Once upon a time "Star Trek" was owned by the Great Bird of the Galaxy, now it's owned by Universal - I am neither.
Are you sure you want to do this? The man in the booth gives me one last chance to back out.
I nod my head and brace myself. I know that it's dangerous, both the process and everything that comes after it, but if it means getting my shot at him... Well, I'll put myself through anything.
The man punches some buttons and the machine starts to hum. The hum gets louder as the arms begin to spin. The world is gone now, just the spinning lights and the ear splitting hum.
Suddenly everything stops and for one second it's peaceful, then the pain rips through my body and drops me to my knees.
“Oh my god.” I groan when I come to. I try to rub my hands over my face but my elbows knock into...
I've gone up a cup size.
I open my eyes and look at this new development. I can feel that I'm not wearing a bra, but still they're so perky. I reach out to poke one, just to be sure they're real, but my hand stops in mid-air.
I have claws.
Okay, not claws, but I've never had more then ragged stubs for fingernails.
“Well, look who's awake.” manicure forgotten, I glance at the man walking towards me.
Southern accent - check.
Wavy brown hair - check.
Blue lab smock - check.
“Doctor McCoy. How did I...”
“You gave the Captain quite a scare.” He interrupts my question. “The way that stray shot ricocheted and hit you.” He passes a scanner around my head. “Hell, you gave us all a scare. I even think Spock was worried.”
Now that catches my attention. “Commander Spock was worried?”
McCoy grunts, “As worried as a Vulcan can be.” He puts the scanner away. “Alright, lets get you on your feet.”
I stand up and wobble. Why does the floor seem farther away?
“Anything wrong?” McCoy asks.
“No, doctor. I think I just stood up too quickly.”
“Well, better safe then sorry. I'll have a corpsman escort you to your quarters - where you will rest for the next two days.” He gives me a stern look. “The ship will survive without you, so no complaining.”
As I belt the robe I hear a scuffle and look up to see three corpsmen.
“Doctor McCoy said you needed an escort.” One of them says before he's elbowed by one of the others.
“It's a walk to my room, not a night on the town.”
They all laugh and for a second I'm startled, but then I remember one of the side effects of the transfer was a heightened air of wit.
I spot a younger man hanging back with a look of shy longing on his face - why not give him a thrill?
The poor boy didn't say a word the whole trip to my quarters, just stared at me as if I was Diana in the moonlight.
Once the door was closed on his adoring face I let out a deep sigh and tried to let the situation sink in.
The next morning I spent nearly an hour getting acquainted with my new body. I was several inches taller; and while my breast had gotten bigger, my hips, thighs and even face had slimmed down. My hair, which had always been pin straight and refused to grow past my shoulders now fell in long waves down my back.
My inventory was cut short by the door chime. I quickly threw on one of the dozens of silk robes from my closet and answered the door. It slid open to reveal Commander Spock, who was carrying a covered tray.
“Doctor McCoy informed me that he had restricted you to your quarters for the duration of your recuperation. I hypothesized that you would appreciate fresh sustenance.”
“That was very thoughtful of you.” I smiled widely at him “Would you like to come in?”
He's left eyebrow quirked up, “I would not wish to hinder your recovery.”
“Doctor McCoy told me to keep to my quarters.” I felt my eyelashes flutter fast enough to create a breeze. “I'm not on bed rest.”
“In that case, there is a paper that came out last week that I have been interested in gaining your opinion of.”
This was so worth everything I had gone through. I had wiped out my life savings, experienced more pain then I could have imagined and cut myself off from my family and friends. But I was living what most fans only dream of - I was Lieutenant Mary-Sue Smith of the star ship Enterprise...
And Spock was in my room!