Given

… Maybe they forgot to redact something? I mean, there may well be a literal ton of information to sift through, so it’s possible. Would I even want to find something like that? If the Spurs unanimously agreed to do this, then would it even be a good idea to undo it? It’s not like I really understand their reasoning for committing to something that monumental. Regardless of the similarities between my society and theirs that I may see there’s still such a massive gap between us that I don’t understand, one perpetuated by their deaths and the evidently unhelpful choices they made. I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t be complaining… at all, really. Building bridges across Grand Canyon-sized holes is part of my job, and this may as well be a crack by comparison. It might be better this way with my superiors being… the way they are. A shame there’s less for me to study, but– Yuna’s eyes were brought from the ground as her train of thought was interrupted.

“Yuna, I’m sure you have questions of all sorts for just about everything to do with this ship, but there’s plenty of time for those. You’re not the only one that will be arriving with those same questions in mind I’d assume, so, while it’s just the two of us, and if you’d allow, it would be nice to get to know you.” The friendly half of Thenn’s tone won over, her words seeming to be chosen in the moment as opposed to her otherwise more deliberate approach.

Thinking on it for just a moment, Yuna wasn’t quite sure just how long it had been since one of them spoke. The experience not entirely foreign, she dragged herself out of her head as quickly as possible so she could respond. “Y-Yes, that sounds good. Sorry if I was interrogating.”

Thenn assures her that it’s no problem, questioning afterward, “So, who are you, exactly?”

Briefly and silently chastising herself beforehand, Yuna answered. “Ah. I’m *ahem* the lead member of an interstellar research team that finds, studies, and preserves alien artifacts. Field duty is typically my job, and my role is more to organize and make executive decisions than to be a ‘lead scientist’ of sorts. That’s not to say I didn’t have to take an obscene number of classes for a bunch of different things, but yeah, that’s me.”

“And how’s that working out for you?”

“Oh, we find more than you might think,” Yuna said, “It isn’t the fastest of jobs but there’s always something important that needs doing. I mean, hey, I found this place just randomly scanning for complex structures while I was traveling to another spot we’d recently found and thought looked promising. Ooh! Speaking of which, we found two other ships like this one a while before I got here. One probably got battered by a bunch of asteroids a long time before we got to it; the other fell into an acidic ocean. There was only so much we could salvage by then, but that’s why I could read the glyphs, if you were wondering.”

Not questioning her use of the word, Thenn went on to clarify, “Interesting. Certainly good to know, but I meant that question more personally. How’s the job working out for you? Why’d you choose it, do you like it, would you want a different one… “

Not expecting their conversation to go this direction, Yuna toyed with different bits of her suit as she stumbled to respond. “I don’t really know how I got into it, I was just always interested. Not in this job specifically, but space in general. Any opportunity to work up here would have been a dream job. So, lucky me, all my studying paid off and the application I sent in went through. They didn’t ship me off immediately or anything – my first position being far lower on the ladder than I am now – but it wasn’t long before I got to do what I always wanted to. Everybody said I was doing a good job so I just kept at it and kept getting promoted.” She paused, looking wistfully around her. “As for how I like the job now, as though you need any help figuring it out, it’s just about all I hoped it would be. Now, especially, is when I like it the most. The ambient noise, loneliness, and discovery, to be specific. That usually doesn’t last all that long once the higher-ups come to claim their prize, but at least it’s nice for now.”

“And what do you do besides work? Is there anything else that you’re particularly fond of?”

Yuna sat with the question, thinking it over. Drawing nothing but blanks, she opened, “I don’t think so?” more verbalizing a question for herself than answering Thenn’s. “If I’m not working then I usually just stay at home – lounging around and… not much else. I’ll watch my fish and go on walks sometimes, but I never really know what else to do.”

Interjecting politely, Thenn asked, “Do you not spend any time with others outside of work? Friends, family, a partner, anything like that?”

Subconsciously crossing her arms and idly moving her body, a hint of unsureness slipped into Yuna’s voice. “No, not really. My mum and dad visit every now and again, which is nice, and I have been trying to talk with my co-workers more, but I prefer being alone most of the time. As for any partners, let’s just say that fact was made clear after the third girlfriend. Not that… Never mind.” Clearing her throat, Yuna redirected the conversation and asked what Thenn did with her time.

“I similarly spent most of my time working on something or other, and if I wasn’t doing that then I was talking or thinking about something – the aforementioned ‘somethings’ being in too many fields to count. My favorites among the many were physics, behavioral studies, and biomechanical engineering.”

“Does that mean you made the mind-scanning thing, then?” Yuna wondered aloud. Upon Thenn confirming, Yuna’s mind was drawn to how something like that worked, her having already participated playing no minor role in this line of thinking. Curiosity overtaking concern for the moment, she asked, “How much of my mind did it read? And how does that even work if you’ve never met any other intelligent life?”

Seeming glad she asked, Thenn said, “The LRD – or rather, Local Reading Device – was specifically designed to only look for certain memory structures in a living thing. Though it scans the entirety of something’s brain – the closer to the front of your mind the easier it is to process – and only keeps the data it’s asked to look for. As an example, I looked for structures relating to your understanding of language, along with a voice to present myself appropriately. What I got back was just that. So, though I understand all the same words you do and could readily describe everything they do, I don’t have any specific memories of yours relating to either of the things I looked for. Sure, we have a near identical understanding of English, but I also can only describe the idea of a stage performance, whereas you can presumably recall instances where you’ve seen one. It’s more like a skill I can turn on and off as opposed to something that’s a part of me. As for how that works… that’s complicated. I tested it on just about every living thing I could find, including having someone else come up with fake languages of varying complexities so I could fine-tune the LRD’s searching abilities.” Yuna not responding to what she said, Thenn shifted the attention back to her. “Does the idea bother you, Yuna?”

“Uh… no, not really. We don’t have anything like that, so I suppose I’ve just never thought of it before.” Refocusing her eyes on the source of Thenn’s voice, she said reassuringly, “Don’t worry about me none, I think it’s neat.”

“I’m glad it’s not a bother.”

Yuna rested against the back wall for a good while, this time being sure to not get lost in her head again. What was foremost in her mind as she did so was the practical applications of mind-reading technology. People have never been known for their restraint, so even if people like the Spurs made this for the sake of communication, there’s no telling how far it would go in the hands of just anybody. Yuna couldn’t even feel anything happening and had to be told something did. Were there other inventions the Spurs made that would have the same kind of impact? Not wanting to delve deep into that at the moment – knowing her team well enough to be sure they’d think similarly to her – she intentionally kept herself from asking questions about what to do with this technology just yet.

As Yuna was considering what she should say, Thenn asked her own question. “I don’t mean this in a critical manner, Yuna, as I truly am just curious; why did you enter the ship on your own? You know the importance of a find like this for your species and seem to have some fondness for those you work with, yet decided to enter anyway. There could have been anything in here and you’d have no backup, and still, you went in. Why is that?”

Yuna’s mouth opened as she prepared to say what she thought was an easy answer, but no words came out. To protect them? That doesn’t make any sense… They have more and better instruments than I do right now, so their approach would be safer than mine. Even if my going in now would be instead, I know they’d have liked to do it with me. A lot, actually. Is it… Is it just because I wanted to? She continued to try and come up with a reason, her starting sentences every once in a while that didn’t live long before being cut down by better judgment. Squirming in place, the silence went on for an uncomfortably long time.

Finally getting Yuna to look back in her direction, Thenn said, “Here, since your team isn’t here yet why don’t we do something in the meantime,” a more positive atmosphere following as she spoke. “You seem the inquisitive type, so I think you’d appreciate testing out one of the projects I was working on for quite a long while. Nothing dangerous, far from it, it would just be interesting to get your opinion. Does that sound good?”

Yuna nodded.

“Grand. The one I’m thinking of requires that I read your mind again, is that alright? It won’t look for anything invasive and the data doesn’t go directly to me, if you’re worried about it.”

Only mostly paying attention, Yuna answered, “Yeah… that’s fine,” letting a meek smile cross her face momentarily. Upon hearing her say she’d be right back, Yuna probed as to what that meant.

“It means exactly what it sounds like,” Thenn replied, “I can’t be everywhere at once. We’ve each got a different visualization of our existence, after all, and it’s not like I’m omniscient to everything happening on board. I’ll hear you if you call, though, so I’m not far.”

After several seconds of silence passed, something felt different about the room. Thenn was never really “there,” so to speak, but the bridge now lacked her distinct presence. Yuna also had the lingering idea that her mind was likely currently being read, yet her time was spent mostly thinking about herself; on how she’d acted. That was a pretty terrible showing, wasn’t it? Nice fuckin’ job. Really good. What kind of person (Someone trained for it, no less!) makes first contact and doesn’t introduce themselves?! I didn’t even introduce my species, I just waltzed right up and said, ‘oh hi I’m Yuna, would you mind recounting everything you know immediately?’ like some kind of twat. She doesn’t seem to have minded but fucking hell I would get fired if someone saw me do that. Letting in and out a deep, controlled breath, Yuna tried to calm herself. Fine. It’s fine. It’s not, but I’ve done it now and Thenn doesn’t seem bothered, so I should try to focus. We’ve got plenty of time to chat, introduce her to everything I should have by now, and it’ll all be fine.

Yuna sat crisscrossed in the center of the semicircle, her back up against the console she’d used before as she looked out the now nearly pitch-black window. If not for the freezing temperature and hard metal floor Yuna would be tempted to fall asleep, what with the dim lighting and unyielding storm which still battered all around her. Shuddering from the cold air, Yuna tried to remain focused and think of what she wanted to say to Thenn when they got back. It had been nearly ten minutes since she left and there was still no word. Yuna didn’t mind much; all the more time to make herself presentable and come up with something resembling a plan.

“Hey there,” said an unknown voice amidst the rain.

Yuna’s initial reaction was to respond politely, but this passed quickly, and she jolted upwards to find the source of it. Looking towards the door, her dull surroundings were broken up only by a woman who’d propped her shoulder up against the doorframe nonchalantly. She was a dark green lizard woman, standing right near eye level with Yuna and likely a little older than her, with her most immediately odd quality – setting aside her presence in general – being that she was stark naked. The strange lady didn’t move from her position, just looked toward Yuna with an indiscernible expression.

“Thenn!” Yuna called out towards the ceiling, her voice worried.

Coming from a different direction than she was used to, Yuna jumped when the AI answered. “Yes, I’m here.”

Her eyes not moving from the woman in the doorway, Yuna asked who she was.

Sounding as though she were smirking, Thenn replied cheekily, “Why don’t you go ask?”

Eventually working up the courage to step out from behind the console, Yuna slowly closed half the distance between them. For more than one reason, Yuna got a better look at the stranger the more she neared. Scales just shy of uniform covered the lizard save for her front which had skin several shades lighter than the rest of her. Two black ridges ran from the woman’s brow and across her otherwise bald head, presumably forming a single line somewhere along her back that then led across the thick tail resting on the floor. Her figure was lithe and certainly… feminine, noticeably more so than Yuna’s – the hips being particularly notable in that regard. Hard not to notice because of just how standout their color was, light pink nipples tipped the lizard’s modestly sized yet shapely chest. Keeping her eyes up to meet the stranger’s, she could see they were traditionally slitted and had deep blue irises – them appearing almost wholly black at a distance.

A mild, cold sweat having formed, Yuna greeted the woman and gave her name.

“Evening, Yuna. I’m Ira.”

Yuna, having not caught on until now, came to understand the expression on Ira’s face as she spoke. With just a few words it became clear that everything about the woman’s demeanor felt part accommodating and suggestive. Her sly smile and steady eyes made Ira seem friendly and familiar, but Yuna was certain she’d never met anyone that looked like her, along with being sure that she wasn’t so much comforted by whatever else may have been on the woman’s mind.

“Can I ask who you are?”

“Of course you can, Yuna,” she stated courteously. No follow-up came.

Standing confused for several seconds, Yuna repeated, “So… who are you?”

“I was made to help with communication between intelligent species,” Ira started, removing her shoulder from the wall but retaining a casual posture. “I am an artificial intelligence made to act as a translator, representative, or caregiver depending on what is needed.”

“Are you entirely artificial then? your body too?”

“Yep,” she said directly, not breaking eye contact or tone. “My body is entirely made of programable matter, and its purpose is to be as realistic on the outside as possible.” Raising a hand towards Yuna, she told her, “You can feel it if you’d like.”

Glancing down at it, she refused, instead continuing to ask, “So… was your mind just now made, or were you conscious before being put into a body?”

“Any transferring of consciousness into another body is strictly prohibited due to a high risk factor. I was made just now, and all of my computing power is used to maintain my body and connection to my creators’ database, as well as my ability to read, respond to, and mimic behavior. Based on their principles, my parameters are too limiting to be considered conscious.”

Eyes drifting downwards as she spoke, Yuna wondered, “If you’re just supposed to be a translator then why do you look like… that.”

“This figure – among other things – was taken from your head with appeal and comfort in mind. With all the experiments my creators designed they thought another species may prefer having some of them done privately with someone they felt safer around.”

“What… What kind of...” Yuna nearly replied, her eyes now fixed looking at Ira from the neck down. Hands clasped at her front and idling thoughtlessly, she never came to finish the question she started. Ira moving from the doorway finally brought her eyes back up – discomfort appearing the more she closed in. Coming to stand right in front of her, Ira’s presence felt far more decisive and confident compared to her own. Yuna shifted her vision to somewhere arbitrary and tried to back up; Ira just followed a short distance until the hyena’s waist was pressed against the console behind.

“I-I really shouldn’t,” she stuttered.

Ira prodded, “You shouldn’t what?”

Only briefly dragging her eyes away from safety to meet the ones leering into her, Yuna timidly answered, “Shouldn’t touch you.”

“I’m not saying that. You’re free to do what you like.”

Shifting awkwardly a moment, Yuna’s face was anxious, and her mind unable to focus on anything but Ira’s distracting proximity. “Just a little bit,” she slowly forced out. Fiddling with her suit to undo a glove’s seal, she hesitantly placed the now exposed hand on the lizard’s shoulder. In spite of their surroundings, warmth emanated from where she touched, almost overriding the ice-like temperature. Her scales were smooth and hard, the grooves between them easily noticeable. Yuna, running her hand along Ira’s arm, could feel that there was give beyond the tough exterior if some pressure was applied. It wasn’t entirely pleasant to the touch, namely due to some of the scale’s unevenness giving them a rough texture, but Yuna was enjoying it all the same. Her breaths being quiet but lacking control, Yuna moved her hand along Ira’s well-curved waist, then to her stomach. As it seemed from a distance, the skin on Ira’s front was soft yet kept a consistent definition akin to what you’d find on an athletic. It was unclear to her if any of this felt realistic, as she’d never touched a lizard person like this before; that said, her expression showed she didn’t care much. Yuna’s eyes were stuck, unmoving from Ira’s chest by this point, mouth held slightly agape as she watched and felt her breathe – though no breath ever came out.

Ira’s sultry expression only encouraging her, Yuna asked in little more than a whisper, “Do you mind if I…” her voice drifting off before she could finish.

“There’s not a thing I mind, Yuna. Don’t be afraid to ask something if you want to,” Ira assured.

Nervous as she did it, Yuna gently took Ira’s hand, cupped it, and placed it between her own legs, recoiling slightly at the touch but sinking into it the second after. After little more than a longing look from Yuna, she started working her. Ira’s firm movements weren’t particularly caring in nature, but neither was her approach overly scientific or complicated – Just gradual, tight squeezes and rotations as she moved her hand around. It was probably a while before this and she just didn’t notice, but Yuna’s prick could be easily seen pressing up against her suit. One hand being used to keep herself steady, Yuna placed the other on Ira’s chest and felt around it. Likely due to arousal, her taught breasts seemed to have softer skin than everywhere else, them readily squishing under a bit of force from Yuna’s grip yet always springing back to their original position with a subtle bounce.

Managing to peel her hands away for just a second, she undid the electronic latch running down the back of her suit, telling her partner to stop for a little bit as she swiftly undressed and tossed her clothes off to the side – not caring whatsoever about the deep shiver this elicited. Her plain underwear came off shortly after, leaving her just as exposed as Ira.

Yuna, in a similar pattern to the lizard before her, had a large area of her front covered by beige fur that spread into the upper-inner thigh and juxtaposed the much darker colors surrounding it. Much of her pelt – namely with the exclusion of the underbelly and head – was sparsely dotted with circles, and the ends of her limbs shared the same near-black as them. Yuna’s chest, along with the genitals now twitching at full attention between her legs, were leaning towards average in size, and her bits of exposed skin had a fleshy red color.

“Just don’t grab it too hard,” Yuna cautioned meekly through heavy breaths as she again took Ira’s hand and neared it to her five-inch dick. After a brief assurance from her, she felt Ira’s strong and deliberate grip at the base of her shaft. Her scales slid against Yuna, occasionally catching a rough edge on her skin. Each stroke was done at a leisure pace, though to Yuna, each was well worth the wait. It was clear that there would be no need for fast movements – Yuna’s expression distraught, but in a good way. She pulled Ira forward so they were nearly pressed up against each other and leaned in towards her face slightly, their mouths just shy of connecting. She slipped her hands between Ira’s thick thighs and started slowly running her fingers across the welcoming slit between them. Feeling humanoid in form, it readily gave to her touch and some tender probing revealed what was likely a rather tight entrance (even for Yuna), though Ira didn’t react at all – just kept focused on the practically cowering girl whose bright eyes now rarely left her own.

“Do you… hah… feel good too?” Yuna asked genuinely.

She answered with a question of her own. “Would you like me to?”

After a few short, successive nods from Yuna, her expression seamlessly contorted from the one she’d held up until now into one of pleasure. She breathed more heavily from a mouth left partially open, eyes going from provocative to horny in a short few seconds. Yuna’s hands, only moving across Ira’s opening ever so gently, sent her knees bending inwards and hips quivering. The effect, however, wasn’t so strong that she lost the power dynamic over Yuna. Even in her current state Yuna knew this to be a show rather than how she truly felt; that didn’t matter right now. Right now, all Yuna wanted to do was lean in for a kiss on the lizard’s mouth.

Their lips – or rather, their equivalents of them – weren’t well compatible. Regardless, they pressed them together passionately, Yuna’s maw being soon met by Ira’s thin tongue as it pushed through where their faces met. Though she now realized that both the lizard’s mouth and cunt didn’t feel quite real, it wasn’t nearly jarring enough to get her to stop. All the grooves were where they should be as far as she could tell, and most importantly, Ira was warm. Having Ira cradle her balls as she did so, Yuna started slowly thrusting in tandem with the strokes she was receiving. Her ears flattened as soft, needy moaning could be heard from Yuna’s throat. Pre ran thick along Ira’s hand and stomach where her penis now pressed against at the end of each thrust – an arousing *schlick* made audible with every movement. Wiping two of her digits across the recently wetted fur around her crotch for some much-needed moisture, Yuna slid them back between Ira’s legs and inserted both inside at once, moving them back and forth eagerly. With that, Ira pushed her face harder into Yuna’s. Their breasts pressing together, Ira took the hand currently holding Yuna’s testes and pressed her index hard into a bundle of nerves behind them. Yuna unintentionally broke their kiss from the sudden and rather pleasant wave pulsing through her groin. Ira made full strokes; none were particularly fast, but her partner wasn’t prepared for them in the least.

“W-Wait, I want to–“

She was cut off abruptly by Ira’s hips seizing hard around her fingers, followed quickly by her doing the same. A scaly hand still caressing her sack and pressing on a particularly sensitive area, she shot semen multiple times onto the half-glossy frontside of her partner. Stuttered breaths forced themselves in and out as her dick repeatedly passed through Ira’s fingers – her own opaque seed not making it much further than where she met with the lizard’s abdomen. This went on for longer than she was used to, a few weaker spurts still leaving the girl as Ira decided to stop stroking. Once the initial ecstasy was over, Yuna’s eyes wandered across the smooth body in front of her, still more than a little aroused – letting herself eke out a few more thrusts into Ira’s hand. Finally and gingerly pulling back her newly sensitive penis, she watched as strands of cum that connected them broke, leaving her member and one of Ira’s legs covered in it.

Her partner still twitching, Ira withdrew her hands and returned to a stance more like the one when they met. It wasn’t long before the tension in Yuna’s limbs started to abate; the girl’s chest came to rise and fall at a more normal pace, and the cold became more prominent. Shortly after this, a familiar, bodiless voice spoke to her. “Fascinating,” was all it said.