"Umm… Elena, did you mean to hit the switch?" Aegis asked hesitantly.

I let out a long sigh "yes…"

"Ah Okay… well I'll still give you privacy and keep this to an audio only channel." She said, still somewhat embarrassed.

I let out a soft chuckle then asked "Are you embarrassed by nudity?"

“Nudity no, maintaining another’s privacy yes… Do you want me to randomly look in on you at any time?” Aegis said.

“Okay… point taken… so umm I did as you suggested… and explored…” I said somewhat hesitantly.

“I gathered… based on your brainwave patterns… which by the way I cannot not watch… and no I can't tell what you are thinking but there are clear signs when someone is in distress for instance.” She said.

“Ah… I should have considered that…” I said embarrassed.

“Sorry I should have maybe informed you about that sooner…” Aegis said.

“You really are a mess aren't you…” I commented.

“Both, more and less than any are thinking…” She said.

“Alright so yes… I did enjoy learning…” I said.

“That is reassuring to hear but again I had no doubt of that outcome.” Aegis said.

“Do you have any material that you know could help explain things?” I asked very embarrassed.

“Certainly I'll send you some medical articles… unless you want books for girls just hitting puberty…” She said.

“I'll take the articles…” I said absolutely mortified at the conversation I was having.

“So Umm has this been as awkward for you as it has been for me?” I asked.

“Yes” Aegis said flatly.

Some hours later I was in this section's library reviewing biochemistry with Aegis. I was primarily doing it to gain an understanding of what she called hormone replacement therapy. However she also said this could be good practice to understand the Verdient Nexus as well… at least for basic research skills.

Right when I was about to take a break a guy about my own age sat down not too far away. He also looked like he was in the process of reviewing some sort of physics or maybe chemistry based on one of the books I could see.

I stretched and felt joints pop in a satisfying manner. I was considering what to do next, continue research? There were elements that were fascinating and not nearly as boring compared to what I remember from school… because when I asked the teacher she actually worked me through what I wanted to know. Then again there was this new guy that I had no doubt was a plant with my AI to meet new people and socialize. I had no reason to doubt her sincerity in wanting to make me happier and a more well adjusted person but I didn't need to make it too easy for her.

"Biochemistry hmm?" The guy asked.

Well there went any chance that it was a coincidence.

"Yes… I am reviewing something of a personal nature if you are required to know." I said in an annoyed response.

"Oh… sorry I didn't mean for it to sound like an accusation or anything like that…" the guy said embarrassed, and I got the impression he actually meant it. He had a bit of a Spanish accent, or what I think was Spanish anyway.

"Oh… umm sorry as well then I figured that was going somewhere else…" I said, embarrassed by my own outburst.

"Fair, so are you a pilot or one of the technicians?" He asked.

"Oh I didn't even consider… umm pilot? Or maybe ‘Pilot recruit’ would be a better description…" I said.

"Ah same, have you started doing any of the remote piloting stuff yet? Your appearance well… the few others I have seen can be a bit more wild…" he said.

"Umm yeah… so I do have some differences from my appearance… I only started it yesterday…" I said and didn't want to elaborate on my own past.

"Oh how did that go? Did your AI have you experiment to learn limits?" He asked excitedly.

"That part certainly happened…" I said a bit embarrassed.

"Hopefully not something dumb like I did… I was doing the bench press and set the gravity to 10 times Earth standard with the weight at max…" he said.

“So what happened?” I asked but I had a suspicion.

“Turns out these bodies can't handle that level of force… cut me right in half at my chest…” He said.

“Wait, wouldn't your AI have warned you about something that dangerous?” I asked in confusion.

“You would think but I got the sense that it was supposed to be a learning experience on my part…” He said.

“Rasputin has always been a very heavy ‘learn from your mistakes’ sort of individual.” Aegis invisibly whispered to me.

“Mine wasn't nearly that extreme… actually I'm sort of embarrassed about the entire ordeal after the fact…” I said quietly.

“I won't pry but I am curious.” He said.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“By the way I didnt get your name?” I asked him.

“Alejandro Rodriguez but that's a bit of a mouth full and I always liked Alex… and yours?” he asked me.

“Elena” I said with a bit of a blush.

“So ask him what he's researching…” Aegis next suggested to me, I was pretty sure only I could see and hear her right now.

“Okay fine!” I hissed at Aegis, I was really stressed out because I was so out of my depth. Alex pretended not to notice.

“So what are you studying specifically?” I asked Alex.

“Something to give me a better understanding of what this body’s limits are. I would like to have a refined idea.” He said.

“That… seems like a very complex task…” I said wide eyed.

“Yeah… I was originally starting to do a first aid or nurse sort of job with the hopes of becoming a doctor one day… I had some experience in first aid and human anatomy so I know there are a ton of moving parts. So my task ahead… well.” He said, he seemed genuine but I wasn't too sure if he was trying to show off.

"What about yourself?" He asked me.

"I… wanted to do something with my life that had purpose…" I said shyly, I told him honestly. The admission made me nervous, would that seem dumb or insane to him?

"And your idea of purpose was the Advanced Pilot program?" He asked in shock and maybe disbelief.

"Well to be fair I didn't know what it was at the time… but yes the more I think about it the more I feel I fit this position." I said heatedly.

"You have serious guts if you went into this blind and still want to continue… I figured I would end up a medic or something…" he said still shocked.

"Wait, is being a medic a thing for this job?" I asked confused.

"Why wouldn't it be, I know these bodies are tough but I figure someone has to help keep them together." He said but he seemed less confident in that statement.

"This is why I require you to question more and to consider all the possibilities." A higher pitched gravely sort of voice said. The individual to appear next to Alex was wearing a black robe that seemed somewhat religious in nature, he had long somewhat greasy hair and a disorganized beard.

"I… never considered… or maybe I hoped…" Alex sort of mumbled in response.

"Whereas Aegis here tends to provide every answer on a silver platter… and this must be your latest charge, how has 'she' been coming along." The figure who I assumed to be Rasputin said then asked Aegis. The way he emphasized 'she' really bugged me as well.

"She is doing well, her and Sasha are both excelling now that they have been teaming up on occasion." She said, that made it very obvious to me that there was way more to this than a simple method of studying and learning. I also noticed Alex’s surprised expression as Aegis must have just appeared to him.

"Ah so the paranoid one actually did ask for help then and of course you gave it. You always do." Rasputin said in an almost mocking tone.

This guy or whatever was really starting to get under my skin… so I came up with a small and simple idea.

"Aegis, are there isolation rooms outside of our dorms?" I asked.

"Yes I can project you a map if you would like." She said then I was presented with a yellow line in my vision that seemed to lead around a corner.

"Thanks!" I said, then I grabbed Alex by the arm and pulled him along.

It didn't take long to find the room, I guess these were sort of like private rooms. I pulled Alex in and closed the door, flipping the switch.

"What is the me…" Rasputin was in the process of trying to reprimand me or something but I didn't care. All I knew was a bully when I saw one.

"Sorry about that… your AI was giving me a headache and we were in the middle of our own discussion that he rudely interrupted." I said in annoyance regarding Rasputin.

"Oh I think you just pissed him off real good." Alex said with a small amused smile.

"Like I said… headache…" I repeated then added "Are you going to be okay?".

"Yeah, I'll be fine… he is hard, maybe even harder than he needs to be but that might just be his personality… the man he is based off of was historically not a nice person…" Alex said.

"Ah well… I hope you don't get in trouble because of me." I said.

"Thank you… you really seem like a kind hearted soul… and I would love to learn more about you." He said.

"I… try to be… and thank you for the compliment." I said still processing said complement.

We sort of stood there for a few minutes trying to start up small talk.

"Would you like to get dinner some time soon?" He asked.

"Sure" I said, not processing what he just asked.

"Great! It's a date!" He said then pressed a light kiss on my cheek. Then he was out the door before I finished my last thought.

"Umm Elena are you ok? Your brainwaves went all over the place a few seconds before the door opened…" Aegis asked me.

"Can we go into the digital space? I need a moment with just you and me…" I said sort of in shock.

The next thing I knew I was in Aegis's digital space.

"What the fuck was all of that about!? Why did you orchestrate that…" I asked hotly.

"First that was not me… more than likely that was Rasputin… the manipulative asshat…" she said and I could feel the venom in those words.

"And the whole bit with you vs him and Argus and Sasha?" I asked still very confused.

"Complicated… sorry… can't go into it right now… but that is really between Argus and Rasputin with Sasha very unfortunately caught in the crossfire…" she said a bit distantly.

"Okay… will I ever find out all these little secrets?" I asked her.

"I honestly don't know…" she said with genuine concern on her face. Then after a moment she snapped out of it.

"By the way I am incredibly proud of you for handling that the way you did. I wish I could show you the utter shock Rasputin’s signal showed when you ran into that room. He had not even considered or planned for that." She said and I could nearly feel the smugness and pride radiating from her.

"Wait really?" I asked.

"Yes you took a simple and easy approach and used it to cut his legs out from under him. Oh that asshole thinks he's such a great schemer. Part of his process is to have an audience to show off to when he's manipulating and maneuvering his opponents. What's better you undermined his control over his own charge." She told me.

"Honestly… the way he said the word 'she' really pissed me off… I can assume he knows?" I asked.

"Unfortunately yes… it's kind of hard to hide that level of change and that thing will use every method to get under your skin…" she said and I could feel the heat in those words.

"Honestly I feel bad for Alex. He seems like a nice person. How did he get trapped with that sort of AI…" I asked.

"Again complicated… sorry…" she said.

"Oh by the way when Alex left the room he seemed very umm confident and happy?" She asked, my cheeks burned red as I was hit with a wave of embarrassment.

"Oh… fuck me… that's right… he asked me out on and date… and I said sure…" I said reluctantly.

The next noise I heard from Aegis was a squeal of pure glee.