Journey into the darkness (closed)

[Drobabes]

Suki walked through the kitchen, the smell of food pleasantly drawing her near although she wasn't particularly hungry yet. She spent a few moments watching the android work, and then she moved on to the doors, and eventually, out into the dining hall. When she saw Jacob, she gave him a friendly smile and came to sit by him.

 

[JadeKnight]

The android looked up from the food preparation for a moment when she entered before returning back to it's task. Seeing her, the android went about finishing making their breakfast to take to them.

He looked up from his book as she got halfway through the dining room, giving her a smile. He closed the book and laid it on the table as she sat down.

"It looks like you slept well. Are you hungry yet? Breakfast should be ready soon."

He reached over for a moment, brushing his fingers lightly along her cheek before pulling away from her. He stretched his arms over his head for a moment, the muscles of his chest tightening up for a few seconds before relaxing as he lowered his arms once more.

 

[Drobabes]

She smiled softly as he brushed her cheek, the intimate little touch bringing a bit of warmth to her face.

"I could probably eat a little. I'm not usually much for breakfast, though."

When Jacob stretched, she couldn't help but let her eyes linger for just a brief second, and then she smiled again and reached up to pull her hair over one shoulder.

"So...what are we doing today?"

She couldn't help it-she was excited. She wanted to know what all the secrecy was about.

 

[JadeKnight]

He smiled for a moment, happy to see her so happy and excited for the today. He did take a moment to wave for the android so that it could bring out their breakfast.

"Well, we can start your education today. It's going to be pretty simple, just so you know. It'll be done in two steps really for every subject or pool of knowledge you wish to learn, or that I think you will need to know. The first step is giving you the knowledge, which will be pretty quick. The second step is going to be putting you through the practical exercises and scenarios where you would need to use the knowledge. That part could take a little longer, depending on how well you are able to grasp the concepts."

He looked over for a moment as the door to the kitchen swung open, the android carrying out a platter with two plates of food along with two milks and two orange juices. Each plate contained a small portion of bacon, scrambled eggs, and a hash brown. The food and drinks were placed down carefully before the android turned and went back into the kitchen.

 

[Drobabes]

She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to tame it a bit, as she listened. A lot of it was going over her head, but she figured it would make more sense once he started to show her.

When breakfast arrived, she went straight for the orange juice, seemingly ignoring the rest of her food until she has all but drained that glass of juice. Once she's had her fill, she sits it down and then picks up a fork and starts on the eggs.

"Hmm...so when do I get the grand tour?"

Her eyes looked up through her dark lashes, giving him a playful smile.

 

[JadeKnight]

He chuckled for a moment and ruffled her hair playfully for a moment.

"In due time kitten. I'll take you on the grand tour after breakfast."

He smiled before digging into his own meal. He took his time eating, enjoying both the food and her company. Though the androids didn't have taste buds to properly cook, they had been well programmed and learned from their mistakes of making subpar food in the past. Most of the food, as far as the vegetables went, were grown on the second level in the hydroponics lab that was down there as well. Since it was just him before and he didn't stay in the base a lot of the time, there was plenty of food for them. The androids did go out and pick up meat, being able to pass for human pretty well.

He finished off the last bite of his food before pushing away his plate and looking at her.

"Where would you like to start? From the top or the bottom? Your new home is three stories, just so you know."

 

[Drobabes]

"Don't call me kitten" she grumbled, although not with true anger.

After that, she ate her breakfast in relative silence, letting her eyes wonder and take in the place. And when the android came out to retrieve her dishes, she watched it too, silently wondering how it worked and if the odd, almost human, thing had any emotions or feelings.

Her eyes turned to him as he asked his question, and then she looked around the room once more.

"Where did we come in from? Was that the top or bottom? Let's start there."

 

[JadeKnight]

He smiled and nodded for a moment as he stood up from the table. He reached out and took his small hand in his gently.

"Well, this would be the top floor. I would say you've probably explored much of it on your own already. This level is the residental area, but there is also some restricted areas as well. That part is mostly just the behind the scenes stuff, so to speak. Piping, sewage, and mechanical stuff like the wiring running along the outer walls. Nothing of interest there, unless you're into that kind of stuff."

He looked at her for a moment before chuckling softly. He lead her back towards the front lobby where the front desk was empty at the moment. He moved to the large blank wall where he placed his free hand in a recess spot. There was a faint square outline around the area, the inside of white turned a green color. He removed his hand as the lit up panel lifted up to reveal three large buttons.

The top button was marked Residential, the second one Laboratories, and the third one Garage. He pressed the second button and a soft hiss was heard before the wall split open to reveal a large elevator.

"The training area where you'll be learning is going to be in the labs."

He smiled and motioned for her to go ahead.

 

[Drobabes]

His hand was a bit cool, but she enjoyed the feeling of it wrapped around hers, nonetheless. As they walked, she listened, meeting his eyes and nodding once in a while until they reached the panel and wall. She then watched with wonderment as he used his palm to unlock it and reveal the large elevator, stepping in at his behest.

Once inside, ahe leaned back against the wall a bit. Elevators were not something she was used to yet, and she didn't feel like losing her breakfast.

 

[JadeKnight]

The elevator ride was only a few seconds and it felt as if the large box barely moved at all. It was a little longer than an ordinary elevator ride as there was a ten foot thick barrier of concrete and rebar between each floor for protection and support.

The door dinged for a moment to signal they had arrived on the second floor a moment before the doors slid open to reveal a large lobby in pretty much the same design as the floor above. Behind the counter of the lobby was a long wall that stretched left and right till they reached the outer boundaries of the base. Several large windows were set into the wall, through which a maze like are of workbenches and offices could be seen. Two large doors stood side by side, panels with multiple lights by each one.

"We'll have to be decontaminated before entering the office, by it won't hurt or anything."

Moving to one of the doors, he pressed a few buttons before the right door opened. It opened into a small bare room with an exact copy of the door opposite them. The room was lit up in a dark red color. He stepped inside the room before waiting on her to enter and closed the door behind her. Nothing seemed to happen for a few moments until several bursts of cool mist hit on their bodies. It stopped after a moment before the room changed to a deep purple color and then green before the opposite door opened a few moments later.

 

[Drobabes]

The ride wasn't too bad, but it definitely still felt weird to her. It was quickly forgotten when the doors opened and she was able to stare, a bit wide eyed, at the maze of offices. Just how big was this place? She knew she had been wondering that ever since she woke up, but, by god the place just kept blowing her away!

"We'll have to be decontaminated before entering the office, by it won't hurt or anything."

She looked at him, the confusion obvious in her expression. Her confusion only grew as they entered the room, and the strange red light made her furrow her brows. When the mist sprayed, she actually jumped a bit, and then felt a bit silly for being startled. Once it was done, Suki simply looked over at him, still very confused.

"Um...why did we have to do that?"

 

[JadeKnight]

"It was to get rid of any stray bacteria or pests that might have come in from the outside world. It's also a good way to get cleaner than you would in a bath."

He grinned and winked teasingly for a moment before leading her out.

"Actually there are a few delicate experiments going on and a pristine environment is needed to not disturb them."

The little maze of empty office cubicles gave way to a series of large and small labs. There were walls separating each lab, but the large windows set into each wall made it easy to see what what going on. There were about fifteen androids scattered throughout the labs, working on various tasks. Some seemed to be building various objects, working calculations, mixing chemicals, and performing other things. A couple of the androids did notice them, looking at the two before returning to their tasks.

"I never really do more than watch them work from time to time myself. If you like, you can have a go at this whenever you like. The virtual training area is deeper through the labs. Go ahead, take your time looking around."

 

[Drobabes]

"Huh..." she said, after he explained, and she looked around the room some. If she was being honest, the androids interested her more at the moment than whatever experiments they were working on.

"Do they," she said, lifting a hand to gesture at one of them.

"Like...talk? Or, you know...?"

She wasn't really sure what she was trying to ask, so she cleared her throat a bit and started to walk around, taking slow looks at the things that they were experimenting on.

 

[JadeKnight]

He smiled seeing the interest she was taking in her new surroundings. It made him wonder what she would be truly capable of once she was given the proper education that he felt she needed as far as the basics and then some.

"Yes, they can talk. They even have their own personalities programmed after some of the former scientists they worked with. They are carrying on the projects that had been laid out before the war and constantly improving on those things as well. They are quite useful tools."

He followed after her, letting her be the one to discover things on her own. She was a grown woman after all.

"Feel free to interact with them. They will help you with whatever you need."

 

[Drobabes]

She looked over shoulder as he spoke, her thick black hair covering half of her face and most of her back as her green eyes watched him. It was all very interesting, and although she knew little about what an android really was, she wondered if they could feel. Could they think for themselves? Did they have emotions? Did they ever feel like their lives were really their own?

Her cheeks blush a little suddenly and she looks away, realizing she was probably putting just a bit too much of herself into that particular train of thought.

Walking up to the nearest one, she spends a few moments watching what it was working on, before she forces herself to peel her eyes away and come back over to Jacob.

"I'll probably come back here later, but I would like to see the rest of the facility, if that's ok? You said there was a garden, or an outside area?"

Suki was curious what time of day it was. Was it early morning, or noon? And how was the weather outside? She suddenly found herself craving the warm feeling of the sun on her skin.

 

[JadeKnight]

The android she walked over to and stopped to watch paused for a moment. It looked sideways for a moment to see if she was going to do anything or say anything. When she didn't seem to do anything more than watch, the android resumed it's task of mixing up the batch of chemicals.

Jacob smiled as he watched Suki satisfy her curiosity about the androids. He did raise an eyebrow for a moment when she began to ask about a garden or outside area. He tried to think for a moment if he ever mentioned anything about a garden. The closeted thing he could think of was the hydroponics lab, but that probably wasn't close to what she was wanting to see. He chuckled softly.

"An outdoor area? We're about half a mile underground. The closest thing I have to a garden would be the hydroponics lab where all the organic food is grown. That's a little further ahead so we can see that. If you really would like a garden, I think something can be set aside on the next level for you to create. There's plenty of room down there."

He reached to her, taking her hand gently in his as he began to lead her further through the labs.

"We can visit the surface after the tour if you would like."

 

[Drobabes]

"An outdoor area? We're about half a mile underground..."

A sudden and deep blush turned her little cheeks red as she looked into his gaze, and she found herself glancing down a bit sheepishly. Before she could bring herself to look back up, she cleared her throat a little.

"Mm... maybe I just dreamt that. I do tend to enjoy spending my time outside in the sun when I can, so maybe I was just hoping there was a garden."

His warm, calloused hand taking her own made her look up again, her embarrassment being quelled, if only a little.

"We can visit the surface after the tour if you would like."

She smiled then, and gave him a little nod.

"I would like that very much."

 

[JadeKnight]

He gave a smile and leaned closer to her, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. He reached up to the ribbon collar around her neck, rubbing it between his fingers for a moment before pulling away as he straightened back up.

"The next area is hydroponics and then the final area on this level is the virtual trainer and stasis vats. That will be where you will be able to learn your studies reasonable quickly. I'm sure you wouldn't have any problems getting through the boring stuff to enjoy the more fun stuff."

He grinned for a moment without elaborating much more or revealing his plans just yet. It was only a short walk till they came to a large room filled with several rows of raised planters. Artificial sun lamps lined the ceiling to simulate natural sunlight. Metal tubes criss-crossed the ceiling, the irrigation system for the planters. It was easy to see at least one of every type of vegetable, a single android going down the rows to check each plant.

 

[Drobabes]

That kiss to her forehead was very sweet, but the way in which he reached out and toyed with her necklace made her cheeks heat up for a different reason altogether. It made memories of last night come back to the forefront of her mind, and though the little smile remained on her face, she couldn't help but almost lose herself in his eyes.

As they walked, Suki was simply quiet and watching. The hydroponics were interesting, and though she thought she might like to come back to this area and sit among the plants, the mention of a virtual trainer had peaked her interest. She didn't try to leave Jacobs side as they walked through, eager to get to that final area and finally find out what it was that he wanted her to do.

 

[JadeKnight]

It wasn't much longer before they came to a large open room. Four clear plastic tanks were positioned in the middle of the area, filled three fourths of the way with a light blue bubbly liquid. Dangling above each tank was several hoses and a helmet with blacken goggles attached. A large bank of computer terminals were off to one side, several monitors currently dark. A row of chairs were sitting in front of the computer bank.

"Here is where you will be doing your training. How long you remain inside the simulation will depend on how quickly you catch on. The system is designed to take care of all you biological needs as well. I was born in the one on the far right and spent several years in there before finally getting out."

He move over to one of the tanks, laying a hand on the cool surface.

"There are nanites within the liquid that react to whatever is within the training simulation, able to mimic everything from walking on solid ground to flying through the air as if you were sky-diving. And it's all perfectly safe. I will be monitoring everything from those terminals over there."

He smiled for a moment, pointing to the computer bank. He didn't tell her everything he could do as well, since the list was so long and he didn't want her to back out of it.

"We can start whenever you want."

 

[Drobabes]

"I was born in the one on the far right and spent several years in there before finally getting out."

Suki had been lookin around with interest, her eyes just a bit wide with curiosity. She had never heard of this technology, nor much of anything really, and her ignorance was allowing her to be a bit more open minded to it all. She had yet to be beat down by reality and knowledge, so she still held much of her childish wonder. However, even Suki had her limits on what she was willing to easily accept, and as Jacob told her that he had been 'born' in a vat, she couldn't help but turn her face to him and give him a bit of a funny look.

How could one be born in a vat? Babies weren't born that way. He had to have parents, didn't he? Where were they?

She waited until he finished talking, much of the technologies capabilities once again going over her head. It would simply have to be something to she experience first hand to really wrap her head around what he was talking about. However, her little spitfire attitude and curiosity starved mind led her to lean back a bit and cross her arms, giving him a bit of a 'are you serious?' grin.

"So... you were 'born' in one of these? How is that possible?"

Her tone wasn't meant to imply disrespect or putting him down, but she simply couldn't believe that one bit of information in all this incredible technology and experimentation. Or perhaps, it was because she did not quite yet understand the types of experiments that were happening here, that she couldn't accept that he had literally been raised in a vat.

 

[JadeKnight]

He gave a little laugh at her question and her expression. He figured something like this would happen, where she couldn't believe what he said. After all, she had very little education.

"Yes, that is quite true. It was done through a technique called cloning. It is basically being able to take the building blocks of life, DNA, and create life that way. That's the simplest explanation I can give you right now."

He patted the edge of the computer console for a moment as he smiled.

"You will understand very quickly what I mean. The learning part will be simple and easy. Making sure you understand everything that I give you will take a bit longer. And I am sure you will with my help."

He moved over to her for a moment, cupping her chin gently in his hand. He tilted her face upwards a little before giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

"The only thing that will stand in the way will be yourself. However, I believe you will pick up everything quite easily."

 

[Drobabes]

His laugh made her smile again, her face softening for him as she listened. It was all very confusing, but it also excited her. The way he spoke of it sparked a wonder in her, and a need to learn.

When he came over, she uncrossed her arms and tentatively, almost a bit hesitantly, placer her hands on his chest. That little kiss was so sweet, but so brief, and she found herself wanting to kiss him again.

"The only thing that will stand in the way will be yourself. However, I believe you will pick up everything quite easily."

She nodded but didn't answer, not really interested in learning about anything right at the moment, as she was much too overcome with his close proximity.

 

[JadeKnight]

He smiled as she kept her hands on his chest as he spoke to her. He enjoyed her closeness and beauty, finding her to his liking more and more. He also knew he could make her into a beautiful little weapon with the right guidance, little subtly, and possibly some trickery as well.

He didn't say anything else as he laid his hands over the top of hers gently. He pressed his lips against hers once more, this time deepening the kiss into a more passionate one. His hands entwined with hers for a few moments before he let go, trailing slowly along her arms. He broke the kiss as well, kissing softly down the line of her jaw before reaching her neck.

His hands slid slowly over her shoulders and down along her back to cup and squeeze her round little ass. He grazed his teeth gently over her neck before biting softly and gnawing. He pulled her against his, his engorged shaft pressing against her stomach warmly.

 

[Drobabes]

His hands laying themselves over her own had her melting before he even kissed her, and when he did bring his mouth to her own, she kissed back with fervor.

Every small touch and gentle caress had her swooning, his hands feeling like tools of pleasure against her silk skin. She brought her own hands up slowly, trailing up his chest and then laying her arms around his neck as he began to kiss along her jaw and down her neck. When he nibbled her soft skin, she sucked in a heated breath and closed her eyes, the sensitive area sending a wave of pleasure straight down to her core that was only beat by the way his hard bulge pressed into her waist, making her moan and press back.

"Jacob..." she panted.

"Can we...start training later?"