Project - Prometheus Ch. 11

"Now this is a taste I never had and could get used to! Where did you learn to cook like this?" Inari asked and the rest of the table echoed her enthusiasm.

"I lived in Jamaica after the war, with my adoptive father. There was this lesbian couple I had known, who ran a restaurant in Kingston. What they did was a fusion of both Caribbean and Eastern European cuisines, which was unique at the time. I worked there as a busboy, then eventually, as an assistant cook. Those two ladies were like mothers to me and they made it their mission to teach me how to cook," Alex explained.

"I'd say that their mission succeeded," Natalya told him warmly as she devoured her food. Shazza nodded right next to her, her face a mask of bliss.

"Seriously, I need the recipe to this!" Inari almost demanded, before she remembered her place.

"Jaesa, do the archives have the recipes of Earth's food across all the ages?" Alex asked casually, between bites of his palačinka.

"Yes sir, they do. Every recipe that was ever conceived from every culture and every known variant of them are listed in the archives," Jaesa informed him.

"Feel free to peruse the archives at your leisure Commander Sunara," Alex said while he ate. Inari was wide eyed and blinked once before she went back to her food. She was torn between eating it all right there and heading for the archives or taking her time to enjoy each bite. After a quick word with Pree, she took her time but was also excited about this new information.

"I must have this recipe, among many others! There is much here that my people would delight in eating!" Luminia enthused.

Shazza couldn't have agreed more with these alien women. The food that the captain had served was fantastic! The wrapping of the palačinka was soft and chewable, but with a slight sweetness. The filling of the dish is what completed the ensemble! The fruit jam filled ones were nice and sweet, but a little too sweet for her palate. The cheese ones though, had a nice buttery and creamy sweetness that was enjoyable!

The food that the captain had made was delicious enough for everyone present to help themselves to seconds. Alex chuckled and silently congratulated himself on a job well done. The delighted smiles as the women ate was all the thanks he needed. He also noted that Shazza was still a bit apprehensive but enjoying the food and the company all the same.

The coffee, tea and juice was passed around as everyone had finally eaten their fill. As they all sipped on their drinks, the crew discussed what they were going to do for the day.

"Well, I'm off to the gym. Anyone want to come with?" Alex asked the ladies.

"I'm coming! It's back day for me anyway," Kasumi told him.

"I'm off to Hydroponics! I want to get a full look at everything that's there! Only saw a couple of sections last time I was there," Natalya stated.

"If you're going back there, so am I! I want to see more of what's down there!" Luminia enthused.

"Hydro..pon..ics?" Shazza wondered. After a brief explanation, she voiced her interest to go as well.

"Korsa, might we have a word?" Inari asked the Khontaran woman.

"Sure," she replied as she, Inari and Priya stood up and went apart from the rest of the crew with their heads together.

"I'm off to the archives. There were some things I wanted to look at and Jaesa was going to help me out with locating them," Taal'ani told the group.

"All right. Everyone be back here at twenty-hundred hours. Dinner will be served by then," Captain Tomisic told them all.

"Aye, aye sir!" they all chirped.

"What's up Nats? A little tired after our last workout?" Kas razzed.

"Nah. I'd be OK to get my workout on, but I've had a lot of time to bond with Alex, one on one. You need some time with him, just you two," she told her new friend. Cooing in happiness, they shared a hug before leaving the Officers Lounge, heading to the monorail station.

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"So, do you think it's possible?" Inari asked.

"All right let me get this straight. You want me to see if a piece of human tech, which was inspired and built from Prime blueprints, could work? To restore Priya back to peak health from her injuries?" Korsa asked, her face and voice skeptical of the request.

"Yeah. Can you do it?" Pree asked, her voice hopeful.

"Toying with tech I know next to nothing about, with a small chance of success? What are we waiting for?"

Giggling with glee, both women followed Korsa to the nearest cart and set it for the Med Bay. They were off like a shot, the cart speeding along the rails with all due haste. It arrived in less than two minutes at the station and the ladies took a quick jaunt to get there on foot. They stayed in the General Treatment wing, where the pods were located.

"So, you ladies will have to give me a moment in order to go over this. I brought this tablet here from the archives, thinking I'd need it. But I didn't have time to go through the ins and outs of this machine," Korsa told her crewmates.

Nodding, Inari and Priya found some nearby chairs and sat down, waiting on Korsa. The Khontaran woman booted up the tablet and went through the schematics and functions of the machine. They sat there, chatting idly for nearly an hour while Korsa studied quietly, before she looked up, catching the attention of the human women.

"OK. I have a pretty good handle on how this thing works and what we'll need," Korsa told the women.

"What do we need then?" Inari asked.

"You need to head back to the kitchen and fetch some food for Pree," Korsa told her friend.

"Food?"

"Yeah. The principle of this machine is that it will accelerate the healing process, with the assistance of various drugs and gels. It will also draw from the patient's body for nutrients and any tissue reserves, such as fat, to help with the regeneration process. Once the procedure is finished, Priya will be weak and hungry. She is going to need food packed with carbs, sugars and nutrients to help her recovery process," Korsa explained.

"All right. Is there anything you wanted Pree?" Inari asked her lover.

"Any leftover palačinka and cheesecake would be nice," Priya smiled. Nodding, Inari departed quickly, doing a light jog to get back to the station.

"What do we need to do?" Pree wondered.

"You look for some disinfectant and clean up the bed on the machine. I'm going to look for the drugs and gels we need and make the necessary mixtures to make the machine work as it should. Before we get started..."

Korsa then walked over to the machine and pressed the power on button. At first, nothing happened, until a slow humming sounded from the depths of the pod. The panel on the machine lit up, displaying the boot-up sequence. A few minutes later, it flashed to a ready screen, asking for data input on the newest patient. Satisfied that the ancient machine was working, Korsa turned away from it and moved to the drug cabinet nearby.

Priya followed her, finding sealed antiseptic wipes in a storage cabinet right next to it. After opening a pack and seeing that they were still useable, Pree then got to work. She opened the pod, wiping down the gel bed until it was cleaned of all traces of dust. She kept on going, cleaning each area she could until the machine gleamed. Happy with her work, she turned back to see Korsa finishing with her mixtures.

"All right. The next few parts are simple. You need to strip down and be disinfected as well. I guess one of these drones will do it?" Korsa said questioningly, as she tapped the datapad.

Several seconds later, a small orb popped out of the wall nearby. It was the size of a small melon, with a single glowing robotic eye in its center. It was white in color, but it looked metallic rather than plastic. It floated through the air effortlessly, approaching the women. It headed for Pree, before stopping a foot away from her.

"Disrobe, if you please," a gentle female voice chirped from the drone. Pree did as she was told and removed her clothing, until she stood naked.

"Raise your arms please," the drone commanded. Doing as she was instructed, Priya raised her arms until they were parallel to the floor. Once she had done this, a small click sounded as a small nozzle popped out on the underside of the drone. From the nozzle came a soft mist, which coated Priya. The drone moved around the woman, hitting her from every angle, making sure to not miss a single inch.

"That feels... kind of nice!" Pree snickered as the mist slowly beaded down her body.

"The spray is not only a disinfectant, but modified nanotech as well. What its doing is peeling away the dead skin cells from your body, allowing the new ones to come out. Some of the nanotech will stay put, to help with the process," Korsa explained. Pree nodded thoughtfully, the explanation making sense to her.

"Application complete," the drone chirped once more, before stowing the nozzle. It then floated back to the alcove where it was stored, locked back in and shut down.

"Time for you to get in. Inari should be along shortly," Korsa told her. Priya climbed on in, making sure to set herself in a proper laying position before she stopped moving. Indeed, not even a minute later, Inari walked up with a food-laden tray in her hands. Korsa gestured to a nearby table, and she set the tray down on it.

"Anything I can do to help?" Inari asked the doctor.

"Nope. I got this. You just stay put and wait. It shouldn't take long for the machine to do its work," Korsa told her.

Though she hated doing nothing, as it made her feel useless, Inari knew better than to argue. She stood nearby the pod, looking at Priya, excited and apprehensive at the same time. Korsa moved around the machine, placing the containers of the gel and drug mixes into the proper receptacles.

Once she was done, she moved back to where the onboard screen was situated and entered the needed data. The moment that was done, the pod began to close on Priya. Seconds later, it shut firmly, before the locks on it engaged, sealing her in. Korsa brought up a command list on the screen and activated the speaker system.

"You doing OK in there Pree?" Korsa asked.

"A little claustrophobic, but I'm all right. I see this bluish light everywhere here, like it's pulsing," she said through the speaker.

"That's a good sign. It tells us that the pod is functioning normally. So, I've gone through the system's data and I was able to access the full body regeneration process."

"Why do that? It was her back that got burned up and not much else," Inari queried.

"True, but I haven't had time to do a proper physical on Priya. I lack a full array of test results, which could take hours to drum up. I've gone this route as a means of handling anything we don't know about. I figure with this machine, it would be a sensible precaution," Korsa told her friend.

"Agreed. Well, no sense in standing around doing nothing. You may proceed doctor," Inari told her.

"Pree?" Korsa asked.

"Do it. If it helps with some of those aches and pains I deal with, I'll take it," the Indian woman said.

Grunting in acceptance of the answer, Korsa started up the sequence, firing up the regeneration process. The machine hummed to life, the blue glow filtering through every line on the pod. Korsa slowly dialed up the power level, not wanting to deliver too much, too fast, or she risked stopping Priya's heart. She continued monitoring her vitals, which were strong and steady.

"How are you holding up Pree?" Korsa asked.

"I'm OK. A bit of stinging pain, but nothing significant," she responded.

"Good to hear. Everything is going well so far, so I'm going to start the injections now."

"Copy that," Priya replied.

Korsa then entered another sequence on the pad and started it. The screen showed that Priya was now being injected with the drugs that were needed to continue the healing process. They could also hear Pree hissing as the needles pierced her skin. Inari was a little fearful but trusted the doctor to keep her lover safe.

The light of the pod changed, going from a muted blue to a bright green. The green color stayed like that for a few minutes, before brightening to a straw yellow. Korsa and Inari heard Pree cry out in pain as the light intensified. The cry migrated to a scream as the process reached its peak.

"Korsa, shut it down!!!" Inari demanded.

"I can't do that! The program has locked me out!" she retorted. Seconds later, the glow dimmed and reverted back to the muted blue. Priya had stopped screaming and by the readings on the machine, she had passed out. Thankfully, Priya's vitals were still solid, if a little high. Then, a message appeared on the screen.

Process complete. Patient stable and conscious.

The pod hissed as it unlocked and opened, steam rising from the inside. As it dissipated, both women looked down on Priya in amazement. She was still breathing, which kept Inari's heart beating, but the change to her was impressive! All around her was what looked like a husk of dried skin and what remained was, for lack of a better word, perfect!

Pree's musculature was always something she wasn't a fan of. Priya had always wanted to put on more muscle, but her body type prevented that. Now, there were ropes of corded muscle in levels that she'd never had before! On top of this, her skin was now flawless! The burns that had damaged her, extended over her shoulders and down her arms somewhat. Now, they were completely eradicated!

The most obvious change was Priya's face, which looked like it had undergone an expensive vat job to rejuvenate it! She literally looked five to six years younger! Inari was both speechless and dumbfounded at how she looked! It seemed as though the hardness had been chiseled away from her lover, restoring the bright and bubbly girl she had first met all those years ago!

"Pree?" Inari called out hesitantly. Her eyes snapped open and sitting up, Priya took in a deep breath and exhaled. She then looked over her arms and down at herself, before moving her hands to touch her face. Giggling like an errant schoolgirl, Priya hopped out of the pod and looked down at herself again, smiling.

"How do you feel Priya?" Korsa asked tentatively.

"I feel great! Better than great! I feel... new!" Priya enthused as she sighed in delight.

"You certainly look good! If a bit thinner," Inari observed.

"That's nothing a little food can't handle! Speaking of which..." Pree said as she made for the tray.

Not even bothering to use the utensils, Priya just grabbed the food with her bare hands and shoveled it into in her mouth. She moaned at the taste of it and continued stuffing her face, while Korsa and Inari watched in amused silence. In record time, Pree had demolished every morsel that her lover had brought. She spent a moment wetting her finger to pick up the crumbs before turning back to her friends.

"What?"

"You have cheesecake all over your mouth," Inari snickered as she walked forward with a napkin.

Using her mouth to wet it, she wiped up Pree's face as best she could. Once she was satisfied with the result, she moved around her lover to get a proper look. All of Pree's burns were gone! The scarred tissue had been replaced with healthy skin that virtually glowed! When she looked closer, Inari could see that every scar that Pree ever had was also gone!

"How is this possible?!? Every scar is gone!"

"Yeah right!" Pree chuckled as she reached for her right side to feel for the appendix scar that was always there. Only it wasn't. Looking down at her side, Priya's eyes nearly fell out of her head! The scar that had been with her since childhood, which was a puckered and nasty thing, was gone! She looked back up as Korsa, asking the same question Inari did.

"Like I said, I don't fully understand all the ins and outs of this machine just yet. I knew enough to get it operable and to have it heal your injuries. I wasn't sure about any additional programs that may have been running. But, by the looks of things, it works and better than we had hoped!" Korsa replied.

"I'd say so!" Inari said with a devilish smile. Pree reciprocated said smile, the women sharing a private moment.

"Though, I suggest that I run some tests on Priya, just so we can be sure of everything that happened during the process. Also, I need to further study just what the Regen Pod can do. If it was able to remove Priya's scars, then it is capable of far more than we could have imagined!" the doctor told her friends.

"I think that's a sensible approach to things. How long do you figure these tests will take?" Priya asked.

"No more than a couple of hours to run the full kit on you. Just to be safe."

"All right then. Let's get to it," Inari replied, giving her seal of approval.

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Taal'ani was still going over everything that she could locate on fully aware and sentient AI. Everything she had found pointed to the fact that AI's would always turn on their creators. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she had found nothing that indicated that Artificial Intelligence could coexist with living beings.

"Ugh!" Taal'ani cried out in frustration.

"Is everything all right Talon?" Jaesa asked as she materialized to her full size on a nearby holopad.

"Found nothing but garbage! Nothing but constant reminders and warnings about how dangerous AI is and why it cannot be granted sentience!" Taal'ani growled. "It's almost like there is nothing about anything positive that was ever recorded!"

"You've been at this for a while now. Why not take a break? You'll be no good to do anything of note if you push yourself too hard," the AI reminded her.

"What do you suggest?" the cat girl wondered.

"My creator would often go to the gym to 'hit the weights', as he would often say. It helped him with clearing his head and getting his line of thought in order," Jaesa told her with a shrug.

"That's... not a bad idea," Taal'ani said with a thoughtful look. She set down her tablet as she stood, stretching her limbs while she worked out the knots and kinks in her muscles. Feeling that some exercise would do her good, Talon left the archives and went to her quarters, to grab some workout gear.

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Alex was busy spotting Kasumi as she was going through a set of deadlifts. If he was being honest, making sure her form was correct was only occupying half of his attention. He was also getting a good eyeful of her luscious ass, as it flexed with each rep. Though he knew that Kasumi was putting on a show for him each time she bent over.

"How many more left?" Kas asked through gritted teeth.

"Two. Keep on going. I got you," Alex said quickly. Though he was distracted by her ass, Alex was keeping count of each rep. She completed them before placing the barbell on the ground. Taking a deep breath, Kasumi got her breathing under control. Though it had been a while, she was slowly regaining her strength and would have it back soon.

"My turn," Alex stated as he walked forward, adding a couple more forty-five pound plates to the barbell. Once he had them secured, Alex stepped up and lifted them, straining slightly as he lifted it. The weight was pushing his current limits, but he was able to manage it. It was his last set, so he wanted to hammer this out hard.

Kasumi stood behind her captain, her hands hovering near the small of his back, but also drifting towards his ass. She remembered how it had felt to have his ass in her hands and she almost grabbed it, forgetting why she was there. Her hands shot back up to Alex's lower back, making sure that he wasn't pushing himself too hard. He was on his last rep, straining to finish it.

Kasumi pressed both hands to Alex's lower back, forcing him to straighten and lending him the strength he needed to complete the rep. He squatted and plonked the bar on the ground; the weights rattling with the force of it. Alex groaned as he stood and stretched his muscles, making sure that he didn't overwork anything. He then yelped as he felt something grab his ass.