SavageRifts.com

Mavericks room, a place with all the wine one could want. Except Alecto has ordered the Black Company to bugger off. Located on the 5th floor of the spaceship converted hotel run by Ben.

“My intent?” Jude asked with a smile. “Honestly, I’m not sure anymore.” He flashed that handsome smile of his. “You’re different than most women. Obviously. You don’t seem susceptible to the mad game I’m slinging, like most.” He grinned, then grew more serious.

“Curiosity, mostly, I guess. I’ve never met anyone like you. Part of me wonders just how...fully functional you are,” he admitted. “Obviously I’m attracted to you. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to go both ways?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is that something you’re even...capable of?” he queried. “See? Curious.” That boyish grin again. “I’d like to get to know you a bit. And if things lead somewhere...I’m more than okay with that. I mean, we’re in a dangerous profession. I’ve always lived by the old motto Carpe Diem. Seize the day. Eat, drink, and make love, because tomorrow we may die,” he said quietly, almost...fatalistically.

Alecto listened. Did he seem uncomfortable? She supposed it made sense. She wasn't reacting in a familiar way for him.

"It would be easy for me to act the part," she said, "But I have a goal here as well. Your interest in me strikes me as strange, and I want to understand it. I'm also interested in emotional attachments, relationships between pairs, though I recognize I'm operating at a disadvantage with that."

She reached out to touch Jude's shoulder. "I can answer some of your questions. Am I attracted to you? Not in the sense that I think you mean. I don't experience sexual desires for my own sake. I have no instincts towards procreation, and sexual contact is not, by itself, particularly pleasurable." Her eyes lifted to meet his.

"Physically I'm capable. As far as I can tell, physical seduction was a mission component anticipated for me to undertake. What draws me to individuals however is not their physical appearance or skill at social interaction specifically, but rather a combination of how interesting I find their thoughts, their behavior, as well as their apparent attitude towards myself."

"I do experience emotions, though not in exactly the same way you do. I can form attachments to individuals. I have often wondered if a living person, who is aware of my nature, can form attachments to me. If they can, I also wonder if it's desirable to pursue such a relationship."

Alecto's head tilted slightly to one side, studying Jude's reaction to her words and actions.

Jude chuckled. “I suppose it would be strange,” he said, indicating for her to take a seat on the loveseat, then sitting next to her. It was a small piece of furniture, so they would have to sit close. “It isn’t pleasurable, though?” he asked her. “Well, that’s unfortunate. He smiled. “I mean, you’re right. The emotional attachment is the best, usually. But when it’s combined with the physicality of love making, it’s just…heavenly. Divine,” he said. “Indescribable.”

Jude shifted to face Alecto. “I think you would be surprised what emotional attachments people are capable of forming,” he told her. “Even if they know what you are. The fact that you are a beautiful female human will make it even easier,” he assured her. “I wouldn’t want you to be discouraged from pursuing those connections. That is the kind of thing that makes us most...human,” he mused. “And something I miss all too often,” he said, his smile a bit sad as he reminisced about home -- and Michelle.

“What is it you want, Alecto?” he asked, reaching out to brush back her hair with a gentle caress.

There is the loud, ripping sound of flatulence and Maverick's room is suddenly filled with the smell of sulphur.

"Oh mein Gott, you have my deepest apologies! I am afraid the vegan wurst in the canteen has been giving my tummy the most furchtbar gas," Herr Klaus says as he crawls out from beneath Jude's bed, where he had replaced several nuts and bolts stripped by repeated... activity.

Dusting fuzzballs from his coverall, he adjusts his glasses.

"There is quite the collection of prophylactic wrappers under there, mein freund. The mice are talking, haha! But I suppose if you convince this one into engaging in the intercourse, that won't be a concern! Good day!"

Jude blinked at the sound of a massive butt belch. And then the smell.

“Oh, God…” Jude gagged, rushing to the window to open it. “What are you even doing under there?” he exclaimed to the little German fae.

“Get out of here!” With a sigh, Jude gave Alecto a resigned look.

“I’m sorry, Alecto. I don’t know why everyone is traipsing through here tonight. I tried to set a good mood, but it’s ruined by now. You deserved better.” He sagged against the wall, thumping his head back in defeat.

Knock, Knock. Sammy peeps in and waves Jude over to the closed door. On the other side is a fine assortment of chocolates, dates, pre-rift wine and brandy. Plus a large bouquet of roses. It is all arranged nicely on a cart. Sammy winks at Jude, " We even found a pre-rift music player, has some soothing tunes, I think all 10 Drie Marbles Left Love Balads are programmed into it." Sammy nods at Jude again and bounds down the hallway on his next errand.

Woa, clearly this might have cost the cat a tidy sum of creds!

Jude sighed at another knock on the door. “Now what?” he muttered, opening it. At first he thought no one was there, and then he looked down to see Sammy next to a cart. Nicely arranged on the cart were fine chocolates, dates, pre-Rifts wine and brandy, and a large bouquet of roses. There was even a music player.

“Um, thanks, ca--Sammy,” Jude said. Where had that damn cat found all this in the destruction of Gloom anyway?

Jude wheeled the cart in and smiled at Alecto. “Looks like someone, at least, is rooting for us.”

Alecto takes all of the strangeness in stride, and doesn't seem to find the odor particularly pleasant nor unpleasant. Does she even have a sense of smell?

"I've found that soldiers who are 'comrades in arms' often experience lowered barriers of inhibition towards one another," she says, a hint of amusement lurking at the corners of her mouth. "They come to see one another as family, for better or for worse."

She studies Jude for a moment.

"I have a choice, about how I pursue a place in the social structures I find myself in. I could play the cold machine others expect me to be, with the positive and negative consequences arising from that status...or I could attempt to integrate more tightly. I've decided to pursue the latter option, with the former being a fallback position in case it fails. This is part of that."

"Though if in asking me what I want, you're asking me what I want from you, then my answer is...the answer to two questions."

"The first question is...as a human being, do you believe it is ethical of me to pursue a romantic relationship with one of your kind?"

"The second question is...knowing as much of my nature as you do now, are you interested in pursuing such a relationship with me?"

Jude settled back on the couch and gazed at Alecto. “Ethical?” he asked. “I grew up in the Coalition. What do I know of ethics?” he asked. “It’s why I asked what you wanted. I think that’s important. Carpe diem, as they say. Seize the day. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die. Especially in our line of work.” He sat forward. “I’m not looking to...tie you down with any strings, Alecto. I know the reality. When this is over, we’ll all likely have to go our separate ways. You have responsibilities to the BC, and me to the Legion. But what do we want right now?” he asked her. “Right now is all we can be sure that we have.”

Jude gazed intently into Alecto’s eyes. “As to why? Someone designed you as a very beautiful woman. I find that...fascinating.” He flashed her that winning smile of his. “And you seem to be...curious about all of this, or you wouldn’t have even come. So now you are faced with a choice. You have a willing partner to aid in your...experiment to integrate more tightly. And if it doesn’t work out, we can both walk away.”

Alecto's head tilts as she regards Jude intently.

"I do not believe your origin in the Coalition States would impact your ability to judge this. I will explain."

"There is an evolutionary component to human social and sexual relations. Your practices, habits, desires, have all developed in tandem over time to maximize your ability to produce and care for offspring. I recognize that this is not the only consideration, and that there are human pairings that do not, or cannot produce offspring and that these are not looked down upon. However, I'm concerned that I could be construed as 'hijacking' human instinctive responses and subverting them for my own purposes in full knowledge that I cannot fulfill them."

"Is that ethical?"

Jude shrugged. “Is bedding another man’s wife ethical?” he asked. “Because I’ve done that, too.” Jude gave Alecto a smile. “I think the key word was full knowledge,” he told her. “You’ve told me what you are. Seems like subverting that is kind of what you were built for,” he pointed out. “But you haven’t hidden anything. And I’m not asking you to...fulfill any of those ‘evolutionary urges’,” he assured her. “Just some biological ones.” He grinned.

“Maybe I read you wrong, if you aren’t curious about it. I don’t even know if you feel...pleasure like that,” he admitted. “I certainly wouldn’t want you to just...endure me. A fully participating partner makes the experience so much better. But I don’t want to pressure you or anything.”

Alecto nodded as she absorbed Jude's words.

"I would not be here if I didn't have an objective," she said. "In this case, two. You have fulfilled the first objective."

She sized him up for a moment.

"My second is relevant to your question about my experience of pleasure. I do not. Physical contact is neither especially pleasant nor repulsive for me. However I understand the importance of sharing contact and pleasure in maintaining a relationship. It's possible that at one time I had a catalog of responses and actions to draw upon to simulate the appropriate experience. If so, that program has been lost. I must rebuild something similar, if I am to provide a prospective partner with an enjoyable experience."

"I have consulted various sources, literary and video, but I find that purely factual material is clinical and does not illustrate the full experience...and that material intended to stimulate arousal is commonly regarded as clearly and obviously falsified by other people."

"You have a reputation for being familiar with a wide variety of female responses, and your profile suggests you have a very low probability of forming an emotional attachment as a result of this work. So, are you willing to assist me?"

Though Alecto seemed to be presenting herself as something of an 'innocent,' in this, she did seem to have some idea of the at least the basics of seduction as she reached up to the spaghetti straps of her flirty dress and pushed them down her shoulders...then wriggled slightly to encourage the fabric to fall to the floor into a heap at her feet.

Jude stared as the filmy fabric of Alecto’s dress slithered to the floor. He ran his blue eyes slowly up and down her naked body.

“Remind me to send whoever made you a thank you note,” Jude breathed. “Trust me, you won’t be disappointed, Alecto.”

Jude stepped up and drew her close to him, leaning in and kissing her softly, invitingly, as he drew her to the bed.

FADE