Galactic Marshal II
by
Hilltopper

CHAPTER 20 - The Final Chapter

I awoke to find the doctor standing over me. She helped me to sit up. I immediately felt the absence of anything hanging from my chest. The doctor noticed where I was looking.

“Yes, the transformation was mostly complete.”

I looked up at her.

“What do you mean ‘mostly’?”

“Well, there were a couple of things that the medical pod couldn’t deal with.”

“Such as?”

Just then, Mary burst in.

“Oh, John, I’m so glad you came through the procedure OK. We need to hurry. Carol’s ship is about to land.”

I got out of the pod and hugged Mary. She pushed me toward the screen.

“Hurry!”

I went behind the screen where I had left my male clothing. I couldn’t help but wonder what the doctor meant. As I dressed, I seemed to be my old male self. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. When I came around the screen, Mary grabbed my hand.

“Let’s go!”

I looked back at the doctor.

“Thank you.”

She nodded.

“We will talk later.”

“Alright, I’ll come back when I can.”

Mary and I left and headed for the hanger bay. Mary stopped as we entered the hanger and put her hands on my shoulders.

“It’s been a long time.”

I assumed she meant my being male.

“Yes, I must admit that it feels strange.”

She nodded.

“I can see that it would. You have been a woman for a year. It feels strange to me as well. I have lived with you as a woman far more than as a man. I’m not saying it’s bad; just different.”

I hugged her.

“We have sure had a crazy life but I love you as much as ever.”

She smiled and we kissed deeply.

“I love you too, male or female. By the way we now have a new council chairwoman; Margaret Hillfinger. She is very anti-male.”

I grimaced.

“That’s not good.”

“Well, it’s still an even split but it means, until a referendum is passed, we will follow our laws more stringently. In other words, no males on Fledora or it’s moon.”

“What about Coop?”

She shrugged.

“The council is giving him a month to wind down the laser project. After that, he must leave.”

“I was afraid of that. I guess that means I can’t come back either unless I first transform back to female.”

She looked thoughtful.

“You may have an out there.”

“What do you mean?”

“You better ask the doctor about that.”

“Hmm, OK, what about Raylan?”

She straightened up.

“I will not let anyone do anything to him.”

“Good!”

A noise brought us to attention. The alien ship had arrived. We watched it land and, when the hatch opened, we walked over to it. A couple of minutes later, Karen came out of the ship with Carol. With Karen’s help, Carol was actually walking. A cheer went up. As they reached us, Karen eyed me.

“Well, hello brother dear. Long time no see.”

I smiled and gave her a big hug. Mary hugged Carol with tears in her eyes.

“Welcome back, we missed you. I’m so glad you are better.”

Carol smiled but said nothing. Karen noticed and spoke up.

“She can’t talk yet but her recovery has been amazing.”

Mary smiled big.

“It certainly is. Carol, will you come stay with me while you recuperate?”

Carol nodded and took Mary’s hands.

“Great! Let’s get you to my shuttle.”

We walked to it and helped Carol get aboard. I turned to Mary.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

We hugged and kissed. Finally, we separated.

“I know you will. I’ll miss you.”

“Ditto”

Karen and I left the shuttle and watched it take off.

“Are you hungry?”

Karen nodded.

“Famished”

“OK, let’s hit the cafeteria. We have a lot to talk about.”

Karen grinned.

“More than you can imagine.”

We went to the cafeteria, filled our plates, and found an isolated table.

“Tinker sure did a great thing with Carol.”

“Yes, it apparently was a close call. She has a lot of memory loss plus will need a good bit of rehabilitation. Even so, she has made an amazing recovery.”

Karen eyed me seriously.

“Tinker says you owe him again.”

I frowned.

“I wish I knew what Tinker wants with me.”

“Well, they want to meet with you before we leave so maybe you’ll find out.”

“Did you say we?”

“Yes, I’m going back with them. I am the envoy.”

I laughed.

“Yes you are.”

“By the way, I have explained our relationship to them. I also told them that you are really male and the commander. I guess you’re transformation to you’re old male self will help convince them.”

“I hope so. It was a pain before.”

“Why have you changed back?”

“Orders from headquarters. My last trip did not go over well. You were a hit, however.”

Karen laughed.

“I bet.”

I smiled.

“Yeah, George, Linda and I are leaving in the morning. We have a lot to report on.”

Karen nodded and grinned.

“Well, I’m about to give you some more. I found out why they needed the thulium so badly.”

I perked up.

“I’m all ears.”

“They are working on a new transportation system.”

I frowned.

“You mean all of this is because they want to build a new spaceship?”

Karen shook her head.

“No, no, it’s much more than that. It is some kind of almost instantaneous travel between stars. No ship’s drive is involved. Apparently, it is some kind of portal that one goes through.”

“Wow! That is something! How close are they?”

“Almost there, I believe. They should start placing the gates soon. It is even possible that one will be placed here.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope, Tinker is warm to the idea.”

“What about Earth?”

She frowned.

“They have no desire to meet with the Planetopolis government. I’m sorry.”

I sighed.

“That will not please the powers that be.”

“Nope, I guess we better get to the ship. Tinker is in a hurry to leave.”

We left the cafeteria and went to the alien ship. Upon entering, we walked toward the galley. Tinker met us about half way down the corridor and looked at me a minute.

“I can see that what Karen told me is the truth. I understand that you real name is John.”

“Yes, I’m sorry for the deception.”

“Don’t worry, she explained that as well. Please come with me to the galley.”

When we entered, Bell was there. Bell looked surprised but remained silent. Tinker and Bell appeared to exchange some kind of thought.

“We have some things we need to discuss but ----

Tinker hesitated a minute. Bell still looked startled. They looked at each other again.

--- we really need to do that with Gina.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“You said that you know I was Gina.”

“Yes”

“OK”

Everyone was silent for a minute. Finally, Tinker turned to Karen.

“We will leave as soon as you have escorted Marshal Harper off the ship.”

Tinker and Bell left the room.

“What was that all about?”

Karen shrugged.

“Search me. I guess your appearance threw them a little.”

“They are hard to understand.”

Karen walked with me to the hatch. I hugged her.

“You take care of yourself.”

Karen smiled.

“I will and you do the same.”

I left the ship. It took off as I made my way to medical. As I passed Coop’s office, I looked in. George and Coop were there.

“George, you ready to leave in the morning?”

“You bet, it will be good to get back to work.”

I laughed.

“I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

We all laughed then Coop spoke up.

“I guess you heard their closing shop.”

“Yeah, what are you going to do?”

“No problem there, I’ll join the Earth program.”

“That’s good. Well, I’ll see you both in the morning.”

I left and went into medical. The doctor looked up.

“Ah, Jonnie, I’m glad you came back.”

“Hi Doc, what did you need to discuss?”

“Nothing serious but there is two anomalies. First, your testicles have no germ cells. I guess that is due to your being female for almost a year.”

I nodded.

“I kind of figured that. What’s the other thing?”

She looked at me a minute.

“Are you aware that you are intersexed?”

“Yes but it has never been a medical problem.”

“OK, by law, we cannot remove female reproductive organs unless for health reasons so the pod could do nothing with that. Comparing your profile from when you were first transformed to the one from yesterday, I noticed some development of your internal female organs. They are still not functional but it is something you need to keep a watch on.”

“Is that what Mary meant about me having an out as far as living here?”

“Yes, with your citizenship and medical profile, you could be listed as female in order to live here as you are now.”

“Wow!”

“I understand that you are leaving for a while. Please see me when you get back.”

I stood and shook the doctor’s hand.

“I will and thank you.”

She smiled.

“It has been a new experience.”

I laughed and left medical. Upon entering my room, I went straight to bed. I was completely wiped out and was soon asleep. When I awoke, I dressed and went to breakfast. I was about finished when George and Linda came over to my table.

“Hey, Jonnie, you’re looking very masculine today.”

I smiled at Linda.

“I hope so. The marshal service didn’t like my last visit there.”

Linda laughed.

“I wish I could have seen that.”

George patted my back.

“It’s good to see the real you.”

He hesitated a few seconds.

“Uh, it is complete, right?”

I laughed.

“Yes, George, there nothing to worry about. I’ll meet you both at my cruiser but take your time.”

I left, got my belongings from my room, and went to the ship. About 40 minutes later, George and Linda came aboard. We went to the command center and strapped in.

“Gina, take us to the marshal headquarters at Earth.”

“Jonnie, you look different.”

“Yes, call me John.”

“Noted”

We took off and, after getting the required distance from the moon, the drive kicked in. I settled back in my seat and reflected on my situation. I did not want to leave Mary and Raylan. It helped that I might be able to come back without transforming into a woman. Of course, that meant, in some ways, I was still a woman even after my transforming back to my male self. Thinking about it was enough to throw me into despair. I still worried about the aliens and what they wanted with me. They were definitely a wild card in my life. Going back to HQ filled me with trepidation. My last trip was a disaster and many would remember what I looked like. The marshal service was a very macho organization and I was not sure I fit in anymore. The last year had totally changed my life. Whether that was a good thing or not still remained to be seen. I could feel myself falling into depression. I sagged back and sighed.

“I need a drink!”

{Author's note: This concludes Galactic Matshal II. Will there be a book III. Well, I'm not much of a writer but I do have an idea for another book so we'll see. Thank you for reading and commenting. Good bye for now.}