JessicaRae

IIIIIMMMMM BAAACCKKKK!!!!!!!!

After six weeks of separation from my spouse, six weeks of living alone, and sixteen hundred miles of driving, I've finally made it to my new home! There is still work to do to make this house a real home, but I am doing sooo much better than I was before. I won't lie, my mental health had taken a nasty turn there for a while, but Im here now and I have once again picked up my pen to share more Slipspace. Thank you all for sticking with me through all of this, loyal readers! And for those of you just joining? Enjoy the show! We've almost made it to the end, but alas, the end is only the beginning of something new....

The next week was some of the best days of my life. Echo wasn’t working as long as the Ratatosk was out, and until the ship returned, Rachael was content to allow me all the time I needed to acclimate to my new home. The fact that my new home happened to be living with my new girlfriend was still pretty crazy, but I was happy to learn to live with it. Illume station was gigantic compared to D’reth and the Erickson suites were much cozier than my old place. I found it to have better company than before too. 

Vox checked in on me too, of course. Apparently she was keeping a portion of her processing power tasked on something for Marcus, but it seemed that mum was still the word in regards to what she was doing. All the AI would say was that it was for my benefit and that the captain had requested her silence. It was more than I’d gotten from her before, but I was really beginning to grow suspicious of what Vox and Echo’s father were doing. I knew it was unlikely I’d get anything out of her, though, and Vox had never lied to me before. I would just have to wait for my new boss to get back and ask him. 

To my absolute delight, Echo and I took a passenger shuttle down to Centaurus Prime for a day so that we could have a shopping spree. I bought more clothes in that single twenty-four hour span than I’d bought in total over the last five years of my life. 

My selections were conservative to begin with. New jumpsuits, plain underwear and some standard off-duty tunics and slacks made up the bulk of my new wardrobe. I was insistent on having a good base to work off of and kept myself entirely focused on that until I was satisfied with the results. It was only at the insistence of Echo and that little voice in the back of my mind that was just the young girl that had wanted to play princess all those years ago that I finally branched out and indulged the fantasies I’d kept hidden for so long. 

After doing all of the relatively boring shopping, Echo and I made a stop back at the starport to drop off my bags in a secure locker until we were ready to leave again. Even with the higher than average strength of my new body, there were only so many bags my hands could hold at once. Then round two started. 

The stores we went to next were not the big-box stores we’d been in before for my basics. My next hours were spent in boutiques and owner-operated tailors and even one old-fashioned seamstress that made and sold more unique garments. There was plenty of embarrassment as Echo tried to get me into the absolute skimpiest lingerie possible, but I still had more fun than I had ever imagined shopping could be. 

We did stop for a late lunch/early dinner later in the planetary afternoon. I still had a few stops to make in order to pick up some things for my new room, but the grumbling from my stomach protested further delay of meal time rather loudly. I’d long since changed out of the generic gray leggings and soft purple top I’d gotten from the Institute and was now wearing an incredibly comfortable light blue top that draped down to the top of my thighs, which themselves were clad in a tight pair of black pants with reinforced seams. 

I really hated to sound narcissistic, but I found myself pretty damn proud of how those pants made my ass and thighs look. Echo pretty obviously agreed as she made a point of locking her eyes on my butt when I’d walked out of the fitting room with them on. I got plenty of looks from others on the street, too, when we left that store.

At my insistence, all of the shopping and food for the day was purchased on my credit. Echo and her family had already done so much for me; this was the least I could do to repay the favor to my girlfriend. My savings account had been left mostly untouched for a couple years other than the regular transfers from my daily payouts that added to what had always been intended to be my transition fund. Now that its purpose was fulfilled, all of that money was able to be put to use in restarting my life; a task which I was not holding back on. There was more than enough there for it. 

One last stop we needed to make before we could go back to the place I would be calling home for the foreseeable future was a factory store that dealt in pilot’s flight suits. I no longer had my own ship, but Marcus had assured me that I would still be flying for Erickson Enterprises, so I needed to be prepared. Larger craft and anything with a passenger rating were outfitted with enough redundant safety measures that keeping each crew member in one of the rather expensive emergency personal containment suits was superfluous, but I wasn’t a starship pilot. 

Though not explicitly required by law, it was highly encouraged by the pilot’s association that operators of small craft wear an environmental suit in case of emergency. My last suit had undoubtedly saved me from what was the absolute worst possible scenario. Even though I’d not come through unscathed, my suit had kept me alive and I was determined never to fly without one again. 

After laying my credit chip on the sensor and watching an eye-watering amount of money get drained out of my account, the representative I’d been working with told me that the finished products would be shipped to me on the station once ready. The man had done his job well and took me all the way from buying a single suit of middling price to buying two of them with a lot more bells and whistles than I’d had before. ‘Better integration with implanted biomonitors and advanced materials that make for a more comfortable fit’, he’d told me.

By the time we were ready to return to Illume, I’d not only had to buy a new piece of luggage (in the form of a new duffel bag to replace the one I’d lost), but we’d also had to make use of a chartered taxi to get back to the port rather than taking the public tram. I simply had too many bags to take on the mass transit system. This was an extra cost, but the euphoric rush of having the driver ask “You ladies have a good day?” as he helped load the trunk was worth every cred. 

At long last, everyone around just saw me; not the quiet scav pilot, not the young man the captain had taken on, not the troublemaking kid making an annoyance of himself on the station, no. People saw ME now. My girlfriend hugged me tightly when she saw the tears start down my cheeks, but they were happy tears, the tears of a girl that no longer had to hide herself.

After arriving at the spaceport and passing along my baggage, Echo did convince me to stop at an old-fashioned ice cream parlor in the concourse. 

“Come on, Adresta. We went on a big shopping spree, we ate dinner together, this was as much a date as I could come up with. And besides, you are having big emotions right now. Big emotions are best had with ice cream.” I giggled at her, but didn’t resist as Echo pulled me into the parlor by an arm. 

Chocolate chip ice cream was basic, boring even to some. There were thousands of other flavors and mix-ins I could have gotten, but I liked keeping my frozen dairy confections simple. If the base was good, why add too much and muddle the flavor? Even still, I was not prepared for the taste that hit my tongue when I took my first bite. 

The rich vanilla used in the cream melded perfectly with the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate chips in a way that made my taste buds positively sing. I’d always liked a bit of sweetness before, but nothing could have prepared me for the depth of flavor I was experiencing at that moment. It left me shivering, both from the incredible flavor and the brain freeze that took hold a split second later.

My girlfriend laughed at me to which I grumbled embarrassedly. “It hits different, now… Even you admitted to that…”

“You didn’t see your face, though!” Echo snarked back. “Reminds me of the one you made a few nights ago…” 

I could feel my face light up like a hull plate entering an atmosphere. “Anyways…. Yeah, it is good.” Echo laughed at me again. 

“Okay, hun. I’ll give you a break. You are right, of course. Some flavors just are so much more intense now. Ah well. Let’s finish up here and head back home. As much as I like shopping, I think I’m about beat for the day.”

Considering the amount of credits I had drained from my savings account in the one day, I couldn’t help but agree. I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle any more physically either. Enhanced or not, I was still human and fatigue was still a force to be reckoned with. 

The two of us soon headed back to the port and climbed aboard the chartered shuttle. Porters for the ship had already loaded all of my purchases and prepared for our arrival. Once more we were treated to a buttery smooth ride from surface to orbit. As a purpose made passenger shuttle, the chartered ship was well equipped to handle the rigors of such a trip, though it was entirely incapable of long range travel. 

Illume Station was still exactly how we left it when we arrived back. The massive habitation rings were still incredibly impressive to my comparatively less civilized eyes. We docked at one of the liner gantries rather than the private docks the Hrafn was docked at, but it was still an easy trip back to the number three ring where the Erickson suites were due to the station’s internal hyperloop tram. 

Because of the sizable amount of clothing and personal hygiene products I’d purchased, it took most of an hour to get it all organized and stored away in various cabinets and closets. Echo’s suite only had a single bathroom, so we would be sharing it. The shelves inside got a bit crowded with two people using it, but we made everything fit with a bit of work. 

The rest of our week was thankfully calm. Though we didn’t leave the station again, I did make a few more purchases at stores in one of the station's shopping concourses. The room I was using had become much more comfortable with the addition of new linens and a couple pieces of furniture. I wasn’t using the room a ton, seeing as I spent most nights in the other bedroom, but it was nice to have my own space for my things. 

The bedroom wasn’t my only space, either. As promised, Rachael had set me up with a private hangar not far from the suites. It was empty for the most part, but it made for a wonderful workshop. The storage container that temporarily housed all of my stuff had been emptied into the hangar and I’d set up all of my tools just as I liked them. The hangar was of similar size compared to my old one, but was a lot nicer in accommodations. One thing was for certain: I’d never have to worry about losing power in this one.

Vox’s core was the first thing I had set up. The pagoda structure of computer equipment and cryogenic cooling pipes took up a not insignificant amount of space, but I was quite happy with the results, as was Vox.

“Once again I congratulate you on everything you have accomplished, Miss Adresta. Your new shell seems to be much more adequate for your wellbeing.”

“Couldn’t agree more, Vox,” I responded. “It feels good.”

Her answer carried a hint of humor. “As you have been waiting and saving for this for quite some time, I would truly hope that you were happy with the result.” I shrugged, but really didn’t have an answer for that.

“So how has your secret project with the captain been going?”

“I am pleased to say that it has been going well. Things have been progressing on schedule.”

“Still not going to tell me what you’ve been doing, are you?”

Vox paused momentarily. “It was requested that I not pass along the information you are asking for. It was at your behest that I assist Captain Erickson. If you truly wish to know, I will tell you, but it is intended to be a surprise.”

This was more than I’d gotten out of my oldest friend before. “A surprise? For me?”

“Yes,” she responded. “That is the intention, though you are not the only one who it is for. I can assure you that this project is for your benefit. With that said…” 

The AI paused again and when she spoke again, I could tell that it was really Vox; not just the version that hid behind the programs that kept her from being found out, but the real Vox. 

“This is for your benefit. I believe that this is best kept as a surprise, so please, as a favor for me, allow this to sit.” 

I sagged. “Alright, Vox. I’ll take your word for it.”

Silence filled the room as I sat with my thoughts.

“You know, Vox?” I said quietly. “You were my first real friend. I never let anyone else that close before you, not even Captain Blackburn, not until later at least.”

Just as quietly, she responded. “I know, Adresta. And I am proud to be that for you. You are my friend too.”