Xora 3: Shell Game

by Brandy Dewinter

 

Prelude

 

As the human Federation expanded into space, they discovered a race of shape-changing symbionts. These symbionts, when bonded to a human host, formed a featureless covering that provided armor and camouflage and protection from environmental hazards such as noxious gases. The symbionts were also able to control the body chemistry of their hosts, and through controlled pressure on the surface, gradually change their shape. The Federation took advantage of this by bonding the symbionts to Field Agents, who used the protections offered by their alien partners to accomplish trouble-shooting missions within the Federation.

The leadership of the Federation thought the protection of their hosts was all reflexive on the part of the alien symbionts, but unknown to the politicians and bureaucrats, the symbionts were sentient. Even the hosts could not really confirm or take advantage of this until the fortuitous combination of a Federation Field Agent with a high psi rating and a symbiont with equivalent abilities. That Field Agent was Commander Tryx, and she was able to engage in direct mental communication with her alien partner. She took advantage of her situation to request that her symbiont, Bee, use his abilities to make her even more beautiful than before, plus indulge her personal fetishes by providing her with a matchlessly small waist and feet made for towering high heels. Her experiences and first mission when she joined with an alien were documented in "Symbiont" by Lissa.

On the basis of her success, she convinced the Federation leadership to select a bonding candidate with similarly high psi rating and intelligence instead of from among the ranks of proven Field Agents. The first candidate chosen under these criteria was a mid-grade communications officer, Lieutenant Commander Xora, who had been living a sedentary and virtually anonymous life within the faceless bureaucracy of the Federation.

The good news that resulted when Xora bonded with a symbiont was that a similarly high degree of integration was achieved. Xora could converse with his symbiont and together they demonstrated superior performance on their post-bonding trials. In addition and as confirmation that they had achieved a high-order bonding, Xora was able to show a normal human appearance instead of the featureless, manikin-like blankness of ordinary pairings. However, the bad news was that Xora's symbiont, who took the name Titania, was highly competitive with Tryx's Bee and decided her superiority would show best if Xora appeared female as well - whether Xora wanted it or not. Over the course of their first night as a bonded pair, Titania caused Xora's hair to grow long, his bosom to expand, and his waist to shrink within her tight corset-like embrace. Soft tissue was even easier for her to modify, and when Xora woke up in the morning 'she' was essentially a woman.

However, though the mirror showed a woman - and a very pretty one - Xora still moved like a man. She needed to learn feminine motions in a hurry before reporting to her commanding officer, Admiral Jones, and so she selected and absorbed a disk of hypnotically impressed skills. She didn't really know what skills the disk contained, beyond a quick review that showed hair as long as she now displayed, plus grace and beauty. She selected her disk based on that plus the job title, which seemed relevant to her previous career as a communications technician. Unfortunately, the communications at which a 20th century 'call girl' excelled were not the same as Xora's old job entailed.

Still, it caused her to become extremely sensuous and to move with a grace and femininity fully in line with her new beauty.

Admiral Jones had a critical, high-priority mission that would be extremely risky for anyone not symbiont-enhanced, yet it was an undercover mission for which only Commander Tryx and the newly-joined Xora were viable candidates as only they could present a normal - although very beautiful - appearance. And Tryx was not available for the mission.

The planet Machovia was requesting admission to the Federation. However, there were disturbing rumors that the Machovians did not abide by the Federation rules against cruel and unusual punishment - especially for their women. A Field Agent - a female agent - needed to go to Machovia undercover to determine if their society was ready to join the Federation. Xora volunteered.

She never even got past the space port before a corrupt Machovian magistrate arrested her on trumped-up charges and ordered her imprisoned. Her sentence was 'public service', achieved through participation in cruel games pitting one bound woman against another. Despite a night in prison spent in conditions that would have made a normal woman nearly helpless, Xora managed to win her event - a ponygirl race in which she pulled a cart driven by a Machovian Champion named Eryx. But instead of winning her freedom, she was arrested again by the magistrate on yet another unfair charge. This time, he promised her she would become a slave on his farm - disappearing without a trace from the Federation.

With the help of her symbiont - and eventually from the Machovian Champion Eryx - Xora managed to escape and return to her base. The Machovians were kept from wider interaction with the Federation, and she gained a personal reputation for physical skill because she had beaten the Machovian ponygirl champion in her cart race. This adventure was recorded in "Whose Body Is It, Anyway?"

Since her first mission had been so strenuous, Admiral Jones decided to let her have an easy one for her second assignment. The people of Teton respected physical skills and on the basis of her success in the ponygirl race, Xora had been invited to visit their planet as an honored VIP. Admiral Jones hoped to recruit the hard-working, practical Tetons to join the Federation, and he suggested an additional opportunity for Xora to participate in an ongoing criminal investigation in the hopes that she might show how membership in the Federation could benefit the Teton people. The timing did not allow her to complete her formal Field Agent training and she had to depart without learning the skills a normal mission would require. The assignment was not considered challenging, however, as there was no requirement that she solve the criminal case - a series of kidnappings - and when not working on the investigation, she could enjoy her VIP status.

When she arrived at Teton, she met Darius, the man in charge of the criminal investigation. He was not impressed by her Federation background and did not welcome her interference with his work. Nonetheless, he was ordered to allow her to accompany him. In the course of examining the latest kidnapping victim's apartment, Xora - with Titania's help - discovered a bit of mud that had traces of complex hydrocarbons. It turned out that these traces linked the mud to the mining claims of Sstton, a local commissar. When he realized she had discovered his link to the crimes, Sstton kidnapped her and transported her to his holdings where he released her only to hunt her down as prey.

Xora turned the tables on Sstton and ended up harrying him into a swamp, where he refused to surrender, but then was killed by wild creatures. Teaming with Inspector Darius, they captured the rest of Sstton's criminal gang. Alone, together, in the wilds of Sstton's holdings, they came to respect each other - and eventually Xora learned how much she could enjoy the sensual femininity of her new body. So did Darius.

Xora's second adventure was recorded in "Xora 2: Dangerous Game".

 

 

 

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© 2003 by Brandy Dewinter. 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.