3000 years into the future, Humanity is once again fighting for it's very survival. There of course are those heroes who make sacrifices for the sake of others. Some have to sacrifice more than most people will ever know. Thanks to the Praetorians, our lives can continue...

Praetorian: Black Guard Prologue by Sadarsa

Assholes to belly-buttons, or Nutt's to Butt's as we call it. We stood in single file, herded like cattle. Each of us practically hugging the person in front of us. I had no idea how long the line was, but every ten minutes or so the line would shuffle forward a bit before settling back down. My feet were killing me and I had begun shifting my weight from one foot to the next, unfortunately the rather massive brute behind me had felt my movements and had popped a boner. We all knew the drill, keep quite and say nothing about it, no room for queers in this man’s Army. I quietly mumbled “Sorry” to the guy behind me, breaking the unspoken rule. He just chuckled in response and I’m sure I felt him shrug. I didn’t know the guy, hell I didn’t know anyone here. This wasn’t my platoon or even my company. We were all here as potential candidates for the Praetorian program.

About three-thousand years ago the First Earth had been reduced to a class 2 planet, basically the air and water was poisonous, and had killed off most life on the planet. All that remained were certain types of bacteria and microscopic plant life in the oceans. That of course gave us hope that one day humanity will be able to return to it’s home world, but after around three millennia no one expects to see it happen in their lifetime. Anyway, humanity was forced to leave Earth and began looking for a new planet. After 300 years of drifting through space, living off replicated food created from protein packs. The survivors of humanity found a habitable world, and of course, named it Earth II.

Earth II was a huge planet, estimated to be twelve times the size of First earth. The larger planet size of course made for very long days and nights. One day was approximately ninety-four Earth hours, just under four standard Earth days. Due to the oddity of the Day/Night cycle, the original time standard was kept. Time was not the only unusual thing about Earth II though. The planet was teaming with life, lush tropical forests was the norm. Herbivores and Carnivores dominated the surface. With such complex life forms on the planet it was amazing that there was no sentient life. Earth II was quickly settled and humanity once again began to thrive. This time however we were very cautious of pollutants, and strove to live in harmony with nature while still advancing in science and technology. It had of course helped that in the last days of First Earth that Zero-point energy was discovered. With our energy problems solved all we needed was to be conservative with garbage and building materials.

As a precaution, a moon of Earth II was terraformed , the moon was small, about the size of First Earth’s moon. Originally it was done as an experiment to see if it could be done and hopefully allow for other planets and moons to be terraformed as well. Before it was terraformed the moon was called Asmodeus due to it’s sharp jutting peaks and ridges, the terrain was overall inhospitable and several people had died due to torn spacesuits on the moon while preparing for the terraforming. The project took much longer than anyone ever anticipated, and the planet was not deemed safe until 1,000 years latter. Which was a very good thing, as we needed it badly.

A government experiment dealing with viral DNA had escaped from a compound due to an earthquake. The virus had spread so fast that all life on the planet had been infected within twenty-six days (SET-Standard Earth Time). The only survivors were the construction crews, scientists, and spacers that was on Asmodeus. The virus released on Earth II was mutagenic, and caused every living thing to mutate into something very aggressive and very strong. A dog had been recorded to have mutated into a 6 foot hound with razor sharp teeth, hide thick as a bull and a REALLY bad attitude. Humans who had been infected lost their sanity and would attempt to claw or bite anyone they had seen, thus spreading the virus. Oddly the infected recognized each other and would only attack people and creatures thus far unaffected. Fortunately the virus had quickly mutated and was only air-born for the first five or six hours of it’s life, but that was all it needed to infect the entire planet.

Asmodeus, or Third Earth as it is known today, was never really meant to sustain our whole race indefinitely. 500 years was the estimated duration and that was being forgiving. We are pushing 800 years now and we have used up almost all of the resources that Third Earth can provide. All that remains is aluminum and even that is beginning to become harder to find. In good judgment the government had begun researching different methods of obtaining materials from Earth II. All attempts proved to be disastrous, as most activity would draw the unwelcome attention of the current inhabitants of the planet.

A recent technology, called an N.T.D. or Neural Transference Device, was at first sold on the black market, and though it probably still is, the government crackdown on the NTD makes even the black market sweat at the sight of one. Possession of an NTD is an automatic death sentence, no questions asked thanks in part to the Hawthorn Act of Identity theft. It was discovered that Emperor Hawthorn had been abducted and had the NTD used to swap him through several different people. First was a terrorist who took his body and power, then he was swapped with a two year old girl. It took five years for anyone to believe his story, and once his case hit the supreme court the Hawthorn Act was quickly instated. Videos of a regal looking seven year old girl talking circles around trial lawyers gave Emperor Hawthorn a massive boost in public support as well as his body back.

Human cloning, at least to the point of sentience, has been banned for several millennia. However, scientist Peter Cartwright developed a new cloning method. The specifics have been classified, but it was theorized that in conjunction with the NTD, a person could live forever. They would clone themselves and when they grew older or were seriously injured, they could used the NTD to jump into their clone. Due to the nature of the cloning process a personality was never developed in the clone, thus no breaking of any laws, of course this is all just theory. It was that theory that lead to the creation of the Praetorians. Using a clone crafted specifically to be immune to the virus unleashed on Earth II and the NTD it was possible to give people a body capable of living on Earth II.

Due to the pressing need of resources the NTD was authorized for the sole use of creating Praetorians. A year after the first 100 Praetorians were sent to Earth II, the first influx of steel came to Third Earth, as did the stories of the heroics of their Praetorian guards. The stories were astounding, of one person fighting against several of the wild beasts and living. The most famous tale is of the Praetorian Black Guard, the five most elite Praetorians on Earth II. It was said that the five of them stood up to practically an army, as wave after wave assaulted their mining camp one night. A 45 second video clip was smuggled out and released to the public illegally. The Praetorians themselves looked beastly, two in the video clip looked something like wolf-men. An elongated mouth that was almost a snout, heavy hair that almost resembled fur, clawed hands.

Needless to say the public was at first in an uproar about the monstrosities committed against these individuals. Even today, 10 years latter, there are still some protest against it, but it is now common knowledge that all the Praetorians are volunteers who are told all the nasty secrets before they submit to becoming a Praetorian. Because of their noble sacrifice to the human race, Praetorians are held in the highest regard, even so, very few are permitted back on Third Earth. Which brings me to why I’m standing here in this hall, uncomfortably sandwiched between these two big guys.

As we shuffle forward I once again check the time, 2:45, it’s only been ten minutes. I still couldn’t tell how far back in line I was. I’m somewhat short for a Space Marine, at five foot six inches, most these guys tower over me. I’m used to it though, it has never affected my combat ability, I mean why should how big and muscular I am affect my aim with a laser rifle? If anything I’m better because of it, my endurance is almost legendary amongst my platoon. I can run three miles in 10 minutes and 45 seconds. Although that doesn’t break the world record of 9 minutes and 3 seconds, my time is the battalion record.

Suddenly the big guy in front of me stepped forward and I could now see into the med bay, I was next in line. I was anxious now, I’ve been preparing for this for five years now. Ever since the story of the Black Guard hit Third Earth, I knew I wanted to be counted in their ranks. I enlisted in the Space Marines at 17 and I’ve fought tooth and nail for an exemplary record. I’m only 19 now, but I’ve made it to sergeant already with meritorious promotions. My scores on the firing range are excellent, having tied the company record. Strike while the iron is hot as they say, I know I’m not going to be able to keep pulling off miracles. If I don’t make it this selection period I doubt I’ll be able to keep my record of near perfection. Already I hate my reputation as a by the book perfectionist, and for once I’d like just go out and have fun.

A cute brunette nurse peaked around the corner, “Next!” her beautiful soprano voice sang. I stepped forward and followed her into a curtained off partition where sat you’re A-typical doctor on stool. He was probably in his 40’s and had a nice size gut sitting in his lap. There I sat for the next twenty minutes being poked and prodded in every orifice I had at least twice, and having enough blood drawn to fully satisfy a kiss of vampires. Stool sample, Urine sample, Saliva sample, Semen sample, Skin cell sample, Hair sample, blood sample, but the worst of it all was the Spinal Fluid sample. If you’ve never had a spinal tap, thank your lucky stars and try to keep it that way.

After the torture session was over, I was given not just a bill of clean health but of near perfect health. I was also handed my acceptance letter. Finally! After five years of hardship I was finally accepted as a Praetorian! All that was left was the mandatory Full Disclosure, my signature and then my NTD session with my new body.

3000 years into the future, Humanity is once again fighting for it's very survival. There of course are those heroes who make sacrifices for the sake of others. Some have to sacrifice more than most people will ever know. Thanks to the Praetorians, our lives can continue...

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To understand this story please read the Prologue first, Thank you.
Chapter 1
Med Bay

*beep….beep…beep… beep* Hell, would someone stop that damn beeping!! My head felt like it was shoved through a duracreate bulkhead. “Blood pressure 115/75, god she’s amazing” who was that? What?.. Where?… oh! “Doctor she’s coming around” a second voice, but somehow I knew there were two others as well, I could smell them. “Charles! Get out of the room” it was a woman’s voice. The male wasn’t leaving, in fact, he was getting closer. What happened next I’m not entirely sure of, but I snapped my eye’s open, rolled off the table and pounced on top of my new toy! It wiggles so nicely… *sniff.. Sniff* mmmmm fear… I bet the fear makes the blood taste so very much better. I bent down and gave him a long, slow lick up his face and across his forehead. That only made him whimper more, and his fear sent a thrill through me. It was intoxicating!

What was it that pushed me to actually think? Was it the begging little morsel under my claw? The intercom that crackled “Oh shit! Charles!”? or the now constant alarm of the heart monitor? I’m pretty sure it was the heart monitor that saved Charles’ life that first instant I woke up. After all, I did have a splitting headache. When I realized what I was doing I jumped back off of him. Oh god! I almost killed him…with my claws?

I raised my hand and looked at the monstrous claws that now adorned my hands, they seemed retractable. Black with a metallic sheen, I had only seen that color as paint on a hover car and yet this looked completely natural. Looking at those claws I was certain of how easily I could have killed Charles. A small part deep down whispered “but would that be so bad?” a chill ran down my spine. My whole hand and forearms were in something that looked like an exoskeleton, they too had a shiny black to them. The rest of my skin looks like a shiny metallic blue, like a car’s paint it even shimmers in the light giving it a mild rainbow effect…. My mind just shut down.

Breasts, I have breasts… of course I do. Why wouldn’t I? Because I’m a GUY!. WHY the hell do I have Tits!?! “psst! Charles, slowly back out of the room” I heard a woman whisper. I looked down at the rest of me, yes, complete female now, but what shocked me were my feet. Claws that would put a large hunting cat to shame, and that same black exoskeleton that goes all the way up to my knees. It was then that I felt the twitch behind me, it was so sudden that my body once again reacted and I found myself crouched, hunting, ready to pounce on my prey. Only, there was nothing there, then I felt it again just behind me. I twisted my body around only to see that I now had a freaking tail. I’m not sure which was worse, the tits or the tail.

Having calmed down a bit, I finally took a look around the room. Nothing special, typical med bay, except for the eight foot wide observation window that three doctors and a very frightened “Charles” now stood behind. The short elderly woman finally nodded and then the intercom crackled “Finally calm down enough to listen?” I nodded my head and said “yes, Ma….” I know my eyes just went wide, and I reached up to grab my throat. My voice was so weird. Like a sex hot-line operator’s recorded voice played back at the bottom of a metal barrel. Sexy soprano with a strange deep echoing to it. The woman chuckled “My, what a lovely voice you have dear. I’m somewhat envious” I could hear it in her voice, she was telling the truth, she really was envious but not overly so. “Well now my dear, ready for some tests?” I just nodded. Now with my head screwed on straight again I knew what had happened to me, and why.

During the full disclosure it was explained to us the risks of death and disfigurement, but also the chance of a gender change. I knew the risks, and tossed the dice anyway. 2%, just a measly 2% of all Praetorians have a gender change. The female population of Praetorians on Earth II was something like 15 out of the 1,000 that where living there. Well.. 16 now I guess… damn it. As I followed the doctor through the halls I noticed that no one was in sight, just me and the Doc, but I could sure smell the others. What must have been a hundred different scents assaulted my nose, and I found that I could pick out individual scents, even know what direction the imaginary trail led. It was very disorienting, instead I focused on one scent, the doctors. It was old, sickly, the smell of walking death ~not prey~ the thought ran through my mind. “Doctor…” my new voice sang, it was still disturbing. “Laughlin, but just call me Missy” I smirked, so she was also going to play ‘friend’, must have a minor in psychology or something as well. “Anthony Dubrinksy” I held out my hand to shake hers, but I think we both decided that wouldn’t be best idea for the moment. “So Missy, what’s wrong with me? Why did I almost rip that man’s throat out? Why can I smell so many different things?” the doctor stopped and sighed the turned to look at me. With an index finger she pushed her glasses back up on her nose. “I noticed that no where in there did you mention anything about being female.” her tone was direct like Mom’s when she caught you in a lie. I was at a loss for words, I didn’t even want to face that right now. Finally I just smiled “Let me face one crisis at a time Doc, I’m sure I’ll freak out about that part latter, so, what’s wrong with me?” Missy turned and started walking again.

“Don’t worry, nothing’s ‘wrong’ with you, in fact quite the opposite. Your what we call an aspect. You have traits of a specific predator, in this case a feline from what I’ve seen so far and even that is rare among aspects, most are wolves. I’m sure your going to hear so much about it in the future that you’ll be sick of it. So let me be the first to congratulate you on beating odds so high that you’d have more luck getting struck by lightning in the vacuum of space, well almost. You’re now a female, I believe we told you the odds of that. You’re an aspect which have even worse odds, as there are about seven right now in existence. Now to top it all off your aspect is feline, though possible, is a very recessive trait when it comes to the virus. I’m sure some mathematician somewhere will be figuring the odds of it all, I’m not even going to bother, I just know it is going to be a very big number.” I wondered, what did she mean by ‘when it comes to the virus’ what did that have to do with it? So I asked, “Well dear the creation of your new body was actually the creation of the virus, the process is complex but lets just say that the virus did as much work on your body as we did, maybe more. The virus carries with it memory ingrained to the DNA level, instincts if you will. As your aware that DNA picks up junk strands from different stages of it’s evolution. Snakes, Cats, Dogs, Birds, the DNA carries in it left over junk from many different species. When an aspect is formed, well, lets just say it’s ‘pot luck’. You never know what’s inside to you open the lid.”

Missy led me to a door and then opened it, “this will be your room for the next few days, ill give you some alone time for now, I’m sure you need it. Someone will come by shortly and see about getting you some clothes.” I looked down and just now realized that I was more or less nude, the hospital gown I had worn was somehow shredded. Explains why the hallways all the way here were empty. Soon as I walked in there was a full body mirror in the corner. I had known I looked dangerous, what with the claws and all. However the image that looked back at me was like a beautiful dominatrix with a fetish for jagged spikes. For the first time I noticed I had sharp spikes growing out of my elbows and on the back of my calves. It looked like I even had some smaller spikes growing between my shoulder blades following down my spine just on my upper back. Oh this was just bloody great, how the hell am I supposed the lay on a bed? My skin was that shiny metallic sky blue, my lips were a darker blue. My eyes were slit like a cat’s and looked like pure gold, I hadn’t given it any though before but I realized now that my peripheral vision was much greater. I smiled at my reflection, then started making funny faces at her, raising up my claws and hissing at the mirror. Oh my god!… my teeth, every tooth in my mouth was sharp as a razor, and ebony black just like my claws, exoskeleton, and spikes. I sighed, I was a walking cheese grater.

My attention was drawn to the globes on my chest, fairly small by my estimate. For that I was thankful, I really didn’t want large breasts. I’d say they were about a small B cup. Just enough to have fun with but not enough to… I cut that thought off. I reached up touch them, and massaged them a bit. Wow! Ok lets not do that….I looked at my claws again, wait, why didn’t that hurt? Gently I ran my claws across my skin, and felt nothing. Harder this time I raked until I could at least feel some pain. It actually took a bit of effort. Sure if I tried I could penetrate my skin with my claws, but it would have to be a hard stab. My skin was acting like some sort of armor weave, now that was interesting. I continued with my self inspection, and looked further down to emptiness between my thighs. There rested nothing but a slit and two puffy lips, no hair I noticed. Now that I was thinking about it, I didn’t seem to have any hair at all below my neck, no underarm hair, no leg hair or arm hair, no pubic hair. The hair on my head was long comp aired to what I had always kept it at, but it didn’t seem long for most women. It stopped just between my shoulders. It wasn’t silky like you’d expect from most women either, it was rather course. From the looks of it I’d say low maintenance compared to most of the women I’d seen, a definite plus give how dirty one can get out in the field.

Footsteps down the hall, they were getting closer. The footsteps stopped and I heard a knocking at the door. “Come in” I said, and watched as this tiny package of bubbling energy bounced through the door with a huge grin on her face. “Oh my, I do love a challenge!” she said as she looked me over. “Those spikes on your legs will make any pants out of the question, not to mention you tail” She reached up and gently nudged me to turn around for her. “The ones on your elbows make it impossible to put on just about anything that needs to be pulled over your head.” She pulled a tape measure out of her pocket like she was performing a magic trick, then flicked her wrist to unravel it. Lifting and lowering my arms at her silent commands, she had my measurements and was out the door skipping down the hall before I could even think to ask who she was.

I laid down on the bed to try to relax, all my new jagged edges forced me lay face down, I hate lying face down, it forces me to twist my neck. Surprisingly, lying like that didn’t really bother my new bags of fat dangling from my chest (yes I’m still bitter about that). As I laid there I wondered, what would my father have thought? Would he be proud of me finally becoming a Praetorian? Or would he have been disappointed with the loss of my gender. I miss my old man, he was working as a driller for the Sysco Co. on Geryon Prime. He died last year when a hull breach flooded the section he was in with carbon dioxide, that and the surface temperature was -348 degrees. What didn’t die of carbon dioxide was frozen solid. Seventy-three of the two-hundred man crew lost their lives that day for the sake of sulfide and copper ore.

Dad wasn’t the first in our family to give their lives in effort to harvest resources, both my mother and older brother are gone as well. Mom was a pilot, I don’t know the fully story she died when I was only two, but I was told her ship was badly damage when the asteroid they had landed on bumped into another. It wasn’t a hard impact or anything, but it was enough to rip ship off it’s moorings. Failed life support due to systems damage was the cause of her and the crew‘s demise. As far as my brother goes, his ship went missing and has never been found. No beacon, no emergency broadcast, nothing, just gone. I often dream of him barging into my room like he always used to. Usually it was sit down and play on my gaming console, to challenge me to shoot out. I always beat him in shooter games, and it was a major source of frustration for him.

“Oh how cuuuute!” gushed a female voice. I snapped awake, I was crouched ready to pounce and hissing like a cat facing a bath. I was ready to rip her open when her crying stopped me cold. Damn! I did it again. I slowly relaxed and moved towards her, then wrapped her in a hug. “I’m sorry, you startled me.” I never was any good at comforting a crying woman. Even when I wasn’t the cause of those tears I always felt bad. When I AM the cause, well, I feel like a total prick. My vision started to blur. What the hell? Am I crying? I never cry. All I could do was rock her back and forth crying telling her how sorry I was. “I’m so sorry I scared you like that, I don’t know what came over me!” Now she was the one holding me as I cried, and cry I did. I cried for my confusion about these new instincts, I cried for the loss of my gender, I cried for the deaths of my family. Mostly, I cried and didn’t know why, there just didn’t seem to be a reason. Finally she laughed, “You know you purr like a cat in your sleep?” I couldn’t help but smile and laugh a little.

When we were done I stood and helped her to her feet, then her eye’s suddenly got bright. “Oh you are going to just love what I dug up for you!” She opened the door and wheeled in a cart that was just outside and begun digging through it. After a minute there was a small pile of straps and buckles at the foot of the bed. I was still waiting to see when she’d pull the clothes out. Finally she stopped and looked at me expectantly, “Well, what do you think?” I looked through the pile, still not really seeing any clothes. Seeing my expression she just huffed and held up a this strap then snapped two ends together. It looked something like a thong. “Since you can’t have anything slip on, everything has to be snapped or tied in place, so what do you think?” She couldn’t seriously expect me to wear that could she? “So where’s the rest of it?” I asked hopefully. “Well, if you need more to it I suppose this would work.” she leaned over into the basket and pulled out a strip of cloth, then wrapped it around her waist. It was simply a loincloth that went to her knees. Sure it wasn’t made of animal skin or anything, but it reminded me of some of the outfits that I had seen female martial artist wear. Difference was they had tights or shorts under theirs, while all I get is a thong? The thong did look somewhat different though, it would clip around the waist, and then you brought the material up between your legs and then clipped it on the same ring in the back. Frankly It looked uncomfortable. “So what about a top?” I knew I was going to hate what ever she grabbed next. It was basically a tube top that opened and closed with a zipper. In all fairness I suppose the outfit wasn’t too bad considering all of my spikes, I just wasn’t crazy about wearing the thong. At least the loincloth would provide some small measure of modesty.

The next three days I was put through the wringer, medical exams, physical fitness and agility tests. I really got to open up on the treadmill, I was able to hit 64mph for a few seconds. That speed really wiped me out and I was craving a very bloody steak afterwards, actually I think it was raw but I was too hungry to notice. My average run speed was 40mph, I was able to run for and hour and a half before I became too tired. It didn’t really seem to surprise anyone, but I was amazed. I was told another female already on the surface could hit 80mph for a few seconds. Apparently extreme speed and agility are feminine traits amongst the Praetorians as the fastest male runs 40mph top speed, but can run at 25 nearly all day long with his enhanced stamina. No one’s really sure how we’re able to achieve these speeds, the human body really isn’t designed for it. Then again, we really aren’t human anymore are we?

3000 years into the future, Humanity is once again fighting for it's very survival. There of course are those heroes who make sacrifices for the sake of others. Some have to sacrifice more than most people will ever know. Thanks to the Praetorians, our lives can continue...

---

To understand this story please read the Prologue first, Thank you.

---

Michelle stood at the entrance to the cave, a shiver rolled down her spine. Aspects always creeped her out, and this one was the worst for her. Steeling herself, she took a deep calming breath and worked her way inside the cave. The sounds of water dripping from stalactites, echoed through out the cavern. Deeper she went until she could no longer see in front of her and was forced to stop. "Are you here?" she called out into the darkness waiting for an answer. She knew he was there, watching her, letting her feel her fear for a time. All aspects seemed to have a sick enjoyment of smelling other's fear. "Well not mine." she mused to herself, then calmed herself and squashed her fears. A hissing filled the cave, "SSsssSSsssS.... I've got a job for you."

Chapter 2
Homecoming

I quickly showered and dried myself off, silently thanking God, the feline's normal aversion to water was one instinct I hadn't inherited. Today was the day, they'd make planet fall this morning and I'd finally be introduced to my Praetorian guide. I had only just learned last night that we were aboard the Stolas station, having been moved from Asmodeus while I was unconscious. There were only two space stations in the system, Stolas was a science station in high orbit around Earth II. The other was an experiment in living in space rather than planet side. Bifrons Station was somewhat a failure in that regard, but was quite adequate as a relay station for space traffic.

Quickly I was dress, as there wasn't much to put on. I'd been told that I needed light clothes for the humid heat of the surface. Yet no one could think of anything to give me other than the small strips of cloth due to my body's new natural weapons. Having dressed I grabbed a small duffel bag that was stuffed with the same type of clothing, enough to have one change for everyday. I slung the duffel over my shoulder, turned off the light, and headed for the shuttle bay.

In all my time on the Stolas I had not once seen anyone other than Missy, Shanna (the bubbling fountain of energy), and a male doctor named Robert. Charles had apparently requested reassignment, imagine that. I walked through the halls and made my way to the shuttle bay, apparently it was already prepped for flight. The engines thrummed and the loading ramp was down. As I walked towards the shuttle Dr. Missy walked out with a ready smile. It was the kind of smile that said, 'You're not gonna like what I have to say, and I find that amusing.' I walked up the ramp and she reached out and gave me a quick hug and a genuine smile. "Now for the last ten years we've had a tradition." She grabbed my hand and had me hold it palms up, then she reached into her pocket and pulled something out, and quickly put in my hand. I took it and looked at it, she had given me a cigar with a pink ribbon around it. Words that read "It's a Girl!" written in pink on the wrapper. Missy just smiled and gave me another hug, "Welcome to the better half dear." When she let go she walked away, making it half way across the bay before she turned to way goodbye.

I stepped into the shuttle, walked past the cargo hold and into the passenger compartment. There were five humans and three other Praetorians, all male. When I walked through the hatch i felt their eye's drill into me. The humans were openly gawking, the Praetorians had admiring expressions. I was so not ready for male attention. I knew what I looked like, and these strips of cloth weren’t helping in the slightest. Embarrassed, I quickly found a seat and tried to ignore them. In my haste I had forgotten about my spine spikes, as they sunk into the back of the cushioned seat. Grimacing I tried to ignore it, the damage had been done after all. It certainly wasn't the first piece of furniture I'd torn up in the last few days. My first night in bed I had shredded both my sheets and mattress.

I took a better look at the three other Praetorians in the compartment. They were all tank types, heavily armored. Two of them were huge and couldn't even sit in a chair, they took up positions by the wall and sat down. Harnesses had been built into the walls to accommodate the larger Praetorians, apparently it was common. The third didn't have the thick armadillo type plates like the other two had, but instead had thick scales like a dragon. His scales were red and he had bright yellow slitted eyes. Every Praetorian I had ever seen a picture of had animal like qualities to them, but I was told that only aspects like myself actually gained the animals personality quirks and instincts. According to the doctor it made aspect far more powerful than normal Praetorians, and at the same time much less predictable. I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but there was a touch of bitterness and an edge of worry to her voice when she had said that.

I felt the shuttle lift and ease out of the station's bay. This was my first time in the black, conscious anyway. The weightlessness of space, you hear spacers talk about it, but it just cant be described adequately. The trip was short and soon we were already experiencing the rigors of re-entry. It was like the shuttle had been grabbed by a giant hand and vigorously shook. When it was over i extracted my claws from the both the floor and sides of my seat. A human sitting across from me chuckled, "Your first drop?" I just nodded, my brains felt rattled. "Your first time's always the worst, but it never really gets much better." I looked at the damage i had done to the seat and just shook my head. "I don't think their going to want be on any other ship again". The seat was more than ready to be retired, and my claws had dug through the 1/8th inch steel plate on the floor.

When we finally landed the green light indicated that we were free to unbuckle ourselves and make our way off the shuttle. I grabbed by duffel and quickly left before someone said something about the shredded seat. As i exited the shuttle i was assaulted by the heat and humidity, but the air was so fresh! I had never in my life breathed air of this quality. The scent of the trees dominated the air. As i looked about i noticed the humans were being rounded up by a Sysco Co. representative. There were also two Praetorians waiting, one male the other female. The woman could easily pass as human but on some instinctual level, i knew what she was. She was looking at me smiling, so i headed towards her. When i stopped in front of her she held out her hand, and i took it and shook. "Hi! I’m Michelle, I’ll be your mentor for the next month. if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, I'm the one you bring em to." i was about to respond but she quickly held up her hand and stopped me short. "Now for your first lesson, every Praetorian chooses a new name. It is a passed down tradition, as of this moment you have left your old life behind. I don't want to know who you were or what your name was. Until you rename yourself, I’m going to just be calling you 'Hey You'. This is especially true for us females, no one wants to think of us being formerly male. Not only is it bad form, but it's also top-secret. Never tell a human company worker what you once were. Understood?" It did make sense, so I agreed.

Michelle took me on a quick tour of the compound, it was the largest operation on the planet but not the only large scale complex. This facility was mining the basic metals, iron, copper, nickel, tin, and aluminum. As we wondered about i was shown the mess hall, company crew quarters, male Praetorian barracks and finally the female barracks. The female barracks was the same size as the male barracks, but since there were only four female stationed at this complex each woman was given half of an entire floor. It made little sense to me, but Michelle said to think of it as a 'compensation' for loosing my dick. As i looked around my assigned section i noticed rooms where walls had been knocked down to make for bigger rooms. One section could host a rather large party.

After i had been assigned a room and dropped off my duffel she took me to the company offices. Every where we went people were staring, i felt like a freak. I knew they were staring not because i was a woman, but because of how freakish i looked. I found myself fighting back tears, and asked Michelle where the restrooms were. Luckily Michelle caught be before i headed into the men's room. I walked over to the sink and washed my face and hands, trying to calm down. I glanced up and noticed Michelle was watching me. "You know they were looking because they saw an exotic beauty right?" i shook my head no. "No they were looking at the freak, i look like a walking can opener!" Annoyed she pulled me back from the mirror a bit then pointed at it. "Tell me what you see? do you see a Freak or something sexy and exotic? Cuz I’ll tell you what i see." she move behind me and ran her fingers lightly over my jaw. "Such a pretty face" and as her fingers burned a trail down my neck and to my shoulders she sighed "such a delicate looking frame. Then her magic fingers continued their agonizing march down my side to the flare of my hips. "Such beautiful curves, a human woman would kill for such a figure." Then her hand caressed my thighs " and such long shapely legs, you know ever man there would have loved to have his face between these thighs" and her hand slipped to my crotch and cupped the smoothness of my sex, lightly caressing it.

For the first time i felt the hollowness down there, such a need to be filled. It was a heady thing, and i found myself breathing a bit harder. With each new stroke she coaxed by body into a burning need. Her other hand was playing havoc with my breasts, i had of course felt them a few times of the last few days and knew that a gentle caress would make them tingle, but i was not prepared for the full fury a deliberate touch could bring them to. I was melting into a puddle of goo while watching in the mirror as she brought my new body to life. Then she stopped, and stepped back. I was quivering with need, and she simply smiled, she knew exactly what she was doing to me. After collecting myself i washed up so i wouldn't be quite as gooey down there, but it didn't help much. My panties were soaked and i was still horny.

We walked out of the restrooms and down the hall. it was different this time. People were still staring but now I could see the lust in their eyes. My new senses could smell it, i had been wonder what that smell was. I knew what they were thinking, and what they wanted to do to me. I was already turned on, my thoughts on sex. Their blatant staring and the smell of a primal mating call in the air, combined with the sway of my hips and the bounce of my breasts. I had never been so turned on in my life. Even the thought of being penetrated was making my lips ache, my clit throb and by womb felt open and more empty than ever before.

Finally we arrived in front of a door, the plaque on the door read "M.J. Harris, Sr. Operations Officer." Michelle, rapped on the door, and was answered by a male voice "Enter". Michelle opened the door and we walked in. There was man sitting in front of a large desk, the desk was littered with various paperwork, but it was obviously a very organized mess. The middle aged bald headed and rather plump man scowled at us as we entered the room. He reached across the desk, grabbing a holo-board and the projection of my new picture was displayed. "So your the newest aspect, perhaps this time we got one a bit more loyal. 'Mans best friend' indeed, those damn mutts have been no end of my headaches. Your file says that your reconnaissance, but being new here your in for one hell of a wake up call." he took his steely gaze off me and onto Michelle. "I want her field ready a.s.a.p. Take her to NTA first thing tomorrow." Michelle looked pissed, "Sir, pink ribbons are supposed to have a one month adjustment period, need I remind you of your contract?" His face turned red, "NO I DO NOT NEED REMINDING!, NTA will free for the next two weeks! Now get the FUCK out of my office and do what the hell i told you to!" We turned and left, Michelle made certain to slam the door on our way out. With my new hearing i heard him mumble "Freak Bitches".

Michelle was fuming, and stormed out of the building. It was rather obvious that those two had a history of fighting each other. As on our way out i heard the whispers, "Great their at it again, boss is gonna be pissed for the rest of the day". After we got outside she slowed her pace, and I figured it was the best time to ask. "What's NTA?" She just sighed, "NTA is the Northern Training Area. It's a bit tame, but it's still pretty dangerous. We normally go there with a full class of 50, it's to slowly get them used to the dangers of the planet. Pink ribbons like us are supposed to have a one month period where we adjust to our new sex before mingling with males. What he's doing is a work-around, and probably illegal as hell. You can bet your ass I’m going to report this. He's expecting you to go to NTA practically alone! It's almost a death sentence!" She was getting pissed off again. I didn't know how much trouble I was in, but i was glad that i at least had someone to get pissed off on my behalf.

At lunch I finally came to the conclusion that my diet had changed somewhat. I had tried to eat a salad, that I just couldn’t bring myself to actually swallow any of it. I wanted meats, so I went back and got Salisbury steak. It was nasty and I couldn’t bear to finish it. In the end I went another day hungry, as I hadn’t really eaten anything satisfying since I became a Praetorian. After lunch Michelle told me that Mr. Harris had apparently scheduled for me to leave to NTA the next day. Talk about quick, I just got here today and he’s already shipping me off elsewhere. I had the feeling that I was being used like a pawn in Michelle and Mr. Harris’s arguments.

The rest of the day was absolutely boring, and I was thankful when it was finally time to go to bed. I found that due to the longer days I had to draw black out curtains to darken the room. I had no trouble sleeping that first night, really I haven’t had any trouble sleeping since my change. Odd since I used to have insomnia. Seems my dick wasn’t the only thing missing. Strangely I was beginning not to mind the loss, although I still wasn’t all that comfortable gaining breasts. Was I adapting to all this just a bit too fast? Or were things moving around me so fast that I didn’t have time to think upon it. No that couldn’t be I’ve been bored since lunch and haven't thought a bit about my situation, or maybe I was just ignoring it? What does it matter to dwell on it anyway, it’s not like I can change back. Or can I? Would I even want to? If you asked me right this second of course I’d say yes. How about a year from now? How would I know what I’d think about a year from now. Screw this I’m thinking myself in circles, Goodnight.

3000 years into the future, Humanity is once again fighting for it's very survival. There of course are those heroes who make sacrifices for the sake of others. Some have to sacrifice more than most people will ever know. Thanks to the Praetorians, our lives can continue...

Asmodeus, a.k.a. Third Earth

“Synn!” He bellowed. She was his best agent, if anyone could do this, it was her. As expected she promptly strode into the room and knelt before his desk, head down. She stretched her arm out with her hand balled into a fist. It was a display of fealty ages old with it’s roots in the Asian culture. He pushed a button displaying a holo-image. “I think we’ve had enough disruptions to our plans, I think we should nip this bud before it blooms. Don’t you think so too Synn?” She raised her head just enough view the holo, then dropped it again. “Yes, My Lord”. He simply nodded “Good! I don’t care how you handle it, just see that this one doesn’t become a problem. “Yes, My Lord” she stood but kept her bow, then backed out of the room. When the door closed she stood straight and proud. Turning out of the secretary’s space, she left his office with a grin. “This should be fun”.

Chapter 3
A Beginning

I stepped off the loading ramp of the shuttle for the second time in a 24 hour period. There was no shuttle bay, no landing pad, just a large open clearing. Their were only four buildings, and all four of them were simple buildings made out of logs. The buildings were arranged in a square so that the front door to each were facing each other. At the edge of the clearing was a tall fence with razor wire around the top, but the clearing wasn’t far enough away from the buildings. Several tree limbs stretched across the roof tops, lending shade to the buildings. There were no machines, no humming of engines, no street noises, it was…Liberating.

A sense of freedom washed over me. I had never experienced such a glorious feeling. I wanted to run! Run full speed into the forest and loose myself to it. Michelle nudged me, “You doing alright?” I just nodded. She looked like she didn’t believe me. “As I was saying, follow me and we’ll set you up. “ We walked towards the buildings and as we neared I could hear voices inside. “ Michelle, are you expecting anyone else here?” I asked. She frowned and shook her head. “no, we should be the only ones here, Oh! There is supposed to be a cook, I forgot about him.” A cook, but she said ‘him’ the voice I heard is clearly a woman’s. Odd, I didn’t think there were that many woman on the planet, yet in last day I’ll have met several already, two were in my barracks.

We walked into the largest building, it was obviously a mess hall. Inside stood a woman who was talking to a man who was apparently the cook. She wore a sleek black leather cat suit and had on soft leather boots and gloves, all in uniform black of course. She looked like a burglar in some mission impossible action film. She was defiantly a Praetorian, I could just feel it somehow, but she appeared to look human as well. That is until she turned to look at us, her face was ghost white and her eyes were slitted. Her mouth and nose jutted enough to make a short muzzle. It was a face I knew, hell it was a face almost everyone knew. Standing here before me was none other than the infamous Synn. She was the Emperor’s pet Praetorian, bodyguard and quite often the hand that did his bidding. Once again Michelle didn’t look too happy. I just sighed, did this woman get along with anyone?

“Michelle!, oh how very good to see you dear” Synn cooed.

“What the hell are you doing here Synn?” she fired back.

Synn clucked her tongue the Tsk’ed “Surely you didn’t think the Emperor was so blind he wouldn’t notice that for the first time ever we have a female aspect do you? Of course not! That’s why I’m here, to lend a helping hand, and show support to my newest sister.” She smiled, and no one believed for a second it was genuine. Synn left to her bunk, I made a mental note to choose the building she wasn’t in.

There really wasn’t much to look at in this place, two buildings with beds, one with tables, and another with half beds and half entertainment equipment. That was it, no training grounds, no watch towers, just four buildings and a razor wire fence. What the hell were we supposed to do out here? That was when I looked out the window and saw Synn with a beach towel and rubbing sunscreen on. What the hell? Was this some sort of vacation lodge? Why was Michelle so furious about being sent here? I decided to ask her and then tracked her into the mess hall, she was telling the cook her food choices.

“Michelle, what are we supposed to do out here? I only see these four buildings.”

She just giggled, “There’s only one thing to do out here, and that’s survive. During the day it’s not so bad, a few small predators here and there. Look out the window, see how low the sun’s getting?” I nodded.

“Well when the sun finally sets, we’ll have three days of darkness. Three days of battling for our lives. Three days of primal fear.” she quivered. “As I said, usually there is a class of 50 here. Even then there’s usually a few who don’t make it. The cook is a human, but at least he’s a Space Marine cook. Me, you and Synn, that’s it, just us. We are supposed to stay here for three night cycles. As much as I hate her, I’m glad Synn’s here, she’s the Emperor’s hand for a reason after all.”

After leaving I noticed Synn was still lounging around. Resting up for latter, I thought. Probably not a bad idea, it’s going to be a long night after all. I was thinking of where to lay down when I had the urge to climb on top of the roof. It wasn’t hard considering my claws, in fact it was very easy. Once there I saw the tree limb and decided I wanted to lay on the limb. Only took a second and I was happily lying down letting the breeze blowing through the shade to cool me.

It was the smell that woke me, ~prey~ my belly grumbled in protest. I crawled across the tree limb, searching. From limb to limb I crawled, and from tree to tree. I was now in the forest, but that fact hadn’t registered, I was hunting. Through the trees I moved tracking the scent, until I finally came upon it. It too was in the trees, and it too seemed to be hunting. It was crouched above a small animal on the forest floor, ready to pounce. Too bad I pounced first, my claws ripped through it like paper and the scent of blood filled the air. The smell was mesmerizing, and I almost succumbed to it. Something told me that it would be bad to stay. Grabbing my prize I ran back through the trees to the limb that overlooked the cabins.

When I returned to my perch, I devoured my meal. The hot blood and warm meat that slid down my throat was… euphoric. This was the best I’d eaten in almost a week and all that was left when I had finished were inedible organs, bones, and fur. I took the remains back off into the forest a few trees away and dropped the corpse to the ground. I was certain something would finish the rest. I turned to head back to my limb, and as I was about to lye down I saw something slowly moving down on the ground. As I watched, I noticed the predator was slowly stalking Synn. She seemed not to notice or was sleeping. I leapt from the limb to the roof and bounced off it to the ground. I’d be too late. “Synn!!” I shouted.

Synn was quick, she rolled, narrowly missing the creatures attack and was on her feet almost instantly. Michelle came quickly out of the building I was next to and came to me first.

“What’s going on?” she asked. I just pointed towards Synn and the large dog like creature. It was about the size of a large dog, though to be honest it looked like a squirrel on steroids. Michelle, though was far more worried about me.

“where are you hurt?” she asked franticly. Huh?

“I’m not hurt at all, Synn’s the one in trouble” I tried to ignore her fussing. It was hard though.

I watched Synn, and gestured towards her. “She’s really good, her movements are very precise. I’d say she holds a black belt in Jujitsu.“ About then Synn was able to retrieve a knife by her towel and with a few feints and a final spin the blade sunk into the top of the beast’s head. “ Her movements are a bit sluggish though, kinda slow”

Michelle started laughing, hard. “Your covered from head to toe in blood and you still have a good sense of humor, Slow!” and she continued laughing. I was a bit confused at what she thought was so funny. “Synn has the fastest reaction time of all Praetorians, that fight looked like a blur to me! Slow!?” she went back to laughing and looking for wounds on me.

Finally I had to stop her, “Look, the blood’s not mine, but I do need a shower” then I turned to head to the showers. What the hell’s getting into me here? First I hunt down and eat some wild animal like some…. Well… Like some wild animal. Then I say Synn’s moving slow and cause Michelle to go into a fit of hysterical laughter. I feel as if the half hour I spent in the trees had changed me a bit, what the hell would happen if I spent a whole day out there? God I could still taste the flesh from that animal. What the hell’s wrong with me?

Quickly I got in the shower and watched as the water ran red into the drain. I must have looked like I’d been in a wreck, I had been soaked in blood. It’s no wonder Michelle had thought I had been wounded. The memory of the warm meat sliding down my throat almost made me vomit. Deep from within a sob wrenched was from my very soul. This wasn’t what I wanted, I knew my appearance would have changed but I’m not even human anymore. I sat there in the shower for god knows how long crying until I felt the embrace of someone behind me. “shh shh shh….it’ll be alright” she said. I hugged her and continued to cry for what seemed like an hour, though I’m sure it was only a few minutes.

Finally I looked up, it had been Synn holding me. “You doing better now sis?” Sis? Oh lord, I had forgotten about that part, but it seems so insignificant next to the beast that I’ve got inside me. Numbly I just nodded.

“You wouldn’t want to talk about it would you?” I could see the concern in her eyes. So much different from the person I met only a few hours ago.

I sighed, I guess I did need to tell someone, if not for myself then to at least let someone know. I mean my problems may endanger someone sometime. So I told her about my hunt, just before her fight. She never interrupted my tale, and didn’t so much as flinch when I described how I felt when I ate that thing. Then I told her my thoughts of her fight, and she got an amused smirk on her face when I told her I thought her movements were a bit sluggish. That smirk was almost devious I thought, then I was reminded of our first meeting. When she finally left I noticed that I still hadn’t dried myself, nor had I noticed that I was naked. My nudity didn’t bother me in the slightest, and I guess that was one more thing that bothered me.

I brushed my teeth and gathered up my soap and brush and packed it into a small hygiene kit. Then I padded naked over to my bed and took my duffel bag and dumped it into the foot locker at the foot of the bed. Wasn’t much just six changes of the same clothes, at least they were in different colors. Two were black, one was powder blue, a hot pink one, and two white sets. I wasn’t quite ready for the pink one yet, so I grabbed a white set. As I was getting dressed I noticed it was almost dark outside, perhaps now is not a good time for white. I put on the other black set, and rounded up my dirty laundry.

The center building was only half loaded with beds, the other half had a pool table, a card table, two washer/dryer sets, and a projection screen. Michelle, Synn and the cook were sitting at the card table, playing poker from the looks of it. I put my laundry in the washer and turned it on, no water was coming through. The cook stood up, walked over and flipped a switch.

“The pump was off” he said.

“Oh, thank you….” I paused.
He laughed and held out his hand “Richard” he smiled, he was cute when he smiled. No! bad kitty! What the hell was I thinking? That was probably the problem, I wasn’t. That smile was a weapon, he needed to holster that thing before someone got hurt. I shook his hand and hoped he couldn’t see my burning blush. Could anyone see me blushing with my new skin tone? Synn’s snicker told me at least she could. I walked over to the card table to join in the game. Synn’s eyes were dancing with laughter, but she kept her “poker face” We played cards and joked for a few hours, but as time dragged I was slowly getting anxious about something. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt like a kid on Christmas night, waiting in anticipation for Santa to come.

I jumped up and ran for the door, flung it open just in time. A flash of green lit the sky as the sun disappeared from a horizon that we couldn’t see. I heard Michelle swear softly “shit”. Then I felt it, it was a change in the air, as if a pressure had been lifted. The predator in me was fully awake now. I couldn’t contain the feeling, and when I looked at my three companions I just knew I was smiling as if I was a three year old who just opened her present… and got exactly what she wanted. I was up and on my tree limb so fast even *I* wondered if I had materialized there. It was as if the whole forest suddenly woke up, everything seemed so alive!

Live things wiggle, live things squirm as you sink your teeth into them, live things bleed….

*Sniff Sniff*

Oh and there are sooo very many live things out and about tonight!