“You’re gorgeous, though the skin color’s a bit weird, I love your brown hair though.”
I laughed, “I think I love you.”
She giggled.
“You are stunning, and not at all what I’d expect.”
She sighed, “I’m as experimental as this ship and its deployment. Most artificial personalities are designed, my matrix was created organically, and I’ll continue to evolve and change until I die, just like a human mind and soul. Most artificial assistants have a static personality, they’re self-aware and meet the definition of life, but limited.”
I don’t know why I said it, it just slipped out, “Well, I’m an experiment too. So, we have that in common.”
She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, “Your abilities in the battle were rather atypical from what we know of humans.”
“My proprioception, spatial awareness, and other small things have been enhanced.”
My reaction time was a bit faster, but then there was that sixth sense intuition I had, which was far harder to define.
She nodded.
We got to my quarters and went inside. It lacked personality, I’d have to decorate, but it had a bed, inset wall cabinets for storage and clothes, and a cubby with a sonic shower, waste disposal, and small sink.
“Take a seat on the bed, and I’ll get this embedded in your palm.”
She pulled out what looked like a pressure gun, but I was sure it was nothing that crude. I sat down and held out my right palm. She put the thin tube against my palm, and my skin numbed. Then I saw a tiny laser, and felt pressure, then another laser, and she pulled the device away.
I looked down at my palm, which had a tiny red scar, I could see it slowly fade away. I assumed that was the health nanites at work. With a thought, I was able to bring up the overlay interface. I was able to move the targeting reticule with a thought, at anything in my field of vision. If I decided to target it, the containment fields would shoot and hit that exact spot. Which, was kind of cool, but also limiting because I couldn’t aim it without looking at the target.
“I have a question about the targeting, can it be modified to aim in a direction I’m not looking? It follows my intent, but only in my field of vision. I don’t need to see a target, all I need to know to hit it is where it is. That’s part of that spatial awareness I talked about.”
She bit her lip, “I might be able to help, that’s a safety feature of the device, to prevent aiming off course due to a stray thought. Would you mind demonstrating that ability?”
“Not at all, if there’s a safe way to do so.”
She nodded, “We have a range and simulator.”
“Alright, probably not tonight, they want me to get some sleep for my first shift tomorrow. The next three nights I have dinner with the boys one at a time. How about the night after that? We can do that, maybe spar too like you mentioned, and then have a ladies’ only night.”
I’d never had that before, and it felt weird saying it.
She smiled, “I’d like that, all of it except we should probably at least take fifteen minutes tonight to make sure the weapons work as they should, the hand weapon, as well as your hand-held plasma weapon and rifle. You don’t want to fire them for the first time in combat, and who knows what could happen in the next four days. Failure isn’t likely, fabricating is a very precise process, but it is possible.”
I stood up, “Alright, let me change first.”
She grinned, “Don’t let me stop you.”
It occurred to me now was a good as time as any to ask about certain things I’d been wondering about.
I blushed, and asked, “How do the Isyth treat nakedness, and sex.”
She shrugged, “There are no taboos against nudity, just regulations in space, and people sleep with who they wish to, as long as all parties consent. It’s considered bad form to ask someone mated however, but anyone else is fair game.”
Yup, definitely stuck in a torrid romance fantasy. I stripped off my old ship suit, and pulled on my new one, which looked good on me. Black was slimming after all. It also fit me better, as if this was made for my exact measurements, whereas the Stolavii had taken a close enough for government work approach. I blushed at the approval and admiration in Jillintara’s eyes.
“So, mates are off limits?”
Jillintara said, “Yes. In our society, we make friendships and have sex with who we want, looking for the one or more that is for us, then we mate. I’m aware of the issues on your world, but don’t understand them. Sex is an integral part of an intimate loving relationship, though not most important, it is still critically important. It also feels good, so why not?”
“Wait, one or more?”
She giggled, “Yes, multiple mates are not discouraged, but all must agree to be bonded in that case. Oh, and if your curious, same sex encounters are not looked down on either. Given the idea of multiple mates, it couldn’t be.”
I hadn’t really given that much thought, but Jillintara was certainly attractive.
I said, “The issues on my world, I’d guess unwanted pregnancy and STDs play into that and make people warier. I’m assuming with health nanites, both of those issues are non-existent?”
She nodded, “Absolutely. No disease at all, and pregnancy is a choice.”
She turned, and I sighed as my eyes flickered down, she had a perfect ass too, I really should be jealous. Her D cups were sinful, and she had such a thin waist it gave her a waspish voluptuous appearance.
“You’re body…” I trailed off.
She looked over her shoulder, “The body is real enough, just like yours, except I have a quantum matrix for a brain instead of gray matter. It’s part of the experiment, they figured the best way to make me more like an organic, was to give me an organic body. This is only one copy of myself though, we couldn’t chance this body dying since I’m so integral to the ship. There’s another copy of me in engineering, and in case that breaks down or is destroyed, there is yet a third copy running in the shipyards that built me. The third can connect to this ship through quantum connections as if I were still here, and there are several quantum connection points throughout the ship. If I lose contact with this ship, it’s because it no longer exists.”
“So… there are three of you?”
She laughed, “No. Just one of me, in three places. We’re all connected, and have each other’s current memories. The backup systems don’t do anything but live vicariously through me, but are always ready to take over. If something does happen to this body, it can be replaced in about two weeks, but nothing has happened to it, yet.”
Hmm, it also meant I could actually share a meal with her, not just hang out.
“Do you ever get off the ship?”
She shook her head, “Not often. But I’d like to. So, what’s your story?”
I sighed, “I was genetically designed and modified in a lab, and was an asset of my government. I was trained to remove threats to our country. This… this is the first time I’ve ever been truly free. Although I’d have to say the Stolavii version of slavery was much worse.”
We arrived at and entered the range and simulator room. There were some targets set up on one side with four lanes, and on the other was what looked like a Stolavii ship corridor. I also knew it used holograms in the simulations.
“Alright, hand plasma pistol first.”
When I turned it on, it connected with my DNA through the grip, and was tied to me. I walked up to the shooting line on the third lane, then I turned toward Jillintara. I twisted my waist, and pointed the weapon behind me, but stared into Jillintara’s dark blue eyes. Then I pulled the trigger four times. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t looking, I already knew where the targets were, and my body knew how to aim.
Jill looked at the targets on all four lanes.
“Okay, that was an effective demonstration, I’ll request an override for that safety lockout, and append this demonstration as why you want it. It may take time to get approved.”
I smiled, “I understand, thanks Jill.”
The grin on my face couldn’t be helped, as I held out my hand, palm outward, and sent plasma balls into all four targets. I didn’t even have to move my arm, the weapon hit the targets where I intended, by changing the fields and launch angle to match where the reticule was. Maybe it made me a geek, but it had to be my favorite weapon ever, even if it would be garbage for a subtle assassination.
I took a few minutes to make sure the rifle worked as well, but the range was too short to really test long range accuracy.
“I’ll see you in the morning? And for dinner in four nights?”
Jill smiled, “Wouldn’t miss it. I’m sure the captain told you, but I’ll be a little more military and less cheerful on the bridge.”
I nodded, “All is recorded, got it.”
She grinned, “Sleep well Lori, I’m glad you’re here.”
Me too.
“Night Jill, the pleasure was mine.”
I wasn’t sure what to think, as I walked back to my cabin. I assumed Jillintara was off to the bridge, she was probably always on duty, not that she needed to be on the actual bridge. I was also considering how it might feel to be with another woman, unless I was crazy, she had clearly been suggesting that possibility.
I’d been daydreaming about Vik, or maybe Telidur. Rilok was just as sexy as the other two, but so far he was too much of a dick to even consider the possibility. Still, I’d been daydreaming about getting close to one of them, both intimately and perhaps for the first time, emotionally. But… suddenly I was looking at the possibility at sleeping with three out of four of them, and that not being taboo.
I was hardly a normal earth girl, with a normal upbringing. I’d always considered myself free of the sex hang ups that plagued most of humanity because of how they were raised. I wasn’t raised with any of that, just educated, taught to kill, and sent out into the world with rules. One night stands had never really bothered me, even if I wanted more, I never saw anything wrong with scratching my itch.
But… more than one person, I’d never considered it before, I’d also never considered the idea of sleeping with another woman. I didn’t dislike the idea, and Jillintara was gorgeous, I’d just never thought about it before. It wasn’t exactly a moral question I had, I just wondered if my heart would get attached, or if more than one bedmate would be too much for me to handle. Not physically, emotionally. I was inexperienced in matters of the heart, much less trying to date three people at once, or four if Rilok purchased a personality transplant.
As I got back to my cabin, put up my plasma pistol and rifle, and laid down on my bed, I was considering both for the first time. I honestly didn’t know how I felt about those ideas. It sounded intriguing, filled with possibilities and pleasure, but quite possibly entirely too much. I’d just play it by ear, my dinner with Vik was first, tomorrow night. Maybe I was reading too much into it, maybe the only one that wanted me on this ship would be Jillintara.
I frowned, as I tried to fall asleep.
“Ann, wake me up thirty minutes before shift.”
That should give me enough time for a fast sonic shower, and to take care of other things. I’d already noticed I no longer grew hair where I didn’t want any, and my nails were trimmed and perfect. My long brown hair was silky smooth, no split ends, and easy to brush out in the mornings. The nanites took that perfect shape thing pretty seriously. I’d also have time to grab a bite to eat, yesterday had been my first real breakfast, so much better than those damned bars. Still, it was a two-meal cycle now, breakfast and dinner.
Ann replied, “I’ll take care of it, and thank you.”
“For what?”
Ann said, “For not replacing me.”
“You’re welcome.”
Was Ann afraid to die? Maybe she was more human than I’d thought too, though nowhere near as lifelike as Jillintara, perhaps that was partially because of protocols?
My mind never did calm down, but I did finally find sleep. My last thought, was wondering what it would feel like to kiss Jillintara’s slightly pouty lips.