Heather wrapped a large cloth around me and walked to the ship's tailor.  When we walked in, the young woman looked at me strangely, then smiled.

"This must be the stowaway we all heard on the intercoms yesterday." The lady said, making clear any possible questions were rhetorical.  

Heather began to reply, "this is Tsu..."

"Susan."  I interrupted.  Heather gave me an odd look, then it seemed like she understood what I was doing.  She nodded, then continued.

"This is Susan, her clothes were shredded because of where she was, I was asked to escort her here from the medbay."

"Well Heather, just wait over there, I'm sure I can scrape together some things that will fit her, and still be comfortable."

"I would appreciate that miss."  I replied.  Once she was out of earshot I looked back at Heather.  "Has it already been a day since the CO2 scrubbers were crushed?"

"Yeah, we are 26 hours behind schedule. But there wasn't anything we could do.  The zone we are in was chosen because the next relay station is too far to pick up our distress beacon.  Everything else went according to plan, and all the safety protocols 'the ship' is responsible for worked."

"So we were supposed to loose power?" I inquired?

"Yes, but we weren't supposed to loose life support.  Everyone on this ship owes you their life.  If we had jumped like that, none of us would be alive."  She looked down, then leaned in close to me and started to whisper, "I know it hurts your feelings when we show we are scared of you. So let me say I'm sorry."

"Heather, there is no need to apologize, now that I know, I know that fear is founded.  I adapt quickly."  I smiled at the wet-eyed Heather, but I knew those weren't the words the young Marshall wanted to hear.  

So I sat on her lap, clasped the sheet with one hand, and wrapped my other arm around her.  I let my mouth get close to her ear, and gently whispered, "I forgive anyone strong enough of character to ask for it."  I squeezed a little harder, "I forgive you."

At this, the young Marshall wrapped both her arms around me and began to sob.  When the lady came back with clothes, she set them on the counter, and walked away with a smile.  I just let Heather cry.

When I was comfortable enough to get off her lap, I looked at the clothes on the counter, and then at Heather, "Why are there so many different things?  How do you do this?"

"Well between you and me, you're the smart one." She joked while wiping her eyes.  She stood up, and then showed me how to put on the underthings, and how to tell which way is front.  We then walked to her quarters, and she sat me down in front of the room's mirror.  This was  the first time I saw myself.  The data ports on my spine were the only indicators I was grown, instead of born.

My red hair was straight, but full, my ice blue eyes seemed to be slightly large for my face, and made me appear cunning. My nose seemed to complement my features so that nothing looked out of place; and there were no freckles across my muted cheekbones, much unlike Heather's.  

She braided my hair as I looked at myself, two narrow braids along the sides of my head, displayed my cute ears.  She then pulled out a metal tray with different colored powders, and put some on my face.

"You will need to get some of these yourself," she said. "I won't always be here to do this for you."

"It's time to go." I said grabbing her hand. "Tsunami needs to move, now."

I think she figured out what was meant, because she grabbed my hand, and we ran to the bridge.  This body wasn't ready for a run yet, but it got one anyway.  We hit the bridge at full stride, and Lowell reached out to grab me, I dodged, and Heather pushed the arm away as she slung me towards the tactics station.  I grabbed the update cable from the console, and plugged myself in.

It was then I heard Lowell ask who I was.  My mind was falling into my room, but I still heard her say to him.

"She is our stowaway, Susan."

I didn't hear his response, but I could see the look of disbelief on his face.  I sounded the yellow alert warnings, and the jump-bridge warnings simultaneously.  When the turrets moved into position, I was ready to fire, then I heard Heather's voice in my room.

"Tsunami, stand down." It was a little more than a whisper.  "Inbound ships are USF.  Oh God please let her hear me."

I shut down everything except the jump bridge, and left my room.  When I looked around the bridge, there were several surprised faces.  I unplugged, and stored the cable back.  I looked at Lowell

"Captain Bradford; thank you for not putting a stowaway like me in the brig.  As you can see, I can be helpful here as well, not just with life support."

He smiled, and put his arms out and waved for me to come to him.  Once he was embracing me, he whispered softly, "Tsunami, you are going to do amazing things.  But please continue to call yoursel Susan when not in you room."

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I nodded into his sleeve, knowing full well what room he was talking about.

"Can I speak with you and Heather in private?"  They both nodded, and Lowell took us to a briefing room directly behind the captain's chair.

"I've looked at and read everything in the treaty you named, as have my sister and brothers.  We have decided to take on our ship names as our middle names, choose our first names, and take on the last name of a guardian.  In our real bodies, we can't become citizens, but the treaty doesn't cover biological symbionts."

"I would like to ask permission for one of you to become my guardian."

I stood there for a few seconds, they looked at each other and Lowell shook his head no.

"I'm sorry Tsu, I can't do that.  Too many people would figure it out, and you wouldn't be safe."  Before he could finish, Heather was nodding  yes.

I finished forging the paperwork in the systems, and even a birth certificate stating I was 11 years old.  I did some quick geneology research on Heather, then forged the paperwork that I was her second cousin, who she was now guardian of, and she had been given permission to bring me aboard.

As I was telling them our cover, one of the ship's I detected earlier docked with us.  The first man to disembark looked just like Lowell, only older.

I quickly forged a security badge for my body and had it come out at the tactical station, it finished just as the man entered the briefing room with us.  To start the act, I jumped behind Heather.

"We were getting worried Commander."

"For good reason Admiral, we nearly lost our life support.  Heather's cousin here was able to sense the damage and help us fix it."

"Sense how?"  He asked in a mock gruff voice aimed at me.

"Susan, tell Admiral Bradford how you did it."  Heather had no playfulness in her voice.

"I was part of the ship, and when I do that, I know things I wouldn't normally.  And even now it's like an itch, I know you were followed, and we need to leave."  I looked at Lowell, "The Jump Bridge is ready, are we taking the Admiral's vessel with us?"

"What point did you set it to?" The Admiral asked, looking at Lowell.

"Tsunami is set to 120 kilometers from Orbital 4.  Home sir."  I answered him.

Lowell nodded, I turned to leave and I heard the admiral ask what I meant as 'part of the ship'

"Just watch." Heather replied. "Susan, sit down this time, I don't want to have to take you back to your medical pod."

I nodded as I grabbed my red credentials card off the station, then plugged myself in.  I entered my room, and started watching the incoming ships.  I set off the jump bridge alarm, this time broadcasting it to the close ships that were coming with us.

As soon as the unknown ships fell into normal space, I activated the jump, timing it during the normal sensor white-out.  They wouldn't be able to follow this jump.

When we fell back into normal space, we were looking at home.  I brought the behemoth that was me into the dock, and then left my room, and unplugged myself.

When I opened my eyes, the admiral was staining at my red card.

"Yes?" I asked.

"It's Susan, right?" He asked, and I nodded. "How is it that you came to hold that card? And what is this on your neck."

"I'm sorry sir, Tsunami said you don't have the clearance to know that."

"And who is Tsunami?"

"Dad, Tsunami is the ship. The accident made her self aware.  And so far Susan, Heather and myself are the only ones she talks to."  Lowell said.

"I need to go to my pod." I said looking at Heather.

"Alright Sue, let's get you where you can rest.  Think you can eat anything?"

"Not today.  Oh Admiral, Tsunami said 'Sorry for scaring you.'  I don't know what she meant by it though."

"Thanks Susan.  You go get your rest.  We have big plans for this ship." He said, with an uneasy smile.

Once we got to my room I took off the jacket and shirt I had been wearing and climbed back into the pod. The strap for the bra laid between two pickups, and the bottom connection was just below the belt line of my jeans, I quickly cut a hole for the pickup to go through.

"Tsu, you be safe, and I know you can fix your anatomy issues.  You need to be able to eat, and go to the bathroom."  She rolled her eyes at me. "And when is your next birthday? I'm going to get asked that."

"It's November 7th.  The day they published my first blueprint."

"Welcome to the USF, and thanks for finding that loophole." 

"No problem, Cuz."  Oh, just so you know, I'll be changing some of my genetic markers so it doesn't trip any alarms the next time I have to go to the medbay."

"Alright, speaking of Medbay.  You need one of these in there, but more for comfort than for use."

"Already on it."