Go with Captain Lancer

Despite an opportunity to wind down a bit with Lieutenant Collins, who was clearly gunning to do all sorts of things to you--which, despite his earlier approaches, you'd still considered--you knew what you wanted. Captain Lancer was a perfect mix between beauty and grit, eliciting this toughness that you possessed if you wanted, but she earned by hard work. You wanted to know her better if you were going to spend the day in space with her.

You walked alongside her, having once again donned your metallic-blue exosuit, having changed in front of Lancer as you did the others in the office. The Captain had not been as prepared as the others, and immediately after was yelling and swearing and demanding a little more warning next time. But, a short time later, she seemed back to normal as you strolled the hangars full of military craft, heading to an isolated location on the Air **** base where the more experimental projects were kept.

"So, doc, mind if I ask you something?" She didn't turn your way, keeping her eyes behind her aviator sunglasses focused straight ahead.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Which comic books were the Hideki scientists reading when they designed your suit?" Her voice had the slightest hint of playfulness in the jab. To be fair, the organic plates, the way they intersected and lay across each other, did look similar to some sort of superhero costume or a knight from the future, or something. Probably what made it seem so jarring was that there was virtually no bulk from the compression within the suit.

You chuckled a little. "Believe it or not, it grew in this way. Tina is a lab-designed entity whose DNA was simply programmed to maximize protective coverage over a range of body shapes, this was the most efficient structure for her while still being able to cover or retract."

"...you named her Tina?" The Captain got her own laugh out of that.

"Technically, she is me now. You've read about the project before, I heard you were even one of the candidates selected to eventually try the suit? She would've unfortunately crushed a normal human body if she had been worn by anyone else today, until I connected with her. Now, the exosuit that is Tina is more like an extension of my body now, as is everything that was a part of the project. And I've made sure my grip with her body is a lot gentler than she understood on her own."

There was a few moments of silence, as Lancer brought you inside a building so she could get into her own flight gear. "Yeah. Yeah, I was. It was a way to get my name into the history books, using this new Hideki tech to do spacewalks in a way people aren't capable of. I've done two walks, and I'll tell you right now, you have to be slow and deliberate, and there's so much bulk to everything that it's exhausting. If your suit really does allow you to do all of that, and lets you stay outside a craft for 72 hours unharmed? Yeah, I want that. Longest is barely under 9 hours, and a lot of that is moving like a turtle."

You turned to look at Lancer, sizing her up a little, as she walked. "You might get your chance, sooner rather than later, don't worry. I'm not here to steal records from anyone, and the next phase of the project would be to allow ordinary humans to be able to wear a suit."

Lancer grinned, slipping into a locker room as she slid out of her fatigues, down to just a tank top and panties, before she began to slip into her own sort of compression suit, a recent invention for spaceflight but still not as advanced as you were. "Ordinary humans, huh? And you're what, a moon princess? You certainly look the part, doc. If I recall, other captains that flew through space always got a girl like you at the end of a TV episode."

With a wink, you took a seat on a nearby bench. "There's still time for that to happen, you know... but yes, I'm at least partially human. I've got a human core, everything routes through my brain as the central point of thought. It's easier to think of myself as a human, but... enhanced. Augmented."

"Will I get to see this 'core human' of yours?"

You paused, looking down. You'd been so enveloped in this new outward appearance, you hadn't ever give much of a thought to abandoning it for even a moment for a former identity. "...Maybe. But that body's only part of the story, even if it's a crucial part to why I can exist. Each part of me beyond my core needed a human to fulfill its existence or even to survive. But, the human side of me... kind of needed all this as well."

You reflected for a moment on that moment of vulnerability, before Lancer came over, suited up in a few layers of her flight gear, helmet under her arms. "Well, doc, I'm sure you're fine however you are, but I'll work with you however you feel comfortable. No time to talk much now, as our ride is ready."

The next half hour of preparation passed in a blur. The captain and you boarded the X-63, a hybrid craft between the space shuttles and a sleek fighter jet. There was enough room inside for two in the cockpit, and a studio apartment-sized area in the back, for long term flights. Beyond that was an airlock about the size of a small garage, designed specifically to fit a small wheeled craft, like for a lunar mission. Lots of pre-flight checks and other work as Lancer did most of the work using that bulky space suit. Both she and you had donned your helmets, and the other technicians helping prep the launch had to ask multiple times to make sure you weren't some weird escaped alien from Roswell. Your sleek visor seamlessly integrated with the rest of your sealed exosuit, and you had no loss of mobility or dexterity, something Lancer immediately envied. You were somehow able to plug into all the systems the ground crew expected, thanks to your nanites forming the proper connections so you could be monitored.

You braced yourself for one of the most exciting moments you'd endured, all your life having dreamed of space, but never thinking you'd see it--definitely not on the salary of a lab tech. The other parts of you hadn't had such lofty or imaginative aspirations, focused more on finding the right body first. Now, they all shared and encouraged your ambition, each part of you pushing for something new and exciting. The noise of the rockets and the sudden thrust was briefly jarring, but your layers over the top of your human body regulated the threefold increase in G-**** relatively easily as you ascended upwards.

The ground crew radio came through in your ear. "Doc, your readings don't make sense. Can you check your connections? Your blood pressure and oxygen levels make it look like you might as well be still sitting on earth."

"Copy that, ground control, everything's hooked up like it should be up here. I'm not experiencing any negative effects of the G-forces."

"How is that--"

"Trust me, ground control, everything's fine. You'll be the first I notify when the latest Hideki exosuits are ready to hit the market." Captain Lancer laughed a little over the comms at that, but she was busy focusing herself on the controls of the ship.

And then as fast as everything began... it seemed to quiet down. The rattling stopped, and you watched as the little fuzzy dice Lancer kept above the cockpit seemed no longer bound by gravity. Your internal compensation of the effects of changed gravity kept it so you didn't even really realize you were in a zero-G environment until you and the Captain removed your helmets. Your hair floated free, and you definitely began to feel unusual, having never experienced weightlessness before.

"Roger that, ground, we're in orbit. We'll check in again in ninety minutes to update on the data, target is five hours to wheels down." Captain Lancer turned off the radio, unbuckled from her seat, and floated up a little. She seemed excited to again be in space, but there was something else in her eyes as she looked at you. "We, uh, have a little time where I can give you a better in-depth tour if you'd like. Maybe some food, water? Or you want to get right to the checklist?"

"Actually... I had a few other experiments in mind, with your assistance. If you're interested, that is..." you smiled at Lancer, taking in her lovely face, sculpted by her military work and yet her features remained soft, while her long blonde hair's ponytail seemed to go as it pleased. You still had more to learn about yourself, and having a second body in the mix would make things interesting... you'd only been the recipient of your special talents up until now, being able to try some new things on somebody else got your blood rushing.