Tailhook: Altered Fates
Medallion of Honor

By Joan Banks

 

‘Since the 1991 Tailhook Scandal Investigation yielded no convictions, female Congressional Legislators have called for an independent investigation...’ ‘To this day, none of the accused from Tailhook have been brought to trial. Constantly cited throughout the proceedings was the phrase ‘lack of evidence’.’ ‘Whereas before the infamous Tailhook Scandal there were only 4 female aviators per hundred male, in the years since the number has grown to 20 percent..."

"Ladies and gentlemen and..well..everyone, please look at this study, found in the binder on the desk in front of you." She spoke to a large group in a boardroom. The people in the room were a strange mix of men and women and, for lack of a better word, things. The group grumbled as they leafed through the binder. Each one was a daunting document designed for that particular reader. For most, it was too much information for one sitting.

Marshall was Senator Schaefer’s personal....gopher. A person who acquired what was needed, especially those things that were hard to get. He knew a little of the Senator’s plans and had a few ideas of what would be required. But for now, he was enjoying the show.

"What exactly do you want?" a young woman asked.

"Justice, plain and simple. These men are guilty of crimes against women. Through their sneakiness and conniving, they have escaped punishment. There is nothing more we can do....officially. That is where all of you come in."

"You want us to do your dirty work for you? I, for one, won’t participate." "If you will just open that envelope in the back of your binder, I think you will change your mind." The Senator smiled. The young woman read the sheets and chuckled slightly.

"You sure have done your homework."

That was the Senator, Marshall thought, very thorough. "Payment will be given after the punishment is complete. If you need support then you need to work through my associate, Ms. Coughler, here." She motioned to the woman on her right "Her number is written on the assignment sheet. Please commit it to memory, take as long as you need. I have to ask that, for security reasons, nothing of this material leave the room, including the binder..." she looked around. "Now where did that old man go?"

After the meeting, the Senator called Marshall to the side.

"Marshall, you do realize what we are trying to do here?" The older woman asked.

Marshall nodded. The senator handed a sheaf of hastily stapled pages to the man. "Then get this for me." She said, flicking the pages with a finger. She pat his head condescendingly. "Good boy."

******

******

"Sir, you dropped this."

Petty Officer Franks squatted down demurely and picked the medallion off the floor. A cheap-looking bauble, it felt light in her hand and had a surface that would not take a shine. She stood and straightened out her skirt and held it out to Lieutenant James "Jimbo" Waters.

A trickle of sweat trickled down her face as he peered at the object in her hand. She shifted her grip so she was holding the chain as if to put it over his head and flashed him her ‘never-fail, winning smile’. He stood with his hands behind his back and looked at it, while staying several feet away.

"No, I didn’t." He said, "Give it to the duty officer if you can’t figure out where it belongs." The Lieutenant turned away and walked back towards his office. She set the medallion down on her desk and picked up a pile of blue folders. Tiny little Airman Anderson sniffed and returned to her work. "Sir, these personnel evaluations are finished and just need you to check them." She held the papers against her ample chest. Even Navy dungarees couldn’t hide the fact that Franks was a very sexy woman. She followed him into the office and set the evaluations on the desk. She took a moment and picked through his ‘out’ box. Finding what she was looking for, she smiled her winning smile, flipped her blonde hair and turned to leave. The Lieutenant didn’t have a chance.

"Franks." Jimbo called out. She stopped at the doorway and looked at him over her shoulder. He walked up and leaned against the door.

"Yes, sir?" She asked.

"Um...um..." He said. Franks smiled at this effect she had on men. Her boss leaned over her. She could feel his breath. Both of them were feeling the tension between them. "Thanks." He said. He slapped her behind and went back to the desk. The tension was broken and the moment ruined. She stomped away in frustration. Through the open door she saw him smirk as he started through the evaluations.

He would get his eventually, she thought. The very idea warmed her soul.

******

"So, Jennifer, you still haven’t succeeded?" The Senator seethed into the speakerphone.

She had the room cleared and had the line double-checked for bugs. It was safe to talk. "Duh." Franks rolled her eyes. "We are talking, aren’t we? It’ll be done; I just need to find the right opportunity. You don’t want witnesses, do you?" "Of course not, you little twit."

"Fine, then send the travel orders for day after tomorrow. If it isn’t done by then, it won’t happen."

"Fine. Anything else, your majesty?"

"Just a good flying assignment when this is done. And I want my own squadron...." "And the Presidency? I’ll get you the flying job. What you do from there is your own business." The line was quiet. "Jennifer?" The Senator asked. "Okay." Franks agreed. "I’ll call tomorrow." Without waiting for a response, she hung up the phone. She turned the phone around and fiddled with the cord. She detached a small device from the underside of the base unit and smiled when she saw the power light blinking.

"Just in case, Senator." She tossed the device into the air and caught in nimbly, "Just in case."

******

"Harm! What’s going on?" Jimbo yelled into the phone. "Heard some news today, Jimbo. I thought you might want to know." CDR Harmon Rabb smiled into the telephone. Jimbo was an old friend and one of Harms’ protégé’s when he went back to college for his Law degree. The younger man was a student in the ROTC program at the same school. Harm had even pulled some strings and had Jimbo assigned to his old squadron.

"Shoot." Jimbo said. He plopped onto his couch and grabbed a beer. Harm was an okay guy, a little straight laced maybe, but all right. He was someone you wanted covering your six.

"Word in town is that Senator Shaefer is looking for a new aide. Guess who’s flying out to interview for the job?"

"You’re shitting me, right? That woman has destroyed more careers than a war. Why would I want to work for such a conniving bitc-" "Hey! I’ve met her. She’s not ALL bad. Besides it would probably be good to have someone close to keep an eye on her. If you know what I mean?" Jimbo slouched on the couch and took a giant swig of the beer. He sighed.

"Okay, when is this miraculous meeting supposed to happen?" "Word is, day after tomorrow. You can crash at my place. I’m going to be out of town for a couple days but the alarm code is the number of times you were waved off of landing your first time to the ship and Ensign Goat’s birthday. You got it?" "Got it." Jimbo smiled, Ensign Goat was the name that pilots in the squadron would give to someone if they were going to get into trouble. Most of them even had nametags made up with the name. The typical use of it went like:

"You’ve destroyed this bar, shamed our women, and lost your pants. You are a disgrace.

What is your name?"

"Ensign Goat, sir."

"Well, Mr. Goat, your C.O. will be hearing from me."

As a rule, the Goat defense didn’t work consistently, but it was a good story at least. His birthday was April first. And the number of times he was waved off of the ship was three (not his best day), so the code was 3401.

"Thanks Harm. I won’t destroy it too much."

"See that you don’t. I’ll leave the key in the usual place."

"Cool." There was a barely audible click on the phone- call waiting.

"That’s the call I was expecting. I gotta go. Good luck, Jimbo." Harm clicked off.

"Thanks." Jimbo said into the receiver, but it was too late, Harm was already gone.

******

Jennifer rifled through a messy pile of papers. The pages were ripped in spots and they had been stapled and re-stapled countless times. Her roommate was busy with some poor shmuck and should be gone for the night.

She had changed into the clothes that made her comfortable, a T-shirt and jeans. The clothes looked almost masculine except for the feminine body that filled them. She had scrubbed every trace of makeup off and finally was rid of that damned bra. Sitting with her legs wide at the desk she started hand-writing a letter. Jennifer’s hand shook slightly as she wrote the words that would admit her own guilt and condemn herself to a life in prison. If she was successful then the letter will go into the mail if not then.... She sealed the envelope and put a stamp on it. She put the letter in her purse but didn’t bother to close it.

After finishing the letter, she read through the mass of papers that came with the medallion. She held the box that contained the powerful magic item and closed her eyes as she recited to herself how the charm was used.

"If either of us wears the charm and the other touches it then we swap bodies. If he wears the charm and touches a piece of female clothing then he is a girl. Nothing else can happen for 12 hours because our bodies are still adjusting to the shock. So if..."

******

"You’re late Franks." Chief Gillespie did not look happy. He towered over her with arms that were larger than her head.

"Sorry Chief." She said. Instinctively, she tried the hair flip and smile but he was not buying into it today. The personnel office was bustling with activity. Evaluations that LT Waters had gone over the night before were in the midst of a massive rewrite. Everything was being done over and each of the Administrative staff fought for computer time. Two computers divided among seven people added up to very agitated people and happily busy computers. She set her purse on the desk and started to work. The task of transforming the Lieutenant took a back seat to a pissed off Chief. If that storage unit would’ve opened on time, she thought, then I wouldn’t be in trouble right now. She considered the small bin in the back of her beat up car that contained everything from her room that meant anything to her.

The busy morning passed quickly and lunchtime came before she realized. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Chief Gillespie asked. His tone implied that she was not going anywhere.

"A ten minute errand, Chief. Tops." She said. Once again she flashed her smile and let her eyes flash. Since progress was being made on the evaluations, the Chief realized that everything was going to be okay. He gave into the smile. "Twenty minutes and no more." He said.

"Thanks Chief." She whipped around and rushed outside.

Jennifer never noticed the stamped letter that fell from her purse.

******

Jimbo dug through the stack of papers in the in box. The work that his people were putting out was getting better. Now the quality of evaluations was climbing to the point where the Skipper would approve them instead of passing them back to him. Throughout the day, he watched the massage traffic, looking for the orders that would send him to Washington and that meeting with the Senator. His bags were packed and sitting in his car. He would leave nothing to chance. Harm was right, this might be a way to help some of the guys the old bat was still after for Tailhook. Officially the investigation was over but it was common knowledge that this particular Senator was holding a grudge. Through his open door he saw Franks talking with the Chief. She was obviously flirting to get something. He knew the chief had lost when she beamed a smile and then turned and rushed out of the office. He watched her go down the passageway her body moving deliciously as she went away. Jimbo determined that he could have done that all day. When she turned the corner he finally blinked and returned to his work.

Ten minutes later an envelope flew onto his desk.

"Special delivery dude." One of the other pilots, Boxer, sat on the desk and played with the envelope.

"What gives?" Boxer asked.

"I think I am in for new orders." Jimbo tore at the envelope and removed the contents.

Travel orders and a plane ticket were paper-clipped together on top of the pile.

Underneath was an itinerary and a notice of pre-paid hotel reservations. "5 AM? Geez," Jimbo sighed. "Nothing like an early fuckin’ flight." He picked up the phone. After a moment, they answered.

"Hi, my name is Jim Waters, I have a reservations for flight 323 tomorrow morning. I’d like an exit row, aisle." He listened as they put his request in, "No, I won’t be staying there. Here’s the address..."

******

Jennifer keyed the code into the gate of the storage facility. Her tires squealed as she drove up to the small unit that she had just rented. Quickly, she unlocked the unit and grabbed the bin from her back seat. Against her better judgment, she opened the bin. Most of it wasn’t anything to write home about. It was full of some photos and mementos of high school. Every letter she had received since joining the Navy was packed carefully away. She picked up a picture. A muscular man stood next to a girl in a football uniform. The look on his face was mixed pride and confusion. The girl was covered in mud and proudly held the football in her hands. Her expression was ecstatic. "You always wanted a son, Dad." She told the picture, "I guess you’ll get your wish." She closed the bin and strained a bit as she carried it inside. She let the box fall heavily to its place in the unit and reached behind the large stack of bins. She retrieved an envelope and checked it. It was full of money. She placed it back into its hiding place. "Yipee." She said softly, her fear obvious and her enthusiasm not very apparent.

******

"Someone has been in my purse." Jennifer panicked. She dumped the contents on her desk and rifled through them. "Oh my God." The box containing the medallion was off to one side. Over and over again, she inventoried what was in the purse. The letter was gone.

So it had to happen now or she would be the one to go prison. If she didn’t succeed tonight, before he left for the day, she was screwed. She opened the box containing the medallion and stuffed it into her pocket. Just to reassure herself, she kicked the small bag of clothes that she had stashed under her desk.

"Oh, are you talking about that letter?" Airman Anderson asked. Jennifer rushed over to her and grabbed her by the shirt.

"Yes! Do you have it?"

"I mailed it for you." Anderson smiled. The Chief stared at her. When he caught her eye he motioned to the grip that Jennifer still had on the young Airman. Jennifer let go and laughed a nervous laugh.

"Oh, sorry. It was a really personal letter and I just didn’t want it to get into the wrong hands."

Anderson pulled at her shirt, trying to get rid of the wrinkles that Jennifer’s grip had caused.

"That’s okay. Sorry." Jennifer said. The young girl went back to her desk and moped as she resumed her work.

Jennifer Franks, Yeoman Third Class exuded nerves and fear throughout the rest of the day. Occasionally a situation would arise that she normal would have been able to solve with just her disarming smile. But her smile came out awkwardly and she only made situations worse.

Finally, at the end of the day, almost everyone had gone home. In the administration office, only Jennifer, the Chief and the Lieutenant remained. Why wouldn’t that Chief go home? Doesn’t he have a family? Jennifer was sure that they would never be alone. She would never get him to put on that medallion. She would have to take the risk. Initially, she didn’t want to be the one wearing the thing. Too many things could go wrong. She could bump into somebody and that would be it; the jig would be up, an opportunity lost. It was better to have him take the risk. She was beginning to realize that it would never happen. He would not put it on voluntarily and she was much too small and weak to force him. It would have to be her. She stood and walked down to the bathroom. There weren’t many women in the squadron so chances are that she would be alone. She removed the cheap looking medallion from the box and put it over her head. She tucked it into her shirt so only the tacky chain was visible. She stood in the bathroom and listened. Twenty minutes later she was rewarded with the sound of the Chief walking by. Nervously, she smiled. Taking in a deep breath she opened the door into the passage and walked back to the office.

The Lieutenant was closing up a briefcase and reached for the lights.

"Sir!" Franks said both too loud and too quick. He jumped.

"Franks," He smiled, "I thought you left."

She smiled.

"uh...Can we talk for a minute, sir?" She held her hand against her chest, reassuring herself that the medallion was still there.

"Um....sure, Franks." Ordinarily he would wait to have some kind of witness in the room, preferably another woman. Tailhook and the following investigation had made everyone paranoid. He clicked off the light in his office and sat on the edge of a desk. "What’s up?" he smiled and glanced at his watch. She walked up close to him and reached into her shirt and took out the medallion.

"I feel guilty sir. I liked this and so I kept it." Her voice shook. She held it towards him. "I wouldn’t worry about it, Franks. Just put it back, no one knows who it belongs to anyway. No harm done." He tried to maintain his distance. "But what does this writing say?" She said, holding it closer to him, "I know you pilots have better vision than anyone so I thought you might be able to read it." He laughed and pulled reading glasses out of his briefcase. He laughed a little as he showed them to her.

"Cheaters. My vision ain’t that perfect." He put the glasses on and took the medallion in his hand to read it more closely.

The cheap looking piece of metal seemed to buzz in his hand and become slippery. He could feel the surface slipped from his fingers. Strangely enough, it seemed to be getting bigger. Franks started unbuttoning her shirt.

"Just a minut..." His voice sounded odd, even young in a way. Then he saw that Franks was growing as well. Now Franks was unbuttoning her pants. Jimbo’s glasses fell to the floor when he saw what was underneath. Franks was a GUY! Even sitting on the desk, he felt himself grow dizzy. Confused, he fell off the desk to the floor. Very casually, Franks was undressing. But as the moments continued she looked less and less like Franks. Franks looked at him and smiled. She flexed her growing arms. "This is nice." She said. Her voice was an even baritone now. Completely naked now, she...no he...went to the door and closed it.

"We wouldn’t want any interruptions." He took giant strides over to the confused Lieutentant. "Come on Jimbo. Work with me." Franks was now a giant man and Jimbo felt like wetting himself. When Franks unzipped his flightsuit he was caught with the next surprise.

Breasts.

Jennifer handled him like a child, undressing him and setting the clothes off to the side. The giant man tweaked his nipple as he pulled Jimbo’s flightsuit off. Jimbo was further surprised to find that he was now swimming in the clothes he was wearing. "What’s going on?" he finally managed to ask.

Jennifer smiled.

"Well dear. You really shouldn’t worry your pretty little head about that." Jennifer was now a full foot taller and looked strangely familiar. She was starting to look like his father! Well, almost. Jennifer started folding her clothes back into piles and giggling. "Oh come on. You can’t be that dense. Look at yourself!" Jimbo stood and found that the room itself had grown. His mind was whirring with ideas. He raised his hand to scratch his chest.

Oh yeah, the breasts.

Jimbo looked down just in time to see the final stub of his penis disappearing. He cried out. Jennifer giggled in that baritone voice.

"Just got it, didn’t you?" Jennifer was now the spitting image of....Jimbo. He looked at the faint reflection of himself in the glass of his office. It was true; he was now the spitting image of Jennifer.

"You always did like my body." Jennifer said, "Now off with the underwear too." She walked over to him and held her hand out. She looked menacing. Jimbo balked. "Don’t make this get nasty." Jennifer told him, "’Cause I’m itching to find out what this body can do."

Against his better judgment, Jimbo stripped off his remaining clothes.

"How?" Was all the transformed man could ask. Jennifer smiled again. "This little puppy," She held out the medallion, "is called the Medallion of Zulo. It swaps people." Jimbo looked at it and then feigned a disinterest. Every survival instinct he had was on full alert. He forced himself to start admiring his new body and slowly move towards Jennifer. Jennifer started dressing in his clothes and pretended not to notice. Then, in an instant, Jimbo grabbed the amulet.

"Hah," He said, "Now we will see."

Jennifer looked up at him and smiled. She took the medallion out of his small hands and pushed him into a chair with a light shove.

"Nice try little girl. You have to wait twelve hours, little darlin’." She zipped up the flight suit and picked up his briefcase. Jennifer unlocked the door and took the pile of women’s clothes in her arm.

"Wait! You can’t leave me like this." Jimbo rushed up to the door, ignoring the fact that he was in a naked female body. "Please."

"Please?" Jennifer snorted, "You have the nerve to ask for mercy? After what you and

your friends did to those women at Tailhook? You have the gall to ask for help when you

let those women be attacked and brutalized-"

"I never-"

"Don’t lie to me. You will need help, I guarantee it, but it won’t be from me." She started out the door again, "Except that you are now allergic to strawberries. Makes you swell up something awful. Bye sweetie." She closed the door behind her. Jimbo wanted to chase her down, but then what would he do? Who would believe a word he said?

******

Jennifer unzipped the arm pocket of the flight suit and took out the car keys. LT Waters had a killer sports car and she couldn’t wait to give it a try. This was going to be so cool. Halfway to the Lieutenants apartment she stopped at a 7- eleven. Being in a flight suit, she wasn’t supposed to stop anywhere but there was something she had to do.

She went inside and bought some cigarettes and a lighter. Jimbo didn’t smoke but it always helped her to relax. She happily puffed away while waiting for the kids to get off of the pay phone. It didn’t appear that the kids were getting off the phone any time soon so she went back to the car and took the pile of clothes out of the car. She stuffed the clothes into a very full garbage can and lit up another smoke and held it between her outstretched fingers.

The receiver smelled of old beer and bad breath. She held it gingerly in her fingers and dialed the squadron.

"VF-504, this is a non-secure line. Can I help you sir or ma’am?" a young male voice said.

Jennifer composed her thought for a moment.

"The discretionary fund has been raided. Look for an embezzler." She said in a hoarse whisper.

"What?"

"An embezzler. And certain classified documents are missing too."

Silence. Jennifer was sure that the person was going through a bomb threat checklist.

The person started to say something again. Jennifer hung up.

She tossed the cigarette butt aside and squealed the tires as she drove off.

******

Jimbo assessed his situation. He was trapped, naked in the body of his Yeoman in his own office. People were on duty but how would he ever explain what had happened? Within a few hours, someone would be doing rounds and he would be caught. For the first time in many, many years, Jimbo felt like crying.

Assess, adapt, and overcome. After a moment of self-pity, Jimbo knew he would be all right. He had made it through stickier places that this. He knew if he could get to the right people, he could prove his identity.

Jimbo started rifling through filing drawers and searching under desks. He was trying to find anything to wear, anything. If this search turned up empty, he would try to sneak to the locker room where there were bound to be clothes of some kind. He had all but given up. Jimbo stood at the door, ready to throw it open and sprint the three doors down to the locker room. A row of filing cabinets ran perpendicular to the door and for the first time, he noticed that the first cabinet was standing out from the wall. Then he saw the reason, a small backpack was wedged behind it. The clothes inside looked like they were designed for a doll. He held up the wrinkled dungarees to his new body, there was no way these were going to fit. They must be Andersons’, he thought. The embroidered nametag mocked him: it read "Bimbo". But something is better than nothing so he slipped the shirt on. It would not button all the way up but he managed to fasten a few of the lower buttons. Whoever owned these clothes was built more like a twelve-year-old boy and Franks definitely was not. His breasts covered, he tried the pants. With a great effort he pulled them over his thighs but it was going to take an act of God to fasten them at all. Pulling with all his diminished might he jumped around the room and tried to fasted the pants. Every time they stopped an inch too short.

Jimbo tried lying down and that got things closer but still they would not fasten.

You are in an office, he thought, adapt.

******

Finishing her last cigarette in the pack, Jennifer put out the butt in a juice glass. In just a few hours, she had turned Jimbo’s apartment from semi-chaos to total chaos. Her mind was wired, there were so many things to do - to try. She had gone through everything that he owned. In a box of patches she had even found some Velcro nametags with the name ‘Goat’ on them. She was really enjoying trashing the place but it was getting late and she was getting tired, very tired.

Officers come in late all the time, she thought, guess I’ll sleep in tomorrow.

Happily, she scratched her ass as she went off to bed.

******

Barefoot and wearing pants held together with rubber bands and lamp cord, Jimbo did his best to be invisible. Regardless of the clothes, he felt naked and vulnerable. It was nearly a mile between the squadron and the barracks and there were no sidewalks. The side of the road was a mix of ditches and gravel, and it was the rainy season. The ditches had a stagnant layer of muck a few inches deep. Jimbo wouldn’t want to walk in them with boots let alone barefoot.

The siren shocked him into doing exactly what he didn’t want to do. He jumped into the ditch. Two flashlights shone in his eyes and a male voice boomed out. "Let’s see your ID card." One flashlight turned off and Jimbo felt himself being helped out of the ditch. The flashlight remained in his eyes.

"I lost it." Jimbo said. His voice was a perfect duplication of Franks.

"Then you’ve got problems."

"If you can get me to my barracks..." the second flashlight turned off. The group was illuminated only by the high beam headlights of the car. "Yeah, that’ll happen." One of them (bad cop?) said.

"What is your unit...Bimbo?" Bad Cop touched the name embroidered on the shirt and snickered.

"VF-504. And it isn’t Bimbo. Someone stole my clothes." "Let’s get you into the car." Good cop grabbed Jimbo’s arm in a solid grip and walked him to the car. Good cop got into the back seat as with him and cuffed his hands. The tired threw up gravel as they sped away, well above the posted speed limit. They passed the barracks. Jimbo expected that. They didn’t turn back towards the squadron. Jimbo expected that. They passed the security building, the place that people were processed at on base. In civilian terms it was the police station. The lights of it dimmed as they drove into the uninhabited parts of the base. He didn’t expect that. Embarrassment for walking around in this body and these clothes was fading quickly. In its place was cold, deep fear.

They drove on.

Eventually Bad Cop pulled the car over and opened the door. He grinned as he lit up a cigarette and stuck his head in the window.

"I’ll be back in a little bit." He grinned. Good Cop took off the handcuffs and smiled an evil smile.

Good cop wasn’t so good after all.

******

Jennifer slept fitfully; her dreams constantly went back to the family she was leaving behind. At one point after a dream of her parents not picking her out of a lineup, she woke with a start.

In the morning she would make a stop to the storage unit and the memories contained in the bins. That would make her feel better.

******

"Jenn, you’d better get up." A woman’s voice called from the door. "Chief’ll be pissed if you show up late again.

"Wha’?" Jimbo sat up groggily. He was naked on top of the covers and he felt like shit.

His hips ached and there was a stinging pain down....there. What had happened?

Vaguely he remembered the kid he knew as Good Cop whispering to him.

"You wanted it rough, right Jenn? I did it just the way you asked. Let’s get you home." He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his temples. His long blond hair fell in front of his face.

"I’m up." He said.

"So get moving. I’ll see you there." The woman said, "I’ll try to cover for you." She left.

"Thanks." Jimbo said. He had no intention of going to the squadron. He had to find Franks and get his body back....somehow.

But emotionally and physically drained, Jimbo was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

He plopped back down onto the pillow.

And Asleep.

Someone huge and terrifying was yelling at him. Jimbo jumped back and noticed that someone had thrown a sheet over him.

"Move!" the Chief screamed. "Get your clothes on right now. And open that locker!" It took a moment for Jimbo to regain his bearings. He threw off the sheet and scrambled to the locker.

"Jesus!" The Chief said, shielding his eyes from the naked woman.

"I’ve got it, Chief." LT Krista Morrison told the Chief. "Just wait outside." Gratefully, the Chief left. Jimbo stared at the locker. Sealing it was a standard combination lock.

He didn’t know the combo. Of course he didn’t.

Praying silently, he pulled on the lock. It didn’t budge. Damn! He thought.

"I can’t open it, Krista." He said and cringed at his mistake.

"What did you call me?"

"I’m sorry....Ma’am. I don’t remember the combination." "I have a solution for that. Cover yourself." She handed the sheet back to Jimbo. Krista opened the door and asked for something. A moment later a young man in camoflage entered with a pair of bolt cutters. Jimbo was relieved for a moment; at least he would have clothes. He cut the lock and opened the door. Jimbo started to reach inside. "Hold it right there." The Lieutenant told her. She stepped forward and pulled some of the clothing back from the small chest of drawers that was in the locker. "Chief, have a look at this."

The Chief shook his head.

"Gonna be a lot of trouble ma’am." He said.

"What is it?" Jimbo pushed his way to the locker. There were clothes in the locker, sure, but the majority was full of small vials of white powder and bags of bundled green weed and several documents marked ‘Secret’.

Jimbo’s heart sank. There would be no explaining this.

******

Incessant pounding woke Jennifer from her sleep. Vaguely she realized that it was still dark outside. On the way to the door she bumped her shins on nearly every piece of furniture in the place. She arrived at the door in a foul mood. "Who is it?" she croaked.

"Duty driver, sir. I’m supposed to take you to the airport."

"Now?"

"You specifically asked to be there by 4AM sir. If you let me in, I’ll get your bag." "No, I don’t think so. Wait there and I’ll be right out." Let him wait, she thought. It is good to be the officer for once.

In the morning chill, Airman Jones huddled against the door for a little warmth. In his heart of hearts he knew that this guy was a royal asshole. Jennifer saw the briefcase, still locked and on the coffee table. She didn’t know the combo. Haphazardly, she grabbed a kitchen knife and jimmied the latch. The tickets were on top.

"5 AM." She said, "Shit." She grabbed the medallion from the coffee table and threw it in. Quickly she tried to change the combo but it didn’t work. In the end she ended up holding it shut with a piece of duct tape.

Twenty minutes later, Jennifer emerged from the apartment. When she opened the door, Airman Jones fell to the floor. She stepped over him and towards the car. "Get up." She said coldly, "and get a move on."

As an aside, she realized that she wouldn’t be able to visit the storage unit.

******

Putting a bra on with an audience was a true challenge. It went easier than he expected but with that kind of pressure even tying your shoes would be a challenge. Jimbo dressed himself in Jennifer’s clothes as quickly as he could. An investigation team had arrived at the room and they chided Krista at disturbing anything but she had made the choice not to let Jimbo go naked. After Jimbo was finally dressed, he was handled roughly and taken away by the Military Police.

Jimbo had some fast talking to do.

******

"I want a lawyer." Jimbo said. "Get me representation."

"You don’t need a lawyer, Petty Officer Franks. Why did you do it?" the Ensign asked.

He was assigned by the base to look into the case. Jimbo smiled. "I didn’t do anything." He realized the tactic that the Ensign was using. On several occasions he had used it himself. Get an early confession and there is less paperwork to do. Jimbo was smarter than that. "And I am NOT Petty Officer Franks." He crossed his arms across his chest and he had to look down. Breasts do not seem to be a normal thing, he thought.

"And who exactly are you?" The Ensign asked.

"My name is Lieutenant James Waters and I am not saying anything more until I get a DAMN LAWYER."

Frustrated and bemused, the Ensign left the room. He spoke to his own Petty Officer as he passed.

"Possible Psych Case. But I think she’s faking it." He went to his own office and closed the door. This one is going to be a paperwork nightmare.

******

"Welcome to Washington DC. The current temperature is 65 degrees and the time is 2:04 PM. We’d like to thank you for flying the friendly skies..." The attendant seemed to drone on and on. Normally, at this point everyone stood and tried to push their way to the exit. Jennifer smirked as she used her new size to intimidate her way to the front and was nearly the first person off the aircraft. At the luggage carousel she remembered the briefcase. Once again, she intimidated her way to the front of a line.

"I left my briefcase on the plane." She said flashing her winning smile at the male attendant at the luggage counter. It didn’t win points here, it just made her appear really really gay.

The man tapped a few keys.

"That plane is heading to New York. When it gets there, we will retrieve your briefcase and forward it to where you are staying." The attendant looked down his nose at Jennifer. He didn’t have to be nice to stupid people.

"So you know where I am staying?"

"It’s on file."

Partially relieved, she pushed people out of the way as she went back to get her luggage.

It was early evening and Jennifer felt awkward wearing the Winter Blue uniform.

Essentially it was a dark suit but it also had rank and medals. As soon as she reached the luxury hotel that the Senator had set up she jumped into the shower. It seemed that the body she was in would never be totally clean so she fought the dirt to a draw. After a frustrating time with a stubborn tie she deemed herself ready to meet the Senator.

Her face hacked from a botched shaving job she waited for the Senator. She sat with her knees together, ankles crossed demurely to one side, her hands folded on her lap. The Senators secretary smirked; the Lieutenant was sitting like a proper young lady. The intercom chirped and the secretary picked up the receiver. "The Senator will see you now." She told Jennifer. "Love the suit, sweetie." She said with a lisp as Jennifer walked by.

******

Jimbo wore a utilitarian jumpsuit in a room with only two chairs and a table, all of which were fastened to the ground.

"Stand!" The order barked over a speaker. He stood quickly and his breasts jiggled.

They had taken his bra as soon as they admitted him to the ‘observation facililty’.

Apparently they thought he may try to hang himself.

"Hands on the table!" He placed his palms flat on the surface. Behind him, a door clicked and a woman entered.

"Please, sit down." The woman said. She had long curly hair and a pleasant demeanor.

"May I call you Jennifer?" She asked. Jimbo stayed silent but did sit down. "Fair enough. My name is Melissa, Melissa Wilson. I understand you think you are a man?"

Silence.

"This is an initial consultation. Nothing you say in here will leave this room or can be held against you. Now, you say you are a man?"

"I was a man. My Yeoman swapped bodies with me." Jimbo sighed. He knew it sounded crazy. Heck, it sounded crazier every time he said it. How many times now? It had to be at least the 15^th telling.

"So you are..." Melissa leafed through papers, "Lieutenant James Waters?"

"Yes."

"You don’t look like a James."

"No shit. Apparently you don’t want to listen either. Hell, call my family; let them ask me some questions. All I know is that I am me."

"Interesting. The Franks are an interesting couple. They will be here tomorrow."

"No, I said call MY family. Don’t you people listen?"

"I don’t understand."

"Then let’s go over it again, slowly."

******

"Lieutenant, do come in." The Senator waved Jennifer into the office. "Leslie, no interruptions please. I am Senator Schaefer." She held her hand out to Jennifer who took the hand in a crushing grip. The assistant left. The door closed. "It worked." Jennifer said. She collapsed onto the couch and put her feet on the coffee table.

"What worked, exactly?" The Senator asked warily and sat at her desk. She was not going to be caught in some stupid confession.

"The plan!" Jennifer said. Senator Schaefer leaned forward and tapped her fingers together in front of her nose. Still skeptical, she arched an eyebrow in an unspoken question.

"We swapped! The medallion worked." Jennifer took her feet off the table. Was the Senator up to something?

"So you have something for me?"

"Um, not at the moment. I...uh...left it on the plane." Jennifer paused for a moment and then started speaking quickly. "Don’t worry, they are sending it to the hotel. Please don’t be mad."

"For the sake of argument, let’s say what you are telling me is true. Why should I believe you? What was promised?"

"You mean my own squadron?" Jennifer looked hopeful and clapped her hands. "Fine Jennifer. But let’s not use that name anymore, shall we?" the Senator relaxed, this really was the swapped girl. "It is good to finally meet you in person." Her entire demeanor changed and suddenly the Senator was warm and happy. Jennifer smiled happily and stood for a hug.

The Senator hugged her warmly and then took a step back. Her face went cold again and she slapped Jennifer’s face, hard. She turned and picked a newspaper off of her desk and handed it to Jennifer.

"But you have caused some other problems."

******

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A case of military drug trafficking has revealed a network of corruption and illegal activity to the Navy’s highest levels. Petty Officer Jennifer Franks of Fighter Squadron 504 has been arrested on drug trafficking charges at Miramar Naval Air Station. Investigators have now discovered that Petty Officer Franks was the point person in a game of embezzlement, fraud, and espionage. It is believed that Franks has stolen sensitive military technology as well as the theft of millions of dollars from several military funds.

Official sources have declined comment at this time but one person from the same unit has said "She was a nice girl but you could tell that she had something up her sleeve. (Franks) always wanted more and she didn’t care who she (hurt) to get it." Franks case has reached national status due to possible allegations of her connection to the Moroni family, which has been the center of a series of racketeering investigations. Petty Officer Franks is in custody and is currently undergoing psychological evaluation.

******

"I hope you covered your tracks." Senator Schaefer said, "Because you have brought down the wrath of God." The Senator walked to the door and stood by the coat rack and coughed. "We are late for dinner. Remember you are a gentleman now, help a lady on with her coat."

Begrudgingly, Jennifer stood and helped the Senator. It practically took a kick in the shin before the Senator could get her to open the door.

******

"What the heck are these for?" Jimbo asked. Melissa was attaching sensors all over his chest and attaching them to a pack on the side of the bed. For two days they had discussed the situation and Melissa was starting to doubt her own sense. "We have to monitor your vitals. It’s all standard procedure." It wasn’t standard procedure at all, Melissa thought, but it might hold up. "I have a few errands to do, Jennifer. But I’ll be back in a couple hours. You can watch TV if you want. She turned the television on and left the remote by the door. Jimbo was stuck watching the single channel with no hope of turning it off.

Melissa didn’t go far. The adjoining room was for observation through a one-way glass. On two small monitors, she watched the show that was on the television and his vital signs.

A comedy played first and she took great care to monitor the readouts. She had a baseline. The entire production was a tape. The news came on next. "Two unknown people have been killed in Des Moines, Iowa if anyone has knowledge to the identity of these people (a split screen picture of a man and a woman filled the screen) they should contact authorities immediately."

Interesting, Melissa thought, there was no reaction at all to the death of her parents. Now for the interesting one.

The scene shifted to a man-on-the-street style interview. "So, what do you think about the recent increase in gas prices?" A faceless voice asked an older woman.

"I think it is terrible that we are being taken advantage of." The woman said. Jimbo sat up.

The scene cut to a young man.

"I heard about this happening in the seventies. I hope it doesn’t get that bad again."

A young, pretty woman.

"We know the government is doing what they can."

An older man.

"It’s the taxes and the damned environmentalists."

"What the hell?" Jimbo yelled. "Are you through, Melissa? Melissa!" The people being interviewed were his family and ex-girlfriend. This was a setup. Very quickly the door latched clicked and Melissa entered the room. "I’m through Jim." She said quietly and sat on the foot of the bed, "But how do we get you back to your body?"

******

Three days later, Jennifer pouted in the Senators’ office. "Have you found the medallion yet?" Senator Schaefer was not happy. This idiot had lost the irreplaceable.

"No ma’am. The airline said they sent it to me but no one has seen it. I’m giving hotel security a hard time. It’s only a matter of time." Jennifer tried to sound confident but didn’t quite pull it off. Her uniform was rumpled and was starting to smell a bit. Jimbo hadn’t packed for more than one day and Schaefer insisted that he remain in uniform to show her support of the people in the service.

Jennifer scratched indiscriminately and, on a whim, had decided to grow a moustache. People started to avoid her, mainly because of the smell. Jennifer loved being a guy; you didn’t have to worry about ANYTHING.

The phone rang and the Senator picked it up. After closing her eyes for a moment to attempt to will herself back to composure, she turned on the television. "The largest manhunt in the history of the southwest. Notorious spy and drug kingpin Jennifer Franks has escaped. Agents in all states are on the alert. If you see this woman (Jennifers old picture filled the screen), notify authorities immediately. She is to be considered armed and dangerous."

The Senator turned the sound of the television off and sat at her desk. She didn’t say a word to Jennifer while she typed a short command into her computer. Finally she looked up.

"I am afraid you are more of a liability than an asset at the moment, James. Your bungling may call undue attention to this office. Our quest for justice is a higher calling. And with a higher calling you have to be prepared to make sacrifices..." Two large men entered the room, guns drawn. One of them jerked her around and started putting handcuffs on her. The other started reading a litany of rights. "Ta ta, James. I’m sure you understand." The Senator smirked as the Jennifer was led from the room.

******

"Sources on Capitol Hill have confirmed that the investigation of Franks and Waters has uncovered a massive conspiracy within the Naval Aviation community. Links to drug trafficking and money laundering are being found at every level. Pentagon sources are denying reports that they have been concealing a massive criminal organization and are claiming a frame-up. As the evidence mounts against Lieutenant Waters an extensive manhunt still continues for Petty Officer Franks, his co-conspirator and, some say, lover. Many believe that Franks has left the country and is seeking refuge amongst our enemies.

This is Anna Korsey, CNN, reporting from Washington DC."

******

Harm was exhausted and his body ached. He just wasn’t that young anymore but at least there was one less terrorist organization in the world. All he wanted was a good nights sleep and a little piece.

He grabbed his suitcase out of the car and fumbled with his keys. Isolated from the news for two weeks, the Admiral had only just told him about the charges against Jimbo a half hour ago. Harm insisted on seeing his friend right away, but the Admiral had ordered him home to get some rest. Everything would wait until morning. Scenarios started washing over him. Franks, he had seen the pictures, was a little sex machine. Maybe she talked him into something. Jimbo was always weak that way. Hell, maybe aliens have set him up. He had seen some weird stuff in his day, not much surprised him anymore.

He grabbed the doorknob to the apartment and held the key to the lock. Slowly, the door swung open. Someone had made it past his alarm system. Or had he forgotten to set it? He set the bag down and grabbed a bat from the closet. Check the alarm, he thought. He found it disarmed.

It was late; there was a chance that whoever was in here was still around. Stealthily, he checked the open doors. No one. Maybe he had forgotten to set it. He stood in his living room, and lowered the bat. A faint light from a streetlight cast long shadows in the room.

"Harm." A woman’s voice said. She sounded scared. Harm whirled and raised the bat again. The woman screamed.

"No!" She reached for the lamp and turned it on. A small woman sat in the chair, her legs brought against her chest defensively. Harm recognized her. "Petty Officer Franks?" Harm asked. It looked like the same woman, just with black hair instead of blonde.

"No, Harm. It’s me....Jimbo." the woman said, "And I need your help. Help me get my life back."

 

To be continued...

 

 

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© 2001 by Joan Banks. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.