The Ensign won't let that happen.

Haruka liked to think she understood human emotions well enough to understand Rebecca's ****. However, the Captain had forgotten that they had long-since run out of actual freshwater to drink. They were now relying on a synthetic approximation... and with the ship malfunctioning, there was no way to even access that. If she stayed in this heated, floating coffin until repairs were complete, keeping in mind there was still no estimated time for their completion, she really would perish!

"Captain, we've come too far for you to perish now," the Ensign insisted, trying her best to sound motivational. "We've locked sabers with the most dangerous foes in the galaxy, and you've survived on alien worlds with nothing more than your wit and what you could procure in the field-!"

"And my away suit, dammit!" the Captain protested. "What kind of impression are we going to give intelligent life forms if I run down there flashing my boobs?!"

"Captain..." Haruka frowned, shutting her eyes and considering. "I understand, but... If you will not leave willingly, you leave me ****. This is not a deadly assignment. You and I will make it through this. Now, allow me to help you..."

"Haruka..." Rebecca sniffled as the android helped her to her feet. She tried to tug her arm away moodily... However, she found the ensign wasn't letting go. "H-Haruka? Huh?"

"This is for your own good, Captain!" the android reassured her, finishing unzipping the red ready suit her captain was wearing and yanking it down around her feet.

"No... N-noooooo!" The captain took two steps backward, now standing in her grey tank top and shorts, dripping with sweat. "I refuse! I'll be arrested first! Haruka, stop! Let go of that! I'm ordering you! I-I'm... Kyaaa!!"

Haruka ignored the squeals of protest as she grabbed the captain's pants, then easily tore them clean off. "I restrained my strength out of respect for the emotions that uniform holds for you. However, these standard-issue undergarments have no emotional attachment." She reached out, batted one of Rebecca's arms out of the way lightly, but easily, and ripped apart both the shirt and the bra at once, leaving Haruka in nothing more than plain white cotton panties that hugged her youthful figure attractively. "Please, see reason, Captain! You've faced greater trials than this. Play along now, and it will all be over before you know it!"

Rebecca crossed her arms over her impressive chest with tears in the corners of her eyes, her face completely red. "I can't believe you... I can't believe... all of this! R-read it to me! It can't really say that! You and FV are playing some mean trick on me! Y-your circuits are scrambled by this planet's weird environment!"

"Very well, Captain. Once again, it says..." Haruka paused, which gave Rebecca some hope. Was there some hidden provision that could act as a loophole? "It says... all away crew meeting unidentified alien life... whether that crew is human, alien, osnhtc," she continued, garbling the last word in fast motion, "... Are required to proceed without clothing so as to avoid forming unintentional biases regarding the nature of-"

"Stop. Back up." The Captain raised an eyebrow. "You've never done that before. That verbal hiccup... Are you sure you're functioning correctly?"

FV interrupted. "Captain, the Ensign is functioning correctly, but she has spoken a single passage at 10x normal human speech. 'Or synthetic,' is the completion of the passage. I believe she is attempting to obfuscate a passage which would make clear that she, herself, is supposed to be naked during the alien contact."

Haruka frowned deeply. "... Traitor."

"You're calling FV a traitor? You're the traitor!" Rebecca accused her indignantly. "You were gonna let me march my naked butt down there, threaten to arrest me if I didn't, indirectly threaten that I died if I stayed here, all while running a camera without a care in the world! Well, I've changed my mind! I'll go if you go naked too! How does that strike your logic circuits, Ensign?!"

The android remained silent, frowning deeply. This hesitation was another clear indicator of how far her emotional replication had come. Finally, she spoke. "I... am embarassed for you to see me naked, Captain. No one has-"

"Nope, not buying it! I saw your bare frame when you were being assembled! Not any different! Nice try, Haruka!"

"Th-th-that's totally different! You don't understand how that's different?! Anyway, there is no reason for me to follow this test protocol. I will be behind the camera."

"I couldn't care less. Now, drop-em!"

Her friend sighed, but complied. Bashfully, but quickly, the Asian-modeled android removed her pilot suit, then the black one-piece bodysuit she wore beneath, until her overqualified pale skin was fully revealed. She squirmed as her Captain seemed transfixed on her womanly hips and perky breasts, as though noticing them for the first time. "This is... why I was hesitant. I knew you would display this kind of illogical reaction. Let me remind you I am not a human. I have no reason... to be embarrassed, appearing naked..."

Rebecca smiled mischievously and triumphantly, tickled to hear that coming from the ensign as she did her best to cross her arms over her private areas and preserve her modesty. "Of course not. A-anyway..." She took a deep breath. "FV... it seems like we're really doing this. Can you handle the ship while we're away?"

"Of course, Captain. The diagnostic is already underway. It may take some time. Please use all the time at your disposal to complete your mission, and entrust the safety of the Figurehead to me."

"Very well. Haruka, grab a science kit and a rescue kit. I'll... prepare to depart."

Blushing red from ear to ear, the nude captain stood in front of the exit hatch, summoning the strength and conviction to move forward as she pulled her panties down from her hips, changing into her required "uniform." "This is no big deal. What's one little perverted prank that exposes me to a bunch of humanoid slugs or talking trees I'll never meet again? I just destroyed an entire army, weighed the life of a malevolent sentient race of machines in my hands and chose to crush it! I can do this... I can do this!" Bravely, Rebecca pulled the lever on the door that would, after a brief sequence, extend the exit ramp for her.