Galactic Marshal II
by
Hilltopper

CHAPTER 19

I thought that I had better inform Sam about what had happened. I contacted him and filled him in.

“OK, Jonnie, you did well. I need you and George to come here in a few days to file an official report. Oh, by the way, please come as your male self. I’m still getting comments about the two Amazons that were on the station.”

I laughed.

“That shouldn’t be a problem. Thanks for backing me up.”

“Sure, see you soon.”

Sam disconnected. I turned to George.

“I guess we’ll head to HQ in a few days.”

I looked over at Linda.

“Linda, are you going to stay here?”

She looked at George.

“She’s coming with us if that’s OK.”

I smiled.

“You bet. Mary and I are going planetside. I’ll let you know when I get back here.”

Mary interjected.

“If I let her come back.”

That got a big laugh. Mary and I went to her shuttle. When we arrived at the shuttle port on Fledora, Mary hugged me.

“Thank you again for what you did for Carol. I need to go to my office and write up my report. I also need to inform the council.”

She shook her head.

“It is going to be a mess. I don’t want you caught in the middle of it.”

I nodded.

“My mission is over. I’ll try to stay in the back ground.”

We took Mary’s hovercraft to the police building. I sat on a couch in Mary’s office while she wrote out her report. She finally sat back and sighed.

“Well, I can’t put it off any longer. I must contact the council. I’d rather be alone when I do. Why don’t you get us something to eat.”

“Sure, I’ll get us some burgers.”

I went to the cafeteria and ordered 3 burgers then sat down to wait for them. I did not envy Mary’s duty. Things could not have gone worse for the council especially Carol. True, I felt what I did was the correct thing but, since I am a Fledoran citizen, technically, I acted as a traitor. I don’t think the council will want to be kind to me in spite of Mary. The order came up and I went back to Mary’s office. I peaked in to see if she was off the vid. She was sitting in her chair with a stunned look. I walked on in.

“You look like I feel.”

“Huh”

“What did the council say?”

Mary shook her head and then laughed.

“They have elected me to take Carol’s place on the council.”

“Wow! Congratulations, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess. I have to go talk with the members. I don’t know how long this will take so you might as well go on home. Take the hovercraft because, as a council member, I will be provided with a car and driver.”

“OK”

I hugged and kissed her.

“Good luck and I will see you later.”

I went out to the hovercraft and headed home. This selection of Mary for the council was a bit of a surprise and seemed to happen awful fast. Carol has been on the council for what seemed like forever. To be frank, she was the major force of the council. Her leaving will likely change a lot of things. When I arrived home, I found Lynne feeding Raylan. She looked up at me.

“Hey, Jonnie, where’s Mary?”

I laughed.

“You’ll never guess. She is the new council member.”

“Oh my god! She’ll have even less time home now.”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know. She won’t be another Carol, I hope.”

I played with Raylan for the next hour until he got sleepy. After putting him down, I went ahead and ate supper. Mary still hadn’t come shown up at 8 o’clock. Finally about 9, she came in. She looked drained. I hugged her and just held her a few minutes.

“Thanks, I needed that.”

“Rough night, huh.”

“You said it.”

“Well, a good night sleep will fix things.”

She eyed me cautiously.

“Uh, we need to be at the council chambers early in the morning. They are having a swearing in ceremony and you need to attend as my spouse.”

I stared a minute.

“Let me guess, this thing is very formal, right.”

Mary looked away.

“Yes”

“And I have to look the part.”

“Yes”

“You know how I hate those things!”

“I know, I know, but it is required.”

“OK, I relent. Let’s go to bed.”

We did not go right to sleep but, when we did, I was very relaxed. I awoke to Mary shaking me.

“Come on, Jonnie, we need to get ready.”

I, reluctantly, got up and bathed. I then applied my make-up. I had gotten pretty good at it even though I didn’t like it. When I went into the bedroom, Mary was holding up a short sleeveless dress with a million shiny silver sequins on it. I groaned.

“Now Jonnie, don’t start.”

“I’ll look like a Christmas ornament. If my fellow marshals saw me in that, I would have to shoot myself.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. You’ll look great.”

I put on the dress and matching shoes. Mary did my hair. It seems a ponytail is not suitable for formal events. I had to admit, I looked very nice but jeese. Mary’s car was waiting for us out front. The driver opened the door.

“You look beautiful, ladies.”

I smiled and entered the car. We were deposited at the council building. The ceremony was, thankfully, fairly brief. A breakfast in Mary’s honor was held afterwards. The council members and several dignitaries came by to congratulate me on my spouse’s selection to the council. I smiled sweetly and told them how lucky I was. I was beginning to feel like I did on Tinker’s ship. Finally, it was over and we headed home.

“Now, that wasn’t so bad was it?”

“Speak for yourself. Are you sure your membership on the council is a good idea?”

She sighed.

“I must admit that I really don’t want it. However, Carol’s absence on the council is going to cause chaos. She kept everyone focused on what was important. Now, each member is going to tout their own agendas. This could mean that nothing gets done. I have to try to help.”

This shocked me. I thought Fledora’s method of government was very stable.

“What about the referendum?”

Mary shook her head sadly.

“Believe it or not, Carol was the driving force behind it. I think she truly felt bad at how you and your father were treated. There are several on the council who are dead set against it. I fear it will be an uphill battle to get it on a ballot.”

“Shit! What about Raylan?”

“I don’t know.”

“This is just great!”

We arrived home and went in to change clothes.

“I have to go back for a council meeting. Hopefully, it won’t last too long.”

“Alright, I guess this is going to be normal from now on. I’ll take care of Raylan. I worry about him.”

Mary hugged me.

“Me too. I’ll try to get a feel for things at the meeting.”

Mary left and I spent the afternoon being domestic. Raylan was a joy. I wish I could stay home but I still have my marshal duties. About 3 o’clock, I got a call from Coop.

“We just got word that the alien ship will be back tomorrow evening with Carol. There was no word on her condition.”

“OK, thanks. I’ll work out getting back up there.”

I disconnected. Mary came home a few minutes later. I hurried over to her and gave her a big kiss.

“I just got word that Carol will be back tomorrow evening.”

“That’s good news. How is she?”

“No word on that. Did your meeting go OK?”

Mary sighed.

“It went about like I expected; a donnybrook. Until we can sort out a new chairwoman, it is going to be a mad house.”

I nodded.

“Anything come up about Raylan?”

“No, but there was some discussion about males in general. It is about an even split between those who are for a referendum to allow males to live here and those against. A couple of members don’t even want males on the moon. Bringing Coop here was Carol’s idea. With the alien threat eased, there does not appear to be any impetus for military options. They may vote to end the laser initiative.”

“Wow, that’s a surprise. Are you going up to the moon to meet Carol?”

“Yes indeed. Are you coming with me?”

“I guess but I have another problem. Sam wants George and me to come to the marshal HQ in a couple of days.”

I looked uneasily at Mary.

“Uh, he has requested that I come as my male marshal self. When I was changed before, I was in hibernation on your ship. I have no way to change on my cruiser. How do I get changed back?”

“That’s any easy one. Medical at the moon base can do it. Let me call the doctor and check on it.”

While she made the call, I got us both drinks. When I came back in, she did not look too happy.

“The doctor says that, in your case, the procedure in a medical pod will take about 18 hours. So, you will need to leave right away in order to be finished before Carol arrives. That is, unless you can wait until afterwards.”

I shook my head.

“I’m real sorry but I need to be transformed as soon as possible.”

Mary came to me and wrapped me in a big hug.

“We get so little time together. It’s just not fair.”

“I agree but what can we do?”

“OK, get your things and I’ll have us driven to the shuttle port. Oh, I guess you’ll need the male clothes you left here.”

I laughed.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t look too good in this summer dress after my transformation.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

I glared at her and then we both laughed. I went over to Raylan and picked him up.

“God, I hate leaving both of you again.”

Mary just nodded sadly. After turning him over to Lynne, I packed my clothes. We were driven to the shuttle port. I guess we made a bit of a scene in saying goodbye. Finally, I stepped away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Mary shook her head.

“No, you won’t; John will.”

I sighed, kissed her again and walked into the shuttle. It has been almost a year since I was male. I guess I have gotten used to being female. I worried about changing back; not only how I will feel but how Mary will feel about me. After landing on the moon, I went over to Coop’s office. He was still there. I decided not to tell him about the council discussion.

“Hey Coop.”

He looked up in surprise.

“You got here quick. I didn’t expect you until tomorrow.”

“I have a date with the doctor in medical. I need to transform back into my male self.”

Coop laughed.

“I sometimes forget that you are really male.”

I sighed.

“Unfortunately, so do I. Well, I better get on over there. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I went to medical. The doctor was expecting me. I brought some male clothing with me.

“OK, Jonnie, if you’ll go behind that screen and put on the gown, we’ll get started.”

I put on the gown and she gave me a physical. She looked concerned.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, nothing the medical pod can’t sort out. Let’s get you into it.”

She raised the lid and I settled in.

“This will take about 18 hours. Just relax and it will be over before you know it.”

She closed the lid and the gas pored in. I quickly faded out.