Star Trek: Theurgy

[ INTERREGNUM EP 02-03 | The Calm Before the Storm ]

[ Captain's Quarters | Deck 05 | USS Theurgy ]

After a long night of random sleep, Jien Ives had finally slipped from her tangled white sheets.
 
Usually, she would be in the Gymnasium at that hour, yet given the events of the former day, she was content to go through a few sword forms in her living room. She did not bother to change her form further than to add a set of  black undergarments on top of her skin since she had yet to take a much-needed shower.
 
As she walked to where Arashi sat on top of a low shelf, she hoped a log entry would help collect her thoughts. That, together with the focus that her swordsmanship demanded. "Captain's Log, Stardate 57505.16," she said quietly, and Thea chirped in recognition to that was said whilst Jien withdrew the steel from its sheath. She cleaned the weapon first with a cloth, the long strokes preparation for both mind and blade, "Yesterday, we were visited by an alien entity that sought to gain power through our bodily worship of its specific theological domain. It was evident that she might have been a figure that shaped mankind's early history, not to mention all other planets in the galaxy that drew inspiration from her when forming the core of their religious beliefs."
 
After tending to the blade with the oil cloth, she stepped out into the open area - standing still with the weapon by her side. Her eyes searched the dim light for words. "Today, I find it interesting that the most evil acts made in life - even the poorest choices with the most dire of consequences - were once attributed to the will of gods."

She began - the weapon becoming an extension of her spine even though it was not a part of her form. The ardent silver arc of steel danced with her as the counter-weight to each swing and thrust - the only sound heard being her bare feet upon the floor. Stopping, blade extended, she continued her log. "Yet as Mankind, Vulcans and other species became more affluent, their living standard and style beginning to ascend the material scale, it would seem our gods descended the scale of responsibility. We needed them no more, and based on what we have learned, the absence of need seems to me the main reason they vanished."

Whirling around, Jien cut the air - the steel making the air thrum with sharp force. Each step sent the blade into new patterns, until she reached the end of the room. Lungs heaving, she spoke to the featureless wall. "James Joyce once said," she swallowed, " 'The artist, like the God of the creation, remains within or behind or beyond or above his handiwork, invisible, refined out of existence, indifferent, paring his fingernails.' "

Another turn, twain cuts leaving her crouched down upon the floor - blade held vertically next to her. "Perhaps he was right," she said quietly, and she straightened, perspiration making her lithe yet powerful figure gleam in the dim light. "Perhaps... the purpose was to help raise us to our feet, just so that we might be able to stand up on our own."

Lowering her head in thought, Jien soon decided that there were no answers to be found. As many that had been present when facing the entities were the same number of interpretations made - each pair of eyes seeing different things because of differing background.

"Computer, end log." The chirp gave her the closure she needed, for there were more pressing matters at hand.

---

OOC: The IC time-frame for this thread is from early dawn on the day after Episode 02 ended to 2200 hrs on that same day. By that time, Episode 03 begins, so please do not write that several days or weeks pass by in this thread. Try to plan the day ahead of time if there are many scenes you wish to write out between the Episodes. Please note, however, that you are all free to develop scenes for the evening and night before in the Post Meridiem thread. Have fun and don't hesitate to PM me if you want me in any potential scene you wish to write!

[Lin Kae - Hololab]

"It's fairly complicated."  Kae had been working with Thea for hours now, developing all sorts of new sensors in her programming.  Though she had tactile sensors that allowed her to ascertain things such as hot and cold, rough and smooth, they were far more limiting, and provided more of a true./false statement in her mind then real sensation.  Since her transformation during the incident with the mysterious and powerful being that had switched Kae's body with that of Skye Carver, Thea was much more open to the idea of his development of her body.  Maybe she saw what she had been missing now, and wanted to truly experience what he wanted to offer her.

After all that time, they had successfully replicated an organic's tactile senses, but only in a single hand.  He had rewritten numerous lines of code, that new hand constituting three times the volume of her entire body's tactile sensors before he started.  He already knew that it was going to take massive amounts of space in the computer's systems to store this, perhaps more then he would be allowed, but for now, Thea could enjoy the feeling of touch in her right hand, from her finger tips to her wrist.

"Thea," Kae spoke, his voice already indicating that he was about to be the bearer of bad news.  "by my calculations, by the time we finish converting your body to this new format, your programming code's volume will have been increased by roughly thirty times it's current space, and there is still so much more we can do then just rewrite your tactile sensors.  The Captain won't possibly be able to approve of this much resources being used up from the ship's computer banks."  There was a small glimmer of hope, though, something he hadn't told her about yet.  "I've been working on an idea of creating a sort of Mobile Emitter.  In some ways, it's inferior to the model acquired by the Voyager EMH, but also superior in other ways.  I'm thinking if I build it specifically for storage of holographic data, I can construct the memory banks to contain your code much more easily then the ship's systems.  You could become autonomous from the ship, and when I'm done, you might even be able to leave the ship and take part on away missions if you so choose."

[ Hololab | USS Theurgy ]

Standing in the Hololab with her hands behind her back and shoulders squared, Thea was wearing her golden body suit since she was working with the Engineering department. The hours gone by, as lacking as they might have been socially because of the ground-breaking yet tediously slow progress they made, had been quite interesting. Lin Kae and her had been working together before to take care of the errors in her programming that were inherent to the 'freedom' that she had been granted during the Niga Incident. Yet now, besides the quick and easy augmentations that Lin Kae had given her, she was beginning to appreciate the true genius of the young organic.

For when they got to the point where the tactile sensors in her hand had been altered, she raised both her hands before herself and flexed them - immediately feeling the difference. She looked at them as they moved, and while they appeared exactly the same as before, her right hand reminded her about her brief time as an organic being. It was hard to put words to the difference, even if she had been able to assist immensely in the trial-and-error process during the session with Lin Kae.

One thing that had become plain was that the difference between her hands at that point was the margin of error in which her original programmers failed to capture true sense of touch. Lin Kae had put a lot of time into the sensory sub-routines of a single hand, while her original programmers had used standard Federation programming that was considered adequate for photonic beings with the sense of touch, and they had applied it to her body as a whole. Perhaps it was unfair to hold such short-comings against her programmers, given that it was unprecedented that a photonic creation was given the opportunity of first-hand experience as an organic being, with the full range of emotions and bodily functions that came with it.

Of course, the difference she felt made her want more; that her entire body would be able to sense touch in the way her right hand now did. They had found the recipe for success in their session, and the parameters and sub-routines could be copied and...

Yet Lin Kae told her about the cost, and it devastated her that it was too great. The starship's systems were burdened as they were, and here she was, with a dream to become more... at the cost of everyone and the upkeep of her titanium hulled physical body. Flexing her 'new' hand, her 'thoughts' attacked the problem immediately... only to hear Lin Kae offer a solution right away.

"A physical component?" she asked quietly as she raised her brown eyes - looking into the Lieutenant's, "An emitter with data-storage that would rival the available storage capacity of my systems? You must be comparing my isolinear chips to the capacity of data crystals."

While isolinear optical chips served as data storage for various forms of Federation technology with a maximum capacity of 2.15 kiloquads per chip - enabling storage for everything between tricorders, PADDs and computer consoles to entire starship databases - data crystals were small, sophisticated information storage devices able to store a much larger amount of information. Less ideal for machinery and secure data transfers between thousands of separate units... yet vastly more capacious.

She stared at her saviour - a title that had survived their initial encounter. Lin Kae's words had sprung all manner of conclusions, and Thea wondered if the Lieutenant had drawn the same ones she now did.

Because organic memories were known to be stored inside data crystals so that the identities of undercover agents could be restored after their assignments were complete. Digital memories, such as her own limited sensory and optical surveillance input, were bound to be even easier to store. "What about my connection to me - as in the real, physical 'me'? This ship. The systems that are just as integral to me as they are to this Starship. Are you considering some kind of patching-interface. Or are you..."

To be removed from herself, made into something so small. Her pasitronic brain was inside the Main Computer Core of the ship. Separated? Without her brain, she would...

"Oh..."

Her processing powers were working very hard now, and she walked over to a wall panel - not having to touch it as she drew up the network map that just occurred to her - perhaps the same one Lin Kae had in mind already. "Dataports are used with data crystals, and with such a device as you suggest, you mean to create a constant wireless feed between my pasitronic brain and my mobile unit - a unit that would store all the programming for my projected humanoid body? In theory, it might work, but what about range and tracing of that signal? What kind of signal would the two access point dataports have that would stand the trial of range, capacity, discretion and encryption? These four parameters are still measurable, restricting... "

His mind could not be upon a solution with a wireless patching-interface.

"You mean to remove my brain from the ship systems... and put it into an emitter, with data crystal storage capacity." The feeling of mobility was also a feeling of mortality now, as she would be reduced to something that would fit her pasitronic brain and become so vulnerable that a phaser shot could through her passive state... No, she would not be able to enter passive mode - escaping through walls when needed.

"Are you quite certain the Captain would agree to have the ship rely on an outdated, standard Federation AI to handle the ship systems?" Oddly, that was her first thought. Not that she would loose her 'immortality'. No, for what she would get in exchange was something that surpassed the heightened risk of 'death', if one might be so bold and say that a hologram could actually die. If it worked, could there still be a patching solution for while she was aboard the ship? Would she be able to hook into her current systems and replace a standard AI? Could Lin Kae really do this for her?

"What would that make me... if not a whole new kind of life-form? An android with a holographic body? An isomorphic projection with a heart-emitter?" She could not help but run her 'new' hand up and down her own abdomen as her 'thoughts' raced - feeling the texture of her body suit in a whole new way.

"Tell me more," she asked of him, eyes intensely staring into his, for she wanted to know how much the holographic specialist truly meant to free her with his design.

Despite the early hour, Nicole had barely slept, not that she'd really been getting a lot of it lately anyway, but her normally chaotic thoughts had something else to dwell on, on top of everything else.  In her mind's eye, she kept seeing the captain's glance in the reflection of her screen and was still, hours later, unable to decipher it.  It made it nearly impossible to lay her mind to rest and allow a normal sleep to follow.  If it hadn't been the captain, though, it would have been something else.  The warp nacelles, perhaps.  They'd been acting like they were in need of alignment and, like most things aboard, that would require a space dock in order to fix.  Those eyes of his, though... what if he'd been wanting her to follow him?  To talk to him?  No, better to think of how the holodecks still needed work.  If she scavenged... but, no, no more scavenging one system to save another.  She'd have to replicate the parts she needed.  It was something she'd come to realize as chief engineer.  Scavenging just meant one more system to fix later.  Still, what if she'd gone after him?  And, what if he'd scorned her, told her he hadn't meant anything by his look?

She rolled onto her stomach and noticed the clock.  She'd already spent most of the night on this and her next shift started in a few hours.  Tired as she was, she still didn't feel sleepy and just lying there in bed was getting annoying, since slumber seemed as elusive as it always did.  With a huff, she pushed up and padded naked to the bathroom, running a cold shower to try and wake herself up and shake off some of her exhaustion.  As she stood under the water, she realized she would have to face him and damn the consequences.  She had to know and couldn't keep on like this.

Decision made, she dressed and left, checking with Thea on her captain's location.  As she took the lift and walked down the short hallway, she worried about how to approach whatever was to occur.  She was hardly the most diplomatic of people and, if she wasn't careful, might just blurt out the first thing that came to mind, whether it helped the situation or not.  Realizing she'd reached the captain's quarters, she took a deep breath, then tapped the door chime.

[ Captain's Quarters ]

The exercise had worn on for some time at the point when her door chimed, and Jien's dark hair hung wet with perspiration before her eyes when she turned her head that way - dai-katana still in hand. Bronze skin damp and chest heaving, she calmed herself from her straining sword routines with a few breaths.

"Computer, who's at the door?"

[Lt Cmdr Nicole Howard, Captain,] said Thea's voice impassively.

Nicole... The scene from the temple repeated itself in Jien's head, and she supposed she had to talk with her Chief Engineer about what was going on. Both what had happened right there in her chambers not long ago, and what had transpired in the Ishtar entity's prison. Yet how was she to receive her now? In the state she was in? Then again, considering what had happened between them, this way would be far more appropriate than last time regardless.

Gently grounding the tip of her weapon against the floor, Jien leaned upon it to catch her breath, calling out to the expected visitor, "Enter!" She altered not her form either, her black undergarments remaining just as she remained at the centre of the spacious living-room - only a kind smile touching her features faintly when the sliding doors opened. Whatever she might say would turn out strange, so she decided on something common.

"Commander," she said between two laboured breaths in greeting, 'How are you faring since yesterday?"

[Lin Kae - Hololab]

Kae had actually been rather disappointed with the simplicity of what Thea had been using until now.  Her photonic skin was equipped with sensors which worked like true/false modifiers.  When she touched something, a list of conditions were presented, and determined as true or false.  Soft, hard, warm, cold, rough, smooth; these conditions then fed to the emotion program in her code and created an appropriate response.  It was functional, but hardly what he would have called true feeling.  She had been proud of it when they first met, but after her experience as an organic, she now knew how far she was from the real thing.  Now, Kae had taken that simple programming and made it so much more, turning what was originally twelve sensors in her hand into about a million, each one equivalent to a human being's pore.  More then just a list of conditions, he had programmed in the ability to simulate pressure, the elasticity of a finger when skin was pushing upon something, the feeling when a nail scratched along a surface.  Hell, if she wanted, Thea could have experienced a paper cut

"Let me show you." he told her, as he opened up a program in the lab, making a small device appear beside  Thea.  Right now, he was using the holodeck as a way of designing the device, rather then wasting resources by replicating parts.  He set up the hologrid to simulate the properties and effects of all components, making him able to properly test the device.  It was multi-sided, each of it's many sides having a tiny holoe-mmiter.  Overall, it was approximately the size of a softball.  "The device can project an omni-directional field, sort of like a shield bubble, but this bubble serves to create a photonic environment that can be used to replicate physical forms like yours.  Like a Holodeck shifts perspective as someone walks through it, this device moves as it anticipates your movement, using a combination of your visual sensors and the forward motions of your feet to tell it to move.  It's ability to move is thanks to an anti-gravity unit similar to the kind found in remote-controlled shuttle toys, but hooked into the central core where your actions determine it's pitch, yaw and acceleration."

That explained projection and movement, but there was still one key factor; how it was a better storage device then the ship itself.  "Isolinear chips are standard because they accept a wide variety of data.  It's universal, but specialized data can benefit from newer technologies.  For example, on the station where I studied holography, we were working on a storage device specifically for photonic data, which operates by buffering unused data until it is needed.  This could be as simple as buffering the sensation in the soles of your feet between footsteps or as complex as shutting down all functions during 'sleep' to make room for dreaming, a subroutine developed for the Voyager EMH to daydream with.  This device would need recharging when not in use, and you could be uploaded into it whenever you wish to be.  I can also set it up so that your ship-wide operations are unaffected; you could be loading data from both the device for your own personal use, as well as still be connected to the ship to function as it's AI.  We can use the standard ship's AI only when you leave the ship."

He had thought things through.  He was offering her a chance to grow without her roots being ripped out.  She would still be the heart of the Theurgy, it's primary AI, but she could also be a person, or at least work towards becoming more of a person.  He looked to her in anticipation, to find out if she approved of his ideas and his plans.  He had been working on it for weeks to get the concepts right, Skye helping inspire the device during the trip to Nimbus III.  It all served to do just as he said he wanted to do; to allow Thea to become everything she possibly could be.

[ Hololab | USS Theurgy ]

When Kae uploaded the prototype projection, Thea walked around it while he spoke - studying it with her optical sensors as well as the file itself that was stored in her systems. Her intital reaction was that the faceted device looked so incredibly small. An organic might have called it premonition of claustrophobia. Am I to fit inside there? How...

With a gesture of her gloved hand, the projection was enlarged and the many components expanded outwards - making the inside of the unit visible. She tilted her head and glanced towards some of the components.

"The quality of my AI, what makes me different than an ordinary one, is inherent to the design of my positronic brain, stored inside my main computer core." Her line of thinking deserved an explanation, so she paused to tell him her reasoning, "My computer core is based on isolinear systems augmented with bio-neural circuitry and gel packs. The core's processor is capable of sustaining over 575 trillion calculations per nanosecond, granting simultaneous access to 47 million data channels, and operating in conditions ranging from 10 to 1790 Kelvin. The upper and lower computer core, for when I am in MVAM, possess the same capacity - only remaining dormant during Standard Operation Mode for sake of preserving the copious amount of energy they would require. My positronic brain, however, is merely capable of a computation rate of sixty thousand operations per nanosecond. My point is that the key to my AI is not in computation capacity to run a holographic program, but in the unique computation device that my brain is; hardware with capability of artificial sentience. Consisting of an artificial neural network and designed to imitate the human brain."

She turned to face Kae gesturing with her hand while she spoke. "The program you use to break down my source code in the matrix of my brain is a positronic decompiler that is specifically attached to my physical brain inside the computer core. It has an ultimate storage capacity of eight hundred quadrillion bits that house the sub-routines of my holographic projection. My brain - me - seamlessly tap into the main computer to make it execute operations, read and search for data at an exponentially high rate. I am so intimately connected with my physical body I find it hard to tell where I end and the computer core or my nervous system - the bio-neural network - begins. My point is that if components that can properly run my AI in the fashion that my brain now does isn't installed into this new mobile unit, my AI would but a shadow of what I really am. To be reduced to mere a mere holographic program, uploaded and downloaded seamlessly to this duranium crystal is theoretically possible at best, but would it really be me if..."

She paused, having overlooked one of the components in the unit - hidden under a new denomination. Now she deciphered it. "I see."With her fingers, she magnified the component.

"A cortex processor..." she said, a mere whisper, "...identical to mine."

She walked around the holographic image as she considered this. The positronic brain was designed to run a humanoid mechanical body with positronic links, a sub-processor and a memory cell. Yet she was no Android. She was a projection, and if Lin Kae's device with its uniquely formatted storage could serve for the rest... then she would have the same unique kind of computing capacity she already had... minus the assistance of the main computer core. Her emotion chip possessed sub-routines that could be easily transferred along with the current set-up in her positronic brain. Her program in its entire moved to the mobile unit, and it would be able to host it because of that specific processor - the most integral part of her positronic brain.

"How l-long," she began to ask for sake of saying anything at all, yet she paused since she had to swallow - tears in her eyes, "how long does the power cell last before it has to be recharged?"

The strong emotional reaction to being given this by the Engineer overwhelmed her - the emotion chip still not restored to her control since the Niga Incident. No more had she been given the answer than she walked up to Lin Kae and hugged him tightly. Holding him close, she could not express how grateful she was for all his hard work. "Thank y-you."

She repeated the two words endlessly until he'd stop her.

 "Distracted," was the first word out of Nicole's mouth as she took in the nearly unclad sight of Jien before her.  She'd always been bisexual as far back as she could recall and here, before her, was a being who met both sides of her attitudes at once, or could, anyway.  To walk in on her captain dressed as she was seemed almost more intimate, somehow, than the last time she'd been in these quarters.  As she stepped inside and the door closed behind her, she suddenly felt a bit embarrassed to be here, like she was a 15 year old girl about to tell her first crush how she felt.  That wouldn't stop her, though, as she had to find out, had to know where exactly they stood.  An apology first, then a question or two.  Something to get the conversation moving.  And, of course, her captain's first words seemed so... distant.  Impersonal, as though they were just two officers and not two people who had shared the most intimate act people could share.

The sword didn't help, either.  It made her feel as though she were interrupting dangerous, as though she were being what her father used to describe as "uselessly womanish" while her captain was doing something masculine.  She'd come here to discuss their relationship, though, and not be distracted by anything else.  With a sigh, she stepped closer, "Yesterday was... difficult.  More so for others than for myself, given I didn't have anything really happen to me, but it still wasn't easy.  It made me realize, though, that I'd been... that I'd hadn't... I mean to say..."

She tried to come up with something to say, something to explain how she felt and what she'd been willing to give up to be with Jien, but her mind, for once, failed to provide anything and she stood there looking just a bit helpless.

[Lin Kae- Hololab]

When she saw the cortex processor, he felt even more proud.  She saw how this one piece changed everything she had thought about the device until now.  With that one component, it went from a theory to a practicality.  Suddenly, it wasn't a matter of if the device would work, but when it could be completed.  "It's a sophisticated piece of machinery, so the battery would be used extensively.  I'm aiming for a twenty hour battery life and a four hour charge."  Four hours of downtime a day wasn't much.  Humans spent longer then that sleeping.

"I still need to get approval from the Captain before I can begin work.  This sort of project has a lot of components that could be quite costly.  I can't just build it without approval."  It was the one remaining obstacle that still had to be overcome, but when Thea hugged him, tahnked him over and over, he knew he had to finish it.  He couldn't let her down, not if he could help it.  She was the most sophisticated hologram yet devised by Starfleet or the Federation as a whole, and she deserved to explore the full limitations, to exceed her current form and become as much as an organic was.

"You're welcome, Thea," he finally said, to tell her she didn't need to keep saying it.  He was happy that she was happy, but there was still something more he could do for her right now.  Once their hug was broken, he worked at the console again to replicate the results on her right hand to the left.  It was a simple manner of mirroring the new sensors and mapping them in place.  She now had two hands capable of every touch, every feeling that an organic hand possessed.  A small step towards being what she wished to be, but it would build toward bigger and better things.

((OOC: Sorry it's short.  Had about a dozen posts to make today))

[Deck 01: Main Bridge]

It was early morning on the Theurgy and the Lieutenant Commander made his way across the distance of the bridge.  He looked at the chair of the captain's for a moment as he traversed from the Tactical chair over towards the Mission Ops desk checking the readings on the displays as he walked the distance.  For a moment he looked over the mission ops display seeing the locations of the Wolves during this early morning sortie.

After looking over the data he walked towards the XO's read room and pressed the door chime knowing Commander Rez should be in her office at this hour.

((sorry for the short post not really sure where I could go from there))

[Edena Rez - XO Ready Room]

"Come in," Edena responded to the door chime.  It felt like more of a warm, friendly response then the "enter" that she used to use.  That was Jona's influence, but after seeing the way that man had acted during the last crisis on-board the ship, she came to realize that she couldn't become the second coming of such a man.  She had to forge her own path, and part of that was drawing upon some of that naivete that belonged to her to make others feel comfortable, but temper it with Kiya's wisdom and experience, pair it with Illya's insight and intuition.  It would make her a more rounded individual for the effort she placed into it.

When Miles entered, she was starting to wish for her strong wall of Jona Rez again.  She had already discussed with the Captain the incident with Kiya, but Miles and Illya felt like a much more complicated mess.  Jien and Kiya had been forced together, but Illya had simply been her usual self, hungry for some intimacy and getting it from Renard.  On top of that was the Vulpinian's statement that he was more attracted to Edena herself.  She lowered her gaze to her desk to hide her blushing, at least until Illya was able to coach her through putting up the kind of face she wanted to show.  When she raised her head again, she was all professional.  "Is there something I can help you with, Lieutenant Commander?"

[ Captain's Quarters ]

When Nicole told Jien that she felt distracted, the Captain did not make the connection about the sight that met her Chief Engineer. The glistening strength of her bronze-coloured body, light caressing her as she reclaimed her breath, the light ripple of muscles underneath her skin as she streightened and tossed her hair back from her eyes - dark brown hairsticking to her high cheek bones and long eyelashes. She knew her own physical representation, of course, since she was a Chameloid. Yet she did not realise she had such an effect upon Nicole right then - her training coming naturally to her since a very young age.

"Yesterday was... difficult.  More so for others than for myself, given I didn't have anything really happen to me, but it still wasn't easy.  It made me realize, though, that I'd been... that I'd hadn't... I mean to say..."

It was not only Nicole that had difficulty picking out words, which was evident in the lingering silence in the room. On hand upon her hip, Jien rolled the hilt of her grounded weapon in her fingers where she stood - head lowered in thought. The lamplight caught the blade as it rotated - sending fleeting spectres of gold across the walls around them.

"When you stepped forth," she said quietly and lifted her large brown eyes to meet Nicole's gaze, "regardless of your intent, it made me realise I've been disinclined to talk through what happened between us last - unintended words or not. If I hadn't been so stubborn in my claim to be native of planet Earth and the Sol System, and chosen to debate the topic good-naturedly, I think we wouldn't have to be stepping on our toes around each other."

Stepping towards her dai-katana's stand, Jien picked up the sheath.

"A little belatedly," she said and glanced over her shoulder, with a faint smile, "yet I am sorry. Can you forgive an outsider for trying a lifetime to belong somewhere, and defending her right to have a home?"

She sheathed the weapon in a fluid motion - 'burying the hatchet', in a way.


[ Hololab | USS Theurgy ]

Four hours of recharging and twenty hours to be free - uprooted from the computer core.

It would be so strange, to rely on her own capacity and not draw on the computation powers of the ship. Away missions. Walking solid ground. Real ground, away from the holodeck. Away from herself - her physical body. From being bound to sixteen decks, four-hundred and seven meters of length, sixty-four meters of height and one-hundred and sixty meters of width, the entire universe that she could reach within twenty hours seemed so much to her. Provided they could arrange portable means of recharging her ...whatever Kae would name it, there would theoretically be no way of stopping her.

Was this what organics called vertigo? For it all made her mind stagger with the implications, and that was saying much for her specifically.

When she parted from Kae, it was not with a sense of regret that she did so. She had wanted to linger more, for comfort and to tell him how grateful she was for all he had done for her. Instead, he continued to provide for her, adding her left hand to gain the same kind of sensory set-up that her right did. It caused her to run her hands over the front of her body-suit again, forgetting herself in how it might affect the young man if he took notice.

"If you want," she said, her hands making her crude sensory receptors in her breasts tell her how they were being stroked. The digital input was something along the lines of 'bodily warmth, pleasant'. Not the reply they had given her the day before, to say the least. yet her hands, they felt like she remembered them. Since she had such a limited frame of time which she had used her organic body, and the activities during that time were... specific, she wondered if she could find out if the sensors were accurate. Oh, She had lost her trail of thought, her bodily diagnostic greedily taking priority all on its own.

"If you want, I could be there when you plead my case with Captain Ives. Perhaps, we ought to discuss this at the Senior Staff meeting tonight, since it is not a decision that the Captain would make without counsel from his First Officer. Perhaps, the question of my right will, again, have to be discussed before the whole of the Senior Staff. I can send a message to the Captain about your need to attend the meeting right away."

The last time had been hurtful for her, but it had served her to go through that hearing.
 
"Also..." How to broach this topic in a socially acceptable way seemed beyond her. "Perhaps, if you are willing to, I would like to test the input of my new sensory system. There is no way to make certain if there are any flaws unless it is put to trial properly. Do you have the time... or do you have pressing duties elsewhere?"

Thea swallowed, the emotional chip fighting to make her blush. She knew he had the time, yet it was better to ask in matters such as these. Of this, she had been convinced since the Niga Incident. Besides having to ask, her second regret lay in how only her hands were to be put to trial right then, and the rest of her body yet to be mapped with the new system.

Hangar bay

Lone Wolf Thomas Ravon was tweaking the final adjustments with a member of engineering to make his Valkyrie more agile in combat. A few tweaks to the propulsion system gave him that little edge to others when it came to racing towards a particular target area or making a tight turn. Thomas had spent last night on a recon patrol with Carver and his SCO after the events that had displayed before them with the mysterious entities.

After that patrol Thomas was knackered and he decided to go to his personal quarters after the mission debrief. He had slept until noon. After that he decided to return to his duties before the entire event that kept haunting through his head. Perhaps haunting was the wrong word, it wasn't a bad memory that followed him around all the time, yet the idea itself was wrong. He had promised the captain to not speak a word of this with anybody else, which wasn't that hard since Thomas had little contact with the other crewmembers. He reminded himself to be more social and to mix a bit more with the crew, yet the thought got carried away while working with the engineer on his Valkyrie.

He thanked the young ensign for his assistance and the ensign said that it was no problem. Thomas smiled a bit faint and returned to running a diagnostic check on his ship just in case. Little did he know that time would be flying past that it was already nearly afternoon when his stomach gave him a warning. He was getting hungry...

Miles nodded, "Actually, I just wanted to talk if you had a little bit of time."  He paused as he entered the room and the door shut behind him.  "I can only assume that you, like me, have memories of what happened to all of our individual forms.  I just wanted Illya to know that No amount of reputation or rumors could measure up to actually having the pleasure to meet her, and it was my honor to be her escort during her brief time among us."

He then paused for a moment as he looked down fumbling with his hands as his tail swayed behind him slightly.  He began to look up his ears slightly low as if in  state of shame or embarrassment as his tail hung a bit lower than usual. 

He then continued "Commander Edena, I apologize if you feel as if I took advantage of the situation in my encounter with Lady Illya.  I must also apologize if you feel my statements to her regarding my physical attraction to yourself were unprofessional.  I just wanted to make sure I meant no disrespect and I sincerely hope this will not hinder our professional relationship or the friendship I felt we had built both previously as Counselor and Patient and now as an officer and his superior."

[Lin Kae - Hololab]

Watching Thea test out her new hands, smoothing them down her holographic body, was a distracting thing.  She was so enamored with touch, even against surfaces which were only simulated.  Touching something organic has more nuances that would have no doubt given her even more to be amazed by.  She had experienced these sensations already to a degree, but even Kae didn't know the full extent.  He knew she had been human during the incident, but not what she had been doing with herself.  Likewise, his own situation, being in the body of a woman, was known, but not that Ensign Skye carver and he had slept together while their bodies were switched.  It was an experience that Kae thought might help him one day, to be personally familiar with the female body.  It might be helpful in programming Thea's more gender specific body parts  he even considered recruiting Skye for help with that matter in time.  He thought she might be willing to help with that, even if it would turn into another unusual circumstance for them.

"I sure it would help us along if you were there to help the Captain see the importance of this project.  Hologram development like this could be seen as unnecessary, especially in our current situation, but you could help him understand.  I'm sure of it."  The ship needed it's crew to become more then it was, to be smarter, better, to help keep the Theurgy flying against the threats that kept coming it's way.  Thea was no different.  She was becoming more, and that helped her to become a more dedicated member of the crew, to better understand those she served alongside.

When she asked about testing her new systems, he would have thought it would be a matter of touching a variety of surfaces, testing to assure all of her sensations were working accurately.  "I'm your personal holographic engineer, Thea.  I have all the time in the Quadrant for you," he responded with a smile.  He was at her call for whatever she might have needed.


[Edena Rez - XO Ready Room]

Edena's gaze lowered when he said the word "pleasure," which only served to shake free a memory she had been trying to keep at bay.  Having absorbed Illya's experiences with Miles during their time separated, she knew what it was like with the man as though it had been herself, even if Illya's body was a bit more . . . weathered then her own.  Weathered?  If that your way of calling me loose, Eden?

Edena ignored Illya's ghost in her head for a moment, instead keeping her focus upon Miles.  "I do not think you took advantage of the situation, Lieutenant Commander.  Knowing Illya as I do, even if I didn't have the memories of the event, I would more then suspect her to be the predator in such a situation.  I thank you for keeping her from causing too much trouble.  As for your comments regarding me . . . it's a confusing time for me right now, so I do not know how to properly respond to them."  She was in the process of reinventing herself, of learning from her hosts rather then following their lead, and relying far less upon Jona as an example of what kind of officer she had to be as a member of Starfleet.  In many ways, she felt like the woman she was back before the blending, which was essentially who she was when she was still back in Starfleet academy.  She was directionless, uncertain, and very much a wallflower.  She wasn't like Illya, who had more past lovers then she could count, nor had she known the committed love of Kiya for her husband of many years.  Edena wasn't a virgin, but in many ways, she could be just as innocent as one. 

"Commander Renard, I assure you that nothing that has occurred will affect any professional relationship we have.  One thing they teach Trill who go through the blending is the importance of letting go.  If not, there can be a drive to try and integrate into the lives of past hosts.  That training was helpful to me in my part as a counselor when I first came on-board, in helping others to let go of that which kept them from moving on."

[ Hololab ]

Since Lin Kae wasn't hesitant in discussing the update on her sensory system as well as its mobile solution with the Senior Staff so soon, Thea paused for a minute amount of time in order to compile and send both the Captain and the XO a thorough outline of what the Holographic Specialist wished to present at the meeting, along with a note that she would like to be summoned for the presentation as well in order to answer questions.

Finished, she lifted her chin a little and spoke while taking a couple of steps closer to her Saviour. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I will begin now, if you don't mind." Her emotional chip was sending all kind of strange data into her processor, half of which she could not quite make sense of, but the general take on the data-stream was awkwardness and fear that he thought her repellant - that he wished not for her to try her sensory system in the only way she knew how.

When standing close to Lt. Kae, she looked into his eyes impassively and raised her new hands. Her gloves gone, the passionless look in her eyes were in contrast to her sudden approach. The emotion input from her systems affected her projection, made her stomach queasy with trepidation, yet still she never hesitated to run her fingertips along the bottom of his hair - feeling the texture course along her upgraded sensors. "I surmise hair can feel different depending on species, treatment and washing. Yours is smooth. Silken. Yet short and practical. This is familiar, as different that yours is compared to what I felt as an organic."

Next, her hands took different paths. One settled on his shoulder. A male shoulder. Angular and stronger than a female's, she supposed. His warmth could be felt through the fabric of his uniform. Her other hand ran fingertips to his lips. She brushed them lightly - the tactile response to the male mouth not something she was familiar with. Even though her emotional input told her that she longed to feel Lin Kae kiss her with her soon upgraded lips, her following words were controlled, all pragmatic effectiveness. "Open your mouth please, and extend your tongue."

Once he complied to her wish, she used her thumb and two top fingers to stroke the oral muscle slowly. The halfblood Bajoran's tongue was nowhere near the animal muscle of a Vulpinian in its natural form, yet the texture and response to her fingers were rather similar. "Soft," said her analysis, eyes still looking into the Lieutenants from time to time, "strong yet able to relax. Warm. Flexible. Saliva-coated. Hard to make one-hundred percent certain, yet I think nothing is missing."

One hand still on his shoulder, Thea let go of Kae's tongue - looking into his eyes intently.

Then she looked down between their bodies. It was not until she raised her eyes again that she spoke.

"Would you please open your belt buckle and unzip your uniform trousers. I would like you to push down your underwear so that I have full access to your aroused penis. I am sorry if this might seem socially inappropriate, but I need to make as many comparisons that I can."

She tilted her head a little to the side, wondering if there was anything more she should say. "You told me, when we first met, that you would rather like to engage in sexual activity with me than most others aboard the ship, so I hope this will not be too unpleasant for you. To preserve your modesty, I have sealed the doors to this lab - disabling your fellow crew members to see you in a state of undress. I have also cut the feed from the surveillance systems."

Realising that she might not be attractive to Kae in her current form of projection, and thus disabling him from maintaining his aroused state, she removed her clothing in a brief shimmer. "Is this satisfactory to you?" she asked and smiled, not able to keep the blush from herself - the idea about Kae in her hands vivid to her already. She could but hope that her calculated guess, stating that her bare body would be attractive to him, wasn't erroneous.

He smiled hearing his Commander's words then looked back to her as he walked closer to her. "To be honest Illya wasn't the only predator in Below decks yesterday.  I also wanted you to know that everything I said to her about you is true.  Your shyness is one of your best features.  Your body for lack of a better term is the kind of approachable beauty. That I cannot help but feel pulled towards."

He smiled to her as he continued to approach just a bit never getting too close but it was obvious by the way he looked at her what his greatest desire was.  Still there was that bit of holding back that was obvious.  That professionalism that separated an animal within from the professional officer.  He walked that line expertly trying to show his superior officer that even if they let themselves go he would not think less of her he woudl never be less professional towards her.  Their encounter if there ever was one would be the actions of two beings wishing to express a physical need. 

If she ordered him to he co course could hold back.  He could break of his desires and never peruse them.  still he hoped his commander would indulge in the possibility of enjoying herself for a while.  "I guess I am more used to my own peoples ways.  I guess in our military we always were much more detached when it came to sexual liaisons.  I guess in a sense it is the detachment which has allowed me to remain professional despite what happened moments before.  I just want you to know that how I see you how I desire you, is completely independent of your rank no mater what suspicions your perverted friend might have.  Frankly, I just have a thing for cute sort-of-shy girls and you seem to fit that mold quite perfectly."

"I, too, am sorry.  I never meant to even imply Earth wasn't your home.  We each pick our place to call such and I imagine the people of where you were raised see you much as one of their own," Nicole answered, relieved to have found something to say.  Had the silence gone on for a second or two longer, she wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't have gone screaming from the room in panic.  Still, it was only partly what she'd come here to say and she meant to say everything.  Emboldened, she stepped closer to Jien, until less than a sword length lay between them and met her captain's eyes, "When I stepped forward yesterday, it was an honest and unthinking response, entirely devoid of doubt.  I realized it in the moment after that I meant to stay with you, even if it should mean the end of everything I am here, the end of my life, so to speak.  I respect you, Captain, I trust you as I have no one else in my life, save my father, and after what..." she looked around the room where they'd been so close, "after we..."

She struggled for words for a moment, then pushed on, "I want to find out if there's more to be had between us.  A fight's a fight, all lovers, even friends, have them.

Looking slightly miserable and hoping she hadn't messed up any chance she might have had with Jien, Nicole nonetheless watched Jien with hope.  It was hard to do, waiting for her captain to respond to her words, but she had no others to offer and no choice but to let them hang there.  Either Jien would answer in kind, or dismiss her.  Either way, she could think of nothing more to add and could only try to not fidget.

Scosche had slept soundly, which wasn't difficult given how exhausted he'd been, though he did have odd dreams.  They faded the moment he awoke, but he still felt uneasy.  As he opened his eyes, he tried to remember where he was and why he was awake at all.  Shouldn't he get a few more hours sleep?  That sounded nice.  Maybe just another few minutes with his eyes closed... lying there... in his bed... in his quarters... he jolted up into full consciousness and looked around, this time remembering easily.  He was a cadet now and, as his eyes were drawn to the clock, he bounced out of bed.  He'd be late and without breakfast if he didn't hurry.

A short time later, he found himself wandering the halls.  Wandering probably wasn't the word his superior would have wanted him to use, but wandering was what he ended up doing anyway.  He'd never been aboard a ship of the fleet, mostly traveling in smaller, cruise-line ships when he needed to get from event to event, luxurious but not the nitty-gritty of a scientific/military vessel like the Theurgy.  His assigned task, at the moment, was to familiarize himself with the layout of the vessel, to walk each deck and be able to recall what was where.  Fortunately, most of it was labeled and, while not eidetic, his memory was adequate and he felt, despite his pace, that he would at least be able to find his way to most of the places he'd been.

Thankfully, he was almost done.  He felt like he'd spent hours aimlessly walking the halls, noting down this here, that there, looking at sign after sign and hallway designator after hallway designator.  Everyone else seemed extraordinarily busy and none paused to talk to him, though whether that was because of their business or because of his status as a cadet, he couldn't be certain.  Either way, it had been a lonely hike.  Second to the last deck and finally something he was interested in seeing.  He'd heard of the Valkeries, of course, but never seen one up close.   As the door whooshed open onto the flight deck for the space fighters, he couldn't help but smile at the ships before him.  Not that he'd ever wanted to fly one, but what child didn't envision doing so once or twice?

Junior grade Lieutenant Ravon looked up from his cockpit when he heard the doors whoosh open. He saw Scosche walking in, a small smile on his face as he seemed to have discovered the hangar bay. Thomas knew little of the newest addition to the crew, he only knew he was new since the man was a cadet. Doubting about the growling stomach he decided to get out of his fighter and to address the young cadet. After all, he needed to fraternize a bit with the other crew members, beside the fellow Valkyrie pilots.

He waited till the cadet was in earshot and he saluted him as he saw Scosche look at his bird "Cadet." He said short and smiled a bit, trying to be friendly "Decided to go and inspect the fighters?" He asked him and his eyes went over the man now. Not really sure if the man knew him he decided to introduce himself "Junior grade lieutenant Thomas Ravon, nice to see some other people besides engineers here."

Scosche jumped in surprise, not really expecting anyone to have been down here, much less willing to talk to him.  As he turned to the young pilot, he was a bit shocked that someone so young, seemingly younger than himself, was a pilot.  Not that he hadn't accomplished more than most his age, but flight was well beyond his abilities, at least through the same means he'd applied in his gymnastics.  Nonetheless, he smiled and offered a hand, "Ravon.  Sounds like a bird, which is fitting, I would guess, given what you do."

With his other hand, his smile broadened, "That's quite a sight.  How long did you train those?"

He fingered his uniform, "They put me in security.  Not much chance they'll let me fly one of those.  Then again, not sure I'd want to, really, not against other people."

[Lin Kae - Hololab]

When Thea reached out and touched his hair, he was surprised, but soon very accepting.  It felt nice.  She wasn't yet aware of it, but when he improved the sensors in her hand, it also allowed him to better map the digits as well.  Not only was feeling more realistic for her, but she also felt realer to others.  Her skin acted like real skin, responded to pressure as real skin did, and he could tell when her fingers fell upon his lips, made his heart beat faster.  Lips symbolized something far more tender then hair.  He almost would have expected her to kiss him.  If he had programmed her lips as he did her hands, maybe she would have, but these experiments were all about the fingers, the palm, the parts that had been upgraded.  What would happen when he upgraded her lips?  Her breasts?  Her vagina even?  Would she want to test them all with him?

After she was done probing his mouth with her fingers, she dropped a bombshell on him he hadn't been able to expect.  She asked to touch him far more intimately., ways he had only been touched by two organic women . . . well, technically, he had been the woman in one of those scenarios, thanks to the reversal of bodies he experienced with Skye Carver.  Still, he had Rihen as an example.  Strange that he was already seeing Thea as organic now.  He had dated holographic women before, yet she seemed far too advanced to see as one of those girls.  She was closer to a flesh and blood, albeit still sterile, which helped his fear of infections.  With a shimmer, her bodysuit vanished, leaving Thea in the buff.  Her beautifully rendered, painstakingly handcrafted buff.  He began to wonder who created her physical form, what artist spent hours upon hours crafting each and every portion of Thea's physical avatar to look so good?  Was she based on a single woman?  An amalgamation of ideal parts?  Or was each piece just designed to be the definition of beauty?  Regardless of the answer, Kae's pants were already getting a bit too tight for him at the sight of her bare form.

He reached down and undid the buckle as she requested, his eyes sweeping over her, getting familiar with each and every part of her.  He started to wonder if there was anything she might have changed about herself.  She was perfect, but organics also had flaws, ones that added character.  For example, Thea's breasts couldn't be anything but artificial, far too firm and shapely, like a surgeon forming an ideal pair after putting in breast implants.  She never had to deal with hair growing, with an uneven hip-to-bust ratio with a far slimmer waist in between.  As beautiful as she was, she looked like a hologram.  It was the uncanny valley to a new degree, not because it was eerie to have her so lifelike, but because she was superior to real life.

Still . . . so beautiful.  So arousing.



[Edena Rez - XO Ready Room]

"I'm not so sure what mold I fit into any more.  All I know is that Illya wouldn't leave me alone until I promised to do something for her."  She rose from her desk and came to stand in front of Renard.  Her stature was that of a superior officer, the kind that subconsciously urged other officers to stand up straight, to worry that their uniform was anything less then pristine.  It was exactly the kind of stance that those in command positions worked to obtain, to set the mood of professionalism without uttering a single word.

"Lieutenant Commander, you are relieved of duty until otherwise told.  Likewise, my own duty is temporarily relieved," she stated, effectively ending his shift and hers, no matter how much time they had left.  After doing so, she leaned in and placed a kiss to his cheek.  Illya insisted that it had to be Edena that did it, not her using Edena's body.  Negotiations had to be worked out.  At first, Illya wanted Edena to sleep with Miles, something her heart and mind was not prepared for.  After that, there was varying stages of kissing before Edena relented to a kiss on the cheek.  It was something small, something she was prepared to let linger.  She let his lips press against him for ten seconds before they finally pulled back, Rez returning to her original position. 

"You can report for duty again now, Lieutenant Commander."  She removed them both from duty so that the kiss was not a workplace one.  They were on their free time technically.  By reinstating their shifts afterward, it assured that her act, however small and innocent, had been off the record of Starfleet protocol.  "Did you . . . have any other official business, Mr. Renard?" she asked, still looking a bit nervous.  She definitely wasn't Illya, not someone who could be rushed into anything.

[ Captain's Quarters ]

Hearing Nicole dismantle the argument they'd had so casually was a relief, and that she approached her was... somewhat enticing. The Chief Engineer stirred memories from when last they had been there, in Jien's quarters. The memories brought the notion of them having sexual intercourse whilst she had been in her male form, but their disagreement when she was in her current one, yet she did not think it had anything to do with what had happened. Nicole had shown clearly, back in that shower they'd shared, that she liked her female form too.

The next part made her stop spinning the sword - the spectres on the walls drifting to a stand-still.
It touched her on a deep level, that despite how she - as Nicole's Commanding Officer - was leading them all under the worst possible kind of conditions for a crew to be in, she had come to earn the Chief Engineer's trust and respect. Even to the point of self-sacrifice at the hand of the Ishtar entity. A very humbling thought, and an admission hard to deliver a decent reply to.

Yet when it came to the query of whether or not there was more to be had between them - despite how wide open for interpretation that statement was - Jien did have an answer for Nicole. She smiled faintly to the halfblood Bajoran, her smiles always ghosts since their exile began and they had to kill their own in Starfleet to get away. The highest cost of duty to be paid, death being far more kind.
"If there is more to have," she said quietly, standing still before Nicole - a trickle of sweat running down her neck, "I would like to find out. I might be obligated to duty first-hand, and the mission far more important than my personal feelings and desires, yet whenever there is breath and time for it, I would like to share it with people that reciprocate my feelings towards them - be it friends or not."

Tilting her head a little, Jien lifted her sword from the ground - signalling that she meant to step away even though her big brown eyes remained on Nicole's.

"I mean to take a morning bath before I head to the Bridge."

The simple statement left it completely open to Nicole to decide whether she wanted to stay or not, and also, if she would ask if she could join in on it. Jien was not going to push her into anything, so she eventually broke her gaze away in order to return to the cabinet - to sheath her weapon and end her training.


[ Holographic Laboratory ]

Thea made sure to run every kind of calculation she knew in order to determine the very simple fact that his silence and the act of opening his belt buckle indicated that he wanted her to proceed with her comparison analysis. The way he looked at her body was one determining factor. The erection that strained against his clothes another.

"Thank you," she said, in lack of any other kind of statement to make in the current situation. Then, she crouched down - her eyes lingering upon his as she settled her knees against the deck and bent her legs to the point where his crotch was right before her face. She supposed she had to break the eye-contact at some point if she was to seem earnest in her analysis, so she did, and raised her new hands - pragmatically undoing the top button of his uniform trousers and unzipping them.

"Your uniform seems to feel the same as the one I donned during our recent incident," she said, swallowing as she realised there were only a thin layer of black underwear between her fingertips and Kae's aroused male genitalia. She lay her palm against the hardness, moulding her fingers around it and pushing lightly against his lower abdomen.

"Bodily warmth. Throbbing. Pressure straining against the palm." In pushing at it with one hand, she saw that the clothed member almost reached the Engineer's navel. She had biological references in her database, and therefore she was not comparing Kae to a Vulpinian in her estimations. She already knew that the beast-form of the SCO was something completely else. This was her first contact with a more ordinary humanoid penis, and it seemed to her that Kae's was larger than the average sized instrument. She cupped both her hands along the sides of the proudly standing manhood - running her fingerstips along the cloth slowly.

Yet there was only so much to analyse from touching the cloth and feeling the warmth. She tilted her head and wrapped the tips of her fingers behind the hem of the underwear - pulling it down slowly to bare the thing inside. "Erection maintained," she commented idly as she worked the trousers and underwear down across his hips and behind, "comparative analysis of sensory input commencing now."

Lightly, she slid her fingertips along the sides, and she looked up into Kae's eyes as she spoke. She tried a smile, even if her focus was upon what she held in her hands. "You feel very hard to me," she said, realising that a more personal approach to the analysis made the situation more bearable socially. "You continue to throb. Your skin respond to my touch yet the erection is adamant - hidden behind the outer layer. I can feel it well and... the head of your penis is... so smooth."

She had to lower her eyes to it - see how one of her hands stroked across the head while the other hand sought a firm grip around she shaft. Doing so, she looked up again. "Is there anything specific I should do, in your professional opinion?"

Thomas thought about the words now and he had to grin a bit and nodded "Now that you mention it. Does sound like a bird.." Thomas knew little of Scosche, even the fact that he was a galactic gymnast champion had eluded the pilot. He was happy to see the smile on Scosche's face though and he shrugged at the question of training "Long enough I guess."

"Well, I guess you could always try on the holodecks. Though it's not entirely the same when you're out there in space though... Perhaps you could as for a ride on auto pilot?" Thomas suggested and smiled. His stomach however wasn't so happy with being delayed and a grumble escaped. Thomas patted his stomach now and he sighed soft "So, do you like security so far? Or do you think you'll ask for a transfer to another position?"

As she waited for a response, Nicole's eyes were drawn to Jien's neck, watching the bead of sweat as it made its way down her smooth, soft skin.  Her eyes immediately returned to Jien's when she spoke and Nicole listened intently.  It was the response she'd wanted, hoped for when she'd entered Jien's quarters and she felt a weight lift off of her, a smile lighting up her face at her relief.  It could certainly have gone a lot worse, as she knew her captain might have decided her duty left her no room for other distractions.  Nicole understood the logic behind such a commitment, but wanted more than just duty, more than just the burden of commanding in such an impossible situation.  If nothing else, Nicole would offer herself as stress relief, one of the few people aboard her captain could talk to who would listen without objecting in the least.

She watched as Jien slid her sword into its sheath and start towards the bathroom.  Watching the woman's backside was nearly as interesting as watching Jien's front and it took Nicole only a moment to make her decision.  As the doors to the bathroom swooshed open, Nicole walked up behind Jien and wrapped her arms around the slightly shorter woman, palms resting on Jien's stomach as she kissed Jien's neck, then licking the line of sweat.  In a quiet voice, she whispered, "Our first fight.  We get to have makeup sex?"

[ Captain's Quarters ]

Embraced from behind, Jien is forestalled from activating the faucet in the bathroom - the bath yet to be filled when Nicole persuades her to revisit an unfinished chapter. That bathroom. Her female form against Nicole's. Hunger for food had stopped them last. Now, there was naught but the next shift, so they had to hurry, lest Nicole would be missed by her subordinates in Main Engineering. Yet the expectations on them as superior officers had to compete with their private expectations on each other for a few minutes - the latter to hard to suppress right then. They could make it in time without raising suspicion. Without the rumours igniting about them.

Nicole's hands upon her abdomen, that warm mouth upon her neck, it made Jien let out a low sound from her throat - a lop-sided smile touch her full lips. "Perchance..." she murmured in a somewhat throaty voice, having come to a stop - leaning back a little against the fabric of the engineer's uniform. She reached behind herself. Cupped Nicole's bottom with her calloused hands. "If we hurry..."

Hurry, hurry, take your clothes off. I need you... Her thoughts unspoken made her shift her form, ridding herself from the mesh of her black panties and bra. She felt sweaty after her training, yet her blood was already warm - pumping through her mimicked veins. The rush was already there. The idea already planted. The suggestion of the bath already made. I need forgiveness for all that I've done. All the people I've killed. All the times I called 'fire'.

After lingering in the embrace, Jien's body moulding and moving against Nicole's, her own hands groping lightly around her lover's derriere and the back of her thighs, she let the engineer touch whatever she wished for as long as she could bear. Then, she turned around in their embrace, her brown eyes big and unblinking as she sought Nicole's gaze. Never did she break it, breath heavy and lips pursed, while she opened that uniform - shed the jacket and then the shirt, the bra and the belt... one item at the time.

It was as long as she could keep herself away from the redemption Nicole offered, and found it in the fiery touch of their lips meeting.

[Lin Kae - Hololab]

Of all the ways he thought their work today might go, this wasn't one of them.  Never could he have imagined a naked Thea, on her knees, hand pressed against his lower half with only the thin material of his underwear between them.  As the underwear left, and it was his bareness that she was able to touch, Kae could feel his breath shorten, oxygen barely making it into his lungs anymore.  Her hands felt more real too, not just for her but for others.  Skin texture could often be limited in holographic projections, but he had rendered Thea's skin as realistically as possible, with pores and the softness attained by a woman who took excellent care of herself.  It was like silk touching him when her fingers brushed against him

To watch her perform her detailed analysis, it felt like she was losing her innocence.  As far as he knew, Thea had never engaged in any form of sexual act, the very concept a foreign one to her.  A part of him might feel proud later, thinking he was the one who made her feel that way, unknowing of the Vulpinian Lieutenant Commander who made Thea into a woman first.  Her experiments still held that innocence, however, as she touched and looked like it was all something she had never seen before.  All powerful Thea, avatar of the Theurgy, capable of scanning spacial phenomena at a microscopic level, now focusing her attention upon a single man, a single part of his body.

"This is for your observations," he said innocently, trying to resist the overwhelming urge to ask for more of her touch, her caress.  This was about giving Thea an opportunity to test her hands, and that journey had led her to his manhood, gripping his length and massaging the bulbous head.  Any man would have wanted her to continue that, to bring some pleasure to him, but it was more about what Thea wanted from this.  "We can move on to test in other aspects.  Temperature testing, pain receptors . . . or you can keep doing this for a while."

He certainly wouldn't have objected to that either.]

[ Holographic Laboratory ]

Listening to Kae's words, Thea switched between looking up into his eyes and looking upon what she did. "Temperature sensory range does have need to be tested..." Yet it was a test that seemed quite boring to her, if she was able to make that judgement.

What she was doing was something she had not been able to last time. Because now, she had access to all kinds of factual references in her database for as to how she might use her hands correctly in this kind of situation. Soft gliding technique: Slowly and lightly move your hand up and down the erection. Combination: Squeezing technique. Gently squeeze the base and middle of the penis in a pulsing motion during the stimulation. At increased arousal, increase the pressure. With he assistance of her easily accessible database, she made the experience as pleasant as possible for her Holographic Specialist.

"In regard to my pain receptors," she said and tilted her head, looking upon the male genetalia she was handling while feeling it in the way it was meant to be felt. Hard and warm. Pulsing. "There is no factual reason for me to constantly have that part of my sensory range activated. For while an organic humanoid have pain receptors in order to not hurt themselves - reflexes allowing them to remove their hand if burned etc. - that reason does not hold true for me as much as it does for them. Moreover, I might be captured if I am away from the ship with your new invention, so it would be welcome if it could not be used as an advantage by my captors."

New technique: Stroking in a hand-over-hand rhythm. As one hand has been raised to caresses the head of his penis, the next one is already making its way up. Repeat with increased rhythm. It seemed easy in the database, so she followed through as best as she might - Kae's arousal seeming to increase even further by the techniques she switched between.

"Do you think you can make the deactivation and activation of my new sensory system as easy for me to control," she asked and looked up into his eyes, "as you made it to enter passive mode for my projection?"

Wrapping: Wrap all of your fingers around the erection and stroke up and down. Every time you reach the head of the penis, swipe thumb to one side of the head and then the other. Alternate with the reversed grip: Turning your hand upside down and applying the same pressure. The subject will be experiencing it differently. Statistics show that such minor differences have a positive effect.

"Another thing that I have considered... I wonder, is there is a way for me to possess a working sense of smell?" she said and tilted her head the other way - eyes roaming the Engineer's impressive length as she tried a new technique with great interest. The Ring: With the tips of your thumb and forefinger touching, Move your fingers along the erection so that the subject only feels these two fingers against his skin. Combination: Twisting. Transition between twisting the former grip as you're gliding it along the subject's erection and moving straight up and down. Second combination: Perineum Stimulation. Located between the subject's scrotum and anus. Rub it with your free hand.

"From my time as an organic," Thea said and sighed minutely before looking up at him, "it is perhaps the thing I now miss the most. Smell is another thing than odour detection and oxygen testing. Do you think there is a way for it to work?"

Technique: The Tongue Twirl. Oral sex combination, he database said, and while she had not had her oral cavity remapped with the new sensory system, she had decided to make this enjoyable for her Saviour. Therefore, she did as her database taught her. Squeeze the subject's erection while accommodating the head inside your mouth. Twirl your tongue in a circular fashion around the head of the subject's penis. Auxiliary stage of combination: Utilise your oral cavity as an extension of your moving hand - movements made in tandem with each other.

Looking up at Kae, she did all she could for him. Not just because he deserved her gratitude for what he had done, but because she wanted to stimulate him. As numb as her mouth might feel by comparison to her hand, he felt vibrant and alive to her now. This, regardless of his intellect and ambition, which also fascinated her on another level. She smiled to him around his erection, to show him she enjoyed the testing phase of their session. Because she did. To be intimate in the ways an organic could made her feel more alive as well. She closed her eyes and increased the pressure of her movements, enjoying the sex because it was new and fun to her.

Miles smiled softly as he felt the kiss Edena gave him. as she did so he just held her close as his tail very gently wrapped around her body as he relaxed with her for their brief moment together knowing Illya probably had presented the idea as something much less innocent.

After it was over he forced himself to hide the slight disappointment of being  in essence rejected now twice in the same brief amount of time.  He knew that the kiss meant.  It was that subtle statement he was all too used to within the Federation,  'Let's just be friends,'  Oh how he hated that statement and even more hated when the statement was merely implied.  He knew the cultural divide was something he always would have to adjust to but it didn't make it any easier.  The fact of the matter was he didn't come here because he wanted to sleep with his Commander though the possibility had crossed his mind multiple times as a pleasant potential outcome.

He had requested this time for another reason, It was because of her previous role he knew her for.  He knew she wasn't the counselor anymore but she was the only one he had ever been comfortable with.  And after what had occurred he knew what he needed above all was someone that he was comfortable talking to.

"Commander, as much as I wish I had no other business to discuss with you there is something I wished to talk about.  Though I guess you no longer can fulfill the role once saw you as.  If you were still the ship's counselor I would just schedule an appointment and spill my head to you."  he said as emotions seemed to spin through his head as he fought every one of them back to maintain that officer's calm he had forced upon himself as it as what was ,expected, of someone in his role.

Nicole felt engulfed by the passion of their kiss, not just of their lips but of their bodies, womanly and warm.  Full, firm breasts pressed to equally soft counterparts, legs, lithe and long entwining, as hands roamed freely, touching everything within reach and permission.  She felt as though she could hardly breath and found it didn't matter if she could or not.  Right here, right now, only Jien mattered.  Despite having engaged in coitus before, now was different and not just in that it was the female Jien and not the male.  She enjoyed sex with men for the hardness of it, the thrusting and hungry meeting of bodies, but with women, in her experience, it was different.  It was in the more gentle caresses over less hardened bodies, in the way lips met lips and fingers explored heated crevices.  It was no less passionate, only more relaxed.  Each had its appeal and she rather enjoyed the fact she wouldn't have to decide when she was with Jien.

As she stepped out of her boots, then her pants and stood equally naked, she remembered why she'd come to Jien in the first place, wanting to purge the foggy memories of Niga and realized it had been a few days since she'd even thought about what happened, at least deliberately.  Of course, there was still the unease she felt around Kingston and that particular table in Engineering where he'd first forced himself on her.  Most of the time, though, she was more easily able to push the thoughts away and Jien was the cause, she knew.  She smiled at Jien, "Captain's permission to be a little late, if need be?"

[ Captain's Quarters ]

Chuckling, Jien's lips close to Nicole's ear as the engineer had leaned down to remove her boots, she replied. "Request denied, please hurry..." she said and burrowed her tongue behind the woman's collarbone - knowing the cluster of nerve endings there on a biological level. Jien's hand brushed across Nicole's breasts, teasing them to react, and she then lay her hand against her lower back - holding her close. It was with great frustration that she tore herself away to activate the faucet - the water filling the bathtub. Such an instalment was luxury aboard a starship, and while Jien seldom used it, she could think of no better moment than this.

While the tub filled up for them, the warm water making the air humid and their skin cool, Jien had turned back to Nicole with full attention - focus that made the act of standing upright rather precarious. Heads moving in perfect rhythm, hands roaming, the length of their bodies meeting and pressing together. Oh, they had kissed like this before, yet that sweetness that came with a woman's kiss - shared by another woman - it was a sweetness that came from more than just taste.

Pure desire came flooding through Jien, their mouths opened and tongues playing. The wetness, the biological, primal wetness of lust became part of the upright dance, since Jien felt it on her fingers when they came to brush between Nicole's legs momentarily. She felt her own wetness too, and Jien moaned into Nicole's mouth. She picked up a sponge, dipped it in the water, and wrapped her arms were around Nicole's neck, resting them on her shoulders - their breasts and lips firmly joined again. Once Jien parted a bit, she playfully pressed the sponge against Nicole's chest, splattering the floor with water and making it poor down between their bodies. Jien mightn't have laughed, yet there was an ease to the mirth that came close to it.

"Let's step in," she said afterwards and tugged at her lover, meaning to continue the washing where it was meant to be done.

[Skye - Hangar Bay]

Skye bolted upright in her bed and reached for the space next to her ... which was empty.  "Damn," she grumbled.  Yesterday had been enough to wig out anyone and everyone but at the end of it all she was back to her own body.  Even as she thought about it, she touched her breasts and groaned with relief.  Yes, the sisters were still there and no danglies elsewhere.  And yet she'd slept quite soundly with no one next to her, something that disappointed her.

She'd ended up patrolling with Miles and Razor and when all seemed clear, she'd found everyone she knew well enough to want to share some time had cleared out and were all probably asleep.  Stalking into her small bathroom, she leaned with her palms against the wall as the shower cleansed her body.  She gave up trying to make sense of it all and once she was in her uniform decided to go work on Kestrel, to at least give her something to do.

Walking through the halls continued her regaining her sense of self, hips swaying and no pain when she stepped with her legs too close together feeling a bit strange at first but most comforting.  She smiled as she thought about Kae, the warm feeling of true friendship she felt with him now bubbling inside of her.  The doors drew open to the hangar bay and she stepped inside, noticing she wasn't the only one up and about needing something to do.  "Razor ... Scosche," she acknowledged both with a nod and half-smile.  "Looks like none of us are worse for the wear after yesterday."

While Thomas was still talking to Scosche, he heard the familiar sound of the door sliding open and he looked over to see who it was. He wasn't all so surprised to see Carver walking in and he turned hismself halfly towards her. "Carver..." he replied and nodded towards the pilot "Nothing a good night sleep couldn't shake off I guess." He answered her and he couldn't hide a smirk "So how does it feel for you to be back in... Well, you..?" He asked with a wink. He hadn't forgotten her remark on the bridge yesterday. Seemed like she had found some interesting things about the male body when she was stuck in Kae's body.

He waited for her to answer before asking what brought her to the Hangar bay herself. He presumed working on her bird yet once could never be sure with Skye. He also informed her of Scosche's interest in the Valkyries.

"Oh, no.  Personally, I have little interest in actually being a pilot, such as yourself.  Nothing against pilots or flying, but I've always considered myself a mostly non-aggressive person," Scosche picked at his uniform.  "If Security hadn't been the only option, I might have asked for something else.  I'm not professionally trained in anything, though I do have a moderate amount of scientific knowledge.  Hard to be around my Mom without picking up at least the basics."

His face lit up at the sight of Skye and he returned her smile.  He hadn't asked her about her own experiences and Thomas's remark hyped his curiosity, but he would wait until they were alone.  For the moment, he shook his head, "I never seem to end up involved in any of the interesting situations around here.  Not that I'm complaining, given some of them.  Yesterday was just plain exhausting for me."

He was happy to see her, not having done so for a day or two.  He'd been confined to the brig then and he hadn't been able to do more than talk with her through the force field.  Still, it made him feel better having someone to talk to every day.  Nearly a week locked away without anyone to talk to would likely have driven him crazy.  He'd thought about going to find her yesterday, but after everything Marija had drilled into him and knocked into him, as well, then the odd... whatever it had been, he had had little recourse but to go find a bed.  If he hadn't been ordered to find his quarters, he likely would have returned to the brig and slept there.  He'd missed seeing her, though.

[Lin Kae - Hololab]

The most powerful AI in the known galaxy, with access to the depth of the Federation's library, and all that knowledge was now being applied to him in the form of manual and oral stimulation.  It was impossible to calm himself, not when she was so easily able to shift between different techniques.  He had been with holographic women before, but never one programmed with this level of experience.  It was simply impossible for anyone to achieve, and Kae had always strove for realism, even in that.  For Thea, however, this was but the tip of the iceberg of what she was truly capable of.  Trying to answer questions when she was making him feel so good was a task, but he did his best. 

"P-pain is part of the organic experience.  You want it all, right?"  That was why he had been specific in programming her new hands with pain receptors equal to that of an average human, considering that Thea's physical avatar was based on a human design.  "You . . . you'll have the option to shut it off when it's inconvenient, but i-it should be a part of you."

The question about a sense of smell did make him think, which was a blessing, considering it took his mind off what she was doing, prolonged it so that he could enjoy the sensation longer, like a human male going over baseball statistics for the same reason.  With a cortical monitor, Kae could map the regions of the brain activated by scent and even taste, allowing him to map how those signals interacted with the sinus and the tongue, granting Thea not only a sense of smell but also taste.  It would be another large project, and would likely come after they finished with mapping all her new flesh to match that of her hands.  He would simply answer with, "it's possible," for the time being.  He could write up a more detailed report later for her to overlook.

He couldn't take it anymore.  His hand reached out and pressed against the back of her head, ending any polite conversation for the moment and making sure her mouth stayed where it was until she finished.  With a tense eruption, he felt his climax, breaths panting as he slowly descended from that mountain and pulled back from Thea's lips, hardly able to believe that just happened.  She was the ship's conscious mind, and she had just orally pleasured him.  She was a holographic being who once only thought of duty.  Now, her nude figure knelt before him as he worked on fixing his uniform.  "S-sorry," he said, referring to both his action of grabbing her head and in his orgasm.



[Edena Rez - XO Ready Room]

"As you should be aware, I do not have the proper credentials to serve as a ship's counselor, thus I cannot submit a report or refer to this as a formal session without the approval of the Captain to act in that position.  Any counseling we do would be unofficial."  If it was just for his own peace of mind, she could do that, but he could not get a medical report stating he was cleared by her as fit for duty, thus he would still need to see the ship's official counselor whenever his psych report came around, unless he got permission from the Captain for Edena to serve as his therapist.  She sat back behind her desk, leaving it up to Miles if he wished for an unofficial session or if it did him no good if there was no report to be submitted.

Miles nodded, "I was hoping for a more of an unofficial session.  To be honest, I just need to talk to someone I feel comfortable 'bearing my soul to'.  Of course if I do mention anything you feel the Captain should be made aware of revealing what I tell you is your prerogative though I would prefer if what i tell you were to remain private.   Well Prviate as 'Between you, me, and Thea's audio recording sensors' can be."  he said looking around the room for a moment.  "Do you mind if I take a seat, Commander?"

---

OOC: **Didn't realize "pre"rogative was spelled and pronounced that way till just now... I always thought the word was "Per"ogative

Feeling the water splash down her back, hot and wet, made her tremble and she pressed into Jien more tightly because of it.  She wanted to keep kissing and tasting, to keep letting her fingers roam and delight in her captain's body, but Jien pulled back and she couldn't help the disappointed groan that escaped her lips, until she realized to where Jien was directing her.  She eagerly stepped into the basin, hissing at the just slightly overly warm water, then sank down into it, the temperature of the tub nearly the same as her own aroused body.  As she came to a rest, she pulled Jien down with her, wanting to position her captain with Jien's back to her own front, to give herself easy reach of all of Jien's body.

She honestly hoped Jien wasn't serious about not being late, when she felt like she wanted to do nothing more than spend the entire day feeding the lustful hungers within herself.  It wasn't about the sex, which she had little doubt would be excellent, but the shared intimacy, something she'd had very little of in recent years.  She spent most of her time apart, alone and isolated, mostly because she liked it that way, and the rest of the time because she'd found it difficult to be around her fellow shipmates when they seemed to buy into the Starfleet mentality.  There was only so much government toadying she could stand.  It was certainly an oddity to her, how she could be on the side of those who would save the Federation, when she'd considered it nearly an abomination.  Personally, she didn't care one way for the collection of systems or its government, but Jien made her want to help, to make things better, even if it meant reinstating the Federation.

[ Holographic Laboratory ]

Relieved to hear that she had the option to shut down her pain receptors if she felt so inclined, Thea smiled and continued what she did with her new hands. Well, she smiled and spoke until the point where her lips became otherwise preoccupied around Lin Kae's girth.

Her digital sense of tactile touch told her that her saviour's erection was warm, pulsing, hard, yet her senses were now not as they had briefly been before - able to tell her the taste of him. The friction of his foreskin against her tongue. The premonition of his ejac-

Kae seized her head and expanded inside her oral cavity. Her eyes widened just before the warm, molten feeling of his semen filled the back of her throat. There was no taste, but the warmth was there, brimming her mouth. She continued the motions of her hand and mouth whilst it lasted, and she closed her eyes in relief that she had managed to perform the techniques on a satisfactory level.

When Kae retreated, momentary strings of semen extended between her lips and his pulsing member. He was apologising and tucking it back from her sight almost immediately, as if he had dome something wrong.

"No need to apologise," she said with a smile and rose to her feet in a fluid movement, folding her hands behind her back and squaring her shoulders in her normal stance once more. Since Lin Kae had moved to preserve his modesty, she did too - her yellow chameleon bodysuit reappearing. Inside her projection she kept his ejaculated seed, not about to enter passive mode and letting it splatter against the floor just yet. She would take care of that in her quarters when they were done. "I am glad you enjoyed the test... perhaps as much as I did."

She realised that they had just changed their social relationship, and it was something she was unfamiliar with how to address. Perhaps her analysis would be the most fair to speak of. "Since we both enjoyed this kind of test, I am not adverse to conducting more tests like these as we continue to map up my new sensors. That is, when said tests are applicable to the area of my body that has been updated. Would you concur with that suggestion, Lieutenant Kae?"

She said it as she most often did, without a shred of the expected social stigma that came with such a topic,


[ Captain's Quarters ]

Letting herself be guided to the luxurious seat of having a lover behind herself in her bath, Jien Ives smiled faintly and leaned her head back against Nicole's shoulder - reaching back to brush her fingers into her lover's hair. Thus, she exposed herself fully for Nicole's hands, her breasts just above the surface - wisps rising and dancing over the warm water around them. She turned her head to Nicole's ear, nibbling the earlobe. Teeth brushing against her neck lightly. "Please, hurry..."

She grasped Nicole's hand and guided it across her firm and roused breasts - her nipples hard against the palm. Then, as she made sharp intake of breath, she guided that hand down between her own legs, which spread to accommodate the Engineer's fingers in her most intimate place. There was no desire to cuddle, not then, but to engage in intimacy that would make up for the lack of it between them since their argument. Jien had revelled in being this intimate with Nicole again, and there was appetite for more... along with the need to make haste lest the crew might suspect anything.

Jien was not prepared to let this be common knowledge aboard the ship, yet the forbidden aspect did entice her at a base level - a level she would never even admit to possess. She moved against Nicole in the bath, letting her desires for her be as plain as she could make them, her lips and mouth brushing skin and seeking lips. Her own hand reached behind herself - seeking the place between Nicole's already spread legs - circling fingertips pressed against the slickness found in the water. The difference between the engineer's nectar and the water plainly felt, she slid her fingertips across the pearl of Nicole's clitoris.

Nicole hissed as Jien's fingers found her center and probed, her nether lips flexing tightly around Jien's digits.  Even as Jien caressed her, Nicole's own hands were far from lazy, her left cupping Jien's full breast, fingers teasing a hard nipple, while she followed Jien's direction and slid her right between her captain's thighs.  Her fingers stroked along heated, swollen labia, feeling for the nerve clusters she knew were beneath, applying pressure as only a woman ever truly knew how.  Her thumb moved to circle Jien's pulsing clitoris.  The water had automatically shut off after the tub was mostly full and Nicole reached down to cup some water, splashing the heated fluids across Jien's womanly bosom, rinsing simulated sweat from her lover's body.  Slowly, she began working her fingers between Jien's nether lips, driving them as deep as she could before drawing them back out.  It was easy work, making love to Jien, Nicole had found, pleasure to be had just from the act of giving pleasure, even as she took pleasure from Jien's own ministrations.  She kissed Jien's neck, sucking the water from her skin, tasting the salty sweat, her tongue licking along silken skin until it was her own turn to take Jien's earlobe between her lips, teasing it even as her fingers between Jien's legs began to move faster.

[Lin Kae - Hololab]
Thea had enjoyed that act?  He hadn't expected her to say that.  Though he knew she made a conscious choice to engage in that act, he would have thought it was just an experiment for her, not an act she might truly take pleasure in.  That she did, however, brought him some sense of comfort, satisfaction even.  The most powerful Ai in the known Galaxy, and he had been good enough to meet her expectations as a lover, even with all the knowledge she had of that in her databanks.  When she made the suggestion that they use that method as a way of testing her continuing mapping, her sensors would have little trouble picking up the minute changes in him.  The tinge of redness in his cheeks, the quickening of his pulse.  Shy, maybe a bit embarrassed, but also stricken with some feeling of validation.  She was accepting him as a proper subject for such experimentation.

"S-sure," he stammered out, trying not to sound to enthusiastic about it.  He didn't want to appear like some oversexed academy student.  "If it's alright with you, I think we could make this process go faster if we recruit a female officer.  With a cortical monitor, I could map how her brain responds to physical sensation, and use that data to create those same responses in your positronic network.  Essentially, the subject would be a template for your mapping.  I would like to ask Ensign Carver to assist.  She is a human female, like your avatar, is in excellent health, and there is a  . . . comfort level between her and I that would allow me to ask this of her."  Thea had access to reports, and Kae's would have mentioned that he had been inside of Skye's body during the last incident, giving him some first-hand insight into the workings of the female body.  The report didn't mention that he and Skye had sex while switched, but that had done a great deal towards making them more free with each other.  Mapping a body's responses would be an intimate process, making certain that every bit of skin was stimulated in many ways to create appropriate responses.  It was best done with someone Kae could trust.  For Thea, it would mean the most realistic body possible, because it would be based on an actual human being.

[Edena Rez - XO Ready Room]

"Just keep in mind that, as I am not an actual doctor, I am not bound by doctor/patient confidentiality.  What we say will remain private, unless I feel there is cause for concern that what we speak of might inhibit your ability to function as an officer."  It was a final warning for him.  He didn't have to be forthcoming with anything that she felt might cause that sort of problem, so Edena's warning gave him a chance to revise anything he might say.  Even as she awaited Miles to speak, she could feel Illya creeping up, listening just as intently.  Illya knew that her host might have need of her knowledge, if what Miles asked was too far out of her range.  She welcomed the woman's input if it could be of help to the Vulpinian ready to bare his soul to her.  Edena invited him to take a seat and to begin whenever he felt ready.

[ Holographic Laboratory ]

Listening, Thea was glad to hear Kae acquiesce to her request of continuing the tests in the fashion they had just conducted them. She nodded once in settlement on that part and smiled where she stood.

It appeared to her that she had managed to handle the difficult social conventions of their situation well enough to not insult Kae, and even managed to make him hold the suggestion in positive regard. Her sensors showed evident signs of embarrassment in his organic frame, but the likelihood for that to happen in their current conversation had the high odds of 92,756 % based on Lin Kae's psychological profile. There had been many imprecise factors that could have upset the odds, one being that he did not find her projection attractive enough. A calculated risk, since he had already admitted attraction when he had saved her from the Infected. The unknown element had rather been the level of honesty in that confession.

Then came the suggestion to utilise Ensign Carver to effectively map the rest of her body, and it took her basically no time at all to understand the motivation behind the idea. It was obvious that he, as a programmer, would achieve results far greater than otherwise possible if he knew the way the subject's intimate physical responses worked - cortical monitors or not. The potential in Kae's suggestion was indisputable, and the likelihood for a quicker mapping of her entire body exponentially higher with the rate of experience Kae held about wearing Ensign Carver's body.

"I concur with your judgement in regard to using Wolf-03 as a subject to monitor during the mapping procedure," she said, eyes unmoving while she looked at Kae, her background processes analysing the likelihood that Kae had sexual experience with the Valkyrie pilot. "Provided that she agrees, of course, since she might have objections to being a test subject for the sake of my software update. In order to gauge her nervous system's reactions and applying them upon my sensory sub-routines, she will have to be subjected to the different kinds of stimuli. A procedure that might be painful, pleasant and awkward to her, if she is to provide us the full range of tactile input."

She paused there, battling some strange data from her emotional chip. It was something about what they had just done together, the fellatio, and how Kae had alluded a 'comfort level' between him and the Ensign. She held not the social experience to process the input, so she buffered it for later, when experience would tell her what to do with that data. Her face betrayed nothing but a momentary, confused frown before her smile returned.

"I would surmise you acquired the necessary parts from the industrial replicator on Nimbus III in order to actually assemble a physical prototype, with all the pasitronic components and processors. While small, they are not listed in regular replicator databases, so I thank you again for thinking of this solution while still down there. As the report from Dr. Nicander stated, you had to 'utilise unorthodox negotiation techniques' in order to acquire the spare parts and supplies from the civilian engineer you encountered, so I am especially grateful that you went out of your way to get the items for the emitter as well."

Unsure how to proceed, yet the emotional chip feeding her with several ideas, Thea stepped up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "My thanks for everything so far, my saviour."


[ Captain's Quarters ]

Their breaths mingling across Jien's shoulder, the noises of their shared passion a duet of throaty sounds and air hissed through teeth, the Captain thrust her hips against those questing fingers embedded inside her - rolling her body to get the full amount of blissful friction. Meanwhile, she tried to do the same for Nicole, her hand stroking across the swollen outer lips and slipping inside the engineer despite the awkward angle of her arm between their bodies.

When Nicole increased the rhythm of her hand, Jien could never hope to keep up the pace with her hips and was thus reduced to a helpless instrument at the mercy of her lover. She ended up played with an expert hand. She was strung for this kind of nocturne, that was evident, and she groaned hard when the frantic motions began. Thrust her breasts against the warm squall of water. Bit her lip with a throaty whimper and tried to give Nicole as much as she could in turn. She was so close, and yet she needed more of the halfblood Bajoran -  beside herself with pending release.

Not able to stand it any more, she turned around in the bath and hooked one leg below and the other above Nicole's spread legs - scissoring her lover underneath the surface of the warm water. Breathless, Jien sought her gaze, and braced herself with her hands on the edges of the bath tub - chest heaving and breasts pointing accusingly at the Chief Engineer. Shuddering with the touch, she brought herself against Nicole - their nether lips kissing for the first time - making them grind together slowly.

Even if Nicole would chose to not move at all, Jien still made water slop over the sides of the tub - head tilting back and a cry building in her throat with each second. The air available was not enough, and yet she used her arms on the edges to thwart the weightlessness of the water - the intimacy of the moment stealing the incentive for coarse words. When their eyes met, it was enough... Then again, Nicole might...

"Do y-you want me inside you when..." She swallowed, the offer plain already - the change of form a thought away.

"Of course,"  He said with a soft nod as he walked over and took a seat before relaxing back into it and closing his eyes with a slight sigh as he relaxed.  "Also I was not assuming there would be any doctor patient privilege; besides If there is something I say that you feel would be prudent to share with the captain I fully expect you to report it.  It would be shirking your duty to the ship if you did not share in that circumstance."  He smiled for a moment as he put his hands behind his head and sunk back into the chair.

"Now where to start about whats on my mind.  Well first off lets start with the Ishtar entity we encountered.  As you may be familiar with the predominant faith of my species we believe that we were guided out of our animal darkness by a female deity that shares characteristics most similar to the Greek Prometheus legend.  The thing is unlike Many other species there appears to be a lot of paleontological data to support a sudden emergence of my race from its animal ancestors lending credence to my people's faith that our evolution was not fully natural and was a sudden intervention by some form of deity.  As you know I have had a interest in mythologies of multiple species and their parallels to my peoples Matron deity.  As a result my familiarity with the Myths associated with this being came in handy when were were suddenly teleported to her realm.  He looked down as He became deep in thought.  "What I am getting at is what I witnessed of her fate.  Can you imagine the being that you at least symbolically revere as the origin of everything good in your culture being proven to be the being that the culture at the heart of Starfleet views as a symbol of the greatest evil imaginable.  for me i don't have to imagine that.  It happened right before my eyes. Do you can see why I needed someone comforting to talk to?"

[Skye - Hangar Bay]

Skye's smile had softened a little and she rubbed Scoche's back in a warm and friendly manner.  "I've been meaning to catch up with you but I sorta crashed and burned after all the mess yesterday," she chuckled and grinned at Thomas.  "Honestly Razor, it feels damn good to be me," she replied with a wink right back at him.

Though she'd teased Razor, she'd been in a male body at the time so any little tricks she could have shown him were rather impossible now that she was back in her own form.  "I gotta give you guys credit.  You learn to tuck those things out of the way somehow and not always hurt yourself.  First thing I did was rack myself trying to get out of bed.  Going to the bathroom was fun though," she snickered.

"So you were going to give Scosche a tour maybe?" she asked Razor.  "I wouldn't mind taggin' along.  Otherwise I'm just going to try to do some fine tuning on Kestrel and maybe get something to eat in a little bit.  Just doing something mundane ... normal ... I think is the best thing right now.  The experience was eye opening to say the least but I'm just glad to have the girls back and try to be normal."

[Lin Kae - Hololab]

"Unorthodox negotiation techniques" was certainly one way of putting it.  Rihen had been helpful, so long as he was scratching an itch of hers.  It was funny that Thea called him her savior, because it was the same thing that Rihen used to describe him.  Maybe Kae was starting to develop a messiah complex, had a need to save people wherever he could.  Either way, he was pleased that Thea wanted to use the parts he acquired to build that emitter.

"Ensign carver had been the one to inspire me with the idea for this device.  It was why I acquired the parts when I had a chance.  She most certainly deserves some of the credit for it."  Kae programmed a final bit of sequencing for Thea, allowing her to rest6ore the default functionality to her hands in the event the ship needed that processing power.  As the brain of Theurgy, there was no one better suited to decide when her hands were okay to use.  "I'm sure I have taken up enough of your computing time already.  Why don't you return to your duties and I'll try to get in contact with Ensign Carver?" It would take some time before he was able to perform her next upgrade anyway.  Best Thea get back to her regular duties until then.

Once Thea had said her goodbyes and shimmered out of the Hololab, Kae left the room as well, activating his combadge as he did so.  "Lieutenant Lin to Ensign Carver," he said, creating the connection between them.  "I'm working on a project right now that I could use your help on.  It's a sensitive subject, so it's best we discuss it in person.  When would you be available?"



[Edena Rez - XO Ready Room]

Edena was somewhat familiar with the mystery behind Vulpinian development.  The sudden advancement of Miles' species was looked upon by Federation anthropologists for several years.  One of Edena's elective courses back at the academy had covered it.  It was used as a theoretical example of violating the Prime Directive.  Some species more powerful, maybe even god-like in power, had altered the Vulpinian evolution to make them what they were.  Those it had worked out well enough, it could have easy gone horribly awry as well.  It could have resulted in a shift in the balance of power in their solar system, even the entire quadrant.  It was a controversial case among the Vulpinians, who boycotted the class as an insult to their religious beliefs.

"There is no certainty that the entity we encountered is the exact one who might have uplifted your people.  Even if it was . . . "  Edena searched for the right words to explain it.  "Think about yourself ten years ago.  Are you the same man now that you were then?  The one behind your people's evolution could be eons old, so we can only imagine how they were affected by time.  Even if that being weren't one of pure virtue, I believe that your people were uplifted with good intentions, Miles.  I believe this based on your morals and code.  The Vulpinians are not conquerors or murderers.  Your people learned their nature from someone, and it was most likely the ones who made you.  The Vorta were uplifted by the Changelings and they were subservient to the whims of their creators as a result.  You, however, are a good and honorable man, one who puts his life second to that of others.  That nature came from those who raised you, as it was given to them by those who raised them.  It all started with your first ancestors, who learned it from their creator."



((Note: "Uplifting" is actually a term from the Mass Effect game series referring to taking a more primitive species and raising their technology or functional level.  Within that series, the Krogan were uplifted by the Salarians in order for them to serve as soldiers during the war with the Rachni.))

[Skye - Hangar Deck]

Before either Thomas or Scosche could say anything, Skye's combadge chirped and Kae's quite voice was heard.  An affectionate grin, rather like a proud friend, formed as she tapped it to respond.  "Heya Buddy," she said and thought for a moment, a curious expression forming.  "I've got a little downtime right now if you do.  Just in the hangar to piddle around with Kestrel but tell me where to meet you and I'll be right there," she informed him.  While she waited for a response, she gave the guys an apologetic look.


OOC:  Know it's short but it's no doubt leading to a bigger post.

He smiled softly, "The funny thing is the symbolism was all there in her angelic form. So I still choose to believe that this being was the one I saw as my matron. Funny thing based on my understanding of terran mythology I knew it was her destiny to be cast into that pit.  You see I like to describe myself as a philosophical pantheist.  Not in the I believe in many gods but in I believe in the concept of in they eyes of a civilization any significantly further advanced civilization will be deified.   As such i always took an interest in religious parallels, Federation encounters with the Q, and James Kirk's run in with that being that claimed to be Apollo.  As such i always thought in its own way all religions were both right and wrong my own included. 

As for the boycott my people made on the prime directive class that mentions our unique evolution many misunderstand the reason for the protest.  It isn't the view that we were changed by an advanced visitor that offends us but the idea that in the eyes of the Federation my species existence is a mistake like some form cosmic unwanted child.  Yes from a purely prime directive point of view it is one of the few examples of a mostly good outcome from a gross violation of a similar directive.  Heck her punishment that she seems to have been initially given indicates those beings have a prime directive similar to our own that she violated, multiple times correct?  As it seems this prime directive violation may be the origin of sentience among biological life forms.  Still , as a result she was punished, exiled to be separated from what gave her power and exiled from her family.  AS a result of that punishment she grasped at straws to get back home she pulled us in.  And as a result she was cast into a pit.  Hen you look at it it is no story of punishment but a "Divine Tragedy." is it not."

---

---

OOC:
**Miles is hoping she picks up on divine tragedy as a reference to Dante's "Divine Comedy" (Inferno, Purgitorio, and Paridisio) and thus a cloaked reference to Milton's "Paradise Lost" where Lucifer is refereed to as the Morning Star. 

*The morning star is a term used for The planet Venus which the Romans believed to be in fact the corporeal form of their Goddess of beauty Venus.  Going back further Mesopotanians version of this was Inanna picked up by the babalonians and worshipped as Ishtar.  Her symbol was an 8 pointed star. (the wings of the entities angelic form and her feet head and arms made an 8 pointed star shape btw.)  this was their symbol for you guessed it.  The Morning Star, Venus.  Soon as he heard her call herself Ishtar, and when he heard his Peoples godess's name in the winds he knew her fate was going to be what Saint john wrote as the book of revelations.  He knew when he saw her that her fate would be the pit.  He just hoped he wouldn't have to witness it.

Basicially his philosophical quandry is more along the lines of, "is it so wrong to see the so called root of evil as more a tragically misguided hero."

Also I knew i had seen that term before.  Just wasnt sure where.  Shoulda known Mass Effect. 

[Lin Kae- Enroute to Quarters]

"Why don't you meet me at your quarters? That should be private enough." It also gave Skye a comfortable place before he asked her for what could be a very intimate question. Ten minutes later, they were both inside of her quarters, where Kae was able to broach the subject.  "In the 20th Century on earth, there was a woman suffering seizures of unknown cause.  A doctor operated on her brain while she was still awake, and was able to trigger responses by stimulating her brain.  It was considering the first true mapping of the human brain.  I'm looking for your help in doing something similar Skye.  If we're successful, not only would you probably have your name in the history books, but you'd be the woman who gave the ability of touch to Holograms all over the quadrant.  I want you to be the woman that reshapes the way intelligent holograms like Thea feel."

It was flattering in a way. Kae was an artist of sorts when it came to holography. Him choosing her for this would be like a plastic surgeon deciding to make Skye's face the standard by which women's faces were reshaped.  "You know how a cortical monitor works right? It reads how your brain reacts to stimuli. All I need you to do is wear one and just . . . touch stuff really. How your brain fires neurons when your fingers touch something soft, hard, hot or cold can be replicated in a positronic brain to give those same feelings to photonic lifeforms We would also take a scan of your skin in order to replicate how it connects to your brain by your nervous system."  He hoped he was explaining it clear enough for her.  Skye wasn't a Science officer, thus why he had used his analogy at the start.  Maybe she was wondering why her, or maybe she already knew it was because he trusted her the most of any organic woman he had ever known.  There was no other person he would ask.

[Edena Rez - XO Ready Room]

Miles was a much deeper theologian then she would have imagined.  She felt ill equipped to answer his question, but Illya was there, supporting her with her own thoughts on the matter.

He understands the subject matter far better then you do. It's not about trying to match him, but just hearing him out, helping him to draw the conclusion he already knows.  You can help him much more by helping him see the light then guiding him all the way there.

Armed with that knowledge, Edena proceeded with their informal counseling session."The Divine Tragedy saw a being cast into the pit to share eternity with those with the sins of betrayal. Do you think Ishtar qualifies as this?  I do not believe so.  She never betrayed your people.  Uplifting the Vulpinians was an act of love.  She could have left you as you were, but saw something more in you, something worth that helping hand towards enlightenment.  To be having this talk with you, about subjects that are quite frankly beyond me, I think she was right to see it in your kind, Miles. What you, what your people are now, you owe to yourselves.  We owe it to our parents for bringing us into the world, but what we accomplish in that life belongs to us."

He smiled hearing her words. "You know i just recalled a few things."  The things that were said by the Metatron being and my recollection of the myths about the goddess Ishtar.   There are possibilities not only of her non permanent punishment.  Or even her escape.  Perhaps this punishment of hell is something that she will grow from whether my view of it is true or not.  As for what the Metatron being said I cant help but be amazed at the level of blessing he gave us.  That statement that we have grown.  To think that if they are the "true gods"  if they really are the ones who created intelligent life, that their greatest wish would be for a day when we creations reached a point where we no longer needed them."  he smiled again as he looked to her. "You know, i think the real reason i wanted to talk to you like this wasn't so much wanting guidance.  I just wanted to bounce my thoughts off of about this.  Thank you for being such a good listener."

[Skye's Quarters with Lin Kae]

They met right outside her quarters, her just a minute behind him and when he turned to her she smiled brightly.  "Hey there," she said and gave him a big hug and walked into her quarters with her arm around his shoulders.  It was a comfortable sort of thing, intimate and friendly all in one.  She was completely comfortable with him and hoped he felt that way with her now as well.

It seemed he did as he started speaking of a woman's surgery.  She looked a bit horrified that someone was having their skull opened and brain poked and prodded while they were still conscious but considering the overall benefits she guessed it wasn't a totally bad thing.  Though she didn't know what his point was just yet, she trusted him and was patient enough to listen without interrupting.

Skye sat there for a moment, a light crease in her brow as she thought about it all and there was actually a blush starting to flood her cheeks.  "You know I never really cared about fame, just wanted to fly and be myself," she said slowly.  While she was rough and ready and wild with her friends, she was basically never one to make herself seem more important than anyone else and his proposal that she would be famous was a tad bit daunting.

Standing up and pacing a little, she reached up with both hands to rub the back of her neck.  "You know Thea saved my ass when I finally found my way back," she said.  "I was so close to being space dust and at the last possible minute she pulled through for me.  You know I can't say no to her for that and I definitely can't say no to you."  Sitting down next to him, she kissed his cheek.  "You're the very best friend I have and I'd do anything for you ... you know that don't you?"

It occurred to Nicole to ask why Jien would want to do that, but she decided it was simply enough to shake her head and enjoy the sensations as they washed over her.  There were times for one and times for the other, and right now she wanted Jien just as she was  It was enough to feel Jien's coarse pubic hair grinding into her own, wet, swollen labia sliding against her equally aroused nether lips.  Reaching a hand between them, she did her best to keep her fingers in contact with Jien's clitoris, a difficult task with how much her captain was moving and the slickness of the water.  Keeping her lusty nether lips against Jien's she stretched and cupped a breast, teasing Jien's turgid nipple between her skilled fingers.  She was almost there, could feel the peak as it approached and wanted Jien to join her.  So close...

Closer...

Almost there...

And, with a final deliberate thrust of her hips, stars exploded within her, every muscle seeming to vibrate as her pleasure filled her, washed over her like a flood.  It seemed an eternity while her lover brought her such exquisiteness, but it ended slowly and she sank back into the water, her head resting on the edge of the water, her eyes closed as she breathed heavily and deeply.  It was next to impossible for her to decide which she had enjoyed better: sex with Jien as a man or as a woman.  She was glad she didn't have to.

{Lin Kae - Skye Carver's Quarters}

"I was hoping you'd say that," Kae responded to her comment about doing anything for him.  The process wouldn't be an easy one or a short one.  He produced the cortical monitor, which he was able to fix so that it was beneath Skye's hair, hidden from view.  "We want to get as many readings as possible from as many places on the body as we can.  I, uh, prepared a list of things."  He handed over a small pad, with a list of things that he wanted Skye to try out.  It was a checklist, which allowed her to check each item off as it was completed.  Listed first were the list of sensations that her entire body could experience.  It included contact with objects that were soft, hard, blunt, sharp, hot, cold, wet and dry. After that were some more specific items, such as asking her to tug on her hair, perform actions until she felt sore, strain herself until she sweat, things of that manner.  Perhaps most awkward of all were items involving sexual conduct, covering the various things that could be done to her nipples, womanhood, rear end and even mouth.

"The last part was . . . sort of unexpected, but Thea expressed interest in being able to do such things."  Organics liked to have sex for recreational purposes, so why not Holograms.  Kae had already considered that he might want to record such things for himself as well, if the day ever came that male holograms would want as extensive modification as Thea did as a female.  "I understand this might be a lot to ask, and If you don't think you can do all of it, I understand.  If you need any help with anything, you know I'm there.  It would be the least I could do considering what you are doing to help this project along."


[Edena Miles - XO Ready Room]

"Well, I'm glad all I had to do was listen.  I might not have been so helpful if I had to provide answers on such a topic," Edena responded. Most commanding officers wouldn't be so quick to admit that they just didn't know something, but she wasn't the sort of person to try and fake her way through.  It was better someone else give the right answers.  Fortunately, Miles knew what he needed to hear, and she just had to be the person he was talking to to get there.

"I'm afraid when it comes to religion, I'm not of much help.  Most Trill have given up on theology and mostly have their heads in science."  The Symbionts allowed knowledge to be passed along, so things like research could take place over several lifetimes.  In Edena's case, the Rez symbiont had lived a quite varied life, but bits and pieces were of use to each.  Kiva's medical knowledge led to an interest in psychology for Illya, while Jona benefited from both physical and mental aspects in medicine to further his skills as an agent of Starfleet Intelligence.  Edena, in turn, used all three to help her become a competent acting counselor and a capable command officer.  One thing none of them had time for, however, was faith.  "I think this conversation we had will serve the Rez symbiont well when it comes time for it to move on to it's next host . . . which I hope is when I'm old and gray."

[Skye - Skye's Quarters]

As soon as Kae produced the cortical monitor and reached up toward her head, she pulled her hair out of the way and waited until it was situated properly before looking at him with bright and alert eyes.  She wasn't brilliant like most people but she wasn't stupid by any means either and she took this request of Kae and Thea's very seriously.

The general things he spoke of had her nodding, they were a given in her opinion and she took the data pad from him to look at the list he had comprised.  "I don't mind getting hurt though I'm not sure the medical team will appreciate broken bones and I'd rather not have a knife in my gut again," she said with a lopsided grin.  That had hurt like hell but she also didn't want to risk having to listen to Eve and Lucan again though she figured they'd be much more discrete on ship.

The further down she read, the more one eyebrow rose toward her hairline.  That was when Kae started explaining that Thea wanted to know what it felt like to be intimate.  The other eyebrow rose level with its twin and a wicked little grin started to form.  By now he knew that look and could feel the heat as she leaned in a little closer to him.  "Well I can certainly do things so she knows what it's like to pleasure herself but you knoooooooow ..." she purred and ran her finger along his jawline while nuzzling his ear.   "I think you should slap one of these monitors on and we can store our shared sensations."

[Edena Miles - XO Ready Room]

"Admittedly, I'm no expert Theogan myself.  I just happen to enjoy my share of stories where fiction and history meet.  Its just my species as you know is longer lived than some so as a result even with being in a career of war we end up finding ourselves with varied interests.  Sure in battle i can and will kill at the drop of a hat or at any given order but that is battle.  I don't know how any of my kind could live with themselves if they didn't have a softer side of themselves outside of those battles."  He sighed with a soft smile having seen his own psych evaluations before remembering quite vividly an excerpt from it. 

'In battle Miles tends to exhibit signs of impulsive characteristics and often shows ruthless and bloodlusting tendencies some would characterize as borderline.  In debriefings he has been noted to seem to have a stoicism and emotional distance towards his duties especially his actions when asked regarding enemy combatants killed in action, showing no signs of remorse for their deaths or hatred for his enemy.  Outside of duties he tends to have an emotional depth and can seem not unlike a philosopher or theologian able to discuss nearly any side of any topic had has even expressed not only remorse towards those he has killed in action but having a sense of respect towards his fallen enemies and even those forces that command them. 

This strange distance between said emotional shifts is not atypical in his species but is exaggerated more so than most and the stoicism in debriefings is all but non existent in his species.  Most of his species show the hotheadedness in battle and the seeming sympathy for the enemy outside of it but rarely have any of his species shown such a degree of emotional detachment.  Miles has stated this emotional detachment is in fact his attempt to blend into what the Federation appears to idealize in an Officer by emulating his perception of Vulcan logic and stoicism.  Based on this fact it appears that Miles has a degree of knowledge of psychology which he used to create this third unique psychological viewpoint.

Miles however when asked about which of the three is his true personality he has responded that all three are his true self just as much as his three shifted forms are true physiological forms.  He was quoted in a psychological evaluation as saying.  "In a sense i have a form of multiple personality disorder but I would describe it as an, inside my mind, version of the Terran concept of the angel of ones conscience on one shoulder the devil of temptation on the other shoulder.  In my case I have three voices that guide me.  The Beastial instinct, the philosophic poet, and the stoic officer.  Unlike said Devil and Angel my 'voices' do not argue they each could be said to be deep seeded parts of my subconscious reasoning.  They never argue with each other, and they always understand each others reasoning.  If I were to say which one i most rely on the most to form my core self I would describe it as blend of the three a and if I were try to define my personality in as few words as possible it would call myself a Socratic Warrior Poet.'

He looked over at Rez with a smile and then changed the subject again, "Just curious, just how much of a compromise did you have to talk Illya down from?  I may have not known her for long but lets just say she dosen't strike me as the shy, innocent, peck on the cheek kind of girl." he said with a soft grin not asking for more, really just curious how badly he wanted to metaphorically slap that seductress upside the back of her head.

[ Captain's Quarters ]

Having been so close to release already when Nicole cried out, with the sounds of ecstasy from her lover and the intense energy burning inside Jien like wildfire, made the Captain cross the threshold as well.

For Nicole had driven Jien wild with the most innate of human instincts - these honest and primal pleasures shared. She felt her spine light up when it began - a subtle tingling turning into a wonderful crescendo that coursed through her entire body. Wave after wave tore through her body, and she moaned hard towards the ceiling while it lasted. The most intimate of moments shared together, the sensations hitting their zenith. Never did she break away from the firm friction of feeling both Nicole's sex and finger against herself.

Her white-knuckled grip on the edge of the tub soon relaxed. Jien breathlessly leaned her head in, their lips brushing together slowly. Their breaths were released in-between the kisses, and the pace of the languorous moans slowly began to abate. Just like the heavy beat of their hearts. For she could feel Nicole's heartbeat next to her own as their chests were pressed together, Jien's arm around the engineer's waist. She wrapped her other arm around Nicole's neck and slipped her tongue into her mouth - kissing her with aftermath fervour where they sat in the warm water.

"Good morning," said Jien with a faint smile against Nicole's moist lips - breasts pushed together at the hight of the water surface, "thank you for waking me up."

[Lin kae - Skye Carver's Quarters]

The relationship between him and Skye was a complicated one.  At times, he felt like she thought he was her little brother, someone to look out for and take care of when he needed help, while at other times, she'd purr out her answers to him, get so close that he could feel incestuous even without a blood relation.  He couldn't say he hadn't thought about it.  The two of them had sex one time before, but that was while they were still in swapped bodies.  As a man, he had no idea what it was like to be with Skye as a woman.  It was why, at her suggestion, he was tempted enough to accept her suggestion and used her replicator to create a second cortical monitor, which he hid in his own hair with more difficulty then she had with her long flowing locks.  With that, they would be ready to go.

"Okay, I'm gonna start off easy," he said, his fingertips touching against Skye's forehead, slowly trailing down her face, stimulating every receptor he could.  Over her eyes, her nose, her mouth, even touching her ears before trailing down her neck.  He swept down her arms and then back up along her sides and then moved down to her stomach, working up until his hands were on her clothed breasts.  He would have to do it all again when her clothes were off, to get a read on the difference between touching skin bare and clothed.  When he touched her breasts, however, things were different.  It stopped being an experiment then, Kae's eyes meeting Skye's, and he saw the heat building in them.  He moved in, lips against hers, giving plenty of data on kissing as he and carver locked lips, teased tongues and generally heated things up while Kae's hands worked down to get plenty of statistical data on Skye's buttocks while he fondled her rear end.



[Edena Rez - XO Ready Room]

"I wanted her to fuck ya -- Illya!"

It was strange to hear Edena cutting herself off like that, but the sudden shift in tone made it obvious what happened.  Miles' question had made Edena a bit embarrassed, and with her mind distracted, Illya jumped in and took control of the body to make it speak, something which forced Edena to immediately take the helm of her brain back from the woman.  Now, as embarrassed as Edena had been before, she was even worse now, her cheeks looking as though they might never be anything but a deep shade of pink again.  She couldn't make eye contact with Miles, not after those words had left her mouth towards, regardless of whether it had been in her control or not.  "S-Starfleet regulations have clear policies about that," Edena said, trying to use regulation like an armor to protect herself.  It might have worked under normal circumstances, but there was already an agreement that the rule she was citing was going to be relaxed due to the nature of their mission and the difficulties they had encountered.  Ship-based romance or sexual activity would be tolerated as long as it was consenting on both sides and did not interfere with duties.  .Edena couldn't use that to defend herself from the truth; she was simply scared of getting involved with anyone, especially when she was starting to question who she really was.  The Ishtar incident and the separation of herself from her former hosts had left Edena with an identity crisis.

If only it was as simple as being pulled in different directions by her former hosts.  She just felt like she was deconstructing herself with no clear idea of how to put herself back together.

Hearing those words and that tone Miles simply facepalmed as he said, half under his breath and half aloud, "God dammit Illya.  As if I didn't figure those were your motives you didn't have to go out and make her say it."  The quiet tone of the voice he spoke in barely higher than a whisper but obviously loud enough Edena could have heard it, only amplified the way he had burried half of his face in his palm as his head shook in almost abject disappointment towards the way Illya had not only just behaved but ho w she had asked Edena to go so far out of her own comfort zone.

Miles sighed hearing Edena's defensive statement of regulations and the like. but miles shook his head. "Believe it or not there are no such regulations.  After making my recommendations before i decided to take the time to research what rules regarding officer officer relationships there were.  Surprisingly to me given the conservative nature of the Terran civilizations views on sexuality i found there are no regulations at all aside from concerning punishments for sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, and other acts that in a civilian setting would be crimes.  There of course are numerous rules on the performance of coupling ceremonies such as marriages and laws regarding children conceived and born on starships in states of in and outside of wedlock.  However, there are no actual regulations forbidding two consenting officers from engaging in sexual activity or becoming romantically attached."  He plainly stated before continuing his voice softening from one talking business and the like to a voice if anything trying to comfort and council her.

"There of course are rules forbidding using ones position of seniority over another officer or ones ability to access security or personal logs to coerce them into an act they would otherwise not do though this is covered under regulations forbidding blackmail and extortion and when said acts are to coerce sexual activity they would also be crimes covered under Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, etcetera.  There are of course also rules that forbid allowing such relationships to influence ones ability to make command decisions regarding said person but the same rules are the ones that would apply, for instance to a Captain, forbidding an officer from showing favoritism to another officer they consider a friend." 

He smiled softly as he walked over to the seat where she was and gently placed a hand on her shoulder as he sat down next to her. Then he gently wrapped his arms around her very softly he kissed her cheek just as she had kissed his earlier before letting go of the rather friendly hug. "I hope I haven't overstepped my bounds Commander." he said softly hoping his own rather forward action had not offended her.

[Skye - In Quarters With Lin Kae]

Skye watched curiously as he went to her replicator and produced a second one, curbing the desire to say 'anything for science' since he was a more serious type of person and she had a feeling that would make him freeze up a little.  That was the last thing they needed since it was essential for this to be as natural and realistic as possible.

Her eyes regarded him as he turned back to her, grazing over his young body and letting the synapses be recorded.  He was attractive and his demeanor charming in a gentle and thoughtful way.  Starting off easy, yet it was amazing how a simple touch could feel so wonderful.  Her actions mirrored his, touching his face with extremely gentle fingers that glided tenderly along his warm skin.

She was always just a little bit behind him and her hands remained on his stomach for a bit as he moved up to her breasts, the heat definitely flaring and her hands took on more purpose as they rose to his chest and clutched at the fabric as their lips met.  It started soft and sweet but eventually turned into a searing interplay of both their desires.

One hand released his uniform jacket and then the sound of a zipper being slowly pulled down reached their ears.  Her hands touched him underneath, still over the t-shirt but upward until she pushed the material over his shoulders and down his arms so it fell to the floor.  With Kae she could be slow and sensual but she wondered if he might like it hard and fast.

Breaking the kiss, she looked into his eyes with a sultry smirk.  "I think we're going to have to explore many options, probably several sessions.  Hope these doodads can handle it all," she whispered and claimed his lips again.

[Lin Kae - Skye Carver's Quarters]

He had been in Skye's body before, and he had gotten to know the woman who inhabited that form normally.  The combination of those two things left him with some knowledge about her that others didn't often have.  Skye was tough as nails, the kind of woman who was rough and tumble, and could handle any wild night thrown at her, but inside, she was still a lady, one who wanted to be treated as such.  She liked gentle love making, taking things slow and sensual, and from personal experience, he knew her body felt it strongly when time was taken.  He wanted to give her that, in some strange way as a thank you for her help.  Kae had never been the type to think of sex as some kind of reward, but he felt comfortable enough with Skye.  What they had wasn't a relationship, per say, but perhaps the very definition of friends with benefits.  Of all the failed attempts he had heard of over the years, he actually thought theirs could be a success.  They helped each other, gave the other what they didn't get from others.  Skye got the gentle love making she never got otherwise, and Kae was able to be with a woman who understood him in a strange way, had walked in his shoes and learned of his past.

Kae found her hips, the hem of her shirt bunching against his wrists as he started moving upward, pushing the material up until he finally removed it from her entirely, leaving Skye's upper body clad in only that unflattering standard issue Starfleet brassiere that she somehow managed to make look flattering anyway.  Again, he touched all over, this time bare flesh instead of against cloth, before letting his fingertips brash along her bra.  These was less material in the way this time, making his touch more pronounced, more present.  Once she was as aroused as she was going to get through the bra, he removed it, and touched again, this time against bare breasts entirely,  He caressed, rubbed, rotated, everything that could be done to Skye's plentiful endowments, before he focused all those techniques on just her nipples, the pleasure compressing like a laser upon a far more sensitive subject.

"You sure you can handle this kind of . . . extensive mapping?" he asked, grinning at her.  It was a sure sign of how comfortable he was with Carver.  He was even making jokes now.

With Kae she didn't have to put on the tough girl airs but could simply be a woman who could embrace the softer side of intimacy.  There was genuine affection between them too, not the love of soul mates but that of two people who accepted each other for all their merits and flaws.  It was true intimacy, not just primal rutting.

Her own hands roamed over his arms and shoulders, up and down his back which eventually would remove him of his uniform jacket.  Moaning softly and shivering as the sports bra was tossed aside and he honed in on her nipples, Skye was glad they'd switched bodies for a bit as he knew right where to start building the heat.

Breaking the languid kiss, he actually made a joke and Skye found herself absolutely beaming.  "Oh I think I probably can," she replied as she unzipped his trousers very, very slowly.  "Probably have to retrace my steps several times since the trail is quite extensive," she added as her fingertips traced along his shaft through his underwear.

Building the heat was an apt term to use, too, as he could already feel Skye's body warming, especially where her thighs met.  That, combined with her fingers grazing along his manhood, led to his manhood getting stiff in a hurry.  There was an unbelievable urge to just speed it along, but both for the cortical monitoring and for the sake of Skye, he kept his pace slower, contained.  That didn't mean he could add a little bit of heat though, as his head dipped down his lips worked her neck, her collarbone, before finally reaching her chest, acting much like his hands as they homed in on her nipples until he was kissing them, lips wrapping around them to suck and to let his tongue flick against them.  His fingers traced down her trim stomach, soon curving inward to press against her clothed womanhood, still protected by two layers of cloth in the form of underwear and pants, yet the heat felt so hot that he might burn.  It made him burn for her.

While the breast teasing continue, Kae's hand graduated to inside her pants, rubbing upon the underwear this time.  One less barrier, more feeling to be provided.  A few more minutes of that and he was beneath that too, his hand touching her bare lower lips, stimulating her both in a way that most men would skip in favor of more sensual things, as well as in a way that he had learned her body liked.  Skye's body was all about small things building to bigger ones.  She was like a warp core. It wasn't as simple as injecting a shot of deuterium and anti-deuterium to create an explosion of energy. It was a slow process, warming up with the slightest of alterations until the pressure, the heat, was maximized.  Only then did the next stage come.  "Just for the record . . . I do plan to satisfy you orally, Skye," he told her, assuring her that every step would be taken. Before that, however, a finger curled inward, no longer just rubbing outside but delving inside. Before oral was manual stimulation.  She was getting the full treatment with him.

Maybe she should volunteer for more hands-on exams like these.

Nicole pulled Jien closer, enjoying the still-hard nipples of Jien where they touched her own and kissed Jine hard, passionately, not letting up until a minute had passed.  If she hadn't already known the answer, she would have been tempted to pursue things for another round of mutual pleasure, but Jien had made her position clear.  They each had work to do and spending the day in dalliance, while fun and immensely pleasurable, wouldn't happen right now.  Still, it was with great reluctance she pulled away and, with a final tease of her tongue on Jien's lips, she smiled, "Good morning, yourself.  It was... everything I could ask for in a wakeup call."

She lay there with Jien pressed against her and wanted nothing more than to simply remain.  The warm water, the heat of Jien's body, the afterglow of coitus, all of it made her relax and sigh, "I'm sorry for everything, but most of all f'r not being able to be with ya.  I forget, sometimes, that not everything has to make sense to me."

[Edena rez - XO Ready Room]

Of course Miles knew the regulations well, could cite them in a manner that defeated her.  The truth was that she was just scared and confused, and since she had the memories of Illya and Kiya for the first time, even if it was only the memories coming from the Ishtar incident, she worried what she felt wasn't herself.  Edena wasn't a virgin, but she was hardly a sexual person like Illya was.  Edena could count on one hand the number of sexual partners she had, which included the outbreak incident, when Bill Regal had forced himself upon her.  Illya had her sexual interest in Miles, as well as the blue skinned Andorian woman who worked in security.  Kiya, after years of monogamous love for her long dead husband, had experienced sex with Jien during the Ishtar incident and now she two had things awakened in her.  It only left Edena feeling like a child, like she hadn't reached an age where she would properly know what she was feeling.  With all of that, she had Miles here, a man who made his interest in her known.  She felt like a coward to not properly respond to him, a fool to deny herself a perfectly normal, even beautiful thing in laying with another.

"You haven't overstepped your bounds.  I just . . . I feel like someone is setting off Omega Molecules inside me right now.  I can't make sense of myself.  Your crisis of faith, it left you feeling lost for a time, didn't it?  I'm afraid I feel the same way, but not about religion.  Trill are more of a scientific mind then a theological one.  There's 300 years of knowledge and 3 people living inside me right now, and it suddenly makes me feel like a child.  I thought I had a handle on it, but after what Jona was doing while he had his body back, it just feels like I knew nothing at all.  I realize now that, as I am, they can keep secrets from me.  I'm just a kid who can't be trusted with their secrets, and I let myself be defined by my previous hosts.  Now . . . I'm not sure who I am.  It's like being stranded in a territory I don't know, trying to find myself to familiar ground."

[Miles Renard - XO Ready Room]
Miles smiled hearing her omega molecules reference. "I'll pretend like I don't know what those are."  He said referencing the fact that Only Ship captains are supposed to even know of their existence.  He figured she knew of them thanks to her former host in SI still Miles himself shouldn't even have known of their existence.  Maybe the fox like creature lived up to a bit of the cunning inherent in those particular canids.

Miles smiled softly and put his arms around Edena again gently holding her in a soft embrace trying to comfort her.  "Don't worry We all feel like children at times.  Its just you happen to be an adult with three elders within you that may or may not treat you like a adolescent.  You should try and find out who and what you are as a person.  I don't know much about trill symbiosis but it seems you have several voices within you much like myself."  he said softly as he gently ran a hand over her back as he held her trying his best to just comfort her  Right now he wasn't looking at her as his superior but as a member of the crew he valued and above all he saw her as a friend he would do anything to make feel better. "Don't worry, That was his body at the time not yours.  He has his secrets. He was SI; his life was all about secrets.  Obviously he would keep a few of them when within you.  If you were SI would you blow the lid off of SI to the First Officer of some random Starship?"

He softly released the hug and looked into her eyes hoping the change the subject the hormones within him looking at the young woman in front of him as his mind fantasized about what beauty was being hidden by her uniform. "Just so you know I am free until our Senior staff meeting this evening, and I would prefer to spend the time getting to my Commander in a role aside from just officer and superior.  That is if she wouldn't mind the company."

[ Captain's Quarters | Deck 05 ]

Jien's body started to climb back down from the point of climax as they exchanged words, her muscles relaxing, a sensation of heat pulsing through her body even though she was in a hot bath. Although a significant quantity of the bath water now lay in an art deco pattern expanding from the tub.

"At least we make sense to each other in this way," said Jien in answer after their lips parted, a small rueful smile touching her lips, "and I am sorry for making such a big deal of it."

It seemed to last for minutes while touches and kisses made them linger a while more. An otherworldliness to Jien's senses as the orgasm gradually dissipated from her limbs. It was as though there had been nothing but the climax after it had hit her and they spoke, and then - as it subsided - the rest of the world came back into focus. Yet just for those few seconds in intimate embrace with Nicole, the world has ceased to exist - only their pleasure had existed and it had felt so very good.

"We both have duties, I am afraid, and a Senior Staff meeting to attend to this evening. Yet some day I will have to come visit you instead, now what you have come here twice." With a sigh and a small smile, Jien climbed up from the tub - extending a hand to help Nicole get out as well if she wanted her to. She provided her a towel and took one for herself, drying herself off while standing in front of her lover - drinking in the sight of the engineer as only a Chameloid might. Since her hair took such long time to dry, Jien changed... to his male form, remaining naked as he dried his much shorter hair.

"Either way, I am glad you decided to come here," he rasped in his male voice.

Skye was finding her own patience tested and usually by now both would have been completely nude and writing on the bed but like him, she kept it in mind that this was something being recorded and would help Thea and maybe others like her in the future.  A gentle sigh was exhaled as his lips brushed along her neck and chest then finally reached her breasts.

Even as he did that, she buried her hands in his hair and took the time to focus on the texture and how good it felt slipping through her fingers.  Hair came in all textures and his was soft with a slight wave though it was shorter.  Her fingertips grazed along his scalp and then down to his neck and shoulders, taking in the curves and smoothness of the skin.

Getting off the undershirt, making him pause just a moment in the attention he was giving her breasts, she grazed along his sides to feel the ribs and down to the points of his hips before drawing in toward his navel.  Teasing along his treasure trail for a moment she started upward again and skimmed over his nipples, making tiny circles around the areola to stimulate the skin change.

Never before had she so thoroughly touched a man and truly thought about what she was doing and she rather liked this slowing down to note even more what her partner might like.  Then he was teasing her through her pants, slipping inside them to stroke her lower lips through her panties, and finally inside them which brought out a deeply primal and lustful groan.

"Just for the record ... I do plan to satisfy you orally ..."  Her lips parted and jaw dropped slightly at his boldness, the delving of his fingers inside of her totally catching her off guard.  Her eyes met his and blazed with desire.  He'd always been sort of shy but taking that step and showing the confidence she knew he had inside of him made her yearn for more of him.

With one hand she drew his face up to hers and nipped then sucked on his lower lip, a wicked little glint sparking in her eyes.  "And what else do you plan to do to me ... for the record?" she purred with her lips hovering over his as she slipped her hand inside his own trousers to slowly wrap her fingers around his hardened shaft.  Though he might say this was all for science, it was clear he was truly maturing into a wonderful lover.

[Lin Kae - Skye Carver's Quarters]

"I pretty much plan to do everything to you that I can and that you are comfortable with."  Maybe it was for the sake of getting the best possible scans, but he would have been lying if he didn't admit there was an appeal to it as well, of knowing Skye's body better then he had ever known anyone elses.  When she reached into his pants and started stroking, he stopped his own actions long enough to make the suggestion that they just get the clothes out of the way entirely.  He pulled down her pants first, and then her underwear, taking his time with each, so that Skye could feel the material slid along her legs.  It was just another way of making things tender.  How many would have just ripped them off, or at least pulled down with haste?  When she was naked, he let her do the same to him, before they laid back on her bed and continued where they left off.  Kae was teasing her clitoris and fingering her wet folds while Skye was stroking and fondling him, both going until they had both gotten a climax out of it.  With that done, Kae would move on to the next phase.

"I want to do this a few different ways, just so that any differences are recorded," he told her starting by getting between her legs to begin cunnilingus.  He had some practice in the act from holographic lovers, but Skye was an entirely new experience.  She had a scent, a taste, things that didn't exist in a hologram, and it only made the whole act just a bit more arousing.  His tongue slid along her lower lips, touching her with every bit of it, from the tip to the sides to the flat of his tongue against her labia, her clit and her insides.  When she was worked up, he called for a position change, having her get on all fours on the edge of the bed, while he knelt on the floor and continued to lick her womanhood from behind.  It was sort of like everything she felt before but upside down.  Finally, he laid on his back on the bed, and asked Skye to straddle his face, so that he could bring her to a full climax with the final position.

[Edena Rez - XO Ready Room]

Edena realized almost too late her mistake of mentioning Omega Molecules.  While not a captain, her former status as a member of Starfleet Intelligence afforded her knowledge on them, and she had forgotten herself when talking to Miles.  Thankfully, he was willing to pretend he never heard that, leaving her to once again consider that she owed him.  He had already listened to her own troubles, and now he was choosing to ignore a secret she accidentally spilled in her emotionally confused state.

When Edena looked at Miles again, it was clear that she was no longer in the driver seat again.  The face might have been different, but there was no mistaking that sultry gaze, even using Edena's face.  It was Illya in charge again.  "I'm afraid the poor girl is lost in her own head again.  Sort of a downfall to sharing space with three other personalities; it makes a large amount of room to wander in."  Illya changed Edena's posture dramatically, hips and breasts becoming more pronounced simply by the way she stood.  Edena wasn't quite as busty as Illya had been, but she didn't have anything to scoff at either.  For most guys, there wasn't all that much difference in a C and a D cup.  Both were a lovely hand full.

"I think you have the poor girl confused a bit, Renard.  Most of the men she had known in the past who were this attentive to her were ex-boyfriends.  She doesn't handle sexual situations well, sadly.  You should have seen what happened when she had to share a shower with Deputy Ida."  Illya grinned, pleased to have planted the image in Miles head.  Though, it had just been a verbal confrontation where Edena's shower had been interrupted, Illya's creative license made it sound like the Commander had some intimate liaison with the attractive, blue skinned Andorian woman.  In truth, it was Illya who had been left feeling blue balled by that run-in, Edena fainting at the sight of a phaser pressed to her, while Illya's flirting did nothing to break that armor presented by Ida.

He nodded, "I guess I must have put her in an awkward position by revealing that both she and I know something neither of us are authorized to know about.  At least in her case she has an excuse as she shares the body with the mind of  figure of SI's ranks.  I'm really the one who tipped my hand the most there.  I mean how would some Alien who's race wasn't even warp capable until the last 10 years and not even in the Federation longer than five years know about one of Starfleet's darkest and most well kept secrets.  I'm a bit surprised someone as strict about rules and procedure didn't react by beginning an impromptu interrogation."

 He softly laughed as he took The young trill's hands "As for that attraction to her may I remind you why.  It's rare to meet someone so beautiful while at the same time so Innocent at heart.  I guess that semi innocence is why I resist my urges to dive back into your arms after our wonderful encounter at Ishtar's hands.  As much as my desire is to fully explore her body and my urges to find out just what that mind of yours is capable of in control of it.  I also feel it would be a betrayal of a certain kind of trust as her friend to take advantage of her body when under the control of someone who is so much more willing to explore those boundaries like yourself.   I guess its strange how I think in that way.  Still I just feel as it is her body she is the one who must give the consent before I would even consider going any further, even if it is you at the helm."

Standing there, hearing the Squadron Commanding Officer seeking the consent from another - whom had chosen to withdraw - Illya was at odds and end with how she might proceed. For evidently... Miles Renard was not so much interested in her anymore as he was in Edena. It was not like she was actually hurt by it, for she understood in a way that he would seek Edena's approval. Yet the thing was...

"Well, she is not here anymore, and she left for a reason, Renard. Reason being she would not speak with you further, so... it would seem that you have reached an impasse that neither of the five people in this room can solve," said Illya and shrugged with a smile, turning away to take a seat behind Edena's desk. Once seated, she set her feet on the XO's desk and folded her arms. "Because the only one who can... does not seem to want to. If you want ease of mind, you might want to try another day."

Shrugging again, Illya smiled with eyebrows raised - confident in posture where she sat. "I make fun of Edena sometimes... but I am not going to speak for her when she does not want to speak. I do think, however, that you have made some kind impression since she did leave."

The pause was the period of the meeting. "Good luck with your new squadron, Miles. Given the mission... I'd bet you'll need it."

---

OOC: Tying up loose ends. ;)

[Skye Carver - Skye's Quarter's]

A rich chuckle bubbled from deep in Skye's chest when Kae said he planned to do a much as she wa comfortable with, the sound not condescending but encouraging.  "I think you'll find I'm comfortable with quite a few things," she purred and enjoyed watching his expression change when she grasped his member and started stroking.  Unfeigned pleasure from one of the most innocent seeming men she2'd ever known only served to make her want him more.

All too soon they were both clad in only what they were born and Skye watched him as he started to dip down between her legs, that mixture of desire and determination bringing a smile to her face as much as anything.  He was certainly quite attentive and her croons and moans assured him she was definitely enjoying his attention to detail.  When he asked for position changes she accommodated him quickly and enthusiastically, wriggling her bottom at him with a playful grin.

Finally she was straddling him and he hit a stride that brought her climax rushing hot and hard, her juices coating his tongue and chin as she leaned forward and grasped his hard cock.  "You hide that wickedness so well," she groaned and without further warning latched on to him, lips and tongue returning the favor with interest in what would end up several hours of quite wondrous research.


OOC:  One loose end tied up ... along with Kae.  ;)