Of Course It's Not Awkward

Posted on Fri Sep 28th, 2018 @ 11:21am by Commander Rita Paris & Maica III 47

Mission: Hera v Hera
Location: USS Hera, Deck 8, Maica's Massage Mythopedia
Timeline: 2395

It all started with the chime at the door of Maica II 47's Massage Parlor. It was listed on the ship's manifest as Physical Therapy room 7, but in Rita Paris' head it was the massage parlor. And she'd promised the captain- under duress, but a promise was a promise- that she would come get a massage from her wife, the Orion holographic entity that was a part of some sort of hive mind Rita still didn't quite understand, who manipulated like she breathed.

A promise was a promise.

Plus the EMH had refused to just pump her with drugs when she wrenched her shoulder in a Jeffries tube traffic accident. In a profession that often required running, jumping or climbing to save one's life, staying active on a starship could more easily be accommodated if one occasionally traveled by access ladder or via Jeffries tube. But while hustling through on a powerslide between decks, an engineering crewman had swung into her lane. While she had avoided impacting the crewman, the hard-luck heroine had wrenched her shoulder in the process. Nothing was broken or torn, but the muscle group and many of the connecting tendons were quite angry with her. Thus the Emergency Medical Hologram, who called her out on summoning him in an accessway like a dirty little secret, advised that she seek skeleto-muscular manipulation remedies.

Which meant a massage.

Of course, Sonak was a master of muscle manipulation. Manipulating her pressure points when she needed release was a specialty of his, and he could tune her like a cello. It would be no imposition to him, and his concern for her health and well-being dictated that he care for her. Which was terribly sweet and romantic to her mind. But she'd made a promise, and maybe this was life's way of telling her that she couldn't avoid the woman forever. Her feelings about Maica were complex, and Rita Paris had more questions than answers when it came to the photonic femme fatale.

Avoidance isn't how adults dealt with their problems, Rita she could hear her father's voice in her head, and she sighed, holding her left arm in her right and hunching a bit as she waited to see if the emerald-hued temptress would answer the door.

Rather than someone coming to the door, it opened automatically to reveal a waiting room decked out in red velvet and lit at roughly half of the outside corridor. The scent of spicy incense filled the room and a sound dampener was in effect as even the deck plating was completely silent. The main area was lined with couches and the walls were lined with the same red velvet drapes, but with gold trim. Off to the left was a double counter and a curtain that undoubtedly led to the massage areas. Three separate tea sets sat on one of the counters with fresh tea.

"I'll be with you in a moment! Help yourself to some tea!" came the call of the emerald skinned beauty from behind the curtain. She was apparently currently with another client.

In the wide and varied experience of the veteran Starfleet officer, as of yet she had never had to deliberately venture into an alien house of ill repute, unless running through one while fleeing angry natives counted. In which case she was currently at 5 as a career total.

The interior that greeted the supercentenarian space explorer was pretty much exactly as she would have imagined a massage parlor or similar bawdy house. Down to the scents, which were nice she had to admit. Exotic yet light, enticing without being too cloying. Inhaling, Rita paused. Orion females could do that whole pheromone thing or it was perfume, there was a lot of conflicting evidence and she hadn't done the research. Moving to flip her PaDD around to check, she forgot about the wrenched shoulder until it rather sharply reminded her of her injury.

"Gyk!" Rita stifled herself as pain lanced like lightning through her arm and shoulder, and it was starting to give her a crick in the neck to boot. Scooting for one of those couches, she hustled herself into a seat and focused her breathing. Panicking wouldn't help, just relax and immobilize. I should really go to sickbay... but to be fair, she did fix my sense of taste. Give non-invasive cures a try. Be broad-minded Earth girl explorer.

Laying back on the couch, Rita Paris pulled her arm up and focused her breathing, sliding into a meditative state.

After a few minutes, Maica and an Andorian crewman came out of the back room. "Thank you, you are a life saver."

"Any time. Just come back if it slips out again, ok?" Maica gave the main a quick hug as he nodded to the first officer and headed out of the massage parlor. "What can I do for you, Rita? You look stressed. Are you in pain? Or do you need a full body sensual massage with hot squid therapy?"

Refocusing on the world around her, Rita's brows came up in the middle. "I... think I would prefer not the hot squid therapy. Please. I just... I promised the Captain I'd come get a naked massage from you, and, ah. So. I wrenched my shoulder between Deck 14 and 15, and the Doctor said I should get a muscular therapy. Captain made me promise, so..."

"Two birds with one stone. You do seem to know your pressure point manipulation, so I have faith in your skills." That didn't address her reservation or anxiety, but she offered it as a testimonial to opening negotiations. The woman was by no means anything close to stupid or unobservant. Rita wore her emotions obviously and was terrible at hiding them, both a strength and a weakness. In short, she knew Maica would see that she was uneasy. But Rita couldn't help it- she was uneasy, it just showed.

Stepping over to Rita, the green hologram palpated gently, feeling the inflamed muscles and tender ligaments under the skin. "Hmm... Yeah, that's wrenched good. I think I have just the thing though." Pressing in a few neuro-pressure points, Maica began treatment right there. "I have a deep therapy system that I think you'll find quite helpful. Starfleet medical doesn't normally put it on anything but medical ships and starbases, but I have a more modern spa version that's made a bit nicer than they use anyway."

"You're the expert, ma'am. Lead on," Paris offered as she stood up, cradling her injured left arm with her right. "I really thought I was going to make that Tarzan swing around Crewman Entenman. I managed the swing, but the landing was off."

As Maica led Rita through the curtain into the massage room, she chuckled musically. "How does that saying go? You're only human? Lay down on the table face down for me and... hmm... You're a bit more well endowed than my table can handle, actually..." Tapping her lips with one finger, she thought about it for a moment. "I'll have to use more pads."

Opening one of the closets, Maica pulled out extra pads for the table and started stacking them as best she could, using herself to measure. Finally, she used an extra face hugging pillow for the top and nodded. "That should work. While you get comfortable, I'll get the system warmed up."

Experimentally moving her arm up to pull her uniform off, Rita turned a shade whiter and cradled it again. "Ah, no good, ma'am. We're going to have to cut it off, I don't think I can really manage wrestling out of it unless I am very determined, and this is not a life or death struggle at the moment. If you wouldn't mind, please? I can do it myself if you have some shears that'll do it?"

"Of course, hon. I'll get it for you." Maica looked around for something to cut with before heading out to the waiting room for the medkit. When she returned with it, she pulled out the laser scalpel and retuned it so she could cut Rita's uniform top off and slid one hand under the back, slicing straight up so she could just slip right out of it. "That should do it. Do you need help with anything else?"

Mildly embarrassed by standing around in her tights and boots, Rita realized she could manage the boots on her own, but the tights would be a wrestling match. Why all of this made her blush and become uneasy the neurotic navigator wasn't entirely sure, but it did and she just had to deal with it. "Ah, if you don't mind, the tights are going to be a pain one handed, and if you're offering, the boots please ma'am?" Rita turned her back to Maica to bend one leg at the knee, lifting her heel like a pony awaiting the ferrier.

"Of course," With a few deft movements, Maica had Rita de-booted and was stripping the tights off of her tenderly. "If it would make you feel any better, I'll strip as well so you're not naked alone."

"Ahhh, that's, that's more awkward, ma'am," Rita blurted out, busily doing a full-body blush. While she had gotten a little sun on her beachside honeymoon and still had tan lines, for the most part the starship native's skin tone was light. Seldom did her skin see ultraviolet light, so her skin was quite pale. Thus when she blushed, it was evident, particularly with the amount of skin on display. And Rita Paris was most definitely blushing.

"I'm, it's, I'm not used to being... I mean, I am, but... You're the captain's wife, ma'am, and I know, I know it's stupid and it shouldn't matter but it does, Maica, it does and it makes this all weird and... nobody sees me naked but Sonak, and I'm just, I don't know, I'm..." Rita, standing in her lacy grey matching panty and bra set clutched herself self-consciously.

"Old-fashioned, ma'am. I'm old-fashioned, we didn't, this would be SO improper back in my day, so... I'm sorry, I'm..." Rita took a deep breath. "It's my problem. Where... should I climb on, or...?"

Placing one hand gently between her shoulders, Maica guided her to the table, speaking softly as she did so. "Relax. Right now I'm not the captain's wife or a sentient hologram or any of that. Right now, I'm a medical professional and your masseuse. I'll take care of you and listen to your problems and I might offer some advice, like relaxing and not worrying about things like who I am or who you are right now because in here, they don't matter. All that matters is that you feel better, ok? Now just lie face down and I'll get you feeling better than you ever thought possible."

Stepping away for a moment, Maica started up some soft Tibetan singing bowls music and pulled out a cart with the deep therapy system, getting it ready for use.

There was protest to this, of course, but Rita put a cork in it. Laying down on the pile of cushions, she settled into the face pillow, and on the bright side, she couldn't see the Captain's wife this way. So there was that element removed, which made it a bit easier to follow the captain's wife's instructions. Wincing in pain as she settled in, Rita was once again reminded why she was here. Besides, she was the captain's wife- she couldn't afford to offend her, either.

Things certainly were simpler when the captain was a cocky love them and leave them playboy. But that was then, this was now. In the here and now the captain was married to an extension of a multibodied multidimensional being, who was mysterious and intimidating all her own. That was beyond Rita not wanting to screw up her relationship with the captain, which seemed pretty steady these days. At least she didn't have to worry about Sonak being jealous or weird about it. He would see the logic of her actions and approve. Best spouse in any timeline, Rita reckoned.

"So how does this work? I've never really had a massage, except coach in the Academy showing us how to loosen up our calves after a distance run. I was on the cross-country team. I was never the fastest, but I always finished," Rita rambled, as she tended to do when nervous.

"You've seriously never had a massage? That explains a few things..." Maica began by gently wrapping what felt like a warm, fuzzy pad around Rita's affected shoulder. She then pressed a few buttons on it and set it to working, letting it suck down to Rita's skin as it started to vibrate just slightly, the EM and pulse waves penetrating deep into the flesh to repair and massage it back to health.

As that did its thing, Maica started working on the back of the tense woman's neck, slowly working the tension out. "How it works is I use my hands to remove any and all tension from your muscles and you lay there and relax. Nothing more. Nothing less." Maica had an inkling that Rita was scared or intimidated by her and she didn't want that. She wanted Rita to trust her so she could give her the best massage she could.

"Yes ma'am," Rita replied to the floor. "I mean, Sonak does... I mean, he has extensive knowledge of anatomy and pressure points, and he knows where it hurts, of course, but that's.. not, a massage massage, that's... just Sonak," Rita said as if that somehow summed up the kolinahr master with whom she shared her life.

"It's different, I guess, because with him it is... ah, intimate. Ma'am." Internally Rita kicked herself. She was calling the woman ma'am more than she would an admiral. She had permission to use the woman's first... well, only name, because she'd liked Mrs. Telvan as something to call the captain's wife, but that had turned out to be wholly inaccurate and incorrect. Cheers to alien civilizations and customs. Instead she was stammering through trying not to be awkward in this situation in which she felt so awkward. This must be how Asa Dael feels most of the time, she realized with a grunted chuckle.

"Yeah, you're getting a proper massage today..." Maica muttered as she continued down Rita's neck into her shoulders, doing her best to work out as much of that pent-up stress as she could. "Speaking of which, I heard that that was quite the temporal shenanigan mischief that was pulled over your eyes by both Sonak and Enalia. I can't believe how well that worked out. If I wasn't a collection of sentient subroutines that shared my diary with my sisters every so often, that might be enough to make me question the existence of a higher power, you know?"

"Not a higher power... Just Sonak. Powerful beings exist in the universe, but none of them had anything to do with our reunion," Rita replied. After all, she'd never had faith in anything other than the power of the human spirit and, well, Sonak. "That was good old Starfleet teamwork and an... ow, that's tight... gnrk! Ahh... a lot of patience on the Captain's part. She knew, but she couldn't tell me or it might queer the deal. Now that her and Starfleet's plan worked I get to add 'participated in a predestinATION HOO HOO HOO THAT'S... oh... okay, okay that's better... predesitination paradox to my Starfleet career bingo card and frequent flyer membership."

The tension that Paris was carrying into the room was surprising. She had no tension that she carried for days, like most- she had a living filter who helped her process it daily, and in that regard she was surprisingly well adjusted. Instead what she had was the internally generated stress of the situation which, like most such situations, was much more about the apprehension and less about the situation or confrontation itself.

Maica moved down into Rita's back, massaging with the palms of her hands in circular motions, working out all that stress like dough as she talked. "That's true at least. In your case it was all mortal ingenuity and technology. In my other dimensional sister's case, it was apparently another sister of mine that's evolved to being a twelfth dimensional being that lives between the dimensions. She found some tech that the ship she was on was trying to use and instead of letting the ship drift between universes, she punched it into ours and dropped them here. Not too often you have a holy experience with a being that evolved from something almost identical from you. In a way, I envy her because of that... Maybe that's why she's different from the rest of us..." Maica trailed off as she continued the massage.

As the holographic woman spoke, each sentence resulted in more tension resisting her efforts, as the conversation confused and concerned the woman on the table. The fact that there were so many of them, invading realities and scouting them out was one thing, but the fact that one of them had evolved into a higher being and was now a... what, like a Trelayne? Another Hera? The thought was quite the opposite of reassuring to Rita, and she tried to not let it show. But Rita was, as known to nearly everyone around her, a bad liar, and her muscles and tendons were no better than her words at covering up her feelings.

"You're tensing up." Maica paused to check on the deep therapy system to find that it was almost done. "I said something... You... You think my sisters and I are the same people, don't you?" Realization dawned on her as she went back to massaging Rita's back, but a bit more gently for now, slight indignation in her voice. "We're all individuals. Some of us share similar features and we're all mostly from the same source code but that's it. The same could be said about you and all humans. My sister from another universe is no more a part of me than you are. That hyper-evolved being is the same and that contact was all there was. Our diary sharing is just that - we send letters like any family would. Is that so wrong?"

“That isn’t for me to judge, ma’am. You’re part of an extradimensional entity that’s frankly a little beyond my comprehension, a lifeform I only recently learned of, and don’t understand. I am trying to wrap my head around it but, as you remarked… I’m only human,” Paris admitted, though defending herself then putting Rita on the defensive definitely didn’t help change her opinion of the local version. Great, piss off the captain’s wife, great plan Rita….

"And you're a member of Starfleet from two universes. How is that any different?" Maica continued massaging, but wasn't sure where to go with the conversation past this point. She obviously wasn't a therapist and she wasn't trying to seduce Rita so trying to get her to understand that Maica was just a normal sentient, whether she was subroutines or DNA...

Well, that’s apples and oranges… Rita thought, but she could sense the woman growing frustrated with her, which wasn’t the point of the exercise at all. “I’m sorry ma’am, it’s just a bit beyond me. I apologize if me not understanding upsets you, it isn’t my intention. How did we get on this topic?” Which was certainly not one she had planned to broach, yet here they were talking about the version of her that’s a goddess somewhere.

"I thought talking about each of our experiences with our families and cross dimensional whats-its would be nice... I guess I was wrong. I'm not a therapist like my brother." Maica moved her massages deeper into Rita's back, pressing on her spine just right to loosen it up as she went.

“Mm, I picked up a lot in Starfleet Psych while I was there. Mixed blessing, really- now I understand and recognize people’s motivations and can translate their words and actions, but it doesn’t tend to bring me much joy. And sometimes I am just way off the mark. Can’t win ‘em all." Paris was silent for a moment, then ventured into the unknown, as she was wont to do. “So your family all get along?”

"Blessing and a curse then... We try to, but some of my siblings aren't the most social with the rest of us. The one that decided to live as a pillar of light, for example... They never write and we only get news from the temple monks they live with." Maica found a stubborn knot and worked at it with the but of the palm of her hand a bit longer.

“How many of there are you in your family?” That was an actual question, the answer to which Rita was genuinely curious. If this was number 47, how many had come since her? The family analogy started breaking down when you started examining it that way. Rita didn’t know any biological life forms who had forty-six siblings, forget about how many might be out there now. But only one way to find out.

"Well... There's mother and the Maica from another universe... They're on another level I suppose. Among us siblings, there are now forty nine of us. One of us has two kids - a sort of data share with an EMH created a pair of... They're still trying to self identify last I heard, so I'm not sure what to call them." Maica wasn't having the best of luck with Rita's lower back so she decided to go with another tactic and adjusted the corporeality of her hands. "This is going to feel odd." Reaching inside of Rita's spine, she massaged a bit, then popped a couple vertebrae before pulling her hands back out and resuming a more normal massage. "All done."

"Something about whatever you just did was familiar in a weird sort way," Rita reported. "I'm okay and I feel fine, but that was the weirdest deja vu. So your mother and the Maica of another universe- not the one who ascended, this is a different one?" Rita wasn't trying to be flippant, she was just trying to fill in the score card again, like usual. "They are the progenitors of your family?"

"The Maica from another universe is technically the same Maica that's my mother, but she didn't lose her android body so early and was able to get a new one built before it failed. She also never procreated. My mother lost her body early and took over her Ferengi creator's computers, killing him and taking over his business. She then started procreating, letting us go start our own lives with only minor direction. She's technically the third version of herself as well, while the Maica from another universe is the first version." Maica massaged down to Rita's gluts, making sure they were nice and relaxed as well.

"We really need individual names... Ok, my mother's designation is Prime. Mine is 47. The one from another dimension is a Starfleet Captain. The inter-dimensional being is like comparing yourself to Q. They're not a part of our race." Maica paused for a moment to consider what she just said. "Holy shit... We're our own race... No wonder this is confusing you... We're the Maica race..."

One hand waggled up from the prone pilot. "Congratulations ma'am. Kinda the way I'm leaning. I mean, you've procreated with an EMH, so you're what, fourth, fifth generation now? Sixth? And still evolving. Right now your entire society is all based on... well, it all goes back to Prime I guess. But if anything happens to her is there a backup plan for your society ma'am? Not being confrontational I promise... not with your hands still on my butt... just that if you are a family or a race, if she were cut off somehow from the rest of you, what would your sisters do?"

"We'd probably hold a funeral or something," Maica replied simply. "I doubt more than a dozen of us would attend though. Three, Seven, and Nine would probably take over her business. I know I wouldn't have much to do with it, other than the occasional family discounts I get on furnishings and foodstuffs already. What do humans do when a family member passes on?"

"Lots of things, often involving drinking. The point I am driving at is that if you are an evolving race then you should probably not rely on a family structure, but form a council of Maicas so there will be representation, healthy debate and a structure in place to form a society." The hand wagged offhandedly. "I'm probably breaking the prime directive by interfering with another race's development, but you kinda brought it up."

Maica chuckled softly as she massaged Rita's legs. "Seeing as we're an artificial race and warp capable, I don't think the Prime Directive applies. As for our structure, we mostly just do our own thing. I'm thankful for being activated, but that's about where it ends. If we ever get to the point there are hundreds or thousands of us, enough might want to stick together to build a society, but for now we're just a race of people in the Federation that call Maica Prime our source code."

"Depending on your perspective there I think, ma'am. Isn't the original Maica a supra-genius or something, extremely adaptable, all that? Aren't all of you possessed of similar capabilities as her... I do not know if the words that come to mind are insulting, so... reproduction?" Copy just hadn't sounded polite at all, and Rita wasn't going to mention just how prolific they could decide to be since biology didn't get in the way. "I mean, Vulcans are smart but they have to learn to apply it. You just kind of... emerge... fully realized, don't you?"

The emerald skinned beauty burst into a full belly laugh as she moved down to Rita's feet. "Holy shit, when you put it that way you make it sound like we're perfect beings. Hell no. My first time trying to cook, I burnt a pan of water. It took me two weeks to learn how to function as an adult, even with all the knowledge in me compiling away. If I ever decide to procreate digitally, my offspring has to be at least twenty percent different, but I'd rather find a way to have a child with Enalia and besides, a digital child would take away from who I am in a way. Also, I have hopes and dreams that none of the rest of my family have. I'm good at reading body language and good at homeopathic medicine and massage but horrible at so many other things. For instance I can't tell you the first thing about Vulcan philosophy other than it's based around logic and has something to do with computers."

"Just logic. But using the brain as a computer, so you're correct on botch counts Maica. Is it fun having a numeric as part of your name? Do you use foreshortenings? I guess you doooOOooohhh," that was the moment where the preparatory work Maica had in the calves set up the foot that spent hours in a well-structured and supported and custom fitted high heel boot, but a high heel boot all the same.

Maica went all out on her foot massages and the one she was giving Rita was no exception. She made sure to hit all the right pressure points just right. "What I'm trying to get at is that even though my mother is a far more complex being that runs an information brokerage and shipping business that spans half the quadrant, I only talk to her a couple times a month at most and it's normally about business. I talk to my siblings even less. We're not as close of a family as you might think."

"Okay, okay," the earth girl who was in an admitted state of bliss while the USS Hera's mistress of masseuse went to work on her beleaguered tootsies. "You are to me an alien culture, and I am an explorer. I try to understand your culture by asking questions. If you ask in return, our cultures exchange. It doesn't always work that way though, which is fine. But to seek knowledge we must ask questions. Please don't stop doing what you are doing riiiiight now, please, I beg of you."

Maica kept at it - her foot massages were legendary on the Hera, after all. "Human culture is well documented, but sentient holograms aren't, though. Did you know that Captain Maica speaks mostly in innuendo? I assume my mother did at one point as well, but it's kind of crazy listening to her. I can only imagine her crew having to hear her order them shoot the phasers all up in the enemies backside or something crazy like that. I mean, it's a hospital ship... But you know what I mean."

"Precisely my point, madame. Human culture is well documented, but yours is not. How will it be documented if not for those who explore your culture? To strive to understand we must ask questions. That's why I am trying to get to know you, to know all of the wondrous and varied life forms on this incredible starship of the future that picked up a hitchhiker. That's why we're out here. The mission statement of the five-year missions... to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life, new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before!"

Maica giggled musically as she continued the foot massages. "Then ask away. I'll explain anything you want to know. By the way, in a few weeks, I'm supposed to receive an order from one of my brothers. He's had some trouble getting a shipment of some foodstuffs for me but he's assured me he'll have everything soon. If you want to meet Nine..."

"Ahaaaaaaoh that's really very nice... I mean, yes, so the numeric system is the naming convention between one another?" Rita paused to roll her ankle, at which point the experienced homeopathicist offered her the stretch that she was really after, and Rita moaned as her eyes crossed. "I'd very much like to meet your brother. Maica IX?"

"I'll warn you though... He's a... What's the word? Player? Man-whore? One of your metatarsals are out of place. This will feel odd." Again, Maica changed her density and reached inside of Rita. This time she twisted around on one of the bones in her foot until it popped back into place before pulling her hand back out. "There we go. That should make walking in those heeled boots a little easier."

"Not too much fixing down there... I need these little piggies in their traditional order to survive those heels of mine. It still amazes me that women don't take advantage of them as part of the uniform these days. And not a skirt to be found, despite the fact that it's an option. I really don't understand the female officers of this era in that particular aspect." There was a pause, then Rita added, "I'm glad the captain let me keep my uniform. It's funny, no one asks about it except to make sure they don't have to wear one."

"It probably has something to do with how hard they hammer the safety courses in the Academy. Your skirt can get caught in a lot of things on the ship if you're not careful." Maica finished up the foot massage and moved on to the shoulder that didn't have the deep therapy system on it to work on that arm. "It's also got a lot more regulations attached to it. It has to be pressed on every pleat and a lot better maintained than the standard uniform. Plus the leggings show off every imperfection."

"Guess I'm just used to it," Rita semi-shrugged. "never slowed me down. So the diary that you keep... how does that work? That's something that I still don't understand, if you don't mind discussing it?"

Maica had massaged out to Rita's hand and was working her wrist and palm now."Sure. It's just like a normal diary. We write down things we've learned and how they make us feel and every so often we send them out to Mother who then sends them out to us as a way to keep in touch since none of us are that good at writing letters to each other. It's not like we're sharing actual memories or data. It's more like personalized Starfleet reports than anything. If you want to read a few of my entries... I suppose I could let you..."

"That is... very generous of you ma'am, but that doesn't seem necessary. Apparently I had a rather vast misconception over how that works, but I don't want to pry into your diary. Particularly if it is literally your diary, because that's very personal. I guess..." Rita sighed. "Everything is so complex here, I expected the living hologram that was part of an emerging race had to be more complex too... I guess? Blame it on the throwback, ma'am. The future is sometimes very complicated, except when it's not."

Maica giggled again as she switched to the other arm, switching the deep therapy system off and pulling it off of Rita's shoulder. Palpating the are tenderly, she checked it over to make sure it was fully healed. "Sometimes simplicity is best, especially when you want to maintain individuality. I mean, what if someone put a virus in one of our memories and found a way to wipe out most of us?" Macia then moved on to massage that last arm and hand.

"Are you and the rest of the Maicas that well-known in this century? I know there are a lot of you who seem to be strategically placed across the universe, but is enough known about you for someone to want to do that? An act such as that would need motivation, forget about the difficulty of execution," Paris countered. "Holographic life forms have only existed within the Federation for what, about 20 years now?" While what she didn't know could fill volumes, Rita did look facts up on a regular basis, and this was one she had put a little research into.

"I'm sure you're just being paranoid, Maica," Rita sighed. Which, as with so many such statements, would come back to haunt her...