Jeb by: Janet L. Stickney JanetLynn17@Hotmail.com
The ship landed on the planet softly, as Jeb, the pilot steered his ship to the grassy knoll he could see through the viewer in front of him. He was the youngest pilot ever accredited by the Source. The Source was an interplanetary shipping consortium that had never lost a ship--- ever! After he brought the ship to a static condition he got out and walked around looking for damage. Jeb was 18, and like most pilots, quite small in stature. The company insisted on this as it increased the payload they could carry, and thus charge for. He was just 5'1" tall, and 119 pounds. His longish, mouse brown hair was pulled into a ponytail that let his rather large brown eyes, survey the ship. As he walked around, he found a hole in the fuselage just ahead of the Warton drive system. It was supposed to be able to "heal" itself, but obviously it failed, or the damage was to great for the self healer to overcome. Climbing back into the ship, he went to the engine compartment to see what the damage was.
A small hunk of space debris had punctured the main coolant line to the Hydrobyzinian tanks. The coolant line was one of the few that he had no spares for. Back in the cockpit, he made a call to headquarters to inform them of the accident. They told him to see if he could find any towns close by that might be able to fabricate the parts needed. He was to check in every 3 days. Jeb locked the ship, and started to walk. It was almost an hour before he found a small trail in the woods, and he began to follow it.
The smoke rose above the blue and magenta trees, the aroma reaching him several hours before he found the source. The house was modular in design, shaded in hues of blue, gray, and magenta. He approached the house from downwind, and in the safety of the trees he watched for signs of life. Shortly, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen walked out of the house and directly towards him.
"Come out! I know that you are there! I saw you land your ship."
Her voice was a melody of softness and femininity such as he had never heard before. Her silver hair hung to her waist and gently swayed to and fro as she walked. Her hourglass figure was accented by the one piece blue body suit she was wearing. Slowly he stood up and walked towards her. She never moved her eyes from him as she evaluated him.
"I'm Jeb Wilson, the pilot of the craft. Is there a town nearby that I can have some repair parts fashioned?"
She raised a single finger to silence him.
"First we eat. Follow me."
He followed her to the house, the rhythmic sway of her hips making him want to forget his mission.
Her name was Lila. She lived alone as did most of the people on her planet, which, by the way, was called Zernon. She looked to be no more than 18 or 19, and he wondered why she was out here in the wilderness by herself.
"My people suffered a Great War in which almost all of the people were killed. Our cities, once great places of commerce and learning were reduced to rubble. The few of us that survived have taken to living in the Occamma area. It was once a large game reserve. We can feed ourselves, grow small crops, and survive. There are no men allowed in the Occamma. Only females. Our men are brutish warriors that think nothing of fighting. In fact they fight for sport! We meet with them once every full cycle to mate. We, the women of Zernon, have decided to make our male children less... aggressive. Our men are forbidden here, and if another female were to see you, she might kill you before you had a chance to explain that you crash landed. Stay in the house until I figure out something."
It was almost night time before Lila told him that she had reached a solution.
"I have informed Xinna that you are here and the reason why. She is our leader, and has agreed to let you stay and we will help you and repair your ship, but you'll have to be a woman. That is the only way that the others will let you stay here and work on your ship. The rules are very strict about men here."
"A woman! Me?"
Jeb was to stunned to talk. Lila continued.
"We have developed a potion that will make you more feminine, in appearance, and body. It is said that if you take the potion too long, you can never be male again. You will be a woman. But it is only a short time and you will be going. The potion probably will not effect you like it does our men."
Jeb had done many strange things in his short career as a pilot. He had once worn ceremonial women's clothes for the Marchan of Fwerta as a way of closing the deal. This didn't seem to be much different.
"Okay Lila. Where is the pill, or potion, or whatever."
Lila gave him a sweet syrup like potion that had the cloying scents of roses and jasmine.
"It smells like jasmine!"
"That is what you will be called. Jasmine. A pretty name for you."
Her smile allayed his concerns as she led him to a room. Like the exterior, the walls were done in light shades of blue and magenta. He fell asleep wondering what he would look like when he awoke.
When he awoke, it was light out, and as he reached out to get his watch to confirm the time, he saw a very feminine hand attached to a slender wrist! He stood up, and for the first time saw his reflection in the mirror that adorned the facing wall. His already slim figure had been transformed! He had an hourglass figure that rivaled Lila's, and breasts that would be the envy of any woman he knew! His clothes hung on him, as they no longer fit. Lila walked in just as he began to look around the room for something to wear.
"I see that the potion worked! You are very pretty Jasmine. Many warriors will want to mate with you!"
"What do you mean "mate" with me!I am a man, not a woman!."
"Please remove your clothing Jasmine. Let us see what the potion has done to you. The potion never before has acted so fast on one of our men. We must check. Please disrobe."
He did as he was told, since he had no option. He had taken his shirt off, and saw his breasts for the first time, pert and proud he thought. But it was a random observation. It was different when he took his pants off. He could see that the potion had made him a woman...in every respect! The swell of his hips accented his slim waist while his breasts stood firm. Lila walked over and undid the ponytail, and as his hair swirled around his face, Lila could only see how beautiful she, Jasmine, was.
Lila gave her a body suit to wear, and they walked into town together. All of the other women had silver hair like Lila's, so Jasmines hair being brown was a cause for all of the others to come and meet her. One woman, Bexella, was as big as a man, and looked just as strong. She was the technician for the village. It was her job to fabricate things they needed. Lila took Jasmine by the hand and they walked to a small cafe.
"Bexella" Lila told her, "was also a man once. She came into camp and tried to rape some of the women. It took three doses of the potion to make her see the light. She would kill any man that wandered into the Occamma. She has not yet mated. Maybe this year."
Jasmine looked at the formidable woman across the street, and shuddered at the thought of "mating" with her! Xinna has told me that she will ask Bexella to help you repair your ship, and then you will be free to go. First, our doctor would like to examine you. We have never met anyone of your species before, and even though we look alike, there may be subtle differences."
Jasmine nodded her head yes, and after a coffee like drink, they walked to the doctors. Everyone was pleasant and greeted the two of them by name.
"How do they know my name Lila?"
"They know" is all she answered.
The doctor was an older woman, also very nice, and after her examination of Jasmine, announced that she was fit to "mate"!
"MATE! I'm not really a woman, I just took the potion Lila gave me so that I could get some help to fix my ship!" The doctors soft voice filled the air with a no nonsense attitude.
"That is correct. Xinna called me and told me the circumstances of your arrival. But it seems that our potion has a different effect on the males of your species. In our males, it takes three doses to change them. Obviously, with your males, a single dose will do it. I am terribly sorry young lady. You are now a female."
Jasmine stood there trying to ask an intelligent question. "Will it wear off? Can you make me a male again?"
Sadness lined the doctor's face as she told him that from now on, and forever, she would be Jasmine.
Bexella and Jasmine repaired the ship in three weeks. It was time to go, and Jasmine had become used to the new and different shape her body had taken. Curves and beauty had replaced her loss of strength. Bexella and Jasmine hugged, and Lila waved goodbye as she started the engines. The liftoff was, of course, perfect, and Jasmine steered a course to the Vellus star system to deliver her cargo. It was a startled crew that watched as Jasmine finally landed on her home planet, Earth. They had been the same crew that sent young Jeb on his way, and now a woman of incomparable beauty had landed the ship. When Jasmine made her report, she also told them that there might be profit in the potion she had been given. Since on Earth it was a complicated, painful system to change sex, they might be able to work out some arrangement with the Zernonese people. They sent Jasmine to the best doctors they could find, and all confirmed that she was indeed a woman in every aspect, and was also able to bear children! That was news to Jasmine, but by now she just smiled inwardly, knowing that she had completed her physical journey. Her body now matched her mental thoughts. You see, before the journey, Jeb took every opportunity to wear women's clothes. Now he had a much better reason!
© 2000
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