Pepper VS Temptation - Part 17
#38 of Persephone and Tritonia
To save the day, Pepper's going to have to be patient, resist temptation, and collaborate with a secret admirer on Charlemagne's team.
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epper VS Temptation - Part 17
~A Persephone and Tritonia Story~
(edited by Tiliquain and Secretskunk)
Gillon had called dibs on the only habitat that had a bathtub, so Boom was laying in his bathtub, naked. She was gorgeous, especially with pointy ears, patches of cheetah fur, and a little dragon-like tail. Next to the tub were dark blue jeans, underwear, socks, a bra, and a cyan women's V-neck Gillon had set there. We all hoped she'd be needing the outfit soon. We'd moved as fast as we could, getting the ice in the bathtub and adding enough water to cover her, but it had still taken fifteen minutes.
I'd never seen Helja so quiet and intense at the same time.
"Is she going to be okay?" I asked.
"I don't know," Helja said. "Her core temperature is still dangerously high, but she hasn't been in the ice bath long."
"Is there anything we can do?" I asked. "Could we put salt in the water, like when you make homemade ice cream?"
"No, that would risk large areas of frostbite," Helja said.
"But it might help her cool faster," I said. "We can always pull her out the moment frostbite starts setting in."
Helja started to respond, but then stopped herself. "Not necessary, her core temperature is starting to fall."
"Woo!" I pumped my fist.
About twenty minutes later, when Boom started reverting back to her normal human form, Gillon let out a sigh of relief. He had his right sleeve and pant leg rolled up to give his recently-stitched-up gashes room to breathe.
Helja said, "I'm going to retrieve my sensing builders now. Her body temp is less than a degree above normal." She put a finger in Boom's mouth.
Boom's eyes fluttered open and she made a startled sound around Helja's finger.
"Just a few more seconds," Helja said.
Once Helja took her finger out of Boom's mouth, Boom said, "You can take my temperature with your finger?" Her voice came out a bit dry at first, but then Gillon handed her a glass of water and she sounded fine.
"Yes, but not nearly as accurately as the sensing builders I just removed from you," Helja said.
"Little robots to check my core temp?" Boom asked.
"Yes, you overextended your system to a dangerous degree," Helja said.
"Speaking of dangerous, those are some nasty holes, Pepper," Boom was looking at the place in my abdomen where I'd been hit twice. It was the deepest charred crater.
"I'll be okay, Helja made it so I can manage pain and I'll heal if I just eat some weird stuff and then wait," I said.
"Wish I could manage pain like that, when I was bashing those giraffe things, it felt like I was getting burned alive," Boom said.
"You were getting burned alive," Helja said.
"Well, I didn't know what else to do," Boom said. "I thought everyone was gonna die, so I just redlined myself."
"Is that why you transformed?" I asked.
"Kinda? My body's not exactly stable and the stuff they did to even things out stopped working during that fight. I have no explanation for the dragon tail, though, that's new," Boom said.
"We'll look into it, just rest for now," Gillon said.
"Why is your body unstable?" I asked.
"That's a long story," Gillon said. "Maybe another time."
"It's actually pretty simple," Boom said. "Gillon, Septimus, and I were stuck in the Centralia facility until Charlie worked some political magic to get us out. Centralia's where the US government tests--"
"Boom, we should ask Charlie before divulging that," Gillon said.
"I transformed right in front of them, the cat's out of the bag, literally," Boom said.
Gillon said, "Then Charlie will likely to approve us divulging the details, but until she does, we have to--"
"Fine, CliffsNotes, partially-redacted, version: At Centralia, my body interacted with NPOs that made it unstable and they did some stuff to make me stable again," Boom said. "Fast forward to more recently when I was in a diving accident and the only way to save me was an experimental NPO. They used it and things were fine. But then the Heretic pool toy things fucked me over and I got healed by it again and things started going sideways. We knew we were in trouble when I started getting faster. And today we just learned that I can cook myself from the inside out, apparently."
"Yes, if you start feeling feverish, you're exceeding the thermodynamic limits of your body," Helja said. "I have similar considerations."
"Is that why you fell unconscious, Helja?" Gillon asked.
"Not quite. I generated a powerful electromagnetic pulse, a pinch?, that forced me into inactivity for a while," she said.
"That's freaking awesome," Boom said. "Wish I'd been conscious for that."
"It practically gave me a seizure, so I was less enamored with it," Gillon said.
"My apologies," Helja said. "I didn't know it would harm you."
"We probably would've perished if you hadn't, so I'm not holding a grudge," Gillon said.
"Good," Helja said. "Could you explain why an electromagnetic burst had that effect? You weren't that close to it."
"I have antiquated artificial organs," Gillon said.
"Once Boom no longer needs observation, I'd like to look into better shielding your artificial organs," Helja said.
"We'll have to wait until you have more clearance and such, but it's definitely something I'd be willing to accept help with," Gillon said.
"I'm starting to feel a bit chilly," Boom said, getting out of the bathtub and covering her breasts with one arm and her human prick and balls with her free hand.
Everyone, but Helja, looked away.
While I was averting my eyes, Boom said, "You really don't care about nudity, do you?"
Helja said, "Unless clothes serve a purpose my fur is unable to, I don't see why they're necessary. I prefer to be seen. Do you want me to give you privacy? I realize now that I may be making you uncomfortable."
"It's weird, since you're not embarrassed by nudity, I don't mind you watching me get dressed."
"You're very attractive and subvert human gender norms. I enjoy being able to see you in your natural state."
"You're pretty good looking yourself."
"Would you like to have sex once you're feeling better?" Helja asked.
Boom laughed. "How about I get to know you better and then we'll see? I've got some human hangups about jumping people's bones five minutes after meeting them."
"Jumping bones?" Helja asked.
"Just one of the many euphemisms we have for fucking."
"It's rather disturbing imagery to associate with sex."
"You're not wrong," Boom said. "Also, maybe don't proposition people for sexy times when they're in public?"
"Apologies, I will try to keep that in mind," Helja said.
"No harm no foul," Boom said. "Everyone, you can look now."
We all turned to see Boom freshly dressed in the dark blue jeans and cyan V-neck.
"No harm no foul?" Helja asked.
"Your mistake didn't hurt anyone, so you're forgiven," Boom said.
"I like that phrase very much. It has a nice cadence to it and is very efficient at conveying meaning," Helja said.
"I like it too." Boom smiled. "So, how did you generate a pinch? Like, nothing they said in that briefing made it look like you could do that."
"I have multiple NPOs incorporated into my body and if I force two of them to interact at high energies, they generate powerful electromagnetic discharges," Helja said. "It does leave me vulnerable, however."
"Is one of them the one that bends light around you?" I asked.
"Yes, actually," Helja said.
"Wait, Helja can bend light around her?" Boom asked.
Boom's engineering background showed very strongly as we spent the next half hour playing around with Helja's light bending powers. Each time Helja mentioned a nuance as to how it worked, Boom tested it. We found out that it only worked on directed light sources, like laser pointers or LED flashlights with a lens so they made a small spot on the wall. As light traveled around her, it twisted its plane of polarization and continued on the same line it had been on before encountering her.
During that half hour, Boom glanced at me and Helja a lot, her eyes darting to our naughty bits occasionally. Whenever she or Gillon glanced at my crotch, I sometimes subtly spread my legs a bit wider or changed my position so it was easier to ogle me.
I doubted Gillon was particularly into Helja or me, but Boom's interest was harder to pin down. It wasn't as overtly sexual as the way Septimus looked at us, but it wasn't as cool and scientific as Gillon's gaze.
I wasn't all that attracted to Boom. She reminded me a bit too much of the drummer in my high school punk band. A girl who just didn't give a shit and you could do anything with, but never really let you get close to her. All that said, it didn't matter why they were looking at me. Getting attention like this was giving me an alien sensation: actual pride in my appearance. It was a freaking fantastic feeling.
After the fun with Helja's amazing light-deflecting fur, I got up and said, "I'm too hungry to think straight. Y'all gonna be good without me?"
"Yeah, I think it would be wise for Gillon and I to run some tests to make sure there's no lasting damage from Boom's hyperthermia," Helja said.
"That's a good point, we should get her to the med bay," Gillon said.
"Ugg, can't you two run the tests without me? I'd love to get some dinner," Boom moaned.
"Since you're the individual we need to test, there's no way to run them without you," Helja said.
"It was a joke," Boom said.
"Ah, so a more appropriate response would've been: Sure, we'll just pretend science is a lie," Helja said.
We all paused and stared at Helja for a moment before we busted out laughing.
What got me about it was that it sounded oddly passive aggressive. Like Helja was trying to bop Boom on the nose for confusing her.
Leaving them to do their thing, I walked out of Gillon's room and sighed at the feeling of the hallway's air currents on my naked fur. I went over to the intercom and called the med bay.
Septimus answered, saying, "Hello?"
"You feeling okay?" I asked.
"I'm fully healed and am treating Abrams' lacerations," he said.
"Great! If you have time, could you set out the stuff I drank last time I needed to heal my fur and skin?" I asked.
"Sure," he said. "Should I do that right away?"
"No, I gotta eat food first," I said.
Gillon, Helja and Tsubumi left Gillon's room and walked toward the habitat's exit to the Repository.
I heard Charlie say something and then Septimus cut the mic on the intercom. A few seconds later, Septimus said, "If it's not too much trouble, I think we could use a couple pizzas over here. Maybe put them in and then come get some materials to repair yourself while you wait for them to cook?"
"I'll use the mess's oven too and get a few pizzas going. Is Percy okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, she just needed some stitches," Septimus said.
"Cool, I'll be over there soon," I said.
"Yes, see you soon," Septimus said.
Helja stopped just after Gillon opened the door to the main entrance. "I'm getting a ping for the Librarian's main terminal. Gillon, can you run the tests without me?"
"Sure, and while you're gone, I'll get approval from Charlie to have you do a follow up," Gillon said.
"Perfect," Helja said as she ran at least twice as fast as I could toward the fourth door to the right of hers.
Percy showed up, walking into the habitat just after Helja left and Tritonia was right behind her.
The sandy-colored shark skin of Percy's left arm had a long stretch of gauze on it.
She asked, "Is Boom gonna be okay?"
"We think so," I said. "They're gonna run some tests soon to make sure."
"That's good," Tritonia said from the doorway.
We both looked over at Tritonia. She had her jacket back on, covering her scaly naga tits.
I said, "Do you know why Charlie approved you using that body so quickly? Like, I thought she'd be more cautious."
"Gillon, Boom, and I worked all through the night to check every system that Helja built. She stuck to our plans, but made improvements that she thoroughly explained. It wouldn't have been possible to get this body approved so fast without Boom, though. The testing equipment was the only thing that slowed her down," Tritonia said. "Our conclusion was that even though some of the things in this body are decades ahead of current technology, Helja had succeeded in making something that we could understand and use without much risk. When we showed our results to Charlie this morning before the briefing, she gave us the green light to put my core in this body."
"Wow, Helja must be a terrific engineer," Percy said.
"None of us has seen anything like it," Tritonia said.
"Yeah, and she has a great sense of aesthetics," I said.
"So true," Percy said.
Tritonia blushed a bit, individual scales turning pink on her cheeks like elongated hexagonal pixels. "I thought white and gold would look good, but this is way beyond my expectations. The pearlescence is so sparkly."
"It really draws you in," Percy said as she stared at the scales on Tritonia's back.
"Definitely," I said. "Do you have a place to sleep, Tritonia?"
"Charlie's offered to share her quarters," Tritonia said.
"Oh, that sounds nice," I said.
Tritonia smiled, showing her snake fangs. "I'm just happy I can lay in a bed tonight. Never done that before."
"If you want snuggles, I'm happy to have you in my bed," I said. "Kinda curious what getting wrapped up in a naga tail feels like."
"Only if you put on clothes," Tritonia said. "You look fantastic, but you being naked while we were cuddling would be very distracting."
"Maybe you want to be distracted, though," I said. I really wanted to play with her. She had such a unique body shape.
Percy groaned, "Pepper, Tritonia's been in a body for less than a day and you're already hitting on her?"
"It's okay, actually," Tritonia said. "I think I like being hit on."
"Well then, how about you join me in my bed tonight and I'll show you something you can do with that tail," Percy said in a playful seductive voice.
Tritonia's cheeks blushed bright pink in a broad area spreading part way up her muzzle as her cobra hood retracted a bit in embarrassment. "Oh wow, another new feeling."
"Oh?" Percy asked.
"I'm gonna need a bit of time to process it, actually," she said, slithering past us to Charlie's room.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yes, just so many new things at once." Tritonia typed the code on Charlie's door and then put the card on her lanyard up against the reader. "We'll talk more soon, I promise." She opened the door and went inside.
"Do you think I scared her off?" Percy asked.
"Is someone crushing on the new naga hottie?" I teased.
"Shut up." She blushed.
"Couldn't help myself."
"You're forgiven," she said. "You don't think I scared her off, then?"
"Nah, she's always been a bit shy," I said. "And can you imagine how overwhelming it would be to go from spending your whole life carried around in a metal canister to having a physical body?"
"Honestly, I'm not even sure I can imagine what you feel." Percy's eyes went up and down my front as she took in my naked six-breasted, hung hybrid body. Then she forced her gaze to stay on my face as she said, "You're not-quite biological and can kick a scary amount of ass."
"Heh, true," I said.
Helja's voice came over the intercom saying, "This is Helja: The Librarian's main terminal is operational again. They took her backup battery out, but I found it in one of the weapons platforms and reinstalled it."
"Awesome," Percy said.
"Am I a bad person for having mixed feelings about the Librarian?" I said.
"Probably not?" Percy said.
Just as I was finishing telling Percy about how the Librarian had used linguistic gymnastics to avoid answering my questions, Helja came through the door.
"You're going to give Charlie a stroke roaming around free like this. You might want to just stick near the med bay until Boom's tests are done and then go back to your room." I said.
"If Charlie has a stroke, I'm the most qualified to treat it," Helja said.
"That's not the--" I sighed. "What I mean is that she knows how powerful and useful you are, but that also makes her, and a lot of other people, really nervous. So you might want to make a habit of checking with her about how she wants to handle things."
"Oh? Why would Charlie have a problem with me traveling throughout the Repository? I know more about this facility than anyone on this planet," Helja said.
"That's exactly what makes her nervous. She feels like she has no control of the situation, so you letting her call shots will help her feel more at ease," I said. "Plus, there are people with more power than her that she has to report to, so she's under a lot of pressure to look like she has things under control."
"I think Pepper's trying to have you avoid making the same mistakes she did," Percy said.
"Exactly," I said.
"That was some much-needed context." Helja thought for a moment. "I suppose if I make her feel more at ease, she's more likely to have sex with me."
I tossed my hands in exasperation. "She's not going to have sex with you."
"You seem far more certain than I would be in your position," she said. "She was working very hard to hold back her sexual desire when we first met."
"True, but she's also the kind of person who could get worked up enough to the point her cock could explode out of her pants and hose an entire wall in spunk, yet still maintain a crisp salute," Percy said.
"A double salute in this case," I said with a grin.
Helja tilted her head.
"It's an erection joke," Percy said.
"Oh! What about 'hose an entire wall'?" Helja asked, one ear flopped down in confusion. "Spunk?"
"It means to drench something and spunk is another word for cum," I said.
"Oooh, so you're saying she's very productive?" Helja asked, the end of her prick just starting to poke free of her sheath.
"Not exactly, I think Percy's saying that Charlie's used to her libido and has become pretty stoic in dealing with it," I said. "Humans can be incredibly horny and still hold back. Probably a rather alien concept to you."
"No. We don't always act on our arousal. We are considerate of each other's emotions-circumstances surrounding our sexual interest." Helja paused as the head of her cock cleared her sheath. "In Charlie's case, I sense a lot of pressure behind her self control and want to see what happens when she loses containment of it. When unexpressed desire bursts free, it leads to incredible-passionate sex."
Percy blushed as her eyes jumped down to Helja's emerging prick. "Charlie needs to trust people a lot to have sex with them, so you need to be patient and work hard to make her feel more at ease around you. You can start by asking her how to proceed instead of making decisions about how to help and where you're most needed on your own."
"I know that type of personality and I think I understand what you mean." Helja smiled. "You are every bit as kind and thoughtful as Pepper said you were."
Percy's blush intensified at the compliment.
Since I wanted to get more alone time with Percy and I knew Helja would hit on her if the conversation went on too long, I said, "Charlie asked me to make some food for the team, so I gotta get working on stuff. How about you go check in with Charlie and we'll hang out after I finish working on stuff?"
"Sure! I'm going to be idle after I run a couple tests on Boom, want to have sex after you're fully repaired?" Helja asked. "Septimus will be there too."
"Yep!" I said. "Do you remember what Boom said about not asking someone for sex in public?"
"Yes, but I assumed since we've had sex several times, you wouldn't have a similar issue."
"Exactly, keep doing it," Percy said. "She likes being teased."
"That was my assumption," Helja said and then shut and secured the door.
"Helj--" The door was shut before I could get her attention. I glared at Percy. "Why you little--"
She laughed.
"Shut up!" I said, my cheeks burning with a blush.
"You three were made for each other and it's adorable," she said. "Charlie, however, I think Helja's chasing the impossible."
"Yeah, I agree." My stomach growled. "I'm gonna get the ovens preheating and then go to the med bay and eat weird shit. When I get back, do you want to help me get some pizzas going so we can feed everyone?"
"Tell you what, if you put on some clothes, I'll help you with that and then help you spruce up your room so it doesn't feel like a jail cell," Percy said.
"Deal," I said, feeling a bit crestfallen. Percy was doing right by her desire to take things slow, but I dreaded putting on another ill-fitting outfit.
After having my balls up on the big screen, kicking ass in the nude, and being naked in front of everyone for an hour, I was starting to wonder if I even needed clothes. Helja's perpetual nudity did have a certain appeal...At this rate, it was only a matter of time till I started bluntly stating my sexual interest and having people grope my breasts when they tried to give me a handshake.
THE END (for now)
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