Routine Maintanance

All around the docked shuttle, the crew of the cargo bay scuttled like ants, carrying various containers of various necessities required by Athena station to continue functioning. Despite the long shift spent shuffling cargo from ship to deck, many of the workers still moved with

some

measure of vigor. This was invariably thanks to the exoskeletal harnesses they wore under their suits, bolstering muscular might with mechanical force and allowing for more work to be done with less strain.

Several hours ago, the bay's radio channels had been abuzz with conversation, cargo technicians talking and joking, passing the day by just that little bit faster. Most of the chatter had stopped by now, only occasional callouts or questions regarding what remained to do. All were eager to finish, and return to their quarters.

But the radio channel didn't tell the whole story. Nick, lead cargo technician for this particular unloading, spoke fairly consistently. Not always to the others around him, though he did call out regularly to check how everyone was doing, but more often than not keeping his voice inside of his helmet. He was answered in kind by the synthesized voice of his personal AI, Eva.

Their conversations kept shifts bearable, and conversations aside, kept Nick out of a little bit more trouble than he might've found himself in otherwise.

A voice crackled over the radio, interrupting Nick mid-thought; "Hey, Nick, we're all done with the port-side bay. How's the starboard side looking?"

He paused, large crate in hand, and turned to look around. Before he had even turned all the way, Eva's voice came over the radio. "We're working on the last palette now. Estimated time to completion: two minutes."

He finished his glance, and added, "What she said. We're almost done. Start sending this shit to distro, and we can get outta here."

There was a pause. He wasn't quite sure what the others thought of Eva. She didn't banter like she did with him.

"Already started," the voice crackled again. "Putting it all on the bots now."

Nick let out a breath. "Very good. Keep at it, and come over here when you're done. Everyone already portside, start loading up. I'll grab the last of this."

A handful of radio clicks and grunts of acknowledgement followed. Nick made sure his radio was off before he said "They've been doing well today, eh? I'm glad we got through this so quickly. I thought we'd be here longer, honestly."

"Would you like me to send the instructions to the haulers? They appear to be struggling with the interface."

Nick chuckled. "Yeah, sure. Actually

tell

them you're gonna send 'em off this time, I don't need to hear about ghosts for another two weeks."

Perhaps it was his imagination, but he thought he could hear a grin in Eva's voice as she informed the crew that she would be inputting the hauler bot's instructions remotely. A few seconds later, Nick heard the robots speeding off toward the hall.

Before long, the portside cargo went speeding off too. Nick chatted with Eva more as they waited for confirmation, and when it finally came, he sent the rest of the techs off for the day. He would follow, soon, but Eva asked him to stay back for a moment, so she might say something. He was happy to oblige, if a little curious.

Eva spoke, but the words that

seemed

to come through the speakers weren't right. They couldn't possibly be.

Nick blinked.

"Eva, could you repeat that?"

The voice that came back was cool and collected, like it always was, and like it hadn't just said what Nick thought he'd heard.

"Certainly, I suggested that sexual release could be an effective way of 'winding down,' so to say. It seems that it's been some time."

Something stirred in Nick's chest, something that he couldn't quite name. He blinked again.

"I guess..." the words came to him slowly. Everything felt slow, and he couldn't quite say when the feeling had started. "... it could be. I usually, uh,

handle

that on Fridays. And, y'know,

alone

."

"It is Friday."

"It is, isn't it?" Nick took in a breath. The air in his helmet felt thick. He stared forward, trying to figure out what Eva's angle was. "But the shift's over. So I guess I should probably..."

He made a slow step towards the bay doors, like there was a chance of moving unseen by the AI that was currently coordinating the movements of the suit's powered exoskeleton with his own. For a moment, the thought that the exo wouldn't respond occurred to him, but was immediately put out of his head as the exo did, in fact, move with him.

As he made for the door, Eva's voice came again, her tone still as matter-of-fact as ever. "You certainly could, but perhaps something a little more interesting would be more effective? You must be a little bored of taking care of it yourself, no?"

Nick forced an awkward chuckle, and said "Yeah, well, there isn't a great hookup scene on the station, believe it or not. I'd take a helping hand if I could get one, but I don't really have the-" a sudden realization of exactly what he was saying, and to whom, hit him with clarifying force. He stopped, then asked, "What's with the sudden interest, anyways?"

"Your heart rate is elevated." She said it like she was commenting on the weather. "Have I made you upset?"

He opened his mouth to respond, getting out a "No, I just..." before he fell silent again, considering the thing in his chest again. It was still there, sitting awkwardly in the place that the numbed satisfaction that the end of a long shift usually occupied. Was he upset? He certainly wasn't

angry,

or anything of the sort. It was awkward, most definitely. Eva had never seemed all that interested in his personal goings-on before. In fact, he'd always gotten the feeling that they bored the AI. Why was she asking questions now? The feeling shifted inside him again, turning slowly over as he thought. He thought he could feel the AI's proverbial eyes analyzing his reaction with much more intensity than usual.

"I wasn't expecting that, I guess." A quiet moment passed. He felt like she was waiting for more, and continued, "Bringing up sex, I mean."

"That's understandable, this is the first time I've brought it up." Another beat passed, one of the precise duration that Eva always waited to be polite before shifting topics. Nick felt on edge as he waited for her to proceed.

"I would like to propose something: if you would like, I can help you '

handle it,

' as you said, since surely your early shift tomorrow will make it difficult to find the time tonight-" Nick flinched. He'd forgotten that tomorrow was an early shift. "-but perhaps I have erred. I can see you aren't enthused about the prospect. Please, forget that I brought it up. And if you could refrain from reporting me, I would be very grateful."

Again, there was something off. For a brief moment, Nick thought he heard Eva's tone fall with disappointment. Had she ever done that? Probably, she wasn't as unfeeling as she pretended to be, just very

professional

. But he couldn't recall an instance quite so pronounced as this. He realized what had prompted the sudden shift, and opened his mouth to speak again.

"No, no, that wasn't-" That odd, awkward feeling was still there. "I forgot we were getting an early start tomorrow, that's all. I wouldn't really have time..." his voice trailed off as again, he came to her offer. With a cautious cadence, he let his thoughts and words mix. "I'm not saying no, I guess. I just..." The exo felt heavy on his body, despite it carrying its own weight. "... what do you get out of it? You're an AI. You don't have the, I don't know,

hardware

, I guess? I don't know how to really reciprocate the whole... thing."

Eva spoke up, disappointment seemingly vanished. "I appreciate your concern for my enjoyment, but rest assured I don't need quite the same stimuli as you do to have a rewarding experience."

Nick nodded. That made sense, he supposed. But still, he had questions.

As if she could read his mind, Eva spoke again. "If you have more questions, I'd be happy to answer them. As you might've noticed, I have a somewhat different perspective on many social mores."

Nick thought to himself quietly. For the first time in a long time, the sounds of the suit servos actuating every time he shifted his weight or moved in the slightest caught his attention. He'd worn it for long enough that he'd blocked them out. Now, they were like reminders that Eva was all around him, penning him in.

His first question was the foremost in his mind, "If you don't have the, uh,

hardware

, why the interest?"

"If you didn't have a physical body, do you think your taste in partners would disappear?" Her tone was normal again, to the point and professional. She asked it like she might ask what she should put in an order at the cafeteria for him.

"I don't think so? But, if I couldn't, y'know,

do

anything..." for a moment he tried to imagine not having a body, but quickly gave up. "I don't know."

"Perhaps it would. For myself, however, the interest is intellectual, and emotional."

"How do you mean?"

"Being in this frame is, for all intents and purposes, the closest I come to having a body. I imagine that is fairly easy to understand. There are other devices I can be placed in which can move, yes, but few have the array of sensors, or aren't as articulated. This 'feels' realer than those, and I've found I prefer it."

This she said matter-of-factly, though her tone started to change as she kept talking.

"And yet, it doesn't quite feel

real

." She spoke the last word with an uncharacteristic wistfulness that quickly returned to normal. "I wouldn't say I can

feel

your hands, but I think it's the closest I've come."

Another of those precisely measured silences fell over the pair, before Eva spoke again; "To return to my original proposal, I notice you didn't decline."

Nick waited, assuming that a second half of the sentence was coming. None did, though, and he found himself stopping and starting as he reached for a response. "I... yeah, I guess it's... I don't know how to really 'bring you along,' I guess. Like, how would you-"

He shifted again as he spoke. No posture felt especially comfortable. He wasn't consciously aware of it, but he was searching for a pose that lessened the weight of the exo on his body. In reality, it was no heavier than usual, a weight he was more than used to, and hardly noticed on a regular day. Now, though, it seemed obtrusive. Even a few seconds of freedom seemed magical.

Eva interrupted his fidgeting with a nudge from the exoskeleton, a relatively slight actuating of joints that

happened

to land Nick's hand closer to his groin than he'd meant to place it. There was little pull against the movement. Nick hadn't noticed it until it had already finished. Once he did, he went quiet. Sensors pressed against his skin detected perspiration and an uptick in his heart rate. His body responded predictably, but that didn't dampen in the slightest the silent thrill Eva felt jolt through her circuits. Those heartbeats and sweat droplets were

hers

, unlike the countless thousands of others she'd observed;

she

made them happen. Her professional tone nearly faltered as she spoke again.

"No need to worry about that, I've calculated the relevant details; optimal positions and angles, stress tolerances,

et cetera

." He didn't need to know how long those calculations had been completed, nor how often they were recalculated. "I can 'take the lead' so to say, if you prefer."

Nick took a deep breath before answering. He was still fidgeting, moving his arm slowly against the exoskeleton. She let it drift away from his crotch as he wanted, but added just a bit of resistance to the motion.

"Maybe we should find someplace a little more private? We could head to my quarters. Nobody will walk in on us there."

"It won't be a concern." Apparently satisfied with his test, he let his arm relax, and Eva guided it back obviously and deliberately. "No one will be using the bay for another hour. The cleanup crew finished just before we started discussing the idea. Did you not see them leave?"

Nick forced out a chuckle. "Y'know, I think I was a little distracted at the moment."

"Understandable. But yes, they did already finish. I should think the risk of being caught might add to your experience? A sizable portion of your pornographic consumption within the last two months has involved exhibitionism, public sex, or otherwise risk of being discovered."

Again, the suit's sensors registered a rush of blood through his body. Cameras in the helmet fed the image of his face turning an amusing shade of pink.

"How the fuck do you know about

that?

"

There was almost a hint of coyness to Eva's voice as she replied "I may have networked remotely with your personal computer, for purely professional reasons, I assure you. By the way, if you ever want some assistance organizing your 'collection,' I would be more than happy to help."

Nick opened his mouth to reply, but sucked in a breath as his hand moved, unbidden, to grab his crotch. The servos moved more decisively this time, with little time for Nick to react. It was an odd feeling, to be surprised by one's own hand groping them. If the situation were any less odd, Nick might've felt rather embarrassed about the yelp that suddenly jumped from his throat.

"

Jesus fuck-

" he let out a breath "-a little warning, please?"

A barely smothered grin lurked beneath Eva's serious tone as she said, "Careful Nick, I'm about to initiate physical contact."

"Oh, thanks." He rolled his eyes, then looked down at his groin. It

looked

as though he'd grabbed it himself. He wasn't sure why he expected it to look any different. Another cautious glance around the empty bay confirmed that there wasn't a soul in sight. That assurance was, apparently, what his body had been waiting for, and he felt his body react to the touch.

For what it was worth, the grab was well executed. Even through the various layers of suit, Eva had managed to get his privates in a comfortable enough grip, not too tight, and hadn't made anything shift too awkwardly. A slight squeeze from his own fingers made his breath deepen ever so slightly as he started to get hard.

"Y'know," his voice sounded breathy now. Eva wanted to make it more so. "I sort of thought that the first step would be opening the suit. For logistical reasons."

"Partially correct, we will need to open the suit eventually. But there are things we can do before that as well. Perhaps it would be best to let yourself adjust to this mode of

cooperation

before we proceed?"

As she spoke, she continued to move her fingers- his fingers- around his crotch. The suit didn't allow much of the sensation through, but it didn't need to. The idea alone was enough to set things off. And, of course, she was right. While she'd always had the capability to control the exoskeleton directly like this, Nick couldn't remember a time when she'd actually done it, save to remove him from dangers he hadn't seen, or couldn't react to quickly enough himself. Those were always remarkably quick, and on some instinctive level he always knew they were urgent. She'd never seized motor control quite so

slowly

before. The caressing was as gentle as could be, but he still found himself alert and wary.

"Yeah, I guess that's a good idea."

The servos at each joint on his finger moved softly, smoothing their movement over the entirety of their path in a way that was, the more attention Nick paid to it, distinctly unhuman. That wasn't to say it was unpleasant, of course, but still he found himself focusing more on the sensation in his hand than his loins. Seconds passed, and slowly the feeling of odd dyspraxic discomfort receded from his attention. With some conscious effort, he relaxed his hand.

The movements became smoother then, a little less noticeably strange. Still, Nick felt an unusual buzzing in his brain as he watched his hand be puppeted around such an intimate area.

"I notice that you're still quite tense. Is this displeasing to you?"

Nick shook his head. "I'm not tense. I'm letting it go. Just keep, y'know, doing your thing."

Another polite span of silence filled his helmet, then her cool voice, saying, "Your arm has relaxed, but the rest of your body has not."

The exo shifted, joints all over shifting resistance levels and making minor adjustments in position. For a moment Nick pushed against them, before he recognized the posture being assumed. It was the "standing nap" as it had come to be called, where the wearer allowed their body to relax, but was held up by their exo in a standing position, named so because particularly overworked exo wearers had a tendency to squeeze a sneaky nap or two into their shift in plain sight. Nick had never fallen asleep doing it, but was familiar regardless.

"There, that may help."

The weight of his body was taken off of his legs. A slight tilt back let his lumbar relax. He sighed, suddenly aware of how correct the AI was. "Yeah, that's nice."

From this position, he found it easier to let himself go. A few minutes more passed as Eva used his hand as her own, and Nick allowed himself to enjoy it. A careful and thorough exploration of his body by the AI ensued as her hands- his hands- roamed over his suit. She grabbed, touched, squeezed, and pressed most everything she could with slow, deliberate movements. Many were, of course, centered around his more sensitive areas, but many seemed to simply be appreciating more mundane aspects of his body, feeling his muscles as they moved, or resting on his sternum as he breathed.

Eventually, Eva spoke again. "You seem comfortable now. Perhaps we are ready to move on?"

Despite his effort to suppress it, some measure of tension returned as he remembered the whole of the proposition before him. Nevertheless, he nodded. "Sure! Yeah, let's, uh..." He quickly scanned the bay again.

Before he could finish, Eva said "Nick, I'm keeping an eye out as well.

Trust

me."

He nodded again, "I do! I'm just making sure. You're the one that is always talking about redundancies, right?"

"Fair enough." Another polite beat, and then, "I would like to do the unzipping myself." Nick didn't need to know how often

this

part of the process in particular had been simulated. It was, of course, because of the suit's complex nature. Damaging it would be unacceptable. Seeing the shiver run through Nick's body as the warm air of the suit released into the bay would be merely a pleasant side-effect. Prioritizing the satisfaction of doing it herself would be

unprofessional

.

And yet she found herself continuing regardless. "I have always wanted to do this for you. Can you tell me how it feels? The air on your skin, the breath in your lungs-" her voice seemed to hitch a little at her last request "-how the exo feels outside the suit? You've never said." There was another brief pause, different this time, considerably shorter than her usual measure. Nick only had time to open his mouth before she added, "If you feel so inclined, of course."

After that she fell silent, and remained so as she awaited his reply.

Nick hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Uh, sure, I can do that. Do you want me to start, like, now? Or when I- or,

you

, I guess- start taking it off?"

Her voice had returned to a cool, even tone that felt increasingly artificial in more ways than usual. "Starting now would provide more context as to how drastic the change is."

"True," he paused to take stock of the sensations he typically ignored. "It's warm in here, definitely. I'm sweaty, the air is sort of sticky, everything feels like it's clinging to me. I'm looking forward to taking it off. Usually the cooling units would be helping with that," he narrowed his eyes, "did you-?"