The tight fit of the underwear was definitely strange but even more so was the feeling of them laying flat against me. The thing I had before always seemed to get in the way rather than have any use, but it was nonetheless a signification of my manhood and was therefore important. The way the panties laid on me was a constant reminder of the change.

  I glanced at the other two in the room with me but they had turned around to give me privacy so I was able to relax slightly. I was already embarrassed enough by having to do this, let alone being watched while I did so. I picked up the plain, military-gray tee from the bed and pulled it over my head. It was a rather loose-fitting shirt so it dangled a quarter of the way down my thighs.

  I was used to loose-fitting shirts, but I hadn’t worn many that were oversized for me. The way the fabric rubbed against my new assets reminded me of their existence and my mind was rattled at the feeling. It was subtle, but the way the fabric felt on my nipples was a completely alien sensation. Everything was reminding me of how this wasn’t my body–or at least the one I’m used to.

  Lastly was a pair of leggings, though they seemed much less daunting now that I was wearing a pair of women’s underwear. I didn’t waste time slipping them on, they felt strange pulling up something so tight on hairless legs.

  I looked down to examine myself but immediately turned my gaze away while blushing. ‘I really look like a girl…’

  The easiest part was the socks, as they were the most similar to something I would wear.

  “Alright, I’m changed,” I said, waiting for the two to turn around.

  Though they both turned at the same time, Riley spoke up first. “Woah, that’s hella cute on you. You can definitely pull off the ‘lazy but put together’ girl vibe if you want to.” Her smile was infectious but I wasn’t sure how to take her words.

  There it was again, that strange feeling bubbling up in me as she called me cute. I tried to ignore the comment in favor of asking the next steps but Zara spoke up first.

  “Alright, so, let’s get you settled in, I got a message from Reed–the Captain that we’ll stop by Cerulean to pick you up actual clothes of your own, but that won’t be for a couple of days. Anything you need in the meantime we can print.”

  I tilted my head in confusion. “Print? What do you mean?”

  A brief glimpse of surprise flashed across her face but Zara quickly hid it, though Riley’s surprise remained.

  “We can use the fabricator, it can make pretty much anything you need, but the fuel is expensive so we typically save it for necessities like food or emergency medicine,” Zara explained as she grabbed the medical gown, stashing it in a laundry bin.

  “Wait, you didn’t have fabricators on New Eden?” Riley questioned and I nodded.

  “N-no? That…really sounds like a miracle technology. It can make…anything?”

  “Oh, dude. We’ve got so much cool shit to show you. Fabricators are barely the start!” Riley’s voice was filled with excitement as my view of the universe continued to get larger, “We’ve got nanobots, holo-realms, really a bunch of cool stuff, honestly. This stuff is gonna blow your mind!”

  Zara continued to smile but started heading to the door. It slid open as she approached and she turned to wait for us both.

  “Well, seeing as you will be staying with us for a little while, why don’t we give you a tour?”

  My eyes lit up as Zara spoke. I had seen a spaceship on a school trip before but had never been inside one. The teacher had warned us how the start of spaceflight was the beginning of humanity’s decline into sin, but I could form my own opinions. They still used the technology for protection and trade yet said anyone who left the planet without the word of God was a sinner.

  “Yes please!” The words could not have flowed out of my mouth faster.

  Zara let out a small giggle while Riley grinned wide.

  “Well, I have a bit of work to finish here so why don’t you two head out and get a look around? Though I’d say the bottom floor isn’t a good idea to head to right now since you don’t have shoes. Everywhere else should be okay and I’ll message Riley when we’re ready to meet everyone,”

  Riley grabbed my hand and was about to pull me through the door but Zara stopped us one more time.

  “Oh, Cassie, this is important,” she stares me down with a mixed look, “I need to know if you would like a nanite injection. I know they are heavily looked down upon on your home planet, but they would let you interact with the rest of the ship and galaxy, as well as give you access to augmented reality.”

  I stared at her, my thoughts racing at the possible implications of a nanite injection. I’ve heard that many people used nanobots for things like augmented reality, health monitoring, and interacting with systems, but I had never considered the possibility of having one myself. They were deemed illegal on New Eden.

  “But, you can tell me later when we all have our meeting. For now, enjoy yourself and welcome aboard.”

  The ship had a fairly simplistic layout with three floors. The administrative and scientific rooms were up top, secured by an airlock so any important information while the middle floor was for residential and biologic needs. Riley promised to show me around the engineering floor and hangar on the bottom floor after I got shoes. She was rather insistent on it being her, something about finishing what she started. It was rather cute how excited she got about everything. Though my instinct was still to be wary of her, she was very quickly growing on me with her positive enthusiasm.

  “So…You know how we skipped this room earlier?” Riley asked me, suddenly stopping in front of a door on the top floor. “I was saving the best for last.”

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  I tilted my head as I looked at her, everything had been so amazing so far that I had no idea how she could top it off. The scientific lab had been my favorite, I wondered if I would be allowed to use it before returning home.

  The door slid open at Riley’s command and my jaw dropped.

  “Welcome to the observation room!”

  I stepped through the door and my mind reeled from the sight. There wasn’t much in the room besides some chairs and relaxation areas, but the main feature was the giant window on the far wall. Through it, you could see space in its entirety.

  I slowly stepped forward as if propelled by something despite being stunned. The void of space was not as void as people made it out to be. Everywhere I looked stars shined and planets waited. Looking down I could see a large portion of New Eden in its green glory. Looking at the planet from above like this made all of the problems I had there feel so small. I had just been one part of an ever-expanding universe, stuck in my little corner. From up here it felt like I had just obtained an invincible shield.

  “Cool, huh? Zara said you liked space,” Riley smiled at me as she walked up next to me, “so I figured this might be a good place to show you.”

  I didn’t reply, my eyes still stuck on the scene of beauty in front of me. This time, tears began to flow freely, with my mind too preoccupied to think to stop them.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry! I thought you would like it,” Riley panicked as she stepped in front of me, “I really, really did!”

  I shook my head, the tears not stopping but I smiled at her.

  “I-...I do,” I could barely manage the words and they came out just barely above a whisper.

  My words didn’t seem to fully satisfy Riley, but after a moment she stepped beside me again to give me my space to look.

  “I-I never thought,” I paused, trying to find my words, “I never thought I would actually see the day where I got to be here.”

  Riley looked out at the vast expanse in curiosity like she couldn’t quite see what I was seeing.

  “You wanted to come out here? I thought Purists were super against that.”

  I took a moment before replying as I wasn’t sure how to voice my feelings. It was complicated trying to listen to what my home had explained to me and what I knew in my heart to be true. Space wasn’t some terrifying fall of humanity, it was the ascension of it.

  “I did. I…I’m kinda a failure as a Purist. I could never get my mind away from what was up here. I wanted more than anything to explore,” my voice was shaky as the words left my mouth. I had never fully verbalized my feelings about space before and it felt as terrifying as it was liberating.

  I turned my head to look at Riley, her skin and bioluminescence still were unsettling to me but she was a good person. She had been so enthusiastic in showing me around despite my initial reaction to her.

  “I’m sorry,” my voice shook as I looked over at Riley.

  “Huh? For what?”

  “I judged you on something you couldn’t control. I know I already apologized for it but that was in the heat of the moment. We’re gonna be around each other for the next little while and I just wanted to make sure you know that I’m sorry and will try my best to never do that again.”

  Riley stared at me slackjawed for a long moment. I couldn’t tell what was going through her head but I turned to face the window again.

  “Look, my life has been turned upside down and I gave you a terrible introduction to me, yet you’ve been so kind regardless. Thank you for being so amazing to me. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better group of people to rescue me.”

  There’s a long lull of silence while I stare into space and Riley processes my words. Somehow being up here made me feel stronger.

  “Well,” Riley giggled, “We were kinda the ones to cause the mess, so why don’t we call it even?”

  I didn’t know whether to tell her that that wasn’t what I meant or not. They rescued me from being trapped down on that planet with nothing going for me. I would spend my time constantly researching space phenomena without having any hope of putting that into practice and having no other skills to show for it. I never fit in on New Eden, I was always weird and was ridiculed for it. My family situation couldn’t have been worse as the years went on.

  They saved me from the hell that was paradise.

  I give her a smile and nod, deciding not to express those feelings quite yet. I needed some time to process them. After all, this was only a temporary trip. I would be right back to where I was soon enough but it was nice to at least have this for a little while.

  We stood in silence for a while longer, simply staring out into the void of space. It was peaceful and her presence there with me only made me feel safer than ever. I was untouchable up here.

  It was a few minutes later when Riley finally spoke up, looking off in the distance at something I couldn’t seem to see.

  “Oh, I just got a message that we’re supposed to meet at the bridge for the jump, then we’ll be introducing everyone afterward.”

  I give a nod and turn toward the door, walking beside Riley.

  “So how long is this trip going to take? Beta quadrant is a ways away, right?” I asked as we started making the short trip to the airlock that separated the vital areas from the rest of the ship.

  “Oh, well we have to stop by Cerulean first, need to refuel and then it depends on how fast the captain wants to get you there. If we go standard speed then it may take a week or two. Though take my words with a grain of salt, I’m just a fighter, not a navigator.”

  It was strange stepping into the airlock for the second time. It felt like it would trap us in but I knew safety features on a ship like this would never let that happen.

  “Actually, I haven’t asked yet what this ship's purpose is. Are you all local police or part of the IUN’s military?” Though I doubted both at the lack of procedure that this ship seemed to have, I wasn’t sure what else they could be.

  “Hmm…I suppose the closest thing would be mercenaries. We get jobs from whomever and whatever. The last mission we went on was bounty hunting, but we’ve done all kinds of things from exploring to research to even diplomatic missions.” The airlock’s cycle was quick so as soon as she finished off her sentence, the door opened for us to enter the hallway again.

  My mind raced with excitement at her words. These people were adventurers like I had always wanted to be!

  “Wait, really? I figured a ship like that would be a lot less expensive-looking,” I said before realizing my words could be taken the wrong way, “not that I’m saying anything against you guys, I mean.”

  Riley let out a giggle that released the tension from me, “Oh, yeah normally that’d be the case but Captain Reed used to be some high up IUN military person and was able to get this ship for free. We also get some pretty good contracts through his connections so it works out.”

  “Woah, that’s lucky. How’d you get to join the crew? I’ve always dreamed of being an explorer, I’m jealous.”

  Riley looks at me with a curious expression, like she wants to say something but isn’t sure she should.

  “Well, I was actually picked up during the Corporate Wars. Arlen saw how I was able to fight in the Freedom Corps and invited me to join. I turned him down at first but when the war ended I took him up on it. That was like two years ago now.”

  My mind shattered with the new information. I hadn’t known any wars were going on.

  “Corporate Wars…? I’m sorry, they didn’t teach that on New Eden. I’m not really sure what that is.”

  Riley stops and stares at me wide-eyed for a second in the middle of the hallway.

  Suddenly, she burst out laughing, “Damn, no offense but you really are a sheltered girl, aren’t you?”

  I flinched at her words and Riley instantly stopped laughing, looking worried.

  “Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it, I just thought it was kinda cute.”

  She was confused as to what I flinched at. Her words suddenly reminded me of a fact that I had forgotten sometime during the tour. I was a girl.

  “No, no, you’re fine. Promise. C’mon, I’m really excited to see the jump, never seen one before!” I deflect the conversation and gesture for us to start walking again.

  Riley looks at me with concern for a moment longer but smiles.

  “Alright, this is gonna blow your mind.”