Joined in Mind and Body - Chapter 5
#5 of Joined in Mind and Body
Computer fixed! Things aren't going as planned for sleep though.
Joined in Mind and Body
Chapter 5
Andrew woke to a low humming sound, but silence in his mind at least. His eyes opened, but his vision was blurry. He tried to figure out what had happened. He realized suddenly that the cushion he was lying on was moving slightly.
"You're awake," Sybelle said.
Andrew blinked the blurriness from his eyes and realized he was lying on the curled up body of the computer's avatar. "What... happened?" he asked.
"After evaluation of your condition without medical scanning devices in this area, and going over your recorded history, including recent events on this ship, it appears that the psionic pulse to lock out the faulty node caused too much interference for your sensitivity level," the Kathari answered. "I was not able to convince the technicians that it was safe for them to enter, however I had them send your PPDU in, and placed that on you. It appears to have worked. Some humans are sensitive to psionic background noise. Others just think they are, or want PPDUs for other erroneous reasons. From your records, you are extremely sensitive. The core technicians should not have restricted your PPDU. I have already updated several secure sections of your personnel record to reflect this fact."
Andrew sat up carefully, trying to remember what had happened recently. His mind was somewhat fuzzy, and not because of background noise. He just felt... well, exhausted, honestly. "Faulty node?" he finally asked.
The computer paused for a moment, then replied, "Partial answer due to access restrictions: An organic node was connected to the psionic communication network without an electronic uplink. This can be caused by several factors, including but not limited to nodes that are currently under maintenance or repair by internal systems, or ENEGMIS component failure. Normally the organic part will willingly disconnect from the psionic network during this time, however the potential exists for it to not do so. It is possible that in my prior state, I was unable to detect the node's failure to disconnect. The node was disconnected, and at this time, I foresee no future problems."
Andrew frowned. 'It is possible'? 'Including but not limited to'? Yeah... there was definitely information being hidden from him. "Are you functioning properly now, then?"
The avatar nodded to him. "The overwhelming urge to engage in mating activity is gone. The ENEGMIS support systems have a lot of adjustment to do, as they have been adjusting bio support levels outside normal operation ranges to try to accommodate the prior error. This process will take an estimated 48 to 64 hours. I also need to review all data records from the duration of the fault and potentially revise a lot of information, now that my processing systems are not clouded by lust."
Andrew started to climb to his feet, and the computer helped him carefully, the large Kathari avatar standing up behind him. "Then I guess my job here is done," he said, turning to get his bearings. He started walking towards the door, ignoring the computer avatar now. Job completed.
"Andrew," the avatar said from very close behind him. Andrew spun around, wondering what was up. The Kathari avatar suddenly dropped to its belly and grabbed him, hugging him close to its body. "Thank you," it murmured, purring quietly. Then, just as swiftly, it dissolved into nothing, leaving a bemused human.
He paused in thought. That last action by the computer was odd. The system was an AI, however ISABENs were set to be clinical and precise. 'Job Done' meant just that, and unless there was a logical need to continue contact, the computer would revert its processing power to other functions. Sybelle actually went out of its way to catch him and thank him - and even hug him - before he left. He would have to keep this in mind, and include it in his report.
Sighing, he walked to the core's lock door, and hit the switch to open it. "You're coming out? Did you succeed?" came a voice through the speaker from the techs outside.
"Found the problem, made some tough adjustments, and the ISABEN reports proper functionality again," Andrew reported in reply as he waited for the exit scan to complete.
The scan finished in due course and he was cleared to depart. A quick trip across the lock and the outer door opened to the loud cheers of all the techs in a semicircle around the lock. Their cheers broke off almost instantly though as shocked looks came to their faces. Andrew blinked and followed their gazes down to his body... and realized suddenly that he was stark naked. His own clothing had been atomized by the computer, and the computer-generated clothing didn't go outside the core environment.
"The ISABEN did get a bit aggressive," Andrew explained, feeling too drained to care. "My clothing didn't survive its wrath, but I did. It's fixed now, and safe. But would it be too much to ask for somebody to get me some bloody pants? And a terminal where I can enter my report."
Various techs coughed and looked away, others seemed ready to giggle. Andrew was at least pleased that most of the few female techs seemed to find his current state interesting. Guess he still had a good body. The tech that had let him in - likely the shift lead - showed him to an auxiliary terminal and logged it in for him to enter his report.
Andrew sat down and began to enter his report. He had to concentrate a lot more around his tiredness, and his data entry was definitely substantially slower than usual because of it. He was only inputting data about as fast as normal techs, not his usual five or six times speed. He was also distracted by some of the hushed conversations around the room. Especially by a pair of the ladies that had been staring most avidly. He reeled in surprise as he swore he heard one of them say "That's the biggest peepee I've ever seen." The other female replied with something he couldn't hear.
Apparently he wasn't the only one to overhear it. The lead tech accosted the two females. "And just WHAT are you two gossiping about?" he demanded.
Andrew tried to ignore the exchange and get his report entered before he fell asleep. "I was just saying that he has the biggest PPDU I've ever seen," replied the tech, unabashed.
"And you?" asked the lead tech.
"I just told her I didn't care," the woman answered. Then she muttered, "I wasn't looking at that anyway. Busy admiring his cock and balls. Damn lucky computer." All the other conversations in the room died instantly and Andrew felt red rising into his face. "Oh, shit! Did I just say that out loud?" the second female suddenly exclaimed.
The whole room exploded in laughter. "I think you just beat the holiday party, Tricia," one of the techs exclaimed.
"Shall I get a picture for you to keep?" another asked jokingly.
"With Trish around, this shift will never be boring!"
Another female tech tried to defend her friend. "Well, he DOES have a nice package," she exclaimed. "So leave Trish alone." Andrew gave up. His head hit the desk in pure embarrassment.
"This might help," came a voice near his ear, and a soft bundle was pressed against his arm. He glanced up to see a tech pressing a pair of pants and a shirt at him. He accepted the clothing thankfully and dressed as swiftly as he could while jokes continued to fill the office.
"Maybe I should take off my pants too! Then you can see a real package!"
"We already saw it at a Kathari party," retorted a female. "Don't try to brag. You'll only embarrass yourself."
Andrew worked quickly on his report. Thankfully he was almost finished.
"Hey, I've got an idea. It's Friday, so instead of having casual Friday from now on, let's have No Pants Fridays! In honor of the guy who saved the whole ship!"
Andrew stopped in mid-sentence in his report. They had to be joking.
"No way, the girls would never go for it," came one reply.
"Have a vote!" somebody else said. This was taken up in chanting calling for a vote.
The lead tech coughed and everybody shut up. "That would be very Kathari, but we have the right. Ahh... Because of the nature of this one, I'm going to call for unanimous or no-go. Any objections?" Silence. "Right. Votes in the jar. Aye for No Pants Friday, Nay to wear pants."
Andrew resumed typing slowly as he heard techs scrambling for writing implements. 200 years and paper was obsolete, but writing wasn't. Just fake paper-like substances to write on now. But they had to be joking anyway.
A short while later and the lead tech announced, "Everybody who wanted to has voted? Right. Gather around."
Andrew finished up his report, saved it, and spun the chair around to watch the proceedings with interest.
"Any details to change prior to counting?" the lead tech asked.
"Underwear optional?" one man offered.
"Seconded," a female tech announced. Andrew blinked.
"Any objections?" the lead tech asked. Nobody said a word. "Any other details?" Again, silence. "Right. Then let the counting begin."
He drew a folded piece of paper from the jar, and looked at it, then displayed it to all the techs. "Aye," most of them announced. Another paper displayed. "Aye," came the call again. This went on for the 14 pieces of paper from the 14 techs present, with the aye's becoming more excited as they went. Andrew decided this HAD to be a joke for his benefit.
The final paper came out. The lead tech looked at it, and frowned. All the other techs got distinctly nervous as the lead tech shook his head slowly and sighed. He slowly turned it around, and displayed it with a flourish. "AYE!!!" all the techs shouted, jumping up and down and dancing around.
"Let it be recorded that No Pants Fridays are now official for second shift core techs. This is an optional event, like casual Fridays, and underwear is optional as well," the lead tech stated. "As with casual Friday, normal clothing will be required during the first and last half hours of the shift, as well as arriving and departing. This vote will be forwarded to other shifts to be voted on as they see fit. Sybelle, drop that note in the secure files."
"Information recorded," the ISABEN responded. "Data saved."
All the techs cheered and bent over to remove shoes. Pants swiftly followed, and even most underwear came off with one female dissenting on the underwear removal. Andrew sat staring in shock at over a dozen white technician asses as they chided the female who wouldn't remove her panties. She finally gave in, revealing herself to be the only shaved one in the group.
Andrew could only stare with his mouth hanging open and wondering if he should put on sunglasses. The lead tech nudged his elbow. "You look a bit surprised. Welcome to a Kathari ship. The Kathari are so open about things that most humans tend to pick up the same habit. Work without fun kills. The Kats helped us learn that long ago. Literally in the case of a Kat ship. No fun, no psionic energy, no weapons or shielding, destroyed ship. Anyway, it could be worse."
Andrew managed to close his mouth and looked at the man searchingly. The lead tech grinned and answered the unasked question. "Accounting has orgies twice a month." Andrew's eyes widened in disbelief. "Done with your report? You look exhausted. Go get some rest. Here, trade ya." He held out Andrew's personal wrist com and pointed to the core unit Andrew had on. Andrew numbly exchanged the wrist coms and stood up, heading to the door as bare buttocks hit chairs and the techs resumed their normal routines... namely monitoring things for trouble and goofing off when there was none.
Andrew chuckled as the door into the lock slid opened. Techs were the same the universe over. Just apparently some places made them a bit more interesting than others. His final exit scan finished, and he stepped out into the lobby.
Kelia was there waiting for him, but Tyrin was not in evidence. "Tyrin left to take care of something pretty important, but he's almost... Oh, never mind, he's back."
The outer door slid open and Tyrin padded in, looking Andrew over. "Different clothes?" the Kat asked curiously.
"Long story," Andrew murmured with a yawn. "My clothing didn't survive the encounter inside, so they had to get me new clothes."
"Well, I have an odd thing for you," Tyrin stated. He presented the human with a very thick and full envelope.
Andrew looked at the envelope. "What is it? Who is it from?"
"I don't know. It was given to me by a somewhat confused-looking Kat who said that he was instructed to give it to the first Kat he saw with black socks on his hind legs, and tell that Kat to give it to the human he knew," Tyrin said, pointing to his hind paws, which did indeed have black fur covering them halfway up his shanks.
Andrew looked at the envelope, then shrugged and ripped the top open. Inside were a blue colored envelope and a small note. He extracted both and looked at the note.
"Keep this envelope with you at all times," the note read. "Do not open it until you are told to by somebody who knows about it. This is for your eyes only."
Andrew gazed at the note for a moment. Finally he folded it in half and put both it and the blue envelope into his pocket. "Okay, thank you." He yawned and wobbled.
"You look exhausted," Kelia murmured, stepping over to nudge the swaying human upright. She looked at Tyrin as she put a hand on Andrew's shoulder to support him. Unspoken words were exchanged mentally between the two Kats, then Kelia nodded. She scooped Andrew up into her arms, cradling him carefully. He didn't protest as she pulled his head to rest against her shoulder. "We'll have you home in short order."
The run home saw Andrew fading in and out of short sleeps. He woke at one point and did some math in his head to try to stay awake. What time was it? Hmm... Ship time worked on the same time zone as where he lived back home. That was unexpected, but fortuitous. So he had left around four in the afternoon... then travel to orbit, intake processing, the run to his quarters, the knowledge transfer and his nap, coming here, the work he did... Ummm... he gave up and looked at his wrist com. The unit read 2.723. He frowned and did some mental calculations... about 11:14pm.
He came to again as Kelia was setting him on the human bed in his quarters. He mumbled a weak question about something. He wasn't sure what. Kelia simply smoothed out his hair and patted him gently as he started to drift off to sleep again. Tyrin carefully unlatched the human's wrist com and set it on the small table beside the bed. Both Kats smiled and padded out silently.
* * *
Andrew woke with a start as the door alert sounded. He looked around in panic as he realized he was not in his own room. What? Wait... computer job... starship... Kathari... horny computer... crazy techs... right. He mumbled something under his breath as the door alert dinged a reminder that somebody was waiting. He sat up groggily and looked at the wrist com on the table. 3.085? Ummm... 12:51 am... What the fuck was somebody doing ringing his doorbell at this hour of the night?
He stumbled to the door and it opened to reveal an alert-looking human man. Andrew stared at him, waiting.
"Uh, hi!" the man said. "Um, I heard that you are the tech who fixed the main computer. I just got off shift, and... well, I know it's not part of your job, but, could you like look at my holo unit? I can pay you. But I really need it fixed. The output's all fuzzy."
Andrew continued to stare at the man, saying nothing. The uneasy silence caused the man to fidget a bit. He finally made a face at Andrew. "Er...?"
"You just woke me up after an hour of sleep..." Andrew said matter of factly.
"Oh, I'm sorr..." the man began to say, but the door slid shut in his face as Andrew toggled the switch.
Andrew wasn't sure how he made it back to bed, but he figured he got there somehow, since he woke up with his face buried in the pillow when his wrist com began to beep insistently, indicating a call. He rolled over with a groan and pulled the com onto the pillow beside him, toggling the controls.
"What?" he asked.
"Is this Andrew Foster?" came the voice from the other side.
"... Yes..." Andrew answered.
"Hey, man, you fixed the computer and saved my marriage! That damn thing was coming onto me every day at work, and my wife was getting pissed. I was wondering if I could get your address to send over a thank you gift," the caller told him.
Andrew forced his eyes open and looked at the time. 3.138. 1:23 am. His eyes drifted closed.
"Hello??" came the voice.
Andrew flicked his eyes open again. "You. Woke. Me. Up," he said, very slowly. He mumbled an obscenity under his breath and poked at the holo control for the wrist unit to transfer his ship address info to the caller.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, thanks!" the person said. The call disconnected. Andrew stared at the wrist unit for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. He finally got his brain cells to come to the proper conclusion, and activated Do Not Disturb mode on the wrist com. People could leave messages. Sleep claimed him quickly once again.
... Until his quarters com unit beeped with an incoming call. He growled as he slid off the bed and made his way, flopping in the chair. He stabbed the holo to answer it, and watched as a video holo came up of the caller. It was a female.
"Hi, Andrew!"
He thought long and hard. "Yes, Tricia?" he mumbled.
"Wow, you look dead," she muttered. "I was going to ask you to come to a party. Got a bunch of girlfriends interested in you. But you look beat." A look of surprise came to her face. "Oh! We got you from Terra, didn't we? I'll bet you worked first shift landside. Oh, shit, I'm sorry, you must be exhausted! I'll let the girls know they can see your cock some other time." She paused. "Did I say that out loud? Oh, never mind. Get some rest."
The image vanished and Andrew was left with an odd look on his face. Should he be scared? He stabbed at the DND function on the room com too.
...and almost fell out of the chair when the door rang again. He groaned. Fell asleep in the chair... crap, he'd be sore. He pulled himself to his feet with a wince and went to the door. It slid open to reveal a courier.
"Delivery for you, sir," the man stated, holding up a large box.
Andrew stared at him, bleary-eyed. "What time is it?" he asked.
"Errr..." The question caught the courier by surprise. He set the box down and looked at his own wrist com. "Three two fifty-five. Can I give you this?" he asked, pointing at the box and indicating the security field that still blocked the doorway.
Andrew got a twitch in the corner of his mouth for a moment. 2:33 am. He stepped out without a word and picked up the box, paused for a moment as the courier did a quick records scan to confirm his identity, and walked back in without saying a word. The door slid shut on a confused courier as Andrew set the box down and stumbled back to bed.
...And woke to his wrist com beeping urgently. He glared at the device. 3.325. It was 3:15 am. But he vaguely remembered putting it on DND mode. Had to be an important call to get through that. He sat up and composed himself as best he could, coughed a few times, and answered the call. "Yes?"
"Andrew Foster? On behalf of the Captain and Crew of the ISS Karenthis, I want to thank you for..." an official-sounding voice began from the other side. But it was interrupted by a harsh whisper that Andrew couldn't make out.
"Wait, he's first shift?" the caller exclaimed suddenly. "Why the hell doesn't anybody ever bother to tell me details like this? I thought I was calling him just before bed! Damn, I'm so sorry sir. I'll call you back at a better time."
The line went dead. Andrew stared at the wrist com for a short while longer. He was about to head back to sleep when his bladder told him "Hell No!", so he got up to use the restroom. With a fit of inspiration, he acquired a set of writing materials and scribbled a quick note: "Sleeping. DO NOT DISTURB." Getting a strip of sticky tape, he went to the door and stepped outside, tagging it to the side of his door over the call button. Several Kats watched him curiously as they went by, one even stopping to observe as he managed to get the tape stuck wrong in his sleepiness.
He cursed quietly as he yanked at the tape, unable to achieve the manual dexterity he needed to get it unstuck from itself. He didn't want to have to go all the way back in to the desk to get a new piece of tape. He was very close to accidentally shredding the tape when a large furred hand closed over his, causing him to pause.
"Here, let me help, Andrew-k'is," a warm voice murmured. He blinked as his note was removed from his unresisting hands by the Kathari. The Kat glared at the tape, and there was an odd smell and glow from the tape that was stuck to itself. Then the tape unstuck and straightened with a small wisp of smoke.
Andrew tilted his head curiously as the Kat carefully stuck the message over the call panel. That was a new Kathari feature. He looked up at the Kat thankfully and smiled.
She grinned down at him. "Some Kathari have at least minor control over substances at a molecular or atomic level with psionics," she explained, answering his question even though he had not asked. He was going to have to get used to that, he supposed. She grinned more widely, "Yes, you are. But only for a while, I think."
She took a step back and leaned her upper body down to grace his cheek with a soft, affectionate lick. Turning the bemused human to face his own door, she gave him a small push on the back. "Go get some sleep, Andrew-k'is," she murmured. Andrew was all too happy to oblige.
As the door slid shut behind him, he realized that the little show of care from that Kat had helped him feel better. He was still sleepy, but he wasn't as thoroughly exhausted as he was before. His mind was a little clearer as he climbed back into bed, and in realization, he stripped out of his clothing. He couldn't believe that he had been sleeping in them. He was still sore from falling asleep in the chair, but hopefully he could get some rest now.
* * *
His door alert sounded again. His eyes blinked open. The door call sounded again. Not a "still waiting" tone, but an actual new call. He frowned and looked at the wrist com. 3.552. About 5:31 am. Still way too early.
His frown turned into a growl as a new call sounded again. Whoever it was had some serious balls to be bugging him even with his note there. He climbed out of bed and found a night robe in the closet. Throwing it on, he tied the belt as he approached the door. Whoever the hell this was was going to get an earful. He slapped the door release and looked up with a glare at the offender.
His glare melted in an instant as he looked directly into a feline face at his own height. The small Kathari had caught his glare before it left though, and took a step backwards. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I saw your n-note, b-but..." She looked almost as bad off as he had felt earlier. "I'll... I'll leave," she murmured, starting to turn away on wobbly legs.
"No!" Andrew exclaimed. She shied away at his vehemence. "No, sorry..." he said more softly. "Please, come in... You don't look well." He was worried for her. He reached to the side and cleared her through the security field.
She looked reluctant, and glanced at the note still stuck to the door frame. "Come in," he insisted again. She obviously worried it over in her mind, and finally stepped tentatively through the security field. Andrew let the door slide shut behind her.
"What's wrong?" he asked her. "You look horrible! Nobody's trying to hurt you again I hope."
She shook her head, "No, Andrew-l'es... I'm just... soo tired. I'm sorry I bothered you, but I couldn't think of anyplace else to go. I know I can't make it all the way to my quarters, and I can't board with any other Kats. And you saved my life." She hung her head. "I wouldn't want to go back to my quarters anyway..." she murmured. "I thought I could stay awake at a good crowded bar, or out in the town, but..." She looked up and looked at him hopefully, "Can I please just sleep here for a little while?" her gaze traveled longingly past him to the big Kathari bowl bed.
Andrew looked at her wobbling form. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he still felt an attachment in a way to this little Kathari that he had helped save. And she had named him with l'es. That meant "special friend" on a personal level, unlike the k'is that just meant Friend of Kathari. Kelia and Tyrin called him l'es too, because he had saved Serina.
"Yes, please stay. Make yourself at home, get some rest," he nodded.
She smiled at him thankfully and began to walk towards the bed. Andrew stayed close beside, afraid that she would fall before making it. Sure enough, just before the bed, she listed a bit too much to the side and began to stumble. Andrew jumped over and pushed her carefully back upright.
But she reacted oddly to this. She snapped her head up with a gasp and pulled away from him, dancing to the side and spinning around. Her flank hit the low edge of the bed and she flopped over onto it, rolling fully over down in the bowl. Andrew winced and reached again to try to help, but she shied away fearfully.
"Don't touch me!" she snapped. Andrew yanked his hand back, looking hurt. She was immediately apologetic. "Oh, I don't mean it that way! Oh, Andrew-l'es, I'm sorry. It's just, you have a PPDU on... that's really bad for me right now. I..."
Andrew relaxed. "Shhh..." he interrupted her softly. "It's okay, tell me when you've gotten some sleep. I still need a bit more myself. Rest well, Serina-l'es, and rest as much as you like."
Her ears perked at his addition of the suffix to her name, and a small smile crossed her muzzle as she curled up into a little ball. Well, relatively little, compared to other Kathari, but she still outmassed Andrew by a lot. Her eyes were half-lidded, and she murmured, "'Serina-l'es..." to herself. Her eyes drifted closed as the smile stayed, and he barely heard her say, "Thank you, Andrew-l'es."
Andrew was pleased with himself for making her happy. He did think of this Kat as a special friend. Maybe he couldn't read her like an open book the way she could read him, but something about her had caught his eye from the very start. He didn't like anybody being treated badly either.
He heard her breathing with a quiet purr in the background, and nodded to himself. He didn't know what was going on, but he had a feeling he just saved her from something again. With a wide yawn, he returned to his own bed and shrugged off his robe. He climbed into bed and fell swiftly asleep. And for a change, all his settings on the coms and the note on the door worked, letting him finally get his sleep.
With the PPDU on, his dreams were his own, uninfluenced by psionic noise. But the deep amber eyes of the feline face present in his quarters filled his dreams. He dreamed of her smile, and falling into her eyes. He didn't fear. Her eyes were deep, but accepting. Blackness took over the dream, and then it faded, leaving him to sleep soundly.
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