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Location: Personnel
Elster’s slowly learning how to dance- I know that she’ll be very graceful one day. She left to make the end-of-cycle readouts on the flight deck, but tonight I’ve invited her to my room. It doesn’t feel right that she should go back to her Maintenance pod this evening.
Ariane finished writing the paragraph just as the doors slid open. She felt her heartbeat pick up, dropping the pen as she turned from her desk to the door. As she stood, she smoothed down her plain white dress.
Elster walked into her quarters, looking around. Ariane knew what she would see- to Elster’s right, the desk. Aside from a small space for her journal, it had a mix of single and boxset VHS tapes- and a box of unread manuals beneath it. There was a TV/Cassette player next to the desk- the one they used for the somewhat unsuccessful movie nights. In front of her, Elster would see the door to a tiny washroom. To her left was Ariane’s bunk, the protective shutter open. Five pillows- and one towel- covered most of the visible mattress. There was a small table bearing a turntable with half a dozen sleeved records near the bunk too- Ariane had tidied up.
It was not the first time Elster had been in Ariane’s room, nor was it the tenth. They had danced together in the space no more than a few hours ago, tripping over each other’s steps and laughing about it, clutching tightly to one another- which had prompted Ariane to seek more and ask if Elster wanted to stay the night.
“How’s the ship?” Ariane asked. She tried to keep her tone casual, but the knowledge of what she had implied to Elster by an open invitation was making her nervous. Her heart was thudding in her chest, making her more alert of what she said and did.
“All systems nominal.” Elster reported. From what Ariane judged, the Replika was a little tense too. There was a pause. Ariane scratched the back of her neck, trying to think of ways to relax the atmosphere.
“Shall we sit down?” She asked, gesturing to the bunk. Elster nodded and walked over, her longer legs allowing her to reach the mattress and sit smoothly to wait for Ariane. Her hair nearly brushed the overhead. Ariane joined Elster, sitting close enough to feel the brush of Elster’s firm thigh against her own.
There was another pause.
“Well, I guess that there are some things we should talk about- our differences.” Ariane ventured.
"My body is composed of biomechanical muscles and organs protected by a titanium skeleton, encased within a carbon fiber-reinforced polyethylene shell. " Elster replied.
“I read the LSTR overview, I know that already.” Ariane smiled. “But it wasn’t comprehensive, and didn’t mention…”
Ariane gestured to her body from the neck down. Her dress left her arms and lower legs bare- and made her blush show even clearer. Elster took it all in stride and spoke plainly, mirroring Ariane’s gesture to indicate her polymer-sheathed body. The red highlights were stark against the majority-black material.
“I don’t have a reproductive system. Just a waste port with a retractable cowling.”
“Right. What about your template- any resurfaced memories?”
Elster shook her head. “None sexually. Either Eusan technologists removed those or she did not seek those experiences out.”
“But you want to?”
“Yes.”
Ariane needed to satisfy her curiosity- and her concerns. “Can I ask why?”
“I want to experience new things. Kissing is nice, but there’s more that I’d like to try with you- and see how we both feel about what comes next.”
“Thank you, Elster. I really, really don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“I’ll say if that happens. Now, how would you like to start?”
Ariane’s eyes flicked down.
“You’ve noticed my form?” Elster asked, a small smile on her lips.
Ariane’s eyes darted down. Then back up. Down again.
“Your upper torso has a bright red triangular section that goes over your bust.” Ariane said, half-exasperated and red-faced, meeting Elster’s amused gaze. “How could I not?”
“Would you like to touch me there?”
Ariane’s blush deepened further, almost matching the shade of red on Elster’s breastplate.
“Yes.” She admitted, feeling her ears prick with heat.
Elster shifted her chest forward slightly, emphasising the area; her bust slanted at an angle from her pectorals until it curved back into her torso. There was no cleavage, just a singular surface.
“Go on.” Elster encouraged.
Ariane reached out- but rather than go straight to Elster’s curve, she placed her right hand on the upper left side of Elster’s chest. There was a rhythmic pulse under the firm shell. A warmth, too- biocomponents were analogous to human organs and required similar conditions to function.
“You have a heart.” Ariane noted.
“You’re correct, I do.” Elster confirmed, patiently. “Mine pumps oxidant from the left-hand side like yours does blood.”
“Well, I always thought Replikas did have a heartbeat- but some people back at Serpinski said that you didn’t. I can feel it, just about.” Ariane slid her hand down, rotating her wrist to cup the underside of Elster's breastplate. It did not yield to her touch. “How does that feel?” She asked, tensing her fingers slightly.
“I can sense the pressure of your hand, but it’s less than when you touched my face when we kissed in the observatory. It feels nice.”
“Hm. Just ‘nice’.” Ariane frowned. “And if I do… this?” She ran her thumb over the smooth curve of the polymer, brushing over where a nipple would be on her own body.
Elster shrugged. “It feels the same.”
“You don’t feel anything… building?” Ariane asked, moving her thumb in small circles. “A feeling of pleasure? Of need?”
Elster shook her head.
Ariane retracted her fingers, biting her lower lip.
“Elster… Are you sure you want to continue?”
Elster cocked her head. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Because this indicates your body can’t feel pleasure like I can. You’re not bothered by the fact you can’t receive?”
Elster shrugged. “I want you to feel good. I think I’ll enjoy making it happen.”
“Also,” She leaned over. “I said that I like it when we-.”
Her soft lips found Ariane’s.
The resulting passion of their kiss left Ariane dizzy. She felt the firmness of Elster’s hand on her chest, finding her heart at the same time as Elster broke the kiss. Ariane felt a mix of skin and polymer on her face as the Replika’s cheek moved against hers.
“You have a heartbeat.” Elster whispered in Ariane’s ear, before pulling back a little.
“I do.” Ariane breathed. “Can you feel how fast it is?”
“Yes.”
“It’s all because of you.”
“Is this all because of me too?” Elster sounded pleased as her firm fingers moved and brushed a bump in the fabric of Ariane’s dress, caressing the stiff nipple.
“Yes. ” Ariane sighed, as Elster’s free hand cupped her other breast. Elster’s hands were strong but delicate, teasing the straps from Ariane’s shoulders and drawing the front down over her breasts. It was a very different sensation from when Ariane touched herself, the skin-softness and familiarity of her own fingers now replaced with Elster’s polymer-firm and interested ones. Elster’s were just as flexible, however, and Ariane found that new and exciting- a good kind of different.
“You can feel my skin?” Ariane asked, recalling how Elster detected her heartbeat.
“It’s also muted. The tactile sensors below my neck might be lesser." Elster continued, her smile growing wider. "But my mouth- that's as sensitive as yours." And with that, she bent her head.
Ariane shivered slightly as Elster’s breath fell over her chest. Then the feeling of a warm, wet, mouth on her nipple made her gasp. It was deliberate and electrifying, made even all the more pleasurable by the way Elster’s hands caressed her ribs, stroking skin. Elster cupped a breast in one hand and thumbed the other in small circles.
“The way you react…” Elster breathed, before returning her mouth to Ariane’s other breast. “I like it.”
“Then don’t stop!” Ariane gasped again as Elster repeatedly pursed her lips, teasing at the bud. Her hands fisted in the towel, her hips shifting too at the stimulation. Elster was making her feel incredible.
“How was that?” Elster asked. Ariane said what was on her mind.
“Good." Elster replied. “I’m still learning.”
It struck Ariane that Elster had based her actions on a mix of instinct and her own signals; she showed an interest in Elster’s bust, Elster experimented with hers. A surge of affection (and lust) rose within her, and she took Elster’s face in her hands, raising her lover’s face from its bowed position into a kiss.
When she needed to breathe, Ariane snatched a lungful and moved her mouth to press a kiss to the strip of polymer at the bridge of Elster’s nose, then to where the skin of Elster’s chin gave way to her jaw. She felt soft skin against her upper lip and firm polymer against her lower lip, feeling Elster’s jaw tense. Ariane moved her lips down, to the matte polymer on Elster’s neck. The dark material felt clean and warm against her lips, having a smooth texture. The segmented sections flexed slightly as Elster breathed, shifting the curving panels.
“It’s thinner on your neck.” Ariane noted.
“If it was too thick I wouldn’t be able to turn my head.”
“I wonder…” Ariane mused. “Could I touch you- lower down? To try?” She was so eager for more, but she also wanted to do something for Elster.
“Yes. I don’t mind.”
With Elster’s permission, Ariane trailed her fingers down over the Replika’s bust, the panels of Elster’s abdominals and lower, experimentally, over the cowling covering Elster’s crotch. She felt the same low warmth and smooth polymer, nothing more.
“Anything?” She asked.
Elster gave her a small, commiserating smile. Ariane was so keen to reciprocate- but she had confirmed that was not possible. “Just as muted.” She saw Ariane’s hesitance again and made her smile reassuring. “Remember, my mouth is sensitive.”
"You do like kissing." Ariane noted.
“Not just that.” Elster qualified. “Also-”
Ariane’s eyes widened as Elster pushed off the bunk with her arms and twisted her hips, leaving Ariane sitting alone on the towel as Elster slid to her knees on the floor panels.
As it struck Ariane that, being a Replika, Elster was unable to get sore knees- and what that might entail for her immediate future- Elster slid Ariane's thighs over her shoulders, firmly embedding herself between Ariane's legs. Elster dismissed the medical data that her memory banks offered. That felt too impersonal. Elster wanted this to be hers, even if it was a little clumsy and unsure.
"Let me know what you like?" Elster asked.
"Of course." Ariane's breathing was shallow. It reassured Elster. They were both nervous, preparing for a new part of their night. She pushed Ariane’s dress up and Ariane shifted, helping move the lower half to bundle with the top half already around her waist, leaving Ariane as good as naked. Ready for Elster.
Exposed.
Ariane suddenly felt very self-aware.
“Do you mind how I look?" She asked as Elster moved her head towards Ariane’s white curls- and lower.
"What do you ask?" Elster queried, pausing.
"I just got a bit uncertain before and didn’t know how much I should..." Ariane stopped. “Shaving supplies weren't exactly priority items-”
Elster blinked, nonplussed. "It’s part of who you are."
Ariane smiled weakly. “But the girls back at Scalene said…”
She stopped when she realised that Elster maintained her unfazed expression, instead running a finger along the edge of Ariane’s pubic hair, then caressing the trimmed curls with curiosity.
“I’m not them.” Elster replied gently.
The sight of Elster smiling up at her with sea-blue eyes did amazing things to Ariane's self-confidence. She stroked Elster’s hair wordlessly, her affection and encouragement unspoken.
Elster inhaled, taking in the unique scent of Ariane. She had nothing to compare it to- so she began to learn about Ariane’s responses to her touch.
Even though her tactile sensors were muted, Elster’s sensory suite detailed the fact that there was fluid- arousal, Elster corrected- evident the lower her fingers trailed- she could see it too, the effect she had on her lover. She acquainted herself with Ariane’s vulva, the sensitive elements that made up Ariane’s most intimate area. The reactions to her light touches at Ariane’s clit and when she penetrated with first one, then two fingers made Elster grateful that Ariane had put down a towel as she took time to draw out Ariane’s pleasure and arousal, listening to murmured affirmations and strained curses.
Now with a greater understanding of how Ariane’s body reacted, Elster wanted to do more. Her fingers weren’t enough. She wanted to use her mouth on Ariane. She looked up.
“Please?” She asked.
“Please.” Ariane nodded, petting Elster’s hair. She was desperately turned on, her chest rising and falling as she breathed.
Just as before, Elster started slow but learned quickly, going from gentle exploration to confident questing. Ariane’s panted praise bypassed her template and awoke something within Elster.
Passion, yes, but perhaps something deeper.
That awakening spurred her on, and had Ariane threading her hands through Elster’s hair, fingers tensing and heels digging into Elster’s back for what was to be her first climax of the night, a gasped “El!” exploding from Ariane’s lungs.
零
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They both needed to use the washroom. Elster went first as Ariane basked bonelessly on the pillows. After she cleaned her hands and face, Elster inspected her reflection in the mirror.
There were a lot of new sensations to process. The tickle of hair against her upper lip, the thick taste of Ariane still lingering on her tongue, how different it had felt when she had moved her mouth over soft folds or swollen clit. The positive exclamations and exhortations that filled Elster’s ears. The physical and emotional reaction of Ariane’s orgasms- and knowing that she was the cause.
Ariane had wondered how Elster would have felt, unable to ‘receive’, yet Ariane had allowed her to experience something deeply intimate on so many levels. Making her lover happy made Elster happy in turn- which was all she had desired from Ariane's invitation. Elster felt a deep satisfaction within herself as she considered all she had achieved- in the previous cycles, the previous hours. And there was still so much more time ahead to share together.
Deciding to further examine her mental considerations later, Elster blinked and returned her attention to her physical state- her short hair was mussed and dishevelled, but for the first time since her activation, Elster did not restore it, as she had done when waking from her maintenance pod every cycle.
She decided that she liked it being messy.
Elster knew she was still early into exploring her new identity, becoming more than her template or directed role- and it was all thanks to Ariane.
Had her Gestalt been someone different, they might have ordered Elster to undergo recalibration when her template’s memories resurfaced, resetting her back to an echo of a person that blindly followed orders. From the classified document she had found, Elster had inferred it was a common occurrence amongst LSTRs on other Penrose programmes, if there was a recommendation for recalibration to be used.
She felt so lucky that Ariane was assigned to her, and encouraged her. Treated her as the person she was becoming.
The awakened feeling had not left her. It abided.
零
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When Ariane padded barefoot across the cool metal grating and jumped into bed, she landed next to a sitting Elster on a nest of pillows, strands of her just-washed hair still a little wet, a few beads of water running down her naked form. Ariane glowed with happiness, a smile never leaving her lips. Elster guessed that Ariane had skipped a part or two of her routine to get back as fast as possible, in addition to dumping the dirty towel in a washbin.
“What would you like now?” Elster asked.
Ariane gave her a shy smile. “Cuddle?” She reached out and wrapped her arms around Elster’s waist, pulling Elia down. Elster went with Ariane’s direction, sinking into the memory foam mattress as she laid on her side- her long legs were just able to fit in the bunk. Elster’s tactile senses felt Ariane’s slender body against hers, and it was her turn to feel self-conscious.
“Does this feel alright?” She asked. “I know that I’m not as soft as a Gestalt-”
“Elster, don’t doubt yourself. I quite like it. I’ve never had this opportunity, to share space with someone who cares for me.” Ariane proved her point by shifting closer. “You feel…” a pensive look came over her face as she sought the appropriate words. “Solid. Reassuring. Safe.”
Ariane nodded to herself, satisfied. “I have more than enough pillows for softness- and my pillows are nowhere near as nice as you, El.”
She kissed Elster again to prove her point.
“Oh, Ariane?” Elster asked.
“Yes?”
“I like it when you call me ‘El’.”
A pause. Ariane smiled.
“El?”
“Yes?”
“Can I brush your hair?”
“Please.”
Elster sat up, and Ariane slipped into the space behind her back, drawing her fingers lazily up her Replika’s spinal plates before she stroked Elster’s dark hair.
“Does yours grow?” Ariane asked.
“No, but it does need brushing.” Elster stated. Then, in a spur of the moment decision: “I’d like for you to do that.”
“I’d like that too.”
Ariane took her hairbrush from an inset drawer and began to pull it through Elster’s hair. It was a novel experience for Elster- since she was activated as an ‘adult’ Replika- to have her hair brushed. Even if Ariane was not naked, the experience would have felt deeply intimate. Ariane worked the brush carefully, untangling snags and slowly drawing the fine bristles over Elster’s scalp. It felt soothing, and Elster was sorry when it finished. It filled her with a deep affection for Ariane, and made her sure of the full depth of her feelings for the Gestalt. Her Gestalt.
“Elster.” Ariane began, the hint of a tremor in her voice. “Could you brush my hair?”
Elster knew that Ariane’s hair was going to grow longer with time. She also knew from inferences and quiet conversations that Ariane had suffered physical abuse in her past. The opportunity to provide a gentler touch was something she dearly wanted to share.
“Of course I can.” She replied.
She was enveloped in a hug from behind, feeling Ariane nuzzle against her neck. “But I can only do so if you’re in front of me.” She added.
They swapped and settled into another comfortable silence, Ariane sat in front of Elster. Elster held the brush in her right, her left steady on Ariane’s shoulder as she drew the brush through Ariane’s white hair. It was growing longer. Elster found the white to be a nice contrast to the black and red of their uniforms, and she couldn’t believe that Ariane had been bullied for having such beautiful hair.
“I love you.”
Elster’s words gently broke the silence, entirely unplanned, born from the spark of affection she had felt from tending to her lover.
Ariane’s shoulders started to shake.
Concerned and afraid of what she had just done, Elster let go of Ariane’s shoulder- but Ariane instantly reached across herself with her right arm, placing her palm over the back of Elster’s hand, reaffirming the point of contact.
Don’t move away, the gesture declared.
So Elster wrapped her arms around Ariane instead, resting her forehead against the top of Ariane’s hair, breathing in the scent of shampoo as her Gestalt cried quietly.
After a minute, Ariane shifted, clearing her throat.
“Say it again?” She asked, her voice trembling.
“I love you, Ariane.”
She could feel Ariane’s intake of breath beneath her arms. It juddered, but was stronger than before.
“I love you too, Elster. Will you sleep with me here tonight?”
“Yes."
Ariane eased out of Elster’s embrace, turning. Her lip trembled and tears streaked her face. She wiped them away.
“Thank you.” Ariane’s two words carried the weight of a hundred more. But they were enough.
They shuffled the pillows about to once again lie flush against each other, retrieving a blanket to cover their bodies. Before long, the spotlights dimmed- the Penrose’s lighting going through its evening programme.
Elster looked into Ariane’s eyes. The irises were ruby red, warm and comforting, causing template memories of sitting sleepily at a fire with friends to surface as she felt fatigue wrap itself around her, the memories mixing uncontestedly with her recent experience.
She had not slept outside of her Maintenance pod before. Yet she knew that sharing Ariane’s bunk would be just as restful, if not more so.
The lights cut out, leaving the soft glow of the emergency lights by the door.
“Goodnight, Ariane.”
“I love you, El.” Ariane whispered.
There was no verbal response- but Ariane felt Elster take her by the hand and gently squeeze it.
Elster was with her. And Elster would be there in the morning.