DT1 - Skindeep

[Ashlie Minamida]

"More than most people, I assume. He's some kind of metamorphic substance that achieved sentience, presumably by mimicking the people he came into contact with at the military base that discovered him." she says, nodding approvingly at the data read-outs as the signals she cares about clear up.

[Robert West]

"He has some interesting qualities," Rob says. "Sometimes he sets off my abilities and other times he doesn't."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Interesting. He might be able to emulate living tissue to an extent that it escapes the influence of your powers. From an engineering point of view it's almost unfortunate he achieved sentience. A material like that has endless applications."

[Robert West]

"That was sort of my thought," Rob says, interlacing his fingers and flexing them outwards as he continues to try to give Ashlie relevant data. "I took a sample and I'm running some tests."

"With his permission," Rob adds.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"If a non-sentient samples retains the same characteristics or even just a fraction of them..."

[Robert West]

Rob smiles, "I thought that might interest you."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"So many projects. If only I could dedicate my full attention to each of them." she sighs. "But I believe we're done with the calibration and we can move on to synchronization."

[Robert West]

"Should be fun," Rob says. "You ready?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Yes." she smiles and holds up her hand with the palm pointed towards Rob.

[Robert West]

Rob reaches out and presses his hand against Ashlie's, "How's that?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Incredible..." she breathes out while the monitor behind her lights up with visualized data.

[Robert West]

Rob intertwines his fingers with Ashlie's, "It looks like everything's working properly. Data sources are aligned. No significant delays in synaptic emulation."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I've been missing out." she smiles, feeling like her hand is pushing through the veil separating her from the physical world and thinning it out. And all she has to do is to step forward and push the rest of herself through it. It's daunting and exhilarating at the same time. She takes a small step forward and takes Rob's other hand into her own.

[Robert West]

"Well, that's alright," Rob says. "You seem like a quick study."

And that's when he leaned forward and kissed Ashlie.

Innapropes, Rob!

[Ashlie Minamida]

Ashlie is, predictably, not a very good kisser. But she seems very eager to learn. Signals are firing and seeking out Rob's as they settled into place, slowly building a map of Ashlie's body with every touch. It's only a ghostly model of her face and hands right now but as she steps closer to Rob more spots light up to fill in the void.

[Robert West]

Rob is also not a very good kisser. He was practically confined to his house his entire life. It would raise quite a few questions if he was a good kisser, so at least they're evenly matched as far as experience goes.

As he continues to kiss her, he at least seems to have enough presence of mind to generally remember what they're doing. His hands explore her new sensors, doing his best to aid in synchronizing her systems with the new data.

[Ashlie Minamida]

Ashlie mirrors his movements almost systematically. It's not perfect but close enough that she can compensate for the differences. Glowing lines light up where sensations overlap, bit by bit outline the contours of her body. As more of it takes shape her movements become more certain, pulling Rob against herself.

[Robert West]

After a bit longer just enjoying the kiss, Rob presses his forehead against hers.

"There's that intersection between usefulness and personal interest again," Rob says.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I don't know what you're talking about." she says quietly. "You're just assisting me with a system calibration. Everything else would be against regulations." she smirks.

[Robert West]

Rob smirks back, "And how is the systems calibration progressing?"

As he talks, he runs his hand down her back.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"It's shaping up very well. Still plenty of areas that need some touching up though." she smiles, arching her back in response.

[Robert West]

"Well, obviously we'll have to take our time and do thorough, careful work," Rob says, kissing her again.

((Fade to Systems Calibrations?))

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I wouldn't expect anything less."


((And fade...))