[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | The Grounds | Between Classes | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term ] Attn: @Brutus @Anyone at the Academy during that year that feels like joining. (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Another sunny day in San Francisco. Which in and of itself was pretty common. California was known for it’s sun before the advent and usage of weather manipulation on a planetary scale. The wind off the bay today was cool and refreshing and birds were singing in Boothby’s trees. Cadets went here and there across the grounds. The dark charcoal gray uniforms topped with either crimson or mustard gold or teal shoulders and necks painting the merry picture.
Some cadets moved at a leisurely pace. Their next classes starting in a while, or perhaps they were on lunch or in a down hour. Others practically scampered or ran to their next class. Pads juggling and falling, to be retrieved and the dash continued. Over 150 member worlds and sponsored students from other planets and societies made for quite the different cadence and gait to those transversing the grounds.
One towering figure stood to the side of a path. Her uniform was very nicely tailored as if an expert had programmed the replicator, specifically for someone of her height and unique body type. Tall and curvy, but in all the best ways. The shoulders were a dark attractive teal, denoting the Science or Medical tracks. Her hair was pulled up into a high pony tail, that hung straight down her back, past the bra line.
The sun was playing across her pale features and seemed to accent the brow ridges and ear points as she read a pad in her hand. Finishing her reading the pad was slipped into one of the cargo pockets of the cadet uniform pants and she strode forth towards her next destination. As she was passing a Koi pond, a group of cadets were coming the other way. A few in Ops/Engineering or Security gold. A bit of whispering among themselves and at the last second as they were passing. One of the cadets ‘pushed’ the second cadet who SLAMMED hard into Vanya from the side.
Having not been expecting contact much less such a forceful hit, which, one had to give the cadets, was timed perfectly to catch Vanya mid stride, Vanya went flying off her feet. And over the edge of the path, down a few feet of drop and into the Koi pond with a splash! Koi darted away from the other worldly invader and the cadets stopped, pointing and laughing with great mirth.
Vanya sat up in the pond. It was only about a half meter deep but deep enough to have fully submerged her when she was thrown into it. Dripping and with some lillypads now draped over her uniform and head she looked up at the cadets and their rather dark laughter.
“I thought Romulans were so Noble.. so Refined! I didn’t know they were aquatic!!”Vanya’s dark green eyes stared up at the group as they laughed and pointed then turned to meander off. Then down at her self sitting in the Koi pond. She had been submerged in water. One of the banes of her existence. One of the ways she differed from a Soong type android. Water.. could be a problem.
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | The Grounds | Between Classes | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
To say the first week had been hectic was an understatement. The academy believed that officers needed to handle all kinds of tasks, and knew that the real world would be taxing. Freshmen then, were put through a ringer. Natalie had been expecting this, but all the same, it had been a rude shock. The poor girl was not a morning person, but far more a night owl. Alas, PT was bright and early. Not before the sunrise (yet) but when the days grew longer, she would be greeting the rising sun as she finished her run through the streets of San Francsico.
The city was beautiful, and exhausted as the runs left her, she was grateful to the grizzled Senior Chief Petty Officer that lead her cohort in the morning decided to do so off campus. There were more hills, which were pretty much murder for the Martian, who was used to a slightly lighter gravity, but he chose a different path each day. And San Francisco was simply stunning. She was falling in love with the town, and the Bay.
What she was not in love with was the homework. She had a nasty feeling that this would only get worse.
Thank God, she thought as she plowed across the campus toward the mess hall,
that my roommate is someone I can stomach to be around. It was only a week in but Nat couldn't imagine what it would have been if she'd hated her roommate.
At least we're the best dressed cadets in the Freshman year, she added with an almost cocky smile.
It appeared that Vanya was the only cadet that had the bright idea to re-replicate her uniforms in a more form fitting fashion. Nothing that violated the regulations of course. Natalie had very, very carefully checked that, and informed the Petty Officer that did a double take during inspection one morning. Most of the cadets of Natalie or Vanya's ...measurements looked as if they were wearing comfortable sailcloth. That earned Nat a few stares and dirty looks, but she didn't allow that to cause her to wilt as it might have otherwise done so. Nothing in the regs said you couldn't tailor your uniform to better fit you. Therefore, no punishment could be met out, and soon other students in their year had done the same.
And as far as Natalie could tell, one of her computer professors had found out. He'd assigned her a paper on replication programming as a result, which she realized was something more than a little ahead of the rest of the class. So, a moment of vanity had paid off nicely. She was riding that high - mostly done with the paper already - as she saw a group of fellow Operations cadets heading her way, laughing about something. It died off as she past, and she felt a few stares. It left her curious, and she looked back over her shoulder, seeing them starring back at her. One of them had their eyes narrowed as another was whispering in his ears. They shared a look and then turned their back on Nat, picking up their pace.
Maybe they think the uniform is flattering? Cdt. Stark thought to herself. She was, at the end of the day, very bad at reading people.
I wonder what they were laughing about? She found out soon enough as she crested the little ridge and blinked, starring down at the Koi pond, and a bedraggled, lanky, and familiar form.
"Vanya?" She called down, eyes wide. "Is that you? Are you all right?"
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | The Grounds | Between Classes | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term ] Attn: @Brutus @Any one else there in 2372 that feels like joining. (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya looked up from where she currently sat in the pond. Dark green eyes flashing dangerously until they focused on Natalie. Then her manner softened and she nodded.
“I…. I think so?” A hand reached down to brace as she started to get up.
Natalie for her part would see Vanya, seem to jerk a bit, slipping and falling back into the water with a splash. More laughter from a few cadets standing around. The Romulan surfaced again. Even muddier than she had been before. The bottoms of ponds aren’t what you’d normally call clean. A second attempt to rise and she almost made it but her left knee seemed to give out and she splashed down again. Her long dark hair was matted with algae from the pond and sticking to her back. Some was smeared on her forehead and seemed to accent the brow ridge.
A look of concentration crossed her features and the third time she lurched to her feet. Shaking her head sent the long wet pony tail over a shoulder and slapping against her back. She came towards the edge of the pond. Looking a good deal more imposing now. Those pointed brows knit in fierce determination. Her shoulders squared. Her fists clenched.
Making the edge of the pond she stepped out. Dark boots that had been shined just that morning squshed with mud and water. More water still, poured off her in rivers as the 1.9M tall woman stepped out of the pond. Her tailored cadet’s uniform clung to her like a second skin.
With a sound of pure exasperation she reached up and unzipped the jacket and struggled out of it. Arms a bit jerky until she got it off one side and flailed to free her other hand. The garment slapping wetly till it fell away. She stood then in the wet cargo pants and dark teal uniform shirt, almost black with the water and glanced up to Natalie.
Vanya’s mouth opened and then she sort of lurched and fell forward onto her knees. Then over onto all fours. Head lowering. She grunted and shook her head as if to clear it.
Looking up those dark green eyes found Natalie’s face.. and a pained whisper escaped her.
“Natalie… Help… please… get me out of here.”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | The Grounds | Between Classes | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
Yes, that was Vanya. Her roommate. First Romulan to ever attend Starfleet Academy. On a special disposition (though she didn't know who had approved her, and hadn't asked. It seemed rude). And she was there, at the bottom of the Koi pond, sopping wet, and covered in mud, trying to make her way out. On her first week at the school. With everyone starring, Natalie realized, with a quick glance around.
"How did you -?" She started to ask, then let out a little squeak, her face going pale. Something was very wrong. The first slip, well that could have been attributed to the mud on the bottom. Odds were that Nat, clumsy as she could be, would have done exactly the same thing. Even though the satuesque Romulan beauty had a certain unearthly grace about her, it could happen.
It was the second fall that worried Nat. That got her pulse racing and fear in her eyes, for her friend. She saw the way that Vanya's knee shuddered. It looked like her knee
jerked and rolled in its socket. And while Natalie was not a Medical Student by any means, she was well aware that knees
did not do that.
She'd clasped her hands over her mouth as Vanya crested the edge of the pond, coated in mud and dripping wet. She struggled out of her uniform jacket, and Nat could see others laughing. In that moment she went from worried to angry, and she glared over at them. They were midshipmen, at least a year ahead of Natalie. She didn't care. She leveled a look of scorn that lasted all of two seconds because her friend was falling again and was seriously hurt. The Ops cadet was on her own knees in an instant, without hesitaiton, while around them, more and more people stopped to stare.
No one seemed inclined to help.
"What...out of here?" She repeated, slipping an arm up, under Vanya's shoulders and lifted, letting out a startled grunt. "God, what do they feed you?" Nat asked, with a bit of a laugh and a bit of a grunt. Natalie wasn't the strongest person ever but there was no way she was just going to drop her friend. It was a struggle but she came up to her two feet, trying not to ignore the way the wet clothes clung and got Vanya turned around. The dorms weren't far off, and neither was the Academy infirmary. It was toward that she was headed.
"You're better off letting that thing lie where she is, pleab!" A voice shouted at Natalie, catching her off guard. She watched, astonished, as a Bolian male, came into view with two other cadets tagging along, blocking her way, his arms crossed over his chest and a look of contempt marring his blue skin. "It'll make your life easier. You don't want to be involved with trash like that."
But another of the cadets socked him on the arm, shaking her head. Natalie didn't recognize the species, there were ridges along the side of the girls cheeks and up her nose. She glanced at Natalie, her yellow eyes seeming to flare, then down at Vanya, before turning to her 'friend', worry on her face (or at least that's what Natalie took it to be).
"Don't. She looks hurt. Do you want to be here heckling when someone shows up to investigate the commotion? That's taking this too far." The trio of Cadets that had stopped to watch shared a look with each other, before the two in the back started moving away. The Bolian male stared a moment longer, muttering something about laying down with dogs, and then turning, hurrying off after his friends.
Flabbergasted at the rude behavior, Natalie's head turned and watched. "What the hell?" She swore, aghast at their actions. But the weight and warmth - the chill actually, of her friends skin - reminded Nat that she had more important things to do. "Just lean on me. I'll get you to the infirmary, Vanya."
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | The Grounds | Between Classes | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term ] Attn: @Brutus @Any others that may wish to join and can (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya leaned on her roommate and accepted her assistance. She needed it right now. At 1.9M she wasn’t a light woman and poor Natalie would think that even for her height she was solidly built. Leaning on her as Natalie got them up and started them moving she groaned a bit.
“Sorry about this….”Then more cadets had shown up blocking their path. Vanya’s dark green eyes had come up and looked at them from under her brows. Her head half raised. The trio, nor Natalie had no way of knowing that her primary combat subroutines were coming fully online. Inside of the young woman non-primary systems were securing themselves. Others were rerouting to internal relays to prevent loss of function from external damage. Power was being rerouted and reallocated to the flight or flight centers of her anatomy. Arms, hands, legs.
Shoulder-checking Vanya herself into the pond had been one thing. Mock her? Fine, but these three were squaring up in front of Natalie, who was just trying to help. Who had been nothing but kind to her from day one. Who put up with Vanya’s weirdness. Her aversion to clothing behind closed doors. Her ignorance of some things that Natalie would simply take for granted. Natalie put up with it all, often with a smile.
These three looked to be about to hurt -her -. Vanya’s human friend and that was something the Romulan would not allow. In under a second the combat programming had worked out movements, even taking into account her twitchy body. A fake lurch to the side to clear of Natalie.. This would have the two fold benefit of stepping away from Nat to prevent damage and drawing the eye away from the smaller woman.
Then a pivot on her leading leg. A full spin to put the weight of her indoskeleton behind it and hammerfist to the Bolian’s temple. Followed up by a full forced palm strike to his sterum. Hitting the nerve cluster in the solarplexes and perhaps cracking his rib-cage straight up the middle. As he went back a second step would bring her closer to the second cadet. A rising elbow to his jaw to slam the head back and then a knife hand to the front of his throat crushing the wind pipe. The female would be taken out last. From the knife hand, Vanya would throw her weight to the side and connect with the girls jaw with a right hook. As the head snapped that way, Vanya would catch her by the corner of her mouth, two fingers inside and jerk her back the way she came, yanking her off her feet by the mouth and slamming her to the ground. If the girl attempted to rise a heel stomp would prevent her regaining her feet.
Glitching as she was the precise angle of attacks had to be widened a bit. Instead of 3.434% of placement drift she could expect a 10 or even 15% drift, but that should still be well with in tolerance of hand to hand combat with unarmed cadets.
Vanya’s programming had been ramping up, power reallocation achieved when, the female questioned the males and talked them down. A second or two later and they’d peeled off.
Inside Vanya issued a sigh of relief. Harming others of their academy class had not been what she was aiming for, nor wanted to do, but she’d be damned if she’d let them hurt her roommate. She was glad to ease the combat programming down, de-prioritize those routines and movements. Once they moved off, poor Natalie felt more of Vanya’s weight sag onto her.
“Not the infirmary, please! The Dorm. I’ll… be ok. Just need a little help. -Your– Help. You can help me better than they...” The other arm. The one not across Natalie’s shoulders, twitched and jerked.
“You can help me better than -they– can.”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | The Grounds | Between Classes | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
As with many things she was about to learn, Natalie was blissfully ignorant of the calculations - so very numerous - that were going on inside of Vanya's head. Trillions of processes running, mimicking an organic brain, protocols created by Romulan scientists in some lab decades ago. Even more calculating than the stereotypes of her species was the programming that Vanya had been gifted with. Every bit of processing the girl did, her companion was unaware of. To Natalie, the only tension was from the cadet's that had blocked their way, inexcusably.
The only sign that something might have been going on in the girls head was the way that, after the three cadet's moved off, her roommate had sagged against her all the more. It was a burden, to be sure, but one that Natalie would willingly bear. Her friend was hurt and it never once crossed her mind to do anything other than help.
That's what Starfleet does. That's what good people do, she would tell her self.
Natalie and her companion had made it maybe three paces before Vanya began to plead for a course correction. The Ops cadet halted and twisted her head to look at Vanya, her blue eyes meeting the Romulan's green orbs witth a look of incredulity.
"I can help you more?" she asked, clearly confused and startled. "Vanya, a knee doesn't jerk about like your's did. Thats a bad, bad sign. You need a doctor!" She protested, but the girl was insistent. The arm jerked about in a way that it simply
should not do. And that scared Natalie. Something was seriously, completely wrong.
"Look, if this is some kind of cultural honor thing, I'm not having anything to do with it I won't allow my only friend here to get hurt for pride," Natalie told her friend, as she started moving again. But she was moving toward the dorms, trusting her. "You are seriously worrying me Vanya, so you better be right about
me being able to help you. I'm a glorified tinkerer, not a doctor. I don't have the first clue about setting a bone." There was an edge of worry that she could not hide, and a thing vein of not quite panic bubbling up under the surface as they limped off as fast as the duo could manage.
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | The Grounds | Between Classes | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Leaning on the smaller woman Vanya tried to effect as casual a walk as she could. It wasn’t easy. She wasn’t fully in control of the spasms. A hand came up to wipe some of the goo from her face. Glancing to Natalie she nodded in response to her question.
”Yes, you can help me more.” Vanya looked at her knee then to the young human woman.
Ehhhh… I’ve had worse” Meant to be reassuring it might make one wonder just what the hell she had endured that was worse. It didn’t look like it felt nice at all.
Then her roommate was asking about cultural honor things. Which threw Vanya for a moment. Some Romulans actually do have honor. It may be hard for those in the Federation to understand but serving the Star Empire wasn’t only to acquire power for one’s self and status. Many served because they believed in the Romulan Empire and wished to see it florish. Wished to see their families safe.
All that said Vanya did not have a traditional upbringing what so ever, so when asked if it was some cultural honor thing she could answer honestly.
I can assure you Natalie, it is nothing what so ever a cultural honor thing. It… will make more sense when we get back to the room.”A few more steps and she glanced around and back to Natalie.
“I’m quite sure… I don’t need a doctor, Natalie.. I need the girl that took apart the replicator and made it work better, when she was 12.”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | The Grounds | Between Classes | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
"You've had
worse?" Natalie asked in clear shock. The worse she'd ever had ....well, she tired hard not to think about that day. The words 'Explosive Decompression' flashed across her memory. The sound of whistling wind, of blinding sharp pain and bitter, unimagineable cold. Nothingness....
She missed a step, nearly tripping, and forced the memories away.
Not now not now not now she mentally chanted as she straightened up a bit more, bearing the Romulan's weight. Bear it, and listen to the sound of her roommates voice. She seemed so calm, when Natalie would be having a full out panic attack if her knee did that, or her arm flopped and jerked about, out of her control. Since the accident, Nat had tried to control so many things in her life. She knew it wasn't healthy, and after consoling, she worked hard to adjust but that would set her right back over the edge.
So what exactly does being able to fix a replicator have to do with fixing a broken knee? Natalie asked herself as the duo ate up the distance, step by step, to the dorms. She could see the entrance to her building - see a few stares from passing Cadets - and dug in deep. That first week of morning PT had paid off, because Natalie wasn't sure she'd have been able to do this before coming to the academy. There were physical standards but this was a bit beyond that.
"Just through these doors. We can take the lift up to the fourth floor," she instructed, keeping her voice calm. She didn't like talking to people. Hadn't for years. But Vanya was sweet. Vanya was almost innocent. And something was very, very wrong with the Romulan. "Just through here," she repeated as they moved down the hall.
Maybe, just maybe, Vanya had a prosthetic limb. That would make sense, she decided as she helped her roommate along. The lift was just up ahead. She hoped no one would be in it.
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | First Floor ] Attn: @Brutus @Anyone in Freshman Cross Specie dorm, at that time, in that year (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya nodded to Natalie.
“Oh, sure sure…. Romulan… home schooling can be quite… lets call it intense?”A bit of a wry chuckle escaped the Romulan. That was one way of putting it. The missed step caused her to stumble as her left leg locked up for a few seconds. Vanya reached down with her free hand and WACKED it! One, two wacks and it loosened up and she was walking again. More or less.
Vanya was noticing the distress on Natalie’s face. She felt bad for being the cause of it. This was probably embarrassing for the young woman. Others might think the Romulan drunk or something if they hadn’t witnessed the event. Not much that Vanya could do about it just this second, but she didn’t wish social anxiety on the little Martian. Which brought up a random line of code, reminding Vanya to ask why Natalie wasn’t green.
They made it to the dorm and went through the front entrance. WANG! Vanya banged off the edge of the doorway and paused a bit with one eye shut and glanced to Natalie with the other.
“……. My bad?”That had sounded like a pretty solid impact but Vanya shook it off and stumbled along to the lift. It slid open and a rather startled looking Grazerite looked at them. The herbivore slipped off the lift and Natalie man handled Vanya in. When the doors shut and they started to ascend, Vanya looked to Natalie and in as best a simple conversational tone as she could muster, offered the other girl a grin.
“Is it me, or do Grazerites always look startled and about to bolt?”The lift opened on the 4th and they were out. Thankfully the 4th room wasn’t too far down the hall. Their com badge signal triggered the door when they were close enough and they entered. Vanya motioned.
“Just… you know. The floor is fine” Then.. proceeded to have a pretty strong body shudder, half turned and collapsed onto her back on the floor. Wham! A long second staring up at the ceiling.
“Well done!”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
There was a horrifying cracking vibration, almost metallic in nature, as Vanya veered off into a door frame. "OHMYGOD!" Natalie blurted out, worried that she'd misstepped again and smashed her friends face in. The color drained rihgto ut of her face and Nat looked as pale as the ghostly white sheets the Academy provided them for their beds. And yet...Vanya seemed unphased?? Nothing about this was making any sense to Natalie. Romulans and Vulcans were made of stern stuff but this was ridiculous.
Nat barely paid attention to the Grazerite that stared, wide eyed, lower jowl flapping a bit as Nat pressed Vanya up against the wall of the turbolift. She was starring at her friend, fingers itching to reach up and touch the girls face, trying to see any signs of bruising because she had just
smashed her skull into a door frame. Her fingers twitched out, to caress along Vanya's jaw and cheek, as the Romulan spoke. Natalie could feel the heat of the girl against her trembling finger tips. Her skin was warm, and didn't seem torn. Unfortunately the lighting wasn't great and Nat, bless her, couldn't tell if there was already bruising.
And despite it all, Vanya's little quip managed to tear a single burst of laughter out of Natalie, a rough, "Ha! haha," before she swallowed it, the doors opening and Natalie having to shift Vanya's weight back to her shoulder, forcing her to stop the gentle touch and get back to work. She almost sounded manic with that little laugh, as she trudged down the path to their dorm.
One foot, in front of the other Nat, she was telling herself.
This is sooooo crazy. Yup, you've gone around the bend but thats okay. One foot in front of the other!There was their door. It slid open without protest. Even better, Natalie managed to drag Vanya into the room
without bashing the girl. But then she was simply sliding off and falling to the floor and really there wasn't much Natalie could do to arrest her descent. Vanya had simply twisted out of her grasp once she felt she was in a good enough place.
"Good job!?" The incredulity was clear in Natalie's voice as the cadet fell back onto her own ass, next to Vanya in the space between their beds. While the roommate was laying down, Nat was propped up on her elbows, knees akimbo, mostly sitting. "Vanya...your knee. Your arm...yoru face! You smashed your face against a wall and just...poof" she made an explosion gesture with her hands, her face puffing up, "nothing. What...whats going on?"
As she asked the question she was forcing her self to shift on the floor, twisting about until she was on her hands and knees, looming over her friend. Her face was a few inches away from Vanya's, her hair having come loose, tumbling over her shoulders. She was so close that there would be no mistaking the concern, the worry in her expression. She looked like she was going to rain tears down at any second because there was no way her friend was 'okay' and they really really should have gone to sickbay but no, she'd listened to the Romulan and was now convinced she was making things worse.
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
The Romulan spoke softly. Then the laugh came forward from her roommate and Vanya noted the tone edging up towards mania. It was good they were almost to the room. This could spiral if Vanya wasn’t careful.
When Natalie reached up to check her face, she’d move some of the algae that had slimed onto the Romulan from the pond and see.. wait…
that green right
there wasn’t wiping off. Indeed Natalie would see the vertical line of bruise from the jaw, across one cheek, up over the eye to one eye ridge forming.
They made the dorm room and Vanya was… deposited upon the floor looking at the ceiling. A bit of a wry grin crossed her face at Nat’s exclamation of ‘Good job’??. Her dark green eyes went to her roomate as she dripped soddenly on the floor.
“Well.. technically I think you smashed my face against the wall. And for the record.. that hurt…. Lets not do that again if possible.”When Natalie got up to look down at her, Vanya looked up at her roommate. A long moment passed and Vanya smiled.
“You have beautiful eyes, Natalie…” Vanya’s hand came up, fingertips gently brushing Natalie’s cheek before lowering. All she needed was to spaz out and put out an eye or something. NOONE would room with her then.
A fortifying breath was taken.
“Your … question is a .. tricksome one to answer. You were issued your tricorder with your first classes? If not you can use mine. I.. would ask that, before you scan me… a simple vow not to… what’s the Martian term you told me… “Freak the hell out”?
I’ll explain everything but the scan will reveal a starting place for your… what I’m anticipating…. Many queries.” She spasmed again, a full body shudder that made the woman on the floor grit her teeth and squeeze her eyes shut.
“Once we’ve finished with your questions. I’m hoping you can give a girl a hand.’
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
It stung a bit to have it pointed out that she was the reason that Vanya's face met with the door frame. She had thought that Vanya had spasmed on her while trying to get to the turbolift. Knowing that she was at fault did a pretty good job of shutting her up. She bit her lip at that and gave a little nod as her eyes darted about the mud-stained girl, taking in the injuries. A closer look revealed the green of bruises under the skin. It was a darker color than when the Romulan woman blushed. Nat was still getting used to these differences between them, and a green discoloration threw her off just a bit.
What really threw her off was Vanya's next words. Just as Natalie had explored the woman with her finger tips in the trubolift (albeit checking for injuries) Vanya now took the opportunity to do so in return. Anything that Nat might have said died in her throat as she felt heat rise up in her cheeks. She was sure she was blushing in that moment, but the angle of her head, and the way her hair had fallen just might, maybe, keep that from being noticeable.
"I...Thank you," she whispered, as Vanya lowered her hand. As a general rule, Natalie did not handle flattery well, regardless of whom it was from. She'd never flirted with another woman and so, she couldn't be sure that she was being flirted with now.
Of course you bashed her head into the doorframe so she might be delierious. Maybe focus on helping your friend, Nat? It seemed that Vanya was of a similar oppinion, and the Martian gave a small nod.
"I haven't freaked the hell out yet, right?" She asked, knowing she'd come close to it at one point in sheer worry. Natalie didn't make friends easy. That she seemed to have done so with a member of an enemy empire, who, apparently had a lot more going on than she'd been told, really didn't surprise Nat as much as it should. But a friend was a friend and this one was in need. "Right. Tricorder. I can work a tricorder," she said in an attempt to reassure, before rolling away from her position and crawling to her feet. Her tricroder was charging on her desk and it was easy as pie to swipe it, and stagger back over to Vanya.
She caught the girls eyes as she twitched, and looked down at her in sympathy. "Just a second here," she pulled it up and began to run a scan. She'd expected life-signs in distress. What she got... was not that. For a moment, Natalie just stared at the screen, her eyes wide, the weak smile she'd thrown up for her friends sake fading. Then her fingers began to type out a swift beat against the controls. The tricorders hum intensified, and there was a series of trilling beeps.
For but a brief moment, her mouth hung open. And then she closed it, watching as Vanya spased again.
"Yeah...I have....like, a metric crap ton of questions," she said after a long moment. Her friend had neglected to mention a key detail when she was making introductions a week ago. And Natalie really didn't know how, exactly, she was supposed to feel about this. There was a lot to measure, the truth of the 'Romulan's' nature, versus her behavior. Not being told versus...a right to privacy, she supposed.
In the end, it didn't matter. Vanya was hurting. "You said you hurt, that you could feel what was going on. My gut says you were telling the truth so...I guess the first question - the only question that matters - is...Can you help me understand enough of these readings compared to...a baseline? Like...is there a how-too manual? For me to..." she couldn't believe she was about to say this, "Start repairing your systems? Cause this...you are very, very advanced."
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya waited and watched as Natalie retrieved the tricorder and the Romulan took in a breath watching her roommate’s face as the initial scan was concluded. Vanya looked up at Natalie and twitched again. Dark green eyes watching the young human woman with what could only be called apprehension, and perhaps a touch of fear.
The anxiety grew when Natalie’s jaw dropped and the look of shock crossed her face. The Romulan android closed her mouth and bit her bottom lip, looking up with worry. Would Natalie flee in terror. Would she treat Vanya different? Spurn her as being fake? Artificial? Less than alive?
The young Maritan’s face only lasted for a moment before changing and her admittance that she had a metric crap ton of questions… a measurement that Vanya was not familiar with, but by context, she suspected was a very large amount. Vanya watched the war of emotions across her friend’s face.
Her.. only friend.
Unsure if the title was still one that Natalie wished to possess. Vanya found that she feared losing the friendship of this sweet human girl. After all. When you had only the one friend. Losing her would be devastating.
Nat mentioned her hurt and Vanya reached up with a hand to brush the bruise forming on her face. A nod.
“Yes… it hurt. I have the same tactile sensation as you, actually it’s likely more enhanced. If you remember my admission about not liking scratchy clothing? My flesh is extremely sensitive.” Her voice soft.
“It had to be… I feel hurt as acutely as you do. Perhaps more so.”Then she fell silent as Natalie asked if she could help walk her through her own workings. As she answered Natalie would witness that soft green blush returning on her cheeks, and neck, and disappearing under the wet collar of her teal undershirt. That dark teal seeming to almost highlight the blush on the Romulan’s pale flesh.
“Yes of course. I have… details that you can use to.. render aid. In this situation it has to do with some of the inner workings reacting negatively with the influx of micro-particles into my matrices. I am fairly tough by design but submersion in water had not quite been mastered…. When.. I left the program. It causes...”Her arm lifted and twitched before falling back to the floor.
“System irregularities until dry and the micro-particles are removed.” Her voice had gone quiet. Clearly she was highly embarrassed. Which would be significant. Natalie had spent a week with her roommate now and knew all too well the girl tended to shuck uniform with in seconds of returning to the room for the night. Yet this… this admission. Seemed. Intimate. Something that brought her shame. Something that made her most abashed.
As she finished talking those dark green eyes looked up to Natalie with clear and present fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of revulsion. She had put her trust totally in Natalie’s clever hands.
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
Coming to terms that her roommate was not exactly the Romulan she had thought her to be - or the lifeform - at least not in the classic sense - Natalie clutched the tricorder to her chest as she watched, and listened. She raised on hand from her chest to cover her mouth as Vanya explained, slowly, and clearly in pain, about just how sensative she was. "God, I'm so sorry," Natalie said quietly, her hand moving to her own cheek, where Vanya had been hit. "I guess that explains the nudist tendencies. Less clothes means less irritation..." She bit her lip. She needed to get Vanya inside a sonic shower to get all that mud off then. This had to be torture for the poor girl....
Girl? She's a Robot! but...I mean... still...Pushing that thought aside as the android - that was probably the word - continued to speak, Nat felt her brows draw in tighter. She checked her tricorder as Vanya steeled herself, Nat's blue eyes glancing from it, to the girl, and then back again. She didn't see any new signs of a malfunction. At least, not as she could tell. There were obvious issues, and the more Vanya spoke, the more the reading's made sense. But none of that explained the deepening green tinge in Vanya's skin.
Unless she's embarrassed. Romulans blush green, Natalie, remember? And she's ...designed? Created? To be Romulan in every way.
So that mean's she embarrassed to tell you about this. She's afraid. Humiliated? Just like you'd feel if you'd made an utter fool out of yourself in front of her. Natalie was reading a bit into things, since there could be plenty of other reasons, but she was projecting her own insecurities onto Vanya's reactions.
With the way her skin contrasted against the undershirt -
and wow is it clinging to her right now - Vanya had to be very, very embarrassed.
Taking a deep, slow breath, Natalie set her tricoder down and raked her hands through her hair. She snagged a band from the top of her work station, and did her hair up in a very messy bun. Just enough to keep it out of her face. Her eyes darted back to Vanya, met her gaze and bit her lip. Then she smiled and reached for the tricorder.
"I hate seeing you like this, twitching and in pain and out of your own control. So tell me what to do so I can make it all better, okay, Vanya?" She asked, crouching down by her friend and moving some of her fingers to flick a few stray - muddy - strands of hair from her face. "I'll take care of you."
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Looking up, Vanya watched the look of horror cross her roommate’s face and nodded a single time with a jerk of the head.
“In part. Yes. Truthfully though, it’s mostly the inverse…. I like to feel things, against my skin. Good touches.. soft.. textures…” A pause and she reached up to scrape some of the algae off her face and rubbed her fingertips togeher.
“This.. is distressing….”The android watched as Nat checked her readings a few times. Her brows knitting together in that adorable little worry-line between them. Humans brows were less sharp. It lead to their faces looking less hostile. To Vanya, it made Nat look so cute when she concentrated and thought hard. As she was doing now studying the tricorder. The girl laying on the floor watched the emotions and concentration crossing the human’s face.
In fact Natalie was reading her reaction right. The Romulan was very much embarrassed by this. By the admission, by showing weakness to another. One who’s opinion Vanya actually cared about. It’d only been a week but they had become friends and Vanya wished for Natalie to think well of her. Not be horrified. When Natalie noticed the contrast with the blushing face and neck with the sodden teal undershirt clinging to Vanya, she’d notice something else. Vanya seemed very able to discern changes in temperature as well. Being cold and wet had affected her flesh. Skin had tightened and nipples were perked from the wet chill. Something that a wet teal undershirt did nothing to hide and almost seemed to accent.
When Natalie put up her hair and got down beside her, pledging to take care of her, Vanya let out a sigh. Her hand sought out Natalie’s and long slender fingers wrapped around the Martian’s hand. Squeezing ever so gently. A whisper of words escaped her.
“Thank you….. Thank you Natalie.”Dark green eyes looked up to the other young woman and she nodded.
“In my gear there’s a micro-porter. You can use it in conjunction with the tricorder to target the contaminants and the micro-porter will ‘beam’ them out, more or less.” Natalie was a mechanical wiz. She likely used one of those once a week when dealing with the 24th century computer systems. The procedure wouldn’t be difficult. But it wasn’t something one could easily do on one’s self, especially as twitchy as Vanya was.
She laid very still and watched as Natalie came to her rescue. Vowing, that if the young woman didn’t abandon her after this, Vanya would one day, some how find a way to repay the kidness. A vow that the Romulan would see through. No matter what.
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
Natalie had noticed just how sensitive Vanya seemed to be to the temperature. She'd done her best to put it out of her mind. She liked men, she reminded herself. She shouldn't stare either. And most importantly, her friend needed help, so focusing on that, and not on any physical reactions would probably put the Romulan-android-woman at ease.
Android she thought again, more than a little bewildered.
That....is going to take a hell of a lot of getting used to. An android that thrives on physical sensation at that. Oh, it explains so, so much.Clearly, she could feel. Or as close to feeling as a machine could get?
No, its clear they - she - feels. Just as I do. And right now its gratitude. Nat concluded, as Vanya gently took her hand. She wondered how much of an effort that was, with the way she was - for lack of a better word - glitching. She appreciated it, and squeezed back, letting her hand linger for a second, now that she knew the Romulan (android?) craved physical sensation. And it was easy enough to hold a friends hand while she explained just what to do to fix her.
"A Micro-porter? Useful tool," Natalie said as she let go of the girls hand and stood in a swift motion, rolling back onto her heels and spinning a bit. She marched right over to the foot of Vanya's bed, and popped open the footlocker. She rummaged around for just a moment, trying not to pry too much, but she saw plenty of her roommates possessions - not that there were many. But she came up with the micro-porter and gave a nod, her bun bobbing on the back of her head as she moved back to where she had left Vanya and her tricorder laying - on the floor.
"Okay. I'll have you cleared out in a jiffy," declared the martian, as she brought the tricorder back up. She set it for a fine particle scan, and let it run over the girl. She watched, and whistled low. "Someone put a lot of time and effort into you, Vanya. They must be very proud of you," she said quietly. The tricorder was able to suss out what didn't belong fairly easily, now that Nat knew what to be looking for. Tucking her legs up under her, she knelt at Vanya's feet, and then paused.
"I wouldn't ask this of my tricorder or work station but um...well, you're a...well, you're not something like that. You're you," she said softly. "This won't hurt you, right?" She waited until she had her answer from Vanya, shot her a smile, and then began her work, starting with the joints of Vanya's toes, and working her way up along her legs, ever so slowly. She would pause, consult the tricorder, and then adjust, before using the hand held device to beam away the impurities that had permeated Vanya's internal systems. "Sorry if I'm slow...I want to make sure I don't miss anything."
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya nodded to Nat’s observation of a rather useful tool to keep one’s mechanical insides in top shape. As Natalie retrieved it, Vanya watched, Twitching now and then. Now that she wasn’t mobile it wasn’t ‘as bad’. The footlocker didn’t hold any dramatic secrets but what it did hold may make a bit more sense now.
There were some micro tools in there and other high tech mechanical gizmos. Looking over them the Martian could easily discern how half of them would be useful in the upkeep of her roommate. The grouping of items were less arcane, for a Science Track cadet now that Natalie knew the truth. A few personal grooming items and a dermal regenerator. That could help with the bruise. Knowing what she did now, she could imagine it would also be useful in ‘repairing’ her flesh.
Lastly two items in the bottom might catch Natalie’s dark eye. Two spheres. Highly detailed topographical carvings of planets. Each showing the mountains, plains, valleys and oceans on the planets’ respective surfaces. They were carved out of some heavy stone, one seemed to be obsidian or something close to it, the other a dark granite like gray.
Then Natalie was back and proclaiming she’d be done in a jiffy. Vanya filed that one away to inquire about at a later date along with the Metric crap ton. These Martian Units of Measurement were throwing her a little. When the observation was made about a lot of time and effort going into her, Vanya nodded.
“Yes.. my mother, spent most of her life developing.. me. It was the continuation of her mother’s work. A lot went into such a flawed.. and failed project”The concern that her roommate was showing was touching.
“No. This part doesn’t hurt. It actually is a relief as my systems reorient and start to function normally. Think of it… as removing a splinter from under your flesh. Once it’s out, it feels so much better.”Vanya watched as the other started the work, her dark green eyes watching Natalie’s face.
“I understand.” A long moment paused and Vanya’s voice returned quieter.
“Natalie…. Do you hate me now?”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
Questions, Questions. There would be so, so many questions later. Some she would ask because if she was going to keep living with this girl - android...girl, she was going to need to know. Especially if Vanya was 'allergic' to water. What other 'allergies' might she have? This reminded Natalie that she should probably combine a list of allergies of her own so if something happened Vanya might have an idea of what to do. That went onto the mental checklist.
Some of her questions though, would go unasked, because they were none of her business. As much as she wanted to inquire about those orbs in the foot locker, that stood out so starkly (
ha!) compared to all the tools. That had to be something personal and private and Vanya had already been forced by circumstance to reveal something to Natalie that even a socially stunted introvert like herself could tell the Romulan Android girl had not wanted to share.
Oh just keep thinking of her as a girl, Nat. Romulan Android Girl is a mouthful even in your head.
For a moment Nat wondered just how Vanya knew what it felt like to have splinter and then she remembered that the girl was super sensitive to tactile sensation. A contact junkie, was one way to think of it. She'd likely had a splinter before. Unlike say, a ships computer, Vanya could very easily be speaking from experience, not parroting a metaphor found in a databank.
Fascinating. She was concentrating on her work, which was why she didn't comment much - yet - just nodding along. Though she had thoughts, and
opinions. Like how anyone could view the girl before her as a failure. Oh she didn't like that. Didn't like being kept in the dark, but didn't like the implied undertones there.
As such, she almost missed the question that Vanya asked. It took a second to register and when it did, the Martian felt her blue eyes grow a bit wide.
"Why would I hate you?" She asked, confused. She paused in her work, thumbing the micro-porter off less she accidentally attempt to beam out something important. "I might not be happy to find out...this" she waved her hand over Vanya, "in quite this fashion but I'm sure its not how you would have liked to say anything either. It might sting that you didn't trust me enough to tell me yourself, but we've only bee rooming for a week. And don't get me started on my issues with your apparent appalling sense of self worth. Failure my ass," she pursed her lips, then eased back, resting said ass on her heels as she brought the micro-porter back into play, targeting the next cluster of impurities.
"Strike that silly thought from your brain right now," she pointedly said
brain and not
processors.
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya looked up upon Natalie as she assisted in purging her workings of the forign particles, she was already starting to ‘’feel better” as her systems returned to normal operating parameters. The young woman seemed to be concentrating and deep in thought. Vanya didn’t wish to disturb her as she mulled over the query. Once she answered Vanya’s eyes widened a bit.
“Why?” Vanya laid there a long moment and her dark green eyes sought out Stark’s blues.
“I…. am not sure. I… must confess Natalie… The concept is a bit strange to me. Why does anyone hate anyone?” A gentle shake of her head then a shoulder twitch and she sighed going on.
“I’ve read extensively on Romulan and Federation interactions. Many authors describe it as a hatred between our people, but it’s something I don’t possess. I’m not naive. I understand hatred exists.” She motioned to her self and her sodden glitchy state, proof positive that even in the ‘enlightened’ society of the Federation it still very much existed.
“I… have just never understood… why.”Then Nat went on a bit and Vanya’s eyes widened as she listened. Her mind a whirl of thoughts. Flickering faster and faster. The human seemed.. mildly offended by the thought.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you… but it’s a bit of a complicated thing and I didn’t quite know how to squeeze it into introductions. You’re my first roommate ever and I’m rather new to this and trying to follow your lead. You didn’t tell me of your own inner biological functions so I sort of kept my own, to myself.”A slight look of worry.
“I knew you’d figure it out. You’re so clever and smart. And the way you talk about machines and how they work and how fascinating they are. Your hands get involved. Little motions and twitches, as if you could feel them even when they're not there. That your mind envisioned them so strongly. You clearly have a great deal of passion for your chosen field.
The way you talk about them, it was almost like.. you were talking about me...”She looked up to Natalie as she resumed her operations.
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
Natalie tried to remain clinical as she ran the micro-porter over parts that most organic life forms considered quite private. She assumed that in this specific case, Vanya might be feeling the same. The girl clearly had no issue walking around in a fashion to to show off said areas, but it was quite another thing entirely to have someone else probing the depths of said areas - even with a micro-porter being used to remove impure particles. Not, of course, that Natalie would know
Anything about that, in any fashion.
So she wasn't able to remain as detached as she liked, and was probably blushing as she moved the device over Vanya's pelvis and worked upward to about where her belly button would be under the wet, teal shirt.
"Inter-species relations are never easy," Natalie finally said after listening to Vanya speak for a moment, "I assume that why they have a three level course on the subject." She let out a small chuckle as she stared down at her hands. Gently, she took one of Vanya's in her own, and then began to run the micro-porter over her fingers.
"You're right, about how I view machines," she said softly as she worked through each finger. There seemed to be quite a few impurities here, so she took her time, with gentle touches as she worked the fingers between her own. "You can take a machine apart and understand how it works far, far better than you can people. I get along with machines. People not so much. Until you, I mean," she said quietly.
She swapped hands, and for a long moment didn't say anything. But finally she spoke up again. "Thing is....I knew you as a person before realizing there was a machine ticking underneath. Thats...you fascinated me long before I found out about what makes you tick on the inside. Thats just as fascinating, don't get me wrong but...." she placed the micro-porter aside and picked up the tricorder. It showed a schematic of Vanya. There wasn't all that much left to work at this point. "This....may be you." She tapped the screen, then moved her hand over where she was pretty sure a Romulan heart was supposed to be (which, at the edge of the torso was very weird to her).
"But its not
you. If that makes sense?" She picked up the micro-porter again, and moved the device over her chest, continuing to zap particulate matter away. "I'm not very good at this. I'm trying to say that as much as I want to understand
everything about you....I kinda already wanted to do that
before today."
There was another long pause, the room filled only with the noise of the micro-porter and the thudding of Natalie's heart, because she did not talk this long or this openly or this deeply. At all. Ever.
"Also as far as my inner workings go, I'm as allergic to Sulfa, a medicine, and shell fish, as you seem to be to water. Possibly more so."
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya watched as Natalie worked and when she got up to about the belly button the Romulan motioned with a flick of the fingers.
”You’ll note my primary gyroscope a touch further up. It’s what keeps me more or less vertical. That’s the most crucial component to have particle free. I can function with it contaminated but will be kissing more doors.”A nod of agreement at the inter-species studies and looked around the room.
“I had hoped that rooming in a dorm like ours, I would luck out and get a roommate like you.” Then Natalie was seeing to her hands. The young Martian would find them to be beautiful. Long slender fingers with carefully trimmed and kept nails. Best to not get in the way during scientific pursuit, or to inhibit tactile sensation. As Nat scanned and cleaned each she would feel just how gentle they were of touch. Still, the scans would show her what lay beneath. The strength of each digit. Collectively they could crush steel and other common materials if Vanya tried, but they felt soft and gentle as Natalie saw to them.
Vanya listened as Natalie described her relationship with machines. A smile gosting her lips.
“Until me...” Natalie then went on to describe Vanya in a new way and the sodden android nodded her understanding.
“Yes.. it makes sense. It’s… part of why I’m here. To discover that exact thing. To… make sure it’s not just a figment of my imagination. To.. see if I am more than the sum of my collective parts.” Vanya paused for a long moment as well.
“Natalie.. I believe that you’re far better at this than you give yourself credit for. “Listening to what Natalie was allergic to, the android tilted her head.
“Sulfa, also called sulfonamides, include antibiotics and other types of drugs. Allergies happen most often with antibiotics. Around 3% of humans have some type of reaction to them.” She nodded gently. She did NOT tell Natalie by way of how she knew this. It was one of many factoids she possessed from her former life’s training. Sometimes in infiltration it would be good to know of such an allergy to take someone ‘off the field’ with out killing them. An allergic reaction to Sulfa could…
“The most common symptoms include skin rash or hives, itching, breathing problems, and swelling.” Such could remove an obstacle instead of killing and or destroying it. This was a useful tool to have in one’s belt. Should it ever be needed.
The Android looked up concerned.
“Shellfish allergies can be much more serious. To what degree are you allergic Natalie?” Shellfish allergies could vary greatly and at their most severe, could kill via skin contact or minimal ingestion.
“I shall immediately request emergency Epinephrine hyposprays for the room and to carry with me.”The android laying before her indeed seemed to care about Natalie’s health. Up to the point of carrying medicine for the
other young woman, on the off chance that she, one day, may accidentally injest or come into contact with… a substance that is fairly easy to avoid, if you know to do so.
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
Vanya really, truly was fascinating from a technological standpoint. She'd flagged the scans of the primary gyroscope the moment she passed over it, for study later. She would make a second, and even third pass with the micro-porter before she had finished cleansing the android of the particulate matter that had managed to get past the membranes and flesh that lay over the inner workings. In short, Nat didn't want to see Vanya 'kiss any more doors' as the young woman had put it. Once had been bad enough, and Nat was going to be running that dermal regenerator over the girl's cheek when this was all said and done.
She was touched by the Romulan's concern for Natalie's own health. The human had shared the tid bits of information out of a sense of quid pro quo. She herself now knew entirely too much about Vanya's inner workings that only a doctor - or perhaps a mechanic - should. It only seemed fair, after all, and this was the only thing that Nat could think of that approached a comparable level of disclosure. She had not expected to have the common effects of her allergies repeated like a cadet giving a report in a class (though they were cadets so really that should not have surprised her as much as it did). She blinked rapidly and then smiled softly.
"I think the replicator has the pattern stored already. I'm not sure you need to have one on hand in the room since I'm not likely to use rations for a shrimp cocktail. But I appreciate it, Really, I do." Quietly she cupped the androids cheek for a moment, giving a light squeeze,. She was truly, deeply touched by the concern her roommate was showing her. So she left her hand there perhaps longer than was polite, before turning her focus to the ball joint of the left shoulder socket. There was a large build up there and she had to keep the micro-porter in place for some time to shake the derbies free of the internal components.
"Have to say I didn't expect the posting to the cross species dorm to be quite as enlightening as it has been so far," Natalie continued after a moment, keeping her breathing regular and calm and trusting that Vanya seemed to enjoy her awkward rambles. "But i'm glad it has been. I mean, I do not like seeing you spaz out like you did today - thats not good for you and we're going to have to keep you out of Koi ponds in the future," she smiled and then stopped and tilted her head. "Actually um....how did you end up in the pond? You're so graceful - i mean," she stammered off, "Anyone can slip but...yeah....."
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya noted the rapid blink of her roommate and her head tilted a bit as she strove to categorize the reaction. Mild disconcern? Or surprise? Humans were still ‘new’ to her, in person. Her training had been extensive of course but there was a great deal of difference between training and application and ‘reading’ emotions was not an innate trait in the android world. It was something that had to be learned.
Thankfully living with Natalie was a crash course. The young woman wore her emotions on her sleeve, and so readily emoted and expressed that it was both refreshing and highly educational for the young Romulan. Now… if only Martians came with subtitles…
Dark green eyes flickered over to the replicator and Natlie would see the long black lashed blink once or twice.
“I’m unsure if Starfleet Academy replicators will dispense meds with out doctor approval. I must confess to not readily reviewing that part of the introductory package.” The eyes returned to Nat, still showing concern.
“As for having it in the room. I think that it may be prudent. I’m unsure of the exact species, but there’s three cadets down on the second floor that appear to be meter and a half tall Crustaceans, and I’ve heard a Nuvian cadet complaining that they.. molt… excessively. She keeps getting shell fragments under her fingernails.” Vanya looked to Natalie’s fingers.
“Of course… they have 12 fingers on each hand to our five, but still. There could be little bits of sapient Crustacean all over the place.”Vanya then nodded in agreement, for staying out of the Koi pond.
“Yes that was most unpleasant for me, and seems to have done nothing good for the Koi either. I tried to feed one the other day and an elderly human ran me off. I imagine he’d have had quite the fit if he saw me fly in there and land among them.”Then Natalie asked about the event that lead them here.
“Oh… that. Well...” She trailed off and if anything looked a bit sheepish… but after a moment her pointed brows furrowed and she thought about it.
“I was moving down the path and looking down to the Koi, wondering what one would feel like.. if one touched it. You know? I like animals and was curious. There was a group of cadets heading my way, chatting and laughing. They started whispering when they neared, but seemed in a good mood so I didn’t think much of it.
One then seemed to.. trip and lurch into the second one, which then lurched into me with sufficient force, hitting me with a shoulder. I was not braced and caught mid step so when the impact occurred, I was forcefully launched, into the pond...” The more she processed it, along side the reaction and then the later reaction of cadets when Natalie was helping her back, the more it seemed something else. The impact had not been accidental. It had been on purpose. Engineered to impact her in the exact fashion it had.
They had
meant to throw her in the pond.
Of course this would all be exceedingly clear to Natalie. She most likely would have sussed it out instantly, but it was just now coming to Vanya and the emotions on her buised face were complex and deep. Surprise? Betrayal? Hurt? She clearly didn’t understand why but the conclusion that it was indeed a purposeful assault had come to her and she was upset about it.
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
As disconcerting as it was to discover that there were students in the dorm a few floors down that Natalie might be physically allergic to -
and oh my god what about people with pet dander allergies being in proximity to Caitians?? - what was far more troubling was the answer that Vanya gave Natalie pertaining to the Koi Pond Incident, as the brunette Ops cadet had started calling this whole fiasco in her head. The Romulan android was right - what had taken Vanya a while to conclude Natalie pieced together almost instantly. She'd been on the blunt end of a few jokes in her time, and was (for all her social anxiety) more socialized and familiar with the interactions of sentient beings that perhaps Vanya had been. The analogy of a severely home-schooled woman once again seemed to be fitting.
"Those cruel, arrogant little shits," Natalie blurted out, clutching the micro-porter tightly, just above Vanya's throat. "How ....how could they? Utterly uncalled for, unprofessional little - " She cut off, blushing. Nat had realized she'd said everything out loud just now, and bit her lip tight to keep from going on a tirade, while perched on her knees, damn near straddling her roommate. She needed to focus on clearing impurities, not strangling the device to do so with.
Glancing back down, she could see that Vanya had reached the same conclusion. So Nat took another one of those long breaths, and with surprisingly steady hands for just how mad she was, turned the micro-porter back on, and depressed the activation stud, beaming away more particulate matter (pond scum). "We're almost done, I think," she said carefully, "With removing the impurities that snuck in. We are not at all done with what happened to you. I want to say that I can't believe that this happened but I've heard rumors of senior cadets hazing junior cadets. While this could be a case of that...
"I have a nasty feeling it's not," she concluded, as she used her free hand to carefully cup Vanya's face and hold it still. She needed to be careful here too. She tried not to think about how warm the skin felt against her palm. Or the look of pain in her friends eyes - pain, betrayal, confusion.
She aught to be furious. And if those idiots thought about all the stereotypes they attribute to a Romulan they'd have never been stupid enough to try something like that!
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
At Nat’s micro outburst, Vanya raised a brow and tilted her head, looking up at her roommate. Her dark green eyes flickering down to the tool being so tightly grasped right above her throat and then back up to the Martian herself. Seeming to answer Natalie’s question of ‘How could they’, Vanya ventured forth.
“I… think it may have been planned.” Why thank you cadet obvious.
“After I had been submerged and sat up, the one said.. ‘I thought Romulans were so Noble.. so Refined! I didn't know they were aquatic!!’. At the time I thought it was a rather silly misunderstanding by a person not well acquainted with my people. They have been secretive over the past few centuries, but now that I review the incident and the one that came after… I believe that this was intentional.”She listened about the hazing and frowned slightly, clearly unsure why someone would do that.
“Is it because of my species, Natalie? Do.. I cause such fear in others? Simply walking by a pond to necessitate unprovoked attacks?” And perhaps more sad.
“Will it always be this way?”Once Natalie finished, Vanya sat up, the bruise quite livid across her brow ridge, eyebrow and down one cheek to her jawline. She lifted her hands, rotating them at the wrists, flexing her long fingers and then rotating and pivoting at the elbows. A gentle nod to the woman beside her.
“Thank you very much for your help. I shall endeavor to return the favor one day. I should… Bathe.” She looked down at herself and her lips pursed in what could only be described as an extremely feminine look of ‘EW!’.
“This is not what I would call a good look, nor does it present me in a favorable light beside my beautiful roommate!”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
Natalie thought. This girl was the opposite of so many steryotypes they'd all grown up with about Romulans, in the Federation.
We're supposed to be above this kind of thing, she thought bitterly. And now here was Natalie trying to come to terms with they hypocritical bigotry being shown by citizens of a government that professed to be above such things. The Federation in general and Humanity in particular were supposed to have moved pass such petty feelings.
And yet here I am, dealing with the aftermath that put lie to the hypocrisy., made flesh and - well, not bone exactly....As she worked with deliberate care, flashing that micro-transporter over the girls face and trying not to think about how nasty that bruise was, Natalie gave answer to the questions she'd been given. At least, as best she could. After all she was no councilor, she'd had no training in this kind of thing.
"People...generally speaking, and the more I'm here, the more I think, regardless of species - people tend to fear what they do not know. What they do not understand. When all you know of a race of beings is that, in 200 years of relations, you have been met with nothing but war and subterfuge, gaining very little insight to the people themselves...it can be hard to set aside that fear."
"I think thats why Starfleet has the Cross Species dorm, yeah? Meet new people, new life, new civilizations. Expand your horizons. Make the unknown, known. And then, less scary." She smiled a bit. "I'm sure there are plenty of stories in the Empire about Humanity and the Federation boogy men. The thing is...I probably didn't think about it that way
until I met you. And well...
"As much as we profess to be enlightened, not everyone can look past that immediate fear. And not everyone can set aside grievances of the past. I don't know why they shoved you, not fully. It
could be simple hazing but ...there's nothing simple about it when they bring your species into the equation. Maybe as they get to know you, that will change." It wasn't exactly a helpful statement, but it showed that Natalie feared Vanya was right.
Her tricroder gave a little trilling beep, and Natalie darted her blue eyes away. "According to this," she began, shifting her tone as she leaned over to pick the device up, wiggling her hips a bit to get into a better position, and then running the scanner over the prone Vanya, "You should be all good to go now. At least...internally. Need to do something about that bruise." As she spoke she slid off to the side to allow Vanya to sit. She watched the Romulan Andriod take stock of herself, twisting about. It was fascinating, the range of movement. The lifelike articulation that her engineers had managed to recreate.
Life. Artificial, yes, but life no less, with feelings that hurt just as sure as my ownThe compliment buried at the end of her statement almost went over Natalie's head, as buried as she was in her own thoughts.. Almost. A deep, fierce crimson seeped into her skin, flushing from her cheeks, over her face and down her neck, disappearing past that golden collar. Her own clothes were stained with mud and much, though to a lesser extent than Vanya's.
"I'm not...er that is.. you think? Ah.." she stammered, shut up, shut her eyes, and took a breath. "Showers. Yes. Yes." She stood, nearly tipped backward, but managed to plant her feet, bend forward and offer Vanya a hand up. "We both need a change of clothes and to freshen up. Showers are.... are a good idea. yes."
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya nodded in agreement to Natalie’s words.
“I often fear things I do not understand. Or find myself ‘not’ fearing something I might should. It’s often hard to tell the difference. At least for me. That… ramp up… ‘childhood’ which you have, I sort of skipped over. “She listened about the reputation that the Romulans had earned here, in the Federation.
“In my private studies… studies.. I should ‘not’ have conducted.. I often noted the complete difference in how events were portrayed. The Star Empire may depict an interaction as unprovoked aggression from the Federation, or the Klingons upon the Star Empire… but when I read the Federation histories… banned documents as you can imagine…. It was different. They showed almost the flip side of the credit. Romulans attacking unprovoked, often from Cloak, with out warning or seeming reason.” A bit of a sigh escaped her.
“Clearly both couldn’t be true at the same time. Often the differences far exceeded anything you could categorize as perception bias as well. These events weren’t two different people seeing the same thing and perceiving it different. I’m sure that happens. The differences were significant enough to show that one, or the other, had to be lying.”A longer pause and her dark green eyes looked to the Martians.
“Considering my primary purpose, and other things that have come to light… I imagine that the Federation histories were… shall we say.. ‘less’.. in error.”A smile was offered to Natalie.
“Well the all Romulan dorm was so very empty. So I opted for the cross species one.” The smile turning into a bit of a grin. Natalie would know that Vanya as a singular representative of her specie wouldn’t have the choice that Nat herself did.
“I’m so very glad that you Choose to expand your horizons.
Am…. I less scary to you now, Natalie? Or more so? You know me more than anyone not of the Daystrom Institute.”When Natalie was done indeed she sat up and inspected herself nodding.
“You do excellent work. You could be a technician first class in the Star Empire.” The android gave Natalie a wink to indicate that was a good thing.
Then, Vanya paused and tilted her head. Natalie had stammered a bit again and Vanya strove to suss out the meaning and or cause. Then the Android’s face soften and delicate long fingers reached up to gently brush Natalie’s cheek.
“Yes, Natalie… I very much do. You are a radiantly beautiful human. You… you mean you didn’t know?” Her voice soft, not at all mocking. Seemingly gently surprised that Natalie was unaware of her beauty. It was an endearing trait. Not modesty.
“Your eyes are so deep. Like limpid pools of time… and your skin, smooth and velvety.. the hair. Dark but with those little golden brown highlights…. That’s before we even get to your body.” The Romulan smiled as if she were sharing a secret with Natalie.
Then showers were proposed and Vanya nodded.
“Oh! Yes. That is a most excellent idea. Did you wish to share one?”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
"I think I lost a fear of you withing the first few hours knowing you, Vanya," Natalie said to reassure her roommate. "Knowing what makes you tick is a bit of an eye opener. I can only imagine that the folks at Daystrom must be proud of you."
Today was a bad day, in that her roommate had been targeted out for her 'species' by other cadets for a cruel, if childish prank that had further reaching, unintended consequences. But from another perspective, today was a good day, in that Natalie had learned a great deal about her friend, and the hope would be that, this knowledge would help her be a better friend to her roommate. Help make Vanya's life at the Academy a bit more bearable. Not exactly what Natalie had expected when she'd signed up for Cross Species rooming. She'd hoped to have her horizons broadened. Just perhaps, not quite in the fashion it was taking. Or in so many different ways.
Regardless, Natalie was as glad as Vanya seemed to be in that moment that she had volunteered for this; given that the Romulan had little choice in the matter. Unless they were going to put her with a Vulcan, and somehow, Natalie doubted that would have gone down well. The two hypothetical roommates would have seen each other as long term science experiments, in the best of cases, she imagined.
(She had no idea that at least one of the faculty at the Academy had suggested just that arraignment. This was shot down by the department head of the therapy branch of the medical school attached to the Academy as "heartless academia with no understanding of real world implications." Students were not to be used as experiments.)
"Well, I hope I don't have more practice on the subject - in that it means someone else sends you for an unwanted dip in a pool somewhere. But I'm...I'm glad I can help. And that I haven't mucked you up any." She wasn't entirely comfortable with praise, though when it was for a job well done, Natalie was able to bear it quite a bit better than when it was for physical compliments. This, she was clearly ill equipped to handle. As evidenced by her resemblance to a tomato, as Vanya heaped a fair bit of praise and admiration her direction. The touch to her cheek was soft and caring and sweet, and Natalie tried to pretend she didn't shiver just a little bit. Swallowing, the girl stammered out a response.
"I...that is...not really had a chance to be told. Or think about it." She gulped. "Are all Romulan women this forward with um...ah...their complimentary opinions?" Flattery was...difficult. It wasn't that she thought the Romulan was buttering her up. As far as she could tell that 'guile' that Romulans were accused of having didn't appear to be present here, just innocent admiration. All of that at play didn't help her blushing state when Vanya inquired about
sharing a shower. That was not exactly what Natalie had been intending when she noted that both of them would need one.
The issue at hand however, was the time. A quick glance around showed that they had spent quite a good deal of their break between classes with getting back to the dorm room and dealing with the impurities inside Vanya. If they were going to make their next classes (and never mind having a bite to eat) they would have to be quick about things. Sharing a shower - and the accommodations would be big enough for the both of them - might be the wisest of options.
Not that his made Natalie any less nervous about the prospect of being naked in the presence of someone else whom was objectively stunning. She couldn't think of the last time she had been in such a state. Probably as a child. She'd not been one for team sports in her teenage years when she became rather self conscious about, well, everything.
"I don't want to impose," she started, carefully, trying to keep her voice steady and calm. "I've never really um, shared a shower. But...well...time." She pointed to the chronometer on the wall. "We don't have all that much left if we're going to avoid being late to class." She trembled a bit - the fear of being late, so early in the semester, seemed to out weigh all the various butterflies going about in her stomach.
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya smiled when Natalie divulged that she was no longer frightened of her. A bit of a nod and then an arched brow.
“The people at Daystrom were very much interested in my inner workings, but I could only stay there so long. I am not a … ‘thing’ to be disassembled and studied, but a person. I need to learn and grow. To become stagnant.. is aberrant”Vanya gave an agreeing nod about wishing to avoid a repeat performance. Her dark green eyes narrowing a bit.
“Next time I will be ready and the results will be vastly… different.” Which sounded just a touch sinister, but the look quickly passed from her eyes and she looked to Natalie again.
“You didn’t muck me up. You de-mucked me Natalie.” The Romulan grinned as if Natalie had made quite the joke.
Then Vanya was noting her roommate’s coloring and her head tilted, looking to Natalie with curious eyes.
“The males of Mars must all be same sex oriented.” A firm nod
“Or stupid.”The next query made Vanya pause and think about it.
“I may not be the best to ask. My trainers and technicians seemed to admire my technology, but often found fault in my training sessions. I surmise that finding fault in others is a trait well ingrained into the Romulan mindset. Many of my files revolve around determining weakness to categorize or exploit.
My mother though… wanted me to be more… she made those routines… secondary. Not primary… she wanted to encourage my curiosity. My wonderment. So… I am different than they would have ‘had’ me be… they wanted me to calculate.. to pick apart, to seek out that weakness and use it.
Instead.. because my mother subverted that into secondary processes. I have the ability to… be curious. to.. Compliment if I see something that deserves it. The ability to be critical is a choice. Not a given.”Her eyes looked to Natalie and she sighed.
“Which is a lot of words to say.. no.. Most Romulan women are not as forward with compliments. At least not in my limited experience. You… got stuck with the “Weird Romulan”Natalie pointed out the time and Vanya nodded, coming up to her feet with the grace that Nat had become more accustomed to.
“Quite right and a very astute observation.” Hands dipped down to grip her sodden undershirt and peeled it up and off. Letting it fall in a sodden heap she shirked off her support garmet as well and let it fall to the pile. Boots were tugged off and then socks. Natalie might see a bit of bounce and jiggle to all the right areas. Pulling off wet clothes was difficult but Vanya was determined. After the socks were removed she stood and the uniform pants were likewise shucked and then the panties. Pausing she looked to Natalie. Now standing wet and nude before the human.
“Hurry, Nat. If we’re late to class we’ll get demerits and it’ll go on our record! We must be swift!!”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
Vanya's opinions on the male portion of the Martian natives got a short burst of giggle. If she were being honest, there had been a time or two that Natalie had questioned the orientation of the men in her life. But, also being honest, she'd buried herself in her studies after the shuttle trip. There was every chance that someone had been hitting on her and it had gone right over her head, so deep in school texts and technical manuals as she'd been.
"Well, I don't know if I'd call you weird, or simply 'kind.' Which is the kind of Romulan I'd like for a roommate," Natalie declared as she swept some of the dirty locks of hair that hand fallen out of her bun away from her face. A face that was still red, if not quite tomato colored any more. They had enough to worry about with getting to class, so Nat had to push that embarrassment aside. At least she kept telling herself that. It was easier said than done, considering the objectively beautiful woman standing there next to her.
Not, she reminded herself,
that I'm into women. And yet...Natalie belatedly realized that she had been watching her roommate undress and not focusing on her own clothes. True enough, she could blame it on concern for the Android. Would the wet clothes cause new issues to her servos and other inner workings? The answer appeared to be no, as Vanya jiggled in a pleasant fashion, unabashedly nude in front of Natalie. The only issue was that wet clothes clung to the body - none of the jerking motions that Nat had observed when Vanya tried to crawl out of the Koi pond.
"Sorry, sorry, you're right," Natalie said in a hurry as she bent right down to fish her feet out of her boots, and stayed bent, tugging her socks off as well. There was a nervous eagerness to her motions as she wiggled her bare toes on the floor. Being naked in front of Vanya wasn't exactly on her bucket list, but having a poor showing in the first week of classes was much, much further up the list of things she
did not want. The buxom human's clothing were not as wet as Vanya's, though they were coated with mud and muck from helping the girl after she'd fallen. As such, it was a bit easier for Nat, working that grey uniform off.
Easier being relative.
She whoofed as she tossed the heavy jacket aside and tugged up her less stained undershirt, in a similar fashion as Vanya had. The bra under this however, took a little bit more work. Nat had plenty to support, and when her breasts dropped free, she let out a sigh of relief. They gave a healthy bounce as the Martian began to wiggle out of her pants. They were well fitted, thanks to the Romulan's foresight when they'd first moved into the quarters together. And in the interest of time, Nat hooked her thumbs through the waistband of her panties, taking the whole lot off in one go.
"I'll shove these in the replicator to recycle them," Natalie said, scooping their clothes up after she'd pants'd herself, scattering about the room to gather the discarded attire. The replicator would take the dirty clothes, break them down, and reconstitute new uniforms in the saved sizing pattern's that Natalie had reprogrammed it to provide. Thus done, she turned to face Vanya, still red, fighting the urge to cover herself.
If Vanya isn't bother by being nude I shouldn't be either she tried to convince herself. Still, there was the impulse to twitch her hand down, to cover the trimmed triangle of brown curls above her own sex.
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
A smile was offered at the assessment of being kind and Vanya gave Natalie a gentle nod of thanks. She too was kind. Vanya had noted that from the start, but today she’d seen a bit of steel in the Martian as well. The anger that had flashed when she’d deduced that Vanya had been mistreated. That had been informative. Natalie was capable of ‘more’ than kindness. Which she would no doubt need at some point in her Academy and later, Starfleet career.
Vanya paused and her eyes played over the human’s form as it was revealed. A slender pointed brow arched up and seemed to accent the soft cranial ridge. Vanya did indeed totally pause to observe the disrobing of the young woman. Noting differences and likenesses to her own tall form. Glancing down at her self and then up at Natalie as more was uncovered.
Vanya was watching, positively enchanted as Natalie so conscientiously scooped up the soiled clothing and put them in the small replicator for recycling. Keen eyes watched Nat bounce around gathering the clothing and put it away. She noted the little twitches of hand when Natalie looked back her way. The nervousness bleeding off the young woman.
Vanya offered a smile and motion with her hand.
“Shall we?” They were in a bit of a rush, and her motion allowed Natalie to head for the sonic shower ahead of her. It also gave the Romulan the ability to follow Natalie into the head, and get the full wrap around view.
As they got into the shower and Natalie activated it to start the cleansing process, Vanya glanced down, but her brows went up.
“The pigment of your areola is decidedly pinkish of hue. I had no idea!” Of course her own had a very soft greenish hue.
“How beautiful”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
Natalie had struggled to ignore the feeling of Vanya's gaze on her body as she had stripped down, and then activated the recycling sequence on their shared replicator. Now however, there was little she could do to force the attention from her mind. She reminded herself that Vanya was a scientist, and so there had to be a bit of professional curiosity about the similarities and differences between their species. Understandable, to be sure. Seeing something on a PADD, and seeing it in the flesh were two very different things. And it wasn't as if Natalie hadn't been enthralled herself. Purely out of curiosity, of course.
And if you believe that I've bot a prime piece of waterfront real estate to sell you on Tholia, Nat.Regardless, time was of the essence, and a Starfleet Cadet was expected to be decisive. So Natalie put a bright smile on, and moved toward the shared head accomidations. The facilities sat between their quarters, and another female quarters with two more cadets. Luckily at the time, it was not in use. Nat was able to peek in quickly and confirm as she depressed the button to open the door (these doors would not just sweep open as someone walked past, for obvious reasons).
Thus, unaware that Vanya was enjoying the back view as much as the front, Natalie padded across the tile floor, past the refresher, and to the sonic shower enclosure. True enough, behind the frosted glass pane was a berth that could easily hold both women, and another as well, like as not. There were, Natalie knew, some very large species that had attended the Academy and the facilities assigned to cadets were constructed with that in mind. Her fingers danced across the control panel, keying up a fully body deep clean cycle, and then multiplying the occupants. It would take a few minutes, and would be rather intensive.
But then we've both got mud in places we'd rather not, like our hair Natalie thought, as she belatedly undid the bun at the back of her head, letting it fall about her shoulders in a sweaty mess.
And to be fair...I'd hate for there to be some particle that I missed that worked its way into Vanya. She was surprised a bit, by how much she cared for the Android. Then again, she had all of one real friend at the Academy so was it really that surprising?
"Right, In we go," she declared and then did so, stepping into the enclosure and trying to convince herself that this was a perfectly ordinary thing to do. Plenty of people showered together, she reasoned, once again reminding herself of various sports teams. This was a facade that cracked the moment Vanya commented on her nipples. Natalie felt her eyes go as wide as saucers, and she let out a startled squeak, glancing down at her breasts, half covering them. The sonic pulses began to cascade about them, causing the girl to tense, and then relax, but having the effect of making Natalie appear cold - at least as far as those nipples were concerned. As such, they were rather flushed pink, she noticed.
Of course, this lead her to glance over at Vanya and note that, sure enough, the girls were green. "I'll admit that I've never thought about the differences that um...that would affect....well...." She gestured down at her own nipples, then over to Vanya. "Coloration. But yours are a lovely shade too!" She added fast, less she appear rude. Of course, passing out from embarrassment would also be rude...
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya’s curiosity was indeed intense. It was something that carried over from the base imprint of her ‘’mother’s” youthful mind. It had been enhanced and encouraged during her training period. A defining characteristic of the young woman. One that she rather enjoined in engaging in. It
was why she was on the Science Track after all. Natalie for her part was an encyclopedia of information in and on so so many subjects. Vanya was delighted to room with the other young woman. From discussing sunsets on Mars or Romulus, to the pros and cons of her favorite tools and now even to the amazing and enchanting differences of Human/Romulan physiology.
Vanya followed the Martian into the head and as Natalie started to que up the sequence in the sonic shower Vanya took two more steps and flicked the lock to prevent girls from the other room from coming in. Not that Vanya would care what so ever, but she had seen the reactions of her roommate for a short while now and if someone interrupted her showering, Vanya had a sinking suspicion that she may need smelling salts to revive her. Then the embarrassment of passing out.. might require a second dose. So.. Just a lot easier to lock the door.
Vanya paused for a second. Her mind was not as fast as a Soong type Android. Data for example was an order of magnitude or two faster than she, but her mind processed far faster than most biologicals. And for a full second of concentrated processing, she pondered over Natalie. Over herself locking the door to protect the other girl’s sensibilities. To … protect the human girl. It was new. So she took a long time to look at it from different angles. Well a long time for an Android.
Vanya analyzed the actions, emotions and reactions and realized that she had starting writing unique subroutines for Natalie. Routines that were at this moment, unique to the young woman. Written with her in mind and specifically for her. There was a partitioned sub-folder set aside for Natalie now. With numerous items of note, flagged and routed for memory and faster retention. Unique programs were being developed with the other young woman in mind.
It was all new for Vanya. She had interacted with people at Daystrom but this sort of thing had not happened. She hadn’t felt the need for specialized sub-routines and programs. With Natalie she did. That alone was utterly Fascinating for Vanya.
That full second ticked by and then Vanya retreated to the real world and smiled moving to follow Natalie into the stall. When Vanya made her observation and Natalie squeaked it caused Vanya to jump a bit, and of course with the jump, and Vanya not covering herself her own breasts jumped a bit with her and gave a satisfying and attractive bounce. Seeing Natalie’s widened eyes she looked back down and noticed the physical reaction and looked back up to the young humans face.
“Even more so now. The sonic pulses do feel nice on the flesh don’t they” Vanya almost purred.
When Natalie commented on her own breasts Vanya smiled down at them.
“On yes. I rather like my own as well. I suppose that’s a good thing. An android with horrible body image developing an eating disorder or something would be disturbing on a number of levels wouldn’t it?” Vanya closed her eyes and arched her head back letting the sonic waves play over her flesh. Her own body reacting like Natalie’s, skin tightening, and showing the intricate details of the bio-flesh’s design to the young engineer sharing the stall.
A few moments passed and Vanya’s dark green eyes opened. Her hands came up but she paused, looking to Natalie for permission. Only once it was granted did those slender fingers slip into Natalie’s dark brown tresses and gently massage the girl’s scalp and run down through her hair. The sonic waves dissipating and lifting away the sweat, and any dirt and grime that might have come over from Vanya herself. The hands so gentle on Natalie’s scalp and through her hair. Tender touches and caresses, ‘washing’ Natalie’s scalp and hair as it were, in the sonic shower. Her fingertips brushing the back of Natalie’s neck. Then after a few moments Vanya’s hands slid free of those silken tresses. A pointed brow raised and she turned. Clearly wishing for the same sort of aid. Her own hair was much more mussed, it’s obsidian black color marred by pond muck, scum and algae and what have you.
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
There was a hard logic there in Vanya's words that Natalie could not dispute. She found herself nodding in agreement, letting her eyes close for a moment as she attempted to center herself. The pulsing sonics
did feel good against her skin, and it was having the same sort of affect on both herself, and Vanya. This wasn't all that out of the ordinary for sonic's. At least, depending on the setting. There had been rumors about ways to tune the machines to....great affect. Not, of course, that she ever attempted that to her own sonic shower back home on Mars. Never ever had she. Why that would be a tinkering bridge too far. (She had).
"I have to say that the sonics...have a different sort of cleaning affect than a hot water shower," Natalie began, then paused, turning her head a bit and pouting slightly. "Which...would be a really, really bad idea for you. So lets forget that line of thought." No point in trying to describe it to a woman that would likely suffer tremendous discomfort from the act of taking a shower. That would be just mean. She offered up an apologetic smile, and - again - glanced down at Vanya's Tits, quietly agreeing with the girls previous statement about them being rather lovely.
"How would that work?" she asked, unable to stop herself. "Would you be able to actually gain weight? I - i mean, that's rude of me to ask but...now I'm curious." She laughed, sheepishly.
That line of questioning eventually faded when Vanya raised up a hand and gestured to Nat's hair. The Ops officer went very still for a moment, coloring in the cheeks, before giving a slow nod of permission. She turned, presenting her back to the Romulan woman, the tangled hair cascading down it. She couldn't think of the last time someone had 'washed' her hair, in a sonic shower or a regular one. She shut her eyes and tried to hold still as the slender fingers raked the debris out of her curls, shaken free by the pulses that were, once again, shifting their intensity. It drew a humiliating, low noise out of Natalie, her shoulders slumping, relaxed, as a shiver ran straight from her scalp down, down down.
It turned out she
really liked fingers in her hair. That was going to take some digesting.
For the moment, she just willed herself to be quiet and tried not to fidget too much. Which proved to be an exercise in futility as she squirmed quite a good deal under Vanya's careful touch. She trusted that the Romulan wouldn't find it too odd. Or so she hoped. When it came to physical contact and interaction, Natalie's experience had been limited to hand holding and the like. Certainly not shared showers with friends washing friends hair.
As the fingers left her, Natalie sighed, rolling her shoulders back and her head from side to side. That little touch at the back of her neck had her flushed all over. It had felt rather lovely, and was yet another thing that the Martian was simply unaccustomed to.
"Thank you," she said, very quietly as she turned around, still pink cheeked, still taut in various places and shivery all over. She blinked those blue eyes and stared up, putting the expression on Vanya's face into context, exclaiming"Oh!" She rubbed the back of her neck and giggled slightly, nodding.
"There's an old, old human saying, predating our expansion out into the galaxy," Natalie said quietly - she couldn't bring herself to speak up at a normal tone. Something about the setting seemed to prevent her from speaking up.
"'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours,' or so it went," she continued, losing herself in the conversation and not thinking a about the fact that they were both very naked in a shower. She cracked her knuckles and raised her fingers up, twirling one in a circle to indicate that Vanya should turn around. Natalie bit her lip and took a good look at what she had to work with, and nodded, taking the girls hair into her hands, from the bottom, slowly working her way up, untangling as best her fingers could. She could feel the heat of the other girl, so very close, as the pulses worked to help Natalie remove the grime from the tresses.
"Silky," she murmured as she worked the hair, making her way up and up, fingertips eventually making contact with the back of the girls skull. They swept up and in, and when she raked them back, she brushed behind the tips of the girls pointed ears. As long as she was focusing on the mechanical aspects of actually working her fingers through hair it was almost possible to forget the context and setting. Or that Vanya might be experiencing the same sort of physical stimulation that Natalie had when she was on the receiving end of such attentions moments before. She had a serious case of tunnel vision going on and had barely noticed the way her fingers caressed the tapered ears as she pulled strands of hair back behind them.
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya nodded to Natalie and smiled a bit.
“I’m not 100% adverse to water. I can take a hydro shower now and then if I’m careful. It’s a problem with total submersion with out warning. If I’m careful before hand I can…. “ She motioned.
“Prepare for the interaction with water. Think of it as you holding your breath? But a touch more complex with internal components. I can take a few moments to seal off aspects or power down others that might have negative interactions. It is possible though it limits some of my functions. Again sort of like holding your breath. Getting caught in the rain would not be detrimental. Exposure to a constant deluge or hurricane could be problematic. My designers were working on better ways to deal with it, but… I’m a prototype. First of my kind. Far from perfect. Maybe you can help me with it someday?” When Nat inquired about eating and if she’d get fat, Vanya slid her hands down her sleek well toned body.
“I can consume food and drink, and even have tastes that I enjoy and some I dislike. There is a human beverage that I enjoy, though I must confess to it being visually off-putting. The Replicator calls it “Chocolate Milk”?” A bit of a chuckle escaped her.
“How ever I do not digest food or drink as you do. It’s stored and then offloaded at a later time.”
“I was purposefully designed to be able to alter my physical appearance pertaining to weight by an aspect of 15% either way. Allowing me to become a bit softer of aspect and more rounded, or even slightly emaciated. It was to… facilitate aspects of my primary design purpose.”A ghost of a frown crossed the Romulan’s visage.
Then she was was washing Nat’s hair and observing the reactions of the young woman. The smile returning to her face as she did so. The sensation of the human’s hair on her fingertips was enjoyable to her. As was the tactile sensation of Nat’s scalp and warm flesh. The martian for her part seemed to enjoy it as well, if the loosening of shoulders and sounds emitting from her were an indication. Vanya could wash her hair for much much longer than their allotted time frame. Sadly they did have places to go, so after some time her fingers slid free of the dark tresses with clear reluctance.
At Natalie’s thanks Vanya smiled and nodded to the shorter young woman.
“You’re very welcome.”At the expression Vanya tilted her head and raised a hand looking at the neatly kept fingernails at the terminus of the long slender fingers then back to Natalie.
“Perhaps later this evening after class?”At the motion she turned and presented her back and hair to the Martian. As Natalie started to untangle and wash it, Vanya’s hands came up to press against the side of the shower stall. Her long back arched and her head rocked back presenting the hair more to natlie and showing the serpentine arch of spine. The lines of her flesh down to those long legs and that tight ass. While Natalie had a few low sounds escape her during her turn, Vanya’s soprano voice let out a rather long and clearly pleased moan that seemed to start high and end low in a toe curling sound. A full body shiver and then Vanya bit her bottom lip gently. The hip length hair regained it’s glossy sheen, seeming to show black-green in the light as the shower did it’s work with Natalie’s help and clensed it. Falling straight as an arrow through the young human’s fingers.
Then Natalie caressed her pointed ears. A sharp intake of breath and Vanya leaned back into it. In fact her arms came off the wall of the shower and one reached back. Cupping Natalie’s hip, the Romulan leaned back against Natalie’s chest. That silky hair caressing Natalie’s breasts, nipples, and even her stomach. Vanya seemed to become putty in Natalie’s hands. A whisper of voice escaping her.
“Romulan… ear points are extremely sensitive… and I love having them touched.. just… like…. you’re….. doing…… “ The voice trailing off into a positively feline purr.
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
For her first week at the Academy, Natalie was shocked to discover that today seemed to be the day that she was learning the most. And not a bit of it was in a classroom. Nor was it from a professor or teachers aid. It was from her roommate. Be it the innate workings of her design (or the fact that she was, indeed, an Android) to how to repair and help up keep the girl, this was a fascinating lesson in robotics and higher engineering AI systems and operations. The kind of thing that was right up her alley, at least as far as her major was concerned.
Already, Natalie was worrying way, in the recesses of her mind, at the 'problem' of Vanya and water. Because as amazing as a sonic shower could be - and this was one that was proving to be excellent indeed - there was simply something about a hot, steaming shower that would beat a sonic, every day of the week. Unless, of course, you were (for lack of a better word) allergic to water. This was going to be something she'd want to solve, eventually, for her friend.
Yes, this was all academically intriguing, and an eye opening experience. But then there were the cultural lessons and personal preferences, about boundaries and how idioms went over other species heads. As much as Vanya was an Android, so too was she a Romulan. Perhaps a bit of an atypical one, but Romulan all the same. And Natalie had just discovered that they sounded very, very enticing when...stimulated.
While the idea of her liking Chocolate Milk was adorable (and Natalie would have to get her to have some fresh from the farm) the reaction that Vanya had to that tiny brush of her fingertips was something straight out of a dirty holo-novel. There were a few male cadets that Natalie had met, and a few other boys' she'd known back on Mars that would pay in bars of gold pressed latinum to have someone react the way that Vanya did just now.
Two bodies formed a tight line of flesh against flesh, from Natalie's bust all the way to her hips. This was about as sexual a thing as Natalie had ever done in her life, and the poor Operations Cadet froze up on the contact. Her brain was overloaded with stimulation, shock, and had no idea how to handle the new sensations. It was the kind of thing that would, in the end, take the girl quite some time to sort out, as to what she liked, didn't like, and was ambivilant about.
The hair, felt good, strapped between her and the Romulan. And her friends hand, on her leg, felt good. And she couldn't even bring herself to think about the fact that her friends butt was pressing up against her hips in a very suggestive manner. All she could do was squeak, her fingers frozen, trembling against the other girls ears.
"I...uhmmm...." she couldn't figure out what to say. "er....ooops?" She tried. Vanya had been having such a bad day of things so far, and here she was, being told that the Romulan liked - no, loved - these little touches.
Maybe this is what she needs to relax?Nat thought, giving another little stroke.
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya gently leaned back against her roommate and felt the fingertips tremble against her pointed ears. Making little touches, almost vibrations of their own as the sonic waves cascaded over both of them. The touch was gentle and nice and soft. The flesh pressing to her flesh felt good and warm and alive. The sensualist Romulan rather liked that too, and female flesh was of such a different experience than that of males.
At the “Ooops?” Vanya opened her eyes and one brow rose. Oops? Did Natalie not mean to caress her ears in the fashion she had? Was Vanya confused, or had she misread the sensation? Confused perhaps but the sensations were delicious. Of that she was quite sure. Perhaps Natalie had not meant to impart them?
Vanya had been just about to pull away when Natalie stroked her ears again. Another shiver. Vanya’s back slipping against Natalie’s front. The hand on Natalie’s leg gripping a touch more firmly and pulling her more flush against her own form.
“Ohhhh… yesssssssssssssss!”The Romulan’s eyes shut again and she reveled in the sensations being given. In the warmth of Natalie’s flesh against her own. The breath on her shoulder and neck. The feel of Natalie’s feminine curves against her back, and on yes, Natalie’s so talented fingers on her ears. She let those delectable sensations roll over and through her and enjoyed them immensely.
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
, Natalie thought to herself. If she'd had any doubt that Vanya would respond like anything other than a 'real girl' to certain stimuli, such doubts had been well and truly banished. Given the way that the Romulan was pressing back against Natalie, the way she was practically clinging to the human woman's leg, there could be no doubt. Another little stroke of the ear confirmed for her that she had found a very vulnerable aspect of the alien woman.
She should stop. There were a legion of reasons to stop. For one, she had zero experience with this. There was also the fact that she was, as far as she could tell, uninterested in women. She was barely interested in sex at all, having been so hyper focused during her teenage years that the particular bug never really bit (never mind feeling sad at getting passed over). This was her roommate. She was foreign. She was an android. They had classes to get to. This was not the time, nor the place. Or the person.
You shouldn't be satisfying her curiosity at her friends expense. This was wrong. They would be late. You're uncomfortable. She'll be uncomfortable. Things will be awkward after. You don't know what you're doing.All the reasons not to kept playing about in her head. Natalie was pulled tight, vibrating with indecision. Part of her very much wanted to bolt from the shower, shame faced and run, and keep on running. This was so far out of her wheelhouse that by rights she should have passed out.
And yet....And yet.
Vanya was her friend. Vanya had a bad day. And all this cost Natalie, was a little bit of physical comfort and a boat load of confusion.
Taking a slow deep breath, and trying to convince herself that this was simply a kind gesture for a friend and not something far more intimate, Natalie settled in, gently stroking the girls ears, one after another. She bit her lip and said, "Relax. Just for a moment, okay?"
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
Vanya leaned back against Natalie and enjoyed the sensations of the fingers on her ears. A long moment was taken just to revel in the physical. To enjoy the touch of another. It had been some time since such had even been an option. Needless to say no-one was stroking her ears at the Daystrom Institute during the assessment of person hood there. Nor had any of the lawyers and judiciary during the trial to grant her the same rights of person hood. Ear touches had been a long time missing, and she quite liked it. So for a few moments, she relaxed.
That said the Android’s mind was not 100% dominated by the physical. After a few seconds of the intimate contact her dark green eyes would open. They would fix on the wall in front of her. This was great and she enjoyed it, but it would not be fair of her to make Natalie late for class. The human had already forgone her lunch period to see to Vanya’s needs. She had been quite understanding about the information that had been learned. No doubt a surprise that would cause paradigm shifts in how she perceived her roomie.
So as good as it felt Vanya swallowed and stroked Natalie’s leg once and then gently peeled her back from Natalie’s front and half turned looking over her shoulder with an almost lazy and sated smile.
“Thank you very much for that. It feels.. wonderful. It really does.
We need to finish up though. We are approaching a point where, unless we arrive out of uniform, we will not make our after lunch classes. I’m pretty sure that would net us demerits as well for not adhering to the uniform code.”Peeling away from Natalie she swiftly finished her shower and then opened the door. Good thing with sonic showers, you don’t need to dry off.
The Romulan stepped out, pausing infront of the mirror to run her fingers through that long sable fall of hair and grab a scrunchy from the sink. With swift deft motions she pulled her hair up into a high pony tail and tightened it. Nodding she paused and turned to unlock the door leading to the ‘other’ girls room, before practically prancing into the one she shared with Natalie.
Time was short and they had places to be, so together they would approach the replicator. Uniforms were grabbed out rapid fire. Vanya pulled on her socks first. Bending to reach the feet at the end of those long legs, smoothing them up. Panties were snagged and pulled on and smoothed as well. Then the tailored uniform pants were grabbed out. Slipping them up over the flare of hip and ass, they were fastened in the front, hands making sure they fit right. The belt was left off for a moment and Vanya reached for the bra. Sliding it on over the shoulders she fastened it and paused. Looking down she arched a slender pointed brow.
“Odd….” Then she glanced over to Natalie and back down at her own breasts and gave a bit of a bounce. The frown deepened.
“I think…. Perhaps… we may have….” She glanced back over at Natalie who’s garment would be a size too tight, while Vanya’s was a size too large. Then her nod came. Yep. Natalie was in possession of the dark teal one and Vanya had the gold.
That explained it. Reaching back she unclasped it and sheepishly offered the gold one over to the other young woman.
“Oops, I grabbed Ops!”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
It wasn't that bad. Not really. All she was doing was gently caressing her friends ears. Naked. In a sonic shower. Pressed so tight together that Nat could feel just about everything on the back side of Vanya. Her friend being a woman. And an Alien. And an Android. Not that bad at all when you added everything together. No, not bad. Clearly, Vanya was enjoying herself. Natalie had never made anyone moan and shiver quite like this. That in and of it self, removed from the situation, was somewhat thrilling, and certainly captivating. Enough to shove some of the genuine concerns aside. Concerns such as time spent in the shower, or propriety. Classes.
Classes.
Vanya gave Nat's bare thigh a brief caress that drew a soft, almost dreamy sounding noise from the Ops Cadet. She blinked a bit as if slipping out of a trance. She'd feel guilty about all of this later, probably. She wasn't prone to introspection but right then she had a lot to think about. She had been pleased to help her friend relax. And yet this was the kind of thing she'd been taught not to just
do all willy nilly. Vanya was looking back over her shoulder now, reminding Natalie of the proverbial cat that got the canary, and causing a blush to form once again. It had died off during the physical contact they'd shared but seemed to be resurfacing now. Though it did not last long.
Classes They were going to be late for them.
"oh, shit," she swore, softly, face paling ever so much. "Oh my god, we're going to be late." It was all said quietly. Not in a shrill exclimation, but more a simple, concise statement of fact. They would be late if they didn't hurry. Natalie tuned out most of what Vanya did from that point, taking a moment to rush through the last motions of cleaning and settling herself as well. The vibrations cut off as one of them slapped the button to kill the shower session - in her hurry, Natalie couldn't remember which of them had.
She was following Vanya right out of the room, shaking her head a bit. Her wavy hair had puffed up and gone fluffy after the shower, as they often did, but she didn't have time to worry about that. She'd rake it back into a bushy tail later. Right then and there she just wanted to get to class, and hurried off into the other room, scampering about. Too much to digest in too little time; Natalie did what she did best - compartmentalize the input and bury it for later reflection. (If she ever got around to it. She was great at repressing things).
The replicator whirled and whistled, depositing two cadet uniforms to their exacting, pre-programmed specifications. No charge to their credits, because they had recycled the previously allotted outfits. Into this pile of clothing both women tore with marked haste, tugging on various pieces of underclothes. Natalie was frowning through her bushy curls as she forced her bra on, wincing a bit. "Why is this so tight?" She asked aloud, then blinked, looked at Vanya, then down at herself, and then back at Vanya. She now had empirical evidence that her own bust was larger than the Romulan's, because it was the science candidate's top she was trying to squeeze into.
The hilarity of the moment was too much, and Nat burst into a fit of giggles. Not quite bordering on manic or anything like that, it was, none the less, a good release of stress, and she shook her head, hiding her mirth behind her waves of brown hair. "Oh god, what a pair we make," she said quietly, pulling the too small top back off and handing it sheepishly over to the Romulan, before pulling her own golden fabric on. No time to really dwell, she laughed all the same, hurridly - but carefully - picking through the clothes for the rest of her uniform.
"I guess this is good practice for response time drills in the future. Making sure we grab the right stuff in a hurry?" She purposed, sounding contradictorialy at ease, considering the time crunch they were in, and the intimacy of the moments prior.
[ Cadet Vanya (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya) | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor ] Attn: @Brutus (https://orig00.deviantart.net/f71d/f/2018/085/6/a/vanya_manifest_by_auctor_lucan-dc70p0a.png) (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Vanya)
At Natalie’s exclamation of “Oh shit!” The Romulan paused and looked at her with a highly arched eyebrow and a moment was taken to lean to the side and inspect Natalie’s rear. A long pause and she shook her head.
Getting out they moved into the dorm room and went about getting dressed until the misapplication of underclothes. Natalie giggled and the corners of Vanya’s lips turned up. A look of curiosity crossed her face and she grinned.
“Well we do seem to have rather nice pairs.” She nodded, was that a joke? Was it on purpose or had the android just made a very acute observation?
Exchanging the bra for the proper one she slid it on and adjusted herself. It wasn’t exactly like Vanya was lacking. It was just that Natalie had been twice blessed. Once that was on she pulled on the under shirt and then grabbed the tailored jacket. Academy gray with the teal shoulders wasn’t the most beautiful of uniforms. Vanya looked forward to graduation and getting the black and grays.
Once the Jacket was on, she smoothed it down and glanced to Natalie. It was going to take her a minute to tame that mane, so Vanya stepped past her and swiftly gathered up Nat’s stuff for her next class. With Android efficiency she stacked it in a neatly transported grouping, her hands seeming to almost blur.
As Natalie finished taming the mane, her items where handed to her and Vanya grinned.
“Sometimes machine efficiency isn’t a bad thing?”As they turned for the door Vanya flipped open her foot locker and a hand dove inside. A slight crinkle then her boot hit the side of the foot locker closing it. Swoosh and they were heading out the door.
Jogging down the hall Vanya’s hand came up. Two Starfeet Regulation Energy Bars! Scientifically formulated for human consumption to ensure steady release of energy for a 6 hour stretch. Vanya grinned as she gave them to the Martian.
“Cant have you running out of fuel in afternoon classes. If you flunk out… I’d have to get a new roommate, and that’d be such a hassle!”
[Cadet Natalie Stark | Starfleet Academy | Freshman Dorm Alpha 2 | Cross Species Accommodation | Fourth Floor | Freshman Year | 1 Week into term]Attn: @Cosmos (https://orig08.deviantart.net/12db/f/2015/160/c/c/stark_by_auctor_lucan-d8wo53n.gif)
A bit of a hint of red. Yes, it was impossible to deny now that, by most species aesthetic standards, both Natalie herself, and Vanya, had what would be considered attractive pairs of breasts. Pleasantly plump and yet delightfully perky in the right ways. Not that any boy had bothered to really pay her any attention in that department. In fact, she'd probably had more compliments from Vanya about her breasts and other assets in the week she'd known the girl than in years of school on Mars.
But there wasn't really time for that. Now that she was attired in the proper colored underclothes, she began to add the rest of the uniform. Perhaps slightly slower - though at the same time, she was putting some trust in Vanya's ability to pick out the right articles for herself. At least the girls managed to make a good showing of getting dressed, the Romulan finishing a bit ahead of Natalie, whom was pulling her pants up even as her roommate finished settling about her own hair.
Sure enough, it did take quite a bit of doing for Natalie to get that mane of curls into something approaching passable. It was a tight, overly bushy bun behind her head. It would keep the curls out of her face, and high up enough so that when she leaned back she wouldn't be trapping it between her and the seat. Little things, but they mattered. She finished just in time to see her Romulan counterpart blur about the room. She felt her mouth open just a tad.
"That was...yeah, wow," she said, taking her gear as it was offered up. She jerked her head toward the door, and they set off, Vanya pausing long enough to fish out a meal for the both of them. It was a level of preparation that Natalie considered praise worthy. She herself did not keep e-rats on hand.
"No, we can't have that. Breaking in another roommate might be a bridge too far for this week," Natalie agreed with another relieved laugh. She used her teeth to tear open the foil wrapper as the duo jogged down to the turbolift. "Thanks for this," she added, digging in. She had wolfed down half of the snack by the time the lift deposited them on the main floor of the dorm. It wasn't the worse tasting meal she'd ever had, but at the same time it wasn't exactly a replicated cheeseburger.
She stopped briefly at the door, looking at the paved path that would lead to their classes. "On a bright note, we won't be passing the Koi pond," she remarked as they set off. That bit of campus was going to be off limits to her roommate, Natalie decided, as they ate up the ground with long, fast strides.
For now, at least. Until we deal with all of this....