you are standing in a line with three other people. These will be your teammates. You will have to watch out for them and be responsible for them. If one of them is doing poorly it will impact your team score, which will impact your personal score, so it's in your best interest to help your teammates out how ever you can."
"The first thing we will do today is take you all on a tour of the base to familiarize you with the various places you will need to know. I will take teams A, B, and C. Instructor Marshal will take teams D, and E. Instructor Hewitt will take teams F and G. You will now have about fifteen minutes to get to know your teammates before we start the tour."
Strangely, and I am not sure how this worked out, I already knew two of my teammates. Our forth was a short oriental woman. I turned to her and put out my hand.
"Hi, I'm Brock Callaway," I said. "This giant here is my roomie, Brian Andrews."
The dark haired woman took my hand and said, "Pleased to meet you, Brock. Your reputation precedes you. I'm Kim Li and I am Miri's roommate. It's an honor to be on your team. I know we shall finish well."
"Oh, please," I said, just a bit embarrassed. "I am not better than anyone else and if OUR team does finish well, it will be a team effort."
"Ooo, and he's modest as well as cute. You forgot to mention that when you were telling me of him, Miri," the woman smiled. I looked sharply at Miri who glared at Kim while trying unsuccessfully to suppress a blush. Kim just laughed a light musical laugh. Brian was looking back and forth between Miri and me, with a thoughtful expression in his face.
The tour of the station was awesome. Especially the simulators, they were totally immersive, a mixture of a moveable room and holographic technology. The real thing would be routine after the simulators. Other sites of interest were the recreation deck, the docking bays, and the Observation dome, a huge transparent dome under which were lounge type seats that one could sit in and relax while looking out into space. At the end of the tour we were given our computer logins and our instruction began; we were taught how to stand correctly, at attention, at ease, etc. Then they released us for the evening, with a reminder to check the schedule for our next class.
As soon as we said good evening to the girls and the door was shut, Brian said, "Damn, you poor sod."
"Huh," I said, ever with the quick wit.
"You're a marked man you know. Really, you don't have a prayer," Brian continued cryptically.
"What the hell are you talking about," I demanded in exasperation.
"Miri, you dope," Brian explained. "She is way into you. Have you noticed how she's always walking behind you? She has her eyes glued to your butt. Oh, I'm sure you could try to fight it, but she is bigger than you, and I'm not sure why you'd want to anyway. She is hot, after all. For supposedly having this high powered intellect, you sure are thick."
"Whatever, dude," I dismissed. "I'm sure you're wrong. Anyway, I'm probably too short for her. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed. It's been a long day."
Chapter 3
The next day I awoke to the sound of the TSN anthem being played over the station PA system. It was far too early for me. I groggily dragged myself out of bed and into what the Navy personnel referred to as the "head".
After I had showered and cleaned my teeth I was feeling much more alert as I reentered the main room, towel wrapped around my middle. I kicked Brian's bed on the way by and told him the shower was free. He mumbled some unkind remarks but got up and moved off to the head. As I dressed I looked over my schedule once again. I had class this morning, presumably with the rest of my team. The subject was "general information". Sounded thrilling.
"I'm headed to the cafeteria," I announced to Brian as he reentered the room.
"Great, I'll be along directly," he said as I left the room.
I sat down in the cafeteria with my breakfast and began going over the material we would cover in class today. A few minutes later I felt a hand slap me roughly on the back, almost causing me to choke on the bite of food I had in my mouth.
"Well, well, if it isn't the star of the class, Mr. Broccoli," the huge blonde cretin said as he sat down next to me. I had found out yesterday his name was Olaf Johansen, and he was on team E.
"My name is Brock, Olaf," I told him levelly.
"Whatever you say, Broccoli," he said. "See, here's the thing. I don't like you. I think you're a snotty little queer with delusions of self-importance. Imagine, giving you your own personal yacht for the privilege of being here. My mind boggles at that. To me you are a waste of space who is only here because of your grandpappy, the Admiral and I plan to make sure you don't become an officer. You don't deserve it." He grabbed the prized real bacon off my tray and ate it, saying something about, "not deserving this either", as he chewed.
"So where is Miz Cauliflower and the rest of Team Vegetable," the bully asked after he swallowed my bacon.
About that time, a hand appeared around his throat and pulled him off his seat backwards, dumping him on the floor.
"I'm right here," Miri said from above him. She was practically vibrating with rage. "I believe you were in my seat," she said tightly. "If I ever hear those comments from you again, YOU will be the vegetable. If you don't think I am man enough to do it, try me, you pathetic worm."
Miri stared him down coldly as he got up. "We'll continue this some other time when your girl friend here is not around to protect you," he said looking at me. Miri took a step towards him and he turned quickly and walked away fast, trying unsuccessfully not to look like he was fleeing.
"Well, now that was interesting," Brian said from behind me, where I didn't realize he and Kim where standing.
"Are you okay, Brock?" Kim asked.
"I'm fine," I said before slamming my fist down on the table. "Dammit, I knew this was a mistake," I said, on the verge of tears.
"Hey," Miri said, putting her hands on my shoulders, massaging my neck, "Don't let one asshole get you down, Brock. We can handle him. If he bothers you again, I'll rip his nuts out and keep them in a jar as a souvenir."
I began laughing at the imagery her statement had evoked. "There, that's better," Miri said leaning down and hugging me, her head next to mine.
"You two, get a room would ya?" Brian grinned.
My time at the academy was pretty much routine. Olaf pretty much left us alone after that, but there was one incident about three quarters of the way through during combat training where unfortunately he and I squared off against one another with pugel sticks. This was the moment he had been waiting for; to show what a weakling I was...
His eyes almost glowed in anticipation as we squared off. He was lightening quick as his first thrust knocked me on my butt before I could even react. I knew I was way over matched and I was about to be pummeled viciously. He evidently wanted to punish me cause he backed off and let me regain my feet. I landed the next blow on his shoulder, which he shrugged off, taunting me.
"You hit like a little girl, Broccoli," he jeered. "Is that what you are, one of those sissy Faggots?"
The gathered spectators gasped and then fell silent because those were very serious charges. Accusing someone of being a homosexual was tantamount to accusing some one of being a communist during the McCarthy era in the 20th century United States. For the last 150 years the Terran Galactic government HAD made it a law that it was a crime to be homosexual or transgendered. Such folks, once discovered, were invariable sent to a sort of penal colony far outside the mainstream and there blockaded. With such charges being made, I had to respond.
"No, I'm not a 'sissy faggot', O-laughable," I jeered back. "Why do you ask? Looking for a date?"
The spectators began to laugh as Olaf's little ploy had backfired on him. Olaf began to glare at the laughing people around him and I saw my chance. With a vicious upward blow, I nailed him in the crotch with all my strength. Miri swore his feet came off the ground. Even with the protective equipment on that blow hurt him. As he doubled over, dropping his weapon and clutching himself, I brought my stick up again in another brutal upward blow, this time catching him squarely in his face, mashing his nose and actually flipping him over onto his butt.
He lay on his side in fetal position, blood trickling from his nose and clutching his crotch; it was obvious the fight was over. I squatted down beside him.
"Never take your eyes off your enemy, Oh-laughable," I advised him, twisting the knife in the wound. "Never underestimate your enemy. And finally, MY...NAME...IS...BROCK." I stood and stalked out of the combat area to the cheers of the other trainees.
This incident was not without it's repercussions. Some were good. Olaf got reprimanded for unofficer-like behavior. This cost him and his team their second place position, bumping them back to fifth. Turpitz finally got off my case and even began to respect me for being cold and ruthless in dealing with my enemies — for being willing to fight dirty if that's what it took. Some were bad. I got officially reprimanded for hitting Olaf in the off-limits crotch area despite the unofficial pats on the back I got from the instructors and Turpitz. This cost me and our team our first place slot, bumping us back to third place.
"Guys, I am really sorry," I said for the fifteenth time as we sat at the table in the cafeteria.
"For what?" Brian asked.
"For knocking us out of first after all the hard work we've done to get there," I said.
"Brock, would you just stop it," Miri said, exasperated. "We have all agreed it was worth it to see you take that prick out.” “My god,” she addressed the others, “did you see the look on his face when Brock connected with his family jewels? I thought his balls had gone all the way up and were forcing his eyes out of their sockets."
We all laughed and I felt somewhat better.
"Remind me never to piss you off," Kim added, setting off another round of laughter after some sober agreements.
Chapter 4
By graduation, a little over a year from that first day on the docking bay, our team had regained second place and I had worked back up to third over all. Miri finished fifth and Brian and Kim had both finished in the top ten. Olaf's team finished dead last in the class due to infighting, while Olaf himself faired better, finishing in the upper half of the class.
Each of us got to choose our first ship assignments based on the place we finished in the class. Miri and I both chose dreadnaughts, while Brian chose a heavy cruiser. Kim strangely chose a light cruiser, which had less prestige than the larger vessels. I discovered later that her choice allowed her to attain a command of her own much more quickly.
As we concluded the graduation ceremony and we were sworn in as officers of the TSN, I was told to report to Commodore Turpitz office. Wondering why, and perhaps a little worried that I was in for another reprimand, I entered the Commodore's reception area with trepidation. Soon I stood at attention before Turpitz. He let me stand there for some time before he finally looked up and grinned at me.
"Well, Callaway, I must admit, I was wrong about you. You have the makings of a fine officer and with some seasoning, you will be a fine ship's Captain. But I didn't call you here for that, and I bet you are curious as to why you are here." I nodded. "Please look into the retinal scanned on my desk and place your thumb on the DNA tester." I did as asked, a bit baffled as to what was going on. When the equipment was done, I resumed my attention stance as Turpitz did a few things on his terminal.
"Come with me," Turpitz commanded as he rose and headed out the door. Now I was really perplexed, but as we approached the docking bay I was starting to get a clue. We entered the docking bay and there before me was the most beautiful ship I had ever seen. Her hull was a deep midnight blue and her nose was long and sleek even as her bulk hinted at a spacious interior. My grandfather's Yacht.
"She's all yours, Callaway," Turpitz grinned. "I expect you to make yourself worth this ship, but I can see now that you won't have a problem with that. Congratulations. The entry codes have been keyed to your DNA and Retina prints. I will leave you two to get acquainted, but don't take too long, I believe you have a party to get to."
"Thank you very much, Commodore Turpitz," I said. "Don't worry, Sir, I will do my level best to be worthy of her." I saluted the Commodore who smiled and returned the salute, before patting me on the shoulder on his way out.
Later, after I had examined my yacht from stem to stern, I left to attend the party. It was in full swing when I arrived. Brian saw me come in and walked over to me.
"Where have you been?" he asked.
"Oh, nowhere special," I said off handedly. "Just taking possession of one Admiral's yacht." Then I grinned a huge grin.
"Awesome!" Brian said with a big smile.
"Cool," Miri said enthusiastically, as she joined us.
"So what's she like?" Brian asked.
"She is showing her age. Her systems are outdated and she is going to need a tune up," I said solemnly, then grinned a huge grin, "But other than that, she is everything I dreamed of. I think I am going to take her out for the week of liberty we have coming before reporting to our assignments."
"Sounds like fun. Too bad I have plans, or I would go with you, but I want to see her," Brian said, then added when I looked as if I was ready to take him right then, "After the party, dork." I nodded and grinned sheepishly.
I basically mingled with our classmates for most of the night when Miri didn't have me out dancing and eventually the party was winding down. Brian came up and asked if I was ready to show him the ship. I told him I was.
"Give me a half an hour, then meet me at the docking bay, okay?" he said.
"A half hour, gotcha," I nodded.
I went around and said my goodnights to everyone, but I couldn't find Miri. I finally gave up and went over to say good night to Kim. She said she hadn't seen Miri in a while either, but she would pass on the goodnight for me if she did.
"Have a pleasant time," she told me with a strange knowing smile.
I headed down to the docking bay. When I arrived, Brian was nowhere to be seen. I called out, "Brian?" That's when I saw her. She moved sensuously out from behind the landing strut of my ship. What she was wearing was definitely NOT TSN issue.
"Guess again, sailor," Miri purred, moving closer until she was right in front of me resting her arms on my shoulders with her hands clasped behind my head.
"Miri? Where's Brian," I asked, a little confused and a lot frightened.
"Do you really care?" She asked then planted, I was sure, the most brain-scrambling kiss in the history of mankind, on my lips.
"Who's Brian?" I asked.
"So, sailor, are you going to show me your big sexy ship?"
"I, uh, sure, I can give you the grand tour," I said.
"Great," she said giving me a mischievous grin. "I am dying to see the Captain's stateroom. Let's start there.”
The tour started with said stateroom and ended there too. Actually it never left there cause Miri proceeded to turn my world upside down and inside out, taking me to heights of passion and pleasure that defied description by my inexperience. The best part though, was afterward, when we fell asleep in each other's arms, snuggled closely. I remember thinking as I drifted off to sleep that her musky post lovemaking scent was delicious.
When I awoke that next morning, I was alone in the bed and I thought I had dreamt the whole thing. I showered and put my new midnight blue uniform on before heading out to examine more of the ship. I wanted to come up with a list of things to do to her first. When I opened the door I smelled food. I followed my nose to the galley where I saw Miri sitting at a table set for two with breakfast. As I entered, she got up and glided over to me, enfolding me in a warm embrace.
"Morning, lover," she smiled. "I thought you would never get up. I was afraid I had damaged you."
"If that was damaging me, then please, utterly destroy me," I laughed.
"Careful what you wish for, sir," Miri grinned. "You know, I have wanted to do that from the first day we talked in the hallway."
"I had no idea," I said.
"No kidding. For being so damn smart, you were utterly clueless at times," she laughed.
"You know, Brian said the same thing the first day," I commented. "He said you would have me, whether I liked it or not. I enjoyed you having me immensely I might add. He said it was just a question of when you would mount your assault. I think it surprised him that you waited this long. I told him he was being ridiculous. A woman like you couldn't possibly be interested in someone like me."
"Now what kind of crap is that, Callaway?" Miri demanded. "Why couldn't I be interested in you?"
"Well, look at me, Miri," I explained, "I am short, not fat, but not athletic either. I am not exactly the pinnacle of the masculine form, while you...you are beautiful. You are tall, extremely athletic, way stronger than I am. You are intelligent as well as physically beautiful. I just thought you would go for someone built like Olaf, less the cruelty that pervades his attitude."
"Oh please," Miri snorted in disgust, "I do not find men like Olaf attractive, cruel or not. That type of overly male character does nothing for me. I prefer gentle caring guys with good heads on their shoulders, not big muscles in their shirts. Yeah, you’re maybe small, but you are not defenseless. Look at what you did to that brute Olaf. The prick is terrified of you now, all because you are smarter than he is and he now knows you are not afraid be very ruthless when you have to be.
"Would it surprise you to know that most men don't find me particularly attractive? It's true. They are intimidated by my strength. Sure, they all say I am attractive and how they want me, but when it comes right down to it they run away as fast as they can. Frankly, I am surprised that you haven't yet."
"Miri," I said seriously, "You have always had my heart for a smile. Ever since that day we stood lined up in the shuttle bay, I knew you were someone I could love. I just never expected that you could actually find me attractive. Trust me, I will never run from you."
"Well good, now that we have that settled, breakfast is getting cold," Miri smiled.
As we ate we chatted a bit more about what we had planned for our liberty. Of course the subject came around to my plan to take the ship out for a shake down voyage.
"So what are you going to call her?" Miri asked.
"Duality," I said, then explained at Miri's expectant look. "Duality, because I'm a free sprit at heart. To cruise around space following my heart while answering to no one; that's what I desire. It's very much at odds with the Naval life I've chosen for myself. Thus...Duality."
"I see," Miri said. "You know, I didn't have any plans for my liberty." She had a mischievous glint in her eye.
Over the next five years, I spent most of my income on upgrading Duality's systems and components. My career was progressing nicely and there were definite projections that I would soon have a command of my own. Miri was faring similarly. We hadn't seen each other much in the last five years due to our liberties not coinciding, but we kept in contact as often as possible via vid messages and vid phone. Currently, I was the second officer on the dreadnought Aquinas on blockade duty around the forbidden colonies, where the Galactic government sent homosexuals or others they deemed an abomination.
I was standing third watch. It was my favorite time. There wasn't much activity and I was pretty much left on my own while two thirds of the ship slept. I was going over some routine reports when my sensor operator spoke up.
"Contact, incoming, Lieutenant Commander Callaway," he said crisply.
"How far, Mister Peters?" I asked.
"Just entering sensor range. About three thousand AU's, closing slowly," the sensor tech informed me.
"Hail them, please, Miz Larson," I told my comm tech.
"Communications established, sir," she said after a few moments.
"Very well, on the main view screen please," I said.
Soon the main view screen changed from the view of space to a view of the Captain of the incoming ship. I could tell right away that she hadn't always been a she. She was one of those transgendered people who the Galactic government banished to the sector of space we were blockading. The fact that I could tell this was evidence of cheap, inferior genetic tailoring viruses. Otherwise she would have appeared normal female to the untrained eye.
"Incoming vessel," I said after I keyed my mic, "You are approaching a restricted area. Alter course at once or we will be forced to fire on you."
"TSN Aquinas, this is the captain of the UNARMED cargo vessel Tina. To whom am I speaking?" the captain asked.
"This is Lt. Cmdr. Callaway, second officer. Again, I say alter course or be fired on," I replied.
"Lt. Cmdr. Callaway, you must let us through. We carry a cargo of desperately needed medical supplies headed for the planet Diversity. Thousands will die if we don't make it through." The Captain of the Tina's eyes shined with inner peace and conviction that she was doing the right thing. "Please, let us through," she begged me.
"My orders are clear, Tina. No ships go in, no ships go out. If you continue your approach, I will be forced to destroy you," I informed her.
"Very well, Lt. Cmdr. Callaway," she replied. For a minute I though she had come to her senses and was going to alter course, but then it was clear she intended to keep right on coming.
"How long until she is weapons range, Mr. Ireland?" I asked my fire control officer.
"About in two minutes, Sir," he responded.
"Very well, when she gets in range, fire a warning shot across her course. Full volley," I ordered.
"Yes Sir!" he replied smartly.
Two minutes later I heard the ships main batteries fire and watched as the 16 particle beams cut a swath neatly across the cargo ship's trajectory.
"Mr. Callaway, the light show was very impressive, but if you intend to stop us you will have to destroy us," the Tina's Captain advised. She was determined to pursue this idiocy, obviously counting on my humanity to spare her.
I had just decided that it was working for her when my personal comm crackled to life. "Mister Callaway, this is the Captain. Why have the ships weapons fired?"
"Blockade runner, sir. I fired a warning shot to get her attention," I informed my commanding officer.
"Has she altered course?" the Captain inquired.
"I'm afraid not, Sir," I replied.
"Very well, Mr. Callaway, you know your duty. If she crosses the line, destroy her," the channel went dead.
In an hour the Tina would reach the line. If she crossed it I would be forced to destroy her. I would be forced to kill all aboard an unarmed vessel on a mission of mercy. That was something I couldn't live with, though I knew disobeying these orders were going to cost me my career and very likely my life. Yet I knew what I had to do.
Working quickly at my terminal, I hacked the fire control computer and locked it down with an encrypted password. It would be easy to defeat, but it would perhaps give the Tina enough time to get out of weapons range before she could be fired upon. Soon that was done and I settled in to wait for the end of my military life.
The Tina slowly crept across the line into the restricted area. Now the fun would begin. My bridge crew looked expectantly at me. I sat impassively. Finally, my fire control officer, the next in command on the bridge, spoke up.
"Sir, the cargo vessel has entered the restricted area," he stated.
"I am aware of that, Mr. Ireland," I said calmly.
"Your orders, sir?" he prompted.
"At ease, Mr. Ireland," I replied.
"Sir you know our orders are to destroy any ship crossing the line," he said, clearly getting agitated.
"I know what the orders are, Mr. Ireland. I said stand down!" I snapped.
As the fire control officer sat back down and glared at me, my private comm came to life again. "Mr. Callaway, this is the Captain. Has the vessel changed course?"
"No, sir, it hasn't," I replied.
"Has it crossed into the restricted area?" the Captain asked.
"Yes, sir, it has," I replied.
"Then why haven't you destroyed it?" the Captain demanded.
"Because I don't intend to, sir," I said, sealing my fate.
"I beg your pardon, I thought I heard to say you don't intend to destroy the blockade runner," the Captain said calmly.
"You heard correctly, sir," I said just as calmly.
"Am I to assume you have a legitimate reason for this?" the Captain asked.
"Yes sir, I do," I replied.
"Are we about to be set upon be a fleet of war ships?" the Captain inquired, the tension mounting.
"No sir," I stated.
"Then what possible reason could you have for disobeying a direct order?" the Captain said, pronouncing each word in precisely clipped speech.
"Because, Sir, destroying an unarmed vessel on a mission of mercy would be morally and ethically wrong. Respectfully, that is my reason, sir," I said in just as precise speech.
Just then the bridge door slid open and the Captain entered.
"Mr. Callaway, you are relieved. Mr. Ireland, destroy that ship. Lieutenant Larson, call a security detail up here to take Mr. Callaway into custody," the Captain commanded.
"Captain, the weapons are not responding. As soon as I tried to fire them they all went off line. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary, sir, all of them," Lt. Ireland informed him.
"Get them back up, Mr. Ireland," the Captain said, looking sharply at me.
"Captain, the system has been locked out with an encryption code," the fire control officer stated.
"How long until the ship is out of weapons range?" the Captain asked.
"Less that 45 minutes, Sir," the sensor tech replied.
"Then, Mr. Ireland, you have a half an hour to break the code and get the system back on line," the Captain said.
"Sir, it's been set up so that any attempt to tamper with it will cause the system to do a hard reboot," Lt. Ireland informed the Captain. What he didn't add because we all knew it all too well was that hard booting the system would take a minimum of an hour before they could bring the weapons back on line.
The Captain looked at me. "Mr. Callaway, remove the lock and I will not add sabotage to the charges against you," he said.
"Respectfully, sir, I cannot," I said.
"Cannot or will not, mister," the Captain asked sharply.
"Does it matter, sir?" I asked.
"No, I suppose it doesn't," the Captain said with resignation.
Chapter 6
The security detail arrived and took me into custody. The Captain ordered them to take me to the brig. I sat in the brig for several hours before the security team returned to escort me to the Captain's ready room. When we arrived, the Captain was sitting behind his desk. He signaled the security team to leave and gestured for me to sit down. I did so.
"I wanted you to see this," the Captain said as he turned the view screen to me.
It was a split screen recording of a communication between the Captain of the Tina on one side and my Captain on the other.
"Goddess' blessing upon you, Lt. Cmdr. Callaway," the Tina's Captain said.
"Lt. Cmdr. Callaway has been relieved of duty. This is the Captain of the Aquinas," my Captain said.
"Then blessing upon you, too for allowing us through. The medicine we carry will save thousands that would otherwise have certainly perished," the strange man-woman said.
"Do not bless me, or thank me. It was only by virtue of Mr. Callaway locking down our weapons systems that you yet live," my Captain stated.
"Then he is a compassionate man and has our gratitude," the Tina's Captain responded.
"Indeed," said my Captain. "I just though you might like to know what the man to whom you owe your gratitude has personally given up to save you and your people. Brock Callaway was a bright young officer on the fast track to make admiral, possibly being the youngest ever to do so. Until now his record had been spotless. I happen to know he was to be given his own command within the next year. Helping you and your people has cost him all that at the very least. Very likely it will cost him his life after the court martial."
"Then he is courageous and honorable as well as compassionate," the Tina's Captain said, her eyes shining with tears at what had been sacrificed for her and her people. "Thank you for telling us about him. He will be remembered as a hero to our people."
"Indeed," agreed the image of my Captain, "He has my utmost respect for his honor and conviction. I deeply regret that I must be the one to bring the charges against him."
"Perhaps you can all learn a lesson from him," the Tina's Captain said sadly. "Perhaps you can learn from him that there are more important things than orders and that maybe there is a higher duty to your fellow human beings."
"Perhaps," my Captain said, also sadly, "but more likely we will just learn the price of disobeying those orders and disregarding the duty to the TSN."
"That would be most regrettable," the Tina's Captain said, a tear running down her face. "Please give Mister Callaway our respects and tell him our prayers are with him. He has our eternal gratitude."
As the display went blank, I looked up at the Captain. He actually looked a bit misty eyed himself.
"Thank you for showing me this, Captain," I said sincerely.
"Son, I truly respect your strength of character," the Captain said, "but now you have put me in an unenviable position, that of having to bring charges against someone I respect. I am not an uncompassionate man, and I can't honestly say that I disagree with what you have done here, but as TSN Officers we are sometimes called upon to perform in ways that do not align themselves with our morals or ethics. Here is the list of charges against you."
He passed me a hard copy document. I read the list and knew I was in deep trouble. Two charges of insubordination, one charge of Sabotage of a TSN warship, one charge of aiding a criminal to escape, and one charge of being transgendered...What? Transgendered? Uh oh. I looked up sharply at the Captain. He reached out across his desk with a closed fist. When his arm reached full extension, he opened his hand and on his desk fell a large translucent pink pill.
"I assume you know what this is," the captain asked.
Damn right I knew what it was. Whatever money hadn't gone into the Duality had gone toward this pill. It represented far more than the sizable monetary investment it had cost me. It was to be my salvation when I left the Navy in another five years and was free to cruise the galaxy in Duality answering to no one but my heart. It was the answer I had sought for so long. It was to me, my completion.
"I've never seen it before in my life," I lied smoothly.
"Then you won't mind if I smash it then," the captain grinned and reached out with his electronic note pad.
"NO! Please!" I cried as I dove forward protecting the precious pill, betraying my dark secret, while receiving a sharp blow across my hands as the pad slammed down on them.
"That's what I thought," the Captain smiled again at me. "Son, look, I might have been concerned about finding this yesterday, but at this point it makes little difference. They will probably execute you from those other charges alone. As I said, I am not an uncompassionate man. I am not charging you with being Transgendered and here's what I am going to do. I am going to let you keep that pill. Keep it hidden however you can. After the court martial, if they sentence you to death, take the pill. At least you can die as who you want to be. If they don't sentence you to death then you decide how best to handle it. This is a gift from me to you, as a sort of recognition of your courage and conviction, and also an apology for what I must do."
The Captain stood and offered me his hand. I rose and took it, tears in my eyes at his kindness. "Mr. Callaway, it was a pleasure to serve with you," he said. "I'm going to miss having someone of your competence holding the watch as I sleep."
"Captain," I stammered, "I...I don't know what to say, beyond it was a joy to serve under you. I pray you never have to make a choice like I did. You're a good man and good men don't deserve such choices." I came to attention and saluted him. He saluted back and I palmed the pill and opened the door where the waiting security team escorted me back to the brig.
Two weeks later I was back at the TSN Regional Command Station. Usually this was a happy place for me because it usually meant liberty and taking Duality out, but this time it wasn't so happy. I was cooling my heels in a cell at the station detention center. My court martial would be in about four month's time. The pill was safely hidden, but for the moment I could do nothing but wait.
Chapter 7
I heard a bit of a ruckus out in the hall but I didn't think much of it, assuming it was a drunken sailor they had brought in for having too much fun on liberty as had happened quite often in the three months I had been here. Until, that is, Miri appeared at my cell door.
"Hey Sailor!" she said happily. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Miri? What are you doing here?" I asked.
She squinted her eyes, pantomimed ashing a cigar, and in an unbelievably good Bogart impression, said, "We're here to getcha out, see." The cell door popped open. And she continued, "Com'on , shweetheart, lets beat it before the heat gets here."
"We?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said, dropping the flippancy and looking up the hall. "Me, Brian and a friend of his. Come on Brock, we don't have much time."
"No," I said and her eyes bugged. "I can't let you all do this. My career is ruined and I'm possibly going to be executed. I can't let you guys take that kind of risk."
"Too late lover," She said. "We have already taken out the guards, and committed enough TSN violations to put us in the same boat you are, so get your cute ass in gear and let's go. We can argue about it on the Duality."
I got up and followed her down the hall after making sure I had the pill. We moved swiftly through the dimly lit corridors and amazingly encountered no one. We made it to the docking bay where Brian and his friend had the Duality prepped and ready for our flight into infamy. We quietly slipped from the docking bay and slowly made our way away from the station so as to draw as little attention as possible. It didn't last long. The comm chatter picked up, then we received an incoming message.
"Duality, that is a restricted vessel. Your undocking is unauthorized. Return to the docking bay at once," the Station Space Traffic Control demanded. When we didn't respond, they began calling for assistance.
"Everybody strap in," I ordered. "We are in for a bumpy ride here, but I have a few surprises for them."
I engaged the stealth mode and the exterior views of the Duality showed the hull turn to a silvery mirror finish, visually, as well as most other forms of detection, almost invisible. Since speed was of the essence I had to fire wall the throttle, which would make us hot and bright to infrared, but it couldn't be helped, even with the best stealth technology they would have eventually stumbled across us. The Duality leaped forward, accelerating like a racing ship a quarter her size. There was only one ship close enough and fast enough to catch us. It was a destroyer and it was bearing down on us at a tangent to our course. As we neared its weapons ranged, it turned its main propulsion toward us and began to burn to match vectors.
"Duality," came a familiar voice. "Heave to and surrender, or I will be forced to fire on you."
"Sorry, Kim, I don't have anything to lose," I told my old friend. "You now have the same choice I did, except in your case it's a friend, in mine it was an innocent. Fire on me or let me go."
"Brock, unlike you, I will not jeopardize my command by disobeying orders," Kim replied as a warning shot from the destroyer's four particle beam cannon cut across our course. They were nowhere near as powerful as the Aquinas' main batteries, but still a couple of well placed hits could easily take the Duality out.
"We're screwed," Brian's friend said.
"Not yet, I still have loads of tricks," I grinned. I pushed a concealed button under the control panel and a sighting reticule appeared on the main view screen. "Last chance, Kim. Let us go. As your friend, I am asking please."
"It's not going to happen, Brock," she said. "Now heave to and surrender, or the next one is down your throat."
I had carefully drifted the Duality directly behind the destroyer, until the reticule was squarely over the main thrusters. I then pulled the trigger on the joystick controller. The cabin lights went dark momentarily as the single dreadnought main battery particle beam stabbed out, scoring a direct hit on the destroyers drive crippling it. I then vectored the Duality away from Kim's limping destroyer and accelerated out of her weapons range.
As soon as we were beyond the tracking range of any TSN forces I made one more drastic course correction and cut the drives, rendering us virtually invisible. Setting the autopilot, I got up and headed to the galley. I poured myself a glass of fruit juice and sat down at the table. The others followed me in and sat down as well.
"Very nicely done, Captain Brock, sir," Brian's friend commented.
"Brock will do for now. None of us are in the TSN anymore and I wasn't even a Captain then," I replied.
"Begging your pardon, sir, but it seems to me that we are on YOUR ship and we are YOUR crew for the foreseeable future, and that kinda promotes you to Captain," the slight man stated. "By the way, since nobody is going to be polite enough to do it for me, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Dan Chestnut. I served under Brian as a computer tech when he was third officer aboard the heavy cruiser Trinity."
"Pleased to meet you, Dan," I said politely.
"Brock, where the heck did you get a dreadnought class particle canon?" Brian asked. "And more baffling, how the heck did you find room to mount it on Duality without it being visible?"
I grinned, "It cost me my last two years wages and it's amazing the space I saved by upgrading all the ships systems to the newest micronized naval versions. Call it part of my TSN compensation package."
"YOU? YOU misappropriated TSN assets?" Miri laughed.
"Well, I never claimed to be an angel," I told her sweetly.
"So, my Captain, what are we going to do now?" Miri asked.
My look turned grim, "You are all a bunch of morons you know," I said sadly.
There was a general chorus of agreement, which took me off guard and we all started laughing. But I quickly sobered again.
"You have become outlaws to save someone you never truly knew," I said somberly.
"What are you talking about? You are my best friend, Brock," Brian said.
"No kidding," Miri added, "I think I know you better than anybody here, being your LOVER and all. Hell, Brock, I would follow you through hell itself if that's where you were going."
"You're right, sir, I don't know you that well," Dan commented, "but you are important enough to Brian to throw away his career and that's a good enough reference for me."
"Well, I have something to tell you that may change the way you feel," I said sadly.
Everyone looked at me expectantly, so I pressed on. "I have a secret that I have kept hidden from all of you." I paused to take a drink of juice, stalling a bit before continuing. "Geez, I have kept this hidden for so long my throat bulks at saying the words. I...well...I'm transgendered. I have always felt uncomfortable as a man and I have always known on some level I was female inside." They all were looking at me, as if waiting for me to go on, sensing there was something else, so I placed my precious pill on the table, looked at each of them before saying, "I won't be as you see me for much longer. That pill cost me a my third year's salary, and it will make my outside agree with my inside."
"Is THAT all?" Brian sighed in relief. "Goddess, girl, I have suspected that from almost the beginning."
"I am your LOVER, Brock," Miri laughed. "You didn't think I knew this? Damn, you were definitely off in your own little world. Oh, you kept it well hidden to the general population, but I guess those of us you felt safe with kinda saw enough to suspect."
"Well I had no idea," Dan grinned. "You kept it totally secret for the five hours or so I have known you. Like I said before though, if Brian stands by you that's good enough for me."
"I don't know what to say," I said looking down as the tears began to fill my eyes. "Thank you all for being so accepting. I never expected that."
"Sheesh, Brock, we threw away our careers and became deserters who will be executed if we are ever caught," Brian pointed out. "We care a great deal for you and I don't think this changes that a bit, even if it had been a surprise. I don't think you had anything to worry about with us." There was a general chorus of agreement.
"Well, boys, I think us girls need to talk about our relationship," Miri said smiling. "If you gentlemen would be so kind as to take the watch, Brock and I are going to retire to the stateroom for a bit."
"Well Dan," Brian grinned. "I think 'lover' out ranks 'best friend', so I guess we should do as the lady says."
As the guys got up and headed out to the control cabin, Miri got up and got our secret bottle of champagne and a pair of flutes, before giving me that come hither look and disappearing into our stateroom. I picked up my pill off the table and my cup of juice and followed my lover.
"You tell me, Miri," I countered. "Are you going to want a man or will you continue as my lover? Cause I told you long ago I wasn't running from you."
"Not fair," Miri laughed, but when I just looked at her, she continued, "Okay, there's something I never told you about why I was so attracted to you. I thought it might offend you before but now...well, now I don't think it will matter much. You were always the more femininely temperate of the two of us, always the more passive and that appealed to me…a lot. When I finally held you, you felt so small and fragile in my arms, just like a girl, even as you trembled that first night we shared together. I loved you for that. I guess what I am trying to say is, I always viewed you as my girl. That you are truly going to be...are...well, I couldn't be happier. Now what about you? You don't owe me anything. If you need something more masculine, I will stand aside and be happy for you. Don't feel like you are running from me."
"Miri," I said, tears again welling up in my eyes, as I threw my arms around her and cried tears of joy on her shoulder. "You're beautiful. I love you more than life itself. If you still want me after, I said it before, you have always had my heart for a smile."
Miri clinked glasses with me before draining hers. I followed suit. "What say we have one last encounter as male and female, before we start the relationship we were meant to have?" Miri suggested, grinning lecherously.
"Sounds delightful," I grinned back at her.
A couple of hours later, as we lay entwined with each other, Miri asked, "So can I pick out your new name, or did you have your heart set on something?"
"You know? I hadn't given that much thought. I guess I was thinking my old one would work, but given the circumstances, I guess I really should use something else," I supposed. "What did you have in mind?"
"How about keep your surname and I have always thought Valerie Nicole would be a beautiful name for you," Miri laughed. "Yes, I was thinking of girls' names for you before this. Told you I knew."
"That's beautiful," I said. "I love it. Valerie Nicole Callaway it is then. Wait until you see what this pill does, assuming it performs as advertised, and I have little doubt it will. I made sure I used the most reputable source the black market had to offer. You're going to love it."
"I love you," Miri said, "and that is enough for me."
"Are you ready?" she asked. I nodded nervously. She got up and went over to where I had set the pill and the juice retrieving them and bringing them to me.
"Are you going to need anything? How long will it take?" She asked.
"I shouldn't need anything," I answered. "In most cases, it's rather messy, I understand, cause there is usually a great deal of mass coming off, but I kinda like my overall size the way it is."
"Oh," Miri said in mock disappointment, "I was kinda hoping for a 5 ft blonde with double D boobs."
I laughed about that until tears were running down my face. As the laughter subsided, Miri handed me the pill and the juice. I took the pill and placed it on my tongue reverently. I looked at her, for a moment and she smiled reassuringly and nodded. Raising the glass of fruit juice, "Cheers!" I said, and then drained the glass, swallowing the pill.
I quickly began to get drowsy and I laid back on the bed. The last thing I remember about my male life was Miri leaning down and kissing me tenderly on the forehead before whispering, "Good luck sweetheart."
When Miri entered the control cabin about an hour after Brock had taken the pill, Brian looked up and asked her, "Well, did you two get things all hammered out? Do you still out rank me?"
"For now I guess," Miri smiled.
"How is he?" Brian asked.
"SHE is resting comfortably," Miri replied.
"He took the pill then?" Dan asked.
"Yeah. I watched the whole process," Miri said. "She slept through it."
"So what does she look like? Shorter? Blonde? With tata's out to here?" Brian asked making Miri laugh at the parallel of her joke earlier.
"Well, you just have to wait and see," Miri said mysteriously and grinned. "She is...ah...surprisingly beautiful."
"Why surprisingly? She took a body-tailoring pill. I hardly think she would have made herself an ugly woman," Dan said.
"You'll see," was all Miri would say about it.
When I awoke, I felt as though I had been letting Olaf pound on my body with a pugil stick again. Groaning, I sat up and found someone had left a large glass of juice and a couple of protein bars on the nightstand. Thanking whoever it was profoundly, I virtually inhaled the protein bars and drained half the juice before slowing down enough to become aware of the new sensations my body was sending my brain.
I looked down and smiled in delight. I had breasts! I quickly jumped up, ignoring the protests of my recently tortured body and floated over to the full-length mirror. What I saw took my breath away. It was just as I had imagined it. My hands began exploring my sleek new curves as I luxuriated in the sensuousness of my own caress. I was held enthralled by my own image in the mirror and the pleasure my own touch was eliciting from my new body, and I hadn't even gotten to the sensitive bits yet.
The spell was broken by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind me. I looked around, blushing furiously with embarrassment at being caught caressing myself in the mirror.
"I'll thank you to take your hands off my property," Miri said looking cross for a few moments before it dissolved in to a warm grin. "How are you feeling, Miz Valerie?"
"Like someone was using me as a punching bag after starving me for a week, but aside from that, incredible, wonderful, delicious, but most of all, for the first time in my life, I feel RIGHT," I gushed.
"Well, it's a good thing dinner is almost ready then, isn't it? You have just enough time to jump in the shower and get dressed. I have to ask, little miss smarty pants, did you consider that you now have...er...assets that are going to make your old clothes extremely uncomfortable to wear?" Miri inquired.
"Actually, I did," I commented haughtily. "In fact, I even examined what you keep on board for not uniform appropriate occasions and duplicated it in my projected size, which I hope was pretty close to what I turned out to be."
"Oooo, so you have an LBD and heels?" Miri asked. I nodded grinning. "Awesome, you jump your cute ass in the shower and I'll be right back. And don't be fondling the goods, I want to be the first to have that privilege, thank you very much." She quickly vanished back into the common area of the ship.
I got in the shower and immediately almost had a religious experience as the jets of warm water played across my new and oh so sensitive breasts. My new body, I was finding, was extremely responsive to tactile stimulation. I sighed happily and began to wash myself. When I got down to my new genitalia I did have a religious experience as I involuntarily cried out to the Goddess thanking her for giving me such pleasure.
"I heard that," Miri called from the other room. "Don't make me come in there and wash you myself."
Regretfully, I finished washing the rest of me and stepped out of the shower. I didn't even need to shave now, anywhere, it was an optional part of the package the pill provided. It removed all hair follicles except those on my head, also optionally lengthened to give me a jump-start on my regulation cut, and a small triangle just above my crease. My crease...Goddess, I was deliriously happy.
Chapter 9
I came out of the bathroom and caught my breath. Miri was dressed in her LBD and was just putting the finishing touches on her makeup. She had laid out my LBD and the foundation garments that went with it. I picked up the bra, holding it reverently before putting it on with hands shaking with excitement. It looked great. It was black smooth satin and it pushed my nearly C-cup breasts up in a way that created breathtaking cleavage. Reluctantly I tore my eyes from my breasts and picked up the panties. They too, were black satin - the sexy thong type. I couldn't wait to see how they looked on me, but Miri stopped me, instead strapping a garter belt around my waist, handing me a wispy pair of black silk stockings and instructing me on how to don them. Once those were in place and hooked to the dangling straps, Miri took the panties and knelt down, holding them open for me. I reached down, stabilized myself with a hand on her shoulder and carefully stepped into them. She slowly slid them up my thighs, caressing as she went, until the panties were in place, and cupping my mound of Venus in an utterly female way.
"Damn, girl," Miri said as she stood, "you are totally horny right now, aren't you?"
I blushed, and in a dusky contralto that I hadn't noticed until that moment, replied, "How could you tell?"
"I can smell your arousal," she smiled. "It's delectable and I can hardly wait until later."
"Are you," I started, stepping into her, clasping my hands behind her neck, pressing my silk and satin sheathed body against hers, looking up into her emerald green eyes with my own smoldering steel gray ones, "going to tell me that some of that scent is not your own arousal?"
"I am not going to say that at all, nope," she said gulping. "If I did, it would be the lie of the century, but I will tell you one thing...if you don't step away, your sexy female ass may not make it to dinner tonight."
Laughing, I stepped away. Miri indicated I should sit in the chair in front of the mirror. She fixed my hair, drying it then pinning it up on top of my head fetchingly, leaving only two tendrils hanging in front to frame my face. Then she applied my makeup, explaining as she went, so that I could practice to do my own for the next time. That finished, she helped me into the LBD, zipping the back up for me as I delightedly watched the slightly stretchy fabric pull tight, hugging my curves. I stepped into the three inch black pumps and took a few turns about the room to get a feel for them before coming to rest, transfixed by the mirror. Goddess, I was gorgeous. I had been going for plain, not ostentatious, when I had the pill made. I had really made very few changes to my body, overall. My hips were a little wider, my waist a little narrower. Of course, my breasts were much larger than before, but apart from the primary sex organs, I really hadn't changed anything else. Yet, the girl in the mirror...she was heart-rendingly gorgeous.
"Amazing isn't it?" Miri said divining my thoughts. "You didn't change much at all aside from your boobs and crotch. You could still be Brock, the guy, yet you are stunningly and unquestionably female. Very nice choice on breast size, by the way. You have just the right amount of cleavage. And it looks great with that sweetheart neck line."
"You really think so?" I asked, turning sideways and looking in the mirror.
"Oh, please, little Miss Modesty," Miri snorted. "Valerie, you might well be the most beautiful human female in all of known space."
"Miri, don't be ridiculous," I told her.
"Well, it's my opinion and I am entitled to it," she said, sticking her tongue out at me. "Are you ready for your grand debut for the boys?"
"You think they will be okay with it?" I asked, suddenly a bit nervous.
"No, they'll take one look at you and go insane from looking on the face of such exquisite beauty," Miri said, rolling her eyes. "Of course they'll be okay, you dope, but don't be surprised if even those two are a bit thunderstruck at first."
"Why do you say 'even those two'?" I asked.
"Because if my suspicions are correct, if I almost walked in on what I thought I did while you were recovering from your changes, then our friends are a little more than just pals," Miri said, "just between you and me, mind you. They will tell us when they are ready."
"Oh my," I remarked, and then grinned. "Awesome."
"Let's go," Miri prodded. "Let's do this right. Wait just down the corridor until I present you and then make your entrance."
I did as she said and paused just out of sight in the corridor until I heard her say, "Gentlemen, may I have the honor of presenting to you your Captain, the lovely and talented, Miss Valerie Nicole Callaway."
I took a deep breath, put what I hoped was a stunning smile on my face, and swept regally into the common room. Brian, who had been busy pouring himself a scotch on the rocks at the bar, looked up at me and dropped his glass. As the glass shattered on the deck, Dan exclaimed, "Holy shit, she's incredible."
Brian's mouth was still hanging open as his eyes tracked me through the room. I glided up to him and said, "Close your mouth, hon, you look like you're trying to catch flies." I gently placed my hand under his chin, closing his mouth. "Would you be a sweetheart and pour me a brandy?"
"Yes Ma'am," Brian said enthusiastically as he snapped out of the shock and busied himself pouring my brandy while simultaneously trying to watch me as I glided over to the sofa and perched on it, doing my level best to be the picture of a demure female.
Dan then remembered his manners, and jumped up and asked if Miri would like a brandy as well. She said, "Yes, please," and he joined Brian at the bar.
I winked at Miri and began torturing the guys, saying, "You guys sure do look dashing in your dress blues." This about caused another glass breakage. Miri giggled at this.
Soon the guys had our brandies and their own drinks prepared. They brought us our drinks before sitting down themselves. They just sat there, looking curiously at me. I was starting to get really self conscious and I finally had to ask, "Well, are you guys going to just sit there staring or are you going to say something?"
"Damn, Valerie," Brain finally said. "It's really odd. When I first saw you, I thought to myself, you had turned yourself into a most exquisitely gorgeous creature. But now that I am looking at you, and I don't mean this badly, I suspect she was here all along. You still look just like you, or at least your Identical twin sister. I guess what I am saying is that I think even without the pill, you could have achieved a remarkably similar level of feminine beauty. Don't you think, Dan?"
"It is amazing," Dan said. "I was wondering if she even took the pill. You know, like ‘how did you pass as a man all this time?’ Surely, you were female all along and the pill was just a rouse. I know that's not how it was though, or the TSN would have had you shipped off to the Restricted Zone long ago."
"I can tell she took the pill," Brian said, "Her hips are a little wider that they used to be and her waist is a little tinier. And the cleavage! There's nothing fake about that. Brock has always been a master of details and the details, my friends, are what transformed an otherwise masculine appearing guy into the stunningly attractive, literally," he glanced over at where the glass had shattered," creature before us."
"Hear, hear," Miri and Dan agreed.
"I don't mean to seem unappreciative to you guys, but for all that I would love to sit here, basking in the warmth of your appreciation, I am friggin starving," I mentioned.
"Then by all means," Brian said, jumping up and offering me his hand, assisting me to rise, then leading me to the dining room, "let's go eat. Let it not be said that Brian Andrews and Dan Chestnut allowed a pair of lovely ladies to starve to death." Dan got the hint, and offered his arm to Miri and they followed.
Chapter 10
Dinner was delicious and soon I was stuffed. It seemed that Dan was a genius with a replicator. The guys had served us and the whole thing was lot of fun. The guys, assuming Miri was right, were supreme actors. They hung on our every word and pretended to vie for our attention, even though they knew Miri and I only had eyes for each other. Still, the kind of non-threatening male attention they gave us was nice.
After dinner, things turned to more serious matters - like what our plans were. Frankly, I was at a loss, so I opened the floor to suggestions. My ad hoc crew brainstormed and we finally decided to try the Restricted Zone. I was fairly confident we could slip through the blockade safely. It would take far too many ships to maintain a full blockade around so big an area as the Restricted Zone, so the net was kept tight using a web of sensor relay buoys. Each buoy also contained a hyperspace inhibitor field, preventing ships from passing into or out of the Restricted Zone in hyperspace. Brian, Miri, and Myself, all having been officers on ships on blockade duty, knew of a weakness.
There was one out-of-the-way jump point that few knew of. Consequently, the TSN only kept it watched by an automated drone, set-up to destroy anything that didn't squawk the correct IFF code. Our gamble was that the drone’s data base hadn't been updated to read the Duality's IFF as hostile. If we could dock with the drone, we had a resident computer genius, Dan, who could hack the drone's computers and rig a bypass that wouldn't see the Duality at all; it wouldn’t matter if TSN updated the Drone’s files or not. The problem, of course, was that the drone packed a hideous amount of firepower. If it saw the Duality as hostile while we attempted to dock with it, we were toast.
Once we were past the drone, we could do a max burn until we closed within detection range of the buoys, then cut the drive, engage stealth mode and coast on through to the other side of the blockade. Unless, of course, we were extremely unlucky, like if something were in our way, a ship or a buoy, requiring us to make a large course correction, the chances of being detected were slim.
"Okay," Dan said, "now that we have a plan, how do we get there? We can't exactly use the government controlled hyperspace accelerators and ships this size aren't jump capable on their own."
"Oh damn," I said in mock concern, "that means the crew cabin I sacrificed for the bigger reactor that I needed for the Particle Beam and the other I sacrificed for the HYPERSPACE GENERATOR that the bigger reactor also powers was all a big waste." I finished with a huge grin.
"Damn, you mean this ship is jump capable? Valerie, sweetheart, you are full of surprises," Brian laughed.
"Um, that brings us to one small issue. I figure there are four of us, so we can have four watches of six hours each, but unfortunately there are only two staterooms and one of them is Miri's and mine. I suppose one of you guys could sleep on the couch when your sleeping cycles overlap, but that will kinda cut down on the recreational space..."
"I think I have a solution for that," Brian interrupted.
"Not a chance, you letch," I countered, "neither of you is sleeping with either of us." I was playing this to the hilt while Miri sat with a slight smile, watching me work.
"That's not what I was going to suggest, Valerie," Brian groused. He looked briefly at Dan, who nodded slightly. "I was just going to say that Dan and I don't have a problem sleeping together."
"Wow," I said, arching a finely shaped eyebrow, "no homophobes in this crowd."
"Correct, dear lady," Dan said grinning. "But the point you are missing is that there are only homos in this crowd."
"Bout’ time you two fessed up," I grinned. "However, could you still pretend to be interested in girls? It was kinda fun having you guys wait on us, vying for our attention and all. I'm glad I don't have to feel guilty about keeping the prettiest girl on the ship all to myself, though."
"You better be sharing her with me, bitch," Miri said flatly.
"What?" I asked, right before it hit me. Then I blushed. "Well, that's your opinion. Mine differs a bit."
"You're too sweet for your own good, you know that, sexy?" Miri replied. I blew her a kiss.
"Okay," Brian announced, "Dinner is officially over. We'll clean up. You girls go to bed...before you start doing it right here on the table. As interesting as that may be, even for gentlemen of our persuasion, I don't think it would be very sanitary."
We all chuckled at this. I got up and started to carry dishes to the recycler, but before I got around the table, Miri grabbed my arm. She took the dishes I was carrying from me and placed them on the table. I just stood there, wondering what she was doing. Her next move was totally unexpected. I let out a shriek as Miri picked me up over her shoulder with frighteningly little effort and carried me to the stateroom.
"See," Brian said above the shrieks, "Didn't I tell you she was going to be the one carrying you off to the cave one day?" I stopped shrieking and looked up at him. Right before we went around the corner, I gave him the finger. "Oh, now that was lady-like," I heard him laugh as we entered the stateroom and Miri closed the door.
Chapter 11
Miri lowered me gently to the floor. Even though she had kicked off her heels and I still had mine on, she towered over me by about 5 inches. I snaked my arms around her trim waist and my body melted into hers with my head on her cleavage. She held me with one arm as the other hand traveled up my back, sending little shivers of pleasure up my spine. The hand stopped when it reached my hair. Soon, my hair was free from the artfully pinned pile it had been.
The roving hand drifted down once more and as it went lower I could feel cool air on the bare skin of my back where she had unzipped my dress. She gently pushed me back away from her, and I moaned in protest. The hand caught my chin and tilted my head back. Lowering her lips to mine, she gave me a passionate, yet incredibly tender and electrifying kiss. My whole being seemed centered on that kiss. When she broke it, my dress lay in a puddle of fabric around my feet. I hadn't even noticed her taking it over my arms. I embraced her once more.
This time, my own hands were busy. I didn't need to perform her trick with the hair. Thankfully, she wore her hair shorter than mine and her hair wouldn’t have taken the elaborate style she had given me. It was just as well because I didn't know how it was done. Without my full attention, it would have hopelessly confounded me, and I was far from ready to have given it that. As it was, I caressed her back and flanks, pressing my body into hers while slowly unzipping her dress, almost as smoothly as she had done mine. I wasn't able to get the thing off her shoulders while distracting her with a kiss, though. She was just too tall and in order for me to be in control I had to have one hand on the back of her head, leaving me only one hand to maneuver the dress off her shoulders. She had to cooperate just a bit and that canceled some of the magic, but when we broke the kiss, she was as scantily clad as I was.
We simultaneously released each other's bra straps and shrugged them off. She placed my arms over her shoulders then bent at the knees in a slight squat and wrapped her powerful arms around my waist. Before I knew it, I was being hoisted off my feet. My legs came up instinctually and wrapped around her waist so that her arms wouldn’t support my whole weight. I now looked down on her face and capitalized on the situation by planting another kiss, this time without having to hold her head to control it. I felt her arms release me and I held fast to her with the pressure of my thighs and with my arms on her shoulders. One of her hands drifted down to support my bottom while the other traveled along my still silk-sheathed leg. Her hand reached my opposite leg where it crossed over behind her and traveled towards that foot. She, caressing my foot, removed the pump, allowing it to drop to the floor. Switching hands, she repeated the process on my other leg, and the other pump fell away.
Miri then carried me, placing me softly on the bed. She lay on her side next to me, leaned over and kissed me once again. Her tongue probed my mouth and played across my own tongue, then teasingly withdrew as I sucked on it in a vain effort to prevent its retreat. Her hand traced circles around my breast, slowly getting ever smaller until it traced the edge of my now wide areola. Her hand then changed tactics. It tenderly kneaded my breast before her thumb rubbed my now totally erect nipple, causing my back to arch and an involuntary moan to escape me. Her mouth moved away from mine, causing a moan of protest, but no heed was paid to it. Her mouth instead nibbled and kissed its way down, until a second front opened up on my neglected breast.
Her skilled tongue danced around the edge of that areola, lips teasingly brushing my distended nipple. As her wonderful sensuous mouth began its loving assault on that nipple, the hand that had been on the other breast began to feel its way down, teasingly advancing then retreating. Further and further down it traveled until it was past the waistband of my garter belt, nudging the waistband of my panties. I spread my legs slightly in anticipation of her hand finding its warm dripping target, but the hand wasn't quite through with its sweet torture. It drifted down passed the area that was aching to be touched, until it caught me just above the back of the knee. She gently moved my leg up until it was cocked and leaning open, further exposing my center. Her hand remounted its sensual assault on my inner thigh, slowly drifting lower and lower until it was nudging my satin encased outer lips. Soon, her hand cupped my mound, then began rubbing. Her middle finger glided along my crease, eliciting incredibly intense sensations as it reached the top of its stroke.
Then things changed. She moved her body down until she was positioned between my legs, her face hovering over my mound, as her emerald eye stared into mine. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, her head dipped down and she ran the tip of her nose up the length of my still pantied slit.
"Valerie," she said in a husky voice, heavy with her own excitement, "The scent of your arousal is driving me nuts. I must taste you. Do you want me to taste you?" I nodded my assent, unable to find my voice.
Her tongue flicked out, just touching my button, with unerring accuracy. She tenderly kissed my pantied sex before withdrawing, sliding her arms under my thighs to grasp the waistband of my panties. Slowly, she began to pull and I lifted my hips clear of the bed to assist her. As she pulled the panties down, she lifted my legs until they were straight up in the air. Her hands caressed my sleek silk sheathed legs as they brought the panties inexorably from my legs. Free at last of the panties, my legs once again resumed their position, being spread out before her. Now her hot breath danced with the cool air across my sex. Her tongue darted out and began to play across my labia major. It danced, flicked and teased, first up one side and then down the other, before it clove between. It then slid slowly up until it rested on my engorged button. There it paused until I looked down, finding green eyes looking back at me. They were questioning, asking me ‘are you ready for this?’ The questioning was replaced by amusement at the desperate pleading of my eyes.
Then Miri put me nearly into orbit. Her tongue began an elaborate dance with my clitoris and almost immediately I felt the tide rising, kind of like an electric build up. Just when I thought it couldn't be more intense, she slid a finger into me, then another and began to stroke them in and out in time to her tongue's caresses. My world exploded. My back arched high off the bed and my hips thrashed wildly as a scream was torn from my throat. My body rocked with wave after luscious wave of orgasmic bliss. But it wasn't over after the first tide began to subside. She kept me at that point, orgasms ripping through my body, screams being torn from my throat, for what seemed like hours, until I finally pleaded with her to let me come down, my body limp and spent, my voice all but gone. She at last, relented and crawled up over me, kissing me tenderly. I could taste myself on her lips and I sighed in contentment. She then moved over to the side and, since I was too weak to move, rolled me on to my side, my back to her. She spooned up behind me and pulled the covers over us, then put her arm over me protectively. "I love you more than you will ever know, Valerie Nicole Callaway," was the last thing I heard before consciousness fled.
After my bladder problem was resolved, I became aware that I reeked of sex. A shower was definitely in order. As I stood under the hot jets, the water restored the weak spent muscles and I regained some of my strength. I made sure everything was squeaky clean and, in the process, found that things were still painfully sensitive. I stepped out of the shower and toweled off, wrapping a dry towel around my hair in the classic turban. Dressing should be simple today, since it was back to business, just some plain sturdy underwear and one of my new uniforms.
I returned to the stateroom proper and saw the terminal screen was blinking, indicating a message. I went over and opened it. It was from Miri. In the message, she informed me that Dan, the replicator genius, had designed us some new uniforms. She told me to wear something sexy underneath the uniform. "I know you and I know you were probably planning on something utilitarian, but a girl likes to feel sexy even if it's just underneath her uniform. Have you ever seen me wearing plain underwear?" was her exact quote. I had to admit I hadn't. I guess I had a lot to learn. The knowledge didn't come automatically with the body. She also instructed me to just apply a little eyeliner and mascara, and a neutral shade of lip color when I was dressing for ordinary ship’s business, like standing watch. I hoped I would remember what she taught me last night because she said she would be critiquing my work when I arrived on the bridge. Gee, our relatively tiny control cabin was now called the bridge.
I closed the message and went to the replicator to get my uniform and foundation garments. It seemed I now had a choice. The uniforms were all charcoal gray with offsetting black on the shoulders and cuffs, and had accent colors in bands separating the gray and black. We each had our own different set of options to choose from, based on our coloring, I suppose. My colors, it seemed, were a vivid pink, a bright azure blue, or a deep rich purple. I set the replicator to choose for me randomly and it chose the one accented pink. Thinking about my underwear options, I decided to match my underwear to the accent color the replicator picked for me. For the panties, I chose the same cut and material as I had worn last night, but for the bra, I picked a fuller coverage style, though it did push my boobs up into an impressive display of cleavage. What can I say; if you got it flaunt it, I smiled to myself.
Soon, I had my underwear and uniform on, but I almost balked at the boots. When I saw them I rolled my eyes and had serious reservations about their practicality. They were leather and came to a little above my knees, which looked really great, I had to admit, but it was the soles that gave me pause. They had three-inch heels that tapered to a fine sexy point. It looked great, but it would be impossible to get a pressure suit on with them and I was unsure how badly they would impact my agility in a crisis. Then I noticed that the soles came off, leaving a comfortably flatter second sole, which could be put into a pressure suit and would be useful for moving around in areas where the heels would be problematic. I put the boots on.
I sat down at the vanity table and carefully applied my makeup. The eyeliner was going to take some getting used to. My eyelid kept trying to twitch shut whenever I touched it with the pen, but I finally got it on. The mascara and lip color were a breeze. I surveyed my makeup efforts in the mirror. My, perhaps overly critical, eye told me I needed a lot more practice, but it looked passable so I left it alone. Miri had set out some earrings for me that I put in the two holes per ear formed as a part of the pill package. There was also a fine smooth white gold snake rope necklace ready for me, which I also put on, unzipping the top of my uniform and letting it rest against the bare skin of my upper chest, before zipping the uniform back up. Finally, I removed the towel from my rich brown hair and brushed and dried it. When I was done, it hung with an unruly but sexy slight natural wave and framed my face attractively, hanging to just below the top of my shoulders.
I stood before the full-length mirror to make a final check. There was something that just didn't quite fit. In a moment of inspiration, I unzipped the uniform top to reveal a tastefully modest amount of cleavage and the smooth silvery necklace that hung just above it. "Perfect," I thought, and then it hit me.
Here I was. Twenty-one years old, beautiful, and female. I had the love of a beautiful woman whom I loved more than life itself. I was the captain of my own ship and the mistress of my destiny. That I was also now a hunted outlaw suited me just fine as well. I always knew it would come to that as soon as I had figured out what I needed to be complete. Such a feeling of excitement and happiness came over me at that moment that I thought I must explode, but only a bright content smile and a clear warm light in my steel gray eyes radiated the feeling to the outside. As a shudder of utter bliss traveled down my spine, I turned and left the room.
The main deck appeared deserted, so I stopped in the galley and got myself a doughnut and a cup of tea and made my way to the bridge. I carefully made my way up the bridge access stairway unsure of myself in the three inch heeled boots. As I stepped onto the landing that opened out on to the flight deck, Dan was the first to catch sight of me.
"Holy sh..." he started to say then jumped up from his seat, stood at attention and shouted in a crisp military tone, "Captain on the bridge!" Everyone followed his example and even saluted me.
"Oh, please," I said, standing there with my doughnut and cup of tea. "We're outlaws now, not the military. While the chain of command is still important, I'm not gonna have all of you jumping up and saluting every time I come in a room. I'm not standing on formality unless it's called for and I expect you are all smart enough to recognize such a situation. So, for crying out loud...As you were!"
Everybody grinned and relaxed. The guys resumed their seats, while Miri came over to me, grabbed my chin, tilting my head back and turning it side to side. She finally released me, smiling in approval. "Nice job for your first time," she commented. "You'll be a seasoned pro in no time." She was, of course, referring to my makeup. I smiled at the praise. Setting my load down on a convenient surface, I pulled her head down kissed her.
"Good morning, Sweetheart," she said as I retrieved my breakfast and perched in the Captain's chair. I just smiled sweetly at her and proceeded to eat. After a bit, I noticed that nobody was talking and they were all staring at me again.
"I'm sorry," I said, "did I interrupt something? Is there a problem?"
"Um...Your uniform...it isn't all the way fastened," Brian commented.
"I am aware of that, Mr. Andrews," I remarked.
"It looks stunning," Dan commented.
"Thank you, Mr. Chestnut," I said and then added, "nice job on the uniforms, by the way. I love it."
"Thank you, ma'am, but you're the one that truly does it justice," Dan said. "One thing is certain though."
"What's that?" I asked.
"If there was any doubt before as to whether you took the pill, it's gone now. You could only be completely female in those pants," he said.
"They don't leave much to the imagination, do they," I grinned, looking down at my delightfully smooth, bulge free crotch.
"Certainly no room in there to hide any surprises," Brian laughed, as I finished my doughnut and wiped my hands on a napkin.
"So how are things," I asked.
"Shipshape, Valerie," Miri responded. "We are ready for the jump and run to the Restricted Zone as soon as you give the order."
"Would you like to check my figures for our course plot, Valerie?" Brian asked.
"By all means, Mr. Andrews. On the main screen, please," I responded.
"Yes, Ma'am," Brian said crisply, reminding me that I was falling back into the military formality I had just said I wasn't going to use around here.
"Good job on the plot, Brian," I said less formally. "You even took into account that we can't jump as far as a normal ship can. I'm impressed."
Most ships that aren't big enough to have their own jump generators usually have jump capacitors that maintain the hyperspace field around the ship. Once these capacitors discharge or the field is disrupted, the ship drops out of hyperspace. If that happens at an unsafe hyperspace egress, then the ship could punch into a planet, an asteroid or anything that happens to be in the way. All of the capacitors have a maximum standard time, which translates to a maximum distance. While most ships could safely bypass several hyperspace egresses, the Duality was a bit more limited. In order to squeeze the jump generators on board, I had had to sacrifice some of my jump capacitance. The Duality no longer met the minimum standard and had to make more stops to recharge the capacitors than a normal vessel. The payoff was that we could generate our own hyperspace field and didn't have to use the jump accelerators, which were monitored and heavily guarded. Jump accelerators established the hyperspace field for ships not equipped with their own generators and then their jump capacitors maintained this field.
Brian had realized this limitation and planned for it when he charted our course. The trip would take a bit longer because we had to be out of hyperspace for at least four hours on fully depleted capacitors. Of course, we wouldn't fully deplete our capacitors, but we would still be two to three hours between jumps. There was also another positive side effect as well. Because our capacity was smaller and thanks to the greater power availability we needed to run the huge particle beam and the jump generators, our capacitors charged twice as fast as normal ships. This translated into other ships being only about thirty percent faster than we were when using hyperspace travel, less if they had to travel for longer than it took to charge their capacitors to the nearest jump accelerator. All this meant that it would take us about four days travel to get to our current destination.
"So, are we ready to find out what life has in store for us next?" I asked.
"Sure thing, Valerie," Brian said.
"Then let's get on with it. The pleasure cruise is over, friends. Time to go to work," I said. "Everybody man your jump stations. Dan, is there any traffic on the scope?"
"No Ma'am, we're alone," Dan said
"Very well, disengaging stealth mode. Brian, would you care to bring the jump generators online?" I asked. The ship could be fully controlled from the captain's console, including hyperspace jumps, but since this was our first jump together I thought it would be nice to have it be a crew affair, like on a larger ship.
"Yes Ma'am, jump generators powering up," he said. "System checks green, no inhibitors. Engaging jump field. Jump commencing on my mark...three...two...one...mark." We transitioned into hyperspace.
Chapter 13
Hyperspace travel is an interesting affair. It's instantaneous and the only sensation you feel is two brief jolts very much like a painless shock of low voltage alternating current. However, your muscles do experience fatigue as if you had been mildly electrocuted. All in all, it's not a particularly comfortable way to travel, but you get used to it after a while.
My watch was the afternoon watch, starting at 14:00 and ending at 20:00, so it was about half way through my watch, 17:00, on the fourth day, when the jump capacitors reached full charge. I called everyone to the bridge, since this next jump could have been our last if the naval drone didn't read our IFF as being friendly. Also, we would all have work to do if it did read us as friendly. Once everyone was up on the flight deck and in position, I engaged the jump generators and we transitioned into and out of hyperspace, the double jolt. Then we held our breath as the drone scanned our transponder. It would either open fire on us or let us be.
"Authorization confirmed," crackled an artificial voice over the comm channel after an uncomfortably long time, and we all breathed out the breath we had been holding.
"Alright, Dan, time to work your magic on our friend, the drone there," I said. "Go grab your kit and I'll dock us." Dan got up and went below for his toys while I maneuvered over to the drone. The thing was only the size of a destroyer, but it packed the firepower of a dreadnought, not needing the space for crew accommodations or life support. The maintenance personnel area was, of course, pressurized, but it was a tiny area, only a computer room and a reactor room, though it did have a recycler and a replicator, in the event someone had to live on it temporarily.
As I neared docking range, I began jamming long-range communications, another optional goody I had installed. Gee, you would think I planned on life as an outlaw, I grinned to myself. The drone was programmed to report any docking with the nearest command center; a transmission that would be repeated until an acknowledgement was made. That is, if somebody didn't go on board and tamper with its supposedly tamper proof systems. I gave control of the ship to the docking computer, shortly thereafter feeling a gentle clunk and shudder as our docking rings mated and pressurized.
"Brian, why don't you go help Dan with his equipment," I suggested. "Miri and I will stay up here and monitor things." Brian nodded and headed down to give Dan a hand.
We had at best two hours to do what we had to do and undock. The Drone reported every two hours on traffic that came in its sensor range, friendly or otherwise. The bypass we were going to install would prevent the drone from recording our passage. What we intended was to insert a virus into its operating system that would respond to a code piggy backed on our transponder. In effect, even if the Drone's database did get updated, it would fail to see us, or any ship that had the code. The virus was very subtle too. About the only way they would know it was there was if they went through every line of code in the operating system and compared it to the original version, something that never happened. In all likelihood, the only way the virus would be compromised is if the drone's computer was destroyed and they had to replace it with a new one, but if that happened, given the amount of shielding and armor around the computer, the drone itself would likely be destroyed.
"Oh Shit," came Dan's voice over the commlink.
"What's the problem?" I asked calmly.
"Um...I have like 20 minutes to get this bypass done and erase the traces of us being here before the drone is scheduled to report," Dan said nervously.
"That shouldn't be a problem for a computer wiz like you," I told him. "I have confidence in you. Just take it easy and go step by step and I'll bet you the first round of drinks that we are out of here with 5 minutes to spare."
"That's not a fair bet, Valerie, cause if I don't make it in time we will never reach a bar for you to buy the first round," Dan said, but it was evident he had relaxed and got down to business.
"Okay, then if you do make it in time, I will buy all night long," I suggested. "How does that suit you?"
"That's works for me," Dan said in a distracted tone.
"Valerie, you have just made a critical mistake," Brian injected. "I've seen that guy drink and you don't have that many credits." We all laughed and the tension was all but gone.
18 minutes later it was back in spades, when Dan announced, "Done!"
"Great work," I said. "Now double time your butts back abroad Duality and let's get outa here."
"Yes Ma'am," Dan said. "I heard that."
Thirty seconds later I heard a crash from down below and Dan came over the commlink saying, "Hatch secured, go go go!" As I released the docking seal and moved us away with maneuvering thrusters, Miri engaged the piggy backed transponder code and turned off the jammer.
Thirty seconds after that, the drone began transmitting while we monitored, ready to run if necessary. It wasn't. The drone broadcast a simple five-word message. "No Traffic, all systems green." It was 17:25.
Brian and Dan reappeared on the bridge grinning like Cheshire cats. "Hope that wasn't anything important breaking in that crash I heard," I said.
"I hope not either. This big dope," Dan punched Brian on the arm, "threw my equipment down the hatch before we hustled it down the ladder."
"Hey we were in a hurry and it saved us some valuable time," Brian said in his defense.
"Well, you better hope nothing is damaged, or you will be replacing it, AND buying my drinks all night," Dan informed him curtly. Brian groaned.
"You did a great job, gentlemen," I praised. "Dan, I guess I owe you a night out on the town..."
"No, you don't, Valerie," Dan corrected, "It took me 18 minutes to get everything done. Our deal was fifteen, so you don't owe me anything."
"Okay," I laughed, "but I am at least buying you a round for quite a few jobs well done around here." I gestured at the blue accented uniform I was currently wearing.
"That, I will have to take you up on," Dan grinned.
"Okay, we're here and we have defanged the TSN Drone," Miri observed. "What now, Valerie?"
"Well, I was thinking," I postulated, "I think I remember an asteroid field that encroaches on the sensor buoy's area of detection. If we could slip in there without being detected, we could plant a passive sensor relay on one of the asteroids near the edge closest the blockade line. Then we could see before we start our drift run if the flight path is clear or if there are any patrolling ships in the area. We should be able to creep in close enough through the asteroid field if we are extremely frugal with the maneuvering thrusters. There are always minor heat flares and changes in the gravitational fields of asteroid fields that should mask short bursts of out thrusters, but it will be a slow process and will require a bit of forethought to avoid any drifting rocks without using much thrust."
"Sounds great, Valerie," Brian said, "but where are we going to get a passive sensor array?"
"Dan, do you think you could adapt the sensor array from a sensor probe for our purposes?" I asked, already know he could.
"Of course, Valerie," he confirmed, "but where are we going to get a...this ships has missile launchers, doesn't it?" My huge grin was enough of an answer.
"Valerie," Miri admonished, "if we are going to be crewing this ship, you should probably tell us about your little modifications."
"When we have time, I will fill you all in," I laughed, "but for right now, there are six single round tubes. Three on each side in the secondary drive struts. Four are loaded with anti-ship nukes, two are loaded with sensor probes, and I have one spare for each tube loaded into a smuggling compartment in the hold."
"I'm on it," Dan said after I told him how to find the compartment. "Give me two hours and you'll have your sensor relay."
"In the mean time I will lay in a course for the asteroid field," I said. "You two go relax. We are going to need to be as alert as possible until we make it into the Restricted Zone."
As Miri and Brian left the bridge, I began scanning the charts for the asteroid field. Soon, I had the course plotted and entered into the nav computer. Once we cleared the sensor radius of the drone, I re-engaged stealth mode and sat back, rubbing the bridge of my nose. I looked at the clock and I saw that it was almost time to be relieved.
Chapter 14
Sure enough, the thought had barely finished going through my mind when Brian reappeared to take over. He walked around in front of my console, stood at attention and saluted. "Second Officer Brian Waylan Andrews reporting for duty," he said with a glint of humor in his eye, and then finished sharply, "Ma'am!"
"Stuff it, Brian," I said tiredly, "I am too tired to be baited." Brian relaxed and laughed.
"You know you’re making a big impression on Mr. Chestnut, don't you?" Brian remarked.
"Am I now?" I replied.
"Yes. You stroke his ego and give him positive reinforcement. He has always been talented, but his efficiency ratings were never stellar, pretty dismal at times, actually," Brian explained. "I think he is coming to idolize you. He's so respectful, even reverent when he is talking about you. I've never seen him work so hard or be so dedicated. That's your influence. Your talent is to make people perform above their normal capabilities, and I think he is coming to love you as the rest of us do. You know that, don't you? I can only imagine that Miri feels, if anything, far more strongly than I do, but speaking for myself, I'd die for you if it were necessary to protect you. Hell, I would kill for you if you said it needed to be done, and you know that's not in my nature. Miri is fiercely protective of you. I believe she would cut my throat and dismember me with her bare hands if I ever even thought about betraying you, not that I would."
"Wow," I said, "I'm honored to have such loyalty." I stood up and stepped around the console. I stepped up to Brian and hugged him. "Thank you. Thank you for rescuing me. Thank you for sticking with me."
"You have our loyalty because there is no doubt in our minds that you are that loyal to us. We take risks for you because we know you wouldn't ask us to take any risk you wouldn't take yourself," Brian said into my hair as he hugged me back.
"Now go down and get some dinner and play with Miri a little. I think she's got some pent up energy she needs to burn off," Brian said mock innocently then added, "I don't see how you women do it. You have just stood a full watch and a stressful one at that, and you smell great still, like you just stepped out of the shower. I always smell like shit when I finish my shift."
"Well, Mr. Andrews, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were hitting on me," I said, feigning dismay. "You're not turning straight, are you?" I narrowed my eyes as if suspicious.
"Girl, to tell you the truth, no. I am not into girls, generally, but in your case, I can say without a doubt that after listening to you while Miri tortured you the first night, neither Dan nor I would turn you down if you offered us a roll in the hay." Brian said this with such conviction that it made me blush. "Now beat it girl!” he ordered. “I got this.” I left the bridge and headed for the galley.
When I arrived, I found Miri was there. She handed me a glass of brandy and said, "Go sit down and relax, Love. I will bring you your dinner." I did as directed.
When she came in with dinner, I was sitting at the table with my legs crossed, my chin resting in one palm and the elbow on the table. The fingertips of my one free hand were resting on the lip of the half-consumed glass of brandy. My eyes were shut.
"Are you alright, Valerie?" she asked with mild concern as she placed my dinner on the table.
"Mm hm," I said, too relaxed to be more articulate for a moment. "Just a bit tired."
"Aww," she said as she sat down next to me and caressed my back, "Well, eat your dinner and then you can go to bed."
"Gee thanks, Mom," I said smiling, "You're the greatest."
She lightly smacked the back of my head and said, "Shut up and eat." I stuck my tongue out at her, to which she responded, "Keep that up and I will put it to use."
"Ooo, you promise?" I said and stuck my tongue out at her again. She leaned over, put her mouth over my tongue, and began sucking on it.
She was still sucking on my tongue a minute later when Dan came in and said, "Oh gross, don't you two have a whole stateroom you could do that in?" Miri didn't even look at him; she kept right on sucking and gave him the finger. "Geez," he said, "What is it with the women on this ship? They are all so crude." Miri sucked for a moment longer then released me.
"There now, eat before you start something you are too tired to finish," she ordered. She then turned to Dan, smiled sweetly, then said, "Shut your friggin' pie hole Mister, or I will tell you about ALL the places we have had sex on this ship, and believe me, you wouldn’t be able to enter a room without getting a visual."
Dan, his eyes bugging, first got very pale then blushed a dazzling red. I about choked on my first bite of food as I snickered. He beat a hasty retreat into the galley.
"Miri, Sweetheart," I said sweetly after I swallowed, "We haven't had sex in EVERY room on the ship."
"I know, Lover," she retorted, "but I was going to be so descriptive of the ones we have had sex in, that even when he went in one we didn't, he would have pictured what it would have been like if we had."
There was a roar of laughter from the galley and Dan reappeared, wiping tears from his eyes as still fought down the tremors of mirth. "You girls are too damn cool, you know that. I love it," he said as he disappeared out the hatch, still chuckling.
"I think he likes us," I mentioned.
"No shit?" Miri asked. "Do you think I have a shot with him?"
"Um...no," I said.
"Oh? And why not? I mean if you're going after him I could see where I wouldn't have a prayer," Miri observed. "I mean, you ARE a lot prettier than me and all."
"What? Me compete with you for a man and you not have a shot?" I said in mock dismay. "I would be on the losing end there because you would just throw me in a closet, lock it and go have your way with him. My superior looks wouldn't even be an issue." Miri snorted with mirth.
"Besides, you’re going to be too busy to chase men," I foretold.
"Is that so," she said, looking dubious. "How so?"
"Because I plan to keep you that way," I told her and reached out and gently tweaked her nipple, with immediately hardened, showing through her uniform.
"Hey! I thought you were tired," she protested, "No fair teasing!"
"There’s always room for Jello and sex," I said. "Or is that Jello with sex, or maybe sex with Jello..."
"That's it," Miri laughed, "Shut up and eat your dinner. You're getting weird and that always means you need to go to bed."
After dinner, Miri and I made our way to the bedroom. We stripped each other and climbed into bed. Naked, we assumed our now customary spoon position, her front pressed against my back. She pulled the covers over us and I rolled into her and turned my head as far as I could toward her. She lifted her head to mine and we kissed tenderly.
"I love you," I said.
"I love you, too," she said.
I nestled into her and she put her arm over me. Her hand casually cupped my breast and she idly rubbed my nipple with her thumb as the combination of the coolness of the sheets and the warmth of her body quickly put me to sleep.
Chapter 15
I stirred as Miri squeezed me to her with the arm lying across me then gave my breast a gentle squeeze. She rolled away from me and I moaned in protest. She only made it to her back before I rolled over and captured her, snaking my head up under her arm and resting it on her shoulder while my arm went across her body. What the hell, I even threw a leg across her too for good measure and gripped her tightly as if I might forcibly prevent her from getting out of bed. She leaned her head down and kissed me on the top of the head. I purred.
"Alright, Kitten, let me go, I have to get ready for my watch," Miri said softly.
"Nu uhm," I negated, holding on to her more tightly.
"You're a clingy little thing this morning, aren't you," she said with a content smile in her voice.
"Mmmm," I remarked and nuzzled my head on her shoulder before solidifying my hold on her just a fraction more.
"Okay, Princess, if you won't let go then you will be getting up with me," she explained. Then she rolled me completely on top of her and began sliding us both toward the edge of the bed.
That finally provoked me to produce my first intelligible vocalizations of the morning, "I'm the Captain and I am ordering you to stay in bed with me."
"Stuff it, Valerie," she laughed. "I've probably never been given a more compelling order, or one I wanted to follow more, but I know you don't mean it. I love snuggling with you too, Kitten, but think of poor Dan. He's been working hard and he needs some down time. Now, last chance, let me go or you'll be joining me in the shower and it WILL be a cold one."
Still, I didn't relent, but she was just bluffing about getting up with me attached to her, because in a moment she tried a different tactic. She started tickling me on the tender skin of my sides. I yelped and jumped, eventually forced to let her go to try to get away, but she wasn't finished. She captured me. Sitting atop my hips, she caught both of my wrists and pinned then above my head with one hand, stretching me out and making vulnerable the target area. With her free hand she ran her fingers lightly down the exposed and defenseless skin on my side. I jumped and giggled, and then she started on me in earnest. Soon I was shrieking, laughing, crying, and thrashing, all at the same time. She continued her ruthless assault until I came within a heartbeat of wetting myself. Abruptly, she stopped. She kissed me passionately, and then jumped off, releasing me. Before I could recover enough to retaliate, she ran to the head and slammed the hatch shut.
My hand drifted down to my pelvis where she had been sitting and felt the cooling slick fluid. I smiled happily, even as my breasts heaved from my exertion. Yeah, she may have tortured me until I damn near wet myself, but I wasn't the one going away horny as hell. She had aroused herself tremendously in her tickle torture of me. My smirk got wider as I thought about how frustrated she was going to be by the time that I finished my watch tonight.
I had almost fallen back asleep when Miri crept out of the head. She stalked cat-like around to the foot of the bed, thinking I was sleeping. I watched her every sensual move as she removed her towel. She carefully balled it up, still moving slowly and deliberately as if any sudden move might wake me up. It took every bit of my control to keep from giggling at her, but I lay there impassive as if oblivious to whatever she was about to do.
She sprung her attack. She drew back the balled up towel and lightning fast threw it at my face. Just as fast my hand came up, caught it and reversed its direction. Miri found herself wearing the wet towel she had intended for me around her own face as I sprang up and bolted for the head. I was slamming the hatch while she was still trying to claw the towel away from her eyes.
I heard her do a frighteningly good wicked witch impression through the now closed hatch. "I'll get you, my pretty," she cackled, "And your little towel too."
I giggled as I started the shower, once again luxuriating in the sensations a simple shower sent through my body. When I was done and dried off, Miri had gone to relieve Dan. It was a good thing I wanted to be up early today. We were due to come into sensor range of the asteroid field shortly into Miri's watch. I quickly dressed and applied my make up with a few expert strokes. I was getting good at it.
I made my way up to the bridge after stopping in the galley for a quick bite. I proceeded across the flight deck, perched on the chair at the nav station and swiveled around to watch the tall blonde in the Captain's chair. Eventually she looked up at me from the readouts she was pouring over. "Okay, I can smell the hair burning, what's on that pretty little mind of yours?" she said as I smiled at her, squinting my eyes. "Come on, girl spill it," she said as I still didn't say anything, just sat there watching her.
"Valerie," she cautioned in a warning tone.
"What?" I asked petulantly. "Can't a girl watch her lover and think how beautiful she is?"
Miri snorted at that, "You know it just might have worked if you hadn't added the last bit. What were you thinking about?"
"Well, if you must know, I was trying to figure out what I could bribe the guys with to hold you down long enough for me to truss you up and mercilessly tickle you," I said as I placed my chin in my hand, as if still calculating.
"You had better make sure we are near a friendly planet or something, so there will be medical help nearby for the boys," Miri smiled sweetly.
A warning tone sounded from the console, interrupting out verbal sparring. "Multiple contacts, no heat signatures," Miri informed me.
"Great, we're here," I said. "Close to within 50 AU's and hold that position. We need to scan the field to get an accurate plot so we can pick a target and plan our approach."
Miri stopped the ship at precisely 50 AU's. She was as accurate as ever in her piloting skills. I got down to work scanning the field and the drift of the individual asteroids. The scan took about ten minutes. I studied the screen. There it was. There was an asteroid tailor made for our purposes right near the edge of the closest point the field encroached on the blockade area. It was a little too close for comfort, but it was perfect. It was stationary, with no rotation and it wasn't so big it would block the signal from the sensor relay. I set the computer to plot us a course with a starting velocity of 300AUph and carrying us to a stop very close to the target asteroid with minimum thruster usage.
Fourteen hours later, we hovered over the target asteroid undetected, as Brian made his way down there in a pressure suit to affix the sensor array. We had to stay perfectly still while Brian was out there because he was tethered to the Duality and any movement from the ship could send him crashing into the floating rock or the hull of the ship.
"Okay, I'm in position," Brian informed us. "I am starting to drill for the anchor."
At that moment, a warning chime sounded on the flight deck. I looked at the monitor and saw that a TSN blockade ship had just entered sensor range. I was certain they would not detect us, but there was a chance that a sharp-eyed sensor tech could spot us visually. I mentally urged Brian to hurry.
The ship, a cruiser, was just outside main battery range when it paused. As it sat there, I willed it not to see us.
"Okay, the array is set and anchored. I am headed back," Brian said over the comm.
"Hurry up when you get a chance," Dan told him. "We have a curious TSN cruiser out there."
"Roger that," Brian said. "Expediting."
Brian had just made it to the airlock when the cruiser changed direction and began heading our way.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, it looks like the jig is up," I said. "The cruiser is headed our way. 10 seconds to main battery range."
"I got this," Miri said to Dan, who was the current watch officer. "Everyone strap in for evasive maneuvers," she said as Dan vacated the pilot's console. Miri brought Duality hard around and began to accelerate into the asteroid field even as we began receiving comm traffic from the cruiser.
"Unknown vessel," the cruiser said, "Heave to and identify yourself." After we didn't respond, she added, "Stop or be fired upon!" It was a bluff of course. They were far too large to enter the asteroid field and they wouldn't have a shot at us with all the floating rock in the way.
Miri flew us through the asteroids at a suicidal pace. I could see the beads of sweat on her forehead from her concentration.
"Cruiser has halted at the edge of the field," I announced and Miri slowed.
We finally drifted out of the field slowly and settled at our starting point 50 AU's from the field. The cruiser held station scanning the asteroid field, looking for us. Time was not on our side here and finally when it was clear the TSN ship wasn't giving up anytime soon, we were forced to make a decision.
"They're not leaving," Brian commented.
"I've been monitoring communications," Miri added. "They have reported and called for backup in the form of fighters that can enter the asteroid field to look for us."
"That means there is a Dreadnought coming," I mentioned. "That leaves us with a choice. Do we run the blockade and take a chance that we make it across and out of weapons range before taking too many hits from the cruiser, or do we quietly slip away and return later?"
"If we leave, they will wonder where we went and might suspect our tampering with the drone," Dan supposed. "It'd ruin our day if we returned to find a TSN warship on station at our jump point when we return."
"We've come a long way," Miri said. "I say we pay our money and take our chances running the blockade. If we start a drift run at a vector away from the cruiser and stay cold until they detect us, they will only get maybe 5 minutes of weapons range time on us before we are out of range on the other side. In any event, we need to decide now because a dreadnought just appeared on the passive sensor relay heading in from the far side of the cruiser."
I would like to thank those that helped me with the proofing and structure of the story. I would also love to hear any and all constructive feedback. --LCG
"Okay, Valerie," Miri said, "we're out of the cruiser's detection range and we have about 1500 AU's of max burn time before we have to shut down the drives and go cold."
"Very well, Miz Flowers," I responded, the stress of what we were about to do making me lapse back into formal military speech. "You've been piloting for a long time. Go take a break, Sweetie, and I'll start the run."
"Roger that, my Captain," she said, vacating the command chair, rubbing her eyes. "I'm gonna grab a bite to eat and some caffeine." She kissed me lightly and left the bridge.
I sat down and began laying in the course for our blockade run. When I was finished, I made the announcement over the Duality's P/A that I was beginning the max burn run toward the blockade line. As the ship's powerful engines came up to full thrust, there was a slight but perceptible vibration of the deck plates under foot and the barest hint of acceleration before the artificial gravity generators compensated for it. We didn't have a long run to accelerate to the detection range of the sensor buoys but we would be moving reasonably fast when the time came to cut the drives and go cold.
I cut the drives as we entered the detection radius and we began our drift. Unfortunately, I saw, as the buoys began appearing on the scope, that there was a buoy standing directly in our path. I decided rather than risk detection with a small burn to try to correct, I would wait and make another max burn for the line at the last possible moment.
We had already avoided detection for three minutes longer than we had projected when the dreadnought and the cruiser suddenly turned our way, the dreadnought launching fighters. I sounded General Quarters and skewed the ship to the new course. The deck plates once again vibrated as the drive went to max power and the Duality surged ahead. We were still about 10 minutes from the line when six fighters overtook us. I brought the point defense turrets on line as the fighters launched their missiles. Thanks to some very good tracking and targeting software that our resident computer guru had further improved, coupled with the state of the art twin lasers in each of the two point defense turrets, the missiles didn't even get close.
I then had to take evasive action when the fighters began using their own lasers. The fighters were tougher targets than the missiles, but we mostly evaded their fire as our own return fire began to take its toll. One fighter just about had us dead to rights, having doggedly slipped in behind us and lined up for a crippling drive shot. Unfortunately for him, in the position he was in, both defensive turrets could target him. The smaller craft exploded as the lasers opened up on him. Shortly afterwards, another blew as he was making a strafing run from ahead of us. One more fell prey to our defenses as we crossed the line and the fighters turned back.
The cruiser wasn't in range yet, but it was coming in fast. Our evasive maneuvering had cost us some time and they were back up to 5 minutes of weapons time before we were safely out of range. The dreadnought, though, was a different story. Her IFF identified her as the Poseidon and I knew she was equipped with huge extended range PBC's. She wouldn't arrive in range until two minutes after we had left the cruiser's range, but she could subject us to another 2 minutes of fire before we moved out of her range as well.
I adjusted course directly away from the cruiser so she could only bring her forward batteries to bear and to minimize her closure rate, and thus our time in her effective weapons radius. While I waited for her to close and open fire, I programmed the computer to make random positional adjustments to make us a harder target.
The computer began sideslipping and rotating the ship to confound the cruiser's targeting as she came into range and opened up on us. She was still at extreme range and her bolts that struck us didn't have the power to penetrate even our lightly armored hull without repeated hits to the same spot. Fortunately, she failed to make any crippling hits on our vulnerable drives. We passed out of her range as she slowed to stay out of the Restricted Zone. One more round of incoming fire and we would be home free.
When the dreadnought opened up on us, her fire was more effective because of the sheer size of her cannon. She still had trouble hitting us, but right as we passed out of range, she scored a bad hit. The bolt had hit on thin armor, already weakened by a previous hit and it had penetrated, damaging our reactor cooling system. We vented quite a bit of coolant before the ship's auto repair system repaired the rupture. Though we were safely in the Restricted Zone, we wouldn't be able to use the main cannon until our coolant was refilled, and that couldn't happen until we reached a port. Also, because our available power was restricted, it would take our hyperspace capacitors longer to recharge between jumps.
"Okay, Valerie, we made it," said Brian an hour later as we all sat around the dining room table that doubled as our conference room. "What now?"
"We don't know that much about what has been going on in the Restricted Zone," I said. "We have no charts indicating which worlds might be colonized, but we do have charts of the jump exit points. Also, the freighter I let though mentioned something about a planet called Diversity. My plan is to start jumping toward the center of the Zone and hopefully run across someone with more accurate nav data that can direct us toward Diversity. Maybe we can find the freighter Captain and she might give us some ideas for our next move."
Everyone nodded. "Okay," Miri said, "Now that we have the semblance of a workable plan, it's time for some down time for our Captain. She is looking a bit disheveled."
"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" I retorted.
"Yup," Miri said, smiling. "I need some sleep too. Now come on, Princess, get that cute little butt to bed."
"Aww, Mom," I whined like a small child, "Can't I stay up and play just a little while longer?"
After the guys quit laughing, Miri looked at me and said, "Nope. You’re coming to bed now under your own steam or with me carrying you." She made a move toward me and I danced around the table out of her reach.
"Okay, Okay," I surrendered. "I'm going! Sheesh!"
Miri rolled her eyes and commented as we left the dining room, "This, from the clingy little cuddle bunny that wouldn't let me get up the other day."
Chapter 17
Sleeping cuddled with Miri was just so pleasant. It had become my greatest pleasure and I had gotten to the point that unless I was touching her with some part of my body, I didn't sleep well. That's why I awoke when she got up and headed to the shower. I lay there for a few moments until I heard the door shut, then I got up myself, padded quietly out to the galley and got us some tea.
Today was going to be an interesting day. Theoretically, we were safe and wouldn't have to be vigilant and on edge all the time. In practice, we could probably relax somewhat, but there was still a danger from pirates and we were still unsure of our reception from the locals. In other words, unlike Terran controlled space, while not every ship we saw was going to be hostile, they wouldn’t necessarily be our friends either.
After I finished my shower, I joined Miri on the bridge where she had already gone to relieve the guys. She was busy going over some prospective course plans when I arrived. I joined her.
"Well, what do you think, boss?" she asked me when we had finished looking them over.
"I don't know," I said. "Something is bugging me. I mean, we could probably hit every jump exit in the Zone in a year's time and not necessarily find anything. There is a better way, I know it."
"So, I'm all ears," she said. "What do you suggest?"
I thought about it, looking through the charts. "Ah ha!" I crowed. At her arched eyebrow I explained, "Do you remember that when someone is banished here, the TSN always sends him or her across in a life boat at the same place?"
"Yeah, they send them from this point here," Miri said pointing the spot out on the chart. "So?"
"Well there must be a reason for that," I continued. "Look here. This jump exit here is the closest one to the blockade there is and it also happens to be the exact point that the lifeboats are sent across."
"Ah, so you think it's watched?" she said, catching on.
"Well, it makes sense," I agreed. "The residents of the Restricted Zone must watch the spot to collect the lifeboats. It's the only way the people in them wouldn't be set to drift and die in space. Even the TSN is not that coldhearted."
"So you think we should start from there?" Miri confirmed.
"I think that's our best bet," I nodded. "Beats casting about hoping to run into someone."
"I agree. It's going to take us a week to get there, though," Miri said. "It’s almost on the other side of the blockade from us."
"Then I guess we had better get started then, huh?" I grinned at her. "Besides, we may get lucky and find someone helpful before then.
Three days later, we did run across someone, but I wouldn't call it lucky. We just came out of a hyperspace jump and we immediately began to take fire. The weapons hitting us were small and ineffective against our armored hull, but with enough hits they could have done us damage, especially in the area that had already been penetrated by the dreadnought.
Apparently, they thought we were an unarmed pleasure boat, a small freighter or something, because they left themselves wide open for return fire. They were just about to learn of their mistake when we were hailed.
"On the main viewer, please, Mr. Andrews," I said as the shabby little vessel matched course and speed with us, suicidaly close even given our limited remaining firepower. It mounted a single laser cannon in a crude and obviously home built turret near its forward end. The vessel was about half the Duality's original displacement. Crude plates of what I supposed was armor, were welded to the ship's surface in a seemingly random patchwork that left the ship quite vulnerable.
"This is Brenden Salazar, Captain of the privateer ship Picaroon," said the image of a flamboyant giant of a man. It was his mode of dress that was flamboyant, displaying all sorts of garish colors. He actually looked like the classic image of a pirate. "You are ordered to heave to and prepare to be boarded."
"I see," I said, stifling a giggle at the outlandish idiot. "I am Valerie Nicole Callaway, Captain of the vessel, Duality. What happens if we refuse to allow you to board."
"Why then, you stupid cow, I will shoot your ship from under you and collect the scrap for salvage," Brenden Salazar boasted.
"Is that so?" I asked, grinning in amusement for a moment before my face turned hard and cold. "Run away, little man, before you annoy me. You have no idea who and what you are dealing with here. If you fire on us again you will be in over your head. This is the only warning you will get."
"Why you..." the pirate sputtered as his face flushed with rage. "I'm going to kill you and rape your men for that, you fucking cow." The screen went blank.
"He's about to fire on us again," Dan said as he detected the power surge from the laser.
I brought the point defense turrets online. We couldn't use the main cannon because of our low reactor coolant, but it would have been like using a wrecking ball to swat flies anyway. I carefully targeted the nose of the pirate vessel, just aft of the makeshift laser turret. Our military grade lasers cleanly sliced the nose and turret off of the Picaroon.
"Please, please, we surrender," Salazar's face reappeared saying. "Please, spare us!"
"Get out of my sight, you vile prick," I said with disgust, then added. "Quickly, before I change my mind."
"Yes ma'am! Thank you, ma'am!" Salazar gushed, but there was a glint in his eye that I didn't trust.
Salazar pointed his wounded ship away from us and sped off.
"I guess that's the last we'll see of him," Dan grinned, as the Picaroon disappeared from our scope.
"Don't bet on it," I cautioned. "I didn't like the look in his eyes. He's up to something. Keep an eye on the scanner."
Sure enough, about a half an hour later we got another contact coming in at a high rate of speed. It was considerably larger than the first pirate vessel. Long-range scans read it as a small freighter about the size of a destroyer. On long-range visual, as it closed to 2500 AU's, I could make out two large dual laser turrets on it. They looked big enough to do some damage if the ship got close enough.
At 2000 AU's, it launched a full salvo of 12 missiles at us. As before, with the higher-grade military missiles, the point defense turrets picked them off easily.
"Okay," I said, "I gave them a chance to live. Now it's my turn."
I cut the drive and flipped the ship end for end. When a tone indicated I had target lock on the converted freighter, I launched a single nuke, then flipped the ship again and hit the drives to get us as far from the blast as I could.
Our missile was of the stealth variety. It wasn't very fast; attaining its top speed in the first couple of seconds of flight before it switched to cold gas maneuvering thrusters. After the primary thruster shut down the missile was practically undetectable, even to us. At the last instant, the missile's main drive would come back on and thrust the missile toward the target in an attempt to penetrate the target and detonate inside. That's how it worked to take out capitol ships, but smaller vessels, like our two attackers, would be blown to pieces with just a nearby detonation. I had set the missile to detonate on proximity.
We watched as our attackers strained to keep up with us. Dan started counting down, "5...4...3...2...1." When he reached "1" our view screen turned bright white, got a bit of static and went black as the shielding slammed down to protect the sensors from the EMP. When we regained the sensors, Salazar and his cohorts had been vaporized.
"THAT, I believe, is the last we'll see of Mister Salazar," I said with satisfaction.
Chapter 18
The rest of our weeklong trip passed without incident. We were all on the bridge, even though it was well into Brian's watch, when our hyperspace capacitors reached full charge. The time had come for us to make the jump I hoped would lead us to contact with the people we hoped to call our own.
"Hyperspace generators on line," Dan called. "Capacitors at maximum charge. Board is green for jump."
"Transitioning to hyperspace on my mark," I announced. "3...2...1...Mark!"
I felt the double jolt and we were back in normal space. At first I thought we were alone, but then I noticed a sensor buoy about 2500 AU's away from us; it wasn't one of the TSN blockade buoys, either. I headed the ship over to it.
As we neared the buoy, a larger contact appeared on our long-range sensors. It appeared to be the size of a cruiser and it was headed toward us. I halted the ship about five hundred AU's beyond the sensor probe and waited.
It wasn't long before we were hailed.
"This is the ZNV cruiser Fortitude hailing unknown vessel. Please identify yourself and your intentions," the comm crackled.
"Fortitude, this is the independent corvette Duality, Captain Valerie Nicole Callaway commanding," Miri said. "Our intentions are peaceful and we are here to make contact with the government of the Restricted Zone." We had decided during our idle time that the Duality didn't really qualify as a yacht anymore considering the firepower she packed. She was more of a corvette.
"Very well, Duality, hold your position until we rendezvous with you and we will escort you to the ZNS Station, Openarms."
"Roger, Wilco, Fortitude, holding position," Miri said.
Before long, we were following the sleek modern cruiser that wasn't in our hull identification database. A half-hour from our hyperspace jump, we were being instructed to dock with an equally modern and new-looking station.
"Duality, Openarms docking control here," the comm said again. "Please proceed to docking bay 12. The station commander, Admiral Shehane will meet you there. Docking control out."
"Roger, Openarms, Wilco. Request an hour to get ourselves presentable before meeting with the Admiral" Miri told them as I headed for the indicated docking bay.
"Roger, Duality, Admiral Shehane will meet you in one hour."
As I got within range, the Duality's docking computer and the station's shook hands. The computers guided us in and the Duality settled gently to the station's deck. We locked and powered down the ship's flight control systems, then we each went to shower and put on a fresh uniform.
I chose my pink accented uniform and Miri picked the emerald green one that matched her eyes. Once our hair and makeup were done, we joined the guys in the common room. They looked great, with Brian in a red accented uniform and Dan in a white accent. I went over and poured myself a stiff drink.
"You okay?" Miri said with her hand on my shoulder. She sensed my tension, I guess.
"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm just a bit nervous. This is the first time I have ever been around anyone but you three since I changed."
"You'll do great," Brian said.
"He's right," Miri said. "Don't sweat it, Kitten, you're perfect."
I smiled wanly at her then squared my shoulders. "Well, it's time to go meet our hosts," I announced and headed for the exit.
When I reached the bottom of the ladder, I saw a short red-haired woman dressed in a snowy white uniform with some elaborate insignia, standing a short distance away, flanked by two huge women, one, of the dark-skinned race, and the other, a very pale Nordic blonde. They were also very heavily and very obviously armed with huge electromagnetic slug throwers and heavy body armor.
I walked over to them, my crew lining up in sharp inspection formation behind me. I saluted the red-haired woman smartly and said, "I'm Valerie Nicole Callaway, Captain of the corvette Duality. This is my crew." I presented each of my crew and finally requested crisply, "Permission to come aboard, Ma'am!"
"At ease," the woman said and then grinned in amusement. "Ya'll look like you've done this before."
"You could say that," I said grinning back at her.
"I'm Admiral Jessica Shehane, the CO of this station. Welcome aboard the Openarms, Captain Callaway. I would like you to join me in my office to discuss why you're here, but first it's a requirement that you see our med techs to make sure you're healthy."
"And to get a DNA sample from us to see who we are," I added.
"Yeah, that too," the Admiral said her grin getting even wider.
"Point the way, Ma'am," I smiled back.
"Looks like you had a rough ride," the Admiral said conversationally, gesturing at the Duality.
I turned and looked at my ship getting a good look at the exterior for the first time since we began our run from the TSN. I froze and gasped. I wanted to cry for her, as I surveyed the damage to her normally sleek smooth midnight-blue hull. The armor plates were blistered and furrowed where particle beams and lasers had grazed her surface. There was a gaping hole towards her lower aft quarter where her reactor coolant system had been hit. The coolant had frozen and crystallized around the hole as it had vented out. It was now melting and dripping to the deck, as if the ship were bleeding. Most of the paint had been burned away by near misses. No wonder that moron had thought he could take us. We looked more ragged than he did.
The Admiral put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Don't worry, Love. We have facilities that can get her fixed up and looking like new. Let's go see those med techs, then you can tell me all about it, 'Kay?" she said to me gently, in what 20th century Earth would have been true Southern Belle charm.
I took a deep shuddering breath, collecting myself, and allowed her to lead me and my crew to the med station where she left us for her office. The med techs scanned us, prodded us and gave us some vitamin shots to replenish some of what we lacked due to our having lived on the recycler for so long. Pronounced healthy, we were escorted to the Admiral's office.
"Ah, come on in and have a seat," the Admiral said standing as we were shown in. "I do have a few questions I wanted to ask you, a few inconsistencies to clear up," she continued after we were all seated. "Firstly, your DNA scan says you are all who you say you are and that you are all officers or technicians in the TSN, except you, Captain Callaway. Also, your ship, while it does match the hull records of the ship called Duality, is listed as a luxury yacht, not a corvette, and it's registered to a Brock Callaway, not Valerie Callaway. Our records, provided by our allies outside the Zone, don't show any female relations to Brock Callaway of your apparent age, so I must admit to being a bit dubious here."
"Did you, by any chance, compare my DNA to Brock's?" I asked.
"Um...no, I don't think we did," the Admiral admitted. "I believe when we scan someone's DNA, sex is a disqualifier in the search for the closest match. Why? What would we have found?"
"I'm betting you would have found that except for the sex coding, her DNA is an exact match for Brock's," Miri grinned.
The Admiral called the med station and had them do a comparison of the two DNA prints. She waited on the line as the techs did their thing. She thanked them and hung up.
"Miz Flowers," the Admiral said, "they found exactly what you said they would. I don't want to make any assumptions here, so I will ask, what does that mean?"
"It means," I smiled, "that I was Brock Callaway, Admiral."
"Call me Jess, please, Captain Callaway," the Admiral said as she looked at me appraisingly. "It's amazing, really. I'm guessing you took a body tailoring pill? I've never seen one so totally effective. You're devastatingly gorgeous, if you don't mind me saying so. Is this what you wanted? Or is it just an attempt to avoid the TSN?"
"Valerie, please," I said. "This is what I have wanted all my life. It cost me a year's salary for that pill. It was the best to be had. I certainly hope it was totally effective."
"You should have seen her before," Brian said. "That's the real amazing part. She doesn't look much different. The differences are very subtle except for a couple of areas. That she is this beautiful makes it all the more remarkable."
"Indeed," Jess agreed. "So, what about your ship, Valerie? Why do you say it's a corvette when its registry says it's a luxury yacht?"
"That's where the other four years of salary went to," I laughed. "That and some creative liberation of some Naval grade hardware and software. She is heavily modified. Her armor plating is thicker. Her point defenses are more effective and heavier. She has the very latest in stealth technology, is hyperspace capable and doesn't require a Jump Accelerator."
"All of which does not a corvette make," Jess pointed out.
"True," I agreed, "but the dreadnought main battery PBC and the six missile launchers do put her firmly in the corvette class."
"Wow," Jess said as I beamed with pride. "A dreadnought main battery cannon? How the heck did you fit that in there and how are you getting the power to run it?"
"Basically, I had the lower deck of the ship gutted; the cannon sits straight down the centerline," I explained. "The cannon is now basically a structural member of the ship. I also upgraded the reactor to the latest micronized technology. Even then, when the cannon is fired, it sucks power from every system but life support."
"Impressive," Jess said. "You obviously have a great deal of your life invested in that ship. I can now better understand your reaction to seeing her all shot up. Speaking of which, I am dying to hear the story of how you came to be here. It's obvious why you are here, Valerie, but what of you companions? Why have they joined you in exile?"
I recounted the events leading up to our arrival in her office, leaving out the part about our free pass with the drone, saying only that it hadn't been updated to see our IFF as hostile. As for my companions, I told her that their reasons were their own. The guys told her that they would follow me to hell if that were where I was going, but that they also fit in here, being gay and lovers as well.
"Hmm, now that causes me a bit of confusion," Jess said.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Well, I don't know if I should say anything, but you say the gentlemen are an exclusive couple?" Jess asked. "And the four of you have been in space for 2 weeks?"
We all nodded.
"I don't know how to say this without causing any problems, but they can't be a monogamous couple," Jess said cryptically.
"Huh?" we all said, looking at each other. "Why not?" I asked.
"Because the med techs said Miz Flowers here is two weeks pregnant," Jess said and four sets of jaws hit the floor.
Chapter 19
"Pregnant, you say?" I asked, looking pointedly at Miri.
"Yes," Jess confirmed, "Our Med Techs verified it. Miz Flowers, the rabbit done died."
Miri made a small, strangled moan and looked at me plaintively.
"How is that possible?" I asked. "We were all on TSN regulation contraceptives. They are supposed to be 100% effective for women even if they were less so for men."
Miri's eyes grew even wider, then she put her face in her hands and groaned.
"Miri?" I asked, gently.
"I was due for the BC shot three days before I went on liberty for a month," Miri said from behind her hands. "I never got it."
"And while you were on liberty, you met someone and had sex with him before hearing about me and breaking me out," I theorized.
Miri's head came up sharply and her emerald eyes flashed with hurt and anger. "Fuck you, Valerie," she said quietly, then got up and walked out of the room as her eyes misted over. I just sat there looking confused.
"What was that all about?" I asked nobody in particular.
"Valerie, with all due respect to you as my commanding officer and my best friend," Brian answered, "You can be such a total moron sometimes. Don't you realize? That girl is absolutely committed to one person. Hell, I've been on liberty with her and saw her turn down guys that were so totally hot they made me wish I were a woman. She hasn't had sex with any guy, Valerie. Any guy that is, except one."
All at once comprehension struck me as to just whom Brian was talking about.
"So, what is she so upset about?" I asked.
"Valerie," Brian said, rolling his eyes and explaining slowly as if to a child, "how would you feel if she accused you of sleeping with someone else?"
"Don't be ridiculous. You know I wouldn't sleep..." I began, and then understood. "I see," I said weakly, feeling like a total jerk.
"Ah, so you and she are a couple then?" asked Jess, who had been quietly watching this little drama unfold. "That still doesn't explain how she got preggers."
"Admiral, you know how I came to be here," the Admiral nodded and I went on. "Well, right before I took the pill, we had sex as male and female one last time. So actually, the baby is mine. I'm the father."
The Admiral burst out laughing, then seeing nobody else was laughing, visibly got a grip on herself. "Sorry," she said, "but surely, you must see the irony. I think we are done here. I'm satisfied your intent isn't nefarious. Girl, go talk to your love. Yolanda took her to the station's bar. Erika will show you there. When you get things worked out, come talk to me and we'll figure out what to do from here."
"Oh, and boys," Jess said, freezing all three of us as we got up to leave, "You are free to go have a drink at the bar, but give the GIRLS their space to talk about this, k?" I blushed at her emphasis on "girls" because she had caught my little slip and reminded me subtly that I didn't have to respond to people addressing 'boys' anymore.
We left the office and the large blonde woman we had seen earlier led us to the bar, sans the body armor and the artillery piece. When we reached the bar, I saw the other member of our welcoming party, presumably Yolanda, sitting with her arm comfortingly around Miri's shoulders. The big black woman caught sight of me and whispered something into Miri's ear before getting up and heading my way.
"Captain Callaway," Yolanda said as she stepped up to me, "I know it's none of my business, but please, go easy on her. She feels like she's really screwed things up for you, but she's also a little pissed that you think she would sleep with anyone else."
"Understood...ah..." I said, looking at the woman for her rank. I didn't recognize the insignia on her collar.
"Sergeant Yolanda Collins, Ma'am," she supplied.
"Understood, Sergeant. And thanks for the heads up," I smiled gratefully to her.
"No problem, Ma'am," she said smiling back. "If they are agreeable, Erika and I are going to buy your gentlemen friends here a drink, so if you need anything we'll be nearby. Don't hesitate to ask."
"Free booze?" Dan said, grinning. "I'm always agreeable to free booze!" Brian and I groaned simultaneously, then I smiled.
"I understand you may live to regret that offer, Sergeant," I said cryptically as I walked off to join Miri.
"Hey beautiful," I said, stepping up behind her, "can I buy you a drink?"
When she didn't say anything, I perched on the stool next to her and glanced at the nearly empty glass she was staring at intently. She was doing a pretty good job of ignoring me and making me feel even worse when the bartender approached and asked if I would like anything.
"I'll have what she's having, and another for her too please," I told him. Then to her I asked, "A Bloody Mary with a arsenic twist is it?"
"Two PW specials coming right up," the barkeep said and moved off, mumbling something about, "two of 'em, sheesh."
Miri still hadn't looked up from her glass or said anything by the time the bartender returned with glasses of a thick red fluid, presumably PW specials, whatever those were. I offered my credit chit, but the bartender said it had already been taken care of; so I thanked him and sat in silence until he moved away. I was getting really uncomfortable and I toyed nervously with my drink before finally taking a large swallow of it.
I gagged on the thick fluid that had some sort of strange bitter taste. It was everything I could do not to spray what was evidently some sort of vegetable mixture all over the bar. It tasted awful. "What the hell is this," I sputtered.
Miri looked up at me for the first time and grinned wryly at me. "You didn't think I was gonna be drinking booze while carrying our child did you?"
"Hey, Miri, look, I'm sorry..." I started.
"For what? It was my dumb-ass fault," she said, interrupting.
"I'm sorry for thinking that you had slept with anyone else," I corrected. "It was insensitive of me and I feel just terrible about it."
"Don't worry about it," she said. "I guess I overreacted. Must be the damn hormones."
"Miri, about that," I said, "I love you..."
"But we can't raise a child on the ship," she said, putting the words in my mouth. "It's okay. You can just drop me off at the nearest mudball, and start looking for a replacement. I won't hold you back."
I was getting irritated with her stupid self-pity, and I finally couldn't stand anymore of it. I jumped up from my stool and spun her around to face me. I looked her dead in the eye and told her if she interrupted me one more time I was going to pop her in the mouth.
"Listen, I have had about enough of your fucking pathetic moaning," I shouted, shaking with adrenaline. "I love you, you idiot, and this is my child too. I'm glad we're having it, and I WILL be there with you. Sure, we may not have been ready for this responsibility, but guess what? It happens. WE will deal with it together. You got that, Commander?"
Miri, wide eyed with surprise, was shocked out of her self-recrimination. She stared at me for a few moments before she grabbed me, hugged me tight and sobbed into my shoulder.
"I've ruined everything," she sobbed.
"No you haven't," I said gently, stroking her hair. "We just have to take a path we hadn't expected. It doesn't mean it's bad or good, just one we hadn't planned on. As long as we're together, how could it be bad?"
She looked up at me with hope in her eyes and kissed me thoroughly. When she broke the kiss, I smiled at her.
"Now, if that's all settled," I said somewhat breathlessly, "not being the one pregnant myself, I think I will have something a little more pleasant than a PW Special. What the hell was that anyway?"
"It's a vitamin drink for pregnant women, goofball" she said grinning. "Thus the name 'PW Special'. PW, as in Pregnant Woman."
I laughed hysterically at that until she mentioned something about making it necessary for me to become more familiar with the odious brew. As the color drained from my face, she laughed and said, "What? You didn't think I was going to be the only one of us to have to go through childbirth, did you?"
The technological and governmental seats of the Zone consisted of three main planets: Diversity, Acceptance, and the official capitol of the Zone, Tolerance.
"So, what will you all do now?" Jessica asked me.
"I don't know, honestly," I said. "We had been planning to seek out a freighter captain that I met once and find out if she had any ideas. Last I heard, she was headed for Diversity with an emergency load of medicine."
"You know a Zone freighter captain?" Jessica asked. "How is that possible if you haven't met anyone except us and the pirate since you came into the Zone?"
"I let her in," I said simply.
"Let her in? You mean you were in charge of the detail that sent her across in a life boat?" Jessica probed.
"No, I mean I was the watch officer on a dreadnought. I refused to fire on the freighter until they relieved me. By then I had encrypted the fire controls, forcing them to do a cold reboot of the system to get them back on line. By the time they were on line, she was already across the blockade and out of weapons range," I explained.
"No way! Was this freighter by any chance named 'Tina'?" Jessica asked excitedly.
"In fact, I believe it was," I nodded.
"And this happened how long ago?" she probed.
"A bit over three months now," I told her.
"What was the name of the dreadnought and what was your rank at the time?" Jessica asked.
"Look, Jessica, where is all this going?" I inquired.
"Please, just answer the question. It’s very important," she said.
"Okay, the dreadnought was called Aquinas and I was a Lt. Commander," I told her.
"Oh Goddess," Jessica said, smiling ear to ear, "You are THAT Callaway!"
"Yeah, I'm that Callaway," I confirmed. "So what?"
"Lordy, Girl, you really don't know, do you?" Jessica said.
"No, Jess, I really don't," I told her, just managing to keep from screaming in exasperation.
"Valerie, you have to understand, we all heard that Lt. Commander Callaway was to be executed for his compassion," Jessica said. "That's why Brock Callaway is an official Zone hero. Because he let that ship through, 90% of the planetary population of Diversity is going to live and the quarantine has been lifted. That means you can write your own ticket, Girl. I would suggest you go to Diversity. I'm going to give you a letter verifying your identity as The Brock Callaway. I guarantee they will provide you with a liberal stake to start a new life for Miri and your child. Damn! It's such an honor to meet you. And that you are one of us, well, that's even better."
"Oh please, Admiral, I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done," I dismissed, mildly embarrassed by the big deal she was making of it.
"Don't sell yourself short, Valerie," she said. "You didn't know your friends were going to save you. What you did, you did with the knowledge that it would cost you everything, including your life. And don't say it was nothing either, or I will thrash the hell outta you. There are several billion people on Diversity to whom it was a very big deal, including my family. You have no choice but to take the credit you earned, gracefully."
"Yes ma'am," I capitulated, sounding very much like a chastised child.
"That's better," the Admiral said. "Now, what do you need for your ship? We can't do anything for the hull damage here, but we can replenish your replicator material."
"Well, aside from the hull damage, the only thing we really need is reactor coolant. We lost a lot of it when we took that bad hit," I explained. "With the coolant low, we have had to keep the reactor output low, so it took a really long time between jumps to recharge our jump capacitors. Also, we couldn't fire the main gun without the reactor being at full power so that kind of limited our response to hostiles. In addition to the replicator material, if you could spare us some reactor coolant, and possibly a mark 4 anti-ship nuke to replace the one we spent on the pirates, it would appreciated."
"I'm sorry, did you say your ship is armed with mark 4 anti-ship nukes?" the Admiral asked incredulously. "And that you used one on those pirates? Shit, you don't screw around do you? Where did you get that kind of hardware? I thought that was a military grade missile that only the TSN was permitted to have, and so expensive that they only carried four or so per capital ship."
"She was rather creative with liberating TSN hardware," Miri laughed. "How do you think she got a TSN extended range dreadnought main battery PBC, or that set of jump generators that ship isn't supposed to have?"
"Valerie, remind me not to get on your bad side," the Admiral said. "You are a truly complex person. Principled and compassionate, yet ruthless in dealing with your enemies and not above grand larceny if it gets you what you want." She looked at Miri and grinned, "Are you sure you two are exclusive? Cause, I think I'm fallin' in love with her."
Miri grabbed me and wrapped her arms around me possessively. To the Admiral, she said sweetly, "Valerie is merely ruthless with people that try to take what's hers. I, on the other hand, am somewhat beyond vicious."
"Point taken," the Admiral laughed. "The two of you are such a cute couple, too. I'll get your letter and see what I can do about your requests. The coolant shouldn't be a problem, but the missile might be tricky."
They threw us a huge party on our last night on Openarms Station. We were all much sought-after company. I don't think I have ever danced as much as I did that night. If I wasn't dancing with Miri, I was dancing with the Admiral, and if it wasn't her it was Erika or Yolanda, though Yolanda seemed to prefer dancing with Miri to me. I don't think I sat down for more than five minutes at a time the whole night and the guys reported a similar experience. Miri was able to politely decline a lot of folks that asked her to dance because of her condition, so she wasn't nearly as exhausted as I was when it was time to go.
I climbed into bed and cuddled up to Miri, who was lying on her back. I gently stroked her gravid belly while nestling my head on her shoulder. "I love you so much it hurts sometimes, you know that?" I said.
"Yeah I know, but it's nice to hear you say it," Miri said, capturing my hand that was stroking her belly and intertwining our fingers.
"You realize I can't get pregnant, right?" I asked her.
"Why not? You're genetically female now. Your body should be capable," she pointed out.
"Yeah, but women are born with all the eggs they will ever have," I explained. "Since I wasn't born a woman, I don't have any eggs. They explained that very clearly to me."
"Perhaps we could use one of mine," she suggested. "We can use your genetic material to fertilize it, then implant it in your womb."
"I don't know if that would be viable or not," I said. "Since my body is highly modified from the original, it may not do what it's supposed to do for the developing embryo. As much as I would love to carry your child, I don't know if I could deal with a miscarriage."
"Well, we won't worry about that now. We have plenty of time, my love," she said and kissed my forehead.
Soon after that, we fell asleep, hands still intertwined above our developing child.
Chapter 21
We entered Diversity local space three days later.
"This is Diversity Orbital Control to incoming vessel Duality," a pleasant voice said over the comm.
"This is Duality, Captain Valerie Nicole Callaway commanding, go ahead DOC," I said.
"Duality, we were told to expect you. Welcome to Diversity local space. There is a landing pad reserved for you at Norfolk Space Port, and you're clear all the way in. We were told to have you report to the immigration and customs office as soon as you de-ship," the DOC controller said.
"Roger, Wilco, DOC. Thanks," I said.
"Anytime Duality. Have a pleasant trip down, DOC out," the controller said.
The Duality buffeted mildly as she began to plow atmosphere. She free fell to the surface being gradually braked by her anti-gravity generators until she gently settled on her landing struts. We shut her down and made ready to meet the people of Diversity.
It was about noon, local time when we arrived at the customs and immigration offices. We were immediately shown to the Director's office. Refreshments were brought to us while we endured a brief wait for the Director's return. He was evidently at a luncheon, but we were told he had been notified and was on his way back.
"Sorry about the wait," a portly gentleman of Asian ancestry told us as he bustled in. "Welcome to Diversity, honored guests. I am Director Tanaka, at your service."
"I am Valerie Nicole Callaway," I told him, loving the sound of my new name. "This is my crew. The tall beauty there is my beloved and first officer, Miriam Cali Flowers. The tall gentleman is my best friend and second officer, Brian Waylan Andrews. The dark haired gentleman is my good friend and third officer, Dan Chestnut."
"Good to meet you, my friends," the almond-eyed man enthused. "I was told to handle your case personally and that you would have something for me that explained why this was necessary."
"Indeed," I said; handing him the data chip Admiral Shehane had given me.
Director Tanaka took the chip and begged our pardon for a moment while he examined the information on it. I braced myself for the inevitable onslaught I knew was coming. As the Director read the letter on the chip, his eyes grew wide and he looked up at me sharply.
"Miz Callaway, this is indeed a tremendous honor to have you here among us," Director Tanaka said in awe. "As I am sure the Admiral told you, you and Alex Sorin are considered heroes throughout the Zone, but especially here on Diversity. The governing council has even voted in two planetary holidays for each of you, so the people can celebrate the exceptional courage and self-sacrifice both of you possess."
He stuck out his hand to me and I placed my fingertips in it self-consciously. I was shocked to the point of almost snatching my hand back when he bent over it and kissed it. Had it not been for the tingling this caused all over my body and the funny tickle I felt in my tummy, I might have acted on the impulse.
"It's truly a pleasure to meet someone as legendary as you, Mi'lady," he said as he straightened. "We must take you post haste to see the Council. I'm positive they will ensure that your every need is provided for." Director Tanaka got on the phone and made several calls.
"It's all set," the man said when he was finished. "I'll take you to meet with the council in an hour's time. In the meantime, allow me to ask of your plans."
Miri and I thought Diversity was just as good a place as any to settle down with our family. Better perhaps, since Diversity was the Research and Technology Center of the Zone as well as sporting the Zone's largest shipyard. Given my credentials and interest in starship engineering, I was hopeful I could secure a position there as an engineer.
The guys opted to give Diversity a shot as well. Given Dan's computer skills, he could almost write his own ticket and Brian was considering starting a consulting firm to exploit them. They would certainly have a market, once the word got out.
Tanaka then had us fill out several forms. Once finished, it was time to head to our meeting with the Governing Council. Let me tell you, I was thrilled at the prospect of more of the fawning fan fare these folks could formulate. I hoped it would slack off a bit soon because, to be honest, I didn't know how to deal with it. It made me feel self-conscious, embarrassed, and uncomfortable. I could never live up to the legendary status they seemed intent on conferring on me.
The ride to the Council building took about ten minutes. Director Tanaka whipped the Anti-Grav car through the three dimensional skein of modern city traffic like a seasoned professional. We finally settled lightly to the floor of the Council building parking garage. Exiting the vehicle, we were shown to the elevator and transported into the depths of the building. When we got to the Council meeting chambers, we were told everyone was there and were shown right in.
I knew from the information I had read about Diversity that the council was made up of nine members: three gay men, three lesbians, two trans-people, and a straight person. The reality, when it was in front of me, appeared to be six women and three men, though it was obvious that one of the women hadn't been born such.
After introductions were made and everyone was seated, we got down to business. They reviewed the data chip Admiral Shehane had given me. After they asked me a few questions, one of them conferred with someone on an intercom. The door opened and a familiar face entered. I knew the face, though not the name, at least until recently.
Alex Sorin strode confidently into the room. Though it was just as obvious that she was born male, she was dressed smartly in a skirted business suit. She paused when she saw me, her eyes growing wide.
"Oh my goodness," Alex said. "It's truly remarkable. Um...Miss Callaway could you stand up please?"
I did so and turned 360 degrees as Alex indicated with a twirling finger.
"Utterly incredible," she said after I completed my pirouette. "You are, without a doubt, the same person I met at the blockade, or at least his identical twin sister, but you are so beautiful and female where before there was little doubt you were all man. And you changed very little to achieve this. I hate you, you bitch." This last was said with a warm grin as Alex came up and hugged me tightly. "I'm so glad you managed to escape the TSN's firing squad. You'll have to tell me all about it." She held me at arm's length again, looking me over, "Damn, it's hard to believe you are here and that you were actually one of us the whole time. So, are you dating anyone?"
"Don't even think about it," Miri said with a sweet smile that was clearly the velvet glove covering the fist of steel, and then added, possessively, "She's mine."
"Bummer," Alex conceded, smiling. Apparently, her disappointment was shared by several of the women, judging from the saddened sighs that gusted through the room after Miri's declaration. Miri sat there with a smug satisfied smile, having clearly marked her territory.
"So now that we have proven she is indeed who she says she is, and we have all managed to hit on her within two hours of her arrival on the planet," a severe steel gray-haired woman said, "Perhaps we can discuss where we go from here."
"If I may," Director Tanaka said, "Miss Callaway and her friends have decided to settle here on Diversity, so perhaps we could do for her what we did for Miss Sorin."
"Okay," a balding middle-aged man said, "in Miss Sorin's case she was already well known to the people, as she was in much of the news feeds celebrating our salvation from the disease that threatened to wipe out our planet. Many people know of Miss Callaway's role because of the recording Miss Sorin made of her conversation with the dreadnought captain. What we need to do is get Miss Callaway into the spotlight and tell the rest of the story of how she came to be here. The news agencies would kill for an interview with her, I'm sure, so that shouldn't be a problem."
"Right," one of the lesbians continued, "then we just ask for donations from the population to provide Miss Callaway with her reward and stake for her new life here. As I recall, Miss Sorin is now a very wealthy woman and has began her own shipping franchise." Alex nodded in confirmation.
"Um...excuse me," I said more than once until I got all of their collective attention. "Look, I don't want to seem ungrateful and all, but I would just as soon you not do that. I can make my own way. I can sell my ship and buy a house. I have four degrees, with a strong background in engineering and physics. If you feel the need to give me anything, perhaps it should be a good word or an in over at the shipyard. Honestly, I have no desire to be in the limelight or to be a public figure. I just want to live quietly, earning enough credits to live comfortably, and concentrate on my coming family."
There was dead silence as the council all sat looking at me as if I had sprouted another head or something. The tableau held for several moments before the Council members turned as one and began discussing how to get my story out again. I slammed my palms down on the table, causing a loud boom to echo through the room. They all stopped and looked back at me.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?" I said stridently. "Didn't I just say I wasn't interested in fanfare and notoriety? Did I not make myself clear?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Callaway, but that's unacceptable," one of the trans members of the Council said. "You are a planetary hero here and the people need heroes. We have a made a good life here, but we are, nevertheless, cut off from the rest of the universe. That fact nearly cost the population of Diversity their lives, since the ingredients in the vaccine for the disease that gripped us could not be found in the Zone. This is a fact that everyone is aware of. It's also just a matter of time before the Terran Government decides that isolating us is not enough and comes in to summarily erase our existence. This is the reality that we live under every day. This is why people need to know that there are men and women out there willing to risk everything for them. In return for giving the people their hero, you will not want or need for anything."
"What I will want and need is my privacy," I rejoined. "So, what you people are saying is that it doesn't matter what I want here, it only matters that the people get their hero to gloat over?"
"Of course, it matters what you want, but the people need to see that the Terran Government can be beaten," a younger man with dark hair and a deep tan said.
"Then I'm sorry, but Miri and I will be moving on," I said calmly.
"You can't do that," the steel haired woman said over the clamor that had erupted at my statement.
"I'm a free and independent person above the age of consent. I have a hyperspace capable ship sitting at the spaceport," I said, my volume building with each word. "I CAN DO ANY FUCKING THING I WANT. I don't owe you people anything, and I'll not be a slave to the public eye."
Again, there was a pregnant silence as shock at my fervor prevailed.
"We could stop you, you know," another man pointed out.
"And gain what?" I asked frostily. "My eternal animosity? What kind of hero would I be if I made it abundantly clear at every opportunity that I hold you and your people in contempt and hatred?"
"She's right," said a huge woman built like a lumberjack. "And shame on us for even considering forcing this on her after she said she didn't want it. She has already given us far more than we have a right to ask for. What kind of reward would it be for us to force her into a life that she obviously finds abhorrent?" The woman met the eyes of every member of the Council in turn, holding them until they turned away in chagrin. She continued, "Now, obviously she can be a valued member of our society in her own right and she is obviously willing to take a stand when pushed, so how can we welcome her among us, reward her heroism, and still be respectful of her as a private person?"
"We could give Miss Callaway a grant to help her get established," one of the men suggested. "It couldn't be a lot, or there might be a scandal which would result in the notoriety she wants to avoid."
"I have a better idea," Alex spoke up. "The donations I received as a reward from the people of Diversity total more than three people could ever spend in a lifetime. I am more than willing to split it with her."
"That's a great idea," the outsized lesbian said with a huge grin.
Chapter 22
In the end, I got what I wanted, a quiet life for Miri and me. I got the job as an engineer for the Norfolk Shipyard, but not how I imagined it. Miri and I started our own engineering firm, designing all sorts of ships from warships to luxury star liners. Though the Norfolk Shipyard did the actual construction, the hull bore our company name and we were paid handsomely for every hull commissioned.
One of our more lucrative designs was brought about by the Zone Navy's interest in the Duality. They thought, and I agreed, that such a craft would fill a niche as both a heavy fast attack ship and an armed courier. We kept with the same lines as the Duality, but the new ship was about thirty feet longer and about 10 feet wider. This not only gave back the two cabins I had lost on the original Duality, but also afforded space for the original compliment of Jump Capacitors and some extras to further increase the hyperspace jump range. It was fully stealth capable, just like the original Duality, still had the PBC mounted inside down the centerline and it had a far more powerful reactor and drives, making it a faster ship in spite of its larger overall size. It mounted an additional point defense turret, and the number of missile launchers was increased to eight auto-loading models with three rounds each. The cargo space also made some reasonable gains. It was known as the Duality class heavy corvette.
I was gifted with the first production model produced, although the one the Norfolk Shipyard gave me was far more luxurious than the Spartan models the navy would be receiving. We christened the ship the Duality Too.
Brian and Dan started their own company doing computer work, Dan being the talent and Brian handling the day to day running of the company. I, of course, contracted them to write all the software for running my ships' computers. They didn't have to work for anybody but me, but they expanded their business to include other computer applications besides starship computers. After I was presented with the Duality Too, I gave the original Duality to Brian and Dan in recognition of their unwavering friendship.
Miri and I were on our way home from the ceremony in which the Navy formally accepted the first 20 Duality class corvettes, when Miri stiffened with a grimace.
"Um, Valerie," She said through clenched teeth as beads of sweat began popping out on her forehead.
"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked anxiously.
"It's time," she said.
It took a moment for it to connect, but then I glanced at her hugely distended belly. I pointed the car towards the hospital, liberally applying as much speed as I could. When we arrived, I made Miri, now well into her contractions, wait in the car while I ran in and got an orderly with a wheelchair. As we wheeled her into the hospital, she took my hand in a crushing grip and cried out.
We were quickly conducted to the delivery room where a nurse took Miri's vitals and then gave her a hospital gown to put on while we waited for the obstetrician. The woman energetically entered the room as Miri crushed my hand and screamed again. The Doctor donned a pair of surgical gloves and we helped Miri onto the table, putting her legs in the stirrups. Pulling up a stool, the doctor examined Miri while she asked the pertinent questions about contractions and whatnot.
"Your child should be arriving shortly," the doctor confirmed. "Would you like an epidural?"
"Damn right I would," Miri ground out, then looked at me, her eyes narrowing. "Just you wait, you bitch, it's your turn next." Then she cried out again as the color drained from my face.
After what we were assured was a mercifully short labor, our son entered the world. He was 7 pounds 3 ounces and had all the appropriate appendages in all the right places. I was in awe as I watched the mother, a bedraggled and sweat soaked Miri, hold the infant, our child, close to her and tenderly stroke the child's tiny cheek. The beauty of the scene moved me; tears streamed from my eyes. I was suddenly filled with an impossibly intense love for mother and child as well as a fierce need to protect them against any harm.
Miri looked up at me and I saw the same emotions in her eyes that filled my being. She held out her hand to me.
"Get over here, beautiful and meet your son," she said gently. I went to her and took her hand as I lovingly touched my child's face.
We named him Brock Nicolas Callaway, and he consumed our world.
Two years later, as my 24th birthday approached, Brian called me and asked if I could go with him to the local bar. He wanted to discuss something with me. I agreed to go and he said he would pick me up. It was sort of a game to Miri and me; whenever we went someplace like a bar or restaurant with the guys, we would dress nicely and play as if we were straight couples. This held, even when it was just two of us, because we were all best friends and accepted that none of us was a threat to the other’s relationship.
Consequently, when Brian arrived to get me, he was dressed handsomely in a collared polo-style shirt and a pair of casual dress slacks, while I looked stunning in a midnight blue dress that hugged my reasonable curves, hanging several inches above my knees. Diamonds dripped from my earlobes and a white gold and diamond necklace hung gracefully above the moderate cleavage the dress displayed.
"Wow," Brian said, just like he did every time.
"Shall we?" I asked, with a sultry smile. He gulped and nodded, playing the role of my date to the hilt; at least that's what I thought. I kissed Miri and she told us to have a good time, just like always, except there was something, a glint in her eye perhaps, that bugged me. I dismissed it and Brian drove us to the lounge.
"So, where's Dan," I asked after we had been seated and had ordered drinks.
"He's working late, putting the finishing touches on that latest software upgrade for you," Brian said.
"How's the business doing?" I asked conversationally.
"You know as well as I do, Valerie," he smiled. "That as long as our biggest customer is doing well, we're doing well."
"Great," I smiled. "How's things with you and Dan?" I was starting to feel like I was playing twenty questions. Uncharacteristically, Brian seemed quiet and... nervous?
"Never better," Brian said, glancing at the couples on the dance floor. "Would you like to dance?"
"Sure," I said, getting more curious by the minute about what this was all about.
We danced a couple of songs and then returned to the table, had a few drinks and made more small talk. Obviously, Brian had something on his mind, but I wasn't going to press him on it. Anyway, I was beginning to get pleasantly buzzed and I tended to be a chatterbox when that happened. After a while we got up and danced for a couple more songs until they began to play a slow number and I turned to go back to the table.
"No, please, wait," Brian said, catching my hand as I turned. "Do you mind?" he asked me, referring to the slow dance.
I shrugged and stepped towards him. He put his hand on the small of my back and pressed me into him while holding my left hand with his right in the traditional way. I put my free arm around his shoulder with my hand resting on his neck. Out of habit, I idly stroked it like I did when I danced with Miri. I laid my head against his chest and relaxed into him as we swayed around the floor. It was nice, different from dancing with Miri, but still nice.
Before long he released my hand and put that arm around me, rubbing my back, while my other arm joined its opposite on his neck.
"Valerie?" he asked.
"Yes?" I inquired, as I looked up at him. He looked deeply into my eyes as he leaned down and kissed me thoroughly. This wasn't odd in and of itself. We had played like this several other times, but this had a more serious flavor to it. Still, I was buzzed and relaxed; it felt good, so I went with it. When the song ended he held me for a few moments longer as we kissed. Then we disengaged and he held me at arm's length.
"Valerie, I need to show you something. Will you go someplace with me?" he asked.
"Sure," I agreed and we returned to the table. I collected my purse and went to the ladies room to fix my makeup while he settled the bill. Soon we were back in his car and he was headed out of the city.
Chapter 23
When we pulled up to the cabin overlooking a beautiful lake my alcohol fogged brain started putting things together. The glint in Miri's eyes, Brian's uncharacteristic nervousness, the romantic dance, the clever way he had gotten me up here, yup, even the fact that Dan was otherwise occupied; it all added up to one thing: Miri had come up with an elaborate scheme to surprise me with a romantic evening with her. Boy, was I surprised when I found out how wrong I was.
We entered the cabin and Brian asked me to make us some drinks as he went over to the fireplace and started a cozy, romantic fire to remove the supposed chill from the air. I returned with our drinks and sat down on the couch as I waited for the other shoe to drop.
He came over and sat down next to me, close enough that I could feel the heat from his body and smell the faint smoky aroma that he had acquired lighting the fire. The stage was certainly set for something to happen. I looked at him as he took a swallow from the drink that I had made for him.
"So, what did you want to show me?" I asked.
He made a sweeping gesture with his arm and asked, "What do you think?"
"About the cabin? It's great. Yours?" I asked with a smile.
"Yup," he said, proudly, "just finalized it yesterday."
"Awesome," I said as he turned me away from him and began to massage my shoulders and neck. "Mmmm," I purred, "that feels good."
"It's supposed to," he chuckled, while he continued.
He had just about turned me to jelly with a combination of the alcohol and the massage, when I felt his lips on the nape of my neck. It felt divine and I didn't protest, thinking this was some part of Miri's grand design. In fact, it felt more than divine, I realized, as my panties were a bit damp at this point. I almost did protest when I felt him unzip the back of my dress, but his hands continued their soothing magical massage of the muscles down either side of my spine. My bra seemed to be in his way so he unclasped it. I felt my breasts swing free as he gently pulled the dress and the bra off my shoulders and down my arms before resuming his massage and working his way down to my lower back.
"Brian, what are you doing?" I asked.
"Don't you like it?" he asked, avoiding the question.
"No, I don't like it," I said, feeling his hands tense momentarily. "I love it, but what's going on here? The dancing, the kissing, the romantic cabin with the cozy fire, me sitting here topless as you massage me… Mister Andrews, if I didn't know any better, I would think you were trying to seduce me."
"Is it working?" he asked.
"Um...it would be except for a rather large woman at home who would have my guts for garters if I cheated on her. That and the fact that I love her more than anything in the world," I said.
"What if I told you this was all her idea and she wants this for you?" Brian asked.
The relaxation I felt was gone instantly and I pulled my dress up, covering myself before I moved away and turned to face Brian. "I think you'd better explain that one, Brian," I said uneasily.
"When she brought this whole plan to Dan and me, she told me that you told her you were curious as to what it might be like being with a man," Brian said. "She said that you would never try it because of her, but she thought you might trust me enough to relax and enjoy the sensations."
"She said that, did she?" I said neutrally. "And what does Dan think about this?"
"He's envious that it's not him here with you," Brian grinned, "but he agreed it should be me, your best friend that gets the honor of your maiden head."
"I can't believe Miri even suggested this," I said, fuming. "I can't believe you and Dan went along with it. What were you all thinking? I don't want to sleep with anybody but her."
"Okay, no problem," Brian said reasonably. "I'll take you home right now if you can look me in the eye and tell me you aren't curious about what it would be like."
I looked him straight in the eyes, opened my mouth and then closed it. I looked away for a moment and then returned my gaze to his and tried again with similar results.
"I thought not," Brian said with a hint of smugness. "Look, Valerie, Miri loves you more than anything in the world except for maybe that little boy of yours, and even that's no more or less than she loves you. She knows you are faithful to her and she trusts you, but she also thinks it's important for you to have this experience, to satisfy that curiosity and experience being a woman for a man even as she has. I was honored that it was me she asked to be the one, and I would be even more honored if you would consent to allow me that pleasure."
I just sat there, confused as hell by this whole bizarre scenario. What was I supposed to do? Miri wanted me to do this. It might hurt her feelings if I didn't, and it would certainly hurt Brian's feelings, yet why was I feeling so guilty? Brian put his arms around me comfortingly this time and held me while I worked through this. I laid my head on his shoulder as he stroked my still bare back for a while.
"So, Valerie, will you allow me to satisfy your curiosity?" he finally asked.
I slowly nodded against his chest. Without a word, he squeezed me then pulled back slightly so he could tenderly raise my chin with his fingers, lean down and kiss me. I let go, surrendered myself to the moment, and soon we were making out passionately. He laid me back on the couch, following me down as his lips and tongue explored my own. His hand started at my neck and stroked its way down, pausing briefly to knead my breast, before continuing down my side and finally stopping behind my knee. His hand then guided my knee up until it was over his hip, causing my dress to ride up and allowing him to grind his hip into my mound while his hand returned to my breast.
When I began to grind back against him urgently he stopped and got up. My momentary confusion was relieved when I saw him begin to remove his clothes. I followed suit, letting the dress fall unnoticed to the floor as I stood and removed my hose, followed by my panties. We stood before each other, completely naked. His member was standing at full attention, bumping against his belly as his pulse forced blood into it. I could feel my own moisture beginning to coat the tops of my thighs. Suddenly we were in each other's arms again and were kissing passionately. I could feel him pressing on my flat smooth tummy.
Hooking my foot behind his, I pushed, causing him to sprawl back on the couch. I lowered myself to my knees between his legs with feline grace. His member was there, pulsing before me and tentatively I reached out and touched it. It was soft and smooth but very firm. As I caressed it lightly he groaned and a single drop of fluid appeared at the tip. I leaned forward and captured the fluid with the tip of my tongue before gently kissing the helmet-like tip of his manhood. Slowly, sensually, I licked my way down the shaft to the base. From there, I teased my way around his testicles before working my way back up, taking my time to coat him with my saliva. I took him in my hand and began to pump him as I looked up at him with my face poised above his member. He looked down at me with such an expression of pleading and lust that I almost started laughing. Instead, I took him in my mouth and began to perform fallatio on him.
I brought him to the very brink, then backed off, as Miri had done with me at times. I carefully kept him in that state as I teased and played with him. His muscles stood out rigidly, vibrating with sexual tension. Still, I did not grant him release until his eyes finally met mine, pleading for relief. I smiled and with the tip of my tongue I traced a line along the big vein on the underside of his member. When I reached the tip, I engulfed him again, quickly sending him careening over the edge. He pumped what seemed like gallons of his seed into my mouth. I desperately tried to swallow it all, but a tiny sticky rivulet escaped the corner of my lips.
Spent, he pulled me up on him and licked his own sticky goo from my cheek before deep kissing me lingeringly. "Valerie, you are amazing. I refuse to believe you've never done that before," he said breathlessly.
"I had an exceptional teacher and the benefit of knowing just how it feels," I grinned at him. "Now it's your turn to show me what you’ve got, Sailor."
He pushed me back on the couch and proved to me that just because a man is gay, it doesn't mean that he doesn't know how to please a woman. His tongue played me like a harp, making my body sing with orgasmic delight. While he was nowhere near the virtuoso that Miri was, he was a wonderful lover in his own right. I think I was on my fourth or fifth orgasm when he stopped and pulled himself on top of me. He kissed me with rough passion and I tasted myself coating his face.
I put my arms around his neck and pulled my legs up around his waist hooking my feet behind him. I could feel his once more ridged member nudging at my opening as if requesting entry clearance. Brian looked into my eyes in mute inquiry. I nodded imperceptibly and closed my eyes. He reached down and passed the head of his member up and down my dripping crease a few times to lubricate it, before he lodged it at my opening and pushed it in just a little. The sensation of his initial penetration caused me to suck in a sharp breath. He stopped, motionless for a moment or two before he began to slowly and tenderly work what he had in by rocking back and forth. Slowly, he went a little deeper each time until he made one sharp thrust. There was an instant of pain, followed by an incredibly pleasurable, impossibly full feeling. He began pumping the full length of his shaft in and out of me. The alternating empty, then full sensation soon tripped me over the edge, yet he persisted. I screamed in orgasmic glee time and time again, before he finally shot his second load of the night deeply inside me, and then collapsed onto me.
"I didn't think my performance was laughable," he commented in my ear.
I squeezed his arm that held me tight. "No," I agreed, "definitely not laughable."
"So you enjoyed the experience?" he asked.
"Yes, it was fabulous," I told him.
"Was it better than with a woman?" he probed.
"Well, I don't think I'll be joining the ranks of the straight girls, if that's what you mean," I laughed. "How about you? Was I better than sex with a man?"
"Nice reversal," he laughed. "I have to say, in all honesty, if it was just you and me, and we were not otherwise engaged, I would be very tempted to lead a straight life to be with you. I love you for your mind."
"Oh please," I rolled my eyes. "As if. Seriously though, it was much different than sex with Miri. It was better, or perhaps more satisfying in some ways, but over all, I am attracted to the female shape and scent and any number of minute things that make a woman a woman. You were great, but I think the only reason I was able to enjoy it was because I love you and trust you as my best friend."
"Yeah, I feel pretty much the same," Brian agreed and squeezed me one more time. "I'm thinking we had better be getting back. Miri didn't give you to me for the whole night and I'm sure she is anxious to interrogate you."
"Oh, I'm sure," I laughed.
I got up off the couch and immediately noticed an aspect of sex with a man that I hadn't thought much about before. I felt the sticky goo Brian had left in me begin to drain out of me, running down my leg. I stifled a sound and ran to the bathroom to clean myself up.
When we got back to my house it was close to three in the morning and Brian walked me to the door. I reached out and touched the DNA scanner that secured the door and it unlocked, then turned back to Brian to say good-bye. Suddenly, I was in his arms and he was kissing me passionately again.
"I was told to treat you exactly like this was a date," he explained, a bit breathlessly after we disengaged, "and it's not a date without a good night kiss, is it?"
"Yeah, I'm sure it was all part of the act," I grinned. "Good night, Romeo."
"Good night, Beautiful," he said as I went through the door.
The next morning, Miri grilled me until I had given her a play by play of the whole night in all its gory details. She actually sighed in relief when I told her that while it was wonderful and special, I was still very much a one-woman girl. I felt it was a novelty that, once experienced, no longer held any draw.
"I'm so glad to hear that," Miri said, "though I do have to admit that I do miss the feeling of you filling me on occasion. I'm so glad you enjoyed it."
"So what are you telling me?" I asked. "That you want to have an open relationship?"
"Not on a bet, Lover," she said fervently. "I said I missed YOU filling me. I just wanted you to understand what that's like. And don't go getting any ideas about open relationships or three ways. I'm not the type. I am totally dedicated to you, well, you and our children, and that's all I want."
"Good, because I feel the same about you," I said, and then asked, "Children? Is there something you need to tell me?"
She grinned mischievously for a moment, scaring the stew out of me. "Not at all," she said, "but there is still another little matter of another experience I want you to have."
"Yeah, well, I'm not sure I'm ready for that experience yet," I told her. "I mean, if it's possible, I do want to have a child but just not at the moment."
"Some of us don't get to chose," she said dryly.
"Miri..." I began in a warning tone.
"Oh don't get your panties in a bunch," she said, smiling. "It's not like we could right now if we wanted to. However, there is someplace I want you to go with me today."
"And where might this be?" I asked warily.
"I have made us an appointment with an endocrinologist and a geneticist," she informed me. "It's high time we find out if that gorgeous body of yours is going to be able to support a developing child properly. You get PMS and bleed just like I do, so I think the chances are good. I promise, Sweetie, there is nothing like the feeling you get when you hold the baby you carried inside your body in your arms for the first time."
I smiled wistfully and then replied, "and there is nothing like watching the mother of your child holding that child for the first time."
I was sitting in the waiting room, watching Miri play games with little Brock, when I was called into the Endocrinologist’s office. After being conducted back through a maze of hallways into a well-appointed office, I was asked to take a seat. I amused myself during the brief wait by examining the small, personal items the Doctor kept around the office to give it a less austere appearance. I didn't have to wait long before the doctor came in.
"Hello, Miz Callaway, I'm Doctor Rollins," the older, maternal-looking woman said.
"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Rollins," I said, taking her offered hand.
"What is it I can do for you?" the Doctor asked, seating herself behind an imposing looking desk.
"Um..." I began a little uneasily, "at some point, I would like to be pregnant with my other half's child. Before we can do that we need to know if my body is capable of properly and safely carrying a child to term."
"I see," Dr. Rollins said. "And is there any reason to suspect this would not be the case?"
"I...um...that is," I said awkwardly, "I was born a man. My body is the result of a genetic tailoring pill."
"Wow," she said. "Impressive work. I would never have guessed."
"Thanks, it was very expensive and honestly it didn't need to do a lot of major changes," I explained.
"You understand that this is as yet an unpioneered field," Dr. Rollins explained. "Most girls with your birth condition, a lot of born women for that matter, prefer to go the tried and true invitro method because it's less risky and a whole lot more comfortable."
"I realize that," I said, "but my life partner has already given birth to our son and she wants what she jokingly refers to as payback."
"Is that what you want, Miz Callaway?" the doctor asked.
"I must confess that I was quite envious of her, even though I was there throughout the process and saw how...er...uncomfortable it is," I explained, smiling at my colossal understatement.
The doctor smiled and interviewed me for a few more minutes before conducting me to an exam room. She took a blood sample and examined me vaginally before sending me into a small restroom to produce a urine sample for her. She then let me get dressed and told me she would call when she had the preliminary results.
The next stop was to the geneticist, where I received similar treatment. He also took a genetic sample and harvested some of Miri's eggs so he could work on implanting my DNA in them. When the time came, they would be fertilized by Miri's DNA, essentially making her the father.
We were just leaving the Geneticist's when I got a phone call.
Chapter 25
"Valerie Callaway?" a male voice asked.
"Yes, this is she," I confirmed.
"Hi Valerie, this is John Masters here at the Governing Council building," the man explained. "Would you by any chance be available today to attend a Council meeting?"
"I don't think that would be too much of a problem," I acquiesced. "What time should I be there?"
"How soon can you be here?" Masters countered.
"How's two hours sound?" I asked, glancing at Miri, who was looking at me inquiringly.
"Two hours would be great, Ma'am. I will inform the Council to expect you then," the man said. "Have a great day."
"And you as well," I said before closing the connection.
"What was that about," Miri asked.
"It seems my presence is desired at a Council meeting," I told her.
"Oh goody, that should be a lot of fun," Miri said sardonically. She never did have much use for politicos, particularly after they had tried to brow beat me into being the people's sweet heart when we had first arrived.
"Well, it must be important," I said. "You know they tend to avoid me after I made it clear I wasn't going to be their good little puppet."
"No kidding," Miri said, fondly remembering the incident. "You have the most delightful way of overreacting when someone backs you into a corner. It's so different from your normal sweet amiability. It also has the most interesting effect on me too. It makes me want to take you to bed and have my way with you."
"I noticed," I smiled. "I have two hours before I said I would be there. You can either come with me, or I can drop you at the house, but let's get some lunch first. You can decide then."
"I love it when you take charge," she teased.
"As if," I laughed, "We both know who wears the pants in this family."
"Why, Valerie, what ever do you mean?" she asked in mock innocence.
"Uh huh," was all I said as we each took one of little Brock's hands and went off in search of an eatery.
As I expected, I arrived at the Council building alone. Miri had opted to spend her time with Brock instead of what she described as "A bunch of stuffy self-important egomaniacs." I tended to agree with her, but I saw these little meetings as a necessary tribulation, given the lucrative military contracts I had for my ship designs.
I was curious as to the purpose of this conference, given I didn't have anything big going on at the moment. When I arrived in the antechamber of the conference room, the secretary told me to go right in.
"Valerie!" cried the big lesbian who had spoken up for me during the first meeting. She rushed up and enfolded me in a crushing hug. We had established a friendship as we often attended the same functions. "Thank you so much for coming."
"Sure, Cheryl," I told her. "What's this about?"
"We'll get to that, but first you need to watch the presentation," Cheryl told me.
We all took a seat and looked on as the lights dimmed. A large screen came up, displaying an overview of colonized space.
"Thank you all for coming," a man said from the shadows. "The reason you are here is to view this new bit of intelligence our friends inside the TSN have provided us. It may just provide the key to our salvation. Six months ago, explorers pushing back the boundaries of human controlled space ran upon an unexpected development. When they began exploring out past this border here," the indicated border flashed green, "they claimed to have stumbled on a sentient alien race with technology far in advance of our own." There was a general murmur throughout the room.
"According to reports, the aliens are a non-hostile race, though they are well equipped to defend themselves. The explorers reported that the aliens called themselves the Drandians and they knew our language because they have been watching us for sometime. The explorers went on to say that humans are not welcome in their space because we, as a race, were too immature and violent. Since that time, the TSN has quarantined that section of space."
"We want to send a delegation to the Drandians to see if our plight moves them to help us somehow, either technically or otherwise," the speaker said.
"Who should we send?" asked a council member as the lights came back up.
"The Grand Council suggests the delegation should be composed of a diplomat, an engineer, and an experienced naval crew," the speaker said. "The diplomat is being supplied by Tolerance."
"That's why I have requested that Valerie be here," Cheryl spoke up. "If she agrees to go, I think the Zone's premiere ship designer would be an asset on such a mission. Also, Valerie and her life partner are both experienced line naval officers."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. "Don't forget, we have a young child. What are we going to do with little Brock? Is this mission dangerous? I have to think about my family. What becomes of my son if we don't return because the TSN or this alien race kills us? Who's gonna look after him while we are gone? If I go then I would want my whole crew with me, including my computer specialist, Dan Chestnut."
"The danger should be minimal," the speaker said. "We thought that perhaps your son could travel with you. It could be helpful for the aliens to see a family to help reinforce what's at stake."
"Valerie, you should also know that we haven't received any new people across the blockade in a year," Cheryl said. "It's been rumored that somebody in the Terran Government has realized that they have been sending what have mostly been the best and brightest gays, lesbians, and transfolk here. That scared them and now they are summarily executing any of our people they discover. How long do you think it will be before that same fear inspires them to invade the Zone and kill us all?"
"You know, as good as our own Navy is, in terms of the quality of our hardware and personnel, our resources are finite and we are still no match for the TSN because of the sheer numbers and resources they can bring to bear. We can’t hope to match them without a significant technological advantage and perhaps even some allies."
"There is another aspect of the mission as well," the speaker said. "There have been reports that the frontier worlds are banding together, setting up an alliance against the Terran Government that they feel is too harsh and totalitarian. They are chafing under the Terran taxation and they feel they get nothing in return. They have a great deal more resources at their disposal and have already had a few skirmishes with the TSN. Also, it's been suggested that they wouldn't be adverse to our presence in their alliance, so another secondary objective of this expeditionary mission would be to make contact with them and forge some sort of agreement."
"When is this expedition supposed to leave?" I asked.
"In about a month when we get the crew picked out and the heavy cruiser refitted," the speaker said.
"You were planning on sending a heavy cruiser?" I asked.
"That was the plan, yes," the man said. "I take it you have some input here?"
"I have a lot of input here," I said. "Firstly, while a heavy cruiser is a powerful ship, it's slow and hard to hide even with a stealth generator. It generates a lot of heat and it's easily seen. If the TSN spotted us crossing the blockade in a warship of that size, the jig would be up. They would know that we are capable of being a thorn in their side and would, no doubt, do something about it. Our greatest strength at this point is that they have no idea that we are well equipped with our own warships, and right now they are not interested in what's going on behind the blockade. Detecting one of our heavies would surely change that."
"Secondly, we are on a mission to beg for the assistance of this supposedly peaceful alien race. It's my thought that perhaps showing up in a big intimidating warship would be rather counterproductive to our objective. They aren't likely to give us crap for assistance if we go in with a show of force."
There was a general murmur of agreement around the table.
"She has some very good and valid points," Cheryl said to the man giving the presentation. "It's one of the reasons I suggested her for this mission. She has a good keen head on her shoulders, and in addition to having already displayed her courage, I also understand that she’s an unparalleled tactician."
"Very well, I will take your input to the Grand Council," the man said. "What sort of ship would you suggest we send?"
"Why mine, of course," I said. "She's a Duality class heavy corvette. She's relatively small and very fast, which will make her hard to spot. She also packs a huge punch, should we encounter any hostiles. She also doesn't look obviously like a warship, so it won't raise questions if she is spotted."
"So, does this mean you’re going?" Cheryl asked.
"I have to discuss it with Miri first," I said. "She has veto power, but I do think this mission is important to safe guard my son's future."
Chapter 26
"Why can't these people leave you alone and let us live a quiet peaceful life?" Miri demanded rhetorically, after I told her what we had been asked to do. "And now they want us to go dragging our son across the back of beyond, and into possibly dangerous situations. Damn them!"
"I know, Miri, I know," I said soothingly. "The fact is, though, we have skills and experience that not many others could bring to the mission. If we don't go, to whom would you trust our child's future? Personally, I think I would rather hold his fate in my hands than let some stranger do my fighting for me."
"You're right, of course," Miri said with resignation. "It's just that I wanted us to be a stable solid family; no risks, no surprises."
"Me too, Miri, but we do have a good life," I said. "It may be a bit too exciting at times, but it has its compensations. It gave us little Brock, didn't it?"
"You're right," she said, hugging me tightly. "So, when do we leave?"
"They are planning on leaving in a month," I told her. "I need to see if Brian and Dan will go as well. I could really use their expertise in this."
Brian and Dan, of course, agreed to go with us as well. We spent the next month getting the Duality Too ready for the voyage. Dan worked tirelessly upgrading systems, and I even installed the latest thing in weapons technology. In place of the rapid firing pulse lasers in the nose turret, I installed new advanced mini particle beam cannons, which packed more punch and range than the lasers. Unfortunately, they also used more power so we were limited to converting just one turret.
Three weeks later we had the Duality Tooready for the trip and the Diplomat was on planet. His name was Samsual Keller. Keller was an absolute hunk of an older man with snowy white hair and a matching Van Dyke. In spite of his age, standing at 6 feet tall, his body was still athletic and muscular. He had an affable yet no nonsense presence that I really liked, and though I would never have admitted it to anyone, when he looked at me with his azure blue eyes, I could feel my panties get wet in spite of myself. As if this wasn't enough, he was also Bi and a widower.
The other three members of my crew seemed to be pretty well taken with him as well. The guys were somewhat shameless in the admiration, as was Miri, though she was more circumspect about it. For my part, I didn't volunteer anything, but when asked my opinion, I would just say, "I guess he's ok if you like the type," which caused everyone to laugh at me. I guess I was pretty transparent.
According to them, he seemed quite smitten with me, providing them with even more amusement. Personally, I didn't see it, but Miri and the guys would sit around and point out to me all the little indications, then giggle about my discomfort. Miri even jokingly suggested that maybe I should invite him to our bed. At least, I thought it was a joke. Wasn't it? Nevertheless, I was determined to be a good girl, and no matter how devastatingly attractive I found Sammy, or how desirable he found me, I was committed to another,r whom I found even more attractive.
During the last week before our departure, we all spent a lot of time together establishing a working relationship and going over every piece of information we had pertaining to our mission. Not all of it was in a conference room, either. We took a couple of days and went hiking in the mountains at Brian's cabin. It was here where I was tested.
Sam, Brian, Miri and I were hiking along a trial in the crisp morning air. Sam and I were talking about my experiences in the TSN. He always seemed to do that when we weren't talking about the mission. Having me talking about myself, that is. As always, he listened in rapt fascination to my anecdotes, and we fell a bit behind Miri and Brian, who were both setting an athletic pace.
"Oh my," Sam said, stopping. "What a beautiful view."
We had come to a point in the trail where the trees broke and revealed a breathtaking morning mountain vista. The sun hadn't yet burned off the cool mist that blanketed the mountains like a fluffy blanket in places. We could look down on the valley below and see the powerful rapids of the river that coursed along the base of the valley.
"Have you ever seen a more lovely sight?" I agreed.
"Just one," he said.
When he didn't elaborate, I looked around for him to prompt me to go on. I found he was looking evocatively at me and I fell into his vibrant blue eyes, transfixed like a mouse before a cobra.
"Valerie, you have the most beautiful gray eyes I've ever seen," he said, stepping up to me. "They can be as hard and cold as the steel they share their color with, but also as warm, soft and inviting as a mother's embrace."
The word "mother" made me think of Miri, being the mother of my child, and that broke the spell. Using thoughts of Miri as a lifeline, I struggled back from the depths of those blue eyes.
"Sam," I said gently, "You know I'm in an exclusive relationship with Miri. Please don't test that. I might be tempted, but in the end you'll lose and I really don't think we need that sort of awkwardness in the days to come."
Sam seemed to jerk slightly, as if coming out of his own spell. "Oh damn," he said. "Geez, I'm sorry Valerie. I don't know what came over me. It seemed that when our eyes met, the rest of the world ceased to have meaning; I fell into your incredible gray orbs and wanted to stay there forever."
"I know what you mean," I said with a sigh.
"Valerie, Sam," came Miri's voice from up the trail, "stop lollygagging and get your butts in gear."
I looked at Sam and grinned. "That's my Miri," I said. "She can be a bit unpolished at times, but I love her for that."
Sam and I turned and hustled up the trail to catch up to the others. Neither he nor I ever mentioned the incident again, although, I would catch him looking at me wistfully from time to time when he thought I wasn’t looking.
The day of our departure finally arrived. We all met at the spaceport with our baggage of personal effects in tow. The baggage pile for Miri and me was somewhat larger than the others' due to little Brock’s need for toys and such. As soon as we had everything stowed, we began our pre-flight checkouts.
All systems were as expected, in the green, and we were ready to commence our journey. If all went as planned, we wouldn't be returning home for six months minimum. Longer depending on how long negotiations took.
Stile Station, getting its name from a stile, or a bridge between pastures, was built to serve as a relay station to assist stealth capable ships making their drift run across the blockade. It was also there to prevent unauthorized runs by non-stealth equipped ships and those that didn't have the code to disable the drone. This back door into the Zone was far too valuable to risk drawing attention to it.
"Duality Too, this is Stile Control. We have you inbound on long range sensors," the Comm crackled. "Will you be stopping with us?"
"Stile Control, this is Captain Valerie Callaway, commanding Duality Too," I said, "We're just passing through this time around. Request sensor relay feed, authorization code Victor Nancy Charlie Mike Charlie Charlie Bravo Nancy Charlie Wun Niner Seven Four Four Two."
"Copy that, Duality Too," Stile Control returned. "Authorization code checks as does your piggy-backed transponder code. Beginning sensor relay feed now. Have a safe trip and come back to us soon, hear?"
"Thanks Stile Control," I said. "We are receiving the sensor feed and setting up for our drift run. We'll be going to stealth shortly. See you on the return trip. Duality Too out."
We laid in our heading and began our max burn. As we approached the transition area of the senor buoys' maximum range we cut the drive and went into stealth mode. We had built up a lot more speed than the last time we'd run the blockade so we wouldn't be in the sensor area for as long.
"Damn," I cursed, as we made it to about a quarter of the way though the detection area. A TSN ship entered our scope.
"What's wrong," Sam asked nervously.
"We have a TSN dreadnought inbound," I said.
"Oh crap," Sam said. "Does she see us?"
"Not at the moment," I said.
"So what's the problem?" Sam asked.
"The problem is that we will cross her course about 100 klicks ahead and above her," I said.
"And?" Sam prompted.
"Stealth mode masks us from sensor detection in all but the infrared and visual spectrums," I explained. "We are beating the infrared by not running our drive and creating a big heat plume. However, at that range, they will be able to faintly detect the heat of our life support. While it's not uncommon to pick up such faint readings in space, we will be clearly visible to anybody that's looking. Our hull is camouflaged, reflecting the star field around us, but it's an imperfect thing. A trained eye will be able to spot us easily."
"So what do we do?" Sam asked. "Shouldn't we turn back, or make a run for it or something?"
"If I fired the drives now they would definitely detect us and by the time we scrubbed off enough speed to go back the other way, our intent would be clear," I explained. "It's not a given that they will see us, just a better than even possibility. We could get lucky and the sensor tech on duty could just assume our heat signature is cosmic in origin without even looking further. That's our best hope at this point so we will continue as we are and watch carefully for any sort of activity that says we've been detected."
"I see that reports of your courage under fire were not exaggerated," Sam commented.
"My decisions are based on what allows us to get the mission done while giving us the greatest chance of survival," I rejoined. "Courage has nothing to do with it."
"Bullshit," Sam grinned at me. "You calmly sit there as we drift into the path of a dreadnought whose firepower would rip us to ribbons instantly and you say that it isn't courage? Goddess, girl, I am scared shitless!"
"And I'm not?" I asked. "My whole family including my son is on this ship. I am risking all our lives here and that terrifies me."
"Yet you are calm and making rational decisions," he said. "That, dear lady, is courage."
I let it go and we continued into harm's way in silence. The tension mounted the closer we got. We were seconds away from our closest point to the dreadnought. They would be reading our heat signature now. I said a silent prayer as we crossed the dreadnought's course. There was no response from the dreadnought as yet. The tension began to release as our drift carried us further from the TSN ship. We were just about to transition out of her gun radius when she did an about face and began to move toward us, deploying fighters.
"Well, boys and girls, they've spotted us," I said, and firewalled the drives. The Duality Too leaped forward as I vectored her immediately away from the dreadnought and her inbound fighters.
"Valerie, we are being hailed," Dan informed me.
"On the main screen please, Dan," I said.
"Unidentified vessel," a familiar face said from the screen. "This is the TSN Dreadnought Aquinas, you are ordered to cut your drives and heave to."
"Sorry, Captain Edmunds, I can't do that," I responded.
"Identify yourself," Captain Edmunds my old CO demanded. "Do I know you?"
"Captain Valerie Nicole Callaway commanding the Duality Too," I returned. "You cannot catch us, Captain. Call off your fighters for their safety. We are armed and will not hesitate to return fire if they fire on us." I was desperately trying to stall until we got out of hyperspace-inhibited range. The fighters were no match for us, but they could do damage and perhaps slow us enough that the Aquinas could close range on us.
"Callaway...I know that name and you do look familiar," the Captain said. "Do I have the honor of addressing a relative of Brock Callaway? His twin sister perhaps?"
The Captain knew full well whom he was addressing but he was respecting the promise to me long ago.
"Perhaps," I said smiling. As long as he was talking he wasn't shooting.
"I must say, I completely understand why he kept you such a secret. You are very beautiful, my dear, and unless I miss my guess, very deadly as well, if you are anywhere near the caliber of your brother," the captain said.
"Fortunately, you won't have to find out," I said as the green indicator light illuminated, letting us know we could now jump to hyperspace. I brought the jump generators on line and began to initiate the jump.
"I'm afraid I will, my dear," the captain said. Just then I heard a clang against our hull and the jump generators went off line.
"They've hit us with a jump inhibitor missile," Dan said calmly. "At the inhibitor field's rate of decay, we won't be able to jump for another minute."
"That means the fighters will have a minute to hit us with another inhibitor missile and try to slow us enough that the Aquinas can close," I said, bringing the point defenses on line.
As the first fighter came in and strafed us, our own guns gutted it as it passed. Another, approaching from above us, took three hits from our new mini PBC turret and disintegrated into a ball of expanding gases. The remaining four fighters launched every missile they carried and followed them in, in an attempt to overwhelm our point defenses. The missiles were swept from space without too much trouble, but then the fighters were on us, targeting our drive. As the turrets reacquired, a third fighter fell prey to the PBC turret while the others began to take damage from the less powerful rapid-fire pulse lasers. They fell back.
"Captain Edmunds, please, for the safety of your crew, call your fighters off," I implored my former CO. "You have done enough to try to stop me and as your fighters have barely blistered our paint at the expense of three pilots and utterly failed to slow us one iota, you will not be faulted for protecting your crew."
"Very well, Miz Callaway," Edmunds said. "I'm pulling my fighters back, but you haven't gotten away yet. That's a very impressive ship you have there. The hull design is not in any of our databases. May I ask where you got it?"
"I built it from liberated TSN parts," I lied smoothly. "It’s one of a kind."
"Oh shit, Valerie, we've got 2 light cruisers and a destroyer inbound from ahead of us on an intercept course," Brian said, his voice breaking under the stress.
"Steady, Mister Andrews," I cautioned. "Mister Chestnut, how long until we can jump?"
"Twenty seconds, Valerie," Dan said, the tension apparent in his voice as well. "The incoming ships will be in firing range in ten seconds."
"Very well. They are playing hardball. They are about to find out what the Duality Too is capable of," I had been trying to keep the Duality's true firepower an unknown, but now we had little choice. "Brian target the cruisers with nukes and I will take care of the destroyer. Our gun outranges theirs and that should give them something to think about."
"Missiles locked on and away," Brian said, as I brought the main gun on line.
The aiming reticule flared to life on the screen displaying various targeting information. I carefully maneuvered the Duality Too until the reticule transfixed the destroyer. As the range display dropped quickly the reticule turned green indicating the destroyer was now in range. I fired the gun. Unlike the original Duality where we lost power momentarily when firing the main gun, the lights of the Duality Too scarcely flickered. Down range, our shot ripped through the destroyer's side, opening several decks to space in an explosion of vaporized hull plates and escaping atmospheric pressure. Her course faltered a bit but she kept coming. I fired again this time the result was more spectacular. First she dropped back a bit behind the cruisers as her drive went off line, then a moment later her reactor went critical and she incinerated herself in a white-hot nuclear explosion. Before the EMP from the exploding reactor even reached the cruisers, our missiles drove deeply inside their hulls and they similarly became bight plumes superheated gas and radiation. All this happened a half a second before they even reached firing range.
"Oh my god, Callaway," Edmunds said over the comm, his composure finally breaking. "You are an animal! You just snuffed out 2100 lives! You’re going to burn for this, you bitch!"
"And you are a fool," I snarled ferally at him. "I warned you to leave us be, but you persisted. Now you have 2103 lives, to be exact, on your hands. Make no mistake, I will protect my own ship and crew at any cost."
"They were following orders," he screamed at me.
"You fucking moron! Didn't you learn anything from me?" I said furiously. "Following orders doesn't absolve you of responsibility! There are just some orders that shouldn't be followed. What I did here was defending myself. Or maybe you just wanted to give me a bouquet and send me on my way, eh?"
"You've just made a huge mistake, Callaway," Edmunds said frostily. "The TSN will never rest until you are hunted down and brought to justice."
"Fuck the TSN and its perverse justice," I said equally as icily. "The TSN and the Terran Government is responsible for far more innocent deaths then the 2100 that died here today. Mark my words, Edmunds, get out while you can, 'cause the butcher's bill is coming due for the Terran Government and the TSN and the price will be paid in blood."
As I said this, the inhibitor field dissipated and we jumped to hyperspace before Edmunds could say another word.
Chapter 28
"Wow, that was intense," Sam said after we transitioned back to normal space. "Valerie, you are one vicious woman. 2100 people, dead, just like that because they opposed you."
"Mister Andrews, you have the con," I said tightly as I got up and quickly left the flight deck.
I went straight to my cabin, which was thankfully empty. As soon as the door was shut and locked, I collapsed on the bed and began to sob. I had killed 2100 people. It didn't matter that they meant my family and me harm. Hell, truthfully most of them had no choice but to be there, and I knew it. The audacious words I had said to Captain Edmunds in the heat of the moment were bull. He knew it, and I knew it. It didn't help that I knew him and he would feel just as responsible for the hideous loss of life.
My heart ached for those men and women and their families whose hopes and dreams were vaporized in an instant of nuclear fire. As much as I hurt, I knew I would do it again and again, until there was no life left in the universe except Miri and our son. I didn't like myself very much at that point. However righteous the reasons, when the dust settles, killing is still killing.
I looked up when the door opened and Miri entered the cabin. She took one look at me and her eyes softened.
"Aww, Honey, what's wrong?" she asked gathering me up in her arms and holding me tightly.
"Edmunds was right," I said. "I am a monster. I thought I locked the door."
"You did," she said gently, "but you can't shut me out, Sweetheart. Don't even try to shut me out. I love you and you're not a monster. Did you enjoy killing those people?"
"No," I sobbed.
"And look at you," Miri pointed out. "You're eaten up with guilt. You feel terrible that they had to die. If you were really a monster, you'd have been laughing about it, not grieving for them. You know they knew the risks when they joined the TSN. They knew there was a chance they could get killed; yet they chose to be there anyway. You did what you had to do, to protect us and our people. What you did, you did for all the right reasons. What they did was die trying to preserve tyranny and oppression. Yes, their deaths were useless, but that was their choice. They didn't give you one."
"It hurts so bad, Miri," I sobbed on her shoulder.
"I know it does, Sugar," she said, "I know it does. That's the part that makes you human. If it didn't hurt, you wouldn't be the woman I love. I've got you though, just let it all out and it'll feel better."
Sometime later I pulled myself back together and fixed my makeup before heading back out to the common room. I went to the bar and poured myself a stiff drink. Sam was seated on the couch holding an ice pack to the side of his face with one hand and a potent looking drink in the other.
"What happened to you?" I asked as I sat down on the other end of the couch.
"Let me tell you, that woman of yours has a right cross like a prizefighter," he groaned. "It was like getting hit with a rifle butt, and I would know, I've been hit with a rifle butt before." He pulled the ice pack away from his cheek and displayed the ugly purple bruise that was developing there.
"I think you'd better tell me what happened," I said.
"I'll tell you what happened," said Miri from the doorway. "After you left the bridge, Brian called me up there. He told me that you had left quickly after Mr. Keller made his insensitive comments," she glared at Sam and he blanched, "When I heard what he had said to you, I lost it, blasted him in the head then came to find you." She didn't look a bit repentant about it either.
"That's what happened," Sam confirmed. "I deserved it. I just couldn't believe how quickly that many people died. I was shocked and horrified, but honestly, I was impressed at how efficient you were. I mean, you seemed so decisive, so professional, and so calm, it just didn’t occur to me that it hurt you to do what you did."
"You think killing three ships full of people is easy?" I asked. "My goddess, who do you think I am, Joseph Mengele?"
"I see now I was wrong to think you were that cold-hearted," Sam said, "though I should have known before. I was just so shocked. I owe you a big apology. I'm very sorry."
"No problem," I said magnanimously. "It's water under the bridge. Right Miri?" When she didn't respond, I said again, "RIGHT Miri?"
"Yeah, okay, water under the bridge," Miri said grudgingly.
"I don't know which of the two of you I would want to piss off least," Sam laughed. "You can both be as frightening as you are beautiful, and that is petrifying indeed."
We soon settled into a routine. We would spend at least two months traveling through potentially hostile space, no ports or stations until we reached the reported alien occupied area of space. I knew we had started out this journey on the wrong foot and in two months we would all be sick of looking at each other. It became Sam's job to take care of meals and such because he wasn't qualified to stand watch. I hardly saw Miri, except for brief periods where we either exchanged watches or after my watch before she went to bed, leaving me to watch Brock. Of course, she was up before Brock and I arose.
I was handling our son's schooling; not that it took much, since it was basically jacking him into the accelerated learner and watching him. Still, Miri and I were getting a bit haggard from standing watch on the bridge and then standing another over our child. I guess it was showing some because after I became routinely shrewish with everyone, Brian and Dan offered to stand 8 hour watches so that Miri and I would have more down time together and with Brock, as well as more time to rest. It worked out great and my disposition improved significantly.
Not that there wasn't any excitement. Even though space is a very big place and we were just one small ship, the TSN, I found out later, had mobilized the biggest hunt in history for us. Knowing they would be looking for us, we followed a long, meandering random course to prevent them from amassing a force to catch us as we dropped out of hyperspace to recharge the jump capacitors. Still, there was the odd time we dropped out where a TSN ship would be loitering. Luckily, they were mainly smaller ships like destroyers and frigates and they refused to engage us. Instead, they faded back out of weapons range and shadowed us until we recharged and jumped again.
I kept waiting for us to run into a hero-type, or someone with more balls than brains. As luck would have it, we managed to run into another old friend commanding a missile frigate. Wouldn't you know, it had to be someone with an ax to grind with me.
"Hello, Broccoli," came a voice over the comm channel, soon accompanied by a familiar face.
"Oh-laughable," I said cheerfully. "Fancy meeting you way out here. Did you come all this way just to let me humiliate you again for old-time's sake? Aww, how sweet of you."
"Oh no, you got it all wrong," Olaf said, equally as cheerfully. "I'm here to return the favor, sissy boy."
"Sissy boy is hardly an accurate term anymore is it?" I said gesturing at my body.
"I don't care what you've done to yourself, you're still, and always will be, a fag," Olaf insisted, "and one that has an ass-whooppin' coming. Tell you what, surrender now and maybe I'll just content myself with raping you repeatedly until we get you back for your execution."
"But if you really think I'm a man, then wouldn't that make you a fag too?" I asked. "Anyway, that leads us to another lesson: never offer an opponent surrender terms that would be a fate worse than death. It tends to make them laugh in your face." I suited action to words.
"Doesn't matter to me what you do," Olaf said. "If you surrender, I get to humiliate you before you die. If you don't then I get to kill you. Either way, it'll be my pleasure."
"Olaf, I see you still haven't learned the one lesson that will continue to get your balls knocked into your throat," I sneered, reminding him of our last face off. "You are far too overconfident. Back off, or I will be forced to administer another lesson and this one will be a hard one."
"Big words from such a little girly-boy in such a little ship," Olaf dismissed.
In truth there was some degree of bravado in my words because a missile frigate was nothing to scoff at. It could very well be a problem for us. Olaf's ship carried more than enough missiles to overwhelm our point defenses, but it also had a weakness. Most of the missile load on the frigate was guided by targeting telemetry from the launching vessel. The weakness was the large targeting array affixed to the superstructure of the ship. There was also a little matter of one of Dan's toys I had at my disposal.
"Well, Olaf, I guess some of you Neanderthals never learn, do you?" I sighed. "Let's dance then, tough guy."
As the missile bay doors opened on Olaf's frigate, he launched a full bay of missiles, easily enough to overwhelm our point defenses. But as the missiles sprang clear of the frigate and began to track us, I targeted the frigate's targeting array and fired a shot from the main cannon, instantly vaporizing it.
Olaf's missiles were now blind. I engaged Dan's little goody, which mimicked the mothership's telemetry and sent the missiles where we wanted, which was strait into the frigate's drive. In less than three seconds, Olaf's ship was blind and crippled, mostly with his own missiles. After one more well-placed surgical shot from me, he was deaf and dumb, too as I took out his hyperwave comm array.
"Olaf," I said, adding a finishing touch to his latest humiliation, "go back to school, you stupid jerk. You never could win against me."
"You haven't heard the last of me, Callaway," Olaf bellowed over the comm, as I pointed the Duality Too away and passed out of his comm range.
'Nope, I expect not,' I thought to myself, 'but then what fun would that be.' I would later appreciate the terrible irony of those words.
Chapter 29
"So, why did you let him live," Sam asked at dinner. "He obviously hates you and isn't likely to show you the same mercy should the tables be reversed."
"Sam, I am ruthless when I need to be, but I don't enjoy killing," I sighed. "Olaf is a hateful, cruel man, and someone who has been embarrassingly smacked down by me or someone on my behalf every time we've had a run-in. I'm sure he's more motivated than ever to take me out. He's an intelligent man, and an adequate officer. His problem is that he leads by fear, which doesn't inspire his men to go beyond their limitations. His commands will always be mediocre until he learns that fear is not the way to inspire loyalty. I don't have much hope of that. Also, as intelligent as he is, his hatred of me overrides his brain and he doesn't think. These are all factors that'll let me prevail every time. Why would I want to get rid of someone like that in favor of an unknown?"
"I see," said Sam. "What if someday he does change?"
"I always consider him a threat," I said. "I know what he's capable of, and I will never take for granted he will be an easy victory. I won't underestimate him. Anyway, his crew didn't deserve to pay the price for our vendetta."
The rest of our journey was relatively quiet, as we followed our seemingly random course that I hoped would keep the TSN guessing about our ultimate destination. The time finally arrived when we were about to make the last hyperspace jump before entering the alien territory. If the TSN had figured out our mission, this would be where they would be waiting for us. Everyone but Sam and Brock were on the bridge and ready for anything. Anything, that is, except for what actually happened.
I felt the familiar double jolt as we transitioned through hyperspace. Immediately, as we came out of hyperspace, alarms started going off. We'd jumped into the middle of an AI minefield. The mines began to drift towards us when their Artificial intelligence didn't recognize our transponder code.
"Gimme a vector," I shouted.
"Come to bearing three-one-five, azimuth plus oh-three-six," Miri responded.
I pointed the ship in the indicated direction and firewalled the throttles as Brian brought the point defenses on line. Our turrets began to destroy the mines closet to us, but there were so many of them. They began to get closer and closer to us before the turrets took them out and our only hope was to get clear before the gap closed and one struck us.
"Valerie, we've got three heavy cruisers moving on an intercept course to our exit point from the mine field," Miri said.
"How close?" I asked urgently.
"The closest will intercept us at a range of 750 AU's," Miri said, and then added redundantly, "well within range of their guns. The second is vectoring in from the port side and will be on us shortly after we clear the field. The third is still on the far side of the field from us and unless we get bogged down in a firefight, it won't be a threat."
At that moment an explosion rocked the ship as a mine got a little too close before the point defenses took it out. "Damage?" I demand.
"Minor damage to the starboard landing skid. Starboard secondary drive output down 2 percent," Dan responded crisply.
"Okay," I said, "here's the plan. When we get to the edge of the minefield, we'll launch an ECM decoy. That should take care of any pursuing mines. Miri, target the ship closest to us and fire two nukes at it. Set them for proximity detonation. Chances are they won't do much damage, but they are coming through the minefield to intercept us. The EMP will cause the mines in the area to lose their IFF and they will go hostile toward any ship close to them. That should give them something to think about besides us. The other ship we'll just have to take our chances with. Our main gun won't take out a heavy cruiser on one shot, and we won't survive trading blows with her."
"So what are we gonna do?" Brian asked, having faith that I would pull us through this.
"We'll take a shot or two at them and hope we do some damage, and then, with the remaining reserve I kept in the jump capacitors last jump, we jump across to the alien controlled space," I informed them.
We approached the edge of the minefield and Dan deployed the ECM decoy as we burst though. Miri fired the nukes and 10 seconds later the EMP caused all the mines in a 100 klick radius to attack the heavy cruiser in their midst. This all worked better than expected. The mines pursuing us destroyed themselves uselessly against the ECM decoy while the mines attacking the cruiser took out it's fire control array and crippled her drives. Before the mines reset, the cruiser was adrift and no longer a threat.
That left us to deal with the second cruiser. I pointed the Duality Too at her as she came within our range and opened fire on her. She was taking major damage to her hull plates and I even managed to score a hit on one of her main turrets. Still, she came. I fired a full spread of missiles at her. They were harmlessly destroyed by the point defenses as they fired their drives for their final thrust to penetrate her hull. She kept coming, undeterred.
I turned us away from her and brought our drives up to max thrust, making evasive maneuvers as the cruiser entered her firing range and open fired. Particle beams sizzled by us as I jinked and dodged, while anxiously awaiting the jump ready light to illuminate on the console. Finally, it came on.
"Get those jump generators online!" I screamed.
"Done," Brian hollered back.
I engaged the jump generators and transitioned to hyperspace, but right before we entered, the cruiser scored a critical direct hit. I knew it was bad when we transitioned back into normal space. We were tumbling out of control. I immediately took the drives offline and the stabilizing thrusters stopped our tumble.
"How bad is it?" I asked, more calmly now that the immediate danger had passed. I glanced at the engineering station and saw far too many red lights illuminated on the status board.
"It's not good," Dan said. "We lost our port side secondary drive and the main drive. Without the port side secondary, the starboard one is useless. The jump generators are offline and unavailable and hyperwave comms are down. The damage to the drives is too extensive for the auto repair to get them back online. On the plus side, hull integrity and life support are in the green."
Our situation was very desperate. We could survive for years, but we weren't going anywhere. Unless somebody stumbled across us, we would eventually go mad looking at the same walls and faces day in and day out. I shuddered at the thought.
"Okay everyone," I said, "nice job back there. We're still alive and where there's life there's hope. Right now though, we need to unwind a bit. Let's all go have a drink and some dinner and then get some rest. We'll brainstorm about our options when we are thinking more clearly."
Everyone filed off the bridge except for me. I turned on the distress beacon and set the sensors to sound an alarm over the ship's PA if they detected anything, before following my crew. I sat down wearily on the couch in the common room with my customary rum and cola. Miri stood behind me, massaging my tense shoulder and neck muscles. We filled Sam in on our current predicament and he calmly affirmed his faith in my ability to get us out of these dire straits, before setting about making us dinner.
We were just sitting down to the meal when the sensor alarm I had just set went off.
"Valerie, they are hailing us," Brian informed me.
"Very well, open a channel," I said.
"Greetings, visitors," the creature displayed in the screen said. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting. A BEM (Bug Eyed Monster) I suppose, but this creature certainly wasn't it.
The alien appeared to be classically bipedal humanoid. Its body, where I could see, was covered with a snowy white fur though it did wear clothing. The alien's face, despite the fur, was strangely human-like in its features. It appeared to have fine delicate features and its eyes were totally lavender except for an iris that was slit horizontally. The face was framed with a metallic-appearing silver cascade hair that grew out far longer than the white fur that covered the rest of the creature. The overall effect was breathtakingly beautiful.
"We have received your distress beacon," the alien continued in a high feminine sounding voice. "Your vessel appears to have been damaged by weapons fire. Please understand, we will not allow your kind to bring your petty wars into our space but neither can we do nothing for a living being in trouble. Can we be of any assistance?"
"I'm Valerie Callaway, Captain of this ship called the Duality Too. Our people have sent us to seek you out on a peaceful diplomatic mission," I explained. "We were ambushed by other people that would see our kind wiped from existence. What we need right now are raw materials that our autorepair systems can use to restore our ship's flight capabilities."
"You say you are on a mission of peace, yet our scans of your vessel have shown it to be well armed," the creature said. I looked meaningfully at Sam and he nodded in acknowledgement of the wisdom of not bringing a large military vessel.
"Yes, our vessel is heavily armed for a ship this size, but our weapons are largely used in defense," I explained. "As you can see by the condition of my ship, there are those who would destroy us on sight, just for being the people that we are. Surely, you must see that the ability to defend ourselves is neither warlike nor frivolous?"
"Indeed," the alien said, "we too will defend ourselves with violence if that is the only course allowed us by those that mean us ill. We are an empathic people, and I sense that you have killed many to get here, but that you are saddened at the waste of life. If it so saddens you then why do you kill?"
"Momma Valley," Little Brock asked tugging on my finger, "What's that?" he asked pointing at the Drandian on the view screen.
I picked him up and placed him in my lap. "That's a person we were sent here to meet with, sweetie," I explained to him.
"It doesn't look like a person, Valley," Brock said.
"This is a different kind of person from you or I, honey, but that doesn't mean it's not a person," I told my son and he nodded seriously, as if I had just told him the most important thing he would ever hear. Come to think of it, maybe I had.
"Valley," he said, with a smile, "it's a pretty person."
"This is the reason I have killed," I said looking back to the screen. "This is my child and I will protect him against any that would hurt him."
"Yet you have brought your child with you on a journey you knew would put him in peril?" the alien said.
"He would have been safer at home, I agree, but only if our region doesn't get attacked while we are gone," I said. "Our mission is a long one and his place is with his parents."
"I sense your love and fierce protective instinct for your offspring and also your people, though less so," the alien said. "The resources you need will be brought to you. In the meantime I will talk to my governing body and see if they will agree to treat with you."
We sent the Drandians a list of the materials that we would need, and one of their ships shimmered and disappeared. In the meantime, we returned to our meal to await the Drandian Government's decision to talk to us or not.
After dinner, Brian and Dan watched Brock and cleaned up the remains of dinner, while Sam, Miri and I returned to the bridge. We had been sitting there for about an hour discussing our plans for negotiating with the Drandians when a warning tone sounded, announcing another sensor contact.
"Oh shit," I said as I read the transponder.
"What is it?" Miri and Sam asked at the same time.
"Drandian Vessels," a voice came over the comms, "this is Captain Darius Edmunds of the Terran Space Navy Dreadnought Aquinas. We are here to take that ship and personnel into custody and bring them to justice. We apologize for their intrusion into your space. We'll just pick them up and be on our way."
"Greetings, Terran Space Navy Dreadnought Aquinas, I am called Pack Commander Talia and I must regretfully decline to allow you to take possession of the vessel in question unless you can establish your rightful claim to it," the Drandian we had originally talked to informed Edmunds.
"I'm sorry, did you just say you refused to give us that ship and personnel?" sputtered Edmunds. "I'm afraid I really must insist. The crew of that vessel are wanted criminals charged with everything from insubordination and sabotage of a TSN vessel, flight from justice, desertion, and most recently 2103 counts of murder."
"How do you respond to these charges, Valerie Callaway?" the Drandian asked me.
"The murder charges are the three ships and three fighters I was forced to destroy to defend my crew," I said. "It was only murder if you consider killing someone who is intent on killing you, murder. I consider it self-defense. As for the rest, all of those charges are true and they stem from a single incident. Ask Captain Edmunds about it, since he was my commanding officer at the time."
"Captain Edmunds," the Drandian prompted.
"Callaway was under my command at the time and she, or rather he at the time, was on watch when he let a ship cross the blockade we were guarding practically unchallenged. His orders were to destroy any ships entering or leaving the quarantined area. He also encrypted our fire controls so that we couldn't fire on the ship when he was relieved of duty."
"Ask him why I let the ship through," I prompted.
"Captain Edmunds, why did she let the ship through?" the Drandian asked.
"He said it was because it was an unarmed cargo vessel," Edmunds said dismissively.
"It was an unarmed cargo ship on a mission of mercy," I corrected. "The vessel carried a load of medical supplies desperately needed by a world inside our blockade to cure an epidemic that would have cost 90% of the population of the planet their lives had I not let the ship pass."
"Such orders are unjust and cruel," the Drandian said. "Captain Edmunds, why would you give Valerie Callaway these orders?"
"I didn't," Edmunds told the alien. "They were standing orders given to us by our government. The people in the blockaded zone we guarded were determined to be a threat to our society."
"These are the very people we come here to represent. Ask him why these people were singled out a called a threat?" I suggested.
"Because they are immoral deviants," Edmunds said weakly, obviously not believing his own statement.
"How are they deviants?" the Drandian asked.
"You say your people are empathic, Pack Commander?" I asked.
"Very much so," the Drandian said.
"Okay," I said motioning Miri over to me, taking her hand. While I was looking deeply into her eyes, I asked the Drandian, "Can you feel the love I have for this woman? And she for me?"
"Yes," the Drandian said in wonder. "It's pure, so warm, and beautiful; so strong and intense. How do you manage to contain it? You are both soul mates. Thank you for sharing such love with me."
"Because we are both female, the Terran government says we are deviant to feel this way for each other," I explained. "It is also because I was not born a woman. People like me are also called deviant, despite knowing that there is nothing we can do about it. It’s a well known biological fact that it's the way our brains are wired; we can do nothing about it except take a now illegal pill to make our bodies conform to our minds."
"I know of this feeling you speak of," the Drandian said. "I can feel it in you and it's so bleak and hopeless. What I am feeling is just a memory of the actual feeling and it must be terrible to have to live with it. In our society, we change genders when we reach a certain age. We all start as males and if we survive to thirty of our cycles, we become females. Many of us have a hard time dealing with the change due to the fact that we survived because we were strong and aggressive, while after the change, we are weak and must be protected. Yet our society is matriarchal and our leaders are females because they have the wisdom of experience. We mate and produce offspring, but we usually find our soul mates in our own generation, therefore, with our own gender. There is nothing deviant about this."
"Captain Edmunds, I can feel that you think what is happening to Valerie Callaway and her people is wrong, but I also sense in you a strong sense of duty. You also feel responsible for the deaths that you accuse her of. You don't really blame her for doing what she did, because she was fighting for her life and that of her family. Deep down I sense you respect her and even envy her willingness to stand up for her principles. You feel like you have sacrificed your honor in favor of your duty to an unjust leadership. I'm afraid you must leave our space at once without her ship or its crew, unless of course you would care to join Valerie Callaway in her struggle against the oppression of your leadership."
"I will not leave here without her," Edmunds said stubbornly.
"You cannot take her from us by force, Captain Edmunds," the Pack Commander said. "You command a powerful ship by human standards, but I promise you, my one ship could easily devastate yours in seconds. It would be like Valerie Callaway's ship picking a fight with your ship. But then, if you fire on either my ship or Valerie Callaway's, you won't just be dealing with my ship." Five other Drandian vessels, each larger than the dreadnought, shimmered briefly into view all around the dreadnought before disappearing again. "There are how many lives onboard you ship? 1700? The lives of your crew depend on what you do now. Leave now and they live. Force my hand and they will die."
"Very well," Edmunds conceded. "We're leaving, but if she sets foot out of your space we will get her. We will be waiting for her." With that he turned his ship and left.
Chapter 31
"Thank you for protecting my family, Pack Commander," I said sincerely.
"You are quite welcome, Valerie Callaway," the Drandian said. "We do not wish to become involved with your human affairs, but we will not place an honorable person in the hands of unjust enemies. It might interest you to know that our governing body was monitoring that exchange and they have agreed to speak with you."
"Great," I smiled. "Just give me the coordinates and when our ship is fixed we'll go there straight away."
"Actually, Valerie Callaway, it will be faster if I take you there," the Pack Commander said. "I will dock with your vessel and we will go to them."
The Drandian vessel moved into position over the Duality Too. What appeared to be vine-like tendrils shot out wrapping around my ship and pulling us snugly to the belly of the Drandian vessel. The Pack Commander warned us that we would be shifting into hyperspace. We traveled for about three days before we dropped out in normal space and entered orbit around a planet.
"Valerie, your child, your mate, and yourself, as well as Samsual Keller will be required to meet with our leaders on the planet," the Pack Commander told us. "Your ship will be docked with our orbital station where the resources you requested will be made available to the rest of your crew so they can effect repairs."
An umbilical, that looked exactly that, extended out of the Drandian ship and attached itself over our airlock door. Once we were sure it had a seal we opened the door and entered the umbilical. There was no gravity in the umbilical so Miri had to have Brock hang on to her as she made her way up to the Drandian ship. I had a more difficult time because I had to help Sam who was much larger and also not familiar with zero-G. Gravity returned once we got onto the Drandian ship. It was a lot heavier than our norm, but not enough that we had too much difficulty. I estimated it to be at about 1.25 earth norm. Offsetting that was the fact that the oxygen content of the air was slightly higher than ours, tending to energize our bodies against the constant extra load.
The inside of the Drandian ship looked just as organic as the outside, but there were interface panels and other structures that looked manufactured. The air held a faint pleasant musky odor that I assumed was the scent of our hosts. Lighting was dimmer than what I was used to but not so much that we had too much trouble seeing. Our host, Pack Commander Talia, was a bit of a shock, though. She, we'd found out during our talks that she was old enough to have made the transition to female, turned out to be a very imposing figure, standing about 8 feet tall and rippling with muscles. In person, I could see her movements were very graceful and feline. She approached me with her hands out palms up.
"This is our form of greetings, Valerie Callaway," Talia explained to me. "You should return this by extending your own hands, palms up and then placing them palm down into mine. This would be reversed if you were the host, and I would place my hands in yours."
I did as she directed. Her hands were warm and covered with soft short fur. They dwarfed mine and they were tipped with short pointed nails, which I felt against my wrists. This process was repeated with each of our party.
Little Brock walked up to Talia and raised his arms up to her, hands opening and closing, indicating he wanted her to pick him up.
"Sweetie, maybe she doesn't want to hold you," Miri said to him.
"It's quite alright," Talia said. "I don't mind at all. Your young ones fascinate me. Ours are born in an egg sack and develop to full grown in a communal nursery. We have no concept of individual parental identity. All elders are parents."
Miri smiled and showed Talia how to best hold Brock and then handed him to her. Talia held him exactly how Miri had done, arm around his back and supporting him with her hip. Her eyes widened in surprise when little Brock threw his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. I can't swear to it but I think the Pack Commander actually purred.
"He likes you," I grinned.
"I can feel that," Talia said. "Are all human children filled with such love?"
"Generally, until life teaches them otherwise," I said sadly. "Innocence allows them to love without judgment, but as they lose their innocence they lose that ability."
"That's so tragic," Talia said as she nuzzled Brock's neck, again calling to mind cats.
I suppose I should be clear, Drandians don't really look much like cats. They look like fur-covered humans, except for small details, which are suggestive of cats. They moved with feline grace, brutally strong and lightning quick. Their eyes brought to mind those of a cat, though the iris was horizontal instead of vertical and they had razor sharp needle-like fangs that evidenced their predatory ancestry.
"Come, we must go now," Talia said as she turned, still carrying my son, and moved off down the corridor.
Talia lead us to a hanger deck and entered a small ship. She placed Brock in a seat and motioned us to do likewise. As she brought the ship to life, tendrils came out of our seats and held us firmly but not uncomfortably in place. Talia moved the ship out of its dock and pointed it toward what appeared to be the hanger door. As we moved toward it, the iris door opened and we passed though it and into space.
The flight down to the planet's surface was smooth and very fast. In less than five minutes we were settling gently onto a pad atop another organic-looking structure that proved to be the Drandian capitol building. Talia conducted us to a chamber that was very similar to the Council chamber on Diversity, except of course, for its organic appearance. It amazes me how some things are universal.
Talia introduced us and we stood there in silence, getting the distinct impression we were being examined. Finally, one of the council, I guessed the leader, spoke.
"What is it that you would ask of us?" the Drandian asked.
"We have come to plead for any assistance that your people might be able to give us," Sam said. "Our people are in grave jeopardy and could be wiped out at any moment by our enemies. We are powerless to stop them because they are far more numerous than we are and control vastly more resources than we do. We are asking if there is anything at all you would be willing to do for us that could offset this advantage."
"Please understand that while we are not unsympathetic to the plight of your people," the Council leader addressed us, "we cannot intervene in your human conflicts."
"We understand and respect that," Sam said, "however..."
"However, we are willing to allow you to make your request and negotiate a treaty with you," the Council said. "Will this be sufficient to your needs?"
"Indeed," Sam said. "It's more than we had hoped for."
"We abhor injustice," the Drandian Council said. "We could tell that many of your fellow humans feel that your government is oppressive and unjust. Such a government will eventually be a threat to our peace, though they could not hope to win such a conflict."
"Pack Commander Talia will be responsible for you during your stay here and will see to your needs. Our engineers will need to speak with your most knowledgeable person to get an idea of how we may best help you in the event that we decide to follow this course and which of our technologies your people will be capable of producing. We hope you enjoy your stay and wish you well in your coming struggles. On a different subject, before you go we would like to ask you a few questions about your culture."
The Drandians asked many questions about our culture and why other humans hated us because of it. They were mystified, because our way of life was not a threat to other human people and therefore should have been a non-issue. They sat in awe when they asked to share the love Miri and I felt for each other and our child. They said they had never felt such strong emotions. Finally, they let us go and Talia showed us to what would be our living quarters for the duration of our stay there.
Chapter 32
For the next several weeks, Sam was tied up in nearly constant meetings with the Drandian council. Dan and I had sequestered ourselves with the Drandian techs, going over various possibilities where the Drandians could give us an edge over the TSN. That left Miri and Brian to look after little Brock and see to the repairs to our beleaguered ship.
In our working relationships with the Drandians we learned a great deal about their culture and them as a people. In their history, which was much longer than that of humans, they had come into contact with several other alien peoples. They had fought more than a few wars against more aggressive races. The Drandians along with several other beings had even been enslaved once by a more powerful race. Fortunately, they had banded together with the help of one of these oppressor’s powerful enemies and thrown off the yoke of oppression. Thus, they were somewhat sympathetic to our cause.
Though the Drandians as a people were peaceful, individually the young males could be quite aggressive and ill tempered. It was this trait that I ran afoul of and very nearly cost us the help of the Drandians.
Talia had taken Brock, Miri and me out on a tour of the city to see their many sights. The Drandians had a great deal of recognizable culture. They had art and theater, as well as athletic competitions and what not. We were walking down the street after having left a museum when Brock tripped over a join in the walkway, running headlong into a young Drandian male. Fortunately, Miri was walking a little bit ahead with Talia, or things might have gone worse. The Drandian reacted to what he perceived as an attack and instantly had Brock on the ground, wicked claw-tipped fingers wrapped around my child's throat.
I found out later that I went berserk. As brutally strong and as lightning fast as Drandians are, parental rage is a great equalizer. Combat training taking over, I viciously kicked the Drandian in his exposed rib section. The Drandian howled in rage and pain and slashed me with the hand not holding my child down. His claws gouged deep furrows in my belly, but failed to do any critical damage as I smashed my joined hands into his face. His nose exploded into a gory mess. He released my son and lunged for me. We grappled, and my small 130 pound female body was no match for him. He picked me up and threw me though a storefront window, further lacerating my back and sides. He made to pounce on my again to follow up on his advantage, but he wasn't familiar with human martial arts. I caught him on my legs and flipped him over me, using his momentum against him. He crashed through various displays of goods before coming to a halt, momentarily dazed.
As luck would have it, this appeared to be some sort of sporting goods store. As I climbed to my feet, my hand encountered what appeared for all the world to look like a baseball bat. I grabbed it and as I stood up the Drandian shook off his daze and charged me again. I reared back and blasted him savagely in the head with the bat as he came in range, snapping his head back sharply and knocking him off his feet. I made a move to follow up, murder in my eyes, but as I swung the bat toward my opponent, he deftly caught it and ripped it from my grasp. He then kicked my legs out from under me, rolled on top of me, and was about to rip my throat out with a razor-clawed hand. The only thing that saved me was the timely reaction of the other Drandians in the area; they grabbed and restrained my adversary before he could finish me permanently.
I found out at the medical facility that I had also put my attacker in the hospital. My kick had broken several of his ribs and caused some internal bleeding. His nose was broken, and his unscheduled flight through the store displays had fractured a wrist, and finally, the blow I had deliver to his head had fractured his skull. We had both collapsed after the fight was over. For my part, I had multiple lacerations from both his claws and the glass of the window. I had lost a lot of blood and was going to have some nasty looking bruises.
Brock was unhurt, though he had been terrified. As soon as I had gotten the Drandian off of him, he ran to Miri. Talia, for her part, had a cast on her foot. She had to restrain Miri from becoming involved and Miri had broken our host's foot by stomping on her instep as Miri fought to come to my aid. Only little Brock had prevented her from doing more damage to our host.
The whole episode almost cost us Drandian aid, as the council was about to summarily send us packing, except for a very unlikely intervention, the young Drandian male I had fought. As the council deliberated our fate, the Drandian entered into the council chamber and approached. He spoke to the council on our behalf, proving this was indeed a truly alien culture.
After explaining to the council about his error, he then approached me. He knelt on the floor in front of me and leaned his head back as far as it would go.
"Please forgive me for my assault on your young one and yourself, Valerie Callaway," he said.
I stood there staring in wonder. I couldn't believe this being, with whom I had been locked in mortal combat, was now asking my forgiveness. We stood there until Talia spoke.
"Do you wish to forgive him, Valerie Callaway?" she asked.
"I do," I said.
"Then place your hand on his exposed throat," I did so, "And say to him, 'You will live, let what is passed be behind us.'"
I repeated the words Talia told me and removed my hand from his throat. He looked visibly relieved. Later, I understood by making his offer I could have killed him without repercussion, for he had literally placed his life in my hands.
He stood and bowed to me before saying, "Thank you for my life, Valerie Callaway." With that, he left the room.
Then it was Miri who stunned me. She assumed a similar posture before Talia to what the young male had done before me. "Pack Commander Talia," she said, exposing her throat, "please forgive me for the injury I have caused you who is not my enemy."
Talia smiled in amusement, reached out and softly laid her claw-tipped fingers against Miri's throat. "You will live," Talia said to her. "Let what is passed be behind us." She removed her hand and offered it to Miri, assisting her to stand.
The tension was broken and shortly after this incident, the council agreed to help our people with a very limited technological assistance package. In truth, most of their technology was far beyond our capacity to produce anyway, but their engineers gave us some vital insight on improving our own technology in the areas of power, propulsion, and weaponry.
The real gem, though, they gave us as a gift, having installed the prototype on the Duality Too. It was a shield generator that made us nearly invulnerable to light based weapons and took about 30 to 40 percent of the punch out of PBC hits. Included with the prototype was the information needed to produce versions scaled to be large enough for a capital ship.
Preliminary designs were already chasing through my brain for a next generation of ships utilizing this new technology. I would have been in ship designer's heaven if I hadn't also had to worry about getting home alive to actually build them. It was daunting to think of how difficult it was going to be to rejoin our people. I was certain the TSN would be waiting on us and I dearly hoped they hadn't realized the impending danger the Zone now represented and made a preemptive strike.
The Drandians again reaffirmed their position that they would not directly intervene on our behalf. I couldn't blame them really. It wasn't their fight. They did sign a treaty with us though. They explained that eventually, if the current regime continued to be in power, they would eventually decide that the Drandians represented a threat to them and attack. Though they were confident such an attack would not go well for the TSN and the Terran government, they explained that they hated warfare and killing. They would defend themselves, but they hoped to derail any such conflict and would be assisting us to remove the threat, thereby bringing about an amiable relationship between their people and the new government we would form.
For our part, we were only too happy to accept whatever assistance they could offer us.
Talia was once again holding little Brock, who was clutching her possessively. He seemed intent on not letting her go. She nuzzled his neck again affectionately.
"I am sorry, little one, but you must go with your parents," she explained to him. "They have big important things to do and they cannot stay any longer. Perhaps when things have been resolved you can come visit me again."
"I don't wanna go, Auntie Tally," Brock said tearfully.
"I know little one," she purred. "I can feel your pain. But your place is with your parents. They love you very much and they need you to be brave for them."
"Okay, Auntie Tally," Brock said, wiping tears from his eyes. "I love you, Auntie Tally."
"I love you too, little one," Talia said tenderly. "Good journeys to you until we meet again."
He reluctantly let go of her and let Miri take him. The others had already said their good-byes and disappeared down the umbilical. I smiled, with just a hint of sadness. What was happening here was very special, given it was basically the first human interaction with an alien race. Talia turned to me.
"Good journeys to you as well, Valerie Callaway," She said, offering her hands in the Drandian form of a handshake. "I hope the beginnings of what has been forged between our two peoples blossoms into a great alliance when your people are ready for it."
"Thank you, Talia," I said taking her hands. "I'm profoundly in your debt for the hospitality that you and your people have shown us. I hope someday to be worthy of it."
"Just take care of that young one and teach him the admirable qualities you have shown time and time again," she said, smiling. "That will be enough."
I dropped her hands and gave her a hug that, at first, surprised her but then she returned with crushing enthusiasm, reminding me that I was still pretty beat up and not quite healed yet. Miri handed me little Brock after I released Talia and followed suit.
"Farewell, my friends," Talia called after us down the umbilical with...was that a tear in her eye?
We undocked with the Drandian vessel and made ready for our jump out of Drandian space. A month later, we arrived at the appointed place where we were to meet with the Fringe Colony Resistance Movement leadership. We spent a month there as Samsual Keller shined in his role as diplomat.
The Resistance had heard of our exploits and were greatly impressed with the agreement we had struck with the Drandians. Still, they were reluctant to commit too heavily to the defense of the Zone. However, it was decided that they would provide us with raw material and labor to begin building a fleet to take the battle to the TSN. In return, we would provide them with nextgen warships that would be crewed by their people.
To protect their investment, they surprised us with one of their greatest coups. They had a whole TSN Dreadnought, the Excalibur, defect to them after the crew successfully mutinied. They sent the Dreadnought to escort us since the TSN was out for our blood, and, in return for this protection, we agreed to retrofit the Dreadnought with some of the new improvements we planned.
During the return trip to the Zone, Sam traveled on the Dreadnought, preferring a ship more spacious if not more luxurious. That worked for us since we could give Brock his own cabin and Miri and I could get some much-needed alone time. It would also make things more comfortable for us, I realized. We had never fully accepted Sam into our crew because he didn't share the bonds the boys, Miri and I had developed in the TSN. He was basically a burden, someone we had to take care of if things went sour.
Our return voyage to the Zone was surprisingly uneventful given that we were the most hunted ship in the history of the TSN. That’s not to say we didn't run into any TSN ships, but they were mostly picket ships and faded away as soon as they sighted us. The few large ships we encountered declined to engage both the Duality Too and the Excalibur at the same time. They likewise faded back.
By the time we reached the last jump without any concerted resistance, I was sure that the next jump would have a nasty surprise waiting for us, courtesy of the TSN. I called a conference with the officers of the Excalibur. It was decided to hold it on board the Dreadnought, so I utilized the capability of the Duality Class corvette that made her so versatile. I docked her in the fighter bay of the dreadnought and we joined the officers in the planning room.
"It's clear to me," I addressed the assembled officers, "that the TSN is planning something. We didn't come this far unchallenged for them to just let us waltz right home."
"Maybe they will," the Excalibur's engineering officer commented. "Maybe they have more important things to worry about than one small ship of outlaws, no matter how badly they are wanted."
"It could be that they are gathering their forces to mount an offensive against the Resistance, or even to invade the Zone," the Tactical officer theorized.
"Unlikely," I said. "They have been monitoring us for sometime now, and in spite of our round about course, they know very well where we are headed. I don't think they fully recognize the threat we present to the Terran government due to the Drandian assistance, but they must figure that we have struck a deal with the Resistance, and they will be keen to stop that from bearing fruit."
"Also the chance to eliminate or recapture a plum like the Excalibur would be a real feather in some task force commander's cap," Brian observed. "No, I think Valerie is right. We are way too high profile for the TSN to ignore us."
"So, assuming you're right, Captain Callaway, and the next jump dumps us into a shit storm," Captain Evan Russell asked, "what do we do about it?
I grinned wryly at him. He was a good officer and just the type that I liked to have at my back when things got dicey. He was also real cute, in a rugged cowboy sort of way. Where did that come from? Sheesh, I must be getting daft or something.
"Well, first we have to consider their options. Put ourselves in their position," I said. "They could mass their ships around the hyperspace exit point, in which case we are toast, but that assumes they know for sure which exit point we will use. They have probably surmised that we are getting past the Drone guarded point somehow, but they don't know that for sure. IF they do have their ships massed around that point and we go through it we are toast. However, for all they know, we could be using another exit point that they don't know about."
"So we could use another exit point," The tactical officer suggested. "We may have to fight off a few ships but it would be doable with our combined firepower."
"It would also be risky. If one of us took damage, "Miri explained, "whatever task force they have amassed there, and you can bet there is one, would easily catch us and cut us to ribbons."
"Here's what I would do if I were in their place," I suggested. "I would keep my task force of ambushing ships back, perhaps hedging my bets by placing the group closer to the jump point I suspected my opponent would be coming in at. I would set picket ships on all the jump points in the area and maintain constant hyperwave communications with them. I might set smaller delaying forces at some of the more remotely located possibilities to give my main force time to get there and engage, but I wouldn't amass around any one jump point. Too much of a chance that my adversary would have intelligence that would let him jump in at a point too far away for me to catch him."
"That's what I would to as well," Captain Russell agreed, nodding. "So where does that leave us?"
"Nowhere good," I said, "but it does at least give us some room to maneuver. There is a chance that if we jumped in and were able to destroy the picket ship before they could get a message off that would buy us some time to get lost. Then they would have to find us again and wouldn't know how much of a lead we had on them."
"And if they do get a message off?" one of the other officers asked.
"Well, I am betting that they don't have the grand fleet waiting for us," I said with a grin. "They probably have what they feel is overwhelming force, probably a Dreadnought, two heavy cruisers and a few smaller ships. The Dreadnought would be the most dangerous ship, obviously, but the Excalibur has the armor and firepower to trade blows with one. That would leave us to deal with her escorts. Here's what I propose..."
Sometime later we had a plan hammered out that everyone agreed on. It was time for me to bring up a point I had been dreading throughout the meeting.
"Because I give the Excalibur a far better chance to get through this than my lighter ship, if it would be alright with you, Captain Russell," I said, bracing myself for the coming explosion, "I would like to transfer Miri and my son to the Excalibur until we get back into the Zone."
"VALERIE NICOLE CALLAWAY!" Miri detonated right on cue. "If it would be alright with HIM?!? What about if it's alright with ME, because it ISN'T! HOW DARE YOU even think about sending me away from your side when you are about to be in harm's way? If you think I will just let you do this, GUESS AGAIN, MISSY!"
Miri stood there glaring at me, green eyes alight with withering fire. The people around the room blanched and looked as if they were about to duck for cover as I evenly met Miri's gaze. I turned my gaze to Captain Russell and arched an eyebrow inquiringly. He put up his hands indicating that as far as he was concerned this was a family matter and he didn't want to be involved. I couldn't blame him really, with Miri glowering at him like a force of nature.
"Captain Callaway," Russell said diplomatically, "Commander Flowers and your child would be welcome on board the Excalibur, but to be honest, I don't think you have a snowball's chance in hell of getting her," he jerked a thumb at the ash blonde Valkyrie standing a few feet away radiating ire, "to agree to it."
I glanced at Miri who was now grinning smugly, knowing that I couldn't make her stay without the assistance that had just been declined. I turned back and winked at the Captain, then drew my dart gun and shot Miri. The look of betrayal on her face as she collapsed from the tranq dart cut me to my very soul and haunted me for the rest of my days.
"She's all yours, Captain," I said tightly. "I suggest you put her in the brig. She's apt to be a might unpleasant when she wakes up." With that, I spun on my heel and walked quickly back to my ship before I lost control of my emotions.
Chapter 34
"Do you think that was such a good idea?" Brian asked me when he caught up to me on board the Duality Too.
"No," I said with a sigh. "It was the worst thing I have ever done in my life. I feel terrible about it, but to keep her and Brock safe I would do it again, every time."
"How much safer do you think they will be riding that big target," Brian said. It was clear he was a bit miffed at me.
"Brian, don't you understand?" I asked. "Our chances of surviving this are about non-existent. Sure, they will be wary of the firepower of the Excalibur, but it's us they will be gunning for. Once they see she is not trying to engage them they will concentrate on us. I plan to make it that way by dealing out as much damage as I can. As long as the Excalibur gets through, we are expendable."
"Okay, I agree that it was a good thing to get Brock on to the Excalibur, but don't you think you should have let Miri decide for herself what to do?" Brian rejoined.
"No, because she would have made a choice from weakness," I said, slumping against the wall. "Her desire to protect me would have made her stay with me, and I can't let our son lose both of us."
"I understand," Brian said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You know she will never forgive you for this, if by some chance we live through it."
"As long as she's alive by the time it's over she can hate me all she wants to," I said as the dam began to crumble.
Brian felt my shoulder begin to tremble as my control slipped. He spun me around and held me tightly as I cried softly into his chest.
Once I managed to pull myself together, I set about making ready to put our plan into action. The two ships jumped together because we might need the firepower to take out and picket ships on station. We made ready and on the signal, I felt the double jolt.
As soon as we dropped into normal space we began taking incoming fire. We began evasive maneuvers, but as the sensor data began coming in, it was clear the fire was coming from two picket ships mounting heavy lasers. Our Drandian Energy Shield (DES) absorbed the energy and our hull paint wasn't even blistered. The first Picket ship exploded as return fire from the Excalibur gutted it. The second had taken advantage of the initial confusion to send off an encrypted burst before it, too, disintegrated in a cloud of expanding gasses. So much for surprise, but at least our bypass was still working because the drone was as quiet as ever.
"Okay, Captain Russell, I am starting my run," I said. "Let's hope they assume that you were just escorting us this far and leave you be until it's too late."
"Roger that, Valerie. Holding position," Russell said, "Good luck."
As the scope lit up with incoming ships, I firewalled the throttles and headed toward the asteroid field. There were eight contacts in all. It was worse than we thought. There was one dreadnought, which we expected, but it was clear from her escorts that they were loaded for bear. They were two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and three destroyers. As we began to gain speed, the incoming ships vectored to follow me, just like we had planned. They were closing range on me when suddenly the Dreadnought and a heavy and light cruiser flipped and began to burn toward the direction of the Excalibur. "Damn!" I swore, recalling the old adage about battle plans and enemies and the one not surviving contact.
As the remaining attackers closed on us, I flipped the Duality Too to bring her weapons to bear on the incoming ships. Our range was a little greater than theirs so I got the first shot in. I sent the first shot right down the throat of the light cruiser, causing major damage. She slowed a bit but kept on coming. I launched a full spread of nukes at the Heavy and sent another shot into the light cruiser. Then I had to start making evasive maneuvers to dodge the incoming PBC fire. Our missiles failed to hit their mark, but on proximity, detonated and took out the two turret batteries on the lower side of the heavy cruiser. That cut its firepower in half, leaving only the upper batteries. I sent a third shot into the light cruiser and it began to tumble, dead in space and venting atmosphere.
I launched another full spread of missiles at the heavy and the Duality Too took a major hit on the port drive strut. We lost our missile batteries on that side. Our point defenses were constantly firing now as incoming missiles came in one wave after another. The last full spread I had launched found its mark and the heavy cruiser lit up in nuclear fire. That left the three destroyers. Three big slow destroyers with two PBC turrets apiece. Four under-powered PBC's whose effectiveness was further degraded by the fact that our DES absorbed 30 percent of their damage potential. As damaged as we were, they were toast.
As I watched the last Destroyer go dead in space as it out gassed cabin pressure, I called for a damage report from Dan.
"It's not good, Val," Dan said grimly. "We've lost the upper aft point defense turret. Our port missile batteries are gone, and it's a wonder we haven't lost the port secondary drive yet. It won't take too much more stress before it tears away. Our starboard secondary took a hit and is down to 50 percent capacity. Our armor is paper thin in places, but we are holding cabin pressure..." About then an alarm siren went off and my ears popped from pressure loss for a moment before cabin pressure returned. "Correction, we have just lost cabin pressure in the engineering section. Airtight doors are deployed and holding. On the plus side, our main drive is running at 100 percent and we have 100 percent reactor availability, our DES is still on line and in the green, our main gun is online, and our starboard Missile tubes are functional, although we only have one shot per tube left."
"Alright boys," I said. "We still have some fight left in us, let's go see if we can get the rest of the bad guys off the Excalibur. Do we still have stealth mode?"
"Affirmative, Valerie," Dan said.
I firewalled the throttles back the way we had come, praying we weren't too late. We came upon the second light cruiser limping along crippled by the Excalibur's fire. I would have passed her by and left her be, but as we came in range, she began to fire at us. I finished her with a main gun shot to her drives and she quit firing. We soon got the Excalibur's IFF on our scope and I made for it. I gasped as we came into visual range. She was taking a beating. Her fire had been effective though. The enemy dreadnought was down to 25 percent of its full firepower and the other heavy cruiser was trailing atmosphere. One of her turrets appeared to be damaged and useless.
I fired our PBC into her drives and she began to fall back. The Duality Too was still no match for even a damaged dreadnought and one good hit and we would be vapor. The same went for the Excalibur. She was limping, having sustained drive damage, and most of her turrets were destroyed. It was time to negotiate. I opened a channel to the TSN dreadnought.
"TSN dreadnought, this is Valerie Callaway, requesting a cease-fire," I broadcast in the clear.
"Well, well, well, we meet again MISS Callaway," a familiar face said. It was Captain Edmunds and the Aquinas. "Why would I want to cease fire at this point? You are beaten. You can't hope to take out the Aquinas with your little ship, no matter how full of surprises it is."
I looked at my readout and saw that most of the point defense turrets on the port side of the Aquinas were destroyed. I also saw that we were very close to the blockade line, though we had all stopped when I made my transmission.
"Because Captain Edmunds, I still have one ace up my sleeve. I have four nukes left and you have a very vulnerable port side," I explained. "You’re right, I can't trade blows with you, but I can still take you out. However, I can't be sure that I can do it before you take out the Excalibur. Please don't destroy that ship, Captain Edmunds. My life partner and child are aboard her. Here's what I am offering. If you let her go, I will surrender myself and my crew to you as soon as the Excalibur crosses the line and gets out of weapons range."
"You will surrender to me?" Captain Edmunds asked incredulously. "All I have to do is let the Excalibur cross the blockade?"
"Valerie, ARE YOU NUTS?" came a voice over the comm. It was Miri on the Excalibur. "You WILL NOT surrender yourself, 'cause I owe you an ass kicking!"
"Shut up, Miri, I'm doing this to ensure your safety and that of our son," I snapped, "What do you say, Captain? Do we have a deal?"
Miri sputtered and Edmunds looked pensive.
"Okay, Callaway, you have a deal," Edmunds said after a minute.
"I have your word of honor that you will let them go, right?" I asked.
"You have my word of honor, Callaway. They are free to go," Edmunds confirmed. Miri made a strangled gasp.
"Valerie, how dare you leave me after I pulled you ass out of that TSN brig," Miri ranted. "You complete BITCH. I love you, dammit!"
"I know," I told her as the Excalibur began to limp away. "I love you too, both of you, more than life itself. Do right by our son, Miri. Take care of each other, my love." I reached out and touched the view screen where her face was displayed. Tears were flowing from those emerald green eyes for the first time I could remember. She had always been the strong one of the two of us.
Just then a new voice came across the comm.
"This is the TSN light cruiser Raptor," yet another familiar voice said. "Captain Edmunds, you can disregard your deal with the enemy now, I will take care of the enemy dreadnought while you deal with the other scum." It was Kim Li.
"Negative Raptor, I have given my word of honor," Edmunds said. "Hold your fire."
"Your word of honor means nothing to criminals and traitorous mutineers, Captain Edmunds," Kim Li said. "These scum are all wanted by the Terran government and it is our duty to bring them to justice."
"What do you know of justice, Li," Captain Edmunds said acidly. "I am sick and tired of swallowing my honor for the justice of the Terran government. Break off and do not fire. That's an order from a superior officer."
"It's an illegal order and not one I am obligated to follow," Kim said.
"Kim, please, you were our friend," I implored her. "Miri and our child are on that ship. I am begging you, please don’t fire on her."
"All I wanted to be all my life was a naval officer," Kim said sharply. "It's everything to me. It sickens me the way you all threw it away so blithely. Your deviant lifestyle sickens me. I am no friend of yours, pervert."
"Well, you owe your career to a bunch of deviants and perverts," I said bitterly. "You would have washed out of the academy without our help."
"Big deal," Kim dismissed. "I owe you nothing, freak. Prepare to die."
"Don't do this, Li," Edmunds warned her one last time as she crossed into weapons range.
Kim opened fire with a full salvo. The Excalibur took a critical hit on her drive section and her drives went offline. Then something amazing happened. The Aquinas opened fire on Kim's ship and before she could get another shot, the remaining batteries on the Excalibur joined in, along with the Duality Too's PBC. In seconds, the Raptor's reactor went critical and she was incinerated in the ensuing nuclear conflagration.
After a moment's pause as what had just happened sunk in, I said to Captain Edmunds, "Thank you for that, Sir, but now it seems we have a problem."
"Oh?" Edmunds asked with a raised and very bushy eyebrow.
"Yessir," I said. "As per the terms of our deal, I would surrender to you only when the Excalibur crossed the line and got out of gunnery range. Her drives are destroyed and she won't be getting across the line without help."
"So I have noticed, Miss Callaway," Edmunds commented dryly.
"You also have another problem," I said, knowing full well that he was acutely aware of his position. "You have just opened fire on and destroyed a TSN vessel. While you might have gotten away with letting one ship go to capture me, they will execute you for the other."
"Indeed," he said. "So what do you suggest we do about that?"
"Join us, Captain Edmunds," I said. "We can deploy the mooring grapples, lock both ships together and slip them across the line to safety. I'm sure with your experience you will be a valuable asset to the Resistance and the Zone in the coming war. You are a good man, Captain. It's time to take a stand for what's right."
"You make a compelling case, Miz Callaway, but I need to talk to my crew," Edmunds said. "I won't force them into exile with me."
"By all means, Captain," I granted magnanimously, "but don't take too long, or we will be fighting off more TSN ships and at this point I don't think any of us can take much more."
It took us the better part of a week to make it to the station. Captain Edmunds-call-me-Darius-now's crew quickly came to the conclusion that they were loyal to their captain over the TSN, well, all but a handful of them, who were put into lifeboats and sent toward the crippled heavy cruiser. It was hoped when the TSN arrived to pick up the pieces of their tattered task force they would be rescued.
As we pulled into docking stations around Stile, we must have looked a sight; two battered and crippled dreadnoughts and an equally battered heavy corvette, but we survived, however miraculous that seemed. It was decided that we would leave the Excalibur at Stile station to await a repair frigate while the Aquinas and the Duality Too limped back to Diversity where there was a proper shipyard to make the repairs.
Unfortunately, the Duality Too didn't make it under her own power. As we came out of hyperspace after the first jump, the port secondary drive nacelle, which was hanging from a thread, gave way and the drive tore loose. Rather than risk a catastrophic failure, we opted to dock with the Aquinas and let someone else drive us home.
I should say at this point, that Miri had declined to join us on the battered heavy corvette after we got to Stile. She, instead, opted to ride on the Aquinas with little Brock. She was still furious with me for the way things went down and didn't want to see me. I couldn't blame her really. I still thought I did the right thing even if it was a rotten thing to do to someone that trusts you. I had violated her trust in a major way and regardless of the purity of my motives, it had critically damaged, perhaps destroyed, the bond we had. Needless to say, I was miserable and had cried myself to sleep more than a few nights, not that I was sleeping that well. My dreams were filled with the look of betrayal in Miri's eyes when I shot her, and I never could sleep well without being snuggled up to her.
After we got the Duality Too docked and secured on the Aquinas and the errant drive nacelle was recovered, I was requested to join the Captain in his ready room.
"Valerie Callaway reporting as ordered, SIR," I said crisply followed with a smart salute when I arrived in the ready room.
"Now now, enough of that, Miss Callaway," Captain Edmunds said. "We're not in the navy anymore. Please call me Darius and for the love of God, stop that standing at attention garbage and sit down." I grinned as him and sat down.
"You are still the captain of this ship and are due respect as such, Captain," I remarked.
"Then I am ordering you to call me Darius, Miss Callaway," The Captain grinned back.
"Only if you call me Valerie," I rejoined.
"Done!" Darius agreed. "Now, I owe you a huge apology, Valerie. I have said some things in our last couple of meetings that were way out of line..."
"Not at all," I told him.
"Don't interrupt the ship's Captain, my dear," Darius admonished. "I've been talking to Mr. Keller and Miz Flowers a bit. They told me about your grief at the deaths we forced on your hands. I was honored to know that you felt such remorse. I should've known you would, but after seeing that, I'd begun to convince myself that you were the heartless monster I accused you of being. I'm deeply sorry for that. I knew better, having witnessed the depths of your compassion."
"Thank you, Darius," I said sadly. "You're a good man, and I always respected you greatly. Your compassion is also remarkable." I gestured at my body and he grinned.
"That worked out nicely for you by the way," he smiled, "very nicely."
"Thank you, sir," I said, glancing down shyly.
"It's been hard on you hasn't it?" Darius asked. That's one of the things that made him a first-rate leader. He could tell when people had problems. "You want to talk about it? I am a good listener."
For some reason I did. Suddenly, it no longer mattered that I was in a shooting war with this man a week ago. He was reaching out to me and I found I needed that. I needed someone to listen to me that could understand the pressures and hard decisions of command. I started talking and it all just poured out. I told him of my rescue from the TSN brig. I told him of how my friends all stood by me when I told them about the pill. I told him how happy I was when my mind and body finally agreed and how thrilling it was to finally be in charge of my own destiny. I told of my love for Miri and the miracle of our son's conception. I told him about how I was regarded as some sort of legend in the Zone and how I could never live up to their expectations of me. I told him of the life I made for my family on Diversity and how they just couldn't let me live in peace. I spoke of my resentment that they made such demands on my family and myself, but that I couldn't refuse them because I most likely was the most qualified person available. I brought him all the way up to that last jump before reaching the Zone.
He took my hand as I related to him the look of betrayal in Miri's eyes when I shot her for her own good. At this point I had quietly begun crying. I finished with my fears that I had done irreparable harm to our love, at which point the quiet crying became a full-blown sob. Darius, my once CO, and recently my mortal enemy was holding me as I sobbed on his shoulder. He whispered words of comfort in my ear and stroked my hair as I let all the pain, all that fear, and all the guilt flow out of me. From that moment Darius became more like a father to me than my own dad ever had been.
"I miss her, Darius," I said sadly as my sobs wound down. "I miss her so much."
"I know you do, dear," he said gently, handing me a handkerchief. "I would have done the same thing in your position."
I looked at him, mute gratitude in my eyes. He understood. He knew what it was like to make the hard no-win decisions for the good of others who you were responsible for.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"Not really," I smiled, "but the pressure is released for now. It seems like I have been doing an awful lot of this lately."
"You've been under a huge strain," Darius said. "Don't sell yourself short. You've had the future of your people resting on your shoulders and nobody to share it with. You're bearing up nicely, considering. I don't envy you a bit. Now, you are invited to the Captain's table at dinner, which should be in a couple of hours. You will be staying in my cabin...not with me, silly," he said, as I was about to protest, "I will be bunking in here."
"I could not possibly displace you, sir," I protested anyway. "I can stay aboard the Duality Too."
"I won't hear of it. You are bunking in my cabin; end of story," he said firmly. "Now as I was saying, if you would like to get some rest and get cleaned up for dinner, I believe the replicator has already been set up for your uniform. Feel free to make use of it."
"Thank you, sir," I said. "That's very generous of you."
"Think nothing of it, my dear," he smiled. "Now run along. You know how to get there."
I took my leave of this wonderful older man and smiled to myself as I made my way to the officer's cabins. I had just rounded the corner into what was termed "officer country" when I came nose to...er...bosom with a force of nature with ash blonde hair and flashing green eyes. It was everything I could do not to run for my life.
Chapter 36
"Hi Miri," I said tentatively.
"Hello Valerie," she returned icily.
We stood there for a minute in silence.
"I miss you," I said softly.
"Well I guess you should have thought about that before you shot me and left my behind in the damn brig, huh?" she seethed.
I looked down at the deck, feeling ashamed of treating Miri, the person that meant more to me than anything in the world, like that.
"Look, I am so very sorry I did that to you," I apologized. "I just thought..."
"You thought what?" she demanded. "Did you think you could screw me over like that and everything would be okay? Did you think you were doing me a favor? Stupid bitch, don't you see? All I ever wanted was to share my life with you, all of it. I would have died for you. But now...now I don't know what I feel. You hurt me horrendously. I doubt I can ever get over this."
"Miri, I love you more than life itself," I said as the tears began again. "Don't you understand? I did what I did so I could give you and our son the best chance of survival, so that our child wouldn't have to grow up an orphan. If you can't understand that I did what I did out of love, and the desire to protect my family, then I guess there is nothing more to say, is there?"
Miri grabbed me, and administered one of those toe-curling kisses of hers. I was just beginning to think things might be okay when she pushed me away and delivered a punch that I never saw coming. It felt like my cheekbone shattered as she connected and I was knocked off my feet. My last conscious memory was of Miri standing over me.
"I hope you enjoyed that, bitch, cause it's the last you'll ever get from me," she screamed at me. "But then I doubt you will have anything to worry about. There's always Brian, or Sam or any of the other guys you always have sniffing around you."
When I came to, I was lying on a bed and there was an officer with a ship's doctor insignia on his collar leaning over me with smelling salts. I groaned.
"Welcome back to the waking world, Miss," he smiled at me. "How do you feel?"
"Like I was hit with a rifle butt, Doc," I said groggily.
"It looks like you were too," he laughed. "There doesn't appear to be anything broken, but you will have a nice wonderfully colorful bruise on your left cheek for a while. Did you see who did this to you?"
I nodded, and then thought better of it when my face started throbbing and my head began to swim.
"Can you give me a name or a description so I can have the Captain round him up for some quality time in the brig?" the doctor asked.
"Don't bother," I said. "I had it coming."
"Well, suit yourself, young lady," the doctor said.
"Where am I, by the way?" I asked.
"You are in the Captain's cabin," the doctor supplied.
"Oh, good, that means I don't have far to go before I collapse," I laughed weakly. "Do you suppose the Captain would be too put out if I should pass on dinner this evening?"
"I think he'd understand," the man said. "It's probably best if you get some rest anyway. Here's something for the pain," he held up a bottle of pills. "Take two every four hours as needed. Call me if you need anything, and if you should get hungry, the Captain left instructions to have you call down to the galley and have them bring you something up. Now if you will excuse me Miss, I have some more patients to attend to."
"Certainly, and thanks Doc," I said. He smiled and nodded to me as he walked out.
'Gee, I wonder if he has anything for a broken heart,' I thought to myself, looking at the bottle of painkillers.
I spent the rest of the trip back to Diversity mostly in my cabin in a haze of pain, both my face and my soul. I called down, had my laptop brought up and continued working on my Nextgen ship designs. I sequestered myself because I couldn't stand the people staring at the bruise I had on my face the few times I did put in an appearance. I also didn't think my body or my heart could take another run-in with Miri.
When we arrived back at Diversity, I refused to go planet-side. I had the tattered remains of the Duality Too parked in a docking bay at the Norfolk shipyard orbital platform and I lived on her as I worked on the new designs. My life was empty, where before it had been full. I couldn't bear to go planet-side and deal with the fanfare I knew would greet me. Screw'em! They had used me up. I only had one passion left. She would be my crowning achievement, the biggest most powerful warship the human race had ever seen.
I was a total wreck emotionally and physically I wasn't much better. I had been working day and night, until I dropped from exhaustion. It was the only way I could get any sleep without the nightmares or the preliminary crying. The only contact I had with people was via text messages, and I responded to very few of those that weren't ship design related.
This went on for a month before I got my first visitor. It was Cheryl and she wouldn't be turned away. Still, I didn't let her in at first, but she came back three days in a row. The third day I watched her on approach on the external monitor carrying some sort of equipment.
"Alright, Valerie Callaway, I know you are in there and if you don't let me in I am cutting a hole in the goddam door," she called up to the camera. She actually fired up the plasma cutter and began to cut on the door before I bowed to the inevitable and let her in. Soon I could hear her tromping up the passageway.
"Holy goddess," Cheryl exclaimed as she entered the common room where I had sent up residence. "This place is a wreck! And what IS that stench? Cripes, Val, when's the last time you had a shower?"
"Whadda you want, Cheryl?" I asked bitterly from my nest of spent food containers and spent booze containers. It was absolutely fitting, since I was spent, too. "Does the council have yet another Mission for me? Sorry, I have nothing left to give. You people have used me up. I have already given you everything right down to my heart and soul."
"I'm not here in an official capacity," Cheryl said gently. "I am here as your friend."
"Oh, so this is an intervention," I spat. "You're wasting your time. I don't wanna be helped."
"So that's it then?" Cheryl asked. "You're just gonna roll over and give up?"
"Why not?" I demanded. "Is that so bad? What have I got to look forward to? I am empty, a mere husk. Beyond these ship designs," I gestured to the detritus around me, "I am nothing."
"Val, is that what you really think," Cheryl asked incredulously, "that you are nothing? That's the most unbelievable bullshit I have ever heard. It's pure self-pity. Look at you. You are young and beautiful and charismatic, you have more money than a person could spend in a lifetime, you are a genius at designing ships, and I understand you're an exceptional leader and a damn brilliant tactician. You certainly seem to come out on top time and time again against staggering odds."
"I don't have HER though," I said wearily. "Without her, none of the rest has any meaning. Don't you see, Cheryl, everything I have done, with the exception of taking that pill and letting Alex through the blockade, I have done for her. Period. I've done it so she can be protected and raise our child. Now I have lost her."
"Let me lay a little wisdom on you, Peaches," Cheryl said. "I didn't get where I am because of my traffic stopping beauty, or my tremendous intellect. I got where I am because I am a keen judge of people. I can generally read them like an open book. Miri loves you utterly. Do not doubt that for a microsecond. Her problem is not that she is mad at you, or that you betrayed her, although that's what even she believes. She cannot admit the truth, especially to herself. She is a very strong woman. She prides herself on that and she isn't afraid of anything or anybody. This is Miri to the core of her being.
"The problem is that you terrified her. You showed her a part of herself that she cannot deal with; the part that fears and is as helpless as any other woman. She loves you so much that she is terrified of a life without you, and you made her feel helpless in the face of that fear when you tranq'ed her and left her on that ship while you went off to face horrific odds to ensure she lived. Then, as if to make the point crystal clear, you, indeed, negotiated away your very life for her safety.
"So, she had all these feelings that are so abhorrent to her core identity. She felt fear of a life without you with her, she felt helpless to do anything to help you, and she was faced with the very concept that she was putting your head on the executioner's block because if not for her, you would have destroyed the dreadnought and lived. That circumstances intervened and you both lived didn't change the fact that she was terrified and helpless and guilty for nearly costing you your life in return for hers.
"Because she couldn't deal with this she had to find another coping strategy. The fear she had turned to anger. The helplessness became betrayal and the guilt became confusion," Cheryl concluded.
"How can you have this sort of insight into Miri, when I have been her lover for almost ten years and not know it?" I asked skeptically.
"Because for one, I have been dealing with women as a woman for a lot longer than you have, and let's just say I know the type," Cheryl replied.
"So, you are saying she wants me back?" I asked with a faint glimmer of hope.
"Of course, she wants you back, Bonehead," Cheryl laughed, then sobered. "She isn't ready to have you back yet, though. You see, right now she is facing her fear, a life without you. And she needs to be tested to see if she can stand by and not try to save you if you're in over your head.
"You have to give her time, Sugar. She has to find her own answers and realize that she still needs you. For now she is having a rather painful phase of personal growth."
"Thanks, Cheryl," I said, "but I doubt it will stop the nightmares or let me sleep again. I am just so lost without her. How is she, by the way?"
"She would probably be in a similar state as you seem to be in, except she has Brock to worry about. She doesn't have the option to let herself go like you have," Cheryl said, wrinkling her nose and looking around. "She's doing okay, aside from her inner turmoil."
I nodded.
"Look, Valerie, you need to get out of here," Cheryl observed. "You may not believe me, but looking at these same walls day in and day out is depressing you even more as well as stifling your creativity. You need to take some time with a friend. Go somewhere where there is no pressure and you can just relax. I know this great place in the mountains that fits the bill perfectly. It's remote and secluded and very few people know about it. What say you and I get out there and do a little camping and hiking? I have a week or so free."
"Sounds nice, Cheryl, but I'm afraid I wouldn't very good company," I said, not sounding incredibly interested.
"Val, I seriously doubt you could ever be 'not very good company' as far as I am concerned," Cheryl snorted. "Current personal hygiene aside, of course. If we went and sat in silence for days I could deal with that. I like doing that; it kinda lets you think, but still allows for companionship. So, what do you say? Are you game?"
"I don't think so Cheryl," I declined. "I've got work to do."
"Suit yourself," Cheryl smiled mischievously, "but it will be awfully hard to get any work done with a constant stream of your friends coming by to check up on you. And they will come once they hear what you are doing to yourself."
"You wouldn't dare," I said, looking at her sharply. She just sat there, meeting my gaze evenly, as if to say, 'Try me.' On second thought, she probably would dare. That's one of the things I liked about her, she wasn't afraid to antagonize people if she had a good enough reason.
"Okay, you win," I sighed. "When do we leave?"
"As soon as you get your pretty ass in the shower and wash that stench off," Cheryl said, grinning in triumph. "Don't worry about bringing anything. I already have your pack all made up, clothes and all. I'll lay some stuff out for you while you are in the shower. Now get, girl."
I got up, tiredly resigned and listlessly made my way to the head.
Chapter 37
Camping with Cheryl was just what I needed, it seemed. I complained bitterly for the first two days of hiking. I wasn't used to this type of exertion and my back and feet were in agony. Then we reached the glade Cheryl had unerringly guided us to. It was breathtaking.
About midway through the third day, just when I thought I couldn't walk another hundred yards, the trees opened up into a sunlit grassy glade, rife with wild flowers that produced a display of colors that would shame a rainbow. And that wasn't the best part. There, in the middle of the glade, was the most perfect waterfall. It looked like something you would see people frolicking in, pictured in a travel brochure. It spilled down a small rock face, perhaps 15 feet high, at the edge of the glade before collecting in a crystal clear pool almost exactly in the middle of the glade, about fifty feet across. The edge opposite the waterfall formed a shallow stream that traveled a short way before plunging over a cliff. Standing at the edge of a cliff revealed a spectacular vista of untouched mountain forest. It all looked very primal and very unspoiled.
We set up camp on the shore of the pool and it was here that we would stay until we felt like returning to civilization or until our supplies ran out. The wonders of modern technology did tend to take the "rough" out of roughing it. For instance, not being men, we could hardly go pee behind the closest tree, so we had a nanite cube that, once activated, used the available materials to build a small outhouse. We set this up at the far edge of the glade. It would process our waste into an ecologically friendly byproduct and when we left it would disassemble itself into the component parts, leaving the area as unspoiled as when we arrived. We had similar cubes for our tent and even for seating and a table. All we had to really bring with us was our clothes, sleeping bags, and foodstuffs, which Cheryl greatly extended by knowing what we could find naturally.
Though it was a bit chilly in the mornings, it warmed up considerably during the day. In the mornings, we would wear jeans and flannel shirts over our tee shirts, but in the afternoon, we would swim in the pool and even shower in the waterfall. I was beginning to enjoy myself in spite of my determination to be miserable. How could you help but feel serene and peaceful in such an idyllic setting?
On the afternoon of the fifth day, I was sunning myself in a nanite lounge chair, which I had placed on a small stone hump that had an inch or two of water coursing over it. Though clothing was strictly optional in this secluded setting, I was wearing a bright azure blue bikini. My hair was pulled back in a scrunchy and I had a pair of sunglasses on.
Cheryl swam up to the edge of my stone perch and placed her elbows on the edge of it, chin on her interlaced fingers. She just watched me with a slight smile, not saying a word. As she considered me, I also was considering her. Cheryl was a stone butch lesbian, one of the types that I never could figure. She was dressed in a pair of loose men's swim trunks and an oversized tee shirt. She was built like a lumberjack, and aside from her long flowing hair, she appeared to reject all the trappings of femininity. In spite of that, she seemed very comfortable with the fact that she was a woman.
Cheryl was a stark contrast with Miri. While Miri was also a big woman, she was sensual and feminine even with her rippling hard muscle. Miri was lithe and graceful, while Cheryl was a wall of flesh and had all the grace of a charging bull. Not that it was a bad thing; it worked for her, but the two big women were as different as night and day.
"You're very beautiful," Cheryl said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I smiled at her languidly, and then slowly stretched my entire body, teasing her a bit.
"I should be, I took a body tailoring pill," I said after I released the stretch.
"It's more than that, and you know it," Cheryl said. "It's your personality. Physical beauty is just a pill bottle away in this day and age. True beauty comes from inside. Haven't you ever wondered why people fall all over themselves to take risks for you?"
"I had wondered that, yeah," I commented. "Goddess knows I am not worthy of it."
"See, that's just it," Cheryl explained. "You are a strange mixture of competence and child-like vulnerability. Add to that the caring and compassion you display time and time again, throw in a generous portion of raw sensuality and people just can't help but love you." I frowned.
"I'm not 'all that', Cheryl," I dismissed. "I've done some very ugly things. I'm personally responsible for the deaths of thousands. That hardly qualifies me for sainthood."
"War is hell, Peaches," Cheryl said. "The fact that you regret every last one of those deaths says a lot. The fact is, if I were to have to pick out one glaring fault about you, it would be that you can't take a compliment gracefully, but then again that's part of your charm. People that are 'all that', and know it, are unbearable."
I didn't have a comeback to that so I just sat back and thought about what Cheryl had said. Why couldn't I accept that I might just be the good person everyone thought I was? I couldn't find an answer. Perhaps it was because I had just seen and done too much bad stuff. I let it go. This place was too tranquil for such introspection.
"Come on, Peaches," Cheryl said abruptly, "Let's get cleaned up for dinner. If you wanna collect the firewood, I will start prepping the food."
"Sure," I said, getting up with my chair and wading back to dry ground.
I awoke suddenly with all my senses sharply alert. I don't know what woke me, but I lay there motionless, listening as Cheryl slumbered. All I could hear was the sound of the waterfall and the gentle susurrus of Cheryl's breathing. I was just about to dismiss it and go back to sleep when I heard it again. It was the snap of a breaking twig and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There was someone out there.
I nudged Cheryl, who grunted softly in protest. I shushed her. She picked up on my tension and came fully alert.
"What is it," she said in a barely audible whisper.
"There's someone out there," I hissed.
"Who is it?" she asked quietly.
"How the hell should I know?" I shot back.
"Oh yeah, right," she conceded. "What are we gonna do?"
I took stock of our position as we began to hear more sounds all around us. Ground based combat is not my specialty, but my best guess was that there were five of them. From the sounds, I judged that they had surrounded our tent and were slowly converging from a distance of about 50-ft away. We were armed. We had two military hand lasers. They were the ground action type that didn't get used on ships because of the danger of puncturing the hull. Beyond that, we had nothing but a flare gun for emergencies.
Our visitors didn't seem to be overly competent, or we wouldn't have known they were there. They also didn't seem to know we were aware of their presence. That meant that at least they were inexperienced. They were probably using infrared night vision glasses in spite of the moonlight. That thought made me wish I had brought mine.
I was just beginning to formulate a plan when, in the dim moonlight that that was penetrating the fabric of the tent, I saw a shadow at the door flap. The flap moved aside and a small tube slid in. As I heard it start to hiss softly, I drew my weapon and shot the shadow. It crumpled and the tube withdrew. Now we had given up our one advantage, the fact that they thought we were unaware of them. There was a three-centimeter burning hole in the tent where my laser had passed through it.
While our assailants dropped back to figure out what to do, now that surprise wasn't in their favor, I quickly sketched out my plan to Cheryl. They obviously wanted us alive or they wouldn't have tried to gas us. We could use that against them to a point, what that point was I wasn't sure. I felt through my pack until I came up with the flare gun.
"I am going to fire a flare," I explained. "That should momentarily blind them by overloading their night vision. When I do, we are going to run for the waterfall. The cold water will prevent them from locating us via our body heat. Then we can wait for an opportunity to take them out or escape. Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Cheryl said tightly.
I opened the tent flap and fired the flare, keeping one eye closed as I did so I wouldn't ruin my own natural night vision. I heard curses as our attackers were blinded and I threw open the tent and ran, Cheryl close on my heels. I made it to the waterfall, and as I ducked behind it, gasping as the icy water showered me. As the initial shock of the frigid water wore off, I became aware that Cheryl wasn't with me. I looked back and saw that she must not have closed her eyes when I fired the flare. She had tripped over the body that was lying outside the tent and even now the attackers were moving in on her. Damn.
I left the waterfall and took cover behind a rock outcropping. I began to snipe the assailants as they got close to her, but the others, a few more than I had originally guessed, began returning fire, forcing me to duck down. I had a good position. They couldn't outflank me and they would never survive a direct assault, but they had another card to play now.
"Alright, Callaway," a male voice said. "Give it up and come down here now, unarmed or your friend dies." Damn!
"Don't listen to them, Val! Don't worry about me! Save your...ooff!" Cheryl was cut off when one of the men punched her in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her.
"You have to the count of ten, Callaway, then I burn a hole in the back of her head," the man called.
Cheryl was right. If I let them shoot her, they wouldn't be able to get me before I wiped them out. I could hold out here indefinitely. However, while I was willing to die for my friends, I wasn't willing to let them die for me, not if I could do anything about it. The count had gotten to five when I stood up, holding my gun above my head. I threw the gun into the pool as I stepped down from my position.
"So this is the Great Captain Callaway," the man holding the gun to Cheryl's head said. "You don't look so tough." I didn't say anything.
"Good work, Salazar," said one of the men in TSN commando fatigues. "The Terran Government will reward you handsomely for your assistance."
"Salazar?" I said. "That name sounds familiar."
"It should," said the man holding the gun on Cheryl. "You killed my brother, bitch. I am Birchell Salazar and I must say it's quite a pleasure to meet you under these circumstances. Lieutenant, you said you only wanted Callaway, what are we going to do with this one?"
"I don't care," the man in charge said. "Shoot her. No loose ends to get caught up in later."
"No!" I shouted. It was too late. Salazar shot Cheryl in the head, killing her.
"NO!" I screamed in rage and grief, charging Salazar. My hands were almost around his throat when a rifle butt struck me in the back of the head. I hit the ground and blacked out.
"Valerie?" I heard someone say. I looked around me. It was worse than I had imagined. It was Dan that had spoken. They had gotten him too. They also had gotten Captain Edmunds. He lay on a bunk unconscious. It looked like he had sustained a bad hit in the upper chest area, judging from the bandages.
"Valerie," Dan said again in a strangely quavering voice, "Brian is dead. They killed him." Worse and worse. I felt like someone had kicked me in the gut and I sat down hard on a nearby bench with my face in my hands.
"We had just brought Miri and Brock over to the house for dinner," Dan began. "We were planning on talking to her about the two of you. It was just so obvious how much you were both hurting. We got in the house and they were there, Valerie. They were in our house, OUR house. Well, Brian and I always carry, ever since that time we were almost mugged. We started to lay down covering fire, and got Miri and your son out of the house. We held them pinned down while Miri got Brock to the car and took off, but one of them had a laser rifle. He was about to hit the car, so Brian stood up to get a shot at him. He took the guy out but he had left himself open to return fire. That’s when they got him. I kept firing and firing until my weapon charge was depleted. They knocked me out and I woke up here."
"They were using slug throwers, Valerie," Dan said in a dazed sort of shock.
"Stop it," I said. "I can't listen to this."
"There was so much blood," Dan continued as if not hearing me.
"I said stop it, Dan," I said again.
"He took a round in the face, Valerie," Dan continued, lost in his own world of grief. "His beautiful face...I couldn't even recognize him. It was just a mass of blood and shredded meat."
"STOP IT!" I screamed hysterically, and then collapsed weeping in anguish. This snapped Dan back to reality. He collected me in his arms and I held on to him tightly as we both wept on each other's shoulders.
Sometime later, when we were both cried out, I told Dan how they had got me. Dan radiated anger when I related how they had outright executed Cheryl. She was closer to me than to him, but she was a friend and didn't deserve to die like that. Dan told me he didn't know how they had captured Darius. They had brought him in about two hours after Dan, and about six hours before me. He had been unconscious all that time. Dan was certain Miri had gotten away with Brock and that meant they wouldn't get her now. They couldn't afford to be too high profile and she was certainly well protected by now.
A little while later we felt the familiar double jolts that marked a transition through hyperspace. That hopefully meant there wouldn't be any more of our friends joining us. I was relieved about that. Darius finally came around and had told us how he was returning from a debriefing with the military brass when his car was hit with an EMP blast and disabled. He said commandos had pulled him out of the car, and he fought them. He managed to get one of their side arms as they pulled him out of the car and in the ensuing firefight he had been shot. This was the first thing he remembered since then. I could tell he was in a lot of pain. He was pale and drawn and probably needed medical attention.
Darius had just finished telling us about how they got him when the door opened and we had a visitor who made my blood run cold. It seemed that one Olaf Johansson was masterminding this whole operation. We were in deep trouble.
"Well, fancy meeting you here, Broccoli," Olaf said. "Gee, you look like crap, and why the long face? You would think someone had killed your best friend." He smiled sadistically. "Oh wait, someone did kill your best friend."
Dan started to get up and charge the brute but I grabbed his hand and squeezed it as hard as I could. He sat back down and fumed.
"What no glib come backs?" Olaf jeered. "No pearls of wisdom?"
"You have the upper hand, Olaf," I said, bowing my head in defeat. "Why are you here?"
"Well, it seems that the brass has finally gotten curious about what's going on in the Restricted Zone," Olaf said grinning. "Nice little set up you queers got here. Too bad when I bring you back and report, it will be wiped out. Of course, I won't lose any sleep over it."
"No, I didn't expect you would," I said tiredly. "So, did you come all this way for me? I should be flattered."
"In fact I did," Olaf said. "When I heard about this mission, I just had to volunteer. Just think, it's a ways before we get back to non-queer space and we can use all that time to catch up." Something about the cruel smile and the tone of his voice said that he wasn't talking about sitting around chatting about the old days. "And I have a special surprise for you, sissy boy."
He held up a translucent amber pill. I could tell it was the same kind of pill that I had taken to finally feel right with my body. I didn't even want to think what this one would do.
"Not even curious about what it's going to do, Broccoli?" Olaf taunted. I didn't say anything because as I suspected, "I'll tell you anyway. It's a body-tailoring virus. Damn, these things are expensive. This one I had special ordered, just for you. It's gonna make you a bald hideously fat guy. Too bad we failed to get your Amazon bitch of a girl friend. I would have loved to have seen the look of disgust on her face when she saw you after I forced this down your throat." I shuddered in spite of myself.
"Don't worry though, sissy boy," Olaf jeered some more. "I'm not going to give it to you just yet. I'm going to let that Salazar freak play with you some first." Olaf started laughing at the look of horror on my face and he turned and left.
And play they did. Olaf and Salazar came in once a day for four days. They took me out to their special torture chamber and--well, I won't go into disturbing details, but suffice it to say I'm going to carry those scars for the rest of my life. I was never a vindictive person. I never had any desire to kill someone that wasn't trying to kill me, but I promised myself, the first chance I got, those bastards were history, and I was going to take great pleasure in killing them.
I was changing, not because of the pill, which Olaf never missed a chance to taunt me with, but inside. The love and compassion I had were slowly being burned away by a white-hot fury. Each session, each taunt, each time they told me about how much they had enjoyed killing my friends, the fury grew, burning away more and more of the good. I was beginning to live for only one purpose...Vengeance.
Chapter 39
After the fourth session with Olaf and Salazar, I could barely stand. Walking was out of the question. So after we jumped through hyperspace on the fifth day, when the guards came instead of Olaf, I was relieved. They were moving us. I didn't know where and really, I didn't care anymore. There was only one thing keeping me breathing in the dark place I was in...Vengeance.
So it was, when the guard dragged me up off the bunk I was lying on and shoved me toward the door, I fell on the ground and didn't try to get up. I didn't even flinch when the guard viciously kicked me in the ribs. I felt at least two ribs break, but it was meaningless. It was just one more pain in a sea of pain. Dan picked me up and carried me, to prevent the guard from doing any further damage.
The guards brought us to the main airlock of the ship. Olaf and Salazar were there, waiting, along with the TSN Commando squad. Olaf leered when he saw me. Salazar gave me a predatory look.
"Won't be long now, sissy-boy," Olaf said to me. "Soon we will be back on my ship and headed home, and you will be having another change." He laughed evilly. I glared pure hatred at him, willing his flesh to blacken and begin to melt off his bones. He just laughed harder.
We all stepped into the airlock after we heard a clunk, indicating the ship had docked with something. The inner door closed and the outer door opened, revealing another airlock belonging to whatever we had docked with. We moved into that one and the outer doors closed. This time, though the inner door didn't begin to open when the outer door closed. Instead, a mist began to fill the room. I saw men begin to cough and then drop to the floor before my own awareness fled me.
When I came to, there was a doctor standing over me. He had injected me with something and his face looked very grim. Then the face of a red-haired angle appeared in my view. I thought I must have finally lost it. The pain had driven me mad.
"How is she, Doc?" Admiral Shehane asked the doctor.
"Not good, I'm afraid," the doctor shook his head. "She has been tortured physically and sexually." How did he know that? "She is bleeding from her rectum and her genital area." Oh, that's how he knew. "She has at least two broken ribs and possibly some fractures in her legs and arms. Her body appears to be 60% covered with bruises. These psychos really did a number on her. She needs a hospital very soon." I groaned and they realized I was coming around.
"It's okay, sugar," the Admiral said in her southern drawl. "You're safe now. We have the slime that did this to you in custody."
"Help me up," I croaked. The doctor started to protest but the Admiral gently moved him out of the way while Yolanda and Erika carefully picked me up and set me on my feet. Lined up on the other side of the room with the TSN commandos were my two tormentors. I displayed a predatory grin and they flinched. I reached down and pulled Erika's side arm. It was the reduced power space combat laser. It wouldn't penetrate the bulkhead, but it would burn a hole right through flesh. By force of sheer will, I slowly and painfully walked across the room until I stood before the objects of my hatred. Salazar was first. I slowly raised the handgun and aimed it at Salazar's groin. He began to whimper. Some of the people in the room moved as if to stop me, but Dan was on one side of me and the Admiral was on the other. The motioned everyone to stand down.
"Valerie, Honey," the Admiral said, "are you sure this is what you want?"
Beads of sweat popped out on Salazar's head as I considered the Admiral's words. As an answer, I pulled the trigger and vaporized Salazar's genitals. A collective gasp echoed through the room. Salazar screamed in agony and collapsed to his knees on the deck, but still the Admiral and Dan kept anybody from interfering. I moved to stand before Olaf next. As I raised the gun and pointed it at his genitals, he began to tremble visibly.
"So, Olaf, are you scared?" I taunted him. "You are about to lose the thing that makes you believe you are a man. How does that make you feel? You're going to look awfully stupid running around wearing dresses."
"Please, Broc...Valerie, no," Olaf began to plead like the worm he was. "Kill me if you want, but please don't take my manhood. Please, don't make me wear a dress." I pulled the trigger and he screamed and fell to his knees like Salazar. I stood there for a moment, taking pleasure in the agony my tormentors were now in. Olaf looked up at me, his eyes filled with shock and fear. I smiled cruelly at him and raised the gun once more. This time before anyone could stop me I executed both of them with a shot to the head in quick succession. Everybody stood frozen at the surreal scene that had just played out before them. As the lifeless bodies hit the deck heavily, I searched my soul for any hint of remorse. I came up empty. That's it then--they won in the end because I had just killed two living beings and I felt no pain, no regret, and no guilt. I only felt satisfaction.
"I am become death," I said softly, "On a pale horse I ride..." I raised the gun one last time, this time to my own head. I couldn't live with what I had become. As I placed the barrel to the side of my head and began to pull the trigger, Jessica snatched it from my hand as easily as if I were a child. She had prevented me from killing myself, but she was too late. My light had died, my fire had gone out. I just stood there staring at the bulkhead; my words playing over and over in my head, "I am become death. On a pale horse I ride..."
Chapter 40
Over the next few months, I was only vaguely aware of my surroundings. I spent a while in the hospital as the Doctors nursed my body back to health. They removed many of the scars my tormentors left on my physical body, but they couldn't do anything for my mental wounds, not that they didn't try; a whole corps of shrinks was brought in to try to break through my catatonia. None of it helped. The only thing that provoked a response was when Dan brought me my laptop and I began working on my ship designs again.
I vaguely remember going to both Brian and Cheryl's memorial service. Dan made me go; he dressed me and guided me around like I was a blind woman, but I didn't respond at all. I just stared straight ahead and exhibited no reaction, never saying a word. Miri was there, but she kept her distance, even kept Brock away from me. I didn't care. I felt nothing. I was nothing. I was the living dead. "I am become death. On a pale horse I ride..."
I should say that most of my recollection of this time wasn't at all as complete as I am making it sound. I'm largely going by what my friends told me later of that period. I remained in this mostly dead state for weeks. All I did was design ships. They were the only things that could reach me, perhaps because they were warships, therefore instruments of Death. The weeks stretched into months, in which my first designs started to float out of the shipyards in massive numbers, and finally, after nearly a year, something unexpected happened.
One afternoon there was a great stir on the planet Diversity. Strangers had come, in peculiar looking ships that seemed to materialize out of empty space. They were the Drandians, Pack Commander Talia and her crew, to be precise. A delegation was sent to treat with her. However, there was much consternation when she informed them she was not interested in diplomacy. She informed them that she had to see one Valerie Nicole Callaway, without delay.
Well, governments being what they are, they harrumphed, and did delay as they figured out how to slip a Drandian down to the planet surface without causing a huge public disturbance. In the end they decided on a simple hooded cloak and a limo with privacy glass. Masters of disguise, huh?
Dan was with me, as he most always was these days, when Talia entered the room. He took care of my every need, all except one that is. He simply refused to let me die.
"Look Valerie, Talia is here," Dan said gently, not really expecting a response. He wasn't disappointed. I just stared at my laptop screen, busily designing.
Talia removed her hood and looked intently at me. She recoiled, wincing.
"She is unaware of us, Dan Chestnut," Talia told him, sadly. "Her light has died and she is dead."
"She's not dead," Dan protested. "Look, she's breathing and moving, and since she's designing ships, her mind must be functioning. How could she be dead?"
"Because she feels nothing, Dan Chestnut," Talia explained. "Nothing but the pain and horror of the things she has seen and experienced. She is able to design ships, well, because she perceives them as instruments of death."
"So that's it?" Dan asked incredulously. "You came all this way to pronounce her dead? Why did you come all this way, anyhow?"
"I felt her suffering," Talia explained, "as did many of my people who touched her mind, particularly the one who owes her his life. He is mad with rage and violence over what has happened to her and has had to be restrained. His connection was deeper than mine, so he feels her pain more acutely than even I do."
"So, there is nothing that we can do for her, Talia?" Dan asked "Surely, that's not true."
"You are correct, Dan Chestnut, there is one thing we can try," Talia said. "We can try to re-light her flame and restore the warmth and glow of her inner light."
"Okay, this sounds way more metaphysical than I know anything about. How do we do it," asked Dan.
"We must gather together all those that love her and I will try to channel the love into her," Talia explained.
"Well, that's just it," Dan told her sadly as he stroked my hair. "Valerie is running a bit short on friends these days. They keep dying or quitting on her."
"Ah, that would explain some of the torment she is in," Talia said. "Where is her mate? And her little one?"
"Miri is not willing to see her," Dan said bitterly. "I have tried, hoping she could bring Val around, but she refuses. She even refuses to let their child see Val. She says that she wants the child to remember the vibrant person his other mother was, not the vegetable she is now. Honestly, I don't know what to think. Miri is acting so cold. That's not like her, especially since it's all out of proportion to what caused their breakup. I mean, Val did kinda do her dirty, but it was for the right reasons."
"What happened?" Talia asked.
Dan told her about the whole sordid affair that happened just outside the Zone. Talia smiled a bit when Dan got to the part about Darius changing sides.
"Yes, that does seem to be an odd overreaction," Talia said. "I need to talk to her. I am glad that Captain Edmunds decided to join you. I sensed he really wanted to. Is he still around?"
"Yeah, he's with the Zone military now," Dan said.
"Good because he loves Valerie Callaway as well. In the same way that Valerie loves the little one, I believe he loves her like a father would love a daughter, in your terms," Talia explained.
"Talia, we simply have to do something to bring her out of this," Dan said with raw emotion, "She is all I have left, and she was Brian's best..." Dan got too choked up to continue. Talia came and laid a softly furred hand on his arm.
"Do not worry, Dan Chestnut. We will find some way to re-light her fire," Talia comforted. She could feel the raw pain all of these people felt, and she silently grieved for them. They were good people, too good to have to feel this way.
"Thank you, Talia," Dan said, once he pulled himself together. "I'll go call Miri and see if she will meet you here. Please keep an eye on Val in case she needs anything."
Talia nodded and sat down beside the bed as Dan went out of the room to call Miri.
"Greetings, Miri Flowers," Talia said to Miri as she walked in the house.
"Hi, Talia, how have you been?" Miri asked.
Talia noticed immediately that Miri had lost the glow she had had before. She looked haggard, a shadow of the vivid personality she had been. "Miri Flowers, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Talia, why do you ask?" Miri said defensively.
"Miri Flowers, you cannot hide your pain from me. I am an empath, remember?" Talia chided her.
"Yeah so," Miri said irritably. "I fail to see how it's any of your business what's going on in my head."
"You would be correct, Miri Flowers, except for one thing," Talia pointed out. "The forgiveness ceremony you performed with me. That created a life bond and what you feel, I also feel. Miri Flowers, this is important. You have been denying your heart for long enough. It's time to open up to someone. Why not someone who really knows what you are feeling? Shall I tell you what you are feeling, or would you like to start?"
"Piss off, Talia," Miri said getting up. "I don't need this shit. I have enough to worry about without being psycho-analyzed be an alien busy-body." She made for the door.
"You are afraid," Talia said. It was a statement of fact, not a challenge, but it made Miri stop dead in her tracks. "You are not just afraid, you are petrified, beyond anything you have ever faced in your life."
"Okay," Miri said, "What am I afraid of then if you know so much?"
"I am an empath, not a telepath," Talia told her. "I know what you feel, but I can't read your mind. I could guess, but you tell me what you are afraid of."
"I'm not afraid of anything," Miri said, as if trying to convince herself.
"You know, Miri Flowers," Talia said gently and showing far more insight than Miri had expected, "when we give our hearts to someone as completely as you have, there is always the fear that that person might not be around as long as we would like. Would you like me to tell you what you are feeling?"
"Please do," Miri said, then added sarcastically, "Lord knows, you seem intent on doing so anyway."
"Okay, Miri Flowers, I can sense your sarcasm is covering a genuine confusion," Talia said. "You really don't know what you are feeling because the emotions are so objectionable to you, you have repressed them. You are terrified. I have said that already. You feel helpless. You feel guilty. These are the main things you are feeling, but I sense you have tried to bury them with anger and betrayal. The anger and betrayal are what's keeping you from resolving the others. Beneath it all, is the root cause of all these emotions, and the thing that you have lost sight of because of them--love. Your boundless love for one person is what's causing you this turmoil." Miri popped. She started talking for the first time since Valerie had negotiated her life away for her.
"I love her so much," Miri said collapsing in to a chair. "I just can't face losing her. I feel so helpless because I know I can't always be there to protect her and I just can't bear to lose her. I damn sure can't deal with her dying for me. When I thought she was surrendering to the TSN to save my life, I just couldn't deal with the guilt that caused, to know that I was the reason she was going to die. I want to protect HER. I don't want her protecting me, not with her life anyway."
"Miri Flowers, you are losing her now," Talia pointed out.
"I know," Miri said sadly. "But at least it's my choice."
At that moment Dan walked in the room. He had been passing by to get Valerie some juice when he heard that last exchange. It so filled him with anger after so recently losing his own lover that he couldn't help but speak his mind.
"That's the fucking stupidest thing I have ever heard, Miri," he said, seething. "I am dealing with the very thing you are so afraid of. I lost Brian, and let me tell you, I wouldn't have traded one moment of our time together in spite of how empty I feel now, or how much pain it has caused me. At least we made each other happy while we were both here. At least we made each other more than what we would have been if we hadn't had each other. You know what? There are hundreds of people out there that will NEVER have what you have, or what I had. I think you're a COWARD, Miri. That's right, I said you are a coward! It's perfectly natural to experience fear. It takes courage to love someone in spite of that fear.
"And another thing," Dan was in her face at this point, and as each telling blow hit squarely on the mark, she cringed away from him, "you are about the most selfish bitch I know. There's a stricken girl upstairs who’s in the shape she's in because you withheld the love and support she needed. Maybe she wouldn't have let go like she did if she knew you were there to love her through the horror she experienced. I was there, Miri, I saw what they had done to her each day they brought her back to the cell. I saw her as she died a little more each day. I saw her beautiful loving personality implode, squashed by the horror of what those animals did to her, until she was little more than a broken and bleeding shell. It could have been different, Miri. Yes, she could have had your love to cling to, to give her warmth and light in the darkness that gripped her soul as they broke her. Yeah, she would have had the scars, but at least she wouldn't have given up. But you took from her that one piece those bastards could never have taken, your love.
"Yet in the face of everything she has had thrown at her, all the loss she has had crash down on her small shoulders, you have the gall to sit here and say you are afraid. It's your fear, Miri, that has caused that beautiful, tragic girl up there to give up on life. You make me sick, Miri. You're pathetic," Dan said, winding down as a stray tear slid down his face. He spun on his heel and left the room, leaving Miri reeling from his verbal assault.
As Miri sat stunned by Dan's onslaught of recrimination, she realized the truth in what he had said. Another of her fears was brought about. She'd deprived Valerie of the one thing that could have allowed her to hang on, to have hope. She had let Valerie down because she was too afraid to deal with her own feelings.
"What have I done?" Miri asked nobody in particular as she put her face in her hands and wept.
"It's not too late," Talia said to her. "You can still redress the weakness that has betrayed you."
"How?" Miri asked disconsolately.
This time it wasn't a pleasure trip. They had brought ATV's to help carry all the necessary supplies, equipment and also to carry little Brock and me since we were not up for the grueling hike that Cheryl and I had made. Throughout the next few days, people who had been asked to be there began to show up. It wasn't a huge crowd or anything, but the numbers did surprise me.
The evening of the ritual began and everyone was there. There was the original group: Talia, Dan, Miri and Brock. In addition to these, Darius had come and Sam was a surprise. We had kind of avoided each other after the diplomatic mission. Evan Russell was there. We hadn’t really gotten to know each other that well, but saving someone's bacon by offering up your life in exchange tends to inspire loyalty and love. Alex Sorin was there, too. We had remained friends, even though we hadn't got to see each other much. We had been just too busy with our own lives, she in space as the captain of the flagship of her shipping line and me mostly pounding ground with my family. We still shared the bond forged in those tense moments, years ago. Jesse Shehane was there along with Yolanda and Erika. They were the ones that were invited. But there were some who had heard what was happening and showed up as well, like the whole management and creative team from my design company. There were about twenty people there, all told, who felt connected intimately enough and loved me enough to be there.
I would like to say something spectacular happened that night as the moon rose above the tree line, and in fact something did, but it wasn't apparent to the casual observer. Well, I should say, that it looked like a big group hug, with me at the center of it. Talia required that it be held unbroken, starting from when the moon rose above the trees until it set below the trees. These people must have really cared about me to stand there like that for hours and hours. I can't imagine how torturous that must have been for them, and even Brock managed it. They told me afterward that it hadn’t seemed like hours. It had only seemed like a few minutes to them.
Basically, while we stood there like that, everyone had been instructed to think about me and the things that made them love me. Talia would gather these loving emotions and channel them into me, much like sunlight and a magnifying glass, to burn away the death and blackness from my soul. During the ritual, nothing seemed to happen. Talia had told everyone to expect that. Once the moon set, everyone dispersed to their various sleeping arrangements. Though they said it seemed like it only took a few minutes in the group hug, they all felt really emotionally drained and most of them went right to sleep. Talia, Miri and Dan didn't sleep; they sat around me, awaiting the dawn.
It was dawn when the miracle happened. As the sun broke over the trees, an errant beam streamed down into my face where I lay sleeping. My eyes fluttered open and the first sight I saw was my angel, my Miri. Through she looked drawn, she was radiant to me. My heart felt full of love for the first time since I had shot her with the tranq dart.
"Miri?" I asked. "Where am I?"
Miri's face split into an impossibly huge relieved grin. She launched herself at me, gathering me up in her arms. "You are home, Darling," she whispered through her tears of happiness. "You are home now and everything is going to be okay. I've been such a fool. I almost lost you. I almost caused the one thing I feared the most. You're safe now princess, nobody can hurt you now."
I clung to Miri, not quite understanding what was happening. I just knew it felt like forever since I had been in her arms and drank in her scent. I closed my eyes and hugged her tightly. Indeed, I felt like I had finally returned home after a dark horrifying journey.
There was a huge celebration in the glade that day. Everyone was rejoicing that I had returned to the land of the living. Slowly, I began to remember the things that brought us here. I remembered Cheryl being killed here. I remembered Dan telling me of Brian's death. I remembered the tormenting I received at the hands of Olaf and Salazar. I remembered my cold retribution when Jesse and her team saved me. I remembered it all up to that point, before the catatonia took over.
"One thing I can't figure out," I said to Jesse.
"What's that, Sugar?" she asked.
"How did you come to be on that station?" I asked.
"Well, after hearing about all the attacks, the planetary security forces figured that you, Dan and Darius had been taken off planet. After checking the ships in orbit, the freighter they took you to was the only one that appeared suspicious. It had sat in orbit for five days without loading or unloading anything. Then abruptly it left after only some minor personnel shuttle traffic. We researched her registry and found that a front company for the Salazar family owned her. The station they took you to was long suspected of being the syndicate's base of operations. I happened to be in space doing an inspection tour when I heard about your abduction and where intelligence suspected they were taking you. I wasn't very far away, so I threw together a team and burned for the station. We knew we hit pay dirt when we got there and found a TSN commando ship docked. We took over the station, had our ships pull back out of detection range, and then we waited. Sure 'nuff, they showed up and when they docked, we hit them with sleeping gas in the airlock and took them all into custody while they slept. That's when we found you, Dan, and Darius."
"Thank you so much for being there," I said to Jesse, Yolanda and Erika. I hugged each of them in turn. "I can't tell you the unspeakable things they did to me, but you saved me from the worst thing, Olaf and that loathsome pill of his."
I turned to see that Miri had moved away while I was thanking Jesse and her people. She had slipped off down to the edge of the pool and I could tell by the slight tremor of her shoulders that she wasn't doing too well. I went to her.
She became aware of me as I approached. She straightened up and passed her hand under her eyes, as if wiping away tears. She smiled bravely to me as I walked up beside her. For a few minutes I just looked out into the pool. Then I spoke.
"Miri, what's troubling you, Dearest?" I asked.
"Nothing, Valerie," she said.
"Bullshit," I said with a kindhearted smile. "Let's not do that anymore, please?"
"Valerie, I should have been there," she said. "It should have been me saving you. But because I was too big of an idiot to know what's really important to me, I let you down. I failed you."
"Hey, we both failed each other there for a bit," I shrugged. "But that's in the past now. It's like the water over that cliff face there. It was there, but now it's gone. We survived, and we are stronger for it. I know I love you now more than I ever did, if that's possible. I forgive you, can you forgive me?"
Miri turned to me and enfolded me in her arms. "Of course, my love," she told me, her green eyes shining with an intense passion and devotion.
Chapter 42
Of course, the main problem with Miri and me wasn't forgiving each other. It was forgiving ourselves. That was going to take a bit more work, but both of us made a commitment to the other that we would work on it and communicate about it. For my part, that Drandian rite seemed to have also had the effect of making my ghosts just that, just things that once were but now lacked substance. I still, to this day, wake up screaming at times, but it isn’t the all-consuming horror it had once been. The Drandian rite had replaced years of therapy in helping me to make those things just something bad that happened to me once.
Once we had returned home, I discovered to my great surprise, that while in my catatonic state, I had nearly completed the designs for the ship that would be my crowning achievement. It was amazing. It was completely unconventional in terms of every other ship in the human space-going fleet. Instead of being long and basically cylindrical, she was round along the horizontal plane. She resembled the classic flying saucer that had been rampant at the dawn of humankind's space age.
She measured over a thousand yards across, and about a hundred yards thick at the outer edge, tapering from the 250 yards at her center. She had a revolutionary drive arrangement. Each of the main drives, 16 in all, was each contained in their own module. These modules could be moved independently from each around the outer edge of the ship. The computer simulations showed her to be impossibly maneuverable. She could outmaneuver everything from a heavy cruiser, which was slightly less than a third her displacement, on up. In addition to this innovation, unlike any other human ship built as yet, she didn't have gas-reaction based maneuvering thrusters. She used gravity fields to change pitch and yaw. This was one of the technologies we gained from the Drandians, as it required a far stronger gravity field than anything we had been able to develop until then. The system wasn't much, if any, more effective than the gas-reaction based equivalent, but the benefit was that it took up far less space and she could maneuver without a big heat plume marking her position.
Her armament was just as impressive. She carried 16 PBC turrets that mounted 4 of the Ultra PBC's each. The Ultra PBC's were also based on technology assistance we had received from the Drandians. They had a similar range as our conventional ER (extended range) PBC's, perhaps a negligible amount more, but they had a horrifying rate of fire. In ancient historical terms, they were rotary cannon compared to conventional machine guns. The turrets were situated 8 per upper and lower side. 8 turrets could target a ship anywhere in her sphere of fire at once. A conventional dreadnought normally mounted 8 turrets with two to four PBC's apiece. And in order to bring all her weapons to bear she needed to be presenting her side to the target. This meant that this new ship, which I called a super dreadnought, could not only bring to bear as much or more firepower on any one point as a conventional dreadnought could, but do it on two sides at once. There was no outmaneuvering her. Any way you approached you were facing the equivalent in numbers of a full conventional broad side, only with stronger PBC's.
One of her more impressive aggressive weapons innovations was her missile launcher. She had no need to carry spare missiles for each of the 80 tubes she mounted. The missile launchers, configured in groups of ten, four groups per side, covering each quarter of the ship's plane of fire, possessed their own nanotech factory which could produce a new missile from raw material every thirty seconds. This was a far slower rate of fire than a conventional auto loading missile system, but the benefit was that, for all intents and purposes, we had a nearly endless supply of missiles.
If she had one weakness (well actually she had a few), it was that she was so big. That made her easy to target and hit. To provide some defense against this, she sported the DES systems. To cover her completely, she mounted 8 generators. This made her immune to conventional laser fire and took some of the sting out of PBC hits. To defend against missile strikes, she had nearly a continuous band of the mini PBC point defense turrets located around her outer edge, with another band of them located about three quarters of the way toward the center.
Among her other combat features, she had a full ECM suite, including communications and missile guidance jamming. She didn't have stealth generators. Because of her size, they wouldn't have been very effective; besides, as a side effect, the DES system masked about half of our energy emissions.
All these things required a hideous amount of power. Four super-efficient reactors located in the core of the ship provided this. One was dedicated to the drive modules; two were dedicated to the weapons systems; and the last provided power to the systems that allowed the human elements to interface with and live on the ship, such as in Life support, Computers, C&C, etc.
In spite of the fact that she was the size of two conventional dreadnoughts, she could be produced in the same amount of time as one. There was a price though. In addition to requiring a little over twice the resources of a conventional dreadnought to produce her, she would also require a special orbital platform to construct her class of ship.
Time was pressing, though. It had been a year since the TSN had sent in their covert mission to capture us. I hoped that had been the only one, and that it was largely based on their desire for my head on a pike. Realistically, though, there had been others that we hadn't detected. So, as I was applying the finishing touches on the design for the super dreadnought, Norfolk shipyards designed and built a platform for her. Dan, of course, threw himself into designing the control software for her along with most of the employees at his company. He had recruited a lot of talent and since I had become the premier ship designer since coming to Diversity, and he was my main software and computer supplier, he could afford the very best people.
A little over a year after I was pulled back from the abyss, the first super dreadnought emerged from the construction platform. She was christened the Serendipity of Freedom. While Miri, Brock and I accompanied Admiral Shehane onboard the Serendipity for a shakedown tour of the Zone, my design team adapted my design to a whole new generation of ships. With any luck, when our fleet took to space, it would be with ships similar in the Serendipity's layout in every class, from super destroyers up to super heavy cruisers, joining the Serendipity class super dreadnoughts.
Meanwhile, we still produced our upgraded versions of our conventional designs for the Resistance. The resources were coming in a steady stream now, thanks to a computer genius that even Dan bowed to. He came up with a virus, based on the idea we used with the drone, that, once slipped into the operating system of one of the sensor buoys that comprised the net surrounding the Zone, spread to all the buoys and not only allowed a ship carrying the correct code to pass undetected but informed them beforehand if there were any TSN patrols in the area. This effectively negated the blockade.
The TSN was increasing the hostilities with the Resistance and were taking it on the chin. However, it was only a matter of time before they would realize that the powerful Resistance ships were being manufactured in the Zone and then they would turn their offensive to us. I only hoped we had enough time to build up our own fleet before that happened.
Chapter 43
Fortune was with us, it seemed. The Fringe Colonies were now fully committed to a shooting war with the TSN. The Terran Government forces were taking heavy casualties thanks to the technological edge the Resistance ships possessed. But then the TSN could afford to take a lot of losses. Our own Fleet construction was slowed by the need to produce two resistance ships to every one of ours to replace their losses in battle. Still, the TSN was falling back, not necessarily in disarray, but they were definitely slowly giving up space.
When our own fleet of ships reached 12 Serendipity Class Super dreadnoughts and a complete set of escorts, it was decided that it was time to go on the offensive. The plan was to slip in behind the TSN and start taking out ship production capability, as to make the attrition the TSN was experiencing more painful for them. It was a risky gambit, but given the limited number of our fleet, we felt this would be the best way to make the most impact. Another job of the fleet would be to take out as many TSN forces as it could. We all knew that eventually the TSN would have to amass enough ships to take us on with overwhelming numbers. That would take the pressure off of the Resistance and allow them to make significant gains. Though our fleet would most likely take a beating, it was hoped that we could do enough damage to make any victory the TSN won a pyrrhic one.
The Fleet was in the last stages of making ready to go to war. The last of the new ships were on their shake down cruises when Admiral Shehane came to visit me. She had been tapped to lead the attack fleet, and we had seen a lot of each other while getting to know the new ships, their capabilities and devising new tactics to utilize their incredible fields of fire and unparalleled maneuverability. She seemed a bit anxious this time though.
"Hi, Jess," I greeted her with a hug. "How's the fleet coming? Is there something wrong?"
"The fleet is great, Sugar," she replied, "but we do seem to have a bit of a glitch." I arched an eyebrow and waited for her to go on.
"As you know, we have divided the fleet into task forces," I nodded. "Well, I will be commanding Battle Group Alpha, and Darius Edmunds has graciously consented to head Battle Group Charlie, but the problem is we don't have a seasoned enough officer to command Battle Group Bravo."
"So, what will you do?" I asked, not really liking where this was going one bit.
"Well, Darius and I studied the personnel records of our senior people, but time and time again only one person came up that would fit the bill. Unfortunately, this person is now a civilian," she explained. "She is a seasoned naval officer and unlike most of the others we reviewed she has combat experience."
"Jesse, you know I love you, but NO WAY IN HELL," I said emphatically. "I have given enough to the cause. I need to be here with my family, designing ships for us to win the war with."
"That's what we thought you would say," Jesse said sadly. "Valerie, we need you. You know these revolutionary new ships and what they are capable of better than anyone; add to it that, you are a brilliant tactician and would be a tremendous asset to the fleet when it drops in the pot, and it will drop in the pot. Valerie, I need someone steady I can depend on to hold the line. You are that someone."
"No, Jesse," I declined. "I have done my part. I've had my fill of being in harm's way against overwhelming odds. I have to think about my family. I need to be here for them. I promised Miri that I wouldn't leave her again. This is someone else's fight now."
"Hi, Jesse," Miri said as she walked in the room. "What's going on?"
Jesse explained what she was asking me to do and gave all the reasons they needed me. Miri came over and sat down beside me. She took my hands and looked into my eyes. "Dearest," she asked, "what would you do if you didn't have me to worry about?"
"I'd probably go back to catatonia," I said with a smile.
"I'm serious," she said. "What would you do if I said I think they do need you and that I would be willing to let you go?"
"I would probably go," I said sobering. "But, Miri, what about my promise, what about..."
"My fear?" she said smiling gently. "I will still be terrified every moment you are gone that you might not come home. I would still be afraid of a life without you to hold. But, Valerie, Jesse is right, you do belong out there with the fleet. You are a marvelous ship designer, and you are an utterly incredible lover and life partner, but Valerie, you were born to command a starship in battle. You are more alive, more at ease there than anywhere I have ever seen you, excepting, of course, when I have you in bed." The last part was said with a lecherous grin. "Valerie, I want you to go. I can deal with my fear now. I know I can't protect you from everything, but I also know you won't take any stupid risks either. Just promise me that you will try like hell to come back to me?"
I thought about it for a while. I didn't want to be parted from Miri any more than she wanted to be parted from me, but she had purposely taken away my unselfish justification for refusing to go, and well...I never was too good at being selfish when there was something I could do to help.
"Okay, Jesse, Miri, you win," I sighed. "You got yourself a Battle Group Commander, Admiral."
"Damn right I do," Jesse said. She winked at Miri and I knew I had been set up.
For the next three weeks I was almost completely engaged with shaking down my new crew. We had to get to know each other and build a working relationship before we went into harm's way or we were toast. The first thing I did was to go through the crew roster. I had to admit they had given me a very competent crew. They were the cream of the Zone naval forces. Some of them I knew personally from interactions with the admiral's command staff, but for most I had only their efficiency reports to go by.
There were two very big surprises, though. As I was going through the personnel roster, I saw a pair of very familiar names on my command staff, one Lieutenant Commander Dan Chestnut, my Computer Control Officer, and one Commander Erika Voss, my new XO.
Wow, neither of them had even been officers before now, but our Fleet was growing so much that the more competent enlisted people were promoted by leaps and bounds. Indeed, personally the last official rank I had held was light commander, now I was a full-blown Vice Admiral. Darius now held the rank of Admiral and Jesse was a Grand Admiral.
Three days before departure, the expeditionary fleet was given a three-day liberty to say their good-byes and get the pent-up nervous energy out of their system. I chose to have Miri and Brock come up to my assigned flagship, the Serendipity of Freedom. Dan also chose to remain on the ship since we were the only family he really had at this point. This all worked out according to Miri's plan because while Dan was giving Brock a tour of the ship Miri used that time to make sure I didn't go to space frustrated.
On the final evening before we shipped out, Miri and I lay in my bed in the rather luxurious suite of rooms I rated as an Admiral. We lounged in each other's arms basking in the post-orgasmic glow. That's when she proved that even after all those years she could still shock me.
"Val?" she asked me.
"Yeah, Beautiful?" I replied.
"I want you to do something for me," Miri said.
"Anything, my love," I smiled.
"You know Erika has like this huge crush on you, right?" Miri said.
"I wasn't aware of that, no," I said, mildly surprised.
"Well, she does," Miri confirmed. "She knows that we are life partners, and that she doesn't have a chance to come between that, but she requested as a personal favor from Jesse that she be assigned to your ship. She said something about learning from you."
"Miri, where is this going?" I asked her.
"Valerie, I want you to play with her a little," Miri said.
"Miri? Why? That would be so wrong to toy with her like that," I said in dismay.
"I didn’t mean toy with her," Miri clarified. "I just want you to enjoy each other. You know, in case either of you doesn't make it back. She's a good woman, Valerie. She deserves someone as good as you, even if it's only for this mission."
Now I know that, in the TSN, fraternizing with other crewmembers is frowned on, and some people would be screaming stridently for even thinking of Miri's suggestion, but this wasn't a standard type of Navy. We were all Zone, and we found that if the crew established bunkmates that they were intimate with, they seemed to perform better and be less stressed when at space for long periods of time, so this wasn't an unreasonable idea as far as the Zone Navy was concerned. I, on the other hand, couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Miri, you can't be serious," I said. "You know I am faithful to you. You know you are the only one I want."
"I know, Val, I know," Miri said, tweaking me on the tip of the nose. "This is not about you being faithful to me. This is about giving a great girl something she really wants. It's about making Erika happy since she might not be coming back."
"Miri, I thought you said you weren't sharing me with anyone?" I said, still not believing she was doing it to me again.
"Well, I am willing to share with people that I think are special and that I think you might be interested in," Miri grinned. "I am not threatened here. I know where your heart is, Babe. This is about sharing comfort and pleasure with someone special that otherwise wouldn't have a chance. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't want either of you to die alone."
"Shit, Miri, that's morbid," I said, still shocked.
"Not really," she said. "Valerie, are you not attracted to her?"
"It's not that, Miri," I said. "She is very attractive in a Viking sort of way, it's just, well, I dunno, I would feel like I was cheating on you. Okay, I will consider it, but I can't say I will."
"Great!" Miri smiled and kissed me before her head disappeared beneath the covers, proceeding to turn my world inside out again. Damn, she could push my buttons!
"I am going to miss her terribly," I said to Dan.
"Me too, Valerie," he said.
"All right, it looks like the kids are coming back," I said turning to business. "As soon as they are all back and settled in I want to get started on our pre-launch checks."
"Aye, aye, Admiral, ma'am!" Dan said, smiling at me. "I guess you made Admiral after all, huh."
"I guess I did at that," I smiled back.
I had to admit; our fleet was impressive. The three task forces were based on the same breakdown. In my command, in addition to the Serendipity, I had three other super dreadnoughts. Each of the dreadnoughts was escorted by four of the heavy super cruisers, six light super cruisers, and twelve super destroyers. In addition to these forces, the dreadnoughts could deploy 40 fighters each and also had four Duality MkII class corvettes that could be used when needed. When the appointed time arrived, 276 ships made the first jump of our expedition. A week later, we sat at the edge of the blockade's detection range waiting for TSN traffic to clear the area.
"Miz Albright, get me a feed to all Task Force Bravo ships and have them pipe this to all personnel," I said.
"Yes, Ma'am," my comm officer said crisply. A few seconds later she informed me the channel was open.
"Alright, boys and girls," I said to my crews, "this is it. We are about to enter hostile territory. From this moment on, I need each of you to be on your toes. We are an untested fleet, in untested ships, with mostly untested crews. That's all about to change. The crucible of battle will forge us into the highly efficient, highly motivated, cohesive unit that will make our enemies tremble before us. Either that or we are dog meat.
"But I know each of you was handpicked for this mission because you are the best and brightest the Zone has to offer. I know you will shine when it drops in the pot. When we cross the blockade and jump, we will be engaging any TSN ships that we might happen on. At first this won't be a big challenge, but eventually, we will be noticed and the opposition will get stronger. I want you all to remember this. This is not a suicide mission. Many of us won't be coming home, having given the most anyone could possibly give for their brothers and sisters, but that doesn't mean we are expendable. We carry the hope of our people with us. We go to free humanity from its oppressors.
"Remember, between the Resistance and the Zone blockade, fully half of their fleet is tied down. Another third will be guarding their assets, which means we will be facing less than a quarter of their fleet. That's still a tough nut to crack, but we have the talent, the motivation and the power to pull this off. Victory WILL BE OURS! Good luck to you all. That is all."
Over the next couple of weeks my battle group shook down nicely. We hadn't seen a great deal of the TSN, mainly just a ship here, or a couple of ships there. When we exited hyperspace, if there were any TSN ships, we would annihilate them before they had a chance to get word out about us. We were able to stay out of the TSN's sight for longer than we expected.
So it was, when we arrived at our first target, a dreadnought manufacturing facility, we caught them flat-footed. Six dreadnoughts and their associated escorts guarded the facility. It was to be our first real test in combat. One of our battle groups would take out the defenders while another would go for the facility. The third battle group would hang back just out of detection range and ambush any reinforcements.
My battle group, being the least experienced, although that was a negligible distinction, got the task of eliminating the defenders, while Admiral Shehane would take out the manufacturing facilities. My tactics here were simple, as are the best tactics. We would approach in the classic wall formation, with a twist. We didn't have to turn broadside to bring our full firepower to bear so we could move our "wall" forward. We also had the advantage of having range on most of the TSN fleet so we could stand off just out of their range and pound them. One thing was certain though, with so many enemy assets in the area with long range Hyperwave comms, the TSN would now be on to us.
We went in broadcasting in the clear on all channels. "We are here to liberate the human race from the tyranny of the Terran Government. We ask that you surrender immediately. If you choose to oppose us in the fight for freedom you will be destroyed."
I watched as a small fast ship broke formation and jumped out of the system. The jig was up, but they hadn't had time to gather intel on our capabilities. The TSN would make a few blunders sending ships into our teeth before they realized the power we had.
There were no surrenders, as we expected. People wouldn't surrender to an unknown force without knowing that we had a chance to win. Good enough, though. A few examples would need to be made before we received respect as a combat force. I moved my group in to engage the enemy.
It was a slaughter. Our new ships proved to be as combat effective as I had hoped. As we closed to the extremes of their gunnery range, they opened up on us. Their fire virtually just bounced off our hulls, thanks to the DES units. Our return fire was more effective. Several of their lighter ships were taken out. Still, we closed range. Our higher rate of fire began to take its toll as the first of the dreadnoughts vaporized in a reactor overload. The space between our forces was thick with missile fire and our point defenses were constantly sweeping our path of the incoming missiles.
We still had yet to take any serious damage. One by one, their ships-of-the-line fell silent under our withering fire, until all at once, we had no opposition left. They had simply been over-matched and had been annihilated. I hoped this wouldn't happen too much more because it was a terrible waste of life, but my resolve was clear. I would do whatever it took, kill as many as stood against me until my family and my people were free.
After allowing everyone to abandon the orbital facilities and go to the planet surface, Admiral Shehane demolished the factory platform and the rest of the orbital assets in the area. For our first taste of combat as a fleet, we had done very well. Our moral was high and we had renewed hope that we might just live through this. Our analysis of the battle showed that per class, our ships could stand toe to toe with two of their TSN counterparts and still be reasonably assured of victory, thanks to the amazing fields of fire and the DES units.
Over the next few months the TSN learned this the hard way, as they sent task force after task force at us. They caught on to our objective, began to reinforce their shipyards and increasingly, the forces we faced were getting more numerous. We lost a few of the smaller ships, but largely our fleet remained intact, thanks to the very shipyards the TSN was trying to protect. They provided all the raw resources we needed for our auto-repair systems to restore our damages. Still, I knew that the TSN couldn't afford to allow us to continue with our success. Sooner or later, they would have to put together a fleet of ships that would overwhelm us with numbers. I suspected it would be sooner rather than later. It turned out I was right.
Chapter 45
This is not to say that fleet life was one battle after another. We had stretches where we wouldn't see another ship for days. During these times I would watch my XO. Erika was shaping up to be a fine command level officer. If I had to fault her on one thing, it was perhaps that she was trying too hard. She took things just a little too seriously, which was okay because we were about deadly serious business, but she needed to lighten up a bit. She was just a little too demanding of the crew. They were human and under a lot of stress. A good commander recognizes that and makes allowances without compromising discipline or reasonable performance expectations. In her zeal to please me, she set her expectations of the crew just a touch too high.
Having thought about the best way to handle it, I decided to do as Miri suggested. The girl seemed to idolize me. She had placed me on this pedestal that nobody could have lived up to. Then she tried to be worthy of that ideal. It was time to disabuse her of some of that, to make myself a little more human in her eyes. So it was, that one evening I discreetly invited her to my suite for dinner. I arranged it so we would have the whole night to ourselves. Being of flag rank meant that my command staff and I could be sequestered for hours in fleet planning sessions. Due to this added responsibility, we weren't expected to stand watch as well, even though I did myself and encouraged my other command officers to do so as well from time to time, to give the junior officers a break.
I made ready for the evening by having Dan, who was privy to the conversation that Miri and I had about Erika and could be trusted to be the very epitome of discretion, come up and work his magic with the replicator. While Dan was setting up the scene with dinner and atmosphere, I got myself ready. Poor Erika didn't have a chance. I laughed lightly at the incongruity of that thought.
It's not that I was dressed very sexy, on the surface anyway, but I did do my makeup in a dramatically sexy way and I was wearing my dark hair down in unruly silken cascades that framed my face in a devastating manner. I stood in the mirror, looking at myself in my jet-black uniform. I made a few adjustments here and there, and then, on an impulse, pulled the zipper down to where just the black lace edge of my lingerie could be seen if one was looking. And I knew she would be. She was always looking at me with a hungry look when she didn't think anyone was watching. I smiled at that. I was going to let her have her fill tonight. Satisfied that I was irresistible, I went out to chase Dan out of the room. Erika would be more comfortable if she thought nobody knew about what was going to happen.
Right on time, the door chime sounded. Punctual as always, I smiled. "Come in," I called, and then when I heard the door open, I said, "I'll be right with you. What would you like to drink?"
"Fruit juice would be great," Erika said.
"Fruit juice it is," I said from my position at the bar. "Go have a seat on the couch and I will bring it to you in a sec."
"Sure," she said. She still hadn't really seen me, as I had intended.
Also, as I had intended, she was sitting on the couch transfixed by the vista afforded from the floor-to-ceiling-wall-to-wall view screen that made up one end of the common room. It was currently depicting a 3D view of from one of the Serendipity's external cameras. I had to admit, the carefully chosen view of deep space, carpeted thickly with stars, was indeed a moving sight. It would make a wonderful backdrop for what was happening here tonight.
"Penny for your thoughts," I said, stepping up to her and offering her the glass of juice. She looked up and froze, eyes widening a bit when she saw me. She visibly gulped then accepted the glass when I arched an eyebrow.
"Thank you, Admiral, Ma'am," she said.
"Stow that crap," I told her. "It's just Valerie tonight, okay?"
"Yes Ma...er...Valerie," she said, smiling at her slip.
I sat down beside her with one leg tucked underneath and leaned back with my elbow on the back of the couch. "So, what were you thinking?" I prompted, as our knees 'accidentally' touched.
"I was just thinking it's so beautiful," she said looking into my eyes. "The stars, I mean," she clarified, clearly NOT meaning the stars.
"You really think so?" I asked, looking down demurely, seemingly inadvertently causing a bit of lace to peek out from the top of my uniform.
"Absolutely breathtaking," she said, smiling this time, having caught my unspoken message that we both knew that she wasn't talking about stars.
I grinned at her. "Are you hungry? Or perhaps you would like to go right to dessert?" I asked. She gulped again.
"Famished," she said recovering, with her own grin. "But I will save room for desert."
Throughout dinner we continued the innuendo and double speak. By the time we got through the excellent lasagna that Dan had coaxed out of the replicator, poor Erika was visibly excited. Her skin was slightly flushed and her breathing was a little bit more ragged than normal. I was having fun. I usually only used this part of my femininity with Miri. It was a powerful thing to twist somebody on the hook like I was doing. Of course, I would never have teased Erika if I hadn't intended to follow through.
We finished eating and I began to pick up the dishes. Erika followed suit. She followed me into the small galley area where I put down my load in the receptacle. Unburdened, I turned and 'accidentally' stepped into her, very close. I could feel her tension. She was very excited, but didn't want to over step her bounds. It was then that I shamelessly used her position, hands full of dishes, standing between me and the counter, unable to retreat.
"Did you save room for desert," I asked her breathlessly, leaning into her while I slipped my knee in between hers and gently ground my upper thigh into her mons. She nearly dropped the dishes in surprise. A tortured look briefly crossed her face, then was replaced with resolve.
"Valerie, I can't do this," she said, nudging me out of the way and putting up the dishes. "I don't poach on another woman's territory."
"Who says you're poaching?" I asked, smiling.
"I know you and Miri are life partners," she said. "I don't want to come between you two. I respect both you and Miri too much."
"Who says you would?" I asked. "What if I told you it was Miri's idea that we enjoy one another?
"You honestly expect me to believe Miri would share you?" Erika asked.
"She will when she feels that the person is special enough or deserving enough," I explained. "Provided, of course, I agree with her and am interested."
"Oh, so this is just some meaningless sexual reward?" Erika asked with evident disappointment.
"Not at all, Erika," I explained. "I'm not some prize you win at the arcade. If I were, I assure you, I would be the booby prize. What I am offering you is a chance to be close to me, to take pleasure in my company, in my body, to release the pent up stresses of battle - for both of us. I will be honest and say that I am completely committed to Miri, so I'm not saying that you and I are going to get married or anything. What I am offering you is comfort in the arms of a comrade. That, my dear, is not at all meaningless."
"Valerie, the day you are the booby prize, I wanna see what they are giving as the grand prize," Erika said without a trace of humor, "It would have to be the rights to the Fountain of Youth, or a one way trip to Paradise, eternal happiness, perhaps. Even still, I think I'd rather have the booby prize. Now why would Miri want you and me to enjoy each other?"
"Honestly, you should be honored," I told her. "I think she likes to put me in situations like this with people she respects. I think it boosts her ego when I always come back to her. To be honest though, it's only happened once before. And I was the mark in that little scheme. She and Brian set me up good, I'll tell you. I never saw it coming."
"And what if you didn't come back?" she asked.
"Then she'd hunt me down and beat me to death," I said glibly and then smiled. "Seriously though, there is very little chance of that. Don't get me wrong, I think you are gorgeous, but Miri and I are soul mates. Do you know what that means?"
"I...um...think so," she said hesitantly.
"Then you don't," I said. "Having a soul mate goes beyond simple attraction or respect, or even love. When you meet your soul mate, you feel an instant connection. You may have only met them five minutes ago, but you will feel like you have known them all your life. You feel instantaneously complete. Each time you see them, they will be more beautiful than the last time you saw them, even if it's just after you get up with them in the morning. After a period of time, this person becomes the center of your universe. Little else matters to you but their well being and happiness. When you lose your soul mate, you feel desperately empty inside, like half your heart has been ripped out and the wound will never heal, like the space will never be filled again. That's how I feel about Miri. That's why I will always come back to her."
"And what if the other person doesn't feel the same?" Erika asked.
'Uh oh,' I thought, 'Time to be diplomatic.' "Then perhaps the timing is not right," I said. "Perhaps the other person isn't ready for it. In that case, and I am no expert, you should keep your options open, take what solace you can and maybe you will meet a soul mate that is ready."
Erika looked pensive for a minute, then looked up and smiled at me. "Okay, Valerie, I think I am ready for dessert now," she said. I smiled and stepped up to her. She took me in her arms and we kissed. As the passion got too much to bear, we stumbled to my bed, still making out and trying to get undressed as we went.
Though Erika had the physique of a body builder, it was apparent she was just as much a woman as any of the rest of us. When she took off her uniform, there underneath it was the cutest little pink satin teddy. Oh yeah, this was going to be fun.
Erika was an accomplished lover, I found out. We enjoyed each other frequently after that and her interpersonal skills with the crew improved greatly. Happy people tend to be less demanding, you see. Things worked out great.
Chapter 46
Well, it had to happen. We just hadn't expected it to be like this. We jumped into the next target system and we found ourselves screwed. There, surrounding us, was the overwhelming fleet we had been waiting for...and then some.
Surrounding us, were the most ships I had ever seen in my life. There had to be more than a thousand ships. They hadn't started shooting yet, so I figured they were going to make a demand for our surrender. I was sure they were dying to get their hands on our ships so they could see how we were punishing them so badly.
"Alright, boys and girls," I said, "this is it. This is where we go down, but we are gonna hurt 'em real bad before we do. Donalson, find me a weak spot in their englobement. If we can get break through before they close to firing range we can put some distance between us and take out their heavies first. Albright, get me Admiral Shehane." It was time to earn my keep as the tactical genius.
A second later I had Jesse on the horn. I explained my plan and she approved it. "You lead, and we'll follow you through," she told me as the surrender demand came through.
We none too politely declined and out of sheer bravado issued our own demand for their surrender. There was no reply. Donalson found what I was looking for. It was an area that contained mostly cruisers and destroyers with only about ten dreadnoughts to bolster them. Only ten...sheesh, and that was the weak point.
We burned at full thrust for this spot. Meanwhile, I explained the plan to the commanders of our fleet. We would run until we just got out of their gunnery range, then slow to let the faster, more foolish, ships close with us. Then we would pick them off as they came into range. This would only work until we obliterated the first few ships. Then they would realize their error and not repeat it. Well, that's how I was thinking it would work.
"Admiral!" yelled a sensor tech, "There's a massive mine field beyond those ships in our flight path!"
"Damn!" I swore. "All ships break off. Battle groups, separate, and deploy; we are in the pot now. All we can do is deal out as much damage as we can until they get us. Bravo group, assume covering fire deployment. Deploy all fighters and corvettes; we need all the firepower we can get. Fire-control officers, pick your targets and concentrate your fire, one target at a time for every gun that can bear on it. Helm, keep us moving, and I want you to keep us as far away from any massed dreadnought group as you can. We'll shred their lighter ships, any small groups of dreadnoughts and then pick the large groups off piecemeal. Everyone, you know your job. Let's get it done!"
I watched the plot as the two fleets performed a deadly ballet. Jesse and Darius were using the same tactics we were; keep moving, stay away from the heavy concentrations. That was basic Sun Tzu. Where your enemy is weak, be strong. Where your enemy is strong, don't be there. Still, Bravo group seemed to be doing the most damage. We were leaving a trail of shot up and dead enemy ships behind us as we danced the dance. Miraculously, the Serendipity had yet to take a serious hit. In fact, my three other super dreadnoughts had only taken negligible damage. Bravo group had only lost four of our super destroyers and two super cruisers thus far, but it was about to get ugly, I saw.
Two groups of dreadnoughts had managed to come at us from both the front and the rear. There were more than 25 of them in each group. We had just about had it. That's when Darius circled his group around behind the group in front of us and engaged them from the rear. The dreadnoughts turned broadside to him and they began to pop like popcorn as Darius' fire began to take its toll. Then we were in range and opened up on them. The return fire was horrendous. We lost ten more of the smaller ships and our large ships were taking a pounding. Most of them had lost turrets and their combat effectiveness was being slowly degraded. The Serendipity herself had a few decks open to space, but she maintained her battle abilities.
"Thanks, Admiral Edmunds, I thought we were toast that time. You up for round two with the group behind us?" I asked.
"Bring um on, Admiral Callaway," Darius said. If anything, he was fairing worse than I was after that exchange. We had lost about 20 percent of our forces so far. The TSN had lost nearly fifty percent of theirs, but these were mostly heavy cruisers and lighter. We were NOT going to win a battle of attrition. Darius had lost all of his super destroyers and all but two of his light super cruisers, but he still had most of his heavies and all four super dreadnoughts.
"Okay, I'm breaking high. If they follow me, you engage them from behind and I engage them from the front," I said. "If they engage you, then I will hit them from above."
"Roger that," Darius said.
They came after me, making a critical tactical error. Before Darius could engage their six, I slowed and engaged them from the front. However, I kept moving so they had to pursue and couldn't turn broad side to us. That meant they could only engage us with half their firepower. Then Darius started picking them off from the rear. As the last of the dreadnoughts went reactor critical and incinerated itself in nuclear fire, I searched the plot for Alpha Group.
"Holy mother..." I said. Admiral Shehane's group was in the middle of the biggest fur ball I had ever seen. Ships seemed to seethe to the surface and then disappear as they maneuvered. "Admiral Shehane, hang in there! We're coming."
"Don't bother, Valerie," I heard Yolanda say. We're all but done. The Liberty is the last of our group and she can't take much more. We got a little surprise for them, though."
At that moment, what had to have been all four of the reactors on Admiral Shehane's ship went critical at the same time. The resulting explosion incinerated the whole engaging force that was pounding them. I was stunned. I felt numb inside at the loss of a lot of good friends. I didn't have time to dwell on it, though because the battle was still under way. Battle Groups Bravo and Charlie worked together seamlessly. We used our ability to outmaneuver the TSN heavies to flank them and time and time again obliterate them in the crossfire. Our super dreadnoughts engaged the TSN dreadnoughts while our cruisers destroyed anything smaller that entered our field of fire. It got to the point where the TSN forces gathered together, refusing to commit to our bait and be out flanked, so we stood off just at the edge of our weapon's range and concentrated our fire on one dreadnought at a time. Seeing their return fire was ineffective, they would have to charge us, but we maintained the range until their formation broke up, and then we caught them in the pincer again.
After what seemed like hours of fighting, it came down to Darius and I. The Serendipity was pummeled and just about done. Half her decks were open to vacuum and she was down to four turrets. Darius' ship, the Insurrection, was in a similar state. Two thirds of his decks were open to vacuum and he had six functional turrets. Surrounding us was the last of the remaining TSN fleet, four moderate to heavily damaged TSN dreadnoughts. The Serendipity and the Insurrection stood back to back, figuratively speaking. We had taken positions relative to one another where the bulk of the Serendipity covered the Insurrection's weak side and the Insurrection covered ours. We stood our ground and slugged it out.
Darius and I coordinated our fire on one dreadnought at a time. First one drifted dead in space venting cabin pressure, then another was consumed in secondary explosions. The Serendipity was down to one turret and the Insurrection was down to a few missile batteries. The remaining dreadnoughts continued to pound us while we responded with ineffective return fire.
I never saw the nuke that hit us. It punched through the hanger bay at the bottom of the ship and penetrated five decks into the core of the ship where the reactors were located before it detonated. I found out later that, due to a design quirk and some fortuitous battle damage we had received, the rotating top ten decks that made up the control center of the ship and housed the officers quarters, the computer rooms, Navigation, Fire Control and Tactical Control all blew off into space when the nuke blew. The Serendipity's reactors chain-reacted with the explosion and the resulting nuclear fire sent the Insurrection's reactor critical as well. When she went, the resulting blast and huge pieces of debris took out the remaining TSN dreadnoughts.
I guess we were spared due to a combination of the heavy EMP shielding on the computer deck, the fact that the initial blast had sent us rocketing away and the intervening six decks. The only decks left intact were the top three. Those of us still alive were out cold, so we never saw the Duality MkII corvette blast free of the hanger deck of one of the destroyed super dreadnoughts and make a hyperspace jump.
Chapter 47
When the forty survivors came to, we found that the airtight doors had slammed shut and we were holding atmosphere. We had power, but we were effectively blind and dumb. The external cameras were all offline and our antenna array hadn't survived. We could do nothing but survive. The replicator ran off of emergency power, as did the air scrubbers and the heat.
"Okay people," I said, as everyone became alert enough to follow orders. "Our priority now is survival." I looked at the fearful visages around me, waiting for me to give an order, some order that would save our lives. After a moment of introspection about what had brought us to this point, I began to issue orders.
"Erika, I want you to pick some people and give me a damage estimate. What is still available? Dan, I need you to get working on the radios. See if you can come up with some way to communicate. Albright, find someone trained in first aid; collect and treat the wounded. Donalson, I need you to get with Simmons and you two work up a rough estimate of how long our air, food, and heat will hold out on emergency power," I clicked off crisply. I suspected we were screwed, but if I kept my people busy they wouldn't have time to be fatalistic.
The remnants of my crew, disciplined to the last, got down to work. The wounded were being cared for. All of them had relatively minor injuries - broken bones, bangs on the head - that sort of thing. Dan reported that he might be able to get us audio reception. He had found that although the lifeboat was in-op and heavily damaged, he might be able to salvage the locator beacon from it. That was good news. Erika reported that we were sealed in to Fire Control, Tactical and Navigation. She said we had no pressure suits and no airlock to use them with if we did. She informed me that we were maintaining cabin pressure and it seemed that we would do so indefinitely. Okay, that was sort of good news. At least it meant we were in no immediate danger. Donalson reported that according to his team's best estimate, we were air and heat critical. The recycler would last four months if we were frugal, but the heat would go about a day before the air scrubbers would be used up, two months from now.
Well, I tried to put a brave face on that report by saying that we would be rescued long before two months went by, but everyone knew it was bullshit. We had no idea where we were, or how far out we had been blasted, or which direction we were drifting. Odds were, we wouldn't ever be found. And, to be frank, it turned out that surviving for two months was, for most, a generous estimate.
A month and a half later, the space dementia set in and people started going mad. When things started to get violent and discipline crumbled, Dan, Erika and I, the last sane ones, barricaded ourselves in my ready room, located on the Tactical deck. The air soon began to get stale and the howls and cries of my insane crew died down. Then the heat failed and the temperature began to slowly drop. The three of us huddled together for warmth. They insisted that I be between them as we crawled into the emergency blankets in our underwear to facilitate heat transfer between us. We lay there cuddled together while we slowly froze and suffocated.
I don't know how long I had lain there. Erika and Dan were unconscious which I thought was for the best as the oxygen swiftly ran out. I knew hypoxia had set in when I began to hallucinate. I saw a bright light. 'This is it,' I thought to myself. 'I'm dead. I'm sorry, Miri. I love you and tell Brock I love him, too.'
Thinking of Miri influenced the hallucination because suddenly she was there. She was reaching out to me as if telling me not to go, but then everything went dark.
Epilogue
When I became aware again, I was warm. I was in a nice comfortable bed, and the air was sweet and pure. It smelled like Miri. Yup, I had to be in heaven. As my senses returned, I became aware of someone lying beside me. I stirred. Then someone moved.
"Valerie? Are you awake, baby?" a voice that must have been an angel asked. She must have been an angel cause she sounded just like my Miri.
My eyes fluttered open. I squinted a little because the light was too intense, but they soon adjusted and I saw the face of an angel above me.
"Hello," I said to her. "You must be an angel cause you are as beautiful as my Miri and she's not dead yet, at least I don't think so."
"I'm not dead yet, and neither are you, you goofball," she said to me. A moment later, her words penetrated my brain. I wasn't dead? We were rescued?
"Oh, Valerie," Miri said, collecting me in a bone crushing hug. "I thought I was too late. I thought I had lost you."
"Miri, I love you," I said happily.
"I love you too, Sweetness," she responded.
"How long have I been out," I asked. "How are Erika and Dan? Did any of the rest of the crew make it?"
"You've been in a coma brought on by hypoxia and hypothermia for a week," Miri said. "Are you hungry?"
"Yes, I am starving," I said, suddenly feeling my hollow belly, but I still didn't miss Miri's attempt at misdirection. "But what about Erika and Dan?"
"Honey, they saved your life," Miri said as her eyes shined with tears.
"Miri, HOW ARE THEY!" I demanded.
"I'm sorry, baby, they froze to death while they were keeping you warm," Miri said with a breaking voice.
I felt like I had been gut shot. I lay back in the bed and looked up at the ceiling as my eyes filled up with tears. The tears leaked out while I silently mourned for my dear friends.
"Guess who did survive, though?" she asked me in hopes of making me feel better.
"Who?" I asked.
"Your favorite redhead," Miri said smiling.
"No kidding? How? I saw her ship go up and take about a hundred TSN ships with it," I said.
"Well, it seems Yolanda decked her and stuffed Jesse in a life boat right before she detonated the reactors," Miri told me grinning. "You shoulda heard her cussing when we found her. I saw the recordings of the battle, from the Serendipity as well as the ones brought back by the survivors of the Liberator. You and Darius were awesome. The way the two of you coordinated your groups, out flanking TSN formations and catching them in the crossfire between you. It was incredible. You two were the right and left arm of justice out there. Do you even realize how many ships the TSN sent against you?"
"You know, come to think about it, what are you doing here?" I asked. "Not that I'm not glad, but we lost. The TSN is still out there."
"Nu uh, Dearheart," Miri smiled. "Actually, the battle was a draw thanks to the heroism and sacrifice of the Zone fleet. However, the TSN sent 1500 ships against you. 1500! And you all fought them to the last ship. Both fleets were utterly destroyed, but here's the best part. The TSN didn't want to commit that many ships. They had to spread their fleet too thin on the front where the Resistance was fighting. But the Terran Government was so terrified of your fleet and the damage it was causing, they ordered the TSN to pull ships in from the blockade and the Resistance front. Once they did that, the Resistance rolled right over them. Systems are falling left and right. The TSN is nowhere to be found aside from some token resistance. Word is they have pulled back and consolidated their fleet around the Terran system. As soon as we rebuild the Zone Expeditionary Fleet, we are going to link up with the Resistance and open negotiations for the surrender of the Terran Government. If they refuse, we will go in and take them out."
There was still fighting to be done, but I was going home. I had fought my last battle and Miri, Brock, and I were seriously thinking about going on an extended visit with the Drandians. Diversity finally got me into the public eye when they asked me to preside over the memorial service given for all the heroic men and women that died in the clash between our fleets. It was an emotional service for me. I lost a lot of friends in that battle. I was going to be all right, though. I had Miri and Brock and that's all I ever really needed.
Happy news! In 4 months I am due with Brock's sister. My baby, her name will be Erika, seems to be developing fine. Miri and I plan to have two more, one per each of us with Brian and Dan's DNA. They had planned to ask us to carry their children, but events had conspired against it. Dan left this all in a note to me, along with the location and authorization to use their genetic material, delivered to me by his attorney when I arrived home.
I looked down at Miri, sleeping with her head in my lap, pillowed against my gravid and hugely distended belly. Goddess, I love her. I marvel at how beautiful she is every time I look at her - especially when she is sleeping. She looks so sweet and innocent, dontcha think?