When I’m finally allowed to leave, Dad gives me a huge hug and informs me that I’ll be helping him convince people to transition. After I leave the bridge, I text Athena to tell her that I’m on my way to her cabin.

  No sooner do I press the doorchime, than Athena opens the door, yanks me inside, pulls me close, and kisses me passionately. It takes us a while, but we finally break our kiss. She never says a word, merely taking my hand and leading us to the bedroom. We kiss as we slowly undress each other. There’s no hurry since we have all the time we want.

  Making love to Athena is strange at first, and being aroused is quite different for a girl than it is for a boy. It takes a bit longer for one, and every kiss, touch, or lick seems to be so much more intense.

  We have to find what feels best for me as a woman, although many of my sensitive spots remain the same. For example, my neck and earlobes are still erogenous zones. We find out that I have a very sensitive body, and I have to admit, the orgasms are phenomenal and considerably more intense than when I was male. Male orgasms st a short period, but female ones st much longer and involve my whole being. Not to mention that girls can have almost continuous orgasms with zero recovery time. I now understand why she loves it when I go down on her.

  It’s great, but there’s just something missing when we make love. There’s an aching need that isn’t filled when we do. I’m unsure what it is, but hopefully, I’ll figure it out soon enough.

  A couple of hours ter, two sweat-soaked girls flop down on the bed, breathing hard and snuggling close.

  Athena kisses my neck and sighs contentedly. I have no idea what our parents will think about us, but I don’t really care either. We want to be together and come hell or high water, we will be, even if we might have to share ourselves with others sometimes.

  That evening, during dinner, Dad leans over and murmurs, “Honey, I need to talk to you, so when you’re finished, come to my ready room.”

  I smile, nod, and reply, “Sure, Dad. It’ll be about an hour. I still have to finish eating and then clean up.”

  He gently pats my shoulder and nods.

  When I can finally leave and report to his ready room, he tells me, “Take a seat, Honey. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

  Yep, my parents call me Honey, Sweetie, or any number of other endearments now, but it doesn’t bother me. Dad told me that he felt bad about forcing me to volunteer, but he had to have someone lead the way. I minded it then because I didn’t want to be a girl, but now, I don’t care, and I enjoy the perks of being a pretty girl. The attention doesn’t hurt either. Admittedly, I might have been upset if Athena and I didn’t still have a retionship.

  I sit quietly as he finishes what he’s doing on his tablet. He soon finishes, leans back in his chair, and rubs his eyes as he sighs. He has bags under his eyes, dark ones. Not surprising since the ship is short-handed, so he has very long workdays.

  Getting up, he comes over and sits down beside me. “Honey, I have some news and another favor to ask of you.”

  “Alright, what?”

  “I’m releasing you from kitchen duty, but the favor that I need from you is for you to become a member of the crew. We’ve lost everyone qualified to handle traffic control. With the ck of crew, I don’t have anyone to spare who can take over the job, and I believe you’ll do well at it. You’re smart, have excellent attention to detail, and can multitask better than most people I’ve ever met.”

  “I’m too young to join the service.”

  He ughs, then smiles as he shakes his head. “Sweetie, I’m the highest-ranking military member in the system, so I can safely say that the requirements set back on Earth don’t mean anything anymore. We’ll be filling crew positions with civilians, and some of them will be as young as fifteen. We really don’t have many options here. So?”

  “If you really need me, and think I can do it, then I’d be happy to help you in any way I can.”

  He offers me his hand, and we shake hands as he states, “Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Marks.”

  He chuckles at my astonished expressions. Then I ask, “I’m going to be a Lieutenant?”

  “Yep, that is what the position calls for, so that is what your rank will be. Not to mention that you’ll probably be leading teams when we begin to settle Terra. You’ll have someone else under you as soon as we can find someone to be your cargo controller. We’ll be giving aptitude exams for the passengers soon to find out where they’ll fit in best. Now, you’ll need to see the quartermaster. He’ll issue you your uniforms and rank insignia.”

  “Okay.”

  “I won’t tell you to cut your hair because I’m going to rex the regutions concerning that since I’d probably get a lot of pushback if I don’t. I’d prefer it if you wore it up, though whichever way you want is fine as long as it’s neat and doesn’t get in the way of mission requirements.” I merely nod. “Thank you. More than I can ever express, thank you. By the way, this also means that you’ll be paid, not that there’s anything to spend it on right now. I’ll send a message to the quartermaster to expect you and then have the computer send you the training material. There are simutions to help you get the hang of things, too.”

  “Thanks. Is that all?”

  “No, Sweetie. Remember how I told you that I’d need your help convincing some of the men to transition?” I nod again and “Mhmm.” “Good. We have a meeting with the men this afternoon at 1400, so go get your uniform and get changed. Report to my ready room at 1345, and we’ll head down together.”

  “Sure, Dad.”

  He grins as he says, “You mean, yes, Sir.”

  I smile impishly and state, “In public, but in private, you’re still my dad before anything else,” which again makes him ugh and smile. He leans over, hugs me, and murmurs, “I think I like having you this way. You’re a lot more fun and easygoing.”

  “Thanks, I think.”

  He lets me go and smiles. “Okay, go see the quartermaster. You’re dismissed, Lieutenant.”

  I stand up, smirk, and give him a sloppy salute, “Yes, Sir. Daddy, Sir,” which he returns with another chuckle.

  As funny as it might seem, Dad’s and my retionship has markedly improved with the end of the world and my transition. Most of what strained our retionship was almost entirely my fault. I resented the fact that he was away so much, and Mom had to work as well, which basically left me raising my sisters. My parents also put a lot of pressure on me to live up to my potential. You’ll say that’s not unusual, and you’d be right, but that didn’t change the fact that it made me surly and resentful. For some odd reason, the end of the world has a way of changing one’s attitude, and my transition also had the benefit of making me much easier to get along with than I used to be.

  Now, here we are, and I’m being pushed to do more, yet again. Only this time, I’m happy to help.

  I head down to deck 7 to the quartermaster’s office, along with a flimsy copy of my orders. He directs me to step into a machine, which scans me for my size. That done, I wait a few minutes as he heads back to get my uniforms.

  I’ve read the history of the Space Force, and I hated the uniforms they first came out with. I mean, woodnd camo duty uniforms for troops that are supposed to operate in space? That’s simply ignorant. Not to mention, the dress uniforms were simply horrendous.

  Thankfully, someone with some sense took command in the mid-2050s and pushed through a redesign. I won’t go into it a lot, but officers’ day uniforms are a white button-up shirt or blouse, gray scks or pencil skirt, and dress shoes or pumps. The uniforms are so much better than the original designs.

  I head back to my cabin, where I put up my hair into a chignon, slip on the bck pantyhose, don my uniform, and finally, slide my feet into the pumps. I report to Dad’s ready room, and the two of us, along with Colonel Dayton, walk to the main lounge to talk to the men. Dad is the first to speak.

  “Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m sure you are all aware of some of the problems we face.” I see many of them nod in agreement. “It’s even worse than you know, and there’s no easy way to say this, so here it is: we are facing extinction.”

  A loud murmur runs through them, and Dad allows them to talk for a minute before he asks them to be quiet so that he can continue.

  “If we don’t do something, humanity will probably die out as a viable species within a few generations as problems with inbreeding get worse and worse with each generation.

  “We have a way to salvage the situation, though.” I can see the relief that runs through the crowd. Although, I’m sure that won’t st long. “We have to work together if we want humanity to survive,” Dad says, stressing every word. “It will call for sacrifices to be made on the part of some of you. I’m going to have Lieutenant Marks expin the remainder of this.”

  I step up beside Dad. Their full attention is focused on me as I smile at them. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m Lieutenant April Marks, although most of you likely remember me as Avery Marks.”

  Many of the men gasp in surprise at my statement, and their attention on me is redoubled as they look me up and down, trying to find some sembnce of the boy I used to be. I’m sure many of them are wondering how the pretty young dy in front of them could conceivably be the same boy they all have to have seen at one time or another.

  I drop my smile and state, “I assure you, I am, or more accurately, I was Avery Marks. I’m the first person to volunteer to be transitioned.”

  I’m interrupted when an 18-year-old man speaks up from near the front. “Do you know who I am?”

  Sure, I know him. We hung out a few times when Athena and I would spend time in the recreation room.

  “I do, you’re Jason Alexander, and I’ve hung out with you a few times along with Athena Mayes. By the way, you suck at pool,” a chuckle runs through the crowd, “though you are awesome at battle games. You beat me hands down every single time we pyed. You also told me how lucky I was to be with Athena, and I agreed.”

  His shocked expression says it all, so there’s no need to delve any further into it. I look over the crowd of men, going from person to person.

  “There’s only a few of you that I haven’t spoken to at one time or another. We can keep pying more of the ‘Are you really who you say you are’ game, but let’s do it this way. You know that our computers can’t lie. They can withhold information you are not authorized for, but that’s all… So, computer, please give the highlights of the background of Lieutenant April Davina Marks. Authorization: Beta two two five nine six omicron.”

  “Lieutenant April Davina Marks. Née: Avery Levi Marks. Age: 22. Biological age: 17. Mother and father: Debra and Evan Marks. Born Avery Levi Marks on March 23, 2251, at 0941 hours in Glendive, Montana. Schools attended: Lincoln Elementary, Glendive, Montana. Washington Middle School, Glendive, Montana. Dawson County High School, Glendive, Montana. Applied to and was accepted at Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana. Volunteered to transition gender on June 30, 2273. Joined and commissioned in the United States Space Force on July 9, 2273.”

  The men are stunned into silence. “As you heard, I was Avery Marks. Now I’m Lieutenant April Marks, the traffic control officer for the Avalon.”

  I pause to allow that to sink in a bit longer.

  “I had my misgivings about transitioning as well, but for the good of the human race, I accepted the fact that some of us needed to change.” I’m going to stretch the truth here a bit, but they don’t need to know the whole situation. “So, my dad and I talked, and I concluded that I needed to transition for the good of all of us.

  “As you can see, I look nothing like I used to. I designed my looks. I’m shorter, lighter, curvy, and of course, much prettier.”

  A few of them ugh, others wolf whistle and some do catcalls along the lines of, “Damn straight, you are!”

  I don’t take any offense at the whistles or catcalls since it’s just men being men when presented with a pretty woman. Hell, I used to do it. Going by the deep frown he has, Dad seems to mind, though.

  “Thanks. To continue, we began our journey with 1,000 people, 650 of which were women. Basically, 2 out of 3 people were women. If you think about it, those were good odds for the men.” Several of them chuckle while others simply smile.

  “Regardless of what we began with, there are now 342 human beings alive in this system, of which, 273 are men. For those of you who aren’t good with mental math, that means there are only 69 women. That’s almost 80% men, and by no stretch of the imagination is that a good thing.

  “342 people have enough genetic diversity to make for an easily viable colony on Terra.” I pause here for effect and look around the room at them. “However, that’s only if 65% of them are female, which works out to 222 women. That’s right, gentlemen. We do not have enough women to create a genetically diverse popution.

  “We were all selected because we’re healthy and without predispositions to genetic disorders. Even so, if we don’t do something drastic, inbreeding will become common within a couple of generations. This leads to the increased likelihood of recessive genes combining. That wasn’t too much of a problem back on Earth. In our case, a small popution, combined with limited female partners will begin an ever-increasing downward spiral into what is called ‘Inbreeding Depression.’

  “Basically, it’s a fancy way of saying that it leads to the decline of the popution from the ever-increasing number of stillbirths and children being born with severe congenital defects due to the ck of healthy mates.

  “So, now you know what will happen if the situation remains as it is. Nevertheless, we have a way to resolve the issue. So, now that you know the what, the how is simple: we need 153 of you to follow my example and transition.”

  The uproar from them makes me stop. Dad steps forward again and says, “Gentlemen, please, settle down,” which does not affect them until he roars, “God damn it! Shut the hell up!”

  Once they finally compose themselves, he says, “Thank you. I realize this is upsetting and we’re asking a lot from you, but I want you to stop and think. Do you want to see this happening to your grandchildren and great-grandchildren? We’ve all had longevity treatments, so we’ll see the results of our inaction firsthand. Is that what you want? To sit idly by and watch the human race slowly die out? That will be the result if enough of you don’t volunteer. Think long and hard about what my daughter told you.”

  He pauses and looks around, then I speak up to say, “Gentlemen, being a woman isn’t as bad as some of you think it might be. I enjoy being a woman, and I damn sure enjoy the perks of being a woman. For example, look at how all of you reacted to me. Would any of you deny a request to help me with something? There are lots more, but as my Dad said, ‘think long and hard’ because we have to work together, or there won’t be a future for humanity.”

  Dad steps in again and says, “Alright. That’s all we have to say for now. I’m not asking for an answer right at this moment. Go home, and think about it. If you have any questions or decide that you want to do it, then go to the infirmary and talk to Doctor Keller. She’s the lead in this. One st thing, though: if we don’t get enough volunteers, we’ll hold a lottery after 30 days to gather enough people. So, don’t think that this will simply go away. I was ordered to save humanity, and that’s exactly what I’ll do, even if it means choosing 153 of you.”