Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Collision Course by Sol Oliver aka solvn

   It was already late afternoon and the delivery van still hadn't shown
up. Kira had paced around her split-level condo all day in nervous
anticipation, but now she was starting to worry.  They had told her to
expect the drop-off between ten and two, and she knew that there were
always delays, but it didn't keep her from imagining the worst.  What if
the financing had fallen through?  No...that was already taken care of. 
What if the repairs had failed?  No...she'd already been assured that her
android companion had been tested and re-tested, and that she was good as
new.  Better, even.  Or what if the delivery van had been in some kind of
horrible accident?

   That would have been ironic.

   Kira checked her watch for the umpteen-billionth time and flopped down
into her easy chair by the front window.  Although she'd done little more
than putter around the house for six hours, she felt like she'd spent the
entire day hiking -- the effects of stress.

   Would she even recognize her when she arrived?  The repairs were
extensive, and she'd agreed to let Tessa undergo cosmetic changes of her
own choosing.  She hadn't been built as a companion 'droid, and the
specialized nature of her former function would have made people stare too
much.  And after what she'd been through, it seemed to Kira more than
reasonable for Tessa to select her own appearance.

   Would it still feel the same?  Kira was still confused about exactly
what she was doing.  Had her own actions been driven only by human
compassion?  By selfish lust?  By something else?  It was a dirty secret in
society that more and more people were becoming deeply involved with their
android companions, and Kira would have laughed if someone had suggested to
her a year ago that *she* would be heading down that path.

   But that was a year ago.

   As her eyes grew heavy, Kira thought about how her whole life seemed to
lead to this strange situation.  She didn't originally want to go into
androtics -- she'd always wanted to be an artist, and had more in-born
talent than most.  But when the top school in the country offered her a
full scholarship to study android engineering, she couldn't refuse.  They
also had a first-rate art school, and she told herself that she'd still be
able to study her first love on the side.

   Of course, learning everything to know about androids didn't leave her
any extra time, even as brilliant as she was.  First there was theory. 
Then electrical engineering and programming.  Material sciences.  Then more
and more sophisticated electrical engineering and programming.  Of course,
there was lots of lab work and all of the analysis and paperwork that went
with it.  The only classes she truly enjoyed were those on rendering human
forms, when she could let her artistic talents breathe.  And everyone
agreed that the faces and bodies that Kira sculpted would have rivaled
anything that the top android manufacturer, Candrex, was offering at the
time.

   But Kira had let her advisors convince her that she could be The Next
Great One who could revolutionize the field, and she studied night and day
to try and live up to their expectations.  She began her doctoral-level
assignment -- building an android from the ground-up -- when most of her
original classmates were just starting their master's-level course work. 
She was the top gun at the school, and everyone wanted to know: where will
you go next?  What will you create?  Will you remember me when you get to
the top?

   The truth was, Kira didn't know what she wanted to do, and it scared her
to have to make those kinds of decisions.  Even if she had to work hard, it
was always clear in a classroom setting exactly what was expected of her.
But she was heading for real life.  She didn't just want to make money. 
More than that, she didn't want the responsibility of having hundreds of
people working under her, which is exactly what the professors were lining
up for her at Candrex.  After all, if she made a fortune, she'd be morally
obligated to share the wealth with the school that had made it possible. 
And those professors would always be there for her -- as high-paid
consultants.

   And one day it just became too much for her to handle.  There wasn't any
single incident that made her break down, and nobody saw it coming.  Least
of all Kira.  But when a person spends all of their time studying and
working, with very little social time in between, it does more than make
you dull.

   It drives you mad.

   And so it was that three weeks before she was to present her android and
collect her doctoral dissertation, Kira McAllan was found in the middle of
the campus' main quad, hacking apart her carefully-crafted creation with a
metal rod that had until that moment been part of a sculpture entitled
"meditation." It made the national news, and even if she had wanted to work
for Candrex, it was certain they wouldn't hire such a head case.

   All things considered, the school was very kind to her after her
meltdown.  They could have rescinded her scholarship and made her pay all
of the tuition she'd been given, but the Dean recognized that it had been
partially the school's fault for pushing her too hard.  Not only did they
present her with a doctoral degree eighteen months later (despite the fact
that she'd reduced her android "dissertation" to a level of sophistication
equivalent to a kitchen junk drawer), but they even covered her six-month
stay at the school's mental health department.

   But even if they'd managed to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, she
was hardly the same person.  Or maybe she was back to being who she really
was.  Kira wasn't sure.  What she *was* certain of was that she didn't want
to enter the field of androtics at all, but economic reality soon set in.
She had no desire to live with her parents, and while she knew of at least
dozen men who would marry her if she dropped the slightest hint -- she'd
managed to take a little time as an undergrad to experiment -- she didn't
want to head into any relationship without having her own legs under her
first.

   So it was that she came to work for Androlysis Kinetics, a small,
specialized company that didn't care about her past.  Good 'droid techs
were hard to find, and they were thrilled to get someone of Kira's pedigree
without busting their budget.  For her part, Kira was happy to be part of a
small company where she could collect a decent salary and keep her
anonymity, and she didn't mind that the work wasn't intellectually
stimulating.  And it certainly kept her busy, letting her put off thinking
about what she really wanted from life.

   An added bonus was that she could tell herself that she was helping
people live better lives.  Or at least *longer* lives.  Through the tests
and analyses she conducted, hundreds if not thousands of people would
survive crashes that might otherwise have killed them.

   "Hey, Kira, is TSS-B ready to go?" asked a dweeby man in a white lab
coat who had appeared by her work bench.

   "Yeah, Brad, just about," she replied as she made one more adjustment to
the male android that was laid out before her.  Test Subject S-B had been
behaving oddly lately, and it was getting more and more difficult to prep
him.  Crash test 'droids usually lasted at least a year, but S-B was
showing signs of shut-down at only six months.  Kira typed a few commands
on her keypad and the 'droid's eyes popped open.

   "Oh!..." it said, as if it had been startled awake.

   "Show time, hon," she said to the 'droid, patting it on the leg.  It
made the job more interesting for her to treat her test subjects a little
bit human, even if everything she'd ever been taught told her not to.  Her
co-workers put up with her eccentric behavior, and out of consideration for
them she stopped short of giving the doomed 'droids names.

   "You're the best, Kira," said Brad before turning to face the android,
which was sitting up on a gurney.  "Come on."

   The 'droid glanced back at Kira as it headed for the test area, and for
a moment she thought there was pleading in its eyes.  But she was probably
imagining it.  Androids didn't have real emotions or fear, even if they
were programmed to react exactly as humans would under crash conditions. 
She'd helped modify the current group of 'droids herself, and nothing that
she'd programmed could be called real intelligence.  Kira shrugged and
headed out of the lab.

   Brad escorted TSS-B to the capsule that had been set up at one end of a
long track.  At the other end was a solid alloy wall.  Except for the
traditional yellow and black markings over his smooth white body, the
'droid would have made a convincing human.  The latest from Candrex, only
his hands and head were exposed, the rest of him clad in the jumpsuit that
a lunar transport crewman might wear.  Androlysis Kinetics wanted to create
crash conditions as close to real as possible, right down to the hair on a
person's head.  Because at several kilometers miles per hour, these small
things could possibly thwart even the best-made escape pod.  Kira took her
place at the control console that was set up in an impact-proof chamber
twenty feet behind the beginning of the launch track.

   "...data recording buffers...check...emergency
shutoff...check...acceleration systems...check..." she said as each
component of the test track reported on her screen.  Satisfied that the
'droid had fastened itself into the test escape pod properly, he joined
Kira in the control booth.  Arranged across several large screens were
different views of the test track -- views from the impact zone, from the
tip of the capsule, and multiple angles of the test subject itself.  TSS-B
looked nervous, just as he'd been programmed.  In real life a human would
be nervous and tense in an emergency jettison, which would have an effect
(even if only a small one) on how his body reacted to a high-impact
collision.

   "...all systems go," said Kira as a large green button appeared on the
panel before her.  Even after doing scores of these tests, she still got
nervous at the moment of truth.  No matter how much you went over the
details, you only had one chance to get it right.  She was almost jealous
of the android.  All it had to do was sit there.  Kira glanced at the
monitors.  In one view, the crash test 'droid's eyes seemed to have that
pleading look to them again.  Her hand paused over the "Go" button.

   "What's wrong?" asked Brad, who had started nibbling on a Snicker's Bar,
as was his ritual on launch day.  "You're not worried about that ol' bot,
are you?"

   "Don't be ridiculous," replied Kira, though her hand stayed where it
was. "I just always worry that I forgot something."

   "Now *you're* being ridiculous," said Brad.  "We haven't had a single
malfunction since you started here a year ago." In the monitor, android
TSS-B was fidgeting in its restraints, which could not be released except
from the control room.  It was more than fidgeting.  It was fighting to get
out.  "Here, I'll help," said Brad, pressing Kira's hand down onto the pad.

   "No!" shouted Kira, but it was too late.  On all of the screens, the
escape capsule rocketed down the fifty-meter track.

   "Yaaaa-HOOOO!" shouted Brad, a trail of caramel swinging from his lip.
"Ride 'em, cowboy!"

   Kira had to look away.  She couldn't bear to see the expression on the
droid's face when it-

   *SCRAKKKKKK!!!*

   ---crashed against the dull gray wall.

   "OH yeah!  OHHHH yeah!" yelled Brad, pumping his scrawny arm into the
air.  "The Eagle has LANDED!" He said this every time, and most of the time
it made Kira smile.  But today it made her feel sick to her stomach. 
"Wow," said Brad, looking at the wreckage on the screens, "the folks at
Mining Transport really took our recommendations to heart."

   Kira steeled herself and took a look.  Sure enough, while there was
debris in every corner of the crash zone, the passenger core was intact,
and it didn't appear that anything had flown through it at all.  She signed
in relief.

   "That's strange..." said Brad, who was looking at the sensor data
"...the crash was fatal."

   Kira hurriedly punched up the data on the screen in front of her and
frantically read the numbers and charts.  Brad was right.  The test subject
did not survive the impact.  "It's even stranger," she said as she sifted
through the data.  "The subject died five milliseconds before impact."

   "DAMMIT!" shouted Brad, slamming his fist onto the console and smearing
his hand with chocolate, nuts, caramel, and nougat.  "Dammit..." he
repeated, looking down at his hand.  "A 'droid malfunction.  The client's
gonna be *pissed*..."

   Kira's heart sunk.  It was her responsibility alone to make sure that
the 'droids were in proper shape to conduct the tests, and to not allow
them to enter a capsule if there was any chance that they wouldn't produce
accurate data.  But TSS-B had been *fine*, and she'd *never* had a 'droid
malfunction during operations.

   "God, I'm so sorry, Kira," said Brad, realizing what the malfunction
meant and how it would affect management's view of his co-worker.  "Maybe
something shook loose in the capsule before impact..."

   "Nothing fucking 'shook loose'..." began Kira, who knew that she had
just lost a large bonus check.  Brad's mouth was open, stunned by her tone
of voice, and Kira gave him an apologetic look and patted him on the knee.
"I'm sorry, Brad.  I appreciate that you're just trying to cover for my
ass."

   "Don't worry about it," he said, flushing red.  "It's my ass, too. 
Well, maybe more of your ass than mine.  Probably just about one-tenth of
my ass...maybe two-thirtieths..or so...still, it's a collective ass.."

   "Don't worry about the exact fraction.  I understand and appreciate the
thought," said Kira, getting up wearily.  Usually after a test run she
didn't have a lot to do, but the malfunction had earned her additional
work. Brad would handle things on the capsule end (at least *that* had gone
well), but it was up to Kira to examine the 'droid, identify the problem,
and get it running again.  She began to head for the door that led to the
crash chamber access way.

   "I'll bring him back for you," said Brad, getting up.  "Why don't you go
home and get some rest?"

   "No, no...I should clean up my own mess.  And I don't want to keep you
from your family..."

   "Look, it'll only take me an extra fifteen minutes," he said, walking
past Kira to stand in the doorway.  "And you're going to need all of your
energy tomorrow.  It'll keep.  Okay?" Even if he was a dork, Kira had to
admit that Brad could be charming and convincing when he wanted to be.  She
smiled.

   "Thanks, Brad.  And I'm sorry I snapped at you."

   "Apology accepted," said the man, getting up to retrieve the android. 
On his way past her, he gave Kira a friendly pat on the shoulder.  "Now get
on home."

   The next day was nearly as frustrating as the last.  She hadn't slept
well, her mind going over every detail of her prep work even as she slept.
It had been *perfect*!  She knew every bit of the android TSS-B, every
circuit and line of programming.

   And here it was in front of her now, absolutely lifeless.  Every attempt
to reset it had failed, and it didn't respond to any diagnostic "prodding".
It was a goner, at only six months old!  Now she'd have to prep a new
android and hope that no others failed, because the upcoming test schedule
was tight.  And since there wasn't money in her department's budget for
another 'droid, guess where the funds would come from.  Yep, her bonus.

   "Excuse me, Kira?" said a woman's voice.  A commanding voice.  The head
of her department.  "Can you come over to my office when you reach a good
stopping point."

   "Yes, of course, Deena," Kira responded.  Her stomach sank.

   But the meeting wasn't like the ones in her nightmares.  It turns out
that the department had been running a budget *surplus* because of how well
she'd been doing her job.  Everyone was amazed at her track record, and
knew that a mishap was only a matter of time.  Deena's main concern was
that the young tech would beat herself about it, but by the end of the
meeting, Kira felt her old confidence lift its head up again.

   "I'd give the week off next week, but as you know we have a very
important test," said Kira's supervisor.

   "Thank you, but I don't need any time--"

   "Nonsense.  You'll get a week with pay the following week," said Deena,
cutting her off.  "You've earned it.  Do you realize you haven't taken even
a single day off since you started here?"

   It was true.  But had her supervisor brought up that last fact because
someone had told her about her little incident at 'droid school?  It didn't
matter.  She was right.

   "Thank you, Deena," said Kira, her mind already thinking about what she
might do with her time off.  An image of her drawing tools flashed into her
mind, sitting unused in a cabinet drawer.

   "So we can count on you?" asked Deena, though it was really more of a
statement.

   "Yes, of course," said Kira, really meaning it.  "I'll get to work on it
right away."

   "Good," said Deena, rising to give her subordinate a firm handshake. 
"Because you're by far the best android technician we've had in my twenty
years with this company."

   Kira's face flushed with embarrassment, which was out of character for
her.  But it was just the encouragement she needed.  She headed away from
Deena's office ready for anything.

   TSS-A had an in-service date just one week after TSS-B's.  A female
version of the 'droid that had expired the previous week, TSS-A was
responding exactly as it should.  Power-up was smooth.  All systems were
checking out just fine.  As an extra precaution, Kira had been given
permission to scrub from her memory the few tests where TSS-A had required
major repair work afterwards.  Although it was company policy not to
destroy any of their clients' data, Kira felt like it might prevent the
test 'bot from melting down early like its male counterpart had.  And all
of the data was backed up elsewhere.

   "Follow my finger with your eye," said Kira to the robot which sat on
the edge of the gurney in front of her.  Like TSS-B, she had a smooth white
body and the black-and-yellow markings of a crash test dummy.

   Kira couldn't have sculpted a more beautiful model herself, she thought,
as the 'droid's eyes tracked her finger's movements with near-human
precision.  Wide-eyed with a friendly face, as well as an exceptionally
curvy body, she was a favorite around the lab.  "Okay, TSS-A...you can
stop." Kira made some notes on her tablet: TSS-A optical reactions 98.2% to
human.  TSS-A response to unexpected visual vectors 96.7% to human.

   "Tessa..." said Kira with a smile as she typed into a console attached
to the gurney.  "You will now also respond to the name 'Tessa'. 
Understood?"

   The pretty android nodded her head, her pony tail bobbing behind her. 
No one else in the lab had to know.  For some reason, Kira just felt like
she needed her test subject to have a name this time.

   "Okay, Tessa.  We're going to have to get you to at least 99% human by
Friday," said Kira.  "I know you were made to be perfect, but don't fight
my programming, okay?"

   Tessa nodded.  Although capable of speech, it was company policy to
disable those functions.  Bad for morale, they said.  Kira had never
questioned the policy, but wished at the moment that she could talk to the
android.  But she knew that now wasn't the time to be breaking too many
company rules at once.

   "Stand up, please," commanded Kira.  "Time to go over some physical
responses."

   Onto her feet the android hopped, her hospital-style gown billowing out
around her.  Just one more silly company policy, Kira thought.  It was a
'droid; who cares if it's naked?  Then again, Kira noticed how some of the
other staff members ogled the 'droids.

   "Gown off, please," said Kira.  Tessa hesitated as if embarrassed.  Kira
knew that it was an illusion, one that she'd programmed into the android
herself.  "Come on now.  I won't bite.  Besides, I already saw you naked
before I booted you up."

   Shyly, Tessa reached back and undid the gown's little string, pushed the
garment off her shoulders, and let it drop to the ground.  Kira let herself
admire the body; it truly was a work of art that not even the crash
markings could mar.  And those breasts of hers didn't have any markings at
all, she thought, immediately feeling foolish for thinking it.  Looking
away for a moment, she brought her mind back to clinical detachment.

   "You know how this works, Tessa," she said, turning the 'droids head up
by her chin.  She really was doing a convincing imitation of bashfulness!
"I'm going to be stimulating you randomly, and I just want you to react
naturally.  Don't fight the programming, okay?"

   Tessa gave a weak smile and nodded.  Kira began touching the android on
its arms and shoulders, gauging her responses with the help of the computer
she was hooked into.  Tessa glanced at the points of pressure like a person
would.  To change things up, Kira poked a finger into the android's
midriff. She flinched.

   "Good," said Kira.  Tessa had a slightly confused and hurt look on her
face.  Just as a person might.  Kira put a reassuring hand on her shoulder,
and Tessa smiled shyly.  Kira let her hand linger on the shoulder.  It was
soft and warm; how come she'd never appreciated the 'droids this way
before? Almost subconsciously, Kira let her hand slide gently across
Tessa's shoulder towards her neck.  Was that a tremble?  Kira felt her own
hand trace downward along the android's breast, and then it gave a gentle
squeeze.  Firm and warm.  Under her hand, she felt something harden.

   "Oh, god!  What the hell am I doing?" said Kira, pulling her hand away
like she'd just touched a hot plate at a Mexican restaurant.  "Shit, I'm
sorry, Tessa...god, why am I apologizing to you?" Kira laughed at herself,
but the android in front of her had a curious look on her face that she
couldn't quite place.  But she'd seen it before.  Ahhh, yes.  He'd seen
boys wear that same expression on those occasions when she'd decided she
wasn't in the mood to play.  A little hurt.  Frustrated?

   But Kira had long ago disabled all of TSS-A's sexual sub-programming. 
Again, a company policy that Kira had never questioned.  Maybe Kira was
just misinterpreting the android's expression.  Then why had her nipple
hardened at her touch?

   And it had turned her on.  Kira had never had any experiences with other
women, though every now and then she did imagine things.  She hadn't had
much time for other people at all, and the men she knew had always lined up
for what little time she had, so it had never really occurred to her to
experiment with women, too.  And she'd never been particularly close with
other girls, besides.

   So why did she now find herself staring at the android Tessa, her hand
just itching to return to her body?  Would she continue to react like a
real woman?  How would she respond if I kissed her gently?  If I licked her
nipples and sucked them with my lips?  If I took her in my arms?

   "We'll continue this later," said Kira, who was beginning to sweat. 
"Put the gown back on.  Now."

   Kira rushed into the bathroom attached to her lab and shut the door. 
She had to stamp out the fire that was beginning to course through her
blood, and she ran cold water in the sink and splashed it on her face.  No
good.  Kira was suddenly aware of her own breasts under her clothes, and a
pleasant tingling began to grown down in her crotch.

   "Dammit!" she said as she began undressing herself.  For the next ten
minutes Kira pleased herself, imagining it was Tessa's hands, tongue and
body doing the caressing, teasing, and gentle stretching and probing.

   "AH!...hhhhh...." she squeaked as she brought herself over the edge. 
Warm satisfaction washed over her, just enough to clear her mind.  Kira
cleaned herself up and put her clothing back in order.  With one last big
breath she walked back into her lab.

   Tessa was once again sitting on the edge of the gurney in her gown, a
neutral expression on her face.  Pushing all unprofessional thoughts to the
back of her mind, Kira smiled and decided it was best to get back to work.
But if was probably wise to save the rest of the physical stimulation tests
for another time.

   Kira managed to make herself forget her own reactions to the android
Tessa over the next two days, moving quickly through all of the necessary
tests.  There was no repeat of her own performance during the stimulation
tests.  In fact, Kira was a little disappointed that the magical feelings
hadn't re-emerged when Tessa once again dropped her gown.  Maybe she'd just
been in a heightened emotional state the other day.  That was probably all.
She probably would have jumped geeky old Brad if he'd been in the room at
that time.

   Kira didn't have time to think about these things, anyway.  It was now
the day before the crash test, and there was a lot riding on her 'droid
performing properly.  Over and over she went over Tessa's programming and
diagnostics, smoothing over every little detail that popped out at her. 
Tessa lay on the gurney the whole time, quiet and breathing slowly.

   Did she know what was going on?  Kira had never thought to explain what
was happening to the 'droids she worked on.  Why would she?  They did as
they were instructed.  Sometimes they got mangled.  It was Kira's job to
patch them up.  Usually she could.

   But it shouldn't matter to a 'droid.  They didn't have "consciousness"
the way people did, and it was only a programmed illusion if they seemed
to. Yet Kira found that she felt a special attachment to this one.  She
never should have named her, let alone touch her *that way*.  Still, Kira
felt like she needed to explain things to the 'droid, if only to ease her
own guilty conscience.  And maybe if she'd bothered to talk to TSS-B, he
wouldn't have frozen and...died.  Yes, died.  Kira stopped typing and
turned towards the gurney.

   "Do you understand why I'm running all of these tests, Tessa?" she
asked. The android turned her beautiful eyes to look at the woman.  She
looked sad.  She nodded her head.  Kira paused, and then entered some
information into the gurney's keyboard.

   "I've enabled simple speech," said Kira, glancing nervously at her lab
door.  "But I need you to keep your responses short and your voice DOWN. 
Can you do that for me?"

   "Yes," said the android, sitting up.  Her voice was soft and sweet, and
Kira fought off the urge to hug her.  "I don't want to go."

   Kira was stunned.  Even as thoroughly as she'd programmed the android,
it was unimaginable that she could voice an unsolicited opinion.

   "I'm sorry, but you know that even if you get hurt, I'll put you back
together.  Okay?" said Kira kindly.  Tessa looked down and nodded, her
mouth squeezing into a sad, tight frown.  "Hey, hey!" said Kira, coming to
the android and putting her hand to her cheek gently.  She turned Tessa's
head up to look at her.  Her eyes were full of tears.

   "I'm...I'm sorry," said Tessa, tears dribbling away off the ends of her
eyelashes.  "I'm just...just...just..."

   "Scared," said Kira.  Tessa hadn't even been able to put into words what
she thought she was "feeling".  But robots didn't really have feelings,
Kira told herself.  It's just an illusion.  "You remember the other tests,
right?"

   "Yes."

   "And didn't you come out of them without a scratch almost every time?"

   "Yes."

   Kira felt a little dishonest, since she had erased what would have been
the scariest memories.  But even in those crashes she'd never been even
close to losing Tessa.

   "I don't want to lose my arm again," said Tessa, caressing her left arm
with her right.

   Not good.  That was one of the memories that Kira thought had been
erased.  Kira took hold of Tessa's left arm.

   "Chances are you won't," she said, massaging her bicep and shoulder. 
Tessa looked up at her hopefully.  If she could just get her trust, Kira
knew she'd be able to handle the test.  "And I'll make you a promise," she
said, lowering herself in front of the beautiful android and taking her
hands into her own.  "No matter what happens, I will take care of you.  If
you lose an arm, I'll put it back on.  If you lose a leg, it's nothing for
me to fix.  You know I can."

   Tessa nodded, smiling a little through more tears.  But Kira could see
that she still wasn't reassured.  "Look," she said, reaching up a little to
massage Tessa's shoulders.  Kira brought her face even with the android
girl's.  Her eyes were wide, hopeful and listening.  "Even if you were
blown into a million tiny little pieces, I would track down every last one
of them and make you whole again."

   Warm lips pressed up against hers, and slender arms folded around her
tight.  Without thinking Kira returned the kiss, a rush of warmth sweeping
through her.  Hungrily they tasted each other's lips, their arms locking
their bodies together.  Kira could feel Tessa's firm breasts against her
own, and the pressed themselves to each other with one mind.  Tessa's legs
closed around her waist, and Kira pushed her tender love forward, making
contact with the 'droid girl's own, the two of them separated by only thin
layers of cloth.

   Kira pulled her head away.  Tessa began to hungrily kiss her neck
"Stop..." Tessa was beginning to grind herself against her.  "Stop..."
Tessa began to reach a hand between them, her fingers slipping down past
her slacks' waistband.

   "STOP!" shouted Kira, fighting herself and finally breaking their
embrace.  Tessa's legs released, her arms came to her sides, and she shrunk
back onto the gurney.  She looked lost again, and Kira checked her arm from
reaching out to her again.  "I'm sorry...I never should have let you..."

   "Don't apologize," said Tessa.  "I don't know why....I don't
understand...I don't know why..."

   Kira's heart went out to her, and she moved forward and folded the
android woman into her arms.  "Don't worry," she said.  "We didn't do
anything wrong.  It's just not the time or the place, and everything I said
before still stands, okay?"

   Tessa looked up, searching Kira's eyes.  Kira leaned down and gave her a
slow, tender kiss.  At that moment, another thought came to her.  "And if
you can make it through tomorrow, I promise you'll never have to do another
test again." Now it was Tessa who offered a deep kiss, which they shared
together briefly, breaking it off together at the same time.  Kira gave
Tessa one more soft kiss on the forehead before backing away.

   "It's time for me to go home," she said, moving about the lab to put
everything in order.  "I think you're as ready as an android could be. 
What do you think?"

   Tessa smiled.  It was the first time she'd ever been asked to express an
opinion.  The fear was still there, but now there was something much larger
standing behind it that she couldn't name.  But it comforted her.

   "I'm ready."

   "...data recording buffers...check...emergency
shutoff...check...acceleration systems...check..." said Kira, once again
making the final preparations for a test track run.  Beside him, Brad had
already finished his Snicker's bar.  He must be nervous, too, Kira thought.
On screen, a prototype escape pod sat in position, waiting to be hurled at
a wall and smashed to bits.  Inside the pod sat a pretty android with soft
eyes and a pony tail.  Brad thought it looked less nervous than they
usually did.  Kira finished her checklist and looked over at Brad.  She was
grateful to him that he'd dropped his cowboy attitude for this test.  He
knew how much it meant to her.  Well, maybe not *exactly* how much...

   "What are you looking at me for?" he chided.  "You do all of the real
work around here, so you get to push the button!"

   Kira knew that Brad meant it as an honor, but she really wished it
wasn't up to her to release the capsule.  Could she live with herself if
something horrible happened to Tessa, and it had been by her hand?  She had
already called her bank, and was certain she had enough money to buy her
from the company, even without her upcoming bonus.  The hard part would be
convincing them to let her have the android.

   And she still wasn't sure it was what she wanted to do.  She'd made
Tessa a promise, yes.  But had she done it just to make the test work, or
had it been something more?  She couldn't deny how emotionally and
physically excited she'd been the day before, but what if was all just an
illusion of her own programming?  Could you really love a machine?

   "Okay, fine," said Brad, and his arm began to sweep down towards the red
button.

   "NO!" shouted Kira, catching it inches before contact.  She looked into
the monitors at Tessa, drinking in her features.  She was facing this so
bravely.  Because of her.  Because she wanted to be with her.

   Brad looked over at his co-worker and saw tears welling in her eyes. 
"You love her, don't you?" he said.

   "Don't be ridiculous!" snorted Kira, but her nose was starting to run.
Images were flashing through her mind of Tessa being cut to ribbons,
catching fire, vaporizing entirely.  As brave as her promise made Tessa
feel, there were some things that Kira knew she couldn't fix.  She began to
weep openly.  Brad's hand comforted her, and she loved him for it.

   "It's okay," he said.  "You can't choose how you feel."

   It didn't take long for Kira to collect herself, and she knew they'd
draw attention if they didn't start the test soon.  She pulled herself up
straight in her chair and nodded at Brad, who began to bring his hand down
to the launch button.  Once again, Kira caught it.

   "Stop," she said firmly.  Kira felt like if something did go wrong, she
didn't want to have Brad to blame for it.  "I believe I have the honors."
Brad slid his chair back from the console as he waved her to go ahead.  Now
it was up to her.  Kira looked once more into the monitor, said a quick
prayer, and pushed the button.

   "Launch," she said.

   The jolt came suddenly like the times before.  Even programmed to think
and react as a human, Tessa's mind stretched the trip into an eternity. 
The track stretching in front of her began to disappear under the pod,
visible through the small front window.  Over and over she said to herself
"...Kira will take care of me...Kira can fix me...Kira will take care of
me...Kira can fix me..."

   The wall at the end of the tracks grew larger.  Tessa began to feel more
and more alone.  "...Kira can fix me...Kira will take care of me...Kira can
fix me..."

   The android's mind whirled.  The wall was huge.  The tracks were gone.
So alone.  "..Kira will take care of me...Kira can fix me..."

   Dull gray wall.  Don't panic.  I'm not alone.

   "...Kira loves me."

   On the screen in front of him, Brad watched the pod shatter with
ferocious violence.  He knew almost immediately that the client's design
was seriously flawed.  Brad's eye was accustomed to watching events at
exaggerated speeds, and he was able to pick out shapes as they bounced
through the wreckage zone.  There was the outer shell breaking away as
hoped.  A green spray meant the impact-absorbing foams were working.  But a
bright yellow streak didn't bode well at all.  It was part of the passenger
chamber frame, and should never be loose.  It didn't take long for the dust
to settle, and when it did, he was relieved to see that most of the
passenger chamber was intact.  He glanced at the monitors to check the
condition of the payload.

   The seat was gone entirely.

   Looking back at the wreckage zone display, his eyes made out the seat.
Apparently, the secondary jettison had been triggered accidentally, and it
lay on its side, front facing the camera.

   Some of android TSS-A still appeared to be strapped into the seat. 
Certainly the torso.  Most of one arm.  Both legs appeared to have been
sheared off along with the bottom part of the seat itself.  As had the head
from the top.  Scanning the debris field, his eyes picked out each of the
limbs.  Brad zoomed the camera in on a roundish shape at the edge of its
field of view.

   The head was mostly intact, although a chunk appeared to be missing from
the top.  With only the front visible, it was hard to say how extensive the
damage was.  The 'droids eyes were wide open, staring at nothing.  Just as
a human's might be.  Without a doubt, the pod in front of him had failed.

   Next to him, Kira was passed out.

   The doorbell rang and Kira was shaken from her light dozing.  Her watch
read five o'clock.  The delivery truck had arrived.  Goose bumps rippled
along her skin, and she forced the fog from her head as she made her way to
the front door.

   "Kira McAllan?"

   "Yes."

   "Do want this inside?"

   "Please."

   The delivery man wheeled in the large unmarked crate, though everyone in
the world would have recognized that it came from the android company
Candrex.  As Kira signed for her package, it struck her that this was an
undignified way to travel.

   Kira heard the truck pull away.  Now it was all real, Tessa coming into
her home.  As she worked at the crate with a crow bar, she began to have
second thoughts.  Would she be angry?  Would she react the same way to her?
What would she look like?

   But Kira knew she was just nervous.  She had, after all, dressed for the
occasion.  Skirt and blouse, both of which best highlighted her own figure,
and would come off easily.  Not that she even knew what they would do, if
anything.

   At last the lid came free, and she moved it aside.  God, she hated
styrofoam peanuts!  Kira reached down into the crate, feeling for the
tie-downs.  But her hand came across something unexpected.

   "Ow!" she said as something pricked her hand.  Pushing away the foam
packing, she quickly realized what had cut her.  Revealed in the center of
the crate were the thorny stems of a dozen roses.  "What the?..."

   A hand reached from behind her and grabbed her wounded hand gently. 
Kira turned around and found herself face to face with a ghost.

   Tessa looked exactly as she had, complete with smooth white skin and
those black-and-yellow crash markings.  She wore an outfit much like her
own.  Pretty, but easy to remove.  Tessa looked at Kira's hand, examining
the prick of blood that had formed on her fingertip.

   "Let me fix it and make it better," she said, bringing the finger to her
lips and kissing it lightly.  Chills raced to the marrow of Kira's bones,
switching over to fire as she felt Tessa's lips, soft and firm, lavish
attention on her finger and hand.  Kira felt her eyes get heavy.

   "Tessa..." she said, holding the android woman's face in her hand.  "I
was so scared that...that.."

   Now Tessa, too, had glossy eyes.  Kira grabbed her head in her hands and
kissed her hard.  Tessa let her lover's intensity wash through her, and put
her arms around her waist.  Now they let their slick lips slide over each
other, great emotion and tenderness passing between them.  This time it was
Tessa who broke off the kiss.  Kira searched her eyes, confused.

   "You kept your promise," said Tessa, "and now I want to make one of my
own..."

   Kira let herself be led by the hand to the couch, and Tessa guided her
down onto her back, baiting her with playful kisses as she moved down with
her.  Now Tessa positioned herself on top of her woman, and she felt Kira's
legs open up for her.  Tessa unbuttoned her blouse, letting her breasts
hang down for Kira to see, and then undid the woman's top, laying bare her
lush flesh.  She was clearly aroused, though her eyes hungered to hear the
promise.

   "I promise..." began Tessa, reaching down and pulling Kira's panty away,
feeling the heat of her.  "I promise to make you the happiest woman in the
world."

   The words were exploding joy to Kira's ears, and she pulled Tessa down
and kissed her.  What followed felt perfectly natural to her.  For the next
hour they explored each other's bodies, both of them feeling love they'd
never known before.  With each act their bond deepened, as did their
excitement.  They tasted each other for the first time together, lips and
tongues finding quickly discovering ways to tease and excite, making love
together and in turn.

   Changing position before either one of them crested, Tessa was again on
top of her woman, straddling her across her hips.  Tessa decided to let her
hand at last explore Kira's warm wetness, and enjoyed the ways she
responded to her touch.  Faster and deeper Kira worked her hand up into
Tessa, who moved herself up and down onto her.  But just as it seemed she
was going to climax, the former crash test dummy pushed Kira's hand away.
She panted as she lowered herself on top of Kira.

   They were by now both completely naked, and the woman shuddered at the
feel of Tessa's warm body against hers, their hottest flesh together. 
Tessa pushed herself up on her arms and looked down at Kira, who felt her
lover's mound begin pressing gently against her own.  Each time their most
sensitive points met, she felt as if her whole body were being shot up into
the sky.

   "You told me I could make changes to myself," said Tessa as she moved
herself up and back against Kira.

   "Yes, but you chose to look the same," said Kira, gasping.  Tessa was
pressing against her clit much more consistently and insistently now.  It
made her ache to be penetrated.

   "I wanted to look just as you remembered me," said Tessa, who was
enjoying the slickness of her lover's cunt.  "But I wanted to be able to
feel inside you."

   Kira felt something hot and hard begin to expand into her.  "Oh,
Tessa..." she moaned as her lips parted for her lover's growing shaft.

   "I love you, Kira..." said the android woman, mind reeling with the
sensation of entry.  Kira parted for her, wrapping her girl shaft in a
firm, slick embrace.

   "And I love you, Tessa," said Kira, her head exploding as her woman
pushed deeper into her.  "Now FUCK me!"

   "You know I will."

   Slowly and steadily Tessa guided her shaft along Kira's channel, both of
them easing into the feeling.  Then, as if both of them were in tune with
to a growing drumbeat, Tessa began to slide herself with greater speed and
intensity.  Kira gave herself to her lover, her entire body crackling at
its limit.

   "Faster now...faster..."

   Tessa didn't need to be told, as she was now slipping herself in and out
at a speed dictated by the growing pressure that was working its way
towards her tip.  It felt like her entire organ was going to burst.

   "Kira...I think...I think I'm coming..."

   Kira only wailed in response as Tessa gave one last thrust and held
herself inside, exploding the woman's senses into countless glittering
stars.  She could feel Tessa's fluid release into her, warm and comforting.
Tessa felt closer to Kira than she'd ever thought possible and withdrew
from her slowly, kissing her firmly as she did, and pressed her breasts
down onto her lover's chest.

   They didn't come down for another fifteen minutes, and did nothing more
than catch their breath and stare into each other's eyes.  And in those
moment they both wordlessly realized that no matter what lay ahead for
them, they would see to it together.