jumpsuit and a very amused smile. Tight coils of chartreuse hair sprung out from her head, making Cherry think of the Statue of Liberty's crown. The woman seemed to be patiently waiting for her to stop gawking.
"Greetings," the woman finally said in a deep contralto voice. "Are you well?"
The instant the woman spoke, the man started to swivel his chair around but stopped abruptly and donned the black eye patch before turning the rest of the way to face her. That seemed odd to Cherry but she had too many other concerns to question it. As he rose, she thought his expression looked somewhat contrite... until he opened his mouth.
"It's about time," he said abruptly then turned to the woman at his side. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
"An introduction," she answered calmly in her husky voice. "I believe two people who are about to become intimately acquainted should at least know one another's name."
"Now hold it right there!" Cherry exclaimed, taking a step backward. "I draw the line at—"
"Calm down," the man interrupted with a wave of his hand. "No one's—"
"Calm down?" Cherry asked with disbelief. "I haven't begun to get upset. I had better hear some satisfactory explanations in the next ten seconds or... or I won't be responsible for my actions."
"She sounds dangerous, Captain. Should I restrain her?" the woman asked in a serious tone, but the sparkle in her emerald eyes let Cherry know she probably wouldn't do such a thing even if he ordered her to.
"Eight seconds, Captain," Cherry warned, planting her fists on her hips.
He scowled back at her and crossed his arms. "I don't respond well to threats, particularly from someone half my size."
Cherry marched forward, poked him in his chest with the index finger of her robotic right hand and sent him sprawling backward into his chair. "And I don't respond well to being abducted. Now you have three seconds left before you find out what all five of my fingers can do."
Rubbing his chest, he rose with a grimace. "I suppose an explanation is in order. I am Gallant Voyager—"
Cherry snorted. "Come on, you can do better than that. How about Luke Skywalker? I've always been kind of partial to that one. Or maybe Judge Dredd would suit you better."
Gallant straightened himself to his full height, which was a good foot taller than Cherry's. His tone of voice revealed that he was a bit touchy on the subject. "I assure you, that is my name. Gallant Voyager is a direct translation of my birthname, which is extremely difficult to pronounce."
"Okay, so you have a name. How about the explanation?"
"First, allow me to introduce you to my navigator. Cherry Cochran, this is Mar-Dot."
"Actually," the woman said with a grin, "I am Dot." She turned around, as if to present her back, but what Cherry saw was another front.
"And I am Mar."
Cherry gaped at the man in front of her. The hair, eyes, nose and voice were the same as the woman's but his lower face was covered by a kinky, close-trimmed, chartreuse beard. The snug bodysuit that had clearly displayed a woman's figure a moment ago, now showed that of a man... and a very well-endowed man at that.
Never one to let her curiosity go unsatisfied, Cherry circled Mar-Dot, her eyes filled with fascination. The creature had one body with two legs, but the booted feet extended in both directions, like pedestals. The male half and the female half each had its own pair of arms and hands and Cherry thought she could have identified the gender of each pair even if Dot's fingernails weren't an inch long and painted lime green.
"Pardon me for staring," Cherry said as she came back around to Mar. "But I've never seen anything, pardon me, anyone , like you."
"Not many people have," he told her with a smile. "For all we know, we may be the only he-she in existence."
In the blink of an eye, the he-she turned and Cherry was facing Dot. "I tell this story better than he does. We were sold to a traveling circus as a baby. Unfortunately, no
"Greetings," the woman finally said in a deep contralto voice. "Are you well?"
The instant the woman spoke, the man started to swivel his chair around but stopped abruptly and donned the black eye patch before turning the rest of the way to face her. That seemed odd to Cherry but she had too many other concerns to question it. As he rose, she thought his expression looked somewhat contrite... until he opened his mouth.
"It's about time," he said abruptly then turned to the woman at his side. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
"An introduction," she answered calmly in her husky voice. "I believe two people who are about to become intimately acquainted should at least know one another's name."
"Now hold it right there!" Cherry exclaimed, taking a step backward. "I draw the line at—"
"Calm down," the man interrupted with a wave of his hand. "No one's—"
"Calm down?" Cherry asked with disbelief. "I haven't begun to get upset. I had better hear some satisfactory explanations in the next ten seconds or... or I won't be responsible for my actions."
"She sounds dangerous, Captain. Should I restrain her?" the woman asked in a serious tone, but the sparkle in her emerald eyes let Cherry know she probably wouldn't do such a thing even if he ordered her to.
"Eight seconds, Captain," Cherry warned, planting her fists on her hips.
He scowled back at her and crossed his arms. "I don't respond well to threats, particularly from someone half my size."
Cherry marched forward, poked him in his chest with the index finger of her robotic right hand and sent him sprawling backward into his chair. "And I don't respond well to being abducted. Now you have three seconds left before you find out what all five of my fingers can do."
Rubbing his chest, he rose with a grimace. "I suppose an explanation is in order. I am Gallant Voyager—"
Cherry snorted. "Come on, you can do better than that. How about Luke Skywalker? I've always been kind of partial to that one. Or maybe Judge Dredd would suit you better."
Gallant straightened himself to his full height, which was a good foot taller than Cherry's. His tone of voice revealed that he was a bit touchy on the subject. "I assure you, that is my name. Gallant Voyager is a direct translation of my birthname, which is extremely difficult to pronounce."
"Okay, so you have a name. How about the explanation?"
"First, allow me to introduce you to my navigator. Cherry Cochran, this is Mar-Dot."
"Actually," the woman said with a grin, "I am Dot." She turned around, as if to present her back, but what Cherry saw was another front.
"And I am Mar."
Cherry gaped at the man in front of her. The hair, eyes, nose and voice were the same as the woman's but his lower face was covered by a kinky, close-trimmed, chartreuse beard. The snug bodysuit that had clearly displayed a woman's figure a moment ago, now showed that of a man... and a very well-endowed man at that.
Never one to let her curiosity go unsatisfied, Cherry circled Mar-Dot, her eyes filled with fascination. The creature had one body with two legs, but the booted feet extended in both directions, like pedestals. The male half and the female half each had its own pair of arms and hands and Cherry thought she could have identified the gender of each pair even if Dot's fingernails weren't an inch long and painted lime green.
"Pardon me for staring," Cherry said as she came back around to Mar. "But I've never seen anything, pardon me, anyone , like you."
"Not many people have," he told her with a smile. "For all we know, we may be the only he-she in existence."
In the blink of an eye, the he-she turned and Cherry was facing Dot. "I tell this story better than he does. We were sold to a traveling circus as a baby. Unfortunately, no
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