The Nestia crew stood around the bathtub's sides, the air as charged with anticipation as much as the lightly rippling silver surface of the precursor fluid crackled and sparked with charged energy.
The electrical discharge dissipated slowly, and Inta's head and shoulders rose, cradling Diana's limbless form in her arms. Precursor fluid obscured her features and ran off her naked body in rivulets, dripping into the bath as Inta pulled her from her submerged baptismal Bonding.
With a gesture from Inta, the rest of the silver fluid rushed off Diana's body, and she gasped, pulling in a large lung full of air. "Oh, my!" Diana exclaimed, feeling for the first time the depth of love from Inta and her new family through her newly forged Bond. The silver lines crisscrossing her skin glowed a ghostly blue, echoed by the silver markings of the rest of the crew.
Diana looked down at her body as Inta held her; her new markings were slightly different than that of the others; they followed the same pattern of the silver harness she had been wearing for the last several weeks that allowed her to wear an extra set of Inta's limbs, and walk with assistance.
There were smiles all around when the gathered parted to allow another Inta to pass through them and approach the tub. The Inta standing in the tub carefully transferred Diana to the Inta standing outside the tub.
"I have one other surprise for you, My Love," Inta said as she brushed Diana's hair back over her ear. She placed two fingers on Diana's forehead, just below her hairline, and an intricately patterned circlet of silver formed around her head. The Inta holding her shifted and flowed around her body into the silver harness she had become accustomed to, limbs sliding into place, making up for the ones she had lost. Diana stood there as the newly formed harness and limbs began glowing to match the rest of her markings.
Inta sat on the tub's edge, swung her legs over the side, dropped on the floor next to Diana, and hugged her. "Sweetheart, I have bubbled off a sub-mind in this body, and with this circlet, it will respond to your mind directly," she said, tracing her silver fingers along Diana's brow. "In time, it will merge and integrate fully with your mind. These limbs won't just be yours to use, but a part of you, receiving control and providing feedback."
Inta took one of Diana's new silver hands in hers as she spoke, turned it over, and lightly kissed the palm.
Diana's eyes went wide. "I... I felt that!" she said, awestruck. "It was distant and faint, but I felt it!" Tears sprang from her eyes as she was overwhelmed by emotion. She took an unbalanced step towards Inta to hug her, but Inta caught her as she fell into her arms.
Diana looked momentarily disappointed, but Inta soothed her worry. "It will take time for you and your new limbs to grow and work together, but I promise, soon it'll feel as natural as if you've had them your entire life." A smile reignited on Diana's face; held in Inta's arms, she beamed joyfully.
The rest of the crew, unable to contain themselves any longer, pressed close to the new member of their family and showered her with hugs and kisses in a loving crush.
"I can feel you; I can feel you all," Diana said through happy tears as everyone laid their hands on the skin of her new arms and brushed against her new legs. The press of loving flesh against hers stirred another feeling in her core. Her simmering longing was suddenly stoked into a hot desire, fanned by the warm press of bodies against hers. "Oh, oh wow, I feel, I..." she could barely articulate, then grabbed Inta's face and pulled her into a passionate kiss.
Inta returned passion with passion, flooding Diana's newly formed connection to her with heat and energy, finally able to express fully how she felt and how much she wanted the shy brunette.
Diana swooned in Inta's embrace, swept away by the titanic magnitude of emotions pouring off the silver girl, losing all sense of time and place until the love from Inta and everyone around her was the only thing present in Diana's universe.
Then, In one smooth motion, Inta swept Diana up into her arms once more, and Diana draped one arm over her shoulders. "And Now, I think Diana and I have an appointment to keep for her Deepening," Inta said to those pressing close to Diana and her. Inta headed for the hallway and to their lounge on the next deck. The others, however, had their own plans and followed along.
Once Inta and Diana reached the lounge, everyone who followed them from the med bay piled in behind. "You two have managed to get the rest of us all wound up with your emotional antics," Artona said from the back of the crowd. "I don't think you'll get away with sneaking away with your latest conquest this time."
"Weren't you her last 'latest conquest'?" Will asked with a smirk, elbowing the muscular Urarc in the ribs.
"Yeah, well, that just means I still need a lot of attention," Artona retorted, sounding slightly more defensive than she intended. "Besides, Inta needs as much attention as Diana does. Can't you feel it?" Artona asked, and everyone shook their heads in agreement. The sacrifice and sudden loss of a portion of herself had left Inta with an invisible scar and a nagging feeling of emptiness. For weeks, she tried to downplay it but ultimately couldn't hide the pain from her family, who were connected in the deepest ways and loved her dearly.
They huddled close to Inta and Diana, gently laying their hands on her, the physical touch only a pale imitation of the connection and loving bond they all shared.
"Oh, My Darlings, you take such good care of me. And of course, I would never dream of leaving any of you unsatisfied," Inta told them, still carrying Diana like a bride. As soon as the words left her lips, a horde of silver girls swarmed the lounge, descending on the crew like sex-crazed locusts, intending to devour them all.
