Aphora's Mission Ch. 06

By all accounts, we were saying a final goodbye to Earth.

Even though I wasn't close to my parents (my father a doctor and my mother a marketing professional) I figured my mother would miss me. And I would miss them somewhat, especially at Thanksgiving- and Christmas-time.

We six didn't see ourselves as the homesick type, and I personally hoped that Aphora would be Earth-like enough to keep me happy in the outdoors. I fantasized about hiking as a woman rather than as a man -- would I see and feel things differently? Would I be constantly turned on by presenting as a woman, or by dressing as a woman?

As our estimated time of departure grew near, the Aphoran staff threw us a modest goodbye ceremony, giving us little gifts of perfume (somewhat humorously, we spontaneously dabbed some around our necks) and necklaces made from local seashells. We downed tiny sake-like glasses of a liquor, hugged our Aphoran acquaintances (of course, Ah-lahnaya for me, who received a kiss) and we stepped into a large, round building offering no hint of holding a faster-than-light, across-the-galaxy spacecraft. Inside, our eyes feasted upon a unique structure.

There were four long, large tubes, or capsules, connected by smaller tubes, surrounding a central globe-shaped structure that must've been 150 yards across. The skin of these units wasn't smooth but was covered with thousands of small ridges, like the ridges on the tips of fingers. And the skin wasn't of a uniform color; instead it had a slightly singed look, with faint notes of blue, purple and violet. Obviously it had seen a good deal of travel.

There were no windows whatsoever, and no apparent point of thrust like Earth rockets have.

We entered via a drop-down stairs from the central globe, the six of us still awkward in dresses, earrings, and seashell necklaces, and we were ushered into an impressive central control room, and then into a side room, where we were strapped into reclining chairs. Up above was a large TV screen displaying the outside village.

After a few minutes there was a slight feeling of levitation, and we could see the village slowly dropping away, and soon we were able to see the entire tropical island and the waters surrounding it.

"Hey, Tarne," said Robin, "how come we didn't get girls' names before we left?"

"Beats me," I said. "Bet you get them soon on board, here."

"This ship is supposed to travel faster than the speed of light. I thought that was impossible," said Will.

"Ah-laynaya told me that once we clear our atmosphere, here, they'll flick it on," I said. "You know, rules of physics are only meant to be broken, dudette. They must've figured out how to deal with time and energy, so we don't gain or lose time along the way, whichever it would be. You know, Einstein stuff."

After a half hour our new officer-in-charge, or ship's captain, came in to greet us. I admit I like seeing women in positions of power; it's sexy.

She appeared to be in her forties, was in great shape, but had an overly serious face, with her hair drawn back into a businesslike bun. She wore a skin-tight, long-sleeved top, with a long pleated skirt below, and a kind of utility belt holding what appeared to be a radio, and several other items of unknown purpose.

Speaking through her translation device: "Welcome to your home for the next five weeks. You all speak English. Perhaps on our next trip to Earth, we will pick up men speaking another language or two.

"Soon we will attain near-light speed, and then -- you will not feel anything -- we will skip into hyper speed for nearly the rest of the trip. We enjoy artificial gravity, so don't worry about having to float about.

"We hope you enjoy your trip with us. We have a staff of 26 on board, and we want to make sure you are comfortable, enjoy the food, and so on. If you have any questions, complaints, or you feel ill or mentally stressed, please immediately talk to us.

"As you've been told, we will be using this time to get you ready for your life on Aphora. You will be busy, so we hope you're not bored. For your off time, we did bring some Earth cinema for you to enjoy. We even have a small swimming pool, and we have some Earth-style games to keep you active, such as tennis, volleyball and basketball.

"It will be interesting for the crew and myself of watch your transformation into women. Now, you are men in dresses, but by the time you reach Aphora, I expect you will have an entirely different frame of mind, and you should have an entirely different perception of how it is to be, using English words, a lady, or a woman, or a female, or a girl.

"For starters, each of you will be assigned your own mentor, or consultant, or counselor -- I'm trying to think of the correct word -- a guide. We hope you work well with that person and listen to them, and well, yes, follow their directions. They are your -- to use an English slang term -- your ticket to enjoying your role as women on Aphora.

"Your new role is what you make of it. We want all of you to be ... fullfilled."

"Are there any questions?"

"Do you serve beer and hamburgers on board, and brats and mustard?"

She paused, then smiled. "I presume you're talking about Earth food. I don't know about these particular items, but we made every effort to copy standard American food. Just don't overeat, and make sure you get exercise -- we want you to keep your girlish figures."

The six of us laughed. Nice to have a CO with a sense of humor.

First thing, we were introduced to our guides. Mine introduced herself as Na-hoyan. She was petite and thin, with breasts barely showing underneath her uniform, which was of a crisp, tailored cotton-like light-blue material. Her loose trousers were of a darker-blue fabric. Throughout, there were zippers and pockets galore, which lent a kind of tough sexiness to her.

Her strawberry-blond hair was mid-length and curly, and her eyes (to match the uniform I suppose!) were a clear, intense blue.

"Pora-tarne, I am so pleased to meet you," she said. "By the end of the voyage, we should be able to do away with the translator, and speak in my language."

She inhaled: "I smell perfume."

"It was was a goodbye gift."

"Oh, good. Now I will show you around." She introduced me to the sleeping quarters, the lunchroom, the exercise and entertainment options and the classroom areas. I asked her where the medical treatments would be given to change our bodies.

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot about that," she said, leading me into another capsule complete with medical apparatus and smells.

"From Stevan to Pora-tarne," I said.

"I know you had a relationship with Ah-lahnaya on Earth," she said. "We do hear the gossip. But I want you to know that there's to be no intimacy between us, no sex," she said firmly. "That might be disruptive. Intimacy is allowed between crew members, but not with guests."

"OK."

"You should know that on board, we will try to maintain the illusion of Earth time -- of 24-hour night and day cycles. However, by the time we arrive at Aphora, we will have switched to 30-hour days, which is the rotational time of our planet."

"OK."

"So, tomorrow you will start the day by being briefed about your medical transformation. Then you will begin to select your complete wardrobe for Aphora. I'm envious; I wish I could select a whole new set of clothing!"

Well, that's good, I thought. Another crew member with a decent sense of humor.

So, after a restless sleep in our new environment, in a room with the other boys-to-be-girls, and after a good American breakfast, we were briefed about our physical transformation.

As starters each of us took two different pills meant to help prep our bodies for the changes to come, and we would be taking them daily. In addition, other pills would be added later.

An hour later, Dick said as an aside, "But I don't have my breasts yet!"

I hoped my body would be compatible with the drugs and other changes to be introduced. We were told that besides pills, there would be injections, some harmless treatments using radio-frequency and light radiation to help produce smooth curves, and baths containing additives to produce smooth, supple skin. It sounded like a desert spa for rich women in Palm Springs. Also, our diets would be angled toward contributing to the womanly look.

Next on the schedule was a wardrobe session.

The leader walked in with an assistant, and the leader seemed somewhat different than the usual Aphorans. In fact, she was distinctly dressed American-style, with a tunic and leggings, eye makeup and hairdo, and shoes with heels. There was something familiar about her that caught our attention immediately, and then we realized we were looking at our old friend Chris. Chris! So they did have separate plans for him after all!

"Hi guys, girls," he said, moving about femininely. "Surprise! I'm so glad they made me your wardrobe and makeup girl.

"OK, what you need to know -- but maybe you guessed it before -- is that for most of my life I've been a very active crossdresser. I really enjoy dressing as a woman, and over time I became very good at it. I got the greatest kick out of going out to clubs with girlfriends, with no one ever guessing I was a guy. I even went into lesbian clubs and made out a little.

"So anyway, I've had some separate training on the island, and I will help you pick out your wardrobe, and also separately teach you the intricacies of Aphoran makeup, how to do your hair in their style, and so on.

"And, yes, I have an assistant assigned to me (and Chris introduced her). She's a resource I can lean on. On Aphora, she worked in stores as a makeup and wardrobe consultant, so you can count on us bringing you up to speed, so to speak.

"We are going to have such fun, girls! We should call this a crossdressering theme cruise. The Love Boat!

"You will not believe the women we will help you become."

"A question to you, Chris," said Doug. "Are you going to re-shape your body too?"

"They decided no, not until the entire mission's complete and they have enough guys/girls to fill their quota," said Chris. "They figure I can relate to recruits better as a guy-type crossdresser at the beginning of everyone's transformation.

"I'm a bit disappointed, but it'll be OK. By the end of the trip, you all will be looking more feminine than me. Boo-hoo. But yes, eventually I will be one of you, working wonders on our new planet."

"Oh, Chris," asked Robin, "this new wardrobe stuff -- when will it be made available to us?"

"Well, because your bodies will be re-forming as we travel these five weeks, we have only some of their generic uniforms to wear, like your guides are wearing," said Chris, "plus several racks of generic and informal dresses and items. But the wardrobe you choose with me for Aphora -- that will be ready for you when you arrive there.

"And of course, you will have money to buy clothing -- sexy I hope! -- at stores, once you settle in."

Another candy store, I thought. All the panties, bras, slips, corsets, sexy shoes, hose, tight clothing, jewelry, makeup, and fancy hairdos I could want ... I could hardly wait.

But first, the College of Womanhood.