The past fortnight had been murder. Something had to give and give soon.
The situation on Proteus-VI was next to hopeless. Over 85% of the planet’s surface lay under the dark energy canopy. The remaining 15% was a sea of chaos. The refugee stream was petering out. Ten star cruisers lay in orbit to establish a blockade of sorts. Meanwhile, copycat gender revolutions blossomed on other planets, particularly among the lower classes. Those few who had means left their worlds and tried to join their sisters on Proteus-VI. The blockade soon put paid to those notions, however.
While an entire planet entered its death throes, the bar’s inhabitants struggled with their own transformations. Budo shed her reserved wardrobe and peaceful manner and replaced them with blue silk kimonos and other Nipponese accoutrements and a martial training regiment according to ancient Nipponese and samurai traditions in her unlocked memories. Mirage continued to drink bourbon and other hard liquors, although that seemed to be tapering off after he and Budo had a few private conversations. Bern, under Lippy and CJ’s guidance, was learning how to use a blaster. Ebony continued to work on her ever-present quilt and nurture the newest arrivals, Sondra and Lucretia. Lucretia’s healing continued at a steady pace, while Sondra looked less haunted than usual.
The biggest transformation, though still incomplete, was Feld’s. After Kat’s return several days ago with the Estrogen-C’, Budo had led Feld into Barscape Prime’s medical room and put him into medical stasis. Once he was fully under, the treatment began. According to the time estimates, the transformation would be completed today.
CJ’s thoughts evaporated when she entered the bar and saw Luthielle and Obielle sitting at a table eating breakfast with Kat, Cel and Lippy. As she approached the table, amid the scents of coffee, bacon and fried potatoes, CJ walked into the middle of the conversation.
“… shower he took before going into stasis was at least an hour and a half long,” Kat said. “So, finally, Budo goes in there and tells him that he’s clean enough and that the transformation wouldn’t cure either blindness or carpal tunnel…”
Obielle chuckled as Luthielle noticed CJ and greeted her. “Kia ora, CJ.”
“Kia ora, Luthielle, Obielle,” CJ replied. “When did you folks get in? Is JK here?”
“Early this morning,” Obielle answered. Turning serious, she explained, “JK flew most of the way here, seeing as how it’s his sister who’s in the middle of that business on Proteus-VI. He was dog tired when we landed. Still, it took a lot of persuading to keep him from going after Feld. They weren’t on the best of terms before and this certainly won’t help any.”
CJ winced. She hadn’t considered that aspect of it. “Too true. He does know that Feld is probably the only person who can get Solara back, right?”
“Yes, but that just pisses him off more.”
CJ nodded as she took a seat and Lippy silently set a plate of food in front of her. “Well, he’s just going to have to cool it for a while. If he wants retribution, and there’ll be plenty to go around I fear. Until then he’s going to have to wait.”
More nods were the response. Luthielle then asked, “So what’s the plan, CJ?”
And there it was. The main source behind the previous weeks’ tensions. Besides Feld making the ultimate sacrifice, well to him anyway, they had no plan. They had an idea of what needed to be done, but not how or where it needed to be done. “We’re still working on it,” CJ answered quietly.
Luthielle glanced at Obielle who simply raised an eyebrow.
Thankfully, Budo’s arrival changed the subject. “The transformation is complete,” she said simply. “She’ll be coming out of stasis shortly.” Turning to the Kiwallis, she bowed formally and said, “Kia ora, Obielle. Kia ora, Luthielle.”
“Kia ora,” they returned in unison.
“When can we see him?” CJ asked.
“In about an arn,” Budo answered. “The physical transformation is complete. However, he’ll need some time alone to adjust.”
Cel asked the obvious question. “How’s he … she look?”
Budo turned her head to answer. “She looks like Feld’s sister, if he had a sister. The transformation was completely successful. There are no blemishes or imperfections with the new organs and there are no vestiges of the old ones. The treatment worked as advertised.”
“Good,” Lippy said. After a pause, “Budo, with Feld’s sex change finished, are his Safeguard Protocols still valid?”
Sets of eyes widened in alarm and various hands moved toward holstered weapons. No one had considered this.
Budo looked straight ahead and remained silent for a time. “Yes. They are still valid. The protocols are tied to the being, not the name nor the gender. The name and gender are simply identifying properties of the person in question. While Feld is now female, and may choose another, more suitable name, the being, though altered, remains intact. I continue to serve … her.”
Everyone relaxed until Kat asked, “And does this service still shame you?”
Budo slowly turned her head toward Kat as her eyes closed to mere slits. “That,” she said with painful emphasis, “is a very rude question. However, I shall answer, if only to educate you. Feld’s sacrifice has brought honor to herself. I am still shamed by his previous actions, but, no, I am no longer shamed by my service to her. In fact, I am honored by it. He has brought honor to herself and I now share in that honor through my service.”
After the minor confrontation, the conversation turned to the Kiwalli’s home worlds and their Time of Reflection. After twenty or so minutes had passed, CJ rose from the table and walked down the hall to the medical room. Budo had been very protective of Feld; breakdowns in sterile procedures were known to be responsible for most Estrogen-C’ failures. Now, though, her curiosity was piqued. Maybe she could take a peek before he woke up from stasis.
CJ was unprepared for the sight before her. There on the bed, a familiar-looking naked woman was sitting up. She held a hand mirror between her legs while the other hand was doing something unseen behind it. When CJ’s appearance in the doorway was noticed, the woman quickly covered herself up with the bedsheet and blushed furiously. “CJ! You could knock first!” yelled an almost familiar voice.
CJ blushed as well, a rare event. “Sorry, Feld. I, uh … if you need a few minutes alone -”
“I was only checking things out,” she protested. Fuming, she continued, “Yes, please. A few minutes would be nice. Get Budo for me, too. I’m gonna need some clothes.”
“Sure, Feld.”
As she turned to leave, Feld timidly asked her, “So what do you think? How do I look?”
CJ turned back and said, “You look fine, Feld. Just fine.”
~/~
“Lippy! Where’s my damn Americano?!”
“In the machine. You know where the machine is, right boss?”
“Of course I know where the frelling machine is. The bigger question is, what the frell am I paying you for?”
“Beats me, boss.”
The familiar banter over, Lippy stepped out from behind the bar and gave JK a one-armed hug. The other arm passed him a cup of his favorite morning beverage. Piping hot, just as he liked it.
JK took the cup and shrugged her off. “No hugs,” he admonished her. “Not even sneaky one-armed ones.” The greeting over, the others in the bar approached him and offered their greetings and hopes and condolences for his sister. JK stoically accepted them all quietly and merely asked, “Where’s Feld? Or is it Feldina now? We have some things to discuss.”
“JK,” CJ warned, “now is not the time.”
“Bulldren! Now is the perfect time.”
“I agree,” came a somewhat familiar voice from the hallway. Everyone turned and saw an auburn-haired woman standing in the doorway dressed in Feld’s clothes. Her hair was freshly cut and styled, ending just above the nape of her neck. The fit of the men’s style shirt suggested a curvy bosom, but not overly so. The pants were hemmed a little; the woman standing there was 5cm shorter than Feld. Budo stood just behind her, a new katana stuck in her sash.
JK broke through his knot of friends and strode to Feld. When JK was three paces away, Budo drew her katana and stepped in front of Feld. “Your intentions had better be honorable, JK.”
JK stopped. “Budo, step aside. This doesn’t concern you. I just want Feld to tell me what the frell happened, man to man.”
“It’s ok, Budo.”
“Hai.” Budo sheathed her katana and backed carefully to the side.
Feld then smiled wryly. “We’re a man short, but I’ll give it my best shot. I stole a Mentath holy relic some years ago as a payment for a job I did for their Merchant’s Guild. Over the years, I did some research on it, but obviously not enough. Offhand, I mentioned it to Solara and she seemed as curious as I was. You know how she is. So, we took it to a safehouse I had in Dinara City with the object of analyzing it with some equipment I kept there. I left her alone with it to get the equipment ready. When I came back, she was levitating above the relic, encased in some kind of energy field. Not knowing what to do, I locked the apartment and went to find Sondra. When we returned to the apartment, Solara and the relic were gone.
“JK, I’m sorry. I understand now what happened, but there was no way I could have foreseen this. Neither of us could have.”
JK paused to consider the story, then shook his head. “I’m disappointed, Feld. When it comes to information, you’re usually better than that. If I wind up losing my sister because of your incompetence, I will reign such horror upon you, you will pray for death, samurai synthoid or not.”
Feld nodded. “If we lose Solara, it will be the least I deserve.”
JK returned the nod. “So, do you have a plan to get our nuts out of the fire, so to speak?”
“Yes … kinda.”
“Kinda? We’re going to need more than a kinda.”
“True,” Feld answered. Then, raising his voice to the others, he called, “Ok, everyone. It’s time for a council of war,” and walked to the main table.
After everyone gathered around the table, Lippy asked, “So, we have a plan?”
“No,” Feld answered. “What we have is a goal and a tactic. What we don’t have is an idea of the timing that will be necessary to pull it off.
“First off, the primary goal is to stop Relia, one way or another. It is not to rescue Solara.” Feld paused then to let that unspoken, but obvious, truth sink in. “Relia and Solara are one now. To get Solara back means that we have to get our hands on the relic and recreate history. If we fail, then we will have to kill Relia, and Solara as well, because, if we don’t, then Relia will run rampant throughout the universe. The universe won’t care if we lose Solara, but they will care if Relia remains free.
“All that said, we have two tasks: the recapture of the relic and the destruction of Relia in her current physical form if the former fails. Everyone clear?”
Somberly, everyone except JK nodded around the table. JK just glared at Feld.
“As far as tactics are concerned, we will somehow have to get close enough to Relia and/or the relic without arousing any kind of suspicion. To do this successfully will require a great many things. First off, no men will be on the ground during this operation. Women only.”
“Like hell,” JK exploded. “I’m not going to sit idly by and watch -”
Feld interrupted him. “Who said you’d be idle? I said ‘on the ground’. Let me finish.
“In addition to the women only rule, from this point on, I cannot be called Feld. Relia knows who I am and the threat I pose. If she is able to tap into our communications and hears my nic, she’ll be alerted. For this reason, Feld, Mathieu or any of my other noms de guerre are also out of the question, which is apropos given my current situation. Henceforth, I will be known as Issabella.”
CJ raised an eyebrow. “Issabella? Interesting choice.”
“Yeah. I once knew someone named Issabella. Besides, I like the name.”
“Ok,” Lippy said, “these restrictions are all fine, but how do we get in close?”
“We rely on chaos,” the newly minted Issabella said.
After a pause, CJ asked, “Which means?”
“After three failed jailbreaks, Relia’s going to be very suspicious of any kind of organized force, whether for or against her, particularly in light of how she lost the relic last time. She’s going to have an army of protectors at her beck and call to crush any kind of organization. As we already talked about, firepower will not do it. Therefore, we will somehow have to get close to her in ones and twos, as a part of the expanding chaos that surrounds her.
“Each person on the ground will be assigned to either of the two tasks before us. The remaining ‘Scapers will be in a support role to act either as a reserve, a base of firepower, rescue and transport or any other unforeseen role. The key is the chaos. We have to sneak in and be able to react well to events, and support each other without appearing to be an organized force.
“The problem is timing. It’s going to take some time to blend in and we need to know that she’ll be in a position for us to make our move. The situation on Proteus-VI is reaching a head. I think it’s safe to say that she won’t stay there. The Mentaths have brought their fleet back to their home world. They seem to know where she’ll go. If we can trust their judgement, then the best place to make our move will be when she’s in transit.
“That’s when we’ll make our move.”