Andy Drake was overjoyed. He’d worked hard and long to impress his superiors, and they’d rewarded him with a promotion.

Commander, Special Forces Group Athena.

He didn’t read at all what the job entailed, just accepted. It was only when he went to try the new dress uniform on for the first time that he saw the skirt...

“What the hell…? Sergeant, you’ve issued the wrong uniform!”

“No, Ma’am”, the woman replied, “it’s correct.”

“Do I look like a ‘Ma’am’ to you, Sergeant?”

“You must be, Ma’am”, the woman replied, being totally serious. “This is an all-female brigade. No exceptions. May I suggest that the special equipment bag the Admiral left for you may be of help?”

Now thoroughly confused, and also very annoyed, Andy opened the special equipment bag. A short note fell out, and an ID Card, as well as some interesting ‘equipment’; a padded bra, knickers with a ‘fitting’ to hide his manhood and a flesh-coloured collar…

“Commander Drake;

As we expected, you were eager to accept the promotion, and we are very grateful for that. We feel that you are the best person for the job, despite your sex, to whip this division into shape. As such, we have provided this extra ‘equipment’ to make it possible for you to carry out your duties. Your records have already been updated to show you as female, the first name we expect you to use as part of your rank is now ‘Andrea’.

I realise that this may come as a shock, but I honestly believe that this is for the best, both for you and for our nation’s armed forces. You are not going to be pinned ‘behind a desk’ either; as all your division are female, all are expected to work in the field, including you, which is what you always wanted.

On a personal note; Please, Andrea, give this a try. I have faith in you.

Regards,

Rear Admiral Sheena Drake.”

Andy let the note slip through his fingers, stunned.

Damn, mum, he thought. You always wanted a daughter…

For the first time in his life, Andy felt like refusing an assignment. He put everything back in the bag, turned round, and walked over to the other side of the room, ignoring the Sergeant who was looking at him, concerned.

Finally, he made a decision.

“Tell them they’ll have my resignation in the morning”, he said, striding out…

He made his own way back to his quarters, ignoring everyone and everything.

When he got back, he took a look around the room, for a long minute. He then sighed, and started packing his bags…

There was a knock on the door. He ignored it. The knock came again, more insistent. Then the door burst open, helped by a boot…

“What the fuck are you thinking!”, came an enraged voice.

Andy just carried on packing.

“Damn it, talk to me!”, Sheena said. To her disbelief, Andy just zipped up his bags and walked out, ignoring her completely. He threw the bags in the back of his car, got in and, before Sheena could stop him, drove off.

Sheena just leant against the doorframe, stunned, watching him leave. She then seemed to pull herself together and slowly, sadly, headed back to base…

Six months passed.

Sheena Drake herself had taken charge of the group; she believed in it so much that she made it her personal mission to make it a success. Her adjutant, Mattie Briggs, the Sergeant who had been with Andy on his first day, did her job perfectly, keeping the office running efficiently. One day, however, she caught her staring off into space…

“Something wrong, Sergeant?”, she asked.

The woman smiled, sadly.

“I’d never had to handle someone’s resignation before…”

“How can you miss him?”, Sheena said. “You only knew my son for a few minutes…”

“He has that ‘effect’ on people”, Mattie said. “Surely we could have relaxed the rule for him, he was obviously the right person for the job.”

“Sergeant!” snapped Sheena. “You forget who you are talking to! I did not give you permission to speak freely.”

“You did ask…”, Mattie said, petulantly.

“True, I did”, said Sheena, patting her gently on the shoulder. “Still, that’s in the past. Now, what time is take off for Operation Hercules?”

“1400 hours, Ma’am”, said Mattie. “The rest of the team’s all ready.”

The mission seemed to go without a hitch. Then, there was the crack of a sniper’s rifle. Sheena jerked, then fell…

She was the only major casualty. There were other personnel injured, but only she was badly hurt, paralysed from the waist down by her spinal injuries.

Mattie visited her in hospital. Despite her military upbringing, she was crying as she held Sheena’s hand…

Just before she slipped into unconsciousness again, Sheena said one thing…

“Find my son. The Group needs Andrea Drake.”

With a new determination, Mattie rushed back to her office and started typing furiously on her computer.

She worked at it for hours, continuously.

Finally, at 2am, she had an address…

Andy woke up, hearing the knock on the door of his motel room. Who the hell was calling at 4am in the morning?

Groaning, he got out of bed and threw on t-shirt and shorts over his boxers. He then opened the door.

Mattie Briggs stood there, in the rain, soaking wet.

“Aren’t you even going to invite me in?”, she said…

Andy gestured, and she went past him, into the room. She swallowed, then decided to come right out with it.

“We need your help”, she said. “Admiral… your mother is in hospital.”

Despite his anger, Andy softened.

“Why… what happened…?”, he asked.

“I can’t give you the full details, because you are no longer a serving officer”, said Mattie. “However, I can say that she was injured on her last mission. She’s… paralysed from the waist down…”. Tears filled Mattie’s eyes; Andy just reacted. He went over and hugged her, gently.

Her head resting on his shoulder, Mattie said, “She want’s you back. She wants you to run the Group.”

Andy pulled away.

“This is all a con, isn’t it?”, he said. “I thought mum would do anything to get a daughter, I didn’t realise how low she’d stoop…”

Mattie slapped him, hard.

“My best friend is lying in a hospital bed at the moment! She could die from her injuries! She’s also your mother! And all you can care about is your stupid feelings of embarrassment!! Her request to me was to find ‘Andrea Drake’! I guess I’ve got to carry on looking!”

Now crying freely, Mattie went to leave.

“You’re not kidding, are you…?”, Andy said, quietly. “She’s really hurt. You love her, don’t you?”

“She’s like a mother to me!”, cried Mattie. “She’s done everything for me, helped me out of a bad place when I was younger, gave me a completely new life!”

Before Andy could stop her, Mattie undid her soaking wet blouse and lifted it. The scars under her breasts were still visible but fading.

“I was a man too! Matt Briggs, ruffian and gang member. I was offered this as part of ‘witness protection’, and I jumped at it! I really wanted the chance to work with Admiral Drake; I’ve had the hots for her since I was a kid. I had the ‘full works’ done about a year ago, so I’m a full woman now, but they managed to leave my strength intact, which is useful in my ‘profession’.”

“There’s only one problem”, she said. “I’ve also fancied you since I first met you. You’re a lot more my age, but you’re not really my type. I’m still only into women, you see, and you’re not that. But Andrea could be…!”

“Please…”, begged Mattie, almost on her knees, “please… give Andrea a chance.”

Andy paced back and forth in his motel room, looking at Mattie. She was a really believable woman, quite sexy too…

What the hell was he thinking!? Did he really want to go back into the armed forces as a ‘shemale’? At the same time, Mattie had proven it was possible, and, despite everything, it was starting to feel appealing…

Andy stopped his pacing, having come to a decision. He faced Mattie, looked her straight in the eyes, and nodded, simply saying, “Ok”.

He then stood straight and saluted. Mattie, smiling, did likewise.

“Commander Andrea Drake, reporting for duty as ordered. Only problem is, I seem to have misplaced my uniform…!”

“Oh no you haven’t”, giggled Mattie. “I brought it with me…”

She disappeared outside, then came back in with a kitbag and a case.

“The case is your ‘special equipment’, Ma’am”, she said.

“Don’t make me regret this…”, said Andy.

“Never, Ma’am”, said Mattie, all efficiency again…

Shortly, two women left the hotel room, in full uniform. Mattie smiling; she had helped ‘Andrea’ get dressed…

Back at the base, there was a general meeting of all the current personnel.

Andrea carried ‘herself’ like the officer her mother had always known she could be. She was a real inspiration to all the other women, telling them what they would do, not what they could do.

“I have complete faith in you all”, she said, “you will not let me down, it’s that simple.”

“Ma’am, yes Ma’am!”, came the shout.

Andrea smiled; she was still sort of getting used to being called that, but she was beginning to like it.

“Let’s get the bastard who hurt Admiral Drake, shall we?”

“Ma’am, yes Ma’am!”

“I need ten volunteers…”

Every single hand went up, even Mattie’s…!

The operation went perfectly.

Andrea herself took down the terrorist that had shot her mother, hitting him dead between his eyes with a single shot. Mattie had been by her side throughout, taking down one of the terrorists when he had got a bead on Andrea.

“I literally couldn’t have done it without you”, Andrea said, hugging Mattie.

“Ma’am, please!”, squeaked Mattie. “Not in the workplace…!”

Later, however, was another matter…