by Viola Grace
Zera nodded. “Hold on. Up you go. This checks for muscular development. It lets us know where there is room to embed something.”
Arcady breathed calmly as she was tilted back with her feet wide. This wasn’t in her normal experience, but she had gone through stranger in the last few months.
She breathed in as her muscle groups began to tense and relax. Light streamed through her, and she held on.
She was lifted, turned, her muscle groups were activated, and then she was slowly returned to standing. She exhaled and looked at Zera. “What next?”
“That’s it. You are radiation tolerant. That’s good. You are also built for intramuscular implants. It’s amazing. It is like you become whatever is needed at the moment.”
“Duh. That is my whole thing. The people-pleasing is one aspect of it. It’s also why the lamination on my skeleton went so well. At least I got to be sedated when it zapped me.” She laughed and slowly got her feet out of the holds and then tugged her hands free. Supporting her weight had made her hands cramp up fiercely.
She flexed her hands and looked at the scans. Krizt wrapped himself around her and massaged her hands, as well as provided her with body heat. Zera looked at them and said, “You two are adorable.”
Krizt observed. “Your organs literally move out of the way. Fascinating.”
Arcady shrugged. “I can sublimate myself into dimensional space. This is the least of my issues.”
Zera snorted. “Oh, right. I forgot about that. A flickering pixie. You are going to be so popular.”
Krizt was still massaging her hands. “Do you have the implants ready?”
“I do. Fresh from the design lab.”
“Good. Arcady, please, get onto the med bed.”
She blinked. “Now?”
He smiled. “Of course. Corianne has already authorized this in exchange for a rather extreme bonus. You will get a bonus for each implant and additional bonuses for keeping them functioning.”
Zera added. “And more bonuses for public appearances at trade shows.”
Arcady was stepping toward the med platform with the vertical bed and more handlebars. “Trade shows?” She groaned. “I used to get my butt pinched liked crazy at those things, and that was when I was barely legal.”
Krizt patted her butt. “It is a butt worth pinching, patting, stroking, fucking.”
She blinked and then turned crimson.
Zera ran her hand down Arcady’s spine to her ass. “He’s not wrong. You do have a very pleasing musculature. I would do you.”
Arcady chuckled. “You did.”
“Oh, yeah... that was a fun few hours.” Zera patted her butt.
“Krizt and I signed the interaction declaration. I don’t seem to remember one with you, Zera.”
Zera chuckled. “Aw, I am always up to play. You know that.”
Krizt growled. “Not now, Zera.”
Krizt murmured to Arcady, “Now, bunny, we are going to sterilize your skin and the pods so that they will burrow under the skin. We are starting with a subdermal connection to your nervous system. If necessary, we will have to go intracranial at a different time.”
“Okay. Under my skin now, in my skull later. Wait, how are you going to get in there. You electro-plated me.”
“I built in a back door.” He was close and rumbling it in her ear.
“Do not talk about back doors in that tone, mister.”
“That is ‘doctor’ at work.” He licked the outer curve of her ear.
Zera brought an instrument tray over, and they began their work. When the bed tilted forward, Arcady held on and exhaled slowly. Krizt’s hands moved her head, so her left side was facing up, and her hair was carefully gathered and draped out of the way.
Zera wiped the cool swabs down her back, around her scapulae. Another swab around her neck and the lower edge of her skull made sure that they had their options.
“Okay, bunny. Relax, we are just marking your skin for the implants.” Krizt stroked her hair. “It shouldn’t hurt. Let us know if it does.”
“I always do.”
He chuckled, and the machine started to move behind her. A cover was put across her eyes, and she heard them say, “Zones identified. Marker... now.”
Four little jabs struck her back, there was a pause, and they said, “Control module inserted... now.”
The grain of fire struck her, and she gasped. Krizt held her hand and said, “It’s over. They are in.”
She groaned.
He was beside himself. “Does it hurt?”
“No, the jokes I am stifling right now. Usually, I don’t have to ask if something is in yet.”
Zera laughed. “She’s fine.”
She rose up on her elbows. “I am fine, but what is going on in my back? I thought that was a marking tool.”
She looked back at it. “And now that I can see it. Demonic tech injector it is.”
Zera stroked it. “I call it Horatio. It can penetrate any body to a precisely designed depth.”
“Geez.” She straddled the med bed before sitting sideways. “So, I can get up, right?”
Zera smiled. “One more scanner. We need to verify placement.”
She felt the implants warming. “Are they supposed to be warm?”
“Yeah, they are using you as a power plant. The warmer you are, the faster they get to projection level.” Krizt was smiling as he worked on a tablet.
“That is when they become wings, right?”
“That is their programmed shape, yes. After you build up a reservoir of power, you will be able to fly.”
She looked at him. “How do I build up a reservoir of power?”
Zera smiled. “Body heat, physical exertion. Like riding a bike, the hardest part is getting started.”
Krizt smiled slyly.
“What you are thinking is highly inappropriate in a workplace setting. So, which scanner?”
He reached out, grabbed her around the waist, and carried her to the machine.
She settled in, and her back was to the wall this time. He looked her up and down as he had a dozen times in the last week. “Looking good, baby girl.”
Zera stared at him in shock. “Who are you, and what did you do with my cranky researcher?”
He snorted and caressed Arcady’s cheek. “He’s still in here. I can bring him out if you want to see me in a temper.”
“Uh, no. That’s fine. You stay weird and flirty.” She patted him on his shoulder.
Arcady shivered. “It’s a little cool in here, and I am not dressed for this level of air-con.”
“I will warm you up right away.” He smiled. “Just one more scan.”
The machine hummed, and then, it slowed. He looked past her at the readouts, and then, he got a wicked smile. He kissed her, palming her breasts and teasing her nipples. Her temperature spiked, and she felt her back humming. The wall of heat he was putting out spiked suddenly as he leaned into her, his thigh parting hers.
He rocked his thigh against her clit, and she gasped. A monitor somewhere in the room was beeping dramatically, and Arcady leaned into the kiss, the hands, the building heat. She moaned, shivered, and fought to get closer to him. His tail worked into her sex, and she breathed faster and faster until her body broke apart with her releasing a soft cry.
Krizt lifted his head and smiled. “Is that your office orgasm?”
“No, it is my naked in a lab and lunch is about to start orgasm.” She whispered up at him, “The office orgasm has to be on your desk.”
He jolted.
Zera laughed. “Interesting call. She has a fifty-eight percent charge.”
He slowly withdrew his thigh from between hers, and she shivered. She had her teeth chattering in seconds.
“Her core temperature is dropping.” Zera came over and touched her skin. “The skin is hot.”
Arcady looked at Krizt and reached for him. “Hug?”
He stripped quickly and wrapped himself around her. The heat sta
rted to seep into her, and she looked at him with embarrassment colouring her cheeks. “This is not what I planned for my first day back.”
He grinned. “I had it planned for lunch.”
“I meant the lab-based nudity.”
“So did I.”
She ducked her head, and Zera took some more scans. “She’s still too cold, but she’s stopped dropping.”
Krizt turned to Zera. “I posit using her own body to escalate her temperature.”
Zera held her hands up. “I don’t judge. Don’t throw stones either. Just know that anything you do is digitally recorded, and the monographs will include details.”
Arcady blinked. “You are going to include my name in the monograph?”
“No. No names. Just Female Subject Alpha.”
Arcady grinned. “Good.” She leaned in and explained to Krizt what she wanted while undulating against him and shivering.
His muscles bunched, he got taller, wider, stronger, and he lifted her high in his arms before sliding her down his body.
He entered her slowly and dug his claws into her buttocks as he lifted and dropped her. He plunged and pumped while Arcady whined for more. When he wasn’t satisfied with the progress, he pulled out, flipped her over the med bed, and drove into her while holding her hips.
Her body got warm then hot, and when he thrust into her and bit her shoulder, she wailed as she came. The low growl arrived with the hot pulse of his cum inside her, and he drove out all the cold.
They panted, and he licked her neck, his tongue sliding along her skin as he relaxed into a more normal situation.
Zera looked at Arcady, “You requested that?”
Arcady grinned and nodded. “It’s just as much fun as it looks.”
Zera shuddered. “Right. Well, I took some reference shots for the erotic gardens at the resort.”
Krizt chuckled. “That would be interesting to see.”
Arcady squirmed around him, still impaled. “But, like, no faces, right?”
He lifted her off the bed, slid an arm between her breasts and turned her head to kiss her. “You have a lovely face, and your eyes are what I want to fall into.” He chuckled. “Well, one of the things I want to fall into.”
“If you start to fall into vags around the office, HR is going to step in.” She looked at him and licked her lips. He kissed her as he pulled out, and she shivered as her body reacted with another wave of spasms. He held her until she stopped shaking and caressed her belly and hips.
Zera got some towels and set them nearby. “The lab shower is clear if you need to reset yourself. Your temperature has normalized, Arcady. Well done, Krizt.”
He chuckled and ushered Arcady into the shower. He kept her hair out of the way while she rinsed off. He asked, “Are you warmer?”
She nodded. “Much. Thank you.”
They finished and dried off. She got dressed and clipped her hair up again, and she felt like new. The slight ache where the implants had pierced her was fading as she moved around. She straightened her jacket and smoothed her skirt. She looked at Zera. “What is the charge level?”
“Ninety-six percent.”
“What happens at one hundred?” She smiled.
“I look forward to finding out.” Zera grinned. “Ideally, you should be able to activate the template that is in the buds and your body will generate the wings. From there, the longer you can maintain them, the more exhausted you will get. They will literally drain you, but we are trying to find out how long you can last. Krizt will be monitoring you closely and making observations as to your status. I can see why Tycho hasn’t taken control of your little grouping. I haven’t seen Krizt in that situation before. The beast, yeah, but not having sex like that.”
Arcady helped Krizt straighten his tie. She grinned up at him as she tightened the knot and smoothed the fabric of his shirt. “I’m glad. It would have been an awkward board meeting.”
Zera snickered, and Krizt grinned.
Arcady checked her watch. “Damn. I am missing lunch.”
Zera laughed. “Take a full hour.”
Arcady looked at her. “I can’t. Krizt has lab appointments and rounds this afternoon.”
Krizt wrapped his arms around her. “We will get delivery. I know a good place.”
“Klauz doesn’t deliver.”
He chuckled. “Doesn’t he?”
“But, how will he know what we want from over here?”
“It’s called a menu, bunny.”
She blinked and then chuckled. “Oh.”
He hugged her, and he looked to Zera. “I will keep an eye on her. How are the designs coming for the rest?”
“Still in the works. I am trying to get an artist to finish the decorative implants.” Zera nodded. “Since it is permanent, he wants it right. Once her wings manifest, he will be better able to make the designs match.”
Arcady chuckled. “I always wanted to have some tattoos.”
Zera nodded. “Keep me apprised of any changes to the wings. Once they start manifesting, you will need to control the power output, and from there, you will have to work on controlling the actual wings. When you have lift-off, you will need a training ground. We don’t really have a private spot for you to practice, so we are going to have to find somewhere.”
There was a pause. “Arcady, do you have your travel documents in order?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure. Why?”
“Oh, no reason. A neighbouring country has more options in that region than we do. We can arrange training once you are kitted out.”
She looked at Zera. “That would be the move to Aksalla then.”
Krizt answered. “The lamination process has gained a great deal of attention. It will be easier to hide both of us in Aksalla.”
“So, my wings start to work, and we move?”
Krizt nodded. “Yes.”
She grimaced. “What if I don’t want to move?”
Zera smiled tightly. “Well, with those implants and that skeleton, you are now the property of Z-Tech.”
“You can’t own a human being.”
“You are not human; you are an active. And we don’t own you; we have leased you for a ten-year term. Check your balance.”
Arcady checked her accounts, and Krizt had to stop her from falling on her ass. Zera snickered. “Sorry, but being a subject for this kind of testing is well compensated, and Corianne drove a helluva bargain.”
Arcady’s com chimed, and she looked at Krizt. “You ordered already?”
“Yeah, before I warmed you up.”
Zera smiled. “He did manage before you came along, but he manages much better now.”
Krizt nodded to Zera. “We will pick up our food and eat it in my office. The monitor records will be updated every few hours. When she is able to generate the wings at will, it will only be updated for exertions. If she goes through agent training in Aksalla, she will only be recorded for maintenance.”
Zera nodded. “As we agreed.”
Arcady snorted. “Right. Food’s getting cold. I will meet you in your office.” She squeezed his hand and headed to the elevator.
* * * *
Krizt waited until she was off to get the takeout, and he exhaled slowly, leaning against the table.
Zera blinked. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, but he wants round two, so keeping him in for the rest of the day is going to be difficult. I might have to get her sorting out labs in a hazmat suit to keep him quiet.”
Zera laughed. “Sure, a guy loses control, and the girl gets extra work and chased around the office.”
Krizt looked embarrassed. “She doesn’t run. Since this began, she has no inkling of danger around him or me. She just jumps at us and expects us to catch her.”
She grinned. “And you do.”
“And we do. Corianne has expressed the same bewilderment that Arcady treats her like a normal woman. And Tycho... he’s in it for her scent and the blood. A tiny drop from her is like half a cupful
from anyone else. It’s like drinking ice cream.”
Zera blinked. “Wow. I am almost wishing that was my thing. I would love to try it.” She shrugged. “Sex with her is excellent, though. She holds nothing back.”
Krizt’s form rippled. “Yeah, can we drop that topic?”
Zera laughed. “Sure. Salat did the initial designs, but now Torenne is making them prettier. I should have the finals today, and then, I will do the programming and pass it along for the final run-through. Once you give your approval, we will come back here and see if we can’t install the buds for a variety of attachable weapons using her as the power source.”
He grimaced. “She might have to make the choice between flight and weapons.”
“Yeah, so we will put power-storage nodes that look like flowers across her torso and the balls of her shoulders. No one is going to hurt your bunny again.”
He nodded.
“I mapped the healing bite spots and will avoid putting any nodes in there.”
“They are visible?” There was a tinge of embarrassed purple to his cheeks.
“On thermals and UV lighting. I was actually scanning her, you know.”
He shrugged. “I was distracted.”
“Tell Tycho to take it easy on her inner thigh. He’s making a hot spot.”
“I believe it is his preferred feeding spot.”
Zera sighed. “Then tell him to bite the other side.”
Krizt shrugged. “I am just sharing a thought thread with him. You know him best. Speaking to him as her physician.”
Zera laughed. “You are the doctor, Doctor. I am just a researcher with some fun patents. You are also the alpha of your group. Put your foot down.”
Krizt frowned. “I don’t want to scare them.”
Zera laughed. “They need to be scared. Corianne is locking Arcady into contracts without checking with her just because she wants to see the result. Tycho would munch a pattern down her arm if he was left long enough just so he could watch it heal.”
“He wouldn’t. Not if she said no.”
“You are correct, but when she’s hot, does she say no?”
He paled. “I will speak with him.”
“Do that.”
Krizt left, and Zera went over the results. Arcady was even more suitable for this project than her initial results had indicated. She was definitely the right hire to be Krizt’s assistant. Her scans from the interview had shown that she had tremendous adaptable potential, and it didn’t end with her knowing they needed coffee and Krizt drank tea.