Yup, main character of this story is still transgender.
***
"No, 'Frozen Moon' is the name of a specific poem, it is not a figurative frozen moon right here."
"How can I tell the difference?" Shae asked. Learning the metaphorical Rei-sa dialect was actually even harder than she'd imagined. Including Rei-sa, she knew six different languages but learning this was more like learning about literature.
"It is written differently, and when spoken, the inflection is different. Frozen moon. 'Frozen Moon'. Do you see?" Shae's tutor, Ipla, always enunciated very clearly for her. It was actually extremely helpful, many Rei-sa had a tendency to mumble.
"So, a frozen moon references something that's redundant, right?"
"Beyond redundant. It can also reference something done symbolically, with no practical purpose. On rare occasion, it can be used glibly, to imply that someone is foolish, lacking self-restraint. You will see it used as a verb, in that case.
"Right..." Shae muttered, taking notes.
"That is all the time I have, for today. I will schedule another session to see you with the Vakita when I can."
"Thank you so much, Ipla, I will tell my Ji'rai that I learned more today than I did in a month alone."
Ipla stopped halfway out the door, and turned around to look at her. "Your Ji'rai?"
"...Yes?"
"Vakita Xiac certainly Taslek Kassren..." Shae wanted to ask him what that last bit meant but he left before she could.
Shae checked the time on her tablet, the same one she'd been using back on earth had been returned to her. She was due back at Xiac's chambers in... eighty seven units of time. That was... twenty minutes? More? Less? No, it was more. Shae wanted to stop thinking in minutes and hours and days but that was going to be difficult. Thinking in Rei-sa would be a bit easier but changing the language you thought in had always been hard for her. One of her professors back on Earth had claimed to be able to do it at will, but she wasn't sure how much she believed her.
Shae put her notes and her tablet into the Rei-sa purse that had been provided for her, which for her size was basically a small duffel bag. It was actually kind of silly, she felt like she was setting up to go to the gym. The classroom that they'd been occupying wasn't empty... or, maybe it was a conference room? A common room? Several Rei-sa were having meetings or classes or something. Shae awkwardly ambled around the mostly-empty low tables, her giant purse digging into her naked shins. She really didn't like being naked, the ship was cold as balls and she kept banging into things.
"Attention. Naa course correction in five seconds." Shae was so absorbed in thought that she barely even heard the announcement over the speakers. She did, of course, feel it when the Mekorial fired thrusters, temporarily reorienting her 'gravity' to be upwards and to the left.
Shae shrieked in surprise as she suddenly 'fell' sideways for a second. Her bag went flying and she tumbled onto a nearby table, landing flat on her back once 'gravity' reoriented itself to be back down towards earth again. She stared up at the ceiling of the conference room, dazed, naked, hurt.
"Stupid human! What is the Vakita thinking, letting her wander around the ship?" The voice came from directly above her, and a pair of hands grabbed her roughly, dragging her off the table.
"Ow! Stop, that hurts!," Shae cried as the Rei-sa pulled particularly hard on her arm.
"Idiot, she cracked my terminal," The Rei-sa complained, not even looking at her.
"I am terribly sorry," Shae offered a bow that she'd been taught as soon as she got her footing, hoping the context was appropriate.
The Rei-sa gave a bit of a start, and looked at her, surprised. "You speak?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes, I am still learning. I'm sorry I have never been on a spaceship before and I don't have magnetic boots yet."
"It's fine, just pay more attention and try to brace yourself next time," The Rei-sa seemed embarrassed, or maybe just uncomfortable. She reached over and grabbed Shae's bag and handed it to her.
"Thank you very much," Shae took her bag and scampered off towards the tram station. She called a tram and waited... She waited a while. Eventually one came to pick her up and she got in. She had to dig out her tablet again, and accessed a new program that had been put on there for her. It synchronized with the tram system, and displayed her list of destinations. Her list of destinations was just the Vakita's suite right now since Xiac was limiting where she could travel to. She selected it, and pressed her thumb hard into the slot next to the normal tram control panel. The scanner accepted her DNA verification and started speeding off towards the Vakita's suite.
Shae checked the time again. She was due back in twenty one units of time. This would be cutting it close. The tram slowed to a stop and let her out into the foyer. Reep was there, sitting cross-legged behind her desk, staring intently at her control terminal.
She looked up at Shae. "Why are you bleeding?"
Surprised, Shae looked down. There was a cut on her thigh, and a trickle of blood was creeping down her leg on its way to stain her Ji'rai's floor. "Oh, I fell when the Mekorial altered course. It's nothing really..."
"It will not be nothing of it gets all over the place, and I have to clean it" Reep said, standing up from behind her desk and rushing over to Shae. Gods but the Rei-sa were fast when they wanted to be. Reep quickly ushered her back into the bathroom and into the shower stall. Without warning, a blast of water hit her.
"Ah! Fuck that's cold!" Shae swore in english. Reep hadn't adjusted the temperature for her. The blast of water only hit her for a second to wash the blood trickle off her leg, but it left Shae shivering.
Reep wound a small piece of stretchy fabric around the cut on her thigh, and applied pressure. Shae winced as she did, but it was brief. When she let go, the material stayed snugly in place. Reep threw another giant towel around her and dried her off.
"There. Now go see the Vakita, you're late."
A wave of panic rushed through Shae and she forgot all about asking if she could keep the fluffy towel and ran over to the Vakita's door. She stopped and knocked five times, as she'd been told. There was a click and the door opened. Shae walked in with her eyes downcast. Xiac was working in her office on the right side of her suite and paid Shae no mind. Quietly, Shae went over to her corner on the other side of the room Xiac had a mat brought in for her, a little round thing that sat on the floor that Shae couldn't help but think looked like something a cat would sleep on. Well, it was very soft and warm so it could be worse.
As soon as Shae sat down, the felt the warm draft and shivered in pleasure as it drove her chills away. She'd also been given a little heater that stood next to her mat and it was just the best thing ever. Shae curled up on her mat for a little bit to warm up and rest. She'd been with Ipla for almost nine hours - twenty two hundred time units, and she was pretty exhausted. Gods, this was so cozy, she wanted to have a nap. A nap sounded soooo niiice. She couldn't. She had review to do.
Shae sighed, sitting up and digging around in her bag for her notebook and pencils. She opened them to the first page and started making adjustments to her notes. The two of them worked in silence for a while, say for the soft scratching of Shae's pencil.
A loud crashing sound from Xiac's side of the room broke Shae's focus. Her Ji'rai was staring wide-eyed at her terminal, one hand balled up into a fist... or, the Rei-sa version of a fist on her desk where she'd slammed it into the metal surface. Her hand was palm-up, fingers curled together. She let out a string of words that sounded like Shae wasnt supposed to repeat them.
"Reep!" Xiac bellowed. Reep poked her head in the door. "You get a hold of Skaha and you tell her if she is not on the Mekorial today then I will slag her ship myself."
"Ill get the message through and let you know when I have confirmation, Vakita Xiac." Reep disappeared.
Xiac stood up and angrily stalked over to her throne-thing which was just a few meters away from Shae's mat. She flopped down on it, muttering to herself. Shae watched the exchange but didn't say anything.
"You were late today, Shae." Her Ji'rai finally spoke.
Shae's throat went dry, imagining Xiac's fist smashing her skull just like the desk. "I'm so sorry Ji'rai I fell when the ship course corrected and-" Shae stopped. Xiac was staring at her.
"I did not ask you why you were late. I understand that you are struggling to adapt here. In fact I would be shocked if you were not." The Vakita's words were kind but her tone was not. Somehow it made Shae even more anxious.
"I will try to stick to the schedule you have made for me, Ji'rai." Shae murmured, casting her gaze downwards.
"I am not angry with you, Riten. The schedule is not important today but it will be in the future. As my property, your actions reflect on me. I have no need for property that makes me look bad." Xiac had been calling her Riten sometimes. Shae kind of wanted to ask someone what it meant but at the same time she also kind of got the gist.
Shae nodded, but didn't respond. She felt a little better but she was still scared and frustrated. Living on this ship was hard, she wanted to go home. But does my home even still exist? Many places had been struck by orbital bombardments. Maybe her apartment had gone up in smoke.
"Come here, Riten, sit with me." Shae looked up, blushing. Xiac was patting a spot on her throne next to where she was lying. Shae nervously stood and padded over to her Ji'rai. How was she supposed to sit on this thing? It was at like 70 degrees off the floor. How did Xiac rest on it? Shae walked up to the throne and turned around to put her butt on where Ji'rai had indicated. As she got close to the padded surface, she felt herself being pulled towards it. The pull actually caught her by surprise and for the second time that day, she fell sideways.
"Eep!" Shae squeaked as she tumbled ass-first onto the throne. Xiac laughed at her and caught her as she fell, sparing her the embarrassment of accidentally shoving her face into her Ji'rai's tits. Rei-sa apparently did have breasts, they just weren't as big and were usually hidden under their clothes or armour. Today, Xiac was wearing something that looked like it was made out of leather or animal hide. It was much simpler and... tighter than the dress she'd been wearing yesterday. It was black and was trimmed with some white fluff around the shoulders and down the sides of her legs.
"Gravity field manipulation," Xiac explained, chuckling at how flustered she was. "It generates it's own gravity."
