Private How to be Human

[Jasper Kai'el]

How to be Human
Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

Denon was an absolute mess after the attempt on Master Noble's life. If anyone had some sort of idea of the planet as a prospering world, that illusion was long gone by now. The bindings were ripped off, leaving the gaping wound exposed for the rest of the galaxy to see. That wasn't why he was there. Well, partially. He did want to make sure that Marissa was okay, what with being a CorpSec officer, or at least he wasn't sure if she had put in her two weeks notice as of yet. Regardless of the case, Jasper needed to make sure she was okay... and also ask her for a little bit of help. He landed the Lonestar 1 pretty close to her apartment, or the closest available landing pad to be more precise. From there, he walked. There was no way he was using public transit on Denon ever again, not after what happened to Valery.

Soon, Jasper was knocking at her front door. He wasn't sure if she was there or not. He had sent a message in advance that he was coming over, but she hadn't responded as of yet. So he just waited, a tad bit anxiously at that.

There was a lot running through his mind.

 

[Marissa Shoda]

While the initial mess around the Jedi missed her entirely, a lucky strike with shifts putting her in an entirely different area, the resulting repercussions had her working more shifts in the two weeks she had left than she ever did in her three years as an officer. Luckily the weeks passed and she was officially out of the force. In a month, she was going to be a private in the defense force.

But first she had to survive. Despite her resignation, the hot water CorpSec found itself in had her end up with a few close calls here and there, to the point where even her apartment was becoming a danger.

She wanted to talk it all through with Jasper in person. Surprise him wuth the news of her resignation... and maybe convince him to let her stay on his ship for the month before she could get a new place through the army. Luckily he was coming over.

Unfortunately Marissa was rather paranoid about people coming to her apartment, and the first thing to meet Jasper's gaze was the barrel of her pistol. "Oh!" She holstered her pistol and yanked him into the apartment to give him a kiss. "Sorry about that, things have been wild around here. Glad you made it in one piece." She flashed a grin as she set her weapon aside and made her way to the quaint, open plan kitchen. "I made us some noodles. Got cheese and ham in there too. You hungry or not really?" She asked as she gestured to a pot on the stove.

"We got a ton of catching up to do, by the way. I got a rather big surprise to show you." She continued with a growing smile as she tugged him along to her couch. "How's things been, by the way?" She asked as she sat back.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

Jasper didn't mind the blaster barrel to his face momentarily. As she pulled him in and kissed him, every bit of tension left his body. He returned it, leaning in a little and giving her a brief, but tight hug. He followed her in and sat down on the couch with her, politely declining her offer of food. His apatite had been absorbed by his stress.

"We got a ton of catching up to do, by the way. I got a rather big surprise to show you." She continued with a growing smile as she tugged him along to her couch. "How's things been, by the way?"

"Tiring. I gotta start by saying I'm sorry," Jasper apologized. "I tried to come sooner, but CorpSec is making it hell to get anywhere right now. They were denying access to the planet to Jedi and announced Valery Noble's death prematurely, which just... made everything awful. Master Noble's fine, but... Jeez. Coruscant's getting rougher with the Hutts trying to secure the black market, and the war is the war. But... I'm not a padawan anymore. As of like a few weeks ago I'm a Jedi Knight. It doesn't really feel that different though. It really just means you get more work."

He let himself sink into the sofa for a moment. Jasper was a lot more tired than he had realized, but knowing that Marissa was safe really helped ease his mind a little. So long as she was okay, he didn't care if she pulled a gun on him. If anything it spoke to her survival instincts. With a moment to recompose himself, he turned back to her with a soft smile.

"Alright, what do you got?"

 

[Marissa Shoda]

Marissa immediately waved off his apology as she watched him with a smile, which slipped more and more as he spoke about everything that was going on. She decided on not commenting on the Jedi presence on Denon, it was frankly a political argument she was far too sober for in that moment. But at least there was a silver lining at the end of it.

"Oh snap! Congrats!" She slid closer and pulled him in for a celebratory kiss. "Guess we're gonna be celebrating later, then?" She teased with wiggling eyebrows. Her energy remained high as he turned the question on her, asking about what was going on. "Sit tight." She jumped up and marched to her bedroom before returning a few moments later with an identity chit in her hand.

The small hologram lit up to show an official access and identity of Marissa, specifically for the Defense Force. A bright grin formed as she sat down next to him. "I'm in. Starting next month as well. Now it's just a matter of waiting." She decided to take her shot as her grin disappeared.

"That's... also something I wanted to ask you. Is there a chance I can crash on your ship for a while? Just until I start officially and I can get a new place. This place is getting dangerous and the Jedi's screw ups on Denon chucked me into some hot water." She asked him with a cautious voice, though she immediately realized what she said. "Other Jedi! Not you, you've been doing a lot of good around here." She quickly added with wide eyes.

Scooting closer once again, she wrapped an arm around him and hugged him. "Just for the month. Please? I'll sleep on the couch, I'll keep the place clean, whatever you need." She continued with a hopeful smile.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

The small hologram lit up to show an official access and identity of Marissa, specifically for the Defense Force. A bright grin formed as she sat down next to him. "I'm in. Starting next month as well. Now it's just a matter of waiting."

"Holy chit!" Jasper reacted, positively beaming now. "That's great!"

The tone shifted a little. She started by asking to stay on his ship for a while, but let out something she most likely assumed he would be offended by. Jasper wasn't, of course, but he did laugh a little when she back pedaled.

"I don't mind if you say what's on your mind," he told her. "And it isn't wrong. Some Jedi are ready to storm this place like it's the Imperial front. Not all, but a concerning amount. They just can't tell it isn't the same..."

As she hugged him and leaned in, asking again, he wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a smile.

"You could've shown up unannounced and I wouldn't have cared," Jasper answered. "You don't need to sleep on the couch though. It's next to my workbench anyways."

How could he say no to that smile? It simply wasn't possible. She could very well have him by the throat or at gunpoint and he'd still be tripping over himself. Oh, right. He had forgotten something.

"There's... something else I need to tell you about," he continued. "Since you'll be staying and all. It's... complicated. I don't think I can explain it in a good way with words. I'll help you grab your things. It'll make sense when we get there."

 

[Marissa Shoda]

To Marissa's relief, it was just one bit of good news after the other. He wasn't annoyed over her comment, he even seemed to agree and understand to a degree with her frustration. He also offered her a spot on his ship with literal open arms. She shifted a little more as his arm wrapped around her waist, feeling a couple tons lighter now that all of this was discussed.

Though it seemed he picked all those tons up for himself as he continued, sound quite serious about whatever he wanted to talk about. He suggested that they grab her stuff and help her move in first. Apparently whatever they needed to discuss would be found on his ship. "Luckily I don't have much. Also agreed to sell the apartment with furniture and all, so it's a quick move." She sat up and planted a kiss on his cheek before pulling away from his grasp. "How's moving and packing for you guys, by the way? Do you just wave your hand and everything neatly flies into a bag?" She asked with a snicker as she made her way to her bedroom.

True to her word, the packing was incredibly quick for a permanent move. A rather sparse selection of clothing, some essential appliances and a few pieces of furniture, but overall a very small amount of things. The biggest thing to move was likely the gun safe, but even that wasn't too much of a hassle. Although the transport down the stairwell and to his ship did earn a rather unhealthy amount of swearing and bruises.

But it was all settled in a matter of hours. The only hurdle left to settle was the collection of the money for the apartment, but the bank already ensured that the money was being processed.

Once on the ship, Marissa helped herself to her pot of noodles she made for them as she looked around the place. For someone often on the move, it was a perfect setup. Though the sleeping arrangements seemed to be a lot more intimate with the layout of the ship. She flashed a mischievous grin as she wandered over to Jasper. "I take it having me crash next to you isn't gonna earn any complaint, huh?" She joked as she nudged him with her shoulder.

The bantha in the room was brought up again when she leaned against his workbench, still holding the pot against her. "Okay... what's the big news? Why couldn't you explain it at the apartment?" She asked gently as she watched him. "It isn't something about us, right?" She asked with a hint of worry. It didn't seem like an issue between them, but she still wanted to make sure and settle any worries.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

"I take it having me crash next to you isn't gonna earn any complaint, huh?"

Jasper became bright red in the face when Marissa asked this. An awkward smile spread across his face.

"I-I mean, if you want to," he told her with a nervous chuckle, all while fireworks went off in his brain.

The question came up of what it was that he couldn't explain, and Shoda voiced a brief concern about something between them. Jasper did his best to put on a reassuring face.

"No, nothing like that," the knight assured. "We're good. Uh... jeez, let me find them."

Jasper gestured for Marissa to follow, navigating his surprisingly well organized piles of random inventions, a good amount of which were clearly unfinished. Finally, he settled on a large cardboard box, taking the cyborg by the hand and bringing her over to it. The box was open, and within was a bright yellow hoodie, pulled over something that was completely obscured.

"Hey," Jasper spoke into the box. "I'm back."

A head popped out of the collar hole of the hoodie, revealing an unusual individual. They had a completely mechanical body, one in a humanoid form, but clearly lacking any hind of synth skin. Her face did have synth skin, and was incredibly human, with blond hair on her head and blue, clearly mechanical eyes. The mechanical child looked between the two adults looking down at her before smiling, but in a very awkward manner, as if she didn't quite understand how the muscles (or in this case the machines replicating muscles) in her face worked.

"Hello!" the girl chirped. "Is that your friend?"

 

[Marissa Shoda]

With a nod in response to his reassurance, Marissa let out a quiet sigh of relief. At least things were still solid between them. He gestured for her to follow and the former officer fell right in behind him, looking around the ship as she ate her pot of noodles. Seeing all of the projects and experiments brought a smile to her face. While she was pretty decent at slicing, this kind of work was foreign to her. She couldn't help but be impressed at the various projects Jasper had going on simultaneously.

But as they reached a big box, Marissa looked on with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. A little droid, with an oddly human face, looked up at them with robotic eyes and a chipper voice. Marissa's eyes glimmered red as she scanned the being, making sure it wasn't a cyborg of some kind. For all intents and purposes, it seemed to be a normal droid... except it seemed rather lifelike to just be a snazzy machine. Was he experimenting with an artificial intelligence?

"Yeah... I guess you can call me that." She glanced at Jasper then back to the droid. "My name's Marissa. Do you have a name?" While her question was quite simple, her tone sounded like she was talking to what she suspected was just a machine.

She turned to Jasper and set her empty pot aside. "You wanted to show me a droid? Gotta say, from the behaviour alone, the artificial intelligence is looking pretty good." She flashed an impressed grin before glancing back at the droid's lifeless eyes.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

"Phyla," she answered in the same chipper tone. But when Marissa mentioned her being a droid, she cocked her head ever so slightly. "What's a droid again?" Phyla asked.

"The robots, remember?" Jasper informed her before turning back to Marissa, "R-right, I should've explained it more. Phyla isn't a droid. She's a shard. They're carbon based lifeforms, crystal formations that developed minds and personalities somehow. I'm not sure entirely how it works, but she isn't artificial. I'm not that smart anyways..."

Jasper turned his attention back to the shard. Phyla didn't seem to be fully processing what it was that they were talking about. the matters of science were a bit beyond her understanding at the moment, given her relative youth. Well, for a crystal at least.

"Hey, why don't you head down stairs," he told her. "I need to talk with Marissa for a moment, okay?"

"Okay!" she nodded, her head wobbling awkwardly.

She stood, stumbled forward, momentarily fell face first into the floor of the ship, then scrambled off to the ladder leading to the lower level.

"Yeah, it's as weird to you as it was to me. Found her with some black market scalpers," Jasper told Shoda once the Phyla was out of view. "They thought she was just some normal gemstone. She's force sensitive to. It's how I found her. They live in colonies from what I learned, but I can't find hers. She asked me what it was like to be to be human... so I tried my best to simulate... well, as much as I could."

The knight let out a sigh, hanging his head a little.

"I don't know what I'm doing," he admitted. "I could turn her over to the order, but I've... developed attachments, you could say. With her family gone, I feel kinda responsible for her, y'know?" Jasper leaned ever so slightly into Marissa. "Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew."

 

[Marissa Shoda]

Throught Jasper's whole explanation, Marissa stood like a statue with wide eyes and a blank stare as she listened to it all. It was a lot to unpack. Not that it was exactly difficult to understand, but wrapping her head around it all was a bit of a trick. He ushered Phyla off and continued with it all, eventually admitting that he didn't want to pass the droid on.

"So you're tellin' me that you found a literal sentient rock with force powers on the black market, built a body for it, and now you don't want to pass it on to someone more capable of dealing with all of this because you feel responsible for it?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow. She let her words linger for a moment. "Babe, are you having a stroke?" She continued with a hushed voice.

She glanced off at the direction of the ladder, where Phyla disappeared, before looking back at Jasper. "I don't want to sound like I'm looking down on you or anything like that, I just..." She mulled over her words for a moment to figure it all out. "Are you saying you want to adopt a rock because you feel responsible for it?" She leaned against the wall behind her as she thought over it all. This wasn't exactly an easy situation, and she was likely sounding incredibly cold about it all. If he wanted to actually take care of Phyla, how would that go? He'd basically be her father... and that made her wonder about what she could be.

"What do you want to do? Do you want to take Phyla on as a padawan... or do you actually plan on raising it as a kid?" She asked more gently as she closed the distance between them to look up at him.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

"So you're tellin' me that you found a literal sentient rock with force powers on the black market, built a body for it, and now you don't want to pass it on to someone more capable of dealing with all of this because you feel responsible for it?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow. She let her words linger for a moment. "Babe, are you having a stroke?"

"Maybe," he shrugged. He paused for a moment, lingering on her words. He knew she didn't mean anything ill by it, but he did take the time to ponder it a bit. "I guess that is what I'm saying, yeah."

Jasper stopped to think again when she asked if he was taking her as a padawan or something different. She wasn't ready to be a padawan. Not yet, anyways. Besides, he already had Maran to deal with in that department. This had to be something different.

"The latter," Jasper answered, "Nobody raised me. My father, or creator, or whatever the hell you wanna call him left me on the front door of the Jedi Temple and ditched me to wallow in his shame and self loathing. I know this situation isn't the same, but I wanna prove that I'm better than that. Move past the dogma of avoiding personal attachment, and if that looks like a rock with a mind in a mechanical body then so be it."

The knight sighed, leaning against Marissa, placing a hand on her waist. His face became a bright red as he averted his gaze.

"And if I can't take care of this kid," he added, "I... n-never mind. I-I lost my train of thought."

Nope. Not yet.

 

[Marissa Shoda]

Marissa's cybernetic gaze was locked onto him as he explained his rationale around keeping Phyla around. A worried brow lifted as she folded her arms and shifted her weight onto one leg. "Isn't that the same explanation you gave me about how you lost your arm? You wanted to prove something?" She asked him with unwavering eyes.

"Aside from that... Jas, we're both twenty one, what the hell do we know about raising a kid? We can't just use a droid... or a sentient rock... to trial and error until we figure it out. That's how most kids end up in gangs on Denon." She went on, looking away for a moment. "I'm still trying to figure out if Phyla is actually alive and basically a person like you or me, but that doesn't matter 'cause clearl-" Her voice distorted and cut out entirely as a hand came up to her throat. Marissa recoiled and shut her eyes in pain as she clutched her neck for a moment.

After massaging her throat and trying to speak with a whispering voice, the annunciator came back and she looked at Jasper. She said nothing as she took a deep breath and closed the distance, laying her hands on his broad chest. "Listen... I'm not saying you should just throw her out. But I am asking that you think this through very carefully . I'll try and keep up with you either way... but this ain't just a quick choice to make, we basically got a life on the line with a choice like this." She kept her thoughts to herself for the moment. Whether Phyla was really something to be treated like a person, whether she really could take on the role of a pseudo mother while she and Jasper were together... numerous questions swirling in her mind that she needed to figure out on her own.

But that could wait until later. For now, they needed to iron this wrinkle out before anything else. Her hands lightly tugged at his collar and smoothed down his shirt as she looked up at him with eyes that would probably be more fitting on an interrogator than a girlfriend. An unintentional side effect she had yet to shake off.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

"Yeah..." he sighed. "You're right. I get what's on the line here... and I don't want this to be a 'trial run.' I just... I really wanna help this kid."

Maybe it was just his Jedi upbringing, or his own moral code. He had been left behind. It made it harder for him to not take people under his wing, lest another broken, awkward, or suicidally self-conscious kid wind up on their own out there.

"Maybe I need to think about it a bit more," Jasper told her.

A grin managed to spread across his face. Jasper was overcome with the urge to poke at Marissa's inexperience with the rest of the galaxy, but only a little.

"Y'know, living rocks aren't as crazy as you'd think," he was backpedaling a little now, since she was still on the fence about Phyla's sentience. "I know a guy who was born when lightning struck a rock... Or something like that. It was very specific, and I actually did research in my own time cause the dude was kinda freaky strong, though it had a lot of concepts that... hurt my head a little." Kai Bamarri in this case. He had stumbled across the 'Bamarri' when looking at his records during the sith-spawn's imprisonment. He regretted it now, assuming that Kai would be a threat upon his release. "Let's see, I also met an ancient force entity made of vines, a fox made of crystals, a dog that could light itself on fire... The line between science and magic blurs a lot when you go a lot of places..."

As she adjusted his collar and straightened out the wrinkles in his shirt, the knight leaned forward, pressing his forehead into hers.

"You're still the best thing I've found," Jasper stated. "I could go anywhere and that wouldn't change."

Yeah, he was taking the segue to be flirty. He hadn't seen her since everything terrible ever went down on Denon. She seemed so worried about little debates, like it was an issue they would need to overcome, like straightening the wrinkles in his shirt. Maybe, but it was important that they had conversations like this every now and then. If anything, it just made Jasper more obsessed with how smart and rational she was.

"What do you think I should do?" he asked finally. "N-not to put you on the spot, I mean. I just... I'm curious."

 

[Marissa Shoda]

Marissa nodded gently as he mentioned thinking about the situation more, though an eyebrow raised when he explained some of the things he saw on his journeys. She folded her arms and gave him a skeptical look. "Out of all of those, the lightning dude and the dog is something I'd like to see with my own eyes." She remarked with a half-cocked smile.

Not that she didn't believe him, she doubted that he had any reason to lie about any of it... but there was only that much she could take his word for without doubting it. A dog that can light itself up and a guy born from lightning hitting a rock?

That was on the "see it to believe it" list.

All of those concerns, however, drifted away as he leaned in and placed his head against hers. An embarrassed chuckle escaped her as she felt her cheeks light up. "Oh, cut it with the sappy stuff..." She teased with a light slap to his chest. She pulled back and smiled up at him before leaning up to plant a kiss on his lips. "If you keep it up, I might just be forced to give you some space on the bed." She joked as she tugged him closer by his shirt collar.

Their little moment came to an end as he asked for her thoughts. "Well..." She thought about it for a moment in silence. "My first thought would be to maybe hand her to your order, take her on as a student or something. Let more capable people do the parenting work. But that's a cop's advice. As me, standing here? I got no idea. Maybe you should talk to one of the higher ups, like Valery or someone. A more experienced person when it comes to this sort of thing." She looked around for a moment with a light frown.

"Speaking of which... where'd you send Phyla? It's disturbingly quiet around here." She asked him as she turned around to look at where the droid disappeared off to.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

"If you keep it up, I might just be forced to give you some space on the bed."

Jasper didn't respond to her joking, only returning her kiss and smiling contently. He was glad that she gave an honest answer with her suggestions... but something came up that made him face-palm ever so slightly.

"Master Noble," he muttered to himself, "Why didn't I think of that?"

She even had a daughter, and had taught who knows how many padawans at this point. Maybe she could give some advice on balancing it all.

"Speaking of which... where'd you send Phyla? It's disturbingly quiet around here."

"Oh," Jasper frowned, "She's just really focused. Uh, come on. I'll show you."

Jasper lead her to the ladder going down to the lower deck of the ship. There wasn't much, mainly a storage room that Phyla was using and the lower gun, which was sealed off. Phyla was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the storage room with a pair of large headphones on her head. She was staring off into the corner of the room, slightly bobbing her head. There was clearly music playing in the headphones, as it was loud enough to be heard from the doorway.

"Her hearing is still a little buggy," he admitted. "She really likes listening to music. Something about ours being more complex then what her people make. It's sorta like a weird vibration-humming thing-"

The knight paused for a moment, waiting. After a couple seconds, a faint hum began to resonate from the core of Phyla's machien body, presumably where she physically sat within.

"Like that," Jasper continued. "It's kinda cool, but also sometimes she does it in her sleep. It isn't super loud, and it was kinda weird hearing it while I was down here working on the gun. I guess you could think of it like singing."

 

[Marissa Shoda]

It seemed that her comment lit a few lightbulbs up on the bridge as Jasper's hand met his forehead. Marissa snickered at the sight, but said nothing as he led her to where Phyla was relaxing. Upon seeing the droid sitting in the middle of the hold with a headset on full blast, Cricket paused to watch her for a few moments.

Jasper mentioned her hearing, prompting the officer to glance up at him with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think listening to music at full blast will help with that. I'm impressed the headset is still working." She remarked as she looked back at Phyla.

She was quiet as she watched the droid, paying close attention to the faint humming coming from the being's robotic chest. It was becoming increasingly difficult to argue that Phyla wasn't a person. Droids could listen to music and comment on the rhythm, harmonics, beat and every other technical aspect evident in the melody. They could likely comment on enjoying it if it's a satisfying pattern or composition... but actually listening and enjoying music emotionally? Only a person, who can think and feel beyond the limits of programming and display emotions, can truly enjoy music.

She slowly walked forward and around Phyla before coming to a halt in front of her with an astonished look on her face. After a few seconds, she sat down in front of Phyla and crossed her legs. The song playing through her headset wasn't bad and soon Marissa was humming along, matching Phyla's own hum emanating from her chest. She didn't want to interrupt the song or her listening.

She looked up and spared a glance at Jasper, a faint smile adorning her lips. That was why he was a Jedi. He made the right call in swiping Phyla from the criminals. "No droid can enjoy music." She spoke, loud enough for him to hear but soft enough to not interrupt Phyla's song.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

"No droid can enjoy music."

Jasper didn't respond, only giving a smile. He understood what she meant. It was relieving. He knew that she'd figure out that Phyla wasn't a droid eventually, but he could never truly beat back his anxiety, even if it didn't consume him like it did in the past. It wasn't long before Phyla's headphones came off and she was glancing about the room. A moment of confusion, as she had been to preoccupied by her music to notice anyone enter, but she didn't get stuck on it.

"Did you finish talking?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Jasper nodded, giving Marissa a glance before continuing. "So, Marissa is gonna be staying here for a bit. She's moving for work, but it doesn't start for about a month. You got all that?"

"Yep!" Phyla answered, nodding her head, which wobbled ever so slightly, like the unstable head of a toddler. Suddenly, she let out an excited gasp. "Does that mean I get to sleep in the gun?!"

"Absolutely not," the knight frowned. "Marissa's gonna be using my room, so don't get any ideas."

"Aw..."

Jasper let out a slight chuckle before turning back to Marissa.

"Anything else you want me to get set up for you?" he asked. "I want you to be as comfortable as you can while you're here."

 

[Marissa Shoda]

Marissa let Jasper do the talking when Phyla finally noticed them and removed the headset. All the while, she began to wonder if it would be the right call to hand the being over to someone else. She knew that it was, without a doubt. Neither of them were prepared or ready to deal with something like this. Helping Phyla to get the hang of how to be human was one thing, but raising her as parents was out of the question.

And yet, the thought kept coming back to her. She wasn't ready to be a parent, not to mention that her new occupation as a legitimate soldier would make it infinitely more difficult... but it still nagged at the back of her mind. Wasn't that how parenthood worked?

A laugh escaped her as Jasper shot down Phyla's question about sleeping in the ventral gun turret. "Those seats can be real comfortable, tou know." She quipped as she flashed a mischievous grin. A grin that merely grew as Jasper asked if she needed anything else. With a shake of her head, she closed the distance and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'm all set, no need to worry about me. I'm gonna hop in the shower." She walked off with a smile and made her way to the refresher.

Cricket finally emerged a good while later with pajamas adorned, looking around the ship. All the projects he had laying around the place, little parts and components all neatly placed in certain areas. Despite it looking like a mess, the officer was more than capable of picking up the controlled chaos in the ship. "How the he did you manage to build a body that can sync with the crystal?" She asked as she entered the bedroom and clambered onto the bed.

"I've met a woman who had her consciousness turned into an artificial intelligence one time. That makes sense, it's just a matter of transferring the consciousness into a robotic body. But this is way different. You gotta teach me how mechanics like this work sometime." She leaned back against the wall of the ship as she watched him with a content smile. Peace and quiet. Just the two of them, alone and without distractions.

It didn't take long for her hand to get adventurous. The woman scooted closer to him as she turned to face him. But her streak skidded to a halt when a thought crossed her mind. "Yo, um... where's Phyla?" She asked with a hushed voice as she looked to the door.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Denon
Tags: Marissa Shoda

As Marissa showered, Jasper got to work organizing the ship a little more. It was actually in great order, though most people would just see chaos. Phyla tired and went to sleep not long after he started, which was certainly relieving. The exhaustion of crystals was still something he needed to figure out, but at least they had a sleep pattern of some kind. Before long, he was tidying up his room, now in a simple white tank top and athletic shorts. Marissa was in not long after, already climbing into bed. He followed suit.

"How the he did you manage to build a body that can sync with the crystal?"

"You gotta teach me how mechanics like this work sometime."

"Yeah," he nodded. "It's not super complicated. I could probably give you the rundown of how if I get the chance."

Shoda began to scoot in, her eyes meeting his. Jasper felt his face begin to burn up, though not in a way of embarrassment. This was... different. She froze, however, asking about Phyla.

"Asleep in the cargo hold," Jasper assured her. "It's just us."

Just the two of them, alone with no distractions.

 

[Marissa Shoda]

Marissa breathed a sigh of relief at Jasper's reassurance. Getting off the bed, she quickly closed the door before rushing back to him, practically tackling into him with a snicker.

Her laughter died down as she planted a deep kiss on his lips, already working her hands all over him...

---

The next morning left Marissa completely stumped. It was still comparatively very early when she woke up, taking a moment to remember why she wasn't in her own bed before getting out of bed to find her clothes.

She got to work on her morning exercises just like every morning and made some breakfast for her and Jasper once she was done. She had to at least leave a surprise for him once he woke up. But that was where her routine completely fell apart. There was no more uniform to get into, no more duties or obligations and certainly no more rushing to finish chores on her day off.

With a mug of caf in hand, she looked around the place with pursed lips. "Well, what now?" She spoke to herself, trying to figure out what to do with herself.

Eventually she settled on cleaning the kitchen and mess room, taking careful note of where everything belonged. With that done in record time, she set out to strip and clean her blaster, it hadn't had a good clean in a while. That also took a grand total of a few minutes. Once again the former officer stood in the middle of the mess room with no idea on what to do. Getting back in bed was out of the question, she was wide awake for that option.

Eventually she figured out the holonet password with some quick slicing and helped herself to some videos. "What the kriff am I gonna do for a whole damn month..."

An idea eventually popped into her head. She quietly made her way to the cargo hold, setting out to find Phyla. With so many questions, she could sit back and observe for a while before Jasper woke up.

Jasper Kai'el