A Quiet Strength - Trial and Tribulation
by Anon Allsop

-Part Three-

-Nine-

Max sat in the quiet solitude of his study sipping on a dark colored liquor from Ariellian IV, when a noise caused him to glance up. It was Elise, she was wrapped in her robe and holding a cup of tea, the string swinging just outside. Max smiled and sat his drink down, "Come in Elise, sit with me awhile."

She slipped inside the room, and settled into a chair opposite her fathers. "What brings you up on such an early hour?

She shrugged and quietly sipped her drink, the steam slowly rising past her face. Max could see that there was something troubling the girl, he had been noticing it for some time. He knew not to press the issue too much, feeling she would come around in due time.

Her eyes were locked on the hologram of a crackling fire within a nonexistent fireplace. She sleepily stared into the flames she saw, her father studying her profile for several long moments knew that there was something troubling her and within time she would talk.

Glancing toward the timepiece upon the wall, he sighed and leaned forward, sitting his drink upon a coaster. "Come on honey, we should be heading to bed." Standing he offered his hand to his daughter, "Morning will come soon enough."

"I..I'm okay papa." She replied without looking at him, "I can't sleep anyway."

"Do you want to talk about it, Punkin?" He hesitated until she shook her head. Shrugging his shoulders he began to walk away. As he was almost to the doorway he heard her lightly clear her throat.

"Daddy?" She called out in a soft voice, it had been a long time since he had been called that. Max paused and turned, Elise slowly stood and stepped toward her father. From years of experience, Max knew that whatever the problem she was holding, it was tearing her apart.

She sat her tea down and with tear filled eyes, took her father by his hand and walked him to the sofa. Max was concerned as he had never seen her so distraught. "What is it Elise?"

"It's about Parker." She begin then grew quiet.

"That bastard is in prison where he belongs!" Max growled, recalling what he had done to his little girl.

"Not that Parker...th..the real one." She faltered, her eyes dropping into her lap as she spoke.

"What do you mean- the real one?" Max's stomach suddenly lurched, he feared that Elise may have been involved in something criminal. He suddenly grew even more serious as what she said sank in, "Please tell me that you weren't involved in something stupid."

She wiped her tears and looked up, it tore Max's heart out to see his daughter so guilt ridden. Elise cleared her throat, "I've kept something from you.. I should have spoken up sooner."

"Out with it. If you have information that we should know, you have to speak up now!" He watched her squirm, then realized that in her condition, he needed to allow her time to tell him on her terms. "I'm sorry Elise, go on."

She sighed deeply, "Leslie told me once that she had gotten her hands on a Molecular Transmutation Device.. a MTD. Do you know what it can do?"

"I've heard of it. Those things are illegal, right?" He knew the answer to that question even before he asked her, he just wanted to know if she knew.

"I didn't know until recently.." She picked her cup up, Max noticed her hand was trembling.

"Okay, so you're saying that Leslie had found one of those MTD's...I'm sensing that there is more to this story." Max just wanted her to spit it out, it irked him to wait on her.

"Leslie was a lesbian." She began, "She and I...well, she wanted to be a man..and decided to steal Parker's body. Parker used to date her until he realized that Leslie wasn't into him, in that way." She glanced away momentarily then returned her gaze back to her dad. "Leslie and her father used it on the original Parker..." She watched her father's face flush, he leaned back into the sofa, his face spoke volumes.

"Good God, Elise!" He took his hand and nervously wiped it across his face, "That means that Leslie became Parker, and she is the one in prison!"

"Leslie deserved to be in prison for what she did to me!" Elise, balled her fist as she spoke.

"Honey, I know she should be in prison." He hugged her and kissed her cheek, "But, what she did to that poor man...did he deserve that?"

She sat quietly contemplating his question, then as his meaning settled into her mind, Elise knew he was right. "Oh Papa, the poor man."

"It will be alright Elise, we've got to think this through, though. There has to be some way of finding the real Parker. Did she say anything to you about what she did with him?"

"She never said anything.. but I think I know it happened around the time she was last visiting her father." She had a look of relief, as though letting go of the information she had, was like a great weight off her shoulders. "I think her father was a star ship captain." She grew quiet for several seconds, "Do you think you could help me locate the real Parker and put him back into his own body?"

Max sat quietly as what she told him sank in, "I'll talk to Mike in the morning...but we're sure going to try to do whatever we can to help the real Parker."

She slowly stood, "Thank you Papa, its been bothering me for awhile now." Max stood and kissed his daughter goodnight, watching her walk toward her bedroom he hardly noticed a limp anymore. She would be okay he felt, her only scars would be the ones left in her mind.

Max walked over to his drink and downed the last of it, he made a point to ping Mike in the morning. Hopefully he would be able to assist him on locating the real Parker. As he began to turn down the lighting, he contemplated what the poor fellow was going through, trapped in the body of his daughter's friend. He thought back to the few times he remembered seeing Leslie, she was a stunner... it was just too bad she was so warped that she would resort to steal a young man's identity like she had so she could live out her fantasy.

Setting his glass on the counter he turned down the kitchen lights, then made his way into the bedroom. As he settled into his bed, he thought of the daunting task before them. "This could be impossible..." He sighed as he closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

-Ten-

Max played with the condensation that ran off his Laurillian Ale that he was drinking, waiting in the darkened end of the bar in his customary booth. Movement near the door caused him to glance up, Mike was entering and working his way back to where his friend was seated.

"Dispatch said you wanted to see me, they implied that you had some information." Mike sat down as the barmaid came to take his order.

"Just bring two more.." Max spoke low and deliberate, Mike could tell that his friend was troubled.

He waited for the woman to leave and get their drinks before speaking, "So what do I owe this pleasure Max?"

"I Had a 'heart to heart' with Elise last night. Seems that the Parker you tossed into prison wasn't 'Parker' at all." Max looked out from under furrowed brows, his jaw was flexing in anger.

Mike sat up straighter, "Go on..." He was unsure where Max intended this conversation to go.

"Seems that Elise's 'partner' wanted to see what life would be like on our side of the fence and used a Molecular Transformation Device to alter herself into Parker." He grew quiet as the barmaid returned with their drinks and sat one before each man. Max handed her a credit, "Keep it.", then waited for her to get out of earshot.

Mike leaned forward, "So what happened to the real Parker?"

Max's face reddened with anger, "Damn it Mike, Elise had a hand in stealing that poor guy's identity! She didn't actually do it, but she damn well knew about it!"

"Alright, alright hold on now Max. Elise was beat up pretty bad, that had to account for some of her delay with the information. Come on now, give the girl the benefit of a doubt... at least she came forward." Mike pulled out his writer and began to dictate notes softly into a microphone.

"I suppose you're right." He took a swig of his Ale and returned the three sided glass to the table. "What really is upsetting me is there is a guy out there somewhere imprisoned in the body of a girl and his only crime is that he knew the bitch who trapped him!" His voice grew louder as he spoke.

"You're going to have a stroke, Max... you need to calm down and take a couple of deep breaths." Mike paused his writer and lowered his microphone that he had been dictating into. "Okay, we need to get in touch with the prison and figure out who the hell has Parker's body so we can get it back for him."

"What if whoever has it, doesn't want to give it up?" Max sighed, thinking about the futility of their situation.

"I'm sure we can make a deal with whoever has his body right now.. maybe find them a better one. It'll be okay, so don't sweat it Max." Mike spoke as he set down his drink.

Let me do some checking around, we'll probably need to grease the palm of someone on the inside of the prison system to give us the information.. and maybe to arrange the transfer back." Mike began to count off on his fingers as he was speaking.

Max waived him off, "My baby got involved in this mess, the least I can do is fund our way out." He took another swallow, wincing as the liquid burned going down. "Whatever it costs, I'll pay it. I... we've got to make this right!"

Mike drummed his fingers against the table as he sat deep in thought, "Well, we know that the one guilty party here.. is where he.. she...oh shit, they belong. I frankly hope her life is hell after what she put your daughter and the real guy who's identity she stole through."

"We still have to start at the prison though, if only so we can track down the original Parker's body." Max added.

Mike took a drink from his glass and pushed the glass around on the condensation. "I'll make a couple of calls in the morning when I get into work, you and I can take a trip to the prison once I get the information."

"Do you want to meet here or back at my apartment? It's probably been awhile since you've had a good home cooked meal. Elise is a pretty good cook if she has a mind to it." Max downed the remainder of his drink and stood as Mike stepped out of the booth.

"I can meet you there, if she feels like making anything, it'll be alright to me." He returned his writer to his jacket pocket and began to turn. "Tell her not to go to too much effort on my account though."

Max followed Mike to the door and once outside on the sidewalk, the two friends shook hands. "Thanks Mike for all your help, I really appreciate it!"

"I know you do, Max." Mike smiled and began to head toward his craft.

Max sighed and turned toward his own craft, praying silently that everything would work out after the mess that Leslie had caused had implicated his own daughter.

-Eleven-

A tap on the door caused Max to quickly walk to it, opened it to allow his friend to enter. "Welcome Mike! Come on in. Would you like something to drink?

Max shook his head and followed him back toward his kitchen where Elise was busy stirring a steaming kettle. "Elise, you remember my friend Mike."

"Sure, I do. Hi Mike, has papa offered you a drink yet?" She laid down her spoon and moved toward where they kept the liquor.

"No thank you, Elise." Mike looked toward the floor, even his friend could tell that something was on his mind.

"You look troubled, my friend." Max observed.

Mike inhaled deeply and blew it out. "Checked with the prison today, you know the girl... the one who stole Parker's body."

"Leslie?" Offered Elise.

"Yeah. Well, I found out that her dad was Parker's Captain." He paused for effect, "Remember we arranged it for 'Parker' to have a bit of 'alone time' with the old man. That was when we figured that the real Parker had worked under him..."

Max smiled, "Nice choice of words, Mike."

"Not so nice..." He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. "Apparently, the girl that Parker had been transformed into was so embarrassed she didn't tell the old man who she was. When he found out later on, he killed himself."

"Oh my God!" whispered Elise as she realized the gravity of what happened, and what of Leslie?"

Max looked at Mike and waited for him to answer, "She's a mess.. she won't eat and is basically starving herself." He looked away, ashamed that he had a part in the whole twisted affair.

Max waited in silence as Elise looked shocked, Max had kept her in the dark about what happened to Leslie. For
all she knew, Leslie was in prison.

"You transformed Leslie.. again?" She glared at her father, she would have rather died than be a woman again!"

"You sound like you still have feelings for her after all she did to you!" He snapped back at her, "Damn it Elise, make up your mind! That bitch beat the holy hell out of you and left you for dead!"

Max spoke quietly, "You probably would have died had we not found you when we did."

She lost her anger, it was as though it seeped onto the floor through her feet. In frustration she tossed the spoon she was stirring with onto the counter. "Okay, I guess I still have feelings for Leslie; but that was
before she became Parker!"

The two men watched her move to the table and take a seat, "Do you know what that MTD does to the transformed female? That means she is pregnant and is most likely carrying her former hosts child. Parker's genetic and biological child."

Max quickly looked at Mike who was nodding. "She is indeed pregnant with Parker's child."

Elise placed her forehead in her hands while she sat at the table, "Mike, if you say she's a mess, we have to get that baby away from her as soon as possible because she WILL kill it!"

"Oh honey, you can't be serious." Max chastised her for assuming the worse.

She lifted her head and stared out into the exterior room, "Long ago, I asked her what she would do if she ever found out she was pregnant, she told me that she would kill herself first before she carried it to term." She looked up at her father, "When I asked her, what she would do if someone forced her to have a baby... she flatly told me she'd choke the life out of it." She lifted her eyes to look at Mike, then glanced toward her own father. "I believed her too."

Max knew the seriousness of his daughters expression. "Okay Mike, what do we do?" The child she carries is
innocent and should be with Parker." He leaned against the counter and addressed his friend.

"Parker is dead." Added Mike. "That was the other thing I found out today." He pulled out a chair and took a seat, Max soon followed.

"You're shitting me. How the hell did that happen?" Max shook his head and frowned. "This keeps going from bad to worse!"

"Mike, you got to pull some strings and get that baby from her. Somehow, someway before she allows them to mine it for genetics." Max had poured himself a drink and walked back to the table, Elise's face washed with horror.

"No!" she gasped, when contemplating what happens to the unborn when they are mined for their genes. "Please Max, you got to intercede... don't allow her to carry that child!"

"No need to worry, I already arranged for a surrogate for the duration of the pregnancy. The child will be safe." He smiled, it seemed to place Elise at ease.

"Since this new information has come to light about her trustworthiness as a parent, I'm going to have her put on a 'watch' program. We legally can't sterilize her, because someday she may actually WANT to experience being a mother." Mike used his writer and jotted down a few notes of their conversation.

Max gave a short laugh, staring into his drink and the reflection of the lighting that rode upon its surface. "It's pretty funny that she hated being a woman, so much that she stole a man's identity. When 'he' ran afoul of the law, 'he' was transformed into a woman as punishment... all the while legal was thinking they were punishing the man, when they were really punishing the woman." He laughed and took a drink.

"Fitting punishment if you ask me." Concluded Mike.

Elise smiled and quickly went back to work on their supper, as she was stirring Mike stood against the counter watching her. "We do have one thing we need to discuss."

"Who? Elise or I?" Max asked.

"All of us." He paused and glanced between the two of them. If we pull the baby out of the system, someone will have to be responsible for it if 'Parker' doesn't want it."

"Speaking of 'Parker', has anyone thought of what he's going to say when he finds out that his former body is dead?" Elise wondered aloud.

"Hey, you never said... how did the host body die?" Max added.

Mike sadly shook his head, "The fool overdosed on some Uraiah 4, that crap is lethal in even the smallest amounts... stupid ass. Less than a week out of prison and he's dead."

"How long? If it isn't too long they can reanimate..." Max began.

Mike broke in before he could finish, "He's been dead almost three full weeks."

"Well, that rules out reanimation then." Max sighed.

"So what will we do if the female that Parker became, won't want the baby?" Mike again allowed his eyes to dart between the father and daughter.

"We'll keep it." Elise replied frankly. "I'm not ready to be a mother yet, but I think 'Parker' has every right to accept.. or refuse his own genetic child."

"You do realize that 'she' will most likely have one of her own since she was transformed too." Max reminded his daughter.

"I hadn't thought of that...oh well, I still want to give him/her the opportunity to make a decision about a genetic child." She began to spoon her concoction out onto plates while her father carried them to the table.

"You heard her Mike, let the chips fall where they may. If Parker doesn't want the child, we'll keep it." Max winked at his daughter as she took her seat at the table.