Hermes Ch. 08

"You can do that, or I can make new clothes for you."

"What? You never told me that you can make new clothes."

"You never asked," Nea answered with a sly smile.

"So you tell me you could have made some swimwear for me? Are you kidding me?" I could not believe this woman. Why would she not tell me? Unless... "You wanted me to swim naked, didn't you?"

Nea's demeanor changed from happy and confident to shy and embarrassed. She blushed profoundly and looked at the floor.

"Maybe," She whispered, her voice filled with guilt. I knew she could see my reaction even though she seemed to look at the floor, but I couldn't stop a small giggle from leaving my lips.

I was not sure why I was so emotional all of a sudden. Something about Nea triggered this in me. I had never felt this way before, and I struggled to put it into words. It felt like... home? Some mixture of belonging and comfort. Unlike my childhood home, I never truly felt at home there, only tolerated by my foster parents.

But with Nea... I felt a connection with her. We only knew each other for a couple of days, but we were on the same wavelength. But I couldn't say if it was the start of a relationship or just a good friendship.

I wanted to hug her like nothing else. I wanted to comfort her, to show her that no matter what she would say, I would be there for her. I tried to gather myself, knowing that my next words would be important to her.

"Alright, so obviously, I would have said no if you had asked me. But on the other hand, I did enjoy it." I tried to sound understanding. "Thank you, I guess. While your motives and tactic were questionable, we both got something from it. Just don't do it again, ok?" I finished with a smile.

"I - Thank you. I felt so guilty not telling you, but I..." her voice trailed off.

Now the pieces fell into place, the elevated voices while I was swimming, her invasion of my privacy to observe me, her reaction to my erection yesterday evening. "I think she might be into me." I thought to myself. On the other hand, I was never good at picking up on clues from girls. So all this might also be a wrong conclusion.

"But you?" I probed her, maybe she would give me the unmistakable clue I needed to be sure.

She avoided my gaze and looked down again. Just as I was about to probe again, her face jerked up. Her eyes were wide, and an expression of surprise and fear washed over them.

"Chris, I just received a new broadcast. There might be a problem." She said.

Without waiting for my answer, she started playing the broadcast.

~~~

[News Broadcast Intro Music]

Good day to all our viewers across the Solar System. Welcome to SSN News. I'm Michael Anders, and here are the top stories for today.

We have significant developments in the ongoing power core theft investigation. Christoph Wilder's ship, involved in the ARGUS research station incident, has been located. As you may recall, Wilder is the prime suspect in the theft of a power core from the ARGUS station orbiting Venus. This station is operated by Eclipse Power Technologies (EPT), the leading energy provider supplying power to 80% of all planets and stations.

SolSec is currently investigating the wreckage. Unofficial sources have suggested that Wilder may have perished in an incident involving the ship, although no body has been found as of yet. SolSec has not yet released an official statement regarding these developments.

Meanwhile, unofficial sources within EPT have indicated that the discovery of the ship might just be a diversion. They continue their search for Wilder, seemingly unconvinced by the rumors of his demise.

In an official statement from EPT, they have confirmed that the wreckage includes the stolen power core prototype. However, they noted that it has been severely damaged and is no longer functional. EPT declined to comment further on the situation.

That's all for now on the ongoing power core theft investigation. We will continue to monitor this situation closely and bring you the latest updates and developments as they occur. Remember, if you have any information that could help authorities with their investigations, please contact your local SolSec branch immediately.

[News Broadcast Transition Music]

In other news today, the modifications to the station of the EVO Society have been completed. With the unique station engine, a part of the Society will soon depart on their journey to Alpha Centauri, the Spokesperson explained...

~~~

Nea and I were stunned. Had they really seen through our distraction?

"Do you have any more information?" I desperately asked.

"No, I only received this broadcast a minute ago. I know as much as you." Nea responded.

"Alright, keep it cool. We need a new plan," I said to myself. I tried to keep calm, but my mind was racing, and I was on the verge of a panic attack.

Nea, sensing my inner torment, quickly tried to soothe me. "I have run the number. Even if the drones of EPT and the fleet from SolSec immediately started after they announced them - and they didn't - they would take at least two more months before they would find Hermes with any reasonable search pattern. In conclusion, we have more than enough time to finish our plan and complete your new identity."

Reassured by her words, I calmed down a bit. Still, two months may sound long, but they can be over quite fast.

"You are right," I said, "This may be important, but it's not that urgent. Still, we must be prepared. How is the chamber coming along?"

"Actually, the progress is better than expected. The first simulation of your DNA was a direct success, and the construction of the chamber is further along as initially planned. I found some prefabricated materials in the storage bay that I could use. With everything included, the chamber is around 1/3 finished. I expect it to be done in less than three days." Nea explained.

"Finally, some good news," I said, leaning back in my seat.

I was about to ask Nea a question, but then she said, "I just got the answer from Pyra. She made some progress."

Nea displayed the message on her screen.

~~~

Hi, you two,

I just watched the news, so much for our plan...

Well, at least I got some good news.

I managed to get in contact with someone who can get a ship, it might not be new, but it should be good enough. I included the Processor specs Nea sent me. I will meet him shortly and should be on my way back soon.

About your identity, I asked some contacts and have found someone who can help you. I paid him upfront; We can send him the data for the identity as soon as I return. I have a modified identity scanner to get the required information with me. He will create a new Profile for you in the register, and you can simply request a new passport at the next station you visit.

Also, don't explore too much of the station without me! I want something to do while we await confirmation that your profile is done.

PS: Good idea to co-sign the message from Nea, Chris. At first, I thought someone was after me.

Pyra

~~~

I read the message multiple times to make sure I got everything. At least this part of our plan worked out quite well.

"Alright, good to see that Pyra made some progress." I said, "Too bad she wants us to slow down with exploring thou."

There was an awkward pause as neither Nea, nor I said a word. I wanted to continue the previous topic but was too embarrassed to bring it up. I racked my brain to find some way to ask her, but nothing came from it.

Finally, Nea broke the silence, "So Chris, before you found Hermes, what did you do in your free time?"

"Uh, mostly playing games and watching Movies or Series," I said, aware of how boring that sounds to most people. "Sometimes, I also worked on my ship."

"I never really played games, not because I don't want to but because I don't have any." Nea sounded sad.

"What do you mean you don't have any? Surly Hermes had games?"

"Yes, but all of them are lost to time. Some still start, and you can play for a bit, but they eventually all crash. Trust me. I tried every one of them."

"Wait, the backup of my ship!" I exclaimed, "I had some games on there, even some co-op games we can play together. They might not be the newest and best ones, but they should all work." I grabbed the backup and connected it to the console. After a few seconds, I found the games and transferred them over.

"There you go," I said, "You now have my whole collection of over 200 games. Most are somewhat new, but I also have some good classics and retro games."

I looked back at Nea and noticed her avatar scrolling on a tablet. She continued to scroll through the list and blushed profoundly after a few seconds. In a panic, I looked back at the console and realized that I had also copied all my porn games over.

"I- uuh, I didn't mean to copy those games," I said, desperately trying to get the situation under control. I started to sweat. Some of those games have some rather extreme fetishes, and not even my close friends know that I have and even play them.

"It's alright," Nea said after a second, "I have filtered them out."

That was not good. She had to look at least at the title of each of them to filter them out. But there was no going back now. Even if I deleted them from the console, Nea could recover them, or she had already made a backup.

"I think I want to try this one," She said and showed me the logo and title of AstraBound--a story-driven survival sandbox game taking place on an alien planet. I had played it a bit before, but it was much better with a friend.

"Great choice," I said, "But do you have a VR set here?"

"Not here, but one should be on the recreation decks." She responded and told me where exactly it was.

I nodded and got on the way while Nea prepared the game.

A couple of hours later, I took off the VR set. We had a lot of fun. After struggling to integrate Nea into the game, we started our adventure. We explored the world, built a base, and fought off alien creatures. On one occasion, Nea accidentally programmed a turret wrong, and it fired on our base, nearly burying me under rubble.

While exploring a cave, the floor beneath me crumbled away, and I fell into a pool of goo. Nea tried to rescue me but slipped on the goo and, after hilarious tries to steady herself, joined me. Our movement triggered a bioluminescent glow in the goo, and we left a glowing track behind on our way back to the base.

"That was a lot of fun," I said after removing the VR gear, "We should continue tomorrow. But not today, I'm spent."

"Yes, I really liked it. It was fun playing with you."

Nea's bot came from a corner and accompanied me to my room. I could feel myself getting tired on the way there.

After we arrived, I dropped on my bad and yawned. "Alright, see you tomorrow."

~~~

That's it for this Chapter.

I hope you like it.

I will probably take a small break from Hermes and write some short stories that have been floating around in my brain for some time now.

But don't worry. I'll complete Hermes, the Story is already laid out, and I just need to write it.

I <3 you all.

Believe in yourself.

Kat

~~~