Galactic Marshal
by
Hilltopper

CHAPTER 5

When the ship arrived in orbit around Broadskye, we met in the galley to ponder our next move.

“I have a contact with the police on Broadskye named Josh Randall. What say I contact him to see if he can help us?”

George was still a little shaky about my appearance.

“Uh, when you were with him last, weren’t you male?”

“Yeah, I was but he knew I had come from Fledora.”

“I know that too but seeing is different than knowing.”

I thought about that.

“OK, why don’t you contact him and explain things.”

So, George went to the command center to talk with Josh. I turned to Coop.

“Do you want to go down with us?”

“No, I better stay with the ship. There are still a lot of things that need adjusting. We have been lucky that everything has worked so far.”

“I guess you’re right.”

George came back a few minutes later.

“Josh is OK with everything. He’ll meet us at the spaceport.”

George gave me a smirk.

“He seemed rather amused by your situation.”

“Hmm, well, nothing for it.”

We went to the shuttle. I still had on my green dress. I sure wish I had some pants now. Arriving at the spaceport, we spotted Josh by his police car.

“So, uh, Jonnie, is it? You look nice. As a matter of fact, more than nice.”

I blushed a bright red. I did not like the way he was looking at me. George guffawed. I gave him a glare.

“Come on, I’ll take you to my office.”

We rode in silence. Entering his office, we all sat down.

“OK, I understand that your son has been kidnapped and you are trailing someone that has gone after him.”

“Not just anyone, my wife and a good friend from Fledora.”

“Right! What leads do you have?”

“A note was left telling Mary to go to a planet called Prowhiness. Linda, the woman traveling with her, knew a pilot here that, apparently, flew them there. All I know is that his name if Jeff and he is a known smuggler.”

“Let me do some checking.”

He left the office. George had been quiet.

“What’s on your mind?”

“I just wish you were your self. This is going to be tough enough as it is.”

This was getting old.

“I know my being female is going to cause a few problems, but there is nothing I can do about it.”

“Yeah”

A few minutes later, Josh walked back in with a big smile.

“I found him. He was interrogated a couple of days ago when he arrived back here. He did not admit anything.”

“I see. Can we have a crack at him?”

“Why not? I’ve got his address.”

We all left in Josh’s police car. Jeff lived in a pretty seedy part of town. I guess smuggling wasn’t paying too well. Josh knocked on his door and, when he opened it, showed him his badge.

“I’ve already talked to the police. I don’t know anything.”

Josh pushed his way in.

“We know you took two women to Prowhiness.”

He pointed to me.

“One of them, Mary, is her wife. Jonnie here is a marshal.”

Jeff looked at me in shock.

“Wife?”

“We’re from Fledora. Only women live there.”

“Right, I’ve heard about that place. OK, yeah, I took them there. We received a signal that guided us to a spot. I left them there and returned here. End of Story.”

My anger flashed. I grabbed him by the shirt.

“What do you mean ‘left them there’.”

“Shit, you’re strong. That’s all I know, honest. Mary went outside with Linda to wait. I launched into orbit. I told them that I would pick them up if they wanted. They never called so, after a few hours, I left. That is not a good place to hang around for long.”

I was not satisfied at all. I pushed him against the wall.

“So, you just left them there knowing they could be in trouble.”

“Hey, I told them it was a bad place and that I was only going to drop them and leave. They seemed fine with that.”

I could see that pushing that point wasn’t going to gain me anything.

“OK, can you take us to where you left them?”

“Not a chance. We were guided in by a beacon. I would never be able to find the spot besides, it’s not a good idea to go there uninvited. I’m never going back!”

“You said that it was a bad place. What did you mean?”

Jeff paled and clammed up. It was obvious that he was too scared to tell us more. We left and headed back to Josh’s office.

“Well, Josh, What do you make of him?”

“I think he told us all he knows or can tell us.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

Back at the office, I felt like we had hit a dead end.

“Josh, what do you know about that planet?”

“Not much. I know there is a thriving black market. There is also a very exclusive resort. From what I have heard, anything goes.”

“Do you have any idea why they would want Mary or my son there?”

“I have not a clue. I guess you are planning to go there, am I right?”

“We have no choice. That is where Mary and Linda went!”

“OK, I have an idea. Let me talk to someone I know. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

“I suppose we can wait. It’s not like we have a plan.”

“Good!”

George and I left Josh’s office.

“Where to now?”

“Well, George, how about I buy some pants.”

George brightened.

“Great idea!”

I bought several pairs of pants and some maleish shirts. With my female figure, there was no way that I would look male but it, at least, helped George cope. We took our shuttle back up to the ship. Coop met us.

“How did it go?”

I was not in a good mood and it showed.

“Lousy! All we know is that Mary and Linda did go to Prowhiness but nothing else.”

“OK, so, what do we do?”

“Josh Randall seems to have a plan. We will find out tomorrow. How’s the ship?”

“It’s fine. The engines are temperamental but I can keep them in line.”

I laughed.

“It sounds like teenagers.”

Coop laughed as well.

“Well, there are some similarities.”

We just lounged around the rest of the day and then went to bed. I slept very fitfully. Both Raylan and Mary were now missing. This was almost too much. Only my marshal training kept me going. The next morning, we were eating breakfast when Josh called.

“OK, John---er, Jonnie, it’s all set.”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

“What’s all set?”

“I was pretty sure that a business man I knew had gone to that resort on Prowhiness. He agreed with me that it was the only way you could go there with any chance of finding information. He gave me a contact and a reference. It was a cinch! You and George are booked in for tomorrow. Coop is listed as your pilot, so he will have to remain on the ship.”

“Wow, that is great news! Have you got the coordinates?”

“No need! When you get there, they will guide you in.”

“That sounds familiar. OK, we will get ready.”

“Uh, there is something you should be aware of.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, it’s an exclusive resort. So, George is booked in as a prominent business man named George Jones and you as his mistress.”

Shit! I looked over at George. He was pale as a ghost.

“What name am I listed as?”

Josh shook his head.

“No name; just ‘mistress’. You can sort that out when you get there.”

“OK, Josh, thanks---I think.”

He laughed.

“Good luck!”

I signed off and looked back at George. He had his head in his hands. Suddenly, he stood up and started pacing.

“John, I don’t think I can do it. This is too much to ask!”

I nodded.

“Your right, George. I don’t like it either. We will take you back to HQ and then Coop and I will go to Prowhiness. We will just have to take our chances.”

George stopped pacing and looked hard at me.

“You are my best friend and we have been through hell and back. No, take us to Prowhiness.”

He sighed.

“I’m going to my cabin and sulk.”

George left and I sagged back in my seat.

“This is crazy. George shouldn’t have to do this. It is really going to be hard on him.”

Coop shook his head.

“Actually, I think he will be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”

That brought my head up!

“What do you mean?”

“Well, George likes girls, right?”

I laughed.

“Yeah, he is quite the womanizer.”

“And you are female.”

“At the moment.”

“So, he will be going to an exclusive resort with a beautiful woman. That is exactly what he would want. You, on the other hand, don’t have any attraction to men, am I right?”

I made a face.

“That is for sure.”

“When you get into your role, George will quickly start relating to you as a woman and like it. George will still be George and you will be the one with the problem.”

This stunned me but Coop was right. I was scared to death. I haven’t really let myself think about what was going to happen. I had never been with a man and had absolutely no desire to do so. Knowing George, things could get out of hand. Thankfully, I still had my strength. Hopefully, George would be able to hold his hormones in check.

“God, what a mess!”

I just sat brooding until Coop tapped me on the shoulder.

“I think we should hibernate overnight so we will arrive at Prowhiness in the morning.”

”That sounds good to me.”

So, we went into the chambers. The next thing I knew, Coop was opening my door.

“We’re almost there. I guess we better be prepared. I don’t know when we will receive the signal.”

“OK”

We went to the galley to eat. George was in a better mood now. I figured we would get called pretty soon after entering orbit. When I finished eating, I got up and turned to George.

“Are you sure you’re OK with this?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, hopefully we will make contact quickly.”

“My thoughts exactly. I’m going to get ready.”

“You look OK to me.”

I laughed.

“George, I am listed as your mistress. That means I need to look the part.”

“Oh”

I went to my cabin. Yeah, I needed to look the part; in other words, sexy. Of course, Fledoran dress certainly lends itself to that. I picked out a lavender mini-dress with matching heels. I really hated wearing high heels but I figured it would be expected. After dressing, I got out my makeup kit. I didn’t like makeup and rarely wore it. But, once again, it would be expected for a ‘mistress’. I sat down and went to work. It involved mascara, eye liner, foundation, eye shading, blush, and lipstick. I put them on heavier than normal. Finishing, I stoop up and looked in the mirror. I had to admit, if I was a single man looking for a beautiful woman to date, I would certainly go with me. I left my room and headed back to the galley. When I entered, George looked up. His eyes practically burst from their sockets.

“Holy shit!”