Epilogue
Two sits on the bridge, finishing up her turn at the night shift, nursing a cold cup of black coffee. The Android was in her second recharging cycle since Bo left; for reasons they did not comprehend the robot's "research" time with Bo adjusted her system functions to go up to 52 hours between charges, from the factory-set 48. The Android is due to take over the bridge for the day in a few more minutes, at 07:00.
The commander sips her drink and contemplates the events of the past week. Despite her best efforts to keep the crew relatively (for a bunch of wanted criminals) happy and together, Four had bolted on his own misadventure, Five was distrustful of Three and Six due to their roles in the Bo debacle, One broke off their friends-with-benefits situation, and the Android's behavior was just...off, more than usual - distant and sad, which should be impossible. She wonders if they all might have been better off keeping the castaway on board. Two's reverie is interrupted when she hears footsteps and voices. She turns to see the Android and Five entering the room.
"After lunch, let's make sure the new shield oscillators are keeping the correct frequency alignment." The teen suggests to her blonde companion.
"OK, Five. Good morning, Two." The Android replies, assuming her station near Two.
"Morning, nothing to report from my shift, but I'll stick around here for a bit, not really tired or ready to sleep yet." Two answers.
They all work silently at their posts for the next hour. Easy chit-chat seemed to also leave the ship with Bo. Three and Six walk onto the bridge around 0800 hours, both munching on donuts and holding fresh, steaming cups of coffee.
"Hey, here's where everyone is - the mess hall was deserted for breakfast." Six tries to start a friendly conversation, smiling at Five but addressing the room.
"Not hungry." The girl mumbles, refusing to meet his gaze. She moves to stand closer to the Android, away from Six. The large man looks stricken but gives the girl her space.
"Christ, it's not like anybody died! Lighten up already!" Three bemoans. "We picked up a hitchhiker and she deflowered our robot, and left! It's not the Goddamned end of the world!"
"Is there an alternate universe where you are not a total dick all the time?" Six confronts Three, tired of him stirring up shit. Three flips him the middle finger. Two clenches her jaw, readying to break up another scuffle.
"Actually, Three, since my memory banks were wiped we can not equivocally state if Bo was my first sexual encounter," The Android points out, drawing everyone's attention. "But the odds of it previously happening are quite low as I am not a Class-4 entertainment model."
Two stifles a giggle which morphs into a snort. The robot's formal phrasing, the ridiculousness of their recent situation, and her lack of sleep combining to set her into a laughing fit. Five watches her for a second, then can't help but join her contagious release of tension. Six allows himself a cautious smile, and Five finally looks at him with some of her old affection as they snicker and snort together.
"Great, I'm trapped on a ship full of crazy mood-swing people." Three surmises and exits the bridge, rolling his eyes as peals of laughter echo down the corridors.
Later in the afternoon, Five is back on the bridge with the Android, checking the new oscillator function as scheduled. She likes being back in her routine with the robot, but she senses the machine is not as content.
"Do you miss Bo?" She ventures to ask, after a week of avoiding the subject.
"I found our time together to be extremely educational and...enjoyable. I became accustomed to her presence in a short amount of time." The Android replies, somewhat ruefully. "Without her here, I am operating at sub-optimal levels."
"I'm sure she misses you, too."
Five hugs the robot, and the Android returns the affection, circling the teen with both arms and resting her head atop her multi-colored hair. Five is grateful for at least one thing resulting from Bo's influence; her blonde friend gives much better hugs now.
Bo is not particularly impressed with Calles-4; you've seen one crowded, dirty, stinking space station you seen them all, but at least she's well-fed with chi. A new, attractive woman on a remote space station garners plenty of suitors. She also got a job, looking for a missing girl. Natasha was possibly kidnapped, maybe a runaway - but undoubtedly in need of rescue from the trafficking networks. Bo's work usually fell into one of two categories: Save-A-Kid or Find-A-Guy. She much preferred the Save-A-Kid jobs.
"Don't worry, Irina, I'll get your daughter back home in no time." She assures the mother, her client, of her success rate as she pockets the first half of her payment, five hundred BitZ.
"Thank you!" Irina surprises Bo by hugging her and kissing both cheeks before leaving their cafe table.
Bo blinks after her, a little bemused at the interaction, watching where she goes. She throws a few BitZ on the table to cover the lunch bill and strolls down the marketplace promenade of Level 15. One more errand before she catches her ship to a certain notorious outer Zairon Empire planet; the best place to start a search for a missing kid in this sector.
Bo stops in front of the gaudy pink neon sign flashing "MacGuffin's Mechanicals". The shop window display is occupied by two scantily-clad, gorgeously androgynous entertainment androids posing, winking, and wordlessly flirting with potential customers and each other. She's talked herself into and out of this idea several times this week, but now that she has some money she has to do it, just in case there's ever a chance…
She pushes through the belled door to find a gaunt, middle-aged man sitting behind the counter, his bored, baggy eyes glued to a computer screen playing something that Bo can't see from this side, but sounds like porn. Fortunately, Bo can see both of his hands - one barely propping up his face, leaning on the counter as if he'll fall asleep at any moment, and the other clicking absentmindedly on the keyboard, like he's searching for something better. He doesn't bother to look up as he greets his newest customer by rote monotone, triggered by the door bells like Pavlov's dog.
"Welcome to MacGuffin's, your entertainment android emporium, where the customer always comes first." He stifles a yawn, still watching his screen.
"Hey, there." Bo steps up and goes to rest her hands on the counter, then thinks better of it given the nature of the store and clerk, and drops her arms to her sides.
The man instantly perks up at the sound of a feminine voice and finally looks at Bo, eyes widening at her beauty - or that a woman is in his sleazy sexbot shop. He clears his throat and scrambles to make himself more presentable, licking his hand and smoothing back his stringy dark hair, sitting up straight and attentive. He smiles to reveal a row of stained and broken teeth.
"Hello Miss! How can I hav-, ahm," He coughs at his Freudian slip. "Help you, today?"
"I'm shopping for some Class-4 sensory parts, I saw on-webs you have them in stock?"
"Of course!" He starts typing into his computer. "What model Class-4?"
"Actually, Class-2." Bo clarifies. He leers at her and pushes his chair back from the counter.
"I see; if that's what you're into - no judgement!" He winks and Bo has to swallow down the bile rising in her throat. "You'll need a dongle, too."
"I assure you, I don't need a dongle." Bo states emphatically, narrowing her eyes.
"You do need a dongle, for the Class-2 to Class-4 sensory array installation." He ducks down behind the counter, sorting through a box of plastic and metal, and emerges with an oddly shaped part in his hand. "It's an adapter."
"Oh! Yes, right!" Bo realizes her misunderstanding. "How much for the sensor and dongle parts?"
"Four hundred BitZ for the Class-4 sensory array, and I'll throw in the dongle for free, as a...favor."
He licks his lips and leans closer to Bo over the counter. She pretends to accept his flirtation and places her hand on his.
"Hmmm, that's a little more than I'm hoping to spend," She glances at his name-tag."Hank, how about a friends and family discount, maybe everything for one hundred?" Bo sends a mild bio-pulse, and Hank's knees buckle a bit as he's enthralled.
"Anything you want, honey." He sighs. Bo releases his hand and Hank runs to the back room of the store for the goods. She hears more rummaging, and a short string of curses, before he emerges with a half-meter square box and plunks it on the counter, smiling widely again.
"Would you like this gift-wrapped?"
"That's sweet, Hank, but no thank you." Bo replies, handing him a one hundred BitZ chip.
"Oh, OK. I just need you to sign this form, you know for the GA." He picks up a tablet and offers it to Bo to read and sign.
"GA?!" Bo is wary of attracting the attention of the Galactic Authority.
"You know, just the usual legal stuff for entertainment android purchases; you understand that android-human marriage is illegal, punishable by imprisonment and/or fine, yadayada…" Hank waves away her concerns. Bo touches his tablet-holding hand and sends another pulse of influence.
"I don't need to sign anything." She corrects him.
"You don't need to sign anything." He repeats, under her spell.
"I was never here." Bo continues, covering her tracks.
"You were never here."
"These aren't the droids you're looking for." She adds, for her own amusement, as she takes the box and leaves the store.
"These aren't the droids…"
The door chime of Bo's exit snaps him out of the thrall, and he looks around, confused as to why there's money on the counter when he hasn't had any customers all day. The sounds of the porn vids playing on his computer refocus his attention, and he pockets the BitZ chip and resumes his entertainment.
One Standard Solar Cycle Later
Centuries of human culture in space, advanced technology, countless new worlds, and yet it all added up to the same wretched hive of scum and villainy humanity tried to leave behind on FirstEarth. Or, maybe that's just where Bo often found herself, living an out-of-the-matrix life with no official identity, far from the Central Systems. Today was like so many others in the past year since she left the Raza and her last moments of real joy behind at Calles-4; chi-sucking some dirtbag dude she caught trying to drug a waitress, in the shadows of a dirty side alley, outside of an equally classy bar. She pauses pulling blue streams from Mr. Dirtbag's mouth when she hears a loud commotion from inside the bar. That's not unusual; fights break out all the time in the week she's been here, scouting for work - but she watches the door to see if local police and anyone else she doesn't want to witness her feed are coming from, or going to, the shenanigans. Bo's heart races when she see an instantly familiar blonde form, in exceptionally sexy leathers, dragging an unconscious guy out of the bar. The succubus instantly drops her prey, and he slumps to the ground, comatose. She calls out to the woman of interest.
"Ann?!"
"Electric Love"
Candy, she's sweet like candy in my veins
Baby, I'm dying for another taste
And every night my mind is running around her
Thunder's getting louder and louder
Baby, you're like lightning in a bottle
I can't let you go now that I got it
And all I need is to be struck by your electric love
Baby, your electric love
Electric love
Drown me
You make my heart beat like the rain
Surround me
Hold me deep beneath your waves
And every night my mind is running around her
Thunder's getting louder and louder and louder
Baby, you're like lightning in a bottle
I can't let you go now that I got it
And all I need is to be struck by your electric love
Baby, your electric love
Electric love
Rushing through me
Feel your energy rushing through me
Feel your energy rushing through me
Baby, you're like lightning in a bottle
I can't let you go now that I got it
And all I need is to be struck by your electric love
Baby, your electric love
Baby, you're electric