“CAPTAIN!”

Christopher’s head popped off of her pillow and looked around. It was still dark in her quarters. In her grogginess, she looked down, not remembering her new form. When she noticed her breasts and her longer hair, she groaned and sat up.

“What is it?” He called back.

“CAPTAIN, THE SUPPLIES AND MEDICAL TENTS ARE ON FIRE! THE COMMUNICATORS ARE ALL DAMAGED!” This news rocketed Christopher out of bed immediately, fully awake and grabbing her uniform.

“Order all crew and personal to salvage what can be saved and get it on the Bannockburn! Wake Peter too!”

“We already woke him si-ma’….um….”

“Sir will do…” Christopher grumbled.

“R-right. Well Peter is already up and trying to fight the fires, but it looks like a losing battle.”

“What caused the fires!?” Christopher asked.

“We’re not sure! Possibly some creature from the planet.”

“It doesn’t matter! Save what can be saved and get it on the ship! GO!”

“What about you?”

“I’m gonna help fight the fire with Peter!” Christopher replied quickly.

The fire had already risen far beyond what Christopher had expected. There were massive animal tracks, from what looked like a huge lizard. There were are least four dead bodies of crew members who had been engulfed in the flames, and any who weren’t burned were running cargo into the ship. Christopher began cutting equipment free of their restraints and bolts to get them to safety. He finally saw Peter, holding in his hand a Aquatic Conduit, a specialized hand held ball that, when held towards a body of water, could draw the water to the ball and fill it up to within 5 times the balls original size. It was a great way to transport water, or put out fires.

“THANK GOODNESS, C’MON, HOOK GIMME A HAND HERE!” Peter shouted.

“I ain’t got a conduit!” Christopher shouted back. Peter groaned.

“Then get some terraform gloves and try to suffocate the flames!” Terraform gloves were special gloves that emitted an intense gravitational pull that could be adjusted by the wearers grip. When held near the earth, it could draw up dirt, rocks, and mud to the gloves. They were originally created for construction workers to easier dig up landfill and move debries easier. But for this, it might just help move some dirt onto the fire and snuff it out. With a nod of understanding, Christopher ran back to the ship, grabbed a pair of terra gloves and returned, moving large mounds of dirt with his hands, waving over them and drawing the dirt to the fire.

“This is just like that fire on Veracruz!” Peter laughed.

“That fire was TWICE as big as this, and we had three other crews helping to fight it!” Christopher argued.

“Yeah, and I think we were 30 years older!” Peter laughed.

“Let’s not bring that up right now?” Christopher groaned, drawing up more dirt to put out the fire.

“Oh why not!? You thi-HOOK LOOK OUT!!” Peter jumped forward and tackled Christopher to the ground, throwing them both clear of a falling, fiery tent. Christopher gasped in pain as Peter and him tumbled into the grass.

“OW! This whole place is falling to shit. We don’t have time to rethink this, we need to abandon the equipment and get the Bannockburn out of here! If that fire reaches the ship, the internal oxygen supporters will turn it into an inferno!” Christopher shouted. All starships were equipped with internal vents connected to a pure oxygen converter. It supplied the ship with oxygen while in deep space. Though this planet was supported by an oxygen atmosphere, the ship produced PURE oxygen….it would truly empower the flames.

“EVERYONE! ABANDON YOUR POSTS AND GET TO THE SHIP! PREPARE FOR TAKE OFF!” Peter ordered. All the crew and soldiers nearby dropped their cargo and sprinted for the ship. Christopher rose to her feet as well and started running back to the ship as well.

*POW*

“AAAH!” Christopher fell to the ground, a bolt of pain in her hip as she hit the ground, clutching the burn mark and sorched edge of her coat. “Wh-what the hell!?” She looked behind her to see a raised PB-27; a plasmatic blaster pistol that was standard issue for any officer in the military. Christopher followed the holders hand up to see the one face he never thought he’d see.

“P-Peter!?” Christopher cried.

“Sorry, old friend…I have to do this.” He muttered darkly, lowering his pistol. “You just wouldn’t listen to reason.”

“You asshole, this is no time for jokes!” Christopher shouted, rising to his feet. Peter raised his gun again and shook his head.

“It’s not a joke, Hook…sorry.” He growled. Christopher and Peter stared at each other for a long time and Christopher felt a slow realization reach him….this was treason….a betrayal…and it was by his best friend.

“Peter…put down the gun.”

“Get real, Hook…you never could order me around in the Academy and you sure can’t now…not when I hold the cards.” Peter snapped. “I always respected you, ya know? I loved you like a brother…but then this opportunity presents itself…this glorious chance to reach eternal youth and life and you THROW IT AWAY!”

“THAT’S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT!?” Christopher screamed. “YOU THREATEN THE ENTIRE CREW AND KILL THREE OF OUR CREW FOR A STUPID CURE FOR OLD AGE!?”

“They knew the risks of our mission! They were prepared to die for the sake of the goal!”

“FOR THEIR GOAL!” Christopher bellowed. “NOT YOUR GOAL!”

“…It doesn’t matter now, Hook. Even if you try to talk me out of this, I’ve already committed sabotage against my crew. My career is over…no where else to go but forward.” Peter explained. “I wish I could make you understand…this isn’t just about me! This is about the future of the galaxy! Here, on this planet, is an alien with the power to reverse age! To change genders! To do who knows what else!? This power is something we should use…imagine it, Christopher…we could’ve been the Captains who discovered the cure to death!”

“Peter,” Christopher hissed, clutching her wounded side, “you’re talking about a supernatural force we know NOTHING about…and a creature that only did this to us out of fear! If you go chasing after some magical solution to your problems, it’s bound to bite you in the ass before you catch it! You’re meddling with something we MUST not meddle with.”

“You won't even give it a chance! That creature took away not only your manhood, but your spine as well! The Christopher Hook I knew would have jumped at the chance to discover a new life form and a cure to death and old age!”

“Then I guess we both didn’t know each other as well as we thought.” Hook growled furiously. The two glared each other down and, with that phrase spoken, a great rift could be felt between them…the partnership was gone, but now all that was to be done was to do the deed. Christopher’s hand slowly drifted to her sword.

“Peter, medicine and discovery takes time, study, and patience. I’m not saying the girl we found isn’t fundamental to progress, but chasing it aimlessly on a planet we JUST discovered? It’s reckless and goes against all we’ve been taught. I can’t condone this…”

“It’s not your decision to make…” Peter snapped. "It's mine."

“So what’s your plan then, CAPTAIN?!” Christopher spat the word Captain at him, causing Peter to flinch slightly. “Now that you’re officially guilty of mutiny and treason, what’s your big plan? Gonna hunt the girl on your own? Force her to show you how she did it? Learn how to wave a magic wand? You’ve got no where to go, Peter…just surrender peacefully and I’ll show you leniency…out of our former friendship.” Christophers hand grabbed his sword and drew it fast. In the same instant, Peter fired and shot the blade out of his hand.

“AAAH!” Christopher cried, clutching her burned hand.

“That’s what happens, Hook…” He hissed back. “Sorry but I’m not the one who committed treason here….you are.”

“Me!? Are you insane!?”

“Despite burning most of our supplies, I made sure to destroy the communication beacon on your ship and on the planet before instigating the plan…I had to ensure that you didn’t report in.”

“You what!?”

“Now the only story that HQ gets will be mine…how in your desperate attempt to turn yourself back into a man, you defied orders and started burning your own supplies and soldiers in a fit of rage…”

“YOU BASTARD!”

“How your crew, remaining loyal to you, aided you in killing a few of my men and planned a full on mutiny on my person…how I managed to force you off with the help of MY loyal crew…and how you will escape to the cosmos as a traitor.”

Christopher stood stunned and crushed. She reached for her communicator to contact the crew but, to her shock, discovered it too to be crushed…having been broken when Peter tackled her. It had all been staged….all a plot…and she’d fallen for it.

“YOU MONSTER!” Christopher cried. “You’ve ruined me! Why not just kill me now, you piece of space shit!?”

“….Because you were my friend…and I don’t think I could ever seriously kill you.” Peter answered sadly, lowering his gun again. “I’ll give you two hours to get off the planet and escape into deep space…and then I contact HQ.”

“And what about my family!? My wife!?” Christopher cried.

“I’ll do what I can for them…I promise you that.”

“Like I can EVER trust you again…” Christopher spat, his body shaking with rage.

“Believe what you want…but I’ve said what I needed to…your two hours starts now, Hook.” Christopher looked back at the ship, already firing up to prepare for take off. Christopher took one last look at Peter and shook his head in disbelief.

“Peter…after all these years…after all we’ve been through…how could you do this to me?” He asked. “Are you really so callous? So foolish?”

“…For what it’s worth, Christopher…I truly am sorry. I never wanted this…” Peter answered, walking away from Christopher and towards his own ship as the fires raged around them. Christopher turned on her heel and sprinted back for the Bannockburn, now her pirate ship and jumped aboard.

“WE’RE LEAVING! GET US OUT OF HERE!” She screamed.

“But what about Captain P-”

“LEAVE HIM!” She barked. The crew all looked at each other in surprise as she stormed past them, covering her face with her hand.

“Captain…what happened down there? What were you…”

“I’ll be in my quarters. NO INTERRUPTIONS!” She roared, marching as fast as she could to her quarters as the doors slammed behind her. With shaking breath she felt the ship left off with a quiver and a shudder. She gripped the desk beneath her and held on, struggling to stop herself as she watched the blackness of space draw closer to her through her viewing wall.

Christopher Hook had been through ordeals and missions that would shake most men to their core. He was a man firm and strong to the core. He’d stared down giant monsters with nothing more than a saber. He faced off against an entire crew of space pirates intent on stealing from his ship. He had dealt with at least 3 instances where his ship ran the risk of certain destruction, but had somehow managed to overcome it all with nothing more than his wit, and Peter by his side. Even after becoming a young woman, he didn’t cry….he fought through it and held on to hope that things would get better.

But now, there was no hope…and Christopher Hook did the only thing that anyone, man or woman, would do in this situation. With hot tears pouring down her cheeks, she cried bitterly and wailed to the emptiness of the cosmos her pain, her loss, and her hopelessness. That day, a pirate was born…and she greeted the world with a wail of misery.