Binary Love (18+)

Trust Me, I'm An Engineer

They found her crouched over an android, crying quietly as her fingers worked furiously to reconnect frayed wires. It wasn't until Rosalind's hands forcibly pulled her fingers away, that Nova realised security and her friends had arrived.

"What happened, Nova?" Rosalind softly whispered to her, those amber eyes frowning in concern.

"The Beta - I don't know why - he just started clawing through the door. He looked like he was high on Blue." Nova choked, "Mark - he..." Her eyes rose, scanning the room again. It was filled with security personnel, mainly pulling the sexbots off of the Beta's unconscious body. Harou stood beside Rosalind, shielding the two of them from the onlookers.

As head of security, Harou was undoubtedly a soothing presence at this time, despite being a large and brooding Lupus. His soft white fur transitioned to a light grey around his eyes and muzzle, almost giving him an aged appearance. Clothed in traditional Lupus garb depicting his station, Harou was known to be on of the top Alphas on the space station. Because of this, no one questioned his quick rise to head of security. He was known for his strict moral code and fairness, despite being a little gruff socially.

He passed Rosalind a thin blanket, politely averting his gaze from Nova's exposed body.

Rosalind gently pulled her friend into a hug, wrapping the blanket around her friend. She ran her hands over Nova's back in an attempt to sooth her friend; the shaking was becoming more pronounced and Rosalind feared Nova might be in shock.

"Soon they'll be all over the workshop," Rosalind whispered, "Where's the chassis? If we work quickly enough, we might be able to transfer Mark into it and save him."

"It's in the back room." Nova replied in hushed tones, suddenly feeling a sense of hope wash over her. Rosalind was right; if they transferred Mark's main frame over quickly, they had a chance to save whatever made him sentient.

"Harou, you deal with bringing the chassis down to the lab and making our excuses. Nova, get dressed and help me bring Mark down. If we bring the rest of the bots as well, no one will notice that you were only interested in one." The firm authority in her friend's voice helped to keep her focused as she made her way to her room to change. 

As soon as she was out of the sight of security, she rushed to get some clothes and overalls on, struggling to do up the buttons as her hands shook. She grabbed one of her rucksacks, stuffing in a set of spare clothes. When she came out of the room, she could already see Harou removing a covered cylinder with a gravi-pull. As neatly as she could, Rosalind had patched up Mark enough so that he was fit for travel. Nova sneakily put and schematics of the chassis into her bag as well, before finally making her way over the Rosalind.

"I have my things," Nova said demurely, "We can get the functioning bots to help carry the ones that are ... broken."

Silently, the two women slipped out of the workshop with a collection of sexbots flanking them, leaving the security team to handcuff and arrest the Beta.

___________________________________________

Harou watched the two women work on transferring Mark's main frame late into the night. Although he had some basic understanding, and could occasionally help by following through on a barked command, this type of work was well out of his expertise. He could smell their sweat and scent Nova's worry. This was one of the first times he saw Nova so personally connected to a project; before, although she was always passionate about her work, she never had such an intensity about her. For Rosalind, he could sense that she was desperate to do right by her friend, to help her save this android.

Once the transfer was complete, all three gently lowered the chassis into the bio chamber. Normally used to heal the critically ill, they had adapted this model to help promote the culturing of tissue around the chassis. Rosalind had collected and developed a huge variety of Lupus DNA that met Mark's specification. Very similar to cloning principles, this bio chamber would help begin the process of growing tissue and organs, until it all came together as a fully formed Home Lupus.

With exhaustion, Nova collapsed onto the nearest medical bed, passing out almost immediately after finishing. Rosalind went to wake her up, thinking that it would be better if she came to one of the spare rooms nearer their living quarters.

"Rosa, leave her," Harou rumbled as softly as possible, "Let her sleep near him." Rosalind nodded, before gently running one of her dark hands over Nova's head. She watched her friend for a moment, before her face scrunched up into a combination of frustration and confusion.

"Why did that Beta break in? It's on the highest level, with one of the highest clearances ... How did he break in?" She whispered furiously to her lover, who started to direct her to their bedroom. His claws carefully rested against her lower back so as not to tear at the white fabric of her uniform.

"I don't know, but I will find out." He nuzzled her neck, breathing in deeply the scent of his mate. Although he was equally unsettled by Nova almost being seriously hurt, he was hesitant to let this show, driven to offer stability for Rosa. "No one attacks our pack and gets away with it."

________________________________________

The picture attached was the closest I could find to represent Harou. However, the Homo Lupus species will be written with shorter muzzles (more similar to a cat's). Think kimahri mixed with a werewolf. Their fur / pelt will also be far shorter throughout their body, with longer fur on their tails and around their head / neck. I hope this makes sense!

As with the pictures I use, I mostly find them on pinterest - because of this, I can't find the original artist to credit. If anyone knows who their are, please let me know so that I can credit them.