GALACTIC MARSHAL
by Hilltopper

Turnabout is Fair Play

CHAPTER 7

We returned to Mary’s office and I filed my report.

“Are you going to be OK, Jonnie?”

“What do you think?”

“Yeah, this has been a trying assignment. I have to go before the council and explain everything. Let me take you to my house first.”

“Fine, let’s go.”

Mary dropped me at her house and I went straight to bed. All I wanted was to sleep and forget.

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I went before the council with a lot of dread. Nothing went as planned in this mission.

“Good evening, Mary. I understand Marshal Harper got her fugitive.”

“Yes, she was killed in the explosion of the cargo ship.”

“Uncovering what Karen Littleton has been doing with Broadskye was a great bit of work. Please thank Marshal Harper. She has done a great service. However, her original purpose for being here is finished. We have received a recall notice from the marshal service. You are to take her back to Headquarters in the morning.”

“I was figuring that was coming. You know, going back to what she was isn’t going to be easy.”

“We realize that. Just so you know, we are not through with her. She will be back as soon as we can arrange it. Please don’t tell her that, however. I don’t think she would like to hear that.”

I smiled big.

“No, I don’t think so either. What about Karen?”

“Just keep a watch for now. Maybe she will panic and make another mistake.”

“Agreed! OK, I will return Jonnie. It won’t be the same without her.”

Carol laughed.

“She does have a knack for stirring things up. Well, keep us in the loop and good luck.”

“Thank you.”

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I woke up to the smell of bacon. Now, that’s something I hadn’t had for a while. I got dressed and walked into the kitchen, Mary, of course, was naked.

“I’ll never get used to that.”

Mary looked up.

“Morning, Jonnie. I have some good news for you. I am to take you home today.”

“That’s good. I’ll miss you though.”

“Yeah, I have kind of gotten accustomed to having you around. It will be dull with you gone.”

I laughed.

“In our work, dull is good.”

We ate breakfast and I went into my room. Mary followed and looked around.

“I guess you don’t want to take any of your things with you.”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“OK, I’ll keep them for you until they are needed again.”

“Don’t count on it.”

We drove to the shuttle and got on board. Mary had tears in her eyes.

“I wish you didn’t have to go.”

I hugged Mary and looked into her eyes.

“I am glad I have you for a friend but this is not the real me.”

“It looks real to me.”

I kissed her lightly on the lips.

“Take care, I will not forget you.”

With that, I walked into the medical bay, took off my clothes, and climbed into the pod. The door closed, the gas entered the chamber , and I was once again put to sleep. The next thing I knew, the pod opened and that computer voice told me to go into the locker room. The clothes I had worn onto the ship days ago were still in my locker. I put them on and was directed to the exit hatch. It opened, I walked through, and it closed behind me. A few seconds later, the shuttle undocked and I watched it head back to Fledora. I felt like my life had been ripped from me. I was now a man again but it felt all wrong. I was not ready to meet Sam yet, so I headed to my apartment. Wearing pants for the first time in a week was a strange experience. They felt very confining. Gees! I decided to take a shower and change clothes. In the shower, I noticed that everything was not quite right. My penis was back, such as it is, but my balls were no where to be found. I guess they have not dropped back down yet. Great! I felt where my vagina had been. The opening is certainly gone but that area was pliable like it was a covering. I just hope things will settle out over time. I am definitely taking that vacation. I dressed and went to Sam’s office. I knocked loudly.

“Come on in, John.”

I went in and sat down.

“You look like shit.”

“What do you expect after the job you sent me on. Why didn’t you warn me?”

“Would you have gone if I had?”

“Absolutely not.”

“There you go. Look, I know it was a rotten deal especially with your past but I had no choice. Those people demanded you and there was not a good reason to refuse.”

“Yeah”

Sam paused and we just stared at each other.

“You are way over due for a vacation. Get out of here and rest up for a few weeks. You’ll be back to yourself in no time.”

“I hope your right.”

I got up and left. God, I am a mess. For the first time in my life, I had 2 good friends and now I am back to having none. Before, I didn’t know what was missing. Now, I do. There was only one place for me to go, back to Kentucky. I made a reservation for an isolated cabin in the mountains, packed my things, and got on the shuttle to Earth. Upon arriving in Atlanta, I rented a car and drove to my cabin, stopping off first to get plenty of liquor. I planned to get wasted and I did.

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Back on Fledora, things were happening fast. I got an urgent call from the council.

“Mary, we have just gotten a tip that Karen is getting ready to make a large shipment to Broadskye. Since that explosion of her ship ruined her hanger at the space port, we think she is going to try to fly out of Basteria. Get a team and intercept it.”

“OK, this is what we have been waiting for. I’ll get right on it.”

The only good place to land in Basteria was around the airport. Not knowing what was coming or when, we set up a ways away in order not to scare them off. Just before midnight, we thought we saw a stealth ship coming in.

“Let’s move out. We won’t go in until we see Karen start to load. I want her alive but don’t take any risks you don’t have to.”

When we arrived near the scene, there was a large contingent of miners moving cargo toward an impressive ship. This had to be a Broadskye military ship. What on Fledora was it doing here? This does not bode well. As we moved in, one of my team was spotted. Shots rang out. In no time, it was all out war. We managed to stop the cargo from loading but Karen and another woman made it to the ship. It took off moments later. There was no way we could stop it but at least it left without its cargo. Unfortunately, four of my team were dead.

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I woke up two days later. I, of course, felt even worse than I did before I got here. Going into the kitchen, it became clear that I had drank up everything I brought with me. There was no food and nothing for this mega headache. So, a trip to the nearest town was on tap. I started to take a shower but decided what for? I didn’t even change clothes. I struggled out to the car and, finally, got it started. It was an adventuresome trip back down the mountain. Just as I was entering town, I spotted a tavern. That was what I needed. Now, a tavern in Kentucky is not a place to be an ass but I was beyond caring. As I walked up to the bar, someone said,

“Well, look what the cat drug in.”

I looked over at a mountain of a man and my common sense left me.

“Yeah, your mother didn’t go down easy.”

He got up and was joined by a friend that was even bigger than he was. I don’t know how good of a fight it was because I woke up in a hospital bed remembering nothing of it. An aide walked in to fill my water pitcher.

“My, my marshal, you are a mess and someone done kicked your balls plumb up inside you. That must’a been a hell of a fight.”

I just grunted and she laughed then left. I didn’t see any casts of heavy bandages so I guess things could be worse. I was certainly sore, however. A little later, a doctor walked in.

“Awake I see. Well, no broken bones or serious injuries. You will be sore and stiff for a while. Maybe you should take a vacation.”

“Actually, I need a vacation from my vacation.”

He laughed hard.

“That’s a good one. Anyway, if everything is still OK tomorrow, I will release you. Just take it easy for a few days.”

“Thanks doc.”

I rang for some pain meds and, after getting the shot, I passed out again.

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Mary was sitting in her office when council chairwoman Givens called.

“Good afternoon, Carol. You look concerned.”

“It’s not good. After analyzing all of the cargo left after Karen’s ship took off, we are certain that she is working with Broadskye in order to overthrow our government and take over this planet. It’s no secret that Broadskye hates our guts but I didn’t think things would go this far. If they get a stealth ship built with a superconducting laser, we will be at their mercy. I am calling the marshal service and have them send Marshal Harper back here.”

“Good luck there. I think a vacation is all she wanted.”

“Yes, I know but this is serious. I’ll let you know when to pick her up.”

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I awoke the next morning to find Sam looking at me.

“You really know how to take a vacation.”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Just checking up on my favorite marshal.”

“Yeah, tell me another one.”

“OK, we have an emergency assignment for you.”

“Oh no you don’t, the last emergency assignment boggled my brain permanently. I’m on vacation and recovering from a friendly fight.”

“I’ve never been in one of those. I know this is lousy but Fledora has requested your return and it has been approved. They have an emergency situation.”

I just stared at him. I could not believe this.

“No way, I am not going back there.”

“John, you have to. It’s been approved. You will lose your badge if you don’t.”

I reached over onto my end table, picked up my badge, and tossed it to Sam.

“You know what you can do with that and your assignment. I quit! Now, get the hell out of here.”

Sam stood and shook his head. He started to say something but just turned and left. I got dressed and walked out of the hospital. It was then I realized that I had no idea where my rental car was. I took a chance and limped back to the tavern I had been at when the fight occurred. Luckily, there it was. I drove back to my cabin, of course, with a new supply of liquor. It was going to take a lot to drown out my hurting brain.

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I was called into the council chambers. This surprised me since I thought they would just tell me when to go get Jonnie. As I walked in, I could see that the mood was somber.

“Mary, we have a big problem. Marshal Harper has gone off the deep end and quit the marshal service. We know it is our fault for the problems he is having. We have discussed what is the best thing to do and have decided to send you to talk to him.”

“How are you going to get him to meet t our ship?”

“We’re not, you are going to him.”

I could not believe what I just heard.

“Beg pardon, ma’am, but you know as well as I do that no woman from here is allowed to do that much less want to.”

“I know, I know, but this is an emergency. We need Marshal Harper. We have issued a fugitive warrant for Karen Littleton. You and he are going after her. We have arranged for the medical pod to superficially transform you into a man. Now, before you start screaming, it is the only way. Marshal Harper’s supervisor will meet you as soon as you dock and will take you directly to him. I believe he is on Earth in a place called Kentucky. Once he is on board, you both will proceed to Broadskye and find Karen. You have been given marshal status under the name Matt Browning.”

“You mean as a man?”

“Exactly!”

“There is no way I can do that. This is too much to ask.”

“He did it for you. We are at fault for this. You must do this for him and for us.”

I sat down hard. This was unbelievable. No wonder they didn’t tell John what was going to happen. Now the shoe was on the other foot.

“OK, I’ll try but I don’t know if I can do ti.”

“That’s all we ask.”

I left the chambers in a daze. Jonnie is going to love this. I guess turnabout is fair play. I arranged to get some trousers and shirts sent to our shuttle. I packed my things and departed. As I was getting into the pod, I reflected on what Jonnie had gone through when she first came here. At least she had experimented at being a woman. Hell, I have never even met a man. Jonnie doesn’t count because she was not a man when I met her. I guess I am going to have to start saying ‘John’ and ‘him’ now. I know what he meant about it messing with your brain. The pod closed and seemed to open an instant later. I emerged and checked myself out. To my surprise, I still had my female equipment down below. I was a male otherwise; no breasts and male features. Thankfully, I was still a woman inside. I dressed in the pants and shirt I had obtained. I had worn pants before but not like this. I had no idea how I was supposed to act. I went to the air lock. A man was waiting there for me. It was the first time I had seen one in person. All I wanted to do was turn around and leave but my need to help Jonnie won out. I steeled myself and went through. He looked a little shocked.

“Sorry, I was expecting a woman. My name is Sam.”

I stretched out my hand.

“Matt Browning. No woman from Fledora would do this.”

“I guess not. OK, come with me and we will go down to see former Marshal Harper. Between you and me, I have not turned in his badge so he is still a marshal.”

“Great, let’s go.”

We entered a small shuttle and went to the surface. It definitely was beautiful in Kentucky. Jonnie was right, it looks a lot like Fledora. We landed at a military complex and took a hovercraft into the mountains. We stopped outside of an isolated cabin.

“This is his cabin. Let’s go in and confront him. Watch yourself, he is a mess.”

We walked in without knocking. I was shocked to find Jonnie, excuse me, John sitting on a couch and holding a gun. He was just staring at it. Sam walked over to him.

“John, I have someone here that wants to talk to you. This is Marshal Matt Browning.”

”Get the hell out!”

“OK, but he’s staying.”

Sam walked out. John got up and started toward me.

“I said, get the hell out!”

John took a swing at me.

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I had about decided to end it all when Sam and another marshal entered. I kicked Sam out but this Matt fellow wasn’t leaving. I decided to show him. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor with a knee on my chest. This seemed familiar and a familiar smile hovered over me.

“Hi, Jonnie.”

I did a double take.

“Mary?”