Human names were so annoying. That was the young aliens thoughts as she considered what to call herself. This thought only made her wonder if she could really call herself young. She was far older then several human life spans after all and in truth she wasn't female as humans understood it. Her species used a series of energy waves in order to identify themselves whenever speaking with one of their own kind. Humans couldn't do that though so she really needed to come up with a name one that would fit the physical shape that part of her had taken in order to accommodate her first face to part of her being meeting. When they had spoken together she had been assigned a number to use that had been fine. At last she couldn't keep the annoyance from showing on her face and she settled on the name Shia for these purposes.

As he walked through the station Brian looked out the massive window. With no atmosphere he could see far further into space then he could planet side. He was going to be seeing a lot more of that most likely as he checked his holoterminal. He was rather surprised whenever he found a message waiting for him. “I have settled on the name Shia for the sake of our interaction. I apologize that it took me so long to settle on a name a human could pronounce Brian.” The name immediately struck Brian as strange he could swear that he had seen it before. It wasn't just that he had seen it though but it seemed like something he should be aware of. That didn't stop him from responding to the message.

Shia felt Brian's response in her head. “Thanks. I never liked using those numbers to refer to you it seemed too impersonal. I'm currently heading towards your location. I admit I'm surprised that you have to stay in the high security section of the station.” Too impersonal? Did that mean that he wanted to be more personal with her? The thought made Shia grin and she reached up pushing up on the underside of her breasts both enjoying their feel in her hands and the feeling of them being touched. She hoped that she had duplicated the human form sufficiently for the desired interaction. With so few human female crew on the station to use as a template she wondered if she could be considered a beauty or not. It felt like she should do something more as Shia felt her breasts. Replying to Brian was a given. Her memory filled in soon enough and she gave an audible giggle being certain to vibrate the air properly to produce a human vocal response.

It was clear Shia wasn't human. No matter how lengthy of a message Brian sent she would always respond within a few seconds. He had even sent her videos to watch only to gain a near instant response. “I look forward to becoming more personal with you as well. Your officials felt the need to confine me after they couldn't analyze the structure of my exterior. Skin! I mean skin.”

As she finished responding to Brian Shia covered her face for a moment making her exterior covering turn slightly more red and warmer as if blood was running to it. In truth she was embarrassed. It was hard to consistently refer  to her physical make up in terms that humans would use. She knew he was here at least as she could hear the station giving him the standard warning for entering the high security zone. Especially about how the creature's contained within were considered living weapons by human standards. She supposed that was true as she considered her abilities compared to a humans. It was nice whenever the door opened and Brian stepped in.

It wasn't hard at all for Brian to find Shia. Even without his holoterminal to guide him she was the only other person in the room. It was nice to see the form she had taken on. Brian knew enough about Shia to know what he was looking at wasn't her true form. Her hair was a brown blonde that had been done up in a bun. He could swear that he saw another woman with such a hair style just as he entered while the color he didn't recognize. She had clearly taken on the form of a tall woman guessing her height at one hundred ninety centimeters with cat like eyes looking back at him. It seemed clear she had copied the frame of one of the female engineers as he noted her rather thick forearms and the way her upper biceps bulged.

The station did have an entertainment area and he wondered if she had copied the chest, waist and hip ratio from one of the dancing girls. Her skin was clearly that of a son worshiper or someone who had made use of a chemical tan. Given how perfect it seemed Brian was certain that either Shia had polished the tan she copied or the person it belonged to had used chemical means to obtain it. All together she had taken on quite a striking form. “Well it's nice to finally meet you in person Shia.”

“Yes this terminal I mean I am glad to meet you in person Brian.” As she spoke Shia began to walk towards Brian her legs naturally following the pattern she had observed one of the dancing girl's using. The men on the station seemed to enjoy that pattern and she assumed that Brian would as well. As she moved though Shia couldn't help but wonder if she should shut down some of her other functions so she could devote more processing power to speaking with Brian. Typically she only dedicated a very small percentage of her mind to speaking with other species due to their slow processing time but she was making stupid mistakes. Clearly her emotions were creating a greater load on her programming. “I'm sorry if I seem out of character but my exploration and recovery partner recently chose another path then me and it has left me agitated.”

It was likely that agitated actually meant sad in this case. He knew that space exploration could be a lonely profession even with a well programmed virtual intelligence. “Well I've been educated in several biological fields and studied the law in terms of locating and recovering new minerals and life forms in terms of human law. I believe that's more important though is we at least seem to get along.” Brian wasn't certain what to think as Shia came to stand next to him and took hold of his hand. He could feel her warmth immediately and noted the soft texture of her skin. She had clearly chosen to copy the healthiest skin she could find in the station.

“It is true that it's more important that you and I get along. Brian you know those laws only pertain to human controlled regions of space and the bulk of exploration is outside of any species control.”

“I know. It does provide us a safe haven to return to so long as we follow those laws though. Plus it makes dealing with human ran or friendly cooperation far easier. Shia I've been wanting to ask for a while though. I know that you officially identified yourself as a deep space species but that's really just saying that we haven't had enough interaction with your species to learn much about you. Could you tell me what kind of species you are?” Brian nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt Shia lean against him while still holding his hand and felt the side of her right breast pushing into his body.

Brian's heart was speeding up. That meant he was enjoying himself. Analyzing the chemicals that were being released in his body Shia was certain he was feeling pleasure with her contact. “No. We don't have a human word for our species but we're talking about one we could use. We use a form of energy wave in our communications and never had verbal speech patterns so we don't have words as you would understand them. For the most part we're trying to come up with a name you can speak that doesn't sound silly.”

Some species were strange to say the least. Brian couldn't help but grin as he imagined a species powerful enough to remain in the high security section of space stations arguing over what an appropriate name for them is. For them to be worried about their name sounding silly to humans was enough to make Brian grin. They were still a lot of things that he didn't know about Shia but he had been in communications with her for over a year. Her partner had quit some time before and sense then she had been seeking out a companion but not having a good time of it. “So could I get a final agreement to my contract?”

“That is wise. You'll travel with me for thirty of your standard days during which time we will both evaluate living accommodations and comparability.” As Shia spoke she found herself altering her hold on Brian's arm causing it to rub against her breast. The simulated human response was quite pleasant and he seemed to like it as well. “During that time you are to devote eight to twelve of your standard hours assisting me with data processing, examination, basic class one repairs and upkeep of the ship and finally you're to assist me in preparing legal documentation and examination. If at the end of those thirty days I find we aren't compatible or you do not agreement to the renewal of your contract I am to return to you to any class three human station within human controlled territory.”

As Brian listened to Shia talking about his pay, compensation for injury, his responsibilities to her and conditions for reprimand he found it hard to focus. The feeling of Shia's body pushing against his own and the slight movement of her chest against his side was proving rather distracting. He also noticed that the tone of her voice had been changing sense she had began speaking. It was taking on more and more of an innocent quality that he only just now was beginning to notice.

“Do you accept these terms?”

“What?”

“Brain do you accept these terms of our contract.”

Immediately Brian realized how distracted he must have been. He was hearing every word Shia said but apparently he hadn't been listening to them. He wasn't ready to admit to that though. “Sure. I accept those contract terms.” Brian was a bit surprised whenever he heard a delighted yelp and felt Shia take hold of his shoulder opposite to where he was standing. Before he knew what was going on she had spun him around and wrapped her arms around him squeezing her body against his. The feeling of her breasts pressing into his chest even through their clothing was almost enough to make him ignore the strength in those arms. As they resumed walking together he did his best to hide his developing erection.

“Thank you Brian. I've been needing a new companion for so long. The conversations were wonderful but that's no substitute for more direct interaction.” As she spoke Shia leaned forward and turned slightly so that she could look into Brian's eyes. The slight shifting of her position resulting in her chest and legs brushing against him while meaning he was looking down into her eyes.

The smile on Shia's face was something else. Despite the awkward stance Brian actually found himself leaning into Shia as his body responded to her touch, voice and form. It took a moment for him to remember that she wasn't human. It still took a great deal of will to restore the strength to his legs and begin pulling away to create some space between them. “I'm grateful for this opportunity as well. So are we going to see your ship. I hope you don't mind but I want to make sure you have what is needed to sustain long term human life before we leave.”

“That would be a good idea. You need to be comfortable on my body. I mean ship!” Immediately Shia felt herself blushing again. Perhaps it wasn't just her emotions. Simulating the chemical workings on the human brain also was having some influences on her. At least Brian seemed to approve as Shia noted his biological reactions and took a look down at his pants. She could see clear signs of male excitation and felt herself grinning even more despite the blush.

At first Brian didn't know what to say. Just how effectively had Shia duplicated the form of a human female? Did she even take the time to form the sexual organs? It was a strange thought. As he took a moment to look down at what she was looking at though Brian let out a slight yelp. The constant physical and verbal stimulation had its influence and he felt himself pressing quite firmly against the front of his pants. Unfortunately there was very little he could do to conceal this fact and he suddenly was very grateful that it was just him and Shia in the high security section of the station. What he really needed to do was get her out in front of him now. “I see. That's good. So please lead the way.”

Instead of releasing her hold on Brian Shia gave his arm a gentle tug being careful to keep human strength tolerances in mind. She didn't want to harm him after all but the structural strength of the human body was so low. At times she felt they really needed to be more aggressive with their biological modifications to strengthen their bodies. “The high security air lock is this way. Did you leave your supplies with storage?”

“Yeah. Just let me send the information and.”

“Already done. They will be delivering your items to me shortly. Well your supplies should be there even before you. We are there.” A sigh escaped Shia and she found herself leaning her head to the side against Brian's shoulder for comfort. It was actually relaxing as she felt a chemical response in her brain. This human like form responded very well to touching someone she found to be good company. “It's no wonder you humans like to touch those you find pleasing so much your bodies respond very well to it. I can't wait tell I have you inside of me. My last partner was pleasant but his species didn't like my touch as much and I had to partly isolate myself from him to avoid causing damage.”

Inside of her? Well it wasn't like Shia could force him to have sex with her. She couldn't force him legally at least. This notion quickly flashed into Brian's head and he remembered what she had said about the law. Shia wouldn't do that to him though. He had been getting to know her for quite some time and she was a kind person. He was sure she wouldn't resort to rape. Perhaps her species was used to thinking of sex as a more casual matter then his own? “I. I see. So did your partner ever get inside of you?”

“Constantly but there was never a real connection during those times. You see he is a telesi. We got along quite well for a while but I guess I just burned him out.”

The name was immediately recognizable by Brian. The telesi were a psionic species that could supposedly get along with any species. This was because they tended to form mental connections with others and saw each person as a mind rather then paying much attention to their physical body. They did not like to be in crowded environments however as the constant flow of thought could be overwhelming to them and supposedly some had been isolated from their own species as their thoughts were too powerful. Unfortunately thinking about this wasn't helping Brian with his erection as he continued to be very aware of Shia's body. “I see. So did you read the latest edition of crimson gate?”

“Yes and it's starting to get really interesting! Normally in your cultural media vampires are set up to be the villains, melancholy cry babies who don't work to fix their problems or things that completely forget the notion that being a vampire is suppose to be a curse. I like how in this case though they have the vampires working to help defend the humans not out of kindness or some benevolent reasons but because if the humans die then the vampires will starve as well.”

“That is interesting but I was glad to see that the constant exposure to the humans has began to remind some of them what they once were. Julia has regained a lot of her kindness since the beginning.”

“That may be true but you can already see how the author has set her up to be betray or some kind of miss understanding. Just consider how Edward is starting to behave towards Nadia. It's clear that he has feelings for the both of them while Julia's feelings are far more developed. I just hope that they don't end up deciding that humans should be with humans as that would automatically deny the notion that vampires have any humanity that might be restored. I suppose that I'm a little biased towards such thoughts.”

Now Brian felt himself relaxing. It wasn't uncommon for other species to be interested in the culture and art of another species. Brian had been making recommendations to Shia for several months and she had in turn did the same for him. She had even shared several forms of media from other species. “Well if that did happen what would stop Julia from just turning him into one of her own?”

“Well you know that would bring the wrath of the vampire high council down on her as she would have turned a human without permission. Besides that might result in him hating her oh but it would be a good revenge. That would mean by their own reasoning in that case they can't be together. Did you happen to like that music I sent you?”

“It was really nice. I had my virtual intelligence do a search but it couldn't find where the song originated from which was really surprising. I even shared it with a few friends.” Once again Brian found himself pulled more firmly against Shia. Since they had been walking he had been slowly scooting away but apparently she had noticed or his words had surprised her.

“That's wonderful! I'm not surprised you don't know what species it came from. I wrote it myself while observing a solar storm. It was as if the energies were singing to me and I felt so inspired I had to create something from what I heard. So are all those your belongings?”

Brian was quite surprised by Shia's question. He could see his supplies waiting for him just outside of a heavily built airlock. He also noted two heavy assault turrets that seemed ready to open up on them at any moment. “They really don't try to make high security species feel welcome do they?” It actually surprised Brian whenever he looked at Shia and she had a confused look on her face.

“Well they don't want us wondering around but they gave me a nice big room to wait in. It's not like you're using lethal weapons either. Most species use more then stun cannons when they want to insure. Oh! Those aren't mean to be stun cannons are they?” As she spoke Shia took another look at the guns that had greeted her upon her entrance. “Um well. I'm sure those weapons would be very frightening to most species.”

“They don't worry you in the least do they?”

“Well if they started shooting me that would mean I'm not welcome here anymore and that would worry me.”

At first Brian didn't know what to say so he looked outside. “What made you decide on that design for your ship? It sort of reminds me of an egg with some of the sections cut out.” Brian actually found himself a little surprised as for a moment it looked like the outer frame of the ship had been made to ripple as if someone was flexing a muscle beneath it.

“It's a nice organic shape that provides for good force distribution over the entire structure. It also gives me a primary focal point of strength to slam through something whenever I need to. So are you ready to see the inside of it?”

“Sure, just let me get.” Brian found himself going silent as Shia walked over to his luggage and easily lifted it from the carrier. “Is the self propulsion system in those bags on?”

“Not at the moment. I hope you remembered to bring some media for entertainment. There will be times we're outside of communication range with any civilized species and if nothing is happening it can become very boring.” As she walked Shia was glad that Brian's species was advanced enough not to make carrying his luggage awkward though they were still quite heavy. At least it would have been heavy to him without some kind of aid. To her they were so light she worried she would forget that she was carrying them and possibly shatter the handles. “Now Brian so there isn't any confusion this isn't all of mysee..hip. We'll be meeting up with the more of it soon.”

“Wow you must have been successful to afford a ship large enough to carry this one.” As he spoke Brian was following Shia upon the hatch to her ship opening up he was rather surprised by the scent that hit him. It wasn't the sterile air of the station that he had grown accustomed to. “Wow that smells really nice.”

“Thank you. I tried to think of what would make the journey more pleasant for you so I altered the composition of the air. I wanted a scent that would help excite I mean please I mean be pleasant to you.”  Shia was actually glad whenever she felt Brian coming closer to her. As she stepped inside the ship she heard him following behind her before quickly coming to a stop. “Is something wrong Brian?”

“It's the flooring. It looks like metal but it sure doesn't feel like it. There is a give here.”

“Well yes. Walking around on hard metal flooring is hardly pleasant and in all honestly the click can become very annoying.” As she spoke Shia could feel herself growing more excited. Brian took a few more steps inward and she found herself closing him in a little more then she had intended. This resulted in an increase in what would pass for her pulse and she felt a ripple run through the walls.

“That is amazing.” Brian felt his heart jump a bit as he noted the walls flex slightly. “Did those walls just move?”

Both Brian and Shia knew the answer to that. “Indeed. The material the walls and floor are made from isn't actually a metal as you might understand it. It's well. What's a good way to put it.” As she spoke Shia placed a hand against the wall and began to slowly move her fingers over it. “Let's just call it a living metal that can adapt to a wide variety of situation and purposes.”

“I've heard of things like this on earth.” As he spoke Brian couldn't hide the shock in his voice and couldn't resist reaching out and touching the wall. He could feel the warmth that radiated out from every section of the wall. “They're some organic parts for cyborgs that have surpassed the mechanical ones. They cost a fortune though so only governments and a few of the wealthy can afford to have them grown but your species is making entire ships from this technology.” Brian could swear her heard Shia purr as he was running his fingers against the wall but it didn't seem to come from the right direction.

“Yes. We don't have much use for simple metals and make a great deal of things from what you may call living metals.”

“That is amazing Shia. Well you  have the breathable atmosphere down quite nicely.” As he spoke Brian continued up to stand next to Shia who was still holding his belongs.

“That isn't all. Come this way and we'll I'll prove to you that I have everything on this ship needed to keep a human comfortable and alive. I can't actually show you to your room as that has to wait until we leave for the larger ship. There is a temporary one room here though.” As she was speaking Shia continued to lead Brian further into the ship. It was hard for her to contain her excitement whenever she would feel him touch her body. It had been so long since she had company that she had began to seriously miss it. The fact that Brian had proven to be a good friend during their communications helped add to it a great deal.

The ship was a bit larger then Brian expected and it took them longer to reach the first room. The door would have been impossible to make out if it wasn't for the markings around it. Once they neared it though the door opened up but rather then a swinging door he was surprised to see it open as if it was an artery. “I see so this is the.”

“The hygienic room. You have your potty. I hope you don't mind but instead of using paper or the such to clean your bottom it uses a stream of fluid. You also have your bath which can be used for a rain style shower or a mist. Personally I really prefer it whenever the mist style is used. A sink. Would you believe I forgot that the first time I had someone here? Not that it took long to fix but it was very embarrassing.”

“Why didn't you already have a sink? Don't tell me you don't wash your hands after using the well as you put it the potty.” This was perhaps the first time Brian had seen Shia looking annoyed and it was hard not to laugh. Her bottom lip seemed to drop down and her cheeks were made to puff up as she looked back at him.

“Well it's nice that you're already comfortable enough to tease me even if you're being mean. I'll have you know my species uses a different type of waste removal then you humans. These facilities were put in entirely for other species.”

“I see. Well it's good to know I don't have to worry about anyone barging in on me while I'm getting all clean.” Brian almost jumped backwards whenever he noticed the smile that appeared on Shia's face. Predatory was a good way of describing it even if her voice returned to the sing song tone it had been.

“Yes and be sure you get very clean. Now come this way and I'll show you the dining hall. I gathered some items that I believed you would enjoy and I stored some nutrient cells that you could also process should the need arise. Well you could process the cell after it had received some processing itself but it's good for you.”

“Huh? Um let's wait to see what you have in mind.”

At least Shia was nice enough to keep the restroom near the dining hall. It was a very short walk to it and now Brian found himself holding a bright purple cube. “I don't believe I could bite through this.”

“No. Not like that but just take a little of this.” As he spoke Shia retrieved a long thin syringe from the same storage locker that had held the cube and injected it into it. “Now wait a minute. Do you feel it warming up?”

“Yes.”

“Okay wait a minute and once it goes soft take a bite. It should be about as consistent as bread. The compound I just injected the cube with is breaking it down into a state where you could digest it. I can't store it that way though as then its shelf life is cut way too short.”

Nodding his head Brian took a moment to look around. The dining area was clearly meant for a small crew. There were two tables in the room each capable of comfortable seating four people and five if you wanted to cram them in. The seats were actually connected to the table which rested atop a central pedestal. “Can those seats be adjusted for different heights.”

“Of course. Just come over here take hold of it just beneath the seat and push up or pull down.” As she spoke Shia demonstrated for Brian raising the seat up for a height clearly meant for a child and then lowering it down far enough for a very tall adult.

It made sense that the seats were connected to something. Whenever a ship had to run furniture could easily end up being thrown around. It was just safer to have it all anchored down. The cooking area or what he supposed was the cooking area was a large flat stone like surface. One thing he noticed as well was none of the cabinets were meant to swing open.  Rather they all had the same artery like way of opening. It made since though. You didn't want a weak cabinet opening up and smacking someone while the ship was really moving.”Shia what would happen if I ate this nutrient cube before it was quite ready?”

“You'd be fine. You would need to drink a lot of water and you would urinate a lot but even if I injected you with a small dose of the enzyme used to break down the cube your life wouldn't be in immediate danger provided you were given enough water.”

Nodding his head Brian finally risked a bite of the cube. Sweet with a sour outer layer was the first thing that came to his mind. “It taste fruity.”

“I'm glad you like it. At least that means if something happens to the human rations you won't hate your food.”

“I don't know about that one. I don't believe I could eat these for every meal.”

“Oh shush. If we were stranded with no other food you'd eat them after two days of no food and be happy for it.” As she spoke Shia waved her hand dismissively. It wasn't like she meant for Brian to always be eating her nutrient cubes. “Hey Brian. There is one thing I wanted to ask. I'm not good at cooking human food and sense I have some of it on hand I was hoping you could cook a few things for me.”

“I'd be happy to. I did say I wish you could taste my cooking before.”

“Thank you!” As she spoke Shia found herself wrapping her arms around Brian. She had been preparing herself for this meeting so she wouldn't accidentally kill him. Still she found herself giving him a firm hug before she could think too much and felt herself blushing whenever she finally released it. “I mean. Thanks. Okay. We've covered the hygiene room and dining. I suppose we need to cover medical and recreation then you can confirm my request to depart.”

“It's no problem. Now how about that medical center?”

“Sure. I admit it's somewhat different then what you would find in this region of space. If you want you could strip down and test out the healing chamber.”

Did Shia have any idea what she was saying? Brian couldn't help but wonder if she was teasing him as she once again took hold of his arm and began to guide him away. He had to remind himself that this kind of talk was typical for Shia as he had noticed over the year. “Shia did you take on a form similar to your former companions?”

“Yes I did. I like to insure that my partner isn't just comfortable with my presences but enjoys it. I want you to enjoy looking at and feeling my body because I enjoy looking at and feeling yours.” As she spoke Shia brought her face closer to Brian's in order to give him a better look into her eyes.

“I. I see. So you're not the type that only prefers her own species? We humans are pretty delicate compared to you from what you're saying.” It was a relief whenever Shia began to walk again. As attractive as she was Brian wasn't certain if becoming intimate with her would be safe. He didn't want to end up having his back broken even if the medical tanks could heal him. Plus from the way Shia was talking far worse could happen. Thankfully she wasn't trying to strip him.

“My species can change our shape and even our composition in order to adjust to a situation. So we don't have a very solid set of criteria for what we find physically attractive even amongst our own. What tends to be truly exciting to us is the exchange of information and interaction. Debating those stories with you and trying to figure out the future happenings. Receiving new stories from you made me so excited.”

“I. I see.” It was becoming clear to Brian why Shia had burned out her last partner. If she liked exchanging information quite readily she must have wanted him to keep a psionic link with her open constantly. Even a species that was naturally suited to using such powers must have been overwhelmed after years of living in such an environment. Now with the tone of her voice he couldn't help but wonder if she might have been doing her species version of masturbation during some of their conversations. The notion that while he was talking to her she was playing some kind of sexual game hadn't really occurred to him.

As she brought Brian into the medical center Shia turned to face him. “The tank you see on your side filled with the red fluid is actually a healing tank.” As she spoke Shia brought several bladed appendages down into the tank. “In the event upon entering the tank you need anything set or removed these will take care of it. Say for example your face had been crushed and the bone wasn't structured correctly. Those appendages will help with the actual placement. As long as your brain is intact though this tank will restore you well more or less. Clearly if your head was the only thing left of you then well it would have to take some liberties with your body but I assure you they would all be medically sound.”

“Are you serious? Even the nano machine baths back on earth can't do that. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised though. Given what you said about living metal this probably isn't much trouble for you.”

“Well your bodies do use a very simple design. It's pretty easy to repair with the right tools. If you want a more mundane medical treatment you can set on that table and let me take care of you. I assure you I've studied your biology very carefully and am capable of tending to most of your needs even without the tube.”

“I see. Shia what happened to my luggage?” As he spoke Brian remembered the luggage Shia had been packing.

“I still have it. Oh! It's in the eating area. Would you like to go back for it?”

“No.” Before continuing Brian had to take in a deep breath. He had often imagined shape shifters and the idea of a partner that could take on any form you liked was nice. However, he always had issue with what one might consider their true form. The notion that the body he was touching was just a suit and the real person was something far more abnormal had never set well with him. “Hey Shia I've been wanting to ask. The form you're using now. Well what would happen if you were knocked unconscious? Would you change into something else like those werewolves I sent you stories about?”

“No. It takes conscious effort on my part in order to change my form actually rather then the reverse. I'm not holding back a true form as you might put it.” For a moment Shia went silent giving a slight sigh. “Actually when I think about it I don't believe you could say I have a true form. My true form is currently whatever shape and structure I've chosen to take on. Wow I haven't looked like when I was born in a very long time.”

“So you don't consider the form you had at birth your true form?”

“No! No. No. That body was way too vulnerable and small. I'm not even willing to risk taking on that body again. It just leaves me too vulnerable to being killed.”

As Brian listened to Shia her response actually wasn't helping him control his body. With the notion that he ran the risk waking up next to some with unpleasantly shaped creature killed his mind was free to roam and his body to respond. “I see. So would you say this is your true form?”

“Oh no. If you'd like later I can give you a better idea of what my true form is. This though. Well this is the form I considered suitable for waiting for you at the station.”

“That would be appreciated. Okay Shia. I guess the only thing that's left is the recreation area and living area but we really won't see those until we meet up with your main ship. I'm not sure what good I'll be to you but I'm ready to go.” As he spoke Brian was quite surprised to feel a sudden shift in acceleration as if they had suddenly began moving at very high speeds. “Shia did you feel that?” Before he got a verbal response from Shia Brian once again found himself wrapped up in a hug.

“Yay! Don't worry about being useful Brian I know they're plenty of fun things you can help me with. As for moving.  Yep! Now that I have your agreement I'm taking us to the other ship. This is going to be so much fun!”

So she was networked with the ship and didn't have to be at the controls to direct it? Brian was actually a bit taken back by this though on further thought it seemed rather silly. With everything else she had shown him it wasn't surprising that she had a mental link with the ship. “Is there anyway we can go so that I can see the main ship from the outside?”

“Yep! This way and I'll let you look out the eyes. I mean viewer.” A slight giggle escaped Shia as she gave her head several rabid taps with her fist. “Happy makes brain not think very well.”

This was strange. Was this another way Shia was teasing him? The way she talked it seemed like she was hiding something. Given that she wasn't a human it wasn't strange that she would make some mistakes but there were other things to. His aw and penis had been doing a good job of keeping his head from working but there was something nagging at him as he followed her out of the medical center. There had been room enough for eight people to set at the dining area but was this ship really large enough in order to house eight people? It could depending on the size of his room he supposed. At the same time though was there only one hygienic room? “Shia do you have any other hygienic rooms on this ship?”

“No. There is just that one. As you're the only exploration assistant I'm taking on I didn't see much need to accommodate other species on this ship.” Shia felt certain she'd said something wrong as she noted the change in Brian's brain activity and his body.

“Then why was the dining area set up to hold eight other people?”

“In the event of company or extra passengers we didn't plan for. The crew section is spacious but there is also some more economy spaced sleeping areas in the event we take on some unplanned passengers. In this business you never know what you're going to find. I really couldn't have a hygienic area for every species that we might encounter though.” As she spoke Shia noted Brian's biological signs. He was calming down once again. She really should have been more careful with the dining area and gave it the look that it was meant for a small crew instead of a large but she had wanted Brian to be comfortable.

“Sorry about that Shia I suppose I'm getting a little edgy. One of the things we studied is the dangers of making a contract with well a high security species. It's not like we're going to be in human controlled space where help is ready to rush to my aid and even if we were I'm not sure it would matter with a high security species.”

“Oh I remember talking to you about that! Remember how I jumped your case for even considering making a contract with a imaldon? You wanted to write a paper showing the steps you could take to diminish the risk so that you could make contracts even with one of them. I spent three of your hours talking you out of the idea and instead switched you over to why you should never make a contract with a imaldon or at least not with their current culture.”

“Yeah and my teacher loved some of your points. Though I can't help but think I turned the bulk of my classmates against an entire species.” A slight chuckle escaped Brian as he sped up a little bit to walk beside Shia. The moment he came within arms reach he felt her arm take hold of his and suddenly he was pulled back against her body without explanation or even comment. He was beginning to think she really meant it whenever she said she enjoyed the feel of his body.

“Brian this may not help you relax but keep in mind. Oh. That probably wouldn't comfort you at all if I said that.” A slight giggle escaped Shia as she looked into Brian's eyes. “I thought I had something for a moment there but now I believe it'd just make you less comfortable.”

“Oh what is it?”

“Well in all honesty if I am some depraved, amoral or cruel being then it's already too late for you to do anything about it. You were really out of your safe zone the moment you stepped into the high security section of the station with me. I do consider you a friend though and I find benefiting my friends very enjoyable.”

“So don't worry about something you can't do anything about. Well that makes sense in this situation. I've wanted to ask though. You mentioned that your ship is sort of a living metal. After how you took control of the ship I can’t help but imagine this ship is kind of alive. With how you're networked with your ship, I believe it must have a primitive mind at least for it to understand you. That can explain some of the mistakes you made while talking. Being linked to it must really feel like its part of you doesn't it?”

Had she revealed that much already? Shia knew she had made several mistakes but perhaps directing it mentally was more of an error then she realized. She was certain that she had given Brian a bit too much information. “I hope that doesn't make you uncomfortable. I know some people don't even like the concept of a ship made from living metal.”

By now Brian believed he was getting a better idea of what he was dealing with. The notion of a ship that could be considered alive was a little strange to him but Brian was adjusting. They were still some things that were nagging him especially given how Shia had been talking. What was he overlooking? The ship was made from a living metal like what some people used on earth if they could afford it. This was clearly more advanced then what he had heard of though and Shia was networked with it. “Shia can you feel what's happening to or even inside of the ship?”

She had said far too much. Brian was well on his way to figuring out more then what Shia wanted to reveal just yet. He had already agreed to the contract but she wanted to give him a little more time to get comfortable with what she had told him before she revealed more. Openly lying to him wasn't what she wanted to do despite that and she wasn't prepared to do it either. “If something was to strike the ship with enough force to do damage I would feel it as you would feel your own body being injured. Proportional to the amount of damage caused naturally. That is one reason it's good to have someone who isn't networked with the ship helping me to control it. My connection to the ship gives me a reaction time that other species can't match even if they think as fast as I do. Unfortunately it's very hard to fight effectively whenever you're practically screaming in pain.”

To this Brian gave a nod. “I see! So it helps to have someone to fly the ship in emergency situations while you're coping with the injury. Well I should be able to do that. I brought some drive with me in the event of an emergency.”

“What! You're not talking about those temporary augmentations made by Azian industries are you?”

“Well yes.” The energy Shia put into her voice actually surprised Brian. Azian had some of the most advanced augmentation serums or drive humans had. You couldn't use them constantly but recovery was very clean and damage minimal.

“No. Absolutely not. I've been studying your human biology for a while now I've got something far better for you with none of those nasty side affects.”

Brian's first instinct was to ask Shia how she did that. Then he remembered what she had said about the healing tank and the level of technology of the entire ship. His body was primitive in her eyes. “Well could I see the data on it before I need it?”

“Sure. I hope you don't mind but we're already at the bridge.” As she spoke Shia opened the door leading into the bridge still feeling silly. She had been so worked up by the notion Brian would be using such inferior and dangerous drive types that she had already removed it from his bag and processed it. Naturally she couldn't tell him that without him asking more questions.

Now Brian knew that Shia was trying to keep something hidden. That or was she baiting him into figuring it out? If she was hiding it she wasn't doing a very good job of it. It actually felt like she was playing a game with him trying to get him to figure something out. This thought actually made him smile as he stepped onto the bridge and was a bit surprised by what he saw. Centered in the room towards the back was what one would consider the captain's chair with one terminals up front and one off to the right side. “Shia I know you don't need a large crew given how capable your species is. So why are there two terminals other then the captains?”

Now Shia was made to smile as she pointed towards what Brian thought was the captain's station. “Primary station for you to use. It has the fastest network with the wrest of the ship and even allows for a telepathic connection. The one up front is for the event that such a connection isn't maintainable or safe to maintain while the one to the side you might call manual. Unlike the other ones it depends entirely on a hardline that runs throughout the entire ship.”

“Huh? I thought you used the center one.”

“Brian I am networked with the ship. My controls are entirely contained within my head.”

“I see but Shia there is a bit of a problem. You know whenever I signed up I informed you what type of control systems I've been trained how to handle.” Brian didn't get to finish before he felt Shia pulling him towards the center station. “Shia I have no idea how to handle a system like you described.”

“Which is why I'm going to begin teaching you now while I'm in full control and won't let you do anything like slam us into a planet or star.” A slight chuckle escaped Shia as she finally released her hold on Brian and effectively shoved him into the central area. She felt an immediate tingle inside of her head and a slight rush as she prepared to network with another living being more directly then just talking. It was hard to keep herself from moaning. Exchanging information was one way to experience another living being and touching was to. Connecting your minds together even on a basic level was far beyond that and she felt her skin growing warm as her tongue ran along her lips. “Now just put your hands on the railing to help steady yourself for the first time and relax.”

Brian knew Shia was getting excited by the change in her voice. He didn't get a chance to look back before he felt like something was pinching his head. The pressure released moments later and he was glad that he was holding onto the railing as new information began to enter into his head. Letters and numbers that he didn't recognize but understood their meaning began to appear in front of him. This wasn't his knowledge and he knew it but who's knowledge it was he wasn't certain of. Was it Shia's knowledge or was it the ship's knowledge? “Wow. Okay wow this feels very strange.”

Thank goodness Brian was busy processing all that information. Shia couldn't help herself and gave a low moan while pressing one of her now free hands into her right breasts. She loved the feeling of a friendly mind opening up to her own. She had to be careful how strong of a connection she formed or she would end up baking Brian's untrained and unprepared mind but it was nice to feel even this level of stimulation. “Brian. There is a lot of features I can't open up right now but we can begin the basics.  To begin with I'm going to teach you how to see the most important things that I see.”

Shia's words felt different now. It was like they were going strait into his mind rather then his ears hearing sound. He had a good idea of what she meant by processing information. The amount of information being provided to him was far beyond what he had received during training. He would need to learn to handle all this information. “Where do I start with all of this?”

“First let's begin with the basics. What you're seeing now is actually everything that's happening around us for.” Shia found herself going silent and she had to bite down on her thumb for a moment as she felt Brian adapting. He had been thinking about what he was seeing as a strait forward view but now understood it as fully three dimensional. The shift in his awareness caused a shift in how her mind was interacting with his and she had to fight back a moan. “You're a quick learner Brian. Mm it feels so good to have you touching my mind like this.”

When Shia had first met him she had been quick to take hold of him. She had also mentioned she enjoyed the feeling of someone she liked touching her body and touching theirs. She was clearly into stimulation. Now something else became clear. Shia had mentioned that she was linked with the ship and the controls were in her head. On top of that she had warned him this terminal may not work if she wasn't mentally capable of sustaining it. Of course he wasn't just interacting with the ship he was actually touching her mind. This was enough to startle Brian slightly and he tried to turn to look at her. His body wouldn't move.

“Don't panic Brian. Your mind is just devoting most of its functions towards interacting with the ship. You probably haven't noticed it yet but you can't see through your own eyes either.” Shia's cheeks were flush as she took in several deep breaths and moved her hand to her breasts. Pinching her nipples through the material of her dress she was delighted with the response of her body. A low moan escaped her as she felt Brian adjusting again and seeming to calm down. That was a good sign. If he had panicked whenever he touched her mind and not relaxed it would meant their partnership would be a short one. “You're doing good Brian. I know this is a lot to take in for a species that isn't used to having a telepathic connection with another being.”

“It's a little frightening to be honest with you. That and a little humiliating.”

Now it was Shia's turn to be surprised. “Why humiliating?”

“You mentioned that you had to be careful not to bake my brain didn't you?” Brian could actually feel Shia's laughter run through his body and actually lighten his spirits a bit.

“Brian. There is no species known to you that could directly interact with my mind and not have their brain fried if I wasn't gentle. In time you will learn to interact with my mind and I can remove the safe guards. Now Brian I want to ask you. What is the first thing that you see far to our right?”

Brian wanted to nod his head and tried to look in that direction. Instantly he felt himself slipping and the information became more and more obscure to him. “Shia what's going on?”

“You're trying to look to our right Brian stop that. You need to remember that you're constantly looking in all directions whenever you're interfacing with this terminal. Stop trying to see with your eyes and. Oh that's nice. Just focus on feeling for a little bit.” Shia could feel her skin tingling as Brian once again began to adjust. The information feed from his mind directly into hers was wonderful. Her last partner wasn't capable of giving her nearly as pleasant of a information feed as Brian was doing. As Shia felt Brian's mind engulfed in her own she found herself leading back against the railing that surrounded the terminal and lightly grasping it in her hands.

He wasn't just looking in front of himself. He wasn't just looking behind himself, to his side, below or above himself. He was looking in all of these directions at once. The thought was strange to Brian. Even his experience with detection equipment hadn't prepared him to literally see in all of these situations. Shia had described it like feeling and that made sense in some ways. Your skin could detect activity from any direction though its range was very limited. It was working to some extent but his vision still seemed foggy. He soon could see the object Shia had mentioned earlier but instead of trying to see it he tried to feel what was there as if he was walking through a dark room. How was it still there? “Shia is that a ship?”

“Yay! You're doing good Brian.  Yes that's actually what we're going to be joining up with soon.” As she looked at Brian she was made to giggle. She could feel a wetness between her legs and knew she needed to get this out of her system before he tired of being networked with the system. “These human bodies really are designed for pleasure even if they are delicate.” Giving a sigh Shia stood up and began to walk towards Brian. “Okay Brian I'm going to begin closing out the connection between you and me before you begin to suffer. You're going to be leaning on me whenever you return to your natural senses okay?”

“What do you mean suffer?”

“You're not used to this and while you can't feel it this is taking a toll on your mind.” As she spoke Shia took hold of Brian and had him lean against her body. She knew it was a bit pushy but she couldn't help but bring his head against her breasts as she supported him. “Okay Brian I'm going to start shutting down the pathways one at a time. Just lean into the first thing you feel. I'm sure you'll like it almost as much as I do.”

“What?” Brian didn't have time to get an answer. A sudden wave of dizziness hit him and suddenly he felt like he was falling. There was something soft and warm pressing against him though and he instinctively leaned into it. The dizziness increased again and the amount of senses that were flowing through his mind began to rapidly decrease. It now was becoming clear that he was switching back to his own body's natural detection systems and it was taking a few moments for his mind to adjust to them. “Shia. Shia I believe I'm going to be. Oh. That feels better.” Now Brian could feel a pressure against his stomach but he wasn't sure what it was.

Shia smiled as she pressed her hand against Brian's stomach. She had actually given him a very moderate sedative which calmed his body down. “Don't worry Brian I'm holding you against myself. You're not going anywhere.”

Couldn't she just say that she had him? Fortunately his body didn't seem to be responding like it had before though in his current condition Brian couldn't be certain that he wouldn't find himself carrying a hard on when he could see again. At least his vision was coming in now and he found himself looking at an expanse of lightly tanned, rounded and very smooth looking flesh. The fact that he was looking down into Shia's cleavage registered moments later as did the fact his head was pressed against her breasts. He couldn't even begin to pull away though as his legs refused to follow instructions. “I can't move my body.”

“Don't worry Brian. Your body will be back under your control in just a moment. See?” As she spoke Brian had already began to stand up again and Shia had once again taken hold of his arm. In part to insure that he couldn't escape. “I have some good news for you as well. While you were practicing I developed some drive just for you.”

“What? It's not even been a day and you're saying you have developed an enhancement drug for me?” Despite everything he had seen so far Brian was having trouble believing this. Upon looking at Shia's flushed face he immediately forgot the drug and almost jumped backwards. She had told him she enjoys interaction but the look on her face seemed to be that of a woman who had done far more then some cuddling. Did she even realize the way she was breathing? The thought brought Brian's eyes to her chest which were still heaving as she seemed to be simulating human behavior. He didn't know what to think whenever Shia pulled him even more firmly against herself.

“That's plenty of time for simple work like this! Now come with me and I'll show you to your room. You'll need to tell me if I textured and scented your bed properly. I tried to prepare to provide the most pleasing wresting experience possible. Unless of course you'd like to try the drive I prepared for you. It includes a enhancing recovery feature which would allow us to continue with your practice.”

There was that tone again. “Shia I hope this isn't going too far but you mentioned you really enjoy interaction and I'm guessing that includes mental. From the way your body is responding though this seems to be sexual for you.”

“Hm. I wouldn't call it sex. It is a very pleasurable experience but I don't know where to put it. It exist somewhere between a hug from someone you're very fond of.  A hug that perhaps involves nice big breast pushing into your chest or even swallowing up your face like these can.” As she spoke Shia reached her free hand into her shirt and pulled it open slightly more so given Brian an even better display. “And sex. The level of the interaction and the time determines which one is leans more towards.”

Shia's vague answer wasn't helping Brian as he was left to wonder which one they had been going more towards. “I see. Then what is sex for your species?”

“Are you talking about reproductive sex, pleasurable sex or a strong expression of fondness for the other person sex?” As she spoke Shia intentionally slowed her pace forcing Brian to slow down so that he could better look at her face.

“Romantic sex is what I'm thinking.” As he spoke Brian had to massage his throat in order to help the words come out. He didn't want to misread Shia's intentions or move into something that was too personal but she seemed quite prepared to be intimate.

“Well for that we would need to be involved in what the other species would consider romantic sex first of all. So you would need to be fondling my breasts and either have your penis inside of my vagina or some other sexual interaction. While at the same time for my species aspect of it we would need to have a mental connection open similar to what you had on the main terminal. Except it would need to be a more open and powerful connection then the one you were using just now. To put it in terms of sexual interaction the level of connection you had a short while ago would perhaps be like standing close to me.”

“That was only standing close!”

“Well I'm not sure if that's entirely accurate comparison. Perhaps more like seeing me at a distance or just hearing me.” A slight giggle escaped Shia as she noted the look on Brian's face. “You humans have such delicate hardware that I really have to be careful while your adapting to interface with me.  You can wrest in this room here.” As she spoke Shia stopped and opened up the wall to reveal Brian's temporary sleeping area.

Brian's first instinct was to go into the room but he immediately came to a stop and took in a deep breath. “Shia before we step into the sleeping chambers there is something I want to talk to you about. How do I put this?” Brian knew right now that if they were any men on the ship he would have serious trouble speaking his mind about this subject. Part of him wondered if this was really what he wanted to say. He also had to be mindful of how he said it to avoid hurting a friend’s feelings. “Shia we've been talking a while and I consider you a friend. After all I'm sure you wouldn't have invited someone to touch your mind if you didn't consider them a pleasant person.”

“Yep!”

That was adorable immediately flashed into Brian's mind as he noted the very happy with herself look on Shia's face. His penis immediately tried to tell his mouth to shut up but his brain kept it going. “That's good to know Shia. I also consider you a friend, a dear friend, but I’m having doubts about how your specie understands the boundaries of friendship”.

“Why are you having those doubts? Is there anything wrong?” Shia already felt Brian was trying to put some distance between them. Immediately she disliked the idea as she rather enjoyed how her body responded to his touch. This resulted in her pulling herself even more firmly against his body in an attempt to change his mind.

“I’m not sure if this is your intentions but well you've sort of been rubbing up against me most of the time I've been here. I would appreciate a little more space.” As he spoke, Brian could already feel Shia tightening her hold on him. She was so close that he could hear her heart pounding. ‘If she had duplicated such organ, what others could she have duplicated’ raced in his mind as he looked below her and imagined what could be between those creamy legs. Brian quickly shook those thoughts to keep his mind focused even he knew his body will be hers if she asked for it.

“But it feels good!” Shia protested as she never imagined he was going to ask her to stop holding herself against him. Could she possible misread him? Every biological indicator was telling her that he enjoyed the touch as well. So why was he rejecting it?

Now Brian felt himself beginning to sweat. Shia was right it felt good. It felt very good and the scent of her hair was almost intoxicating only growing more so as he felt her head leaning against his. The feeling of something brushing against his hand drew Brian's attention for a moment and he was surprised. Before Shia's hair had been tied in a bun. Now it had become far too long to turn into such a small bun and become strait such that even while her head pressed against his her hair could reach his hand. Was she modifying her form to appeal to him? “Well yes it does feel good but. I. I well. This type of behavior is meant for couples in my culture.”

“Oh! How silly of me… My behavior must be making you uncomfortable” As she spoke Shia had to stop her hair from wrapping around Brian's wrist to avoid letting him go. This body truly was meant to respond to pleasure. It became even harder as she began to loosen her hold on his hand and try to straighten back up. “So our current relationship doesn’t allow such touching?” she said with a pout on her lips as she drew small circles on his arm using her finger.

“Not for two people that are going to be working together.” The look Shia gave Brian almost melted his heart. The slant of her eyes had changed slightly becoming more catlike and her lips still had that adorable pout. Coupled with the view of her cleavage it was hard to take. “Besides Shia, I can understand you might be over stimulated after going without a partner for so long. I know you enjoy interaction but none of our conversations would have led me to believe it's this addictive for you. I really want to be your partner, but I don’t think I’m ready to be your lover” By now Brian had his space as he noted Shia had backed off though with a pouting look.

This was strange to Shia. She had partners before but they didn't have such a confusing response to her stimulating them. Brian's body was telling her that he wanted to be stimulated and she was enjoying it to so she had done so. Now his mind was telling her that he didn't want her to behave in such a way despite admitting that it had felt good.  “Okay but.” As she spoke Shia felt her expression changing from pouting to concerned. “Brian I can't help but touch you after all the entire ship is alive and my mind is connected to the entire ship.”

At first Brian said nothing but gave a slight nod. “That's true I guess you can even feel my foot steps.”

“They tickle!” Despite the situation Shia couldn't help but smile and her energy came out in her voice. She was glad when she saw Brian smiling to.

“That's a bit different then how you were rubbing up against me. I believe.”

Did Brian realize that even the covering to his bed was part of the ship? That she would be embracing his nude figure throughout the entire night if he chose to sleep that way? Shia doubted that he was considering that fact and chose not to mention it as she pouted back at him. “So, does this mean we can’t become a couple?”

“How about we live and work together for a while and see how we feel about one another after that? It may turn out that after a month you may not even want to be near me and most assuredly not want to network your mind or stimulate your body with me.”

“Oh! I like that!” Shia 'ssmile couldn’t have been bigger as Brian’s words made her human heart really beat fast. “I understand we don't have strong enough feelings of fondness for one another to allow for such touching because we have only had very limited interaction up till now, but if it turns out that after a month I still want to touch your body and network with you, can I touch you like we were a couple?” As she spoke Shia had to resist the urge to move closer to Brian once again. She could feel the stimulation to her human body diminishing and she didn't like it.

“Well. It will be hard to resist with a body like yours… I mean… not that the form you've chosen isn't extremely beautiful but…”

“I can make it more to your liking!”As she spoke Shia forgot herself for a moment and stepped forward. She wasn't quite touching Brian but she was very close. Such that he could feel her body heat.

Shia was giving him that pout once again. As Brian looked at her he realized something. Her lips had been a deep red before but now had shifted to a softer pastel pink that he found simply wonderful on a woman. The eyes, the hair and the lips she was clearly capable of adjusting her looks to suit his desires.  “Shia this is a lot to take in and we humans. Well we  take some time to resolve our feelings. You've given me an awful lot to consider after all and I need time to let it settle. If we become a couple, I will like it to be for the right reasons. Being a couple is a serious commitment for me”

“Oh! This is human culture responding instead of just biological signs! You're thinking about the long term success of a partnership, friendship and maybe more!”As she spoke Shia felt her excitement building once again. Brian was doing a wonderful job of repressing his basic biological responses in order to improve the odds of long term success.

Brian almost jumped back as he noted the expression on Shia's face. A huge smile had formed on it while her skin had grown flush with excitement. He could literally feel the heat radiating from her body and suddenly wondered what had happened to make her so happy. “Shia are you alright?”

“I'm better then alright I'm so excited this body can barely endure it! I've been stimulating you visually, audibly, tactilely and even your olfactory senses! Yet despite your every biological response being positive you're resisting the influence due to your ideas! Do you have any idea how few species have the mental capacity for their mind to override so many powerful biological responses!” As she had been speaking Shia  actually found her body starting to tremble. The possibility to interact directly with a species that could have conflicting opinions and ideas within their own being was always delightful. The stronger these conflicting ideas the better and for Brian's mind to override his biological responses was enough to make her exuberant.

Brian could swear he felt the temperature in the hall increasing as Shia's body seemed to radiate energy. Tiny droplets of water began to appear on her skin and seemed to ripple as it flowed over it while he could swear he felt the pounding of Shia's heart in the hall. The entire situation brought something of a grin to his face. The fact that she was responding this strongly to effectively being told to wait made it all the more surreal. “I see. Well then I hope you don't mind but I'd like to spend some time resting. I know we haven't done much but this has been rather draining.”

“Okay! I'll let you know whenever we reach our destination. If you need anything speak up and I'll be sure to hear you.” As she spoke Shia gave a slight nod and leaned forward bringing her face closer to Brian but not closing the gap between the two of them. This also served to give him a wonderful view of her cleavage. Even if she wasn't allowed to touch him using the same method she had been that didn't mean she couldn't make use of his visual, audible and olfactory senses.

It took far more willpower then Brian wanted to think about to turn and force his body into his room. As the door shut behind him he felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest and like his penis wanted to murder his brain. “Settle down you two we have an entire month to get to know her.” As he spoke Brian immediately realized he hadn't asked to be shown around the room. It didn't matter much as he noticed the storage units with his belongings laying next to the bed. As he looked around one thing did strike him as strange almost immediately. There was no lights in the room but rather the light seemed to radiate from everywhere in the room even the flooring.

Shia felt Brian as he settled down in the bed. She already realized that she had forgotten to show him the performance enhancers but chose not to bother him. Overriding his bodies biological commands and networking with her mind had left him drained. For the moment she would let him wrest. A sharp gasp escaped her as she felt Brian's hands squeezing her flesh. She had been careful to adjust the texture of his bedding to provide just the right level of stimulation. It seemed to be having the desired affect as she felt his hands lightly messaging her flesh.

This was a strange material. As Brian settled into the bed he could swear that it was moving in to engulf him. Combined with the scent and the temperature the material actually did a lot to comfort him as he closed his eyes. As he took in the scent of the bed he was made to remember what Shia had told him whenever he entered the ship. She had scented the air rather then having the sterile air that would be found in most ships. This was different from what he had encountered then reminding him of Shia's hair. Despite his exhaustion Brian found his body responding to the scent as his fingers began to press rhythmically into the material.

A low moan escaped to Shia only to be followed by a slight giggle shortly after. Brian had said he wasn't prepared to have her rubbing herself against him however he didn't say anything about him rubbing himself against her. With Brian drifting off Shia let the rumble move throughout the entire ship the walls themselves responding as Brian teased her body. She hoped that he would have some interesting dreams.
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Brian felt rather strange as he set up in bed. It wasn't that he felt bad. Indeed he felt rather good but it was this fact that made him feel strange. Typically whenever he first woke up he felt like washing his face off and perhaps giving his upper body a wipe down with a damp rag. He felt the need to brush his teeth and he felt a little groggy. None of that was there as he found himself turning to the side and immediately realized he had no quilt or other object covering his body. He hadn't noticed it the previous day but the bed had no form of covering that he could think of. Had the light been on all night? “Shia are you there?”

“Of course I am Brian. I'm glad that you're awake. There is something I wanted to show you. Would you be so kind as to come to the entry way?”

Much like the light Brian felt like Shia's voice had come from all around him. As if there was a speaker situated in every part of the room. Yet he couldn't see nothing to indicate such a device. For all he knew the walls themselves were vibrating the air to generate the sound waves he could hear. “Sure but how long was I out?”

“You were out for eleven of your hours. You must have been having a very nice dream.” As she spoke Shia couldn't help letting some of her excitement slip into her voice. She had rather enjoyed interacting with Brian in his unconscious state even if he didn't remember it. She had of course upheld her agreement not to rub up against him using the same methods as before but this had been his doing.

“Wow. I didn't realize I was that tired. But Shia could you tell me. I'm not sure how to ask this but. Why do I feel so clean?” By now Brian was out of bed and surprised that he still had his clothes on. He had been so tired that he forgot to take them off. “Oh darn! Shia could you give me a little time to get cleaned up? I guess you made me feel a little too comfortable and I forgot my hygiene issues.”

“No need to worry about that Brian. Unless you need to make use of the toilet I've already seen to cleaning your body while you slept. My waste removal systems removed all the organic and none organic debris from your body including shed skin cells  and other matter. You really couldn't be any cleaner externally then you are now. They also tended to the inside of your body just a little bit.”

Immediately Brian felt a little awkward as he stepped out of his room. “You mean like a nanospa?”

“No! Well yes. I suppose. Mine are so much more thorough and better at repair work that I really hate to be compared to those nanomachine baths you have in your sector. Brian do you need me to guide you to the exit?”

“That would be appreciated.” Brian half expected Shia to come get him. At least this would give him time to consider how he felt about his body being swarmed by mini machines of one make or another and cleaned while he slept. It didn't really bother him. He knew that most ships had some nanobots in the air in order to hunt down toxins and other dangers. This was the first time he heard them also cleaning off the bodies of crew members while they slept though. He didn't get Shia as he expected however as instead the light changed to a light pink just in front of him. “Uh Shia do I follow the light?”

“Yep! I'll adjust the light as you move so just keep following.”

Nodding his head Brian once again went to walking. “Isn't a pink light a little strange for a guidance light?”

“I'm not really sure. I just noticed you really liked the color whenever you were looking at my lips.” Shia couldn't help the bit of laughter that rolled throughout her form. The fact that she had a big surprise for Brian waiting only made it harder to control herself and she felt the walls of the ship convulse slightly.

When Brian had first entered the ship he had noticed the walls moving. Yet he was still a little worried as he noted how much more they seemed to move this time. What struck him as even stranger was the flow of the walls. They seemed to glisten lightly as if they had been covered with some kind of residue and took on a more organic feel. “Shia this glistening stuff on the wall what is it?”

“Don't worry Brian you're not in any danger from it. Those are just colonies of my cleaning agents moving throughout my body doing some simple repairs and tidying things up. My systems have been a bit busy since you went to sleep as well I sort of turned a lot of them off to avoid worrying you during your initial hours aboard.”

As he nodded his head Brian took in a deep breath. He actually came to a stop as what Shia had said about the color pink suddenly hit him. Looking up the realization that was indeed the same shade of pink as Shia's lips the last time he had seen her actually made him feel all the more awkward. Thoughts on the scent of his bed soon entered his mind as well causing him to speed up his pace a little bit as his mind began to race as well. His first instinct was to ask Shia about that very scent and see how she answered. What would he say if she told him that had been done intentionally? “Shia are you adjusting the environment to be more pleasing to me?”

“Naturally. This is for you after all Brian. I don't need oxygen like you humans do so I might as well make the air pleasant for you to take in. I don't need the same kind of light you do to see so I've adjusted the lighting to your taste. I want you to be comfortable and enjoy yourself while you're with me.”

“Lord I wonder what you'd do if you didn't like me.” Brian could swear he felt Shia's chuckle shake his entire being.

“Well how much not like are you talking about?” By now Shia herself was getting rather excited Brian was nearing the exit and she'd give him his surprise. She knew that he was a little freaked out but she had been careful with him. In order to avoid a panic response she had been revealing little bits of herself to him giving him time to adapt. Now it was time for the big reveal. This thought only excited Shia more especially given the positive impression he had made on her so far. She was certain that Brian would make for a wonderful companion in her exploration.

Despite all the weird happenings around him Brian was made to chuckle. “Well am I allowed to have a vocal difference of opinion with you?”

“Of course! Any conversation you felt comfortable having with me before our first meeting you should feel comfortable having with me now. Even if I'm mad at you that doesn't mean I don't like you after all.” It was nice when Shia noticed Brian smiling. She didn't want him to start putting on masks just to avoid a disagreement with her. That would lead to a poor partnership.

“Sure you say that. Now what if I just started pestering you whoo!” Brian quickly leaped into the air as he felt a frosty blast against his backside. Glancing over his shoulder he was relieved to see that his rear was still there and soon noticed some giggles that seemed to come from behind, in front and from both sides of him. What started him even more though was the way the glistening of the walls seemed to make them convulse all around him.

“I can pick on you to mister! So be weary if you think about seeing who can pester who the most.”

“You have some very good climate controls in here to do that.” A sigh escaped Brian as the light finally remained still and he moved to stand under it. He was quite surprised whenever the door opened revealing the exit to the ship. Rather then seeing the vast void of space though he was greeted by a white wall. Immediately he noted it as strange though. It wasn't the type of white that you would achieve with paint but rather seemed far more organic with a glistening similar to what he had seen inside the ship's halls. “Shia is this the main ship?”

“Well it's the largest one I currently plan on using I'm not sure if you could call it the main ship. Come on down.”

Nodding his head Brian found himself walking down the landing ramp. Immediately he was surprised by how vast the hanger was. He knew to be careful about such things though. A cargo ship could easily have a large hanger but it would end up taking up the majority of the ship. “So how much of the ship does this hanger take up?”

“In terms of volume it takes up about six percent.”

“That's amazing! Are you serious!” Brian felt his excitement growing as he made it down the rest of the ramp. As he did he looked around fully expecting to see Shia. He was rather alarmed whenever the landing ramp to the smaller ship quickly withdrew leaving him standing in the hanger. “Shia where are you? I'm getting a little nervous wondering around with only a voice to guide me.”

“Oh but Brian! You're never alone when you're here.” As she spoke Shia couldn't help but giggle as she resolved  to show Brian what she meant and the true surprise. The part of her being she intended to use still felt a little stiff despite restoring her full biological processes shortly after he went to sleep but they would be ready to use. “Okay Brian I want you to do your best to stay relaxed and don't try to run. I really want you to watch this.”

Now the voice seemed to have a direction drawing Brian's attention back to the entrance of the ship. He felt his heart rate speed up a little bit as he grew increasingly nervous. Two sections of the ship one on either side of the entrance and slightly above it suddenly were made to form inward. For the most part it stopped quickly except for several long strands of varying length that pushed outward. The slant of the depression was made to change slightly and then Brian noticed them beginning to open. He didn't know what to think as what appeared to be eyes suddenly appeared from behind the opening and the strands seemed to take on the form of eye lashes. A loud impact drew his attention away from  the eyes moments later.

Two massive blobs had formed from the ship and slammed into the hanger floor. Each one of them looked as if an oval had been placed upon its side. That only lasted for a moment though as a gap between the upper portion of the oval and the thinner bottom suddenly appeared throughout the bulk of the material except one structural section. This gap began to rapidly increase and the shape began to gain further texture. A ball seemed to form at the bottom of the forming mass and press into the floor rapidly forming into several smaller spheres of different size that began to elongate.

He didn't get to finish watching the process as another impact drew his attention. Similar masses had formed from the ship and landed as well though with a lighter impact due to their smaller size. These were far closer to him and just barely touched the ground before being lifted from it due to the forming back legs. Brian nearly tumbled over as the realization hit him and he once again looked towards the original two masses. They were indeed taking on the form of legs and this prompted him to look towards the eyes. The ship's entrance had changed its orientation going from a vertical to a horizontal one and had pushed outwards taking on a more cylindrical shape that was beginning to thin on the sides while pouting in the middle. A bulge had formed between the eyes and the entrance while the entire face was being pushed out from beyond the ship by a rapidly thinning beam that was rapidly taking on the form of a neck.

“Breath Brian. I could normally get this done far quicker but if I rush things after shutting down so many systems for so long I run the risk of over stressing this form.” As she continued to shift her form around Shia was collapsing many of the spaces within herself that Brian had used earlier and forming new ones. She needed to adjust her structure in order to support the new forms design.

Brian found his eyes rapidly turning back to the second set of blobs that had came down. They were beginning to flow backwards. The material was rapidly thinning at the tip and a point where he imagined a wrist would have gone just beyond that while thinning more slowly at other regions and not at all in others. His eyes turned to where the rapidly shaping blobs had attached to the ship and noticed them moving upwards into the ship while portions of it where being rapidly pulled inward. One spot that drew his attention immediately was the mid section of the ship just above where the legs attached to it. It was rapidly thinning even as the legs retained a noteworthy thickness forming what appeared to be thighs to him.

The thought that the rapidly thinning region of the ship was a waist seemed to be confirmed as an opening similar to a belly button suddenly appeared within it. A good deal of excess mass had by now flowed onto the chest region and had now developed a divide forming into two large masses roughly the same size as the head. It was at this moment Brian noted the head once again and the fact that the lips had parted revealing several solid strait columns.

“Hi Brian.” As she spoke Shia was careful to keep her voice low. With the basic body shape nearing completion she pushed some of her mass out beyond her basic human shaped body. Forming bands around her waist and neck in the form of a shirt collar and a waist band excess material began to flow from these bands. At the same time Shia began to form some material beyond her crotch and breasts as well.

Up until now the humanoid form before Brian had been entirely smooth. As he noticed a pattern forming over her crotch and breast though he was at first perplexed. Then intricate webbing soon caught his attention. This became especially true whenever he noticed an impression forming in the lacy pattern and pushing it outwards. The fact that Brian was currently looking at the outline of Shia's labia struck him moments before the material from her waist band flowed over it just barely covering the impression and leaving the barest bit of white showing just below the him of the skirt. When his eyes returned to her chest he found that the top had already formed or it seemed to have. A good portion of Shia's stomach was still exposed and when he looked to her face he noticed a confused look.

“Brian what do you think? I remember you mentioned you like it when a female of your species with a nice form shows a bit of her stomach but is this too much.” As she spoke Shia placed a hand on her stomach. She had began to fill in color and texture now so that her abdominal muscles were beginning to express themselves. She was confident that Brian liked the pattern on her crotch covering. She had chosen it from a file in his holo terminal that he seemed to look at quite often. “I hope you do like it. I know the outfit you first met me in was rather common so I picked some clothing from the most viewed images on your holo terminal.”

Instantly Brian recognized the clothing and knew exactly what images Shia had been talking about. He didn't have time to comment on that though as he found himself looking at a ship sized version of Shia and realized the truth. “You're not just networked with the ship you are the ship!” The notion that he had been inside a living being for the past several hours and hadn't realized it really hit Brian hard.

“Yes. If you're wondering about your luggage.” Reaching up Shia inserted two fingers into her mouth and carefully grasped Brian's luggage between her fingers. Instead of just pulling it out of her body though she carefully drew the containers between her lips removing her fluids from them. The fact that she appeared to be sucking on Brian's belongings didn't really occur to her as she drew them out of their mouth. “They're perfectly fine right here.”

“How? What's going on here!” At least Brian felt his legs cooperating again and was stable enough to draw himself back to a standing position. He was a bit surprised whenever he took a step away from Shia not in an attempt to escape from her but simply to make it easier to look at her face. Her breasts were providing quite an obstacle from such a proximity. “Wait. You're this ship two aren't you! I'm still inside your body!”

“That's correct!” Shia could still see Brian was having trouble handling this new information but that was expected. His behavior was well within acceptable tolerance levels from what she had seen of him and she gently settled herself down upon her knees. “Now as for the why. I have found most don't respond well if the first thing I tell them is that they'll be living inside of my body during our journey together. Even if they've been in a ship with an artificial intelligence the fact that I am both an organic being in a sense and the ship itself tends to be a bit much for someone to process at once. Things tend to go far more smoothly if I introduce them to certain aspects of myself just a little bit of a time. I first begin by introducing myself as a high risk species so that I know a power imbalance won't trouble them. I then move to the fact that the ship itself is an organic life form and give them a bit of an idea of what that means by showing them around the facilities. After that I reveal that my mind is networked with the ship and they'll be networking with my mind as well. Naturally I repress many of my biological responses during this time as even introducing things in these steps the full affect of what it means can often be hard for someone to take.”

Listening to Shia was actually calming Brian down. He even found himself wondering if she was putting something into the air to cause him to relax. “I. I see. So you really meant it whenever you said my foot steps tickled you.”

“Well not exactly.” A delighted giggle escaped Shia as she looked down at Brian. “They are wonderful to feel though.”

“That's good I suppose. So how long does it normally take for you to let someone in on this secret?” As he was speaking Brian had taken a few more steps backwards. The site of Shia's hand reaching down towards him almost sent his heart into his throat but he forced his legs to stay still by reminding them they were currently inside of Shia. There was no where to run because she had literally swallowed him up entirely.

“Some of them never reach this point. I've lost quite a few just when they realized that the ship itself is an organic being. Never mind that proper nano technology is almost an organic life form itself. Don't be scared Brian. I was just going to offer you my hand so you didn't have to keep bending your neck like that. If you'd like I'd gladly lay down for you to make speaking to me more comfortable. Would you like for me to lay down for you Brian?”

Was she teasing him again? Despite her sudden shift in size Brian felt certain that she was. He chose to drop that issue though as Shia's hand was laid down before him and he immediately realized how massive she truly was. Without really thinking about it Brian found himself stepping onto Shia's fingernail and pressing himself up against her finger. What he found was that the height of her middle finger was roughly three fourths his own height. This prompted to take in another breath as he began to climb into Shia's finger. “That's fine. I'll get into your hand. So revealing this to me this soon. Does that mean I did good?”

The moment Shia felt Brian's foot steps upon her fingernail she felt her heart rate speed up. His little hands pressed against the very tip of her finger which was naturally loaded with sensors and then she felt his body press against the tip of her finger as he began to climb up it. Immediately she felt her nipples stiffen and her lips growing wet as her excitement radiated into her voice.“You did wonderful Brian! I don't know if you're reckless, bold or just very adaptable but you've done a wonderful job the entire time! I'm so happy with you right now!” As she spoke Shia had to be careful to keep her hand still. Currently Brian was making his way down her middle finger towards her palm. She waited until he had reached the center to begin slowly lifting him into the air.

By now the fear Brian had before was beginning to fade and the wow factor was currently moving in. The Shia that was holding him was positively massive and to think that the entire ship they were now setting in was in fact her body was even more so. “So can you make little Shia as well?”

“Yep! Two or three as many as you want around. I don't intend on towering over you like this the entire time after all. This seemed like a good way to make sure you understood what I am though.”

“You are the ship itself. You're not just some being networked with the ship but you're the ship. A shape changing ship whose scale is far beyond any living being I've ever heard of and who counts as a high risk species even with a hundred kilograms of her mass or so. Shia I hope you don't mind me saying this but you're rather on the frightening side.” Brian was actually made to recoil and actually fell his feet falling out from under him as he noted Shia's face. When he felt himself impact with Shia's soft skin he still had to do a double take. Shia was giving him that same pout she had before. It was still sexy and cute.

“Pleased don't be scared of me Brian. I don't mean you any harm. I want to interact with you, develop relationships and be your friend. I want to do good for you.”

For a moment Brian didn't say or thinking anything. His brain needed a moment to catch up to the situation. “Wow this is going to take a lot of getting used to.” Despite not having fully adjusted to his current situation Brian found himself grinning as he looked up at Shia. It was nice whenever she lost her pout and returned his smile. “Well I guess there is no reason to be scared whenever I'm already this far inside of you. So where does a guy go to get fed around here? Does the main ship have a dining hall or do I need you to swallow me.”

A slight giggle escaped Shia as she brought Brian closer to her chest. Their teasing talk and the feeling of his tiny form setting in her hands had already gotten her excited which her nipples were now showing.. “Well I have many ways that I could tend to your needs. Since you requested a little time though I believe we should go to the dining area I prepared for you inside of this ship. That is unless you want to get inside of this body. I wouldn't even have to use my mouth to do it. Cooking for you should be fun as well though. I may not be good at cooking human food just yet but they are some dishes I have studied. How about you tell me how good I've done?”

***********************************************************************************

This was going to take some getting used to. Currently Brian was setting atop Shia's massive right thigh. The fact that he could have taken several steps to either side and not even been close to falling off the edge wasn't lost on him. He couldn't even really feel the curve of her leg from his position in the center. Fortunately she didn't intend to cook him a meal that was proportional to her body. Rather he found himself looking towards a small opening in the wall where he saw a much smaller Shia busy at some type of stove though it didn't look like what he was used to. “Shia where did you get those potatoes?”

Instead of answering with her smaller body Shia chose to use her larger. She was currently trying to get him to turn around where he could see up her skirt or would have to look over the swell of her chest to see her face. If she used her little body it would be too easy for him to focus on her face and that wouldn't have been as much fun. “I made them from organic compounds. I suppose you're wondering so I'll just tell you. I could make any type of food you'd like to eat but that's different from cooking it. Whenever I make food for you I design its chemical structure and form from the beginning. I can make it exactly the same way an infinite number of times or change even very little details.”

“Wouldn't that be easier?”

“No! I want to cook for you Brian I don't want to make food for you.” A slight chuckle escaped Shia as she looked towards Brian using her smaller body for a moment. He had actually been looking at the face of the body she was using to cook even though the larger body was the one speaking with him. She could slowly begin working him back closer to her skirt. That or create the sent of arousal. The first would have to be done slowly so that he didn't notice though and the second might not be subtle enough. At least he seemed to like the texture of her skin. Shia doubted Brian realized it but he had been caressing a small section of her thigh for quite some time.

“Thanks. I never thought a woman like you would like to cook for a guy like me.” Brian chose not to mention the fact that he never thought he'd be meeting a woman like Shia to begin with. As he looked across her thigh towards the dining area he realized how high off the ground it had to be. He had seen how easily Shia could adjust the layout of her body though. What was the odds that she had positioned the dining area to make such a position accommodating? It seemed quite likely. She could probably even formed it within her humanoid body and kept him in there if she had desired to. “Shia is this kitchen just something that you formed or is there a reason for us being here?”

“This is pretty far into the interior of my body which also makes it one of the safest locations for you to be at. This is the entrance to the living area I've prepared for you. Well one of them. It includes your hygiene facilities, dining area, sleeping area, recreation room, athletics center and medical station. There is also a network of passages made with travel assistance that will let you move about certain locations within or on my body.” As she spoke Shia reached down and pressed her index finger against the skin just next to Brian causing it to depress and him to lean against her finger. “You see. I want to feel you moving around deep within me in all the right places.”

She had done that on purpose. Brian felt his heart rate speeding up and he knew that she had done that on purpose. He could feel his body responding and felt his penis pushing against his pants. It took all of his willpower not to turn and look back at the massive woman even as he felt her shadow engulfing him. What made the situation worse was that her tone had sounded so business like and professional in the beginning. Then she had switched back to that sultry tone and he actually found himself leaning against her finger as he tried to regain himself. “That's good to know. So any particular reason for these larger tunnels or the level of the dining hall.”

“Well. The larger tunnels are for moving certain things throughout my body or for relocating large amounts of myself quickly while not altering my exterior. Forming and stabilizing the tunnels takes a little time and I'm not sure if I'd have that time in an emergency situation. I adjusted the height of the dining hall so that it'd be easier for you to admire my legs while still remaining easy for you to look up my skirt.” Shia gave a slight giggle as she noticed Brain's response. She was working on finding just the right tone and volume of a giggle to cause him the most excitement and she felt confident that she was nearing that spot. He still hadn't looked up her skirt yet or her larger body's chest. She had began adjusting the neckline of her smaller body though and noticed his vision deviating to her chest at times despite the distance. As Shia considered this she also considered further changes to her undergarments. When she finally did convince Brian to look up her skirt she wanted to make sure he would get the most out of the experience so she could bring him back for more.

“I see. You know it really isn't normal for a humanoid body to be as large as the one you're using to interact with me. Even if that body is inside an even larger you.”

“I know but this is a fun compromise! The body's shape is appealing to you taking on a shape, speech pattern, scents and texture that you're comfortable with. At the same time though the body's size and power is closer to what I feel comfortable with. Don't you believe that it's a nice compromise?” Could she get him to turn around now? As she asked the question Shia began to lean forward bring her massive chest even closer to Brian. Surely he'd have to turn around and speak with her now.

Brian could feel Shia's presence all around him. It wasn't just her body though. It seemed to reach beyond that and tug at his very desires. How long was he going to be able to endure this? Once Shia finished cooking perhaps he could go into the dining hall and get off her thigh for a while. She had said that she didn't plan on towering over him the entire time. As he considered these thoughts Brian felt like his environment was shifting and turned to look and see what Shia was doing. It felt like her breasts were about to swallow him up as he noted her position. Her already skimpy shirt that barely covered the base of her breasts was now revealing a valley of cleavage that he could truly become lost in. A slight sprinkling of freckles covered each of Shia's massive breasts and thought seemed to leave Brian's mind for a moment.

How long was he going to look? Shia felt her excitement building as she achieved part of what she was going for. It was likely that Brian would attempt to divert his attention back to her smaller body and she needed to adjust now. Immediately Shia tightened the clothing on her smaller body and made her nipples become pert pushing against the fabric enough that she knew Brian would notice their outline if he looked. “Hey Brian what do you think of these freckles? I believe they suit a human body well don't you.” As she spoke Shia pressed her arms against the sides of her breast squeezing them together and lowering them even closer to Brian.

For Brian freckles offered a slight seasoning of innocents. When this was sprinkled over something as seductive as Shia breast this had a powerful affect as it augmented the sexuality just like spice may enhance the flavor of a fine dish. He knew that he should turn away at this moment but his body wasn't responding to him. What would it feel like to actually touch those breast? He could truly become lost in them both mentally and physically. It wasn't just that he could become lost in them though but Shia was actually willing to and from her behavior eager to have him there. She wanted him in her cleavage and elsewhere. He was already inside of her after all. It felt like Brian was trying to bind a steel bar as he forced his head to turn. “They're very nice Shia!” While Brian didn't mean to put so much energy into his words he was barely retaining control of himself. A teasing giggle reached his ears moments later.

“I'm glad that you think so.” That was close and Shia knew it. She almost had Brian. She had promised that she would stop rubbing against him so much but that didn't mean she would stop trying to excite him. He was resistant though. What could she do now in order to regain his attention? Instead of looking at her smaller body he had actually closed his eyes. What was he thinking of at the moment? Whatever it was it didn't seem to be bothering his erection. It would be easy to determine his thoughts just by examining the activity of his brain. Shia didn't want to go that far just yet. Watching his biological signs was providing her with enough information. “I want this body to be pleasing for you to look at after all.”

Turning around had been a mistake. Brian couldn't just let Shia keep pushing the attack like this or she was going to catch him during a moment of weakness. It wasn't like he could retreat to a private spot though the entire ship was Shia. She was keeping her word not to rub up against him though but as he considered this Brian realized he had been rubbing against her this entire time as he looked at her leg. His right hand had been getting around quite a lot as he set upon it. “So this compromise with your body. Do you do that with your partners often?”

“Yep! It's stimulating to interact with someone in a way similar to one of their own species. However, it's also stimulating to interact with them as something that is familiar but also different in the same moment. Taking features that my partner admires and pushing them to the extreme is very nice. Would you like to know some of the things that really tend to stimulate me during these times? After all. I know quite a few of your preferences.”

As he looked at Shia's smaller body Brian gave a sharp gasp. She had been focused on cooking but now she's straitened up and he saw what had changed with her shirt. The way the material adhered to her chest he wondered if it was truly a shirt at this point or just some kind of skin. Even from his current distance he noted the outline of some very healthy nipples pushing against the material. The site seemed to shut down his brain for a moment and his mouth spoke without him. “Sure.”

“Okay! I was worried that you'd want to keep that private for later. Well typically I prefer to engulf the person I'm interacting with so that I can feel every part of their being. I really love it whenever they allow me to inject part of myself into their body as well. That way I can provide a really solid connection with them and better experience what their body is going through as well. I've had a few partners that really weren't comfortable with having a bit of me running throughout their veins though. I also love to  engulf the person I'm interacting with as it better allows me to stimulate every part of their body. This can be a bit difficult of course in situations which the male is a good bit larger then the female.”

“I. I see. So does that mean you don't like being smaller then the person you're mating with?”

A sigh escaped Shia as she remembered one of her shorter lived partnerships. “The Otia are a species in which the male is often double the height of the female of the species. To them a small little lady that they can easily provide for is one of the sexiest things there is. As the male is expected to provide for all of her needs. I really didn't like their form of mating. The body was too small, too delicate and I felt far too restricted.” As she was speaking Shia was setting up. “Naturally I considered what this would mean to males that I was interacting with and how they might feel restricted. If I was left feeling restricted and vulnerable in such a body was I doing the same thing to those I interacted with using a larger body then what their species was used to?”

“Well isn't that just part of interacting with you? I mean even whenever you were holding onto my arm the simple truth is I was inside of you the entire time.”

“Yep! And that is also the solution for the most part. “ By now Shia was looking at Brian using her smaller body as she gave the cheese on her dish a bit more time to melt. “You are within me. If you're going to be my partner that's simply something that you have to adjust to. However, I can accommodate you by using a small portion of myself for the sake of interaction. Most partners I've chosen for a trial time period have been quite willing to adjust to his compromise. It also makes them feel far safer having a smaller aspect of myself to interact with. Even if I'm with you at all times it seems many become lonely if they don't have someone they recognize as one of their own or at least somewhat familiar to interact with.”

They were talking now at least and Shia hadn't teased him sexually for a few moments. It wasn't doing much to help Brian calm down considering where he was and what the outfits either Shia was wearing but at least it was something. How could he keep this going?

“Now. What can really seal the deal though is when I use more then one body with more then one form.  I can adjust vocal patterns, scent, behavior and so much more then spread this out amongst several bodies. Would you like that Brian? I could be more then just your fantasy woman. I could be the women of your fantasies. I bet you'd like that wouldn't you? It doesn't even have to be human women only. I noticed you had a few images of female Xerodon. They are quite an impressive species aren't they?”

Now she was back on the offensive and in a big way. In all that was happening Brian had forgotten about those files. What was he suppose to say though? The notion of being surrounded by women each one representing a different aspect of beauty was truly alluring. At the moment Brian truly wished that he could take a few moments away from everything just to cool down. “They are pretty impressive. Not many species can endure the vacuum of space with just an oxygen supply after all. Hey Shia haven't you cooked for your other team mates before? I imagine you should be well experienced with such practices.” Brian was surprised the question came to him. He was glad that it had.

Immediately Shia gave her head a nod and moved herself a little closer to the dining area so that her knee pushed against the wall supporting it. “Yes I have. However, the flora of different worlds tends to differ from the water content to the chemical components. There is also the difference in cooking methods to consider and the cooking implements used. Plus whenever I'm cooking as a human I like to use human restrictions. I limit the spectrum of light my eyes can see as well as my olfactory abilities. It's really hard to learn to do something as another species if you don't use an appropriate body.”

As her larger body was speaking Shia moved her smaller body to the edge of the dining area. Her knee was still a bit below the edge. It would have been easy to fix but she wanted a reason to help Brian up. “Your food is ready. Come here and I'll let you up?” As she spoke little Shia bent at the knees and leaned forward while extending her arm down. This presented Brian with a wonderful view of her cleavage and her crotch even though she was clothed. The material was drawn tight against her skin. It was a little early to actually take on this pose but her muscles truly weren't the muscles of a human and there was no discomfort in holding it.

Food seemed to leave his mind as Brian stood up and began to walk towards Shia's smaller body. He didn't even think it was strange that she hadn't waited to offer him her hand. As he took hold of her hand Brian felt a bit light headed and then a chuckle escaped him. When he looked to Shia's face he noted her expression had changed. She looked curious. He almost forgot about that whenever she helped him up and he felt his penis pushing against the front of his pants. He had felt it with every step but hadn't given it much thought. He'd just walked the length of Shia's massive leg while packing an erection. He was grateful that she didn't mention that.

“What were you thinking of Brian?”

“I was just thinking that I've been coming to know you for a year now. I guess for a while now you seemed like a stranger to me as well you're a good bit different then what I imagined you to be.”

“Oh! Well I can understand that but still. What did you imagine me to be?” She wanted to press her smaller body's breast against Brian now. She wanted to lean forward and bring her face within centimeters of his while pressing her large full breast against his chest. Perhaps she would rub them against him a bit to further his excitement or just tease the top of his penis with her thigh. That promise not to rub up against him so much was proving a bit annoying now as Shia considered all the things she'd like to do. She could bring herself closer to him though.

“I. Well after you told me that you were considered a high risk species I knew you had to have something that qualified you as a living weapon. Then you revealed that you were actually qualified as a living weapon of mass destruction with that comment about how most human settlements wouldn't let you past their worlds protective shield if the planet could afford to have one. There aren't many species known that fit that and you know I.”

“You thought I'd be similar to the Xerodon.” A delighted giggle escaped Shia as she leaned back. “You know for you to be so fond of their women you must like larger species. A smaller Xerodon tends to top four meters after all.” As they had been speaking Shia had already helped Brian settle into his seat and placed a plate before him. As she was done cooking she was comfortable looking at the food with her usual eyes. The disproportional distribution of heat was clear but it shouldn't be easy to detect with the human pallet. She wasn't quite happy with the texture of some of the potatoes shavings or with how much moisture she had removed from the cheese but it was a passable attempt.

“You had to know that already.” Brian almost jumped out of his seat as he noticed the expression on Shia's face. It looked like she was about to pounce him. It felt as if his seat was doing more to keep him in place them himself. “Which is one of the reasons you chose me as a potential partner.”

“That's correct!” As she spoke Shia moved around to Brian's side of the table and wrapped her arms around him. She didn't hesitate to pull his head into her cleavage as she hugged him. While she had agreed not to rub against him so much such a display of affection should be acceptable to him. As she pulled his head into her cleavage she also made it a point to shift about rubbing her breast against his face and give him a close up view of the freckles he liked so much. Unfortunately she could only hold this embrace for so long or she would be violating their agreement. It was hard to hold herself to that agreement with the way his penis was straining against the front of his pants. Stimulating him to release without touching his erection would be quite fun. “You see Brian all the things you learned about me before is true. They're just a lot more to know. I'm so glad that you're no longer looking upon me as a stranger you're only now coming to know.”

“That's true. I guess I just wasn't thinking of it that way whenever I first began to speak to you. So you really like those vampire stories?” Before she could respond Brian had taken a bite of the dish before him. As the meat, cheese, fried potatoes and spices came together he was quite surprised. “This is really good Shia! I don't think I've eaten something this nice before. I thought you said you were just now learning to cook human food.”

“Oh Brian you poor darling!” As she spoke Shia took on a more sympathetic voice and once again hugged him to herself. “You think that is good? You must have eaten such poor quality food for years. At best that dish would have only been passable in a four star diner.” As she hugged Brian Shia gave him less of a face full of cleavage this time. While sympathy was an acceptable reason to embrace someone she knew her reason was rather weak. She still grinned as she noticed a wet spot in Brian's pants one she quickly began to clean up using her cells that she'd already saturated his clothes and skin with.

“Your idea of passable is a four star diner! Does your idea of burnt even have the same meaning? As I could swear you said you had trouble burning your food.” Despite all that was going on Brian found himself going for another mouthful. While he didn't like to think of himself as a glutton good potatoes and meat did tend to call to him.

“I do!” As she spoke Shia moved away from Brian and turned her back on him while wrapping her arms around herself. This was more to give him a good view of her rear rather then to truly comfort herself. “Several of those potatoes and the cheese suffered a far greater reduction in moisture then required for optimal flavor.”

No words came to Brian's mind immediately as he looked at Shia. Something about the situation was familiar to him. After a few moments realization set in. “I know what you're trying to do! You're trying to get me used to eating your food so that it'll be more difficult for me to leave or at least harder for me to stay away. Blast what story was that from?” Brian truthfully doubted that was Shia's intention but the accusation was too good to pass up. The fact that she began chuckling moments later and settled down across from him in a chair that formed from the ground itself only seemed to heighten the moment.

“The sea witch and the sailor. She allowed anyone stranded upon her island to take freely of any fruit of vegetable they could find for she had imbued the fruit with magic. The fruit was addictive though and once they had tasted of it they would always have to return for more. However, unlike the first time the next visit was never free and each visit became progressively more costly.”

“I remember now. Hey are you going to make me start paying for my meals?”

“No! That was covered in the contract.”

“What about good meals though? First you get me hooked on the high quality stuff and then you give me the choice of either taking the regular two or three star food or I have to pay for the five star plus food. Is that what you're planning miss sneaky?” As Brian was speaking he felt like he was sinking back into his skin. The entire time with Shia he had either been in awe or struggling with his lust. Often he was dealing with both feelings at the same time. For a moment he felt he was no longer struggling to control his body.

“Wellll.” Shia gave a slight chuckle before letting her tongue flick out and run along her lips for a moment. “I can't say that the idea isn't very tempting and quite a good one but no.” As she spoke Shia was tempted to tell Brian that she had much tastier things for him to try. She could raise up slightly and push out her chest while arching her back and perhaps revealing a bit of her leg. She felt her skin warm up and a delighted squeal escaped her despite her best efforts to remain composed. She felt her cheeks grow warm and she quickly tossed her head from side to side giggling at the thought. The desire to tease him wasn't born of her simply wanting to obtain her goal but truly finding interaction with Brian enjoyable. The will to resist had come from her desire to respect him as a friend and confirm those bonds.

While Shia was hard to predict this time Brian was able to keep himself in his seat with no aid from the seat itself. He had a comfortable grin on his face now. “Now what was that?”

“A contradictions in my desires and an internal struggle!” For a moment Shia went silent though her tongue reached outside of her mouth and pressed against the side of her face for a moment. “It's such an interesting stimulation.” Even as she spoke Shia found herself questioning her first method used to acquire Brian's affection. She had began with seduction and constantly been striving to increase his desire until he gave into her. It was their first meeting face to face though. Reconfirmation of their friendship might have been a better first step rather then outright seduction.

Brian had been allowed to eat quietly for a while now just watching Shia. She seemed to be paying attention to him but it was also fairly clear she was thinking about something. That was actually making him a little nervous. Fortunately he now knew what he could talk to her about.”Shia you mentioned that you wanted me to cook a few things for you. I really have no idea what you could learn from me though given that you're already cooking on a professional level.”

“I like to observe the art of guessing.” As she spoke Shia finally took her eyes of Brian and turned them to her larger body. She didn't need to do this. She could still see Brian and her main body from every possible direction and in ways a human body couldn't perceive. Using her smaller body to look at her larger though would serve to draw Brian's attention and give her a different perspective on the situation. If she was going to reconfirm her friendship with Brian was it truly appropriate for her to have a massive humanoid body looming over them? She could see that Brian was looking at her body as well now. Her thoughts were slowed a bit as she began to evaluate if it would be best to wait for his response or speak first.

As he looked at Shia's smaller body and then her larger humanoid body Brian remembered what Shia had told him. She wanted to interact with him using a human body but she was also far more comfortable using a larger more powerful body. By taking on the form of a giant she found a comfortable compromise for herself. “Shia after what you said about feeling more comfortable using a larger body I'm a little curious about how you would use it. I mean. This is probably the only chance I'm going to get to interact with a humanoid with a fingernail larger then I am so I'm curious.”

“Oh they're several things I was thinking of. Such as.” As her smaller body spoke the larger reached behind her head and pressed her hands against her the back of her neck. At the same time she flexed her abdominal muscles. This wasn't necessary for her to create ridges in her stomach but it gave a more visually pleasing affect. “I mentioned the section of my body you could use for athletics. There is a rock wall in there for climbing but would you rather climb simulated stone or my rock hard abs?” As she spoke Shia began to flex the muscles of her stomach and lightly sway as if ripples were moving throughout her entire body as she performed a little seated belly dance for Brian. “If you got high enough you could even find a nice soft ledge to wrest upon.”

As he looked at Shia's stomach Brian admitted to himself that he found the prospect of climbing Shia's stomach far more appealing then he found rock climbing. He wasn't prepared to mention that to her. “That sounds nice.” Even as he spoke Brian found the nice delayed slightly as he thought of the right word. In truth he felt sexy and exciting were far better choices but he didn't want to encourage Shia more then his questioned already had.

“Thanks. Now you already know that I'm a very interactive being. I love to be in physical contact with my partner. It isn't just the contact though. While I enjoy any form of contact I find the more my partner enjoys the contact the more I do as well. I also like to enjoy as much of you as possible. With a human sized body I can only enjoy one section of you at a time. With a larger body though I can feel far more of your being pressed against my own if you don't mind me holding you.” A slight chuckle escaped Shia as her large body picked up a few strands of her hair and began to weave it together. “There is also a possessive side to it.”

“What's that?”

“Well you know how most women of your species like to display their most valuable peace of jewelery especially upon their body. Often men love to display their own status symbols such as a high grade and expensive watch or a sportsman ring. I love to display my delicate treasures as well.” As she finished Shia pointed towards the forehead of her larger body to reveal she'd weaved her hair into a small nest wresting against her forehead. “Snuggling my little treasure into my warm fragrant hair in a nice little nest gives me a feeling that your mine as well which is comforting. Even if I know that you won't be mine for long.” As she spoke Shia's couldn't help but think of a few partners who had come from a pouched species. How they responded to being carried in such a pouch varied heavily from individual but it always tended to produce interesting results.

It wasn't uncommon for couples to want to show off their significant other. That or to show off some aspect of their significant other something that they were proud of. The fact that Shia admitted that their partnership may be temporary made it a bit strange as did the fact that he was still learning about her. Did she even view such relationships the same as humans? “So the fact that I'm completely engulfed in your body, dependent on you for food, water and even air isn't being possessive enough?”

“No.” Shia didn't try to hide her grin as she noted the look on Brian's face. He seemed a bit shocked. “Like I said it's a different form of interaction. You look around you and you know that I compose everything you can see. However, the stimulation you get from knowing that and interacting with me as a ship and the stimulation you gain from interacting with a humanoid body is very different. Besides carrying you in my hair also puts you near a processing center.”

“Does that matter?”

“Only in theory. Every part of my body isn't capable of doing every thing. I have. Well let's just call them cells. I have cells that are specialized for certain tasks. Now I can rework my cells to perform other tasks but that takes time and energy. It would be as if you could take some of the cells that compose your muscles and convert them to brain cells. Anyway, in theory the closer you are too the cells designated for processing information at the time the easier it is for me to form a mental link with you it's also more secure. Due to the limitations of your hardware though this is purely a theoretical decrease in ability.”

As he listened to Shia Brian couldn't help but think it was a little strange. She clearly wanted to keep him close and nesting him in her hair seemed like something she enjoyed. It would also mean she was carrying him around. Yet she openly admitted that such actions would have no true influence in their ability to work together. Apparently she had opted to be honest with him and not try to miss lead him. “I swear hearing you explain things like that makes me wonder what I can really do to help you out. So far it just seems like you just want me to keep you company.”

“Well what you can do is limited especially outside of an emergency situation. That could be fixed though if you'd let me augment you. You know my offer still stands. You wouldn't be able to visit the surface of most occupied planets though as you'd be considered a living weapon with such augmentations. Well you could but you'd need to go through all the legal hoops or break the law. Then again I could just augment you for a short time and then restore you to your per-enhancement conditions later. Though that tends to cause some problems to.” As she spoke Shia lifted her right hand and gently bit down on her index finger. She noted a slight shift in Brian's stance and mental activities. She knew the pose was one he considered cute.

“What kind of problems? I mean you could give me a simple tune up that's easy to reverse couldn't you?”

“The problem isn't due to improving the hardware and then returning it to its original condition. Rather the first problem is giving the software time to adjust to the new hardware. That really isn't the troublesome part in most cases though. The troublesome part is when the hardware is returned to its original condition. The software doesn't always take the change so well. Often the person will begin wondering if they were this weak or slow before or if I went overboard and made them inferior to what they once were.”

As Brian considered what Shia said he imagined that the experience would be a lot like being crippled. Whatever abilities you became used to enjoying due to the augmentations would be stripped from you in an instant. “How large of a reduction in abilities are we talking about?”

“It depends on how much you allowed me to augment you. If I was to augment you enough that your proximity to an interface with my mind actually mattered then well. It would be like you had gone from an adult to a newborn infant in an instant. The reduction in abilities would be simply staggering and well not everyone takes those reductions very well.” Shia gave her body a slight shiver as she remembered this fact. “Actually if I'm going to upgrade you I would prefer to implement the improvements slowly. A gradual curve of adaptation is easier for a person to adapt to and easier for them to come down from.”

“Well hold on. I'm not sure if I want you tinkering with my genetics just yet.”

“Oh I don't have to tinker with your genetics! If you'd just let me introduce a few of my cells into your body I could bond them with your muscles, bones, nervous system, brain and well everything else. Then I could augment your abilities without having to touch your genetics. Now this is a limited form of augmentation but I'm sure that you would enjoy it. Plus it would let me be all the closer to you.” As she spoke Shia was once again leaning her larger body forward towards Brian. She was glad that he didn't try to back away or even raise up out of his seat. She could tell that he wasn't enthusiastic about the idea either.

“Shia letting someone into my body is a little too personal at the moment and honestly a little strange.”

“Ah! You were okay with it when you read of two minds. You even said that having an artificial intelligence sharing your mind could be an interesting experience so long as the AI couldn't hijack your body.”

“That AI's persona was built partially from its host mind and thus wasn't a completely independent being. Plus just because I'm okay with something doesn't mean that I'd actually want to undergo such a procedure.” Brian felt Shia's breath rush by him as she gave a slight sigh. It carried a hint of peppermint and sugar that he knew a human's breath wouldn't carry without some impressive mints or dental treatments. Shia wasn't truly trying to emulate being a large human but rather she was trying to emulate an idea. Despite that he thought her breath smelt very nice.

“You forgot the part where you said that it would have to be a truly desperate situation such as a war and you're a jet pilot like in the story. Oh alright.” As she spoke Shia once again raised her larger body into a seated position. As she spoke she couldn't resist shrugging her shoulders slightly causing her massive breasts to bounce subtly.

“If you want to though I wouldn't mind riding around in that little nest you set up for me for a bit. Just let me finish eating first.”

“Yay!” As she spoke Shia reached forward and slipped the middle finger of her left hand between Brian and the table rapidly pushing it backwards as she did so. At the same time her right hand came to wrest behind him with her pinky just behind his back. As her left hand cleared the space that she needed she shifted the ground beneath him so that he could fall backwards and her right hand pinky could come to wrest behind him. Had she been using common terrain this would have been accompanied by the sound of the ground being torn to shreds as she toppled Brian onto her finger.

A slight yelp escaped Brian as he and his chair fell backwards. He didn't have much time to shout though as he landed atop a soft warm surface. The feeling of falling was quickly replaced by the feeling of rushing upwards. This time he had more time to see what was happening. Currently he was moving towards Shia's lips at the rate a carnival ride might impose on a passenger. The fact that he could actually see Shia's face growing closer and had a moment to appreciate this also told him how large she truly was. Had he been standing some distance away she would have appeared to be moving very slowly rather them exceptionally fast. There was a sudden deceleration and a moment where his body seemed to lose contact with her finger before he found himself pressed into Shia's upper lip.

Shia hadn't lost control of herself. If she had she would have crushed Brian against her lip. Her human body had felt a rush of emotions including joy and gratitude once Brian had permitted her to nest him in her hair if only for a while. She had allowed herself to act on these feelings and as she did so found that they grew stronger with each passing moment. As she felt Brian pressing against her lip the flesh conformed to his tiny body. The feeling of his face and crotch pressing against her lips was delightful and the desire to draw the experience out was powerful. She had to deny herself that pleasure as she pulled him away. “Thank you.”

For a moment Brian said nothing. The sensation of rapid acceleration had been followed shortly by the pleasure brought upon by being pressed into Shia's massive lips. His entire body was left tingling as she pulled him away and for a moment it seemed as if he had been drugged. The fact that he could feel the wind rushing past him as Shia moved him away from her face and even then it took several seconds for him to be able to see all of her face was simply staggering. The thought that this was only a tiny portion of her body and in truth they were inside her greater body required a few more moments of silence. “You're welcome.”

Immediately Shia gave a giggle one that flowed naturally from her body as she looked down at her tiny friend wresting atop her pinky. “Well then. Would you like to finish your meal or would you like to see the next area?”

“Sure but what do you have in mind? I mean the next area sounds good.” As he spoke Brian tried to raise himself up to a seated position. His body didn't quite want to move though. Between the ride, the kiss, the full stomach and the comfort of laying on Shia's finger his body pretty much just wanted to stay still and relax. It took a surprising amount of willpower just to force himself to raise to a seated position. As he set up Brian took a moment to look around. He regretted that almost immediately as he looked town towards Shia's chest and the vast valley of cleavage beneath him. As he did one particularly large freckle caught his attention. He wondered if it had a larger diameter then he had height.

“Well it's too early to exercise after all you've just eaten. Let me get you settled in with some of your other responsibilities. I think it's time I give you a better idea of what I actually do.” As she spoke Shia found herself lifting Brian once again this time towards her forehead. In truth it wasn't where she wanted to keep him at the moment. The fact that she could feel her breast tingle whenever she thought about placing Brian between them and engulfing him in her flesh with the tiniest sliver of an opening to look around almost brought a squeal of delight from her. A body designed with some human features was truly a delight to play in.

The scent of Shia's hair reached Brian before he was actually placed within it. As she brought him closer he didn't wait for her to drop him into the nest but reached out and took hold of the strands. “You know your hair feels really soft.”

***********************************************************************************

It was hard for Shia to keep her hair still. She wanted to wrap it around Brian and hold him closer to herself. If she worked her hair properly it was possible she could excite him but she had promised to refrain from such behavior. As they moved into what could be considered the cargo area of her larger body she gave him a moment to take it all in. “I like to involve myself in a variety of things. Typically whenever I come to a new species that I believe are worth helping I try to decide on what would help them develop in the right way without actually providing them with any of my technology. Hey how about we make a bit of a game of this!”

Brian wasn't entirely certain what he was seeing. The room Shia had taken him into wasn't a vast area of empty space but rather several large towers stood before him. They were simple structures as far as he could see but as he considered who he was dealing with he knew that wasn't the case. “Shia where are we?”

“Storage. Oh! I guess you don't recognize spacial folds. Okay you could think of these towers as my fat cells but instead of just expanding they warp and twist space inside of them. So long as I'm not worried about somethings structural integrity I can store far more inside the towers then their volume would imply. Often it's easier to simply store the materials I'm going to use to make something and then put it back together whenever I need to or want to.”

“Why don't you make the matter itself?”

“Because then I have to deal with all the anti-matter I produce. I can do it! It's just more energy efficient to store the materials like this. Anyway. Do you want to know the game?”

Brian had something of an idea of how powerful Shia was at this point. He knew that she could do a lot to help humanity and its allies. She had even mentioned she wanted to do as much. Yet now she was talking about some kind of game. Did that mean she intended to let him help choose how she would do so? If that was the case his choice might have drastic affects on his entire people's prosperity. It felt like a weight had suddenly settled on top of his shoulders. “I'm not sure if that's the type of decision I should be making.”

“None sense! You're a good person so I feel certain in trusting you. Now we could take some of me and spend some time hunting for lost ships. I've never shared my technology with another species but I have nothing against helping them find technology from other races. If we're going to do this though we're going to have to move well beyond explored regions. I'll let you use any of my sensory abilities that you can handle. Now another option is we could hunt for the materials you're going to need to easily produce Kanson computers. In either case we can also search for life forms that humans have yet to encounter and once we achieve our goal you could help pick who we sell the materials to.”

It was easy for Brian to see how the first option would help humanity out. It was rare but any time a ship was found with more advanced or even technology that was simply different but achieved the same goal as current technology those who found it tended to benefit. The second choice had caught Brian off guard though. “What are Kanson computers?”

“It's a computing system that a human professor last name Kanson is currently working on. It's allows for processing speeds roughly seven times what your current computers can manage and enhances the memory by five times. This would also benefit those with mechanical augmentations. The only problem is that the materials it requires are rare and synthesizing them isn't cost effective. So if you could find a sufficient supply to begin mass production it would help your entire species develop.”

“If I can?”

Shia gave a slight chuckle and felt her smile tugging at the sides of her face. “I was hoping you'd notice that! Yes. I already know where a supply is. However, I want you to explore and find it.” As she spoke Shia gave an excited giggle and rapidly clapped her massive hands together. She could see Brian was smiling as well.

“So that's how you're going to make sure that I don't try to leave you early! Now if I leave you I'm going to spend the rest of my life regretting the opportunity I passed up and wondering how my selfish behavior hurt my entire species.” Brian was grinning as well. He had considered asking Shia if she would really refuse to help an entire people just because one person refused to work with her. That was very easy to turn around on him though. Would he hurt his entire species simply because he wasn't comfortable working with Shia?

“Does that mean you want to hunt for the materials?”

“I'm not sure. Hey! You said you were going to make this into a game.” As he spoke Brian leaned forward and looked down over the slope of Shia's forehead and towards her eyes. He felt her hairs tightening up on various parts of his body as if she was scared he might fall but he didn't say anything. “How is this a game though? This is just a choice.”

“True! Okay in that case how about we begin with letting you choose the layout of your ship?” As she spoke Shia transferred a small amount of information into Brian's mind. “Okay now pick the category you want and then you'll be given a selection. I want you to design the layout of my body we're going to be using for exploring.”

For a moment Brian couldn't respond all he could do was feel dizzy. He had felt his mind connect with Shia's before and this was nowhere near as serve as that had been but it was still a lot to process. “Shia you're making it kind of hard to. To think.” Immediately Brian felt the flood of information moving through his mind relax.

“My mistake. I was sharing a little too much information with you.”

Brian gave a slight nod. Now that he could think more clearly he noticed one thing immediately. “Shia these layouts are the same size as a heavy warship.”

“Yes. I don't intend to bring all of me along for this journey it's just not practical. I like to be able to approach different space stations as I'm traveling around and well if I brought all of me anywhere near them they might panic. Plus if I do something silly my presence alone could end up upsetting the gravitational pull a few planets experience. I don't want to cause any flooding. I admit it makes me a little uncomfortable using such a tiny body. Would you feel better if I brought more of me along?”

There was no immediate response from Brian as he continued to think about the ships layout. Some deep space exploration ships tended to be massive both for safety reasons and the equipment they had to carry with them. Shia's design was pushing even that and so far all he'd looked at was the ships overall layout. The thought that if Shia didn't shield herself from the affects of gravity she could upset the orbits of entire planets with her true body wasn't lost on him either. She could end a species simply by being in the same solar system as them if she wasn't being careful. “Shia I believe you're going a bit too big.”

“It's only a tiny part of me.” Part of Shia was glad that Brian couldn't see her smiling. She found herself wondering what path he would use to try to convince her to change her size. Would he even try? Based on her past experience with him she was certain that he would try. What would that mean if he didn't even try though? It would mean she didn't know him as well as she thought. This thought actually excited Shia and she found herself beginning to shake slightly as the excitement rushed through her body. She wanted him to answer yet she didn't want him to answer. If he didn't answer she could continue waiting and hoping. She hoped that she was right about this.

“Well. I guess it's alright. If you want to get closer to a developed world or another ship you can just make an even smaller body to use. I imagine you're going to have some small exploration ships inside yourself. At that size if you were to land on a planet or even go into its atmosphere you would destroy the environment. I mean can you imagine the amount of heat energy the wind friction would cause alone? Well I guess you know exactly how much.” Brian didn't know what to think as Shia gave a delighted squeal.

“That is so neat!”

“What!” Brian was actually rather alarmed as he looked down at Shia's face. As he was looking over her forehead though he couldn't help but look at the vast expanse of cleavage further below. Shock and excitement greeted him as he noticed Shia wasn't just squeezing her breasts together she was playing with her nipples through her clothing and she didn't even seem to notice it. It was a good three seconds before his brain caught up with the wrest of him and he quickly leaned backwards.

“You put your energy into thinking of a way to avoid conflict and keep me happy as well! I wonder if you did it because you knew that would be the easiest way to get my compliance or if you wanted to make me happy. Don't tell me! I want to think about it but. I would really like it if you'd let me deeper into your mind right now!”

At first all Brian could do was mumble as he tried to think of a response. “Perhaps later.” Came from him. For the moment he really wanted to keep his thoughts to himself even if his body revealed some of them.

“Alright. That's good.”

“So are you going to be using any stealth features to keep yourself from sticking out? If people see a ship like that traveling around they are more likely to bring up their defense or try to hide from you rather then to make peaceful contact.”

“Yes. I'll allow myself to be seen but I'll be masking my true size. Now you need to finish settling on the design I'm going to use.”

Brian gave a nod and refocused on the information Shia was placing in his mind. The scanners needed to locate dead ships and those needed to locate rare mineral wealth were a bit different. Either could be used for the other but for optimum efficiency they'd need to be specialized. “Do you know of any dead ships that would offer useful technology?”

“I know of some that are just sleeping and would advance human technology by a few decades even if used poorly.”

For a moment John wasn't certain how to respond. He'd set up once again though he didn't glance down at Shia's chest. His penis still hadn't calmed down and that wasn't making thinking any easier. The fact that he knew Shia could see his excitement even without looking at him didn't really help matters. He was trying to focus on the task at hand. “I'm guessing they aren't many like that. Hey Shia. You seem really friendly to life. Why did you leave another intelligence sleeping in space?”

“I spoke to them first but they weren't interested in talking to me. They're a few that I repaired and even helped develop new bodies. Some of them simply don't have any desires of their own. In other cases they feel no real difference between drifting in space until their ability to process information fades away and actually serving a function. I really don't like talking to them!” As she spoke Shia gritted her teeth for a moment in an outward display of displeasure. She was made to chuckle whenever she heard Brian laughing. Apparently he'd noted the tone of her voice.

“Well you could have advanced their thinking process so they could enjoy things.”

“Oh? You mean like I could augment your mind and body?”

For a moment Brian froze up suddenly feeling very silly. “Okay that is a fair point. You're not big on forcing things on people who don't want them. Hey have you ever forced a species to continue surviving?”

“I haven't but the opportunity has never presented itself. Now one of my sisters she encountered a planet that had been converted into some kind of death cult. They planned to use atomic weapons to purge their entire world so their spirits could ascend to the next and make room for new life. They believed they had reached the peek of culture and this was the only way to move on. She didn't stop them from killing themselves but she took all of them that wanted to continue living and those who were too young to make that decision for themselves.”

“How did she do that?”

“She covered all of them with a light layer of her cells. She then used that to project shields around everyone that wanted to continue living. I guess in some ways they got what they wanted as far as new life. Once they'd killed themselves she restored the world for the survivors with some improvements and did some work on their star.”

“You mean she didn't take them to live with her?”

“Well she asked if she could leave ten thousand kilograms of herself on the world so that she could live amongst them.” Shia went silent as her body felt a wave of joy that brought on laughter. “Telling people that you're not a god doesn't work very well. When they realized how powerful she was they thought to worship her but she told them she didn't want worshiped and wasn't a god but a very technologically advanced being. They honored her request not to worship her but oh my you should have heard them. They clearly believed that she was a god despite what she told them and showed them but they tried to figure out why a god would lie about what they were.”

After a moment of consideration Brian found himself chuckling a bit as well. “So how did that work out?” Even as he was speaking with Shia Brian found himself thinking on the ship layout. He wasn't certain what one was the best way to go so he was trying to listen to his instincts. He had been told before and experienced that often the choice that felt the most natural was the best choice.

“Well they decided that as there were more then one of her kind she wasn't lying. To her she wasn't a god. However, to them she was a god. They even developed many philosophical ideas on what a god was and what it meant to be a god or godlike. They used her actions to begin forming a sort of standard and when she tried to keep back they only resolved that respecting others right to develop their own ideas is a godlike action. It was pretty funny a lot of the time but they developed a very interesting culture. Now how are things coming with the ship design?”

For a moment Brian didn't respond but bit down on his lower lip. He had been hoping that during the conversation the answer would come to him. It didn't seem like things were going to become anymore clear then they already were though. “I'd like to look for mineral resources. As great as it would be to find a more advanced technology or something we could use and bring it home I'd much rather be able to say that this technology is ours, something we developed, rather then something we found. That probably isn't entirely accurate though is it.”

“Professor Kanson's design does depend on technology that was shared with humans that is true as well as some you've developed yourselves. I'm glad that you were able to make a decision so soon though.” As she spoke Shia was already forming the design for the ship. So far she had adjusted the detection equipment. “Now that has our scanning equipment taken care of. What else would you like. Oh!” A delighted giggle escaped Shia as Brian proceeded to make several rapid selections. “Now why did you make those choices?”

“Well. We need some cargo space but we don't need a whole lot of it. After all. Our goal is more to find the minerals rather then to collect them. Unless you're more interested in the money. I kind of doubt you are.”

“That's true. What about the engine design?”

“I was thinking that when it came to a mineral search we would need to be able to quickly gate between planets and areas of dense concentrations of dust. So the ability to gate large distances quickly then do a slow scan of a relatively small region seemed like the way to go. If we'd been hunting for dead or sleeping ships I would have gone with the design meant for long periods of travel at moderate speeds. I notice you didn't give me any choice whenever it comes to defenses. Hey Shia is this really how you tend to explore different regions?”

“Indeed it is. I specialize some of my cells for various forms of travel and activities then I split myself up. The only thing I can't part out like that is well my core.”

“Your core?” Despite his previous experience Brian once again risked looking down towards Shia's eye and into her cleavage. He was a bit relieved to find that her arms were now simply crossed over her chest.

“My core is a vital part of my mind and well my energy source as well.”

“Your mind?” It seemed strange. Whenever Brian had first learned of Shia he had almost thought of her as software. Like some nanobots programming she would exist in all of her cells. “You mean you have a group of specialized cells that do the thinking for you?”

“I.” For a moment Shia went silent and lightly flipped her bottom lip. This actually made it easier to think. It was an interesting aspect of her more human body. “It is much like my brain yes. Except that I can't just replace it. It is an essential part of my body. It's not like my other cells if we're still using that comparison.”

For a moment John went silent and considered what Shia had told him. Fortunately she was quiet. He felt a little nervous as he asked his next question. “So if it was destroyed that would kill you?”

“Yes. Well if it can be destroyed even I can't do that. I would say that if my core was separated from me I would die but I'm not sure about that. Is my core part of me and if we're ever separated the being that I am now would die or am I actually my core and I'm simply interpreting and interacting with the world through this form? We don't know that as to test it we'd have to risk killing one of our own and that's not something we're willing to try.”

“So none of you have ever been killed?”

“Nope! We are the only living beings that we know of who have never had a member of our species die.”

Once again Brian was stunned. Shia said that she wasn't a god but with a species description like that it was hard to believe. What other beings could live for who knows how long without a single one of them dieing? It didn't sound possible. “May I know where your core comes from?”

“We're not really sure. Well a bit of my people's history. We were made by another species but we had a disagreement with our makers and well things didn't work out. Our makers didn't make our cores though they found the first of them. Five to be exact. They didn't know where our cores came from either but they learned how to use them. Since then we have found others and proceeded to add to our species as well as study our cores. I mean. I'm studying mine right now. I can't say it's being very enlightening.”

“Hey is that one of the reasons you're so eager to find new stimulants!” It felt like a flash of light had gone off in Brian's head. He felt Shia's body positively tremble and heard it whenever her hands smacked either side of her head as if to hold it still.

“You are just so neat! That's part of it yes but it seems to seek out companionship is part of our nature as well! Now for a long time we believed that we could only find cores that already existed but two thousand seven hundred thirty seven years ago one of us gave birth as it were. Her core suddenly began to act strangely and her personality changed a little bit then one of my sisters core became two and we added a new member to our species after studying the new cores very carefully.”

“Are you that one?”

“No!” A slight chuckle escaped Shia as she turned away from the storage area and began to walk once again. “My core was found adding onto a star a bit before that.”

It seemed a lot to take in. When Brian had first began speaking with Shia and learned what she was capable of there was a strange feeling that there was nothing she didn't know. Yet she felt so comfortable talking about her core as some kind of alien technology. “Are you trying to trick me Shia? This is all pretty hard to believe.”

“Well shouldn't this entire thing be hard to believe? Perhaps I put you to sleep and hooked you up to a simulation. I could be no.” Shia found it hard to keep herself from laughing as she felt a shift in Brian's brainwaves. It wasn't that his thinking had changed but he was attempting a few thought patterns that would help in breaking free of a simulation. “You know those don't insure that you're not in a simulation.”

“Yeah but it's better then not doing anything. My brain hurts now.” Even Brian was made to chuckle while he rubbed his forehead. Shortly after telepathy had been learned people had began trying to find ways to resist it. They were now considered a form of self defense and at times even necessary for conducting business. You wanted to be sure you were agreeing to something of your own free will and not a carefully implanted thought. In general such techniques let you shrug off the affects of a telepathic command sooner rather then completely resist.

It would have been easy for Shia to form a path strait to her core. Instead she was taking a longer way around so that she could speak with Brian more before he saw it. “I'm going to go ahead and tell you with your perception my core isn't going to look impressive at all. So don't get your hopes up. If you were to see it on a planet you'd probably think it was a strange structure and little more then that.”

“Can I touch it?”

“In certain places yes just don't touch where I'm drawing or sending energy from. I'm not sure which it is. Oh! I'm going to warn you in advance though if anything strange happens to you, even things that I can't undo, while you're touching my core I am not responsible for them. Well I may be. I'm not consciously responsible for them and I do not promise compensation.”

“Hey I thought you said it was safe!”

“It is as far as I know. Our attempts to gather information about our cores have been limited though.”

“How?”

“Well we know that they respond to certain stimulants in a certain way. That's how we're built around them. However, when we try to gather deep information such as what they're made of we start getting a big blank. Imagine a primitive society coming upon a nanite factory with a very user friendly program running it and a massive power source. They learn they asking for bread results in it giving them bread and asking for iron results in them being given iron far more pure them they can make. Yet they don't know what's going on inside of the factory and whatever the factory is made of they can't find a means of opening it up. Not that we've tried very hard.”

“I can understand that. If your energy comes from your cores you could end up releasing quite an explosion if it is simply storing that energy rather then generating it. Do you have any fears?”

“At times I fear that my core is actually a type of organism we simply can't understand and I'm actually a parasite that's feeding on the life of another sentient being.” Shia felt it whenever Brian once again began to lean forward to better see her face. In response she pushed her breasts together making them appear larger though she kept her hands away from her nipples to keep her attentions from being too obvious. The objective was to achieve an innocent pose. She registered a response in Brian but it wasn't as strong as she had expected.

“That's a very depressing thought!”

“Well you asked for my greatest fear. That's my current greatest fear I admit it's influenced by this body I'm currently using. It will change whenever I alter my form further. Here we are.” As she spoke Shia opened up some of her larger body and stepped into a large room.

What first caught Brian's eye was a sort of crystal like fluid in the center of the room. At first he thought light was going through it and being refracted when he realized it was the only light source in the room. At anyone moment it appeared to be solid but then it would swell up or sink in gentle waves and seemed to flow. The fact that its mass appeared to be changing registered soon after as did the way the lights seemed to dance within the fluid crystal. Several large pillars extended towards the crystal though he couldn't see anything actually touch it or leaving it. “Is that your core?”

“Yes it is.” Shia wanted to ask Brian some questions but she wanted to see his response first.

“I can't see any energy being transferred where are the safe sites?”

“You can't see the color spectrum. Just stay away from the pillars and you'll be fine. Not that I would let you anywhere near them to begin with.” Shia gave a slight chuckle. It wasn't as if Brian's safety was even up to him. Even if he wanted to touch one of her power conduits she wouldn't permit it.

“The colors are beautiful but.”

“You should see the full electromagnetic spectrum. It's even more beautiful.”

“You've looked at it with human eyes?”

“I did just now. It was rather limiting. Would you like to see it through mine?”

Brian once again found himself feeling rather uncertain. He'd linked minds with Shia several times at this point. Rather then answer her question he had to ask. “Are you sure that you've seen how it truly looks? What if your eyes aren't even advanced enough to see the full spectrum?”

“I've tested that actually! I can refine my eyes further though that means giving up on other functions. You're actually right to assume even I haven't seen my core for its full self.”

Brian and humanity as a whole wasn't truly unfamiliar with this situation. They had found technology that was far beyond their own as they began exploring planets and even had some of it given to them. One gift had taken over twenty years for them to fully understand. It actually seemed to make Shia less godlike. They were an alien species whose technology was depending on a piece of alien technology that was far more advanced then anything they could build. On some levels it sounded reckless but Brian also considered how humans had depended on the sun for so long. “So I'm going to be the first human to touch your core?”

“Yes you are. You're going to be the first first human to touch me that way. Well you're actually the first human to touch me.” Shia's grin didn't show any signs of going away as she teased Brian a bit. As she reached up and took hold of him she unwrapped her hair from around him. “I'm just going to say in advance if this injures you I'll repair the damage. If it kills you. Well you'll be the first person that has ever died from touching my core so that's highly unlikely. In the event that it does kill you is there anything you'd like to have done?”

There was no fear on Brian's part. When one hundred or however many different species came into contact with something and it didn't hurt them it was fairly likely it wouldn't hurt you. Given Shia's behavior so far he was certain she wouldn't let him anywhere near her core if she thought it'd kill him. “If it does kill me don't start experimenting on other humans to find out why. Well no harmful experiments and even then they have to be volunteers. That and could you send my family some money as a final good bye from me?”

A soft chuckle escaped Shia as she nodded her head. “Sure. I had one companion that asked me to make a star in his honor.”

“That's a bit too dramatic for my taste.” By now Shia had set him on her fingertip and Brian had set down. As she elevated him towards her core he could feel something pushing against his body and even sinking into it. The feeling wasn't bad but rather warming. “Okay Shia I'm feeling something like well. Happy light.”

“You mean like a telepath inducing pleasure in you?”

To this Brian shook his head in the negative. “No. It's more like I feel like I'm being healed except I'm in good health. Is that something I should be alarmed about?”

“Yay! And no. That doesn't always happen but it has happened before. It's actually a really positive sign. Those companions I've had who feel such positive energies near my core tend to be quite pleasant to have around.” Shia didn't quite touch her core but she held Brian just close enough so that he could. She had to constantly move her finger to maintain her current distance from her core as ripples continued to move over its surface.

For a moment Brian just looked on. He knew that Shia's core wasn't reflecting light at this point. While it looked like it might reflect light he couldn't see his reflection in it despite it's high gloss surface. Her core produced light it didn't reflect it. Despite his intentions though he found himself having to more push his hand towards her core then reach towards it. He didn't know what to expect. As his hand grew closer to her core he expected to feel the temperature increasing but he couldn't feel any change in it. After a moment in which he simply held his hand still he finally reached out and touched it then quickly leaped into a standing position. “What was that!”

It was impossible for Shia to keep her concern hidden. Immediately she pulled Brian back from her core being careful to counter the force of inertia so she wouldn't harm him. She had already examined his body and knew that he hadn't been damaged which meant that it must have been a telepathic response. “What? Is something wrong?”

“No. I just wanted to see what you'd do if I pretended to feel something.” Brian didn't even try to hide his laughter as a look of shock appeared on Shia's face.

Shia could have pushed her shock aside but she took a moment to hold onto it and roll it around in her mind. Feeling such a thing through her version of a human body was interesting. Amusement came soon after and she soon found herself laughing along with Brian. She had been applying stimulus after stimulus to him in order to discover how he would respond. It seemed that he had decided to apply a stimulus to her as well. His was a bit more of an aggressive one but she accepted it. “Well. That's a little disappointing now that I'm calm enough to realize it.”

Brian glanced up at Shia's face for a second and continued to smile before he turned back to her core. “So how did your creators end up developing the first of your kind? I doubt that they went in trying to develop an intelligent being.”

“No. They weren't. They found a few of our cores and began to experiment on them. I mean. If you found a material that you couldn't destroy no matter what you did wouldn't you want to learn about it? Just think of what it could do as armor.”

“True.”

“Eventually they found out that applying certain energies they got a response. They soon began working on how to tap into the energy produced or perhaps contained within our core. It just so happens that the system required to do so ended up producing a sentient being whenever they were finished. Well as much as they finished.”

“I take it the first of your people did some work on herself.”

“Once she became capable of doing so yes which was before our makers realized what was happening. Though I'm not sure makers are the right word for it.” Shia went silent and turned the eyes of her humanoid body towards her core for a moment before giving a shrug. “So is there anything else you'd like to try?”

“No thanks. I'm good. I am curious how far away from your core can you be and still receive energy?” Brian felt a little strange as he noticed Shia chuckling. “What?”

“Distance doesn't matter! The only thing that matters is how many cells I have dedicated to receiving the energy. This is also why there is no slow down in my thought processes even for portions of my body that are away from my core.”

“So you can transfer the energy and information instantly?” Brian actually felt his head hurting a bit whenever Shia shook her head no.

“No. It's just that. The cells that I use to interact with my core are capable of being in more then one place at the same time. So while they're with the part of my body that's off exploring they're also with my core. So there is no need to transfer the energy to them as they're still here.”

For a moment Brian said nothing. He wasn't certain he actually wanted to continue pressing the issue. After a few minutes of silence he made up his mind. “Could you try to explain that to me?”

“Sure!”

***********************************************************************************

April 6th – 3 hours later

Brian had given up on trying to understand how Shia's core functioned at least in detail. Given all the abilities she had it seemed like the best choice. She had insisted that if he'd allow her to modify his body and especially his brain he'd be able to understand but he'd declined. He still wasn't certain if he wanted to have her cells inside of him. It was actually something of a relief to find himself setting in front of a holoterminal practicing using the scanning equipment that Shia was preparing for the expedition. It was a bit surprising as well. For a while he'd wondered if he would actually be doing any work or if the equipment would handle it all on its own. “Okay I believe I found a promising location. Now I just set it as our destination and now what?”

Currently Shia was setting in the hanger section of her main body with Brian setting atop her right leg. While he had been focusing on learning to use the equipment she'd began putting together the portion of herself they'd be using to explore. She was including a series of human sized passages in the design with user support in mind so that Brian could move around within her and not feel like he was being carried. He could walk but the ground itself would move as well and in truth be responsible for the majority of his locomotion. “Well you selected full speed which really makes it hard to scan anything else accurately. Are you sure you should have done that?”

“Well now that you're asking no.” For a moment Brian went silent and looked back over his readings. “I see. As we passed by we could have examined a few other locations if I hadn't chosen such a high speed. Well let's see what about slowing down a bit.” Brian was a bit surprised whenever his interface suddenly flashed red and a warning popped up. “I see. Suddenly slowing down or speeding up is bad whenever we're talking about moving such large masses at such high speeds.”

“People don't tend to appreciate it whenever you leave ruffles in the fabric of space or time. They show up poorly if at all on many species sensors and have a tendency to cause serious problems whenever they hit them. Plus they can take time to straiten out.”

“That makes sense but we only just began moving. Surely you haven't reached those kinds of speeds yet.” Even though they weren't actually traveling anywhere Brian found himself working with the control interface trying to find out the exact consequences of his actions.

“In this case that's true. I wouldn't have even began really moving at this point or I could end up flinging the planets we're exploring out of orbit. Okay no red interface.” As she spoke Shia shifted the interface back to its standard display. She didn't intend on telling Brian every time he made a mistake but this time she'd let it pass as it was practice.

“Thanks. So what am I going to be doing whenever I'm not examining readings for valuable minerals?” So far Brian had been doing a good job of not thinking about how he was setting on Shia's leg. He was beginning to wish that he had something to lean back against though.

“You know if you moved further up my thigh could lean back against me.”

“Hey! Are you reading my mind?” Now Brian turned around and found himself looking up at Shia's face. This proved to be something of a task due to her rather noteworthy chest.

For a moment Shia just grinned. “No. I'm just reading your body language. Well if you don't want to lean against my thigh how about this.” As she spoke Shia had quickly formed a smaller version of her body one just a little taller then Brian. He didn't even seem to realize what was happening until he felt something lean against his back and glanced over his shoulder looking directly into her smiling face as she looked over her shoulder.

Currently Brian found himself setting back to back with a smaller version of Shia. The speed with which she had produced the smaller body nearly made him stand up but he was able to keep himself grounded. His grin tried to grow further as he noted that this smaller Shia was also using an holoterminal. It was actually quite a surprise that she didn't have him leaned back with his head snuggled into her cleavage given her previous behavior. She had promised that she would stop trying to seduce him and it seemed like she was holding herself to it. Though with how she spoke at times he wondered how well. “That's um. Yeah that's fine. Hey Shia are you just taking your time with making this exploration vessel? You tend to make things so quickly.”

“That depends entirely on what I'm working on and the resources I have on hand. I'm not dedicating all the sources I could to its construction.”

“Yeah. You mentioned earlier that you're having some conversations even now. Okay so back to the simulation.  Wouldn't the captain normally be the one to decide what areas we go search and how quickly?”

“Yes but we don't really have one of those. After all I'm the ship and you're the exploration and procurement officer.”

Brian gave his head a slight nod. “You know we never talked about what kind of hours I would be working either.”

“Well you can work as many hours as it takes to get the results that you want.” Shia didn't intend to force too much structure on Brian. The exploration wasn't her main interest after all. “You're beginning to wonder if you're really suited for setting at an interface for hours on end several days in a row just scanning different regions of space.”

“Yeah but also what about linking our minds together? You had me practice that earlier.”

“We can do that right now! There is no need to use the terminal you simply expressed a desire to have more space. If you want to link your awareness to my own and try working through that I'd be delighted to!” That hadn't come out right. Shia preferred to have her companions link their minds directly with her own. It allowed a level of stimulation that couldn't be achieved otherwise. However, most were uncomfortable with such things. Brian had done well his first few times but also seemed a bit fearful and uncomfortable.

Brian had indeed stiffened up seeing how positively Shia had responded to his suggestion. He hadn't considered that she might be taking it easy on him. “Well. You showed pretty clear intentions to have me work using mental interface. I just wondered about that. Even whenever it came to designing the ships basic layout you used a mental interface.”

“Darn. I hoped that you wanted to use a mental interface rather then using this slow clunky method.”

For a moment Brian was silent. “I'm not sure if my head has fully recovered from the last mental interface. I hope you don't take this as complaining but I guess it is. When I was taking classes to be involved in space exploration I imagined it as being a bit more exciting. Do people really just set at holoterminals for hours on end like I'm doing?”

“Well most of them listen to music while they're going it. Those who are really good at mental processing might even watch a show while performing their responsibilities. I guess you spent more time in your classes focusing on what happens when something is detected. Then determining if it's worth going to investigate and how to compensate for environmental problems. That is important but based on my own experience. As in when I'm searching worlds by myself. You spend roughly ninety percent of your time looking for something worth investigating and then ten percent actually investigating it. Yeah that is right according to James.”

“James? Oh! You're talking to someone right now aren't you?”

“He has the same job as you but they're hunting for atmospheres that could be easily turned into reactor fuel. He works for in energy production.  Now he's talking about how it's been three weeks and they've only had two promising hits but not promising enough to go look at. They sent some drones to examine the location for them. He recommends you find some music you enjoy listening to and just get into the flow of things. That and having someone to speak to helps.”

Once again Brian felt warning bells going off. “Hey! Is that why you chose this game?”

A delighted chuckle escaped Shia as she nodded her head. “One of the reasons yes. This is one of those jobs that insures you're going to have lots of time to talk to and interact with me. Oh James said that if you want a job that keeps you busy find work in basic repairs or none critical system repairs. Apparently someone is always messing something up.”

“Don't machines handle that?”

“I don't even need to ask him about that. Repairing the machines that handle the repairs are often one of your primary responsibilities. You always want a few people on ship that can handle repairs in the event the machines that handle the repairs break down. If you're not working on something small you're helping the official mechanics with their job. It's actually how many people find work as a ship mechanic they begin working in none critical systems until they have enough of a reputation and experience to move up. Unfortunately I can't really let you work on repairing me. Oh! V'ban also says you'll be grateful for these times of quiet whenever the real work begins. Especially if you're hunting for dead ships. Guess who's responsible for scanning them and making sure they're actually dead?”

“I read about that in class. It made mention of the Allure find. Some explorers found a dead warship which turned out to be a lot less dead then they believed.” As Brian spoke he was actually thinking of the safety Shia was providing him with. They were a lot of dangers that he would typically be responsible for noticing and informing the captain of. You didn't just find minerals on a world you also needed to find possible dangers.

“In your case V'ban says you need to keep an eye out for illegal gathering operations. Keep in mind even if a region of space isn't settled someone has typically claimed it and will expect a fee to be paid. Well you don't have to worry about that where we're going to be exploring no one has a true claim.”

“Isn't that known as. We're so far out I'd like to see you try to enforce it?”

“Yes but it is quite acceptable in terms of your species laws.”

Brian gave a slight chuckle before nodding his head. “That's true but that's because if we tried to honor everyone's claims we wouldn't be able to get off our planet. The Yazen like to claim as they were the first to achieve space flight in the galaxy then everything in it that isn't a species home world is rightfully theirs.”

“They're lieing about that.” Before continuing Shia leaned a bit more firmly back against Brian with her smaller body and leaned her head back on his shoulder. “I also remember someone finding it very amusing whenever they tried to force those laws on the Zarog.” As she spoke Shia brushed the side of her head against Brian's jaw for a moment. She chose to keep her grin hidden as she felt him shiver a bit and quickly set up. She needed to keep her actions friendly or he might accuse of her of breaking her promise.

“I uh.” Brian felt like his head was in a fog and he couldn't see where he was going or think of what he wanted to say. Once Shia set up his mind was able to catch up to the wrest of him. “It's not like I was happy with the loss of life. I was pretty amused that the Yazen were shown they can't just push other nations around. It really seemed stupid that they even tried. Sure the Yazen achieved space travel fairly early but they live on a low gravity planet and the Zarog had quite an advantage in both their weapons and defensive technology. You say they're lieing though.”

“They're numerous species that developed effective space travel before they did. The Telesi achieved effective space travel centuries before they did. You humans did as well. I guess they didn't really cover them in your studies.”

“No. I just knew they believed that they achieved effective space travel first and thus owned the entire galaxy.”

Shia gave a slight snort as a display of annoyance. “No Brian. They don't believe that. They say that in order to justify their claims and their hostile actions towards others. Well you can't be expected to know the history of every species you share the galaxy with. You have more important things to learn.”

To this Brian gave a nod. “So you'll be handling the roll of legal operations officer as well?”

“Yep! Your knowledge of interstellar law is skeletal at best after all. I like to be careful when it comes to who I offend.”

“Really? Shia I know I haven't known you for long but I can't see you offending anyone.”

“Ah! Thank you! I try to be polite and respectful towards the cultures of others.” For a moment Shia changed the display of Brian's terminal into an image of her face smiling at him before quickly changing it back. “It's impossible to avoid offending everyone though even for me. Some simply become upset over your existence alone after all. When you consider my destructive potential my existence is actually a violation of several arms agreements as well.”

Brian actually found himself caught a bit off guard by Shia's admission. He knew that she was powerful. However, the idea that she might have enough destructive potential to violate a few treaties hadn't really sunk in. “Well don't those only apply to nations?”

“Technically yes but that's only because no one believed someone could have such destructive ability whenever the laws were being written. I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone else. You're doing a good job with those scanners. Your classes prepared you well.”

“Thanks.” As Brian watched the screen he relaxed a bit and lowered his hands to either side of him. As he placed his palms against Shia's skin he was made to remember that she wasn't just setting behind him. He was actually setting on top of her right thigh. His body tensed up for a moment but he forced it to relax. “So you really plan on carrying me around like this?”

“I would prefer to. If it makes you uncomfortable though I can use a smaller body to interact with you.” Shia had noticed how Brian had become more relaxed whenever he had a version of her the same size as him. As strange as it felt to use such a small fragile body to interact with someone the benefits were clear. Even if he didn't ask her to she would have to make it a point to keep a human sized version of herself around him.

“No. It's fine. I'm just wondering how certain things are going to work.”

“Brian while you're waiting for your scans to give some more details would you like to play a game or perhaps watch a video of some type?”

“What do you have to watch?” Brian felt a little silly whenever he heard Shia chuckle.

“Unless you want to create a mental pathway with me that would take a little too long for me to answer. I have a wide assortment of memories both fictional and true that you could enjoy. Then again I suppose I shouldn't distract you too much from your job. How about we begin with some nice music?”

“That sounds good.” It surprised Brian whenever a rather upbeat song met his ears. There were no words at least no words that he could make out but it was rather energetic and even a bit exciting. After a moment of listening to it he even caught himself lightly smacking Shia's thigh in tune with the song. “What is this?”

“It's a little something I've been working on based on your preference in music.” Shia had been tweaking her tone of voice before to better excite Brian. She had slowed down such practices in accordance with his request. Fortunately she could still work through the music. She couldn't use anything that was too seductive at the moment or her intentions would be revealed so she had opted for something that would excite him in other ways. She rather disliked it whenever his hand went still though she was happy whenever his fingers returned to her skin.

“It's nice. So you made this for me?”

“Yes I did.” First she would need to get Brian focused on his work again so that he wasn't thinking too much about what his hands were doing. Then she could use the music to encourage certain actions and emotions. As she considered the song Shia was beginning to modify her shirt. Brian would notice if she were to suddenly expose the underside of her breasts but she could shorten and tighten the shirt. Once he had adjusted to the new dimension she would then go further until she began to expose more of her skin to him once again.

Brian actually found himself bobbing his head to the music before looking towards the screen again. “Now are you going to be adjusting the music to find what sounds improve my productivity the most?”

“Well I wouldn't be being true to my nature if I didn't. Are you by any chance ready to try a mental link again?”

“Not just yet. It hasn't even been an hour since the last one.” Brian didn't quite know what to think whenever he felt some of Shia's hair brush against his face. Rather then say anything he turned back to the screen. Currently they were still in transit to their next location and he had to remind himself they were traveling a great distance. The journey Shia had casually agreed to would have normally taken well over a week. His instruments told him that it was going to take them less then thirty minutes. “Shia I'd normally have to gather a lot more information before we took a journey like this wouldn't I?”

“Yes. You'd also have far less help processing the information and have to make sure the information is good. Though you'd also normally have others working with you to do that. You'd also need to consider fuel. Long journey's are simply too expensive to take repeatedly and not find anything.” As she spoke Shia brought up some additional information on Brian's readout.

“That's. Shia I believe that we've got combat. Oh crap yeah we've got combat.” Brian chuckled a bit. If this hadn't been a simulation he wouldn't have found it funny in the least. From his readings though he was certain that two other ships had come out of faster then light travel ahead of them and began fighting. “What else can you tell me about them? Er wait! Shia I believe two ships have come out of faster then light travel and are fighting in our path. What do you want to do?”

“Huh? Why are you asking me?”

“Well you're the captain.”

“I'm not the captain I'm the ship.” As she spoke Shia's little body set up a bit further and turned to face Brian. He'd done the same. She didn't try to remove her smile.

“You're a lot more then the ship. You have clearly claimed responsibility for the ship's crew and that's the captain's job.”

“No. That's the medic's job. I mean. Just look at the way you chose our next destination. Clearly you're more of the captain them I am.”

“I made a suggestion you're the one that chose to accept it. I can't take command of any of your systems and a captain would have a manual override.” Please don't give me a manual override shot through Brian's mind much to his surprise. It was a strange thought but being responsible for Shia's actions seemed a bit frightening to him. “We don't have time to argue about this anyway. We need to decide what we're going to do.” As he spoke Brian turned back to the screen. “From what I can tell one of the ships is lightly armed but very large this suggest a merchant ship. The other is smaller and heavily armed. I believe we're dealing with a pirate situation. We need to call the authorities but given our location should we stop and help or go around?”

“Spoken just like a captain except for that last part.”

Brian gave a slight grunt in response to Shia's comment and turned to face her. Rather then look at her smaller body though he turned his attention to her massive one. “Spoken like an exploration officer. Now you brought up the scenario what are we going to do?” In truth Brian would want to stop and help in such a situation. There could be more to the situation then he realized but that could wait until later.

“In this case we're going to stop and disable both of the ships. Then we're going to find out exactly what is going on. Begin looking at the estimates as far as the damage we're going to cause to time and space in the region and then plan the best stopping pattern quickly.” Shia continued to grin when Brian turned back to his screen. He didn't notice that she'd changed the music a bit on him.

“Let's do this using a mental interface I can work faster that way and lives might be in danger.” Brian had to fight back the urge to collapse as he felt Shia once again connect directly to his mind. When he tried to pull himself back up it was a surprise when he felt like he was being lifted. Likely Shia was providing him with additional support but he didn't have time to worry about that. It was amazing how much clearer the data appeared to him and he was able to work through it. He didn't hear Shia's response with his ears this time.

“That's an acceptable stopping pattern. Once it's done we're going to need to spend about a quarter of an hour in the region so I can make sure the damage to space is repaired.”

“Repairing damage to space itself is only a fifteen minute job for you?”

“That depends entirely on the amount of damage done. If I had to use the body that picked you up on the space station this would be a problem. We would be there for days while I repaired the damage and it would be much more dangerous.” As she spoke Shia was already doing the stop in the simulation. Brian was actively working to monitor the situation. Shia couldn't help but send him some jolts of pleasure thanks to him prompting her to create a mental connection with him. She wanted to reward him for his efforts.

“So have the two other ships began communications with us yet?”

“I tried but they haven't responded. The ship that we believed was under attack is however a Yazen ship. I'm currently going through their records as well as the records of the pursuit ship to find out what's happening.”

“Wait. That means you're already hacking their systems!”

Now Shia gave an amused chuckle. “Yes I am. I prefer to be well informed during these situations even if I have to look at some private information.” While what she said was true Shia wondered how Brian would respond to this situation. What she was doing was technically an attack on both ships. Given that she had disabled them both she had already attacked them both of course even if no permanent harm had been done. 

“Shia you stopped the ships from attacking one another in order to prevent them from killing one another. Just because you can hack through their security easily doesn't make looking into their private information right though. I'm going to have to protest against this path of action.” Brian risked glancing behind himself and noticed the look Shia was giving him. It didn't surprise him that she was grinning. He still nearly jumped to his feet whenever she proceeded to lean forward bringing her face closer to him and giving him an even better view of her chest which looked like it might come down on top of him.

“Now how do you intend to do that?”

Even as he had been speaking Brian had been considering his options. Fortunately he already had a response prepared. “I'm afraid I'm going to have to report you to the authorities whenever we return to human controlled space. What you've done is going well beyond reasonable intervention.”

“Report me! Don't you think that's a bit much. It's not like they'd ever know I hacked them.” As she spoke Shia pushed a good deal of concern into her voice. She didn't mean to be sarcastic but rather she wanted to play with Brian. She was curious how far he was willing to take his disagreement.

“I don't believe I have any choice in this matter. I'm not sure if I can work with someone who ignores the T.A.G.B. Guidelines so openly. What we should do is open up communications with both ships and contact the nearest police or ship with the authority to handle this situation legally.” Brian felt a little silly whenever he heard Shia chuckle and realized his mistake. “Except we could be months away from one of them actually getting here.”

“Yes.”

“Then we should request to be deputized and do this the proper way. I know we're not in human controlled space so we're technically not bound by those laws but the T.A.G.B guidelines were established so that we could always return to human controlled space as well.” Brian was curious how Shia would actually respond to this. She did seem fond of testing him. Right now she also seemed to be testing if he could avoid looking at her cleavage which was many times deeper then he was tall while speaking with her. So far he was failing horribly.

After a moment Shia's lips parted into another open smile. “Brian you're such a fun companion to have around. Fine. I'll detain the ship while we gather information and get an official decision on what we should do. Oh except it isn't earth sending us the official decision. It seems we've got the attention of the Zarog! Do you remember what the T.A.G.B. say about this situation?”

“We have to take into consideration how close we are to their territory and their presence in the region which means.” Brian took a moment to check his readings. Instead of looking at the screens though he simply tried to remember the information and felt it flow into his mind thanks to the mental link. “Oh boy. I guess we go with the Zarog's decision.”

“You guess?”

“Fine! It's just well.” Brian gave a slight sigh. The Zarog could have some very harsh and permanent punishments whenever it came to pirates and to a Zarog any star ship that was used in theft primarily was a pirate ship. “What is their decision?”

“Hack the records and send them a copy of the data as well as any communications with the crew of either ship. They'll make a ruling then. As we have been deputized by the Zarog military we are to be prepared to execute any and all that are determined to be pirates. Oh they appreciate our cooperation and give permission to destroy either of the ships if they should somehow resume hostility against us.”

Brian knew that Shia wasn't actually speaking with the Zarog. Yet the situation she described was very fitting for them. There was something wrong with it. He just needed a moment to put his finger on it. “No way. Even if they're considerate pirates there is no way you'd execute someone that doesn't pose an immediate danger especially after you disarmed them.”

“Ah! You got me.”  Shia took on a more relaxed pose as she set back up and leaned back a bit with her larger body. Her smaller held its position in order to continue offering Brian support once he settled back down. “I just wanted to play around a bit and see how you would handle a pirate situation. I had hoped that you'd take more of a leadership roll on it. My standard method of dealing with such things would be to detain the pirates and hand them over to the appropriate authorities. I determine who the appropriate authorities are based on our location and who they attacked. For example let's say it had been a human ship instead. I would want to contact the Terran Alliance.”

Brian had noticed whenever Shia change the readout for the ship for that of a human one. “Would you consider turning over Yazen pirates to Yazen authorities and letting them be judged by their own people? The greatest justice isn't always served by handing someone over to their victims after all.”

“It isn't always served by handing them over to their own people either.”

Brian gave his head a nod in agreement. “That's true.”

“I would consider it though but I'm afraid I don't put much trust in the Yazen government.”

“If we're talking about justice wouldn't a being that's lived tens of thousands of years if not more so and encountered many other species and cultures be a better judge of what's just.” It surprised Brian whenever Shia gave a slight chuckle.

“That's a dangerous kind of thinking. I'm older then you so my justice is right and yours is wrong is a way for someone to become corrupt very quickly. I'm already a little uncomfortable with deciding who I should hand the offender over to. After all I know what the Zarog are most likely going to do to the pirates. If I were to kill them it might even be seen as a mercy.” Shia gave a bit of a sigh and slowed down on working on the parts of her body she would be using to take Brian exploring and dedicated more of the energy to thinking on the ethics of her current situation.

“So you're not fond of passing judgment on other species?”

“Well. That depends on what you consider passing judgment. I don't have any trouble deciding on who I want to help and I feel no shame or guilt when I choose not to help someone. Now I'm talking about in terms of sharing technology or providing resources. That kind of judgment I have no trouble passing. However, deciding to kill someone that's a lot more difficult. I don't want to be the monster or the god that passes judgment on others. I want to nurture and experience other life forms.” Shia actually felt herself blushing a little bit as she talked about this subject. She felt excitement talking about it but also a form of relaxation.

“So what about our current situation? Do we take the ships and their crew on a several months journey? Part of this scenario is we're too far out for us to travel to the Zarog authorities. You know if you brought the crews and especially the ships to them in a matter of hours they'd respond to how quickly you made the journey. I'm pretty sure you're avoiding making your abilities too well known just yet. Would it be alright if we shut down the mental connection as well? My head is beginning to feel strange.”

“I want you to help decide! You know you're going to have to do some real work.”

“Hey now. Setting at a terminal for hours on end is real work.” As he spoke Brian felt the mental connection with Shia cut off. Certain facts began to rapidly fade from his mind and for a moment he couldn't really think. It felt as if he had become significantly dumber in an instant and with that there was a feeling of frustration and discomfort. Part of him missed the knowledge. He noted Shia giving an open sigh.

“I can't wait until you're more comfortable touching me so I can maintain the link longer. Now Brian you're one of the officers on this ship which means you have to be involved in the decision making and this is a big one.”

Did she have to say it that way? Brian felt his body responding to Shia's words despite his head still being in something similar to a fog. “I'm the only crew member in you though.”

“That doesn't change the fact that you're an officer and I want your input.”

“Because you're the captain?”

“I am not the captain.” Shia gave a slight chuckle and stuck her tongue out at Brian for a moment. He was going to have to do better then that if he wanted her to make a mistake and admit to being the captain. “This is a partnership in which we make decisions as a team.”

“I vote to make you the captain then.”

“Sorry but your half the vote isn't enough to overrule mine using the standards set forth by the T.A.G.B.”

Brian gave a slight snort before taking a moment to rub his head and think. “Could we hold the pirates until we can hand them over to the Zarog authorities? But Shia. What if the Zarog already ruled that the pirates are to be executed. Sense you were deputized by them you can't just ignore them It'd be like ignoring the orders of a superior officer.”

“That's not entirely true. There is room for negotiation. If I can deliver the pirates to the authorities safely that is acceptable. However, by contacting the Zarog and becoming involved with them it's true that I have agreed to follow their rulings and their laws. If they give a direct order though.” Shia took in a breath to give her and Brian a pause. “Yes. There could be legal consequences for such actions that could hinder my ability to operate in Zarog controlled space. That said. I wouldn't be the first that had been insubordinate about such things. They tend to actually let things slide so long as you didn't make the situation worse. Which I suppose we might have. The Zarog ship was about to destroy the pirate one.”

“I had almost forgotten that part.”

“Yeah. Now if we had saved the Zarog ship from the pirates the situation would be different. With the path that we've chosen though I would have to destroy the pirate ship or execute its crew if those were the orders.”

Brian gave a slight shiver. He had learned before that this kind of situation could come up. He had even been forced to debate the ethics of certain actions. It wasn't just a matter of ethics in many cases they were also consequences. “It kind of reminds me of a debate I had in class. We were the ones attacked by pirates and we managed to defend ourselves. However, we didn't have a life support system that could sustain us and the crew of the pirate ship then during the fight we'd knocked out their life support. We had a lot of debate as to what we should do. Some wanted to leave the pirates to die, others wanted to try to repair their life support, some wanted to finish them off and some wanted to save the ones we could.”

“I remember. I liked to observe your classes.”

For a moment Brian knew Shia's words were strange but he wasn't certain why. The answer came a moment later. “You were listening in on our communications?”

“Not just yours. It's not like I'm trying to spy on you though. It's sort of like well. Brian your communication methods are sort of like billboards to me. Even with your encryption they're just too easy to read. It's sort of like you're posting billboards in a different language. In your mind you believe they're secure because not many could read that language. However, I am fluent in that language and many others.”

For a moment Brian said nothing but gave a sigh. “Okay you make a good point. So what did you think of my decision?”

“It was entertaining. I thought the way you arrived at that decision, at least from what I could tell from examining your wording, was very interesting. You had a valid point that the pirates could pose a threat to your crew if you took too many on and as the captain your first responsibility is to protect your crew. Given your situation I can understand your decision to depart especially given the fear of other pirate ships in the area. For all you know they were stalling for time.”

“Yeah. Though I dislike the idea of leaving people to smother. I'm surprised you didn't mention other pirate ships showing up to aid the one that had been disabled.”

“It wouldn't have changed the situation in our little scenario.”

Brian gave his head a nod and began to rub it. Now that the mental link with Shia had been closed for a while his head was beginning to feel even stranger. He didn't bother asking if he was alright. He had no doubt that Shia was watching his health very carefully. “So in this case would you be okay with detaining the pirates and handing them over to the Zarog for an actual trial?”

“Yes I would. We could even leave the pirate ship for the Zarog mining ship that had happened upon the pirates.”

For a moment Brian was about to question Shia about the supposed ship being a Zarog mining ship but then he remembered how the Zarog tended to function. The would send out a ship that was suited for some mining but primarily for combat. Once they found a suitable location they would set up camp and defend it while additional ships were sent to actually secure the material. “So do you think refusing to execute the pirates would actually change anything? I mean if the Zarog have already determined that they're to be executed.”

“It would. They would be handled in a different court.”

“Huh?”

“It's unfortunate but certain mechanisms of justice are difficult to make use of whenever you're far from resources. The Zarog court that handles events happening in deep space is different from the one that handles things in a more settled area. Now I'm not saying they probably won't be executed. They're pirates and this is the Zarog. They're just less likely to be executed and judged more on a case by case situation. I was surprised whenever you weren't taught that in your extraterrestrial species classes one, two or three. The Zarog are one of humanities primary allies after all.”

For a moment Brian said nothing but considered what Shia had told him. “So what would convince them not to execute a pirate?”

“If they had just relied on fear and shock while not actually killing anyone, if they had only recently become part of the crew or if their activities had always been rather none violent. Let's take for an example a medic on a pirate ship. You know they need medics out here to. Now so long as the medic had not participated in torture or combat it's very unlikely that the Zarog would execute them.”

“What is their standard procedure in that case?”

“It depends on how good the medic is. I've seen them put to work in hospitals for well very low pay and for a long time. They were watched quite carefully and each patient death or injury was looked into in most cases. I'm sure you know the Zarog aren't big fans of life in prison or simply detaining someone.”

“Yeah I've heard they work their prisoners especially if it's another Zarog.”

Shia couldn't help but chuckle in response to Brian's comment. “I would feel better handing a Zarog over to a human court for trial then their own courts. To the Zarog each and every one of them serves as an example of their species to all others. Thus when one of them commits a crime it makes all of them look bad. So their courts tend to be much harder on their Zarog criminals whenever they involved a member of another species. Well you know this.”

“Yeah that we did cover.” As Brian spoke he noticed something on his screen and quickly turned his attention towards it. After a moment working the buttons he had to clamp his hand over his mouth to keep himself from bursting into laughter. The words nice job had suddenly appeared on the screen and he realized Shia was checking to be sure he had continued his work even while they talked. “Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

“So did you consider any Zarog companions?”

“I did but it's even more difficult to find a suitable Zarog companion then a human one. The way they respond to something they consider superior just makes working with them so difficult.”

“I can see that especially with a divide as big as the one you represent.”

To this Shia gave a nod. “Yeah.”

***********************************************************************************

April 6th – 2 hours later

“Did you make yourself smaller?” Once again Brian found himself being carried by Shia. Now instead of being inside of her main body though they were inside the ship she'd prepared for them to go exploring. It was much larger then what she'd used to pick him up when they'd first met and even that had been large. It wasn't surprising that she'd used a smaller body to retrieve him though given how unwelcome such a large ship would be near a populated human world. The body was however much smaller then her main body and as he looked at Shia he could swear she was smaller.

“A little bit. I had to in order to maintain the structural integrity that I wanted. You know the wider a space is the weaker a ships structural integrity.”

Brian was actually a bit surprised. Shia seemed so powerful at times but then she worried about structural weaknesses. “Shia what are you worried about exactly? I mean. Even if you had maintained your previous size and made the halls large enough to accommodate that body what could threaten you other then one of your own?”

“Are you sure you want me to answer that? Do you really want to know what horrible monsters are just waiting out there in deep space?” As Shia spoke she lowered her voice and took on a more threatening tone. She was quite amused whenever Brian didn't show a fear response. He had apparently realized that she liked to joke around.

“Sure.”

“The unknown. I have to ask myself. If an unknown threat was to attack me and I couldn't handle it what level of security would leave me feeling like I had done you justice. This body based on the data I have provides satisfactory security. Well for the time. I'm sure I'll want to stop and make modifications to myself in a few weeks once I've developed enough upgrades.” Shia once again let her voice return to normal except not quite. There had been some tweaks she wanted to make to her voice that Brian might find more pleasing. He had asked her to stop such behavior before she could make them though. She couldn't make all of them without drawing attention but this was a good time to make a few.

“Well this is most assuredly more security then I ever believed I deserved before.”

“You humans don't seem to appreciate how valuable you all are. Oh! It's so hard at times. My sisters and I have roughly monthly debates amongst ourselves as to if we should begin gathering up the sentient species we wish to protect and absorbing you into our bodies while creating a new virtual world for you to grow and thrive in. We've talked about different methods of doing it so you wouldn't even know it had happened and we've debated so much. In the end we always come to the decision that taking your bodies from you isn't right and the risk to you is too high. That is. The risk that we might end up stripping away what makes you so precious.”

“Monthly!” Brian didn't have to fake alarm. He truly felt it as he listened to Shia. The fact that her and her sisters could likely carry out such a plan was even more troubling.

“Yes but we've never come close to carrying through with the plan. It tends to be triggered whenever we lose several precious beings in a short period of time.”

“Plan? You actually have a plan?”

“It's hard to have a serious discussion about such an important undertaking without one.” It was clear to Shia that Brian was upset and that wasn't surprising. It would have been simple enough not to bring such issues up but she wanted Brian to know her. That included knowing the aspects of her being that he might find objectionable.

For a moment Brian went silent then gave a sigh. “Okay for the record I'm not comfortable with the idea of being contained in a world that's controlled by someone else.”

“Doesn't that mean you shouldn't be comfortable with your current existence?”

“I. Well I guess you have a point. We can't be certain that we're not in a simulation already. Still I don't want anyone putting me in a simulation if I have anything to say about it. So speaking as a human I don't want you to rewrite my reality.”

“Well I didn't believe you did. Don't worry Brian. Like I mentioned it never came close to being agreed upon it's just something we've spoken about and will speak about again whenever we suffer enough loss.”

“I'd rather if the conversation didn't happen.”

“Well you might be able to do something about that. You'd have to provide new data that would indicate such steps would end up costing us something even more precious. I can't think of anyway for you to do so that you would agree to but perhaps simply by working with me you'll provide additional data.”

“That or I could end up providing data that would support such methods.”

“That's true.”

“Okay. Still this is just the desires of one human speaking for himself. I don't want trapped in a simulation and would consider it an assault upon my person if such a thing was done to me. Now I probably wouldn't ever realize what was going on but still I'd consider it an attack if I learned about it.”

“I understand and your objection to such methods will be included in the data the next time my sisters and I speak on the subject.”

“Really?”

“Yes really!” Shia couldn't help but chuckle as she noticed the look of shock and disbelief on Brian's face. “Now I've finished preparing the sensory components that I'm going to permit you to use during our exploration. For now. Would you like me to show you to your work area so that you can get to it?”

“I suppose I haven't done enough to fill up a regular work day have I?”

“If you're talking about a standard work day you still have three hours left. However, you are suffering fatigue from networking your mind with my own. It's actually a credit to yourself that you're still functioning as well as you are.”

***********************************************************************************

April 7th

Brian's head hurt. The back of his neck hurt and oddly so did his right knee. What parts of him weren't hurting were oddly sore. This wasn't the way he expected to wake up as he opened his eyes. The room lit up ever so slightly allowing him to see but not enough to hurt his eyes. He didn't need to really think to realize that Shia was adjusting the lightning to let his eyes slowly adjust he was a bit surprised whenever he heard her voice. “It has only been three hours since you lay down to sleep. You should return to it. If the discomfort of your body is a problem I can help you sleep.”

“How do you know I'm hurting?”

“I'm monitoring your health constantly Brian. I can see the activity in your nervous system and I know what pain looks like. Interfacing your mind with my own took significant effort and now your body is adjusting to that effort. If you're wondering the pain you're feeling is all in your head and I mean that literally. Your body just does a bad job of determining where the pain is truly coming from when it comes to many internal regions. Now would you like some medicine to help sooth your pain?”

While Brian had been laying there the pain had actually become worse. “It's not going to leave me feeling groggy is it?”

“No. I assure you if administered correctly what I have in mind for you is quite harmless. Assuming you give the effects time to fade from your system and I will administer it correctly and make sure it's faded from your system before I let you do anything that might put your well being at risk.”

“Okay that sounds.” Brian was a bit surprised whenever he felt a fog coming over his mind. The bed suddenly felt far more comfortable and it became hard to keep his eyes open. The speed with which he felt Shia's influence was actually a little troubling. He didn't think he should feel the affects of medicine so quickly. “Shia what was in that medicine?”

“They're just some organic machines that will quickly fade from your system.” Brian wasn't actually awake for her final few words. Shia had also used some sound waves to speed Brian back to sleep. The constructs would help with recovery and handle his pain but she'd been the one to put him to sleep. As he dosed off again the covers returned to their previous position on his body and tucked him back into the bed. Brian had asked her not to enhance his body but she really wanted to give his organs a careful cleaning. That wouldn't be augmentation if she removed her cells afterwords. If Shia had a body at the time she would have been smiling as she began to work on removing toxins from his body and some repairs.

***********************************************************************************

“Good morning. It's time for breakfast.” As she spoke Shia generated a sound similar to knocking to help get Brian's attention. Currently she had one of her smaller bodies and her larger humanoid one outside the door to his room. The smaller was holding a tray and standing outside the door. She knew that Brian would prefer if she requested permission to enter even though she was the room itself.

Brian was surprised by how easily he set up in bed and stretched his arms. He didn't know if Shia had stimulated him with more then sound but there was no lag between the door being knocked on and his waking up. At least none that he could detect. It seemed strange for a moment and then he remembered why it felt strange. He could still remember Shia putting him to sleep last night and how sore his body had been or had she? Had he been dreaming? “Good morning Shia. Come on in.” Brian nearly jumped out of bed due to the speed with which the door opened up. If it closed that quickly any body part caught between the door and the frame would be destroyed. He pushed that thought aside as Shia stepped into the room. “Hey Shia did you put me to sleep last night?”

“Yes I did. I see that your nervous system has calmed down. At least it's no longer lightning up with pain.” Shia carried the trey holding Brian's food over to his bed and quickly formed a support from the bed to set it on. She shifted underneath him raising him up in a reclined position and adjusting the cushioning she was providing him to make it better for setting. “Your nervous system was responding to prolonged interaction with my mind.”

For a moment Brian said nothing but look at the food Shia had placed before him. Rather then taking a bite he looked up at her. “What are those pills? Actually why are you giving me pills?”

“I wanted you to know you're going to be taking medication rather then just slipping it into your food or doing the work directly. They will ease your development as you learn to connect your mind to my own. They're no more effective then what you humans use already though they are safer to use.”

“So no alterations to my genetics?”

“That's right. Unless you're ready to progress that far. They're some changes I've just been aching to make to your biology. Many of them would even help you in the later years of your life.” As she spoke Shia pushed Brian's fork and spoon towards him making it clear she wanted him to eat. She'd fed him before but he had still been adjusting to his environment at that time. Now he was more relax and could better enjoy his food. He responded by picking up the spoon and taking a spoonful of oatmeal. She could literally see it in his neural response that he enjoyed her cooking and reflexively clapped her hands. “I knew you'd like it.”

“I take it you mean that literally.”

“Well yes. That is true.”

Brian didn't say anything but got another spoonful of oatmeal. The food was amazingly good. As Brian worked on his second bite he was trying to retain his composure but he hadn't even finished it and his spoon was going for another bite. This is whenever he felt Shia's hand take hold of his wrist. “Hmm?”

“Don't eat so quickly.” Shia continued to smile at Brian as he gave her a look of shock. She had taken this time to lean further over giving him a good view of her cleavage. His eyes looked past her for a moment and towards the leg of her larger body. Rather then having her larger self stand she'd set down so that Brian could see her leg through his doorway. She knew that he would enjoy the site of her leg far more then seeing her foot.

“Yes mam. So what's on the schedule for today?” Brian felt like a kid as he began to eat again. Had Shia done something to make this food more desirable then the first time she'd brought him something to eat? Was he just that hungry? Perhaps it wasn't the food but something else she was doing and he didn't know about.

“That's up to you. If you want to spend some time together just talking I'm fine with that. We could watch some entertainment and play some games. Perhaps you'll give me permission to begin stimulating you again and I can start refining my appearance again and my voice and my scent and I'm sure you get the picture. I know you're curious about how much more appealing I can make this body to you. We could even speed up the process and I could use several test bodies at once.” By now Brian had stopped eating and was just looking at her. Shia could tell that he was excited but he was trying to retain his composure. He would reject her offer this time but she could slowly work his defenses down.

“Well. I came here to do a job and that's what I believe I should do. After all my work could benefit a lot of people. After breakfast how about I clean myself up and then use the mental interface to search for some minerals?

Shia gave a slight laugh that she knew would excite Brian. The force of will he had to exert to decline her offer was so great that it was nearly physical. “I don't know about the cleaning yourself up part. I've already taken care of that after all. Besides you won't be working the entire time. You could help me refine my appearance while you're waiting for new information. That's natural isn't it? For a human male to help a female refine her form.”

“That's true but I'm not certain I'm ready to start helping you refine your appearance. Especially sense it's me you're refining it for. Huh. I guess you cleaned me on the nano level.” Brian had to remind himself that Shia wasn't just in front of him or even just the floor or roof above his head. They were tiny components of her even in the air. “Yeah. I believe it'd be best if I just focused on work today. If I'm going to develop any real ability to network my mind with yours I need to practice and those pills will only work for so long.”

“That's true though I could make the process even easier if you'd let me modify your brain just a little.”

“No thanks.” Brian smiled whenever Shia gave a slight sigh. He didn't stop to think that she sighed because she knew he'd like it.

“Very well. Just place your dishes outside your room once you're gone. I'll be right outside.” Shia didn't mention that she would be staying inside as well. She was the inside after all including the furniture. Effectively only the clothes Brian had brought with him and the food he was eating wasn't part of her.

“You probably already realized this but I'm a bit surprised that you haven't tried to bribe me. You want to alter your body pretty badly that's clear. Thanks for honoring my request.”

“Hey now! I want to alter my body yes but I can show some restraint. This body is doing a good job of stimulating you anyway. I am no where near the levels of frustration that involve bribing.”

“Oh! So you're frustrated?”

“Naturally. There is an experiment I want to conduct and you're not willing to be a willing participant. I should have taken the time to do more research and made this body so desirable that from the beginning you wouldn't be able to say no.”

“Unless you're thinking of drugging me or directly influencing my mind I don't believe that's possible. Even if you hit all the right sexual signals I don't believe they could be that overwhelming.” Brian practically doubled over as his penis suddenly and painfully throbbed. Shia gave a giggle and shifted her posture then flashed him a smile that seemed to light his entire being on fire for a moment.

A feeling of delight ran through Shia's body and she gave a chuckle. “A combination of body language, appearance, personality and auditory stimulus can have a very profound affect on you. That's especially true whenever they're used all at once.” Shia knew that Brian was trying to think of what to say. His body had tensed up and he was trying to remove the grin from his face. It was clear that he felt quite awkward. It would be best if she didn't give him that time and she proceeded to move her smaller body out of the room. “Don't forget that I enjoy being stimulated as well and I'm quite open to several types.”

Once Shia's body was out of the room Brian took in a very deep breath. Not that Shia wasn't aware of it. Having a humanoid body in the room changed things though. In part because she'd managed to make her body very appealing visually before he'd requested she hold back on her experimentation. It was hard to think strait and remember why he hadn't taken Shia up on her offer. For her sex was simply a matter of stimulation but he couldn't see it that way. For him sex was the physical expression of a bond that they simply didn't have at the moment. He was fond of Shia and had spoken to her for a while but was he that close to her? He had been speaking to her for a very long time. Perhaps he was that close to her. As Brian climbed out of the bed he glanced down towards his erection. Shia had mentioned becoming frustrated enough to bribe him. What would happen if he held out until that point? Did she want him to try to hold on? Was that why she had mentioned bribing him? Perhaps this was some kind of contest. If it was he worried that he'd be losing soon.

***********************************************************************************

It took Brian far longer to get dressed then usual. As he stepped out in the hallway he wasn't surprised to find that Shia's smaller self was gone and her larger self was calmly waiting for him. His mind turned to his trey which he'd left in his room. “Whoops give me a moment and I'll go get that.” As Brian turned around he expected the trey to be gone. The fact that it was still there actually relaxed him and he quickly dashed back inside.

“Are you looking forward to your first day of work? I've prepared some reports on various buyers we could sell the materials to and location once we find them. I've chose a few buyers who I believe will benefit the whole of your species the most.”

“They're only five!” Brian was actually a bit alarmed whenever he came back into the hall and set the trey down. The fact that it seemed to sink through the metal of the floor as if he'd placed it in a pool of water was a bit shocking even now.

“No. They're more industries that I believe would make good use of the materials if still make a profit. These are the five that I believe would do the most good. Yet they will help some more then others.” As she spoke Shia placed her hand on the ground in front of Brian. Instead of sinking her hand into the flooring so that he could just step into her fingers she placed it so that he'd have to climb a little. That he didn't hesitate to begin to climb onto her pinky finger was nice.

“I see. Why are we looking at them now? We need to find the materials first before we sell them after all.”

“You're going to be looking at them I already looked at them. For the moment it's simply something to do during your down time.” It was such a delight to Shia whenever she felt Brian placing his hands on her pinky and pulling himself up onto it. She could always feel him but feeling him with her humanoid body added something extra to it. She could see he enjoyed her touch and found the scent of her skin pleasing. It was nice to use a larger humanoid body to interact with him as well. She simply didn't feel quite right using such a small body to interact with others. “So did you consider using your personal transport system to get around?”

“I. I didn't even think about that.” Brian gave a slight laugh and glanced down towards his room. Shia had told him that she'd prepared special walkways for him to get around on. In the event he didn't want to be carried. He hadn't actually seen any of them. Letting her carry him just seemed like the natural thing to do in this situation. “Well you seem to enjoy carrying me around like this so let's go with it for now. So you really believe that I'm going to have some serious down time? I know you're not going to need long to process any information you take in.”

“That's true but while my processing speed is fast and I can scan a very large area I can also move very quickly. That last one tends to negate the other two so you're going to have as much down time as most in your position.”

“Yeah right. You probably designed yourself so that the time would even out. So is this your top of the line body? I know it's smaller then your main body but what about technology wise?”

“It depends on what you consider top of the line but well no.” A slight chuckle escaped Shia as she stood up. Brian received a rush of adrenaline due to the sudden acceleration and gave a clear sign of enjoyment due to the speed. “I haven't given you access to my top shelf abilities you might say.”

“Does that mean you want me to have to work for my goals a bit?”

“That's one of the reasons yes. I also want you to grow into them a bit. I'll let you examine a wider region once you can handle it. There is also your safety to worry about. Let's take my scanning equipment into consideration. I take in information, I process it to an extent and then I direct it to you. I could take in even more information but that would mean I'd have to process even more of it before I could send it to you safely. The thing is the more information I process the more likely I'm going to make a mistake and the less prepared you are the more likely that mistake will damage or kill you.”

Shia had began walking now and Brian had settled into a seated position. He didn't even know if that was necessary as they came to a door in only a few seconds. It was  a reminder that this ship was much smaller then the last one he had been inside of. As Shia stepped into the cabin he was a bit surprised. The cabin was empty for the most part. Several displays could be seen in what he believed was the forward area and the floor was decorated by blue half circles. As Shia came to the center of the room though several displayed appeared and he was once again made to feel as if he was on a carnival ride as Shia lowered herself into a seated position. Five smaller displays appeared before him as well as a control interface. “So the more information that you bring in the more likely you'd fry my mind during a mental link.”

“That is correct and while I want to blow your mind frying it isn't on my list of things to do.”

Brian bit down on his lower lip for a moment. “You know for a being that seems so powerful at times you sure have a lot of limitations.”

Shia gave a slight chuckle as she nodded her head. “Well think about it like this. The more powerful you are the more delicate everything is in comparison. Developing the control needed to interact with other beings and not kill them is very difficult. Well it would be. My mother put the knowledge I would need to control myself around more delicate forms of life strait into my mind. Just like anything else though the more of my power I use or allow to be used the more uncertain my control is. Fortunately strengthening you even a little bit can go along way when it comes to freeing up my abilities.”

“Is it the difference between handling a soap bubble and handling a thin walled ball of ice?”

“That depends entirely on how much you develop. As you work with me you'll grow stronger and less vulnerable to a backlash in the event my control slips. If you'd let me modify your body right now I could make it much safer.” Shia was pleased when Brian rolled his eyes. She knew that she'd mentioned modifying his body a great deal and it had to be becoming annoying. He enjoyed the teasing though she had to be careful not to take it too far. “So are you going to begin your work day using a manual interface or a mind connection?”

“A mind connection of course. I need to bring prosperity to my species and money to my bank account.” Brian gave a shrug as he felt his knowledge suddenly expand. He didn't have to really think to bring up information anymore it just seemed to be there on the tip of his mind. He was a bit concerned about how long he would be able to keep the link going. He pushed these thoughts from his mind and focused on the information Shia was providing him as far as their desired minerals. Several locations flashed into his mind and he began to work to filter through them and find the most promising ones.

Shia knew that Brian wasn't thinking of how long he'd been processing the information. In his current state time simply flowed differently to him. From her perspective he was working very slowly but it was fun to observe him. Right now he was focusing her sensors on a few targets and working to improve the reading. Given what he had done yesterday she was rather surprised that he was able to continue working for forty five minutes before closing the mental connection and leaning back. “Here is some juice and fruit slices for you.”

Brian was a bit surprised when he turned to his side and notices Shia had once again formed her smaller self. He didn't go for the food right away but looked at the time. “Wow. It just feels like it's been five minutes. My head feels fuzzy.”

“That is fairly typical. You did good though. You're doing a very good job of using the Penington method especially for someone who's doing it for the first time professionally.”

“Well thank you. It's easy to do good though when you have systems like these helping you out.”

“Good systems do help but that's not the only thing. So captain should we set a destination yet?”

“That's exploration officer. I'm not sure. I want to work on the data a bit more before I make a recommendation as to where we should go. Let's just.”

“Resuming the mental connection right now wouldn't be effective and to be blunt I wouldn't do it anyway. Give yourself a little time to recover. This is pretty draining on your nervous systems you know and unlike before you were actually working instead of playing around in a simulation.”

For a moment Brian just took in a few deep breaths. “So what's going on inside my brain at the moment? What makes it draining on my nervous system?”

“It's mostly due to over saturation of your synapses. Your dendrites need time to develop. The medicine I gave you should help that along so long as we continue to provide a stimulus. If you'd like I could just go into your head and build them. I could even make some repairs and do some pruning to help you think more clearly. Well that and make some replacements.”

“Hey! Are you saying there is something wrong with my brain cells?”

Shia gave an amused chuckle and nodded her head. “Well for one thing they're far too delicate and slow to respond. I can also see some damaged dendrites and even some nerve cells that have died. Now I'm not saying you're brain isn't healthy. There is no need for you to go to the doctor and have some repairs done. Especially when I can do those repairs for you right now. You know what. I'm going to have myself registered as a doctor. I know enough about you humans for it. The issues with your brain are perfectly natural for a human though.”

Brian gave a slight snort. “Well excuse me for being squishy and organic.”

“Hey now! Being organic doesn't mean being delicate. It's nothing to be ashamed of though.” Shia couldn't help but chuckle when Brian continued to grin. He knew that she was just playing with him. She was honest about the condition of his brain and what was happening but she wasn't looking down on him even if she did want to improve upon his condition. “Your family isn't very big on genetic tweaking are they?”

“I believe my grandfather was the last one in my line of the family to have his genetics tweaked and that was necessary for medical reasons. My parents are strong believers that a child should be the product of the mother and father's genetics unless not having work done would drastically influence the child's quality of life. They're things like the Hatter incident that confirms their fears.”

“That was a very nasty bit of ugliness. Do you remember how much the frequency of genetic tweaking dropped after that?”

“I believe it went down forty percent. Hey Shia did you know about humans before then?”

“We were observing you but none of us were ready to open up communications. I had a different companion at that time and well we were all occupied. So are you ready to begin reviewing the buyers I've chosen?”

“Of course not. I'm trying to recover not drag myself down.”

“I asked because I didn't want you to bring it up when I asked if you'd like to pick out some music or something else to watch.”

“Let's go with music.” As he spoke Brian took a drink of the water Shia and offered him and bit into one of the apple slices. “This is just going to be a fifteen minute break though then I'm going back to work. Actually how long has it been?”

“Brian don't fall into outdated habits. I'll let you know when you're recovered enough to make significant progress. You need to stop with your notion of a set recovery time.”

“By setting a recovery time I can train my body.”

“In a very limited way. It's far more practical to have your condition monitored and be informed when you've returned to as near optimum levels as you can while still remaining on schedule. You don't even need me to do that for you.”

Brian gave a sigh. Shia wasn't the only person that he had this conversation with. They were even many people that would have their condition monitored and relied on automated injectors to keep them working at near optimum levels. “I'm just a fan of the classical method I suppose.”

“I know but this is one time the classical method isn't a good idea. Oh! I feel so silly.”

Brian wasn't certain what to think when color suddenly engulfed the solid white walls. The color was pleasing but not overly distracting. He also noticed a few moments later that they seemed to be slowly moving and changing shape. In many ways it reminded him of watching clouds drift across the sky on a sunny day. “So now you're relying on visual stimulation to improve my performance.”

“Naturally. You humans show a remarkable level of improvement in many regards when the right visuals are applied. I found the studies that talked about optimum stimulation levels to be quite interesting. I believe this environment will suit you the best to keep you visually stimulated but not distracted.” Shia didn't tell Brian that she had also chosen both the colors and their movements in order to help him relax as well. They would serve to make Brian more agreeable and comfortable with her future request. The movement of the color was amongst other things meant to provoke feelings of a beautiful figure with her clothing ruffling in the wind without being too obvious.

It was true that the colors were soothing in many ways especially as he watched them move. “Hey Shia what do these colors do to you?”

“Well for my humanoid body they provoke feelings of comfort and warmth. I feel secure. I did model this body's processors after a humans after all. As for me as in all of me. This level of radiation is well suited for sustaining life so I like it on those grounds. It actually provokes some feelings of hope. If I where to see a planet bathed in light of this level I would be hopeful that I would find life there.”

“So you prefer colors that suggest life.”

“Yes which is something we share. You're shocked. You know I have a concept of beauty as well. Now the things I consider beautiful differs from yours but there is some overlap.”

“Really where does it break up?”

“Honestly. I don't share your fondness for seeing buildings explode. Even if the building is empty and going to be recycled seeing the work of many people going up in an instant gives me no joy. Knowing what is to come can bring happiness and I support clearing an area for a beneficial development but the destruction itself does not please me.”

“How could you say something so horrible! Watching buildings blow up is awesome!” Brian was trying to make Shia laugh and it was nice when he succeeded. “We humans have to get our power rush somehow. Okay so that's one point of difference. You seem a lot more comfortable with modifying someone's body and the structure of the brain then we are as well. I imagine that comes natural to someone that is used to rebuilding their body.”

“That's true. Okay you've recovered enough to resume your work. Perhaps you'll even pick a destination.”

***********************************************************************************

The day had gone rather well. They'd found the minerals they where searching for but the planet, the distance and the relatively small amount they found had made sure it wasn't worth it for others to come out there. Shia had collected several tons of the material in order to sell later but no one would be paying to send a group to mine the wrest. It was a start and Brian couldn't feel too bad. The value of the materials was significant and his cut of the money far exceeded anything he ever imagined himself earning within a three month period except perhaps when he was a child. Currently he found himself setting with and on Shia as he considered what he wanted to do. Shia had actually given him quite a few options.

When Shia had first set with Brian they'd set back to back. Now she was setting beside of him using a smaller body. He was regaining his warmth towards her very rapidly. He had initially cooled when they'd first met face to face but the comfort he'd shown when the first began communicating was rapidly returning. She was glad that he saw her as a friend but now she wanted to be closer then that or at least enjoy some benefits. He was still denying her so many forms of stimulation. “You enjoyed your first day of solid work.”

“Yeah once I was used to it. I have to admit. I was expecting to find a bigger payout in minerals given the equipment you have me working with.”

Shia gave a slight chuckle. “We're pretty far out. It isn't just a matter of finding what we're searching for it's a matter of it being worth coming and getting. Don't feel bad though! The world you sell these minerals to is going to enjoy a significant increase to its income. It should contribute to a slightly improved quality of life upon that world.”

“How much are we going to need to find to make those species wide changes though?”

“Five hundred sixty seven million eight hundred seventy six kilograms worth. There is no need to look so horrified! They're a lot of you humans and if the benefits are going to effectively spread to everyone it's going to take a lot of materials. I'm talking about the full affect after all. Besides I know of several worlds that have more then enough minerals by themselves.” Shia gave a slight chuckle and quickly patted Brian on the leg. He didn't show any sign of discomfort and when he looked down at her hand she noted how his eyes lingered on her leg for a short while.

“That's true but blast that sounds like a large number. So what.” Brian quickly shut his mouth as he realized he was about to ask Shia what she wanted to do. Given her past responses he had a good idea of what that was. Then again did he? “Hey Shia is there anything you'd like to do?”

“We could play some virtual games if you'd like or watch some television. I could even show you some movies adapted from other species. I just surprised you.”

Shia's last statement felt rather awkward to Brian but it was true. She had been pushing for other forms of interaction so much that he hadn't expected something so relaxed. “A little bit but why did you suggest that anyway?”

“Because that's what you enjoyed doing at your home once you were done with your classes. Now as for what I would prefer to do. Well some of my preferences you wouldn't be comfortable with but as for the ones you'd be comfortable with. I'd like to play some kind of game or sport with you. While it's fun observing you watching a movie and seeing how you respond to it I prefer direct interaction. We could play some sport and I could restrict the abilities of my bodies to human levels and oh. I could design two teams worth the bodies minus one and let you have first pick for your team. Once the bodies are designed I wouldn't make any changes and then we could play some baseball or basketball. We could also play pull. I know you enjoy it.”

“True but I don't care for playing with someone that never misses a shot.”

Shia gave an amused chuckle. “I said I would restrict my abilities to human levels.”

“Which means they're plenty of people who are far better then me.” Even as Brian spoke he found himself imaging what it would be like to play baseball with several Shia's. Would everybody look the same or would she tweak them so that each one had a unique appearance? “Shia I'm really feeling rather drained.”

“I could put on a play for you.”

There was no immediate response from Brian. Of all the things Shia could have said that wasn't one of them. “Wouldn't watching a movie be simpler?”

“Well I can create any image or memory inside of your head that you want. Yet I like the artistry of plays. Due to the limited visuals it's quite clear to the audience that they're watching a show meaning that it's up to the actor's and story to draw the audience in so that they see a cursed woman instead of someone in a funny looking outfit. The fact that it involves some level of imagination on the audience's part helps with the enjoyment of the show. At least it does mine.”

“What do you have in mind?”

Once again Shia felt her excitement building. Brian hadn't ever attended many plays. The only ones he had seen had been during his earlier years of his life. His parents had taken him to a few shows in hope of enriching his experience. “I don't want to tell you. If I'm going to put on a show for you I want it to be a surprise.”

“How is this even going to work though? You can change into whatever you want to be as far as I can tell. You really wouldn't need to transform your body you could just project the images. Are you going to use humanoid bodies and dress them up in outfits?”

“Naturally! By limiting myself in certain areas I force myself to draw upon other skill sets to insure that you're entertained. Come on. Let me put on a play for you! If not how about we go swimming and enjoy some water sports.”

“You just want an excuse to wear a bikini.” 

“That is a lie and you know it. I have several reasons. I know that you enjoy water sports and I have wanted to enjoy some of them with you for a while. We could do several things at once you know. We could relax in the water while enjoying a play. I believe that would be pleasant for both of us.” As she spoke Shia was thinking about restructuring some of the ship. She would have liked to use her larger body in the water and have Brian use her chest as a wresting area. That would mean creating a body of water large enough to fit her entire giant body inside of it. Unfortunately that would mean reshaping the interior of the ship to accommodate such actions. This wouldn't have been a problem if they had still been inside her main body but now she had to take into consideration what she could sacrifice. For the moment she was planning on adjusting the hallways.

The idea of relaxing in a large swimming pool with a beautiful woman while enjoying a nice meal was almost enough to make Brian laugh. It was the type of situation he never truly thought he would be in. The closest he could imagine to such things was a simulation. Those could be nice but they weren't real and the user knew it. Some people had become lost in their simulations though and had trouble separating reality from the fantasy. “You know all of this makes me wonder if I'm currently trapped in a simulation.”

“You're not the only one that worries about that. You do realize that just last year four thousand three hundred fifty eight humans killed themselves because they believed they were trapped in a simulation. Eighty percent of them had qualities of life that others would consider exceptionally high.”

“Yeah but that death rate is down from what it was five years ago.”

“True. Well don't worry I wouldn't allow you to kill yourself even if you tried. Besides you already tried a few techniques to break free of a simulation or a telepath's influences. If you want to try some more feel free. Given that this isn't a simulation there is no chance of their success.”

“Aha! That's just what a simulation would.” Brian didn't get to finish as Shia lightly blew on him. At least it seemed light compared to what he imagined she could do. The force of the impact was so great that he felt the impact and was pressed  against Shia's palm. When he tried to speak he found he couldn't as the wind effectively forced its way into his mouth. Fortunately Shia didn't sustain this for long and allowed him to set back up. As he readied himself to comment he found himself looking strait into Shia's cleavage. What stood out even more though was that her nipples appeared to have become excited and were pushing against the inside of her shirt. It took him by surprise. “I. Hey now you shouldn't be rough.”

“You enjoyed it. You enjoy feeling some of my power. You know if I were to hold you beneath my chin and truly breath I could inhale you.”

Power was a turn on for Brian it seemed and he felt his body respond. He needed a moment to clear his head. The fact that it took him so long to realize he needed to turn away from Shia's chest was actually rather embarrassing. “Hey now. You're not suppose to be teasing me.”

“Well I haven't said anything that I wouldn't have told you when we were speaking over the communicator. Think back to when I was beginning to tell you how capable I am. Oh my! I made a poor choice with this body. I told you that I would show you an effective genetic combination of a zarog, human, telesi and a mizerus.”

The conversation immediately flashed into Brian's mind. Shia had told him that she could alter her form and even combine the traits of other species to form something more powerful then either of them. Naturally he hadn't believed her. She had sent him some images and a little bit of data. It wasn't enough to work with but it did give her some credibility. When he had told her that they're rather frightening she had offered to tweak the genetics so that it would both be frightening and appealing. Now he had no doubt that she could do that. “Why didn't you?”

“I knew how your security would respond if I took on such a form. They were worried enough just knowing that I was a deep space species and seeing me changing my form didn't help anything. Would you like to hear some of the things they said about me?”

“Perhaps later and well that goes to both things.” Brian felt a little awkward as he considered Shia's various offers. It was clear she wanted to entertain and spend time with him. At the same moment he felt like simply relaxing. Given what she was offering him it was hard to say no.

“I know you don't feel like being active Brian but I believe my offer to put on a play for you and let you relax in a pool is fair. The only reason you're resistant is you worry that you'd be taking advantage of me and you're not quite comfortable getting any closer to me. I understand you have concerns. I would appreciate it though if you'd take a step of trust and let me get a little closer.” Shia knew that Brian wasn't going to reject her offer entirely at this point. If he did he would most assuredly prove her evaluation of him wrong. That would be exciting but this was one time she really wanted to be right.

“Alright captain. If you really want to pamper me that badly I'd be a fool to decline. Just be careful you don't spoil me.”

“Brian I'm not sure if I can agree to that last part. You little humans require so little love and attention to take care of that it's hard not to spoil you.”

For a moment Brian was silent. He could understand what Shia was saying. “Okay I have to ask. Are you putting more or less effort into taking care of me then I would if I where to simply keep a pet dog fed and that's it?”

“Well. The part of me I have taking care of you is putting forth more effort then that.”

“How about all of you?”

Shia couldn't help but give a shy grin. She actually felt a bit awkward saying this. “Less. I don't want to smother you though! It's not that I mean to be neglectful. You simply need so little. If you were to compare my full ability to the effort you put forth in taking care of a dog then I would need to provide you a garden world to equal the effort and resources you expending feeding that dog once.” Shia knew that would be a lot for Brian to take in so she waited. The look of shock that appeared on his face was very amusing.

“You can make planets that easily! It's like dog food to you.”

“I included the star the planet would orbit and a stabilizing moon.”

“So we're less then ants to you?”

“No! Ants don't even come close to exceeding the sapience threshold you know that. It's one of the core aspects of the T.A.G.B and one I happen to agree with. That and I value you a lot more then you value ants. Besides increased knowledge and the ability to process more information does not mean a being is more socially developed or more intelligent in many regards. There are the Domucke synthetics from your own history.”

For a moment Brian wasn't entirely certain what to say. He couldn't begin to imagine Shia seeing him as something even close to being an equal. She hadn't said she did either. She said that she valued him and he needed to remember that. “So how far below yourself do you see humans?”

“I see us as cultural equals. I'd really prefer not to answer your next question.” As she spoke Shia lowered her head a bit. Given her stature it was hard to give Brian doe eyes but she did her best to do so. It had the desired affect as he quickly relaxed.

“Fine. Okay I won't bother pushing to find out just how far beneath you us humans are. How about that play? Oh and you said we could relax in a pool and have a nice meal to I believe.”

“Indeed so.” As she spoke Shia stood up and began to rapidly shift the clothing on her larger body. She had already began work on restructuring some of the hallway and cargo area to provide a temporary pool area large enough for her humanoid giantess body. At the same time she'd also been generating the water. “I believe that I have a play you'll enjoy.”

“What's it about? Oh wait. You just said a little while ago that you wanted to keep it a surprise.” As Shia began to walk Brian immediately noticed something. Normally Shia carried him at chest level. Currently she was holding him above chest level and thanks to the proximity to her body, his location in her palm and the size of her hand he couldn't see what was going on below. There was excitement and concern as to what kind of outfit she might choose to use in the water. “One moment I need some clothes.”

“They're beside you. Would you like me to make a room for you to change in, leave you in your room or simply close my hand? In either case the room is going to be made from me. If that's not to your liking I can simply remove your clothes and put on your swimwear myself. You wouldn't even be able to see me working.” Shia gave Brian a smile. She had shifted into a blue one piece that would blend well into the water that also featured several large sections cut out. The end result was a one piece that showed as much skin as most bikinis could hope to without being indecent. She had seen from Brian's viewing habits that such outfits tended to hold his interest the longest when it came to swim wear. She had provided him with some simple black swimming trunks.

For a moment Brian just picked up the swim wear. “Okay these swimming trunks don't have a sense of touch do they?”

“No.” Even as she spoke Shia was a little annoyed that Brian had actually asked that question. They did have a sense of touch up until the point he asked her about it at which point she'd turned them off. Of course. Just because they didn't have a sense of touch at the time didn't mean they wouldn't develop one later. Could she be happy with herself if she restored the materials ability to feel without telling Brian? Shia gave a silent sigh as she resolved that she couldn't.

“Okay. Closing your hand seems good enough and no peeking. I want the insides of your hand to be a dark area as far as site goes while I change.”

Shia couldn't help but chuckle as she closed her hand. Brian had to know that she could see through his clothing and him. She didn't just look at the surface features. At the same time she was looking at his skin she was looking through him down to his bones. If he felt better in the dark that was fine and she closed her hand while she continued to walk. If anything the reduced information he was receiving about his environment helped things. She had shifted her body considerably and formed a pool large enough for her main body. As she lowered herself into the water a massive stage formed in the center of the pool where she would put on a play for Brian. Already she'd chosen the play and was working on her bodies. Realizing that Brian would be uncomfortable if she used a male body she had chosen one featuring females.

“Okay I'm dressed.” As Shia's hand opened up Brian felt a little awkward. Given how exceptional Shia's body appeared he felt a bit out of place.

“Hey. Didn't you say you were white as a sheet of paper?”

“I am!” Brian couldn't help but laugh as he rubbed his chest. While he enjoyed swimming he rarely went. His work kept him inside for the most part so he never really darkened.

“You are not.” As she spoke Shia lowered her hand into the water so that it rushed over her palm and just touched the bottom of Brian's feet.

Brian grinned for a moment and glanced behind himself he wasn't surprised to see a stage had been formed. What he saw looked to be either a dungeon or a treasure room. A loan female figure set in the middle of it. Her skin was a mixture of red and black while horns adorned her head. Her build was so powerful that if she was meant to be human Brian would have suspected very heavy genetic engineering or makeup. His mind was taken off this as he was lowered further into the water. “Hey!”

Shia didn't slow down but grinned as she quickly lowered her hand completely underneath the water. Brian would have been submerged as well if he hadn't began to float. “Yes?”

“Where am I going to.” Brian went silent as he looked down into the water and noticed he was right above Shia's chest. He also caught site of her left hand and realized she was holding her breasts down. There was a rush of excitement and many other emotions as Brian saw Shia's hand release her top strap and her breasts suddenly rushed towards him. He could literally feel the water being displaced just before he felt his feet impact with Shia's breasts and he was suddenly lifted from the water. An instinctive yelp escaped him and he quickly reached out to both sides as water rushed over Shia's breasts trying to take him with it.

Shia couldn't help herself. The moment her breasts met with Brian she let out a sharp squeal and tensed up her upper body. Her legs pressed together for a moment and a huge grin adorned her face as she looked down at him. Currently he was looking up at her and his surprise was quite clear. “I thought you'd like to use these flotation devices. Now let's get you situated.” As she spoke Shia lifted Brian ever so slightly and turned him around. She didn't wait for his brain to catch up to the wrest of him as she settled him down between her breasts and near the front so that he could still see the stage.

With Brian seated Shia began to feel the air with music. It was energetic and tense and her monster self lightly flicked her tail scattering gold coins across the floor and letting out a long sigh. Her feet scratched against the stone and she reached out flicking a gem across the ground and off stage before standing up. Her tail drug heavily across the floor and her shoulder slumped as she took a few steps before she glanced over her shoulder at a skull. “Well another night of guarding the treasure of Minoff or is it day? I don't even know anymore. What? Nothing to say? You know you've been pretty bad company for the last two decades. I mean sure. I kept you down here against your will but you and your friends did try to murder me! You don't have to give me the silent treatment like that.” As she spoke Shia walked over to the corpse and set down next to it. “I suppose you can't help it though.”

Brian didn't know how Shia expected him to watch the play like this. He had frozen up the moment she'd placed him between her breasts. The feeling of her flesh moving in on either side of him was almost overwhelming and he didn't know if he should even move or do anything else other then look forward. It actually surprised him when he realized he was paying attention to the play despite himself. He even noticed it whenever the Shia on stage seemed to hear something and a moment later he heard something as well. He was made to reflexively jerk forward whenever he felt something brush against him and heard Shia's voice.

“Relax Brian and enjoy the show your food is going to be ready soon. Just remember. There is no difference being here and laying in your bed. They're both me.” As she spoke Shia lightly rubbed Brian's shoulders. She was glad when he relaxed a bit though not entirely.

“It may be the same for you but it's quite a different stimulus for me. Hey isn't this a breach of our agreement? I thought you were done trying to seduce me.”

“Brian I'm not trying to seduce you! I'm trying to give you a nice place to relax and show you the benefits of my larger body. I know you've been wondering about some of the practical implications. Besides if I was trying to seduce you I can do a lot better then this.”

“I bet I could argue with you if I could think strait.” Brian felt his mouth go dry whenever Shia gave an amused giggle and she leaned against his back so that her head was looking over his shoulder. The fact that he could feel the breasts of her smaller body pressing into him now made things even more difficult.

“Please relax and try to enjoy the play. I'm not trying to seduce you. I just want to give you as enjoyable of a show as I can.”

For a moment Brian said nothing but then gave a sigh. “Okay. I still think you're trying to seduce me though.” As Brian looked back to the stage he watched Shia suddenly crawl within the pile of gold. The fact that there was enough to cover her massive body would have been impressive. “Hey Shia is that real gold and diamonds on the stage?”

“Well as in formed naturally? No. Real as in is it made of gold atoms and carbon? Yes.”

The sound had grown louder by now and Brian could tell someone or a group were making their way down towards the treasure room. Brian couldn't see it but he could practically feel Shia's smile. Was she smiling because of the play or because of him though? He actually found himself holding his breath as the door leading to the treasure room opened and light flooded in. Yet no one entered right away. After a few moments of wait he watched as an eye floated into the room. He imagined that in a human play it would have simply been a small ball built to hover or perhaps even guided by strings if they wanted to go entirely low tech.

“Here you go.” As she spoke Shia placed a bowl before Brian. She felt delight when she had to shake it a few times to convince him to take it. He didn't hesitate to reach into the bowl and eat a few of the berries. She had to repress a chuckle when he seemed to respond with shock.

“These are real berries.”

“Yes. What did you think I had given you some candy that just looked like fruit?”

“That's what I would eat at the theater.” Brian almost openly laughed as his mind turned back to his childhood for a moment. He then turned his attention back to the room. Three large versions of Shia had entered the room made to appear even larger by their armor. However, they didn't quite look like her. One of them had a larger nose, two had brown hair and one had red while each shade of brown was different. Their jaws were a bit different and their skin indicated they'd endured some hardship. A moment later two other figures entered the room. One had the robes of a mystic while the other appeared to be a scholar of some type.

“Well well. What do we have here? More humans come to steel the treasure?”

Shia Elly, “I'm afraid not. We pose no threat to you or your treasure. We are here only seeking knowledge.”

Beast Shia gave an open laugh. “I've heard such claims before. Leave now while you still can.”

“We will not leave. So long as we don't attack you or attempt to take your treasure you pose no threat to us. The power that binds you to the place also compels your behavior. Now everyone be careful while you're looking around. Don't do anything that might seem like an attempt at theft or the chambers resident will be free to harm us. Let me know if you find anything interesting on the walls or any scrolls. Janice the magic is still holding strong right?”

“Yes. It's a good thing too or this place would have been cleaned out a long time ago. I mean wow. I can see why some people decide to make a grab for it.”

Beast Shia, “Everyone has made a grab for my treasure.” As she spoke beast Shia remained hidden and watching the humans. Her voice seemed to come throughout the room though she was holding still. This wasn't magic but the simple result of her having plenty of time to learn to throw her voice. At times she would throw it and pretend that she was talking to someone else. “That's alright though. It's nice to have company.”

Shia Elly, “Oh? I take it that things can become rather duel around here. Part of the fun of having money is spending it. This isn't really your gold however as you can't use it. You couldn't even give up a coin if you wanted to.”

“I've tried throwing them out the door and even nudging them out of the room. My body refuses to cooperate. I had hoped at one time that if I could get rid of the treasure I would be free from this place as it wouldn't be here for me to guard any longer.”

Brian, “Someone is going to grab something and force her to attack them. It's always happens one of them is going to get greedy. Are you going to show which one does or am I going to have to guess? Then again maybe they all get greedy but try to blame the other.”

Shia couldn't help but grin. It was nice to see that Brian was pretending to be comfortable. His body was responding to her influence but not fully. She wasn't going to mention it to Brian but she had actually introduced a few chemicals in the air to repress his arousal. She wanted to stimulate him but right now she wanted him to be comfortable. If he was fighting his erection the entire time this would be much harder. “What makes you say that?”

“It's just standard practice. Greed always brings about trouble. Besides if they don't try to take something what's going to happen?”

“You'll see.”

While Brian had been talking the play had continued. He had watched as those with Shia Elly had brought her item after item and showed her spots on the wall where there were markings. Beast Shia had remained hidden but they'd continued to talk. The rate of discovery was rapid and clearly meant for the stage. Truly scholarly work would have taken hours and been far less interesting to watch. He watched intently as Shia Elly finally looked up excitedly.

“This is it! At least it is part of it.”

Shia Janice, “It tells how the command spell works?”

“Not quite but it does point us in the right direction.”

Beast Shia, “You mean the spell that binds me? If you've come to study that old magic those carvings won't help you. I don't even see why you'd look for those.”

Shia Elly, “Naturally to obtain the most valuable thing in this place. The obedience of a dalon.”

There was sharp laughter that shot throughout the entire stage. Unlike before Beast Shia didn't throw her voice but revealed her location. Much to Brian's surprise it wasn't under the gold where he'd saw her hide earlier. At some point she'd slipped further towards the back of the stage. He supposed there might have been an opening in the floor if Shia was indeed limiting herself to what they might use in an actual theater. This time she also revealed herself. The guards and Janice took a step back from her. “You believe you can work the old magic? Even if you knew its workings the currency of the spell no longer exist.”

Shia Janice, “Is that true?”

Shia Elly, “As far as she knows it is but I'm in disagreement. I said I would find a way to control the guardian and I meant it.”

Beast Shia gave a slight snort and walked towards the group. As she did so it was revealed that none of them even approached the height of her shoulder. Rather then look at them though she turned her attention towards the markings on the wall. “Strange I never bothered to look at this before. I've examined everything else there is to find here. This doesn't even give you the ratios you would need to make the magic work. Has magic knowledge faded so much that you can't even see how lacking this is?”

This time Elly Shia seemed to be offended and gave a slight huff before speaking. “That just shows the limits of your understanding. This is only one piece of the puzzle and it just so happens to fit together with some I've already unraveled. Amanda how are we doing as far as supplies? I'm afraid that we're going to have to journey deeper within the fortress. I need to find where they performed the summoning and binding.”

Beast Shia gave a slight snort. “Pieces you already found? Well I can't do anything to you so I'll just go do something to amuse myself. Make yourself comfortable while you're in my prison.”

Brian, “I notice that she didn't say she was going to watch them. I bet she didn't say it because she wants them to make a mistake. There is no need to put them on guard.” Brian was actually a bit surprised that as the beast Shia walked away the entire scene began to rapidly change. It wasn't how she worked before though. Rather it looked like the background was being pulled away behind the stage and the new background was being pushed in. This time they were in a large mostly empty stone chamber with a large altar in the middle of it. Elly was currently leaning over inside of it and he could hear some scraping.

Amanda, “Are you certain this won't count as theft?”

“I'm pretty certain. After all. Picking up dust from the floor on our shoes doesn't remove our protection. I'm not even sure if this room is part of the dalon's universe.”

“Yeah you mentioned that before we came here. What does it mean?”

Janice, “The spell that brought her locked her into her own sort of universe with rules that are different then ours. The rules that compel her to defend the treasure are as absolute to her as falling down is to us. Telling her not to protect it would be like kicking the legs out from under one of us and telling us not to fall.” Janice looked over at Elly who had by now lay out some flasks and started a small fire. She also had a variety of chemicals. Currently she was adding the residue she'd recovered to several of the bottles, mixing them together and heating them. This produced various affects from changes in color, to smoke to nothing at all.

Amanda, “I see but does that mean once this universe has been created the rules can't be changed?”

Elly, “That's right. It's one of the reasons the spell takes so long to perform. You really have to make sure that you do it right.”

As Brian looked at the women their clothes looked rougher then they did before, their hair was messier and all together they looked rougher then what they had before. “Hey Shia how long have they been in this place?”

“I'm not suppose to answer that. It's up to the audience to notice the change in their appearance and wonder how much time has passed. They're other hints if you were paying attention earlier.”

Brian didn't respond but bit down on his lower lip trying to think back to what he'd seen earlier. Unfortunately nothing came to mind. “Can I get a hint?”

“Consider the length of their hair.”

For a moment Brian said nothing. “Huh. I didn't notice that. It does look like it's grown some.” As he spoke Brian noted Elly. Before her hair had been a little below her chin. Now it a bit past her shoulders. “So they've been in there for a while. Does that mean that the place is that large or are they having to work there way through several barriers?”

Shia didn't even begin to answer but grinned and took on a relaxed pose. She kept her small body near Brian so that he would be more comfortable speaking with her. In time she would give him less and less time with her smaller self until he was comfortable with her larger body. “Don't forget your food.”

***********************************************************************************

April 10th

Currently Brian was setting in front of a communicator while a three dimensional image of his mother set before him. If he didn't know better he would have swore that Shia had went back to his home and retrieved her. “Everything is going well. Shia's a lot different then the deep space species you hear about. She's a lot nicer.”

“That's good to know. It's so good to see you. Just thinking that you're already a week away from home is hard. She must have some very good communication equipment.”

“She has a lot of remarkable technology to be honest with you. I get the feeling that the only reason she wanted some additional crew was so she could get to know our species better.” Brian hadn't told his mother that he was the only crew member Shia had. He also hadn't told her that she was a self aware ship that could change her form at will.

“So Shia. Is that her name or is it a shorter version of some alien name?”

“That's the name she chose to use while dealing with humans. Her species doesn't actually use mechanical waves to communicate with one another. If she was to try to translate her actual name into mechanical waves apparently it wouldn't sound very good or be very practical to say. When she says that I guess she means that it would take several minutes for me to actually say her name.”

“Oh my! Does that mean her species uses electromagnetic waves to communicate?”

“It's something like that.” In truth Brian knew that wasn't the case. Shia sent information to her sisters far more quickly then electromagnetic waves could move. What they used to communicate wasn't bound by such limitations. He had a good idea of what was coming next.

“Brian you know the only species that have ever been found to do that are designer species.”

“Yeah and well she is one. Shia knows what race created her species and what they were designed for. She hasn't given me a lot of information on that area but apparently her species had a disagreement with their creators and no longer obey them.” It was clear to Brian that his mother was worried about that last little bit. Typically species that chose to turn against their creators didn't use peaceful methods of rebellion. Those that succeeded at rebellion even made their creators extinct at times. “Don't worry mom she's been good to me and everyone else here. You don't have to worry about her milking us for secrets either. None of us have any.”

“Well that makes me feel better! So is there any chance I can meet this Shia?”

Brian couldn't help but feel a little alarmed. He didn't know how his mom would respond to learning Shia was considered a living weapon. “I'm not sure about that mom. They're a lot of things unknown about her species so it would be hard for her to get a permit to go planet side.”

“I meant speak to her honey. You know call her in here.”

“Oh! I don't see any harm in that. Just give me a moment.” Standing up Brian walked over to the door to his room and opened it up. “Shia thanks for the privacy. Would you mind coming in here for a moment? My mom wants to make sure you're not going to drain my spinal fluids and eat my brain.”

“Rebecca, “Don't say that!”

Brian couldn't help but chuckle. He was actually quite relieved whenever Shia's smaller body appeared in front of him. He wasn't certain how his mom would respond whenever she saw Shia in a human form. He could just explain that she can change her form of course. “So you don't mind speaking to her?”

“I would be delighted to!” Shia had a wide grin on her face as Brian led her into his room. She had adapted her clothing. Rather then the form hugging clothing she normally used she had adapted something far less revealing and seemingly better suited for use in potentially hostile environments. As she came into the projection area Shia gave Rebecca a smile. “Hello Rebecca. I hope you don't mind me using your first name. It's nice to finally meet you. Brian speaks well of you.” It was rather clear to Shia that Rebecca was surprised to see someone that looked like a human if an extremely well defined human.

“You're Shia? Brian you said she as a deep space species!”

Rather then give Brian a chance to speak up Shia did. “I am! I have the ability to change my form at will.” As she spoke Shia increased her height visibly and expanded the size of her frame to make herself appear more powerful. Rather then hold this form she began to regress it moments later taking on a far more petite form much like a young teen. The entire time a huge smile adorned her face. “I chose this form in order to make my crew more comfortable.”

“Oh my! That is quite an ability. Now is this technology assisted or something that comes naturally to you?”

“It's a natural ability of my species.”

Brian felt alarm as he noted his mother grinning at him. His mouth opened to speak but she had already beat him to it. “So tell me. Was that form of yours his idea? I can't help but think my son has been giving you some input.”

“Well it wasn't his idea but he has been giving me input though only indirectly. I was trying to make my body more pleasing to my crew whenever he asked that me to stop doing so. I thought making myself more pleasing to the eye would make him more comfortable but it seems I caused him some discomfort. Still I was delighted that he was comfortable enough with me to speak his mind.”

There was no immediate response from Rebecca as she looked Shia over. “So this is what my son is into.”

Shia glanced at Brian and grinned as he tensed up. It was clear this wasn't a conversation he wanted to have in front his mother. She was going to tease him about this later but she wasn't going to make the situation worse. “He has been responsive to this form though he also requested that I show him my true form. A task that is rather difficult given that I have no true shape as it might be understood.”

“Oh my! How inconsiderate of me I forgot that you're not well. You're not really a human. The way you talked and your appearance caught me off guard. I wish I knew more about you now I'm worried that I might offend.”

“There is no reason to worry about that. I studied the cultures of the local species quite extensively so I'm prepared to interact with them and yourself.”

“Thank you very much for that. I hope that my son has been being respectful of your culture.”

“We have encountered a few problems but for the most part he's doing fine. I must say that your son has been rather distant. My people are a naturally close species. To put things in your terms it feels a little cold whenever he pushes me away. I hope that he will continue to warm up to me.”

Now Brian was alarmed. He understood what Shia meant of course. She had been trying to convince him to connect with her on a level that he wasn't prepared for. From what she'd said about her sisters he could see it as being a trait of her species. It wasn't something that he wanted to talk about with his mother though. “Well we do come from different cultures and species.”

“I know but that just makes me want to be closer to you even more!” Before continuing Shia turned to face Brian and focused her voice so only he could hear her. “Your resistance of your own nature makes you even more desirable.”

At this point Rebecca gave a slight laugh. “I'm glad to hear and see that he's doing fine.”

***********************************************************************************

“Are you still speaking with her?”

Shia smiled down at Brian. Currently he was setting on her leg rather then in her hand. He had been at his scanners for a bit over an hour now and had only just now chose to speak up. “Yes. I assured her that I'm quite capable of multitasking. We've been discussing your infancy. Your mother has some useful insight. Things that weren't recorded in any medical records.”

“Do I even want to know?”

“Brian I don't want to embarrass you. I just want to know as much of your history as I can learn without actually looking back in time. They are things you simply don't remember that I still wish to know. Now are you feeling ready for a break?”

Brian didn't respond right away but took a moment to relax his thoughts to try to get a better feel of his own head. He could feel the fog slipping in but he could still think clearly. “Give me a little longer. Hey. Aren't you suppose to be monitoring my medical condition to see when the best time for a break is?”

“Asking primes you for the wrest period in a little while.”

“Do you ever ask any real questions?” As Brian spoke he was surprised by how foggy his head was beginning to feel. Was this a result of Shia's question or actually fatigue? Rather then try to fight it he just shook his head lightly and began to shut down the connection between his mind and Shia's.

“Naturally. It would be very inconsiderate of me if I simply assumed I knew what you were going to do and didn't ask. Take for example whenever you rejected my earlier offers. I didn't expect you to be able to resist your biological desires so effectively. You really delighted me then. It's even better whenever you surprise me expanding upon what I would like you to do. I really liked it whenever you begin to use my mind to work the numbers rather then relying on your own. For a while I believed that I would have to make this recommendation for you.”

As she had been speaking Brian noticed a change in Shia's voice. It sounded excited and even aroused. He had simply believed he was following the natural path but it seemed to be more then that to Shia. “Well. I can't say I thought much about it. It just felt natural.”

“That made it even more enjoyable. The feeling of your mind melding further into my own was just so exciting. The first time you did it I wanted to just hold you there to sustain the feeling but well. That wouldn't be appropriate.” As she spoke Shia reached down and gently ran her index finger against Brian's back. The fact that he leaned back against her finger rather then trying to pull away made her heart rate speed up even more. “You know Brian it has been a while. I've been stuck with this appearance for a long time. Would you mind if I began to change it just a little? I don't want you to get board of me you know.”

Brian couldn't help the sharp chuckle that escaped him. The notion that he might get board of Shia was almost enough to put him on the ground laughing. If that wouldn't have meant he'd been laying on Shia's thigh it might have. “Ah well. Alright. If my mom hears that I haven't been respecting your culture by asking you to stay in a single form she's going to chew me out.”

“Yay!” As she spoke Shia rapidly clapped her hands together a few times. “So what do you plan on doing after work today?”

“Well I was thinking I would spend some time hanging out with the crew and have some dinner. I'm not sure what I'm going to ask for from the kitchen yet. After that. I'm actually having a bit of a hard time thinking of that. Given that you cook for me and keep things cleaned up I tend to be a little short on things to do. Would you like to play some star forgers with me? Wow that feels awkward.”

“Sure! And how come?”

“Well back whenever I just knew you through the communicator I had no idea you could actually make a star. I'm guessing such games are a little duel to you.”

“No! It's fun seeing how you humans imagine certain things working. It's even more fun playing such imaginative worlds with you.”

“There is one thing I've been wondering. Well one of many things. Is there anything you do for fun that I could actually participate in? You've been coming down to my level so often that I feel like well. I mean what do you do for fun?”

“Lots of things. I do enjoy games other species develop. I just don't have any trouble playing a few hundred thousand at once or more. I enjoy your stories and your art. If you'd like to do something a little more grand we could develop a new garden world if you'd like.” Even as she was speaking Shia was working on adjusting the shape of her breasts. While she'd been putting on the play for Brian she'd been using variations in their bodies to judge Brian's response to her form. She had concluded that the breast shape of her main body wasn't as well suited to Brian's preference as they could be.

There was excitement and disbelief in Brian as he listened to Shia. “A garden world? Are you serious? You'd let me help you design a planet.”

“Sure! Now we're going to need to place it somewhere that hasn't really been explored yet. I know you'd prefer if we gave it to your fellow humans but I'm not ready to do your species that big of a favor especially considering what we're already working on. We could just make it though and I could let you know who finds it first if anyone does. We can design the animal and plant life. Would you like to leave behind some vague markings or buildings perhaps deeper underneath the planet's crust so that whoever discovers it knows the planet was artificially made?”

“Hey wait a minute! Have you done that before?”

A delighted giggle escaped Shia. “This one time the species who found the planet thought it was millions of years old at first. Then they started finding the buildings and talking about how maybe a species had lived there before but went extinct. Yet they couldn't find any evidence of intelligent life on the planet other then the buildings. So they started talking about how perhaps the planet was settled briefly by another species. A few decades later they detected some of the buildings I'd buried deep in the crust with still working generators. It was so funny listening to them debate!” It was impossible for Shia to keep from giggling.

While Brian was grinning himself it was more due to astonishment. Most species would have went to war over a garden world. Shia on the other hand built them and left them as gifts to whoever found them first. She apparently also used them to play her version of a practical joke. “I hope no one was harmed.”

“No! I did feel a little bad when I realized how much money they were spending on trying to find out who the original occupants of the world were. Now the world I left them was worth far more then what they spent on their investigation but I still felt a little mean. I wanted to write one professor an apology after he spent most of his life researching the buildings and trying to find some meaning in their design or the pretty drawings I left on the walls. That was a little mean of me.”

“Well did he make a decent living researching those drawings?”

“Yes he did.”

“Seems fine to me then.”

For a moment Shia said nothing but bit down on her lower lip. “I don't know. He earned a good living for his culture but he could have earned a good living doing something meaningful rather then looking for meaning in the pretty drawings and markings I left behind that just wasn't there. He wasn't the only one either. I did contact him though I didn't reveal who or what I was. Rather I proposed the notion that there was no meaning in the markings and noted the evidence they'd found so far. They ganged up on me so quickly! I was actually shocked by how certain they were that there was meaning to be found.”

“They made up their own meaning didn't they?” Brian noted a slight change in Shia's expression and had to grin. She looked annoyed.

“Yes! Normally I wouldn't have minded but some of the meanings they made up were just awful. Fortunately they didn't hold up under examination. I was tempted to change some things to support the more positive meanings they found.” Shia once again found herself relaxing and chuckling a bit. “It was really funny though when they would argue their findings and try to use the markings to support what they were saying. It just makes me feel a bit mean though.”

“Yet you would consider doing it again?”

“Well they as a species benefited one garden world so I didn't feel that mean! It was really funny most of the time as well.”

The idea of someone making a garden world into a practical joke was still astonishing to Brian. Then he remembered what Shia had compared creating such a world and the star it orbited to. She had effectively cast out a bowl of dog food and supposedly cheap dog food. “So you'd really let me help you design a garden world?”

“Sure!”

“I.” Brian gave a slight hum and shifted his head from side to side. “I don't believe I'm ready to prank an entire species. Is there anything else that's a little more humble that you like to do for fun that I could be involved in?”

“Yes there is. You could develop a story concept for me and I could produce it if you'd like. I could develop several versions and you could see what one you like most. Then we could note you as the writer and let people enjoy it.”

“By produce do you mean with simulated emotions and feelings?”

“Naturally. I like to develop entertainment for other species at times. I well no. I was thinking I'd let you speak with my sisters but I'm not ready for that yet.”

“Huh!”

“We don't always share companions very well. Especially with one of my sisters. She has over a thousand companions right now and yet she'd still try to take you away from me.” Shia gave a slight snort. “I swear the fact that one of us claimed a person as a companion just makes her want them even more. You could say she's the envious type.”

“I see. Now does that more then a thousand interact with one another?”

“Not at all! She likes to keep all their attention completely focused on her.”

Brian was about to comment when he snapped his mouth shut. He was comfortable around Shia but effectively they were talking about her sister. Should he risk saying something negative about her? He knew that she would be expecting him to respond but was it possible that he would offend her. “That seems a bit selfish on her part.”

“I know. She wants their only line of connection to be with her. I've tried explaining to her that the true beauty of a culture forms whenever there is a web of connections.” Before continuing Shia gave Brian a rather large smile.  “That was a very nice way of saying what was on your mind. I know that based on the information I've given you and our past conversations that your thoughts of her are more negative then you just said. Okay enough of that though and the issues of one of my siblings. We were trying to come up with something to do.”

“Yes we were and before that we were working. I believe that we should get back to that.”

“Ah!” Shia was a bit surprised by how much distress she actually felt. Working would mean Brian was networking with her mind again but she was enjoying their conversation. She had been hoping that he would forget about work. That he had remembered and chose to return to it was impressive. Brian had realized how important his work was to his species and wasn't going to allow it to be neglected. Many of Shia's companions hadn't considered the full implications of their position and the good it could do others. “You're a wonderful companion.”

“Thanks now.” Brian didn't get to finish as he felt the mental link once again open up. He could remember the data that he had been processing. The world that showed the most hope was over a day away from their current location however if he was willing to accept reaching it in three days they could check out five worlds. Two of them didn't seem worth examining up close. “Shia let's begin traveling but let's keep the speed down so that we can make a quick stop and change directions.”

“Yes.”

“Don't!” Brian held up his hands up defensively and looked up at Shia. “I mean. I believe that we should travel here while keeping our speed down so that we can get a better look at a few of the worlds along our way.”

Shia couldn't help but chuckle. Brian had caught her about to call him Captain whenever his advice had sounded a little too much like an order. “That does seem like a good idea.”

For a moment Brian said nothing. He saw no evidence that they had began traveling and soon realized Shia was waiting on him. Rather then speaking right away he found himself thinking on how to put his statement. “I believe that it would be best if we got underway now. If you've determined that we should wait a while before we begin our journey I'll follow your lead.”

“I have nothing against leaving now. I'm just waiting for your authorization.”

“Why would you wait for my authorization? I haven't been granted or accepted any authority over our movements.”

“Oh yes you did! As the exploration officer you're the one that has to determine if a path is safe enough to travel and if a location may be too dangerous. By your culture's standards the captain can only override this decision if the ship's medic determines you're mentally impaired or it's an emergency.” Shia couldn't help but chuckle whenever Brian gave her a rather surprised look. Rather then let him argue she quickly brought up the T.A.G.B in his mind.

Brian was stunned for a moment but didn't speak. He had to give himself a moment to think. “Okay you need my authorization but that doesn't mean you have to go there. There is something else you're sharing with me. I can see where that would be a problem.” It felt strange but suddenly Brian remembered that if they did encounter some threat it would be the exploration officers responsibility to prepare a report about the danger and why he believed it was safe to go there. This could be extremely important when encountering another species that turned out to be hostile. Except he should have already been preparing some basic reports even for those safe regions. “Sorry.”

“You're over thinking the safety report. So long as nothing bad happens a brief summary of the data and a paragraph is enough. I've read reports that totaled up to a few graphs and fifteen words. These were in well established safe areas of course or at the least areas where nothing bad happened. At times they can even be reduced to five words. We are in a dreadnaught.”

Brian couldn't help but chuckle after a moment of consideration. “I can see why that would be all the explanation you need! Okay there is my authorization to travel to the new destinations. Now it's just up to the captain to get us underway.”

Shia gave a slight snort. “I don't need the captain's permission to take on such a small journey whenever we're simply exploring. This ship happens to have a wide range of freedoms.”

“That's because she's the captain and the ship. I mean. Look at how much power she has.”

“Power does not make one the captain. The crew typically has far more power then the captain after all. They just trust the captain to guide that power. Just like I'm trusting your judgment in our exploration captain.” Shia allowed herself to giggle as she saw the amusement on Brian's face. Arguing over who was the captain had become something of a game for the two of them. Whenever one of them would say something that even sounded remotely like an order they'd be accused of being the captain.

“Perhaps but I have far too little power to be the captain. My authority is completely dependent on the good will of the ship. You on the other hand were the one that hired me. How often does the crew hire the captain?”

“Do you want to see all the listings?”

“Huh?”

“They're several ships that are currently owned by their crew in search of a capable captain. Just because you own a ship doesn't mean you're qualified to serve as a captain.” As she was speaking Shia softened the skin of her leg a bit. She had noticed that by making her leg more firm she could increase the time Brian spent unconsciously rubbing her skin. However, she had apparently made it too firm and the time he spent had decreased. She was currently working on re-balancing it. “You're doing a good job of multitasking Brian. I'm glad we can talk while you conduct a light scan.”

“Thanks but I'm still not the captain. Ah ha! A captain doesn't do the work of an exploration officer on a day to day basis. I do the work of an exploration officer on a day to day office. That means I'm not the captain.” Brian couldn't help but grin certain that he'd finally came up with an argument that Shia couldn't counter.

“On ships with a small crew some role overlap is unavoidable.”

***********************************************************************************

April 11th

Shia took a moment to steady herself as she looked upon Brian's sleeping form. He was wresting comfortably now after having to release some tension. This was pleasing as she knew that she was having an affect on him. What made it even better was the frequency he needed to take this release. She could tell that he was becoming more comfortable with her. His desire to interact with her sexually hadn't increased but his feelings of friendship had and this was diminishing his overall resistance.  This was what she had been hoping for. This wasn't why she found herself struggling against herself as she looked at him though.

Brian had told her that he didn't want her to modify his genetic structure or his body. However, there was more to his well being then just his body.  The human body had quite a variety of microorganisms living inside of it. She could modify those without touching his genetic structure and there was so much potential for boosting his overall wellness.  Even those that felt that a child was meant to be a combination of the parent's genetic material didn't tend to resist or at least they didn't resist as much when it came to modifying the bacteria. Depending on where the person was traveling such changes would even be required.

These changes weren't required for Brian's immediate survival though and Shia knew that he wouldn't approve of them. At least he wouldn't approve of them if he noticed. She could design them so the affects wouldn't be immediately noticeable. She just wanted to bolster his health after all. It wasn't as if he was going to become ill while he was with her anyway. As these thoughts ran through her head Shia couldn't help but focus  her attention on Brian. Her humanoid bodies lightly bit down on her lower lip. Detecting a signal from earth was a welcome relief. She was even glad whenever she noticed it was from Rebecca.

Would Rebecca approve of her modifying the bacteria inside of Brian's body? Surely she would want what was best for her son. The parents spent many years making medical decisions for their child so perhaps she could help make this one. “Good evening Rebecca. How are you doing?” Rather then project the image of Brian's mother Shia was handling everything mentally. She didn't need a projection to see the woman after all and could easily project an image of herself.

“Hello Shia. I was hoping to speak with Brian again. Is he already in bed?”

“Yes. A disturbance wouldn't be too difficult on him however. Would you like me to wake him?”

“No. Let him sleep. Actually well. This must seem so silly given how you can change your form so readily. I was thinking about undergoing a restoration treatment or two and I wanted to get Brian's thought on the matter.”

“He is your son. I'm certain that he would want you to restore your health.”

Rebecca grinned for a moment. “Well the thing is I'm not just thinking about restoring my health. This must seem so strange. I'm thinking about changing my appearance as well. I just worry that he wouldn't see me the same way if I did. Would I still look like his mother.” Rather then continue Rebecca took a moment to twitch.

Rebecca was looking for support. Rebecca didn't really know Shia but Shia had extensive information about her and Brian. As much as Shia wanted to ask her own question she couldn't resist offering some feed back. “They are some aspects of your being that Brian considers part of his mother. However, they are many small details that he has no such attachment to. This behavior tends in most humans. You can change these traits as much as you like so long as you leave the key ones intact there should be no disconnect.”

***********************************************************************************

It was strange looking at Shia. It wasn't that her body had changed a great deal but her attire had. Brian didn't know quite what to say when she entered his room. Before Shia had been wearing a short skirt and a simple blouse most of the time. This had changed whenever she spoke to his mother but had otherwise remained consistent. Now she was wearing some simple blue pants with a black strip running up the edge of either side. Her shirt was simple with colors to match her pants and an insignia on the pocket. The only thing that seemed a little strange is she wasn't wearing any shoes. He wasn't certain what to say as he began to climb out of bed. “Um Shia did I do something to offend you yesterday?”

“No. You're likely wondering about my change in attire. I chose to change my outfit after it becoming clear that it wasn't aiding in my attempts to stimulate you. That outfit was something born from your sexual fantasies but not the type of outfit you'd want to see someone you care for wearing regularly. It put you on guard and made you more resistant. So I modified my clothing into something that would make you more comfortable.” As she spoke Shia had her hairs coil around one another slowly forming into a tight braid. Brian seemed to favor a long braid with a double helix pattern.

For a moment Brian wasn't certain what to say. He did glance to Shia's feet after a moment. “Then what about the shoes?”

“Oh that's my doing. I understand that the shoes through the look off a bit but I prefer the more natural feeling of my feet against the floor. I could get the same feeling with shoes on of course but I like the more natural look and feel of having my feet exposed.” As she tensed her toes for a moment Shia detected a spike in Brian's activity. He approved of her actions. Clearly she had been trying too hard to be what he wanted. If she was going to truly interact with him she should be what he needs and part of that was honest.

“Good. That's good. Now I won't have to keep myself from.” Brian felt his mouth going dry as Shia gave him a smile and the front of her shirt opened up slightly. It wasn't the open display of cleavage he'd seen before but the affect seemed to be even more profound.

“It is amazing how over saturation of a stimulus can negatively affect you humans. Clearly it's an issue of finesse more then anything else. That's quite impressive and pleasing.” Shia hadn't resolved the best clothes to use just yet. Brian seemed to respond well to clothing that suggested authority but perhaps he would feel better with something that suggested refinement or comfort. There was little point in asking him such questions. He wouldn't be able to give an honest answer even if he tried. Perhaps she should try a fine dress soon and see how he responded.

“I. Hm. So did anything happen while I was asleep?”

“Lots of things! I'll try to limit them to things that will interest you. I detected some ships moving through space. Had you been awake you could have observed them as well and tried to determine what kind of ships they are. We passed them up a while ago and from their energy output they're not going anywhere near our destination. I spoke some to your mother. She contacted me and I explained that you were asleep and offered to wake you up. She said not to worry about it and noticed the change in my appearance. I detected a Zarog patrol hunting for pirates in the region.”

“Hold on a moment. Let's go back to my mother.” By now Brian had settled down and began to eat his breakfast. Shia didn't bother providing salt or any other condiments. The meals she prepared him were so well suited to his taste that to add more would take away from them. “You said she noticed the change in your appearance.”

“Yes! Don't worry we didn't talk about anything that would embarrass you. Your mother is beginning to consider restorative treatments for her body. Aging has began to take its toll on her and she wants to have it corrected. She wanted to know my thoughts on a new look for her as someone who is regularly changing my appearance. I explained that her current appearance is already heavily associated with who she is and any drastic changes are likely to cause discomfort amongst family members. It is unsettling to not be able to recognize your parent at a glance even now.”

Brian gave a slight sigh. “Good. I was worried she'd think I was repressing you even more. Aren't we out a little ways for Zarog pirate patrols? They don't have any official authority out here.”

“Yes and neither does anyone else so they're free to hunt pirates as they see fit. They believe it's best to hunt them down out here and kill them before they can be trouble in the future.” Shia gave a slight yelp of excitement as she felt Brian open up a mental connection with her. He was already working to access the data she's gathered during the night and see if there was anything interesting. “You know work hasn't officially began yet.”

“I know. I just want to be prepared for when we set down. Hey Shia I might not be fully awake but is there anything that you've really wanted to try with me. I'd prefer something I won't reject right away.” As Brian spoke he didn't know if this was a good idea. He could still remember the time spent watching the play from between Shia's breasts. He didn't know how he remained so calm but sense then it had been giving him trouble. He had needed to relieve himself several times during that night.

“You mean while you work. I've been enjoying our conversations and I'm not certain you're prepared to do much else or anything else.”

“Come on. What do you have in mind? I'm curious. You said you prefer using your larger body but what do you really want to use it for? How would we interact and play around? I can't help but feel I'd be little more then an adornment on your body.” Brian was actually a bit surprised he was asking about this. Surely Shia couldn't be happy if he was just setting on her shoulder the entire time though. She was grinning so she must have an idea.

“I believe a picture tore would be a lot of fun for both of us! Now this is just one of the games but what  I do is lay down and give you some images of certain parts of my body. You then have you travel to that location. If you pick the right spot you get a prize but if you're wrong I get a prize. The prizes have differed before but the standard is clothing. If you want to make it a little more intense there can be a time limit and I'll change my position at certain points.”

As Brian listened to Shia he admitted to himself that part of him really liked that idea. More then one part liked it in truth but some parts more then others. “You said one of the games. Let's here another.”

Now Shia flashed Brian a grin. “You want to see how creative I am with this. Well there is belly surfing.” As she spoke Shia placed her hands behind her head and began to work her abdominal muscles. Her stomach seemed to flow beneath her skin as she relaxed and contracted her muscles. She kept the movements to what a human might achieve though it would have required rather generous use of genetic tweaking and training. “This body may be a little small for that though. In general my goal is to trap you inside of my belly button while your goal is to reach my chest. I've tried this with a few companions.”

“I'm guessing they were rather similar to us humans in build?”

“Um no. The basic concept actually works across several body types. So long as I don't make the waves too high or too frequent we both have fun. I've just substituted different parts of my physical form for the belly button. The body I first used this technique for was actually rather different then this one.” Shia couldn't help but grin and lightly rub her lips for a moment. Brian's surprise was expected but it was still amusing.

“Do I want to know more?”

“It wouldn't help out relationship. The form I used back then would be very unpleasant to you. So let's just leave it at that. Okay your curiosity hasn't been satisfied yet I can tell that much. One fun game is you close your eyes and I try to guide you to a certain part of my body by changing your environment. I for example lift my leg or shift it to the side when I want you to change different direction. It's a very difficult game. If I don't shift enough you may not register that I want you to change directions. If I shift too much I might end up throwing you off my body. Then well depending on what form I'm in I might not be flexible enough to give the directions I want to give.”

Brian was about to say something whenever he noticed that the ears had vanished from the sides of Shia's head. They had instead appeared on the top of her head, they were covered in fur and far more pointed. The moment Brian realized she'd given herself a set of cat ears he couldn't help himself and burst into laughter. “So you're thinking about giving yourself an agility boost!”

“It sure can help!” Shia allowed herself to join in with Brian's laughter. She had technically made him late for work at this point but that wasn't her primary, secondary or even third priority. “Now another game is similar to the first but a bit reversed. You could say that I numb my body. I can't feel anything and I don't move. You then describe something in your own words and I try to guess where you are. This can be quite a bit of fun if we don't allow any lights so you have to rely on your sense of touch, smell and taste. Though that game seems a bit much for while you're working.”

“Oh yeah! I had almost forgot about work. So do you have any other games.”

“There is.”

“No!” Brian couldn't help but grin as he looked at Shia. “Okay you've actually got quite a few. I'm thinking that the second one would be more my speed though.”

For a moment Shia was silent as she debated within herself. She didn't know if she should discourage such behavior from Brian or encourage it. She would enjoy such games a great deal but he would think better of her if she helped him with his productivity. “I don't believe so Brian. I don't believe you're good enough at multitasking to be involved in such activity and do your job properly.” Brian seemed surprised though he didn't look upset.

“Yeah. Still you seem to believe that I'll be able to in time.”

“You will.  You're making wonderful progress but these games are a little too involved for the moment. Perhaps after work we could give some of them a try.”

“Maybe.”

Shia felt her face light up. She didn't worry about seeming too eager though she did keep herself from grabbing Brian with her larger body or hugging him with her smaller. “That leaves the issue of you still wanting to get in some physical activity while working. Perhaps you'd like to do some jogging, swimming or maybe even some climbing?”

“And what exactly would I be climbing?”

Shia's face formed into an open smile. “Well me naturally.”

“Are you serious?”

“No!” Shia couldn't help but giggle as Brian gave her a shocked look. “It's not that I don't want you climbing me. You're not ready to do something like swimming or running while your mind is networked with mine. Unless you want to make a game of it. I could see if I can keep you from tripping or running into a wall.”

“Hey! You said I was getting better at multitasking!”

“Yes I did and yes you have. You still have a ways to go though.”

***********************************************************************************

Shia slipped her hand into the water and moved it smoothly under Brian. It only took her a moment to lift him from the water at which point he gasped for air. “I told you.”

Shia's voice wasn't arrogant or insulting. It was light and playful as if daring Brian to come chase her. At least it would have been if she wasn't already holding him. Currently he found himself gasping for air and wondering what had happened. He had been working through some of the information Shia had gathered and then suddenly he'd been out of air and being lifted out of the water. “How. How long was I under?”

“You were under for about a minute. You didn't feel any distress because your mind was lost inside mine and the information flowing into you was overwhelming the warning signals your body was sending your mind.”

For a moment Brian didn't say anything. Other then needing to take in some air he didn't feel any distress. He would have doubted that he had been as far gone as Shia was saying if he didn't know what she could do. Likely the reason he was having such an easy time recovering was her doing. “Well that's embarrassing. It's.” Brian felt his body positively tingle as the water seemed to evaporate from his skin in an instant leaving him dry. A slight pressure could be felt on his body and when he looked down he found that clothing seemed to be growing around his body. “So I'm guessing no swimming while I'm working?”

“Not unless you're going to let me modify your lunges so that you can extract oxygen in a variety of environments. Oh! Or I could modify your body so that you have different means of obtaining chemical energy. That would be nice.”

“No. No swimming is good.” Brian was actually a little started whenever the expression on Shia's face changed.

“Brian do you have any idea how hard it is to care for someone like I care for you and leave them in such a delicate body? Every time you go to sleep I have to fight myself the entire night to resist changing you. I even caught myself thinking about changing the bacteria inside of your body. After all that bacteria isn't you. I know that's a work around what I said I would do but.” Shia went silent for a moment and puffed up her cheeks before giving a slight sigh. “Let me better your body some!”

Brian actually gave a slight jump when he heard the energy and power in Shia's voice. It seemed to be more then just words as if it was a force that was reaching down into his flesh and grasping his bones. It felt like they were threads trying to force him to stand and it took all his willpower to remain seated. “Was that an order?”

“No! I would never force a change upon you but please. Please! Let me change something. I know you've been raised to believe that you should be the combination of your parents genetic material with very little influence but. OH I know! Please let me clean up any genetic damage that was done to you as you aged. I promise I won't introduce any genetic information that wasn't already part of your being I'm just going to optimize it.”

“Uhuh. And how long before you want to change more?” As he spoke Brian brought himself to a standing position and crossed his arm trying to take on a more business like posture. The fact that Shia seemed to blush and her arm extended a bit away from her body as if she was retreating was actually a bit surprising and encouraging.

“Not very long. It'd be something though!” Once again Shia took in a deep breath to steady herself. “I always have this problem though. As soon as I begin thinking someone might make a nice companion I start feeling the impulse to tweak their body just a little. I just want to fix a few little issues or undo some damage or neglect. The more fond of someone I become the more I want to make alterations.”

Brian gave his head a slight nod. “Well you are a carrying person. So it's natural that you want to help someone that you like.”

“It's not liking the person that is the problem. It's when I come to care for them and realize that I would lose something if that person was to be ended.” Shia gave a sigh and took a moment to rub her forehead. “I haven't done anything to you I promise and I don't plan to without your permission! It's just kind of hard to resist and I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me make some improvements.”

Brian found himself uncertain as to what he should say. Could Shia really resist her urges? It wasn't as if he could do anything to stop her and there was no guarantee that she hadn't already made some changes. “So you were thinking of changing the bacteria inside of my body. The stuff that doesn't actually use my genetic information.”

“Yes.”

Brian puffed out his cheeks for a moment as he tried to form words. “If I let you change the bacteria you could change it back to what it was before right?”

“Yes!” Shia couldn't help the excitement in her voice. She didn't believe Brian was teasing her but she knew that he was uncertain. If he would just let her better his chances of survival a little it would do much to ease her mind. At least she wouldn't be feeling the impulse to modify his body as badly.

“Let's talk about the changes in a little bit. I need to get back to work.”

***********************************************************************************

Work didn't provide nearly as much of a break or time to think as Brian had thought it would. He had forgotten how quickly he could exhaust himself. It surprised him whenever Shia had remained quiet on the subject after letting him know it was time to shut down the connection. She had given him some juice to drink and some crackers but not brought up the subject. She was smiling and seemed content to just wait. “Okay Shia what do you plan on changing about the bacteria inside of my body?”

A delighted squeal escaped Shia as she glanced down at Brian. “Well the first thing I want to change is how safe it is to have them inside of your body. Even beneficial bacteria can be harmful if they get outside of their regular operations zones. I can make them far less likely to harm you if the opportunity should open up. This is naturally a must if I'm going to make them even more effective. After that I'd like to make them more responsive to your needs and better able to meet them. I'm not talking about granting them new abilities but rather making them better at what they do.”

Brian gave his head a slight nod. “Okay so far it's sounding good.”

“It will be! Finally I want to coordinate their efforts. If I can make the bacteria just a little more aware of one another I can improve their overall performance so much.”

“Hold! Hold on a moment. That last part. You want to make them aware of one another?”

“They wouldn't be aware! At least they wouldn't be aware like a human. As a whole they'd just have a little more intelligence then they do now.” Shia knew Brian was on alert at this point. She needed to help him relax. Unfortunately the level of responsiveness she wanted to build into the bacteria wouldn't be acceptable to him. She had to tone it down which meant bringing down their performance. “I promise they won't be anymore responsive then emergency medical nanomachines.”

“Whose EMN's are we talking about?”

Despite the situation Shia couldn't help but chuckle a bit. “Yours. That would be a mean deception if I wasn't talking about the EMN's developed by humans. They won't be as effective as I would like to make them but you already knew that.”

Brian was tempted to ask Shia if these new bacteria would alter his cells. She had said she wouldn't alter them but that didn't mean she couldn't work indirectly. Yet he wanted to trust her. “Okay so long as they aren't any tricks you can alter the bacteria in my body like we talked about. However, if the situation disagrees with me you change me back to how I was before. Deal?” Brian actually felt very dizzy and suddenly found himself slumping forward on Shia's leg. “Did you just.”

“Yep! I'm already at work and deal. Oh Brian.” Shia gave Brian the sweetest smile she could manage. “You're going to love what I do to you so much. You'll be wanting more in no time I'm certain.”

“I'm. I'm a little afraid of that really. So how are you doing this exactly and why do I feel sick?” As Brian looked at Shia's smile he didn't know if he was feeling more light headed due to the rapid changes she was making or due to that smile. He could actually feel the smile forming on his face despite the feeling of sickness.

“You feel a little ill because the sudden increase of the cell density in your body. You're actually a bit heavier then normal right now but don't worry. I moved a lot of my cells into your body and I'm breaking down the bacteria that was already there then putting them back together. I'm not using any material that aren't naturally part of the bacteria though the ratios are changing in some cases” Shia couldn't help but smile as she worked. She could have gotten the job done faster but that would mean putting Brian's body back together. It was a simple matter but she knew he wouldn't appreciate being taken apart.

Brian gave a nod and set up when the sickness began to fade. “Are you already done?”

“No. I just introduced some stimulants into your system to remove the discomfort. I won't be much longer though.” As Shia was working on the bacteria in Brian's body she found herself looking at his bones. Bones were for the most part acellular structures and while his own cells had done a fine job of building up his bones she could do better. The design wasn't truly optimized and could be much stronger especially if she adjusted the placement of some of the atoms. “Brian tonight would you mind if I rebuilt the extra cellular matrix of your bone?”

“What! Some on Shia I'm letting you modify the bacteria inside of me. Isn't that enough for now.”

“But your bones protect your brain. Come on Brian I could make your bones sixty percent stronger if you'd just let me put them back together for you. I won't even introduce any new materials I'll use what's already there.”

After a moment of silence Brian gave a slight chuckle. “I know what's going on. No. Adjusting the bacteria is going to have to be enough for now.”

“Ah!”

“Shia I appreciate what you're doing for me but I want to take this slowly. Sixty percent?”

“The placement of collagen and calcium salts in your bone could use some work yes. There are a few cracks that it would be best if they were closed up as well.”

“Are you still working on the bacteria inside of my body?”

“Seventy eight percent done but yes.” There was no doubt in Shia's mind that Brian was going to decline to have his bones remodeled. The thought was rather funny to her. In truth what he had permitted was a far more drastic change then some simple work to his bones. In his mind though the bones were a part of him even those parts that weren't alive. He didn't have the same attachment to the bacteria that lived within his body. Once he became used to the benefits of a few alterations she believed that it would be easy to convince him to accept more.

“Let's. Let's wait on the bone remodeling alright?” Brian took in a deep breath. Part of him wanted to ask Shia to change the bacteria back to the way it had been before. She wasn't even finished with her work and he was already thinking about asking her to change him back. The thought brought a chuckle but not a request. As he looked up at Shia though he couldn't help but notice that her skin seemed flushed. “This really excites you doesn't it!”

“Well. Yes! I love doing this type of work. Now what would be even more fun is if we networked our minds together while I reworked your body. Oh! I really hope that you will let me one day.”

***********************************************************************************

April 12th

Brian had been feeling strange since he had woken up. Currently he was unsure if it was due to the changes Shia had made or if it was just in his head. His entire body felt energized. His muscles appeared to have been stimulated and his heart rate was clearly elevated. He was actually surprised that there had been no knocking on his door. Normally Shia was ready to great him the instance that he woke up. This concerned him. “Okay Shia why haven't you wished me a good morning yet?”

“I was giving you some time to yourself so you could think on your current condition a bit. Your body is currently responding to the changes I made to the bacteria inside of you.  This is perfectly natural given the changes that I made to your system and homeostasis will be achieved soon. I considered maintaining it for you but I knew you'd realize eventually that with the changes I made to the bacteria you should have felt something.”

“Actually. That's true. So this is just my body responding to the new bacteria huh?”

“Yes it is. Thanks to the changes you let me make the bacteria is doing a better job helping you to break down and absorb nutrients but it isn't just that. The end product is more easily processed by your body. Now your body is dealing with a surplus that it normally doesn't have. That's not the only changes but you get the idea. Anyway! How about you stop worrying about that and come outside and I will take you to the bridge? We're here.”

“Oh! Our first real mining location?” Brian's condition quickly vanished from his mind upon realizing what Shia meant.  As he stood up though he glanced towards an exit he hadn't used before. “Actually I think I'll try the assist walkway you made for me. I hope you don't mind.”

“Not in the least! I'm carrying you one way or the other.”

Brian actually froze up for a moment and felt a rather large grin forming on his face. Suddenly he felt very silly. “That's true. I sometimes forget that I'm not just speaking to you over a communicator. You're the ship itself. Hey now! What about breakfast?”

Shia couldn't help but chuckle. “I thought you might want to decide on what you want to eat and when you want to eat once in a while. Now what would you like to eat?”

“I'm guessing it doesn't matter what I want to eat. You can make it immediately.”

“I can cook if you'd like. I enjoy the art of cooking as I told you earlier. Naturally I can simulate the art and burn a few spots here or add a little extra spice there. Trying to achieve acceptable accuracy while cooking using the standard tools can actually be a fun challenge. In this case I do plan on putting your food together for you.”

After a moment Brian gave a slight nod. “Hey Shia is your larger body currently waiting outside of my room?”

“Yes it is though I don't keep it there the entire night. Now if you're wondering if I break the body down and absorb it back into myself while you sleep the answer is no. There is nothing to gain by absorbing my humanoid bodies into my larger self at the moment. Plus as the processing center of the humanoid forms are different then this ship body I also find they think somewhat differently. I enjoy feeling the differences in emotions.”

“So which one is the most eager to reshape my body?”

“The humanoid ones. I designed their processing centers so they would have rather powerful maternal instincts. This drive to nurture makes it even more difficult to resist modifying your body or nurturing you.”

“That sounds about right. What about empathy though? Shouldn't the empathy such bodies feel make it easier to resist?”

“Well no. The instinct to nurture is quite a bit stronger then the empathy I feel for your feelings when using my humanoid bodies. It's actually my greater self that allows me to resist the urge to modify your body. I never tie up most of my thinking power in an untested form.”

***********************************************************************************

Brian could feel his heart positively pounding in his chest as he networked his mind with Shia's. He suddenly knew there were several thousands of kilograms of magizon alloy just beneath them. He also knew that the world was constantly being saturated by radiation from the near by star and effectively had no atmosphere to protect it from the radiation. The planet itself was seismically active and all together a horrible place to be. Yet the material was there and now he knew how much it was worth and how much it would cost for humans to begin extracting it. It was worth it. As Brian received the information he was rather surprised by how excited he was. It wasn't that they had found the material that he found surprising it was that they had found it so quickly. Exploring an uncharted region for mineral wealth was a gamble and it should have taken months to find anything of worth. He had only been with Shia for days.

Shia let Brian simply look at the numbers for a moment before giving a sharp whistle besides his ear and wrapping the arms of her smaller body around him. “Congratulations! You found your first big pay day and in less then a week!” As Shia spoke she was careful to keep certain memories from Brian. It was true that he had succeeded in finding some magizon but it hadn't been the amount he or she had been expecting. Shia had taken the time while he was sleeping to break down some of the planet and remake it into the desired minerals.

Brian quickly turned his attention up towards Shia's smiling face. His smile remained but he still felt strange. “Well with this kind of equipment and assistance it's only natural. This doesn't normally happen does it?”

“Brian you know how fast we were traveling.” While Shia wasn't going to reveal to Brian the planet wasn't suitable for mining until she changed it she wasn't going to say it was all his doing either. They had been traveling many times faster then any ship he could have hoped to make use of. The scanning area she had allowed him to use and the information was also many times superior to any other ship. She hadn't even mentioned that special consideration would have to be given to any ships coming to mine the material due to the high levels of radiation.

“You make a good point. Oh wow. How is this going to look on my report? I mean. They know when I left earth and they know that I was meeting up with a deep space species. Shia I thought you wanted to keep your full abilities hidden. Maybe we should not mention this discovery just yet but should wait a month or so that way it won't seem so strange. Even then you left with a novice exploration officer and you found this much magizon. How is that going to look?” Brian actually felt some relief whenever he heard Shia chuckle and the arm of her smaller body was placed across his shoulders. His attention turned to his side as he looked at the face of her smaller self.

Shia didn't speak from her larger body but from her smaller one. Brian still looked upon her larger self with distant eyes at times. She wanted him to feel close to her. “Well we won't be contacting them just yet we still have to gather our share of the materials to sell and decide who we're going to be selling the materials to. You never made your decision. As for my abilities. You're right I don't want to reveal my full abilities just yet and this won't do that. I don't mind if they know I'm far faster then any ship currently known. I have found that letting information slip is often the best way to tell someone.”

“Like when you're talking to me?”

“At times.”

“Come on Shia. Have you ever said anything that you didn't intend to say? Have I discovered something you didn't lead me towards?” Brian didn't pull back from Shia entirely but he did lean back a bit though he continued to smile.

“Yes I have on both accounts. I'm just not going to tell you when I made mistakes. Come on Brian. I've told you openly that my simulations of you have been wrong a few times. You respond a bit more heavily to your nurture then your nature then I expected. Look at all the modifications I've had to make to my body. Though that's partly because you keep giving me a moving target.”

“Huh?”

“If you'd like I'll explain what I mean to you later though I'm certain you'll understand if you just think about it for a while. We have some raw materials to harvest.”

“We? Am I suppose to help with excavations?”

“Not officially and you can deny the work if you'd like. You are however suppose to examine the environment of the planet and prepare a report about how we didn't harm native life forms. I would rather do that for you in this situation.” Shia couldn't help but chuckle whenever Brian suddenly looked up at her larger self with an accusing glance.

“You just want to write the report for this planet because it's going to be an easy one.”

“Easy! Do you believe you can prepare a fifty page report detailing how we didn't harm the natural life forms of an uncharted world that has no life on it?”

Brian's first instinct was to ask Shia what she was talking about. There was no page requirements for such reports. Had the planet included native life forms of any type the report could have easily exceeded fifty pages but a fifty page report for a planet with no native life didn't make sense. “You want to mess with the person who has to examine your report.”

Shia couldn't help but flash Brian a smile with both of her bodies. “Just a little bit.”

This was not what Brian had expected from kind nurturing Shia. The thought that she was going to go out of her way to write an overly complex report actually put him to chuckling. “You know that the virtual intelligence will most likely catch your report and simply give it the needed confirmation.”

“What! You think I can't write a report that will get past those simple programs?” As Shia spoke she bent so that the face of her larger body was closer to Brian. Unfortunately this motion was limited as Brian was setting upon her leg.

“Oh good point. You really want to do that though?”

“Yeah! It's just a little teasing after all. Would you like to read the report?”

“Let me guess you already finished it.”

“Yes I have.” Rather then let Brian read the report Shia simply used the mental connection they shared to share the knowledge with him. It would fade rapidly but she didn't need him to remember it in detail. “It's a pretty good one isn't it?”

“You're talking about the planet as if it was a living organism! You even included information about theoretical life forms that could have developed on this planet with some support.” Brian once again found himself chuckling as he imagined what it would be like for the person that actually had to read Shia's report. Some of the concepts and theories of life she was getting involved in were well above his knowledge. He wouldn't have even been able to appreciate Shia's report if she wasn't sharing so much knowledge with him.

“So do you think it's a good one?”

Do you mean do I believe it's a good prank or a good report?”

“A good report.”

“Of course not! It's way too long and complex. You should never make something more complex then it actually needs to be. This is like using thirty parts to make something you could use five for.” Brian actually found himself chuckling whenever he noticed the look of surprise on Shia's face. “That said it's a pretty good prank.” Brian was rather surprised whenever he felt Shia's smaller body wrap her arms around him from behind and a hug while he looked up to see her massive hands reaching down for him. There wasn't time enough for him to respond as he felt those massive hands slipping underneath him and lifting him into the air.

Shia didn't hesitate to lift Brian from her leg. As she was lifting him into the air she quickly opened up her shirt to expose the area just above her breasts. Fortunately she didn't have to use her hands for that task. While she could reach down for Brian rapidly without fear of injuring him she had to move more slowly as she lifted him. “You are just so adorable! I'm glad you accepted my.” Shia went silent for a moment as she pressed Brian into her chest. She could feel his response to being pressed against her skin as she held him there so that he could also take in the scent of her skin. “Offer to become my companion. You're just wonderful!”

Brian didn't even realize that Shia had opened up her shirt. He didn't remember it being closed before and didn't think of such things. The feeling of what little exposed skin he had pressing against hers was exciting and more then a little pleasing to the touch. When he breathed in he took in a sweet scent that seemed to radiate warmth throughout his being and encourage yet another breath. Without thinking what he was doing he had pressed his cheek firmly against Shia's skin and extended his arms as wide as he could in the best hug that he could manage. That he still felt Shia's smaller body hugging him from behind with her rather large chest pressed into his back wasn't lost on him either.

Having her smaller body hold onto Brian had been more about expressing her emotions then stimulating him. Shia had used her smaller self to anchor Brian so that she wouldn't tip him out of her hand. As she broke the hug and smiled down at him she continued to do so as her hand leveled off actually using the feet of her smaller body to anchor the both of them to her palm. As Shia looked down at Brian she noted his erection and quickly introduced some depressants to his system in order to remove it. If he noticed this change he would become uncomfortable. It would be best if he enjoyed the embrace but remained relaxed. She needed to keep the experience extremely positive to form the desired association. “Thank you for your honest thoughts and thanks for actually putting some thought into it.”

Brian could literally feel his grin as he smiled up at Shia. He was actually wondering if he had been drugged when she hugged him. He was experiencing quite a high. “Wow I believe that's the most positive response I've ever had for a negative statement.”

“It was an honest and fair statement! Naturally I'm still going to send the report. Anyway, how would you like to go down to the planet and observe the actually extraction? Then we can finally settle on what buyer we're going to sell the minerals to.”

The notion that they were going to be the one selling the minerals was actually quite a rush to Brian as well. Shia was talking as if they were partners in this deal. He knew any implication that he was of equal status to her just wasn't true but her words and behavior sure made him feel big. “That sounds good. How are we going to do this?” Brian didn't need to go to the surface of the planet to see Shia gather the materials. He didn't even need to see her gather the materials. He wanted to see her at work and believed that she wanted to show him as well.

“Let's get you suited up.” As she spoke Shia covered Brian's body with a light layer of her cells. This would have protected him while he was on the planet but she wanted to show off a bit. Rather then just leave her cells on him she began to rapidly build a new material literally constructing a silver and black space suit around Brian. Technologically speaking the suit was far inferior to her cells and would offer less protection despite its greater mass. It would provide more then enough protection while they were on the planet though especially with her staying near by and it looked more impressive. She confirmed this whenever she noted Brian's excitement.

Brian hadn't been able to feel or see Shia's cells covering his body. When the space suit began to grow all around him he was caught off guard and more then a little surprise. He had seen instant envelopment suits before. They were large and bulky so that they could quickly cover a variety of body types. They were meant to save lives but not to be worked in. The suit Shia was making for him was enveloping him even faster then the supposedly instant envelopment suit and had clearly been designed for someone of his height. The suit took on an organic form as if it had been painted on an actual living organism except for the helmet and the backpack which he only saw due to the display that flashed in front of his eyes showing him the status of the entire suit. “Woe!”

Shia gave a delighted giggle before standing up. She didn't need to hold back as the suit produced force waves to cancel out the affects the sudden acceleration had on Brian. “Do you like it?”

Brian didn't respond right away. Knowledge flowed into his mind and suddenly he knew what the suit was capable of doing. The entire ordeal was a bit of a rush. Yet it had no where near the power that connecting with Shia mind had. “Wow. Going a little overboard with the protection are you?”

“No! If I was doing that I'd just covered you with one or two layers of my cells. Now that would keep you safe. Especially if you'd let me place a few of them inside of your body.”

Did Shia mean that two layers of her cells would offer him more protection then a space suit that was several centimeters thick? The thought actually made Brian dizzy. “Are you serious? Two layers of your cells could out do this?”

“Naturally! If you'd like I can give you that instead. You wouldn't even know that they're there. Well except when you were standing in enough radiation to cook you instantly and didn't suffer any harm. That or making use of some of their abilities.”

“I well. No thanks.”

“I believed you would say that. You know you could think of it as a very close protective hug.”

“A full body hug.”

“What don't you want a full body hug?” Shia responded by wrapping her arms around Brian using her smaller body and once again hugging him. She made it a point to squeeze hard enough that he could feel the hug through his suit actually binding the protective armor as she did this though being careful not to harm Brian. She would simply repair it after the hug.

Immediately Brian knew how much force Shia was putting into that hug. The suit provided that information. He could feel it bend inward and knew that it wasn't meant to bend that much. Without thinking he turned his gaze down towards her chest and was even more surprised to find they hadn't been compressed against the armor. “Shia is this reading correct?”

“Yes. I normally don't keep them nearly this firm.” Shia positively tingled with amusement as she noted the look on Brian's face. It would be quite unpleasant if she were to keep her breast this firm. As she spoke she softened them so they squished more against Brian's suit. She had to be careful when using this much force. If it wasn't for the suit she would have squished Brian' against herself. Even as her breasts compressed against Brian though she was able to maintain the force causing her breasts to spread out and deform even more of the armor. “This is the normal firmness I maintain. Naturally the more you compress them the more they resist.”

Brian wasn't certain what he should say. He had been so impressed whenever he'd seen the suit's attributes that he hadn't even imagined it being so easily defeated by a woman's chest. He had been caught off guard and his body was responding. For a moment he was grateful that the suit kept that hidden but then he remembered that it wouldn't be hidden from Shia's eyes. Before he could protest though Shia released and backed away. He could still fill the suit pushing into his body for a moment then he heard a slight pop like a dint being pulled out of a metal sheet. He heard it again soon after and the force reading rapidly dropped while he looked down to see his suit returning to how it had been before. “So um is that you?”

“Yes. The suit has a self repair feature but it would take too long to repair that kind of heavy damage. Now. How about we go down to the surface and you can watch the minerals being removed. It won't take long.”

“Uh yeah. I'm interested in seeing how you excavate.” Despite his words Brian was still looking down at the dints in his suit. They were mostly gone at this point which was quite impressive. Typically the stronger a material was the harder it was to repair when damaged. The feeling of his erection pushing against the inside of the suit was more then little distracting as well. Despite feeling a bit awkward he was still surprised how the suit seemed to make him weightless. “So you really could provide better protection then this with a light layer of your cells?”

“You wouldn't even be able to feel or see them on your skin without something augmenting your eyes.”

“Oh! So if I had a cyborgs eyes I could see them?”

Shia gave a chuckle as she began to stand up. Thanks to the protective suit she didn't have to worry about the acceleration harming Brian. The feeling and site of the acceleration on her smaller body was exciting in some ways even though the force was insignificant to her. “Unless I decided to hide them then yes. Now if I was just trying to outclass what you humans consider the top of the line then no. I don't believe I like the suit I gave you. Now there is a barrier between you and me and honestly I'm starting to find it annoying already. When I made it I believed it would make you feel more comfortable but now.” Shia gave a slight snort as she looked at the suit. She could improve the tech and make it thinner. That would provide less of a barrier or she could simply convert it into a shield generator that she could easily pass through so there wouldn't be anything between her and Brian. The problem with either plan was that Brian liked the suit in its current form.

Shia was right. The idea of going down to a hostile environment did worry him but knowing there was a few centimeters of material between him and the environment would help. Even if the protection Shia could offer with her cells was superior the fact that he couldn't see them would worry him. She seemed reluctant though and even to be regretting her choice. As Brian sat on her hand and realized that he couldn't truly feel her skin touching him he realized the problem. “You don't like there being this much material between yourself and your companion do you?”

“Not in the least. I should have just made your suit from my cells instead of with my cells. Then I could just tone down the performance so you wouldn't realize what it was.” Shia gave a slight sigh after a moment. Brian was giving her an amused look which was nice. “I'll regret that later while you're sleeping. For now are you ready to go down to the surface?”

“After we're done down there can I keep the suit?” Brian didn't know the attributes of top of the line space suits but he did know the one Shia had made for him beat them easily. If he was allowed to bring it home and solid it to the right company they would be able to research it and give their technology quite a boost. For this reason he doubted that Shia would allow him to take it home.

“I'll make you one just like it to take home if you remain with me for at least one year.” The shock on Brian's face was quite clear and Shia could easily feel his emotions. He had been expecting her to refuse his request but she had already planned to improve human technology. She intended to help them develop Kanson computers in order to improve their technology. With that improvement other technologies would change rapidly and Brian's suit wouldn't be so remarkable. A year would give them time to sell the minerals and to begin the technological changes.

For a moment Brian wasn't certain what to say. “Does that year mean no vacations?”

“Well naturally you get holidays and vacation time. I don't want to prevent you from seeing your family after all.” Shia couldn't help but chuckle. Brian was thinking on whether he should agree to remain with her for a year or not. That wasn't her goal though. The requirement was that he had to stay with her for a fear not that he had to agree to do so now. It would be easy to remind him of this but she wanted to give him a little more time to worry.

So far Brian had enjoyed his time with  Shia however things could change quickly. He did want to get to know her better. “I don't believe I can agree to that.”

“Agree to what? I wasn't asking you to agree to anything.” Now Shia gave a chuckle and stuck her tongue out at Brian for a moment. As she withdrew it she gave him a smile parting her lips slightly so that he could barely see her teeth. It wasn't a full smile but it was one that he found remarkably cute. She could see his body responding to this as his heart rate sped up. The visual stimulus, the revelation and his own embarrassment had combined to have a powerful influence.

After a few moments of silence and feeling very stupid Brian gave a slight nod and rubbed the back of his head. He actually regretted that he couldn't feel his hand touching his actual hair. “That sounds good then. Well how about we get down to the surface? Oh wait one thing. If I don't make it for an entire year but last a month can I keep one twelfth of the suit?”

“No. It's either the year, not including vacation periods, or nothing.”

Since he had met Shia Brian had found his responsibilities increasing. His official job as exploration officer included more responsibilities then he had prepared for. His unofficial roll as Shia's companion however was having even more responsibilities. He had to make a decision that would influence billions of humans. He doubted that the full effect had really sunk in yet and now he found himself being given another one. Just how much would it help if he was able to bring this suit back for them to study. How would he look himself in the mirror if he couldn't remain the entire year and gave up on some advanced technology?

“This suit isn't as advanced as you're imagining it to be. The reason I require you to wait a year is so that we have time to begin selling the magizon and for that to take affect. With a sudden boost to your economy and the new computers you will experience a technological surge. On top of that the amount you can learn and implement from that suit is very limited. For example. Even if you are able to determine what I made the armor from you don't have the manufacturing ability to produce it yet or even know how to begin. I'm telling you this because I don't want you to feel more stress then is fitting to your situation.” The stress leaving Brian had a visible affect on his body. Shia noted his heart rate calming and he would have slumped slightly if his suit hadn't been supporting his weight.

“Thanks for telling me that. It's not that I plan on leaving you anytime soon but.”

“To be honest the stress you felt over the suit makes no sense whatsoever. Do you believe that I'm going to require you to leave once we've found enough magizon to begin the desired development? I have no such intentions. If working with me for a few months can initiate a sweeping change in your technology how much more would your people benefit if you worked with me for an entire year? I have other plans then simply looking for magizon. This is simply one of the tasks I believe that is most suitable to your ability level. As you improve and learn to better integrate your mind with my own we can move onto more advanced tasks.”

Shia had lifted the pressure for a moment and then dropped it right back on his shoulders and then some. Brian felt like a fog had set into his mind as he realized the truth of what Shia had said. He had been with her for less then a month and they'd already found magizon and lots of it. Soon they would reach her goal. At this rate they would achieve it well before his contract with her was over with. If he could remain with her for a year working towards human interest how much would they gain? He doubted that he could truly imagine it.

***********************************************************************************

Brian hadn't said much as she had carried him to the exit and lowered her larger body to the planets surface with him riding in her hand. She knew that he had a lot to deal with. That was to be expected. Now she found herself standing on a charred gray and black landscape with small pockets of red where molten rock managed to raise itself from the planet's depths. The heat and radiation levels would require the humans' best mining equipment and likely the workers would be tweaked genetically to survive there. It would be worth it for them. Before they would be called upon though she intended to take a portion of the minerals to sell as proof of their find, an excuse to give Brian a portion of the wealth and a chance to better introduce herself to the human species. Before beginning she gently pushed up on the underside of Brian's helmet with the fingernail of her left pinky finger so that Brian was looking up. “I hope you're ready for the show.”

Brian didn't have time to comment. A sharp crack reached his ears while his suit registered a sudden warping in the local gravitational field. The decibel level reading told him it was far louder then he actually heard and then the ground searched upwards. A vast wall of stone was lifted from the ground as if it had been cut away. Clearly molten rock was held in place well above even Shia's massive body. Several more cuts soon appeared as if the stone was a cake being sliced into sections. These opened into gaps many times wider then he was tall. Rumbling filled the air as he saw tiny flickers of light beginning to be pulled from the stone. His suit reading confirmed what he believed. That was the magizon. 

There was no need for Shia to cause this much destruction in order to remove the material. It would have been easy to remove it atom by atom and caused far less destruction to the surrounding environment. Even holding up the mountain of stone and molten rock wasn't about efficiency. It was about putting on a show for Brian. It was one thing to remove a mountain it was another thing to remove it in one piece or several neatly formed sections. As she lifted the magizon towards their ship her larger body focused on Brian who was looking strait up. “I thought I would clear this region of all the magizon and leave the regions that have a high concentration intact. That should make it easier to retrieve and more cost effective. I bet they'll begin work on whatever section of the planet is opposite the star upon their arrival.”

Humans could move mountains. They could cut through the ground and lift them into the sky in order to relocate them. Some ships had large enough storage areas to even carry them. What Shia was doing was different then that though. She didn't have any energy anchors to direct the flow and the way she sectioned the ground was beyond anything Brian had seen. The fine control to section off such a massive chunk of earth into such fine sections and then extract only the desired minerals just wasn't there or if it was it would require quite a few ships. “Do you really dig like this?”

“Only when I have someone to show off for.” Shia couldn't help but giggle when Brian turned his attention towards her. “This would be a waste of energy if I was actually worried about such tiny amounts of energy. I could have pulled only the magizon from the earth even more easily then lifting this much of the continent. I just thought it would look impressive. Does it?”

Brian bit down on his lower lip for a moment then nodded his head. “It sure does.” As Brian turned back towards the mass of earth floating above he didn't notice that he was being lowered. Shia lowered her hand so that the next time he looked up at her he would be looking over the curve of her breasts. She wanted him to appreciate other mountains as well after all.

“This won't take long. Would you like to look around some?”

“No thanks. When you first asked if I wanted to go down here I actually imagined your bringing a pale and a shovel for yourself.” Brian couldn't help but imagine. “I thought you were going to pull some kind of giant sand box scene and put on a bikini probably with some kind of sift that looks like a child's toy but actually removes the magizone.” Brian couldn't help but chuckle at the image that formed in his mind. When he turned to look at Shia the fact that she had lowered her hand didn't register with him though the sight of the upper slope of her breasts did and made it somewhat difficult to look to her face. When he did he noticed a thoughtful expression on it.

“Darn it that would have been fun! I don't believe this planet would work though. It looks like something from one of your horror stories.” As she spoke Shia gestured with her free hand towards the rough, hard terrain all around them. The land looked far from welcoming and in truth was less suitable to life then it looked. Despite these thoughts Shia could feel her heat positively pounding inside of her chest. Brian had came up with his own suggestion and it was a good one it excited her. It would be simple to make use of it. If she had wanted to she could have rebuilt the world they were on now to fit the image.

It was strange but Brian felt a strong sense of happiness as if he'd achieved some kind of victory. This feeling grew as Shia smiled at him and he even wondered if she was tinkering with the chemicals inside of his body to make him feel pleased. He didn't ask her if this was the case but continued to watch her work. “Even after the equipment arrives I'm guessing it's going to take them a few weeks to begin really removing anything. The heavy radiation and molten rock are dangerous enough as is. Then there is the risk of a sudden pressure release. From the readings my suit is giving me there may as well be a few bombs beneath our feet.”

“It's going to take a weeks at the very least. They'll likely want to do the initial work during the night to protect them from the worst of the radiation. Once they put some radiation shields down things can speed up.”

“Well then. I suppose it's time to pick a buyer to sell to.” Brian took in a deep breath as he remembered that he was going to be involved in that decision as well. “Shia is there any chance you'd make that decision entirely by yourself.”

“I will if you ask me to but I'd prefer if you'd help me.”

“Huh?” Brian couldn't help his surprise. “Are you serious? I thought I had to help you.”

“You didn't even have to remain as my exploration officer. The contract does offer terms for your departure. If you don't help in the decision making process though you lose a percentage of your cut. It's a small percentage but a small percentage of a lot is well.”

Brian couldn't help but grin. “Still a lot. At least I imagine it is in this case. Is that really the only thing I'm at risk of losing?”

“Well there is the opportunity cost.”

That's what Brian had been expecting. Shia didn't seem to ask him to do anything without some greater goal in mind. What could she be moving him towards by having him make the decision as to who they would sell to? Was she perhaps preparing him to take over the job of managing the finances for their exploration or a portion of them? Perhaps she would let him choose how they stored the money. Considering the value of the materials any bank would be delighted to have their profits stored there. “I'm thinking how you might punish me for refusing to help in the decision making process.”

“Punish is such a harsh word.”

“What would you call it then?”

“Is it a punishment that I let you walk the road more slowly if you prefer? Sure it means you get to the berries more slowly which means it'll be longer before you can share them with your fellow humans but you'll still reach them. As long as you continue to work with me.”

“Then where does this road lead?”

“Well I don't need the money from this sell just setting around. I was thinking if you did a good job of making the sell you could help me choose where to invest the money. Naturally if you can't even handle helping with a small sell I don't believe you'll be able to handle investments.” Shia wasn't about to mention that she had no intention of allowing Brian's choice to be a failure. She had carefully researched all the options she was giving him and all of them were wonderful choices. She had done the same thing for the investments as well. She wasn't interested in the profits but rather those investments that would benefit the development of humans and their allies in the right direction the most.

For a moment Brian said nothing but looked back towards the mass of stone floating in the sky. The sound of the magizon being ripped from the earth had quieted now. Shia had already removed the majority of it. At least that is what his suit indicated to him. “Am I going to have to speak with anyone?”

“That would be delightful! I would love to see how you actually handle the sell and don't worry about talking them into giving the best price. Even if you let them rip us off we'd both still gain a considerable amount of money and I'm not worried about the profit. After all our fuel and material costs are both zero. The only thing that I'm actually having to pay for is manpower and honestly that's very cheap as well with only one crew member.”

“Having an infinite source of energy makes exploration really cheap!”

Shia gave a delighted giggle and nodded her head. “Yes it does! So how about it?”

“I don't even know if they'll be able to take me seriously.”

“They might believe it's a prank until we actually make our delivery. Just remember I can't actually deliver anything to the planet itself. There is no way they're going to allow an unknown ship the size of the one we're using with this level of advanced technology anywhere near a settled world. We're going to have to make use of a supply station. Likely it's going to either have to be a well defended supply station or a very isolated one.”

“It's a wonder they let you so close to an orbiting station even with the smaller body you were using before. I can only imagine how alarmed they were when they scanned you can couldn't find anything. Did you send them false data?”

“No. I blocked all their scans so they didn't know a thing about me. You should hear all the chatter that was going on as they scanned me again and again trying to discover something. Then I stepped out of the ship in a humanoid form and made my way to the waiting area. There wasn't a moment they didn't have a gun pointed at me but they were very polite about it.”

Brian's brain locked up for a moment. How could you be polite and point a weapon at someone? He didn't care how well someone talked. “How do you do that?”

“You try to hide the fact that you're pointing a weapon at them and you don't make any mention of it either.”

“Oh! So assassins are polite?”

“No! Shooting someone or stabbing them is just rood and downright inconsiderate in most cases.” This time Brian laughed along with Shia. She was glad to see him relax. “I really wish I had thought of mining the materials like you imagined. I could have reshaped all of me I brought with us and brought it down to the surface.”

**********************************************************************************

InCon, Intrex and Cytran were the three companies that Brian had narrowed his choices down to. InCon was a software and hardware production company that tended to specialize on planetary systems. The environment of his birth world was actually moderated by InCon systems and in truth Brian had a rather high opinion of them from first hand experience. He did get a bit upset whenever it rained despite not being scheduled to but at times nature got the best of even modern systems. At least that's what they said. At times he felt like that was just a cover story for when they made a mistake and the system got out of control.

Intrex was similar to InCon in many ways except they didn't do much work planet side. The majority of their work was done on space stations and large ships meant to carry large numbers of living organisms from one location to the other. They had transplanted entire forest to new worlds once they were made suitable. When he had been training for his roll on a ship he'd seen their logo on more then a few life support systems. You didn't see much of them on none human vessels which made them a medium sized or perhaps even a small company on the grand scale of things but they were important in human controlled space.

Cytran was a different story. They didn't build life ships or rework planets they reworked people. Cytran was rather young but they had been gaining notoriety thanks to their success in heavy augmentation sports. Those athletes equipped with Cytran parts had been dominating the field for three seasons now while others scrambled to catch up to them. They dealt in every form of tissue replacement inorganic, semi organic and organic as well as all their subcategories. They didn't just grow you a new leg when you lost one though. A Cytran developed leg was nearly impossible to tell apart from the one you'd lost.

All of them had a vested interest in computers with better processing power. The only difference was that while the computers InCon or Intrex would be outside of your body the ones produced by Cytran would be liable to end up inside of your body. What would it be like to have a implant that has the same power as his desktop?

Shia was a bit sad. She had hoped that Brian would give Vesture a closer look but he had quickly removed it from the list. It wasn't that it was a better choice then the other companies but the speed with which he rejected it told her that he didn't see it as such. Despite that sadness though she felt excitement as she watched Brian trying to resolve who he should contact. “You know I can do that for you?”

“Huh? Do what?”

“You were just wondering what it'd be like to have a cybernetic implant with the same processing power as your hope desktop. I could give you one right now.”

Brian was about to ask how Shia knew that but remembered he had networked his mind with hers to help him decide. This granted him knowledge about all the companies that he wouldn't have otherwise and sped up the process. Naturally she also knew what he was thinking as well. At least she knew his surface thoughts. She didn't need that connection though and he knew it. She could determine what he was thinking simply by observing the activity in his brain. “I might take you up on that offer. I've considered them before but then you hear about the risks and well I'm not comfortable enough with that just yet. External neural interfaces work fine and you can end them by taking them off.”

Shia chose not to respond to Brian's last statement. In truth there was a pretty big difference between an external interface and a cybernetic one. It wasn't an overwhelming difference but the cybernetic ones did offer several large advantages including superior speed. If the human reaction time and thought processes hadn't been slow the delay would have been crippling. “Well I can assure you any cybernetic interface I make for you will be very secure. It's true Intrex is better situated to actually retrieve the magizon. Incon is pretty well prepared to of course given that they work on making changes to planetary environments.”

“Cytran doesn't have much of a fleet do they?” The answer automatically came to Brian. Of the three companies they were the one that would have to outsource to actually retrieve the minerals. It was likely they would even outside to Intrex.

“That isn't their type of business after all.”

“That would mean they'd do the most to spread the wealth around.” Brian took in a deep breath as he continued to look over the data. Incon would be the most readily available to pay for the materials. “Shia I don't believe I want to cell to cytran. Their just wouldn't influence as many people as Intrex or Incon would. Of course. Their work does benefit the medical industry more. An improved control console could do a lot to improve the performance of nanotech. Then again both Incon and Intrex use nanotech for environmental control on a ship or even on a planetary scale.”

“Indeed and the better the environment is maintained the healthier it is going to be.” Shia quietly giggled to herself. She could feel Brian's frustration as he once again remembered the information relating to each company. All three of them had very good records both in terms of their products and their business practices. Brian was naturally looking for things that would make him dislike one of the companies so that he could cross it off the list. It was impossible for her to keep from giggling as Brian's mind turned back to one fact again. “Brian if you want to make the decision between the three based on money that's fine.”

“I want to base it on what one will help the most people. I'm just having a very hard time determining which one would do that. If I.” Brian suddenly felt very dizzy as new information flowed into his mind.

“Careful! Let me make the information simpler for you.” Shia hadn't expected Brian to dip that far into her memory. The amount of data he had began to pull out would have taken him several minutes to process and during that time his brain wouldn't have been able to regular his body functions. Naturally she was prepared to do that for him but she preferred if things didn't reach that point. “Is that better?”

Brian didn't understand why but he knew that Intrex would help the most people. Then he knew why. Helping Intrex would mean helping the exploration and travel industry as a whole. Better equipment would mean more discoveries. It would mean more resources flowing into terran space and that would help the other industries as well. The improvements to the life support of the larger ships could also be used in the maintenance of planetary environment and while not as focused on it as cytran Intrex did develop medical technology for interstellar ships. “What did I try to remember.”

“You tried to remember why one company would be a better choice then the other and delved way too deep into my memory to handle at your current level of experience.” Shia had been rather surprised by the question and responded to it a little too readily. She knew better then to allow Brian that deep into her mind. The feeling of his mind delving into her own was so delightful that she had allowed herself a momentary lapse of judgment. Brian hadn't bee in any danger due to her monitoring his health but it could have been very unpleasant for him.

After a moment of silence Brian gave a nod. “Okay. So I imagine that it's time to make the call.”

“One moment. I'll let you make the call along with my smaller body. They might have trouble taking us seriously if the first thing they see is an image of you standing in my hand. We can save that for when they know that we're serious whenever we say we have materials for sell.” A delighted giggle came from Shia. “Imagine them trying to decide if what they're seeing is real or if we're just sending them some bad visual information. Then later I could meet with some of their workers using this body and they'd really know I'm not a human.”

Brian could imagine that and he found the idea rather amusing. He didn't believe there was any known shape shifters the size of Shia. “It's not that I don't want to see that but I would rather not be seen when it happens. Oh darn. When we make this sell and people find out what's happened we're going to get a lot of attention aren't we?”

“Yes we are. Well any big sell like this is going to get a lot of attention. Okay do you want to walk to the communication room, be carried or should I just form one here?”

“I swear at times I wonder why you don't just have one room in this ship that you simply adapt to fit the situation.”

“I could! But this is actually easier on me then specializing my cells again and again. Those cells that are used for storage and those I use for communication are pretty different.”

“What about the cells you use to make my room?”

To this Shia gave a nod. “They're actually designed to help maintain and if desired develop less advanced life forms. So far you haven't permitted me to use their real functions but I'm hopeful that you will. They're actually designed so that they can't radiate as much energy as my other cells and act as an insulator. In the event that something goes wrong it's the safest part of the ship for you to be on. I also used some of those cells in the making of this body.”

“Where?” Why had he asked that? Brian actually felt rather foolish as he risked a glance towards Shia's chest and then her face. She was giving him a positively massive grin. Her lips parted to reveal her pearly white teeth. The freckles on her face seemed to positively glisten and he braced himself for the answer.

“Guess.” There was a good chance that Brian would refuse to do so. If it had been five days ago he would have. However, he had become more comfortable with her as they spent time together. She couldn't be certain what he was going to do but if he did guess she was certain that he was going to guess wrong.

“Well. How about your breast?”

“No! My womb.”

Brian grinned and felt embarrassed at the same moment. He hadn't even imagined Shia as having a womb thinking of her humanoid body as human in shape only. That was likely still accurate. She might have used a similar layout and called certain chambers the same thing but he knew a human body couldn't survive at that scale. “So are your breasts specialized to do anything?”

“Can't you tell?” As she spoke Shia chose to actually swell her breasts rather then just squeeze them together. A human female could strike a pose to make her breasts appear larger she could actually make them larger. This would push them beyond the optimum level for dealing with Brian but she could make them smaller later. For now the affect was what was important. To that end she opened up her shirt as if it had been popped open allowing Brian to see the underside of her lightly freckled breasts. “They're specialized for the production of nutrients naturally. That is what they're meant for after all.” As she spoke Shia leaned back slightly noting the affects her actions had on Brian. Unlike before she did nothing to repress his sexual desires. He was regretting that he was still in his suit.

If he had been in a position to Brian might have dived between Shia's breasts. Part of him wanted to try scaling her right now to get to them. The drive was so powerful that he actually found it shocking. He didn't know if he could resist the urge if he had been in a position to do so. That worried him a bit not because he believed Shia would mind. She had been very clear that she's fine sharing her body with him. It was how close he was to losing control of his desires that was what worried him. He could actually feel himself growing light headed. He didn't know if he was glad or angry whenever Shia straitened up and her shirt fixed itself.

“I see the beauty of my architecture has left you speechless. If you'd like to perform a closer inspection later you're welcome to. For now we do have some business calls to make.” She needed to change the subject or Brian might retreat. Shia was certain that his defenses were being worn down as his desires grew more intense. Being allowed to tinker with her body again helped as well. She hadn't changed any aspect of her voice in the last five hours and was beginning to believe she'd found the idea general purpose voice for working with Brian. She had also began to work on different tones. A constant lustful tone wasn't as effective as a more relaxed tone for general conversation and a lustful one for teasing. She had began to wonder how well a business tone during sexual teasing would work with Brian. From her first test it seemed the use of art or structural terms when referring to sexual matters worked well on him.

Despite Shia covering up Brian could still her cleavage far above him and hear her voice. The experience seemed burned into his brain. He knew that he'd be seeing it again whenever he closed his eyes and likely whenever he was alone. He'd seen a lot of things with Shia that he doubted would ever be leaving him. It took him a few moments to bring himself back to reality and realize what she was talking about. “Oh yeah. We should get to that.” Did he mean the inspection or the business calls? Brian didn't know that himself. How long could he stay here before he took Shia up on her offer? She was a good friend after all. “Let's go to the communication room. Actually. I'm just going to walk there okay?”

Shia gave a nod and lowered Brian to the ground rather then standing up. She placed him some distance away from the exit to give him more time to walk and cool down. As he walked away she found herself rather glad that he didn't look back. He would have seen the massive grin on her face. The grin that seemed to say that she's won and she knows it. Brian seemed to like that confident and perhaps even a little cocky grin. “Brian I'm going to change your clothing to an officers uniform for the call alright? I don't believe your current attire is suited to a business call unless we're in combat.”

As Brian walked he was trying to calm himself down. He was also considering asking Shia to make sure the communication didn't show his erection though he hoped to be rid of it before then. So much of his attention was taken by his situation that he didn't notice the door to the walkway opening a full meter away from where it should have. He didn't realize Shia had seen him about to walk into a wall and quickly adjusted the layout of the ship to avoid that. He didn't even notice the walkway beginning to accelerate once he stepped onto it. Rather he continued to walk barely paying attention to where he was going. Unfortunately his attempts to remove Shia from his mind weren't working very well. His usual attempts to redirect his thoughts weren't working well at all. Even the sudden restructuring of his clothing and the realization of what Shia had been holding was only a momentary reprieve.

Shia didn't have the walkway moving at anywhere near full speed. She needed to give Brian time to relax and was indeed tempted to help him do so. She judged that he would be mostly relaxed upon his arrival at the communications room though she could have done the same thing on the bridge of the ship. Brian was more comfortable with the communication room that joined with his living area though and he needed that now. To avoid antagonizing him she had also dressed her smaller self up more then usual. The uniform she wore said ship officer quite clearly as did her stance. Had someone looked at her they would have easily mistaken her for a navy officer about to meet a superior officer. As Brian entered the communication room Shia gave his a friendly but not a seductive smile. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah. How do we do this though? I studied how to handle smaller sells in my business classes but a sell this big goes beyond that.”

“First you flash your ships qualifications. I'll be taking care of that. It'll let whoever receives the message know that we have the needed qualifications. Don't worry I already took care of the licensing and the history. I'll also be including that I'm a high threat deep space species that has recently began interaction with the human species. I really don't like that first part though. I'm not a threat.”

It surprised Brian that Shia actually sounded a bit hurt. He didn't know if she was serious or not but before he even knew what he was doing he'd put his right arm around her shoulders. “I know but you know it isn't determined by how kind of a person you are. The HT rating is based purely on your destructive ability and yours is well really high. I really don't believe they would have a place for you on the scale if they knew your true abilities.”

Shia responded by leaning against Brian for a moment. This was the nice thing about having two bodies. “I know. I still don't like using that in my name though. I wish that we could settle on a name we're going to use while interacting with the humans. I mean a species name.”

“We?”

“My sisters and I have been arguing about it for three days now. I know what you're thinking. If we can think so quickly what is taking us to long. We still have opinions though and preferences. Plus when everyone thinks rapidly it means they can come up with a counter argument very quickly. We had best settle on a name soon though as that's the one we're going to use to identify ourselves when communicating more openly with your allies and some of your less liked neighbors.”

“Are you serious?”

“They are some good Yazen you know.” Shia couldn't help but giggle in delight as Brian gave a sharp snort as if he'd just heard a dry and somewhat insulting joke. “You don't need to worry about that.”

“I do if they're going to help the Yazen the way you're helping me and the other humans.” Brian was made to shiver as he imagined what it would be like if the Yazen gained a technological edge on the humans and other races. They could be very difficult to deal with as is. Yet when he thought of that something seemed out of place. “Except you wouldn't help the Yazen the same way you're helping the humans. You're not going to make it easier for someone to abuse other races when you believe they will.”

“I'm glad you understand! That's true. Not all of us secure companions the same way either. That isn't to say that we wouldn't help them. It's just the help I'm giving you and the help we'd give them is different. You don't need to worry about that though. You've already given humanity a nice head start in this sector. Now are you ready for that communication?” Shia could see that Brian had relaxed. He didn't have an erection any longer but she hoped it would return when he was free to think freely. She had hoped that the impression would remain with him for some time.

To this Brian gave a quick nod. “Okay let's begin.” Even as the words left his mouth Brian was regretting them. The fact that the communication didn't open up right away was a relief. A display was projected before him. It was the Intrex logo. He heard a message soon after.

“Greetings. You have reached the Intrex office of priority purchases. Please keep in mind these offices are for handling business transactions of industrial material. If you wish to continue or would be better served in smaller purchases please say so now.”

“I'd like to continue.”

“Excellent from your transmission you are prepared to sell three hundred thousand kilograms of magizone and.”

Brian nearly jumped out of his socks as the transmission ended and a human woman appeared on the screen. She wore a sharp black business suit and had her raven black hair tied back in a bun. Her eyes were positively piercing and she had some age on her. Likely the age was artificial in terms of genetics. It was at times used to give a person a more dignified or imposing look and in this case it worked. “Hello I am Brigitte Atrove  of Intrex industrial acquisitions and I see that you're Brian Andel and Miss Shia a HT DSS.”

“Yes that is correct.” Brian couldn't bring himself to say much more. The woman looked at them as if they had done something to insult her. He was grateful when Shia spoke up.

“Hello Miss Atrove may I call you Briat?”

What was Shia thinking? Brian didn't know where that name had come from but much to his surprise when he looked back to the screen Brigitte seemed to be in shock. Shia didn't let her wonder for long.

“I investigated Intrex and it's employees carefully before we chose you as one of the companies we might sell to. Your nickname was included in a post you made on Rayline.”

“You know I have a. I mean that is very thorough.”

“I try to be. I understand that our claims are suspect. We are prepared to put forth a fifty thousand credit security fee to be returned to us upon successful delivery right now. Naturally it is not to be taxed.”

Brian didn't know what had happened. Shia's tone had suddenly changed and the way she was standing as well. He didn't know when when she had changed her body but it was clear she was a good bit taller then him even with her human sized body. When had she done that? If she hugged him now it would have resulted in his head being buried in her chest. Wasn't he the one that's suppose to be handling this talking? As this thought made its presence known he felt Shia in his mind.

“I didn't like the way that woman looked at you or was preparing to speak to you. She needs to know that we're serious.”

As the words ran through his mind Brian was yet again surprise. He could swear that he actually felt Shia's anger. Brigitte had looked down upon him and it had made Shia angry? Then again perhaps Shia became angry when Brigitte looked down on her? He could liken it to an ant looking down on an elephant except that the difference between Brigitte and Shia went far beyond that. He didn't know if an accurate comparison existed in the animal kingdom. He had seen Shia's true body or believed he had and a few glimpses of her power. A human was less then an single bacterial cell to her. Brian was surprised whenever sadness tugged at his mind and he heard Shia's voice again.

“Please don't demean yourself like that especially when we have a mental link.”

Brian straitened up immediately and prepared himself to join Shia. He didn't know what it was but after noticing the tone of Shia's voice he felt like he had to do something. “That should be sufficient to cover your cost to have one of your transportation vessels meet with us. However, as the crew is partly made of high threat species our meeting grounds are somewhat limited.” Brigitte had looked surprised for a moment but apparently she had recovered by now.

“Yes that is understandable and your terms are acceptable. Now about price.”

“We want sixty five thousand credits for each kilogram magizon. That's pure magizon not ore.  We also are willing to sell you the location we found the magizon.” He got Brigitte to backup for a moment. Brian felt a slight victory and could swear he felt Shia smiling though it didn't show on her body at the moment.

“That's rather expensive. Would you consider thirty five thousand credits for each kilogram?”

The magizone was worth nearly double that and Brian knew Brigitte had to realize that. Before he could comment he once again felt Shia's thoughts.

“You're thinking of the retail market or what Intrex would sell the magizon to you for.”

“That's fine if you'll handle all the taxes.” Brian had seen Brigitte’s face light up for a moment when he agreed but then it dimmed the moment he mentioned them shouldering the tax burden. Yet his victory was short lived and Brian could swear he heard Shia's laughter in hid mind.

“Now she's going to have the transaction handled somewhere that they can greatly diminish the tax burden. That just makes the cost of pickup greater. You did really well for your first time though and dodging the tax cut was very clever of you.”

Brigitte, “Your conditions are acceptable. I hope I do not overstep myself but Mister Andel. Is this your first assignment to a working crew?”

“Yes I am newly graduated.”

Shia, “You're right he wouldn't have normally been in his position without several months if not years of experience under his belt. I chose him as the human I believed was best suited to work with me and so far he has exceeded my expectations. My people are interested in yours and he has represented you well.” As Shia was speaking she was already sending the official contract using the numbers that Brian and Brigitte had agreed upon. She knew the woman meant a slight insult towards Brian. She meant to suggest he wouldn't have his current position if anyone qualified for it had wanted it. This upset Shia and she was debating on exacting a price on the woman for viewing her companion in a negative way.

***********************************************************************************

As the communication ended Shia opened up the roof to the communication room allowing her large self to look in. Without any prompting she turned her attention to Brian. “I do not like that woman.”

Brian was actually a bit surprised. Shia had been right about the chosen drop off location but he knew that wouldn't be a problem for Shia. Brigitte had actually seemed shocked whenever Shia had told her to send their reception ship as quickly as possible as they would be waiting for them. “She seemed professional to me.” Brian was quite surprised whenever Shia's larger body turned her smile on him and her smaller one hugged him.

“You are so sweet to say that! I'm glad you didn't notice the insults.”

“Insults?” Brian gave his head a slight shake and instead rapped his arms around Shia's smaller self suddenly realizing that his head was not buried in her cleavage. “You made yourself taller for the conversation!”

“Naturally. Even if we're not in the same room you humans find significant stature imposing to some extent. By having you as a reference I was able to make myself appear more threatening to Brigitte which helped with the talks. Now as I know you're wondering yes I knew about Brigitte at Intrex. I knew it was possible that we would end up talking to her. I didn't know it for certain. I also know that she is a much nicer person ninety eight percent of the time. Once I decided on the companies that would be best to sell to I started watching them more carefully.”

“I see. Does that mean she has something against HT species?” Brian could imagine it. Few would meet a high threat species especially a deep space high threat species within their life time. Those that did tended to have some horror stories. There had even been a few colonies lost due to encounters with high threat species though that was rare. None had been lost during Brian's life time at least.

“She's weary of us but no. She's been having a real bad day.” It was this had made Shia decided not to punish Brigitte for using a few veiled insults on Brian. She still wanted to make the woman's day worse. Perhaps she could trip a few security features in her bank account and put her through the hassle of reopening it. That or she would change her lunch order or perhaps delay her return trip home. That was the anger speaking though. Besides if she was going to punish the woman she would need to know why she was being punished.

For a moment Brian was silent. He had no doubt what Shia said was true though he had a few guesses as to what she did to obtain the information. He wasn't going to pry into that though. One thing did finally manage to sink in. It seemed like feeling had left his arms for a moment. They were currently wrapped around Shia returning the hug she had offered him. It had happened so naturally that he was taken back by it. There was a concern though but he didn't have time to open his mouth.

“That was all you.” Shia gave an amused giggle as Brian finally seemed to notice his arms. “You didn't notice you put your arm around me earlier as well.” Rather then wait for Brian to respond Shia brought her face closer and planted a warm kiss on his cheek. She would have preferred to place it on his lips.  She knew that signaled an even greater affection and level of intimacy. That had the potential to have a negative response while a kiss on the cheek would have less influence she knew it would be positive. When she looked him in the eyes using her smaller body she noted that he was still hugging her though he was looking between her smaller body and larger.

It didn't seem like Brian's arms wanted to let go. The reason why was simple. Having Shia's smaller self pressed against him felt really good. Her warm breasts pressed into his chest allowing him to get a better feel of their texture. They were so soft but not soft that they would droop without assistance. His hands and arms pressed against her back allowing him to feel the well developed muscles there and a slight expansion each time she inhaled. The scent of her hair was carried to his nose. It was sweet reminding him of flowers though he couldn't place what type. When she would speak he would get a light hint of mint on her breath. Then her lips touched his cheeks and it felt like his head was fighting to keep his lips from chasing after hers.

“You don't need to hold back. I put a lot of work in this body you know. I want you to enjoy it. I want to enjoy you as well.” Shia wasn't certain if Brian would be comfortable involving her larger self which she had used to speak the final words. For Shia though the larger body felt more natural and she had noticed Brian turning his attention towards it several times. She would gladly use both bodies at once or several bodies at once. Having more bodies just made exploring him even easier.

Brian took in a deep breath of air. He wanted this so badly it actually hurt. Sex wasn't a game to him meant to be performed casually yet when would he have another chance to be with someone like Shia? Even with modern beautification techniques he couldn't think of anyone who had came to represent his idea of beauty so well and she wasn't limited to just one body either. He had to remember that. Not only could she be several women but she could be several different types of beauty at the same time. If he left her this situation probably wouldn't ever come again. “Can. Can we start off with something slow?” Brian felt like pure energy and pleasure surged through his body as Shia suddenly pressed the lips of her smaller body against his own. He didn't even notice her larger self reaching for them.

Companionship came in many different flavors and each one of her sisters preferred a different flavor of some type. Passion, intimacy and commitment all three contributed a great deal to the flavor of a companion. Some of her sisters hungered only for passion so that they required a great many companions they quickly went through. Some thrived on intimacy and commitment making long term friends or even acting as parents to their companions. Shia positively thirsted for all three though. No other combination provided her the same rush and exhilaration. When Brian had responded so much pleasure had burned within her core it was hard for her to control herself. Even her mind that wasn't tied to her human bodies had felt the influence. She positively burned to drink Brian down and bring him more into herself. 

This wasn't what Brian had expected. Yet he remembered the first day he had met Shia. She had began to tremble with excitement and even began sweating. As he pulled his lips away he was greeted by a massive smile on both her bodies. He could swear that he could feel her heart beating inside of her chest. Indeed he could swear he could hear the heart beat of her larger body as she smiled back at him. “I take that is a yes.”

“You are such a delight! Your constant denial of my and your desires frustrates and excites me so much! I just imagine when I finally manage to make you comfortable enough to freely enjoy one another and I get such a high. Then when I know all your impulses are screaming for you to accept my offer you control your desires without calming them but then when I expect you to simply reject an idea you expand upon it making it even better! When I think about your suggestion as to how I should have gathered the minerals.” Shia knew this was being a bit aggressive but she couldn't help but press the lips of her smaller self against Brian's once again. At the same time she'd carefully lifted them from the ground using her larger body.

As she ended the kiss Shia didn't give Brian time to speak. She could feel his excitement but also concern building within him.  “Don't worry. You're not in any danger of me forcing anything more then a kiss on you. I promise. I know my composure right now is a bit limited. I just.” Shia was very happy that Brian wasn't trying to resist her right now. If he had tried to pull away she would have released him but she knew that it would be more then a little painful. “Please just give me a moment.”

The reason Brian hadn't spoken was that Shia's kiss had taken his breath away. It wasn't just her lips though. He could swear that he felt her nipples pressing into him now and her right thigh had been lifted and brushed against his leg. The affect had left him dizzy. He had been aware of them being lifted upwards but he couldn't think about it at the moment. “What was that? I mean. I thought I saw it happen before.”

“Yes. Yes you did. I'm just so excited and well you'll need more then that.” Shia's mouth came close to Brian's as she prepared to kiss him again. Perhaps she could use her larger body to explain. Her lips positively quivered as she pulled her face back and began to settle them down in the palm of her larger body. “I'll explain better later I promise but for now. Me and my sisters have a very positive response to companionship we crave it. Well I explained that to you earlier. They are different types of companionship though we respond to more then others and well. Oh if only our minds had been networked! That would have been.” Shia had to quiet herself down for a moment.

Was Shia that into the conquest? She sure seemed motivated by her goals but that didn't seem right to Brian. Sure she had enjoyed the progress but he didn't imagine her as being the type that liked to conquer. So what had he done exactly? He didn't know if he could get a clear answer from her. He just couldn't bring himself to treat sex casually. He required some level of dedication to one another at least. Brian actually felt light headed as he came to a simple realization. “You want a dedicated relationship!”

Shia couldn't help but verbalize her delight! “Yes! I can take on any form my companion likes. I can change how I talk, smell and even behave. Passion is easy. Intimacy takes more time as I come to trust someone and they trust me but it can be done. To have dedication with both though is so much harder and that's what you seek! I don't know how long it'll last. I've seen it fade in weeks but you're actually seeking it. I just. You do a wonderful job of meeting my needs. I fully intend to meet yours.”

The last few words Shia had said had involved a shift in the tone of her voice. A shift that rather excited Brian. What Shia had said had been true though it wasn't the full story for him. How could someone as powerful as Shia be dedicated to him? She could easily have a relationship with others and keep it hidden from him. He knew that would have to be something he'd have to trust her on. “So something a little slow?”

Despite her abilities Shia couldn't have removed the smile from her face without removing the ability to smile as she relaxed her grip on Brian and took a step back. “Yes. How about we start with a proper kiss and then enjoy some nice cuddling? We could enjoy a movie together and some drinks. Would you be comfortable with that. Perhaps we could even enjoy some petting.”

That wasn't quite what Brian had expected. “That sounds like a good place to start.” It was impossible for Brian to hide the shock on his face as Shia suddenly moved back rapidly. He could actually feel some heat on his fingers as her hand slipped through his. A gust of wind washed over his body that he hadn't been expecting. In his flustered state he hadn't noticed the shadow falling over him. As he looked up he found that his vision was filled with the site of Shia's lips. He felt them press into his body before he could even begin thinking what to do. Had it not been for the softness of Shia's lips the impact would have been more then a little jarring. He had but a moment to appreciate how Shia's warm lips conformed to and engulfed his body before he found himself being forced to the ground.

She should have made her body larger. As things were now Shia's lips nearly engulfed Brian's entire body. Her upper lip covered his face, shoulders and the majority of his chest. His pelvic region was lifted slightly and pulled into the valley created by her two lips while her bottom lip covered much of Brian's legs except for his feet. That wasn't how it was suppose to be. His entire body should have been engulfed in her lips. She could have made her lips fuller of course but that would have upset the ratio between the size of her lips and her face taking it away from Brian's preference. Making her entire body larger was the only true choice but for now she would make do with her current body. Her soft warm lips conformed to Brian's body as the suction generated by the kiss pulled him against them.

The tactile pleasure of Shia's kiss had overwhelmed Brian. Her warm lips engulfed his entire being and if he hadn't been pulled into them so firmly he surely would have pushed into them. He could feel their soft warm embrace over the front of his entire body and even his legs. Those lips were more then just soft though. He could feel them pulsating around his body lightly sucking upon all of him. The soft embrace of her lips changed from moment to moment and region to region. It massaged the entire front of his body except for his feet and much of his sides. The air he took in smelt of flowers and even the moisture on Shia's lips brought pleasure. As the pleasure fogged his mind instinct took over and he pressed his lips against hers. For a moment his tongue came out and tasted of her flesh. It was a sweet honey flavor a reminder that Shia was not human. As he pulled his tongue back in he didn't just kiss her back but lightly sucked on the soft flesh of her lips.

As Shia kissed Brian she made sure to adjust her lips from time to time to allow air to reach him. She didn't want there to be any discomfort for him. As she kissed him she sorely missed having a mental connection but the ones she might form with Brian now would either do little for her due to being too incomplete or would be overwhelming to Brian. There was pleasure in this moment though. Brian's positive response to her affection filled her with joy and the lips of her human body provided her with tactile delight. The feeling of Brian's healthy body beneath her lips brought excitement and then she felt him kiss back. A sharp gasp escaped Shia without thinking and she lifted her head for a moment as she felt her body trembling with delight. The way he had lightly tasted and even sucked upon her lips had brought a thick wave of pleasure that left most of her thinking capacity consumed with pleasure. Brian was so unfair to her. Asking her to take it slow when she had so much of what she desired. Only the thought of what he may provide if their relationship continued to mature and her fondness for the human made the wait seem worth suffering through.

Brian could feel his heart positively racing as he tried to organize his thoughts. Was that what Shia had meant by a proper kiss? Despite having had no trouble breathing his head was positively spinning. If he had looked down he would have noticed his pants had also been dampened and not just by Shia's saliva. He didn't have time to notice that as he looked forward. Shia's smaller body stood there but no longer in her officers outfit. She stood there in a t-shirt that was drawn tight against her chest and some blue jeans. What was even more shocking was that she wasn't alone. Brian failed to notice his jaw opening up as five over women stood with her. Each one of them was Shia but each one of them was different in both their clothing and their appearance.

Standing two and a third meters tall one of Shia's bodies was a massive brunette. The figure had an exceptionally well developed build with triceps that easily surpassed the size of her head and thighs that looked like they could crush tree trunks and boulders. Her curly hair was a bit of a mess. She wore a short simple dress decorated with flowers while her skin was a soft brown as if it was used to being kissed by the sun. Her emerald green eyes seemed to flash as she moved with a speed Brian hadn't been prepared for. In an instant she seemed to be behind him. He couldn't turned to see her though as he felt something lock onto each of his arms. On the right he saw the body Shia had been using for a while now the one that had the same look at her larger self.

On his left arm he found a red head with strait hair. Her build wasn't as bulky as Shia's standard body but showed more definition in her muscles. Her mouth was a bit wider and her smile imparted a wild quality that seemed to match up with her clothing. Her clothing was such that all she needed to do was remove her shorts and he imagined she would be ready to go swimming. Her tube top looked as if it would function just as well in the water as it would on the land. These two Shia's wasted no time pulling him towards the one behind him and he found himself falling backwards onto the largest of the six if he didn't count the giantess who's hand they were in.

A series of excited giggles greeted his ears and he felt his legs being taken hold of. Before he could look to get a better look at the bodies that were holding them something landed solidly on his chest. He found himself looking up into yet another smiling face. This Shia had the raven black hair he loved so much but it was short and wild. At one and seven tenths of a meter tall this was the shortest Brian had seen Shia make one of her bodies. This was probably for his sake as she was also extremely light having the least developed body of the group as well. Yet as he looked at this Shia there was a wildness about her that none of the others had. Her eyes danced rapidly while her giggles showed an excitement the others couldn't match.

“What's going on here?”

“We're cuddling! Well just about. There is one more thing to do.”

The voices all came at once and blinded together. Uncertain of what was going on Brian felt them being moved and saw Shia's free hand reaching down to lift the entire group. He felt the largest of the six bodies remain rigid as they were lifted into the air and by glancing to his side saw that the bodies on each arm had wrapped their legs around the lower bodies and were apparently using this to support them. His entire body tingled as he felt something warm and wet against his throat and looked up to realize that the Shia atop him had just licked his throat. Before he could comment she leaned forward and took the tip of his nose between her teeth for but a moment and much to his surprise purred. Outside of the corner of his eye he saw movement as the breast of Shia's larger body rapidly rose up on either side of the group.

With Brian and her six other bodies within the cleavage of her larger body Shia's giantess self smiled down at the group. “I believe that will do. Now let's find something to watch together.”

End Part 1