Amelia walked out first upon the bridge, with Kitty following close behind her. "May I have your attention, please?" Amelia boomed from upon the quarterdeck. When everybody turned their attention upon the Captain and the girl, they stopped working and/or talking and just stared at the two. Kitty looked back at everyone, her face looking like Amelia's: impassive and in charge.
"Now, all hands," Amelia said, loudly and clearly. "I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you all to Ms. Kitty Petro. She will be our newest member of this spacer family and crew."
Everyone aboard, whether cadet or seasoned spacer cheered her. Kitty looked about herself in wonder at all the speacies that were before her. By the ship's wheel stood a pachyderm-like being smiling politely at her. She then turned her attention to a avian, eagle-like creature that waved from up in the crow´s nest. A ursinid was conversing with a simian spacer near the main mast. Then, she spotted a unique being working on the deck just below the quarterdeck, a fellow that made her eyes go wide and her heart pound. There stood a strikingly handsome young male felinid, looking up at her as he took a break from his mopping of the deck. That must be the cabin boy, Kitty thought to herself. She looked over to Amelia, who smiled back at her.
"Now, there's one thing that must be completely clear to one and all," Amelia said to her crew and the cadets aboard. "And, that is that if any of you were to be foolish enough to try flirting with Ms. Petro here, you will most likely find yourselves with quite a fight on your hands. Mark my words. One from Kitty here, and then one second one from me. Is this understood, gentlemen?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" the entire class of cadets said quickly as one.
Kitty stepped forward to address them then. "I just want to say that I look forward to getting to know you all better. Now, since it's my way of thinking that the truth is always the way to go, I will let you all in on one little secret of mine..." Kitty then murmured something quietly and she started to metamorphisize. Her ears became longer and pointed. Her nose and mouth turned into a muzzle and her eyes became much larger. Her whole body changed, both her phsyique and anatomy. When this changing stopped Kitty shaked her head. She turned smiling to the gaping spacers and cadets. "As you can now probably tell, I can perform magic of a sort," Kitty said. "Up to now, I have lived a pretty horrible life. From this point on, I intend to start over...from scratch: new place, new friends, and a new species. This will be me for now. Accept it."
She nodded politely (of course!), smiled and headed back to the stateroom she now shared with Amelia. She smiled at Amelia whose eyes wore a look of distinct surprise at what had just occurred on her quarterdeck. Once fully inside, Kitty smiled at her own reflection in Amelia's mirror. Her face was indeed very much like Amelia's whit minor changes. She didn't have the small mole---to the right and just above her upper lip---and her hair was golden blonde instead of red like Amelia's. That golden hair of hers was quite short, unlike Amelia's nearly shoulder length auburn locks.
As Kitty admired herself in the mirror, Amelia entered.
"So, do you like my new style?" Kitty asked, a hint of a grin on her new felinid face. Amelia rolled her eyes, sighed, and shook her head.
"Kitty? Might I ask you why told everyone aboard about your magic abilities?" Amelia inquired, a bit exasperated.
Kitty waved away Amelia's concern. "Oh, that! Hey, they would of figured it out after a while anyway," Kitty said, still smiling.
"I see. So, might I take it that you mean to perform more of this so-called 'magic' of yours then?" Amelia asked, her face wary but guarded.All she got for a response was the sound of a drum roll, then a fanfare of trumpets, followed by Kitty's voice saying, "That is correct! You win the grand prize, especially chosen just for you!" That grandiose statement was then followed by a round of ardent applause.
Amelia looked up, then scowled over at Kitty, whose shoulders were now shaking from her restrained laughter.
"How drolly amusing, Ms. Petro," Amelia observed dryly. "I do hope you keep your amazing sense of humor tomorrow once your spacer training begins."
"Of course it will, Amelia," Kitty replied. Kitty then frowned thinking. "Um, by the way, er, just what's that cabin boy's name again?" Kitty hoped that Amelia wouldn't place too much importance upon her asking that question.
"He would be one Alexander Dalley," Amelia responded.
"Hmm...Alexander," Kitty mused aloud. "Pretty cute name for a pretty cute fella...who'd of thought?"
"I see," was all Amelia said, though she did raise one slender auburn eyebrow in just the barest hint of surprise. Kitty turned, and didn't see the wheels working behind those clever green eyes of Amelia, as she moved into Amelia's sleeping chambers to get herself some much needed sleep...