Crew Quarters Tour

“Well, viewers, I hope you’ve enjoyed our second round of transformations for the evening, because I don’t think all of our contestants did. Though, to be fair, they’ve had a long night. They’ve been abducted, transformed, forced to hunt through a space station for key cards, and then transformed again, all in the matter of a few short hours. I think it’s time for them to each have a rest. First things first, if everyone will pull out their key cards.”

The women all managed to locate the cards they’d found during the challenge, which they’d stored in the various pockets of the suits they’d been provided. Sarah looked around for a moment, hoping that C2 hadn’t forgotten that she hadn’t found a card during the challenge when one appeared in front of her, floating. She plucked it out of the air, noticing a similar card, only with a gold background and black markings, had appeared in front of Aaron. Relieved to finally have a card, she looked around at the others and realized that, while she had a card now, she had absolutely nowhere to put it. C2 apparently hadn’t thought to abduct her purse along with her and, unlike the other women’s suits, her silky nightie had nothing even remotely resembling pockets, and neither would any of the rest of the clothing she was forced to wear. Even Jenna’s skin-tight exercise wear had a pocket small enough for the card, but unless she wanted to try shoving it into the silken cups of her nightie or somewhere even less comfortable, she would likely need to keep it in her hand the rest of the time. C2 apparently had figured out her train of thought.

“For those of you concerned about keeping hold of your key cards, I’d like to assure you that the technology of this galaxy has thankfully progressed past the need for carrying such items on your person at all times. If you’ll each hold your card to the terminal on your wrist.”

They each followed the robot’s instructions and the terminal’s holographic display appeared.

"Stand by for Registration" appeared on the display, followed quickly by "Registration In Progress". As soon as the text changed, they each felt a pinch from whatever surface was in with the card. Several flinched but found that the card was immovably linked to both the terminal and their skin. Finally, the text changed to “Reading Access Credentials” and then “Storing Registration Data,” and the cards disappeared from their hands.

“Your terminals will now serve as access authorization for the ship. The cards, which have now ed the totality of your genetic and biometric data, have been stored in the ship’s central processing core to serve as both a backup of your vital data and an official mark of your hip in the crew and the harem. Removing cards from their current storage can occur only after a contestant has been eliminated and will officially signal their expulsion. So, probably best to leave those right where they are. Now that that’s handled, it’s time for you all to see your quarters. Since Aaron has his own quarters, he’ll be separating from you for the evening, but will re you all for breakfast.” As he spoke, an identical robot appeared. Unlike the smaller drones, this robot had both C2’s size and the same floating pair of hands.

“Are those all you? Is there any way we could tell if it wasn’t you, like if it was one of your siblings?” Jenna asked.

“This is also me. My central consciousness can operate as many bodies as necessary for my role in running the show. You’ve already seen my primary form and my mini-drone forms, but I have several other form factors I can use if the situation calls for them. While I do have a great many ‘siblings’, they are all in other parts of the multiverse conducting various tasks for the Producers, so it is unlikely that you will encounter them during the season. You may, at some point, encounter other hosts, their staff, or contestants, but I have asked for a quarantine period for the time being while you all get settled. If you do encounter them, I recommend treating them with the utmost respect. Many of the other hosts are not nearly as kind or even-tempered as I am, and they are often quite protective of their contestants and staff.” The group considered that, and several shivered at the idea of entities that would make C2 seem kind.

With that question answered, C2’s second body signaled to Aaron, who gave the group an awkward wave and wished them good night before taking a step towards the second body as the group of women vanished in the same flash of light that they’d all quickly grown familiar with in a short period.

The room had obviously been designed with function in mind above all, but managed to do so without being austere or spartan. The walls were composed of s of a smooth, dark gray material that seemed like a fusion of plastic and metal, gently curved in a way that made the room feel larger. The curved wall of the room had a door at each end, and one in the center that looked heavy and solid, but the women had no doubt it would slide open with a satisfying whoosh if they approached. Between the doors, there were twelve openings, divided into six pairs side by side. The openings were square with rounded corners, about the size of the front of an oven, and fitted with hatches that appeared to slide vertically, each with a frosted glass window. The bottom of each opening was about knee height for most of the women and, from the bars above and to the side of the openings, they realized that they were expected to go inside, an assumption that was ed by the illuminated signs over each of the openings, six of which featured one of their names. A few of the women recognized the setup as resembling capsule hotels.

Between each pair of openings, there was a pair of wide lockers, similarly labeled. When the women inspected the lockers, they found they contained rotating closet racks and several drawers that appeared to have been filled with every piece of clothing they owned, despite the apparent impossibility of fitting their whole wardrobes into such a tiny space. Serena and Jacqueline found their closets filled with feminine versions of their own clothing, along with generic staple pieces they didn’t have male equivalents for. Sarah and Jenna were both somewhat disappointed to find that their own wardrobes had been reduced to only those clothes that matched their clothing restrictions. However, C2 promised that their other clothes would be stored in case more items became wearable due to transformation upgrades. Across from the capsules, on the straight wall, there were a pair of doors at each end, and between them was a counter with several stools in front of it and a large mirror above. The center of the room was filled with a seating area composed of two long, rounded bench sofas that followed the room's curvature, with a small coffee table between them.

“So, is this really where we’re going to be living, like, forever?” Jenna asked.

“Your residence in the Crew Quarters is temporary. Once certain conditions have been met, contestants can petition the Master to occupy one of the private quarters attached to the Captain’s Quarters so that they may be more readily available to satisfy the Captain’s needs. Eliminated contestants will be assigned special quarters based on their new roles.”

Jacqueline looked at the extra pods and winced. The confirmation that eliminated contestants wouldn’t be sharing the crew quarters confirmed what she had feared all evening.

“Who are the other pods for?” She asked C2.

C2 seemed to bounce happily in the air at the question.

“Why, your fellow crew , of course!” he responded giddily.

The women looked at C2 with various shades of shock and horror, but Jacqueline just stared at the ball, her theory confirmed.

“May I ask how you figured it out?” C2 asked Jacqueline.

“The whole point of this thing is to put together a harem for Aaron, right? And you wanted plenty of drama? Then you’d have to be an idiot not to include Aaron's ex, Evelyn. The fact that there are twelve pods just sealed it. If you include Aaron, the Roost has had thirteen full-time employees over the past few years. I assume that’s the ‘harem’ you’ve selected?”

Delia, already shaken by the realization that there would be more crew , mentally kicked herself for not making the same calculation. Evelyn had worked as a bartender for the Roost before a sudden breakup with Aaron had led to her equally sudden departure. That left the three other of the restaurant staff and the two other of the game shop staff.

“Wait? Everyone who’s worked at the Roost is going to be part of this?” Jenna asked. “That’s going to be an… interesting spectrum of reactions.” She considered her best friend Grace, a wonderful, athletic woman with strong opinions about Aaron.

“More information on our contestants-in-waiting will be provided at tomorrow’s meeting. For now, I’d focus on keeping yourselves from getting eliminated, especially since some of you are sitting on a bubble that might mean you don’t last that long.” Some of them clearly wanted to ask more questions, but C2 was moving right along with his scheduled tour. The women tried to set aside concerns about how their coworkers would react for the moment, allowing C2 to continue the tour.

“Back to the sleeping situation, please keep in mind that curfew is 10 pm to 7 am every night unless there is a yellow alert or higher or a special event is in progress. All contestants, except the contestant who has her date night, must be in the sleeping quarters by then or face a penalty. Crew may only sleep in their assigned pods.” C2 informed them.

They were informed that the doors in the curved wall lead to the kitchen and common room and that the doors on the straight wall lead into the bathroom, where they found what amounted to a fairly ordinary shared bathroom, with the showers split into stalls, several private dressing areas, a row of toilet stalls, and a line of sinks with another large mirror. For most of the women, it simply resembled a futuristic but, notably spartan, shared living space. If it weren’t for the control s dotting the space that seemed to handle everything from the lights and showers to providing search functions for clothes in their closets, it would have resembled nothing more than an especially clean and tidy hostel.

The common room included a kitchen, a dining area, and an entertainment area. Serena and Jacqueline were both fascinated by the kitchen, which had several appliances they’d never seen before. That included a pair of food synthesizers, which C2 promised could synthesize anything from individual raw ingredients to fully prepared meals. There was a long hexagonal dining table and an entertainment area consisting of a large U-shaped couch with a central table, oriented around a glass that appeared to function as a television. C2 also showed them an attached exercise area, which was stocked with a combination of familiar cardio machines and weights that could apparently alter their own local gravity to provide resistance at whatever intensity and in whatever direction the desired. Finally, C2 showed them a room he described as the training room, filled with a half dozen clamshell pods with plush interiors, which C2 explained were virtual-immersion pods designed for training simulations.

The tour was a very different experience for Serena as she walked hand in hand with Sarah, following the robot as he explained the various functions of the facilities. Every device and control she looked at raised a small window on her new HUD, connecting with her implants. As C2 talked, Serena browsed the various functions she had access to, amazed. Her cyberpunk implants granted her essentially telepathic control over many of the living area’s functions. They allowed a level of integration with her desires that sured even the wildest dreams of smart-home designers on Earth, without her having to lift a finger. She was especially looking forward to trying out some of the functions she’d discovered in the kitchen, which allowed her to remotely monitor items being prepared in various appliances using several lenses, including ones that tracked the food’s temperature and humidity. When they finally reached the training room, the training pods provided her with a curated list of available lessons that included Piloting, Communications, Self Defense, and Weapons Usage, but also included such unsavory options as Strip Teasing, Lap Dancing, and a whole slew of similar options that Serena had no interest in even considering.

C2 explained that the ship had numerous other facilities, but that, aside from those deemed necessary, the remainder would be locked until access was purchased through the BP store. He briefly showed them how to use the hallway s to get the ship to provide them directions before reaching the final stop on the tour, which felt somewhat anticlimactic, since it was simply a set of elevator doors.

“These doors connect to the lift network, which will deliver you to anywhere on the ship. It is also the only way to access the Captain’s Quarters, which are only accessible with the Captain’s permission except on a contestant’s designated date night. On date nights, a contestant may invite any number of other contestants, but their presence must be approved by the Master or myself. I am particularly willing to grant special permission to anyone who would like to surprise the Master with multi-partner escapades. However, after 8 pm, everyone present in the Captain’s Quarters must spend the night there and share the Master’s bed. If you have any other questions, I will answer them during tomorrow morning’s mandatory briefing at 9 am in the crew dining area. We will be covering a great deal of important information, and there will be penalties for anyone who fails to attend. Now, curfew starts in 30 minutes, so I suggest you all return to your sleeping quarters.”

That led to a brief scramble as the women each scurried to the bathroom to prepare for bed. None of the women chose to shower, but both Serena and Jacqueline stayed in the bedroom until the other women finished in the bathroom. Jacqueline noted that, when Delia emerged from the bathroom in the same oversized T-shirt and shorts that she’d started the evening in, she had returned to her older form and was constantly adjusting something underneath her shirt.

“Who’s even heard of a sleep corset? That can’t be a real thing.” She heard the other woman muttering to herself.

When Delia noticed Serena and Jacqueline waiting in the sleeping area, she frowned.

“I get that you two are trying to be considerate, but I don’t think anyone’s going to complain about you using the bathroom, especially when most of the people in there are your daughter and girlfriend.” Daisy returned from the bathroom as she spoke and, while she had the same sour expression she’d had most of the evening, she didn’t say or signal anything to disagree with Delia’s statement.

Jacqueline and Serena looked at each other for a moment, considering.

“It’s not just that. We need a little privacy for ourselves, but I appreciate the sentiment.” Jacqueline responded.

Once the other women were done, Jacqueline and Serena moved into the bathroom, trying to shake the distinct sensation that they were tresing into a space they didn’t belong in. Jacqueline moved to the mirror where she began to inspect her changed body. Looking at herself in the mirror still felt like someone else was looking back, someone stunningly attractive and far too young for the man she had been. That thought triggered a cascade of faint pink, purple, and green lights along her body. She watched the lights for a while, noting how they brightened and dimmed with her emotions, and the strange way they localized. The pink, in particular, seemed densest around her pelvis and breasts, with waves that intensified when she noticed the more attractive features of her new body. Desire, she decided. The purple and green, on the other hand, seemed to localize more in her chest and, when she finally began to strip off her suit, began to light up the diamond-like freckles on her face.

Some compound emotion? She guessed, probably embarrassment.

She looked more closely at the points of light and discovered that whatever was being illuminated didn’t appear to be anything on the surface of her skin, but something just beneath it. As she was examining herself, she heard an embarrassed squeak from one of the stalls.

“Everything okay over there?” She asked, moving to the outside of the stall so she wouldn’t have to speak too loudly.

For a moment, there wasn’t any response before Serena spoke up quietly.

“Yeah, it’s just a lot of new stuff to deal with. I just came in here to use the toilet and, well, spoilers, but that’s a whole new sensation. Add to that all this cyber stuff, which apparently is in some rather awkward places, and it’s a lot of new geography, some of which is… sensitive. Fuuuck that drone.”

They were wrapping up getting dressed in the pajamas that C2 had provided when they heard a ruckus from the sleeping area.

“No way! This has got to be a joke! Hey! Robot, get your ass down here!” Daisy was yelling.

“Daisy, come on. It’s obviously intentional. It’s not going to hurt you.”

“I am not sharing a bed with that little brat. She’s been glaring at me all night and, as far as I know, she’s just waiting to cut me in my sleep.”

When they emerged, they found the women peering into the capsules. It appeared that, while each contestant had their own entrance, the openings opened up into a shared sleeping space connected with the neighboring pod, essentially placing each pair in a cramped space with just enough room for a double mattress and a small nook on each side of the bed meant to serve as a bedside table.

Jacqueline noted the pairings. Delia and Sarah had been paired up, and she’d been assigned to sleep with Serena. Which, unfortunately, meant that Daisy and Jenna had been paired together. While Jenna looked unhappy about the situation, Daisy looked like she was about to go on the war path. She went to one of the unassigned capsules and desperately tried to open it, but the doors refused to budge. She tried one of the doors assigned to the other women, and again, it refused to move. Finally, she managed to convince Delia to swap with her, but when Delia opened the door and Daisy tried to slip inside, it immediately slid shut and refused to open again until everyone but Delia and Sarah were out of the immediate vicinity. Watching the whole experiment, Jenna’s look of disgust at the other woman had refused to fade, but she’d managed to keep her mouth shut and hadn’t said anything to antagonize the cowgirl further. Instead, she hugged her father and slid into her capsule, shutting the door behind her. Delia and Jacqueline slid into their own pods, leaving the fuming Daisy along with Serena and Sarah, who had set themselves up on the far side of the couch and were embracing each other tightly as they tried to ignore the pink-haired woman, having a long, hushed conversation before they finally separated and slid into their pods. Daisy finally surrendered her quiet tirade when she realized it wasn’t getting her anywhere and slid into her own pod.