Bear took Sarah up onto the main deck, where she could get a good view of the ship.  The Wraith had a beam of about 9 meters, and the deck was strewn with ropes for the rigging – but rather than using the wind for propulsion, the rigging was attached to large steering fins that jutted out over the side of the ship – for it was an airship floating on what Sarah assumed must be magical energy, rather than an ocean going ship.  A huge wheel of elemental water surrounded the ship like a wooden splinter threading a water needle, and propelled it with great speed – so much so that the wind was blowing Sarah’s hair about wildly, and she had to clutch at her tricorn hat or risk losing it.  The ship itself was about 30 meters long, and Sarah could see the barrels of eight black powder cannons jutting from each side of the ship, from a lower deck.  All in all, it looked like a fairly plucky privateer.

 

                “I like it.”  She said.  “Where are we in the game?”

 

                “Patrolling the border of Aundair, Thrane and Kharnath.   It is not likely we will see action today, but is possible.”

 

                Sarah hoped they didn’t – she hadn’t learned much of the program’s controls yet and didn’t want to be easy meat for the sim’s computer generated enemies.  “Okay.  Then if we’re flying patrol, do we have much to do?”

 

                “Not as yet – but the ship will be docking at a port in three hours, and we will have chance to explore a bit.”

 

                “Wait – three hours?  Isn’t that a long time?  What is happening in the real world during that time?”  Sarah asked.

 

                “Don’t worry, Sarah.  There is a time dilation effect with VR.  We get about eight hours of gaming in a two hour time period – so one day of gaming in sims – let’s say 8 hours – feels like 32 hours subjectively.”

 

                “So the three hours until we hit port is more like 30-45 minutes in the real world?”

 

                “Da.  Exactly.”  Bear replied.

 

                She wondered about that for a moment, and looked at the terrain flowing by beneath them.  The country they were flying over was green and beautiful, made of rolling hills, small forests and streams, bordered by a large river to the east, an immense lake to the south, and an equally immense forest to the west.  The country continued north all the way to the edge of the sea.  It was quite scenic and beautiful a sight.

 

                “I love the view as well,”  Bear said over her shoulder.  “It is a beautiful country.”

 

                “Does it matter to you that it’s not real?”  She asked.

 

                “It is real enough to experience?  If all we are is collections of memories and experiences, what makes this experience any less than one in real world?  It seems real enough – my brain cannot tell the difference.  While I am here, this is real to me – and when I am in real world, that is real to me as well.  Why is one experience less than the other?”

 

                Sarah shrugged, not knowing what to say to that.  Bear might be right…  If our brains perceive it as real, why shouldn’t we as well?  I wonder, she thought.  “I think you’re right, Bear.”

 

                “Would you like to see below decks?”  Bear asked.

 

                “Sure.” 

 

                Bear put his hand on the base of her back and motioned for her to go ahead to a hatch in the deck of the ship.  “I will be right behind you.”  He said.

 

                Sarah nodded, feeling a bit odd with Bear’s hand on her back, but allowing it all the same.  After all, she didn’t exactly know her way around.  She stepped down the hatch onto a set of stairs leading to the lower decks, where a dozen and a half men in sailors clothing manned the guns.  Small kegs of powder and stacks of cannonballs crowded parts of the deck, and the men were relaxed until Sarah came down.  As she descended into the hold, the men came to attention.  “Sorry Ma’am.  We was just resting ma’am.”

 

                Sarah could see some of the men had been gaming with dice for a few coppers.  It might have been a problem on a naval vessel, but on a privateer she deemed it forgivable.  “Carry on, men.  This is just me being shown around, not an official inspection.”

 

                The men relaxed, and one of them said “Thank you, ma’am.  We’re grateful.  Greetings, Captain.”

 

                Bear nodded. “Carry on.  She is right – is not inspection.”  The men nodded, and went back to their gambling.

 

                “This seems so real, Bear.”  Sarah said.  She could smell the stink of unwashed bodies, and the twinge of gunpowder in the air.  It seemed close in the lower decks, like the air was less clean.  It seemed utterly authentic in every way.  It was hard to believe the VR was so good.

 

                “It is as real as the tech can make it.  There are some sims that are so real you cannot tell you are in a sim.  They are rare, and expensive.”  Bear replied.  “We paid a great deal for our VR system on the Fortune’s Favor.  Come, let me show you where crew sleeps.”

 

                The tour continued for some time – and Sarah was shown the crew quarters, the brig, the galley and the stores or cargo area.  “Um, Bear.”  She asked, “If this is most of the ship, where is your cabin?”

 

                “You appeared in it.”  Bear replied.

 

                “So where is my cabin.”  She asked.

 

                “Uh… Is same cabin.  Game is not designed specifically for more than 1 player.  My apologies.  If we get to point of needing sleep, I will use floor or hammock.”  Bear actually looked a bit embarrassed he’d forgotten that particular situation.  “I didn’t think.”

 

                Sarah laughed.  “Gotcha.  Don’t worry about it, Bear.  I’m sure we can figure it out, but it’s good to know there are some options.  What now?”     

 

                “Well, I can teach you how to use that sword, if you want to learn.”  Bear replied.  “Or if you’re bored, we can go back to chat room.  Is kind of quiet moment in the game.”

 

                Sarah thought about it a moment, and realized she was having fun.  “I’d like to learn how to use the sword, actually.  If you have the time?”

 

                “Da.”  Bear said, grinning.  “I have the time.  Let’s begin.”

 

                The two of them stripped off their woollen coats, and rolled up the sleeves of their silken shirts, and got to the serious business of learning how to wield a cutlass.  Bear taught her about the proper stance she needed to take, to get maximum mobility – and began schooling her in proper sword techniques, for thrusts, parries and ripostes.  Several times he had needed to take her arms and physically put them in the right position – and at those times she was rather distracted by his strong hands, and the smell of his sweat in her nostrils.  It made her feel funny – like butterflies in her stomach. 

 

                He must have been equally distracted by her – a few times he would instruct her, then step away, his face pink. 

 

                Still, she laboured on – and after about two hours of practice, she felt exhausted and covered with sweat – her thin silk shirt damp from her exertions.  Bear wasn’t much different, although he looked less fatigued – probably because he was used to using the muscles needed for swordplay. 

 

                “How am I doing, Captain?”  She asked, panting a little.

 

                “You are doing well, Sarah.  Very well.” Bear replied in his deep voice.  “You are a good student.”

 

                “How can this game seem so real?  I mean we’re wearing visors – how can I smell things?  Or feel things?”

 

                “It has to do with the Neural Interface,” Bear answered.  “The neural interface is in your visor.  No visor, no immersion.”

 

                Sarah nodded, still panting for breath.  “Wow.”

 

                “It is neat, isn’t it.”  Bear commented.  “Would you like to rest?”

 

                “Yeah.”  Sarah did feel pretty tired.

 

                “Let’s go.”  Bear took her hand, and led her to the captain’s cabin at the rear of the ship, and took her inside.  Sarah took a seat on the edge of the bed, and relaxed a bit, and Bear sat next to her.

 

                “So how was your first sim?”  He asked.

 

                Sarah shook her head in disbelief.  “It was pretty cool, Bear.  Not much happened, action wise – but I was glad for that, actually.  It was fun learning how to sword fight.”

 

                “Hey – you have long way to go before you are pro, like me.”  Bear replied, chuckling.  Sarah couldn’t help but smile at the sound.  Bear’s laughter sounded nice – and like something he hadn’t done in a long time.

 

                “How many skills have you learned in Sims, Bear?”

 

                Bear thought about it a bit, and shrugged.  “I have lost count.  I learned swordplay with cutlass, rapier and broadsword.  I learn to downhill ski, rock climb and parachute.  I learned to use guns better than my scout training gave me, and I learned how to drive many vehicles as well.  Sims are good training tools as well as fun.  You just have to have the right programs.  I also kill a great many zombies.”

 

                Sarah couldn’t help but laugh out loud.  “Zombies?  Why Zombies?”  She asked, looking over at Bear.

 

                “Because no one cares what you do to zombies.” Bear said grinning.  “Monsters killed my Sorcha, so I train to kill monsters.  Seems like fair trade.”  Bear looked into Sarah’s eyes, and stared, quietly.

 

                Sarah felt herself staring in Bears eyes as well, seeing little details in the color and shape.  She felt the butterfly like feeling again in her stomach, and didn’t know what it meant or what to do.  She swallowed a little.  “I’m not her, you know.  I’m not Sorcha.”  She whispered.

 

                Bear nodded, still locked on her eyes.  “I know, Sarah.  You are different.  I know.”  Bear was whispering too.

 

                Sarah held his gaze a few moments longer, and broke away.  “I should log out.  It’s getting late.”

 

                Bear turned his gaze away and stood, nodding.  “Da.”  He paused.  “Did you have fun?”

 

                “Yeah, Bear, I did.”  Sarah replied.

 

                “Would you join me again?  Sometimes, company is nice – and it would give me good chance to play multi-player sims.”

 

                Sarah thought about it.  “Probably Bear – no, definitely… But I might not play much on the trip to Edenelt – I have to learn more on the interstellar trade stuff.”

 

                “Okay, Sarah.  Thank you for sharing this with me.”  Bear looked like he meant it. 

 

                Sarah suspected he didn’t play sims much with Drago or Hortencia – and she wondered why.  Maybe that’s a question better left for another time.  “I had fun, Bear.  I would totally do it again.  I gotta go.”   Sarah logged out of the game in a cascade of light, but when she arrived back in her physical body, the sensation of butterflies in her stomach and being flushed took a long time to go away.  Sleep was equally long in coming.

 

 

*              *              *

 

 

                Sarah woke the next day, feeling more than a little disturbed.  Last nights sleep had been plagued with strange dreams she only half remembered – dreams where she had shifted from John to Sarah, dreams where she hadn’t been alone in either form.  She had been on the Hyperion, she thought, and then the Fortune’s Favor.  She felt discombobulated and a bit disoriented – but after a few moments she could tell where she was.

 

                “I think this is where I tell myself to stop eating spicy tacos before bed.”  She muttered to herself.  She couldn’t recall the nature of the dreams she had had, but she was rather relieved she couldn’t, at least right now.  She did feel sticky with dried sweat – apparently she’d slept rough.

 

                Sighing, she got up and went to the fresher – the area of the cabin people on planet would designate ‘the bathroom’ – and got cleaned up.  As the hot water sluiced over her male body, Sarah couldn’t help but sigh.  Only a few more days, and I can say goodbye to the old me.  I can hardly believe it myself.  She soaped herself up and began cleaning.  I wonder what it will be like to have a real female body, he wondered.  If it’s anything like the sim, I can’t fucking wait.  Indeed, a growing sense of anticipation was building in Sarah, and she knew as time passed it would only grow stronger.  To be honest, she felt like a kid who’d been promised a trip to a theme park, and the trip was a few days away – excited, impatient, eager – all of the above.  It felt good.

 

                As she finished cleaning herself, the Fresher’s blowers kicked in and began blowing her dry.  It was still weird, to Sarah’s mind – but she enjoyed the sensation of it all the same.  Soon, she got out all clean and dry, and grabbed some clothes to wear for the day.  The Fresher also had a small area where you could place clothes to be cleaned and freshened, so she put the clothes she wore yesterday and the day before into it to get cleaned.  The instructions were fairly simple, and it didn’t take long – no worse than doing a small load of laundry back home on Terra.

 

                Time to get something to eat.  She thought.  Her wristwatch said it was close to 8:30am, ship time.  Ship time, and planetary time were usually different, she had learned.  When you can travel to other planets, they rarely had the same rotational day/night cycle – and when they did, they were usually not in sync with whatever time your starship was on.  At least, that’s what her course material had mentioned.  It led to a lot of hurry up and wait in the cargo business.

 

                She headed out to the common room, to find Drago, Hortencia and Bear there, waiting for her.

 

                “Look who’s finally up!”  Hortencia bubbled.  “How did you sleep?”

 

                “Kind of roughly, actually,” Sarah replied, smiling.  “I don’t think it was an easy night.”

 

                “Ah.  Drago and I had a long chat and then spent the night in.”  She said grinning from ear to ear.  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what the two of them had been doing for the evening.

 

                “Did you have a good time?”

 

                “Yup, I think we did, right honey?”  Hortencia asked Drago.

 

                “Yeah.  We had a great time.”  Drago leaned over and kissed Hortencia on the neck and she swooned.

 

                “Later, you.  I have maintenance to do today.”  Hortencia had a mad face on, but it was clear to see she was only playing.  It was nice to see the two lovebirds cuddling and making cute.

 

                Bear watched the two of them, smiling a little.  “I will get breakfast for us.”  He got up and began preparing the food...

 

                Sarah grabbed a seat at the table.  “So for the next few days we just do whatever we wish?  Study, read or play sims?”

 

                “Yeah, pretty much.”  Drago replied.  “If we had a bigger ship, with a gym, we could work out, or what have you – but ships with that kind of luxury space are pretty much relegated to the wealthy and the stupidly wealthy.  I often to some physical training in the cargo bay – but now that it’s full, I’ll probably be a couch potato for the week.”

 

                “Da.  This is first time we have bought a cargo hold of cargo, Sarah.  We often find some, or take some – but we have rarely bought it.  This is new experiment for all of us.”

 

                Sarah grinned.  “Cool.  I hope I do us all proud.”

 

                A few moments later, piping hot food was placed before them.  Today’s feast looked like eggs, sort of, with some kind of meat that might supposed to be bacon, along with a biscuit and some gravy.  It looked pretty good – and when Sarah dug in, it tasted pretty good too.  They washed breakfast down with fruit juice or soda, and tidied up. 

 

                Sarah stood up, and sighed.  “If I’m going to make good sales, I’d better hit the books.”  She said.

 

                “Good luck!”  Hortencia replied.  Bear and Drago called out similar sentiments.

 

                “Thanks, everyone.”   Sarah replied, and headed back to her room to begin studying.

 

                The course was fairly in depth, but was simplified in some ways to make it easy for a novice to understand – but the difficulty ramped up quickly and soon Sarah had to place all her concentration on her work to make headway.  She studied costs of goods, trade routes in the Imperium, imports and exports tables for various sectors – it was all a little bit overwhelming… But she persevered.

 

                Over the next few days, she fell into a routine.  She would wake, and clean up, grab a meal – and start working until early afternoon, when she would take an hour off to stretch and grab some lunch, and then afterwards, she went back to studying until dinner time.  After dinner, she would take a while off to watch a vid – sometimes with one or more of the others – and then do some research on how much this biosculpt job she wanted would cost.  Sarah was pleasantly surprised to find out it would only cost about 8500 credits – or about $42,500 in Terran money.  It was a lot – but considering what she was going to get for it, she considered it well worth the cost.   She was working so hard, she didn’t get a chance to try another Sim with Bear…  At least, that’s what she told herself.  To be honest, she wasn’t sure what had happened between them in the sim, at the end, and needed some space for a while.

 

                The days passed, and Sarah progressed through her course.  She was only part way completed – but she had been working very hard on it.   Her sense of anticipation and eagerness was also a growing distraction that threatened to distract her from her work.  In many ways she felt like a kid waiting for Christmas day – and her Christmas was about to be here any moment.

 

                After seven days, give or take a dozen hours, the Fortune’s Favor came out of Jump Space.   They were in Edenelt – and in a few hours, they would be landing at the starport.  Sarah couldn’t wait!