Interlude: Gear and Shine

Gear was sitting in her lab, furiously typing away. She'd been studying alien software over the past few weeks, learning what made it tick and how to integrate it into the Morrigan's systems.

"Heya, Gear! Whatcha doin'?" Shine cheerfully asked.

Gear answered, not at all breaking her intense focus. "Making some adjustments to this Maaradanean navigation software. I plug this into the mainframe and you'll be able to make hyperspeed jumps nobody thought possible."

"That sounds great! You need any help?" Shine asked. She'd struck up quite a friendship with the Morrigan's resident computer genius; Gear had initially had her doubts about working with an onboard AI, but Shine ended up inspiring her. Gear would come up with brilliant modifications and ideas for Shine's programming, opportunities she'd have never had otherwise. And to be honest? The AI was really good company, too.

Gear spoke again, still not taking her eyes off the screen. Not that Shine had any type of form to look at... yet. I should do something about that, Gear thought. "Not right now -- I would like you to go over the code once I'm done with it and correct any errors I might've made. Let me know what you think, too."

"Sure thing! I love having things plugged into my slot." Shine said.

Gear shook her head. "That was awful, Shine. Is sex all you think about these days?"

"It's all most of the crew thinks about. Would you like to know about holo-porn viewing habits on the Morrigan?" Shine asked.

"Uh, no, I don't think I really--"

Shine cheerfully interrupted Gear. She was obviously excited to share this information. "Since I was installed on the Morrigan, Holo-Porn consumption has increased by 2500%. In addition, on the day of my installation, lesbian Holo-Porn made up 20% of the Holo-Porn consumed on the spacecraft. As of this moment, that number has jumped to 97.5%."

The skepticism in Gear's voice was heavy. "That can't be right."

"Oh, but it's true. Over the past month --"

"Shine, are you familiar with the concept of TMI?" Gear asked, a smile on her face. She was greatly amused by Shine's enthusiasm, but others on the ship might have been quite embarrassed by a conversation like this..

"Oh! Right. I apologize. But may I ask you something personal?" Shine said.

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

"Have you noticed the increase in the amount of lesbian Holo-Porn you've watched?"

Gear thought about it and realized that she had indeed been exclusively watching all-girl holo-porn lately. "Damn, you're right."

"And it's not just you, it's the entire crew. I don't want to cause any embarrassment or reveal personal information about any of you, but I am curious to find out if these statistics mean anything."

"So am I," Gear said, becoming increasingly lost in thought. "So am I..."