Since the ship won't be leaving immediately, Shojo's recruits (and Aaron for whatever reason) head out for one last night on the town, leaving the Vartan to work on performance reviews. But it does make it easy for Tasha to find him in the galley, along with Katie who apparently has her own review from the exercise she participated in. A third datapad lies unused on the table. Lacci is checking on kitchen supplies.
Tasha enters, or rather Tasha enters while floating, arms folded, wings out, already sitting on nothing, unless that something is visible. "I'm here, I'm here," she announces, untangling a hand as she drifts towards what presumably will be her more material seat.
"I see you are making good use of Tia's training," Katie notes with a grin. "But it would be more effective if you were also naked and carrying a plate of sausages," she critiques. "I may be in the mood for a snack though."
Shojo looks up and doesn't seem to react to Tasha's trick, but then he doesn't react to anything unless he makes an effort to. "Tasha," he says, "I am trying to think of a metaphor other than 'light headed' or 'having one's head in the clouds' but I suspect you have some sort of technology that allows this mode of travel?"
"I'll put that on my itinerary," Tasha insists as she slowly lowers in to a chair, not quite confident to try air-to-ground sitting at high speed least she bounce herself off the ground and across the galley. You can only ricochet so many times off your own ship before it becomes embarrassing, after all. Once down, she leans back and looks to Shojo. "I broke something hyper advance to try and stop something else from breaking more than I, and time, self-doubt, the burden of power et cetera, broke, and now I get to use it because I absorbed it like a sponge."
"You can absorb sponges, or you can absorb like a sponge?" Shojo asks. "And what are the side effects of using this advanced technology?"
"Like a sponge, which probably wasn't supposed to happen but what can you do? Out of everything that happened, that was relatively mild. Are you cooking for us?" Tasha perks up even as she leans back to get comfortable.
"No, but I could probably assemble a handmeal if you want," Lacci claims. "I'm just seeing what we have and what we have room for."
"Handmeals have a traditionally low handmeat count," Tasha notes, arms folding. "It's shameful on a ship so full of predators. I should complain. Owner, there's not enough meat in handmeals. I agree. There."
"Back home we call those sandwiches," Katie notes. "And there's never any blue meat out here."
"I think the men are working out fine," Shojo says. Perhaps talk of sandwiches does not appeal to him? "Only Mr. Gold was able to catch Aaron, but they all did fairly well evading Katie."
"Do you think they're ready for, and need, a round with Samael and I?" Tasha can switch between topics just fine.
"I would suggest a different sort of venue for that," Shojo says. "Perhaps on Caltrop or the asteroid station."
"We can do that. I'm sure Samael will be all for scaring the mortals for a while. We'll be parking another vessel at the asteroid, so we'll be on site for at least a little bit." Tasha leans forward and pulls out her datapad, tapping the screen. "Any problems, suggestions, complaints, gear requirements, that sort of thing?"
"Another vessel?" Shojo asks. "Is it suitable for boarding action training?"
"It's barely suitable for a single person let alone more than one, and it's restricted," Tasha answers, glancing up from her datapad entry work, "In fact if you haven't met her yet we have a newcomer named Tia who is not actually a Human and while you cna talk to her it's best not to crowd her with the troops. The vessel's her's."
"Katherine is Not Actually A Human either," Shojo notes. "But I assume this is a different category of Not Actually A Human? Does this Tia look and act like a human?"
Tasha lifts a hand and waggles it; kind of. "She's more like Sam than Katie," is her clarification.
"A horrifying demon creature that is an existential threat to everyone aboard?" Shojo asks for clarity.
"Well more in the 'exotic body' category than a demon. She's really anti-demon, and kind of sweet, kind of obnoxious. And bad with people." Tasha spreads her hands. "So mostly harmless."
"So, like me then?" Shojo asks. It's never clear if he is making a joke or not.
"Yeah exactly!" Tasha sits up and points to Shojo, nodding. "I'm sure you two will get along fine." And then she sinks back in her chair and adds, "Just don't accept her off to go places. I'm still working out that side of things."
"I learned my lesson after accepting the offer from you," Shojo claims. Lacci looks over at that, and seems to consider saying something similar herself, but stays quiet.
"You know you can apply to leave," the red woman notes before rising out of her chair, wings out, and floating over to sit in the air across from the couple. At no time does the rest of her body move, save to shift the datapad to her leg. "Is that a request I hear?"
"I was making a joke," Shojo claims. "Sometimes you have no sense of humor, Tasha."
"I think it died the last time I almost died." Tasha floats right back over to her chair and 'sits' back down in it; the datapad goes back on the table. "Besides, I was pushing you to see what you'd do. Now, any insights or other commentary on the troops? I assume by 'do well' you mean they'll be able to handle all this, work with us, not report us or go screaming out an airlock?"
"The purpose of most of the exercises was to see how well they supported each other," Shojo says. "I do expect to be running missions in forest environments, however, so it had that use as well."
"You might be surprised just how many missions you can end up running in a forest. I just fought a war in a forest, then in a ruin, and then an old battlefield, which was all actually in someone's memory, which was all a pocket universe. Lots of trees. I did get to throw a rock at a wizard though, that was fun." Tasha's tail wags and she smiles at the memory. Elves, she has found, are pretentious. Wizards, she knows, are also pretentious. Rocks are not pretentious at all. It's a natural fit.
"How is your accuracy with rocks?" Shojo asks.
"Very good as it turns out, especially piloting Mel. That wizard couldn't magic away a one ton boulder." Tasha dances across the keys of her datapad, pokes something, then sets it down and looks up again. "I can also murder spirits with other spirits now."
"Being a master of minions can be useful," Shojo says and nods precisely once. "How many spirits do you have at your disposal?"
Tasha holds up two fingers. "You may remember Blackwings from my crying episode. The newcomer is actually a piece of myself that broke off and became negatory." Speaking of which, Blackie, feel free to tease Lacci if you can. I'm now curious if you can.
"I can't manifest out here," Blackwings reports. "Unless you want to let me take control of your body. Hey... can you put me into the milk girl or her milk mom whatever it is body?"
Milk girl? Tasha has never heard the remotes called that before. What is it you think they do?
"You were able to control the girl body while she controlled yours," Blackwings notes. "So, if it works by transferring spirits, then you should be able to transfer me into one of them."
"You're not exactly a complete soul. We can try, I assume they both want me to practice these things. I will expect you to come in here and stay with me for the duration." Outwardly, Tasha just appears to have stopped talking and is now frowning in to space.
"Taaaashaaaaa," Katie croons. "Is this a side effect of floating?"
"Noooo, I'm talking to my spiiiriits. We're going to try something." Tasha then sits up and turns to look at another bit of space. "Lets try this." She opens communication and tries selecting control to see if any sub-options are available; she's not even sure Tia has given her permission to operate the remote, so it may be a no-ho from the get go.
Both Tia and Kai show up in the network. There's something subtly different about the two options, but it isn't clear to Tasha what that difference is.
"Ancient alien technology is weird in its subtlety. Lets go with Kai." Tasha select Kai to see what options are available.
It seems that this brings up a new set of selections, which seem familiar at least: connection depth settings. They include 'surface', 'autonomous', 'marionette', and 'full'.
"If I fall over just put me somewhere comfortable," Tasha remarks as she continues her blank frowning session. "Lets see ... Lets try surface, that seems the safest way to start."
This gives Tasha a weird split-view of things. She sees the hangar, where the Kai body is still near the shuttle, and also the galley (unless she closes her eyes).
It feels similar to 'riding' except she can still feel her actual body as well, and access all of its senses.
"Useful but nauseating. I could see this being very useful if we had a larger number of remotes or other devices compatible with this system where I need to check in, but not stay with, a body." Tasha declares. It's very similar to operating Harmonia's ProgMat bodies, something she always thought would be very useful, especially since she needed to remain on the Bridge. "I still think my brain is controlling these things even with full control, but I'll have to ask later. Lets try the next one, 'autonomous'."
This causes the remote to start walking, without any sort of actual control from Tasha, but still has the mixed senses effect of surface mode. After looking around the hanger, the remote heads for one of the obvious doors on the sides, choosing the left one because it's closer.
"Well this isn't great, but could be in the future. I didn't realize these bodies could even move around on their own, or at least not make decisions. Lets hurry on." The next option is 'marionette', which Tasha knows has something to do with performance dolls. "This might be it, marionette. Lets see what happens."
Now Tasha has control, but still the double sensation effect. And it probably takes a bit of practice to move the remote without moving herself, as it isn't as clear-cut as with pilot-mode in Melchior.
"Are you alright still?" Katie asks, leaning in close to Tasha. "You look a bit stoned."
"I'hm bhusy remoat controllnk," is Tasha's explanation. She carefully lays her head down on her hands so she doesn't do something unfortunate like pitch out of her chair. "Does this work? Do you have any control? I'm not sure this system is setup for having sub-personalities control the remotes."
"If I can't control your body, I can't seem to control one remotely," Blackwings reports. "I'm not even sure how you're managing it, other than that it must know how it moves and can compensate for errors."
"I think so. There's some sort of AI here," Tasha agrees. And since she can't exactly get the remote home using the very awkward split control, she announces. "I'hm goink to lhay down now bee righot bock." Then she switches to 'full'.
This time there's no split consciousness. Tasha is in the hangar, feeling more-or-less human again. But with a sense of energy, as if she could never get tired. The senses are all on a par with what she normally has, at least (or else things adjust themselves to what she is familiar with).
Tasha looks down at her hands. "Ugh, this again." And then she looks up and around. She considers heading right back to where she had stored the remote, but decides she better check on her own body first, in case she missed something crucial. So following that idea she heads for the Galley.
Blackwings is silent during this. Upon reaching the galley, Shojo and Lacci look to the unfamiliar woman.
"It's me, or rather that's me," the Human points at the apparently resting form of Tasha's body, and then she points at herself, "I'm just controlling this body for a moment and wanted to check on my actual body. Am I okay over there?" The Human leans in further, frowning a familiar frown.
Tasha's body looks like it's passed out and unresponsive. "I didn't think you into human women, Tasha," Katie jokes. "And again, this one isn't blonde. I don't see the point if it's not going to be blonde."
Shojo reaches out and pinches the remote, which feels.. like being pinched.
"I'm just borrowing this one. I accidentally got it to move and I need to put it back, but I wanted to check on my body first. I'm pretty sure my brain is still in control, but-- ow!" Tasha-Kai swats at Shojos hand. "Humans bruise easily you know! Just for that I'll pinch Lacci later, or something."
Undeterred, Shojo then pinches the unmoving Tasha body. Which Tasha doesn't feel. And which Shojo would not have felt himself: he's basically been piloting his own body as if it were a remote for most of his life.
"I did not feel that but will still count it against you," Tasha insists and then she reaches over and pinches Shojo.
The Vartan feels hard, which isn't a surprise. He also doesn't react. But eventually does say, "Ouch," because that is the expected response.
"I hope you learned your lesson." Tasha then goes over to pick up her head in her hands, hunching down and frowning at it. She makes some squish-faces, then reaches to test her pulse. "I seem to be okay. I've done this before, so I wasn't expecting anything bad, but it's a little strange to do this outside of a neuro-link. The other bodies had all been robotic."
Gabriel walks in then, empty coffee mug in hand, as Tasha-Kai is messing with Tasha-Tasha's face. "Am I missing something here?" he asks.
"I'm piloting this body for a moment while I test something, but I wanted to make sure my body was okay. This is fun. I can see why people like doing this. It must also be a Human thing." Tasha then gently puts her real head back down, moving to instead pet her head while the borrowed body turns to Gabriel. "I'm going to go put this body back now and transfer back over. Nice to see you. I'd give you a kiss but that'd be weird right now."
"How weird?" Gabriel asks, looking from one body to the other. "Can't control both at the same time?" he asks, one eyebrow raised to match his smirk.
"I tried, it's very difficult, like trying to fly two shuttles at the same time by swapping controls." Tasha gives herself one more pat, then points towards the exit. "I should go before someone else needs this body and I get an earful."
"So, when this body is doing something, how should we react?" Katie asks. "That is, if we don't see you conveniently passed out?"
"Ask who is using it. If they insist they're Kai, it's the original intended user or Tia. If they say they're Tia, it's Tia. I'll tell you if it's me. Pay attention to how the body behaves." Tasha-Kai then gives everyone a little wave and begins on out, feeling like she borrowed someone's book without asking, not that she has ever borrowed a book in her life.
Of course, taking it back to the hangar makes sense at least. The Shojo-squad (and Phins and Lapi) haven't met the odd mother-daughter pair yet. But at some point the remote needs to be moved to Thoth's unused cabin.
Tasha considers this, then decides now is as good a time as any, and so diverts and heads for the cabin. This gives her the convenient excuse of having borrowed the remote to put it in to place.
Since the cabin is on the 'executive' deck, Tasha runs into an issue right away: the elevator doesn't recognize this body as authorized to go to that level.
Well I'm glad that works. Even if she's been prevented from the task, she at least learned a valuable lesson even if it may not be enough to stop Kainudy nor Tia from traversing the vessel as they please. Not wanting to override the lockout, Tasha directs the body back to the hangar where she had put it, and decides to move it later.
Now she just has to.. get out of it. She can still access the menu, but there's nothing as obvious as 'disconnect'. At least not from full depth. She apparently has to back out through each level first.
And that Tasha does, seeking out the menu for her own body, to see if the controls have changed.
Once she's at surface level, it's easy to just go back to the network and deselect Kai. This returns her to the galley, none the worse for wear (surprisingly). "Whatever happened, I was not a part of it," Blackwings reports, a bit morosely.
"Well, we tried, right? Maybe we can arrange for a special body for you, like a ... familiar." Tasha learned that word from the Mages of Sinai, who occasionally crafted such things. It's less common a practice than folklore suggested, but it did and does happen back home.
Tasha sits right up and slides her datapad over, crossing her legs and leaning back like absolutely nothing happened. "What'd I miss?"
"We decided not to cut your hair," Katie claims, while Gabriel is making coffee (but not in the fancy coffee machine that looks like a Titanian created it). "We should load up on steak and fish while we can," Gabriel notes. Apparently he's been talking to Lacci. "Live fish, that is."
"I agree. And no, don't cut my hair, you'll have to answer to Mr. I and Miss N., and that's scary." Tasha rubs her cheeks a bit, but doesn't feel her earlier manipulation, which she supposes makes sense. "Shojo was just telling me the new recruits should work out just fine. Sam and I will run them through some more 'exotic' tests once we get to Caltrop or the needs-a-name- asteroid base."
"Hmmm, haunted house training?" Gabriel asks, and sips his instant coffee. "We can leave tomorrow at the earliest, if we don't take on the extra supplies. Day after tomorrow is probably reasonable though. Where's the other alien?"
"You know, I'm not sure. She didn't speka up when I started controlling things so either she didn't notice or wasn't concerned. I can contact her if you like?" Tasha perks her ears and also pats the seat beside her fro Gabriel to sit with her.
"It would be good to know what she's up to," Gabriel says. "You didn't just dump her on somebody did you?"
"I thought you'd all keep an eye on her. She is significantly older than me, I think she'll be okay. Last I saw she was with Yue. But I'll ask." And so Tasha returns to staring in to space.
"Tasha to alien tree escape pod, come in alien tree escape pod."
"Yes?" Galatea replies. "I am processing navigational and astronomical data about your galaxy. What did you need?"
"Just making sure you're okay. Did Yue leave you somewhere then? Is she still with you?" Tasha turns and gives Gabriel a thumbs up.
"Yes, I am in her company, but I need access to any tactical imaging capability you may have, and one of your dolphins," Galatea explains. "Preferably before leaving the planet."
"Tia wants access to tactical imaging and a dolphin," Tasha then tells Gabriel, shrugging with her hands in a; don't ask me I don't know sort of way. "Asking."
"Why does she want that?" Gabriel asks. Then gets a look and further asks, "What does 'access to a dolphin' mean?"
"The Captain would like more information as to why you need these things and a clarification on what 'access to a dolphin' means." Tasha taps her forehead and makes a rotory phone motion; she's sending the message.
"I need to do a survey for brown dwarfs in local space," Galatea claims. "I would like to meet one of your dolphins and determine if you can ride it with an ansible link, which you expressed interest in doing. This would best be done while there is open water available."
"She wants to look for brown dwarf stars and to see if I can use my link to pilot a dolphin. There are regular dolphins out in the sea, aren't there?" Tasha looks to Gabriel and to Katie, perhaps one of them know.
"Maybe?" Gabriel says. "I know there were some in the lake. I haven't had a chance to get out to sea here."
Katie checks her datapad, and reports, "No dolphin colony here. There are some who work with the fishing fleet though."
"We can probably arrange that. As for the dolphin, would a regular dolphin do? Phins are sentient and I think only Kaa would like me piloting his body, because he's a bit of a pervert. Tasha looks to Katie and nods. "It would be better to use a non-sentient if we can find one."
"No, ansibles only work with sapient beings, and your Phins already have external cybernetic interfaces that can be used," Galatea reports. "I assume they therefore have training and experience with teleoperations and would be able to handle this, plus they are familiar with you and presumably like you. Is there a non-perverted one?"
Tasha wonders if non-perverted even applies to Phins, and also, if she should know what Kaa's penis feels like -- let alone have to deal with it. Gabriel can smell her embarrassment over his coffee, which is about the only way to know the red woman is blushing. "Moka is the non-perverted one."
"Are you flirting with her?" Gabriel asks. This gets a look from Katie as well.
Tasha blinks at this. "No I was reviewing the unintended consequence of piloting Kaa," she explains, wiggling a finger indicatively.
"Then I wish to meet Moka," Galatea says. "I would still need to act as a buffer, so it would not be a direct connection."
"I think the consequences would be very intended if that.. wait, what do you mean by 'piloting' in this case?" Gabriel asks.
"Very well. I'm sure Moka can help you with the visual charts as well, she's by far the most mature of the two Phins, and second-in-command on the ship side of things." Tasha then notes to the two Karnor, "What I mean is controlling like with Kai, to see what it's like. I feel like it'd be educational. Except with Kaa, maybe too educational."
"You can do that with a Phin?" Katie asks. "Are you sure you could handle it?"
Tasha shrugs with her hands so hard her neck ruff pools around the bottom of her head. "Have you met me? And yes, it takes a sentient species, probably for proper emulation."
"Talk to Moka about it," Gabriel says. "And if you do 'pilot' her, make sure Kaa is not around. Those two get up to stuff you know."
"I'll make sure Moka and Kaa know if that's the case. Kaa may flirt, but he's smart enough not to push things too much." Tasha then hip-bumps Gabriel. "I'll be fine. Probably."
"I'll trust Moka to keep you out of trouble," Gabriel says. "But I want to watch your body the whole time if you do this."
"I'll put it in the Med Bay, just in case." Tasha gives another thumbs up, then sends a request to Moka for communication. "Going to ask Moka now."
Over the less esoteric comm system, Moka replies in Tasha's ear, "What's up, Boss?"
"I have a strange but maybe interesting request for you, and a fairly mundane request, both by an unusual person. If you're not busy we can meet in your quarters, or on the Bridge, although it'll go better if it's just you, me, the special person, and maybe Gabriel and Katie." Tasha glances to the two to see who does actually want to come.
"Wouldn't miss this," Katie says.
"Well, I'm in my quarters right now," Moka replies. "Kaa is 'sleeping' before he's needed to pilot."
"Well, that will have to do. Kaa will need to hear some things anyway. We'll meet you there." And so Tasha rises, waving the two to come with her. "Meet me at the Phins Quarters. I will have the ship direct you via internal panel lights."
A few minutes later, the bipeds are crowded together on the ledge of the Phin's pool. Tia arrives last, looking around. "They must feel cramped in here," she suggests to Tasha.
Kaa floats, half-asleep (as is the way with dolphins, since at least one hemisphere needs to be awake in order to keep them breathing). Moka is right up at the ledge edge, head bobbing and awaiting introductions.
Tasha frowns, ears laying back. "It's the unfortunate consequence of the ships' design. We can't easily expand the frame to create a larger vessel. I've been considering using the down time after our action at Daltoona to seek our an alien construction platform that might exist, and use it to build a larger vessel." But then she spreads her hands. "Problem for later. This," she gestures beind herself as she makes grabby motions at Moka's snout, "Is Moka, Second-in-Command of ship-side operations. The sleeping Phin is Kaa, our primary pilot."
Tasha then rotates to indicate Tia. "This is Tia, who is not a Human in actuality, but an alien entity assuming that form. Tia and I met while I was away. She is connected to the Waymakers, the space whales we met before."
"Ah, the cute little one with the lake inside," Moka recalls, and turns her head to examine Tia with a large eye. Not far behind is her cybernetic interface socket. "I did not expect to meet another of that kind. Do you have a big body out in space?"
"No, I'm just.. this," Tia says.
"It's a bit complicated, but Tia's had it rough. She could use a friend if you're interested in talking to her beyond this exchange. She's looking for brown dwarves." Tasha lowers herself to sit by the poolside, hands in her lap. "I'm sure some day if Tia wants to be something more, she'll get there."
"Oh, I can certainly help-p with going through the star surveys," Moka agrees.
"Tasha would like to see what it feels like to be a Phin as well," Tia states.
"Are.. those requests related-d somehow?" the dolphin clicks.
"Yeeeeah that's the more complicated request," Tasha adds, shrugging palms up with her hands. "You see Tia and I share a certain ability to interlink with certain prepared sentients. Most are just hollow shells, but it should be possible to interlink with a sentient with cybernetics. I thought it would be ... educational? Fun?" She wiggles her fingers. "Maybe you can pilot me back?"
"So.. like your T-titan?" Moka asks.
"I think so? It's a little new to me. I can pilot that Human in the Cargo Bay, for example, like it's actually my body, but this would be something less than that. Tia can explain more." And so Tasha gestures to Tia to continue.
"Well, you would still need to be copilot," Tia claims. "Otherwise there is too much risk in Tasha trying to operate a body that requires conscious effort to breath. Her own body is more user friendly though." She then produces a gold disk. "This will allow full communication via your implant. I would be in the middle of the link to monitor it, since Tasha cannot link to you directly. Is this acceptable?"
"And Moka can pilot my body? I suggest doing it away from the water, since wings and water don't mix very well." Tasha flaps her wings indicatively, and Moka knows full well Tasha has to put in a lot more effort than wingless swimmers.
"It-t sounds like a rare opportunity for exploration," Moka replies. "I have tried human simulations before, and recorded some of my swims, but-t have never tried something t-truly interactive like this. I'm in. But will we be doing it just in here?"
Tasha looks to Tia again. "I think you suggested open water? Around the ship or somewhere further out? We can always request to relocate the ship in to deeper waters, that might help if we want to fish manually."
"Close to the harbor would be safest," Tia says. "I will be mitigating any sensory overload, so will not be able to physically respond to an emergency."
"I would like to be able to keep an eye on.." Gabriel begins to say, but Katie interrupts with, "I'm getting into my swimsuit! Meet you outside!" And then she's off.
"Close it is. For myself, I'd suggest being in the ship or in a secluded place that's public, and to not be alone. I had one kidnap attempt off by myself, and certain powers may target me or who they think is me." Tasha pauses as Katie runs off, blink, then laughs before she says, "I guess you'll be escorting my body, Gabe."
"I can puppet your body while you are with Moka, and vice-versa," Tia says.
"I can bring you to the end of the pier at least," Gabriel says. "We can sit and watch the sunset. Nothing suspicious about that."
"Alright. I got a little practice with that earlier when i tried to move Kai in to proper storage." Tasha rises now, then looks around. "I guess I should go put on my swimsuit."
"You don't need to, since you won't be getting into the water," Tia says. "But if Moka wants to try swimming with your body instead of flying, it might be best."
"Bipeds do not swim," Moka claims.
"I sink in a forward direction," Tasha insists. "I'll wear my swimsuit just in case you're feeling daring, maybe it'll help you pity us better, it's only fair since you get to try flying."
"I can swim Tasha's body if you want to see how Moka perceives you in the water," Tia offers.
"Alright, hook me up, and I will meet you all outside," Moka says, rising up enough in the water so Tia can set the disk over her interface port.
"No need, I know how ungainly and awkward I am through personal experience, and sonar pulsing myself might make me self-conscious later." Tasha thunbs towards the exit, and so begins out with Gabriel. "See you s-- No, be you soon!"
After 'gearing up', Tasha and Katie sit at the edge of the pier, legs dangling, while Gabriel stands over them. "I'm surprised you actually put on swimsuits," the big Karnor notes.
"This isn't the resort, and I wouldn't want to cause any boating accidents," Katie notes.
There's motion, and then a silvery-gray form leaps up out of the water just past where they sit, and splashes back down hard to make sure everyone gets wet.
"I wear swimsuits all the time," Tasha insists, reaching to lock the strap of her's with a thumb and snapping it back. Her swim suit is a bright yellow one piece with lacy fringes at the leg holes and elsewhere. It is very girly.
Tasha, being in her bathing suit, laughs. She'd splash back, but she can't reach. "Hello Moka!"
"Are you both ready?" Tia asks, as Moka is connected to the network.
"Ready as ever," Moka replies.
Tasha settles back. "Here we go." And then Tasha sends, "Lets do it!"
For Tasha, there's a moment of blackness, as if she's floating in a void. Then sensation comes in slowly. She feels.. well, strength like she's never known before, but a less complicated skeletal system. Not having hands, or legs is a lot more jarring than not having wings or a tail is. And she doesn't think of her current tail as a tail either. Her skin feels thick and strong, just barely containing her. But despite the sense of mass, she's also weightless. And this is just the body senses so far, without site and sound and touch.
There's a bit of panic as Tasha realizes she no longer has hands, feet, wings or a tail. It's a little like dismemberment, which she also experienced, several times. The feeling soon passes, as experience and knowing why she's here help her focus on the experience rather than trying to compare it to what it is not. There's an appreciation and even nostalgia for the mass, from back when she was bulkier and curvier, but it's far more mass than she ever had. It makes her feel like a tank, like a sea bullet. She's never piloted an organic body so close to her own that also felt so massive and different; the leviathan was far too huge for her to have grasped for comparison. If anything she might say it feels like being a king of big engine pod that can think, weighty but fast. It's overall a very new experience that doesn't quite match any other body she's operated.
The skin is the next thing to come online. While she thought human skin was overly sensitive, at least she hadn't been feeling the pressure of the air like Moka feels the water. Ever square inch feels something. Even without sight or sound yet, she knows when Katie drops into the water. And her fingers feel like pleasant fire when they touch. No wonder Kaa is always horny; it's like Phins exist in a constant state of sensual stimulation. Finally she can see, and the view is a lot wider than she's used to, since her eyes on the sides of her head (and there's a lot of head between them). But she still knows what's in front of her. She can see with her teeth, apparently. Or else the data is interpreted that way. Moka is using her sonar too, which isn't quite like site. It doesn't feel like seeing, since the sense of 'distance' is replaced by 'time' instead. Katie looks clear though. Phins may be engineered to be able to see as wide a range of color as humans do, for practical reasons.
It's all decidedly very alien, which makes it that much more enjoyable as a learning experience. A very stimulating learning experience, that Tasha finds a few steps below unbearable. Even her Human body wasn't this sensitive, and she thought that was way more sensitive than it needed to be! The vision is even stranger; she knows Phins rely on sonar, but experiencing it, even in this translated form is very unusual. She's possessed -- and even gained -- alien senses, but the wrap-around sonar vision ranks high among them for being so close to her primary sense: vision. All the similarities make the differences stand out in ways more alien bodies could not.
Katie catches Tasha-Moka shifting her gaze to watch her now, showing signs of possible control.
Katie takes a gulp of air, and grabs on to the Phin's dorsal fin. And echo of Moka seems to whisper to Tasha, "Ready to fly?"
"I can feel everything! My vision is very weird!" It's not exactly an answer, but it sounds very excited none the less.
And then they're moving. Although it doesn't feel quite like moving. The water is passing in one direction along their skin, and it seems unfairly effortless. Flying through the air takes a lot more effort, and they get up to speed so quickly! Although they can't actually be going too fast, with Katie hanging on.
There's an almost hallucinatory sense to it. Sight matters more, and sound is compressed ahead, which means time is compressed. It seems a bit like how a warp drive must operate.
A doppler effect if Tasha remembers right, as they rush head long towards sound pulses also arrive faster, and likewise pulses behind them arrive that much slower. She's surprised by how little resistance the water provides; as a flier, she's used to almost having to beat the sky in to submission to carry her heavy load, with her relatively massive and thick musculature, and even then she's not that fast and certainly can't accelerate that quickly. In many ways it's a lot more like being the leviathan than like being herself, especially when the leviathan jumped to warp in bursts.
Eventually Katie lets go, and Moka can actually put on some real speed. It's almost too much, until Tia dials back on the senses that feel overloaded. But it isn't until they leap above the water that Tasha can really feel the speed. Then it's a leap straight up, seeing the harbor as a blur in the distance (since eyes meant for water don't have good long-range vision in air) and then a splash and the sudden transition back to water, and shooting down now, towards the bottom. And not breathing at all.
Tasha thought being a Phin would be fun and she's delighted to know that it is! There are losses of course, she'd prefer better vision, some hands, maybe dial back the sensitivity, but otherwise it feels like being a living engine that does not care about such petty problems as friction and a lack of body strength, and she's never held her breath so long! As a flier she's usually breathing constantly and deeply, faster and deeper than Humans do, so that's another major change.
Something else is down there: a group of fish. They don't look very alien, but then are probably imported since Ylem has precious little fauna of its own. Snacks! And there's no sneaking up on prey in the water. It's a chase, if you're a Phin.
Tasha has never really hunted with her bodily weapons, she's sued those more on people and monsters than in the hunt for food, instead relying on keen eyesight and things like archery to hunt, though even those hunts were more sport and bonus than survival. So the experience of chasing fish like some sort of water-based, touchy-feely warp drive is equally new!
A suitable fish is singled out. This is where things get weird though. The sonar goes from feeling like a flashlight in the forehead to something more focused. A flashlight with volume. The head rotates, using the beak to really pinpoint the target rather than sight, and then it's like there is a gun in her head. It fires, and the fish goes limp.
Now that Tasha also has some kind of sensor in her forehead, the Phin version has a commonality. Or at least a similarity, several steps divorced. It reminds Tasha of the sazers that the people on board the Ningyo weer armed with, and the favorite sidearm of Phins everywhere. It also reminds her that having in-built weapons are very handy, especially when they come with snacks. Her Yellow sword, alas, cannot be used for snacking.
Alas, the Phins, for all their grace and power, have a very substandard sense of taste. Or else the local fish are very bland. But when you live in salt water, maybe blandness is tasty?
Tasha could make jokes about Kaa and his sense of taste, but she can't think of how to do it without accidentally insulting Moka, which she definitely doesn't want to do -- in her body or otherwise. Perhaps, she decides, it comes down to balance, or maybe evolution. She knows every system needs processing support, and maybe complex taste just wasn't needed, or her own sense of taste and a PHin's are unable to be matched perfectly. Whatever the case, it's another thing she's learned and put in her brain pocket.
After the snack, it's more zooming through depths and 'listening' to the strange world. Sound is a lot more important here than in the sky. But there also a lot of similarities. Currents are just underwater winds. There rising and falling columns as well, and different layers. But even flying naked wouldn't feel quite the same as this! And then it's up to the surface in another burst of speed, and dancing atop it, somehow.
Tasha never thought she'd think the sky was a bit bland, but now she thinks so. Compared to the sky oceans are teaming with life, diversity, with so many tricks and so much in them. The sky, meanwhile, is largely empty. Encountering anything other than a cloud or the occasional bird of bird analogue is a rarity; in the ocean they're normal. And now, Tasha knows she was right to be fascinated by what Phins do here. She might not have understood why had she not given this a shot, left with a sense of something more but never having been able to touch it.
Of course, there are no predators on this world - at least nothing close to shore. Out to see there are those enormous shelled things with dozens of tentacles. But what would they eat if there are no other animals? But the sea, whether crowded or quiet, makes it a lot easier to feel weightless. Enough that even standing on her tail for a few seconds brings home just how heavy Moka's body is. And then she splashes down into water again.
Tasha can see now why some many marine organisms can be so big, where as fliers like herself are considered abnormally large and developed despite being dwarfed by even moderately large seagoing life. The sky, for all its beauty, feels like a kind of wasteland requiring enormous effort, hostile and unwanting of all but the most dedicated life. Not the sea; the sea is alive. It is as singer once told her, that phantom goddess somehow on Terra: the sea is the origin of all life. Compared to that, the sky feels like a hyperspace, a transit medium, not a home.
But while the swimming isn't exactly like flying, being immersed in the sea isn't the same as sailing through the sky. There's no horizon. There's no seeing far into the distance, or feeling above it all. The sea is supportive and motherly, but there's no overview. No sense of distance or transcendence. The sea really does not like her children leaving home. And even the stars are difficult to see with Phin eyes, above the water.
It can be smothering in a way the sky is not.
Tasha thinks on that, and decides it's so. her old home, the sky, still has things to offer. If the sea is a loving but smothering mother, the sky is a stern but visionary father, encouraging its residents to look far, see it all, gaze upon all the world and know it. And beyond the sky, space, the imposing grandfather, distant and having seen it all, the old king and his world of merciless loneliness, highlighting valuables in stark relief like pieces on a board.
The universe is really beautiful, even when it isn't, Tasha thinks to herself. She feels if more could see so far, they might appreciate it more; or they may long for where they cannot go. Either way, they'd see beauty.
Inspiration is everywhere. And Phins are explorers, finding ways to stay above the sea as best as possible, through dancing and leaping.. and now to flying starships. Although having felt Moka's body now, Tasha thinks those walking suits must make it feel like she's being crushed by her own weight.
Tasha did always think the suits looked terribly uncomfortable and awkward, the down side to having so much in a supportive environment such as this. Even she, avian in part, finds awkwardness on the ground and in space. After having sampled being Human she has sometimes thought her wings are in the way, not much use, nearly dead weight without a sky to ride along. So too the Phin body, poorly adapted to land and space.
Perhaps, Tasha decides,s he should talk these things over with that voice behind the eyes of those who cannot speak. It did say she was unfinished, maybe she can take all she's learned and see what she could make of it. If the ansible is retained, she need not have wings to fly. Something to think on.
"How is your experience so far," Galatea's 'voice' intrudes.
"Enlightening. There were many things I speculated were true about Phins and sea life, and now I know the answers, at least in part, in a way I never could have truly experienced without seeing it from the eyes of an actual sea going being. I've learned a great deal about how Phins interact with the world and the difficulties they face on land, about using senses, and the problems of traversing between dissimilar environments. And, I've seen how beautiful the ocean really is, free from my own body, which has never felt welcome in it." Tasha pauses to collect her thoughts more, then adds, "I know this isn't a one-for-one experience, our minds and brains are like the sea and the sky, different environments that do not overlap well, but at least I was able to experience sea life about as close as I could ever get without changing my brain and body to process it better."
"Do you think she will take to flying well?" Tia asks next. "Or do you feel self-conscious about letting her into your body now?"
"For this experience I'd let her take my body for a stroll for a whole day. And for the trust in letting me do this, longer if I wasn't so busy and needed it. I think she'll be very surprised by how light I am and how hard it is to remain aloft, how awkward I am in the ocean, and how light and fragile I am. My senses are also very different. There will be comparison, self-reflection, and maybe longing," Tasha replies.
"That is good to know," Tia says. "Although you should not linger close to Gabriel while Moka is sharing your body. I am not used to pheromones and it feels odd, so she might respond oddly as well."
"I will try to avoid Gabriel. And Katie. And Hake. Maybe Lacci. Oh, and some others. I'll just maintain a general distance, unless that is something Moka is specifically interested in exploring." After all while Tasha can't stray, she doesn't know if that applies to Moka, or if straying is even the right word. And after having asked such a personal favor, she's not about to be restrictive.
Moka does seem to be angling back towards the harbor. Tasha gets the distinct impression that it's more fun to do this stuff with other dolphins around, or someone else physical, and Katie got left behind early on. So now the Phin might be hunting for the Karnor.
To be sure, Tasha asks, "Is Moka ready to switch over then, or is she after Katie? Do my feelings for Katie project through this link while I am riding along?"
"I'm just being the buffer, so I can't tell her thoughts," Tia explains. "The speech centers of dolphin brains are not directly tied to their consciousness, but there is some rewiring I think with Phins so they can think in words more easily."
A ping response! Katie is still in the water near the pier. There's a sense of.. mischief.. that Tasha detects.
"So we don't know ... But I sense mischief. I wonder if Moka can hear my thoughts?" Tasha doesn't know, but supposes she'll find out. If her kind and the Phins share anything, it's a sense of mischief and a desire to mess with people. That, and sex.
The Phin goes deep, hugging the harbor floor and not surfacing to breathe lest she be noticed. Tasha gets a good view from below of what Katie's tail looks like in the water, with the hairs floating. And then Moka gets up just under the wolf's treading feet, and exhales a huge bubble right under her.
This would make Tasha giggle if she wasn't a disembodied passenger supported by an emulation connection. It does still amuse her greatly.
There's a lot of splash and thrashing as a result, and Moka surfaces for a fresh breath (which might spray physical Tasha's lower legs as they dangle) and to laugh as only a Phin can.
At least they also share laughing, though Tasha finds she's laughed less, and been less loud in general, as time has passed. "I think that's a good moment for asking if Moka is ready to switch over," she sends, still amused.
Katie huffs, as if she isn't sure whether to be cross or to laugh as well, and then things shift. For Tasha it's quick: she's back in her old body. But she feels Moka being poured in slowly.
Tasha takes this opportunity to re-familiarize herself with her body just to make sure the first thing Moka experiences isn't her falling on her face. Gabriel notices she's back in control when her eyes open and she begins flexing her hands and wings. Then the more obvious, "I'm back!" confirms it. She gives Katie a wave. "How was being aerated?"
"I'd rather do it in a bathtub full of sparkling wine!" Katie counters. "Who should I seek revenge on?" Next to her Moka's body is just sort of moving around in a circle.
"Going after Moka right now would be unfair and unsatisfying, since she's with me, though not completely. I'm going to wait here an reflect while the process completes." And so Tasha leans back, hands behind head, and suns herself, a rather indulgent pose for reflection. "Your revenge will simply have to fester!"
Bit by bit, Tasha feels Moka's presence. And then she wants to move her hand. It's like a suggestion, not exactly her own thought. But she wants to wiggle her fingers and start touching things.
Tasha obliges, and wonders if she was this insistent when she was a passenger. She holds her hand in front of her face, moving it in and out, then has her hand touch itself, followed by her face, hair, the seat she's on, her bathing suit, and the pier. "Switch complete! I am also talking so she can experience me talking, something everyone should experience at least once!"
Touching her lips seems to be a revelation. Tasha definitely feels Moka's emotional responses to things. This also prompts trying out the tongue. Dolphins can't lick things, or wiggle their tongue around much. Then comes making faces. At Katie.
Tasha, having practice at making faces at her loved ones, has many. The action may only increase a desire for vengeance, but Tasha knows she is obligated to be a good host, even if her body is venue. And Moka did so -- and continues to do -- so much for her she's willing to go the extra mile. "I am doing this in the name of science, you should feel proud of your contribution!"
Katie, in her pride.. makes faces back. Since her fur and hair is wet and matted, they can be a bit gruesome. Her teeth are bigger than Tasha's now.
"Very scary. We should flee now before she decides to get out of the water and put me in a headlock or something," Tasha notes aloud. So to that end she hops to her feet, highlighting how lithe she is, and then turns tail and starts running down the dock away from the ocean. "Catch me if you can! Oh wait, you can't--" her speed picks up, she ducks her body and stretches her wings, and then she feels lighter and lighter until she's no longer on the ground at all, "Because I can fly!"
The feeling she gets is like the first time she flew, and she doesn't even remember that very clearly. There's an urge to kick her legs, which almost certainly comes from Moka.
Tasha has to resist the urge, because moving her legs out of position would create drag and result in a potential imbalance in her flight form, potentially causing a spin and sending her right in to the ground! She keeps the anisble's systems ready just in case a sudden urge causes a problem, as she doubts Moka would like to experience her severe injury, or demise. Tasha has experienced enough of her own demise to not be able to recommend it to anyone.
Tasha's path takes her up and up, gaining altitude so that she has a buffer against mistakes. With flight there are three currenies: height, speed, and fuel. You can spend any for height and speed, but never for fuel. Even if fuel is gone, if you can still exchange height and speed to maneuver. Tasha demonstrates these things as she flies, gaining more altitude just to dump it in a dive, pitching this way and that, corkscrewing down through the sky and then up again before she must burn fuel -- wing beats -- to make up for the loss. It's a much more intensive, unsupported experience, with that added understanding movement cannot stop under avian flight, and that the sky does not embrace her so much as provide a means by which she lift herself up. The ground remains as ominous as ever, but Tasha's confidence in the sky comes off as an understanding of the limits imposed on her, and within those limits, certainty.
Clouds seem to fascinate Moka. Water in the sky, held up by warm air. The same air that Tasha can sense to gain more altitude. Tasha becomes more aware of senses she doesn't really notice anymore, but her fur seems especially sensitive now, registering the changes in temperature and pressure, just like her ears do.
It reminds her that there's a lot more to doing things than she thinks about. The subtle shifts in warmth and pressure, the turn of her fur, even the sun on her back, all help her orient herself and make her way effectively through the sky. Tasha's glad she wore her bathing suit, too, for it helps add to the experience by exposing her to the unbuffered Ymir air. And so she continues her aerobatics, dotted by moments of relatively straight flying, moving away from the island tree out over the ocean so Moka can see it from on high, and so there's less risk of civilian air traffic. In time, an idea occurs to her.
"Hey Tia, think I could engage the kinetics system?"
"It should be safe, since it is localized and does not consume bandwidth," comes the reply.
"Well then, here we go. You're going to love this Moka -- I've only gotten to do this once! It'll be new to us both!" And so Moka feels a shift in Tasha; she goes stiffer, her wings locking in to position, and the effort to keep herself aloft simply ceases. Some way, some how, Tasha does not sink. She not only refuses to drop, but begins to accelerate, first a little, then she's passing her diving speed and only gaining momentum. It shouldn't be possible! As she zooms away from the shore she descends to skirt across the water sending a spray trail behind her, faster and faster until the crack of supersonics is reached, then she arcs through the air and they are heading towards space.
It's hard to discern if Moka is causing the adrenaline rush or Tasha is herself. Without a pressure suit though, she still has to be wary of ascending too quickly, lest she be the first flyer to get the bends.
Tasha does slow down once she gets that rush of speed down, because the thrill is important to her and she suspects it's important to Moka, too. A more sedate pace is reached and then they're simply ascending up and up, until breathing gets a little hard, then down until it isn't. From here the stars are close, the wind is cold, and everything looks very small indeed. Tasha's hair whips in the breeze and she hovers, arms out, like a graven image rendered to life. "This is really nice," she remarks, "Thank you Tia. And thank you, Moka, for joining me."
Moka feels grateful, certainly. And probably fascinated about feeling cold. And a desire to experience more unfamiliar sensations.
There's only so much sensation one can feel in the middle of the sky, so Tasha cuts the kinetic system and drops. This allows her to return to natural flight, and she wings her way down towards the eateries. A question is posed as concept images: eat ice cream with puppies, or try pizza and games at a pizza parlor.
Clearly, Moka wants to try both from the response Tasha feels.
Tasha had suspected that would be the answer, so she already had how to proceed in mind: First pizza, then ice cream. It's a ways to go, but then Tasha has a great deal of height to exchange for speed, so much so the next many minutes are just spend diving to get closer to the city. She does eventually need to land at customs, clip-clopping to the ground in a run, tossing her hair back, and then all but prancing over. Moka may have noticed Tasha's more delicate walk from her previous body, but feeling shows just how sprightly she is compared to her more lumbering gait from before.
"Hello, hello. One please. Heading in to eat, then eat again. Karnor business," she greets the line and the customs agent.
"Eating is serious business, indeed," the gate agent agrees. "Just remember not to over-indulge miss."
"I might be eating for two or more, if you know what I eman." And so Tasha winks, then she's through the checkpoint and walking down the docks towards the city proper. As she's traveled she's found an increasing appreciate for the simple things, as the contrast helps make them stand out and the quiet is easily appreciate after the chaos of her life. Perhaps Moka also appreciates this, as well as the experience of bipedal locomotion, so all she does for quite some time, is walk.
There seems to be a lot of focus on Tasha's sense of smell, as she really notices the scents of the resort. There are subtle odors that don't fit, but are probably artificial and designed to promote a mood of relaxation. They'd have to below a Karnor's conscious awareness to work though, but then with all the other distractions that probably isn't too difficult.
This does result in Tasha taking the time to smell the roses, including some actual roses, but she's not in a hurry. The ship is readying to depart and much of the crew is on a momentary break. Eventually she comes to a brick-and-mortar style pizza place, though she's sure the bricks and motor are fake, she runs a hand along them anyway before entering. "Hello," she greets the person at the front counter. "I'll need a moment to review, then I'll order."
"We can do just about any customizations you like," the waiter notes with a smile.
What would a Phin find the most interesting? There are fish toppings available.
Tasha smiles back; Moka can sense that she knows how to dazzle with it. "I'm just seeing what my inner voice says would be good tonight, I'm feeling experiemental." There are so many toppings, too! Thus she does what any good explorer would do: she choses some of everything. "I'll have a persona pizza with each slice having a different item, starting with sardines ... " The list goes on.
"Very daring, if you have a Karnor tongue," the waiter notes, and takes the order all the same. "It will be ready in ten minutes, would you like something to drink in the meantime?"
Tasha considers the same with the drinks, but she only has so much room in her stomach, and less these days. "I'll have a fizzy drink, a ... raspberry cream soda." She's sure the fizz will be a new experience.
While waiting, there's an urge to wiggle her butt. Because Moka has never had one before. Or sat down. There will probably need to some dancing at some point.
Tasha remembers there were games in the back, so she makes a 'I'm going to the game room' nod and point gesture to the person behind the counter and then heads that way.
The Arcade area is a mix of games. There are a few that wouldn't look out of place on Sinai, as they are simple ones of skill involving balls and baskets or holes, either thrown or rolled. More complicated are the interactive games, with holographic musical or dance challenges, virtual martial arts and combat. Some games have full cockpits on gimbals for space simulators. A doorway leads to an adjoining building housing an arena for laser tag games. There's even a Titan simulator, which has a long line. Other games make use of simple controllers and displays with a variety of options, and one lone pinball machine is visible as well. Active sound dampening reduces the overall noise level.
As Tasha looks over all these games, she queries Moka to see which style of play most appeals to the Phin's exploration of what it's like having her body. She further asks -- or really, just thinks questioning emotions at -- Moka if she'd like to try the Titan simulator, something Tasha feels is appropriate given her own Titan is off fighting a terrible battle against incomprehensible forces. There's also the option to watch, should Moka prefer to see how Tasha's body responds to observing others.
There's certainly a spark of interest in the simulator, but Tasha gets the impression that it's because it involved manual controls and not necessarily because it involves Titans. Phins control machines through their cybernetic implants, which is what makes them 'faster' than those forced to react with muscles. And this is a very big deal in Galactic Space, where the Rules of Combat require physical interaction with weapons. Phins are considered cheaters because of their implants, but the implants are needed for them to qualify as proper uplifts since they need to be able to operate a spacecraft. At the moment, watching may be the only option given the queue, but there's also a sense of curiosity about everything in the Arcade.
Thus Tasha decides to go down the line, to try her hands, quite literally, at everything. And in some cases, feet. She knows the front counter is tracking her and her order and so she isn't worried about missing it; having to go find customers is something she left back on Sinai.
First up is the pinball game, lone at the end. Tasha takes some time to figure out the controls and and botches her first game because of it, but soon she's knocking balls around with flippers, an irony of a coincidence she wonders if Moka appreciates.
During the game, Tasha feels.. well, something like an itch. As if Moka wants to take over control of her hands.
After her game is done, Tasha readies a new game and ... lets Moka take control of her hands. Not legs, falling over would be a problem, but definitely hands.
There's some flexing, and also a desire to examine every bit of the game. Then the launcher is pulled, and the ball enters the field. Oddly, Tasha doesn't feel compelled to follow the ball with her eyes though, as if Moka is only concerned with watching a single spot on the table. But when the ball moves through that field, muscles tense and the flippers go into action. There are only left and right buttons, but multiple flippers controlled by each. The first round doesn't last long, as the ball is sent into one of the 'gutters' that bypass the flippers. The second round goes much better, with Moka able to keep the ball in place for several minutes. Presumably this is racking up points but there's no real urge to see what the score is. Tasha also finds her ears moving to follow the ball and tune out the rest of the room. Whenever it hits one of the score bumpers, it seems to sound slightly different, despite the noise the games bells and buzzers.
Tasha sits back in her own body, not having been piloted before. She supposes it's a new level of laziness, something even her cats can't achieve: Getting someone else to move your body for you so you can relax. It also makes her think about the fluidity between selfhood, the body, the mind, control, and being. Not only does she understand Moka and herself better now, she thinks she understands the Niss and other, more exotic, beings better now, too. This must be what Thoth meant when he told her not to become too attached to one body.
A scaled hand sets a token on the machine between plays. There's the a jacket sleeve. Tasha knows the smell of a Naga, which Moka probably doesn't notice.
Tasha waits for Moka to cede control to her before she risks a sidewards glance, not wanting to interrupt Moka's enjoyment of her body, something she'd admit is weird to say out loud and possibly even in her head because Moka can hear it. This does highlight a downside: you can't really hide your stupid thoughts when someone else is in your head.
After another multi-minute round, where Moka really seems to be getting into the game now, but it was her last ball. Then she notices the token and gives control back to Tasha to handle any social interactions.
Tasha picks up the token and glandes to the side, brows up and a little lopsided grin on her face. "Thanks, Mr. Black..?" She says the name before she sees who it it, thinking there can only be so many Naga on Ymir.
The Naga is unfamiliar. And young, barely coming up to Tasha's height. While the scales are mostly black, there are bright pink and blue patterns across it. The young serpent is wearing a Terran style leather jacket with the collar popped up, and sports either actual hair or black wig that is starched into a spiky helmet. It also wears sunglasses, with the rims projecting a shiny hologram above that cycles through various languages, but the ones Tasha recognizes declare the owner to be the 'Pinball Lizard'.
"Ha, you're definitely not Mr. Black! Thanks for the tokens. I thought I'd give Terran games a try, you know? I got in the zone, almost as if someone else was taking control." She spreads her hands and grins more. "I'm guessing I'm not alone in enjoying the occasional Terran pastime?"
"The tokensss mean that I am ressserving the next game," the Naga explains. As is typical with Naga, it's impossible to tell gender, especially so in a young one. "Thisss is an ancient Celestial game for improving eye-hand coordination," it also claims.
Tasha blinks at this, but she can't be expected to know every single tradition, especially combined traditions. She hands the token back, inclines her head, and then steps aside. "Off to the next game, have fun!"
The Naga flips the coin in the air and catches it, then rolls it down his arm into the slot of the machine. "Pinball Lizard isssn't in it for fun," the Naga claims.
The next game to catch Moka's attention is an updated version of the pinball machine. It's holographic, and in three dimensions, with moving targets within the volume and flat disk 'paddles' around the edges of the spherical play area. The controllers are more complicated, involving hand-held devices that look like palm-less gloves.
"Then I hope you find what you're looking for," Tasha says as she examines the next machine in the row. She knows what the young man is suggesting, he's in it for skill, or competition, bragging rights, or some other outward-focused form of self-esteem, often at the expense of others. She knows this because she's been there, and only a few years ago at that. These days her priorities have shifted, and she hardly needs to prove herself on those lines anymore. It'd be hard to impress anyone with arcade wizardry when she's slain demigods, armies of elves, traveled through time and met several dragons.
This new game is simple a toss-ball-in-hoop game. After a practice play she cedes control back to Moka. Are young Phin like that, Moka? She's never been around little Phins.
She gets the impression that young Phin are very much competitive creatures. And probably reckless too.
Spatial awareness is something Phin are very good at. And since Moka is still probably using her own brain, it doesn't take long before she is making it look easy. But also a bit boring after she gets the hang of it, since she can repeat the exact same moves to get the exact same result. Phins are very much in control of their muscles, and this seems to carry over to being very much in control of Tasha's muscles.
Are they all as horny as Kaa? Vartans are much less so, you have to get past the automatic defensiveness, but Vartans tends to be immediately more intimidate on other levels. I'm not really sure about Karnor. I suppose I'll know that in the coming years.
After the ball game Tasha moves to a holographic sit-in shooter game, where you pilot a Terran fighter craft rider through successive levels of increasingly difficult battlefields.
Like all natural flyers, Tasha can be frustrated by the limits of mechanical flying machines. At least until she gets upgrades to make her virtual fighter better. Moka's instincts are for swimming, which don't work well for the winged variety of aircraft, but once the fighter becomes capable of hovering, she does better. When the fighter can move in any direction regardless of its orientation at the space fighter level, both women seem on equal levels. It's not the kind of movement that comes naturally to flyers or swimmers. Pans would probably do very well though.
It all proves to be both entertaining and educational, especially the latter, and it was quite entertaining. Moka quickly sees that Tasha thrives on a certain level of adrenaline, especially combat adrenaline, which fits with her habit of taking on powerful entities and piloting war machines. When this is taken in to account it seems as though Tasha is perceptually shifting from a stake of almost drowsy, detached low-energy mode and mood, to the adrenaline of conflict, to what Moka can only speculate is anxiety and self-doubt from her experiences with Tasha's lower moods. Moka doesn't get to experience the low mood yet however, because Tasha is having too much fun.
The next game is a dancing game, which Tasha thinks should be an experience for a Phin, lacking, as they do, feet. not dance, Tasha now knows Phins can dance in their own way.
Dancing has always been fun, especially in Tasha's early teens. But she's used to Vartan style dancing, meant for hooves and top-heavy builds. This game involves a lot of fancy footwork to keep up with, but could provide a good 'cooldown' from the adrenaline spike. It's certainly not something Moka is going to take the lead on.. and it may be the first time Tasha's danced in her new body with it's different center of gravity. She didn't try dancing while she was human.
And so it is that both Moka and Tasha learn how Tasha's body works. She's definitely lighter, lithe, and if she sees herself right, a bit prone to prancing. Nymph-like, springier, which was something she observed during her early days in the body, as well. It takes some time to shake the weight of all she has to worry about, but eventually she gets in the groove and even if she isn't very good -- too slow due to wings and mass to match a Terran dancing -- she at least has fun and loses track of time.
Several partners enter and exit during the game, and for a short while there's even a SilentOne, who moves a bit more like she does (although seeing a young SilentOne is as rare as seeing a civilian Vartan). Presumably there might be civilians at the Vartan continent-tree, which is probably an actual colony.
Tasha thinks she might like to invite Lacci and Shojo along to the Vartan continent. There's only a scant amount of time left, so she'd have to do it soon. Would you like to see the Vartan continent Moka? In person or through me?
There's a sense of uncertainty. As rare as it is to see civilian Vartans, it's probably a lot rarer for non-Vartans to get into a Vartan colony.
Oh don't worry about that, I have the magic tongue, and also, I seem like a super expensive Khattan sexy toy, so 'our' Clients will be inclined to host me. I'm clearly part Terran so that will explain your presence, and isn't it indulgent to drag a Phin around everywhere? Tasha finally steps off the game pad, having worked out her adrenaline and stress. She supposes it's just as well, since her food will probably be ready soon, so she heads out to find a booth.
As soon as she finds one, the waiter finds her (or knew where she was all along) and brings her her pizza. "Would you like anything else miss?" he asks. "We have dipping sauces and spices."
Tasha is forced to stare at the waiter in silence as she waits for a reply from Moka. Just don't make me super fat, I don't need to try becoming a Phin through eating.
Moka of course has the appetite of a very large mammal, and 'spices' and 'sauces' are both magical words from myth to her. So of course she wants them.
Tasha inwardly mock-sighs and so orders a few sauces. She suspects people are going to think she's pregnant after all of this eating, or else a expensive Khattan tourist -- or tourist's arm candy -- who snuck off to try slumming it. "Annnd that will be all! Thank you!"
So soon a sauce carousel (it moves around on its own) is set next to the pizza. The sauces are certainly colorful (except for the white one, but that also has green flecks in it). Some of them look quite hot, in the way of spiciness.
And so Tasha rotates her pizza so that the spice closest is firmly aimed at her. Are you ready for this? You may regret this forbidden knowledge! And do you want to control my hands or should I do it? I'll handle the chewing, no need to have you experience me choking.
Since there is sauce and strange actions involving holding something that may or may not be rigid depending on how it is held, Moka seems content to let Tasha handle all of that. She just want's to taste things. And chewing is also a novelty, to be sure.
And so Tasha has at it, for science. She starts with the plain cheese slice so as to provide a base, then after a few bites tries sauces one by one. Eventually this slice goes and the pattern repeats, a few bites of the base, and then sauces. very quickly certain sauces are avoided -- the very spicy one, the sweet ones -- in favor of other sauces. Karnors are known for their prodigious appetites, though not quite at the level of Phins, and Tasha is able to wolf things down at a pace that doesn't quite mesh with her delicate frame and wide, doe-eyes.
There is also.. burping. Phins don't burp, after all. And the mix of sauces, cheese and real and faux meats were probably never meant to coexist in a limited space.
Tasha has to slow down mid way, avoid the sauces, and stick to slices she actually likes. Vomiting is not a fun experience, she admits, having done it entirely too many times in the past. It does make her realize she could get away with a lot more back then, and had less expectation. Despite her new found freedom to travel, in some ways she's less free than she was.
Moka seems satisfied with the flavor over the quantity. Or else Tia, as the buffer, is toning down Moka's hunger cravings so Tasha isn't picking them up as strongly now.
Tasha manages to finish the meal, at least the parts she likes We may have to skip the ice cream. You can try me out again if I ever get pregnant and need to eat crazy things again. She leans back and runs a finger up her arm, activating her concealed arm bands, and checks the time. The trip to the other continent may have to wait. We should think about tomorrow. Maybe when we come back?
Moka, unlike Kaa, is patient. "Would you like to disconnect for now?" Tia interjects.
"Unless you'd like to enjoy my walk home? I think I'll avoid flying, just to be safe." Tasha swipes her armbands to pay the bill, then rises and stretches before heading towards the door. "Anything you want to talk about? We never do get to talk much, do we?"
"I liked this vacation, but there were less common activities we could all join in on," Moka says over the link, as more direct communication is enabled at the expense of shared control. "I suppose it was a working vacation."
"That's a good way to think of it. I know I worked a lot more on this vacation than I have during most of my actual work." Tasha heads out and is moving down the street now. The ocean air stirs her hair, and her tail wags, giving Moka a sense of simple canine happiness, however reduced for the wagger being a combination of other species and unique elements. "Our next stop will be Caltrop, then we'll in to real mission territory. Are you concerned about going up against a Galactic power? Galactic sentients?"
"Khattans probably can't swim well," Moka notes teasingly. "They have frightening technology, but are not imposing so hide behind Vartans. They have many psychological weaknesses, and prefer to work through functionaries instead of risking themselves. We have a stealth advantage, and things they may not be expecting. They are a Library culture, so when faced with something new their instinct is to ask the Library first on how to deal with it."
"And much of what we do is well outside the Library, unless it isn't. I know I'm very much outside the Library, and we have many Terrans whoi can think outside of convention as well. I believe Lacci can too, she just doesn't realize she's become a crazy Vartan like Shojo and I." By this point Tasha can see the docks, as her choice of eatery was as close as she could make it in case of problems. "I think we'll do fine. The biggest risk, in my opinion, is that it's a new type of situation with many new members and more people in their field. We'll have a lot of post-operations data to review, so that will help a lot in arranging our future operations."
"Knowledge of the enemy is another issue," Moka notes. "If they have a captive Ogdru-hem, how did they accomplish it? Was it already captive when they found it? Is there something in the Library that let them do it? Terrans have had little Library access, while the Khattans are masters of its depths, certainly moreso than the Celestials. This could be down to differences in their Progenitors."
"I wasn't able to ask Mafdet about these things, but I do know she gave them every advantage while Eve, afraid of past mistakes, left growth to her children. Ahriman took the same route as Mafdet, as well." Tasha enters in to the customs station line, head tilted as she thinks. "We did find that Library unit on the wooden vessel. Perhaps analyzing it further could give us hints as to what the Khattans know. I also know from the Titanians House Khomen deal in behind-the-scenes illegal artifact trade, and horde artifacts of all types. They have been evading the Titanians for years. That also makes the Titanians useful sources of information. I can put you in contact with them?"
"They aren't allowed on Khattan stations, but are also probably why the Khattans courted.. or tricked.. the Vartans into being their Clients," Moka suggests. "Actually they aren't allowed on any station but Caltrop, since nobody actually owns Caltrop. But they might have information from before the Khattans had Vartan protection, or back when they had planets. I find it interesting that the two 'oldest' Galactic civilizations which had open access to the Library lost their homeworlds."
"That is interesting, isn't it? Abuse of technology, or something more sinister? We should ask around to see if we can find more about that. And did you notice the Library on board the alien fleet was ensconced in a shrine dedicated to Thotep? I wonder if that's unique to that fleet or those species, or something broader. Thotep's direct influence in the Library would have dire consequences on the development of any species using them. There's also one other possibility, I could attempt to contact He-Who-Moves and ask it if it knows the location the home worlds once occupied. If we can investigate the regions we may find useful evidence."
"Thotep's influence on civilizations development has a few telltale signs, I believe," Tia offers up as Tasha passes through customs.
Tasha angles off and begins walking for the ship, which looks enormous even at this distance. "I can believe it. He's omnipresent in a sense. If he's influenced those species, it's possible House Khomen is a nexus of such influence just as we are a nexus of other influences. I saw several 'blessed' Galactics at Thotep's party here on Ymir, and Lord Khomen may be one such entity. Or he may have other connections, or be something else entirely."
"I will try to confirm my suspicions with the brown dwarf survey," Tia notes.
"Then I'll look forward to that. Since we're done, will you swim back and aid Tia in her research? I'd help, but we both know I'd be more hindrance than help." Tasha stops beside her ship and runs a hand down the side. Even this is Thotep's influence. Pieces against pieces against pieces. She wonders if she'll always need to rely on such a thing, but lacking in alternatives, they'll just have to make do for now.
"Are you you now?" Katie asks Tasha. "Your breath smells of fish and garlic.."
"I am all things," Tasha tells Katie from the hatch to her bedroom. "I just wanted to come by and tell you I'm all done, and thank you for your help!"
"You ditched me, so I kept an eye on your brain-stealing alien friend," Katie claims. "She is extremely dull to spy on, you should know. Sam at least is an entertaining space demon."
"Tia is a lot safer and more inherently trustworthy, however. Tia is out of place and more than a little lost, which makes her a good fit here, even if nobody knows it yet." Tasha walks over and has a seat in Katie's chair, settling back and melting in to the contours of chair. "I can see why you like Sam, though. You have a certain love of mischief, chaos, and if I may say so, vi-o-lence." She puts her hands to her cheeks in mock-surprise.
"I'm not violent," Katie claims, crossing her arms. "I am strategically forceful. And Sam does not trust Tia, and I got him to tell me why," she confides.
"Oh?" Tasha's ears go up even if the rest of her remains where is is, 'strategically' slumped. "Did Sam also mention he wants to eat her, badly? And not in any fun way. He'll probably want to do that to me before long."
Katie invites herself in to sit next to Tasha. "Well," she says, already sounding gossipy, "it's to do with her power source. And Charon's and Persephone's too, ultimately: timestone. They're each a little compacted universe. And that's why Sam is uneasy. Since he's also technically a little universe, he floated that idea that Tia and the others are using beings like him as batteries. And that's why the Waybuilders are really fighting the Ogdoad-type entities."
Thanks to Tasha being much skinner, there's enough room for both women on the chair. This is especially true when Tasha invites herself in to Katie's lap, where she resumes lounging. "One of those little universes is inside me right now, even if it's damaged -- also by me. Long story, last ditch gambit. Went okay." She curls a wing around Katie and rests her head against Katherine's neck. "And Charon told me they fight the Ogdoad out of what happened to their home world. My mentor, the one I can't talk about yet, was part of that. So was Tia. It cost them someone dear, and showing me the experience is what almost destroyed me while I was away. They fight the Ogdru-hem because it's personal. Although--" Here Tasha frowns. "That does beg the question why the their home world was attacked in such force. Not that that's rare, we know of worlds and fleets devastated by them, even universes, but maybe they drew the demon's attention somehow. I heard that an earlier researcher had been working with demons."
"I wasn't up to asking Tia anything personal yet," Katie notes. "And I avoid the other one. I don't like how it will.. just.. do things. You probably had all sorts of magically conjured creatures back on Sinai though."
"Avoid the other one?" Tasha then shrugs with a hand. "As for do things, Tia's been alone for a long time, and I don't think she was used to being restricted prior to that. She's not good with people. I'm not saying she's not flawed, but I don't think she's inherently bad or particularly malevolent. For all her power I was able to stand against her one on one. She doesn't like to fight. And her family situation is ... very complicated." She then nods. "We did summon things, but I believe those were all on-demand creations, not beings taken from elsewhere, not when the mortals did it. The Sifra, on the other hand, very much could capture Ogdru'hem, even warp and imprison them, as well as open tears between realities and a great deal more. They were made by the Ogdoad, but rebelled. I've never actually spoken to one, though. They're not exactly friendly to other life, either. It may well be they fear the production of souls and have been trying to trim the garden, so to speak."
"Kill the mice to starve the cats," Katie says. "By the other one, I mean the.. mature one? It wanders around the hangar, then goes back to the shuttle.. then wanders around again. Like it's sleepwalking. And how can someone hundreds of years old be bad with people? I'm not nearly that old, and I'm very good with people, and will get better with experience."
"There are so many kinds of people. When you wander far enough cultures changes, species change, sexes change, what this means become something else, what you value may be vilified, even concepts like temporality and the senses can vary widely. Tia has access, ability, and knowledge enough to meet all these sorts of beings. Also, well, I guess you'll find out eventually anyway and I don't have a promise with her like I do my mentor, but Tia used to be a planet sized tree." Tasha puts her finger to her lips; that's a secret. "Tia was the world that fell. Now she's just a tiny piece, a life boat. She had to make her way, alone, after nearly everyone was destroyed, including most of herself."
"Alright.. so.. can she get drunk?" Katie asks after a moment. "How long does it take to get over something like that? I.. well, I suppose I shall give her a bit of leeway. But you have to ask her to act more human, if she's going to be around Shojo's men. Or else come out and say she's suffering from psychological trauma or something and.. Yue is her therapist. If she's going to be around that is. Is she leaving with us or taking her own ship?"
"I think she's staying with us for a while yet. I managed to roughly recruit her, and she sees me as some sort of project to work on while she works out other things. That's part of why she's been helping me learn to use the timestone, the little universe. It also helps she knows my mentor and that there's a certain bond and expectation there. I think I interest her because my mentor is mentoring me." Tasha then holds out a hand, indicatively. "Her vessel will be repaired and we'll form a fleet for the time being. I expect she'll be very useful on the research side of things."
"Well, she isn't as bubbly a researcher as Hakeber," Katie says. "And she's taken over the tactical display table in the bridge. But, as long as she isn't underfoot I'll be fine. Maybe she plays an instrument."
"Oh I'm sure she can. She'll make a nice balance to Hakeber and Moka on our analysis and data side. She's with Moka right now, in fact." And so Tasha stretches, wondering if she should try to get a command interface connection to her cats she she can summon them when she feels like petting them, but suspects they'd just ignore her. "Sooo, last day. Did you want to take me up on the offer of dressing me up? I did say anything."
"Oooo, do we have a budget?" Katie asks. "Not that it matters, if we take Nessy with us. She didn't pick out clothes for me, since most of them were custom made, but she's good with style. Or we can take Hake and get you supplied with tube-tops and short pants!"
Tasha holds her palms up. "I said anything, it's not my decision. I know you like doing things, so it's my way of apologizing. You can make it embarrassing, professional, sexy, whatever fits your inner love and mischief."
"Even.. shiny, huggy jumpsuits then, hmmm," Katie ponders. "Or should I focus on dressing you in a way most likely to disturb Gabriel. Or tear-away clothes.."
"You could put me in the froofiest dress you can find or dress me like Hake used to get dressed, I made a promise and I will stick to it." Tasha smiles, reaching up to twirl her head with a finger. "It's the least I can do after worrying everyone again. I said I'd take care of myself and I didn't."
"Right, let's not waste anymore time then!" Katie says, and tries to nudge Tasha out of her lap. "There must be an armorer somewhere around here. You should have at least one suit of armor to look good in, in the chance that you get burned at the stake."
Tasha ... floats away from Katie's lap like she's a computer model with poor gravitational and contact physics, though her wings do go out, which Katherine has noticed seems to be required whenever she does the floating trick. When she bounces off the wall she orients herself with a foot, then drops out of the air and bounces up. "Burned at the stake is a very real possibility with us. I'll say ... Three. Three outfits, any type. That should take enough time and not empty our coffers."