R&d

This is the next instalment in the adventures of Space Engineer Jonathan Selby and his android Billy. This an original work and completely fictitious and a product of my imagination. All similarities to past, current or future persons are pure accidental. This story is protected by all International copyright laws without prejudice.

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The intrepid duo has saved the ECS Isandlwana, got promoted, received the highest honour there is in Starfleet (yeah I know, original) and have to attend a banquet in their honor. Billy the android also became the first android with an official surname, Selby, and may choose a name. (Petunia somehow doesn't fit...) Then they are invited to the Non-com Canteen by the crew of said ECS Isandlwana. And so the journey continues...

We dropped off Billy's duffle in what is now our berth in the Hub and attended the banquet in our honour. Yes, it was boring and embarrassing at the same time. I am the type of person who becomes embarrassed at praise. But we did the necessary smooching and everything else, I had to give a bloody speech! The generic words of being a brother and sisterhood looking after each other went down well. I think. The holographic visit from the President herself was a surprise, and her kind but powerful praise made me blush.

But as we started navigating the corridors to the Non-com Canteen, I could not help but give a sigh of relief. Billy giggles next to me and it startles me a little. I am still not completely used to her human-like reactions, will probably take me a couple of years. If ever.

"You really don't like banquets do you, Boss?" she chortles. "I thought your speech was heart-warming, despite your red face!"

"Gmph," I reply in my normal grumpy voice, "and if you don't stop teasing me about it I will paddle your behind."

She looks at me and say very innocently: "Really, Boss? You promise? Will you paddle Billy's behind until it is all red? Because after my latest upgrade it will be red."

I look at her all shocked, but at the same time her tone of voice hits me right in the groin. She carries on with the same voice and innocently eager facial expression.

"But you will have to be careful though, I am pregnant you know."

Her words stops me dead in my tracks, my mind whirling at a thousand terabits a second. The next moment she burst out laughing.

"You must see your face Boss! Damn I got you good! You forgot for a moment I can't fall pregnant and you can't procreate!"

Her facial expression becomes tender.

"At least you have stopped brooding about the honors and the banquet, well deserved as it is."

I realize what she is doing, and I feel the knot inside of me that I didn't know existed loosen and disappear. I could not let her get away scot-free though, and sound even more grumpy when I groan and continue walking down the corridor.

"Ugh! They gave you a sense of humor and downloaded some kinks."

As Billy chuckles at my words we round a corner and see the welcoming committee of one waiting for us outside the Non-com canteen.

Waiting for us was a stocky Command Master Chief, and from the facial and cranial ridges I immediately recognize him as a native from Cerebus Prime. As we get closer I am not surprised to see that it is Paco Quedida, the chief pilot of the ECS Isandlwana. He comes to a parade ground brace and salutes us before addressing us in a gravelly voice.

"Captain Selby, Ensign Selby. You are welcome. I will announce you."

Doing a perfect about turn he marched the two steps to the doors, open them and in a commanding voice shouts out: "Attention on deck!" The sound of a lot of feet coming to attention as one reverberates through the air. This is unheard of! If an officer wants to have a drink in the Non-com canteen he has to march to the senior non-commissioned officer and salute first (instead of the other way around) and request permission to join the ranks. Permission can be refused. I looked bewilderingly at Billy but nod and we march to the door and come to halt just inside the doors. A sight greets us that gives me a lump in my throat and I know this will stay with me for the rest of my life. The canteen is packed with what looked like the complete crew of the Isandlwana, as well as a good complement of the non-coms and seaman of the Hub, all dressed in full parade uniform. Paco continues: "Forward Arms!" and the whole canteen salutes us as one person. Billy and I return the salute. "Order Arms!" rings out and the salutes drop. A wizened almost skeletal Command Master Chief whose build and insanely blue eyes marks her to be a Cerulean marches up to us, halts and salutes. After we have returned the salute she addresses us in a raspy voice that surprising carries to the farthest corners of the canteen.

"Captain Selby, Ensign Selby. Welcome to the Non-com canteen as guests of the ECS Isandlwana. As senior non-commissioned officer in the Hub, I Command Master Chief Petty Officer Jan Condiode declare that you are hereby instated as honorary guests of the canteen with unconditional access whenever you are in the Hub."

This honor is rarely given, and means almost as much to me as the heavy medal hanging around my neck. She makes an about face and shouts: "Three hurrahs for the Captain and the Ensign!" The "Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" That rings out is almost deafening. Jen then gives the next command: "Stand at ease!" and a drill instructor would have been proud to hear the single sound ringing out. She looks over her shoulder and says: "All yours Captain". I give a single step forward with a scowl on my face, and then smile and say: "All right, at ease canteen."

I know I am awake, I am laying on a bed and I can feel I do not have any clothes on. The headache pounding behind my eyes feel like bells tolling in a cavern and my mouth is as dry as the sands on the planet Norse while as furry as the back of a Cantonica pack beast. The groan that escapes my throat as I slowly roll onto my back sounds like it belongs to someone dying a horrible death. I vaguely remember the Non-com canteen and the toasts, the endless toasts... I swear at some stage Paco Querida told me according to his culture he owes me a life and said something concerning honorary citizenship for his home planet or something. A soft hand lifts my aching head and place a straw between my lips. The giggling words of Billy sounds like they spoken in a tin, but as I sip the cool beverage that slightly taste of spices it glides down easily and alleviates the dryness in my throat.

"You really look bad Boss! You look worse than after the bender you went on during the shore leave at New Earth with your class buddies! Don't worry, I got this recipe from a shaman, you'll be okay after an hour's sleep."

The fluids starts making me sleepy, and I sink into the darkness...

And just over an hour later I slowly wake-up, feeling as if I am slowly emerging from the depths of a deep lake. As I try to open my eyes they are crusted over but before I can wipe it away a luke-warm wet cloth wipes my face and my eyes, and I recognise the soft touch of Billy.

"Good, you are awake. How are you feeling Boss?" her voice says softly.

I am expecting the same vicious hang-over I woke with earlier, but as I open my eyes and see Billy's face before me I realize that I am not hung-over anymore. I blink a few times and Billy smiles.

"I told you will feel better. Now come on, let's go and have a shower." She chuckles. "You may feel better, but you are a little tough on the nose Boss."

I grab her wrists.

"Have you chosen a name?" I ask gruffly.

"Of course I did Boss! And registered it too!" She smiles even wider. "Billy Selby at your service! Did you really think I would choose another name Boss?"

"Good." I grumble. "Now listen to me carefully Billy Selby. When we are off duty you will address me either as Jon or as Jonathan, not "Boss". Is that clear? On duty I prefer that you call me captain, but with your current sauciness, I ask that at least address me as captain in front of senior officers."

A fleeting expression of tenderness and gratitude flits over Billy's face before her visage turns into the impish and slightly naughty expression that have been her default expression the last few weeks.

"And if I don't you will paddle my backside? Just kidding! Just kidding! They will really turn red and be tender! I will comply you old grumpy. Now let's get you showered, I have ordered breakfast to be delivered, I did not think you would want to eat in the mess this morning."

As I sit up and shake my head with a wry grin, I see that Billy is not wearing a stitch of clothing and I am surprised at the way she looks. She obviously had another upgrade as she said: her tits are a tad smaller but perkier; her overall shape has been "toned" and her skin has subtle shades of colour. My brain is slowly kicking in, and I look at Billy pensively as we walk the few steps to the wardroom's shower. At least we don't have a communal shower. She quickly adjusts the water and pulls me in by my hand. She moves her hand over the dispenser sensor and the cleaning agent is added to the water. As she starts massaging my scalp and rubbing down my body, ostensibly to assist the cleaning agent, I make up my mind and start talking.

"You said you had upgrades done Billy?" I ask "What did they do?"

I can see through the water Billy is serious when she answers me.

"They completed the hybrid upgrade Jon. Tightened me in a few places that the original techs could not do as they did not have the tools and tech available. Completed my homemaker download, which is why my skin will redden when slapped as the sensation in my outer skin is as close to human skin as possible. I can also blush they said, whatever that entails." Her face turns into the imp I have been expecting. "And I am now fully capable to do this."

By this time she was on her knees rubbing down my legs, and in one movement turned me so that my back is to the falling water and at the same time she inhales the head of my semi-hard cock into her voracious mouth, teasing the head with her tongue. My cock grows quickly and the next moment she slides her lips down my shaft until her nose nudges my pubic bone, my cock lodged deep in her throat. The sensation is exquisite and I throw my head back in ecstasy. She pulls back and rolls her tongue around the head, pausing to flick the frenulum every so often, making me jerk my hips. My hands slap against the bulkhead for balance as she sucks on the head like a lollipop, making my knees go weak. As I feel my nuts tighten, preparing for the blast of the millennium, she stops and encircles the bottom of my cock and squeezes until the feeling goes away. She just smiles at me and sucks me into her mouth again. She pushes my cock to the back of her mouth and instead of deep-throating me again she fuck the head of my cock with the back of her throat, making interesting ungh! ungh! ungh! noises. After letting my orgasm wane three times in a row, when I approach orgasm Billy swallows me down her throat again, and I feel a peristaltic type movement in her throat. I cum very hard, straight down he throat and for a few seconds my brain has a white-out. When I regain my senses my knees are weak and Billy still has my cock in her mouth, nursing it as if she is baby. The head of my cock is extremely sensitive and I jerk my hips back, pulling it out of her mouth. I look down at her smiling face and says wryly: "Yeah, they did download a few kinks." Earning an even bigger smile.

The rest of the week is down time, shore leave, and we lounge around the wardroom or go to the mess for meals. I went back to the Non-com canteen only once during the week, and the result was the same as the previous time: waking up with Billy feeding me some concoction that makes me sleep for another hour and waking up refreshed from a terrible hang over. We went to the officer's mess one evening but only had a single drink before returning to the wardroom, me fuming because of the snooty condescending attitude some of the bigots there had towards Billy. Of course she pushed me down on the bed and fucked me sideways to take my mind off the slyly vicious comments that was thrown her way. She has received the full officer's manual download and was impeccable in the way she carried herself. And yes, I woke up every morning with my cock in one of Billy's three "cum receptacles" as she called them. Then shore leave came to an end and on the appointed day we got up, dressed in uniform and reported to Rear Admiral McPherson at the Research & Development Department.

We dispensed with the pleasantries and then the Admiral became serious.

"I have a challenges for you Jonny. We have been experiencing a serious problem in two engine units for decades now. The feeder tank to the cooling unit starts picking oscillations as the engines become older. This sometimes leads to leakages and engine failure at best. At worst we have experienced a few engines exploding. I would like for you two to go over the data of all the previous research and attempts to mitigate the problem, and see if you can find something for us that works."

Although the task sounds impossible, it immediately peaked my interest. One of my strengths has always been coming up with solutions for problems on the fly, especially when you are far from any base, hub or shipyard and this sounds right up my alley. Only this time I have the full array of technology at my fingertips.

"I am honoured to look at the challenges for you sir. We'll give our best."

The admiral laughs heartily. "I thought it will intrigue you! Let me get someone to take you to your workstation."

Seconds later a seaman walked in and we are shown into a workroom that makes me drool almost with anticipation. All the surfaces were integrated and we even have holo-projector so that we can see what are working. And from the start I can see the problem might not be as bad as I thought it was, it is definitely worse. So for the next week Billy and I knuckle down. The first thing I do is pull up the original specs for the unit and we isolated the problem area, easy to do with tech at our disposal. Billy starts a sequence on the master program than simulates accelerated wear & tear and as we were warned, the feeder tank start oscillating. This process took us a week. As I stare at the projection Billy walks up to me, and after staring at the projection herself she asks me in a rather serious tone of voice: "What are you thinking Boss?"

Something clicks in my mind and I softly ask: "At what frequency does it oscillate Billy? Around 56 MHz?"

She quickly looks her screen and looks at me as if I have grown a new head.

"Yes Boss, how did you know?"

"I recognize the vibration pattern."

"Damn!" Billy says after a while. "All this high technology and nobody was able to fix this."

And she was right, a lot of different solutions were tried. Everything from anti-gravity generators to gravity stabilizer to multiple-alloy outer casings. And then something clicks in my brain and I have a Eureka! moment. My brain starts running faster than light speed, and a vision pops into my head of something I have seen on one of the deep rural backwater planets I have been at sometime in my career. I rush to the relevant work surface and my hands speed over the surface, and I smile when I see that the Hub has in stock what I am looking for. I turn to Billy who is looking at me with her eyes as big as saucers. It can be a bit disturbing when the person don't blink, but in this moment, I don't care.

"Ensign Selby, start a new simulation but the sequence must commence at 20% aging. Incorporate the items I will send to your workstation."

I turn around and my hands fly over the surface again, detailing specs and part numbers to Billy's work space. She opens my drawings and specs and turns around to look at me.

"Really Boss? Coil springs? And connecting them to planet flyer landing gear vibration dampers?"

I grin widely.

"It was your idea, you said high-tech is not helping. So let's go low-tech."

The smile I get in return is as wide as my own and she quickly turns back and her hand fly over the screens.

The holo-projector starts up and the mock-up appear in the middle of the room. I show her where to position the vibration dampers on the water tank and where to attach the coil springs to the craft body. Billy starts a test sequence but within seconds I spot a second problem and have her stop.

"Billy, check quickly on the system please, where did the leaks start at the water tank during previous?"

Her hands get busy and after about 30 seconds she pipes up.

"Inlet and outlet Boss."

My mind runs with the problem and a solution pops up.

"Okay Billy. Reduce the inlet and outlet pipes by 5% percent in size where they go into the tank. Then encase them in a hexa-carbonate polymer extending about 3 inches either way of the tank body."

Billy laughs loudly. "Only you Boss! Will it be enough to contain any possible radiation if it is used to cleanse the air inside compartment?"

"We'll test it once we are certain it works."

She just nods and her faith in me astounds me. The new improvements are added to the simulation and nervously I hold my breath. The holo-projector starts again and it is immediately obvious that there are a major improvement, although oscillation is still occurring albeit at a much reduced rate.

"What is the frequency read-out on the vibration oscillation Billy?"

She answers me with suppressed joy in her voice.

"Hovering around 10 Boss."

Pleased I nod.

"That's not bad, although I expected a little more reduction in the vibration."

Billy gets up out of her chair and stands in front of me with elation on her face.

"You misunderstood me Boss. It is 10 KHz! You did it!!!" And she grabbed me and hugged me tightly.

For three days we put the simulation through its paces in any possible scenario. From high manoeuvres during combat to something as mundane as going in planetary atmosphere or docking to a station, Hub or even another ship. The vibration/oscillation of the water tank remained within acceptable parameters, mostly remaining way below acceptable specifications. Then it was time for the physical mock-up and I sent the specifications that we have stipulated to the Manufacturing section and within two day Billy and I walk into the vast R&D hanger, looking at a full scale model of the water tank, and the modifications added to it mounted on a testbed for proper real world simulation tests. It is like looking at your own new-born baby, and I couldn't have been prouder. We undertake a proper inspection on the whole assembly to make sure if everything is according to specifications causing the Ensign in charge of the build to get a sour expression on his face, but to his credit he didn't say a word. As Billy and I were in our work fatigues, it was easily accomplished. The material of the suits expels fluids and all manner of dirt and various gunk. Them it is the big moment and we move into the control room for the tests. For the next three hours my attention span was limited to either the observation window, the projection of the mock-up from the holo-projector or the readouts on the monitors. We put the assembly through the paces, although for shorter periods at a time, and in the end everything worked as predicted by the computer simulation. As everything winds down it is obvious that everybody in the control room's attention was focused in the same places that mine was. A slow hand clap made all of us jerk our heads towards the door and the next moment "Attention on deck!" rings out. Admiral McPherson is standing just inside the control room slowly applauding us, with a massive smile on his face.