Galactic Marshal III
by
Hilltopper

Chapter 5

We settled back in our seats as the ship headed toward Fledora. Karen eyed me thoughtfully.

“You do know that the aliens will want to meet with you as Gina.”

“Not if they don’t know I’m there.”

“It’s been my observation that they always know when we arrived.”

“Ah, but we are going to be there a few days early.”

Karen laughed.

“Well, I’ll not tell them.”

I dosed a bit and was awakened by Gina, our AI.

“We will arrive in the vicinity soon. Where do you want to land?”

I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

“I guess the moon base so we can sort things out.”

“We will land in 22 minutes.”

“Thank you, Gina.”

I decided to put a call in to Mary.

“John, how nice.”

“We are landing on your moon in about 20 minutes.”

Mary brightened.

“Wow! I thought you wouldn’t be here this soon.”

“I couldn’t stand to be away from you any longer.”

She smiled big.

“I’ll call ahead. You have to see the doctor before you can come down here.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, I figured that. Hopefully, I can remain myself.”

“How long can you stay?”

“I don’t know. Karen is meeting with the aliens in a couple of days. I plan to stay with you until it is over.”

Mary grinned.

“That’s great! Are you meeting with them?”

“I hope not but the Planetopolis government wants me to.”

“Well, I’ve got to go. Call me when you’re ready to come down and I’ll pick you up.”

“OK, I’ll hurry.”

I signed off and Karen gave me a funny look.

“How do you propose to keep from meeting with Tinker and Bell? I thought that was your job.”

I sighed.

“I know but I don’t want to transform into a female again.”

“Hmm, OK, I’ll meet with them and see what I can do. It still worries me why they called this meeting.”

We landed on the moon and I headed for Medical. Karen decided to just wait on the ship until the aliens arrived. I walked into Medical and smiled at the doctor.

“Hello, John, I was just thinking about you.”

“Good I hope.”

“I received the report from your doctor at the marshal headquarters. That was a bad beating.”

“Yeah, fortunately, I don’t remember it.”

“Good! Let’s put you in the medical pod. I want to see your status.”

“OK, but I don’t need to transform this time do I?”

“No, as long as you stay away from the council.”

“Don’t worry, I have no plans to go there.”

I got into the pod and relaxed. It took about 20 minutes for the evaluation. When the door opened, I got out and redressed. The doctor motioned me into her office and I sat down.

“John, everything looks good but I am a little worried that your internal female organs are still developing. I think they will stop as long as you don’t transform again.”

I nodded.

“I was afraid of that. OK, so I can go down to the surface?”

“Yes, I’ll give you the certification. Keep it with you in case you are challenged. It states that you are female.”

I grimaced.

“OK, I guess it’s necessary.”

“Yes”

I left and headed for the shuttle to the surface. I called Mary from the station and she said she would be waiting to pick me up. Once I landed, I spotted Mary and went to her. We hugged and kissed.

“God, I missed you.”

Mary smiled.

“I should hope so and I missed you dearly as well. Come on, let’s go home.”

We headed home and Mary shook her head.

“The subject of Raylan has come up again at the council meeting.”

I looked over at her with a frown.

“In what way?”

She sighed.

“The same as usual. About half the council wants Raylan reared as a girl. The rest are not as critical but everyone wants a resolution.”

“This is just great. How do they feel about me?”

She smiled.

“Well, they don’t know you are here as yourself. Of course, there is nothing they can do about it since you have the credentials signed by a doctor. I would suggest you stay away from the council, however.”

“Don’t worry, the way I feel about them, it’s best I stay away from them.”

“It’s not all of them. I am on the council after all.”

“I know, I just get frustrated by their rules. What about the referendum?”

She shook her head.

“It’s an uphill battle. I still hope to get it on the ballot but the vote will be close.”

We arrived home and I rushed in to see Raylan. He actually seemed glad to see me; at least, that was my take. I picked him up and carried him to the great room.

“No one’s going to turn you into a girl, little fellow.”

Mary smiled.

“I agree!”

We ate and just enjoyed being together. That night, we made up for lost time. Mary was a little hesitant, I’m sure it has to do with my male self. I know it is an issue. We had a good night anyway. The next morning, she headed over to the council and I stayed home playing with Raylan. About mid day, Karen called.

“Hey, John, I just got a communication from Tinker. They will arrive tonight. I’ll let you know what happens.”

“OK, do your best.”

“Will do, you just enjoy your son and Mary.”

I smiled.

“No problem there. Talk to you later.”

I signed off and sat back. I had a feeling that things were fixing to get messy again. Mary came home early and was fit to be tied.

“Ooh, they make me so mad sometimes!”

“Settle down! What’s got you so stirred up?”

“The council was informed today about your arrival as yourself. There are several that are not happy.”

I grinned.

“I can imagine. There’s nothing they can do, right?”

“No, I don’t see how. Of course, they can demand you meet before them.”

“Well, I’m not crazy about the idea but it’s not a big deal.”

Mary looked at me with a smirk.

“Are you forgetting the clothing requirement?”

I looked up in shock.

“You’re kidding me! They wouldn’t make me wear that damn mini dress would they?”

She nodded.

“There’s no way around that. I’m going to try to head them off. If things get hot, I’ll send you to the moon.”

I sighed.

“OK, let’s enjoy the rest of the day without thinking of them.”

“Fine with me.”

We did have a wonderful evening. About 10, Karen called again.

“Well, John, they have arrived. I’m to meet with them in the morning. By the way, I don’t know how but they know you are here.”

“Shit! It beats me how they know things.”

I thought a minute.

“OK, try to see if they will meet with me as I am. If not, maybe I can just stay down here until they leave.”

Karen sighed.

“I’ll try but you know what they are like.”

“Yeah, but they must have something else on their minds this time since they have set up the meeting with you.”

Karen nodded.

“Yes, it must me important to them. I’ll call you after the meeting.”

“OK, good luck.”

I signed off and looked over at Mary.

“It looks like I’m caught between the council and the aliens. How do I get myself in these predicaments?”

Mary laughed.

“I know it’s not funny but you do get into some fixes. I’ll feel out the council in the morning and, after Karen reports back to you, we will figure out what to do.”

“If we can.”

Mary hugged me.

“Quit worrying, things will work out.”

We both had a restless night in spite of Mary’s optimism. After a quick breakfast, Mary went to the council building. I took Raylan out for some fresh air. I found a small park and sat down on a bench. I felt like my life was spinning out of control. It was so relaxing back on Earth; well, except for Tad. Why can’t everything be that way all the of time. Every time I turn around, someone is pushing me in one direction or another. I forced myself to get up and take Raylan back to the house. After changing and feeding him, I settled back in a chair to wait. Mary called a few minutes later.

“It’s bad John. You’re arrival has caused chaos here. I think it would be best if you take Raylan to the moon and stay on your ship until I can straighten everything out.”

“Without you?”

“If I leave here, they will know something is up and will stop us. Please, go as quick as you can before anyone here finds out.”

“I don’t like the idea of leaving you there.”

Mary shook her head.

“Nothing will happen to me. You and Raylan are the ones in trouble, now go!”

I packed some things for Raylan and drove Mary’s hovercraft to the shuttle station. A shuttle was just about to leave so we got away quickly. Once on the moon, I went directly to my ship. Gina let us in and I breathed a sigh of relief. A little later, Karen entered the ship.

“What are you and Raylan doing here?”

“Everything is going to hell down at the council.”

I told her what Mary had said. Karen sat down hard.

“Gina, take off!”

As the ship left the moon, I looked questioningly at her. She shook her head.

“If you think it’s bad down at Fledora, wait until you hear what Tinker told me.”