Private Time For Upgrades

[Shai Maji]

Zeltros/Spaceport​

Evening/Clear Skies​

Zeltros certainly wasn't Shai's first choice to visit, even if she had a job that required going there. They were hardcore party animals, simple as that. Between the pheromones, the parties and the excessive everything, she just tried to avoid the place like a plague... except on days like this. Every once in a while, a reason would crop up that didn't take much brain power for her to change her mind.

"Aerith! Where are you?!" her voice echoed excitedly as she ran through the halls of her ship to find Aerith. With datapad in hand she tracked her down and slammed the datapad in front of her. "Check it out!" she stated happily as she stood back with a triumphant smile. On the screen was a product description page for a very useful item. Something that Shai believed would be a great help for their little predicament. "We need one of those! she stated as she rested her hands on Aerith's shoulders to give her a light shake. "It won't solve the rebooting issues or all the other stuff you got going on. But it will at least help to save any info you might take in just in case you reboot again for some reason. Then we won't need to have the super awkward standoff all over again." she explained happily, hugging the woman tightly while resting her head on her shoulder. "Best part! There's a bunch of 'em available on Zeltros! It's right on our current course so we can stop by it, no prob!" she continued as she let go of her, though she did grab hold of her hand to pull her towards the cockpit. "Come on! This is our chance!" she called out with excitement as she moved to alter course for Zeltros.

Though underneath her excitement was something that Aerith could likely pick up on. Her complete lack of concern over her friend's thoughts on the device, her desire to get some means of saving their time together... she was desperate to help her. Shai wouldn't directly admit it, but she was fighting like hell to avoid another loss of her friend's memory.

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

The last few days had been interesting for sure. After having rediscovered her friendship with Shai, Aerith had began to tag around with the woman, trying to figure out what exactly she was forgetting about, and more importantly how to remove the coding in her head. The pair weren't having much luck to start with, but there was hope yet. Or at least that's what Shai kept telling her. The woman was very sweet and all, but Aerith just felt that there was going to be a catch that was going to come up in the future; she just didn't know what it might be.

Aerith had been realigning the servos in her hand when Shai came rushing into the quarters, startling her and nearly causing her to knock the covering for her hand onto the floor. "Jeez Shai, what's got into you?" She asked, taking the time to finish up her work, seeing as how they were going to be leaving soon. Glancing at the pad that was slammed down in front of her, Aerith read it over, blinking as she put the pieces together. Shai wanted to put even more hardware into her brain? A look of reluctance came over the cyborgs face, as she looked to her new friend with a bit of concern. "Right, and you don't think they are going to freak when they see all the other stuff that's loaded into my head?" She asked, sitting back in the chair and pushing herself away from the desk. As much sense as it made, Aerith felt like they were just asking for trouble. Capability was an issue with tech like this, and for all she knew it could quite literally short her brain out if they tried to wire it all up.

Of course, she didn't say that to Shai, but it was very much on the forefront of her mind. As she was hoisted out of her chair and dragged to the cockpit, a smile broke across her face. The woman certainly had conviction, and it was nice to see. At least one of them hadn't given up. Shai was just wanting to make sure that the cyborg didn't forget about her, and....yea, Aerith couldn't fault her there. She only hoped it didn't get her killed in the process. "There are easier ways to get me to go on a date with you Shai." She teased, as the pair reached the cockpit, strapping in for the journey ahead. If nothing else, at least today would be fun.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Aerith voiced her concerns but Shai waved it off. "We just need to make sure it's compatible, no biggie! As for installation, we can go back to the doc on Nal Hutta! He knows what's going on up there. We just need to pay him enough for him to do it." she assured her as she gave her temple a light tap with her finger. Though her energetic demeanor toned down a lot when Aerith made her little joke.

Shai stopped and turned to face her, still holding her hand tightly. She regarded her for a few moments as a sunny smile adorned her face. "I know." she said softly as she let go of her hand to instead wrap her arms around Aerith to pull her into a warm hug. "I just... don't wanna lose you again, Aerith. Not like... lose you again, but... I don't wanna have to look into your eyes and introduce myself all over again." she admitted gently as she gently held her. She let go of her and gestured to the co-pilot's seat. Sitting down, she strapped in and started to alter the hyperspace course, but she stopped halfway as she turned to face Aerith again.

"Do you... want this?" she asked with concern, realizing that she was pretty much forcing Aerith into this. "I didn't even ask or anything, and that was pathetic of me, but do you want this implant?" she admitted as she sat forward in her seat. With a bright glimmer in her eye she gave her leg a light tap with her boot. "Hey. Tell you what. We can go hear what these dudes have to say about the implant. If it can work, we pick one up. I'll pay for it, no worries. If it won't work, we drop it there and we move on. But either way..." her lips curled into a mischievous smile. "We can try to go on that date we've been joking about." she finally stated. She sat back and gave a shrug. "There it is. Aerith, would you like to go on a date with me?" she asked properly, unable to hold back the bright smile on her face.

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

If only it was so simple. Military grade cybernetics weren't really made with civilian tech in mind, and they didn't really come with instructions and 'do's and do nots'. She dared not be the downer, Shai was the only one that seemed to have a hope about this working, the only one that Aerith could go to for help. "I thought he didn't want to have anything to do with me?" She questioned, her memory about the man was all foggy. All she did have were scrubbed audio files she could play back, but there wasn't much to get from it. Though she let a small groan out at Shai tapped the side of her head.

Once again, the hugs ensued, something Aerith was starting to get used to with this woman. "Whatever is happening, it's not deleting everything right? Sensation and feelings still remain, from what I can tell at least." It wasn't much of a comfort, but she disliked how much influence she had over her friend. It wasn't even something she could control. Being released from the hug, Aerith knew it would be long before Shai did it again. She wondered if Shai had some sort of attachment issue, given all the hugging it certainly seemed like it.

As the woman turned back and asked her the big question, Aerith's gaze faltered, looking to the view-screen as she gave the question thought. In truth, no, she didn't want more implants. She had so much machinery in her right now she hardly even felt human at times. Ion weapons now carried the risk of killing her at times, and anything with a magnetic pull was almost guaranteed to ruin her sensors. And yet, this wasn't so much about her, as it was for Shai. She was getting this thing for Shai, and as a back up for her own sake. She really didn't like this idea though, cramming her head full of more metal and hardware, she wondered if her brain would finally give out from it. "I do." She lied, nodding as if she was growing fond of the idea the more she thought about it. She was terrified about getting it, fearful that it could make her condition worse, or the thought that chilled her to the bone, her handlers would take notice. She paused as Shai popped the question, something the woman had mentioned before as a joke, though this time she seemed serious. "A date?" Aerith repeated, warmth coming to her face as she gripped the sides of her chair. "I...I...yes?" She responded, unsure what else to really say. She had never gone on a date before, she wasn't even sure how they worked. Her face looked perplexed, as she rubbed the back of her head, laughing like an idiot for some reason she couldn't figure out. She had a date now. Yay?

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

She could see just what a big issue this was for Aerith. It made her feel horrible for trying to force her into this situation to begin with. She was about to scrap the idea completely when Aerith suddenly agreed to try out this wacky idea. She blinked in surprise but certainly wouldn't be complaining. Her mood only skyrocketed when Aerith agreed to go on a date with her. Hopping out of her seat with a happy squeal she pulled her into another hug. "Don't worry! It's gonna be fun. I got a few ideas of what we can do on this planet." she assured her with a wink as she sat back down.

Finishing the calculations for the hyperdrive, she set the course and soon they were off towards Zeltros. After a while they arrived and Shai set the freighter down on a landing pad. "Alright. Let's sort this parts issue out first, then we can get to the fun stuff." she commented as she shut the ship down and got up from her seat. She got the location for the most trustworthy seller of the part, thankfully an actual reliable and official seller, and led the way for them. She was wearing a pleasant smile all the way there, occasionally glancing at Aerith to make sure she was still with her. She wrapped an arm around the cyborg and held her close as she walked. "I understand that this isn't an easy choice for you. You can still back out anytime you want, seriously. I won't even be surprised if you do. But if you do go through with this, well..." she glanced around as she thought of how to word her thoughts. Instead she leaned in and placed a kiss on Aerith's organic cheek before pulling back again. "I'm gonna be working hard to make it up to you." she admitted softly as a light red hue appeared around her muzzle.

Finally they arrived at the place and Shai stopped by the door to check on Aerith, as well as her choice on this operation. "Ready?" she asked softly, looking right into her eyes with concern. If she was ready, she would walk through the sliding doors with her and stay close as they approached the reception...

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

She wasn't sure what to say truth be told. All of this was just, new? Yea, new. Shai was clearly getting attached to her, but was it because of who she used to be, or because of who she was now? Honestly, the cyborg didn't know. Finding herself in another hug, she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the frequency of the embraces. Her mind kept telling her to lash out, to defend herself, but she stopped that portion of her brain from reacting. She took the hug though, grimacing as she patted Shai on the shoulder, knowing that the woman was absolutely ecstatic about what she had agreed to.

She said little as the woman prepped the ship, taking quietly sitting there and contemplating what laid in store for her. The idea of going under the knife again was unsettling, mostly because she had no idea what sort of hardware she was outfitted with. Her reflexes would kick in if a foreign agent was detected in her system, and her combat implants would kick in; then that's when people would start dying. Shai didn't understand that of course, Aerith hardly did herself truth be told.

She merely nodded at Shai's first series of words, though snapped out of it as the ship settled down and the pair could begin to make their move. As Shai's arm wrapped around her, the cyborg fidgeted, looking to the limb, then Shai, before convincing herself it would be okay. These formalities were bizarre to her. Did friends often do this? She honestly wouldn't know, her memory bank was rather empty on that account. The walk to the store was troubling, her eyes didn't glance at the colorful displays nor the people that moved by them. She could feel anxiety swelling in her chest, along with the subtle ache that rubbed against her heart like a dull knife. Felt like she had a piece of shrapnel lodged in her again. She was going to tell Shai she didn't want to do this, that she was scared of what might happen if she went through with it, that it was a dumb idea. But she didn't. Instead, her guilt won over, the cyborg melting at the sensation of wet lips pressed against the fleshy side of her face. She felt her durasteel exterior crumble, her servos give, and the blush that swept over her face was greatly imperfect; as the entirety of the organic side of her face was aglow. She merely nodded, her mind fumbling with what she was doing, though she couldn't process anything further than that. Shai was doing all of this for her, trying to help her. The least she could do, was be willing to accept it; even if it risked getting her killed. Reaching the store and having the woman question her preparedness, Aerith gave out the response she had settled with since they left the ship. "Yea, lets get it over with."

She set foot into the store, not realizing the folly of her decision.
Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Aerith confirmed and Shai gave a nod. With her arm around her, she entered the building and walked towards the reception. It was really snazzy, she had to admit. Though what she cared about most was how their service and operations worked. Luckily the receptionist was very helpful in explaining everything to them and in no time at all they managed to book a procedure to install it for Aerith. What Shai appreciated the most was the fact that they didn't ask any personal questions, only ones that were relevant to the operation.

Soon enough they were escorted deeper into the building and directed to an operation room with several medical droids at the ready. Shai -understandably- was asked to stay in the waiting room next door, though she at least had a window to be able to watch if she preferred. However she stayed with Aerith, holding her hand tightly, until they put her under to begin the operation. Shai entered the observation room along with the other doctors and stood by the window as they checked on her vitals. As far as she could see, everything was going good. She just hoped that it stayed that way. In the back of her mind, she had a nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong, that Aerith might forget her again or even die. She shook the thoughts from her mind and simply focused on her as the droids started to do their job. At least the whole spectacle reassured her that the hefty sum of money she shovelled out was not wasted.

In the operating room, the droids quickly went to work on carefully separating the synthetic skin and opened up the cybernetic parts of her skull. The device was brought forward and they started to work on opening the systems in her head up to the new device for installation. Shai was a little disturbed by the whole thing but she didn't look away. Whatever happened in there was on her head, good or bad. She wasn't going to abandon Aerith.

Though nothing could prepare them for what was about to happen...

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

Aerith knew she had made the wrong choice the moment they entered the building. It was too nice, too fancy. It was like putting make up over a corpse, no place was like this naturally. It was an act, a honey pot to lure you in and break you down peice by peice. Her own experiences had as much confirmed it, and she could feel the red flags stacking up in the back of her mind. Still, she said nothing, putting up the strong face for Shai, all of this was for Shai after all. She tried not to think ofnthe cost for the procedure, or how much Shai was putting on the line here. This place had decent security, efficiently paid guards to keep out rowdy customers; made sense, Zeltros probably had an addiction problem if Aerith knew her stuff. As the credits were exchanged, and the operating room was prepared, Aerith felt an unsettling sensation rising in her stomach. This wasn't going to work, and yet she kept lying to herself that it would. Being set in the operating chair, Aerith could see the doctors controlling the droids from the other side of the room, with Shai watching on. Relax. She told herself, taking in a deep breath and exhaling, as she could feel the needles of the droids working away at the synthetic skin, trying to gain access to where the core of her cybernetics were located. The moment the droids attempted to access her implants, Aerith's vitals shifted drastically, as her heart and blood pressure rose drastically. A fresh shot of adrenaline was dumped into her system, as her cybernetic eye flashed from bright blue to crimson red. A stream of text scrolled across her left eye, as a flash of images were burned into Aerith's mind.

Unauthrozied tampering detected. Three hostiles. Classification; droids, medical variety. Level 4 aggression, enabled.

Aerith movement was a blur. her right arm flying upwards, the reinforced cybernetics of her arm tore through the soft metal plating. Aerith's hand took hold of the droids processor, and tore it from the droid. She shot up out of the chair, holding the torn droid processor in her hand, as she flung it to the second droid off to her left. The metal hunk of hardware smashed into the droid, causing a series of sparks to erupt from its chassis. Lunging to the final droid, Aerith took hold, her left hand morphing into the shape of a blaster, as she opened fire; one shot blew through the droid, breaking it against the wall in the process.

On the side of the observation room, she detected movement, and as such her weapon was brought to bare on the room full of doctors. She felt the fire control be disengaged, the aim sights in her eye putting in firing solutions for the medical professionals that had tried to alter her; there would be no survivors here. As she was taking account of her next batch of victims, she found a familiar face that snapped her out of her murder frenzy. Shai? It felt as if a plug was pulled, as the red lighting in Aerith's eyes faded, the adrenaline leaving her body as she stood in a room full of destroyed medical droids. The cyborg had a moment to take in the small scale destruction she had caused, and could recognize what had occurred. Scowling, Aerith sunk back into her chair, her left hand reverting back into it's default state, as several armed security entered the room, stun batons in hand. "Shai, I karked up." Aerith muttered, knowimg there would be no 'happy ending' here. She had lost control again, ruined what Shai was trying to do, and now put her friend in yet another rough spot. You can't do anything right Aerith. She was an unstable killer, she damn near killed those people across from her without a second thought. "Ma'am, you will disarm yourself and come with us this instant." The lead office stated, gesturing towards Aerith with a baton; it seemed at the very least they wanted to remove her from the room.

The situation in the observation room was not calm at all, as calls were being placed for additional security to be brought in, several medical officials watched in silent horror, with fewer still inspecting the vital signs that they had received during Aerith's brief combat show casing.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai's fists were clenched as she watched the droids do their thing, hoping that everything would go smoothly. But as soon as they actually managed to open her up, her vitals spiraled all over the place. Shai glanced down at the monitors while the doctors tried to figure out what was going on, though in that one second she looked away, everything went to hell.

Aerith destroyed the droids and morphed her hand into a gun, turning it on them. Shai, acting on instinct, shoved the doctor down to the ground before taking cover, though nothing happened. She peeked over the edge at Aerith who seemed to calm down again and sit down, before being swarmed by security guards. Shai immediately bolted for the door and shoved her way through the guards to get to Aerith. She wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a defensive embrace, putting herself between them and her. "Wait, it's okay! She's not gonna do anything!" she called out frantically as she held a hand up to them. "We're leaving! Keep the parts and the money, we're leaving!" she insisted as she pulled Aerith to her feet and pushed past the guards to head towards the door. "I'll pay for the damage, just send me the bill!" she hollered out as she walked with Aerith still held against her.

In no time at all they were out of the building and back in the streets. Shai let go of her and simply walked beside her with concerned eyes. She looked around then back to Aerith, giving a sigh of defeat before turning to stand right in front of her. "I'm sorry! Okay? I... that was my fault." she apologized as she took hold of Aerith's shoulders. "I pushed you to get this thing when you clearly didn't want to. I won't do it again, I promise." she rambled as her hands slid down to take hold of Aerith's. She gave her hands a reassuring squeeze and pulled her along back to the ship. "Let's just get out of here before they come after us." she stated softly, running her hands through her hair as she picked up the pace. Once they put some distance between them and the facility, she slowed again and walked with drooped shoulders. "I just want to help you, Aerith." she said gently as she looked back to her with sad eyes. "I really care about you. I don't wanna see you suffer like this, or forget anyone else again. I... I just want to help you." she admitted as she brushed up against her, wrapping an arm around her.

As they walked, she glanced at a restaurant that simply looked nice. Shai stopped for a bit as she looked at it and then back to Aerith. With a small smile she gestured to the place. "Do you... still want in on that date?" she asked her gently, hoping that they could still salvage something from this trip.

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

She had expected the guards to attack her, and doing so would have guaranteed them a quick death. She watched out the corner of her eye as the lead guard approached, counting the number of steps he could take before she would be forced to engage him. Only for Shai to enter the room, trying desperately to deescalate the problem before it got worse. The shouting of the Shistavanen woman drew attention off Aerith, as the cyborg was whisked away from the panicked doctors and security personnel, aided by the fact Aerith had no intention on staying behind.

Leaving the store behind, Aerith couldn't shake the sensations of guilt that impacted against her, feeling and knowing that everything that had just happened was on her. She should have known her counter measures would have reacted this way, she shouldn't have tried to lie to Shai and convince the woman all would be okay. It wasn't, and it never would be. She was fethed in the head, hardly in control of her own body at times. There was no way in hell that getting a surgery like this was going to work. Putting enough room between themselves and the facility, Aerith felt the last remnants of adrenaline vanish out of her system, just in time to see her friend begin to break down. As Shai grabbed hold of her, trying to assert that she just wanted to help, that she was sorry, the point became more and more clear to Aerith who was at fault. It was her. Aerith's eyes set upon Shai bearing witness to the life she was effortlessly ripping apart. "I know." She muttered, her head dropped as the guilt pressed down on her. "I'm sorry Shai." She stated, her arms reached out and embracing the woman, pulling her in for a tight hug, as a small bit of moisture trickled out of her right eye. She really was just a killing machine, and there was no getting away from that.

Seeing the state of her friend, Aerith felt that it was on her to fix this and make it right. She recalled seeing this sort of stunt work in those romantic holofilms, so she decided to give it a go here and now. Turning to Shai, Aerith's arms seized the Shistavanen, lifting her up in her arms, much to Aerith's embarrassment. The entirety of the right side of Aerith's face lite up, as she would respond to Shai with a rather nervous; "y-yes." She didn't know what to do next, other than keep walking, hoping Shai would give her some sort of direction. "I...heard this is fun for some people. I don't know if I'm making things better or worse. Please tell me." She confessed, her cybernetic grip keeping tight to Shai's body as she walked. If requested, the cyborg would quickly set the woman down, as Aerith felt that she might have overstepped her bounds.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai sighed as Aerith pulled her into a hug, returning it tenderly. She apologized but Shai simply shook her head. "It wasn't your fault, Aerith. I should have known better with the stuff in your head. You got nothing to be sorry about." she reassured her as she held her closely. They let go and pressed on, though Shai was quickly taken back when Aerith accepted her offer. A cackling laugh escaped her as Aerith hoisted her up and carried her off. "Better! Much better!" she called out as she looked down at the woman.

She tapped her shoulder to let her down and took a moment to regain her composure. She looked at Aerith with beaming eyes, a broad grin on her lips as she rested her hands on her shoulder. A chuckle rolled from her as she wrapped her arms around her neck and planted a light kiss on her cheek. "Let's get something to eat." she quipped as she pulled back. She led the way to the cozy restaurant and soon they were seated by a table. As she regarded Aerith, she tried to think of what to talk about, but she was too nervous to ask about anything work related. She didn't want to trigger a reboot. Not now. So instead she thought of something else she definitely knew the woman liked.

"What's your favourite weapon?" she asked with a smirk. "Like we both know our stuff, right? You've worked with a ton of stuff, what's your favourite weapon that you've worked with?" she asked her, noticing the looks they got from the tables around them. She didn't care about what they thought. This was their date and she wasn't going to let anyone ruin it. The waiter soon came to them and she ordered a burger and fries with a beer for herself. "Order whatever you like, Aerith. My treat." she commented with a wink as she sat back, checking the other items on the menu as the waiter patiently awaited her order.

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

Hearing a genuine laugh be squeezed from the Shistavanen, Aerith found herself smiling at the reaction. She could still bring Shai happiness, though she didn't know how or why. Maybe it was just nice to know she wasn't making things worse for once. The blond felt nervousness creeping up in her gut, but everything seemed to be going well, perhaps she was just overreacting; which given how things had gone earlier, could one blame her. Setting Shai down, Aerith had thought that would be enough excitement for one day, only to be proven wrong as Shai threw her arms around her neck, pressing her lips against the cyborgs cheek. Aerith wanted to sink back into a hole and die on the spot, as her face felt as if it was on fire. Being taken hostage by Shai, it seemed her friend wanted to take her out to dinner, and feeling to awkward to reject, Aerith was dragged along.

Feeling out of place as they were sat down, Aerith turned her attention to the conversation at hand. Favorite weapon? Well, that was easy. Aerith's face lite up, but unlike the last two times due to embarrassment, this time she was excited. "Oh, well it'd be the REC-RCG 01 Reaper. It's a mini cannon railgun, kicks like a mule if you don't have the implants to hold it steady, but that baby can sling rounds like someone's business." She grinned, thoughts of using it to hold the line against Sith soldiers on Borosk flashed in her mind, as one by one they fell.

She missed having tools like that, being able to lay down punishment with such ease-

She had never been on Borosk though.

The thought derailed the pleasant musing she had been drumming up, and causing a cascading line of thought that unnerved the blond.

Borosk was before her time in the service.

Why was she fighting Sith soldiers?

She never defected, did she?

The energetic smile that had stretched across Aerith's face before faded, as it morphed into one of confusion. That memory didn't make any sense to her at all. She soon found herself pulled out of her thoughts by Shai, as an impatient server waited to take her order. Feth. "O-Oh, um..." She stuttered, looking down at the menu, her right eye winked on, speed reading through the list so she didn't waste anymore time. "I'll have the sirloin steak and a water please." She ordered, her voice a tad exasperated. She could see at the corner of her right eye that her heart rate had spiked, an indication of stress. She needed to calm down. Taking in a deep breath, she moved to focus on Shai, and whatever this 'date' thing was about. "What about you, your favorite weapon?" She asked, unaware that Shai might have already answered. She might not have gone on a date before, but she was certainly going to try and have a good time.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai's eyes went wide as she laughed in disbelief. "Kark me." she muttered through her laughing as she leaned back in her seat. "I know the thing, I sold a few of them on Mimban a while back. It's rather entertaining to watch someone get smacked down as they try to shoot it." she admitted as she looked around then back to Aerith. She didn't notice anything as she placed her order, but once she actually focused on Aerith's face she noticed the perplexed look. Her heart sank as she stared at her, waiting for her to fall off her seat as her cybernetics ruined her again...

"Aerith?" she said softly, reaching over to take hold of her hand. She snapped right back to reality and worked on placing her order. Shai raised an eyebrow as her eye lit up and seemingly read over the entire page in a second. Aerith quickly turned the question about weapons back to the Shistavanen and the grin appeared once more. "My weapon?" she repeated as she sat back and scratched her head in thought. "I'm torn, not gonna lie!" she admitted with a chuckle as she sat forward again. "I'm gonna have to say that it's a tie. I absolutely love my particle pistol... but at the end of the day, throwing thermal detonators around always manages to make me giggle." she admitted with a shrug. "I'm easy to impress like that." she quipped as she grinned at the girl. From the corner of her eye she noticed the mortified look the patrons at another table gave them. She frowned as she glanced at them. "We're soldiers, lady, what the kriff did you expect?" she stated, quickly getting them to look away.

She looked back to Aerith and flashed a wink as she snickered. "When was the last time you watched a movie?" she asked her gently. "Like... cuddled in under your blanket, snacks and drink in hand, simply enjoying a movie?" she elaborated just as their drinks arrived. Shai wasted no time in taking a big swig of her beer. "I figured that, once we're done here, we can go watch a movie. Though I don't think either of us are in the mood for more people, right?" she continued as she gazed at her with a glimmer in her eye. Not too much later their food arrived and Shai wasted no time in finishing off her fries. "I won't lie to you, having a jaw like mine is pretty damn useful for stuff like this." she quipped as she pointed at the impressive burger sitting in front of her.

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

Finding Shai taking hold of her hand, Aerith's smile returned, though not to the same level it had before. "Oh, come on, really? I mean, the SR-17 comes up real close in second place for me, but I'll stick with the Reaper." Easy to impress? Was that so? Aerith wouldn't know, then again it seemed like everything Shai found out about her drew the Shistavanen in closer. She wasn't surprised that a lady was aghast at the topic that was being discussed. War was something that most civilians knew nothing about. Perhaps it was telling that she couldn't imagine a life without conflict. Weapons and warfare felt second nature to her, nearly every memory she could think of was combat maneuvers and encounters. It was sorta sad in a way, there had to be more to a life than that, right? She certainly hoped so. "Yea, soldiers." She muttered, her eyes dropping down to the floor, before Shai's voice distracted her once again.

The questions that the woman asked next brought a bit of confusion over the cyborg, as...she didn't know how to answer the question. "I...don't think I've ever done that." She tried to think of something akin to hanging out and watching movies, but...she didn't have such a thing logged in her memory. "No, never done that." As the food arrived, Aerith looked down at her meal, eyeing the fine cooked meat and vegetables that accompanied it. She couldn't get used to this quality of food when she went back into service. It was bitter sweet, but it had to be done. Looking up to Shai, the cyborg chuckled, taking up the small knife and trying to delicately cut the meat without breaking the knife or plate. She had gotten used to it, minimizing the pressure applied to the items in her hands. "I can imagine, honestly I'm just thankful I can eat solid food still. After all my surgeries some people think I can just get plugged into a power converter.". Cutting into the piece of steak, Aerith stabbed it with her fork, and delicately placed into her mouth, giving a sigh of sensation at the satisfaction she found in the meal. Taking her time to swallow the food, Aerith sank back into her chair. If only every day could be like this; minus the whole assaulting medical professionals. "Shai, I honestly have no way to repay you for everything. Seriously." She leaned forward, fork toying with the vegetables on her plate. Glancing up to the woman, Aerith asked the question she was dreading to say, but someone had to say it. "When do you think I can see you again?"

She would have a new set of orders given soon, and then she'd have to leave. It could happen any moment now. She just hoped to the force it wouldn't be today.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai's mouth hung open in joking shock as Aerith admitted to never doing something like that. "Well then! Guess what we're doing tonight, then." she declared as she gave her leg a light bump with her own. Thankfully Shai's focus quickly diverted to her meal and after a minute or so of guzzling down her fries, she took hold of her burger. She stopped herself from taking a bite as Aerith spoke up, earning a snicker from the Shistavanen. "Don't worry. If that were the case, I would have paid top creds for premium juice and maybe even flavour it somehow." she quipped with a wink before opening her jaws.

Her teeth sank into the burger and sliced off a mouthful, leaving her to chew on it for a moment before taking another bite. By the time Aerith spoke again, Shai was finishing off her lat bite and washing it down with a swig of beer. She waved off her comment with a light shake of her head. "You don't need to repay me, seriously. Just... be you. Honestly, seeing you happy is more than enough payment for me." she answered gently as she smiled at her with affectionate eyes. She returned to nursing her pint of beer but quickly she stopped when Aerith asked a rather surprising question. She looked at her then at her empty plate as she thought for a second. "Honestly... whenever you'd like. Unless I got a job, I'm wide open. All you have to do is tell me when you're open then I can make space for ya." she explained as she looked into her eyes. "Hopefully we won't have too much space between our meetups." she quipped with a wink before finishing off her drink.

With their meals done and paid for, Shai led the way outside and lit a cigarette once they were out of the establishment. She walked with a gentle smile as she took a drag and led the way back to her ship. "Okay, what movies do you like? I got this dark movie about a tank crew in the Clone Wars from way back when and the stuff they need to deal with as they go from one mission to another. Lots of action and cool fighting scenes, if you're in the mood for that." she suggested as she glanced at her. "Unless you're in the mood for something more relaxing. I got some comedy stuff as well and even some pretty wholesome animation movies. All up to you!" she continued as she wrapped an arm around her, taking another puff of her cigarette. As they arrived at the ship, Shai wasted no time in getting a bottle of cola and a pack of chips from the kitchen. "Sadly I don't got anymore popcorn otherwise I would make that for us." she admitted as she led her to her personal quarters.

Upon entering, the most prominent aspect was the fact that it was very lived-in. Her bed was a mess and a bunch of weapons, mods and tools laid on her desk. Some dirty clothing also laid around, but another aspect was the mementoes. A framed photo of her and her parents sat on one of the nightstands next to her bed alongside the pistol Aerith gave her. Against the wall across her bed was a holoprojector with a stereo set up around it. The city's landscape was visible through the window behind the bed but Shai quickly closed the shutters as they entered. She set their snacks down on the decorated nightstand and cleaned up her bed of any clothing or accessories on it. With that out of the way she snatched the remote for the projector and dropped onto the bed. "Kick your boots off and relax!" she invited her as she tossed her satchel and gunbelt aside along with her boots and socks. The projector was powered up and the movie selection was open, waiting for them to choose.

With a smile she handed Aerith the remote, pulled the sheets up over their legs and set up their snacks between them. "You do the honours." she muttered as she scooted closer to Aerith and adjusted her pillows.

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

Feeling a sensation against her leg, Aerith glanced under the table to see it was Shai's doing. It was apparently a hint that they were set for tonight, seemingly the conclusion to Aerith's first official date. Smiling at the offer of Shai buying her nice bottle of juice was sweet, but if Aerith had to live that life then there wouldn't be much that her friend could really do for her; restaurants would be absolutely out of the question then. "If I ever get to that point, I have an SR-92 ready to go. I don't need any more hardware crammed inside of me." As the pair set about finishing their meal, it was nice to know that Shai was still open to receiving her, and that her happiness meant so much to the woman. It was a strange thought, doing something simply for the happiness of another. It seemed like a rather bad trade off in her mind, but...it made her feel valuable, and she liked how that felt. "Yea, I hope we can do this again soon."

Walking back to the ship, Aerith grimaced at the smoking habit of her companion, hoping that maybe one day Shai would see the error of her ways. Aside from the health problems, there were better things that the woman could spend credits on. Aside from that, Aerith listened to what the woman said, unsure if they were into the same sort of holofilms. "I...don't know, like war movies are just not my thing. Been there, done that you know?" She mused, her own thoughts of films being a select variety of romance films; though Shai didn't strike her as the type. Hearing that the woman wanted it to be left up to her, Aerith felt that maybe she would get her way this time, as a small smile stretched across her face. Walking up the ramp of the ship, she was a tad disheartened to hear there was no popcorn on board, but she would survive. "Hey, long as I'm with you, I'll be fine." Taking hold of Shai's hand, the cyborg was lead into Shai's personal quaters; and realized that she hadn't been back here before.

Seeing the state of Shai's bed, a low chuckle came from the cyborg, seeing the natural mess that her friend had made. Her eyes however, were drawn the the handgun set on the nightstand, as she moved to grab it as Shai prepared for their movie night. Gripping the sidearm, Aerith ran her finger over the slide of the gun, tracing the branding of her name that had been fused onto the weapon. She supposedly used this weapon at some point in her life, and for the life of her, she didn't know when. As Shai declared everything was seat, Aerith looked down at her feet, trying to think of how to go about 'kicking her boots off'. She removed her bots as instructed, revealing the cortosis alloy legs she carried herself around on. It probably wouldn't be comfortable for Shai to brush up against them, so she elected to bundle them up with a blanket as she climbed into the bed; and subsequent;y sunk into the mattress. "Working on that, easier said than done." She remarked, beore finally setting herself up in the bed, and finding Shai moving closer to her. Being handed the remote, Aerith looked at the device and then to the projector, before cautiously looking through the options of holofilms. She settled on something light hearted, a rom com of all things; a secret guilty pleasure of hers, but frankly who didn't love those things? Before hitting play, Aerith turned to her friend, a sensation akin to nervousness rose up in her gut. "Hey, Shai?" She started, her left hand squeezing and releasing the pillow she had commandeered. "You said before, that we might be more than friends." She let the words hang for a moment, before glancing at the woman, a low glow emanating from her right eye as the lights dimmed. "So...what exactly does that make us?" She asked, the faintest hint of a blush creeping over her face in the process.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

As Aerith kicked off her boots, Shai got a glimpse at her legs. She knew the girl had robotic legs from the last time she fixed her up. But they were not nearly as nice as these were. "I'm digging the upgrades." she commented as the cyborg made herself comfortable and covered up her legs. Shai didn't let that stop her from snuggling up against her, though.

She smirked at Aerith's choice of movie and gave a satisfied nod. "Very nice choice." she quipped as she popped a chip into her mouth and rested her head against the cyborg's shoulder. However she sat back up when she heard her name. "Yeah, what's up?" she muttered as she sat upright to look at her.

She blinked in surprise at the question being asked. Her glowing red eyes stered into Aerith's before looking away with a soft chuckle. She shifted to face her fully and took hold of her hand, giving it a squeeze as she thought of how to explain.

"I never got a chance to tell you... your rebooting made it hard to choose a right time. But I guess this is as good a time as any." she muttered, looking at Aerith with a light smile. "I... I like you. As more than just friends. And before you rebooted last time, I feel like the feeling was mutual, you know?" she admitted softly as a blush started to set in under her fur. "Of course I might be wrong. And if you don't feel the same, it's all good. I definitely wouldn't like me, I'm a karking mess. I don't want some awkwardness to ruin our friendship. But yeah, there's the truth... I like you, Aerith." she finished, still holding onto her hands with both of hers as she smiled at the woman.

She was nervous, she wouldn't lie. The last time she had this conversation with someone, it completely ruined the friendship and drove them apart. But she asked the question and it was only right that she gave the truth. "Will you be my super awesome 'borg girlfriend?" she asked with an embarrassed laugh, looking away to try and hide her blush.

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

Hearing the comment about her legs, Aerith blushed bright red as she melted into the bed, trying to conceal her embarrassment. "Shai...." She lamented, trying to think of how she felt about someone remarking about her cybernetics. It was weird, something that she wasn't used to for sure. Her cybernetics weren't really something she considered being part of her, if anything they were just a tool, an extension of herself. It was just Cortosis alloy with enhanced strength and jump capability; with grav boot functioning as a side benefit.

As she found herself looking at the woman face to face, Aerith felt...things she hadn't felt before. Shai liked her more than a friend? Well, that meant they were supposed to be something else. But what exactly where they supposed to be? There was something mutual of course, though what that was Aerith couldn't say. They clicked, connected fairly well truth be told. As the woman spoke, Aerith felt herself shrink further into the mattress, unsure how to respond. She felt Shai take her hand, and sparing a glance Aerith found that she wasn't the only one getting red in the face. "You...think I'm pretty?" She asked, the words sounding foreign to her, but brought with them a sense of warmth as she spoke them.

Girlfriend? That....was a bit sudden, and honestly Aerith hadn't the clue on how to even go about handling that. She found herself falling against Shai's shoulder, sighing as she felt the soft coat of the woman engulf what she could feel of her face. This woman had given so much, done so much, cared so much; and all for a malfunctioning cyborg who was having an identity crisis. Shai deserved so much better, didn't she? "Shai, I'm a mess. Are you sure about this?" It wasn't a no, it was a cry for help. She felt that she had already brought the woman so much suffering, and she didn't look forward to bringing more. Wrapping the woman up in a tight hug, Aerith sighed, unable to muster up the words she wished to say. Shai probably thought she hated her now, and all she could do was sit here in silence. Deep down, Aerith didn't want the woman to leave her, but she felt that she did more harm than good. And Shai deserved so much more good than what Aerith could give her. It just seemed like an unfair bargain in her mind.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Aerith's question caught her off guard, she had to admit. She looked her over and then looked into her eyes as she gave a soft nod. "Of course. Sure, I might have liked your darker hair more... but you're pretty. Hell, compared to my hairy ass, you're practically a supermodel." she admitted warmly, dropping her hand to give her cybernetic leg a gentle shake.

However Shai's worries started to escalate when the woman didn't give her a precise answer. Aerith buried her face into the gun runner's mane and sighed. Shai's arms slowly wrapped around her and stiffly held onto her. Did she ruin it? Did her big mouth take it too far and cost her another friend? Aerith asked if she was sure and hugged her as well, but Shai wasn't sure how to answer.

"I'm sure. I'm not perfect, you know. I'm in no position to judge. But it's fine." she muttered gently before pulling back to place a kiss on her cheek. She sat back and looked into her eyes as her arms still held onto Aerith. "We can both be a mess together." she finished, giving a reassuring smile. "And if nothing else... at least we can be there for each other."

Aerith Castiella

 

[Aerith Krayt]

Her friend's words kept the blush on her face, though the feelings she held were...complicated. How strange it was, to have a friend who knew you better than you knew yourself. Hell, she still felt there were gaps in her memory, ideas, thoughts, feelings that were just disjointed, no beginning or end to where they had come or gone.

Looking to Shai, Aerith's lips twitched, threatening to smile though she really wanted to cry. It felt like a cruel joke, offering her someone that she could rely on, though doing so would only make her a burden to Shai. Aerith's hand rose, her digits stroking the side of the woman's face, as she fumbled for the words. She eventually found them, though the tone behind them was a bit shaken. "I'd like that. When I'm ready for it, I'd like that." Aerith stated, not giving a no, but more of a 'when it's right'. "But I'll always be there for you Shai, that I can promise." It felt like empty words to Aerith, mostly because it was. She didn't know if she could be the person Shai needed in her life, and most certainly wasn't going to be able to do it.


Shai Maji