Connections
20 Jan 2024Kasumi Goto
January 6, 3310My attention for the last few days had almost entirely been focused on research, finding everything that I could about the abducted people - medical data, biological scans, theories on what the Thargoids could possibly want with them... it had drawn me away from looking at those VR learning programs the doctor had suggested for me to look into, but I didn't mind. This... was more important to me. And, currently, I listened to an audio log.
"They're harvesting us."
I noticed movement at the edge of my vision. But I kept my eyes focused on my knees, sitting in my usual huddled position with legs at chest level and arms wrapped around them, where the wrist computer playing this recording also was.
"Seo? For goodness sake, this is a private conversation! Why are you on comms?"
"Sounds like it isn't just the Thargoids she listens to."
"Shut down your comms link until I can find someone to secure it -"
"I said they're harvesting us. As a resource. You wanted to know why the Thargoids are abducting people. I can help figure out the answer."
"If we're going to talk, you may as well come to my office. We'll discuss this in person."
"No. I want to be alone. There's a lot of noise, today."
"Okay. What type of resource are we to them? Food? Fuel?"
"We have no evidence the Thargoids view us as edible. Any more than we do them."
"Not food. Not fuel. It's more accurate to say the Thargoid race has a purpose for us. One which is giving me some real shitty dreams."
The playback ended. I looked up at Seo.
"Why are they taking us?", I asked her, a somewhat distraught tone in my voice. I didn't like the implications of the recording's end at all, even after listening to it several times.
"I don't know.", she replied.
"But you know... something. The log ..."
"I just know their plan isn't good, but... not exactly what it is. You've been searching for what's happening to those people, haven't you?"
I nodded. "Yes. Scans, data. But... there is nothing in it. They don't look like ..." I hesitated. Not because of my brain getting stuck, but because I felt uncertain. "... me."
"I know. You said you think they're trying to make more... hybrids, but we've found nothing. Can you find anything in their noise?"
I listened inward. Their voices were... there, today. But it had, somehow, become easier to blur out the sound and force it into the background, if it wasn't loud. And this day, it was quieter. But I could find nothing regarding the abducted in the noise, no matter how much or on what parts I focused. It seemed... scattered, at the moment, so I shook my head.
"If they are not changed, am I... not connected, to them?", I asked her.
"Well, can you hear anything odd?", she answered.
I listened inward again. Nothing that didn't "sound" like a Thargoid was in there, and I shook my head again. But there was something else on my mind.
"You always know... when I'm awake. How?"
Seo shrugged, standing there with her arms crossed, leaning back slightly. "Maybe I just know your habits well."
I looked into her eyes more directly. Not buying it.
She sighed, dropping her arms. "Okay, fine. I wasn't sure if you were ready to know, but maybe you are now."
"Tell me. I... want to know. I should know."
"You're... right. You deserve to. I'm not sure why I thought otherwise." Seo took the chair from the desk, which had been replaced with one that didn't have arm rests in one of the recent days - and seen some use already -, placed it closer to the bed, facing me, and sat down on it. "See, our implants... they are connected together, in some way. That's how I know when you're awake, and, sometimes, what you're doing."
"Oh. Like, when I ..." I blushed a little, thinking back at my shower episode from four days ago.
"Oh, no. I have a little more control over it than the Thargoid link, and shut it out when I felt you getting... carried away."
That statement just made me blush even more. "I... couldn't... help it. It was too strong. And I like this... very much."
"I know. All the feedback you've been... 'sending' about it, is pretty clear. I think it's a little much, but if you like it, why not?"
"It... is too big, but I still like it. I don't want to change it any more."
"It just matters that you do, and are happy with it, not what other people think. And I think I like to see you happy."
"I ..." I didn't know what else to say to that, and switched the subject. "So... how are we... connected?" I pointed between us with my right hand, using its pointer finger, of course. And, realizing I posed the question wrong, I quickly corrected it. "I mean, why."
Then, I changed my pose to something more relaxed, stretching my legs out in front of me, while keeping my hands to the sides of the hips. While I found the curled up ball to be my favorite and most comforting, I quite liked sitting like this, too.
"I'm... not sure myself.", Seo said, shrugging slightly. "The docs said it had something to do with residual emissions, maybe energies, or an 'imprint', left behind by my own that your implant picked up, and used to connect to it."
"That is... confusing.", I replied, my tone indicating I quite enjoyed being able to partake in a conversation better, again. And I stretched, letting a sound indicating profound enjoyment escape. It was good for my lower back especially, which had a slight tendency to be more tense, recently. The glyph on my right hand, however, remained inert, seeming to only trigger for more specific emotional states or responses.
"The docs didn't know how to explain it much better, if it's any consolation." Seo remained quiet for a few seconds, but spoke up again when I didn't say anything, because... I was just content to sit there, seeing how I was getting better at using my brain again, or how it was just getting better. And it showed, in the pleased expression on my face, gazing at some random point in the room. "Can you feel it? The connection?"
I was pulled out of my semi-absent gazing by that question, and focused inward for a third time. There was nothing, other than Thargoids, and I looked at Seo as I answered. "No. There is nothing."
She gave off a thoughtful sound. "Hm... I thought there was something off about it. I could only feel it again when you came back here. Maybe ..." She looked at my right hand, placed on the bed. "Do you mind if I take your hand?"
That made me raise an eyebrow. "... why?"
"I think I can fix the link that way. Physical contact might make it work better while I turn your side of it back on."
"Can I... turn it back off, if I don't want it?"
"Of course. This isn't a forced connection like we have to the Thargoids. You can come in and out of it as you like. Consider it as... our own un-hackable private channel, where no one can listen in. Except for the Thargoids, maybe. I'm not sure if they can."
"Okay... do it. I... think."
"Keep your mind open. It's going to make this a lot easier."
"Why?" I tilted my head to the side, curious.
"This connection works a lot like a... data network. It has its own barriers keeping things safe, when you don't want other people seeing it. Some would be stronger, some weaker, depending on how important the thing behind the barrier is. But I might need to go fairly deep into yours to turn that central point back on properly."
I nodded, just... understanding, somehow, as if I had, or the implant held, an intuitive understanding of this idea. Seo talking of a data network had awoken a memory, too, or several. Maybe even a cluster, as I felt my mind fill up with information relating to... 'networks'. How to break into them, get their data, without raising alarms... it was called 'hacking', and had a general enjoyment of, as well as interest, attached to it, within those memories. There was 'code' there too, how to work with it, create programs, use them... I wondered why I had done all this. Maybe, because I was curious and liked to know things, and it could help me do that. Then, I felt Seo's hand on my own, pulling me out of those thoughts.
I suddenly felt... that odd presence of something else in my mind. It had to be her. I wondered, for a moment, if she was what I had felt within me before already... but her presence was... different, more isolated, somehow. I realized too late I'd wanted to ask her what she might see in there, or to avoid anything... sensitive, but she moved with focus, not interacting with... whatever was inside. Then, a few moments later, the 'active' presence disappeared as she pulled her hand back, replaced with something more... consistent, in the background, and... pleasant. Much more than the Thargoids, certainly.
"It worked, I think.", I told her. "I can feel... you. Maybe?" I wasn't actually quite sure.
"That's... good.", she replied. "Try to think of something."
My mind jumped to... a cake, for some reason. Maybe because I wanted something sweet. Then, due to the word 'cake', it went to pancakes, warm pancakes, filled with chocolate spread on the inside, or sugar. And, maybe... apple pieces, alongside that sugar. It made me... hungry for them.
"Okay, I can feel that. It definitely worked." Yet, Seo looked confused.
"Did you... see something?", I inquired, feeling cautious.
"I'm... not sure. I don't think it's important, anyway." She went back to the chair and kind of dropped on it, leaning back. Also finding her arms simply falling into a void where, normally, arm rests would have been, which seemed to annoy her a little. "I know they put this chair here so you can actually sit on it, but couldn't they have left the other one in here too?"
I shrugged. "I... was not asked. Maybe, they thought, I wouldn't need it."
"Well, I could have." She sighed, and put her hands on her legs instead, with nowhere better to keep them supported. "You know, I like this new accent you're speaking in."
I raised an eyebrow. "What... do you mean?"
"Haven't you noticed?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Look in your memories. I think you have."
I followed her suggestion and decided to do that. I 'felt' her, kind of, guiding me to those relevant memories, subconsciously registered, but not actively in my awareness due to the change being somewhat... gradual, over the last week, or maybe even two. Yet, now, I noticed... there was a noticeable difference in my memorized speech of those 'older' memories, which had a neutral English accent associated to them, and the more recent ones, today's especially, where... the voice had a much more marked accent to it, that I didn't manage to recognize.
"I... see it. The difference.", I told Seo. "But... I don't recognize the... accent, I think it is called."
"Accent, yes. And it's Japanese."
"Did I... have it, before?"
"Yes, but it was much more subtle, and you could mostly just hear English. Now... I'd say, it's more balanced, maybe favoring the Japanese slightly."
"Oh. Is this... bad?"
"No, not at all. I think it works well with you."
I focused on these... memories, a little more. It seemed... Seo was right. The accent was... somewhat soft, yet noticeable enough, and seemed to work well with my slightly deeper, but still female, voice. Another thing that I liked, on top of my changed... physical shape.
"I think... I will keep it. I like it, too.", I said.
"Fine by me.", Seo replied. "I've got something else I'd like to show you, but ..." She looked me over. "You'd probably do better to get dressed for that."
I looked at myself. It was true that I hadn't yet bothered to change into regular, daytime clothing, because I hadn't bothered to get out of bed yet. At least, now, I wore the properly fitting sleepwear rather than the tight, undersized one... maybe, because I was not feeling funny, or naughty, today. First, though... I lay down again to be lazy for a few more minutes, making sure I had my waist positioned on the tower of pillows - the only way to be comfortable in this position.
By the time I felt ready to get up properly, Seo had already gone into the living room, doing... something, in there. I sealed the door to it for the time, until I was dressed, wearing the same things I had yesterday... but this time, remembering to put on a belt. Not that I needed to, given the sheer size of my hips, but I preferred to have one anyway. Then, after giving my hair a light brushing to get it into some kind of order, I came out of the bedroom.
"Ready to go?", Seo asked, though she already knew the answer.
I nodded anyway, and we went out, going into the tunnels underneath the facility again. Maybe, because I liked the area more than the outside, as it was currently cool enough to be out there. And instead of going to the hospital or where Alba's office was, we were headed toward... the hangars. That made me confused.
"Where are we going? Are we... leaving the planet?", I decided to ask, my tone showing my confusion.
"No.", Seo answered. "You'll see. It's a... surprise."
I wondered what kind. Since I had barely practiced movement, of any kind, since the checkup by the doctor... I was hardly any faster than four days ago, but... didn't really care. I was just happy to walk around and stay within that, unintentionally showing, movement, which I needed for this body. Maybe even liking to show it off a little through that, quickly falling into a natural rhythm, and enjoying the views I received a little.
The moment lasted long enough to be good and remain in my memories, but not so long that it was becoming too much. Then, we were near the hangar bays, looking at the big sign marking the area. Seo took me to a specific one, and then... waited, near the door, leading into it, which was sealed. So I waited, too, until she realized that I was.
"Go ahead. You should go in first.", she told me.
I wasn't sure why, but did. And stopped, almost immediately after going through the door, freezing in place. There was... a ship. But not just a ship. It looked... familiar, painted in a very dark, all-black scheme. I turned my head enough to see Seo in the corner of the left eye.
"Is this... mine?", I asked, suddenly rather uncertain. Did I really have a ship of my own, to fly in?
"It is.", she replied, and poked me in the back with a finger lightly, above the hip curve. "Move ahead a little, please. You're... blocking the door."
An intense blush appeared on my face, as I realized that I took up all the space in the doorway, and a little past it, with my big body. Or maybe it was just because of my figure that I blushed. I moved ahead, then waited again, observing Seo, the expression on my face saying I wanted her to move ahead. But she just shook her head.
"You... should go in there alone. It's better that way.", she said.
I... wasn't sure, and took a few slow steps forward. The ship was facing the 'front' of the hangar, from this perspective, so I was behind it. Looking up at the thrusters, some kind of... rear airlock, with a small space to stand on. And an odd, very short ladder, that I had no possible way of reaching, especially in this gravity. Despite that, I tried... the only result was me looking silly, and a lot of bouncing in those very big parts of my body when I landed. I didn't even get much height, because I was so heavy.
I looked around more, and found... some kind of, elevator, thing. On the front 'leg' supporting the ship when it was set down. Something in my head said it was the "landing gear"... but I cared more for the mini-elevator in place of the stairs. And wondering how exactly I would fit on it, because it seemed barely wide enough to fit me in my regular body... or what used to be its regular form, due to hand rails on either side of it. And, of course, they were at roughly hip height for convenience.
After sighing, I decided the best way to get on it, would be to... stand sideways, much like I did to squeeze myself into the shower now. But still hesitated, a little, not feeling convinced about entering this... my ship. And... I forced myself to, to get over the reluctance, pushed on by something... deep within me. Not Seo, but... something different.
The next challenge was the entry airlock. It was... just barely wide enough for me to slip my hips through it, requiring a careful effort to pass through without bumping into walls ten different times. Luckily, once I was out of that, the hallways and interior bulkheads were spacious enough to provide me with free movement. But only the hallways were open. And, despite being mine, everything felt... unfamiliar. Strange. Cold, unmoving metal, nothing more than a husk, a machine to use as a tool. A certain unease was spreading throughout my body, only becoming stronger as I approached... the cockpit, it was, at the front.
Nothing in the ship appeared to be powered, except for... somewhat dim lighting. No panels or screens were lit up, their faint glow absent, no hum from its reactor, nothing. I felt... drawn, toward the pilot's seat. Its... controls, instrument panels, flight stick...
The unease kept building up, the closer I got, until I placed a hand, the left one, on... the right side of the seat. And, suddenly, I was pulled into a very vivid memory, almost more like a vision, a still shot, of... me, sitting in this chair, in my... 'normal' form, leaned at an... odd angle. It was as if I saw myself, from the perspective of where I stood now, but... in something that happened earlier. And the memory itself had... bad things associated to it. Emotions, mainly, but... I couldn't understand why.
And then, an audio recording began to play back. It was... me. My voice, sounding strained, breathing heavily, and like I was... shuddering, when I had made that recording. It sounded as if, then, I felt like I was about to... die. And listening to it released a whole other flood of... feelings. Of being used. Terrified. Afraid. And pain... excruciating, unbearable pain, used to beat a mind into submission. It threatened to overwhelm me, but then, after a very unsettling series of... clicking, sounds, which sent shivers down my spine, the recording went quiet, other than... breathing, which very slowly faded away.
I somehow 'knew' the sound. And it was associated to... hatred. Strong hatred, originating from... a horrible experience that suddenly resurged, of being trapped on another of 'my' ships, with its systems shut down, and... things, onboard, stealing people. Trying to steal me. It made me go low to the ground, as if I wanted to hide, while this... memory, this trauma, washed over me, keeping my breath low and... shivering. I already knew what these... things, stealing people, were. "Scythes", Aegis had called them, Thargoid ships made only to take people, and I had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, without knowing... what was waiting. Somehow, I hadn't been caught... then, but the memory of the horrific encounter still lived with me, buried deep. A scar on my mind that, likely, would never heal. And I found myself wishing that, out of all the things I remembered, this was not one of them.
It took me a few... minutes, to regain some composure, still feeling myself shivering. Partly, because now, I was... 'seeing' more memories. Reminding me of what had truly happened over the... month and a half where I had been 'missing', used by the Thargoids, for... something nobody knew, not even I. Giving a source to the feelings of pain, the terror, fear... from the moments just now, before the traumatic experience resurfaced. And... I felt quite attracted to the seat itself, as though it was a source of comfort.
Much to the dismay of my still trembling body... I couldn't fit, which should not have been surprised. This turned out to be a quick distraction from the other, extremely undesirable things currently circulating within my mind, or as much as I could be distracted from them. I tried to move aside the flight stick and throttle first, but found two control, or interface, panels, to just be in the way. Yet... moving those aside, from where they would usually sit above the legs, too, just... didn't work, either.
The seat was simply far, far too narrow due to its arm rests, making it impossible to squeeze into it, no matter which way I tried. My first was to make an attempt from the front by lowering myself then moving backward, which proved hopeless. The second attempt was from above, and I... then ended up sitting on top of the arm rests, with the whole chair creaking noticeably when all that weight came on it. This... would make for quite a strange view to anyone who might've been watching, seeing parts of my lower, rear half squished in by those supposed arm supports, while some of it filled the center, and the rest spilled off to the sides, well beyond the confines the seat was supposed to provide.
It was even a little amusing to me, but I was much more annoyed at... not being able to fit. Then I got distracted by some kind of... blue globe, or ball, on a strange stand, appearing on a holo-projector, to my right. The angle of viewing it was... a little odd, because I not just sat too high, but was lifted by the extra mass on my backside as well.
"Hello, Kira."
"Wha... who are you?", I asked the strange... hologram-thing, which I was very curious about, all of a sudden.
"I am EDI, the artificial intelligence construct onboard this ship.", it replied.
"Artificial intelligence?", I wondered.
"Yes. I am... a machine, capable of thinking like you are. You made me."
"I... made you?" Now I was just confused, and the expression on my face matched that, as my head tilted to the right... and my arms looked for support, only to find that the only one they would get was... my big thighs, on top of the supposed arm rests. So I put the hands there, instead. And shuffled around a little.
"Yes." The... construct, paused very slightly. "That position does not look comfortable. Are you sure you would like to continue sitting that way?"
"It... is fine.", I replied, shrugging a little.
I definitely didn't feel much yet, because of all of that... fat, really, which had accumulated down there, and now prevented the pressure from going into the muscles too much, delaying them feeling sore. Thinking of it made my hands go there and... absent-mindedly push inward to feel all of that soft mass, maybe grab some of it too, because there was just so much of it there. Then I remembered I was talking to... something, at the very least, and put them back up to the thighs. Which was no less distracting, because they were just as soft and big.
"Do you recall anything about me?", the 'AI' then asked.
I shook my head, after some thinking. Then, a question came to me.
"If you are... here... did you see Seo?"
"I have.", EDI answered. "I spoke with her once, prior to you entering the ship. She informed me of the state you were in, and we decided it would be a good moment to allow you to see this vessel again."
Vessel. Another word for 'ship', I recalled.
"Then... can I introduce you... to other people?", I then asked.
"I'm afraid not.", EDI replied. "Artificial intelligence is strictly forbidden in this galaxy, and you have gone to great lengths to keep my existence a secret. Sharing it with others, unless you closely trust them, is not advisable."
"Oh." I was saddened by that a little. "Can I... see the rest of the ship? It was all locked off."
"Of course. I merely kept the doors to anything other than the corridors sealed to make sure you came to the cockpit first."
"Why? Was it... to show me?"
"Seo hoped it would provide you with more memories of what happened to you. Given your reaction upon arriving, I believe this may have worked."
"It was... not nice.", I said, not feeling too happy about it. "How do you see?"
"I'm sorry. But it may assist you in your recovery, and understanding what has happened to you. And, to answer your question, I use internal cameras to see, as well as external feeds if required."
"I... already know. They said. That I was used, by the... 'Thargoids'. And that no one knows why." I wiggled off the arm rests, in the absence of any good pushing points for my arms - they were all covered up by my quite sizeable lower half. Then I turned to face the seat directly. "Can I... fly this?"
"Not yet.", EDI informed me. "It is preferable for you to recover more first, before you attempt to fly a ship again."
"Oh. Ok." I was... a little disappointed, but understood.
"You will also require an adapted seat. This one does not fit your form, and it may require additional reinforcement as well."
I... didn't remark on that and walked out of the cockpit, beginning to inspect the other sections of the ship. One was filled with... weapons, mostly, and there were two suits. Three, technically, but I quite deliberately ignored the default flight suit, and its stupid tight fit. None of them were suitable for my new, big shape anyway. One weapon in particular was about half as long as I was tall, and looked quite interesting... but, I didn't quite know what I'd do with it, so I inspected it for a bit, then returned it to its storage spot. Quite heavy, yet... my arms seemed fine to hold it, at least, for a short time.
I moved on. Most of the other things were just... relatively standard ship bits, as my memories, or those that came back upon seeing them told me - though most also looked to have been modified to some degree. Only one particular 'room' holding a... strange, bright-blue glowing machine stood out, because being near it somehow made me a little uneasy. So I quickly left it again, despite being curious about what that machine was. Maybe I could ask EDI.
Then... there was only one place left. The 'personal cabin', it seemed... maybe I'd avoided it consciously, so far. Yet there was nowhere left to poke around in - except maintenance vents and tunnels, which I had no interest whatsoever in going into unless absolutely necessary, for obvious reasons - so I headed there.
The desk caught my attention first. It had two bobblehead-style... figures, placed on it. One was a Thargoid ship - an 'Interceptor', from what I'd found during my searches - the other depicted a planet. But it didn't seem to resemble 'Earth', humanity's homeworld. A planet that I... didn't seem to feel a particularly huge attachment to. This one, here, however... something was important about it, yet I couldn't quite put a point on what that was.
The same applied to the picture I found on the desk. It was... me, with someone else, and there was... a lot of sorrow attached to that picture, alongside a few... more positive emotions, which were largely overshadowed. I also noticed I wore armor on my chest, holding a helmet in the... right hand. I found them in a locker nearby, along with some shoulder pads - with arm guards attached to those pads - forearm guards, and shin armor as well, alongside a... relatively well-used pair of black military boots. Those boots hadn't seen use in some time, it looked like, and there were no magnetic soles on them. Which was probably the reason for their lack of use - only good for solid ground operation.
I took out that chest armor, and... didn't even really need to try it on to know that, realistically, there was no way I could fit it now, as it was designed for me with a much smaller breast. I thought about it, but since I could likely not even connect both halves back together again when I was done, I decided not to. Then, I looked at... where I thought a camera was, in the room.
"Can this... be adjusted? EDI?", I asked, speaking out the acronym more slowly.
"It may be difficult to adjust the armor itself.", the AI replied. "But you can get a new piece made, that will fit your new form. Though I would first like to ask, how did it change?"
I blushed at that question. "I - it was... this." I lifted my right hand, holding it up to the back of the head. "I played in... 'VR'. Where I was... less small. And then... it made me become bigger in... this, too." I blushed even more. This was just too embarrassing, every time I was asked. "Then it became even bigger than it was... there. I only stopped it when it was... here. Like this. And my skin changed too, to be white but I... like it, this way."
"I am not judging. I merely wished to know, and do not believe you should be embarrassed about it. It appears to please you to have this body, so it may be a positive change, despite the inconveniences."
I, kind of, didn't want to talk about why I was now so big and expanded. "So, can I... get a new armor? Maybe I will... need it."
"You can authorize me to do so as your personal assistant program. The computer on the desk will allow you to do so. Alternatively, you can use the wall terminal."
"Can you... do it for the chair, too? When I will need it." Something else occurred to me. "Do you have the... measurements?"
"I do. I downloaded them from the personal device on your wrist when you entered the ship. And I can order a custom-made pilot's seat for you as well."
"Okay."
I put the armor back in its locker, moved over to the desk and... thought about sitting down, but then remembered I'd only get stuck on the arm rests, and didn't bother. When I tried to get into the computer, however, it asked for... a password or a biometric identifier. Not remembering the former, I tried the second option, with a scanner box provided to the right... only to be refused. That made me frown.
"It... is not working.", I stated.
"It may not recognize you due to the further alterations performed by the Thargoids. One moment. I am updating the database with the most recent bio scan performed by Aegis." Not a second passed before EDI spoke again. "Update complete. The system will allow you in now."
I tried again, and sure enough, it did work. A prompt asking me if I authorized the 'COVAS' to do those things EDI said, and I hit yes. It disappeared.
"EDI? What is a 'COVAS'?", I inquired, curious. "And... maybe I will need new chairs."
"I will arrange for it. And 'COVAS' is an acronym, which stands for 'Cockpit Voice Assistant'. It is a simple, non-sentient program designed to assist the pilot in the operation of their starship. Its framework serves as a basis for my code, but allows me to pose as one rather than be identified as an AI if required."
"Oh." I thought of something else. "Can the... suits, be adjusted, too?"
"Yes. It is a simpler task, which I can use onboard systems and the provided measurements for. However, one of them is currently not present on the ship."
"It is... in the apartment. I will get it."
EDI didn't say anything. Maybe because she realized that I had my mind set to it... and was now going to get it, however much time it took. Seo looked at me a little surprisedly when I came back outside with that determined look on my face, and kind of ignored her, beyond saying that I'd be back. This walking also gave me the excuse to try going a little faster, which... I definitely needed to practice. Right now... I managed to go at a slightly faster pace than before, but it still wasn't much more than leisurely. So I saved a little bit of time, but also somewhat didn't.
That was not enough to stop me from feeling good about it and announcing it to Seo proudly, who... held back on telling me that I was actually still walking quite slowly compared to 'fast' for an ordinary human, and it was quite evident from my walking that I still struggled with the completely excessive size of my thighs. But with my focus, I didn't notice the expression on her face, and disappeared in the ship again. Once back in the personal cabin, I presented the suit to EDI.
"Here. I have it.", I announced, holding it out in... unfolded manner. Which left those traces of forcing myself into it a few days ago... quite visible.
"You may need to bring it to the ship's armory in order for me to modify the suit. Which one would you like changed first?"
"This... one. I like it most, the color. And how it looks."
It was true. This suit model, the Artemis, oddly appealed to me the most in its visual appearance. And it was all in black, too.
"Did you attempt to wear it?", EDI inquired, as I walked off. And I blushed again.
"Uh... yes."
"That may not have been the wisest idea, given how small it is, compared to your current figure."
"I wanted to try it!", I retorted. "I... don't know why. But I wanted to see... if I could fit. It was very tight."
"I do not require you to say that it was, in order to imagine. And you may wish to inspect your wardrobe if you seek tight clothing."
I thought EDI was merely referring to my once-ordinary clothing, but I was not in a place to check, since I'd arrived in the armory again. There, I placed the suit... in some kind of machine, which then closed, and I began to hear something inside work.
"Can I... see?", I asked, feeling... oddly excited about this.
"Of course."
A 3D hologram of the suit showed up above a projector, alongside a more visual feed on a monitor. I alternated between both, quite... eager, to follow how the suit's curves became more enhanced to fit my new body, more than I should have been. And the glyph on my right hand lit up enough in either a pleased, blue or green, color - I wasn't entirely sure why it alternated - to make the glow visible through the glove slightly. I even felt... that funny presence at the back of my head again.
Then the suit popped back out of the machine, distracting me from chasing that presence, and I decided to... try it on. It fit perfectly. Not too tight where it showed detailed curves, but snug enough that it was a little more tight than my usual clothes, and highlighted the general curvature of my new figure quite well. Just like it had before, for my smaller one. I put it into a storage locker after that quick test, not seeing much need to wear it now, and returned to the personal cabin... for some reason. Contemplating it, maybe.
I found myself, internally, wandering closer to the implant, looking for that presence I felt. It was... there, lurking around, inside me, going through different parts of the brain, sometimes disappearing into inactive ones, then resurfacing. I managed to get close and, despite its attempt to run off, catch it... for a moment. I addressed a simple question at it.
What are you?
I am... you., it responded, and disappeared back into the implant, leaving me... very confused. How could it be me when I was already me, inside my head?
I decided to think about it later. There was, supposedly, an item in the wardrobe to investigate, and... I quickly found a flexible, skin-tight suit laying in there, which was especially revealing around the lower half. Though it would highlight the breast quite well too, without clinging to its skin around the central part, unlike around the hips.
"Why... do I have this?", I wondered out loud.
"I cannot say.", EDI responded. "You never told me why you chose to obtain this suit."
"This is... strange." My brain said it wanted to use 'weird', but the word didn't come out as such. "I can't wear this, now."
"It would be possible to make an enlarged version, if you wish."
That idea appealed to me, for some reason. "... maybe. Or change... no, make a new one. If you do."
I contemplated this odd suit for a bit more, then put it back. I said a short goodbye to EDI, and went back out to Seo... with no intention to make any mention of that most recent discovery. Hopefully, it hadn't been found by her.
"So, how'd it go?", she asked me.
"Good. It was... good.", I replied. still distracted by that 'encounter' in my head. I couldn't make sense of it. Was that what Seo had seen in there?
"What do you want to do now?"
"I think... explore. The tunnels. Walk around. The doctor said I should try to learn how to... use my body. I want to."
"Sounds like a good idea to me. I'll follow, you decide where to go. Unless you'd like to go around alone."
"Both is good... for now. Alone... maybe later."
And we went off. I had no particular aim in where I wanted to go, instead, I just... wandered through those tunnels, trying to find every nook and cranny to poke around in. Between those interesting segments of poking around, I was more distracted in walking, my thoughts about today's experiences, and why there was a second me inside my head... with no particular order of priority for either.