Post-Challenge 1 Results

With another flash of magenta light and pulse of energy, the assembled Earthlings were once again aware that C2 had jumped them ahead in time, sealing whatever their fates were going to be.

“Welcome back to Harem Hotel: Intergalactic. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in our polls. It’s time to take a look at the results. We’ll start with the MVP vote for the first challenge. While the challenge ended up with Serena on top, the audience thought the real MVP was Delia. Maybe it was her clever strategy for finding the cards, her refusal to take cards from Serena and Jacqueline, or her determination to keep the crew together. Whatever it was, the audience was impressed. Not far behind her, we have our favorite from the first popularity poll, Jenna. The audience seemed to enjoy her attitude towards both her transformation and the challenge itself. Jacqueline took third, even after surrendering a card to Daisy in one of the station’s oxygen farms. Serena was in fourth after an initial mad dash led to a more systematic search and a card captured with Delia’s assistance. Sarah, who found herself struggling due to the amount of heat she absorbed wandering into one of the station’s boiler rooms, ended up taking fifth. And finally, Daisy finds herself once more in sixth place. Perhaps the audience didn’t care for how she obtained her card. Let’s dole out a little BP to reward everyone’s efforts. BP totals this time are based on a small baseline value for everyone with extra BP for every point from the voting results.”

1st (MVP) – Delia: 1400 BP > 2480 BP
2nd – Jenna: 1500 BP > 2500 BP
3rd – Jacqueline: 1200 BP > 2150 BP
4th – Serena: 1100 BP > 1950 BP
5th – Sarah: 1300 BP > 2050 BP
6th – Daisy: 1000 BP > 1620 BP

“That should give everyone enough BP to start browsing the store. I suggest you all take a look at the store when you get an opportunity. But, before that, it’s time to reveal the results of your transformation votes. Let’s start with our Master and Captain. For his first vote set, which aimed to deal with the members of his crew who might not normally be attracted to men. There was a lot of back and forth in the beginning, with each option spending a moment in the spotlight. Still, the audience quickly decided that all the masculinity that your contestants had taken from them shouldn’t be wasted and Reclaimed Masculinity developed a lead that wasn’t able to be overcome.

Reclaimed Masculinity – Aaron will absorb some of the masculinity lost by any members of his harem who have changed gender, increasing his strength, stamina, and masculine presence. Does not affect appearance. Those individuals who lost their masculinity will feel especially drawn to it.

“The results for the Master’s Meta transformation were similar, with some initial back-and-forth but one option quickly took the lead. While many of our audience members thought it would be interesting to see how you would decide who to use our classic HH Transformation Blasters on, they were just barely outvoted by those who wanted to see some of the bizarre phenomena that are waiting out there for our intrepid crew. Strange Encounters was the definitive winner.”

Strange Encounters – Every round, the ship will encounter a strange entity or anomaly that will cause additional transformations in crew members affected by the situation. The crew will receive a timed objective that they must complete to resolve the scenario. If the scenario is resolved, all transformations will be temporary. If the scenario is not resolved, all transformations will be permanent.

“We’ll discuss more about how these encounters will work during your mission briefing tomorrow. But let’s apply those changes.” C2 shot a pulse of golden light at Aaron. He took the ball of light, looking the robot right in its glowing eye, bracing for the change. When the golden ripple flowed through him, his appearance was unchanged, but the resulting sensation was unlike anything that Aaron could have imagined. Suddenly, he was filled with a surge of energy and strength that seemed to infuse every cell of his body. The subtle exhaustion he’d felt since the start of his long drive and a deeper fatigue that he hadn’t even been aware of, and had likely been there for years if not decades, were suddenly lifted from his shoulders. He felt the need to move, to stretch, as though his body wasn’t large enough to contain the essence he’d been given fully. He looked at his hand, expecting it to appear different with the strange sensation of having so much energy inside him just begging to be used.

To the others, the difference was palpable. While he didn’t look any different to the women, it was a different story on an instinctive level. Suddenly, his presence was simply more. The difference was difficult to quantify, but none of them doubted that the man in front of them had changed. Serena and Jacqueline in particular felt a strange draw to the transformed man. They could distinctly feel the presence of the masculine essence that had once been theirs now dwelling in the other man, and they felt a magnetic draw to it that resonated through not only their bodies, but their minds as well. The effect was so stunning that it wasn’t until C2 cleared his non-existent throat that most of the women realized they’d been staring at him, rapt with a strange reassessing curiosity.

“I appreciate that you all are so approving of the craftsmanship of my transformation, but I figured you ladies would be a little bit more interested in your own changes.” The women directed their attention back to the robot, remembering that their own bodies and minds were about to be changed, but still found their eyes drifting back to Aaron.

“Let’s start with our Boon winners. Our challenge winner Serena was given the option of improving her body with some of this galaxy’s cybernetic technology, improving her awareness of her own body, or improving her intuition about others. Serena’s passion for science fiction led her to ask the audience for the cybernetic enhancement and, once again, the audience was happy to give her exactly what she wanted. Cyberpunk jumped into an early lead, and none of the others came remotely close.”

Cyberpunk – Serena’s body is enhanced with various subcutaneous cybernetic components. In addition to being a cool new look, it also provides a heads-up display that allows more seamless integration with information sources, terminal functions, and the ship’s systems. Upgrades available.

“However, during the course of the challenge, Serena was caught by one of my drones and received a penalty downgrade. Let’s see what the downgrade is for this transformation.”

Cyberpunk (Downgrade) – Exposed implants are very sensitive to sexual touch. HUD performs internal self-monitoring that may reveal inconvenient truths.

“That’s right, folks, Serena will find that her new implants light up her nervous system when they’re touched with the right intentions, and her new HUD will occasionally offer commentary based on its analysis of her physiology that might reveal some truths that our new cyber-woman would rather not think about. Luckily, she’ll be the only one who can see these tidbits of information. As long as she’s got a good poker face, no one will ever know.” C2 shot another bolt of golden light which washed over Serena. When it was done, she reached up to her face, feeling a line of metallic implants that had appeared on her face, going from ear to ear, beneath her eyes and across the bridge of her nose like the bottom rim of a pair of glasses. She felt the implants that had appeared all over her body, but the only ones she could see without taking off her uniform were a few glowing metallic implants on the backs of her fingers and a pair of lines in the opening of her suit, framing her cleavage. The implants were thin, slightly recessed, and, while clearly metallic, glowed like they were filled with luminescent neon in a bright purple that matched her new hair color. She ran her hands along the new addition and shivered as a sensation that she’d grown familiar with during the challenge raced up her spine. A small, semi-transparent window opened in her vision, as though it was floating several feet in front of her. The window was filled with an image of her brain lighting up in certain areas and a message.

Positive response to stimuli detected. Desire to experiment with similar stimuli via partner detected.

Serena couldn’t deny the fact, but she was suddenly dreading a lifetime of having the running commentary of her body’s responses.

“That brings us to Jenna. Jenna was given the options of having a drone sidekick, a unique chance to take on challenges to win BP or adapt, or the ability to create hard light objects. While a few folks were interested in seeing what types of drones might be available, ultimately they were outnumbered by those interested in the other two options. Utility Light and Adapting for Success fought back and forth for the lead but, in the end, Adapting for Success came out on top.”

Adapting for Success – Jenna can choose from a list of tasks, each with a measurable objective and a time limit. If she accomplishes that task within the time limit, she will receive a BP reward relative to the difficulty of the task. If she fails the task, she will have a temporary TF applied intended to help her adapt to the task in the future. Can have up to two adaptations at a time. The first adaptation applied will be replaced when the cap has been met.

“Utility Light will come back in a future round, but it might look a little bit different depending on whether or not you end up getting a boon or penalty next round. Additionally, since Jenna received the Gambler Meta transformation, we’ll be rolling a die to see if this transformation gets upgraded or downgraded.”

C2 projected the image of a 10-sided die which rotated rapidly in all directions, before dropping. The projected die didn’t bounce at all, coming to rest like a dropped lead weight and displaying a 5.

“Looks like the gamble pays off this time. Adapting for Success is getting an upgrade, which will allow Jenna to share the fun of her objectives with her crewmates.”

Adapting for Success (Upgrade) – Jenna can recruit one other contestant to help her with an objective. The other contestant must agree to assist. If the task succeeds, contestants each receive 50% of the BP reward. If the task fails, contestants both receive a temporary TF. Other contestants can only have one adaptation at a time.

C2’s golden light left Jenna apparently unchanged. She was looking forward to seeing what kind of tasks she would receive and curious if she could convince any of the other women to help her with the promise of BP.

“Starting our penalty transformations, we have our third-place finisher in the challenge, our standout heel, Daisy. Her piercing option was defeated quickly as the lie-responsive bell and pleasure from following orders both jumped out ahead. The lead went back and forth several times, but ultimately, the audience thought it would be helpful to give Daisy some help with her honesty, and Verity Bell took the win. Ensign’s Excitement will be back again in a future round.”

Verity Bell – Daisy will be permanently fitted with a choker with a small, tasteful cowbell that will ring any time she knowingly tells a lie.

When the golden light hit Daisy, it rapidly focused around her neck where it manifested as a thin suede choker with a silver cowbell charm about the size of a 9V battery. Daisy's hands immediately went to the choker, which she confirmed lacked a clasp or any means to remove it from her neck. She seemed pleased that it was thinner than she had expected, but still disgusted that she'd essentially been permanently collared. She had no interest in saying anything to test the bell. C2 apparently wasn't expecting her to play along and moved on.

"In case you're curious, the bell and choker are both completely indestructible and permanently bonded to you. Luckily, they're waterproof and resistant to everything that you are. Still, we've made sure your living quarters are stocked with an appropriate polish if you ever want to make sure that it's extra shiny. As for the style of the choker, the Master has been provided with the option to change its appearance at any time, so long as it still can be considered a choker."

“Jacqueline’s up next, and this was another vote with two options that left the third in the dust. Luckily for our sports fan, she won’t have to spend every competitive event cheering her heart out and cumming her brains out. Unfortunately, that means that she is left with those options that take her farther from simple humanity. While the tail made enough of a showing that we’ll be seeing it as an option again in the future, the audience ultimately agreed that the Master could use some extra hints and chose to give her A Flashing Sign to communicate what she’s thinking to her Captain.”

A Flashing Sign – The Master needs more hints than most. To make it easier for him to understand, Jacqueline will develop bioluminescent markings that will clearly show her desires and how she feels about things. Markings always visible through clothing.

C2 didn’t hesitate at all to blast the green-skinned woman with another bolt of golden light and, when the ripples passed, it looked like her body had been covered in thousands of star-like points of light arranged in vaguely geometric patterns that followed the lines of her curves. The points shimmered in a combination of vivid yellow, dark green, and blue-green light that pulsed in a rapid cadence that the others could only guess matched her heart rate. She looked at the others, who were looking at her with awe at the sparkling effect that shone even through the thick material of the suit.

“Dad, it’s beautiful,” Jenna whispered in awe.

Apparently, her daughter’s reassurance was enough to help her calm down a bit as she looked at the other women and Aaron, and she was pleased to see that, while the others were all looking at her, their stares were filled with awe and not revulsion. The pulse of lights slowed and became less bright as the blue-green and dark green started to fade out and the yellow became dominant, with only the occasional flash of blue-green and dark green that flared as she looked at her own hands and watched the lights twinkle across her skin.

“Well, isn’t that pretty. You and the Master will have to learn to interpret the color and patterns together. But, just in case you were worried about disturbing your sleep or that of any future bedmates, you’ll find that the luminescence will dim as you start to fall asleep, though you may put on a small light show if you have any especially emotional dreams. Serena's implants will similarly dim while sleeping.”

“Next up, we have our MVP and fifth place finisher, Delia. Delia thought that some mental effects were a reasonable price to pay to be able to spend part of her time as a 21-year-old, or at least thought it was a better option than being pinched and leered at while she served the crew at meals or randomly phasing through solid objects into embarrassing situations. The audience agreed by a staggering margin, with over 75% of the vote. That means from now on, our resident MILF will be splitting her time between being a MILF and a co-ed.” C2 blasted the woman with the golden light, and the ripples took longer than anyone had expected.

Mother or Maiden – Delia gains the ability to switch her age between 21 and 39. Spending time in her younger form will decrease her inhibitions. Spending time in her older form will cause her to behave more maternally towards the crew. Spending time in either form for an extended period increases libido.

Where Delia had stood was now a woman that could have been her daughter. Her hair flowed down to her hips in what Daisy recognized as the hairstyle Delia had worn in her early adulthood, while her face had regained much of her youthful vibrancy. Her skin was smoother, with a warm glow that highlighted the slimming and tightening of her face. Her body still had the thin waist and enhanced breasts from her first transformation, but her hips and thighs had lost a great deal of their thickness, leaving her with a figure that was a more balanced hourglass than her formerly bottom-heavy figure. She felt as though her body had become lighter and found that her exhaustion from the evening and countless minor aches had disappeared. It wasn’t the same incredible surge of energy that Aaron seemed to be experiencing, but it left her feeling more awake than if she’d just woken from a full night of sleep. She also felt something in her mind that had the distinct feeling of a toggle switch and knew that, if she flipped it, she would revert to her older form. Part of her was afraid to try the toggle. The sensation of suddenly being in the younger body was intoxicating, and she worried that if the transition to a younger body felt so good, the return would likely feel equally terrible.

C2 apparently read something in her look, because he spoke up.

“The mental changes will start to accumulate the longer that you’re occupying either form, but we don’t want you to have to suffer the sensation of having to age 20 years in a few seconds. To keep the change from being an unpleasant experience in both directions, Delia’s older form will be largely aesthetic, with the health of her body generally maintaining the improvements in health from her younger form. This is especially important since she will find that her fertility has been restored to what it was in her young adulthood, and we wouldn’t want any future children to be endangered by constant shifts in her body's age.” Delia was relieved to hear the robot’s comment, but was still reluctant to flip the switch in her mind. She decided that she would do it later, when she was alone, to confirm that returning to her older form wouldn’t suddenly cause the return of all the aches and pains that she now found herself gloriously relieved of.

“Which brings us to our final contestant. Sarah came in last place in the challenge and towards the back of the pack in the MVP vote. The audience seemed to agree with your assessment that there were problems with forcing you to start moving and posing like a model, even though I think your catwalk display in the challenge showed you could use a little more grace. Instead, they went back and forth about whether to give you see-sawing cravings for partners of different genders or give you the coloration of a legendary snow woman. In the end, Yuki Onna came out on top, but Alternating Appetite was close enough behind that it will return in a future round.

Yuki Onna – Sarah becomes part Snow Woman. Her skin becomes flawlessly pale, while her eyes, lips, and other features turn a frosty blue, and her hair gets an icy color gradient.

He began to glow with a golden light, but before he fired, he reassured the scared-looking woman.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got some pressure to get this right. If I diminish the reputation of the snow women, one of my more senior coworkers will be vocally and, likely, violently corrective.”

The golden glow passed through Sarah, the ripples stripping the color of her skin, leaving it a flawless snow white. Her lips had darkened to a dark royal blue while her eyes had become a stunning sky blue. Her brows remained dark while her hair had become a snow white that transitioned to a deep, icy blue as it reached her shoulders. Even her makeup and the color of her nightie had changed to match her new color scheme. The result was a cold, ethereal beauty that was still recognizably Sarah, but also something that was no longer wholly human. She stared at her hands, with her snow-white skin and the slight blue tint around her nailbeds. She looked at Serena, who gave her a reassuring and affectionate gaze. She wished that the look was enough to reassure her that the change hadn't left her looking freakish, but she still found herself desperately hoping that C2 would provide them mirrors like last time to see her changes. Unfortunately, C2 was already moving on.

“Not too bad if I do say so myself. Now, since we’ve got everyone transformed and I’m sure you're all exhausted from this long evening, the next item on the agenda is to deliver you all to your living quarters, so that you can get some rest and be ready for the adventures to continue tomorrow. Thanks, everyone, for tuning in!”