(Note: This is a sequel to, and contains spoilers for, 'Mirror Universe Turnabout')
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Fixing mirrors in front of treadmills has been standard practice in gymnasia since forever, and those in the gymnasium on board the ISS Enterprise were no exception. Most people running on them are happy with this arrangement; they like to watch themselves as they exercise. I don't, not anymore. I'm James T. Kirk, former captain of the starship Enterprise, but that's not who my reflection shows me. No, gazing back unhappily from my mirror is Janice Lester, a civilian, a tomb-raider, and a woman. The original Janice Lester swapped our bodies and fitted me with an undetectable 'bio-collar' that prevents me from telling anyone who I really am. She's dead now, killed by Spock when he decided to take command of the Enterprise.
As a civilian, I have no official role aboard one of the Empire's military vessels. My continued presence on board is solely because Captain Spock tolerates it, and then only as long as I remain the concubine of Nyota Uhura, his personal yeoman, who has a file on Janice Lester's criminal activities that would find its way to the authorities should I ever try to leave her. Oh, and did I also mention that Uhura too used to be a man? Her name was Arthur Coleman. Like me she was mind-swapped by the real Janice Lester, who then destroyed Coleman's body with the original Uhura's mind in it.
With this body being smaller and weaker than my old one, all this gym work is a lot harder than it used to be, but I'm determined to get as fit as I can. As with other areas where socializing occurs on the Enterprise, the gym was also useful for picking up gossip as to where the ship was going and what it was up to, things I had once decided but was no longer even entitled to be informed about.
"Any idea what the Captain was up to when he took a shuttle down to Aragon IV yesterday?" asked the redshirt running in place on the treadmill next to my own.
"No, and so far as I can tell nor does anyone else," said his buddy on the next treadmill over, "what I do know is that that little side trip of his means we'll now have to travel through some uncharted systems to make our rendezvous with the Archangel next week."
Ah yes, the ISS Archangel, sister ship to the Potemkin. Most of the crew believed we were meeting with her to transfer supplies - which we were - but there was another reason for it they did not know about, something which was top secret. As Captain Kirk I'd received orders concerning the latter a month ago. My plan to become a man again depends on what happens during that rendezvous so I had to make absolutely sure I was ready before then.
My session on the treadmill was the final part of my morning exercise regime, so as soon as it was finished I grabbed a towel and headed out of the gym, towelling myself off as I made my way to the turbolift. I would shower when I got back to the quarters I now shared with Uhura.
Arriving at our deck, I exited the turbolift and was making my way along the corridor when someone reached out from a side corridor and pulled me into it. He slammed me against the wall, winding me, and thrust his hand between my legs.
"Been watching you for days," he said. "S'not fair for Uhura to have a fine lookin' woman like you when there's men on board with no women of their own."
I recognised him as Kevin Riley from engineering. He had been drinking.
"You shouldn't be doing this, Riley," I said, trying to struggle free of his grip and realising to my horror that I couldn't.
"Why not," he said, leering, "who's going to stop me?"
"That would me, laddie," said Mr Scott, looming up behind Riley, grabbing him by the shoulder, and throwing him aside. Riley bounced off the opposite wall and ended up in a heap on the floor.
"Ye've been at the demon drink!" thundered Scotty. "You know I won't tolerate those under me drinking alcohol. Your agonizer, Lieutenant, if you please."
He held his hand out to Riley, who now suddenly looked both very sober and very nervous. Meekly, he got to his feet, unclipped the agonizer from his belt, and handed it over to Scotty, who promptly pressed it to the other man's chest and activated it. Riley cried out, his face contorting as the pain drove him to his knees. I smiled with satisfaction at the sight. When I was a man again and once more captain of the Enterprise I was going to see to it that Riley spent several sessions in the agony booth. I was more shaken by his assault than I wanted to admit to myself, and my overwhelming instinct was to want to make him suffer for making me feel so vulnerable.
"Thanks for the save, Mr Scott," I said when he lifted the agonizer from his now whimpering subordinate.
"Thanks?! Thanks?!" he shouted, turning on me. "This as much your fault as his, lassie. Look at you in your harlot's clothing with all that flesh on display, inflaming men's passions and leading them astray!"
'Harlot's clothing'? I was wearing a sports bra, baggy leggings, a headband, gym shoes, and sweatbands on my wrists, so hardly anyone's idea of seductive clothing. Not that Scotty was amenable to reason by this point. Fanatically teetotal, the Enterprise's chief engineer was opposed to 'sin' in all its forms.
"This ship is awash in alcohol and fornication!" he declared, his eyes glowing with the fervour of his disapproval.
"I'm sure it is," I agreed, "but I really do have to go now. Bye, and thanks again!"
I slipped away before Scotty could say anything. As soon as I was out of his sight I slumped against the corridor wall, trembling. Damn this body, damn it to Hades! I hated it!. I'd always been strong and I missed the confidence, the swagger that strength gave me. Uhura was on Spock's team and so, by extension, I enjoyed the protection she did, but that still hadn't prevented me from being groped and having my butt slapped. The men of the Enterprise seemed to feel entitled to do this, laughing at any protest I might make. When I was a man I'd also laughed at that stuff, seeing it as nothing more than harmless fun, but it wasn't as much fun when you were on the receiving end. Riley's assault, though, had been different. If Scotty hadn't come along, he'd have raped me. I touched my hand to the side of my mouth, surprised to find a small trickle of blood there. I'd snagged my lip on a tooth when Riley threw me against that wall and hadn't even noticed until now. It wasn't any sort of major injury, but I still decided to head down to sickbay to get it fixed.
Unlike most of the crew, Christine Chapel wore her agonizer on her chest like a brooch. When I entered sickbay I found her leaning against a bed, depressing the agonizer's button and sending short, sharp shocks into herself. She stopped and slowly focussed her eyes on me, her breathing shallow. There was a film of sweat on her brow.
"Jus' a little pick-me-up," she said, "helps...get me started in the morning."
Nurse Chapel was the only person on board I knew of who used their agonizer for pleasure.
"What can I do for you, Janice?"
"It's my lip."
"Ah, I see. Nothing a few seconds with a tissue regenerator won't fix. How did it happen?"
I told her.
"Yes, you need to watch out for Riley," she said. "He can be a mean drunk."
"I thought being Uhura's woman and her being under the captain's protection would shield me more, but it hasn't stopped me from being groped."
"Nothing will," said Christine, "that's part of a woman's lot. It stinks, but we just have to put up with it. It would be nice if more men learned to keep their hands to themselves, but I'm not holding my breath."
"I hated feeling that helpless when Riley assaulted me. I know some moves but without the strength to back them up they're not much use against someone his size. I'm exercising a lot, slowly building my strength up, but I'm not there yet. I need an equalizer."
Christine looked at me for a moment, then reached into a drawer.
"I may have something," she said, pulling out a ring. "The men don't know about these and we don't want them finding out, so only use them in an emergency, like the situation with Riley."
"What does it do?" I said, slipping it onto my right ring finger.
"Put it close to an agonizer and it causes that agonizer to fire off a single short pulse. Since men wear them on their belts...well, let's just say this usually brings tears to their eyes. They assume it's an agonizer malfunction, and as long as the rings are used sparingly they'll be none the wiser. Too many reports of 'misfiring' agonizers and the game's up."
"Thanks," I said, "are there any other guys I need to be careful of, besides Riley?"
"There are always other guys, and on every ship the women compare notes. I'll give you a list of those you want to be careful never to be alone with in a turbolift..."
This was a depressing introduction to the perils of being a woman and it made me even more determined to pursue my plan of finding my way across to that other universe and stealing the body of their Jim Kirk. Fortunately, I knew how to cross over. The transporter accident that breached the wall between our universes might have resulted in my first trip there, but my second visit was by choice. It had come about a couple of months ago, when I was chosen for that special mission to steal their Spock's brain...