Drone.
Four days, or was it five ? Anthony wasn’t sure. Looking over at Tilly, laying soundly asleep in bed besides him, he found himself wondering about the time that had passed.
It was strange, he had not thought he could enjoy this as much as he did, never did consider how much worth there could be gotten from having a companion in bed, even if he has had his moments of need in the past.
Granted, they way he was treating her during the act was, degrading, and while feeling guilty afterwards at times, he took notice of how that sensation slowly faded away. In this brief time they where together, if this was something he could actually consider, being together, well, it was more about him using her.
Sure, they had their, more affectionate moments, something that he considered a form of, after care. But before, and during the act, it seemed all about himself, and somewhere along the line, it started to feel like thats how it should be.
If he did not remind himself that she was not human, he would nearly feel like that’s what a woman’s nature truly should be, but he still managed to make a distinction there, if barely.
Would it not be for ears and tail, he would probably mistake her for a human woman, and the allure to desensitize himself to the needs of another was clearly there. It simply felt to great to have the say, the control over her, and the grab and use approach sure had it’s charms.
Anthony chuckled lightly, thinking about it. No need to charm, to seduce, to play around the subject just to have some brief company. Heck, more often then not, it seemed like she was the one waiting for him.
“ Yeah. “ He whispered under his breath, carefully taking her left hand to pull it off his chest. Hoping she would stay asleep for a bit, so he could actually do something else for a change.
They had been at it for days. It was either them fornicating like wild beasts, eating or sleeping, just to go at it again. It was intense, pleasantly so, but he was starting to wonder where he himself was getting the endurance to go at it so much with her, was that even normal ?
And well, there was still the psychic issue. Thinking about it, he had not even once bothered to think about it these last few days, or anything else for that matter.
It reaffirmed his intent to let Tilly sleep for now, carefully to get out of bed, and have a quick shower before he’d head for the Android storage. Thomas did say it be good to start with those, and he was increasingly eager to finally experiment around with this ability of his.
So, after having a shower, and warning his mind not to consider the issue of wet skin, and how it might feel to have Tilly in there, he somehow managed to get dressed with one of his black uniforms, without waking Tilly.
And as he was turning to leave his quarters, he would sharply inhale in surprise as he found Ina standing there before him, watching him expectantly as he tried to sneak out.
“ Yeah, I haven't been very attentive with you, have I ? “ He spoke, leaning to pick the Vixen up, so he could carry her with his left arm, while his right hand started to caress and stroke Ina.
He had realized only then that she had not been approaching him like usually, and it seemed like she may have taken up her usual residence in all that time he spend with Tilly, like she was giving him the space to, get it out of his system.
But just the same, now that he actually tried to do something else, she was right there to demand, what he now considered as, reparations for her patience. Nearly like she had it in her blood that he was finally available again.
It caused him a smile, realizing just how considerate she was, and he did not think an animal could even be like that, or was he simply in the unknown there ?
“ Your a smart one, aren’t you ? “ He spoke softly, ruffling her head’s fur a little before the hand was removed to close the door to his quarters, and then he was just about to turn, only to pause as Kira stood there, leaning against the wall with a look on her face that he judged as open amusement.
“ Finally able to tear yourself away from her ? “ She spoke with a tone in her voice that was layered with either condescension, or simple mischief, Anthony could not tell.
“ Yeah. “ He simply admitted, feeling a hint of embarrassment warming his cheeks, which he was trying to do away with right away. But Kira’s smirk suggested that he wasn’t exactly doing a good job at it.
“ Are you perhaps watching me ? “ Anthony would ask, trying to steer the subject anywhere else.
“ Yep. Marianna’s orders. I get to kick your ass if you overdo it with your space wizardry. Can’t have you go boom on us. “ She responded blatantly, a bluntness that had Anthony pause for a moment. Though he did see reason in what she said, considering Thomas’s warning, they likely wanted to assure that he would not blow up on them.
Still, the way she put it was, unbridled, in a somehow equally refreshing and disturbing way.
“ How long have I been at it, with Tilly ? “ He asked then as he started to move down the hallway. Unable to put it into a more refined wording as the situation was feeling a bit too awkward again.
“ Been Seven days now. “ Kira responded, and purposely moved up to him just to enjoy the reaction on his face.
“ Seven days ?! “ Anthony asked in disbelieve, pausing in his track as he looked at her with the unspoken question if she was toying with him there.
“ Yup, Time sure flies when your having fun, eh ? Looks like you had a lot of pend up energy. “ Kira answered with a smile, and lean in closer to whisper teasingly. “ Hope little Anthony is ok ? We can get some ointment for it, if you need. “
Anthony stood there for a moment, mouth agape, unable to comprehend a response for that right away.
“ Your having fun at my expense. “ He finally managed after inhaling deeply.
“ I certainly do ! “ Kira admitted, giggling.
“ Ah well, I guess I deserve that one. “ He remarked, starting to move towards the Android storage again.
“ Your no fun. “ Kira protested, disappointed that he recovered so quickly, though she started to follow him again.
“ So, whats the plan ? “ Kira asked as Anthony simply walked down the primary hallway in silence, only to take a turn to what Kira recalled to be a sort of, storage area, with Industrial equipment, raw resources, and those strange folded up robotic units.
“ I want to try my ability. Thomas suggested I experiment with it. “ He responded casually, and then take a left into the smallest of the Storage sections, where rows of Androids hung suspended on either side of the wall, with a few of them still laying partially disassembled on the floor.
“ Don’t overdo it. “ Kira reminded, watching Anthony carefully as he eyed one of the Androids that was laying on the floor.
“ I’ll try my best. “ Anthony answered, recalling how Thomas noted that he had to learn controlling his ability, so as not to loose control and cause the psychic energy to effect the surrounding area negatively. Or, as Kira had put it so aptly, for him to go boom.
He would ponder for a moment how to approach this, recalling the options listed on the Screen in his Psychic Plane, And two options in Particular came to mind, restore, and Repair, and those units on the ground sure offered a perfect test to figure out what the difference was.
“ Well, lets see how this goes. “ He uttered, leaning to sit down on the floor, just in case he’d experience another onset of Nausea, or worse. And then, placing Ina between his legs, he would close his eyes, focusing on the closest unit, an Industrial Android, trying to imagine the restore function.
“ The heck ? “ Kira spoke in surprise, and when Anthony opened his eyes again, he could see what caused her reaction.
Before him, a ball of silvery liquid formed, and then flowed out through the air towards the Android, causing it’s shell to warp back into shape and replace visible damage, until the liquid simply hardened into the pieces that it replaced, making the Android look like it was new.
“ Well, that is, interesting. “ Anthony mutters, feeling lightly reminded of the Siren’s ability to alter their form. Obviously he drew material from somewhere, or, created it, though the former assumption sounded more plausible then conjuring matter from thin air. The question was, where did it come from ?
Kira watched with interest, but kept silent for now. Even as Anthony leaned forward to reach for the power up switch on the Android to try and boot it up, which resulted in a few sparks before a brief popping sound and a bit of smoke suggested that something burned out.
“ Ok ? “ Anthony spoke in confusion, surprised that it actually had a charge remaining to give a reaction, so either restore could provide some energy to it, or the fuel-cell on the unit was just that good.
But taking a closer look at the structure below the shell, Anthony realized that restore failed to truly fix the unit, there was material still bent and twisted below the shell, so, Restore must have a different purpose. Or perhaps, was only able to rectify damage he was aware off ?
No, perhaps it was simpler. To restore, meant to bring something back to it’s original form and function. But the person that did the restoration, usually knew what and how he was working with it.
Anthony knew little of these Androids, not even the Virtual intelligence that drove them, they where provided by another programming specialist that used to be on the Hope. So, if his assumption was right, to restore something, required him to know, to be familiar with what he wanted to restore.
And looking at the units suspended in the storage, he realized that he only fixed the exterior with his attempt at restoration, because that was what he was familiar with, if only from the optical input that the suspended units provided.
“ Kira ? Could you do me a favor ? “ Anthony asked, wanting to try a repair now, but the issue remained of that silver liquid, and where it came from. Anthony assumed that it would surely appear again if he tried to do an actual repair now.
“ What ? “ She responded bluntly.
“ Go to the resource storage. If you go left from here, and then the second left. And see, if something happens there while I try to repair this ? “ Anthony asked, watching how Kira frowned.
“ Fine. “ She huffed then, not happy to have him command her around, but she saw what he was getting at, and honestly was curious about it herself.
“ Ok, go ahead. “ She would then shout when she reached the resource storage, looking over the neatly stored pieces of steel and various other materials.
Anthony smiled, glad she saw reason, and turning his attention back to the Android, he would focus again. This time to keep his eyes open, so he could see how the silver liquid begun to form before his eyes.
Kira did not call out, but instead came running back to the Android storage, grunting, “ Well I be damned, “ as she watched the liquid reach out towards the android, followed by the unhealthy sound of metal bending and snapping into shape, while the remaining damage was being replaced by the silver liquid flowing into the required structures to replace them.
“ Your actually pulling it over. Metals, polymers, and whatever else you need, it’s just turning into that liquid, and disappearing into thin air. Or well, coming over here somehow.” Kira reported, her voice easily betraying her excitement.
“ That means, I may have to consider getting more resources. I am not sure there is enough gold and copper to replace the circuits and electronic components . “ Anthony noted, unsure he can draw resources from anywhere else, even if he knew of it’s location. It felt logical to him that the resources he used, must somehow be considered in his possession. Being stored on the Hope seemed to suit that requirement if that was true.
“ Let’s see. “ He mused then once the repair process seemed completed. Again to try and turn the Android on, and this time it reacted, if only to release a few beeping noises before it shut down on its own.
“ Eh, what does that mean ? “ Kira asked.
“ No operating system. The repair seems to only work on it’s physical structure. “ Anthony responded, idly stroking Ina as he tried to consider his next step.
“ Let’s try something else. “ He mused then, trying to focus his mind on controlling the Android, insisting for it to stand up.
It actually caused the Android to boot up, to a degree, as the power cell begun supplying the mechanical part of the Android, while ignoring the system portion of it. This permitted the Android to lean up, and get onto his feet before them.
“ Why, hello there. “ Anthony softly spoke, pleasantly surprised by this result, but not yet satisfied as he went ahead to try the view function he recalled, which suddenly caused his body to lean forward as if unconscious, while Anthony found himself looking through the eyes of the android.
“ Um. “ The Androids Synthetic voice crackled.
“ Ok, this, feels strange. “ It went on, looking at it’s own hands while testing it’s movements, only for it to sit back down into a stable position, before Anthony released his control, so he could feel his own body again.
Then Kira suddenly started to burst out into laughter, somehow to have found this whole scene absolutely hilarious.