Imprinting
15 Mar 2024Ryuko Ntsikana
Imprinting
Colonia Region
_____________________________
I didn’t see the station security walk up behind me as I was browsing the shelves while Tara went about the business of being measured and suited. They didn’t appear to know that we were together or didn’t show any care if they did, as they began asking me if I had any knowledge of the whereabouts of the raven-haired beauty from the android and robot store.
The only reason I was not being led away was the security footage showed her leaving the following morning, along with the android servant that was supposed to remain in the suite, and they both had vanished. There was no log of them leaving or staying at the station. I told them of the evening we had with one another, without having to go into the sorted details of re-arranging the furniture, and that I had paid the front desk for additional time so that she could enjoy the amenities when she woke, as a thank you for such a good time.
That much had already been corroborated by the front desk staff and the change of credits between accounts. Likewise, my purchase at the store where she worked had already been confirmed as was my arrival and departure at this station. I did tell them I had visited the store again, recently, which they knew from the security feed. They had been monitoring me since the moment I arrived.
I didn’t tell them that the manager of the shop had not said anything to me, but planned on asking Tara once her imprinting was completed. If someone was playing a blackmail game, then I fully planned to take full advantage of the loosening of my leash.
Tara was indeed well programmed as she remained where she was, going through the necessary gyrations to ensure her suit maintained its seal and was well-fitted. The store’s attendant acted like they hadn’t noticed the security questioning me at the front of the store, but I saw their eyes dart over. It was just as well they didn’t haul me away as part of her programming was to protect me, security or not.
Tara’s fitting was completed at the same time the station’s security had collected all the information I could offer them along with a promise that if I heard from or saw her contact them immediately. It was a promise I would keep but not before having a few questions of my own, in a language I was familiar with.
With all the sorted nonsense out of the way, I paid for Tara’s suits and had them transferred to my Vulture. I wouldn’t deny it, she was well-built and looked damned good in the form-fitting Remlock suit she was currently wearing. Say what you will but they overdid themselves with this Xihe biomorphic human hybrid.
The upfront part of the Xihe biomorphic’s business was as their advertisements said, ‘to create the most realistic and exclusive animal companions using the latest technology and robotics, better than nature and guaranteed to last.’ What was not part of the front page of their pamphlet was this could be done with humanoids as well, making a companion that was as much real as the actual thing. It was a hush-hush niche that was overlooked as long as the sentient machine ban that all three of the major powers in the bubble had signed off on, was not breached. Out here in the hinter regions of the galaxy, their ban had no weight, which is how I learned of them the first time I met one.
They knew such things happened outside of their respective jurisdictions, and would terminate any that were discovered, but knew there was no way to regulate or find all that had been created, either directly or indirectly. We had managed to capture a few and reset them to our purposes, back in the heyday. They were loyal to a fault and made good soldiers when storming onboard a ship to seize its crew and secure the cargo. Most that we had captured and repurposed were destroyed, in one fashion or another. If any still remained, I had no clue, but what I learned then always stayed in the back of my mind, and now that I was out here, and with my benefactor’s android chaperon always at my heals, it was within my funding to finally get one of my own, and have a little sport in the process.
Sure she was fully functional, but if that was all that I wanted, there were plenty of purpose-built android’s for that nonsense. What I needed was a counterweight to the ball and chain android I had been saddled with, and as the brochure said, a companion. I wasn’t stupid enough to think I could make it out here, all on my own. I would need a partner, regardless of what business I was doing.
We strolled the inner concourse of the station, fulfilling the time requirement for her imprinting. I was flush with credits, and like a kid with a new toy, I wanted to show mine off. Part of her programming was to mimic being a human and what better place to see if she passed or failed than spending the day taking her to every lady's boutique we could find, that looked reasonable, to get her outfitted with a complete ensemble.
If I wasn’t careful the small cargo space on the Vulture would soon be packed to overflowing, and I needed to get back by the system times relative evening. A smile crossed my face at what was waiting for Aby.