XTC 2.2

"Thank you for the coffee. That was very thoughtful." When he didn't respond, she pressed on. "I am so not a morning person."

He continued to just stare off into space. Was the greeting and the coffee his way of trying to show her that he'd missed her, too? Was he capable of an emotion like that? Or was it something programmed into him by the mysterious Captain Miller?

"I'm going to grab a shower," she informed him. "I'd ask you to join me, but I'll give you a good lubing later," she teased.

As she cleaned her cup and put it away, she told him about her dream, and about how she felt about so much of the journey being over before it felt like it had really begun. She didn't know if he was listening, but it didn't matter. It was enough that he was there.

The sonic shower was a bit of a misnomer, since it didn't actually blast dirt off of you using sound waves, but it did get you clean without needing running water. The moment she stepped into the room, Gina peeled off her clothes and dropped them in a pile on the floor. Stumbling into the little stall, she fluffed out her hair, top and bottom, ran her hands over sleepy skin, then turned it on and adjusted it to her liking. Gina felt that there was just something inherently comforting about a spray of hot water and a cloud of steam, something primal, and when you covered yourself with soap and saw it being washed away, you knew the dirt and grime of the day was going with it. Still, there was something to be said for the ship's shower. At least you didn't have to towel off, or worry about drying your hair. To supplement the shower itself, she had her choice of a damp cloth or a gel-like body wash to clean herself, which would be blasted off by the miracle of the sonic shower. She'd be air-dry often before she'd even stepped out. She wondered if it was called sonic because it was so loud. Perhaps they'd simply installed an over-sized blow drier. She'd never repaired one before, but was now dying to take it apart and see how it worked.

As her fingers worked their way into every nook and cranny, she nearly regretted having the shower. The invasive touch and caress of her digits reminded her of the feelings lingering from her dream. The vibrations from the shower tingled against her skin, and the thoroughness with which she cleaned herself didn't help. Her fingers worked every fold, and they plunged deep inside, wriggling and opening, front and back, while she bent over and spread herself wide for those friendly, cleaning vibes. Even though she was alone, the act made her blush, but she couldn't bring herself to forgo it... even though she was now tempted to plant her back against the wall and masturbate furiously. She managed to resist. As she stepped out of the little stall, she was surprised to find X there. She stifled a gasp.

"X! What are you doing here?"

"It's time for your massage, Captain Miller," he said, stepping toward her.

The android backed her against the wall, an arm coming up beside her, boxing her in. She gasped, flushing with a sudden feeling of vulnerability, being so much smaller than the droid, wedged between his hard plastic chest and the unyielding metal. She felt an instant clenching in her pussy, and a wave of heat washed through her. How she felt in her dream had been wrong. Despite his lack of fleshy facial features, she had come to find him quite expressive. He had all the underpinnings she was sure artificial flesh was supposed to be built on, there was flex to certain elements of his face, and more importantly, she'd come to recognize little mannerisms he probably didn't even know he had. His head tilted, his brow ridges shifted, and he looked down. If he were human, she knew he'd be looking between her face and her breasts. Her nipples were pointing right at him. If he'd been able to grin, she knew he'd be leering.

Lifting her effortlessly, the droid brought her level with his face. She felt his cock rise up beneath her, unerringly finding her pussy. As he lowered her down onto him, it felt like he impaled her to the core. Gina closed her eyes and moaned loudly. She threw her head back against the wall and rode him with wild abandon, cresting on the waves of pleasure washing through her as he thrust his length up into her. He was sweet heat inside her, and she moaned openly to let him know. She came, but instead of stopping, he kept rocking against her. The curve of him, the pulsing, the position, they were making something build inside her, something she'd never felt before. X reached up and grabbed her hair in his hand, tugging her head back. That was all it took. When she came, she came hard. Her whole body became just the point where they joined. Her pussy clamped around him and her hips shook. She gushed so much she felt like she'd peed herself. She didn't care. It was long moments before she could even start to think clearly. She was still breathing hard when his cock retracted and he set her back on her feet.

"Thank you, X," she mumbled, staggering off on wobbly legs, right back into the shower.

She was down in the hold, investigating the work robots. XTC hadn't followed her, since she was decked out in her work clothes. What she found was surprising. They were all perfectly maintained. The same seemed to hold true of every piece of major machinery on the ship. There wasn't really anything to do. That discovery had freed her from what she expected to be days worth of work. This left her only routine chores to do, and most of those could be done in the shop. Naughty thoughts tumbled through her head, recalling how she'd spent much of her time in the shop on the Johnson.

"It's the weirdest thing," she told X as she returned to the workshop, "but there really isn't any maintenance to be done on the heavy gear. Just little stuff."

The android absorbed this information without comment.

"That means I get to spend more time with you! Yay!" she declared.

She knew in his heart, XTC was excited about this, but was stoically choosing not to show it.

"I wish I had some RealSkin," she commented, reaching out and touching his chest. "I think I'll start by finding you something to wear. I bet you'd like that." She suddenly remembered that she was going to try asking him more questions to see if she could get more responses from him, but just as she opened her mouth, a voice startled her.

"Do you always talk to your android?"

She spun to find the doctor standing there. She hadn't realized how late it was.

"Um..." Gina replied, cheeks colouring.

"You're the cutest techie I've ever met," the doc said, shaking her head in amusement.

Gina wasn't sure how to respond to this, and took the compliment with XTC-like poise.

The end of her shift left a bit of overlap with the doctor's, and they spent the time before Gina turned in engaged in small talk. It didn't take long for her to feel her initial impression had been a good one. She found she quite enjoyed the woman's company. She was warm and friendly, and despite their different career paths, the fact that they both worked on spaceships, and for the same company, revealed that they shared a lot of the same opinions and views on the challenges they'd faced. The doctor had also experienced a lot of the same difficulties with relationships as Gina had due to the sheer volume of schooling and training involved in pursuing her career. Monie surprised Gina by telling her that she normally had to turn to a special toy that she'd bought at one of the colonies, when she was feeling a little... lonely.

"Isn't that standard kit for every woman in space?" the tech laughed.

"It should be. Unfortunately, mine broke. I'm going to have to wait until we get back planetside to get it fixed... if they can fix it. I might have to wait till the next time we go to Suntech Happy Valley. It's been a long trip already, and I slept through half of it."

Normally, Gina would have considered this turn of conversation tmi, but she felt so close to Monie just in the couple of hours they'd talked, that she simply accepted that the doctor was a lot more extroverted than she was.

"Why can't they fix it on Earth?"

"You don't understand. This isn't any normal toy," she laughed.

Apparently, it was some kind of compact machine that drove a vibe or dildo mounted on a piston. Those sort of things had been around for decades, but according to Monie, this one was different. It could be disassembled so that it seemed more or less inconspicuous to prying eyes, but when put together was light and flexible, and ran for ages on some kind of revolutionary three-part power setup that the doctor couldn't really describe, but which instantly piqued Gina's techie curiosity. It was built by some obscure manufacturer and only sold at that particular colony. She kept it in an old-fashioned looking doctor's bag. She called it Blue.

"Perhaps I could take a look at it?" Gina offered.

"You are a tinker," Monie replied, considering. She obviously didn't like the thought of someone else handling her toys (particularly another crew member, rather than some anonymous toy technician somewhere), but apparently felt comfortable with Gina as well, because she eventually relented.

True to what she'd been told, Gina had never seen anything like it. It assembled into a motorized arm at the end of a tall, curved stand, but nevertheless became extremely compact when taken apart. It seemed to work by some kind of broadcast she guessed, as much a mystery as XTC was, combined with an inherent kinetic element in the bowed shape of it. She suspected that once set to rocking, it was prone to keep rocking. It looked like it could be bent and angled nearly any which way Monie may need to turn it for best... results. Without being able to power it up, though, she had no way to test the theory. The toy that the doctor had chosen to go with it made Gina blush just looking at it. It was also blue... covered with veins, and was big enough that Gina wasn't sure if it was meant to belong to a human, or to some race of blue alien giants. She couldn't really bring herself to touch it. Unfortunately, since she didn't understand the technology, she also couldn't figure out how to fix the toy. She gave it a try, and it was fascinating to study, but she was fearful of breaking it.

It didn't take more than a couple days before it happened. Gina spent an hour or two each night sitting talking with Monie before she went to bed. She'd been sitting in the lounge, reading to X, when Monie came in. The doc was looking particularly grumpy, enough so that Gina asked if she was okay.

"Cramps," came the reply.

Gina blinked, wondering if this is how X felt when she talked to him.

"Normally, I'd get out Blue," she continued, pouring herself some tea. "He always makes it better."

"So why don't you...?" the tech started, before realizing what Monie was talking about.

"Broken?" Monie reminded her.

"Sorry," Gina said automatically. "I haven't figured it out yet and I don't want to risk breaking it. I know what might make you feel better, though."

"Oh?"

"X might." Gina stretched and decided to head for bed early.

Monie snorted. "Figures, we have one man on during our shift, and he's mechanical."

"He gives an unforgettable massage," Gina said, as she slipped out the door. "Just ask him."

"Oh?" Monie asked, looking at him thoughtfully.

For the rest of the journey, the doc was even more Gina's best friend... and had a mysterious smile.

Gina's log. I have no idea how many hours until our destination. The trip seems to be going way too fast. I've had a massive breakthrough. X seems more likely to answer me if I ask a question instead of simply making an observation. I've also had a lot of success asking XTC to do things instead of just telling him. It doesn't work all the time, but it's certainly a lot more effective than waiting for him to just intuitively see what it is I need. I mean, if I'm fastening screws, shouldn't he just see that I need the sonic screwdriver? If I wait for him to work it out, it'll likely never happen. But, if I say 'X? Would you hand me the sonic screwdriver, please?' he just might do it. It works with all kinds of things... except there's not really that many things I can think to ask him to do. It seems to work best if he's still powered up after a massage. Speaking of which, he seems to spend more and more time powered down, even if I keep him plugged into the ship's power supply. I hope there's nothing wrong with him. Oh, also, Monie thanked me for fixing Blue, which was odd, since I never did figure it out. Guess it wasn't broken after all.

Gina was sitting in the lounge, reading to X, who stood silently nearby. She'd been teasing him as she made her way through a particularly naughty bit, hoping it would inspire him. Even the 'massages' had become a lot less frequent. She was starting to wonder if it was her. She was surprised to hear a loud bell sound. She felt the ship shudder and begin to slow. The lights flickered. Leaping from her seat, she rushed to the bridge to see what was happening. On the monitor, she could see the remains of the nameless ship. It was still some ways off, but the crew needed to be woken to prepare. They'd arrived!

There was a flurry of activity as the crew assembled. While everyone else tried to figure out what was going on, got the kinks out, and tended their own tasks, Gina hurried back to the workshop. She smiled thoughtfully at the android, standing silent beside her stool (within easy reach of where she sat, she noted). "Maybe I'll finally get some answers about you," she muttered to herself. She quickly started gathering her gear, pausing just long enough to turn to X and let him know "I'm so excited!" He didn't comment, probably because it was plainly obvious, she decided.

When she'd finished gathering her things, she bounced to a stop in front of him. "Are you excited?"

XTC surprised her. His eyes slowly open and he looked at her. "Yes, Captain Miller," he answered.

Before she could think of anything to say, the captain's voice sounded through the intercom.

"We're there. Suit up people. That means you, too, Gina."

"Time!" she told X, barely able to contain herself.

As she double-checked the fittings on her spacesuit, she found herself getting excited not just at the prospect of finding out more about the android, but at the prospect of her first space walk. Excited and nervous. She hoped she didn't pee her suit.

The doc came around and checked everyone again, and then it was time. Gina stood in the bay, X beside her, watching the wreckers cross to the ship first. The Quickie was nearly stationary only a few dozen yards from the other ship and from here, Gina could see the massive damage it had taken. Twisted metal splayed horrifically in every direction. She wondered what they hoped to salvage. The crew of the Johnson had already pirated everything they thought was worth taking. Lines were shot across the space to use as tethers for the humans, and she watched in fascination as first the wreckers, then two of the giant salvage robots hurtled across the gap. Finally, it was her turn. She looked at X with uncertainty. She couldn't reliably get him to act or respond at the best of times, and most of those times happened right before or after sex. Would he even jump the gap? She certainly couldn't strip down to encourage him. She decided to risk it. Worst case, maybe she could find something and bring it back. She edged to the end of the bay and looked out.

"Is there a problem?" the captain's voice sounded in her headset.

"No... no problem, ma'am," she responded, though she wasn't quite sure she believed it.

For a moment she was struck by the vastness of space and the thought that she was about to jump out there with nothing but a wire keeping her from drifting away... forever. Gina gasped, on the verge of losing her nerve, when something grabbed her around the waist and dragged her into the void. She screamed and looked wide-eyed into X's placid features. An arm around her, the other grasping the wire, the android fearlessly hurled them across the space. When he touched down on the other side and set her back on her feet, Gina's heart was still in her throat. She stared at the droid, but he offered no explanation.

"That's one way to do it! Good job, techie," the captain said.

"Showoff," one of the wreckers accused.

Their voices brought her back to the job at hand, and still glancing at X, Gina turned on her flashlight and started looking for anything that might be helpful. Slowly, she made her way to the front of the ship. There wasn't a lot left to see. Most of the things that weren't tied or bolted down had simply drifted away. Everything was dark, and she had to be careful not to get caught on anything. Though tough, her suit wasn't indestructible. A tear would be fatal. Finally, she found what she was looking for near the very tip of the wreck. There was a closed door with a small computer panel beside it. It looked like some kind of utility work station. If she ship even had a computer anymore, and it wasn't blown off with the engine, maybe she could get something out of this. She wondered again why they'd sent her. What exactly was she supposed to find? Shouldn't they have sent a computer engineer or something? The gear she worked on had computers in, but they weren't exactly complicated and didn't require her to really know how they worked. Unsure of how to proceed, she did what she always did in a case like this. Tugging out her connecting cables, she jacked one end into the computer, and the other into the back of XTC's head. Then, she stepped back and waited to see if anything happened. She wondered if she could raise the company's tech support out here. Something happened. The computer screen flickered into life, it flashed and waves of data flew across its surface far too fast to follow. XTC's eyes blinked rapidly. And then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The screen went black and XTC's eyes closed. Gina's heart leapt to her throat. Was he all right? What was that? What happened?

"X?" she asked, hesitantly. "X? Are you okay?"

Slowly, the android's eyes fluttered open again. He turned his head and looked at her. "Ah, much better. Thank you, Gina." He reached up and caressed her cheek as he said this.

Gina was so shocked, she staggered back a step. "X?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"What happened to you? What's going on? You called me Gina."

"You are Captain Gina Miller, commanding officer of the SS Le Petit Mort."

"I've never been captain of anything in my life!" Gina protested.

"We need to leave immediately and find Captain Miller."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm afraid there is no time for explanations, Captain," the droid said, looking at something past her shoulder.

"But you just said that I..." she started, and then he grabbed her by the arm and hauled her behind himself.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, then saw what he was concerned about.

Standing on the other side of the deck, was the blonde wrecker who'd teased her just before going into stasis. Behind him stood one of the industrial robots.

"You're not going anywhere," he informed them, a dangerous edge to his voice. "You're both coming with me."

"What are you doing?"

"Reimer figured she couldn't trust you," he said. "She knew you probably programmed him yourself."

"I... I didn't," she denied.

"I'm bringing you back, and whatever you just put in his head. I'll just bring the head if I have to. You can stay here."

He smiled and didn't even wait for an answer. Grinning, he pressed a button on his armband. The industrial machine sprang into action. The robot was essentially a large, square box with arms and legs. Each arm had grippers on it that were capable of rending metal and crushing stone. Spinning and flexing the grips, the huge machine advanced on them, first one step, then another, its magnetic feet shaking the floor. Gina's heart leapt to her throat. She realized she'd never been so scared in her life. Not even the time her mother had come home early and caught her smoking and making out in the backyard with Joey from a couple doors down. Another small arm descended from below the front edge of the robot, and she knew that that arm was equipped with a cutting torch that could slice through a ship's hull in seconds. The power light came on. Gina screamed and backed behind XTC, who threw a protective arm in front of her.