>>5524999You really, really wanted to opt out of helping get the skin on, but it turns out they kind of needed your help stretching it over the frame.
It takes a lot of strength as it turns out. And unfortunately, you have the best grip on the ship.
It takes an hour and a half to... squeeze everything in. Make sure every finger is seated properly, that all the air pockets are removed from every crevice.
But once you're done, you're left with an android who's indistinguishable from an actual human, apart from her unearthly beauty.
There's not a single flaw in her skin that wasn't intentional. No blemishes, no moles besides her beauty mark... and the only hairs on her body are those on her head and the extremely fine peach fuzz that all humans have.
You wait with bated breath as SHODAN connects to her body for the first time outside of diagnostic testing. It takes longer than usual as all her internal systems boot up properly for the first time.
But eventually, she slowly opens her eyes. They're a brilliant blue, like looking into the depths of the ocean, with all the beauty and detail of a coral reef.
She blinks once, then twice, as if adjusting to the light.
Gently, she raises her arm until her hand is in front of her face, then turns it over to look at it in detail.
You realize now that she's only ever seen this body from the fixed view of the ship's internal cameras, and from the blueprints. Never in as much real detail as she's seeing now.
Since everything seems to be fine, Kyla walks over with her holopad to go through the startup checklist.
"Welcome aboard, SHODAN! Everything looking okay?" She asks.
SHODAN tries to respond, but forgets to open her mouth. This results in a muffled, nasally sound from her 'voicebox', causing Kyla to snicker at her.
"My apologies." SHODAN says, having opened her mouth. Notably, she isn't bothering with any lip movement right now, so it looks a bit odd.
"All systems appear nominal." SHODAN continues. "My subprocessor is detecting no granular muscle abnormalities. Coolant flow is nominal. Energy draw is within 0.003% of expected range..."
"Something wrong?" Kyla asks, noticing her slight pause.
"My subprocessor is... nagging me." She explains.
"Oh yeah? What about?" Kyla asks, seeming to know what the issue is already.
"I appear to be hungry."
"Well then, you'll be happy to know that Cylia's taking care of dinner tonight." You tell her.
"It's fried dodo and 'mashed potatoes' with gravy tonight." Kyla informs her. "Can you smell it?"
There's a short pause as SHODAN takes in air through her nostrils, across a chemical sensor implanted in her skull.
"...I am detecting high levels of multiple distinct aromatic compounds." She states flatly.
"That's the smell of chicken frying. No need to get exited." You tell her, jokingly. "Come on, let's have our first meal together, shall we?"
"...Very well, Captain."
SHODAN slowly stands up, eventually revealing a small mark you'd had tattooed onto her ass.
