Mutationem

by Phoenix Jericho

  She was the captain’s muscle, and enforced Kriss’s commands. Rarely did she have to raise her voice. One cold look from her eyes got the message across. She was a big bad bitch and everyone knew it. But she was well liked by the crew because she was neither cocky nor arrogant.

  She, too, was covered in sweat, but had the pace of a robot. Smitty was known as a machine. She never glanced up or listened to her training drone hovering over her head; she was in the zone. No one on board could match her, not even Brooke.

  “Smitty, for fuck’s sake, slow down,” yelled Kriss. “You have lapped me four times and it’s embarrassing.”

  “Sorry, Captain, but I wasn’t paying attention. Just taking out my stress on the track,” said the first mate.

  “Walk with me for a lap or two while I cool down,” said Kriss. Smitty slowed down, allowing the captain to catch up to her. Soon they were side by side, with the captain making two quick strides to match Smitty’s one slow one.

  “Goddamn, I look like a Chihuahua running alongside a Great Dane,” said the captain.

  Despite herself, Smitty got a big grin on her face. “Well, at least we aren’t trying to breed.”

  “You are a smart ass, you know,” said Kriss with a wink.

  A lap later, both women floated to the juice bar and dried off with the towels provided by the barmaid. Looking towards the entrance to the gym, both women saw Sophi enter.

  “Wow, don’t see her here often,” said the girl behind the bar.

  Soon, Sophi reached the bar and greeted the women.

  “Mandatory nudity in the gym,” said Smitty.

  “Ah, yes, I forgot,” said Sophi. Soon she had removed all her clothes, revealing her white pale skin.

  “You’re Puerto Rican and you are whiter than me. You better get your ass back here every day or I’m going to nickname you Casper the Ghost,” said Kriss, with affection in her voice.

  “Yes, sir, I will,” Sophi said curtly. “Sir, may I have a word in private?”

  “The first mate is privy to everything on this ship, Commander, as she is my second-in-command. But I will grant you this: we’ll all walk around the track together in private.”

  With that, the three released their hold on the juice bar and kicked off towards the track. After each one landed, they began to walk, the captain in the middle, with Sophi and Smitty on either side.

  “Well, Captain,” Sophi stammered.

  “Out with it. I don’t have all day,” barked Kriss.

  “I don’t know where to start. I’m not who you think I am. I’m a spy, sir.”

  “A spy?”

  “What are you talking about?” interrupted Smitty.

  “I have been trained and groomed by the KGB to report on everything in this ship and A-64, once we get there. I really didn’t have a choice, sir. My dad worked for them, and raised me up to work for them. They threatened to kill my children if I didn’t comply. I have felt tremendous guilt since launch, and it gets worse as the days go by. I thought at first my telecom helmet was defective, and that Earth’s destruction was a clever trick on your part to flush me out of hiding, but I’ve realized that wasn’t so.”

  With disbelief written all over her face, Kriss asked, “Was your mission solely to spy on us, or was it more sinister?”

  “If Moscow thought you were going to have some breakthrough, either on this ship or at A-64, that would advance America in the space race beyond Russia, I was authorized to do whatever was necessary.”

  “Even kill me?” asked Kriss.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “How in the hell were you going to pull that off, Commander?”

  “Well, sir, I’m not what I seem. I’m not a simple janitor who made my way up through the ranks as a section commander. I actually am highly trained and can run any section on this ship. I speak eight languages, have medical and biological training, advanced command and communication training, and have nuclear science and botanical degrees. Also, I’m trained in Russian combat sambo and Brazilian jiujitsu.”

  “Fuck this. Captain, she’s full of shit,” yelled Smitty. “Let me fight her.” Smitty’s eyes were narrow slits of icy frozen steel.

  With shock still on her face, Kriss said, “Very well.” Stepping back, Kriss removed herself from between both women.

  Instantly, Smitty drove her fist into the side of Sophi’s face. But Sophi turned her head and the fist grazed her ear. With nothing to stop her momentum, Smitty was momentarily off balance. Dropping to a squatting position, Sophi gave two quick punches to the first mate’s midsection. They were hard and quick, and just as they landed, Sophi twisted her wrists in a powerful motion. Her knuckles ripped at Smitty’s abs.

  Smitty grunted and smiled. “You better try another spot, bitch. My abs are steel.” Jumping back, Smitty regained her balance and took a protective stance with one leg in front of the other, elbows in and hands up.

  Nonchalantly, Sophi stood and began to circle the first mate. Each was appraising the other, Sophi aware of the large, powerful mass of Smitty, and the first mate observing the lithe, flowing motion of Sophi. Sophi moved like a graceful water fountain, flowing into and out of space created by the first mate, never staying in one place too long, and never allowing herself to be hit.

  Soon Smitty began sweating and breathing hard. She was fighting with a shadow, and frustration was etched on her face. Sophi, on the other hand, remained calm; her smaller body required much less energy to move. She didn’t look fearsome; she looked rather fragile and feminine.

  Moving like a dancer, Sophi saw an opening and kicked Smitty in the side of the knee, but it was like kicking a tree trunk. Time and again, Sophi saw an opening and took it, but nothing seemed to have an effect on Smitty. The first mate was heavily muscled, and those muscles acted like a body of armor. Sophi had never fought such a large person before. She tried going for the throat, but Smitty was too tall.

  Finally, Sophi became frustrated. In one last desperate attempt, she sprang forward and dove headfirst for Smitty’s feet, but instead of grabbing them, she locked her arms out and did a front handspring. Kicking off hard from the track with her feet, she whipped her legs up through the air over her torso and landed with her crotch in the first mate’s face. Wrapping her legs behind the first mate’s back, she squeezed her legs together against Smitty’s neck. Then, with both fists, she punched Smitty’s ears violently, causing Smitty’s eardrums to pop with the percussion.

  Leaning back, Sophi swung like a clock’s pendulum, twisting Smitty’s neck and bringing the giant down with a crash. Smitty’s face turned bright red from the exertion and she was slowly losing consciousness. But in one last heroic effort, Smitty grabbed Sophi by the neck with her paw-like hands and began to squeeze, her thumbs nearly collapsing Sophi’s trachea.

  “Stop it!” yelled Captain Kriss.

  But neither gladiator heard the captain.

  In desperation, Kriss made a short vicious kick to Smitty’s nose and then Sophi’s. Immediately the fight was over. Both women had broken noses, and blood was flowing freely down their faces.

  “I never told you to kill each other,” yelled Kriss. “Now look at me, you skinny bitch,” she said to Sophi. “I could have just let Smitty kill you, but I didn’t. Are we now on the same page? No more spy shit. I don’t have time for this. You are either on our team or not. I can quite easily introduce you permanently to Spice’s garden via a live emulsification, or you can become one of us and rejoin the human race. Which is it?”

  “I choose the latter, sir.”

  “I have your word?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Very good. Go to Med Bay and get that nose fixed, and then report to Merc. We have more need of you there than in the laundry section,” Kriss said gruffly. “All is forgiven. We are a team. Take that telecom helmet you smuggled on board to Merc; she may hav
e a use for it. Nothing is wasted in space.”

  “Thank you, sir,” said Sophi.

  “Dismissed,” grunted the captain. Turning, she looked at her first mate. “Are you okay, Smitty?”

  “Yes, sir. That’s one tough little bitch. I think she is legit.”

  “Me too,” said Kriss. “Keep an eye on her, but I think she is honest and will live up to our deal.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Smitty.

  “Now get your ass to Med Bay. Can’t have you looking like a little girl kicked your ass,” said Kriss with a smirk.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Spitting metal melted in a puddle on the floor, where it glowed red and cooled to a blue-gray. The air was cut with laser light in a crisscross pattern, and the metal flowed like red wax. Wherever the laser went, it cut like a surgeon’s scalpel, the metal falling away like flesh from a well-cooked bone. Every time Merc pulled the trigger, her face was painted by the red glow of the molten metal and the cutting laser. When she released the trigger, her face would darken and appeared shadowed. It was like watching a fireworks display.

  Clearly the commander was enjoying her new toy. She had been up all night working on the laser. She felt it was her responsibility to come up with a means of protecting her crew. She knew that when they landed on Alpha-64, there could be a very real threat to everyone’s safety. Her father’s words played in her mind as she worked through the night: “Walk quietly and carry a big stick.” This laser was her version of a big stick, she thought.

  Her plan was to set up a perimeter defense around the colony and have these lasers monitored remotely. They would be set off by motion, and each laser station would overlap the other so there could be no breach in their defenses.

  Merc looked up, and what she saw brought a smile to her face. Dozer was leaping between the long shelves of supplies like a superhero from one to the other. But what really took Merc’s breath away was seeing baby Libby in tow.

  On Earth, in order to leap such distances, one would have to jump as high as possible and fight the pull of gravity. But not in space. Each leap Dozer made was a straight trajectory. With one final leap, Dozer and Libby landed beside Merc.

  “What’s up, Merc?” asked Libby.

  “Well, I was just working on a laser defense system.”

  “Does it work? I watched in my learning visor about Earth’s Star Wars missile defense system and it was a complete failure,” said Libby.

  “Wow, that’s a mouthful, baby.”

  “I’m not a baby. I’m almost nine months old.”

  “Okay, you are right. Anyone who can jump through space like you is a brave grown-up.”

  Libby beamed.

  “Listen, I have been thinking about you and Dozer. Since you two are inseparable, would you like to ride him?” asked Merc.

  “You mean like a pony?” asked Libby with excitement in her voice.

  “Yes, honey, like a pony.”

  Throwing her arms around Dozer’s thick neck, Libby said, “I’d love to!”

  “Let’s go over to my computer and come up with a plan.”

  Sitting at her desk with Libby in her lap and Dozer wrapped around her neck like a giant fur throw, Merc began typing. Three sets of eyes were fixed on the screen.

  At first Merc looked at designing a thin saddle to put on Dozer’s back; then Merc attached a carbon fiber rail to a harness, which mated with a retention device on a harness on Libby.

  Too clumsy, she thought as she pressed Delete. Then she designed a thin microfiber body stocking for Dozer. It had holes cut out for his legs, head, and tail. With a few clicks of the keyboard, she changed the color to orange and put it on a computer-simulated drawing of the cat. She manipulated the mouse and placed a thin, rubber-covered magnetic strip into the back of the stocking.

  “That looks good, don’t you think? Now let’s design one for you, Libby,” said Merc.

  Merc soon had a pair of black, flexible, body-fitted shorts designed for Libby, and inserted a magnetic strip into them with a click of the mouse.

  “There we go. Now I’ll forward the schematics on to Sophi so she can have one of her girls make the garments,” said Merc.

  “No need to send them, I’m right here,” said Sophi. Sophi had come up behind them while everyone was focused on the monitor.

  “My thoughts are that you should make the cat t-shirt out of a soft flexible material that is lightweight and breathable, and do the same with Libby’s shorts. I’ll make the magnetic strips powerful enough to keep Libby from flying off of Dozer’s back,” said Merc.

  “Can I ride him like a pony then?” asked Libby with enthusiasm.

  “Yes, you can,” said Sophi.

  Merc noticed Sophi’s swollen nose and black-and-blue eyes. “What happened to you?”

  “Nothing I want to talk about,” said Sophi. “The captain told me to bring you this telecom helmet. I built it, and she thought we might be able to utilize it somehow.”

  “We?” asked Merc.

  “Yes, ‘we,’” said Sophi. “The captain has asked me to come and work with you. I have an untapped skill set similar to your own that the captain has just become aware of.”

  “I see,” said Merc with a raised eyebrow. “And I assume, like with your nose, that you don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Yes, sir,” Sophi said.

  “I have two major projects. The first is the fabrication of enough bolt guns to amply guard our colony. The second is the development of a fixed weapon for perimeter defense. I have been working on my laser project, but I feel we have time to explore other ideas–possibly a Gatling-type chain gun that is belt fed and fires bolts. So give me input on that. Also, we need to fabricate a waist holster for the bolt gun to be worn by the crew, with the possibility of an across-the-back lightweight scabbard that could also carry the weapon. It has to be reversible to accommodate right- or left-handed shooters.”

  “I’ll get started ASAP,” said Sophi.

  “Also, let’s get the kid here linked up to her cat,” said Merc. Taking Dozer off of her shoulders, she placed him on the floor, then lifted Libby onto Dozer’s back. They seemed fitted for each other. With a nudge, the cat walked off with Libby on his back.

  Giggling, Libby yelled, “I’ve got a pony!”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The PA system crackled and hissed to life.

  “Attention, crew of IWSA-24, this is your captain speaking. I have an update to share with you from our chief science officer. Connie was supposed to make this announcement at the Great Hall meeting, but that damn cat got us sidetracked.”

  Libby heard the word “cat” and stared up at the box on the wall that was speaking. Initially, Libby had her own style of crawling, from the butt scoot to the backward inchworm, but she had finally settled on the standard crawl. As the captain spoke, she used this crawl to get closer to the speaker.

  “First order of business is mandatory exercising in the gym every day,” said Kriss. “Connie has informed me that Alpha-64’s gravity is 25 percent greater than Earth’s. The hull of the ship in the gym can synthetically mimic gravity, which will be increased till everyone’s body has adapted. No exceptions: everyone must exercise. That way, we will already be used to A-64’s gravity before we even get there.

  “Second order of business: all crew will check in with Med Bay and have their ovulation cycles synchronized so that everyone’s eggs can be harvested and frozen for future fertilization and implantation. The future human race is in your body right now, and not a single egg can be lost.

  “Third order of business is cosmic radiation. Has anyone noticed the flashes of light behind your eyelids when you are trying to sleep? Those are cosmic rays that pass through our brains, and this radiation exposure damages cells and increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, and brain damage. Sounds dep
ressing, I know, but Connie has a solution. That solution is a radiation suit and helmet with a solar face shield. Before I hear any complaining, give the chief science officer some credit. The suits are skintight but very soft and comfortable. You ladies who are packing a few extra pounds will be hitting the gym hard, so by the time we are on solid ground, I expect to have a fit crew. The helmet is very thin and padded. The face shield is comfortable as well. The only parts of the ship where you do not have to wear this gear are the gym and crew quarters. See Commander Sophi about sizing and distribution of your new attire.

  “Finally, Merc has designed a working prototype of a personal protection weapon. It is effective and lethal. So, ladies, when you are at Med Bay getting your cycles in order, have Connie or Pickle put an RFID chip in. This chip is for your safety and the ship’s safety. The radio frequency ID chip will activate or deactivate the bolt gun. We can’t have any accidents. Captain out.”

  Turning towards Dozer, Libby grabbed his big head and planted a kiss right between his eyes. “Let’s go get our chips and freeze your eggs,” giggled Libby.

  Dozer always seemed to know what Libby was thinking, and soon was towing her to Med Bay. The doors opened for both the baby and the cat, and what greeted them on the other side was quite confusing. A pair of chubby legs and lower torso stood in front of a fume hood; everything from the waist up was gone. It looked like someone had done a magic trick and sawed somebody in half.

  Dozer stopped and sat down, which caused Libby to bump into him. Both cat and girl had a confused look on their faces. Suddenly the legs moved, just a little, shifting weight from one foot to the other.

  Startled, Dozer began to growl. His growl started deep in his chest and reverberated up his throat and out his mouth like one of his larger cousins, a lion.

  Libby was frightened. She wasn’t sure if she was scared of the half body standing in front of her or the primal noise coming from her pony.