Archive-name: Changes/abfh1d.txt Archive-author: Archive-title: Anderson's Training Keywords: trans Sherry went to the pharmacy and had the prescription filled. The prescription called for taking Premarin and Provera on a 25- day cycle. She realized that she'd have to make a schedule of some kind to keep track of what day to take what. The pills had to be taken with food and had to be taken at approximately the same time each day. The pharmacist gave her a lengthy brochure about what to expect while taking hormones. She read that once she got back to the townhouse. Mood swings, weepiness, long-term risks of cancer; it was heartening to realize that no women in her family had ever developed breast cancer. No time like the present, so she fixed a sandwich and took her first pill. It was almost a disappointment that nothing happened right away. The ringing of the telephone startled her. In over two months, she hadn't had one incoming phone call. She picked up the handset and said hello. "Sherry, it's Doris. Change into jeans, a sweatshirt, and sneakers. I'll be over in twenty minutes to pick you up." The line went dead as Doris hung up without awaiting a reply. `Christ, what a bitch!' Sherry thought as she went upstairs to change. It can't be a flying day, there's no need to drive to the field. Well, going with the flow has worked so far. She was ready at the appointed time. Doris drove up in a Jeep, a real gasoline-powered one. Sherry hopped in and asked what's up. "Another phase of your training," she replied. "You start gun class today." Doris drove to a site several miles away, it was a rectangular building with a large earthen berm behind it. Doris handed Sherry the keys to the Jeep. "I'll catch a ride back, drive back when you're done. Go to the office and tell them your name, they'll take it from there." Sherry did as Doris told her to. The office had three men lounging around who looked like midwestern "good-ole boys," complete with flannel shirts and yellow work boots. When she said her name, a tall man in his late 40s stood up and said: "Yeah, I've been waiting for you. My name's Keith. Let's go." Sherry followed him out of the office. He led the way down the corridor to a set of stairs, then dwon a flight to the basement. They went to a heavy door, he opened it and threw a set of wall switches. The front of the room lit up and the whine of a powerful ventilation fan started. They were in an indoor range. It had three firing points and appeared to be a 25-yard range. Each firing point had a target holder that moved back and forth by an electric motor. "You ever do any handgun shooting," Keith asked. "Some." "What do you shoot?" ".45 Colt auto." Keith grunted, then went to a wall cabinet. He pulled out some targets, tape, shooting glasses, and two pairs of large ear protectors. Then he unlocked another cabinet and handed Sherry a Colt Gold Cup .45. Sherry immediately pulled the slide back and locked it. "Ok, so you may know what you're doing," Keith admitted. He hung a 25-yard rapid-fire target on the frame and ran it down to the far end of the range. Then he handed Sherry a box of cartridges, two empty magazines, and waved her to the firing point. Sherry stepped up to the position. She dry-fired the pistol several times to get a feel for the trigger; it was a lot lighter and crisper than an issue service weapon. She locked the slide back, set the pistol on the counter, and loaded five rounds into a magazine. Sherry said: "Put on your hearing protection, please." She then put the glasses on and the earmuffs over them. She shifted her body as she picked up the pistol and magazine so her left foot was ahead of her right one. She inserted the magazine into the well of the pistol and slipped off the slide release, which allowed the slide to run forward and chamber a round. She held the pistol in her right hand, with her left hand forming a cup in which the right hand rested as if she was catching it. Her left elbow was bent almost 90 degrees, the right elbow was straight. Breath deep, let a little out, squeeeeezeee...BLAM! Sherry fired four more times, then Keith stepped up and brought the target up. "Not bad," he said. Sherry had hit the x-ring once, the ten ring twice, the nine once, and the seven ring. 46x1. She felt pretty good about it. Keith poured cold water all over her joy. "But that means nothing. Nobody's going to allow you to settle into a Weaver stance and calmly snap off five rounds at them. And for damn sure you won't find a Gold Cup lying around. But at least you know which end of a pistol does what." So Sherry started practical pistol training. That was a nice euphemism for learning how to kill someone with a pistol. "First thing is this," Keith said: "A pistol's a defensive weapon. It's what you use to stop someone from doing harm to you or someone else. If you're going to set out to kill someone, then use a better weapon with more killing power and range." Over the next few weeks, Sherry learned how to shoot competently with almost every conceivable handgun. The training took place on a firing range that was a mock-town with pop-up or swinging targets. She had to learn to shoot with one hand, the wrong hand, and both hands. Keith taught her how to draw from waist, shoulder, and leg holsters. For one phase of the schooling, she had to wear a suit, heels, and draw from a purse. It sure felt strange to Sherry to walk though the training range in a navy pinstripe "dress for success" suit, career pumps, and whip oet a .380 automatic to drill a scumbag. Combat training was held using guns firing paintballs. These were often painful as the paint pellets were fired from regular firearms (rather than the paintball guns), but the training impact of being shot was of value. The flying continues as before. Sherry passed her multi- engine flight test. She was put on the roster for the air-charter outfit based at the airport; soon she was flying the Twin Beech and the Navajo on cargo runs. To her amusement, she even flew some men to the same southern airport where she had been taken for her medical examination. When the schedule called for her to make a night run, her other training was adjusted to accomodate the flight. She was building time in the classic method used by aspiring commercial pilots. The therapy continued, too. Janet acted more like a close confidant than a professional, which resulted in Sherry's opening up completely. Janet also reviewed the surveillance reports on Sherry for any discrepancies. She was coming along fine. Sherry had continuing appointments with the electrolysis team, normally once a week. They went after follicles that were dormant during the initial process along with the ones that had survived. The sessions didn't take very long, but they were nothing that she regarded as fun. The ground training shifted focus somewhat. The curriculum moved from handguns to shoulder weapons: rifles and shotguns. Sherry found she had a talent with a rifle, she could "dope" the wind and normally hit a target at six hundred yards. The shotgun was easy for her, it was a reactive weapon where the rifle was normally a deliberate one. Sherry really didn't like the high- powered rifles too much, they kicked fiercely. But anything smaller than a .30-06 was fun. As firearms training tapered off, they started her on unarmed training. This had little in common with the theology of martial arts, it was raw street survival training. A few sessions were held with Sherry wearing "street clothes," dresses, skirts, heels. Those sessions often resulted in the clothes being totalled, but they were replaceable. One session was nighttime training. Sherry had to walk down the street. Most of the people would pass her by, but one was supposed to attack. When the attack came, Sherry spun out of the attacker's grip and pulled a snub-nosed .38 from under her jacket. She levelled the pistol at the attacker and fired three times, the instructor staggered back in shock as three paint pellets smashed into his chest. The lights came on as the two looked at each other, the other people on the street had all dived for cover when the shots rang out. The trainer rubbed the impact sites and said: "Very good. If you have a weapon, the hand-to-hand moves are for fools. But that's not the goal of this training, so don't bring it again." His voice sounded harsh, but he was trying hard not to smile. Sherry had a medical appoinment the next day. Dr Trotti and one of his parters, Dr. Pamela Levinson, gave her another complete physical. It lasted most of the day, Sherry just put up with the routine. She hated being poked and prodded, but that was the way the medical profession worked. The two doctors saw her after the exam. "How are you doing, my dear," Trotti asked. "Fine." "Any complaints?" "No." "Are you noticing any soreness around your nipples," asked Levinson. "Some," admitted Sherry. "The literature the pharmacy gave me said to expect that." Both doctors nodded, then Trotti shifted gears. "I want you to go to the blood bank and have them extract a pint of blood, then another one in four weeks. That will provide a ready source in case we need it." "For what?" "Surgery," he said. "In two months, we're going to take you in and reshape your face to a more feminine appearance. At the same time, the day before actually, Dr. Levinson will do the vocal surgery. You'll be out of action for a while after that, but we'll make sure you're still learning something." Sherry nodded, not wanting to speak. Her mind was filled with a conflict; she wanted to have the facial surgery, but she also didn't want anybody cutting her with a sharp object. The doctors asked some other questions, but Sherry answered them rather abruptly. When the interview ended, she went to the blood bank and they drew a pint for deposit on her account. They told her to drink plenty of fluids and not to fly for 24 hours. She called the field and had them take her off the schedule. Janet had noticed Sherry's hesitancy at the pre-surgery meeting, she dropped by after work with a bottle of white wine and some munchies. Sherry was a little amazed and a little peeved that Janet hadn't called; the townhouse looked like an exercise in "Living With Chaos." But she found a couple of semi-clean glasses and a plate for the food. After the bottle was opened, Sherry opened the discussion: "I assume you didn't stop by just for a visit." "Why do you say that?" "Oh, I don't know," Sherry said with sarcasm dripping like molten steel. "You've never said anything like `let's do lunch,' but two hours after a discussion about surgery, here you are, booze in hand." "In some way's you're still a man," Janet said with a wry smile. "Most women wouldn't go that quickly to the heart of the matter. They'd have opened with some pleasantries and eventually worked around to the point." "Or they might try altering the subject. Answer the question." "All right," Janet sighed. "You seemed uncomfortable with the idea of surgery. What bothers you, the idea of changing your appearance?" "No," Sherry said emphatically. "Nothing like that. It's more like I don't like the idea of being operated on." "Have you ever had an operation?" "Nope, nothing more serious than removing wisdom teeth. I've never been knocked out, not even accidentally." "And the idea bothers you?" "People sometimes don't wake up afterwards." Janet smiled. At least it wasn't a matter of Sherry not being convinced that the operation wasn't necessary. She spent a lot of time trying to calm Sherry's jitters. She wasn't too convinced, but she was reassured that there were other things in life more risky that she had done. Then Sherry asked a question Janet wasn't prepared for: "When are you going to remove my testicles?" "Why?" "I did some reading on hormones in the database. The writers all seem to believe that female hormones work better if they're not fighting male hormones. You could also lower the dosage level and reduce the risks from side effects." Janet looked very serious. "But if that's done, you'd never be able to father a child. And there is no way to reverse that operation, even superglue wouldn't work." Sherry stood up and stripped to the waist. "Do I look like a man? I am a woman-" she said that with considerable emphasis "- but I still have some extra parts. I want that taken care of as soon as I can." Janet motioned to Sherry to put her clothes back on; Sherry complied. Sherry's breasts were starting to bud, her body looked like one that might belong to a six-foot tall twelve year old. "We can't do all that, not right away." "Why not?" "You know about the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care?" Sherry nodded. "Well," Janet continued, "we are really violating them somewhat in your case. There is an overriding interest that classifies as `national security,' we've compressed a lot of the time factors. But we still won't do the final reassignment surgery without some form of Real Life Test. "You are going to have to live and work as a woman for a while before we consider you for final surgery. When it comes time, we will have you operated on by the best there is." "You mean-" Sherry held her tongue when Janet held her finger to her lips. "I think we know who that is. There are people who help out the Government on a volunteer basis, but under the strictest security. You won't meet the surgeon, at least not when you're concious. But we have to satisfy a minimum of the Standards before you can undergo SRS." "Hmm. And I don't suppose you have any specifics in mind for a Real Life Test?" "As a matter of fact, yes. You'll get a job with an air cargo service, flying night runs for a check-delivery service. That'll also build your logbook up. It's really a double-barreled test: we'll see if you can survive on your own as a woman and if you can be a competent professional pilot." Sherry nodded. By this time the wine was gone and they both were feeling tired. Janet made her exit, Sherry washed up and went to bed. Doris called Sherry at 5am and told her to be ready for flying at six and to bring changes of clothing for three days. Sherry grunted something unintelligible into the phone and got up. She went over to the field at six; to her surprise she was handed a completed flight plan to Mojave, California and the keys to the Twin Beech. Go with the flow, she figured, she was airborne by 6:30. The plan had her overnighting in Cheyenne, then on to California. The FBO at the Cheyenne airport gave her a ride to a local Holiday Inn. Sherry had dinner in the restaurant and wnet to bed. She grabbed a cab to the airport the next morning and completed the trip to Mojave. Of all the possibilities that she anticipated, what happened didn't occur to her. She was met at the airport and immediately loaded onto a Marine C-12 en route to the Twenty-Nine Palms Marine base. Four instructors met her for a course in desert survival. Over the next seven days, they showed her how to survive in the desert with the materials and equipment she'd likely have if she had to crash-land in one. Water was the key, they emphasised. without water, you die. With water, then one might survive. The detail that convinced her that someone was really planning her training ahead was that the instructors had a week's supply of her hormone pills. Sherry really enjoyed the hot shower she took after the week was over. But they didn't keep her at 29 Palms; she was flown to San Diego and put onto a C-141 to Panama. Once there, she got to repeat the whole process in a jungle. The struggle there was almost the opposite; too much water and trying to keep dry. There were more poisonous snakes in the jungle than she ever dreamed of, and bugs galore. Sherry wasn't too sure which she hated more, bugs or snakes. Week three found her in Colorado, this time the focus was on mountain survival. By this time Sherry was wondering if she'd survive survival training. The survival trainig was followed up by a cram course in land navigation; the final exam was a three- day trek to a pickup point. They made it clear to her that they would only look for her at the pickup point, she had to get there or reach civilization on her own. She made it to the pickup point with three hours to spare. After she showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes, one of the instructors took her to a restaurant for a graduation dinner. Sherry had no trouble finishing a 16-oz prime rib, the largest steak she had eated in years. It was about the best she ever remembered, too. The night was memorable if only for the fact that it was the first time since she passed through Cheyenne that she slept indoors in a bed with clean sheets. Sherry caught a commercial flight to Madison, Wisconsin the next day. Craig met her at the airport, the two flew back to the home base in the Bonanza. The Twin Beech was on the field when they arrived. She had no idea who retrieved it, but she knew better than to ask. Doris had left a note on her door; Sherry was glad to learn she had the next two days off. She slept for most of it. When she stepped on the bathroom scale, she was shocked to learn that she had lost 25 pounds during the rigouroes training. None of her new wardrobe fit, she wore sweats and pulled the drawstring tight. It would probably be a temporary loss. --