Star Trek: Starbase 777 - lt-jg-ki’ana

And here Copia was, after Kii invited her in for some one-on-one time, and Kii had gone for some duty shifts. Copia had the day off, and needed some time to recharge and relax. So, she was dressed down, just in a neon green T-shirt, some cargo shorts and her favorite Birks. But she also had a new flower in her hair - a new flower that mimicked closely what Rilek had given her in the past - the flower she had passed onto Talos. Goodness, she hoped Talos was alright after the blackout... Just waiting for Kii to come back, Copia stayed put, laying on the bed, watching some old ancient television program on the screen. The Twilight Zone. An interesting series, she had to admit - and a series that looked at deeper issues in life and society. She continued watching, captivated by the story.

Ki'ana seemed much less cheerful than usual as she stepped through the door and removed her uniform jacket and pants. She took a minute to put on a pair of shorts before walking over to her bed with a tired smile. "Heya, Copes. Sorry I'm late." She said with a wan smile. "Had a rather long day at work, js all..."

Didn't matter if she was wearing headphones or not, which she wasn't, Copia would have seen Kii come in regardless, and she did. And the moment Copia saw something was wrong, judging by Kii's less than cheery behavior, Copia practically hopped off the bed to meet her love. "Kii! Kii?" Copia said, her tone of voice becoming concerned and a bit scared. "You don't have to apologize! Are you doing okay??" She went up to Kii with arms open for a hug.

Ki'ana was more than happy to accept the hug - she sighed and leaned her head on her partner's chest as her arms wrapped round her torso. "I'm alright. It was just kind of tough. Had to do some digging, found some stuff that's not nice to read." She reached up to lightly touch her cheek. "Doesn't matter. My work is my work. Right now I just want to unplug. I'm starving..."

Copia held Kii close, embracing Kii and making sure she was alright, as her hand traced some small circles on Kii's back, in an affectionate act she learned from Kii herself. Kii also placed a gentle kiss onto Kii's forehead, before resting her own cheek against Kii's forehead. "You're okay, pretty," Copia said. "You worked so hard today. I'm so proud of you. Yes, let's get you something to eat. The replicator this time, I think it would be best for you to take it easy in here, yeah?" As she let go of the hug but placed her hands to the sides of Kii's face, staring into her eyes, and hoping that Kii could be able to analyze and deconstruct Copia's eyes as well.

"Yeah." Ki'ana smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips. She took a moment to stare into Copia's eyes too before letting go of her with a giggle. "Hm! I'm thinking something with eggs. Nice and filling." She mused. "Roundness is optional. Because I have some really round and really pretty things to look at already..."

With the peck on the lips also came a shiver of Copia's body, a good one, as she embraced her love, keeping her close, and gazing into her algorithmically correct eyes. She wondered if Kii could determine if her own were algorithmically correct! "Let me see if I can guesstimate what you could use. Computer, replicate an egg breakfast, complete with sausage, bacon, and perfectly toasted bread with jelly." It was a shot in the dark, but she hoped she'd get it right. "If I got it wrong I'll just re-replicate it." She wondered - what was round and pretty? "You're analyzing my eyes now, aren't you? I thought I was the android. Hehe!"

"Breakfast for dinner? Really?" Ki'ana pretended to be mildly offended for a second or two wif puffed up cheeks and hands on her hips, the whole hog - before grinning and picking up the plate. "Hit the nail on the head, heh! I love how you remember stuff like that. And yes, I am analyzing your eyes, and I do really think they're lovely and round and pretty. Alright? Join me?" She offered as she sat at the small dining table she had to herself.

Copia shrugged playfully. "How could I have gotten it so well? I'm just that good." She joked, before she blushed at Kii's compliment about her eyes - effectively causing her to smile once more, and peck her girlfriend on the lips back to her. After that was done, Copia nodded. "I'll join you!" Copia replied, following Kii to the table after grabbing the replicated plate from the replicator. It certainly was a big plate, enough for both of them to share.

Kii smiled and handed her a fork and knife to eat with. "Pretty big plate, huh. Almost as if the replicator knew we'd be sharing." She quipped as she lowered her fork and knife to the plate and began to eat, starting with the eggs. "So! Tell me a little more about your day?" She requested.

Copia smiled as she accepted the fork and knife from Kii, taking at first one of the sausages and biting into it -- "Mmm! Pork sausage!" She exclaimed, taking a other bite. "Never had this kind before!" And another bite. Until the sausage was gone! "Oh! My day? Well, since I had it off, I... I did a lot of self care, actually. I played with some of the stress toys I have in my quarters. Gave myself some positive affirmations. I did some reading of a book I love. You might like it too, it's called 'The Simple Act of Being Kind' by Papa Emeritus IV, who used to share my name as Cardinal Copia. A big nostalgia trip, really. Then I watched an old TV show from the 20th century called the Twilight Zone. Fun little escape!" Then she took one of the eggs, cutting off a bit of the egg biting into it. A moment of chewing... Then speaking again. "I've really prioritized self care. Especially given the fact that I've been through a lot over the time I've been here. Almost died, twice. But I've learned a lot about myself in the process. And part of it was, self care - which I spent today doing! And ending it off with you... Makes it even better." Before she continued eating.

"You what?" Kii's bright lilac eyes widened. "Almost died twice? No way." She reached over and gently grabbed her hand. "I'm glad to have you here, you know that? If you don't me asking... how?"

TW: death, description of dying Copia felt calmed when Kii took her hand, that familiar feeling of love and embracing filling her body as Kii did so. Well, since Kii was Copia's girlfriend... she'd need to be honest with Kii. So, she was. "The first time was right after a holodeck simulation. A friend of mine, Honored Elder Yoro'clis - Chief of Security - was in the holodeck with me, we were engaging in a full naval battle simulation, where I helmed the Federation fleet. For context, I operate with an emotion chip, a small piece of hardware responsible for providing accurate emotional responses to external stimuli. In the battle, I overlooked a critical ship in my fleet - allowing Yoro'clis to destroy it and everyone aboard. I'd... never experienced death before. Not even the Kobayashi Maru had prepared me for something of this much pain. Not the failure of the mission... but knowing I was responsible for someone's death. Even if it was in the holodeck. I couldn't handle the stress, the devastation, and my emotion chip, having not been changed for thirty years, malfunctioned, causing a systemwide overload. It fried multiple wirings in my body and rendered me completely inert. I powered off fully for -- I don't even know how long. Chief of Engineering Lt. Commander Alizati tr'Kota retrofitted me with a new emotion chip, which has worked completely fine since. That was the first time I almost died." divider

02:33

With a breath, Copia continued. "The second time I almost died was in an away mission against hostile enemies known as the Undine. Shapeshifters that can mimic both physical appearances and voices down to the miniscule detail. We were tasked with rescuing several hostages the Undine had both taken prisoner and previously impersonated on previous missions. We were all in a main control room of sorts, when the Undine attacked us from every angle. One in particular used a sort of... electric zapper? I'm still not sure. To stun me, before they physically attacked me -- destroying half of my face plate. But in doing so, they also slashed through critical internal battery connections. I... looked out and saw everything through a sort of tunnel vision. And I was ready to give up my life for others. My system lost power by ten percent increments, and I felt weaker and weaker, like feeling my soul being sucked out of my body. Scared... but I couldn't move. Lieutenant Yaveru Zh'rass stepped in and did an emergency operation on me, she saved my life. I haven't given up on myself or others since. Not once."

Kii listened quietly to Copia's stories. When she was finished at last the Kelpien's large lilac eyes were filled with tears. She blinked them away and embraced the android, pressing her face into her chest. "I gotta protect you, then. Easy." She mumbled. "Because you mean a ton to me, Copes. And you can't have what you can't defend, right? So I will do just that. I swear."

Copia scooched out of her chair, anticipating that Kii would want to embrace her in a hug. She wasted no time in scurrying over, so that Kii could hug her, and wrapped her arms around Kii. She gave Kii a kiss on Kii's forehead, then another, then another. "Thank you, babygirl," Copia replied, taking the word 'babygirl' from Essen. "I'm okay now, I promise. You're... Gonna defend me? You're gonna protect me?" Copia said. "I also didn't just face danger physically. But mentally." Copia placed her hands on Kii's shoulders, before one of them moved to Kii's cheek. "One of the Undine, an impersonator of Captain Tewari... Was one the worst of them. To say she was mean was an understatement. She was cold, she was a bitch, she was unforgiving and unforgivable. After she finally got locked up... She said that I talked too much. That I buzzed like a fly. She called me stupid and empty headed. Something that the real Captain Tewari would never call me, of course -- but at the time when her impersonator was on the station, she insulted me and made me feel like I was nothing. I'm not completely innocent as I lashed back and forth with her, but my new emotion chip was still adjusting to my system. I've also been hurt in that way..." As she hugged Kii again, giving her another kiss on Kii's forehead. She then used her fingers to trace circles on the back of Kii's head, hopefully a reassurance that Kii could use, one that definitely worked when Kii did it to Copia's hands at the Waffle House... (edited)

Kii's eyes widened. "Copes?" She whispered, placing both hands on her hips. "Is that- you actually remembered that?" She sighed happily and leaned into her collarbone. "I'm... I'm amazed. Guess that's gonna be our comfort symbol from now on, huh?"

Copia smiled, placing another kiss on Kii's forehead, before she drew some circles on Kii's shoulders. "How could I forget?" Copia said to Kii, keeping her close. "Those circles are so soothing. They're so comfortable and so reassuring. It's absolutely a comfort symbol and I think it's perfect for us. If you're okay with it. Things do come full circle, after all..." Before Copia looked into Kii's algorithmically correct eyes and leaned in slowly towards Kii for a kiss... Wrapping her arms around Kii... And embracing her....keeping her close.

"I really am. Promise." Kii leaned slowly into the kiss and sighed contentedly. Now this was certainly algorithmically, computationally, whatever-ally correct in her opinion.