“Oh, and then there was the time Rosie decided that Eaty would make a good pet…”

Lokaia laughed. “Okay, an animal named ‘Eaty’ can’t be followed by a good story.”

“You should hear about the rhomby,” Bova added.

“Ohhh, he was so cute!” Rosie said. “What was wrong with him?”

Harlan raised an eyebrow. “You mean besides the fact that he gave you telekinetic powers?”

“I’ve heard of that!” Lokaia put in. “Anyone can develop telekinesis when they drink rhomby-“ She glanced sharply at Rosie. “Ewwwwwww.”

“Suzee says ‘ditto,’” Catalina told them. “Oh, God, remember the time we all got switched around?”

Lokaia gave her a look. “What do you mean?”

Cat grinned. “I mean, Harlan was Andromedan, Radu was human, Bova was Mercurian-“

“Bova was Merurian??”

Bova shuddered. “For the scariest few hours of my life.”

“Then there was the time Ms. Davenport and Commander Goddard got turned into kids,” Radu said quietly.

“Now that was fun,” Harlan interrupted.

Bova shot him a look. “Well, yeah, until we all got enslaved by that Neen-steen guy.”

“Neinstein.”

“That’s what I said.”

Lokaia smiled. “You guys have had a lot of um… interesting adventures.”

“We sure did!” Rosie piped.

Harlan’s face went a little darker. “Well, they weren’t all that great,” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” Bova added. “Like when we found the Christa’s twin and Cat got blown up and then we all had to just leave her there and Harlan gave his little speech about how he should have been a lot nicer to her and how he never got to tell her how he felt and-ow!” Radu had elbowed lightly in the stomach, which had knocked the wind out of the little Uranusian.

Cat was staring at Harlan. “You never told me that.”

Harlan blushed slightly. “Uh…”

Lokaia tapped Radu lightly on the shoulder. “Cat got blown up?”

He sighed. “It’s a really long story, Loki.”

“We found a twin ship of the Christa’s and Shank was onboard because he thought it was us. Shank was going to blow it up with all of us onboard, so we tried to get out but Cat was left behind. To save Cat’s life, Suzee switched places with her which is how Suzee got here,” Rosie explained.

Radu blushed. “Okay, so it’s a little shorter than I thought.” Lokaia smiled at him and he blushed deeper.

Cat’s watch beeped. “We should go,” she said. “It’s getting late and I’m still not done with the homework.”

As the crew filed out of the team room, Radu walked with Lokaia. He noticed a strange expression on her face. “What’s wrong?” he asked in their language.

She shrugged slightly. “I don’t know… I mean, I’ve been here a little more than a year and I… well, I guess I still feel a little… left out, you know?” she blushed in shame. “I-I mean, I know I shouldn’t but… just all the things you guys did before I came along…” she shrugged again.

“Loki, you don’t have to feel that way,” Radu said sympathetically. “You’re… part of the team. Just like the rest of us.” He smiled at her as they reached the boys’ bunk. They paused in front of the door as a thought entered Radu’s mind. “Loki?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you ever call Jalan?”

She wouldn’t meet his eyes and he heard her heart speed up. “Um… well, uh, n-not, you know, exactly…”

Radu sighed. “Loki, it’s been a few weeks since… well, it’s been a few weeks. Don’t you think Akkar has already told him something?”

Lokaia sighed herself. “Yes, Radu, of course I do, but I… I wanted to practice my magic before I talk to him.”

“What? Why?”

She sighed again, and shook her head in annoyance; not at Radu, at herself. “Because I don’t want to go up to the most powerful man in the Elvian empire and say something like, ‘Hi, my Lord, remember me? That girl who annoyed you so very much and who was punished unconditionally whenever she breathed the wrong way? Well, I’d like to have my freedom now and you can’t stop me because I have learned how to control my magic. See? I can make this pencil float.’ I don’t think that would go over very well.”

“So what are you going to do instead?”

Lokaia bit her lip. “’Hi, my Lord, remember me? I’ve learned how to control my magic and I can make this planet float.’”

Radu stared her in the eyes and she blushed and bent her head. “Okay, okay,” she mumbled. “I’ll do it soon… I just… he still scares me, Radu. I know he shouldn’t but he does.”

Radu’s heart melted for her. “I understand,” he said softly. He bent and lightly kissed her cheek. “Good night.”

Lokaia blushed and smiled at him. “’Night.” Radu turned and walked into his bunk.

Lokaia walked down to the girls’ bunk thinking. She sighed. “I just wish I could have shared some of those things with them,” she whispered to no one.

“Did you hear that?”

“Why, yes, I certainly did, Miga… Um, what were you referring to exactly?”

Miga turned her tiny blue body towards the twenty others in her command room. “I was referring to the red haired child, Tolu,” she told him. “She wants to share things with this crew.”

Tolu shared a glance with some of the others in the room. “I do not understand, Miga. What is it exactly that you wish to do?”

“Why, Tolu, do you not think it would be a wonderful gift to grant the child her wish?”

His face brightened. “Why, Miga, that is quite possibly one of the best ideas you have ever had! What a wonderful gift! Do you all not agree?” he asked turning to the others. The room filled with the chirps of agreement. Miga ruffled her wings, pleased. “Wonderful. Now, which of their experiences shall we use?”

The conversation continued, as the microscopic ship flew swiftly through the halls of the Christa.

“Loki!”

The loud voice so close to her ear, jerked Lokaia out of a peaceful sleep. She sat up quickly, banging her head on the ceiling and rocketing back down again. She turned over and squinted at the source of the voice. “Bova?” she whispered groggily. “You don’t have to scream at me.” She tried to focus more on his face and a look of concern passed over her own. “Bova? Are you okay? You look kind of pale and…” She thought for a moment. “Did you just call me Loki?”

Bova licked his lips nervously. “Um… yeah. Come on, we have to go.”

Startled by the urgency in his voice, Lokaia rolled out of bed and grabbed her robe. She glanced over at Cat and Rosie. “Should we wake them, too?”

“Goddard didn’t say to,” Bova said, looking unsure. “I guess we should just let them sleep.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.

“Bova, where are we going? And what’s the matter?”

“We’re um, we’re going to the command post and, uh, I think you’ll find out when we get there.” Lokaia glanced at him, utterly confused. You’re just tired, she told herself.

They stumbled over to the command room, which opened to reveal Thelma, Harlan, Radu, Goddard and Davenport. “Kaia!” Radu cried running over to her. “Oh, it’s just awful! Absolutely awful! I mean,” he backtracked, glancing at Bova. “No offense or anything, but we have to fix this!”

“Radu,” Lokaia said in what she hoped was a calming tone. “What’s the matter? Why are you acting like this?”

“Oh, that is not Radu,” Harlan told her in a strange voice.

Davenport shook her head. “I knew something like this would happen,” she said darkly. “Stuff like this always happens to us.”

“I demand that someone fix this,” Goddard shouted in a British accent.

“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Thelma said brightly. “We’re learning all sorts of new things about each other!”

Lokaia stared. “Uh… what?”

“Loki,” Bova began, “we’re, um… we’re not exactly who we look like.”

“Duh,” Davenport said crossly.

Bova licked his lips. “Like, um… me for instance. I’m, uh, I’m not Bova.”

Lokaia’s eyes narrowed as she tried to grasp his meaning. “What do you mean?”

The little Uranusian glanced around nervously. “I’m, uh… I’m Radu.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yes, Lokaia, he’s telling the truth,” Goddard told her, still in a stiff British accent. “None of us are who we seem.”

The Elvian’s head spun as she tried to understand. “You mean, that you’re not the commander, he’s not Bova, she’s not Ms. Davenport, he’s not Radu, he’s not Harlan, and she’s not Thelma?”

“Pretty much,” Radu said, looking annoyed.

“Um… okay,” Lokaia said, startled by the look on the Andromedan’s face. “Then where are the… the real ones?”

A piercing scream sounded from the girls’ bunk. Radu grimaced. “I think two more of them are awake.” He and Lokaia raced down the hall, followed closely by the others including Bova who kept muttering, “I didn’t hear it!”

“AHH!”

Lokaia and the others burst into the room. “Cat?” Lokaia asked incredulously. “What’s wrong?”

Catalina was standing in front of the mirror, staring at herself, a look of horror across her face. “AHH!” she screamed again.

Lokaia and Radu took their hands from their ears. “Cat, please stop screaming,” Lokaia pleaded. Her ears were ringing from the near-sonic scream.

“I’m not Cat!” she cried, spinning around.

“Will you kids shut up?” a voice cried from the other side of the room. Rosie rolled out of her bunk and stood facing them all. Her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. She ran over to the mirror and let out another scream. “I’m Mercurian!!”

“Yeah, well, I’m a guy!” Radu shouted indignantly. The room burst into the shouts and ramblings of the crew, leaving Lokaia in an utterly confused mess. “Wait a second!” she screamed out loud. Everyone turned to her, quieting.

“Okay!” Lokaia said loudly. “It’s 0500 hours! I’m tired, I haven’t had a shower yet and I am utterly confused! So, here’s what we’re going to do! Catalina, come and stand over here,” she said pointing to a side of the room. Radu walked over to that spot. Lokaia continued to line them up until everyone was standing before her.

“Um… okay,” she began. “So, here’s what I know… I think. Um, Rosie is in Thelma’s body, Thelma is in Harlan’s body, Harlan is in Cat’s body, Cat is in Radu’s body, Radu is in Bova’s body, Bova is in Ms. Davenport’s body, Ms. Davenport is in Commander Goddard’s body, and Commander Goddard is in Rosie’s body.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “Did I get all that right?”

They nodded to her. “Okay,” Lokaia said smiling. “That’s great!”

“Oh, yeah, just peachy,” Ms. Davenport- uh, Bova said, crossing her/his arms across her/his chest. “Now we’ve got everything figured out. Except for how this happened, how we can fix it, and who did it.”

“Oh, Bova!” Thelma- um, Rosie said.

Lokaia’s face fell. “Uh… Thelma?”

“Yes, Lokaia?” Harlan- er, Thelma said.

“Do you know how all this happened?”

Harlan’s face brightened. “Why, yes,” Thelma said. “First the universe was void and without form. Then there was a big bang-“

“No, Thelma,” Radu- uh, Cat said. “She means, do you know how we all got switched around.”

“Oh!” Thelma exclaimed brightly. “No.”

Lokaia sighed. “Okay, um… how did you guys get switched back last time?”

“Well, Ms. Davenport put us back,” Thelma/Rosie said. Her face dropped. “But that was when she was really smart.”

Cat/Harlan and Davenport/Bova burst into laughter as Goddard/Davenport glared at them.

“Um… okay. Well, it’s not Ms. Davenport’s fault this time. So, uh…” Lokaia sighed again. “So, I think you’ll have to stay like this for a while.”

“Are you insane?!” Cat/Harlan yelled. “Look at me! I’m a girl! And I- AHHHH!” She/he jumped about a foot in the air, eyes wide with fright that quickly dissipated to annoyance. “Jeez, Suzee, you almost gave me a heart attack!” He paused, apparently listening. “Well, duh, Saturnians don’t get heart attacks, but humans do!” Another pause. “What do you mean, ‘What do I mean?’ I’m not Cat, I’m Harlan!” He began to bicker with the empty air in front of him.

Radu/Cat turned a troubled gaze towards the others. “Is that how I look when I talk to her?”

“Of course not,” Davenport/Bova told her. “You look a lot more insane.”

“Thanks,” Radu/Cat replied dryly.

“No problem.”

Rosie/Goddard glared at them all. “Will you all calm down? We have to fix this!”

Cat/Harlan laughed and turned it into a cough when Rosie/Goddard turned the glare towards him. “What is so funny, Ca- uh, Band?”

“Nothing, sir,” he said, hiding a smile. “It’s just fu- uh, weird seeing Rosie yelling at us.” Davenport/Bova and Thelma/Rosie giggled along with Cat/Harlan.

Rosie/Goddard’s glare deepend, as did his complexion. The room became unbearably hot. “Commander, you have to calm down,” Thelma/Rosie told him. “That’s the only way to control your temperature!” Rosie/Goddard’s eyes closed as he took deep breaths. His color lightened and the room became considerably cooler.

Cat/Harlan raised an eyebrow. “I guess that means we have all the same powers again.” He looked down at himself. “Too bad we couldn’t keep the same bodies, too.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Davenport/Bova grumbled.

“Hey, what’s wrong with my body?” Radu/Cat demanded.

Cat/Harlan shrugged. “Nothing usually. I just don’t want it.”

“What do you mean you don’t want it?!”

Rosie/Goddard stepped in. “Okay, just calm down. We all have to-“ He looked up at their faces with his small pink one. “When did you kids get so tall?”

“Maybe we should try and concentrate on figuring out how this happened,” Bova/Radu said. He looked around at them. “Anyone have any ideas?”

Silence.

“Great,” Davenport/Bova said. Not even Thelma/Rosie had anything uplifting to say at the moment.

Lokaia sighed. “Thelma, you have no idea why this happened?”

“I’m not Thelma,” she said. “I’m Rosie.”

Lokaia slapped a hand to her forehead. “Smorf, that’s right. Which one of you is Thelma?”

“I am Thelma,” Harlan said. She considered. “Actually, I am Harlan. Or am I Thelma? It is all extremely confusing.”

“Uh… right.” Lokaia shook her head. “Thelma, Harlan, whoever you are, do you have any idea why this happened?”

Harlan/Thelma nodded. “Yes, I have many ideas.”

Radu/Cat spoke up. “Do you think it could be Shank?”

“Warlord Shank is not known for being subtle, Mr. Ra- uh, Catalina,” Goddard/Davenport said.

“Is it possible for it to be Jalan?” Rosie/Goddard asked. “He would be angry with us, wouldn’t he?”

“Yes, it is possible,” Harlan/Thelma told him.

“What about Shank?” Radu/Cat asked again.

“Yes, that is also possible,” Harlan/Thelma replied.

Davenport/Bova’s eyes narrowed. “Thelma, is it possible that Lokaia could actually be a very advanced form of strawberry yogurt?”

“Yes, that is possible as well.”

Sighs rippled through the room. “Thelma, you think everything’s possible, don’t you?” Bova/Radu asked.

She nodded. “It makes life much more interesting, don’t you think?”

Lokaia opened her mouth to speak, and cocked her head. “Did you hear that?”

Bova/Radu looked pained. “No,” he said, disappointed.

“But I did,” Radu/Cat said suddenly. “What was it?”

The Elvian shook her head. “I don’t know. It sounded like-“

A roar shook the Christa, almost deafening Lokaia and Cat. “Like something incredibly not-good?” Davenport/Bova asked, seconds before the crew fled towards the command post.