Emily 2.0 Ch. 10

"A couple of times," Madison admitted. "I had a crush back in high school, but it never went anywhere. Here the opportunity presents itself from time to time. There's something so much nicer about the feminine. It's softer, less urgent, and less self-centred. More intimate I guess."

"I'd have to agree with that after what I just experienced. I've definitely never felt any attraction to a woman before, though. Well, up until now. Do you think you might be gay?"

"Maybe. That could be why I struggled so much with this place at first," Madison considered. "It didn't feel natural to me at all."

"I don't think this place could feel natural to any woman who wasn't born here," Emily added. "In my first week or so here I was seriously considering letting them cane my arse again until it bled, and then let them throw me in jail forever rather than put up with another day of it."

"They probably would have too, although they're usually a bit gentler with someone struggling and it's more a re-education process, similar to what we went through with the Master," Madison explained. "But it's different for everyone depending on what they're struggling with. Like in your case, you were doing the deeds, going through the motions and stuff, but it was obvious you just didn't get it and your heart wasn't in it."

"Got that right," Emily agreed. "It's still kind of freaky for me that this all works. Now, though, I don't think I want to leave anymore, and I especially don't want to leave you behind."

"Don't then," Madison responded. "Stay. Who's going to stop you?"

"I'm a commissioned officer, Madison," Emily explained. "I have a duty to go back if I can, and if I don't then they'll come looking for me one day and I'll be facing a court-martial for being AWOL. And who knows what shit that might bring down on this place as a result."

"Pity," Madison replied. "I'm seriously going to miss you when you go, Emmi."

"Same, but on the bright side it's not going to be for a fair while yet. Just look at the state of this ship," Emily responded. "Now we have to build another one, and Collingwood's talking about starting over with this one as well. That's got to be at least a year before we even think about leaving. Maybe more."

"That could mean I could probably go home as well," Madison considered. "They tracked my entry here as well, so they know where I'm from, and soon they'll have the means to do it, but this is my home now and there's nothing left for me back there. My enlistment would have been over years ago so no one's ever going to come looking for me, and any friends I had would have given me up for dead a decade ago. The place was a shithole compared to here anyway, even with all the fucking and sucking, which I totally dig now anyway. I can't imagine what it would be like to wear clothes again. I've been nude so long that the idea seems kind of restrictive and gross to me now."

"Yeah, I get how you feel," Emily agreed. "I'm starting to think maybe I'll struggle with re-adapting almost as much as I struggled to fit in here. I'm a bit worried when I get home again some low-life might tell me to blow him as an insult, and I will!"

They both started laughing at that. Meanwhile Collingwood was waiting patiently on the General to see him.

"Ahh, Captain Collingwood, I am glad you are here," the General began. "I believe the information you seek is on this chip and you will be commencing construction of a second ship?"

"I'd like to construct two new ships instead of just the one, sir. If that's within the budget?" Collingwood clarified. "Retro-fitting your thrusters into our ship is proving to be rather more difficult than I anticipated, and I believe it may be faster, less time-consuming and therefore more economical to just start over."

"As you wish, Captain," the General replied, handing Collingwood a small rectangular object with a folder underneath. "You are the expert, and our resources are at your disposal. As always, please keep me debriefed with your progress."

"Certainly, sir," Collingwood agreed. "There is another matter, sir. I would like 7GQA9E's rank as captain restored to her as soon as possible."

"Preposterous! I cannot have a woman in authority here. How would she obey the commands from men who would then be her subordinates? How would her rank be recognised anyway? It is forbidden for women to be covered."

"To answer those questions, sir. Firstly, I must point out that the technology on this chip is the final piece to the puzzle in making exploration of the multiverse possible, and in turn getting us home again. That means we should now be regarded as guests rather than permanent refugees, as it were, and our individual ranks and standings from our world should be duly respected here, just as we would to any visitor from this world to ours, which is entirely likely to occur at some point in the future."

"I see," the General responded. "Go on."

"Now, that does not mean we disrespect your various local customs," Collingwood continued. "I believe I can speak on 7GQA9E's behalf that she would not expect otherwise and will have no issue with remaining revealed and following the commands as given to her. In her mind they would be in a different category. She would follow the commands, no matter who gives them, and subordinates would follow her orders as related to matters of our mission and her rank. This should present no conflict at all."

"That would seem to be reasonable," the General considered, "but I still see a problem. She would be revealed as dictated by our custom, while as an officer she would then be technically out of uniform."

"I have a solution for that, sir. Perhaps the captain insignia could be added to her collar?"

"I have not heard of such a thing before, but then I had not ever considered female officers either…" the General mused.

"I believe the circumstances call for some flexibility, sir," Collingwood pointed out.

"Hmm…," the General responded. "Very well, Captain. Have her report to Stores to have the insignia added to her collar. I shall send my authorisation at the conclusion of our meeting. I am still sceptical, though, so we shall have to see how this plays out in practice. However, if it is successful then we may well introduce female officers into our own ranks, should any women here have such ambitions."

"Thank you, sir. Yes, I imagine you would benefit greatly by having female officers," Collingwood replied. "Which brings me to a related matter. I am not in fact a captain, sir. That rank belongs to a dead man whom I just happen to resemble in both name and appearance as a result of parallel world shenanigans. I am technically guilty of impersonating an officer if I continue to accept it. I am in fact our expedition's Chief Engineer, a scientist."

"I see. Yes, that is a problem," the General conceded. "I must admire your honesty in bringing this to my attention. Yes, consider yourself the Chief Engineer from your Earth's expedition and I will endeavour to recognise you as such."

"Thank you, sir," Collingwood responded.

"Will that be all, Captain, err… I mean, Chief Engineer Collingwood?" the General asked.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for your time and your due consideration. I am very excited to begin perusing the contents of this chip and would like to get started as soon as possible."

"Very well. Please remove the captain insignia from your uniform, and have 7GQA9E report to Stores to have hers added to her collar. Please keep me abreast of any issues and your progress."

"That I will, sir. Good day to you."

Later in the day Emily was most amused to be completely naked and having men salute her as she walked by. Still, it almost made her feel a bit like the old Emily rather than the naked Earth 2 woman that she had become.

*****

Collingwood didn't come up for air for several weeks after receiving the chip, other than to ramble on excitedly with technobabble that no one else really understood. The most Emily gathered was that there were other gadgets and instruments necessary, which meant the original ship wouldn't have made a suitable host anyway, even if he had solved the compatibility issues with the Earth 2 thrusters and fuel delivery system. Even the blueprints for the new ships required some modification to incorporate the Earth 1 hyperdrive system. He seemed satisfied that he had the aquinium refining process nailed, though.

One of the few times he did emerge, Emily was standing at a bench working on a circuit board, while Collingwood was staring intently at a monitor on the other side of the room behind her working on some other problem. Suddenly she felt a painful cramp which caused her to gasp and put a hand to her stomach. It felt a bit like a menstrual cramp, but it wasn't the right time of the month for that, and too soon to be pregnant again. Well, she hoped as much anyway. It passed quickly, and she assumed it was something to do with having given birth recently.

"Everything ok, Captain?" Collingwood asked, glancing up from his monitor.

"Um… yeah," she replied. "Just a cramp but it's gone now."

"Need a glass of water or a rub?"

"No, all good now. I'm fine," she assured him.

A couple of weeks later, she was greatly relieved when her period came, so she thought no more of it.

The next three months passed much the same, with daily coupling with several crew members and the other Earth 2 scientists and engineers. One-on-one sessions happened with Collingwood and Madison regularly as well. While it was good to be thinking like an Earth 2 woman now, so the public coupling sessions felt more natural, she enjoyed the private sessions with Collingwood and Madison a little more due to the added intimacy.

One thing that had been playing on her mind, though, was why hadn't she fallen pregnant again yet? Was that cramp an indicator that something was wrong with her body? Sure, it was a bit out of place, but nothing out of the ordinary otherwise. She hadn't had another one since, other than the usual cramps as her period came. It had been three months of daily sex with lots of men, and her menstrual cycle seemed to be normal. She didn't want to be pregnant again, especially now that going home was on the horizon. She didn't want to have to leave another child behind or be taken out of action during this crucial time of building the ship, or make the journey home again while carrying a child to become a single mother back on her home world. The fact that she wasn't pregnant was no relief, though. It was troubling. Like an unexploded ordnance lurking about waiting to go off and fuck everything up.

The prospect of going home was troubling as well. She had mixed feelings about wearing clothes again and not being able to 'give the gift' anymore at some point soon. Even now that the two fuselages were mostly complete and she was down on her hands and knees routing cables, she would occasionally remember she was naked and the engineers around her would be getting quite the view. The thought suddenly gave her pause. Why? On the one hand it wasn't like she was showing them anything that any of them hadn't seen before anyway, or could ask to see with one simple command. On the other hand, it still felt kind of undignified and embarrassing, but not in a way that made her want to stop. Actually, the thought of what she was showing them was making her a bit wet.

As she worked, she found herself trying to give her crew something more to see as they passed by. She exaggerated her pose, arching her back as she crawled, almost doing 'Face Down' to put both of her holes on full display. If she needed to squat, she made sure to spread her knees as wide as possible, especially if she knew one of her team members was close by. It made her blush, but the idea of her subordinates seeing her like this, desiring her, and knowing that she was theirs to use with a simple command was making her pulse race as well.

Wait, am I actually liking it, or am I just pleased to 'give the gift'?

Another issue in the back of her mind, now that all of her crew were fucking her almost on a daily basis, was what would she tell everyone when she got back on Earth 1? Her superiors would expect a full debriefing. She couldn't just say "Yes, sir, I spent the last couple of years naked and fucking and sucking anyone who asked, and I didn't mind it." It would be beyond their comprehension. Perhaps reasons for a dishonourable discharge or maybe court-martials for her and the whole crew. She would need to get everyone together so they all got their stories straight, and get Collingwood's advice about what to tell them and how to explain it.

The task at hand was more than enough to occupy her concentration for the moment. Now where did that roll of fibre she just had go? It was here a minute ago. Perhaps if she bent over and arched her back just right, maybe one of the men would help her find it…