YSS Heartbreaker, Power Armor Bay
Well, Skade thought, wiping the sweat from her brow as she worked on her Mindy. I hope that they fix the environmental controls soon. It's way too hot in here. Especially with two layers of clothing on, she thought, wiping a bit of grease on her Type 36 coverall.
I wonder how Edtoto is doing. I mean, she's a lizard, but is she cold-blooded? Sighing, she stuck her tongue in concentration as she worked to re-install the Ke-M2-G2902 Nodal Fabrication Module into its dorsal hardpoint. I wish I could keep the drone bits, but Edtoto is vulnerable to the CFS, even in her power armor. And the mission coming up is a rescue mission, so even if Edtoto wasn't a problem, the civies would be.
Hopefully, she'll be here soon, she thought as she secured the first bolt to the power armor.
Edtoto walked in a little sluggish by the looks of it, her eye still a mess. She was loving the current heat on the ship! she thought as the door closed behind her. Sure it was a malfunction that was being dealt with, but for once, she could walk around without having to worry if she will need her pilot's skin and just do without it.
"Hello Skade, ready to start working on my PA?" she asked, walking over to the terminal connected to her armour port and typing stuff into the armour scripts.
Hearing the lizard walk in behind her, the Neko replied, "Hey, Edtoto. Yep, I'll be over there in a sec..." She paused when she turned and saw the alien walking around naked. Huh? I mean...now that I think about it, it makes sense. And scales are covering the more...sensitive bits...Of course, she thought looking at the ceiling in annoyance, now I'll never be able to get this image out of my head.
"Last I heard, the SPINE layer had been removed to reduce the issues I've been facing. I also made some changes to my CAAI to better integrate with the AIES. Had to add a failsafe the Taii demanded I put in. She thinks I may be a danger to the crew without them," she grumbled, her tail flicking a little more aggressively than it did usually. "Something along the lines of avoiding me becoming a murderous psychopath during fights or something, I don't know," she continued, finishing at the terminal and looking at Skade staring at the ceiling.
She blinked tilting her head a little. "Uhm... Are you alright Skade? Something on the ceiling I should be made aware of?" She asked, looking at the ceiling herself.
"Huh?" the technician said, looking back at the alien. "Oh, it's nothing," she replied, scratching at the back of her neck and looking at her Mindy in embarrassment. I'd be more comfortable with this whole situation if I understood whether I was turned on or not...
Actually taking the time to think about Edtoto's comments, she asked, "What exactly is the failsafe?"
Edtoto sighed. "My kind has a habit of getting rather aggressive and reckless during a fight. I take it you saw the videos of how I destroyed the helmet to my power armour? Everyone else has," she huffed, crossing her arms a little. "Apparently, it makes me a liability as the Taii thinks I might attack one of the crew mates in such a situation, so if my mental state gets too far gone, the armour should lock up..." she muttered softly.
Oh yeah, that video was interesting, Skade thought. I guess I can see how the Captain can worry, but Edtoto's more of a lover and not a fighter. She smiled at the rumors going around about her and the Captain, but shook her head and said, "The Captain is a little paranoid, so I think it's actually a good sign that she's still letting you keep the armor at all." Neko supremacy, ftw...uggh.
Edtoto nodded slowly, giving an annoyed Mhmm at the comment about being allowed to keep the armour. "I would have rather the conversation be 'Don't do it again' and have been done with it, but your Taii seems to enjoy putting down naturally born, unaugmented races as if we are useless and stupid," she growled. "At least that's what most of the conversation was about. We are better than you because we get born in vats and have everything downloaded, blah blah blah. A simple logistics officer of a small, insignificant station full of feral animals is how she described me at one point," she added with a blood filled glance at Hasewega, walking over to her armour and stepping into it.
Ouch, the nearly two-year-old Neko thought as she looked at the pissed off lizard. Feral? I mean, I could see her saying barbarian, and be slightly justified, but feral? She shook her head in disgust. It's times like these that I wish that there were more Nekos like Kumiko. She wasn't like this...racist. Finishing up with her armor and reminiscing about her original teacher, the technician turned to Edtoto and said, "Okay, let's see how your armor doing after that fight you had." She gets in her armor just like Rin-shoi does...ack, let's not go down that mental lane.
Edtoto waited patiently as the Armour locked into position. Once it had, the HUD appeared, running the various scripts she had programmed into it so it could function with her biology without the neural net. She was slouched over from the weight of the armour before it powered up fully and supported itself on her frame. "CAAI functioning properly... AIES is receiving the signals effectively, and the noise generated from the SPINE is completely gone," She reported, lifting her arm. The action was faster than she expected, and she punched herself in the bottom of the jaw by accident with a loud CLANK, freezing up to stop the armour from moving anymore.
Skade let go of a breath she didn't' know she was holding in, and thought, So glad I can't see her...stuff now.
"Armour reactions are a little faster than I expected, it will be a learning process again to get used to moving," she muttered through the speaker, throat mostly gagged by the metal plug that allowed her to breathe in vacuum. She slowly worked her jaw, trying to give as little input as possible, which was amplified by quite the amount. "Motion input is amplified more than anticipated. Do you think it's the AIES trying to figure out what it is doing without the SPINE layer?"
"Hmm...maybe," the technician replied, lips pursed in concentration as she unzipped the coverall. Stepping out of the dirty garment, her skirted Type 31 working uniform was now visible, part of her thighs now mercifully exposed to the air. Oh, that is so much better.
"I'll look at the code." She took that punch well, huh? I'm impressed she didn't bite her tongue or something. Going over to the bay's computer, she pulled up a chair and sat down, connected to the armor's computer, then pulled up the base code. What the...oh, yeah. The freaking code's in Vekimen. Bringing up the dictionary that Edtoto had sent her earlier, she went through the PANTHEON's archives and sighed in relief when she found a generic translation program. It's not going to be perfect, but at least I can zero in on things that look like problems.
After setting the program to translate the code, she leaned back in her chair and said, "I really need to get with Ingrid and make a Vekimen translation program."
"Ingrid is working on it, but I think it would take her a little while. The language doesn't translate completely in many cases," she explained, watching Skade deal with the code.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm definitely not a linguist, so I'd have to catch up on at least the basic theory and get around to downloading the Vekimen language," Skade replied, her tail swinging quickly back and forth. "And it would definitely be a long-term project, but it would make it a lot easier for you guys to communicate with people. I mean, you've been on the ship for how long, and I still haven't taken the time to press a button?" She snorted in derision and continued, "How are you going to deal with people like the Captain without knowing the language?"
PING.
"Oh, yay," the Neko said, happy to be interrupted from exploring her species' racist tendencies. "It's done." Looking at the roughly translated code, she looked at it for a few minutes of intense, tongue sticking concentration.
"Great! The faster I don't have to be a pretty, talking statue the better" She said, grumbling a little.
Pretty, huh? the technician thought, taking a sidelong glance at the suited up Vekimen. In a certain kind of way, sure.
What the heck? the technician thought in annoyance, looking at the power armor's code. Either I'm blind, I screwed up the translation program, or there isn't a problem with the code. "Well, if I didn't mess up the code translation, there doesn't seem to be any issues with your code," she said out loud. "Maybe there's a hardware issue?" The easiest way to check that, without taking the armor off, would be to get the raw data the sensors are taking in and see what looks out of place.
Pulling up the data Edtoto's armor was taking in from its environment, she settled down to wait for the entire log to be translated but sat right back up when she saw the new data pouring in. Wait, why are there such a high numbers here? Looking up what sensors were sending in the strange data, the technician was confused when the translator threw up the name Kinematic Sensor. Wait, it's not taking motion but not mass into account? That doesn't make sense. Kinetic would make more sense. Either way, something is wrong with the translation. Good thing I got the person who scripted the code right here. "Hey, Edtoto. Can you tell me what this sensor does?" she said, sending the untranslated name to the lizard.
"I'm not hooked up to the SPINE or AIES the same way you get connected remember? No implants and the Neural Net doesn't work with my kind. We needed to apply various sensors to gauge my muscle movements to replace the spine, kinda like turning the armour into a second skin. The suit monitors my muscles flexing for various movements. That's why I had to do all those mundane exercises while calibrating it remember?" The Vekimen asked, sounding a little annoyed.
Hmm...flexing, movement...ack, stop it, girl. Focus! The Neko pinched her nose to bring her attention back to the data. Wait...movement. "Edtoto," she said, turning to the power-suited lizard. "I forget, did you wear your piloting gear when we calibrated the sensors?"
Edtoto slowly moved her head to look at Skade, the motion being more of a quick jerk to everyone else. "Yes? It was a rather cold day that day, without it, I would have lost too much heat to be able to function comfortably. Why do you ask?" she inquired.
Well, dang it all. That's probably the problem. "Well, I think when Cosima-Heisho was calibrating the sensor, she had to kick up the sensor sensitivity to take into account your suit. Without it...well," Skade shrugged, "you see the result."
Edtoto nodded, which she immediately regretted. A sharp pain shot through her neck as the suit amplified the motions much more than she was used to. On top of that, her first reaction was to shoot her arm up to her neck, which ended in her punching herself again, this time, hard enough to knock herself to the floor with more of a pained shout. She had lost control at this point and was thrashing, probably not very comfortable till the suit seemed to freeze with a grinding sound. The eyes shut down, but the sensors showed the armour had locked her down.
Oww, the technician thought with a flinch, instinctively leaning away from the crash. Going back to the suit's calibration menu, she hurriedly turned the kinetic sensitivity down, which caused the suit to relax, seemingly without input.
She then hopped off her chair and went to the alien. Good to see the failsafe worked at any rate. That definitely didn't sound good, though, she thought, hitting the release switches of the armor, for her or the suit.
The alien groaned as the suit opened, gagging a bit as she pulled the breather out of her throat and pushing herself away from the suit. "That... Was not so fun..." she muttered, holding her neck. Some of the white scales on the front of her body were turning a faint blue in spots, but other than that she seemed focused on her neck. "That'll teach me to not neglect to get my... Never mind..." she muttered, trying to get at her neck through the tine plum around her head.
"Here, let me help you up," Skade said, offering her hand to the lizard and pulling her out and away from the armor. She nearly bit her tongue when Edtoto was suddenly very close to her, close enough that she could smell a slight mint scent that emanated from the lizard's mouth. Huh, that's new.
Edtoto leaned into Skade as she got up, placing her free hand on the Neko's shoulder. "Thanks... I haven't been able to maintain my body properly it would seem," she said, Letting go of Skade's hand to slip her fingers into her mane. "It's hard to do on my own," she explained vaguely.
The technician froze when the lizard took advantage of her proximity, then slowly thawed as the alien tiptoed around her problem. Well, why haven't you brought it up before? "What is it, Edtoto? I'll help you if I can."
"We need to keep our tendons and muscles maintained to keep our flexibility up. Usually, we get massages from our families, but I haven't had that option. It's been... months I believe," she said with a sigh, placing a wrist on her head in distress. "Oh, woe is me and all that, right?" She said sarcastically.
Well, son of a...oh, come on, Skade, she thought. Why do I feel so conflicted about this now? Just because you're confused about your feelings towards Edtoto? She's still your friend and you said that you would help. Also, she thought with a smile, got to love the sarcasm. What's she been watching? Ancient romantic comedies?
Why not go along with it? It'll be fun. "Well, my fair maiden," she said, taking a half step back and bowing, her tail curling around her right leg the only sign of tension she felt. "I might have an answer to your dilemma." Rising back up, she continued, "For I happen to be quite good at giving massages, having learned the art from my first computing teacher, Heihachiro Kumiko, back in the early days of my training." Ahh, I miss those days.
Edtoto watched with a giggle as Skade bowed. "Oh, has my prince in shining armour come to rescue me from the prison that is my own body?" She asked, turning away dramatically, if not a little stiffly. "Have my prayers been answered?" She added, sighing longingly. "Oh, whatever could I do to thank you?"
Ehh... "We'll discuss my payment after I...help with your predicament." Gesturing at the chair with a flourish of her arm, she said, "Take a seat, my lady." What am I doing? It's fun and silly, but what the heck?
"Oh? Well how about this as a gesture of thanks" She said, keeping the facade up and giving Skade a quick kiss as she walked over to the chair. "I am curious if your skills will translate well to my anatomy," she wondered, dropping the act once she sat down. "Our muscles are in mostly the same given I could give Hase... Ingrid... a massage a few days ago," she said, hoping she didn't just let go of the secret she was supposed to keep.
When Edtoto gave Skade a kiss, the Neko's body went rigid instantly, all sense of roleplay gone. What the f... umm... well... crap. What am I supposed to do now? And no, you stupid hormones, we're not doing that...wait, what did she just say? Ingrid? Well, I guess that's confirmed, now. Wait, are they over or something? Aggh! Stupid relationships. "...Umm, yeah, I'm a little curious too," she said, cracking her knuckles and starting a simple massage, feeling the difference between Vekimen and Neko musculature.
Her muscles were very tight, and Skade could feel two swollen tendons running from the top of her head, down her back. The alien gave a hiss in discomfort before relaxing a little. "You have strong hands, Skade... It feels nice," she commented, closing her eyes.
Argh...just do the job, Skade. "Don't relax just yet," she replied, tapping the alien on the shoulder. "I need you to turn around in the chair and lean as far forward as possible." Just do the job...
Edtoto sighed a little, getting up and straddling the back. "Is this better?" She asked, looking at Skade over her shoulder. She used her tail to support her weight and take some strain off the chairs base to keep her from falling over.
"Perfect," the Neko responded, stepping over the lizard's tail and started lightly touching where she expected the tendons to be. The tines that ran down the middle of her back felt...strange. The individual tines were smooth, like the stems of bird feathers, and yet, when she moved her hands up Edtoto's spine, the tines' tips moving across her palm and fingers, pricking at her skin. Can't go too fast, she thought. "Let me know if anything I do hurts too much, okay?" she said, before she went and started working on the tendons of the alien's back, first with her fingers, then her palms, then her elbows, working the muscles loose.
Edtoto gave a slow string of clicks as a response, relaxing heavily into the sagging chair. She was out of it the second she got over the initial pain of the long overdue work on her back and neck. So out of it, that you could hear the buzzing and clicking that comprised her native tongue. It seemed very slow, though, different from when she would absently talk to herself.
Skade lost herself in the massage, moving slowly across the alien's back, neck, and shoulders, paying particular attention to her neck. I hope she wasn't too hurt by the armor's malfunctions, though, she thought as she slid her fingers around the base of her throat, through her mane of tines, and smiled at the feeling of the lizard's murmuring, she seems to be enjoying this quite a bit.
Finishing on the small of her back a few minutes later, the technician frowned at the 5-foot long tail that she had been straddling during the massage. Wait, did I just...uggh. "Edtoto, I'm going to work on your tail next. I'm not really sure how to do it," she said, "so...apoligies for not getting the same quality of a massage."
Edtoto leaned up a little, turning her head to face Skade with a slow ease. Her body seemed to move with a more natural fluidity than it did before, and she managed to get herself to sit up right. "Start at the very base then. You'll have to really knuckle in so to speak, and may have to hold it down a little," she warned, relaxing again.
Automatically kneeling and straddling the tail to be able to easily work the body length limb, the Neko paused as she looked at the Vekimen's scaly back. What am I doing? If she was turned around, I would be...I mean, the real question is, do I care? Starting the massage, she continued thinking. Like I care for Edtoto as a friend, cause Aethersperm is awesome and she helped out a lot on the last mission. But, this is getting a little... no, this is going quite a ways from just being a friend. I mean, she thought as she was bucked from side to side by the tail's movement, what if I'm giving her an...uggh. I don't know! Where's a xenologist when you need one?
At some point during the massage, Skade worked on a part of the tail so close to the ground that her furry face came in contact with the lizard's cool scaly skin. Ahh...that's nice, she thought as she slowly rubbed her cheek against the scales. It's almost like a sheet of metal, but...softer. And warmer. The spines, though, she thought with a little annoyance, are a little prickly.
Thirty minutes passed as the technician massaged and wrestled the alien's tail. And after she was done, Skade dismounted and laid on her back on the deck of the Power Armor Bay, exhausted. "Uggh. I can't..." she said, panting. "I'm done."
Edtoto had been quietly enjoying the work of the Neko, giving off slight clicks and growls with her eyes closed. When Skade finally tapped out of the admittedly strenuous job, She slowly opened up her eyes and got up. Stretching out a little, she popped up onto her tippy toes and bet over to place her hands flat on the floor with only a slight wince, tail waving slightly to keep her balanced. "Much better. Not perfect, but given you're not used to dealing with Vekimen I would say better than anything I could get currently" She groaned, slowly getting back up.
"Glad I could be of service, my lady," the Neko said softly from her position on the floor. At this point, I'm tired enough to fall asleep right here on the deck. The alien looked at The Neko and lifted her head up to slide under her and have the neko lay on her lap.
"Seemed more comfortable than the floor," she said simply, looking at the exhausted Neko. At the moment, though, now they didn't really have anything to do she noticed how Skade's uniform had a Skirt. She had always wondered about that odd part of the uniform. The pants at least made some sense. Her tail crept over, slipping under the mostly useless piece of cloth and flipped it up. "What is the point of this uniform bottom? It doesn't seem to do anything" She asked, her voice innocent enough.
Oh, son of a... Skade was about to object, but by the time she could form a protest in her mind, her head was already ensconced in the lizard's lap. She was still tense from the long massage she had given the alien, and only grew tenser when she felt a foreign tail slithering across her thigh and flip up her skirt. Ok, nope. I'm good. "Um..." she replied, reaching down and putting her skirt back down. "Um...It keeps people from seeing our underwear while being cooler than pants."
"Anyway, we'll have to finish calibrating the armor some other time," the technician said, trying to rise from her position. "I've got some..." Engineering work? No. I'm off for a while still. Training? No. Um... "...stuff. Yeah, stuff to do." But her arms failed her and she just ended up falling further into Edtoto's lap. This whole situation is pathetic.
Edtoto stared at Skade for a while, frowning a little. "You know... I can kinda tell when people aren't being truthful. I can hear better than most, and I can see the way your body temperature changes. I could hear the slight constriction ad hesitation of your voice, and your face is hotter than usual" She explained, leaning back on her arms, looking at her taloned toes curling. "It is admittedly useful" She added.
...figures. "Sorry, Edtoto," the Neko replied. "It's just..." What do I want to say? she thought as the almost silky softness of the lizard's white scales registered. Hmm... she closed her eyes and adjusted her head slightly, her fur sliding across the snake-like skin, causing the lizard to wiggle and give out a soft, hey, in protest. "Sorry," she said, smiling for a moment, then getting more serious. "It's just, I'm kind of inexperienced in the...romance department, so I really don't want to go too fast." Opening her bright blue eyes, she looked up at the alien. "Do you get what I'm saying?"
Edtoto listened for a moment, blinking. "Well... I understand what you saying but... I was unaware I was... Well, romancing you," she said, looking at the wall. "The idea of Romance is weird to my kind. We are more or less liberal with our families. Now, of course, we all have our favorites I guess you could say, but even that description is wrong. Best friend? I don't quite know how it would work in your language honestly, but that is my attempt," she sighed, lightly scratching behind Skade's furred ears with her claws.
Huh. So, the Vekimen aren't monogamous? Interesting. I wonder...her thought process was cut off when the lizard started scratching behind her ear. Ohh...that feels, great...she thought, her right leg coming up in reflex, showing more polka-doted skin. "So," she said, once she had gathered her wits, "You already have a family back home? That's good to hear." Lifting her right arm experimentally, she traced one of the grey scales on the alien's stomach.
"I had a family..." She muttered. "Something attacked my Station while I have been gone from it, and it would seem my family was the first one to fall in the attack. I'll probably lose my family name and be assigned to a new one when I get back to the station..." She sighed. "For now, though, I've dealt with it. You could say I've just slotted the crew of this ship into that position. Probably for my own sanity so that I don't become a liability, but it is nice. Some people have been receptive" She explained. "I always did like the ring of Nar'Sivaro" She added as an afterthought, her hand continuing to scratch.
Well, there you go, putting your foot in your mouth, Skade, she thought, selfishly leaning into the scratching as she thought how to respond. I mean, I'd love to say that she could always stay here...but I remember how bad she was when Sally left. We're all going to eventually get transferred out, and that kind of stress can't be good for her. "Well, I'm glad that we've been able to help out," she said, reaching up and tickling the lizard under her chin. Even sexually, apparently...
Edtoto chuckled at the chin scratching. "Well, I appreciate the help. It has been a good learning experience for me. I have written multiple pieces on Minkan anatomy already," She explained absently. "I was surprised by how compatible our anatomies were once I dealt with my flesh melting breath" She giggled.
Hmm...so lizard sex on the Heartbreaker confirmed, the Neko thought, straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. I wonder, she thought, her hand moving closer to the hollow of Edtoto's throat, if Ingrid would be willing to...shut up, you dirty little mind. You're the one that said that she didn't want to go too fast, so stop it! Shaking her head, and inadvertently tickling the alien's nether regions, wait...I'm...ugh, she said, "Your breath was quite stinky when you first got on board, true. Whatever you're doing is working great, though. Oh, and sorry if I'm tickling anything...sensitive down here."
Edtoto continued to giggle at the tickle, her legs flexing a little at the ear graze. "Ingrid and I designed a nanobot mouthwash that deals with the bacteria in my mouth. It's still in my gut where it is critically important, but while the bots are around I don't need to worry about hurting anyone. The smell isn't the worst part of my breath, it's that the bacteria will dissolve your flesh" She winked. "And don't worry about it. There is about an inch of muscle that needs to part before you get anywhere your kind deems inappropriate" She giggled.
Oh, so she wasn't exaggerating when she said flesh melting...and she has how much muscle down here? Skade thought with a raised eyebrow. Xenobiology is weird. I guess by definition. "Good to know. Though," she said, putting her hand on the alien's cheek, "I am interested in what you were thinking of to pay me back for the massage earlier..." If she suggests sex...ugh. I don't know. I'm way too tired for that stuff.
"I could give you a Vekimen Massage sometime. Yours was good, don't get me wrong, but if you asked me for a full out massage like our kind gives to each other, you'll likely think you're on another planet," she teased, leaning down. "However, it usually gets intimate after. That is optional of course," she added with a wink, her muzzle close enough to almost brush against Skade's nose.
"Hmm..." she said, stalling for time while she gathered her thoughts. Ahh, of course. So, Skade, how do you feel about the resident Vekimen? she thought, the hand that had been sitting on the lizard's cheek climbing up into her mane and started absent-mindedly scratching the back of her head. You've gone further today then you would have thought possible, never mind likely. Objectively speaking, what is making you want to go further now? Is it just because you saw her naked...more or less...today? Or do you actually care more about her?
"Well, I've thought about it..." Skade said, slowly reaching up with her left hand to put it on its partner. "And, I think..." she teased, before she pulled down on Edtoto's head, giving a fairly terrible kiss on the alien's muzzle. The Alien was a little surprised by the kiss but held it all the same.
After a moment, the Neko released her pressure on the alien's head and pulled away from the mint flavored kiss. "...That I'll take you up on that offer," she said with a grin.
Edtoto smiled after the kiss, her teeth glinting a little. "I think we should go to my room then... Hasewega is almost done her patrol, and I don't think you would like her interrupting would you?" She asked softly, with only the slightest hiss to her voice being heard.
"Maybe next time," Skade replied, putting pressure back on the aliens head so their noses touched. "I want you all for myself today." Wow, Skade...where did that come from? Getting off of the alien's lap, she put one hand towards the alien and pointed the other towards the door. "An escort to your room, my lady?"
Edtoto just placed a hand to her muzzle and sighed. "Of course my good Sir, your reward awaits," She giggled, dragging Skade off to her den.
Well, Skade thought, wiping the sweat from her brow as she worked on her Mindy. I hope that they fix the environmental controls soon. It's way too hot in here. Especially with two layers of clothing on, she thought, wiping a bit of grease on her Type 36 coverall.
I wonder how Edtoto is doing. I mean, she's a lizard, but is she cold-blooded? Sighing, she stuck her tongue in concentration as she worked to re-install the Ke-M2-G2902 Nodal Fabrication Module into its dorsal hardpoint. I wish I could keep the drone bits, but Edtoto is vulnerable to the CFS, even in her power armor. And the mission coming up is a rescue mission, so even if Edtoto wasn't a problem, the civies would be.
Hopefully, she'll be here soon, she thought as she secured the first bolt to the power armor.
Edtoto walked in a little sluggish by the looks of it, her eye still a mess. She was loving the current heat on the ship! she thought as the door closed behind her. Sure it was a malfunction that was being dealt with, but for once, she could walk around without having to worry if she will need her pilot's skin and just do without it.
"Hello Skade, ready to start working on my PA?" she asked, walking over to the terminal connected to her armour port and typing stuff into the armour scripts.
Hearing the lizard walk in behind her, the Neko replied, "Hey, Edtoto. Yep, I'll be over there in a sec..." She paused when she turned and saw the alien walking around naked. Huh? I mean...now that I think about it, it makes sense. And scales are covering the more...sensitive bits...Of course, she thought looking at the ceiling in annoyance, now I'll never be able to get this image out of my head.
"Last I heard, the SPINE layer had been removed to reduce the issues I've been facing. I also made some changes to my CAAI to better integrate with the AIES. Had to add a failsafe the Taii demanded I put in. She thinks I may be a danger to the crew without them," she grumbled, her tail flicking a little more aggressively than it did usually. "Something along the lines of avoiding me becoming a murderous psychopath during fights or something, I don't know," she continued, finishing at the terminal and looking at Skade staring at the ceiling.
She blinked tilting her head a little. "Uhm... Are you alright Skade? Something on the ceiling I should be made aware of?" She asked, looking at the ceiling herself.
"Huh?" the technician said, looking back at the alien. "Oh, it's nothing," she replied, scratching at the back of her neck and looking at her Mindy in embarrassment. I'd be more comfortable with this whole situation if I understood whether I was turned on or not...
Actually taking the time to think about Edtoto's comments, she asked, "What exactly is the failsafe?"
Edtoto sighed. "My kind has a habit of getting rather aggressive and reckless during a fight. I take it you saw the videos of how I destroyed the helmet to my power armour? Everyone else has," she huffed, crossing her arms a little. "Apparently, it makes me a liability as the Taii thinks I might attack one of the crew mates in such a situation, so if my mental state gets too far gone, the armour should lock up..." she muttered softly.
Oh yeah, that video was interesting, Skade thought. I guess I can see how the Captain can worry, but Edtoto's more of a lover and not a fighter. She smiled at the rumors going around about her and the Captain, but shook her head and said, "The Captain is a little paranoid, so I think it's actually a good sign that she's still letting you keep the armor at all." Neko supremacy, ftw...uggh.
Edtoto nodded slowly, giving an annoyed Mhmm at the comment about being allowed to keep the armour. "I would have rather the conversation be 'Don't do it again' and have been done with it, but your Taii seems to enjoy putting down naturally born, unaugmented races as if we are useless and stupid," she growled. "At least that's what most of the conversation was about. We are better than you because we get born in vats and have everything downloaded, blah blah blah. A simple logistics officer of a small, insignificant station full of feral animals is how she described me at one point," she added with a blood filled glance at Hasewega, walking over to her armour and stepping into it.
Ouch, the nearly two-year-old Neko thought as she looked at the pissed off lizard. Feral? I mean, I could see her saying barbarian, and be slightly justified, but feral? She shook her head in disgust. It's times like these that I wish that there were more Nekos like Kumiko. She wasn't like this...racist. Finishing up with her armor and reminiscing about her original teacher, the technician turned to Edtoto and said, "Okay, let's see how your armor doing after that fight you had." She gets in her armor just like Rin-shoi does...ack, let's not go down that mental lane.
Edtoto waited patiently as the Armour locked into position. Once it had, the HUD appeared, running the various scripts she had programmed into it so it could function with her biology without the neural net. She was slouched over from the weight of the armour before it powered up fully and supported itself on her frame. "CAAI functioning properly... AIES is receiving the signals effectively, and the noise generated from the SPINE is completely gone," She reported, lifting her arm. The action was faster than she expected, and she punched herself in the bottom of the jaw by accident with a loud CLANK, freezing up to stop the armour from moving anymore.
Skade let go of a breath she didn't' know she was holding in, and thought, So glad I can't see her...stuff now.
"Armour reactions are a little faster than I expected, it will be a learning process again to get used to moving," she muttered through the speaker, throat mostly gagged by the metal plug that allowed her to breathe in vacuum. She slowly worked her jaw, trying to give as little input as possible, which was amplified by quite the amount. "Motion input is amplified more than anticipated. Do you think it's the AIES trying to figure out what it is doing without the SPINE layer?"
"Hmm...maybe," the technician replied, lips pursed in concentration as she unzipped the coverall. Stepping out of the dirty garment, her skirted Type 31 working uniform was now visible, part of her thighs now mercifully exposed to the air. Oh, that is so much better.
"I'll look at the code." She took that punch well, huh? I'm impressed she didn't bite her tongue or something. Going over to the bay's computer, she pulled up a chair and sat down, connected to the armor's computer, then pulled up the base code. What the...oh, yeah. The freaking code's in Vekimen. Bringing up the dictionary that Edtoto had sent her earlier, she went through the PANTHEON's archives and sighed in relief when she found a generic translation program. It's not going to be perfect, but at least I can zero in on things that look like problems.
After setting the program to translate the code, she leaned back in her chair and said, "I really need to get with Ingrid and make a Vekimen translation program."
"Ingrid is working on it, but I think it would take her a little while. The language doesn't translate completely in many cases," she explained, watching Skade deal with the code.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm definitely not a linguist, so I'd have to catch up on at least the basic theory and get around to downloading the Vekimen language," Skade replied, her tail swinging quickly back and forth. "And it would definitely be a long-term project, but it would make it a lot easier for you guys to communicate with people. I mean, you've been on the ship for how long, and I still haven't taken the time to press a button?" She snorted in derision and continued, "How are you going to deal with people like the Captain without knowing the language?"
PING.
"Oh, yay," the Neko said, happy to be interrupted from exploring her species' racist tendencies. "It's done." Looking at the roughly translated code, she looked at it for a few minutes of intense, tongue sticking concentration.
"Great! The faster I don't have to be a pretty, talking statue the better" She said, grumbling a little.
Pretty, huh? the technician thought, taking a sidelong glance at the suited up Vekimen. In a certain kind of way, sure.
What the heck? the technician thought in annoyance, looking at the power armor's code. Either I'm blind, I screwed up the translation program, or there isn't a problem with the code. "Well, if I didn't mess up the code translation, there doesn't seem to be any issues with your code," she said out loud. "Maybe there's a hardware issue?" The easiest way to check that, without taking the armor off, would be to get the raw data the sensors are taking in and see what looks out of place.
Pulling up the data Edtoto's armor was taking in from its environment, she settled down to wait for the entire log to be translated but sat right back up when she saw the new data pouring in. Wait, why are there such a high numbers here? Looking up what sensors were sending in the strange data, the technician was confused when the translator threw up the name Kinematic Sensor. Wait, it's not taking motion but not mass into account? That doesn't make sense. Kinetic would make more sense. Either way, something is wrong with the translation. Good thing I got the person who scripted the code right here. "Hey, Edtoto. Can you tell me what this sensor does?" she said, sending the untranslated name to the lizard.
"I'm not hooked up to the SPINE or AIES the same way you get connected remember? No implants and the Neural Net doesn't work with my kind. We needed to apply various sensors to gauge my muscle movements to replace the spine, kinda like turning the armour into a second skin. The suit monitors my muscles flexing for various movements. That's why I had to do all those mundane exercises while calibrating it remember?" The Vekimen asked, sounding a little annoyed.
Hmm...flexing, movement...ack, stop it, girl. Focus! The Neko pinched her nose to bring her attention back to the data. Wait...movement. "Edtoto," she said, turning to the power-suited lizard. "I forget, did you wear your piloting gear when we calibrated the sensors?"
Edtoto slowly moved her head to look at Skade, the motion being more of a quick jerk to everyone else. "Yes? It was a rather cold day that day, without it, I would have lost too much heat to be able to function comfortably. Why do you ask?" she inquired.
Well, dang it all. That's probably the problem. "Well, I think when Cosima-Heisho was calibrating the sensor, she had to kick up the sensor sensitivity to take into account your suit. Without it...well," Skade shrugged, "you see the result."
Edtoto nodded, which she immediately regretted. A sharp pain shot through her neck as the suit amplified the motions much more than she was used to. On top of that, her first reaction was to shoot her arm up to her neck, which ended in her punching herself again, this time, hard enough to knock herself to the floor with more of a pained shout. She had lost control at this point and was thrashing, probably not very comfortable till the suit seemed to freeze with a grinding sound. The eyes shut down, but the sensors showed the armour had locked her down.
Oww, the technician thought with a flinch, instinctively leaning away from the crash. Going back to the suit's calibration menu, she hurriedly turned the kinetic sensitivity down, which caused the suit to relax, seemingly without input.
She then hopped off her chair and went to the alien. Good to see the failsafe worked at any rate. That definitely didn't sound good, though, she thought, hitting the release switches of the armor, for her or the suit.
The alien groaned as the suit opened, gagging a bit as she pulled the breather out of her throat and pushing herself away from the suit. "That... Was not so fun..." she muttered, holding her neck. Some of the white scales on the front of her body were turning a faint blue in spots, but other than that she seemed focused on her neck. "That'll teach me to not neglect to get my... Never mind..." she muttered, trying to get at her neck through the tine plum around her head.
"Here, let me help you up," Skade said, offering her hand to the lizard and pulling her out and away from the armor. She nearly bit her tongue when Edtoto was suddenly very close to her, close enough that she could smell a slight mint scent that emanated from the lizard's mouth. Huh, that's new.
Edtoto leaned into Skade as she got up, placing her free hand on the Neko's shoulder. "Thanks... I haven't been able to maintain my body properly it would seem," she said, Letting go of Skade's hand to slip her fingers into her mane. "It's hard to do on my own," she explained vaguely.
The technician froze when the lizard took advantage of her proximity, then slowly thawed as the alien tiptoed around her problem. Well, why haven't you brought it up before? "What is it, Edtoto? I'll help you if I can."
"We need to keep our tendons and muscles maintained to keep our flexibility up. Usually, we get massages from our families, but I haven't had that option. It's been... months I believe," she said with a sigh, placing a wrist on her head in distress. "Oh, woe is me and all that, right?" She said sarcastically.
Well, son of a...oh, come on, Skade, she thought. Why do I feel so conflicted about this now? Just because you're confused about your feelings towards Edtoto? She's still your friend and you said that you would help. Also, she thought with a smile, got to love the sarcasm. What's she been watching? Ancient romantic comedies?
Why not go along with it? It'll be fun. "Well, my fair maiden," she said, taking a half step back and bowing, her tail curling around her right leg the only sign of tension she felt. "I might have an answer to your dilemma." Rising back up, she continued, "For I happen to be quite good at giving massages, having learned the art from my first computing teacher, Heihachiro Kumiko, back in the early days of my training." Ahh, I miss those days.
Edtoto watched with a giggle as Skade bowed. "Oh, has my prince in shining armour come to rescue me from the prison that is my own body?" She asked, turning away dramatically, if not a little stiffly. "Have my prayers been answered?" She added, sighing longingly. "Oh, whatever could I do to thank you?"
Ehh... "We'll discuss my payment after I...help with your predicament." Gesturing at the chair with a flourish of her arm, she said, "Take a seat, my lady." What am I doing? It's fun and silly, but what the heck?
"Oh? Well how about this as a gesture of thanks" She said, keeping the facade up and giving Skade a quick kiss as she walked over to the chair. "I am curious if your skills will translate well to my anatomy," she wondered, dropping the act once she sat down. "Our muscles are in mostly the same given I could give Hase... Ingrid... a massage a few days ago," she said, hoping she didn't just let go of the secret she was supposed to keep.
When Edtoto gave Skade a kiss, the Neko's body went rigid instantly, all sense of roleplay gone. What the f... umm... well... crap. What am I supposed to do now? And no, you stupid hormones, we're not doing that...wait, what did she just say? Ingrid? Well, I guess that's confirmed, now. Wait, are they over or something? Aggh! Stupid relationships. "...Umm, yeah, I'm a little curious too," she said, cracking her knuckles and starting a simple massage, feeling the difference between Vekimen and Neko musculature.
Her muscles were very tight, and Skade could feel two swollen tendons running from the top of her head, down her back. The alien gave a hiss in discomfort before relaxing a little. "You have strong hands, Skade... It feels nice," she commented, closing her eyes.
Argh...just do the job, Skade. "Don't relax just yet," she replied, tapping the alien on the shoulder. "I need you to turn around in the chair and lean as far forward as possible." Just do the job...
Edtoto sighed a little, getting up and straddling the back. "Is this better?" She asked, looking at Skade over her shoulder. She used her tail to support her weight and take some strain off the chairs base to keep her from falling over.
"Perfect," the Neko responded, stepping over the lizard's tail and started lightly touching where she expected the tendons to be. The tines that ran down the middle of her back felt...strange. The individual tines were smooth, like the stems of bird feathers, and yet, when she moved her hands up Edtoto's spine, the tines' tips moving across her palm and fingers, pricking at her skin. Can't go too fast, she thought. "Let me know if anything I do hurts too much, okay?" she said, before she went and started working on the tendons of the alien's back, first with her fingers, then her palms, then her elbows, working the muscles loose.
Edtoto gave a slow string of clicks as a response, relaxing heavily into the sagging chair. She was out of it the second she got over the initial pain of the long overdue work on her back and neck. So out of it, that you could hear the buzzing and clicking that comprised her native tongue. It seemed very slow, though, different from when she would absently talk to herself.
Skade lost herself in the massage, moving slowly across the alien's back, neck, and shoulders, paying particular attention to her neck. I hope she wasn't too hurt by the armor's malfunctions, though, she thought as she slid her fingers around the base of her throat, through her mane of tines, and smiled at the feeling of the lizard's murmuring, she seems to be enjoying this quite a bit.
Finishing on the small of her back a few minutes later, the technician frowned at the 5-foot long tail that she had been straddling during the massage. Wait, did I just...uggh. "Edtoto, I'm going to work on your tail next. I'm not really sure how to do it," she said, "so...apoligies for not getting the same quality of a massage."
Edtoto leaned up a little, turning her head to face Skade with a slow ease. Her body seemed to move with a more natural fluidity than it did before, and she managed to get herself to sit up right. "Start at the very base then. You'll have to really knuckle in so to speak, and may have to hold it down a little," she warned, relaxing again.
Automatically kneeling and straddling the tail to be able to easily work the body length limb, the Neko paused as she looked at the Vekimen's scaly back. What am I doing? If she was turned around, I would be...I mean, the real question is, do I care? Starting the massage, she continued thinking. Like I care for Edtoto as a friend, cause Aethersperm is awesome and she helped out a lot on the last mission. But, this is getting a little... no, this is going quite a ways from just being a friend. I mean, she thought as she was bucked from side to side by the tail's movement, what if I'm giving her an...uggh. I don't know! Where's a xenologist when you need one?
At some point during the massage, Skade worked on a part of the tail so close to the ground that her furry face came in contact with the lizard's cool scaly skin. Ahh...that's nice, she thought as she slowly rubbed her cheek against the scales. It's almost like a sheet of metal, but...softer. And warmer. The spines, though, she thought with a little annoyance, are a little prickly.
Thirty minutes passed as the technician massaged and wrestled the alien's tail. And after she was done, Skade dismounted and laid on her back on the deck of the Power Armor Bay, exhausted. "Uggh. I can't..." she said, panting. "I'm done."
Edtoto had been quietly enjoying the work of the Neko, giving off slight clicks and growls with her eyes closed. When Skade finally tapped out of the admittedly strenuous job, She slowly opened up her eyes and got up. Stretching out a little, she popped up onto her tippy toes and bet over to place her hands flat on the floor with only a slight wince, tail waving slightly to keep her balanced. "Much better. Not perfect, but given you're not used to dealing with Vekimen I would say better than anything I could get currently" She groaned, slowly getting back up.
"Glad I could be of service, my lady," the Neko said softly from her position on the floor. At this point, I'm tired enough to fall asleep right here on the deck. The alien looked at The Neko and lifted her head up to slide under her and have the neko lay on her lap.
"Seemed more comfortable than the floor," she said simply, looking at the exhausted Neko. At the moment, though, now they didn't really have anything to do she noticed how Skade's uniform had a Skirt. She had always wondered about that odd part of the uniform. The pants at least made some sense. Her tail crept over, slipping under the mostly useless piece of cloth and flipped it up. "What is the point of this uniform bottom? It doesn't seem to do anything" She asked, her voice innocent enough.
Oh, son of a... Skade was about to object, but by the time she could form a protest in her mind, her head was already ensconced in the lizard's lap. She was still tense from the long massage she had given the alien, and only grew tenser when she felt a foreign tail slithering across her thigh and flip up her skirt. Ok, nope. I'm good. "Um..." she replied, reaching down and putting her skirt back down. "Um...It keeps people from seeing our underwear while being cooler than pants."
"Anyway, we'll have to finish calibrating the armor some other time," the technician said, trying to rise from her position. "I've got some..." Engineering work? No. I'm off for a while still. Training? No. Um... "...stuff. Yeah, stuff to do." But her arms failed her and she just ended up falling further into Edtoto's lap. This whole situation is pathetic.
Edtoto stared at Skade for a while, frowning a little. "You know... I can kinda tell when people aren't being truthful. I can hear better than most, and I can see the way your body temperature changes. I could hear the slight constriction ad hesitation of your voice, and your face is hotter than usual" She explained, leaning back on her arms, looking at her taloned toes curling. "It is admittedly useful" She added.
...figures. "Sorry, Edtoto," the Neko replied. "It's just..." What do I want to say? she thought as the almost silky softness of the lizard's white scales registered. Hmm... she closed her eyes and adjusted her head slightly, her fur sliding across the snake-like skin, causing the lizard to wiggle and give out a soft, hey, in protest. "Sorry," she said, smiling for a moment, then getting more serious. "It's just, I'm kind of inexperienced in the...romance department, so I really don't want to go too fast." Opening her bright blue eyes, she looked up at the alien. "Do you get what I'm saying?"
Edtoto listened for a moment, blinking. "Well... I understand what you saying but... I was unaware I was... Well, romancing you," she said, looking at the wall. "The idea of Romance is weird to my kind. We are more or less liberal with our families. Now, of course, we all have our favorites I guess you could say, but even that description is wrong. Best friend? I don't quite know how it would work in your language honestly, but that is my attempt," she sighed, lightly scratching behind Skade's furred ears with her claws.
Huh. So, the Vekimen aren't monogamous? Interesting. I wonder...her thought process was cut off when the lizard started scratching behind her ear. Ohh...that feels, great...she thought, her right leg coming up in reflex, showing more polka-doted skin. "So," she said, once she had gathered her wits, "You already have a family back home? That's good to hear." Lifting her right arm experimentally, she traced one of the grey scales on the alien's stomach.
"I had a family..." She muttered. "Something attacked my Station while I have been gone from it, and it would seem my family was the first one to fall in the attack. I'll probably lose my family name and be assigned to a new one when I get back to the station..." She sighed. "For now, though, I've dealt with it. You could say I've just slotted the crew of this ship into that position. Probably for my own sanity so that I don't become a liability, but it is nice. Some people have been receptive" She explained. "I always did like the ring of Nar'Sivaro" She added as an afterthought, her hand continuing to scratch.
Well, there you go, putting your foot in your mouth, Skade, she thought, selfishly leaning into the scratching as she thought how to respond. I mean, I'd love to say that she could always stay here...but I remember how bad she was when Sally left. We're all going to eventually get transferred out, and that kind of stress can't be good for her. "Well, I'm glad that we've been able to help out," she said, reaching up and tickling the lizard under her chin. Even sexually, apparently...
Edtoto chuckled at the chin scratching. "Well, I appreciate the help. It has been a good learning experience for me. I have written multiple pieces on Minkan anatomy already," She explained absently. "I was surprised by how compatible our anatomies were once I dealt with my flesh melting breath" She giggled.
Hmm...so lizard sex on the Heartbreaker confirmed, the Neko thought, straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. I wonder, she thought, her hand moving closer to the hollow of Edtoto's throat, if Ingrid would be willing to...shut up, you dirty little mind. You're the one that said that she didn't want to go too fast, so stop it! Shaking her head, and inadvertently tickling the alien's nether regions, wait...I'm...ugh, she said, "Your breath was quite stinky when you first got on board, true. Whatever you're doing is working great, though. Oh, and sorry if I'm tickling anything...sensitive down here."
Edtoto continued to giggle at the tickle, her legs flexing a little at the ear graze. "Ingrid and I designed a nanobot mouthwash that deals with the bacteria in my mouth. It's still in my gut where it is critically important, but while the bots are around I don't need to worry about hurting anyone. The smell isn't the worst part of my breath, it's that the bacteria will dissolve your flesh" She winked. "And don't worry about it. There is about an inch of muscle that needs to part before you get anywhere your kind deems inappropriate" She giggled.
Oh, so she wasn't exaggerating when she said flesh melting...and she has how much muscle down here? Skade thought with a raised eyebrow. Xenobiology is weird. I guess by definition. "Good to know. Though," she said, putting her hand on the alien's cheek, "I am interested in what you were thinking of to pay me back for the massage earlier..." If she suggests sex...ugh. I don't know. I'm way too tired for that stuff.
"I could give you a Vekimen Massage sometime. Yours was good, don't get me wrong, but if you asked me for a full out massage like our kind gives to each other, you'll likely think you're on another planet," she teased, leaning down. "However, it usually gets intimate after. That is optional of course," she added with a wink, her muzzle close enough to almost brush against Skade's nose.
"Hmm..." she said, stalling for time while she gathered her thoughts. Ahh, of course. So, Skade, how do you feel about the resident Vekimen? she thought, the hand that had been sitting on the lizard's cheek climbing up into her mane and started absent-mindedly scratching the back of her head. You've gone further today then you would have thought possible, never mind likely. Objectively speaking, what is making you want to go further now? Is it just because you saw her naked...more or less...today? Or do you actually care more about her?
"Well, I've thought about it..." Skade said, slowly reaching up with her left hand to put it on its partner. "And, I think..." she teased, before she pulled down on Edtoto's head, giving a fairly terrible kiss on the alien's muzzle. The Alien was a little surprised by the kiss but held it all the same.
After a moment, the Neko released her pressure on the alien's head and pulled away from the mint flavored kiss. "...That I'll take you up on that offer," she said with a grin.
Edtoto smiled after the kiss, her teeth glinting a little. "I think we should go to my room then... Hasewega is almost done her patrol, and I don't think you would like her interrupting would you?" She asked softly, with only the slightest hiss to her voice being heard.
"Maybe next time," Skade replied, putting pressure back on the aliens head so their noses touched. "I want you all for myself today." Wow, Skade...where did that come from? Getting off of the alien's lap, she put one hand towards the alien and pointed the other towards the door. "An escort to your room, my lady?"
Edtoto just placed a hand to her muzzle and sighed. "Of course my good Sir, your reward awaits," She giggled, dragging Skade off to her den.
