A warrior queen with an unusual talent is magically marooned on another planet and tries to use another type of magic, the magic of technology, to get home.

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This is a complete story of twenty chapters and I'll post two chapters every weekend.

Return of the Queen
by Terry Volkirch

CHAPTER 19

Gabrielle stood at the bottom of a deep pit, getting pelted and pummeled with rocks and dirt. The larger rocks hit often enough and with enough force to keep her from climbing above the rising mound, causing her to be buried alive. To make matters worse, she also received a fair amount of taunting. Most of the words held little sting, but a few managed to upset her. As her head was covered, she vowed that she'd see the entire encampment of men turned into women... at least those who weren't killed. They'd simply gone too far.

She felt some measure of satisfaction that she hadn't screamed or cried out during her ordeal. The men seemed rather disappointed about her silent treatment and that made her smile. Of course she realized early on that she could go back to her insubstantial astral body to fly out of the pit but then she'd lose her armor and sword. Most importantly, she'd also give away a surprise that she was planning. She didn't want to do that.

Doing some quick calculations in her head, she realized that the iron ship wouldn't arrive until late morning at the earliest, so her work wasn't quite done. She succeeded in preventing the men from attacking for the night. She just needed to get them to have a nice, late sleep in.

'I'll be back for you, armor and sword,' she thought as she phased out through the dirt and rocks. 'You'll be displayed in a public place in honor of this night's battle victory. And tomorrow I'll have an even more impressive monument to the coming battle. I'll have a giant iron ship, settled next to my castle.'

The queen turned back into pure energy and floated invisibly back to the surface, looking for the first victim of her latest plan.

~o~O~o~

The men were having a great party up until the queen's appearance. They were working themselves up to a frenzy to overcome their waning fear of the queen and her magic talent. But after her burial, they changed. That concerned Gabrielle. The time for partying had come to an end. Their leader had stopped the flow of alcohol to his men so it looked like they'd go to sleep fairly early and be up with the dawn to wreak havoc.

The barbarians' attack plan was workable, if a bit crude. The situation was as serious as Muriel believed. The joke of a battering ram was just a ruse to give them a false sense of security. The earth moving magic talent that created the pit would allow the men to easily break through the outer wall. They'd pour into the town square to pillage and plunder at will. Even if they didn't get into the castle itself, breaching the outer wall would be a disaster.

'They're not as stupid as they look,' the queen thought. 'Mother Moon! Give me strength!' But her plan was sound.

She waited until well past sunset, when it was completely dark except for the numerous oil lamps and campfires scattered among the tents. Then she floated to a campfire with a large number of boisterous men sitting around it and started her plan.

Solidifying her hand and arm but keeping the rest of herself invisible, she reached into the fire and pulled out a small burning log. She tossed the log into the lap of the nearest man, causing him to yelp and fall over backwards.

"What the f...," was all he managed to say before the heat of the log burned through his loincloth and into the skin on his upper thighs. Then he screamed in pain. It was a good start.

The queen floated from campfire to campfire, from tent to tent, throwing her own kind of magical fire, randomly burning off loincloths and burning down tents as the mood struck her. She left the leader's tent alone. She wanted him in good shape when she turned him into Thelma's twin; the original overweight version. But she did pay him a visit.

The leader shook his head as he tore into a large, charred drumstick. Men could be heard shouting and cursing all throughout the encampment. They sounded more deranged than anything else. 'Someone must have smuggled some drugs into camp,' he thought. 'They better be ready at first light.'

The same guard that stood inside during the truce watched as his leader ate. His stomach growled and he drooled a little but the large seated man didn't like sharing. The hungry man would have to wait until someone came to relieve him. He turned away from the sight and that's when he saw what looked like a woman slowly fade into view next to the center tent pole.

"G... g... ghost!" the guard sputtered. "Ghost!!"

"Wha...?!" the leader sputtered. "Shaddup, ya gormless git or I'll have yer nads fer me puddin'. There's no such things as ghosts."

The guard looked around the tent, his eyes wide with fear.

Gabrielle faded out before the leader looked in her direction. She wanted to be alone with the pig before she put on her full show. But first she needed to rattle the guard enough to make him run out into the night. She didn't have long to wait. All it took was some whispering in the guard's ear. She solidified her mouth and throat just enough to be heard. Practicing with her astral body really paid off.

"I'm so hungry," she whispered, having noticed the guard's hunger. "I sure could use a nice, big, juicy arm to gnaw. Can I gnaw your arm? Give me you arm...." She extended the sound of the last word to make it sound like she was moaning.

The man ran out of the tent, screaming, leaving an annoyed leader.

"Bollocks," he muttered with his mouth full. He didn't slow down his eating though.

Gabrielle faded into view just in front of him then, being careful to make her body shape somewhat indistinct and translucent, and she solidified just enough to wail.

The man dropped his drumstick and immediately scooted back on his butt. He eventually stopped when he got to the wall of the tent. "Who... what are you?" he gasped.

"I am justice! I will have justice!" she shrieked.

"Queenie?" he asked, finally recognizing her voice and indistinct face.

"Yes!" she hissed. "And you can't stop me!" She went back to pure energy form and rushed towards him, passing through him and the wall of the tent. Once outside, she floated up above the leader's tent and clung to the top of his flagpole for support as she solidified enough to wail again.

Men scrambled around the area, bumping into each other and looking like a pack of crazed dogs. Some looked for a place to hide, some were brave enough to hunt for the source of the noise, though they couldn't home in on it. They couldn't see Gabrielle clinging to the top of their leader's tent pole. The fires had caused enough damage to upset them and keep them awake for some time, but the queen didn't want to leave anything to chance. She kept up the wailing until her physical body called her back. Muriel would have to wait for an update. But the older woman would find out soon enough whether or not the queen's actions would save the queendom.

~o~O~o~

Gabrielle groaned as she slowly woke up on the ship. She had a rough night. The very dim light in the cabin barely allowed her to see that the other two women were still asleep in their bunks. She got up, drank a little water and dragged herself to the bridge of the ship.

"Mister Computer?"

"Yes, Gabrielle?"

"How much longer until we reach Kispri?"

"A little over six candle marks now I believe. That's equivalent to about six hours."

"Candle mark? You know about candle marks?"

"Trillian recovered from her rainbow appreciation after a little over a candle mark. She explained to me how you measure time. It's an inexact science but I want to help."

"Thanks, Mister Computer. That does help."

"You're welcome, Gabrielle."

The queen frowned. "Please. Call me Gabi. I feel like we're... almost friends now."

"As you wish, Gabi. Please call me... Mister Wizard. From the conversations we have held, I believe you can relate to me much better as a wizard than a computer."

"Ah, thanks, Mister Wizard. You're right about that. I don't even know what a computer is."

Gabrielle watched the view screen for a short time, marveling at the little rainbows still smearing themselves on it.

"Mister Wizard? Where is Trillian?"

"She excused herself from the bridge soon after she recovered her composure. We had a short discussion about time and then I believe she went to sleep on deck C, room five."

"Ah. Might as well let her sleep then."

The tall woman sat in the captain's chair, quite bored and just a little anxious. She knew six hours might be enough rest for the barbarians to recover and attack. The ship might be cutting it close but she didn't think she could fall back asleep to discuss tactics back in Prizzaria. She decided that she might do better to learn more about the capabilities of the ship. It had to have weapons of some sort that could prove useful. She just had to wake up a bit more before she felt good enough to discuss the subject with Mister Wizard.

~o~O~o~

After nearly three hours of fascinating conversation, Gabrielle had all but given up on the idea of using the ship's weapons. They were too powerful. She couldn't stop the barbarians without leveling most if not all of her queendom. They moved on to other subjects like magic, something that just might prove useful.

"Wait a moment," Gabi said. "Are you saying you can mimic my magic talent?"

"Not mimic," the computer corrected. "Reproduce. Recreate. If I sampled your DNA and its quantum fluctuations, I could in fact change men into women, just as you do."

"Dee-in-ay? Quantum what?"

"Would you like a tutorial?"

"No! Excuse me. I mean, no, thank you. Can you sample... me here? Now? I could use all the help I could get when we get to Kispri. I have some men that are... that can't stop misbehaving. The only way to stop them is to either kill them or change them into women. I'd rather not kill them so...."

"Do you want me to help you change men into women?"

"Yes, please."

"Then you'll have to move to sick bay. The equipment I need is in sick bay."

"Where exactly is that?"

The computer directed her into the safest, central area of the ship where she laid back on a hard bed and was scanned. After less than half a candle mark, the computer was ready to test its new ability.

"Who should I test it on?" the computer asked her.

"That's a good question. I'm not sure if we can test it on any of the men in this ship."

"What about the boy?"

Gabrielle nibbled her lower lip. She wouldn't force any of the males to be turned into females. She had a hard time even asking for a volunteer. But she had to ask. She needed the help and she wanted to be sure.

~o~O~o~

The queen eventually had the computer request all males including the boy to show up in sick bay — after giving them directions — for a special meeting.

Scanning the men's faces, Gabrielle tried looking for a softer, feminine look. Other than the boy, she didn't see any likely subjects and her optimism faltered. She decided to just jump right in and get it over with. "I'm asking for a volunteer...," she started.

"I volunteer!" Horus piped up.

"Me too!" his friend, Dirk said.

"I'm asking for a volunteer to be changed into a woman," she said.

"Uh... can I take it back?" Horus asked. His friend suddenly couldn't speak. He just nodded agreement.

"I'm hoping that at least one of you here would rather have been born female. If so, we desperately need you to stay to see if Mister Wizard can turn you into a woman."

"Mister who?" Horus asked.

"Not Mister Who, Mister Wizard, also known as Mister Computer. He's been able to... copy my magic talent."

"What?!" all of the men chorused.

"If you're not going to volunteer, then just leave now. That way, if any of you stay, there will be little or no embarrassment."

The queen turned her back on the group and listened to the sound of fading footsteps. The men hurried out and when the room grew silent, she turned around. And amazingly enough, she found a single volunteer.

"Max?" she squeaked.

"Yes, your Majesty," the blonde boy said. "I want to be a girl, please."

"Are you sure about this?"

"I've never been more sure, your Majesty. Ever since I was little, I've wished I could be a girl. My parents don't understand, and I don't know how to explain it. I just want to be a girl with all my heart. Please change me. Please?"

"Oh, Max. Why didn't you ask me earlier?"

"Like you said, it can be a little embarrassing. I did try but you were always busy when I worked up the nerve to ask about it." The little blonde sighed and looked at her with much the same look that Julian had.

The queen's heart melted when she saw that look on his, no her, face. She bent down to hug her and whisper in her ear. "Thank you, Max. Thank you very, very much. We'll change you into a girl, and it won't hurt a bit."

The trans-girl couldn't have been more than eight sun cycles old, but she seemed old enough to know her true gender. Most people took their gender for granted, never questioning how they came to accept their bodies. It just came naturally to all but a minority. But when the body didn't match the mind, it had to be torture. She saw it in the faces of some of the women that had been victims of her magic. She helped them as much as she could but many of them couldn't or wouldn't accept their gender. Those women became more than tom boys. They became men with women's bodies, making the best of what fate dealt them. If Gabrielle could help someone become their true gender, she might even feel better about changing those men, even though she acted in self-defense.

The computer directed Gabrielle to have the boy enter a small chamber. Once inside, the familiar lavender glow of her magic filled the room and the former boy emerged from the chamber as a very happy girl. The copied magic talent worked.

~o~O~o~

After taking Maxie back to the women and making sure that the new girl would be accepted — she was, and she seemed to be an especially nice surprise for the other girl, Dina — the queen headed back to the bridge. There were some important details to work out with Mister Wizard. The chamber in sick bay wouldn't be very practical to use against the barbarians. There was no way they could get the men on board and change them quickly enough to do any good. They'd have to be changed in large groups, like Gabrielle had done in battle on many occasions.

"I'll have to analyze the problem," Mister Wizard said. "I'm sorry but I estimate that it will take all of my resources to find and implement a solution in addition to flying the ship. I'm over ninety seven percent certain that I can find Prizzaria from my earlier scan of your mind so I'm disengaging verbal mode now." The computer went quiet, leaving the queen to wonder what else Mister Wizard and the amazing iron ship could do.

~o~O~o~

Another anxious couple of hours passed. Metal men like the kind that helped Fritz showed up a couple times in the bridge, but the ship was otherwise quiet. Everyone stayed in their rooms with most listening to the strange and wondrous music that they happened to find after playing with the various knobs and buttons. Dalene also discovered the music and then found even more pleasure helping Maxie build a new wardrobe by tailoring some of her boy clothes.

While everyone else enjoyed what the ship had to offer, Gabrielle struggled to focus on trying to strategize. It was difficult because visions of what would happen to her after she got back to Kispri haunted her. She kept imagining that she saved the day and then had a heroine's welcome turn into a nightmare once her royal subjects find out she wasn't pregnant. She cried when she thought about losing the throne after all of her hard work and dedication.

'If only Marie was here,' Gabrielle thought. 'She'd know just the right thing to say.'

The queen sighed and gave up on strategy. Instead, she focused on the view screen and discovered an interesting change. The star that they seemed to head towards had gotten a lot brighter since she last looked. And it looked like the right yellow color of Kispri's sun. She frantically looked around for a countdown of some sort to show how much longer they had before they arrived but couldn't find a thing.

She left the bridge in a hurry, stopping at her room to drink some water and pick up and start choking down some ration bars for energy. Then she went from room to room, letting everyone know it was time to start getting ready to arrive. Farrott's victims were coming home.

~o~O~o~

As stated earlier, the computer remained silent as the Cetus entered orbit around Kispri. Prizzaria was identified and a landing vector was computed. When the ship circled far enough around the planet, it slowed and lowered itself into the atmosphere. It would land in a little less than one hour.

Meanwhile, not far from the outer walls of Prizzaria, the barbarian men were just waking up, and they weren't happy. The leader began barking orders almost immediately after crawling out of his tent. When he couldn't wake someone up, he'd drag them out and throw water on their face. Each person he woke up was tasked with waking up another until everyone in the encampment was awake. Then they'd have a very fast and light breakfast while receiving orders. The attack had effectively begun. It was a race to see who would pass through the gate first, Gabrielle or the leader of the barbarians.

Muriel stood with Marie at the large window in the queen's sitting room. They tried to keep their eyes on the sky, watching for any sign of the iron ship, but they couldn't help shift their gaze back down to see the men stirring themselves into battle mode.

"This is it," Muriel said. "I didn't get an update from Gabrielle last night. That worries me... a little. But those barbarians worry me even more. They must have worried Gabrielle last night too, considering she never reported back to me. I heard a report of several tent fires and some loud wailing last night. I'm guessing that she was trying to keep them awake to give her time to get here before they attacked."

Marie frowned but stayed silent. She didn't like that Gabi went off to fight the men without even saying hello first. She worried too of course, but she was more angry than anything else. She blamed the men and she wanted a piece of the action when the fighting started.

"She certainly did stall them yesterday," Muriel continued. "She was amazing according to the reports I got. We lost one guard last night and dozens were injured but it could've been much worse."

"Someone died?" Marie asked in a quiet voice.

Muriel slowly nodded. "A guard named Misty. She used to be a very nasty man who never took well to her new body. I heard she atoned for her past though. She shielded a young mother and baby from one of those dreadful electric fireballs."

"We'll have to have a memorial for Misty."

"Yes. I think that would be appropriate."

"Muriel?"

"Yes?"

"What are we gonna do if Gabi doesn't make it back in time?"

"We'll do the best we can. Our queen had enough war meetings with her generals. They know what to do. It might have been awkward too without the rumor of her pregnancy. That rumor helped deter the barbarians and it helped handle our own forces. The generals inferred that she couldn't fight because of her pregnancy, and actually, I think they enjoyed the challenge of having to make due without our queen. A couple of them are former men. Fighting is in their blood."

Marie could relate to that. She never shied away from a fight. She even went off looking for one the night that she first discovered her magic talent. She wanted Farrott to send her back to Gabi on Agrin but her magic reflected Farrott's magic back at him to send him to that other world.

'Oh, that man!' she thought, as she remembered that night.

She wanted to hate Farrott. She did hate him. She just couldn't bring herself to continue hating his new self, as Thelma. She had Farrott to thank for meeting her true love after all, since he sent Gabi to Agrin. And Thelma pretty much made up for her past. She found her own victims and helped send them home along with Gabi. They were coming home. If only they'd make it in time to stop the barbarian hordes.

~o~O~o~

 © 2012 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.