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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.

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“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.

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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.”

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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.”