"Don't worry, nothing bad is gonna happen to me. People tend to underestimate me. Think I'm a goodie two-shoes with not a mean bone in me. Truth is, I can be terrifying when I'm angry." "I know how to take care of myself. But I won't say no to spending more time with you if or when you're free."

"Physically, yes, but mentally... I'll avoid explaining the whole process that goes into someone's brain when they go through something like that, but basically, there might be things that trigger flashbacks, such as the game from before. You relive it."

"Forget about the game, that can be repaired. Your wellbeing is far more important." Her eyes soften. "Sounds a lot like post traumatic stress disorder. You went through all those battles, lost friends, lost an arm, then you ended up thrown into a wormhole and into outer space." +

"It's... a very intimate thing in my culture." She thought about his offer, but remained where she was, for now at least. "Please, don't take this the wrong way, but... Why are you trusting me so much with... All this? We've practically just met." Said the one that's doing the same.

"Yes." Funny. She should be afraid of him. He was a mercenary that could come after her at any moment, sent by the ones following her. And yet here they were. "I mean, unless you want to have me squirming."-she chuckled. Oh yeah, those ears were 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.

"We always tried to see the good things in people, but we were not stupid. We were a bunch of pacifists, yes, but we knew how to protect ourselves and our technology... Or at least so I thought until Deija was destroyed." +

He had trusted her, she could trust him. "I don't mind, just remember to avoid my ears." As for his arms... Her metallic tendrils came out and led them to where she was comfortable with him placing them, a bit higher than her waist, around her back. She looked up at him, amused. "Still feel small."

"Agreed." She knew she had been very lucky. Like sure, her planet was gone and it had been sudden, but... At least they hadn't endured years and years of fighting in a war and losing people. "I wish I had met you before the war. I... We, could have done much for you all, I think."

Once he'd calmed down, her eyes returned to normal. "It... I just saw a small part of it and it was..."-she shudders. "I don't have the words. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

She sat next to him, hugging him again to be his anchor in case he needed it, and started counting with him. Her eyes started glowing with a blueish color, a calming aura of sorts coming from her. Hopefully it would help a bit.

"Everyone deserves some peace from time to time, warriors like you included, Taniks. I'm glad I can provide that, fleeting as it might be."

"I know. I... The holodeck showed everything. I'm really sorry. I didn't know that game would trigger you. I should have known this could happen, given what you had told me." She nodded and helped him up. "Come on. Let's get you out of here." The living room is probably a good option.

Thank gods no physical harm can come from the holodeck. Reliving one’s memories, on the other hand… Pandora hugs him back, hiding him from the holodeck even though it's off and it's not coming back anytime soon. +

She looks at him. This feels... somewhat intimate. Perhaps she shouldn't have... But damn her curiosity, she's going to trace his chest if he allows her to, taking a look at the scars he might have even in his cybernetics. "Am I right if I assume most of your life physical contact has meant pain?"

She's startled for a moment, surprised he was willing to trust her this much when they'd barely knew each other. For all he knew, she might have been lying. And yet....He trusted her to not take advantage of this. She approaches and gently places her hand on his chest, where his heart should be. +

"I would ask how it was possible to bring you back, but... I imagine that's most likely a secret. And... let's hope it doesn't happen again."

"I see." She blinks. "So you've... Died before? Does it- Gods, I can't believe I'm asking this, but does it feel any different? Living again, I mean."

She stopped and glanced at the holodeck nervously as it started shifting faster and faster. It was one thing playing games, but showing memories? It wasn't supposed to happen this fast. If this continued, it would go into an emergency shutdown. She run towards him, hoping him seeing her would help.

She looks at him. "Really, just six? My people would last at least 12 hours."-she deadpans for a few moments before snickering. "Just kidding... Or am I~?"-she grins playfully.

"True." She tilts her head, curious. "So no family left, no special someone to return to?"-she asks, curious. She might be getting a bit personal with the questions, huh?

She starts approaching him, but considering he's on Death Adder now, she might need to adjust her steps slightly so he can see her on the screen in the first place. She's considering this when the scene suddenly starts changing.

"I don't... I can't really consider myself one anymore. Being out of Deija has been... Enlightening, in some ways." "We were naïve to think nothing would change. Funny. Our research was mostly about protecting ourselves. Some good it did us when it mattered."-she said bitterly. +

Her eyes widen. "A mil- How long have you been alive for?" "I'm first and foremost a traveller these days. Healer too, though I'm not entirely sure my kind of healing is very similar to those around here."

Oh, a winged spider. How cool. She's observing from a distance.

“Well, I certainly won’t forget you either. Good. One less thing to worry about.” She hums. “I survive doing good deeds instead.” She smiles a bit. “I know you enjoy fighting and killling, but being brought up as a pacifist, you honestly couldn’t expect anything else from me.”-she chuckles. +

“I wish I could tell you who or what destroyed Deija, but I’m afraid don’t know. I was just extremely lucky I was out of the planet when it happened. Kronos, my robotic friend, doesn’t know either, or doesn’t want to tell me.” +

Her eyes widened in surprise as she finds herself in a battlefield. Was this… His past. The war. It was a horrifying sight. So many bodies, such devastation. And then she sees the Krexolytes and she shudders. They had to fight *those*? How many died? +

She arches an eyebrow. "Oh really? So no hard feelings if we'd have also been healing your enemies?" "Also... I would probably have been quite busy. My dad got me into bioengineering and prosthetics when I was a child. I don't know if we'd have even met if Deija hadn't been destroyed..."

She followed, but his response was... worrying. He'd been playful before on his game, so what had changed? She's keeping an eye on him so much that she doesn't see the asteroid in her path... "Shit!"-and crashes into it. Thank gods this is just the holodeck.

"Deija was..." Wait. She had the nanomachines. She focused and the planet appeared hovering on her hand. A land mostly covered by forests, and yet somehow technologically advanced buildings fitting among them. "It was a healing place, mostly. We would receive people from other planets and heal +

She blushed slightly at the compliment. "I... Well, yeah, but it seems a bit unfair that I'm the only one asking all the questions."-she said sheepishly.

She crossed the goal a second later than him. "I got distracted. Oops."-she giggled. "You're really good at this."-she complimented. The ships change slightly, adding weapons to destroy the asteroids.

Meanwhile, Pandora is having a blast on this level, even doing a couple barrel rolls between asteroids just for fun, knowing she won't be able to do so many acrobatics once the difficulty starts rising. Seems like she's played this game quite a bit.

"I think I might actually have to. I'm 7'5", not short by my people's standards, but you make me feel small."-she admitted. "I see. It's not like I'm going to try and dismember you though."-she chuckled. "But you would feel if someone touched them, at least? If I'm getting too curious let me know."

"If we crash into one of them, no worries. The ship will reappear around us after a second. Oh, and the finish line appears in the screen." None of this was real, so they wouldn't come to harm. "Alright, here we go." A countdown appeared. 3, 2, 1, go! The asteroid field would be easy for now.

"Option B is I climb you like a tree."-she teased. "Though I'm not sure how comfortable you'd be about that." She tilted her head, curious. "How much can you feel through your cybernetic augments?"

She blinked and blushed slightly at the request. "I- Hm... No offense, but I'd rather have that kind of affection be an spontaneous thing, rather than payment for a job well done. And when I know you better." She smiled a bit cheekily up at him. "I will have to ask you to lean down if I do."

She lets out a cheetah-like chirp as she's petted, happy. Gods, she's touch-starved. How long has it been since she got affection from someone? She nods as he takes the figure, then tilts her head. "What would you want from me then, if I needed your help and it wasn't money nor item?"

She blinked at the request. "I was simply having fun, Taniks, but... Sure."-she shrugged. "Just... avoid my ears. For reasons."-she chuckled.

"Ah, I see." She enters her own ship. Once they're in, they'd feel like the ships are actually hovering. "When you're ready, the countdown will start and we can go."

She hesitates for a moment before taking the knife and making a sheathe for it with the nanomachines and ties it to her waist. "Fair point. Not everything has to be a killing weapon." "Hm.So does that mean I could..." She focuses and a small figure of him appears in her hands. "do this?"-she grins.

"Not on the first level, but a bit later yes. Otherwise we'd be crashing into them quite a bit."-she chuckled. "By your reaction, it seems like you guys had something similar."

"Thanks." She smiles, making a few moves with it. Clearly she's trained with this kind of weapon before and feels comfortable using it. Then she takes a look at the hidden blade before hiding it again. "I'd usually just knock people out, but if I have no choice... I suppose this could work."

She grinned and the holodeck shifted, two spaceships appearing next to them, all around them surrounded in darkness and stars, the asteroid field a bit further away. "The controls are with levers that control speed and direction, but in this game we can also use turbo speed if we want to."

"Want to try that one then? Or the one with the tracks?"

"Fair enough." She quieted and she focused, her eyes glowing in a blueish color for a few moments before she stopped it and they returned to normal. That could have fried the nanomachines if she hadn't been careful. "That... Sorry, that reaction wasn't supposed to happen." +

Make her thoughts into power? She could do that with her own abilities, but this was different. It wasn't her own body, it was the nanomachines. Hopefully the two things wouldn't mix. +

"Well, the first two that come to mind are one similar to yours but with spaceships of different kinds and tracks of different difficulties, and the other is flying on our ships while trying to get through an asteroid field as fast as you can, so... Up to you."-she chuckled.

"Yes." She takes off one of her vambracers, one of the metallic tendrils on her waist coming out and hovering over it. "I can make changes to it to fit the device." She smiled somewhat playfully. "You're not going to use it to shackle me, are you?"-she teased.