A Commanding Weakness Ch. 04

Peggy Morgan, the Inyx's science officer, made sure to offer a proper salute to Captain Vasser as she finished up her duty shift on the bridge and headed into the turbolift that would take her back down to her quarters, in the bowels of the ship. As soon as the doors slid closed with their distinctive hiss, though, she slumped against the wall.

Another awful day.

It just wasn't getting any easier. Peggy had always hoped that, somehow, once she made it to a senior enough post, she'd be able to fit in. No such luck. Instead, it felt like other members of the crew were constantly laughing at her behind her back, be it because of the way she looked, or the way she talked, or her tendency to get lost in daydreaming and fantasy when during an uneventful shift.

Yes, Peggy was a huge nerd. She understood perfectly well that she was a complete stereotype of a science officer. Peggy was pale and freckled, with long, red hair and huge, round glasses. She couldn't handle contact lenses or laser correction, and a nervous habit meant that she often stuttered or lisped when she spoke. Thanks to that she usually kept quiet - but when she found her voice, she sometimes got carried away with her scientific explanations.

It wasn't her fault that the finer points of subquantum physics were so fascinating! Really, other Alliance officers should try to educate themselves. Instead, when Captain Vasser cut her off, they just giggled behind their hands. And why did the captain have to be so short with her anyway? She was an officer! A young one, yes, but she still deserved respect.

Peggy sighed. Hopefully, once they were through with this mission, she could get herself transferred to a ship that suited her better. Until then, there was no use dwelling on it. All she could do was go back to her quarters after every shift and try to take her mind off it all by indulging in her favorite hobby.

Anime.

Yes, being obsessed with twenty-first-century media was often considered cringe. No, it didn't help with her image as a complete and total dork. But Peggy didn't care. Anime was her life. There was nothing better than curling up in her bunk with her body pillow and waifu plushes to burn through a few seasons of classic animation.

It was such a shame that Peggy didn't have anyone to share her passion with. Unfortunately, to most people, anime was just some boring, old-fashioned, dead medium, no different from opera and ballet. Apparently, your average Alliance starship officer didn't have much interest in classical culture. Oh, Peggy had tried to spread the good word. But just like everything else, it had mostly gotten her ignored and quietly made fun of.

Fine. Whatever. All Peggy needed to do to escape their scorn was make it back to her quarters without running into anyone unpleasant. Then she'd have the evening all to herself.

But it was never that easy. Peggy cursed her luck when she rounded a bulkhead and found herself staring at the Inyx's chief of security, Samira Carter.

Great.

Chief Carter was one of the worst. Peggy had spent her entire education looking forward to the day she no longer had to deal with abrasive, small-minded, meat-headed jocks. But as it turned out, they had a way of following you wherever you went. Peggy and Chief Carter were never going to be friends. Chief Carter had that loud, swaggering confidence that just grated uncomfortably on Peggy's nerves. She treated the whole ship, and everything in it like it was her own personal playground - especially the women. It was infuriating that, just because she had a few muscles, she assumed she could have any girl she wanted. It was even more infuriating that she seemed to be right.

Peggy would have disliked Carter even if she'd left the science officer completely alone. She was everything Peggy had learned to resent and avoid. But in typical fashion, she was also the ringleader of all the mockery Peggy had received. She had been the first to make cutting comments about Peggy's love of anime, and she was always the one who laughed the loudest whenever she tripped over her words or got shut down by Captain Vasser. And since she was such a big presence wherever she went, the rest of the crew had ended up taking their cues from her.

Peggy had tried to give Chief Carter the benefit of the doubt. It wasn't like the security chief was singling her out in particular. She treated almost everyone this way. Probably, it was her version of being friendly. 'Harmless banter', she'd call it. It wasn't her fault that Peggy was so bad at sticking up for herself, and so easy to make fun of. But at the end of the day, that didn't matter. She was making Peggy's life miserable, and Peggy couldn't forgive her for it.

So, as they walked towards each other, Peggy just fixed her eyes on the floor and silently prayed that Chief Carter didn't take any notice of her. She couldn't take one more mean comment. Not today. Hopefully, she was busy. Hopefully, she had something else on her mind. Hopefully, she was-

"Hey, Morgan. How's it going?"

Her deep, cocksure, sultry voice was like nails on a chalkboard to the science officer. She kept her head down and quickened her pace, hoping against hope that Chief Carter would just let it go.

No such luck.

"Woah! What's the hurry?"

Peggy felt herself thrown suddenly off balance as something slammed into her shoulder and spun her around. Immediately disoriented, she braced herself to hit the floor before she realized that, instead, something was bearing down on her and keeping her pressed firmly against the nearest bulkhead.

It was Chief Carter. The security chief had slammed her against the wall.

Immediately, Peggy was flinching and panicking. Physical abuse? She hadn't imagined even Carter would sink quite that low. It was a major escalation. What was Peggy going to do? She could take it to the captain, yes, but that was slim consolation while she was getting her face pounded in by a brute of a security chief. Peggy started bringing her hands up to fend off the blows, shaking furiously.

"Hey," Chief Carter said, in her very lowest, smokiest, most seductive voice. "Why such a hurry, cute thing? Surely whatever you're doing tonight can't be better than spending time with me."

Peggy barked an awkward, disbelieving laugh. It took her a long moment to process, with disgust, that Chief Carter didn't want to beat her.

She wanted to screw her.

Scarcely a more appealing proposition.

"G-g-g-get off m-me!" Peggy spluttered. Chief Carter just laughed good-naturedly.

"No need to be afraid, Morgan," she cooed. "I don't bite... much."

Peggy felt like she was going to hurl. This was completely ludicrous.

"L-let me go!" Peggy doubled her efforts to squirm free. "Or I'll... I'll..."

To her surprise, Chief Carter actually eased up on her a little - although not enough for her to escape.

"C'mon. Is the prospect of spending an evening hanging out with me really that bad?" Chief Carter's voice gave Peggy pause. She sounded surprisingly sincere.

"S-save it," Peggy replied wearily. "You're just making fun of me anyway."

"Huh?" Now Chief Carter seemed all but wounded. "No, not at all. Why would you think that?"

"B-because it's what you always do!" Peggy exploded. "I'm used to it by now, OK? You're not gonna fool me that easily."

"Morgan..." Chief Carter's eyes turned big and deep and sorrowful. She reached down to gently caress Peggy's cheek with the back of her hand. "I'm so sorry that you were hurting. I never knew. Won't you let me make it up to you?"

Peggy was almost taken in. She let out a momentary gasp and lost herself briefly in Chief Carter's eyes, before reality once again reasserted herself. Chief Carter's charm was formidable, yes. It wasn't difficult to see how so many girls had been taken in by it. She'd say anything to get a girl into bed. But no matter how charming, she just wasn't Peggy's type. Peggy was into girls who were gentle and sweet. Girls she could share her interests with. Not brawny jocks.

"L-look!" Peggy cried as she tried to push Carter away. "I... I'm honestly not sure if you're joking or not, but I'm really not into you, OK? So, uh... thanks, but no thanks."

Chief Carter's whole face fell. She pulled back and withdrew her arm. "You won't even give me a chance, huh?"

"I-it's just... a little hard to believe." Peggy was taking deep breaths to calm herself. She'd never been so eager to get back to her quarters. "I mean... why would you even be interested in me?"

"Maybe I just think you're cute." Chief Carter shrugged. She still sounded dead serious. "Look at it this way: we're a long way from home out here on the Inyx. It's only natural to take a certain interest in each other. I... really want to learn more about you, Morgan."

"Oh." Peggy turned frosty and started turning away. "I see how it is. Y-you're just bored and looking for another notch on your bedpost, aren't you?"

She took a few steps away, but Chief Carter's powerful hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"No, wait!" The huge security chief sounded so ardent and desperate, it made Peggy freeze in her tracks. "Please let me explain!"

At that moment, it dawned on Peggy that this was real. Chief Carter wasn't playing some kind of trick on her. Nobody was waiting around the corner to burst out and laugh. Somehow, for some reason, Chief Carter genuinely wanted to woo her.

It was a strange realization. It made Peggy grow warm with an unfamiliar, satisfying emotion. It made her feel powerful. She still didn't reciprocate Carter's feelings, of course. But she decided to hear her out. If nothing else, maybe a proper, firm rejection would teach her a little humility.

"Fine," Peggy said firmly, turning back and folding her arms. "But tell me what's going on. And be quick about it. I have places to be."

She didn't, really. Going back to her quarters to watch anime by herself didn't count. But it sounded good.

"OK, OK." To Peggy's surprise, Chief Carter's face turned a deep red color and she looked around furtively. "I just... I think you're really cool. Seriously. And I actually think we might have a lot more in common than you realize. Maybe. With certain, uh, interests."

Peggy frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Chief Carter glanced around again before saying, in a hushed voice: "You like anime, right?"

"H-huh?" Peggy's heart skipped a beat. "Um, yeah?"

The security chief checked yet again to make sure nobody else was around before she blurted out: "I'm a huge MaMeStaSe fangirl!"

Peggy froze. She stopped breathing. Of all the strange things she'd heard in the past five minutes, this was by far the most unbelievable.

'MaMeStaSe' was the preferred fan abbreviation for 'Magical Maidens Star Sentinels', a magical girl anime and Peggy's absolute favorite show of all time. It was a cult classic, and for Peggy, it had everything: incredible animation, brilliant characters, heartwarming themes, and titillating action. She'd rewatched it so many times she'd lost count, she'd plastered posters of it all over her walls, and she even had a body pillow of one of the protagonists. Meeting another fan aboard the Inyx was a dream come true.

But it was a little difficult to believe.

"You are?" Peggy didn't bother to hide her skepticism.

"Yes!" Chief Carter had a big grin on her face, like she couldn't contain her excitement. "I swear!"

"Prove it," Peggy told her flatly. "Do the pose."

She was absolutely sure that Carter wouldn't know what she was talking about, which made it all the more surprising when, without hesitation, Chief Carter performed an adorable little pirouette, struck an iconic pose, and, in a voice sparkling with hope and love, recited:

"In the name of the stars, I'll punish you!"

It was perfect. She was a true fan.

Peggy started bouncing up and down with glee. She couldn't help herself. She lunged forward and threw her hands around the security chief.

"Ohmigod!" she squealed. "It's so good, right? It's soooo good. I mean, the opening? The transformations? Hey, what's your favorite arc? Have you read the manga? I like it too, don't get me wrong, but to me, the anime is just so much more-" Peggy cut herself off and blushed. "Oh no, I'm babbling."

"No, no, don't apologize!" Chief Carter exclaimed. She clasped Peggy's hands and looked every bit as overcome with joy and excitement as Peggy felt. "I can't wait to talk about everything. But, right now, I had something a little different in mind."

"Oh?" She had Peggy's full attention.

"Have you ever thought about recreating one of the episodes?" Chief Carter asked her.

"You mean, like, in the holodeck?" Peggy asked. She had; it was her favorite way to use her holorec time. She loved immersing herself in the fantasy, even if it wore off all too quickly once her time was up.

"No, better," Chief Carter replied. "In real life!"

Peggy just tilted her head, confused.

"It turns out," Chief Carter said, "Dr. Hiraga is a fan too! I only found out a little while ago, but she and I have been working on something down in medbay. Costumes, holographic assets - the works. But we need a third person. And you... well, nobody else knows Magical Maidens Star Sentinels the way you do."

Peggy puffed up a little in pride upon hearing that.

"So, what do you say?" Chief Carter turned bashful again. "I'm... sorry for coming on so strong earlier. It doesn't have to be, um, a d-date or anything. But I'd really love it if you'd come."

Peggy couldn't help but be endeared to this cuter, nerdier version of Chief Carter. Besides, hearing that Dr. Hiraga was an anime fan too was nothing short of breathtaking. Three magical girl fans on one ship? There was no way she could decline.

"Of course I'll come!" she replied. "We need to save the stars with the power of friendship, right?"

Chief Carter pulled Peggy into a huge bear hug, one that almost lifted her off her feet. Then she took Peggy by the end and started leading her down towards medbay.

***

Inside medbay, everything was dim. The main ceiling lights had been switched off, and instead the room was illuminated from strange angles by an array of holographic projectors mounted all over the walls. Peggy knew medbay had some holotech to support the emergency medical hologram, but this seemed excessive. Someone had been making some major upgrades.

That was just a stray observation, though. Peggy was far too preoccupied to dwell on it. She was busy wondering what was going to happen next. They'd hurried to medbay so quickly, she hadn't been able to ask any questions. What did recreating a magical girl anime in real life mean? And wasn't something missing here?

"Where's Dr. Hiraga?" Peggy asked quietly.

"Behind there."

Chief Carter pointed to where a holographic privacy screen had been erected at the far end of the medbay. Peggy frowned.

"She's... hiding? Why?"

"To help set the scene."

Peggy's frown deepened. "What does that mean, Carter?"

Infuriatingly, Chief Carter answered her question with a question. "Season Two. Episode thirty-seven. What happens?"

"Sentinel Green goes to try and save Sentinel Blue from the clutches of the evil Doctor Tomoe," Peggy recited. "But the doctor makes Blue betray her, and both of them end up brainwashed. It's one of my favorite episodes!"

For a fan of Peggy's caliber, the question was trivial.

"Right!" Chief Carter said excitedly. "Isn't this perfect? Medbay looks just like Doctor Tomoe's evil lab!"

"It does," Peggy admitted.

"We can do the whole scene!" Chief Carter exclaimed, overflowing with nerdy glee. "You can be Sentinel Green, I'll be Sentinel Blue, and our very own ship's doctor is perfect for the remaining role."

"Oh, like roleplay!"

When Chief Carter nodded, Peggy was satisfied that she understood what was actually going on. It was still well outside of her comfort zone, though. Peggy adored roleplay. Losing herself in a shared fantasy was rewarding and intoxicating in a way nothing else could match. It was one of her favorite ways to pass time. But she'd never done it in person, only over text. It was easy to get swept away by Chief Carter's enthusiasm, and by heady thoughts of fangirling together with her and Dr. Hiraga afterward.

"O-OK!" Peggy squeaked nervously. "Um... we all know the scene, right? How do we get started?"

Chief Carter's dorky grin widened. "We get into costume."

Peggy blinked, and then turned a deep red. "Y-you have costumes?"

Oh no. She hadn't expected this. If they were wearing costumes, then this went a step beyond simple roleplay.

It was cosplay.

"U-um," Peggy squeaked. "Maybe I should... uh... r-rewatch the episode first! And, um, I t-think I had a duty shift to cover later. And-"

"C'mon, Morgan." Chief Carter gave her shoulder a comradely squeeze. "Don't be like that. There's no need to be shy! I'm sure you know the episode like the back of your hand. And everything's ready right now. Trust me, your costume is perfect."

Peggy's blush deepened. She couldn't bring herself to back out. Not when she was finally getting the chance to be a part of something. She couldn't face going back to her quarters alone. She had to participate. There was just one problem.

Science Officer Peggy Morgan had a huge cosplay fetish.

She couldn't explain it. Not really. But there was something special - no, magical - about cosplay. Seeing a character come to life through costume and performance felt like nothing short of a miracle. The holodeck never had the same appeal. Holograms were just light with a little pre-scripted AI running behind them. Cosplay was real. It was transformation. When Peggy saw a cosplayer truly become the character they were cosplaying, it made her feel like anything was possible - even for a mousy nerd like her.

That was her fascination. But, admittedly, her fetish went beyond that. Peggy couldn't explain why cosplayers turned her on so much. Maybe it was their mannerisms, so fictive and exaggerated. It was almost mesmerizing, seeing a flesh-and-blood person follow a script intended for an animated character. Maybe it was their beauty, so stylized it was almost unreal. Maybe it was what they represented: characters that she was used to seeing as drawings or dolls come to life, but still presenting themselves to be looked at and played with and enjoyed. It just turned her on like nothing else.

And, of course, plenty of cosplays were far from innocent. Erotic cosplay frequently left Peggy drooling. Sometimes, when she was alone in her quarters, she would spend hours scrolling through massive archives of pictures until her own arousal and pleasure grew to be too much. But even regular cosplay excited her to an embarrassing degree. In the past, she'd excused herself from costume parties, just in case they got her a little too worked up.

But now she had to cosplay alongside Chief Carter and Dr. Hiraga.

All without giving herself away.

"Here's yours." Chief Carter, oblivious to Peggy's inner turmoil, picked up a bundle of green clothes from a nearby table and handed it to her. "Try it on! Don't worry, I pulled your uniform size from the databanks as I replicated it. It should be perfect. I've got mine too. Let me give you some privacy."

Before Peggy could say anything, she headed off to a far corner of the room and activated another holographic privacy screen, hiding her and Peggy from one another. Now that she was, relatively speaking, alone, Peggy took a deep breath and looked down at the clothing in her hands.

It was immaculately designed. Replicators could make anything, of course, but making sure the stitching, fit, and design were all just right could be a labor of love, and Peggy could tell that no effort had been spared here. This was Sentinel Green's magical outfit, right down to every last detail of the frills and ribbons. There was, at first glance, just one issue.