According to reports,
the aliens are a non-hostile race...

 
by Lisa Caitlin Grey

 

---

 
This story is dedicated to my beloved friend and soul mate who passed away in November of 2002. Dana, I will always miss you terribly.
 
Part 7: A Woman's Work Is...
 
Chapter 24
 
 
Brian and I lay basking in the afterglow of our coitus. Sex with a man was far better than sex as a man, at least now that I was a woman, I reflected. The thought made me giggle softly. Brian stirred from his dozing, as we lay spooned together on the couch.

"I didn't think my performance was laughable," he commented in my ear.

I squeezed his arm that held me tight. "No," I agreed, "definitely not laughable."

"So you enjoyed the experience?" he asked.

"Yes, it was fabulous," I told him.

"Was it better than with a woman?" he probed.

"Well, I don't think I'll be joining the ranks of the straight girls, if that's what you mean," I laughed. "How about you? Was I better than sex with a man?"

"Nice reversal," he laughed. "I have to say, in all honesty, if it was just you and me, and we were not otherwise engaged, I would be very tempted to lead a straight life to be with you. I love you for your mind."

"Oh please," I rolled my eyes. "As if. Seriously though, it was much different than sex with Miri. It was better, or perhaps more satisfying in some ways, but over all, I am attracted to the female shape and scent and any number of minute things that make a woman a woman. You were great, but I think the only reason I was able to enjoy it was because I love you and trust you as my best friend."

"Yeah, I feel pretty much the same," Brian agreed and squeezed me one more time. "I'm thinking we had better be getting back. Miri didn't give you to me for the whole night and I'm sure she is anxious to interrogate you."

"Oh, I'm sure," I laughed.

I got up off the couch and immediately noticed an aspect of sex with a man that I hadn't thought much about before. I felt the sticky goo Brian had left in me begin to drain out of me, running down my leg. I stifled a sound and ran to the bathroom to clean myself up.

When we got back to my house it was close to three in the morning and Brian walked me to the door. I reached out and touched the DNA scanner that secured the door and it unlocked, then turned back to Brian to say good-bye. Suddenly, I was in his arms and he was kissing me passionately again.

"I was told to treat you exactly like this was a date," he explained, a bit breathlessly after we disengaged, "and it's not a date without a good night kiss, is it?"

"Yeah, I'm sure it was all part of the act," I grinned. "Good night, Romeo."

"Good night, Beautiful," he said as I went through the door.

The next morning, Miri grilled me until I had given her a play by play of the whole night in all its gory details. She actually sighed in relief when I told her that while it was wonderful and special, I was still very much a one-woman girl. I felt it was a novelty that, once experienced, no longer held any draw.

"I'm so glad to hear that," Miri said, "though I do have to admit that I do miss the feeling of you filling me on occasion. I'm so glad you enjoyed it."

"So what are you telling me?" I asked. "That you want to have an open relationship?"

"Not on a bet, Lover," she said fervently. "I said I missed YOU filling me. I just wanted you to understand what that's like. And don't go getting any ideas about open relationships or three ways. I'm not the type. I am totally dedicated to you, well, you and our children, and that's all I want."

"Good, because I feel the same about you," I said, and then asked, "Children? Is there something you need to tell me?"

She grinned mischievously for a moment, scaring the stew out of me. "Not at all," she said, "but there is still another little matter of another experience I want you to have."

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure I'm ready for that experience yet," I told her. "I mean, if it's possible, I do want to have a child but just not at the moment."

"Some of us don't get to chose," she said dryly.

"Miri..." I began in a warning tone.

"Oh don't get your panties in a bunch," she said, smiling. "It's not like we could right now if we wanted to. However, there is someplace I want you to go with me today."

"And where might this be?" I asked warily.

"I have made us an appointment with an endocrinologist and a geneticist," she informed me. "It's high time we find out if that gorgeous body of yours is going to be able to support a developing child properly. You get PMS and bleed just like I do, so I think the chances are good. I promise, Sweetie, there is nothing like the feeling you get when you hold the baby you carried inside your body in your arms for the first time."

I smiled wistfully and then replied, "and there is nothing like watching the mother of your child holding that child for the first time."

I was sitting in the waiting room, watching Miri play games with little Brock, when I was called into the Endocrinologist’s office. After being conducted back through a maze of hallways into a well-appointed office, I was asked to take a seat. I amused myself during the brief wait by examining the small, personal items the Doctor kept around the office to give it a less austere appearance. I didn't have to wait long before the doctor came in.

"Hello, Miz Callaway, I'm Doctor Rollins," the older, maternal-looking woman said.

"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Rollins," I said, taking her offered hand.

"What is it I can do for you?" the Doctor asked, seating herself behind an imposing looking desk.

"Um..." I began a little uneasily, "at some point, I would like to be pregnant with my other half's child. Before we can do that we need to know if my body is capable of properly and safely carrying a child to term."

"I see," Dr. Rollins said. "And is there any reason to suspect this would not be the case?"

"I...um...that is," I said awkwardly, "I was born a man. My body is the result of a genetic tailoring pill."

"Wow," she said. "Impressive work. I would never have guessed."

"Thanks, it was very expensive and honestly it didn't need to do a lot of major changes," I explained.

"You understand that this is as yet an unpioneered field," Dr. Rollins explained. "Most girls with your birth condition, a lot of born women for that matter, prefer to go the tried and true invitro method because it's less risky and a whole lot more comfortable."

"I realize that," I said, "but my life partner has already given birth to our son and she wants what she jokingly refers to as payback."

"Is that what you want, Miz Callaway?" the doctor asked.

"I must confess that I was quite envious of her, even though I was there throughout the process and saw how...er...uncomfortable it is," I explained, smiling at my colossal understatement.

The doctor smiled and interviewed me for a few more minutes before conducting me to an exam room. She took a blood sample and examined me vaginally before sending me into a small restroom to produce a urine sample for her. She then let me get dressed and told me she would call when she had the preliminary results.

The next stop was to the geneticist, where I received similar treatment. He also took a genetic sample and harvested some of Miri's eggs so he could work on implanting my DNA in them. When the time came, they would be fertilized by Miri's DNA, essentially making her the father.

We were just leaving the Geneticist's when I got a phone call.
 
 
Chapter 25
 
 
"Valerie Callaway?" a male voice asked.

"Yes, this is she," I confirmed.

"Hi Valerie, this is John Masters here at the Governing Council building," the man explained. "Would you by any chance be available today to attend a Council meeting?"

"I don't think that would be too much of a problem," I acquiesced. "What time should I be there?"

"How soon can you be here?" Masters countered.

"How's two hours sound?" I asked, glancing at Miri, who was looking at me inquiringly.

"Two hours would be great, Ma'am. I will inform the Council to expect you then," the man said. "Have a great day."

"And you as well," I said before closing the connection.

"What was that about," Miri asked.

"It seems my presence is desired at a Council meeting," I told her.

"Oh goody, that should be a lot of fun," Miri said sardonically. She never did have much use for politicos, particularly after they had tried to brow beat me into being the people's sweet heart when we had first arrived.

"Well, it must be important," I said. "You know they tend to avoid me after I made it clear I wasn't going to be their good little puppet."

"No kidding," Miri said, fondly remembering the incident. "You have the most delightful way of overreacting when someone backs you into a corner. It's so different from your normal sweet amiability. It also has the most interesting effect on me too. It makes me want to take you to bed and have my way with you."

"I noticed," I smiled. "I have two hours before I said I would be there. You can either come with me, or I can drop you at the house, but let's get some lunch first. You can decide then."

"I love it when you take charge," she teased.

"As if," I laughed, "We both know who wears the pants in this family."

"Why, Valerie, what ever do you mean?" she asked in mock innocence.

"Uh huh," was all I said as we each took one of little Brock's hands and went off in search of an eatery.

As I expected, I arrived at the Council building alone. Miri had opted to spend her time with Brock instead of what she described as "A bunch of stuffy self-important egomaniacs." I tended to agree with her, but I saw these little meetings as a necessary tribulation, given the lucrative military contracts I had for my ship designs.

I was curious as to the purpose of this conference, given I didn't have anything big going on at the moment. When I arrived in the antechamber of the conference room, the secretary told me to go right in.

"Valerie!" cried the big lesbian who had spoken up for me during the first meeting. She rushed up and enfolded me in a crushing hug. We had established a friendship as we often attended the same functions. "Thank you so much for coming."

"Sure, Cheryl," I told her. "What's this about?"

"We'll get to that, but first you need to watch the presentation," Cheryl told me.

We all took a seat and looked on as the lights dimmed. A large screen came up, displaying an overview of colonized space.

"Thank you all for coming," a man said from the shadows. "The reason you are here is to view this new bit of intelligence our friends inside the TSN have provided us. It may just provide the key to our salvation. Six months ago, explorers pushing back the boundaries of human controlled space ran upon an unexpected development. When they began exploring out past this border here," the indicated border flashed green, "they claimed to have stumbled on a sentient alien race with technology far in advance of our own." There was a general murmur throughout the room.

"According to reports, the aliens are a non-hostile race, though they are well equipped to defend themselves. The explorers reported that the aliens called themselves the Drandians and they knew our language because they have been watching us for sometime. The explorers went on to say that humans are not welcome in their space because we, as a race, were too immature and violent. Since that time, the TSN has quarantined that section of space."

"We want to send a delegation to the Drandians to see if our plight moves them to help us somehow, either technically or otherwise," the speaker said.

"Who should we send?" asked a council member as the lights came back up.

"The Grand Council suggests the delegation should be composed of a diplomat, an engineer, and an experienced naval crew," the speaker said. "The diplomat is being supplied by Tolerance."

"That's why I have requested that Valerie be here," Cheryl spoke up. "If she agrees to go, I think the Zone's premiere ship designer would be an asset on such a mission. Also, Valerie and her life partner are both experienced line naval officers."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. "Don't forget, we have a young child. What are we going to do with little Brock? Is this mission dangerous? I have to think about my family. What becomes of my son if we don't return because the TSN or this alien race kills us? Who's gonna look after him while we are gone? If I go then I would want my whole crew with me, including my computer specialist, Dan Chestnut."

"The danger should be minimal," the speaker said. "We thought that perhaps your son could travel with you. It could be helpful for the aliens to see a family to help reinforce what's at stake."

"Valerie, you should also know that we haven't received any new people across the blockade in a year," Cheryl said. "It's been rumored that somebody in the Terran Government has realized that they have been sending what have mostly been the best and brightest gays, lesbians, and transfolk here. That scared them and now they are summarily executing any of our people they discover. How long do you think it will be before that same fear inspires them to invade the Zone and kill us all?"

"You know, as good as our own Navy is, in terms of the quality of our hardware and personnel, our resources are finite and we are still no match for the TSN because of the sheer numbers and resources they can bring to bear. We can’t hope to match them without a significant technological advantage and perhaps even some allies."

"There is another aspect of the mission as well," the speaker said. "There have been reports that the frontier worlds are banding together, setting up an alliance against the Terran Government that they feel is too harsh and totalitarian. They are chafing under the Terran taxation and they feel they get nothing in return. They have a great deal more resources at their disposal and have already had a few skirmishes with the TSN. Also, it's been suggested that they wouldn't be adverse to our presence in their alliance, so another secondary objective of this expeditionary mission would be to make contact with them and forge some sort of agreement."

"When is this expedition supposed to leave?" I asked.

"In about a month when we get the crew picked out and the heavy cruiser refitted," the speaker said.

"You were planning on sending a heavy cruiser?" I asked.

"That was the plan, yes," the man said. "I take it you have some input here?"

"I have a lot of input here," I said. "Firstly, while a heavy cruiser is a powerful ship, it's slow and hard to hide even with a stealth generator. It generates a lot of heat and it's easily seen. If the TSN spotted us crossing the blockade in a warship of that size, the jig would be up. They would know that we are capable of being a thorn in their side and would, no doubt, do something about it. Our greatest strength at this point is that they have no idea that we are well equipped with our own warships, and right now they are not interested in what's going on behind the blockade. Detecting one of our heavies would surely change that."

"Secondly, we are on a mission to beg for the assistance of this supposedly peaceful alien race. It's my thought that perhaps showing up in a big intimidating warship would be rather counterproductive to our objective. They aren't likely to give us crap for assistance if we go in with a show of force."

There was a general murmur of agreement around the table.

"She has some very good and valid points," Cheryl said to the man giving the presentation. "It's one of the reasons I suggested her for this mission. She has a good keen head on her shoulders, and in addition to having already displayed her courage, I also understand that she’s an unparalleled tactician."

"Very well, I will take your input to the Grand Council," the man said. "What sort of ship would you suggest we send?"

"Why mine, of course," I said. "She's a Duality class heavy corvette. She's relatively small and very fast, which will make her hard to spot. She also packs a huge punch, should we encounter any hostiles. She also doesn't look obviously like a warship, so it won't raise questions if she is spotted."

"So, does this mean you’re going?" Cheryl asked.

"I have to discuss it with Miri first," I said. "She has veto power, but I do think this mission is important to safe guard my son's future."
 
 
Chapter 26
 
 
"Why can't these people leave you alone and let us live a quiet peaceful life?" Miri demanded rhetorically, after I told her what we had been asked to do. "And now they want us to go dragging our son across the back of beyond, and into possibly dangerous situations. Damn them!"

"I know, Miri, I know," I said soothingly. "The fact is, though, we have skills and experience that not many others could bring to the mission. If we don't go, to whom would you trust our child's future? Personally, I think I would rather hold his fate in my hands than let some stranger do my fighting for me."

"You're right, of course," Miri said with resignation. "It's just that I wanted us to be a stable solid family; no risks, no surprises."

"Me too, Miri, but we do have a good life," I said. "It may be a bit too exciting at times, but it has its compensations. It gave us little Brock, didn't it?"

"You're right," she said, hugging me tightly. "So, when do we leave?"

"They are planning on leaving in a month," I told her. "I need to see if Brian and Dan will go as well. I could really use their expertise in this."

Brian and Dan, of course, agreed to go with us as well. We spent the next month getting the Duality Too ready for the voyage. Dan worked tirelessly upgrading systems, and I even installed the latest thing in weapons technology. In place of the rapid firing pulse lasers in the nose turret, I installed new advanced mini particle beam cannons, which packed more punch and range than the lasers. Unfortunately, they also used more power so we were limited to converting just one turret.

Three weeks later we had the Duality Tooready for the trip and the Diplomat was on planet. His name was Samsual Keller. Keller was an absolute hunk of an older man with snowy white hair and a matching Van Dyke. In spite of his age, standing at 6 feet tall, his body was still athletic and muscular. He had an affable yet no nonsense presence that I really liked, and though I would never have admitted it to anyone, when he looked at me with his azure blue eyes, I could feel my panties get wet in spite of myself. As if this wasn't enough, he was also Bi and a widower.

The other three members of my crew seemed to be pretty well taken with him as well. The guys were somewhat shameless in the admiration, as was Miri, though she was more circumspect about it. For my part, I didn't volunteer anything, but when asked my opinion, I would just say, "I guess he's ok if you like the type," which caused everyone to laugh at me. I guess I was pretty transparent.

According to them, he seemed quite smitten with me, providing them with even more amusement. Personally, I didn't see it, but Miri and the guys would sit around and point out to me all the little indications, then giggle about my discomfort. Miri even jokingly suggested that maybe I should invite him to our bed. At least, I thought it was a joke. Wasn't it? Nevertheless, I was determined to be a good girl, and no matter how devastatingly attractive I found Sammy, or how desirable he found me, I was committed to another,r whom I found even more attractive.

During the last week before our departure, we all spent a lot of time together establishing a working relationship and going over every piece of information we had pertaining to our mission. Not all of it was in a conference room, either. We took a couple of days and went hiking in the mountains at Brian's cabin. It was here where I was tested.

Sam, Brian, Miri and I were hiking along a trial in the crisp morning air. Sam and I were talking about my experiences in the TSN. He always seemed to do that when we weren't talking about the mission. Having me talking about myself, that is. As always, he listened in rapt fascination to my anecdotes, and we fell a bit behind Miri and Brian, who were both setting an athletic pace.

"Oh my," Sam said, stopping. "What a beautiful view."

We had come to a point in the trail where the trees broke and revealed a breathtaking morning mountain vista. The sun hadn't yet burned off the cool mist that blanketed the mountains like a fluffy blanket in places. We could look down on the valley below and see the powerful rapids of the river that coursed along the base of the valley.

"Have you ever seen a more lovely sight?" I agreed.

"Just one," he said.

When he didn't elaborate, I looked around for him to prompt me to go on. I found he was looking evocatively at me and I fell into his vibrant blue eyes, transfixed like a mouse before a cobra.

"Valerie, you have the most beautiful gray eyes I've ever seen," he said, stepping up to me. "They can be as hard and cold as the steel they share their color with, but also as warm, soft and inviting as a mother's embrace."

The word "mother" made me think of Miri, being the mother of my child, and that broke the spell. Using thoughts of Miri as a lifeline, I struggled back from the depths of those blue eyes.

"Sam," I said gently, "You know I'm in an exclusive relationship with Miri. Please don't test that. I might be tempted, but in the end you'll lose and I really don't think we need that sort of awkwardness in the days to come."

Sam seemed to jerk slightly, as if coming out of his own spell. "Oh damn," he said. "Geez, I'm sorry Valerie. I don't know what came over me. It seemed that when our eyes met, the rest of the world ceased to have meaning; I fell into your incredible gray orbs and wanted to stay there forever."

"I know what you mean," I said with a sigh.

"Valerie, Sam," came Miri's voice from up the trail, "stop lollygagging and get your butts in gear."

I looked at Sam and grinned. "That's my Miri," I said. "She can be a bit unpolished at times, but I love her for that."

Sam and I turned and hustled up the trail to catch up to the others. Neither he nor I ever mentioned the incident again, although, I would catch him looking at me wistfully from time to time when he thought I wasn’t looking.

The day of our departure finally arrived. We all met at the spaceport with our baggage of personal effects in tow. The baggage pile for Miri and me was somewhat larger than the others' due to little Brock’s need for toys and such. As soon as we had everything stowed, we began our pre-flight checkouts.

All systems were as expected, in the green, and we were ready to commence our journey. If all went as planned, we wouldn't be returning home for six months minimum. Longer depending on how long negotiations took.

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