Ghi finished checking the bay, and found nothing wrong. Which annoyed her. That would at least have given her something to do. However from outside she heard Kato's voice, mumbling to himself. Someone else! On the ship! Not lonely when talking!
She ran out of the room and caught up with him,
"Hey Kato, good to see you. I know I've been away for a bit, but can you tell me what's going on around here? Megami-sama tried to tell me but wasn't amazingly clear on the details. Some things need the human touch you know?". It occurred to her that she wasn't really human anymore, but it wasn't the voice, and so was easy to ignore.
.....
The female voice pulled Kato out of his deep thinking and turned to face her. His own neko ears tilted back as if afraid of the loud tone she carried while he worked on putting together an answer to a question with no details.
"Uhh what's going on.... Umm we dropped off a mobile squad in power armor along with the captain on this planets surface. Some energy signal is coming off somewhere down there and an earlier squad disappeared... That's why we are here. We were shot at and communications with the team below has been cut off so to be honest your guess is as good as mine. I can't get anything useful out of scans on the planet." He brushed his hair back out of his face keeping the hand with his data pad out of sight.
.......
"Now that's what I wanted from Megami-sama. Well I suppose she has a lot on her mind." Ghi sighed, "And so we're just stuck up here ... with nothing to do really. Maybe there will be a little be of excitement and someone will get injured! Bit of a bad thing to say perhaps, but life gets a little boring if you have no-one to treat. Might start experimenting on some bacteria or something, combining a few genes here and there. That's my favourite area myself." She paused, God if felt good to not have a malignant presence in her head. Oh ho. Maybe she just jinxed it.
"Anyway, I heard you talking before in the hall. Don't think I was trying to eavesdrop, but ..." She pointed to her ears, "It's hard with these things. Would you like to talk about it?" Her voice changed from fast and excited to caring in the twitch of an eye.
.....
"What's there to talk about? Just a brother blaming himself for his little sisters line of work. Not to mention a scientist foolishly joining the army so he can make it up to his father."
Kato leaned on the door frame not allowing it to close. Those stone gray eyes locked onto the furry woman's and then tapped under his eyes.
"Uhh your furs a little matted here... you wanna sit down somewhere and talk about that?"
His arms were crossed over his chest still holding his data pad while he watched her not offering a sympathetic smile since that was probably the most cliché thing a person could do.
......
"Uhm ... oh ... it's nothing. But sure we can sit down if you like. I have nothing better to do right now. Got any place in mind? Also, tell me about this sister of yours, and the profession you seem to disprove of." Ghi smiled. Damn, he'd noticed. She did not want to talk about her own problems, only others.
.........
"Well I don't think ladies... no matter how well they pass off as cute cats can come into males bunk, yet I'm sure it's happened plenty of times." He pushed off the door though and looked down at her. "Yet if you like I'll sit in the med bay and you can stick me with needles and do blood work on me to keep your mind off things." He really didn't want to talk about his life either but maybe while she was doing god knows what to his blood she might loosen up or the other way around.
........
"I can experiment on you in a variety of inhumane ways? Excellent!" Ghi said, half seriously, "Well come right this way Mr. Kato, and I'll do my best. Actually I could do with some fresh cells." She said more thoughtfully. The 4'7" woman walked off to the med-bay. She ignored the cat comment for now. "And a good thing to. I know how men keep there rooms, and know it is paramount to biological warfare."
......
Stepping away from the men's bunk the door shut behind him. Kato followed Ghi while he though over the idea of letting her stick him with needles.
"Alright two rules before you stick me with needles. First rule: No cloning. I don't wanna think there is another me running around. Second rule: No substance is to inter my body besides the needle. So no injections or consumption of pills or so on. Everything else is fine if you see fit to it... I just hope you don't like casing pain to others heh.." The last statement was said almost in a questioning manner to see if she'd comment on it.
....
"Well I don't so much like it, as find it an important part of my being." She said with a completely serious look on her face, before breaking into a smile, "Don't worry, I get no satisfaction out of pain. However I've done considerable research into pressure points, which also included basic acupuncture. And you're being such a spoil sport about cloning. Wouldn't you like to be living in a three year old version of yourself? Or see what you'd be like as a woman? And we have some really good steroids here ... I'm sure I could increase your muscle mass by at least 10% ..." She grinned, "So much fun you can have in a medical bay. Anyway, how does some minor acupuncture sound?"
............
"Acupuncture and maybe incense? I haven't had a session like that since I was 18. Ya know all this tension should be let out I'd find your proposal most comforting." He was smiling again as they stepped into the med bay moving over to one of the tables and sitting up onto it. "Just back and body?"
His eyes cast Ghi's way while he removed the top half of his uniform. He was toned but nothing like a real soldier a few scars scattered about his body maybe from shrapnel cutting through him.
"And I don't need drugs I'm perfectly happy with the body I have now...."
.....
"Unlike me." Ghi thought.
"Well that'll be good. Right, back and body. Megami-sama, please make me a set of acupuncture needles." A box with needles in it appeared on the side, "Thank you Megami-sama." (Sorry, I controlled the AI, but only a little). "And some incense in the air if you please." And so the air was filled with the smell of incense, just weak enough not to make Ghi's sensitive nose contract.
"Alright. I'll start on your back if that's alright." she took one of the small needles out of the box and studied it. It looked right.
......
Kato stretched out on the table laying down on his chest so she could reach his back easily. The smell of jasmine filled his nose and was released back into the air slowly.
"Ya know I kinda feel sorry for the guys below now." He smiled still yet his thoughts were on the fact this wasn't something a soldier should be doing in the current situation.
.....
"You're about to have needles inserted into you back by a cat-girl whose spent most of the last week in her room ill. I wouldn't be that sorry for them if I where you." Ghi said dryly.
She carefully took out the first needles, and began to place them, very very carefully at the right places in his back, making sure not to hurt him. She couldn't remember the names of what she was doing, but she was reasonably sure she was doing it right.
"Tell me if I hit a nerve or cause you more than acceptable pain." She told Kato gently.
.....
"Mehh... all in the eye of the beholder... at least I'm not on an unknown planet with unknown enemy's chancing an unknown signal and not able to contact the ship.... that's if they are still alive down there... Not like they can use communications to get a hold of us."
Kato was melting under her touch the needles were helping to cut all the tension knots in his back with ease. "You couldn't cause to much pain with those little things. I've had chunks of searing hot metal pass clean through me. My own fault too mind you. Just keep the needles away from my neck and we'll be fine."
......
Ghi paused, a needle half an inch from his neck. Mental note: Don't stick in neck.
"Well there's nothing we can do here. Other than make sure we're ready to react at a moments notice." She stuck another needle into his back. He was quickly acquiring the look of a hedgehog.
