She shouldn't have been so nervous. They'd run through so many drills, discussed in such incredible detail exactly what was going to happen, and what the subsequent year would be like. Logically speaking, there was nothing for Isabelle to be concerned about. And yet as she stepped off the transport shuttle and down into the hangar, she couldn't help but find herself increasingly anxious about the plunge she was about to take.
This was, after all, what she had been working towards for so many years. Ever since she'd been a little girl, she had wanted to get out here to explore the galaxy, meet new people and races, see what the cosmos had to offer. There was no better way to do so than by joining the Terran Unity Corps, and the moment she was old enough, she'd done exactly that. Four years of intensive study later, and she was finally ready to take the next big step. For the next year, she'd be immersed in an alien culture to a degree that would've boggled the minds of her ancestors.
Even as they stepped onto the turbolift, silently proceeding up to the laboratory, she could see through the transparasteel walls plenty of other such Unity Corps members going about their business. In their features she was offerred a preview of what she'd soon be experiencing - how she would soon appear. Human, and yet, blended with something else entirely.
It really was a marvel how flexible the human genome had proved to be as mankind took its steps out into the galaxy. Human genetics accepted the DNA of the other sentient races it encountered among the stars with shocking ease - the first hybrid children had required barely any therapy to be healthy and functional. And soon, with technology ever on the advance, it had been found that even an adult human could be modified to accept characteristics from any of humanity's growing pool of allied races.
Thus the Terran Unity Corps - humans who wished to experience how other races truly lived, in a manner only humans could. Willingly accepting gene therapy to become a middle ground between mankind and some other species from the stars, and spending several years living among them, studying their culture, truly becoming a part of their community. Isabelle had been intrigued by the idea her entire life, and now, she had finally passed all the certifications required to proceed with her own hybridization.
She had to admit, it was a little scary to finally be face to face with the process. Stepping off the lift and into the medical lab where her therapy would be administered, a chill ran up her spine - she really was here, and she really was about to do this. No going back at this point, not unless she wanted years of cultural study, becoming fluent in the language and customs of an alien species, to go entirely to waste. With a slight tremble in her hands she took a deep breath and marched forward, approaching the robotic secretary at the front desk. "Excuse me, I'm Isabelle Mone, TUC, here for conversion therapy?"
The mechanical assistant responded immediately, its voice monotone and even. "Recognized. Your arrival has been noticed. Please take a seat and wait to be called." She nodded, stepping back over to the rows of chairs circling the lobby and sitting down, trying not to wring her hands too much. In a few hours she wouldn't even have human wrists to wring - honestly, as she considered the species whose features she was about to take on, Isabelle couldn't help but wonder if anyone would recognize her afterwards. She reached into her jacket, pulling out a data pad and looking over some news relating to that very race....