Rianna and I are now heading for the ship's bridge, apparently to meet the SO.
While we are waiting for the elevator to arrive, she tells me that she is sorry for what had happened to my body, mainly because her own blood was responsible for changing me. When she said that I look just like her younger sister now, I needed to swallow, it was a comment that hit me hard. But then I giggled, I actually giggled.
We now enter the elevator but there is nobody else in here, so Rianna continues our conversation.
"You seem to be feeling a lot better now. But why were you laughing?"
"Maybe because I'm now past my initial shock, I don't know. Things are looking a lot better now. I first thought you wanted to hurt me, but you really helped me when I needed you most. Honestly, I think I don't even want to be restored to my former appearance anymore. Oh god, it is all so unreal. But I think I am really much happier in this form, yeah, I think I can get used to this," I said while smiling at her.
Rianna then returns a warm, genuine smile, "thank goddess, that is very good to hear, I was feeling really, really guilty."
Then the elevator doors open.
"This is the bridge..eh..Mark. Ah...eh...sorry. Eh...the SO will be able to help you. Let's go," Rianna said, not really sure how to address me.
I then sat foot on the bridge, a place so huge that there are at least thirty people working here. They are wearing something resembling a headset. Most are sitting in front of their view screen and others are walking around carrying something that looks like a tablet. All the way to the front of the bridge, I can see enormous view screens, the center one showing outer space and two others some graphics and lots of text. None of it makes sense to me, as I can't possibly understand the text at all.
"Ahem, are you coming?" Rianna asked, grinning at the awed look in my eyes.
"Yes, sorry." I didn't realize I was staring at all the people and equipment. Mainly the equipment though.
I then followed her to an office, roughly in the middle of the bridge, almost concealed in a wall. Rianna pushed a button, after which we heard a male voice reply "enter!"
When the doors almost silently slid open, I followed Rianna inside. For a society capable of space travel, they design remarkably similar offices as the ones on Earth.
Just your everyday office with a metallic looking desk, a monitor of some sorts and a view of unending space only separated by a window. Well maybe that last part wasn't very similar.
The SO is a lean man in his forties, if Earth standards apply here. The man is shaven properly, or who knows, men perhaps don't even need to shave here. He is wearing a uniform with black pants and an orange shirt. His vest or perhaps it is a jacket, is black showing bright orange stripes on both shoulders. There are some insignia at the front, but I have no idea what they mean. He sits at his desk, his black well-polished boots clearly visible, and he then looks up at Rianna.
"Sir, this is, eh, our guest from the planet below. He, eh she, would like to discuss her future with us," Rianna told the SO.
"Yes, thank you First Defender. You are dismissed."
"Yes sir!" Rianna then glanced at me, showed a quick nod and a smile, then left us alone.
I swallowed...I feel like I did something wrong and need to report to my XO, about to be reprimanded.
Lucky for me the military hierarchy seems somewhat similar to what I am used to. Just be respectful and things might go my way. At least I know that I am really not on Earth anymore, so running away won't do me much good. Maybe this man can actually help me?
The SO says "please, have a seat. I will introduce myself in a few minutes, just let me open a comm.link to Admiral Jocaryn first."
I swallowed again, an Admiral? What have I gotten myself into?
"Relax, you are not in trouble."
"Yes, sir" I said in a reflex, while sitting down.
"Good, you are well mannered. Military person yourself?"
"Yes sir, I am."
He nodded, then he noticed that the Admiral had appeared on the monitor. "Ah, there she is. Hello Admiral."
I take a quick look outside the window and see the Earth beneath us, far, far beneath us.
Whatever is happening to me, this is very real. Then I focus on the monitor again.
My first impression of the Admiral on the monitor is that she is one you don't want to mess with. Her face shows a stern expression, but her smile is genuine. She seems to be in her sixties, long gray hair compliments her gracefully aging face. Her uniform is a red shirt with a black vest, showing bright red stripes on her shoulders. There are more insignia on her uniform than on the SO's, but I have again no clue what those mean. Might just say "Admiral," for all I know.
"Warm greetings, I am an Admiral of the Galactic Empire's Council. My name is Ikeshia Jocaryn."
"And I am the second in command on this vessel, my name is Cyran Vencan."
I feel like I should introduce myself, so I stand up and say "I am Petty Officer 1st Class, Mark Chapman of the United States Navy. It is an honor to meet you both."
"A military person, interesting." She motions for me to sit down, and I do as I'm told.
"I've heard that your body was accidentally changed into....a female body of our race. On behalf of our military, I deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused," the Admiral was serious in her apology.
"There is no need to apologize, Admiral. Even though I still need time to fully process these changes, I am truly grateful for what you call an accident. My body didn't match who I am on the inside, now it does." I said, while still having some lingering doubts whether I can really get used to this new form.
"I see, then that is good news, for I understood that there was no way to return you to your prior form. Now let's discuss your future with us."
I nodded.
"Good. Let's see. You appear to have experience in the military, but we don't know how useful you will be in our organization. As you are aware, your planet's distress call also reached the Groknac. They will be sending more ships to your planet soon, and there is nothing we can do about it. See, it is our policy to never interfere in the business of other worlds, unless they ask for our help."
"I understand, please continue, Admiral."
She smiled as I showed respect by confirming her rank.
"Usually we make first contact in a more civilized way, but that has to wait for another time. We have a more urgent situation at the moment. You already witnessed the destruction the Groknac can cause first hand.
However, those were only scouts. We expect them to send serious reinforcements soon. Their technology is limited compared to ours, but one still shouldn't underestimate them. We expect them to arrive at your location within the month, assuming their previous maneuvers apply to this region of space. Simply put, your planet is in grave danger by the signal your people sent."
She waited for me to digest this message properly.
"I understand," I replied, "but what can we do about it?"
She smiled at the SO, "See, Cyran, I knew she would catch on quickly." She ten looks at me again, "This is where your help will be beneficial to our cause. If you agree, we would ask that you contact your planet and try to charm them into asking for our help. Our strict non-interference policy only allows for us to help them if they ask for our help. It will strictly be a diplomatic mission, one that hopefully will save them. What do you think?"
"It will be difficult Admiral, but I would definitely like to help Earth."
"Good girl," the Admiral said, showing a mild grin.
That remark made me smile, and she knew it. She is a shrewd one, and continues to address me as a she.
And I may have actually blushed, as I am and really look like eighteen years old now.
She then continued, "Seeing that you agree to this mission, I will now divert multiple cruisers to your coordinates, anticipating that your mission will be successful and that the Groknac won't back off easily.
Which brings us to our next point. Technically you are now one of ours, so we expect you to carry out our orders. I want you to enter active service as a liaison-officer of our diplomatic division. Can you accept this?"
"Is that even possible? I have had many years of training before I was promoted to my current rank. Would you really want to promote me to a diplomatic rank?"
"Yes, we would. I already noticed that you have a silver tongue...so you will be fine as a diplomat. Besides, we currently have no diplomat in our service who knows more about Earth than you do. Just give it your best. And perhaps Earth will even consider joining our Empire in the far future. Don't underestimate your role here, young lady."
Of course I smiled again. Silver tongue? Talk about smooth talking here.
"But there is one condition before you can start your job," the Admiral states.
"What would that condition be, Admiral?" I must have looked pretty confused, I already thought I had the job.
"You will keep your accident in the medi-pod a secret. Don't talk to anyone about it, especially the people on that planet. We don't want people gossiping about our blunders, do you understand?"
"Yes, Admiral," I said.
The second in command, Cyran, says "Admiral, I will give the order to the involved people here to zip their lips."
"Well said, Cyran. And back to you young lady, we can't possibly keep calling you that, now can we?
It is customary in our culture that parents give their young a name. As you have no Shalna parents, would you perhaps allow me to name you?"
I stand up, and bow to her, "Admiral, yes please, this would be a great honor." I can hardly walk around as Mark anymore, and this truly is a great honor.
She looks and smiles at Cyran, then focuses on me again. "You are now one of us. You are a Shalna.
Let me think......yes that would be right. Your first name shall be Ayanna, your family name Vohali. These are respected names, honor them and make us proud."
"Yes, Admiral, I thank you." and another bow, just to be polite.
"Ayanna, please sit down." I do as she asks of me, but I can't get rid of the huge smile on my face.
The Admiral then continued, "you now have citizenship in our Empire with all rights and duties. Your diplomatic rank is part of our military organization, so you will be registered as in active service. Our orders might send you all over this galaxy. But wherever you are, you will report directly to me. And always remember that our Empire only grows by mutual trust, not by forcing into servitude like the Groknac do."
I nodded.
"And one last thing Ayanna, as I must end this transmission. Your identity has now been uploaded to your personal ID implant, get used to your new life and quickly learn about our ways. Keep me up to date about your mission. And Cyran, give her a proper uniform. End transmission."
I couldn't say goodbye as she already cut off the connection.
"Well..." Cyran said, "...that went well. She can be very...persuasive if she wants," he took a deep breath.
"Yes, sir." I gave him a more serious expression, because I have no idea where to go from here.
"Excellent, I think you will get used to our military organization pretty fast. I will have your new uniform sent to your quarters. I want you to take today off and get used to your situation. Tomorrow morning you will receive basic training instructions, which you can follow on the consoles in your quarters."
"Any questions?"
"No, sir," I said.
"Good, you are dismissed, liaison-officer Vohali."
The door opened automatically, or perhaps he pushed a button on his desk. I nod to him and leave his office at once.
I now find myself standing on the huge bridge where people are still busy monitoring their view screens of which I can't make heads or tails out of. Only now do I realize that I have absolutely no idea how to get to my quarters, and I don't want to disturb anyone here. Maybe I should go to the mess hall first, I can't even remember when I had my previous meal.
"Crap, where is Rianna?" I said, but luckily not loud enough for anyone to notice my little outburst...
I mean, I get that the military branches have a lot of convergence, using a lot of the same equipment and techniques and such. But it is still kind of ironic that the navy has a marching song, since marching is more for armies, while navies go sailing.
@SternenklarenRitter ha ha ha, very true!
Alien use English as the main language
I have to say, joining an alien military without asking any questions about their customs, culture or even pay is daring to say the least.
I do think it's she is smart for taking the deal, but she is leaving herself open for some serious culture shock.
Yep, absolutely true. At this point she really doesn't have much of a choice. Starting over as an alien, not knowing anything about their culture and even unable to go back to Earth. The military feels like the closest thing to home she has. Besides, it is the only way to help Earth. Oh she is in for some culture shock alright.
Thanks for the chapturr~
From Petty Officer 1st Class Chapman, to Liaison-Officer Vohali. Well, that went... right. Will Ayanna somehow become Rianna's younger sister?
But really, Admiral Jocaryn is really shrewd. By making Ayanna their liaison-officer, they can now plan to get the Earth join the Empire on a peaceful approach, while bypassing their strict non-interference policy.
Not bad for Ayanna's first day on the job, right? Joining the Empire will have to wait for now. Those vile, creepy aliens are on their way and boy, are they in a foul mood.