Officer's Tents (Escort)

A small grouping of tents serves as housing for the shogun's officers during their visit to the public camp. Many of these tents see little use. At the present, however, a tall figure in black stands imposingly before one of the tents.

Black robes like a monks billow around the navi's statuesque figure and its head is covered with a black shroud and white half-mask, including one horn in the center of the forehead. The navi's blue eyes shine out of the mask in stark contrast to the rest of their appearance. The small glimpse of the face shown is somehow both pretty and handsome; she is often mistaken for a man despite... other features, amazingly well hidden beneath her outfit.

Currently, she is waiting for a boat to arrive inside the camp, although she may not know it yet. The soldiers are running drills, so there will be few around to see them.

Ship splashed onto the net floor, happily not beaming inside anyone's tent. Today's goal was fashion design, not interior redecorating. Upon touching down, Ship had lifted her nose from her virtual magazine and taken a look around. "It's surprising... I'd expected a fancy decorated temple or at least a heavy guard detail. So this is a public area?" the Navi kept her voice down, whispering to her operator.

"Damn, I almost wish it was heavily guarded. What kind of sh*t mission is this, anyhow? You're totally missing the point of the training you were supposed to get," Lyn said, punctuating her complaints with a sigh. "Anyway, just ask that serious dude over there for directions to your contact," Lyn ordered, apparently forgetting that their mission was given anonymously and was probably a secret.

Ship looked back and forth, apparently not seeing who Lyn was talking about. Lyn began to grit her teeth... "The guy is so f*ckin' tall that you can almost see him without looking down, numbskull!"

When Ship's eyes did finally come to a stop on their contact, however, she looked back to her operator in confusion. "Well, there's our contact, but, uh..."

"Wait, you think that huge guy is the one who wants to be more attractive? He looks more like one of those Netopian palace guards. You don't think he's just security detail here?"

Ship continued to stare at her operator until realization suddenly dawned. "Hold on, you can't tell that's a girl?"

"F*ckin' sh*t," Lyn laughed, "Aren't you gettin' to yank me around enough today without a joke like that? If there's a chick underneath all that I'll... hell, I'll dress in whatever kind of outfit you want! Just for sh*ts and giggles! Just roll on over and ask that dude 'Excuse me, can you lift up that dress for a sec and let me get a peep at your knickers?'" For some reason, Lyn's impression of her Navi sounded more like a stuffy Netopian gentleman.

Ship couldn't tell whether to laugh or cry. She was 100% certain it was a girl already, and normally she wouldn't let her operator go on without a correction, but... Lyn had just written a lot of zeroes on that check she'd signed. Ship couldn't let an opportunity to write in any number she wanted pass. She'd just reveal how she knew the gender and the contact status to Lyn later.

The boat portion of the Navi dipped forward, tilting the girl's smokestack further forward until she was right by the supposed client, conversing at a bizarre 45 degree angle. "You're the woman who submitted the makeover mission to GNA, aren't you? I'm the one who accepted. Should we go somewhere more private before I make a scene?"

Amusingly (or perhaps not for Ship's operator), Escort's conversation with Ship began much in the same way as Ship's attempt to locate her; the tall navi looked around the ship to try to find where the voice was coming from, before realizing that there was a little girl poking out of the smoke stack once Ship did the work to tilt herself forward. "Yes, this is a public camp intended for the Neo-Shogun soldiers and visiting officers. I, Escort, welcome you," she offered, bowing to the diagonally oriented girl. "I am indeed the one who requested your services. I will need your help to refresh my image and personality to be more attractive to my peers. You're correct; we really must get somewhere more private before we begin. If you would, miss Ship, it would be best to depart from your namesake and enter one of my limousines... or we could, hm... board your vessel, if that would be more suitable. I'm not entirely certain how we'll maneuver if you do, but I assume you're accustomed to moving on land terrains in some fashion."

She, of course, had no understanding of Ship's real connection to her boat. "I'm bringing along a few blank .GMOs that we can use to assist the process. Our first step ought to be leaving in whichever method of transportation you feel is best. I can have an automated limousine here immediately, if you'd like."

Ship allowed herself a quickly flashed grin at Lyn's expense as soon as Escort started talking, without realizing that Lyn still couldn't tell anything at all. Ship thought to herself that this woman seemed rather charming, but she didn't look like and could be trying to attracting anything but worthy challengers and ultraviolet radiation in that outfit. This certainty was actually what tipped her off that Escort was the client in the first place.

Ship nodded along as Escort mentioned how they'd depart, strangely blushing with a bit of a crooked smile when the client mentioned "boarding." "I'm afraid that really won't be feasible, um... the limo sounds nice! I've always wanted to try traveling in one."

"That'd better be one hell of a stretch limo, don't ya think?" Lyn responded. Really, she was just trying to coax the conversation out of her navi. Ship might be empty headed at times, but Lyn figured if the navi knew what a limo was she surely must realize this deserved some explanation.

"Not to worry, I already had something ready for just this occasion... although I had really hoped I would be able to make something cute and different out of it first. I guess I'm third in line for my makeover skills right now!" This comment put her back in a good mood, and she quickly activated her personally prepared .GMO...

Rather alarmingly, her boat was immediately gone. Ship didn't fall from her current position but simply appeared at ground level in her original pose. Unfortunately, surrendered to the proper laws of gravity, Ship's diagonal pose could only hold a moment. Normally, this would result in a navi falling forward on her face. Because Ship's feet were naturally practically rooted to the ground, however, only one could leave the ground for her haphazard balancing act. The end result left her spinning and landing flat on her behind with a high-pitched cry.

Rising and rubbing her sore butt for a second, Ship apologized. "Sorry, but don't worry, my outfit coordination is much better! So, how about that limo?" Ship extended her hand, hoping to be helped to her feet.

"Yes, of course. I'll bring the limo right away," Escort responded, keeping a passive face despite all of Ship's antics. It could either be from a cold sense of humor or because she thought laughing would be offensive, but the end result was probably more awkward than if she'd just laughed along. With a snap of her black-gloved fingers, Escort summoned one of her trademark stretch limousines, easily enough to seat several people. "The limousine is automated, so I would suggest we ride in the back. That will give us more space, if we need it," the woman in black suggested.

Indeed, the back proved very spacious upon entry. Escort took a seat near to the back and waited for Ship to get one herself, before snapping her fingers to signal for her limousine to get moving again. "I should probably give you as many details of the situation as possible before we continue... forgive me, it's somewhat difficult to talk about. You see, early on, I was created as a security navi for the family of the woman now known as Dee. Over time, my role has changed... first into her friend, than into her security navi. Over that period, I've come to realize something. I have certain desires and also preferences... ones that I didn't realize I had at first. Being in the Neo-Shogun's Army, for various reasons, has excited me to the point where I can no longer sit quietly in inaction."

"You see, I'm attracted to women; for the longest time, I thought that I might fit easily and unobtrusively into this role by dressing like a man and acting in ways that the ideal man might. Thus far, even though I adopted it thoroughly in all aspects of my besides my actual physiology, that strategy has proven ineffective. Women do not notice me in that way. But now... you see, I want to become the kind of woman that... other women will want to be with. Or at least, I want to give it a test," she continued, gulping as she pressed on with the difficult subject. "I have reason to believe that there may be others like me in our army. Or at least... At least, I'm almost certain our First General must be! She hates men to such an extent... and seeks the company of female officers and asks them to dress so indecently and even has hired on a personal, female masseuse, as I understand. There's no denying that she must hold affections towards those of her same sex. Even still... she's never shown any interest in me, perhaps because I have acted so much like that which she hates. She does show me respect, which is as much as any officer could want, but selfishly... I'd like to use her as a test, to know if I can be seen in another way."

Letting all that sink in, Escort remained silent for a moment. "Oh, where are my manners? Would you like something to drink before we progress, Ship?"

Ship let out a quiet sigh as she rose to her feet (?) and dusted herself off. Escort hadn't helped her up, but Ship wasn't really upset. On the contrary, Ship felt like she'd already learned a lot about her client and already had a head buzzing with ideas for potential advice.

The Navi took a stumbly few first steps towards the limo, recalling that she hadn't really practiced walking since some experimental exercises they'd had her do at her old company. The limo had thankfully pulled up close, so soon Ship was surrounded by the luxurious interior of Escort's ride. "It really is quite fantastic," she praised her hostess, quickly moving over and plopping down on the seat beside Escort. "Okay, bring me up to speed!" the Navi's eyes shined brightly as she leaned forward, as if willing the juicy details to come faster.

As the Navi continued, Ship nodded and remained on the edge of her seat. Before Escort had really gotten to the point, though, realization had evidently already dawned on Ship. She sat up a bit straighter and crossed her arms, obviously surprised but not disapproving. In fact, as Escort described her strategy up until now, a smile had begun to play at the edges of Ship's lips. She did her best to suppress it, realizing it might come off as laughing.

As the story came to its close, Ship smiled warmly and moved her hands to her lap. "Well, I think it's wonderful that you're working actively to pursue your desires! I was smiling because I think my operator is having a very similar problem... why, I'm dragging her out of the house right now to try and spruce her up."

"Uh, yo, Lyn Clarke here, professional Navi trainer, nicetameetcha..." Lyn's face popped up on a view window beside Ship, allowing her to communicate with Escort. "Let's get something clear real fast, though, kay? I didn't make Ship, I had her dumped on me. I'm not into little girls or even big girls or nothin', so no funny ideas, all right?"

At this, Ship released the shocked gasp and actually the theatrical falling back Escort might have expected for her own revelation. "Whaaaat?! You're not?!"

"Damn straight I'm not! Wh-why are we having this conversation right now anyway? Why the hell would you assume I was?"

Feeling "because you dressed that way" might be the final nail in the coffin of her fun outing today, Ship put on her best smile. "Why, just because you take such great care of me! I figured you actually loved me, is all." Ship put away Lyn's window, partially because she was sure the operator would be happy not to continue that conversation in front of company and partially because she was sure if it did continue, the direction wouldn't be good. Ship slumped in her seat a bit and pressed her cap to her head, thinking that she'd probably have to do everything she'd thought up for Lyn's wardrobe to this point, seeing as she wasn't fishing for the fairer sex...

"Sorry, Lyn's my operator... I do love her, but we haven't known each other for as long as I would like yet, so I guess I still have things to learn about her... teehee." The Navi wiped some sweat from her brow as she tried to play off the previous scene as well as possible. "But more importantly! I'll tell you my impressions on your problem and my ability to solve it so far. Oh, and a water would be appreciated."

Ship rested her chin on the knuckles of one flat hand leaning towards Escort and looking very pleased to now be in the position of romance counselor AND fashion designer. "First off, I can tell from your face and manners that you are quite attractive, if a bit aloof." The way Ship said this made it as much fact as compliment. "Even if you work out, unless you bulk up something crazy you retain a feminine curve to your jawline..." This was a bit off topic, and actually meant for Lyn. "Anyway, it is my opinion that if you wanted a man you could have any you wanted... but if you are looking for a woman here, your path becomes much harder! In the Neo-Shogun army, the women are beautiful warriors, correct? That's the impression I've gotten so far, anyway. Your problem could not even be an issue with you! Why, the women here probably have swarms of male admirers to shoo off and must focus diligently on training. Not that I'm telling you anything you don't already know, but I imagine your kind of romance is the farthest thing from their minds..."

Ship stopped for breath, realizing she'd been doing a lot of talking. Here she did allow a bit of a teasing smile to appear on her face. "I'm sorry to say, though, that it's not just a matter of the situation. You have room for improvement, but that's both a good thing and a bad thing! The good news is that your situation isn't hopeless. When the problem is you, all you have to do is change yourself. Now, I imagine that if you're hiring me to help now, you might have... given some advance a try? And it went... not so well? If it's not to painful, maybe you'd tell me about an example? Ooh, and maybe tell me about some of the women you're interested in?~" At this point, Ship, excited and on the edge of her seat, looked much more like she was digging for juicy gossip than offering helpful advice. "You know, so I know what we're preparing for?"

"It's no matter; I can tell you and your operator are both fond of each other. Companionship is probably the... best way to treat relationships with your fellow women. But, for me, it's become a stalling point," the tall lady sighed, leaning her head on her fist with her eyes half closed in a brooding expression. "I wonder if it's possible to be such good friends that romance seems like a non-option?"

"As for my bulk, I assure you that I'm working day in and day out to master control," she assured Ship, assuming the statement had been meant for her. "I'm good at it now, but my body is quite heavy with all of the muscle... but I can't stop exercising, even now that I understand my original strategy may have been naive." A slight blush ran across her face as Ship asked about her past experiences. "N-No... I've never asked anyone or proposed. They're all good friends of mine and I would hate to impose or create awkwardness between us. Then again, perhaps I'm being selfish, expecting them to make the first move..."

"But no, I don't even know very many women who would be interested. I did spend some time at a women's... party, recently, but it was a masked affair and I couldn't get the courage to speak to very many. Most of the girls here in the NS have shown some inclination towards men, though... I believe the First General may be my only viable option. There is also a new girl, one of our subordinates, who has an unusual body with many arms. She seemed vaguely interested, but I can't summon her for anything trivial." She brought out a small black book from their robe and prepared a ball-point pen. "I record my feelings towards those I interact with in this notebook habitually because it aids in... keeping me calm," she explained. She shut the book and put it up, seeming to decide she'd rather not share it after all.

"So no, I have never asked another girl on a date nor had any other particularly romantic encounters with them."

Ship crossed her arms, trying to collect all of her notes on Escort's love live in her head. There were some things that were surprises and some things that weren't surprises at all. She tilted her head to the side, trying to think of the best course of action... but ultimately, she decided talking it out would probably be better. After all, it wouldn't do to have Escort thinking she found the subject awkward.

"So... the impression I'm gathering is very much what I'd figured..." Ship stopped short of "when I first saw you," realizing that might be insulting. "I can understand your strategy: you've built up a masculine persona that you think other women might find attractive. Furthermore, you are so far down that road that at this point you can't really turn back... but no opportunities to advance have presented themselves either. Unable to find an offensive direction to move in, you are stuck in a stagnant 'friend zone' with all of your co-workers. There's nothing wrong with that, but clearly your heart is yearning for a relationship..."

Ship held up one finger, leaning in closer. "Let me explain something, though! This is a bit off track, but before we go any further, you may have the wrong idea. If what you desire is merely 'a companion,' have you considered that there are many other women on the Net? Maybe you would be more comfortable having friends at the office and a lover elsewhere? And there are so many ways to meet women on the net! But speaking of meeting women - sorry, I'm getting rambly, I know - we have to address that. Sorry. I got off topic."

Winding herself down for a moment, Ship took a sip of her water.

--

"Hey, Princess, having a fun girl chat?" Lyn growled on Ship's private channel. "Did you forget I'm sitting in this dressing room doing nothing until you give me something to do?"

"Oh! Of course not, but I have to focus on this at the moment, all right? Try to sit tight for just one more minute..." Ship responded, again on the private channel.

"All right, well... the mission and getting paid comes first. That's a good call." Lyn sat back on the bench, chewing on her pipe and regretting a bit that she had accidentally put herself in a position that made her sound anxious to start this fashion show. She couldn't stand just sitting there doing nothing, though...

--

"All right. I think this is a bit complicated, but stay with me for a second." Ship set aside her water, and gave Escort her full attention. "Your strategy ultimately boiled down to - and forgive me if this is offensively simplifying it, but this is my understanding - 'If women think of me as masculine, they will be open to the idea of a relationship with me.' And so, in essence, you sought to transform yourself into a 'man'... but!" Ship interjected, even rising to her feet in her excitement, as she was evidently at the big point she'd wanted to make, "Did you consider what kind of man you were turning yourself into?"

The Navi didn't really give her client a chance to respond to that, pausing only long enough for Escort to briefly consider it. Ship had to keep rolling with the punches. "Consider the following: do all men have girlfriends? The way you currently are is exactly like a monk. Many monks are in good physical condition. They have good character and perform good deeds that might even attract admirers. But no man or woman would think about asking the average monk to go out... precisely because they're a monk! That's exactly it. As you are now, people probably look at you and think 'she's so hot, but I have no chance because she isn't interested in romance!'"

Ship felt as though she'd gotten to the heart of it, and smiled with intense eyes as she took her seat again. "Then, what you have to do is obvious. What kind of guys ARE good romantic options? Ones who are attractive and strong? Kind and thoughtful? Have limousines?! Why, you're already practically there! You just have to lose the monk-ish aspect of seeming like you're not interested and put yourself on the market... and part of that is changing your monk-ish look. With my help, you can do that in no time!"

The Navi realized she had stood up again at some point in her monologue and sat down again, a bit embarrassed at her own enthusiasm. "Well, you might have some questions, so feel free to ask me! In the meantime, if it's all right with you, I'm going to go ahead and put something together for you." And something for Lyn too, while she was at it. "We'll treat the first outfit as a test run to establish a good direction to head in. All right?"

--

Lyn frowned, not believing Escort would get swept up in Ship's excitement. Had Ship really told her anything she didn't already know? To Lyn it all seemed pretty clear (of course, she had the benefit of hindsight, now). Escort had even come up with the whole "I'm sexy but I'm too cagey to get any action, make a new me" thing herself, as far the operator could tell. Really, Lyn was thinking of this as a strict pass-or-fail mission as she was accustomed to training her boot camp Navis in... to the point where she was fully convinced Escort was going to just get fed up with Ship and kick her out of the limo.

Escort listened, mostly keeping her fist to her chin and nodding as Ship spoke. "Yes, that was sort of my strategy... In case it matters, I should mention that my regular attire consists of a plain, tailored black suit and similar gloves. My original motif was that of a bodyguard, you see," she explained. "Bodyguard-slash-chauffeur." Removing her hand from her chin, she placed it atop her head and then lifted her hood off, revealing black hair, slicked back from the forehead into a smooth, but again masculine, quaff. "And I typically wear my hair like this."

She paused to give Ship time to think about her concept, but eventually spoke up again, fishing her black notebook back out. "Have you ever been in a relationship, Miss Ship? I would be interested to know any details you're willing to share," she inquired, readying her pen.

"Oh! I'd like to see your regular outfit too, if you don't mind," Ship interrupted quickly. She was kind of curious about it, but moreso... getting a look at a suit would give the Navi a much better idea of her client's sizes so she could consider them in her outfit design. With that she quieted down and listened to the rest Escort had to say.

"Bodyguard/Chauffeur, huh?" Lyn commented quietly, giving a half-hearted shake of her hand to stand in for the slash. "That's not a bad way to live. I kinda wish it was you takin' combat lessons and not her takin' prissy lessons..."

Ship's eyes starred up a bit when she got a glimpse of Escort's hair. "Ooh... how interesting," she commented. After getting a glimpse of that, Ship was thinking her job might end up easier than she expected... wouldn't it be funny if the answer was just "stop wearing your .GMO?"

As the Navi was giggling a bit at her own thought, she was caught off guard by Escort's question. "Oh!" Ship bit her lip nervously for a second, realizing that she'd have to admit that in terms of experience, she was the blind leading the blind in this situation. "Well, never personally, but I had lots of girl talk time with other model Navis in my previous line of work..." This was a bit of an exaggeration, as her creator hadn't been particularly big on the idea of sharing Ship with the world outside the studio, but there were some girl talks like that. "I do read a lot of literature on the subject, though!" Entertainment magazines and romance novels... Ship found her evasive answer was leaving her making a lot of meaningless hand gestures. "And of course I love Lyn, but that's kind of a different situation." Ship gave a bright blushing smile in a direction that made her facing Lyn from the view of the PET and facing nothing at all from Escort's view.

Lyn's response was to make a sour grimace and sink further down on her bench as if there was anyone to see her in her dressing booth.

"I think Lyn must be getting impatient waiting on my design! Well, not to worry, as I'm almost done for her. Now, because she lost a bet my operator doesn't get a say," Ship told her client in a conversational tone, as though her words shouldn't be concerning to her potential fashion model, "But there's something else I need to know, and it would be beneficial if you would answer directly... What kind of girls are you thinking of attracting? This can make all the difference! Are you looking to make friends and pick up girls partying, or do you have your sights squarely set on this Yasu from your workplace? Or is your goal purely to see if you can have an effect on women at all?" The Navi leaned closer as she spoke, facing Escort with her bright, sea-green eyes. Ship was particularly concerned about the second possibility... if that was the case, both designer and client could have their work cut out for them. Ship might have to find out more about this Yasu and hope it wasn't a dead-end romance...

"Well, ultimately I'd like to establish lasting relationships... but, for now, all I'm looking to find out is if I can get some looks or conversation in that direction going... That sort of thing," Escort explained, looking slightly embarrassed; perhaps it was the implication that she might be looking for one-night-stands that made her feel that way. "It doesn't need to be Yasu at all, it was just a thought. Sometimes it's difficult to find girls of that same persuasion, so I went to the first that came to mind. I know a few others, but they're from other factions and interacting with them on a regular basis is complicated, due to my own alignment."

"As for my regular outfit..." she continued, then deactivated her .GMO. Escort's regular look was no surprise: just as she'd said, she wore a black blazer and suit pants with black gloves and shoes. She wore a tie as well over a starched white collar. A black cord tangled from her ear to her pocket, revealing the presence of a somewhat old-fashioned ear-bud communicator. The outfit showed off her proportions a little bit better, but it was still sort of hard to get a bead on them. "This is what I wore before I was part of the NS. I still wear it, sometimes, when I'm not on duty."

Ship folded her hands, probably feeling pensive but not possessing the type of face that gave that emotion very clearly. "Well, my thinking is... and I'll leave this up to you, of course... if you intend to experiment, you should avoid co-workers. Unless you don't know it yourself, I would say you don't appear to be in love." Ship smiled with this point, trying to give a sincere expression and look straight into the eyes to indicate she wasn't judging her client's decision or thought process. "So, if you were to pursue that line and... it turned out there was some mistake, or she had someone else in mind... it might create some awkwardness we can avoid easily enough. I think I have some ideas... And you might be surprised! There might be more interested people on the net than you think... Your outfit is quite charming." Ship rested one hand on her cheek and turned back to fiddling with her concept.

Lyn popped her screen back on and faced Escort, her pipe drawn up in her lips. "Oi, somethin' I don't get. If you've got butterflies in your stomach because you're surrounded by all these girls, shouldn't there be someone you're keen on?" Lyn looked straight at Escort, but with much more judging than her Navi had. "I mean, if you're squirmin' around not because of love, it's gotta-"

With her eyes closed, her smile wide, and sweat running down her forehead, Ship switched Lyn to a private line, pulling her viewscreen from the Net. She did so without looking up from her pad. "Oops, looks like my operator got pulled away for something... she's in a public place just sitting around, so they might have kicked her out of the dressing room. I should have thought about it."

"-be heat, right?" Lyn unwittingly continued to herself and her Navi only. "I mean, if you're just gunning for T&A, keep workin' here and just hit the clubs for tail in your downtime!" Lyn crossed her arms and smiled, evidently thinking she'd come up with a really profound solution. "It's X plus Y plus Z where X is work, Y is play, and Z is playing it f*ckin' straight. Einstein said that."

"SORRY BUT DON'T TALK" displayed in text on her PET.

"Wha-? Oi! I'm tryin' to help on your mission, dumb*ss," Lyn growled in response.

"LEAVE IT TO ME PLEASE DON'T"

Lyn groaned, not wanting to admit that more than anything she was just getting bored waiting around. "Fine, handle your mission yourself... just don't come crying to me when you finish this dress-up party and she still ends up gettin' squat."

"I HAVE CONFIDENCE. ALSO HERE YOU GO :)"

Ship hoped that would tide her operator over, since she thought the lull in the conversation might begin to strike Escort as strange. She sent her design to Lyn so the operator could begin fetching the items in the store and applied the finishing touches to her design for Escort. "Aaand, here you go! I went ahead and plotted it all out to enter as code for the .GMO, so you should be able to just pop it in and try it on. A bit of modeling experience. I set it not to alter your body at all, only your clothes data." Ship smiled brightly and handed the package out to Escort, clearly excited to see the results. "Oh, but remember! This is just testing the water, so if you don't like it, please speak up so I can adjust, and feel free to ask questions. I've got much more up my sleeves, if we need it!"

Escort gave Lyn's inquiry much more thought than she should, probably significantly more than Ship anticipated or appreciated. "You both have a point; I don't believe I'm in love,perhaps because I've never had the confidence that allows such a concept to intrude to begin with. At the same time, I'm not simply looking for bodily intercourse. I'm hoping to find someone who could be a long-term partner," she explained. "Although..." she paused, her gloves making a quiet leather wrinkle as she flexed her fingers around her pen and book, "does your operator know of nightlife specialized for women of my persuasion? I wouldn't mind looking at suggestions; the sort of thing is hard to find..."

Realizing and was getting sidetracked, Escort straightened up and put down her items. "Thank you. I will try them on immediately," she responded, then accepted and activated the .GMO. The result looked about as nice on Ship as expected... Except for one exception. Without restrictive binding to hold them back, Escort's breasts swelled out to their full size, namely: tremendous. Each breast was nearly the size of a man's head. Although her tuxedo pants had looked slim, some deception must have been going on there too; for all her muscle tone, Escort's buttocks could never lose their "fat." Luckily, she was avoiding busting out and it held together well enough. "I should have given you some understanding of my sizes before we started, I apologize."

"It is an interesting look and I appreciate it... but I do wonder if the clothes alone will be enough. Are there not some other modifications I could make? Perhaps I should act or speak differently. I'm sure there must be some habit of mine that's making me appear unapproachable," she contemplated, frowning stoically while cracking her neck imposingly, then proceeding to write down thoughts at insane speed onto her secret notebook.

"I wonder if I could take a vacation... maybe a cruise... that seems like it would be a good way to meet someone. Or, with these clothes, I might try 'clubbing'... Which would be ironic,as I refused Dee's offer so many times. I would have just been mistaken for a bouncer."

"I'm afraid she's probably not familiar with that sort of thing..." Ship commented, giggling a little bit at the thought. "She hasn't had me for long, and doesn't really encourage those sort of social excursions as much as one might like." Ship blushed a bit at the thought of heading to a club like that with Escort... but maybe it would be a good time? It wasn't like she knew one, anyway...

Getting a bit distracted, Ship woke up and paid attention to the outfit and the gratuitous curves which had suddenly appeared on her client. "Aaaah! Aah, uuh, but I didn't change the proportions at all, gosh...!" Her eyes tracked the motion of the breasts that were filling out the jacket, bouncing momentarily within the velour fabric as they were suddenly freed. The zipper was being forced down slightly simply by their weight and size. Ship appeared to be spacing out in some sort of dreamy area, and fell into some distracted half-apologies.

The Navi continued nodding along in response to Escort's comments that weren't even questions, breaking suddenly at Escort's mention of a cruise. Ship's strange expression suddenly tightened and grew bright red as she was apparently stuck on some particular thought, so she quickly swiped her water and drained half the glass in one gulp. This seemed to have the effect of cooling her to a reasonable temperature immediately. "Well, it was never my intention to give you an outfit and send you on your way!" Ship told her with a smile, easily settling into conversation again as though she hadn't been doing anything strange.

"Since work is out, though, if you're intending to enter a relationship, clubbing could really be just the thing! Although, that outfit isn't really the best I can do if you want to go clubbing. Give me a sec and I'll come up with another one... Ooh!" Ship spoke up, placing her glass down and slapping her hands to her lap. "I just thought of something good! If we're going to try and go clubbing, now is the perfect time to practice pick-ups! You know what I mean, right? When you meet your target at the bar, you try to ease into a natural conversation and gradually smooth your way to a name, an e-mail address... or a night!" Ship said this last point peeking through her fingers with starry eyes, as though embarrassed to be saying it. "Since I'm practicing multitasking anyway, why don't we do a little roleplaying while I design another costume? I'll pretend to be a potential target at a bar, and you give me your best pick-up line! Then we can trade, and I'll show you what I would do." Ship figured she could handle two things at once, seeing as Lyn was still away dealing with her outfit... Ship tittered again, having a pretty good idea why she would be. The Navi typed away on her pad, working with redoubled enthusiasm now that she'd had a better look at the canvas she was painting on.

Escort made a puzzled expression, clearly not following any of Ship'd reactions. The pitch also seemed to be giving her problems. "A... pick-up line? Forgive my skepticism, but it's hard to imagine something like that working for me," she replied, perhaps trying to visualize herself tossing out one-liners and failing miserably. "But, I will try, if you think there's a chance it could work..."

She cleared her throat and straightened up, then placed both of her hands in her lap and closed her eyes. Next, she ran one hand through her slick hair, tilted her chin up, and gave a charming smirk. "Hey, baby... you look cold. Please, wear my jacket and let me buy you a drink," she offered, leaning back in her seat with her legs crossed. She put one hand on her suit's zipper and tugged it down with provocative slowness...

Ship blushed a bit, sitting attentively as Escort gave it her best. "Not half bad... but it does come off a bit as a man trying to hit on a woman." While she realized her client was probably just trying to make a suave maneuver in getting off the jacket, she couldn't help but think the end result was quite saucy. "Well, she does have certain womanly charms as well... Oh gosh, oh no!" Ship suddenly became aware as she was temporarily dwelling on the issue of Escort's cleavage that she hadn't designed a bra or any kind of underwear with this costume. She hadn't thought she was required to, but after seeing the way Escort suddenly filled out... it was probably best to cut this short.

"Okay, you can stop!" Ship suddenly told her client a bit too loudly. She didn't want to call attention to her mistake if she didn't have to, especially considering she was about to hand over another outfit anyway. "You're much better than you were giving yourself credit for! I felt a bit of a flutter even though it was just acting... I think with some on-site coaching, you'll be partying with the best of them." Ship was trying to downplay the fact that she was supposed to do one in return... she really didn't feel like she had a follow-up act to that.

"Oh! I've just been assuming you're looking for real-world fashion, but some Navis like to keep a classic Navigator look, like moi," Ship pointed out, gesturing at her own outfit. "Let me know if that's your preference... And I've also just been assuming you like the color black, but let me know if I've made a mistake there." Ship smiled a bit sheepishly, realizing she'd skipped some important steps on the quest to seeing her own vision come to life.

"I don't know where Lyn is... but anyway, I got an outfit ready! Please try it on. I think this one ought to make you a hit at the club. While you do, I'll do a quick net search and see if I can come up with a club that suits our class and your tastes. I should hope I'll be able to... I am a Net Navigator, after all!" Ship said with a smile, typing away and keeping her eyes on Escort in anticipation of the application of her next outfit.

"Well, I do have some experience with acting the part of a flirt. I just never thought it would be useful in a practical situation," Escort chuckled lightly (and briefly). "And yes, I prefer to keep the outer world clothing style... with toe exception of when I must dress as a masked martial artist, of course. Black is simply my favorite color." Certainly not hard to believe.

"You have another outfit? I would be happy to try it on," she agreed. Once it was activated, Ship got a look at yet another aspect of Escort that had been hard to anticipate: the ludicrous, tight-packed muscle structure of her body. This became apparent now that her legs and arms were out. "I wore something like this recently, come to think of it, under another persona," she mused. "I wad in a gambling den at the time. Thinking on it... Nevermind," she finished, deciding against finishing her thoughts.

"As I recall, the men and women both seemed to appreciate the wardrobe. Perhaps a dress is the most effective option," Escort agreed. "As I am the driver, I feel as if it is my duty to find our destination. In the mean time, you should demonstrate a pick-up line so that I can learn more about how to craft them properly. In previous experience, conversing normally was the hardest element."

Ship beamed in response, although she was wondering what experience Escort had acting as a flirt that she didn't think qualified her to do so in a social setting. Her eyes popped a bit as she got a better look at Escort's physique. She'd already had a hint of it, again only from the neck, and she had some experience with fit physiques from seeing Lyn... but Escort clearly had another thing going entirely. Ship was inwardly thankful that Escort turned out to be so stacked after all, or she really might be stuck entirely in the man zone.

Surprise aside, Ship thought the outfit she'd chosen was on-the-money. Although she would have liked more detail, she was happy to hear Escort had worn something like this before. Maybe she'd hit pretty close to her clients tastes? Ship was beginning to think she might have a future in this, and gave herself a silent pat on the back.

Still, casual conversation with Escort was a little dull, Ship ultimately decided. She was sure this was going to be the time for juicy girl talk, but Escort even reacted receiving a fancy new party dress (that she apparently liked) based on its "effectiveness." Then again, that wasn't entirely fair... that kind of thing was why Ship had been requested in the first place, and Escort did seem serious about her intention to improve.

... Maybe a bit more serious and focused than Ship might have wanted. "Oh, you didn't forget about that, huh?" Ship asked, smiling sheepishly. "Well, you know, we've been conversing rather normally this whole time, so...!" Sensing she wasn't going to get out of it that way, Ship coughed into her fist and prepared herself.

The Navi rose stiffly to her non-feet and stepped back a bit, evidently attempting to pick up the role fresh when she turned around. The Navi turned on her heels and moved over to sit down close to Escort again. "Excuse me, is this seat taken? I was about to order a drink and was surprised to find such a fetching Navi to share it with. Care to join me?" Ship batted her eyelashes in a girly cliche while complementing her target and finished with a bright smile on her folded hands.

"Pfahaaahooo!" a voice suddenly blared in Ship's ears from nowhere. "What a f*ckin' weak pickup! 'Fetching?'" Lyn spoke on her private channel to her Navi. "What, are you trying to pick up a doberman in a dog pageant?"

Ship grew pouty, puffing her cheeks out a bit as her operator taunted. Looking for quick vindication, Ship fiddled around with some camera controls...

"F*ckin' hell! That's almost as bad as that 'I'm gonna make you love me' sh*t you pulled when we met earlier." Lyn was doubled over laughing... and wearing a full frilly maid costume, complete with the typical black dress and white apron, short white gloves, a frilled headband, lacy white stockings... and with lacy white panties clad around her tight butt, as both Ship and Escort could see. Without telling her, Ship had connected to one of the room cameras designed to share photos from inside the booth to friends around the world, squarely behind the doubled-over operator.

Lyn was shaking her tail for the camera without even realizing it for a moment, before she suddenly cried out in surprise at what she was seeing in her camera. The cry was much like one stubbing their toe, and would likely have alarmed any nearby attendants if they hadn't been on a long smoke break due to the low customer activity. "Wha-whaddya think yer doin'?!" Lyn desperately turned back and forth, apparently trying to find on the angle which would look most decent in the hijacked camera. The swishing skirt finally came to a stop as Lyn faced the screen with her tan face face full of blood mixed from anger and humiliation.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd actually try the whole thing on!" Ship said between uncharacteristically chortling laughs. "And you look pretty good but... aaah!" Ship squealed and covered her face with her hands, blushing as she peaked through them again. "I feel like I'm getting a once-in-a-lifetime experience here!" The Navi hid her face and wiped at it as though trying to get tears of laughter, although her hand was moving closer to the mouth...

"Sh*t! What if Escort's operator saw that?!" For a moment, Lyn's eyebrows tensed over watery eyes in a very unusual expression for her. Her teeth ground together, searching for her pipe but failing to find it. "A-and you! You'd better not have been checkin' me out!" Lyn was directly speaking to Escort here, as though if she were to bark loudly enough at everyone who had just seen her it would all just go away. "I'd double check what she has you put on, toouuuoooooaaaagh!!" Her bark once again broke into an embarrassed cry of despair. "Freeeakiiing aaaaaaaugh!" Lyn cried and clawed at her face as though hers was the last pair of eyes that needed gouging to complete the dark rite of memory erasure.

Ship closed out the window, still laughing and, truth be told, looking a bit drooly. Realizing this was not a good image of her at all, Ship quickly downed her remaining water and tried to explain. "She lost a bet, you see, and she's always giving me a hard time.... This was just good-natured revenge, you see! Nothing strange!" More than anything, Ship was worried her little joke was going to get her thrown out right as she was on the verge of seeing a breakthrough. "Please don't think worse of me!" Ship made an apologetic expression that would look like an attempt at the "puppy-dog eyes" defense on anyone else... but was actually just her natural apologetic expression.

Escort seemed fairly absorbed in the act, looking as if she was nearly ready to respond, when Lyn burst in. She watched with a blank frown, trying to figure out how Lyn could look do different between outfits, then defied Lyn's wishes by clearly being absorbed looking at the operator's fanny. Furthermore, she was furiously writing, perhaps without realizing it (certainly without realizing how much it was going to aggravate Lyn). "So... she's dressed that way as a prank? That makes sense. It's a very pretty costume, though... I wouldn't mind wearing it..." she mused. The fact that she was giving the idea some thought showed how little she understood about club-appropriate fashions.

Escort found herself chuckling as well, although thankfully not drooling. "Sorry, I was just think that the two of you are both so precious. My friend, Dee, would have enjoyed this exchange tremendously," she explained. "I wish that my operator could apologize in person for peeking on yours, but I'm afraid that many of us have been asked to keep our operator's identity a secret."

"All of that aside, I think I understand the basic gist: try to act womanly and offer a drink. Seems simple enough. If it's alright with you, I would like to head to a place called Wunderbar, a net location based on the NetVegas club of the same name. I believe the high energy setting would help my efforts," she explained. "When we arrive, I would prefer to remain on audio link with you. You can continue to monitor my progress and provide instructions directly into my earpiece. I will simply listen and will not reply. You can remain in an outside location where you can listen and communicate without being spotted, which would be awkward for both of us. Does that sound agreeable?"

Ship smiled in response to Escort's words, but Lyn didn't take as well to being called "precious." She was now sitting on her bench as though guarding her behind, certain that there was no way Ship could get more embarrassing footage of her to spread in that position. The operator opened up her communication line one more time: "If I find out that f*ckin' diary of yours is some crazy Net-magic way to send photos to your friends later, Escort, I'm gonna find your operator and beat the livin' sh*t out of him or her or it or whatever!"

Ship had to wonder what was up with Escort's book as well, but she understood it was probably pushing the lines of good manners to ask. She wouldn't pry into it if she could help it... "That's kind of interesting about the Neo-Shogun, though, you know? I think some people have this idea, no offense, that the Neo-Shogun Empire isn't really doing anything on the Net, but it sounds like its members live very different lives from the average citizen."

Ship listened to Escort's plan and smiled, happy that Escort had a place in mind after all. "Sounds like a idea, I'll be happy to help." Truth be told, "happy" was stretching it a bit. Ship had, after all, been hoping she would be able to enjoy the bar with her new friend... but if this is what it took to help a fellow girl find love, so be it. "Just lead the way. Oh, but I feel I should ask... if I'm going to be outside, how am I going to know the situation inside from just an audio link? Are you going to describe the situation on private channel?" Ship was secretly hoping Escort would realize she'd made a mistake and be forced to allow her to tag along inside.