Star Trek: The Transporter Incident, Episode II free porn video

AUTHOR'S DISCLAIMER: This story series is a fictional work set in the Star Trek universe. I have made a reasonable effort to make the story's details consistent with known events, situations and hardware configurations established in previous Star Trek productions. I make no claim to be a Star Trek purist. Any errors, in continuity or otherwise, with prior Star Trek productions are unintentional. If such errors offend you, I apologize in advance. AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is a follow on to the first installment of Star Trek: The Transporter Incident. This is not a stand-alone story. To fully understand this part of the story requires that the reader have knowledge of what has already transpired. The author strongly suggests that you read Episode I of this story before reading this installment. Star Trek: The Transporter Incident, Episode II By EmiNow I eventually faded off into a peaceful euphoric state such as I had never before known. The next thing I distinctly remember was waking from a wonderfully sound sleep only to stare directly into the face of Commander Taupeda. "Good morning, ladies." I looked to the side of the bed where Maggie was last seen. She was just waking. She looked straight at Taupeda and mumbled, "Not now, Taupeda, and certainly not here." Not knowing what Maggie was attempting to communicate, I added "Commander Taupeda, to what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?" "Please excuse my intrusion, ladies; I'm here on official business. When I received no reply to my hail of the Doctor, I thought it best to let myself in. The Captain requested that I look in on you two. The Captain wants you two to understand that, while you are guests of the Romulan Empire, you each have jobs on board this ship that need to be attended to. The Doctor knows only too well that she is due on staff in sick bay at 0800. You, Ensign, have an appointment to speak with the Captain at 0830. Since you are not familiar with this vessel, I will escort you to the Captain's ready room. I will return for you at 0815. Please be in uniform. I'm sure the Doctor can give you a quick run down on Romulan uniform protocol." With that, Taupeda did a quick about face and exited, leaving Maggie and I alone. "What time is it?" I asked, directing the question to no one in particular. "Almost 0600," replied Maggie, "time to get up. I need to get ready for the duty day and you need to learn some things about life with the Romulans before you meet with Gaulgetar. I need a shower. You probably do too but, given that we don't have all day, I recommend we not shower together. You go first. I'll fix us some breakfast while you're washing. Romulan food replicators are a bit idiosyncratic and there isn't time right now to teach you how they operate." I appreciated Maggie's offering me first dibs on the shower. As I slipped into the spray, I realized that this was the first extended opportunity I had had to examine my female body. I intended to examine myself at length and at my own pace. With warm water sprinkling over my shoulders, I first shampooed my longish hair (it seemed to take forever), then started a methodical examination of my newly acquired femininity by examining my breasts. They were full, probably 36C or somewhere there about. The nipples were distinct and firm with dark, proportionate areolas. They were quite pert; the muscle tissue supported their weight with little sagging. Were I a male, they were a pair I would have enjoyed playing with. As it was, I enjoyed playing with them all the more. My waist was narrow but not extremely so. I had proportionate hips and a firm, if slightly oversized, butt. I estimated my measurements were close to 36-25-38. My thighs were firm and trim. I appeared to be in good physical shape. I intended to keep it that way; I always was one who enjoyed regular physical exercise. I saved the examination of my vagina for the last. I slowly pulled back the folds of my labia one at a time. I'd done this on other vaginas before but this experience was completely new. I gently washed each fold. I became immediately aroused and had to fight with myself to stick to business. I began to lose track of time. It seemed like only seconds before I heard a rap on the shower door followed by Maggie's voice. "Stop playing and start rinsing; this shower is a shared asset and your time is up." I'd been busted and I knew it. I finished rinsing, grabbed a towel to dry myself, then stepped out of the stall. Maggie was waiting, buck naked and towel in hand, to replace me. As she entered the shower stall she said to me, "Before you get distracted by other things, I seriously recommend that you get to work drying and brushing out your hair. If you do it immediately after showering, you'll find it much easier to work with. Long hair is a fashion statement but it requires constant upkeep. If you don't attend to it now, you'll wish you had. There are a great many things you need to learn about being a woman. I can help you with many of them. We can start with hair upkeep." "Thanks for the advise," I replied. "I'll give you more tips later, things about being a woman that I learned the hard way. There are things you need to know about Romulans in general and the crew of this ship in particular. Meanwhile, I have my own hygiene to attend to. I left you some breakfast; it's on the table if you're hungry." Following Maggie's advice, I dried and brushed out my hair. As it dried, it all just sort of fell into place. I noticed that Maggie had laid out an assortment of cosmetics. I wasn't sure if they were for her, for me, or for both of us. I quickly decided not to explore make-up without some direction from Maggie. Instead, I checked out what Maggie had prepared for breakfast. As she said, she had laid out two plates of what, but for a distinct blue tint, looked like scrambled eggs. They smelled like something close enough to scrambled eggs for me to take a small nibble. Their taste suggested scrambled eggs. I thought that Maggie wouldn't have laid out anything unfit to eat and I was hungry so I downed one of the plates. There were also two mugs of what could have passed for coffee. I helped myself to one and was almost finished with the mug when Maggie exited the shower. She noticed that I had eaten. She asked, "Did you like the paldak eggs?" "Paldak?" I asked. "Paldak," she answered, "a flightless Romulan bird, the first cousin to a chicken. The food replicators are all programmed to produce foods native to Romulus just as Federation food replicators produce foods native to Earth. I tried to get the replicators to produce a few earth standards but, without a real Earth food item to use as a prototype, there was insufficient data to create a replicator image. So I make do with Romulan foods that approximate things on Earth. I suggest you just get used to it." "What about the chicken salad you prepared for me?" "A bit of cooked paldak, some farnx leaves, some Romulan spices, a little holographic trickery and, presto, instant chicken salad. I make it regularly and I've gotten past the blue tint." There was an uncomfortable pause in the conversation. I broke the silence. "Not meaning to change the subject, but I think I deserve to know. Why did you deceive me by actively participating in the Romulan's attempt to fool me into giving up Starfleet's torpedo codes? Why was it necessary to trick me? Had I been told the truth up front I probably would have made the same decision I ultimately made to cooperate with the Romulans and stay here to help you. But why the subterfuge?" Maggie paused before she responded. I had clearly gotten into uncomfortable territory. "We need to get to that. With the Romulans, things are very often not as they seem. You have some things that you need to know to bring you up to speed with how it is to be a woman and the way things are on this ship. Let's start with you. "We both know that each of us started out as human males. We both also know that that is no longer the case. If either of us is to return to our male lives, the road will likely be long, circuitous and bumpy. So you need to purge your memory of any thoughts of your male life and acclimate yourself to the fact that you are now female. The quicker you accept that fact and begin to act, and react, as a female, the better off we will both be. Do you understand?" I nodded my head in agreement. "Your attraction to me, and my attraction to you, are both predicated on how we appear to the other. I consider myself, at my core, a heterosexual male. As such, I have no inclination to take up with a genetic male even though I am, at the present time, outfitted as a fully functional female. Do you consider yourself, at your core, heterosexual or homosexual?" "Heterosexual, like you." "Good. We are both heterosexual but we are attracted to each other because we each visually perceive the other as female. I submit to you that if the Romulans had returned you to your male body, you would have continued to be attracted to me since you view me as female. I, on the other hand, I would not have been attracted to you since my orientation is also to females. Am I making sense to you?" Again, I nodded my head in agreement. "This ship and its crew are part of an elite Romulan corps, an arm of the Romulan spy ministry. The Romulan Space Corps is staffed with both male and female officers and ratings. Not so this ship. On this ship there are exactly six females. Three are young Vulcans, captured and now held as slaves. They are assigned to the section euphemistically called "Crew Comfort". They function as the ship's prostitutes. There is another Vulcan, a female whom Captain Gaulgetar has taken as his shipboard mistress. Then there are you and me. "Our Romulan crew mates, who are exclusively male, perceive us as female. That is an illusion that we are well advised to maintain. Romulan males, like males of any species, are ultimately motivated by the desire for sex. They will give you most anything you want if they think there is a chance of an interactive orgasm in the deal. You have to work with the tools you have at hand and, in this case, your tool is femininity. "Let's talk about Romulans for a moment. Romulans are a very pragmatic people. They are loyal to themselves and to the empire, in that order. Klingons place great emphasis on honor. A Klingon will look you straight in the eye and, before he eviscerates you, will tell you when and how he intends to do it. He'll tell himself that, by so forewarning you, he has acted with great honor. Either way you end up dead. "A Vulcan will seldom kill; they will, however, bore you to death with an explanation of why their course of action is totally logical and your logic is less logical than theirs. "A Romulan, by contrast, will kill you with stealth, from behind, with no warning. With Romulans, you always have to watch both of their hands because one may contain a dagger. Never trust what a Romulan tells you. To a Romulan, lies and truth are equally appropriate when dealing with off-worlders. "Having said that, understand that Gaulgetar is, in some ways, an exception to the general rule. He is a man of honor and a man of his word. When he tells you he will do something, accept that it will happen. But don't think for a moment that he likes you or is sympathetic to your predicament. "When I assumed my position as a member of this vessel's crew, Gaulgetar warned me that I would be both the only human and the only non-prostitute female aboard. He said that put me in a dangerous position, particularly if word leaked that I was also a transformed male. He promised that he would institute a policy with the enlisted crew that I was not to be touched. He did just that. The penalty, by the way, is summary execution. But he left the ship's officers out of that order. He then specifically charged Commander Taupeda with looking out for my physical well being. That put me in an awkward position. Taupeda would guarantee my safety from the officer corps but nothing guaranteed my safety from Taupeda. "In fact that's how it has worked out. In exchange for guaranteeing my personal safety, I have become, by default, Taupeda's mistress. In exchange for favors of a sexual nature, I am allowed safe run of the ship and complete freedom in pursuit of my medical duties. Taupeda gained a mistress while Gaulgetar cemented the loyalty of his second- in-command; a win-win all around, by Romulan standards." "Now before I end my orientation regarding Gaulgetar, as I said he is, in many ways, the exception to most Romulan rules. I am told that Gaulgetar was happily married and quite true to his wife. They were married for almost 20 years before she died tragically about a year ago. That is when he took up with the Vulcan as a mistress. Rumor among the crew is that he is madly in love with her. That same rumor says she doesn't reciprocate that attraction but plays along for the better quarters and lifestyle that come with being the Captain's woman. "When I joined Starfleet I never pictured a career path leading me to the position of mistress to a Romulan officer. When I first committed to work as a part of this ship's medical staff, I had hopes of eventually jumping ship and, somehow, making my way back to Earth. My thought was that I would be better off living my life as a female on Earth than as a Romulan anything. But as the consort to a high ranking Romulan officer, there is no way for me to jump ship anywhere in Romulan space and have my disappearance go unnoticed. By taking up with Taupeda, I sealed my own fate. "I'm confused," I said. "We both agreed that we each consider ourselves heterosexual. How could you take up with Taupeda and not consider yourself homosexual?" "Survival is a strong instinct. I was presented with the choice of being either the mistress of Taupeda or the fuck buddy of the rest of the officer corps. I chose the lesser of two evils. I'm not proud of the choice I made but it has kept me alive. You had better be thinking of the choices you will have to make. I'm sure Gaulgetar has more to discuss with you this morning than torpedo codes." That thought brought a chill to my spine and the conversation to an abrupt lengthy pause. "Now to directly answer your question about why I deceived you, the answer is complicated. Understand that all Romulan spacecraft are equipped for battle, including this one. That having been said, this ship's main mission is spying. There is far more intelligence gathering equipment aboard this vessel than armament. In fact, her mission, until yesterday, was to shadow the Enterprise to determine Starfleet's intentions in this sector." I injected, "The Enterprise was on a mapping mission." "Indeed it was and we found little evidence to of anything but that. But there is, from a Romulan viewpoint, a fine line between mapping for geographic and geological purposes and assembly of intelligence useful in planning an attack on the Romulan Empire. Never underestimate the paranoia Romulans hold concerning non-Romulan species and cultures. "Now understand that the Federation spies on the Empire to the same degree that the Empire spies on the Federation. Neither side trusts the other. That distrust is well founded. But the Tribax really posed no substantial threat to the Enterprise. Her mission was to observe, not to attack. The captain's orders are explicit; do not fire unless fired upon. "Yesterday the ship experienced a major failure of its main power system. That left her without warp power and able to maintain her cloak only for, at most, 12 hours. Given the Enterprise's sensor range, this ship could never have hidden from the Enterprise without her cloak but also could not have withdrawn beyond detection by the Enterprise's sensors before the cloak was lost. That left the captain with only one choice, to attack and hope to disable the Enterprise long enough to escape back to Romulan space. That's where you came in. "This ship's sensors detected the survival exercise under way. The Romulans identified you as someone who had access to the torpedo codes and had little Starfleet experience. A plan was quickly hatched to bring you on board the Tribax, transform you to a female, and convince you that the only way you would ever regain your malehood was to divulge the Enterprise's torpedo codes. I was invited to sit in on the planning session. I was assigned the task of trying to get you to reveal the codes voluntarily. I accepted my assignment voluntarily. It was unfair to you to be deceived but, in the scheme of things, it was necessary. "Had the Enterprise detected the Tribax in her damaged state, she would have been seized by the Enterprise and her crew taken prisoner. As the only human on board, I would probably have been charged with treason and possibly executed. But it was not my personal fate that I was concerned with. The capture of the Tribax in what would have clearly been Federation space would have humiliated the Romulans. The Romulan's probable response would have been a series of guerilla raids against Federation outposts along the Neutral Zone. In response to these Romulan attacks, the Federation would arm the Federation side of the Neutral Zone to the teeth. Given this situation, an all out war with the Federation would have been inevitable. I didn't want that war laid on my shoulders. I seem to always be choosing the lesser of two evils. I chose to participate in the Tribax's escape voluntarily. What I didn't factor into my calculation was you volunteering to remain on the Tribax and I totally miscalculated my response to your offer to aid me in my gender dilemma. "Before yesterday, I had been without human contact for over 6 months. I wasn't prepared for the emotional effects that interaction with another human would have on me. My mission was to get you to give up the Enterprise's torpedo codes. I ended up giving up my emotional core. Intellectually, I knew you were a male but physically you were a human and I was horny as hell. The thought of sex with someone other than a sweaty, ill-behaved Romulan, and a young and attractive human at that, overwhelmed my better judgment. I didn't mean to develop an emotional attachment to you. I don't intend to allow myself to continue that attraction. Hereafter, I will restrict my relationship with you strictly to business. I suggest you do so as well." That suggestion struck me like a bag of bricks. My first reaction was that I was flattered she found me attractive. In my heart I knew, against all logic, that I was in love with Maggie. Beyond that, though, I had not thought out any of the realities of the situation. Intellectually, I knew Maggie was just an image; the real Maggie was a man just as I was. I then realized that I was much more emotionally driven than I ever had been before. Perhaps the estrogen that was pulsing through my newly feminized body was affecting my thought processes. I needed time to think this situation out. "Do you understand what I'm saying to you? Are we on the same page here? Can we put the sexual stuff aside and work together as crew mates and as the Starfleet officers that we are, or at least were? We have a mission to accomplish, to regain our male bodies and get back to Starfleet. Are you up for this? Are you with me, here, Fil?" I was still trying to bring my thought processes on line when I found my head, acting on auto-pilot, nodding in agreement. "Good. Now there's a lot you need to know about being a female and we haven't got much time. "Let's talk about make-up. It took me forever to get the hang of it and you don't have that long. Even Romulan women wear at least a basic foundation, rouge and lip stick. Some things, I guess, are universal, no pun intended. You'd better get used to wearing at least a basic make-up. I haven't time to instruct you in how to do it right so, for today, I'm going to do your make-up for you. Later I'll help you with how to do it yourself. Likewise, I'll help you with your hair style. You are fortunate in that your hair naturally falls into something that approximates an attractive style. You should count your blessings. "I'm going to say this to you discretely but you need to know that, as a human female, you will menstruate. Probably not today but your day is coming." That thought sent a distinct shiver down by back. "You need to know how to handle this. We'll talk about this at length later. "You'll need to practice assuming a female demeanor. This will take some time and effort. For now, just remember the basics. Romulan males, even more than human males, are threatened by aggressive female behavior by those they view as subordinate. They will listen to you if you present your ideas passively, more as suggestions than orders. Never speak to a Romulan in a demeaning manner. Never suggest that a Romulan in a superior position is wrong. Always present your ideas as logical but purely suggestive. To do otherwise is self defeating. You have to think of yourself as a second class citizen. You'll find it easier to get along with Romulans if you do. Your mission, at least for now, is to get along with the Romulans, to get them to accept and trust you. Understood?" "One more thing you need to know is that the Romulans are masters of illusion. They have taken holographic imaging technology to levels that make Starfleet pale by comparison. You saw how complete and believable the imaging was when you transported onto the Tribax yesterday. Did you even slightly suspect that you were not on the Enterprise? The Romulans ability to make believe a 3D holographic image is real is without parallel. Be very careful. Things you see and people you meet today may not be as they seem. They may test you on what you say, do and on your loyalties. I can't tell you how to differentiate the real from the unreal. You will have to use your instincts for that. Just be aware at all times and never accept what you see as real." She inserted a long pause to let that sink in. The next hour or so passed in a blur. Maggie peppered me with things to know and to think about. My mind was on information overload. I tried my best to process what I was being given and to, at least, retain what I couldn't immediately process. Maggie instructed me on how to properly wear a Romulan uniform, starting with the underwear. She gave me a few pointers on application of make-up and hair styling, all the while laying out what I might expect from the Romulans in terms of duties and social integration. All too soon, it was Maggie's time to report for duty. She gave me a big hug and wished me well. She told me not to lose sight of my ultimate mission or my loyalty to Starfleet. Then, with a woosh, she was out the door which closed behind her. Very shortly thereafter, I was hailed to the door by Commander Taupeda. "Why didn't you just come in like you did this morning?" I asked. "Because I knew you were awake. The Captain's specific orders are to escort you to his ready room. Beyond that, I have no other specific orders. I know the Captain has taken a special interest in you, Ensign. Consider yourself lucky in that regard. Now, if you would kindly walk with me." Taupeda motioned toward the hallway. As we walked to the lift it occurred to me that I hadn't really set in my mind the physical layout of the Tribax. At the Academy we were taught always to do this when we found ourselves in a foreign situation. From the length of the hallways, the Tribax appeared to be a much smaller vessel than the Enterprise. Taupeda said nothing as we walked. We quickly came to a convergence of several hallways at which was a lift of some sort. The lift door opened, Taupeda motioned me into the lift and the doors closed behind us. He grumbled something in what I took to be Romulan and the lift set off upward. There was a diagram, in Romulan, that indicated that we had entered on the third deck. The lift stopped at the top deck, the eighth. We exited the lift. To my left I saw what I took to be the ship's bridge, complete with large view screen. The screen was blank. In fact, the bridge was all but abandoned, staffed only by two crewmen, neither of whom wore officer's insignia, who appeared to be a security detail. To the right was a door which I took to be the Captain's ready room. Taupeda initiated a hail. From inside, a voice said "Enter". The door whooshed open. At a desk in the far corner of the room sat Captain Gaulgetar. "Come in, Ensign," said the Captain, motioning for me to enter. "Have a seat," he continued, motioning to a chair at the left side of the desk. "Thank you, Commander Taupeda. That will be all. Please see that the door is secured as you leave." Taupeda saluted and did as he was told. "So tell me, Ensign, are your quarters satisfactory? I trust you slept well." "Quite satisfactory, sir, and yes I did," I replied. "You'll find, Ensign, that we Romulans are a quite hospitable people when you get to know us. But then you didn't expect that we are here to discuss your sleeping arrangements." "Unlikely, sir." "So let me tell you, Ensign, exactly where you are and the situation you have placed yourself in. The Tribax has returned to Romulan space. We are currently in a Romulan space dock at a location and the identity of which you do not need to know. We are undergoing repairs for the damage incurred in our last mission. We anticipate leaving space dock tomorrow, mid-day. When the ship gets under way, you will be given the option of remaining at the space dock as a Romulan prisoner or remaining on board the Tribax as a member of my crew. I am prepared to offer you a field commission with the rank of acting Ensign. As an officer, you will be extended all the courtesies extended to Romulan officers and you will assume all the responsibilities that accrue to your commission." "What, exactly, will be my responsibilities aboard the Tribax, sir?" "While we are here space dock, we are undergoing a significant computer upgrade. New hardware is being installed and the crew is being trained in its operation. The whole operation is being supervised by the ship's IT Officer, Lieutenant Zovak. I would like you to monitor that training and prepare a report to me with copy to Lt. Zovak listing the similarities and differences between Romulan and Federation approach to automated ship's operations. If Lt. Zovak and I are satisfied with your report, that you are being honest and open with us and do not fill your report with a lot of eye candy or, I believe the Earth term is, "hogwash" then once under way, you will work for Lt. Zovak as Assistant IT Officer. On the other hand, if either Lt. Zovak or I suspect any games are being played, we will put you off the ship and you will be, as any human female would be, at the mercy of the local culture in whatever location in Romulan space you happen to land. I can assure you that your experience, in this circumstance, will be less than pleasant." I contemplated that for a moment. "With all due respect, sir, yesterday I saw a room full of state-of- the-art Starfleet tech gear aboard this vessel. If you have all that hardware, why do you need me?" "You have an inquisitive mind, Ensign. That can be a good thing at times; at other times it can just be annoying. Had you seen that much technology in a cave in prehistoric Earth, what could you conclude?" "That the hardware came from some other place or time and that the inhabitants of the cave couldn't even to power up the equipment much less know what to do with it." "Exactly. Which is not to say that the Empire doesn't know how to power up the equipment or how to get it operational. We have already gotten that far. And, given enough time, we could probably discover all the intricacies and nuances of the equipment. But time is something we do not have in bulk." "Permission to speak freely, sir." "Permission granted." "Why was I brought aboard this vessel, sir? I understand I was not just a random acquisition. What was there about me that attracted the Empire?" The Captain gave me one of those grimacing looks that told me I had wandered into uncomfortable territory. "This is one of those annoying moments that I referred to earlier. To be honest, Ensign, you were specifically selected because snatching you off Ribos III was rather easy and you were the only member of the team on the surface of Ribos III with the expertise we needed to get out of the predicament we were in. We needed your ability to access the torpedo codes for the Enterprise. That is why you were initially brought aboard. We chose to bring you aboard as a female in order to give us leverage in convincing you to release the codes to us. We had not contemplated you choosing to voluntarily remain aboard the Tribax, but once that decision was made, your knowledge of Federation technology made you a valuable asset to this ship and to the Empire." "I see. If I may be so bold as to ask, how did the Empire come into possession of all that Starfleet equipment?" "You may ask, Ensign, but I am under no obligation to answer. How the equipment came into our hands is not for you to know." "But you want me to show you all the ins, outs and nuances of the equipment's operation so you can use it against the Federation?" "To the contrary, Ensign. We have no intention of using the equipment we have on board aggressively. Romulans are a peaceful people. But we do see a need to keep up with all technologies that might be used against us by an aggressive force like the Federation. "Are you familiar with Earth's history, Ensign, specifically Earth's mid-twentieth century?" "Do you refer to what was called 'The Cold War', sir?" "Exactly. What you had was two rival societies each of which had the weaponry to destroy the other. In fact, each had the power to destroy all life on Earth. So fearsome were the weapons that both sides were afraid to use them. As long as both sides were equally armed, a stand-off existed. It was referred to as the 'Balance of Terror'. In a nut shell, that is what we have here. The Empire can destroy the Federation and vice versa but neither side can take the first aggressive action without guaranteeing that both sides will be destroyed in the ensuing battle. That type of stand-off exists only when neither side gains a significant tactical advantage over the other. All we are attempting to do is maintain that balance." I had no immediate reply; the logic of Gaulgetar's argument had me scrambling for a rebuttal. "If the Romulans are such peace loving people, why has reaching a working peace treaty with the Federation been so hard" "For the same reason your Earth's Cold War dragged on for almost 50 years. Neither side trusts the other. Perhaps one side owns the moral high ground; perhaps both sides are wrong. Such matters are to be dealt with by diplomats. I am but a humble servant of the Empire and I follow the orders I am given." "So I should trust someone who is just following orders? If you know Earth history, you know of the world war that preceded the cold war. It was marked by mass killings, the perpetrators of which claimed to be merely following orders. Don't you have to consider the morality of those orders?" "Indeed we do, Ensign. Everyone must choose to obey or to suffer the consequences of disobedience. I believe that, politics aside, the Empire operates in an ethical and morally justifiable manner. Can you say as much for the Federation?" I realized that I was, again, painting myself into a corner; it was time to move the conversation in a different direction. "That's a topic for another day and another time, sir. On another matter, I am aware of an 'arrangement' between Doctor Campbell and Commander Taupeda. Will there be a comparable 'arrangement' regarding me, either with Commander Taupeda or some other ship's officer?" The Captain grimaced a bit, took a breath, then responded. "How much did you study the Romulan culture at Starfleet Academy, Ensign?" "Not that much, sir; only the basics. Why do you ask?" "Well, you see, there is a long established Romulan practice of what we refer to as Ship's Women. We carry very few females on the Tribax. Our missions are usually long and in regions of space with little or no friendly local population. We Romulan's recognize that our crews have certain biological needs. Crew morale is improved by attending to these needs. Thus we carry on board a few females for the sole purpose of crew comfort." "So I have heard", I responded. "Your crew comfort program is of no real concern to me. But that Commander Taupeda appears to have annexed Doctor Campbell as his personal recreational vehicle does concern me. Am I to be expected to provide occasional morale building exercises for one or more of your senior staff?" Gaugetar paused, quietly contemplating his answer. "I like you, Ensign. You go directly to the point. Please understand that you are here under distinctly different circumstances than those of Doctor Campbell. Granted, you both came aboard the Tribax in an unfamiliar physical body, but Doctor Campbell wasn't as subtle in her ability to cope with both her instant femininity and not being able to return to her original identity. The Doctor fought against the situation. She resisted cooperation with the Empire. She even tried to modify some of the medical equipment into an improvised communication device and attempted to contact Starfleet. Her effort failed. "Please recognize that Commander Taupeda is both my XO and my enforcer. As Captain, I stay above petty disputes between my subordinates; that is Taupeda's job and he does it very well. Taupeda also has family connections in Romulan politics. He has risen through the ranks quite quickly and will, undoubtedly, have his own command before long. He may even be my commander some day. If that happens, I expect to be on favorable terms with him. "When it became obvious that Doctor Campbell could not be returned to Starfleet, Taupeda suggested to me that the Doctor could use an attitude readjustment and that administering such an adjustment came well within his designated duties. How he actually worded it was 'That bitch needs a good fucking'. I agreed. So it came to be that Taupeda was given permission to take Doctor Campbell under his wing, so to speak. The doctor's attitude did turn around, and rather quickly, and she has been a valued member of my crew since. The 'arrangement' has been good for crew morale, particularly Commander Taupeda's, and ultimately for the doctor herself. I could have consigned her to the crew comfort program or put her ashore at a location not at all friendly to female Earthlings. She should count her blessings. "As for you, Ensign, as long as you remain under my command, if do not undermine my authority or the good discipline of my crew, and as long as you complete the tasks assigned to you in good order, neither Taupeda or any of my crew will lay a hand on you. Does that allay your fears?" "Yes, sir, it does. Now, when will I have a chance to meet your Lieutenant Zovak?" "No time like the present." Gaulgatar punched a button on his desk that I took to be an intercom. "Lieutenant Zovak, please report to the Captain's ready room." "You need to be aware, Ensign, that only a handful of my officers know of the gender change you experienced when you came aboard the Tribax. Lieutenant Zovak is not among them. As far as Lieutenant Zovak knows, you are a Federation computer expert who has defected. He has been told that you have a thorough knowledge of Federation computer systems and will incorporate Federation technology into Romulan computer systems where you think it is appropriate." "That's my cover story? Does Doctor Campbell have a similar cover story?" "As I said before, Doctor Campbell came to join my crew under very different circumstances." At that point in the conversation, a hailing tone sounded which I took as an indication of someone requesting entry to the room. Gaulgetar shouted a commanding "Enter". The door opened and in walked a rather wonky looking Romulan whom I took to be Lieutenant Zovak. The wonk saluted and stood at stiff attention. "You wish to see me, Captain?" he asked. "At ease, Lieutenant, and please take a seat. Lieutenant, I would like you to meet Felicia Burton. Ms. Burton has been assigned to this vessel for an unspecified period. I have given Ms. Burton the acting Romulan rank of ensign. Ensign Burton is the person of whom you and I spoke last night. Ensign Burton is an expert in Federation computer technology. She has chosen to leave the Federation for reasons that you do not need to know. She wants to make her expertise in Federation computer technology available to the Empire. To that end, I have assigned her to the temporary position of assistant IT Officer of the Tribax. Ensign Burton is to assist you in the current system upgrade." Zovak gave me a quick once-over glance, then extended his hand. "Welcome aboard, Ensign. We have a lot of work to do to complete our upgrade. I can truly use your help. Are you ready to get to work?" Gaulgetar interjected "Lieutenant, would you please wait in the hallway while I have a final word with Ensign Burton." "Certainly, sir." Zovak saluted, turned and exited the room. The door whooshed behind him. "One last thing, Ensign. You might be interested in knowing that as we speak, the Captain of the Enterprise is reviewing the death certificate of Ensign Phillip Burton. It seems that Ensign Burton is missing and is presumed to have died on the planet Ribos III. A search party was able to recover parts of Ensign Burton's shredded uniform, but they failed to find any remains of Ensign Burton. Fortunately, there was enough of the Ensign's DNA on the uniform to confirm that it was actually his. He is presumed to have died of a carnivorous animal attack while on a survival exercise. His next of kin have been advised. He will be given a full Starfleet funeral, albeit with an empty casket, the day after tomorrow." That bit of information left me speechless. "It would appear that you, Ensign, are a man, or should I say a woman, without an identity. The Federation considers you officially dead. The Romulan Empire considers you a prisoner. The official log of this ship will indicate that you were captured attempting to covertly beam onto the Tribax from a Federation vessel while both were operating in Romulan space. Once captured, you voluntarily divulged certain confidential Federation data that proved to be valuable to the Empire, in exchange for which you were confined to quarters rather than summarily executed as a spy. "I bring this to your attention, Ensign, because Starfleet is no longer looking for you. Even if you were able to contact Starfleet, you would first have to convince them that a dead male junior officer is being held against his will in the body of a female human serving aboard a Romulan warship. You are bright, Ensign. Can you talk your way out of that dilemma? Probably not. So, unless you are willing to invite my wrath and risk being put off the ship or even executed as a Federation spy, I suggest you take the mission I have assigned to you seriously and do not try anything that would damage my confidence in you. Do I make myself clear?" I was still digesting not being invited to my own funeral but I knew that this was no time to be glib. "Understood, sir." I saluted the Captain sharply, turned exited the Captain's office, joining Lt. Zovak in the hallway. "Let's get to work, Lieutenant." Zovak motioned me to the lift. We entered the lift and Zovak ordered a command that I didn't understand. The lift started downward, stopping at level 4. We exited the lift, preceded down a long corridor. I recognized the hallway. In a room off this hallway was the HES in which I had been interrogated the day before. It was in an adjoining room that I had seen the cache of Federation tech equipment. At the end of the corridor, we passed through a large doorway and entered an equipment room some three decks high. "Welcome to my small corner of the Tribax, Ensign." "Thank you, sir." "If we are going to work together, please feel free to call me the name most of the other officers call me. That would be Rube. It's short for Rubtrek. And may I call you Felicia?" "If that is your wish, sir, but I would really prefer that we keep our relationship strictly professional. My preference would be to call you Lieutenant or Sir and you call me Ensign. Your thoughts, please, sir." "As you wish, Ensign." Zovak was clearly offended. What I said it was to emphasize that I was not on board this ship to make friends with the Romulans and to reinforce in my own mind that my mission was to work with them until my real mission of returning, with Maggie, to Starfleet was completed. "I take it this is the ship's computer core. Please give me a quick tour." Zovak grew a large smile, like someone had just asked him to show off his prized possession. What followed was a complete, and amazingly detailed, tour of the data processing hardware of the Tribax. I found it interesting because, except for form and format, and on a smaller scale, the internals of the Tribax computer were a virtual carbon copy of the computer aboard the Enterprise. It could be that the laws of physics are universal and both the Empire and the Federation came up with identical devices and processes independently. More probable was that one side had access to the technology of the other and was good at making copies. If it were mine to call, I'd say the Romulans were excellent rip-off artists. Eventually, the grand tour came to the room in which, the previous day, I had seen the assemblage of Federation tech equipment. "This looks like real Federation equipment", I said to Zovak. "That's exactly what it is. This is equipment that we accumulated on our last mission. Most of it will be off loaded while we are in space dock and sent back to Romulus for reverse engineering. There are a few items here that you could help us classify, but we'll get to that soon enough." "How did you manage to acquire all this hardware?" I asked. "That, Ensign, is a closely held state secret. I know only enough to allow me to function. I am not at liberty to say much but you may want to familiarize yourself with the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition." Zovak needn't have said any more. At the Academy, we were frequently warned to never allow Ferengi on board Federation vessels, except under close guard, and to be very suspicious of all dealings with Ferengi. It was well known that Ferengi traders dealt in stolen and counterfeit property. It was also well known that a lot of items available from the Ferengi were cheap knock-offs and outright fakes. Zovak might be in possession of an array of non-functional or only partially functional hardware. I didn't see it as my position to point that out. I said nothing. "It's time for you to earn your keep, Ensign. I am about to lead a class for the computer operators of this vessel. We just installed a new user interface to our master sub-space communications program. I'd like you to sit in on that class. Afterward, I'd like a run down on how the Federation's systems differ from ours and what improvements we can make to keep up. "That's what I'm here for, sir." The hardware used by the Romulans for their sub-space communications system, the system that was the topic of Zovak's class, was a dead knock-off of the Federation's sub-space communications gear. It was essentially a flat glass touch panel on which various computer generated controls and data read-outs were displayed. The display would change automatically as the context of the task at hand changed and/or as the situation demanded. Even the various displays were Federation knock-offs. One thing that caught my attention quickly was that the Romulans had not adopted the "swiping" motions that expedited response times to events displayed. It was like they were unaware that the swipe feature existed. Without its use, the operation of the comm panel was a bit slow and clumsy, but it was still quite functional. Another thing I quickly deduced was the Romulans did not understand that there was a feature built into the comm panel that allowed for quick "shorthand" notes to be created and transmitted on a side band of the main sub-space channel. The Federation had developed this as a means of sending short text messages between ships and from ship to base without tying up the main communication resources that might be critical in a tactical situation. Sending a text was a matter of composing the message with a series of swipes on an area of the display panel in the lower right corner. In the Federation version, that area of the screen contained a Starfleet logo. The Romulans had managed to black out that area in their pirated version. Incoming messages would be displayed in that same area of the panel. It took some training to master but the feature had proven quite popular with Federation Comm Officers and crews. It hadn't occurred to me until then but the Romulan alphabet is significantly more complex than ours. The official Starfleet alphabet has 26 characters; the Romulan alphabet has 57. All those extra characters require extra keys on a keyboard and extra effort to construct a message. Maybe it wasn't just happenstance that led the Romulans to not develop a "swipe" shorthand. Or maybe they just didn't know that Starfleet already had. At the risk of sounding like a nerd, maybe I should explain a bit about sub-space communication. Like warp drive can propel a ship faster than light, sub-space communications can send communications at speeds that approach warp 100. Thus it is possible to communicate over vast distances without a significant time lag between transmittal and reception. The transmitters of a starship are powerful but they do have finite limits. To facilitate communication over the entire Alpha quadrant, Starfleet has established a grid of retransmission stations, called "comm buoys", throughout the quadrant. All Starfleet network transmissions are digital and encrypted. Voice, video and text messages are first routed through the universal translator and converted to English, the primary language to Starfleet, then digitized and encrypted before transmission. On receipt, they are decrypted and again routed through the translator for conversion into the preferred language of the receiving vessel or facility. I mention all of this because interception of Starfleet communications by non-Federation forces is an ongoing concern. In fact, each side has a series of listening posts along the neutral zone to do just that. The Federation has been fairly successful at deciphering the communications of the Romulans. It would appear that the Romulans have had successes of their own. It was at this point that I got an inspiration. If the Romulans were uninterested in developing "swipe motion" as a computer input and communication short cut, maybe they had discounted its use by Starfleet to the point that no one was monitoring Federation communications in that specific region of the broadcast spectrum. Was it worth the risk for me to find out? I made a hasty decision to try. As the class wound down, I asked Zovak if I could putter with comm panel to familiarize myself with its capabilities. He told his charges to take their mid-day meal break, then motioned me to help myself. What I was about to do might just save my bacon with Starfleet but it could also leave me as a female and a stranger in an inhospitable corner of space or condemn me to confinement in the Romulan equivalent of a POW camp. I sat down at the comm panel and did the introductory swipe to tell the station that I wanted to send a quick text. I then laid out my message. I said that my name was Ensign Phillip Burton of the USS Enterprise. I said I had been taken prisoner and was being held against my will on the Romulan spy vessel Tribax. I scrawled out that I was being held with another Starfleet officer, a Doctor Campbell, of an unknown vessel. My swipes told Starfleet that I was unable to receive incoming communications. No attempt should be made to respond. Further details about the Tribax, its location and its mission would be transmitted as circumstances permitted. I said that if it was possible to determine the location of the Tribax by triangulation, the ship is scheduled to be at its present location for at least 24 hours. Then I took a deep breath and paused to let the rational portion of my brain catch up to what the emotional side was about to do. I considered that the Tribax would likely archive all transmissions of any type. I also considered that we were in a Romulan space dock. In Federation space docks, all ship's radio comm is silent. Both for security and safety, all necessary transmissions are done via hard wire link to the dock's transmitters. The Romulans probably had a similar policy and my sending this message would likely be immediately detected as well as recorded. As much as my emotional side screamed at me to send the message, my rational side compelled me to immediately erase the message, which I did. This whole sequence of events took less than a minute. My heart was pounding. I took a minute to consider what I had just done while pretending to give the comm panel a once over. As I stood there regaining my wits, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Zovak who pulled me in to him in what amounted to a one armed hug. My mind raced as to how to handle, and hopefully avoid, what could end up being my first female fondling. Then, just as soon as it started, I felt Zovak's body stiffen and his arm drop. Then the reason for his change in posture became obvious. Behind us stood Commander Taupeda. "Are you two getting to know each other?" he asked. "Yes, sir!" answered Zovak. "That is a good thing, Lieutenant. You have much work to do. And you, Ensign, have a report to prepare for both the Lieutenant and the Captain. I would like to deliver that report to him before your duty day is finished. Will that be a problem?" "No, sir!" I responded. "Good! Then I will leave the two of you to your assigned tasks. Carry on." Commander Taupeda marched off down the corridor. Zovak, visibly sweating, let out a quiet sigh of relief. "I plan to walk my crew through a few simulated training exercises, Ensign. You are welcome to sit in on the training or, if you would like to use the data station in my office to prepare your report, please feel free." "Thank you, Lieutenant. I would not want to displease the Captain. Now might be a very good time to prepare the report he requested." "Very well. From the data station, ask the ship's computer to log you onto the records recorder. I have already set up an account under your name. The ship's computer will talk you through setting up password protection for your account. Then just dictate your report and tell the computer to send my copy to my file in box and to deliver a hard copy to Commander Taupeda. Questions?" "A hard copy, sir? Shouldn't my report be encrypted for the Captain's eyes only?" "On this ship, Ensign, there is virtually nothing that the Captain doesn't share with his XO and vice versa. If the Captain didn't want to share and discuss your report with Commander Taupeda, he would never have asked Taupeda to deliver it. Any other questions?" "None, sir." Zovak escorted me to his data station and quickly exited, closing the door behind him. I queried the computer and, following Zovak's orders, created a password for my account. Then I paused for a moment or two to collect my thoughts. A lot had happened in the past 7 hours. As the pieces started to fall in place, the warning that Maggie gave me about things not being as they appear. Nothing I had seen this morning seemed particularly out of place, out of context or conveniently available for me to see. On the other hand, Zovak was particularly eager to lead me to believe that the Federation comm gear I saw was acquired via the Ferengi. It is well known that the Ferengi are galactic capitalists. They have no ethical constraints about selling anything to anyone under any circumstance as long as there's a sufficient profit in it for them. Stealing secret data is one thing, stealing large and heavy hardware is quite another. Obtaining the quantity of supposedly classified comm gear that I saw would not have gone unnoticed by the Federation. Then again, it could all be cheap Ferengi knock offs. But the likelihood of the Romulans accepting and paying for such a large quantity of state-of-the-art tech gear without giving it a proper inspection was unbelievably small. One or two of the pieces in this puzzle were not fitting together. What all that meant, why I was privy to it and how I should react still had me wondering. Then I had to ask myself some hard questions. How much do I want to tell the Romulans about what I have seen today, about how Romulan technology measures up to Federation technology? How much was I willing to give up of what I knew about Federation tech and what were the risks that this whole exercise was just a test of me and how cooperative, or duplicitous, I was willing to be with the Romulans? They say a good lawyer never asks a question that he/she doesn't already know the answer to. What were the chances Captain Gaulgetar already knew the answers to the things he expected me to report on and wanted to test how candid I would be with him? So many questions; so few answers. Then it finally hit me like a bag of bricks that, were Gaulgetar a Starfleet officer, he would never entrust any Romulan with the classified information that I had been privy to this morning. Gaulgetar might be an honorable man and a really nice guy but he was, first and foremost, the commanding officer of a Romulan starship. Such a man would, without question, verify my honesty and loyalty to the Empire before allowing me to see actual classified information and equipment. From this point on I would have to either outsmart the entire crew of the Tribax or I would have to provide information that was full, complete and unqualified which, in the eyes of the Federation, made me a traitor. Yet the alternative was to provide incomplete or false information that, if discovered to be such, doomed me to life in a Romulan prison, a women's prison at that, or worse, the worse being that my male persona was now certified by Starfleet as dead and buried. I really had sealed my own fate. With that thought, I queued up the computer and started dictating. I decided to play it straight, including every detail I noticed with an occasional opinion as to the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the Romulan installation of what I was lead to believe was stolen Starfleet equipment. The whole process took about an hour after which I paused, took another breath, then directed the computer to generate and send a hard copy to Commander Taupeda with file copy to Zovak. When finished, I signed off the computer and took a deep breath, knowing that my new life as a traitor to the Federation awaited me. Not knowing what Zovak and his students were up to, I decided to find and join them. I exited Zovak's data station. The hallway was unusually quiet. I quickly concluded that wherever Zovak and his crew were, it wasn't here; the entire deck appeared to be unmanned. I made my way back to the lift which immediately opened, almost as if it had been waiting for me. I entered the lift and, not knowing the proper Romulan command for the bridge, I said nothing. The lift doors closed. From the lights above the door, I could tell that the lift was headed toward the bridge. Was that coincidence, could the lift read my mind or was the lift pre-programmed to take me to the bridge? No matter, in a few seconds, the doors opened and I exited to a bridge that was just as unmanned as the deck I had just left. Even the security detail I had observed earlier had left their post. Very strange. As I examined what appeared to be an unmanned star ship, the thought flashed across my mind that, given the technical expertise that the Romulans were said to possess in holographic projection, what if this was all just a large hologram? The Romulans had me believing I was on the Enterprise for the better part of 18 hours. What if I never left the original HES? Was the Tribax real? Was the ship's crew all just a computer program writ large? Was Maggie real or just a projection? Was I really female? When you allow yourself to doubt your own sensory organs, the line between sanity and insanity is easy to cross and I could feel myself heading in that direction. But just as soon as I questioned my sanity, something slapped me on the back. I turned to see what it was and there stood a pretty young Vulcan woman. "You look lost. May I help you, miss?" I remembered that Maggie had said that there were only four female Vulcans on board the Tribax, three "comfort women" and the Captain's "wife". I quickly concluded that the Romulans would not allow common sex toys to wander about the vessel unsupervised. Only the Captain's "woman" would be afforded certain liberties. Realizing that I was talking to the Captain's woman made me choose my words, and expressed intentions, carefully. "I am new to this vessel. I was looking for Lieutenant Zovak. "As I understand it, the entire crew is at a memorial service for a crewman who passed away recently. Only a skeleton crew is manning the ship right now. If you tell me where you are billeted, I can give you directions to get there." "Could you give me directions to the ship's sick bay?" "Are you sure you want to go there now?" "Quite sure, but thank you for your offer. What is your name, ma'am?" "My name is Tok-Ro but you may call me 'Tok' if you prefer. Most of the crew know me as Tok. And if you don't mind me asking, you are a human, are you not? I have seen very few humans in my travels. I understand we have a human doctor on board. Do you two know each other? And what do they call you, Ensign?" "Doctor Campbell and I have met, Tok, and my friends call me Fil, short for Felicia, thanks." With that, Tok accompanied me to the lift, down two decks, down a long curved passageway and into an area with signage all in Romulan that was, to me at least indecipherable. The universal translator works on verbal communication but not signage. "Here you are, Fil, the ship's sick bay. And as you can see, it is all but deserted." "Not quite all," came a familiar voice from a back area. "Some of us are still on duty", said Maggie as she came forward to meet us. "Tok, nice to see you. How did you two come to meet?" Tok was quick to answer. "I met Fil on the bridge level. She was looking for Lieutenant Zovak. He and his crew are at the memorial service. Apparently you two have met. Fil asked me to direct her here. It was easier for me to accompany her than to give her directions." I chimed in, "I was thinking that we could have lunch together. If Tok is available, maybe she could join us. Are you able to get away?" "Actually, I am not", replied Maggie. "Since I am the ship's entire medical staff at the moment, duty requires me to remain on duty until relieved. Why don't you two go on without me?" "Well, Tok, would you care to join me for a quick meal?" "I'd be delighted. You understand, the ship's cafeteria is closed until the full crew returns. Since I am not authorized to leave the ship, and I suspect you are not either, that limits us to what is available from the replicators in the individual crew quarters." "Well, why don't we go to my quarters and see what the replicator can come up with?" "Enjoy lunch, ladies," Maggie replied as she went back work. "I hope I can find my way back to my quarters, I commented as Tok and I made our way back out to the hallway and down to the lift." "Not to worry", Tok commented. "I know where your quarters are. Please follow me." So off we went, down two decks, half way down a curved walkway, a left turn and then a right turn. Within minutes we were there. The door whooshed as it automatically opened allowing us to step inside. I clumsily managed to say, "Welcome to my humble home. What can I get for you?" Tok replied, "I can get it myself. I suspect you are not all that familiar with Romulan food replicators or Romulan food in general. Let me get for you, Fil, that you might be accustomed to. OK?" "Certainly, please do." She did. She ordered up our lunch, things that I couldn't hope to repeat, in a language that likely was either Romulan or Vulcan. It didn't matter because I don't speak either, but the replicator quickly produced two plates of something that resembled salad. It looked and smelled good and I purposely didn't ask questions beyond that. As we ate, Tok made small talk until, at one point, she hit me with the show stopping question, "How do you find the whole experience of being female?" "Excuse me?" "You heard me. How do you find the whole experience of being a woman?" I didn't see that coming and it took me a moment to organize my wits and put together an appropriate response. "How do you know about my 'transformation'?" "As you have already correctly deduced, I am the Captain's chosen partner. There is very little that happens on this ship that I don't know. Now, please answer my question." "Well, to be honest, I haven't given it a great deal of thought. The experience was thrust upon me along with many other incongruities that I have been forced to deal with simultaneously. But if you want a quick answer, female breasts are amazingly inconvenient. They always seem to be in the way. How do you deal with them?" "Well, when you have never known anything different, it's a bit hard judge." "So are you here as part of the Captain's evaluation of me or was there some other ulterior motive to our 'chance' meeting?" "The Captain said you were bright. For the record, I have only indirect input to the Captain's evaluation of you. And yes, there was an ulterior motive to our meeting. I had heard about a new human female on board. I needed to meet you to size you up and determine if your temperament was that of someone like Dr. Campbell. I've determined it is not." "Is that determination a good or bad thing?" "It means that you have the potential to be an asset both to this ship and to my subset of the crew." "And what would that subset be?" "Well, the Vulcans, of course, and to the back channel communication we have developed with the crew." "Back channel communications?" "Yes, Enisgn. On Federation vessels, is it not true that at least one officer is designated as ship's counselor? Why do you think that is so? I will answer my own question. Because a contented crew works harder and smarter. A worried or frustrated crew does not work as a coherent and cohesive team. "Are you aware of how we Vulcans came to be aboard this ship? You might find it interesting. Vulcan has established several off-world mining and manufacturing operations to supply the home world with needed minerals and other things. The living conditions off-world are sparse but the pay is very good. All of us ladies were born and raised in an off-world mining camp. We grew up together. One day, the Romulans invaded our camp. They seized all our equipment and inventory and imprisoned the Vulcans working there. The Tribax was among the Romulan ships in the invasion fleet. We ladies were separated from our families by Captain Gaulgetar and brought aboard this ship as 'comfort women'. We've not heard of or seen our families since. We think that they are likely in a Romulan prison camp somewhere or, perhaps, dead. But, survival being a strong instinct, and having few other options, we adapted. We continue to adapt." "You know, you are the second person today that has told me survival is a strong instinct." "And indeed it is. I, along with the other Vulcan ladies, comprise the closest thing that this ship has to ship's counselors. Please do not think that the only purpose served on this ship served by we Vulcans is sex. You would be quite surprised to know how many young crewmen visit us just to talk. Most of these men, boys really, are quite young and are away from home for the time. They just need someone friendly to talk to. We become their surrogate girlfriends and mothers. They frequently tell us more than we ever wanted to know. Things like their opinions of the ship's officers the ship's food or the general working and living conditions aboard ship. We often cannot do anything about the crew member's concerns but at least we listen, which is more than their officers do. In the process, we hear a lot about how the ship is actually operating. We learn who is respected and who is not. We learn things the crew would never tell their officers. Keeping the crew's confidence is essential. We are very judicious in what we relay to the officers and what we do not." "Very well, but how did my transformation become known to the crew?" "Who do you think it was that actually operated the transporter that brought you on board the Tribax? Who might have actually routed your data stream through the chromosome transfer routine? No matter how much the Captain wants to believe that he controls information flow on this vessel, he doesn't. It's just that simple." "So if the crew know about me, they know about Dr. Campbell as well, right?" "Yes, most do but not all the officers do. There are some things that the lower ranks just do not discuss with their superiors." "OK. What, exactly, did you mean by sizing me up and determining if I had a temperament like Dr. Campbell? "Understand that, with Dr. Campbell, the Captain was, as you earthlings say, between a rock and a hard place. Because she couldn't return her to her male body, the Romulans couldn't release her back to the Federation. The Doctor did not choose to stay on board willingly. She was, at first, like a wild animal in a threatening environment. She trusted no one and kept her own council. She needed to be broken which Commander Taupeda eventually did by making her his mistress. I needed to know if we could deal with you or if you needed to be broken. You appear not to need breaking. There is one last thing that we need to do before we treat you as trustworthy. Would you agree to undergo a Vulcan mind meld?" "I've heard of it. Are you saying you want to mind meld with me. Why?" "To investigate your sincerity. If you are legitimately here to look after the interests of Dr. Campbell, we see no reason not to trust you. If you are here on other pretexts, we will know and act accordingly." I took a minute or so to contemplate what I had gotten myself into. I concluded that I was in too deep to back out now. "Do you want to do this here and now? How long will it take?" "Yes, here and now and it takes but 5 minutes or so." I had known several Vulcans at the Academy but was not close to any of them. I had heard of the Vulcan mild meld but only in vague terms. I wasn't sure what I was getting into here but I had nothing about the Vulcan mind meld being harmful. I opted to take a chance. Whatever happened to me couldn't be worse or more bizarre than what already had. "OK. I have nothing to hide. Do what you wish." With that, Tok moved to the chair adjacent to mine and placed the thumb and two fingers of her right hand on my left temple. She made a grimace or two like she was in a trance. My recollection of what happened next is hazy. It felt like I was having some sort of dream state out-of-body experience. My visual focus was off and voices were muddled. I could see and hear things around me, just not clearly. I saw visions of my life, of growing up in Montana, my life at the Academy and of my limited time on board the Enterprise. Interestingly, I also saw snippets of the early life of a young female Vulcan at various stages of growing up. That Vulcan girl was Tok. I then realized that the Vulcan mind meld works both ways. While Tok was free to examine my mind, I was able to access her thoughts and memories as well. She was obviously more practiced in mind meld techniques than I was but I did find that prodding her memories was not all that difficult. What was difficult was stopping her from blocking my probes as fast as I could start them. She was good at blocking. Good but not perfect. Not only was I getting a broader understanding of my own personal life story, reliving it as it was being transferred to Tok, but I was receiving a completely new recorded life story from Tok. I'm not sure that Tok intended to copy her life experiences into my brain but that is what was happening. It was now my job to make sense of it all. From her childhood recollections, she was indeed born away from the Vulcan home world, the daughter of a high level worker in what was apparently a Vulcan off-world dilithium mine. The mine was relatively new and Tok was among the first babies born on the planet. Tok's mother was a chemist who also worked in the mining operation. As the mining effort grew, so did the planet's Vulcan population. In the mine's first year, at least 12 children were born on the planet to parents working in or for the dilithium gathering operation. Of those, half were female and all the females were younger than Tok. Tok had a natural talent for leadership which, combined with her age and a certain ingrained stubbornness, made her the Alpha female of the Vulcan youth community, something that occasionally conflicted with the other children and most of their parents. What I hadn't expected in Tok's timeline came in her late teens. Now understand that Vulcans are well noted for their suppression of all emotion. As she reached the Vulcan age of puberty, it was not surprising that she would suffer from the hormonal effects of pon farr. In reaction to her first pon farr, Tok attempted to suppress her hormonal urges with meditation which worked to some degree. When approached by the Alpha male of the mining camp, a Vulcan boy named Yoma, Tok rejected his advances outright. Tok realized that the only way to fight the urges was an act of severe violence or to find a surrogate mate. She approached and seduced a girl named Ryxe who was also undergoing her first pon farr. The subsequent lesbian intercourse ended the hold of the hormones on Tok but not on Ryxe. Tok came away with the firm understanding that she was a lesbian. It was the acceptance of her lesbianism that she attributed to ending her personal pon farr. Ryxe came from the tryst quite disturbed but she suppressed the guilt like any other emotion. She could only hold back her hormones for so long. Unable to deal with her raging internal chemistry, she killed herself in an act of severe violence. Tok never really forgave herself for being the ultimate cause of Ryxe's suicide but, in true Vulcan fashion, she suppressed the guilt. When the Romulan's invaded the mining camp, they pillaged the camp, taking anything of value, starting with their inventory of refined and crystalized dilithium and ending with the Vulcan's themselves. Young females were a high demand item. The Romulan commanders agreed to some impromptu division of the invasion spoils. Tok, along with three other Vulcan girls, were consigned to Captain Gaulgetar. Unwanted assets, like the elderly or infirmed, were left behind to fend for themselves. The Romulan's apparently had no desire to occupy the planet, only to plunder it. Once aboard the Tribax, suppression of emotion was a survival tactic for all the girls. The wisdom of that decision was only amplified when the girls observed what happened to Dr. Campbell who resisted her detention by the Romulans and wound up as the mistress of the ship's First Officer. Ever since, the girls have tried to operate below the Romulan's radar with a small scale resistance aimed at minor sabotage of the ship and fostering discontent among the ship's crew. Having gotten that much information from TOK, and she appearing to have gotten what she wanted from me, she removed her hand from my temple and left me in a solitary state of muddled thinking from which I eventually recovered enough to ask "Did you find out what you wanted to know about me?" "Indeed. You are exactly what you appear to be, a male Starfleet officer now captive of the Romulans, forced into a female body concocted by the Romulans as a means of getting you to give them certain sensitive data about the operation of the Starfleet vessel Enterprise. You appear to have taken the bait that the Romulans waved in front of you, specifically Dr. Campbell, and given them what they needed to avoid capture. You now realize, I hope, that the cause of the failure to this ship that resulted in your being brought on board was a product of the Vulcan resistance. Thus, by aiding the Romulans to escape, you foiled a fairly elaborate plot that we spent weeks preparing to disable the Tribax in Federation space and force its capture. That having been said, I understand the logic behind your actions. Given the information you had to work with, I cannot fault your logic even as I condemn you actions." Tok stood up, paced around the room a time or two, then strolled up me from behind. She grabbed my breasts and began to massage them. She brought her face alongside mine and began licking my ear. "Fil, you owe me." My mind flashed with a revelation from the mind meld that I hadn't yet fully processed. Tok was erotically aroused by the thought of making lesbian love with me! She fanaticized about lesbian sex with a man living in the body of a woman. The strange thing about that was that I felt the same way about her. I had always had a fantasy about making love to a Vulcan if only to see if I could arouse her to the point where she could no longer restrain her emotions and, with deep passion, scream out for more. I'd never had the opportunity to bed a Vulcan, at least until now. "Well, take what you want from me. All that I have is yours." We quickly adjourned to the bed and thus began something I can only describe as well beyond my fondest wet dream. This was obviously not Tok's first lesbian tryst. She immediately undressed herself then slowly removed my uniform and had me down to bra and panties in no time. As she removed my bra she went to work on my breasts, licking each nipple and areola with the tip of her tongue until my nipples stood at full attention. She then went full mouth on my nipples, sucking each alternately and gently but increasing the force of her sucking with each alternation. The sensation was incredibly erotic. As she proceeded with her left hand and mouth, she quietly used her right hand to slide off my panties and, almost undetectably, began working my vagina and clitoris. I was feeling wonderful things going on in place where I didn't even realize I had places. Gently, she escalated the vaginal stimulation until I was in full orgasm mode. Now, not being a male virgin, I know what a male orgasm feels like. The sensations I was getting were nothing like that. They were neither localized to the groin and pelvis region nor did they slowly build to an explosion, then taper off. These sensations were like waves of joy breaking over my entire body, each better than the one before. My concentration was such that I had stopped taking mental notes but at some point Tok planted her face near my vagina and used her tongue as a probe to gently massage my labia and clitoris. The waves just kept on coming. By now I had lost all track of time and just wanted the waves to continue forever. If this was one of Tok's tests to see if she could scramble my thought processes, she had me at the first lick. Then, just as smoothly and gently as she brought me a fever pitch, Tok eased me back down. Her manipulations of my clitoris lightened up and smoothed out to a gentle massage. She lapped my labia one last time before returning to my breasts where she gave each a gentle licking before she eventually rolled over and lay beside me in the bed, leaving me to contemplate what had just happened. After a few minutes of contemplation, Tok turned to me and announces "Your turn on top. Show me what you've got". Apparently this was a tag team match and I had just been tagged. Remembering the encounter I had just experienced, I set out to give as good as I got but I had to admit to myself that I was a rookie playing in a pro league. To make a long story short, by the time the afternoon's activities were finished, we had each gotten the best the other had to give and we both had physical exhaustion to show for it. We both fell breathless, entangled in each other's arms. Tok whispered in my ear "Was it good for you?" I responded "You have no idea", although I suspected she really did. We lay there for some time just basking in the afterglow and, for me at least, regaining my composure. At some point Tok observed that we could both use a shower. "Do you want to go first?" I asked. "I thought we could go together." The shower stall in our quarters is tiny, even for one person. Fitting two people, even petite women such as Tok and I, is logistically questionable but, from my perspective at least, totally erotic. "Sure, why not?" The reason for why not became obvious immediately upon entering the shower stall. It would be a gross understatement to say that it was close quarters. There are numerous bad jokes about dropping the soap in a group shower. In this specific instance, had we dropped the soap, it would have been physically impossible to pick it up without one of us exiting the shower stall. That said, it was wildly erotic once we got the water flowing and our bodies sufficiently lubricated with soap suds. Sliding up and down against each other was a sensation I could have imagined. Even those dreams never had me rubbing a matched set of my own C-cups, an oversized butt and an empty crotch. While a wet rub-a-dub was amazingly fun, neither one of us could move our arms all that much. Shampooing was wildly impractical. Neither of us even tried. The entire shower only lasted a minute or two, long enough for us to replace the smell of sex with something a bit fresher, after which we patted each other dry and dressed. After taking a few minutes to regroup, Tok said to me "So, are you ready to join us?" I wasn't sure if she was asking me to join her in lesbianism or if she was asking me to join the "resistance". I needed to clarify. "What, exactly, do you mean by 'join' and what is it you'll want me to do if I do?" "Well, it works like this. Whether or not you choose to continue cohabitating with Dr. Campbell, you are welcome to the occasional romp with me almost any time. The Captain's demands, of course, taking precedence." The thought that I was sharing the sheets with the 'Captain's woman' hadn't occurred to me during all the afternoon's activities, at least until now. "By the way, the other three Vulcan ladies, whom I would like you to meet, do not share my affinity for female companionship. But I was specifically referring to the resistance. It is our sworn mission to bring down this ship and its officers. We are not a suicide pact; we want the ship to fail but we want all of us to live to tell the tale." "So, I ask again, what do you want me to do in furtherance of this 'resistance' or yours?" "We want your experience and knowledge of ship's computer systems. The sabotage we have done thus far was crude and, frankly, dangerous. We did injure one of the crew with an electrical explosion we initiated last night, the incident that forced the Tribax lose power and, thus, to break off its shadowing of the Enterprise to return to space dock, where we are now. It was not our intent to hurt anyone although I understand the crewman's injuries were severe and, ultimately, fatal. What we did intend to do was put the ship's cloaking system out of order long enough for it to be detected by the Enterprise and taken captive. With your knowledge of computer systems, perhaps we can do the harm to the ship that we need to do without physical injury to anyone." "I see. And what if the Captain finds out that I have violated his 'woman'? That alone could consign me to the ship's brig, or a Romulan prison camp, for longer into the future than I have been alive. Why would I want to further alienate our dear Captain just to settle whatever score you and your ladies think you have with the Romulan Empire?" "Because it's the right thing to do. Captain Gaulgetar may look like a fair and honest man. He is, when it benefits him. The fact that you are still wearing a vigina, a very fine one I might add, indicates that he wants to keep whatever leverage being a female has on you. He has no real incentive to change you back to your male self. As it is, he has your brain and, apparently, your loyalty. All that in exchange for what? If we succeed in forcing this ship into Federation hands, you have a much better chance of returning to masculinity than you ever will by remaining loyal to Gaulgetar and the Romulan Empire. That assumes that you really want to return to your male body. From personal observation, you were very much enjoying both your new body and our little horizontal romp. What say you?" "Where, exactly, does Maggie play into all of this? Is she with you, against you or, perhaps, does she have a foot in both camps?" "Actually, the latter. Dr. Campbell supports our efforts in principle but Commander Taupeda keeps her on a very short leash. She actually has very little freedom aboard this ship outside of the sick bay. We were hoping that, with you now on board, Taupeda might cut her some slack. That remains to be seen." "How do I know that you are not some Romulan holographic image? Romulans are famous for their development of holographic imaging technology. The holograms they used on me had me convinced that I was aboard the Enterprise for most of yesterday. How do I know you are real?" "Well, Fil, you tell me. Have you ever experienced the orgasmic convulsions I just created in you? Do you really believe that those waves of ecstasy were just a hologram? Seriously? And, for that matter, could the melding of our minds that you experienced be artificially created? The Romulans are good at artificial reality, but not that good." "You have a point there. And you were wonderful." "Thank you. I tried." "But if I put in with you, how do I maintain a low profile when I am in the Captain's spotlight? You do realize that all communications of this ship, verbal or digital, inbound, outbound and intra-ship are archived and available for the command structure to monitor and review. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that the crew quarters are bugged and all conversations here are recorded. How have you functioned thus far without being discovered?" "Well, in truth, there are several spaces on this ship that are specifically not monitored. First among then are the quarters and offices of the Captain and the First Officer. Also free of bugs are the "crew comfort stations", something the crew demanded when we Vulcan ladies were brought on board. The open conversations that free space allowed are how we were able to gain the confidence of the crew. They knew they were free to talk openly without risk of the officers finding out. Lastly, there is a device you may not be aware of." Tok reached into a small pouch in her blouse and pulled out a device about the size of a deck of cards. "This is a jamming device. It is specifically intended to block all of the ship's bugging devices in the immediate vicinity of the device. The senior officers each carry one which allows them to hold confidential conversations anywhere on board ship. As the Captain's woman, I was able to obtain one. Anything said in this area at this time can't be recorded or archived." "You really are an industrious sort, Tok. Could you get me one of those devices?" "Unlikely. These devices are closely controlled by Taupeda himself. By the way, these devices can also be used by the senior officers to locate a user anywhere on board. Bet your left arm that Taupeda knows I have been here in your quarters and will inform the Captain soon if he hasn't done so already." "Is that a problem?" "Not really. The Captain will believe anything I tell him. I don't lie to him but do neglect to tell him everything I do in any given day. And while we're on the topic of whom to trust, be aware that Dr. Campbell is not an active part of our resistance. As I said earlier, she is not opposed to our efforts but she is kept on such a short leash by Commander Taupeda that she finds it best to stay at an arm's length from our activities. We don't tell her what we are doing and she doesn't ask. You would be well advised not to give her information that she might, intentionally or otherwise, pass on to Taupeda. "So which is it, Fil? Are you with us or not? I have to get back to the Captain's quarters before he returns. I need to know if you are in or out. Which is it?" I thought it for about a few seconds. I had already sealed my fate with Starfleet. Should I ever actually escape the Romulans and get back to Federation Space alive, I would likely spend the rest of my life in a Federation prison. Whether or not it was a men's or women's prison remained to be seen but life in prison is still life in prison. Did I really want to compound matters by fighting a private guerilla cyber war against the Romulans that, should I be discovered, would insure my future would be spent in a Romulan woman's prison or worse? There seemed to be no good alternative. Then I remembered the old Earth adage 'When you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose'. "Count me in, Tok. What do you want me to do?" "At the moment, nothing. I will be back to you with further instructions. Thank you, Fil. We appreciate you. Now, I have things to attend to in the Captain's quarters. I will talk to you soon. As we say on Vulcan, 'Live long and prosper'." And with that, she left and the door swooshed behind her, leaving me alone. What had I just gotten myself into? My mind was racing over the events of the past 24 hours or so, of my time at Starfleet Academy, my receiving a plum assignment to the Enterprise, then being transported into the body of a woman and, although I didn't know it at the time, onto a Romulan vessel hiding in Federation space. I thought about Maggie and Tok and how they were so different in their approach to an impossible situation. I lay down with no intention of taking a nap but, at some point, I must have dozed off. My next recollection is the ship's intercom blurting out, in Taupeda's voice, "Ensign Burton, please report to the bridge immediately. I say again, Ensign Burton, please report to the bridge immediately." TO BE CONTINUED